Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles 1: Wizard Defiant (5 page)

Boom!

The white flash from the exploding battery blinded Richard. When his vision cleared, he looked at the holo-square. The pack of creatures had been decimated, and the few remaining ones still on their feet were staggering around barely able to walk. Apparently cadet 147 had been blown off the boulder. He was just rising to a standing position when Richard’s vision cleared. Once cadet 147 was on his feet, he walked around the boulder and began putting the dazed creatures out of their misery with well-placed shots from his blaster. It was over in less than a minute, and not a single creature had touched 147.

The cadets surrounding the holo-square began cheering, and Richard joined in enthusiastically. He didn’t mind that 147 had used his trick with the phase rod’s isotopic battery. After all, imitation was the highest form of flattery as far as Richard was concerned.

The hologram ended, and cadet 147 exited the holo-square. By this time, all the remaining teams had joined the crowd in time to see 147’s victory. The noise from the cadets was deafening. Richard glanced at TAC Officer Myers. His mouth was clenched tight, and his eyes seemed to blaze as 147 walked past, but he said nothing. When 147 got even with Richard, his ex-platoon sergeant gave him a wink and a smile.

“Thanks for the idea,” 147 said as he passed by.

“That’s enough” said TAC Officer Myers.

The cheering stopped as if it had been cut off with a switch.

“For those of you who just joined us,” said TAC Officer Myers. “This is a fully functional holo-square. That means the force beams are designed to simulate the actions and strength of the things being depicted in the hologram. Whether it’s a blaster round, an explosion, the effects of a phase rod, or the bite of some creature, the force beams insure the damage accurately emulates actual combat conditions. It’s all controlled by computers through the tele-network.”

“You cadets not on 147’s team were fortunate,” said TAC Officer Myers, “because your holo-squares were set at one fourth power for today’s training. That percentage will be increased in the months ahead as your level of training increases. Eventually, you will be training in holo-squares at one hundred percent emulation. Cadets can, and have, died during holo-square training. I doubt your cohort will be an exception.”

The cadets remained silent.

“For demonstration purposes,” said TAC Officer Myers, “this team’s holo-square is at full power. In keeping with ‘cadet 832 day’, I have a special challenge for cadet 832. I was going to provide cadet 832 with a phase rod for his training scenario. However, since cadet 147 demonstrated how a phase rod’s battery can be used as a last-ditch explosive device, I’ve changed the scenario. I would highly recommend in the future none of you follow 147’s example. Any cadet doing so during future training scenarios will immediately be D.F.R.’d. To insure cadet 832 is not tempted to so use his phase rod, he will be provided with a slightly lower-tech offensive weapon.”

Richard thought he saw an evil grin on TAC Officer Myers’ face as he said, “Enter the holo-square, cadet 832. That is, unless you’d like to turn in your D.F.R. right now.”

Richard did not bother replying as he walked towards the holo-square’s entrance.

“You can do it, 832!” said 147.

“Damn right, you can!” said cadet 303 who had rejoined the team earlier.

“You’re relieved of command, 303!” said TAC Officer Myers. “Cadets do not curse. You will report to the TAC officer on duty tonight for punishment. Cadet 147, you will report for punishment for the rest of the week. Cadet 422, you’re now acting platoon sergeant.”

“Sir! Yes, sir,” said the three cadets in unison.

_______________________

As soon as Richard stepped into the holo-square, the scenery of hill 3025 was replaced by a desert landscape. Richard had never been in a holo-square before, and he was amazed by the realism. The heat from the hot desert sun blazing overhead was overpowering. He could even feel bits of sand blown about by the wind hitting his face. Richard began to appreciate the tension the other cadets must have been experiencing during their training sessions.

Richard saw no evidence of the cadets he knew ringed the holo-square’s perimeter, nor could he see any of the holo-square’s posts. As far as he could discern, the desert stretched out for kilometers in all directions. Richard turned in a full circle to view the horizon. Not a living thing could be seen anywhere. He did notice a glint of light from a spot in the sand a few meters from his position. Richard walked over and kicked at the sand. He saw a leather wrapped handle. Reaching down, Richard drew a short sword out of the loose sand. The blade of the sword was about the length of his forearm and as wide at the base as three of his fingers. The sword was unadorned and plain. Richard lightly touched the edge of the blade with his thumb. He drew blood. The sword was razor sharp.

What the hell has Myers gotten me into?
Richard thought.
I’m obviously in a different place than the others. Will I be facing the same creatures?

Richard tried to listen for the sounds of any howls, but he heard nothing other than the blowing wind. Next, he concentrated on his surroundings with his mind. He could not sense any living creatures, but he did ‘see’ flows of energy around him.

I wonder if it’s the holo-square’s force beams?

He wasn’t sure, but as he continued to concentrate, Richard noticed several energy flows merging together at a point to his right. He took a few hesitant steps in the direction of the merged energy. As he walked, he noticed two horn-like objects begin to slowly rise out of the sand. He stopped.

“What the hell is that?” Richard said aloud in bewilderment. They looked like the horns of a bull to Richard, but if they were, they belonged to the biggest bull he’d ever seen. The sand around the horns shifted, and the head of a brown bull protruded from the sand. Richard began backing up as fast as he could while still facing the emerging creature. The bull’s horns and head were soon followed by a massive human chest and arms clad in ring mail. With a leap, the creature cleared the sand. The nightmarish creature reminded Richard of an old Earth legend called a Minotaur. Unlike a Minotaur, this monster before him was twice the height of a man. Also, its legs were scaled like a lizard’s, and dagger like claws protruded from its feet. The Minotaur reached into the sand near its feet and pulled out a mace with a handle as long as Richard was tall. The spiked ball at the end of the handle looked as if it must have weighed half again as much as Richard.

The Minotaur turned towards Richard and raised its mace in its massive right hand.

“Die!” it yelled.

“The hell with this,” Richard said as he turned and ran as fast as he could. He braced himself to hit the sides of the holo-square, but he continued to run much farther than the thirty meter width of the holo-square without interruption.

How the hell does this thing work?
Richard wondered.

He assumed the force beams of the holo-square must somehow be making him run in a circle, but he felt nothing strange. As far as he could determine, he was running in a straight line for all he was worth. But he was too slow. Richard heard the Minotaur quickly closing the gap between them. He knew he could not outrun the monster. Fatalistically, Richard turned to face the Minotaur.

The Minotaur was closer than Richard had thought. As soon as Richard turned, he saw the creature swinging its mace in a downward stroke. Richard stepped to the left, deftly dodging the blow. Richard swung his sword at one of the Minotaur’s arms, but the sword blade glanced off the creature’s ring mail. The Minotaur pulled its mace out of the sand in preparation for another stroke. Richard took a step past the Minotaur, and he chopped at the back of the Minotaur’s ankle hoping to sever its tendon. Richard’s sword bounced off the thick-lizard skin covering the ankle without doing noticeable damage.

With a sideward swing of its mace, the Minotaur caught Richard in the side. However, Richard was too close to the Minotaur for the head of the mace to make contact. Instead, the wooden handle of the mace slammed into Richard’s ribs. Richard was able to give a little with the blow, thus partially canceling its effects, but even so, he was thrown half a dozen steps through the air. The sand cushioned his fall somewhat, but Richard still felt a burning ache in his side. He knew cracked ribs when he felt them.

Richard jumped to his feet. He did his best to ignore the pain in his side. He turned his back on the Minotaur and ran into the wind a dozen steps. Richard dropped to his knees and gathered two large handfuls of sand. He made a quick turn and flung the sand up into the air towards the Minotaur. The wind caught the sand and blew it into the eyes of the charging beast. Momentarily blinded, the Minotaur raised one hand to its face in an attempt to clear its eyes. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Richard made a double-handed blow at the Minotaur’s exposed kneecap. Once again, Richard’s sword blade bounced harmlessly off the Minotaur’s thick-lizard skin.

“Damn!” Richard cursed.

Still partially blinded, the Minotaur kicked at Richard. The sharp talons on its feet came straight at Richard’s unprotected belly. He jumped above the Minotaur’s foot and grabbed hold of its leg. The momentum of the creature’s kick flung Richard through the air, but he was able to roll as he hit the ground. A flash of pain was a forceful reminder that his ribs were still cracked.

The Minotaur made three quick strikes with its mace at Richard, but he was able to dodge the heavy weapon. The Minotaur tried a change of tactics and lowered its head and charged. Again Richard sidestepped, however, the tip of one of the Minotaur’s horns grazed Richard’s belly leaving a bloody gash. Thankfully, the wound was not deep even though it felt like a red-hot poker had been laid across his stomach. Richard gave a groan of pain. As the Minotaur rushed by, Richard swung his sword across the monster’s nose hoping it was a sensitive area. Richard’s blow bounced harmlessly off the monster’s snout.

What the hell?
Richard thought.
Isn’t there any place on that blasted beast this sword will penetrate?

Richard knew his time was running out. His breathing was labored from the combined effects of the cracked ribs, exertion, and the hot desert sun. Also, he was losing blood from the cut on his belly. It was only a matter of time before the Minotaur’s mace found its mark. Richard decided to take a gamble. His sole hope was that the holo-square’s creation complied with the basic laws of nature.

When the Minotaur swung its mace in a mighty downward blow, Richard stepped inside the blow and ducked between the legs of the Minotaur. It wore ring mail on its chest, but it had no leggings. As he passed underneath the monster, Richard rammed his sword up with all his strength into the crevice of the Minotaur’s buttocks. The sword point found its mark and slid half its length into the monster’s rectum. Blood and dark bile gushed out. The Minotaur gave an agonizing roar. As Richard passed between the legs, he pulled his sword out and swung himself up onto the Minotaur’s back as it kneeled over in pain. Richard scrambled to the creature’s head and wrapped one arm around its thick neck. Jamming the point of his sword into the Minotaur’s eye, he pulled back on the sword like a crowbar. The Minotaur’s eye popped out in a fountain of blood.

Doubly wounded, the Minotaur fell on its back. Richard rolled off the Minotaur before it hit the ground in order to avoid being crushed. He was up in a flash. Diving for the creature’s head, Richard plunged his sword into the Minotaur’s empty eye socket. The razor-sharp blade sunk into the Minotaur’s brain. It made one final roar. It shuddered. Then it was still.

Richard rose from the ground while holding his side. He raised his sword in preparation for another attack in case the training scenario wasn’t completed. He needn’t have worried. As he looked around, the desert landscape melted away. It was replaced by the green grass of hill 3025. Richard saw his fellow cadets beyond the posts of the holo-square.

With arms raised, the cadets chanted, “8-3-2! 8-3-2! 8-3-2!”

Richard limped out of the holo-square with one hand holding his side and the other holding his belly in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He looked over at the control console. TAC Officer Myers did not look please.

TAC Officer Myers growled, “You cursed, 832. Cadets do not curse. You will report for extra duty tonight.”

Whatever
, Richard thought disgustedly.

_______________________________________

The two medics stood waiting in the corner of the tent while TAC Officer Shatstot examined Richard’s wounds. Richard noticed several of his fellow cadets glancing inside while they waited in line at the mess tent.

“It doesn’t look so bad,” said TAC Officer Shatstot with an almost friendly smile. “I’ll have you fixed up in no time.” For a TAC Officer, Richard didn’t think TAC Officer Shatstot was too bad. He was almost human sometimes. Of course, he would ream a cadet a new butthole if they screwed up. Still, he rarely went out of his way to devise new tortures for the overstressed cadets. That counted as being human in Richard’s book.

“Sir! Thank you, sir,” Richard said.

Richard sensed a line of Power snake out from TAC Officer Shatstot. The line forked into two smaller lines with one moving towards Richard’s stomach and the other towards his cracked ribs. When the first of the Power lines touched Richard, he felt a response from his own Power which normally stayed well-hidden deep within him. His Power snapped out and intercepted the two lines from TAC Officer Shatstot. Richard felt a sudden shock when the two Power sources made contact. He involuntarily jumped back in his seat. TAC Officer Shatstot must have felt something too, because he came up out of his seat and took a step back.

“What the hell?” said TAC Officer Shatstot. “What’d you do that for? I’m trying to heal you, 832.”

“Sir! Cadet 832 didn’t mean to do anything, sir,” Richard said.

“Are you telling me you didn’t feel that?”

“Sir! Yes, sir,” Richard assured the scowling TAC officer, “but I didn’t do anything intentionally. It just happened, sir.”

“Hmmm,” said TAC Officer Shatstot as he sat back down. “Let’s try that again. And make very sure you don’t do anything. Don’t even try to not do anything. Just sit there and do nothing.”

“Sir! Yes, sir,” Richard said. “I mean, I won’t do or not do anything, sir.” He wasn’t exactly sure how you could try to not try to do anything, but he would give it his best shot.

TAC Officer Shatstot unhooked his flattened battle helmet from the left rear of his utility belt. When he placed the helmet on his head, the reddish glow of a force field lowered until it was even with the tip of his nose. TAC Officer Shatstot sat back down and looked at Richard for several seconds while he probed Richard’s side with his fingers. Richard winced once when TAC Officer Shatstot touched a particularly painful spot.

“Sorry,” TAC Officer Shatstot said. Then he remained silent as if conferring with someone in private. After a few more seconds, Richard sensed a line of Power emerge from his TAC officer. It was faint and wispy. Richard was barely able to keep track of it. The line of Power kept fading and shifting, almost as if it was trying to hide itself. Eventually, Richard sensed the smallest sliver of Power touch his side. His Power tingled in response, but it did not react as it had before. Instead, his Power seemed to form a barrier which gently pushed TAC Officer Shatstot’s Power away.

“Well, that’s interesting,” said TAC Officer Shatstot as his line of Power withdrew back into him. “Apparently, you’re a resistor.”

“Sir! I’m a what, sir?” Richard said more than a little confused. The pain in his side and the blood dripping onto the ground from his belly wasn’t helping him grasp the situation any better.

“A resistor,” said TAC Officer Shatstot. “It means your Power is attuned to defensive shields and will automatically try to repel attempts to use Power on you. That includes active probes, and unfortunately for you, attempts to use healing Power on you.” After a pause, TAC Officer Shatstot said, “Why didn’t you tell me you were a resistor? You were bound to have been told when you were tested during your application process.”

“Sir! Cadet 832 was never tested, sir.”

“What?” said TAC Officer Shatstot. “That’s not possible.”

“Oh, it’s possible,” said a gruff voice from the doorway of the tent.

Richard looked over and saw TAC Officer Myers glowering at him.

“Cadet 832 is special,” said TAC Officer Myers. “Apparently, he’s got high-level friends who got him into the Academy without being tested.”

Richard didn’t bother protesting. The only thing it would accomplish was getting him more extra duty.

“So, what’s up?” said TAC Officer Myers.

“It seems cadet 832 is a resistor,” said TAC Officer Shatstot. “I won’t be able to heal him.”

TAC Officer Myers gave a snort. “It figures. So, cadet 832, you can’t even be healed without screwing it up. You are by far the most pathetic cadet to ever disgrace the Academy.”

Richard remained silent.

TAC Officer Shatstot stood up and motioned to the two medics. “He’s all yours, guys. I can’t do anything for him.”

The medics knelt beside Richard and began working on his belly wound. One medic sprayed an antiseptic on the wound while the other pulled out a tube of plastic skin. Once the wound was cleansed, the second medic pushed the torn flesh together as he squeezed a thick line of plastic skin on the injury. Plastic skin was not only an adhesive it was a sealant as well. It also accelerated the healing process. Once satisfied with their handiwork, the medics began taping up his side.

“There’s not much we can do for cracked ribs,” said one of the medics. “We’ll tape your side up to provide some stability, but it’s going to bother you for a couple of weeks. You’ll need to take it easy.”

“Good luck with that one,” said TAC Officer Shatstot.

Richard hadn’t realized his TAC officer was still in the tent. A quick glance confirmed that at least TAC Officer Myers was no longer in the vicinity. He would temporarily be spared additional caustic remarks from Myers.

“Sir! Cadet 832 will be fine. Sir!”

“No, you won’t be fine,” said TAC Officer Shatstot. “Things are going to get a lot tougher now that you’re an actual Academy cadet.”

Richard unconsciously groaned. The last two years of pre-Academy training had been the toughest time of his life, baring his actual combat time of course.

“The Empire is going to start spending a lot of credits on you cadets now,” said TAC Officer Shatstot. “Our job as TAC officers is to weed out any remaining cadets who can’t handle the rigors of advanced wizard scout training. We need to do that before the Empire invests too heavily in you.”

Richard wasn’t sure if he was supposed to say anything or not, so he stayed silent. That tactic usually had the highest chance of not getting him in trouble. As he waited for the TAC officer’s next move, the medics excused themselves and left the tent.

“Having you as an unregistered resistor will cause us a little bit of a quandary,” said TAC Officer Shatstot.

“Sir! Sorry, sir,” Richard said. Then before he could help himself, he asked, “Is being a resistor bad, sir?”

TAC Officer Shatstot gave a low chuckle. “Not if you like to work by yourself. Resistors are normally given the deep-recon missions. I don’t mean the one hundred, five hundred, or even five thousand kilometer missions behind enemy lines. I mean they are given the recon missions that are light years behind enemy lines. As a wizard scout with resistor abilities, you might be the only Empire soldier on an enemy planet a score of light years away from friendly lines. Does that sound like something you’d be interested in, cadet 832?”

“Sir! Not really, sir.”

TAC Officer Shatstot gave a louder chuckle this time. “Well, at least you’re honest. But if by some miracle you graduate, you might not have any choice. However, you have a more immediate problem. Resistors are supposed to be identified during application testing and registered as such. Since resistors can’t be healed by other wizard scouts, they are given early training in self-healing. You’re two years behind the curve, and I guarantee you that you and every other cadet in your cohort are going to get seriously injured more than once in the coming months and years. The only thing that will help you all stay alive is the healing abilities of your TAC officers. Unfortunately, as a resistor, if you can’t self-heal, you’re out of luck.”

“Sir! May this cadet ask a question, sir?”

“Fire away,” said TAC Officer Shatstot.

“Sir! I’m pretty sure the Commandant used a scan of some type on me when I was in his office the other day. My Power didn’t react to him, sir.”

“Ha!” laughed TAC Officer Shatstot. “The Commandant’s probably the best wizard scout in the galaxy. I dare say you could be fully trained in defensive shields, and he would still be able to run an active scan on you if he desired. Being a resistor means you have the ability to specialize in stealth and defensive shields. It also means lower-level opponents might have trouble with your natural resistance. However, any wizard scout worth their salt can overcome it given a little time. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way with healing. Your Power has to be willing to accept healing from others. As a resistor, your Power will not. That’s why you’re going to cause us problems during training, cadet.”

“Sir! Sorry for the trouble, sir.”

“Oh, you’re going to be sorry, cadet 832,” said TAC Officer Shatstot with another laugh. “I can just about guarantee it.”