Tag: choir of silence

Natalya took a deep breath. “The first race that the Evea’shi met kidnapped and enslaved them. The second killed the first and would have killed them. The third species they met deceived and attacked them and then were killed themselves. In this formative period of their cultural, every species they encountered has done nothing but use or try to kill them. And so, every species that they’ve met since, they consider to be their Enemy, to be a threat to them – if not now, then in the future – because they’ve never known anything else.”

Arykka pressed her good hand against the window, evaluating Natalya warily as the other woman approached her prison. After a moment, the redhead laid her palm over the Evea’shi’s, resting her forehead against the transparent metal. It felt cool on her skin. “What,” she began, taking a moment to keep the anger out of her voice. “Did you do to me?”

LeFay frowned. “They’re holding back.” “I know; that’s what got us worried. It should be a good sign, that despite their technological superiority, they’re sensitive to losses and aren’t committing the bulk of their fleet, but they’ve been stepping up the intensity of their probing attacks for the past two weeks.”

“How’s she doing?” The nurse in attendance looked up as LeFay entered the room. It took her a moment to recognize him; half his face was wrapped in bandages, as was his right arm. “She’s doing fine, sir. What… happened?” Donald grimaced painfully. “Ambush,” he replied tersely, stepping past the younger woman to Natalya’s bedside. She was breathing on her own; that was something. “She’s not in any pain?” he asked, changing the subject. “Not that we can tell, sir.”

The unaerodynamic craft banked, dipping one ungainly ‘wing’ towards the welcome party as it circled the plateau and Vul-reni’s valve pulsed in her chest. She did not know how much firepower the invader’s ship possessed, but even a jet fighter could handily wipe her and her team out before they could properly greet any attackers. Had they discovered the sniper teams that lay buried in the sand? It appeared they had not, as the craft finished its orbit and hovered in mid-air before the Speechmistress and her team, flat-footed landing gear extending from several spots on its lower facing as it slowly lost altitude, gently setting itself on the Balaka Plateau’s soil.

The increase in Lefu presence had convinced the brass another major attack was imminent and if the aliens came in force, the Concord needed every ship available to beat them back – and deal with this new threat from the ‘Necros’. Thankfully, at the moment the second alien force was not Command’s priority – if the specs from the Empties prize vessel were right, then the Necros were slower then molasses in hyperspace. And they’d have to go through the Lefu-held systems to reach Concordat space. With luck, those two will kill each other off and save us the trouble.

Brian looked up at them both, his face white. “The planet…” He brought the image up onto the main viewscreen. Abigail felt her jaw drop open, her knees shaking. She grabbed the Navigation console to steady herself; it was the only thing that kept her from falling.