Fires of Oblivion (Survival Wars Book 4) by James Anthony

Author:James, Anthony [James, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Published: 2018-01-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Gol-Tur didn’t beat around the bush. “It seems fitting for Admiral Teron to send the man who destroyed Lioxi to discuss the loss of Vempor.”

“The Confederation has not attacked Vempor.”

“Admiral Teron said as much. However, our home world did not shatter without reason.”

“The Confederation is not sure it believes your planet is gone.”

“Does not believe? Why would we lie?” There was a dangerous glint in Gol-Tur’s eye.

“Amongst humans it is not unusual for enemies to lie to each other, in order to obtain an advantage.”

“Yes, this is something we have learned. I do not approve.”

“Nevertheless, there is little trust between humans and Ghasts. We have no proof that Vempor is gone and there are people amongst the Confederation Council who are asking why we are being blamed for something we didn’t do. Since they do not trust the Ghasts, they believe your declaration of war is proof you were never seriously interested in peace.”

“A war we didn’t start in the first place,” said Gol-Tur with a mirthless, rasping chuckle. “A war I’ve fought in since the outset.”

This was the second time Duggan had heard a Ghast point the finger of blame at the Confederation for starting the war and the history books were starting to look a little less trustworthy. Duggan knew each side in a conflict would justify their actions and from the Confederation’s perspective there was no doubt who was to blame. The Ghasts evidently had a different set of facts to refer to.

“Now is not the time to visit the past,” said Duggan.

“Indeed it is not,” said Gol-Tur. “The past is gone and the future is waiting to be written.”

“Do you want a resumption of the war?”

“No!” said the Ghast. “We have known almost two generations of nothing else. Our industries have built naught but warships and guns. The air in our atmosphere stinks with the acrid smoke of our smelters. We have sunk much into this conflict and many of us grow tired of it!”

“Many?”

“There are some amongst us who have never experienced peace, or were too young to remember it. They wish to strike back against the Confederation in order to punish you severely for what you have done.”

“We did not destroy Vempor, but if war begins again, the Confederation will not hesitate to destroy your other worlds. We have the weapon and the means to deliver it.”

“Who did destroy Vempor, if not the Confederation?”

“The third species,” said Duggan. “I witnessed them shatter a planet in their search for a rare material which they use as a power source.”

Gol-Tur stiffened at the words – the Ghasts were unwilling liars and poor at concealing their emotions. He rose from his seat, standing well over seven feet tall. He was not stooped in spite of his age and he crossed easily to one of the display screens, which he studied for a moment. Duggan tried to make sense of the scrolling lines of symbols, but could glean nothing from them.

“The point of impact was on site Originator-A,” said Gol-Tur.

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