A SPARTAN'S WAR

ARC ROYAL

PORT LANDING BAY

The port landing bay had been turned into something of a nursery as half of it was now taken up by nearly two hundred sleeping hatchlings instead of fighters. Iriral and Miath were resting on the deck among the hatchlings now, all of the adult dragons willingly splitting their time to help the hatchlings adjust and begin to learn what they needed. Most of them were terrified of Torma, not just because of his size, but because he was a Talon Guardian and whenever he spoke he had the attention of all of them without question. He had joked with Isheeni how he wished their children had shown such rigid attention to him. That had quickly earned him a whap in the shoulder from Isheeni's wing.

Now Torma, Isheeni and Arzoal sat around the small table that had been set up, with Wayonn, Helen, Danny and Julie occupying the chairs while Martin sat on top of Torma's right foreleg. It was a unique spot that he had been sitting in for years when he and Torma were alone and thinking or speaking just the two of them. When you came upon the two of them when they were sitting this was usually the position you found them in. It was like this with all the Bonded Pairs within the Union. They were so tightly connected that everything was second nature to them. There were some, like Torma and Isheeni's children who were much more introverted and would rarely allow others besides Andro or his siblings to touch them let alone ride them, but this was the way of things.

"…Paladins?" Martin spoke as he looked at Wayonn.

Wayonn nodded. "I was able to communicate briefly with Shiria before we left Union space and that is the term she was going to use to describe them when she told Andro and Deia and the others. It is the closest to what they could be called in terms you would understand completely."

"Holy Warriors?" Helen said softly looking at him. "Why does that sound rather ominous grandfather?"

Martin snorted. "Holy Warrior? There ain't nothing holy about me." He stated.

Danny rolled his eyes. "You got that right." He quipped. "Holy shit head maybe! That fits pretty good."

"More like evil sinner…" Julie stated with a large grin. "The way you made your ladies howl for two nights straight. Pitiful!"

Torma chuckled in Mindvoice and butted his snout against Martin's shoulder. Sort of like when I pinned Isheeni to the deck and made her trumpet my name.

Isheeni snorted herself now. You did not make me do anything I didn't want to do. She stated calmly. I trumpet your name when I am angry with you as well my husband. Not just when you are causing my wings to tremble.

True enough . Torma answered.

"Enough!" Wayonn barked loudly ending the banter. "This is important Martin!"

"Ok. Ok." Martin said. "We're listening."

"There is a gene..." Wayonn spoke as everyone returned their attention to him. "An extremely rare gene found only within the Pralor species. Sumar had it. Xaxon had it. One in three trillion, or some similar ratio according to Shiria, that is how many Pralors had it."

"So it was like… really rare." Julie spoke calmly. "We get that part. Drop the other shoe Val'istar."

Wayonn nodded to her with a smile. Daniel and Julie were here because he knew that Martin trusted them as he would trust a brother and sister. As Andro trusted his siblings. He was actually beginning to like both of them quite a bit. Behind only his wives and mates, Daniel and Julie knew Martin the best and they knew how his mind worked. And both of them treated Wayonn with respect and reverence that he did not feel he deserved, but he could not get them to stop.

"The other shoe… yes." He spoke. "Let's just say that this gene allows the person who has it to evolve the use of their Etheric powers and abilities into a physical manifestation of those same powers." Wayonn said.

"Like what Marty did on Enurrua?" Danny asked.

Wayonn nodded. "Yes."

"Very nice by the way Skipper." Julie spoke looking at him. "Very nice indeed."

Martin smiled at her. "Thanks Jules."

Wayonn looked at Martin. "You have this gene Martin."

"Yeah… I gathered that." Martin said. "I'm guessing it was kind of hard to miss."

"That's a fucking understatement if I ever heard one!" Danny spat.

"Daniel Simpson… your language." Helen scolded him. "Just because Anuk and Nayeca are not here to reign you in, does not mean you can resort to your former self with Martin before they came into your life. It would be a shame to have all their fine work go to waste by your association with this brute." She flipped a finger at Martin with a smile.

"Ouch!" Julie spoke with a smile as Danny looked properly chastised.

"You won't tell them will you?" Danny asked with a playful tone.

Helen smiled back at him. "I just might."

Wayonn shook his head but couldn't help but smile at the ease with which all of them acted with each other. "As I was saying…" He brought their attention back to him. "Androcles has this gene… and it appears to have now manifested itself within Denali and Jomann as well." Wayonn told him.

"So it is passed down within bloodlines grandfather?" Helen asked returning her eyes to him.

Wayonn nodded his head. "For the most part…yes. But it also appears to skip some generations. Resumar did not have the gene, nor did any of his siblings. I do not know about your father Martin. He may or may not have had it, I ten to believe he did based on what he accomplished, but unfortunately he did not survive long enough for it to manifest itself if he did. In you and your sons it has. Quite possibly Nara and Deion as well."

"Why not Resumar or Eliani or Arrarn or Zarah?" Martin asked.

Wayonn shook his head. "I do not know all the particulars… Shiria would be better suited to explaining the intricacies of the genetic coding involved… but I do know that it will only manifest itself in those who are Purebloods. Lycavorians with two pureblood parents like your father and Gorgo. Like you and Aricia. Purebloods descended from the original bloodlines on Lycavore after we joined with them."

"And why does this matter?" Martin asked.

Wayonn met his eyes. "How many of Sumar's Tomes did you and Avi discover?" He asked. "And do not try and tell me none because you and your son would not have known how to do the things you have done without studying those Tomes intensely Martin. I know that because I helped him to write them!"

Martin exhaled deeply. "Fourteen." He answered. "Avi told me that was all of them."

"You have all fourteen?" Wayonn gasped. "I believed most of them lost during the Black Day!"

Martin shook his head. "Avi said Sumar knew something bad was going to happen and he put them on CS41 before the Coven attack. He told me about them six months after I brought CS41 to Earth."

"The entire Regime." Wayonn said softly shaking his head. "Thank the gods."

"You want to fill us in on why these Tomes are so important?" Martin asked.

"Those Tomes are the entire training Regime that Sumar devised for those chosen to join us on CS41." Wayonn answered. "It has allowed you and your sons to know how to channel your Etheric abilities in the ways you do. If you have read them all, then I assume you know why Xaxon was punished the way he was?"

Martin nodded. "Yes. I also know that nearly all of these… Paladins you called them? They were killed near the end of the first war with the Scourge."

Wayonn nodded. "Yes. The Paladins were… they were responsible for the last dozen or so successes that drove the Scourge away and gave us victory. Unfortunately those last battles claimed many of their lives. When the war ended only fifty-three of them survived. Fifty-three out of a thousand. Among them Sumar and Xaxon."

"And the Conclave of Elder Pralors punished Xaxon for what he did." Martin said.

Wayonn nodded. "Yes."

Helen looked back and forth between them. "What exactly did he do to be punished as he was?" She asked. "Separating his conscious mind from his body seems rather extreme."

"His crimes were extreme." Wayonn told her. "Xaxon's actions are what started the first war with the Scourge. His actions are also what gave them the ability to begin the second war and bring about the eventual destruction of the Pralor species. I won't go into great detail now Helen, but the history is all in the Tomes, which you will read I'm sure." He turned back to Martin. "Where are they?"

"Safe." Martin answered.

"That does not answer my question." Wayonn spoke.

"There are five of us who know where those Tomes are Wayonn." Martin spoke. "Me, Torma, Avi, Androcles and Elynth. That is the way I'm going to keep it for now. It is not a matter of trust Wayonn… it is a matter of common sense. I… Andro has more than likely already told Shiria, or he will soon. Until we return and are within Pralor space, it's safer if we keep the number as small as possible."

Wayonn lifted his hand. "You do not need to explain it to me Martin." He said quickly. "I would do the same. When the time is right you will tell me."

Martin nodded his head. "I'm going to have to… you'll be the one doing the training." He said. "Or did you think I would not know. That is why you have stayed alive all these years Wayonn. That is why fate made you decide to keep tabs on us, and follow us and eventually bring you back to us. To fulfill the role intended for you. To shape Dutkne to stand beside my son and train the next generation." He said.

Wayonn looked at him for a long moment and finally nodded his head. "There is more of Sumar in you than I had ever imagined my boy and it stirs my Pralor soul to know this. Your insight is unchecked. How much of Sumar's memories do you understand?"

"Not nearly enough." Martin answered. "They are mixed in with my father's, with my grandfather Resumar's. I catch glimpses of things and places. I witnessed Xaxon's trial as if I was there. His sentencing. All of it. He was a bastard you know."

Wayonn nodded. "That he was. Twins they may have been… but two different twins you will never find." Wayonn looked at him. "What we saw on Enurrua… what we saw Androcles do… that is not all the two of you are capable of is it?"

Martin shrugged. "Let's just say we still have some tricks up our sleeves." He answered.

"And you won't tell me?" Wayonn asked.

"Not just yet Wayonn." Martin answered. "We are still trying to accept this… these kinds of abilities."

"You do realize that you are the most devious man I have ever met." Wayonn said.

Martin smiled and nodded his head. "Just don't let it get around." He said. "I'll never hear the end of it from those two." He motioned to Danny and Julie.

"Training?" Helen asked holding up her hand. "What training?"

Wayonn turned to her. "The next generation of Paladins." He said calmly. "For seventeen years before CS41 launched, Sumar and I searched Pralor space for those with this gene. He was driven and convinced that the Scourge would return because of what his brother did. He needed to replenish the ranks of the Paladins lost at the end of the first war. At the end of that seventeen year period we had six hundred and nine candidates. All of them were assigned to CS41. We were going to use the years it would take for the Seed Mission to train them. By the time we returned to Pralor space, the Paladins would have been well on the way to being back to their original number of one thousand when they were at their peak."

"Why were these Paladins so important?" Danny asked.

It was discovered early on during the first war that the Scourge were very sensitive to Paladins. Being able to manipulate Etheric psychic waves as they were caused the Scourge discomfort and distorted their ability to fight cohesively. It was only certain individuals mind you and after further study it was discovered that this gene was the cause. That is when the Paladins were born. Arzoal spoke from where she sat on the deck. Danny looked at her oddly and Arzoal chuckled within Mindvoice. I was not always a dragon Daniel Simpson. She said.

"Oh right! I keep forgetting that. Sorry." Danny spoke sheepishly.

"So you discovered that this gene was the cause sister?" Helen asked looking at her.

Arzoal nodded her massive head. I was not involved in the project… but I shared much information with the men and women who were.

"Sumar and the others with this gene were shown to have the ability to physically manifest their Etheric powers as I said." Wayonn continued. "They had the power to turn their abilities into weapons." He looked at Martin. "The psychic diamonds that you and your son can throw were the first signs of this ability. They are the top of the tier of Etheric abilities for those who are able to use them in this way. Those who have this gene. Aricia has shown this ability and I believe Sadi had also shown an increased level in her abilities. From what I understand on several occasions she has physically tossed objects or men into the air with great force?"

Martin nodded. "Yes."

"She came to me when this first happened grandfather." Helen said.

Wayonn nodded. "These are also the first signs. Usually random and driven by emotion. I would not be surprised to learn that both Aricia and Sadi have this gene within them and it is in its dormant state."

"Dormant state?" Martin asked.

"The gene is extremely rare as I said." Wayonn spoke. "It also has two stages if you will. It is either active or dormant. Within you, Andro, Denali and Jomann it has become active. It most likely has been active your entire lives and was simply waiting until you achieved a proper level of training and abilities before kicking in. In others, it will remain dormant, but allow that person to achieve things others just as skilled as they cannot. Aricia and Sadi being the best examples of this. Aricia's ability to use her psychic knives and now Sadi's ability to toss people about with the control she has. You and the others will be able to manifest your Etheric powers in a physical form Martin. This is evident in what you did on Enurrua and what Androcles, Denali and Jomann did at the Icalro Alliance base and what Andro did in the senate chamber. Balls of psychic Etheric power that can be hurled, waves of Etheric power that can be sent crashing forth with devastating power. Being able to make the ground beneath you ripple and heave as if you were controlling it in some way. All of these are abilities that the Paladins under Sumar had. And they used them with crushing success against the Scourge."

What we were able to determine is that the high concentration of Etheric power within the Paladins could disrupt the Scourge along a mental plain if you will. Just being around a Paladin would cause them to falter and sometimes act erratically. We believe it has something to do with the electrical impulses to their brains and higher functions but we were never able to confirm that. Arzoal spoke.

"Why?" Julie asked utterly fascinated by this information.

"Prolonged exposure to a Paladin would eventually drive the Scourge subject insane." Wayonn answered her. "It is why the Scourge frequently targeted Paladins in battle and even attempted to kill some of them in surprise ambushes on Pralor worlds. They feared the Paladins and what they could do. One Paladin could alter the course of an entire battle. It is why we won the first war with them."

"Why not the second?" Danny asked. "Sumar and you were gone but you said that fifty others remained behind. If they were so powerful…"

Wayonn nodded. "And for the first few millennia they were able to hold the line. Even just the fifty-three. The Conclave of Elder Pralors had been trying for decades to discover where our ship crashed according to what Shiria told me. Eventually they gave up. It wasn't until the abominations that Xaxon had created began to appear and take power that the tide shifted against the Pralor species as a whole. They were immune to the affects of the Paladins and there were many more of them during the Extermination. From what Shiria has been able to tell me, and history scrolls she gave to me once I discovered her, these abominations were dubbed Magistrate Elites or Holy Elites. The Scourge are for the most part an insectoid like species. Hard shelled exteriors with four to six legs. The Magistrate Elites and Holy Elites had evolved enough to walk on two, triple jointed insectoid legs. Most of them still had the tentacles and hard shelled skin of the soldier class, but they were more evolved in most respects."

"Evolved how?" Helen asked.

Wayonn shrugged. "I did not go into great detail with Shiria about them. I was Sumar's Mage council… we existed to fight them and kill them. We did not try to study them. That was not our job. The Magistrate Elites were the Generals, the Holy Elites their ruling government for lack of a better term. We left the study up to the scientists."

"That didn't work out too well." Martin said.

"No it did not. As it turned out, there was a disconnect between the scientists and the warriors. They did not share information. Now that they existed, the Conclave of Elder Pralors began to fear the remaining Paladins because of what they could do." Wayonn said. "Shiria told me when the Scourge attacked the second time they used tactical surprise and superior force in every instance. They went after key installations and cities. They butchers billions and took hundreds of thousands prisoner."

"Prisoner?" Martin asked. "Why?"

Wayonn shook his head. "We do not know. All we know is that hundreds of thousands were taken alive during the Extermination. None of them were ever heard from again. Many of those they killed they gathered after battles and used them for a food source for their eggs when they hatched."

"Wait!" Julie stammered. "They ate your people?"

Wayonn nodded. "The bodies of many dead were collected and preserved so that when their next brood hatched they had food. At least that is what we believed given the evidence."

"Fuck me!" Danny gasped.

Julie leaned forward. "Wait a minute." She said. "Why are you telling us about these Scourge? They are hundreds of thousands of light years away. Why would anything we do affect them?" Wayonn met her eyes and then looked at Martin. Julie turned and looked at Martin and then back to him. "Oh man!" She gasped. "You can't be serious?"

"Yes… I am." Wayonn spoke. "They are coming."

"The bugs?" Danny rasped. "The fucking bugs that killed the Pralors are coming here?"

"We're the only ones who know right now." Martin said. "Let's keep it that way."

"Andro?" Julie asked quickly.

Martin nodded. "He knows. Sadi and his other mates as well I'm sure." He looked at Wayonn. "That doesn't explain why all of a sudden this ability we seem to have has become so important though."

Wayonn met his gaze. "It's important because we need to find those with this gene and begin training them." He said. "Our people will look to you Martin. They will look to you for guidance and support."

"Wayonn… don't make me into something I am not." Martin said. "I hate it when others do that."

"You cannot deny what you are Martin Leonidas. No matter how much you and your son wish it." He said.

"Jesus…" Martin spoke getting to his feet. "Canth told me something very similar to that and I didn't like the way it sounded then. Now I know what he was talking about and it sounds even worse."

"And what did my son tell you?" Wayonn asked.

"You have a power within you Martin Leonidas, a potential to be so much more than what you are now. You need to step beyond the power that you wield… step beyond the boundaries of what your eyes and your senses tell you. Everything is not always as it seems son of Leonidas."

Martin looked at him. "I remember every word."

Wayonn smiled. "He was very good with words my son." He stated. "And he is right. Helen has told you before and I am telling you now. You cannot deny what fate and destiny have proclaimed you to be Martin Leonidas. Nor can your son. Or any of those with the Paladin gene."

"What are you saying grandfather?" Helen asked him.

Wayonn turned to look at her. "Androcles's actions have bought us time." He said. "Time to find those with the Pralor gene and then to train them to properly use their abilities for when the Scourge arrive. And they will come. By their very nature they live to exterminate everything having to do with the Pralor people. Even their descendants. That means us?"

"Why?" Julie asked.

"It was because of what Xaxon did." Wayonn answered softly. "His experiments twisted the subjects he used. Scourge and Pralor alike. His experiments were not sanctioned by the Pralor Scientific Council… and those subjects he created were driven mad. Mad with hate. With rage. All of it directed at the Pralor people, though they had no idea what Xaxon had done. Once his subjects returned to the Scourge colonies, this dark mentality became the predominate emotion among all of them over the course of centuries."

"No one knew?" Helen gasped.

The Conclave of Elder Pralors chose not to reveal Xaxon's deeds to the public. Arzoal spoke once more. There were many of us who knew what he had done, but we were sworn to secrecy. Even those like myself who only worked on the periphery of the projects. I dare say my deeds on Elear were of a similar nature.

Wayonn shook his head. "No they were not!" He snapped. "Your goals were honorable Arzoal! It was Artre who holds the blame for that!"

"Why would what Andro did determine when they come?" Julie asked finally.

Wayonn shook his head. "I can sense them. Just as Martin can. And Andro. His actions on Lycavore over twenty-five years ago set it in motion. Though it would have happened eventually."

"What actions?" Danny asked.

"Activating CS41." Martin answered. "They detected the ship's engines when Avi got us into orbit didn't they?"

Wayonn nodded. "Yes. With Andro's actions concerning the High Coven and with the activation of VORTEX Cruiser 341 they have stopped however. I don't know why at this moment, but it has something to do with the High Coven I believe. And Cruiser 341. Perhaps they question if we have more ships or not. Their Colony ships were slow and ponderous when we fought them but immensely powerful. It has been nearly twenty-five thousand years since we escaped and settled on Lorent." He shook his head. "I don't know anymore about them now than any of you. What matters is that Androcles's actions have given us the time we need."

"And just how do we go about finding these people?" Martin asked. "They aren't going to be wearing a sign that says I have the Pralor gene."

"Shiria will work out the details I'm sure." Wayonn answered. "She is more than likely already working on it. Our task is just as important however." He looked at Arzoal. "Finding these lost dragon eggs… finding Muton and the others with Pralor blood in them. These things are happening now for a reason."

Arzoal nodded. Yes… I agree.

"What reason?" Martin asked.

Wayonn shook his head. "That I do not know." He answered. "All I know is that what we do now is just as important to our future as what Androcles has done. And the High Coven ties into the circle somehow. Just as Muton and the eggs do."

Danny shook his head. "Man… this is some heavy shit!" He rasped.

Helen nodded her head at his statement. "Some very heavy shit." She stated causing all of them to look at her with barely concealed humor. Helen almost never used foul language.

Wayonn… could not the Bonded Pairs or Mjolnir's Hand do the same thing as these Paladins? Isheeni asked now.

Wayonn shook his head. "No. While they are powerful in their own right… their abilities do not generate enough of a resonance to be helpful against the Scourge." He looked at Martin. "You asked why your other children can not achieve this skill Martin. It is because they are not pureblood. All of them have the potential to become more than what they are now with the proper schooling… especially those bonded to dragons… but they will never achieve the skills of you, Andro or other Paladins. Zarah is the first among them to show signs with her skills, part of that is because of what Andro did, but her own skills are far superior to others already. Now that she has come together with Lucia… I understand they both have displayed odd abilities."

"But Aikiro and her father had no physical ties to Xaxon." Martin said. "Bella and Narice confirmed this for us. Only his Etheric essence was contained on CS19. His body was on CS41. Without his actual body…"

"No… they did not have his physical body but he was more than powerful enough within Mindvoice to transfer some of his lesser skills to her father." Wayonn answered. "These skills were carried over in her own children and so on down the line. Because of the specific Etheric composition of these skills, they lost none of their potency through the generations. Lucia's psychic whips are the equivalent to the psychic knives Aricia uses. Almost on a physical plane… but not quite. When used while charged with high emotions they can be quite lethal however."

Wayonn… Arzoal interrupted. CS19 had survivors aboard. Pralors that merged with the vampires of the High Coven. Is it possible that some of CS19's had this gene in a dormant state and Sumar and you just did not detect it? It is really no different than what you and Sumar did on Lycavore.

Wayonn met her flame colored eyes and his own grew wider. "That's it! That has to be it!" He finally exclaimed. "That has to be why the Scourge have halted! The total combined population of the Lycavorian species and vampires is in access of twenty trillion alone. They do not know how many of them are Paladins!"

"Six months." Martin said as he rose to his feet. "Eight tops."

Wayonn looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I agree what we are doing now is needed and necessary Wayonn." Martin spoke. "I feel it within me just as you do. If however, after eight months we find nothing, then we are going back. I will not remain away and let my children and my friends fight a war with the Kavalians that I threw the first punch in."

Training the Coven dragons. Arzoal spoke softly.

Martin nodded. "Eight months. That is all I am willing to spend out here among the stars searching for something or someone that may or may not exist."

I agree. Arzoal spoke. In eight months the hatchlings will need to be set free in blue skies and clouds to truly evolve. And I believe as Martin does… for that decision was also partly mine as well.

Wayonn looked back and forth between them and finally nodded his head. "Then it will have to do." He said.

Danny raised his hand. "Just one question folks… and this may seem minor really. Not important at all! Just a thought that crossed my mind." Danny spoke. "Just how in the holy billy hell do we fight fucking bugs? No pressure mind you… I'd really like to know that. Just out of curiosity."