by Reiter
“Range is not a factor,” Dungias explained. “The energy applied to the matter means nothing. Steam can drive an engine just as can combustible fuels and electricity. Look to your senses, Adleon. You should be able to detect the dimensional distortions the InvokeR created?”
“By the wonders of the worlds,” Adleon gasped, “I can!”
“See if you can literally take hold of them with your telekinesis,” Dungias directed. “I will assist you.” Dungias stood behind Adleon and put his hand to the back of the Gallant’s head. A soft glow came from Adleon’s eyes as waves started to form in the air around him. “Yes, that’s it, go slowly. I am with you.”
The engines of the Kulri-Kraythe could be heard and Annsura gave the order to collect whatever stones had been mined and gather up top. Though the equipment they had been given worked much better than the picks the miners were using, there was not much to be dug out. Pristacia, however, had managed to get one of the miners to tell her about where the mined stones were housed. The overall result of the mining effort was surprisingly abundant.
“What are they doing?” Tiebault asked, looking over at Dungias and Adleon as the rest of the crew loaded the buckets of raw stones on to the scout ship.
“Never mind them,” Pristacia said as she touched the gem of Tiebault’s head wrap to his vest. In a flash of light and red smoke, he was naked and Pristacia, who was already dressed in the gathered attire of the Djinn, now had a head wrap, silk clothes, jeweled dagger and a necklace with a very large and glowing ruby. “Now that we’ve got all three Djinn contained, we can store them without fear of them regenerating.”
“Don’t worry, gorgeous, we’ve got some of the clothes and armour from the guards,” Agatha offered.
“Still, she could have asked,” Tiebault said.
“Asked to secure those things?!” Agatha questioned. “If you ask me she’s got the right idea! And look, she’s not even keeping the stuff on.”
“Which side are you on, Aggie?” Tiebault asked.
“The side that’s got a ship to get us off this rock, T!” she fired back with equal fervor. “You just let me know when that’s too much for you to handle!” Marlene quickly took hold of her friend and ushered her away.
“Easy there, baby!” Marlene soothed. “Let’s save it for the mutual enemy… which, from the looks of it, is the Inner Rim Empire!”
Agatha looked at the grouping of Adleon, Dungias, Annsura, and the glowing energy that was only getting brighter as the First Mate touched the former Gallant. Marlene looked up to see four men come running up to the mines. Soft Bone looked like he was ready to die from exhaustion, and the one called Ephaliun looked as if he could use a rest. Siekor was winded, which surprised Marlene to no end, and Nulaki breathed heavy twice before jogging over to Dungias.
“I figured you wanted me to babysit the others, the way you went running off at a blur like that,” Nulaki said as he looked around the area closest to Dungias. “And are we about to do what I think we’re about to do?”
“I am about to step into the wake of this teleportation and find the Captain,” Dungias reported.
“Then I’m going with you,” Nulaki replied.
“No. As you said before, I need you to assist Cutter with babysitting. Tolip, strap yourself into the controls and be ready to dust off the moment we return. Mr. Siekor, if you wish to assist, consider yourself co-pilot.”
“Aye, sir,” Siekor said.
“I can feel her,” Adleon reported. “It’s difficult to focus.”
“That would be her goggles or her mental defenses,” Dungias explained. “Either way, it is enough. Adleon, prepare yourself. The rest of you, stand back! Satithe, engage escape protocol Gamma Three; full power to all fields. Send word to Thom and convey my apologies. We will not have time for a rendezvous, and we will need to be on our way out of the system immediately.” As everyone walked away from the First Mate and the former Gallant, Dungias dropped to one knee, thrusting Alpha into the sand. In a flash of light both he and Adleon were gone.
Taking the time to blink three times, Nulaki brought his focus from the feat he had just witnessed. “You heard the man,” Nulaki barked. “… load up on the ship and let’s get ready to jet!”
“Warning!” Satithe said. “I have intercepted a signal. My position has not been compromised, and I doubt that yours has either, but a Brigade ship has received orders to land in your immediate area and declare Martial Law. ETA, seven minutes!”
“Triple time it!” Annsura commanded. “But remember, we need speed, not panic,” she added, mimicking a lesson learned from her most recent instructor. Annsura looked at Nulaki who was already looking at her. He shrugged his shoulders and turned to get on the ship.
“Sucks to be you right now,” he said before stopping and looking back. “Unless you have hope.”
“Right now that’s about all I’ve got,” Annsura replied.
“You just be ready to give that cane back to the Captain when she returns.”
“I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to that very moment right now!”
“No, I bet you can’t at that!” Nulaki agreed.
The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours more than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.
Ulysses S. Grant
(Rims Time: XII-4202.02)
Jocasta fell to the floor again, breathing hard and gritting her teeth to keep from screaming. The cut down her back was the deepest he had made so far and she lost feeling in her hands for a moment, but that did not stop her from rolling over and swinging up at Thashurd. He blocked the swing and quickly thrust for her shoulder. Her bracer deflected the blade and her sword slashed his chest. Thashurd staggered back as Jocasta rolled in the opposite direction.
Leaning against the wall, Thashurd looked down at his wound. With only a moment of concentration, he started to heal himself. In the space of two breaths, his chest wound was closed and Jocasta laughed as she used the wall to brace herself so that she could stand.
“I just love how convenient your honor is in these challenges, Chevalier,” she said in a very cold tone. “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I’m going to take that temple and shove it up your ass!”
“No, pirate,” Thashurd said, rubbing the fading bruise. The woman was full of surprises. “You are about to die. But before you pass out of this life and into the next, I will break the defenses of your mind and find your ship and crew. You will not be long in the Grey Realm before you have company!”
“Grey Realm,” Jocasta chuckled. “Babe, I’ve ridden on my fair share of boats, but I know for a fact you’re not the barge I take to that place. I’m bleeding more than you… especially now. But only one of us here is scared. And even if you do manage the miracle of scaring me, I already know I won’t go alone.”
“You can’t expect me to believe that!” Thashurd exclaimed. “You’re damn near done, woman! Just look at you! You can barely stand, let alone hold your blades!”
“Kill her!” a female voice demanded and both combatants looked up to see Coletta Sylgarr standing on the balcony, leaning over the railing and glaring at Jocasta with an obvious combination of anxiety and rage. “Gut that trash and mount her head on a pole!”
Jocasta laughed and pointed at the young woman. “And from this we can gather two things: one, she’s pretty pissed, and two, she’s never been mounted on anything, pole or otherwise!”
“Kill her!” Coletta screamed as her father appeared behind her.
“That’s the cue I was looking for!” Jocasta thought as she charged, moving faster than she had the entire engagement. Thashurd lifted his blade to block an attack, but she was not swinging at him. She used him for a ladder, kicking his face so that his talents would not interrupt her.
Up and over the railing she rose, slashing the arm of a very surprised Gulfrim Sylgarr. Coletta lunged forw
ard, a dim flash came from her hand producing a short blade, and she was thrusting with it.
“Bitch, please!” Jocasta barked, deflecting the thrust, spinning and opening Coletta’s back with her second sword. The force of the move sent the young woman over the railing.
Jocasta continued spinning and stabbed her blade down through Gulfrim’s foot into the flooring, releasing the weapon. The man screamed as he dropped to his knee, grabbing the offending weapon. Jocasta rolled over his back as Thashurd came up and over the railing, his telekinesis carrying both he and the wounded Coletta. With the Mage between her and the Chevalier, Jocasta dropped to her knee while reaching to her back. A telekinetic slash passed over Jocasta’s ducking head, shattering the wall paneling behind her, digging into the stone behind it. Jocasta drew her fighting dagger, hitting the trigger for the injector.
“All aboard for the Grey Realm. Cuz I’m taking all kinds of company!” Jocasta yelled as she stabbed Gulfrim in the chest three times. The wakizashi suddenly came up out of the flooring and Gulfrim’s body was snatched. Dropping her wakizashi and hanging on to the body, Jocasta was off of her feet and flying. When Gulfrim stopped, Jocasta kept going, rolling over his shoulder and over the railing. She spun, scoring Thashurd’s face before falling toward to the floor below. A bright smile formed on her Jocasta’s face. She landed in Dungias’ arms who quickly dropped to one knee.
“Hold on to me!” he commanded as he thrust Alpha to the floor, reversing the effect of gravity. Adleon was suddenly upside down, but holding on to Dungias as he wailed in surprise. Three bodies slammed into the ceiling and Dungias turned his attentions on Jocasta’s weapons. Dim fields of blue light formed over them before they flew toward Dungias. Alpha activated the satchel catch web and caught them as Dungias stood with one arm around Jocasta’s waist and one hand on Alpha. Adleon returned to the ground and Dungias stepped back into the dimensional tear, pulling Adleon with him. With their feet now on desert sand, Dungias thrust Jocasta’s body toward Adleon as he touched Jocasta’s belt. The dimensional pocket started closing as quickly as it had opened; Dungias tossed a bomb into the dimensional tear and then directed Alpha to seal it with a lock of gravity.
“Satithe,” he called out. “… remote detonate device.”
“Detonation signal sent… and received!” Satithe reported.
Dungias spun around quickly, touched his hand to Adleon and jumped. All three bodies carried to the Kulri-Kraythe, landing on the slender gangplank. The ship was ascending before they were on board, and forward thrusters engaged before the gangplank had fully closed.
“Get the Captain to a regenerator!” Dungias ordered.
“Belay that order,” Jocasta cried out. Dungias turned to look at her and she put her hand to his face. “Nice catch, Z! Knew you were coming,” she said softly before she passed out.
“Now, get her to a regenerator,” Dungias ordered once again. “I will be in the engine compartment. Tolip, can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear, Z!”
“Then prepare to impress me, pilot! Run Gamma Delta!”
It took a moment for the field compensators to remove the G-Forces from the interior, but the hull of the scout ship was beginning to ignite with the speed it was attaining. Heat shields were engaged as the Kulri-Kraythe climbed up out of the atmosphere, leaving a flaming trail in its wake. The ship had stabilized when all sorts of alarms started to sound off.
“Roger that,” Silnee replied over the PA. “Running Gamma Delta. Everybody strap yourselves in… we’ve got several hostiles bearing down on us right now.”
“Several?” Siekor said as he looked at the screens. “That’s what you’re telling them?”
“Yes I am,” Silnee returned. “Several, it means three or more. Eight happens to be more than three.”
“Well they’re powering up weapons and signaling for us to power down,” Siekor returned.
“I know, but I have to wait for the first volley before I can make my move. Gamma Delta!”
“What?!” A new alarm took Siekor’s eyes off of Silnee. “That lead Imperial ship has a lock and it’s firing a missile. That’s a big fucking missile!”
“Target the warhead!” Silnee ordered.
“What?!” Siekor nearly screamed.
“Satithe!”
“Warhead targeted,” the computer replied as the weapons station worked without anyone touching the controls. “Main guns at the ready. Missile impact in nine seconds.”
“Make that eleven,” Silnee hissed as she made a very sharp turn away from the missile. She was now racing toward one of the Brigade warships.
“Correction, impact in eleven seconds,” Satithe stated. “We will be in range of the Brigade ships in five seconds.”
“Fire main guns!” Silnee commanded as she made another turn, this time toward the oncoming weapon. Two of the four main guns fired, striking the approaching missile. The force of the explosion rocked the ship as it entered the conflagration. Before the fire could dissipate, Silnee activated all stealth fields, cut the engines back to minimal power, and made a very slow turn using thrusters. “Any locking signals, Satithe?”
“All ships are scanning the sector,” she reported. “I am even picking up scans from the planet surface. They have yet to locate the scout ship.”
“What?!” Siekor said once again.
“Nice move, Tolip!” Agatha cried out before she cheered.
“I am receiving word from Z,” Satithe reported. “… we are ready to Gate!”
“What?!” several voices asked in unison but Siekior’s was the loudest to Silnee.
“Will Z-wonders ever cease?” Silnee muttered as she punched commands into the navigational program. “Roger that, Satithe. I have coordinates locked in and we are ready to engage. Give Z the all-clear!”
“Tolip believes she has entered the correct coordinates,” Satithe reported to Dungias as he focused his thoughts. All of his Gamma Escape Tactics involved the Jump-Stride, and the Star Chaser was glad he had chosen to run to the mines instead of flying. He was going to need every bit of his reserves, but power was not his primary concern.
“And did she?” he asked.
“I believe the fault can be found in her haste and fear, but no,” Satithe admitted. “Using her calculations we would arrive inside Redmoon.”
“Then make sure you show her that you corrected her calculations before sending them to me,” Dungias directed.
“I will, Master,” Satithe replied, sounding as if she wanted to say something more but decided against it.
“Yes, this is a very anxious moment for all of us,” Dungias said as he opened his eyes, casting white light on the console in front of him.
“I am imperfect,” he thought as he bridged with the Time-Space Continuum. The lander-shuttle could have carried more cargo and the crew would not have been as cramped, but the hull of the Kulri-Kraythe had been built to blend with the Jump-Stride. “For all of the things I can do in full confidence, this is where my fear and doubt reside! Still, the action must be taken or we are undone!
“It is the blind jump where I fail,” Dungias calculated. “When I have something to lock on, the process is much simpler. How easy it is to lock on to something I spent years crafting!”
Dungias’ head dropped to his chest and he took a lunging step forward. His hands stretched out but did not physically reach the walls of the engineering section; still he could feel the room and the entire ship. His lunging stride pushed the Kulri-Kraythe into the Continuum, and space around the scout ship folded.
Silnee had just put her head back when she lost sight of the stars. The shutters over the cockpit glass closed and all of the instrumentation went offline.
The ship rocked a bit as the air grew thin in the wake of an energy pulse that traveled through every section of the scout ship’s interior. It was a combination of sonic-manipulation and broadcast energy. It struck everyone on board and signaled one construct into action.
�
��Satithe, this is Alpha,” it announced, coming out of its sleeve and standing on one of its ends. It scanned its unconscious master as it spoke. “What is our location?”
“We are one hundred sixteen meters from the Xara-Mansura, on the opposite side of Gulmurr,” she reported.
“What is the condition of the crew and passengers?”
“They are all unconscious and will probably believe that it is the normal experience of Gating,” she replied. “A matter of note, Annsura and Llaz required an additional pulse before they were rendered unconscious. With Annsura, I would say it is a result of her being Darkbred, but her genealogy makes it difficult to be certain.”
“And in the case of Llaz?”
“I am tempted to say sheer will,” Satithe replied.
“Impressive. File it away in our Master’s personal logs. He will research it at a later date if he is so inclined.” Alpha continued to make checks of the engines and hull integrity of the scout ship. Its Master had never asked so much of the ship in the past, and it wanted to be sure the craft had come through this trial unharmed.
“What is the status of the Xara-Mansura?”
“I am reading both the ship and its maintained stealth field,” Satithe was happy to report.
“Then let us get the Kulri-Kraythe landed and docked as quickly as possible,” Alpha directed. “Then we should continue with the Star Chaser’s plan.”
“I understand and concur.”
It was a very quick docking procedure with the Xara-Mansura. With Satithe controlling both ships, the docking of the scout ship happened seconds before the drives of the sphere-ship engaged and the ship started on its course to pass behind the dark side of Redmoon on its way to depart from the Gulmar System.
“Satithe and CK, might I suggest an alteration of our Master’s plan?” Alpha offered.
“What did you have in mind, Alpha?” CK inquired.
“An additional message to be sent to Thomasine as well as the allocation of the necessary funding for her to procure passage off-planet.”