Reality: The Struggle for Sternessence Read online

  The Creption turned around, holding the shattered grip in his hand, and abruptly hurled it at Duncan. Even as he eluded the missile, the soldier leaped at him. Duncan sprang to one side, and while still in the air, he thrust clumsily with his sword. Despite the sloppy jab, the blade sunk deep into the Creption’s ankles, effectively hamstringing him.

  To one side, the reptilian that had been fighting Antares lay dead in the mud. Attached to one of his legs was a metallic spike, still in its sheath. The hamstrung Creption grabbed the spike and started crawling towards Antares, who was struggling to regain consciousness. Duncan rushed towards the menacing soldier, wielding his sword ready to strike. But on reaching him, a strange impulse held him back. Something deep inside was suddenly halting Duncan from discharging the final blow.

  “Stop! I’ll spare your life.”

  His show of mercy did not have the intended effect.

  “Don’t you hear me? You’ve fought well enough, Creption. I’ll spare your life—I will spare you!”

  However, the Creption kept moving forward slowly, with a gory itch for the kill.

  Desperately, Duncan jumped onto his enemy’s back, and pressed the blade of his sword against the muscular throat beneath him. “Stop! Stop it, I say! I’ll kill you, I will kill you!”

  With that last thought, a stray projectile slammed into the back of his head. Like a rag doll, Duncan collapsed against the aggressor’s ursine neck. Noticing that, the Creption thrust the human off his back into the mud. He immediately realized Duncan was merely unconscious.

  “Hey, you! Bald one!” the Creption howled from the ground. “Go find someone to terminate that human.”

  “Aye-aye, sergeant,” acknowledged a wuol flying in the fog.

  Groggy, Antares lay a few feet ahead, totally exposed and unprotected. The injured Creption smirked and resumed dragging himself forward.

  But he had lost too much blood. His paws looked unresponsive, his muscles slack and his eyes unfocused. He was losing consciousness. The menacing spike he clutched in his hands would never reach its intended victim.

  Clara turned back and noticed Duncan a short way off, lying in the mud. Smudged in blood, a dark green Creption with short legs and a hyena appearance was sniffing at him. The terminating trooper28 cautiously bit one of Duncan’s legs to check for any reaction; there was none. Baring his combat teeth, he fixed his eyes on Duncan’s throat, slobbering.

  Clara dashed towards him and slammed into his back. While the Creption wrestled and jerked, Clara pushed her sword between his shoulder and spine, killing him instantly.

  After approaching Duncan, Clara lifted him gently by the torso. She held him for a moment, keeping a protective hand under his head. A streak of blood was running from beneath his right ear.

  “How is he, girl-Captain?” said Antares, emerging from the fog. He had some blood flowing from his nose.

  “He’s got a serious blow on his head. We must get him out at once.”

  Shoshuar arrived. “What happened to the boy?”

  “We must remove him from the battlefield.” Clara wiped some dirt off her nose. She turned to Antares. “Go get some help, Anty.” But the Veridiawan warrior stayed still, staring at her.

  Clara gazed at Duncan. “Don’t worry. Shoshuar and I will stay here with him.”

  “I must stay with the boy-Dahncion during the whole battle, girl-Captain.”

  Raylayhiagus—the same whymeenidy that had found Duncan the day he had arrived on the planet—now reached the spot. He looked weary, his wooden armor smudged with blood and mud. “‘Got any trouble over here?”

  “Rayly, we must take Dahncion out of this hell—now.”

  “Certainly, girl-Captain. You and bear-Shoshuar put the boy-Dahncion on my armor.”

  Clara nodded. “I will ride with you.”

  “If you just put the boy-Dahncion on my armor, I could run faster.”

  “Not a good idea,” said Shoshuar, addressing Clara. “The Veridiawan warrior could get in big trouble if he’s forced to defend himself and the boy. You’d better ride with him as well, Captain.”

  “An air-rescue squad is on its way, girl-Captain,” a wuol yelled out, flying fast in their direction.

  Clara looked up. “Right now, what we need is air coverage.”

  “Aye-aye, girl-Captain,” said Seidy, disappearing into the fog.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Shoshuar said, looking at Raylayhiagus. “Antares and I will be covering you.”

  The group departed immediately, trying to leave the battlefield in one piece. Duncan was lying on Raylayhiagus’ armor, with his arms and head on one side and his legs dangling down the other. Clara was holding him firmly with her right arm, while clutching Raylayhiagus’ mane with the other.

  An enemy pack noticed the group moving across the field and started pursuit. It did not take long for the pack to catch up with the whymeenidy. Four Creption troopers were running readily along, exhibiting their copper fangs and metallic teeth. Shoshuar and Antares fought to protect Raylayhiagus, but the attackers were quickly overpowering them.

  Just in time, a Veridiawan air squad emerged from the fog and began dropping stones over the Creption pack. Behind it, four sturdy kerionteedos, or flying snatchers, seized each Creption trooper, and after gaining lethal altitude, dropped them down to the ground.

  The Veridiawan air defense had effectively saved the convoy from imminent danger.

  Raylayhiagus was rapidly slowing down. The copper fangs had opened deep wounds on his legs. In addition to the bleeding, he was starting to feel weak and dizzy. However, they had not reached safety yet.

  In the midst of a general weariness and despair, a fleeting image of the boy-Dahncion crossed the whymeenidy’s mind. Raylayhiagus did not know much about the human. However, he had heard a lot about him: he was supposed to be somebody very important, someone who would save us all—whatever that might mean. Even the girl-Captain herself was riding on his back to provide protection to such an important person.

  Beyond his exhaustion, despite his open wounds, Raylayhiagus started regaining speed. The impression of having to protect Duncan’s life above his very own was quickening his body and will unexpectedly. Out of the generalized depletion welling up from the searing pain, a powerful strength began to materialize. The Veridiawan spirit was now flooding Raylayhiagus’ veins, outwardly crystallizing in a firm gallop. It was strange, unusual, something the warrior had never experienced before.

  “This boy-human sure has magical powers,” Raylayhiagus thought. “I have never felt better in my entire life.”

  15.

  One female started yelling, and the other five, who were also washing at the pool, joined in the commotion. Yet they had not been the first to notice the smoke. The overseers were already summoning people for the emergency action parties to put the fire out. The task was proving problematic, since most of the male population was fighting in the Swamp Valley. The sun had not yet set, but the dense clouds caused enough twilight to expose the approaching flames, fed by a dry wind from the south. A dozen straw shacks and stored wood, located in a rather isolated area within the city walls, seemed to be the epicenter of the conflagration.

  Although a storm had pounded the Swamp Valley all day long, it had not rained over the city that day. But it was the season for heavy winds, which could spread the fire everywhere within the city walls. The old overseers looked concerned; they could not forget the big blaze of their younger days, which had consumed most of the village. Soon all the emergency parties were struggling to control the fire. As they worked, they wondered how it could have started. The winter had been a particularly rainy one.

  But for Captain O’sihn, the smoky flames were the signal he was waiting for: three of his commandos had started the operation as planned. Aureerian—a Veridiawan flying warrior—was now about to reach the fortress’ north-wing tower. At the top, there was a small window with sturdy bars across. Hovering in front of the window, Aureerian quickly
rigged a rope around the bars.

  From behind a thicket, about one hundred yards from the tower, three soldiers—two Veridiawans and one Realitian—were closing in rapidly on their target. Ivorai, Squirnoy, and Lieutenant Tygrum were racing against time. Although it might not have been too difficult for swift individuals like Squirnoy and Tygrum to remain unnoticed, that was far from the case for Ivorai, elephantine and slow as he was.

  Upon reaching the target, Aureerian immediately dropped one end of the rope, the other end having already been attached to the bars on the window. Squirnoy picked it up and rapidly teased out five long wires at the end of the rope. Turning back, he fastened the wires onto the harness Ivorai was wearing for the operation.

  “Apparel set,” Squirnoy said, showing three fingers, the Veridiawan version of a thumbs-up.

  Tygrum nodded and turned to Ivorai, who strained at the rope attached to his harness, the line shuddering in response. The rope stretched, twisted, and cracked noisily.

  Suddenly, the stick Ivorai was holding in his teeth snapped as one of the five ends of the rope attached to his harness broke loose, opening a wound on one of his legs. But the rest of the rope held strong, still cracking and twisting, until a sudden slack on the harness made the Veridiawan stumble. The iron bars had finally yielded, shooting off stones and dust.

  At once, Zainy—another flying Veridiawan warrior—dropped Commander Laida through the now unbarred window at the top of the tower. She landed inside on her feet, gripping a Veridiawan sword of jade.

  “This is a rescue operation, Doctor. We’ll get you out of here in no time. Hold this.” Laida unhooked an extracting harness from her belt. Doctor Oyhtter stood passively, glancing at her. He looked sloppy, not very surprised, and somewhat annoyed. Wasting no time, Laida approached him and started attaching the harness onto his body.

  “Once I have fixed this equipment, please stand in front of the window with your back against it.” Laida passed a strap across the scientist’s chest and fastened it tightly to his waist. “A flying Veridiawan soldier—Zeenthy—will lift you with this extraction-harness.” Laida pulled on the already fastened apparel. “You will be retrieved by air.”

  Turning to Laida, Oyhtter finally spoke up: “And you call this a rescue operation . . .”

  “Everything is well planned, Doctor,” Laida asserted as she fastened a second strap.

  “So, I figure you smart guys from the Navy have planned a way to carry my research material.” Oyhtter pointed at a heap of thick yellow sheets with writing on both sides. He had manufactured the sheets from the coat of a dry fruit, the only food his captors had given him during his stay at the tower.

  “Material?” added Laida, mainly focused on her work.

  “Yes, Commander, all this material, my work of three months.”

  Laida kept working without paying much attention to him.

  “This material is crucial for my project, which includes trying to stop this war of yours.”

  “I’ll be covering you when you are retrieved,” Laida continued. “After reaching the operational ceiling . . .”

  “And believe me, I will not leave this place without it,” Oyhtter reasserted, centered on his line of thought.

  At that point, Laida stopped working on the harness, stood up in front of the scientist, and narrowed her eyes. “Doctor Oyhtter, I’m part of a team of ten, assigned to this high-risk rescue operation. Now that we have reached our objective—namely you—you can bet we’re gonna get you out of here. We’ll do this with or without your cooperation. And concerning your material: forget about it.”

  Oyhtter was about to reply when a door built into the floor, the only access to the tower chamber, opened abruptly upward. A remarkably large hominid popped inside, wielding a hatchet with both hands. He barged up on Laida, clumsily, but she spun around, chopping his head with a clean thrust of her sword.

  “Now, Doctor, now!”

  Oyhtter ran towards the window, where Zeenthy grabbed him at once. A moment later, Zainy, the same Veridiawan that had taken her there, dived by the tower and snatched Laida away.

  Stress and fatigue could readily be traced on the eyes of the two flying Veridiawan warriors. Very different was the smug expression of Doctor Oyhtter: under his right arm, he was carrying his precious stack of yellow sheets.

  Though it seemed an endless getaway, within seconds the team was beyond the fortress’ moat. Along with the catapults that had started throwing projectiles, some archers on the city walls began shooting arrows. Even an improvised small Creption intercepting squad was now taking to the air. But the retrieving convoy was disappearing rapidly inside the lower clouds.

  After a few minutes of flying inside the foggy ocean of freezing droplets, tension started to slack, and Laida began feeling very cold. She was now trying to make visual contact with Doctor Oyhtter, but he was far ahead, carried by Zeenthy.

  The operation had been somewhat out of bounds. Many things could have gone wrong. For success, the enemy was assumed to behave “as expected” in too many instances, contravening standard military procedures.

  Drifting away from her mission, Laida began to grow concerned about O’sihn and the rest of the team fighting in the valley. They only had rudimentary weapons and were still not fully acclimated to the conditions of the planet. And what about Tygrum and the others? Had they finally managed to get back into the tunnel the Veridiawans had been drilling for weeks? To involve someone like Ivorai in a job like that . . . It was true that no one else in the village had the strength to remove the bars, but to expect he would pass unnoticed still seemed insane to Laida. Yet, she had backed the idea at the war council. She felt uncomfortable about that.

  Laida blew into her hands, trying to warm her fingers through the wet fabric of her Veridiawan gloves.

  “Are you okay, bear-Commander?”29 Zainy asked, laying his beak down on his chest.

  “I am,” Laida said, breathing through her gloves.

  “We still have some flying to do, but . . . I think we’ve made it, bear-Commander.”

  Laida looked up. The Veridiawan warrior looked definitively more at ease than a few minutes before.

  “Yes,” Laida added, “I hope we’ve all made it.”

  16.

  Raylayhiagus stumbled and rolled to the ground, casting his two riders over his head. Clara fell on her back, all the time holding onto an unconscious Duncan and preventing him from further harm. It had been a painful fall. She felt disoriented for a moment. Laying Duncan down on the muddy grass, Clara ran towards Raylayhiagus, who was lying immobile but conscious.

  “It was a hole, girl-Captain. I broke one leg.”

  Clara knelt by him and stroked his mane. “Don’t worry, Rayly, everything will be all right.”

  “You go help the boy-Dahncion, girl-Captain. People say he is a very important one.”

  “Never mind. I can take care of you both.”

  Three Veridiawan soldiers had been escorting them from the air since the last Creption attack. Two of them, Daihyouleeby and Jasiris, now landed beside Duncan, while Jasindon, the third of the party, remained in the air scouting for enemy activity. The three Veridiawans were large flying individuals, similar to Zeenthy and Zainy, who had been working with O’sihn’s team on the rescue operation.

  “What do we do now?” asked Jasiris, stepping towards Clara.

  “We are still far away from the village, but too close to the battlefield,” Clara said, gazing at Duncan as she brushed a lock of his hair.

  “Here come bear-Major Shoshuar and Antares, girl-Captain!” Jasindon yelled as he spotted the two soldiers approaching.

  “What happened?” Shoshuar touched Duncan’s forehead.

  “Nothing new with Dahncion,” Clara said, and gestured towards Raylayhiagus. “He has a broken leg.”

  “I’m fine, girl-Captain,” said the whymeenidy, a statement belying his exposed fracture.

  “You and Antares can stay here with Raylayhiagus,” Shoshuar
said. “I’ll take Dahncion back to the village.”

  “What?” Clara argued.

  “Antares will stay with you. We are too close to the battlefield,” Shoshuar explained. “It would be dangerous for you to stay here alone.”

  “Never mind Antares or me. You can’t carry the boy all the way back to the village.”

  “Girl-Captain, may I speak some words?” Daihyouleeby said.

  “Uh-huh,” Clara muttered, her eyes fixed on Shoshuar.

  “The village is still far away, and the Swamp Valley is very too close. But the Pine Hills are very close by, and in the Pine Hills there are many caves—big and long caves. You can all hide inside one cave. And while you are hidden inside one cave, I can fly fast to the village to find help.”

  Clara gazed at the injured Veridiawan warrior.

  “Don’t worry about me, girl-Captain. Very soon people from the village will come for me and will rescue me.”

  “We can’t leave you exposed to Creption terminating packs,” Clara said.

  “You take care of the boy-Dahncion, and I’ll take care of myself,” added Raylayhiagus. He was holding a broken spear in his teeth, to try to deal with the pain, somehow.

  “We’ll take care of both of you,” Shoshuar added. “We’ll put something together, and Antares and I will drag you out to those Pine caves.”

  “The caves of the Pine Hills,” restated Daihyouleeby.

  “Drag both Dahncion and Rayly to the caves?” Clara objected.

  “Why drag? Why both? Better fly them to the caves,” Jasiris stated. “The Pine Hills are very close by, and the boy-Dahncion is not very heavy. I can fly him there.”

  “And I can fly Raylayhiagus,” Jasindon howled from the air.

  “I am assigned to fight along and protect the boy-Dahncion,” Antares contested.