The Star Masters (Mastery of the Stars Book 6) Read online

  “Swap ships with Ekim, Sittef,” said Ecneret. “And then return to the battle. The Republic fleet will have renewed faith in their battle against the Zisteotoveans if they think Ekim has returned to the battle. Also, the Zistreotoveans fear Ekim so much that they will be easily defeated.”

  “I will ask the permission of Ekim,” Sittef promised.

  Jahraldo transferred to a new fighter and led a Zistreotovean charge against the Republic fleet, inflicting a great deal of damage.

  Ekim, watching the attack on his monitors, realised the Republic fleet was about to be annihilated. He swapped ships with Sittef and ordered him into the fighting, disguised as Ekim himself.

  Immediately, the spirits of the Republic fleet lifted when they saw Ekim’s ship. Likewise, the Zistreotoveans were so horrified that the Republic fought them back all the way to the orbit of their planet.

  Sittef showed his skills as a fighter pilot, destroying nine Zistreotovean ships in a single attack run until Jahraldo surprised him and fired behind his shields, damaging his fighter and killing Sittef.

  The most intense fighting of the battle then followed as the Republic ships attempted to recover Sittef’s ship.

  Ekim was devastated to hear that Sittef had been killed and called his co-begetter with the news.

  “Do not avenge his death,” she advised him. “They will kill you, if you try. We will replace your fighter with the best that has ever been made.”

  “I will defy death and the Zistreotoveans to punish them, and myself, for the death of Sittef.”

  Ekim took Sittef’s ship and led the Republic fleet in routing the Zistreotoveans. He isolated Jahraldo from the rest of the fleet. The two fighters approached and Ekim fired first, but missed.

  As he drew closer, Ekim’s second shot struck Jahraldo’s shield. He veered around and fired a third time, but Jahraldo’s shield held firm. Of the shots fired, Ekim’s aim was better, but neither could damage the other.

  For as many shots that hit their target, there were more that missed and both shields held firm until Ekim finally got in a shot which damaged Jahraldo’s weapons system.

  Jahraldo hoped his shield would hold up while he brought the weapons system back online. It did, and he fired back at Ekim. Both fighters unleashed wave after wave of fire against their adversary, but the shields of both ships held fast.

  One of Ekim’s shots penetrated the shield of Jahraldo, but it did minor damage to his ship. Jahraldo could recalibrate his shield to defend further attacks and was unsuccessful in his attempts to penetrate the shield of Ekim’s fighter.

  Both fighters fired wildly. Most shots missed, their shields deflected some, but one of Jahraldo’s shots penetrated. But there was minor damage to Ekim’s ship.

  The strike infuriated Ekim, and he diverted more power to his weapons which, disabled Jahraldo’s shield and knocked the ship off course.

  His own ship’s shield was also disabled, and it forced both fighters to make evasive manoeuvres to avoid fire. Jahraldo appeared to have the upper hand, but Ekim pushed him back.

  Just as Jahraldo felt he was winning, Ekim pulled off a stunning manoeuvre and fired a shot which tore through Jahraldo’s bridge. Ekim circled the disabled ship and fired the fatal shot, which finished Jahraldo.

  Ekim sent out a tractor beam which attached to Jahraldo’s ship, and he towed it away from the Zistreotovean fleet.

  An incoming call registered on Ekim’s monitor. He accepted the call. It was Jahraldo’s beggeter, Ttivert.

  “What do you want, Ttivert?”

  “Where are you taking my offspring? Let us take his body so we may give Jahraldo the funeral he deserves.”

  Ekim pauses for thought, then cut the tractor beam so that Jahraldo’s ship could drift back to the Zistreotovean fleet.

  After a short truce, fighting resumed. Enaud pursued Ekim and, taking advantage of Ekim’s disabled shield, could hit his ship with a wave of fire that killed all on board. Ynnek and Kram arrive too late but recovered the ship with the dead on board. Ynnek put his ship between the Zistreotovean fleet and the ships of Kram and Ekim. The fleet destroyed his ship as he covered their retreat.

  “We have lost so many ships,” Kirkland told Sgniwef. “I don’t think we can hold Zistreotov, even if we defeat their fleet.”

  “We need Nala,” said Sgniwef.

  “Why Nala?”

  “He has Llehctim’s old ship.”

  “And?”

  “Llehctim’s ship has the most advanced weaponry in this part of the galaxy.”

  “Why isn’t it here?”

  “Nala was sick. He was exiled on Leda. He might even be dead by now.”

  “Send Kram and Eporhtwol to find him and bring back the ship.”

  On Future, Kcokaep entered Ydna’s chamber.

  “Would you like an update on Kirkland’s fleet?” Kcokaep asked.

  “No, I would like you,” she dragged Kcokaep towards her.

  CHAPTER 5: JOURNEY TO LEDA

  At Leda, Kram and Eporhtwol went to the cave where Kram had left Nala.

  As they approached, they saw stained bandages drying in the starlight, along with a leaf stuffed mattress and a crude wooden cup.

  “Go in and pretend that you hate me,” Kram instructed Eporhtwol. “Say that I deprived you of Ekim’s ship.”

  “I will not lie,” Eporhtwol protested.

  “It is necessary, it will bring you honour and glory in the long run.”

  “Okay,” Eporhtlow reluctantly agrees.

  To his astonishment, Nala was still alive and emerged from the cave.

  “Are you from the Republic?” he asked Eporhtlow. “Do not be afraid, I am from the Republic but I must appear savage after my long solitude on this planet.”

  “I am from the Republic, yes.”

  “What are you doing here on Leda?”

  “I am the offspring of Ekim. Who are you?”

  “I must be vile if no word of me has reached the Republic. I was wounded, and my wound has grown worse because I must use all of my energy to survive on this planet that the gods have forbidden. I shoot the tronqaks to eat and build a fire to melt ice to drink. Kram, the uxclod, abandoned me here. I wish he could suffer the agony that I’m suffering now.”

  “I too hate Kram. He deprived me of my rights by robbing me of my beggeter’s ship when he died. I am the offspring of Ekim. I am on my way home now.”

  “We are equal in our grievances then. Why does Ynnek allow such injustices?”

  “Ynnek is also dead. They also killed him in the war with Zistreotov.”

  “Really? But I bet Kram is still alive.”

  “He is.”

  “War kills outstanding warriors and occasionally by chance kills the bad.”

  “I will never return to Zistreotov,” said Eprohtlow. “Please excuse me, I should go.”

  “Do not abandon me, please suffer the inconvenience of having me on board until you reach the Republic.”

  Nala falls to his knees and begs.

  “Okay, I will take you.”

  “Praise the rotation that has brought us together. I am bound in friendship with you for all time.”

  “We must go quickly. Kram is hunting you to take you back to Zistreotov. There has been a prophecy that only your ship will defeat the Zistroveans.”

  “I will never fight for the Republic, besides my ship needs repairs. That is why I am stranded here.”

  “May I see your ship?”

  “Yes, it is over here.”

  Nala led Eprohtwol to the fighter, but no sooner had they arrived than Nala fell to the ground in great pain, clutching his leg. He uncovered his leg to reveal a festering wound, the smell of which was so rank it almost caused Eporhtwol to vomit. Nala groaned with the pain his wound was obviously causing him. He writhed on the ground until the abscess burst and the blood flowed. Exhausted, Nala fell unconscious.

  “I have found Nala and his ship,” Eprohtlow reported to Kram via his communicator. �
�The ship is easily repairable with parts from our own ships. Nala is sleeping. He is clearly unwell.”

  “Great. Let’s take the ship before he wakes up.”

  “We can’t. He linked the ship’s computer to his own identity. It won’t fly without him.”

  Eprohtlow transferred Nala to the sickbay of the fighter and treated him with medical supplies from his own ship. He also brought the parts the fighter needed and repaired the damage.

  “I have repaired your ship,” Eprohtlow told Nala when he awoke. “There is something I need to tell you. I have come to take you to Zistreotov.”

  “I will not go.”

  “I am taking your ship. I bypassed the computer’s security settings so that it also responds to me.”

  “You can’t. I will die on this planet without my fighter. I need it to charge the weapon I use to kill the tronqaks.”

  At that moment, Kram entered the sick bay.

  “What are you doing here?” Nala asked Kram. “Was stranding me not enough?”

  “To be honest,” said Kram. “We didn’t expect to find you alive.”

  “You abandoned me.”

  “You were poisoned. We all thought you were going to die.”

  “Well, I didn’t, look.”

  “Ten orbits I have been suffering like this,” he complains.

  “You are coming with us to Zistreotov. You belong on the side of the Republic.”

  “I am not. I will not fight alongside those who abandoned me.”

  “Then we are taking your ship.”

  They dragged Nala off the fighter, then took off. Nala watched the fighter leave with tears welling up in his eyes. He wished they had left him his weapon so that he could shoot himself.

  Then he watched as the fighter returned and landed in front of him.

  “Here is your ship,” said Eprohtwol as he descended from the fighter, followed by an angry Kram.

  “What are you doing, Eporhtwol? You can’t give him his ship back.”

  “I can and I will.”

  “Then I will take it.”

  “You can’t, it will only respond to the commands of Nala or myself.”

  “Then I will return to the Republic fleet and inform them of your treachery.”

  Kram stormed off toward his own fighter.

  “Please come with me,” Eporhtwol asked Nala.

  “No, I will not.”

  “Very well, you may have your ship.”

  “Good. I will use it to kill Kram.”

  “No, you mustn’t.”

  They saw Kram’s ship taking off in the distance.

  “Nala, there has been a prophecy that if you bring your fighter to Zistreotov, we will win the war. The prophecy states your wound will heal if you return. Together, we will conquer Zistreotov.”

  “Kram lacked faith before and he will be faithless again. Take me back to the Republic.”

  “Nala, as you know, I come from Rechinia. I am worried that the Republic will attack Rechinia in retaliation for me returning your fighter to you.”

  “I will use my fighter to defend the Rechinia system.”

  As they are talking, Nala sees a fighter land on the rocks above Nala’s cave. A figure descended from the fighter.

  “Llehctim!” Nala gasps. “I thought you were dead.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Eporhtwol looked in the direction Nala was staring.

  “It’s Llehctim. My fighter was once his. He gave it to me when he died.”

  Eporhtwol tried to see who he was talking about.

  “He is telling me to go to the Republic fleet, where I will be healed. He also says that together we will kill Enaud and take Zistreotov. Eporhtwol, I will come with you and fulfil my destiny.”

  Eporhtwol shrugged and helped Nala to the fighter.

  When they reached the Republic fleet, the fleet’s best medics treated Nala, and they announced his leg would soon heal.

  He soon felt well enough to insist that he go to battle, and the first fighter he engaged was Enaud. It took only four shots from Nala’s weapon to disable Enaud’s shield and destroy her ship.

  The death of Enaud was a glorious victory for the Republic, but it did not change the course of the war.

  “I have a plan,” Kram told Kirkland and Sgniwef. “You remember the M’Mineon beast?”

  The Republic was still sustaining damage from the Zistreotoveans. Kirkland ordered a retreat and the entire remaining Republic withdrew beyond the Zistreotovean system.

  The debris of several Republic fighters and command ships drifted in the orbit around Zistreotov.

  Ttivert assumed the Republic had given up and Zistreotov was victorious.

  “Be careful,” said Ssadniw, his offspring. “There might be Republic soldiers hiding inside.”

  “Don’t worry, we will scan the vessels.”

  On one ship, they found a Republic officer called Divad hiding. Ttivert interrogated him.

  “The Republic is defeated,” said Divad. “They left in such a hurry that they left these wrecked ships. They wouldn’t even rescue me.”

  They kept Divad as a prisoner and took the ships to a salvaging site near the capital of Zistreotov.

  As darkness fell over the city, forty Republic soldiers emerged from shielded hiding places inside the ships. Kram led the troop, which included Eporhtwol, Sgniwef and Nala.

  “Remember, the priority is to get to the control centre to disable the early warning system so that our fleet can enter the atmosphere undetected. Once we have achieved that, we can think about rescuing Divad or finding Ttivert, but not before.”

  Kram, Eporhtwol, Sgniwef and Nala took nine soldiers each and spread out around the city to converge on the control centre from different directions. As they went, they set fire to buildings in the city suburbs to distract attention from the centre and killed any small groups of security forces they encountered who were not expecting them and were victims of surprise.

  At the control centre, Kram and Eporhtwol’s squads caused diversions, while Sgniwef and Nala broke into the facility at two different locations. Zistreotovean security, rushing to the scene, was immediately shot down by the Republic squads.

  The squads placed explosive charges and, once they had detonated them, the squads could gain access to the complex. Inside and outside, Republic squads and the Zistreotovean security exchanged rapid fire. It was almost a race between Sgniwef and Nala to see whose squad would reach the control room first. In the event, it was Sgniwef’s squad who arrived to find the control room sealed with blast doors. The squad laid a large charge of explosive and retreated before it detonated.

  The charge not only opened the blast doors, but it also blew the entire side of the building off.

  “Do you think we overdid it?” Sgniwef asked as her squad stepped through the rubble, shooting the startled Zistrotovean survivors as she went. “Right, let’s disable this early warning system and the city defences and signal to Kirkland he can land the fleet.”

  Nala arrived with his squad.

  “What took you so long?” asked Sgniwef.

  Nala ignored him.

  On the ground, Kram and Eprohtwol’s squads had reached the foot of the control centre and were defending it from the Zistreotovean soldiers that had surrounded them.

  “How much longer?” Kram shouted into his communicator.

  “We are signalling Kirkland now,” Sgniwef shouted back.

  “Hurry. I don’t think we’ll be able to hold them much longer.”

  Kram and Eporhtwol’s squads are down to their last rounds of ammunition by the time the Republic fighters descend from the sky and blast, not only the Zistreotovean troops, but everything in sight.

  Flames lit up the night sky as the city burned. Republic troops wanted through the streets, killing any Zistreotoveans they encountered and looting any properties they came across.

  There was very little in the way of Zistreotovean resistance.

  Sgniwef led her squad to the p
alace where she found and murdered Ttivert.

  *

  Ydna was talking with Callahan when Kcokaep approached.

  “Yes, what is it?” asked Ydna with a smile.

  “The President has been successful in the war on the Zistreotoveans.” said Kcokaep.