The Plasma Master

  Chapter 15

  The view from one of Galactron’s many viewports looked to Gerran Marnax as if it were snowing flakes of rainbow. At most warp speeds the hyperspace shadows of stars appeared as white dots, but Galactron was one of the fastest ships in the galaxy. At the moment it was taxing its warp drive to its fullest capacity, and the warp field surrounding the ship was so powerful that it refracted the light from the stellar phase shadows, turning them into dazzling pinpricks of color.

  If I fail, Dark Viper will have command of every one of these stars within two years. Since StarBlazer’s loss at Ergana Prime, Marnax had become more and more convinced that it was going to take more than skill and tactics to defeat the Anacron Empire. It was going to take an incredibly powerful Plasma Master as well. If Nedward Simmons hasn’t found a way to become that, I don’t know what we’ll do. And that was assuming the boy was still alive.

  There was reason to believe that he was. Marnax had decided upon reaching his fleet’s rendezvous point that there was nothing useful he could do until all of his allies had satisfied themselves that their own homeworlds were not in immediate danger of sharing Ergana’s fate, at which point they would rejoin him. Instead of waiting, Marnax had set off at once to see what had happened to Smardwurst and his charge. Galactron had recently detected two starships at the fringes of the sensors’ range, and they were headed for StarBlazer space. If they were Imperial ships, they would most likely have gone directly back to Venom to report to Dark Viper. In a more populated region of space the transmission booster stations in-between star systems would have allowed communication at many times the current range, but out here there were no such stations, so the approaching ships had been in sensor range for six minutes and still were too far away to contact. It would not be long now, though.

  The intercom clicked. “General,” Marvis Harvey called, “They’ll be in range in just a moment. Do you want to contact them from your office?”

  “Yes, thanks. Marnax out.”

  Harvey was still not over having his homeworld razed by the Empire. The civilians had all survived, but even if StarBlazer won this war soon they would all have to relocate to whatever planets could be made available. It might take several generations before Ergana Prime could be made capable of sustaining life again. Harvey had been hurt badly by the loss, and lately Marnax had been worrying about him.

  The automatic door opened and closed as Marnax left the observation room. He nodded to a couple of crewmembers as he walked down the corridor to his office, and they all met his nod with a smile and a salute. The crew, in general, was taking the defeat well. Marnax knew that their confidence was rooted as much in him as it was in StarBlazer’s collective power.

  That, he had decided, was a good thing. It was dangerous to put too much trust in one man; after all, no one was perfect and if Marnax made a mistake he would not want his people to follow him into it. Still, Gerran Marnax was confident in his ability to lead his people to victory, and he was glad that his people shared that optimism. StarBlazer’s citizens certainly had the skills and strength of character to see this war through to victory. In fact, despite StarBlazer’s numerical deficiency, it sometimes seemed to Marnax that the only thing standing between him and victory was the mysterious yet awesome power of Emperor Dark Viper and his little toys. If only Ned Simmons could find a way to get rid of him… Marnax hoped the boy was okay for more reasons than he could count.

  He reached his office, entered, and gave a carnivorous plant a friendly pat as he walked to his desk. He sat down, pressed the button to activate his computer screen, and waited. The detected ships were still not in communications range. Marnax’s thoughts again turned toward Ned Simmons and the brief time he had spent with him. It hadn’t been enough time to give Marnax any accurate sense of Ned’s character, but the boy’s power itself had been promising enough. Marnax wondered if he should have sent more than just one ship with Ned, but decided that he had made the right decision in keeping his full attack force for Ergana Prime – at least that seemed right if one ignored hindsight.

  “General, we’re in communications range. They’re hailing us.”

  Ned was looking forward to telling General Marnax of the relative success he had had on Palandora. He could only imagine how the General would react when he found that he at last had a potential weapon against Dark Viper. A potential weapon – that was what Ned had temporarily classified himself as. He did not believe he was any match for the Emperor yet, but after surviving the continued attacks of Kayleen Rax, he believed that he at least had that potential. For the moment, Ned was confident that he could stand against Rax again, or just about any non-Plasmatic force Viper cared to throw at him.

  Marnax’s charismatic face appeared on the viewscreen. “Smardwurst! Ned! I’m glad you made it back! Are you okay? Did you find him?”

  “We had some technical problems and a little run-in with Markan Dren and Kayleen Rax, but we’re fine now. I’ll let Ned fill you in.”

  Ned’s grin was unrestrained. “I did it, General. I found Koral, and he trained me. You were right! My stone is the Anacron Plasma Shield Crystal!”

  “And it works?”

  Ned nodded, but the smile disappeared from his face and he lowered his eyes. “It works.”

  Marnax did not miss the change in countenance, and he decided Ned had said all he wanted to for the moment. “Good job, Ned. We’ll have need of your skills soon. We can talk more about it later.” He turned to Smardwurst, the hint of a smile returning to his face. “You’ve brought friends?”

  “Gerran, I should tell you that Koral was killed in the battle, along with Markan Dren. I know – we came out on the short end in that exchange. But the King of the people on Palandora – the planet we found – has sent his daughter Jenara Trennon in command of the starship Chelaris to join our fleet. She also has a squadron of starfighter pilots who were once in service to the Empire. I told Princess Trennon you’d contact her as soon as we were finished.”

  “I will. My consolations on Koral’s death, Ned. It must have been especially hard on you. You can tell me what happened when we reach you – it shouldn’t be long. I’ll see you then.”

  “The man doesn’t look a day older,” X remarked after Jenara had completed her transmission with StarBlazer’s leader. “He’s just like I remember him.”

  “Did you know him?” Jenara asked, lounging in the ship’s command chair.

  “Not personally, but I knew practically everything about him. I think everyone in the military did. He had connections with Major Harvey even then, and he’s always been a natural leader. The man was amazing. If he had stayed with the Empire and someone else had rebelled, the war wouldn’t have lasted a month. Marnax would have wiped out the rebellion in the blink of an eye.”

  “Marnax didn’t really rebel, X. He just left.”

  “I know, but still.”

  “He seemed nice.”

  “What do you think he’ll have you do with the Chelaris?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe nothing. It isn’t really very powerful at all. I’m sure he’ll put your fighters to good use, though.”

  “If I can get my squadron trained sufficiently. It’s been a really long time since they’ve had any real practice. It might take a while.”

  “I guess the important thing now is that we’re here. Palandora can’t stay locked inside that nebula forever and expect to remain free. Even if we don’t end up doing anything here but watching the war, it will be better than staying back there. On Palandora we couldn’t even watch what happened around us, let alone affect it. Hopefully that will change soon.”

  X nodded. He knew Jenara’s philosophy about isolation and agreed with it, but now his thoughts were turning toward the war. He was happy to again be using his military experience to fight for a good cause, but doing so meant that he would be risking his life and those of his squadron members very often and very soon. He hoped he could make them ready. “Have you talked to Ned sin
ce we left?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  She didn’t say anything more, so X let it drop. He hadn’t been all that surprised when Jenara had told him of her conversation with Ned before they left Palandora. He knew Jenara better than just about anyone and had been observant enough to notice her attitude toward Ned. X found the fact that Jenara was attracted to Ned interesting, but not terribly important. At least, he hadn’t until Jenara had decided to leave Palandora. Maybe now something would develop, but even if it did it probably wouldn’t affect X much. X was, however, curious about how things would turn out. Ned and Jenara seemed like a rather unlikely couple, and besides, Ned didn’t always seem to have the most accurate picture of things between himself and Jenara. Maybe that was just because Earth customs were so different from those of the Anacron Empire and its former members, but X doubted it. The Anacronian rulers had preserved Earth’s customs well enough that Ned had adapted rather quickly to just about everything he had encountered here, so there was no reason to think that this situation would be any different.

  “Jenara,” – despite her political title X always called her by her first name, even in public – “I’m going to go talk with the rest of the squadron. I’ll see you when it’s time to dock.”

  “See you later, X.”

  “Bye.”

  As the landing bay doors slid open, the approaching shuttles came into view. Smardwurst’s shuttle was the standard gray, sleek design used my most StarBlazer ships for personnel transport, while Princess Trennon’s shuttle had been painted green and brown – Palandora’s colors – and was a slightly older model. Once the doors had closed behind both shuttles, the bay was repressurized and Gerran walked out from the enclosed waiting area.

  “Welcome aboard Galactron, everyone. I’m glad you all made it here safely. I’ll show you to a conference room now, and we’ll tie up a few loose ends before we rejoin the fleet.”

  The meeting was informative for all concerned. Major Harvey explained the battle of Ergana Prime and the apparent betrayal StarBlazer had suffered. Smardwurst described his mission to the Uraxis Nebula, and Ned picked up from where he had left Green Scorpion to attempt contact with Koral. He told how he had crashlanded in one of Palandora’s forested valleys, been spotted by X, and been introduced to the former Shield Master. He attempted to describe his training sessions with Koral, but found it difficult to describe sensations concerning the Plasma force to people who had no experience with it. He then told of his battle with the other Plasma Masters, and of how Kayleen Rax had killed Koral, and along with him Markan Dren.

  “It will take us a little over a day to rejoin our fleet,” Marnax informed them when they had finished, “but by the time we get there everyone else should be ready as well. I’d like to talk to Ned about some of the particulars of his power, but until we reach the fleet I’m sure you will find plenty to keep yourselves occupied. Let me know if you need anything.”

  X stopped to talk to Ned before he left the conference room. “When the General is done talking with you, could I meet you back on the Chelaris? I’ve got something to show you.”

  There was not much Ned was able to clarify for General Marnax about the Plasma force, so Ned was onboard the Chelaris within sixteen minutes. Galactron was matching the slower speed of Jenara’s ship, so by extending the warp fields Ned was able to take a shuttle between the two ships. X met him in the Chelaris’s shuttlebay and led him through a door and down a long corridor.

  “Where are we going?” Ned asked.

  “To the starfighter launch bay. You haven’t seen my ship, have you?”

  “Nope. In fact I haven’t seen any StarBlazer fighters up close.”

  A door slid open at X’s touch, and X led Ned into the launch bay, where seven starfighters were arranged. They were an impressive sight. They looked very much like fighter jets back on Earth to Ned, but they were not as aerodynamic. They were somewhat boxier, and various weapons and graviton thrusters protruded from their hulls.

  “That one’s mine,” X said, pointing to the closest one. It’s called the Relina, after my sister. She’s the one who taught me how to fly.”

  It was the first unprompted reference X had made to his family since Ned had met him, and Ned wasn’t sure whether he should say anything. X didn’t give him the chance. “See that one on the end?”

  “Was it Koral’s?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Well for one thing, it’s blue. Koral seemed to like blue.”

  X laughed. “He did, and it was. He didn’t fly it much, but after the Emperor invited him to leave he decided he should own something that could fight. He was not a poor man, and this is not a cheap ship. It’s loaded with missiles and hypercharged laser cannons. Nothing like Starhawk flies of course, but it’s one of the best you can get without building it yourself.” X paused and looked over at Ned. “It’s yours.”

  “What? You can’t give it to me! I can barely pilot a shuttle! I’d be blown out of the sky the instant I tried to use it!”

  “You don’t have to use it to fight, Ned. Koral never did. I figured that since you don’t own a thing that isn’t back on Earth except your Plasma Crystal and a set of clothes, you would do well to have a mode of transportation. This ship has warp drive, so if you ever disagree with Marnax or get stranded somewhere, you can take off on your own. Besides, you were Koral’s apprentice. I’m sure he would have wanted you to have it.”

  “You were his apprentice. I was just a guy who showed up at his house one day, and I only knew him a week. You knew him for years!”

  “Fine, then ownership falls to me, and now I’m giving it to you.”

  “I don’t want to seem ungrateful – I really appreciate this. But if Koral’s ship is so great, shouldn’t you take it and let me have one of the others? Or sell it and get me something simple, so you could at least keep some of the money it’s worth?”

  “Nope. I’ve grown sort of attached to my ship – it’s a pilot thing. I’ve thought of all of this already. The ship is yours.”

  As they talked they had walked over to the ship, and now Ned gazed at it from up close. He smiled. “Well, thank you. What’s it called?”

  “Koral never named it. It’s registered by its serial code, but that’s not much of a name.”

  “I guess I’ll have to think of one. Thanks again, X. I guess we should transport it over to Galactron, huh?”

  “You mean you should transport it to Galactron. Jenara wants to see you first, though.”

  “Okay, let’s go see her, and then you can show me how to use this thing.”

  “Actually, Ned, she wants to see you. Haven’t you been paying attention?”

  “I’ve been paying attention. What do you mean though?”

  “Jenara’s not kidding about how she feels about you, Ned. She’s not overstating it, either. You and she aren’t just friends anymore, or at least that’s not how she sees it. If you disagree, you’d better let her know.”

  “Well, I guess that depends on what you mean by ‘just friends.’ I mean, being attracted to someone doesn’t necessarily change that much. Nothing real could ever happen between us, X; we’re not even from the same planet. After this war is over we’ll probably never see each other again.”

  “Fine, but like I said, just make sure Jenara’s on the same phase as you.”

  “I will. Thanks again, X. For everything. I never would have made it this far without you. If I ever do anything really productive with the Plasma force, I hope you’ll take your share of the credit.”

  X smiled. “I’ll do that, Ned. Jenara’s waiting in the main shuttle bay. Find me when you’re done and I’ll help you get this ship out of here.”

  “Ned! It’s been long enough! How are you? What do you think of all this?” Jenara started walking down the corridor, and Ned kept up.

  “I’m glad to be back where someone with a lot of power seems to know what’s going on. Marnax is going to win this war. I’m sure o
f it.”

  “I’m sure of it too, but that’s not what I meant. What do you think of space? I had almost forgotten what it’s like! When we left the nebula I just sat by a viewport and stared at the stars. They’re so beautiful – I haven’t seen them in so long!”

  “Being in space is a neat feeling. It’s not as weird as I always imagined it would be, though. On Earth there’s no artificial gravity technology, so people in space float around in weightlessness. I haven’t experienced that here.”

  “It’s kind of fun. I’m sure Galactron has some zero-gravity sports arenas, or at least zero-g combat training.”

  “Let me know your schedule. We should go there sometime.”

  “I don’t have a schedule – not yet. General Marnax hasn’t found any use yet for a non-allied freighter. He says he’s going to find work for X’s squadron, though. Have you met them?”

  “Not yet.”

  “I think they’re on Galactron right now. For all the time we’ve been on Palandora, the only simulators they’ve been able to use have been the ones on the Chelaris. X is anxious to get them ready to fight in the real galaxy as soon as possible.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Nowhere. I just like to walk. Do you have anywhere in mind?”

  “Nope. I don’t have anything planned for today, except that X is going to help me work on my skills in a starfighter. He gave me Koral’s old one.”

  “I know. Isn’t that great?”

  “Yeah, it is. So do you want to go back over to Galactron now and find something to do, or should we do something here first?”

  “I’m kind of hungry. How about we eat lunch, and then we can find X and play some zero-g sports on Galactron.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Lunch was Palandoran food, and Ned found it delicious. When they were finished Ned was inclined to stay and talk longer, but he found that he and Jenara had just about depleted conversation topics. “It seems like we’ve told each other just about every story that’s ever happened to either of us. Is there anything else about you that you think I should know?”

  “I don’t know. Like what?”

  “Well, is there anything you like to do that you haven’t mentioned yet?”

  “Hmmm. Well, back in school I loved to dance. I haven’t had many opportunities lately, though.”

  “I can’t dance worth beans.”

  “Are you a quick learner?”

  “Let’s say I am. Can you teach me?”

  “I can do anything. I’m the Princess. Here, let me put on some music.” She did, and walked back over to him. “All right. I put my hand on your shoulder, and you put yours around my waist, and then hold my other hand – like this. This music has a four-step beat, so …”

  “Yeah, this is like on Earth. Anacron’s rulers really did a great job of preserving the culture. In fact, I’m surprised things don’t seem more strange to me. I don’t know when your ancestors left Earth, but I’m sure it was long enough ago that Earth culture has changed a lot.”

  “Well, if you think that our culture is significantly like yours back home, then I’d say it’s because you’ve adapted unusually fast. You can’t really say that life here is like it was back on Earth.”

  “I guess you’re right, I have gotten pretty used to things.” Ned thought for a moment, then remembered his conversation with X. “X mentioned something to me,” he said. “He was worried that I might be misinterpreting you, and that I should make sure we’re on the same ‘phase.’“

  “Do you think we are?” Jenara did not seem concerned.

  “Yes, I do. I mean, we talked about it already, right?”

  She gave him her standard beautiful smile. “Yeah. And besides, there’s only so much you can know about another person’s feelings by talking. Beyond that you have to go by how they act, you know? You have to spend time with them.” Ned did not respond. He was distracted by how interesting it was to have his hand around her waist and by how nice her hair looked.

  Jenara taught Ned a few unfamiliar dances as well, and Ned became reasonably good at them. At last they decided that they had kept X waiting long enough, so they found him and headed over to Galactron.

  The trio from Palandora figured that this would be the last really free day they would have together for a while, so they made the most of it. X worked with Ned for a couple of hours in a starfighter simulator on Galactron, since at warp speed it wasn’t exactly convenient to practice in a real spacecraft. Then X and Jenara introduced Ned to some popular sports, including several zero gravity ones. Ned invited Smardwurst to join them a few times, but his duties as Captain kept him away for most of the time.

  He was done for the day by the time X and Jenara left for the Chelaris, though, and Ned visited Smardwurst’s quarters before going to bed. They had talked a lot since leaving Palandora, so there weren’t any new issues to discuss. Still, Ned enjoyed talking to Smardwurst. There was something about the Zalorian that Ned found refreshing, and talking to him helped to reduce the effects of the stress he had been feeling. Part of it, Ned was sure, was that Smardwurst had been with Ned at the start of his journey and so reminded Ned more than anything else of his home. Also, although he would never admit it, Ned enjoyed talking to someone who was so obviously alien. All of the technology Ned had seen would eventually have a reasonable counterpart on Earth, and so after being around it for a while it ceased to seem that strange. But no one on Earth had ever seen a sentient being that didn’t look like an Earthling, at least not with any definitive evidence. The existence of people like Smardwurst and the other non-Earthlike races in the galaxy was exciting to Ned, and his excitement was kindled anew whenever he talked to Smardwurst.

  “I really enjoy life here,” Ned remarked. “I wonder if, after the war’s over, my family would want to move out here. There’s so much here that people on Earth could only dream about.”

  “That’s true, Nedward, but do not discount the advantages of your own home. My homeworld is not the perfect place, but I would much rather live there than anywhere else in the galaxy. Ease and excitement are not everything, you know.”

  “I know. I probably wouldn’t want to live here, but a vacation or two or fifty would be nice. Do you think the hyperspace vortex will hold?”

  “We’ll see. There are more pressing matters at hand. Don’t you agree?”

  “Yes, I do. It’s been a fun day, but I guess tomorrow will be pretty different, won’t it?”

  “Tomorrow, Nedward, we will very likely take a large step toward finding a use for your power.”

  Ned nodded. And the next day, for all I know, I might be carrying out that plan.