The tank turned toward me and accelerated. Skald had enough brains to figure that his particle cannon wasn’t working on me; now, he just wanted to crush me with the weight of his vehicle.
I had an idea. Something that would really test my new abilities.
Before the tank could crash into me, I jumped into the air, performed a slow backflip, looked up, and dragged Ebon through the hard armor all the way to the hilt.
I hit the ground, rolled, and hopped back to my feet, ready to block more incoming fire should it arrive. But the tank was ablaze, and sparks erupted from the long gash.
“Eat it!” Skrew howled as he emerged from his hiding place in the stall.
He continued his absurd dance routine but stopped when the tank’s entire top portion blew off. A smaller hovercraft ascended from the wreckage, Skald inside the cockpit.
“Is this an alien version of a clown car?” I muttered.
Chapter Twenty
Skald’s craft released itself from the tank and raced away from the street.
“Skrew is safe!” My vrak guide bounced on his feet. “Jacob is safe! We’re all safe!”
I’d seen enough battles to know this was nothing more than a tactical retreat, and the sound of thrusters announced the arrival of reinforcements.
I’d already taken out a hovercraft unit. Hadn’t Skald had enough yet?
Two unusual vehicles were visible in the sky just outside Madomar.
Instead of the low thrum of antigrav thrusters, the sound accompanying the two craft was more of a low roar. Rather than a low cloud of dust being kicked up around their bases, they appeared to float on a roiling cloud of fire.
They looked like discarded military surplus, but could have just as easily been repurposed mining equipment. The vehicles seemed rugged and primitive with their flat armored plates welded together at odd angles. The Federation had similar vessels designed to either bring troops into hostile areas under heavy fire, transport dangerous people, or delve into windy and rock-filled atmospheres in search of precious minerals.
Odd shapes seemed to be attached at weird angles to the outside of their hulls. Although they were still too far away for me to see them clearly, and still more than a hundred yards off the ground, I suspected they were weapons pods.
Skald’s craft circled the area, too far away to provide any kind of effective support, but he was probably close enough to watch.
The flame-spewing transports decreased their altitude as they approached, and I realized their purpose. They would raze the city by burning it to the ground. Skald really did have a scorched earth policy. He must have believed Yaltu was here, and he was willing to destroy a small trading hub just to kill her.
Who the fuck was Yaltu?
I couldn’t allow this town to go up in flames or for my new friends to die, so I sprinted down the road. I circled around Skald’s hovercraft while he watched from above and continued until I was outside the town. The reinforcements were descending toward me, and Skald had left the town to pursue me. I realized they were no longer interested in Yaltu. I’d won their attention.
I heard a new noise and noticed a tiny black dot in the distance.
A rocket.
I stepped to one side, and the rocket changed course. I stepped in the other direction, and it adjusted to follow me again. I didn’t think Ebon could absorb the shockwave of an explosion. And if I dodged the rocket, it might continue into the town. I cared a little about the innocents inside Madomar, and I cared even more about my new friends. I needed to make sure that they didn’t get crushed by a falling building or shrapnel.
The next thing I did was probably the most outrageous action of my life. But I was trusting that the Lakunae had really made me into something entirely different from any other being in the universe.
I ran straight at the incoming rocket.
Time seemed to slow again, but I knew it was only the dilation caused by how fast I’d become. I watched the rocket curve to meet me and saw that it couldn’t turn as fast as I could run.
The Federation had stopped using solid-fuel rockets more than a century ago, but our missiles were advanced. If one lost track of a target, it would automatically search for a new one. I didn’t know if these alien rockets were the same, but I couldn’t risk it, so I slowed down to allow the device to reacquire me as a target.
It worked, though I wasn’t certain how wise it was. My training told me to one, seek cover, which I had; two, to deploy electronic counter-measures, which I didn’t have; and three, to return fire, which I also didn’t have… exactly.
I waited until the last moment before diving between a couple of trees. The explosion was ear-shattering, and I was peppered with rocks, bits of trees, and other debris. Some of it got in my way but not badly enough to take me out of the fight. The experience was enlightening. I had a better understanding of my enemy and a grudging appreciation for his tech.
I turned and quickly searched the sky for more rockets, but the crafts appeared to have lost interest in me and were heading back toward the town. I looked around for anything I could throw at the ships to regain their attention. There were no boulders big enough to be effective. There was nothing heavy enough to make a dent in their armored hulls… except for the trees.
I wrapped my arms around a giant tree and ripped it from the ground. I imagined what I must have looked like, and the thought almost made me laugh. A human carrying a tree that was easily 20 yards taller than himself in one arm like it was a javelin. From their height, the pilots probably wouldn’t see much more than
