Phantom Regency

In the last days, a hero will arise. He will protect the final generations of Yoshun. His sword will be long, his shield broad, his arms mighty. He will come from the dragons but will be betrayed. Light will come to the darkness. Enemy will become ally. He will slay the dragons under the banner of the Sky Man. He will conquer the walking dragon and the flying dragon. If not for him, the line of Yoshun would be doomed. Speak to Sky Man of the promised hero. Wait for the warrior to arise. His coming will be the sign of the coming return of Yoshun, our liberator.

Phantom Rites 56:9

Talon and Drake had a glad reunion aboard the Dominator. After they made contact both ships shifted out of system and docked. They gathered in the old presidential suite that had been built into the ship for Voldruss – Talon, Drake, Cali (who was still first officer), Eamor, Rylen, Swoop and Rikka Thoralf, a female weapons officer who was Cali’s best friend and confidant.

“Cali was the one who started it all,” Drake began, “The day I met her she began telling me about Sky Man. I had just seen evidence of the cruelty of the Authority and Talon had told me of their traffic with the aliens. I was sick of what I was doing and who I was doing it for. Then to top it all off, Voldruss made me captain.”

Cali added, “They were marginalizing the Dominator. The Deathbringer had just been built, faster and more heavily armed. Immediately Captain Torkul and Voldruss took that ship. Lucky for us, most of the hard-core loyal Authority officers transferred there too.”

“Yeah, most of the remaining crew members were recruits from outside the Authority. Over several months, we augmented that with people we knew we could trust, people who knew Sky Man. We didn’t know at first why, but then we were ordered to raid Evanthan and Regency systems. We had a ship-wide meeting and over 90 percent of the crew was willing to defect rather than obey.” Drake said.

Talon interjected, “What about Doc? Did he leave?”

“Surprisingly, no. He has stayed on and seems to enjoy it here. I have had no serious talks with him. He…”

“I will have a serious talk with him. He’s the one who betrayed me to Voldruss.”

Rikka jumped in. “I think you’ll find him changed. I have interacted with him some. He seems to be a quite humbled man. I thought perhaps there was some guilt over a past occurrence. I guess I know what it is now.”

“Just the same,” Talon replied, “We cannot trust him.”

Drake continued, “We left the unwilling crew members on an Authority system and began debating what to do with the Dominator.”

Swoop was leaning against the far wall. “Hey, this wall is unnaturally warm. Does this room back up to any machinery?”

“I don’t know,” said Drake, “I’ll have it checked out.”

Rylen walked over next to Swoop and touched the wall.

“Meanwhile, we have an operation to plan,” Talon said.

Eamor had been silent. He was focused on the tasks ahead. “Yes, your coming to us was fortunate, Drake. Sky Man continues to provide all the pieces of the puzzle.”

“He told us to come here!” Drake said excitedly, “Cali has visions from the Phantom Realm. She saw you here and knew when to come.” He looked at her lovingly. Cali blushed and looked at the floor. It was becoming obvious to all that they were not just captain and first officer.

Talon was elated, “I am amazed at how much he is involved. It’s so…”

The back wall behind Swoop exploded. He was thrown across the room as debris peppered them all. Before they could react, a huge alien dragon charged into the room through the opening. It was snake-like with powerful legs and a long snout. Its eyes glowed yellow. It wore a helmet and a breastplate of sorts and had a thick staff in one of its hands. It let out a loud guttural roar.

Rylen was closest and was whipped by its long tail. He fell into a table, breaking it beneath him. Cali was standing directly in front of the creature. It swung at her with its staff. She was hit in the back of her neck as she tried to turn away. Flames exploded out of the end of the staff and sent her small body reeling, smoking and burning.

The dragon noticed Eamor and locked its eyes on him. It charged at him shouldering past Rikka and Drake, who were throw aside like rag dolls. Talon engaged the monster as it reached for Eamor with its weapon. He blocked the staff and punched it full in the face. It barely affected the dragon. It hissed and countered with a slash of claws. Talon dodged and tried to trip it. Instead its tail grabbed his legs and he was flung aside.

Eamor tried to use the energy of the staff against it, but he could not focus. The energy source was like no other he had ever felt. He had to break his concentration to barely avoid a fresh attack. Eamor sprung away and the dragon turned toward him and wound up face to face with Rikka, who was jumping in. She was tall, strong and fight-trained, but helpless against its staff. It jammed her full in the chest, pushing her to the ground. She screamed as her body was engulfed in flames.

Talon had recovered and leapt on its back. He wrapped his legs around its snake-like body and grabbed its neck with his left arm. His right arm chopped at the hand holding the staff. It clattered to the floor. The creature writhed around desperately trying to rid itself of Talon, but he was too strong. Talon ripped its helmet off and wrenched at its body with all his strength and toppled it to the ground.

With his legs still holding it tight, Talon shifted his body to get access to its head. Heedless of its clawing hands he grabbed it by the snout. With a groaning yell, he pulled its jaws apart. Talon’s mighty arms trembled with exertion, his thick cords of muscle twitching. The dragon hissed, its head quivering for a moment. Then with an awful snap its jaws flew apart wide and hung limp, its head drooping at an odd angle. For good measure Talon punched his hand deep into its gaping mouth. With a final spasm, the dragon fell limp.

Talon rolled off bleeding from numerous scratches but otherwise unhurt. Eamor stood over him, the alien weapon in his hand. Drake had Cali in his arms. She was unconscious and badly hurt, but still alive. Swoop was still out cold. Rylen was stirring and appeared largely unhurt. Rikka was the only casualty.

After they attended to the wounded, they investigated the chamber that the alien had come from. It was a fully stocked living quarters, set up for its alien guest. They guessed that it had lived there since the time Voldruss occupied the ship. Had it really waited all this time for Eamor to be on board? Was Drake’s defection planned or allowed by their enemies? For now, they had more questions than answers.

A few hours later, Talon and Eamor met in the waiting room at the Dominator’s sickbay. They had asked Doc to meet them there after they visited Cali and Swoop. Swoop did not have life threatening injuries but would be recovering for several weeks. Cali was paralyzed from the waist down and would need treatment at a better facility.

“Eamor, I’m glad you are joining us. I do not trust myself alone with him.”

“Don’t leave Sky Man out of your thoughts. His way is to forgive. Everyone deserves a chance at liberation. We cannot keep our enemies in cages of our own making.”

“I know. But betrayal is painful.”

“Yes, I was betrayed too. I had to accept my betrayer and love him. It was Halen. He turned me in to Dread after learning about my gift,” Eamor shared.

“Wow. Halen. I didn’t know. I…” He was interrupted by a soft knock on the doorframe.

Doc stepped in to the room. He was impeccably dressed as always. “Greetings, young sirs. Thank you for the opportunity. If I were in your place I may have simply ejected me into the sky.” He looked Talon in the eye but throughout their conversation he never quite met Eamor’s steady gaze.

“Doc, I just want to know why,” Talon said sadly, “I honestly am grateful it worked out the way it did. Sky Man took care of me.”

“Well, I suppose you do not know why I joined the SERPENT Armada.” Talon shook his head. “My wife of ten years had just left me; my practice was in disarray and I was severely in debt. They recruited me for the Armada because I was a top-rated trauma surgeon. They offered to pay off Marrza and settle with my creditors. It was an offer I could not afford to refuse. Later, when I was assigned to the Dominator, they asked me to be the administrative officer.”

A light came on for Talon. He had heard once that every ship has at least one senior officer assigned as the “administrator” that kept tabs on the other officers, especially the captain.

Doc continued, “They wanted a report on you once a week, presumably because you were not an Authority lifer. I initially said no, primarily because I loathe paperwork.” He smiled slightly. Talon and Eamor did not respond. “At any rate, they did not allow me to refuse. It was inferred that my debt would be redoubled upon me. I am sorry captain; there was no option open for me. Of course, now I have no choice, for if I tried to return I would owe them my left arm.”

“More likely your neck,” Eamor responded, “The Authority execs are servants of the dragons. We must stop them. If you are sincere about leaving it all behind you are welcome to stay. The Dominator is now allied with the true Regent, the Watchers and the exiles.”

“Doc, I forgive you. I have no reason to hold a grudge,” Talon added.

Doc nodded gracefully. “For your forgiveness, I am grateful. I will continue to serve my patients well. My reward is greater for my skill as a surgeon than for my attempt at subterfuge.” He backed out of the room.

“What do you think?” Talon asked after he left.

“Not sure. The serpent’s hooks run deep. Time will tell if he will really see the light. In the meantime, I think he’s harmless enough. Have you thought anymore about how we will transport the cylinders out of the Nexus?”

“Actually, I have the perfect solution, and it will be easy.”

“What’s that?” Eamor asked.

“Phantom sleds,” he replied, then continued at Eamor’s puzzled look. “They are no larger than a gunboat. One man can pilot them. They have foldable struts to attach to cylinders. The Authority uses them to transport purchased cylinders back to the shipyards. They are set up with quick connectors for the cylinders. And I know where they keep them.”

“Excellent. Let’s meet with the others and finalize our plans.”

They agreed, with Swoop’s permission, that Eamor and Rylen would take the Sky Lady to visit the exiles. Talon and Drake would take the Dominator to steal some phantom sleds. They would easily fit in the huge ship’s landing bay. They would meet back on Sky’s End in a couple of weeks to plan the final raid.

Eamor piloted the Sky Lady away from the Dominator, joined with the Sky Rider, and shifted toward the exile colony. “Well, here we go,” he said to Rylen.

“This is the final hurdle. I do not know the attitude of the exiles. They have been under the patronage of your grandfather for a long time.”

“I am a little daunted. I believe Sky Man wants me to take my place as Regent and essentially command their allegiance. I don’t know how I would react to that if I were in their place.”

Rylen frowned. “I do not know. Certainly, many of them will have memories of your father.” He smiled. “You look a lot alike.”

“Tell me more about him,” Eamor said.

“My brother-in-law was interesting. He did not fit in. He had little interest in engineering like his father. He also did not take to Sky Man like I did. Phaenor was a student. He studied history, philosophy. He tried to figure everything out. As he got older he became more and more fascinated by our family history. He compiled and wrote a book about the life of Yoshun. It was never published but I have read it. He went on long rants about how he would act if he were Regent.”

“It was after you were born that he became more serious about it. Your mother and I kept trying to convince him that his highest duty was to keep you secret and safe. His passion was to restore the Regency for you. I steered him to Sky Man, telling him of the promises of the return and restoration. Instead of waiting and trusting, he became convinced that Sky Man wanted him to act.”

As he was talking, Eamor admired his uncle’s character. He was rarely angry or upset and was able to relate these painful events with keen insight and compassion.

“He sent you and your mother into hiding. I went with you. Your father went to Yoshun. His intention was to network secretly and gather support for a coup of sorts. We never heard from him. I always suspected that he told one too many people who he really was and was turned in to the M.S.P.”

“So, was he really crazy?” Eamor asked.

“Noooo… I would say zealous and misguided. He was really a genius. He would have been a big help to you now, Eamor.”

Eamor began sobbing softly. His uncle laid a hand on his shoulder. They grieved together for a long time as the stars swiftly passed.

As the Dominator shifted out, Drake restored the captaincy to Talon. He knew his limitations and he was worried sick about Cali and did not want to leave her for long. Talon took command with relish. He had never been so excited to command a ship before. Now his old passion and new passion were one. He would not fail.

When they were nearing the Thorkell Staging Grounds, Cali awoke. Her eyes opened wide and she spoke immediately. “Drake, we are in danger. I saw a vision of a giant dragon ambushing the ship. We were destroyed.”

“Cali, are you okay?”

“Drake, did you hear me? Where are we?”

“We are about to raid an Authority installation. Talon is in command.”

“You have to warn him before it is too late. Go!”

Drake ran to an intercom. “Captain, captain. It’s a trap.” As he was speaking he felt the ship come out of shift. Too late. “It’s a trap!”

“Acknowledged.” Talon said from the bridge. He turned to his tactical officer. “Phantom field up! Activate all defenses.”

That moment, a spread of missiles sped from behind the installation. In seconds, they hit the phantom field and drifted away powerless. Following the missiles, a huge ship appeared from behind the station. It was the Deathbringer.

Ennika Torkul’s voice came over the communicator, “Captain Anslar, you are outgunned. Surrender your ship immediately and your life will be spared.”

“This is Captain Talon Vasloch of the Dominator. I may be outgunned, but you are out-captained. Reverse your course or I will attack.”

“Vasloch, what a surprise. I retract my offer. You will die!” The communicator crackled off.

The Deathbringer immediately fired a huge beam of phantom energy at the Dominator’s phantom field.

“What in the Inferno is that!?” Talon exclaimed.

“I don’t know,” The tactical officer replied, “But it is draining our field rapidly. 72% and dropping.”

“Full ahead. Intercept course! Fire a barrage of missiles. Detonate them at the point that the beam is exiting their phantom field. Let’s see if we can disrupt it.”

The Dominator surged ahead and launched missiles. A few seconds later a chain of explosions rocked the Deathbringer. The beam flickered out along with the phantom field.

Talon took full advantage. “Phantom blasters. Sixty five percent. Fire!”

Greenish-Yellow phantom pulses hurtled into the Deathbringer. Chunks of armor and hull melted into nothingness. When the energy and fire cleared, fifty feet of her bow was no more. Fires raged inside her forward hull.

On the Deathbringer’s command deck, Torkul raged. “Get the phantom field back up! Twenty degrees starboard. Ready a broadside!”

Kaelin was sitting at her side. “It is the dragon slayer. We must flee. He will be your undoing. I will curse them instead.” She produced a small communication disc. “I have the means.” Ennika was ignoring her. She shouted to the room as a whole, “We are doomed! Retreat! Retreat!”

She was silenced by a backhand from Captain Torkul and was swiftly subdued by her bodyguards. “Mumbo jumbo witch! What does she know?”

Talon slowed his ship and drew alongside the Deathbringer. “Fire cannons!”

The ships exchanged several broadsides. The Dominator took the worst of it. The newer ship had more and larger Vasloch cannons.

“Damage report!” he yelled over the din.

“Port engine is out. Port reactor is overloading. Engineering will have to shut it down if they can’t cool it. We’ve lost numerous weapons and sensors.”

Talon thought hard. He was doomed if he continued to fight toe to toe. “Prepare for best speed. Tactical, plot me a missile solution. Rear tube to their Nova engines. Send it to my console.”

“But sir, their phantom field…”

“Just do it!”

Talon hurriedly entered a code into his command console then synced in the missile solution. Moments later a lone missile launched from the rear of the ship.

“Best speed. Escape course!”

The missile detonated outside the Deathbringer’s rear phantom field. Instead of the customary explosion, a huge white orb of light appeared and expanded, engulfing their view of the ship.

When they could see again, the Deathbringer’s phantom field was flickering, its nova engines were out, and the entire rear of the ship glowed orange.

“Captain???” one of the officers finally asked.

“It was a nuke. Ennika didn’t even know about them. This ship was loaded with the last six known fusion warheads in the galaxy, leftovers from the Final War on Galmar. Bring us around. Status on bogie one.”

“She’s adrift sir, no nova power. Hull still intact. Life form readings normal. Radioactive readings are off the scale. Wait, I’m picking up a coded transmission. Recording,” the duty officer reported. “Her phantom engines are powering up. She’s shifting.”

Talon hesitated.

“Sir, are we going to fire?”

The ship disappeared into the phantom sky. Talon wondered why he hesitated. Did he really care about Ennika? He didn’t think so. Maybe Sky Man had a reason.

As the Deathbringer shifted away, Kaelin roused herself. Torkul’s bodyguards, Luxxor and Dak each held her by an arm. She pleaded earnestly, “The dragon slayer has power you cannot fathom. Only with the Great Dragon’s help can you defeat him. Humble yourself to the Phantom King, the Ruler of Galaxies. Only he can…”

Ennika Torkul drew the knife from Kaelin’s belt and plunged it into her chest. “I don’t need your dragons!” she yelled then turned to the crew. “Rejoin the fleet, get this ship repaired! We are going to the Nexus. I have unfinished business… And clean this mess up!” She gestured toward Kaelin’s bloody body.

Talon sighed as they escaped. “All right, let’s proceed with the operation. Launch all vipers. Collect the sleds. And trace that transmission. Did any one on board receive it?”

“Sir, it was received in sickbay, chief doctor’s console,” was the reply.

“Doc!” Talon exclaimed, “Send security detail to sickbay, I’m on my way there.”

Talon sprinted down to the sickbay. He should not have trusted Doc. He suddenly remembered Swoop and Cali were patients there.

He burst into the main care unit. It took him a moment to realize what he was seeing. Doc was slumped on the floor next to Cali’s bed. His head was bleeding. Drake was on the floor next to him, partially under the larger man. Swoop was standing over them, a large scanner box in his hands.

Cali was crying hysterically. “I tried to warn him. I… I… I was too late.”

Talon knelt by Drake and was joined by a nurse who had just entered the room. “He’s dead,” she pronounced.

Doc seemed to still be alive. Talon ordered the arriving security team to strap him into a bed. “What happened?” he asked Swoop.

“Cali awoke suddenly. She saw Doc walking into the room. He had a needle in his hand and walked up to her. Drake moved out of his way, presuming it to be routine, but as he approached she panicked, said something about the dragon in him. Drake went to grab at him and Doc stabbed him with the needle instead. Drake dropped to the floor instantly. Doc was reaching for her again but he was unaware that I was awake,” Swoop dropped the scanner with a clatter.

Talon was staring at Doc.

“Why did he do it?” Swoop asked.

“I don’t…” He sighed. “We received a coded transmission from the enemy ship. It came to Doc. His allegiance had not changed as we had hoped.”

“I wish my blow had been fatal.”

Talon spun on his heels and stormed out of the room. “Me, too,” he said under his breath.