XM315 shrieked through the void, a knife bladed object speeding at immense speeds through the blackness between worlds. To most outsiders XM315 would have been described as a creature of immense beauty, a single perfect crystal blade that shone with every colour imaginable, beams of brilliant light probed and searched the void from XM315 as it passed hue after hue of brilliant almost breathtaking colour down its length, a brilliant point of light in the unending sea of blackness. Bards that have seen the shards have always been taken aback by their beauty and their evil. For they are wondrous, perfect flechettes of crystal creatures of stone, light and unfortunately death.
A long, long time ago XM315 was a man. A good man that gave to beggars and worked in his own small way to improve life for others and care for his wife and his daughter. He had a small but thriving business and a happy home life. Though now all the specifics were gone, purged by the machinations of the gatherers. Life had been good to him, so he was one of the first to answer the call when Tirvarn was invaded, and he had died not even comprehending the scale of what he fought. He had gone before the Omegas to be processed on his death and his soul hadn’t been good enough for them, so he had sent to the crystal farms and his soul bound into his body as they implanted pieces taken from an ancient master within him.
XM315 blinked into alert status as relays within his body fired on detection of a ship, hanging still and silent on the periphery of his senses. He changed course and dimmed his lights and active senses, feeling nothing, no joy no fear, they had been torn out of him centuries ago. He gathered information relying on the void to hide him as he collected light from the object, the great tentacled structure seemed to ignore him as he oriented for a mid distance flypast. He waited as his processors searched for a positive identification, they quickly complied and returned a answer, one that would have caused fear, even terror, it replied with one word ‘Rakkma’.
XM315 didn’t even have time to respond as a hammerblow of energy reduced him to space dust.
Jamal Burned, or at least his soul did with hatred and the true consuming passion that was the purpose of his existance. He was a stranger to this creation, as was his ship and his crew, Vengeance had brought them a long long way from the blackened shell that was his homeworld. He flexed his swept back horns and narrowed yellow slitted eyes that marked his origins as one of the Khadra, a race of artists and warriors, swords and roses in one, a race that for the most part had been burned from the history books forever thanks to the gatherers. He raised himself to his full three metre height and barked a query to his subordinate, a short gutteral sound with a brief note of query.
Dhirack turned lowered his horns in salute, he also remained seated as was proper when speaking to his commander. His response was in the Khadra Battle speech " Sire the shard scout was destroyed utterly, it did not issue any warning, our presence remains a secret"
Jamal flexed his horns in approval, such efficiency was good, especially against shards, but he wasn’t here to destroy scouts, he was here for bigger game. He stared at the viewscreen as if ordering space to relent its secrets to him, he glanced once more at Dhirack " The Seed ships ?"
Dhirack fought the impulse to unsheathe his talons in anger, which was appropriate instinct but an insult to his commander. " Two have landed commander, the world is tainted, but the natives were able to destroy the third as it landed"
Jamal snapped his jaws twice " One was destroyed, impressive, but irrelevant, this world will now have to be cleansed as the others were, Alert the fleet". He straightened and raised his scarlet crest, the bridge crew immediately fell silent, awaiting the ritual speech, the one that had led them from world to world burning each to black ash, they were not disappointed.
" We will visit upon them as they have us" the commander snarled and then raised his voice slowly, letting the others rejoice in the speech. " We shall slaughter them as they butchered our mates. Let all the forces of Apsu, the Gatherers, the Shards, the Xamult and the Shadow Dragons know the terror that our hatchlings did as death blackened our skies, Let the souls of their victims fly free. For all that lives we let our souls feed the little death, for all that loves we destroy, for the sake of innocents we die and finally for Rakkma for vengeance"
Exultation swept through the ship, for there was only one thing left for them now, and they howled its name in their ancient battle chants, one of the few things that remain of Khadril, now a lifeless ashworld orbiting a dead sun.
They knew, they believed and they hated for all their religion remained was or one thing and one thing alone, vengeance.
Maria Delassio would have wept, if that hadn’t gone, she instead cowered in the corner of the chamber assigned to her and twitched antennae that were now hers and once more stared at the scythe limbs that were another symbol of what she had become.