by S. E. Weir
Huh. I guess ADAM might be right that I’m one of the better hackers in the Empire. This task would never have been this easy on the MR. Still, better to be cautious than complacent.
Phina set up the path she would use so it couldn’t be easily traced back to her, laying down bunny trails to trip anyone who might be interested in finding her just in case. When Phina finally got to the location on the network she had been trying to reach, she ran searches for anything pertaining to the Gleeks or the Empire. She found one document in a folder containing video, audio, and text files. One marked Read Me Now caught her eye. Shrugging, she opened it after making sure her anti-virus and filtering programs were running.
My name is Terland. If you are reading this and you are from the Empire, then I am dead. I have succeeded in...
Several minutes later, she straightened quickly. “Fudging crumbs!”
Ryan leaned into her space, startling her with his presence as well as how close he was. “What? Did you find what you were looking for?”
She pushed his head out of the way. “Personal bubble, man. Respect boundaries.”
He took an exaggerated step back as he rolled his eyes. “Fine. Did you find anything?”
“Yeah.” She tapped her screen as a series of messages popped up. “I found a whole lot of something, and it’s more involved than we thought.”
She used her implant to notify Link, who was waiting to hear from her. He should still be in the receiving room across the building.
Tell me.
Phina explained everything she had found, getting the sense from his silence that he was angry, which was confirmed by the tone of his next words.
There’s something else I need you to do.
As she finished his task, Phina’s head filled with voices that were both alarmed and furious. Phina recognized one out of all the others as Braeden.
We’re being attacked!
Chapter Twenty-Three
Etheric Empire, Vermott, Planet of the Baldere, City Streets
Braeden followed Traekor as he led his brothers through the city. They had been out for hours, searching in vain for any sign of their lost brothers. It had been weeks since Traekor and the other Gleeks had been in the city. Their bodies were likely long gone, but Braeden and his brothers still needed to try.
He shivered at the thought that Glaeken’s and Dreuved’s bodies might have been discarded like trash. Granted, not many knew Gleeks were returned to the Mother and crafted into new bodies. A dead Gleek meant a new one would arise in their place, but a lost Gleek was gone forever, one fewer of their already dwindling numbers. It was a terrible tragedy he had hoped might still be avoided.
A presence broke across his mental awareness, causing him to flinch. The rest of the people they passed were preoccupied with their own business, mainly exuding emotions that were normal in the course of the day. Anxiety, love, lust, and greed pushed at him and didn’t cause any worry, but the presence now following them didn’t feel benign.
Braeden had felt this mix of emotion once before when he had been attacked by a berserk Shrillexian who had tried to kill him and his brothers when they had visited the Shrillexian homeworld for research. Was this new person trying to kill the Gleeks or someone else? He waited, but when a second and then a third presence with the same emotions joined the first, he knew they were out of time.
Run!
Following his own advice, he moved faster, passing Brother Traekor.
What? Brother Braeden? What’s happening?
If you want to live, stop asking obvious questions and start running faster!
Kroeden, Graeden, and Draeget kept up with Braeden, though they were a few steps behind. Each of them held their staff, cloaks swirling and streaming behind them. Traekor finally caught up as they slowed down at a crossroad Braeden didn’t recognize.
Which way, Traekor?
I… The Gleek looked unsure and nervous as his eyes darted around. I’m not certain.
Braeden felt those who were following them come up behind them quickly, and he spun back toward the intersection they had just run through, his staff raised in front of him.
Then figure it out, quickly!
His brothers fell into fighting stances as the four Baldere approached them.
Is it them? Traekor mentally shouted from behind. Could they be the ones that killed Glaeken and Dreuved?
Braeden answered calmly. So it would seem. Have you ascertained our direction of travel?
Draeget glanced back at Traekor, his body in a position that allowed him to easily see in front and behind. Perhaps he’s directionally challenged.
After a few moments of silence, Braeden risked a glance behind him. Traekor looked ashamed. Figure it out.
Only now did he feel frustrated that he hadn’t heeded the advice of their new friends by taking one or two of the Guardians with them. He reached out to Phina, realizing her range likely wasn’t great enough to hear them. We’re being attacked!
Braeden! Where? And how many?
There are four of them, and we don’t know. He described what he saw. Turning back to the four Baldere, he noticed there were even more behind them, bringing it to a total of seven. After a moment, he realized the reason they didn’t feel the same was they didn’t have the same intent in their emotions. They were eager to fight, but they weren’t intending to kill the Gleeks.
Small mercies, but that made it even more likely that the first four Baldere were responsible for their brothers’ loss. At least, they had been the hands that killed them. He didn’t think it would be that easy that these were the only four Baldere involved.
Braeden, you said your range was larger and stronger than other Gleeks. Can you tell what direction you feel my mind in?
Now, why hadn’t he thought of that? He shook his head as the Baldere drew closer. Mental communication was much faster than talking out loud, and he really appreciated that since the interaction between him and Phina took mere moments.
You are four blocks south of us and one block west.
On our way. Just stay alive!
Don’t worry, we intend to.
Now that he no longer needed to worry about their location, he observed the Baldere as they approached. Their bodies looked very similar with their purple skin, athletic build, and heads that were bald and ribbed on the top, with fringes of hair along the sides. Their hair color and height provided the only differences. The eager looks on their faces and the cold light in their eyes had caught Braeden’s attention. There would be no negotiating with these Baldere.
The Baldere were only paces away when anger ignited within him. These Baldere presumed to decide that his life and his brothers’ lives were over. That whatever their goal, it was more important than the lives of these Gleeks. Braeden’s body vibrated with anger and tension. Never again. They would be taking no more lives.
For Glaeken and Dreuved. No more.
What? Are you really considering…
Traekor’s mental voice faltered as Braeden let out the anger and tension from his chest by emitting a sound that was somewhere between a roar and a sonic scream. The traditional Gleek war cry surprised him as much as the Baldere, who appeared frozen in shock. He would take any advantage he could get since they were outnumbered.
He rushed forward, bringing up his staff before him to jam the tip into the stomach of the lead Baldere. His momentum and the small amount of telekinetic energy he put behind the thrust were great enough that the blow caused the Baldere to fly back into the slower, shorter males behind him and knock them partway down the street. That would have to do for now.
Braeden twirled his staff to gain momentum for his strike against the Baldere to the left of him. Unfortunately, the shock had passed, and the Baldere blocked his thrust, though he wasn’t fast enough to block the strike entirely. It clipped the back of his skull, and he staggered.
He moved to meet an attack from the Baldere to his other side, but Kroeden got there first, leaving B
raeden to follow up with the one he had clipped in the head. Whipping his staff around, the Gleek hit the Baldere on the head again, this time a direct strike. Though the blow caused the Baldere to stumble, the purple alien recovered quickly.
“Brothers, avoid hitting them in the head. Their ribbed skulls must give them added protection. Aim for the soft tissue.”
Braeden followed his own advice by striking the Baldere in the stomach, blocking the male’s attack, and then whipping his staff into his opponent’s chest where the alien’s heart should be. Behind every blow, he applied a small amount of telekinetic force. Any more than that, and he would be too tired to continue if the fight lasted longer than he hoped.
His brothers did the same with their opponents, but they wouldn’t be able to do it for long. Even the small amounts drained him since he had to focus and direct the energy to just the right place each time. Braeden’s strike proved successful, and the Baldere fell to his knees.
Placing his staff firmly on the ground, Braeden used it to provide stability and momentum for a side kick to the male’s throat. As the Baldere collapsed, unconscious or dead—at this point, he couldn’t bring himself to care—he looked down the street to assess the situation and found that his fellow Gleeks had not fared quite as well. The Baldere were skilled opponents in their fighting style, as much as the Gleeks were in theirs, so it came down to strength and cunning. The Baldere had more strength, but he didn’t think these had the cunning.
Kroeden still fought the Baldere he had kept from attacking Braeden, and while he was holding his own, it was obvious the older Gleek didn’t have the strength to continue for long. Draeget seemed to be more inexperienced compared to the Baldere in front of him, and while he hadn’t yet been defeated, the blood oozing out of his wounds proved he would soon be overwhelmed.
Graeden had done the best, having fended off two so far. Braeden saw that Traekor wasn’t fighting his own Baldere but left those two to fight Graeden and nipped in with a strike here or there when he wouldn’t be caught.
Braeden’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t have time to respond before the two Baldere he had struck with his initial blow were back. Soon he didn’t even have time to think while fending off the attacks from both of them.
As Kroeden staggered to the side, about to be overwhelmed, he heard Phina’s mental voice.
Incoming!
A moment later, he heard rushes of air and the impact of bodies and weapons as one of the scariest monsters Braeden had ever seen ran into the fight, followed by Phina, Ryan, Drk-vaen, and Greyson. Within seconds, the tide had turned. The Baldere all stopped, their minds filling with fear, and ran away. Apparently, the Baldere were happy when they outnumbered their opponents but didn’t appreciate the risk when they were on the receiving end.
The monstrous half-wolf, half-human-looking creature chased them, swiping with his claws every so often without any intent to kill. The rest of the group stayed to help the Gleeks. Braeden heaved a sigh of relief as he turned to Phina, who came to his side. He could hear the concern in her mind even though she hadn’t formulated it into words. He shook his head at how strange it was to trust anyone outside of his brothers so quickly. He hadn’t hesitated to reach out to her when he knew they were in trouble, and she and the rest of the team hadn’t hesitated to help. It implied a level of trust he wasn’t used to and was struggling to come to terms with. He patted the small five-fingered hand that touched his arm.
I’m all right, young friend. Just need to rest and heal ourselves.
He turned, and when his hip struggled to move, causing him to stagger, Phina ducked under his arm to support him. As he whispered his thanks, his eyes took in his brothers, none of whom were in great shape except Traekor, who had obviously stayed back the whole time, judging by the lack of visible wounds.
Brother Traekor.
Nervous but defiant eyes met his, though Traekor remained silent.
What kept you from properly fighting along with us?
He blustered a bit but finally got to the core of his complaint. How do we know those Baldere were even a problem? They were just walking toward us when you ran at them.
This was Traekor’s issue? Braeden felt tired. Traekor had taken over much of the sway in the commune, insisting on taking their people to war, but when the time came to fight, he had held back. He had never realized that Traekor’s bluster covered his cowardice.
Have you ever known me to attack someone without cause?
No?
Then what makes you think this time is different? You told me Glaeken’s babbling as he died indicated a dark presence of some kind. I felt it tonight as they approached. The four Baldere in front had the intent to kill us all. I turned to attack so that we might have even a moment’s advantage.
Traekor’s emotions turned from pride to shame, and Braeden knew he didn’t need to say anything else.
Perhaps next time, you will trust your brothers instead of doing the bare minimum to keep us from dying.
Braeden was more disturbed by the lack of trust than he’d thought. There was a sharp contrast between the actions of Traekor and those of Phina and the males from the Empire, but Braeden didn’t know what to do with that yet.
He turned away from Traekor to see Phina looking at him with interest as she stood supporting him. The rest of the brothers had field-dressed their wounds and hooked their arms around the humans’ shoulders before they began their journey back to the consulate.
Phina, what was that frightening creature?
Phina looked up, then craned her neck to look behind them. Oh, right. That was Maxim. He’s a Wechselbalg who has a Pricolici form.
Really? Braeden’s interest was piqued, and a small rush of energy filled him at the knowledge he had just acquired. We have heard of the Wechselbalg but hadn’t interacted with those changed ones yet. The Pricolici form was just a rumor. Fascinating. He must have incredible strength and endurance.
Braeden?
Hmm? He was engrossed in the questions filling his mind and barely heard her.
Did you say you could sense the Baldere’s emotions?
Braeden blinked once as his mind returned to the present and ran her question through again before answering. Yes.
What about mine or Greyson’s emotions?
Of course.
Phina’s eyes lit up with excitement as she grinned and clutched his arm.
I could use your help.
Etheric Empire, Vermott, Planet of the Baldere, Governing Center, Consulate
Link and Phina stood at the side of the room, purposely keeping the conversation to nothing of consequence. At a lull, Link glanced around, viewing the cluster of Gleeks on the other side of the receiving room near an abstract painting. Eight Balderian guards were stationed at different points along the walls. The Guardians and Marines wandered around the room, stopping to talk to each other occasionally. Ryan had a surprisingly stoic look on his face, and Maxim and Drk-vaen looked serious. They all had their game faces on.
Link had a thought and turned to Phina. “My dear, I need you to do something for me.”
Her eyes narrowed. Really, it was like she knew him or something.
“What is it?”
“I need you to let me do most of the talking.”
Her face smoothed out as she relaxed. “Not that I want to talk in front of a group of strangers, but you were all gung-ho about me contributing to the conversation. ‘Using my communication skills,’ I believe you said.”
Link coughed in amusement. “Yes, well, now that I’ve had more time to think about it, I realized we don’t want to tip them off that you have hacking skills, let alone skills as high as yours, and I think we should keep your newly found mental skills completely quiet. So far as anyone knows, you are a regular diplomatic recruit with nothing special about you.”
She squinted at him before raising her eyebrows. “You think anyone is going to believe that you have an entirely ordinary trainee when you are Mister
Arrogant-and-Know-It-All Wells?”
With a side of Ian James, spy extraordinaire and Stan the Man, sleazy womanizer businessman. Phina added through their private link.
Link grinned at the young woman, acutely aware of Maxim snorting since with his sensitive hearing, he’d heard every word, regardless of how softly they spoke. He appreciated that she had remembered to speak that last part mentally. Pat on the back for him, of course, for choosing her.
“Rule number six, kid. Show only what you want them to see.”
Phina had just opened her mouth to say something smart to Link when the doors at the end of the room flew open, revealing Velof. He stormed inside, dark cloak swirling behind him, and his thunderous expression blazed through his eyes and set jaw. A female Baldere followed him, but the cold look on her face and the way she moved made Phina feel uneasy.
Velof stopped in the middle of the room, the female only half a step behind, and sent piercing glares at everyone, ending with Link.
“You presume to summon me?”
Link stared at him for a moment, then assumed his Greyson hauteur. “You forget yourself, Velof. You are the leader of your people, but you have chosen to place yourself under the Empress’ authority by joining the Empire. As her representative, I have full rights to summon any Imperial citizen, no matter their station. This was stipulated in the agreement we signed, I believe. You did read that document, did you not? It was rather lengthy. I can understand if you chose not to do so.”
Velof’s eyes narrowed and his hands clenched into fists as he glared at Link and the group of Gleeks. Finally, his mouth twisted into a sneer.
“Fine. Get on with it, then.”
Link smiled pleasantly. “Not just yet, as not everyone is here.”
Velof shot another glare at him before moving to sit in a chair that was shaped a little too much like a throne for Phina’s peace of mind. The female with him stood behind and to the side of his chair, staring out into the room.