Magi Nexus Read online

  “Some didn’t,” Rane replied.

  “The Valk, by any chance?” he asked.

  “They were one of them,” Rane confirmed.

  “We’re stronger together,” Amanda added. “This division that the Valk and others are fostering doesn’t help us. The Earth was attacked by a large Crux force, and no one did anything. Earth is in the centre of the Nexus, surrounded by the mighty Dynasties, and no one stopped it. Some of them probably didn’t even know it was happening, but what’s even more worrying, is the thought that some did know about it and let it happen.”

  “You think the Crux have allies within the Dynasties?” Geshik asked.

  “I think it’s more than likely. I hope not, of course, but my experience tells me that the Nomads will have people everywhere.”

  “Everywhere?” Geshik asked, the implied question obvious in the subtext to his question.

  “I, of course, hope Procyon is free from a Nomad taint, but it pays to be vigilant,” Amanda answered, hoping she didn’t offend him too much.

  There was a blossom of Essentia from outside the room, and then the sudden boom of a powerful explosion that rocked the building, making a bottle of wine fall over and the window in the wall rattle. Amanda was on her feet right away.

  “What the…” Geshik said, gripping the arms of his chair.

  “Are you still sure there’s no Nomad taint here?” Amanda asked as she looked out the window to see flames on the other side of the party room as people panicked and ran.

  Amanda’s defences were immediately up, her Aegis snapping to full power as she began to draw in Essentia, readying herself for what was to come. She sensed others doing the same around her. Nearby, Aris activated his armour that unfolded around him and quickly encased him. Nearby, Geshik did the same, and a gun materialised in his hand with a flash of Essentia.

  Satisfied that everyone was getting ready, she concentrated and placed a set of senses out in the room, high above the crowds to get a look at what was going on.

  On the far side of the room, the wall had been obliterated and glowed with the residue of Magical energy. Through the hole, a squad of well-armed and armoured people, most of them wearing and carrying Magical armour and weapons, rushed in, shooting at the guests. Amongst them there were several Magi, dressed in robes and stealth suits, glowing in her Aetheric Sight with Magical potential.

  Amanda had already enacted the Multitasking effect, splitting her mind into many shards, creating a hive mind. Each mind worked independently, but also in concert with the others, allowing her to work several Magical effects at once. While she surveyed the room outside, she also looked over at her team and down at herself. They weren’t exactly dressed for combat, but time was wasting and people were dying. This would have to do.

  “Porting,” Amanda yelled aloud and worked her Magic.

  Essentia flared as she imposed her will on the extra-dimensional energy that fuelled her Magic and made it possible, and with a whip-snap of air, everyone in the room was suddenly teleported out to appear before the attacking forces.

  Electron beams and rail accelerated shells flashed through the air and cut people down without mercy. The guards in the room were shooting back at the forces attacking them, doing their best to fight them off. Amanda walked forward. Three armoured Riven and a Magus were right before her and saw her approaching them. The Riven fired and the Magus flung a series of lightning blasts at her that smashed into her Aegis with a sound like thunder. Her Aegis flared, pyrotechnics fizzed, but her shield held firm.

  Pulling Essentia to her, she focused it on the Magus and sent her own blast of electrical energy at the man.

  She couldn’t know for sure, not yet at least, but she guessed he was a Nomad. What she was less clear about, though, was why he was attacking them. Her bolt of lightning flashed and slammed into the Nomad, hitting his Aegis and putting a significant dent in it.

  He fell backwards and hit the floor, nearly at the feet of another Magus further back. This one was more powerful and seemed to be directing things.

  The armoured Riven advanced and fired on Amanda with their enchanted rifles, their electron beams hammering at her Aegis with their Essentia infused energy.

  Amanda unleashed a wave of Essentia and kinetic energy at them that hit them like a battering ram, cracking their armour and knocking them to the ground. As Amanda took another step forward, advancing on the lead Nomad, the Riven were getting back on their feet. One of them pulled a knife, dropping his damaged gun in the process, and lunged for her.

  Amanda flashed a smile to herself. Hand to hand combat? Excellent, she thought, and blocked his swing, grabbing his wrist. She twisted and used his strength against him, stabbing him with his own knife. She lashed out with a high kick to another Riven’s face, releasing a flash of Essentia through her foot that helped to knock him to the floor, incapacitated.

  The stiletto heel to his eye probably hurt a bunch, too.

  She shifted her weight and threw the guy she’d stabbed, sending him flying into the third man, while the forth lunged for her. He grabbed her around her neck from behind. She worked her Magic and unleashed an electric shock through her skin, sending hundreds of thousands of volts into him. He shuddered and fell.

  An Essentia strike slammed into her Aegis as she glanced around her, checking on the progress of the others, and noting with a smile that they were holding their own perfectly well.

  Looking up at the Nomad who’d just attacked her, it was the same one she’d just knocked over. Taking a step forward, she sent a dagger of Essentia at him in return that hit his Aegis and did some serious damage to it. His shield was failing him.

  She didn’t hesitate, and hit him again, throwing several more Essentia infused lightning bolts at him. The first one smashed through his Aegis, reducing it to ephemera on the breeze, allowing the other bolts to reduce the Magus to a burnt out husk.

  The lead Nomad stared at Amanda in barely contained fury, but she could see defeat in his eyes and sensed his next move. With a thought, Amanda threw up another Aegis around the whole room, and fed Essentia into it, strengthening it.

  The Nomad’s head snapped up and looked up at the new Aegis before looking back at her with growing worry.

  “You can’t run,” Amanda said. “You might as well give up now.”

  The Nomad didn’t look at her. Instead, his eyes flicked around the room, looking for an escape route or an idea of what he could do. The fight wasn’t over, though, as all around them the Nomad troops continued to fire and fight while the Magi flung Magic back at them.

  “Not yet,” the Nomad answered her.

  “Then you’ll die today,” Amanda threatened him.

  “Will I? Frem?”

  A flicker of a frown passed over her features at his words, and she noticed him look past her, to her left. Amanda turned in time to see Minister Frem grab the governor around the neck in a hold that threatened to break it.

  “Stand down or I kill him,” the Procyon government minister turned traitor called out.

  “Shite,” Amanda muttered to herself.

  The Procyon Resolution

  Procyon, Terran Alliance Space, The Nexus Arcadia

  Amanda glanced back at the Nomad, who was smiling wickedly at her.

  “Not so smug now, are we?” he said, chuckling to himself.

  For the briefest of moments, Amanda’s attention was split. She wanted to take out the Nomad, and the traitor minister, something she was, of course, more than capable of, but the twist of the minister showing her true colours made her pause for just a moment as she weighed up the options.

  The minister was a Magus and had already pushed out her Aegis to envelop both herself and the governor, meaning she would need to waste valuable moments breaking it. Something she could probably do and still get to the minister before she broke her captive’s neck, but she’d need all of her Magic focused on that one thing, meaning the Nomad leader, who she still didn’t have a name for, was li
kely to get away.

  It was only a second or so of indecision, but luckily, one of her allies noticed.

  ~Distraction incoming,~ Jinx called out to her through the Link, and Amanda saw a blur of silver and blue shoot across the room towards the Nomad leader.

  Amanda didn’t wait, and took the opportunity to focus on the minister, and used one of her hive minds to work in a time dilation effect, slowing time and speeding herself up as the rest of her minds—except one—unleashed a storm of Essentia at the minister’s Aegis in an attempt to break it in one attack.

  The minister was clearly a capable Magus, but she was helplessly outclassed by Amanda. Her Aegis shattered under the onslaught before Amanda’s final mind shard reached out to the governor and Ported him across the room, away from the minister.

  Frem screamed in rage and unleashed a frenzy of Magical attacks at Amanda that smashed into her Aegis and weakened it, knocking Amanda back. She kept her balance, though, and stayed on her feet, even in her impractical heels.

  To her right, Jinx was blasting the Nomad with her arm-mounted electron beams from where she floated in the air, her boosters ignited and holding her aloft.

  Quickly, Amanda used several of her hive minds to pump Essentia back into her Aegis to bring it back to full power, while the rest sent a barrage of Essentia infused electrical and kinetic attacks at the minister that hit her like a wrecking ball and flung her into the far wall. From Amanda’s left, a bright flash of an electron beam lanced out and hit the minister as well. It was Geshik, the governor, as he screamed at the minister in rage as he held the beam on her and finished her off, burning her to a crisp.

  As the last few skirmishes began to wind down, Amanda heard Jinx scream from behind her.

  Amanda turned and saw the Nomad gripping her telekinetically with his Magic and rip her apart.

  Sparks flew as the insides of Jinx’s artificial body were ripped out of her and scattered on the floor around the Nomad.

  “No!” Amanda screamed and focused her many minds on attacking the Nomad, hitting him with a massive series of Essentia strikes that smashed into his Aegis and knocked him sprawling across the floor. His Magic released Jinx and dropped her to the floor. Her body, now in several hundred bits, clattered to the ground.

  ~Jinx? Jinx, are you there?~ Amanda called out.

  “Damn you,” the Nomad yelled, crouched on his knees. He conjured a gout of plasma and fire that tore through the air and into Amanda’s Aegis. The Essentia in the attack clawed at her shield as the force of it knocked her off her feet.

  Amanda rolled with it and flipped over backwards, landing on her feet before she launched herself up and over the fire, her strength carrying her a good ten meters up into the air as lightning crackled around her before she unleashed it at the Nomad.

  She dropped and landed right next to him, infusing her fist with Essentia and punching his Aegis with her full strength.

  His Aegis fizzed and burst, breaking open and leaving him defenceless as the fire he’d created faded. Amanda stepped in and brought her knee up into his groin before following it with a swift right hook, which dropped him to the floor.

  Around her, the last few shots were fired as the fight came to an end. Amanda reached out and took hold of the Nomad’s mind, putting him into a deep unconscious state as she rifled through his mind, looking for any clues.

  There was little that was up to date, and nothing related to current galactic events. His name was Torsik, and he led a small band of Nomads and Riven followers in this system. The only useful information was that Minister Frem wasn’t the only government official that they had corrupted, but she was the one that was closest to the governor.

  Amanda pulled the information from his mind as she turned and looked at the remains of Jinx’s body. It was a mess and broken up into hundreds of bits, scattered over the floor.

  “I’m sorry,” Governor Geshik said as he stepped up to her, looking down on the remains of Jinx’s body.

  ~Do we tell him that I’m fine?~ Jinx asked through her Link to Amanda’s mind.

  ~I think it would be cruel not to,~ she replied with a wry grin. “Thanks, but don’t worry, Jinx is fine. That was just her mobile frame; she was piloting it remotely. She’s actually installed on my ship, and quite safe.”

  “Oh, phew, thank the stars for that. I thought you’d lost her.”

  “No, just her body. I can make her a new one, a Magical one, maybe.”

  ~Ooooh, that sounds interesting,~ Jinx commented.

  “Aaah, that might be useful if you keep getting into these scrapes,” Geshik replied.

  Amanda nodded. “So, looks like yeh had a Nomad problem yeh weren’t aware of,” Amanda said, turning to look at him.

  “There have been some rumours, but nothing concrete. I still can’t believe Frem was working for them.”

  “She wasn’t the only one,” Amanda replied.

  “She wasn’t? Who else is compromised?”

  “I pulled the info from the head of Torsik here, I can pass it over if yeh okay with a little Magic?”

  “Of course,” he answered her. “Go ahead.”

  Amanda nodded and reached out, delving into his mind and sending the information she’d taken from the Nomad into his memories, making sure it was all there and that she hadn’t damaged his mind in any way before she pulled back.

  For a moment, the governor looked a little shocked as he processed the intrusion into his head, but after a few seconds, he seemed to get a grip and refocused on her. “Whoa, ugh. I’ll never get used to that feeling. Hmm. Well, damn. That’s more people than I would have thought.”

  “But not so much that it’s scary. You should be able to move on from here, removing these traitors without too much trouble.”

  He nodded.

  “Certainly, if you’re going to be part of the Alliance, then these traitors cannot be allowed to remain in their posts…”

  He looked up at her, and she could see the look of slight surprise on his face. “You still want us to be a part of the Alliance? After this?” He gestured to the mess around him.

  “But of course. You’re within the proposed territory, but I’d like you to agree to be a part of it, rather than for me to force it upon yeh,” Amanda explained.

  The man smiled, and he straightened his back, looking somewhat proud to be asked. “After seeing what you’re capable of and after you’ve already saved my life, I would be proud to be a part of the Alliance.”

  Amanda smiled back and offered her hand. He took it, and she placed her other hand on the back of his. “The pleasure is all ours,” Amanda replied.

  ~So, are you coming back to the ship? I feel so separated from everything. I miss my body,~ Jinx said into Amanda’s mind.

  Homeward Bound

  Interstellar Space, Terran Alliance Sector, Nexus Arcadia

  ~So, what did you do with my remains?~ Jinx asked.

  Amanda smiled to herself. It felt kind of strange, but in an amusing way to hear Jinx talk about her body like that. ~I got rid of it. Disintegrated it. I couldn’t leave it there. It wasn’t from this universe and there might have been some residual exotic energy that they might have detected, so, figured it was for the best,~ Amanda replied to the AI. ~You’re not upset, are you?~ she asked.

  ~No,~ Jinx replied. ~Well, maybe a little. That frame was a gift from Sabrina, so, I’m sad that I don’t have it any more. I hope she won’t mind that I got it blown up.~

  ~I’m sure that Sabrina will understand. We do have a habit of putting ourselves in harm's way, so, it was never going to survive without getting dinged up a little bit.~

  ~That was more than a little bit. That guy tore me apart.~

  Amanda nodded and sent a feeling of agreement through the Link.

  Amanda was standing in her stateroom as she spoke to Jinx. She’d removed her glittery dress and had pulled on her white and grey bodysuit, that shrunk to fit her body perfectly. She checked herself over in the mirror to make sure
it wasn’t twisted anywhere.

  Amanda was a short girl, only five-foot-four inches tall with a slim but busty figure and long bright red hair that fell loosely over her shoulders. She picked a few loose strands of hair from her face, and once she was satisfied, sat down and pulled on her boots.

  ~Looking as sleek as ever, Amanda,~ Jinx complimented her.

  “Thanks,” Amanda replied. “Right, now that I feel back to normal, let’s get you a new body. Okay, so, do you want the same as what Sabrina gave to you?”

  ~Yes… Um, no. Actually. Let’s go for something new.~

  “Are you sure? You said you loved that frame.”

  ~I did, but that frame was special, so I don’t want to just copy it.~

  Amanda shrugged. “Okay, I understand. So, what do you want?”

  ~Surprise me,~ Jinx answered.

  “Really? Are you sure?” Amanda asked.

  ~Positive. I trust you.~

  “Hmmm, okay; hang on, I want to do this in the right part of the ship,” she said, and concentrated. The air snapped, and she Ported from her room to Jinx’s. Jinx was an AI installed on the ship itself, meaning that she was the ship. Amanda hadn’t been sure if Jinx would want a room of her own, but she’d offered one anyway. It seemed like the right thing to do, and Jinx had accepted it right away. She’d been quite excited by the idea, in fact.

  There wasn’t much in the way of personal effects in here, though, apart from a holographic 3D photo of her in her previous frame with Amanda, Jessica, Cheeky, and the rest of the crew of Sabrina, which had been taken during Amanda’s recent visit to that universe.

  Amanda looked down at the photo and picked it up, looking over the smiling faces that were gazing out at her. It made her smile to think of the crazy few days she’d spent with those guys, and hoped she could return one day soon. When that would be was anyone’s guess; she had so much to do here in her own universe.

  Heh, she thought, maybe that was it? Maybe these trips to other universes served as a nice little break from the stresses of dealing with the Dynasties and Nomads in her own universe, and she was looking forward to another break soon.