‘Elm!’ yelled Star Wolf already knowing it was too late.
The giant Wolf proved once and for all his blood descended from the legendary Werewolves. Fearless he charged forward, cannon fire spraying sand in all directions and crashing into golden armour. Before a response from the Tigers connected with Elm he put three Tigers to their knees.
After that they swarmed around him.
The last Star Wolf heard, as the rest of the group frantically rowed them to safety, was the agonised yelps as Elm was battered to death on the foreign sands of the Tigers. As he stared aghast at the horror on the beach a shrill ping echoed across the ocean, a solitary laser beam found its mark.
Stone slumped forward into Star’s lap, a gaping hole in his chest, singed flesh smouldered.
Star had no words as he glared down at the dead Wolf.
The only sound, as they drifted out into the dark ocean, gentle sobs from Sky, Star and Ash alike.
River stood, dropping his oar, to let out a spine-tingling howl.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Bloodhound.
The last words uttered before they departed Tigris, two Wolves down.
10. Return To The Council
‘That is a serious accusation, one that can’t be taken back once laid before The Council of Worlds. Are you sure you wish to make it, young Wolf?’ said the Goat Master, from the podium within the Council’s marble coliseum. He almost pleaded with Star Wolf to take back the words that even his father couldn’t dissuade him from uttering.
Not that he told his father prior.
Once they returned from Tigris to Lupus Star Wolf went into solitude, skulking around the expansive forests alone. Ash, River and Sky all went their separate ways as well; none of the Wolves could bear to look at each other after such a loss. Star Wolf told them to wait for the next Council meeting, and that he would ‘put things right.’
Bloodhound had opted to stay with the Wolves too, telling Star Wolf that he now owed the young Wolf a debt. ‘I cost you two lives on Tigris; I must repay that debt on my honour as a seaman.’ Stirring words that Star Wolf pleaded weren’t necessary, and yet he took comfort in having the enigmatic Dog around.
Half the Council near fainted when Star Wolf barged into the great coliseum and announced, ‘I put it before The Council of Worlds that the Winter Tiger is a murderer and a liar. He has underground torture chambers on Tigris and is also storing Atomic World Bombs. He also killed two Wolves; they were good honest Wolves.’ Star Wolf marched right before the Winter Tiger, squaring up to their imperious leader. ‘Would you like to know their names?’ The Winter Tiger betrayed no emotion. He offered no response, a hardened face of stone. ‘Elm and Stone were butchered because of you.’
The previous murmurings among the watching Council members dulled to an unnerving silence. Still the Winter Tiger remained still, his fiery orange eyes bore into Star Wolf’s soul.
‘Stop this madness at once,’ bellowed an animal way up in the gods.
At that the Winter Tiger’s head snapped around, glaring at the entire Council, the gesture was clear and so was the instruction. The Winter Tiger wanted to let Star have his say in the lower reaches of the coliseum without interruption, an oddly noble action.
‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ said the Winter Tiger, ‘death is a cruel master. One that none of us can escape but I am afraid the deaths you lay at my feet are not of my doing.’
‘You dare deny it.’ Star Wolf charged toward the Winter Tiger, only to be held back at the last second by Ash and Bloodhound. ‘First you destroy six planets, then you kill my own kind and lie about it!’
‘A Space Kraken consumed those worlds,’ pointed out the Goat Master, he shuffled some papers from his desk to the side of the podium. ‘We have the evidence and documents all catalogued here. We’ve all seen the Space Kraken’s head. As verified by some of the finest and most respected creatures in the galaxy, this personal vendetta of the Wolf against the Tiger must stop Star Wolf. We can’t continue like this and remember all sanctioned Earth’s destruction. Including the Wolf.’
‘Banish the Wolf,’ demanded a hulk of a greenish-brown Crocodile, crossing his thick scaled arms over his beautiful tawny-brown tailored jacket. Stood upright the creature loomed above all around him, ‘this is madness. The Tiger has done nothing but help The Council of Worlds these past few decades.’
‘Off the back of millennia of destruction and murder!’ snapped River, coming to
stand beside Star Wolf. The pair exchanged the briefest of glances, and it was all Star needed to rekindle the murderous fire burning within him.
‘Where is your evidence?’ To Star Wolf’s surprise, and apparently everyone’s around him, the creature asking the question was none other than the Night Badger.
The Winter Tiger’s face blanched with anger, a momentary slip in his calm persona, everyone missed the expression bar Star Wolf. The Badger can get under his skin.
An unspoken hatred clearly passed between the two legendary fighters, the Winter Tiger strolled to the podium to address the Council, who waited with bated breath.
‘Surely, the Badger does not question the word of one of its own?’ the Winter Tiger addressed the question to the two meek little Badgers sat either side of the Night Badger.
‘They do not,’ said the Night Badger, answering for them, he grimaced and shook his head, toiling with what to say next perhaps, ‘I saw a Space Kraken, no doubt but I want to know where these allegations, as I’m sure we all do, come from and what evidence, if any supports them. Please tell me Star Wolf you haven’t brought such claims to the Council without evidence?’
His final sentence sounded desperate, almost a plea for Star Wolf to be right and to not be so stupid as to burst in without thought or evidence. What a fool I am.
A heavy sigh escaped the Winter Tiger.
‘Oh dear, it appears the Wolf pup hasn’t thought this through,’ said the Winter Tiger, as he strode around the podium, ‘I fear we are treading on old ground here. The Council already dealt with these matters, and more than once. I must admit, I for one, am getting a little tired of these hollow accusations. Have we Tigers not gone above and beyond to rectify mistakes from the past? How long are we to be punished, given how much we have given back to The Council of Worlds and the galaxy?’
The Winter Tiger paused putting a paw to his mouth, a gesture of choking up, which everyone in the Council took at face value and gullibly believed. Star Wolf was not convinced. Star Wolf pulsed with rage and confusion, the blur of events spinning in his mind. He’d lost control, and a long time ago. And before he knew what he was saying he blurted out a sentence in desperation, in a hope to unite someone else to the cause.
‘We saw the Tigers kill three Hares, and they had Gorilla prisoners.’
‘And something much larger than that,’ put in Ash, and it was the first time Star Wolf thought he’d ever heard the disciplined warrior speak at a Council meeting. Star Wolf also realised he never asked Ash what the creature he attempted to set free was.
Heads among the thousands of Council members were snapping left and right at such regular intervals some were in danger of cracking their neck. The animals didn’t know where to look, a handful of species opted to exit via the stairwells back out of the coliseum.
‘This is folly, the Wolf has gone soft!’ roared a grizzly Ox, he pointed a hoofed hand of thick black nails, at Star Wolf. ‘Banish the Wolf pup! He’s trying to ruin a peace born out of craft, sweat and toil by dredging up old memories. Every species in the galaxy has a chequered, primal past and that includes the Tiger but who are we to judge. The Winter Tiger is beyond reproach with his work the last twenty years.’
Murmurs of agreement echoed around the animals.
The walls were closing in on Star Wolf, and he turned to regard the Winter Tiger who was staring at him a face of serenity, until he turned the slightest of smiles, just for Star Wolf. Sun Wolf, sat beside Star, was the polar opposite. Despair was etched over his
father’s aged features. Tears welled up in his eyes. His father knew what was coming before Star Wolf did.
‘I’m afraid I have to agree with the Council,’ said the Winter Tiger, that skilled tone of sympathy leading the Council members down a path of foolishness and despair, and still Star Wolf was the only one who saw the truth.
‘If you’re so sure you’re innocent, take others and me to Tigris, and show us around. Prove your innocence.’ said Star Wolf, feeling a shred of pride for turning the tables back to the Winter Tiger, who now had to deal with some awkward glances himself. Star Wolf witnessed some of the bolder species, carnivores and Apex’s, toying with the idea of demanding the Tiger prove their planet to be void of torture camps and bombs. That’s all they did, toy. Star was a fascinated bystander as the Winter Tiger sensed the growing tension and pounced.
‘Many of you here have religious beliefs that your own planet is sacred. Would you allow Star Wolf onto your planet?’ He’s got me. Star Wolf knew the faint ember of hope had fizzled out with the Winter Tiger’s words. Several creatures within the Council had strict rules about their planets. It was one of the pillars that ensured peace across the galaxy, to stop war many species demanded others not be allowed onto their planets.
‘And, though I feel the matter is concluded I’d like to remind the Council that not only do we have the head of a Space Kraken as evidence we also have the sworn testimonies of five species who saw nothing — no race could perform such acts without being detected. Ships with such capabilities do not exist anymore.’
‘That’s a lie,’ barked Star Wolf, bounding down the stairs to confront the Winter Tiger, blocking his path a few metres in front of the Tiger General was Hitback. Five wire-thin scars wobbled across his enormous face as he bobbed his head from side to side.
‘Stay back,’ said Hitback, the claws on both his arms out and wriggling with intent, another step from Star Wolf and he would surely strike.
‘Enough!’ pleaded the Goat Master, but before he could continue Star Wolf played his final card. It was the only option he could see before him, and yet as soon as he uttered it he knew he’d stacked another error atop his calamitous decisions since embarking on this fool’s errand.
‘Darkchurch is still operational!’ a sentence that brought about gasps, cries, angry shouts and to Star’s surprise they were of a mixed variety. Some were directed at the Winter Tiger demanding the truth to such an accusation. The threads of the Tiger’s ruse were intricate and woven well but if Star could yank on the right ones he might bring the Council to his side, and that was the easy part; any war with the Tiger’s would almost certainly end in defeat without the majority of the Council joining forces, including the long-absent Lions.
‘Is this true?’
‘Answer the question?’
‘Battleships are illegal!’
Heckle after heckle followed and the whole Council descended into a volcano of discussion and accusation, chaos ensued and yet the Winter Tiger remained seated and stoic. He’s incredible. Star Wolf hated himself for such admiration, but he couldn’t deny it, he was impressed by the Winter Tiger’s persona and the way he carried himself.
‘All of our battleships and AWB’s were long handed over to The Council of Worlds.’ The Winter Tiger strutted around the coliseum marble floor once more. ‘In fact I believe Darkchurch actually resides on a museum on Capra. Do I have that right Goat Master?’
‘You do. I was the one that took that shipment, and during my days working at the museum I often ran our Tiger section. So I can assure this Council that the Winter Tiger is in fact correct, it is a donation to this day most greatly received.’
The Winter Tiger nodded his head to the Goat Master.
‘Impossible, we have a tr—’ began Star Wolf before Ash prodded him in the ribs. A hard and unexpected shot but delivered just in time before Star Wolf truly gave away his last card in his failing mission to oust the Tigers.
‘You have a what?’ demanded the Goat Master, his agitation all too clear.
‘We have nothing,’ conceded Star Wolf.
‘That we can agree on, I must say I am beyond disappointed with the youth and experience of the Wolf. Star and his companions I can understand, almost, the follies of youth and excitement but Sun Wolf and Ash you two should know better. You’ve allowed the pups to run riot but no more. From this moment forth I banish all Wolves from The Council of Worlds. You will no longer have a say in Council matters, our supplies will no longer come to you.’
Star Wolf’s heart sank, more so turning to his father who was slumped to his knees.
The Goat Master delivered the final hammer blow. ‘You are on your own.’
11. Exile Of Lupus
‘You have failed me, and yourself but worse still you have now condemned Lupus to years of solitude and struggle. Or am I worrying, have you thought about supplies for generations to come? Perhaps that’s the case, you’ve jumped in with all paws, revealing every single shred of intelligence — meagre, as it was —that you’ve amassed to the entire Council with a backup plan to provide for Lupus’s Wolves in case you failed. Please tell me that is the case?’ said Sun Wolf, whose fur had now turned white all over. No longer did grey cling to his haggard frame, the journey back and few weeks since the Council’s decree, exile for the Wolves, had taken their toll on him.
Sun Wolf was not long for Lupus.
It was the first time he had spoken to his son since Star Wolf’s ill-advised outburst at The Council of Worlds. Sun spoke out in the open fields, a beautiful gap in the forest where many Wolves came to run free and primal in the open spaces. Today, however, hundreds of Wolves hung to the treelines. They lurked in the shadows, all eyes fixed on Star Wolf, some with murderous intent; Star Wolf was beginning to recognise what the look looked like. He couldn’t say if it was the glares or the biting winds that caused him to shiver.
The only positive, a slim one at best, was that River had returned to speaking to him, as if the final outburst from Star Wolf bonded them back together. River stood, in silence, besides Sky and Ash, as Sun Wolf tore Star Wolf to shreds using only words.
‘Nothing clever to say, young Wolf?’ Still his father opted against the use of the word son. ‘I gave you all the information I had, and what have you done with it? Did you not think to confide with me before your outburst to the Council? What on Lupus possessed you to call out the Winter Tiger? You think you’re so smart, ready to lead the Wolves against a foe as formidable as the Tigers. They were winning the Apex Wars you know, why do you think they ceased?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Star Wolf, hanging his head in shame and silently cursing his stupidity, it was an oddity that never crossed his mind.
‘Exactly, nor do I, and neither do thousands of species,’ said Sun Wolf, marching right before Star, ‘but you know who does don’t you.’
‘The Winter Tiger.’
‘Yes,’ his father enthused in a husky cough, ‘precisely,’ as he shook Star Wolf by the shoulders, too hard. His actions took on those of a mad Wolf; frenzy greeted Star as he gazed into his father’s wild eyes. ‘The Winter Tiger is so many steps ahead of us, we don’t even know where the path begins.’
‘Then why send Star on a wild goose chase?’ said Ash, shoulders squared and exhaling hard. The veteran Wolf had placed a paw on the hilt of his sword, an action missed by none. Not Star, River, Sky or the dozen Wolves of Sun Wolf’s House Guard. The Wolf leader clenched his jaw, allowing a silence to whip through the trees in the form of leaves fluttering. No one spoke, the tension among kin was drawn back tighter than a bow ready to loose.
‘To learn something.’ said Sun Wolf eventually.
‘What exactly?’ Ash’s black and grey muzzle quivered as he barred his teeth. ‘Did you want him to learn fear? Did you want him to learn loss? Did you want him to learn the disappointment of failing a father, who gave him an impossible task? If those were your goals he’s learnt them, and you know what through that he’s excelled,
led from the front and led with honour. Things I used to be able to say about you, Sun.’
The swoosh of laser swords and metallic clank of steel swords being drawn from scabbards rattled around the grass opening, overhead thunder rumbled from the clouds closing in. A storm above was going to mirror the catastrophic damage about to ensue on Lupus’s lush grasslands.
Sun Wolf gestured for weapons to be sheathed. His House Guard obeyed immediately, once again a line of Wolves in the House of Wolves uniform; identical, mindless soldiers. The old Wolf smiled as he lowered himself onto the portable dais that moved him around, Star’s teeth were clenched so tight his jaw ached.
‘Perhaps lessons have been learnt,’ said Sun Wolf as he clicked withered claws to take him away. All the while as he was carried back to the castle he stared at Star Wolf, an odd smile etched across his white muzzle.
‘I apologise for speaking up Star Wolf,’ said Ash, inclining his head, ‘but while your father is in charge I want no part of the House of Wolves. Too much death has been dealt on account of your father’s actions or inactions.’
Ash committed an act of treason, and yet Star, Sky and River remained silent as the warrior ripped the Wolf emblem from his leather tunic. Not done there he grated the material over the iron plating of his armour, shredding the Wolf head into nothing but ruined fabric.
‘You have nothing to apologise for,’ said Star Wolf, ‘but I think you might want to leave Lupus now. Once my father sees that your life will be forfeit.’
‘I forfeit my life, and my families a long time ago,’ said Ash, a wistful smile on his face as he shut his eyes and looked up to the first few drops of rain. He seemed to take immense pleasure at the water, ‘my journey is tied to yours now, and I fear your life is still in danger. I go where you go now, if you’ll have me in your guard. It may be time for you to branch out from your father’s shadow.’
‘But what about the Wolf, they’ll kill you?’ asked Sky Wolf, her lavender eyes darting from Wolf to Wolf still listening in the treeline. Star too noted the disgruntled gazes Ash’s words were receiving.
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