Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (38 page)

Jack wound his way down the corridors
of the Deathlord ship with Anna at his side.  The others weren’t far behind,
with Ganix and Scallywag at the rear, firing at the Dark Soldiers who followed
them.  Though the Deathlord soldiers were relentless, they were also quite
slow, which gave Jack and his friends at least some advantage, however small it
might be.

Jack checked the map in his head and made a turn down
another hallway.  At its end was a door.  He sent a message to his spaceship as
he approached it and the door opened, welcoming them inside.

A robed Deathlord Acolyte looked up in surprise, and Jack
raised his plasma pistol, firing at him.  One of the blasts finally hit the
alien, causing him to disintegrate in a cloud of black dust.

As Jack and the others rushed in, he turned and took aim
down the hallway from which they had come.  The remaining soldiers rushed
inside, followed finally by Ganix and Scallywag.  Though their pursuers were
out of sight, Jack could hear them marching toward their location.  With a
quick mental command to his spaceship, the door to the room closed and there
was a heavy THUNK as its locks engaged.

“There,” said Jack.  “We should be safe for now.”

“I hope this plan of yers works, lad,” mumbled Scallywag. 
“Otherwise, we just trapped ourselves in a bloody dead-end.”

“Actually, it’s
my
plan, thank you very much!” said
Heckubus, exasperated.

“That don’t make me feel any better,” sneered the Visini.

Green rushed behind the console where the Acolyte had been
and began tapping keys.  “I will do my best to operate the teleporter. 
However, I can’t guarantee I’ll know how to do it,” he said.

“I thought you were able to operate it before?” said Jack.

“That was basic stuff,” clarified Green.  “Poking around
through the base code and accessing ship schematics.  I didn’t have to perform
any actual ship operations.  I’m afraid my light familiarity with the Deathlord
language may prove to be a bit of a hindrance.”

“It’s not like we have a lot of time, Professor,” said Ganix. 
“That door won’t keep those Deathlords out forever.”

“I am working as fast as I can, Major,” said Green.

“As usual, you organics prove your inferiority,” said
Heckubus, joining the Professor behind the console and shoving him away. 
“Stand aside, fool!”

Heckubus opened a panel door in his chest and pulled out a
long metal spike attached to a cord that plugged directly into him.  He
unceremoniously stabbed the Deathlord console with the spike, embedding it, with
a spark, a good inch deep into the machine.  The gears in his head began whirling
quickly as soon as the spike had made contact.

“Ah, yes… what an extremely high data rate… hmmmm,
interesting language – similar to Greater Halcyonian, I see…” mumbled the
robot.

“That’s what I surmised, as well!” said Green cheerily.

“Actually, its more like Greater High Halcyonian,” clarified
Heckubus.  “Ridiculously convoluted language.  The Halcyon’s were always so
full of themselves.”

“Fascinating,” said Green.  “You’re familiar with all
Halcyonian language?”

“I have extensive databases of approximately 6 trillion
languages!” bragged Heckubus.  “Though I find it odd the Deathlords would
derive their language from one that hasn’t been used in close to ten millenniums.”

“I thought it odd, as well,” said Green.  “The Halcyon’s
only used the Greater form of their language for sacred religious texts.  Do
you think they are somehow connected to the Deathlords?”

“Hmmmm.  It’s possible I suppose,” replied Heckubus. 
“There’s still much debate on what happened to the species…”

“Oy, eggheads!” snapped Scallywag.  “Theorize later!  Right
now, work on getting us off this bloody ship!”

“Do not rush me, you buffoon!” said Heckubus.  “Though I’m
sure the complexities of deciphering an unknown alien computer system are lost
on you, I can assure you, it is not as easy as it looks.”

“He’s got a point,” smiled Green empathetically.  Scallywag
glowered at the two of them.

“Will you be able to do it?” asked Anna.  “Can you get it to
work?”

“I should be able to,” replied Heckubus.  “If
someone
would release the lockout on this particular teleportation station.”

Heckubus squinted at Jack.

“Oh, uh… sorry,” said Jack.  He asked his ship to
re-activate the systems in the room they were in.

“Ah!  Much better,” said Heckubus tapping away at the console. 
“Yes, this should work nicely.”

“Quick!  Teleport Shepherd!” said Anna.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to do that,” replied Heckubus.

Anna looked at the robot, surprise thick on her face. 
“What?” she said.

“I recommend we begin figuring out the best way to teleport
to the Earthman’s ship, post haste,” said Heckubus.

“Heckubus, why can’t you teleport Shepherd here?” asked
Jack.

“Must I explain everything?” grumbled Heckubus.

“Yes!” cried Jack and Anna together.  The robot sighed.

“The teleportation system works by its ability to lock onto
specific energy signatures.  That’s why the Deathlords just can’t teleport us willy-nilly
anywhere they want.  Without a specific energy reading, we cannot teleport anything
– particularly your Paragon – without the use of a dematerialization platform,”
said Heckubus as he pointed to the gleaming rectangular metal platform alcove
in the wall in front of the console.

“So you’re saying you need some type of energy reading to
lock onto before you can teleport something?” asked Jack.

“Sorry, was I not being clear?” said Heckubus patronizingly.

“His armor,” said Jack.  “That thing gives off a lot of
energy!  Lock onto that!”

“Yes,” replied Heckubus, rolling his eyes.  “And that would
be helpful if we knew the specific frequency that it emitted.  The system is
set up for Deathlord energy readings only.  Anything else I would need to input
manually.”

“Is there nothing you can do?” pleaded Anna.  “Can you scan
different frequency ranges?  Anything?”

“Sure, if you don’t mind hanging about for a couple of hours,”
replied the robot.  “Have you any idea how many different frequencies we’d need
to go through before finding the right one?  Chances are by the time I stumbled
onto it, either he’d be dead, or we would be.”

“You’re supposed to be a genius,” said Jack.  “Can’t you
figure something out?”

“I AM a genius!” declared Heckubus.  “However, I am NOT a
miracle worker.  Perhaps if you had something of his that emitted the same frequency
as his armor, I would be able to analyze it and determine an energy signature,
but barring that, there’s nothing I could do.”

Jack’s eyes widened.  He turned to Anna.  “Your disguise!”
he exclaimed.

“What?” Anna asked. 

“Those hologram things you used to look more human,” replied
Jack.  “Shepherd has one, too, right?”

Anna perked up.  “Yes!” she said.  “He was wearing a
hologuise emitter just like me!”  She took off her bracelet and handed it to
Heckubus.  “Can you use this to find him?”

The robot’s large eyes whirred and buzzed as he inspected
Anna’s bracelet.  “Hmmmmm...top of the line Imperial camouflage technology. 
Very Impressive.”

“Can you USE it?” she insisted.

“Of course, I can!” snarked the robot.  “However, the energy
signature it gives off is quite faint.  It may be difficult to lock onto it.”

“Find a way,” said Jack.  “If anyone can do it, you can.”

Heckubus stood up straight.  “Pah!  I’m probably the ONLY
one who can do it.”

“Then prove it!” said Jack, pointing at the console.

Sparks flew as Shepherd’s baton clashed with Zarrod’s
gauntlet, its energized surface screaming in complaint against the unyielding
metal of the Deathlord’s armor.  Each blow sent shivers of impact rippling down
the length of Shepherd’s weapon and through his arm with aching fury, but he
continued his assault – one painful blow after another.

It felt like their fight had lasted ages.  From the moment
Shepherd had first attacked, the Deathlord had blocked each and every strike,
not once fighting back or attempting to retaliate.  His opponent was toying
with him, content to allow him to expend what little energy he had left – and
worst of all, Shepherd knew it.

The Paragon had painstakingly designed his armor and weapons
to be used against Deathlords.  His armor was attuned to their blaster fire. 
His shields were tested and refined against their mysterious energy attacks. 
And his weapons were calibrated to quickly dispatch them.  Years of trial by
fire in battle had helped Shepherd design his defenses to optimal
effectiveness, and yet, they all seemed useless against the Deathlord Supreme.

Shepherd spun away from his opponent, hoping to try a new
angle of attack, but Zarrod was fast enough to block his attempt.  Each move
the Paragon made, it seemed the Deathlord had already prepared for it.

Desperate, Shepherd brought down both of his batons in an
overhead swing, putting all his might behind it.  Zarrod reached up and caught
the electrified clubs in his hands, gripping them tightly with his clawed
fingers.  Shepherd tried to wrench them free, but Zarrod’s grip was
relentless.  Shepherd looked into the Deathlord’s fiery red eyes as his batons
crackled and popped in protest.

And the Deathlord laughed.

“If this is the best you can do…” taunted the Deathlord as
he pushed back against Shepherd’s weapons, “then I’ve grossly underestimated
how your species defines ‘best.’ ”

Shepherd strained against Zarrod, but the Deathlord was
stronger, even with the enhanced strength Shepherd’s armor afforded him. 
Slowly and deliberately, Zarrod pushed against the batons, forcing them back ever
closer toward Shepherd’s armor.

This isn’t working
, thought Shepherd, his mind
racing.
 I’m losing, and if I do, Anna has no chance of escape…

Shepherd knew he would have to do something drastic if he
had any hope of defeating his opponent.  He tried to concentrate, ignoring the
pain he was in, ignoring the throbbing of his aching muscles as he struggled
against the Deathlord, ignoring the worry and concern over his current
situation.  He fell back on his training and allowed himself to open his mind
for the briefest of moments, hoping beyond hope that he could find the one
thing he needed to save not only himself, but also the people he cared about.

Not much is known publicly about the process of Quantum
Manifestation.  Though Paragons were historically quite open with their
doctrines and knowledge concerning the technique, few outside the order
actually understand its inner-workings.  However, what is easy to understand is
the concept that in order to manifest something new into one’s reality, it
requires that one first discover what exactly he wishes to manifest.  Then he
must pull that object into existence through the sheer power of his belief that
this object does, in fact, exist.

It is believed by Paragons that everything – all objects,
knowledge, and even life itself – already exists.  Everything that once
existed, and will exist, is out there in the universe somewhere, and one must
simply free his mind from its limiting beliefs in order to discover it.  This
can take many years – hundreds of years even.  This process of discovery is
usually attributed to the Paragon’s ability to attune himself to the universe
around him, with the notion that everything is inter-connected.  And since
everything is connected, and everything already exists, one simply needs to
recognize the fact that he already knows what it is he wishes to manifest.

It is also said that a skilled Paragon, one who is centered
and willing to open his mind fully, can ask the universe to deliver to him
anything he desires immediately; and the universe will do so, as though some
over-arching consciousness is there to deliver the answer.

There has been much debate among historians just how skilled
Paragon Shepherd truly had been in this regard.  There are those who argue that
there is little evidence to prove he had been a Paragon with the near masterful
ability to instantly manifest objects on the fly.  Indeed, there are many
historical records of him spending a great deal of time meditating over his
quantum creations.

But at this moment, in the heat of battle with the greatest
foe he would ever face, none can argue that when Paragon Shepherd opened his
mind to the universe for that brief moment seeking some type of miracle…

The universe answered him.

Shepherd focused on the back of his mind, in that place
where he chose to mold his reality, manifesting the inspiration that had come
to him.

Within his armor, his power core changed and remolded itself
to his will.  The subtle inner-workings of his armor shifted into something
new, and just like that, a new frequency of energy and a new source of power
coursed through the Paragon’s armor.

His batons began to glow brilliantly, infused with a bright
blue light as Shepherd channeled the new power source into them.  Zarrod looked
at the batons, surprised, as his hands began to smoke from contact with them.

“What–” the Deathlord began to say, when suddenly, a surge
of energy flooded into the weapons.

The Deathlord screamed, a cavalcade of sparks leaping from
his hands as he let go of the Paragon’s batons, tendrils of brilliant blue
energy snaking around him.

Shepherd wasted no time.  He attacked, landing blow after
blow with his batons.  Zarrod raised his gauntlets to fend them off as he had
before, but each time Shepherd made contact, the Deathlord howled in pain,
sparks flying off his armor as more of the Paragon’s blue energy assaulted him.

“Stop him!” thundered the Deathlord.  “Kill him!”

Immediately, the Dark Soldiers who had been standing at the
sidelines sprang into action.  Some charged toward Shepherd in defense of their
leader while others leveled their weapons.