The Chosen Race (Space Empires Book 2)

by Caleb Selby

  CHAPTER 17

  Sion Fire

  General Darion, Professor Jabel, Reesa and lastly Zane finally reached the last in the long, near unending, series of corridors and passageways leading to the missile silo, the literal lair of their enemy. They instinctively slowed their pace and lowered their voices in preparation for what they were about to attempt.

  “Let’s keep our fire tight and controlled,” whispered Darion. “That’s still a live missile in there. One hit in the fuel tank and all our problems will be over and not in a good way.”

  Reesa nodded.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” Jabel asked with a cynical eye as Zane stepped closer.

  Zane shook his head. “I don’t have a clue but I’m ready and willing to shoot at anything you guys tell me to.”

  Jabel chuckled and patted Zane’s shoulder. “That’ll do.”

  “If this works and we somehow kill Defuria, what are we going to do about Trivis?” asked Reesa.

  Darion shrugged. “We shoot him,” he answered.

  Reesa rolled her eyes. “Solid plan, General!”

  The troop slowly emerged from the damp, hand-dug tunnel and peered into the large silo. The missile stood imposingly in the center of the room, surrounded by graded metal flooring and circumscribing handrails. Its bright red exterior glistened in the light of the florescent lamps fixed along the silo walls while also brightly illuminating the entire chamber. A set of stairs fixed on small wheels was positioned against one side of the formally murderous projectile. The stairs led to an open hatch fixed along the fuselage. At the base of the of stairs, with one hand on a rail and one foot firmly set upon the first stair, stood President Defuria. He was adorned in his most stately attire and looked as if we were about to address the congress in a matter of state.

  Directly behind the president were six Sentinels standing resolutely behind their leader. Behind the Sentinels was a sight that stirred strong emotion from each of the companions but none more so than Reesa. Between fifty and sixty children were huddled together, draped in chains and shackles, in a small alcove in the silo wall. To say they were scared wouldn’t tell half the story. They were petrified to the point of tears, of which several shed intermittently. Amongst them, Reesa quickly spotted Xander, the little boy rescued from the butcher shop and Linea, the Branci girl who had offered to help care for Xander in the Super Bunker. In the midst of the children was a large, metallic sphere that rhythmically pulsated with a series of red lights lining its circumference.

  “It’s the warhead,” said Reesa, remembering it from several hours earlier. “They’re holding the children hostage!”

  “Correction Reesa!” Defuria suddenly called out, startling the group who still thought their presence was unknown. “There is no they! I am holding the children hostage! I and only I!” he yelled and suddenly brandished a thin sword hitherto concealed in his stately attire. With one quick, murderously efficient stroke, Defuria then swung the blade at the row of Sentinels with such tremendous speed that it almost looked as if he had hardly moved at all. One by one the Sentinels lost their Namuh forms and fell to the ground in shapeless masses of stretched grey skin and lifeless tentacles.

  The group had hardly processed the ignominious execution when Defuria once again gained their attention. “Make a move against me or harm my ship and the children die!” he said and then took another step up the stairs. “The missile has detectors within that will arm the device if it is shot at.”

  The group paused, each clutching their weapon fiercely but unsure what to do. Their carefully crafted plan and already been circumvented by the unrelenting wiles of Defuria who knew no limit to his ruthlessness or his evil.

  Reesa was the first to spot a subtle movement behind Defuria and realized that, true to his word, Trivis was hiding behind a fin of the rocket and was preparing to make his move. Breathing out deeply, she took a step ahead of the group. As she did, Defuria snapped at her. “I care not for the lives of children but I suspect that you do!” he said and held up a dead man’s switch in his left hand.

  “You are a monster!” Reesa replied boldly. “Nothing more than an insecure monster!” Her declaration was followed by yet another step closer, trying desperately to keep his attention on her, much to the uneasiness of Darion and Zane who had already walked up on either side of her.

  Defuria paused on the stairs and looked at Reesa with amusement mixed with shock. “Excuse me?” he then exclaimed, the look on his face portraying great offense. “Why would you say such a thing, Reesa?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s because of all the people you’ve butchered!” she answered sarcastically, still trying bravely to keep his attention.

  Defuria nodded as if thoughts previously forgotten were coming back to him. “Oh, that. Yes, well I see how that could be misconstrued as monstrous by a primitive such as you, but it really isn’t. You see, I am undertaking a noble work, a great work. And I really wouldn’t expect someone of your intellect to understand.”

  “Try me!” demanded Reesa, determined to keep his gaze fixed on her.

  Defuria’s demeanor suddenly darkened and his arrogant but lively expression turned to vindictive hatred. His eyes flashed and the room suddenly went cold...so very cold. “Gods do not explain their ways to mortals!” he declared in a voice the echoed from within as if speaking with a chorus of identical tongues.

  The room got ever colder and the four companions held their arms and instinctively shuffled their feet in a vain attempt to keep warm. The children that had been trying to be brave moments earlier began to cry and wail as the sharp coldness stung their thin skin and nipped at their eyes. Their tears and cries of pain enraged Reesa but she stood her ground. Their one and only chance was nearly there and she had to hold her ground until he struck.

  “Gods do not kill innocent people and torture children to prove their power!” Darion shouted boldly taking another step toward the power-crazed nemesis. “Weak mortals do such deeds to compensate for their lack of true power! You are no god! You are nothing more than a murderer!”

  Defuria’s eyes lowered in unfathomable hatred, the temperature of the room lowering with him. He held up the deadman’s switch as he spoke. “My godship will begin in the baptism of your world’s blood!” he shouted and swung his blade right at Darion’s head with the same lightening speed with which he slew the Sentinels.

  Darion closed his eyes and prepared for the end. A sharp ringing echoed through the silo as the blade fell and for a moment, Darion thought it was over but as he opened his eyes, he saw why the noise was a metallic ringing instead of the dull thud of parting flesh. Professor Jabel was holding a slender sword of his own right above Darion’s head, pulled with not a moment to spare, from his trusty cane, which doubled as its sheath.

  Indeed Defuria’s blade was locked atop Jabel’s and unable to strike the killing blow he had intended. Yet more remarkable to the onlookers than the aged man’s timely parry was his glowing hands and face, which shown with a radiant warmth which worked to cancel the sharp chill in the air. For a brief moment following the block, Defuria and Jabel looked at one another intently, their swords held firmly against the other, their wills equally matched.

  Defuria quickly raised his blade as he studied Jabel in reserved shock while Jabel looked at the President in silent, confident resistance.

  “I should have known the Sions wouldn’t have given up that easily,” Defuria remarked as he took yet another step up the stairs, his retreat prompted by respect of his new opponent.

  “The Sion fire will never be quenched!” remarked Jabel, his words spoken with strength and resolve as his comrades became overwhelmed by the revelation that the central most cog in their group was indeed a Sion!

  Jabel continued, “Even when the last of us falls, our legacy will live on in the races we have fostered on behalf of Yova!”

  �
��Do not utter his name!” Defuria screamed, his words bringing a wave of bitter coldness with them. “He will soon fade into obscurity as I ascend to his lofty rank. I am your god now!”

  “Yova will judge you for your deeds,” said Jabel, his tone almost resonating with pity.

  Before he had even finished speaking Jabel raised his sword swiftly just as Defuria released a series of powerful blows. Each strike was skillfully blocked by the Sion, sending sparks flying into the air. The blows were quickly dispatched but as they continued it was apparent to all that Jabel did not have the strength to withstand the onslaught indefinitely.

  Defuria had since descended the steps and over and over again he lashed out against his opponent and each time Jabel blocked the blow but with each, the weaker and weaker he became until Defuria’s blade was nearly atop him. He had just deflected a near deadly thrust when Defuria let fly a forceful kick which made solid contact with Jabel’s torso and propelled him halfway across the Silo.

  The Professor lay on the ground panting, struggling to return to his feet but lacking the strength, faltered and lay on the ground prostrate, alive but not well.

  “Are you the best the Sion council had to send?” chided Defuria upon seeing his opponent struggle to even rise up. “Die despairing, knowing that all you have ever done has come to naught!” he added and took a step toward the fallen Sion.

  Darion lifted his weapon to Defuria, knowing the futility of the act but compelled to do something. Reesa and Zane followed his lead. They would never get the chance to fire.

  Trivis emerged fully from behind the missile and leaped stealthily in the air and landed deafly behind the president. Then, in one smooth motion, their tentative Unmentionable ally thrust the syringe deep into the back of Defuria’s neck and depressed the plunger.

  “Die traitor!” Trivis yelled triumphantly as he stepped back to admire what he had done, giving no heed to the threat posed by Darion and Reesa who could have already killed them with their adapted lydegs had they wished.

  Likewise, Darion and Reesa didn’t give Trivis a thought. Their attention was fixed entirely on Defuria. They watched with baited breath as their arch adversary took a shaky step backward, reeling from the unexpected attack from his rear. He dropped the deadman’s switch and the warhead immediately lit up amid shrieks of terrified children. A small screen atop the mighty explosive lit up with a five-minute counter, which began counting down.

  Before any could respond to the armed warhead in their midst, Defuria suddenly stood erect, shrugging off what was supposed to have been a lethal attack and now seemed stronger than ever. Then, with little hesitation, he removed the syringe from his neck and before anyone knew how to respond, he turned and jabbed the same syringe coated in Sion blood into the Senator’s forehead. Trivis stumbled back, surprise and profound sadness painted upon his countenance. He looked up at his reluctant allies, respect and admiration on his face.

  “Kill him!” were Trivis’ last words, spoken with a muddled tongue. His handsome face then vanished, replaced with that of an Unmentionable’s, which immediately fell to the ground besides his other fallen brethren, dead!

  Trivis’ body had yet to hit the floor when Jabel mustered what strength he had left and lunged in the air at Defuria, hoping in this one moment to strike a blow. He didn’t. Defuria sensed the attack and in perfect stride stepped out of the path of the blow, thrusting his own blade deep into Jabel’s shoulder releasing a stream of glowing blood as he did. Jabel yelled out in pain and fell to his knees, his sword dropping at his side.

  Defuria smiled and walked near his fallen opponent with a satisfied arrogance. He then took hold of the old man’s head and forcibly pulled him close as he bent down to his side. He spoke into his ear softly, yet loud enough for the others to hear. “I, your god, grant you your miserable excuse of a life for but a few hours longer so that you can witness the death of the Namuh civilization and know that you failed to stop me!”

  He then released Jabel to the ground and walked straightway to the stairs and ascended the entire flight, unmolested by Reesa, Darion, or Zane, convinced by now their weapons posed no threat.

  As Defuria ducked into the cockpit he turned and tossed out a small book, which Darion caught. “I won’t be needing that anymore!” he yelled and then laughed loudly as he closed and sealed the hatch. A moment later the rocket began to hiss and rumble as the giant machine of war turned transport, prepared to launch.

  Darion looked at the book he had caught, affirming his guess that it was the codex. He shoved it into his pocket dejectedly.

  “What do we do?” Zane asked frantically. “When that missile fires, it’s going to cook everything in here,” he said looking at the shackled kids and knowing there was no way they could free them all before the missile launched.

  Reesa looked at Darion, tears freely flowing down her face. “I’m not leaving them Darion!” she declared. “You can go if you want but they shouldn’t have to die like this. Not alone!”

  Darion nodded and took her hand. “I will stay with you.”

  “Got nowhere else to go,” remarked Zane. “I’m in too.”

  “Get me...to the warhead,” Jabel suddenly called out feebly. “I can...I can save you! I can save all of you!”

  Without question or delay, Zane and Darion dropped their weapons to the ground and ran to Jabel’s side. Carefully, they lifted the Sion and quickly walked to the warhead with him between. As they approached, the gathered children made way and allowed the two men to lay their wounded compatriot beside the murderous sphere. The countdown on the screen showed less than a minute remaining. The hissing noise from the missile grew louder.

  Reesa had already found her way to Xander and Linea and held them tightly, her tears never stopping. Other children came near to her, which she too clung to, telling them all that it would be ok although she didn’t believe it.

  “Help me remove this,” Jabel directed in a raspy voice to a small panel on one side of the weapon.

  Zane and Darion hurriedly pried off the panel, their eyes continually watching the countdown as it neared detonation, their fingers fumbling in their extreme haste. As the panel slowly gave way it revealed within the sphere a thick clump of colored wires, lighted knobs and rows of transistors.

  The missile at their backs began to crackle as the hiss became still louder. Ignition was imminent.

  With the panel removed, Jabel looked up at his companions for just a moment and smiled. His cheeks still clung to a faint glow and his pupil-less eyes, now seen clearly without his spectacles, shown with a deep sapphire sparkle. “My flesh is that of a Sion,” he began, “but my heart and mind have long since become Namuh. I love you all. Chose Yova as he has chosen you.”

  Jabel finished and then without further delay, thrust his hand deep into the open panel, past the wires, knobs and transistors until he reached the core of the killing machine. As his fingers immersed in the raw energy he had helped to create, it channeled through his body and came up to form an energy canopy over the group just as the missile fired and the afterburners turned the silo into an inferno.

  Darion, Reesa, Zane and the children didn’t feel an iota of heat through the energy barrier as the converted projectile left the confines of the silo and headed out into the atmosphere. Once the danger was gone, Jabel’s hold on the energy began to overwhelm him and he began to tremble. His companions looked on helplessly, wishing there was something they could do.

  “All is as it was meant to be,” Jabel said quietly, comforting his companions as he closed his eyes in death. As he passed, the energy from the warhead sputtered out until their life saving barrier dissipated away.

  The group did not have time to mourn their loss. Laser fire and small explosives could already be heard echoing through the passageway halls.

  “Get the children freed!” shouted Darion, knowing that it would only be a matter of m
inutes before Krohns swarmed the area. “We need to get back to the super bunker now!”

  CHAPTER 18

  Clear Skies

  The B-18 was holding steady in the shadow of the planet when Captain Carter noticed several dots on his sensor display panel rapidly closing in on his position.

  “Good times!” he said after a quick analysis.

  “What is it Captain?” one of his new Raiders asked, peeking into the cockpit.

  “Looks like some sort of fighters,” Carter answered as he began to rapidly press buttons and pull levers on his control panels.

  “Unmentionable fighters?” the Raider asked as he examined the dozens of dots speeding toward them.

  “I’m not sticking around long enough to find out!” Carter yelled as he pulled the shuttle about and punched the main thrusters.

  They were Unmentionable fighters and they tore through space toward the fleeing shuttle faster than Krohn missiles! As they neared, shots began to burn past on all sides and only Carter’s expertise combined with a tremendous amount of luck, kept the shuttle intact. In, out, over and under, the shuttle flew in a mad spiral that made several of the Raiders wish they had skipped lunch that day.

  The pursuing fighters were closing in for the kill when the lead fighter, a slender craft with a menacing turret in the nose, suddenly burst into flames. The following two exploded in similar fashion.

  Carter hadn’t even noticed the dots disappearing off his sensor screen when he suddenly looked up just in time to see the Idok parade right over top of him, her Sion enhanced point defense batteries and incinerator beams blazing away.

  “Attention Hornell B-18,” Tarkin announced. “This is the NPF Idok. Commodore Kesler extends his salutations and is requesting that you fall in behind our vessel and stick close until we take care of these fighters.”

  “Copy that!” Carter said as he brought his shuttle about and lined it up directly behind the Idok’s flight path.