Reclaimers Page 2
That had made him feel better at the time, but had also made him realize he might be fighting a never-ending war to free a race that might not be capable of being freed from their basic darkside instincts.
But like the mountain, it was there, and he was intent to conquer it…especially since he had already done so in himself. So he knew it was possible, for those internally driven, but the trick was to figure out how to move along those who were not so driven.
And that was a trick he was still searching for, because a sad fact had manifested before him.
The other Chixzon were not driven. They were broken. And the broken don’t fight very hard, if at all.
So, what would any good Chixzon do in that situation? Manipulate and trick them into doing what he wanted them to do. And that’s exactly how Nefron was tackling this, because he didn’t see any other possibilities. Not a single one.
Chixzon were sneaks. And if they were going to escape the darkside, he was going to have to sneak them out of it.
2
June 13, 154966
Unexplored Territory
High Stellar Orbit
Kara-317 stood in the command nexus onboard a Warship-class starship leading a fleet of some 30 vessels of similar make, though varying in year of production. All of them had the same submarine-like elongated hulls with a massive hangar cavity cut out of the underside in the rear portion to house drones, most of which were now deployed and buzzing around the fleet like hornets as they escorted one much larger ship in the rear of the formation.
Kara’s ship was in the front as they approached the cloaked facility orbiting the central star far beyond any of the planets. It was so far out gravity was weak here, and the fleet had to approach slowly due to restricted engine power, but the Star Force ghostbane sensors were already picking up artificial gravity signatures on multiple constructs ahead.
The tiny pinpricks of light on the hologram outlines the decks where the Zak’de’ron would have lived and operated, for the Uriti needed none, and wanted none. There were supposed to be 8 housed here, along with the dead remains of some 182 others, most of whom hadn’t lived long enough to reach even a half mile wide.
The artificial gravity well was here, but not active. If it had been, it would have been lighting up the ghostbane sensors the equivalent of a star. And it was in that large spherical station that the Uriti had been spawned by the captive Hadarak that Pol’ake said was now dead. It had been terminated prior to the Zak’de’ron’s departure, for the Neofan did not want it. Only it’s advanced progeny.
“Can you sense them?” Pol’ake asked via comm, for he was too big to comfortably fit on the ship’s bridge.
“The Uriti I can. But we’re too far out to feel the Neofan unless they’re actively using Essence.”
“Do they feel like the others?”
Kara sighed. “Big Essence blobs all look the same. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then stay quiet until I need you or you have something valuable to offer.”
“Do I distract you?”
“I wish it was that simple.”
“Then it’s the darkside taint I carry?”
“For starters. But right now I have to pick a fight with the Neofan, and I don’t know how strong they really are. So could you just shut up and let me work this without having to answer questions?”
“Agreed,” the dragon said, with blissful silence following that pithy statement.
Kara brought her warships in closer, but probed ahead with her drones until they made contact with the constructs. They drew no return fire, merely bumping into the cloaking fields and destabilizing them around the contact points, making it look like they were causing ripples in space, but when their jamming technology kicked in they took down each field they made contact with in less than a second, exposing the various stations floating in high orbit alongside each other, all of which appeared to be bundles of yarn.
That was one familiar form of Zak’de’ron technology, and Kara knew those strands could unravel and reform in different alignments as needed, but in this case they were cages for the sleeping Uriti, save for one main control center that was smaller than the rest and riding further away from the others in their tract around the star.
Kara opened a comm channel with that station, getting the response ping from the Zak’de’ron technology that let her know it was receiving, though no one responded to the polite knock on the door.
“Attention Neofan. You are here, we believe, to take possession of several Uriti the Zak’de’ron were spawning in secret. The other Uriti are quite eager to meet their new brothers, and under no circumstances will allow them to be taken outside this galaxy or anywhere else. And seeing as how we’re best friends with them, we’re here to assist in retrieving their kin and delivering them to the herd. If you are receiving this message, please respond back before we board the station. I’d prefer to avoid an unfortunate combat situation if possible.”
More than a minute passed with no response, then Kara sent a copy of the message out to the other constructs, eventually getting a reply from #7, which held the largest Essence Presence she could see, meaning the largest Uriti of the lot, and they were of a range of sizes.
“Star Force, be advised that we are here with the permission of the Zak’de’ron and have already laid claim to these Uriti. Do not try and take them from us. We also do not wish to get into an unpleasant situation.”
“You are out of bounds,” Kara replied.
“A technicality, but we are in small error. It is necessary to retrieve the property of the Zak’de’ron and transport it to another galaxy on a vessel capable of moving the Uriti. The Zak’de’ron possessed none.”
“Then why weren’t we billed for the Essence cost of said moving?” Kara quipped.
“It was a side deal that did not involve you. Nor does it now. These Uriti will pose no threat to this galaxy once removed, and the Hadarak here has already been terminated before it could break free to cause havoc in the Rim. There is no need for your presence.”
Kara focused for a moment, using the gauntlet on her arm to speak with the Uriti named Bahamut…their informal pack leader…who was riding in the big ship behind the fleet. He didn’t speak in words, but ever since the trailblazers had made the transition to Furyan they’d had a breakthrough in communication that had allowed others like Kara to learn how to speak to them better rather than using the limited shorthand thoughts and emotions the Wranglers had developed over the millennia.
“I have a Uriti with me, and he says he claims possession of those here as his wards. And I can attest that when a Uriti claims a ward, they will fight to the death before allowing them to be taken from them. So how do you suggest we resolve this situation?”
“Do not mock us, Human. You are in control of the Uriti and can utilize your override codes whenever you wish.”
“That’s for emergencies only. The Uriti are our friends, not our property. That’s a lesson I wonder if the Neofan have ever learned. You seem quite…possessively apathetic to the idea of sovereignty.”
“A curious phrase, and partially accurate. Those who hold the responsibility for other races must do what is required even if it interferes with the sovereignty of those who cannot take care of themselves. The very nature of a ward defies the idea of sovereignty.”
“Only when viewed from an inferior perspective.”
“And what do you claim is the superior perspective?”
“Compartmentalization. Restrictions where needed, freedom elsewhere. The Uriti know if they take certain actions…like snacking on an inhabited planet…we will intervene and stop them. But so long as they behave themselves we respect their sovereignty. As we also respect the sovereignty of the Uriti here, and we intend to protect that sovereignty that had not
been granted to them by the Zak’de’ron.”
“The Zak’de’ron no longer control them.”
“I doubt you will be much better, considering how you have treated the Boos’mo.”
“They stopped being Boos’mo when we upgraded them. They are now Pol’so’nep, and serve a far greater purpose than the Boos’mo could have imagined.”
“But you didn’t ask permission. You enslaved them.”
“What’s the difference between a slave and a ward?” the Neofan said, with his stick-like wings flexing behind him. “Both are under your care, but one is preserved and the other expended. We preserve the Pol’so’nep as you preserve your Uriti. And as such, we will preserve these Uriti while giving them a greater purpose than their creators could have imagined.”
“The Boos’mo didn’t like being your slaves. Did you ever care about that?” Kara challenged.
“Our wards do not always know what is best for them.”
“And on that note, in this galaxy you are our wards, and you don’t always know what is best for you,” Kara said icily. “We are claiming these Uriti and putting them in our care.”
“We built the Temples here long before your civilization existed. We are not your wards, and we will not take orders from you. This arrangement with the Zak’de’ron does not involve you. Leave now before we are forced to give you a lesson in true superiority.”
“Do you really want to risk losing your home in this galaxy?” Kara threatened.
“We have not attacked you nor violated our agreement aside from our temporary presence here. That will be remedied shortly as we have a ship on its way. The status quo will return soon.”
“And you think we’re just supposed to overlook your violation?”
“You are engaged in a war against the Hadarak that you may very well lose. You cannot afford to fight us at the same time, for you will have no chance of victory in that circumstance. We apologize for our presence here, but it is necessary to arrange transit, and as per our agreement concerning the Zak’de’ron, they have all left and could not stay behind to look after these Uriti. That task fell to us, out of prudence, though I admit it is a violation.”
“Let me be more clear then. We are not going to allow you to enslave these Uriti.”
“You do not have the override codes for them. You cannot control them. But we can. Thus we are defaultly their masters. If they remain here, they will be a threat to this galaxy. They must be removed.”
“And we will be the ones removing them,” Kara said firmly. “I suggest you stay out of our way. Otherwise we’re going to have a disagreement that you won’t like.”
“I warn you. Despite our amicable status, we will not be dictated to. We have possession of these Uriti, and we will defend them against any attempts at harm or capture.”
“So it’s war then?” Kara asked bluntly.
“We will not start one. But we will not be bullied into submission either. We hold these constructs. If you attempt to take them from us, you will be the one initiating combat, and you will be the one responsible for your losses thereafter.”
“We’re taking the Uriti. Stay out of our way here and now if you want to live. Our Director will be addressing your movement violation later.”
“If you come onboard this station you will be treated as an enemy combatant. I am trying to be clear about this so you understand the consequences.”
“We don’t need to come onboard,” Kara said with a smirk as she cut the transmission. “Pok’ake, now’s your time to shine.”
“Accessing systems now,” he reported from his makeshift accommodations in one of the ship’s hangar bays that had been renovated into Zak’de’ron-scale chambers. Inside it was his own technology, built from technological seeds he had brought with him, and separate from the ship’s systems. Through that technology he reached out and accessed the Zak’de’ron systems onboard each of the constructs and used his priority access codes to snoop around and see what the Neofan had been doing…or in this case not doing.
“They haven’t touched the systems. My codes are still valid,” he reported a few minutes later. “They appear to be focusing their attention on one of the Uriti. They’ve been injecting it with unknown material and monitoring the reaction while keeping it in stasis. I’m downloading all data from all databases for analysis later. I can override their control of the stasis mechanisms at your command.”
“If we do this one by one, will they be able to circumvent you?”
“Doubtful, but if they can it will be on the construct they are physically present in, and there is only one. I have already locked out inter-facility communications. All will be controlled from this ship exclusively.”
“Have they damaged the control mechanism on the Uriti?”
“Impossible without altering its brain chemistry, and their experiments appear to be in the epidermis only. We did not give them our methods of creating the Uriti, for that leverage we wished to maintain. And I have registered attempts at hacking the databases that have all failed. They have the control codes, but nothing more. I do not believe they could have rewritten them in such short time, and the monitoring systems show no material reaching their brain tissue.”
“Alright. Wake him up and get him outside. Bahamut will win the tug of war.”
“I hope you are right,” Pol’ake said, sending the commands to the Zak’de’ron station where some seven Neofan were residing…
The first thing Tulark noticed was the groan of stressed building material as the Uriti twitched. That was as unusual as a mountain moving, and it immediately sent him to the command center to see what was happening. When he arrived there two more Neofan were already present and working the alien manual control boards furiously, finding the lack of proper mental interlinks beyond frustrating when time was of the essence.
“It is waking,” Si’covi said as he studied numerous holograms, tapping several out of existence while bringing up more with a telekinetic press of a nearby physical console. “Our control of the system has been remotely overridden.”
Tulark frowned. “How do they possess Zak’de’ron codes?”
“Perhaps they captured more of their technology than we were told…regardless, I do not understand these primitive systems enough to override the sedative injectors. They are inactive and it will awaken in stages. Unless a way is found soon, the process will be irreversible.”
“How did they sedate it?” he demanded.
“They ordered it to sleep, then sedated it the remaining distance. It is not lucid enough to respond to orders, and its thrashing will destroy this facility before it can be controlled.”
“All without engaging us in combat. I underestimated their guile,” he said, with all three Neofan heads turning to the sound of another warning orb manifesting in holo on the far side of the room.
“They’re opening the doors,” Si’covi said, confused. “I have no control over them. Why are they assisting us?”
“They do not want us killed,” Tulark said in disgust at their weakness, but relieved to have the opportunity to assert control over the Uriti. “And once it is safely outside, it will do our bidding. Their Uriti will not have enough influence to bypass the genetic command constraints.”
“Unless the Zak’de’ron lied about their success,” the third Neofan warned.
“Raise all defenses that do not interfere with the release, and protect the transmitters. So long as we can communicate with it, we will control it. And if they insist on boarding to take that control from us, we will use the Uriti to destroy them…”
3
Slowly he awoke, and not gently. The Uriti was in pain, as he always was when he went to sleep…but the masters had commanded it, and they had grasped him from his slumber and tumbled him down into a very diminished and deluded mindset. He was a prisoner, but barely knew it until the shackles began to come off again as they were now and his sanity returned bit by painful bit.
He jerked his ar
ms, rattling his cage as one hit and one did not. The one that missed he focused on, realizing the cage was already open. The Uriti pulled on the local gravity and nudged himself outward as he continued to spasm involuntarily as the control of his six-limbed body returned in spits and furts.
His body was numb, but the faint smell of starlight made it through to his senses none the less. That gave him his orientation in the floating void, and from that he began to map out what was around him. His cage…the other cages…the masters’ cage…and many new things, including a different sort of cage that was open and had another of his kind coming out of it, though one he had not met before.
That excited him, but he was distracted with the waking process and the call of the masters. They said to stay away from the new arrivals…but then other masters onboard the new arrivals said to come to them.
Never before had the masters contradicted themselves, and it wasn’t the confusion of the waking that beset him. He was receiving two conflicting orders, being repeated constantly, and he didn’t know how to respond.
Then a massive presence fell upon him as he felt the voice of the new Uriti, sensed his power, experience, age, and majesty. He was not compelled to follow the other Uriti, but he knew he should obey this one. And it was from the divine light of his presence that his confusion was given a direction to follow, along with an explanation.
The masters in the cage were imposters, speaking the commands taught to them by the true masters. They intended great harm on the Uriti, while the true masters were here to free him and the others and bring them into the great herd…for there were countless more of them spread across the galaxy helping the little ones in their war against the Uriti’s insane kin.
That was when this one learned of the Hadarak, and how they wanted to destroy all Uriti despite being welcoming into the herd. He told the great one of the Hadarak here, and how he had cursed at them despite being their spawn. The masters had told them he was sick and did not know what he was saying, but now that the truth was being revealed to him the ill will made more sense. But a sad, depressing sense. All Uriti were meant to be as one.