Zai, last of the Raath was on his way to attend the security presentation that Roweth Sinclair and Therazan Sajan had prepared. Duron Ardiniero had invited any member of the crew who wished to attend. They were trying to come up with a battle plan to make the best use of their now limited resources in the event of another boarding. All members of the crew were invited to offer suggestions. Vanz Kerrigan was waiting for Zai.
“Eight people are dead because of you,” said Kerrigan.
Zai stopped but did not look directly at Kerrigan.
“Eight people are dead so that you could make a point. Before this we were overstocked with supplies for this mission. Now we have barely enough to get us home.”
Zai could have defended himself. Zai could have pointed out that Kerrigan played a part in it. Zai could have said Kerrigan forced his hand when he tried to take control of the ship. Zai said nothing. He continued on his way and left Kerrigan standing there.
Vanz Kerrigan was satisfied that he had won the encounter. That he had hurt Zai. That Zai knew Kerrigan was right. He was ready to go on about his day with that feeling of satisfaction but someone took it from him. Junitha Findragon pushed Kerrigan against a wall and held a crescent shaped blade to his throat.
“How did you get that weapon aboard?” said Kerrigan, “No one is allowed to have private weaponry on this ship.”
“Shut up you son of a bitch,” said Junitha, “Zai already blames himself for what happened. And most of the crew blames him for it too. But I know that you played a part in it Kerrigan. I know we never would have been put in that position if you had just left things the hell alone. So I am going to be watching you from now on. If you pull something like that again, I am going to fuck you up. Do you hear me?”
And then she was gone. Vanz Kerrigan was alone. He had been planning to attend the security presentation. He had been planning to use the opportunity to gain support for himself against Zai. Kerrigan found he was not in the mood for manipulating public opinion any longer.
Roweth Sinclair and Therazan Sajan spent a long time going over the various scenarios and battle plans Duron had come up with. He had managed to devise multiple strategies for surviving another Spectral Horde boarding attack. But he had also thought of twice as many where no amount of preparation would allow them to survive. They opened it up to questions and suggestions. Someone asked why they had been meeting in the common hall instead of the auditorium. Therazan said it was because there was a large gaping whole in the auditorium stage from an explosion. Zai stepped forward but did not say anything. He was looking at the holographic display of the three Spectral Horde battle cruisers and the energy attack they used on the Daedlus that had caused explosions and power surges all over the ship.
“Do you see something Zai?” said Duron.
“This attack,” he said, “it reminds me of one I have seen before. Somewhere else. Long ago.”
“Why don’t you tell us about it?” said Junitha Findragon.
“What are you doing?” Janessa whispered to her.
“I want to know what he knows.”
Zai told them a story, “my people, the Raath were conquerors. We were not unlike you. Genetic alterations were common to make us better warriors. When I was born my people had been carrying out campaigns against other sentient species for decades. We believed we were unstoppable. We thought we were the most powerful beings in the universe and that we had the right to take whatever we wanted. Then we met the Veggs Morv’tika. The Veggs Morv’tika were far more technologically advanced than we were and vastly more powerful than us not just physically but in all other ways. The Veggs Morv’tika were also conquerors. When we did not submit they began wiping us out. They nearly drove us to extinction. The Veggs Morv’tika favored attacking in groups of three. They would often use battle formations just like the one the Spectral Horde used here.”
“What does that mean for us?” asked someone.
“I do not know yet,” said Zai.
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