Chapter 18

APO PRIME

DAY FORTY

Helen tossed down the data scroll in disgust and leaned back in the chair. Her head hurt and her eyes were sore from so much reading. Dysea looked up from the pad she was reading with one hand, alternating between sips of very strong tea and rubbing the bridge of her nose. L'tian and the others were spread out in the sub level archives at small tables going through the volumes that Helen had told them to find. All of the tables were littered with coffee and tea mugs and foil that held half eaten food scraps.

"Helen ... you need to rest." Dysea spoke leaning back as she did. "You are still not fully recovered from your physical wounds."

"I am strong enough for this Dysea." Helen replied looking at her. "What I need is to close my teeth around this man's nor and bite with all my strength."

Dysea chuckled softly seeing the expression on Helen's face. "I'd much rather use my claws." She spoke with a grin. "I prefer Nauta Melme's nor. They taste better."

Helen looked at her and burst into a fit of laughing that was contagious, as soon Dysea was laughing with her, both of them with tears rolling down their cheeks. The laughing strained her ribs but renewed her energy and resolve and she reached over and squeezed Dysea's hand as she wiped her eyes. "Oh thank you child ... I needed that."

Dysea nodded as she too wiped away the tears in her eyes from the laughter. "I believe I did too Helen."

They turned as the door to the sub level opened and Lexi stepped inside to admit Gorgo, Isabella and the young female Lycavorian with reddish blond hair and large blue eyes. They had left little more than an hour ago, Isabella with Gorgo because Dysea trusted no one to provide better protection to Nauta Melme's mother, and because Isabella had been growing restless and uneasy staring at the mounds of data pads. Dysea had known what it was troubling her almost immediately, sensing it in the woman she had grown so close too. She had pulled Isabella aside then and told her to return to her home here on Apo Prime and do what she must.

Dysea noticed with a smile, as Isabella walked up to her and circled behind that she had been right. Isabella's eyes were clear and focused and she was back to her calm demeanor. Isabella leaned over and nuzzled the back of Dysea's neck as she had seen Martin do, and she was rewarded with Dysea reaching back discretely and squeezing her thigh with strong fingers, which was enough for Isabella to know she had been missed. It was a sign to Isabella since she was not wolf and could not do what Martin could do to her, and Isabella would not nuzzle her elven ears in front of all these people.

Gorgo squeezed the shoulders of the young woman and smiled. "Everyone this is Miai. She is a very gifted student of mine and Deia has approved her to be here with us. Hold nothing back from her ... as she now knows why we are here."

Miai stared at the elf Queen and Vampire Princess in front of her and could not move. She had never been this close to royalty, and she could not deny the tanned lush beauty of the elf Queen, or the porcelain like alabaster skin of Isabella. She was shaking gently as Dysea walked up to her and gently took her hands while looking at Gorgo.

"It is done then?" She asked directly.

Gorgo nodded. "They were interrogating him as Miai and I were leaving. Deia will let us know what they discover."

"My ... my Queen ... I did not know what he was!" Miai exclaimed. "I was only ... he was nice to me. I only..."

Dysea shook her head and put her fingers to Miai's lips. "You have nothing to apologize for." Dysea spoke. "Your family ... your parents ... they know you are safe?"

Miai nodded quickly. "My ... my brother will be so angry with me." She said with a shy embarrassed smile. "He ... he said you were ... he said you were beautiful and he wanted to meet you in person."

Dysea chuckled. "Well ... when you see him again you can tell him you now work for me and I would be happy to meet him."

"Lady Gorgo told me ... she told me what you are doing Milady Dysea." Miai spoke. "I ... I am more modern than my mother and I never believed what Queen Aricia did ... what she..."

Gorgo smiled. "Miai ... you need to relax child. You will find that all of us here are not what you might have expected." She said. "Go to the table and I will introduce you to the Oracle Dustha and then we can get you right into this pile of work that is making us all go blind. A fresh pair of eyes is always welcome." Gorgo smiled and watched her as did Dysea and Isabella. "She is a gifted student Dysea."

Dysea nodded. "I will trust your judgment where she is concerned Gorgo, you know that."

"Deia is attempting to get the Senate meeting called by Dalkor pushed back several more days." Gorgo spoke. "She doesn't know how successful she will be, half the Senate is thrilled with Martin's victory, half of them want to hang him for conducting military operations without their approval."

"He is the King!" Isabella spat. "He does not need their approval to conduct military operations! That has always been the purview of the King."

Gorgo nodded. "Yes well I think this Dalkor is trying to get much more changed than he told Deia initially."

"Gorgo ... is she strong enough to withstand..." Dysea began to speak.

Gorgo held up her hand and shook her head. "We do not have to worry about Deia." She said. "She has been a politician all of her life, the last eight hundred years as Prime Minister. She will weather the storm long enough for us to find what we need." She looked at Dysea. "Any ... any word from... ?"

Dysea shook her head slowly. "There is something there ... but all I see is an empty black void. He lives Gorgo and we must have faith."

Gorgo nodded. "I know ... but he is so much like his father ... sometimes I fear for what he will do to himself."

"We must continue on the path we have started." Isabella spoke. "Anja is where she will do the most good and that is with Aricia. It is all we can do."

Gorgo nodded. "Then I will get back to it." She spoke.

UKWAV

Martin looked at the shimmering psychic knife that protruded from the knuckles of his right hand as he sat on the bed lotus style, his left hand wrapped around the coral red pendant. His Shi Viska hovered in the air next to the bed, completely still and with the low hum that accompanied any Shi Viska when it was activated and deployed.

"It grows easier as each day passes doesn't it?" Canth spoke as he walked slowly up to the bed.

Martin released the psychic knife and opened his palm, a shimmering diamond of psychic energy now forming and holding completely still. "It's so much easier to form things." Martin spoke.

Canth nodded as he settled onto the chair next to the bed. "The exercises I have taught you would normally take years to learn, and you have mastered them in days. You will one day pass your grandfather in your control Martin Leonidas, as long as you continue with your training and do not neglect it."

"Will Anja and Dysea have this power within them as well?" Martin asked turning to look at him.

Canth shook his head. "They are not pureblood as you. Since you have turned them they will undoubtedly one day be the equal in power to Dustha as she is now, but they will not have this ability. Though that is not to say your blood will not affect them in other ways. Only one with the pureness of blood that you and Aricia possess will be able to do this. Be mindful what I have taught you Martin ... the more power you expend, the weaker you will be to psychic attack by Veldruk and those with this ability."

"There are those in the Coven who have this talent?" Martin asked.

Canth nodded. "The last I knew ... there were just under a hundred that he had trained in such a fashion. They are strong ... not on his level of course ... but they could prove a challenge to you until you have reached your full potential. I do not know how many there might be now."

"Can I beat him?" Martin asked bluntly.

"As you are now ... no." Canth spoke. "Once I pass from this life into the next, I will pass on what I know to Dustha, and your teachings can continue. She will know all that I know."

"Why did you bring me down here?" Martin asked softly.

"You were destroying yourself my King." Canth answered. "Your sense of honor and morality was waging a battle with your natural instincts. Your feelings of betrayal, who you believe you betrayed, would have been your undoing and you needed to admit finally to yourself who you are."

Martin looked at him. "Who am I Canth?"

"Do any of us know who we truly are my King?" He replied. "You have finally accepted who you are now though. Your grandfather was no different than you. He always fought with what he knew was right and just, even when it went against his instincts, what our very nature was telling him."

"Did he succeed?"

Canth smiled. "Resumar ... if not for him Martin, none of us would be here now." He said. "What he started ... you now have to finish. You have to complete the circle son of Leonidas. That is your destiny now, as a Lycavorian and King."

"And if I choose not too." Martin asked.

Canth smiled. "Then all we know will be lost." He said. "But you have already made that decision boy. If you had not ... you would not have spent the last three days listening to me rattle on about this and that while your people above us do everything within their power to break through the psychic/energy barrier I erected."

"What is it?" Martin asked.

Canth smiled. "It is a combination of normal psychic energy, and the residual power left within the cells of the core of this facility. They are close to figuring it out, but in a few hours it won't exist any longer." He looked at Martin and watched as his left hand caressed the coral red pendant. "She calls to you my King?"

Martin looked at him and nodded slowly. "The longer ... the longer I am away from her in this fashion ... the more I feel her slipping away from me."

"Resumar and Eliani were Soulmates you know." Canth spoke softly. "Your blood calls for each other Martin, just as their blood did for them. You can no more deny it then they could. It is why your grandfather used the Lunmai to take her back from Chetak."

"Canth ... how do I know she doesn't hate me for not doing what I should have done as her Soulmate?" Martin asked. "She knew ... her instincts told her what to do. I pushed mine back ... I ignored them! And because of that ... she followed her instincts and found another mate. You keep telling me I need to get her back, but that would be wrong by the very standards and laws my grandfather established."

"Not everything is at it seems Martin Leonidas." Canth spoke. "You have learned more in these few days then I could have hoped for. You have an insatiable desire for knowledge of our people and our history ... unlike any historian I have ever known." Canth moved closer to him, leaning forward on the chair. "Look at your Shi Viska ... what you do with it ... holding it stationary like that ... the Mindvoice power required for that is beyond what anyone will achieve except for Aricia and any pureblood children you have with her. Yet you do it as if it is the most natural thing, with no effort whatsoever. You have a power within you Martin Leonidas, and a potential to be so much more than what you are now. What we ever were in the days of your grandfather. You need to step beyond the power that you wield ... step beyond the boundaries of what your eyes and your senses tell you. Everything is not always as it seems son of Leonidas."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying for every action there is a consequence. But not every action is born of evil, even if the consequence of that action is evil. Would you conduct an evil action if you knew ultimately, in the end, the consequences of that evil action would be good?" Canth asked him.

Martin met his eyes. "I have done that before." He replied.

Canth nodded. "Did you regret it Martin?"

"I allowed hundreds to die in order to save thousands more. In my opinion there was no other way to act. Yes ... I regretted it ... part of me still does to this day." He answered honestly.

"So one evil action of yours resulted in consequences of good?"

Martin nodded slowly. "That's one way of looking at it I suppose."

"Was this action of your evil, was it done out of malice or angry or hate?' Canth asked.

"No." Martin replied instantly.

"You must remember that over the next few days!" Canth spoke.

"Why?" Martin asked.

"You can not change who you are Martin Leonidas, no matter what you desire. There is far more to your history than even Deia knows. You will discover it as the years pass and I will not begin to relate it to you now. There are many who are lost Martin, and you will need to find them. The paths to some will be simple, the paths to others not so simple and laden with many dangers. But know this, only you can choose that path, and once on it, you must see it through, no matter the result. Like your grandfather, and his father before him, only you have mastered the balance of our natural instincts and the values we now hold as a people. Your grandfather gave that to our people, and now only you can give that back to them so that we can move into the future as one people. You have already started that by taking For'mya as your concubine. You did it out of political necessity at first, like your grandfather, but now she has seen a part of you that only your Queens have seen. And like your grandfather's elf concubine, For'mya will hold a place within you for all time."

Martin held out his left arm and his Shi Viska snapped into place on his forearm and then vanished in a flash of silver/white. "Man ... this is all some heavy shit." He spoke.

Canth laughed at his words. "Indeed it is. I have always wondered why I survived when so many did not. Now I have that answer." He spoke. "You are that answer Martin Leonidas. I was meant to survive so that we could spend these days together. I will only be able to sustain this physical form a few more hours and then you will have to return to those who follow you above. I will pass on my knowledge to Dustha ... and you will always have a voice to listen and guide you. As the Guardian of the Line does now, Dustha will never deny you council. She is strong willed that one and she will be important in the future of things to come. As will the ones you will discover soon."

Martin looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Even now destiny barrels toward you unchecked Martin. What you do with that destiny will decide the fate of millions of lives. Billions." Canth spoke. "Will you disregard it ... or will you look beyond what your instincts tell you? You wish answers Martin Leonidas ... your answers and your sign of what to do will be upon you shortly after I am gone. Do not deny your instincts Martin Leonidas ... but do not let them rule you either." Canth stood up and looked at him. "Take my body from this place Martin, return with it to Apo Prime. You will know what to do with it when it is time for you to take that particular path."

"You're leaving?" Martin asked.

Canth nodded. "I must prepare to pass on what I know to Dustha. And you must prepare to return to your friends above and become the King you are meant to be." He held out the data pad. "I would like you to do something for me."

Martin got to his feet slowly and took the pad. He activated it and began to read, his eyes growing wider the more he read. He looked up quickly. "Canth ... this ... this is..."

Canth nodded. "Amazing ... yes I know. And once I pass from this world ... only you and one other will have this knowledge. I can only hope you see fit to do what you know must be done. Deia has something that belongs to you. I suggest you ask her for it."

"How do I get out of here?" Martin asked. "There aren't exactly doors with an exit sign above them."

Canth snorted. "You are King! I can't do everything for you! I'm quite sure you will figure it out on your own. Remember ... everything is not as it seems."

ENURRUA

DAY FORTY-ONE

"Establish a defensive line here." Tarifa spoke as Golna and half a dozen others stood around the table with her, Aihola, Anja and Aricia. "We have seven hundred here now; another five hundred will be here by tomorrow evening."

Aihola nodded. "I will take those five hundred and move to this line of ridges here," She spoke tracing the small map chart with her finger. We will dig as fast and as hard as we can."

"I have three main medical teams and I will position them like a triangle." Anja spoke pointing at the map where she was going to put them. "They will be inside tunnels that Golna has pointed out to me."

It had been a long night of tears and words for Anja and Aricia. Isheeni had sat quietly, listening to Aricia speak with this red haired woman more than she had spoken with anyone in all her time here. They sat close to one another, the green eyed Hadarian and Aricia's brother sitting by the small fire a few meters away giving them privacy. Only Isheeni could hear their words, as only Isheeni and Torma were allowed to be this close to her. Isheeni could feel the hatred and vengeance burning off of Aricia as she allowed the words to come forth, tears once more pouring down her face, the red haired Queen Anja holding her hands tightly as Aricia relayed every sordid detail. They had been lovers, Isheeni could tell that in the manner and way they spoke to one another, and the gates had opened for Aricia as she told Anja everything, holding nothing back. Her aura still pulsed with vengeance and hatred, but it no longer consumed her as it did before. It no longer controlled her actions, and that as far as Isheeni was concerned was what mattered most.

"We do not know if Chetak will release orbital platforms to bombard us from orbit." Golna said. "But we must assume he will. He will want to crush us in every way."

Tarifa turned. "Commander Rajon?"

The Lycavorian fleet officer stepped forward. "I have a full payload of missiles and torpedoes." He spoke calmlmy. "Prime Minister Deia has authorized me to use whatever means necessary to assist. If he puts orbital platforms over this mountain range, I guarantee they won't be there for long."

"Is she sending more troops?" Golna asked.

"Two more Mora will arrive tomorrow." Anja spoke. "The political aspect of what is going on will come to a bursting point soon, and that is all she can send without raising suspicion more than it already is."

"We ... if only we knew how many men he is going to send." Golna spoke. "We could prepare a more detailed attack and defensive plan."

"Two hundred thousand," Isra's voice spoke from the entrance of the cavern, causing Tarifa to spin around quickly, her eyes wide as her mate's scent filled her nostrils. It was a reaction that did not go unnoticed by anyone. Aihola watched as the violet eyed man moved closer to the table, purposely avoiding eye contact with Tarifa. She had to admit, Tarifa had been right, he was very different from Dekton. The scent she could detect with her wolf sense of smell, even diluted as it was, was that of deep timber in the morning, fresh and pure. There was wildness to him, vivid and strong, his dirty blond hair wild and unkempt. Muscles rippled beneath the clothes he wore, and even Aihola could detect the strong aura he projected, "Two hundred thousand, plus orbital platforms." Isra told them. "Joric is going to lead them. They will have begun arriving today, and once all of them are massed, perhaps a week, they will strike us here."

"Two hundred thousand soldiers," Golna gasped.

Isra stepped up to the map between Anja and Aricia, Tarifa's eyes never leaving his face. "They are forming in Otiem a hundred and thirty kilometers north of us. My father is going to release orbital platforms into low stationary positions to bombard the entire mountain range. I would imagine that he will do that soon."

"Even in low orbit they will be ineffective against the thickness of the mountains." Golna spoke. "They will wait until we begin to move from the protective of the hills before they attack."

"To do that they will need spotters." Isra spoke. "The Neutrino radiation that wafts from these mountains will degrade their sensors to the point where they will need to visually have someone target for them. We will be safe from the platforms as long as we are careful."

Aricia leaned forward, "Send small teams to these locations Golna, two perhaps three men." She spoke pointing to five spots on the map. "They are far enough away to give us advanced warning if Joric tries to put scouts into the mountains, but close enough that they can pull back quickly if need be."

"I will rest tonight." Isra said. "Boreal and I will take this point here and try to maintain some line of sight on what is happening in Otiem."

Golna nodded. "No crazy stuff Isra." He spoke. "You and Boreal are not exactly known for being subtle."

Isra chuckled feeling Tarifa's eyes boring into him. "Do not worry; I have no desire to die by my brother's hand."

Tarifa felt Aihola squeeze her thigh under the table and she shook her head quickly. "These mountains are much like Eden City on Earth." Tarifa spoke. "We can hold out ... and I intend on going to Commander Rajon's ship later today and speaking with whoever I can to get us more help. Once Martin discovers what is happening here he will not let it continue."

Anja nodded. "Tarifa is right. We need to hold out. We need to give him time. The Guardian is already on his way to him to tell him what is happening. He will know what is going on in a few days. We need to be ready."

APO PRIME

LYCAVORIAN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING

OFFICIAL PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE

"Perhaps you could explain to me why there is at least one Spartan on my planet Prime minister." Dalkor spoke.

Deia sat in the high backed chair behind the long wide desk and looked at him. Her official office here in the Senate Building was a huge expanse of a room with a large conference table in the center and several very comfortable couches and chairs situated near the massive room length window that looked out over Tuya's majestic sights a hundred stories below.

Deia had been waiting for this and she returned her tea to the desk top and sat back in the chair. "What do you mean?" She asked with a questioning tone and adding a touch of confusion to her eyes.

"I have been informed by my government that at least one Spartan is on Enurrua and he has taken the lives of at least ten of our soldiers." Dalkor snapped. "Men who were conducting their duties by hunting the dragons who are responsible for the deaths of so many of my people on our homeworld."

"Senator ... I truly have no idea what you are talking about." Deia spoke. "I have no knowledge of any of our men being on your planet. What would be the purpose in this?"

"You tell me Prime Minister." Dalkor spoke sternly. "The King defies the Senate by continuing his childish rampage on Ukwav, costing us lives and material each day." Dalkor saw a pained expression cross her face and he leaned forward. "What are you hiding Prime Minister?"

Deia let out a long sigh of frustration and sorrow. "I ... I was going to announce it at the usual Senate meeting tomorrow, but I do not have all the details. I would like your support in postponing the meeting for three, possibly four days."

"Postpone the meeting for what reason?" Dalkor barked. "Is this some ploy by you to keep me from submitting my proposals and my Reorganization Bill?"

Deia shook her head, "Hardly." She spoke reaching to the side and picking up the scroll pad. "I received this information this morning." She told him holding it out.

Dalkor reached up tentatively and took the scroll pad from her and began reading, his eyes growing wider as he did. "Prime Minister this..." He looked up. "The King has fallen?"

Deia nodded slowly, reaching up to wipe away the single tear that threatened to fall from the corner of her eye. "They were able to pull his body from this underground facility late last night. He went down fighting, killing over forty Immortals ... but they finally were able to overwhelm him. Riall requested they be allowed to conduct a small service with those that began the attack with him before they prepared his body to bring home." Deia leaned forward. "I was ... I was hoping to gain support for postponing the meeting for those few days so that we can prepare a State Service for him. I would understand if you would not support me ... it hardly matters now really ... your Bill will pass almost without protest now that the King is dead."

Dalkor sat back quickly in his chair. "No Prime Minister ... considering the circumstances I do not believe three or four more days will matter in the least. I will fully support your request for the extension."

"Thank you Dalkor." Deia spoke getting to her feet. "Perhaps ... perhaps it is time for me to step down and allow others to begin anew."

"There is no shame in this Prime Minister." Dalkor answered wanting to scream out in excitement at this news. "I do believe you should make an announcement about the king however, if for nothing else, to prepare our people for this."

Deia turned and looked at him. "That would be prudent. I would much appreciate if you would make this announcement Senator. I must begin putting together the arrangements for his interment."

Dalkor stood up and nodded. "I would be humbled Prime Minister ... and of course I will do this." He said.

"Aspon can give you access to all the Net Channels and their services." Deia spoke. "I must take this news to his mother Gorgo." Deia looked at him. "I will support any actions you put forth Senator ... let us just get through these next few days."

Dalkor nodded quickly, "Of course Prime Minister."

" ... With my extreme sorrow that I must now convey to the people at Prime Minister Deia's request," The image of Dalkor took a deep breath and he appeared to be fighting back tears. "King Leonidas has fallen while bravely leading his soldiers in battle on Ukwav. He..."

Dysea, Gorgo and Isabella stared at the monitor in the archive sublevel with no emotion, while several gasps came from the elves and Lycavorian men and women who were in the archives helping them.

"King Leonidas is no more dead than you or I!" Helen bellowed from her spot at the table, causing everyone to look at her. "Do you see his Queens sobbing madly in despair? Do you see his mother beating her chest in sorrow?" She got to her feet slowly.

"You have to admit..." Deia's voice spoke from the entrance. "He is quite convincing for a moron." She moved further into the room and bowed her head to Helen. "Oracle ... while I was perturbed that Queen Dysea did not tell me you were here, it is a distinct honor to finally meet you."

Helen smiled and bowed her head in return. "Your doing?" She asked motioning to the monitor.