Storm' Fury: The Shenkar War (53 page)

              They had walked for less than thirty seconds before Liam heard a shout from behind to halt and the sound of footsteps approaching. Turning about they saw that the Lykaan who had been administering aid to the wounded Lykaan was approaching, six of the Lykaan males following behind him. First thing Liam noticed that the lead Lykaan was taller than the others by perhaps three inches which he estimated put him just about seven feet five inches.

              The Lykaan stopped roughly four feet away and seemed to study Liam and Callen for several long moments before he spoke again. When he did speak, his voice was deep and seemed to have a persistent growl to it.

              “I must thank you for your help; if you had not intervened my son would have died.”

              “You’re welcome,” Liam said simply but said no more.

              The Lykaan hesitated before speaking, as if he expected Liam to say more. When it was clear Liam would not volunteer anything further he spoke again.

              “You are not of this world, at least not from any area I have been to and I have travelled far. Where do you originate from? Are you great travelers and come from the stars like the Shenkar?”

              “That is a delicate subject to broach, I do not know if I trust you as we just met. Who we are will cause some you know to anger quickly. Knowledge of our presence upon your planet could place you and your loved ones in danger.”

              The Lykaan’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at being told their mere presence could generate danger.

              “If you think the danger will come from us then you would be incorrect, my people wish you and your people no harm,” explained Liam.

              This statement seemed to alleviate the suspicion from the Lykaan’s eyes and replaced it with curiosity.

              “If the harm would not come from you then who would it come from?”

              “The Shenkar,” Liam stated simply.

              Surprise shown upon the Lykaan’s face at hearing Liam’s statement.

              “Why should the Shenkar harm me for your presence?”

              Instead of answering, Liam countered with his own question.

“How much do you know of the Shenkar?”

“They are great warriors born of the stars; they provide guidance for my people and wish for us to become part of their great Federation as equals.”

As the Lykaan recited his view of the Shenkar, Liam could not help but detect something in his voice that stated what he was saying and what he felt were two different things.

“Great warriors? I apologize if I offend you but they are far from great warriors. Sure they are very skilled in battle but that does not necessarily make you great.”

An expression Liam could only interpret as amusement shown upon the Lykaan’s face at hearing Liam’s view on the Shenkar.

“I like you, stranger; you are not afraid to speak your mind nor are you afraid of the Shenkar as some of my people are.”

“Afraid? I find it very hard to believe your people are afraid of the Shenkar,” Callen said, not bothering to hide the amusement upon his face.

The Lykaan looked at Callen for several moments before a low variable growl began to emit from him. It wasn’t a growl of displeasure, in fact it was quite the opposite, as the Lykaan laughed in amusement.

“I like you too, you are smart,” said the Lykaan to Callen.

Callen smiled at the compliment but otherwise remained quiet. Turning back to Liam the Lykaan placed a hairy clawed hand to his own chest as he spoke.

“I am Grashianka.”

“I am Liam and my compatriot is Callen,” said Liam, the latter part said as he waved his hand in Callen’s direction.

“It is an honor to meet you but we still have not spoken of where you come from or why the Shenkar would wish us harm for speaking with you.”

Liam studied the Lykaan for several moments as he weighed on how much he should tell Grashianka. Not telling them would probably cause more harm than telling them. If Granshianka wanted to inform the Shenkar of their presence he would simply describe them, inform the Shenkar they wielded plasma swords and that would be enough information for the Shenkar to deduce who the intruders were. But telling him who they were and of their war with the Shenkar might show the Lykaans that the Shenkar were not all powerful and that there was another race out there that were their equals. This could go a long way to being introduced to one of the Lykaan tribal leaders that could help with their mission. He did not need to tell Granshianka of their mission here, how many warships they had in system nor of the Cathergons alliance with them.

“Do you feel the Shenkar are gods?” Liam asked.

That low variable growl was back again as Granshianka obviously found amusement by the question.

“Gods? No, they are very powerful and are formiable warriors but I do not suffer from soft brains as some of my people do.”

“Soft brains?” Callen asked.

Granshianka seemed to think this over for a few moments as if trying to think of a better explanation before he spoke.

“Those who believe anything they are told.”

“Ah, I get it…you mean gullible,” Callen explained.

“I do not know this word but if it means what I just said then yes.”

Rarely did the nanobots within him encounter words they could not translate into a word another would understand but Liam wasn’t surprised by this. To be honest he was more surprised they had not encountered it more often. Instead of going into it more Liam chose to continue on with the conversation.

“We are humans, we come from a planet far from yours and far from this area of space where the Shenkar Federation rules. Last year my people encountered the Shenkar and a war began. The Shenkar attempted to attack our planet not once but twice and we defeated them. I will not lie to you, many among my people were killed in the battles but needless to say the Shenkar lost far many more warriors. I am part of an advanced team that has entered Shenkar space to seek out potential allies. We have already found one such ally that has joined us, forgive me if I do not divulge who they are as it is for their own safety, but I can assure you that many among the Shenkar Federation are tired of their rule and wish to be freed to govern their worlds as they see fit.”

Granshianka seemed to think over Liam’s words carefully, taking his time with his response.

“What would this mean for my people if they joined your people in your war against the Shenkar?”

This was the one question Liam had dreaded as he knew his answer would not sit well with anyone. Needless to say he knew there was no way around it and knew his only response would have to be the truth.

“I won’t lie to you, you joining us will bring the war directly to your planet. You see, believe it or not, your world is key to the Shenkar war machine. Separating your world, from the Shenkar’s grasp, will most likely result in the Shenkar landing troops upon your world and attempting to take the planet from you. Any who do not submit to their rule will be executed along with their families.  I cannot promise military support from my people as I do not have the authority but it would be in our best interests that we give you all the help we can possibly lend. To tell you the truth joining us will be harder on your people than not joining us…at least not until we defeat the Shenkar once and for all. I firmly believe that without your planet we can defeat the Shenkar and liberate those worlds that wish to govern themselves.”

Granshianka once again thought over what Liam had said for several long moments before he responded.

“I have always had a great skill for judging the honor of those around me and I judge you to being one who would not mislead me and has great honor. You have already demonstrated that your people are more than capable of combat by how quickly you dispatched the Korgo beasts.  I also know the Shenkar would never have done what you did, not because they could not but because they feel it is beneath them to intervene. If you had been a Shenkar then my son would be dead right now. I owe you a blood oath for the life of my son that you saved. Blood oaths are sacred; this is something that is very important to my people. If it was purely my decision I would follow you into battle at your word but it is not my decision alone. This is something that would need to be brought to our tribal council, only the elders can make a decision like this.”

Liam had known this would be the answer but a small part of him had hoped it would be easier.

“How would I go about bringing my case to the council? From what I understand of your people I would need a sect leader to sponsor me just to be able be recognized by your people. Once I am sponsored then I would be allowed to compete in the trials that your people conduct once every ten years.”

“You know of my people’s customs? You humans are definitely full of surprises. How did you learn of my customs?” Granshianka asked, surprised and curiosity clear within his voice but Liam also thought he detected a hint of displeasure there as well.

“One of the races that have joined us in overthrowing the current Shenkar regime explained this to us,” Liam explained, feeling it would be better to omit that most of the information he received had been from their two Shenkar advisors.

Granshianka studied Liam for a few moments, clearly curious to who had explained his people’s customs to the humans.

“Interesting, I only know of one other race besides my own that has sworn allegiance to the Shenkar and I would bet my life they do not know of our customs, at least not to the degree you possess. The Cathergons are cowards and lack the spine to disobey the Shenkar, at least that is my impression of the ones I have met. I apologize but I must insist on who told you of our customs. They are very sacred to us and we do not take kindly to those who share this information with outsiders.”

Liam knew he would offend Granshianka and perhaps destroy any chances of the alliance if he did not tell him the truth. Although Liam did take exception to Granshianka’s labeling the Cathergons as cowards and he found he just could not let this pass.

“I understand, I did not mean any offense, you are correct it is not the Cathergons. It was in fact a Shenkar that told us of your customs, one who has joined my people. Even within the Shenkar there are those who wish to see the government changed. You see, the Shenkar do not typically negotiate with races to bring them into the Federation. Typically what they want is taken by force, lives sacrificed needlessly to ensure the Shenkar rule. It is firmly believed among many of their own people that the Shelecore is insane and unfit to rule.

I have a question for you, if your people went to war with the Shenkar, how well do you honestly feel your people would do against them? You have seen their skill in combat, the armor they wear, the weapons they wield. Do you feel you could best such a race? How well do you think those spears you carry will work when combating such a race? Sure you have the advantage of knowing the terrain but they would eventually flush out your people. So before you condemn the Cathergons for being cowards maybe you should look at it from their point of view. They do not have the physical strength you do and the Shenkar ensure they do not acquire weapons. Just because they do not disobey the Shenkar does not make them cowards.”

Granshianka’s face shown with slight offense and displeasure at being questioned in such a manner but soon his face softened.

“You are correct, we would fight and we would lose. My people are very skilled at hunting but we could not hope to stop the Shenkar alone. I also admit I do not know the Cathergons situation so therefore I should not condemn them the way I did. It was just that….”

Granshianka stopped suddenly and his eyes narrowed at Liam. Soon the variable growl that indicated he was laughing sounded from his throat as he clapped a hand on Liam’s shoulder. It was meant as a friendly gesture but Liam could not help but notice how strong the Lykaan was as his body shook under the massive clawed hand.

“Did I say something that was amusing?” Liam asked.

“No, I do know now that it is the Cathergons who have joined your people in the fight against the Shenkar.”

Liam had to fight to keep the surprise from showing upon his face.

“And why would you assume they are the race that joined our cause?” asked Liam, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

“Only one who saw another as an ally would defend their character after I labeled them as cowards. You truly are a loyal and honorable race, this pleases me greatly. Knowing how you view your allies indicates just how trustworthy you would be. If you race to the defense of one who was only insulted verbally I imagine you would go to great lengths to protect your allies from harm.”

“There is nothing I would not do to protect those I see as my friends,” Liam stated.

“Yeah, you would not want to see him pissed,” Callen said from beside him.

Liam shot him a sidelong glance that clearly stated not to elaborate any further. Liam did not like to speak of his time as a captive aboard the
Tryliene
. He also knew just how much his abilities had increased and it frightened him of what could happen if he lost control. He had managed to control his emotions but when it came to Leah he knew he could lose control if she was ever injured. This was the main reason he had assigned her to stay aboard the
Poseidon
, the more he could keep her from immediate danger the better he felt.