Ice war, p.20
Ice War, page 20
Mosam glanced at Lin.
“Maybe three of us together can account for the control of one tyrant.”
Lin’s face was steady and expressionless, concealing what Yajain knew must be frustration at Mosam being right.
“We have to give it our best. Yajain, can you fly?”
“I don’t know.” Yajain reached into the wall of the bubble and pulled a storm system back from the battlefield, exposing tyrant ships to a barrage of allied fire. “I’ll work down here.”
“I’ll take the middle,” Mosam said.
“Then I’ve got the top.” Lin nodded. “Alright, you two.” She kicked off, mechanical legs impelling her lifts as well or better than living ones. “We need to take the storms off the fleet for all our sakes.”
The sphere rippled as the three of them worked. Yajain guided the pressure changes to disperse clouds below the fleets, reversing the storm toward the tyrant ships. She did not fully understand every motion, but the interface responded intuitively. Despite the pain from the tyrant's strike and her other wounds, she grinned.
The storm clouds broke apart. Fleet ships caught favorable winds. DiKandar Hall raced into the heart of the fray, closely accompanied by the relic ship Crimson Sorrow on one side and its sister vessel Scarlet Glory on the other. The tyrant fleet's fire tore breaches and scarred across the three massive vessels. No damage prevented them from reaching the center of the tyrant fleet thanks to interceptors and armor as well as fire support from the trailing battleship, Red Pride. DiKandar Hall, hull shimmering with fresh rain, reached the central point.
The three capital ships opened fire as one. Beams of energy and streams of coil fluid sliced in every direction, accompanied by the roar of ballistics and the flicker of tracers. Had they been firing upon a human fleet, horror at the might on display would have dwarfed Yajain's awe. She stared.
The closest tyrant capitol ships virtually disintegrated in the firestorm. Small craft burst apart. Ruptures sent splintering metal flying from larger vessels further away. Red Pride surged forward, the haft connecting the forward ships' spearhead to the body of the fleet.
The tyrants struggled. Some of their vessels maintained orderly functions. Others began to descend to escape the battle space.
Calaim Hub's settlement erupted in flames, burning through the streets and passages. Smoke billowed from ports and terraces, drawing Yajain's attention from the terrible destruction elsewhere. She directed rain clouds toward the pillar to douse the sudden inferno.
As rain began to fall, the tyrant fleet retreated. The relic ships hung in the abyss of sizzling mist. Wrecked enemy vessels with functional cores limped and drifted around them.
Lin pushed the storm higher. Mosam brought in rain in sheets to cool the fury of the combat. The united human fleet sailed deeper into Kerida Cluster, moving toward Vilmanorin's frozen heart.
Yajain felt Mosam's touch on her arm.
"That’s. We need to leave before the tyrants get here."
Alien warriors swarmed below the control bubble. The tumbler circled, occasionally taking a shot to keep the tyrants back. Mercenaries reached the bubble, led by Magistrate Lask.
Mosam Lin and yajain joined the others. They flew toward the gap where a smoking Solnakite waited. The ship’s thrusters roared as the bay doors opened. A team of cablers opened fire from the ship, dropping tyrants behind Yajain, Mosam, and the mercenaries. The newly arrived fire team moved forward, scattering an alien counterattack. Yajain hung onto Mosam on one side while Lin supported the other. They watched as more human ships arrived at Vilmanorin from the gatehouse’s portals, their shapes mirrored in the control bubble’s side.
Humanity claimed the source of the storms over the next three hours of fighting while Sonetta treated Yajain’s wound in Solnakite’s medical bay. It meant victory for the moment. How long will the tyrants stay in retreat? Yajain put the thought away. However long the moment lasted, she savored her safety.
Kaga Pillar, 8 Years Ago
Yajain’s transport to the central expanses and the academy arrived at the end of one light shift. She watched it approach, sitting at Lin’s bedside. Her sister lay, legless and crippled, but Yajain was finally free.
Lin touched Yajain’s wrist.
“Go. This is for you, not me.”
Yajain bowed her head. Tears welled in her eyes. She rose from the chair and turned to Lin.
“Thank you, Lin.”
“It isn’t me you need to thank,” said Lin.
Within an hour Yajain went out the door and headed to the docks, luggage dragged behind her.
She moved on.
The present
In the distance, beyond the curve of the storm sphere’s side, tyrant ships retreated down the shadowy corridor behind Vilmanorin. The lights of each ship flickered and then vanished as they powered up and then went to transit. Mosam sat at Yajain’s side in the watchroom of Solnakite, arm wrapped around her and gentle on her bandaged shoulder. More and more ships from the combined fleet appeared, transported to them by the gatehouse.
The remaining mercenaries from Lin’s ship were packed aboard the Solnakite, but for a few moments in the watchroom, Yajain and Mosam were alone. He leaned over to her and nuzzled his head into her hair.
“Yajay,” he whispered in her ear.
She leaned into him.
“What’s wrong?”
His face emerged from her hair, and he pointed down at the tops of towers emerging from the icy wall of Vilmanorin in places.
“We’re not the first humans to have this view,” he said. “Someone settled here once.”
“How long ago, do you think?”
“Sometime after leaving the first reef, but otherwise, no idea.”
“You think they were human?”
He chuckled.
“I guess I assumed, but you’re right. Could have been anyone.”
The intercom terminal on the wall beside them buzzed. Mosam reached back for Yajain and hit the button, sparing her the need to move her wounded arms. She smiled at him.
“We’ve got a message for Doctor Aksari,” said the voice on the intercom, an exhausted Captain Ettasil.
“Send it right here,” said Yajain.
Dara’s voice replaced Ettasil’s. “Yajain, are you alright?”
Yajain touched Mosam’s face with one hand.
“I think I am, Dara. And I’m glad you’re safe.”
His hand found her cheek with no need to say anything.
“Right back at you, Yajain.” Dara’s voice carried a smile. “I heard you were hurt.”
“It’s not bad. The fleet went through a lot more than I did.”
“The fleet is a lot bigger than you. Authorities are going to have questions when we get back to the center.”
“I know,” said Yajain. Her heart stung with worse than tyrant venom when she thought of what might happen to Mosam when they went back. “I’ll have things to ask them too.”
Footsteps in the hall behind them, made both Yajain and Mosam turn. Lin stood in the doorway of the ward room. She nodded to them once, then walked away. The words were written in her motion.
She still wants revenge.
Yajain held Mosam tighter and watched as the frozen city on Vilmanorin’s side appeared more clearly with the lights of each new ship.
“Dara,” she said. “I’ll need your help back there.”
“You can count on it.”
“Thanks.”
“There’s a lot of hurt people here. I’ve got to go.”
“Here too. Bye for now.”
Yajain turned to Mosam.
“I guess we qualify as hurt people,” he said.
“Who doesn’t?” Yajain smiled at him. “But at least we have friends to patch us up.”
They leaned on each other and watched the ancient city appear.
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Tim’s Note
Thank you for reading!
Yajain’s journey is far from over.
As a young writer, I never imagined the power I could eventually feel from my own work. Cheesy as that sounds, I think a good story well-told has an effect on me, even if I wrote it myself. I really hope all of you enjoy these stories. I couldn’t be more grateful for each and every one of you, especially for having gotten to this point in the series.
I am really enjoying the process of writing again, lately. After over half my life spent writing, I feel like I’ve finally reached a point where I can just relax and tell my stories as every stage of a given book.
So, friends, as this series continues, expect tension and drama to grow as more of the Pillar Universe appears on the page. Look for more books in 2019, not only in this series, but in others of all sorts. I’m crafting work faster lately, so expect releases regularly, though I won’t try to nail down any exactly at this point. Watch these end notes for updates.
This is not the end. Far from it.
Thanks for reading.
Tim Niederriter, February 22nd 2019
Also by Tim Niederriter
Science Fiction and Fantasy Series
The Pillar Universe
Spells of the Curtain Series
Tenlyres Series
The Root Conspiracy Series
Other Books
Rem’s Dream
Find out more at http://mentalcellarpublications.com
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About the Author
Tim Niederriter is a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy.
He started out reading The Hobbit at a young age, transitioned into war gaming, role playing and finally writing his own fiction.
After watching Star Wars a few times as a child, he wanted to tell his own stories in fantastic universes and devised something called a Pillar Universe.
He writes, he podcasts, he blogs. Find him at mentalcellarpublications.com.
Tim Niederriter, Ice War
