TAL GALE’NH
Back at Ildira, the four warliners that had survived the battle at the Onthos system underwent full repairs. Their structural damage was fixed, their laser-cannon batteries were recharged, their sun bomb arsenal was resupplied.
Angry at what had happened but refusing to admit defeat, Adar Zan’nh rallied an entire cohort above Ildira—343 warliners consisting of seven maniples, each with forty-nine battleships. The frantic work had an edge of desperation. No one knew when or where the shadows would appear next.
True to her promise, General Keah had provided a large shipment of the enhanced sun bombs, which she swore were substantially more powerful than the original Ildiran designs. Adar Zan’nh took her at her word and commanded that the new nova weapons be added to the arsenal already loaded aboard the warliners. Gale’nh had not seen them function, but he did not discount human ingenuity.
* * *
Gale’nh also had a sad, personal duty to finish. At the Prism Palace, Gale’nh presented himself to the Mage-Imperator and Nira with a heavy heart. “Rod’h is lost, Mother. The shadows swallowed him.”
Jora’h and the green priest already knew the facts of the situation, thanks to telink reports from Nadd aboard the Kutuzov, but they had not heard the full story. “Muree’n could sense that something had happened to Rod’h,” Nira said, struggling to contain her emotions. “She told me as soon she felt the shock, but we didn’t know for sure. Nadd couldn’t tell me anything about Rod’h.”
In the skysphere audience chamber, his half-sister looked even more dour than usual, standing like a statue in her armor. “Our brother is still alive, and still fighting,” Muree’n said. “I cannot always feel him, but I know he is in great pain.”
“Yes, great pain—and terror,” Gale’nh agreed. “I failed to protect him. He insisted on investigating the verdani battleship alone. I left him vulnerable. I could not save him.”
Prime Designate Daro’h hurried into the large chamber, his eyes flashing from side to side. “Is it true? I felt it in the thism, but I could not be sure. The shadows have killed Rod’h? That cannot be so! He was my friend, my adviser. He was braver than…”
Gale’nh looked at the anxious Prime Designate. He continued to be haunted by the last memory, when he had watched the shadow cloud swallow his brother’s ship. “Rod’h is not dead. He is strong. He still fights them.”
Daro’h was shocked and angry. “How long can he last against the Shana Rei? It is not possible!”
“He will last as long as I did. Long enough.”
Nira said, “He was desperate to prove his worth. He had high expectations of himself, and he intended to show it. And now the creatures of darkness have him.”
“They released you.” Daro’h clung to hope. “Perhaps they will release him as well.”
Gale’nh did not say that he doubted the Shana Rei would make the same mistake again.
Jora’h said, “Adar Zan’nh will continue his training exercises in orbit. The creatures of darkness have caused us enough losses. It is time to fight back.”
Gale’nh bowed. “I will review all encounters, Liege, and assess what I know. If I cannot discover how to rescue Rod’h, I will at least try to learn ways that we can defeat the Shana Rei the next time they attack.”