A True Hero

38 - Whispers in the Dark

The air was cold and wet as I fell toward the small planet's surface. It was no bigger than a small meteorite. We had located the ninjas on this tiny, monster-infested planet very close to the Enterprise. Arthur sent three ships of soldiers to come down and fight, knowing we might need our strength in numbers. There were hundreds of ninjas, if not thousands, and they had the upper hand in the battle because it was a dark landscape that they were able to scope out before us. Falspar and Dragato wanted to join us, but Arthur kept them with him as they were some of his primary knights. I was the only one of his group that he let go because of my connections with Nicolette and Yamikage.

When we arrived, the ninjas were already hiding. Our chosen landing point was in a rocky, jagged area at the top of a spiky mountain range. The mountains were tall and steep, and several long rocks protruded from the ground like fingers reaching up into the sky. There was a flat bluish-gray valley at the foot of the mountain range that stretched around us for miles. In the east, the rock merged with a dense deciduous forest. To the east, the mountains rose higher.

Nicolette shivered in my hands as I used my wings to swiftly and silently glide to the flattest mountain peak I could find. We landed on a tall rock slab, and after scouting the area around us for any sign of NME's monsters, we determined it was safe. Nicolette took off her pack of supplies and quickly made a fire on the top of the slab, alerting any soldiers that dropped nearby that we were in a safe place. For now.

Jecra and Amai were the first to find us. They set down their packs, and as they organized their supplies, I noticed Jecra wasn't wearing the power amplifier Magolor had given him.

"I left it with my other weapons supplies," he whispered when I asked him about it. Nicolette glared at us and pressed a finger to her lips. Jec nodded, then he took off his locket and showed it to me. "I did keep the Mirrorlite, though. It's the gem in the locket. I didn't want anything to happen to the amplifier, so I didn't bring it with me. If at all possible, I want it to someday go to my son. Magolor helped me make a memory chip with blueprints and instructions on how to make another amplifier in case anything ever happened to the one I have now. It's stored behind his picture in the locket"

"I see," I said as quietly as I could, looking the locket over, and then handed it back to Jecra. "You're convinced your son has powers." I glanced at Nicolette, but she was looking out into the valley, cocking her head like she was listening for something. Her katana handles glowed with golden chi.

"Well, yes," Jecra admitted sheepishly and laughed, earning another glare from Nicolette. "Someday, when this war is over, I can't wait to spend some good ol' father-son bonding time with him and teach him how to control his powers. I can't wait to see what kind of kid he's gonna be."

"Here comes some more soldiers," Nicolette suddenly said, and stood up and waved them over. They waved back and came running to meet us. Then some others came, among them Ren, Val, and Joanna, and soon every soldier that was airdropped was silently gathered around the rock. There was around one hundred and fifty of us in total, with only a few of us being Star Warriors.

Before anyone could speak, though, Nicolette pressed her finger to her lips and looked around at each of us. Then she motioned to her head and then pointed at us.

I will talk to you like this, I heard her say in my head. I feel the ninjas coming toward us. They know we're here, but they're not quite sure where yet. She stamped out the signal fire, then pointed to the bare mountains around us. The clouds hung low in the sky and were a heavy navy color just above the tops of some of the rocky peaks. Black smoke rose from the ground in random places, like it had just been hit with a laser. They're coming from over the tops of the mountains, and they aren't very far away. Keep your eyes open. They'll blend in with the rock.