Storm' Fury: The Shenkar War (62 page)

              Liam did not know what to say and only stood there stunned. Sensing this, the elders stood, nodded their heads and slowly withdrew from the area. Granshianka waited for the elders to completely withdraw before he stood and clapped a massive hairy paw on Liam’s shoulder.

              “You have done it, my friend, we are with you until the end!”

              “Okay, but I am a bit confused. I thought I would need to compete in your tournament of warriors and win before I would be able to speak with your elders.”

              “This is typically our way but you have shown that you truly care for the well being of our people even when you do not gain anything from it.”

              “Because I healed Garroon?” asked Liam, surprise clear in his voice.

              “Yes, and you also have put your life on the line twice to protect my people. Once to save my son and then when the Shenkar patrol was here. You have demonstrated you have great skill in combat as well as compassion…two traits that represent a great warrior in the eyes of my people.”

              Liam did not know what to say at this point, clearly surprised he had accomplished the mission just by being himself. As he stood there lost in his thoughts he felt a bump at his hand. Looking down he saw Garroon had maneuvered himself so Liam’s hand rested upon his head, between his ears. When he saw Liam looking he lifted one of his tiny clawed hands to touch his own chest then reach out and placed his palm to Liam’s leg. Silence once again descended upon the immediate area as Lykaans who had witnessed the gesture stopped speaking. Granshianka immediately went to one knee and turned Garroon to face him.

“Do you know what you are asking?” he asked of Garroon.

“Yes, sect leader, I do this knowing what I do,” explained Garroon as he looked up at Liam.

Liam cocked his head slightly; clearly not understanding what was transpiring nor understanding what the gesture had meant.

              “He pledges his life to you if you will have him.”

              “Pledges his life to me?” Liam asked, slightly confused.

              “He names you as his guardian if you will have him. You will protect him and raise him until he is of age where he will then in turn serve you as a bodyguard until his dying day. I must tell you this is a most honorable pledge and I have never heard of one of my people pledging their life to another that is not of our species.”

              Liam’s brow raised in surprise at hearing Granshianka’s explanation. Looking down he saw that Garroon looked up at him, eagerness upon his face. Liam knelt down to Garroon’s level before he spoke.

              “Garroon, you honor me with this request but I must tell you that doing this would take you from your world when I have finished my mission here. Not to mention it would be extremely dangerous where I would be going after this. Staying here, at least, you would be among your own people and not in immediate danger.”

              Garroon shook his head and once again touched his chest, then reached out to touch Liam’s chest.

              Liam did not know what to do as he did not like the idea of taking a child from his homeworld and subjecting him to battle. Looking up he met Granshianka’s eyes, looking for an answer that Garroon would see reason with. Granshianka only shook his head slightly side to side as if to say there is nothing Liam could say that would change the young Lykaan’s mind. Sighing he looked back at Garroon who looked on expectantly.

              “Well, if you are going to come with me there will be rules you will have to follow. For one, until you are much older, I will not take you into battle if I can help it. This means you will have to remain behind when I have missions to conduct that put me in harm’s way. If you cannot accept that then I cannot take you with me, I did not go to all the trouble of making you healthy again only to risk your life.”

              Garroon nodded and enthusiastic affirmative as he spoke.

              “Garroon will listen to new sect leader until he feels I am ready for combat.”

              “Okay, second, you will have to attend classes and learn our technology and customs.”

              Again Garroon nodded enthusiastically. Liam was at a loss as what to say that could possibly discourage him. He didn’t even know if he would be allowed to bring the young Lykaan with him. After all, he had superiors to answer to, even if this new brand of military was rather loose on regulations since its creation.

As if reading his thoughts Liam heard Admiral Kelvins voice sound from behind him.

              “Garroon would be more than welcome aboard the ship as far as I see it and I will speak with Captain Dunklin if he has an issue with it.”

              With that answer, nothing else immediately came to mind that could possibly deter Garroon. Reaching up he smiled and ruffled the fur in between Garroon’s ears.

              “Well if you are coming with me then you need to gather any belongings you wish to bring and meet me back here. While I would have liked to stay for the feast I think it is important my team gets back to our ship and communicates what has happened here.”

              Garroon smiled a toothy grin, then turned and ran off to some unknown destination to gather his belongings. Liam watched him go before turning to Granshianka.

              “I still don’t think it is a good idea to take him from his people. He will be the only Lykaan aboard my ship as well as a child. Don’t you think he will be lonely without his own people around?”

              Granshianka seemed to think this over for a few moments as he looked off in the direction Garroon had gone.

              “I do not believe so, while he has always been favored by the people of my village he has always been somewhat of a loner as far as my people go. For him to want to follow you and serve you says a lot for what he thinks of you. It also places you very high among my own people to have been able to move Garroon to do such an act. As I said before, this is a very sacred bond for one of my people to give and it is not something to take lightly. Unless you were to treat him poorly he will follow you until his dying day.”

              Liam looked off in the direction of Garroon had gone, lost in his own thoughts of what to make of this whole situation and wondering what could possibly happen next. He was so deep in thoughts he didn’t even hear Callan singing softly beside him, an amused look upon his face.

              “You got the touch, you got the power!”

January 31
st
, 2014 9:24pm EST

Lykaa

              Steve emerged from the tunnel and immediately knew something was amiss. Praetorian Guard members were spread out all over the perimeter looking as if they were preparing for a battle. This surprised him because he had not yet notified anyone outside of his group of the defensive buildup he had witnessed at the manufacturing plants. The second thing he noticed was that there were a lot of Praetorin Guard members…far too many for just his crew. Clearly more guard members had landed from the orbital station, the question was why? Spotting Gavin and Shizta near the frigates airlock, he hurried over to them.

              “What is going on? Why are there so many guard members here?” he asked as he approached.

              “A Shenkar gunship was able to escape the initial assault. They returned with reinforcements. Currently there is a Shenkar battle group closing in on the orbital station. Your General Leonid has ordered all battle-worthy guard members to the surface. It seems he means to continue the fight here and destroy the manufacturing facilities at all costs,” explained Shizta.

              “That might be a bit difficult. It looks as if the Shenkar know of our presence on the planet and have begun building a defensive perimeter around the facilities. They are being hastily constructed but they are also supported by what looks like some sort of heavy tank. I say the best thing we could do is roll the thermobaric bomb into the cavern and let it destroy the entire area,” Steve explained as he looked about.

              Shizta and Gavin glanced at one another but did not say anything. Steve caught the exchange and eyed them suspiciously.

              “What else has happened? What are you not telling me?”

              “Earlier today a Shenkar warrior was spotted on the perimeter. A group went after him and it seems they were captured.”

              Steve looked at the pair, when it was clear they would not elaborate further he spoke up.

              “Who went after him and how do we know they were captured?”

              “Lieutenants Wellmo, Birchette, and Aecrin went after him. They also took two of the Praetorian Guard, Privates Flynn and Locke. During the pursuit, Lieutenant Wellmo decided to have Locke follow their group from a distance because he was uneasy with the whole situation. It seems his wariness proved correct as they were ambushed. Lieutenants Wellmo, Aecrin and Birchette were captured, while Private Flynn was killed. Because Locke had been following at a distance she was not caught in the ambush and was able to return to inform the rest of us of what happened,” explained Gavin.

              “Has a team been organized for a rescue?” Steve asked.

              “General Leonid stated that we cannot afford to mount any rescue operations at this time. We are currently still organizing all the troops from the orbital stations.”

              “What the hell!?! Has Commander Brennan been informed of this? Wait, never mind, if he had then all hell would have broken lose by now,” Steve stated, not bothering to hide the frustration in his voice.

              “You are correct, Commander Brennan’s team has not been informed yet,” stated Lieutenant Gavin.

              “Then we need to figure this out soon cause Liam will burn this planet to get Leah back,” explained Steve, the words out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

              Gavin looked slightly confused by Steve’s statement. Shizta’s eyes on the other hand narrowed in understanding.

“What about Lieutenants Wellmo and Birchette? Why only to get Lieutenant Aecrin back?” asked Gavin.

Clearly Gavin did not understand the situation. Before he could elaborate, it was Shizta who spoke up.

“Commander Brennan is not in love with Lieutenants Wellmo or Birchette. However, he is in love with Lieutenant Aecrin.”

Steve knew he probably shouldn’t have divulged the knowledge of the secret relationship between Liam and Leah but he knew it would all come out anyway as soon as Liam found out Leah had been captured by the Shenkar.

              “More than in love, they are engaged to be married. You have seen what he did on that Shenkar battlecruiser. What do you think he will do if any harm comes to Leah?” Steve explained as he looked about, looking for General Leonid.

              Gavin nodded in understanding but otherwise did not say anything.

              “Perhaps I can help? I think I could manage to get in there and free them. After all I am a Shenkar and as far as we know they do not know of any Shenkar working with you humans yet so my sudden appearance would not be so surprising,” Shizta explained.

              Steve thought this over for a few moments before nodding.

              “That could work but I do not believe General Leonid would let you go. Commander Brennan trusts you and I believe you truly want to help your people but I know the general doesn’t and we need his clearance for this.”

              “Don’t tell him,” Shizta said simply.

              Steve eyed Shizta for several long moments, trying to decide if he truly could trust him. Finally he sighed and pulled a small communication device from his utility belt.

              “Use this to signal when you have them free or if you need our assistance. I will need to assemble a team to be nearby as I am not sure I have managed to correct the interference with communications we are experiencing. Don’t do anything until we signal you or unless they are in serious danger. Do you understand?”

              Shizta nodded and moved off to slowly make his way out of the area.

              Steve hoped he was doing the right thing but a knot was quickly forming in his stomach making him think otherwise. How much could they really trust Shizta? He hoped they could trust him with their lives because at the moment that was exactly what they were doing.

January 31
st
, 2014 9:59pm EST

Lykaa

              Shizta made his way through the tunnels, careful to avoid any sign of life. An internal battle raged within him, as he worked his way to the Shenkar facility. Working for the enemy, that only a year earlier, he had been dead set on eliminating. He knew the Shelecore was insane but could there possibly be another way? He could think of no other way but it still did not make the decision any easier. As soon as he helped these humans there would be no going back because he would be committed until the end. The end being his death or his homeworld free from the Shelecore’s rule. He didn’t know what he was going to do when he got there; all he knew is was he owed Liam for his life. He would have died from the schrapnel in his leg if not for Liam’s intervention. Saving Leah’s life would even that between them.