Chapter 43

AUSTROVA
WESTERN HEIGHTS RESIDENTIAL SECTOR
HOME OF VANARI FIRST REGENT ALRERIN SHA HARAEL

They were a team of Lycavorian mercenaries in the employ of the OSG, or themselves depending on who you asked. Their target had been a bold one for sure. The boldest plan they had yet undertaken for the OSG, and they had several dozen missions under their belt in the employ of the OSG.

The Vanari First Regent.

Take out the Vanari First Regent and butcher his wife and any who were on the estate with him in as brutal a way as possible. They were given older Lycavorian Union uniforms and weapons to accomplish this task in order to make it seem like the Union was trying to subvert the Vanari government and rid itself of the First Regent who was a known Lycavorian hater. The OSG and their Vanari supporters, namely Ardan and Galar, could then claim that Prince Androcles and his minions were behind it and forever put an end to any kind of future that the Vanari and the Union may have had together. The Vanari government might even try to arrest any Lycavorians who were on the planet, further making the situation worse, knowing that Androcles would not allow his people to be held for anything when they did not commit any crime. It was an audacious plan to be sure, and one that could have very well succeeded, had Ardan and the others within his organization known of Alrerin Sha Harael’s true allegiance and the purpose behind his actions through the years.

And if they had known of the visitors that Alrerin was currently entertaining.

These two facts combined to make the operation a complete and utter failure in more ways than one. As with their comrades attacking Coren Re Mydala’s estate, these Lycavorian mercenaries breached the main floor through a side entrance with a small amount of explosives, but did not use stun grenades for they did not expect any opposition. This was the first of three mistakes they made.

The second mistake was underestimating the fighting prowess of Ma’nia and the Vanari Security detail assigned to protect Alrerin. The third mistake was the most severe for they had not obtained any current intelligence on the man or his home and no one had scouted the estate before the attack. If they had, they may have taken note of the two dragons that were circling high above.

The leader of this assault team charged into the lower level of the estate with barely a pause after the explosive blast, his entire team following him close on his heels. It spelled their doom that much quicker. With Jeth and Tharua providing them all the intelligence they needed from high above, Lisisa and the other quickly piled some large pieces of furniture near the side entrance of the home to protect against the blast. When the leader cleared the smoky hallway into the main room, Lisisa struck first and without mercy. She blurred past the man, her dual blades flashing briefly as they opened his throat to the night air. The man dropped to his knees, his hands dropping his weapon and lifting to his neck as blood fountained from the two fatal slashes. As the others piled into the room and ran into the body of their soon to be dead leader, Arduri, Ma’nia and Nyosa led the other two Vanari Cadre Commandos over the top of the stacked furniture and fell on them with savage fury. Rinel and Riordian leaped over the furniture and dropped upon the three men and one woman at the rear with no hesitation.

Arduri and Ma’nia and the other three Vanari knew they were no match in a prolonged fight with a Lycavorian so they used their inbred speed and agility to their advantage and struck exceptionally fast. Arduri buried the blade she carried into the thick neck of one Lycavorian and in an absolutely stunning move of agility and control, she used her feet to walk up the body of another Lycavorian as she struck. Denali had requested the ARCH DEMON’s Weapons Master to craft Arduri a combat blade that she could carry and use until such time as a proper Dragon Armor forged blade could be made for her. He had succeeded in making the lightweight but razor sharp curved angled blade. It was matt black in color and the pommel was made of solid oak from an Algolian High Oak tree, one of the strongest non-metal materials known to exist in the Union. The blade sliced through his neck like a hot knife through butter, severing his artery instantly. Arduri released the blade, knowing she had killed the man and that even if he shifted, he would not be able to stem the flow of blood from the wound. As she reached the apogee of her climb Arduri twisted her legs around the second Lycavorian’s neck and wrenched her body to the side. Her momentum caused the man’s body to twist in the same direction and his feet flew out from under him as his body did a complete flip and he landed painfully on his back with Arduri’s legs securely wrapped around his neck. She hooked her heels together and twisted her body further on the ground, savagely snapping the man’s neck without pause.

Nyosa was half Lycavorian and thus a bit more sturdily built than Arduri and Ma’nia. She simply kicked one Lycavorian’s rifle from his hands and then proceeded to beat him into submission with quick, savage blows from her hands. Her wolf fangs were fully extended and her eyes changed and she did not hesitate in her actions though she was really no larger than Arduri or Ma’nia in size. A back ridge hand chop finally ended the man’s life as the force of the blow crushed his throat and dropped him to the floor gagging for air until the life left his body. Ma’nia stepped in close to a woman and used her sidearm to pistol whip her face causing the Lycavorian female to stagger in shock. Ma’nia stepped even closer, jammed her weapon into the woman’s throat and pulled the trigger three times. This is how it went in those seconds. No mercy or remorse was shown.

Riordian and Rinel, far more experienced in combat and physically able to stand with the Lycavorians, made short work of the stunned men and woman they fell upon, all of them ending up on the floor with grievous wounds. Three of them would die within seconds while the fourth, a woman, was the only one who would survive the night. Riordian couldn’t bring himself to kill a woman and he simply broke her collarbone and both arms before smashing the butt of his sidearm across her face and dropping her into unconsciousness.

The attack was over far quicker than the OSG funded mercenaries had ever expected, and not at all in their favor.

“Nubous fools!” Nyosa hissed angrily.

“Everyone clear?” Lisisa barked out the question.

“All of them are down!” Riordian called out as Rinel began to secure the woman. “I have one prisoner!”

Lisisa blurred up next to him and looked down at the woman. “You spared her?” She asked.

“I could not ... she is a woman Princess. I could not...” Riordian stammered.

Lisisa touched his arm and nodded. “I understand.” She told him softly. “Colonel Rinel ... please insure she cannot escape. I will call for a Med Team from the ARCH DEMON.”

“Lisisa!” Coren’s voice echoed and they all turned to see him leading Alrerin down the last few stairs and into the main room holding the sidearm tightly but very much like he was prepared and knew how to use it quite well.

“Coren ... you should have remained out of harm’s way until we called for you.” Lisisa scolded him.

“I am done remaining out of harm’s way!” Coren snapped. “This attack is too much! The OSG strikes at our leader now! I am seriously pissed off at this moment!”

Coren didn’t notice the look Alrerin gave to him over his shoulder, nor did he see the new hint of respect in those same eyes.

“We have one prisoner.” Lisisa told him. “I will send for a STRIKER from our ship to remove her before more Vanari arrive to secure the grounds. We must discover everything she knows.”

Coren looked at Alrerin. “First Regent?” He asked.

Alrerin was looking around his now violated home, seeing the destruction and the death and feeling the burning anger begin deep in his own gut. For centuries, he had stood to the side and did nothing in order to protect his family. It had torn him apart inside to see the pain that other families had to endure, but in his mind, it kept his family safe. Now Alrerin Sha Harael was discovering that was no longer the case, if it ever was. And now Alrerin had reached the end of his ability to tolerate the injustice to his people and his honor. He turned back to Coren and then to Lisisa. “You will discover everything she knows?” He asked in a voice filled now with conviction and strength.

Lisisa nodded her head. “Oh ... yes sir.” She answered.

“Then move quickly Princess Leonidas.” Alrerin spoke. “It will be between seven and twelve minutes before more Commandos arrive to secure the grounds. Once they breached my estate in this manner, an automatic alert would have been sent to the local garrison. They will be moving now.”

Lisisa nodded. “I will have Tharua and Jeth take her and meet the STRIKER in the sky.” She said. “Do ... do you want us to leave?”

Alrerin shook his head firmly as Riordian watched him. “No. I am done with the games I have had to play all of these years. You arrived with Coren to try and conduct discussions with me in a civilized and respectful manner and then these men attacked. They are obviously not your men correct?”

Lisisa snorted in disgust. “These fools?” She quipped. “They bumbled into the most basic of ambushes and were unprepared. It is not something Spartans would have done. Ever.”

“Then as far as I am concerned ... we were all targets.” Alrerin spoke.

“You realize that everything will come out in the open medwan Alrerin.” Riordian spoke now moving closer to Alrerin and referring to him as father in the Lycavorian language. When he had begun doing this after Narlei and he were mated it had moved Alrerin almost to the point of tears and had drawn them ever closer together. “About Narlei and all of us.”

Alrerin met his eyes. “It is past time Riordian.” He answered. “I may not have the power I once had as First Regent but I will no longer sit idly by while our people are offered up to the OSG and their minions and yours bear the complete blame. Not any longer.”

“Ardan will try and crucify you among the other Regents.” Coren said. “Minimize you just as he has done with me. Perhaps even make a play to become First Regent.”

Alrerin met his gaze just as Narlei came slowly down the stairs holding their youngest child in her arms while her mother held the hands of their other children. “I have done nothing all of these centuries because I was protecting my own family. Look what that has wrought us Coren my friend. Nothing but more killing and enslavement of our young women. More distrust between our people and the Lycavorians. I can no longer tolerate this. I would not be able to look my grandchildren in the eye knowing I did nothing.”

Jokros moved back into the home from through the breach point holding the weapon in his hand. “The area outside is clear. Additional Vanari Commandos are already moving up the hill road. Their reaction time is far better than I had thought possible.”

Alrerin nodded his head. “Then they knew the attack was coming.” He stated slowly. “Which means Ardan has control of far more than I had first thought.” He looked at Coren and moved closer to him. “I believe it is time that you and I began to meet him at every turn Coren Re Mydala. And take back our people’s freedom!”

Coren smiled widely. “I believe you are right.” He stated. “I believe you are right.”

MYDALA CITY
OFFICE OF ARDAN VU LAMURRION

“Failed?” Ardan gasped. “How could they have failed? Everything was perfect!”

The face of the older human shook his head in the encrypted transmission. “I do not know.” William Adams replied. “Franklin was able to report only briefly before their position was assaulted as well. He has gone into hiding and will contact me when he is secure. At the moment, all I know is that they were waiting for our force on Coren Re Mydala’s estate. They used some sort of power we have never seen before and they devastated the team that conducted the attack. The same power we saw the oldest one use in the transmission from Earth. All of my men are dead if my information is correct.”

“What power?” Ardan snapped at him. “How could half a dozen men kill your entire assault team?”

“We don’t know.” Adams answered. “I was hoping you could tell me. You did not tell me that there were others who could do what the oldest son did. Others who had similar powers to what he displayed in that transmission weeks ago.”

“I ... I didn’t know.” Ardan rasped out the words. “Others had this same power?”

Adams nodded his head. “That is what Franklin reported. There were at least five others with him if the cameras on their equipment are accurate.” He answered. “Our men stood no chance. Have your people been able to discover anything?”

Ardan shook his head quickly. “Cadre Commandos loyal to Coren have sealed off his estate and several blocks all around. They are not allowing entry into the area unless ordered to by Coren himself or his aide Jokros.”

“They had people waiting to secure the area?” Adams commented.

Ardan nodded. “My Commandos began to move in the moment the attack began but they were stopped and kept from entering. They could not press the issue further for they were badly outnumbered and Vanari fighting Vanari would have drawn far too much attention and was not something I felt we needed.”

“An excellent decision.” Adams commented. “We have another problem however, as we have lost contact with the team directed to assassinate your Alrerin Sha Harael as well.” Adams stated.

Ardan’s head came up. “What?”

“Their last report had them about to breach his estate and we have heard nothing since.” Adams answered him. “We must assume they are lost as well.”

Ardan came to his feet now. “This is a disaster!” He almost yelled.

“You must remain calm Ardan.” William spoke softly. “We have lost nothing.”

“You said they assaulted your command base!” Ardan barked. “Your main listening and intelligence post in Mydala city. They will have access to all of your computers and files!”

Adams shook his head. “They will not be able to break the encryption on the files or any of the computers.” Adams told him. “They are not intelligent enough to do this. No one who is not OSG could even begin to break the encryption. We are safe.”

“Are you sure?” Ardan hissed. “You told me this attack would succeed as well! They did not manage to kill even one of Coren’s children or the others?”

Adams shook his head. “Franklin tells me only this group of six and a smaller team of well trained men was in the lower estate. They had snipers deployed at distance he was sure, but no one else was present. They must have been removed to somewhere else. I have others in my employ looking into this now. There is nothing to tie them to us Ardan. All anyone will know is that a rogue group of Lycavorians attempted to kill the boy King and others because they are against this foolish merger.”

“And the attack against Alrerin?” Ardan asked.

“They were also upset about Alrerin’s views of Lycavorians.” Adams stated casually.

Ardan looked at his face in the transmission. “You realize that this is not what he actually believes?”

Adams nodded his head. “Of course ... but he is also maintaining a façade just as we are. Only now we can use this against him where he has no proof against us. You have discovered that he has a daughter who is now married to a Lycavorian and has children by this man ... that will destroy his credibility with the other Regents. You can use this information to further usurp his rule and eventually take his position as First Regent. This is what we have been working towards regardless. We can just make it happen sooner now.”

Ardan nodded his head. “Yes.” He spoke.

“You must remain in control at all times.” Adams told him. “They have nothing to tie us to these attacks, and we can just as easily turn it all on the Lycavorians. Act as you have always acted and we will be safe.”

Ardan looked out the window of his office and could see the light of the flames across the city from near Coren’s estate. “I must begin to inquire of what has happened.” He stated. “It will look odd if I do not announce something.”

“I will be in contact soon Ardan.” William told him. “Keep your wits about you and we will be fine.”

Ardan nodded once more and turned back to the transmission. “You know of course that I will do this William.” He spoke. “I will inform Galar and the others of what has taken place and we will speak again in three days. That should be sufficient time for us to get full reports on what has taken place.”

Adams nodded. “Agreed.” He answered. “We are still secure Ardan. Do not worry.”

“I must begin to make inquiries and contact the other members of the SBR.” Ardan said. “Until we speak again William.”

Ardan turned as the transmission ended and he remained in front of the window looking out over the city. They could make this failure work for them if he played his hand correctly. He could use this as just another sign that Lycavorians were savage animals and untrustworthy. Yes he could make this work. He turned quickly to his desk and activated his COM unit there.

“Send for Galar and Cruor.” He spoke. “Have them meet me in my office in half an hour. I do not care what they are doing.”

“Should I activate the security measures here Regent?” The male voice asked.

“No.” Ardan answered him. “The attacks are over with. We need to discover what has happened however. Send out investigators to both locations. I want their initial reports on my desk in three hours. And begin contacting all the members of the SBR. I want them in the meeting chambers in six hours! No excuses! This is a planet wide call.”

“As you order Regent.” The voice answered.

“And have someone bring me tea and Danishes.” Ardan said. “I will be remaining here.”

“Yes sir.”

Ardan’s senior aide quickly rose to his feet and made his way over to the computer console and began typing furiously. He did not take notice of the slight figure that stepped silently from the shadows, watching his back.

The Vanari female quickly made her way across the small hallway and through the open door to the stairwell. Her long black hair cascaded around her stunningly beautiful face as she hurriedly moved down the stairs with no sound in the least. What she had just heard shocked her right down to her very core and she was shaking in a mixture of rage and horror. The man she had been working for all of this time, a man she had respected and admired for twenty years now, he had just taken part in an assassination attempt of a fellow Regent on the SBR and the First Regent of the Vanari people. He was working with the Eridiani in the taking their people and selling them into slavery. He was betraying his own people for profit. And he had been doing this for longer than she obviously knew.

Ardan Vu Lamurrion had been like a father to her. He had taken her under his wing all those years ago when her own parents were killed in an OSG attack on a transport. Dark haired though she may have been, he had taken her into his family with no questions. He had schooled her in the fine arts of Vanari politics, taught her so much about how things worked. She had been loyal to him all of this time and she had never questioned the how of things. She had never questioned how he could know so much or how he had become so wealthy through the decades. And she had never questioned when he asked her to join him in his bed or endure the sometimes vile things he asked her to do. She had never questioned when he asked her to use her womanly skills to discover things from other Regents or Vanari businessmen in order to advance his own agenda or status. She only thought it would make her more important to him and encourage him to raise her above the simple status she had now, or to help her improve the status of all dark haired Vanari females across the Vanari Empire.

Now she knew how. Now she understood how it had all worked. His personal aide recorded all transmissions the Regent took in order to protect him and this one was no different. She had stood in the shadows and recorded it all herself while her lush body shook with nearly unrestrained anger and new hatred.

Kinryn Aal Samaur was only twenty-nine years old but she was about to become one of the catalysts for change that the Vanari people, or their leaders really, had been avoiding for so many centuries. She was Cadre Commando trained and like the vast majority of Vanari females, she was exquisitely beautiful. Her five foot seven frame was lean and muscular and she kept herself in excellent physical condition with a demanding regime. Her status as Ardan’s aide allowed her many perks that others did not have. Kinryn had been working for her own goals all of her life and what she had just heard had changed all that. There were many things that were about to change in her life and though she did not know it just yet, so many doors that had forever been closed to her would now be tossed open.

Kinryn Aal Samaur would walk through those doors holding the hand of the individual that she would come to love and cherish more than her own life. One soul that would show her that true love could lead her to so much more in the future ahead and finally restore to her the meaning of the word family that had been taken from her so long ago.

AUSTROVA
ERIDIANI EMBASSY
SUB-BASEMENT

Franklin Adams looked across the desk at his father silently as the transmission ended. He had escaped within seconds of the Lycavorians storming their Command and Control Facility, leaving his people to fend for themselves. He knew the Lycavorians would not be in a very forgiving mood. He had used his personal escape route to move quickly through the city streets undetected even as more of Mydala City began to wake at the sounds of battle in their area. He was still somewhat unsettled by the ferociousness of the attack and the speed with which the Lycavorians had moved. He did not know how they had discovered their location but it was something he was going to find out. He didn’t care that he had left twenty-three others to face the Lycavorians and that none of them remained alive for all of them had chosen to fight. He considered himself more important than those technicians and engineers. Now he sat shaken in the chair and watched as his father rose from his own chair and moved to the wet bar behind his desk. He poured two glasses of ancient human whiskey, each three fingers deep and turned to face his son as Franklin rose to his feet. He handed the glass to him and watched as his son took an immediate gulp to calm his still frayed nerves.

“Are you alright Franklin?” William asked his oldest and most experienced son. He was a son who knew almost as much as he did and had operated magnificently through the last years and one who William trusted above reproach.

Franklin nodded his head. “It just happened so quickly.” He spoke. “I’ve never seen such a thing father; the savageness of the attack, the surgical precision. It was beautiful in a way to be honest. They had to have known where we were this entire time father. It is really the only explanation as to how they found us so quickly.” He wrongly deduced.

“I thought our Command and Control Facility was too well hidden for anyone to find?” William said.

“So did I.” Franklin spoke.

“It is going to come apart son.” William Adams spoke.

Franklin looked at him. “What do you mean Father?”

“Ardan will not be able to control it any longer.” William spoke moving back to his chair. “It’s all going to come apart.”

“Father no one can tie us to the attacks!” Franklin insisted. “As far as any Vanari will know it was conducted by Lycavorians against their own kind!”

William nodded his head. “And that fallacy will last all of a few hours before the truth begins to come out.” He said settling into the chair. “We have seriously underestimated these Lycavorians from the Alpha Quadrant Franklin. They do not act as those from the Protectorate act.”

“What do you mean?” Franklin asked as he too settled back into his chair.

“I did not see it at first.” William said thoughtfully. “They follow a code Franklin; a code of honor and respect that died a very long time ago. They will not relent and they will never retreat. They fear nothing. And with more of them having these special powers than we first thought, we are even more seriously outmatched than any of us truly understood.”

“I have never seen anything like it father.” Franklin spoke. “Imagine what we could do if we had such power; if our men had such power.”

William shook his head. “Trying to obtain this is out of the question, at least for now.” He stated evenly. “We do not understand it or where it comes from. We thought him to be some sort of oddity. That is obviously not the case and so far, we have been several steps behind this Lycavorian Prince Androcles Leonidas.”

“He is an animal father!” Franklin spat angrily.

William met his son’s eyes. “An animal he may be, but he has just bested you by a very wide margin and utterly destroyed a critical asset we controlled. Unnel’s team was by far the most experienced and well trained. Better than even our own OSG teams. He just got done turning them all into hamburger.”

“He got lucky.” Franklin hissed as he downed more of his drink.

William shook his head. “No ... this was not luck. What he did tonight was by no means luck. They are far more skilled than we first imagined and...” He stated calmly sitting back in his chair. “ ... And there is something about him and the others. Something we don’t understand. And until we do, we will not be able to stand against him.”

“So, we do nothing?” Franklin rasped in shock.

“No, my boy.” William answered. “We will be doing plenty, just not what you think. I need to discuss this with the OSG Regional Governors and the Home Council. And we will need the Eridiani government to act for us.”

Franklin leaned forward. “What are you thinking father?”

“We need to pull back our operations until such time as things settle here.” William told him. “These attacks are going to create a firestorm that not even Ardan will be able to contain. We should have just killed the dark-haired daughter and been done with it. Selling her to slavers in the Alpha Quadrant was stupid. We thought to be rid of her and all we did was make it so that boy Prince could find her more easily. If we had killed her than these Lycavorians would never have come here.”

“Do we know that for sure father?” Franklin asked. “The merger happened almost immediately when they discovered each other. Something else must have happened to cause this. We did not know this was going on or that talks were even under way.”

William nodded. “You may be right there, but that is no longer an issue we can influence. We have never been able to politically direct the Protectorate in a way that was advantageous to us. Their sensibilities about slavery are too ingrained and their leaders too loyal to old ideals. Unnel and those with him were an peculiarity. You can be sure that now that these events have taken place, others of Unnel’s mindset will be flushed quickly from the ranks of the former Protectorate and dealt with harshly.”

“You are suggesting we run?” Franklin asked surprised.

“I am suggesting we cut our losses,” William spoke. “ ... At least for the time being. An attack against Coren Re Mydala, a senior member of their SBR and this young woman Caliria’s father we could have brushed aside. An attack against him and an attack against their First Regent in the same night we cannot just dismiss?” William shook his head. “Ardan is not going to be able to bury that. And the counter agent that Caliria Re Mydala and the Hadarian witches have made will become public for sure now. Ardan won’t be able to stop that either. No ... the time has come for us to reign in our teeth and sit back and watch how things play out.”

“We should unleash our missiles now and punish them!” Franklin spat.

William Adams shook his head once more and looked at his son. “The Vanari may not have released the information about the counter agent but you can be assured that the Union has it. And they are ready to use it. They will move no matter where we send our missiles, and then they will come for us directly because of this blatant attack.”

“Androcles Leonidas does not care for the Vanari people father.” Franklin said. “His feelings for Caliria aside, he will not go to war over this.”

William looked at him intently. “Are you so sure?” He asked. “This boy is an enigma even to his own people if all the reports I have seen are correct. We know nothing about him except what we have been able to retrieve from their own news reports. He obliterated a recognized government in retaliation for them supporting the slavers who bought Caliria Re Mydala Franklin. This is something his father has done in the past. You have not read Corbin Faith’s report to the Home Council son; if they bring the full weight of their military against us ... against the Eridiani ... we would not survive. In truth ... it would be a very short battle and we would lose everything.”