Free Alliance of Serpents by Kevin Domenic Page B

from her
book. "That's putting it mildly."
    Damien ignored her comment and went on. "The
Armada was formed by a man from my planet named Kindel Thorus. At
first, they were nothing more than a gang of young Zo'rhan men who
called themselves the Vezulian Brotherhood. The name ‘Vezulian' is
derived from the Zo'rhan word for ‘victory' or ‘success,' roughly
translated as ‘Vezul'ahn.' The gang was formed in response to an
invasion that took place on our planet many years ago. They were
called the Ma'tuul, and they were some of the most savage creatures
I've ever had the displeasure of facing in combat. We may have been
warriors, but these beasts were fearsome, many of them nearly twice
my own height. Kindel would tell you they were four times larger
than that and that they breathed fire and whatever other
exaggerations he has to make in order to make them seem more
ruthless and deadly than they already were. That's his nature, you
see. It's his way of justifying his own bloodthirsty quest for as
much power as he can get his hands on."
    "The war was very traumatic for Kindel,"
Kitreena added. "The devastation of his own people was too much for
him to handle. He's full of pride, and watching the Zo'rhan flee in
terror from any enemy made him furious."
    "When the Ma'tuul reached our city, Kindel
urged us to make a stand there," Damien continued. "Some of us did,
but most fled into the mountains. Kindel's parents died that day,"
his voice became somber, "when two Ma'tuul broke their necks and .
. . ate them."
    Arus couldn't believe his ears. "They ate them? That's horrible!"
    Damien nodded as he slipped the book back
onto the shelf and took another, a small one with a blue leather
cover. "The incident drove Kindel over the edge. He and the others
that had stayed behind formed the Vezulian Brotherhood, and they
began gathering any other Zo'rhan together that would support them.
They stole a transport ship from an abandoned construction factory
and left the planet to rally more support from other races. In the
meantime, the Zo'rhan organized one final plan to wipe the Ma'tuul
from the face of the planet. The strategy involved countless
battles and lasted nearly seven years, but finally we had the
Ma'tuul on the brink of collapse. It was then that Kindel returned,
now commanding a small army, and began attacking the remaining
Ma'tuul to help us win the war and secure peace for our
homeworld."
    Kitreena smiled wryly as she snorted. "Kindel
takes full credit for having defeated the Ma'tuul, but the truth of
it is that he wasn't involved for the majority of the effort. The
Zo'rhan were nearing victory anyway, and the number of Ma'tuul that
Kindel's Vezulian Armada eliminated equaled less than five percent
of those that had landed on the planet in the first place. The
Zo'rhan did all the rest."
    "And to this day, Kindel and his thugs travel
from planet to planet claiming to be peacemakers while waging
heartless war against those he considers to be too dangerous for
the rest of the galaxy." This time it was Damien who snorted. "As
if he has any right to decide who should or should not be
allowed to live!"
    "And now he's coming after me?" Arus nearly
groaned. "Does he think I'm some sort of threat or something?"
    "On the contrary, the transmission we
intercepted seems to indicate that he wants to integrate the
implant into his army to increase his power and solidify the Armada
as the most dominant force in the universe."
    Kitreena flipped the pages of her book
absent-mindedly. "For Kindel, everything  is about
power. The more power he can gain, no matter how small or great,
the happier he is."
    Damien seemed to have found what he was
looking for; he put the blue book under his arm and led them to
another aisle a few rows away. "There's something else that has
been troubling us. Our spies indicate that Kindel has been occupied
with some sort of secret project for weeks now. It has been very
difficult for our intelligence network to