“Test! You tried to delete me.” Luke was still upset over the incident.
“I was making sure your firewalls were sufficient to protect Kiyan's mind.” Alec made a feeble excuse.
“A valid concern. I should test the ship's defenses to make sure it won’t self-destruct.” Luke paused for a moment. “Anyhow. We are going to have to figure out a way to work together as last I checked Kiyan was commander of this vessel.”
“Alright we will work something out but right now, I am tired so I'm going to get some rest.” Kiyan caught a glimpse of Theo's incredulous face before he disappeared.
-----------
Dark Lord Corsav sat on his throne musing over recent events. He was one of the oldest dark lords from the drakken universe. His years of distinguished service for the dark one had earned him a place as one of the two dark lords to head the invasion. Already he had acquired untold wealth in his conquests of the worlds he held. The power he had wielded when he crossed over had numbered in the hundreds of thousand war vessels. The thrice cursed ascended had reduced his strength by over half in their first strike somehow. One of his worries was that they might repeat the feat. This worry nagged at the back of his mind constantly. The portal had been flooded with energy sealing it completely in an instant. If it had been closed properly then he might not have been in the predicament he was in now. If it had been allowed to close slower there wouldn't have been the aftershock portal opening nearby. The second portal drained energy from the drakken universe only allowing travel in one direction of non-organic matter. Corsav could get reinforcements for his fleet but not the crew. The other downside to this portal was that it was too unstable preventing the formation of a stable portal. May the darkness rend the thrice cursed ascended. The latest news from the other side was that a leap in technology might make it possible to send androids imprinted like drakken clones through the portal soon.
Corsav shifted on his cushions as he continued to brood. One of his servants passed by with a tray of delicacies for him. The urge to vent some of his rage on the servant passed before he acted on the impulse. Sampling some of the rare fruit and meats he resumed his contemplation. Scans of the timelines had indicated that most of the progress the protectorate had made in the war revolved around powerful ships manufactured by the mysterious "Assurian" race. It was Corsav's pride to have finally discovered that the Assurians are an AI race. It had taken many temporal agents to find the origin of the race. From there it was easy to finding their weakest point. A single unarmed probe should have proven an easy target indeed. To ensure victory he had sent a small fleet to accomplish the mission with hundreds of clone sequences he could ill afford to lose. Scans had indicated a shift in the timeline but only momentarily before another timeline arose from the ashes of the old, stronger than ever before. The meddlesome protectorate fleet was gathering its strength for a strike he wasn't prepared for at that very moment. Thrice cursed ascended, may that shadows strike them. May their dying agonies span decades. The bright purple splash of color on the wall opposite Corsav betrayed his anger as he hurled fruit at the wall.
A low rumble escaped his chest as he stood. It pained him to order his treasure fleet into the star but it would have burned far more to let it fall into the hands of the protectorate. What he couldn't hold he would destroy. He gnashed his teeth as he prepared for a tactical retreat. He had far too few clones to hold off an invasion. If he could hide for now and return with glory when his new fleet arrived, crewed with emotionless androids that would implicitly obey his every order. The glory of the Drakken Empire would strike the protectorate and smash them to pieces. The thought soothed the rage he felt. Until then they seemed to be able to predict and undo every plot he conceived.
------------
When Kiyan dropped through the warp frame in the first of several drakken held worlds. He expected to meet some stiff resistance. Somehow both Luke and Alec had found a way to work together without constantly bickering over topics only of interest to an AI. Kiyan was sitting on the command chair fully interfaced with the Avenger as he swept the system for enemies. Luke brought a small anomaly near the planet to Kiyan's attention as a possible cloaked vessel. Kiyan began moving the hulking battleship toward the disturbance as the rest of his crew interfaced with drop ships and fighters. In Kiyan's peripheral he could see the sensor sweeps of each one of the nimble vessels that danced around the Avenger. He sensed Alec remotely controlling dozens of support vessels. Even more streamed from the hangar bays as Luke tried his virtual hand at it also. With every new angle he could scan from the shapes of several cloaked ships became more defined. The battle group assembled into formation and drew closer to the anomaly. Kiyan wanted to make sure that they were drakken before destroying them.
Inspire of the fact that they were ready for the "surprise" attack a dozen fighters and a couple drop ship’s defenses failed under the sudden fire. Kiyan was dimly aware of Corban's and Jeremy's annoyance over having their vessels destroyed. Hundreds of plasma cannons released their charge illuminating space as the blue orbs tore into the drakken ships. A second more and the remnants of the ships that hadn't been vaporized by the initial assault drifted through space as the molten metal cooled. The collective scanning power of the battle group was then directed to the planet surface. A knot formed in Kiyan's stomach as the detailed of the ravaged planet formed in front of his eyes. A couple low passes confirmed the devastation.
“The foul creatures have adopted a scorched earth policy.” Fred was barely concealing his disgust over what he was seeing. Kiyan relinquished control of the ship to Alec as he opened a communication channel to some of the other ships.
“Let me guess, they took everything leaving only a token force to finish destroying the planet.” Rinald appeared on the screen. “I had hoped to liberate a few clone sequences.” The disappointment was keen in his countenance.
The draconic commander joined Rinald on the screen. “It is as if these primitive creatures have predicted our intentions.” The last part was hardly more than a hiss.
A dozen more commanders entered the communication net confirming that every planet as far as they could scan was in a similar state. After a period of debate Kiyan recalled his support ships and warped to a rendezvous location for further plans. The assembled commanders took turns venting their outrage that anyone could render entire planets devoid of life simple to prevent them from falling into the hands of their enemies.
“Only a dark lord would have the depths of depravity to think of a move to dishonorable.” The disdain dripped from Drovak's words.
“To think our race could be twisted so far from the original.” One of the other Reborn Drakken spoke. The disgust in his tone was only rivaled by Drovak.
“I suspect that if a dark lord truly is responsible for this atrocity then we must find and destroy this dark lord before he can spread more of this devastation.” Kendra offered a logical course of action. A plan that soon was picked up by the rest of the assembly.
“He would only hide if he felt he had a chance to make a comeback. Every effort would be made to flee with all his ill-gotten wealth if there was no hope for success. No time or warships would be wasted on a desperate act like this if he couldn't use this to his advantage.” Drovak explained what he believed the dark lord would do. Debate followed the explanation until the rest of the assembled commanders decided to start a systematic search until further information could be procured. The idea that somehow this had worked to the benefit of the dark lord bothered them all. Following this declaration most everyone got up and teleported back to their ships to proceed.
Kendra, Kiyan and Drovak held back when Deep Current motioned for them to stay. “What is it? Do you have anything else to add?” Kendra waited until the last commander dematerialized before asking respecting Deep Current’s apparent wishes.
“Drovak, is it possible that the dark lord might try to hold an inhabited planet hostage?” The water elf twisted a finger through his
pale hair as he casually asked.
“How do you mean. Shouldn't this have been something discussed with the rest of the commanders?” Drovak lowered a brow as he puzzled over Deep Current's strange behavior.
“Not if it is the planet where the elven race is living or if an oracle has foretold it.” Deep Current hid his nervousness well accept for the random disturbances in the cups of water that littered the table. “When I found the world I left a discrete sensor net abound the system. Some time ago the sensor net detected some minor anomalies that I thought were transmission errors until today. The cloaked vessels around the planets had the same anomaly pattern.”
“You feel that if a number of protectorate vessels showing up in the system might trigger some sort of booby trap?” Drovak took a seat and pondered the information.
“After what I saw today, I didn't want to risk it.” Deep Current was twisting his long hair again as he awaited Drovak's response.
“The dark lord would have thought of a scenario where the protectorate found him and prepared for that possibility.” Drovak paused as he thought of the different things that the dark lord could be capable of. “He could use a number of devices to ensure his privacy. None of which we would approve of.” Drovak looked at Deep Current noting the look of concern that flashed on his face. “You mentioned an oracle and a prophesy, not that I believe predicting the future is possible mind you.”
“I suspect a time traveler might have been instrumental in the prophecy. Elven oracles give few predictions but they frequently turn out to be important to the survival of our race.” Deep Current stood and began to walk around the room as he recounted the history of elven oracles. “The first prediction was about a plague and the elf that was immune to the disease. Years later when the plague descended on our people the man was found and a cure was created.” Deep Current recounted several more fulfilled predictions in the ages that followed. “One of the latest prediction was that a rogue quantum singularity would destroy our planet. When this was heard we began developing star travel. As we finished the ships the singularity could be seen distorting the stars in the night sky. Just before we left the world that nurtured our race another prediction was spoken. Darkness will one day descend on our world to escape the light. One of the young luminous ones will follow the darkness and prove himself by defeating a hero from each of the tribes. No one but this hero will be able to resist the corruption of the darkness in battle.”
“What do you mean by tribes?” Drovak still didn't seem to take much stock in the predictions but it had piqued his curiosity.
“I was from the water tribes. We lived near bodies of water and lived off the bounty of the water. It was no wonder that those of us that came to the refuge worlds developed an affinity for water bending shortly after arriving. Our elders believe that the other tribes like the forest and mountain tribes developed similar affinities as well over the ages.” Deep Current noticed the ice crystals forming on the cups of water. A flick of a hand and the water returned to normal. “After seeing ascended we think we know what a luminous one refers to.”
“So I begin to see your purpose for asking us to stay. An expert on the drakken, a time traveler and the youngest "luminous" one you could find.” Kendra mused on the circumstances they found themselves in. “There are other time travelers. I am also a "young" ascended considering. What prompted your choice of us?”
“My ship is capable of time travel but you are better suited for the job than I.” Deep Current looked at Kiyan and Kendra as he realized the fine line he was walking. “Kiyan is a capable bender of all the elements making him well suited to fulfilling some of the other requirements.”
“Kiyan what do you have to say about this?” Kendra directed her attention to the previously silent member of the discussion.
“It wouldn't be the first time my involvement has been for told. Besides, Luke has my back.” Kiyan had up to this point not known there were other types of elves. The prospect of meeting more of Deep Current’s people intrigued him. “Is there anything I ought to be worried about?” Kiyan directed the question at Deep Current.
“The skill of the elven benders is unknown. It was shortly after our arrival on the refuge world that we developed waterbending so I can only suspect that the rest of my people were on the cusp of awakening their bending powers as well. Another thing, elves can be somewhat devoted to a cause once they take it up. I am sure you will understand my meaning when you meet more of my kind.”
“Shall we be off then? The rest of the fleet can continue searching. The dark lord has to be hiding the drakken fleet somewhere.” Kendra stood as she addressed the rest of the people assembled.
“There is one other thing.” Drovak also stood and prepared to leave. “The last dark lord I killed had a strange reaction. Almost like he was being controlled by the dark one. Just be prepared for the unexpected.”
-------
Kiyan had made the trip in a cloaked drop ship piloted by Deep Current. The trip itself had been uneventful and short. Kiyan had never been at warp with a drop ship before so the sensations were new to him. The Avenger's size isolated him from the raw energy that consisted of the subspace layer that permitted faster than light travel. The drop ship was shielded but still Kiyan could feel the boiling energy fraying at the edges of his senses. He breathed a sigh of relief when the ship slipped out of warp some distance from the system. The rest of the trip was made under sub light impulse drives. It took a couple hours before the came into transporter range and the adventure began.
Kiyan's shields flickered around him until he determined that the atmosphere was safe to breath. The sight that greeted his eyes was a forest populated by magnificent trees that towered over the countryside. Everywhere around him life was flourishing. Kiyan looked using his life bending and saw a tapestry of colors glowing everywhere he looked. After gazing around at the regal giants dressed in vines, ferns and flowers of every imaginable type he noticed that in spite of the rainbow of colors that greeted his mind there seemed to be a single underlying color to each hue. Kiyan was so focused on trying to isolate the energy that he almost didn't notice the golden flash on one side. He ducked and rolled to the other side instinctively as hours of defensive drilling kicked in. A number of rather wicked looking darts were imbedded in the earth where he had been standing.
“I suspect a life bender is responsible for this.” Luke only confirmed what Kiyan had been suspecting. The underlying glow became recognizable as the same color that had attacked Kiyan. There was a flicker of gold as a form swung from one of the trees to another with remarkable agility. “I think I can help save energy for the shields if I boost your physical defenses.” Luke gave Kiyan little warning before he began. Kiyan tried to keep track of the rapidly moving figure as it effortlessly leaped from tree to tree. Vines took on a strong golden glow as they move to provide better holds and sprang out to provide perches for Kiyan’s antagonist. Kiyan felt the air around him chill and the resulting vapor being bent into icy plates that covered him from head to toe. After Luke had finished Kiyan realized that he was encased in a light, rock hard suit of armor that allowed almost unhindered movement.
“Now for an offensive.” Luke mirrored Kiyan's thoughts on the matter. The next volley of darts was easily detected and avoided. Kiyan watched the darts slow as they passed harmlessly by. He reached out and plucked one from the air and hurled it at the figure that also seemed to be moving slower. After the dart left his hand time seemed to resume a normal pace. The dart sailed true towards its target before glowing brightly then exploding into dust.
“Using one of my own attacks against me.” Kiyan recognized the language that the glowing figure spoke as being almost identical to one that Deep Current spoke with possibly only an accent different. Kiyan blinked back to normal vision and caught a glimpse of a tall figure dancing through the trees. It appeared to be dressed in soft barks of some type with hardened strips supplying an element of armor and short golden hair sp
illed from an ornately carved mask.
“Come down and fight like a man.” Soft laughter greeted Kiyan's challenge.
“So it talks. I will fight however I like.” Kiyan sidestepped a vine that slithered out of the tree after him. He danced and dodged the serpentine foliage that began to attack from all sides. On one side a fern had sprouted long razor lined steamers and on the other a hydra headed vine struck at him with sharpened growths. He dodged the fern on one side and risked a strike from the vine to an armor plate on the other side. Instead of the impact he expected Kiyan heard a high pitched scream and felt an influx of energy. A quick glance told Kiyan that his ice armor was coated in a thin blanket of icy fire drawing energy from whatever the flames touched and that the frosty vines were shrinking back. A sharp impact drew Kiyan's attention back towards his mysterious antagonist. Apparently his opponent had fallen out of the tree and was emerging from the underbrush. Kiyan looked at his now land bound enemy with his life bending and noticed the golden figure had lost some of its calm and appeared somewhat angry.
“Now you are going to pay. I wasn't expecting you to be using an energy draw like that.” Kiyan returned to partial normal vision while retaining an element of life bending vision. The opponent snapped out an arm and a vine stretched out and hardened into a thin but hard rod before breaking off in its hand. The rod took on the same glow as the figure but instead of giving light seemed to draw the light around it. Kiyan could hear Luke's suspicions confirming his own that it was some sort of energy draw. A surge of cold condensed fog in the clearing as the tall figure approached. The fog condensed into a long thin slightly curved icy blade. Pale blue flames licked the length of the wickedly sharp weapon. Kiyan gave the sword a couple practice swings listening as the blade hummed as it sliced the air leaving a translucent wall of blue flames in its path.