ADAR ZAN’NH
After a week at the englobed Onthos system, Adar Zan’nh decided that the research teams had gathered sufficient information, and he was anxious to return to Ildira. The horrific attack on Ulio Station worried him. It seemed far more ambitious and destructive than the Shana Rei strike on the small Hiltos shrine. What if it was the start of an expanded war on the Spiral Arm?
The impenetrable black sphere made his Solar Navy crew very uneasy, demonstrating an inconceivable power. This absolute Shana Rei victory over the Onthos race and an entire star system made Zan’nh realize that their enemy was even more deadly than the hydrogues and faeros from the Elemental War.
After the ships finished exploring the interior of the gigantic shell, they found their way back to the small opening they had blasted through the hexagonal black plates. As the warliner and the Kutuzov approached the opening, the darkness of normal space appeared bright because of its scattering of stars.
After exploring the dead Onthos planet, Rod’h and Gale’nh were galvanized, and the Adar was pleased that Tal Gale’nh was confident enough to shoulder leadership responsibilities again. To demonstrate his confidence, Zan’nh granted Gale’nh command of one of the warliners in the septa. The tal was at first taken aback by the reward, then straightened with determination. The Adar thought he saw a glint in the young man’s eye. Gale’nh accepted the transfer of command with grace, and Rod’h formally requested permission to join his brother aboard his new ship.
Zan’nh considered. “If that would be acceptable to you, Tal Gale’nh?”
“It is.”
After his flagship emerged into unconfined space again, Zan’nh stared in wonder at the infinity of stars. The universe had never seemed so bright. He experienced a collective sigh among his Solar Navy soldiers, like a rejuvenation of the combined thism.
Meanwhile, the rest of the warliners that had continued to explore the outer Dyson sphere in greater detail had discovered an important artifact drifting loose high above the obsidian shell. Over numerous centuries, it had floated away, but a careful combing of nearby space had spotted it. The relic was as chilling and as fascinating as the dead hydrogue warglobes they had found trapped inside.
Septar Dre’nh transmitted to the flagship, “Adar, we have found a verdani battleship. It appears to be very ancient, very large. It is lifeless.”
General Keah broke in on the command channel. “I was ready to go home, Z, but we should have a look.”
All eight ships rendezvoused high above the Dyson sphere, converging on the verdani battleship, a huge organic craft created from an uprooted worldtree in a symbiotic relationship with wental water. Deep inside the heartwood, an ancient pilot—one of the Gardeners, surely—would have fused his body to guide the hybrid ship.
Skeletal boughs sprawled outward, great thorny arms large enough to embrace an asteroid. Its primary trunk was an armored cylinder bigger than several warliners.
“That one’s larger than any of the newer verdani battleships currently orbiting Theroc,” General Keah transmitted. “I’m glad the verdani are on our side. I wouldn’t want to go up against that thing.”
“Even that gigantic ship lost its battle with the Shana Rei,” Zan’nh pointed out.
Tal Gale’nh transmitted from his new command nucleus. “Adar, my brother wishes to take a scout ship and collect samples. It could be useful information. Theroc will certainly want to know.”
The Adar’s brow furrowed. “I can send an entire team, along with guards.”
Rod’h appeared on the screen beside his pale half-brother. He spoke with an edge to his voice. “I can do this more quickly and efficiently than a large group, Adar. I’ll be back within several hours, before you could even put together a larger expedition.”
General Keah chuckled over the comm. “I wouldn’t disagree with him, Z.”
Rod’h didn’t seem to be asking permission, and Adar Zan’nh had unclear authority over Nira’s other halfbreed son, who was not part of the Solar Navy. “Be cautious, Rod’h,” he said, to give the appearance of assent.
As if to prove how fast he could move, Rod’h’s scout vessel emerged from the warliner’s launching bay in less than half an hour and darted toward the briar patch of threatening branches. He transmitted images as he flew along. “This is massive—and impressive. If the verdani could create hundreds more of these, they would be tremendous allies.”
In the flagship’s command nucleus, the Adar continued to watch the screen as Rod’h flew his tortuous path. The mammoth verdani warship was breathtaking.
The screen flickered, and General Keah’s face overrode the scout ship’s images. “Z, something’s going on out here! You better have a look—we’ve got company.”
At the same time, alarms came in from the other warliners. The panoply of stars that had looked so vibrant now shimmered, distorting one large patch. A slice of black darker than the rest of the universe opened up, and a roiling smoke of shadows emerged. The inky cloud swelled and swelled.
Zan’nh shouted across all comm circuits. “Battle stations! Activate weapons systems. Prepare our sun bombs.” He drew a breath. “This is going to be a fight.”
General Keah responded, “You got that right, Z.”
The shadow cloud blossomed like petals of night, and titanic Shana Rei hex ships slid out of their twisted dimension and loomed above the star system they had already swallowed.
Zan’nh had no idea what the creatures of darkness wanted here, but he had no intention of letting them have it. He would fight back.
On the comm, Keah actually sounded eager for the confrontation. “Ready when you are, Z.”
“I am ready now, General. Prepare to attack.”