The rest of the team took cover and fired from where they were to eliminate one Dreth at a time. Her head began to hurt, and she struggled to clear it. She had to think of some way to counteract the magic the mage used, but there were no clear rules to any of it. She breathed in deeply and managed to hold the stream of MU back. Small cascades of energy flowed over like a waterfall, cascaded to the floor, and immediately flowed back to their source.
The last of the Dreth was killed but that meant nothing. They were only background noise for the Meligornian. He was capable of destroying the entire place, but then again, so was she. Avery attempted a shot at him but Stephanie called, “Don’t shoot them if they aren’t attacking or you don’t have a specific reason for it.”
He scowled at their adversary. “Put a cork in him then.”
“That’s it,” she said and pushed from one knee to a standing position as she held her hands up. “I need you to take the square mirror out of my bag. As soon as I drop, put it up where I am standing. His magic will ricochet back onto himself.”
Lars took the mirror out, held his head to one side, and looked suspiciously at her. She shook her head. “Don’t even ask if this will work. All I can promise is you get to do it all over again.”
The men all shook their heads and stepped back. Lars looked at her and the mirror and grinned at her. She turned her head back to the Meligornian. It was now or never as she could feel her energy waning. “One, Two, Three.”
She dropped and her bodyguard moved swiftly, dodged the residual stream of energy that streaked past them, and placed the mirror in the place where she’d knelt. Before the Meligornian could stop his flow of magic, it caught the mirror and hurtled back into his chest.
He careened wildly and bounced a few times before he slid to a halt. She hurried to his side and he shook his head, his expression scathing. “You are on the wrong side and one day, you will see they have no love for you. The truth is that you are only a weapon.”
Stephanie stared at him for a moment as the words resonated through her. Finally, she swiped her hand and slapped him with sufficient energy to knock him out. She pushed to her feet and waved her troops forward. They simply stared at her with concern.
She frowned in bewilderment. “What’s wrong?”
Lars took his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. “Your nose.”
Startled, she touched her nose with her fingers and scowled when the blood flow increased. She pulled the fabric to her face and grasped the side of her head with her hand. “Go on ahead. We have them on the run—oh, God, that hurts. Don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up.”
She widened her eyes, then closed them in an attempt to force the blurriness to subside. It seemed logical that nothing short of a system virus would do anything like that to an avatar. The AI spoke overhead. “Attention. Code Six. Code Six. I repeat, Stephanie Morgana is in a Code Six.”
“What is a Code Six?” she asked.
“You have been inside the Pod for too long and have channeled too much magic. For some reason—and the system has very few reported cases—these effects have spilled over into your real body. Currently, your real body is struggling to right itself.”
“What do I do?” Stephanie asked as the simulation faded. She now stood in the center of a plain grey box.
The AI took a moment to respond. “You hang on. I am working on getting the pod to release you. Someone will have to boost you out. Your mind is fighting with the VR World, trying to stay connected, while your mind in your body could be suffering damage. Either way, you are hours over the approved maximum, and that is a terrible situation to be in.”
Elizabeth took a sip of her tea and flipped her hand to the next page of the documents she attempted to sift through. Suddenly, an alarm began to beep on her computer. She’d never seen this particular alert before and scowled at the intrusion. As soon as she pulled up the background information, however, she bolted to her feet. The computer alarm was linked to the pod’s emergency system and Stephanie was the only one in it.
The woman snatched up her medical kit and raced toward the door as she yelled Burt’s name. “I know you record everything. Get your ass to Stephanie. She wasn’t watched.”
She hurtled through the office doors and the pod’s medical alarms blared stridently as she approached the pod room. The team had responded as well and she almost ran into them where they hovered in the hallway, completely unsure of what to do.
“Right now, stand outside the pod room. If I need help, I’ll call you in,” she instructed and pushed through them to the door.
She put the code in, allowed the device to read her iris, and shoved the heavy security door open as soon as the locking mechanism released. It closed behind her and she hurried to the pod to look at Stephanie’s stats. The girl hadn’t paid attention to her own body alarms and readings. “Burt, are you there?”
“I am here,” he said over the loudspeaker. “Unfortunately, I had to take care of a problem across the system. I came as soon as I realized her stats were so high.”
Elizabeth knew exactly what she needed to do and only hoped it worked. She entered the sequence of numbers and letters into the Pod’s security system. When it released, she very carefully pried the top open, retrieved a blanket from the side, and spread it over Stephanie’s naked body.
Ms. E placed her fingers gently on Stephanie’s neck to check the girl’s pulse manually. Blood dripped down her face from a nosebleed and she looked pale and wan. She was also unconscious, and Elizabeth couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. They had missed all the signals, all the signs, and all the alarms.
She opened the door and waved Lars in, leaving the others in the hallway. “It was the pod.”
“Will she be okay?” he asked.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to keep an eye on her and be there when she wakes up,” she told him and tucked the blanket around her. “Can you carry her? She needs medical attention.”
He nodded, slid his hands under the girl, and lifted her into his arms. “She’d better come back. The whole world is depending on her.”
Chapter Eleven
Elizabeth stood outside the medical area and watched the doctor check Stephanie’s vitals. They had called in someone whom they could trust to take care of her. Still, she was as nervous as hell about it and disliked having someone else take care of her charge.
The girl still wasn’t awake, but the man had said it was normal. Her body was trying to recover from the accident. Ms. E could barely even think the word accident without scoffing. No, it wasn’t on purpose, of course, but they were supposed to have her back and they’d almost let the pod kill her.
She shook her head and yanked her phone from her pocket to dial the ambassador. Brilgus answered. “Ms. E. I didn’t expect to hear from you.”
“Hey, I don’t mean to bother you, but I need an audience with the ambassador,” she told him, her voice tired. “Stephanie was in the pod too long last night, fighting in a simulation, and none of us caught it until she was unconscious.”
“Oh, goodness.” The man sounded alarmed.
“Everything will be fine,” she reassured him quickly. “She needs to rest, but there are some things I want to ask him that I’ve put off for far too long.”
“Of course. He’ll be available in an hour,” Brilgus replied. “Does that leave you enough time to get here?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Sure. I’ll head right over.”
She ended the call and took one last glance at Stephanie before she went to her office to retrieve the car keys. In order to make sure everything ran smoothly while she was gone, she found Lars and put him in charge. He waited with the team in their common area and wanted news on Stephanie’s status.
“She’ll be fine, but she is still unconscious,” she told them. “There will be many things we need to change, including how the alarms in the pod are set up. We should have known as soon as her vitals began to change. Right no
w, that doesn’t matter. I am headed over to speak to the ambassador. Call me if you need anything or if anything changes.”
The men were silent but nodded as she left. She headed out to the car and engaged the flying mechanism to get her to the ambassador’s residence more quickly.
The car’s AI, her arch nemesis, replied to her request to activate the vehicle. “Hello, Elizabeth. It seems you have a total of nine hundred credits due in unpaid tickets. Mostly parking. In order for this car to operate, you must pay the fines. Would you like me to deduct the cost from your account?”
Elizabeth groaned but didn’t have time to argue. “Yes.”
As soon as the payment had gone through, a chime sounded, and the car started and elevated to the right level. Elizabeth drove quickly to the ambassador’s house and ignored the AI which was programmed to use her presence in the vehicle as a time to review her infractions.
It had also been programmed to instruct her on the appropriate places to park in the areas in which she’d been ticketed. Elizabeth was more than ready to exit the vehicle by the time they arrived.
She slammed the door and stormed up to the entrance which opened from the parking garage. Brilgus startled her when he opened the door before she reached it. “Right this way. He is waiting for you.”
Elizabeth had almost forgotten how appealing the ambassador’s residence was. They walked through the lobby and down the hall to the third office on the right. He waved them in and nodded to Brilgus as the security chief left the room. “How is she? Brilgus gave me the news.”
Ms. E shrugged and barely noticed that Ambassador V’ritan was almost casually dressed in a deep-teal tunic and cloth pants instead of the robes he wore when on official business.
Instead, she sighed. “From what the doctor says, she’ll be fine. I only hope things restore themselves like he says they will. We’re waiting for her to wake up.”
He hesitated and leaned on his desk. “She’s tough, so everything will be fine. What was it you wanted to see me about today?”
She sat in the chair opposite him. “First, I hope we can keep this conversation a complete secret. Total security.”
He nodded and raised his finger before he approached a panel set in the wall to one side. Music began to play when he pressed a button. Once it did, he unplugged his phone and laptop, and stood to glance around.
The curtains were drawn, and he knew Brilgus had swept the room for bugs that morning. “We are as secure as we can make it.”
He settled his rump on the edge of the desk and smiled. “It should be more than enough to keep this conversation private.”
Elizabeth exhaled a slow breath before she spoke. She sounded almost defeated. “I’m worried that Stephanie is acting outside the Virtual World inside the pod. I know she shouldn’t be able to, not even by accident, but I don’t think she has a clue what’s going on.”
She paused as the ambassador raised his eyebrows. When she saw he wouldn’t interrupt, she continued. “I think that whoever she is and whatever special abilities she has, she finds it restrictive, and it’s now hurting her.”
The man pushed away from the desk and moved to settle into the sleek black cushioned office chair behind it. He rocked back slightly, his hand on his chin, and his eyes sparkled brightly as he considered what she’d said. “Meligornians are capable of using the pods, but I have never heard of anything like that happening to them.”
“Do you think it’s because of what happened at the party?” Elizabeth asked.
“The magic opening her channels?” he asked and shook his head. “I would think not. Stephanie didn’t add anything to her life. She simply became more aware of what she had. She had that problem before the gala too, but not as extensively.”
He paused and frowned a little in thought. “No, she must have an additional line to reality that the Pod doesn’t shut down. That is possible in anyone, but with Stephanie’s attachment to and awareness of magic and energy, I can see how her own mind might win and keep a connection open to the world outside the pod.”
Despite her impatience, she didn’t try to push him but allowed him time to consider the ramifications. “If she did that, it would almost be like she had tricked the system and subconsciously used magic to program a way through its containment if you know what I mean. Otherwise, I have no idea why this would happen. If you connect it with her abilities, that is really the only explanation I have.” He shrugged, a small frown on his face.
Elizabeth looked perplexed. “But if she isn’t conscious of it, how is she doing it?”
The ambassador’s face softened. “Oh, Elizabeth, one thing you humans miss is that things in the subconscious mind are often stronger than the conscious. Those who are capable of consciously using a larger and stronger part of their brain than others are often capable of the same with the subconscious as well. It is really only a little-considered side effect, really. The same as anyone else, only stronger. While consciously, you focus on your life as it happens from moment to moment, your subconscious works out everything else.”
She nodded. While she understood what he was trying to say, it still worried her. “Maybe there’s a way to strengthen her control of that too. If it’s tricking the pod, with all that technology, it must be strong.”
“Man against machine.” Ambassador V’ritan chuckled. “We, as mortals, have the ability of infinite thought, so while the machine is restricted by the parameters set by its programmers, mortals are only restricted by their own personal limitations. The more Stephanie opens up, the fewer restrictions she will impose on herself.”
Elizabeth thought about that for a moment and nodded. “Okay, that makes a lot of sense actually. Fixing it is still a problem but maybe talking to her about it will help her find a solution.”
He gave her a friendly smile. “I believe she would be the perfect prescription to her own issue. Now, I have a question for you since I deal with Meligornians far beyond my stature. The king and queen have set the date for the presentation for a month from now and ask if it would be possible for Stephanie to come to Meligorn at that time. I can forward the details to your tablet for you to review.”
She raised her eyebrows. In all honesty, she’d completely forgotten about the medals. The royal visit would have been enough stress, but to have Stephanie go to Meligorn?
Her hesitation bought her a little time to cover her surprise and the fact she’d slipped up. Her mind had been so busy with everything else that had happened, she’d lost track of this one.
Thinking quickly, she replied, “I can’t say for certain. Much will depend on how quickly she recovers, but as long as she progresses the way the doctors say she will, she should be fine. In fact, when it reaches that point, I don’t think it will be my decision. I will, of course, confirm with both Stephanie and my boss. They’re really the puppet masters here. I’m merely the organizer, coffee maker, and guardian.”
The ambassador laughed. “From what I’ve heard, I find that hard to believe. I think you’re more like a ferocious mama bear—or at least I think that’s the saying here on Earth.”
“Momma bears can make coffee, too,” she replied and smiled as she stood. “But thank you for all your help. I’m sure Stephanie will want to thank you as well when she is awake, which will hopefully be by the time I get back.”
“She’s taking a small vacation from the world.” He smirked.
“Yeah, well, it’s time she came home. We have work to do,” Elizabeth replied, with a chuckle.
As she walked to the door, the ambassador called after her, “Is there any chance of meeting the boss soon?”
She laughed. “Any chance I get to meet him at all?”
“I have to admit, with all our resources, we can’t seem to find very much information on the man.”
Elizabeth opened the office door and glanced back. “Join the club. I can’t seem to find much on him either. But we keep marching because we know we’re working for the right cause. Maybe
one day, the wizard will step out from behind the curtain, although I don’t much blame him for hiding there.”
The man snorted softly and raised his eyebrows. “I don’t blame him either. Have a safe flight home. Those flying cars can be temperamental.”
She waved and closed the door behind her with a self-mocking snicker. “And expensive too. Asshole AI. I wonder if I can get a new one?”
Brilgus met her at the door, his smile full of concern. “Please give our love to Stephanie and let me know how she is doing. I’m sure the ambassador will want an update soon so we’ll be in touch.”
“You’ll be the first one I call,” she replied and shook his hand. “Take care.”
Elizabeth walked through the door and slowly down the stairs, wanting a little more time to clear her head. Step by step, she thought about Stephanie and what the girl was going through. It was a bitch when your own mind wouldn’t play nicely—and the girl’s mind was doing all kinds of crazy things.
She wondered what it was like to have your mind freed like that. To her, it didn’t seem much like freedom. She couldn’t help but think a life of ignorance of the world around you would be a hell of a lot better. Of course, she wouldn’t have the job or the life she had, and she definitely wasn’t made to be an office dweller. She did that enough at the base.
At the air car, she pulled her key out and rolled her eyes at herself. She still wasn’t used to the new vehicles. When she pressed her palm to the scanner beside the door, the locks popped, and she opened the front driver’s door slowly. She climbed in and closed the door but didn’t start the vehicle immediately. Instead, she ran a scan.
“AI, run a scan for any bugs, cameras, or listening devices,” she instructed.
“Right away,” the AI replied and launched the search. After three minutes, it responded. “All clear, Elizabeth. Shall I set your destination? I can put the autopilot on. After calculating the risk on body and property while you drive compared to when the car is on autopilot, you have a sixty percent more likelihood of arriving safely at your destination on autopilot.”
Witch Of The Federation (Federal Histories Book 2) Page 12