The fifth slammed his fist on the hard stone table, the ancient book in front of him jumped, “Preposterous! How long will you allow this frail humanoid to take power from the true leader of Antares?”
“The fifth chair shall remain silent!” The council leader stood from his chair and pointed a stern finger toward his fellow councilman, “Your duty is to consider all the details! Then we shall vote. NOT before all the evidence has been presented! Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, my Lord,” the fifth seated Antarian fidgeted in his chair.
“The fact remains,” the seventh chair said, placing a hand on the third Antarian’s shoulder, “If a blood oath was taken, then Laboolaron would not have been able to release Dumakas.”
The third chair shoved the hand from his shoulder, giving the Antarian a glare.
“Unless the blood spirit grew cold within the Empress,” the fourth chair shouted across the table.
“There is no way to prove that now,” the third seat interjected, “she has partaken of the blood of the adolescent beast. Her blood spirit shall remain strong for two short cycles.”
“As it states right here,” the sixth chair pointed within his copy of the text.
Danielle placed her arms on her hips and addressed the council, “Regardless of what any one of you think, the fact remains that Dumakas is plotting to illegally take over the place on Serintin!”
The fifth chair attempted to interrupt Danielle, “Dumakas’ actions are not illegal until we have agreed that you will remain in power...”
“ENOUGH!” Danielle’s voice echoed throughout the huge chamber. As the reflections of her command faded, she moved out from behind the podium to walk slowly in front of the Council. The elders were forced to turn their heads as she paced before them. “I have already explained to you that there is no time for this foolishness. As I started to say...”
The fifth chair again rose to speak, but this time Danielle silenced him before he had the chance. In one swift motion the Empress drew her sword and swung it around her head, the tip stopping an inch from the Antarian’s neck, “You will not interrupt your Empress! I am still in control of the Palace. Is this clear?”
“Yes, my Lady.”
The first chair stood, his chair screeching behind him, “My Lady, you will sheath your weapon at once.”
“You gave your word you would give me audience. I mean to hold this Council to their word. I will be heard! So far, all you have done is bickered and snipped, at me, and with each other. I wonder how you get anything done.”
“Very well, my Lady,” the fifth nervously answered, “I shall afford you a few minutes. Then we will bring it to a vote of the council.”
“Agreed!” Danielle returned her sword to its sheath.
“Agreed!” the council leader nodded.
She returned to the podium and sighed, “Now, as I was saying. There is no way anyone of you can dispute the facts and events that have occurred since my arrival. There are too many of them that line up with your ancient texts. All the way to Dumakas being freed, what does it say?”
The fourth pointed at his text, “It says the leader would be removed from the throne and detained, later to be released by blood.”
“There is no doubt that the council is split,” Danielle said, “Three of you deny the writings, three agree and support who I am, and one remains undecided. Again, I say it matters not what side you are on in this debate. What matters is that Dumakas will throw the Rising Star of Antares into civil war.”
“She is right about that,” the chairman nodded, “The only way to avoid this is to support the prophecy that stands before us. The council, should we choose to support this Warrior from an outside house, will keep our peace among our kind and focus on our adversaries. Do we believe the sacred texts that we have held so close to our hearts for generations, or are we going to forget these ancient texts and become blind to the answers that were given so long ago by our ancestors?”
“I call for a vote!” the second chair insisted.
“I have one more question,” the fourth asked.
Danielle turned to the Antarian, “I will answer your question.”
“What are your plans for Earth? You claim it is your home world. They have attacked us on our own ground. Retribution would be called for. Are you loyal to the Rising Star of Antares?”
Danielle nodded, “Yes, I am loyal to the House of Serintin of the Rising Star Antares. I have the blood spirit surging through my veins. This blood beckons me to fight my own. I, the Empress of Antares, will bring you victory.”
“How can we be sure?” the fifth slyly asked.
Danielle removed her dagger and stepped to the fifths chair. She held her palm before the Antarian and handed him her weapon, “I shall swear my own blood oath.”
The Antarian smiled through his crooked teeth and took the dagger by its blade. He tossed the knife into the air and snatched the handle. Quickly drawing the tip of the blade across her hand, he held her palm to his lips and slurped her life substance across his tongue. She made her way to each council member, offering her spirit blood, and then returned to the podium.
“I swear a blood oath before you today. I shall remain loyal to the Rising Star of Antares for as long as the blood spirit flows through my veins,” then she held her own hand to her lips and licked the remaining blood from her palm before the Nanites repaired the wound.
“I am satisfied at your answer,” the fourth smiled. “I am ready to vote.”
“Very well,” the chairman said, “I shall call all your votes as a confirmation. My Lady, you are excused if you so desire.”
“I shall remain for the verdict.”
“Chair Seven...how do you vote?”
“Agree.”
“Chair Six...your vote?”
“Agree.”
“Chair Five...”
“Negative. I do not agree!”
“Chair four agrees!” the Antarian said before the chairman could call his vote.
“Chair three? How do you vote?”
“Chair three disagrees! I do not support...”
“There is no commentary!” The chairman spat. “Chair two, how do you vote?”
“Chair two, even with an open mind, I cannot agree.”
“The council is split,” Danielle smiled, “You have the deciding vote.”
“After careful consideration of all evidence, I cannot in good conscience oppose this. I agree. The motion passes by a vote of four to three! The Empress of Antares will have the support of the Council of Elders of the House of Delema!”
“Therefore,” the sixth chair added, “Any movement to overtake the current administration will be considered illegal, and therefore will not be sanctioned.”
“The Empress of Antares has been confirmed as the legitimate administration, and the House of Delema will, in turn, offer all support in the form of ships and warriors to secure the palace.”
Danielle bowed her head toward the chairman, “Thank you. You will not be disappointed.”
“This session is adjourned. You should return to Serintin. I shall dispatch a security detail to escort you back.”
Danielle gave a crooked smile, turned and exited the chambers.
The two wooden doors creaked open once more. Tumaleka stood anxiously at the entrance, “Well, what did they say?”
“The council has voted four to three in favor.”
“Excellent news, my Lady. We should make haste in return to Serintin.”
“Yes, the chairman has agreed to provide as many resources as we will need. We will wait and depart once the security detail has assembled.”
“Very well, my Lady,” Tumaleka smiled.
One of the aides to Danielle ran down the hall toward them, “My Lady, my Lady!”
Danielle stopped and held her hand out to the running Antarian, “What is it?”
“Dumakas has been spotted on Gornash!”
“I knew it!”
“He’s there right now rallying the troops to storm the palace!”
“We must hurry, my Lady,” Tumaleka urged, “We must leave at once!”
“Why do you not wish to wait for our security escort?”
“If Dumakas is planning to storm the castle, you must be there to stop him!”
“No, I think not. We shall wait the fifteen minutes for the escort to assemble.”
“Very well, my Lady,” Tumaleka bowed, “I shall return to our shuttle and prepare for our trip.”
“I will be along shortly. Thank you for your support, madam.”
Tumaleka turned and headed to the launch bay.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Danielle whispered to her aide, “Keep an eye on Tumaleka for me. I am beginning to doubt her loyalty.”
“Yes, my lady, I shall take my leave of you.”
“Do not worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“Yes, my Lady,” the aide said, turning to the landing bay, “That much is certain.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
________________________
House of Gornash
Warlords Camp
________________________
Dumakas stood by his first in command at the war table. Shotzgren waved off the last transport, giving the pilot clearance to take off. The ship’s powerful thrusters shot dust into the air as it ascended into the dark sky of Gornash, carrying the last fifty Antarian Warlords to Serintin.
Shotzgren returned to Dumakas, “All troops have been deployed, my Lord.”
“Excellent!” Dumakas smiled in satisfaction, the roar of the transport engines fading from their ears as the ship disappeared from sight.
“I have more good news, my Lord,” Shotzgren began, “We have inside intelligence that they have beefed up security around the palace perimeter.”
“How is that good news?” Dumakas asked, returning a glare.
“We know how many men they have, where they are stationed and where the weaknesses in their defenses are. We also know there will be two squadrons of fighters on patrol,” Shotzgren raised a finger in the air, preventing Dumakas from asking, “But, we have something to keep those fighters occupied.”
“I’m listening.”
“From the Glavin encampment, and our friends to the south we have five heavy artillery guns manned and at the ready, my Lord.”
“Bring up the topography of the palace,” Dumakas ordered.
Shotzgren pushed a few buttons on a console activating a holographic display.
Dumakas studied the layout and then pointed to the image, turning the palace layout from side to side, “This is Glavin. You say we have five artillery guns here?”
“Yes, my Lord, they are stationed in the south region of Glavin.”
“Computer, display the heavy guns and army when we are in place.”
The computer hologram materialized the guns and Antarian warriors on the image. Dumakas took his large index finger and moved two of the heavy artillery guns to the North-West section of the map. “Take two heavy guns and fifty of our men to this location. There, we will begin diversionary fire on the palace. Move the warriors toward the palace walls. They will send an appropriate response. Once the palace engages our diversionary attack, we storm the palace from the East wall. We will bring one heavy gun with the rest of our men,” Dumakas moved one of the three remaining guns to where he pointed. “The remaining guns will send volleys of artillery, making them respond to the south wall. Then we will breach the eastern wall and storm the castle with over a hundred warriors.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Shotzgren nodded, “This is a good plan.”
“We will take them off guard on both fronts.”
“Retaking the palace will be easy once we breach the wall.”
“We will need to continue our focus on the support aircraft,” Dumakas added.
“Yes, my Lord,” Shotzgren smiled, “We will have a cruiser at our disposal as well.”
“Shotzgren, it would seem you are working very hard to gain advancement.”
Shotzgren bowed to his leader, “I am loyal to you, Dumakas... Emperor... the true leader of the House of Serintin of the Rising Star Antares.”
“You will go far in my new administration.”
“Yes, my Lord. What should we do with Darnash and the Empress once we find them?”
“Kill them on sight.”
“Yes, my Lord. What about Laboolaron? It would seem our inside informant has indicated that he has been taken prisoner. They may very well be the one who released you.”
“Free him from his captors,” Dumakas snarled, “Then kill him as a message that no one crosses Dumakas of the House of Serintin!”
“It was the blood of the beast that called him to follow her, my Lord.”
“No excuses! In fact, bring him to me directly. I shall kill him myself.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Now, let us get to our shuttle, we have a palace to capture in less than four hours.”
One of the aides to Dumakas came forward, “My Lord, I have just been given word that Baelak is ready. We have relayed the battle changes to him. His message is that his team will be ready in two hours.”
“Then we must leave at once,” Dumakas said, closing the holographic display.
“One more thing, my Lord.”
“What is it?” Dumakas paused, noticeably irritated by the interruption.
“They have restored power to the energy collector. Serintin is no longer in the dark.”
“Very well,” Dumakas laughed, “No matter, we shall be victorious.”
“This way, my Lord, our shuttle awaits,” Shotzgren motioned.
_______________________
The Yamato
En-Route to Sigma Draconis
________________________
The Theta Centaurian Captain Zetaal, Captain Shin, and Hiram stood on the Yamato’s CSC.
“Ten minutes to final jump, Sir,” the NAV officer reported.
“Lieutenant Katsumi,” Commander Hikaru ordered, “Begin jump prep. All stations stand ready.”
“What kind of reccception ssshould I expect when we arrive at Draconisss?” Captain Zetaal hissed, “We have never ssseen eye to eye on anything.”
“How long have your two worlds been at odds?” Captain Shin asked.
“Our two speciesss have never gotten along. We’ve been fighting each other for asss long as I can remember. Over time, battlesss essscalate, tempersss flare. Most of the time, we try to keep our distancesss from one another. Ssspace is not asss vassst asss one might think. We are conssstantly crosssing pathssss.”
Captain Shin pointed his finger toward the Centaurian, “I would say you might find common ground. Through the destruction of each of your races, you could put your differences behind you.”
“Perhapsss it is time, indeed.”
“Tell me,” Commander Hikaru asked, “How many do you think have been lost on your world?”
“I can tell you the Cssentaurian fleet is ssspread out among the starsss. What we had in sssystem was ninety battleshipsss, fifty cruisersss, and five carriersss with a complement of two-hundred fightersss each.”
“Captain,” Shin said with raised eyebrows, “From our scans, there were only three active ships. Everything else was gone.”
Captain Zetaal closed his eyes and lowered his head, “They dessstroyed our shipsss one by one...all one-hundred and forty-five of them along with a thousssand fightersss. They came with two hundred initial destroyersss. After they ssscanned our forcesss, they brought in another three-hundred shipsss. It took them less than an hour to decimate our defensesss. Once they eliminated our in-sssystem fleet, they fired nukesss at our major citiesss.”
“How many inhabitants?”
“Two trillion were planet side. Maybe a million of usss are left, ssspread out among coloniesss of various sizess. I essstimate we have roughly two-hundred fleet shipsss remaining in the galaxy...the ressst are lossst...all
of them. Life in our sssolar sssystem has been eliminated...gone. I don’t sssee any life sssupported there for decadesss...if ever.”
“We will be happy to help reestablish your kind on new worlds,” Captain Shin offered.
“Why would your speciesss elect to help our kind? You do not know usss. The Draconiansss know little of usss as well. I have ssserious doubtsss, Captain. The Draconians will not receive my kind.”
Hiram turned away from the Centaurian Captain and scoffed, “It is what the humanoids refer to as having faith...something your species knows nothing of...”
Captain Zetaal jumped at the short Eridonian interrupting him. Commander Hikaru stepped between the two of them, “Not on our ship you don’t,” Hikaru said with a finger aimed at the Centaurians yellow lizard eyes, “Save your aggression for the real enemy!”
“I will not sssit idle at thessse insssults!”
“The Eridonians have been more than helpful to us,” Captain Shin added, “Commander Hikaru’s right. We need to focus our aggression at the real enemy here, without getting distracted by our egos.”
The Centaurian backed down, hissing his protest toward Hiram, “The humanoid isss right.”
Hiram browbeat Captain Zetaal, “Perhaps if your kind were not as hostile toward others, you would not be in this situation you are in today.”
The Centaurian hissed again, “You have yet to sssee hossstile, Eridonian...”
“I said that’s enough,” Captain Shin ordered. “You are both on my ship. You will follow my commands and protocols. Clear?” Shin didn’t leave time for an answer, “Good. NAV station, report jump time?”
“Aye, Sir,” Lieutenant Hikatsumi nodded, “Final jump in two minutes.”
The crew’s auto-restraint system kicked in, securing the bridge crew to their stations.
“Aye, Sir,” Lieutenant Yoshi nodded, “Spooling FTL drives, jump clock running.”
The engines whining to a high pitch, drowning the crew’s voices as they sounded their reports from each station, “Sub light is go!” ... “NAV station ready!” ... “Tactical is a go!” ... “Checking jump resolution, and we’re a go, Captain!”
Warlords Saga Page 36