Through the Ghost

Honor duels always seemed so romantic when he was a kid. The gallant knight versus the evil oppressor in a fight for the fair maiden’s life. Yet as Tal stood there in the middle of the grassy field, the trees rattling against each other like a buzzing crowd, he felt entirely alone. Two Kulrathi stepped back so that Tal was left alone with the third. Gleaming silver armor, reflected his own visage back at him. A tingling sensation traveled from his hands to his arms, his fingers began to twitch. He let it in, converting it into anger and bloodlust.

He unclasped the combat knives, gripping one tightly in each hand. The Kulrathi still hadn’t moved, its head was bowed low, and its hands were behind its back. Then he heard the smooth, crisp, hiss of a blade being unsheathed. The weapon was a thing of beauty, glittering, polished metal with an inscription whose characters seemed to dance within it. A flash of light against the blade gave him just enough of a warning to avoid being decapitated on the spot.

The follow-up attack narrowly missed him as well. The moment an opening appeared, Tal’s left-hand blade lashed forward, only to be parried by the Kulrathi sword. Both combatants strained against each other. The gleaming sword edged closer to his neck.

Tal brought his second blade up to assist in defense. He could hear the sound of breathing coming from within the helmet as it leaned closer. With one last heave, Tal kicked the alien backwards, gaining ample space to recover. Tal grinned excitedly, then raised his arm to fire the hidden gun. Nothing happened, the Kulrathi quickly closed the gap.

He leaped backwards, then whipped around the back of his opponent, intent on delivering a strike. His left blade managed to find its way into a gap between the shoulder guard and chest plate. A robotic screech pierced his ears, its left elbow cracked into Tal’s head as it turned to face him. The blow sent him stumbling to the side as it removed the knife from its back.

Any hope he had gained upon wounding the creature was vanquished as it attacked with a renewed zeal and quickness. It forced him back on the defensive. He stepped to his left, ducked another strike, then tried to counterattack, the screech of metal cutting into metal pierced the air. The wind stopped, sound became muted, and breathing was increasingly difficult. He looked down at the blade embedded in his left side. He could feel the blade sliding out as the Kulrathi shoved him backwards. The world tilted.

Stay with me, Allie pleaded. Just a moment longer.

He looked up at the towering silver figure, red droplets fell off the end of its sword. The ghostly smile of his mask glared down at him. He could feel himself fading, albeit slowly as Allie’s nanites sought to repair the damage caused by the blade.

Got it, Allie announced. He felt a series of clicks and whirls vibrate through his forearm and looked down to see a small silver pistol extend out of his bracer. He quickly dropped the knife, catching the gun as it launched into his hand. Gripping it as tightly as possible, he raised it towards his opponent.

There was a flash, followed by a loud percussive crack as he squeezed the trigger. The sword dropped from the Kulrahti’s hand, its runes glittered in the sunlight. His opponent clutched its throat, there was a strangled wheezing coming from within its metal shell. The alien dropped to the ground, they were now face to face. The influx of sedative to his system began to fade, drawing the pain out of its slumber as Allie focused all her attention on keeping him alive as opposed to keeping him fighting.

He closed his eyes, the Kulrathi emitted a few blood-filled breaths. That sound filled his senses, nothing else seemed to matter. When it stopped, he realized he’d been holding his own breath. He gritted his teeth as the exhalation sent pain through his side. Then he heard her voice, warm breath caressed his face as the mask was ripped off him and an anxious hand patted his cheek.

“Tal? Tal!” Anna repeated urgently. “Stay with us.”

He looked at her, sunlight made her eyes sparkle. He grinned reassuringly. “Guess…I can get that kiss now?”

Her lips pressed fiercely against his. He didn’t want the moment to end. He could hear shouting in the distance, but all thoughts were on the feel of her lips on his. Unfortunately, their victorious moment was interrupted by the sound of a weapon discharging. Anna turned towards the direction of the sound.

Shortly thereafter a high-pitched cry of rage broke out somewhere behind him. He looked around to see Adrielle confronting one of the silver Kulrathi. Rahn was on his knees propped up on his right arm, while his left clutched his chest. Tal could hear their voices but his mind was still clouded as Allie attempted to heal his wound. Next thing he knew, the diminutive Adrielle lifted the metallic warrior off the ground.

A strange electric hue began to shimmer around the assistant’s body. Her hair sizzled away and purple flames licked at the edges of her clothes. Even at this distance he could just barely feel the heat emanating from her. The Kulrahti’s body seized, its arms and legs went rigid, then came the sound. The squish and crunch as the Kulrathi bent backwards, breaking its vertebrae. Its arms and legs twisted in unnatural directions.

The hue faded from Adrielle, her chest heaved from exertion. Transfixed by what he witnessed, Tal was unsure whether to be afraid or emit a congratulatory cheer.

Before he could decide, Anna looped her arm around his back and threw his other arm over her shoulders. Then it hit him, a searing pain that tensed his muscles causing them to both fall to the ground. Anna helped him back up, this time his body held together. As they continued on their way towards Rahn he glanced at Anna, her brow was arched in strain and her lips were pulled tight. He offered an encouraging grin that she failed to reciprocate.

As they got closer, Tal had a better look at the suddenly terrifying Adrielle. Her dark, purple locks are gone, in their place is a smooth scalp with cartilaginous ridges that trail down the back of her head and neck. He’d never seen anything like her, she was certainly none of the alien races that he’d been familiar with. Her clothes were frayed and singed at the edges. Heat still emanated from her. She was crouched next to Rahn when the two operatives arrived.

The Orothros leader didn’t look to be in a good spot. There was a large black char mark in the center of his chest. His breaths were slow and haggard.

“What happened?” Anna inquired.

“Son of a bitch shot me,” Rahn grumbled. The old veteran tried to stand up and cried out in pain while Adrielle carefully lowered him to the ground.

“Yeah, we got that. Why?” Tal remarked between his own clenched teeth.

“It was meant for me,” Adrielle clarified, her voice still that same nervous tone despite the moment of ferocity.

“Care to elaborate?” Anna pressed.

“No. Now help me up, we have to be ready to fight back,” Rahn answered.

Tal and Anna exchanged concerned looks. “Fight?” Anna asked.

The old soldier released a stifled groan of pain as Adrielle helped him to his feet. Before he could elaborate on their pending situation, Allie appeared before them.

“There are multiple projectiles incoming from orbit,” she announced to the group.

There was barely a moment to process her warning before dirt and rock began flying all around them

The ground exploded upward, throwing Tal and Anna off balance; his ears rang, dust and smoke clung to his tongue. The world felt muted, he could barely see anything where the projectiles impacted the ground. Anna immediately raced off towards the facility, Tal weakly moved to follow her when Adrielle’s cry for help forced him to turn back. Seemingly sapped of whatever supernatural energy she’d possessed mere moments ago, she struggled to help the wounded Rahn to safety. With a low curse, he bit his tongue against the pain and slowly moved to assist. More explosions erupted around them. A surge of adrenaline pushed him forward. Meeting the two of them halfway he looped Rahn’s meaty arm over his shoulders, bearing part of the load.

Tal cursed again, louder this time, as Rahn’s added weight causes a hot pain to spread out from his wound. The labored breaths of his superior whispered in his ear. Adrielle screamed as another projectile landed dangerously close to the three of them. His side continued to ache as they neared the entryway, sweat beads formed on his forehead and the world begins to tilt ever so slightly. He pushed it away long enough to cross into the courtyard.

Something is wrong, Allie alerted him.

He simply grunted as he continued to carry the veteran soldier towards safety.

I think that blade was coated with something. I am having difficulty repairing your system while countering the poison.

“Well find a way to fix it,” he replied.

I am doing my best.

He growled through gritted teeth as another surge of pain pulsed through him.

They came upon the fountain in the center of the courtyard.

“Put me down,” Rahn said weakly.

Tal and Adrielle ignored his request.

“Damn It! Put me down!” he barked at them with new found strength.

They complied, setting him against the rim of the fountain, enabling Tal to get a better look at his condition. Black lines crawled out from around the older man’s eyes, the normally turquoise orbs had dimmed to a dull cobalt. His pallor was chalky, breaths wheezed in and out of him like an old dog toy. Adrielle clutched his hand, tears freely flowing down her face, her lips whispered the same phrase over and over: This is all my fault.

Rahn shushed her quiet and pulled her head against his broad chest. Tal looked on silently, movement in his peripheral vision redirected his attention. Off to his side stood Jaya and Anna, Chara clutched nervously to her mother’s leg.

Jaya crouched in front of Chara, one hand on the young girl’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her. Tal locked eyes with the wounded Colonel, who simply nodded before gently pushing Adrielle from his chest.

“You need to go,” he announced, placing a thick hand on her shoulder. She shook her head mournfully side to side.

“No, you can still come with us,” she pleaded.

I am detecting more movement converging on our position, Allie announced.

“Get Chara out of here,” Tal shouted with as much strength as he could muster. She nodded and began walking away. Jaya stepped forward, eager to assist her brother.

“Go, I need you to help keep her safe,” he pleaded. She hesitated for a moment longer, then followed after Anna and Chara.

“Please go, for me.” He heard Rahn continue to plead with Adrielle. Then the old man did something Tal least expected. He uttered a phrase, one that Tal didn’t recognize.

Adrielle emitted a reluctant chuckle between sobs. “Your accent is still terrible,” she managed to sputter out.

Rahn smiled, something Tal had never seen the man do in the decade that he’d known him.

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what it was you just said?” Tal inquired.

Rahn replied with a mixture of a laugh and cough. “I’ll explain when you’re older.”

Kulrathi drop pods are landing. We are not equipped for an all-out confrontation, Allie stated.

Without hesitating, Tal grabbed Adrielle by the shoulders and ushers her away from the wounded man.

“No, wait!” Adrielle cried as she fought against him.

Tal took one last look at Rahn, who nodded approvingly before closing his eyes and resting his head against the fountain.

They rejoined the rest of the group. The doors slid shut. The chaos momentarily stopped, Adrielle’s sobs reverberated through the hallway as she pounded against the metallic security door.

“Dad,” she whimpered as she slipped to the floor.