Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 35 - An Intentional Explosion (Patreon)

I’ve seen versions of war that most people can’t even contemplate. True destruction that boggles the mind and strikes palpable fear into anyone who really understands how close we are to utter annihilation. That is what awaits anyone when they reach the peak.

Alistaris Kargat

“I need a new hat,” Rex grumbled as he sat on the bench, staring down at what was left of his headwear. Bits of it decorated the floor, evidence of just how tenuously it clung to its form. To me, it looked like a stiff breeze would send the rest of scattering to the wind.

But I wasn’t terribly concerned with his hat. Instead, I asked, “What went wrong?”

“Mystics,” he said, setting the hat aside with a sigh. I felt the Leviathan lifting off the ground. “They were waitin’ on us, like they knew we was comin’. Took out the ship, then surrounded us as soon as we were inside. Only thing that kept us from bein’ overwhelmed was one of the gnomes hackin’ into the system and raisin’ the shields. Otherwise…”

“Damn,” I muttered with a shake of my head. Most of the attacks had gone off without a hitch, but a few teams had met with unexpected resistance. Rex’s group were the only ones who’d survived. But at least they’d accomplished their missions before they went down. Small comfort.

“You think they knew?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. To me, it looked like the aliens were aware that something was coming, though they’d had no idea of the details. Likely, they had been surprised that we were capable of mustering enough of a force to attack everything all at once. That, I expected, was the only reason we had been successful so far.

I left Rex and the other survivors in the cargo bay and headed to the cockpit, where Patrick was piloting the ship back to the temporary base. I settled into my seat and asked, “Do you think it worked?”

“All reports point to yes,” he answered without taking his eyes from his instruments. “But I can’t believe it’s over.”

“It’s not. We still have the satellites to destroy,” I stated. “On top of that, who’s to say the aliens won’t try again? I mean, they want to blow up the planet, right? So long as those satellites exist, they can always give it another shot.”

“That’s a depressing thought,” he acknowledged.

“Story of our lives,” I mumbled with a resigned shake of my head. Despite experiencing a victory, our situation was just as depressing as ever. I didn’t think the aliens were going to stop just because we’d set them back. No – they were going to try again. I had no idea how long it took to get those dig sites up and running – or how many credits it had cost – but I had to believe that the Gamori Confederation had invested enough that they wouldn’t quickly abandon those plans. “I sometimes feel like we’re wasting our time.”

“We’re not.”

I sighed. “I don’t know, Pick. I’m starting to wrap my head around why Al wanted to abandon Earth,” I stated. “They’re just going to keep coming back, aren’t they? So far, all we’ve done is react to them. We’re just treating the symptoms here. We’re not actually curing the disease.”

“I know. I just don’t have any ideas on how to do that last part.”

“Me neither,” I admitted. “On the plus side, I got an upgrade.”

As I said it, I glanced at my [Warfare] tree with some satisfaction. For months, I’d only seen a trickle of improvement in the Command branch. However, during the most recent mission, I had seen its progress skyrocket into the first tier and nearly reach the second. I could only think that was due to the fact that I was working with so many other people.

“I got a new ability,” I stated. “It’s called Planetary Defense.”

I looked at it:

Planetary Defense (A) – Create a protective Mistwall around an entire planet.

The description was not very helpful, but after examining the ability, I discovered that it was far more complex than any ability I’d ever seen. As the description suggested, using the ability would allow me to create a web of Mist around a planet. That, in turn, would act as a permeable Mist shield that I could control in a variety of ways. However, utilizing the ability would require me to spend months – or perhaps even years – putting it together. It was like the most complex Ghost combined with a supremely powerful Mistwall, which also incorporated the principles of cybernetics.

On top of that, utilizing the ability would require more power than I wanted to think about. A thousand Mist reactors like the Leviathan’s wouldn’t even cut it, and I suspected my estimates, which were based on pure feel rather than advanced mathematics, were inadequate to describe the sheer volume of power the ability would require.

Suddenly, I understood why the Pacificians were willing to use people as batteries.

Using Secure Connection so the gnomes in the backseats of the cockpit wouldn’t hear, I explained the ability to Patrick, ending with, “It seems powerful. It’s A-Grade. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to implement it. I can’t even practice it because of the scope.”

“You could build models, though, right?” he guessed.

“I don’t know. I could structure it like a Ghost, maybe.”

“I could dive into your training apparatus,” he suggested. “Alter it for the new parameters. It would lose its previous functionality, but I think…I think I could make it work. If you want to go down this road, I mean.”

“Maybe,” I repeated. I hated the ambiguity of the new ability. It felt so imprecise. Normally, I preferred simple and straightforward paths of advancement. This was markedly different, and it made me uncomfortable.

Still, my uncle had once told me that comfort was the enemy of progress. In order to make any sort of gains, a person had to get out of their comfort zone. Otherwise, they would stagnate.

So, perhaps the new ability would push me forward in ways nothing else could.

Those thoughts occupied my mind as Patrick guided the Leviathan back to the temporary base. Because of that, I wasn’t the first one to notice that something was wrong.

“You see that?” Patrick asked, pointing out the window. I followed the gesture, seeing a huge plume of smoke twisting its way into the sky.

“Is that…”

“I think so,” he answered. “I’m going to circle.”

He did just that, and what we saw was not good. The Dingyt base had been entirely destroyed, and nothing but a crater remained where it had once been. I tried to contact Alistaris via Secure Connection, but I got no response. However, using my {Mist Warden} senses, I did see that there were hundreds of individuals in the area. They were all cloaked in some sort of Stealth ability, and there were three auras that I suspected were mystics.

“They’re still down there,” I said aloud.

“Is it a trap?” Patrick asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe. There’s a chance they just haven’t left the area yet,” I stated.

“What do you want to do?” he asked.

“Kill them all,” I stated. “There’s no shield. No fancy defense systems. They’re vulnerable.”

“Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?” he asked.

“They’re not the only ones who can make craters,” I said by way of answer. Then, I turned to the Dingyts and asked, “Are any of your people still in contact?”

They both shook their heads and said that they couldn’t hail their companions. One added, “They could be blocking communications.”

“They’re not,” I said. “I can see that kind of thing.”

That was an assumption that had yet to be verified, but I felt certain that it was true. In addition, I was reasonably sure that, if there were any gnomes down there, I would’ve been able to recognize their auras. No – I was almost positive that only enemies remained in the area.

And that meant that I could get busy with a counterattack.

After only a little more discussion, during which Patrick continued to scan for surviving Dingyts, I left the cockpit behind. When I reached the cargo bay, I had to field a few questions from the rest of the squad, including Rex’s people. I answered as well as I could without sending them all into a panic, ending with, “It’ll all be explained later. For now, I have something I need to do.”

With that, I headed to one of the crates in the corner. It was about four feet tall, and heavy enough that it wasn’t easy for me to move. Fortunately, there was a handtruck nearby for just that purpose. So, I wheeled the crate next to the bay doors, then set it down.

“What is that?” asked Rex, who’d joined me, clearly hoping to help.

“A special little gift for the people who think we can’t bite back.”

“That doesn’t answer the question,” he stated.

I shrugged. “You’ll get the answer you want in a few minutes,” I said. Then, I popped open the lid of the plastisteel crate before unfolding the sides to reveal the contents. It was a large drum, not dissimilar from the ones I’d seen in the Pacifician moon base. It was an apt comparison, because it contained the same Mist-infused fuel that had made the explosion I’d caused so very destructive.

“Is that what I think it is?” Rex asked, kneeling down next to the barrel and inspecting the intricate wiring on the outside.

“If you think it’s a bomb, then yes.”

“What’s in the barrel?”

“A mixture of ground Rift shards, liquified Mist, and a few other odds and ends to make it go boom,” I answered. That explanation was an understatement for what I knew was far and away the most powerful bomb I’d ever created. That was including the ones I’d detonated on the moon.

Of course, I expected the resulting payload to be much lower, considering that I wasn’t blowing up a base containing hundreds, if not thousands, of barrels full of potential reactants. Still, the base explosive was far more powerful, and it would be even stronger due to my increased modifiers.

In short, I was about to see just how much of the general area I could blow up.

According to everything I knew, there wouldn’t be any long-lasting ramifications, but even I had to admit that I didn’t know everything. So, there was still a bit of mystery involved, considering my lack of overall experience with bomb-making. Sure, I dabbled, but my knowledge couldn’t even begin to rival the experimentation the rest of the universe had done on the subject.

But a homemade bomb could be just as destructive as something made by an arms manufacturer who’d been doing it for centuries. The only difference was that mine was a lot more unpredictable.

In theory.

I was about to figure out how accurate that prediction really was.

“That’s a lot of…uh…that’s going to be a big explosion,” Rex said.

“That’s the point,” I stated, looking up at him from where I was kneeling beside my bomb. “I’m tired of holding back. I’m tired of playing by rules while these assholes invade our planet with impunity. They’re down there right now, thinking they won some great victory. They’re practically dancing on our people’s graves. I won’t stand for it. They want to hit us? Okay, it’s war. But they better understand that I’m going to hit them back, and harder.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “You need any help?”

“No. I need to do everything associated with this so that I know my modifiers apply,” I answered.

He looked a bit offended at that, but from what I’d seen, his abilities with explosives couldn’t hold a candle to mine. He was an expert, but I didn’t need expertise. I needed raw power, and I had that in spades.

So, I went back to priming the various charges attached to the bomb. They were only meant to apply a spark, which would in turn create a chain reaction that would detonate the much larger explosive. Hopefully, I’d packed enough fuel.

In any event, I was about to find out.

“Pick,” I said via the Secure Connection. “I need you to get a few miles away, then accelerate at the Leviathan’s top speed.”

“Top atmospheric speed? Or top-top speed?”

“The fastest you can go without igniting the atmosphere,” I said, knowing that the Leviathan, being designed for space travel, was capable of far greater speeds than Earth’s atmosphere could accommodate. “Also, get as high as you can.”

“Gotcha. High and fast. That’s speaking my language,” he responded. Then, I felt the ship gaining altitude. The temperature of the air coming in through the open bay doors dropped, and I could see the gnomes huddling together. Fortunately, there was a thin Mist shield that preserved the air inside the cabin and prevented the worst of the cold air from getting in. Still, it was anything but comfortable. Finally, after a few more minutes, Patrick said, “We’re on approach.”

The Leviathan was no bomber, but we had practiced our makeshift technique enough that I was fairly sure of the timing. As such, Patrick started his countdown, and I repositioned myself to push the bomb overboard.

“Ten seconds.”

“Nine.”

He continued the countdown until, at last, saying, “One. Go!”

I shoved the bomb overboard.

I knew it wouldn’t be a direct hit, but with the size of the explosion I expected, I didn’t think it would matter much. Holding onto a nearby strap, I leaned forward so I could get a good view of the detonation. The seconds passed as we raced away, covering enough distance that I expected we would be safe from any impact.

I was wrong.

A pillar of fire, miles high and crackling with blue Mist, bloomed into being as it erupted into the atmosphere. Then, the shockwave tore across the landscape, obliterating trees and wildlife in an instant.

And it kept going, moving far faster than the Leviathan could.

“Hang on!” I shouted just before the wave of force hit the ship. It bucked, nearly flipping end over end, and everything that wasn’t strapped down flew across the cargo bay. Fortunately, everyone else had already buckled their harnesses the moment they’d felt the Leviathan accelerate.

Everyone but me.

I held onto the strap, but it snapped after only a moment, and I was sent tumbling through the still-open cargo bay. Fortunately, I was no stranger to dangerous situations, and I used Teleport before I got out of range. A moment later, I was back inside and clutching one of the bulkheads with the Hand of God. A few seconds later, the ship righted itself.

For a few more seconds, I watched as the cloud of fire, smoke, and Mist shrank into the distance. Then, over the Secure Connection, Patrick said, “I need to set the ship down for a minutes to run diagnostics. That was a lot rougher than I expected.”

“Alright.”

I was still a little stunned by the sheer size of the explosion I had caused. It wasn’t as large as the one I’d set off on the moon, but it wasn’t a lot smaller, either. I could only imagine the damage I’d wrought on the landscape.

The Dingyts and Rex’s people were still recovering when Patrick guided the ship to a landing in an open prairie a few minutes later. We were dozens of miles from the blast site, but the dust cloud had darkened the atmosphere as far as I could see.

As everyone found their equilibrium, I headed to the cockpit to find Patrick running diagnostics on the ship. As he did, he said, “I had the Mist shields up, but that bomb was…it cut through the shield.”

“That was probably the norcite powder I mixed in,” I said. “I didn’t want to miss the mystics.”

“Damn, Mira. You should’ve told me that.”

“You think it’ll be an issue?” I asked.

“How should I know? I’m no bomb expert. That’s you, remember?”

“Just because I have some skills doesn’t mean I’m an expert,” I stated. In fact, the only thing I felt qualified to call myself an expert in was Mistrunning. Everything else, I was still learning.

And I needed to change that in a hurry.

“We’re going to have to check it out,” I said.  “Will the ship be okay?”

“Of course it’ll be okay,” he said. “Just give me a minute to make sure there won’t be any lasting damage. Then, we can go see if anything survived.”

“Okay,” I said, hoping that I hadn’t done any irreparable damage to the ship.

As it turned out, the Leviathan was fine, though Patrick said that was more due to some of the modifications he’d made than anything else. So, with that established, we set off back toward the blast site. However, when we got within a couple of miles, Patrick said, “This is…not great. This is as far as the ship can go. The Mist is acting weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Well, less weird and more nonexistent. It’s like the opposite of a Dead Zone out there,” he stated.

“Is it safe?” I asked.

“Sure. Probably. I have no idea.”

“That’s…not a helpful response.”

He shrugged and looked back. “I’m aware. Best I can do, though.”

“Fine,” I said, sighing. “I’ll check it out. Everyone else needs to stay here.”