Sacrifice:The Shenkar War

by Libby, Seth

Liam and Leah sat up and looked down over the edge of the wing. Evan and the rest of Necro Squadron stood below. Liam and Leah swung their legs over the edge.

  “What’s up?” Liam asked.

  “We were just wondering what next, oh fearless leader,” said Steve, a mischievous smile on his face.

  “What do you mean?” asked Liam, his curiosity peaked.

  “Well, what Steve so eloquently is trying to say is, we were wondering where we go from here. Do we stay on or do we go back to our old lives?” said Crystal.

  “Okay, I am lost. Why am I being asked what we are doing? You are all free to make your own choices, so why are you asking me?” Liam queried.

  “You are our Commander--we go where you go,” said Dimitri, his face showing no sign of humor.

  Liam looked from face to face of his fellow pilots and was taken aback by what he saw. He at first thought this a big joke, but none was smiling, except for Steve.

  “You are all serious?” Liam asked.

  “Yep, Liam, you are my best friend. We would follow you into the fires of the sun if you asked,” Evan said seriously.

  Liam was dumbfounded at what to say. Part of him wanted his friends to return to their old lives and keep away from the danger. Still, he wanted them to all stay together more. Finally, after several minutes, he made up his mind.

  “I am bound for the new facility in Texas where I am to help train the new recruits. I have also been asked to extend an invite to the rest of you to join me.”

  They all smiled at this news, but it was Evan who spoke. “You can count us all in.”

  December 21, 2012, 6:09 p.m.Hanscom Air Force Base

  Liam leaned against the side of his fighter, Evan standing next to him, as he watched Leah talking to Crystal. The two spoke, glancing over to Liam and Evan every so often.

  “What do you think they are talking about?” asked Evan suspiciously.

  “Probably planning our lives for us,” said Liam.

  “Hmmm . . . yeah, probably,” agreed Evan.

  Evan was silent for several moments before he broke the silence again. “Do you think they will be back?”

  “The Shenkar?” asked Liam.

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t know. We bloodied them pretty good. They might just cut their losses and never return. All we can do is sit and wait, I guess.”

  “Yeah, I guess . . . I hate not knowing,” said Evan sullenly.

  “Yeah, me too, but until then we can just prepare and live our lives. I know I plan to do more with my life,” said Liam, the last part said as he looked over at Leah.

  Evan looked up at the stars, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly before speaking again, more to himself than to Liam.

  “I hate waiting.”

  EpilogueShelecore’s Palace

  Shizta was escorted by two warriors as they made their way into the Shelecore’s palace. The sheer size of the palace was incredible, decorated with all the finest treasures. Trophies of conquered worlds graced the walls. Warriors were stationed everywhere, ever ready to come to the defense of their Shelecore. They marched through the palace for some time until they came to two massive ornate doors. Two warriors pulled the doors aside as Shizta and his escort approached. Without stopping, they passed through the open doors into the inner chamber of the Shelecore.

  Shizta had never had the privilege of being in the presence of the mighty Shelecore. He had only seen him on the holo-vids, but they had never given him the representation he truly deserved. The leader of the Shenkar Empire was a creature of massive proportions. Shizta had thought Krailsha a mighty warrior, but the Shelecore was easily a head and half taller than Krailsha. His arms were also easily twice the size of Krailsha’s.

  Shizta, upon reaching the base of the raised platform the throne sat upon, went to kneel and bow his head forward as a sign of respect to the Shelecore. He would remain in this position until he was given permission to raise his head. He could hear his escort retreating out of the inner chamber and the doors close, but he still wasn’t given permission to move. Silence still continued to greet Shizta, and he began to wonder if word of his blunder that had resulted in the loss of the Shenkar flagship had reached the Shelecore’s ears. If so, Shizta expected to die for it, as he knew the Federation’s great leader was not known for his mercy.

  It seemed an eternity of silence before he finally heard the Shelecore walk down to stand before him. A great shadow was cast over Shizta as he remained still. Finally, the silence was broken as the deep cold voice of the Shelecore spoke.

  “So, Shizta, you have returned. I am surprised to see you here, as you surely must know that word of what your arrogance has caused has reached me. The loss of the Federation’s most prized warship due to your arrogance is truly a high price. I am having trouble finding a reason why I shouldn’t tear your head from your shoulders right now.”

  Shizta still held his silence, for he knew the Shelecore was purposely goading him to see if he would beg for his life by trying to give some outlandish excuse for his blunder. In truth, he felt he did deserve to die for his mistakes. It wasn’t until his long return trip did he come to terms with his arrogance. He had been a fool for believing himself Krailsha’s equal. Krailsha had been a great warrior leader, and Shizta should have studied everything he had taught him instead of questioning everything. If given the chance, Shizta would never again make this mistake. He would strive to become a warrior who would be remembered by Shenkar historians.

  “I will not kill you, however--not yet, at least. Instead, I wish to know what you know of these humans.”

  Shizta still didn’t move or say a word. He had not yet been given permission to raise his head. Laughter from the Shelecore resounded throughout the chamber.

  “Very good, Shizta. I must say, it is refreshing to find a warrior who does not grovel for his life or forget his place. You may look upon me and speak if you wish.”

  Shizta lifted his head now to see the Shelecore standing before him.

  “Thank you, Mighty Shelecore. I am honored to be in your presence and to bask in your glory. What is it you wish to know of the humans?”

  “Well, first I wish to know what you know of the fate of the Dread Fleet I dispatched.”

  The request was not an idle question; it was more of a demand. Still, Shizta took his time thinking of what he would say. It had taken him longer than expected in returning to the Shenkar home world, as the fold engine aboard the Cruiser Zratek had failed and it had taken some time to repair. Still, he was shocked to hear that the fleet had possibly been destroyed.

  “I cannot be positive, but I believe the Dread Fleet is lost. These humans we encountered proved to be much more resilient and have a great knack for war. They possess technology equal and in some cases greater than our own. I believe they received the technology from some wayward Meshtrell. It has never been proven we contained all of the Meshtrell who attempted to flee their home world, and something about this has their signature written all over it.”

  The Shelecore gazed down at Shizta for several long moments before saying anything.

  “It seems Krailsha was wrong about you. He believed you to be a worthless worm of a warrior. Yet you show the same insight as Krailsha. He too believed the Meshtrell were responsible for the technology falling into the hands of these humans. He, however, underestimated the humans and their abilities to make war. I also believe the fleet to be lost, as Krailsha has failed to send word of the invasion of the human’s home world. In fact, I have not heard from him in over a cycle of our moon.”

  Shizta was at a loss for words. He was surprised at the Shelecore’s compliment of him. He was unsure of how to proceed now.

  “How are we to proceed, my lord?” Shizta finally asked.

  “I want to learn as much of these humans as possible before we decide what to do. I understand that you brought back tactical holo-vids of battles between our forces.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

&n
bsp; “I also understand that you have some security footage of a human who was captured and held prisoner aboard the Tryliene--well, held prisoner until the human apparently broke free and killed the entire crew. Is this true?”

  “Yes, the human broke free and completely wiped out the entire crew. I would never have believed one human would be able to cause such a slaughter on a scale I witnessed in the security footage.”

  “It is of some comfort to finally find a worthy opponent. We shall study these humans and build a fleet that will shake the very foundations of the universe. Then and only then, when I feel we are ready, will we return, and we will utterly crush these humans. Then the humans will know the cost of defying the Shenkar Federation.”

  Authors Note:

  Thank you for reading my first endeavor into writing, I am sure there is always room to improve and I will strive to do so. If you enjoyed this book and would like to see more in this series then please leave the feedback letting me know. It is hard to tell if people want to read more if they do not leave feedback. I also welcome any ideas or constructive thoughts to TheShenkarWar@hotmail.com