Naero's War: The Citation Series 2: The High Crusade (10 page)

“You were right, Nelson. I’m almost completely drained. But yes–I got them. We got them, thanks to you.”

We did get them, right, Om?

Gathering the bodies and all of their gear as we speak, N. The teks are swarming over them and sending the scans and feeds back to HQ and Intel for full analysis. They’re having a field day. Fireteam 4 is securing the area and going over everything with the teks. Intel’s already got a rapid response ship on the way.

Om, I’m spent. While I’m lying here resting, let’s at least teknomance the enemy gear and try to find a weakness we can exploit right now. There are too many invader sniper teams like this one at work, all around us on this continent, as we speak.

Your attacks damaged some of the suits and their functions, and they disrupted and appeared as soon as they un-phazed and dropped. We have their advanced phazed weapons, also. Let’s take a look and see what we have, N.

Right with you, Om.

They poured and sifted through the data flows and the tek scans even as they were being made.

Oh, let our friends know that the rapid response fixers and I have already deactivated the deadfall fusion charges in each suit that would have melted them and the guns into useless slag.

Thanks, Om. You’re a wonder.

Such flattery.

Hey, take a look at this, Om.

I see. We can use that. If we can interface it with the spyfixers, we can use those tek patterns to detect both the suits and the guns while they are in use.

Not only that, Om: we could also modify an electromagnetic pulse wave from orbit to do so over a wide area, paint and light them up on the combat grid, and maybe even focus it enough to disrupt them.

Let’s send it up the chain through the Intel fixers. What are we waiting for? They can experiment with it from here.

One of the teks absently suggested something like that on the fly.

It was fairly easy to lead them along the same path of discovery, and pweak some of the data to get them on board.

The flows were already hitting HQ and Intel.

“Intel, this is MCL Maeris with Company 36. We need a full spread of EM pulse bursts over this targeted area. Alert Bravo Command that our pests should be popping up on the combat grid very shortly. Attention all Bravo anti-sniper teams–be advised–prepare to modify your gear and get ready to hunt down the hunters.”

Naero sighed, still on her back, her Cosmic energies rapidly returning as she and Om focused all of their efforts on regenerating. She inhaled a foodbar and some lix to help matters along.

There are still some things that only flesh and blood can do–not machines, Om.

Machines still helped a great deal, N.

I know that; don’t get touchy, Om.

Nelson was still exhausted from her efforts as well.

Once Naero was feeling better, she used biomancy to bolster Nelson back up. “Thanks, Veronica. We couldn’t have solved the problem, or done any of this without you and your ideas, and your help. And you’ve shared and given me something extremely valuable–part of your own gift and talent, which I learned from you. Now, with your permission, let me give you something back in return.”

“What are you going to do, sir?” Nelson drew back slightly and looked a bit worried.

“Relax. Most don’t know this, but one of my Mystic abilities is that I can quicken or increase psyonic abilities in others. Would you like your talents to be stronger? I can make both your telepathy and your phazing much stronger, now that I’ve linked with you and I fully understand them. How about it?”

“Sure. What Spacer could say no to that? Then I can help my squad and the unit even more.”

Naero linked with her again. “Very well. Just hold still.”

It took Naero only a few minutes.

“There…now your telepathy will be much stronger and tax you less. The same with your phazing. I see how it works now. Both of us will now be able to both phaze, and move, and even shoot and attack. I want you on counter-sniper team ops from now on. Get out there with me and help us take the enemy down when they try this crap!”

Nelson rose to her feet. “Copy that, sir. I feel like a zillion creds. Let’s hunt those bitches down.”

They split off and rejoined 36, who were in the process of taking out first one, and then another enemy sniper team trying to escape the area.

Within the span of two hours, most of the enemy sniper teams had been located and gunned down.

And the cloaked insertion ship or ships most likely fled. Unfortunately, none of them were ever located or shot down.

Then the defenders realized something chilling from the Intel scans of the sniper teams.

The primary enemy sniper was always an Ejjai male. A clone of the same exact male, shunted with the same elite training and ability. The other five members of the enemy sniper teams were always the same five females.

Like the shock troops, the enemy was mass-producing these sniper teams and turning them loose in droves.

By the next day, Bravo Command finally had the planet under control, and the invaders on the run.

Veronica Nelson was quickly promoted from corporal to sergeant and then to second leftenant, helping train the new anti-sniper program working with the Mystics, to locate, eliminate, and defeat enemy phaze snipers.

By the end of that week, they were able to stand down and rest after days of constant hunting and fighting. This was Sixthday, the old Friday, and that meant Binge Night.

Chime Fox and a few others read a bunch of new books that just came in. Marines gorged themselves on junk food and delicacies like gluttons. Some still got drunk or gambled the whole time. Others slept as much as they could. Couples took their leaves together and vanished for a day or two of romance. Entire groups jacked into vidgames and played them competitively 24/7. It was a time for relatively harmless excess. A time for everyone to loosen up, and do whatever they wanted.

Within certain Spacer limits, it was all fun.

7

Suvanna-6 was a winter world with most of the continents in the northern and southern hemispheres locked in glacial ice ages. Only a small temperate band existed around the equator that was even remotely inhabitable.

Yet because of active vulcanism and rich mining deposits, half of Suvanna-6’s population of two billion were Miner Consortium miners, living in dome cities around their mining interests–a mix of several sentient races.

The original native population were Zotchans–near humans who were physically mute, without vocal cords. As a species, they had telekinetic, shining hair tendrils, similar to those of jellyfish in many ways.

The Ejjai invaders hated Zotchans, because without vocal chords, they couldn’t be made to scream. Torturing them wasn’t any fun for the invaders…almost.

At first, everything went well. Up close, the Marines had very little trouble taking out the Ejjai invaders.

Then Company 36 went missing in their dropship.

All of them.

Minutes later, Naero received a mysterious, telepathic signal from an unknown entity. It was not an Ejjai mind–but something unique, and very different.

Yet it was still working for the enemy.

Curiouser still, this being had Mystic-like powers. No. Correction. Cosmic psyonic powers. It could cloak itself from detection, even from her and Om both. And from what she could sense, it was extremely dangerous.

All of these things had Naero incredibly intrigued.

This entity challenged Naero to a formal duel. Just the two of them. Naero wasn’t particularly interested into being lured into such an obvious trap. Their enemies had tried such tactics before–many times.

Then the entity revealed that she had Company 36. All of them, in their dropship, frozen in stasis. If Naero did not agree to the duel, the entity would be forced to hand her Marine brothers and sisters over to the Ejjai.

Naero followed the instructions to the letter. She piloted a starfighter to the south pole to meet the challenge. She asked the entity to release her friends. Naero had held up her end of the bargain.

The entity replied that she would do so, only if Naero won the duel and defeated her.

Of course, this duel was going to be to the death.

Om, I’m certain that this is all still a trap, planned just to take me down. We have to be ready for anything. 36 is merely the bait. I hate to think this, but they’re probably already dead. Yet something does feel very different about this one. This entity appears to operate with some autonomy. She isn’t the usual mindless, grunt slave of our unseen foes.

She doesn’t know about me, N. I’ll be ready to back you up, no matter what. And my fixers will be searching for 36 the entire time, and trying to find a way to secure and free them. I’m your wild blade.

Thanks, Om. I’m really going to need you on this one, I think.

As soon as Naero transported near the given coordinates, she felt as if she were being hunted.

She quickly located and eliminated the units of Ejjai in polar armor.

A fierce Antarctic storm whipped up, obscuring all visibility and taxing shields, armor, and even psyonics.

Naero had just started to wonder what was next when a familiar telepathic signal went out to her, trying to contact her.

If she linked with and answered it, the entity could pinpoint her location and possibly attack her.

Om, help me. I can’t get a fix on it.

Sorry, N. I can’t either. This opponent is both powerful and tricky. Be careful. There’s still so much we don’t know about this one.

They waited for the telepathic message to be repeated, or for another to go out.

Nothing.

If this strange new entity was, in fact, holding 36 hostage in stasis, that was a lot of mental and lifeforce energy to mask.

N, this entity is extremely powerful. She’s even shielding them from us. That’s a very bad sign.

I’m worried about that as well, Om. This entity rivals the High Mystics in raw, psyonic power. Although to my senses, she appears to be primarily a telepath. I’ve yet to sense any kind of direct Cosmic powers and abilities beyond telepathy. And the energy levels are so strange. Not raw Chaos, but Chaos mixed with several other types of energies that I cannot sort out.

Naero had yet to complete her Mystic training. There were still gaps in her knowledge that one could pilot a battleship through, and that could always be dangerous.

Something else, N.

What’s that, Om?

We already know that this isn’t an Ejjai mind signature. Whatever it is–it’s a sentient from a race we’ve never encountered before.

I agree, Om. And the funny thing is, I keep sensing this deep regret. I might even call it resistance. We’ve never encountered any servant of the enemy that emanated regret. They’re always fanatical. We’re walking into the unknown. Our foes went to a great deal of trouble to bring this new threat against us. They must be pretty sure that it is stronger than us. They expect us to fall before its might. We can’t afford to underestimate this one.

Finally, they drew close enough that Om detected the cloaked, heavy stasis fields through the enemy shielding.

They’d found 36 at last.

Naero transported in, struggling to mask her presence psyonically. Om and the fixers checked. 36 was alive and well, but helpless, at least for now. Luckily, the Marines and their entire dropship were entombed in a massive stasis field in an underground ice cave.

They did not appear to be under a direct guard, but there were security sensors on the ship, and massive explosive charges set to destroy the craft.

Om, you and the fixers neutralize those fusion charges and devices without alerting our hosts.

On it, N. You’ll need to buy them some time. A distraction or diversion wouldn’t hurt. This is a big job.

The right remote signal, or the wrong attempt to free the Marines, and this entire ice cave would go up in flames.

I’ve got the perfect distraction, Om.

What’s that?

I’m going to knock on the front door. And spring their little trap. Keep those fixers working down here. Get our people out if you can, when the time comes. Don’t let them use 36 against me.

Will do, N. I’ll signal you when the task is done, as soon as I hear from our fixers.

Great, Om. Let’s start this party. We want the enemy completely focused on me.

Surprisingly, the entity sent out another summons a few seconds later.

“Shetanna, the time has come for us to meet, and test our skills against on another. The moment of our duel is at hand. Answer me, or I regret to say that the lives of your companions are all forfeit.”

Naero transported directly out of the underground ice cave, and half a klick in front of the large dome of the pop-up complex’s main entrance. The storm outside had only increased in violence.

“Shetanna. I know that you are out there near the dome. I can sense your presence now. You are close. You’re flitting about in that storm, trying to find a way in. I feel you resisting me. You’re keeping me from locating your exact position. Very clever. Your friends are still here with me. The only way to free them, the only way to save them, is to face me in single combat.

“Where I will take your life, or you will take mine.”

Naero continued stalling for time, for as long as she could. Either way, this couldn’t get over with too quickly. She needed to draw it out to give Om and the fixers a chance to free 36.

“I know you can hear me on this channel, Shetanna. There’s no other way to do this. Defeat me and take my life, and they go free. Or, I defeat you and they die. Or, you attempt to free them, and they die, and we still fight each other anyway.”

Om, I’m kind of running out of time here. Have we stalled enough?

I think so. Go ahead, N. Start the show.

“Shetanna, I challenge you to face me!”

Naero zipped in right up to the front of the dome itself.

“Shetanna has come,” Naero announced.

A nanoportal irised within the dome’s entrance surface. She stepped in, and it closed behind her. She was alone within the shielded dome, a hundred meters in diameter.

A perfect, level platform for a duel awaited her inside. Within was sparsely decorated and supplied, only with a few furnishings and pods of equipment and gear here and there.

Her mysterious opponent rose up from a concealed nanolift and hatch, near the center of the dome’s floor.

Of course she was taller than Naero.

Wasn’t everyone?

“I am Riel.”

“I am Shetanna.”

They circled each other slowly like predators.

Species unknown. Riel looked female, by all appearances. Near-human, or at the very least humanoid. Riel was, in fact, a hand taller than Naero, although that wasn’t difficult to manage. Sleek. Athletic, with superb muscle tone. Riel looked strong, agile, and fast.

Riel was a warrior, warrior-born, or from a warrior people, and she looked proud of that.

She had an odd skin coloration pattern, blazing white up to her neck, supple and shiny.

Yet only through the middle third of her body. The outer thirds of her form were sleek, shiny, and black, including her dexterous hands and feet. She wore thin boots and gloves of what appeared to be a black nano material, similar to Naero’s own flight togs.

Riel’s head was round on top, her face humanoid and shiny, jet black. She had large, attractive sapphire blue eyes, the hue of gleaming, light blue steel.

Small nose, expressive mouth with bluish lips and white, omnivore teeth, within the human range. If Riel had ears, they were small and recessed into the sides of her dark head, or perhaps concealed under her coat, or fur, or whatever it was that covered her body. It was some kind of protective layer.

Naero had spotted the thin nanogloves and boots right off. Now she noticed that Riel wore a tight pair of shorts, and some kind of sleeveless bodice top over a high, mid-sized bosom, under her coat.

The nanomaterial of her clothing barely covered her hips and shoulders, exposing most of her front torso, perhaps her back, and her arms and legs.

Riel touched some kind of preset on her waist on the shorts, and her garments, boots, and gloves included, began shifting and shimmering–flashing with strange, almost hypnotic patterns of black and white, which became very distracting.

The thin, black leather belt at her hips was set with bright metal squares or some kind of control buttons. At a closer look, there were strips of material up the sides. The outfit was not so much a garment as it was a harness from the hips to the shoulders. Both hips held what appeared to be finely shaped sword hilts of intricate design, without blades or scabbards needed.

Are those energy weapons, Om?

There was something incredibly odd about those hilts and their energy signatures.

Naero, there are indeed strange Cosmic energy signatures around those sword hilts. And they are made of a rare substance–Ur-metal. The power levels of those weapons are being well-concealed, as long as they are not activated.

“I sense very well that we are warriors of honor,” Riel said. “Know that I bear you no ill will, Shetanna. I offer you my hand, before our contest begins. Champion to Champion.”

Naero took the hand, firm and strong; strength enough to match her own.

They pulled back.

With her biomancy, Naero had some fleeting insights into Riel’s species.

“You have a layer of insulating skin…and something like…fur? It covers your entire body, including your hands and feet. Intriguing.”

Riel smiled slightly. “Even my eyes are protected, by an insulating layer of clear film. Almost my own natural EV suit. All I really require is a sealed helmet and a source of breathable air.”

“A shame I didn’t get to finish my perception analysis of your genotype and species.”

“So, you are a biomancer as well? You are indeed quite formidable, Shetanna. Very much so. Now I am curious. Can you phaze, or transport, or both?”

Naero grinned. “Does it matter right now? When the time comes, you shall know these things.”

Riel smirked. “I suppose that is fair.

Something else. Riel wore a wide, golden nanotek collar, padded on the inside. A very hi-tek collar from what Naero and Om could detect. Almost constricting.

Om, suggestions? Is that some kind of throat protection, or is it really a control collar? Our enemies are forcing her to do all of this?

Both, as it would appear. The tek is highly advanced–on par even with the KDM. Without being able to study it, I cannot fully identify or determine its makeup or function. Yet it is also neutron detonation device, similar to the suicide device you wear upon your wrist.

So, Om, do we think someone among our unseen enemies is controlling Riel against her will? Are they making her fight for them? If she disobeys or tries to escape, I’m guessing they can blow her up?