“Good one,” I muttered and narrowed my eyes. My tail swished in anticipation as we danced around each other, warily watching and waiting to see who would make the next strike.
Amber's fist flashed out in a dizzying series of punches that would have laid me low if any of them landed, but I managed to twist out of the way and drop down to the mat. I lashed out with my legs, striking her behind the knee joint in an attempt to knock her down or at least ruin her balance.
“That's not going to work,” Amber taunted as she moved in the direction of my kick, dropping into a forward roll that stole the force from my attack. I scrambled to get back up, narrowly avoiding her as she came crashing down in a devastating elbow drop.
Grappling with her would be a mistake, I knew. She was considerably stronger than me and a veteran fighter. I couldn't place her unarmed technique, not fitting with any of the martial arts I was familiar with.
“Where did you learn to fight like this?”
Amber was on her feet again and I rushed in, slashing at her head and neck with a series of lightning-fast jabs. Her left arm came around and deflected my right hand at the exact same moment as she slammed her right fist into my midsection. I backpedaled, my last-second dodge reducing some of the power in that strike, but the blow still hurt.
“The Army, of course,” Amber boasted, stepping forward and spinning half around, pouring her momentum into an elbow smash aimed for my temple. I ducked and lashed out with three quick, hard thrusts to very specific locations on her left side.
My smile widened as Amber gasped, attempting to draw back and discovering her left arm wasn't working quite so well. “What the hell did you do to me? My arm's all tingly and numb!”
“An unarmed technique that can stun and weaken,” I explained, pleased with myself now that Amber was firmly on the defensive. “Very useful when faced with a bigger and stronger opponent.”
I stepped forward, pressing my advantage as best I could. Amber's left arm wouldn't stay numb for very long, after all—the pressure-point trick was an assassin's skill, intended to weaken an armed mark in order to deliver the killing dagger thrust unhindered. I rolled underneath her right-hand swing, flicking my tail down between my legs as I shoved the bone of my hip against her.
My fingers closed around Amber's wrist, exploiting her overbalanced state and leveraging the momentum of her punch into a toss that sent the much heavier woman crashing to the mat with a tremendous thud. The breath blew out of her and I followed the throw with a forward roll that put me in the exact position I needed to be in.
Four rapid strikes later and Amber's right arm was drained of strength. She strained and struggled to get off her back, but it was no use. I twisted around and planted my knees on either side of her body, straddling her torso and pinning her to the mat.
We both stared at the other, breathing hard, each trying to read the intentions of the other. I shifted my thumb and pressed hard on a vulnerable spot under her arms. Amber howled from the expected sizzling jolt of pain and numbness.
“Okay, okay, I give up! You can quit digging into me like that!”
I released her arms and levered myself off of her, sitting on the mat next to her as she twitched her arms uselessly. She started shaking—at first I thought it was in anger, perhaps, that she'd been taken down by me, but then I realized she was actually laughing.
“Ah, but that was fun!” Amber closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. “I didn't expect to lose, much less lose so quickly. You'll have to teach me that nerve-deadening trick.”
“If you would have known I could do that beforehand, you wouldn't have lost. One full-power strike from your dominant hand and I would have been out of the match.”
The Swordlady let out a chuckle. “True enough. You've got grit, Misaki, I'll definitely give you that.”
“Why does Luna have a position like yours?” I inquired. My abrupt change of subject didn't seem to throw Amber off in the slightest.
“You mean the Swordlady?”
“The Order of the Moon has always been an order of sages and lorekeepers. I don't know a whole lot about the history, but I do know the Order has never engaged in wars of conquest.” I let myself collapse to the mat next to Amber, stretching my limbs out, my tail swishing slowly across the textured plastic surface of the foam.
“Luna's task centuries ago was not much different than it is now,” Amber explained, tilting her head to look at me as she spoke. “Knowledge is valuable and knowledge of the astral is almost priceless. You probably already know that the first human mages learned their craft from specters.”
I nodded. “So the legends claim.”
“Like most legends, this one has some truth to it. The first specters to meddle in the material world weren't summoned and bound, but crossed the boundary willingly—it was much more permeable in those days. They came here from the astral world and were seen as gods by primitive human tribes.”
That much I knew—the interference of specters in early human affairs resulted in the creation of the first rigid religious hierarchies. Unlike later religions, these proto-religious tribal pantheons actually lacked the element of faith, for their “gods” were in fact very real and actively sought to rule over them.
“The specters set themselves up as deities, brought humans under their control and organized affairs as they saw fit,” Amber continued. “The more followers they acquired, though, the more difficult it was to keep them all under control. We're a contrary lot, after all, and simple obedience isn't all that fulfilling.”
I blinked as I realized where she was going with this. “It's really that simple?”
“Yeah, it's that simple,” she replied. “Think about it this way; if you're a typical specter, you have a lot of magical power. You can do a lot of damage with invocations and even just using miasma offensively. But that power isn't unlimited; throw enough warriors at even the strongest specter and it won't be able to stay anchored to the material world.”
“So the specters, playing the role of god-rulers for their followers, tutored their most trusted and high-ranking lieutenants in the art of magecraft,” I reasoned, the connection becoming obvious. “The god-rulers were able to project power through their high priests and more effectively maintain larger groups of followers.”
“Makes sense, doesn't it?”
“It does,” I allowed, frowning. I pulled myself back up into a sitting position, my tail curling around against my leg. “Logically it would follow that even if the specters were killed or retreated back to their own world, the followers would remain under the control of the high priests. The knowledge would be passed on and the specter cults would continue.”
“Right. I know this was something of a tangent, but it's relevant.” Amber slowly eased her weight onto her arms and shakily pushed herself up off of the mat. “Specters are the original source of magecraft, and Luna exists to gather arcane knowledge. We have no soldiers and we don't conquer, but we do need to protect ourselves. Dark spirits usually aren't all that willing to share.”
“Was the Shattered Sword created by the Order?”
“No, we acquired the Relic and its imbued spirit about four hundred years ago. I don't think anyone knows much about its history. The imbued spirit wasn't especially willing to discuss that sort of thing. I get the impression he wasn't all that happy with his new circumstances.”
I felt a twinge of sadness as I thought of Karin. Without any knowledge or skill in magecraft, she hadn't been able to impose her will on me. Ours had been a unique situation; all eighty-one previous wielders had been able to compel my obedience, but I would have fled without a second thought, had I been given the opportunity.
With Karin, though…
“I can understand how he might have felt,” I murmured.
“Yeah, you were owned by the Tsukimura clan for a long time, and the Sakurai before them. I can't even imagine what it would feel like… to be suddenly freed from that sort of life of servitude, given age
ncy and control over your fate.”
My lips curved up into a dreamy smile. “It was the first 'best moment' in a succession of 'best moments' of my life.”
Amber's eyebrow rose. “Oh?”
“Every single moment since I met Karin has been a wonderful moment in its own right, even those that were frightening, infuriating or depressing,” I answered without any hesitation at all. My tail swished against the mat's surface and I stretched my arms and legs out, arching my back as I lifted my hands high.
“If she can earn your love, she's got to be one hell of a woman,” Amber remarked. The easy way the compliment rolled off her tongue surprised me; the Swordlady struck me as the type who held back praise and was difficult to please. My confusion must have shown in my face, because Amber started to laugh.
“What?” I demanded.
“I'll bet you were thinking I'm some kind of hardass impossible-to-please meathead ex-soldier,” she said, but the her tone was teasing, not accusatory. “Oh, no, don't deny it—I knew you'd start thinking that. Everybody thinks that, but it's fine. When everyone thinks you've got high standards and hold yourself to those standards, they hold themselves to it as well.”
I blinked. “Um… so you, what, pretend to be the stereotypical gruff military type?”
“Sure. Why not?” Amber chuckled and started working her left arm in slow, wide circles, working the residual numbness out. “The Army taught me a lot of things—fighting, shooting, blowing stuff up, fixing broke radio equipment—but the most important thing I learned was how to organize people and get the job done no matter what.”
Her words were starting to make sense. The public face of the leader and symbol of Luna's strength, the Swordlady, was not Amber's true personality, but a mask that she wore in order to do her job and keep her people alive.
I heard a soft click and turned to the double door leading into the corridor as it was pushed inward. Meilin came through, a familiar businesslike expression on her face. My ears flicked with anticipation—I could tell from her posture that it was time.
“The scouts have reported in and the main assault force is on the move. We're about to begin the final briefing with Archivist Elias and Security Chief Alex.” Meilin turned her gaze onto Amber and I could detect an almost-smile form on her lips. “Looks like you two have been enjoying yourselves.”
“Just working off a little steam,” Amber remarked as she worked her boots back on. She stood up and strapped the Shattered Sword and scabbard back to her right hip. “I can't really blame Misaki for being frustrated, since I'm frustrated, too.”
“We're going to do it.” Meilin regarded me with sympathy, but the iron resolve in her eyes never wavered. “We're absolutely going to bring Karin back.”
“I know.”
amber's game
The interior of the rotorless repulsion gunship was quiet as it scythed through the night sky. I had no idea how Luna managed to get their hands on one of these high-tech flying machines, but I decided it was better not to question certain things too deeply.
Amber sat across from me, still strapped into her seat. Her fingers curled around the hilt of the Shattered Sword, but outwardly she appeared to be as calm as ever. Meilin was beside me, intently studying the satellite images of the facility on a small tablet computer. None of us were interested in making small talk at this point.
“Five minutes to insertion point,” the pilot called out over the intercom.
“Thank you.” Amber unsnapped her crash harness and motioned for us to do likewise. My fingers trembled only a little as I depressed the release, feeling the thick nylon webbing loosen and fall away from my shoulders and waist.
“The main force should be hitting their outer defenses now,” Amber noted. “By the time we get on the ground, they should have the entire facility's security totally tied up. We should be able to slip in through the back and grab Karin without anyone noticing.”
I didn't bother responding. We all knew this operation was going to be beyond tough, testing the limits of our skill and strength. We would need to give everything we had and then some in order to save Karin and get out safely.
“I feel naked going into battle without my magic.” I turned the pistol over in my hands, regarding it as if it were an alien creature. I knew how to use it, of course, but I was never comfortable relying on a mechanical device in the midst of battle.
“The longer you hold off throwing fire at people, the longer it'll take for AEGIS to figure out exactly what's going on,” Amber reminded me. “Look, I know you're scared, Misaki. I can see it in your eyes. We're going to make this work. Trust me.”
My ears perked up slightly. Despite the situation, I did feel a little better. I could tell that Amber was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to fight. Unlike her sister, who was a competent and lethal warrior but viewed battle as an unfortunate necessity, Amber seemed to relish battle for its own sake.
“Stick close to me.” Meilin gave my free hand a reassuring squeeze. “We want to avoid engaging the enemy for as long as possible. We don't want them to try and move Karin during the confusion.”
I shook my head firmly. “They won't be able to do that.”
“Why not?” Amber shrugged as she checked over her gear. “It's what I'd do. They have to know that there's a chance they'll fail to hold her. Not having that sort of escape plan would be stupid.”
“I don't know why, but I know they can't do that,” I insisted, sliding the pistol back into the holster on my right hip. “It feels like… something happened and now they can't get close to her at all. I'm not sure what, exactly.” Amber gave me a dubious look, but she didn't bother arguing.
“We're at the insertion point,” the pilot's voice crackled over the intercom. “Opening rear hatch now.” There was a whirr of electric motors as the rear hatch began to open.
The air was calm and I could just barely hear the whine of the aircraft's repulsion jets. Outside the hatch I could see only trees, but I knew from the briefing that we were only about three meters above the ground.
“Let's get moving, people!”
Amber disappeared out of the open door. Meilin went next, dropping off the edge a moment before I stepped out onto the hatch myself. Curling my tail up against my back, I dropped down out of the gunship. The ground came rushing up to meet me, but I simply allowed my legs to bend at the knee and absorb the shock.
“We're on our own now,” Amber noted as the gunship's hatch sealed shut. Angling its repulsion jets away from us, the craft shot off into the sky. The pilot had been instructed to set down at a rally point fifty kilometers from the base and wait for Amber to signal for pickup.
I drew my pistol and thumbed off the safety, keeping my finger outside the trigger guard. My hands weren't shaking any longer; I considered that a good sign. The forest around us was dark, but I could make out the lights of the base through the obscuring layers of foliage.
“Lots of gunfire.” My ears pricked up and swiveled forward, trying to catch and dissect the sounds around me as I tried to get a feel for the area.
“The attack is already in progress,” Amber agreed. “Now let's not waste the chance our assault team's so graciously given us.”
We moved through the surrounding forest as quickly as we could, clearing the two hundred or so meters until we reached the base's perimeter fence. Heavy metal posts were deeply rooted into the ground, linked to each other by a series of horizontal wires. The fur on my tail started to stand on end as I came closer.
“Electrified fence, just as I suspected.” Amber drew the Shattered Sword and took it up in a two-handed grip. The cracked and fractured blade of the Relic began to pulse, flickering with deadly energy. Small forks of lightning spat between the fissures and cracks in the blade.
With a series of heavy slashes so quick I could scarcely follow them, half an entire section of the fence collapsed, the sheared-off ends of the thick high-current cables sparking indignantly in protest. Amber sheathed h
er Relic and drew her pistol. “Stay away from the ends; they're still live.”
“Right.” I made my way carefully through the gap cut in the fence with Meilin coming up behind me. The distant, throaty report of large-caliber rifles heralded the arrival of Luna sharpshooters.
We were approaching from the south side, furthest away from the access road that led through the main gate. The layout of the base had me wondering just what this place had originally been constructed for, but that was a question for another time.
Amber motioned for us to follow and we ducked down beside the smallest of the prefab buildings. It was some sort of large storage shed or supply dump; the building had no windows at all, but did have a roll-up metal door of the sort often used for garages. A wide set of more conventional double doors were firmly shut and locked.
“Which building is Karin in?”
I gestured to the north. “The large, older building. The permanent structure.”
“Okay,” she murmured, her voice rising slightly with eager anticipation, “the two of you, follow close but not too close. About two meters behind. If we encounter soldiers, I can take them out easy.”
I nodded. Judging by the properties already exhibited by the Shattered Sword, Amber would be able to draw and strike the ground with the blade to produce a potent shock wave of stunning energies to blast down anyone who stood too close.
Amber's hand came up and she signaled for us to move. Meilin and I waited, letting her get a few meters ahead, before we stepped out from behind our cover. The sound of gunfire was louder now, and I could also make out shouts as the base's defenders gave orders, called for backup and cried out in pain.
The Luna assault team was well-trained and decently armed, but they were going up against at least twice as many soldiers who were much better-equipped. During the strategy session, Amber and the Chief both stressed to their people that sowing confusion and chaos was more important than killing the enemy. Nearly all of the soldiers on both sides were well-entrenched, with Luna's forces using the forest to screen them.
Dimension Fracture Page 15