Storm' Fury: The Shenkar War (69 page)

              Viero then leaned forward and the screen went black as the transmission ceased. General Leonid continued to stare at the screen, his jaw clenched. Liam did not waste anytime, turning to face Leonid.

              “You have to let me go in there!”

              The general did not say anything at first, only continued to stare at the screen for several long moments. Liam was about to yell at him when he turned and looked at Liam.

              “I will not let you sacrifice yourself for those three. You will remain here until we figure out what we can do.”

              Seeing Liam’s rising protest the general raised a hand.

              “I understand why you wish to go in there but you are far too important to sacrifice. You have clearly risen on the list of their most wanted which is very interesting. Why do you think they want you?”

              “I don’t know, maybe they want revenge for the lives of the
Tryliene
…frankly I don’t care. All I do care about is getting those three back here safe and sound.”

              “You could be right about the reason but I would bet against that. I think they want you because of the symbol you are to a lot of the men and women of Earth. You have achieved legendary status in a relatively short time. Do you even hear what the men and women of this crew whisper about you? You are a hero and many see you as the driving force of the defense force. Do you realize how demoralizing it would be to lose you to the Shenkar? Also, do you realize how much it would help the Shenkar of one could deliver the
Dala Dvierik
to their Shelecore? Many think you are an unstoppable force that will personally defeat the Shelecore. When you enter a battle you bring hope to those that are fighting. Losing you would be worse than losing the
Kraken
,” Leonid explained.

              Liam did not know what to say, it wasn’t an answer he had expected. As he thought over what to say he became aware just how quiet the command center had gotten. Looking around showed that everyone was looking at him. As he met the eyes of the first Ensign, the Ensign snapped to attention and saluted. As he shifted his eyes from person to person they mimicked the first ensign, snapping to attention when he looked. Soon the entire command center was all saluting, including General Leonid. Liam was at a loss as what to say; thankfully he was rescued from that as Admiral Kelvin entered the command center and looked about, clearly surprised by what was transpiring. Seeing that Liam was the focal point of whatever was transpiring Kelvin made his way over to his location.

              “Anyone care to let me in on what is going on? I just heard we were able to speak with this planet’s Overlord. Fill me in on what happened with that.”

              “Overlord Viero has agreed to trade Lieutenants Wellmo, Aecrin and Birchette on one condition…he wants our Commander Brennan in return,” Leonid explained, not looking in the admiral’s direction but continued to look at Liam.

              “Like hell we will,” Admiral stated.

              Liam’s head whipped around to face the Admiral, his face a storm cloud of emotion.

              “Admiral Kelvin, one life for three is worth it in my opinion…” Liam began but was cut off by the Admiral.

              “Maybe so, Mr. Brennan, but not when it is you that is part of the equation. Do you realize the symbol you have…”

              This time it was Liam’s turn to interrupt.

              “I know, I know, the general has just fed me the same spiel and even if that is true I cannot stand by and do nothing. You know exactly my reasoning for why I want this so much,” Liam explained, knowing that Admiral Kelvin would know he was referring to Leah.

              Admiral Kelvin studied Liam for a few moments before he shook his head slowly in a negative motion. When he spoke next his voice soft and held a note of sympathy within it.

              “I understand your reasoning but I am sorry I cannot allow you to throw your life away. I will have you detained if necessary but I would rather not do that.”

              Liam tilted his head slightly as if to say “Do you really think you can detain me?” The admiral clearly understood the meaning of the look because his became a thin line and his brow furrowed.

              “Commander, we are all aware of how powerful your abilities are and I imagine you could stop us from detaining you but that would mean you would need to hurt your friends and fellow soldiers…are you ready to do that?”

              Liam sighed heavily and shook his head ever so slightly in a negative manner. The admiral’s face softened and he reached up to light grip Liam’s shoulder.

              “I understand your frustration and I assure you we will do everything we can to get her home but you need to be patient. Can you be patient for me?”

              Liam nodded slowly as he looked up at the admiral.

              “Good, now let’s see what we can do to rescue them. I understand Shizta went after them to try and free them, have we heard anything in regards to him? Did Viero say anything about him?”

              Liam had completely forgotten about Shizta and a small spot of hope filled within him. Shizta had not been mentioned in the whole meeting which made Liam wonder if he had infiltrated the facility and was now working to rescue them.

February 1
st
, 2014 6:05am EST

Lykaa

              Viero looked to the comm unit again with mounting anger. He had heard nothing from the humans and now the deadline had passed. Reports from the front lines revealed the humans had begun moving forces in closer as if preparing for an assault but no attack had come as of yet. He knew if he did not do anything then they would eventually attack and if he did not follow through with his threat then they would not take him seriously. Perhaps these humans did not think he was serious with his threats?

Turning about he looked to the two prisoners bound on the floor nearby, the male human and Shizta. If he was going to execute one of his prisoners it needed to be one that would have the largest impact. Shizta was a distinct possibility especially in light of his traitorous actions with helping the humans. Still he did not think this would enrage the humans enough to make a mistake. Then there was the male human who always glared at Viero with most defiant eyes. This human seemed to have great respect for the human, Brennan, but Viero could not say how his death would be taken. He thought of the two females and knew one of them was involved romantically with the human commander. Aecrin he believed was the name…would killing her be going too far? This would certainly enrage the human to come to Viero in an attempt to exact revenge. Then Viero thought of the stories he had heard of this human. If the stories were true would it be wise to enrage such a powerful individual? Viero did not know whether he really believed these stories and in fact he was willing to bet it was just that…stories. It was that small amount of doubt however that was troubling him.

In the end it was Viero’s determination that won out and finalized his decision. He clicked a button at his wrist and soon eight Shenkar warriors appeared and quickly approached. Once they snapped to attention nearby he turned to them.

“The humans do not think I will act on my threats and this is where they are flawed. I order you to go to the holding cells and execute this female prisoner,” Viero explained as he held out an image of the name tag found upon the prisoner’s flightsuit.

The eight Shenkar warriors nodded in unison they understood.

“Cut her head off and bring me the body,” Viero commanded.

The eight Shenkar saluted, turned and left the room. As soon as they left he heard a voice speak from behind him. Turning he saw the human male looking up at him.

“What did you say?”

“Execute me if you have to but leave the woman alone, please! I beg of you!”

Viero smiled as he looked at the human with disgust.

“Beg? You humans are too soft, it is a wonder you have been able to give us any trouble at all. Warriors die all the time, this is a quick death and she will not suffer. I could have had her tortured to death but instead I am merciful.”

The human looked as if he was going to say something else but Viero backhanded him which sent him sprawling back onto the floor. Once he was sure the human had nothing further to say he turned to the device situationed on his forearm. Keying in a few commands the screen on the device quickly lit up to reveal the holding cell where the two female prisoners were being detained. Both females stood as the eight Shenkar warriors entered the cell. They stood side by side, clearly wondering what was happening. The Shenkar in command looked at the two females, searching for the name tag. Once he located the name he was looking for he pointed to her. Three guards quickly moved forward to detain her. What happened next did not surprise Viero much. The female moved quickly lashing out at the nearest warrior, catching him across the jaw with a fist which snapped his head back. The other female also moved, attacking the closest Shenkar to her. The fight was short but Viero could not help but admire the female’s tenacity. They had left more than one Shenkar warriors badly bruised and bleeding. The females possibly could have won and escaped had Viero not sent eight warriors but in the end the numbers won. One female lay upon the floor, unconscious from a blow to the head while the other was forced to her knees, each arm held twisted to hold her in place. A Shenkar stepped forward, his plasma sword igniting as he held it aloft. The female’s face came up, she was saying something but Viero did not have the sound on so he could not hear her words…probably begging for her life. The female struggled fiercely as the Shenkar came closer and it took a third Shenkar to push her forward so her neck was visable. As soon as the opportunity was available the Shenkar warrior struck, severing the head from the body.

Viero shut down the monitoring device and waited for the body to be brought to him.

February 1
st
, 2014 6:25am EST

Lykaa

              Tim became aware of someone approaching and kneeling next to him. His head swam from the blown he had received by Viero but it was when his head had struck the solid floor that been the reason for him being rendered unconscious. He was roughly shaken but he ignored the perpetrator.

              “I know you are awake so quit with the masquerade, I have something to show you,” came Viero’s voice from close to his ear.

              “Lieutenant Wellmo, you are going to want to see this.”

Another voice said from not far off and it took a few moments for Tim to identify it…Shizta. It wasn’t because Shizta had said it but the tone of his voice that made him look up.

Shizta was looking off at something out of Tim’s view, a severely distraught look upon his face. Tim wormed his way around until he was able to get himself into the seated position and looking in the same direct as Shizta. What he saw immediately formed a heavy ball within his stomach. Nearby lay the decapitated form of a human female but that was not the part that filled Tim with despair. On the breast was a name badge of the owner of the body…it read Aecrin.

February 1
st
, 2014 6:54 am EST

Lykaa

              General Leonid paced back and forth infront of the monitor. He was only one of a handful of people currently in the command center. Luckily he had managed to convince Admiral Kelvin and Commander Brennan to get some rest and he would contact them if anything new occurred.

              Over four hours had passed and there had still been no word from Overlord Viero. Relief filled him, as while he had felt Viero had been bluffing, he still had not been sure and the gamble had been on human lives.

              During this time he had taken the opportunity to move his forces in closer to the facility so now they were positioned to strike. He still did not have the numbers he had hoped for but he had received reinforcements of which he had not expected. One thousand Lykaan’s had arrived to lend their help in the assault. Admiral Kelvin had said they had won the Lykaan’s to their side but Leonid had thought that merely meant they would not interfere with his assault. What was even more surprising is when shown how to use the energy rifles, used by his Praetorian Guard, the Lykaan’s proved quite adept with the weapons. It had taken some time but he had managed to arm every Lykaan that had arrived with something better than the spears they arrived with. As an added bonus the Lykaan leader, Granshianka, has stated he knew of two tunnels that led into the facilities that the Shenkar did not know of. This essentially would allow his forces to hit the Shenkar from behind. The only drawback is the tunnels were very narrow and one could only traverse them in single file. This was hazardous as the tunnels exited directly behind the facilities. If they were spotted before the bulk of his forces could exit then they could be trapped inside or picked off as they exited. Leonid had finally decided that those forces would wait in the tunnels, until the frontal assault began, this would insure the Shenkar’s attention was elsewhere.