Star Force: Phoenix (Star Force Universe Book 62) Read online

  Cal-com took the moment and summoned his Essence, creating a tiny invisible grasp on the object and lifted it out of his pitch black palm and floated it to a nearby wall shelf where he set it down without bobbling it too much. His breakthrough had occurred more than a year ago, but his development was slow. That much effort took nearly a quarter of his Essence reserves, but it was a little bit more training that also allowed him to memorialize this moment in his own memories.

  Rather than investigate the data on the chip he patiently took the time to get cleaned up, dressed, and even eat before he returned to his quarters and finally picked up the chip again. This time with his fingers, and set it into a small holographic terminal…out of which a full scale image of Paul manifested, though frozen in place.

  “Begin playback,” he ordered the device as he sat down on the edge of his bed and looked up into his friend’s recorded face…

  2

  “Cal-com, if you are seeing this message then it means you have completed Wilson’s training, just as I once did long, long ago. It is not the end, but rather the end of the beginning, and like me you don’t have the luxury of training in perpetuity. You’ve needed a mission ever since the Zak’de’ron deemed you too wise for their purposes, but what you needed more was to discover your own potential as a person rather than as a tool of others. If Wilson says you’re ready, then that means you’ve crossed that gap and now stand alone as your own master.”

  “That aloneness does not mean you are isolated. It means that any bonding will be of your choice and that you will always be able to fall back on yourself if others disappoint. The reason for your existence is now internal, not external, and that gives you a stability you probably never realized you lacked until your life was destroyed by the whim of another. Star Force is a collaboration of individuals working together for mutual advantage, and while that at first might look like a disadvantage, if crafted properly, it provides the strongest foundation possible for an empire short of blind loyalty when it is not challenged.”

  “You now know why the Zak’de’ron use it and we do not. We will not toss aside those that lose their blindness. The Zak’de’ron do not hesitate to, because to them everyone that serves them is expendable. To us, no one is expendable. That’s why we use machines when expendability is required. Our bonds of loyalty are not false, and because of that they are real and last forever. Those of the blind are limited, and you are one who outgrew them. So you have a special knowledge of this that even we do not.”

  “Indeed I do,” Cal-com said to the hologram.

  “Your knowledge and experience run parallel to mine, but they are not wholly the same. You are not ready for the mission I am asking of you, but then again no one could be, for you must do something new and figure it out as you go, as we did, when we built Star Force up from a single system into an interstellar empire. I need you to do this for us, and in doing so cement your position in Star Force. You are here out of charity, but you desire to earn your place. You now have that opportunity.”

  “Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is the Vargemma,” Paul said, hesitating slightly to let that sink in.

  Cal-com’s eyes narrowed. The trailblazers were handling the war, and while there was a great deal to do he failed to see how he could help in a way that another Archon could not.

  “These Temples are beyond description. Each a region of the galaxy condensed down to a single point and hidden away from the Hadarak. And there are many of them, filled with enemies that have lived longer than you and I combined. Many of them are too powerful for us to defeat in face to face combat, while others are newer born and limited in skills. We must assimilate them into Star Force, my friend, and I am not certain of how to do so. Normally we would rely on the Maturias, but there are so many people already in the Temples that their new populations are insignificant to those that reside here.”

  “Myself and the other trailblazers are subduing the threat to Star Force, but we will not be free of their attacks any time soon. And even when we are, the Hadarak are still expanding and the V’kit’no’sat cannot stop them. Neither can the Zak’de’ron. They can only slow them. It falls to us to rise high enough to fight the greatest enemy this galaxy has known, and these Temples hold a great deal of knowledge that will escalate our learning curve dramatically. Our friends in the Uriti will provide far more Essence than we could ever hope to produce on our own, so we will have from them the fuel to power our new weapons even if the Vargemma refuse to share theirs.”

  “We have some time, but events are spiraling into a future where we either face and push back the Hadarak, or run and abandon the galaxy to its destruction. We can hide in the Temples if need be and ride out the purge. They have been designed for this and other functions, but you already know we will not. We will not abandon a single person within Star Force, and there is no way to evacuate our territory into the Temples. Getting our fleet in alone is costing us an insane amount of Essence, and getting it out again will do likewise. The Temples are not meant to be destinations, but sanctuaries separate from the galaxy with only a small travel flow between them. They are meant to stand alone.”

  “Star Force needs to assimilate the Temples and their power, both to fix what the Founders and the Vargemma have done wrong, and to increase our empire so we can better stand against the Hadarak and others. Many are already working on this, but there is one task that we do not know how to accomplish yet. I could assign myself or one of my brothers to it, and in time we would figure it out, but there is so much for us to do already I am leaving it to you. And I now the solution you come up with will not be identical to what we would do. I am hoping that it will be better.”

  Cal-com’s chest tightened. Matching the trailblazers was a herculean task, but if one was asked to exceed them…that was seen by many as being impossible. Cal-com was not confident in his ability to do so, but to his surprise he was also eager to try.

  “The Temples must become ours, in their entirety, and we cannot remove the Vargemma. We do not have the Essence for it. In a way it’s sad that they will never see the galaxy, but once you get here you will realize why they do not want to leave. There is enough mystery here to explore for a lifetime, and so much territory that you could never set foot on it all. For better or worse this is where they will live and die, and many have died at each other’s hands. They are beyond broken, and would have degenerated into genocide long ago if not for the threat of the Caretakers.”

  “But there is strength in them. There is potential, buried under all the darkside, and if one could figure out how to untwist them, they would become a powerful ally, immediately adding an Essence component to our population that we could not otherwise match on our own in the next million years…or perhaps longer. I trust you understand the significance of how their time here cannot be replicated?”

  “I am beginning to,” Cal-com answered, sensing the most important task of his life before him. One that would dwarf the massive level of trust the Elders had once placed in him at the head of the Voku. He’d thought he would never again have such a position, but now it was clear that his previous life had just been a warm-up for the greater challenges to come.

  And with that realization everything crystalized within him. The disappointment of the past, the betrayal of the Elders, and his hopeless meandering thereafter all now made sense. It was bringing him to this point, and from where it would go he did not know, but there would be no going back. He could not go back, for once one’s eyes were open they would never again be shut completely.

  A holy task awaited him, but it was not holy because Paul, or even Star Force was assigning it to him. It was the task itself. The universe had just laid it before him as if it had been the universe’s intent all along. Logically that made no sense, for he had seen the senseless and purposeless chaos within the galaxy that destroyed so many no matter what they did or did not achieve.

  But there was no mistaking the sense of purpose within him now. Ca
l-com knew success was not guaranteed. This was not a fate that would take care of itself, but one that he would have to craft as he went, yet it was here. And it was real. His life did have a purpose, and whether by accident or design, everything prior to this moment had been building up to this.

  “We must annex the Vargemma themselves, in addition to the Temples. Star Force has never annexed those more powerful than us, and in other circumstances it would be a challenge I would readily accept, but I think you will grow into the task better than I. You have been broken, I have not. I cannot be broken. Stressed, yes. But not broken. And now you cannot, since you have achieved the stable foundation of truth. You have an experience I cannot have, and from it I hope that you can surpass any outcome I could have with the Vargemma. But even if I am wrong, your handling of this task, named Project Phoenix, will free me up to pursue others of greater time sensitivity. The Vargemma are sitting in place and going nowhere. Others would let them rot for what they’ve done. We will not.”

  “Due to the isolation of the Temples from one another, you will be assigned one to remake as you wish. As of the time I am recording this message, Kappa Temple is the only one where we are not fighting the Caretakers. The Vargemma have surrendered, though I am not sure how stable a surrender it is. They may view it as more of an armistice. If fighting breaks out and we are forced to engage the Caretakers then Kappa will be no different than the others, but if you can begin your work without it, I would prefer you start there. What you learn we will replicate in the other Temples over time, but I need you to solve this for us, my friend, and remove this threat from within the most valuable infrastructure the galaxy has ever known.”

  “We cannot bring in enough personnel to outnumber them. Far from it. You will have Paladin available to grow on site, as well as a myriad of other resources, but the Temples, despite our naval victories, still remain very much under the control of the Vargemma. This will not be a straightforward task. It is an impossibility. Your mission is to do the impossible. If you accept it.”

  “If you do not feel ready, then you can continue training indefinitely…but I know you well enough not to have any doubt as to your answer. A ship will be standing by ready to bring you to Kappa. It will be a long journey, and I will have a mass of data for you to chew through on the way. Welcome to the Empire, Cal-com. We badly need you to take this burden and transform it into an asset. If you can do that, you will have earned your place with us as an equal.”

  The hologram shut off abruptly, which surprised Cal-com. Paul had never been so blunt before. He had told him time and again that he belonged in Star Force, but Cal-com had never personally accepted that. It seemed that Paul was now agreeing with Cal-com’s standard and throwing down a challenge before him whose outcome could not be questioned. If he was successful, he would be able to stand side by side with Paul and the others because he had earned it. His relationship with Paul had always been one of peers, and ever since being cast out by the Elders that had not been so. But as of now, it was again.

  Only a peer would be given this massive of an assignment. Paul was treating him as such now…but it was for Cal-com to prove with deed to finalize his position.

  A few seconds after the hologram of his friend ended, a small icon replaced it. It was a simple metallic plate with two Star Force symbols engraved into either side with the word ‘Reclaimer’ between them.

  He knew instantly what it meant, and the reference that it was to. Paul had often referred to the Temples has ‘Halos,’ and that particular lore held a special place amongst the trailblazers. ‘Reclaimer’ was a word used to describe the Master Chief, but more so it was directed at the Forerunners. They had left the Halos behind only to be found and claimed by those in the far distant future for whom they were intended. The ‘Reclaimers.’

  And here there were now, in reality, a series of even more massive constructs designed to be found and used by those that were capable of using Essence…as he now was. The parallels were striking and poetic, but the word ‘Reclaimer’ had a double purpose. The Master Chief had destroyed a Halo out of necessity, so Paul was also making clear that they were not going to be taking orders from the Founders and the Caretakers. Star Force was going to be calling the shots now, while making use of the toys they had left behind.

  What Cal-com was to ‘reclaim’ he was to make his own, and he knew Paul wasn’t going to be looking over his shoulder. He was leaving the Voku to handle this entirely on his own, though with the backing of the empire available for him to draw on as needed.

  “Thank you,” he said into the silence. “I will not fail you.”

  Cal-com stood up from his seat on the end of the bed and walked over to the comm terminal where he typed in the word ‘Reclaimer,’ none too surprised to see a secondary program activate with a wealth of data along with a schematic for a unique type of armor that he would have fashioned for him before he left.

  “Wilson asked what title I would be given,” he said, wrapping a hand around the holographic icon and feeling the solid nature of it, though he knew if he squeezed too hard it would disintegrate like sand. This was the end of the beginning, and the beginning of what was to come. And from now on he would go forth as a Star Force Reclaimer, which according to the information emblazoned before him, held an equal rank to that of the trailblazers and the Monarchs, though was separate from both. His was a position meant to operate in the wilds of the galaxy and work to civilize them, going where there was need and leaving when the task was fulfilled.

  “A nomad without a base, but never without a purpose,” Cal-com said approvingly. “I, Reclaimer of Star Force, accept the duty before me and will pursue it to completion…or my final breath.”

  3

  June 2, 128554

  Qinia System (Deevim Territory, Gogorax Kingdom)

  Lijna

  The one word that would set off every Deevim nowadays was ‘Vargemma,’ though Sha’ni had never seen one, nor had any ever traveled to Lijna or the other 18 planets spread over 4 systems that comprised the Deevim Commonwealth. Despite that fact, the Vargemma were responsible for the widespread famines that had already killed millions of his people.

  Sha’ni was the Governor for one of the 18 provinces on Lijna, and now had to oversee the hard choices that were being made to save as many of his fellow winged bipeds as possible, for the Deevim long ago had made a serious miscalculation.

  They were one of the many races that had not been absorbed by Star Force when the Rim-dominating empire had expanded through this region of the galaxy. They’d been offered annexation, but had declined. Star Force had respected that so long as they followed a few simple rules…rules that many of their neighbors could not, or would not, follow. It had been said that the Deevim of that time had not expected Star Force to honor their word, but when the terms were followed and no invasion came, eventually the Deevim began to use the access they had to the Star Force markets to greatly enhance their civilization.

  ‘Greatly’ was an understatement. Most of the heavy equipment in the Commonwealth was manufactured by Star Force, and even after tearing it apart and putting it back together again the Deevim couldn’t understand it, let alone replicate it, but that hadn’t been a problem when Star Force opened market access 4 jumps away from Qinia in one of the empire’s expansion colonies.

  The Deevim, as well as everyone else in this region of the galaxy, were able to buy, sell, and trade there…though most of the selling and trading happened through third parties. Star Force rarely bought anything, for they produced everything they needed and sold off the rest to eager customers like the Deevim…all the while offering information about how to become self-sufficient civilizations and the dangers of relying too heavily on trade.

  Some had listened. Their neighbors, the Bigoda, were a single system race with only a planet and two moons in their possession, but they were peaceful and never tried to expand elsewhere. They had drawn heavily on Star Force wisdom, even getting some of the e
mpire’s people to come and advise them on how to best design their own economy and infrastructure, and when that had happened long ago the Deevim had listened and watched as Star Force told them not to buy products from the market that they needed.

  It seemed an odd thing to say when you were the ones doing the selling, but the point that the advisors had hammered home was that the Bigoda had to be able to produce everything they relied upon locally, then use the markets for luxuries and upgrades. This meant the Bigoda had to progress slowly, and the Deevim were fearful of falling behind their competitors…though Star Force had pretty much made it clear that they wouldn’t be invading each other without incurring the wrath of the empire’s military and their godlike forces. But for commerce competitors, the Deevim drew heavily on Star Force products and advanced their civilization far faster than the Bigoda had.

  But now they were the reverse, and the Bigoda were shipping some badly needed exports to the Deevim in a recent trade deal that Sha’ni’s people desperately needed…but the tiny single planet empire couldn’t supply them with enough to solve the problem, and it looked like the Star Force market would be closed to them indefinitely.

  Technically it wasn’t closed. Star Force still allowed the Deevim to buy products from them, but most of their inventory was now empty. The first change had occurred almost a century ago when the Hadarak started their war of aggression and Star Force responded. The uptick in military production had affected all civilian queues, but to their credit Star Force didn’t spike the prices like others would have. They kept them the same and just allowed the metaphorical shelves to empty, all the while constructing wait lists that ensured no one group got what was left and hoarded it.