by Ivan Kal
“The eggs and the female have been secured for transport, and can be sent back to Sanctuary on your command,” he added.
“Good, give them the go-ahead,” Johanna said. “What of those liberated?”
“We’ve been putting them onto transports, but there are problems,” Narani said. “Some don’t want to leave, fearing the wrath of their overlords, at least the humans. The Yunkari are more willing to go with us; they have apparently managed to keep their resentment of the Ra’a’zani close, and are thankful.”
“Tell the army that they are authorized to put those most problematic into stasis units, we’ll let the people back home worry about acclimating them to their new reality,” Johanna said.
“Right away, Fleet Commander,” Narani said, and moved towards the Communications Handlers to rely her orders.
She watched the holo for a few more minutes before her imp informed her of an incoming private call from Veritas. She sat at her command chair, engaged the privacy screen, and accepted the call.
“Adrian,” she said in acknowledgement as his face appeared in front of her.
“Johanna, I just wanted to let you know that I will be leaving in an hour or two. I have accomplished what I wanted here, and it’s time to send my prisoner back,” Adrian said.
“Of course.”
“Let Aileen know that she should get back to Sol as soon as she finishes.”
“I’ll tell her,” Johanna said.
Adrian nodded and closed the channel. Johanna sighed, and then turned her eyes back at the holo and Lu’tal. This was only the first of six Ra’a’zani worlds that she needed to take care of, but even though her job was hard, she didn’t envy Adrian’s in the slightest.
Chapter Ten
One month later — June — Veritas
With a short burst of violet light, Veritas entered the Tarabat system one month later. The two massive defense stations protecting this trans-station immediately took notice of an entry into their system, and Veritas was challenged. The Empire’s FTL tech allowed it to traverse space much faster; they had no need of moving from trans-point to trans-point limited by the speed of light. Adrian’s people sent their identification codes immediately and they were allowed to pass the stations and move into the system.
Veritas made its way to the slot given to them in Tarabat orbit, close to one of the stations, and stopped there. Adrian opened the channel to the compound that his people had purchased on Tarabat. The holo in front of him turned on and the figure of Björn Borg appeared.
“Björn, it’s good to see you again,” Adrian said with a smile.
“Likewise, Lord Sentinel,” Björn said.
“Did you do as I asked?”
“Yes, it was surprisingly easy. Small trans-capable ships aren’t that rare or expensive, it seems,” Björn answered.
“Good, and it can fit into Veritas’s hangar?”
“Of course, that’s what you asked for.”
“Sorry,” Adrian said with an apologetic face. He knew better than to ask; there was a reason why Björn was trusted as much as he was.
“The ship is in orbit. One of our pilots has taken possession of it; I can have him move it to Veritas immediately, unless you wish to stay at this cesspool for a while?”
Adrian chuckled. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be leaving as soon as you can get the ship to Veritas.”
“Very well, I’ll call the pilot right away,” Björn said, and closed the channel.
Sometime later, after the purchased ship landed in Veritas’s hanger, Adrian ordered his ship to skim to the hyperspace barrier and set a course towards a system in the direction of Shara Daim territory.
***
Five days later, they entered the system from which there was a direct trans-route to the nearest Shara Daim system. Veritas skimmed to the trans-station and took position just outside of it.
Adrian stood in front of the doors leading into Anessa’s room. For a moment, he hesitated. All the months of laying subtle hints, allowing Anessa to see things that she shouldn’t have, all the while trying to convince her that they didn’t need to go to war. He still didn’t know what she would do. Had he given her enough information to spur her people into action? Had he shaken her beliefs enough for her to go to her people and ask questions? Try to change their opinions? He didn’t think so, but he couldn’t be sure until she left, until she was back with her people and could look back on all she had seen and reflect.
Adrian sighed and opened the door. Anessa was already waiting for him; she had known that he was in front of her door.
“It’s time.”
Ten minutes later, they were standing just outside the small ship—a shuttle, really, but one that could travel through trans-space.
“I will need to inject you with this,” he said, holding a small injection gun.
“What for?” she asked suspiciously.
“In order to remove the device. Without this, there might be damage,” he said.
Anessa glared at him, but finally consented. Adrian reached up to her neck and injected the contents. He waited several seconds and then placed his hands on the device on her shoulder. He sent the command through his implant, and the device removed the needle from her organ, the nanites from the injection moving to repair the damage immediately. He removed the device, and the small pinpoint hole in her skin closed almost immediately, aided by the nanites.
Anessa hissed as the device left her body, and then she closed her eyes. He felt the minuscule amount of energy starting to gather in her organ.
“The maps to your territory are loaded into the computers. I assume that you know how to handle Erasi systems?” he asked.
“Of course,” she responded as she opened her eyes.
“Good, well…I have kept my word,” Adrian said.
“You have, and I have kept mine,” she responded, looking down at him.
“Anessa…” he said softly. “It doesn’t have to be this way. Go to your Elders, tell them that we don’t need to be enemies. We will negotiate with them. I speak with the voice of my Emperor; I can make binding agreements on his behalf. There can be peace between us.”
“Shara Daim do not tolerate rivals,” she said just as softly with her melodic voice, just a glimmer of uncertainty on her features before her face cleared. “Our Elders have never steered us wrong.”
“There are so many things that you don’t know about, things that you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. I don’t know what your Elders know, why you put faith into things that are wrong, but go to them, demand the truth, and you will see that the way the Shara Daim are now comes from twisted truths.”
Anessa dipped her head down, palming his face with both hands and turning it upwards to look at her. For a moment, he hoped she would dip her head just a bit lower, but instead she spoke. “And it is you who knows what is right and what is wrong, isn’t it? I should weigh the teachings of thousands of years of history against your words and find them greater? I am a Dai Sha of the Shara Daim, and my beliefs are who I am.”
She turned and left him there watching as she disappeared inside the ship, the ramp closing behind her. He turned and left, heading towards the command center. He reached the command center in time to see her small ship enter the trans-station and engage its trans-drives. One moment it was there, and in the next there was a violet flash of light and energy, and she was gone. His plan to plant a seed of doubt might have worked—there were signs—but he hadn’t changed her mind, or if she did have any doubts, her belief and trust in her people was still greater. He only hoped that his other plan worked.
Adrian stared at the empty space for a while, and then finally turned to his people. “Set a course for Sol.”
Chapter Eleven
Tarabat
“What did you find out?” Hanaru, Weaver of the Erasi, asked his subordinate.
“The ship they purchased left with their capital ship, the same ship that took the Dai Sha prisoner. And
they left in the direction of the Shara Daim territory.”
“Sending her back as an emissary, perhaps…Can we intercept them?” Hanaru asked.
“Doubtful. Their ship’s normal space FTL gives it an enormous edge, and we don’t have enough assets to draw them into a trap where we can be sure to destroy them.”
“Shame. We need to spur the Shara Daim into action before their Dai Sha gets back to their Elders, if she in fact intends to act as an emissary. We can’t let them start talking; we need them at war,” Hanaru sent.
“Three of their Legions are gathered at their border, waiting for others. If we give them information about the defenses at Sol and the let them know that the Empire’s forces are involved in battle elsewhere, they might jump at the opportunity.”
“Dai Sha Anessa would already know about the forces leaving, if they didn’t keep her completely in the dark. My understanding is that she was more of a guest than a prisoner. But she might not know about their defenses,” Hanaru sent thoughtfully.
“There isn’t much, save for a few defense platforms around the fourth planet.”
“There are those strange readings that the ambassador reported, out by their gas giant and in the asteroid belt. And we still don’t know the purpose of those large stations they have orbiting their sun,” Hanaru sent.
“Does it matter if they have something hidden? We want them to keep the Shara Daim occupied.”
“Yes, but there are too many irregularities with this Empire. Too much that makes no sense. How are the hacks proceeding?” Hanaru asked.
“The agent on the ambassador’s staff hasn’t yet had the chance to place the devices; the Empire’s people are watching them constantly.”
“There will be opportunities, there always are. Until then, we will rely on the data from the ambassador,” Hanaru said. “Which Dai Sha has overall command of those three Legions?”
“Narrasak of the Third Legion.”
“Hmm…He is rash, always seeking to overthrow Anessa as the first among the Dai Sha. He won’t listen to her advice, not if she cautions restraint. Leak the info. Let’s see what Narrasak does.”
***
Two weeks later —Var Dara system; Shara Daim territory
Anessa was one hundred and seven years old on the day she walked the ruins of an alien world. Beside her walked her best and only friend, Garaam, who had also become a Dai Sha, and only a few decades after Anessa. Anessa was glad that Garaam had followed in her footsteps; now both of them were Dai Sha, the best of the best, protectors of the Shara Daim and servants of the Elders.
The dead lined the streets, and Anessa had no pity for them. Their leaders were fools; they had been told not to interfere in the Shara Daim expansion. Their three systems were small and insignificant; the Shara Daim would’ve let them be if only they hadn’t been stupid. But the alien leaders had understood that if they didn’t oppose the Shara Daim, they would find themselves surrounded with no prospect of expanding further. So they had attacked, and destroyed a Shara Daim transport ship, killing eighty-four people.
The Elders had had no choice; they had needed to make an example. The aliens had attacked their betters, and now they had paid the price. Anessa’s and Garaam’s Legions had wiped out all of the enemy ships, had destroyed all of their major cities and all their assets in space. A fraction of their population had escaped to the wilderness, hiding like the lower lifeforms they were. They would survive, living like savages with no technology; her people had made sure of that.
“I almost pity them,” Garaam said as the two of them walked.
Anessa turned to look at her friend. “Why would you pity them? They brought this on themselves.”
“Only because we gave them no choice. We would’ve done the same in their place,” Garaam said sadly.
“It was the will of the Elders,” Anessa said.
Garaam looked at Anessa, not speaking for a few moments, but then she finally agreed. “Yes, the will of the Elders. And who are we to question them?” she said strangely, and then walked ahead.
Anessa narrowed her eyes and was about to ask her what she meant by that when her Do Sun called out to her. Anessa turned to more pressing matters, her exchange with her friend forgotten.
Anessa walked down the corridor of the station escorted by two Va Sun. Finally back to wearing a Shur At, she hadn’t realized how much she had missed the garments of her people. She’d arrived in system almost ten hours ago and had found three Legions assembled, which meant that the Elders had already called for the forces to attack the Empire. She had known that they would; they desired the Human device above all else. The Elders knew what the knowledge inside the device could do to change the tide of a war; perhaps they wanted to make sure that the Empire had no chance to use that knowledge. But even if they know that the Humans have the Sha, they don’t know about the Nel, nor that the Empire already has access to the device.
Anessa shelved her thoughts as they reached their destination. The Va Sun stepped aside and let her enter the room alone. She stepped inside and was met by three people sitting at a round table. The person closest to the doors stood and bowed deeply to Anessa.
“Dai Sha, I’m glad that you have managed to escape. Forgive me my inability to prevent your capture,” her second-in-command Do Sun Arisak said.
“There was nothing that you could’ve done, Arisak, it is forgiven,” Anessa said.
The second person then stood, crossed the distance, and grabbed Anessa in a hug. She was only slightly shorter than Anessa, with white hair clipped short on her head. “Glad to see you, Anessa. I worried that our enemies might’ve killed you,” the woman with orange eyes said as she gave Anessa a reassuring smile.
“And I am glad to see you too, Garaam,” Anessa said.
“I wanted to come after you immediately, but the Elders overruled me. Do you happen to know why they did that?” Dai Sha Garaam of the Fourteenth Legion asked. “I thought that they would’ve been the first to call for blood, after our greatest Dai Sha was taken.”
“I have some inkling, yes,” Anessa said, and turned to look at the last person in the room, who hadn’t bothered to stand. He had let his black hair grow almost to his shoulders, something that warriors rarely allowed themselves, as it could be a weakness in a fight. It was why Anessa had gone through treatments to remove the hair from the top of her head permanently.
“Narrasak,” Anessa said.
“Anessa,” Dai Sha Narrasak of the Third Legion said.
It had been a long time since they had seen each other; their last parting had been less than pleasant. Once they had been close, had shared intimacy, but Narrasak had grown jealous of Anessa’s status as the first among the Dai Sha. He had always been in her shadow, even when they were in training to become Dai Shas. He had grown to resent her later and they had split ways.
They watched each other in silence, the tension in the room rising with every moment that passed.
“Narrasak,” Garaam said, drawing his eyes at her. “This is not the time or place.”
Narrasak sneered at her. “Fine,” he said, then turned back to look at Anessa. “I am glad that you have returned to us, Dai Sha Anessa. I am sure that all here are very interested in how you managed to escape.”
“I didn’t escape,” Anessa responded simply. There were rarely any secrets among the Dai Sha; even with the history between the two of them, they were bound by a great bond.
“Oh, and how did you then leave your imprisonment?” Narrasak asked, suddenly intrigued. Anessa knew what he was doing; she had suffered a great blow to her honor and standing by being captured, and Narrasak delighted in seeing her diminished.
“I was released,” Anessa said.
“They released you?” Garaam asked, surprised. “Why?”
“In return for me giving an oath not to try to escape and harm anyone, I was promised that I would be set free,” Anessa answered.
“Why would you give such an oath?” Narrasak asked
, sounding genuinely curious.
Anessa turned her head to look at him. “Because I had no hope of escaping on my own.”
Narrasak threw back his head and laughed. “Great Anessa, not able to escape a group of weaklings!” he said through laughter.
Anessa ignored him and turned to look at Garaam. “How much do you know about the Empire?”
“The Elders told us that they are descendant from the People, just like us, but that they are weak and have just reawakened the Sha. That they had been enslaved by the race you were charged with destroying.” Garaam paused, glancing at Do Sun Arisak before continuing, “From our agents in the Erasi, we have learned the rough location of their systems and that they have advanced technology, their ships probably on par with us or just about, and that they possess a way of traveling through normal space at faster than light speed. This was confirmed by Arisak when you were taken.”
“Did the Elders tell you anything more about our ancestors?” Anessa asked.
Garaam frowned. “No. Why?”
“Nothing, just a thought,” Anessa said. The Elders were still keeping secrets from their Dai Sha, but did it really matter? The truth wouldn’t change anything. Unless they have hidden other things as well. She pushed those thoughts down; she didn’t need to second guess the Elders. She was a Dai Sha, and would not allow a few words from an alien to lay doubts to a life she had led for almost two centuries. “And what are the Elders’ orders?”
It was Narrasak who answered her question. “We are to gather forces and attack this Empire, sweep them from every system we find. But the most important task they gave us is to find and take possession of the weaklings’ homeworld. We are charged with retrieving a device that the Elders believe is there, a powerful weapon that belongs to us by right.”