Star Force: Paladin (SF94) (Star Force Origin Series) Read online

  “Sabotage?”

  “There are many different forms, but yes, and looking at the map there are three big possibilities.”

  Randy adjusted the Star Force hologram that the General and six other Neenan were standing around looking like trolls with the tiny Humans and Kiritas clustered and moving around their feet.

  “The Traae, Miplekwe, and Sbiv are not strong enough to take you…not on their own and definitely not with Star Fox assistance, but if several of these border worlds are weakened they could penetrate quite far individually. Two of them could do significant damage if they attacked without worry of their own future. If all three coordinated…”

  “We could hold the line,” the Neenan said firmly, “but not if we’re compromised from within, and without knowing who our enemy truly is we can’t calculate where to reinforce and in what quantities. We either overcommit and bring your Star Force troops back out of fear or we risk spreading ourselves too thin, sufficient to guard against the visible threats, but perhaps leaving us vulnerable to the hidden ones.”

  “Well said, General. That is exactly my concern.”

  “How do we counter tis threat?”

  “To start with, we’re going to quietly upgrade your sensors to be able to detect these Ionvan ships. If we have time to work with, and I really hope these guys are patient enough to give it to us, then we watch and see where they are going. We do not intercept them and tip our hand. We watch and learn as much as possible.”

  “To see the strength of the hidden.”

  “And where they are probing. If we learn that, then we can quietly start moving against them while making preparations for a major invasion…or whatever else might be coming our way.”

  “How do we fight those who hide in the shadows and refuse a traditional fight?”

  “With Archons,” Randy said simply. “A lot of Archons.”

  www.aerkijyr.com

  STAR FORCE Wiki