swiveled around. These fired on the Horva soldiers. For a moment, Orin thought the warrior must be controlling the guns. But it didn’t seem possible with the rest of the fighting he was doing. It would have been beyond any Barudii abilities Orin had ever known.
The soldiers were now preoccupied with this warrior and their own mutinous sentry lasers. Tiet and Orin didn’t know whether to get away or wait to see how it all turned out. Then the warrior, having cleared away many of the Horva around him with his swords and the auto-guns, launched high off the rooftop landing in front of Orin and Tiet.
He wore a sand-colored garment that seemed oddly pedestrian for a warrior of this caliber. He was hooded, with only his glaring, penetrating eyes visible. “Do you want to live, Barudii?” he asked as the Horva regrouped behind him, more reinforcements adding to their numbers.
The warrior ran to the edge of the roof and launched out away from it with enough power to completely clear the compound’s energy wall three hundred feet away from the buildings perimeter. He sailed over as easily as a bird in flight. Orin and Tiet barely took enough time to glance at each other then stood up and followed. They each made the jump, but with less elegance. They soft-landed next to the warrior.
“What about the perimeter cannons?” Orin asked, as they broke into a run away from the compound.
“We’re cloaked from their sensors by our garments,” the warrior said.
“Who are you?” Orin asked as he puffed along beside the mysterious man.
“There isn’t time for introductions just yet. The Horva are already mobilizing attack fighters to come after us. We must keep moving.”
“Where are we going?” Tiet asked. There was only desert before them. Against the pale sand, the attack fighters he had spoken of would easily spot them, even without sensors.
“Just keep moving!” the warrior insisted.
As they ran toward the open desert, the terrain began to change from rock, where the facility was located, to shifting sand and large dunes. The trio ran for nearly fifteen minutes then they heard the sound of whining engines coming from behind.
The men entered the dunes heaving every breath in and out of their tired bodies. Orin looked back and saw ten aerial fighters coming into view about a mile behind them and closing fast. As they entered the dunes, the sand began to swirl around them. Orin wasn’t sure what was going on, but he kept running. The whine of fighter engines grew louder and louder. Orin knew they must be within visual range by now. Only the warrior’s tan attire seemed appropriate now, as they ran through the whirling sand. A wave of sand billowed up around them and swallowed them whole. The Desert had eaten them alive. The airships zoomed past where the men had been and kept going.
☼
Tiet, Orin and the mysterious warrior were now in an odd shaped underground alcove. The sand was above them without being on them. It was as though the desert had opened its mouth and swallowed them, depositing them within its bowels. The sand parted before them to reveal an underground cavern of immense size.
“Don’t be alarmed, gentlemen. We are well hidden down here,” the stranger said.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, yes,” the warrior said. He untied his hood and slipped it away, revealing a man of more years than Orin. He had a partial beard and short, white hair.
“It can’t be,” Orin said. “Wynn Gareth? But I thought you were killed in the Sector Seven Battle.”
Tiet appeared clueless.
“Well, I see you’ve heard of me, though I don’t remember either of you,” Wynn said. “I wasn’t killed in the battle, obviously. One of the big Barudii carriers exploded near my fighter, disabling my controls. The shock wave forced me through the transdimensional rift.
“After I emerged on this side, I was able to affect repairs to the damaged system and make my way to this planet. It took me a while to figure out what had happened. At first I didn’t realize my ship had even gone through the rift.”
“My name is Orin Vale and this is Tiet Soone, the son of our late king, Kale Soone.”
“Really? The birth of the king’s son was announced only days before we went into battle against the Vorn at Sector Seven. And here you are all grown up—and a very promising warrior from what I saw.”
“How long have you known we were on the planet?” Tiet asked.
“I have been watching you both since you emerged from Mt. Vaseer and entered the battle against General Grod’s forces. After you escaped the dome, I aided you in your escape.”
“Then it was you who crushed the vent tube?” Orin asked.
“Yes, using the Way. I tracked you and thought you could use some assistance. I have a friend on the inside. I’m able to monitor what General Grod and the Horva are doing.”
“That was some amazing fighting on the rooftop.”
“Master Soone, you may have noticed that on this side of the rift the Way is greatly enhanced beyond what we knew back home on Castai. There is something about being on this side of the rift that increases our power.”
“We began to notice it after we passed through the rift two days ago,” Orin said.
“I have been on this twin planet of Castai for twenty years and there is much that you and our people back home don’t realize about what has been happening in this war with the Vorn. Also, the forces that overlapped into our dimension through the rift have a much more potent effect on our abilities than you are probably aware of.
“Back home, the power of the Way seemed as if we were receiving the misting rain from a far off storm. Here on this side of the rift, we are in the eye of a hurricane. What you may have thought amazing back at the compound is within either of your abilities. With proper training you will also be able to control the energies that are in play on this side of the rift.”
“But what about the Vorn and these Horva?” Orin asked.
“Orin, things are not as they may appear to be. But no more questions now. I will explain the situation after you have refreshed yourselves. Come, there is food and drink.” Wynn began down a path through the cavern. Fueled torches lit the way as they made their way deeper.
It had been while Orin was still in training as a warrior that he had studied some of the fighting techniques of Wynn Gareth. He had been a formidable pilot, but was studied for his mastery of the Way. However, the skill Wynn had been known for all those years ago back home paled when compared to the display they had witnessed today.
Orin was curious to learn what Wynn was referring to with the war and the greater abilities that were within their reach. But the older man was right. They did need to eat and rest and prepare for whatever lay ahead.
HIDDEN
Daooth Pasad stepped in front of the retina scanner located near the exit of the lab facility. He was an assistant to one of the head scientists located within General Grod’s compound and there were very important goings on of late. He had proven himself to be trustworthy to the Horva while they were fighting the oppression and rule of the Vorn military, giving Daooth the privilege of leaving the compound at will despite being Vorn.
The scanner cleared him for exit. The computer-controlled door opened, allowing him to pass through to the outside. While some of the Vorn scientists had been captured and put to work under the General, others had come voluntarily—hoping to find safety and protection, as they allied themselves with the Horva commander. Among them was Daooth, and he was well-favored in his occupation at the compound and his liberty was a result of that favor.
The tall, slender-framed Vorn clansman made his way to his transport carrying supplies from the compound. He loaded them into the storage compartment then climbed into the cockpit and closed the canopy. Daooth brought the engines online.
The compound had not been built to house civilians, so many of the Vorn loyal to Grod and his campaign were allowed to live in a nearby area that was close enough to the base to enjoy the protection of the Horva. Recently, the Vorn military
had become preoccupied with defending their interests on many fronts. The Vorn were in need of reinforcements for the twin Castai across the rift and there were terrible losses because of the Barudii Sphere. Many deaths had also been sustained at the hands of General Grod and his Horva army. The Vorn military was very near collapse, and it seemed nothing would be able to prevent it.
The transport flew away from the building perimeter and passed through a security portal in the shield, heading for the wasteland. The settlement given to the civilians was far from luxurious, but its location underground provided a better weather environment and added protection.
After several miles, the transport came to a large protrusion of rock in the desert that lay to the west of the compound. A metal door opened in the rock—the entrance to Daooth’s residence.
Daooth brought the vehicle inside and shut down the engine. He retracted the cockpit canopy, gathered his supplies then went into his home. He made his way to a closet inside along the main corridor and triggered a switch inside. The back wall released and moved aside.
Daooth proceeded through the portal, leading into a large cavern beyond. The closet wall waited a moment and then smoothly slid itself back into place. He hurried down the cavern to a place where another smaller tunnel intersected with it. Daooth took the passage and came to a room. Inside this room were three men. They were eating when he came into the