Past
I was only six years old when Bram, my older brother found me playing in the backyard. He had got ahold of some blue colored piece of coal from somewhere and was so excited.
Child Bram
Do you know what this means, Microtek?
Child Narshira
No.
Child Bram
I'm going to be a Superstar. You remember what a Superstar is?
Child Narshira
Oh! Like Dante! He won!
Child Bram
Yeah! He's a Supernova now. And I'm going to be just like him. But don't tell mom and dad.
Child Narshira
Why?
Child Bram
They might not want me to do it. Say I'm too young.
Child Narshira
You not too young. You're ten!
Child Bram
I know, right.
Bram was always headstrong. No matter what anyone told him; that he shouldn't or couldn't do something, he did it anyway. Sometimes, it worked out for the better, other times, not so much. But his drive to become Superstar gave me the fortitude to become a Superstar twenty-nine years later.
Present
My two Syncs, Tarshira and Gharshira are helping me check and recheck my Sho-Tek suit. The thin, antian material is tougher than it looks, but even the weakest Superstar might succeed in ripping through it with some super attack. And my opponent, Van Black, I know next to nothing about. The SRC says he's strong and fast, with an aura of low frequency radiation, but can a woman really trust something that can be so easily manipulated?
Gharshira
I still think you should wear the Chumaki.
Narshira
Have you seen the size of this guy? He's probably strong as hell.
Tarshira
It was his highest attribute.
Gharshira
His body emits radiation.
Narshira
Low level radiation. The Shomaki can handle that.
Gharshira
And if it gets not so low?
Narshira
Start praying.
I heard Roxy the hostess starting her routine and the omniband clamped over my wrist announced a sixty second countdown. My hearts started pounding when, seconds before, they were steady. I pulled my mask over my face, the digital screen inside showing all my power systems running smoothly. My Sho-Tek is state of the art, above state of the art. Took me a year to build three and thanks to my Syncs, we had them fine tuned and customized in time.
Tarshira
Good luck.
Gharshira
Don't die or we die.
Narshira
Don't worry. I got this.
I felt the tingling of the Coalition's shoddy teleportation system. Mine is much faster, as it's instantaneous, theirs takes two seconds. Damn, I'm underwater. Nature's Teeth. An eerie glow lit the area, fish and other aquatic life cast in a bluish light. And that's all I saw: water and fish.
I bring up my holographic keyboard, sea life swimming through the neon display. Okay, Casino Island is approximately sixty-four hundred kilometers from here. Jonah should be traveling at seven times sound. My cpu showed the arrival time just as I came up with the answer. Thirty minutes. My teleportation may be the fastest, but it doesn't work on inorganic substances.
I activate the thrusters in my boots, knifing through Aphlis's thick waters. Needing to survive thirty minutes means I need to prepare a few traps. I go forty feet from where they dump me and set the Backfire arrow launcher. It'll target Van Black's profile so as to not shoot any sea creatures. My sensors indicate a water spout had materialized two hundred fifty meters to my left. That might be the edge of the tornado field. Stay away from there.
I descend another fifty feet and set the gravity well generator. It's small enough to attach to a housing on my left shoulder blade so maybe Van Black won't notice it in time. A red blinking light on my viewscreen informs me that my opponent had been located. I look down at the direction indicated, enhanced and infrared scopes allow me to spot him on the ocean floor. Dressed head to toe in an all black, skin fitting suit, complete with an eyeless mask, I couldn't tell if he was looking directly at me or just in my direction. God, he's like a living shadow. A heavily muscled shadow. Does his mask have visual augmentation like mine? Otherwise, how can he see me? Hopefully, he didn't see me plant that last trap.
A school of fish obscure my vision only briefly, but it's enough for my eyes to lose him. My sensors, however, saw that he was coming right at me, moving fast. I pull my hammer from my belt and its handle then extends as far as my feet. I suddenly didn't feel properly prepared for what was coming. Did I choose the correct Sho-Tek? The guy is known as the Death Hand, why, I don't know, but I fervently wished I'd taken Gharshira's suggestion.
Bram was always prepared for potential dangers. Being heir to our parents powerful corporation meant sometimes their competitors hired kidnappers or hitmen. So many careless Cycloids have died at the hands of assassins that most C.E.O.s and C.O.O.s use liv-tek as decoys. As Van Black zoomed to meet me, for some reason I remember the one time I thought assassins had got to Bram.
Past
It was right after I discovered how to create backfire energy. The triangular container was smaller then my child hands but the swirling green energy I designed to feed upon itself could power my above modest home indefinitely. The first person I wanted to show was my brother. When I found him in his room, he was sitting cross legged on the floor, shirt off, the blue coal hanging around his neck, and he was covered in blood. A deep cut on his forehead opened up right before my eyes, dripping vital fluid down his face. His arms were covered in bruises, multiple cuts crisscrossed his body, all leaking. Blood even pooled from beneath his workout pants. I scream bloody murder. His eyes snap open and my scream goes up an octave as I run from the room.
Child Bram
Micro-tek! Wait!
I hurried to my mother, who sat in her hover chair on a conference call. She ignored me, placing a silencing force field around herself, so I ran to father instead. Ninety percent of the Cycloid race are obese to the point of needing technology to get around. My mom was no exception but my dad could still move under his own power, albeit slowly. Mother only ended her call at father's urging. When she entered the living room, Bram had come in, bloody towel in hand as he tried in vain to clean his wounds enough to appear unhurt.
Child Bram
Did I look that bad?
Child Narshira
You looked dead!
Father
Son, what happened?
Child Bram
Uh...
Mother
I will call the doctor.
Child Bram
That's not necessary mom, really. Please stop.
Mother
Ok, Bram.
My mom didn't become C.O.O. of Vel Metal by doing what others wanted, only promising to. Dr. Ria came by ten minutes later to do a complete check up. His hover chair seemed barely able to hold his girth afloat.
Dr. Ria
I have encountered these types of injuries plenty of times in my career, Mrs. and Mr. Nova. Your son has bonded to a soul coal.
Mrs. Nova
What!!!
Mr. Nova
Oh, Bram.
Child Bram
What? I'm okay, right doc?
Dr. Ria
Yes, now after I grafted your skin together. But you need to lie down. You lost a lot of blood.
Child Bram
It's cool, I'm always making more.
Dr. Ria
This is no laughing matter, young man. You are only ten. I've seen what happens to full grown adults. Only death awaits you down this path.
Child Bram
People do it all the time.
Mrs. Nova
Bram, that's enough! Where is the soul coal?
Bram held it up by the rope. My mom used the tractor beam in her hover chair to snatch it from his grasp and crush it to blue powder before him.
Mr. Nova
Your mother's right, son. You are much too young to be doing something like this.
Child Bram
But time moves differently there! Those cuts were fifteen days old! The monsters couldn't touch me after that! I was kicking so much bu-
Mrs. Nova
Bram Nova! You will be silent this instant! You will not be getting your hands on a soul coal ever again!
But even at six, I knew Bram wouldn't listen. He was grounded two weeks after that, no playing with friends or practicing martial arts. He had another soul coal three days later.
Present
I use my toes to activate my thrusters, moving away from Van Black. He trailed after me, sixty feet and closing. I could go faster, but I'll save that fact for as long as possible. But he's no slouch, I'm using around eighty percent of my total thrust and he's still gaining. I hold my kinetic hammer in a defensive position. He was on me, throwing a punch unhindered by the high pressure sea around us. The kinetic hammer I based on Bram's Bamma Slamma, (my brother also fancied himself a poet), a mallet no bigger then the standard tool, yet it could halt any attack and one shot anyone he hit with it. No way I can replicate that. The head of my hammer connects with his knuckles. The meter long handle glows and crackles with electricity, which flow into my gloves. I swing again with all the strength my suit can muster. The kinetic hammer absorbs energy generated by moving objects, or fists, sending it into my suit, which changes it into backfire energy and sends it back to add to the hammer's own.
Van Black grabbed the handle mid swing, preventing me from gaining the necessary momentum, and tried to punch my head off. I boosted over the blow and above his head. I tried jerking my hammer free, but he didn't budge. My Shomaki Sho-Tek suit is designed to combat those with high level super strength. With it, I can crush concrete slabs to pebbles, but he stopped my two handed swing with one hand. I might have chosen the right Sho-Tek, but it still might not be enough.
My thrusters add momentum to my pull. He pulls as well, resulting in a childish game of tug of war for my precious toy. My ears ring as the radiation alarm goes off. Since I don't have time to analyze to learn what type, I release the hammer and rocket to where I set the second trap. Okay, so once again, I believe Gharshira was right, the Chumaki was made precisely for this reason. This calls for a new strategy. Stay away until my Mek-Tek arrives. Twenty-six minutes, fifty-five seconds.
The gravity well generator is around forty meters northeast of my position, so I head in that general direction, trying not to seem eager to be followed. He did follow, body emitting even more radiation then thirty seconds ago. My options are limited, so I take a spare converter from the right thigh of my suit and attach it to a cable that was previously hooked under my bicep and right side. I connect the converter and cable thus redirecting the power used for the suit's right arm into it. Connecting it to the focal lens installed in my gloves creates a high intensity lasers the likes of which no law enforcement officers would be approved to carry. The downside to this is moving to aim at a super fast entity in dense water.
The blazing, white line of light is easily avoided by Van Black, which was calculated. This was only meant to distract him from paying too close attention to his surroundings. He swam above my eye level and I was hard pressed to track him. When I had the laser close, he was suddenly several degrees lower, the distance between us shrinking rapidly. His kick landed solidly with my solar plexus.
Antian is a metal mined deep within the world of Winsker. It's incredibly durable and is expensive as hell. When it's "vitalized" it becomes as flexible as cloth while still maintaining its toughness. During our testing of the Sho-Tek, my Syncs and I put the suits through above average pressure trials, of which we were satisfied with the results. I still felt the impact of his foot, but my suit holds up, even though I know I will have a bruise there later. He came with a left strike next, but I recovered faster then he expected, dodging his attempt, landing a kick of my own. His ribs felt like packed stone. His knee caught my midsection and I use its momentum to gain distance from him.
He didn't let me get far, his fist was coming my way. I dodge and dodge again as he threw many strikes, some of which send me flying when blocked. I was starting to get winded. This Van Black guy seems really invested in taking me down. Is he just trying to end this quick or is this personal? He is from Quil, after all, my world's primary competitor in manufactured goods. My sensors inform me of two things; the gravity well generator was close and the radiation around us was reaching hazardous levels.
At the first possible moment, I propel away at an angle where he couldn't see my trap. He makes for me, as predicted and I activate the generator when we were in range. I let him think he's got me, when I thrust beneath his trajectory just in time for the gravity field to hit him.
Tek differs from other types of technology, in that it requires specific materials to build; a focus to draw properties from, a power source strong enough to produce the desired effect, and a casing that can contain the high output of the power source and/or focus. The power source of my Sho-Tek is the backfire energy I created when I was six. The focus of my gravity based weaponry is a miniature black hole I keep stabilized in the pack attached to the back of my suit. Keeping such an element so close used to cause me anxiety. I've been lucky so far.
Fist outstretched, Van Black sat stock still with the flotsam around him. He looked to be trapped in a cube of water, the rest of the ocean unaffected by my machine. I smile, knowing I've won without my Mek-Tek. Roxy's holographic form descends from somewhere above me, zipping around the frozen shadow, examining him at every angle before announcing to seemingly no one in particular:
Roxy
Superstar Van Black has been immobilized! As per the rules, he has until the count of ten to escape or Superstar Narshira is the victor. 1...2...3...4...5...
A giant orange hand appeared over my small generator and crushes it to the size of a piece of soul coal. Damn it! He was trapped for a full five seconds before she even started the count! Now, he was free, the humongous hand took the wreaked ball between its thumb and middle finger and flicked it at me. I avoid it and retreat from Van Black's approach. With the appearance of the giant hand, radiation levels around him increased a radius of ninety meters. Protons and many forms of hydrogen nuclei seem to be his particles of choice, which means I might have a shot. This plan was dangerous and might not go my way, but Van Black's strength and radiation ability were even stronger then the SRC or my imagination made them out to be.
First, I need to make it to the first trap I set. I require the arrows inside; more then likely, the trap will fail anyway. Van Black is just too fast. Then if I can modify the output of the energy they produce while avoiding his attacks, I can give Van Black a taste of his own ability. However, I need a minimum of forty-two seconds.
That hand of radiation reached for me with a speed contrary it's size, catching me off guard. If caught in that grip, my Sho-Tek will last less then thirty seconds. I will be dead in less then a tenth of that. I quickly hit the tri shaped button on my chest for my repellant field. The Tek itself was simple in design; 'vitalized' titanium, a small amount of esire vines for wiring, and the backfire energy for the power source. The tough part was finding a focus small, yet strong enough to mimic properties. The strongest metals, with the exception of 'vitalized' zantinum (which I can't get), can be pierced. So I went to minerals and the ultra rare Milo diamond, only found on the water world Earth, possess the exact qualities I was looking for.
The electromagnetic shielding was quadrilateral, surrounding me entirely a split second before the hand does. Possessing the same density of a Milo diamond, the only thing I can think of that could penetrate it is another Milo diamond moving at the speed of light. The hand tried to constrict; the orange color had streams of red running inside which flowed more freely when tightening. Finally giving up, Van Black gestured and the hand threw me toward a cluster of waterspouts: Nature's Teeth.
Another advantage Tek has over its predecessor is it never malfunctions, grow obsolete or need recharging. I could leave my shielding up for two years if I choose, but I can't win hiding in a shell. I keep it on for the moment as I pass through the first set of undersea tornadoes. I was snug as a bug as the violent funnels batter me about like one of those kid holo games. When I'm knocked into a small clearing, I drop the shield and check my sensors. A fire storm of radiation was following after me, so I immediately torpedo deeper into a group of newly forming spouts. I spy the deep fissures of rock expelling the air to create them. I know so little of this planet Aphlis. So alien.
I count eleven waterspouts within a fifteen meter radius with more stirring beyond, near impossible to navigate. The tug of one spout nearly sucked me in, but an increase in thrust buys me a few seconds of safety. I don't know, off hand, the destructive power of waterspouts, particularly on an alien planet, but I have no desire to find out now.
My sensors detect the hand's incoming strike before I saw it. I was able to avoid it thanks to the advised route my cpu suggested. The bomb that was the radiation fist slammed into the rocky outcropping that helped produce the spouts. I set my sensors to locate the edge of Nature's Teeth, but Van Black was on me before it finished calculating. His blank, black mask hid all his features, no outline of a nose, lips, anything. He had to be a Belros, the Finan's servant race. Though long lived, the Finan never grow to the size of Van Black and since it's against the rules to compete for a planet that's not your native one, he had to be Belros. Belros are primitive thinkers. Is he acting on pure instinct? And why the mask? Can he even see through it? Is he really blind and using some extraordinary means to keep track of me?
I was able to avoid a majority of his attacks, thanks to the added mobility of being underwater, but a few I had to block against. One such had my right arm numb. Another punch was incoming when a waterspout sprouts between us.
My body is flung about by the mach winds along with many sea life and Van Black. I set my suit to autopilot, which takes me free of the spout, dizzy beyond imagining. My right shoulder hurt like crazy, wrenched around as it was by the twister. I dodge more spouts as I raise up fathom by fathom until I exit the field. My sensors inform me the arrow trap was a little over twenty meters away and I rocket there as fast as my boosters can take me. Van Black exits, on my tail.
The hand was back, as big as before, fingers splayed at its advance, ready to grab, melt, and crush. I can only grab the trap in passing, if I stop I'm done. I'm ready to reactivate my shielding when a blade, ten meters long and four meters wide was suddenly embedded in the giant palm. Connecting to the blade was a handle as wide as I am tall, and attached to the handle was an eight inch thick chain that ran one hundred fifty yards ending at a wreaking ball I got from a discarded construction machine. The chain jerks and the blade splits the orange hand in two, before retracting back to its place of origin. That place floats down between myself and Van Black, who stops short to look the new comer up and down.
My backup has arrived. Jonah, my twenty-five foot, frog looking Mek-Tek designed for underwater combat. The hatch in his back opened invitingly and I quickly swim inside. Don't need the arrows now.
Narshira
Time to rock!
Past
"Time to rock" was Bram's way of saying he was ending things his way. I remember back during the Final Bout of the 98th competition, Bram was fighting a tough Klugh named Loque, who went undefeated the whole tournament with his innovative water based Soul Style techniques. I'll admit, I wasn't sure my brother could win, that's how good this guy was. Loque's control of water was so precise, he could influence the water inside a living body. Their first matchup saw Bram's Sync die in his place. I was near comatose with worry.
During the Finals, the tournament moves to the space station, Galaxy, located around one hundred million miles from the Papuru Star. The arena, a big round slab of stone around which we spectators sat, held a self contained atmosphere. I was with our parents, now happy their son was a Superstar. Both their companies received a boost in profits that year, with gains in accordance with Bram's victories. He had exceeded their expectations.
At this moment, Bram was in trouble. He was bloody, burned, had already used his Aura Cloak, and was currently being pursued by a tsunami of boiling water, while Loque attempted to close the distance, presumably to touch Bram and superheat the water in his tissue. I was days shy of my sixteenth birthday and could only think that the only gift I would get from my brother would be his death.
The steaming waves washed over the station's force field ten feet above our heads as Bram used his Soul Style's Quickening to race ahead of it on the field itself. When I glanced at Loque,he looked to be concentrating more then before to keep his tidal wave going. Looking back to Bram, I was surprised to see him now floating high above our heads, beyond the conjured atmosphere. The artificial gravity the station produced in the fight area was three times that of our home planet, which never seemed to bother him before, but Bram never showed the ability to defy gravity.
I heard my parents gasp at once, along with spectators around us. As unbelievable as it sounds, the planet Yon, in all its barron desert, sun scorched mountain glory, filled the space behind him. Now I understood, why Loque was having difficulty with his wave.
Bram
Time to rock!
It was the Soul Style's Sustenance ability that allowed us to hear him through his omniband in the vacuum of space. Some unscientific thing about the body recycling its own oxygen. Despite Yon's dominating presence, the deep violet sunlight of the Papuru Star was still able to filter in until it too was shaded by a volcano the size of my home city. It glided over and past Bram to hover menacingly over the arena and the audience. Galaxy Station still had it beat in size, but the volcano range made me feel no bigger then a dust bug. Awe was on the faces of all present, including Loque, which was quickly replaced with terror as lava dumped from underneath.
I can't describe the feeling of watching hundreds, perhaps thousands of tons of molten rock descend for you. I can't imagine what Loque felt. The reddish orange flow hit the station's force field, white static blocking a significant portion of our view of the fiery magma as it poured as if from a fountain. I screamed along with thousands of others, in vain, obviously. Galaxy Station is the most sophisticated and defended installation in the Papuru Galaxy. It could probably withstand an assault by the entire 108 fleet.
We never saw Loque again, consumed as he was by the magma. It took Bram less then an hour to return the lava flow, volcano range, and the planet back to their original positions. When he was done, he came to the victory ceremony held on the station. I hugged him so tight, I thought I reinjured him.
Bram
Nice to see you too, Microtek. Didn't think I would lose, did you?
Teen Narshira
There were points I thought you dead.
Bram (laughing)
Me too.
Teen Narshira
Did you really drag Yon all the way here with your powers?!
Bram
I was only lucky that it was close enough to arrive in time to make a difference.
Teen Narshira
Soul Style is amazing.
Bram
In its purest form, yes.
My parents came to drag him away to take holographs with the Controllers of Cy. He promised he'd see me at my birthday party in a couple of days, but I believe this actually was the last day I spoke to my brother.
Present
I check Jonah's control system with only a quick glance, my Syncs would have alerted me if something was wrong.
Gharshira
Should have worn the Chumaki.
Even though I could hear the Sync's 'I told you so' tone through Jonah's internal speakers, I couldn't argue with her.
Narshira
Will heed advice in the future.
I switch to manual control; no matter how much I try to prove otherwise with my programming, a living brain is more accurate then a digital one. At least my brain is. Not bragging, just saying. I immediately get the focus emitters to one hundred percent and felt the pilot seat hum with its activation. I'm not pulling any punches with this guy.
Neither was Van Black. Jonah's size intimidated him not one bit and he struck my Jonah in his frog face. We were knocked back maybe ten feet, but the 'vitalized' armor plating held. I pull and press the necessary levers and buttons to make Jonah spin the wreaking ball end of the modified kusarigama. This is an Earth weapon by designed, but I felt it the perfect weapon for Jonah when I was researching alien technology. Got rid of the curved blade though. Aerodynamics.
As Van Black came in again, the water around Jonah began flowing faster, twisting around his metallic body. A yellow fish smacked against my camera lens and I felt bad for a second, then Van Black entered striking range. This time around, I allow him to think his next blow will land but I designed Jonah to excell underwater and I'm not distracted with joy, like before. Jonah responds to my controls instantly, maneuvering his big body out of the way and sending the wreaking ball to meet the scary shadow man. The steel ball made contact with him full on. A sense of satisfaction courses through me at seeing the imposing muscle man's masked face vanish with distance and bubbles. I know this won't take him out; I'm just glad to land a substantial hit.
Not that it seemed to matter as he came in again, just as fast as before, no visible sign of damage. He must have used his Aura Cloak. I forgot about that. Well, it's out the way now. I hope. I make use of the focus emitters to solidify portions of water into tri shaped objects used by ancient Cycloid warriors as throwing weapons. They go forth, intent on piercing Van Black before he could get near me. They never made contact as the orange hand had returned. Times two! Are you serious!? The fists easily dispose of the tri stars faster then their creation.
Air jets installed in Jonah's shoulder plates produce foaming bubbles, concealing both Jonah and Van Black. My sensors allow me to keep track of him, but can he still find me? I was on the move the second our visions were obstructed, straight up. One of the fists was coming down, knuckles first. A flip of a switch sends Jonah into slashing mode. Two quick movements of his left arm and the fist was in four pieces before dissipating to probably poison some nearby sea life. Instinctively, I activate Jonah's shielding a split second before an orange hand reach from the cascade of foamy water to grip Jonah's right leg. Sparks shower as radiation encountered particle shielding, adding a little more light to the barely luminated ocean depth. It finally withdraws from its attempt and broke apart with a wreaking ball swing. Things are looking good. I search for Van Black with my eyes and sonar to no avail. Gharshira's voice startles me from the speakers.
Gharshira (over speaker)
He faded from our sight. Turned invisible. The viewscopes can't track him, either.
Tarshira (over speaker)
It's possible he's bending the light produced by the geodome.
Narshira
I realize that.
External gauges on Jonah indicate a rise in temperature at a hundred yards all around me. Micro radiation. He's going to try to cook me in here! I see dead fish and steaming bubbles rise as I start to move. I'm not sure how much the shielding can defend me against this much electromagnetic radiation and I've no desire to find out. Jonah can move at Zach-1 underwater, (three thousand mph) and I coax every ounce of it out of his propulsion. The box of radiation stuck with us, no matter which direction we went. The shielding sparked and alarms started ringing.
Time to go on the offensive. I cause Jonah to spin at an incredible speed and activate the emitters. The water solidified twirling into its own whirlpool. Under normal circumstances, H2O is a great shield in itself against radiation, but with the high levels generated by Van Black, we would have to be at least five hundred thousand leagues deeper to make a difference. Without the additional pressure, water undergoes a breakdown sequence when exposed to radiation into an assortment of oxygen compounds, such as ozone, before converting back into oxygen, releasing great amounts of energy. This energy can be explosive. Hoping Van Black is within range, I ignite said energy.
The encompassing explosion made me grateful I didn't try this trick with my backfire arrows earlier. Jonah rocked and sparks flew from a control panel to my left. I'm thrown hard against my seat restraints as more sparks erupt from the panel above my head, weirdly reminding me of birthday candles. Bram.
Past
My birthday is the second to last day of the year. Bram's victory the day before had my entire family and myself in high spirits. We were actually enjoying each other's company awaiting his arrival. I was introduced to aunts I never knew we had, uncles I hadn't seen since my toddler years, and more cousins then any one person would ever need as they floated, rolled, or crawled on high tech, expensive looking chairs. Some asking questions like what it was like having a brother like Bram or why I was so thin. Or my favorite, 'You can't control your technology telepathically?'
A rare birth defect that effects .012 of Cycloids. Who cares? Not I.
I break away the moment I have time to Bram's room. I spend a lot of time here when not in the lab, since Bram moved out at sixteen. Now I'm the same age, ready to be on my own as well. I was going to tell my parents that night, but I wanted to talk to Bram first. Where was he? My pad beeped and I answered. The brown, tussled hair of Bram's three dimensional head sprang from the tiny hololens, with his typical goofy grin. I laughed loudly just seeing him.
Bram
Happy birthday!
Teen Narshira
Bram! Where are you? Everyone is here.
Bram
I'm still on Unity. The Coalition won't let me leave until I've completed some of the terms of my contract. Meeting important delegates and the sort. Hey, I even met Dante! He's here now!
Teen Narshira
Oh...You promised Bram. I can't handle my family without you, bro. Come on!
Bram
I'm sorry, Narshira. I can't today. I promise to be by in the next couple of days.
He glanced to his left before looking back to me. I wonder if I had a strange expression on my face. If I did, Bram didn't notice.
Bram
I'm going to call the house holo. Get the fam off your back for a little while. Happy birthday. I love you.
He signed off. I stood there until I heard the family cheer. I open his room door and enter the gaudy decorated hall. The reception area was packed full of drunk Cycloids greeting the bringer of all their future fortunes once his face appeared on the wall. He even introduced Dante, inducing more cheers. I was still in shock. No way that was Bram. He called me Narshira.
Present
All of Jonah's systems are still up and running. I build them tough. The water clears of foam, froth, and flotsam enough for me to see I'm alone. Did the explosion get him? My sonar answers for me, alerting me to incoming. It was much bigger then Van Black and closing fast. It turned out to be a boulder the size of a hoverbus. I fire a missile from Jonah's left thigh, splintering the rock into tinier rocks. I take Jonah in the direction the attack originated, releasing the six depth bombs Jonah has stored along the way. They exit from Jonah's rear end, which my Syncs find hilarious; I hear them giggling.
I'm not feeling very humourous because Van Black's got me tense as hell, even with Jonah. The sonar picks up a torpedo like figure zipping through the exploded depth bombs, headed for me. I propel forward, Jonah spinning the wreaking ball. Water condenses around the ball, like the ancient wheel to an axel. When Jonah sent the ball toward the incoming Van Black, the hardened water whipped ahead of it, spearing several fish in passing. It connects! But he doesn't even slow and now I realize he just used his Aura Cloak. The orange hand is back and it avoids the water whip to grip the ball chain, pulling with more strength then a disembodied hand had any right to have. Jonah's grip is just as steady and he yanks in return. Van Black had circled around and was coming in on my six. A missile for the hand as I turn to meet him. The missile misses.
The hand had moved quickly forward, ramming the ball into Jonah's sword arm with enough force to bend it at a painful angle. The sword drops free to fall lazily into Van Black's upraised palms. It would almost appear comical, little man, gigantic sword, but I felt a deep seated fear stronger then any I've felt since I tried learning Soul Style. I see the sword headed for the cockpit. I lost. I'm dead.
Suddenly, I'm sitting on cold metal, naked like the day I was born. Before I can recover enough to know what was happening, one of my Syncs was wrapping me in a thermal blanket.
Narshira
What- Jonah!
Tarshira
Calm down, Narshira. We saw the battle was lost and got you out.
I look around to see I was on my streamjet, inside the observation deck. Gharshira stood before the holoview projection on the cabin bulkhead, watching as the two giant hands pummel poor Jonah with his own weapons.
Narshira (tearfully)
My baby...
Both Syncs hug me, which I return willingly. It does make this whole thing a tad bit better. I'm alive to rebuild Jonah, at least. Bram never gave up, neither will I.
Gharshira
Admit it, you designed the teleporter this way cause you look good naked.
Our laughter partially drowns out the holoview but I could still hear nonetheless.
Roxy
Winner of Battle 5: Superstar Van Black!
End chapter