ARC OF THE IMMORTALS Book 2

Time Rifts-29: Journey / Cornered [3]

Rival Factions and Conflict

[warning contains scenes of violence]

Recap TR28 — Journey Unexpected [2]: After Touzdae opens the door to the skinny house on a mound she travels through space. She sees a sitting figure bowed over with a broad-brimmed hat. The figure is smoking a pipe with a long shank. The pipe disappears and the smoke lingers.

The figure removes his hat revealing a hole filled with stars. She says she doesn’t want to be sucked in. She is sucked towards the hole. She yells stop and everything stops. She says to go into the tunnel of lights and she does. She says to go to Jac’s dimension. She arrives and is restrained. They take her away along the midpoint of the sphere. Gunfire reigns down from above.

Kurtz wants to send another duplicate from billions of years in the future. His tech reminds him of the bridge. The bridge is access to the other dimension.

Jac heals swiftly from the operation and his injury. He feels that the original Touzdae is on board, but is unsure. Phorea goes to check.

Touzdae considers making telepathic contact with the lead soldier of the team. She spreads her sense out wide and makes contact with a warrior. Jac is freed from forcefield restraints by Suke. Meanwhile, Touzdae and the six soldiers hear and feel a vibration.

The section of deck where Touzdae is, collapses; as well as the two decks below.

Current episode: A dust and debris cloud filled the air where the decks had collapsed.

A rival group entered before the dead or unconscious six soldiers stirred or not.

Lieutenant Commander Gorshoff was the lead soldier. He was the fifth of four — one of the elite teams aboard the Mu. After Jac put on the suit and engaged it, Gorshoff went through the functions. They stood helmeted — toe to toe.

“Communicator on,” Gorshoff began. “Say it Jac.”

“Communicator on,” Jac said.

“Not only does the communicator turn on. It allows you to listen and hear outside the suit and to me and others on the team. It has a neural interface. Direct a specific command verbal or thought — it makes it happen. My thought can operate your suit if you’re too slow sending verbal or thought commands. Wait for my go-ahead, unless you’re separated from the group, then use your own judgment.”

Gorshoff ran through three of six levels of the suit by voice, “Begin by saying or thinking the word ‘Erect’. As in Erect Level One.”

One is a dense field,” Gorshoff began. “It can stop a force three laser attack and armor-piercing bullets. It makes the suit heavier. But power systems to the suit and to your muscles support the extra weight. We’ll go in with Level One — on full. Level Two protects against a variety of gases, especially metal-eating gases. Level Three is extra protection from psi commands from outside. The remaining three levels we won’t need, hopefully. But if the need arises I will issue a thought command to your suit if necessary.”

“Clear?” he barked.

“Yes sir.”

Give me a rundown on the functions! Lt. Commander Gorshoff thought to Jac.

Jac repeated back the functions.

“Lasers don’t work in the section of the ship we’re headed for. And my Psi commands don’t always get through. So remember the top 3 levels or protocols.”

“Yes, sir.” Jac was succinct with respect in his tone.

“All right Men and Woman. Move out. On my six.”

Jac and the five-person team marched forward. Jac was fourth to Gorstoff, his second, and the top marksman with pistols was third.

Two Entu monks entered DKr. Malley’s lab.

Malley stood for a second and sat.

“I did as I was told. I followed the playbook. It’s not my fault that Touzdae the original was too smart for me,” Malley admitted holding back tears. “I can’t keep the dimensions together anymore. They’re coming apart.”

The Entu monks glowered at him.

The team marched into the chaotic zone of the ship with Level One operating on full. Jac liked the muscular assist.

This is a different quadrant, Jac’s telepathic voice blurted out.

“What?” the marksman caught Jac’s thought as bullets rang over them. A barrage of bullets followed.

Crouch and cover, Gorstoff sent the thought command.

Bullets reigned over them. The team took positions covering Jac. They put up a forcefield. It failed.

Level Two, the command came through from Gorstoff. Jac had anticipated the Level two command. He looked into possible futures about six seconds ahead. It was automatic for Jac. He sent the Erect Level Two thought command 6 seconds in advance of the canisters of gas ejected by a machine. Again Jac “saw” the machine with an automatic load of canisters eject. By remote.

A wall of gas rolled down the passageway.

“Level Two,” Gorstoff commanded via thought.

The first wave of gas was invisible and cloaked from sensors. Before the Level Two shields went up the undetected gas was upon the group. Thousands of bullets filled the air. They took out all the team except the sniper, one soldier; and Jac. Gorstoff was gone and two others.

The one soldier expert in hand-to-hand, Jac, and the sniper beat back in retreat.

Is there another way to the sphere? Jac asked telepathing his thought to the two remaining team members.

A level four laser cannon shot through the corridor. It cut the male soldier in half. The pieces burst into flames.

Jac and the sniper ducked into a crawl space on the left side of the corridor. “Oh my Spirits, a laser canon at level four or higher. That shouldn’t have been possible.”

“The sphere?” Jac insisted. The woman sniper nodded.

But? Jac thought to her.

We would need to go outside the ship.

One of the Entu monks set up a viewer and the other monk pushed Dkr. Malley down on a chair. And used telekinetic powers that forced Malley to look at the viewer.

“You don’t have to torture her,” he pleaded. “She’s my wife, my love.”

Electrical bolts passed through her body. Malley cried out in protest, tears streaking his face.

Touzdae was prone inside an elongated sphere. Static electrical energy obscured her head. The forcefield held her several feet off the ground.

the next chapter:

previous two chapters:

Contents:

Thank you for joining me in the adventures that span lifetimes and worlds. Blessings, Passion, and Grace on your journey. May whatever your looking for — find you.

[This is a fictional story. Like all fiction, elements of truth are present.]

(If you do NOT wish to be tagged, let me know, and I’ll tag you not):

Alison Hollingsead | Rebecca Romanelli | Joseph Lieungh | Dr Mehmet Yildiz | Kris Bedenian | Alberto García 🚀🚀🚀 | Blaine Coleman | DL Nemeril | Rip Parker | Annelise Lords | Barbara Murray | K. Pearson Bradley | Libby Shively McAvoy