Spirit of Empire 4: Sky Knights (58 page)

* * * * *

The energy strikes were taking their toll. Though Great Cats never gave in, Lex knew he was nearing the end of his strength, and his fellow cats were fading as well. On the other hand, he suspected the super peicks were hurting just as badly. At the very least, he had them in retreat. Where they were retreating to he had no idea, but it was along the path of the globe, so he suspected everyone here was headed to the same place.

The light on the horizon had grown brighter and he sensed its nearness. Too, he sensed the energy of the globe fading. Despite his best efforts, it had taken a lot of hits. He needed to fully draw the peicks’ attention to him and his men, but how?

Fundamentally, this place was a world of abstract ideas and information. Great Cats did not think abstractly, they thought in absolutes, and that deficiency was limiting his effectiveness here. He had to try something, even if it was just an imaginary something.

He stood up on his hind hands and faced a target. This time, when he fired, he raised both hands and gave it everything he had. To his amazement, a single but more powerful bolt of energy flew to his opponent and hit it. Lex went down hard with multiple hits, but that single hit dropped his opponent.

His men saw and followed his example. Two Great Cats stood up on their hind feet and fired multiple, powerful streaks at targets of their own. The other three raced ahead under covering fire, then lowered themselves to the ground. But not for long. The three stood up and fired powerful streaks while the three behind them, including Lex, raced past them and pulled ahead.

They covered ground quickly in this manner, though at a high cost. And the cost to the super peicks was high as well. Several lights extinguished, and the rest of them appeared to move more slowly.

Lex was almost done in. He wished fervently that he could get his hands on a super peick and fight it physically, but such was not possible here in the net. Then all of a sudden he and his men were there. They had come to the red glow. Within that glow stood a door, a closed door that swarmed with dim, red lights.

He looked back, and sure enough, the golden globe was headed straight for the door. The super peicks must have figured out who or what it was, because they all started firing toward it. Screams from the globe rent the twilight and the orb began falling again.

Lex stood up, and his men stood up with him. Everything they had went into a continuous series of shots toward the swarming lights guarding the door. So packed in were the peicks that every shot hit, and they were forced to retaliate. Multiple energy streaks enveloped the Great Cats, but the orb began lifting back toward its course to the door.

A series of streaks struck one of his brothers. The Great Cat struck back, then winked out of existence. Another brother followed, just disappearing, but the number of super peicks was falling as well. The four remaining Great Cats redoubled their efforts, peicks dropping out but Great Cats winking out as well.

Lex was the last Great Cat standing. He lowered himself to all fours and looked around at the swamp, took a few steps, then looked back to the door and lifted his head. He roared a challenge, then lay on his back with his belly exposed and pointed all four hands at the door. He gathered every erg of energy left in his body and let loose with one final blast from each hand just before multiple streaks struck him in return. The presence of the mighty Great Cat thinned, then disappeared.

* * * * *

Josh stepped up to the blast door and kicked the center of the outline Galborae had cut. The heavy metal fell with a clunk into the bridge. He stepped to the side and tossed his flash-bangs, then followed them with two smoke emitters. He covered his ears and waited until they exploded, then he leaped through the opening and went right. Galborae was right behind him and went left.

They did not see super peicks, but they saw disturbances in the smoke as the creatures abandoned their stations and fled. Helmets that had connected them to the net still swayed as they dangled on their cables. Clearly, the super peicks had been in the net, but they had been forced to leave it to defend themselves.

He and Galborae each took out two peicks with multiple shots through the smoke while moving to cover behind workstations. Blasters fired back at them from the far end of the room. Josh studied the ricochets and decided they were coming from opposite corners near the ceiling. He fired into one corner, and Galborae fired into the other, but neither of them hit anything.

After a period of continuous firing that netted them nothing, Josh tossed another smoke emitter and left cover, racing ahead two work stations. Galborae provided covering fire, and Josh moved to the next station where he suddenly confronted a super peick face to face.

Both of them were surprised. Josh fell back, firing repeatedly up at the creature as it leaped onto him. One shot hit the peick in the neck and it collapsed onto him.

The other peick leaped over its partner, headed for Galborae. After years of fighting gleasons, Galborae was ready for the erratic leaping and hit the peick in mid-air with his blaster, following up with multiple shots just as he had done against gleasons.

Josh pulled himself out from beneath the super peick he had killed and crawled to another workstation for cover. Galborae sent blaster shots here and there in an attempt to root out any remaining peicks, not in the least concerned about what equipment he was damaging, but no one took the bait.

He took a moment to inventory the bridge. Pieces of crew members lay everywhere. Where blood had not pooled, it had sprayed, even up on the walls. Equipment damage seemed minimal, most of it probably caused by him and Josh. He guessed that the crew had never had time to get a shot off.

Josh pulled himself up to one knee behind his workstation, but there was still no response, only complete silence. Knowing these creatures had been bred for warfare and were every bit as good at it as he was, he knew he needed to get creative.

Galborae beat him to it. From behind his workstation, he lifted his shimmering sword high into the air to draw fire. Multiple shots came at him from an upper corner of the bridge, and Josh took advantage of the distracted super peick. He fired multiple, well-aimed shots, and a body fell to the deck.

The two of them waited in silence, Galborae’s sword still held high, but nothing moved in the room. Galborae eventually lowered his sword and extinguished the blade.

Josh started moving ahead to another workstation, but a super peick moved, and that movement showed through the smoke. He fired as the creature leaped toward him. He brought it down, but it did not stop. It fell behind a workstation, and when Josh moved in to finish the job, it reached out a clawed hand and ripped the weapon from his hand, then grasped that arm and pulled him toward its mouth.

Limam appeared from out of nowhere and leaped for its head. She sank her teeth into its forehead and ripped eyes and skin from its head. It smashed Josh into the deck with one arm and went for Limam with the other. Galborae raced forward with his sword, but he was too late. The creature ripped Limam from its head and flung her across the bridge.

Limam had always managed to land on her feet, but this time she did not. She hit the wall and slid to the deck, and Galborae knew she was badly hurt. He took advantage of the creature’s distraction and fired multiple, carefully aimed shots into it, then he followed up with his sword.

Suddenly, Galborae felt like he’d been punched hard in the leg, the same leg he’d been hit in earlier but higher up near the hip. The hit blew him backward, and he was hit by another blaster bolt in his midsection as he fell. He could not breath, but he was still conscious when the last creature fell on him. Limam, battered and mortally wounded, barreled into the super peick and tore it away from him. She hit the deck hard as the super peick recovered and turned back to him, but her distraction was enough. His blade cut through the creature, then continued waving weakly until he lost consciousness. The light from the blade extinguished when it fell from his hand.

* * * * *

A mental push awoke Galborae. He opened his eyes to find Limam resting her head on his leg. When he reached down to her, she licked his hand, then lifted shining eyes to him. He sensed her farewell, and grief instantly welled up inside him.

For her sake, he set his grief aside. He leaned down and kissed her, then held her head in his hands and stared into her eyes. “Goodbye, beautiful girl,” he thought silently to her as tears cascaded down his cheeks.

Her eyes dimmed, then the light in them faded and the mental link extinguished. He stared into those loving eyes, remembering the years they had shared together as tears continued streaming from his eyes.

After a time, his voice rose softly. The song of the dead filled the bridge, though with Josh still unconscious, there was no one else to hear it.

* * * * *

The red glow was suddenly right there in front of Atiana. A swarm of red flashes reached out to the bubble and all of them shrieked. The agony seemed to last forever. They nearly settled to the swamp below, and Atiana thought all was lost. Her thoughts went to the only place they could go—to Gar. She would miss him, and she would miss what they might have become. She would miss the touch of his lips on her own, and she would miss the wholesomeness of his arms around her. When she looked into his eyes, she couldn’t help herself. Grief struck hard, so hard that it was all she felt.

Around her, Claire and Akurea fed on those feelings, though Atiana did not know it, so intensely focused was she on her grief. The bubble rose back up to the level of a door on the red glowing thing, a door guarded by a swarm of super peicks who were taking a beating from a hail of red streaks rising from below. She sensed them losing energy and was not surprised when they were forced to concentrate their streaks on whomever was shooting from the ground.

Akurea diverted just enough energy back to Atiana to say, “Almost there, Your Majesty. One more big push and you can put your grief away.”

With those words, Atiana knew without knowing how she knew that they had to go through that door, but there was just no way to get past the swarming super peicks.

Half of the super peicks suddenly dissolved before her very eyes, and she heard Akurea say to Claire that someone must have gotten into the bridge. She saw the door clearly and imagined Gar on the other side of that door waiting with open arms. Her heart soared.

Around her, Claire and Akurea’s essences formed into a double-shafted arrow and shot forward, smashing into the door. Pieces of door exploded away from the arrow and they were through.

Atiana found herself alone in a small, clean room with a control panel mounted on the wall before her. She reached out mentally for the others, but she was alone. Strangely, she felt no fear in this place, though sadly, Gar was not here as she had hoped.

She recognized the symbols on the control panel and knew what she had to do. She brought the memory of Claire’s drawing to her mind, but realized in alarm that the drawing was not clear. She had been through too much and had forgotten some of it.

She reached out and touched symbols one at a time. Each one lit up as she pressed it, then it went dark, but after the first four touches, she was uncertain. What would happen if she made a mistake, she wondered? Would Akurea’s and Claire’s efforts have been wasted? Would Gar’s injuries have been a waste? And what of everyone else, everyone on the cruiser? Would their sacrifices have been in vain?

Her hand trembled, then paused over the next symbol when she suddenly felt arms around her, loving arms that held her close. She felt a presence loving her in a way not even Gar could love her. A great peace settled over her as a voice came to her, crystal clear as if it was right beside her.

“The present was not preordained. Many paths, many outcomes were possible today. You and the others have given all that you are, and you have chosen well. We never ask for more. Here is the rest.”

The voice fell silent, but in the air before her, Claire’s drawing hung as clear as could be. She reached out, still in those wonderful arms, and pushed the symbols confidently.

When she pushed the last one, the arms released her and the room fell away. The swamp fell away and the twilight turned to light. She knew without knowing how she knew that she was back in the dream, the normal dream.

She had no idea where she was or what to do next, but the AI did.

“Section 68, paragraph 13 countdown stopped and rearmed,
”
it announced.

What now, Atiana wondered? She called back to the AI. “Can you connect me to the bridge?”

“There are no active connections on the bridge,” she heard.

“How about the operations center?”

“There are no active or functional connections in the operations center.”

“Is anyone on the net?”

“No.”

“Can you contact anyone else for me over their comm units?”

“Yes.” The AI reeled off a series of names. She recognized Colonel Lebac’s name and asked for him.

“Lebac,” she heard.

“This is Atiana. I think the super peicks left the net. I’m the only one in here, but I don’t know what to do.”

Lebac did not bother to reply. He joined her a moment later, not on his communicator but on the net. “Your Majesty?” he asked. “What happened?”

“I have no idea. Lady Akurea and Claire were with me, but they’ve disappeared. There was a big battle, but I don’t know who else was involved.”

“The Great Cats,” he answered. “I’ll check on them. Wait here, and don’t leave the net under any circumstances. We’re not done yet,” he said.

Atiana sensed him moving elsewhere through the ship checking on things, what things she did not know or particularly care. She just wanted to get back to sick bay and check on Claire.

Minutes passed, a lot of minutes, then Lebac returned. “I can’t find any peicks on the net. I found traces of them in the bridge and in Engineering, but they’re not there now. They could be anywhere.”

“They are soldiers on a mission,” Atiana said.

“And I understand what that mission is. You’ve done well, Your Majesty. The crew is coming back into the net, so you’re free to stand down.”

“Stand down?”

“You’re done for now.”

“What about the countdown?”

“I don’t know how to turn it off, or even if I should turn it off. Let me think about it. In the meantime, if you have to leave the net, it can only be for short periods. Every time you come back on the net, it will stop the countdown. When you leave, it will start counting down from two hours again. Understood?”

“I understand. I have to check on Claire, then I’ll be back.”

“I forgot about her. Your Majesty, you should know that all the Great Cats are dead and Lady Akurea is unconscious. I’ve lost touch with Sir Josh and a lot of my men. I’ll get back to you when I can.”

He left, and Atiana exited the net, removed her helmet, and knelt beside Claire. Blood seeped from Claire’s nose, mouth, and ears, and she was unconscious. When Atiana called for a medic, a doctor answered her summons. The doctor removed Claire’s helmet and ran a diagnostic tool around her head, then turned to her with a forlorn look.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. There’s nothing I can do.”

“What?
She saved the ship. She saved all of us. She deserves your best. Put her in a tank,” Atiana demanded.

The woman shook her head. “It wouldn’t do any good. Tanks can’t fix this kind of damage.”

Atiana’s Rider, Stren, spoke to her.
>Sir Mike showed us the way. I can go to her.”

What Stren meant was immediately clear to Atiana.
>If she dies, you die?<
she asked.

>How can I choose? I barely know her, but I’ve grown to love you.<

>Can you give her less than she gave us?<

Atiana did not have to answer.
>Goodbye, my friend,<
she said sadly as she leaned over Claire and placed both hands around her neck. As Stren left her body, a terrible, debilitating headache took her place, and it was all Atiana could do to hold on while the transfer completed. When it was done, she collapsed beside Claire.

The doctor was right there with her, but Atiana waved her away. “She has a Rider now. It will take a little while for it to get situated.”

“I understand,” she heard. “Now the tank will do her some good.” The doctor motioned to three others to come out from hiding, and together they managed to get Claire hooked up inside a tank. The doctor ran an instrument over Claire’s head for a long time, then closed the tank and let the fluid fill it. When the sides turned opaque, she came back to Atiana.

“Clearly, your Rider was keeping your pain at bay. I can help with that.”

Atiana did not open her eyes. “Do what you can,” she whispered, “but I have to go back into the net in one hour or the ship will blow itself up.” Then her surroundings faded away.

* * * * *

On the bridge, Galborae gently lifted Limam from his leg and lowered her to the deck. He stared at her, remembering, then struggled to his feet. When he felt he had adequate balance, he limped to every super peick in the room and severed its head.

Josh was unconscious, and his head rested at an unnatural angle, an angle that Galborae knew was very bad. His Rider reminded him that Josh, too, had a Rider, and when Galborae reached for Josh’s neck, he found a pulse. His Rider suggested he leave Josh as he was until medical help arrived. Galborae stared about himself, wondering what to do next. As far as he knew, the countdown to destruction was still running.

He spoke into his communicator. “Is anyone there?” he called.

Sergeant Tsarnov answered from medical. “Queen Atiana is safe. I’m told the net is ours for the moment.”

Another Protector answered. “Lady Akurea is injured. We’re escorting her to medical.”

Lebac came on the line and briefed everyone. “There are no peicks on the net at the moment. I found heavy traces of them in Engineering when I searched the net, and I’ve sent marines to physically check the area. In the meantime, I’m looking for someone to take over the ship. It might be a while.”

Galborae blinked as he considered, then he said, “Josh needs a medic. It does not look good for him. The bridge is secure, but anyone coming here had better announce themselves before coming in.”

He limped over to the hole he had cut in the blast door and sank to the deck, then he activated his sword. He held it diagonally across the opening, knowing any peick that attempted to enter would be seriously wounded in the process.

* * * * *

Barricades came down all over the ship after the marines reported Engineering as clear as they could make it. They reported 11 dead super peicks who were still wearing the helmets that connected them to the net. Lebac had them remove the helmets and put the bodies in locked storage.

The doctor brought Atiana awake every hour to reset the countdown in the net, but without a Rider to help heal her, the wounds she had sustained during the battle would have to heal on their own. Still, her rider had provided what protection it could, and that protection made a difference, whereas Claire’s mind had been essentially naked to the attacks of the super peicks.

* * * * *

Akurea struggled back into the net the following day. She ordered the cruiser’s gunnery officer to destroy the remains of Nbara’s facility. When he was done, it was impossible to tell if anything had survived below ground, but anything that had would likely be unserviceable. She then visited the other two facilities on the planet. When Lebac reported no response to his communicator calls, she obliterated those places as well. Only then did she leave the planet—forever, she hoped.

She called Lebac and the Chief to join her and Galborae on the bridge. “We’re not done here yet,” she said to them. “Tell me there’s some way to make certain we’ve killed every single super peick that made it aboard.”

Galborae and Lebac both shook their heads, Lebac adding clarification to knowledge Galborae did not have.

“You know these ships as well as anyone, My Lady. Huge portions of the ship are relegated to life support, including vast, automated hydroponic systems. Peicks could be hiding anywhere, and they’re very good at hiding. Actually, I’d be surprised if there weren’t any peicks aboard. There could be a lot of them, and they’re as sharp as any elite military unit. They could counter-attack any moment.”

Akurea rolled her shoulders, suddenly more uncomfortable than she had been. “Are they listening to us?”

The Chief spoke. “Not unless they’re in the net, My Lady.”

Her lips firmed. “They’re not. I have a lot of people keeping watch.” Her gaze wandered soberly between the three. “I never in my life thought I’d say this, but we have to abandon ship. We have to do it in a way that the peicks can’t leave with us, nor can they regain control of the cruiser. We have to prevent them from leaving Harac, ever.”

“You’re talking about another expensive blockade, like what we’ve had with the gleasons?” Lebac asked.

“Probably, though we have sufficient reason to sterilize the whole world now.” She looked to Lebac and the Chief. “I’m sorry, but those reasons involve Imperial Secrets. In any case, I’m not going to make that decision. I’ll leave it to the experts.”

She looked to the Chief. “You’re the senior surviving officer. How do we go about abandoning ship without letting these super peicks slip out with us? There’s no room for error here.”

“Aldebaran I will have quarantine facilities,” he said.

She shook her head. “That’s for later. I’m talking about right now. I’m not taking peicks from this system.”

He stared at her for a time while he considered. Eventually, he said, “The frigate is our only option. It’s not designed to hold all of us. It will be standing room only.” He looked to Lebac. “Are the shuttles contaminated?”

“Two were. I think we killed them all, but I can’t be certain. These creatures are superb at hiding.” He paused as another idea came to him, then he added, “Do we know how they reproduce? Could they have left eggs or spores or anything like that behind?”

No one knew, and no one spoke.

Galborae, clearly out of his element here, said, “The shuttles should be destroyed. We can take no chances.”

Akurea nodded her agreement. After running a shipyard for years, she already knew the answer to her next question, but she was hoping to find a way to avoid the serious, short-term hardships the crew was about to undergo. “The frigate is sterile. How do we keep it that way?”

“The frigate has three gigs for shuttling crew members and guests,” the Chief said.

“I want to make the transfer in space, and I’m not letting them into Hangar Deck.” Akurea said.

The Chief winced. “You’re talking about the docking ports. They only allow passage of a few people at a time. It will take a while.”

“Then it will take a while,” she said. “Make preparations, but no general announcements. I’d like to get as many people out of here as I can before the peicks figure out what we’re doing. Distribute weapons to all crew members, and give some thought to how we scuttle the ship.” She looked at Lebac. “We won’t scuttle the shuttles until we’re done with them.”

She looked to Galborae. “You’re fairly certain your shuttle was cleansed of super peicks? Can we use it to transfer the tanks from Medical?”

Galborae looked a little guilty. “I think not. I had to cut my way into the cruiser. If you detach the shuttle, you’ll have a hole in the side of the cruiser.”

She stared at him as she considered what he meant, then her gaze moved down to the sword still belted to his waist.

Galborae’s eyes brightened for a moment. He almost said, “Limam and I can clear another shuttle,” then he remembered and his eyes turned moist. The marines would have to do it on their own this time.

* * * * *

Marines prowled the ship during the evacuation searching for super peicks, though none were found. When the cruiser was down to a skeleton crew, the remaining shuttles were brought aboard and deactivated. Akurea accelerated the cruiser on a course to the sun and stayed with the ship as long as she could, then she shut down the drive and evacuated. The frigate stood off from the cruiser and waited. Super peicks must have come out of hiding because its sensors indicated the cruiser’s drive was powering up when the section 68, paragraph 13 program initiated.

The resulting explosions tore the ship into several large pieces. The explosions altered the courses of the pieces, but not enough to matter. A few days later the remains of the cruiser, its shuttles, and the super peicks fell into the sun and vanished.

* * * * *

Claire came out of the tank just before the frigate reached Aldebaran I. Atiana and Mayor Nbara, her mother, were there when she awoke. They both anticipated a full recovery for Claire since she had been in a tank for weeks, but when she opened her eyes, the left eye opened only partially. After examination by a doctor, they learned that the left side of Claire’s body was not responding well, nor could she talk. The doctor could not say what the long-term prognosis was for her. The peick attacks against her on the net were something none of them had ever experienced.

Claire seemed withdrawn, and tears fell from Nbara’s eyes as she stared down at her daughter, but Atiana pulled her away.