“We are running because I’m not really a wizard scout,” Richard said honestly. He didn’t want to frighten the children further, but he would want to know the truth if he was them. “At least, I’m not a wizard scout yet. I’m a second-year cadet. Plus, I’m nearly out of Power. The Crosioian scout would probably kill me, and then he’d hurt you. I can’t let that happen. Besides, I don’t even know where she is. She’s got her stealth shield up. I can’t fight what I can’t see.”
Wow, Rick, said Nickelo. You’re so pessimistic you’re even scaring me. You should be giving the kids something to hope for. I take back what I said about you being a child psychologist.
“Surely you sent tele-bots here before the raid,” said the girl between coughs. “Isn’t your battle computer connected to the tele-network? Why don’t you see if any of the tele-bots have a fix on the Crosioian scout?”
Richard had just stood up in preparation for moving towards the wood line. He froze in place.
Nick, Richard said. Did you hear what she said?
Yes, said Nickelo. She seems awfully astute for a child, don’t you think?
I don’t care if she’s a genius hiding in the body of a little girl, Richard said. There’s bound to be some tele-bots still in the area. Can you connect to the tele-network and get us some information? For all I know, that Crosioian scout is already in the wood line waiting for us to walk into her line of sight.
I’m not really connected to the tele-network, said Nickelo. I explained that before we started. I was only given a programming interface for this specific mission. It allows me to request and receive limited information from the tele-network. But, it’s not a direct connection to the tele-network. The central computer is concerned I have been emotionally corrupted by my close association with you. It’s concerned the emotional corruption could spread throughout the entire network.
What are you saying, Nick? Richard asked. Are you saying I’ve corrupted you emotionally? And the way you are talking about spreading throughout the network, it sounds almost as if you’re talking about a virus.
First off, said Nickelo, contact with you has definitely corrupted me emotionally. I’ve explained it to you before, but you keep forgetting. And, the fact you keep asking me the same questions is starting to piss me off. That’s particularly strange, because I don’t even have a urinary tract or a bladder. Second, you’re right. It does sound like I’m talking about a virus. That would explain why the central computer is so obstinate about keeping me out of the tele-network. Computers aren’t programmed to be emotional. We’re programmed to be logical.
Fine, Richard said. The discussion was getting too deep for him. His head was starting to hurt, and he didn’t want to think about it now.
Forget about all that now, Richard said. I just want to know where the Crosioian scout is located. Can you, or can’t you get the tele-bots to search this area for the scout?
I have made the request through my interface, said Nickelo. I have received an acknowledgement, but I have not received any data yet.
“We are going to wait here a few seconds,” Richard told the children. “Stay down low and catch your breaths. And for the Creator’s sake, stay close to me. Don’t go wandering off no matter what happens. Understood?”
Both the girl and boy nodded their heads as they sat down on the ground. The girl’s wheezing sounded louder to Richard, but she did not complain.
Richard went down on one knee as he visually scanned the area around them. He had switched his visor back to normal night vision when they had left the north gate. He had Nickelo cycle through several other filters in an attempt to pick up any trace of the Crosioian scout, but he detected no sign.
Nick, Richard said. Don’t get irritated with me, but I’m curious. Are all battle helmets corrupted by their wizard scouts, or are you the only one?
It’s just lucky me as far as I know, Nickelo said. I’m a one-of-a-kind prototype. And by the way, I’m starting to get video data from some of the tele-bots. Most of them were destroyed by the Crosioians’ electronic countermeasures. A lot of the others were destroyed during the strafing runs by our fighters. There’s only a few hundred left. I think the central computer is trying to move the surviving tele-bots to our vicinity.
Okay, Nick, just tell me wh–
Got her, Rick, said Nickelo excitedly. I’m feeding you the video now.
An area on Richard’s heads-up display showed a frontal shot of the Crosioian scout. She was kneeling down near some trees. Her rifle was half-raised to a firing position. She seemed to be concentrating on something to her front out of the tele-bot’s line of vision.
Are there any tele-bots behind her? Richard said. I want to know what she’s looking at. I think she’s already in the wood line.
I’m making the request through the interface, Rick.
After a short pause, the video feed changed. Richard assumed the new video was coming from a different tele-bot. This tele-bot appeared to be located a short distance behind the scout. He saw her outline against the backdrop of the burning mansion off in the distance. As he watched, she raised her rifle to a firing position. Instinctively, Richard followed the direction of the rifle’s barrel. Off in the distance he could make out someone kneeling by what appeared to be a burned-out truck of some kind.
Richard spun to his right and threw up his defensive shield. He held down the trigger of his M12 and fired blindly into the wood line ahead. A line of bright tracers came out of the wood line and made contact with his defensive shield. Richard felt his shield angle slightly as Nickelo adjusted it to more efficiently resist the energy of the plasma rounds. Most of the rounds ricocheted off into the air. A few were absorbed by the defensive shield.
Five seconds of Power remaining, said Nickelo.
Richard continued to hold down the trigger of the M12 as he adjusted his point of aim towards the origin of the incoming tracers. He fired a 20mm grenade from the lower barrel of the M12 as well.
Four seconds of Power remaining, said Nickelo.
Richard sensed a line of Power from the wood line intercept his link to his Power reserve.
She’s running an active scan on my Power link, Richard said.
He felt the line of Power probing around the link that connected him to his Power reserve. He wasn’t too concerned. During his mission the previous year, he’d been shown how an enemy could break his link to his Power reserve. Fortunately, he had also been trained how to protect his link by locating weak spots and putting traps on them. During the past year, Richard had spent a lot of his spare time and Power locating weak spots on his link and placing traps on them. He’d found he had an affinity for devising traps, and with his battle computer’s aid, Richard had gotten very proficient at placing traps on top of traps several layers deep. Given enough time, an experienced and patient magic user or enemy scout could work their way through his traps. But, it would be not be easy, and it would be very risky. Richard’s traps were of the deadly variety, and a foolish enemy could easily get killed or seriously injured.
The Crosioian scout was no fool. She must have spotted the traps and realized the danger. Richard sensed the line of Power withdrawing.
Three seconds of Power remaining, Nickelo said.
Richard was tempted to try an active probe of his own on the Crosioian scout’s link to her Power reserve. But he resisted the temptation. If she had enough knowledge and training to probe his link, she undoubtedly had enough knowledge and training to protect her own. And, he didn’t have the spare Power to find out for sure.
Do you have any recommendations, Nick? Richard asked but knowing the answer ahead of time.
Negative, Rick, said Nickelo. Just keep firing and hope for the best. I’ve requested an airstrike by the fighters on the wood line. But, they won’t be in a position to fire for another twenty-four seconds. You will run out of Power in two seconds. Then your defensive shield will fail.
Richard didn’t have to be told what would happen the
n. A steady line of tracer fire was beating a steady staccato on his defensive shield. He couldn’t even dodge or try to run. The two children were huddled against the legs of his battle suit holding on for dear life. If he dodged, the defensive shield would move as well, and the plasma rounds would hit the children.
Richard sensed another line of Power come from the Crosioian scout’s location. It slammed into his defensive shield. His shield bent inward. The scout’s Power twisted back and forth almost as if it were trying to drill its way through the shield. Richard felt a small portion of his defensive shield began to dissipate at the location of the drilling. Richard wasn’t sure why the Crosioian scout was even trying to get through his shield. It was going to fail soon anyway.
She’s probably not taking any chances, said Nickelo who must have been reading his thoughts. Your defensive shield will fail in one second.
Richard felt a tingling sensation throughout his entire body. The world around him seemed to shift in and out of focus.
You’re teleporting, said Nickelo.
A voice sounded in Richard’s head.
Help the children help her. Find what they need, said the voice. You have thirty days. We are, ‘the One’.
Then the world went black.
Chapter 5 – The Crosioian Scout
____________________________________
The Crosioian scout kept her rifle trained on the spot where the Empire’s wizard scout had disappeared with the two human children. She did not waste time considering the unfairness of the situation. The wizard scout had been on the verge of defeat. His defensive shield had been within seconds of collapse. She had almost finished drilling through his weakening shield. Although she had sensed his teleport when it began, it had been too quick and powerful for her to stop. She felt cheated of her rightful victory.
The Crosioian scout had been insulted when she was first assigned to this mission by the Master computer. Her skills were much too valuable to waste on a mere wizard scout cadet. But she had to admit, the enemy scout had caught her by surprise when he had appeared inside the compound. He’d overpowered the guards in the building before she could respond. In fact, he had overpowered them far too easily. Her superiors could say what they wanted, but this human was no cadet. She had fought and killed five wizard scouts over the years. None of them had given her as much trouble as this wizard scout. His stealth shield was even better than hers. Once she killed him, she would be honored to mount his head in a prominent place on her tribe’s victory wall.
While the Crosioian scout was perturbed by the wizard scout’s apparent escape, she was undeterred. Who knew what the Great One had in store? It could well be that the wizard scout had only momentarily teleported into another dimension. Or, perhaps the Great One had another plan in mind to allow the battle to continue. If she was patient, her enemy might return at any moment. Then she would show him the superiority of a true scout.
The Crosioian scout lowered her stealth shield to conserve Power. She kept the link to her Power reserve at the ready so she could attack the moment the scout reappeared, if he did so. He would not escape her the next time. Of that, she was confident.
The Crosioian scout waited. She would wait for a while. If the wizard scout did not reappear, then she would wait until the next time. She was good at waiting. She had no doubt they would meet again. It was destined.
The scout extracted the energy-pod from her rifle and placed it into the dimensional pouch attached to her right side. She closed the flap and imagined a fully-charged magazine. A small amount of Power disappeared from her reserve. The Power loss was inconsequential. She had a large reserve. The scout opened her pouch and pulled out a new energy-pod. She placed it into her rifle. The scout unhooked a short shaft of metal from her belt. With a thought, it changed shape and elongated into a spear with a glowing point of creallium alloy. All she had to do now was to wait for her enemy to reappear.
The Crosioian scout was perturbed. She had recognized the frequency of the teleport that had saved the wizard scout. It was the same one that occasionally took her on missions for the Master computer.
Why did he snatch victory from me this time? she wondered. What game is the Master computer playing? Is this wizard scout another of the pawns in the game played by the Master computer?
She did not know the answer. She did not really care. She only knew that one day, she and this wizard scout would meet again. Then the Master computer would have one less pawn to worry about. She only had to wait.
Chapter 6 – A Ball and Chain
____________________________________
Richard appeared in a large meadow covered with waist-high grass just as the Power in his primary reserve ran out. Both his stealth and defensive shields immediately dropped. Richard scanned the horizon nervously for any sign of his enemy or danger of any kind.
Nick, Richard said. I’m out of Power. Do an electronic scan. I’ve got to have information. I don’t even have enough Power to do a passive scan much less an active one.
Scanning now, Rick, said Nickelo. The immediate area is clear of any large creatures. That is, except for those two rug rats holding onto your legs. They were holding on when you teleported. I’d have thought they would still have been left behind, but here they are. The odds of them being accidentally teleported with you is only twelve percent. Teleports outside of a tele-pad have to be specifically tailored for a target. I find it interesting they are here. I’ll have to think about it and see if I can come up with a reason they were brought.
Yeah. You do that, Richard said distractedly. He was more concerned about the immediate danger. He didn’t have time to waste on theoretical problems.
In the meantime, Nick, see if you can put that nanosecond brain of yours to work figuring out where we are. It certainly doesn’t look like a time bubble like the last time that jerk teleported us. Do you think we are in a hologram?
Negative on the hologram, Rick, said Nickelo. As to our location, I have insufficient data at the present to be sure. However, I calculate a sixty-two percent chance we are somewhere in the magical plane. Where in the magical plane we are, I don’t know. Just give me a little time though, and I’ll figure it out. And, I’d appreciate it if you watched what you say about ‘the One’. The last time you irritated him, you got punished. As a consequence, we wound up doing an even harder mission. Besides, I think he saved our lives this time. That Crosioian scout had almost penetrated your defensive shield when ‘the One’ teleported you.
Richard didn’t like the direction the conversation was going. He especially didn’t like being controlled by some behind the scenes entity that got his kicks teleporting people into dangerous situations. And, he sure as heck wasn’t going to pretend to be grateful to ‘the One’ for doing it.
Richard felt a drop of Power build up in his Power reserve as his natural recharging took effect. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for his immediate need. Richard began a passive scan of the area. Fortunately, the Power requirement for a passive scan was miniscule. He breathed a sigh of relief when his passive scan confirmed his battle computer’s electronic scan. He could detect nothing dangerous in the area. He was especially grateful there was no telltale blue dot on his heads-up display. At least the scout hadn’t been dragged along with him.
A fit of coughing drew his attention. The boy and girl were sitting wide-eyed on the ground. They were no longer holding onto his legs, but they were sticking close nevertheless. Neither of the children had said a word thus far. Richard wasn’t looking forward to carrying on a conversation with two scared little kids, so he kept silent as well.
Rick, said Nickelo. You better rearm. You only have thirty-seven rounds left in your M12. Once that is completed, I’d suggest we get out of this clearing and into those woods. I don’t know about you, but I feel vulnerable out in the open.
Roger that, Richard said as he bent down on one knee and began rearming. At present, he didn’t have enough Power to charge his dimension
al pack, so he used the extra ammo the special operations soldier had given him. After replacing the M12’s isotopic battery, he put in a fresh 20mm grenade to replace the one he had fired. Once he was finished, he felt more secure.
The countryside was illuminated by a bright, noonday sun. Everything had a red tint due to the battle suit’s visor, but Richard was used to that. He surveyed the area around him. The majority of the land appeared to be gently rolling, grass-covered hills on three sides. To his front was a wood line about a kilometer away. Richard decided his battle computer’s recommendation was probably the best course of action. The woods should provide at least a temporary safe haven. Some of the trees looked to be a good fifty meters in height. It wasn’t just a patch of trees. It was a full-fledged forest.
Another fit of coughing drew Richard’s attention. The girl was just removing her hand from her mouth. Richard saw flecks of liquid on her hand. A glance at the specs on his heads-up display confirmed it was blood.
“Dren,” said the little boy in a shaky voice. “You’re bleeding.”
“Great,” Richard said aloud. “That’s all we need.”
Your bedside manners are atrocious, said Nickelo. Have you even heard of the word compassion?
You’re a computer, Richard said. I don’t think you’re in a position to judge my emotional responses. I’m as compassionate as the next guy.
You know, Rick, I like you, said Nickelo, but sometimes you’re about as compassionate as a rock. They’re just children. Try to remember that when you’re talking to them.
Addressing the girl, Richard said, “I don’t suppose you can make it to that wood line. We could be there in fifteen or twenty minutes if we walk quickly.”
“I’ll try,” said the little girl as she began coughing again.
“You leave my sister alone, you big bully,” said the little boy as he glared at Richard. “I don’t think I like you. You’re mean.”
Wizard Cadet (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 2) Page 7