Star Brigade: Resurgent (Star Brigade Book 1) Read online

  Maelstrom’s face could have been carved of white marble given how little he reacted to that insult. “Your Union Command exterminated over half of my brethren without qualm. So I am very much entitled to my gall and my demands.” His voice never rose, remaining cool yet seething.

  Bogosian’s gaze never wavered, meeting Maelstrom’s directly. “Is this a ‘who-did-what’ game? The Korvenites did the same thing three years ago, as did the Earth Holocaust twenty-six years ago. Instead of discussing your issues with the GUPR, your brethren murdered billions. The Korvenites were—no, are a disruption to the stability the Union provides for all its citizens. I have no regrets for what I did to protect my Union. And you only add fuel to the fire with your attacks, Maelstrom.”

  For an instant Maelstrom’s face contorted with fury, but only an instant. “We tried talking, Aristotle. But you humans continued to take and take and take every piece of our world until we had nothing left. Please, share with me how stealing another’s species’ planet is for the greater good?”

  Bogosian’s voice grew thick with hate. “So scorching an entire world’s surface will make it even?”

  Maelstrom rolled his eyes. “Yes, the crutch you ‘earthborn’ have shamelessly milked for 26 years.”

  “Shut up!” Ari cried, having heard enough. “You will get what is coming to you Maelstrom!”

  Maelstrom actually started laughing, a cold mirthless laugh that echoed across the office. “A Space Marine TROJAN told me the same thing…right before I crushed his skull.”

  With those words, the laughter ended.

  It happened within an instant. Maelstrom’s telekinetic thrust caught Bogosian in the midriff. He went flying back into the wall across the room. Forks of pain shot through his spine as he hit solid parasteel. The Chouncilor grunted. He heard the breath flee his lungs in a raggedy rustle. Terrified, Bogosian tried to move, tried to twist free from his position. But both his arms and legs were pinned to the wall, trapped. Here he was; the leader of a star-spanning government, at the mercy of a purportedly dead terrorist. The Korvenite strode closer, eyes glittering with malice, and whispered one word, “Pain.”

  A psionic drill impaled Bogosian’s brain. He heard himself scream—a horrid inhuman sound! The Chouncilor writhed and spasmed—but couldn’t break free. Maelstrom wouldn’t let him.

  The avalanche struck then, a bucketing of memories, the pain of countless Korvenites flooded Ari’s mind. Snippets of blood-spattered faces, cries of agony and odors of decaying corpses ripped through his senses. Bogosian felt the hard pummels of plasma rifles across a female Korvenite’s backside as she protected her children. His own head snapped back as a photon blast drilled an elderly Korvenite through the chest. The Chouncilor unthinkingly banged his head against the parasteel wall, harder and harder, a vain attempt to escape the pain.

  His vision drenched with crimson, Bogosian felt himself drowning under thousands and thousands of images crashing down on him. Through the red fog saturating his mind, Bogosian heard Maelstrom’s voice pierce through. “I gave you a choice, ‘Chouncilor.’ Remember that. When I’m finish with your Union, you will beg like a child needing succor,” the Korvenite snarled with unbridled wrath, chilling Bogosian to his core. “You will admit your crimes and BOW before me!”

  Bogosian’s head banged quicker, harder against the parasteel wall, leaving a wet circle of blood. The reddish fog rolled thicker, all aspects of the Korvenite’s face obscured. Maelstrom’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Then, you will die. And not even your little alliance with the Kedri will save you.”

  Pain stabbed at every inch of Bogosian’s body. He screamed, but the sound caught in his throat. The rolling red fog, Maelstrom’s taunting voice faded into blackness…

  …causing him to shoot out of his floating recliner, almost falling forward.

  Steadying himself, a bewildered Bogosian wheeled around in all directions. The holoview was still on, and newscaster Fwoe Fwoemda now discussed a trade conflict on Hommodus. No sign of Maelstrom, as if he was never there. There was no pain, not even in his arm. “Just a bad dream,” he muttered in relief, slumping back into his seat in exhaustion. “I need sleep.”

  Instinctively, the Chouncilor rubbed at the back of his head. Ari frowned when he felt wetness. Moving his hand into view to see it, his eyes nearly popped. Bright crimson stained his fingers.

  For the next three orvs, the Honor Guard thoroughly searched every room of the Bogosian Estate. The latest tracking computers conducted detailed sensor swipes and bioscans, analyzing every centimetrid of the 70-acre land on Bogosian Estate and far beyond. Not a wisp of Korvenite DNA was found.

  After tending to the Chouncilor’s injury, the house medroid concluded that it was caused by his head colliding with the recliner during his sleep. But the leader of one of the largest star-spanning governments sat trembling like a toddler scared of the boogieman. After lots of coaxing, his wife finally got him into bed. But that night, Bogosian lay staring at the ceiling until Rhyne’s dawnrise.

  Somewhere in the bowels of the Monarch-Class Libremancer, Maelstrom opened his eyes and smiled. Chouncilor Bogosian was now rattled and uncertain, exactly what the llyriac wanted. Very soon the Chouncilor would suffer for his many transgressions against the Korvenites and then die by Maelstrom’s hand. Until then, cracking at the human’s resolve would keep Maelstrom satisfied.

  The Korvenite floated several metrids in the air; shirtless and cross-legged. Sweat rolled down his marble-white torso in shiny beads. The act of stretching his mind so far across the stars was physically exerting to say the least. But he barely noticed, feeling only a natural high from his handiwork. That sensation doubled when he looked around the room and marveled at the heart of the Korvenite Unilink.

  Behind him sat a vast wall structure of pulsating light. On it were 48 of his brethren, four rows of twelve, all in a trance-like state. Specialized IVs that supplied nourishment were plugged into their wrists. These were his most powerful Mindspeakers, all of them committing their energy to maintaining the Korvenite Unilink that connected the KIF regardless of location, whether they were light-years away or right in front of each other. The wall amplified the abilities of these Korvenites twenty-fold, all whom he called Adherents. And if any grew tired, there were 25 others that could step in while they rested.

  Any Korvenite with Mindspeak could form a personal Unilink with another or a small group. But for the scattered group like the Korvenite Independence Front, having an assemblage constantly maintaining the Unilink was essential. Any of his brethren could connect and disconnect to the Unilink at will, no matter how far away they were from the core linkage. It allowed Maelstrom instant contact with his Retributionaries when they were on their crusades or the ability to reach out and torture the Chouncilor of the GUPR. Bathed in the radiance of the Unilink and the Adherents who powered it soothed Maelstrom. The forty-eight Korvenites all had one focus, one goal. The Unilink.

  [Lord Maelstrom.] Oreis’s thoughts came loud and clear in the llyriac’s mind. [We’ve arrived at Bimnorii. A shuttle is ready to land on the surface when you are.]

  Maelstrom smiled again and floated back to solid ground. He stretched out his hand and telekinetically pulled his shirt on the floor toward him. The clothing flew up into his waiting grasp.

  [I’ll be there shortly. Get some of our best Retributionaries and llyriacs in training.]

  Maelstrom slipped into his shirt and exited the room. As he drew near the Libremancer launch bay, his heart pounded with elation. The llyriac always felt this way when going to free more of his own kind.

  13.

  It was the same dream she had been having for days. A garden of bones grown from countless creatures stretched as far as Tharydane could see, its sepulchral hush hanging over this valley she stood in, sucking the breathable air away. She gasped, feeling as if her lungs were being tightly squeezed. It was that same world again; nameless…full of diversity…filled with the dead.

  Like b
efore, Tharydane had seen a blinding light scorch away all life on the nameless world. Once again this valley of death was endless, covered in bones from many species.

  Only this time, the tall silhouette of a being stood in the hazy distance. “Tharydane!” a familiar voice echoed, faraway. The figure stepped on a charred Kedri skull. The cracking bone seared across the valley, growing louder with each echo. She covered her ears in agony—.

  “THARYDANE!”

  Tharydane woke with a start. One bleary look confirmed she was in her room again, part of Hugrask’s home above the hostellaris. The space was so tiny she could cross it in six strides. Now it felt too low to the ground, cluttered. Any lasting stupor slipped away when she recognized the clutter.

  Piles of clothing and trinkets she had amassed over the years—floating around her in a circle! Then Tharydane noticed a lack of anything beneath her and looked down.

  She also floated a good metrid above her bed. Squealing, she dropped like a stone. Everything in the air with her followed suit. Some items clunked, others shattered, altogether landing in a noisy crash.

  “Ouch,” Tharydane winced, rubbing her back. The bed felt lumpy enough when she slept on it.

  The visions were ruining her life. She had been bed-ridden for the past three days because of them. Each time they occurred, she felt like ripping her own brain out and soaking it in ice-cold water.

  But today was the first time in about two weeks she didn’t have a splitting headache at some point in the day. Upon finding out about the visions, Hugrask insisted on her resting, regardless of the adverse effect on business. “You’re no good to me crying and holding your head on stage!” He did have a point. But the floating was new. How did that happen?

  “Nonono, not possible. I can’t do Mindshift,” Tharydane shook her head, trying to convince herself. That wasn’t going too well. Just thinking about it made her tremble. Worse still, the visions were growing more vivid—too vivid for a Korvenite of fourteen who knew only the basics about her abilities. Tharydane buried her face in her pillows, trying to staunch the tears she could feel welling up.

  “THARYDANE!” a voice barked again. The Korvenite nearly jumped out of her clothes. The voice came from her commport, next to the bed. It was Hugrask, and he sounded less than amused.

  “WHAT is goin’ on up there?” he rumbled. “You’re shakin’ the whole hostellaris!”

  Tharydane froze. She knew Hugrask and his nosiness; he would want to come up. He would see this mess and start asking questions. “Everything’s fine Hugrask!” she shouted back in a squeaky voice.

  The Mulkeavian wasn’t convinced. “I’m coming up!” he rumbled.

  “NO!” Tharydane blurted out, kicking off her bed sheets. “I’m fine.” She wasn’t even dressed. Too late, Hugrask wasn’t answering, meaning he was already on his way up. She quickly did her hair up in a ponytail, and then slipped on a simple T-shirt and baggy slacks. Outside her viewport Tharydane could see Noriida Major sitting at the sky’s zenith, scorching Rimhara under its white-hot blaze. Yet the city streets still swarmed with sentients moving about, enduring the heat just so they could make a living.

  Moments later, Hugrask appeared at her door on his floating podium. His potholed face seemed particularly crinkled with anger today. He floated into the room, glanced at its scattered chaos but said nothing in that regard. The Korvenite hastily dried her eyes with the frayed hem of her shirt. Now in front of her bed, Hugrask scrutinized her. “What’s with the waterworks?” he rumbled, not big on sentiment.

  Before she knew it, her words tumbled out in a rush. “I can’t help it Hugrask. Its all so, so….”

  “Frustrating?” he finished for her, crinkling up in equal annoyance. “Try telling our patrons you’re not dancing tonight. Then you’ll know frustration. How long is this vision rubbish gonna last this time?”

  “I DON’T KNOW! I can’t control it!” She was now on her feet, face flushed green with anger. “Why am I not surprised that the only thing you care about is profit? You don’t give a fehiza about me!”

  Hugrask’s eyes narrowed until they almost disappeared under his crinkled skin. The two of them glared at each other. “Just get this mess cleared up. It’s bad for business.” With that he spun on his podium to leave. Tharydane looked away, instantly regretting her petulance. Despite Hugrask’s somewhat callous words, the concern the Mulkeavian felt for her well-being rolled off him in waves.

  Halting just as the door slid open, Hugrask glanced over his shoulder. “Maybe you should take a stroll to Ymedes and see your Korvenite friends. You’ve been cooped up in here for days.”

  Tharydane wheeled around and stared at him in disbelief. Hugrask had never endorsed her visiting the Slave Quarters more than twice in a given week. Last week alone she had been over there three times.

  “But you wait until sunset and take the aaln!” he pivoted and waved a stubby finger at Tharydane. “‘Sides, he seems to like ya now.” She didn’t miss the accusation in Hugrask’s last words. After he left, she waited as the day dragged on by, bringing with it Bimnorii’s most oppressive heat. Aside from getting lunch from downstairs, Tharydane occupied herself as any teen would–sitting on her bed and sulking.

  By the time Noriida Major sank under the horizon, Tharydane had nearly gone insane with boredom.

  The growing clamor from the hostellaris below grew more audible as sentients were now pouring in to get entertained and properly drunk. Tharydane reached out psionically, skimming through the jumble of emotions below. The basic control she did have over her abilities had been increased rapidly as of late. But now was one of those times that she regretted having that gift. Disappointment rolling off the customers hit her soundly, tonight was her third absence in a row. Tharydane felt regret and resentment simmering off Hugrask and his employees when they lied about her “illness” to expectant patrons.

  Many had come all the way from distant Ryeme-by-the-Sea to see her. Tharydane wanted to entertain them, even if briefly. “But not tonight,” she whispered, tossing on a cloak and exiting her room.

  Tharydane took the translifter down to the hostellaris rear exit this time, emerging out the side door next to its parking lot. There was an active crowd outside the hostellaris and the establishments around it, the cool night air carrying sounds of festivity and the smell of liquor. Suddenly the crowd hushed and moved aside. Tharydane frowned and took a step closer to see who was coming. And then she saw him.

  Partly shrouded by distance and nighttime, a gigantic shape moved through the crowd and toward the hostellaris. What appeared to be his entourage followed suit. The Korvenite didn’t need a closer look to recognize Gijjir Nhul, a Maruduuk crime guvnor from Ymedes. He employed the sentient who owned Masra and her family. Every so often, he and his entourage would stop by Hugrask’s. While they brought in business, the hostellaris usually cleared out of many other patrons whenever Nhul appeared. No one wanted any trouble from someone so powerful. Also a fan of Tharydane’s dancing, several times Gijjir had offered Hugrask insane amounts of currency to buy her. And Hugrask turned him down every time no matter how much was offered. That made the Korvenite smile.

  Entering the lot, Tharydane walked up to the aaln and mounted the beast. “Aja!” Tharydane cried, slapping the back of the aaln’s neck. The aaln jogged forward through the sliding gate and into the moonlit Bimnorii night, again taking to the back alleyways to avoid the main streets crowds.

  Tonight was cooler than usual, forcing Tharydane to pull her hooded cloak a little tighter around her willowy frame. Fortunately, the cloak also threw off anyone that might recognize her. Soon she found herself at Rimhara’s borders once more, standing near a row of cylindrical dew condensers that processed water on this arid planet. Bimnorii’s three moons poked through the clouds, offering pale lighting.

  The aaln slowed, waiting tamely. “You know the drill. Aja!” Tharydane ordered, flattening herself against its body and kicking her heels into its sides. The beast crane
d its neck forward and sprinted away.

  Like heat lightning, the beast shot across the Crimson Reach once again. Tharydane smiled to herself, too giddy to speak. The aaln’s speed was so thrilling, so addictive; she couldn’t get enough.

  “No lights, no voices,” muttered Tharydane warily, just as she arrived at Ymedes Slave Quarters. She slowed the aaln down right before the long row of square-shaped Slave Quarter residences. Usually they were alive with the sounds and sights of Korvenite families enjoying each other. But what she saw now was a ghost town, the viewports darkened, silence reigning. Something felt terribly wrong.

  The aaln pawed at the sand nervously and honked. Tying it to a nearby post, Tharydane dismounted. She brushed back her wind-tussled hair uneasily and psychically reached out to sense someone—anyone.

  Instantly she found something. Or more accurately, something found her. A startling innocence of mind reached out and nudged her. Laughter, sweet and true, from a Korvenite youngling.

  “What?” Tharydane’s eyes widened. How did a child with a restraining bolt psychically touch her? She reached out again more potently. Again there was the child’s laughter, spidering up to the doting emotions rolling off his mother, branching out to the interest of two crux mates conversing with both child and mother. As Tharydane probed deeper, the union grew in size, in compassion. There was a shared intimacy among these Korvenite slaves, all who were experiencing a new way to communicate. A Unilink at its purest form, joined emotions and thoughts rolling into each other like gentle waves.

  Tharydane’s mind sagged under the weight of this wonderful sensation. This many minds, using Mindspeak. And she knew them all; Korvenites who hadn’t used their abilities in years or ever. Yet they had somehow bypassed their restraining bolts to form a Unilink— beyond bizarre.