Star Force: Bahamut (SF86) (Star Force Origin Series) (11 page)

“We don’t know. It just started shooting us. There are
people still inside that were hit.”

“They are most likely dead,” the Trinx said, carefully
keeping one of the vassals between him and the aperture as more came up the
lift along with other personnel in a second batch. Apparently no one else liked
to take the stairs.

“How many more defenses are inside?” Nefron asked.

“Plenty,” Riley said, “but nothing I can’t handle.
They don’t have this armor on the inside.”

“We must regain access to speak to the Oracle,” the
shapeshifter said.

“I can get us in,” Nefron said, speaking to Riley and
ignoring the others.

“Go ahead. I’ll cover you.”

Nefron snarled and his deep black eyes glowed green
again along with his two spike mandibles that he thrust into the aperture door,
having to push hard to get them to cut through the material but it didn’t
resist him too much. Dragging the glowing tips down was slow, but eventually he
got two vertical lines cut then started on the top as the Trinx walked up
behind him.

“What are you?”

“Do you mind?” Riley asked flippantly. “He’s busy.”

Nefron ignored the Trinx, finishing his cut on the top
then doing likewise on the bottom before pulling back and tucking his mandibles
behind him as he put an armored shoulder into the heavy door plug and pushed it
inside, toppling it over only to receive a short yellow beam from an internal
weapons battery…but it never hit him, for Riley’s bioshield caught it as he
came in behind Nefron and quickly got out in front of him with the mage coming
through a split second later. The pair of Archons worked together to take down
the nearby defense turrets with a combination of psionics and the plasma
weapons they’d been carrying around on their armor racks.

“Clear,” Riley called back, with a heavily armored
group of cyborgs coming in first, followed by the Trinx who looked at the
Humans in complaint.

“I can’t get my vassals inside. The gap is too small.”

“Then widen it. We’re not waiting.”

Nefron breathed in deeply. The aura of Cardosan was
much stronger now.

The holographic Oracle suddenly appeared before Riley,
staring at him accusingly.

“How dare you bring him
here!
”

Riley stared back at the glowing image through his
helmet, wishing it was real so he could
vader
it.

“Oh, so you
do
recognize him,” he snipped.

“He is the creator of the Hamoriti. His presence here
threatens everything. He must be destroyed.”

“This one is a Chixzon?!” the Sety all but roared.

Nefron glanced at Riley. “Some quiet, please.”

The Archon took in a long breath himself, then the
hasty complaints and outbursts from the aliens behind him suddenly stopped as
all were frozen in place, including the Cyborgs, with only the vassals
unhindered but standing by passively with no orders to operate on.

“Take your time,” Riley said, mentally telling the
mage to handle security, for keeping this group suppressed was taking almost
all of his focus. “I’ve got them.”

Nefron turned his attention to the Oracle, taking a
step towards it with the image moving backwards reflexively despite the fact
that it could not be harmed.

“Oracle, I am not here to release this Uriti, but it
is within my power to do so from orbit if I so desire. You have no control
here, so I will ask questions and you will answer if you wish to keep Cardosan
dormant and fulfill your
Ftrolee
programming.”

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