Maty by Aer-ki Jyr (big screen ebook reader .TXT) 📗

growing his personal power, and the NIM’s effectiveness scaled off it, meaning that in the future that 9x effect would raise to 10…then 11…and so on as he grew stronger.

That meant the most damage he could do to the enemy was standing on this elevated platform in the center of this holographic chamber watching the battles take place under others’ direction as he gave them the necessary power to obliterate any Hadarak formation they were passing through.

And therein lay the catch. The NIM was not a ranged weapon, at least not in the visual sense. The ship was so large that the range of the NIM was greater than the long range weaponry of lesser race’s ships, but general close proximity was required…which was why the V’kit’no’sat fleet made up of 32 of their races’ ships wasn’t going to fully brake and stand toe to toe with the Hadarak exchanging fire.

They were going to dive into their ranks and pass through them enroute to the jumppoint, then circle around and make many more passes. This was not an evasive maneuver designed to get them to the PanNari system. This was to cut through the heart of the swarm as many times as the enemy would allow before disbanding and fleeing the system.

And given the stubbornness of the Hadarak, Mak’to’ran expected at least a dozen such passes, though he hoped for more.

The elder Era’tran finally reached the center of the chamber, which the V’kit’no’sat referred to as a De’shor’nak, which was an alteration of an old word that meant ‘focal point.’ He planted his feet into two imprints in the floor that vaguely matched them, then the silver material in the floor melted slightly and crept inward so that it perfectly matched his feet, which would not move through the entire battle.

Three armatures raised from the floor, two going to just in front of his short arms where he placed his hands on them, and the third rose up near the tip of his tail but short of it, allowing Mak’to’ran to settle it into the groove that likewise lightly bonded to it, supporting his body as well as allowing a physical connection to the equipment that would act as conduits for his Essence so he didn’t have to try to expand it through the air out to the hidden ring beyond the walls that he had to connect to. Tethers running through the platform made of specialized Essence-insulative material did so much better, but he did not make connection now, knowing his limits with using the technology. Instead he waited as the view outside had the enemy clouds ahead of them gradually expanding to cover all of his vision, then that expansion slowed greatly as the final braking maneuver was made and the command deck signaled him to make ready the weapon.

Mak’to’ran stirred the Essence within him, pushing it out of his body down the channels provided by the armatures, but he did not relinquish control of it as he would when releasing it into a weapon blast or healing aura. It felt like he was pushing a piece of himself out of his body, stretching his Core and mind beyond his physical boundaries, though that wasn’t really what was happening. That was the sensation though as he became intimately familiar with things beyond himself along the connective lines until his Essence reached the ring that surrounded his position hidden behind the walls of the De’shor’nak.

There he had to work to get it all incorporated into his possession, and once he did his Essence settled, though it took a considerable amount of will power to control so much beyond himself. One lapse and his personal Essence beyond his body would evaporate and he would have to start over. That was one reason why he could not be mentally connected to the battle computers or exterior sensors. He had to focus on his task and his task alone, while allowing his eyes only to see what was occurring outside.

The ring he now possessed was the head of the primary firing chamber, with the other rings further back feeding through this one last of all before being released to the hull. The Materia that was the NIM would create the weapon effect in the other rings, then this last one was when Mak’to’ran would enhance it by manually altering the weaponized Essence in a way that no machine could…at least not at present. Perhaps one day it would be possible, but then again Star Force might design even greater weapons using harder techniques.

None of that mattered now. The NIM was here, and Mak’to’ran’s skill was going to determine how much final alteration he could make to the weaponized Essence. 9x effect was the best he had managed to date, but it wasn’t easy nor automatic. He could try hard and only get 7x, so he had to focus all his attention and inner might on giving the DinoThunder the most lethal augment he could, but right now he was waiting as he signaled the command deck that he was primed. When they pressed the buttons to fire the weapon, it would pass through Mak’tor’an’s extended Essence in the ring and that was when he would have to work his powers on it not once, but as many times as the ship fired.

If he lost his strength another Hakja was standing by to replace him. In fact four were waiting, for once you exhausted your willpower on this weapon you could not use it again for days. The strain was that great, but also dependent on how deep you pushed. And in this first pass through the enemy swarm Mak’to’ran was not going to hold back for longevity’s sake.

The view before him sent a spike of adrenaline through his body. Something he hadn’t felt in ages. Battle against the Hadarak had become routine for him, but he had never been in