Shadow of the Blue Ring (24 page)

“Oh? And since when did you become an expert on Earth mythology?” James asked, “I didn’t think your people had too much of an interest in our culture.”

“Not at all,” said Kosare, “Earth is the only planet in the alliance with a recorded history of more than five hundred years, it is of interest to all of us actually. Anyway, I read a couple of papers by Alen Raviera, turns out he had a fascination with your history back in his days at Maranaya. He wrote a fantastic piece on Greek and Roman history and mythology a while back, he even won a major award for it too. Basically, the ancient Jaiytids believed that there was a higher realm in the sky, lead by a being called Caedius who was basically the lord of all creation. His many sons and daughters each took up charge of one of his aspects of creation and ruled over one of the outside realms bordering the central realm which was Caedius’s castle. That castle was protected by a special gatekeeper, the greatest of his sons, Tolis.”

“Wait, that makes sense now,” said James, “when I was on Raylia, Iyacs told me that the planets of the Jaiytid empire were named for ancient deities, is this what it meant?”

“Yeah, Tolis, the guardian of the gate, he was the greatest of Caedius’s sons,” said Kosare, “there was also Juyoa, god of the sea, Voronia, the god of war, Anduria, the goddess of love… and then you had Vulia…”

“Don’t tell me, the god of betrayal?”

“. . . Actually, Vulia was the goddess of peace. Yeah, I know, what were the chances of that? So yeah, all the planets of the Jaiytid empire were named for characters in Jaiytid mythology.”

“So what was the Jaiytid homeworld named then?” Ansare asked, “was it Caedius?”

“No, their homeworld was called Alatennia, named after the life giving fountain at the heart of his castle,” said Kosare, “the first Jaiytid colony established after they achieved space travel was named after Caedius, unfortunately it’s only a dead rock now, it was wiped out completely during the Xerion war.”

“This is all very well…” Saavoy interjected once more, “. . . but how exactly does all of this go with the piece of the Shadow Bringer? What do all these images mean?”

“Well it seems to be focused on Tolassa for some reason,” said Kosare, “in mythology, Tolassa was the daughter of the gatekeeper Tolis. When Caedius became angry with the first Jaiytid people for their sins, he threatened to consume their world in a ball of fire and summoned one of the two suns to…”

“. . . Two suns? I don’t get it, doesn’t Alatennia only have one sun?”

“. . . Please stop interrupting me!” Kosare exclaimed, “the world was believed to have two suns when it first began, two suns that circled the planet opposite one another so that the entire world was lit and it was one continuous day. The story goes that Caedius grew angry with the Jaiytid people that he had created on his world below his own realm and he summoned one of the suns to consume the planet. Tolassa, seeing the potential good within the Jaiytids, left the realm and descended to their world and after summoning up all of her strength, she sacrificed herself in order to swallow up the energy of the sun before it could swallow up Alatennia. This brought about the day and night cycle of the world and apparently calmed down the wrath of Caedius and restored balance to both realms. There is supposed to be a lot more to the story but thats about all we’ve managed to translate so far. I don’t know how it ties in with the Shadow Bringer though.”

“They must have left it here for a reason,” said James, “if the scanner at the entrance was Jaiytid specific, maybe this is also designed for Jaiytid eyes only too?”

“But the Xerions were also Jaiytid descendants,” said Ansare, “surely if they had got in here, they would be able to understand it just as we have.”

“I’m not sure about that,” said Kosare, “remember, the Jaiytids and the Xerions split from each other over ten thousand years ago. We’ve found files suggesting that the initial split between them may have been down to differences in religion. The Jaiytids firmly believed in a higher power that controlled and regulated the universe, they were spiritual, but the Xerions were totally atheistic and rejected this notion completely. They believed that everything existed for them to rule over. I honestly have no idea how they managed to remain allies for nine and a half thousand years with all the differences that they had.”

“Make sure you get everything down,” said James, “I have a feeling we’ll need to know all of this later on. I think we should try and get this thing out of here now though, no sense waiting around. Kalmar, how do we get it moving?”

“There is a release mechanism on one of these consoles,” he replied, “the backup power source is still in place so we just switch it on and it should get us to the surface.”

“Great, lets get…”

James was interrupted by the beeping of his commlink, it was Daniels back on the Evening Star in orbit.

“Please don’t let this be bad news!”

“Captain, I’m afraid we’ve got company,” came the panicked voice of Daniels on the other end, “a Hunter ship has just entered the system and is heading our way right now, you need to get out of there asap.”

“DAMN IT!” James exclaimed, slamming his fist on the nearest console, “have they detected you yet?”

“No, the magnetic field from the planet’s moon is masking our signature from them,” said Daniels, “it wont work for you guys down there though, you need to hurry up whatever you’re doing.”

“They got here way too quickly,” Kalmar said with a worried tone to his voice, “they must have been following us. Damn! Why didn’t I see this happening!?”

“Don’t blame yourself, we can still get out of here,” said James, “get the lift going, we’ll get this thing back to the flyer and be on our way.”

Kalmar activated the lift, detaching it from the floor around them.

“Not enough room for all of us,” James noted, “Ok, Kaldun, Julio, Kasha, come with me on the lift, Kalmar, take the girls and meet up with us on the surface.”

“Hang on James…” Isha began, “. . . you can’t…”

“Isha, go now,” James ordered, “I’ll meet you all up there in a few minutes, we need to hurry.”

She didn’t look impressed but she, Kosare, Melina and Morelli all followed Kalmar’s lead back up the steps while the lift slowly inched them back towards the surface.

“Captain, you’re going to have company real soon,” Daniels’s said to them over the commlink, “that Hunter ship just launched drop pods into the planet’s atmosphere, they’re headed right for the city.”

“Then it looks like we have a fight on our hands,” said Julio, “bring them on!”

Chapter
Ten

Th
e
Hunter
s
an
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th
e
Hunted

“Damn it, can’t this thing move any faster!?”

The lift slowly pulled them up through the workings of the underground hangar towards the surface once more, not fast enough for James’s liking though, they needed to move with all possible haste. They were in a real hurry to get back outside and get this weapon back to the ship. Getting the piece of the weapon through the city and back to the flyer would not be an easy task though.

The lift finally reached the surface, coming up in another small alcove like the one back at the entrance, the opening in the floor ingeniously hidden from anyone who did not already know of the secrets hidden beneath the city. As soon as the lift reached the top, the floor closed around it, removing all evidence that there had been anything out of the ordinary there at all.”

“Ingeniously hidden,” said Saavoy, “you would never have known any of this was here.”

“Yeah but why do I get the feeling this thing was meant to stay hidden,” Julio added, “I really hope we don’t regret digging it up like this.”

“Lets just get it moving,” said James, “the sooner we get it to the flyer, the sooner we all get out of here, let’s get it… Oh my god!”

“You would think Kalmar might have mentioned how much this thing weighs,” Ansare groaned, the four of them struggling to lift the deceptively heavy object with their combined strength, “you would also think the Jaiytids might have put some wheels on it so that we could move it around. We’re never going to get it back to the shuttle like this.”

“We have no choice, I don’t want to be the one who goes back to the Adean senate and explain how we lost a piece of the weapon to the Hunters,” said James, “we have to do this for them as well as our own people.”

With every ounce of strength they had, the four of them heaved the object out of the alcove and back onto the roads where Kalmar and the girls were waiting for them.

“Come on guys, how slowly do you want to move,” Kosare called to them, “the Hunters will be here any minute now.”

“Do you want to try lifting this thing,” Julio grumbled, “we’re doing everything we can but this thing is ridiculously heavy.”

“Oh don’t be such a baby,” Kosare grumbled, “let me in, I’ll heave it for you and… oh heck! That is heavy!”

She, Kalmar and Morelli all joined in, taking a little bit of the strain off each of them individually but it was still hard going and there was a long way for them to go. This was going to be an almighty struggle.

“What about one of these vehicles?” Isha indicated to a larger truck-like vehicle at the side of the road that had an ample storage compartment on it, “Loca, could you hot-wire one of these to carry it for us? It would make this a lot easier.”

“Maybe, I can try,” said Morelli, “but I have no idea if it will still work.”

The group released the Shadow Bringer, letting it fall to the ground, the weight was simply too much for them to handle. Despite it’s small size, whatever was packed inside it was clearly carrying some weight to it. Morelli forced open the doors to the Jaiytid vehicle and opened a panel on it’s dashboard and began playing with wires.

“I’ve got it!” She called to them, the wires sparking into life and the vehicle starting up, “that was easy enough. Now get that thing in the back and lets move it.”

“Good work Loca.”

With all their strength, Isha and Melina helping out too, the group managed to lift the Shadow Bringer into the back of the truck. No sooner had they done so, there was a whooshing noise above them. James looked up to see several black smoke trails across the sky, all coming down and landing in various places in the city, the Hunters had arrived.

“Lets not wait around for them to find us,” James quickly drew everyone’s minds back to their current situation, “the main highway is too exposed, we’ll need to go through the back streets, and drive slowly, don’t draw any attention.”

Morelli got them moving, doing as James had suggested and taking the vehicle away from the open highway and into a covered area of the city, the rest of the group following alongside on foot, weapons out and keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings. It was very dark, a great place for a Hunter ambush but also a good place for them to stay hidden and out of sight.

“Kalmar, have you ever fought the Hunters face to face?” Saavoy asked, “do you know what they’re capable of in close combat?”

“I think we all know what they’re capable of,” said Kalmar, “but no, only a few of our people have ever come face to face with them and none lived to tell the tale. They tend to stay on their ships, only leaving when they want to search the surface of a planet for signs of the Shadow Bringer. This will definitely be my first time facing them in battle on the ground.”

“If we’re lucky, we might be able to avoid them,” said Ansare, “I didn’t see too many of them come down, maybe just a dozen pods. In small numbers, they can’t cover the entire city, we may just have a chance.”

“Lets hope so,” said Kalmar, “but I’m more concerned about how quickly they found us here, the Hunters have never tried following us like this before. They must have been tailing this ship and all the previous ones sent out here, assuming that you were searching for the Shadow Bringer too. I get the feeling that your people entering this region has set in motion events that we could not have foreseen just a few weeks ago.”

“It was only going to be a matter of time anyway,” said Saavoy, “at least if the problem is going to be dealt with, its going to be dealt with sooner rather than later.”

“I suppose it would be nice to have everything resolved,” said Kalmar, “I’m just surprised at this change in their tactics all of a sudden, it’s…”

“Everyone get down!”

Morelli quickly brought the truck to a stop, everyone taking cover in a sheltered area at the side of the road.

“What is it?”

“They’re here,” Morelli whispered nervously, “directly in front of us.”

Through the shadows of the city, James could just about make out two figures in the distance. It was too dark and they were too far away for him to make them out but they clearly had company.

“What are they up to?”

“I think I can get a look,” Kalmar said, laying out his sniper rifle and taking a look through it’s sighting, “I can’t make out what they’re doing though. Here, have a look.”

Kalmar handed James his rifle and he immediately looked through it’s sighting. There they were, two tall figures, humanoid in form, their bodies covered with a silver armour.

“Wow, they must be over eight foot tall,” James noted, “no wonder our people have never stood a chance.”

They were clearly searching for something… but was it them? Or was it the Shadow Bringer? Or had they figured out Kalmar’s plan and they were onto him? Either way, they were scouring every inch of ground and they weren’t going to stop any time soon.

“Is there any way around?” Melina asked, “or are we doing this the old fashioned way?”

“The flyer isn’t too far from here,” said Kalmar, “I can easily snipe them from here but it would give away our position and that would leave us exposed. We could wait for them to pass by but that could take ages and another group could come across us in that time. Not exactly great odds either way.”

“We can’t hang around,” said Saavoy, “if you want to take the shot, do it. I’d like to see one of these Hunters try to take on a Malorian blade-master.”

“If you say so,” Kalmar resigned himself to it. James could have sworn he heard Morelli muttering something along the lines of “drama queen” from the seat in the truck. Kalmar lined up his rifle and after a few seconds, he took the shot…

“GOTCHA!”

He put the shot straight between the Hunter’s eyes and sent it crumpling to the floor. The second one spun round, clearly confused. Kalmar went to line up his second shot but the Hunter caught on and it came sprinting in their direction at a pace faster than any of them could have managed.

“Take the shot Kalmar!”

“It’s moving too fast, I can’t get it!”

Kalmar fired again but his shot grazed the Hunter’s chest plate causing minimal damage. There wasn’t time for a second shot, the group broke cover, rifles pointed and opened fire. It’s speed was allowing it to dodge effectively and it’s armour shrugged of some of the shots but as it was merely meters away, a well placed shot from Julio hit it in a gap in it’s armour at the neck and sent it to the floor.

“I think it’s dead now,” James cautiously examined the dead body of the Hunter. They were indeed almost eight foot tall, their skin grey, their limbs long and slender but also muscular, providing them with outstanding speed and dexterity. It’s face was still covered by it’s helmet though and James didn’t fancy looking underneath it.

“Our first contact with a true alien race huh?” said Isha, “not exactly a welcoming first impression.”

“We don’t have time to examine them,” Kalmar hurried them along, “come on, we have to get this piece of the weapon back to the flyer before more Hunters show up. There will always be more of them.”

Morelli began driving them through the back streets once more, the group continuing to move on foot alongside, now keeping an extra watchful eye on their surroundings. Two Hunters may have fallen but there would be more of them out there.

“Any sign of movement?”

Kalmar scanned the area around each corner with his sniper rifle before giving the all clear for them to press forward. The shuttle was only a few roads away now.

“We’re not far now, just keep going down here and then…”

“WATCH OUT!”

Ansare warned the group just in time, everyone dived for cover as several white blasts of energy soared past them. Another silver-armoured Hunter had jumped down from a nearby building and had taken several shots at them. Julio was the fastest to react, quickly spinning from cover he returned fire but the Hunter’s armour shrugged off the damage. The Hunter sprang again with almost supernatural height and precision, landing on top of the vehicle that Morelli was driving.

“Loca! Get out of there!”

Before she could move, the Hunter sprang a blade from it’s forearm and drove it through the top of the vehicle, carving the roof clean off. James tried to line up a shot but another Hunter had appeared from around a corner behind them and forced them back into cover. The creatures were again too fast for the group, dodging and weaving between their shots, the few that hit home not powerful enough to damage them.

This time it was Kosare who reacted, leaping from cover and onto the roof of the truck. She drew her Jaiytid blade and took a heavy swing at the Hunter, distracting it from the struggling Morelli who was still trapped inside the truck. The Hunter parried it but Kosare’s strength was deceptive and her attack forced the Hunter down to the ground. She made another attack but the Hunter parried again, this time swinging it’s spare arm around and knocking her off balance. The Hunter moved in to try and strike her as she lay prone but Julio was again quick to move in, swinging his own blade at the Hunter’s arm, severing it from it’s body. The creature cried out in pain, making a frenzied move at Julio but the young Voronian was quick to block it’s attack and with all his strength, wrestled it to the ground then drove his blade right through it’s weak spot in the armour at the neck, finishing it off for good. He offered a hand to Kosare, helping her to her feet. She took it reluctantly but she wasn’t going to be picky about her company at a time like this.

Meanwhile, the second Hunter had run into Saavoy who’s skills with a blade far surpassed it’s own and Saavoy was quick to dodge it’s attack before driving his blade across the back of it’s leg, bringing it to it’s knees before severing it’s head from it’s body. With the two Hunters down, James quickly turned to see what had become of Morelli. She was crawling out of the wreck looking more than traumatised.

“Are you Ok?” James asked anxiously, “you’re bleeding.”

There was crimson seeping from a wound on her left forearm. It didn’t look too bad considering what could have potentially happened to her.

“I’ll be Ok,” she said after a few seconds, allowing James to help her up, “I think it’s just a scratch and… OW!”

She collapsed to her knees once more. The moment she had tried to put weight on her right leg she had gone straight back down.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s my ankle,” she said, wincing, “I can’t put any weight on it, it might be broken but I don’t know, I can’t seem to feel anything.”

“Can’t feel anything?” Kalmar echoed, “surely if it was broken you would be in agony?”

“It’s a Voronian thing,” Ansare reminded him, Kalmar obviously not being aware of the traits of the Freedom Alliance races, “they don’t always feel any pain from their injuries straight away, they can just block it out.”

“It’ll kick in after a few minutes, don’t you worry,” said Morelli, “but I’m not gonna be able to move like this. No way we’re going to get that truck moving again either, that Hunter wrecked it.”