Chapter ∩
Ned slept well, and early the next morning he was up, showered, and dressed before the knock on the door came to inform him that breakfast was ready. He opened the door and followed the servant who had come for him downstairs to the table, and X and Jenara followed shortly.
Jenara greeted Ned as she took her seat at the table. “I had Flarg pack us some food to take up. It will take quite a while to get there, won’t it, X?”
“It’ll be about four hours.” X turned to Ned. “Koral lives down here in the city, but he spends a lot of his time in a cave up in the mountains – sort of a second home. I guess the dragons don’t really like people, or maybe it’s the other way around. We could ride one up, I guess, but it’s a beautiful walk, and Koral won’t be back until later anyway.”
They finished their meal, slung the packs with the food Jenara had mentioned over their shoulders, and headed out. They walked to the edge of the city to where it bordered the forests, and the homes, shops, and streets of Tibrus were quickly left behind. X had been right about the scenery. There were even more forms of both plant and animal life here than there had been in the valley where Ned had crashed, and Ned was stunned by it all. He guessed that Earth’s tropical forests might have looked somewhat like this, although the climate here was rather mild. The weather was good, and for the first several minutes the three said nothing, content to take in the view.
Then Ned’s curiosity got the better of him. “All right, you two. It’s time you told me what’s going on here.”
“What do you mean?” asked X.
“Let’s start with you two. Where are you from, and what exactly do you do here?”
X started. “Well, I was born on Anacron. For a long time I had wanted to be a starfighter pilot, and I got pretty good at it. I wasn’t old enough to fight when the war started, but I planned to join a starfighter squadron a soon as I could. There’s just something about those ships that I couldn’t get enough of. Flying one is like nothing you can experience on land, at least for me. And I was dedicated to the Empire, so it seemed like a good idea to use my talents to help it out.
“But then Trelan got his idea of combining the Plasma force and using it against the Aliens. At first it seemed like a good idea, but Koral didn’t agree. He only said a little about the matter, but where I lived it was all anyone talked about for a long time. A lot of people didn’t want any one person to rule the Empire. That was how it started, anyway. After a while, though, some people decided that a single ruler wouldn’t be so bad, but they didn’t want it to be Trelan. So when Koral ruined Trelan’s plans for gaining the power and left, a lot of people went with him. I was one of them.”
“Did your family go, too?” asked Ned.
“No,” X said without changing his expression. “My family was killed in the Alien war. I guess that’s part of the reason why I wanted to fight so badly.”
Ned did not know how to respond, but X continued, apparently unfazed by the awkward topic.
“So we ended up here, but we were only able to take a few ships, and our supplies are limited. We have a few starfighters, but we don’t use them; there’s no need. So I was pretty much out of work. The people wanted Koral to lead them, but he didn’t want to – but I’ll let Jenara explain that. Anyway, Koral got interested in the dragons, and I did too. I guess flying them is kind of like piloting a starfighter, although it’s not as fast.”
“Cool,” Ned said, somewhat inarticulately. His companions looked at him with confused expressions. “Oh. That’s slang for ‘good.’ I keep forgetting that you guys’ language isn’t all the same as mine. What about you, Jenara?”
Jenara looked up at the sky, remembering. “It seems like forever since I was on Anacron. So much has changed.
“I grew up on Anacron, too. In fact, I went to school with X. We’ve known each other for a long time. My father owned a business there, and I was just taking life as it came, waiting for something – I never knew what. The war didn’t affect me that much, I guess. I was pretty confident the Empire would win, and no one I knew was in the war.
“When the political dispute fired up, though, I got interested. My father had a lot to do with that. He would take me to meetings where we would discuss what we thought about the councilmembers and what they did. We especially talked about Koral and Trelan, even though Koral stopped speaking out against Trelan’s ideas almost immediately – I guess he didn’t want to arouse suspicion that he might not go along with the idea. I was all for the decision to leave Anacron with Koral.
“When we got here, a lot of people wanted Koral to be our King. Koral said that would be hypocritical, and I agreed. Koral said we should elect a council, just like we had in the Empire. But there weren’t enough people who wanted to be an active part of their government, I guess. In any case, my father was elected King, which pretty much means that whatever he says is law as long as the people like him. They like him a lot. No one’s said anything about who’s supposed to succeed him, but I guess it’s pretty likely that I’ll be elected Queen someday, when my father retires.”
Ned raised an eyebrow, impressed. “I bet you’re sort of looking forward to that.”
“I’ll be ready, if that’s what you mean.” Jenara’s face was serious. “It’s not like I’m power-hungry, but the people here need someone to lead them, and after my father, I’m the best person for the job.”
“I believe it,” Ned said. “So, this whole planet lives here alone, totally self-sufficient and totally cut off from the rest of the galaxy?”
X nodded. “Pretty much.”
“Did you make this bubble in the middle of the nebula?”
“No,” Jenara said. “Koral seemed to have known about it, but it was here when we arrived.”
The conversation had helped to satisfy some of Ned’s curiosity. After that they continued talking, laughing and joking about whatever came to mind.
“Ned,” Jenara said after a while. “Would you show me a little more about the Plasma? Or whatever it is. I mean, what exactly are you trying to learn here?”
Ned stopped, picked up a rock, and handed it to Jenara. “Stand back and throw this at me as hard as you can.”
Jenara smiled awkwardly, and then walked away a few yards. She threw the rock, and it deflected off Ned’s chest with a blue flash. Jenara laughed in amazement and tried it a few more times.
“Let me try!” said X, laughing. He smacked Ned with a stick he had picked up. It broke.
X grabbed another stick and swung again, but this time Ned grabbed it, laughing as well. He sent blue fire streaking along its length, and X let go. “It didn’t burn,” X said when the fire had faded.
“I wasn’t trying to make it hot,” Ned explained. “Anyway, the light’s not very hot even when I want it to be, at least not as long as I’m consciously controlling it. I don’t know why, but I’m hoping I’ll find out today.”
X thought for a moment. “What do you plan to do when we get there? Do you think you’ll stay up in the cave with Koral?”
“I guess so. I’ll pretty much do whatever it takes. I’d very much like to get home, and I can’t do that until I master this power. And I don’t want to leave without doing something about Dark Viper, either. If he wins this war, then what will be stopping him from taking his armies through the vortex and attacking Earth?”
They continued walking again. After a few minutes Ned said, “What if the Empire comes here? Your father said it was safe, but is it?”
Jenara thought for a moment. “No. Not for very long. Our shield doesn’t cover much beyond the city, and there’s no way we could survive if we were cut off from our natural resources. If they ever found us we’d either have to get help from StarBlazer or surrender. Probably surrender.”
Ned looked over and saw that X was looking at the ground. Ned was suddenly afraid that he might have done something terrible in coming here.
“What do you call a Werrinian barber eating a bowl of sq
uirp?” Jenara asked.
“What?” said X.
“A squirp-retanum.”
X laughed, and Ned laughed too, even though he had absolutely no idea what the joke meant.
The sun climbed through the morning sky, and the three worked their way at a leisurely pace into the mountains. The terrain sloped irregularly, and the group often got breathtaking views of large expanses of dense forest dotted with flowers and other low growth. Streams and waterfalls meandered down the mountainside in their way to the river, and occasionally one of the forest creatures would show itself for a moment before scampering away.
Then the cave came into view. At first it could barely be seen, and they might have missed it if X had not known what he was looking for. It was just a dark spot on the mountain slope. As they approached, though, Ned was reminded of the cave the dragon had lived in. This one, like Delgora’s, was fairly evenly cut, and there was no apparent reason why a cave would have formed naturally there.
Then they were at its entrance. X called out, but there was no answer. “I guess he’s not back yet,” he informed his companions. He then pressed a button that had been built into one wall, and lights went on, showing the way farther into the mountain. “Come on. We can wait for him inside.”
The cave walls were bare rock at first, but after a few twists and turns, when the entrance could no longer be seen, the rock turned to metal, and then to what looked like wood. They were in a room filled with comfortable furniture, along with various decorations much like those in Jenara’s home. X motioned for them to sit down, and they resumed talking. It was relaxing to finally sit after such a long hike, but Ned was far from calm. He was finally here! He was finally in the home of the man who would be able to help him. His preoccupation led him to drop out of the conversation somewhat, and he began firing meaningless bolts of energy at random spots in the room, just for practice. Jenara and X understood what he was feeling, and they left him alone.
Then there was a thundering shriek and the flapping of monstrous wings, and the three friends knew that Koral had returned. Ned’s head snapped around to watch the entrance, and he tried to stay calm. Footsteps sounded along the cave-hallway, and finally Koral appeared. His hair and beard were gray and his face was beginning to show the wrinkles of age, but his countenance was lively and he greeted everyone with a warm smile. “Hello X, Jenara. And you must be our visitor.” There was something in the man’s eye that suggested that he was as excited about this meeting as Ned was.
Ned rose and walked over to where Koral was standing. “I’m Nedward Simmons of Earth,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. “Most people call me Ned.”
“Koral Ralok. X just briefly mentioned you. Perhaps you’d like to tell me how you got here yourself.”
“Sure,” Ned said. He desperately wanted to have Koral lecture him on everything in the universe so he could have his questions answered right away, but he knew that Koral had to know who Ned was before he could be of any help. So, for what Ned hoped would be the final time, he began to relate how he had come upon the glowing stone in the forest, discovered the power of the strange blue light, and come through the vortex, hoping to learn more about the power and use it to fight the Anacron Empire.
Based on what X had said, Koral must have guessed that there was a connection between the Plasma force and the dragon Delgora’s reaction to Ned’s “power,” but he seemed totally unprepared for what Ned was telling him. Several times he seemed to have a question on his tongue, but each time he kept quiet. When Ned had finished, Koral just sat there for a time, pondering.
He spoke finally, but his gaze remained distant, as if he were reading the events from his past off of some invisible writing on the far wall. “It started about five years ago, although it seems much longer to me. I had been serving on the Imperial Council for quite some time, and I had grown very well-acquainted with Trelan Thendrak. I don’t know how long he had the Plasma before he told us about it, but when some started doubting whether the Empire was strong enough to defeat the Aliens, he decided to reveal his power. At first he only told the three of us: Kayleen Rax, Markan Dren, and me. He told us that an ancient civilization had developed an incredible source of power, which he had discovered but had only begun to understand. He said that Plasma was everywhere and that the ones who created it had used it to rule over a vast empire – one much larger than Anacron. He said that for some reason that empire vanished hundreds, perhaps thousands of years ago, but before they did they created four Plasma Crystals that would harness their power. Each Crystal controlled a different aspect of the Plasma: Shield Plasma, Blast Plasma, Vortex Plasma, and something else. Trelan held the fourth Crystal, and he said that even he did not understand the real nature of his power, but he gave the others to us and taught us to use them. Trelan told us that any one person could only hold one Crystal, so four Holders were necessary to make full use of the power. He gave the Blast Crystal to Kayleen. Its power is destruction. Markan got the Vortex Crystal, which opens gates between two locations and allows him to transport objects quickly – much like the hyperspace vortex through which you traveled to get here, although perhaps not exactly the same. Trelan gave me the Shield Crystal. Its power is to protect its holder from harm.
“For a time the four of us used our powers to keep the Aliens at bay. Kayleen used the Blast Plasma to attack, Markan used the Vortex power to teleport the Aliens’ weapons and cause them to hit their own ships, and I used my power to protect our ships from Alien weapons. Trelan coordinated the effort, but I don’t ever remember him actually using his power, at least not in ways that I could detect. But there were only four of us, and we always traveled together, so even our power was not enough to turn the Aliens back. So Trelan began working on another plan.
“When he proposed that we find a way to give all our powers to one person – he never actually asked that it be him – I agreed at first. After all, it was he who had discovered the Plasma force and he who understood it best. I was not about to argue. But then I began thinking how much power a single Plasma Crystal gives to its Holder, and I wondered if it would be wise for any one person to hold all of the powers together, even if it were somehow possible. I had learned much about the Shield Plasma, but I knew virtually nothing about the other aspects of the Plasma force, so I could not come up with an alternative. When the Council dismissed my objections and voted to join the powers, I decided to leave.
“Just minutes before the Council was to meet and the powers were to be joined, I left Anacron in my starship. The Council quickly discovered what had happened, though, and sent Kayleen and Markan after me to recover the Shield Crystal. But I had planned for that. As you mentioned, it is very difficult for a Crystal Holder to part with the Crystal, but I had found a way. Just before Kayleen destroyed my ship and Markan pulled me onto theirs, I threw the Shield Crystal away and caused a warp core breach. I had hoped to destroy the Crystal and thereby prevent the joining of the powers.
“The Crystal was apparently designed to protect itself as well as its Holder. But as to how it got to your world in so short a time I am not sure. I think I may have an idea, however. The Blast Plasma, Vortex Plasma, my ship’s explosion, and the Shield Crystal’s protective energy were all at full force at the same instant. It is conceivable that the combination of these forces opened a large vortex, through which the Shield Crystal was somehow pushed. That would account for the vortex tunnel that connects your region of space to ours. My ship was destroyed very close to where I gather from your story that you left the vortex. At the time of its creation the vortex probably opened very close to your world, but it has since been retracting, as you also said.”
Koral sighed. “It’s all so amazing. What were the chances that the Crystal would find its way to someone who would eventually return it here? Perhaps they are greater than I suppose. Still, the idea of it all is overwhelming. Ned, may I see it?”
Ned was nearly as shocked as Koral. Perhaps there was something in the
way the man told the story that conveyed not only the message but the emotions he felt as well. Slowly Ned reached into his pocket and brought out the stone. The Shield Crystal. “I suppose this is really yours, then,” Ned said awkwardly. “Maybe you can find a way to make it let go of me, and then you can have it back again. I’d certainly be more than happy to give it up and go home to my normal life.” It was the truth. To give up this newfound power would be no small sacrifice for Ned, but in his opinion the sacrifice would be well worth it if it meant that he could leave this war behind and return to his family.
“No,” Koral said quietly. “I do not believe I can find a way, and even if I could I would not take it. When I cast that thing away I gave up an integral part of my existence. But now, after so much time, I feel that I have come to live with that loss. In a way I would welcome the return of the power of the Plasma force, but I am not sure I could handle the power again after forcing the memory of it out of my life. I don’t think I could survive.”
“But there must be a way…” Ned began.
“No. I will not take it back. What you do with the power is up to you, and I will help you in any way I can to develop your skills, but I will not take back the Crystal. The Shield Plasma belongs to you now, Nedward Simmons. You are the new Shield Master.”
Ned felt the weight of his responsibility settle back in again. Of course, he thought bitterly. That would have been way too easy.
Koral changed the subject. “I can see that you have many questions, Ned. I can probably help you with at least some of them.”
Ned nodded. There were so many things he wanted to know so badly that they were all crowding each other out in an effort to come forth, and as a result Ned was having trouble focusing on one at a time. “Well,” he said finally. “You certainly have told me a lot. I think it would have been worth my coming here just to hear what you just said. But you’re right – I do have several more questions. First of all, if this rock is the Shield Crystal, and if there’s a separate Crystal to control the Blast Plasma, then why can I use the Plasma as a weapon?”
“That is an excellent question, and I’m afraid I’m not entirely sure. There is one thing I know for certain, though. Your power to use the Plasma as a weapon did not come from the Crystal. Believe me. If there had been a way to use the Crystal in that way, I would have discovered it long ago.”
“Then where did it come from? I remember how I first discovered that I could use the light for more than protection. I closed my eyes and sensed the power in the stone and recreated it in my hand. Well, first of all, what exactly is the Plasma? It isn’t really plasma, is it?”
Koral shook his head. “It is not merely the state of matter above gas, if that is what you mean. It looks like it, though. I’m sure you have noticed its resemblance to lightning and stellar matter, both of which are forms of ‘real’ plasma. I think that is why Trelan named it that. Also the word has a certain aesthetic sound to it, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess. Sort of how they call starship’s weapons “lasers,” when they’re not really just light.”
Koral nodded. “But what exactly is the Plasma? That I do not know either. For me it was always enough that the Plasma obeyed me. I did not give much thought to what it was, probably because I had no way of finding out.”
“Well, where does it come from? Where is it when it’s not visible?”
“The Plasma seems to be everywhere. According to Trelan, it is somewhat like hyperspace, coexisting with normal space. The Crystals allow our minds to bridge the gap to the sort of Plasmatic ‘ether’ where it exists and call it forth into normal space. The nature of the Crystal determines the form it will take.”
“Except for me,” Ned reminded him.
“Yes. Trelan also told us that the power of the Plasma Crystals was directly related to the understanding and willpower of the Holder. The more experienced the Holder is, the more powerful the manifestation of the Plasma. Physical condition plays an important role, as well. You probably noticed that strenuous or extended use of the Plasma can leave you weak once you stop.” Ned nodded. “But it is also true that extended use brings experience. The more you use it, the more powerful it becomes. I suppose it is somewhat like normal physical activity. At first you’re tired, but after a while the activity becomes invigorating. When you stop you feel refreshed, but you’re also fatigued, at least for a while.”
Ned nodded again. “I think I’m beginning to understand. So you’re saying that the amount of control you have over the Plasma depends on how familiar you are with it. Is that right?”
“Yes, you could put it that way.”
“And abilities don’t just come to you; you have to plan and practice them.”
“Most of them do. The Shield Crystal automatically protects its Holder, but with experience the Holder can learn to do other things with the protective Plasma, such as extend force fields around other people to protect them as well.”
“Well then, I might have an idea as to why I can use the Plasma as a weapon. When I first used the Plasma I didn’t know what it was or what it was supposed to be used for. I didn’t have any preconceived ideas about what it was supposed to do, so I set a goal that would have seemed unreasonable if I had known the intended power of the Crystal.”
“I supposed that’s possible.” Koral was beginning to see where Ned was going with this. “If you had known that the Crystal was intended only for protection you most likely would not have even tried to use it in that way.”
“In fact I probably couldn’t. If it’s just a person’s mind that allows him to control the Plasma, then the preconceived idea that the Crystal’s power was limited to protection might have prevented me from using it for anything else, even if I tried. But since I didn’t know anything about it, once I connected my mind to the Plasma I was able to manipulate it the way I wanted to. Or something like that. I still don’t get why a person’s mind can just control the Plasma.”
“I might be able to help a little with that in a moment. In any case, I think you must be right. Kayleen, Markan, and I all had preconceived ideas about the Plasma, so we could only use it in ways that fit in with those ideas.”
“But what about Trelan? How did he learn all this? Do you think he might have known that the Crystals could do more than what he said they did?”
“He might have known more than he told us, but I still don’t think that the Crystals can do more than their intended purpose. If they could, then Trelan would undoubtedly have used all of the aspects of the Plasma from the beginning. He would have had no need of us. Besides, your ability to use Blast Plasma is not really the same as holding the Blast Crystal. When Kayleen first tried out her power, she completely incinerated a ten-foot boulder. Her first time! It seems that although the Crystals are not necessary to use the Plasma in a particular way, they do magnify that aspect of the Plasma greatly.”
Ned was confused. “So you’re saying that you don’t need a Crystal to use the Plasma? Anyone could do it?”
“I think that’s probably true, and it has something to do with what I’m about to tell you. But remember, the only reason you even knew the Plasma existed was because of the Crystal, and then you used it as a prototype to tell you what it should feel like to use the Plasma. If I had simply told you about it, and if you had not had the Crystal, do you think you would have been able to control it?”
“Probably not.”
“I think almost definitely not. Consider this: after I lost the Shield Crystal, I still had all of my knowledge about the Plasma. But still, no matter how hard I tried, I was never able to call it forth again.”
“But your power was entirely rooted in the Crystal. Your mind manipulated the Plasma through the Crystal, never directly. That might account for why you could no longer use it.”
“It might, in part. If you’re right, then, since your control over the Blast Plasma is independent from the Crystal, you could probably use the Blast Plasma even if you lost t
he Crystal. But again, that is only because you already know how to do so. I still do not believe that people can control the Plasma force simply by wishing it.”
“You’re probably right. Now what was it you were going to tell me?”
“Oh yes. First, though, realize that this is just speculation. Trelan told us very little about the origins of the Plasma, but I have been able to draw a few conclusions from my own observations. These observations started here, on Palandora. It started with the dragons.”
Ned snapped his eyes up. “The dragons! Of course! That one in the cave – Delgora – she wasn’t harmed by my blaster, but she reacted somehow when I used the Plasma! And that wasn’t real fire she blew at me, either, was it? It was Blast Plasma!”
“Yes,” Koral said, smiling. “I believe so. What I have seen of the dragons leads me to believe that they, too, have some use of the Plasma. They are not only invulnerable to laser fire, but everything else, as far as I know. I have never even heard of a dead dragon. I’d never heard of one breeding, either. If they did, I suppose they would have overrun this entire planet by now.”
“And the way they fly! X told me that you said something about the Plasma…”
“They do not appear to have the aerodynamics necessary to fly as fast as they do – perhaps to fly at all. The Plasma may aid them in this, as well.
“Remember, Trelan said that the Plasma force was developed by an ancient civilization. And also remember that the Crystals were created toward the end of that civilization. That means the people back then somehow controlled the Plasma without them. They probably had a great deal more control over it than any of us do, even Trelan. That power may even have encompassed genetic engineering.”
“And that would explain why there are so many weird plants and animals on Palandora,” Ned noted.
“Yes. It would also explain the space bubble formed by the gravimetric field. I believe that this civilization placed Palandora and its sun here and used this planet for genetic experimentation.”
“Wow.” Everything was starting to come together now for Ned. “X also seemed to communicate with the dragons. How intelligent are they?”
“Far more intelligent than any animal I have ever heard of. They seem to understand everything we say to them, and early on I was able to teach them some simple signs to communicate back. But it was a long time I before I discovered how they communicate with each other; their vocal chords are too simplistic to produce very complex sound. I didn’t find out what they do until Mrandor trusted me enough to use telepathy with me.”
“Telepathy?” Ned asked incredulously. “They can read minds?”
“Not exactly,” Koral said. “They can project their thoughts into others’ minds. At first, the thoughts were so alien that I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but eventually I was able to understand simple thoughts. I tried projecting my thoughts toward them, but they never responded, so I assume the communication is one-way.”
Ned thought for a moment. “So, why didn’t the dragon in that cave try to talk to me?”
“Dragons do not attempt to communicate with someone unless they are extremely familiar with that person. Delgora probably saw you as a trespasser. Or maybe she suspected that you held the Shield Crystal and wanted to test it out. She is not one of the dragons that has seen fit to share her thoughts with me, so it may be hard to find an answer to your question.”
“’Delgora’… Do you name the dragons?”
“No. Somehow, their names for each other translate fairly well into thoughts. My guess is that the people who created them gave them names and made them capable of communicating them. Who knows – with the Plasma force as part of their lives, they may have had telepathic powers as well.”
“That’s incredible. I wonder what happened to those people.”
“I don’t know. Despite what Trelan told us, I have never seen any remnant of that civilization, – except for the caves. Many of the caves around here seem to have been artificially constructed. A few, like this one, even have metal walls and ordered rooms. There was nothing in them when we arrived, though, and they don’t tell us much.”
“You know, Koral, for a person who claims not to be sure of very much you sure seem to know a lot.”
Koral smiled. “I’m glad I could be of help. Is there anything else you’d like to know?”
Ned shook his head. “Probably nothing you could answer, or you probably already would have. I don’t suppose you have any idea how Trelan made Venom, do you?”
“I wish I did. That knowledge would probably be useful in combating him. I suspect he used Markan’s Vortex Plasma to teleport matter there, although even for the Vortex Master that would be an enormous task. As for how Trelan shaped it into what it is now I cannot imagine. Undoubtedly it has something to do with his mysterious dimension of the Plasma force, but beyond that I have no idea.”
Ned and Koral both lapsed into silence for a while. A great deal of information had been exchanged, and both were still having trouble processing it all. Then Ned remembered X and Jenara. “Are you two still awake over there?” He asked jokingly.
“Awake but confused,” X replied.
“You’re the Shield Master!” Jenara was incredulous. “Do you know what that means?”
Ned smiled. “It means that Koral has a lot to teach me. And it might mean that Dark Viper might someday have a rival.” He turned to Koral. “Can you do it?”
“Teach you? Certainly. But as for challenging Dark Viper, I doubt that you will get that opportunity very soon. Trelan must be far more powerful than anyone realizes if he created a structure as large and complex as Venom. And don’t forget, Kayleen and Markan still serve him. You can bet that as soon as Trelan learns of you he’ll send them to retrieve the Crystal. When that happens, you must be ready.”
“Well, the sooner we get started the sooner I send the Blast Master, the Vortex Master, and Trelan packing, and the sooner I get home.”
Koral nodded. “We should start today. But let’s eat first.”
Koral set out a generous meal for them, and they consumed it in virtual silence. It was not apprehension that prevented them from speaking; rather it was the deep significance of what had just been discussed. The implications of it all were just beginning to register. For Ned, of course, this meant that he had finally found what he was looking for – the beginning of the road back home. For Koral it meant that his old life had returned and he would have a very strong influence on the galaxy once more. This both intrigued and disturbed him. For X and Jenara it meant that their new friendship would have to wait for a while; Ned would undoubtedly stay with Koral for at least several days, and there was little either Jenara or X would be able to do that would have much of an effect at all on Ned’s training. It also meant that the days of Palandora’s isolation might be coming to a close; if the Shield Master was building his power there and the StarBlazer force was on its way to pick him up, then Dark Viper’s eye might not apathetically glance over the Uraxis Nebula as it had done up to now.
The meal was finished, and X announced that he should be getting back to the city; there were some people he had promised to meet this evening. Jenara went with him, but not before making Ned feel awkward by hugging him goodbye. Then they were gone, and Ned was alone with Koral.
“We should start by having you show me what you already know,” Koral said once his friends were out of sight. “Are you ready?”
Ned turned to him and smiled. “Is dry ice cold?”
Gerran Marnax stood at the window of one of Galactron’s observation ports and surveyed the scene before him. Directly below was the blue expanse of Ergana Prime. Its shield generators were fully charged and its weapon systems were ready; its inhabitants were not about to make their world an easy target. The vast expanse of space loomed above, but it was dotted by the numerous starships of the StarBlazer fleet. Over zeld hundred ships had arrived already, and more were on their way. StarBlazer would not be able to
match Anacron’s two thousand, but it would come close enough. Major Harvey had completed his battle plans and was currently drilling the fleet on his expectations. Marnax was familiar with them already and was confident that he could hold the planet. The losses would probably be tremendous, but the losses to the Empire would be worse. Of course, the Empire could afford to lose ships more than StarBlazer could, but it was not as if Marnax had a choice as to whether or not to fight. He did not feel he could afford to abandon Ergana; it was far too valuable, economically and strategically. He would hold it for as long as he possibly could.
The door to the observation port slid open and closed and someone entered. Marnax’s back was to the door, but he knew that it was Mirana. She walked up without speaking and stood next to him, looking out at the assembling fleet. Marnax glanced over at her and saw the look on her face; not many people could read that face, but Marnax believed he was one of the few who could. “It’s coming, isn’t it?”
Mirana nodded. “You can count on it.”
She was speaking of the Imperial ship Devastator. In addition to his massive fleet of normal starships, Dark Viper occasionally constructed special instruments that seemed to defy both reason and opposition. Venom was one of these; Devastator was another. It was created from an alloy that no one had yet identified but was known to be incredibly strong. Even with no shields the warship could stand up to attack for a long time. And it did have shields. In fact, although Devastator was nearly the size of Galactron, nearly all of its mass was taken up by weapons and shield generators. It had thrusters, of course, but they were not especially strong and did not need to be. Most ships that came within weapons range were crippled or destroyed before they could inflict much damage, so Devastator had little need of evasive maneuvers.
Its weapons were ruthless. There were hundreds of them, dotting the ship’s black surface like warts on some hideous toad. Nearly fifty of them at a time could fire simultaneously at full power. They consisted of lasers and missiles, but, like the Starhawk squadron, Dark Viper had developed a few weapons of his own. These were usually energy weapons, so they could not be destroyed like missiles could. Like missiles, though, they inflicted tremendous amounts of damage. The only drawbacks of weapons of this type were that they took up large amounts of power and required the use of substances that were rare and unstable. They had to be rationed carefully.
Some wondered why Dark Viper did not simply build several of these ships, or at least use the one he had in every major battle. Marnax believed he understood why. The unusually powerful shields and weapons of Devastator probably had something to do with Viper’s mysterious power, and that power undoubtedly had its limits. The Emperor had not built other structures like Venom, and that seemed to support Marnax’s hypothesis. This meant that Devastator was irreplaceable, at least for the moment, and surely Viper was hesitant to send it into battles that his regular armies could handle without it. Powerful as Devastator was, it was not invulnerable. In fact, in previous battles Harvey had even managed to damage it enough to force it to leave the fight. Of course, StarBlazer had ultimately lost each of those battles.
The presence of Devastator at Ergana Prime, then, was of great significance. It implied that Dark Viper was putting everything he had into this battle, and that Marnax would have to do the same. Marnax had no problem with this, however, because Devastator’s presence here was important for another reason. General Marnax believed he had found a way to destroy it.
A sound behind Ned caused him to turn around. He caught sight of the three-foot chunk of wood that had been launched from a concealed catapult. His hand stretched out and a searing blast of blue Plasma fired out of it, caught the chunk of wood, and burned it to ash. It never even hit the ground.
“Last one!” Koral shouted from behind some trees. It’s only been a day and you seem to have doubled your control over the Plasma! How do you feel?”
Ned smiled and walked over to him, breathing heavily. He was exhausted. “I like it. It feels like it’s a part of me! I can see why it was so hard to give up. I can’t wait to learn more!”
The sun was starting to fall below the mountain tops, and Koral led Ned back toward his home in the caves. Ned had spent the entire day since X and Jenara had headed back home training. Koral had observed what Ned had already learned and then decided to expand his power and control over the Plasma by strenuous use of it. Koral had presented Ned with several targets with little warning, such as the wood chunk he had just finished off, and Ned had responded magnificently. Before today Ned had only been able to exert a small force with the Blast Plasma, except for the one time when he had lost control of it completely. Now he could consistently and completely consume much larger targets. And his aim was perfect. With normal blasters Ned was only mediocre at hitting targets at long distances, but with the Plasma he could “feel” the object almost before he saw it. Hitting it with the Blast Plasma was then simply a matter of connecting it to his hand with a line of fire. Of course, the objects he had been working with moved in predictable patterns, but still it was a vast improvement over his previous skills.
They had also worked on Ned’s control over the Shield Plasma. As Koral had said, it took no effort for Ned to protect himself from harm, but still there was room for improvement. For example, Koral taught Ned that he could conserve energy by deflecting shots rather than absorbing them and letting the energy dissipate from him, which was what happened when Ned employed no conscious effort. Koral also showed Ned how to block and deflect shots at long distances. This, Koral explained, would allow Ned to stay a step ahead of his enemies, plus it would enable him to protect others as well as himself. Tomorrow they planned on widening the radius of the Crystal’s protective shield.
As they walked, Ned turned to Koral. “You said that you used the Shield Plasma in space battles. Can I really use the power to protect an entire ship?”
“Well, yes and no. I believe that a large reason that Markan, Kayleen, and I were able to do so much may have been that Trelan somehow aided us with his own power. I cannot think of any other reason why he would have come with us, and that might explain a part of his power. In any case, when he was not there we found ourselves significantly less able to act. And there is another thing. I told you that the Plasma seems to be everywhere until we release it. This is true, but it is significantly more concentrated around massive objects. So, when our battles were around planets we were able to make use of the increased Plasma of the planet. In deep space, there is almost no Plasma at all except for what you take with you. It is possible to absorb the Plasma and keep it with you – sort of a reserve supply – and that is another reason why were able to defend entire starships. But that takes time and effort.”
“Wait. You mean that when I use the Plasma I’m really draining it from somewhere? From myself? And what happens to something if all of the Plasma’s drained?”
“Good question. There is no noticeable effect on an object by the Plasma unless one of the Holders causes there to be one. Plasma that is pulled away from its natural place will eventually return. It is somewhat like waves washing up onto a beach; the waves can have an impact on things on the beach, but then the water flows back into the sea.”
“I guess that makes sense. There’s just so much to learn.”
“There is. And you will not be able to learn it all from me.”
They had reached the cave, and Koral led Ned inside. They sat down for dinner.
“Koral, I have innate control over the Shield Plasma, and I’ve learned to use the Blast Plasma as well. Do you think that eventually I might be able to use the Vortex Plasma?”
“It’s certainly possible. Transporting something like that is a far more abstract concept than pushing something away or even pulling it apart. It may be that the ways in which you already perceive the Plasma will prevent you from going into that realm. That’s no reason not to try, but first I think you should focus on what you know.”
They finished
their meal, and Koral showed Ned to a bedroom. Ned lay in bed thinking for a time. He was incredibly pleased with how things had turned out with Koral. It was exactly what he had hoped for. Still, he wondered what was going on outside the nebula. Where was Smardwurst? Had he broken free and contacted Marnax? Were StarBlazer ships on the way? What about the battle Marnax had mentioned? Ned did not know, but he decided that those were questions for which he could wait for the answers.
The sleek, black ship raced through the emptiness of space unseen. Anyone looking would have detected it, but this far out there was no one close enough to see. Not that it mattered. Black Fang was more than a match for almost any ship.
“The Kismet reports visual contact with Uraxis,” Ensign Frenk reported.
Blast Master Kayleen Rax sat behind him and to his left. She was clad from head to toe in yellow and black battle armor. The colors of the armor’s smooth metal gave her the appearance of an angry hornet. She had the personality to match. She was infinitely more deadly.
No less deadly was Vortex Master Markan Dren, seated next to her. He was similarly arrayed in body armor, his purple and green. He almost never spoke, and when he did it was usually to decree punishment. As a result he was in some ways more feared than Rax. No one saw either’s face anymore or even heard their real voices; both Plasma Masters almost always wore their helmets, and through them their voices were menacingly distorted. The effect was intentional. Rax and Dren had been seen and known by everyone before Trelan became the Dark Viper, but since then the Plasma Masters had become more legends than people. The legends were not pleasant, but, in times like these, that was what the Anacron Empire wanted in its leaders.
“How much longer until we join them?” came the Blast Master’s rough voice.
“Two days.”
“Order the Kismet to locate Koral and the boy and then wait for us.”
“Acknowledged.”
Dren turned to Rax. He spoke on a closed channel so that only she heard. “Dark Viper had better be certain of this. He’s risking a lot, taking us away from the battle.”
Rax also closed her communication channel. “He’s sure. Viper’s always sure.”
Dren turned back toward the viewscreen. “Then this should certainly be interesting.”
“I doubt that a boy and an old man can do much against us.”
“No, I meant that grinding Koral’s little colony to sand should be interesting.”
“Ned! Koral! Wake up!”
It was Jenara. She was shouting wildly as she ran down the corridor leading into Koral’s home. X finished settling Valkron and then rushed after her.
Koral was up instantly. “What is it? What happened?” Ned followed a moment later, not quite awake. It had been two days now since Ned had begun his training, and neither he nor Koral had heard from either Jenara or X in that time.
Jenara slowed her breathing as she reached the entry room. “Last night … from the nebula … a starship … Anacron.”
Instantly Koral and Ned understood. The Empire had found them after all.