Chapter 8: Jellies

There were those who doubted the Union could win this war. The Galactic Council led and controlled by the Kermac, was a powerful entity, with hundreds of Thrall species, massive fleets and many millions of warriors.

The Larkami were no exception, difficult to control but tremendous fighters.

Ninsibfiv, the High Wizard of the Military himself had traveled to Lark, the homeworld of the Larkami to coordinate.

He planned to use Larkami manned Kermac warships to counter-attack several Union strongholds. and make this attack so costly for the Union, that they were open to a cease-fire agreement. Not even Ninsibfiv had illusions to defeat the Union.

The Larkami were as good and as aggressive as the Nogoll, the problem was their impulsive behavior that complicated tactical directions.

The Military Wizard had just issued a command to a group of battleships to return to the main system, instead of attacking a recently established Union outpost. His Long Range Telepath had sent the order, but instead of an acknowledgment, the Larkami commandant ignored his order and signaled he would come, after he wiped out the Union Outpost.

The Kermac Wizard sat in an elevated seat at the Command center, while Larkami and Kermac manned the consoles arranged before him.

These oafish Thralls were not controlled by psionics but freely followed Kermac rule. Unfortunately not always.

The feeling of military supremacy he and those around him, changed as the main sensor operator reported.”Mighty Kermac, there are Quasi drops. One of them is a particular huge.”

Long-range visual sensors relayed a frightening sight. Union battleships by the thousands had arrived, with blazing Translocators.

Swarms of Wolfcraft fighters swooped in as well.

Supreme Wizard Zwhehzwheneu stepped into the secret chamber of the Auspice. A chamber deep below the Wizard Tower on Kermac Prime.

The chamber was occupied by seven Jellies in their true form. All seven of the gelatinous Xeno morphs linked with each other, occupying tub-like seats.

It had been almost a hundred years ago when the Kermac discovered the Jellies. No one in the entire M-0 galaxy knew about these refugees that came from the M32 Dwarf galaxy. Survivors of the last Leedei cleansing war.

The Jellies, a non-humanoid sentient species of gelatinous morph walkers and gifted with vast psionic talent managed to infiltrate the Kermac society.

Individual Jellies were able to morph into another shape. They could do this only once and it was a painful but worthy process. Many of them morphed into the Silent Ones.

The control of other societies always had been the core of the Kermac society, and now they were controlled in secret but very successful.

Zwhehzwheneu really was a Kermac and he was fully aware of the Jelly control, it was them who elevated him to be the Grand Wizard.

The seven Jellies before him were linked and used their mental powers to control Kermac leadership, via the Silent-Ones.

One of the Silent-Ones came in as well. They all looked alike and Zwhehzwheneu did not know if they had any individual names. While they had no mouths and no acoustic voices. The Jellies were able to morph into another form, but they could do so only once and were unable to simulate acoustic communication for some reason.

The Silent-One before him was masking as a Thought Police agent, like many.

Zwhehzwheneu, like all Kermac, had a Mind Shield in his beard, and it was of the highest quality, but the Silent-Ones could turn it off.

The Silent-One before him sent his thoughts.”Zwhehzwheneu, supply the Auspice with information.”

“The latest scheme of the Ministry of Control was almost successful, I must say and I was too late to stop it. According to my sources, it was stopped by the Union at the very last moment.”

“This is why we elevated you to be the Supreme Wizard. The scheme depleted the stockpile of Wurgus sun bombs and there is an indication that the Wurgus contemplate Union membership. All this is concerning but unimportant. We learned that the Leedei are Union members, next to the Narth they are the most dangerous society. Unlike the isolated and non-cooperative Narth, the Leedei are very active Union members.”

The Kermac Supreme Wizard, who had been groomed by the Jellies since his birth to take this lead position sensed strong emotions of hatred and fear.”I know little about the Leedei, other than that they are of a far distant satellite galaxy and that some are gifted psionics.”

“The Leedei is the reason we had to leave our home, the Leedei are as gifted as the Saresii, but unlike the Saresii, the Leedei developed Psion based technology that surpassed all known achievements we know of.”

“I sense fear and hate. The Leedei you speak of, are they in control of the Union as you secretly control us?”

“We do not know, but let us educate you about the Leedei. We have actively taken control over a long and carefully developed intel asset of the Ministry of Information and steps have been taken to obtain the most potent weapon in the Universe.”

“I am your servant, it is not the Translocator Cannon am I correct?”

“That weapon is of no consequence. We know of the PSI listener and we know of the Abysmals who experimented with that device, combining it with the Gorrontha Device it can kill entire planet populations over any distance, it is conceivable that it can kill and destroy the Narth.”

A new chorus-like voice resonated inside the Kermac’s mind.

“About 8700 sun orbits ago and long before the Leedei became Union members they fought a war against the Kalemni. The Kalemni being technologically more advanced than the Leedei were winning that war.

The Kalemni who were our lords and makers were gaining much ground and poised to sterilize the Leedei out of existence. However, Leedei being psionically talented begun their development of Psionic technology and PSION based warfare.

The result of that research and effort, a terrible weapon was created the Gorrontha Device.

It has the ability to channel, even temporarily storing psionic energies. The Gorrontha Device was used to create the Psi Blast and was instrumental in winning the conflict. It was then turned by the Abysmals against its own population by creating an army of Psi blast capable teleporters oppressing the Leedei and installing a dictatorship. The Leedei eventually overcame the Abysmals and regained their freedom.

The Psi blast eradicated the Kalemi and forced us to flee.”

Zwhehzwheneu’s mind spun.”A device like this combined with our Will Benders could accomplish total Kermac control.”

“Indeed.”

Admiral Stahl had jumped on the roof of a ruined building. Thick smoke obscured most of the local sun. He shoved a new energy cell into his SITKU, but there was nothing to shoot at.

A wing of Wolfcrafts in planetary assault configuration screamed across the sky and disappeared past the horizon.

SSgt.Bradley Déry aka Bull-Horn, a Saturnian marine, and member of the Steel Gauntlet stomped up to the Immortal warrior. In his right hand, a blood-smeared chain sword-Nuc flamer combo, and just like the Destroyer suit of the Immortal Warrior showing signs of intense hand to hand combat.

Stahl fighting with marines in a ground assault was frowned upon, by Fleet Command, and not without a logical reason. Admiral Stahl was perhaps the most important command officer of the entire Union military.

Yet, once again he had dropped along with the first wave of Recon Marines, on this core world of the Larkami. Doing a stealth approach long before, the main assault commenced. The Immortal Warrior’s legend and reputation among the fighting troops, however, had reached almost religious levels. There was a common opinion among Union troops, that Marines had long crossed that level. Union Marines regardless of species worshipped Stahl like a living warrior god.

SSgt.Bradley Déry swiped his helmet to transparent and said.”Looks like we licked them, Sir. Third-wave and Army have landed. The Green boys landing the third Levithan, not that there is much left to shoot at.”

Stahl was about to answer, as he took a break from leading the entire assault. He had blinked at his main commlink and set it to Orange. That was his personal code for diverting less important comm requests to his staff.

Yet one comm request remained. It was marked as a private call and came from a former marine, Sam Brown.”

He would not call if it wasn’t important.

Sure enough, the former marine who was perhaps the toughest SOB had a reason and it was quite disturbing.

Sam told him about Roy and the escape of Kermacs from a supposedly save facility deep in Union space. Guarded by Union Marines no less. Roy, the young man from Green Hell abducted and on his way to a Leedei planet.”

To pull this off, stealing a Union Fleet destroyer and even plan to use a Space Train.”

He was too far away to do anything himself. He would call McElligott of course, but this was more than serious. He still stood right there on the top of a burning building while he called Alycia.

SSgt. Déry knew his Commanding Officer was in communication and took a guarding position, Woe to anyone trying to attack or even just disturb, an overeager Army Luitenant learned that rather quickly.