"Daggers of Darkness, Book 4: An Unexpected Discovery", Prologue
#1 of Daggers of Darkness #4: An Unexpected Discovery
Here's the Prologue for the fourth book of my sci-fi adventure series, "Daggers of Darkness, Book 4, An Unexpected Discovery". This story is set 500 years into the future with some of the descendants of the characters in my novel, "Family Tails". This book continues the physical journey that will ultimately tie together the story lines of "The Sacrifice for Peace", "Family Tails". "Daggers of Darkness", and "Tangled Vines".
The posting of this story on here may not be a fully polished product -- that will come later when I have the story fully edited and published. However, I will try to keep the typos, etc., to a minimum. The main things I would like from those reading this are comments, questions, and suggestions. I only ask that you please keep criticisms constructive and polite.
Story, characters, and related art © 2013-2019 Ronald J. Lebeck (that's me).
Prologue
The journey of the heart to_The Heart continues for the crews of _Nightwing and Se'nika.
They and their friends also continue the hunt for clues to the whereabouts--or fate--of Cameron Eriksson, Sy'k'rell Hauvri'ahn, and Arlan Schneider. They learned from the Y'Nahrans that the three had traveled with one of the immortal Ayoona-lu-Nehm'a, a male by the name of Nial-sa'fel, also known as "Traps" for his ability of detecting, making, and removing boobytraps. One of the three Y'Nahrans they had met, Fier'na, had found a bracelet on Fren'a, which was later identified as having been given to Hauvri'ahn by Cameron on the first anniversary of their joining. Just how it had ended up on Fren'a was a mystery, though it did provide the first tangible evidence of Cameron, Hauvri'ahn, and Arlan having been in the area.
The R'Hinsi female, Khel'zet Harankhek, who had been rescued from being torturously interrogated at the insistence of Kh'nar, the leader of the Dra'kan Council, continued to learn about the cultures of the Sol Federation of Worlds and also to willingly share what she could of her own. It was an eye-opener for the members of the Sol Federation of Worlds, for it was the first ever peek into the hidden culture of the R'Hin Empire. Nightwing's Science Officer, Lt. Zach MacCloud, felt drawn to the dark-skinned Khel'zet for reasons he couldn't explain. Khel'zet, on the other hand, found herself feeling alone and wanting to have a little for herself of what she saw those around her sharing--friendship, comradery, perhaps even more. She knew that unless there would be something akin to divine intervention, she could never go home; if she tried, it would mean her immediate death at the hands of the first R'Hinsa she came into contact with or worse--to be captured, imprisoned, and publicly humiliated and tortured as a traitor until she died. She did not think she could face being totally alone among those of the part of the galaxy she now found herself it. Perhaps somewhere, in a small corner on the other side of Sol Federation Space, she thought maybe she could live out her days where no one would notice--or not care if they did.
On another front, the first volley in a long in coming battle was fired at Esba'in, when the Dark Bloods and their minions attacked. The First Ones and the Elder Races--represented by the Dra'kans, Drianedans, and the Theronesians--destroyed the invading ships, preventing major damage to the station complex that circled the planet. Perhaps more importantly, by some counts, they prevented the Dark Bloods from obtaining the secret that had been hidden deep beneath the surface of Esba'in millennia ago by the Theronesians. The First Ones had announced their return at Esba'in with a simple message: "We are back."
Naoia had Char'ena stay closer to her new young friends after learning that other Dark Blood ships were skulking about in the Outer Arm of the galaxy a bit too near to the nebula where she was guiding them to. Two other "beast ships" of the First Ones had taken up the hunt to find the Dark Bloods before they could cause further harm. Naoia was planning on revealing herself to her new friends--it would be the first meeting between a First One and those of the Younger Races, and she insisted on doing things her way for reasons only she knew.
The Heart had set into motion long ago the chain of events leading up to the greatest test of the heart James, Lilly, Tanya, and the others would ever face--even Naoia and Char'ena themselves would be tested. The greatest run of all would soon be at hand...
...the run to save a heart of being.