The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) (80 page)

He gave the signal for stopping.

As his first watch took positions the exhausted group of refugees collapsed on the ground. The only ones that didn’t seem to be exhausted were the Sicarians, three of the Illians and three other aliens from races he didn’t know. Two were mammal at least he thought they were with large fur covering their body and the other was reptilian. They just sat down and took out some off the food they carried and started eating. They watched the humans carefully. Two of the Illians started walking across the collapsed civilians giving them what seemed words of encouragement. The children were already a sleep by the time Rhodes walked in to the camp. His team covered the rear. Morai and Arnes together with the other two Illians that were accompanying him walked in with them. Arnes and Morai came towards him.

“Thank you for allowing us to rest.”

“There is no need for that. It was a good position and my men need the rest as well. We move out in four hours. Arnes knows how we count our time so he will give you the warning. Take some rest. You need it.”

He turned towards Arnes and his friends.

“You did well today, and so did they. We have a lot of territory to cross before we reach the first of what we think is your safe territory. From tomorrow we’ll make short brakes every four hours. That should give them more strength for what waits ahead.”

“Thank you Lieutenant Kelley. Thank you for saving them.”

Kelley smiled at the Illian.

“Go get some rest. You need it as well.”

As Arnes walked away Kelley sat down by the stream and closed his eyes.

He was a sleep almost instantly.

Dunir and Gorma watched the humans as they took positions. They were taking every precaution against attack. One group moved out almost immediately to cover them both at front and in the rear. From the way they acted and moved it was obvious that they were professional soldiers. And from that and from their weapons they knew that they are not escaped slaves. They knew it in the first moment when they looked at their weapons. They looked primitive but considering that they already eliminated several groups of dacarians without any difficulties they were effective.

They both knew of the legends, and of the real world of humanity. So did the two Macassi. The Alliance knew of the humanity’s home world and had a good notion of their capabilities.

Those weapons were human weapons of war but it was hard to believe that in the years that the alliance was in war with the empire and forgot about contacting the humans they managed to develop faster than light drive. From what they knew before their capture they were still decades, maybe even centuries away from it. They were still confined to their solar system. Seeing them here now was a big surprise. They exchanged looks with the two Macassi soldiers and the Lacarian alliance soldiers came to them.

“What do you think of them?”

“We don’t know what to think Dunir. We all know the stage of their development before we were captured. And both your and our scientists agreed that they will need at least one more of their centuries to create a faster than light drive. And a lot of luck considering the fragmented society they had.”

“Something must have happened, something that forced them to concentrate all their efforts toward that goal.”

Dunir looked at his three friends.

“Considering they are here now I think it is safe to assume that the Dacarians are the main reason for that advancement.”

“By the way they look at you two Dunir it seems they know your race.”

“And our ancestor’s betrayal.”

One of the Macassi put his furry hand on Dunir’s shoulder.

“It was one mistake your race did Dunir. You are not at fault for it. And they would be wrong to think that you are.”

The Sicarian looked at the humans and then at the group of Illians and other races that were resting.

“It was one mistake Liran but a mistake that condemned us all. The Alterans would have stopped this evil from spreading across the galaxy if we kept our pride in check. That one mistake brought all this. My ancestors destroyed their worlds, attacked and decimated their fleets and helped the Dacarians win that war. And yet when they turned against us, the races that feared more the gentle offer of help by the Alterans then the lies of the Dacarians, the remaining fleets of mankind attacked their fleets and helped us. They helped their own destroyers. The Ksand were one of the few races that never left their side and they paid dearly for that.”

“I don’t think these humans have that gentle side the Alterans did.”

“I hope for their sake and all of us as well they don’t. That trust and compassion was what cost them the war.”

“We should talk with them. We need to know what happened and they need to know that they have allies out there.”

Dunir looked at Gorma.

“You’re right. We need to talk to them and considering that they know our race…”

Gorma looked at his friend and nodded.

“Go and talk with them.”

Dunir rose and slowly started going towards the humans he thought were the commanding officers.

He noticed the human he knew as Kelley sleeping by the stream. The human called Ellis was standing close to him watching the stream and checking his weapon.

The others were spread out around the camp most resting but in positions that allowed them to keep watchful eye on both their companions and for any outside danger.

Ellis heard the Sicarian approaching.

He turned his head and looked at the tall alien.

The Sicarian returned his look. A moment later without asking for permission he sat next to Ellis.

He looked at the stream and at the jungle for several moments. To Ellis it seemed like he was trying to think what to say.

He noticed the other Sicarian and the other two unknown aliens watching them. So were the other seals. He waved his hand to Flint to show him that there was no danger and then returned his attention to the Sicarian. He remembered the bodies of the two dead members of the race that were back on Earth. The Sicarian next to him was smaller then them and as he watched him he noticed that he also looked different. And it was not because of the scars that marked him as warrior.  His body had more muscles, and his gills were a little larger he also had what Ellis guessed was a birth mark on his left cheek just below his eye. He smiled at the thought. That made him almost human.

Dunir heard the smile and turned. The human looked friendly.

“You seem to know my race human.”

Ellis turned his head and looked at the stream. He picked up a pebble and threw it in the water.

“It seems that way doesn’t it.” He turned and met the sicarian’s gaze.

“You’re right we do.”

Dunir turned and exhaled, As Ellis heard it he understood. He remembered the story about the final war between the Alterans and the Dacarians. He remembered the images that the AI’s showed them. He knew of the betrayal. It was a burden that it seemed all members of the race carried with them.

“We…my race…we have a big debt that we need to repay.”

Ellis didn’t answer. He just watched the circles in the water as they spread from the last pebble he threw.

“We know of the past and of the mistakes but we all make them. What we do after is what matters.”

The Sicarian turned and looked at the spread out creatures in the camp.

“This is our after human, all of this. We were a proud race and in our pride we failed to see the right path.”

“You are not alone in your mistake. The story I know is that many races betrayed our ancestors not just yours. They should share the blame.”

Dunir looked at the sky. It was hard to see it from the tall trees but a little patch of it was visible.

“Of all the races that turned against the Alterans seven were powerful and great. The last member of the sixth race died a hundred cycles ago, the Satorians are no more. So are the Gorg, the Mari, the Fulrians, the Arvitanians and the Telarites. They all died fighting to the last men, women and child. We were seven warrior races. All sworn to protect the younger races just like your ancestors and we failed. Now my race will soon join them.”

Ellis watched him in stunned silence. It was a glimpse of what happened in the past. This was something no one else knew. Not even the AI’s. Not Aria and not even Anaya. Six races gone, hunted down, to the last member. That showed cruelty beyond belief.

He clenched his fist.

He turned and looked at the sicarian.

“No one is perfect. If there is one thing that our history taught us it is that we all make mistakes. And that some of the most terrible mistakes happen because we have good intentions. You made a mistake and you paid the price for it. You paid dearly.”

Dunir looked at the human with surprise.

He didn’t expect the fire that was in those words. He could feel the anger and he was surprised that it was not directed at him. It was directed towards the Dacarians. That brought a tear to his eye.

He wiped it before the human could see it.

Ellis stood up and pointed to the other human soldiers.

“We all know of that ancient past Sicarian but you won’t find a human here tonight that is angry at you. Yes it hurts to know what your ancestors did, but you are not responsible for their mistakes. What we know is that we owe you a debt of gratitude.”

Dunir looked at the human in shock.

“Gratitude… Why?”

“We know the past but not a single human here, and back on Earth would hold it against you. For all of us your debt is more then paid.”

“But how, how could you forgive and forget something that brought your race on the brink of extinction?”

“If my race was ever close to extinction it was not by your fault. It was of our own making.”

Ellis smiled. He looked at the stream again.

“You wonder why and you wonder how we know of you? Back on Earth we have the bodies of two members of your race. One was killed by a dacarian legionary, the other died by the hand of a human.”

Dunir looked at Ellis in stunned silence. He felt no anger even though it bothered him that humans killed a member of his race.

Ellis watched him for a second searching for any hint of his feelings. He found none but the shocked expression from the knowledge that Sicarians made it to Earth. He continued.

“He died an honorable dead by his own request from the human that found him and saved him from the dacarians that were holding him prisoner. His last act before dying my friend was to give the human a warning and to read him the coordinates of the point in our solar system in which the dacarian fleet would emerge from a captured datapad…

That allowed us to trap the bastards and utterly destroy them even though we paid a heavy toil for that victory.”

“What was his name?”

“I think it was Agnail. There was something else but I can’t remember.”

The name touched a core in Dunir. He knew a general that was called Agnail, the son of the last surviving Dean of his race.

But that was a name he hadn’t heard in a long time. And it was possible that it was not the general. He was sure that the dacarians would keep such a prisoner close not send him on a scout ship in enemy territory especially an enemy as dangerous as the humans.

He wanted to ask more but as he watched Ellis he realized that the human told him all he knew.

“It is good to know that he died free. I thank you for that.”

“If you survive the next few months you can thank the man that freed him in person. He will be able to tell you his full name.”

Dunir looked at the human with obvious surprise in his eyes. What he just said that meant that this was not just a simple scouting mission. It was a reconnaissance mission launched before the invasion forces arrived. He remembered the first moment, the first briefing his commanding officer received about the hope they all searched for, the long gone Alterans, about their descendants the humans. He remembered the shock, the disappointment about how that race has regressed. That hope almost died that day. But as he watched the human now he felt it rising again. He remembered the stories. The recordings he watched form the now forgotten wars of the past. If you took of the armor those ancient humans wore it was hard to notice any difference. And as he saw his eyes he knew that that ancient fire still burns inside them. The galaxy trembled in that ancient past as these two races unleashed the full fury of their war. Now eons later that conflict was starting again. He didn’t know how the humans managed to make that leap from a planet bound race to a space faring civilization once again in such a short time but… He thanked every god he knew of it.

“If what you say is true then we pose a threat to your mission. Why not leave us and just keep your teams and presence here hidden?”

Ellis exhaled.

“You’re right we probably should have stayed hidden. And we could. But…when we first came to this world we didn’t know what we would find here. We came to this world to find and destroy the evidence of our existence. And then we saw the camps. Where we thought we would find only dacarians we found you. We found humans serving as slaves.”