Star Force: Perquisition Read online

  “We’ve also told a lot of races where to shove it,” Kyp added.

  “Something else is going on with the Protovic, and until we figure out what it is I don’t like cutting any of them off. The more that are here learning from us the better.”

  “Is that why you let the Chancellor’s observers camp out?”

  “I know they’re not joining us, but they’re allies and just next door anyway. We can look after them if needed.”

  “You’re going to need a second star system soon if you keep growing like this.”

  “We’ve got plenty to choose from, but right now I want everyone here where I can monitor them. I’d rather not have to bring in Human Monarchs and right now I don’t have any Protovic Administrators that I feel are up to the promotion yet. They’re still keying off me and my staff and we need to keep it that way until we sort out all these changes. Once we get our identity stabilized we can branch out, but right now we’re still in a lot of flux.”

  “Is that why you wanted me here?”

  “I need a fresh set of eyes on the problem. I keep feeling like I’m missing something right in front of me.”

  “Well, from what I can tell of your elite class they’ve got a decent skillset. They’re obviously still newbs, but they’re showing isolated strengths beyond what we typically see in Humans.”

  “That lopsided nature has made creating training programs for them a bit tricky.”

  “How similar are the Purples to Pefbar?”

  “A poor comparison, but they do have a light perimeter sense in their cocktail. Low level energy field that varies from half a meter up to about 4 when they’re focusing on it. More like a spidey sense than Pefbar.”

  “So your notes said. And the rest of the ‘cocktail?’”

  “Ask a Knight.”

  “Just an increase in the rest of their senses.”

  “Yes, but there seems to be some tie-in. When combined they seem to accumulate into a very vivid image, based off the mind reads I’ve done.”

  “Nightvision?”

  “Better than us, not quite up to Knight level. Pitch black they can’t see any more than us…save for the fact that they glow.”

  “A double-edged sword there. Apparently it can be very annoying, according to some of the stories I’ve heard. The full body garb our allies wear isn’t just a fashion trend, but a practical necessity that they developed after several problems they had.”

  “Such as?”

  “I was told a story of attacks where the civilians were hunted down even when they fled because they couldn’t hide their glow. Add in pursuit, and especially ambush, are all but impossible when your head is a lightbulb. Their glow became a cultural liability, so they just adopted the practice of hiding it completely when in public. That’s been relaxed some after seeing our Axius Protovic roam with free skin, but it’s still a sign of worry with them more than prudence. That pesky survival imperative again.”

  “How did the Chancellor take that revelation?”

  “That was one bit I did not share with him.”

  “Any particular reason?”

  “They’ve got enough to take in as is. Telling them they’re puppets that some ancient power is pulling the strings of isn’t going to help their mindset right now.”

  “A bit harsh. We have genetic imperatives too.”

  “Ours are natural…as far as I know.”

  “I doubt the V’kit’no’sat would approve of tinkering in that aspect. If needed it would scream inferiority.”

  “Yeah, well, the idea that we might have some Clone Wars era inhibitor chips woven into our DNA has crossed my mind more than once. Our medtechs haven’t found anything, but you never know.”

  “Honestly, that thought had never occurred to me,” Brad admitted.

  “I don’t think there’s anything there or we’d have found it by now, either in genetic analysis or in the database records. But sometimes you gotta wonder what’s all programmed into us. The Zak’de’ron hid coding from the rest of the V’kit’no’sat concerning Tier 4 psionics and battlemeld, so who knows what else they slid in there.”

  “If they put in a kill code I’m going to be pissed,” Brad said half-jokingly.

  “Fortunately our bad guy overlords have an ego, else they could very well have done so. If you ask Kara what they’d think of a rebellious Zen’zat she’d probably laugh.”

  “Yeah, not looking forward to taking on one of them hand to hand. At least they’re not out to wipe us from existence.”

  “Kara got on their good side,” Kyp said, knowing well that there was more to it than that. “How are your guys’ reflexes?”

  “Partial improvement with the Purples. Beyond that Protovic standard.”

  “And the Oranges?”

  “Their speed is faster, but reaction time is the same.”

  “And the Reds?”

  “They’re damn clever. Not up to Archon standards, but they’re definitely thinkers rather than followers.”

  “We don’t want followers,” Kyp reminded him. “We’re in the right, so why should we fear thinkers?”

  “They’d make really good serial killers.”

  “Their ancestors did well enough in that regard without the enhancement.”

  “True,” Brad acknowledged. “Think I’m worrying too much?”

  “The V’kit’no’sat don’t worry about such things because they can solve any problem that arises by beating the crap out of it. We’re Archons, we can do the same. You said you were short on Monarch candidates. How do these Reds stack up?”

  “Too soon to tell, but Davis has one of his people here looking into it.”

  Kyp glanced at him. “Did you request that?”

  “I should have. He saw the possibility before I did.”

  “That guy has his fingers into everything.”

  “Lucky us,” Brad said as his earpiece chirped. He mentally turned it on and heard the voice of one of his command staff giving him a priority update. He remained silent, listening for a long bit as Kyp saw a twitch in him.

  “Copy that,” Brad said, shutting off the earpiece with another thought.

  “What?” Kyp asked, sensing something important.

  “We just got a message packet in from one of our scouting teams. They’ve found the 8th variant.”

  Kyp’s insides twisted up with a mix of excitement and trepidation. This was the last piece of the genetic puzzle they’d been searching 90 years for. “What color?”

  “Pink.”

  Kyp snickered, but when Brad didn’t reciprocate he sensed something was wrong. “And?”

  “And they’re unlocked. They have telepathy.”

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