Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids

by Dale C. Musser

  “So it’s you!” Sisopan said angrily, “The sweet little doesee from Goo’Waddle. Oh I have so wanted to meet you and to spill your guts for what you did to my lover Shydak.”

  I saw Jenira stiffen a moment when she heard Shydak’s name; a slight smile curled her lip, and she drew her two catas and tossed one to Sisopan.

  “Oh no,” Padaran cried, “What is she doing?”

  Sisopan caught the sword by the pummel and swung it about testing its balance. “Nice cata, doesee,” she spat, “I’m going to enjoy slicing you to ribbons with it,” and she attacked.

  If Jenira thought this would be an easy battle, she was mistaken. Sisopan showed a mastery skill level with the cata that suggested many hours of practice and training, and she managed to avoid Jenira’s moves with an almost instinctive skill. Jenira, likewise, was avoiding Sisopan’s attacks, but even in her fights with Nybidong, I hadn’t seen her fighting at this level of intensity before. As I watched, I noticed Sisopan trying to reach something on her belt with her left hand as her sword clashed with Jenira’s. “What’s she doing with her belt?” I asked as Sisopan brought her left arm up and sprayed something into Jenira’s face. Jenira jumped back, swinging her sword in a blocking move just in time to catch Sisopan’s blade.

  “She sprayed something in Jenira’s face!” Padaran cried.

  We could see Jenira blinking her eyes and still swinging her cata blocking Sisopan’s fierce attack. Jenira closed her eyes while still fighting and deflecting Sisopan’s sword.

  “She blinded Jenira,” I exclaimed, “Jenira can’t see.”

  Sisopan’s blade caught Jenira on the leg, and blood could be seen running down her calf, but Jenira fought on. How she was able to fight with her eyes closed was astounding. I knew that Jenira often practiced blindfolded, but that was practice; this was for real and with a skilled and angry opponent.

  I have to admit I was mesmerized watching the battle, how Jenira knew where Sisopan’s attacks were coming from was beyond belief. I would have expected to see Jenira panic when she was blinded, but she didn’t. She fought calmly, her head high, and I knew she was listening to every sound in the room. She must have been able to tell where Sisopan’s sword was by its sound in the air. As they fought, I saw Sisopan smile and begin a flurry of moves that had Jenira backing into a corner.

  “Sisopan is trying to force Jenira into the corner where she can’t swing her sword,” I said.

  Padaran reached for the com and shouted into it, “Jenira, she’s backing you into a corner!”

  Jenira didn’t seem to hear Padaran, and she kept retreating with Sisopan fighting harder and faster as the grin on her face spread into a wicked smile. By now, the tip of Jenira’s blade was hitting the wall on one side as she fought; still, she managed to block Sisopan’s blade. Before we knew what had happened, Jenira was square in the corner, and she was pinned so she could not swing her cata. Sisopan drew back her cata to thrust it into Jenira, and she said, “This is for Shydak, doesee, then she stiffened, slumped, and fell backward on the floor in front of Jenira, who stood there with her cata in one hand pinned against the wall, and a bloody dagger in her other outstretched hand.

  Jenira swung her sword about looking for Sisopan and finally dipped her blade and tapped it about the body on the floor. There was a commotion, as several of the ship’s security team rushed into the room. We could hear one of them call out, “Jenira, are you all right?”

  Jenira dropped her sword and dagger and signed, “I’m blind, I can’t see.” Immediately a trooper rushed to her side and looked at her eyes. “Get her to the med unit now,” he said to his men. They began to assist her, but she stopped them, “My catas. I need my catas," she signed. One of the troopers retrieved the blades that had lain on the floor and he placed the pummels in Jenira’s hands. She swung both her blades over her shoulders and into their scabbards. “Thank you. Now you can take me to the medic,” she signed.

  “Tibby, I need to go to her,” Padaran said.

  “Yes, go, I think this battle is over, and I’m sure your security team can see to the cleanup. I need to make contact with Wabussie and find out what’s happened back on Epsirt; and I need to talk to Admiral Kophious and Captain Marranalis to see how the other battles are going. I’ll be back to see Jenira as soon as I can.” I looked up to see Captain Kerabac enter as Padaran was leaving.

  “I saw Jenira’s fight from the monitors on the bridge, he said. Unbelievable! The Ruwallie Rasson will be singing her praises over this battle for a long time to come.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” I said. “Could you do me a favor? Contact Kala back at the estate and let her know what’s happened so she can return to be with Jenira.”

  “Certainly, Tibby, I’ll see to it right away.”

  “Thank you; I need to get back to the MAXETTE. The war is still going on, and I need to be seeing to it. Tell Kala and Jenira I will return as soon as I can.”

  “With Sisopan and her men dead, I gave the orders to contact all the other gates connected to the ones on the NEW ORLEANS and have them reopened. No sooner were the gates active again, than Kala came rushing through the gate with Reide and Lunnie. I had been about to enter the gate back to the MAXETTE but paused when I saw the troubled look on Kala’s face.

  “Tib, what happened? Is everything all right? Padaran had us evacuated from the ship saying there were intruders and several people were dead.”

  “Everything is safe now,” I said. “Sisopan and some of the Reduviids got through the one Cantolla Gate we forgot to relocate and have secured. It was dumb luck; she found the only gate unguarded in the Federation, and just my luck, it would be on my own ship.”

  “Was anyone hurt or killed,” she asked anxiously?

  “Yes, several of the crew was killed. Jenira killed Sisopan; but she was wounded and is blind. Sisopan sprayed something in her eyes that blinded her. I don’t know how serious it is.”

  “Oh no!" Lunnie cried when she heard me say Jenira was blind. "Where is she?”

  “She’s in the med unit. They are checking her out now. Listen, “I said as I turned back to Kala, “I need to get back to the MAXETTE. The battles are still going on, and I need to be there. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Kala nodded, her eyes full of tears. She kissed me quickly and took Lunnie by the hand and started heading toward the med unit. Reide paused a moment behind them and said to me, "Dad, we are winning, aren’t we?”

  I smiled at him and said, “I think so, son; but if I don’t get back to the MAXETTE, we may lose.” Then I turned and stepped through the Cantolla Gate.

  When I reached the War Room and entered, the atmosphere was more relaxed. Wabussie and Regeny stood by the 3D model looking at the battle scenes while they sipped foccee and chatted casually.

  “Tibby, there you are,” Regeny said when he saw me, “we saw your girl Jenira kill Sisopan. We had Kerabac hook us up to a live feed on your ship so we could see what was happening. That girl is unbelievable, fighting blind like that. Where did she get that dagger from?”

  "She, and all her Women with Swords carry a dagger hidden in the folds of their uniforms,” I said.

  “Well, that was amazing, truly amazing. I thought for sure it was all over for her after Sisopan blinded her. How’s she doing, by the way? Will she be all right?”

  “I don’t know yet. She's in the med unit now. What’s going on with the other battles?” I asked.

  “They are over, and the enemy is on the run. Our ships still chase and occasionally fire a shot or two at the fleeing ships; but otherwise it’s all over.”

  “What about on Epsirt? The Reduviid base?” I asked.

  “Blew the damn place up," Regeny said with a loud and cheerful voice, “big bang of an explosion too, it was.”

  “We blew it up? I gave orders for our troops to try to take the place. There may have been intelligence there we could have used,” I said with frustration.

  “We didn’t blow it up,” Wab
ussie said stepping into the conversation, “the Brotherhood blew up their base. Most likely, Sisopan set it off with a remote detonator before she left the planet. She wasn't about to let you get any information from her operations; however, there still is their headquarters on the estate on Epsirt.”

  “Let’s hope it yields some useful data and let’s hope that with this base gone and Sisopan out of the picture, we will see an end to the terrorism,” I said.

  I spend another two hours reviewing the data of the battles; there would be more data over the next few days, but for now, what I saw indicated we had managed to avert a real Brotherhood victory. Finally satisfied that I had done all that I could do for the day, I headed back to the NEW ORLEANS. I went straight to the med unit, where Jenira sat in bed with bandages on both her eyes. Padaran sat on one side the bed holding one hand and Lunnie sat on the other holding her other hand. I can’t recall ever seeing Lunnie looking so forlorn and still attentive. Every time Jenira moved, Lunnie would ask if she needed anything. Kala had been sitting in a chair at the far end of the room and came to me and motioned me out into the corridor, so she could speak to me privately.

  “Tib, Jenira’s eyes are gone; the spray Sisopan used destroyed her eyes. They are going to need to clone new ones for her, like they did for you after Goo’Waddle.”

  “So she’s going to be blind for several months?” I asked.

  “Yes, it looks that way. Lunnie is very upset about it, and Reide just stands there looking forlorn. However, Jenira used this to fuss at both of them, telling them this is why hard training is so necessary if they want to stay alive. Tib, I saw the replays of her fight. I can’t believe she fought Sisopan blind like that. I don’t know if it was luck or skill that saved her.”

  “I do, and it wasn’t luck. Had Jenira not practiced the way she did, I have no doubt in my mind she would not have survived. There was no luck involved. It would not surprise me to find out that Jenira deliberately drew Sisopan into that corner, knowing that Sisopan would believe her to be trapped and helpless, when in fact, Jenira was making sure there was only one place Sisopan could be when she struck with her dagger.”

  “Tib, do you truly think so?”

  “You can ask her if you like, but it makes sense. Otherwise, she might have missed Sisopan.”

  “Well, I’m glad she will be all right.”

  I walked away from Kala and into Jenira’s room, “Hey there, how are you doing?” I said as I walked over to the side of her bed where Lunnie sat. Jenira smiled and pulled her hands free from both Lunnie and Padaran and quickly signed, “I killed her, Tibby; I killed that evil woman.”

  “I know. I saw the battle on the vid screen,” I said.

  “She got me on the leg,” Jenira signed, “and she blinded me with a rotten trick, but I tricked her.”

  “Yes, that was quite a trick drawing her into the corner the way you did, so she would have to be right in front of you to kill you. She never saw your dagger coming; she thought she had you.”

  “So you knew what I was doing,” Jenira signed?

  “No, I didn’t until I saw Sisopan fall and saw your dagger bloody. It was later that I figured it out. That was brilliant,” I said. I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, and when I did, she threw her arms around my neck and held me tight and sobbed a few seconds before releasing me.

  “How was it you found her?” I asked. “No one knew where you were.”

  “I was back in one of the aft accommodations visiting an engineer and his bond mate who had a new baby. I was on my way back to help Kala when the alarms went off. I could hear what was going on, and I started trying to find the intruders and stop them. I heard the battle noise and I cloaked and went in that direction, that’s when Sisopan and I bumped into each other. I didn’t know who she was, but I could tell by the way her clothing felt, and the way she reacted that she was not someone from our crew.”

  “Sisopan was one of the most dangerous people in the Brotherhood; we’ve been trying to capture her for over five years,” I said.

  “Doctor Danjuma said I will need to have new eyes cloned,” Jenira signed.

  “Yes,” I said, “It will take a while; but once you have them, it will be like it was before,” I said.

  “Now I am like you; you had an eye cloned, too,” Jenira signed, “Did it hurt?”

  “Did what hurt, getting the eye, or after getting the eye?” I asked.

  “After they put it in you, did it hurt?”

  “My eye? No, not at all, it was a little strange for the first day. Everything was very bright, but after that it was like my old eye.”

  “I’ll be here to help her until she can see again,” Padaran interjected.

  “Me too,” Lunnie said. I expected to hear Reidecor chime in, but when I looked around he was gone. I wondered what he might be taking apart this time

  That night I lay in bed holding Kala in my arms. We had not spoken for several minutes as we mulled over our separate thoughts. “Tib, I was so frightened today when Padaran said that I needed to leave the ship with the twins. It never bothered me that much before when it was only you and me fighting against the enemy; but now with the twins, that’s all changed. I wasn’t afraid for myself, or for you. However, I was terrified for the kids. Do you understand that?”

  “Yes, I think I do. I felt the same way when Reide was hiding in the cave after the Brotherhood attacked at the estate. I guess that’s what comes from being parents,” I said.

  Kala snuggled a little closer, “Tib, I don’t ever want to feel that way again. I want you to make sure the gates on this ship are more secure.”

  “I’ve already talked to Padaran about that, and he is making sure of it. I’m to blame for the gate Sisopan used not being guarded. I forgot to tell A’Lappe to move it to the main gate area after the second gate was set up on Epsirt. I totally forgot about it.”

  “With all that’s been happening lately, I guess I can understand that; but it could have been bad if Sisopan had run into the twins here on the ship. Especially if she found out who they were.”

  “From what we know, Sisopan didn’t realize where she was for quite a while after she arrived on the NEW ORLEANS.”

  “What do you think she would have done if Jenira hadn’t stopped her?”

  “Hmm, I guess she would have tried to find the solbidyum reactor and blow up the ship,” I said.

  “Do you think she could have?” Kala asked.

  “No, never in a million years. Remember when we took the solbidyum reactor out of the TRITYTE and your sister hid it in a phony pipe fitting on the NEW ORLEANS? Well, we never removed it, and to this day, there are only five people on this ship who know its real location. You, me, Marranalis, A’Lappe, and Kerabac, and I don’t think any of them would ever reveal its location.”

  “You’re right, Tib. I had forgotten that. It all seems so long ago now.

  “What happened to Professor Fass Hakwin? You never did tell me.”

  “We don’t know. We do know he had been at the estate of Epsirt, but we didn’t find him. He may have been at the Reduviid base. Everything there was destroyed by the explosions; if he was there, he’s dead for sure, and we may never find a trace of him.

  Kala ran her fingers through my hair. “By the stars, Tib,” she said as she looked at my hair, “you’re starting to get gray hair on your temples.”

  “I’m not surprised,” I said, “With all the stress of late, it’s a miracle I am not totally gray.”

  “Hmm,” Kala said looking me over, “for a man who is turning old and gray, you still look pretty good to me. I think I know the kind of stress relief you need to help you relax more.”

  She was right.

  The next morning, I reviewed the status reports of the ships destroyed in the battles. We had lost several hundred fighters and one frigate that had lost its RMFF shielding; none of our carriers had been damaged or even hit. On the other hand, the number of enemy ship losses was nearly double ours
. The Reduviid base on Epsirt was totally destroyed; even the number of terrorists who had been in the facility at the time of the explosions was unknown, but it was estimated to be over a thousand. The estate the Brotherhood occupied on Epsirt; however, contained a wealth of information that the FSO was going through. Hopefully, there would be something there that would lead us to the Brotherhood bases and shipyards outside the Federation.

  Federation ships pursuing the Brotherhood started running into large concentrations of additional enemy forces, once passing outside the Federation boundaries, and they took heavy fire from the enemy. Eventually it became necessary for them to turn back. We were hoping analysis of the data gathered as to the courses taken by the retreating ships, that we’d be able to extrapolate their intended destination and use it to find their base.

  Of course, the news services made a huge play of the battles, and it was the topic for weeks. It had been the largest conflict since the war had begun, and the media played heavily on the advanced intelligence aspect of that allowed us to be prepared for the enemy when they arrived. Admiral Regeny, Admiral Wabussie, and I were all contacted for interviews concerning the battles. Both Admiral Wabussie and I declined to make any statements, saying that we were too busy with follow-up details of the battle to comment at that time. Admiral Regeny, on the other hand, was more than happy to expound, though his details were sketchy; and when asked about how the Federation had gotten advanced information of the impending Brotherhood attack, he simply stated that the information was “classified,” and a matter of “Federation Security.” The truth was, he didn’t know, which was probably for the best.

  One thing that was immediately noticeable after the battles was the abrupt halt of Reduviid attacks, as well as other Brotherhood attacks. A month had nearly passed, and I was enjoying a quiet evening at the estate with Kala and the twins, when I received an urgent message from Admiral Regeny’s office to check the news. I turned on my vid screen and coded in a playback of the latest news cast. A breaking news item showed Ming on screen delivering a message to me over the Federation News media.