Storm' Fury: The Shenkar War (63 page)

              He rounded a corner only to come face to face with a Shenkar patrol. At first they only stared at each other but instincts quickly took over as every Shenkar raised their rifles. Knowing he needed to turn the situation in his favor he stepped forward, speaking in a commanding and confident voice.

              “Lower your rifles! Do you know who you are threating?!? I am Overlord Flezinia of the first echelon! If you do not lower those weapons your next assignment will be the mines of Varos.”

              The threat and authoritative sound of his voice had the desired effect he had been looking for as every Shenkar but one lowered their rifles. The warrior that did not lower his rifle spoke quickly.

              “Forgive me, Overlord but how are you here? You should not even be on this planet, last I heard you had been part of the fleet that attacked the human’s home world.”

              This was something Shizta had hoped he would not find, a well informed Shenkar. He knew if he did not maintain control of this situation he would find himself a prisoner as well.

“Who is the commanding officer here?”

              “That would be me, Overlord!” stated the Shenkar who had questioned his reason for being on planet.

              “For now you may but if you do not lower that weapon I will personally see that you do not command anything but a waste disposal unit. As I said I am Overlord Flezinia, part of our Shelecore’s inner council and you dare question me?! Where I go and what I do is nothing of your concern!”

              This had the desired effect he had been looking for as the Shenkar’s confidence clearly faultered as he lowered his weapon.

              “I apologize overlord, I meant no disrespect. How may we serve you?”

              “You will take me to the overlord of this planet, we need to mobilize every warrior available! In case you do not know, the humans are on this planet.”

              Shizta knew he was not giving any secrets away by informing these Shenkar of the human presence. The only reason the Shenkar would mobilize their defenses would be if they had received word that the orbital stations had been assaulted by humans.

              The look of shock upon the Shenkar warriors, however, was a surprise. It seemed evident that the overlord in charge of Lykaa had not deemed it necessary to inform his troops as to the reason for the mobilization that was currently underway. Sensing he could gain further advantage Shizta spoke quickly.

              “I can see you have not been informed of this. I suggest you take me to the overlord as I have seen these humans and have information that would be useful in our fight.”

              The Shenkar saluted before ordering the patrol to head back in the direction they had come. They set a quick pace but Shizta still worried he might arrive too late. He knew nothing of the current overlord that commanded Lykaa other than the rumors he had heard. A blood thirsty commander who suffered from delusions of glory could very well execute the prisoners just so he could state he personally killed three humans.

January 31
st
, 2014 10:18pm EST

Lykaa

              Liam exited the tunnel to find the area where the
Poseidon
was hidden only to find the area packed with dozens of small buildings. The buildings were shelters designed to protect the user from the harshest environments. They could be erected or broken down in roughly fifteen minutes and were remarkably durable. Members of the Praetorian Guard moved about the area, securing equipment, chatting with one another or training. Liam also noted several Templar Knights about…the same knights who should still be located on the orbital station. He had wondered why he had encountered Praetorian guard stationed further up the tunnel but had neglected to ask the reason for their presence, too intent on returning with news of the Lykaan’s joining their cause. If they were planet side then it meant something had gone horribly wrong.

As his group made their way through the camp, they drew many looks their way which Liam assumed probably had something to do with their little addition. Garroon walked beside Liam, clutching a small bag of his personal effects he had wished to bring with him. His head whipped this way and that, attempting to see everything at once. Liam could not help but smile at the young Lykaan’s curiosity.

              Liam continued to look about as he walked, looking for some of his crew but did not see anyone. They could be on the
Poseidon
but Liam did not want to search the ship if he did not have to. A Templar passing by paused to salute Liam, as he returned the salute he spoke.

              “Why is everyone planetside? Did we lose the battle for the orbital stations?”

              “Yes and no, we captured the stations but a Shenkar gunship we thought destroyed must have escaped and got word of our presence because a Shenkar battle group entered the system. General Leonid knew we could not hold against such a force so he ordered all forces to the surface.”

              “Do you know where I could locate Lieutenant Commander Maxis or Lieutenant Barrows?”

              “I believe Lieutenant Barrows is working in the shelter directly beneath the
Poseidon
. But as far as Lieutenant Commander Maxis, he was wounded during the battle for the orbital station. I do not know the nature of the injury but I know it wasn’t life threatening yet it was serious enough that he was pulled from the front lines and returned to where the
Kraken
is located.”

              Liam thanked the knight and headed off towards the Poseidon. His thoughts filled with worry for his friend’s injuries. At least the knight had said the injuries were not life-threatening which was a small comfort; he did not want to have to deliver the message to Crystal of her husband’s death.

              “I think we need to get a more detailed report from General Leonid on what exactly happened up there,” Admiral Kelvin said from beside Liam.

              “I agree. Did you want us to accompany you?”

              “No, have everyone report back to the ship and get all their gear stowed. I also imagine you would like to get our new addition situated in your quarters as well as visit with some of the knights,” Admiral Kelvin said, emphasizing, the latter words with a quick wink.

              Admiral Kelvin was one of the few that knew of Liam’s relationship with Leah and he knew Liam would want to let her know what had transpired while he was away. While relationships were frowned upon in the traditional military, this was a whole new frontier they were exploring so regulations were rather loose. Also the
Templar Knights
were not technically in the military and still considered contracted employees. Something Liam was sure would eventually be addressed but probably not until the war was over or some bureaucrat got so bored that they took the time to draft up something more concrete. To be honest, Liam was surprised someone had not yet established all the rules and regulations for the new military. He knew the
Praetorian Guard
was subject to such rules but why the
Templars
and
Paladins
were omitted made Liam wonder.

              “Thank you, sir, if you need anything you can reach me on the comms,” Liam said as he gave the admiral a quick salute.

              Contracted employee or not, Liam still attempted to follow most of the rules of the military which included saluting superior officers.

              Once the group had broken up, each headed off to secure their equipment, Liam once again headed off to find Steve. The shelter was rather easy to find and located exactly where the knight had said it would be. Liam paused long enough to announce himself before he entered the shelter. As he entered he found Steve hastily pulling a tarp over something he had been working on.

              “Am I interrupting something important?” Liam asked, amused at Steve’s attempt to look nonchalant.

              “Nope, just taking care of some equipment, so when did you get back I need to tell….”

              Steve stopped in mid sentence as he noticed Garroon follow Liam into the shelter.

              “Did you know you have a small furry creature following you?”

              Garroon sniffed loudly, clearly not amused at being referred to as a small furry creature.

              “I take it you are referring to Garroon, my young Lykaan companion here,” Liam said as he directed a hand to indicate Garroon standing beside him.

              “Yeah sorry, Lykaan…I should have known that…I…uh…um…would you please explain how you managed to gain a Lykaan companion?” Steve stumbled, clearly flustered.

              Liam chuckled as he reached over and ruffled the fur on the top of Garroon’s head. Over the next fifteen minutes Liam gave a very brief outline on the first encounter with the Lykaan’s all the way through to the battle with the Shenkar patrol and Liam using his nanites to help Garroon. Once Liam had finished Steve just stood shifting his gaze between Liam and Garroon for several moments.

              “Well…don’t you have anything to say?” Liam asked, clearly surprised that Steve had not cracked one joke yet. Instead Steve’s face grew serious as he looked at Liam.

              “You need to be careful with stuff like that you know.”

              “Stuff like what?” Liam asked, clearly not understanding.

              “Using your nanites to correct injuries and save lives.”

              “You’re kidding, right?” Liam asked, dumbfounded.

              “No, and I know it sounds silly but think about it. You are effectively playing God by using your alien tech to save people’s lives.”

              “Oh, for fu…” Liam began.

              “Just hear me out,” Steve interrupted.

              Liam stopped speaking and nodded for him to continue.

              “The ability you have to heal and reconstruct areas of the body that has been severely damaged is remarkable. In fact, I would imagine in time, we could find a way to do such procedures in modern medicine. The problem is we live in a time all people do not look at it that way. Because we cannot replicate what you can do will cause some people to look at it in a negative manner. Many will say you are playing God by changing the path one would naturally go.”

              “Being injured severely in a battle is not nature,” Liam retorted.

              “How about curing cancer from someone who otherwise would have died from it?”

              Liam had forgotten about what he had done for Dr. Johansin. What disturbed him was he had not told Steve what he had done.

              “How did you know about that?”

              “You were witnessed by one of the hospital staff. Word is out that Commander Liam Brennan can bring anyone back from the brink. Do you know what kind of blowback that will have? You are going to be hounded by everyone who is sick or has a sick relative to cure them.”

              Liam knew that would be a possibility if word of his healing ability got out but he had hoped that would not happen. Needless to say it was not something he would have to worry about in the near future…at least not until he returned to Earth.

              “Well, what is done is done and there is nothing I can do about that now. I will just have to deal with it when the war is over,” Liam explained as he looked about the shelter.

              Steve eyed Liam but otherwise said nothing. It was Garroon who broke the silence as he shifted the nearby tarp which Steve had been moving when they had entered. Seeing Garroon lifting it up, Steve jumped forward and pulled it back down.

              “Hey! That’s a secret project!”

              Garroon jumped back and his muzzle wrinkle in a snarl at being rebuked.

              “What is that anyway?” Liam asked.

              “It is a project I have been working on…or at least one of them.”

              “Show us…don’t be so secretive, we won’t tell anyone.”
              Steve seemed to think this over, clearly debating if he could trust Liam which he had to admit offended him slightly. Finally Steve just shook his head slightly and turned to the tarp.

              “Well okay, but you can’t breath a word of it…I don’t want the scientists hijacking it from me.”