Storm' Fury: The Shenkar War

by Seth Libby

  Betz was surprised at what he heard, having firmly believed this had been some sort of Shenkar ruse to learn of the location of their small military group.

  “If what you are saying is the truth then I believe we can come to some agreement. I will transmit the coordinates where we can meet. I do have one request, please have your main warship remain outside the asteroid field. It is not that I do not trust you but in order for that ship to safely pass through the field it would need to destroy a large path to manuever its way through the field safely, doing so would leave an obvious path that leads to our hidden base. In the event the Shenkar enter this system again I would like to not give them obvious evidence of activity within the system.”

  “I understand completely, I will arrive in my ship and the main delegation will arrive in another similar ship,” explained Commander Brennan.

  “I will not be dealing directly with you?” the High Captain asked in surprise, clearly thinking this human was of some importance by the way Captain Frozt had vouched for him.

  “No High Captain, I am just a commander with our advanced fleet. You and the rest of your high command will meet with an ambassador from my homeworld as well as the two of our military commanders.”

  A feeling of hope and dread filled him as he had spoken, giving this human commander the coordinates of their shipyard and outpost within the asteroid field. Hope, that there could finally be someone who would stand against the Shenkar Federation and dread that this still could be some sort of elaborate trap. Sighing, he sat back in his command chair and gave the order to proceed to the hidden base, knowing in a very short time he would have an answer to both of those questions.

  January 26th, 2014 4:25am EST

  Cathergon Outpost

  Liam and Steve paused as soon as they exited the docking port and into the outpost to look about. The area looked to be some sort of docking transfer station where equipment could be transferred from the outpost to ships docked nearby. Many Cathergons moved about, shifting crates too and from locations as they went about their business trying not to interfere with the greeting party that stood not to far off, although it was apparent that the workers were very interested in the current situation, as Liam spotted several sidelong glances from the workers to the delegation.

  There were ten in the party but only four were armed from what he could see. Of the rest of the party three wore similar uniforms as the four armed which Liam guessed they would be of higher rank. The last three of the group wore rather plain purple robes of various shades but otherwise held nothing special.

  The delegation from the Kraken had already arrived and was conversing with one of the military-looking Cathergons. The group included Frank Kelvin, General Leonid and Captain Dunklin but no military escorts. Liam guessed he and Steve would be counted on to also act as security as well in the event something went awry. As Liam approached he could not help but feel the eyes of the crew upon him. It wasn’t until he was among the delegation when he heard something that surprised him, it was low but he was sure his enhanced hearing had caught two words uttered between two of the nearby Cathergon workers. Two words that seemed to be spreading and at this moment could help with their negotiations…those two words were “Dala Dvierik”.

  Liam stopped and turned his gaze upon the two workers, both workers faces seemed to pale as they took on a frightened appearance. Both of the workers back pedaled, to put some distance, between them and Liam. This is when the delegation noticed what was transpiring and turned their attention to Liam. The two workers finally broke and rushed for the exit but were stopped by one of the armed guards at an indication from one of the military group.

  They were escorted over to the group where the Cathergon that had give the order spoke low but firmly.

  “Why do you run from that human? Do you wish to show these humans we are cowards?”

  One of the workers looked as if he was going to be ill while the other spoke in a shaky voice, all the time keeping his eyes upon Liam.

  “H-h-high Admiral, do you not recognize that creature? That is Dala Dvierik, the one from the footage our spies received.”

  The High Admiral turned his gaze to Liam and seemed to study him for several moments. Liam saw recognition dawn upon the High Admiral’s face but to his credit he hid it well. Signaling for his guards to let the workers retreat he then turned to the Cathergon delegation where they moved off a short distance and spoke softly.

  “It seems you are more known than we thought,” Steve said quietly from beside him as they continued on.

  Liam did not respond but the reaction had made him feel uneasy.

  “Is there something we should know about, commander?” asked Kelvin as Liam approached to stand before the three.

  Liam sighed as he looked over at the delegation who seemed to be in a deep discussion, glancing towards Liam on several occasions.

  “It seems my reputation preceeds me….I overheard those two workers speak of my title the Shenkar have named me.”

  “Dala Dvierik?” asked Captain Dunklin.

  Liam nodded but otherwise said nothing.

  “This could work to our advantage or against it depending on what they know of you,” explained Kelvin.

  “What is this Dala Dvierik?” inquired the general in his heavy Russian accent.

  “When our commander here was captured by the Shenkar he was tortured. When he broke free, he eliminated his tortures and the crew,” explained Captain Dunklin.

  “This was not in the official report, why have I not heard of this before?”

  “It was deemed classified for certain reasons, so only a select group knows of what transpired,” explained Kelvin.

  General Leonid looked between the three men before shrugging and continuing on.

  “So what is the big deal if our commander killed some Shenkar? A lot of men and women have…it is war,” stated the general.

  “You do not understand…he killed the crew of a warship, a battlecruiser to be exact,” explained Captain Dunklin.

  Maks Leonid’s eyes flicked to Liam then back to the Dunklin and Kelvin, a slight smile forming on his face as if he was thinking he was being joked with. It was only when no one smiled nor elaborated upon the subject did the smile slip and he spoke again.

  “An entire crew? By himself? That is not possible.”

  “I know, it is hard to believe, but I can assure you general that it is possible as I was there and I saw the destruction this young man delivered upon the Shenkar,” explained Kelvin.

  General Leonid once again studied Liam, but this time he seemed to be looking at Liam not as a person but as one would when appraising a new weapon at his disposal. Thankfully Kelvin saw the same look and spoke up.

  “Before you get any ideas, general, first I will say this young man is not under your command, nor do any of his fellow Templars or Paladins answer to you. So any thoughts you have in mind on how you could use them, you can just remove from your thoughts. Secondly, what this young man did was not typical of the Templars and a unique incident. The Shenkar brought this upon themselves by torturing him and there is no guarantee he could replicate the destruction he did upon the Tryliene. And to be honest I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to,” explained Kelvin.

  General Leonid looked a bit put off but otherwise said nothing else on the subject and instead turned to look over at the Cathergon delegation.

  “Do they know it was a unique incident?”

  Liam understood the meaning of the question, if the Cathergons thought Liam could sow destruction at will then what could an army of these humans do? If that was the case then it stands to reason they would want to side with the humans.

  “I guess we will wait and see what they have to say,” Captain Dunklin said as he noticed the delegation break apart and head back in their direction.

  It was only when the Cathergon delegation came to stand before them did Liam notice there was an addition to their group, Captain Frozt had joined
them.

  One of the Cathergons in the purple robes stepped forward to speak. As he did, Liam could not help but notice, one of the military Cathergons say something to Captain Frozt who nodded as he looked at Liam.

  “I apologize for the disruption, we acquired additional information that we needed to discuss. I believe we have much to discuss and a mutual alliance could greatly benefit both our people.”

  At this point, the military leader who as spoken to Frozt, coughed aloud clearly meant as some sort of indicator. The robed Cathergon looked sidelong at him with slight annoyance but then spoke up again.

  “I apologize for this but some of our group would like a slight demonstration. You see, we have heard of the Dala Dvierik, but until now it was believed not to be true. Many here have seen the footage of your Commander Brennan slaughtering the crew of the Shenkar battlecruiser but believed it to be false. If it is possible could we see some sort of demonstration of his abilities? Captain Frozt explained he was able to disarm one of his men without touching him. Is this true?”

  Captain Dunklin did not look pleased by this request but it was Kelvin who spoke up first.

  “I do not see how the abilities of our young commander should be in discussion. We are here to establish an alliance between our two peoples not to have one of our men perform to your satisfaction.”

  The Cathergon did not look put off by Kelvin’s statement but he did pause before responding.

  “I apologize if there was some sort of misunderstanding, we do not wish to make your commander uncomfortable, but only wished to witness some of the abilities of the human that is quickly becoming a legend throughout the Shenkar Federation. To the races that are not Shenkar he has become more than a legend but a savior many have put hope in to lead the humans into battle to free them from the Shenkar rule.”

  Both Dunklin and Kelvin looked surprised at the statement as they turned to look at Liam. General Leonid’s face on the otherhand had such a look of surprise on it that it was almost comical. Much to Liam’s surprise Steve was the only one not to show any reaction and remained quiet as he stood next too him.

  Liam did not know what to say or do, this all made him feel uneasy. The thought of him being known throughout the Shenkar Federation as the savior who will come to break the Shenkar rule was definitely a lot to live up to. He also realized that he could potentially swing the negotiations greatly in favor of the humans by simply performing some tricks that came very easily to him.

  “Do you have a particular demonstration in mind?” Liam asked the Cathergon.

  The Cathergon seemed to think this over before smiling slightly.

  “I understand you can pick up weapons but can you move larger objects? Say one of us?” he asked as he waved his hand towards the Cathergon Delegation.

  Liam nodded slightly as his mind focused upon the Cathergon speaker. Seconds later, the Cathergon moved off the ground, to hover roughly two feet off the ground but Liam did not stop there. He split his concentration over and over again. Soon the entire group of Cathergons hovered off the ground. Again, Liam did not stop there as he concentrated and he slowly spun the entire group in a slow circle, not fast enough to have any negative effects.

  Most of the group seemed to be pleased by Liam’s demonstration but Liam could see that a couple looked uneasy so he slowed them down and settled them back to the ground.

  Smiling, the Cathergon speaker, nodded to Liam in appreciation.

  “I thank you for this, that was most entertaining but I do have to ask…can you still perform the abilities we witnessed upon security footage?”

  Liam looked about and spotted a pile of crates in a corner.

  “Do those crates contain anything valuable?” he asked, pointing to the crates location.

  The Cathergon waved a dock worker over and inquired upon the crates before turning back to Liam.

  “They are currently empty.”

  Without waiting a second longer Liam lifted his hands up,four crates lifting off the deck. He let them float in midair for a few moments before he waved his hand quickly to the side which in turn sent the crates quickly into a nearby wall. The crates were clearly made of some durable material but the force that Liam had sent them into the wall resulted in them exploding into pieces that showered the immediate area.

  Liam did not stop at this but again focused upon two more crates and lifted them into the air. This time he did not send them into a wall but extended his arms straight at the crates as lightning shot forth from his hands and fingertips. The crates exploded sending fragments everywhere when the lightning hit them with a deafening roar.

  Silence descended, upon the area, the ionization from the lightning leaving the fresh smell of ozone throughout, as all Cathergons stared at Liam. Long moments pass by, to a point Liam thought he might have gone too far, before the Cathergon speaker smiled. The Cathergon then lay his right arm across his chest at an angle that almost left his hand touching his shoulder, while at the same time leaning forward, slightly bowing his head. Soon every Cathergon followed suit in what Liam could only interpret as some sort of salute.

  “There is no need for negotiations, the Cathergons will follow the Dala Dvierik, may he lead us to liberation!” said the Cathergon speaker said as he stood straight again, dropping his arm once again to his side.

  “DALA DVIERIK!” shouted every Cathergon in the area.

  From behind him the military Cathergons also stood straight, returning to their original position.

  “Wow, that was easy,” came Kelvin’s whispered voice from beside him.

  “Lead them liberation huh? Yeah…no pressure there,” whispered Steve.

  Liam didn’t say anything, knowing he did not make his life any easier by the performance he had just given.

  January 26th, 2014 5:40am EST

  Cathergon Outpost

  Steve looked at the plate in front of him, deciding on a piece of food which was round and looked like bread with some icing upon it. Picking it up it felt spongy and had a sweet smell too it. Slowly, he brought it too his mouth and took a tentative bite; the texture was not exactly the same as bread but that of meat. The taste was very flavorful and reminded him of maple flavored bacon. Deciding he liked it he popped the rest in his mouth and reached for another.

  The atmosphere was light as the group of humans and Cathergons were intermixed and chatting. Liam looked to be engaged in multiple conversations with all three of the robed cathergons while the military representatives were all speaking with Dunklin, Kelvin and Leonid equally.

  Things seemed to be developing quickly for them and Steve could not decide how to feel about everything. For one he was worried for Liam, his commander and friend, this could be a lot of pressure to put on one who did not ask for it. He knew Liam did not like being looked at as a leader but only took on the role as he knew it was necessary. Steve knew if Liam could pick anything he would choose a nice quiet life in an out of the way place. He commended his friend for the role he took upon himself but at the same time found himself believing in Liam the way the Cathergons did. Their life was not a life of prophecy or anything of that nature but could Liam be the one that would lead the humans and the rest of the Shenkar federation into freedom against the Shelecore? Steve believed this could not be far off from an extreme possibility and he could not help but feeling hope as well.

  He was shaken from his thoughts as he became aware of a nudging at his elbow from the Cathergon that sat beside him.

  “I am sorry, did you say something? I was lost in my own thoughts,” Steve explained.

  “I asked if you were enjoying the Flava,” asked Captain Frozt.

  Steve looked at the spongy food balls he had been eating before responding.

  “Yes, they are rather good; it reminds me of a food found on my homeworld called bacon which comes from an animal we call a pig.”

  Frozt looked pleased at hearing this.

  “I would like to try some of this bacon some time; the Fla
va also comes from a beast found on my homeworld, called a Crixa. It is considered a delicacy on our home world and throughout the Federation, but harvesting it is a delicate procedure as you need to be careful not to damage the beast or over harvest as they still need time to regenerate. A healthy Crixa can produce once every ten cycles. How often can you harvest from your beasts?”

  Steve was not sure of what he meant by harvesting so he was a bit perplexed by the question.

  “Harvest? Do you mean the creature that produces these regenerates within their own body? Like as if you were growing plants and wished to harvest the product?”

  “Yes, you do understand then…it is much like that. Although my earlier assessment of ten cycles is slightly inaccurate as during the Crixa’s mating season we cannot harvest at all because they will need all their Flava to impregnate the females.”

  Steve did not like the sound of what the captain had just explained and suspected asking more information would not lead to information he wished to know. Unfortunately he opened his mouth and asked anyways.

  “How are the Flava related to the Crixa’s mating season?” he asked, the sick feeling all ready forming within him as he suspected he knew the answer.

  “They are part of the beast’s sexual organs that hold the beast’s fluids used to impregnate the females,” Captain Frozt explained, smiling even broader as Steve’s interest in something from his homeworld.

  Steve began to feel nauseous at this point and did not want to ask anymore questions but against common sense he spoke.

  “They are the animals genitalia?”

  Frozt smiled broadly as he clapped Steve on the shoulder in a friendly gesture.

  “Correct, this is exactly what they are… I was worried I would not be able to explain it accurately but you humans understand quickly. I am happy we are able to communicate so easily as it.” Captain Frozt explained enthusiastically.