The Topaz Operation Page 4

  “Ambassador, are you okay?” asked Elissa.

  “No. I’m not,” said Aphiemi. “Prys is the daughter of my mother’s sister. She, her husband, and their two children are the only blood family I have. They were swept up in the conquest of Onyx by the Archon, but I had hoped they would survive until it could be liberated. Now I don’t know if...,” she turned away. “Please excuse me for a moment.”

  Aphiemi went into her private chamber, closed the door, and called Ryle on her comm. No answer. Probably on an important secret mission. Called Jyssa—same. She didn’t want to call Prevwahn yet as she suspected he would disapprove of her getting involved. Hmmm, wizards... She called her friends Izil and Neyla. Izil answered to apologize profusely that he couldn’t talk at the moment. Finally, she called Qusam.

  “Ambassador Waswin! I was just on my way to see you,” said Qusam’s pleasant voice.

  Chapter 6

  “Gang Leader, do you copy?” said M-2.

  “Copy that,” said M-1. “Fall time, two minutes.”

  The sleek stealth vessel, the Dart VII, approached Topaz. Evading an Archon tracker satellite, M-1 guided the ship into orbit where it began its slice through the atmosphere.

  Four helmeted troops lay prostrate, arms back, in their underside launch bay compartments. At three...two...one, M-1 slapped the autopilot button. The Dart spit out the four troops miles above the capital city, Laylon, with M-1 running behind and diving out the open hatch. The now automated ship blasted back toward Chrysolite at top speed.

  Heads down, arms back, and in-helmet visors guiding the way, the team of five fell swiftly and undetected into the outskirts of the city at night. They each spun head to toe, anti-grav boots slowing them to a halt and soft landing in a grassy field a half-mile from a major Archon communications and sensor hub. Under cover of night, blaster-rifles ready, and wearing “cool suits” which blocked thermal tracking, the team made their way into a back street alley.

  They busted in the door of the building next door and set up an observation point near a broken window. This building must be abandoned or was forced abandoned by the Archs, thought M-1. Thoroughly surveying surroundings, he had seen no resistance. All attention must be on Onyx. This is a lot easier than even I thought it would be.

  “Gang Leader, what’s next?” asked M-2.

  M-1 checked the time. “Wait for the shift change, then M-3, M-4, and myself go right to the southeast entrance while you two stay here.”

  M-5 set up a makeshift computer station with a small keyboard and monitor and pulled up the communication building’s specs.

  “We should all be home in time for dinner,” said M-1. With their ship heading back home, this was his way of saying if all goes well, they won’t die before their reinforcements arrive.

  M-5’s hands clacked the keys of his keyboard. “I’m in and I’m already getting wild activity.”

  M-1 ripped off his helmet and kneeled six inches from the screen, taking in the info—massive fleet movement. “That little rug rat works fast.”

  “Mitch, it’s dangerous to take your helmet off here,” said M-5.

  Commander Mitchett shook his head. “Semo, get me T-1 on the line. I take it back, fellas. It’s gonna be a long night.”

  Chapter 7

  Ryle stepped into the four-person cockpit of the Arrow IV, the upgraded follow-up to the previous incarnation of his trusty stealth vessel. A wave of comfort passed through Ryle upon the revelation of his first officer—Lieutenant Bao Hixman—checking over the controls. “Bao! You have no idea how glad I am to see you. The secrecy is so intense Turj refused to even tell me who my team would be.”

  Bao saluted and then shook Ryle’s hand. “Same here, Ryle...sir. This mission is somethin’ else. I thought you were in charge of special forces?”

  “So did I,” said Ryle as he surveyed the cockpit, essentially the same as the Arrow III but with new bells and whistles such as upgraded tactical and cloaking abilities. “But I get it. This is our biggest undertaking in a while.”

  “Our biggest gamble,” said Bao.

  “And also, there’s been a security issue. Uh...,” Ryle paused before he mentioned the possibility of a mole in their midst. How could he know whom to trust? Most signs pointed to Jez, but how could Ryle be one hundred percent certain? If it was Jez, could he be working with someone else on the inside? And could Ryle even discuss this with his team?

  “I’m not a mole, Ryle.”

  Ryle exhaled. “Thanks, buddy.”

  A girl with golden-blonde hair pulled back into a regulation pony-tail, entered the cockpit and stood at attention. “Colonel Gelibor, when do we take off?”

  Ryle spun around to behold Second Lieutenant Lygalia, the soldier-wizard. Her blue eyes were as intense as any soldier he knew. “Lygalia! Good to see you again.”

  “You too, sir.”

  “You can ease up on the ‘sirs’. This is gonna be a close-knit team, and I’m glad you’re here.”

  “I am as well,” said Lygalia, ever serious and professional. A multi-talented soldier, her immediate responsibilities were weapons and intelligence. Because of her stellar service record, the military granted Lygalia permission to keep the wizard tradition of going by only one name and having longer hair than military standard. If more family specificity was needed, wizards went by their ancestry. Lygalia and her sisters Seilah and Indeen were the daughters of the wizards Dyglon and Aelalia, both deceased.

  Ryle later checked personnel records and found that Lygalia had transferred out of Commander Zelhoff’s unit. He considered probing her for details but decided against it. It was likely none of his business and especially not a good time to mull over it.

  The rest of the team eventually appeared: Sergeant Quan Peex, pilot, and Sergeant Rik Flaro, recon and engineering. Peex, short and stocky, was an accomplished pilot of whom Ryle recalled Turj mentioning in a favorable light at least once. Flaro, an ace sniper, sported a buzz haircut and a tattoo of a solar flare on the back of his neck.

  This unit was much smaller than Ryle was used to. The task must be highly concentrated and specific—if only he knew what it was. He called a team briefing around the ship’s center hologram station behind the cockpit. “I wish I could tell you exactly what our mission objective is, but I’m still waiting on orders from Turj. I’m assuming I can trust all of you since you’ve been handpicked by the good general to be here. We have reason to believe our internal security has been compromised even at the Central Command level.”

  “That is disturbing, Colonel,” said Lygalia.

  “Any ideas on who it is, sir?” asked Rik.

  Part of Ryle wished he could just come out and say, Yeah, my brother. Another part of him wanted to die inside over it, not the least because he simply could not investigate it yet. “Just speculation at this point.”

  “Ryle,” said Bao. “Just assure me the mission does not involve scrolls, flutes, or libraries.”

  Ryle grinned. “Not that I’m aware of. At least, not yet.” Diamonds perhaps, he didn’t say aloud.

  Bao shook his head in amusement.

  The Scroll of Apothena was locked up in the palace under Prevwahn’s care. Not even Jez, the palace security captain, could get to it—apparently a prudent arrangement. Do we need the scroll on his mission? Ryle wondered. Surely Qusam would have mentioned that, wouldn’t he?

  * * *

  After the team had some time to get acquainted with their new ship and rehearse a few mission scenarios, the first batch of Turj’s orders came through: the Arrow IV would link up with the fleet’s newest flagship, the Azurite, and dock inside its state-of-the-art launch tube, specially built for enhancing the launch of smaller vessels. It would be faster and fuel-free for the Arrow until they cut it loose at the ejection point. That was the extent of the orders, leaving Ryle disappointed. This is crazy. Just tell me what we’re doing. Oh right, I’m a Gelibor and I must be a suspect too.

  Ryle strapped himself in next to Peex as
he fired up the inaudible and efficient engines. Ryle pushed the intercom, “Rik, final launch protocol good to go?”

  “Check, Ryle,” replied Rik over the engineering intercom.

  “Everybody else set?” said Ryle. “Take us out, Sergeant.”

  The Arrow IV lifted out from its concealed mountain hangar, passed over the mountain range, reflected light from Mount Phengos, and launched into Chrysolite’s orbit, heading toward the Azurite.

  Peex aligned the Arrow directly in front of the flagship and punched in the rarely-used coordinates combo causing their ship to float backward into the launch tube on the Azurite’s forward hull. The Arrow slid into its proper slot, and six mechanical arms clicked into place around it to steady it for the journey. Tactical showed several other Chrysolite battleships, mid-size cruisers, and hundreds of fighters forming up for out-of-orbit launch.

  Ryle, trying not to be noticed by his astute team, checked flight logs for any unscheduled trips off Chrysolite in the event that Jez had a moment of carelessness. Nothing of substance showed up. We Gelibors know how to cover our tracks, don’t we?

  Chapter 8

  A tiny one-man spacecraft descended from the skies over Mount Phengos and landed on a rocky precipice near the summit. The ship had exploited a rift in the defense grid created by the recent explosions. The craft, defined by sharp metallic corners and a triangular cockpit section, was unaffected by the peak’s blazing light.

  A figure stepped out of the craft. The figure had the shape of a man but was not a man. He was silver, made of a mercury-like substance, and possessed a left arm but no right arm. He had no eyes, no ears, and only vertical slits for a nose and a horizontal slit for a mouth. He faced the mountain light and lifted his arm up in the air. His body absorbed the light, sending ripples throughout his chest, arm, and legs. A deep, resonant noise—a dark sound—emanated outward.

  * * *

  In his cell, Rez clutched his metallic left ear. What in blazes is that...sound? A dull pain from the vibration ran from his ear throughout his body. He dropped to his knees, and then smacked the wall comm button. “Please, check on what is happening outside.”

  The guard on duty pushed his reply button, “Pardon?”

  “Just check. I feel something…abnormal.”

  The guard, clearly suspicious, flicked his comm. “Prisoner claims something is happening outside. Do you pick up anything?” After a moment, “Oh, okay. I’ll be right there.” The guard exited.

  Rez breathed deeply, in and out, until he regained composure. That sound, that feeling, must be from Aqtal in some way though he had no idea what it was or how it was here. Could it be connected to Jez’s activities? Rez couldn’t rule that out.

  The time had come.

  Rez broke off the tip of his metallic ear lobe. He used the sharp edge to slice the tip of his finger, and he put to the test what he had been working on for some time. He touched the blood to the metal scanner he had rewired and spoke, “Mother, please come to me, now.” Rez’s crude galacnote was sent.

  Chapter 9

  “Two hours from Target Planet,” said Peex.

  Lygalia brought a datacard up to Ryle. “Everything smooth so far, sir...Ryle.”

  “I like Sir Ryle.” Ryle’s attempt at humor fell flat as she merely walked out of the cockpit back to her duties. He liked Lygalia but couldn’t quite read her yet.

  “Of course, Colonel, it’s much easier to fly when you’re lodged inside another ship,” said Peex.

  “True, and kind of annoying too,” said Ryle.

  Peex smiled. “I won’t disagree with that. I’m chomping at the bit to have these controls all to myself.”

  “Be careful what you wish for,” said Ryle. He and Bao analyzed the tactical now that they were close enough for sensors to detect the area surrounding Topaz. Something was off—globs of ships dotted the display on a course toward Topaz from Onyx. “Does that look right to you?” Ryle said to Bao.

  “I was just about to ask you the same thing,” said Bao. “The readings are not perfect due to enemy interference, but are there too many ships near Topaz?”

  Ryle was used to big odds stacked against him, but these odds looked bad. Two high-pitched beeps from the dash—the beeps they had been waiting for—interrupted them. Ryle quickly hit the secure comm line button. “Arrow IV.”

  Turj’s face materialized on the visual comm. “Arrow IV, this is T-1.”

  “Yes, General,” said Ryle. It’s about time!

  “Sorry to keep you in the dark so long, but it was for good reason. Now listen up.”

  The rest of the crew heard Turj’s voice and scrambled into the cockpit.

  “We are implementing Operation Slingshot. As in, that’s what you’ll be doing around Topaz and then heading straight for Onyx.”

  Ryle’s face twitched. “So, we’re—”

  “Just listen! I don’t have time. Fleet Group One is making Onyx the primary target. We’re taking it back first, not Topaz. Our neighborhood mole tipped off the Archon at the Topaz plans, so we are redirecting. The Archon fleet is already two-thirds of the way back to Topaz.”

  Onyx first? Fucarsen will be disappointed.

  “We have a decoy fleet that will remain by Topaz to extend the ruse as long as possible. You should be able to shoot toward Onyx so fast they won’t catch on until it’s too late, and you’ll have a clear path. Your team’s objective is to find and capture that scoundrel, Dr. Zermal. Preferably alive, though deadly force is authorized if necessary. This will cut the head off the Archon leadership there and hopefully put a stop to their massive ground force expansion. Eliminating Zermal is critical to gaining an advantage in this battle. Any questions?”

  Ryle thought for a second, then started to ask, “What about—”

  “Good. T-1 out,” said Turj and the screen went blank.

  “That’s why they brought me,” said Lygalia.

  “Why?” said Ryle.

  “Zermal is not just a political oppressor. He is part wizard, you might say.”

  “Part wizard?” said Bao.

  She nodded. “His past is complex and I know only pieces. He used to be a wizard, a Qesem, but he began experimenting in stranger, more twisted things.”

  “More twisted than the dark music?” said Ryle. “How is that possible?”

  “Evil finds ways to create worse evil,” said Lygalia.

  “You sound like another wizard I know,” said Ryle.

  “In any event, the greatest care must be taken if and when we confront him. He will not be easily acquired,” said Lygalia.

  “Then let’s get a plan drawn up,” said Ryle.

  * * *

  The team suited up for action: upgraded body armor, blaster pistols, C-Wires—the paralyzing cords effective for wrangling dark wizards—and blaster-rifles now with built-in grenade launchers. A new ‘DLS’ implosion bazooka for Ryle. Bao clung to his short sword as if his life depended on it, and he believed it did since guns could run out of ammo. Lygalia carried her short staff tucked into her back gear. Ryle was secretly thrilled they were packing some wizarding power.

  The working plan was thus: While they did not know Zermal’s exact location, it was likely he and his cronies took over Kudra’s central government building—Archon standard practice in order to send a clear message of who was in power. Ryle’s team also made use of reports of two possible bunkers—one underground near the outskirts of the city and the other high up in the mountains, not far from Mount Anecho.

  At the right moment after the race to Onyx and at a safe distance, the Arrow IV would detach from the Azurite, blast toward Kudra, sneak onto the surface, and find a suitable hiding spot. From there, the team would move out as quietly and swiftly as possible. The fleet would keep any Archon ships busy in space while Ryle’s team found their target.

  Assuming nothing went wrong.

  Chapter 10

  “Colonel Gelibor,” said Exla over the comm.

  Ryle pressed the reply
button. “Yes, Admiral. Good to finally hear your voice. I was getting worried.” The last hour had been quiet and tense with very little new information or communication.

  “Nothing to worry about yet. That’s what scares me,” said Exla.

  “I know what you mean.”

  “The Archon’s main force is opposite the planet, and we will be entering slingshot formation in fifteen. Cruisers Telk and Pug will escort us. If we hit it just right, we should have a good chance at dodging them.”

  “Sounds good,” said Ryle. “Should zip right past ‘em, right?”

  “Something like that,” muttered Exla, not the lighthearted type. “Now Ryle, the important thing for you is—” A boom and severe lurch of the ship interrupted Exla.

  The Arrow IV’s crew stumbled to the deck. Ryle and Peex both pulled themselves up to the cockpit dash; red flashing lights signaled: Attack. Ryle’s pulse quickened ahead of schedule.

  “Admiral, are you hit?” said Ryle, pressing the comm button with one hand while gripping his chair’s armrest with the other.

  “Apparently...sit tight, Arrow,” said Exla.

  “How’d they get here so fast?” said Peex.

  Flaro yelled from the rear. “Engineering is secure. Azurite was hit with a Neon missile.”

  “Azurite is releasing fighters,” said Peex, peering at his screen.

  “Battle stations,” said Ryle.

  Bright orange Neon Prime missiles poured in on the Chrysolite fleet, pummeling the ships’ deflector shields to a minimum in a matter of minutes. Evasive maneuvers caused a few Neons to miss, leaving behind orange-red streaks of glittering molecules drifting between the ships like streamers. The cruiser Telk’s left rear engine blew, sending it into a spin.

  The Azurite’s fighter squadrons met a horde of the Archon’s upgraded Havocs. A few squadrons had to be held back for the Onyx mission—if there would be one. Dozens of explosions littered space over Topaz from fighter-to-fighter dogfights as the strike force maneuvered into the slingshot orbital position.