Chapter 61: Ventori

DISCOVERY BASE

It was a testament really, to the way both Martin and his Queens had raised their children. Once the battle was declared over, security had been set, and their men and women taken care of, the only thing that Androcles and his siblings wanted was to meet Jezima and Meral.

The moment their STRIKER had landed, Aricia and Anja had spirited her and Meral to the Command Center expecting just that, and they were not disappointed. For Jezima and Meral it was if they had been reborn for the second time in as many weeks, the first meeting Martin and now his children. Their blood descendants, the family they never knew they had up until now. This was compounded further when Dynina’s ship arrived in the system and was quickly ushered to the planet. To say that the reunion was so sweet would have been an understatement.

To physically meet the mother of the woman who had claimed the heart and soul of her son Sumar meant more to Jezima than she could ever put into words, and from the moment they were introduced, it was as if Jezima and Dynina both had discovered long lost friends that had been apart for centuries. For Dynina it was a welcome she had not expected, and it had brought her to raging tears once more. Even after Martin had put her down from the bear hug he had held her in for many minutes, Dynina had then been swarmed by his children doing the same; her beautiful Sateia’s grandchildren, and her grandchildren. It was a moment in time that would remain with her forever, seeing Perlae, Ishma and Awser mixing with their cousins as if they had grown up together, recanting the battle that had just taken place. The utter sense of total commitment to family that permeated all of them was more than she had ever imagined she would feel again. She could sense it all stemmed from their father Martin, just as it had once radiated from Sumar and Sateia. Nothing mattered to them more than family, just as it appeared nothing mattered more to Martin and his Queens and their children. When you added Gorgo and Dasha to the mix, the four women could just not stop talking or wanting to be around one another. Together they had combined more generations than any other in their long history and from this day forward into the future each of the four women would be recognized as the mothers of them all.

Meral had developed a connection with Zarah and Lucia right away after meeting them and she gravitated to her niece, Lucia and the siblings she chose to stay close to. Meral already knew of Zarah’s unique relationship with Androcles and was completely fascinated by it, but she knew Zarah and Andro would come together to talk when things were calmer and less hectic. It was how both of them were Meral knew and now it would be no different. With the three Queens present as well as their children, it was a joyous reunion all around, even given what had taken place only a short time ago. What struck Dynina the most, the reunion and the joy it brought was not limited to just their family. Everyone partook in the happiness and the mood of every Lycavorian and dragon on Ventori was upbeat and their confidence unmatched. Dynina realized that they drew strength from the source of the happiness. From their King and their Queens.

From the Leonidas family.

No one was left out of the happiness. Even those who had to remain at their posts and do their patrols were not forgotten. Food and drink were conveyed to them without question so that they too could take part in the happiness at least on a small scale. This is what Sumar had brought to the Mahanlo Pack when Sateia had turned him Dynina knew. He exuded confidence and warmth when he wanted to and it was this that drew others to him like flies. It was this that made so many others follow his example and begin to change the way Lycavorians related to each other. It was this trait that made others do whatever he asked of them, not because he asked them, but because they wanted too. It was this that made millions believe that they could be better than what they were and want more. And it was this mentality that made Sumar and her daughter so beloved among their people. And now Dynina knew it was the reason so many followed and adored Martin Leonidas and his family. They were the same, shaped from the very same mold and clay and forged within the very same fire.

Tinra and Mitra were there to record it all, beaming the aftermath of the battle for Ventori to every Pralor channel that was out there. Unbeknownst to them, they had begun a movement on Artaaya pushing for the outright election and then the confirmation of Delnash as Chief Elder immediately. His actions and his knowledge regarding those all of them now knew to be Praetorians was beginning to hit the news fully. The fact that he did recognize the error of his ways when they first encountered Martin and the others and had come to accept what was happening, this had pushed Delnash over the top in popularity. The Pralor people had needed something to rally them past just getting by, they had needed something to push them to try and achieve their full potential once more. Delnash had given that to them by dismissing the fact that the Praetorians they now knew existed were supposedly from a species many Pralors had long thought beneath them. The times had changed and most of those same men and women began to realize that not everything was as it seemed and they needed to look beyond what they knew and reach for the truth.

Delnash had shown them this and in doing so he had solidified his role as the leader to take them into that future.

The reunion had gone on long into the early morning hours until the days’ events took their toll on everyone and sleep came to them all. Most Lycavorians and Tasmor had chosen to remain outside under the clean air and stars knowing that Ventori was finally and forever free of the Svorag disease and would remain so in the future. As was usually the case however, sleep did not hold Martin Leonidas long and after only four hours in the arms of his Queens he was extracting himself from their limbs and up and moving for the Mess Shed to grab a mug of coffee. Once in hand he found his sons, Danny and several others already awake as well, and after some bantering back and forth, they got down to the work all of them knew needed to be done before they left.

So along the edge of the calm lake, Androcles set up a portable star chart table and they got down to business.

“ ... Something you said about the tunnels father, and the ore that permeates this area of the continent.” Andro was speaking as he held the mug of his mother’s coffee in his hand. No one was wearing their armor, most in fatigue pants and t-shirts to be honest. Andro wore his standard fatigue pants and combat boots but no t-shirt, his brothers choosing to mirror this style of dress as they all sat around on the ground, most of them drinking their mother’s coffee. Martin, Danny, Wayonn, Murano and the others wore t-shirts and fatigue pants with their boots, though all of them were still very much armed. Josie Miller wore a standard tank top, her firm breasts pushing against the fabric of the shirt, but Josie knowing that no remarks about her sexually would ever be made in this company. She was a fully recognized warrior in this group she knew and she held their respect. No one among this group of men would ever make such comments towards any woman anyway Josie knew. The chart table had four holodisks on it and Miranda Lorian, Sa’sur, Captain Patton and Armen occupied these four transmissions. Elynth, Torma, Daurgo and the other dragons within the Leonidas family and beyond all rested around this group of men and women.

“You said they were moving around in tunnels that appeared to be part of the old city’s infrastructure and those they had dug after.” Andro continued. “I put it to Armen and we came to the conclusion that if this was indeed the case, there would need to be other entrances and exits for they still needed air to breathe and circulate as well as vent the heat from their breeding centers. All of those tunnels leading here to Jorlari from the surrounding area.”

Martin nodded his head as he sipped his own coffee. “It’s the only way they got around without us picking them up on ground sensors. The damn ore.” He said.

“Armen came up with the idea of using Alpha Nine and the others to get in and map the tunnels.” Andro continued. “We could track their Duridium exoskeletons with a Neutrino based scan. The Drones you and Manda have with you were made at Dreamland. They aren’t made out of Duridium.”

“Very nice catch Armen.” Miranda commented from within her transmission. “Very nice indeed.”

-Thank you, Admiral Lorian- Armen answered.

“Then it was just a matter of using Alpha Nine and the others to fully map the tunnels as quickly as they could and then hitting them at critical points.” Andro finished speaking as he sipped his coffee. “Mainly wherever they were keeping these breeding hives that you thought were here.”

“And that’s why the FAEs?” Martin asked.

Andro nodded his head. “I did not want to use them knowing what they could do if one hit wrong, but it was really the only weapon we have that would not have contaminated this entire area for centuries and still guaranteed we got them all.”

“We are very thankful to you for that young Androcles.” Nalmos spoke from where he sat on the ground beside the Junior Justice from Microu, Denrak.

Andro looked at the man. “My apologies for the damage the weapons did cause sir.” He spoke respectfully. An Alpha wolf speaking respectfully to a Beta wolf, no matter his years, did not go unnoticed by Denrak. “It could not be avoided and we needed to be sure all of them were caught in the kill zone.”

Nalmos almost found himself laughing for he had not been this happy in years. “My boy, the damage your weapons caused is miniscule compared to what we can now do. Infrastructure can be replaced, however hard it is, lives cannot.”

Andro saw Denrak nod his head in agreement. “Avoi.” He spoke softly.

“We did get them all right?” Wayonn asked the question.

-I believe I can answer that Martin- Avi’s voice echoed in the transmission where Miranda sat.

“Go Avi.” Martin spoke.

-Admiral Lorian and Captain Akemi approved a linking of our sensor grid on the ARC ROYAL with SPARTA’S WRATH late last night- Avi explained. -With her expanded spectrum and more powerful arrays we were able to scan the entire planet, even though there are parts where the ore is prominent. We have been able to determine, with a ninety-four percent ratio, that no Svorag remain-

Martin nodded his head. “Now that is what I like to hear.” He said. “Now, I want to make it a hundred percent.”

“I have Ordin sending out his Spiketail detachments to those areas with tunnels King Leonidas.” Daurgo spoke in a deep and gravelly voice. Most agreed that it suited him though everyone was still trying to get used to the fact that their dragon brothers and sisters could now actually speak. “Their size is the key here because they can enter all but the smallest tunnels. They will search the tunnels to be sure, and if any do remain they will finish them.”

Martin nodded his head again. “Manda, Sa’sur, what about the Kintaur?”

All of them saw Miranda chuckle. “I’ll let Sa’sur handle that. She is just as protective of her ship as I am it seems.”

“They scratched my ship!” Sa’sur complained. “I had to send out two DCTs to bang out the dent and repaint it!”

“Was that during or after you laid down that whoop ass on them?” Captain Patton asked with a grin.

Sa’sur couldn’t help herself now and she shook her head. She would take a ribbing from her fellow fleet officers for a while she knew. She looked at Martin. “Two hundred and twenty-nine Kintaur ships were destroyed King Leonidas. The rest ran like the nubous cowards they are. Per Andro’s orders, I let them go.

“Survivors?” Martin asked her, smiling slightly for he had already heard about how Sa’sur had reacted when they Kintaur opened fire on her.

“Four hundred and sixty-seven pulled from escape pods.” Sa’sur answered. “I have them under guard in the Dragon Den on the SCIMITAR at the moment. They are a pretty motley bunch and the dozen dragons we had on board from the adolescent training brigade on Elear has all of them about to sibfla in their pants. They’re docile enough now.”

“That won’t last.” Martin spoke softly. “Jesus, I didn’t expect that many. Ideas?”

“Admiral Lorian and I were talking about that this morning.” Sa’sur continued. “There is what appears to be a large Kintaur wreck floating around up here. It was hit by two HAVOC missiles that amazingly ripped through the ship and exploded after they had passed through the hull. Most of the crew were sucked into space through the hull breaches, but the ship is pretty much still intact. If we repair the damage to the hull, we can re-purpose it as a prison ship. At least temporarily.”

“How long?” Martin asked.

“I can put a portion of my worker drones and a dozen engineers on it. Say four to five days.” Sa’sur answered.

Martin nodded his head. “Do it. I don’t want them on one of our ships any longer than necessary. And double the guard on them Sa’sur. Don’t take any chances.”

Sa’sur nodded her head. “Milord.”

“And enough of this Milord sibfla!” Martin exclaimed in a disgusted voice. “You guys are giving me a freaking head ache!”

“How does pain in the ass sound then?” Danny quipped and then everyone was roaring with hearty laughter.

Denrak looked at Nalmos with wide eyes and Nalmos could only smile and laugh as well. It was a first in anyone’s history as far as he was concerned. A King who did not want to be King. A King who regarded all around him as equals.

“We’ll have to keep SPARTA’S WRATH and her escorts in close to the planet Martin.” Miranda spoke now as the laughter subsided. “Captain Patton kind of bumped into a few of the old satellites in orbit as he was playing Calvary. You were right about them being used by someone else to track our movements, but unfortunately when Captain Patton ran them over, it caused them to explode against his hull. Whoever was using them against us had added an additional Tachyon power matrix source to their fusion cores. Probably to keep anyone from detecting the added sensor equipment. The explosions caused a Reflecting Tachyon Wave to emanate outward from Ventori nearly half a light year. The entire planetary system is now saturated. It overloaded most of our Tachyon Induction Coils to the point where it will be a couple of days before they can purge the excess particles. Only SPARTA’S WRATH and her escorts are inside that ring and were unaffected.”

“They were in low orbit and powered down.” Patton spoke now. “We didn’t see them until it was too late. My apologies King Leonidas.”

Martin waved his hand dismissively. “Christ I ain’t perfect. I don’t expect anyone else to be. You saved our bacon when you dropped in over Discovery Base. Hell, you scared the piss out of me George!”

“How does that affect you and the others Manda?” Andro asked now.

Miranda shook her head. “We have four CAPS up round the clock. Our sensor abilities are cut by roughly half, but I have four RAPTORS on the outer edges of the system as extended eyes and ears. They can cover the system well enough for early warning. Armen has realigned SPARTA’S WRATH and her escorts in mid to high orbits in order to cover the system, but with the residual particles floating around, it will be hard to get clear scans. They don’t have to purge their Induction Coils but even their sensors will be limited by the excessive remnant of Tachyon sources.”

“What about ships coming in?” The new voice asked and they all turned to see Anthylea move up to the command group holding the data pad in her hand. “Refugee ships will be arriving shortly.”

Miranda shook her head. “They were not in the system when the burst happened so they are safe. Armen can act as their beacon and direct them when they enter the system. As long as they maintain normal speed they’ll be fine.” She answered quickly. “And even at this reduced output, we could still pick up any Kintaur ships the moment they entered the system. Those fugly things radiate so brightly, even a blind mute could see them.” This brought chuckles from all around as most everyone knew how Miranda viewed the Kintaur and their large, blocky looking ships.

“No ... tell us how you really feel Admiral.” George Patton spoke with a smirk, causing everyone else to once more chuckle softly.

Anthylea held out the data pad to Martin. Unlike her beloved Saydia, Anthylea found herself completely comfortable being around Martin Leonidas and other males among the Lycavorians and other species here. As many of the Tasmor had discovered since being here, they didn’t care that the Tasmor were primarily a female species and culture. If you followed the same ideals and values and you fought, you were a friend to them. “The first six Tasmor transports will be arriving in three hours with the first load of refugees who decided to return.” She spoke. “Eight thousand all told.”

“That many?” Martin asked surprised.

Anthylea nodded her head. “Your presence seems to have inspired your people.”

“You let Saydia and your Quorum know this?” He asked.

Anthylea nodded her head. “With the exception of a few, they know this is the future for our people and they are embracing it as each day passes. Vesara and the others will come around eventually.”

Martin held the pad for a moment. “Ok ... this changes things.” He spoke. He looked around at the gathered men and women until he found the person he was looking for. “Lirana?”

“The coordinates you wanted the emergency buildings set up in is large enough Milord.” She answered. “If we bring them down in shifts we should be able to erect the buildings as we go. Do we have enough of these portable buildings?”

Danny chuckled as he sipped his coffee, Martin not being the only one who detected that Lirana had said we. It was infectious as Martin knew it would be. The need to help others of their kind no matter what. The desire to be part of that overall, the pull of such a commitment for a Lycavorian no matter their caste, it was just too great. “Hell ... we got enough of those to set up a small city.” He stated. “You tell me how many you need initially and I throw together a detail and get them down.”

“Queen Anja says the first one to be erected is to be the medical facility. In the center. We work outwards from there.” Lirana spoke.

Danny nodded his head. “Done deal.” He spoke. “I’ll handle it fervon.” He said looking at Martin.

“King Leonidas ... your communications people have also told me they are beginning to receive calls from all over the planet from survivors.” Lirana spoke. “Queen Anja told me I needed to ask you for permission to go after them.”

Martin looked at her surprised. “Really? When it comes to matters like that she usually tells me to shut up and let her handle it.”

“I had a moment of weakness. It will pass soon enough.” Anja’s voice came from behind Martin, though he had said what he did because he had smelled her sweet honey scent the moment she exited their personal quarters. He knew Aricia and For’mya were up now as well, but Anja had always been an early riser and she could be up and moving within minutes.

Martin turned as Anja’s comment brought soft laughter from their children and the others gathered. With a mug of coffee in one hand, Anja wrapped her other arm around his waist and they shared a soft kiss of love right there in front of everyone, the powerful emotion between them automatically being felt by Aricia and For’mya as they dressed. It was something the six Queens of the Union did now without even thinking about it and it made them so much closer because of it.

“I checked with COMS before coming over here.” Anja told him as she sipped her coffee and looked at him. “At least seven calls from within three hundred kilometers. Anywhere from twenty to a hundred and fifty in size.”

“What do you need?” Martin asked her.

“Several of our KADEN transports and four teams of people to assist. Endy has already agreed that she and Tina will fly us around on our STRIKER.” Anja answered. “Those that came with Lirana and those that stayed behind when Konlar and Thoti left have already volunteered to help as well. Dee will run things here. I have also drafted Tobia, Mari, Calyb and Retta. It will be good field experience for them. Retta told me that they have passed their accelerated Agoge.” Anja looked at Androcles now for confirmation and he nodded his head.

“Calyb got superior ratings in hand-to-hand as well as the Nehtes. Yannis said he hasn’t seen anyone better since Eli went through her Agoge.” Androcles told his mother.

Anja tilted her head to the side knowingly. “And Retta?”

“She did well enough to pass with an above average rating in combat skills and a good rating in everything else medwaw. Yannis said she excelled at Theoretical Tactics.” Androcles replied. “Which is better than I did to be honest.”

“That’s only because you spent more time helping your father and Uncle Danny write the damn course then actually going through it!” Anja hissed at him.

Androcles looked at her with a grin. “Her skills are solid enough mother. She needs field experience so that she can hone them.”

Anja nodded her head then, trusting in her son’s assessment of his sibling’s skills. She knew Androcles would never put them in harms ways if they were not at least as well prepared as they could be.

“Ok...” Anja said turning to look at Murano with a smile. “Tobia wanted to help because she said she needed to get away from you for a few hours. You are wearing her out.” Anja jerked her thumb at Martin. “You’ve been hanging around Andro, who pesters Sadi and the others endlessly, and this big, oversexed lug too much.”

Martin looked at Murano as well as he turned his head and everyone laughed heartily as both Murano and Andro looked at the ground totally embarrassed.

“Thank you mother.” Andro muttered which brought even more laughter to the group and caused Denali to elbow his brother in the gut.

Martin couldn’t help but smile for he was not embarrassed in the least and he nodded his head as he leaned over to kiss the top of Anja’s head while pulling her closer to him. “You’ll have them.” He stated. “We will need to...”

Dynina stood quietly outside the building she had slept in last night, not that sleep came to her at all. Dynina could not recall when she had felt such complete happiness flowing through her. The smell and feel of family filled her senses once more, just as it had when she was among Sumar and Sateia. It was very nearly overwhelming, and the few hours she had spent in the small building she was weeping in joy. So much of what Sumar had told her in their time together had come true, was still coming true, and Dynina welcomed it completely. She could feel the emotions of glee within Perlae, Ishma and Awser inside the camp as they mingled with their family and others. It was a day that Dynina had waited nearly fifteen thousand years for, at times wondering if it would ever happen at all. Now that it was here, her feelings were beyond what she thought herself still capable of.

Though she smelled Jezima, Gorgo and Dasha easily, she waited until Sumar’s mother announced herself for she could sense that Jezima was not yet completely comfortable around those who knew she was approaching before she could see them.

“Dynina?” Jezima spoke as she came up behind her with Gorgo and Dasha on either side of her.

Dynina couldn’t help herself and she turned quickly and embraced Jezima tightly, her eyes becoming moist once more. Jezima seemed surprised at first, but then the same emotions that were coursing through Dynina were filtering through her as well. Jezima pulled back slightly and looked at the women, both of them rather close in age, and she squeezed her arms tightly.

“Thank you Jezima.” Dynina spoke softly.

“For ... for what?” Jezima asked confused.

“For bringing Sumar into this life.” Dynina spoke. “For raising him as you and your husband did. For making him the man he was.”

Jezima held back the tears as well and she smiled. “Then I should thank you as well. Sateia did something that no one else was ever able to do. She captured the heart of my son, and she made him complete. She loved him and I know he loved her. Wayonn showed me some of his memories of them and it was beautiful.”

Dynina looked back to where she had been watching Martin and the others. “And look what that love has given us. What we thought lost so long ago was never really lost Jezima, it simply needed time to evolve.”

Jezima nodded her head. “Yes it did.”

“Dynina?” Gorgo spoke now holding out the mug of coffee with a smile. Gorgo knew exactly how Dynina and Jezima felt, for she had experienced the very same thing all those years ago when she discovered Martin still lived. “Aricia made this blend of coffee when she carried Androcles in her womb. It has become quite popular across the Union and most of our nathos is addicted to it now.”

Dynina took the mug gratefully and sipped it slowly. Her eyes grew a little wider when she tasted it and she looked at Gorgo. “This is delicious!” She gasped in delight. She glanced at Dasha. “I see that your daughter is just as gifted as she is beautiful.”

Dasha chuckled. “She has her moments.” She stated with a smile.

Dynina looked back as she heard the laughter behind them and she saw the red haired Queen Anja now clinging to Martin’s side and everyone laughing at something she had said. “Tell me ... how did ... how did he... ?”

Gorgo laughed softly herself. “How did he get six such strong willed and beautiful women to love him?”

Dynina smiled at Gorgo’s expression. “Yes.”

Dasha laughed softly now. “We have been asking ourselves that for many years Dynina.” She answered. “We still have not come up with an answer that makes any sense.”

Dynina couldn’t help but laugh and she turned back to where they were all gathered. “How does he do it?” She asked another question. “He was ... just hours ago he was a hardened soldier in a life or death struggle, all of them were. Now they, I sense only peace among them.”

Gorgo turned her head and looked at her son. “He has always been like that.” She answered. “It is like he flips a switch inside. His father Leonidas was able to do the same thing. From what I understand Resumar had this gift as well. He draws people to him like moths to a flame. All of them do. Androcles is more like his father, but they all have that gift.”

“This is ... Sumar had this gift.” Jezima spoke calmly.

Dynina nodded her head. “He did. I saw it many times through the years. He united so many packs on Lycavore. They flocked to him, put their trust in him. And then his son Resumar.” She turned back to Jezima. “He was just like his father you know.”

“You mean stubborn as a rock?” Jezima asked with a smile.

Dynina laughed aloud once again feeling happy and welcome. “Oh Jezima! You never met Sateia!” She said with joyfulness. “There did not exist two more stubborn and pig headed individuals than your son and my daughter. Talking to one of them was like talking to both of them so identical were they. It is no wonder that they loved each other so intensely. They were so much alike.” Dynina turned back to watch them and she saw Martin lean over to kiss Anja’s head. “Tell me ... tell me of this tiny Queen. This Anja Leonidas. She is so small yet there is ... there is something powerful about her.”

“What do you mean?” Gorgo asked now.

Dynina canted her head slightly. “She is ... she is different somehow.”

“You mean because she is only half Lycavorian?” Dasha asked.

Dynina shook her head quickly. “Oh no. That she was turned is obvious to any pureblood wolf, though to be honest, I have never seen a more powerful turned Alpha female in all of my years. No one can disguise that. This one though ... she has a powerful pull over him that his other wives and mates do not.”

Dasha glanced at her now intrigued. “In what way? Aricia is his Anome.” She said.

Dynina nodded her head. “There is no question of that Dasha. The connection and love between them is pure and unbreakable. It is exactly what I saw between Resumar and Eliani. Nothing living or dead could ever sunder their love for one another. That is what I see between Martin and Aricia as well, but this Anja. It is different with her.”

“Anja is the first woman that Martin ever truly loved.” Aricia’s voice carried to them and they all turned to see her and For’mya walk up holding hands and each of them with their own coffee.

Dynina watched as Aricia and For’mya greeted everyone, including her, and then Aricia stood between her mother and Jezima while For’mya stood beside Gorgo. Dynina looked at Aricia once more. “I don’t understand. He did not discover you first?” She asked.