The Wolves Ch. 019

For the next one hundred seventy years, she went from mercenary group to mercenary group trying to find him. She scanned every person she came in contact with over that time, but none of them were her father. It wasn't until she joined The Indomitables that she found him. Immediately after she found him, she wanted to run up to him and tell him who she was, but something inside her told her to wait, so she did.

For thirty years, she worked her way up to the top of the Indomitables where her father was well situated. When Brax Krarlik announced his tournament, she knew it was time. She drew upon all her experiences over the years and made it to the final where she faced her father in the duel to determine who would lead. She knew she wouldn't win, especially when she saw him change into his massive form, but she was determined to give him a good fight.

She was doing well, but one mistake cost her the match. In the end, though, he made the decision to name her as his XO. After Brax's funeral, she sat down with her father and told him everything. He was skeptical, but she had him follow her down to the medbay where they both underwent a DNA scan. When the results came up declaring them a genetic match, he was completely shocked and had to sit down.

When he finally processed everything, he was incredibly happy. Happier than he had been in years. He had her tell him everything that had happened over the past four hundred years, and she did. For the last thousand years, they had both led The Indomitables while keeping their relationship a secret from the rest of the mercenaries. Most of the mercs thought they were a couple, but them thinking that was a lot better than them knowing they were actually related to each other.

"Ah, Esriro, come in. Can I get you a drink?"

She closed the door and then turned and nodded. "Sure, dad. I received some news from a contact that makes going to Earth pointless."

"Oh?" he said, getting up and grabbing two bottles of Scyftan ale from the fridge. "And what have I told you about calling me dad? I don't know what people would do if they knew you were my daughter."

"Oh, relax, dad," she said, emphasizing the last word. "The door is closed and this room is scanned for bugs regularly. One hasn't been found in years."

"Even so. What is this news you have? Is the contact reliable?" he asked, sliding one of the bottles across his desk and taking a seat.

"Very. He's given me nothing but reliable intel for the past five hundred years or so," she replied sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the desk. She grabbed the bottle in front of her, opened it, and took a drink before continuing, "Six hundred ships recently left the Warvyn family shipyards. They're state of the art, built with an unknown material and possess better shrouds than we do. He couldn't give me the exact breakdown, but said that there are carriers, dreadnoughts, battleships, battle cruisers, cruisers, destroyers, and frigates."

"What's so interesting about that? That family regularly churns out over a thousand ships every year."

"Not this quality, and they don't develop a new alloy to do it. I'm told these six hundred ships were built over the last twenty years, and were just finished recently. Does the name Kor Gidres ring a bell?"

"Who doesn't know the Gidres name? He hasn't been heard from since the coup when they tried to assassinate him."

"Hasn't been heard from in Scyftan space, you mean. He has been elsewhere. Before they froze his accounts, he took every last credit he could after he fled. He then invested all that money into businesses outside of Scyftan space. I've heard he cashed out over a quadrillion credits worth, which is nearly all his money, and paid the Warvyn family to build those ships."

"Until very recently, he was living as a guest of the Warvyn family in Pygmaean space. Four months ago, he and his family departed, and no one knows where he went, or if they know, they're not saying. And now, four months later, those ships have left? I think I know where they are going."

"Earth," Xigios said, the dots finally connecting in his mind. "Derech Kidravia and Kor Gidres had been best friends since childhood. He has been biding his time for the past fourteen hundred years until he could finally depose Dhir."

Esriro nodded. "My contact thinks they will arrive at Earth in two months or so. They could transit between Scyftan space and Earth twice before we even arrive there, so there is no point in continuing."

"I concur," Xigios said, picking up the phone on his desk and hitting a button. "This is Xigios Dryth. Full stop and wait for further orders."

He then hung up and tapped the shield of his communications officer.

[Captain?] the woman said.

[I need you to send contact information for the Warvyn family to my console as soon as possible.]

[I'll have it to you right away, captain.]

[Thank you, Anuna.]

"So what are you going to do?" Esriro asked.

"I'm going to contact the Warvyn family and ask them for Kor Gidres' contact information. I'm hoping to get the fleet to divert to our location and take you on board, so you can meet with Kor Girdres and Jonuth Kidravia."

There was a chime and information appeared on Xigios' console. He immediately hit the button to initiate a call. A moment later, a headshot of a small Pygmaean woman appeared.

"Greetings, you have reached Warvyn Industries. My name is Hani, how can I help you?"

"Hello, Hani. My name is Xigios Dryth. I need to speak to Ercan as soon as possible. Pass along these terms to him, if you would: Kor Gidres, Jonuth Kidravia, six hundred ships and Earth."

"One moment, sir. I need to put you on hold."

Xigios nodded and waited. Soon, another headshot, this time of a fairly old Pygmaean man appeared.

"My name is Ercan Warvyn. I'm told you wanted to talk to me?"

"That's right. I have recently found out that Kor Gidres commissioned six hundred ships to be built by your company. I know those ships are currently on their way to Earth, where Jonuth Kidravia is hiding, and will be there in approximately two months. I would like to meet with that fleet and have my daughter taken aboard. If you can't do that, then the contact information for Kor Gidres will suffice."

"You are very well informed, Xigios Dryth. Almost as well as I am. Xigios Dryth: Deemed a traitor to the Scyftan Empire after leaving his post when it was discovered his wife was killed in the coup. Has been a member of The Indomitables for fourteen hundred years, and leader for the past thousand. Has one daughter, Esriro Dryth, who is currently the XO of The Indomitables. Is that right?"

Xigios nodded. "I didn't find out Esriro was my daughter until I had already been named leader of The Indomitables. I was recently hired by Kaldrus Dhir to go to Earth and assassinate Jonuth Kidravia, which is something I have no intention of doing. My original plan was to head to Earth and ally with Jonuth Kidravia, giving him use of all my ships, but apparently that isn't needed anymore. He will be long gone by the time we arrive, which is why I made this call."

"You have a very good track record, and my family has used your services before, so I will take you at your word. It will be up to you to convince Kor Gidres and Jonuth Kidravia of your intentions. That may not be an easy task. I am passing along the contact information to you as I no longer have command over the ships. You should be receiving it now."

There was another chime and the contact information appeared on his screen.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Warvyn."

"You're welcome. Good luck," he replied, ending the call.

"Huh. I wasn't expecting him to acknowledge you at all, let alone send the contact information. I wonder why he did it."

"You and me both," Xigios said, initiating the call to Kor Gidres.