Gravity Storm: Order of Scion book 3, page 26
He popped the empty clip from the handle of the pistol and swapped it for a new one before the first Fray stepped out from behind his ship.
“You are the human,” it said in the Common language of the galaxy. “You killed Tradd.”
“If you’re talking about the giant snake monster,” Mitch said with a sneer, holstering his pistol, “then yeah, I’m your man.”
“A worthy foe,” another Fray said, stepping out from behind another of the three ships that had come down in the port. They were opposites of Mitch, and he could feel their gravity bubble shields. He raised his own defenses and drew one of the knives from his belt after transferring the katana to his right hand. “But the odds are not in your favor, human.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Mitch said.
“There are more of us, many more,” the alien threatened. He was about Mitch’s height, but had spines sticking up at his shoulders and along his back. He also had a scaly-looking tail. His face was pointed but otherwise looked human. He even had a thatch of black hair on top of his head.
“You better get them down here,” Mitch said. “Your minions didn’t last long.”
“They were a distraction,” the first alien said. He was more frightening to look at. The alien had an insectile face, with pincers instead of lips, and eyes on little stalks that stuck out of his dark face. “It will be an honor to present your head to our master.”
“And who’s that?” Mitch asked.
“G’all Gotha,” said the alien with a tail. “He will rule the galaxy. And we will be at his side.”
“Nice,” Mitch said. “But so far, all you’ve done is talk.”
“That was our plan,” the insectile alien said. “Until Forstah could destroy you.”
Mitch felt the alien. He was big. It was the first time since joining the Order of Scion that Mitch had felt small. The alien dropped from above them as his ship flew over. It used gravity to slow its fall, but not by a lot. Forstah was twice Mitch’s height. He had three legs, and long, powerful-looking arms. Its body was short and wide, and its head was a thin, sideways oval that was perched between its thickly muscled shoulders.
“Time to die, human,” the alien that looked like a bug crowed.
Mitch had a sword that was three feet long from blade to guard and was only two-finger widths wide. The giant alien had a sword that was more than twice that length, and as wide as Mitch’s hand from palm to fingertips. It had a wicked, serpentine curve to it. And was sharp on both sides. Mitch knew he couldn’t overpower the giant alien. Instead, he would rely on speed and agility. The huge alien didn’t waste time. They were forty paces apart, but the alien started straight toward Mitch in an ambling, unsteady gait.
It would have been foolish to assume he could rush straight toward the huge alien. Mitch chose to circle him, to study how the big alien moved. After sparing with Mara and Ninja, he had learned how to size up an opponent before committing to a plan of action. Only, before he could take more than a few steps, he felt a sudden weight bearing down on him. His gravity bubble was shrinking down and Mitch could hardly move.
“Now!” One of the other aliens screamed at the giant.
The huge creature bolted forward faster than Mitch would have guessed the alien was capable of. It was all Mitch could do to fend off the granitic attack, but fortunately, he wasn’t alone. Arq and Qwii came to his rescue. He felt the pressure disappear a split second before the huge alien swung a nasty slash meant to chop his head off. Mitch dove to the ground, rolled over one shoulder, and came up close enough to slash the alien’s right leg. His blade opened a gash from knee to ankle, and he felt the tip of his Cidian blade drag along the alien’s shin bone. The huge creature screamed in pain but didn’t lose his balance. He simply shifted onto his other two legs and swiped his sword at Mitch again.
He felt the attack coming. Fighting had become intuitive to Mitch. He had to watch himself, and not take unnecessary risks in battle. The Cidian swords were so sharp that he could lose a limb easily if he wasn’t cautious. He shuffled backward, out of the path of the big sword. There was no doubt the big alien was much stronger than Mitch was, but with that size and strength, came a slowness that Mitch planned to exploit. The big three-legged creature roared in anger. He was probably used to his opponents cowering in fear before him, or losing their will to fight. But not Mitch. He knew exactly what he needed to do and kept moving, slowly at first, drawing the alien into an attack. Stamina wasn’t on Forstah’s side. It only took four mighty chops with his huge weapon before the alien was breathing hard.
Mitch let himself get pushed back toward the insectile alien, knowing that the creature would come for him at some point. He couldn’t use his gravitic power to fight the aliens, but he could sense them in the gravity waves that were all around them. It reached up from the planet and held them all, and each individual produced a much weaker gravity field. It interacted with the waves around, from their spaceships, the landing pads covered with concrete and steel, even the tiny particles that were floating in the air. Mitch could see Forstah panting as he lumbered toward Mitch. The insectile alien drew a short sword and rushed toward Mitch. At that same moment, Mitch dropped to the ground, rolling backward over one shoulder, and coming up with his sword in a quick slash. The insectile alien was so committed to his own attack that he slashed through thin air with his short, Cidian blade.
Mitch’s weapon slashed across the alien’s side. He expected it to fall, but his blade hit hard shell instead of soft flesh. The alien staggered a little, then dove toward Mitch right as he rose back to his feet. He swung his sword to meet the charge, taking a hard swing that once more caught the alien’s shoulder. His blade didn’t do much cutting damage, but the force of the blow snapped bones and sent the alien tumbling across the ground. Before Mitch could appreciate his defense against one alien, the next was attacking him.
Forstah had used the distraction to close the distance. He swung his sword down in a mighty chop that probably would have cut Mitch in half, but he spun out of the way. The alien’s sword missed Mitch and instead cut straight through the concrete landing pad. The big alien’s strength drove the blade in deep, and it stuck fast for a moment. It was just long enough for Mitch to lash out with his own sword. The blade slid across the alien’s forearm, just behind the wrist. It wasn’t a power cut, just an arcing slash, but the Cidian blade severed tendons and muscle.
Forstah shouted in pain, releasing his hold on his big sword and staggering back. He held up his bloody arm in disbelief. Mitch rushed toward the big alien and took another swing at one of the two remaining uninjured legs. His sword slashed across Forstah’s knee. It brought the alien down on his side. Mitch continued moving, staying clear as the huge alien fell, and getting behind him. He ran forward and put his weight into a powerful thrust. The blade penetrated deep into Forstah’s back, severing his spine and lacerating organs. It was a mortal wound, but the alien’s reaction was much faster than Mitch anticipated. It elbowed him hard enough to send Mitch tumbling backward. He hit the ground so hard that it knocked the breath out of him. He wheezed in pain and he scrambled to get back to his feet.
The alien with a tail saw an opportunity and rushed toward Mitch. He had a short, curved sword with an ornate design along the spine. Perhaps the alien had great skill with control of gravity waves, but his fighting skills were poor. He thrust his curved sword in a clumsy manner. The weapon, while it had a sharp point, wasn’t designed for thrusting, and Mitch still had the knives he had taken from the Mover. They were dagger-shaped, with Cidian blades and guards. Mitch easily blocked the clumsy thrust and then lashed out with a kick.
“Mitch Murphy!” Arq shouted.
His kick had knocked the alien backward. He tripped over his thick tail and went down hard. Mitch was going to finish him off before the warning shout. He turned and saw four aliens attacking Qwii and Arq. How they had gotten there was a mystery to Mitch. He hadn’t sensed them or seen them, but that didn’t mean anything. He had his hands full fighting the huge alien named Forstah.
Instead of finishing off the alien with a tail, Mitch ran to help his friends. The aliens they were fighting had them surrounded. Arq and Qwii were back to back, barely able to fend off the attackers. One turned and Mitch saw with horror that it was another shady Mover, a being with no face. Mitch was having trouble breathing after being batted aside by the hulking alien Forstah, but he sprinted to help his friends. Two of the aliens turned to meet him, their swords held ready, but Mitch was caught up in a battle rage. He drew another of the knives from his belt and knocking one guard away, he stabbed the Mover in the neck. Hot blood should have covered his hand, but instead, there was just a cold sensation. Mitch didn’t have the time to ponder it. The other alien slashed at him. He ducked under the attack and stabbed the alien in the foot. It screamed in pain, not a human scream, or even the wail of a living being. It was a high-pitched, blood curdling sound that drove Mitch backward. He nearly fell over as he backpedaled.
Arq defeated his adversary, but Qwii was struggling. Mitch reached out with his free hand and grabbed the back of the Mover’s long coat. He hurled the alien away as if there was no weight to the strange being at all. It toppled and rolled, but a portal opened and the alien disappeared inside it. Mitch turned back to the wounded Mover. It tried to pry its wounded foot from the ground. The knife was still stuck through its boot and had it pinned to the concrete of the landing pad. It swung a backhanded strike toward Mitch, but he stepped close, caught the arm at the wrist, and slammed his remaining knife into the creature’s dark neck. It fell at his feet, dead before its dark, mysterious body hit the ground.
“We must move,” Arq said, pointing up.
There were ships dropping attack pods from the air. Mitch remembered seeing the odd-shaped pods falling on Vodex. He knew there were mercenaries, or worse, in each one.
“Goodbye, old friend,” Qwii said.
His ship shot into the air like a rocket. Mitch was surprised by the sudden lift-off. He looked up, watching the Luska streaking into the sky.
“Won’t they know there’s no one on board?” He asked.
“Probably,” Qwii said. “But it will distract the enemy.”
“Come,” Arq said. “Hide your weapons. We must flee.”
Mitch didn’t like the idea of running, but he understood it. They rushed down the hill. Mitch stopped long enough to tug his sword free from the dead giant.
“You are a formidable warrior, Mitch Murphy,” Qwii said.
“You saved our lives,” Arq added.
“Where did those shades come from?” Mitch asked, referring to the aliens who had attacked Qwii and Arq.
“Movers, from another dimension,” Qwii said.
“There are realms we cannot see,” Arq told him as they hurried toward the exit of the landing port. “And beings with power we do not understand.”
“Why are they attacking us?” Mitch asked.
“They attack us to hurt the Creator,” Arq explained. “We are his, and they hate him.”
Mitch didn’t know what to think of that. But he understood they weren’t going to take the time for a full lesson on the nature of the universe. The shades coming through the portals were bad. He knew that much, and for the moment, it was enough.
They left the landing port and ran toward a row of buildings. There were people in the streets. Some were looking up at the rain of invasion pods. Others were cursing the trio who dashed through the streets.
“Sorcerers!” Someone shouted.
“This way! They’re over here,” someone else yelled.
“Why do the locals hate us so much?” Mitch wondered.
“We’re the reason they’re being invaded,” Arq said.
They ducked into an alley, and Qwii walked over to a shop selling garments. Mitch leaned against the wall. His chest hurt. The big alien called Forstah had hit him hard enough to leave a bruise. He probed the area gently with his fingers.
“Are you injured?” Arq asked.
“No,” Mitch said. “Just a little sore. How’s your leg?”
Arq had strained something during the attack at the auditorium. He limped but wasn’t complaining.
“It is nothing that won’t heal in time, should we live long enough.”
“What’s our plan?”
“We need to get off Pappisbad,” Arq said. “We will hire a ship.”
“Can the Fray detect us?”
“Only if we are using the Power,” the Nagani said. “We must pose as business associates on Pappisbad to trade. That means feining weakness. Can you do that, Mitch Murphy?”
“I can,” he said. “But I’m fairly certain I’m the only human on this planet. They’ll recognize me on sight.”
Qwii hurried back and handed Mitch a simple robe with a hood.
“That should help,” Arq said.
“It would be easier for the two of you to escape without me,” Mitch pointed out.
“Perhaps easier, but not better,” Qwii said.
“He’s right. We have an obligation to you, Mitch Murphy.”
“Because you plucked me off New Terra? Forget about that. Go back, protect the humans. That’s much more important than I am. Besides, there’s probably a lot of people who could take my place. But the Order needs you both, much more than it needs me.”
“Actually,” Arq said. “I don’t believe that is true.”
“It’s not?” Mitch asked, pulling on the robe and covering his head.
He was appreciative of the garment, but he was still nearly eight feet tall, with broad shoulders. He could hide his sword under the robe, which was more of a long coat, but fit him surprisingly well. But the garment wouldn’t hide his height or his imposing physique.
“We are not the warriors that you are,” Arq said. “If we are going to survive, it will be because we are fighting for our lives. You have already proven you are worth more than the two of us combined.”
“That’s not true,” Mitch said. “I couldn’t have fought the Fray without your help.”
“Still,” Arq insisted. “You are the future, we are the past. We will stay together. Qwii will find a way off this world, but we should try to blend in. Fighting is only the last resort.”
“Got it,” Mitch said.
“We must go,” Qwii said. “I think we should find a place to settle for a while.”
“A tavern,” Arq said. “We’ll get drinks and wait out the Fray.”
“It might be a good place to find a way off this planet too,” Mitch said. “One that won’t ask too many questions.”
“He is right,” Qwii said. “I saw a place that might suit us. This way.”
They meander through the street which was growing busier as the excitement died down. The ships dropping pods didn’t quite reach the hill they had landed on, but already pig-faced mercenaries were searching for them. They were forced into a building before reaching the tavern they sought when a group of eight mercenaries came into view.
“What now?” Mitch asked.
“Can I help you, gentlemen?” An alien in a thick, leather apron that was spattered with blood asked. He had six arms and four legs. He looked like a grubworm with most of his body upright. His face was small, and little stalks were sticking up from the top of his head.
“We are looking for a place to rest,” Arq said. “We have payment.”
“This is a butcher shop,” the man in the apron said. “If you’re here to cause trouble…”
“We are not,” Arq said. “Rather, we are hoping to avoid it.”
“We have gold,” Qwii said, pulling a coin from inside his Nagani clothing.
The furry aliens wore little enough, just a dark-colored sash over one shoulder that fanned out and tucked into their belt. Mitch knew Qwii had coins in the little pouch on his belt, but the really valuable goods he kept tucked inside the sash.
Don’t want it,” the butcher said. “Not the gold. But I’ve got a storeroom you can wait in. Nothing but four walls and some old crates.”
“That is perfect,” Arq said. “How can we repay you?”
“You’re Scion or something?” The alien butcher asked.
“What makes you say that?” Qwii replied.
“Those knives he’s carrying,” the butcher said, pointing at Mitch. “I know about blades. That’s Cidian. You people are about the only ones who use it.”
“We can go. Please don’t reveal that we were here,” Arq said calmly. “We would never bring trouble under your roof.”
“Already have, far as I can tell,” the butcher said. “Reports are coming in on all the frequencies. You were behind the terrorist attack at the Hyperion?”
“We were the target,” Arq said.
“And the invasion?”
“They are seeking us,” Arq said. “That is true.”
“I don’t care who’s about what or none of that nonsense,” the butcher said. “But I cut all day. Do all the fresh meat work for three restaurants and a hotel. Keeps me busy. I could use a blade like that. From what I hear, a Cidian blade can cut through anything.”
“That’s been my experience,” Mitch said. He had three of the daggers left. Two were tucked into the back of his belt, and one in the front. He drew the one from the front and checked to make sure it didn’t have any blood left on it. Then he handed it over, handle first to the butcher.
