Chapter 7: The Battle with the Zentas Hue

After resting for about half an hour with the two women doing the same beside him Mev sat up. It was time to prepare to meet the Zentas Hue; he could feel the pattern of his spellcraft previously applied to the ship was fading fast. It would not be long before the Zentas Hue trio was able to return to the ship and do whatever they wanted with it.

Mev looked at Sheila who was still sitting back against the wall. After a moment her eyes opened and then a look of wonder came over her face as suddenly all the knowledge of the High Lords of Venda came to her mind. Then she noticed Mev and a look of loving affection came onto her face. Mev knew this was the effect of the Sha Ne but that did not make their girl's feelings for the other two any less real.

The link between the three had already been forged during the conversion of Sheila and the three used this link to communicate what was needed to prepare for the confrontation ahead. They also quickly planned their strategy, which called for Mev and Sheila, as trained warriors and with full training and knowledge, to take the lead in combat. Kathleen was going to supply power to the others and otherwise simply defend herself if need be.

Mev and Kathleen both changed into the formal robes of the High Lords of Venda, Kathleen having recently made herself a set of such garments. For Sheila there wasn't time to make anything for her to wear so she continued to wear the standard battle dress of the Republic. Mev buckled on his sword and gave the weapon to Kathleen who stashed it in her sash. Sheila briefly considered bringing one of the energy weapons from the ships armory but immediately discarded the idea after realizing the ships energy hand weapons were not powerful enough to do any damage to the aliens.

As the three made their preparations they did not say anything to each other but instead they communicated directly though their mental link. This communication was much faster than speaking and helped strengthen and deepen the link between them. That link would be sorely tested in the battle soon to come.

With everything prepared it was time now for Mev and the two women to leave the ship and move to the planet below. It was very important to keep the battle well away from the ship as a large amount of energy could easily be released in a battle between two Trios of Power. Sheila made a quick call to the bridge to tell the Captain they were leaving to meet the aliens. Mev decided the location of the tomb where the aliens had been discovered would be a good place to wait for them and the three transported themselves there.

The three High Lords appeared directly in front of the tomb, finding the area still deserted. The Zentas Hue would be coming soon because they needed to eliminate the threat posed by Mev's group before they could do anything with the Republic battlecruiser. Mev felt their presence in the area of the tomb would add to the effect of drawing the aliens away from the ship since the Zentas Hue might still have some faint affection for the place or perhaps still some unknown secret they might want to protect.

Since the aliens had not yet arrived or revealed themselves yet Mev took the other two inside the tomb. The two girls took in the sight of the long dead bodies in their failed preservation tubes and then the other three opened and empty tubes on the room at the end of the hall. The tomb used some sort of combination of spellcraft and technology that was not immediately understandable because the spellcraft portion had all leaked away. After examining various items inside the tomb for a few more minutes the three High Lords left the tomb.

Almost immediately after the three High Lords had left the tomb the three Zentas Hue aliens appeared. Mev wasn't sure if they had transported themselves there from somewhere else, or had been there all along, concealing themselves until they were ready. In any case the confrontation Mev knew was coming had finally arrived. Mev used his link to the others to tell them to prepare for that which was to come.

Jed An stood a couple of paces in from of the two others in his group, Me Su and No Se. His posture and expression were the same confident, slightly arrogant one he'd shown in his previous encounter with Mev. Inside though Jed An was feeling a little fearful, because so far Mev had been much more successful in thwarting his desires than expected. While Jed An could easily sense that Mev and his group shared the same nature as himself there was still a lot of unknowns to think about. This brought an element of risk to the confrontation with Mev, yet there was no help for it since Mev was blocking his desire to gain complete control of the Republic battle cruiser orbiting above.

"Well met, wolfling!" Jed An said a moment after he had appeared. "I see you have added another to your little group. So much the better. Again, I offer you the opportunity to join us."

"I'm sorry, that is not possible. I must also warn you to leave our ship alone. There is nothing there for you," Mev replied.

"We shall do anything we wish to the ship. They are in our care now. If you join us we can care for them together," Jed An said.

"I cannot permit you to exert any control over or have any contact with the ship. Since we are now well away from it you should be warned that I will not be holding back like last time. You will face the full might I have at my command should we battle again." Mev told the alien.

"I doubt you can muster the energy to even touch my inner shields, much less penetrate them. If we should fight this day it is certain you will lose," Jed An said.

"Be very careful Jed An, lest you be surprised again, just as you were last time."

"We have your measure now; you cannot surprise us this time. I will ask you one last time to join us lest the consequences for your group be dire."

"I say again, joining you is impossible for us," Mev replied.

Almost immediately after Mev spoke his last word the alien launched a burst of power at Mev. Mev threw his full strength into his outer shields and deflected the energy. The backwash of heat from the deflected energy wilted all of the grass and other plants within 20 meters of where Mev was standing. All six figures standing in front of the hill containing the tomb were now sheathed in the glow of full outer shields at full strength.

As the energy from the attack upon Mev was dissipating Sheila launched an unarmed combat attack against Jed An using the unarmed combat techniques she had been taught in the Republic Space Navy, but with full strength and speed augmentation. When the girl reached the alien she punched hum several times, with each blow also carrying a subtle spellcraft designed to penetrate Jed An's shields. But the alien deftly blocked both the physical and spellcraft in the girl's blows, and then he pushed Sheila violently away. The High Lord girl flew through the air until she hit the cliffside wall near the entrance to the tomb with a loud smacking sound. Fortunately the girl was well shielded and despite the heavy impact against the wall she sprang immediately to her feet.

Jed An launched another blast of power but this time it was directed against Kathleen. The three aliens had easily sensed she was the weakest and least knowledgeable of the trio facing them. The girl struggled a bit but then was able to deflect the attack and another wave of heat crisped the plants in the area even more. Because she was fully linked to the other two High Lords Kathleen wasn't actually as vulnerable as it might seem, though she wasn't taking a very active role in the action.

The two groups continued to strike at each other with increasing energy and soon the local vegetation was actually starting to ignite from the deflected energies. Despite their completely different origins the two groups were surprisingly well matched in powers and spellcraft. Despite the best efforts on both sides neither was able to find any simple way to overcome the other. This brought on a pause in the combat and left the two groups facing each other once again, breathing hard but otherwise unhurt.

"Jed An, you can now see that defeating us will be no easy matter for you," Mev told the alien. "I urge you again to leave our ship alone, otherwise you surely risk your doom."

"You still have a chance to join us, there is no need for you to perish in useless combat," the alien replied.

"I repeat; it is not possible for us to join you. And if you choose to persist in your actions then there is no alternative to full mortal combat, power against power, not to end until all of those in one side are all dead." Mev replied.

"It seems you persist in your stubborn effort to block us from what we want," Jed An said. "If you cannot be persuaded to change this in one last appeal then you and your group must accept the consequences. Full mortal combat it shall be, power against power, until all on one side are dead."