“Brutal bastards,” Povel's voice was behind him. Lang spun his head and glared at his sergeant. “They butchered those people, sir. Fucking dogs,” he said and moved off to another building.
Lang stepped down out of the building, crouched low, and replaced his battery magazine. The three men in the middle of the dusty path hadn't moved. They were dead.
“They're coming up here,” a voice came across Lang's headset. “This is fourth squad, the Regifs are moving to us.” Lang could hear gunfire in the background.
“Second squad, give position,” he touched his mike as he spoke.
“We've just crossed the river and are just a few meters outside the village.”
“Povel, any left in the village?”
“No sir,” he saw Povel step out of another hut. “No hostiles left, but they sure did leave a lot of dead natives here.”
Lang began to speak, his stomach heaved. He forced himself, held back the vomit and spoke into the mike. “Move into covering formations and chase the hostiles. We cannot let them escape.”
“Yes, sir.” Povel waved his right hand, his weapon held in the middle, and then jogged around the edge of the village, second squad running up behind him.
“Sir,” Corporal Higgins was behind him, his hand covering his mike. “We killed those people didn't we?”
“Casualty report, corporal.” Lang wouldn't look at him.
“Five dead, three wounded.” He coughed. “Sir, we did, didn't we?”
“No corporal, and that's the report. When we took the village the enemy Regif killed their hostages. Understood?”
“Yes sir.”
DeVorkian leaned back in his command chair and stared at the text that scrolled across the screen at the end of his right hand. The system was Jilian, discovered and named by the Pyrinni and almost instantly placed under protective custody by a race with no ability to protect it. He smiled at the thought. The intelligence report had spotted the beginnings of one of their invincible battle stations, built by the products harvested on the fourth planet. The Pyrinni information told of hominids, whose appearance showed them as human. If he would allow it his mind could wander on that thought alone. But he had specific tasks at hand that needed dealing with.
His small task force, comprising the Bismarck and three Constantinople class frigates. His small force faced off against three Saurian frigates and two of their Battle Cruisers. In orbit of Jilian Four was the skeletal framework of a Saurian battle station. DeVorkian had no desire to fight something that three Asias couldn't take out.
“Sir,” an ensign came to him, “intelligence reports saurian activity. They're calling their frigates in-system and sending stuff down to the planet.”
“They've made our special forces teams,” his second said, standing to DeVorkian's left.
“Let the other Captains know. It's time.” He pressed the button on his chair that rang the battle station klaxon. The ship maneuvered and pulsed past the barrier, heading into the Jilian star system.
“Activate pulse torpedoes and hold them at ready,” he ordered not waiting to hear a reply.
The night was somber, black and clear. The stars glistened, beguiling, teasing. Lang closed his eyes. He dozed in the cool breeze that sang through the trees.
The village. He saw the furred man in the shadow, his partner next to him, dead, lying on the dirt floor. He saw the furred man lift his hand, a pistol in it. The thin explosion pulsed out with a brief flash of light and Lang saw the round strike him. Anger filled his dream, everything tinged red. He squeezed the trigger of his weapon and watched the blue beams rip across the room. He saw the beams touch the bellies of the children and pop them like eggs in a microwave.
It took a second for his eyes to adjust, took a second to realize he was awake. He saw the men on watch, their backs to the whole, and listened to the breeze whisper to him. A tear rolled down his face.
A saurian frigate warped from its position, reacting to its own tachyon scan. The torpedoes flew from the Bismarck's bays, each one passing through the single frigate.
DeVorkian pulsed his engines, stopping only a few kilometers from the first Battle Cruiser. His ship dwarfed the other vessel. He acted too quickly, the commander did not expect that tactic. The Bismarck's AM beams blazed across the alien's hull. DeVorkian continued on, pushing his ship, diving into the atmosphere, his shields burning with the resistance.
The other saurian battle cruiser veer and fired an AM beam from her port aft. It fizzled against the powerful screens of the Bismarck.
The three Constantinople frigates pulsed by at over three C, and dropped their torpedoes. The atmosphere hung on both the Bismarck and the Saurian ship. The torpedoes ripped through her hull. The ship fell, burning in the atmosphere to crash in the placid blue sea below.
The remaining Saurian frigates concentrated their fire on the Bismarck. Her shields roasting under the onslaught. DeVorkian pushed it, spinning across the world and pulsing out of orbit.
The Constantinople's flubbed their coils and reeled, firing AM torpedoes at the saurian frigates. All but one faltered and sputtered, their energies fading out. The last opened a vortex before it and travelled through.
From the aft end of DeVorkian's ship, a single AM beam hit the retreating ship, chasing it through the gravity rift. The beam ripped through the already damaged protection screen and ruptured her hull. The ship appeared at the other end of vortex, the hole closing behind her. Two Constantinople class ships pulsed past the barrier and chased her down.
DeVorkian turned his attention to the floating framework and melted it into its base elements.
Her shift was the down cycle. Katsurani always scheduled things based on their cycles, they only slept for six hours once in every sixty hour period. Even though this leaves a lot of room almost all of them took it at the same time. Kyla believed this to be due to their days on homeworld. They kept the schedule. She wondered what the down cycles were like on the other stations.
Almost no voice communication came through the Junta station at this time. All of it was data and logs routed to the computer to control and store. She was just supposed to sit there. She didn't mind, it gave her time to think.
“Please respond,” the voice came from the box. It was the old one, the one they used before the katsurani came.
“Go ahead,” Kyla said, amazed.
“This is the Compendium,” the voice said, surprised itself. “We wish to communicate with the Saurians regarding a termination of all hostilities.”
Kyla froze. She was amazed. She hadn't considered herself part of the Compendium for so long that it had almost left her. Was it patriotism that filled her now? Was it the hope of going home? She hesitated and stared at the box.
“Please respond.”
“Hold for a Leader,” she didn't know what else to do. She muted the transmitter and stifled a quick laugh. She then activated the emergency situation marker, level six, enough to alert the highest brass but not everyone.
She waited. The doors opened and two warriors entered.
“I have communication from the Compendium,” she said, her rank, now, was higher than these young ones. They hadn't even been hatched when she became full citizen. She smiled at that, almost laughing. She was proud to be full citizen, proud to serve. Was this patriotism? She didn't know, but she did know that she didn't want to go back.
The warriors dropped to the deck, their necks extended. Krishnae himself entered through the doors. Kyla was shocked. She couldn't believe it. He kneeled next to her and activated the transmitter. Kyla was in awe.
“Yes,” he said, patiently. Quickly she engaged the translator and then slid away to give him room.
“I represent the Humans,” Harrington's voice was translated, by the computer, into katsurani, not altering its force or intent. It was, actually a translation of a translation. The Compendium translator was turning it into the Pyrinni language and the Katsurani translator was turning it into the Katsurani language.
“Go ahead,” Krishnae's voice was calm.
“My people wish to discuss a cease fire with yours.”
“Explain,” Krishnae was confused. He was so eager to speak with these new people.
“We want to make an agreement to stop the fighting.”
“Just agree to end the war. No more engagements?”
“Yes.”
“But you started it.”
“We engaged your forces in defense of the Pyrinni, and the Canids, a people you had already defeated.”
“How could you fight for them when they had already been absorbed?”
“Their survivors asked us to.”
“You war for the desires of others?”
“Not entirely. We perceived a threat from you.” Harrington was dancing, skimming, trying to get past the questions and to the point. “We engaged you and now we wish to end all combat.”
“I will discuss this with you, but only face to face. Transmit visual data.” He ordered it, knowing that they could. If not then this cease-fire was no good. He stood and looked directly at Kyla. He smiled with his eyes.
“Link it to my office.”
“Yes, Elder,” she said, her elation rising. She could not believe she was so thrilled just to be around him. His mere presence was electrifying. He was Legend.
Krishnae returned to his office and sat, his shutters opened. He quickly linked with Kitean and spoke to his face.
“The sapiens have called us.”
“Yes, Elder,” Kitean extended his neck. “This is strange.”
“They wish to end their war.”
“That is confusing, Elder.” He looked to something else and pressed a button. Krishnae smiled. Kitean worked very hard, even in the sleep rotation.
“Prepare, Kitean, hold your forces ready. These are warriors that hide their true purposes.”
“Yes, Elder.”
Krishnae turned the screen off and changed it to show the face of a sapien. He had seen them before, spoken with them, but this one was different. Its eyes held power. He could tell the wisdom when it was there. He was speaking to a Leader, Elder to Elder.
“Proceed,” he said.
“I understand,” the face spoke, “your confusion, Sir. We attacked you, seemingly without provocation. I ask you, can you see past that beginning?”
“Explain.”
“Will you hold that as a reason to continue the war?”
“No. Is this personal to your people? Do they find the presence of my people harmful to them?”
“No, of course not. We wish to live in accordance with the rights of every being.”
“Under whose rule?”
“Their own.”
“You do not wish to rule, to unify the whole under your arms?”
“No. We wish self-determination of all peoples.”
“That is disunity. That is the reason people and races fall into nonexistence. Balkanization is not healthy to a society.”
“We agree. However,” Harrington smiled, slightly, “unity needs to come from within, not enforced from without.”
“Is that your belief? Is that why you fight?”
“We fight because we perceived a threat from you.”
“We fight to survive.”
“Sir,” Harrington smiled and inclined to the screen, “we do not wish to take anything away. In fact we wish to grant uncontested ownership to space now contested.”
Krishnae paused. He stared at the strange face. He felt from it, he felt sincerity. “You wish to give us that which is not ours?”
“Yes, and no. Sir, we propose to draw a line. This is a line that we both agree not to cross. All the territories on your side are undeniably yours. All the territories on our side are ours. Those star systems that occupy the line we can jointly own and control.”
“How do you jointly control something?”
“These star systems will be for research. No military vehicles will be allowed, by either one of us.”
“Where will this line be drawn?”
“That is where we can negotiate.”
“You have no thoughts, you wish me to decide?” He watched the face closely, staring at it, reading it.
“Yes, Sir, I do. I propose that the line occupy an area of space that is now, roughly, occupied by both our forces. The front so to speak.”
“You have maps prepared you wish to 'negotiate' over?” Krishnae turned his chair, leaving the monitor on, showing the sapien his back. He stared out the window, feeling the presence of something there to see.
“Yes, sir,” Harrington was confused. “We can meet, our mutual representatives, and come to an agreement?”
Krishnae breathed, waiting. He saw the figure coming from the dust. He saw Kitean in golden armor. And behind skulked a smaller katsurani. It was Kaltnau, naked and gripping the bloody hilt of a small echidrab. He understood.
“Give the coordinates,” he turned to face the sapien again. “We will meet your representatives there and finalize the agreement.”
“Yes, Sir,” Harrington bowed his head and the screen went black.
Krishnae instantly changed the channel. “Bring me Soultinn and Kitean.” He spun in his chair and watched the sand.
* * * *
“I believe they are earnest in their proposal,” Soltyn relaxed in her specially designed chair.
“Elder,” Kitean extended his neck, “I am not sure. This is a strange move.”
“They work in committee, Elder,” Soltyn said. “I have been communicating with the Compendium,” Krishnae's eye slits widened in surprise, “and have been gathering information.” She looked out the window. “These sapiens are worthy, but only in the group. As individuals they vary as much as the Canids.”
“You believe them?” Krishnae asked.
“Yes, Elder,” she looked to the floor, “I do. I presume that their society is not based on Elder rule and military unity. They are as the Canids were, balkanized and disunified. They had to have unity to move against the Tnassiup, and that unity is new to them. They don't know how to handle it. They will most likely not want to worry about something so far away from them and focus on themselves once again.”
“What do you think Kitean?”
“Elder?”
“You have thoughts, my friend,” Krishnae narrowed his eye slits in a smile. “You will replace me in time, you need to tell me what you think.”
“Elder,” Kitean's eyes popped in shock. The thought had been there, but not solidified. He regained himself and stared out the window. “Elder, I feel that these sapiens are not a true threat. They are as equal to us, nearly, in space. Yet they are inexperienced. They will grow as we will. They will never rise to a point to defeat us.”
“But?” Krishnae looked at Kitean, watching him closely, in a way that made so many nervous around him.
“But, Elder, the homeworld. I discern a threat from them is coming.”
“I understand, Kitean.” He turned to Soltyn. “I wish you to speak with this sapien in these 'negotiations' of his.”
“Elder?” She was shocked.
“I know your people, Soultinn. Katsurani have no tongue for politics. You do.”
“Yes, Elder.” She bowed her head.
“Kitean,” Krishnae continued, “continue in defense. Do not attack the sapiens. When this is finalized it will be time to prepare and possibly return to homeworld.”
“Kunte, Elder,” he yelled and stood. Krishnae nodded and Kitean left the office.
“Elder,” Soltyn climbed from her chair. “I do not understand.”
“We came to ensure the survival of our species, Soultinn. The Council of Elders sent us out to funnel supplies back to them, to expand them. This is not what has been done. I have secured the Katsurani through the Code, the Triconitae. The next step is to return to homeworld and bring it under the new order.”
“War with your homeworld?”
“Yes.” He narrowed his eye slits and puffed his air slits. “W
e will absorb them as we have you and the Canids. You are now Katsurani, as are the Canids. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Elder, I do understand. You are going to accomplish your mission.”
“Of course, but according to the Codes. The influx of homeworld Katsurani will give us strength, as you have and as the Canids have. For a species to survive it must grow. Only through unity can any society prosper. As long as any threat to that unity exists then a threat to that society exists.”
“Aren't the sapiens a threat?”
“Not unless they wish to be. They offer a solution to absorbing them. They are worthy according to the Triconitae. They wish us to divide ourselves. That is acceptable. Unity will still be here when they want it.”
“Attack them later?”
“No,” Krishnae puffed his air slits. “We will never break our agreement with them. But any order ruled by a group will undoubtedly break those agreements made in their past. Continuity comes from a single line. That is why the Clan wars on homeworld, the War of Unity, had never been won. That is, until we came here, returning to the Codes of the Triconitae.”
“I will procure the best possible position for the Tnassiup, Elder.” She bowed her head and began leaving the office.
“I know you will, Soultinn. That is why I chose you.” The door closed behind her. Krishnae narrowed his eye slits in a smile. It was time to change the focus of their attention and get away from the tangent the sapiens had made for them. Their true purpose had come again. The Tnassiup would now be able to secure its roots and bring its progenitors into the fold.
Jilian floated serenely in her purity. She had no moon, just in the out orbit, the extreme of her gravitational influence, were a cluster of asteroids orbiting her instead of the sun. The system had been named Jilian by the Pyrinni, the planet actually Jilian IV. However, the planet bore the name, carried to it by the humans in orbit.
The Bismarck held her position stable, flanking the Starflight. Behind them a flotilla of ships sat, waiting in a relaxed state of anxiety.
Gravity ripped open part of space. Ships fell through it. The newest ships in the Katsurani navy, the Battleships. These were larger than the Bismarck and Starflight, surpassing the size of the now extinct Asia class ships.
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