Chapter 16 #4
“From the beginning, I wondered if the Sentinels or the Tuureans should be the ones having this meeting as they have the troops to ensure Dantor’s protection,” I said carefully.
“Currently, the Vigil is essentially the head of the hydra. If this is a trap, they could take out all three of you in one fell swoop.”
“Like they tried on the Talabor mission,” Zhara said with sudden understanding.
I nodded.
“Are your senses telling you that?” Vahl asked.
I shook my head. “No. These are simply thoughts that have been swirling in my mind.”
Vahl nodded and looked slightly relieved.
“Then all should be fine. I have spoken with the Oracles. And they say that we must follow the path ahead of us,” he explained. “Granted, that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to run into foul play. But it implies we would benefit from everyone going.”
“That’s settled then,” I said, still unable to shake a sliver of unease.
“Kamala’s ship is nearby,” Rhadames added. “And remember that Aunt Lee also has a small fleet that will conveniently linger nearby during our visit before she continues on her way to the Eastern Quadrant.”
Once more, I nodded.
“Right. But I would like to suggest that you all wear psychic shields,” I said.
They all looked at me with the same stunned expression.
“Disruptors can nullify psychic shields,” Vahl argued.
“Sometimes, yes. But as far as I know, only Guldan technology managed to bypass Veredian shields. Dantor should be a safe place for our shields to work,” I countered.
“The Dantorians might take offense if they realize we have them,” Rhadames interjected, prompting both Dervhen twins to nod.
“After what happened on Talabor, I think Gavin is right to raise this red flag,” Zhara said pensively.
“It should have been a safe place for us. As of yet, we don’t know for sure who executed that attack.
Dad said it came from someone within the Galactic Alliance, but he’s not certain if it was a rogue agent or an official order. ”
“And those operatives could be Guldans or Draylians,” Vahl concurred. “Honestly, since Dad announced that the Alliance was behind it, I kept wondering if it was actually the Draylians. They’ve been much too quiet since their assassination attempt against Siona.”
That struck a nerve. I should have contemplated that possibility.
The Draylians were the original Titans, the Korlethean offspring resulting from decades of self-enhancement.
By attempting to give themselves all kinds of powers taken from other species, they’d made their children almost feral.
When those first Titans turned on their parents and tried to dominate them, a bloody civil war erupted.
It ended with innumerable deaths on both sides and the extermination of the Titans.
Or so they thought.
A few of them survived in exile and slowly rebuilt their numbers.
Physically, they no longer resembled Korletheans.
We didn’t know if they’d crossbred with a different species.
The Draylian assassin called Dread tried to murder Siona and displayed insane powers.
He shifted into the appearance of Vahl, Zhara, and Rhadames to use their respective abilities.
“I wondered about that too,” Zhara said with a frown. “But Dread didn’t sound like he wanted to harm us. According to Zerien, he wants to mate with Veredians to create an even more powerful species. Killing us wouldn’t endear them to our people.”
“Agreed,” Rhadames said. “In fact, he wanted an alliance with Zerien as well. He just didn’t want Siona to live or to have a child, as both would help thwart his plans.”
“So that leaves potential meddling by the Guldans. They’re desperate enough that they could try something,” Lenora said pensively.
“Not to mention the Sarenian rebels who are still on the run,” I added. “They collaborated with the Draylians and the Guldans.”
“The Guldans used psychic disruptor implants. They protected them from the Sarenians’ psionic abilities,” Trehvus chimed in. “The question is whether it only protected them from mind control or all forms of psionic powers.”
“From my understanding, it protects against any long-range psionic powers. So anything that doesn’t require physical contact,” Vahl said.
“So Zhara wouldn’t be able to yank out their souls.
I wouldn’t be able to fling them about or crush their organs with a thought.
Dhax wouldn’t be able to turn their blood to ice.
But you could fire ice shards at them, and you fireballs,” he added, glancing at Trehv.
“Then we should all carry a psychic shield and download Siona’s scrambling program to our bracers,” Rhadames said.
We all nodded, although Trehvus continued to frown.
“What is it?” Vahl asked.
“We should prepare a diplomatic response if the Dantorians realize we brought shields. Their planet is too strategically located for us to risk not having them on our side during the war. Pissing them off now that they are finally opening up and taking a side would be a huge mistake. They’re also extremely wealthy.
We will want their financial support as well in the future,” Trehv said.
“I agree,” I replied, and everyone else nodded. “Would you be able to write something?”
He nodded with a smug grin. But his twin responded instead.
“We’re all over it,” Dhaxius said.