Prophet of ConFree (The Prophet of ConFree)

by Marshall S. Thomas

  "There was a tall tower."

  "Can you try to remember it?"

  "I'm trying. Tall. It had things on the side. Like commo dishes or something like that. I guess it was a commo tower."

  "Try to envision it. Got that? Got that?" The image was flickering on the screen. "What’s that on top? Was there something on top?"

  "Yes. Yes. Ah yes. It was – a symbol. An eagle, I think. Up on top. Yes, an eagle."

  "Oh my God," the Prof said. "Oh my God! I've got to see Ambassador Wester, right now! Print that out!" He hurried towards the door.

  "What is it, Prof?" I cried out after him. "What does it mean?"

  "It's Veda," he said. "Veda 6!"

  Δ

  Veda 6 was the Prof's native world. It was where the Brothers in Blood had done a successful raid, kidnapping his daughter and quite a few others. It was an Outvac world, but was a bit isolated and not far from the Gassies. The Prof recognized the commo tower and when they did the neural pix, both the tower and the air raid shelter were confirmed as being on Veda 6. Now remember this was a dream – but it was why Delta Research was in business. If it turned out to be an accurate prediction, and ConFree reacted in time, the horrific details in Ice's vision might not come true after all. We did not understand exactly what these visions represented. Some of the details in my first accurate prediction, for example, did not come true in real life. There were no captured females in the Demon march, and the D's shields were down, not up. But the Demons were sure as hell there, right where I saw them. And so were the saucers. The Prof said we may be looking at possible futures, things that may or may not happen. And our reactions might determine whether or not they would happen.

  Ambassador Wester sent a FLASH COSMIC SECRET message to the Director of ConFree, the Director of Galactic Information, the Minister of War, the Director of the ConFree Legion, Fleetcom Hqs, and the Legion and Fleetcom Commands on Veda 6. It said sensitive sources, believed reliable, were predicting an imminent large-scale Demon vac-air attack on Valhalla City, Veda 6.

  We settled in to wait. What the hell else could we do? That psycherchick Paula was getting her way. We were all stressed out and practically bleeding internally with worries. My latest dream was a puzzle to me, and to the Prof and everybody else, but it had been lost in the aftermath of Ice's chilling vision.

  Then Saka had his vision. They were coming thick and fast, now. Something was definitely happening – we didn't know what.

  He repeated it, for Ice and me and the Prof, just the three of us, sitting around a table in the lounge. They had already done the brainscan. It was a kind of puzzling dream.

  "I looked up," Saka said, "and I saw a dazzling white sky, and a ship shot past overhead. I only had a glimpse, but it was not a D ship. It was one of those Bright ships – roughly delta-shaped, but kind of saucer-shaped as well. I was in my A-suit but the visor was up. It was cold. Then another delta ship circled, almost warily. A forest. I was in a forest. I knew it was all over. We were finished. The sky was flickering. The trees were very black. I knew I didn't belong there. More ships, more delta ships, hovering. Landing. I raised my E. I felt – exhausted. As if my task was done and it didn't matter what happened now. I was going to die alone.

  "Then one of the Brights approached me, on foot. He was brilliant; it almost hurt my eyes to look at him. Glittering silver armor. He raised his visor. He glared at me fiercely. He looked right into my soul. His eyes were burning into mine. I didn’t have the energy, or the will, to shoulder my E. I knew I was going to die under strange stars, alone. And, strangely, the thought of dying did not bother me. But dying alone, that was tragic. I thought of Lan Hwa. Then I woke up, in her arms."

  "Strange," Prof said. "It's like a puzzle. And we have to put it together. Prophet is in a forest, with fleets of Demon saucers overhead. Then he is falling, to somewhere unknown. Then Ice sees a D saucer attack on Veda. Then Saka is in a forest, with Bright ships overhead. And is approached by a Bright. Interesting. Well, as Paula said, calm down and get miserable. I'm sure there's more to come."

  Δ

  At 0223 hours of Fourday, 383/01/18, the red alert alarms shrieked to life, and I popped out of bed fully adrenalized and all shook up. A red alert! That meant combat was imminent. What could it be? I had never expected a red alert at Delta Research. I took off running down the hall for the arms locker to suit up and Honeyhair took off for the medical office, which was her post. I was armored up in moments and snatched an E from the locker and ran for my own post, which was up on the roof terrace where we had the high ground. Doggie, Scout, Smiley and Arie were already there, and Blackie was running around barking. Saka and Ice and I were security squad auxiliaries for a red alert, and we all went to cloaking immediately and scoped out the area. It was a clear night, full of stars, and the tacmap didn't show anything unusual. I was still shaking in shock and excitement.

  "Is this some kind of drill, Doggie?" I asked.

  "Nope. Unless they haven't told me."

  "ATTENTION DELTA RESEARCH. THIS IS THE PROFESSOR." The announcement came over our comnet. "The planet Dajusdevon 5 has just been attacked by hundreds of Demon IDAG saucers. The capital city is being bombarded with antimats. That's all we have so far. Dajusdevon is part of the Assidic Confederation and you'll remember it is the planet where the A's captured the D saucer and the three live Demons. So maybe the attack there makes sense if they had been reconning the planet before."

  Dajusdevon! And we didn’t see it! What the hell good were we, if we couldn't see that? Dajusdevon was practically right next-door. That was my first thought.

  "I can assure you that the A's are going to respond to this attack with everything they have," the Prof continued. "And so will we. Remember, we have a full two Legions right here on Pandaravos, and I have no doubt those troopers will be dropping onto Dajusdevon just as soon as they can get there. The D's must be stupid to think that they can hit Dajusdevon without major adverse consequences for themselves. Their intel must be pretty bad if they can't figure out that the AC is a major military power in these parts and has the force to respond aggressively to any Demon intrusions into their vac." I remembered all those troopers on board the CS Deliverance who had accompanied Ice and Saka and me to Pandaravos. The Legion had probably suspected that the D's might have been targeting Pandaravos, but it seemed they were after Dajusdevon instead.

  "Full alert, folks!" the Professor said. "We don't know what the D's are up to. Dajusdevon is only a few light years away. They may appear overhead at any moment."

  We scanned the stars but it seemed quiet.

  Damn it! Why didn't we see this one?

  Δ

  Later that day, we huddled together in Delta Lounge, watching the transmissions from whatever was still alive on Dajusdevon and taking it all in. I was just stunned. The capital city was already leveled, annihilated from history – it was just a pile of smoking rubble and saucers were landing there already, disgorging Demon troops. We had plenty of live A-suit cam shots from Assidic troopers, rallying to counter the D's. It seemed hopeless. It looked like the D's had total vac and air superiority, and they were using those wave attacks that had served them so well on Galinta, until the very end.

  We also got live shots from the Assidic starfleet. They were swarming around the Demon ships in the vac, and dropping fighters and drones into the at. Assidic shuttles were already dropping troopers into assault positions downside, setting up for an assault on the main Demon forces at the capital. The 9th and 10th ConFree Legions were filling the skies with shuttles headed downside as the fighters and drones from the Wasp and the Scorpion darted into the saucer swarms. The 9th was our own Legion, Outvac's End, and the 10th was the Black March. There were eight full regiments in those two Legions. A blood offering, from the peoples of ConFree to their Assidic kin.

  The Assidic home defense forces that had survived the initial antimat firestorm were soon surrounded under heavy fire, suffering withering casualties.

 
; "CapTac 2, we've got space and tacair and ground forces on the way, hold on, hold on, what can we do, respond please."

  "Send us more D's," they replied quietly. Then the frequency went dead.

  Why didn't we see it? Why didn't we see it? All those troopers were dying and I felt it was my fault. My personal fault. What the hell good were we? I stood up and left the room, enraged. I couldn't stand it! I should be there – not here, sitting on my butt.

  Δ

  A glittering, golden red-eyed dragon swirled in the sky like a great snake, covered with agate scales, blue and green and crimson and gold and silver, opening its giant webbed wings, covered with filmy silky hairs. Drawing in its breath, gushing out a fiery torrent of plasma and ashes and black smoke, twisting and fluttering like an evil bat, reaching out with its great sharp-clawed paws to seize me and tear me limb from limb. I raised a hand to ward off the plasma – what a foolish gesture. I was nobody, a gnat, caught in the breath of a god. I was doomed and finished. How could I kill a dragon?

  I awoke suddenly, gasping and sweating. Honeyhair was again by my side. Relief, then despair. Another idiotic dream. What did it mean? It was extremely intense. It was certainly from my DX side. But what did it mean? Well, no clue about time or place. It would wait until morning. I drifted off to an exhausted sleep, then came back briefly as Honeyhair was stirring. What was she doing? I drifted off again, dead to the world.

  "Prophet! Wake up!" I was startled awake by Honeyhair. She was fully dressed in her Civilian Support uniform. As I started to get up, she sat down by me and hugged me. Her cheeks were wet. Tears.

  "What?" I asked, suddenly awake. She was smiling, a grim, satisfied smile.

  "I just heard," she said. "Get up." She brushed away a tear. "The D's just attacked Veda 6. Fleetcom was waiting for them. It was a massive D saucer attack, and the instant they appeared in the skies over Valhalla City Fleetcom reacted, filling the skies with fighters and drones and attacking. And downside thousands of antimat missiles launched simultaneously, targeting on the saucers. And the civilians were all in the shelters. They had been there for weeks, just waiting. And the saucers were decimated. They didn’t get to launch a single antimat, or land a single Demon trooper. The engagement has barely started and Fleetcom is finishing them off already. It’s a great victory, Prophet, a great victory! Because of you three – Ice, and Saka and you. You saved a city, you saved a world, you saved countless ConFree civilians and troopers and vacheads. So cheer up, trooper! Things are looking up!"

  I couldn't say a word. I was simply overwhelmed. It was wonderful news – the best of news!

  Δ

  "Damn it! Don't they ever give up? Don't they ever learn?" I was enraged, looking at the combat relays. Unfortunately, the good news from Veda did not last. Yes, we saved Valhalla and the Legion blew the Demon saucers to bits. But the D's turned right around and launched a second attack on Veda 6 the same day, targeting a sparsely inhabited wilderness area that had no significant cities or installations to protect. Thousands of new IDAG saucers suddenly appeared from nowhere, antimatted out a nice landing zone and landed to disgorge huge numbers of Demon troopers, who immediately set out to build a support base and to march towards Valhalla as if to tempt the natives into combat. Well, if that was the plan, it worked fine. The Legion dropped several legions into their path while most of Fleetcom dealt with the alien mother ships and saucers. In no time at all one of the largest vac, air and ground battles in Legion history was underway. And it was intense. The outcome was not clear. The enemy's resources seemed to be unlimited. I could hardly stand to look at the combat images the Legion relayed from the troops. It was the whole race, I thought, the whole Demon race. They were invading our universe, our galaxy, Traunair and Galinta and Dajusdevon and now Veda. And they had no intention of going away. We would have to kill them all, every last one of them. Yes, it was victory or death, for them and for us.

  Lots of Legion boots and Fleetcom vacheads were going to die, I knew. And lots of civilians as well – women and kids, living on a ConFree world, warm and secure, knowing that they were protected by the greatest superpower in the galaxy.

  Δ

  "I want a transfer to a combat unit," I told the Professor, in his office.

  "It's out of the question, Prophet," he replied quietly. "You are too important. Your visions can save thousands of lives. Your visions can make more difference to our combat mission than your presence on the battlefield. You know that."

  "My visions are crap, Professor. It's all a muddle. It's meaningless."

  "Does Honeyhair share your enthusiasm for a combat mission?"

  "I haven’t told her."

  "That's not wise. Your request is denied. However, we have plans for you, Prophet. If you want an active role, you will get it. We'll inform you shortly. Please be patient. As Paula said, calm down and get miserable. All will be clear shortly."

  Chapter 16

  Dragon Shoals

  Be careful what you wish for. You may get it. One fine morning the Prof called me into his office. General Huynh was there. Bird was there. Saka and Ice were there. The Prof accompanied us to the attached briefing cube.

  "Good morning all," the Prof said. "We have important issues to discuss. I thank you all for your efforts for Delta Research. You are all doing exemplary work. The importance of your contributions to the war effort cannot be exaggerated, and on behalf of the peoples of ConFree, I wish to thank you. General?"

  General Huynh stopped before me and stood at attention. "On behalf of the Assidic Starforce, Prophet, I wish to present you with this pilot wings badge. You have earned it." He touched the little silver insignia to my uniform jacket, and it affixed itself there.

  "Sir, thank you sir!"

  "Please be seated, folks," the Professor said. He was standing by the wall screen, which was blank. We settled into airchairs. He activated the screen. It showed the inhabited galaxy – a starry cosmos, stunningly beautiful, completely overwhelming, with tiny little specks representing humanity's microscopic home worlds. Prof activated a laser pointer and let the red dot roam over the galaxy.

  "As you know all too well, the war against the D's continues," he began. "The O's continue to counter the Demon invasion of Traunair, and with our technical help they appear to be gaining the upper hand. The D invasion of Galinta has been successfully crushed, thanks in part to a timely intervention by the Brights when the D's were about to overwhelm our forces. Galinta has recently been declared secure."

  The Prof slashed the red dot across the starchart. "But now there are two new fronts, Dajusdevon 5 and Veda 6, where the D have launched serious invasions and landed troops. We are assisting our Assidic allies on Dajusdevon. Because of Delta Research's timely warning, ConFree was able to deflect the first wave of attacks on Veda, but a second attack is underway. The Demons appear to be quite determined to gain a foothold in our galaxy. Their resources appear to be quite formidable. We may face another planetary invasion, at any time, at any place. Any advance warning we can give will be critical. It could mean the difference between defeat and victory.

  "The Director-General has recently raised the subject of taking the fight to the enemy. This is not easy to do, as our enemy comes from another universe. Fleetcom does have ships powered by D-neg inter-universe drives that can bore a wormhole into another universe but it is still highly risky, and we have only visited one other universe, Plane Prime, and that is not the D's universe. Nobody has ever visited Mid Haven, and the presence of Dimension X within that universe presents us with many dangerous and complex challenges. Bottom line, Fleetcom advises against the use of D-neg inter-universe drives to attempt a penetration of MidHaven. Bird?" The Professor sat down, handing the laser pointer to Bird, who took his place up front.

  Bird focused in on the galactic view until a great circular area outlined in red took up the entire screen. It was labeled DRAGON SHOALS. An accompanying box throbbed in fluorescent purple text: WARNING. EXTREME DANGER. NO ENTRY
. NATURAL STARGATE. Yes, I thought – it even looks like a dragon. A glittering, golden red-eyed dragon swirling in the sky like a great snake, covered with agate scales, blue and green and crimson and gold and silver, opening its giant webbed wings, covered with filmy silky hairs. I had seen it in my dream – a DX dream, certainly. Now, in the briefing room, I was paralyzed by that beautiful view, stardust, scattered over a milky sky.

  "Dragon Shoals is the bridge between U1 and Mid Haven," Bird said. "It's a natural stargate, and it is how the D's travel between their universe and ours. Natural stargates are extremely dangerous. You don't want to go there – unless you have an IDAG saucer that is pre-programmed to navigate those perilous shoals safely, and a good pilot to pilot her. Fortunately we now have both. And we also have detailed, pre-programmed starcharts showing all the major Demon and Bright worlds in Mid Haven, and all we have to do is decide which one we want to bombard with antimats."

  I was stunned, paralyzed, delighted. I felt that Deadman was right there in the room with us. Striking back! Striking back at those bastards, right in their own front yards. Wonderful! Wonderful! They would never expect it.

  "Prophet." The Professor had stood up. "Your request to serve in a combat unit is now approved. Delta Research has just been designated a combat unit." He smiled happily.

  Δ

  "My dear friends," The Professor said. We were gathered around a formal briefing table in a large Delta Research conference room. The table was stacked with datacards, printouts, starcharts and plastic data summaries. "All concerned with operation Lotus are now gathered here. The first question is participation. I have been ordered in the strongest possible terms by Ambassador Wester and also by the Director of ConFree herself not to accompany the team in this operation. I am in charge, but I will be safely back here, warming my butt in an airchair in Delta Research while you folks are risking your lives. I am not happy about that, but I have no choice. I will be in touch with you throughout the operation via Q-link, assuming Q-link will work in alternate universes. It may not.