Baaba: Chapter 14

Baaba waited that night for all the physically capable asafo to enter the laboratory. Kuukua noticed that the roof had slid open.

'This is how we are going to get to the kakai world' she began. 'This entire laboratory has been converted into a teleportation chamber. The timer is set for thirty minutes, which means if we don't make it to the kakai take off point by then, we'll be stuck there permanently.'

'So what happens now?' asked Asabea. 'Do you flick a switch and we all materialise there five minutes later or what?'

'That's exactly what will happen. I press the send button on my modified mobile phone when we are all ready, our mass will be converted into beams of pure energy. These beams will be shot into the sky, past the Ring and into the kakai world.

'We won't materialise until we've touched kakai soil. Otherwise, we would simply fall from the kakai sky and break every bone in our body. Also, the mass to energy conversion process will be extremely painful since you will literally be broken down into atoms for fifteen minutes.

'So is everyone ready?' she asked.

A bright light lit up the dark kakai sky and the kakai watched in surprise as ten beams of light fell from the sky and hit the ground, raising clouds of dust that enveloped twenty kakai. The other kakai edged back nervously as they heard the sounds of their kin being torn apart.

The asafo spilled out from the dust clouds and went straight for the tallest hill where Sum stood. to meet kakai that attacked them. Five kakai that tried to block their path were banished as Baaba and Efua flung their spears at them. A kakai lunged towards the schoolgirl, then spun to its left and swung its serrated blade at her shoulder but she blocked the first swing, parried the next and slashed through its spear, striking it at the neck and banishing it.

Other kakai fired their steel needles at her but Baaba deflected them into a kakai behind her and darted towards them, banishing them with three swings of her afena (longsword)

A stream of kakai led by a red kakai rushed toward the intruders.Baaba , with her akofena in one hand, cut a path through the kakai, not wasting a single movement. Suddenly a coalblack spear angled towards her chest but she spun back and parried the thrusts of the red kakai who wielded the spear. It lunged towards her but Efua blocked its path with her afonanta and swung upwards at it, stabbing it in the neck.

It spun to its left and attacked her repeatedly. Kuukua clashed with a four-armed kakai and slashed it across the chest, fully banishing it. A machete wielding kakai lunged at her but she cut it down in three quick swings.

Asabea struggled with a kakai whose weapons kept shifting from sword to spear. She noted the patten of change and adjusted her weapons accordingly before stabbing the kakai in the chest.

A kakai with a large serrated spear rushed towards Baaba and let off a volley of needles that she dodged, even as she drew out an akofena and slashed them into pieces. . It leapt away, from Baaba's swings and swung its serrated spear at her but Baaba rolled under the akodze, and slashed its legs off before stabbing it in the back.