Ivan Kal - What War Had Wrought

“We are ready, Kar Daim,” Do Sun Arisak said.

“Good, let’s get this over with,” Anessa said, and turned to look at Garaam, who was standing close by. “Monitor the system. If anything happens that makes you suspect a trap, call the ground team and prepare to get us out,”Anessa sent.

“Don’t worry, I’ll fly the Bloodbringer into the atmosphere if I have to. If the Erasi are planning something, they will regret it,”Garaam responded.

With that, Anessa went inside and settled in the chair beside Adrian and the wolions, which had their own specially designed harnesses to strap in. Adrian had tried to get Akash and Sora to stay on the ship, but the two had other plans. They flew through the atmosphere for a while before the pilot finally reported that they were close and began landing. So far everything had gone according to plan; the Erasi shuttle had already arrived at the meeting spot but hadn’t moved since.

Anessa felt the shuttle land, and as soon as she got the go-ahead from the pilot, she stood and started towards the exit ramp. Once the shuttle’s ramp lowered, she stepped out into the harsh sunlight and dry air of the planet. She took a few steps forward over the rocky ground, making room for others to leave the shuttle behind her.

Adrian came to stand beside her, and they looked out towards the other side of the island. They were too far away to see the Erasi shuttle clearly, but it was visible. They were supposed to meet in the middle, between the two shuttles, and the Erasi had told them that they were meeting with two of their O’fa and that they could number two as well, which meant Adrian and Anessa would go alone. She wasn’t worried about the two O’fa; she was confident in her skills and Adrian’s, and they would be more than capable of dealing with anything.

She heard Adrian instruct the wolions to stay with the shuttle, and then some growls and whines as a response. But in the end, he managed to convince them that they would be able to see him at all times. Then together they started walking towards the meeting spot.

“It is them,”Valanaru sent.

Garash turned to look at the Weaver. “You are certain? We might be trying to trap them, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t try to trap us in return.”

“I am certain,”Valanaru sent as she lowered the viewing device from her eyes and retracted her mental tendrils back behind her shields. She was one of a very few telepaths capable of actually touching the mind of another telepath without them noticing. And she had touched the minds of the two coming towards them now. She didn’t learn much, as both had their shields up, only that they were both very powerful, as powerful as what the Erasi believed Dai Sha—or rather, Kar Daim Anessa to be. That, coupled with the visual confirmation of their facial features, made her certain that it was exactly who they were waiting for.

“Good, let’s get this done. I have a war to finish,”Garash sent, and started walking towards them. Valanaru followed only a moment after.

Adrian studied the two figures coming towards Anessa and him. One was a Gatrey dressed in elaborate robe-like clothes, and judging by the height and the shape of the head, Adrian concluded that this Gatrey was a female. The other figure had four arms and two legs, and was clearly an Uvaramo, or rather Loraru, as they were calling themselves long ago. Their race was the one that had left the Union ship on Earth, which was then recovered by Olympus. The Uvaramo was male, and far larger than what the Empire’s records suggested the Loraru should be. He was over a head taller than Adrian; not quite as tall as Anessa, but still much taller than he should have been. He wore a kind of battle armor that was green in tint with solid plates connected with black material over the joints and other places where a solid plate could inhibit movement.

The two stopped in front of Anessa and Adrian, and after only a moment of silence, the Uvaramo spoke. “I am very glad that you decided to accept our offer, Kar Daim, Lord Sentinel. I am O’fa Garash, and I serve as the Commander of the Erasi forces, as well as the ultimate authority in this sector of the Erasi.” He gestured with one of his arms to the Gatrey at his side. “This is O’fa Valanaru, who is here in an advisory role.”

“Why have you called for this meeting?” Anessa asked. “You’ve refused all diplomatic attempts by the Empire until now.”

“The diplomats on Tarabat are low level; they were waiting for me to arrive in the sector. As to why we called for the meeting, it is simple. We want to end this war quickly,” O’fa Garash said to Anessa, and took a step forward, spreading his arms wide. “You have had some success leading the Shara Daim forces against us. You united your people under your rule, and that is complicating matters.”

Anessa tilted her head. “You attacked us first, and with no provocation.”

“We only acted as a preemptive measure. The practice of Shara Daim has been known to us for some time. It was only a question of when you would’ve turned against us,” the O’fa said, and took another step forward.

Anessa grimaced. She knew that what the Erasi was saying was right. Adrian took his eyes of him and turned to look at the Gatrey, Valanaru, who was studying him. He narrowed his eyes. There was something strange about her, something on the edge of his consciousness that he could not quite grasp.

“I will not deny that,” Anessa said, “but the Elders no longer rule the Shara Daim. I do. And under my rule, that will not happen.”

“Sadly, the Erasi can’t take that chance,” the O’fa said as he crossed the halfway point to them. “And without you, the Shara Daim will give us much less resistance.”

Adrian frowned and started turning his head to look at the Uvaramo when something in his mind clicked and he could feel both of the O’fa gathering Sha. “Watch out!” he yelled out, and just barely managed to trigger his armor to deploy his helm before a massive telepathic attack slammed into him, forcing him down to his knee.

Adrian’s warning came a split second before the Uvaramo attacked; in an astonishing burst of speed, his two upper arms snapped upwards, sending a kinetic blast towards her, just as she jumped to the side to evade it. Triggering her armor to deploy the helmet mid-jump, she raised her arm and fired a kinetic blast while she was still in the air. It rippled from her arm towards the O’fa. With a wave of his hand, her attack disappeared, and both of his lower arms pointed towards her as weapons on his forearms deployed. A moment later, the weapons fired.

Anessa landed and had enough time to create a shield of force between herself and her attacker, catching the first bolt on the shield. All of it happened in barely a second, and before the second bolt struck, she was already moving to the side, triggering the weapon on her Sentinel armor. The second bolt struck her shield and was quickly followed by the third, and then the fourth one that broke her shield. The mini-turret deployed over her shoulder and opened fire, forcing the O’fa to momentarily stop his own attack and generate a shield to stop it.

With some respite, Anessa glanced to where Adrian was kneeling and could feel him engaged in a mind battle with the Gatrey. That moment of carelessness almost killed her. The O’fa closed the distance between them in a blur of speed, and from near point-blank range, he fired his weapons at her torso. The only thing that saved her was the Sentinel armor, which was designed to withstand similar weapons fire. She attempted to raise a shield between them as she jumped backwards, bolts of weapons fire from her turret still firing and sizzling against the O’fa’s shield that was somehow still standing. As soon as her shield started sliding into place, a wave of Sha burst from the O’fa, disrupting it, and a force grabbed her while still in the air and threw her to the side.