Chapter Chapter Thirty: Game…

“And here I thought I would catch you up in the corner trying to be all philosophical,” Sharon said as she stepped behind Imogene’s partition. She smiled, looking at her best friend who was looking at herself in the mirror.

“No sense in trying, Sharon,” Imogene answered, looking at the gauntlets that fit so comfortably around her hands. “By the time I get over all of this, we’ll be tubing our way to some bad ass wannabe that needs to be shown the door. Do not pass go; do not collect two hundred dollars!”

“How very macho of you,” Sharon ribbed.

Imogene looked up from her hands and gazed into the mirror, finding Sharon’s eyes. She tried to smile as she shook her head, but neither for long.

“What is it, Genie?”

“Can’t fight genetics, I guess,” she answered. My Dad takes on corporate goons with canned goods and my Mom…” Imogene lowered her eyes to the floor. “My Mom took on modern-day slavers! Sharon, when we get back, we so have to go over what counts as a secret we can keep from one another!”

Nodding in agreement, Sharon smiled. “Need some help with that belt?” she asked, feeling it was okay to approach.

“Please,” Imogene said softly. She lifted her arms to give Sharon access. “Whoa, this may not be a good memory!”

“What’s that?” Sharon inquired as she locked the buckle down. The flashing light on the top of the belt let her know the connection was sound and secure.

“This is reminding me of when Yul Brynner was being dressed to go after Moses.”

“We really do need to reintroduce you to television,” Sharon said as she stood up. “We’re about to take on the Death Star and you’re still giving me the Sunday Night Network Movie!”

“You act like they don’t show Ten Commandments anymore!”

“Genie, they don’t!” Sharon said, taking hold of Imogene’s shoulders. “Maybe on a special for Charlton Heston, and Easter, but that’s about it.”

“Then why are we even thinking about doing this?” Imogene asked, feigning seriousness, receiving her helmet from Sharon. “They don’t even have quality television anymore. I say let ’em fry!” Sharon laughed as she walked out of the changing room area. Imogene followed behind, continuing to pelt quips as soon as they came to mind. By the time the girls walked to where the guys were waiting, they were both exchanging very bad jokes.

“And whatever happened to 90210?” Imogene asked.

“They brought that back,” Sharon answered regrettably, and Imogene stopped in her tracks which made the boys laugh.

“Now I know I’m not going!” Imogene said, shaking her head. “Maybe after Burbank burns, but not one minute before then.”

“Worked out your nerves, hmmm?” Rannis said as he walked up to the quartet. “Good! Because we need to cover one point of thought you might have missed. Names!”

“Uh, Rannis,” Cullen stammered. “It’s a little late in the game to do a meet and greet, dontcha think?” Javier snickered while Imogene smiled and lowered her head.

“He means call signs, CJ,” Sharon explained. “You know, like in Top Gun?”

“Right!” Cullen said emphatically. “Can I be Maverick?” Rannis looked at the young man and kept his eyes on him long enough for Cullen to get the ‘you need to be silent’ message. Eventually Cullen did simmer down and step back.

“You’ve gone through pretty serious measures to distance yourself from some Earth-side troubles,” Rannis said, taking turns to look at each of them. “I think this would be a bad time to lose what ground you’ve gained. With that in mind,” Rannis continued, walking over to Imogene. “Genie, you’re Primo.”

“A little on the masculine side,” Imogene replied. “But I like it.”

“Sharon, you’re Legion. Javier, you get to be Falcon and Cullen, you’re Sidewinder.”

“Hold up, why do I have to be the snake?” Cullen quickly asked.

“Either that or a dog,” Wilma muttered as she walked outside, quickly followed by Gordon.

“And Javier should be Hawk!” Cullen persisted.

“Bigger doesn’t mean better, Sidewinder,” Sharon said as she motioned for everyone to draw close. “I don’t mind the jokes,” she said to each of them, “because it keeps things light. But remember the punch lines are not what we’re about. If they come, by all means let them out! But let’s do the job and do what we can to get back to base.”

“Not to put too fine a point on things,” Cullen said softly, lowering his head. “… but what’s the job?”

Sharon took in a deep breath and looked at Imogene before she spoke. “We identify this creature Genie was talking about, make contact and give this situation a chance to be settled without violence.”

“But Genie already said this thing wants to destroy the Shard and she’s the Shard!” Cullen snapped. “And you want to talk to it?!”

Sharon drew her blaster and aimed it Cullen’s face. “I suppose when you let that air out of your mouth your intention was to get a point across. You feel like forcing your point?” she asked, receiving no answer. “Do you feel like forcing your point?!” she asked in a stronger voice.

“No!” Cullen said quickly.

Sharon holstered her blaster and smiled. “Thanks, you just helped me make mine! Last I checked, there were very few places in San Diego where there are no people. So that means property, but more importantly, people will be in harm’s way. If we can get through this without firing a shot, all the better. If Earth’s newest friend wants to insist, our primary concern will be to get it out to the beach and then we will boogie! Any questions?” Javier and Imogene shook their heads while Cullen simply glared at Sharon. “Then get to your boards. Sidewinder, can I talk to you a sec?”

“What did I do now?” Cullen asked, showing his frustration with his place in the scheme of things.

“You held up,” Sharon answered softly as she stepped closer to him. “I rode you hard and you’ve kept your eyes and ears open. I’m going to need a number two on this, and I’d like to depend on you.”

“But I thought you and Genie were best friends!” Even Cullen had lowered his speaking volume.

“We are, Sidewinder,” Sharon quickly answered. “But Primo is at the center of the trouble here. She needs to fly free, which means she can’t be too concerned with the team. I need eyes in the back of my head and you’re the best man for the job.”

“Wh-what about Rannis?”

“Busy with monitoring the suits and the target,” Sharon answered quickly as she stared into his eyes. “You lookin’ for a way out, Sidewinder?”

“No, of course not,” Cullen answered, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. “I just thought you didn’t like me much.”

“You’ve got your own way of doing things,” Sharon replied. “I’ll give you that. But Javier looks up to you, and everyone else responds to you. That smells like a leader to me. Do you have my back?” Sharon asked, holding up her hand, her palm facing her chest and the back of her hand facing Cullen’s chest.

He took in a deep breath looking at the hand… something Sharon did not expect. He took her hand and drew Sharon close. “I got your back, Legion! But let’s get one thing straight, that thing probably didn’t come to talk.”

“I agree, Sidewinder,” Sharon said softly. “But that’s all the more reason why we have to talk to it. What it starts, we’ll finish. Then we all go to bed and sleep well tonight.” The two of them walked outside.

Falcon was waiting just outside the door, his eyes and mouth agape. “Santa Maria,” he whispered. “Was anyone expecting this?”

“Define expect,” Sharon answered as she walked right by Javier with a proud smile spread wide across her face. Her Second in Command followed her example and they walked directly to Dreamchaser. She was all black and the peripheral cars had been removed. The port and side cars had been replaced by staging areas and each held two blast boards. The rear car had been replaced with a laser cannon-deck. Her crew also wore black body suits, with Wayne in the rear compartment manning the large three-barreled weapon. Gordon was at the weapons station, Milania manned the computer console behind Rannis, who was piloting. Wilma sat next to Rannis as a co-pilot/navigator. “Let’s mount up, Primo,” Sharon said, tapping Imogene’s shoulder and waking her up. “We’re burning daylight.”

“Helmets on!” Wilma commanded as she donned hers. She was glad no one could see her face. Her beaming smile was hidden from Rannis who had gone out of his way to fashion such a very clean helmet for her. Once everyone put on their helmets, the lining of the uniforms and vehicles glowed a pink-purplish color. Imogene turned her head to Rannis who wore a very interesting design for head protection. It was a ram’s head, complete with horns that looked rather intimidating. When the eyes of the ram turned toward her, Imogene gave a thumb-up sign.

“Welcome aboard Nightmare,” Rannis said as he engaged the forward engines. “This is your pilot and team coach, Aries speaking. At the navigation station is Tempest. Fighter will be working Nightmare’s weapon systems, Electra will be your eyes and ears as seen and heard from Nightmare, and Oracle will be manning our main gun!

“This may be last minute,” Aries growled. “… but you have a computer in each of your blast boards. They are more advanced than what you are accustomed to on the Earth-side of the Nexus. These units approach your definitions of Artificial Intelligence. I suggest you name them and get acquainted in the time we have before the . Not the way I generally prefer to do things, but Luatha just finished with them. Five days ahead of schedule, I might add.” Sidewinder gave a howl of delight as Nightmare climbed into the lanes and easily accelerated to the necessary speed.

Javier could not keep his head still! There was a very good feeling to the way everyone and everything was looking. Shiny black with the pink-purple light. He looked over at Sharon and smiled before he remembered she could not see his face.

“Sorry, just grinning ear to ear over here,” Javier said.

“You’re not the only one,” Sharon replied.

“What’s wrong with CJ?” he asked, looking over to the far side of the Nightmare. Sharon took a brief glance and then turned back to Javier.

“He’s probably trying to figure out why the blind man is manning the big gun,” she answered. It was then Javier remembered Wayne was indeed blind.

“Uh, he might have something there!”

“Falcon, do you love your board, or is it just me?”

“I love this bad boy!” Javier exclaimed. “We are going to burn the sky!”

“If you trust the hands that built the board,” Sharon replied, “remember they’re the same hands that made that cannon and the guidance system. Not sure what the old man came up with, but I bet that is one bad-ass Braille tracking system.”

“

!” Wayne thought as he continued to familiarize himself with the controls. He loved the way neither Imogene nor Sharon had anything to say about him at the big gun. Javier seemed uneasy, and CJ was unaware the heads-up display of his helmet fed into Wayne’s system. He knew exactly where Cullen was looking. Inasmuch as Wayne could program the yield of the weapon to actually curve, knowing where the Edgers were looking was a nifty addition. He could arc a blast to whatever target they were facing if he wanted to.

“Milania, are you okay?” Gordon asked. She nodded before she tapped the side of her helmet. The next instant a link was made between Fighter and Electra.

“Shouldn’t you be calling me Electra?” she asked.

“Yeah, you’re right, I should. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I was just reading the story of Electra and I am wondering why Rannis chose that for me.”

“My Dad took us to Athens before my mother died,” Gordon replied. “He told us the story. I don’t remember all of it, but I know Electra was a good fighter and she never gave up.”

“Are you scared?” Milania asked.

“Sure!” Gordon said quickly. “Except for Wilma and Rannis, none of us have done any of this before. My last real fight was in a park in South America. I saw a man take on a robot down there. From everything we’ve heard, it looks like the man might’ve won.

“There’s nothing wrong with feeling fear,” Gordon continued, channeling a memory of his mother. “But the moment it starts to take hold of you, scream and take hold of it. Ride it like a surfboard!” Milania smiled before deactivating the link. Gordon started to return his attention to his console, but was surprised to see Wilma turned in her seat to look in his direction.

“

,

,” Wilma projected. “

, .”

“

, ,” Gordon thought.

The Earl Pel’Tierre, if nothing else, was a man of his word. The hub was indeed ready well before the Nightmare entered the complex. Imogene looked up and waited for the door in the ceiling to open.

“Edgers to your stations!” Rannis commanded. Nightmare hovered as they walked to their boards. Javier and Sharon went to the port side, Imogene and Cullen walked to starboard. The blastboards were in Simple Paddle configuration, so the Edgers laid down on them, taking tight hold of the controls.

There was an interesting feeling coursing through Rannis’ mind and body. He had not expected it, though he very much remembered it. This was not his first battle, but it had been ages since he had been girded to fight in one in which he believed in its purpose. He knew Sharon had a great love for her parents, so he did not know how to say he wanted to adopt her as his daughter. His first stirring of pride had come when he overheard the mission objectives – pride which became absolute zeal when he heard her defense of those objectives – and the second stirring was born from how she had approached handling Cullen. The young man’s body language had even changed in the wake of their private discussion, and Rannis wondered how far that change would go and what it would do Cullen.

“Edgers, sound off with your board names!” Rannis shouted.

“Legion and Phalanx, ready!” Sharon called out first.

“Primo and Sport, ready!” Gordon’s head shot over to look at Imogene as her head lowered.

“

,” Gordon thought.

“Falcon and Talon, ready!” Javier proclaimed.

“Sidewinder and Dust Devil, ready!” Cullen said, thinking it best to remain within the desert theme he had been given.

“Nightmare is ready, Legion. We are yours!”

“Knock, knock, Primo,” Sharon said calmly and the was immediately formed. Nightmare quickly ascended through the opening and was gone from Five Pointes.

The Rotai roared as his fists punched through the wall of the restaurant. He was enraged, but he had lost none of his form or technique. The shatter strike made a hole large enough for three Custodians to walk into the establishment. Z’Gal’For quickly leaned his head to the left and avoided the cutting laser meant for his face. He had grown tired of the distracting facial attacks, but he knew these two pests were losing power.

“Doesn’t he ever tire?” Telishe asked as Staydenn placed his hands on the bricks.

“In this atmosphere, never!” Staydenn answered. “The Rotai have discovered ways to absorb energy that still confound my elders. Right now I am sure he is absorbing solar energy, the fear of the people around him, perhaps even the gravity of the planet.”

“Then what are we doing?” Telishe barked as the heavy footsteps drew closer. She lifted her right hand and started to build the energy around her hand.

“Buying time as I continue my search for the Shard,” Staydenn explained. “Despite his awesome power, the Rotai have no defense to magic.”

“Have you no magic of your own?” Telishe inquired.

“A spell powerful enough to deal with the Custodian would take time, and he would perceive it generating,” Staydenn said. “You can’t hold him off long enough for me to cast that powerful a spell.” Staydenn stepped back from the bricks and smiled as the footsteps were at the wall separating the kitchen from the dining area. “But I think this brick oven will hold him long enough.” The Rotai phased up through the floor behind his two opponents and he ceased sending the force bolts to the floor to imitate his thunderous footsteps.

“I thought much the same when I scanned this facility,” Z’Gal’For said as he grabbed the back of Staydenn’s head and Telishe’s arm. The Custodian’s arms crossed in front of his chest as he ushered the Atlantean’s face into the floor and the woman’s body into the bricks. He had to kneel to do this, but he stood up quickly, driving Staydenn’s face into the ceiling.

“You should have concerned yourself with punishing me,” Telishe said as she pulled her body from the bricks, caught the ponytail of the large man and slung him out of the kitchen and out of the hole he had made in the front of the restaurant. He bounced on the street and landed on his feet on the sidewalk.

“Such impatience!” the Custodian whispered as he jumped up and forward, planting his shoulder into Telishe’s side as she flew up from the restaurant, carrying an unconscious Staydenn. Finally, the two were separated as Staydenn fell to a rooftop. The woman tumbled into the face of a tall building. She did not come out of the other side.

Z’Gal’For flew toward the hole her body had made and was caught by an energy bolt of an impressive magnitude fired from inside the building. It was enough to stop his forward progress, and the next sent him flying across the city, finally plunging into another building. He struck one face of the building at its eleventh floor and came out of the opposite side on the fifth floor. Again he stopped on the street where a third bolt struck him, but it barely carried enough energy to even be seen.

The Rotai smiled as he looked down on his armor. At last he had been scuffed and scratched! The shine, however, quickly returned as the scuff marks were removed and took to the air again, landing on the edge of the hole the woman’s body had made. He scanned the area and quickly found the one who had warned him to be more punishing on her form. He wondered what suggestions she held for him now.

He walked through the debris until he stood on the floor in front of the woman. Her entire right side was shattered and it appeared she was bleeding. There was no life in the face of her form, but Z’Gal’For knew she was not dead. He stepped to his left and a sword thrust passed by his right side. Z’Gal’For caught the wrist of his attacker and he allowed some of his rage to creep into his motives. This new opponent had mounted his offensives from the shadows. There was no honor in that, and the Custodian quickly ripped the arm away from the body. The man did not scream and Z’Gal’For was not surprised as he took hold of the chest of the slender man. The eyes of his mysterious attacker fired lasers, but the Rotai’s massive hand caught the beams and absorbed their power. He then grabbed and crushed the man’s head. Z’Gal’For dropped the form and his eyes glowed, photons generating in his hands. A gust of wind registered to his sensors and he knew immediately it was not generated by wholly natural means.

“I feel like it’s New Year’s Eve and I was stupid enough to show up at Times Square!” Baxter Haynes said as he walked through the waves of people, most of whom were consumed by the events to the south. But he was still looking at his plane which had put forth its best efforts to be his coffin. He had been processed for all of the medical checks, but he could not leave the site until the airline gave him permission to do so. His home was only a few miles away, but it might as well have been Toledo!

“Baxter, did you see that?” Marion screamed. “Red guy did a pick-six!”

“Do you even know what a pick-six is?” Baxter asked, glaring at the young Asian-American.

“It’s an interception you run back to the house!” Marion replied, in full knowledge of what she was talking about. “Try to remember which one of us can’t name the starting running back for the hometown team… if you can even remember the name of the team!”

“Whoa!” a man shouted. “He hit that woman in mid-air and drove her into the city.”

“Did you hear that?” Marion quickly asked her senior pilot.

“As long as they miss my building, wah-hoo,” Baxter said as he examined the plane… for the fifth time. “How in God’s name are we still breathing?”

“You’re a head case,” Marion concluded.

“Baxter?” a softer voice called out from further away. Baxter looked up and saw Audrey jumping up and down just beyond the caution tape. He smiled and waved at her before handing his jacket to Marion.

“Audrey?!” he shouted as he ran to the tape and ducked under it. He stood up, bringing Audrey off her feet as he spun around, holding her close. “What are you doing here? I thought you would be in LA. As you can see, I misplaced my cell phone.”

“Looks like you misplaced the airport,” Audrey said as she kissed Baxter. “Are you okay?”

“Are you kidding? I’m flying all over again. I love you!” he shouted before the smile broke from his face and he quickly put Audrey down. “Sorry about that,” he quickly said. “It’s been a long day and I-”

“It’s okay, baby,” Audrey said, taking hold of his face. “I found out today how much I love you. I was at your place, waiting for you.”

“You what?”

“I know! I called in sick and I wanted to surprise you,” Audrey beamed. She felt how his grip on her was growing tighter and tighter. “I wanted to let you know that LA is not my favorite place to be. Not anymore.”

“But what about your career?” Baxter asked, not quite believing what the day was giving him. “You wanted to be the next big thing!”

Audrey’s eyebrows lifted as she nodded. Just how big had she become? Big enough to save the man she loved and who knew how many hundreds, if not thousands, more by landing that plane safely. She still had a decision to make, but Audrey felt the one she was making at the moment would probably do all the talking when it came time to make the next.

“I thought I was,” she cooed and Baxter kissed her hard on the lips as he lifted her from the ground again.

“Whoa, check out that guy!” a woman shouted and the young couple looked up where she was pointing. They both gasped at what they saw, but for much different reasons. Baxter felt no one should look as bad as the slender man looked draped over the side of the rooftop some seven stories off the ground. Audrey knew the man, she had seen him at his very core, and it was like looking at a brother who had been beaten until the grip of death tickled his flesh.

“And that woman is out of juice!” another person cried. “She popped Red pretty good, but that last hit was a dud. He’s going to finish her! I wonder which one is the bad guy?”

“Believe me, the red guy is very bad,” Audrey said softly, remembering the chains, the whips and the energy streams that had been passed through the flesh of her ‘brother’. The Rotai were cruel keepers and they had to be stopped.

What Audrey missed was that Baxter had heard her response and his face held questions his voice would not utter as he looked at Audrey, a woman of unending happiness, caught in the grasps of pure dread, pain and fear.

“It was your idea to go and see the first Spider-Man movie, right?” Audrey asked.

“Baby, what has that got to do with anything?!”

“Lame as it makes me seem, I’m blaming you for this,” Audrey said as she looked around. She knew human eyes were focused on the fight, but this particular starving actress did not want to be caught on camera for this scene.

“Blaming me for what?”

“Just promise me you love me,” she said.

“You know I do!”

“Then pray for me, baby,” Audrey said as she took a ski mask out of her bag. She quickly donned it and looked at Baxter. “Because I think landing the plane was a cake walk in comparison.” Baxter backed up as Audrey took flight and flew to the man draped over the side of the roof. She passed by him without touching him and he rolled away from the edge.

“No way!” Marion said, watching Baxter’s girlfriend defy reason along with gravity.

“One down,” Audrey whispered. “One serious monster to go!”

“You’re not going to attack from behind?” Z’Gal’For asked, feeling a shift in the wind.

“You and I aren’t on those terms,” Audrey said, not knowing why she had not attacked. She had Staydenn’s memories… but then she had something else as well… a very rare point of view afforded to her by her history.

“Indeed, we are not,” Z’Gal’For replied, turning to face the woman who was just landing on the floor. A scan told him she was not prepared for an engagement with him. She was either incredibly naïve, or truthful and bound by honor. With the exception of her duplicity exercised to save her own kind, Z’Gal’For had no reason to question her honor. “What do you want here?”

“How about some reason for all of this?!” Audrey shouted. “It looks like a hurricane hit this place! San Diego doesn’t get hurricanes!”

“Would you prefer an earthquake?” Z’Gal’For asked as his scans advised him this entire region, and more especially the lands north of his current location, was susceptible to seismic events. Few of the constructs were fashioned to contend with this eventuality. Humans, as a group, were never to be sought for their wisdom.

“I would not,” she answered plainly, advancing three strides and moving to sit on what remained of a press-wood construct. The large red-skinned man quickly lifted his hand and fired a beam, locking the item inside of a stasis field.

“That would not have held your weight,” Z’Gal’For advised. Audrey nodded and took her seat.

“Oh… thanks.”

“

,” she thought. “

.”

“There is,” Z’Gal’For said, forcing Audrey to jump. “Deliver to me the Shard and the Offender and I will return to my dimension.”

“You really must be going,” Samantha said as she aimed through her scope. She fired the shoulder-mounted weapon and struck the Rotai in the chest. The blast was announced in a bright circle that flashed outside the building. The Rotai was blown through the wall and fell toward the ground.

“Initiate flight engines,” Samantha commanded and the newly attached flight pack opened its wings and she took flight.

Avery Brewer, standing beside the second Gray Sable, waved her off before climbing into the cockpit. He was not as skilled a pilot as Makeen, and wanted to be clear of the area as soon as the engines would afford. Vey had her upgrades and he initiated the vertical take-off sequence, firing forward engines well before he should have. He lost altitude, but he did not hit anything as the fighter jet went supersonic.

“

,” Z’Gal’For thought as his head cleared, just over halfway the distance of reaching the ground. Z’Gal’For engaged flight as he calculated where the blast would have thrown her. He turned tight around the building, pushing himself to move with greater speed. Two and a half meters over the ground, his streaking body caught the woman who was just regaining consciousness. She had lost most of her clothing, however, and her face was no longer covered.

“What happened?” Audrey asked as she looked around.

“Nothing to you or your honor, Audrey,” Z’Gal’For answered as he flew her to a rooftop he considered removed from the fray. He reached to the side of his belt and removed a small circular disc. He placed it on the woman’s chest and tapped it.

“Erase former controls and map to new user. Maximum recognition intervention is a priority,” he commanded and a suit of Rotai Battle Armor formed around Audrey’s body, complete with a mask around her face. Her hair color shifted to the same light gray as the Custodian’s.

“A gift, in return for your grace,” he said and started to take to the air.

“But I’m no different than Staydenn!” Audrey cried. “Why save me and help me when you want to destroy him? I’m just like him!”

“You both have origins from this planet, but believe me when I say you are not like him!” the Rotai insisted and took to the air, feeling the approach of another opponent. He took in an ample amount of sunlight and repaired his armor as well as his flesh. He had at last been injured, and from his estimations, the device which had struck him was capable of an even greater power yield. It was time to engage a different path of resolve. He reached to the rear of his belt and took off two small boxes, leaving only one. He then called for his Reader and loaded both containers to it, downloading the most recent events into both of them. He discarded them both and resumed his flight path.

“Telishe?” Neekrum called out as he pushed debris out of his way. “Telishe!”

“Calm down,” she answered. “I am fine. I was looking for an operational power source when that blast ripped through here. I don’t know what sort of weapon that was, but it restored nearly half of my capacity. Here, let me help you.”

Neekrum stood up; his head was still bruised, but it was round and he stretched his neck as he looked around the destroyed offices. He jumped when he felt something touch him, but it was only Telishe, reattaching his arm.

“He’s too powerful!” Neekrum said as Telishe worked quickly. Her eyes glowed as she reached her hand out for one of the walls. An arc of electricity met her palm. Thirty seconds later she stood up, smiling at Neekrum.

“How is that?” she asked.

“Adequate,” Neekrum said as he flexed his arm. “I thought I saw blood,” he said.

“I have stabilized my condition,” Telishe said regrettably. She knew Neekrum would not let her continue the fight now. “Will you help them?”

“They must help th-” Neekrum shuddered and nearly fell to his knees. Telishe reached out for him, but he did not meet her halfway and she succumbed to the sensation which stunned Neekrum.

“Ready for round two, guys?” Samantha asked.

“Valkyrie is flying clean and green, boss,” Princess reported. “And thanks to interactive TV, I’ve got a wannabe cameraman who’s got a line on Big Red. He’s flying low and slow at street level and circling north.”

“Well, I suppose he’s not such a typical man after all. But if he’s using strategy, then we can conclude the Thor Cannon did some damage. Please tell me you and Michael found the loop in that sound wave of his!”

“We are ready to re-engage stealth when you give the word,” Princess answered.

“Go for stealth,” Vey said as she landed on a rooftop, keeping an eye on the Princess-fed approximation of the Rotai’s location. She lowered herself to one knee and reloaded the Thor Cannon. She had four more shells to combine with the energy blast, but the last shot had only been charged to thirty-six percent of its full capacity. This next shot was already at fifty-eight percent.

“Re-verify target,” Samantha commanded.

“Target verified,” Princess reported. “I’ve got him on the city grid now. Definitely circling north and slowly climbing. He is still in range and should be in your visual in twenty seconds.”

Vey moved to the corner of the roof and lowered the barrel into firing position. She set her kneeling position and steadied her breathing. Samantha Vey could not have asked for a better shot. The way her target was moving, she would be shooting out to sea and if he climbed above the buildings, there would be next to no collateral damage.

“Boss, we just picked up an energy pulse,” Princess said, sounding nervous.

“Calm down, Akondalatti!” Samantha said sternly. “Just get me what you have.”

“That’s the problem,” Princess warned, “we’ve got nothing! It’s not on file and it barely registered as energy except that it covered an area of fourteen square kilometers!”

“I take it I’m in that area,” Vey said, starting to feel a little nervous herself.

“Yes you are!”

“Were you more mentally endowed,” Samantha heard the Rotai behind her. “... you would have been slightly stunned. But my experience with the Recovered is that less than one percent of you even possess innate psionic talents.”

Samantha quickly turned and fired. It was a sloppy shot, but it would have hit, had it not been for the Rotai’s faster hand as he caught the shell and absorbed the energy.

“Not when I am prepared, woman!” he growled. “You have no honor!”

“And you should try standing downwind of yourself!” Samantha said, returning the weapon to its holstered position on her back. “Don’t the Rotai bathe?”

“You may… consume her!” he said, looking up. The shadow that fell over Vey’s body let her know he was not duping her into looking up.

“What the devil?!” Samantha said as she looked up and saw a Griffin swooping down for her. It was just over one and a half meters tall at the shoulder, though such an estimate was hard to make while the creature was in flight. The forelimbs were feathered and had talons, the rear limbs were like that of a lion. Like the Rotai, the skin of the creature was red with gray and white feathers.

The talons clamped down for Samantha who screamed as she jumped. Forgetting she was wearing a device which would augment her body’s movement, a hop meant to avoid the creature turned into a leap off the side of the building. Z’Gal’For chose not to follow her. He had released the bio-form . If the Griffin did not finish the woman, the second bio-form on the ground most certainly would.

The creature cried as it dove down after its meal; the nine-meter wingspan allowed it great agility in the sky. Samantha tumbled for ten stories as she grabbed a blast-bolo and threw it up for the animal. Its wings folded close to its sides and its legs pressed tightly against its belly and chest. The bolo flew harmlessly by the creature as it fired eye-beams at Vey, hitting the Thor Cannon housing. It sparked and flew away from her flight pack.

“Princess!” Samantha shouted as she looked around to get her surroundings.

“Roger that,” Princess said quickly. “Thor still reads as functional and the locator has been activated. But boss, you gotta get clear of that thing.”

“Ya think?!” Vey shouted as she saw the Griffin quickly gaining on her position. “Time to put the moves on you,” she whispered, her body becoming parallel with the quickly approaching ground. She then put her hand to the blast bolo dispensary. The creature again made itself a small target.

“Go for flight pack!” Vey commanded.

The wings on her pack unfolded and the engines fired. Vey grunted as her flight path went fully horizontal. The Griffin tried to match the sharp turn but was unable to do so and flew right by Vey, missing with its talons. Samantha rolled over to look down on the Griffin and started her own chase.

“Somebody call Colonel Sanders,” she said. “I’m about to serve up a new menu choice!”

The Griffin tumbled briefly; it was definitely at home in the sky. It looked back and saw it was now being pursued and quickly fired its eye beams. Vey’s forearm shields blocked the beams, but the impact knocked her off her flight path.

“Good lord!” Samantha grunted. “What is this thing?”

“One of many surprises, boss,” Princess reported as the Rotai image she was monitoring faded from sight. She could hear Michael Patel scream that it had been a hologram, but Princess was not concerned with that. She was busy adjusting the sensors on the pod that Avery left on the rendezvous rooftop. “We got a handle on the fake red man, so that won’t work again… but we’ve also got a reading on what you’re fighting. It’s a biological signal.”

“Princess, I am beginning to re-evaluate your worth in all of this,” Samantha said as she landed on the sidewalk. The city looked abandoned and she wondered why she was not with them.

“That’s not what I mean,” Princess shouted. “There’s another large biological, almost seven times larger, and it’s almost on top of you!”

Samantha stopped and looked in all directions but she could see nothing. “Heaven help me,” she whispered as she jumped and activated her flight pack. A large red paw came up out of the ground and swatted Valkyrie out of the air. The trailer of a semi-truck served as Samantha’s brake and she slid down its side to the street.

Behind the paw, there was only more bad news as a three-headed wolf came up out of the street. It was red-skinned with gray armor and hair that started at a point between the eyes of each head and went down the back of each head and neck, trailing up to an all-gray tail. It howled as it freed itself from the street and Samantha rolled under the truck.

“

,” Z’Gal’For thought as he looked over the city, searching for his prisoner. He found the Offender being attended by the two disingenuous life-forms. Apparently the woman’s statement had not been colored with any sense of bravado. He should have been more punishing. A mistake he would not make again.

“Again you find my rear and again you do not attack,” he said, turning to face Audrey who stood on the edge of the roof. “You are more powerful now, are you not?”

“I am,” Audrey said, approaching the Rotai, still reeling over the feeling the suit was giving her. She was not just generating energy and hurling it with nearly a third of it bleeding off because she did not know what she was doing. The suit collected the unused portions and fed it right back into her body. “But I am also confused. I can feel the ability I have been given increased in this suit.”

“You will not tire as quickly,” Z’Gal’For explained.

“And I can sense more. My power can hurt you, destroy you if necessary.”

“One of the human guns holds the same potential, Audrey,” he answered. “And the same probability. You have acted on the behalf of your kind and with honor. We are alike in many ways, you and I, and I am quite certain that in a different stream of reality, we would have been friends.” Z’Gal’For looked up as he spoke. There was a sensation inside his mind, one he had been anxious to feel, but he had been doubtful it would be delivered to him on this visit to this strange land.

“Then don’t make me fight you!” Audrey pleaded.

“It is moot, my friend. The Shard is here!”