The Enemy of an Enemy

Chapter Fifteen

I was crouched behind a makeshift barricadefiring my wands for all they were worth. Bolts of energy wereflying all around us as the Greenskins advanced on our position.Humans were coming up behind them using portable shields to protectthemselves from our weapons. They fired through the ranks of theGreenskins, not seeming to care if they killed a few of them in theprocess. As they slowly approached it became evident that there wasno way to stop them. There were just too many of the Greenskins,and we could not penetrate the shields the humans were using.

A loud, gruff voice called out from behindme, “We will make our stand here! They will not reach the primarycomputer core! This far and no further will they come! Today theywill learn the true strength of an Imperial soldier!”

I recognized the voice to be that of GeneralTizar, head of the colony’s security forces. I knew we wereoutgunned and outnumbered, but still that brief speech helpedbolster my confidence and bravery. I looked over at Andreya who wasnext to me behind the barricade. “Andreya, remember the idea wetalked about a few months ago, the one where we combine ourpowers?”

“Yes, Darnath. Now is a good time to find outif it would work,” she replied.

“Indeed,” I replied. I put down my wands andfocused all my power on the approaching army of Greenskins. Idumped on them all my personal fear and feelings of helplessness. Iassaulted them mentally with all the power I could muster. Andreyaused her powers to alter the appearance of the Greenskins, makingthem think that we had rushed their line and were in amongst them.It worked beautifully. Their advance halted and they turned on eachother. The humans behind them were screaming out orders, trying toget control of the situation but the Greenskins were overcome byfear of each other and did not respond. Soon all of them weremassacred, bodies piled everywhere.

“Well done, Andreya,” I said.

“Thank you, but they still keep coming,” shesaid.

All the Greenskins were gone, but the humanskept advancing. Andreya and I were too drained to try anotherattack like we did to the Greenskins, so we grabbed up some wandsand fired for all we were worth. The shield line of humans justkept inching forward. It seemed we were doomed when a largeexplosion ripped through a section of wall between our position andthe advancing humans. Then suddenly all the bodies of theGreenskins lifted off the ground and flew right at the humans!

The last of my fellow Black Adders pouredthrough the breach in the wall wielding all their psionic powers inperfect unison. “Charge!” came the command and we all rushed forth.It was strange to follow flying bodies into battle, but theysucceeded in breaking through the shield wall. For the first timesince the invasion we were winning! As we reached the formerposition of the humans many of us ditched our wands and took up themore powerful staves that the enemy had recently started usingagainst us. Just when we thought we had them on the run, the othersappeared.

The Seven, as we took to calling them. Theyseemed to be the greatest of the Magi, and ruled over them. Theyjust stood in the middle of the corridor with no protection.“Shields!” came an order from someone, and everyone who couldgrabbed up shields from the fallen Magi and formed a wall with themin front of us. Just as we got our shield in place they started tofire. The shields held, but we had no opening to fire back. Itseemed we would be locked in this stalemate until the shieldsfinally gave out, but then one of the Seven stopped firing and spunhis staff around until it was vertical and while chanting slammedit into the ground. The force of that blow shook the veryfoundations of the colony and sent us flying. The shield wall wasbroken and they proceeded to pound us with their bolts. Screams ofdying people were all around me as I lifted a shield back intoplace and began to return fire. Soon others began to do the same,using the small area of safety I had created. One of thetelekinetics behind me started throwing shields at the Seven, buttwo of them successfully blocked everything thrown at them. Thenthe one in the front traced a semicircle towards us in the airwhile chanting. Suddenly an arc of energy leaped forward andslammed into us. I was thrown against the wall, and then everythingwent dark …

I gasped for breath as suddenly I was back inthe hollow with the Black Adders. The room was still spinning abit, and my body ached from where I had been hit during the battle… but it was not I who had fought that battle, it was Darnath. Mymind reeled, and when I got my senses back I looked at everyoneagain. I felt as if I knew them better. I recognized all of themfrom that fight. They had all been there by my side; well, byDarnath’s side. “Oh, wow … I feel as if I was there,” I said.

“Yes, sir. I gave you a copy of my memory ofthe event, so in a way you were there. You experienced everythingthat I did, and know everything that I know about that battle,”said Darnath.

“What happened after that?” I asked. I neededto know more.

“Well, sir, I was the first to recover,”started Kellyn. “I heard sounds of fighting further down the hall,but knew I had to tend to the wounded first. I could only find fiveother survivors. I treated their wounds as best I could there inthe hallway. I was not able to do much before more of the Magi cameback and found us. Jerran ordered us to run as he opened fire witha staff he had recovered. To everyone’s surprise he did not shootat the Magi, but rather the wall next to them. This ruptured theside of the colony and opened the chamber to the outsideatmosphere, sucking the Magi out in the process. We were far enoughaway to be saved by one of the colony’s airlocks, which slid shutand kept us alive. From there we worked our way back to the centralcomputer core, hoping to unite with anyone that was left. By thetime we reached it the battle was over. There was nothing butbodies and pieces of bodies everywhere. We tried to find …” At thatpoint she broke down crying. Andreya did her best to comfort her,and everyone was quiet for a while.

“Black Adders, I am greatly impressed andproud to know you. General Tizar was right; you showed them what anImperial soldier really is: strong, unwavering, loyal and fearless.You kept fighting, even when it was obvious you could not win. Evennow, months later, you are still fighting. You could have given uplong ago, but instead you held out. First it was to get informationto Tom and his forces, then to my squad and now finally you areattempting to get to the gate and cut off all hope of retreat bythe Magi.” I paused and looked them over, then said, “As rankingbattlefield officer I hereby award you all with the Medal of Honor.You are without question some of the finest men and women thisEmpire has ever produced!”

They all looked stunned, but squared theirshoulders. A little bit of pride and strength seemed to creep backinto them. “Now then, let’s clean up this camp and get to thatgate.” More than ever I wanted to get them safely off this rock. Ilooked at Darnath and asked, “Did you detect any indication thatthey suspected I was not alone?”

“No, sir. As far as we can tell, your planworked. They think it is still only you,” he responded.

“Good. So they must know there are only threelogical places for me to go: the central computer, the exit hatchor the gate. They might assume I do not know about the gate, butthat would be a foolish risk. They do not strike me as the type totake unnecessary risks, so we should assume the gate will beguarded and watched. Major Jerran, can you take us around to theopposite side of the gate from the storeroom that we just camefrom?” I asked. “That might put us behind their defenses.”

“Yes, sir, but that will add at least an hourto the walk. From here I would estimate four or five hours until wereach the gate,” was his reply.

“Fine. Take us that way and stop us about anhour before the gate for a final rest and preparations,” I ordered.As I leaned on my right arm in an attempt to stand, a blinding painshot through me causing me to fall back to the ground where I wassitting.

Darnath noticed immediately and asked, “Sir,what’s wrong?”

“Aah, I think I dislocated my shoulder, I amnot sure how. No matter; if you will just help me pop it back in, Iwill be fine to travel,” I said through gritted teeth.

Then Kellyn came over, smiled at me and said,“Sir, just relax. This won’t hurt a bit.” I doubted that her petiteframe could support enough muscle power to readjust my shoulder,but even more I doubted that it would not hurt! Ah, well, I hadbetter cooperate; she was, after all, their medic. She knelt infront of me and closed her eyes, placed her right hand behind myshoulder, and pressed her left hand ever so gently on the front ofmy shoulder. I assumed that she was about to examine it, but then Ifelt warmth passing between her hands and moving through my body.Her hands had a faint pink glow about them, as if they weregenerating the heat themselves, and instinctively I wanted to jerkaway, but I was paralyzed by her touch. I felt my bones move andshift back into place. She then looked up directly into my eyes andI felt a connection that I had never known before. Instantly it wasas if she could see through to my inner most being and I could seehers. Hers was a beautiful pool of color that shimmered constantly,but I feared what she saw in mine. I knew what was there. A look ofhorror passed over her face, and then it was replaced by stubborndetermination. She started to say something, but before she couldspeak Darnath warned us that a Magi scan was nearing us. Fearingshe would not be able to react in time, I quickly reached out toher, pulled her close to my body and envisioned my thought shieldexpanding to surround both of us. I got it up barely in time, amere second before the light from the scan passed over us.

Once it passed, I tried to stand but got verylight-headed, and once more fell to the ground. This time Kellynwas there to slow my fall. “Now what is wrong with me?” Iasked.

“Sir, you overextended yourself by hiding mefrom the scan,” answered Kellyn, who started digging in herpack.

“Sir, from what you have told us I assume youhaven’t used your powers very much before coming here, and sincecoming here you have been using them non-stop. That alone would bepushing your mental strength to the limit, but then to extend yourshield to cover Kellyn …well, until just a minute ago I thoughtthat was impossible. It must have been very difficult, and it hasexhausted you,” stated Darnath.

“Here, sir. This will help clear your head abit,” said Kellyn as she handed me what looked like a bar ofchocolate.

“Candy?” I asked.

“Yes, sir. We discovered a while back thatthere is a chemical compound that your body depletes as you useyour powers. We can manufacture it, but it tastes horrible. So Iprefer to disguise it in candy. It is no substitute for a good mealand rest, but it will help you get by until we can manage that,”answered Kellyn.

After eating the candy bar, I did feel betterand was able to stand. “Amazing, my arm feels like it was neverhurt. No wonder they call you a master healer!” I said. “But how inthe world did I get hurt in the first place?”

“Sorry, sir, I should have known that wouldhappen,” started Darnath. “When I transferred my memory of thebattle to you, your mind completely re-enacted the fight. For mostpeople that is the extent of it, but for those of us who are morepsychically sensitive, the re-enactment often extends to themuscles. You see, when I hit that wall I broke my collarbone, sowhen that happened your body must have had a muscle spasm whichthrew your shoulder out of joint.”

“I see. Well, since that is now all behindus, let’s get moving,” I said. I was not sure how I felt about whathad just happened, not only with my shoulder but also with Kellyn.For the moment I would just move on to the next step and put itaway to think about later. I noticed that Kellyn began walking muchcloser to me after our encounter. She seemed a bit worried aboutme. I wanted to blame her concern on my recent collapse, but theimage burned into my mind was that look of horror I had seen on herface. She saw something when she fixed my shoulder that had hervery worried about me. There was only one thing that I could thinkof which that might be, but surely she did not think she couldfight the dark figure who waited for me?