Yes, she acknowledged that humans had not yet learned to navigate the stars, and no, they were not technically under the protection of the League.
Kali had no doubt, however, that the humans were in possession of nuclear weapons and would not lie down without a fight. In addition, the League of Eight would muster again if the Crulla attacked such a large population of sentient beings, even if their planet was not yet admitted in to their ranks as league members.
Not that the Crulla possess the strength to attack such an advanced world, she thought, as she studied the hologram that spun in mid-air in front of the prince’s throne.
Prince Tass was also studying the blue globe. Suddenly, his eyes snapped to the couches within the salon and he snapped, “I need to meet with my military Commanders now! Drams, please remove your children and go to your quarters.”
The grieving females and their children exited the prince’s quarters, while the military Commanders sat at the table, waiting for their high prince to make a decision. No one uttered a word. While their prince was in this kind of mood, anything spoken aloud could, and often did, earn the unlucky perpetrator a whipping.
Finally, Tass Cuullar looked to his Commanders, “What do you propose we do now?”
Immediately, the Commanders began throwing their ideas into the air. Some urged their prince to follow through on their attack plans on Earth, while others shook their heads and claimed the best way to feed their forces and gain revenge at the same time was to turn back and nip at the League’s flank as they made their way back to the central hub.
Still others thought the remaining Crulla fleet should just make its way back home to Ve’empeer, a planet which was now, sadly, uninhabitable.
Finally, there was a lull and Dram Kali Mourouvi spoke into the silence. “I have a thought, my prince.”
Dram Tass raised his dark eyes and growled, “Speak, Kali.”
Kali stared around at her uncle’s Commanders. There were battle worn and grieving, starvation etching deep hollows in their cheeks and under their eyes.
“I would have us move forward into the Sollus system, but instead of attacking Earth as we originally intended, I think we should infiltrate the population as our ancestor, Dram Drack Cuullar did so long ago.”
There was an excited ripple of discussion amongst some of the older warriors as ancient stories of Dram Drack Cuullar stirred their memories.
It was said that Drack had enslaved hundreds, if not thousands, of the sentient life forms on Earth without the creatures even being aware of it. It was only when the old warrior grew careless that the humans rose up and hounded their forefather off planet and back to the star system from whence he came.
It had been centuries since that happened, but even now, the warriors gathered believed it could be done again; perhaps even on a global scale.
Tass’ dark eyes met those of his niece and he smiled as a plan started to form in his mind.
Bonus Chapter
The Guardians
Episode Two
1.
Captain Orta sat and watched the footage from the opening exchanges in the battle.
The young Lieutenant paused the recording as the Captain held up his hand, leaning in close until his eyes were mere inches from the screen.
“Again, please,” the Captain said quietly.
The Lieutenant nudged the footage back slightly and recommenced the playback.
“Slowly...”
He adjusted the speed until the Captain confirmed he was satisfied. The recording was moving along at only a few frames per second and the Lieutenant could still not figure out what had caught the Captain’s attention.
“There! Stop!” he called suddenly. The screen paused. “Lieutenant, come and tell me what you make of this.”
The young officer hurried across to his Captain’s side and stared at the still image on the screen.
Against the backdrop of the Ontarray moon, several huge enemy ships hung in a loose formation. All around, League fighters and capitol ships closed in, blocking their escape and preparing for combat. A handful of vessels from both sides were firing their opening salvos.
The Lieutenant frowned and shook his head, his cool grey eyes failing to find an anomaly.
“Here,” the Captain pointed to an area of colour partially obscured by the dark edge of the moon. “Can you enhance that area?”
“Yes sir.”
“Enlarge and clean it up as much as you can,” Captain Orta ordered quietly.
The Lieutenant returned to his control console and began manipulating the image. The door to the briefing room slid silently open and a tall, slim Uskaran officer walked in. She turned her violet-hued, almost featureless head and located the Captain using the sonar nub above her single, closed eye. She approached quickly and came to a stop just behind his seat as he turned to face her.
“Commander Eirda,” he smiled, “What can I do for you?”
The Commander took a small cube-like device from a pouch on her belt and touched it to the chin part of her empty face.
“Captain Orta,” a semi-digital voice emitted from the cube as it translated her thought patterns into sound, “Admiral Doryk and General Tiello are meeting with the Sasq Commanders and the Andromedan Council. They are demanding your attendance.”
Captain Orta nodded thoughtfully, “Yes, indeed,” he glanced back at the now enhanced image on his screen and his eyes widened.
“Captain?” Commander Eirda picked up the change in his thought patterns and the sudden urgency in his demeanour.
“They got away,” he whispered to himself.
“Captain?” the Commander repeated, “I do not understand.”
Captain Orta stared hard at the image. Even though it was mostly obscured by the edge of the Ontarray moon, there was no doubt in his mind as to what he was looking at.
“Can you play the footage with this enhancement?” he asked the Lieutenant.
“Of course, sir.”
“Excellent. I need you to send it to my personal access link. How long will that take?”
The young officer tapped at a keypad. “Done, sir.”
“Outstanding. Thank you.” He stood and nodded at the Commander, “Lead the way, I have a briefing to attend, and then you need to get back to the command ship and begin preparations to leave.”
*
The command room of the hub was a remarkable space; a dome 100 feet across and 60 feet high at the centre. All around the dome, four gantry walkways provided workspace for hundreds of beings in every aspect of League command, from scanning the surrounding systems and communications traffic to checking on supply movements between protected worlds and outposts.
This room was the mobile centre of command for the entire League of Eight.
Suspended fifteen feet below the top of the dome just above the highest gantry, a suspended, round deck area was home to a round table with enough capacity to seat 50 personnel. Each seat at the table had computer access and an internal comms system. Access to the deck was via one of two opposite glass corridors.
Captain Orta entered via the East access corridor; Commander Eirda stopped at the doorway as he passed through, and then continued on towards the docking levels and her other duties.
Half of the seats were taken, and from the gathered cast, Captain Orta could tell they were only waiting for his arrival.
“Admirals, Generals, honoured Commanders of the League,” he bowed to the assembly. “My apologies for my late arrival, but I believe my delay justified.”
Several officers gazed at him as he took his seat alongside Captain Pesha. He quickly scanned the faces and his eyes finally came to rest against those of the Sasq warrior he knew to be Onio. He offered a gentle nod, which the Sasq returned.
“And what was the nature of your delay?” the dual-toned voice of Admiral Doryk asked. The Poleaean officer was typical of his species; short, squat, with wide, bulbous eyes on the side of his spherical head. He regarded the
Captain with interest, his mottled skin fluctuating between orange and grey, his narrow mouth upturned in an ever-present smile.
“Admiral, if I may, I have some footage from the battle over Ontarray that this gathering must see.”
“By all means, Captain,” the Admiral blinked consent.
With a curt nod, Captain Orta accessed the computer before him and pulled up the footage, transmitting it to the other monitors around the table.
“What is it we are looking at?” the Admiral asked as he tilted his head toward the image.
“This is an area of space behind the primary Ontarray moon,” he explained, “and this…” he replayed the spirals of red light as they spun into sight and then vanished, “is the escaping group of Crulla vessels activating their FTL drives and getting away, whilst the rest of their fleet kept us busy.”
“But they sustained massive losses.” Captain Pesha reasoned, “It makes no sense that they would allow such destruction.”
Captain Orta considered the older human, a man who could trace his ancestry back to early royalty on his home planet, Kuppar. His grey-streaked hair always perfect, his deep brown eyes never showing concern. Now though, his eyebrows were furrowed and his expression confused.
“That depends on who was on board those ships.”
“What are you saying?” the Sasq called Onio spoke sharply. “We wiped out their fleet.”
“Most of it, yes,” Captain Orta agreed, “but I think something or someone significant got away.” He replayed the footage again. “And whoever or whatever it was, will undoubtedly still be looking for another food source.”
“Is there any way we can use this footage to figure out a bearing on these escaped ships?” Admiral Doryk asked.
“If we managed to get the FTL traces on our ship’s sensors, it may be possible,” Captain Orta replied, “But this battle was too long ago to rely on any traces leading us to them, and we have no fleet resources remaining in the system.”
“At least they are heading away from the Sollus system.” Onio growled.
Watch for Episode II.
About The Authors
Linell Jeppsen is a writer of science fiction and fantasy. Her vampire novel, Detour to Dusk, has received multiple four and five star reviews. Her novel Story Time, with well over fifty 4 and 5 star reviews, is a science fiction, post-apocalyptic novel and has been touted by the Paranormal Romance Guild, Sandy’s Blog Spot, Coffeetime Romance, Bitten by Books and more than fifty top reviewers as a five star read, filled with terror, love, loss, and the indomitable beauty and strength of the human spirit.
Story Time was also nominated as the best new read of 2011 by the PRG!
Her dark fantasy novel, Onio (a story about a half-human Sasquatch who falls in love with a human girl), was released in December 2012 and won 3rd place as the best fantasy romance of 2012 by the PRG reviewers guild!
For more information about Linell Jeppsen and her novels, visit https://neljeppsen.weebly.com, or
Wolfpack Publishing Author’s Page
J Bryden Lloyd is primarily a writer of Science Fiction, but has current projects spanning several other genres. His widely acclaimed YA Science Fiction series, The Chronicles of Jenson Quest, is an ongoing series which is due to continue over the next few years. The Zubot Master is a short children’s sci-fi series, and amongst all his other projects, he has written two Meet My Shorts! short story collections in mixed genres.
This is the first work he has released working alongside another author, though there are several collaborations presently underway.
https://brydenlloyd.wix.com/scribe
https://www.facebook.com/JBrydenLloyd
Free Book
And here’s one for free, as a thank you from Wolfpack Publishing. Check out Her Majesty’s Yankee by Thom Nicholson:
The Works of Linell Jeppsen
STORY TIME
DETOUR TO DUSK
ONIO
THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY
(THE PREQUEL TO STORY TIME)
THE WAR OF ODDS
DEADMAN’S LAMENT
DEADMAN’S FURY
The Works of J Bryden Lloyd
THE CHRONICLES OF JENSON QUEST
The Rise Of Va’kaar
The Realms Of Jurrii
The Cause
Chronicles 1-3 (The First Trilogy Book)
THE ZUBOT MASTER : BOOK 1 – TIME SLIP
MEET MY SHORTS! THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
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