Storm' Fury: The Shenkar War (44 page)

              “The captain of the
Farrow
explained your supposed request and I find the presence of a Shenkar elite aboard your vessel a bit disturbing. Captain Frozt might have been fooled by your supposed rescue of his ship but I find it rather convenient that you came along at the time you did to rescue him. I think the Shenkar have heard rumors of small battle group and came looking so they can crush us.”

              “Captain, listen to yourself, if the Shenkar heard rumors of this battle groups existence do you really think they would send only one ship? A warship, that you do not have in your database, commanded by a race that is not part of the Shenkar Federation.”

              There was a slight hesitation before he received a response and Liam noticed some of the fire had left the High Captains voice.

              “You say you are of a race we do not know but how do I know you did not coerce Captain Frozt into saying this?”

              “High Captain, do you have capability to transmit live video? If so we can connect and you can see I am not of the Shenkar Federation.”

              Silence once again met Liam’s response for several moments.

              “How convenient that you ask that of us which we cannot do. If you have been aboard the
Farrow
then you will know the freighter is carrying the parts to give our ships that ability.”

              Liam sighed, leaning his head down a bit as he reached up to rub his forehead.

              “Then perhaps you would allow me to come aboard your ship so you may see for yourself…” began Liam.

              “Oh, I do not think so, you could be carrying a bomb to try and use me as a hostage to protect your own ship,” the High Captain cut in.

              Steve waved for Liam’s attention then pointed down to the display before him. Nodding in understanding, he typed a message on his command chair, routing it to the communciations station. Leah read the message and typed a few keys before giving Liam the thumbs up. Only then, did he return his attention to the High Captain.

              “High Captain, I suggest you order your ships to stand down so we can discuss this more civily. I do not wish for you or any of your people to come to harm but if you fire upon our vessel then my people will be forced to destroy you.”

              “Please Commander Brennan, do not make threats you cannot enforce. I am well aware your ship is stronger and could destroy one of my ships in one on one combat but we are not alone and you cannot possibly defeat all of us by yourself,” retorted the high caption, his voice full of mirth.

              “Yes, you would be correct in that but I can assure you we are not alone,” said Liam, as he touched the panel on the arm of his command chair, changing his communication frequency.

              “This is Commander Brennan, have you been listening?”

              Liam listened to the response and a crooked smile formed on his face at what he heard. Switching back to the High Captain’s frequency he spoke.

              “High Captain Betz, let me introduce you to some of my compatriots.”

January 26
th
, 2014 3:38am EST

Cathergon corvette,
Daystar

              Proximity alarms sounded throughout the bridge as crew members scrambled about.

              “High Captain, a ship has appeared in sector eighty eight, scans indicate it is of unknown configuration and is more heavily armed than all of our ships combined,” explained his operations officer, his voice showing clear signs of panic.

              The High Captain studied the tactical display; the new warship was larger than anything he had ever seen within the Shenkar fleet. He also confirmed what his operations officer had stated…..his entire fleet would be destroyed if they attacked this warship.

              “High Captain, I have Commander Brennan on the line, he wishes to speak with you,” stated his communications officer.

              Betz indicated for his communications officer to connect him before speaking.

              “Commander Brennan, you have left me no option, what are your terms for my surrender?”             

              “Captain Betz, as I said before, I am not here as your enemy so there is no need to discuss terms of surrender. My people are enemies with the Shelecore and wish to remove him from power. What I do want of you is to meet with you and your commanders so we might come to a mutual agreement. One that benefits both of our people and also sees your people free, is this something we can discuss?”

              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 26
th
, 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.