Legions & Legacies

by Lee Watts

  Withdrawing the blade, Merrick did a diving roll as a flaming sword arced toward his head. Completing the roll and getting to his feet, Merrick charged the next immortal. At a full run, he sent a front jump kick that connected to the Dridmor's chin. Flipped backward by the mighty blow, the dark warrior slammed face-first to the ground.

  Before Merrick could capitalize on it, the remaining Dridmor swung at him with his burning staff, whirling the double-edged weapon he advanced on the Guardian. Merrick blocked a long series of rapid blows, but eventually one sliced him deeply across his left arm. Shouting from the burning cut, Merrick backed up. Seeing the Guardian wounded, the Dridmor attacked with renewed fervor and a bloodthirsty shout. Drawing close, the dark warrior sent a powerful elbow strike smashing against Merrick's temple. The blow drove Merrick slamming to his knees; stunned from the impact, he shook his head to clear his vision. His opponent stepped in to finish the contest, but Merrick twisted, sweeping him off his feet and knocking him face first to the floor. Rolling, Merrick brought one of his blades forcefully against the back of the Dridmor's neck, severing it from the body.

  Suddenly, a jab gashed deeply into one of Merrick's legs, the flames worsening the blow. The surviving Dridmor withdrew the blade to stab again, but Merrick used the half-second of opportunity to quickly get to his feet. Switching his swords to form a staff, the final opponent brought a blade edge down against Merrick's right forearm, causing the Guardian to drop one of his weapons. Released from his grasp, its flames died. With a powerful kick to Merrick's other hand, his remaining blade went flying. The Dridmor moved in to finish his now unarmed opponent, but Merrick caught grip of the staff's handle, and they struggled for control. Shifting his weight to throw Merrick off balance, the Dridmor wound up to Merrick's back then used all his might to pull the handle against Merrick's throat. The Guardian weakened and changed color from the lack of oxygen.

  "MERRICK," Aulani called out, but the Ramillie soldiers next to her raised their weapons in warning; there was nothing she or Jaiden could do.

  As Merrick's face turned purple, he gave one last effort and bent down, flipping the Dridmor over his back and sending him crashing onto the stone floor. Now in control of the weapon, Merrick quickly flipped a point downward and staked the unholy warrior through the heart.

  Victorious, the gasping immortal slowly went over and collected his two blades. They flamed to life at his grip as he made his way to the center of the room. Gazing up to the walkway, he glared at his nemesis in defiance.

  "Well done, Merrick," Koraden scoffed. "Though I must admit, it took you longer than I expected."

  "Afraid to face me yourself?" Merrick challenged.

  "All in good time," Koraden assured him. "But I have a great deal more in store for you than a quick death here. No, you won't escape my vengeance that easy. I have… plans for you. Now, you know what I'm after, Merrick. There's no use struggling."

  Merrick huffed.

  "Give it to me, or I'll make you watch both of these mortals be tortured a full day for each second you delay."

  "You are a great fool, Koraden. Do you think I'd be stupid enough to bring it with me?"

  Koraden's face froze, his grin of victory turning into an expression of deep-felt hatred. "You did, didn't you?" Merrick surmised with half a chuckle. "Well, I don't have it, and it's not on the ship either. Rip it to shreds if you want, you won't find it; you never will."

  "That's where you're wrong, Merrick! You know the prophecy, the portal will be activated, and the keyholders will all die! You're only postponing the inevitable, Merrick! It's already determined!"

  "It's your fate that's determined," Merrick reminded him. "As is the fate of all your kind. The Vortex awaits you, Koraden. Eternity awaits; it won't be put off much longer. The great and final day is coming, and you've already lost."

  Enraged, Koraden shouted in madness then pulled his weapon and shot the Guardian, causing Merrick to collapse unconscious to the floor.

  "Take them," Koraden angrily ordered then Aulani, Jaiden and Merrick were dragged to the Ramillie cells of Dalban II.

  CHAPTER 18

  "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised." – Proverbs 31:30

  "What do you think?" Dr. Nim-Gimmer asked.

  Salazar held up the mirror examining the flawless skin of his new face.

  "I've refined the techniques quite a lot since treating your grandfather," Nim-Gimmer boasted with pride. "I positioned the scar in your hairline to keep it hidden. Even that should fade within a few months."

  "Yes," Salazar commented. "It will suffice… for the time being. Now, about my mother's prescription?"

  "That could be a bit more of a problem. With the Realm-"

  Salazar shot him a look, so Nim-Gimmer corrected himself.

  "I mean, with the Remnant in position the supply lines to T'lec pharmacies are extremely limited. It would cost, I'd say fifty thousand credits to get a shipment here."

  "That's extortion!"

  "Come, come, now. I know you still have quite a few off-world holdings. A mere fifty thousand credits are but a token, especially considering the results she gets from the treatments."

  "It's robbery."

  "Beauty costs."

  "It costs too much. I think my mother will just have to learn to age gracefully."

  The men exchanged glances, both knowing that wasn't going to happen. For thirty plus years Duchess Mara Yorin had used the T'lec anti-aging techniques, which included a mixture of drugs and surgeries replacing aged body parts with younger ones. In most areas of the galaxy, the T'lec's treatments were illegal. The major drawback for the user of the anti-aging medications was going off of them. While they were highly-effective in slowing aging, if the drugs were stopped, the aging rate increased rapidly. Prolonged use would cause those suddenly without the drugs to age even more than they would have naturally.

  Entering the ship and going to the executive cabin, Salazar noticed his mother in a chair looking out of a window. As the ship powered up for its journey, Mara saw Salazar's reflection in the window. Pivoting the chair to him, he looked on her face, which now showed slight wrinkling. She brushed a wayward strand of graying hair out of her face.

  "What did the doctor say?"

  "I'm sorry, Mother. He said the Remnant has completely blocked all flow from the T'lec systems. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do right now."

  As the ship gained altitude, Mara turned back to look at the shrinking buildings and studied her own reflection. When they escaped the atmosphere, the black of space gave her a better image in the glass. She placed a hand up to the wrinkles now extending from the outer corners of her eyes.

  "I'm getting old," she lowly spoke.

  Salazar considered how much of the Yorin fortune was wasted on her vanity over the years then decided he could make better use of those funds for his return to power. He remembered advice she'd given him as a child, "Salazar in this life you have to learn to look out for number one because no one else is going to. Remember that." Indeed, he had.

  Half a day later, their ship sat down on the home planet of the Bornavo Republic. On the way to the meeting with planetary officials, Salazar carefully guarded a box with the gifts for the chief of state. After short pleasantries, the Bornavo President came to the point.

  "How does it help my worlds to support your bid for the Chief Minister of the Assembly?" she asked.

  "Because of what I can offer you," Salazar answered.

  "And what is that?"

  "Protection."

  "Protection? What kind of protection could you offer? Not to throw it in your face, but you weren't even able to protect yourself from the Remnant."

  "Yes, but the Remnant doesn't pose a threat to your worlds, so you don't need protecting from them. Madam President, let me ask you pointedly, who do you see as the greatest threat to your worlds' security?"

  "It's a toss-up between the Hateeg Confederacy a
nd the Hegemony. They're both steadily expanding, and our territory is between them. I think it's only a matter of time before the Ramillie try to annex our worlds to create a buffer zone between them and the Confederacy."

  "And are your forces prepared to engage the Ramillie fleet?"

  "You know we're no match for them. Our mere twenty worlds against the might of the Hegemony is pointless. We'd have no chance."

  "Let's suppose by some means you were able to repel the Hegemony. What do you think would happen then?"

  "If that were possible, big if, then it would make the Hateeg hesitant to invade. Most likely they would simply go around us."

  "My thinking precisely, Madam President. So, by protecting you against one I can protect you against both," Salazar said with a smile.

  "Which brings me back to my original question," she emphasized. "How can you, a man in no position of power at the moment, offer the Bornavo Republic protection from the Ramillie?"

  "With this," Salazar revealed as he placed the small box he held on the table between them. Opening the container revealed a dark brown, fist-sized stone with deep etchings of unknown design. After explaining how the device worked, Salazar arranged a demonstration. By the time his ship was on course to the next destination of his campaign tour, Salazar had secured the support of the worlds of Bornavo.

  CHAPTER 19

  "For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise…"

  – Isaiah 9:5

  "Where we head'n Cap'n?" Byron asked as he and the other men followed Sosimo through the halls of the Fame. "The bridge?"

  "No, too well protected," Sosimo answered. "We're going to the engine room."

  After several wrong turns, they, at last, found their destination. Entering the room, a crewman named Hilmet looked at the group in surprise. It took him half a second to realize who it was, but before he could react, LaRouche took action.

  "Good night," Sosimo greeted as he whacked the man on the head with his artificial hand.

  Knocked out cold, Hilmet collapsed to the floor. Byron reached down and took the sleeping man's weapon as Sosimo hurried to the engineering controls.

  "Ah good," he quipped upon noticing Crimson had replaced the main computer's language program to display other than Hateeg writing. After inputting several commands, Sosimo hit the last button with flare.

  "There, that should do it," he declared with great satisfaction.

  "Do what?" one of his men asked.

  "Blow up the ship," he informed.

  "How?"

  Before Sosimo could answer, an automated announcement came over the ship's speakers.

  "Self-destruct activated. Beginning ten-minute countdown."

  "That's how," Sosimo revealed with a smile. "Come on," and he hurried out of the room, his men following close.

  Halfway down the corridor, Sosimo snapped his fingers and came to a stop.

  "Oops, almost forgot something. Stay here, I'll be right back," he said and ran back to the engineering section.

  As the door slid open, Hilmet was staggering to his feet.

  "Nap time," LaRouche repeated and thumped him on the head again, returning the man to slumber. Dashing to the controls, he added in a few extra commands, which locked out the ship's external sensors and deactivating the cloaking device. Job finished, he ran back to join his men.

  "Alright, let's get going," Sosimo instructed then led the tiny group to the passage with the escape pods.

  "Captain, remember the pods are off-line."

  Sosimo smiled and hit the access button for the nearest pod. To their surprise, the pod was fully powered and the door opened for them. As the four men entered the pod built for six, Sosimo explained.

  "By activating the self-destruct it automatically puts the escape pods back on-line. Standard design for Realm ships."

  "But this is a Hateeg ship," Byron pointed out.

  "Oh, yea. Well, it worked didn't it," LaRouche remarked while closing the pod's hatch.

  On the bridge, Crimson was infuriated.

  "What do you mean you can't stop it?"

  "There's some kind of an encryption lockout," the crewman groused. "I'm working on it!"

  "Well work fast," Crimson shouted. "You've got eight minutes left!"

  "Maybe we should abandon ship," a panicked crewman suggested.

  Incensed, Crimson drew his weapon and pointed at the man.

  "NOBODY'S leaving," Crimson bellowed. "This is my ship and my crew, and I'm not going to let Sosimo LaRouche take it from me! Get back to your station and help get past that encryption!"

  "Captain," another crewman reported, "status board shows an escape pod just launched.

  "How's that possible?" Crimson bellowed. "We took the pods off-line."

  "I don't know, Captain, but they're all back up now."

  "Blast it! It's LaRouche again, and it'll be him in that pod. He's not getting away that easy, target that pod, and blow it out of the sky!"

  "Aye, Captain," the crewman replied, but after a few seconds had a disturbing update, "I can't target the pod; it's nowhere on the scope."

  "What? The pods don't have their own cloaking device," Crimson maintained.

  "It's not only the pod, the whole scope is dead. All external sensors are out. I can't see a thing."

  Crimson roared in frustration and made a curse out of his enemy's name.

  "LAROUCHE!"

  On the Fortune, a crewman reported to the first mate, Shen Mei.

  "Receiving a signal, it's the captain. He says he's in an escape pod and needs a pickup," the crewman informed.

  Mei smiled.

  "Navigation, lock on to the source of the transmission and jump as soon as you've got the coordinates."

  "Aye, Ma'am."

  From the escape pod, Byron looked back at the ticking time-bomb Fame then something occurred to him.

  "Cap'n when that thing blows it'll destroy the Fame and Crimson."

  "That's the idea," Sosimo admitted.

  "But what about the deal with The Hammer?"

  Quickly the confident smile on LaRouche's face vanished.

  "Forgot about that," he mumbled timidly. "Turn the pod around. We're going back."

  "Going back?" the others exclaimed in unison.

  "Yes, now turn the pod around. That bunch isn't smart enough to get past the lockouts of the self-destruct. Better step on it, there are only seven minutes left."

  With the docking bay sealed shut, Byron had to carefully reposition the pod back into its launch tube. The effort took precious time, but he was able to accomplish it. Opening the hatch, Sosimo and his men re-boarded the Fame.

  "Good flying, Byron," LaRouche complimented. "We'll jump back in there when we're done." However, as the escape pod's hatch closed again, it automatically re-launched. "Then again maybe we'll just take a different one. No time for it now, let's head to engineering."

  Racing the clock, the quartet made their way back to the engine room. As they stepped inside, Hilmet was dusting himself off from getting up from the floor. Looking up he saw the intruders and a pitiful exasperation came on his face.

  "Sleepy time?" he questioned in dread.

  LaRouche nodded and put the man out again. Rushing to the computer terminal, Sosimo started to work his way past the encryption that locked out the self-destruct override.

  After a minute of foul sounding beeps of failed attempts, he turned to his men with a nervous chuckle.

  "Uh… seems I really did a good job locking it out. No worries, I'll get it."

  On the bridge, Crimson heard the first good news in a while.

  "We've got external sensor back."

  "Finally, now find that pod and blast it," he ordered.

  Checking the scope for the escape pod, the crewman found something else and hastily reported.

  "Captain, I'm picking up another ship dropping out of lightspeed and heading straight for us!"

  "Give me a reading," Crimson demanded.

  "It's the
Fortune."

  "It's Mei; she's come to get LaRouche," Crimson deduced. "It's too late, Sweetheart. Blast the pod then engage the cloak."

  "Aye."

  Zooming to pick up her captain, Mei watched in horror as an orange beam suddenly leaped out from the Fame, incinerating the escape pod.

  "NO," she yelled. "CAPTAIN!"

  She knew it was already too late. Fury burned within her. She didn't care about any agreement with The Hammer anymore; she hadn't made the deal anyway. Crimson had now killed her father and the only other person in the universe she considered family.

  "Charge all weapons," she ordered. "Shields up! Sound battle stations. I'm taking out every soul on that ship!"

  "Aye," responded the crewman at the helm then after a moment added, "…Captain."

  Mei looked at him and nodded in respect. The Fortune was hers now, and the crew supported her taking command, but right now all she could think about was destroying the Fame and making Crimson pay for all he had taken from her.

  "Now what?" Crimson raged.

  "Three minutes till self-destruct and the cloak won't engage. All systems read green but-"

  A flash of light emanating from the Fortune interrupted him.

  "INCOMING TORPEDOES," came a panicked warning.

  "SHIELDS," Crimson yelled, and the ship's defenses activated half a second before a trio of high-charged projectiles reached their target.

  "Evasive maneuvers," Crimson shouted. "Return fire!"

  Orange light poured from the Fame's main cannon, splaying over the protective screens of Mei's ship. This was followed almost instantly by two balls of energy bursting from Crimson's vessel toward the Fortune.