Never mind, Richard said disgustedly. Just forget it.
Complying, said the battle computer. Algorithms and solutions have been successfully deleted from my memory banks.
I really miss Nickelo, Richard thought as he shook his head.
* * *
Just before mealtime on the fourteenth day of his confinement, Sheba emerged out of the floor. She took up her normal position by the wall and barked a command to pay attention.
Richard sat on the floor and watched Sheba as she slowly wrapped herself in Power. She walked into the wall and then returned emerging from the floor. She looked at Richard and gave a bark. Richard wrapped himself in Power. Sheba walked around him barking commands and releasing emotions he did not understand. He sensed her frustration. It didn’t help his confidence any. Finally, Richard made his Power shimmer in an attempt to emulate Sheba’s flow of Power. He rushed the cave wall as fast as his battle suit’s legs would carry him.
Richard ran head first into the stone wall. Instead of penetrating into the wall, he felt the shock of collision. He bounced back all the way to the back wall. Even with the battle suit’s protection, Richard was still shaken up. He fell to his knees.
Once Richard’s head cleared, he raised his visor and met Sheba’s gaze. She watched him for a few seconds before turning and walking into the wall. Richard had the distinct feeling she was disappointed in him. Richard monitored her route to the surface. She joined her mate and young on the surface.
For the next two days, Richard monitored Sheba’s brood and the dolgars from the other packs with his scans and video images from the tele-bots. The pack remained within a few hundred meters of the cave. When they were not training, the young dolgars played with the dolgar pups from the other packs. There were several dozen of them. The young dolgars often played what Richard came to think of as a game of tag. One pup would nip another in a sensitive area and then take off running with their victim in pursuit. As they ran, they would shift dimensions and run in and out of boulders, the ground, and even rivers of lava. He noticed they rarely stayed shifted for more than a few seconds. Unlike their parents, the pups seemed unable to hold a dimensional shift for long. Their parents seemed to approve of the game. As time steadily advanced, Richard noticed the pups became adept at holding their dimensional shifts for longer periods of time.
I guess practice does make perfect, he mused.
* * *
On the sixteenth day of his confinement, Richard sensed Sheeta’s lifeform approaching from below. That in itself was not unusual, but this time the big dolgar was heading right for him, and he was coming fast. The dolgar was not slowing down.
Richard moved to the center of the cave and waited. He sensed Sheeta move into a position just below his right foot. Suddenly, the dolgar’s open mouth emerged from the stone floor and clamped around Richard’s right ankle. Richard felt intense pain as the dolgar’s finger-length fangs penetrated the battle suit’s armor and bit into his flesh. The jaws met and Richard’s ankle bone snapped. A white flash of pain exploded in Richard’s head. He felt part of his life force being sucked out by the dolgar. The pain of the bite and the removal of life force hurt beyond anything Richard had previously experienced.
Richard felt his cells shift and vibrate. He was somehow still in the current dimension, but yet he was not. Richard realized he was in the void between dimensions. It was the same technique the adult dolgars used to bring prey to their young. When they sucked the life force out of a creature, they used its energy to do a dimensional shift into the surrounding void. Once the creature was sucked dry of life, they dragged its lifeless hulk deep into the stone floor and released their grip. After they did so, the lifeless victim would rematerialize and merge with the stone below. His scans had detected a lot of previous victims embedded in the stone below him.
Richard felt himself being pulled into the floor. He had long since stopped carrying his M63, but he pulled out his .44 caliber AutoMag and shot several times at the floor. The rounds hit the floor and bounced off. They ricocheted around the cave. One of the heavy bullets passed right through Richard, but it did no harm. He was no longer fully in this dimension. He was in the void between dimensions as was the dolgar.
Richard struggled as he felt himself being dragged slowly into the stone floor. He tried to brace his other foot on the floor, but it just disappeared into the stone as well. Richard felt the big dolgar continue to suck his life force.
The bastard’s using my own life force to pull me underground, Richard thought.
Richard flailed around as he began to panic. There was nothing to hold onto.
Battle computer, Richard said desperately, provide suggestions.
A series of images flooded Richard’s mind as meaningless numbers flashed across the heads-up display. He grabbed onto one suggestion after another and immediately discarded them. Sheeta continued to pull him ever so slowly into the stone floor. Richard did not know why the dolgar was taking his sweet time killing him, but it did not matter. Once the dolgar had him completely in the ground, Richard had no doubt the dolgar would release his grip. When the big dolgar did, his death would be certain. Richard did not think it would be a pleasant death.
As Richard’s waist passed into the stone floor, he latched onto one of the suggestions presented by his battle computer. He wrapped himself in Power.
Maybe I can’t physically pull myself out of the ground, he thought, but I have other ways of moving.
Richard jerked himself upward using telekinesis. Sheeta was apparently caught by surprise. The upper half of the dolgar’s body was pulled out of the ground as Richard’s momentum pulled his armored legs completely free of the stone. Without thinking, Richard fired two more rounds from his AutoMag at the dolgar. The rounds passed harmlessly through the dolgar. Both he and Richard were still in the void. Grabbing his phase rod with his left hand, Richard activated it in destructive mode as he swung at Sheeta’s head. The dolgar gave a cry of pain as the phase rod left a bloody mark across his snout and right eye. The force of the blow smashed Sheeta’s eye in a shower of black blood. The dolgar released its grip on Richard’s ankle.
When the dolgar broke contact with his ankle, Richard materialized back into the cave. He fell heavily to the floor. Richard was back up in a flash. His right ankle was broken, but the rigidity and strength of the battle suit kept him standing. The pain hurt, but Richard’s fear of being pulled back into the ground by the dolgar kept the pain at bay. Richard sensed the dolgar move through the stone outward and upward to a point just beyond where Sheba had trained the pups. The deep gouges in the wall marked the point of Richard’s defense. Sheeta was just on the other side gathering his strength.
Battle computer, Richard said. Why did my phase rod hurt the male dolgar?
The core of your phase rod is creallium, said his battle computer. Creallium exists in the void as well as the current dimension. The rod’s phase energy is created by the creallium, thus it exists in the void as well.
Another lifeform emerged from the stone floor between Richard and the wall. Richard almost fired, but he held back when he saw it was Sheba. She interposed herself in front of Richard shielding him from her mate. Sheba growled viciously. Complex emotions emanated from her warning Sheeta to stay back. Richard kept his phase rod facing to the front. He stayed ready to support Sheba if her mate attacked again. The subatomic explosions from the creallium core of the phase rod had been effective against the shifted dolgar when it was in the void. Richard felt better. He had a means of defending himself, and he now had an ally in the adult female.
Sheba and Sheeta exchanged emotions. Richard only made out the words ‘why’ and ‘mine’ from Sheba. He was unable to interpret any of Sheeta’s reply. After a few seconds, Sheba straightened from her defensive couch. She moved to the side of the cave and meekly sat down.
Sheeta emerged from the point in the wall with all the gouges. The dolgar’s face was a mess. The phase rod had done a number on Sh
eeta’s eye. Where once had been a vicious, fiery-red eye, Richard now saw an oozing mass of goo. Richard sensed extreme pain from the dolgar, but Richard did not see any reflection of the pain on the dolgar’s expression.
When Sheba saw her mate’s eye, she released an emotion of concern. She started forward.
Sheeta barked a command that Richard understood. He said, “No!”
Sheba returned to her sitting position.
Richard and Sheeta stared at each other for several seconds. The only noise in the cave was the light-crackling noise of the small arcs of energy moving up and down the phase rod.
Sheeta broke the impasse by saying, “Watch.”
The male dolgar dropped his dimensional shift and materialized completely into the cave. Richard was tempted to fire his last remaining round in the AutoMag at the dolgar, but he held off. His instinct told him something important was occurring.
Sheeta raised his right paw and wrapped it in Power. The Power shimmered. Richard wasn’t sure whether the big dolgar was pulling a trick or not. He kept his guard up and tried to stay ready for anything. Sheeta continued holding his paw for Richard to see.
Sheeta said, “Look.”
Richard looked at Sheeta’s paw. It suddenly came to him that the male dolgar’s Power was shimmering differently than when Sheba had done it during training. Richard lowered his phase rod ever so slightly.
What’s different with the dolgar’s Power? Richard wondered.
Are you requesting an answer from me, wizard scout? said his battle computer
Yes, Richard said using command voice.
The female dolgar’s Power was attuned for shifting into another dimension. The male dolgar’s Power is attuned for shifting into the void between dimensions.
With a start, Richard realized his battle computer was correct. Sheeta was not trying to shift to another dimension. He was only trying to shift into the void between.
Monitor the dolgar’s Power fluctuations, Richard commanded. Access the tele-network if you have need and feed me the specs required to modify my Power in a similar fashion.
Complying, said the battle computer.
Sheeta moved his paw towards the stone wall. It completely disappeared into the gouged portion of the wall. Sheeta pulled his paw back out and dropped his Power. He immediately shifted fully back into the cave. Sheeta then moved to the side of the cave and sat down.
Looking at Richard, the big dolgar said, “Try.”
Keeping his eyes on Sheeta the whole time, Richard cautiously hobbled over to the gouged spot on the cave wall. He kept his phase rod at the ready, but he holstered his AutoMag. Using the battle computer’s specs, Richard wrapped Power around his right hand, glove and all. He modified his Power accordingly and pressed his hand against the wall. Nothing happened.
Pulling his hand back, Richard imagined how it had felt when Sheeta was pulling him into the cave’s floor. He applied the feeling to the Power surrounding his hand. The Power shimmered on its own. Richard pressed his hand against the wall. He felt nothing. His hand disappeared into the wall as well as half his forearm.
Alert, warned his battle computer. Power is draining at ten percent a second. You are at eighty percent; seventy percent; sixty percent…
Richard pulled his hand back out and dropped his Power.
Give me a Power reading, Richard said.
Your Power reserve is at fifty-four percent, wizard scout.
Compute the probability I could dimensional shift my whole body and make it to the surface.
Zero percent probability, wizard scout.
Why so low? Richard said disappointed.
Once completely in the stone, you would not be able to use your limbs for movement, wizard scout. You would need to rely on your telekinesis. You would also lose visual inputs. When applying learning curves to algorithm variables, the anticipated probability of success is zero.
Richard could not dispute his battle computer’s calculations. His Power supply had drained faster than he would have imagined. He had no desire to run out of Power halfway to the surface.
Sheba sent out a questioning emotion. It was directed at Sheeta. The big dolgar responded with a cough Richard associated with acquiescence. Sheba moved next to her mate and began licking his face and eye. Richard sensed an exchange of Power. As he watched, Sheeta’s eye solidified and resumed its normal appearance. Before long, the big dolgar looked normal again.
Sheeta glared at Richard with both of his fiery-red eyes. He gave a low bark and sent an emotion at Richard which he took to mean, “Practice.” Then Sheeta did a dimensional shift and walked into the stone wall with nary a look back. Richard monitored the dolgar’s route back to the surface where he joined his pups.
Sheba barked. The female dolgar looked at Richard and sent an emotion of caution. Richard was confused until he realized she was staring at his phase rod. Richard deactivated it. He reattached his phase rod to the left side of his utility belt.
Sheba walked over to Richard and lowered her head. She did a partial dimensional shift as she licked his right boot. Richard felt her rough tongue run across his ankle. He experienced near instantaneous relief. Sheba stepped back and dropped her dimensional shift.
Richard had a strange feeling she wanted him to remove his battle helmet. He did so. Sheba moved her head forward and gave him a lick on the cheek.
“Good,” she said. “Practice.”
Then she did a dimensional shift and joined her family on the surface.
Chapter 27 – Invasion
____________________________________
Two more days passed. Richard practiced dimensional shifts every day. It was boring beyond belief. However, Richard’s efficiency slowly improved.
Richard still did not trust himself to fully immerse his body in the stone. Somehow, the thought of not being able to see his surroundings frightened him. He was more than a little claustrophobic, which seemed strange even to him since a wizard scout was normally locked inside his battle suit. Even so, Richard didn’t mind admitting he was more than a little frightened of being embedded in the stone. He didn’t think that was being cowardly. An old marine first sergeant once told him any soldier who said he was never afraid was not being brave. He was just being stupid.
I’ve still got time to do a dimensional shift of my whole body into the void, Richard told himself more than once. I’ll get there. I just need to practice more and increase the amount of time I can stay shifted. Then, I’ll have a safety buffer.
Richard was not dissatisfied with the results of his practice sessions. He’d nearly tripled his efficiency. Even when expending Power to move around the cave using his telekinesis, Richard was able to hold his dimensional shift for a full twenty-eight seconds. Upon questioning, his battle computer had confirmed twenty-eight seconds was plenty of time to reach the surface. However, Richard convinced himself he needed to continue practicing until he could hold a dimensional shift for at least a minute in case things went wrong. He’d discovered long ago things almost always went wrong.
* * *
That afternoon, Richard was preparing for another practice session. Out of nowhere, he felt an emotion of alarm sweep through the dolgars’ encampment. The wave of emotions swept from one end of the dolgars’ encampment to the other.
What the heck is going on now? Richard said. Battle computer, analyze the video feeds and my passive scan. Supplement them with your electronics and find out what’s got the dolgars spooked.
Compliance, wizard scout, said his battle computer. Additional lifeforms are appearing near the lava river. The male dolgars appear to be moving to intercept.
Richard glanced at his heads-up display. Hundreds of dots were appearing near the lava river. Dozens of other dots displaying frequencies he associated with dolgars were moving from the center of their camp towards the newcomers.
Highlight the new lifeforms in yellow, Richard said. And give me a count.
Most of the dots near the riv
er turned yellow. Several white dots already by the river were overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the yellow dots. When the yellow dots moved on, the white dots were no longer there. Richard noted the position on the heads-up display.
Send me the video feed of that location, Richard said.
An overhead view from one of the tele-bots appeared on the heads-up display. Richard saw several black bodies lying on the ground. Their limbs were at strange angles, and they were not moving. A score or more of brownish, four-legged creatures were running away from the bodies in the direction of the dolgars’ main camp.
Count is one thousand six hundred and forty-two yellows, said his battle computer. Counting you, there are four hundred and twenty-two whites. Adult male dolgars number one hundred and two of the total. The remainder is adult females and their young.
Richard didn’t know exactly what was occurring, but he’d been in the military long enough to recognize a surprise attack when he saw one.
Pinpoint Sheba, Sheeta, and the pups, Richard said. Plot them in green.
Request completed, wizard scout.
Richard noted Sheba and ten of her pups moving away from the dolgar camp in the opposite direction from the lava river. Sheeta appeared to be leading a counterattack of fifty or so dolgars against the main body of attackers.
Where are the other two pups? Richard said.
The heads-up display zoomed in on an area about five hundred meters from Richard. Two green dots were making their way back towards camp. Unfortunately, a group of two score yellow dots were moving to cut them off. Richard didn’t need his battle computer to calculate the pups’ chances of survival. They were nil.
Richard wrapped himself in Power and did a dimensional shift into the void. He ran straight at the wall. His momentum carried him forward a few meters. Everything went black the moment he entered the stone. Using his active scan, Richard located the surface. He levitated himself upward at an angle with his telekinesis. As he climbed, Richard heard his battle computer counting off his Power consumption.
Wizard Cadet (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 2) Page 31