by C. M. Kane
Chapter 6
Brohan was awoken by the sound of his Com-watch informing him he had a priority message; he rolled over and grabbed it immediately
‘Brohan,’ he answered as he picked it up.
‘Brohan its Radnor, you’re required back here by Lord Loki straight away. As we’ll be heading to Velonchos shortly you might as well meet us there.’
Brohan sat up, instantly coming fully alert, ‘Is there a problem I should know about? I’ve only just begun to sort things out here, and that’s including a small rebellion and a bloody Satyr trying to take my head off with a Zap gun.’
After a slight pause, in which Radnor obviously took in what Brohan had just told him, he continued. ‘Things should settle down now that Hera’s is dead, hopefully we won’t have to worry about the Thaliens anymore either, since neither she nor any of her followers will be around to incite anymore hatred and discourse.’
Brohan had absolutely no idea what Radnor was talking about, but news of Hera’s death was momentous. He realized that this was the perfect opportunity to ask about Sergeant Mara and his men, as well as Lieutenant Tark.
‘Before you go, Elite Commander, I have a request. I have found some Warriors that would make an excellent start to replacing the security detail for Lord Loki. I would like permission to bring them back with me, so no other Gods have the chance to get them before us. I’d really hate to lose them when I’ve only just discovered them.’
Radnor was silent for a long moment before he finally answered. ‘Your timing is not as I’d wish, but I suppose you’d better bring them along. Hopefully we can find somewhere to put them on the ship. Is there anything else?’
‘Do you wish me to inform the WLE Commander that Hera has been destroyed by Lord Zeus?’ asked Brohan.
‘Oh it wasn’t Lord Zeus who killed Hera, no, no, no. It was your young friend, Tae Rames, she’s now Captain of a Dreadnaught she calls the Brightmoon,’ replied Radnor dryly.
Brohan froze, what in the seven hells? ‘Excuse me, Elite Commander Radnor, but I thought you just said Tae has a ship… a Dreadnaught?’
‘Oh Yes,’ replied Radnor. ‘Your Tae has a ship alright, and she just - rather effectively I must say- killed Hera with it, before she took off to parts unknown. That of course was after she had frozen all of the Gods with some Freya’s breath during a meeting she was attending; she then escaped by vandalizing the Olympus. You can find out the whole story when you meet with Lord Loki. I think he is very keen to discuss your young charge with both you and her brother. We are just finishing up another meeting before we leave for Velonchos, we will expect you in all possible haste.’
‘Will Lord Loki still be aboard the Olympus, Elite Commander,’ asked Brohan, not even bothering to try to hide the shock that Radnors little announcement caused from his voice.
Radnor hesitated a moment. ‘Yes, but if the situation should change I will contact you immediately,’ he signed off, leaving Brohan utterly gob smacked.
He sat there, momentarily stunned, he had been gone a little over twenty or so hours by his com-watch, and in that time his young protégé had somehow managed to get herself a Dreadnaught battleship; a ship he had neither seen nor heard of in his entire life, and then she had gone and killed Hera, a God, with it!
‘What in Hades have you been up to now Tae?’ Brohan whispered quietly. He stood and dressed quickly then headed straight over to the command centre, he was surprised to find an extremely tired Commander Shivon still working.
‘Commander, I have just been recalled to Velonchos by Lord Loki and must depart immediately. I have also received news that the Goddess Hera is now dead, and I have been told to inform you that they hope this will put an end to any further trouble we might experience. Which if I heard correctly, can only mean that she was the one that was behind all of our troubles. Also, before I depart I wish to commandeer some of your men for Lord Loki’s personal security staff if I may.’
Shivon was sitting there slack jawed in shock as he took in Brohans words. ‘Hera was behind all of this,’ he said, sweeping his arm around in confusion at nothing general.
Brohan understood exactly where the man was coming from.‘That’s what I gather, from what was told to me. I’m still not one hundred percent sure of exactly what’s going on, but do I have your permission to take Sergeant Mara and his men, as well as Lieutenant Tark, when I depart?’
‘Yes certainly,’ said Shivon coming to his feet, I will send on my report to you as soon as it’s finished, in the meantime I’ll signal the jumper bay to have a troop transport ready for you at your earliest convenience.’
Brohan saluted then went one step further and held out his arm. After a moments surprise from Shivon he grasped his arm at the elbow as a warrior would.
‘Thank you for all your help, Commander. I know we didn’t get off to the best start, but I could never have hoped to get as much accomplished as I did with-out your assistance and co-operation, not to mention your timely distraction of Hod at the right time. You saved my life, and I am grateful.’
Shivon smiled ruefully, ‘it is I who am grateful, Commander Brohan. You have given me a much needed wake up call. I have decided I will be putting in for a transfer to teach tracking again, as soon as I have your report and the new transfers done.’
‘You don’t have to do that,’ said Brohan, now alarmed that he might be single handedly decimating the Terran WLE facility.
‘Actually Commander, I do. For too long I have allowed myself to be in a position I loathe, until I have become someone I neither like nor even recognize anymore. I am Elven, my place is in the woods, tracking and hunting. That is, and always has been, my first love, and it is way past time I returned to it. It is time that I redeemed myself and returned to who and what I am. I shall be recommending Sub Commander Bralleck for the new Commanders position. He is a good and fair man, and much more ably suited to it than I.’
Brohan nodded in understanding. ‘Then until we meet again, Commander Shivon, I wish you good hunting.’ Without another word he turned and left, hurrying directly over to the Barracks to rouse Mara and his men. He decided he would leave the wounded to be transferred later when they were fully recovered.
Mara greeted the news with surprise; to say his day had improved would be an understatement. He and his men had gone from saving the WLE Headquarters, and hero’s, to potential villains locked away in a cell, some badly wounded. But after this Warrior had arrived they had been released back to their command again, and were now to be promoted. They were to serve as Lord Loki’s personal security detail aboard a space vessel. Not only had his day taken a sharp turn for the better, but his entire life, right along with all the men under his command. And it was all because of this one Warrior.
He turned to his men and ordered them to pack immediately for redeployment to the Olympus, as Lord Loki’s new security detail. He could see the surprise in their eyes, followed quickly by sudden elation as it dawned on them exactly what their orders meant. His men didn’t have to be told that this was a promotion of mega proportions. Every warrior ever born dreamed that maybe one day, he or she would be lucky enough to serve onboard one of the God’s ships. Everyone jumped up immediately and began talking in excited whispers amongst themselves as they quickly gathered their gear and weapons.
Brohan took the names of the men at the infirmary and told Mara he would leave orders for them to join them as soon as they were fit to travel; once he had that organized he went straight to Lieutenant Tark.
When he told the sardonic Vampire his new orders, instead of the elation Brohan expected, he’d simply stared at him looking nonplussed.
‘Why?’ He asked, not even bothering to start packing.
‘Because I like subordinates who ignore my orders and ask a lot of unnecessary questions, now go and get packed, we leave with-in the hour. Oh, and by the way, your part of Lord Loki’s personal security now, so I’d suggest that you at least try to make an effort not to mouth off s
o much, especially in front of our Lord, lest he make your tongue a new decoration on his ship. I swear, Tark, you are the most Un-Vampire like Vampire I have ever met.’
Tark grinned and dropped his teeth. ‘Why thank you, Commander, and I promise I’ll try to behave. Do I have time to get a snack before I go? I‘m hungry, and I’m still recovering from that shot to the chest, and who knows what the foods like onboard.’
Brohan nodded, ‘Just pack, grab some food and meet us at the jumper bay as quickly as you can,’ he said as he turned and headed out the door. He went quickly back to his own room and packed the few belongings he had bought with him then headed straight for the jumper bay. It took another ten minutes before everyone arrived, all of them carrying heavy duffels. Brohan noticed that Tark, who was still drinking from a large closed container, was looking quite rosy cheeked. Obviously the Vampire had been serious about being hungry, because it looked like he really must have gorged before he joined them.
They all stopped at the back of a small troop transport where Brohan stood talking to the Jumper hanger Lieutenant before turning back to face them. ‘Everyone onboard,’ he yelled, before immediately making his way onto the jumper and straight to the flight seat. Tark followed him a short time later, but only after talking briefly to Sergeant Mara and stowing his bag in the back with the rest of the Warriors belongings.
‘I told Mara to have one of his men follow us in your Jumper,’ he said, then laughed uproariously when he realized Brohan had completely forgotten about the ship he had arrived in. ‘And that’s why you needed me along is it not?’ He grinned widely before going back to drinking from his container with obvious relish.
Brohan grinned back at him, ‘I think I’ll introduce you to Tae, and see what she makes of you. I can’t wait to see her and her new ship.’
Tark went quiet trying to see if Brohan was joking or not. ‘Damn it! She was only on the Island about a week ago, how in Hades name has she managed to get her own ship since then?’ he asked in a stunned voice.
‘I have no idea,’ answered Brohan, ‘but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that things happen around that girl.’
He could hardly wait to talk to her. Was it true? Was she responsible for Hera’s death? And if so, how in all the seven Hells had she managed that! But the biggest question for Brohan was; where in all the realms did Tae acquire a spaceship? It wasn‘t as if they were something the Gods just left lying around places for anybody to stumble across. A Dreadnaught, he thought to himself as their troop carrier took off and he headed straight from terra to the portal. It certainly sounded impressive; he wondered whether it could match a Khopesh class destroyer. Perhaps Radnor had been joking with him, he certainly sounded a bit odd as they were talking. Unfortunately for Brohan he still didn’t know the Vampire well enough to judge that yet.
‘So what’s the ship we’re heading for,’ asked Tark, nonchalantly finishing off his drink and discarding the container in a small side trash receptacle. ‘Probably some garbage scow knowing how my luck runs.’
Brohan shook his head as he started to punch in the numbers for Velonchos. ‘Lord Loki’s ship is being repaired at Velonchos, in the mean time we will be stationed with him aboard Lord Zeus’s ship, the Olympus, unless things change.’
Tark whistled low looking impressed. ‘The Olympus, nice, it seems things really are looking up. If you had asked me twenty four hours ago where I thought I’d be in a day’s time, it certainly wouldn’t be part of Lord Loki’s security detail aboard an Orion class battle cruiser, let alone the Olympus. Someone, somewhere, must really like me.’
He smiled happily and looked towards the screens showing the outside picture of the now open portal, just as a massive black ship filled their screen.
Chapter 7
Nothing! Tae had kept to her room going over the information they had obtained from the Olympus. She had Brightmoon cross reference all information for any mention of Felice, and so far she’d come up with zip. Still she persisted in looking through it manually, what little there was seemed to consist of information on the make-up of a few star constellations, and some random personnel files from the Olympus.
After arriving at Chena they had connected with the main computers on the planet and continued the search, until she had thought they had pushed their luck long enough. After she decided to abandon the search she went straight to the bridge and ordered a course for Earth. She needed to think, but mostly, she just longed for the comfort of home. The portal opened and they started through.
‘A troop transport and a small jumper dead ahead, Captain,’ intoned Claysal.
‘Jam them, Dolath, we don’t want them signaling Zeus,’ Tae said as she quickly closed the portal behind them so they couldn’t escape.
Dolath immediately hit several controls. ‘We are receiving a signal, Captain,’ he said quickly transferring it to the main com screen.
Tae sat at her seat with her eyes closed as she reached out with Brightmoons sensors, she began searching for any hint of aggression from the small craft.
‘This is Commander Brohan to approaching vessel, please identify yourself and explain why you have blocked our transmissions.’
‘Brohan?’ asked Tae when she realized who it was.
‘Tae? What the hell, is that you? Damn it girl, it seems you’ve been busy while I’ve been gone.’ Brohan looked on in shock while his eyes surveyed the imposing dreadnaught that now filled his screen.
‘You don’t know the half of it,’ she said sounding a little sheepish, ‘I’ll meet you in hanger two.’
‘I’m sorry, Tae, but I have orders to return to the Olympus immediately. I cannot break them, you know that,’ replied Brohan, still perplexed, but relying on his training to cover himself.
Tae frowned in thought. ‘Well if it will get you out of trouble, you’re now ordered to Hanger two aboard Brightmoon. I am transferring the co-ordinates to you as we speak, failure to comply with my directions will be met with extreme force,’ she turned and nodded to Claysal.
Brohan was outraged when he detected several large pulse cannons on the dreadnaughts forward array swinging towards his transport. He didn’t think for a moment that Tae would fire on him, but the fact that she had even issued the order threw him. He calmed somewhat once he realized she was right. She had just given himself and his men a way out of following his orders. He signaled to the small jumper following them to comply, and then started towards the massive black ship.
‘Oh, and welcome to Brightmoon, isn’t she simply beautiful?’ said Tae as she watched Brohans jumper begin to head towards them.
‘Beautiful doesn’t quite cover it, I’ll see you soon.’ Brohan signed off and continued to stare in awe at the ship, along with and equally speechless Tark.
Brightmoon looked a bit like a massive bird of prey. He imagined it would be formidable in a fight, going by the amount of armament on its hull. The ship had also been in some kind of battle, judging by the damage he was now seeing. A large chunk of debris seemed to be held close to its side by a small tractor beam. He watched as a swarm of bots of some kind raced between the debris and the hole in the ships side, he realized they were cannibalizing the space junk in self repairs. Brohan was about to comment on the ingeniousness of what they were doing when something else grabbed his attention. What in the seven hells was that? Every now and then he saw odd red patterns moving over the hull, and after each pass he noticed that the scorching to the ship’s hull seemed to lesson. What the hell was this thing, and where the hell had Tae found such a ship? Question after question kept crowding his mind as he looked at the looming Dreadnaught. He followed the course laid out to Hanger two precisely, he noticed his own jumper was now slightly ahead of the troop transport.
As soon as he entered the Hanger he followed the smaller jumper as it came into land. Once he landed he quickly undid his harness and went straight past the questioning eyes of his men to open the rear door.
‘Change of plans for
the time being, form up,’ he said loudly. His men swiftly stood and disembarked with him. They formed two neat lines and stood at attention, Brohan stood in front of them waiting silently, no-one would have guessed at his inner turmoil by his stoic demeanor. A turbo lift door opened and they heard an excited squeal.
‘Brohan.’
Brohan watched Tae as she came running across the Hanger to him, he smiled and opened his arms and she flew into them, hugging him fiercely. He knew the others, especially Tark, would be watching this little display of affection closely, and for once he really didn‘t care, this was Tae.
‘You have no idea how much I’ve missed you these last few months,’ she cried.
Brohan frowned. ‘Months?’ he said, holding her away from him in confusion, ‘I’ve only been gone around twenty four hours.’
‘Oh, I keep forgetting,’ said Tae dismissively, ‘I’ve been in a time bubble; I’ve actually been gone a little over eight months.’ She turned to look curiously at the people that Brohan had been standing in front of.
Some bemused looking Thaliens were looking from her to Brohan. Next to them were a large blonde Vampire who was staring at her with his mouth slightly ajar and his fangs showing. Tae realized he looked familiar, and then it clicked where she had met him before.
‘Hello, do you remember me? I came in late with Bralleck. I’m the one with the knife you admired. If you haven’t already guessed, it was Brohans.’ She released Brohan and leant over to the Vampire conspiratorially. ‘Your fangs are showing by the way, you might want to close your mouth just a tad,’ she winked.
Tark closed his mouth with a snap going beet red. ‘My apologies, Maam,’ he said politely.
‘It’s, Captain Rames,’ said Adam walking up from behind Tae.
‘Yes, Sir, my apologies, Captain Rames,’
Tae smiled at him. ‘No biggie, you’re new, and I know the last time you saw me I was seventeen years old. I turned off my Nanites before the Island and aged up a little if you’re wondering about the change. Actually, it seems I’ve done quite a few things since then,’ she said to herself thoughtfully. She knew she was rambling a bit but she couldn’t help it; she was both nervous and excited to see Brohan again. ‘Anyway this is my second, Adam. Adam, this is my friend, and Warrior mentor, Commander Brohan.’
