Defender of the Empire 2: Facades (20 page)

Chapter 26 – Retreat!

              Brel’toatalklen

              The great prime city of Sage’tehti was at his mercy. He knew it was so. Their shields were thin and starting to resemble his daughter’s weavings. The poor thing couldn’t keep the weave tight no matter how his wife tried to correct her technique. The simple truth was, she couldn’t perform the basic task even if her life depended on it. Good thing it didn’t. As the daughter of a
toatalklen,
she did not need the skill to attract a worthy husband. Her pedigree took care of that. Once this campaign was done, he would need to turn his attention to that domestic matter.

              Brel’toatalklen could feel a headache coming on already at the mere thought of such a task. In a bid to avoid the pain for another moment, he turned his thoughts back to the doomed city before him. From his position on the field, he could watch her ‘officers of order’ scurry about on the wall. They were desperate and too few.

              He smiled. As soon as the shield went, they would be next, and the city would be his. Great wealth would be found, the wealth of a prime city spread before him like a feast. And that
wasn’t
counting the mines. Their wealth was incalculable. True, he had to give a share of the spoils to the Movement and the Zar’dakens, but he was still going to be a
very
wealthy mercenary. His clan and their followers would sing of his greatness for generations.

              Riding the endorphins of guaranteed success, Brel’toatalklen ses-KGor walked through the ranks of his troops toward the besieged city. “They have done their best!” he shouted to the warriors around him, “and look at them now. They cower behind their walls and technology. They are exhausted and panicked. Their strength, their
technology
, is failing before us!
We
are Telmicks and are not tired.” He turned and gestured grandly, “in fact, we have barely begun!” His declaration was met by thunderous cheers. “I say it is time we put them out of their misery!” The cheers turned to battle cries as his troops charged the city.

Blasts from the Telmick laser cannons smashed against the shields. A few went through the holes in the shield and collided with the buildings beyond. Similar to glass, the shield came down. Whooping, the first of the Telmicks began the arduous task of scaling the walls.

A thin rain of yellow blaster fire struck some of Brel’toatalklen’s men, but that pitiful counter attack couldn’t stem the tide. The Telmicks were coming, and there was little the city’s defenders could do about it. They would soon taste the stupidity of their arrogance.

While Sage’tehti had a shield that the colony cities did not, it depended heavily on aerial support from the Legion Fleet for defense. But that help was being taken care of by Brel’toatalklen’s allies.

In moments, his troops had cleared the wall. The officers up there were quickly dispatched. Brel’toatalklen grinned from atop the wall. Now there was nothing between them and the hunt for civilians and their treasures. “Go! Reap your rewards!” he ordered. The tide of Telmicks poured into the city. Brel’toatalklen listened for the music that would soon come to his ears—the crashes of doors being broken down, and the screams and desperate wails of the Citizenry would sing to him. His warriors would begin singing their favorite songs while they cut through the masses.

He heard the doors crashing open and the mocking calls of his men. But he heard no screams. No desperate pleading. Nothing. Frowning, Brel’toatalklen joined his men.

“No one is here,” one said to him. He had no choice but to agree with the man. He had walked the streets too, had peered into the buildings and overturned the beds. There was no one. The loot was still there, for the most part, but all the people were gone. Somehow Sage’tehti was empty and his men were cheated of the fun part of a raid.

At least there is still the wealth…
It was a very small comfort, though.

***

              Jack

              What Brel and his Telmicks didn’t know was that the civilians they were hunting were beneath their feet in the tunnels. Jack and his Guardians were guiding the people through. Though, once they were out they had no idea where to go. What was the point of going to another prime city when they could fall so easily? Why had the Empire let this happen to them? Was there such a thing as safety anymore? Those were just some of the questions being asked in timid whispers and hushed sobbing.

              Jack couldn’t answer any of them. He didn’t even try. He was too lost in his thoughts to even care. Worry was eating at him. All he could see before his mind’s eye was the moment when he had seen Rylynn bleeding out in Timothy’s arms. The last he seen of her, she was being brought, along with her shipmates, on board Talis’talklen’s ship. It had managed to land while the ses-KGor were occupied with conquering the city of Sage’tehti. Now they were on their way to meet up with the
Hail Mary
, which wasn’t doing so well against four opponents. Though the fact that she was still in one piece—mostly—was something of a miracle to Jack, based on what he had heard.

              Jack could only pray that they would be able to leave Lenti space intact.

              But that was all he could do for them, now that they had gone. Stricken by events, he had watched them leave. When he could no longer see them, he had returned to the city. There, he had found that his people were already guiding the civilians through the tunnels. Jack immediately began to help. It was something he could do, something useful and lifesaving. Once out, they could all try to figure out what to do next.

              Truth to tell, he wasn’t looking forward to that.

***

              Francesca

             
The
Hail Mary
must be cursed. That is the only explanation for why we always find her looking like a candidate for scrap metal,
Admiral Francesca L’Seral thought wildly. It was the first intelligible thing her shocked brain had put out since the
Terrenza
had dropped out of hyperspace. The scene was hauntingly reminiscent of the last time they had come to the
Hail Mary’s
aid.
A little more nightmarish this time
, she amended. Instead of a single Zar’daken warship, there were two. Even worse, two of the Legion’s own ships had turned against the
Hail Mary
.
No wonder Braeden never trusted Captain Benson,
she thought viciously. Now she wished she had listened to him more when Braeden had first warned her against making the man a captain. Now, Braeden was paying for her lapse of judgment.

              “I want those backstabbing bastards out of the sky. NOW!” she growled.

              “Aye Ma’am! Firing lasers!” Lieutenant John said. Francesca wanted to add the SCF to the list, but the battling ships were too close to the colony world to use it. Too many innocents would be involved.

              “Ma’am, I am receiving a transmission from the
Hail Mary,”
Kem reported.

              “Put it through.”

              It was audio only, but she didn’t need visual to hear the relief in Commander Quinn’s harried voice. “Thank God you’re here! Our people are back, but we can’t get our new friends to give us a break.”

              Francesca’s smile was harsh with vengeance. “We have your back, Commander.”

              “You have my thanks, Admiral,” he said, then ended the transmission.

              Before Francesca could give her orders, Kem spoke up again. “Ma’am, I’m receiving another transmission, this time from a Telmick vessel,” he said with a hint of surprise coloring his usually calm voice.

              “Telmick?” Francesca asked, turning toward him.

              “Aye, Ma’am.”

              Frowning, Francesca nodded for him to put it through. The forward view screen was filled with the visage of a Telmick in his prime, sitting in their version of a captain’s chair. His gray skin was heavily tattooed, but she didn’t think it was as heavy as a clan leader’s. “I am Saffa’tauta ses-Ky,” he introduced himself before continuing briskly, “whatever you are planning to do I suggest you do it now.”

              Stepping up beside Saffa’tauta was crewman Marius Strausman. “Rylynn might not make it otherwise, Ma’am.” The transmission ended.

              Francesca shoved all her questions away for later. She turned to John. “Spread the fire power across all enemy warships. I want them so busy that they don’t notice that we were leaving until we are long gone!”

              “Yes Ma’am.”

              “Charge the SCF, too.” At John’s concerned look she added, “Just to give them something to really worry about.” Relieved, John nodded.

              Under the covering fire, the
Hail Mary
limped away from her attackers. Once near the
Terrenza,
she opened a hyper gate and slipped through. Beside her was the Telmick ship. Firing a final volley, the
Terrenza
followed after. Though she was glad to be underway with everyone still intact, Francesca still grumbled that they had left the enemy and traitors alive. Alive and near a colony world. She vowed to herself that once the
Hail Mary
was safe, she would return to Lenti space with a fleet of trusted ships and they would take back the colony. And, hopefully catch the traitors and bring them to justice.

              She was looking forward to that part.

Chapter 27 – A Silvery Pool

              Betrayer’s Station

              Iceron System

              Sylvia

              Finally! After days of tedious work, Sylvia had managed to wedge the floor panel up. She hadn’t expected it to take so long, but then she hadn’t thought that each floor panel would be glued in like they were. Didn’t people just set them into a frame that was secured and call it a day? She was just lucky enough to be prisoner in the one place where they had taken more care.
Did he fear that his ‘precious’ Pets would escape?
she wondered, gently placing the panel on the floor beside her. But then, Betrayer was usually a careful sort. The only time she had seen him slip up in the slightest was when he had left the shattered diamlass where his Pets could snatch it.
But then, he might have been worried about Rylynn,
Sylvia thought, padding over to the bundle of supplies she had managed to scavenge.

              That was another reason why it had taken her so long to loosen the floor panel. She had to act like she didn’t have important things on her mind. Once made into a Pet, one didn’t have weighty concerns other than the next meal and how to fend off boredom. But
she
had something the others didn’t. She could See what was happening, or would be happening. She was tormented by the fact that she was receiving all the warnings, but had no way to warn anyone. Like those two Spectrals—Sylvia had no way of knowing if they were dead or alive. No idea. As for her niece… well that was why she was trying to escape now. Rylynn needed her.

              Sylvia fished out a small pen flashlight that she had filched from one of the other Pets. They had a collection of the things. Betrayer seemed to think it cute, and would bring back another one once in a while. He did things like that for several of the others. Sylvia wouldn’t let him do it for her. It wasn’t that she expected him to treat her better, though she had been his wife, she just didn’t want him to treat her like an actual ‘Pet’. She was her own person, who just happened to be imprisoned by a megalomaniac control freak.

              Shining the penlight into the floor, she was pleased to see that she had been right. There was a reasonably-sized crawl space down there. Sylvia tied her bundle shut and put it down the side of the opening so she would have room to come in after it. Then she slid in, feet first. The space left by the panel was a bit of a tight squeeze, but she managed it. Before she went on her way, she poked her hand back up and felt around for the panel. Finding it, she gently eased it back into the hole. It was little tricky in the tight, dark space, but with some creative maneuvering she managed it. Even better, the panel didn’t make much noise while she was setting it back in place.

              Taking the penlight from between her teeth, Sylvia searched for her bundle. She found it, and sighed, gathering it close to her. She shone her feeble light around in an attempt to figure out her next step. There were three openings. Crawling toward the nearest one, Sylvia peeked in. Instead of an open area, it seemed to be a service tunnel. She chewed her lip and glanced toward the other two openings.
Unless I am completely turned around down here, this one mirrors the hallway out of my room,
she thought. That was reason enough for her to take it.

              Time lost all meaning as she crawled her way through the station. She had no idea how far she had gone or even
where
in the station she was. She only knew the Pet chambers. She was sure, though, that she was beyond those. Sylvia also wondered if anyone had noticed that she was missing. Had she left anything pointing to her escape route? She didn’t think so, but the thought made her uneasy. Anyone who broke one of Betrayer’s rules was punished severely. Sylvia had seen some Pets so brutalized that they were no longer themselves any more. She shuddered to think what Betrayer would do to her. The man seemed to delight in hurting her.

              Suddenly, Sylvia couldn’t breathe, not with the panic consuming her. IT HAS HAPPENED! THEY ARE COMING, were the only two thoughts swimming through her mind. The fear in them drove her to bury her head under her hands and cry. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see a glittering tapestry. Over time, its bright colors were fading, dulling under many shadows. The cloth began to unravel.

              Eventually, the shock wore off and Sylvia had the undeniable urge to warn as many people as she could. Thankfully, she was out of her chamber and somewhere she could find a communication device. If only she knew where the communication room was…

             
This way
, a still, small voice whispered. Sylvia shivered. Simultaneously, she thought that she had finally gone insane
and
that she could trust the voice.
Well, if I’m crazy then it’s about darn time,
she figured, rubbing her forehead.
Even so, the Voice seems to know its way around.
With that dubious insight, she followed where the Voice led.

              Sometime later the Voice told her that it was safe to leave the service tunnel. Hesitantly, she did as it directed. Pushing open the access hatch, she found herself in the station’s communication center. Sylvia laughed softly, then maneuvered herself so that she could climb out feet first.

              Quickly, Sylvia recorded her message, then opened all channels and set the system up to repeat it. Hopefully it would be able to play a number of times before Betrayer’s minions turned it off. Sylvia was climbing back into the service hatch when she paused and gazed at the door.
I could give the message a little more time,
she thought, dropping to the floor again. Using her useful diamlass shard, Sylvia stabbed the door’s operation conduit. They would have to use elbow grease to get the door open again. Deciding that going overboard wasn’t a bad idea, Sylvia topped it off by shoving the chair and any other loose furniture she could move into the door way.
Have fun with that,
she thought with satisfaction, studying the result of her labors.

Then, she climbed back up into the service hatch. Before she closed the hatch she noticed a little diagram of the station and its service corridors.
How had I not seen this before?
she wondered before shrugging and peeling it off the door.
You are coming with me, my little friend,
she thought, studying her route to the shuttle bay by penlight. She planned to be long gone before anyone found the message, or Betrayer returned.

              Broadcasting from the once-secret station was her very simple message. People across the Empire received it, and wondered what it meant. It was simple and vague, but at the same time it filled them with primal dread.

“They are coming. The Shadows are coming.”

***

              Colony Lenti

              Lenti-Solum System

              Betrayer

              After Jack and the others left, Betrayer plucked the knife from Knight’s dead hand. “Poor idiot. You thought you were in control of things, didn’t you?” Betrayer asked the corpse. “Well, now you will be forgotten, never to be found again. Just like the bugs your kind are.” Betrayer gestured toward the oily silver pool. Those who couldn’t see the complex web of energy and matter would have thought he performed magic. And in a way, perhaps they were right. It was a fanciful, romantic way of thinking about it.

              A thick glob of the pool rose away from the rest at his command. It settled over Knight and covered him like a silver skin, at Betrayer’s direction. Then Betrayer forced the chaotic jumble of molecules and atoms away from the substance. Exposed to this temporary vacuum, the substance became the terrifying acid weapon the Empire used against its enemies. In seconds, it demolished Knight’s body. Relaxing his hold on the molecules, the atmosphere flowed back with a subtle pop. The voracious acid calmed back into its dormant form.

             
Shhh click. Clack. Shh.
Betrayer glanced up after flicking the substance back into its basin. Lumbering into the chamber was one of his Hunters. The lizard-like golem flicked its tongue at him.

              “Come to me,” Betrayer ordered. Obeying its creator’s order, the Hunter drew close. Betrayer petted its head. He could feel the energy the thing had managed to collect. “Well done,” he praised, then slammed his blade into the creature. All the energy the Hunter had collected was drawn into the knife. The knife, known as the
Edacaf
, was his second favorite. It could not trap a soul, but it
could
absorb energy and Spectrals. (It could be argued that they were the same thing, though there was a subtle difference.)

              The blade of the
Edacaf
shimmered with the energy stored in its core. This pleased him. A faint whooshing sound was his warning that the one free Soul Shadow was coming for him. Betrayer raised the
Edacaf
in a warding gesture. The female Soul Shadow couldn’t stop herself from touching the blade. She probably didn’t even know that she shouldn’t, for her own good. After all, it did appear to be a regular knife.

              Stunned, he could feel her push against the blade’s hold on her. “You shouldn’t have tried to take me,” he reprimanded her. “After all, I am finishing what you couldn’t.”

              “But you need a powerful Spectral and the
Lous-eci’dalb
to open the prison!” she protested.

              Betrayer couldn’t help it. He laughed. “There is a loophole. You are correct in that you need a special blade, but the detail you are missing is that it needs to have been forged by
me.
The
Edacaf
is one of mine.” He could feel her surprise that he had made both the
Lous-eci’dalb
and the one she was now trapped in, but he didn’t give her the opportunity to ask any questions. “You also need a significant amount of energy and a soul. You were correct in thinking that a Spectral would take care of the last two requirements,” he conceded, “however, there are other ways. The energy from Rylynn and the Hunter worked. All I needed was a soul…”

              “Where will you get it?” she asked eagerly, and Betrayer wondered how naive she was. He hadn’t thought, after all this time, that a Soul Shadow
could
be this naive.

              “Well, you already volunteered,” Betrayer said. She freaked out—frantically, she tried to force herself free, but she was too weak and had no way to access the energy stored in the blade. Betrayer smirked and looked up at the pulsating, rainbow-hued, yet dark crystal suspended above him. “It’s time to shake things up,” Betrayer said before tossing the
Edacaf
into the pool. He watched it slowly sink below the surface. Once the knife’s point vanished, he turned on his heel and left the chamber. Eventually, the
Edacaf
would reach the lock of the prison.

              Things would be different, then. His almost-brethren would be free to wreak havoc again. The Empire would fall and things would try to sort themselves out again. And through it all, he would watch the show with a favorite snack. Once in a while he would pull a string or two, when he felt like it. Then, he would plan his next game, because that was what he did. Life was a game, and
he
was the Game Master; the black hole at the center of everything. He was the unseen doom, the Betrayer of all life.

The End

The story continues in Book Three

Defender of the Empire: Chaos