The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) (83 page)

“You will pay in blood for every feet of ground we lose bastards. You will win but it will be a hollow victory, one that you will never forget.”

He noticed one of his officers coming.

“What is it?”

“Sir the council is asking that you attend the meeting with the humans that arrived in the city. They want you to talk with them about our defenses.”

He cursed in his mind.

The fools acted like there wasn’t a war coming their way. He heard about the mysterious human unit that rescued some slaves and helped the survivors of one of the frontal bases. There were also rumors that there were other units out there as well. He heard the story about the chance that they are from Terra, the legendary Alteran home world. In his heart he hoped that it was true but he knew that there was nothing they could do now. If some of them survived what was to come than they could think about the future but now all that was just wasting time.

“Why not hold that meeting with some of the lower commanders. Don’t they know that we have a battle ahead of us?”

The younger officer shrugged.

“They said that you have to attend sir. And they requested the presence of general Golak as well.”

“Very well you may inform them that we will be there.”

As the officer left he looked at Hanno and Maukar.

“Watch the situation and implement the plan. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

The human and Sicarian nodded.

“It will be done as we planned General. The troops will follow your orders and withdraw before they are surrounded.”

He nodded to Hanno and looked again at the map. He knew that not all will be able to get out in time. Thousands will die and be trapped behind enemy lines. It was inevitable.

But those that will survive will link with the other forces on the second line and give the dacarians hell long before they hit the final and strongest defense. Ksamona was where he planned to bleed them dry.

The last fortress city held for two cycles. He knew that they can’t last that long. But he hoped that he will manage to hold them for at least half a cycle. That would be enough to inflict such casualties that they would never forget them. This was his people’s last battle and he planned to make it a battle that will echo in the memory of every dacarian that lives.

He turned and followed Golak towards the council chambers.

He knew that the humans would be going there as well at these moments.

                                               CHAPTER TWELVE

Rivers looked at Anderson as they were being led to the council chambers. The Illian invited them all but they all agreed that Rivers and Anderson were the commanders and the ones that should represent Earth in this meeting. They discussed about how much to reveal to their new allies and agreed that they first have to learn what were the chances that they could survive and stop this attack.

From what he knew he doubted that they were big. This city was heavily fortified and beautiful but it would soon turn in to a deadly trap, a trap that they couldn’t allow themselves to be caught in.

As they walked the underground halls he was reminded of the movies depicting cities of dwarfs back on Earth. He smiled as he remembered the Lord of the Rings. But he had to admire the beauty. The arcs were amazing. He could hear the voices of people in the rooms on the other sides of the walls and he noticed the defensive positions that were built. There were soldiers manning them even now. Most of them were Illians but there were also many humans and Sicarians. He noticed even several Ksand.

They stopped as they reached a large, several meters tall door. The guards opened it and showed them that they could move inside. They looked at their belts and the handguns and knives hanging on them but one look from Rivers and Anderson was enough to persuade them that there was no way that they would give them up.

As they entered the room they were greeted by a mixed group of aliens and several humans. They were all older. There were several Ksand and as Rivers watched them he could see their advance age. And it was the same for almost every member of the council. He now understood why they were called elders. They truly were. And he guessed that that meant that they were truly smart. At least that was the idea and the legend.

One of the Ksand stood up.

“I’m honored to see an Alteran walk these halls again after so many cycles.”

They both looked at the Ksand with surprise as the language he spoke registered. It was the language of the Alterans. They both learned it with help from Aria using a program that made them fluent in it during the trip. Every member of the Excelsior knew it.

The Ksand looked at them as if waiting. Rivers responded.

“We are honored elder to be here. And we are honored that you speak the language of Alteran. “

As he responded he could hear the gushes and the whispers of every member in the council. The Ksand, the Sicarians and one strange mammalian creature that reminded him of a mix of a cat and a wolf stepped from their chairs and as Rivers and Anderson watched in wonder they all bowed.

“What the…”

Anderson was interrupted as two other people entered the chamber. From the way they acted and moved they were both soldiers.

They both looked with surprise at the nine council elders that bowed to the two humans.

Egert and Golak looked with surprise at the Elders. They were the smartest people on this world, the leaders of the rebellion. And the Ksand and the Sicarians were the most important members. And they bowed before the two humans. He noticed the surprise on the faces of the other elders but he also noticed the respect in their eyes as they watched the two humans in the center of the room.

Before they could say anything Golak noticed the look on Mral the only elder of the Alliance to be part of the council. And he understood. Egert was about to speak when they heard one of the humans speak in a language that their translators told them was a language that was spoken by a race that he believed was long gone.

“There is no need for bowing councilors. We are all equal here.”

The councilors stood up and returned to their seats. Two of the guards brought chairs for both of them.

The same Ksand spoke again.

“There is every need Alteran. When your ancestors came to this world before they left they promised that one day their descendants will return. You now honor that pledge.”

“But you do not know why we are here. You do not know the mission we have.”

“The reason is not important. The message your presence here caries is enough. The other races here know only of the legends about you. But we here the Ksand, the Sicarians and the Berilians we know the truth. We know of honor and we know of the Alteran word. You are the chosen race. The protectors left by the Icarians and now you have risen again. The Icarians left the mantle to you and it is yours to take and protect.”

Rivers watched the Ksand and he admired them. As he listened he finally understood what the Alterans were once and in his heart he hoped that humanity will one day be that again. He knew that they had big shoes to fill. But in order to do that humanity needed time and for that time to be bought this world had to die.

And he knew that these creatures deserved to know the truth.

“I’m deeply honored elder and touched by your words. And I’m honored to be the human that has the chance to speak to three members of races that walked and fought beside our ancestors. Even if one of them still carries the guilt over the betrayal his race did in those ancient times.”

He noticed the Sicarians wince at his words. As the Ksand prepared to speak he raised his hand to show him that he has more to say. He turned and looked at the Sicarians.

“Your race made a mistake elders and it was costly but your race is also the reason that we are here today that our world is free and that we are free. So you are released from that pledge. You are an honorable race and never let anyone say otherwise.

My lords I know of the past and I know of the legends that have arisen as time passed. I know that you look at us and in us you see hope and saviors. And yes I really hope that my race will be that for all of you. But here today we are not what you think. We are not the saviors of this world. We will be its destroyers.”

He heard the shocked yells from the present in the room. The only ones that stayed quiet were the Ksand and the Sicarians.

He continued.

“You call us Alterans because we speak the language of our ancestors. And in some part of us, some part of our past, our blood we are descendants of the creatures that long ago left this world and returned to our home. But we are not those who you think we are.”

He looked at the human member of the council and smiled.

“We come from the world that gave birth to our race, a world we call Earth, and we represent humanity. We are not Alterans although we hope that one day we will rise as high as they did. But right now we represent just one world. A world that repelled an invasion sent to destroy it, an invasion that we traced to this world. We want to be what you think us to be but for that we need time. We need our secret to stay safe.”

“And for that you need to kill everyone who knows that.”

Rivers and Anderson looked at the general standing across them as he spoke.

The Illian returned their stare.

“Yes. We stopped and destroyed the invasion fleet. And yes my team is a scout team sent here to learn all it can about our enemy. Until several years ago we had no idea of our past, we didn’t even know that there was any intelligent life out there. Now we know there is. We know that there is evil but we also know that there is honor and good.

I wish I could tell you that you will survive what is to come, but that would be a lie. Some of you may live, and those that do, they will come with us. But in order for our race to have a chance this world has to die.”

“The Alterans were the only ones that could stop the Farsians and the Dacarians because when it came to war they were as ruthless as them. But they were not like you.”

Rivers looked at the Elder who spoke. He was a Berilian.

“And I already said that we are their descendants but we are not them Elder. My race is a noble one, but my race will always come first. I’m a soldier of the Federation Army of Earth. I swore an oath to defend humanity and my world. And that was the oath that every soldier of that army took. The dacarians defeated our ancestors because even if they were as strong as them they were also naïve. We are not them. We rose to where we are on our world in a history filled with wars and horrors that you cannot imagine. The scars we have are not from dacarians they are from other humans in wars that we fought between ourselves. We know war Elders. We know all its secrets, all its horrors. We know it for the monster it is. And we are masters in it. The dacarians made a mistake when they attacked us. And they will pay. But that war will have to wait. My race needs to grow, to expand, and to prepare. And when we are ready then we will strike at our common enemy.”

As he finished speaking silence engulfed the room. The Elders were just watching him taking in his words. So did the two generals that were standing on the opposite side. They were watching straight at them. The Illian watched them with a look Rivers knew well. It was look that showed him that he still doesn’t trust them. The other general, he was from a race Rivers didn’t yet know watched him with a look that showed interest.

After several minutes one of the Elders a Ksand finally spoke.

“You speak well human. And you are right even if it is hard to hear what you say. It is hard to believe that you need to hide but we all know that too well. You claim that you are not the Alterans and yet you are here, coming from the world that gave them birth, you speak their language and you fight their enemy, our enemy without fear. That is why the younger races will look to you to save them. My question to you is what do you plan now… that you know that we are still here?”

Rivers and Anderson exchanged looks. It was a valid question but it was also a problem. In order to help them they would have to reveal much and that would technically bi in violation of their orders. And yet as he watched the mixture of races in the room he realized that he was watching something beautiful that has to survive. It was not just the Ksand who Aria hoped would still live. It was also every other race, the Berilians, the Sicarians, all the races of the Alliance, the Illians and even the humans. He felt the warm look of the three humans who were members of the council, two men and one woman. He noticed one empty seat between them. They looked totally at peace with his words and as he watched them he could feel their joy with the knowledge that Earth, their Terra was still safe and free. And he knew what he was seeing now. It was a Union, a federation of races that all worked together for the common good. He knew that it must have been hard but the common enemy and the long and terrible war has made them all in to one civilization.