Chapter 3

He and Esh'lar had boarded the Penetrator when Klu'koth asked over the comm., "Leader Jomlau, do you want us to defend the Clee-San?"

The reply came, "Negative, Magistrate. If that ship moves, it will fall prey to our mines, and be easily destroyed. We have evacuated the vessel, with one prisoner. Concentrate your attack on the Kuun-Laan, destroying the weapons and hyperdrive engines."

He acknowledged, but then something struck him. He called up the Swift Death, and asked the sensors officer, "Lieutenant, how did the Kuun-Laan learn of the Clee-San's location without taking any ships to the location?" The reply was, "We aren't sure, Magistrate. The Kuun-Laan appears to have used one ship as a comm. relay, but we aren't sure how that is possible."

Klu'koth looked around the battlefield, which was being filled with bulkier ships than those Acolytes, apparently called ACVs. They proved very capable in the skirmish, but their valiant Missile Corvettes fought them back. The Kuun-Laan was being swarmed by Turanic fighters, and its highly articulated turrets were able to track some of them. However, a module on the top section of the ship, it looked sort of like a research deck, exploded, giving the Turanic army some hope for victory.

He cycled through all the fighters in the battlefield, and when he had been doing so for a few seconds, Esh'lar said, "Magistrate…could you cycle through those ships again?" Perplexed, he obeyed his pilot, and when he got to a particular ship, he ordered, "OK, stop!"

The highlighted ship looked like a Turanic interceptor. Klu'koth squinted at it. "So?" Esh'lar replied, excitedly, "So, sir, its designation is Scythe Seven. I was just talking to the Scythe members, and they reported only having sis fighters in their squadron." Klu'koth froze. "Are you absolutely sure you aren't mistaken?" Esh'lar shook his head. "No sir. Setting a course now."

Klu'koth saw on his canopy that "Scythe 7" was only a few clicks from their position, and they were apparently racing towards something…The Leader's Corvette! He said, "Full power to the engines, mass drivers online!" He gritted his teeth. "Come on, you sneaky bastard!" He realised that these Hiigarans must have learnt their secret for mimicking vessels. Very clever.

They reached the target, and he let loose with a barrage of fire, but they overshot it, and it kept on its suicidal course. "Leader, if you read, there is a mimicked vessel coming your way! Evasive maneuvers!" They made a sharp bank to the left to get back on course, and realised that it was already too close. The ship smashed into the Corvette, detonating its fusion drives to cover the ship in destructive flame. A secondary explosion tossed debris through the cloud, and Klu'koth smashed his hand on the controls.

"No!"

He ordered, "Esh'lar, move in to attack the Kuun-Laan. We're going to give them something back." He nodded, "Yes, sir!" They moved to starboard to confront he massive starship, and Klu'koth began firing out particle rounds from the Corvette's cannons. They were unable to penetrate the massive ship's hull, however, and merely only created small dents. To add injury to insult, the Kuun-Laan's turrets began to turn to face his Corvette, so he said, "Move, move! Don't stay in its path!"

They dodged the bullets, and fought back in a futile manner. He tried instead to target the Sommtaww fighters, but he noticed that they were gliding into the massive hangar. He fired at them in rage, but they did not respond. The hull of the mining vessel's armor plating began to crackle with blue energy, and after a few moments, a blue wall began to engulf it. They had jumped out of the system before he knew what had happened.

He swore repeatedly under his breath. There was nothing he could do, and the Clee-San was gone. They had failed to extract their information, and now they had lost everything. And to top it all off, Leader Jomlau was dead.

Twelve officers sat around the table. At the end, one seat was empty, and he was pretty sure who would sit there. And, he was right, he realised as the doors into the dark room opened. The figure became illuminated under the lights of the table. Klu'koth sat up with the others and bowed. "Welcome, High Magistrate Marselk."

He nodded, and waved him down. He walked over to his chair, and sat down. His commanding voice reverberated through the silent room. "This emergency of the local Turanic leaders is now in session. We are fortunate that this situation has brought many of our powerful forces to the core. At this very table, we have Magistrate Mej'hol…" An ageing Turanic warrior stood up for the approval of the rest. Marselk continued, "…who has been able to pacify a whole force of Tiamat Frigate warships in the Bentara system. And we also have Magistrate Klu'koth, who recently helped out our Imperialist allies in a skirmish in the very Hiigaran system."

Klu'koth grinned in self-satisfaction. "Your praise is unnecessary, High Magistrate." He glared back at him. "So is your praise." He immediately stopped smiling. The head officer continued. "Now, we will discuss the pursuit of the Sommtaww fleet, but first, a more pertinent issue must be resolved."

He cleared his throat and raised his voice. "I speak of the replacement of Leader Jomlau. We need to elect a new leader for our sect, lest we should collapse into anarchy. Were we close to Turan, we could inquire the Council as to their input, but since our Homeworld is dozens of thousands of light-years from here, that isn't a feasible option. Thus, a temporary one must be assigned until we can relay the message back to the Council."

He concluded, "I pick myself."

The meeting went into disarray, with every member voicing their own opinion on the subject. Knowing that it would change nothing to add to the chaos, Klu'koth remained silent. As the volume died down, an older Raider spoke up. "Listen, good Marselk. I am far more experienced than you. I have fought cataclysmic battles before you were even born. Why are you more worthy of this position than I?"

Marselk replied, "Listen, Haar'kohm. I am of a higher rank than you, so I automatically am more qualified." Haar'kohm glowered at him. "Merely because you have served as the Leader's lapdog for the past five years. Who are you to lead us?" He smiled back. "I assure you, that combat experience has nothing to do with leadership abilities."

Mej'hol stood up. "No, it is you who are mistaken! Combat and honor are what built up this culture in the first place. To shrug it away for your own political cravings is treason." He turned to Klu'koth. "Magistrate Klu'koth, have you any say in this? Your fleet is famous for your survival of the Kadeshi Gardens." He looked around the attentive room. He coughed a bit, and offered, "Well, I see no real problem with Marselk being Leader. As he said, it is only a temporary position. It wouldn't hurt for him to drink power for a few months."

Haar'kohm said, "You know that this station isn't temporary. Do you think the Council will concern themselves with our sect? The Gul'daan are not the most powerful sect, you know. They will merely shrug off this decision as already resolved."

Marselk said, "This isn't getting us anywhere. We must try to stay orderly. By allowing ourselves to be divided, we are advocating-"

A sharp whine filled the chamber, and it was lit up for a fast instant with green light. A smoking hole lay embedded in Marselk's skull. His figure slumped over, bleeding on the table. Everyone turned to the owner of the blaster. Mej'hol put his weapon back into his battle armor, and walked over to Marselk's body. He shoved it out of the way, and sat down in his chair. He looked at the other members and said, "So, this worm wanted to base our race on diplomacy and rules. While they have improved our race to a degree, that is not what our forefathers have based our people on. They based it on death and fear."

These two words were emphasized by his claws pounding the table. He looked around in anger. "I will enforce these old ideals on our sect. Anyone think that is unwise?"

There were no contradictions.

He smiled. "Good. I will do my best to risk my life to protect you all, and I expect the same from you." He laid back in his throne. "Now, about the Kuun-Laan. Despite EM fluctuations caused by the mines in the system, our astrogationists have plotted a likely target system based on their speed and direction. I have already sent the orders to plot the course.

"Now, we know that we failed because of our inability to approach the mines with our Frigates, even though the Hiigarans were able to easily plow through them. But now, we will be able to jump them immediately after they exit hyperspace to set up their game plan. While their flagship is impressive, their fleet is less so. It consists of only a few squadrons of fighters, and larger mining vessels that should prove no threat. Therefore, we will be able to use our Frigates to lay siege to the Kuun-Laan and, at the very least, capture the Clee-San.

"However, I also plan to take over the Kuun-Laan itself. A ship that massive, with such advanced technology, could allow us to crank out our own Capital Ships and Super Capital vessels far faster than before. If we capture that Mothership, we could forge our own massive empire right here in the Core. The rest of our race will envy us totally, and our enemies will fear us equally so. That is our goal."

He finished, "Now, you all realise the importance of this mission. It could drastically change our very way of life, and with any luck, we will get it very easily.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances…"