by James Somers
The trail of the Horva army led Orin many miles to the north. It was now dark, and he saw lights in the distance. The tracks of the Horva army led to a heavily fortified compound in the distance. The facility was a massive rectangular building towering one hundred feet above the ground.
As Orin drew nearer, he saw a forcefield barrier surrounding the compound approximately three hundred feet outside the main building’s perimeter. Intermediate, one-hundred-foot-high pylons, placed every three hundred feet in the field, acted as connecting points. The shield looked tough.
Fortunately, he had no intention of carrying out a full-on assault. He would be like a virus-a silent but deadly invader no one ever sees coming. Orin approached the barrier with caution. The darkness shielded him from natural eyes while the Barudii cloak kept him invisible to their technology.
Atop each pylon was a guard station with a single soldier manning it. Orin felt for the guard with his mind. He sensed the man’s body up in the tower, as though his eyes were fixed upon him, as though his hands touched the flesh. Orin increased mental pressure upon the vessels leading to the man’s brain, slowly and steadily, until the guard collapsed unconscious. Then Orin catapulted his own body over the height of the pylon and soft landed on the other side.
Orin ran across the span of the courtyard toward an area of the structure which lay in shadow. Searchlights moved across different areas and he was careful not to be caught in them, or to allow his shadow to be cast by any ambient lighting. He reached a wall and noticed it was made of a synthetic stone material-completely smooth and difficult to climb.
Orin sought out guards on the roof with his mind. Finding none, he leaped up and came to perch on the edge of the roof. The roof of the complex was a maze of ventilation system outlets as well as large computer-controlled laser turrets. He began to walk across the roof cautiously. The cloak seemed to shield him. None of the computer-controlled guns turned to fire on him.
The ventilation system was the easiest way for him to gain access to most points in the building without coming into direct contact with the enemy. As Orin approached one of the large vent housings, he heard the deep roar of the system working to supply fresh air to those within. He pulled out a spicor disc to get through the heavy gauge wire covering the vent, and then decided against igniting an energy weapon in the presence of the sensor-controlled guns.
Instead, Orin carved a hole with his blade then crawled inside. Once inside, he began a controlled descent until coming to a horizontal tunnel. Orin entered it and slid along as quietly as possible, knowing any noise he made would be amplified by the tunnel. In turn, he also heard many voices filtering through the system as it collected the activities of the complex and amplified them all. Orin knew he had a long meticulous search ahead of him. He only hoped he might be able to sense Tiet if he got close enough.
General Grod passed through the automatic doorway and into the control chamber. Inside, various computer terminals monitored the happenings in the chamber below them. On the far side of the room was a large row of viewing windows looking into the huge dome. Grod sat in his command chair and waited.
“General, we have him in position.”
“Is he awake yet?”
“The suspension field is active. Subject is conscious. Our warriors are in place. Battle droids are in place and activated. The teragore is in place in the outer dome. All successive inner domes are secured,” reported the technician.
Grod held a great interest in what was about to happen. He wanted to know the abilities as well as limitations of this Barudii warrior. The Barudii mental power had once been an integral part of his plan for conquest of the Vorn race and this planet. Another opportunity to utilize that power had been lost. But now he had a second chance and he wanted to see what his prize could do.
“Release the Barudii.”
SPORT
Tiet had not realized he was unconscious until he awoke. His environment was different now. No longer did he see a laboratory setting as before. He and the mechanism which held him suspended inside its energy field were now centered within a large dome. The walls were mirrored like two-way glass. Someone was obviously watching him. Near the walls Horva clones stood ready for battle
The suspension field disappeared, dropping Tiet three feet to the ground. He was free, but unarmed. As soon as the field released him, the soldiers attacked. As soon as Tiet’s feet touched the ground, he rebounded to the air, bouncing off the top of one of the suspension mechanism’s curved pylons toward the Horva. Several crimson laser shots cut the air as Tiet sent his bare foot into the face of one of the men. The soldier tried to defend himself with his metal Bo staff, but Tiet’s powerful kick snapped his neck and dropped him to the ground. Tiet snatched the weapon from the soldier’s hand as he fell and launched himself back into the air.
The clones tried to track the blur only to miss again and again. Tiet landed among several clones bunched together-more blaster fire. Tiet dodged. Clones shot each other in the confusion. Tiet parried and smashed a laser weapon, along with the man’s hands with the Bo. The other end quickly followed into the soldier’s head.
Tiet whirled, blocked strikes from two more Horva and then spun downward under their weapons, sweeping their legs out from under them. They fell backward hard. Tiet struck one in the head, but was forced to evade more blaster fire before he could hit the other. The soldier tried to roll out of striking distance as Tiet pulled a knife from a sheath on the Horva’s leg and hurled it back at the other clone with the pulse rifle. As the knife did its work, Tiet dropped the Bo and caught the man’s rifle with his mind. He laid down a steady line of fire inside the dome. There was nowhere for them to run. Tiet stopped, waited. Both he and the gun barrel exhaled. What would happen next?
The dome around Tiet split across the top. Two equal halves separated and rolled back into the floor. Beyond this stood another larger domed room. Within this dome six battle robots stood twice the size of a man. They were armed with cylindrical rapid-fire laser cannons. Tiet’s laser rifle buzzed and shutdown, the power supply run dry. So that’s how it is, he thought. The clones weren’t going to allow him any advantage in this blood-sport.
Tiet retrieved the metal Bo staff. He raised it into the air with his right hand and spun it rapidly. The battle robots raised their weapons and locked on target. Tiet sent the spinning Bo into one of them like a buzz saw. The laser cannon, which made up one of the robot’s hands, was smashed to pieces. The Bo ricocheted into its head, sending metal shrapnel in all directions.
The others opened fire. Tiet only had time for an instinctive move. He charged the air with his mind. A rapidly vibrating air bubble repelled the blasts from the robots. A firestorm raged against his mental shield, yet he remained untouched.
The robots continued to fire, trying to penetrate the mental defense. Grod looked on with intense pleasure. He had not expected the Barudii to have this much power over the elements. He knew of no such incidence recorded about the Barudii of old times. This display was better than he had expected. His eyes fixed on the young warrior through the wobbling refraction of light the charged bubble created.
Tiet wouldn’t be able to maintain the shield for long. An advanced technique such as this was an intense drain on one’s strength. Tiet caused the bubble to explode outward with such intensity that each one of the robots slammed into wall of the dome crushing their exoskeletons. Once again, Tiet Soone stood alone within the arena.
“Impressive power, is it not? I really wasn’t expecting him to survive the battle robots,” Grod said leaning forward in his chair.
“Shall we open the last dome with the teragore, sir?” asked one of the control techs.
Grod punched a key pad on the arm of his command chair. “Varen, do we have a viable sample of the boy’s DNA?”
“Yes, General. The samples we extracted should work well for what you have requested,” a Vorn scientist said.
“Very good. Proceed according to schedule.
And Varen…remember your family.”
“I understand, sir.”
Grod tapped the communication switch and turned back to his technician. “Golon, retract the last dome!”
The clone technician did as he was ordered. The last dome wall began to retract.
Orin tried to follow the loudest sounds he heard. Orin came to a branch veering off to his right. The sounds were definitely coming from somewhere off this branch. The shaft narrowed considerably, but he got through on his belly. He crawled for another fifty feet until he came to a side vent with more light coming through it. Here, the noises intensified.
Orin crawled up to the vent screen and peered through. He saw a massive creature standing fifty feet high. Tiet was held inside an arena of sorts. The reptilian beast had four stubby, powerful legs. A long, thick tail with a cluster of large spikes on the end curled around the animal. The head was fierce with swords for teeth. The hide of the animal was multicolored and paved with row upon row of tough scales.
Tiet did not seem to acknowledge the presence of the beast in the outer dome. Scattered around him were several smashed robots and a number of Horva bodies. It looked like some deadly sport.
Then the dome around Tiet folded down into the floor. He watched in horror as the beast regarded its new prey. The massive beast stepped toward Tiet and lunged with its long neck, propelling the deadly head and teeth right at him. He got out of the way fast, taking to the air. The creature lunged for him again as he landed. He threw out his hands and sent a massive kinetic blast at the predator’s incoming face-knocking it away.
The beast reeled for a moment then regained its composure with more fury. A chemical spray issued from its mouth, ignited in the air and became a peel of flame. Tiet formed another protective bubble trying to repel the deadly fire engulfing him. The flame was disrupted, but not the heat. It was too hot to protect himself this way. Tiet blasted the creature again with his mind. But the animal only became more enraged by his counterattacks.
The teragore opened its great mouth again and a long whip-like tongue shot out toward Tiet. He flipped over its strike, as the beast tried to catch him. The sinewy tongue darted back and forth after its prey as Tiet continued his acrobatic evasive maneuvers. He jumped and flipped away from the obscene appendage. The teragore grew more impatient for its meal.
Tiet heard Orin cry out and tried to locate the voice. He saw Orin’s hands come through the vent in the dome wall. Orin pulled a kemstick from his thigh clip and brought it through the vent space with his hand, as Tiet tried to evade the whipping tongue of the teragore.
“Tiet! Take it!” Orin shouted.
Tiet saw the weapon and leaped after it. The kemstick flew out of Orin’s hand to meet the young man in the air. He caught the weapon just as the tongue of the teragore found purchase around his legs. The beast slammed his body into the ground. The impact knocked the breath out of him and the kemstick out of his hand.
The huge writhing tongue retracted quickly, dragging Tiet toward the beast’s mouth. He realized the kemstick was not in his hand and reached out with his mind to retrieve it as he was pulled across the ground. The kemstick obeyed and rolled after him, leaping into the air to find his hand as Tiet was lifted upside down toward the gaping mouth of the creature. He caught the weapon as the teragore pulled him inside and the jaw closed after him. The teragore raised its great head and swallowed the young warrior whole.
Grod grabbed the armrests, sitting on the edge of his seat as the lump of flesh began to slide visibly down the creature’s throat. Suddenly the lump stopped its descent within the teragore’s throat. An adomen rod erupted from the creature’s neck, whirling around in a great circle from within. The teragore’s head pitched forward, separated from the rest of the animal’s body. The young Barudii warrior leaped out of the orifice, landing near the severed head. He was covered in the creature’s vile secretions.
“Unbelievable!” Grod said.
He was out of his chair, on his feet in amazement. “I have never seen such a display of power and skill!”
Tiet sprang into the air and caught a hold of the vent where Orin was.
“Get back!”
Orin slid backward making room for his protege. Tiet stabbed the kemstick into the armor-plated grating and cut through it-a hot knife through butter. The piece fell out and landed on the floor of the dome as Tiet crawled inside.
Orin backed his way out of the vent shaft with Tiet following him, both on their bellies.
“I should have known you’d be along to rescue me,” Tiet said.
“Quickly, put this on. It will hide you from their scanners.”
Tiet pulled on the Barudii cloak and the pair crawled back down the main shaft on their knees the way Orin had come in.
“Where did he go? And how did that weapon get into the arena?” Grod growled.
“We’re searching, sir,” said the technician. He’s gone into the main ventilation system but his life signature has disappeared from our scans.”
“Find him and kill him,” Grod demanded. “I have to be in Baeth Periege soon to meet with our brothers there. Once the city is broken, the Barudii’s DNA will fuel our transformation. I don’t want anymore loose ends hanging about like the last time.”
DEPARTURE
Estall had done a good job preparing the Vorn battle ships for departure. With the enemy under control here on Castai, they had been able to gain control of the ships still docked on the planet. Ranul had produced technology allowing them to operate the Vorn computer systems. The devices converted the Vorn computer language to Castillian and vice versa, allowing them to pilot the craft through the rift if necessary.
A number of pilots from various Castillian tribes had already signed on for the mission, and now it looked as though it would be necessary to travel through and intercept the Vorn fleet before they attacked, as Kisch K’ta had threatened. According to Ranul’s readings of the data, the rift would be stabilized within five hours and they needed to be in space waiting for it.
The Vorn fleet still had not contacted the governor and Ranul could only conclude that the Sphere was the cause of it. According to the files contained in the Vorn database, the Sphere had been constructed by the Barudii. It still blew his mind to think that on the other side of the rift there was a twin planet to his home world of Castai.
So much of their history had been lost during the war. Their people had migrated long ago, but it had never been properly recorded for future generations. Those born on this Castai knew nothing of the twin world across the rift. Life went on as though the tribes had always been here.
Ranul was as anxious to see the twin planet as he was to know what had become of his friends. Perhaps, when they took these Vorn battle cruisers through the rift, they would find the Vorn engaged in a battle with the Barudii Sphere and be able to aid in the fight to destroy the Vorn armada.
His communication link beeped. “Yes?” said Ranul.
“Ranul, all seven battle cruisers are under way. Are you ready to go?” Estall asked.
“Yes. I’ll meet you at the pad in ten minutes. Are all systems functioning well?”
“Everything seems to be operating smoothly so far. Those translation devices are working well.”
“What about our prisoners?”
“They’re tucked away nicely in one of their own prison compounds, guarded heavily by my men. I’ve already transported Kisch K’ta to the prison as well. The other Aolene warriors are settled in on the warships and ready to join Orin and the others in the fight across the rift.”
“Very good. I’ll join you shortly.”
He did not mention to Estall that the Saberhawk may very well have been destroyed by now.
Still, Ranul couldn’t give up on them yet. The Barudii warriors were powerful. But in a space battle that would make little difference. Ranul hoped Estall’s optimism was well-founded. He too wanted to see his friends again-alive.
Ranul glanced over the data scr
eens once more as he grabbed a pack of his own technical gear then left the lab he was working in. He boarded a nearby transport tube and was whisked away on a suction controlled mass transit system toward the main launch platform where he would meet Estall.
Within three minutes he sped across the large compound and exited the tube system to find Estall waiting for him with a shuttle. They greeted each other unceremoniously then climbed into the small ship. Estall, a capable pilot himself, operated the shuttle controls as they ascended to the Vorn battle cruiser hovering one thousand feet above the compound.
The other warships were already en route for the transdimensional rift and would be leaving the atmosphere by now. The transport was dwarfed by the ominous size of the Vorn ship now receiving them into itself like a mother pulling in its young.
The battleship was easily ten times the size of the Saberhawk and more heavily armed. These same ships had destroyed the Castillian space fleet in the early years of the war with the Vorn and Baruk. Now, they would allow the Castillians to exact retribution for those losses.
Estall and Ranul made their way to the bridge where a Castillian crew piloted the ship with the aid of Ranul’s translation devices. They had all spent many years under the heel of the Vorn. It was a tremendous feeling to have taken so much control back from their oppressors. The ships were fast and well armed. Ranul was confident that, should they have to face the Vorn fleet, they would fair well in the battle.
The cruiser soared upwards toward space, leaving the atmosphere. The rest of the ships appeared on the main monitor. The new Castillian space fleet pushed on toward the transdimensional rift. Neither Estall nor Ranul had ever been in space. The sight of the rift was awe-inspiring. The phenomena looked as though it could swallow the entire planet. Absolutely nothing was visible beyond the void.
Ranul checked the science station readouts on the stability of the rift. It would still be several hours before it became permeable enough to cross. He continued his work on communication with the Barudii Sphere. If the Sphere was orbiting the twin Castai then he would need to establish contact with it quickly to show themselves as Castillian and not more Vorn ships for it to destroy. The void lay before them, waiting. Ranul wondered what mysteries would be revealed today.