“What do I do now?” she called and released the stick.
She grumbled morosely, knowing full well she had the Dreth ship almost tattooed into her brain. That knowledge prompted a new thought. She put one finger up and smiled. “Aha.”
As she went to turn the steering column, she looked up and startled. A large gaseous star hurtled directly toward her—or, more likely, she spiraled toward it. As she watched, almost resigned to the inevitable collision, an arm of living fire reached out from the surface and stretched whip-like toward her. “Well, hell.”
The solar flare brushed over the pod and the small craft immediately exploded. Its particles scattered to the stars as the flames died.
Stephanie gasped and jerked as she opened her eyes. She laughed, relieved to be back at the beginning of the simulation. “This is definitely better than the fiery hell that just was. Now, let’s get this level correct, Morgana.”
She launched the small craft into motion and rocketed across the dark expanse. Thus far, the level of training she’d done revealed that this maneuver did not involve her having to face enemy fire, at least for that level. Combat training would no doubt come up next.
Once she’d crossed the intervening space, she rounded the hull and slowed rather than increasing speed like she had before. She slid into the docking bay, set the pod down, and unbuckled quickly to scramble out of the pilot’s seat. When she shook one hand, a wild blue swirl surrounded it and she nodded with satisfaction and repeated the action with the other. She walked cautiously toward the exit hatch with her helmet firmly in place.
Stephanie smacked the control for the hatch leading to the airlock. When the inner doors opened, she walked through and waited for the outer doors to cycle. The oxygen left the chamber with a whirr before the outer doors opened to give her direct access to the Dreth ship.
The space beyond airlock led into the hangar and she paused for a moment to study the Dreth ships docked there. To her, it looked nothing like the pictures she had been shown for the Federation Military restoration project. On this one, she was all alone.
Suddenly, a spray of laser fire erupted and she reacted instantly to drop and roll forward. As she finished the movement, she threw her body to the left, swung her hands around, and released the magic toward the Dreth soldiers and eliminated two. She tucked herself into another roll to push onto her feet and sprint ahead. Another barrage of fire exploded as she swerved and ducked between large pieces of equipment and supply crates stacked inside the hanger.
She spun and directed another burst of energy toward the last—or what she thought was the last—Dreth pirate and he hissed and shrieked amidst the flames. His skin seared off until he was no longer a raging ball of spikes and anger.
Stephanie brushed her hands off and waited. When nothing happened, she sent a quick thought heavenward but with no response. Her gaze scrutinized the area, concerned because she felt she should have moved to the next level by then.
The sound of stampeding feet echoed through the hanger bay. She froze, her eyes wide, as a large group of Dreth soldiers barreled through the doors. They yelled when they saw her and immediately launched an attack.
She pulled more energy into her chest and ignored the laser bolts that rocketed past. The enemy advanced to close the distance between them, but she stood perfectly still, completely focused on the energy she sensed permeating the hangar.
When she opened her eyes, they glowed bright blue and a wave of energy seethed from around her, swept into the Dreth, and catapulted them violently away.
They landed and slid to a bloody stop against the walls and twisted, battle-torn metal. The AI interrupted, her voice loud and intrusive. “Very good. Level One, passed. Please hold firmly as you are transferred to Level Two.”
“Hold onto what?” Stephanie asked and snickered at her own stupid question.
The entire area shifted and whirled past her. The sensation left her a little nauseated, which was unusual for her. She was used to transfers in the Virtual World by now.
Nonetheless, when it stopped, she put her hand out and grasped one of the lines that ran along the hallways of all Federation Navy ships. She blinked wildly as several soldiers raced past and paid no attention to her at all. Suddenly, the ship’s captain turned the corner, grasped her by the arm, and hauled her toward the attack pods. “You know your mission. Get over there, and good luck. Do us proud.”
He slapped the button on the side of Stephanie’s headpiece and shoved her into the cockpit of the same attack pod she’d just disembarked from. The lid thunked shut and the pod released her to float back into space.
When she remembered the solar flare, Stephanie kicked herself into gear. She let the pod drop under the Dreth ship, then whipped around to the front, her gaze completely focused on the main ship she needed to reach. This time was a little more complicated, though, with multiple ships, larger capital ships, and the Dreth fighters blazing an all-out offensive barrage at the Federation attack pods that approached.
With at least some experience behind her, she attempted to be quicker and smoother with her maneuvers. She thought that she had made it out of the thick of the fighting and looked over her shoulder. A little smug, she laughed at the chaos behind her before she turned in time to see a Dreth attack ship hovering directly in front of her.
She narrowed her eyes and sighed. “At least this doesn’t hurt.”
Every weapon on the vessel shifted to train on her pod and fired to completely obliterate the tiny craft. While the defeat was a little humiliating—especially since she might well have brought it on herself—she determined not to let the Dreth continue to get the best of her, even if she had to repeat the same level over and over again.
Chapter Ten
Stephanie opened her eyes in the Federation ship, although not so dizzy and disoriented this time. The captain appeared as he had before and grasped her arm to drag her toward the fighter pods. “You know your mission. Get over there and good luck. Do us proud.”
Once again, he pushed her into a pod and closed the lid after he gave her an encouraging nod. She wiggled her body into the seat, fastened her harness, and immediately launched into space. The pod whirled and accelerated and she’d reached about halfway before she realized she was making the same mistake again. Streaks of red lasers careened past her and she gripped the steering stick with two hands. When she focused intently, she could now identify the pattern in the chaos and began evasive maneuvers through the streams of incoming fire.
One of the lasers clipped the front of her attack module and she hunched her shoulders instinctively. “Damn. I do not want to go down with this thing again. There has to be a solution.”
The eMU and gMU glistened on her hands, and a thought came to mind. She put her finger to the comm button. “This is Morgana. I will shield my attack pod and clear a way to the ship. Anyone who wants to join me is most welcome.”
Three other craft swooped down behind her. “Did you think we wouldn’t be here?”
Stephanie pulled up the screen in her attack module and smiled, seeing three very familiar faces behind her. “Lars, Frog, Avery, I knew I could count on you. And for my own peace of mind, are you really here or are you merely simulations?”
Frog snapped his straps down tighter. “From our data synchronization, we’re simply avatars of your team. They’re all safely in their rooms.”
She shrugged. “Works for me. And sorry ahead of time if I get you killed.”
They all chuckled and she drew the magic into her chest. As she reached the point of maximum strength, she pushed the energy outward and molded a shield up and over her attack pod. The lasers bounced off it and she smiled, then grunted slightly as she tried to hold the shield and operate the attack module at the same time.
“What’s wrong? You got a flat?” Frog asked sarcastically.
“Sorry, guys, multi-tasking is a bitch,” Stephanie replied.
They followed her as she weaved evasively and, a
t the same time, expanded the shield up and back as far as she could. The path of least resistance was still down and under and she fortunately didn’t underestimate the distance on this attempt. All four battle pods touched down in the docking bay outside the armory and the team exited quickly. Lars turned his head to look for her and muttered an expletive. He’d expected her to emerge strong and with her magic primed but instead, her entire body crumpled as soon as she stood. She was plain exhausted. The shield had drained every last ounce of energy she’d had.
He ran forward and caught her before she fell and scooped her into his arms, ignoring the laser bolts that blazed around them. She touched his cheek weakly before she went limp and the life left her.
She gasped and opened her eyes back in the hallway. This time, she growled and beat her fist into her other hand. “I need more physical strength.”
The captain ignored her as he steered her toward the pod.
Stephanie attempted the level more times than she liked to count and it became as familiar as the back of her hand. She also learned from the mistakes she made along the way. It was safe to say shielding an entire fleet was not something she was capable of. And it was also helpful to learn that if she used all the magic in her system, she would essentially bite the big one, whether she was injured or not.
That level felt like it went on forever but on what might have been her tenth attempt, she survived and gained the victory. From there, she was catapulted to the next level, finally free of having to move from one ship to the other. She opened her eyes and immediately scrutinized her surroundings. Lars, Avery, Frog, and a few other stragglers ducked beside her in a hallway inside of the largest of the Dreth ships.
It was probably the largest spaceship she had ever seen—in the Virtual World, of course, since she’d never seen any in real life. The ceilings were super-high, the security on the doors surprisingly up to date, and the wires strung throughout the grey hallway were neatly tucked and clipped in the wall. The floor was a metal grate of sorts which made it easy to hear the enemy approach but would also make it difficult for them to sneak through.
With every turn inside the ship, they encountered a fight of one kind or another. As they passed three different warehouse areas, they could see mobs of people attacking one another. So, not only was the ship absolutely enormous, but the battles would go down in infamy, especially if this had really happened. She peered around the corner and froze. A row of Dreth stood and grunted unintelligibly at each other in their own language as they waited to use the large guns they held.
She explained the plan to Lars, not really sure what the purpose of the training exercise was, except to defeat the Dreth. “Normally, I would say we take this single file, one man at a time, but there are five Dreth on the other side of this wall chilling with their guns. I want us to eliminate them.”
He nodded as he always did in real life. “Got it, chief.”
Stephanie looked at the small group of soldiers that had been separated from their own platoon and had joined up with hers. “You five—I need you to work as a unit with us, not as a separate group. Lars will give you the heads-up on our plan. Make sure you duck and dive. I don’t want to lose anyone on this. Got it?”
The five soldiers were a special group from the Federation Army that had been put on ships with the Federation Navy in order to hitch a ride to the planet Dreth, where they would be assigned to ground duty. Unfortunately for them, they hadn’t made it before the battle occurred.
In the back of her mind, she knew they were only avatars, but she treated them like red-blooded, living, breathing people. She had to, or the whole exercise would be worthless.
Stephanie waited and watched the interaction as her team doled out responsibilities. She didn’t need to hear what those were to know they had it under control. Part of her learning was how to not only take command of a small group of outsiders but her own team as well. It wasn’t difficult to do, though, since they trusted her in every aspect of what they did. That was when it dawned on her.
Trust.
It was the most basic human construct, but it was what could make or break almost anything in life. If you didn’t trust the people you spent your time with and relied upon, there would always be a breakdown in communication, and someone would be killed. If the avatars were built off not only the men but also their prior interactions with her, she knew they would have a certain level of trust in them.
“Magic,” she whispered to herself.
Lars frowned and flashed her a look of inquiry. “What?”
She bit her bottom lip and motioned for them all to get close. “There’s a change of plans. Sorry, Lars.”
“We’ll do whatever you need us to,” he said.
Stephanie patted him on his shoulder. “The only people here who don’t know us are you five soldiers. I want you in the middle of the group. I want my team up front and the five soldiers behind them, ready to fire between them when necessary.”
Frog shook his weapon cheerfully. “You got it. But this doesn’t seem to want to recharge like normal. I might need backup for the backup.”
She shook her head. “You won’t need your guns.”
Both her team and the soldiers all stared blankly at her. “Avery, Lars, and Frog, you will be a conduit for my magic. You will create a shield simply by letting the magic flow through you. The four of us will use one hand to fight with and the other to stay locked together. As the energy flows through me, I will push it into you, and you can create weapon power with that. Meanwhile, the five soldiers are protected and can use us as cover as they help to take down the rest of the Dreth.”
They all looked at each other for a moment before they smiled their approval of the plan. Lars put his hand up slightly. “I have one question. Do you know this will work?”
Stephanie grinned. “I never know that. This is why you are my avatars in a simulated fight. If it doesn’t work, we’ll be right back here in ten seconds.”
He shook his head with a chuckle. “You are something else. All right, let’s get our magic on.”
They stood up and assumed formation. Stephanie took Lars’ arm. He grabbed Avery’s, who in turn clutched Frog’s. The five soldiers stationed themselves in the middle as instructed and grasped their weapons tightly.
She closed her eyes and drew in a deep reservoir of magic, which she pushed slowly through her arm and into Lars. Immediately, he began to glow and his eyes turned a purplish shade of blue. From him, the magic spread first to Avery and then to Frog.
The last man looked at his hand and the streams of purple and blue magic that swirled around it. “Wow. Is this how you feel all the time? Like Billy Bad Ass?”
They all smirked and she looked at the soldiers, all of whom acknowledged that they were ready to go. She squeezed Lars’ hand and the four of them stepped into the hallway. At first, the Dreth didn’t seem to notice and continued to grunt and laugh as they held their own conversation.
Stephanie cleared her throat loudly to catch their attention. “Hey, assholes. Do you have a hall pass?”
The Dreth growled, walked forward, and raised their weapons. Immediately, Stephanie, Avery, Lars, and Frog raised their free hands and a ball of energy formed in the center of each of their palms. Apparently, when she did that while connected to them through magic, they could see what she was thinking and do it too. The bond was amazingly powerful.
The enemy brandished their guns and yelled for them to surrender. That was when the five soldiers stepped out and aimed through the gaps between Stephanie and the team. They were protecting them and had obviously decided that the precious advantage in that battle was the four glowing people around them.
An eerie silence lingered for barely a moment as the Dreth registered the new development before the soldiers opened fire. When they needed to reload, the men moved quickly to duck behind the shield and change positions. They moved briefly out of cover to fire again, making sure not to get hit. Stephanie released a b
all of magic and felt her knees go slightly weak. “Now. Blast them now. Imagine it flowing like a cannon from the palm of your hand.”
Avery and Frog glanced at each other’s hands and shrugged. They shouted as they traced energy balls like bullets across the five Dreth. Blood, flesh, and spikes erupted and the enemy hurtled back with the force of the attack. The team, including the soldiers, ceased the onslaught and stared at the aftermath of what they had achieved. Lars released her hand and steadied her. The magic in all of them reversed to flow quickly back into her and refill her wells.
Frog laughed wildly, touched his fingertips, and simply stared as the last trail of magic sparked across his flesh. “That was seriously the coolest thing I have ever seen.”
Avery put his hand up. “Me too. Coolest ever.”
He recoiled and ducked instinctively when a ball of purple energy surged past his head. The team turned to where the aliens lay dead, startled by a Meligornian wizard with six Dreth warriors behind him. Stephanie’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “But you’re Meligornian. What are you doing here?”
“Not everything on Dreth is bad,” he replied, his face barely visible in the draped hood of his robe. “We have to stand up for what is right, even if it is against the Federation and my planet’s opinions.”
Stephanie was beside herself and looked at Lars for an explanation. “There are actually many Meligornians on the Dreth side. They believe the planet deserves a rebuild, reparations, food, help, anything. Our politics and media have turned them into monsters, or into even bigger monsters. In their eyes, they are trying to stop another species from becoming extinct.”
Her whole understanding was rocked by this new perspective, and she knew she would want to know more about those who followed the Anti-Federation efforts. She turned to the Meligornian, a ball of energy in her hand. Her intention was to apologize to him and offer to help in some way, but he took her stance as a threat and attacked. She dropped the energy ball, raised her hands, and grunted as she dropped to one knee and blocked the steady stream of Meligorn MU that threatened to engulf them.
Witch Of The Federation (Federal Histories Book 2) Page 11