Trojian Horse

The Dracien landing site was a flurry of activity with ships zipping in every direction, footmen marching back and forth on the barren dusty shore. Several weapons were firing on the shore, going through a final check before the onslaught on the Vulpeculae residence began. Lord Reeger looked on approvingly from his vantage point on the bridge. The long-awaited armada finally arrived and the taste of impending carnage was dancing delightfully on his lips. He began thinking what he would do next once it was all over. The enmity with the Vulpeculae had spanned almost his entire existence and he could not help but feel a little empty thinking about his existence without them.

A distant voice calling his name brought him back to the present moment. The dreams of tomorrow would be kept in tomorrow, for now he had to get the job done. It was Maloch, who bowed low and began his account of his misadventures since his landing on the planet. It was all very boring to Reeger until he mentioned a scuffle with a Ser-ooit. How could this be he thought. He jumped out of his seat so suddenly that Maloch stumbled back in surprise.

“Tell me everything about him?” Reeger demanded.

Maloch recounted his entire encounter with the Ser-ooit making sure to include as much detail as he could possibly remember. His description paid careful attention to the physical features of the Ser-ooit while Reeger’s face maintained a rather solemn expression while Maloch spoke. Despite his insistence to Reinon that he had dealt with the threat of the boy he knew he had simply lost track of him. It was more than just a coincidence that Maloch spoke of a Ser-ooit on the same planet as the Vulpeculae. He would have been disappointed if the fates decided this wasn’t the boy he was searching for. There just couldn’t be a better collision of fates than what was currently brewing. One last rumble before he dispatched with the boy and his guardians.

“And what happened to him? Did you not follow them?”

“I did, my lord, once I woke up. They escaped me. Sssimply vanished. I could not sssmell them, hear them, nothing. Gone!”

“This is interesting news. Well done Maloch. Go and rest, you will join me on the bridge when the attack begins.”

“My lord,” Maloch said bowing low then turning and hurriedly exiting the room.

Reeger stood in silence thinking on how everything was melding together perfectly. All their paths were destined for an unavoidable collision. For so long he had searched for the Vulpeculae then the boy until he had all but put them out of his mind only for them to all surface on this isolated rock. A perfect synchronisation of events.

Roue was particularly irksome to him. A thief and a smuggler who had made it his mission to meddle in the affairs of the Dracien. He would take the Rogue from Roue as a prize. It was the only ship of its kind designed by Hethios with unparalleled speed, and an on-board artificial intelligence like no other. It was the only reason Roue had managed to elude him for so long and no matter how close he got it never seemed close enough. Until he decided to outthink him. Laying the bait about the Thalios was easy. A few well-placed rumours to give the story some credibility and the next thing Roue was in his ship wondering the corridors looking for something he would never find. The idea was to tag him and track him and although it had almost gone horribly wrong somehow fate had managed to salvage the mission and bring him on the very cusp of the end. Possession of such a gem as the Rogue would propel him to such infinite greatness that he would have little need of the often-imbecilic hordes of Dracien to fight his wars. What use would be numbers when he could strike with such surgical precision every single time? He had outgrown them. A little more genetic alteration and he would become the most dangerous weapon the universe would ever know. His reverie was disturbed by one of the Dracien calling his name.

“Speak,” Reeger said.

“The prisoners are getting agitated. They are causing trouble in the holding cells. One insists on speaking to you Lord Reeger. They say they have something to bargain with. Would you like us to silence the other two my Lord? Permanently.”

“I admire your enthusiasm for carnage, but the time will come. By my hand. I will be down shortly.” Reeger continued to stare out of the observation window into the vast body of water that was spread out before him.

“Yes, my Lord.”

Reeger was slightly enchanted by the gentle rolling waves knocking against the sides of the ship. Their planet never had oceans as vast as this, not even in its glory days. Their existence was only ever associated with dirt, heat, and survival. He had changed all that. Now they were feared, dominants in the galaxy with their pick of planets to choose from, to enslave or destroy. The ship rocked quite suddenly knocking him over. He quickly scrambled to his feet only for the ship to rock forward and plaster him against the observation window.

He pushed off the window and quickly made his way out of the room in search of the source of the commotion that had erupted on the bridge. The rocking seemed too forceful to be the effect of the waves. His hand instinctively hovered over the hilt of the sword as he walked determinedly through the corridors listening for where the loudest noises where coming from. With his exceptional hearing, he sound identified that the commotion was coming from below, somewhere in the region of the prisoners’ cells. There were dracien screaming and shouting, mumblings of a hull breach filled the corridors. He licked his lips in delight in anticipation of whatever fight lay ahead. The sword found its way out of its sheath. Heads would roll if this was due to the incompetence of his dracien.