Primeval Origins: Light of Honor (Book 2 in the Primeval Origins Epic Saga)

by Brett Vonsik

  Rogaan grabbed the doctor, impatiently pulling him away from the safe. The dark blue metal guard on Rogaan’s right arm flowed over his hand, then projected a short blade from his knuckles. In a quick motion, Rogaan hammered his fist into the floor just to the right of the display with a resonating clang. The floor buckled slightly under his fist. Rogaan remained still for a moment, then started to pull at the floor. He braced his left foot over the now unusable keypad, crouched again while grabbing his fisted gauntlet with his left hand and then with a strain, peeled the door of the safe back in a screech of protesting metal. Rogaan indifferently discarded the door in the direction of Nikki, causing her to sidestep the twisted hunk of metal. Anders, now on his unsteady feet, grabbed at Nikki’s shoulders for support as he maneuvered around the discarded door, forcing Nikki around Rogaan, close to the ripped open side door. At first, Nikki was irritated at Anders’s presumptive touch, then softened her emotions after looking at him with his “a little green around his gill” appearance.

  Looking back at Rogaan, she found him rummaging through the safe’s contents . . . sheathed dark daggers, a sheathed blue sword that look oddly familiar, a red and black leathery hide carry case almost the length of her arm and as thick as Rogaan’s, and a leathery brown belt with attached pouches of what she knew not. Rogaan stopped his searching when he placed his hands on a small black metallic box. He carefully opened it, revealing a set of different colored gemstones carefully placed in a foam inset. Rogaan selected a black gemstone, removing it from its box before closing it. He immediately made his way to his unconscious friend and placed the gemstone high on Aren’s chest near his throat while speaking in his native tongue, “Kalag ga dusa. Negeltu ma erim we.”

  “Mend, my friend. Awake and join me.” That was what Nikki heard Rogaan say to his friend before Aren’s limp body twitched and shook as the air around the black gemstone became wavy, as if looking at heat rising from a hot road in the middle of the day. Rogaan inspected Aren’s wounds after tearing open the red-soaked spots of the biosensor robe. The wounds were from ricocheting projectiles from the Tyr Soldier, Nikki realized. Rogaan nodded as if satisfied, then returned his attention to Aren’s bio-monitor. Aren’s vitals and EEG looked erratic on his bio-monitor, but no long worsened. After a minute, his vitals stabilized. Rogaan appeared satisfied as Nikki breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t realized how attached she felt to Aren too, until now. She wondered at the strong bond between them . . . her, Rogaan, and Aren. Why is it? How did it happen?

  A whistle of darts passing her head caught Nikki by surprise, making her involuntarily jump. The darts found Rogaan’s ribs and the electrical current flowing over the TASER’s wireless link now caused his body to quiver and legs shake. Aware of Rogaan’s pain, Nikki stepped toward Rogaan with the intent to help before thinking that the current harming him would also hurt her. She turned to find the source to try stopping it there. Nikki sucked her breath in at what confronted her. In front of her stood another Tyr Soldier. This one bigger than the last.

  Nikki suddenly felt sick . . . anxious . . . unsteady on her feet . . . unsafe. Her breathing became labored . . . restricted, and she was getting light-headed. Confused about what to do, she turned back to Rogaan hoping for answers . . . for him to help her. Instead, despair filled her. Rogaan still stood, but struggled to do so. His muscles convulsed from the TASERing, and it appeared he had little command of his body. It was taking everything for him to stay upright. The bio-monitor behind and above Rogaan displayed crazy readings. At the top of the monitor, a red warning banner flashed in synchronization with an irritating beeping. It read what Nikki thought were the elements of electrical current—0.2 amps and 2,000 volts at 19 pulses per second. Then, the warning banner began flashing quicker as did the beeping while the numbers drastically climbed—0.3 amps and 102,000 volts at 19 pps. Rogaan groaned through gritted teeth as he collapsed to one knee and both hands on the floor, still trying to hold himself up. He fought. She was aware of his pain now . . . It stung her, making her legs wobbly. Nikki wondered at Rogaan’s strength of will . . . his defiance against challenges. The warning banner changed—the electrical current fell to 2,000 volts, then climbed again to a sustained 3,000 volts. What was the Tyr Soldier doing to him? Nikki wanted to know so she could stop it. Her awareness of his pain felt excruciating and made her light-headed, feel about to pass out. A growl from Rogaan drew her attention from herself. Still down on his left knee, but holding onto the Aren’s bed to keep from completely collapsing, Rogaan fought through his pain and unresponsive muscles, took hold of the darts with his left hand, and yanked them from his side. The red flashing warning banner on Rogaan’s bio-monitor disappeared, along with that irritating beeping. Relief washed over Nikki as pain fell away. She no longer felt as sick as she did a few moments before.

  In a quick move, Rogaan threw the darts back at the Tyr Soldier, both whistling by Nikki’s head making her flinch and duck. Nikki looked back at the dark-clad U.N. soldier to see if the TASER darts had struck him. One dart found the wall behind the Tyr Soldier. The other was embedded in the upper area of his left chest . . . between chest and shoulder plates. Nothing. The Tyr Soldier appeared unaffected by the dart.

  Raw emotions hit Nikki, staggering her. Not knowing what happened to her, she turned to Rogaan, suspecting and fearful somehow she was feeling what he was experiencing. What she saw scared her. Rogaan filled with rage as he stood up to face the Tyr Soldier. Nikki could feel it . . . see it . . . It was in his eyes and on his face and in the way he moved . . . He intended to kill and make a mess of it.

  Suddenly, a dark-armored arm crossed over Nikki’s left shoulder and chest taking her attention from Rogaan. She felt herself being pulled backward until she became painfully pinned to a hard surface. She was stuck against the body of the Tyr Soldier. His strength was incredible and hurting Nikki such that she yelped.

  “Let her go!” Demanded Anders who stood on shaky legs at the opposite side of the room. The brief hope his demand gave Nikki faded away when she realized Anders was in no condition to help her and that Doctor Dunkle was nowhere to be seen.

  In a jerking motion, the Tyr Soldier hauled Nikki back through the peeled away door and onto the main deck’s outer walkway. In desperation, Nikki struck repeatedly at the armored arm with her fists, then tried to kick and stomp his armored feet . . . She did her best trying to break free. Nothing. It was as if the Tyr Soldier didn’t even notice her struggles. Backward she went, dragged toward the aft deck where the helipad loomed over the walkway. Nikki hoped for Rogaan to rescue her, but he was not to be seen. He did not follow and now, she no longer felt his emotions. A surge of panic welled up within her. Where is he taking me? What is he going to do to me? The Tyr Soldier stopped just short of the helipad overhang. Moments passed. Nothing happened except for the whining noise of those invisible UCAVs passing overhead, sporadic gunfire, and the occasional voices of men in pain or fearful for their lives. Worry started blending with panic, gripping Nikki so hard she had trouble getting a breath as she again struggled against her captor. This time the U.N. soldier squeezed her in a crushing grip until she settled down. When the pressure lessened on her chest, she sucked in a gulp of air that reduced the flashing lights now filling her sight. A few more gulps of air and some blinking cleared her vision. When she looked up she saw the ship’s island superstructure housing the bridge, the medical bay, and other vital functions for the first time since the attack. She noticed the array was damaged in several places on the deck above and above that as if struck by an explosion . . . a missile or something like it. The flat superstructure between the island superstructure and the helipad housing what Nikki now understood to be cargo and weapons bore scorched marks and some holes. Otherwise, it was intact with all of the access door on this deck sealed. An exterior set of ladder hand- and footholds mounted to the superstructure was just to her . . . their left. A duplicate set was at the other end of the open air superstr
ucture some twenty meters forward of them. A glance to her right showed her the ocean had settled some from the last time she saw it. Nikki realized the ship slowed and was now almost at a stop.

  A sinking feeling in the pit of her gut gave her shivers all over. Nobody was going to rescue her. She plunged into a chasm of despair that sent tears streaming down her cheeks. Then, Nikki felt it . . . determination. No longer the anger, the rage, or hatred. Simple determination guided by controlled intent. She looked up and found Rogaan striding confidently toward them on the deck’s outer walkway. In his left hand, he carried his bow. His blue metallic bow. Still dressed in the white biosensor tunic, he now wore a wide strap over his shoulder and chest with a dark sheathed dagger attached to it . . . likely his shunir’ra case. A leathery wrapped handle and blue metal pommel were visible just over his right shoulder . . . Nikki suspected it was his sword from the safe. She felt a ray of hope rise inside of her. She smiled just before she felt herself lowered, fast, like she was falling, then vaulted upward. The painful grip of the Tyr Soldier never leaving her even as they landed, standing upright, on top of the superstructure just forward of the helipad. She feared her captor was not going to let her living body go. Before them were two parallel marked walkways going forward in between three elongated hatches now opened. The center one had three rows of vertical tubes . . . twenty-one in all, most were sealed, with six having scorch marks and broken seals. The two hatches open on either side of the center one had mangled machinery mounted on rotating turrets. Must have been the mini-railguns the crew was so proud of. The guns stood destroyed. Fifteen and some meters forward, a large horizontal cargo hatch was in its up and sealed position. Beyond, the damaged superstructure with its twisted and burnt array and walls gave testament to the lethality of their attackers. A wave of fear swept through Nikki. For the first time she considered they would not win this battle. The events of the evening started to sink into her thoughts. UCAVs, Tyr Soldiers, and a mother ship . . . a U.N. frigate, likely with bigger guns and an attitude, all hell-bent on stopping them. It was overwhelming. Frightening.

  Rogaan landed on top of the Spartan outfitted superstructure just forward of the cargo door. He moved quickly. Nikki didn’t see him until he jumped from the ladder holds. Rogaan immediately settled into that casual fighting stance he demonstrated in the medical bay. Confident or cocky . . . Nikki wasn’t certain which. Truthfully, she didn’t care. She felt better with him standing in front of them with his attention focused in her direction. Her fear faded, replaced with a renewed hope.

  “Wussuru inaa seher,” Rogaan demanded in Antaalin, firm and confident.

  “Not understanding,” the Tyr Soldier replied in that eerie synthesized voice.

  “He said . . . release the youngling—me, you idiot,” Nikki translated before she thought about what she was saying. A nervous pause filled the dusk air atop the superstructure of the Wind Runner. Nikki didn’t intend to insult her captor . . . It just slipped out.

  Rogaan spoke in English, slowly. “Release the youngling . . . immediately.”

  “Now, I hear you,” the Tyr Soldier mocked Rogaan. “Won’t comply. Drop your weapons and surrender or suffer justice.”

  “Justice is birthright not suffered,” Rogaan instructed in English after a moment of thinking the translation. “Suffering is from the unjust, the unclean.”

  A mix of emotions swirled in Nikki. She was having trouble knowing which were hers and which were Rogaan’s thoughts. How is this possible, anyway? Movement high above caught Nikki’s eye. Another Tyr Soldier, with arms raised and hands balled into fists, leapt from the quarterdeck three levels up and looked to be dropping right on top of Rogaan. Nikki opened her mouth to warn Rogaan of the danger, but he seemed to sense it. He knows. Just before the Tyr Soldier landed on him, Rogaan stepped forward slightly while raising a fully gauntleted blue metallic fist straight up. The gauntleted fist and the chin of the Tyr Soldier met with an audible clang and thud, sending the dark-armored soldier sprawling on his back into the superstructure behind Rogaan, unmoving. Nikki looked on surprised and shocked at Rogaan’s action and of the ease with which he did it.

  A moment passed with Nikki holding her mouth slack-jaw open before she felt the tightening hold of the Tyr Soldier close behind her. Something bad was about to happen, and she feared it was going to doom her. In a blur, Rogaan raised his bow, aiming it at Nikki, and drew without an arrow. Nikki barely had the time to flinch when she heard, and felt, the passing of something just above her head. The sensation of an electrical charge causing her hair to stand on end immediately followed. The hold of the Tyr Soldier lessened, then fell away just before she heard a clunk behind her. What just happened? She asked herself as she cautiously turned to look at her captor. He lay on his back, also unmoving, with blood pooling under his helmet. He’s dead, she realized. She stared at the body for an unknown amount of time, then looked at Rogaan. He approached her with a confident stride. As he did, he lifted his right hand head high as something that looked like a rotating metal disk flew directly into his gauntlet where it disappeared . . . absorbed, if Nikki’s eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

  “Za silim?” Rogaan asked her in Antaalin.

  “I think so . . . I’m unharmed.” Nikki answered, still not certain what all just happened. “Are they . . . dead?”

  “Anna,” Rogaan confirmed her suspicion, still in Antaalin. Then, Rogaan spoke more slowly in English. “You have obligation to tell me of these attackers and why . . .”

  Rogaan’s words trailed off as he looked east into the darkening sky above an almost undiscernible ocean. He stared into the distance without speaking. A worried expression fell upon him while searching the darkness.

  “What is it?” Nikki asked as the ship rolled mildly on the ocean. They were at a full stop, drifting on a now almost calmed water. The whining hum of a UCAV passed somewhere overhead, causing Nikki to look up, but she could not see it despite it sounding close.

  “Danger unknown to me,” Rogaan answered Nikki while keeping his eyes set on the dark horizon.

  Nikki followed Rogaan’s gaze looking out into the darkening void. A flash, just at the edge of her ability to see it, off in the distance, just at what Nikki could make out as the ocean’s horizon. Rogaan stiffened. He looked left and right so fast, Nikki thought she imaged it. Then, without warning, Rogaan grabbed Nikki and threw her forward toward the ship’s island superstructure. She felt herself lofted in the air above the ship’s deck as the world moved in slow motion. Frightened and confused, she kept her eyes on Rogaan wondering why he threw her. A dim glowing reddish light trailing something unseen streaked left to right, passing through the superstructure underneath where Rogaan stood looking up at her. The rear of the ship exploded under Rogaan in a ball of fire and shrapnel, sending him tumbling skyward. A hot wall of pressure struck Nikki hard, propelling her faster though the air until she hit something, plunging her into darkness.

  Chapter 1

  Dangerous Trails

  The sun sank slowly toward the tall treetops sitting on the high ridges behind their fast-moving line of sarigs. The afternoon temperatures remained comfortable as it had the past few days, made so by the cool breeze from the north coming off the Spine Mountains. Rogaan still sat behind Ruumoor on their shared sarig, trotting to keep their place in line with the rest of their companions. Kardul kept true to his word, pushing them and their steeds all through the afternoon without rest except for moments when he allowed them all to slow or stop for someone to relieve themselves, usually Suhd, or to ensure his direction was true and to cautiously avoid a growing number of tanniyn herds and predator packs. Longwalkers mostly blocked their way and threatened to trample them. The huge animals, with uncurious natures, but very protective of their young, gave Rogaan a new sense of what large was. Surprisingly, the immense beasts appeared out of nowhere without the slightest hint of song or a trembling of the ground. They gave n
o warning they were near. Rogaan found this amazing. When their group came upon the longnecks gobbling up the forest, the Kiuri’Ner leading them instantly decided a course of action, navigating everyone around the massive animals skirting the edge of the herd, keeping an eye on the dominate bull who gave them chase until they were downwind and clear of the herd. The heavy rank odor of the herd’s dung hung with them for a time as they quickly covered ground through the remainder of the afternoon. Flying biters and bloodsuckers proved to be worse than tanniyns in making their travels uncomfortable, even painful. Rogaan welcomed the offer of those purpled flowers the Sharurs somehow found along the way. He crushed the flowers in his hands, then rubbed the pungent-smelling remains on his exposed skin. The flowers really kept the biters and bloodsuckers away. Rogaan thanked the Ancients for the invention. With the buzzing and biting reduced and at a distance, Rogaan found himself getting more comfortable riding his sarig instead of simply hanging on and hoping not to fall off.

  Rolling hills gave way to flatter lands allowing easier going for a time as the forest grew increasingly difficult to travel except for established game trails made by tanniyn, which Kardul was forced into using. The forest was too dense for fast travel, and they had to get ahead of the jailers’ wagons. Rogaan learned enough over the last few days that fresh game trails meant danger, and the larger the game trail the greater the danger, whether from bite or foot or tail. And, it seemed the buzz of biters and bloodsuckers formed dense clouds wherever fresh dung lay in piles. Thankfully, the purple flower salve with its pungent smell, refreshed by the companions several times so far this day, kept the buzzing clouds at bay. At some point in the afternoon, Rogaan no longer wrinkled his nose at the odor and forgot he wore the salve until another cloud of pain attempted to descend on him. Then, he thanked the Ancients and the last Sharur who had given him more of the flowers.