January 12, 2112
Sunfire
"I lent our honored guest a place to stay for the moment. She told me she has a message from her leaders to us," said Castle. He was the last of the five knights to gather around the roundtable. With the distraction of the enemy out of the way, the more important matter was this vote on the how to handle the war. Then they'd have to relocate to become a secret once more.
"First, we have a vote to get to. We can hear the guest out afterword." Sunfire stood at the head of the table. "Our vote will be to decide whether or not we stop the Wersillian War plaguing the galaxy. I leave the floor open for anyone who would like to speak on this matter before the vote."
Castle flicked his finger.
"Why am I not surprised?" Sunfire rolled her eyes.
Starlight shifted uncomfortably at the tension filling the air. Castle and Sunfire were about to go at it again, and Starlight looked like she wanted nothing to do with it.
Brawn glared at Sunfire. He spoke with words louder than need be, yet common for him. "Sunfire, you carry a certain weight when you speak, but remember, all our voices are equal." Like Castle was to Ghost, Brawn was quite opposite Starlight, the day to her night. He was loud and booming to her quiet and subtleness, brazen to her shyness, and reckless to her restraint.
Castle took the moment to say what he wanted. "The way I see it, this war is meaningless to us. We have no reason to get involved, and I see no benefit for our brotherhood. I'm all for the action, but it just seems pointless and time wasted against more important missions."
Ghost chimed in. "Castle. When we first met, you told me: War is a gold mine filled with opportunity. Those who know where to look shall have power beyond that most others see in a lifetime."
"How is that relevant, Ghost? Sunfire means to end the war, not join it."
Ghost glowered. "You misunderstand. It's relevant because the longer the war goes on, the longer individuals engaged in the war have to explore that gold mine of opportunity. It is unpredictable what they may achieve or find, and that could be a threat to our brotherhood. Ending the war puts an end to those potential threats."
"True danger isn't in the threats you expect, but in threats you cannot see," agreed Starlight in her soothing, soft tone.
Sunfire looked to Brawn. "Anything to add, speak now."
"I've already made my decision," he boomed.
"Then all in favor of ending the war, raise your hand." All hands went to the air, and Sunfire was especially surprised to see Castle had come around. She smirked and gave a subtle nod to Castle. "I'm glad you came to your senses."
Brawn stretched back in his seat. "Now we come to the hard part. How do we end a war that has plagued the galaxy for nearly ten years?"
"We turn to our resident expert. Ghost, I've been told you have experience and intelligence with both sides of the war. This is your time to make yourself useful."
Castle let out a sarcastic laugh. "Hah. This won't be short."
"Time is a commodity we have," Starlight added.
Ghost stood up from his chair and walked to the head of the table towards Sunfire. "The floor is yours." Sunfire let him by and found a seat of her own.
Ghost activated the holographic aid and began. "To truly understand the war, we need to examine a key point in time, a moment in dytirc history known as the Great Amalgamation. It's exactly as it says, a great gathering of countless tribes to form a united Military Tribe. When they joined forces with the lycargans, they grew into a powerful galactic force in the rather short span of time. The Wersillian War first started with the Raid on Tathen. After years of tension, this attack on a resource rich moon was what pulled the ARW into conflict with the legion."
Sunfire put her finger out to stop Ghost. "Tell me why the ARW would care about a moon not within their territory."
"The ARW is of a standing principle that all worlds in the galaxy should be free and individual. The Wersillian Legion threatens that by attempting to conquer worlds to expand their empire and fix their issue of overpopulation. I will add that I do sense a secondary motive behind the Wersillian Legion's attacks."
"Origin of the knowledge?" Starlight's face sparkled with intrigue.
"The ARW is quite technologically focused and achieves near unending amounts of information stored within their military network. For us, even their best security measures are easily navigated. When I investigated James Stone, I got access to that network, and it had all the information I needed," Ghost answered Starlight.
"It seems to me that this war would end if the Wersillian Legion were to stop invading other planets." Brawn was loud enough to be shouting.
"I agree," Ghost confirmed. "If you track each battle, the statistics show that the ARW rarely makes attacks into Wersillian Legion territory and is on the defensive most of the time."
"Target the Wersillian Legion, and the war stops. Simple," said Sunfire. "Tell me about their leadership."
Ghost nodded. "Dytirc tribes traditionally held a hierarchy based on the strength of the tribes' warriors with the strongest alpha being the tribal chief. That never changed. In the beginning, the legion had eight alpha leaders, called warlords."
"Tell me what we know about them."
"That's where it gets tricky. I've met their head warlord, Airra, and once saw another trying to hide himself when I arrived at a meeting a while back - a male korkyra. I never witnessed his abilities and--"
Sunfire interrupted. "I'm going to stop you there. You said 'abilities.' Elaborate."
"Every known warlord has been an ace. This is why they are at the top. Airra has external skin made of hard bark and has the properties of a tree with freer manipulation. Even so far as to be able to regrow herself and duplicate herself."
"She sounds like she'd be a blast to battle." Castle smirked.
"Tell me about these other warlords," Sunfire pressed.
"The male korkyra I spoke of earlier was killed on Idor, I believe. Three other warlords were confirmed dead within the ARW records - named Cralo, Steion, and Eruvir Varzaac. If you include the two korkyran warlords that joined the legion later, six total warlords seem to be still alive, including Airra," Ghost informed.
"Nothing you know of these six?" Starlight asked.
"The warlords have often operated independently of each other and don't often contact one another. When they do, it is not easy to intercept. The Wersillian Legion are not like the ARW, not as technological, and they use old-fashioned, even unorthodox methods to communicate."
"A simple no would've been fine, bud," Castle jested.
"Our mission now is to find the warlords and destroy them." Sunfire stood up.
Ghost added, "That would cripple and crack their unity. From there, we would be able to put an end to their objective of attacking other planets with relative ease."
Sunfire made her way to the door. "Time to get to work, then."
Castle stood to grab her attention. "Ready to forget our guest already, aye Sunfire?"
Sunfire stopped. "Right. It slipped my mind. Call her in." Sunfire didn't bother to take a seat. She would rather wait by the door.
Castle called a bishop to bring in the guest. And they all waited until she arrived. Sunfire was surprised to see a human female enter the room. How is this possible? Has the starportal malfunctioned?
The human didn't venture far from the door and gazed around, taking in the room.
"On with it, human." Sunfire's patience was being tested.
"My name is Cathy--"
"I don't care. Give us the message you came to give."
Cathy looked to Castle with an unsatisfied look. Sunfire didn't really care about this human. She was under the impression that this was a person with their ancestral blood that used their sacred starportal. Now that it clearly wasn't the case, she had no time for her.
Cathy activated a message that played with use of holographic technology from her cyberwatch. A dor'o female appeared in the message. Her bright-red face and presence filled the room. She was elegant, polished as her stumps, and glowed with a radiant smile.
The message started. "I greet you members of the Brotherhood of Relics. My name is Day-Bringer, chief admiral representing the ARW, with this invitation to you. We've been made aware that it was with the brotherhood's aid that a vital message was delivered to one of our star cruisers - a message that saved the lives of thousands, including our own soldiers. We thank you for that. And we offer you an invitation to join our cause in stopping the Wersillian Legion from attacking free planets and killing many lives. It has been my pleasure to extend this offer to you. Feel free to consult with Catharine Darcrose should you have questions or should you like to meet with me." Day-Bringer bowed in respect before the message ended.
Sunfire stood on the message for a moment. "Human, your ARW is in luck. It was decided by us moments ago to end the war by stopping the Wersillian Legion."
Cathy stepped back and was aghast. "So you are going to join forces with the ARW?"
"I never said such a thing. We will stop the war, and we will do it ourselves. Come or stay, you decide." Her words were directed to Cathy. Sunfire pointed to Castle and Ghost. "You two are with me. Let's go."
"I can't go. I need to find my sister," Sunfire heard Cathy say from behind her.
"Come, and I'll help you find her myself," Castle reassured.
They all followed Sunfire out of the room. And it seemed Cathy made the decision to go with them.
Sunfire was moments from entering her personal starship with two knights and the human behind. The hatch was open, and she started up when a small buzz in her pocket stopped her in her tracks.
"What is it?" Ghost asked as the group stopped.
Sunfire pulled out a triangular device that glowed red. Even after all these years, that device never left her pocket. She had almost forgotten it was there.
Anighta, the name came to her head. She was the one who gave Sunfire the device. And it meant one thing - Anighta needed her.
"Yo, Firehead?" Castle snapped his fingers near her eyes to get her attention. "Don't let your mind wander too long. It's way too small to be outside by itself."
Sunfire looked up to them. "I know where we must go."