A SPARTAN'S WAR

EARTH

CRANAE ISLAND

NETNEWS CHANNEL 65 INTERVIEW WITH CROWN PRINCESSES OF THE UNION

1015 HRS, EST

Me'alla watched them as they walked in front of her holding hands and leading her along the outdoor patio until they were facing the four dragons, two of which did not appear to be fully grown. She saw where the four chairs had been set up in front of where the dragons sat, as well as the three chairs for her and her crew. She could see several Durcunusaan on the edges of the patio, including the four female heads of their details watching from just inside the double doors leading out. Caydren and Cinol sat between Anthar and Majeir, their bodies smaller, but not by a great deal.

"…is the patio obviously." Sadi was speaking. "And these are our Bonded Brothers and sisters." Sadi moved immediately to where Caydren rested, her hands reaching up to touch his huge muzzle and bringing her forehead to his scales. Me'alla watched as Ne'Veha, Carisia and then Lu'ria Leonidas did the same thing.

Me'alla's eyes were wide as she watched Sadi and Ne'Veha interact with the two smaller dragons. "Forgive me Princess Sadi… no one… no one is aware that you and Princess Ne'Veha have bonded with dragons! May… may I ask when this happened?"

Sadi turned back to her, keeping her hands on Caydren's muzzle. "It happened yesterday actually." She spoke. "It was quite the surprise for SirsanGai and I… but what a wonderful surprise it was."

Ne'Veha nodded her head as she leaned close to Cinol and placed her cheek against his cool scales. Carisia was standing beneath Anthar's head, her hand stroking the underside of his jaw as she knew he loved so much. Lu'ria stood beside Majeir simply stroking the scales along her side. With Elynth gone, Majeir was the oldest by eighteen months, and she felt it her duty to be something of a leader. It also fit perfectly with Lu'ria's somewhat detached emotions to all of this Netnews coverage. Drow by their very nature were exceptionally private and while she was still learning to be more open because she was now a Princess of the Union, it was not an event that would happen overnight.

"A glorious surprise and blessed gift." Ne'Veha echoed Sadi's words, the happiness in her voice obvious to anyone who could hear her.

Sadi turned back to look at Me'alla. All of them looked beautifully stunning Me'alla thought to herself. Sadi wore an uncomplicated violet sundress that clung to her figure like a second skin and made her jungle green eyes stand out. Ne'Veha wore a simple tight royal blue jumpsuit and Carisia and Lu'ria had changed into tight fitting near matching khaki colored jumpsuits. It appeared none of them were in the least bit shy about their lush figures and Me'alla knew the ratings of this surprise interview would be very high just from all the young men who would watch to view their Princesses and wish they were Androcles Leonidas. Sadi motioned to the chairs set up for them. They were comfortable, cushioned chairs with metal frames.

"Please… sit down." Sadi told her.

Me'alla looked at her, once more surprised. "We will not go inside and receive a tour of the villa?" She asked.

"This is our home." Sadi spoke gently. "We agreed to do this interview… but only to a point. We will not share our home with the public. Some things must remain private to us and our home is one of them."

"How you live." Me'alla spoke. "How you live… what you do? These are things people are interested in."

Ne'Veha stepped up beside Sadi. "Let them stay interested." She spoke. "The inside of our home is not open to the public."

"The King and Queens have given many interviews from within the walls of the Royal Villa and the palace on Apo Prime." Me'alla spoke.

Sadi nodded. "We are not the King and Queens." She stated plainly. "Androcles is our husband and mate and he is very private. And we cherish our privacy as well. He will not allow our private lives to become public knowledge and as his wives and mates we will not go against him in that regard. We like our privacy as well as I said."

"Not to mention he would be very angry with us if we did this without first consulting him." Ne'Veha said.

Carisia chuckled softly. "The punishment would be worth it though." She said with a seductive glance at Lu'ria.

Lu'ria leaned close to Carisia. "You are so correct Enylarcopri." She said softly. "Having his tongue explore every inch of our bodies is such delicious punishment."

Sadi canted her head from side to side with a smile. "It would be very interesting." She said with a smirk to them.

Me'alla couldn't help but grin as well as she motioned to her crew to sit down and she occupied one of the chairs as Sadi and the others sat. She noticed they reached for and took each other's hands after sitting down. She leaned forward. "I guess the first question I have is are the rumors that the Prince has also taken a wife and mate of the recently discovered Vanari species true?"

"Caliria returned home to her world to finish some projects she was involved in." Sadi answered. "But to answer your question… yes it is true."

"Will she be returning soon?" Me'alla asked.

"She will return when she is finished." Sadi spoke. "We love her and we miss her, but she is also the daughter of Vanari Regents and she has tasks to complete to help her father."

"Information on the Vanari is mostly speculation." Me'alla said. "Can you perhaps tells us more about them? And also… this Protectorate of Lycavorians that has been discovered just recently. Rumors say that this Protectorate is quite large and that a merger of this Protectorate as they are called and the Lycavorian Union is very close to happening."

Sadi glanced quickly at Ne'Veha and then to Carisia and Lu'ria. She turned back to Me'alla. "Me'alla… your Netnews channel and many others have been clamoring for this type of interview for months. It is said Androcles is too private… that nothing is known about him. He gave three hours to you and others not so long ago and now we are here willing to give you more. However… we are still Crown Princesses of the Union… and we will not discuss the workings of what may or may not be happening with newly discovered species and government contacts. If you wish these things, I suggest you request them from the Prime Minister's office and we can end this interview right now." Sadi rose to her feet quickly as did the others.

Should I burn them sister! Caydren announced.

Majeir's head snapped around to look at him. Caydren! No! You will not! She exclaimed even as Anthar chuckled within Mindvoice.

Why? Caydren asked. They ask questions Sadi does not want to answer.

That is what they do Caydren. Anthar told him.

Then they are stupid. Cinol chimed in.

Cinol! Ne'Veha exclaimed but with a smile on her beautiful face.

Sadi and the others laughed softly and she turned to look at Caydren. No… my beautiful Bonded Brother. Burning them is definitely out of the question. She told him.

Sadi turned back to Me'alla to see she had risen as well. Me'alla stepped forward. "I did not mean to offend any of you Princess." She spoke.

"No offense was taken Me'alla." Lu'ria spoke now. "There are just some things that we will not discuss. Now… or in the future."

Me'alla looked at the first Drow Princess of the Union. "I assume your dragons said something to you that was humorous?"

Sadi grinned. "It is probably better if you did not know." She answered.

Me'alla turned back to Sadi. "I really… I came with a prepared set of questions given to me by my Channel Manager. This interview was offered so quickly that it is a standard set of questions that we did not think to change. I am… I am at a loss." Me'alla touched her finger to her ear as her implant chirped.

"You are lead on this Me'alla." The voice of her human Channel Manager echoed in her head. "It's your interview. You have free reign."

Me'alla took her finger away and looked back at Sadi and the others. "May we start again?" She asked. "How long do we have with you?"

Sadi and the others returned to their chairs. "A few hours at least." Sadi said. "We actually like talking about Andro. We talk about him all the time."

Me'alla smiled as she sat back down. "Then… then without revealing anything that is too sensitive… could each of you convey how Prince Androcles managed to have all of you fall in love with him? What he did to win your hearts?"

Ne'Veha smiled. "Ah… that is easy. He is the most delicious man alive." She stated proudly.

All of them laughed softly and nodded at Ne'Veha's words. Sadi squeezed her hand and looked at Me'alla. "How did Andro win our hearts?" She said softly. "SirsanGai is very right in that respect… but there is so much about Andro he does not show to others. I fell in love with him during that time of unrest on the Royal Island. Just before The Purge began. He was only eight months old and his scent… it… well… it swept me up that very first night. I… Andro is so very different. He was born fully aware you know. Aware of everything that was happening around him. He bonded with Elynth while Aricia still carried him within her womb. Even to this day no one understands how… only that it happened. Some do not believe it… but we know the truth. We can see it inside his mind whenever we swim within his thoughts. He would speak through her… through Mindvoice and his Etheric abilities. He…"

SOLMAR

KAVALIAN MAIN BASE

WESTERN SETTLEMENT

1049 HRS, EST

"…did this is extraordinarily skilled General." The Kavalian doctor told him.

Azlenr looked at where Byka and Kameka stood to his side, Kameka slightly behind the two Generals in a show of respect and command. "Explain." Azlenr spoke turning back to the man.

"The entry wounds are all very precise and executed with considerable strength behind them. Far more than a Bontawillian would be able to exhibit." The doctor turned to the body on the table behind him. He had shaved the fur away from the single three inch long gash in the Puma Bane soldier's chest. "This one died from a single sword thrust at an eighteen degree upward angle. I estimate the attacker was just over six feet tall. The thrust perforated his right lung, both his kidneys and then went clean through his heart. He was more than likely dead before his body hit the ground." He turned back to Azlenr and drop his hands to the pockets of his jumpsuit. "I was unable to obtain any microscopic shavings from the blade but that is not surprising with Union weapons."

"Why?" Azlenr asked.

"I'm not very well versed in the process of…" The doctor began to answer.

"Union bladed weapons are now made almost exclusively with the Dragon Armor metal they discovered some two decades ago." Kameka spoke suddenly.

Byka turned to face his daughter. "Meka!" He hissed.

Kameka lowered her head quickly knowing she had broken protocol. "Forgive me Generals" She said softly.

"No Byka… it is alright. Kameka… what do you know?" Azlenr asked her.

Kameka looked at her father who nodded his head. She turned back to Azlenr. "It is the result of the forging process General. The blades are nearly unbreakable and the forging process is extremely precise. The blades are folded over five hundred times and after each fold it is sharpened by hand to razor like exactness. When the folding process is finished it is then reinforced with defined laser sharpening so that it never loses its edge. While their Nehtes are mass produced, each sword and hand knife is specifically made for the individual. There are two known Blade Masters within Union space. The oldest is an elf… Nehtes. Their spears are named after him. The second is an Acamarian surprisingly. She is this Nehtes student. Or was. They work together. Nehtes handles the folding while the Acamarian handles the sharpening process."

Azlenr shook his head. "Where did you learn all this Kameka?" He asked surprised. As long as they had been friends, Azlenr would never refer to Byka's children by their rank.

Kameka looked at her father once more and Byka nodded. "Show him Meka."

Azlenr's eyes moved between them. "Show me what?"

Kameka reached behind her and tugged gently on a small covering at the small of her back. Her hand closed around the matte black pommel of the Shakur fighting knife she wore strapped under her harness. She withdrew the blade slowly, and brought it around in front of her. She uncurled her fingers and held it in her palm. "I… I took it from a vampire Major who carried it. How he got it I do not know. It is a Drow fighting knife General. I have carried it since…"

Azlenr met her eyes as he took the knife from her hand. "You killed him?"

Kameka nodded her head. "He was able to sneak into our defensive perimeter around our aircraft. I discovered him planting explosives on our transports. He was not particularly skilled and it makes me wonder how he got this blade. Drow do not give them up unless they are dead."

Azlenr twisted the blade in his hand expertly and realized that Kameka must have had it adjusted to fit her for it was heavier in the pommel by a about a gram if he was correct. "Is it possible to get the formula for their Dragon Armor from this blade?"

Byka shook his head. "Meka brought it to me right away when she realized what it was. I had my people run a battery of tests on the metal. The forging process obliterates this possibility because it uses such high heat. My people tell me the formula for the dragon armor would no longer be the same after being subjected to this. Without the exact formula… nothing would work."

Azlenr looked once more at Kameka. "How did you discover this information Kameka?"

She looked slightly embarrassed but met his eyes. "Access to the Union Net Channels was not restricted until just recently General." She answered. "There was much to discover if you had the time and patience to search their Extranet."

Azlenr smiled and held the blade out for her to take back. "So it would seem." He said. "I wish others would be as intuitive as you Kameka." He spoke as she took the weapon and returned it to its spot under her harness. He looked at Byka. "This only confirms what you believed at the site. This was conducted by a highly skilled team of Durcunusaan."

Byka nodded. "I don't see any other possibility."

The doctor lifted his hand. "There is something else General." He spoke. "Something that I have never seen before."

Azlenr nodded. "Go on."

"I should probably show you." He stated motioning for them to follow him. He led them to the rear of the building where he pulled back the sheets on two Puma Bane Troops killed in the attack. "These two were not killed by a bladed weapon, nor a projectile weapon of any design I have ever come across." He moved to the other side of the table where one body rested and he pointed to the upper left portion of the troop's chest. There was a fist size hole clean through his flesh that allowed them to look through his body to the table beneath him. "As you can see, the edges of this wound are very clean. The wound itself was instantly fatal… his upper thorax perforated instantly and his clavicle and sternum destroyed by something moving with more than seven hundred newtons worth of force. You can see how his bone has been fused around the wound. The arteries and veins as well."

"Heat?" Azlenr asked.

The Kavalian doctor shook his head. "It's not something I have ever seen General. Not heat though for then it would be blackened and burned. This is some sort of energy that has no heat. It is the same with the second Puma Bane troop. The wound is clean and punched through his entire body obliterating his spine and most of his internal organs."

Azlenr looked at Byka. "A new weapon?"

"No noise was heard Azlenr." Byka said. "A firefight… even a single weapon would have been heard by someone. Notice was only taken when they did not report in."

"How many ground engagements have we had with the Lycavorians Byka?" Azlenr asked.

"To my knowledge… only four. The outpost that was destroyed within the Erebus Expanse, our forces on Iraruzu, the attack against Central Command and Marshall Pusintin's encounter with them on Enurrua." Byka answered. "That does not include the attack on their colony by that fool Qurot twenty-six years ago."

"Pull every bit of intelligence from all of those engagements." Azlenr spoke. "All of it. Have your Intelligence people moved to the main base here. I will do the same. I want them pouring over every scrap of information from those four battles. I want to know if this has been seen before."

Byka nodded his head. "As you order." He spoke.

"I want additional DAGGER patrols up within the next hour. Have them range out two hundred kilometers from each settlement in every direction." Azlenr spoke. "We may get lucky and see something from the air."

"They could have anti-air weapons." Byka said.

Azlenr shook his head. "How? We detected no ships in the system when we arrived. Even if they were Shrouded… who in their right mind would remain on this planet to confront us?" He looked at Byka. "No… this has to be an isolated unit of Durcunusaan who were here for something else. I want to question the vampire soldier that Marsin captured. We…"

All of them turned when Makali rushed in out of breath. Azlenr straightened up. "Makali what is wrong?" He asked.

"General… we just received a report that Major Marsin has executed nearly fifty civilians in reprisal for the attack on his team." Makali stated.

"I gave no such orders! My orders were not to punish the civilians!" Azlenr screamed. "Where? Where is he?"

"The settlement to the south of us here." Makali answered.

"Fuck!" Azlenr screamed as he strode for the door. "Byka… bring your security team! Meka will fly us!"