by Ivan Kal
Not bad for their first try. Ever since their mother had made them her heirs, they had been in a state of flux, trying to adapt to their new role, but also avoiding being just an imitation of their mother. They had been very relieved when after the announcement the people rejoiced for the decision. It had been one of the best moments of their lives.
They knew that they had much to live up to. Both of their parents were great, and living up to them would not be easy.
But, like all Shara Daim, they would forge their own path.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Alliance staging point
Adrian sat in his quarters on board the Herald. His trip to see Axull Darr had been…illuminating. It had also forced him to change some of his plans. The slots he had purchased to build a fleet were no longer necessary, at least not in the way he had intended. He still planned on building the fleet utilizing technologies he and Gotu had discussed, but now he would have less time to do it, as he would need to arm the ships he had received from Axull Darr. That entailed slight adjustments.
He would not need as many ships as he had originally planned, but he would still need some, so he was compiling a list of orders, reports, and general explanations for Gotu. He also attached the data for the new ships for him so that he could go over it in greater detail. Adrian was barely halfway through and already he was impressed. Axull Darr had created something incredible.
And if Axull could really do what he had promised for his project…then his Nomad fleet was going to be far more deadly.
But that was going to be Gotu’s problem for the foreseeable future. For his part, Adrian needed to figure out how to win this war. Most of their forces had arrived in the system–almost the entire invasion force. It was the single greatest force the alliance had ever gathered in one place. Almost three hundred fleets, and it represented almost the entire might of the alliance.
He only hoped that it was going to be enough.
Adrian frowned as he received an urgent comm from Anessa. Accepting the comm, he was greeted by Anessa’s annoyed voice.
“You better get to the Herald’s command center.”
“What happened?”
“An Erasi ship just passed through the access point.” She paused. “From the access point in Gena system.”
“Did they get it operational somehow? How many ships have passed through?” Adrian asked as he walked out of his quarters. The Erasi somehow managing to activate an access point was a very bad thing.
“Only the one,” Anessa said.
Adrian frowned. “Only one? What is it doing?”
“Waiting. It sent us an encrypted message that, once run through our systems, triggered a set of commands. The Emerald and Opal protocol?” Anessa asked pointedly.
“Ah, that,” Adrian said dumbly. He had not thought that that gamble was going to pay off.
“I assume that it is one of your ‘investments.’”
“Yes. Have the passengers meet me on the Herald–and you should get yourself over here.”
* * *
An hour or so later, once the Erasi ship had been thoroughly scanned and let through the system to the Herald’s position, Adrian and Anessa stood in the landing bay waiting for the ship to land. Two full squads stood on each side of them, although it wasn’t like there was any need; or at least Adrian didn’t think there was, but he figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
The Erasi ship landed and a few minutes later its doors opened, revealing three people. One was an armed guard, a Ssarath wearing a combat suit. The second was another Ssarath, but this one was not wearing any armor or weapons. The third, however, was someone bearing a striking resemblance to someone Adrian had met before. He felt Anessa stiffen beside him, and he reached out with his mind.
“Calm,” he sent to her.
“He looks exactly like him.”
“I know. Let’s see what this is about.”
The Uvaramo who looked almost exactly like O’fa Garash walked forward–he was clearly the person in charge–before coming to a stop in front of Adrian and Anessa.
Locking his eyes with Adrian, he bowed his head. “Heart of the Mountain,” he said before tilting his head, “and also Emerald, I presume.”
Adrian narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Yes, and you are?”
“O’fa Vorash,” the man said. Adrian immediately remembered the name: one of the most influential O’fa besides Valanaru, and also the brother of Garash, the Erasi O’fa that Adrian had killed.
O’fa Vorash paused for a moment, then spoke again. “You know me as Opal.”
Adrian’s eyes widened. He had not expected that.
“May we talk somewhere in private?” O’fa Vorash asked.
“Of course,” Adrian said, leading them away and deeper into the ship.
* * *
A few minutes later, Anessa, Adrian, Lurker of the Depths and the Erasi group sat in a small briefing room. Silence reigned in the room and Anessa glared both at the Erasi O’fa and at Adrian.
“So,” Adrian started, “I did not expect you to be Opal.”
“And I knew that only you could be Emerald.”
They again lapsed into a silence, until Anessa couldn’t take it anymore.
“Will you please explain?” she asked Adrian forcibly.
Adrian glanced at the O’fa then at Anessa. “After I had expanded my network of spies into the Erasi, I started…influencing certain elements. The lower members, those who weren’t really happy being a part of the Erasi. I funded a few rebellions, and started trading information. During one such operations, my agents stumbled on the agents of someone else,” Adrian said, turning toward the O’fa.
Adrian continued, “This someone had been funding the same person that I was, in hopes of undermining Valanaru’s power–only, they were Erasi themselves. That made me interested, so I started making overtures. Eventually, we struck a deal. We agreed to exchange information, help each other undermine Valanaru, and attempt to slowly change the Erasi from the within.”
The O’fa nodded. “Valanaru had held the Erasi in her grasp for far too long. There had been a few others, but she had slowly eliminated them all. She does not care for the Erasi, only for her own revenge and rule. I intended to overthrow her and change the Erasi to what they were always supposed to be. An union of races that cares about all of its people.”
“That still does not explain how or why you are here,” Anessa said.
“I am here because I had one of your agents in Gena system open the access point.”
Adrian narrowed his eyes at the O’fa. He did have agents in the Gena system, just in case that such a tactic were to become viable. If they ever figured out how to get around the Erasi defenses, they could get an invasion force to the heart of the Erasi territory in the blink of an eye. His agents were not, however, authorized to open the access point for the Erasi.
“Oh?” Adrian said.
“Relax,” O’fa Vorash said. “Your agents are fine. One of them is here, while the rest are back in the Gena system. I wanted to speak with you privately before you got your report from him. They made a judgment call; they have more information about my reasons for wanting to come than you do.”
“And we still don’t know what that reason is,” Anessa said.
O’fa crossed both sets of his arms across his chests. “Valanaru has never been the same after her encounter with you. And over time she has grown…erratic, unstable. But still she held power, increased it, even.”
Adrian glanced at Lurker of the Depths, who was standing to the side. He knew that it was their fight that had hurt Valanaru–he just hadn’t realized that his teacher had had such an effect.
“As you know,” the O’fa said, nodding at Adrian, “I’ve been trying to remove her from power for a long time. She had attempted to bury the information about the loss of the weapon your ghost task-force destroyed, as well as the loss of the fleets. And a few days ago, I attempted to remove her from the coun
cil of O’fa using that information.”
“Loss of the weapon? The Fleets?” Anessa asked him mentally.
“Ryaana’s force couldn’t have done that,” Adrian responded.
“Another enemy?” Anessa asked.
Adrian started to respond, but hesitated. “We’ll discuss it later.”
“What happened?” Adrian asked out loud.
“She went insane is what happened. She attacked us all, and she started a coup. She has loyalty from a lot of forces, and she controls the planet.” The O’fa leaned forward. “I want to negotiate a peace treaty, and an immediate ceasefire as well as passage for Erasi frontier fleets through this access point so that I can defeat her forces and remove her from power.”
“You are at civil war,” Anessa said. “Why shouldn’t we just push forward and conquer you while you are too busy fighting yourselves?”
“Let’s be honest. You might be able to win this war, but you can’t hold the Erasi,” the O’fa replied. “Our territory is too large, and we have far too many people. At best, you could fracture us, create a thousand little empires, each posing a threat to this area of space. This has never been your plan. Help me win, and you will not have to worry about the Erasi ever again. It was Valanaru who had turned the Erasi against you; once I am in charge, things will change.” Glancing at Adrian, the O’fa said, “That was your plan, wasn’t it? Change the Erasi? This is your chance.”
Adrian inclined his head. “What exactly do you want?”
“I want you to allow my courier ships through the access point so that I may recall my loyal fleets from the front. Then I want you to allow those fleets to this system and to use the access point to get to Gena so that I can take back the planet.” O’fa Vorash stopped, hesitating. “And, if you are willing, I want your help in capturing Valanaru…as well as the help of some of your ships.”
“Our help?” Anessa asked.
“She is a mindbender. We don’t have anyone powerful enough to take her. You, on the other hand, are the only person ever to have met her in battle and survived–harmed her, even. We need to take the planet as fast as possible, and your Sovereign warships could help us do it that much faster.”
Adrian glanced at Lurker of the Depths. It was he who had actually defeated Valanaru.
“That is a lot to ask…” Adrian said.
“I am willing to offer much. Peace, primarily.”
“And you are willing to let our ships into your capital system?” Anessa asked, suspicious. “I doubt that your people would appreciate that.”
Adrian glanced at the two Ssarath who stood tensely behind O’fa Vorash.
“We need to break away from the old. I have the permission of the other O’fa, provided that we make a binding agreement.”
“And who, or what, enforces this deal?” Anessa asked.
“If we betray you, you can simply continue with your invasion. We will be too weakened from this civil war to put up much of a resistance. If you betray us, our forces will have orders to cross beyond your borders and wreak havoc until they are destroyed to the last. Besides, it is in both our best interests to work together. Valanaru needs to be stopped.”
Interlude V
~Fifteen thousand years ago
Vorash and Garash patiently waited for the emissary to arrive. They had explored much of the galaxy, and finally they had found a place where they could make a new home. But, more than that, they needed to make something great, to make sure that their people were safe. Garash’s intention was to create another Union, as they had already found several races living in close proximity to the area they had decided to settle. It was a rich area, one filled with resources, a swath of stars grouped close together with many trans-lanes between them.
And so they had gotten to know their neighbors, learning their languages and their customs; and as they learned about them, they started planning. Now, they’d found a perfect race to start the new Union with. One race, to start, with room for more.
They were a small race of mainly traders and explorers, but they were powerful telepaths. Most of the races around here called them the Gatrey. Garash had managed to get them a meeting with someone high up enough in their government to actually negotiate with.
Hopefully they would get a deal out of it.
Then, as the time for the meeting approached, a ship entered the system through the trans-point they were waiting at. It was a small ship, smaller than the hulking vessels Garash and Vorash had used to transport their people. It was saucer shaped and of a bland gray color.
The ship approached them slowly and then they got a comm request.
“Greetings,” Garash said as soon as they connected. “I am Garash of the Loraru. And this is my brother, Vorash. I am glad that you have agreed to meet with us.”
“Your proposal was interesting, Garash of the Loraru,” the slim Gatrey said. “I am Valanaru of the Gatrey. It is a pleasure.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alliance staging point
A while later, Adrian, Anessa, and Lurker of the Depths sat in the same meeting room, listening to the report given by Adrian’s agent who had returned with the Erasi, a Ssarath born in the occupied zone after the Empire took over. He had been a deep-cover agent for almost seven years.
The report was much the same as what the O’fa told them. When Valanaru took over the planet, he had been on one of the stations, but he had heard much. The Erasi truly were at civil war.
And as it turned out later, his agent had been known to Vorash and his people. Vorash had reached out and explained what he wanted, and Adrian’s agent decided that it was worth the risk. Adrian’s orders to his agents did include leeway for them to act on their own in cases when situation demanded, and Adrian agreed that it had been such a situation.
After the agent had given his report, Adrian thanked him and he left the room, leaving the three to speak privately.
“What do you think?” Adrian asked.
“I don’t trust the Erasi…and you killed his brother,” Anessa said.
Adrian nodded, then turned to look at Lurker of the Depths.
“The O’fa spoke truthfully,” Lurker of the Depths sent.
“It is a chance to end this war quickly. To end the Erasi threat. That was the whole point of this war,” Adrian said.
Anessa grimaced. “I never really believed that your schemes would pay out.”
“You know how large the Erasi are, how much of an industry they have. How many people would be necessary,” Adrian argued, “for us to occupy them? It is not possible. We barely managed to absorb the region we took from them in the last war. Trying to absorb their entire empire would break us.”
“I hate it when you are right, you know that?” Anessa said.
Adrian smiled at her, choosing not to comment.
She rolled her eyes. “It would be easier to take if you weren’t right all the damn time.”
No longer able to contain himself, Adrian laughed out loud.
Anessa looked at him with narrowed eyes. “I’ve said that recently, haven’t I?”
Adrian just shook his head. “So you agree?” Adrian asked, getting serious.
“I want stipulations added to the agreement. A joint Shara Daim and Empire fleet to be in their capital system, always, reminding them of what could happen should they betray us. And we will control the access point in Gena system–I will not let them have any control over it,” Anessa said.
“I’m sure that they will agree to anything as long as we help them win,” Adrian said.
“And what was that about their new weapon and their fleets?” Anessa asked.
Adrian kept his face composed. “I don’t know. But for now I think that it is best if we keep it under wraps. As long as they believe we did that, we have an advantage over them. They don’t know that we don’t have a weapon capable of matching their own.”
Anessa nodded her head in agreement.
“And the Weaver?” Lurker of the D
epths asked.
Adrian scratched his head. “I don’t know. Taking her in battle is not going to be easy.”
“Send me,” Lurker of the Depths said.
“You want to fight her again?”
“It is not about want. I did not finish the job last time. It is my responsibility.”
“We have assets on the ground, I know that Vorash has a plan on how to get to the ground. But I might have a better way…” Adrian said, thinking. “Anyway, I’m not sending you in alone. We’ll assemble a team; and someone will need to command the Sovereigns. That means that someone will need to stay here with the fleet,” Adrian said, looking at Anessa. It meant one of them.
Her eyes narrowed at him. “You are going to convince me to stay, aren’t you?”
Adrian grinned. “Well, you are the Kar Daim, and I am just a lowly Sentinel, love.”
She gave him a dark look. “You know how much I hate it when you are right?”
* * *
Adrian watched as Vorash signed the new agreement–well, recorded might be a better word for it. He stood as the he was scanned and Adrian and Anessa did the same. Their states recorded as a way of signing. It had taken them ten days to come up with an agreement that suited all, and even that had been hasty. The agreement was mostly in broad strokes, dealing in what ifs. But a few things were precise, like the additions that Anessa had made.
In the end it had been agreed that the alliance would aid O’fa Vorash to remove Valanaru from power and help him regain control of the Erasi. The manner in which they would help in removing her was by providing four Sovereigns to their assault of their capital, tasked with dealing with the Erasi Devastators and their heaviest defenses. And on Adrian’s advice, they had decided to send a strike team against Valanaru, who had in time since Vorash first arrived moved to the Pillar–the Erasi relay control center.
