Star Force: Bloodlust (SF54)

  1

  May 1, 2552

  Gamu System (Delta Region)

  Mensqua

  Jamka waited patiently as the Lemickas vendor counted out the Critel’s currency chips, a somewhat unusual procedure given the electronic banking systems the ADZ worlds used but spacers were notorious for preferring hard currency, especially when they dealt with various races. Given that the Lemickas sold a good percentage of their products to spacers they had a well-established system in place to handle large currency transfers…which always required at least two counts.

  Jamka watched as the shorter Lemickas ran his Star Force credits through a machine that counted for him the second time, shoveling the small stacks into the input cone and watching them disappear inside. Each credit had an electronic signature inside the durable shell of the palm-sized currency, identifying which coin it was and what value it had. Given the two bags worth that the Critel had laid on the counter the Lemickas had opted for the machine rather than a hand count.

  Most of the credit coins Jamka had given him were large, but given that he was purchasing starships that was to be expected. Most of the coins were 1,000 credit triangles, but there were a handful of 10,000 thicker triangles thrown into the mix plus a lot of lesser valued coins that brought the two bags’ full total to what the purchase cost of the 6 vessels would be, given that Jamka had counted them out himself earlier.

  Once the vendor confirmed the exact price was paid it transferred ownership records to Jamka and gave him a physical pass card that would allow him to take possession. Without another word the Critel left the vendor and headed off through the shipyard. The interior was a massive commerce hub, designed and built by the Lemickas to facilitate their business, with the actual construction slips for their starships spaced around it in clumps. Some of them held completed starships, others held those still being built or refurbished.

  Jamka’s new purchases were located in two different holding areas, with him headed first for the communal areas where his crewers were waiting for him. They were a mix of Critel and four other races, but all had worked for him for multiple years and they were individuals he could trust. Less savory individuals that his business relied upon to function had been left behind to be picked up later, for the last thing he wanted was for one of his new purchases to go missing as soon as they left the system.

  As crazy as that sounded it wasn’t unheard of. There was corruption and backstabbing going on every day in the ADZ, and while there were no outright wars going on inside thanks to Star Force’s restrictions on such things and their willingness to throw their superior tech around in order to enforce them, everything else was practically a free for all so long as you didn’t poke the sleeping giant.

  Those areas where Star Force had no presence, which was most of the ADZ, the local races controlled or ‘claimed’ to control their societies, but largely it was all a jumbled, chaotic mix of cultures, codes, and lawlessness. Jamka had heard plenty of stories of ships going missing from other spacers’ fleets for a variety of reasons, but usually it was either pirates or an inside job.

  Now would be a perfect opportunity for someone to steal one of his new purchases, with only a handful of people to form skeleton crews, which was why he’d pulled several of his most trusted employees off their current assignments in order to bring them here to man the ships as they took them back to base.

  Jamka rounded up his shippers from the lounging and entertainment areas, allowing them a few minutes to finish up their meals, then took them straight to the restricted sections of the shipyard that his pass card got them into. As a group they walked through the more or less deserted corridors until they came to another vendor station where Jamka presented his credentials.

  After a quick check he was given access to one of the nearby airlocks that connected to the first of the starships he’d purchased. He boarded with three of his crew, inspecting the medium-sized cargo hauler and finding all was in order. The Critel left the crew onboard to do a more thorough inspection and proceeded to the next ship on his recent purchase list, leaving behind three more there and at the other ships he eventually got through checking.

  Jamka stayed onboard the last, intent on commanding that vessel out of Lemickas territory himself. He proceeded with a full inspection and conferred with the other temporary Captains, finding everything in order. He’d expected no less given the Lemickas’ reputation for craftsmanship, but he’d learned long ago not to take anything for granted.

  The ship he’d taken was the smallest of the six and the only warship. It was designed for a crew of 60, but him and the seven others with him would be enough to get it moved out of the system and back to their base in the Vannsep System. He’d only come to this world to make the purchase, but otherwise did no business here. Mensqua had a minimal Star Force presence, as all Alliance worlds did along the borders between the 8 regional slots, but they also possessed a planet of their own in the system and that kept a lot of shenanigans from going on.

  On the down side, that meant that a lot of the local economies relied on the Star Force markets and there was little business opportunity there for Jamka’s fleet. He serviced areas of the ADZ where Star Force had no economic presence, or rather where they had so little that they couldn’t meet the full demand. That accounted for most of the ADZ, but not this system. The Lemickas had two territorial slots on this world and were in the process of securing a third from a deal in the works with the Densan, who were trying to consolidate their own holdings into a few, highly developed regions and selling off the others for an exorbitant price.

  Word was they were currently haggling over that price, but once the deal was settled the Densan would leave the planet and the Lemickas would expand into the new region. Such shuffling was occurring on a slow, but steady basis throughout the ADZ as the various powers sought advantage over the others. The Lemickas were choosing to develop Mensqua specifically because of the Star Force planet in the system because it offered them a much greater resource base than the limited facilities on Mensqua…and the industrious little race of bipeds was buying up everything they could from the Humans and using it to fuel their own shipbuilding industry.

  That industry was larger than Star Force’s own now, given that they built quality ships that undercut Star Force’s prices by a hefty margin and there was such a huge market for ships within the ADZ that no one faction could supply it all. Most races preferred to spend their limited resources on that which would give them the most return in the ongoing power games being played on the economic front, and in most cases they didn’t want to suffer the expense of building their own shipyards when there was a much cheaper and efficient means of purchasing starships from a nearby vendor.

  The Lemickas were happy to be one of only a handful of such large scale providers and Jamka bought exclusively from them. Star Force ships were preferred, but they were far too expensive. The Lemickas built solid ships that he could rely on and still make a profit…besides, Star Force queues were so backlogged that he’d have to wait years to get a purchase order from them. So much of their production was going to the warfront now that the Lemickas and a handful of others had actually surpassed them as the primary starship vendors within the ADZ.

  They also built warships, which Star Force did not sell. Jamka needed another because the piracy rates were beginning to creep up amongst his competitors. His own fleet hadn’t been hit yet, but he was having to run some convoys without an escort and that was something he literally couldn’t afford to do much longer. Star Force ships were constantly on the prowl in Alliance systems and their own, but with the fronts sucking so many of them away the pirates had gotten a bit bolder…sometimes too bold and Star Force wo
uld nail them, but the successful strike rates were climbing and in truth most of the other races didn’t care so long as they didn’t hit any of their shipping lines.

  That left independent shippers like Jamka as easy prey if they couldn’t defend themselves…and given the fact that virtually all of his business occurred well away from Star Force’s fleet he needed the ability to fend off at least light attacks and perhaps scare others away before they could happen.

  Jamka would have brought one of his current warships into the system to escort the cargo ships out if he hadn’t been purchasing one of his own today. He’d brought along enough crew to be able to fly and shoot at the same time, but he didn’t expect any trouble here. No, if there was to be any pirate activity it would be in transit or at their eventual destination.

  Once all six ships were checked and prepped, Jamka had his fleet move off from the shipyard and gradually transition over to the stellar jumpline. They made a group microjump out to the double stars at system center, ending up at the larger of the pair and transitioning around to their exiting jumpline. Running their drives nearly as high as they would go, the Lemickas-built ships launched themselves into a slow jump without the benefit of a jumpship.

  It would take nearly 3 weeks for the first leg of their journey and some 8 in total before they arrived at their home base, but the ability to free fly through the ADZ without having to own a jumpship or purchase a berth on one was something that could never be overvalued. Star Force’s ADZ transit system would have gotten them to their destination within 2 weeks, but the cost of taking all six ships in the hold of a jumpship was far more expensive than the fuel and time he would expend traveling independently. It was one of the reasons for the profit margins he had, for Star Force vessels available for sale didn’t have the drives strong enough to make independent jumps.

  That wasn’t due to a lack of tech, but because they built them small and efficient knowing that they’d only need to make insystem microjumps. Those independent shippers that went that way utilized either their own jumpship fleet or, more likely, purchased travel berths on the grid, giving them faster shipping times but much more costly ones.

  And Jamka’s customers valued cost more than they did time.

  They also valued not having to deal with Star Force in any way, shape, or form, especially if some of the cargos they were having shipped didn’t match up with ADZ protocol.

  Jamka knew better than to risk that, so he kept his fleet clean of any obvious contraband…at least anything large enough to stand out to a casual inspection. Small items, a few individuals seeking to go unnoticed…that sort of thing was standard practice and considered a small risk, but Jamka wasn’t going to go any further, for the stories of how Star Force had dealt with previous violations had put the fear into many independent shippers. ‘Break their rules and they take your ships’ was their standard practice…and they wouldn’t return them, essentially putting you out of business for the first offense.

  Several large shippers had had their entire operation shut down by Star Force, with their Archon strike teams coming in and blowing through any personal security they’d had in place. No, the wise knew to avoid Star Force and their code of conduct…and be extremely clean whenever operating under their gaze.

  Technically the entire ADZ was under their code, so there was always a risk of them finding out about violations and coming down on you for them, which was why Jamka wasn’t going to risk his fleet on anything obvious. That said, when operating in the shadows you had to let a few small violations slip by just to pick up some extra credits.

  The systems that Jamka’s small convoy moved through were inhabited save for one, which made it the biggest risk of getting jumped. When they arrived there were a scattering of other ships in transit as well, but none came near to his and he made sure they spent as little time as possible making the transition around the star to their outgoing jumpline. After that the chance of pirate raids was less, but he knew better than to ever let his guard down.

  Eventually he arrived back in the Vannsep System, which had no Star Force presence whatsoever. It was a Lacvamat system, with three inhabited planets, one of which belonged to the Reen. The system itself had been given to the Lacvamat along with 5 others for them to colonize independently, putting them on par with the Scionate, Dvapp, and Hycre colonies that existed without Star Force assigned territorial slots on Alliance worlds.

  The Reen had negotiated with the Lacvamat to get their own planet in the system. It wasn’t a very good world, barely habitable for their race, but it was their own and outside of Star Force’s leash. Technically they still had to obey the same rules given that they were in the ADZ, but Star Force had no outpost in the system, making it a defacto ‘free’ zone, though with the Archons able to snoop about one never knew when or if they’d come down on you.

  On occasion you’d hear of a clandestine raid that scooped up somebody from somewhere, but for the most part Vannsep was Star Force-free territory…with all the economic opportunities that entailed.

  Jamka brought his six ships into orbit around Leerbot, one of the two Lacvamat planets, where he had a private space station. He might be an independent shipper, but he wasn’t one of the smaller ones. The station they were about to dock with held over 50,000 of his people and serviced a fleet of some 178 ships of varying sizes. Most of those were out on business runs at the moment, with only a pair of warships and 3 cargo ships accompanying the station in its lazy orbit some 2,200 kilometers above the thick-atmosphered planet.

  The Lacvamat were an aerial race, with four wings and a very private mentality. Only a few locations on the surface were accessible to outsiders, but where visitors were allowed they were welcomed warmly. The Lacvamat were heavily invested in the power grab going on within the ADZ and sought to maximize the advantage they had in possessing their own systems. Star Force had granted them that based on their previous relationship and their willingness to evacuate their entire population into the ADZ prior to their systems falling…something that many other races had refused to do, resulting in a lot of people dying who otherwise could have been saved.

  The Lacvamat had chosen not to take part in the frontline defense of the ADZ, but they maintained their own sizeable warfleet and patrolled several systems outside their own, essentially holding a bit of turf and keeping their eyes and ears open for incursions by the lizards or anyone else. Their territory wasn’t on the edge of the ADZ, so their position was fairly stable, with many other races complaining about them being given preferable treatment then refusing to help out with the common defense.

  They weren’t alone in that position, for there were many races living off of Star Force, the Hycre, and the Protovic’s superior military forces. Rather than try to find ways to assist them as some of the lesser races did, the Lacvamat kept to their own business with their eventual aims being anyone’s guess. Jamka had based his operations here because of the business opportunities and the Lacvamat’s willingness to work with outsiders, in orbit at least. They’d allowed an independent contractor to build the station for Jamka, as well as giving him cover to operate his business and ship throughout their system in return for a few favors here and there.

  And Jamka wasn’t the only one set up here, for the system was a central hub of the ‘shadow’ sector within the ADZ. The Scionate also operated in a similar manner, but ever since the recent Star Force coup there had been a subtle shift away from the quadrupeds’ independence push. The Scionate were now more in line with the ‘proper’ Star Force backers, though they still maintained a significant chunk of the shadow business opportunities.

  The Lacvamat had gained from their newfound respectability, recruiting more of the unsavory elements into their territory along with the legit who simply wanted to get away from Star Force’s choking presence. Jamka serviced both factions, making inroads where he could and expanding his business and fleet whenever possible.

  Always on the lookout for trouble, Jamka kept a
n eye on the public warning system the Lacvamat had in place and as he brought his new warship in last to dock with his base and begin getting the full overhaul that it would need to be brought up to proper ‘shipper’ specs…meaning a lot of concealed compartments and other scoundrel gems…he noticed a small warning flashing up, with location coordinates of a new no-go zone within the planet’s atmosphere.

  He pulled the warning up, wanting to know ahead of time of any trouble going on anywhere in the system, and saw a report of a ship having gone off course and entering a restricted zone of the planet…then according to the report it had exploded while on descent through the atmosphere. The immediate area was being locked down by Lacvamat security, heavily, and there was an unnecessary reminder to everyone else not to go anywhere close to the explosion zone where they were now beginning to recover debris.

  That made no sense to Jamka, for if the Lacvamat had shot it down there would be no need for such a lockdown. Something about this didn’t feel right, and the Critel made sure to keep up to date on the news reports and official warnings coming in…as well as the unofficial word that began spreading around, for within a week all hell began breaking loose down on the planet and the Lacvamat fleet came down to low orbit and put a planetary lockdown in place with no one being allowed to come or go.

  A day later a similar freeze was put on all orbital traffic, stranding Jamka and his ships at his station, but he knew better than to defy the warnings. The Lacvamat were not to be trifled with, and whatever was going on had brought them out of their normal seclusion into full militant mode.

  Jamka knew his best bet was to simply stay still and silent and hope whatever was going on would sort itself out without him or any of his people getting caught in the middle of it.

  2

  August 12, 2552

  Plenx System (Dvapp Territory)