Storm' Fury: The Shenkar War

by Seth Libby

“Yep, which means they will be waiting for us,” Evan said as he stood.

  Looking about he spotted several groups setting up defensive positions around the cargo bay as ordered while other groups began to move out towards their objectives. Reaching up he keyed his comm unit and spoke.

  “This is Lieutenant Commander Maxis to General Leonid, do you copy?”

  “I copy, Lieutenant Commander,” came the gruff voice of General Leonid.

  “Be aware, I found a Shenkar that had been wearing a comm set. Chances are the whole station knows we are here so be prepared for everything.”

  “Acknowledged Lieutenant Commander, we are headed to our target. Send word when you acquire yours, Leonid out.”

  The connection closed and Evan turned to Gent and Merth.

  “Let everyone know we move out now, we must obtain our target as quickly as possible but no one is to take any unnecessary risks.”

  The two saluted and moved off to gather the men as Evan looked again at the severed Shenkar head. He had hoped they would much further along before real word of their assault circulated the station. Now many more men or women would die before this station was secured. Sighing, he headed off towards the nearest exit, his men and women in tow.

  January 31st, 2014 11:38am EST

  Lykaa, EDF Poseidon

  The bitter wind cut deep into Liam as he stepped out onto the surface of Lykaa. Looking about revealed they had landed in what appeared to be a large sinkhole in the surface of the planet. They had needed to descend straight down and it had been a very tight fit near the opening, with only a few yards to spare. Once through the opening, the space had opened up, allowing room to maneuver so the ship could be hidden from view.

  As he looked about he saw snow and ice everywhere but nothing they could not traverse. There were several tunnels that left the area in different directions. Another gust of wind blew snow into his face which caused an involuntary shudder, making him happy he had elected to wear his armored suit that all Templars typically wore. Even being down over one hundred feet below the surface of the planet the temperatures still measured well below freezing. He wondered how any race could live on a planet with such a harsh environment and still thrive. Signaling to the rest of the men and woman he headed off toward the nearest tunnel.

  The crunch of snow beneath his boots sounded as he made his way towards one of the tunnels, the wind picking up its intensity as if it was trying to prevent his team from the shelter of the tunnel. After what seemed a long time he finally ducked through the entrance and was immediately greeted by a pleasant fragrant smell, something he had not expected for underground. He also noticed the air was surprising warmer than he had expected for being so close to the surface.

  “Callen, please scout ahead. Let us know if you see anything out of the ordinary. If you come to a break in the tunnel pause until we arrive.” Liam ordered.

  Callen saluted and then moved off silently, his leaving almost impossibly silent. After he had moved out of sight Liam turned to the rest of the team.

  “Everyone take a few minutes to warm up and check equipment. Artificial light is not an option here so if you need them don your night vision goggles now.”

  The team shook off any snow and began to ready equipment, Kelvin and the Praetorian Guard members of the team needing to don night vision goggles as they did not possess the enhanced vision of the Templars.

  Liam knew the general direction they needed to proceed to find the first settlement of the Lykaans but he did not know what to expect between here and there. From what Shizta had explained, Shenkar patrols and Lykaans were not the only living beings found beneath the surface and it was best to be cautious. Some of the creatures Shizta had said were very vicious and would not hesitate to attack.

  Taking a moment to look back out the tunnel in which they had come, he spotted Steve’s team just entering the tunnel that should take them in the direction of the manufacturing facilities. Steve’s trip would take roughly half the time Liam’s should and, from what data Shizta had provided, should be safer as it seemed the dangerous creatures seemed to stay away from the manufacturing plants. The only thing Steve’s team needed to avoid were the occasional Shenkar patrol.

  Turning back to the team he saw that they were all ready so he stepped forward, signaling for them to move out.

  January 31st, 2014 1:58pm EST

  Lykaa

  They had been walking in silence for just about two hours when Liam’s comm set beeped in his ear. He gave the signal for the rest of the team to pause as he reached up and keyed his comm until.

  “Go ahead,” Liam said in a low voice.

  Callen’s voice was barely over a whisper as he spoke.

  “Commander, we have come to a large cavern but are unable to proceed. I am not positive but I believe I have spotted some of these Lykaans you are seeking but they have not spotted us.”

  “What are the Lykaans doing? Are they alone or is there any Shenkar with them?”

  “They appear to be alone; I do not see any Shenkar presence although they could be about. The cavern has quite a bit of vegetation within it, more than I would expect for being underground. The Lykaans seem to be harvesting some sort of fruit or vegetable from nearby bushes. Sir, do you know what the Lykaans look like?”

  The question seemed to catch Liam as an odd question.

  “We have no data on them on file and we were unable to retrieve anything from Meshtrell records. Shizta said they would remind me of our dogs from Earth, why do you ask?”

  “I think you better get down here as soon as you can, seeing them makes me wonder how much the Meshtrell have meddled with creating life forms.”

  Liam paused at hearing this as the statement had taken him by surprise. When he had served aboard the Sacrifice it had been discovered that the humans had been part of a forgotten experiment of creation by the Meshtrell. It was also learned that the Meshtrell had also created the Shenkar. Could this Lykaan race be another creation of Meshtrell? Something in Callens voice made him curious.

  “Stay quiet, we will be there soon,” stated Liam over his comm set.

  January 31st, 2014 2:28pm EST

  Orbital Station 1, Lykaan space

  “Overlord Nynai, the humans have taken deck twenty three and are pushing this way!” reported the security officer.

  Nynai fumed with anger as he paced the deck of the command center. How could these humans be winning? From reports he had received they fought with such ferocity that some of his Shenkar were hesitating when engaging them in combat. This was something he had never seen before…Shenkar who feared battling a foe? How absurd the notion yet here it was before him. The few times he had been able to capture some of the battle via security cameras showed the humans wielding the plasma swords were devastating to stand in front of. They were so fluid in their attacks that it was almost mesmerizing to watch. Something he did not understand was why some of these humans fought with plasma swords while others held back, choosing to engage with energy rifles. It was as if there were two types of humans, ones who sought honor to engage in close combat and then those that chose to fight from a distance at any given opportunity. Could it be there are two castes of warriors among the humans? If so this information needed to be communicated to the Shelecore.

  “Do we still have any access to the launch bays?” Nynai asked of his security officer.

  “Yes, we still can access bay Alpha,” the security officer asked, a questioning look upon his face.

  “Are there any long range ships in that bay?”

  “Yes, there are four Drelai gunships, why do you ask? You are not thinking of abandoning the station to these humans?!? That would be most dishonorable!”

  Nynai’s anger flared at the security officer’s accusation. The mere thought of his honor being questioned was ludicrous but secondly the fact that this lowly subordinate was the one questioning him as if he was an equal would not be tolerated. Nynai quickly stepped forward and backhanded th
e security officer across the face so hard that the officer spun into a nearby console, only managing to catch himself at the last second to prevent from going fully to the deck.

  “How dare you question my honor! I would have you jettisoned out the nearest airlock if I did not need every warrior at the moment,” Nynai said aloud, his temper barely held in check.

  The security officer righted himself and came to attention, saluting the overlord as he did.

  “My apologies, my overlord, I spoke without thinking, I meant no disrespect.”

  Nynai calmed as he watched the security officer for several long moments before nodding slightly.

  “The reason I wish to know what ships we have available is with our long range communications down we need to get word to homeworld of the humans attack. We are in dire need of reinforcements, pick four of your best pilots. Send one to the planets surface to notify our forces of what transpires here. Send another shuttle to Dantra Prime, Overlord Kores is a close friend, he will send support. The last two shuttles I want dispatched to homeworld, send them on different routes in case the humans have anticipated this and stationed warships outside the system to intercept any of our forces.”

  The muffled sound of an explosion reverberated through the decking which made both Nynai and the security officer look towards where it had come from.

  “They are getting closer,” the security officer said quietly.

  “Too close and too quickly,” responded Nynai.

  The security officer was quiet for a moment before he turned to Nynai and spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

  “Do you think we can defeat these humans without support?”

  Nynai continued to look towards where the explosion had come from for several long moments before he turned his attention to the security officer.

  “Before today I would have said just that but these humans fight like they are possessed by demons. I believe if we do not get help soon or at the very least adapt our fighting style we will fall soon.”

  “Adapt our fighting style?” asked the security officer, his face showing puzzlement.

  “These humans do not fight like us; in close quarters combat we typically switch to our plasma swords as it is more honorable way to die. Many of these humans will fight from a distance. Order all your men to set up barricades at every corridor that leads to this command center. Each barricade is to have two heavy cannons stationed there with orders to shoot anything that comes up the corridor. Also, I want the corridors mined with motion sensor explosives ahead of these barricades. None of your men are to engage in close combat with plasma swords unless it is absolutely necessary, they are to use their energy rifles and pistols as their primary weapons. Build two more fall back barricades for when the humans break through.”

  “Don’t you mean if the humans break through?”

  “After what you have heard and seen do you really think you will hold these humans at the first barricade?” Nynai asked

  The security officer did not answer but only nodded to himself.

  “It will be done, Overlord.”

  The security officer saluted, only hesitating long enough for Nynai’s return salute, then quickly walked from the command center. Nynai turned to a bank of security monitors and watched some of the fighting that was transpiring. He couldn’t help but wonder what the humans hoped to gain by taking the command center. It was useless if they powered down the reactors.

  As soon as the thought had entered his mind did he spin to the officer station at the operations console.

  “Get me a feed to the reactor stations immediately.”

  The officer’s hands quickly moved across the console for several seconds, longer than it should normally take.

  “Is there a problem?!” Nynai asked harshly.

  “Overlord, I have tried to establish a connection but it seems all feeds as well as communications have been disrupted to the reactor stations.”

  Nynai swore aloud at failing to think of this before. If the humans took the reactors they effectively could shut down the defense system and bring their warships in…they could also destroy any ships attempting to leave. Keying his comm unit he keyed in his security officers code and spoke quickly.

  “We have lost all communications and feeds to the reactors. You need to get those pilots to the gunships and get them off this station immediately!”

  “As you command, Overlord!” was the reply and then the connection went quiet.

  Several long moments passed as Nynai awaited confirmation that the gunships had successfully launched. His anxiety growing to a point he was about to demand what was taking so long when his operations officer spoke.

  “Overlord, I just received confirmation that all gunships have successfully launched and are clear of the station.”

  “Excellent, notify me when you have confirmation of fold sequences.”

  He sat back in silence as he awaited the notice of confirmation, the sounds of explosions in the distance growing. Nynai again could not believe this was happening and could only think of how could this situation get worse? This was perhaps the wrong time to think this as his operations officer spoke, his voice frantic.

  “Overlord, I am reading new warship signatures entering the system. While two are of unknown configuration the largest signature matches the configuration of the human’s massive warship that destroyed the two command bases that attacked the human’s homeworld.”

  Nynai’s chest filled with dread at seeing the massive warship present in Federation space. Preliminary scans of the ship revealed a staggering amount of firepower that this ship could bring to bear upon this orbital station. This massive monstrocity would make short work of this station if it decided to fire upon the station.

  “Bring the defensive grid online, target every weapon upon that ship,” Nynai commanded, knowing it was pointless.

  “Overlord, the ship is not advancing upon the station. It has positioned itself on the fringe of the system. The two smaller warships have broken formation and are in pursuit of our gunships.”

  “Which gunships?”

  “One is moving to intercept the gunship that was dispatched to Dantra Prime, the other is after one of the two headed for homeworld.”

  Nynai watched as the ships closed the distance quickly on the fleeing gunships. He already knew the ship headed for homeworld would not reach the required distance to engage her fold engines but the one for Dantra Prime would be close. Except for the sounds of fighting off in the distance the command center was silent as they watched the race. Several moments later and the first of the warships had closed the distance and opened fire. The gunships shields were quickly overwhelmed by the onslaught. With the shields down the energy burned through the rear armor and the gunship subsequently exploded.

  Nynai had expected to see the warship returned to formation with the larger human warship but instead it maneuvered in an attempt to intercept the other gunship that was headed to homeworld. Bile rose in his throat as he watched the warship closing quickly with the second homeworld gunship noting a real possibility that this gunship also could be overtaken as well. Turning his attention back to the gunship that was making a run to Dantra Prime he was shocked to see that the human’s warship had dramatically closed the distance. Just when the gunship had reached the required distance to activate the fold engines did the human’s warship unleashed its deadly rain. Any help he had hoped to receive from Dantra Prime was dashed as the gunship’s engines exploded sending the gunship into a dead spin. Without their engines they would be going nowhere unless rescued, destined to die once their life support failed in a most agonizing death. Lucky for them the humans were not that cruel as the warship opened fire again, destroying the spinning gunship.

  Nynai switched his attention to the final gunship that was attempting to exit the system and knew that it was hopeless. The gunship was very close to the safety point but by the calculations he made he knew the human warship would overtake them be
fore that.

  “Overlord, I am detecting fold engine activity. It seems the pilot of the gunship has disengaged the safety protocols and is going to attempt to make the jump inside the gravitational pull of Lykaa.”

  Nynai studied the display as he watched the gunship. The safety protocols were in place to prevent a ship from materializing inside of another ship or any celestial body you might find floating through space. Before a fold sequence fully engaged the safety protocols would send a narrow beam transmission to the destination to ensure the area was clear of anything. However when a ship is stuck within the gravitational pull of a planet the gravity would interfere with the beam transmission which would prevent the completion of the fold sequence. To override this, the pilot would need to disengage the protocols, as the gunship had done, but to do so was close to suicide. With all the debris that is typically found in space, one could materialize with some of this debris protruding through the side of your ship, the end result would be explosive decompression.

  Nynai understood why the pilot was doing it though, he was dead either way, and he was choosing to die on his own terms.

  Just as the human warship opened fire, the gunships fold engines activated. The fold sequence pulled the gunship away with the energy of the human warship passing through the area it had just occupied. Nynai did not put much hope in the chances of the gunship as he turned his attention to the final gunship. He watched it as it descended into the atmosphere of Lykaa, an orange glow forming around the hull. At least the Shenkar forces upon the planet would be notified of the humans attack; maybe they would be able to get a communication out to call for reinforcements.

  The sounds of fighting drew him from his thoughts, from the sound of it the humans were getting much closer.

  January 31st, 2014 2:31pm EST

  Lykaa

  Liam motioned for the rest of the group to remain behind before he silently approached Callen who was stationed near the entrance to the cavern. Liam immediately noticed the light coming from the cavern as he approached the opening. He couldn’t help but wonder where the light came from. It did not flicker as firelight would, but there was definitely something generating light throughout the cavern.