Storm' Fury: The Shenkar War (50 page)

              Nynai frowned this as he looked over the communications network himself and soon came to the same conclusion. Picking up two personal communication headsets he handed one to the operations officer and donned the other himself. Understanding what the overlord intended the operations officer donned the headset and tested the link. The sound of Nynai’s voice could be heard clearly over the headset as he spoke.

              “Head down to docking, give him that headset, and find out why those freighters have not departed…we have a schedule to keep,” Nynai commanded although he really didn’t give a damn about any schedules as there was nothing else scheduled for days.

              The operations officer quickly stood and hurried from the command center as Nynai walked back over to his seat and sat down. He almost returned to his boring reports but a nagging feeling had developed inside him that something other than a faulty communications network was the cause at the moment. After several long minutes his impatience got the best of him, he keyed the comm headset and then spoke.

              “Report, how long before you reach the cargo bay?”

              “I am almost there, I……..” the operations officer stopped speaking and Nynai could hear shouts and sounds that were familiar yet he could not here it well enough to make it out.

              The connection was still open but the operations officer did not speak but the sounds grew louder. As the sounds grew louder Nynai was finally able to make out what the sound was but…it was not possible. The sounds grew louder and soon he could hear screams and the familiar thrum of plasma swords clashing together.

              “Report! What is going on down there!” Nynai commanded.

              “Overlord, we are under attack!”

              “Attack?! This cannot be, Cathergons do not have the spines nor the weaponry to launch such an assault.”

              The sounds grew louder and louder as the time passed by until it was almost unbearable. When the operations officer next spoke, Nynai needed to strain to hear his words.

              “It is not the Cathergons…..it’s the...”

              The last of his words were drowned out by the sounds of energy blasts.

              “Repeat that last part, I did not copy that,” Nynai demanded.

              “Humans! I said it is the humans that are assaulting the station, they are everywhere! I…”

              Whatever the operations officer was going to say next, he never got a chance to say as the loud thrum of a plasma sword filled the connection followed by silence. Shock ran through him of Nynai’s last words still rang through his ears. How could the humans be here? It was not possible, it cannot be possible! Turning he spotted his security chief and waved him over.

              “We have humans attacking the station; they must have arrived in the Cathergon freighters. Assemble your warriors and kill them all!”

              To the security chief’s credit he did not even blink in surprise at hearing the news of the human’s assault. Instead he simply saluted and turned to leave, as he was about to exit Nynai shouted after him.

              “Get three full squads of your best men up here! If the humans get past you, they cannot be allowed to take the command center!”

January 31
st
, 2014 11:19am EST

Orbital Station 1, Lykaan space

              The sounds of fighting had all but died off as Evan looked about the area. Dead Shenkar lay everywhere, taken by surprise by the freighters hidden passengers. He also noted that some of the dead were human; several Praetorian Guard lay about the area as well as one Paladin. The Paladin had the most impact upon him, it was Lieutenant Brine.

              They had been advancing quickly through this area of the station when his team had encountered a group Shenkar that were quicker to act. The Lieutenant had just killed a Shenkar that was pinning down a group of the Guard when another Shenkar shot him in the head from behind. Evan had jumped forward and killed the Shenkar but it was already too late for Brine.

              Evan took a second glance at the head of Shenkar he had decapitated and frowned. Leaning closer he got a better look at object that had drawn his attention.

              “Everything alright, Lieutenant Commander?” came a voice from behind him.

              Looking up Evan saw that two Paladins, names on their chests read Gent and Merth, stood nearby looking down at him.

              “No, this one was wearing a comm headset which means that there is a good chance someone was listening on the other end,” Evan explained as he indicated the head that lay nearby.

              “Which means they know we are here,” Merth said simply.

              “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 31
st
, 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 31
st
, 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 31
st
, 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.