Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles 1: Wizard Defiant (27 page)

Richard used his plasma rifle to leverage himself to a standing position. The demon was so engrossed with the elf’s attack it apparently failed to remember Richard was inside its primary defensive shield. Richard unslung the satchel of J22 plastic explosive off his shoulder and threw it in the direction of the dragon’s flaming-red eyes. His throw was awkward and weak, but Richard used his telekinesis to boost the satchel’s momentum as he drew his .44 caliber AutoMag. When the satchel was within two meters of the black dragon-head, Richard fired and closed his eyes. The J22 plastic explosive exploded.

A rush of air flung Richard backwards. He hit one of the boulders again and fell to the floor. The nineteen blocks of J22 exploding simultaneously was beyond deafening. The sound and pressure shattered Richard’s eardrums. He screamed involuntarily from the pain. He heard nothing.

A glance upward revealed the demon shaking its dragon-head. If it had not been so pressed by the elf, the demon could probably have shrugged off the effects of the J22 plastic explosive. But, the double attack had it off balance. Richard sensed the demon’s defensive shield weaken and begin to buckle.

Shandria waved her staff in a great circle around her head. Richard sensed the elf draining her Power reserve and all her jewelry for one final destructive spell. She pointed the staff at the demon as she gave a shout. A great flow of energy shot out of the staff. It overpowered the demon’s defensive shield and struck it between the eyes. The demon’s mouth opened in an obvious roar of pain, but Richard heard nothing. The demon fell to its knees, but it immediately tried to rise. Although it was partially stunned, Richard could sense the demon’s Power reserve was nearly full. It was far from beaten.

He also sensed Shandria was out of Power. As far as Richard could tell, she was out of options as well. But the elf did not hesitate. She drew her dagger and advanced forward. Richard saw her mouth moving as if she was yelling her battle cry, or perhaps she was calling out instructions to him. He heard nothing.

With a calmness belying the severity of the situation, Richard jerked the leather bag secured to his chest. The straps holding it in place broke. Richard threw the bag, blue sphere and all, towards Shandria. Then Richard opened the back of his phase rod and gave the endcap a twist. He extracted the phase rod’s isotopic battery and broke it in half. He felt the battery going into overload. This was not one of the training batteries used in the Academy. It was a full-powered isotopic battery from a wizard scout’s phase rod. The resulting explosion would be small in area but enormous in intensity.

Because Richard could no longer stand much less walk, he used telekinesis to move himself to the lower part on the back of the dragon’s neck. His Power reserve ran out just as he reached the demon. As the last of his Power disappeared, Richard’s stealth shield dropped. The demon twisted in an attempt to bite Richard. Before the jaws closed around him, Richard shoved the two pieces of broken battery underneath a loose scale.

As the battery pieces lodged in place beneath the demon’s defenses, a voice sounded in Richard’s head.

Mission complete
.
Continue training,
said ‘
the One
’.

Richard’s body began to tingle. He caught a wavering image of the inside of the dragon’s open mouth with its teeth dripping acid. Then all went black.

____________________

Richard found himself standing upright in bright sunlight. He didn’t remain upright very long. His broken leg buckled under his weight. He gave a pain-wrenching yell as he fell to the ground. He missed the sidewalk with his face, but even so, the smack he took when he hit the hard-packed parade field hurt.

Richard yelled again, but this time in fear, “Shandria! Shandria!” But, he heard no sound. Richard didn’t care. He screamed out his agony anyway, both physical and emotional.

Suddenly, two strong hands were rolling him over onto his back. Through the blood running in his eyes, Richard made out the face of TAC Officer Gaston Myers. For a moment, Richard thought his TAC officer’s face looked concerned. Then the expression turned to a grimace. Richard assumed his TAC officer had just realized his identity.

Richard watched TAC Officer Myers get red-faced, and his mouth make large movements. He had to be shouting, but Richard heard none of it. But with a little lip reading, he did make out the words; ‘832’ and ‘hold still’. TAC Officer Myers ripped open the first-aid kit all instructors carried on their belt. The first thing he did was jam a syringe in Richard’s neck. Richard felt a surge of sudden warmth spread throughout his body. He no longer felt pain. Richard watched with detached interest as his TAC officer applied pressure bandages to his head and side.

Richard realized he was shouting for the elf again. He wasn’t really sure he’d ever stopped. Everything was blurring together. He didn’t understand why he had been taken from the battle. It had been so close to the end.

“Did she make it?” he shouted. “Is she alive?”

He was sure he was shouting, but he heard no sound. He wasn’t even sure sound was coming from his mouth. Richard tried to roll onto his right side in an effort to get away from his TAC officer. He needed to get back in the battle. The elf needed him. Why wouldn’t Myers let him go to her? He had to get away from Myers at any cost. Richard remembered he’d put his .44 AutoMag back in its holster. He reached down and put his hand around the grip. He struggled to extract the pistol. He had to get back in the fight, Myers be damned.

The last thing Richard saw before he lost consciousness was a big fist sporting a Wizard Scout Academy ring coming his way with TAC Officer Myers’ red face silhouetted behind it. Then everything went black.

*       *       *

The world was foggy for a long time. Occasionally, the fog would lift long enough for Richard to see blurred figures. He even caught an occasional word or phrase such as; ‘lucky to be alive’, ‘head trauma’, ‘induced coma’ and ‘shattered leg’. Eventually, the fog lifted, and Richard dreamed of dragons, demons, elves, spheres and dark tunnels full of undead. In almost every dream, Richard was low on Power. Chief Instructor Winslow’s warnings to conserve Power kept haunting him.

I should have been more efficient with my Power
, he thought.
I could have helped her more if only I hadn’t used my Power so inefficiently.
He promised himself he would never waste Power again.

Richard tried to remember the elf’s features, but they had faded from his memory for some reason. All he could remember was her silver hair and eyes along with the most dazzling smile he’d ever seen. Even in his dreams, he was jealous of the elf who had won her heart.

“He’s a lucky elf, whoever he is,” Richard whispered.

Richard heard the soft murmuring of voices around him. He raised his hand to clear the cobwebs from his face. There were none. When he didn’t find any, Richard opened his eyes. He squinted. The light was very bright.

“So, back from the dead, are you?” said a cheerful, feminine voice.

Richard had a sudden realization. He could hear. There was a constant buzzing sound, but at least he could hear.

“Yeah,” laughed another female. “We thought you were going to sleep the rest of the semester, you lazy bum.”

“That’s right, 832,” said a male voice. “No rest for the wicked. It’s time to start earning your keep again.”

Richard opened his eyes a little further. Three faces slowly came into focus.
I know them
, he thought.

“Telsa. Tam. Jerad,” said a voice Richard barely recognized as his own. It sounded more like a croak than a voice. “Where am I?” Richard asked. He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but it was the only thing he could think to say. His brain definitely wasn’t functioning on hyper-drive yet.

“Where all the lazy, good-for-nothing sluggards are,” said Tam. “You’re loafing in the lap of luxury at the Academy’s hospital. And, it’s all paid for courtesy of the Empire’s taxpayers.”

“Seriously,” said Jerad, “you’ve been in an induced coma for six weeks while your injuries healed. I’m guessing the worst is over. It was touch and go there for a while though.”

“And you’re just lucky enough to be here when I wake up?” Richard asked.

Telsa laughed. “Not hardly, Rick. What’d you do, sleep through all your medical classes? It was an induced coma. They woke you up on schedule. We bribed the orderly to tell us when they were going to do it, and he let us in.”

“Bribed?” Richard said still stalling for time to get his thoughts in order. “What did you use for credits?” Cadets weren’t allowed to have any monetary items in order to discourage gambling and offsite forays.

“Credits?” said Telsa with another laugh. “I haven’t had a single credit in my hand in over two years. I promised the orderly a date with a woman of loose moral standards.” Telsa paused, then laughed, “By the way, Tam, he’s picking you up later tonight.”

Telsa and Jerad burst out in laughter. Even Richard chuckled a little until the pain in his side made him stop. Tam, on the other hand, didn’t seem to appreciate the joke.

“Whatever,” said Tam. “Guess who’s getting latrine detail all next week. Her name starts with T.E.L.S.A.”

“See what I have to put up with, Rick?” said Jerad. “I need you back in the barracks to keep these two jokers inline.”

“Yeah,” said Tam. “We do need you back in the barracks. We’ve been trying to keep the extra training going, but it hasn’t been the same without your battle computer and you. Most of the group has drifted away.”

Richard was silent for a few seconds. His friends were trying to cheer him up, but he was pretty sure he knew the lay of the land.

“Look, guys,” Richard said while trying to keep his voice even. “I’m not a military novice. My leg was shattered, my eardrums were ruptured, and my head took a hit so hard there’s bound to be at least some brain damage. On top of that, I’m a resistor. Even TAC Officer Shatstot can’t heal me. A wizard scout has to be in nearly perfect physical condition. I doubt I could even get back in my old recon unit. I’d probably even have a tough time getting assigned as a clerk typist in some admin outfit. I’ll bet Myers had my paperwork filled out for a medical D.F.R. while they still had me in the operating room.”

“Are you done feeling sorry for yourself?” asked Jerad. “Or do you at least think you could be quiet long enough to hear what’s really happening?”

Richard stayed silent until it became apparent Jerad wasn’t going to continue until Richard answered his question. Richard was stubborn, but he needed answers, so he mentally surrendered and said, “All right. What’s really going on?”

“Tam?” said Jerad. “You know more about his medical conditions than I do. Would you care to explain it?”

“I’d be happy to,” said Tam. “But only if Mr. Inquisitive here promises to hold his questions to the end. I don’t like interruptions. Understand?”

Richard had a feeling his platoon sergeant was serious, so he meekly said, “Fine, Tam. My lips are sealed until you’re done.”

“Good,” Tam smiled. “Well, first off, you’re mostly correct on your self-assessment. Your left leg was shattered in three places. The medical bigwigs were going to replace your thigh bone with an artificial one. Before they could start, orders came down from High Command. The orders forbid the doctors from using artificial materials in your treatment. The orders said it would interfere with your self-healing once you got your DNA baseline reading.”

“The High Command said that?” Richard asked skeptically.

“So much for keeping your lips sealed,” smiled Tam. “Yes, the High Command said it. At least, I’m told the orders came straight from the High Command via the tele-network. The orders were encrypted at the highest level. It was all very top-secret stuff.”

“So,” Richard said with a weak smile of his own, “if it was so top secret, how do you know about it?”

“Ask me no questions,” said Tam, “and I’ll tell you no lies. Now stop interrupting.”

“Whatever,” Richard said.

“They’ve spared no expense on you,” said Tam. “I’ll bet you had a half dozen bone grafts if you had one. You’ll probably have a slight limp the rest of your life whenever you’re out of your battle suit. Even outside your suit, though, you should still be able to perform most combat moves.”

“Most?” Richard said.

“Depends on how hard you work to recover,” said Tam. “As for your hearing, you’ve got most of it back. However, a medic told me you’d never be better than seventy percent of normal. Sorry, Rick. At least your side is okay. You’ll have a scar, and you’re missing a rib, but other than that, it’s perfect.”

“You call that okay?” Richard said. “Your standards are apparently lower than mine.”

“Of course they are,” said Telsa. “She accepted you as a friend didn’t she? Obviously, she has low standards.”

“I don’t need your help, Telsa,” said Tam. “Now, stop interrupting, Rick.”

“Whatever,” Richard said.

“Last, but not least,” said Tam, “you did take some brain damage. But, they don’t know how much, and the High Command’s orders prohibit them from delving further.”

“So, what does this all mean?” Richard asked. “I don’t understand the High Command’s involvement.”

“Who cares?” said Telsa. “It means you’re staying in the Academy. Apparently, Myers and the Commandant are forbidden to D.F.R. you regardless of your medical condition. Heck, I’ll bet the High Command won’t let them kick you out of the Academy no matter what you do. So, you’re stuck with us, Rick, old boy. Now, get that pout off your face and give your friends a big smile.”

“I doubt this is going to make me popular with the Commandant,” Richard said. “That’s unfortunate, because I really like him. I could care less what Myers thinks. He already hated me.”

“It can’t be helped, Rick,” said Jared. “By the way, Sergeant Hendricks said he’s salvaged as much of your gear as he could. He said to tell you to stop taking the isotopic batteries out of his phase rods. Oh, yeah, and he wants to know what the hell you did with his knife.”

The image of Sergeant Hendricks getting his first look at Richard’s battle suit and gear made Richard smile.
He probably blew a gasket.

“In all seriousness, Rick,” said Tam, “it looks like the only way you’re getting out of the Academy is if you D.F.R. yourself. So, what are you going to do? Are you staying here with your friends? Or, are you D.F.R.ing out of the Academy and living off a military-disability check for the rest of your life?”

All three of his friends watched him closely. Richard thought long and hard before answering. He had a feeling he’d find Sergeant Hendricks’ knife in his pack along with a new battle helmet. He was confident Nickelo would be there, bossy as ever.

The question is
, Richard thought,
do I still want to be a wizard scout after all I’ve been through? And, would ‘
the One
’ even allow me to D.F.R if I wanted?

Richard had no trouble remembering his last instructions from ‘
the One
’. He was to ‘Continue training’.

Heck
, Richard thought
, given the past record of ‘
the One
’, he’ll probably ship me off to an Academy in another dimension with a set of twin TAC officers named Myers to keep me company. That would suck.

In the end, Richard figured he had no choice. He didn’t like the fact ‘
the One
’ had taken him out of the battle before he knew for sure the elf was safe, but he had a feeling she was. The isotopic battery had been on the verge of detonating. Stuck like it was under the loose scale on the dragon’s neck, the explosion would have cut the neck in two.

Richard looked at his expectant friends and gave them the only answer he could. “I’m going to stay in the Academy and be the best wizard scout I can be. And, TAC Officer Gaston Myers can kiss my wizard-scout-rear-end if he doesn’t like it.”

His friends laughed. So did Richard.

For one of the few times in his life, Richard felt truly happy.