Astral Legacy Book 1

1

Kershala had only barely made it to his ship to lift off after suffering defeat at the hands of his pursuers. His suit was badly damaged having barely protected him from the final energy assault they had unleashed on him as he bought time for his kin to escape. He thought about the look in his younger siblings faces as their matriarch pulled them away hoping to escape. His family had been running for years, the last of a line of royalty that threatened the right to the current regime in his former home system. A place that he was no longer welcome, and he would likely never see again. His patriarch had been killed just a day earlier and he hadn't even had time to grieve before another attack ensued. He sat down in the pilot's seat and the ships computer recognized its pilot everything around him whirring to life. "You are damaged," the ships computer spoke to him in a confident voice, the AI taking information from the nanites in his suit. "You must seek medical attention."

"We do not have time, we have to get off this planet." Kershala began tapping the console in front of him triggering the ships engines. As it began to lift off the whole ship jolted. "What was that?"

"It appears they have found us, Kershala. Severe damage detected to left engine." Kershala checked the read outs on several different panels, his ship had been in several battles and gone into disrepair. He had not had time between battles as they got more and more frequent.

"Have the others left orbit yet?"

"Sensors detect that they are powering engines in orbit. It will take them approximately one minicycle to initiate an untraceable jump." Kershala brought the ship about and began firing not waiting to see what it was. As the ship turned and between shots fired he could see several Shiron soldiers opening fire on his tiny ship. He piloted the ship in such a manner that its movements were erratic and hard to predict, making him harder to get a lock. One by one the soldiers fell but the final one managed to get a few quick shots on his ship causing damage to minor systems. Relieved, Kershala leaned back in his chair and found it harder to ignore his wounds. He had managed to take out several of their troops his armor taking the brunt of their weapons, but it could only take so much damage before losing integrity. In the end he took a blade weapon to his side forcing his retreat. "Kershala, the Shiron master ship is closing on..." Before the AI could finish it's sentence he snapped out of his brief thought triggered the engine to full power blasting toward his family as fast as his ship could take him.

"Kershala, can you hear me?" It was his matriarch over the heavily damaged communication system. Her message was broken but he could understand her.

"Yes, Karu, I hear you. Can you get away from them?"

"I do not think so; the engines charge cycle has been disrupted."

"I am coming Karu, please hold on!" Kershala could feel fear bubbling in his chest at what was beginning to unfold before him.

"No, son, you are no match for them." He could hear the desperation in the matriarch's voice, "If you come to us they will only kill you too. Do not make me watch all of my children die!" Kershala's vessel cleared the atmosphere and could see the massive ship moving in on his family. He immediately opened fire on the larger vessel hoping to draw them away, but he wasn't even in weapons range yet and he watched as the charged energy shots dissipated in open space.

"Foolish child!" A voice came over his communicator and echoed through the small ship. "Seeing your patriarch die wasn't enough? Come to watch the rest of your family die as well?" It was the Commander of the vessel the monster that had been torturing his family for all this time. "I personally squeezed the life from your patriarch as he begged me for mercy, do you truly think I won't do the same to you and your worthless bloodline!" Kershala watched as the main gun powered on the massive ship.