Chapter 636: The Cavern of Stars (2/2)
As they watched the Prime System was seized and the original thirty spokes went out. The ”Spoke Bases” shot out the five access gates to connect one hundred fifty systems to the ”Spoke Base” and the next lines shot out.
The Prime System lit up with the amber color of ”Enemy Forces in System”, several of the Spokes stalled on the first or second rung. More and more amber colors popped up, including all of the Spoke Base systems.
”The Immortal Night Fleet has assaulted the base and the Prime System,” Dalvanak stated. ”Only one ship per, but they have received recent reinforcements from rogue intelligent machine general system ships.”
The others all nodded.
”Several worlds had Mad Lemurs in some kind of stasis that awoke when the Immortal Night Fleet arrived in system, others had Mad Lemurs waiting in ambush that erupted into violence during the system sinking,” Dalvanak said. He turned and faced everyone, the red of his maddened eyes burning through the veil.
”The Ancient Ones think the Mad Lemurs and the Inheritors of Madness will be dismayed by the rapid advance of the Spoked Offensive. They believe that the Children of the Malevolent Universe will fall back and surrender in dismay as did the Herd Lords and the Hive Lords all those millions of years ago.”
Dalvanak shook his head. ”I was able to discover evidence to the contrary.”
”Will you share?” an Atrekna wearing a full head mask of the feared Hamburger King, the plastic crown replaced by an actual crown wrested from one of the treasure vaults of the Mad Lemur Tomb World.
Dalvanak nodded, reaching into his fabulous satchel, making sure everyone present could see the warsteel-gold alloy logo of ”GUCCI” on the hand tooled leather of the satchel. He withdrew a carefully cleaned and inlaid Mad Lemur skull.
The gathered Atrekna drew back slightly. They could sense the rage and hatred still growling within the dead bone.
Dalvanak held it out with his intact hand, at waist level but full arm extension. He raised his maimed hand into the air slightly behind his head, his elbow crooked slightly. His burning crimson eyes flashed brightly and purple energy coursed up and down his ornate head covering. Phasic energy crawled up his arm in a nimbus, surrounding his maimed hand. Dalvanak was whispering to himself as he wiggled his remaining fingers and tendrils of phasic energy slowly moved out to wrap around the inlaid and jeweled skull.
”SPEAK!” Dalvanak commanded.
There was silence for a moment.
HATE! the skull bellowed.
”Deliver unto us your maddened wisdom, from beyond the grave!” Dalvanak ordered.
WOE AND WRATH!
”SPEAK!” Dalvanak repeated.
Above the skull images appeared. Of tanks crashing through muddy fields, moving through forests. Of unarmored lemurs charging emplaced positions with rifles and bayonets. Artillery crashing to the ground, shrapnel tearing unarmored flesh.
The gathered Atrekna watched as the Jeweled Skull imparted visions of military operations that depended on speed and precision. How some were successful and the wars ended lightning fast.
Others were bogged down.
Still others shattered against prepared defenses.
But more were stopped dead by counter-thrust. By a smashing advance of Mad Lemurs willing to die to deny their enemy an inch of ground.
HATE WOE AND WRATH! the skull bellowed.
Dalvanak let the energy defuse as he dropped his hand. He reached into his satchel and withdrew an offering to the Jeweled Skull.
'you'll be sorry' the can squeaked as Dalvanak opened it. He ignored the warning, pouring the thick liquid over the inlaid and bejeweled bone to quiet the enraged spirit held within.
”The Mad Lemurs learned to stop an overwhelming assault before they achieved faster than sound flight,” one stated. ”They mastered ground combat before they left their home stellar system, mastered stopping rapid assaults in space before they were Glassed.”
The others nodded in agreement.
”But wait,” Dalvanak said. ”There is more.”
The others felt anxiety and trepidation fill them.
”The Mad Lemurs are not gone,” he stated.
Every Atrekna held their breath.
”My Wall of Screaming Oracles shriek from their bony jaws,” Dalvanak said.
Every Atrekna present felt the anxiety increase. The wall was full of skulls carefully cemented into place by a mortar and cement made with ground Mad Lemur bone. The masked Atrekna who wore the mask of the People of the Decorative Skulls had assisted Dalvanak in crafting the wall, in carving the runes and sigils of power into the bone, of crafting the altar they both meditated in front of as the tiny biting and stinging holy insects crawled across their skin.
”They warn that the Mad Lemurs of Terra shall return. At first, few in number. The skulls warn, with silent screams, that should the Atrekna attack those few, then a tsunami of Mad Lemurs will erupt across the galactic arm and devour the Atrekna people in their bloody gnashing jaws,” Dalvanak warned.
”And if we do nothing to them? If we withdraw to our dark and secret places?” another asked.
Dalvanak nodded slowly. ”Should we withdraw, then what befalls our brethren that disrespect the Malevolent Universe shall not be laid as a yoke upon our shoulders,” Dalvanak said.
There was silence and Dalvanak let the phasic power dwindle from the gems, plunging the room into barely lit darkness.
”We must take a vote,” one said.
The others all nodded.
”We shall vote: Shall the Cult of the Malevolent Universe remove themselves from our fellow Atrekna, to abandon them as they partake and endure of this suicidal course?” it asked.
There was nods.
The vote was taken.
”Should those of us who have been imparted wisdom through pain, secrets through agony, who have stared into the wind that tore away our breath, remove ourselves to our redoubts and fortresses?” it asked.
The vote was taken.
”We shall make preparations for our exile,” Dalvanak said, leading the other back to the onyx wall. Their high heels clicked on the polished stone. ”We must complete our preparations soon.”
He touched the onyx wall.
”The Mad Lemurs pound of the gates of death, and they shall not hold for long,” Dalvanak stated as he slipped through the onyx.
The room was full of gems taken from the vaults and riches of the Mad Lemur Tomb World. They glimmered in the absolute darkness, each gem representing a stellar mass of the Cygnus-Orion Galactic Arm Spur.
They kept their own counsel.