Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles 1: Wizard Defiant (14 page)

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Richard materialized in a small cavern with several tunnels leading off in various directions. It was dark, but Richard had no trouble seeing with his battle suit’s night vision equipment. What he saw sent a shiver of fear down his spine. Two large hulks of decaying flesh were moving in his direction with their arms outstretched and a promise of death in their glowing eyes.

Richard raised his M63 lightweight plasma assault rifle as he flicked off the safety.

No!
said Nickelo.
Keep it silent, or we’ll be swarmed by everything within a thousand meters.

Reacting quickly without thinking was Richard’s strong point. He dropped the M63 with his right hand as he drew his phase rod with his left. He flicked the activate switch, and the meter long length of brerellium was thrust out of the handle. He did not move the lever to destructive. He did not want to risk giving away his position, plus he thought just using the phase rod as a club would serve his purpose.

Richard stepped to the left and swung the phase rod at the knee of the closest creature. The weight of the phase rod combined with the strength of the battle suit broke the monstrosity’s leg. As it fell heavily to the cavern floor, Richard swung a second blow at the creature’s head. It cracked open like a ripe fruit. Richard started a third swing at the creature’s companion. Before Richard’s blow could connect, the second creature grabbed Richard’s arm and jerked him into its chest.

The second creature held Richard in a bear hug. The creature opened its mouth and bit at Richard’s neck. Richard felt the pressure of the bite, but the creature’s rotting teeth were insufficient to penetrate the battle suit’s tough armor. Richard raised his right leg and grabbed for his boot knife. There was nothing there. Shifting tactics, he fell on his back and rammed both knees into the creature’s stomach. Although the force of the blow had no effect on the creature, the maneuver did break the creature’s hold. Rolling out from under the creature, Richard swung the phase rod at its head. The first blow glanced off as the creature lunged towards Richard, but Richard quickly followed up the first blow with three more strikes. The creature’s skull finally cracked on the third blow, and it stopped moving.

Crap
, Richard said as he visually surveyed the cavern to insure no more of the decaying nightmares were nearby. His passive scan confirmed the next nearest life form was at least fifty meters away, and it was stationary. Richard noticed other Power readings farther out. There were a lot more life forms in this tunnel system than there had been in the other two. Fortunately, all of the Power readings picked up by his passive scan were stationary.

Richard deactivated his phase rod, and the metallic length retracted back into the handle. He hooked it back to its place on the left side of his utility belt. He picked up his M63 lightweight plasma assault rifle from where he had dropped it. Walking back towards the two motionless creatures, Richard kept the M63 pointed at them ready to flick the safety off in a hurry.

The two creatures were a third again taller than Richard, and they probably weighed twice as much. They would have weighed more, but large chunks of flesh were missing from parts of their body exposing some of their bones. Richard was thankful his suit was sealed. He could only imagine the stench of their rotting flesh.

What are these things, Nick?

They’re undead, Rick
, said Nickelo.
These two appear to be corpses of a variety of large orcs. Rick, feed me your passive scan, and I will make an analysis and put the results on your heads-up display.

Richard did as requested, and within seconds, a portion of his heads-up display illuminated with various colors of dots.

What am I looking at?
Richard asked.
It’s just a confusing mass of lights.

Sorry about that, Rick. It’s the best I can do until we get our shared space. You have a hundred and ninety-seven Power concentrations within a two hundred meter radius. Most are undead like the two you just fought. I’m not too worried about them. Without advanced weapons or magic, they probably can’t penetrate your armor. But those twelve red dots on your screen are alive and kicking. They’re magic users of some type. Not sure if they are humanoids, but if they can use magic, they could be dangerous. You haven’t had enough training with defensive shields yet to make putting up one worthwhile. Even a low-level magic user could be a threat if you don’t strike the first blow.

Great
, Richard said.
Do you have any good news?

What makes you think that wasn’t the good news?
said Nickelo laughing.

Not funny
, Richard said.

Okay
, said Nickelo
. I do have one bit of good news. I think it would be all right to fully activate your phase rod. It can only be detected at short ranges. It should make quick work of these undead. It would be a lot better than trying to bash their heads using strength alone.

Why didn’t you tell me earlier?
Richard said.
That second piece of rotting flesh and bone tried to bite my neck. The thought of it still gives me the creeps.

I didn’t have time to tell you, Rick. We don’t have a shared space. Communication just takes too long right now to try and explain things during the heat of combat. I’d just distract you. But, let’s leave that aside for now. What are we going to do? And please don’t insult
‘the One’
again. Things get worse each time you do. Not only are you missing your 9mm, you’re now missing your knife as well. The next time, it could be your M63 or your phase rod, or even worse, what if he decides to take your battle suit? And even if he doesn’t, the situation keeps getting worse. He dumped you into a fight with two undead this time. What if it’s a score next time with some magic users thrown in for good luck?

I hear you, Nick
, Richard said.
I’m not a complete idiot. And our mission has increased. We now have to map it, find it, and give it. Whatever ‘it’ is.

Rick, my recommendation is the same as before. Keep your best stealth shield up and move as silently as possible. I’ll map the area. I hesitate to have you try an active scan or use the suit’s electronics until we know more. And, please avoid contact whenever possible. Remember, you’re a wizard scout. Your mission is to recon. It’s not to fight. If you do encounter trouble, try to use your phase rod. An M63 lightweight plasma assault rifle is too noisy. Your .44 AutoMag is even worse. They are for desperate situations only. Agreed?

Agreed, Nick
, Richard said.
How long do you think this mission will take?

It will take as long as it takes, Rick. It will take a lot longer here than it would have in that first tunnel. But, you’re fully sealed, so you could survive for years on recycled water and nutrients if necessary.

Years
? Richard said.

I doubt it will come to that, Rick. Let’s just get started, and we’ll see how things go.

*       *       *

The going was slow. Richard had always thought a battle computer was the servant of a wizard scout. He’d assumed the wizard scout said ‘jump’, and the battle computer asked ‘how far?’ However, Nickelo didn’t see it that way. He was merciless in his nagging to make Richard be cautious. ‘
Move here. Stop. Wait. Quiet. Okay, move.
’ It never ended. Richard would have rebelled, but one thing kept him from doing so. He knew his battle computer was right. Nickelo was just trying to keep him alive.

They moved cautiously in the tunnels for two full days. Finally, Nickelo relented enough in his caution in that he allowed Richard to use an active scan occasionally to supplement his passive scans. Their mapping went a lot quicker after that. Even so, Richard tried to use active scans sparingly. They used Power. Since his best stealth shield used more Power than his regeneration rate, he needed to use his Power efficiently. Richard thought Chief Instructor Winslow would be proud of him.

They had first appeared in the lowest level of an extensive labyrinth of deep, underground tunnels. Most of the inhabitants were undead of various kinds. Zombies such as those Richard had fought were in abundance. They were plentiful, but thankfully, they weren’t intelligent. As Nickelo explained it, the zombies reacted to changes in their environment. Any noise or movement would cause them to react. Almost every tunnel intersection had a few zombies as guards. Richard knew he wouldn’t have been able to move about on his own without discovery. At first, Nickelo was able to guide Richard in skirting any guards. Richard figured the technique wouldn’t work forever. He was right. They eventually came upon a major intersection with a full dozen zombies guarding it.

Can we go around them?
Richard said.

Not this time, Rick. But, I have a plan that will probably get us past them without discovery. You’ll need to trust me though.

I trust you, Nick. Heck. You’ve kept me alive so far. Why should I stop trusting you now?

Good
, said Nickelo.
Then give me full control of your battle suit. You’ll need to override the safeties again like that first time with the suit.

Richard got a queasy feeling in his stomach.
I almost died that first time, Nick. As I remember it, you refused to unseal the battle suit even when I ordered you to.

True
, said Nickelo.
That’s why it’s called an override. You overrode the default safeties and allowed me to take full control of the battle suit. I need you to do that again. You can trust me. I trusted you enough to volunteer to be embedded in your battle helmet, didn’t I? And, I have to go wherever you take me regardless of the danger. Won’t you trust me a little in return?

Richard thought about it a full minute. Nickelo kept quiet, which was unusual to say the least. That more than anything told Richard how important his battle computer’s request was. Finally, he agreed, even though he was not enthusiastic about it.

As soon as Richard thought the command to override the safeties, Richard found he could no longer control the battle suit. He began to panic with a feeling of suppressed claustrophobia. Before Richard could protest, he felt a needle insert itself in his arm as a cool liquid was injected into his vein.

What was that?
Richard demanded.

Your breathing and heart rate were increasing rapidly
, said Nickelo.
I had the suit give you an anti-anxiety drug to help you keep calm. There won’t be any side effects. Trust me. It’s a standard-issue drug for a wizard scout’s battle suit.

I don’t like drugs
, Richard said.
Please ask me next time.

Roger that, oh wizard scout supreme
, said Nickelo.

Richard hated to admit it, but the drug did help. He was able to observe and think logically without letting his emotions get in the way. From what he could tell, Nickelo was moving the battle suit so slowly that it appeared not to be moving at all. Richard knew he could never have moved the suit that slowly on his own. Nickelo took a full thirty minutes to walk the battle suit across the tunnel intersection. Richard was just along for the ride. They passed within an arm’s length of a half dozen zombies without incident. It was a strange experience, but as Nickelo told him, it was better than having to fight and risk detection.

Once they were out of sight of the intersection, Nickelo returned control of the battle suit to Richard. They were forced to use the same method a dozen times that day. The population of the tunnels appeared to get denser in the higher levels. The types of undead also changed. The lowest levels had been inhabited mostly by zombies. While the upper levels had their share of zombies, they also had an intelligent form of undead. On one occasion, Richard was forced to dispatch two greyish humanoids with vicious looking fangs. There were tough, but the phase rod made quick work of them.

What were they?
Richard asked as he eyed a scratch mark on the forearm of his battle suit.
Those claws were sharp.

They’re called ghouls
, said Nickelo.
You’re lucky you’re wearing armor. Their claws and fangs have a paralysis poison. My databanks indicate ghouls first paralyze their victims. Then they take their sweet time devouring them. I don’t know about you, but it makes me glad I’m not flesh and blood.

Lucky you
, Richard said.

You know, Rick. Things would have been easier for us if we had just accepted the original mission. I have a feeling your stubbornness is going to get us in a lot of trouble in the years ahead.

You can just about bet on it
, Richard said with a laugh. He actually thought Nickelo was being a little optimistic by thinking they might have years of life ahead of them.

They continued mapping the lower tunnels for the rest of the day. Late in the afternoon, as they were traveling down a long tunnel, Nickelo said,
Rick, back up a few steps. Does that right wall seem strange to you?

Richard did as Nickelo asked and backed up a couple of steps. The right wall looked the same as the rest of the tunnel to him. He said as much.