Chapter 21
Smardwurst shook his head when Ned had finished explaining, leaning back in his entry room chair as if the story had exhausted him. “So she gave up her life because getting back at Viper and avoiding imprisonment were more important than anything else.”
“That’s what it sounds like. I feel bad saying it, but frankly I think it’s pathetic.”
“‘Convenient’ is the word I was thinking of. Having her with us turned out to be useful back there, but I was never really sure why you wanted to keep her alive. She was an enemy, and we were in the middle of a battle.”
“I know. And I’m not sure I can give you a reason, either. Certainly I was ready to… you know, finish her off. I guess something changed when you talked to me. I felt distracted, and I realized that I had become sort of consumed in the attack. It made me question my motive, and I knew that if I killed her there, while she was defenseless-”
“Apparently defenseless.”
“Fine. But I was worried about what that would do to me. And I guess it did seem like having her along might give us some leverage.”
“Well, it is over now, and I am glad things worked out. And believe me, I understand your desire to avoid taking a life for selfish reasons. But I hope you will not hesitate to defend yourself when the situation arises again. Your enemies will not stop to question their own motives.”
“I know. I’ll remember that.”
“So, what about this power she left you?”
Ned smirked. “It’s a weird feeling. I can feel the Ice Plasma’s presence locked away somewhere inside my own power, but it’s a little like carrying around a parasite.”
“You do not think she is still there, do you?”
“No, I definitely felt her… fade. Ugh. I kind of wish she were here so I could yell at her for making me go through that. Sorry, that sounds awful again.”
“I understand. Can you use the power?”
“It’s worth a shot. Do you have anything you don’t mind having destroyed?”
Smardwurst disappeared into his kitchen and came back with a glass of water, which he set down on a low table. “We have plenty of these. But be careful with the table.”
“Alien power doesn’t really lend itself to being careful, but I’ll try.” Ned reached into himself and drew out some of the power he had collected. It left his hand in a faint white mist and collected around the glass. Immediately an icy covering formed over it, and a second later the water and glass exploded in a spray of icy shards. Smardwurst was already shielding his face, but some of the glass shards cut into Ned’s exposed skin. The pain was minor, but it was an almost insulting reminder of the protective power he had lost.
He frowned as he removed the shards, thinking about what he had just experienced. “Let me try something else.” He stood up and held his hands in front of himself, palms inward. Again he brought the power, and this time an icy ball formed between his hands. Then he wrapped the ball in a sphere of Shield Plasma and tried to absorb the ice he had just created. It was as inaccessible as when Rax had used it. Ned was able to shatter the ice ball and then reabsorb the energy he had spent, but it was just regular, ethereal Plasma at that point.
“Okay,” he said, thinking out loud. “I can use it, but it’s like I’m spending someone else’s money or something – it doesn’t mix with my own power. And I could feel a power drain when I did it, like I used up part of the reserve Rax gave me. I’m pretty sure there’s only a limited amount of it I can use, and then it will be gone.”
“Then you need to decide on the most effective use of it. The most obvious application would probably be against Nakmar Dren.”
Ned nodded and sat back down. “If it can cancel out his power, even for a moment, it would definitely give me an advantage. His suit was weak enough for Mirana to punch right through it, so I should be able to beat him if he’s cut off from his power. But he’ll be expecting that, won’t he?”
“Perhaps. Dark Viper may not yet know that Rax is gone, and he almost certainly will not know that some of her power was left behind.”
“It still leaves the matter of getting onto his ship. And finding him. Mirana did a lot of the fighting before, and like you said, every Vortak in the fleet will be gunning for me as soon as we meet up.”
“Is there any chance that the Ice Plasma could interact with Nemesis? Rax never had a crystal, it seems, so maybe the lack of one will not present be a problem.”
Ned shrugged. “It might create a temporary shield against the Flame Plasma beam, but then again it might take everything I have to generate it, and I’d rather use it as a weapon if I can.”
Smardwurst nodded. “It seems you may have to board the ship again. We will just have to make sure you get close with a ship that has strong enough shielding.”
“Very strong shielding. Not only will they be expecting us, but we won’t be able to hide like last time. I wish I could think of a way to get Dren off of that ship.”
“He would have to be very unwise to leave, assuming that the ship’s weapon and defensive power is linked to his presence. It would be like you removing your armor during a battle.”
Ned bit his lip, reflecting on the fact that he had in fact done that a few times in hopes of stalling and gaining information. But that fact was probably not evidence of a means of luring Dren away. He thought about it a bit more. “We’re assuming that his only goal is to lead the Vortak battle,” he said finally. “That might not be true now. Rax was supposed to kill Mirana, and then me. It would stand to reason that Viper might send Dren after us. If I were to go somewhere that his ship couldn’t follow, he might have to leave. And if I could convince him that Mirana was with me, or there instead of me, that might give him even more motive.”
Smardwurst was nodding. “It would have to be somewhere that would let him still feel in control, like Izralith was for Rax. Somewhere warm.”
“Right. If you were the Flame Master, and you had to face an enemy outside of Dread Phoenix, what would you do?”
“Go to Hek.”
“What?” Ned was fairly certain he had not heard what it had sounded like.
“I would go to Hek, the warmest inhabited planet in the Empire. The surface is covered with active lava flows.”
“Oh,” Ned laughed, dismissing Smardwurst’s inquisitive look with a wave. “Mistranslation of Earth slang. So, what would be a plausible-sounding reason for me to go to Hek?”
“It would seem like a foolish move, or an obvious trap.”
“Or maybe both. If it looks like a genuinely foolish trap, he might just go for it.”
“Yes. Suppose we leak information stating that Kayleen Rax is being held prisoner on Hek in order to keep her power at bay. We would have to say that you were there too, or Viper might not care enough to send Dren.”
“Right. For all we know, that’s exactly what would have happened if she were still alive.”
Suddenly Smardwurst frowned. “There is one problem, possibly an urgent one. If we stop at a space station or another planet to refuel, that will open the possibility that we have transferred Rax to another vessel. If Viper’s forces are watching us, the only way to guarantee that he will believe you and Rax are on Hek is if Green Scorpion heads there directly.”
“Can you recharge there?”
“Yes, assuming we are not intercepted and that the planet is not attacked before we get there.”
“That sounds pretty risky. Especially since the Ice Plasma alone won’t be enough to beat Dren on that planet – we’d have to set up some additional means of lowering the temperature, or I’ll have the same weakness Rax did when she was surrounded by fire.”
Smardwurst stood up. “I need to talk to General Harvey. And I need to stop this ship now, before we start limiting our options. Do you want to come?”
Ned took a long breath. “No, I think I’m finally ready to get some sleep.”
Smardwurst gave him a smile that was almost parental before l
eaving the room. Ned hurried to his own room, eager to close his eyes and delay the need for more fate-deciding decisions for a few hours. But as stressful as the situation felt, he had to admit that it was a good feeling to be making plans for a change instead of just trying to decipher them.