Star Force: Knighthood (SF36) Read online

  1

  December 4, 2434

  Iona System

  Kirit

  Randy sat in the Star Force enclave, a small Human dot situated amongst the world-spanning city that was now Kirit, reading the news briefs that had just arrived insystem via jumpship from the home territories. The Iona system was now considered to be mid-range out from Sol, opposite Paul’s expansion region into the lizard front. Randy had sole command of the ‘neighborhood,’ as he liked to think of it, which was a coreward extension around and out from Iona.

  Travel times were still lengthy, but far shorter than what they’d once been, especially given the new jumpship that’d just arrived. It was one of the first Binary Differential Gravity Drives, in that it had a revolutionary breakthrough that now put Star Force on par with the Hycre. The gravity drives were no longer just anti-grav, but gravity enhancing as well.

  This meant they could push and pull against gravity wells, whereas before pushing was the only option. Randy had already begun making plans for secret installations in Iona outside the orbit of the furthest planet in the gigantic star system. Kirit was the 8th planet out of 20, which was rather low on average, but the central star was a huge white variety with a gravity well far larger than average…meaning the geography of the system was much more spread out, able to hold multiple Sols or Epsilon Eridanis within its gravitational borders.

  Usually the outermost planet in the region marked the boundary from which all starships could not cross, given that they wouldn’t have anything to push off of outside of that to return on…save for conventional thrust which had limited range. Now with the Binary drives the range from which Star Force ships could travel out from the star was extended greatly, for they could now pull on the star itself to bring them back in, leaving the trailblazer with the opportunity to build bases in the outer areas, or doldrums within the system, where other races couldn’t go.

  At least he could so long as he had a ship that could get there. It would be decades at least, if not a century, before all Star Force jumpships were upgraded, but all new models coming off the line would be so outfitted, meaning that they’d have more navigational options as the calendar crept forward, which would help him greatly in the Beta Region.

  As he’d been learning from pouring over Star Force, Alliance, and V’kit’no’sat maps, population clusters didn’t become denser closer to the core and thinner out towards the rim as most people naturally assumed, but rather there were clusters of habitation everywhere, each with its own internal geography. Paul’s expansion region, loosely dubbed Alpha Region amongst the Archons, was sparsely populated, yet it had dozens of races within it, and that was only the explored sections.

  Beta Region was much more populated…but still with isolated, desert-like stretches of untouched star systems that the other races saw as ‘fly over’ country. There were many potential colonization opportunities nearby, and many other races just as close. As it was, Babylon 2 saw more activity than the original Babylon diplomatic station in Epsilon Eridani, which was saying something.

  Randy had expanded it twice to make room for the, at present, 132 enclaves that it fielded. That meant 132 different races that felt like establishing permanent diplomatic contact, with many more out there that didn’t. He’d known the galaxy had an insane number of races from what he’d read in the V’kit’no’sat database, but in the time since it’d been updated the geography had changed drastically, making this a whole new neighborhood to get to know.

  Randy had expanded Star Force and Clan Star Fox holdings out to 8 additional systems within the Beta Region, pushing their perimeter towards the core while mapping expeditions went well further. Nevil-037 was overseeing a small Gamma Region that was stretching out beneath Sol on the galactic plane, which was around 1,000 lightyears thick, meaning that Star Force was essentially sitting inside a giant sphere of star systems, nowhere close to reaching the galactic edge no matter which direction they travelled.

  Each area they mapped brought them into contact with more civilizations, expanding their presence out to more than 500 races, many of which had never even heard of the lizard juggernaut that was slowly creeping their way. Good news was, most of those races were either on par with Star Force or their inferior, with the Alliance making up the bulk of the advanced races, all of which were loosely located in what had been tagged as the Zeta Region to Sol’s ‘left,’ if you were at galactic center looking out.

  Epsilon was to the ‘right’ while Delta was ‘above,’ giving the Human Empire six 3-dimensional directions to orient its geography on. Zeta was not being expanded into, other than a handful of systems in the ‘central’ zone that surrounded Sol like a rough sphere. It was Star Force’s core zone, much as the lizards had their own central territory, while Zeta held the jumplanes connecting Star Force to the Alliance.

  Most of Star Force’s colonial expansion was happening in Alpha, which was 5 times the size of Beta and was also being lightly colonized by the Hycre and encroached upon by the lizards. Conversely, Beta was almost off the Alliance maps, untouched by the lizards, and a blank slate that the Humans had to deal with entirely on their own merits.

  Opening up Star Force systems to trade had helped their reputation immediately, with many races arriving in Iona and establishing diplomatic contact deciding to extend their own interests up further into Star Force territory, with the exception of Sol, which was deemed off limits. They didn’t all trade with Star Force, but they trusted the Humans to keep their own territory clear of pirates and other malcontents, making them safer ‘roads’ to travel and allowing them contact with other races more to their liking than the Humans, who they regarded as neutral arbiters.

  Many races closed off their star systems to others…officially. It was impossible to keep a jumpship out, and very hard to intercept one just passing through, braking off the star and repositioning for another jump, so the threats by others were mostly for show, but you didn’t want to risk the chance of bumping into an insystem patrol near the star to which you just decelerated against…after which you’d have to wait and recharge your capacitors to get enough power to make another interstellar jump.

  If unable to do that immediately, they’d have to make a micro-jump elsewhere in the system and play a game of cat and mouse until they’d recharged enough to make a run back to the star, find their jumpline, and get the hell out of the system. That minimal possibility of interdiction kept many races out of each other’s territory, forcing commerce lanes to travel in convoluted paths through unclaimed systems in order to ensure safe and reliable transit.

  So Star Force’s claim to unfettered access was a popular policy, backed up by their military fleet that was well capable of keeping poachers at bay. Randy pushed that reputation regularly, and had established a multi-racial economic partnership within Beta Region with many neutral exchange centers, some Star Force, some not, where the local races could deal with one another face to face rather than having to search out distant star systems in the hope of finding trading partners.

  As he did so Randy kept looking for any hint of the V’kit’no’sat, both in their ongoing mapping expeditions and in their relations with the other races, but so far not one of them had indicated knowledge of a race that powerful, with the Skarrons holding the primary ‘bad guy’ rep in the area, though their territory was much deeper into the core than Beta Region currently extended.

  Friendly as most of the racial interactions were with Star Force, though not necessarily with each other, Randy knew he needed hidden bases throughout the region should anyone start planning against their very open infrastructure, making the Binary Gravity Drives a considerable boon to his future plans.

  That bit
of good news wasn’t all that had come in the message packets. Updates from both the lizard and Nestafar fronts were included, along with a slew of database data that he never directly looked at. It was meant for their computers, so he’d have searchable access to what was happening on every other star system within Star Force’s domain, ranging from population statistics to economic transfers and infrastructure maps. Likewise, data from Beta Region was being carried back via jumpship traffic, keeping the others up to date on what was happening in his neck of the galactic woods.

  Randy was drawn to the V’kit’no’sat database updates, which contained useful entries the research teams had pulled out, along with blueprints for new technology upgrades. He particularly liked those, for they were tech that Star Force had already worked the bugs out of, having reverse engineered it from the V’kit’no’sat specs, built, tested, and tweaked for their own uses.

  In this update came a genetic scanner that he’d been requesting for years, given the amount of traffic that Babylon 2 and his other public commercial centers saw. Unlike previous scanners that required physical contact, this one had a range of .94 meters and would scan against templates rather than take samples. That meant he could put people in a line, send them through a sensor arch, and be able to identify their race without having to touch them. According to the specs it would work through thick clothing, though armor would probably block the sensor beam.

  It would take time to upgrade his infrastructure, but it was a valuable puzzle piece he needed in Beta Region as he grew what he considered to be an economic Alliance between the various races in the region.

  In the message packet there were also log updates from some of the other trailblazers which he’d sort through later, but with them came a few flagged items, including one ‘Operation Conduit’ brief that he opened up and skimmed through, his brow furrowing as he went back to the start and read it through line by line.

  Randy set the datapad down when he finished, then stood up and walked over to the panoramic window that stretched around his command tower, reminiscent of Davis’s office in Atlantis. This version rose up on par with several nearby Kiritas towers outside the Human city, though they didn’t surpass it. A sign of Kiritas gratitude and respect for their Star Force allies.

  Randy’s view out to those towers was unobstructed, given that all other Human structures were lower in height. He stared out past them to the Kiritas buildings, which mimicked the Star Force infrastructure while maintaining an alien tinge, and lost himself in calculated thought for some 20 minutes before he finally walked away from the window to the central staircase, but stepped over the inner railing and grabbed hold of the fire pole that the staircase wound itself around.

  Slackening his grip he slid down several stories through the gap, landing in the main control center for the Clan Star Fox city, the Iona System, and all of Beta Region.

  “Is the High Council currently in session?” he asked one of some 30+ staffers coordinating his mini-empire.

  “Should have began an hour ago, and they typically go for three or four.”

  Randy nodded contently and headed for the exit, passing down through the wider sections of the tower below until he got to the surface streets. He crossed over to a nearby hangar and grabbed a skeet, then flew the green/brown starfighter up above the buildings and crossed into the Kiritas zone, flying over the crowded streets full of wheeled vehicles, for the corovon elements necessary for anti-grav technology were reserved for their space and aerial craft, unlike on Star Force worlds where flying traffic was as common as ground vehicles.

  Randy flew straight over to the Kiritas capitol building, which they’d purposefully located near to, but a respectful distance from, the Star Force enclave. He was given direct access, bypassing security and landing on a topside pad reserved for high ranking individuals, such as the High Council and Human traffic.

  When he set down and exited the topside hatch Randy slid off the side onto the ground with 8 Kiritas waiting for him. Two were guards, armed with their anatomical version of stinger pistols, while the other six were pad workers, one of which walked/hopped over to him and looked up at his face from its lower height.

  “What do you require?” it asked in English, which all Kiritas now spoke as their native language. The Alliance trade language was their preferred secondary, with their original language now having been relegated to the annals of their planetary history.

  “Is the High Council in session?”

  “Yes it is. Would you like to meet with them?”

  Randy nodded. “I have something important to discuss.”

  “Follow me,” the short, stubby kangaroo-like creature said, turning and hopping off towards the pad entrance to the building beneath them. The two guards took up ceremonial flanking positions alongside the Human, who was dressed in his standard Archon ranger uniform and unarmed. Kirit was probably the safest world in Beta Region, given that the populace was almost entirely pro-Human. Star Force was upgrading their society by leaps and bounds, both with technology and knowledge, and many Kiritas would glad jump in front of an enemy to save a Human without a second thought.

  The area around the Human enclave saw a fair amount of Humans mixing with the local Kiritas, but other than in this part of the planet Star Force was more legend than reality, with the rare encounter seeing the Humans treated with greater respect than the Kiritas’s own leaders, with whom Randy was now enroute to.

  The capitol building wasn’t a spire, but rather a thick building designed to shield the internal core from potential weaponsfire and protecting the leaders against attack, taking from Star Force’s own tactical designs. Several other nearby buildings were taller, but none the larger, for it held the command infrastructure for their entire civilization that now spanned 5 star systems and 18 planetoids, thanks to Randy’s help in teaching them how to build jumpships.

  When he got to the guarded doors that led into the High Council chamber the Kiritas immediately opened them for him, interrupting the ongoing meeting. Randy walked into the now silent room down the middle of a rectangular promenade with rows of seats on his left and right, along with a short set of rows directly ahead. A hologram of some data chart disappeared from view in the gap between them, giving the Archon the full attention of the assembled Councilors as the doors resealed behind him.

  “Greetings, Archon Randy,” one of the 58 Kiritas said, its voice amplified by speakers. “Your presence is most welcome, though we would gladly have come to you if you’d requested it.”

  “I know,” Randy said, glancing around at all the leaders, most of whom he knew by face, having dealt with or trained them all. Still, they weren’t Humans, so at times he had trouble differentiating one from another, though now he had the ability to pull a mental profile and memories if needed, so he rarely made a mistake as to who was who.

  “But what I have to say is more appropriately said here than in one of our facilities. You have asked for many years to assist us with the war against the Nestafar or lizards, and I have declined your requests given that your warfleet is not yet a match for their technology. Above that, it’s also not your fight…at least not yet.”

  “However, recent information has been sent to me indicating that the lizard threat is far greater than we anticipated. They have amassed a huge empire deep inside their widespread territory where we can’t scout. They are waiting and growing their strength rather than throwing their full resources against us. When they do, we will be sorely outmatched, even with the combined might of the Alliance. We do have time, however, to prepare, for they are not choosing to launch their full power against us yet. They still have a powerful enemy on their rimward border, known as the H’kar. So long as they exist, I don’t believe we will draw their primary attention.”

  “Given the recent information we’ve gained about their strength, we are implementing a new battle plan…and for that I am here to ask for your help,” Randy said, letting that point hang in the air.

&nb
sp; The High Councilors visibly stirred. This was the first time in their 86 year history that the Humans had ever asked for their help, and the Kiritas had been continuously eager to both prove their worth to their superior allies as well as to repay them for the lifesaving changes they’d implemented on Kirit in any way, shape, or form possible, hence the previous offers of military assistance.

  “What do you require of us?” the Military Councilor asked. Each of the 58 High Council members led a portion of Kiritas society. They were not elected or appointed, but rather experienced leaders having risen up through the ranks in their respective divisions, patterned heavily off of Star Force’s own personnel structure, though without any Archon or Davis equivalents.

  “Something big,” Randy said slowly, making eye contact with many of the shorter aliens who were seated above his eye line. “Something that will change the Kiritas once again.”

  Some of the Councilors practically bounced out of their seats with anticipation, for they knew that whatever this was, it was monumental.

  “Ask,” the Food Supply Councilor prompted eagerly.

  Randy let out a slow breath, then looked up at his Kiritas friends, knowing how much of a shock this was going to be, given the population restrictions they lived under.

  “We need you to grow.”

  2

  “There are half a trillion Humans,” Randy continued after a round of frenzied questions, “spread out through 74 star systems. There are five and a half trillion Kiritas, spread across 5 star systems. You can reproduce faster than us, which has been a problem in the past, but it can also be an asset.”

  “You need more soldiers?” the Military Councilor asked.

  “We need more resources,” the trailblazer clarified. “We’re not asking you to fight, we’re asking you to help us build. This region of the galaxy has many uninhabited star systems with worlds that hold vast amounts of natural resources. Star Force has claimed only 8 systems, and those that we do have are not well developed yet. It will take time to expand and grow, but even as we do it will not be enough to counter the resources the lizards have available to them. We have to close the gap, and you are the key to doing that, if you’re willing.”