The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire by Raymond Weil (ereader ebook .txt) 📕

When the recording was over, he took off the headset, breathing hard. He could not believe what the Morag had taken from his race. Not only that but they had probably done the same thing to the other races as well.

“I have found some further archives that have been sealed since the early days of the Confederation,” reported Marlon, with surprise. “I will have to go underground in order to enter the vaults to access them. There’s a chance they may contain the information you are seeking. I would suggest you wait in the visitor section. Food and refreshment are there, if you would like. You can also relax, until I return. This may take several hours.”

-

Ardon was in the lounge area for nearly four hours before his brother made an appearance. Not many people were here, as most made requests of the archives from their home planets. As a result not a lot of visitors came to Bator Prime.

Marlon indicated for Ardon to follow him, and they were soon in Marlon’s private office. His face was pale, and his breathing a little ragged. “You won’t believe what I found. A few years after the Confederation formed, suspicions grew that the Morag were telepathic and were controlling the Great Council. A group of scientists got together from several of the council worlds and worked in secret to develop a protective device against Morag telepathy.”

“Were they successful?” Ardon was most interested in this.

Marlon nodded. “Yes, they were, but, before they could implement manufacture of the device, the Morag learned of their research and moved in and destroyed the research facilities and killed everyone involved.”

“Then how is knowledge of this device in the archives?” Something didn’t sound right.

“One of the scientists wasn’t present. Once he learned what had happened at the research facilities, he came here and downloaded everything into the archives. He had a computer drive with him, with all the known research. He had been off-site, searching for a manufacturing facility to produce the devices that would inhibit the Morag’s telepathic ability. Once he downloaded all the information, he committed suicide to ensure the Morag never discovered that the research wasn’t lost.” Marlon reached into his pocket and handed Ardon a small disk. “All the information is on that disk. If the Morag discover what you have, they will kill you and will probably come for me as well.”

“Do the Morag ever come here?” asked Ardon, concerned for his brother.

“Very seldom. If they do, I’ll make sure I’m deep inside the archives, where they can’t sense me with their telepathy. I’ll be fine. You’re the one who needs to watch out. If you return to the Great Council, I’m certain the Morag councilor will know what you’ve been up to.”

“I’ll be absent for a while,” admitted Ardon. “I’ll explain that I have some personal business to attend to and that my assistant will be filling in for me, until I can return. That should buy me a few weeks at least.”

“Where are you going?”

Ardon smiled. “Someplace safe and I’ll build what’s on this disk. Then I’ll equip a fleet of our warships with this defense against telepathy and return to the Great Council. We’ll see just how tough these Morag are when I demand they stop using their telepathy to influence the council. Once every councilor is protected, we’ll decide what to do about the Morag.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game, brother,” replied Marlon. “For the sake of the Confederation and all its planets, I hope you’re successful.”

-

Hours later, Ardon was headed to an out-of-the-way Lormallian colony world. It had several highly advanced science labs, as well as the necessary manufacturing facilities to produce the necessary equipment mentioned on the computer disk. Also this world very seldom ever saw any of the Morag.

With a little luck Ardon might just get the necessary devices built and then distributed to the fleet. The Morag might think they were the most powerful force in the Confederation, but they forget that the Lormallians were the most populous and, in many ways, the wisest.

Ardon shuddered as he realized what the Morag had caused the other six founding races to do over the past thirty thousand years. None of the races now resembled anything that was once so important to their cultures. The six races had become more warlike and aggressive. The amount of time spent on music and art had almost vanished. Ardon was determined to bring those times back. The Morag had much to pay for, considering all the harm they had caused over the years.

Ardon planned on changing vessels several times before arriving at his destination. On the last leg, he would hire a private ship to take him where he was going, and he would travel in disguise. He wanted it nearly impossible for the Morag to trace him. No doubt that, at some point, the Morag would attempt to do exactly that.

Chapter Five

Several weeks passed, and time for the Royal Wedding approached. Dignitaries from across the Empire were coming to the Palace to watch the joining of Princess Layla Starguard and Derrick Masters. Security was tight, not from fears of an attack but for the millions of people flooding into the capital. Outside the Palace grounds, multitudes of excited people gathered. Massive holographic projectors had been set up in numerous locations, so everyone could see the nuptials.

In orbit, the planetary defenses were at high alert, and Fifth Fleet was poised to repel any attack. Thousands of spacecraft were bringing in people, some on private yachts and others on fancy passenger liners. On the ground, thousands of attack interceptors were ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice.

Rear Admiral Carrie had fourteen battlecarriers, four dreadnoughts, and twenty battlecruisers in low orbit. She had several interceptor squadrons out on CAP to ensure the space around her fleet