Chapter 41

VENTORI
ZARAH’S AMBUSH SITE

Though it would not become known to Zarah Leonidas for many months, this day was the day that she earned complete and utter faith in her abilities from her father, the only man outside of her brother Androcles whose opinion mattered most to her. Young though she may have been, Zarah’s connection to Andro had bestowed gifts upon her that she would not have otherwise had. Many who were close to the Leonidas family, mainly the Durcunusaan, took notice of this closeness and the extra training that Androcles had given to his sister through the years. It was these gifts that she had cultivated and perfected over the same years. Androcles already knew what his sister could do, he already trusted in her abilities, for Zarah knew he would never have put her in charge of training the High Coven riders in hand to hand combat had he not. Since those horrific moments, once Lucia had come into her life and saved her from the abyss, all Zarah wanted to do was show her father that she was not a broken child. That she was still the young woman she had been. His love for her was unquestioned, Zarah knew that, it was his faith in her recovery and her combat abilities that she knew worried him the most. Zarah Leonidas would lay her father’s doubts about her to rest for all time today. And thanks to her adopted elven grandfather Vengal’s senior Durcunusaan Scouts, the word would spread quickly that Zarah Leonidas, like her father and brother Androcles, had no mercy or pity whatsoever in her petite body for her enemies.

The moment they had materialized on Ventori, Vengal’s senior men could only look on with awe and approval as Zarah and Lucia immediately flew into action. The two of them were like a single entity as they issued orders and men and women began to take up positions. When the second group materialized, Lucia was directing them to their positions almost before they had fully formed. There was no hesitation on their part in the least; they spoke with confidence and purpose and with a single voice. It was Zarah Leonidas who noticed Radem first and she moved right up to the Evolli assassin without regard as others looked on. They shared several whispered words and Radem bowed his head in respect to her at the end of their conversation. All of them noticed that Radem then became Zarah and Lucia’s shadow.

While the information would never be made public nor would it be acknowledged in the least by anyone who knew the truth, by the Royal Order of King Martin Leonidas, Radem had been assigned as the permanent protector of Zarah and Lucia Leonidas. This role suited Radem just fine. New found faith and hope flowed through Radem as it now flowed through his people and at Martin Leonidas’ request, Radem had sworn to teach Zarah and Lucia everything he had ever learned in his years of warfare, including his unequaled skills as an assassin. It would become known among the Royal family and all of the Durcunusaan as time passed, but those with Martin and the others right now already knew that Radem’s actions had earned him a place of high honor. For the first time in the history of the Union, an Evolli would now walk the walls of power within the Union freely and forever have a place of honor and respect among the family that had once been so hated and feared among his people. This information would finally make its way back to the Evolli homeworld and the planets they claimed in the months ahead and it would forever seal the trust and loyalty of an entire people that had once been bitter and savage enemies. This knowledge would spur the Evolli to great things in the future to come and no matter where a Leonidas walked within Evolli space they would be honored and trusted friends. Also unknown to Radem or anyone else at this time, the moment he had killed Pusintin and fulfilled his sacred oath to Androcles, he had secured his own bloodline’s future. From this day and for millennia to come, the bloodline of the Evolli Holnari Convoasce family would be tied to the Leonidas Royal family, never to be sundered or dismissed. Future generations of both families would walk together, fight together and call themselves kindred souls.

The moment the Kintaur soldiers rushing headlong through the timber came into the kill zone, Zarah Leonidas acted without hesitation and sprang their ambush. None of the Kintaur troops moving through the timber were rookies; all of them had seen some form of combat through the years. However, the last few years had seem them doing nothing but collecting prisoners and slaves who did not fight back and none of them had ever been on the receiving end of such a vicious and unforgiving ambush by forces with greater firepower and one thing that the Kintaur lacked.

Purpose.

The ambush was meticulously executed, regardless of the fact it had essentially been thrown together at the last minute. This was what the Spartans within the Union excelled at however, and this is why they may have lost battles throughout the years, but they had never lost a war. A full minute of sustained fire from over forty P190 A4s had shredded the Kintaur forces like so much Swiss cheese. Going one step further than what her father had wanted and pulling from her brother’s knowledge and tactics he had used, Zarah had laid a perfect S type ambush. No matter which direction the Kintaur tried to run, they were slaughtered and chopped to pieces from hidden Spartans. It was over before the Kintaur truly knew what was happening and then Zarah rose to her feet and surveyed the smoky terrain before her.

“All teams report!” Zarah barked into her implant.

“Team One ... no casualties.”

“Team Two ... we’re good.”

“Team Three ... just peachy.”

“Team Four ... a little more resistance would have been nice.”

Zarah couldn’t help but smile and look at Lucia as Lucia rose to her feet next to her. “We did it.” Zarah muttered softly not realizing that, also from this day forward, she had the combat unit she had always wanted.

“Do not delay Zarah and Lucia.” Radem’s voice echoed softly from behind them and Zarah and Lucia turned to look at him as he was changing magazines in his A4 smoothly and without conscious thought. “We must reunite with your father as quickly as possible. They will engage within moments. Surprise and speed is our friend now and we must make every use of it.”

Zarah nodded and began moving, lifting her hand and tapping her jaw implant. “Sweep and kill any survivors!” She ordered. “No prisoners people! They were hunting our kind and carians knows what they intended! Let us make a statement of our own! Thirty seconds and then we break for my father’s position!”

The first true test of Zarah and Lucia Leonidas’ combat ability and leadership capability had been proven. There would be many more in the future to come.

VENTORI ORBIT
ULU REPULSE

“ ... Heard the General!” Nemoa spoke as she rose from her chair. “Tactical ... give me a place to shoot and kill all power on that ship except life support! What’s their hull made of?”

“Standard Duetronium Captain! Guess they use it out here like we do back home!” The Sensor Officer barked out. “Still running with no shields!”

“Fucking fools!” Nemoa spoke softly.

The Tactical Officer was already prepared. “Here!” He announced as he brought up the holo image of the Kintaur ship. “Focused, tight beam shots from the five forward Type I turrets Captain! Take them in a tractor beam and then punch their engine core right out the bottom of their ship before it even has time to explode!”

“How many will that kill TO?” Nemoa asked.

The man looked up at her. “Forty-seven are currently in their engineering section.” He told her. “None of them will survive.”

“Captain!” The COM officer shouted. “Captain ... I think they have figured out General Simpson stopped in to say hello and took their Tasmor prisoner!”

“Sibfla!” Nemoa hissed. “Ops... ?”

“They appear to be channeling power to their forward weapons array Captain!” The man answered.

“That’s it then!” Nemoa spoke. “Ops ... hit them with a tractor! TO ... bring turrets two through five to bear. Tightest beam focus that we can obtain! Weapons officer... ?”

“Standing by!” The voice echoed before Nemoa even got to finish her statement. She smiled to herself. She loved her crew.

“Captain ... the Kintaur ship is hailing us!”

“Put it up.” Nemoa spoke.

The face of Gars appeared and if Nemoa was any judge of character he was not happy.

“You have taken my ship within some sort of holding beam!” He screamed. “Release us at once or I will open fire and destroy your vessel!”

Nemoa chuckled. “Not likely ugly.” She told him. “We are about to punch your entire engine core out of your ship Gars. Prepare to engage your emergency power.”

“What?!” He screamed even louder. “What...”

“Weapons!!” Nemoa barked. “Fire!”

The forward section of the REPULSE came together in two points and on the edges of those two points were two of the five forward Type I batteries she carried. Two hundred meters further back were the next two, and it was these four Type I batteries that flared instantly and released the tightest configuration of plasma based beams that they were capable of. Powered as they were by the REPULSE’s Hyper Matter Fusion Core there was never any question in what they would do. Compared to normal beam operation, these were like firing four, torpedo thin beams of staggering power. The four beams struck the BRIGHT STAR about two thirds of the way back from the bridge and all of them saw Gars and his bridge crew stagger wildly. The hole image cut out then as the four tightly concentrated beams of plasma burned through the hull of the BRIGHT STAR almost instantly. They carved their way through the hull, directly into the main engineering section and struck the ship’s main engineering core square on top of its mounts. The colossal force of the plasma weapons began to burn through the core shielding almost immediately, but their kinetic energy also served to rip the engine core from its mounts and rammed it further down into the ship’s superstructure until it finally punched out the bottom of the Kintaur vessel six decks below them. Four seconds later, the plasma beams reached the still active core and the explosion that followed lit up the area of space for a full ten seconds.

“Report!” Nemoa barked.

“The Kintaur ship has established emergency power!” The Sensor Operator yelled. “They have activated emergency force fields in both hull breaches! They are well trained at least!”

“Imminent death has that effect!” Another crew member barked out.

“The core exploding has filled the area with Neutron Particle Radiation and I’m adjusting the sensors to compensate!” The SO announced.

“Neutron particle radiation!” Nemoa exclaimed. “Their core was nuclear?”

“No sir!” The Sensor Operator answered. “Not in the same sense we know of nuclear power! Whatever they have powering their ships is based in part on the much older nuclear plants of Earth’s oceangoing ships! But it is not a full nuclear power system.”

“Argh!” Nemoa shook her head. “Spare me the details for now. Active scan of the entire area! Get as much information as we can on whatever they were using to power their ship! Queen Anja will want it for sure! Their emergency shields are holding?”

“Yes Captain!” The TO replied. “Tractor beam is solid as well!”

“Very well ... helm ... take us to a point halfway between here and the planet!” Nemoa ordered as she moved back to her chair. “Then we will maintain station until Queen Anja says we are safe. Make sure everyone onboard has updated radiological immunizations and make damn sure we are not being irradiated!”

“Chief Medical Officer has confirmed Captain.” The Ops Officer spoke.

“Very well. We are out of it for now people ... but let’s take up an overwatch of the system.” Nemoa spoke. “All sensors to active mode! Anything comes into this system and doesn’t squawk from the Union I want to know about it! Our job isn’t done folks ... let’s stay on our toes!”

VENTORI

Their Beloved was angry.

So much deep emotion flowed through him since they had rescued For’mya and she had returned to their arms. Unlike at any time since they had been together Martin now held nothing back from his Queens. Any of his Queens. His words to Tinra, words he thought none of them would ever hear; they were the embodiment of his deep feelings for all of them. Now ... now all of them could swim within his mind and feel his utter and complete commitment, desire and love for each of them.

He was them and they were him.

And the love and unrequited desire for him alone was returned by his Queens a hundred-fold. There was one place within his mind that they would not go however. A place that he shared only with his son and his mard fervon. A place all of them had decided they did not want to go, for what was inside terrified them all. It was a place that held all the horrors and power that he could unleash upon his enemies. A place that showed the lengths to which he would go to safeguard his family and his people. The destruction he would wrought if it meant that his family and his people were left alone to live in peace. Aricia Leonidas and her fellow lovers and Queens knew better than most that Martin Leonidas would be perfectly content to spend his days loving his Queens breathlessly and playing with his children. He would muddle through the more mundane tasks as King, make decisions that helped all of their people and lead them by what his heart told him. There were very few however, that could possibly imagine the death and violence he would and could give free rein if it meant protecting that which he had come to love.

Aricia Leonidas was witnessing just a small portion of that this day.

All the weeks and months spent searching for and finally rescuing their Kinsoaurgai, imagining the horrors and humiliation she had endured, and finally feeling her back within their embrace. It had been building in their husband and mate, and while he kept it tightly controlled they all knew it would come out soon enough. Coming out here to discover about their history, what had taken place on Onterom and now seeing his people being hunted by what were quite obviously violent and evil people had been the tipping point.

Martin Leonidas had had enough.

While they had not the time to set up a proper ambush because the Kintaur had moved faster than they thought, Lycavorian Spartans, truly anyone trained as a Spartan, could adapt on the fly instantly. When the Tasmor forces had begun to turn to face the advancing Kintaur, that is when they struck. Yet it was their beloved husband, mate and King that carried the day and the battle. Martin Leonidas had finally reached the end of his tolerance and the Kintaur suffered for it. Even as she moved along behind him, witnessing what he was doing, she could feel the thick emotion flooding through him and how it affected everyone around him. It made them act with perfect action.

Martin had shifted back to human form just before he fell upon the Kintaur troops, his yellow/gold eyes wide in savage anger, and his aura pulsing madly. The Durcunusaan troops with them had fought beside their King many times before for they were members of the King’s personal 1^st Spartan Attack Group. Androcles had sent men and women who he knew would not hesitate to follow his father anywhere. The Durcunusaan and regular troops of the 1^st Spartan Attack Group were dedicated to their King in an almost fanatical manner. They had been at his side since their inception nearly twenty-five years ago and none of them would willingly leave his command. They had fought beside their King before and they knew what he was capable of. These men and women, Lycavorian, Elf and Vampire, a mixture of other races as well, they moved far faster than the Kintaur could compensate for and before they could lift their weapons and react the battle was upon them in a very personal way. What she saw then, Aricia Leonidas would share with her fellow Queens without question. And it would give them an insight into the man who held their hearts and souls so tightly within his grasp.

His Etheric shield was fully active, encasing his form in a light blue and white glow that conformed to his body like a second skin over the new Mark VI ArmorPly Body Armor they all wore. He had shifted back to human form just as his massive paws touched the ground, right in the middle of a group of five Kintaur who were frozen in shock at the colossal beast that had just landed among their small party. Torma may have been circling the battlefield above in their STRIKER Mark II, but their joint Etheric shield was unlike anything that Aricia had ever seen with the exception of her son Androcles and Elynth. This had to be one of the skills they had taught themselves from the Ancient Tomes of Martin’s grandfather Sumar. Something that all Praetorians appeared to be able to do.

The new Mark VI armor conformed to Martin’s two-hundred-and-forty-pound body like a glove. Most of it was made from layers of flexible, tightly weaved material once referred to as Kevlar. In the many centuries since this material had come into existence, it had been changed many times she knew. Somehow, Benjamin’s researchers at Dreamland had combined the best of both the Kevlar and the exquisitely weaved Drow Scout armor material called Tiriam. It was a simple material that the Drow had discovered in what was once Canada. It was a fire resistant and shatterproof metal like substance that, when properly forged, was lighter than aluminum and very near unbreakable. Once this combination had been perfected, exceptionally thin layers of Dragon Armor were blended into the actual interlacing of the material and reinforcing the armor. Thin plates were then added to the chest area as well as the shoulder joints and shin area of the combat boots to provide additional protection. Aricia knew that this armor was now being mass produced on Earth and Apo Prime under the watchful eyes of Drow, Nodon and elven scientists for distribution as soon as it was ready. Several thousand sets of this armor had been sent to them and to Andro by Ben’s people for use in the field. As with the earlier versions of the ArmorPly, the new armor conformed to its wearer within a matter of hours and retained this memory in its design. It was a snug fit for females, especially those who had larger than average chests like Anja and herself, but the discomfort was quickly forgotten when it was discovered that this armor allowed their bodies to breathe and move with far more freedom and relief.

Aricia reached her beloved mate just as he unleashed a roar of anger from under his full helmet, his dual wolf fangs fully extended and utterly terrifying to behold to the uninitiated. His yellow/gold eyes, such beautiful, expressive orbs to the women who loved him so, held nothing but death in them now. His Nehtes, extended to its full length before anyone even took notice, stabbed out with unerring accuracy and Martin drove it entirely through the chest of the closest Kintaur. Pinkish blood exploded out his back and Martin released the shaft as the Kintaur began to fall. What followed next wasn’t like what they had witnessed on Enurrua, it was truly unlike anything Aricia Leonidas or the others had ever seen from their husband and mate, and it made her near glowing azure colored wolf eyes beam with unadulterated love.

The Kintaur had been chasing their people in tight groups spread out every ten meters or so. Martin had landed among the first group in the center of their formation and now he became a whirlwind of destruction. His armored hands came up and he snatched up the four remaining Kintaur soldiers in an Etheric wave and simply smashed them back to the hard ground with ghastly horrific force. The grunts and sounds of shattering bones and squishy flesh reached her ears as Martin turned instantly, forgetting the four now dead Kintaur in an instant. Ten meters away was another group of Kintaur and his left hand whipped out, a bluish Etheric wave of tight rippling outward and crossing the distance in two blinks of her eyes. She watched as that wave of Etheric power smashed into the group of six Kintaur and lifted them into the air. Four of their Durcunusaan then rose and lifted their A4s and sent deadly bursts of 12.7 mm rounds into each of the six Kintaur soldiers, killing them before they crashed back to the earth. Aricia could only watch in awe as her Beloved moved with almost magical grace and power. For a man of his size physically, he moved with speed most did not possess. He seemed to know where each group of Kintaur soldiers was without even looking across the expanse of the field. Etheric power rippled all around him, pulsing with life and devastating power. With each of his attacks, Kintaur died in groups. Whether he smashed them back into the unforgiving earth himself or he left them exposed for his men and women to kill with lethally precise shooting, it did not matter.

When Aricia saw their daughter Zarah lead her attacking unit from the flank she knew it was over for the Kintaur. Aricia and the others now knew of the connection that Zarah had with her brother Androcles. What he had done to protect her, and what he had passed to her in acting how he did. The Etheric power flowed around Zarah’s arms and hands, Lucia’s Etheric whips snapping out at different times fueled by her passion and emotion, as they moved as one entity to converge on where Martin was. They now knew that the Etheric power that flowed in all of them was fueled by their emotions and passion, and as it allowed Aricia to use her Etheric knives or less powerful versions of the Etheric diamonds, it allowed Lucia to use her whips as weapons. Though not actually within the physical realm, they appeared and acted as if they were and were just as lethal.

Martin had dropped among a final group of Kintaur by now and his sword was now in his hand. His Shi Viska burst into life, but remained on his arm as he used it like a shield. The front of the shield smashed into one Kintaur soldier’s chest and even from her position a few meters behind him, Aricia’s wolf ears heard the man’s entire chest crunch as every bone in his upper body shattered. As his body lifted completely off the ground and sailed back, Martin brought his sword whipping around with blistering speed, totally decapitating another Kintaur in one powerful swing. He reversed his sword in a single blink and sent a lone pulse of deadly energy from the pommel, the thin yellow reddish beam of concentrated energy burning entirely through another’s Kintaur’s upper body. Aricia knew he had been training with the new sword ever since Enurrua and Avi had tinkered with the charge pack giving Martin another ten shots before he had to replace the small power cell. Martin whirled around and drove the edge of his Shi Viska into the midsection of another Kintaur just as Zarah reached her father and saw the lone remaining Kintaur raising his weapon to shoot her father in the back.

Zarah’s hands closed around the barrel of the weapon and she wrenched it from his hands with a snarl of intense anger, stunning the large Kintaur with the speed and viciousness of her attack. Zarah then reversed the weapon in her grip and used the butt to drive into his face with all of her wolf and vampire power combined. The Kintaur’s face caved in with a sickening sound and Zarah dropped the weapon instantly and stepped into a ridge hand strike directly over his throat before the scream of pain ever escaped his lips. That one blow crushed the bones and cartilage in his throat and his hands reached for his neck as his pain filled eyes bugged out of his head when he could no longer breathe. It didn’t matter for Lucia swept up beside him and drove one of her dual blades into his chest with all of her strength and then ripped it out to the side, spraying his purple colored blood over the ground around them.

Martin’s head whipped around then and he saw his daughter and her devoted lover and wife Lucia beside him. His mouth split wide in a toothy smile, his fangs ever so prominent as he gazed on them in happiness. His yellow gold wolf eyes quickly turned and took stock of what was happening and he saw Zarah’s men and women quickly mixing in with his Durcunusaan and sweeping the area of any and all Kintaur that had turned and fled. He turned back to face his daughter and the one he would call adopted daughter for millennia to come as half a dozen other Durcunusaan closed in around them and encircled their King, Queen and two Princesses, their weapons facing out and searching for any threats. Given what had taken place over the last months, no one among the Durcunusaan were going to take chances with the lives of their Royal Family.

“Bout time you got here!” He barked loudly just as Aricia moved up behind them, her Nehtes clutched in her hand but unused. “I thought I was gonna have to chase them all the way to the river!”

Aricia saw the light of love on Zarah’s face as her father embraced her and Lucia in his arms. Aricia knew then that their daughter had almost fully healed now. She would always carry with her what had come to pass, but with Lucia’s unquestioned love and the commitment of her family, she had beaten back the horrors and begun her road into the future. And Aricia, like her son Androcles, sensed that Zarah’s and Lucia’s love would open the door for both to find the one man who would love them both breathlessly and without regret.

Martin reached up quickly and tapped his jaw. “Colin!” He barked. “Report!”

Colin had been the only one of his personal team to go with him to the surface and Martin began to search the field looking for his friend.

“What the fuck do you want me to report?” Colin’s voice barked right back in the clear through their implants. “Why did we even bother coming down here? We could have sat on the sidelines and drank beer or drinks with little umbrellas while we watched you open the whup ass on these fools! That would have been much more fun!”

Martin’s keen eyes finally found Colin Walsh standing roughly a hundred and fifty meters to his right and holding his A4 propped on his hip, several Kintaur bodies bunched on the ground around him and two other Durcunusaan, both of whom happen to be vampires. He grinned quickly.

“Give me eyes Colin!” Martin told him. “All the way back to where they had their initial camp! Make sure we got all of them homey.”

Martin saw Colin nod his head even across the distance. “Rules Skipper?” He asked.

“If you find any others, take them out with extreme prejudice!” Martin hissed. “These bastards were here to take our people as slaves. That burns my ass!”

“Consider it done!” Colin snapped. “Be back soon!”

Martin watched him speak to the two others who were with him and then they blurred off into the forest, disappearing like the ghosts they were trained to be. He turned back and looked at Zarah just as Radem moved stealthily up behind them. He nodded his head to the Evolli who was now their protector. “Did you get them all Zar?” Martin asked Zarah.

Zarah nodded. “They walked right into our kill zone father.” She answered as Aricia came up beside her and began to inspect her and Lucia for any injuries as any of her mothers would do. “None of them survived.”

“Get your people in place and secure the landing zone for our ships then.” Martin told her. “Make it a standard H perimeter Zar and have your medic make sure no one is hurt. Get them back to your mother if they are. We don’t know what ugly little bugs might be on this planet that we have not been exposed to.”

Zarah nodded. “We’ll get it done Papa.” She said.

“When you got them settled in, you and Lucia move back to the main perimeter they are establishing and find me.” Martin said. “Something tells me we are going to be here for a few days and we’ll need to institute more permanent Intel and positions.”

Zarah nodded her head, leaned up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek and then took Lucia’s hand. They both gripped Radem’s arms and blurred off, carrying their Evolli guardian with them without question.

Martin looked at Aricia as he took his helmet off and he stared into her azure blue eyes as the high of combat began to slowly bleed off. She looked very imposing in her armor and helmet as did all his Queens. She was looking at him intently and he lowered his helmet. “What?” He asked softly.

“Are you quite finished taking unnecessary risks?” Aricia asked him while trying to remain straight-faced and not let the fact that his display had stirred her wolf blood intensely, not to mention Anja’s and For’mya’s because they were so tightly bound together.

“I did what needed to be done!” Martin quipped.

“Oh really?” Aricia retorted as she stepped out his line of sight and motioned with her hand behind them.

Martin’s yellow/gold wolf eyes saw where she was motioning and they grew wider. The path of destruction he had wrought extended back nearly two hundred meters, with at least six different groups of now dead Kintaur between where his rampage had begun and where he now stood. Martin finally turned and focused on Aricia’s own beautiful wolf eyes.