Tiva Boon: Heir of Abennelp (Tiva Boon Series Book 2)

by Jenn Nixon

  “A large majority of them yes, that has always been our way. Something I hope to change.”

  “Well, it’s good to see the universe rubbed off on you a little bit.” He tightened his grip around her and dove down then swooped up straight and came back down softly. He kissed her cheek. “You’re okay, right?” Tiva nodded and smiled. “Good, go get Neola and Harai, I’ll find Wixx.”

  After Tiva and Adam answered several questions and sat through the aggravated remarks from their friends, the second sun was creeping up the horizon. The group had already packed up and moved all the vehicles together in preparation for departure. Wixx and Gessin signaled their readiness from the front line, a recommendation from Razzil having seen what the hopters were capable of doing, while Neola, Harai, and Wirto returned to their hovers.

  Tiva started her crafted and glanced over at Adam who had a slight smile on his face.

  “They weren’t that pissed…” he said.

  “Indeed, I was expecting more of a chiding, especially from Neola.”

  “No use worrying about it now, it’s time to go, m’lady. Ready?”

  With a nod, Tiva steered her vehicle in line with the others and called to Wixx on the PCD to head for the bridge to Degort Proper. There was no doubt in her mind they would find opposition there, but they were as prepared as they could be, the rest was in the skills of her comrades.

  An hour passed before any sign of Rebel activity presented itself. In the distance, Tiva noticed the blockade guarding the bridge fore and aft. Wixx called back with a head count of about four hundred, small to say the least, but there wasn’t much room on the road.

  Giving the order to move forward, Tiva kept her attention straight ahead knowing the others around her were carefully watching the trees and roads on either side. Harai and her men held up the rear and for the moment, everything seemed to be going as planned.

  Gessin confirmed that his hopters were within firing range of the bridge. Tiva ordered all the hovers to line up behind them as she guided hers between Wixx and Gessin’s vehicles. Four hundred would not be hard to push back, not with the technology they had, however, Tiva was not one to prejudge her opponents, in a spar or battle. As she settled the hover and surveyed the area, she saw the Rebels had some sort of metallic weaponry, a kind she had never seen before and from the looks on Harai and Wixx’s face, they had not encountered it either.

  “I’m not sure, Lady Boon,” Gessin said with a confused look on his brow. “They could be long range plasma guns or cannons of some type. The scans are inconclusive.”

  “Can you target them with the hopters and destroy them?” she asked.

  “Of course, but they have quite a few of them; once we get started we’ll only be able to take out half of them before they return fire.”

  “It appears we have no other option. Have your men lock onto them and await my signal.”

  Gessin nodded, tapped on his control panels and the hopters rose into the air some ten feet and moved several feet forward away from the hovers.

  “I’ve scanned the bridge, Tiva,” Harai’s voice came through the PCD, “no power signatures or anything near or around it other than those metal things.”

  Tiva felt her heart racing within her chest. This time, they were not on the defensive, rather heading into the danger ready and willing to fight.

  “It reminds me of the old days,” Adam said softly, Cala sitting on his lap. “In the Old Country the opposing sides would stand off like this. The kings of the warring lands would meet in the middle and give each side the chance to surrender.”

  “That will not happen here, my love.”

  He nodded and pulled his plasma gun from his waist, setting Cala back in her sheath for the moment. “We won’t be able to reach them from here, you know that right?”

  “I do, those weapons are what I fear right now, when we can dwindle their abilities to fire long range, if that is what they are for, then we will storm the castle as you say?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Tiva stood up and turned to face the others. “We will attempt to destroy the weapons the Rebels possess,” she announced with authority. “Be alert, keep your guard up, and watch your surroundings. Should those weapons be able to reach us seek cover in the trees, let them target our vehicles. May the Spirits protect you.”

  The group of Loyalists, Harai and Wixx’s men saluted her and readied their weapons. It was time. Turning to Gessin, she held her breath for a moment and nodded to him to begin his assault. Streams of weapons fire launched out into the early morning sky. The Rebels scrambled. Some retreated while others ran to the metallic weapons. Explosions rocked the land; two, three, four weapons destroyed instantly. Men and woman fell to the ground and soared through the air, thrown back by the blasts. At the far end of the Rebel blockade, lights began flickering on five of the weapons.

  Adam jumped up from his seat and yelled, “Incoming!”

  Just as he did, bright maroon streaks expelled from the weapons arching high in the air. The hopters returned fire, targeting the weapons. The streaks faded and Tiva spotted the artillery in question, glowing red orbs. Several of them over shot their location, but Tiva did not waver in her attention to the blockade until a deafening screech echoed through her ears. When she turned, the orbs—just before impacting the ground behind the hovers—detonated and from them came hundreds of small beams of plasma fire shooting in every direction imaginable and striking several of the hovers in the background.

  “Take shelter!” she shouted and jumped out of the hover just as Adam swooped down and picked her up by the waist making way for the trees. Gessin and Wixx continued to destroy the Rebel weapons, but the damage to both sides had already begun. Three of Wixx’s men and two of her own did not stir. A quarter of the hovers took heavy damage. The Rebels launched another round of orbs at them as the hopters swerved fire and approached the bridge.

  She had not underestimated the Rebels, or their alien friends, but without other long-range weaponry, they were just as stuck as the enemy was. A hopter went down in flames. Three more hovers imploded; two of the Rebel canons were obliterated. A small group of Rebels vanished from the road, heading to Degort Proper. Tiva lifted her PCD to her mouth, ordering groups one and two engage the enemy, group three to secure the hovers and check for injured.

  Tiva lurched forward but her husband jerked her back. “What?”

  “You’re not going in there to fight.”

  “And why not?”

  “Tiva…” he sighed. “You’re the leader remember? Did your king ever go charging into battle from the start? No, of course he didn’t,” he answered without stopping. “You must lead them, place them where they belong, give them orders…”

  “To their deaths?”

  “If that is their fate…” he said solemnly. “This is only the beginning.”

  He was more right than she wished to admit. The two groups engaged the Rebels; the hopters crossed the river without use of the bridge and destroyed the last weapons lingering in the distance.

  The salvageable hovers fell in line behind the two groups, gunfire scorching the sky from all directions as Tiva, Adam and a few others in her charge watched Razzil, Lo’mu, Tinbo, and Wirto fight from the safety of the trees. Two of Harai’s men gathered the wounded and retreated back to the base with Tiva’s permission, leaving the dead behind for now.

  The hopters were proving more useful than she imagined both scaring and pushing back the forces on the aft part of the bridge. When the groups were close enough, swords and lances began to fly through the smoke and fire. Tiva gripped her hilt and felt her markings go dark.

  “You will get your chance, Tiva,” Neola said from behind in gentle voice. “Now is not the time.”

  An eternity seemed to pass, but the hovers, hopters, and Loyalists forced the Rebels into full retreat and secured the bridge. This was a victory on many levels, now they could call for their own reinforcements from nearby sects and offer the
m safe passage to the capital.

  When the smoke rose from the grass, a hundred Rebels lay still though thankfully—in her eyes—not all were dead. In all, the Loyalists had lost at least twenty, forty others injured severely and unable to carry on.

  Tiva regrouped with her captains, Wixx, Gessin, Wirto, Neola and Razzil were all unharmed. Healer Kiya was tending to minor wounds as Adam took inventory of the hovers and hopters that had survived.

  “These Bujeni you spoke of,” Wixx said suddenly. “They use this orb technology right?”

  “They do, from what I have encountered.”

  “So it’s likely they’ll have more waiting for us?”

  “I believe they will,” Tiva replied.

  “Gessin has found a weakness…” he offered and glanced back.

  “We have one, undamaged, seems the back of the weapon holds the power source, one hit and it’s destroyed.” The Oninusian man grinned. “I’ve already alerted my men, you’d be wise to do the same…Lady Boon.”

  “I will see to it,” she answered and turned to Wirto giving him a nod. “Can we use this weapon to our advantage?”

  “Sure, it’s mobile, we can mount it on one of your hovercars,” Wixx interjected.

  “See that a few people can operate them, test it if you must.”

  “I’d be happy to,” he answered and called several of his group to follow.

  Adam approached, hand on hilt and grinned. “We’re in good shape, m’lady. We only lost ten hovers and one hop-thing. Another is damaged, but Vanbel, one of Gessin’s guys, says he can have it fixed in an hour.”

  “We need to press forward; he can stay on the bridge with half of group three.”

  Adam bowed and walked away.

  “Wirto’s already called the sections to alert them we have the bridge, we should have reinforcements in two hours,” Neola commented.

  “Very well,” Tiva replied firmly and turned to Harai. “How are your men?”

  “They’re fine, honestly. Moliis and Anntro will be back as soon as the wounded are in good hands.”

  “And you, my friend?”

  “I’m all right, got cut on the leg, but that’s about it. I’m ready to fight Tiva, you don’t have to hold me back, I can take care of myself.”

  “I need you by my side, Harai. When we get closer to the palace, I will become a target. Adam, you and Neola are my most trusted friends, I will not place my life in anyone else’s hands.”

  “Well,” she chortled with a blush of dark yellow on her cheeks. “Since you put it that way…” She smiled and placed her hand on Tiva’s arm.

  With the bridge secure, and the groups ready once more, the hopters and hovers led the way toward Degort Proper and the marketplace. They passed several small groups of houses with little opposition; in fact, several people emerged recognizing friends and loved ones among the Loyalists. Many offered to join in support. Though Tiva was leery, Adam and Neola both agreed that every person who wanted to help was an asset.

  After calling the group to a halt, the captains, Adam and Harai gathered to plan a strategy. The other members from the nearby sects were still an hour away at best, but to wait longer would only give the Rebels more time to plan.

  Adam was ready to take to the sky, considering Gessin and Harai were unable to separate the townspeople from Rebels within the village. Tiva let him go without argument and continued to plot their next course of action.

  By the time Adam returned with some information on hot spots near the marketplace, the three groups split into six and each had separate orders to approach the town from different angles covering the majority of the homes and buildings. There were more places to hide here, the hopters would be useful for the taller and wider buildings, but Tiva also remembered how she used the rooftops of the marketplace to attack the approaching Rebels during the Great War so she was prepared for that as well.

  As the groups began to separate, Tiva sighed and Adam glanced over. “What’s wrong?”

  “There is no way for us to warn the innocent people of the town…” she trailed off quietly.

  “I could fly in there and hit the first house and see if they can start a chain reaction. Most of those houses have dishes, so I’m assuming they have communications.”

  “They do, but that is too risky, Adam. What would happen if you walked into a group of Rebels, alone…”

  “Eh…I’d win?”

  “Not if you were overpowered with plasma fire or those other weapons.”

  He frowned and glanced around. “Why don’t you fire a warning shot with that canon. Gessin said the detonation is time sensitive, so if we shoot it high enough, it’ll only hit the rooftops and maybe some of the high levels of those taller buildings. At least that would let the locals know something was happening.”

  Nodding, Tiva thought it over and made the call to Wyud and Rufal who were operating the hover. Adam quickly informed the rest of the plan and told them to hold fire until they received the order.

  Once they were in position, Adam, Tiva, Harai and Neola gathered behind Wirto’s group, which was heading directly into the town via the main road. Though reluctant, Tiva gave the order to launch the warning and watched as the maroon streak rose through the air then exploded over the middle of the town, spitting its inferno across the sky. Several of the rooftops caught fire, a few buildings took damage, and immediately people came flooding out of their homes. Several young children pointed to the Loyalists, some smiles crossed their lips, and their parents began pushing them down the road and toward the Medical Ward in the east. Panic among the townspeople continued, and a sudden explosion in the upper west section of the town caused Tiva to stand upright once more.

  “What was that?” she demanded aloud and on her device to anyone who could answer her.

  “One of their cannon’s I think,” Wixx responded on the PCD.

  “Take your hopters up, see what you can find, do not attack until more people can flee.”

  The crafts moved closer to the town, people screamed and continued scattering off the road, through the alleys and away from the buildings.

  It was chaos.

  Plasma fire rose up through the air as the Rebels began attacking. Tiva bit back her anger and gripped the shield of the hover tight to keep from making any orders to move.

  “We can send in a small team, m’lady,” Adam offered softly.

  “It will just anger them more and innocent lives will be lost, we can wait a few more moments until Wixx calls or returns.” Saying nothing more, she watched the hopters near the town; they were beginning to draw the Rebel fire, though some of the civilians began to fall. Unable to watch, Tiva lowered her eyes and fought the emotions rising through her. This would be the most difficult part…seeing the innocent die. Adam’s hand was on her shoulder, but she didn’t look up until her PCD beeped.

  “What have you found?”

  “The forces are in the north of the town, we’re going down to draw their fire, and some people are stuck in the east.”

  Tiva immediately ordered the two groups to head in to help the civilians. Several long minutes passed before Razzil called back to say most of the townspeople had fled, so Tiva ordered three more groups to head in through the west and one down the middle as she and Wirto’s group remained behind.

  Again, it did not take long to win the battle; the hopters destroyed four more weapons and captured two. Some of the townspeople in the woods nearby came out, kneeling in respect as Tiva’s escort entered the town.

  Half the buildings were heavily damaged, Civilians, Rebels and Loyalists cluttered the road. Her heart felt heavy with despair. As the group helped the wounded civilians make way toward the hovers, and Rebels were taken into custody, her PCD beeped. Vanbel’s voice came through alerting her to the arrival of another thousand Loyalists.

  There was no time to think, they had to move forward; the majority of the fight had yet to begin. In the distance, Tiva spotted the huge metal barricade that was on
ce the arch to the marketplace. She sensed the powerful minds once more despite her tight guard. They were goading her to approach, trying to break through her shield, and weaken her mind and spirit. They were using every bit of strength they had to rip into her head. Gripping Adam’s arm, she silently asked Cala to help shield her more.

  “They are waiting for me, my time to fight has come,” she said softly to Adam, for the power she felt, the anger, the hatred directed toward her was overwhelming, and for the first time since returning, she wasn’t sure she’d made the right choice in coming home.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  More of the same continued as the Loyalist blasted their way through the marketplace. This time, however, they faced a couple thousand Rebels. Everyone fought. Having over a thousand aliens with them caused many Rebels to flee out of fear, making it easier to infiltrate the market. Adding the reinforcements from the surrounding sections, the hopters and three canon mounted hovers, the Loyalists were showing the Rebels they were going nowhere this time.

  Just as before, the Rebels combated with blind rage, attempting to kill anyone in their path, but the Loyalists heeded their training well, incapacitating whenever they could. Tiva knew the strength of enemy was still within the walls of Kinchar.

  The numbers began to blur, hundreds dead on both sides, hovers were down to about fifty, a dozen hopters remained.

  Night fell soon after the majority of marketplace returned to Loyalist protection. Locals from the nearby town began to help with wounded and the dead, others kept guard on the captured Rebels.

  Adam and Wirto attempted to interrogate some to find out who their leaders were; surprisingly no one knew. Even a former Legionnaire admitted to never having seen the man who led the Rebels.

  “I just don’t get it,” Adam huffed as he entered one of the former trinket shops. “They’re fighting for someone they don’t even know. It doesn’t make sense.”

  Wirto frowned, thanked a young local woman for the offered beverage, and rested his weapons on the table. “Many guardsmen who kept the provinces protected never met King Delos,” he offered.