Void's Psionics (44 page)

The gravimetric strip that ran the entire
length of the underside of the Dorgenox began creating a deep,
vibrating sound that made a person’s back teeth rattle loose in
their gums. The sound was the manipulated force of gravity creating
an isolated field to greatly counteract the six gee gravity of
Zerika. Ground around the sealed tunnel shook madly. For five
kilometers wide and five down the ground began to rise and be
ripped from the surface to be held aloft.

As feared, Solarian defenses came out of the
ground and tens of thousands of drones with a barrel came out from
all around and put the Dorgenox under heavy and deadly fire. The
constant stream of power on Oliver’s bright barrier was immense.
Immense enough to need to pull on the energy from the vambrace.

“
ABDUL! Hurry. I can’t hold
back their fire for more than another minute. Scan for poison
NOW!!!” Oliver shook by the draining. Had Oliver not been so strong
the ship would have been obliterated. As it is, the amount of power
he used could shred stars and yet the city defenses were even
greater.

Six long seconds later the first mate said
“No seepage detected. We got it all. We’ll make the jump in ten
seconds, hold on!”

Nine and some off percent of seconds later
and the sailboat was gone. Oliver immediately dropped the shield
and canceled all extra power not a moment too soon when all drones
turned on him as next threat. He dropped to the ground, hand’s
up.

Over a hundred drones hovered in front of him
silently till a dark brown skinned hologram of a woman appeared in
front of him. “Explain yourself, General Void.”

“
You know me? And English?”
Oliver didn’t lower his hands.

“
Vladamin of the Wind
updated your preference. Answer or I will open fire and pursue the
ship and destroy it.” The woman said with a huge crater behind
her.

“
The poison in the temple
was too dangerous. We removed it for safety. We could not chance a
breach with our knowledge of the level of risk. I felt the warning
you gave when I uncovered it.”

“
No untruths alter your
vocalizations. It is a logical form of removal. I will not defend
my lady’s city from you with this rational explanation.” She lifted
a hand and the drone weapons flew away and disappeared in the
forests or down tunnels that had been uncovered by the ripper’s
brute force.

“
What is your name?” he
asked and lowered his arms.

“
Jenniviq. And I know why
you come, General. You wish for the first part of the
five.”

“
How do you… Vladamin told
you?”

“
Correct. He told all of us
cleared to hold our Queens’ clues. His limited connection to us
updated this language. He also told us about the humans, but he
always was a biased and insufferable fool.” She winked and turned
serious after a moment. “I’m afraid you will find little different
than the territory of wind’s deadness. My city too is barren and
under water. The only difference should you drain it is in our art.
My lady was of solid ground. Earth. Rock. Or Terra if you prefer.
She embodied the warrior’s foundation and support of the other
Queens. My lady had the unbreakable spirit that remains within
survivors, no matter how far you fall. She was the first to defend
and shield from any threats. She was also called the Firm Mother.
Do you wish to disable the defenses here too for the group of
humans I’m detecting heading in this direction?”

“
Please. Jenniviq, will you
be our guide to your city? I’ll drain the water.” Oliver asked as
Nova and the others all showed up. Renee cautiously watching from
in the saddle.

“
I would like that.” The AI
smiled like a mother welcoming home a long lost child. “This way.”
As Jenniviq moved, her bare feet didn’t disturb anything on the
ground as she wasn’t truly real. Merely an image of a distant
memory able to assume form.

“
Package delivered to the
stellar incinerator.” Abdul reported in and ended the conversation
that fast, not one to talk a person’s ear off. Also because he
already heard Oliver talking to someone.

“
Are you okay?” Renee had
dropped from Sparky and lent Oliver a shoulder when he
stumbled.

“
Not exactly. I’m drained.
Using my full strength to shield such a small area, even one of the
Dorgenox’s size, took a lot out. Worse, the attack drained me and
nearly broke through. Had I not gone all out I would have lost.
Still, using all I can took out too much and I had to pull from my
vambrace’s stores.”

“
Yikes. The orange oval is
much thinner than last time. You used half of it at minimum.” She
noted, looking at the oval inside the forearm. “Breathe and
recover.”

The new crater had quickly gained attention
as they followed the artificial intelligence at a gradual pace. It
truly was devastating. But with the absence of hundreds of
thousands of tons, aquifers that were once below the ground poured
from the openings like a waterfall. Seeing how many liters falling
into the hole prompted Renee into action. When her man would walk
better she lifted great rocks, her hair raised and eyes glowing.
With boulders from dryer areas she telekinetically threw them like
missiles from a catapult to plug the larger gushing waterfalls.
Able to multitask, she plugged openings as best she could,
collapsed the smaller hemorrhaging fountains and kept pace. Her
power making quick work to limit more watery problems. But aquifers
seeing the light of day again was not the only openings. Dozens of
great holes went down deeper, but stone steps and arched angles
showed the unnatural routes into and out of the city. But they
quickly found themselves angling more to the westerly side where
the largest opening awaited.

On the way Oliver slowly overcame being
lightheaded to ask “Red, what was that earlier about the quarantine
being zero?”

She stopped throwing boulders three to five
times her own height like child’s play and let her eyes dim back to
normal. “Deadly pathogens are ranked on a scale of zero to ten. Ten
being easy to take care of. Level zero on the other hand quite
literally means there is a zero percent chance of survival once
infected. Death is near instant and the only safe method of
disposal for those agents are to be destroyed in the violence of
suns. The hotter the better… Oh, Jenniviq, are there any other
places that were sealed off?”

“
One other, but you removed
it as well. It was a viral strain that had broken in a laboratory,
but my sensors let me seal it off before it escaped.”

“
What was the poison trying
to kill that needed ten thousand years to do it?”

“
Much of my records were
moved, but the one you question was a Beast that had mutated beyond
control and was immune to me creator’s psionic abilities. Only by a
poison that becomes more potent given time, the cellular structure
of the Beast would eventually succumb to degradation and eventual
rot. The mutated Joint Ape was experimented on, but found to be too
dangerous to be allowed to mate and pass on its genes. This was the
only viable method to eliminate the threat.”

“
They sure are tough Beasts.
I still remember it breaking my leg in its grip and bite. If you’re
saying it was stronger and more resilient… I’d hate to imagine what
would have happened had it escaped.” Said Oliver rubbing his thigh
absently.

Arriving at the entrance he gave a silent
command and six members of the Pride scattered all around the new
pit to make sure nothing got inside the new open space.

The neural chip switched to night vision when
it became too dark down the hole. Shades of green penetrated the
descending tunnel and was clear. Using a dim shoulder light, the
light made it clearer. Heightened hearing picked up many drips of
water echoing up and out the polished stone stairs. The air was
thick with clean water and blessedly cool. It was much better than
the muggy humidity that was so thick you were drinking the air more
than breathing it.

About a kilometer later there came an inky
end to the descent and the way the light rippled and reflected
showed that the water had indeed found a way in. He asked the
apparition “How did the city get flooded?”

“
A tectonic quake opened a
fissure in the ceiling nineteen hundred years ago. When it hit, a
great chunk of stone fell on the primary hub which hold and
distributes drones for city maintenance and repair. Without it
being operational, groundwater seeped into the city and eventually
filled it.”

“
Why build a city below
ground? Especially so far?”

“
It is no longer within my
memory.” She said.

“
A good place to hole up in
times of crisis I’d imagine. It’s like a bunker. How do you want to
drain it?”

“
The most efficient way I
can think of is to swim into its center and make a barrier to push
it all out through all the holes.”

Renee gave him a considering look “Alright,
but you’ll need a way to store that water. I’ll go back topside and
blast open a reservoir and cut channels from all the holes we saw.
Are you up to doing more strenuous expenditure?”

“
Certainly. It’ll be easier
than blocking from an attack. Much easier in fact.” Oliver slid on
his helmet, turned around and dove directly into the frigid water.
It wasn’t too bad as the armor offered adequate insulation. More
light beamed into the murky depths, especially from the remaining
Pride following. After a dozen meters the water cleared, showing
sediment had settled long ago. And he breathed, his mask filtering
the necessary air right out of the water. Exhaled bubbles went up
and behind. From his boots grew flippers and the gauntlets slipped
in added webbing between the fingers. To make it more efficient to
swim a fin extended from the forearms.

On the way down there hung a great portrait
etched of a woman with high, pronounced cheekbones and had feathers
decorating her hair. It was of the queen of earth. Queen Beli.

Finding the pyramid city was breathtaking as
being underwater had given it a different feel as it held the basic
pyramid uniformity back on Drakken Prime. Lights from his suit and
that of the swimming Ligers’ brightened the dark city. At least the
water was still settled and clear. In the water though, the AI
rippled and distorted and didn’t swim. She continued to walk as if
still on solid ground.

Sensing the distant tingle of a spike in
energy told Oliver Renee had begun readying for the drowned city.
To make sure all water got away he sent his power out and
simultaneously opened up every single door and drawer within the
city simultaneously, doing hundreds at a time easily while swimming
and taking in the sights. He and the Pride swam between firm and
carved pillars, proud statues covered in silt, and thousands of
darker stone pyramids surrounding one grand in the center.

In about two hours his com alerted and Renee
said “Ready up top.”

“
Then here I go.”

Oliver stood atop the castle’s pointed tip
and stretched his arms out. From deep inside the open windowed
castle, after having Jenniviq opening the castle without needing
Renee to help open the closed hall, there came an expanding dome.
It was under vacuum which made it harder, but not too much for him.
The dome’s expansion wasn’t alone. Sixteen more grew throughout the
city, pushing the water away. The Pride stayed close and were near
to the ground when the barrier passed them and they lost buoyancy.
One tunnel to the surface had opened an air hole kilometers through
to the city and connected to the vacant area left behind to ease
the want from implosion. The spaced out domes soon were large
enough to combine with one another. When air was there to help, the
water continued to expand out of dozens of uncovered holes much
more easily.

Out of the entrances uncovered by the Ripper
gushed millions of liters of water that flowed down channels thanks
to gravity, all leading to a deep pit she made by detonating half
her total power which equaled roughly the total space she
remembered of the first city and another half for good measure. And
the rate at which was expressed really turned Renee on. It reminded
her just how strong he is. Water was heavy and he was forcing a
lake’s worth right out like nothing.

With her eyes glowing in attempt to see his
energy web, she had to blink as water didn’t come all from the
tunnels, but from the wet ground itself as a dome passed rock,
targeting moisture only. That required a master’s mental focus to
disregard all things except the makeup of the desire to manipulate.
Oliver was practicing all the time for precision and results were
paying off.

Water continued till she noticed the
translucent net rising out of the ground that was under the pitch
black of night. Below the reservoir was nearly completely full when
she said “No more, Olly. It can’t take any more. Is it clear down
there?”

“
Yes. Come join me. I’ll see
about turning on some lights.”

Join she did. Everything in the city was
nearly completely dry. About halfway to the castle the dark peeled
back as Oliver somehow fixed the lighting system and she liked what
she saw. Especially in the castle’s main hall.

More art lined the hall. Rather than wind,
carvings were solid and colorful. What she liked was more clothing
variations to wear. Rather than flimsy and thin garments that
barely hung off the female sculpture’s body, those of earth wore
more tribal and animal patterns. Feathers and flowers decorated the
hair of women and yet their clothes were just as sexy, but less
provocative. The colors were too vibrant to her tastes, but the
styles though primitive, were lovely. Especially on the women
representing thick girls of her own body type. Compared to wind,
Renee saw many sculptures of full bodied women than the thinner
ones before.