Star Brigade: Resurgent (Star Brigade Book 1) Read Free

longer know prison walls or mistreatment. In the name of the Korvenite Deity, I will liberate you.]
    Several Korvenites cried out in joy and disbelief. Maelstrom, the Korvenite llyriac of this same name, reportedly slain by Union Command almost four years ago. Khasos suddenly looked as if he had soiled himself. The touch of this strange Korvenite’s mind was too genuine to doubt. The strength from his thoughts brimmed with dedication to Korvan’s Way.
    “[Korvan has answered our prayers,]” Vantor whispered and smiled. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had anything to genuinely smile about. His spirit soared higher than ever before.
    “[Korvan!]” yelped another Korvenite. “[He has sent his Anointed herald to liberate us!]”
    [All I need is a moment to deal with those who imprison you. Don’t lose hope. Freedom is coming.] And with that, Maelstrom was gone. Vantor felt the llyriac’s presence dissipate from his mind, and then noticed the tears that wet his own face. The room quickly filled with sniffs and noisy sobs of joy.
    [“Maelstrom….]” Vantor finally remembered to breathe, barely able to whisper thanks to his deity.
     
    “A Korvenite out in space!!?” Fennimore shot out of his seat, barely containing his rage.
    “Affirmative, sir. Roughly a hundred pentametrids away.” The Nnaxan helm kept his eyes on the console when he answered to avoid Fennimore’s wild glare. “But it’s surrounded by a force field made of psychic energy—”
    “Zoom in on this thing so we can kill it.” Fennimore irritably waved off the warning. The viewscreen zoomed in on the Korvenite in question by a factor of fifty. And Fennimore nearly had a heart attack.
    “No, no! NO!” His voice grew louder with each denial he shouted out. Not caring who saw him, the captain immediately backpedaled and plopped into his seat. Luckily, no one even gave him a second glance. Every crew member present stared in outright fear at the viewscreen. Some swore, others muttered in astonishment while a few just stood at their posts with their jaws or mandibles hanging open.
    Three years ago, Fennimore had seen this renegade Korvenite and his terrorist group on the news network IPNN. He had heard of this terrorist’s relentless pilgrimage to get back the homeworld for his race. The images on the news of humans slaughtered in this monster’s wake still made him shudder. Now that very same Korvenite butcher glared back at him across the darkness of space. Maelstrom, leader of the Korvenite Independence Front and presumed dead by all, floated in the middle of open space and on Nathaniel Fennimore’s viewscreen. The Korvenite didn’t smile or frown, but exuded a supremacy unlike any this crew had come close to seeing from its own captain.
    The Korvenite’s long curly locks of violet floated in an almost rhythmic manner. His arms were folded across his chest as the taciturn solar winds whipped his indigo cape into a frenzy. Countless outlying stars shimmered off his sable-hued armor, which perfectly fit the Korvenite’s robust build. His black and gold eyes were cold, clearly bearing no tolerance for insolence.
    It didn’t matter that he and Fennimore were miles apart and separated by a ship. Maelstrom’s glower made Fennimore tremble…like a frightened child. “K-Kill that mindraper NOW!” Fennimore ordered.
    The Nnaxan offered an answer. “Sir, our weapons array is still down—”
    “THEN RAM HIM!” Fennimore roared. Everyone on the bridge jumped in their seat.
    On the viewscreen Maelstrom’s eyes flashed bright gold. Given your current position, I wouldn’t be so eager to deal out death, he Mindspoke not in Korcei, but in the Standard Speech of the Galactic Union.
    “NAAAAW!” Fennimore grasped at his skull as if to tear out his own brain. It knew his title and probably his name as well. “Get out of my head, mindraper !!”
    Human . The word sounded like an expletive coming from Maelstrom. You will relinquish the