I was crouched behind a makeshift barricade firing my wands for all they were worth. Bolts of energy were flying all around us as the Greenskins advanced on our position. Humans were coming up behind them using portable shields to protect themselves from our weapons. They fired through the ranks of the Greenskins, not seeming to care if they killed a few of them in the process. As they slowly approached it became evident that there was no way to stop them. There were just too many of the Greenskins, and we could not penetrate the shields the humans were using.
A loud, gruff voice called out from behind me, “We will make our stand here! They will not reach the primary computer core! This far and no further will they come! Today they will learn the true strength of an Imperial soldier!”
I recognized the voice to be that of General Tizar, head of the colony’s security forces. I knew we were outgunned and outnumbered, but still that brief speech helped bolster my confidence and bravery. I looked over at Andreya who was next to me behind the barricade. “Andreya, remember the idea we talked about a few months ago, the one where we combine our powers?”
“Yes, Darnath. Now is a good time to find out if it would work,” she replied.
“Indeed,” I replied. I put down my wands and focused all my power on the approaching army of Greenskins. I dumped on them all my personal fear and feelings of helplessness. I assaulted them mentally with all the power I could muster. Andreya used her powers to alter the appearance of the Greenskins, making them think that we had rushed their line and were in amongst them. It worked beautifully. Their advance halted and they turned on each other. The humans behind them were screaming out orders, trying to get control of the situation but the Greenskins were overcome by fear of each other and did not respond. Soon all of them were massacred, bodies piled everywhere.
“Well done, Andreya,” I said.
“Thank you, but they still keep coming,” she said.
All the Greenskins were gone, but the humans kept advancing. Andreya and I were too drained to try another attack like we did to the Greenskins, so we grabbed up some wands and fired for all we were worth. The shield line of humans just kept inching forward. It seemed we were doomed when a large explosion ripped through a section of wall between our position and the advancing humans. Then suddenly all the bodies of the Greenskins lifted off the ground and flew right at the humans!
The last of my fellow Black Adders poured through the breach in the wall wielding all their psionic powers in perfect unison. “Charge!” came the command and we all rushed forth. It was strange to follow flying bodies into battle, but they succeeded in breaking through the shield wall. For the first time since the invasion we were winning! As we reached the former position of the humans many of us ditched our wands and took up the more powerful staves that the enemy had recently started using against us. Just when we thought we had them on the run, the others appeared.
The Seven, as we took to calling them. They seemed to be the greatest of the Magi, and ruled over them. They just stood in the middle of the corridor with no protection. “Shields!” came an order from someone, and everyone who could grabbed up shields from the fallen Magi and formed a wall with them in front of us. Just as we got our shield in place they started to fire. The shields held, but we had no opening to fire back. It seemed we would be locked in this stalemate until the shields finally gave out, but then one of the Seven stopped firing and spun his staff around until it was vertical and while chanting slammed it into the ground. The force of that blow shook the very foundations of the colony and sent us flying. The shield wall was broken and they proceeded to pound us with their bolts. Screams of dying people were all around me as I lifted a shield back into place and began to return fire. Soon others began to do the same, using the small area of safety I had created. One of the telekinetics behind me started throwing shields at the Seven, but two of them successfully blocked everything thrown at them. Then the one in the front traced a semicircle towards us in the air while chanting. Suddenly an arc of energy leaped forward and slammed into us. I was thrown against the wall, and then everything went dark …
I gasped for breath as suddenly I was back in the hollow with the Black Adders. The room was still spinning a bit, and my body ached from where I had been hit during the battle … but it was not I who had fought that battle, it was Darnath. My mind reeled, and when I got my senses back I looked at everyone again. I felt as if I knew them better. I recognized all of them from that fight. They had all been there by my side; well, by Darnath’s side. “Oh, wow … I feel as if I was there,” I said.
“Yes, sir. I gave you a copy of my memory of the event, so in a way you were there. You experienced everything that I did, and know everything that I know about that battle,” said Darnath.
“What happened after that?” I asked. I needed to know more.
“Well, sir, I was the first to recover,” started Kellyn. “I heard sounds of fighting further down the hall, but knew I had to tend to the wounded first. I could only find five other survivors. I treated their wounds as best I could there in the hallway. I was not able to do much before more of the Magi came back and found us. Jerran ordered us to run as he opened fire with a staff he had recovered. To everyone’s surprise he did not shoot at the Magi, but rather the wall next to them. This ruptured the side of the colony and opened the chamber to the outside atmosphere, sucking the Magi out in the process. We were far enough away to be saved by one of the colony’s airlocks, which slid shut and kept us alive. From there we worked our way back to the central computer core, hoping to unite with anyone that was left. By the time we reached it the battle was over. There was nothing but bodies and pieces of bodies everywhere. We tried to find …” At that point she broke down crying. Andreya did her best to comfort her, and everyone was quiet for a while.
“Black Adders, I am greatly impressed and proud to know you. General Tizar was right; you showed them what an Imperial soldier really is: strong, unwavering, loyal and fearless. You kept fighting, even when it was obvious you could not win. Even now, months later, you are still fighting. You could have given up long ago, but instead you held out. First it was to get information to Tom and his forces, then to my squad and now finally you are attempting to get to the gate and cut off all hope of retreat by the Magi.” I paused and looked them over, then said, “As ranking battlefield officer I hereby award you all with the Medal of Honor. You are without question some of the finest men and women this Empire has ever produced!”
They all looked stunned, but squared their shoulders. A little bit of pride and strength seemed to creep back into them. “Now then, let’s clean up this camp and get to that gate.” More than ever I wanted to get them safely off this rock. I looked at Darnath and asked, “Did you detect any indication that they suspected I was not alone?”
“No, sir. As far as we can tell, your plan worked. They think it is still only you,” he responded.
“Good. So they must know there are only three logical places for me to go: the central computer, the exit hatch or the gate. They might assume I do not know about the gate, but that would be a foolish risk. They do not strike me as the type to take unnecessary risks, so we should assume the gate will be guarded and watched. Major Jerran, can you take us around to the opposite side of the gate from the storeroom that we just came from?” I asked. “That might put us behind their defenses.”
“Yes, sir, but that will add at least an hour to the walk. From here I would estimate four or five hours until we reach the gate,” was his reply.
“Fine. Take us that way and stop us about an hour before the gate for a final rest and preparations,” I ordered. As I leaned on my right arm in an attempt to stand, a blinding pain shot through me causing me to fall back to the ground where I was sitting.
Darnath noticed immediately and asked, “Sir, what’s wrong?”
“Aah, I think I dislocated my shoulder, I am not sure how. No matter; if you will just help me pop it back in, I will be fine to travel,” I said through gritted teeth.
Then Kellyn came over, smiled at me and said, “Sir, just relax. This won’t hurt a bit.” I doubted that her petite frame could support enough muscle power to readjust my shoulder, but even more I doubted that it would not hurt! Ah, well, I had better cooperate; she was, after all, their medic. She knelt in front of me and closed her eyes, placed her right hand behind my shoulder, and pressed her left hand ever so gently on the front of my shoulder. I assumed that she was about to examine it, but then I felt warmth passing between her hands and moving through my body. Her hands had a faint pink glow about them, as if they were generating the heat themselves, and instinctively I wanted to jerk away, but I was paralyzed by her touch. I felt my bones move and shift back into place. She then looked up directly into my eyes and I felt a connection that I had never known before. Instantly it was as if she could see through to my inner most being and I could see hers. Hers was a beautiful pool of color that shimmered constantly, but I feared what she saw in mine. I knew what was there. A look of horror passed over her face, and then it was replaced by stubborn determination. She started to say something, but before she could speak Darnath warned us that a Magi scan was nearing us. Fearing she would not be able to react in time, I quickly reached out to her, pulled her close to my body and envisioned my thought shield expanding to surround both of us. I got it up barely in time, a mere second before the light from the scan passed over us.
Once it passed, I tried to stand but got very light-headed, and once more fell to the ground. This time Kellyn was there to slow my fall. “Now what is wrong with me?” I asked.
“Sir, you overextended yourself by hiding me from the scan,” answered Kellyn, who started digging in her pack.
“Sir, from what you have told us I assume you haven’t used your powers very much before coming here, and since coming here you have been using them non-stop. That alone would be pushing your mental strength to the limit, but then to extend your shield to cover Kellyn …well, until just a minute ago I thought that was impossible. It must have been very difficult, and it has exhausted you,” stated Darnath.
“Here, sir. This will help clear your head a bit,” said Kellyn as she handed me what looked like a bar of chocolate.
“Candy?” I asked.
“Yes, sir. We discovered a while back that there is a chemical compound that your body depletes as you use your powers. We can manufacture it, but it tastes horrible. So I prefer to disguise it in candy. It is no substitute for a good meal and rest, but it will help you get by until we can manage that,” answered Kellyn.
After eating the candy bar, I did feel better and was able to stand. “Amazing, my arm feels like it was never hurt. No wonder they call you a master healer!” I said. “But how in the world did I get hurt in the first place?”
“Sorry, sir, I should have known that would happen,” started Darnath. “When I transferred my memory of the battle to you, your mind completely re-enacted the fight. For most people that is the extent of it, but for those of us who are more psychically sensitive, the re-enactment often extends to the muscles. You see, when I hit that wall I broke my collarbone, so when that happened your body must have had a muscle spasm which threw your shoulder out of joint.”
“I see. Well, since that is now all behind us, let’s get moving,” I said. I was not sure how I felt about what had just happened, not only with my shoulder but also with Kellyn. For the moment I would just move on to the next step and put it away to think about later. I noticed that Kellyn began walking much closer to me after our encounter. She seemed a bit worried about me. I wanted to blame her concern on my recent collapse, but the image burned into my mind was that look of horror I had seen on her face. She saw something when she fixed my shoulder that had her very worried about me. There was only one thing that I could think of which that might be, but surely she did not think she could fight the dark figure who waited for me?