by Reiter
“No, it is meant to give form to the Chi of three of your most powerful enemies… combined into one form!” White fire burned from the top of the Sultan’s body as he screamed, falling down in fright. The smoke collected over his head and roared to life as it formed a winged lion that soon assumed a form of flesh as it growled. The Sultan lifted his left hand and released a powerfully bright flash of light. The creature itself could not be blinded, but with Kanos unable to see, the creature had also been struck blind.
“Burn, you old bastard!” the Sultan commanded, firing a heat beam at the Manchu’s chest. The beam stopped centimeters shy of the clothes of the Manchu, but the impact of the beam knocked the old man down. The Sultan was quick to get up and run to press his advantage. Likewise his men had not been hindered at all by the light pulse and were hacking into their opponents with impunity!
A black shuriken passed silently from one side of the room to the other, finding the chest of Thessare and sinking deeply into the flesh it had found, delivering the agent that had been put to its edges. Thessare grabbed blindly at the shuriken and cut himself as he removed it from his body.
“How utterly anti-climactic for you, Dwatheem,” Nulaki said as he moved for the closest window. “… with all that time and effort put into coming after me. Well, you got me here, Thessare. You got all of the Black Scarab here. And guess what, you weren’t ready for the ride! Remember that when you bow to that bitch of a teacher of yours. She’s coming to welcome you to hell!
“Hey Sultan!” Nulaki cried, hurling another shuriken. Taking a defensive stance, the Sultan crossed his bracers which erected a force field around his body. The black shuriken carried over his head and sank into one of the columns, but it was not the sound of metal upon wood which everyone heard. Blood started to trail from where the weapon was lodged. The body of the Manchu fell from the column with a shuriken in the middle of his forehead. “Your bright light had blinded him, and therefore that beastie, but you were only fighting his Chi-Shadow. The moment he had recovered that thing would have been all over you.
“Find the handler for the Black Scarab. Give him a job that will even the score between us,” Nulaki directed. “I didn’t know there was a new Sultan. You should have changed up symbols, because I’ll be damned if I ever respected that fat slob you replaced.”
“That makes two of us,” the Sultan replied. His eyes showed he was weighing what he had been told and everything that had just happened. There was no question that the thief had greatly helped him… assuming he had not just saved the Sultan’s life. But he had also heard of the Black Scarab, and there was bound to be profit in that relationship. “What about my property?!”
“The Living Key? Lost, I’m afraid,” Nulaki reported. “Not a very stable-minded man. Last I saw him, he was getting blasted in the chest! If the job is anywhere in the vicinity of Black Gate, the return will be quicker.”
“Give me the word of the Black Scarab and I will consider us under contract!”
Nulaki looked at the man for a moment and then he nodded. “Toss up your star, SorceroR,” he directed. The Sultan smiled at the fact that the man he was dealing with knew what he was. He tossed up the shuriken and Nulaki shot the point just in front of the head without knocking it off its path of travel. The Sultan caught the weapon and then looked at Nulaki. “Show that to my contact. And yes, you have my word.”
“Are you with anyone?” the Sultan inquired. “My men said you did not act alone.”
“Brother, you can mix things up with that woman if you want to,” Nulaki said as he opened the window. “You’ll live longer if you don’t. Besides, the best of your girls is at the smallest inn in the southeast corner of the upper deck. Just tell her that Nulaki forgives her and she’ll come forward. See ya!”
Nulaki crawled out of the window and up the wall. He smiled as the city mirror reflected the sunlight over Sandthrunn. He considered it to be symbolic of where he was in his life. He reached the roof and laughed to see Dungias standing there, waiting for him.
“My own security blanket?”
“One that you obviously did not need,” Dungias replied.
“Bullshit!” Nulaki spat back. “The only reason why the Sultan showed up was because you and I hit that caravan.”
“Something you would have done anyway,” Dungias stated.
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t have known that bitch had me on the hook! Not to mention I doubt a seer would have told me that my so-called sister was that close to us.”
“Well, it seems that you have everything in order,” Dungias said as a flying sled came up into view behind him. Siekor was at the controls and Ephaliun waved for the two to get on quickly. “Shall we?” Nulaki laughed as he ran toward the sled, followed quickly by Dungias. Nulaki slapped a hand down on Ephaliun’s shoulder as they flew away.
“Did you do this?” Nulaki asked.
“Z said to get a fast getaway vehicle,” Ephaliun explained. “Three of these showed up with the guy in seriously sparkled head-wrap. I thought we were going to have fun with the guards, but they just disappeared before we could make our move.”
“This one is a wheelman in the making!” Nulaki proclaimed as he laughed. He did not notice that Ephaliun’s smile lost some of its shine. Dungias thought it better not to say anything and he enjoyed the ride to the main shaft.
The group of five made their ascension and squinted their eyes at the unfettered brightness of the desert morning. Dungias did not stop after he climbed out of the stairway. He turned north and continued walking. With nothing in the way of legitimate conversation to add, the other four decided to follow him.
** b *** t *** o *** r **
The fist connected hard with her jaw and she was sent spinning to the ground. Jocasta spit out blood, and she could barely distinguish the redness of her blood from the floor which appeared to be white.
“Whoa! You’re in the deep end of the crap stack bowl now,” she thought. “Was that a fist that hit me? Felt more like the nose of a battle cruiser! Can’t see, and damn if this doesn’t hurt!
“That tickled,” she muttered as she spat more blood.
“Most interesting,” Thashurd said as he gestured to the guard. The man reactivated the Power Gauntlet and grabbed Jocasta by the hair.
“Body feels light,” Jocasta noted. “Too light! They took my weapons! Can’t shoot him! Come on, Jo, rely on the training! Listen for the sound… look for the feel!” Her head came up as the man pulled. Barring standing awkwardly, it was his left hand that held her, and the hum was coming from his right. Jocasta grabbed his hand with both of hers and dropped to the floor, rolling to his left. She managed enough leverage to throw him, but his landing was smooth. He had rolled. “Dammit!” She shook her head as she got up, trying to clear the cobwebs and force her eyes to see. She closed her eyes and leaned to her right. She felt the glancing touch of an arm pass over her left shoulder. It too had a humming sound, and even with the light touch she was thrown by the force of the device and rolled twice before stopping. “Shit! There’s more than one of ‘em!” She still could not see clearly, but Jocasta knew she stood a better chance on her feet. “Come get some, boys. Momma’s waiting!”
Getting up once more, Jocasta stepped back and sighed in relief when her back met with a wall. She heard a short grunt and the quick approach of the humming sound, but it was too low to be for her duck. Jocasta grunted as she jumped up and split her legs. She could hear a fist meet with the wall and the stone cracked. Her legs came down and she found herself straddling a powerfully built arm. She grabbed the wrist of the gauntlet and threw her head toward the floor, twisting her body. She landed on her back, followed by the body she was throwing. She hyper-extended his elbow before he could brace and he cried out in pain. She then brought the man’s arm up to block the gauntlet bashing down for her face. She abandoned one body, grabbing on to the other, this time making a bar for the leg before she hyper-extended the knee. She rolled, finding the right arm of th
e wailing man. She chopped at his elbow and folded his arm so that he slapped himself in the face. She heard his nose break as he stopped screaming. She started to bash him again, but her body was grabbed by hands that did not make a sound. At the moment she was grabbed, however, she could at last see.
“Mind probes,” she concluded as she tucked her head and tumbled in the air, getting her feet between her and the wall. She fell to her back and grunted in pain, coughing as she rolled to get up.
“That was nothing short of inspiring,” Thashurd said as he walked around the room. Jocasta could see her pistols in the corner of the room as well as her boot knife. She remembered dropping her cane at the mine and she was still wearing her long coat. She silently thanked her engineer for insisting on making holsters and scabbards that altered the dimensions of her weapons. Jocasta wiped the blood from her mouth. Having weapons that required her to be close to her enemy in order to apply did not necessarily help her against a Temple Chevalier.
“Were you… taking notes?” Jocasta asked. “There’s bound to be a test at the end of the class.” Thashurd chuckled as he made gestures to remove the two downed guards. They floated up to the balcony where Jocasta could see Vobis looking smug and very confident standing among several cameras. Medical technicians collected the two bodies and carried them from the chamber. “Looks like we’re not quite alone.”
“You struck me as a loose woman,” Thashurd replied. “Did I read you wrong?”
“Who me?” Jocasta asked. “No, I’m a wild child! The more, the merrier! Besides, when you Imperials are involved, it usually takes more than one to make a dent.”
Thashurd simply smiled. It was Jocasta who had not made a dent. He had seen events like this unravel when the interrogator became too personally involved. Insulting him or the Empire would fail to generate ire in the man. Thashurd knew he was better than her… it was simply a matter of bringing the woman up to speed.
“You have proven to be quite problematic,” Thashurd stated as he turned to pace back over his steps. Jocasta’s weapons floated up to Vobis who was all too glad to take possession of them.
“Ugh, he touched them!” Jocasta groaned as she cringed. “Now I have to kill him! And sandblast my gear!”
“My masters have tasked me to get out of you the location of your ship,” Thashurd announced and Jocasta lost her smile and light demeanor. The Chevalier could feel her anger and he nodded. “It would seem that I have made a dent after all.”
“And by my count, you make the third prick-less wonder I’ve had to deal with,” Jocasta returned.
“You have a point,” Thashurd acknowledged. “You must understand, I am in an awkward position here.”
“It’s early yet to go making estimations,” Jocasta returned. “I suggest you get to work, because we’re all done with the talking.”
“She needs a sword,” Thashurd called out and a storage bin of blades was lowered next to Jocasta. “You see, my standing of honor prohibits me from attacking you without a weapon.”
“So that telekinetic toss was what?” Jocasta asked as she took three blades out of the bin. “Your idea of foreplay?” Looking at the bastard sword and the two wakizashi blades, Jocasta looked torn. She picked up the bastard sword and spun around with it, showing off her level of skill. Thashurd looked unimpressed as a sword was lowered next to him. The moment he turned to pick up the blade, Jocasta yelled, “Hah!” and threw the blade, thinking that she had to score a his skull. Thashurd spun around, lifting his hand, ready to catch the blade telekinetically. The sound of metal cutting flesh and shattering bone echoed through the room. Thashurd looked up to see Vobis pinned to the wall with the bastard sword. He struggled to breathe and move but failed at both as he slowly started to die. Thashurd looked back at Jocasta who had already picked up the wakizashi swords. “You really need to watch out for those surface thoughts,” she said with an evil grin. “They must be the devil to track in an emotional woman after all!”
“So it would seem,” Thashurd said. “Have you made your choice?”
“Unless you want me to use just one,” she offered.
“I am familiar with the forms where two are used,” Thashurd said, looking at his own blade. “My orders are simple, but they may be abated. I am to kill you slowly.”
“Or?”
“Or you surrender, divulge the location of your ship, and your passing will be without pain,” he replied.
“And I have your word on that?” Jocasta asked.
“You do.”
“Then verify that it’s painless,” she demanded. “Have you died in the manner you’re offering? Because if you haven’t, I have a hard time–” Jocasta jumped to her left as Thashurd blurred by her right side, just missing her ribs with his blade. “Or not!
“Joke all you want, chick” she thought. “You did not see that cut and it’s only because of these boots that I jumped far enough to avoid it. This guy’s a master of the blade and I’m still niching mine. Oh well, no one promised an easy run! Or a long one for that matter!
“Oh, honor man, I think the phrase you’re looking is en guarde!”
Thashurd said nothing as he turned around and walked directly at Jocasta. It was a tactic designed to press an opponent, but Jocasta was not rattled and walked directly at Thashurd, landing a head butt to his lips. He stepped back from the collision and ducked a swing meant for his neck. His thrust was parried and he brought his blade around for her face. Her block was up, but not ready for the power of his attack, and Jocasta was knocked off balance. She stepped back with a thin cut across her stomach after Thashurd spun away from her and stopped, taking a slow-forming defensive stance.
Jocasta advanced, but her feint drew no reaction from Thashurd. She swung for his leg and he lifted it out of the way while coming over the top with a hammering blow. Opting not to block, Jocasta deflected the blade and spun, kicking for his face. Thashurd spun under her kick, cutting the back of the thigh of her standing leg. Like the one to her stomach, it was not a deep cut, but a painful one, and Jocasta fell to the floor, clutching at her leg. It was then that she noticed she had dropped one of her swords.
“Over here,” Thashurd said as he picked up the wakizashi with the tip of his blade, tossing it directly at her. She caught it and got up to her feet. Thashurd stared deeply into her eyes and they blinked quickly several times before the steel in them returned. “There we are,” he said as he took another stance. “Continue!”
** b *** t *** o *** r **
“You have your orders!” Annsura yelled. “Get to it!”
“Are you crazy?!” Agatha asked. “They just took the Captain!”
“And she left us with orders, now move!”
“To the hilt then,” Tiebault said. “I challenge for the Cutter position.”
Annsura drew her blaster and leveled it at Tiebault. “We are not on our ship, and I am following the last orders given to me by my Captain, Tiebault. I am not obligated to answer your challenge. But if you do not engage your pathetic ass, I will end you! Now say anything besides ‘Aye, Cutter,’ I dare you!”
Tiebault did not know what these young people had been eating or drinking during their training, but everything Agatha had mentioned before the Akonsha Star crew members joined with Captain Starblazer was absolutely true. The Cutter had even read up on the laws enough to know that his challenge did not need to be accepted. “Aye, Cutter,” he said, picking up the digger of the mining equipment. “Marlene, you want to get that cutting laser for me?”
“Right behind you, T.”
“Annsura,” Llaz started, but found that the woman’s gun was just as easily pointed at him.
“Not you too,” she hissed, looking as if she had been betrayed.
Taking a step back and holding up his hands, Llaz nodded. “Sorry. You’re right. This is your show. What do you want me to do?”
“Keep an eye on the hopefuls,” Annsura ordered, holstering her weapon. “Satithe, can you link me to Z?”
“Affirmative,” Satithe replied after a moment of static. Llaz picked up the Captain’s cane and handed it to Annsura. “Link established.”
“Z, this is Cutter, we’re at the mines and they are secured,” she reported as she gripped the cane with both hands. There were a number of feelings Annsura had felt in her life, but she had never before experienced such a combination of loss, confusion, rage and desperation. There was, however, one other feeling she was experiencing. It kept the tears from her eyes and the strength in her voice. She had been given a post by a woman she honored. She would not fail her or that position now. “We have a problem, Z. We were attacked. My playback shows it was Vobis Slonn. He took the Captain and teleported away while the rest of us were hit with some kind of spell.”
“I understand, Cutter,” Dungias answered, and it sounded as if he was riding fast enough for the wind to almost drown out the sound of his voice. “I am just less than five kilometers from your position. Have Adleon mark the exact place the Captain was standing and hold that ground!”
“Aye, Z. The Captain had ordered us to mines some stones. I’ve got the hopefuls cutting and gathering stones.”
“Well done, Cutter,” Dungias replied and Annsura breathed in relief. “Do not be alarmed if you hear engines before I arrive. I am sending the Kulri-Kraythe to your location. Load the stones on board and be ready to deploy!”
“Aye sir, we will be ready. Cutter, out!” Annsura adjusted her brace-com and called for Adleon. She summoned him to the surface so that he could begin his work. Three minutes later, after the former Gallant had found the place he was tasked to find, Dungias came running up to the mines with Alpha in hand.
“Report,” he commanded sounding only slightly winded.
“I have found where the Captain and Vobis were standing,” Adleon said.
“You are able to teleport, yes?”
“Short ranges, yes, but I am sure he was using MannA.”