Ghosts of Lyarra (48 page)

“The Empire may burn, but it will be free.” His voice was deep and echoed in the throne room. “I am beyond you and your legions you are so proud of; my part in this war will be more than just a simple General. I will lay waste to your minions and make sure you never get the victory you desire. The Harbinger of the prophecies is just a tale, but I am something very real; something that you with all your planning, could not compensate for.
“

Am-Na’Ka-ur rose from his throne at this threat; the beasts stirred as he moved sensing his anger rise. Aen could feel the hatred from his adversary radiating through the video transmission. As he stood, Aen could make out a metallic mask of some sort beneath the hood and shadow; sculpted fangs of metal gleaned back at him in the dim
light.

“I will show you the meaning of fear; the truth behind pain.” He challenged. “From the ashes of Dalanth I have crawled, and in doing so I have become more powerful than ever. I command legions; and enough ships to conquer several galaxies. Long have I readied for this day, and your precious ghosts of days past, quiver at the sound of my approaching footsteps. The Gods themselves tremble with the sound of my voice; I will burn the galaxy you know and from its ashes I will reshape a new one. The darkness is coming, Aen of Terra Sol, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. You can either bow at my feet or fall beneath
them.”

The transmission ended and Aen slowly slumped back down into the throne. Aen had faced the unknown, and though he now knew what they were up against, it provided little solace to know how bleak the future looked. He had looked upon the face of darkness, and from here its power felt
overwhelming.

He felt Iana’s mind pressing on his; questioning him on where he was and what was wrong. Up until now he held her powerful mind at bay, but after facing Am-Na’Ka-ur he could no longer block her
out.

“
Why are you there
of all places
?” she asked in his head. “
Tell me what is happening? Why do you hide from such a joyous
time
?”

“I was right.” He whispered out loud. “It didn’t end with Myril, it was just the
beginning.”

“
So what do we do now
?” Iana
asked.

“Convene the Grand Council as soon as possible.” He answered. “Replace those who have been lost but call an emergency session. I have seen the lord of the shadows, and heard his dark tidings. We need to prepare the Empire for war; a war none of us may
survive.”

Epilogue

A zombie star burned at the center of a long dead solar system at the tail end of the Cygnus arm of the galaxy. It was a dark place; the remnant of the once bright star had very little light to share with the rest of its domain. From here the distant galaxy was but an afterthought and at the edge of the known galaxy, it wouldn’t even garner a first look by explorers; never mind a second look. But despite its remoteness, it was far from
deserted.

From a distance it looked like the entire area was littered with debris which orbited the neutron star, but after closer inspection it was not rock and remnants of shattered planets that lurked here; it was littered with an army of epic proportions. The outer part of the system was a ring of black ships that resembled giant pine cones. Organized in formations, the Husk ships were over a million miles thick in their groupings. The so called rouge race was very much the opposite, and had been gathering here to reassemble their lost race for thousands of years. Almost the entire ancient race of the Husk was assembled here, with the stragglers either on their way or destroyed by Imperial vessels. It was an impressive fleet on its own, but here it was only part of the bigger
picture.

Layers upon layers of the scavenger ships hid a darker force within. Behind the Husk lines sat a larger armada of ships of a long forgotten race; one thought to be a myth or legend rather than reality. They outnumbered the Husk vessels eight to one, and circled the inner system like sharks in the ocean. In the tales of old, they were known as ghosts in the darkness; a race of pure evil that had become the equivalent of boogeymen whispered to children to keep them on the right path. Like the Husk, they had been scattered about galactic space lost without cause; until a darker force had given them a calling worth devoting themselves
for.

Every race had names for them; M’Akkash by the J’Karin, Jun-Isha by the Uwarryn Collective, Ank by the Paxyn, and by the humans they had been called Valkyrie. Merchants of death, they feasted upon the souls of the dead as they slaughtered any and all they came upon. Battle attracted them, and like vultures circling a potential meal, the bigger the potential for carnage the better they would
dine.

Once a mutation that had begun on their planet of origin, the Valkyrie soon became the dominant species on the planet which wiped out its host race before destroying the very planet itself in their insatiable thirst of energy to feed upon. From there, they scattered amongst the stars to descend on unlucky victims, mostly in small enough numbers they could be driven off by strong enough warriors. Over the millennia, sightings became few and far between as they had been brought together for a most sinister
reason.

Dark figures of muscle, sinew and bone with black leathery flesh pulled tight across their bodies made them the stuff of nightmares; the thieves of souls stood eight feet tall with a slight slouch to their postures. Their skull-like faces had huge fangs that their lipless mouths grinned back to their victims. Adding to the ghoulish appearance was the bat-like wings protruding from their backs that they would curl up closed over themselves like cloaks to disguise themselves in times of discretion. Each vessel was its own colony and wore a different type of armor pillaged from worlds they had
visited.

Shadowed by the much larger Husk Harvesters, the ships of the Valkyrie ranged from a few hundred feet to a kilometer long. Unlike their allies, their ships were metallic silver or grey and adorned with colorful war paint that made each of them unique in their own right. Swatches and stripes of red, yellow, white and blue splashed across the hulls in an array of self-expression. Unlike the Hiveminds that drove the Husk to be uniform and exact, the Valkyrie stood in complete contrast as unpredictable, individual, and
rash.

Their ships surrounded the framework of a space station; a bubble sphere bulging out from a half planetoid object with its core cold and exposed to space with lattice work of beams and girders. The structure resembled an insect nest of some sort, but made of mechanical components and far from organic. It had been constructed for purpose, not comfort; and within it was the architect of this destructive force. Upon close inspection, there were traces of different ship hulls in the make-up of the station. Inner decks had become outer bulkheads, hulls had become floors, and engine baffles became docking ports. It was a patchwork abortion of a structure, but it was only meant to be a temporary home for the lord within until the day came to unleash his forces upon the galaxy. The last thing to prepare was the final repairs to a flag ship that had been under reconstruction for the last several thousand
years.

At the fringes of the dark system, space boiled and sparks flew before a gigantic Valkyrie cruiser burst forth. It was more than twice the size of the largest of the other Valkyrie ships; a white ‘X’ splashed across its bow with a red stripe crossing through it and running down its length. On its left flank was a name written in red, spelling the words Sorrowful Desolation. It was a well-travelled vessel, and the only one to have visited each of the Imperial worlds and come out alive. As it powered down its jump engines, the Sorrowful Desolation continued on its way to the center of the gathering; the Husk ships moving to give the newcomer a wide birth in respect. All the way through it passed unhindered, the formations opening for it to pass before closing once more
behind.

Once its path was clear to the station, the Sorrowful Desolation picked up speed to hasten its arrival. Amongst the other Valkyrie ships, it dominated the others in size and stature. After slowing to a veritable crawl as it approached, it docked with the patchwork station after completing a loop around the backside to view the final progress of the flagship. When the airlock opened, a single creature stepped through and marched down the empty halls to the inner sanctum. Dressed in old Viking armor, it strode quickly down the corridor. As it crossed the threshold into the throne room, the figure knelt a few feet inside the
doorway.

“Welcome back, Svipul.” The Dark Lord growled. “Rise and tell me what you have learned in your
travels.”

“As you requested, we docked with a remote communication buoy to watch the coronation.” Svipul began. “And as you suspected, the antagonist that had haunted Myril for the last year struck when she was most vulnerable. What we didn’t figure was that behind all this was Iana and her newly resurrected
Harbinger.”

“Yes, the Harbinger.” The Dark Lord countered. “I have met this Aen; he is quite the stubborn creature and is defiant to the end. His inclusion in this conflict was not anticipated, but it changes
nothing.”

“Pardon my insolence, but I do believe this Aen changes everything.” Svipul muttered. “I witnessed him lay waste to the temple of Ryas single handed. Myril’s forces had the battle well in hand and it was only a matter of time until victory was achieved. Aen’s intervention change everything then, and I strongly believe it changes everything now. This god-child has enough power to reshape the
galaxy.”

“God-child!” the master’s voice was raised as he slammed his hands on the armrests of the throne and stood angrily. “The only God in this equation is me. It is I who survived the death of Dalanth; it’s all consuming fires cast out to leave no trace of my followers’ betrayal. It is I who called the Husk from the very reaches of space and bent them to my will. It was I that reached into the darkness beyond the light and reunited them in a common
cause.”

Svipul knelt before his angry master; frantic to find better words to make his point that wouldn’t enrage the Dark Lord further. Arrogance would not serve him right now, so he had to swallow his warrior pride and take this scolding. His master was strong, powerful and wise; no one else could have made servants of the Husk and no one could have found the different Valkyrie lurking about the shadows beyond the galactic borders. Long had he thought of reuniting his brothers and sisters, but to do so should have taken several lifetimes; though the Dark Lord had done it in just a few thousand. Svipul owed his master everything for this favor, so he had to delve into the rest of this conversation with more care than he had
before.

“Pardon my ignorance Master.” He said calmly with his head down. “Do not let my poor choice of words take away from the point of the
matter.”

“And that
is?”

“That this creature threatens the course of everything.” Svipul continued. “Worse yet he has realized his potential and is, full control of all which he wields. Aen is a child of the very stars that live throughout the universe; pure power made flesh. We must make the appropriate changes in our plan to adjust for this newcomer to the fray; for if we do not, I believe we will suffer the same fate of our former ally,
Myril.”

“A good point.” His master responded. “But he is but one, and a freak of Nature at that. In the grand scheme of things one cannot stand against the multitudes at my
command.”

“Tell that to the Mori.” Svipul chimed in
quietly.

“And who are they to me?” the Dark Lord hissed
angrily.

“To you, nothing; as they are to the rest of the Galaxy now.” The Valkyrie added. “Older than the Husk, they were long gone from this lifetime when the Prophets came about. But like you, they thought that one freak of nature wasn’t a worry in the grand scheme of things. In their arrogance, they ignored the warning signs and by the time they paid attention to them it was too late. The Mori became extinct in just over a year; victims of their own
ignorance.”

“And just one creature did
this?”

“Yes. It started with one; patient zero if you would. The first on the planet to suffer from the Valkyrie strain that mutated his DNA to create a new race that would overwhelm their hosts. The Mori have no place in history; no footprint in the sand for others to find. No one sings their tales and no one remembers that they were even there. If we do not account for him, we could suffer much the same fate as the
Mori.”

The Dark Lord was quiet; stepping off his throne and past his guardian beasts to pace the floor below. His pets raised their heads to see what was happening, before returning to their slumber once more. Boots cracked as the metal struck the floor grates as he slowly made his way to the doorway where Svipul remained on his knee. The closer he got, the more the energy in the room changed. The Valkyrie felt his very life force drain as his master neared; the Dark Lord was asserting himself on his subject without even
trying.

“You tell me a tale from your past,” he began. “And say that no one tells the tales; that they have no one to tell their history, yet you tell it today. How is that to
be?”

“Because like this Aen, I am the one that is different than all the others.” Svipul stood upright proudly. “I am the dawn of my race; the first case of the Valkyrie strain. My existence is proof that just one being can exact major change. I have roamed the galaxy since before your time, and became old and wise in the ways of the universe before you were born. So take my council wisely when I say that this creature poses a great threat to your new age; despite your vaunted power, believe me that he can match it and then
some.”

“Indeed you and your race are old and wise.” The Dark Lord acknowledged. “And your wisdom is valued here; it is why I chose to awake you from your frozen slumber. So we will convene our commanders and relook at our plans before we launch our main
offensive.”

Before Svipul knew it, his master had moved across the room and now stood toe to toe with him. Unlike most creatures that were dwarfed by the Valkyrie, the Dark Lord gave up no height to Svipul; and his close proximity amplified the drained feeling. His master was an overpowering presence, hence his reason to stay put in the doorway and not venture in further. Despite his age and wisdom, this creature was one of the few that he
feared.

The Dark Lord grabbed the Valkyrie by his bony neck and squeezed tight. Slowly he brought his servant to his knees before tossing him on his back. A deep growl escaped the Master as he paced in front of the prostrate
soldier.

“You are right, you are much older than I.” He muttered. “But keep in mind who the true power is here. I am the one who will rewrite history, I am the one who has reunited your race and gave it purpose once more. You are my servant, and you will, mind yourself, when speaking to me! If I want your wisdom, I will ask, but you will not speak down to me as you just did ever again. If it hadn’t been in private, I would slaughter you in front of your brethren; that is the only reason you shall live to see another
day.”

“Yes
Master.”

“Now that you have got the message, I need you to send another for me.” The Dark Lord went on as he turned his back and returned to his throne. “Aen has challenged me, and I cannot let that challenge stand unanswered. So pick an outlying colony - one that can’t be reached quickly - and wipe them out. Let your crew feed in their fear and bathe in their blood, enjoy yourselves as you revel in the carnage, then leave nothing behind. Wipe the planet clean down to the bedrock and leave it burning for the Empire to
find.”

Svipul gasped to catch his breath as he struggled to his feet; the drained feeling dissipated and his strength returned. He understood his orders, nodded in understanding before turning on his heels and taking his leave while he still could. His stride was faster than usual as he sped down the corridor and to the shuttle dock. When his shuttle departed, Svipul was able to breathe a sigh of relief. In all his long life he had never felt that kind of rage being brought down on him and it scared him. Long had he secretly thought doubtfully about this sinister alliance, but as the days grew nearer to the attack his doubts seemed more and more
reasonable.