Closer…
I can’t hear her.
Faster…
She’s desperate.
Louder…
“Wake up… Wake up, Kelerin.
“Kelerin…
“WAKE UP!”
The Sight came all at once, like a dam breaking, flooding Kelerin with adrenaline. Instinct had him activating his Rippler even before his eyes opened, the steady stream of Pulse burst slamming into him, jamming his Rippler arm into his stomach and pinning him against the wall with crushing force. He felt his jaw pop from biting down too hard, his vision blocked by his forearm pressing hard up against his face.
The Sight told him his attackers were standing no more than a meter and a half away. The two streams of Pulse burst relentlessly pounding into his Rippler, ricocheting off in all directions. He cried out with effort, anger, indignation.
Still lying on the bench, back braced against the wall, he began pushing with all his might into the streams, the effort creating just enough space to slide his right knee between his chest and Rippler, allowing him to push out even further.
More space.
He shifted his body so that his left leg was now behind him and he planted the sole of his boot on the wall. His right leg joined his left and he shouldered with everything he had into the merciless barrage.
Lying with his knees on the bench in a horizontal crouch, glutes, thighs and calves taking the brunt of the pressure, he tried pushing off the wall out of his crouch but only managed to straighten slightly before the Pulse streams broke him down again. He needed to improvise. Using the force of the streams to his advantage, he began walking backward up the wall, one foot behind the other, one step at a time, the force of the streams pressing against him keeping him upright. Another step, and another. He felt the wall beginning to curve inward and he knew he’d reached the concave where wall began to warp into ceiling. Another step and his body orientation started to angle downward. He called out, “Prophet.”
“I’m here.”
Speech was difficult under the strain and he had to force his neck and jaw muscles to relax enough to squeeze out his words. “I need… a feel… of the Layout.”
“Coming up.”
In an instant his senses expanded taking in all of his surroundings. Without the slightest hesitation he kicked off the wall, Pulse burst ricocheting off his Rippler at an angle having him spinning through the air toward the center of the room, the torque granting him speed and distance. He sensed his short flight coming to an end and flared out his arms and legs, landing flat on his back prostrated atop Halbard’s desk. Gripping the lip of the desk at either edge, he shoved his body off to the side and away from the entrance, falling hard and pulling the desk over with him. On its side it served as a makeshift shield between himself and his attackers.
“Brace yourself!”
The desk exploded into ten thousand splinters, blowing him back into the far wall. Wooden missiles flying every which way, one as long as his arm coming at his face, a flinch and it embedded itself into the Headmaster’s door, nicking his right ear, a trickle of blood dripping down his lobe.
Close one, he thought.
The Pulse streams stopping for the moment, the room engulfed in a plume of sawdust obscuring everything waist high and above from view. Propped up against the back wall, Kelerin caught a glimpse of his Wave Whip on the floor, freed from the locked drawer and spinning in place amongst the wreckage that was once Halbard’s desk. He could not see his attackers very well but he didn’t have to. His Prophet saw their Wave patterns just fine.
Reaching up with his right hand, he ripped the large splinter that had missed his head out of the wall on his way to his feet. Taking two running strides, he dived forward, launching the makeshift spear from his right hand, piercing the thigh of one of the attackers across the room. A scream of pain sounded followed by a fresh stream of Pulse burst passing just over his head, pulling high and away toward the ceiling. Still in mid-air, he extended his Rippler outward allowing it to hit the floor first, curling into its concave and transitioning into a forward roll, his right hand reaching down and closing over the Wave Whip, snatching it up in the process. Completing his revolution crouched behind his Rippler, he was just in time to absorb a fresh round of Pulse burst from the second attacker.
With his left side Rippler hand occupied for defense, he set the tip of the Wave Whip down on the floor with his right, stepping on it and twisting his wrist so that the top half of the Whip turned left. A subatomic tail flowed out its spout. Without waiting for it to fully deploy, he raised his Rippler slightly off the ground, creating space, and flicked his Whip in an arc from left to right beneath the gap. Two screams of agony sounded out in unison. Following through with the arc while raising his Whip to waist height, he swung his arm in a large circle above his head, flicking his wrist as the lash came about. Both screams cut out abruptly.
A surreal quiet descended upon the room and Kelerin stood to survey the scene. Seconds had passed, no more, from when his Prophet had woken him, and the office antechamber had since gone from beautiful tribute to Academia to bombed out war zone, with Pulse marks marring every angle of view, pieces of floor, wall and ceiling torn loose, Halbard’s desk obliterated. In fact, the only item left untouched was the ridiculous little bench he’d slept on. He figured there must be some ironic lesson in all that but he couldn’t put his finger on what it might be and his thoughts were focused elsewhere.
“What just happened?”
“You were attacked.”
“Thank you, Prophet. I think that much is obvious.”
“Right... sorry.”
He ignored the voice and walked over to the bodies of his would-be assassins. Two attackers cut to pieces, literally. He regarded them while considering his situation. “What I meant was, how could this happen? Who are they and what do they want with the Academy?” Crouching down again he searched the bodies looking for answers. Their pockets were filled with combat gear, nothing else.
“I don’t know,” admitted his Prophet.
His search fruitless, he stood up and a separate question occurred to him. “And how exactly am I receiving Prophecy from you right now?”
Pause.
“Prophet?”
“I don’t know.”
That didn’t make any sense. “How can you not know? Wait a minute; you’re that same Prophet from my duel four days ago, aren’t you?” No answer. “Why are you still Prophesying for me?” Still no answer. “Have you been with me this entire time?”
“No.”
“Then how are you here now?”
“It’s… complicated.”
Kelerin didn’t have time for this. “Forget it, not important right now. You have to call for help. We need the closest active Academics here and every Island Guard unit in the area, whoever can be spared from Castious and the other neighboring Islands. We need them, and we need them here yesterday.”
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t?”
“I can’t call for help. I’m not connected to the Mist. I’m cut off.”
“Then how are you-”
“I told you, it’s-”
Kelerin sighed in exasperation. “I know, I know. It’s complicated. Alright, can you at least pan out far enough to see exactly what’s going on in as much of the complex as possible?”
“Never attempted covering so large an area before.”
“First time for everything.”
“I’ll try.”
“There are lives at stake here, Prophet.”
“You’re not helping.”
Kelerin forced himself to keep quiet.
“… Raiders have fanned out outside. You’re surrounded.”
“How many?”
“Don’t know, but they’re overextended. Lines are spread thin.”
“What about inside?”
“Just a minute…” He resisted the urge to tell her to hurry up. “There’s a sm
all group… maybe twenty or twenty five. They’re trying to storm a heavily armored room, like a vault or something, toward the middle of the main building.”
“That’s the armory. It’s a fools run. Professor Harris is in there and he has his choice of weapons. They’ll be slaughtered. What else?”
“I see… a large group of raiders… attacking... the south buildings, I think. Behind the large glass one.”
“The faculty residences. These raiders must be gluttons for punishment.”
“There seems to be about fifty or sixty of them, possibly more.”
“Doesn’t matter. Whichever Teachers and Professors slept on campus last night are all probably unarmed but those raiders won’t last long, even so.”
“Some of the surrounding attackers are firing on the east building…” Kelerin heard his Prophet gasp in his mind. “Creator have mercy! Kelerin, the children!”
He took off out the chamber and down the hall. “Show me the path of least resistance to the Student dormitories - NOW!”
“Take the next left. That side of the main building is unguarded. Your path is clear.”
“Got it.”
Bar-Kas
Userus Hall - Academy Island, Osmos
“Ondo, get out there.”
Ondo surveyed the scene of death decorating the floor outside the Armory and he was in no hurry to add his own personal touch to it. Bar-Kas attempted to inspire the young Mainlander. “This is what you trained for, Ondo, what you’ve lived for. Your opportunity to serve your land, your Clan and your people, right here, right now. It’s time to be that person you’ve prepared your entire life to be!”
Everything the Second Son said was true, but Ondo was suddenly very clear on a small yet critical distinction he never considered before in all his ideological upbringing; the difference between sacrificing oneself for a lifelong cause and sacrificing oneself in a pointless act of desperation. It was a terrible time to become enlightened and he was having trouble reconciling. Bar-Kas could see the young man maturing before his very eyes. He didn’t have time for it. “ONDO, GET OUT THERE!”
The scolding, like an electric shock, reverting Ondo back to his primal self: A Mainlander, an Aberration.
Ondo leaped from behind the corner, screaming like a mad man, charging the Armory door, hurtling over the bodies littering his path and spraying the entrance with a continuous stream of Pulse burst.
There was no indication of danger, no target ever appearing in the doorway, and yet without warning Ondo’s Pulser split in half lengthwise, its mechanical guts spilling onto the floor. The young Mainlander slowed his charge, his war cry dwindling to a pathetic whimper. Staring helplessly at his Pulser, its sudden rendering from lethal weapon to halves of an empty shell seemed to Ondo an omen. Closing his eyes, he accepted his fate and a second later an unseen lash split Ondo in half from head to groin, his contents spilling out onto the floor as well, another empty shell.
Bar-Kas was still taking cover around the corner from the antechamber to the Armory, his back pressed against the wall like the rest of his squad members behind him, Pulser held at the ready, listening to Ondo’s progress, trying to piece together what was happening based purely on sounds from the room beyond: There was Ondo’s battle cry, a round of Pulse burst, metallic clattering, the battle cry petering out, and finally, silence. Bar-Kas leaned over, bringing his head as close to the corner’s edge as common sense would allow. He called out, “Ondo? Ondo?”
No response.
“AAHHhhh.” The Second Son pounded his fist into the wall in frustration, then stole a look at his squad. Not a hint of fear in the eyes of a single one of them. These were good men, and he was losing them with every failed attempt to take that Armory and place his Pulse mine inside. But he would sacrifice each and every last one of them, and then himself, before giving up on avenging the blood honor of his brother.
Flicking the comm on his helmet, he called to his squad leader. “Cheserg?”
“Yeah.”
“I need you to send me over a few men. Bruld and Normond, maybe two others.”
“Second, Bruld and Normond are dead. With all due respect, I can’t afford a single man right now. We’re not making any progress as it is.”
Bar-Kas did not appreciate having his authority countered. “You don’t need to make progress, Cheserg. All you need to worry about is containment. Those Academics aren’t even armed.”
“They’re using patterned formations with those shields of theirs, sending out small strike teams to attack our weak points. They’re picking us off one by one. If we thin out our lines any more this whole thing will be over in seconds. We only have minutes left as it is.”
“Unacceptable, Cheserg.”
“I’m not afraid of dying, Second, but we’re losing men and we’re all dead if we don’t do something to turn this thing around, right now.” Bar-Kas looked to his men in the hallway. They were ready for anything. Cheserg seemed to read his mind. “What are your orders?”
“How many men do you have left?”
“Thirty two-NO!” a flurry of Pulse burst and Cheserg calling out to his men to hold their positions. “Make that Twenty nine and falling fast.”
Not good. “Listen to me carefully. Select ten of your best men and meet me back at the pods in two minutes.”
“The rest won’t be able to hold the line.”
“They’ll hold it for long enough,” and Bar-Kas cut the communication before Cheserg could protest. He turned to the men behind him. “You hold this position at all costs, do you hear me? If we can’t get in, that skug in there sure as death isn’t getting out. Am I making myself clear?”
The response was simultaneous and uniform. “Yes, Second!”
Bar-Kas turned to the Aberration closest to him. “You, grab that mine. You’re coming with me.”
The Aberration looked at his commander questioningly. Bar-Kas didn’t have to do it, but he decided to offer the man an explanation anyway. “Are you ready?”
“For what, Second?”
“To be that person you’ve been preparing your entire life to be.”
Dunner
Student Dormitories - Academy Island, Osmos
“CLOSE UP THOSE LINES!” demanded Valix above the clamor of the assault waging on all sides.
Dunner hated taking orders from Valix, as if that braggart wasn’t vain enough already? But the fact remained, Valix was the first to have gotten his bearings after the initial salvo of Pulse burst hit the dormitories, and much as Dunner hated to admit it, managed to take charge of damage control while everyone else was still fumbling around in confusion. Probably saved a lot of lives.
The order to close ranks was directed at Dunner and several dozen other Students standing together Rippler to Rippler, lining what were once the walls of their dormitory. Raiders had surrounded the building, blasting metal, stone, wood and glass away in short order. Valix mustered enough Students together after the initial volley to form a Rippler chain along the inner perimeter, preventing any further Pulse burst from getting through. The chain was contiguous, broken up only by the occasional load bearing support pillar or jagged ruin of a dividing wall once separating one dorm room from its neighbor. So far their defenses were holding, protecting Students from the direct onslaught while keeping the building’s structural supports safe from Pulse burst aimed at bringing the entire thirty story building down on top of them. The unspoken question on every Student’s mind, Dunner’s included, was - now what?
Running through some possible options in his head, Dunner saw a Pulse burst ricochet off the Rippler of the Student next to him. The lower classman, a kid no older than twelve, had been resting his Rippler on a slight angle. Rookie mistake. The burst redirected upward where it tore away a piece of ceiling. The Student had to lift his Rippler over his head to defend against falling debris and a temporary gap appeared in the chain. One of the raiders was able to exploit the weakness, sending a Pulse burst straight through that came
dangerously close to Dunner before crashing into a support pillar behind him. Wood splintered and the ceiling directly above buckled ominously.
These raiders were no amateurs. Dunner doubted whether they’d missed the strategic significance of what just occurred. He called back to Valix. “We’re going to need people along the lines with their Ripplers held high to protect from falling debris so the rest of us can focus-” Before he could finish, a fresh stream of Pulse burst crashed into the ceiling above, bringing a section of it down on top of four Students.
Valix began barking orders to deal with the new situation: “PULL THOSE KIDS IN AND SHORTEN THOSE LINES! I DON’T WANT TO SEE A SINGLE GAP! DO YOU HEAR ME? NOT A SINGLE GAP!”
Dunner caught Valix’s eye and stated the obvious. “We’re not going to be able to hold out like this much longer.” Valix glared back at him but had nothing to counter with.
Just then a Student protecting the northern perimeter called out with potential game changing information. “We have a friendly. Incoming.” Dunner tried to look over from his vantage point but couldn’t see a thing. The Student continued more excited now. “It’s Kelerin.”
“Let him in!” shouted Dunner, feeling like this might be the break they’ve been waiting for.
Valix was more cautious and not happy about the prospect of his command over the situation being challenged. “You do not open up any gaps until he’s right on top of you. Got me?”
There was no time for the Student to answer. He and his counterpart next to him were already powering down their Ripplers to a diving Kelerin, flying through the gap head first. The two Ripplers were powering up again and re-sealing the gap even before Kelerin had transitioned into a forward roll and came full stop. “Everyone OK over here?” was the first thing Kelerin asked once stationary.
“OK? Do we look OK?” Valix started off hostile. “Where have you been, anyway?”
“Lay off, Valix,” warned Dunner while maintaining his focus on defending his position.
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