by James Somers
Within the ventilation system, Tiet and Orin strove to escape the Horva compound. As they passed under an intersecting vent above, Tiet heard a clattering sound like something coming toward them. He looked upward into the tube and saw an insect-like robot scrambling on multiple legs to intercept.
Tiet leaped out from under it as it fell into their vent tube. He saw more of the robots appear behind it, coming from the way he and Orin had already been. The robots looked like metal centipedes the size of a man’s leg with a crown of red sensors on the heads.
As the creatures took up pursuit, scurrying along the vents, they began to fire small spikes from compression jets on their heads. The spikes clattered along the metal sides of the vents as Orin and Tiet tried to evade through the curving tubes.
The spikes imbedded into the metal wherever they hit, injecting acid cores, causing the walls to sizzle and burn. At this point, Orin and Tiet did not know if they were going in the right direction to lead them outside or not. But the robot insects were gaining on them. If they tried to blast the mechanical creatures telekinetically they might shatter the entire vent tube and drop themselves right into the middle of an army of Horva.
The tube, which previously had provided many twists and turns to help them avoid the spikes, now opened up into a long straightaway. Orin almost paused, but there was no time to find another route. He picked up the pace as fast as he could, but the creatures were quick and the spikes they fired were even quicker. With a straight line to their targets the creatures would have them in seconds.
Orin heard Tiet behind him, dogging his heels. The younger man definitely had the advantage running in these tubes. A security door came down in front of them. The tube connecting from above was there only outlet. Orin came to a halt below it, turning to see if he could hold the robots at bay while allowing Tiet to go up first.
The moment Orin turned to fight, the entire ventilation tube between them and the approaching robots collapsed inward, as though a giant hand had grasped it from without and crunched it like a can. Orin couldn’t believe what had just happened in their favor and had no explanation for it. The integrity of the tube seemed to be intact. They could here the robots on the other side of the collapsed tube clattering against the crumpled metal trying to get at them.
Wasting no time, Orin and Tiet shot up the outlet tube using their mental power to propel them in great upward leaps. The tube kept going and it seemed they might even reach the roof by this way. Orin wondered if the robots had transmitted images and navigational information back to the Horva. He couldn’t come up with any other reason how they had could have shut the security door on them. He had no reason to believe the cloaks had failed to hide them.
But if the Horva were looking at their own schematics of the system, they might well know where this tube was taking them. They could be waiting. Still, he and Tiet had no choice but to try and escape the facility or get caught in a battle they couldn’t win.
Orin sent a pressure burst ahead toward the vent cap. The power rippled the air causing odd refractions of the available light, like a wave of heat rising off of a hot road. The vent cap shot off the tube. Both men flipped out of the tube and landed with weapons ready on the roof. Orin’s suspicions had come to fruition.
Several hundred Horva warriors were closing from all directions across the roof. But the automatic gun turrets still had not picked up on their life signatures. The cloaks were working, but didn’t hide them from the soldiers. The Horva closed fast and began firing their pulse weapons.
The pair blocked several shots with E.M. shields. They each sent out mental blasts of power trying not to hit each other in the process. Soldiers fell like wheat each time, but more followed. From somewhere within the Horva masses, a huge kinetic burst erupted, sending many of the soldiers over the sides of the rooftop. Tiet and Orin looked at each other in surprise as neither had caused the incident.
Then they saw someone new in the midst of the clones. This warrior utilized twin swords. He carved the air precisely, dispatching soldiers in every direction. The mystery warrior had both Orin and Tiet captivated by the complexity of his attacks. Neither of them had ever seen such swordsmanship. The auto-guns on the roof charged up and swiveled around. These fired on the Horva soldiers. For a moment, Orin thought the warrior must be controlling the guns. But it didn’t seem possible with the rest of the fighting he was doing. It would have been beyond any Barudii abilities Orin had ever known.
The soldiers were now preoccupied with this warrior and their own mutinous sentry lasers. Tiet and Orin didn’t know whether to get away or wait to see how it all turned out. Then the warrior, having cleared away many of the Horva around him with his swords and the auto-guns, launched high off the rooftop landing in front of Orin and Tiet.
He wore a sand-colored garment that seemed oddly pedestrian for a warrior of this caliber. He was hooded, with only his glaring, penetrating eyes visible. “Do you want to live, Barudii?” he asked as the Horva regrouped behind him, more reinforcements adding to their numbers.
The warrior ran to the edge of the roof and launched out away from it with enough power to completely clear the compound’s energy wall three hundred feet away from the buildings perimeter. He sailed over as easily as a bird in flight. Orin and Tiet barely took enough time to glance at each other then stood up and followed. They each made the jump, but with less elegance. They soft-landed next to the warrior.
“What about the perimeter cannons?” Orin asked, as they broke into a run away from the compound.
“We’re cloaked from their sensors by our garments,” the warrior said.
“Who are you?” Orin asked as he puffed along beside the mysterious man.
“There isn’t time for introductions just yet. The Horva are already mobilizing attack fighters to come after us. We must keep moving.”
“Where are we going?” Tiet asked. There was only desert before them. Against the pale sand, the attack fighters he had spoken of would easily spot them, even without sensors.
“Just keep moving!” the warrior insisted.
As they ran toward the open desert, the terrain began to change from rock, where the facility was located, to shifting sand and large dunes. The trio ran for nearly fifteen minutes then they heard the sound of whining engines coming from behind.
The men entered the dunes heaving every breath in and out of their tired bodies. Orin looked back and saw ten aerial fighters coming into view about a mile behind them and closing fast. As they entered the dunes, the sand began to swirl around them. Orin wasn’t sure what was going on, but he kept running. The whine of fighter engines grew louder and louder. Orin knew they must be within visual range by now. Only the warrior’s tan attire seemed appropriate now, as they ran through the whirling sand. A wave of sand billowed up around them and swallowed them whole. The Desert had eaten them alive. The airships zoomed past where the men had been and kept going.
Tiet, Orin and the mysterious warrior were now in an odd shaped underground alcove. The sand was above them without being on them. It was as though the desert had opened its mouth and swallowed them, depositing them within its bowels. The sand parted before them to reveal an underground cavern of immense size.
“Don’t be alarmed, gentlemen. We are well hidden down here,” the stranger said.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, yes,” the warrior said. He untied his hood and slipped it away, revealing a man of more years than Orin. He had a partial beard and short, white hair.
“It can’t be,” Orin said. “Wynn Gareth? But I thought you were killed in the Sector Seven Battle.”
Tiet appeared clueless.
“Well, I see you’ve heard of me, though I don’t remember either of you,” Wynn said. “I wasn’t killed in the battle, obviously. One of the big Barudii carriers exploded near my fighter, disabling my controls. The shock wave forced me through the transdimensional rift.
“After I emerged on this side, I was able to affec
t repairs to the damaged system and make my way to this planet. It took me a while to figure out what had happened. At first I didn’t realize my ship had even gone through the rift.”
“My name is Orin Vale and this is Tiet Soone, the son of our late king, Kale Soone.”
“Really? The birth of the king’s son was announced only days before we went into battle against the Vorn at Sector Seven. And here you are all grown up-and a very promising warrior from what I saw.”
“How long have you known we were on the planet?” Tiet asked.
“I have been watching you both since you emerged from Mt. Vaseer and entered the battle against General Grod’s forces. After you escaped the dome, I aided you in your escape.”
“Then it was you who crushed the vent tube?” Orin asked.
“Yes, using the Way. I tracked you and thought you could use some assistance. I have a friend on the inside. I’m able to monitor what General Grod and the Horva are doing.”
“That was some amazing fighting on the rooftop.”
“Master Soone, you may have noticed that on this side of the rift the Way is greatly enhanced beyond what we knew back home on Castai. There is something about being on this side of the rift that increases our power.”
“We began to notice it after we passed through the rift two days ago,” Orin said.
“I have been on this twin planet of Castai for twenty years and there is much that you and our people back home don’t realize about what has been happening in this war with the Vorn. Also, the forces that overlapped into our dimension through the rift have a much more potent effect on our abilities than you are probably aware of.
“Back home, the power of the Way seemed as if we were receiving the misting rain from a far off storm. Here on this side of the rift, we are in the eye of a hurricane. What you may have thought amazing back at the compound is within either of your abilities. With proper training you will also be able to control the energies that are in play on this side of the rift.”
“But what about the Vorn and these Horva?” Orin asked.
“Orin, things are not as they may appear to be. But no more questions now. I will explain the situation after you have refreshed yourselves. Come, there is food and drink.” Wynn began down a path through the cavern. Fueled torches lit the way as they made their way deeper.
It had been while Orin was still in training as a warrior that he had studied some of the fighting techniques of Wynn Gareth. He had been a formidable pilot, but was studied for his mastery of the Way. However, the skill Wynn had been known for all those years ago back home paled when compared to the display they had witnessed today.
Orin was curious to learn what Wynn was referring to with the war and the greater abilities that were within their reach. But the older man was right. They did need to eat and rest and prepare for whatever lay ahead.
HIDDEN
Daooth Pasad stepped in front of the retina scanner located near the exit of the lab facility. He was an assistant to one of the head scientists located within General Grod’s compound and there were very important goings on of late. He had proven himself to be trustworthy to the Horva while they were fighting the oppression and rule of the Vorn military, giving Daooth the privilege of leaving the compound at will despite being Vorn.
The scanner cleared him for exit. The computer-controlled door opened, allowing him to pass through to the outside. While some of the Vorn scientists had been captured and put to work under the General, others had come voluntarily-hoping to find safety and protection, as they allied themselves with the Horva commander. Among them was Daooth, and he was well-favored in his occupation at the compound and his liberty was a result of that favor.
The tall, slender-framed Vorn clansman made his way to his transport carrying supplies from the compound. He loaded them into the storage compartment then climbed into the cockpit and closed the canopy. Daooth brought the engines online.
The compound had not been built to house civilians, so many of the Vorn loyal to Grod and his campaign were allowed to live in a nearby area that was close enough to the base to enjoy the protection of the Horva. Recently, the Vorn military had become preoccupied with defending their interests on many fronts. The Vorn were in need of reinforcements for the twin Castai across the rift and there were terrible losses because of the Barudii Sphere. Many deaths had also been sustained at the hands of General Grod and his Horva army. The Vorn military was very near collapse, and it seemed nothing would be able to prevent it.
The transport flew away from the building perimeter and passed through a security portal in the shield, heading for the wasteland. The settlement given to the civilians was far from luxurious, but its location underground provided a better weather environment and added protection.
After several miles, the transport came to a large protrusion of rock in the desert that lay to the west of the compound. A metal door opened in the rock-the entrance to Daooth’s residence.
Daooth brought the vehicle inside and shut down the engine. He retracted the cockpit canopy, gathered his supplies then went into his home. He made his way to a closet inside along the main corridor and triggered a switch inside. The back wall released and moved aside.
Daooth proceeded through the portal, leading into a large cavern beyond. The closet wall waited a moment and then smoothly slid itself back into place. He hurried down the cavern to a place where another smaller tunnel intersected with it. Daooth took the passage and came to a room. Inside this room were three men. They were eating when he came into the entrance of the hollowed out chamber.
Tiet spotted the tall Vorn man first as he appeared in the entrance to the chamber where Wynn had served them their meal. Tiet instinctively launched out of his seat with his blade in his hand.
Daooth deftly dodged the first strike and parried with a strong fist blow to Tiet’s side. Tiet recovered quickly, ready to deal a death blow to the man. Suddenly, Wynn was next to him, disarming him with ease. Tiet was astonished and angry. Had he and Orin been led into a trap by a traitor?
“Stop it!” Wynn demanded. “Daooth is a friend. He is a civilian I have known for many years. He saved my life shortly after I came to the planet, when I was captured by Grod and his Horva.”
Tiet and Orin stood down and listened to what Wynn had to say.
“Forgive my startling of you,” Daooth said in a broken Castillian dialect.
“I told you things are not what they appear here,” Wynn said. “There are those among the Vorn who would gladly live at peace with us, but the military has control over them-just as they do on our home world. Daooth is one of many who want that control to end. General Grod is the leader of the Horva armies you saw at Vaseer and at their main compound at Nagon-toth. Grod and his clones are of a breed which was discontinued due to the threat they began to pose to Vorn control.
“They were engineered to be stronger, but it became obvious to the military-as well as to Grod-that these Horva were capable of rising up against their Vorn masters. Grod quickly took the opportunity to lead them in revolt and that rebellion has been building in strength steadily since before I arrived on the planet.
“Grod had been capturing important cloning scientists from the Vorn cities while on raids. He began to conquer entire cities as his power increased. Not long after I arrived, I was captured by the General. He took samplings of my DNA to use in a new experimental process by which he could regenerate his clone body and splice my Barudii DNA with his own in the hopes of gaining our kinetic abilities.
“Daooth helped me to escape and caused an accident which destroyed the genetic material Grod was going to use. He has hidden me here all these years since. It is my hope to somehow free his people from the control of the military and Grod.”
“Why haven’t the civilians risen up for their freedom against the Vorn,” Orin asked?
“My people have not fighting skill to face these armies, and they are not the only threat,” Daooth said. “Baruk clan is also our ene
my and are more fierce than Vorn military or Grod. Now they control Vorn military from distance. Vorn do what they want, further Baruk interests, they leave them alone. But now Vorn nearing defeat by Grod’s forces and Baruk are sure to come.”
“Yes, and Grod knows that as well,” Wynn said. “That’s why he’s so desperate to complete his DNA experiment so he can power up his clones with the Way.”
“But you said that Daooth destroyed the sample of your DNA that Grod needed to do the experiment,” Tiet said.
“Yes, but now he has yours,” Daooth replied.
Tiet was taken aback. He had no idea what had occurred before he awoke within the confinement field inside Grod’s compound.
“Then we have to infiltrate Grod’s compound and destroy the samples,” Orin said.
“It not so simple anymore,” said Daooth. “Grod already moved out with scientist for project and samples. He going to Baeth Periege.”
“Baeth Periege is the main city used by the Vorn military and it houses their most advanced cloning facility,” Wynn said. “Grod needs to have control of this facility in order to perform the regeneration of his army. He will have to defeat the Vorn there. And if he does, he will have taken away the main power base and last refuge of the Vorn military.”
“What can we do?” Tiet asked. “If he takes that city and the cloning facility, how can we hope to stop him and a whole army of clones with our power?”
“There’s the problem, my friends,” Wynn said stroking his beard. “We are up against formidable odds, two armies and time itself. If we fail to stop Grod, which must be our first concern, then I fear only the Baruk themselves will be able to stop him.”