by Reiter
“Scarab, you’re up,” she said softly, stepping to her right to give Nulaki straightaway access. Nulaki licked his lips and tightened his gloves as he descended down the stone steps toward the main floor. Jocasta and Dungias, who released the key after making him stand next to the far left wall, waited at the top of the stairs. The pirate captain allowed her eyes to inspect the chamber while the Traveler turned to check the way they had come.
“Invisibility?” Jocasta said softly. “How not-new is that?”
“Relative to you and I?” Dungias posed. “Forever.”
“You don’t say,” Jocasta said, tightening her gloves.
“It is something I picked up from Nugar,” he explained. “With an increase in power I can also make myself intangible.”
“And which one did you give to the thief?”
“Both, but limited in comparison.”
“I can see the wisdom behind that.” Jocasta looked up at Dungias. “Let’s keep those little tricks between us three, okay?”
“Consider it done,” he replied. “I thought you would be… angry.”
“Look, Z, I knew a man who earned a huge chunk of my respect in a very short time; a really short time. Anyway, he told me that when I find a person without any secrets, go ahead and plug ‘em because they don’t have a reason to live.”
“Nobody needs to know everything,” Dungias said softly.
“Perfectly put,” Jocasta smiled. “Because the bottom line is exactly what I said: I question my loyalty before I question yours. So, to steal Maxworth’s math, it adds up that if I trust you, your secrets are actually mine.”
“This Maxworth was Newtonian in his concepts of mathematics,” Dungias stated.
“We’re clear,” Nulaki announced. “No traps on the stairs or the main floor.”
“Hmmm,” Dungias sounded as he frowned.
“Tell me about it!” Jocasta added as she started her descent into the chamber. “Looks like Nulaki’s got center. I’ll go left.”
“Acknowledged,” Dungias said softly as he turned to his right before walking down the stairs. “Masks,” he said as he donned his own.
“Good idea,” Jocasta agreed as she activated hers.
“Count me in,” Nulaki said as he tugged at his necklace. Jocasta thought it best to wait to comment on the insect-like features of his mask. “Well, we’re looking at five stands, each one with a pretty thick book on it… three wand cases, though the one in the middle is a little big for–”
“Battle wand,” Jocasta and Dungias said simultaneously.
“So good to be working with professionals,” Nulaki quickly replied. “… and one giant, floating gemstone in the middle of it all. According to these bad-ass scanners, there is a single energy signature around all nine objects… but it isn’t MannA.”
“It’s ThoughtWill,” Dungias stated. “And it seems to be emanating from the gemstone.”
“Perhaps you should have kept that to yourself, alien!” a voice called out into the room. The Living Key smiled, recognizing the same voice he had heard in his mind. Dungias’ viewports showed that the sound had come from the gem as it turned from a clear crystal to red and fiery. “Guards, assemble!” The sound of glass breaking sounded off from over their heads.
“MannA,” Dungias said, feeling the room suddenly flood with the power.
“Head’s up!” Nulaki called out.
“No, head’s down!” Dungias directed. A bright flash of light showered down over Dungias and Jocasta; Nulaki was in the middle of a leaping back flip with his head facing the floor. The shading limits of the masks, which was greater than that of the goggles, was nearly overwhelmed as jets of thick, charcoal gray smoke hissed from the walls. “Captain, behind you!”
Jocasta almost did not know how to trust her perceptions. A moment ago, the only people in her range of awareness had been the three she had brought with her. When Dungias gave his warning, she could feel four other forms and one was directly behind her. Instead of fleeing, she jumped backward and the moment she felt her back hit something, she sent her head back. Her helmet struck something less substantial, something that felt like flesh and bone, but not quite. She heard a grunt, but there was still something solid to her back and the sound implied aggravation more than injury. Jocasta hopped forward and felt the wind behind her pick up as the sound of blades passed just behind her head. A shoulder roll away and to the left avoided two more such swings.
Dungias squatted low and a muscular figure passed over his head, missing with both swords. Wearing armour only about the head, chest, forearms and shins, the gray-skinned men were fast and aggressive. While the leaping attack had missed, the man reached the wall and jumped from it, passing under a jumping Dungias who also chose to leap from the wall. “Switch!” Dungias said, landing a flying kick to the ribs of the one who was pressing Nulaki. The struck creature flew into the wall and became smoke once more. A shuriken sailed across the room and into the chest of the figure Dungias was fleeing. It too became smoke as it wailed in pain. Nulaki threw a second star, relieving Jocasta of the one chasing her, and they all heard the Living Key cry out in rage. One of the creatures was standing behind him, glaring at the three at the bottom of the stairs.
“Fools! You should have killed me when you had the chance!” he shouted. Though Jocasta’s shot struck first, all three had pulled their pistols and fired into the man’s chest.
“Consider that a course correction,” Jocasta muttered as she twirled her blaster, holstering it in the next action. “I try hard to never make the same mistake twice!”
“Assume the second form!” the creature closest to the dead man cried. Four jets of smoke combined into two large clouds.
“And apparently that approach is going viral,” Jocasta muttered as she centered herself. Things were coming to a head. “Nulaki, get the goods,” she cried, looking over at Dungias. “Don’t you hate immediate upgrades?”
“Utterly!” Dungias replied as two gorgons stepped from the smoke. They were still gray-skinned, but now they were over three meters in height. They both stepped forward and breathed out white smoke. Dungias jumped up and forward as Jocasta jumped up and back. They both avoided the smoke; Dungias landed on the head of the closest gorgon as Jocasta drew from her shoulder holster.
“Level One boom,” she said before she fired, hitting the other gorgon in the head. The small explosion forced the head to crack and fly off from the body. The first gorgon clapped at Dungias and missed as the Traveler jumped straight up, back–flipped, and focused the power of the Star-Stride into a hammering blow. The head burst into tiny fragments as cracks formed down to its waist. Dungias landed and rolled back from the falling body.
“Nice love-tap! You know, Z, with all your tech, that little skill gets forgotten.”
“Exactly as I would prefer to keep things, Captain,” Dungias said cautiously. He could feel that the MannA in the room had not diminished.
“Assume the third form,” the voice cried out.
“Nulaki!” Jocasta sang out, hoping to get a report on his gathering status.
“I got everything but the gem!” Nulaki huffed, chasing the flying crystal, which was now noticeably smaller, as it whisked around the room.
The room shook from the footfall that pounded into the floor behind them. The smoke was still clearing, but there was little mistaking the foot of the forming metal giant. It growled as a sword formed in its right hand, a shield over its left arm.
“Z, help Scarab! As soon as you have it, whistle and haul ass. I’ll run delay.”
Dungias recalled his first visit to the Astral Realm and how he had told Taas that he could not follow her because she was the sort of person who would give an order to do that which she would not do herself. How that mentality would have been a comfort to him now!
“Aye, Captain!” he said through gritted teeth as he turned and ran to assist Nulaki.
“Hey there, big fella,” Jocasta said, flashing a crazed smile
at the fully formed four-faced giant. “You put out on the first date?” The head facing her had diamond eyes and they fired beams of white light. Jocasta was in the middle of another shoulder roll when the repercussion of the blast lifted her from the ground. She flew toward the wall and twisted to plant her feet against it. She let herself drop to the floor as another blast missed over her head. With the blowback from the second explosion, she was barely able to manage a landing. “Okay, eye-bright, my turn!” Jocasta threw one of the flash-bang grenades and drew her shoulder-holstered weapon. The flare made the giant turn away. “Photonic,” she commanded and leveled her gun, waiting for the tell-tale beep. When it sounded, she fired for the face and smiled when the burst flared over the right eye, shattering it. The neck twisted and a second face came to the front; it had green eyes that started to glow immediately. With a wave of its hand, hands of stone formed from the bricks in the floor and grabbed for Jocasta.
“Whoa!” she said, hurdling over the first grab. “No fair, no fair, NO FAIR!” she cried as she smacked another aside. She hopped, landed hard on her heels and jumped, nearly hitting her head on the ceiling. “Level Two boom, and link up,” she said, firing at the area where she was to land. She grabbed her cane, giving her mental cue. The explosion shattered three of the hands and Jocasta landed, rolled forward and came up slashing through two more stone arms with her drawn blade. With a moment to herself, she returned the scabbard to the side of her belt, took hold of her dangling pistol, and charged the giant.
“Rapid fire, high-impact,” she whispered as she recalled the pistol-kata she had learned and used against Falco Sylgarr. Recalling the lessons gained from Beta-Chiaro, Jocasta decided to incorporate the blade in her movements. She slashed stone arms that were close and shot those that were further away. She cut and blasted a path to the giant and then took a look at the side wall. As she drew closer, she could see the giant readying the blade. She smiled, waiting for it to make its move. As soon as the creature’s shoulder dropped, she turned for the wall.
“I hate guys who play hard to get,” she muttered as she hopped and jumped. Her body carried over the sword of giant. She clicked her heels together just before she planted her feet against the wall. Cracks formed under her feet as she pushed off, taking a tighter grip of her sword. Flying toward the giant, she passed just over the shield it was raising and its shoulder finally landing in a one-foot, one-knee stance, sliding across the floor. She struck a large enough rock to make her stumble and fall, dropping her sword; the soft song coming from her steel stopped when the metal touched the floor. Jocasta finally came to a stop just as the head of the giant came away from its body. Sliding off the side, along the line of her precise cut, the head dropped straight down. The body stumbled before it fell… directly at Jocasta who was instantly up and running, hopping and jumping clear of the massive form. She coughed, waving away the dust, looking for her sword. She found it, but that was not all she discovered.
“And what is this?” Jocasta thought, seeing a glint of light in the floor. Nulaki had apparently used his new satchel to gather the items in the room. What Dungias had said about the gathering field had been true. Nulaki had been quick, but he had also dragged the lip of the pocket along the ground, cutting away some of the stone on the floor. A glint of light shone up through a small crack between the shaved bricks, and Jocasta felt it more than she saw it. It was as if whatever was inside was calling out to her, reaching and taking hold of her attention. She quickly stepped over to the slight divot and swung her blade against the stone. The edge of her blade had already proven itself against the giant, and the stones of the floor were of lesser stuff. She cleared away the brick, mortar, and the top of the very small chest that had been used to house the small stone she now gazed upon. Looking away from the gem, Jocasta swung into the floor three more times. She uncovered another hidden holding chamber, this one held a rather ornate scroll case and a sextant.
“Holy crapstacks!!! This cannot be what I think it is!” Jocasta thought as she knelt down on the floor. “Jack-freakin’-pot!” Easing her sword into the holding bin, Jocasta lifted the sextant out and opened her collection satchel. She gently lowered it into the field and engaged her targeting computer as she looked at the case and glowing gem. She cast the line of the field out like a net and brought the field in, smiling at her accuracy. “Gotcha!”
Working in a less than functional tandem, the gem was proving incredibly difficult to catch and Dungias found himself running short on patience.
“Scarab, break left,” he commanded as he jumped up and straight ahead.
Following the given directive, Nulaki lunged to his left. “Okay, but it’s only gonna–” As the gem turned to the right and banked low for the ground, Dungias hurled Alpha toward the gem. It tumbled, end over end, and swept by the gem, unfolding at the center to swallow the object, hit the ground and ricochet back to the hand of its master. “… get caught,” Nulaki muttered.
“Where am I?” the gemstone inquired as it started to generate ThoughtWill.
“You are in the house of my Master,” Alpha replied. “Your aggravation will not be tolerated!” While the gem could maintain its consciousness and its own internal energy, it could not send or receive. The compartment it was no housed within was simply too strong.
“Perhaps we should leaving now,” Dungias suggested. He could feel more MannA generating throughout the chamber. “As it would appear that the Captain’s instincts are quite accurate!”
“Right behind you, Z” Nulaki said as he put his fingers to his mouth.
The sound of a whistle made Jocasta look up and she was about to wave at Nulaki when all of them heard… “Assume the final form!”
Jocasta’s face froze and she stopped panting. This was, apparently, far from over. “Nut-crunchers!” She saw Dungias grab the dead body of the Living Key, hoisting it up on his shoulder. Jocasta was at the far end of the room when the smoke cloud yet started to form on the ceiling. She tapped her weapons belt.
“Some things are better left unknown,” she muttered as she took to running. With a quick hop and jump from the center of the room, she landed at the top of the stairs. A column of fire baked the stone bricks where she had been standing. “No freakin’ way!” she screamed as she ran. She was just beyond the hole in the wall when she heard leathery wings flapping.
“Let’s see how well I can dance,” Jocasta thought, waiting for the sound. She was in mid-stride when she heard the stairs crack and buckle. “Detonate,” she commanded as she hopped and jumped, lifting her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her folded legs; the bomb she had left at the hole went off. The concussive wave hit her at the apex of her jump, breaking break form. Jocasta’s body was thrown forward toward the winding path. Jocasta lifted her feet and clicked her heels before making contact with the wall. She tried to skim the wall and rebound to the second, the third and so on. The impact of the first, however, put her into a spin from which she could not recover from. She tried her best to let her body go loose, as that was the best way to take such an impact. She closed her eyes and felt a cool breeze blow over her.
“Wait,” she thought. “… where’s the wall?” She opened her eyes and saw nothing but blackness. “Oh bullkot! I know that did not kill me!”
“No, Captain, it did not!” Dungias whispered just before their bodies emerged from the rock wall. He landed, jogged to a stop, and put her down on the ground. Nulaki stood, stunned at what he had witnessed, and waited for the two of them to pass through the portal before he dragged the dead key through with him. Amidst the echoes of roaring and snarling, and the sound of flapping wings, the doorway closed the moment the key’s body was once again in the hotel room.
Jocasta stood with her hands on her knees. She looked at Nulaki, who was quietly decompressing, and then at Dungias, who looked as if he had just changed a light bulb. Shaking her head in both amazement and disgust, Jocasta giggled. “Well, I was right about one thing: I saved the live
s of every crewman we decided not to take!” She and Nulaki laughed as Dungias nodded in agreement.
For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.
Mary Kay Ash
(Rims Time: XII-4202.02)
It was just before sunrise and normally after such a night, asking anyone to be up and about was something of a stretch. That could not be said of the crew of the Xara-Mansura. After Mel was told that he would not need to guard over the Living Key anymore, and why, each crewmen was alerted by Annsura and had gathered in their rooms, taking sleep shifts until everyone had received three hours’ rest. Jocasta had slept deeply and peacefully knowing that Dungias was meditating outside her bedroom door. His Osamu had been placed in the windowsill, and Jocasta had a very slim count of the times she had felt safer. But the time passed quickly and there was only a slight purple tinge to the sky when Jocasta emerged from her room, fully dressed and carrying her cane.
“Did you meditate up any ways to spin, twist, and tie the universe up into a pretty bow?” she asked as she stepped around Dungias.
“The universe would be a poor place to start such a quest, Captain,” Dungias replied, his eyes still closed. Alpha floated from behind Jocasta and came to rest across Dungias’ lap. Several panels on the Osamu opened, shifted and closed. “I would think a better point of initiation would be molecular in nature.” Jocasta stopped to bear witness to the act. It was the first time she had seen it, and she could feel that the impressions and energies she detected were coming from the Osamu, not its master. “Hmmm.”