Star Force: Perquisition Read online

  1

  May 12, 2966

  Aphat System (Bsidd Region)

  Nym

  Demmcha walked through the hallways of the Star Force colony in full armor, drawing mild attention from those he passed but not nearly so fierce as his attention for them. Nearly every person in the colony was Shanplenix, yet they weren’t. Where he had yellow patches of skin and yellow eyes, these had red in exactly the same proportions against the base green and black exoskeletal patches. These people were the same race as him, yet in all his life he had never seen a Shanplenix of another color, nor knew that any existed outside of the three systems they controlled.

  Sure, there were always rogue individuals roaming the spacelanes, but an entire civilization was more than he ever expected, let alone two. Archon Paul had explained much to him initially, but when he’d parted the Gvaris System it was with the escort of another lower ranking Archon. The two ships had come here, whereupon another peer of Paul’s had met him in orbit and they’d have a very long discussion concerning everything Shanplenix…to which Archon Brad had added a great deal of information about the ‘Protovic’ that left Demmcha with more questions than he had started with.

  But it was only now, walking through their city on their planet did it all fully sink in…then he passed an oddball amongst the sea of red and green, with the first purple-skinned coming into sight. Again, the same patterns but a different color.

  “What occurs when the two interbreed?” he asked Brad who was walking beside him, via the translation software in the Shanplenix’s triangular helmet.

  “The female’s genetics take priority as far as bioluminescence is concerned. All other biological aspects are identical. You may look different, but you are in fact the same race.”

  “Very curious…” Demmcha mewed as they walked through one of the main promenades until they got to a lift car that took them up into the higher reaches of one of the Star Force buildings. He’d been learning a great deal more about their empire as well, with it being more impressive than he’d heard. The ability for them to incorporate so many races together was virtually unheard of without a leadership matrix defining who had priority. The Humans were clearly in charge here, but the more he learned it seemed they viewed everyone as peers…to a degree.

  This was the first Star Force world the Shanplenix had ever been on, so he was having to reference information on the others. These Protovic were a faction of their own as well as being part of another faction called Axius. That one was a conglomeration of dozens, if not hundreds of races split between two size categories, ostensibly so the larger ones wouldn’t be stepping on and killing the smaller ones when they cohabitated. The Protovic had been part of Axius for a very long time, the purple skins anyway, with the red skins being a new addition via conquest of a quite unsavory civilization…if Star Force’s information was accurate. One could never be sure of such things, but Cal-com had vouched for them and for Demmcha that increased the likelihood that the information was accurate.

  The fact that Star Force had attacked and conquered a twin race to the Shanplenix was disturbing and immediately set them at odds within the delegation that had arrived here. They’d been told in loose terms what had happened by Paul, but it was Brad’s detailed account of the invasion that had almost put their accords into jeopardy…not that the Shanplenix were in a position to wage any kind of war against Star Force. Weapon-wise it was about an even fight, but size-wise Star Force was huge and had many client races to pull soldiers from. What would have occurred was an ‘icing’ diplomatically, though what stalled that was the accounts of what these Veliquesh were doing and the fact that Star Force had gone to the excessive trouble of using stun weaponry to take them all captive.

  Typically when one conquered a race blood was shed, but this had apparently been a clean invasion and that was what softened Demmcha. Star Force hadn’t been interested in the Veliquesh’s territory, but rather its people. The fact that most of the 3 trillion population had died out in prison wasn’t a high note, but seeing those red skinned individuals in person here and now, walking these corridors casually, suggested that Star Force may have done them a favor if the rumors of their living sacrifices were even remotely true.

  “How many are here?”

  “This system holds the bulk of Star Force’s Protovic population, though a significant number still exist within Axius. There are 4.7 billion here with a scattering of other races, skilled individuals that have helped develop this civilization or those that have migrated here for similar reasons.”

  “You allow intermixing outside of Axius?”

  “When the occasion merits,” the Archon said as they stepped out of the lift car and began to walk through a large, elongated chamber with various holograms situated on both sides depicting what he wasn’t sure, but the individuals were not Protovic and mostly Human, involved in various types of combat. “Travel is permitted with few restrictions throughout Star Force, though this is one of a handful of regions where it is limited. Those that can travel here cannot live here permanently, and therein lies the distinction. The divisions do not exist for cultural reasons, but biological ones. We have learned from Axius that there are both advantages and disadvantages in living in close confines with varied races, and Star Force aims to have enough diversity to allow for both options. Hence this colony is a Protovic one.”

  “Yet you, a Human, lead it?”

  “That’s what Archons do for Star Force. All of Star Force.”

  “And are there any Archons that are not Human?”

  “No.”

  “May I ask why?”

  “Because you cannot do this,” the Archon said as he held his arm up and pointed his hand at Demmcha…then suddenly the Shanplenix’s feet left the ground and he lost control of his body, floating in midair.

  “What are you doing?”

  “No, this is not a form of anti-grav,” the Human assured him as the few Protovic passing by stopped to watch from a safe distance. “This is what we call psionics. Archons have special powers that not even all Humans possess. We are rare, and these powers are partly a reason why we are Archons.”

  Demmcha returned to the ground and the constriction around his chest vanished.

  “We are leaders and protectors,” he continued to explain as Demmcha tried to get a handle on what just happened, “because we have the ability. Those that do not cannot be Archons. I was tested a long time ago to learn if I had potential, and only a very few Humans did. No other race has the same abilities that we do, though a few outside of Star Force have been known to have one or two.”

  “What exactly did you do?”

  “I created an invisible energy field that allows me to manipulate matter. An invisible third arm, if you understand the metaphor.”

  “Not completely,” Demmcha admitted. “What other races?”

  “Are you familiar with The Nexus?”

  “Somewhat.”

  “We know of one, and rumors of others that have psionics. The Dsevmat have telepathy.”

  “You mean they can read minds?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought that was fiction.”

  “I used to think so as well,” the Archon said as they reached the far side of the holograms and two small doors pulled open. They entered a lush indoor park that was lightly populated with only three Protovic in sight, though with the greenery there could have been dozens more hidden elsewhere. It was quiet though, save for the sound of running water, and the Archon pointed Demmcha on a path to the right.

  “Do Archons have telepathy.”

  “Our abilities are not widely known, and we prefer to keep it that way. But yes, we do.”

  Demmcha took a half step,
suddenly realizing how vulnerable he was if that was true.

  “You can relax. We are not your enemies. And had Paul sensed any duplicity in you he would not have sent you here,” the Human assured as he turned around and looked at where Demmcha had stopped. This was all happening so fast and he wasn’t sure how to proceed.

  “Let me fast track this for you,” the Archon offered. “I am far more powerful than you. No, you can’t insulate your mind from me. Yes, I can dig out memories if I wish. And no, you can’t keep secrets very well if we get curious about something, but do not assume we are constantly monitoring the minds around us, for we are not. The effort required is not a small one, so we only pry when needed.”

  “But you still pry.”

  “It helps us spot the liars,” Brad said evenly. “And allows us to build an honest empire.”

  “And what happens to those that are not honest?”

  “They are not trusted with responsibilities.”

  “Yet you have prisons.”

  “Mainly for those who insist on bothering others. Star Force feels that individuals should be allowed a bit of respect and space to live their lives as they wish. But if someone is insistent on interfering with and hurting others, being able to read minds helps us determine the truth and take action quickly. Which is why only those with these powers can become Archons, and only Humans within Star Force have the potential.”

  “Some would say you have too much power to be trusted.”

  “If one is trustworthy, the amount of power they have is irrelevant. If someone is untrustworthy, then they are a threat no matter how small their power is. Star Force doesn’t fear power. The more we have, the more people we can protect…and rescue.”

  “So you say,” Demmcha said, though he made his mind obvious that he was not passing judgement on Star Force, merely not taking anything at face value.

  “Which is why you’re here,” the Archon said as they passed through a bottleneck of bushes and came into a small courtyard with a wall-spanning window that looked out onto the city with 8 Protovic standing in front of it and apparently waiting for them to arrive. “To learn.”

  Six of them were red skinned, with the other two being purple. All wore Star Force uniforms save for one of the purple ones.

  “You and I have talked a great deal,” the Archon continued. “Now it’s time for you to get acquainted. Ask whatever you like, the more questions the better. You can lose the helmet now.”

  Demmcha reached up and hit the external releases, then pulled the triangular helmet off revealing the green/yellow glow from his facial skin, then the pure yellow beams coming from his eyes. The other Shanplenix were visibly shocked when they saw him, but adjusted quickly enough. They stared at each other for many seconds, speaking a language he could not understand until he eventually put the helmet back on and the translation software kicked in.

  “Seven of them are Star Force,” the Archon said, then pointed to the one in a different style uniform. “This one is not. She is from the independent Protovic and another observer here, much like you. I believe the two of you will want to have a separate conversation latter, but for now I will leave all of you alone. I will return when you are finished, or wish a break. There is much to discuss.”

  “Yes there is,” Demmcha said as the Archon turned to walk away, with him wondering how far his telepathic range was. If he picked up on that thought he didn’t say anything, disappearing back through the path into the bushes and leaving him with his oddly colored kin.

  “Hello brothers and sisters,” Demmcha greeted them with a shallow bow. “Do not be shy, and please tell me everything. Then I will reciprocate to your satisfaction.”

  “What?” Clark-066 said when walking into the genetics lab behind Vortison and a handful of other high level medtechs.

  “Sorry, did I interrupt your snack?” Star Force’s lead geneticist quipped as he turned around from his holographic displays and looked at the trailblazer.

  Clark smirked. “What did you find?”

  “Concerning that sample Paul sent back,” Vortison said, highlighting one hologram to the room’s central display. “I still don’t have nearly enough data to work with, but I have confirmed, to my satisfaction, that this is a genetic locking device.”

  “Suppressing what, exactly?”

  Vortison shook his head. “Not suppressing. Whatever this is, it does not exist in their genome. What each of these three races have is an incomplete book, not in chapters but in letters. The original Protovic have a full book but only every 3rd letter. Add in the Veliquesh variant and you get the 5th letter, now the 2nd with the Shanplenix. That’s not enough to read the words, metaphorically speaking. You’d need at least six or seven of the eight components to be able to guess at the contents, but whatever this is, it is huge, size-wise. I’m guestimating 13% of their overall genome is missing, or you could call this an addition. I have no way to know, yet.”

  “Wait,” Clark said, holding up a finger. “You said 8. I thought there were 7 variants.”

  “So the stories from the nutjobs said.”

  “Right. What about the coloration? That’s not dormant.”

  “No, it’s not. They have different genes there, rather than suppressed varieties inherent in all of them. We already knew this from the cross-breedings, for the offspring only had one genetic signature rather than carrying a latent second. It’s a guess, but I think the colorations are to mark which piece of the puzzle each variant has.”

  “Natural or genetic engineering?”

  “My credits say engineering. On a level that rivals the V’kit’no’sat.”

  Clark’s eyes widened.

  “No, it’s not their handiwork. The coding is significantly different, which is why it’s going to be next to impossible to guess at what it does without a nearly complete ‘book.’ I honestly have no idea what the genetic sequences are for.”

  “Genetic memory?”

  “Some of it, perhaps, but not all of it,” Vortison said, bringing up another hologram. “You probably aren’t going to recognize any of this, so I’ll point and you can pretend.”

  “Thanks,” Clark said sarcastically.

  “You’re welcome. Here is one place where the puzzle pieces will connect with their existing genome. We may not know what the pieces are, but we can make some assumptions about the connections because we have one side of them. Part of them are mental, as in software, while at least 60% are physical hardware. I can’t say which section of the body, but the idea that they just have a massive store of information woven into their genome is inaccurate. They might have it, but they have physical changes as well.”

  “Upgrades?”

  “I hardly think they’d be downgrades.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “It’s not breeding. I know that much. I have a suspicion that it will take all 8 variants located in the same place at the same time to put the puzzle pieces together.”

  “Together how?”

  “Humans create pheromones, viruses, and a few more exotic means of biological communication between individuals, and that’s not uncommon in about 85% of races. The Protovic have receptor slots for something they’re not producing, which is very odd. It’s possible that some other stimulus will cause the ‘messengers’ to be created, then when all 7 match up with an individual the magic happens…and I have no idea what it will be.”

  “If it is genetic programming our Protovic could be at risk,” Clark said warily.

  “The idea of a faction of Star Force going rogue and becoming an enemy is a nightmare that has kept me up many nights trying to make out what this coding is. Now that I have the third piece I should be closer to an answer, but I’m not. I need more tissue samples to compare, and presently we don’t know where the other 5 are, correct?”

  “Until now I didn’t know there even were 5 others. The Shanplenix said they have no knowledge of Protovic beyond their own borders, past or present. They’re not exactly cl
ose to the Veliquesh homeworlds, but it’s odd that they never heard of them pre-lizards.”

  “Actually it’s not,” Vortison said, adjusting the hologram to another set of genetic codes that Clark only vaguely understood. He wasn’t a newb as far as genetics were concerned, but Vortison was operating on a level far beyond him and they both knew it. Trouble was there had to be V’kit’no’sat even more knowledgeable than Star Force’s top staff, and they were constantly trying to close that gap given the outdated records they possessed, which were still more than they could fully grasp at their young age.

  “Geographically speaking,” Clark clarified.

  Vortison raised a finger. “Behaviorally speaking, there is an impulse to explore buried in their coding, similar to the sensation of thirst when you’re low on water, but much more subtle. It is, however, superseded by a stronger impulse to turtle up. A type of survival instinct, I believe.”

  “No reckless expansion.”

  “Such things affect individuals rather than control them. You’re evidence of that, for the sexuality programming in Humans is quite strong, yet you ignore it.”

  “Such programming has a strong effect on the weak minded, and I can assure you that we are not weak minded,” Clark said firmly, though he knew the masses in Star Force, Humans and otherwise, unfortunately were. Maturia training helped with that, giving people an opportunity to grow stronger, but once they graduated they were on their own and if they didn’t have the will to improve they would stagnate and their strength would wane, making them more susceptible to genetic programming…a much weaker version than what guided/controlled the lizards.

  “Obviously,” Vortison echoed. “But when you’re dealing with an entire race even the smallest nudge can have visible effects. I think these variants were tasted to survive first, seek each other out second, so that this genetic playbook could be assembled and implemented.”

  “You think they did this themselves or someone did it to them?”

  “Unknown.”

  Clark rubbed his forehead, imagining the variations of disaster that this could turn into if it went south. “Is there a way to block the puzzle pieces from coming together?”