Rockets and Ray Guns - An Anthology of Sci-fi short stories

part 3

"Bring him to the base's sanctum," the supreme leader directed. "I'll drain his power there and add it to my own."

"Yes, sir," the captain said with a salute before barking orders in elvish. Then the traveler was being hauled back to his feet.

'Draining technomages of their power?' he found himself wondering as he was dragged towards a large building set near the base's center. 'Is that how this beast obtained his abilities?' If he wasn't certain before on engineering this supreme leader's fall, that discovery cinched it.

To accomplish the supreme leader's defeat, the traveler needed to strike hard and without warning. After all, he was a technomage with some power. Battling him wouldn't be easy. But he needed to wait for a better opportunity. Attacking their leader in front of all his soldiers only invited them to retaliate all at once. The traveler was powerful in his own right, but he doubted even he could defeat an entire base worth of technologically advanced enemies.

Then he set his pondering aside as he was pulled through heavy double doors and down a concrete corridor. As he was dragged down the hallway, he could feel a source of arcane energies somewhere in front of him, his awareness of it strengthening with each step towards it.

It had to be this sanctum the supreme leader had mentioned, the residual arcane energies marking where other mages had been drained. If it was isolated enough from the rest of the base, it could also be the perfect place to launch his attack.

"There," the leader directed, pointing at an elaborate restraint-festooned chair that dominated the large, circular chamber that sat at the corridor's far end.

"Now, as you've likely guessed, I know you're not one of the Dedicated," the leader went on to say as his soldiers strapped an unresisting traveler into the chair. "While the creators of Unity are virtual gods, they don't go anywhere without their armies."

The traveler felt a brow lift. He had to concede that point; while they were alive, it was true that the Dedicated moved only with full military force.

"I also know you're a technomage, and a powerful one at that, since you were able to defeat my wards and use the gateway," the leader smugly declared, turning to face him now that he was completely secured in the chair. He folded his arms across his chest. "But not so powerful, that you could avoid my trap."

The traveler gave his restraints an experimental tug to see how well he was held. He then took a look around at who was left in the sanctum. As he had hoped, only the captain and the soldiers who had physically dragged him here had accompanied the leader inside. While their weapons were no doubt powerful, those he could easily deal with.

The leader, on the other hand, was still an unknown quantity. Outside of the wards, he had yet to see him cast. Then again, the leader hadn't seen him cast either, something that was about to change.

Before the traveler could act, however, the leader made a gesture and tinny music began to play in the background.

",... Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? ... Sponge Bob, Square Pants!"

"Now, there's a creature made of pure magic," the leader said musingly. "Square pants? Made out of a sponge? How is that even possible?" He then turned back to a frowning traveler as the music continued to play. "Just a little draining music. I hope you don't mind."

He made another gesture to indicate a large crystal floating near the wall.

"I took this crystal from a technomage that collected fading memories from the time before Unity. He called them 'shadows of yesterday'. An interesting fellow and a bit more feisty than you seem to be. As I strapped him into a chair much like the one you're in, he declared as he struggled: 'I will have nothing to do with your immortality; we are miserable enough in this world, without the absurdity of speculating on another'."