NOVEL NEXT Ch23 Dilinur: Pearl Terminal
12:20, February 10, 2295
Terminal 4, Songnei Starport (松內星港), No. 340-9, Dunhua North Road, Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan, Imperium of Dragons territory
Dilinur pressed the tiny stud on her earpiece. "Shazmeen, we're at Terminal 4 now. What does your scrying show?" she asked quietly.
"One moment," came Shazmeen Varma's static-filled reply.
Beside Dinu, Seneschal Cheng Wei stood in gleaming red armor, holding his two-handed Battleaxe. His dark hair was slicked back, highlighting his sharp gaze and stern expression. His armor featured dragon motifs, with a dragon's head sculpted on the chest.
Ahead, two Conjurers moved silently, psionic energies flowing from their black robes as they searched for enemies.
Shazmeen's voice returned in Dinu's earpiece. "Skarn's psionic signature is in Sector 4G. He's somewhere close to you."
"Far Seer Varma, 'somewhere close' isn't very helpful," Cheng said into his earpiece. "Can you do better? Give us a more precise location?"
"Dear Seneschal Cheng, without being physically present, this is the best I can do," Shazmeen replied, sounding annoyed.
"Perhaps we should invest in creating NexLink satellites like the Alliance has," Cheng said as they walked down the corridor. "Or I could try using my nose to track Skarn down. That might be more accurate than Shazmeen's scrying."
"The Alliance satellites can't scan indoors, in case you forgot," Shazmeen retorted. "But go ahead and stroll around until Skarn takes a bite out of your head."
"Have the civilians been secured?" Dinu asked, scanning each shadowed corner.
"Conjurer Lin has assembled them in Hangar B," someone replied, their voice strained. "The wounded are being treated now."
"Good, share food and water with them if you can," Dinu said, listening for any sign of danger.
"Prefect," Cheng said, his voice deep. "We will find Skarn. And when we do, I vow to protect you with my life." He turned to her with a confident smile, his eyes showing determination beyond mere loyalty.
Dinu had noticed Cheng's unwavering dedication to her. He was always first into battle and last to retreat, always putting her safety first. But recently, she couldn't ignore the feelings that seemed to motivate his actions — feelings that many men in the Legion had for her.
"Yes. Focus on the mission, Seneschal," Dinu said coolly, creating a barrier against emotions she couldn't afford. She felt the weight of his admiring gaze.
"Always, Prefect," Cheng assured her, his tone revealing his true feelings.
"Bloodtroopers. Dragon Turtle Formation," Dinu ordered, cutting through the tension between them. She needed to be the Prefect now, the leader, not someone's crush.
"Aye, Prefect!" The Bloodtroopers responded together. One positioned himself in front of Dilinur, while four others formed a protective circle around her, with Cheng following behind.
The stench hit them first — a putrid mix of decay and something worse — something alien and strangely erotic. Dinu's face twisted in disgust as she approached the scene.
"By the Celestial Dragon..." she whispered.
In the dim light of Terminal 4's damaged corridor, a black severed tentacle lay like a fallen tree. Part of it was covered in thick white fluid mixed with remains of a meal — rice, seaweed, tuna.
"Ugh, that smell. Is it...?" One of the Bloodtroopers in front of Dinu asked hesitantly.
"Scan it," Dinu ordered firmly, despite feeling embarrassed. The bleach-like smell of the white fluid reminded her of things some male superiors did to female subordinates in the Imperial Legion. But Dilinur was different. She refused to use her body to advance like many women in the Imperium. Instead, she relied on her combat and administrative skills.
"Scanning, Prefect," A Bloodtrooper stepped forward with a golden handheld scanner designed to analyze DNA. As he moved it over the tentacle, the device hummed softly.
Shazmeen's voice projected beside Dinu. "Someone's tastes run to the exotic. Or perhaps, the desperate," she said, sounding more amused than disgusted. "To think they'd dare such intimacy with Skarn — or suffer such violation."
Dinu's jaw tightened in anger. The thought that someone might find pleasure in such terror bothered her deeply. Or worse, that Skarn would force himself on someone so horribly.
"Keep your conjectures to yourself, Varma," Dinu snapped harshly. "We need facts, not fantasies."
"Of course, Prefect," Shazmeen replied, still smirking. "But the audacity and debauchery here is quite fascinating."
"Enough," Dinu held up a hand and turned away from Shazmeen's image. Her gaze returned to the tentacle. "Whoever did this, whether out of perverse bravery or force, they encountered Skarn up close."
The scanner hummed in the Bloodtrooper's hand as he examined the tentacle and its remains.
"Confirmed, Prefect" the trooper said quietly. "It's Skarn's DNA on the tentacle." He paused as the scanner beeped again. "But there's something else... an anomaly. Unregistered DNA present at the tip and mixed with the... matter."
Dinu's sharp eyes focused on the tentacle's moist end.
"Unregistered," she whispered. "Whoever did this with Skarn was a foreigner, then. One whose DNA is not in the Imperial Genetics Archive."
Dinu walked carefully down the corridor, surrounded by the Bloodtroopers. Each step stirred up the smell of blood and fear.
"Could it be Wu Zhi-Xin?" Her thoughts turned to Xin, to his habits. She pictured him folding rice in seaweed, smiling as he offered her one of his carefully made tuna onigiri. "I remember him trying to hack into the Archive and delete his own record once."
"Negative, Prefect Altai," another trooper reported. "Wu Zhi-Xin's DNA record is still in the Archive."
Suddenly, a panicked voice broke through their earpieces. "Prefect! Skarn has found us — civilians in danger!" The Conjurer's voice was distorted by fear. "— at the atrium of Terminal 4, please send help — oh no. Lin! No —"
"Golden Lance Formation, move out!" Dinu shouted. Her heart raced as she, Cheng, and the Bloodtroopers ran down the empty corridor.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
They reached the atrium to find a horrible scene. Two Conjurers were trying to cast spells against Skarn, but their magic fizzled harmlessly against his massive form. Dinu noticed that two of Skarn's tentacles were missing.
"We're too late," she muttered.
Skarn's remaining three tentacles grabbed a Conjurer, lifting him easily. "Ysolde. My most loyal Hundkynda, captured and sealed by your feeble Imperium," he rumbled calmly. "Give me her location."
"Never," the Conjurer said defiantly.
"Then perish." Skarn's claws flashed, grabbing the Conjurer's head and crushing it. The headless body fell to the floor.
"Abomination!" Cheng rushed to stand beside Dinu, his armor reflecting the emergency lights.
"Speak now or suffer the same fate," Skarn warned, turning to the second Conjurer and lifting him with his tentacles.
"The Far Side of Osram...Zeeman Crater," the Conjurer said fearfully. "A-a-and Io! — near the tomb of Dargoth!"
"Your cooperation is noted," Skarn said before dropping the trembling Conjurer.
"Wang! You foolish coward!" Dinu whispered harshly, her eyes fixed on Skarn.
Skarn laughed as he killed the second Conjurer with a swift strike, cutting off his head. Blood sprayed across Skarn's hand.
"Pathetic," Skarn hissed. He turned away, his remaining tentacles moving behind him like snakes. The Imperium troops stood frozen, their weapons useless against the monster who barely noticed them.
Rage filled Dinu. She couldn't let this beast continue his rampage. She pulled out her Psi Fan - the Tarim Aytün - from its sheath. The fan's silver ribs caught the light as it opened, its fabric glowing with stored energy.
"Rakta Phiniks, hanatu!" she commanded, her voice strong as she channeled her anger through precise movements of the fan. The air crackled with red energy as she swept Tarim Aytün in an arc toward Skarn.
The monster sensed her power. Without stopping, he roared and sent a wave of twisted energy back at Dinu. Her attack only made him laugh.
With a sneer, Skarn turned and disappeared into the smoke and rubble. "Delay the inevitable, ants of the Imperium, but you cannot deter destiny."
Dinu stumbled as Skarn's counter-attack hit her spell, making her bleed from the nose. She kept Tarim Aytün raised even as her arm shook. Her knees buckled slightly, but she stayed standing.
Cheng reached out to steady her, forgetting his battleaxe momentarily. "Prefect Altai, you're injured!"
"A minor setback," she replied coolly, wiping her nose with her sleeve while keeping her fan pointed where Skarn had been.
The air crackled with Skarn's lingering malice, then reality itself began to tear apart.
A huge opening split the air, a jagged wound pulsing with alien energy. The breach wasn't just a hole; it was a monstrous mouth of spines tearing through reality. It glowed with an eerie purple light, casting weird shadows across the starport. At its center, a dark, swirling void seemed to swallow all light.
"Ormheimr…" Dinu felt reality shudder from its presence. "Skarn still remembers how to summon it."
"Dragon Turtle Formation!" Cheng ordered. The Bloodtroopers quickly formed a protective ring around Dinu as Cheng stood beside her, his battleaxe raised.
"He's escaping," Dinu watched as the Ormheimr spewed out hordes of Radi-Mons that descended on the starport. She raised Tarim Aytün, its silver ribs gleaming in the purple light.
"Prefect, we can't chase Skarn while the Ormheimr exists. The Radi-Mons are attacking our civilians," Cheng said urgently.
"We stay and protect the civilians," she decided instantly. Opening her fan fully, she took a stance that was both elegant and deadly. "Form ranks! Keep the monsters contained while I deal with their portal."
"As you command!" the Bloodtroopers replied together, raising their battle-axes to form a barrier around their leader. They stood firm against the wave of Bone Fiends that rushed toward them.
"Move behind!" Cheng directed the civilians as they made their way through the starport ruins. Dazed and frightened people hurried to safety behind their formation.
"Maa-nik-ya Su-shup-ti!" Dilinur's voice cut through the chaos as she swept Tarim Aytün in a precise arc.
The air shimmered with red energy as her spell took effect. The first wave of Bone Fiends slowed, moving as if through thick syrup. The Bloodtroopers seized this chance, their Thermal Battleaxes cutting through the confused creatures efficiently.
"Hold the line!" Cheng shouted, his own axe slicing through a Skuggr. "Keep them away from the civilians!"
From behind the defensive line, Dilinur directed the battle with precision.
When Skuggrs tried to flank them, she responded with another sweep of Tarim Aytün.
"Rakta Unmāda!" The fan's silver ribs blazed with power.
The spell hit the flanking Skuggrs, making them attack each other. They shrieked as they tore into one another, their acid bile melting through shell and bone.
"Her strength honors the Emperor!" the civilians cheered from behind their protective line.
Dilinur acknowledged their praise with dignity, staying focused on the battle. The Ormheimr kept spawning monsters that met her forces' coordinated defense.
"Prefect," Cheng called between strikes, "the portal isn't weakening!"
Dilinur studied the writhing gateway. The silver in her fan hummed with power, responding to her determination. She had been saving her strength, but now...
"Form the Arrow Head!" she ordered. "I need a clear path to the portal!"
The Bloodtroopers quickly shifted to create a wedge pointing toward the Ormheimr. Cheng took position at the front, his armor covered with the blood of fallen enemies.
Dilinur raised Tarim Aytün high, its fabric now pulsing with energy. The circuits within the fan glowed like lightning as she began her final spell.
Dinu focused on the Ormheimr, which was still spitting out more twisted creatures. Her fingers traced ancient patterns along her Psi Fan's edge, feeling its circuits responding to her touch.
"Agni Śūla Hana!" Dilinur's voice rang out as she snapped Tarim Aytün fully open.
The fan's silver ribs blazed with crimson light, each circuit igniting like liquid fire. The energy gathered at its edge, forming a burning lance of power that lit the terminal in blood-red light. With a single, precise gesture, she directed the concentrated force straight into the Ormheimr's mouth.
The portal's flesh bubbled where her attack hit, its organic matter charring and dissolving. The Radi-Mons emerging from it shrieked as they were caught in the blast, turning to ash before fully appearing.
"Hold!" she commanded her troops, even as blood dripped from her nose again. The strain of channeling such power through Tarim Aytün was immense, but she refused to show weakness. "Keep them contained!"
The Bloodtroopers fought with renewed vigor, their Thermal Battleaxes forming a wall against any creature that approached their Prefect. Cheng moved like a whirlwind at the formation's point, his weapon cutting through multiple enemies with each swing.
The Ormheimr's flesh blackened and peeled away where Dilinur's attack hit, unable to withstand the concentrated Eclipse energy. With each moment, the portal creature's opening grew smaller, its edges curling inward like burning paper.
"Prefect!" Cheng called over the chaos. "It's working!"
With a sound like tearing silk but a thousand times louder, the Ormheimr finally collapsed. The remaining Radi-Mons caught in its dissolving tunnel screamed as they were torn apart by the portal's death throes. In a final burst, the gateway imploded, leaving behind a pile of charred flesh oozing fluid.
The sudden silence was overwhelming.
Dilinur lowered Tarim Aytün, her hands shaking slightly from effort. The fan's ribs still smoldered with leftover energy as she carefully folded it closed.
"Is it over?" one of the Bloodtroopers asked quietly.
"For now," Dilinur replied, maintaining her composure despite her obvious exhaustion. She wiped her nose with a silk handkerchief, coughing before continuing. "There will be more battles. We must be ready."
Cheng approached and placed a gauntleted hand on her shoulder, his touch surprisingly gentle. "Your strength honors us all, Prefect Altai," he said, his voice filled with respect and something more.
"As Imperials, strength is our only choice," Dilinur responded with a heavy sigh, sounding tired but determined as she blushed slightly. "Also, Seneschal, please don't touch me when others are present."
"By your will," Cheng withdrew his hand as a Bloodtrooper approached them.
"Pardon the interruption, Prefect. We've received a message from the Azure Mount Logistic Hub," the Bloodtrooper said nervously through his helmet.
"What's this about?" Dilinur raised an eyebrow.
"The android, U6-M9. It's missing." the trooper replied. "Lady Marisol reports seeing an identical model in NIPU territory."
"What!?" Dilinur dropped her handkerchief.
"Tell us everything you know," Cheng demanded, standing straight beside Dilinur, sweat mixing with alien blood on his battle-worn armor.