The Powers That Be by Aer-ki Jyr (best pdf reader for ebooks txt) 📗

change, albeit slowly, but there was a path to ascension there, for he was particularly fond of their warship capabilities and was eager to undo the inequities of the past…but then he was assumed killed and the second war against the Zak’de’ron began.

And through it, the near destruction of the Joor’nak from both sides was nearly complete.

None had been able to join Star Force, for the Joor’nak no longer controlled any worlds…and without their fleet they couldn’t relocate to them or find uninhabited worlds of their own to colonize, for the J’gar were still preying on any non-Star Force vessels. Bio’bo was one of the survivors on Tien vo Sha’cani that expected to die here to the Hadarak for lack of evacuation ships from any race on the planet, for most had already left with those higher up in rank onboard…and none had been Joor’nak.

But now Star Force had arrived in the water to fight the Hadarak and evacuate the V’kit’no’sat here…meaning Bio’bo and the others not only had a chance to survive, but they finally had a chance to get to Star Force and plead with them to join their own Joor’nak faction crafted from vagabonds and those deemed executable that Mak’to’ran had originally sent their way to give them the genetic material necessary to create a splinter race of all the V’kit’no’sat in the Rim.

Bio’bo was longer than a football field and wider than a bus, yet he swam through the water easily as ripples formed along his body and pushed the water backwards to his clasped tail, which looked like a flipper with the three strands flattened out and pushed together to form the most propulsive alignment possible.

Bio’bo wasn’t alone, for there were 6 more Joor’nak following him through the city’s Satu, which when underwater didn’t move individuals along an elevated shield road, but rather squirted water through wide tubes faster than a normal person could ever hope to swim.

The Joor’nak were traveling through those now, swimming along with the current to gain additional speed as they headed for the telepathic beacon coming from Star Force that was transmitting a single thought.

Evacuation Point Here

Bio’bo didn’t need to hear any more than that. He’d been prepared to fight as little as he could with his Lachka against the minions when they broke into the city while the Garas’tox and some Dan’chey were manning the outer defenses, but the latter race was ill suited to fighting as well, leaving only a few number of the Garas’tox that dominated this planet to safeguard the major city in this region…while all the other settlements around it had already fallen.

The Joor’nak had lived in three of those settlements, keeping to themselves until the assaults came. Only a few hundred had survived out of tens of thousands. The Hadarak minions were so fast and numerous the Joor’nak couldn’t sustain their smaller ‘bites’ long enough to escape, though their mass was heavily fortified with biological countermeasures in addition to technological armor that made them hard to kill in most other situations.

They were jokingly referred to as the ‘gentle giants,’ which had been an insult of the J’gar who had Saroto’kanse’vam. The Joor’nak would have eventually been able to earn them under Mak’to’ran’s new order, but too late to help them now…though Mak’to’ran’s experiment with the Rim might be better than that entirely if they could relocate them out of the warzone so far they’d never hear the name Hadarak again.

Bio’bo swam with the others staggered behind him until they came to one of the ‘circumvents’ that allowed an escape from the confines of the Satu or a redirect into the other tunnel that would take them back the reverse direction. The Joor’nak took the ‘off current’ and swam out into the still water before heading down to the city floor and making their way through all manner of buildings that had no obvious design to them.

They were sticking out here and there, and navigating them was like navigating a maze if you didn’t understand the telepathic markers which were thankfully still functioning as the fighting raged overhead. The city shield was already down and the Hadarak minions were in the waters above…which is why the Joor’nak and other aquatic races heading for the evacuation point were staying low and taking the slower way through the buildings to provide them cover.

A trio of Dan’chey were walking on the ground painfully slow, for the amphibians were not true swimmers…and despite their haste, Bio’bo knew they were not going to make it and reached out to them telepathically.

Cling to us, he said, dropping lower and slowing as little as he could manage while indicating a point near his bulbous head.

One of the Dan’chey reached up on its hind legs and floated off the paving stones with one of its four legs extended…then it’s armor latched onto Bio’bo’s armor and yanked the Dan’chey into motion, with him eventually getting all four feet attached to the Joor’nak’s body as two of the other massive water snakes picked up the other Dan’chey in a similar fashion.

Much gratitude, Bio’bo’s rider thanked him as he bobbed back and forth slightly with the Joor’nak’s body undulations. Many are being left behind.

What is happening? Bio’bo asked, knowing the Dan’chey hive mind was probably the best means of getting information now that large chunks of the city’s tactical network were down from unknown damage.

The Garas’tox are retreating and taking the first evacuation spots. The city is being left to the Hadarak.

Cowards.

No, they are overwhelmed. If they stand their currents, they will be lost. The city is falling and nothing can be done of it. But they are not helping Dan’chey. We thank you for helping us.

Are there others in the path ahead? You are light and we can take a few more.

Yes, slightly to the right. If you take next junction path 7…the