Hiei of Alesia

Chapter 13

Of Wolves and Men

Milky Way Galaxy: Outer Rim

Alesian Empire: Core Region / Alesia Sector / Alesia

Alesian Civil War: Day 15

As Hiei walked through the outskirts of Alesia, music pounded from the clubs on either side of him. Down an ally to his right he could hear a woman scream. His first reaction was to ignore it but he noticed an odd sound about it, it was of terror not of pleasure. Running down the ally he saw a woman with a child surrounded by 5 Alesian Grey Wolves. Known for their pack behavior and relentless intelligence, they are what many legionnaires aspired to be like.

With a wave of his hand, Hiei shat a small jet f fire between two of the wolves getting their attention. They all turned to see their new foe, but it was not his size nor his demeanor that sent all but the biggest running, it was his calm resolve and the cold of his stare. The one remaining lowered its ears and tail letting out a deep growl. Hiei stopped several feet before the wolf and began to walk in a wide circle with his left to the beast.

The creature lowered its body as though about to strike and Hiei summoned a ball of fire in his right hand as he told the woman, "You should leave before the others come back to claim the title of alpha and tearing your throat out would be a good start."

The woman nodded as she ran off, but the wolf stared at Hiei, ignoring its lost prey. Hiei stared into the eyes of the beast and lowered his left hand while raising his right signaling he was ready to start. The beast saw the calm in his cold red eyes and lowered its tail between its legs and whimpered as it came to lay at Hiei's feet.

Hiei chuckled at the wolf and scratched behind the beasts ears as he began to walk away with the wolf at his heels. Once back in the streets Hiei continued to the bar where he would meet his contact. Once at the entrance the bouncer let Hiei in but mentioned that the dog was not allowed. A sharp growl changed his mind.

Once at the table Hiei asked the man he was there to meet, "What news have you Pious?"

"It would seem that the majority of Alesia and the outlying territories are behind Amann 100%, but the purists would prefer you to take the mantle of High Councilor," Pious stated plainly.

"I am no leader of men, but of soldiers. Amann is better suited for that," Hiei replied.

Confused by the wolf sitting next to Hiei, Pious asked, "So what is with the wolf anyway?"

"He bonded himself to me a few minutes ago," Hiei replied.

"An Alesian Grey Wolf? A rather large Alesian Grey Wolf for that matter," Pious said questioningly.

"He's an alpha," Hiei told him.

"An alpha Alesian Grey Wolf bonded itself to you? Why does that not surprise me," Pious asked while rolling his eyes.

Hiei just chuckled while scratching the beasts ears before asking as though he already knew the answer, "anything else I might need to know?"

"Yes," Pious answered while pulling out a small data crystal that he handed to Hiei before continuing, "as to be expected some of the less intelligent governors are having a field day. With the absence of the lower council to keep them in line, they are trying to pull what ships and militia they have to strike back at the empire. The crystal contains a complete list of those loyal to Amann, those who are on the fence and those that are against him. I should mention that lower ranks are not completely loyal to Amann, they are loyal to you which is close enough."

Hiei nodded at Pious and got up while saying, "Alpha," in a commanding voice.

The wolf responded immediately by getting up and following Hiei out. Once in his quarters, Hiei plugged the crystal into his personal computer. A list of names and planets came up. Only the outermost systems of the empire were completely defective. It would appear that as part of their plan they wanted to attack the empire from all sides. It didn't take Hiei long to figure out who the major players of this "resistance" was. Only a few planets stood out being purely against Amann.

They had the biggest planets and lost the most when they where conquered. Ever since they had been swearing revenge on Amann and his "death squads." But it was always viewed as hopeless rants as the lower council members and the local Alesian military population kept them from actually trying anything. Until now. With the lower council gone and most of the military recalled for active war efforts, He had an opportunity too good to pass up.

Hiei made his way up to his, well now his and Ayen's, office passing few people along the way. It was late and the government and military buildings were minimally manned. When Hiei got to his office he was surprised to see Ayen there, still working.

Ayen just looked up at Hiei and asked, "What are you doing here this late?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Hiei retorted.

Ayen looked back at his computer as he siad, "I'm doing work."

Hiei chuckled as he said, "I'm going on a mission. I'll be back in a few weeks."

"Your as distant as ever Hiei, that's why she left you, you know," Ayen told him.

Hiei just shrugged and grabbed the sword hilt off of his desk swinging it and focused on it to summon a plasma blade. When everything checked out, he released the blade and attached the hilt to his belt. As he went to leave, he heard Ayen mumble something.

Hiei turned to Ayen as asked, a hint of anger in voice, "what did you just say to me?"

Ayen's voice trembled as he said, "she still loves you, your wife that is."

Hiei lowered his gaze as he said, "You mean your sister, she is no longer my wife."

"Your wrong Hiei, she never submitted the paperwork. Your still legally married," Ayen replied.

"How's she doing," Hiei asked with sadness in his voice.

"She's doing fine now, but it wasn't easy raising a son on her own only to watch him volunteer for the special corps, as though chasing the father he never knew," Ayen said trying to drop the hint.

Hiei just dropped his head and left. It was a long walk towards landing pad 5. It gave him too much time to think on what Ayen meant. What was he trying to say. Hiei was sure that Helana wasn't pregnant when she left him, but then again he never saw her again and only learned of her having a child some years later.

Before he realized it, he was at his ship. A new class of destroyer, known as a swarm class. It had only a dozen or so neutron lasers but was capable of holding, maintaining, and launching a full wing of fighters. As Hiei boarded the ship aptly named "AES Hive" he found the crew making ready for take off as he headed towards the bridge.

The ship took off without a hitch and made its way into orbit. Once there they jumped into hyperspace and made off towards the outer planet, Gelstarr. Along the way Hiei prepped his drop pod for a discreet orbital entry. The ship would enter the system cloaked and drop Hiei down to the surface. Then hide behind the largest moon for 3 days before Hiei returned to the ship. That would give him enough time to send his message.

Milky Way Galaxy: Outer Rim

Alesian Empire: Outer Region / Gelstarr Sector / Gelstarr Prime

Alesian Civil War: Day 18

After a long day in his office, discussing tactics and strategies with his fellow resistance leaders, Planetary Governor Shelt made his way back home to his manor. Once inside he set his jacket and hat on the coat rack and made his way back towards his study to do some last minute planning. Once inside he turned on the lights and was shocked to see a man sitting in his chair, sipping a glass of brandy.

Hiei looked at the governor and coldly said, "I was wondering when you were going to come home."

Shelt starred at Hiei with shock as he stammered, "Who are you, what are you doing in my house?"

"I am General Hiei Jaganshi," Hiei said as he finished his brandy and stood while pouring another glass to offer the governor as he continued, "and we need to talk."

Shelt took the glass and sat down but was weary to take a drink as he said, "I wasn't aware that there were any Alesian officers on the planet."

"Officially speaking, you don't," Hiei replied with a cold demeanor that sent chills down Shelts spine.

"Then what's the purpose of this visit," Shelt asked.

Hiei smirked as he sat back in the chair on the opposite side of the desk and said, "as I told you, we need to talk. You seem to be acting strange."

"Strange," Shelt stammered as he asked, "how so?"

Hiei placed a pad of data in front of the governor as he replied, "It would seem your trying to hide something. Your office records show no signs of communications coming from your office yet, for the past several hours your computer has been active. There were no programs running, no files being opened, nothing but it was active."

Shelt looked worried as he reviewed the data while smelling the brandy, he could really use a drink, as he retorted, "must be some kind of glitch, I was reviewing personnel files for the upcoming office opening."

Hiei stared into the eyes of Shelt as his expression become cold when he asked, "then why do your planetary sensors indicate that you have been sending several encoded transmissions to other planets over the past several hours. Transmissions originating from your office."

At this point Shelts heart was about to explode out of his chest and he downed the brandy in a single gulp to try and slow it.

Hiei saw this and smiled as he asked, "A fine brandy isn't it, of course a truly fine brandy would not have been laced with the drug your people use for ritual suicide."

Shelts mouth dropped in surprise and noticed the extra glass as he yelped out, "you will never get away with this. I have a cozy job with high pay and a loving family. No one will believe it was suicide."

Hiei chuckled as he told Shelt, "Not according to the suicide note you left on your wife's nightstand. It explains how your terribly sorry and can't stand living with the guilt of having an illicit affair with a 16 year old girl who lives in nearby province that you frequent on business. You see we do our research well and leave no stone unturned. So you have two options, you can either redeem yourself in the eyes of the Empire by giving up the names of your major supporters, or you can be silent and let your whole family suffer the consequences. You have until you die to decide."

Sweat poured from every pore on Shelts body as his throat tightened up. He had to make a decision and quick. He was already doomed to death and disgrace, but was a slight chance at freedom worth the lives of his family? He knew they would be killed if he didn't talk but what would they have to endure before Hiei killed them?

He couldn't bare the thought as he gasped for his dieing breath saying only one thing, "Belst and… Vespir"

Hiei picked up his glass and rose to his feet looking at the dead fool across the desk from him. He took no pride in this mans death, it was somehow beneath him, but the death had to have no links to Alesia. If he managed to kill the other leaders, the rest of the pack would be too scared to do anything. Any stragglers that clung to the hopes of freedom would probably kill each other off, vying for power.