Ghosts of Lyarra (34 page)

This created a stir in the Ifierin, but Axyn frowned as he knew this was only the beginning to what was really happening. “You mean to wage war on the Guild?” he asked. “The same Guild that infiltrated this ship on every level and almost succeeded, if it wasn’t for your intercepting a stray signal? Do you know what doing something like this
means?”

“I do.” a new voice called out from behind them as the chrome clad Ifierin sauntered down the ramp; closely followed by the armored female. “I mean to raze the corrupt Temple and all within it to the ground. I mean to burn its loyal followers for their sins and show the truth to an Empire that has been blinded by deception for too long. I mean to assassinate the High Priestess Myril at the height of her time of glory in the most public of ways and return the throne to its proper place. And most of all, my dear Captain, I mean to follow up on all I have promised and drag those responsible for all of this into the light for all to
see.”

Axyn immediately shot a look of alarm and anger at Lyxia; she knew he recognized the voice from the masked soldier. This was going to be the hard sell to him and his men. She knew the next few minutes could decide if they would be successful or fail; because without the Ifierin on their side, things would become a lot
harder.

“Do you trust me?” she asked her
Captain.

“Do I have a choice?” he replied, turning his fixed gaze back to the wanted
assassin.

“I have never simply commanded you to do anything.” She said. “So I will ask you to follow me blindly. It took me a long time to come to terms with the truth, but for now you will have to trust me that he is on our side and all is not how it
seems.”

“And if I ask him to show his face?” Axyn asked. “If I am to allow a murderer on my ship, I at least want to see the bastard’s face and look him in the eyes. That way I know who I have to ghost when shit goes
down.”

“When shit goes down, it is this ghost that shall fight by your side Captain, not against you.” The soldier said and reached up to his helmet to remove
it.

The Ifierin around them all raised their weapons in anticipation of the worst, but few could have anticipated the face revealed as the helmet was pulled away. Axyn took a step back and muttered a prayer to the Gods, for he was looking directly into the eyes of a dead man. Like all the others joining him, he had seen the vids of the Amarra bravely ramming the Husk marauder and exploding before disappearing from sight. In the circle of the Ifierin, the name Aen had become that of a tale of heroism; single handily taking on and defeating the Hivemind of the
Husk.

“The afterlife was boring.” Aen said handing his helmet to the female Ifierin behind him. “So I thought I would come back and stir up some more shit. And you still haven’t answered her; do you trust
her?”

“Without question.” Axyn
mumbled.

“Good. Then it’s time to talk to our guests and learn as much as we can about the enemy before it all starts.” Aen
smiled.

“Before what starts?” Axyn asked, still
dumbfounded.

“War.” Aen answered coldly. “You’ve been under attack all this time Captain; it’s time to get you head out of the sand and fight
back.”

—
Lyarran Vessel Dark Light; Jumpspace

The weeks had passed slowly in the bowels of the Dark Light, and Kala was growing fearful as each new day passed. She had felt the jump engines cycle shortly after being locked away, followed by the familiar feeling of nausea that came with the entry to jumpspace. They were obviously on their way home, but Kala wondered what it was they hoped to accomplish. Even though the Dark Light was the flagship of the fleet; the largest and most advanced cruiser ever built; she knew her masters had control of the entire fleet and one ship couldn’t stand alone against all
that.

But more disconcerting was the fact that every day another prisoner was taken away for questioning, and never returned. Of course, those that had infiltrated the ranks of the Ifierin had never lived long enough to be taken hostage, but the rest of them shared looks of apprehension each day the lift doors opened and Axyn emerged to collect someone. With her here were some of the more influential creatures aboard - ranging from the temple priestess and her priests that served her, to engineers, to back up Ops Con staff - but they all looked at her for advice. After all, she was supposed to be the new Council of the Dark
Light.

But she had nothing to say that could alleviate their fear; she was in here with them and clung to the hope that the ship would be intercepted by one of theirs and order restored while she was still alive. The others could be replaced as far as she was concerned. So without sage counsel, the grouping was thinned one by one until it was just the priestess and
Kala.

“I do not fear their questions.” The priestess said as the lights rose to signify
morning.

“I do.” She
replied.

“We were only doing as the Gods willed.” Her counterpart explained. “So if we go to our death, we can do it with our heads held high for we have done nothing but try and make the Empire
better.”

“What we have done is traded one necessary evil for another.” Kala scowled back. “Problem being, the one we left behind won’t roll over and die like we were told they would. The masters made a mistake, and that mistake has cost us our
lives.”

“They cannot kill a priestess of the Guild.” The priestess proclaimed
proudly.

“Want to bet.” Axyn smiled back through the
bars.

The two had been so absorbed in their words that they didn’t even see him there and jumped in surprise to the Captain’s gruff voice. Kala’s heart was racing and her body trembling in fear. She closed her eyes and waited for the sound of her door to open, and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard it was her
neighbor’s.

“Take your hands off me, unclean filth.” The priestess
demanded.

As Kala peeked out her closed eyes, she saw the Captain’s arm clenching the left shoulder of the struggling Guild priestess; the evil grin still on his lips. He let her squirm for a while, then began to drag her from her cell. Despite her struggles, the woman of privilege could muster little to stop the Ifierin commander from taking her away. Despite her relief at it not being her turn today, Kala still held her breath as he passed by the door to her cell with his newest victim. She almost died then and there when she noticed he stopped and his cold, battle hardened eyes stared right at
her.

“Don’t go far.” He laughed. “It will be your turn
next.”

After taunting her, he picked up the priestess and tossed her into the lift like a bag of refuse and cackled the whole time until the doors shut. She was alone now; alone to wait until her last march to confront Lyxia face to face before she was killed. She vowed to herself to remain strong; to look at that unworthy Council and tell her nothing as she didn’t deserve the rank and standing bestowed on her by a weak and pathetic regime. Kala was part of the new strength that flowed through the veins of the Empire, and despite knowing the end was near, she told herself she would not bow to them. Once more she lay down on the cot and closed her eyes and dreamed of the new world they wanted to create; all the while hoping she would live to see
it.

—
Lyarran Vessel Dark Light; Epsilon Eradini

Space crackled with electricity, tore open to belch out the Dark Light into the emptiness that had once been there. The ship had reached the limit of its engines and exited jump-space to vent and cool her engines. Upon emerging from the storm that spit them out, her aft vents protruded from her long sleek hull and noxious gasses poured forth. Normally most Fleet ships would do these rest periods along predetermined and safe routes, but his spot had been chosen not only for its being off the beaten path, but also as a rendezvous
point.

Waiting a few thousand kilometers of the starboard side of the cruiser, were a pair of J’Karin dreadnaughts. Fierce looking hulks of metal that resembled a backwards, no-legged crab, these ships were here not for battle but to meet up with their lone ally left in the fleet. As the protective shades opened up in the solarium, Aen looked over these odd craft in great detail. Their shell-like hull presented no flat surface to any foe; any impact from a projectile would suffer partial deflection from the angles thus minimizing damage in an attack. Her engines hung off to the side in claw-like appendages that appeared to have the ability to swivel; Aen figured these craft would have unparalleled abilities to maneuver in battle. A trifecta of cannons stuck out from under its ‘shell’ and out the nose and other than that, there was little else to the general appearance. Plain and effective, Aen would expect nothing less from the race of giants. Despite the size of the J’Karins themselves, the two dreadnaughts were less than a quarter of the size combined of the mighty Dark Light, and both would be able to be swallowed up in her aft shuttle
bays.

He watched as the two ships took up position on either side of the Dark Light and continued on along the same path as they were on. He noted they stayed an acceptable distance from the plume of engine gasses being expelled from the jump core; though he knew the J’Karin to be able to adapt to any atmosphere, he doubted the hot and corrosive gasses pouring from the Lyarran vessel would leave their ship unaffected. The three ships floated together in unison as communications between them and Lyxia were obviously ongoing as she laid out the plan to
them.

“I wasn’t sure I would ever see him again.” Iana’s voice from behind him spoke
softly.

It was still filtered by her helmet, but Aen had become accustomed to her voice to recognize it despite the minor alterations by the armor to it. She had thought she had come up on him unaware, but Aen sensed the change in temperature in the room as soon as she entered. Despite being among allies, he chose to err on the side of caution and keep his guard
up.

“I made him a promise.” Aen replied, holding his helmet cradled in his arm; there was no one in this section at this time of day so he was safe revealing himself. “So I have returned you to his protective shadow as he asked. Soon I will return you to your throne once more and fulfill my promise to
you.”

“And then what?” she asked in a question that took him by surprise. “If we wipe out the Guild and the Forgotten, do you honestly think that’s the end of all this? Or will I simply retake my spot at the center of another’s
crosshairs?”

“I fear we won’t have long to wait to find out.” He replied
cryptically.

“Your interrogations have been
fruitful?”

“It is amazing what can be extracted from the right people just before they die.” He said coolly. “I merely watched most of them, but the last one with the temple priestess was mine to carry out. She was strong, but I have broken
stronger.”

“And what have you learned?” Iana asked
eagerly.

“That Myril, The Guild, and the Forgotten are not the true enemy; only the tools another is using as the first wave of an attack. It is the merciful alternative to a mass extinction; to put in power a regime that will ease the transition from the life that is known to submission to a new power. Though she did not know who or what drives it, she told me that it is an old and dark lord that predates the Empire; one bent on ruling the cosmos.” He
explained.

“Anything
else?”

Aen watched as a shuttle dropped from beneath the dreadnaught on the port side and sped out in a docking ark to enter the forward bay of the Dark Light. There was no doubt that Bryx was aboard and was eager to resume his never ending duty to guard Iana. Aen only hoped that he would refrain from addressing her formally until after the faux coronation; resurrecting the dead was much more effective when no one knew the deceased was still
alive.

“She told of the disappointment of you not being able to acquire the Harbinger; her masters wanted me as a weapon and that failure spelled the end of your usefulness. She expressed regret that you were deemed unnecessary, but to argue with the Lord of Darkness was to invite one’s own death.” He watched as the shuttle disappeared beneath the Dark Light’s hull. “It was quite the shock when I revealed myself to her, but it got quite the odd verse from
her.”

“Explain.” Iana leaned
forward.

“She quoted an old scripture of prophecy; one I had a bit of trouble digging up to review myself.” He replied. Aen closed his eyes to better recollect the words, then began to recite them. “So fate has spoken, and the Harbinger has sided against the unstoppable force as it emerges from the haze. Darkness creeps across the Throne of Light, and the hands of might crave the rule one has. The Gods shall witness war as all shall kneel again. Thy kingdom comes once
more.”

“I have read this passage too.” She gasped. “But only as a youngling and did not know the weight it carried nor the shadow that followed it as I do
now.”

“So you understand it?” he asked. “You now see into the darkness and past the shadows to look upon the true architect of chaos as I
do?”