Descend- Seeing Stars by Sean Oswald (the ebook reader .TXT) 📕

such as these beings that called themselves humans had driven the clans together more thoroughly than even the A’snkarnt had been able to do. Now, the four elders all sat inside the tent.

      Jad-bal-ja was an honorable man. Her father had repeatedly told her this and she had seen it herself. He was not the type of pridemaster who led from the rear. He had spoken to the aliens. And unlike the shouted command they had all heard in their head, the soldiers on the ground had claimed that the huge pink human male had somehow spoken in their own common tongue.

      Many strange things happened today. The might of the combined clans had been for nothing. This foe seemed more deadly than even the dreaded Forlorn. The A’snkarnt had all disappeared from the leviathan. But stranger than that, all the relics that had been near the strangers were now fully suffused with PSI energy. Even the ones kept with the builders and keepers had started to fill up with energy.

Normally such a thing took more than a dozen years. This was part of why relics were so valuable. They could store PSI energy in their helite crystals and then depending upon the type of crystal the energy could be used for everything from healing to conjuring fire from the air. They were the tools of the mystics of old.

      Technology had replaced such things in their modern life. Even those amongst the builders and keepers who maintained ancient customs were not able to hold more than a tiny amount of PSI in their own bodies. That made the relics necessary for working their powers. Thus, as soon as a crystal was charged there was always someone willing to pay for it to be utilized. Now though all the crystals in the camp were being charged in a single day and those that had been at the battlefield were charged almost instantly.

      The rumors were that it was a miracle granted by the Source. Of course, Eesa didn’t even really believe in the Source. The idea that somewhere out in the universe there was some being from which all energy came was too much for her.

      Of course, the other thing that made the relics so valuable was the way that helite crystals were used in their star fighters. It was those crystals that gave them their subspace capabilities amongst other things. T’ruon, one of their A’snkarnt advisors had been of the belief that but for a lack of sufficient PSI, the clan fighters were each worth a hundred Forlorn craft. Who was to say if he had been right or not?

      Eesa suddenly heard her name being called. A crier standing outside the meeting tent had just called her. She was being summoned to the tent. Eesa was a proud warrior, one of very few women who had made the cut. She was fast and strong, but above all else she was perhaps the best pilot that the clans had ever produced. She had fought in battles before the A’snkarnt had plucked the best of their race from their planet Tamoori.

      Over the course of her one hundred and three solar cycles she had seen combat, had faced down countless suitors who sought to subdue her like some keeper female that wanted to breed. She had fought for her right to this life yet for some reason this summons scared her. It was rarely good news to be called before the council of elders. Perhaps they had decided to allow her to attack the enemy vessel from space where they would have the advantage. The charged helite crystals might allow them to power enough fighters to make it work.

      Well, she wasn’t some unblooded cub to stand quivering. She checked her equipment belt and made sure she had all of her gear stowed properly. It wouldn’t do to be called out for some breach of decorum and then she marched into the tent.

      Once inside the tent she saw each of the council members sitting in a semi-circle. Her father was to the far right next to Jad-bal-ja who occupied the honored position of the center right. The expression on his face caused her to almost stutter step because he was clearly concerned.

      “Greetings, Pilot Eesa, daughter of Al-na-mar, thank you for answering the summons of the council.”

      She dropped to one knee and lowered her head, hands upon the ground with her palms up and claws retracted, as custom demanded. “This daughter of the Lepar clan appears as called. How may this one serve the will of the clans?”

      “Rise, Pilot Eesa,” came the rumbling voice of Namur-san, the Tygar elder.

      She did as bidden and then stood at the ready as was military custom. Her father then said, “Please give this council your assessment of the enemy we fought today, these so-called humans.”

That was certainly not what she had expected, but Eesa didn’t allow surprise to show on her face as she answered. “They were powerful and displayed abilities that were unlike anything I have ever seen. I would agree that it is likely they are not the Forlorn for they did not match any of the information that we have on that enemy.”

“Namur-san asked, “And what do you think will happen if the clans were to attack them? They were less than three hundred as I understand.”

      “Esteemed elder, I actually believe that they were far fewer than that number.”

      “Please explain,” instructed Jad-bal-ja.

      Several times a fighter or tank would blast the ground where a cluster of them were supposedly located. The ground would be torn up and the chunks of rock blasted right through the bodies. I have to assume that the bulk of their numbers were merely a hologram.”

      “And you were able to see that from up in your fighter in