The Plasma Shadow

  Chapter 23

  Smardwurst knew he could not let his crew think their captain was in a panic, but frankly he was not sure how much better their situation was now than it had been with the Vortak fighters. He had had to evacuate large parts of the ship due to the damage the warp field distortion had caused, and the engines were still threatening to go at any moment. If he waited too long, they might take the whole ship with them, but if he dropped out of warp before reaching the planet, there would again be no place to run or hide, and he would have caused all this damage for nothing. Of course, that was assuming that the Vortak were in pursuit; the warp range sensors were out, but it seemed like a good assumption that they were. If Dread Phoenix still had warp capability, it would have caught up to them by now, so there was some chance that their pursuers would be small. But even a few fighters would be a threat at this point.

  “We’re almost there, Captain.”

  “Cut power to the core as soon as we’re back in phase space. But be ready to abandon the ship.”

  A timer on the screen clicked down to zero, and the engineers cut power to the warp core. Green Scorpion dropped into phase space within sight of Kirelis Two, but the abrupt change to the power flow overloaded the field regulators, and the drive coils blew out the back of the ship, sending it into a fiery spin. Smardwurst gripped his armrests as his crew tried to regain control of what was left of the ship, trying to just be thankful that they had contained the explosion and avoided a core breach.

  “That damaged the graviton thrusters too, Captain. I’m not sure how long they’ll last.”

  “Scan the planet,” he ordered. “Find us a landing site.” It was probably unnecessary to give that order, since the crew had undoubtedly been thinking of little else than how to set the ship down somewhere relatively defensible. The ship’s thrusters stabilized its approach, and the planet filled the forward view screen.

  “Sir, a fighter just dropped out of warp. It’s one of ours.”

  “Kjrvlnk,” Smardwurst said in surprise, mixed with a glimmer of hope. Their Vortak companion had practically thrown one of their pilots to the ground in his rush to grab a fighter and launch just before Green Scorpion had jumped to hyperspace, but there had not been a lot of time to wonder why or to speculate on his chances against the fighter squadron he had just left.

  “His shields are down, and it’s missing half a wing, but there are two life signs aboard.”

  Kjrvlnk’s face appeared on the viewscreen as a com link opened. “Captain Varlon. I have Nedward. There are two Vortak shuttles right behind us. It took them a while to launch, but they are coming in at warp ten.” Faster than any of the shuttles or fighters on Green Scorpion.

  Then Ned’s voice joined in, although it was just audio. “Smardwurst!” He sounded relived but very weak. “Are you all right?”

  Smardwurst did not know how to answer. He felt relieved to hear from his companions, but he reminded himself that being here together simply ensured that they were all in immediate danger. “Hold your position,” he told them. We are still analyzing the situation.” He turned to Güzhmäk, who was studying several system reports at once. “We should launch the fighters, since they can still warp away if they have to. Should we land the ship or just eject the escape pods?”

  “We’re not in a proper orbit,” Güzhmäk explained. “If we don’t land now, we may crash later when the engines fail. And the Vortak will have no trouble picking off escape pods if they want to.”

  “Land us then.”

  “And we were only able to launch two fighters. The rest are too damaged or pinned behind rubble in the launch bay.”

  Green Scorpion accelerated toward the daylight side of the planet, and Smardwurst turned back to Kjrvlnk. “I wonder if the fighters should hide on the night side.”

  It was too late. A pair of Vortak ships dropped out of warp and opened fire on Green Scorpion and Kjrvlnk, who was still racing to catch up to the larger ship. The Vortak ships were just shuttles and did not have the maneuverability or firepower of fighters, and Kjrvlnk managed to dodge them for a while as he rushed to catch up to Green Scorpion, which was already plunging into the atmosphere. But before the two other Anacronian fighters could join the battle, Kjrvlnk was hit by a missile. At nearly the same instant, one of Green Scorpion’s graviton thrusters exploded, turning an already shaky descent into what was sure to be a crash. Smardwurst lost all sense of the battle behind him as a mountain range rushed up to meet his ship. “There!” he shouted, pointing toward a cliff wall in a lightly forested valley. He figured the ship might be able to defend itself if it only had to protect one direction. Assuming the shields and weapons survived the landing.

  “Brace yourselves,” Güzhmäk yelled haphazardly into the shipwide com link. The artificial gravity faltered a bit as the ship pitched violently, orienting itself coming out the dive as it approached the spot Smardwurst had indicated. The effort blew out another graviton thruster, and the ship dropped the last several meters to the ground in freefall. Everyone held on as it rocked to the side on its curved ventral hull, finally coming to rest against the mountainside with the low grinding sound of metal on rock.

  “We’re down,” Güzhmäk announced when everything was quiet.

  Smardwurst was already scanning the sky, looking for signs of the battle up there. It was not at all what he had hoped to see.

  Ned slammed against the door of the cargo hold as something horrible happened to the fighter. All he could do was brace himself; he did not dare risk distracting Kjrvlnk with questions now. It was clear enough that they were under attack, but he was going to trust Kjrvlnk to handle the details.

  “We are hit badly,” Kjrvlnk announced as the fighter began to shake again. “I will attempt to land us near Green Scorpion.”

  Ned nodded, trying to piece together an image of what was going on out there.

  “The Vortak shuttle is following us, but they are damaged as well. They are having trouble in the atmosphere, I think.”

  “What about the other one?” Ned felt a little guilty for letting his curiosity override the plan to let Kjrvlnk concentrate, but being stuck in this box while a battle was going on was overwhelming.

  “It is hanging back; your friends’ fighters seem to be keeping it at bay. Or maybe they just do not want to risk losing their only way out of here.” It made sense, Ned supposed. There had to be someone left to tell Nakmar Dren that they had shot down the former Shield Master.

  Something hit the fighter again, this time accompanied by rending sound and a rush of air. Before Ned could even think to ask what had happened, one side of the compartment he was in was ripped open, and Ned found himself falling through the open sky. As he spun around, he saw that the fighter he had been in was missing a good third of its volume. Farther up, the flat, red shape of the Vortak shuttle was still spraying laser fire in a random pattern as it spiraled downward, trailing smoke. Ned knew he should be doing something to stop his fall, but he found himself paralyzed by a moment of sheer panic.

  Then he saw the canopy blow away from the wrecked fighter’s cockpit, and Kjrvlnk’s wiry form came rushing toward him. Ned had the presence of mind to at least extend his limbs, slowing his fall so that Kjrvlnk could catch up. Once he reached terminal velocity, his stomach stopped lurching quite so much, and finally Kjrvlnk came slamming into him. Four of his limbs held Ned close while another one deployed the parachute that Ned had merely been hoping he would be carrying. Ned felt himself yanked upward as their fall slowed abruptly, and Ned decided to hazard a look around. They were in a valley, already below the surrounding peaks. A bulk of metal that must have been Green Scorpion was visible several miles up; they were headed toward it, but there was no way they were going to make it before they landed. As they neared the ground, a loud crashing sound echoed from somewhere behind them.

  “That was the Vortak shuttle,” Kjrvlnk said. “They will be looking for us. We must hurry.”

  Ned had almost started to
enjoy the descent; at least he did not have to worry about making any mistakes when all he could do was to hold on. But soon they drifted to a stop in a small clearing, hitting the ground with a jarring thud, and Ned’s anxiety started building again. He was, after all, still being hunted by a group of insects, plus an enemy ship somewhere up there.

  “This way,” Kjrvlnk said, pointing into the trees. He skittered off at a surprising speed, and Ned ran after him.

  “Can we call Smardwurst?” Ned asked. He was not sure why, but he felt like talking to his friend might be helpful, somehow.

  “We should not risk transmissions until the Vortak spot us. Smardwurst will have seen us; he will be looking for us.”

  The trees up here were thin and sparse, and Ned caught frequent glances of the valley beyond and the sky above. The only evidence that anything was wrong here were the hard-edged footprints he and Kjrvlnk left in the dirt.

  Soon Ned’s helmet readout showed several figures moving. There were at least ten behind him, spreading out to either side as they approached. Two more approached from in front. That had to be Smardwurst. Ned tried to quicken his pace, although he was already pushing himself as hard as he could manage. He tried to ignore the fact that the dots behind were closer than the ones ahead.

  “Do you see them?” Kjrvlnk called back without stopping.

  Ned nodded; he was too out of breath to respond verbally.

  “Move toward them. I am going to double back and draw some of the attack away from you.”

  Ned was not entirely happy with the idea of Kjrvlnk heading off alone, but he seemed to know what he was doing, and Ned was in no state to argue or come up with an alternative, so he just kept running forward as Kjrvlnk turned right and vanished from sight. The trees were even more spread out now, and Ned found himself climbing over and around boulders as much as traveling over flat ground. Something told him that the Vortak were having less trouble with the rocky climb than he was.

  Laser fire some distance behind him diverted his attention for a moment, and he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. The lasers were traveling in both directions, but many of the dots on his visor kept approaching. Ned had just barely started moving again when laser shots exploded against the rock just a few meters away from him. He dodged behind a rock and continued moving. He was feeling even more panicked now; he could stop and return fire, but he only had a few missiles left, and he knew he would be useless with a hand blaster at this range. He had tried to gather Plasma energy as he ran, but he still felt too weak to want to expend power firing at a distance. So for now, he just ran.

  He had been right about the Vortak approaching faster. Ned was moving up a rocky slope when lasers came at him again. This time the shots came from just behind the trees at the base of the slope, and several struck his armor before he could even think about dodging. Ned turned and fired missiles toward the sources of the shots, which were coming from three or four spots at once. The laser fire died down a bit, but out of the corner of his visor he spotted red figures moving up the rocks off to the sides. The laser attacks had just been a distraction, he realized. They were moving to surround him right now. Ned did not want to be caught on this slope when he was attacked again, so he resumed his desperate climb.

  By the time he reached the top, Ned was out of breath again, and he stopped with his back against a tree. The dots on his visor coming down from Green Scorpion were still a ways off, and the Vortak were all around him now, gathering just out of sight. Ned readied himself to make his stand.

  They came out from all directions at once, their red bodies clashing violently with the mountain landscape. Ned emptied his missile launcher in a quick sweep, then turned and returned fire with his blaster, protecting his armor with as much of a Plasma shield as he could manage. He knocked a few Vortak to the ground, but as he turned to focus on other attackers, the first group rose up and resumed their attack.

  Curse, Ned thought. Even here the heat doesn’t threaten them. But Ned was far from giving up. He reached out with the Plasma to target the blaster the nearest Vortak was carrying and fired a bolt of lightning at it. The weapon exploded, and Ned felt a rush of determination. That was something they could not regenerate. He holstered his blaster and extended both hands, destroying the weapons of several more Vortak before the first one reached him. Two sharp-edged limbs swung down, splintering into Ned’s armor and knocking him to the ground. More Vortak jumped toward him, but Ned pushed them all back with a surge of blue energy as he rolled to his feet. He took out the blasters of two more Vortak, but now there were five or six all around him, ready to strike. Ned grabbed his blaster again, hoping to conserve what little bit of energy he had left. He fired, knocking one of the creatures to the ground, knowing even in the act how futile it was. Ned was wondering how much damage he could do with his fists when something skittered out from behind a tree and plunged into the midst of the battle. The nearest Vortak went down in a flurry of green limbs, and recognition dawned on Ned with a glimmer of hope. “Guz!”

  Ned disarmed the remaining Vortak holding blasters and prepared to meet the next charge, but Smardwurst’s huge pet moved so quickly that for the moment he drew their attackers’ full attention. Guz’s huge claws clamped onto the red creatures so quickly that they had no chance to escape, and one stab from his huge tail left them motionless on the ground. The Vortak managed to attack some of Guz’s legs, but he seemed to ignore the damage. Ned was so impressed by the creature’s unexpected loyalty that for a moment he stood and fought, knocking the Vortak back with his blaster. But a beep from the com link quickly reminded him of the larger picture.

  “Nedward! Can you get away?”

  “Smardwurst!” Ned looked around and realized Guz was holding the remaining Vortak at bay, although more were approaching from below. “Yes. On my way.” Ned began running again. He felt a bit guilty leaving Guz, but there were actual people in danger here, not least of all himself.

  Scrambling along a rocky slope, Ned managed to put some distance between himself and the Vortak that Guz had rescued him from. There were a lot of them coming up behind them – presumably the ones that Kjrvlnk had drawn off. He told himself that must mean that they had let Kjrvlnk go when they learned where Ned was. By the time he reached Smardwurst, Ned was out of breath again, and he collapsed against a boulder.

  Smardwurst did not look much better. He ran up to Ned and took hold of his shoulders, peering into the visor while the crewmember accompanying him took position behind the rock and peered over it through the scope of his carbine. Ned deactivated his helmet so he could look Smardwurst in the eye. “They’re right behind me,” he said, still feeling overwhelmed with panic. “Kjrvlnk drew some of them off for a while, and Guz…”

  “You need to get back to the ship,” Smardwurst said urgently. “We will hold them off.”

  Ned almost left, but something kept him rooted to the spot. “There are a lot of them,” he managed weakly.

  “I see them,” the other man said. “There are-”

  He never finished. A laser blast from off to the left caught him in the chest, and he fell to the ground without another word. Smardwurst immediately fired toward the source of the shot, and Ned reengaged his helmet. He was dismayed to see just how close the Vortak had come. They were surrounded already.

  “Move!” Smardwurst shoved Ned ahead of him. They both scrambled farther into the rocks, but it was clear from the readout that they would not get far. Ned was struck by a few stray laser shots as they moved into a cluster of rocks that was as good a cover as they were going to get.

  “The fighters are tied up with other shuttle,” Smardwurst said. “We are on our own.”

  “How far is it back to the ship?”

  “Too far. I should have brought more people.”

  “No. We can do this.” But the words felt as much like a lie as anything Ned had ever said.

  Then the Vortak were on them, and Ned and Smardwurst both gave all their attention
to the firefight. Ned stepped out from the boulder and knocked a few of the Vortak down, but the ones with weapons were staying too far away for Ned to target accurately, even with a Plasma beam. Several others were making their way closer, apparently intent on continuing the battle hand to hand. Ned’s power was very weak, but when he spotted three Vortak together he could not help but use what he had. He let them get a little closer and then teleported a grenade right up next to them. The explosion took out all three, but the effort left Ned feeling completely drained.

  Behind him, Smardwurst grunted, and Ned turned to see him throw his carbine away from him. The weapon was sparking furiously, apparently hit by enemy fire. “Get ready,” Smardwurst said. “They are coming.”

  An instant later, four of the red creatures leapt at the pair from different directions at once. Smardwurst was at least twice the size of any of them, and he managed to drop the first one with a blow to the head, but he just barely managed to block a swing from another one’s claw. This Vortak managed to connect with another limb, and Smardwurst flinched as something sparked between his skin and the Vortak’s arm. Ned ran forward, slamming into the creature with his metal-clad shoulder and knocking it free of Smardwurst, who turned to floor another Vortak with a swing of his huge fist. The fourth Vortak was already charging at Ned, but suddenly Smardwurst’s mouth opened wider than Ned would have thought possible, and his tongue lashed out, slamming into the Vortak’s face while it was still several meters away. Before Ned could even register what had happened, Smardwurst reeled the creature in and clamped his jaws over it as he caught its body with his arms. He gave a sharp twist and then dropped the lifeless form to the ground. Smardwurst spat distastefully, then turned to Ned. “Run,” he said sternly. “Whatever happens, you need to make it back to the ship.”

  Ned nodded, but the whole world seemed to be spinning. His heart was pounding, and his thoughts and emotions were too jumbled to allow a clear decision.

  “Go!”

  This time Ned turned and began making his way higher up the slope, but each step he took seemed to take something away from him. Memories from the past few days flooded back, and Ned could not help but think of how many people had died so that he could take these steps. Starfighter pilots. The transport shuttle crew. Probably Kjrvlnk. Even Kayleen Rax, he supposed, although that was not the same. But Smardwurst – somehow Ned could not let that go. He was giving everything to protect Nedward. His ship, his pet, the safety of his crew, and now his life. There was no way Smardwurst could survive the attack they both knew was coming. He would fight long and hard, and Ned would probably make it back to the protection of Green Scorpion, and surely help would arrive before two shuttles’ worth of Vortak could breach the ship, even in its wrecked state. But more people were going to die before that help arrived. Still, what choice did he have? And then, with a suddenness that shocked Ned so much he stopped in his tracks, the desperation and panic gave way to a moment of clarity.

  You can fix this.

  The voice in his head was his own, but he could imagine any number of people saying those words. Koral. Mirana. Maybe even his father. Ned took a deep breath. The plan forming in his mind was not exactly appealing, even compared with his previous ones. But somehow it felt right.

  You can fix this.

  “Nedward, run!”

  Ned turned and found that he had not really moved very far from Smardwurst’s position, and now he sprinted back to the boulder where his friend was leaning against a rock, trying unsuccessfully to hide the pain he felt from his wound. Smardwurst gave him a look of shocked disapproval as Ned came to a stop.

  “I have a plan,” Ned said as convincingly as he could manage. Smardwurst looked skeptical, but Ned closed his eyes and drew as much power into himself as he could. There was not much; he had been exerting himself for too long to be able to gather much strength now. But he only needed a little.

  “They are coming!” Smardwurst whispered urgently, trying to peer through Ned’s visor. The gesture made Ned smile, and his plan solidified a bit further. He set down his blaster, then deactivated his armor and pulled the armor’s activator pin from his pocket.

  “Smardwurst,” he said calmly. “You are the best friend a guy could hope for. You’ve made me what I am. But I’ve-”

  “No!” Smardwurst’s yell was a little terrifying, and Ned stepped back a bit as those huge arms fastened around his shoulders as if to shake Ned to his senses. But Ned was ready. He pressed the activator pin to Smardwurst’s chest and sent a stream of Plasma into it. Blue light surged all around the Zalorian, holding him in place as the metal reformed around him. At the same instant, Ned grabbed his blaster, turned, and teleported himself as far as he could down the slope. He came out of the vortex totally spent, but he managed to draw his weapon and take down one of the Vortak before the others realized he had moved. Then a flash of light burned into his shoulder, and everything disappeared in a rush of pain.

  Smardwurst recovered quickly from the sudden jolt, but Ned had already vanished. Ignoring the stream of data the helmet was throwing in front of his face, he hurried to the edge of the boulder and looked around it just in time to see a laser blast fire clear through Ned’s shoulder. Smardwurst shouted in rage and started down the slope, but even before Ned hit the ground he was struck again, this time through the chest. The shots did not stop, and Smardwurst slowed, involuntarily raising his gloved hand to the level of his mouth in shock. Those wounds were… not survivable.

  The laser fire then turned back to Smardwurst, and the suit he was wearing warned him that its structural integrity was failing. He reluctantly backed up into the cover of the rocks, but he could not bring himself to leave. He kept peering around the corner as a few Vortak rushed toward Ned’s fallen form and lifted his body. They must have wanted to keep him recognizable for Dark Viper; Ned’s head was intact, but his torso was riddled with laser shots, any of which would have been fatal. The helmet’s vitality readout only confirmed the obvious: Nedward Simmons was dead.