Since their first stop was Klbood, Paku also took the new leaders of Valiant Rage clan and a group of their troopers. He wasn’t sure how it would all turn out. He did know they were now in good enough shape that should the Pushtal overthrow their new leadership and come to E’cop’k with a plan to take it, they wouldn’t succeed easily.
Gheshu still needed repairs, but it should be more than functional enough to stand off the kind of crap ships the Pushtal had on their ragged station.
Shadow had built a set of routines over the month that almost kept him patient. Every day he sent a message to the gate to see if they had any new activity. Every day he listened calmly as the Aku in charge told him no. Jobortogato, the former Sumatozou gatemaster, had been retained as a helper for the Aku. He wasn’t happy with his new arrangement, but Niss had found multiple records detailing Jobortogato’s criminal behavior, which helped keep him in his place.
Every day he met with Niss and learned something new about Astatine-222 and its production, and he met with Yanow and learned something new about the Lumar. Every day he understood a little more about how rich they all would be if they pulled this off. The credits that would flow to the Zuul, and the credits that could flow to Earth. He believed if he could link this all with the fledgling Terran Federation, something bigger than all of them was possible. If. So many ifs.
Every day he waited for something to go wrong. Every day they rebuilt the base a little more, and things remained quiet.
Until the day Sonya’s voice came urgently across the comm, and he ran to the command center, Niss and Yanow in tow after their daily meeting.
“They just started appearing at the emergence point,” Ripley said and pointed to the Tri-V.
A dizzying array of ships appeared on the radar, each one varying in size, but all alike in one fundamental way—their firepower would overwhelm the new alliance Shadow and his siblings had built.
The waves of images on the radar threatened to overwhelm him. There were at least 100 ships between them and the gate. For a single moment, Shadow allowed himself to pretend the Winged Hussars had arrived. One of the Four Horsemen would be able to come to an agreement with a partially Earth-based mercenary company that had welcomed other races—that was practically their own story.
He gave himself only that moment, and then met Sonya’s eyes and jerked his chin. She nodded in reply and scanned for activity on the communication bands. Their odds might be slim, but they had plenty to bargain with, and barring that, they’d fight to the last shred of hide any Zuul, Human, Pushtal, or Aku had.
“I have comms in the clear,” Sonya said after a moment, her ears pricked sharply forward.
“Let’s hear it,” he replied, bracing himself for threats and demands.
“This is Hrkef, Kal’Shin of Vo’Hosh. I am joined by Calrik, Kal’Shin of Cho’Hosh. Shadow, Kal’Shin of Krif’Hosh, we have heard your call, and the other Hosh answer. Welcome back. We are whole again.”
Night Song called, and the other Songs answered. The words erased all anxiety, and Shadow felt joy wash through every part of his body. The comms carried the sounds of Zuul howling their welcome from the distant ships, and the four siblings joined their voices.
The Songs were reunited.
The galaxy would sing.
# # # # #
Glossary
Characters:
Silent Night—light assault Human Mercenary Company
Anderle, Jill – Captain, Second Company Commander
Bana, Jose – Sergeant, Second Squad
Bates, John – Sergeant, First Squad
Candy, Forrest – Second Company
Chelsey, Sara – Corporal, Second Company
Dailey, Connor – Mechanic
Dyffid, Len – Private, Second Squad
Gardner, Eric – Second Company
Gibbs, Tony – Private, First Squad
Hewers, Jack – Private, First Squad
Hyll, Roger – Private, Second Squad
Newt, Edison – Second Company
Paulson, Kai – Private, Second Squad
Pierce, Andy – Second Company
Plesh, Tanya – Corporal, Second Squad
Porter, Alan – Colonel, Commanding Officer and owner
Porter, Dana – Captain, Logistics Officer
Porter, Drake – Private, Second Squad
Porter, Rex – Private, Second Squad
Porter, Ripley – Private, Second Squad
Porter, Shadow – Private, Second Squad
Porter, Sonya – Private, Second Squad
Prendergast, Dick “Flop” – Phoenix pilot
Salerson, Drew – Corporal, First Squad
Sauger, Tenny – Second Company
Tanner, Jody – Chief Physician
Tesafaye, Yonas – Captain, Wasp dropship Pilot, 2nd company
Tucker, Ethan – Captain, XO, commander first squad
ZMS Paku—Eshtoo class Zuul mercenary cruiser
A’kef – Rei’shin, clan Insho’Ze
I’kik – Captain, clan Insho’Ze
Isgono – Sei, Cho’Hosh
Kuru – mercenary, clan Insho’Ze
Makori – mercenary, clan Insho’Ze
Teef – Business representative, clan Insho’Ze
Uufek – Attaché from the K’lak
Veska, mercenary, clan Insho’Ze
Zuul Terminology:
Afu – clan. Clans are linked to worlds. If a clan relocates to a new planet, their clan name will change accordingly. Members of the same clan share a scent
Chi – Uncaste, no particular path or career
Es’Ufu – higher caste
Fi – soldier caste, usually a mercenary
Introductions – Because Zuul have been part of the Galactic Union so long, and have spread widely across the galaxy, they have a detailed way to place each other. Zuul are often described to each other by caste, sex, planet of origin, clan
