Ivan Kal - What War Had Wrought

“They surprised us,” Garash said. “And even if the Shara Daim have the FTL technology, they couldn’t have had the time to retrofit all of their ships. We must strike now, before they do so.”

“There are things that I haven’t shared with you yet. Things that I learned about them from the Human’s mind during our battle.”

“What did you learn?” Garash asked.

“Nothing that would give you an advantage. The things that I learned were only bits and pieces from his unprotected surface memories, things that only raise more questions,” Valanaru said. “The Shara Daim and the Humans are more connected than we realized; they are the same people.”

“How do you mean? Our scientists said that they are similar, but that even genetically they are different species.”

Valanaru’s hand twitched, and she closed her eyes for a moment. “According to what I got from his mind, there are three races, the Shara Daim, Humans, and Nel, who are actually descended from the same race. I did not have the time to learn how that thing was possible, but I did a few other pieces. This ancestor race was called the People, and as far as the Human believed, they were the first intelligent race in the galaxy.”

“The People…” Garash said, intrigued. That was something that interested him. He had been trying to figure out the patterns of the galaxy, and in that search he had come across mentions of an old race, far more advanced than anyone else, who had disappeared from the galaxy a long time ago. “Did you learn anything else?” he asked.

“Nothing of consequence. A few more bits, memories of his life, images of worlds, pieces of conversations—nothing that would aid you in this conflict.”

“You could show me those memories and I could see for myself,” Garash said.

Valanaru visibly shook. “No, that wouldn’t be wise. Trust me on this, Garash, you don’t want to be anywhere near my mind right now.”

“What happened to you down there?”

“I suffered an attack unlike any I have ever experienced. And I am still fighting off its effects; it is taking all that I have to keep my mind whole, and myself sane,” Valanaru said.

Garash looked at her in surprise. The Valanaru that he knew would have never admitted weakness, would have never given let him see her in such a vulnerable state. He looked at his stump, reminding himself that he too had lost something on that planet. “We lost the first battle, but the next one will be fought aboard warships. We shall see how they fare against our fleet,” Garash said, determined to see the Shara Daim and the Empire suffer for the insult and defeat they had brought him.

Eight days later — November; Year 58 of the Empire — Bloodbringer

The shuttle landed gently on the massive Sowir construction ship, and Adrian stepped off as soon as the ramp lowered. Lurker of the Depths met him, and together they walked over to Lurker of the Depths’ office.

“How many more did you manage to make?”Adrian asked.

“Another four thousand.”

“That brings the number to five thousand and one hundred…”Adrian shook his head in dissatisfaction. “That’s not enough, nowhere near enough.”

“We’ve been focusing on defense platforms,”Lurker of the Depths sent.

“I know… I need you to do something else for me. How many missile pods do you think you can equip with skim drives in two days?”

Lurker of the Depths remained silent for a moment, thinking. “Two hundred, maybe, if we halt all other manufacturing.”

“Do it.”

“What are you planning, Adrian?”

“I plan on showing the Erasi just how big of a mistake they made when they decided to go to war with us.”

A few hours later, Adrian sat at the edge of Anessa’s bed and watched her sleep. On Numvani, he had learned just how important she was to him. He had known in the moment that he wouldn’t be fast enough to save her; he’d been convinced that he would watch another loved one die because he wasn’t good enough. And it was his fault. He’d insisted that they needed to meet with the Erasi; he’d thought that they would want to discuss peace, even though he was aware of the force they had brought.

“You really love her, huh?” Iris asked.

“I believe so. Yes.”

“Well, she’s not that bad, I guess, for a tyrant,” Iris said.

“I could’ve lost her, if Akash hadn’t been there… And because of me he’s gone.”

“Akash loved you. More than any other person around you, the wolions understood you. Both of them knew your emotions as intimately as they knew their own. Perhaps he knew you even better than you yourself did. He did what he did to spare you the pain you felt once before.”

“It was my fault,” Adrian said.

He was wrong, and Akash had paid the price. The wolion had died saving Anessa’s life, and Adrian had lost someone who had been a part of his life, a constant presence. Adrian looked at Anessa’s chest rising and falling, and Sora’s head with it. She was sleeping on the bed with Anessa, both resting from their injuries at the medical facility on Kaleras. Anessa had suffered a concussion, but with quick treatment, she was already recovering and should be back to full strength by tomorrow. Sora was emotionally drained. Adrian could feel her sorrow, in times when she let it spill through.

Slowly, Adrian felt Anessa return to consciousness. Her eyes opened and locked with his. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Like my head was smashed against rocks, repeatedly,” she answered drowsily. “How long was I asleep?”

“Eight days.”

“What happened? Where are we?”

“We are in the Kaleras system. What do you remember?”

“I remember fighting the Erasi O’fa,” Anessa said. “He was strong, the strongest I have ever fought against. I couldn’t defeat him, and then I remember using the drug. I freed myself and was fighting back, and then… It’s fuzzy…” she said. She noticed Sora and her eyes narrowed. She put her hand on Sora’s head and gently petted her. “Akash?”

“He died,” Adrian said sorrowfully.

“He saved my life…” Anessa said, and Adrian could see her hurting. “Before I met you, I would’ve never believed that someone could get so attached to what I thought were such simple beasts.” She shook her head, composing herself. “I can’t remember anything after that.”

“While you were fighting, I was engaged in a mental battle with the other O’fa. With help from Lurker of the Depths, we managed to defeat her, then I turned to help you. I fought the Erasi fighting you. I cut off his hand, and they retreated. We went back to the shuttle and back to the Bloodbringer. The Erasi tried to trap us; they had three ships hidden in the atmosphere of the planet, inside the storm. Two super battleships and the large ship we detected with their fleet. If the Bloodbringer hadn’t been retrofitted, didn’t have the skim drives… we would’ve been dead,” Adrian told her. “You were right, they never wanted peace.”

“I’m sorry, Adrian,” Anessa said, and he could see that she was. She had never believed that the Erasi would make peace, but she had allowed herself to be swayed by his opinions. The Empire’s policy was always to seek a peaceful resolution. And a great part of why they were pushing for that was because of past actions. The wars against the Sowir, the Ra’a’zani, the Furvor, even against the Shara Daim had not been handled well in Tomas’s opinion. And with the galaxy opening up, with them meeting more and more alien races, he had wanted to establish a more understanding policy.