Vivid Stars Online

My hands clenched into fists as a wave of helplessness rushed over me. Then, almost on its own, my right hand twitched toward the bracelet on my other arm. It would be so easy to pull it off, regain my powers, and kick this interloper out of my ship's systems.

The temptation was almost overwhelming, but only almost. I'd already had plenty of experience resisting it, and I knew the price of giving in. While it would make the current crisis far easier, it would only cause even more trouble.

Taking a deep breath, I forced my hand to sink back to my side and relax. Regaining my powers was off the table; I would have to solve this without them. However grim the situation seemed, I wasn't without resources.

But first, I needed whatever information we could get. "Mira, keep in contact with the command ship and find out anything else you can. I have a decent level of military clearance, and we're the target, so use that if they try to freeze you out."

I paused for a moment as another worry hit me before continuing. "The enemy Psion might try to take communications down as well if they sense us using them, though it depends on how exhausted they already are from shutting down half the ship."

"Try to keep the system running as long as possible if that happens, but don't risk yourself. If they are using Technokinesis, then they can hurt you for real, so retreat to your core if it becomes too dangerous."

"Understood, Captain," Mira's voice sounded tense but determined, and in a calmer situation, I'd have admired her simulation of human emotion. "I have sent an initial message and am awaiting a response."

"I have also performed initial simulations on how long we have before enemy contact. While it depends on several factors, a rough estimate suggests we should have at least five minutes and as many as fifteen or even twenty before the first pods arrive."

“You're a godsend, Mira!” I responded enthusiastically. I hadn't even considered how long we had, but it wasn't like a drop from space was instant. You still had to get through the atmosphere at a speed the pod and the people inside could withstand.

And while our shadowy enemy was likely behind this, they were still using this planet's technology. Outside of Psi-tech, we were far from the most advanced, so I had to assume our drop pod technology wasn't the best.

That gave us at least a little time to prepare, though there were some decisions I couldn't make until I had a better idea of what I was facing. For now, I informed Linnea to hold her position and watch for any enemies that might already be in the area.

There was at least one, the enemy Psion, but there could also be more. At the very least, I'd expect that the Psion brought a few bodyguards for when they were focused on the ship. They would be just too vulnerable while shutting us down otherwise.

Which they might continue to do if I left them alone out there. The problem was finding a way to do something about a hidden enemy with the ability to shut down technology. With so much of our scouting being handled by Elana's drones, it was no wonder we hadn't detected them approaching.

Suddenly realizing I'd missed someone, I quickly ordered Elana to move toward engineering. While there would be a limited amount she could do against someone using Technokinesis, she could still try and make it harder for them.

The few times I'd had to work against actively managed systems, it had always been more complex. While part of that was undoubtedly the measures they were taking, I had a hunch that the focused will and intent of the operator had an effect as well.

Just like I couldn't teleport an item that someone else was holding, it should be harder to affect a system that someone was focused on keeping functional. Anything she could do to keep the ship running would be worth more than she could contribute to the fight.

At the very least, it was critical to keep emergency power on and the doors running so we didn't get locked out of the ship. If that happened, we'd have already lost.

But that still left me with the problem of the Psion themselves. I agonized over it while waiting for information from the command ship. Did I wait and hope they'd already blown all their Psi reserves?

Or did I send people out to find them? Doing so would leave fewer troops to defend the ship but might prevent even more damage. Beyond the initial trouble they could cause, I had to consider that they might try to insert more subversive instructions that would cause problems even if we won.

The possibilities that they might be able to achieve were almost endless and just as terrifying. To ignore them with just the hope that they were out of power seemed far too reckless.

So I had to do something; I just didn't know what. I'd repeatedly shown how difficult it was to take down Technokinesis with guns or other advanced technology, so how could I manage it with what I had on hand?

Over the next two minutes, I frantically thought up every scenario I could, including charging out there myself with my sword, before finally settling on the one I thought had the best chance of succeeding.

It was not a plan I liked, but I couldn't afford to waste more time on only one of my problems. With a sigh, I called Linnea directly on my watch. She answered almost instantly, and a small hologram of her armored form appeared, hovering over the screen.

"Jared," she greeted me with a terse nod. "What do you need us to do?" While not precisely calm, she seemed as professional and determined as always despite the imminent crises.

It was enough to bring a small smile to my face, even with what I was about to ask of her. "I've got a mission for you, though I'm afraid it's going to be risky," I responded, unable to keep the worry out of my voice.

"There's a Psion hidden out there messing with the ship, and I need them dealt with as soon as possible. The problem is they appear to be using Technokinesis, so it will be tough to put them down."

"Think of it as if you were fighting me. They might be able to do anything you've seen me do before, and they might have even more tricks of their own. We have no idea what other powers they might have, and they might even be listening to this call right now."

"If that's the case, you'll likely never catch them, and it's the same if they're actively focused on sensing technology around them. Despite all that, I still need you to try. I believe the most likely situation is that they are still focused on the ship to ensure we can't escape."

"I need you to take the scouts and spread out to find them. Focus on stealth above everything else; if they or someone with them spots you, then they'll disable your weapons, and you'll never be able to take them out."

"They can't be too far away and still affect the ship, so one of you should find them eventually. When that happens, you'll need to use all your sniping ability. Find a good spot, then take them out with a single headshot. It has to be an instant kill, or again, they might disable your weapons."

When I finished, I was out of breath and belatedly realized I'd rattled all that off with barely a pause. The stress of the situation was getting to me, and sending my lover off to fight an incredibly dangerous enemy wasn't helping.

Yet I didn't have much choice. The combination of Linnea and the other scouts was the best chance of finding the enemy, and her sniping them gave us the largest chance of actually taking them out.

While it also deprived us of five fighters on our side, that was a trade-off I'd take to get rid of the Psion. And it wasn't like they were out of the fight for good.

It seemed Linnea was thinking along the same lines as she responded. "Understood Jared. I'll handle it and get back as soon as I can. Once we return, we should be able to stage hit-and-run attacks on the enemy's flank."

"Good luck," she finished, the hologram already turning away and gesturing to someone as it vanished.

"Good luck," I whispered back, even though there was no way she could hear me with the call ended. That order had hurt to give, but I didn't have any time for regrets. A glance at the time showed I'd already used up over three minutes, yet I hadn't even begun organizing our defenses here.

Being in command was rough, and it was even worse without my old Thought Acceleration power. There was just so much to juggle and so many decisions to make in so little time.

The most significant one left was how we would engage the enemy. Should we do it out in the open, giving us more manoeuvrability and reducing the chance that someone could sneak into the ship?

Or should we move inside, giving us the defensive position but giving the enemy free rein to maneuver? Given that we were almost certainly outnumbered, and by fully trained fleet marines at that, I felt like falling back was our only hope.

It would increase the risk of them cutting through the hull somewhere we weren't paying attention to, but that was just something we would have to deal with. It was possible they wouldn't even have the equipment to do so; however, it was an area where my stealth ship's hull worked against us.

While excellent at its job, it was weaker against such attacks than traditional ship plating would be. As long as the enemy had been prepared for this, there was a good chance they would have the tools to do so.

And, just like leaving the Psion alone, letting them seize the bridge or engineering could see us locked out entirely. Not to mention that it would likely get me or Elana killed. I'd have to keep that in mind when distributing troops.

Already another thirty seconds had passed while I was thinking, and I hurriedly ordered the two squad sergeants to bring their troops inside. To begin with, I had each of them hold one of the major entrances — the main airlock and the cargo bay — while I pulled up a map to find any others.

At worst, we had barely more than a minute left, and I tried to work even faster as the pressure mounted. "Have we heard anything back, Mira?" I called out, trying to multi-task as I frantically scrolled around the hull, looking for other entrances and cursing myself for not already knowing.

"The situation seems greatly confused, Captain. I initially received a confirmation that an information packet would be sent, only to receive a second message seconds later that my request was denied."

"Over the last few minutes, this has occurred multiple times, so I suspect that someone in the chain of command is attempting to keep us in the dark."

"Damn it," I cursed, even as I directed eight of the fresh troops that came with the ship to cover various emergency exits around the hull. None were proper entrances like the two major ones, but all would make for easier targets to cut open.

It might also be possible for the Psion to trigger them to open by tricking the system. While I hated to divert the troops, it was a risk I couldn't afford. The best I could do was to use the less advanced troops rather than my better-trained and freshly battle-hardened elite ones.

"Is there anything we can do? Maybe at least try to track the pods ourselves?"

"Negative, Captain," Mira responded sadly. "Sensors shut down just over a minute ago; you were so busy I delayed the announcement. At a guess, I would say they were taken out to prevent just such an attempt."

I was quickly finding that being stymied at every turn was a feeling that I hated. We'd been taken off guard, and every time I tried to get an advantage, the enemy seemed to be one step ahead.

The only potential positive was that the Psion was still focused on the ship. That might give Linnea the chance she needed to take him out.

"However, I have continued communication on multiple channels, including through the palace," Mira said, her tone far more positive. "And I just received confirmation from one of the Duchess' staff that we should be getting a call any sec…"

Suddenly, the bridge's primary hologram flashed into being, cutting Mira off mid-sentence. It showed a stern-faced older man standing on a bridge not too dissimilar to ours. He was dressed in a fleet uniform I recognized from my visit to the other frigate, though I'd never seen the particular epaulets on his.

"Count Hope, I presume." He addressed me, leaning both hands on a walking cane in front of him. "I am Lord Admiral Darvon, commander of the fleet," he continued without waiting for a response.

"At the personal request of a royal family member, I am contacting you directly to bypass the complete mess my chain of command is currently in. Despite the many matters that require my attention, I am at your disposal for the next few minutes," he finished with an odd expression halfway between a frown and a wry grin.

For a moment, I was frozen in surprise. This was much more than I'd hoped for, and I could only imagine that the Duchess had come through for me. It was also a very welcome indication that the entire military wasn't against me, which I'd begun to fear as we continued to be blocked.

As much as I wanted to ask what was happening, that could wait until later. "How long until the drop pods land? And how many troops should I be expecting?" I fired off rapidly as I got over my surprise.

"You have a little more time," Admiral Darvon responded to my everlasting relief. "We were able to delay the drop pod activating for several minutes through electronic countermeasures, and they only entered the atmosphere seventy-three seconds ago.

"They will land in seven minutes and thirty-nine seconds. You should expect fifty soldiers to emerge when they do. While a full launch would normally be ten pods containing one hundred troops, my still loyal escort ships," the man's face twisted almost self-mockingly, "were able to forcibly disable three tubes before launch and an additional two pods in transit.

My face fell at the numbers, though it wasn't so bad that I completely despaired. I had thirty-two troops, including myself and Linnea, but that was down to twenty-seven with the five I'd sent off. That put us at just over half their number.

That wasn't good, but with our defensive position, I hoped we could hold. "Is there any way we can get assistance?" I quired the admiral intently. "From one of the other drop-ships, perhaps?"

He shook his head immediately as if expecting that question. "Unfortunately not. We only have three drop-ships, and they are intentionally kept separated to cover as much of our territory as possible."

"By the time we moved another one into position, your fight would be long over. Nor are the ships escorting the traitorous drop-ship equipped with fighters they can launch."

"And by the time they could reach your position directly, the fight would again be over, even if I didn't need them to retake the drop-ship. As hard as it is to say, I'm afraid you are on your own Count Hope."

That wasn't what I'd hoped to hear, but it was about what I expected. It did, however, bring something to mind that I'd forgotten. We couldn't open the hangar doors to launch the fighters on emergency power, which meant the pilots were free.

They might not be up to the level of my other soldiers, but they were all equipped with side arms and had been trained in the fleet academy. I wouldn't want them on the front lines, but they could serve as a last line of defense.

I quickly sent orders for them to split into two groups of three and travel to my location on the bridge and Elana's in engineering. If a lone enemy or two managed to sneak in somewhere, they would hopefully be able to deal with it.

Beyond that, I couldn't see much else we could do except to fortify our positions for the next few minutes.

The fight was almost upon us.