Star Force: Kaalo (SF99) (Star Force Origin Series) Read online

  “You handle the fireflies?”

  “Happy to. Just give me cover and let me know where to target.”

  “Done. Any word on Sara?”

  “Not yet. Expected her here before you.”

  “So did I. I hope they’re not hitting multiple systems.”

  “Not a peep off the entry route yet, but we did get confirmation from Char. They’re sending a flood of backup.”

  “Hopefully we can finish this before they get here. The less tricks we have to pull out of our arsenal the better, but the fireflies we need now.”

  “On it. Can you manage here if I go pick them up personally?”

  “Yep,” Roger said, sending out priority commands that put all the nearby ships under his fleet control banner and removing Ethan’s. “Go.”

  A few seconds later Ethan’s command ship made a microjump out of formation and began arcing its way over towards the jumpline for Earth while keeping well clear of the V’kit’no’sat fleet.

  2

  March 15, 3602

  Solar System

  Titan

  Rio punched the taller Zen’zat in the face, cracking the already damaged helmet enough that he was able to telekinetically rip off the forward part of it, exposing his forehead and one eye. Over the next few furious blows Rio was able to spin the Zen’zat around and send him tumbling to the ground, then the Archon was over top of him and firing down at his head.

  One shot landed and blew out a section of his skull, causing the Zen’zat to go limp on the grass in the Ribbon park where Rio had found him trying to ambush a nearby line of evacuees. Their fight had lasted more than 4 minutes as Rio beat through his shields and then his armor with a combination of fist, foot, and plasma, but like the others he’d come across in past days this Zen’zat was probably a high Kilnor at best…their lowest skill bracket out of six and about the equivalent of a padawan or mage, though this one was very good at close quarters deflections. A lot of the body blows Rio had attempted he’d moved a few inches prior to impact, drawing out this fight longer than a lot of the others.

  Rio extended his mind out, searching for more targets while a pair of skeets flew overhead in a search pattern to cover for the civilians. Many had already been evacuated off the Ribbon as the naval fighting had stalled into a draw with Star Force holding part of the Ribbon and the V’kit’no’sat claiming access to the rest. Neither side wanted to fully engage the other, but neither could they allow for their troops to get stranded. The V’kit’no’sat had paid a heavy price to take back and then hold a few entrances and both fleets were now on opposite sides of the rectangular Ribbon and agreeing to stay there without any official communication.

  Rio didn’t like that, but they’d have to burn through their remaining ships to get rid of the V’kit’no’sat fleet segments that had recombined here and the addition shivas were helping to keep the V’kit’no’sat from overrunning the smaller drones. The naval situation outside the Ribbon alone was a powder keg, but Roger and Ethan had their hands full elsewhere as the V’kit’no’sat kept hitting Sentinels and other targets without fully engaging any planetary defenses. Rio’s army here wasn’t interesting in holding onto the Ribbon, only in getting the people out, and after that the V’kit’no’sat could camp out here as long as they wanted and hope that Rio didn’t decide to destroy it with them inside.

  That objective was why the naval situation outside was a draw. Star Force couldn’t risk the remaining civilians on their narrow advantage, needing to preserve it so they could escort the evacuation ships away from the Ribbon and down to the planet, otherwise the rescue effort would be pointless.

  Right now more civilians were being killed by Zen’zat assassins than by the heavy combat, which was why Rio was here and not in a mech…and as his mind searched the area he caught sight of another Zen’zat, one that was heading his way rather than toward the civilians. Rio figured he was going to probably try and rescue the one he’d just killed, though with that head injury it was doubtful if a Kich’a’kat could even revive him.

  Rio ran out across a grassy opening and by a few tall evergreen trees, then dove into a thicker area of woods that had been kept in cold, snowy conditions via segmented atmospheric shields to give it a different environment than the rest of the park. He passed from warm grass onto an inch of snow with only a slight resistance as he moved through the shield, then he came into contact with the new Zen’zat a few seconds later, seeing that he carried nothing more than his forearm gauntlets.

  The Zen’zat struck first, a lightning fast punch followed by three more, then a kick that sent Rio flying backwards…with the Zen’zat following and pummeling him with punches offset by a Dre’mo’don shot here and there that were wearing down his shields fast.

  It took a Jumat blast from Rio to knock the Zen’zat off him, then when Rio engaged again he realized that this Zen’zat was better than the others he’d faced, and to the point was faster than him. His reflexes and agility were superior, and given his larger size that meant Rio was at a significant disadvantage save for his psionics…which he pulled on heavily to disengage from the flying fists several times as the Zen’zat beat through his own blocks and made body shots that continued to drain his shields until Rio flashed up a bioshield a few inches off his armor and the Zen’zat’s next hit bounced off it unexpectedly.

  The Archon took advantage of that and dived forward, landing a quick punch with his palm that moved the Zen’zat’s torso back a bit more, then he brought his other arm forward and blew the bigger warrior off him with another Jumat blast followed by him pulling out a pistol and shooting him several times as the Zen’zat got back up and charged.

  Rio ran backwards and flew up into the air a couple meters, continuing to fire condensed plasma shots into the Zen’zat’s shields, but his opponent jumped up at him faster than he could fly away, taking a shot directly to the face, and dragged both of them back down to the ground. When they hit he tried to leverage Rio into a headlock and nearly succeeded had it not been for all those training sessions he’d done with the Black Knight. He recognized the move coming and reacted instinctively, ducking down all the way until he was curled up into a ball underneath the larger body and took that opportunity to summon a larger Jumat blast.

  He blew it out from around his spherically and popped the bigger guy off, but only enough to get himself a step away before the Zen’zat was back on him. Rio got one shot off before his pistol was knocked out of his grip, then it was a series of losing arm and leg blocks as he fought a retreat across the snow until a wall of Lachka hit him from the side and knocked him into a tree. A hooking fist came around and hit him in the head so hard the impact drove his helmet into the thin tree trunk and snapped it in half as the Zen’zat grabbed Rio by the wrist and threw him back across the snow into another tree…which was when his shields popped, for he couldn’t turn them on and off fast enough to protect against the energy attacks while letting his armor absorb the physical blows.

  When his shields went down the Zen’zat held position and raised both arms, firing multiple Dre’mo’don blasts at Rio as he dodged to the right. Some missed, some hit and melted little portions of his armor until his head stopping ringing enough for him to throw up a bioshield that caught the rest as he took off through the trees.

  But the Zen’zat didn’t let him get far, actually running him down and punching him towards another tree that Rio expertly dodged, flying in place and letting his feet come up level with his body, then using them to jump off the bending trunk and launch him back at the Zen’zat…who moved so fast that Rio missed, and had it not been for his Yen’mer that allowed him to adjust his movement direction in flight he would have jumped completely clear of him and let the Zen’zat get behind his back, but Rio was able to curve his angle just enough to get a hand on the Zen’zat’s arm, whose shields were up and a bit slippery, but he was able to lock his fingers around the elbow joint and use it to pivot swing himself around and get behind the Zen’zat
and put him into a headlock.

  Rio latched on tight, then kicked into his back with his knees as the Zen’zat tried to extricate himself, eventually flipping backward in order to flatten Rio, but the Archon spun him around in air with his Yen’mer and landed him face down on the ground.

  “You’re good,” Rio said in V’kit’no’sat as he fought to keep him pinned there against the massive muscle below and failing, so he had to summon up and drop an Ubven field over top of him. “Too bad you’re fighting for the bad guys.”

  “Who gave you these abilities?” the Zen’zat said, struggling and failing to push through the thick Lachka field and Rio’s weight, which was enhanced considerably by his armor plates.

  “We figured it out. And I’d hate to see someone of your skills be destroyed so pointlessly, but if you’re not gone when I get back here with my buddies we’re going to have to kill you.”

  “Traitors never win. Whatever advantage you think you have will not be enough. You will be destroyed sooner or later.”

  “We’re not V’kit’no’sat, so we can’t be traitors,” Rio said, jumping up off the Zen’zat into the air and hanging there for a moment as the bigger man fought to cut through and destroy the lingering Lachka restraints before Rio could shoot him with impunity, but when he succeeded a few moments later Rio was already above the tree line and flying hard to put distance between himself and the Zen’zat that had to be one of their elites, a tier 3 Tamrenor at minimum. Every other Zen’zat he’d faced here was either a tier 1 Kilnor or a low tier 2 Zardaku, and had he not had a psionics advantage the Zen’zat would have surely killed him.

  Rio dropped a hazard warning on the park area and got the two nearby skeets flying low to strafe anything they saw as he headed to the top of a nearby building and perched himself there, giving his breathing a chance to settle as he scanned the battlemap and tried to make sure that there were enough assets in the area to protect the civilians against the Zen’zat…but no further attack against them materialized, and Rio got the distinct impression that Zen’zat had come here specifically for him, though he did note the other Zen’zat body had been removed and probably taken back to wherever the badass had come from.

  The V’kit’no’sat gunship that had eventually picked up Kaalo set him and the body of the dead Zen’zat down in one of their strongholds on the Ribbon with Kaalo carrying the body out and handing it over to another Zen’zat before proceeding inside a portable V’kit’no’sat structure that had been set up inside one of the demolished cities. He made his way through the large corridors, passing by both Kar’ka and Brat’mar until he came to the commander’s platform that was but a simple room with a single workstation on which a Brat’mar stood with two Zen’zat assistants as they manipulated numerous holographic displays.

  The unarmored Brat’mar turned to look at Kaalo, who retracted his own armor down into thick forearm gauntlets.

  “I do not care for that look,” the Brat’mar said skeptically. “What has transpired?”

  “I engaged their Rio in single combat after he killed one of our Zen’zat. I defeated him, but was unable to land a killing blow before he escaped. I can confirm he has Nakane, Jumat, Ubven, and whether by body or armor has the ability to fly under low power. I can beat him, but he can run from me.”

  “Jumat and Ubven?”

  “Yes.”

  The Brat’mar considered that for a long moment before he spoke again.

  “What of the others?”

  “None have demonstrated the skill he has, but some do have Jumat and I believe it correlates to their armor colors.”

  “What did he wear?”

  “Purple and white. The only one known to bear such markings, but the pinks and golds have also been seen to use Jumat.”

  “You said you defeated him?”

  “He is smaller and slower. Without his psionics he would not have lasted long, but with Ubven he can lock me in place and run at will. If I engage him again I do not expect different results.”

  “No. Now that they know you are here they will target you if possible. I will not risk you again. Stay here and guard against a counterattack, though I do not think they will mount one. Their intent seems to be to evacuate their people. After they are gone they may choose to destroy this construct with us on it.”

  “Even with our prisoners?”

  “That remains to be seen. It is possible they will try to rescue them first. If that occurs, intervene with their infantry alone. Do not go near their battle suits. They are causing us damage. If they land a blow on you, you will die.”

  “Zen’zat know how to evade.”

  “Until we learn more about their capabilities it is not worth the risk,” the Brat’mar commander said, flicking his nose horn towards a bit of air that materialized with a hologram showing new battlesuits being deployed.

  “These are much larger, and we cannot take them down quickly. They have a free shield and sword and can displace us far easier than I like. We have to attack from moderate range in groups, else they will take us down individually. We can run from them, but it is clear these rogue Zen’zat have been preparing to fight us without the help of their sponsor. Their machines give them a chance, though primarily when they have the advantage of numbers. These new battlesuits that they call ‘Voltrons’ are different. I do not think they can stand up to Hjar’at, but with their physical shield they counter our strength.”

  “And if a Zen’zat got close?”

  “You would not be able to break your way inside. They have considerable armor in multiple layers surrounding their pilot. Unless the releases can be hacked, you will not be able to fell them.”

  “Explosives?”

  “Possibly, but others less valuable will test those theories, and without their shields down I see little point. We haven’t been able to claim any wreckage from these Voltrons yet, but if we find a weakness that Zen’zat can exploit I will make use of your skills. Otherwise we will take many more losses.”

  “I saw I’rar’et getting slaughtered. What was the source?”

  “An even larger battlesuit, equivalent to our Ultras,” he said, pulling up another hologram of a two legged machine similar in structure to the smaller models in use. “They call it a madcat 3, and it has so many missiles that the I’rar’et cannot even get close to it.”

  “Countermeasures?”

  “They adjust to cluster fire with contact triggers and blanket the airspace with enough weapons that some will hit, and I’rar’et armor is not capable of holding up to that inferno. Fortunately this battlesuit is too large to fit through most of their streets, so it has a limited usefulness here, but can lock down the airspace of select regions that they are routing evacuees through.”

  “How many more prisoners do we need?”

  “Few, unless they are higher ranked.”

  “Shall we arrange an ambush for one of their golds?”

  “There are attempts being made, but none have succeeded thus far. They work in concert, save for this Rio. If his capture is unfeasible then we must try to kill and revive others. So far the highest we have is a blue, but his mind is damaged from his injuries and we cannot extract much information from him. If they come for the prisoners make sure they fail…but if you can engineer a higher valued replacement for them, take the initiative…but do not go near their battlesuits.”

  “As you wish. Have any attempts been made to recover the prisoners?”

  “Twice, but it was minutes after they were captured and before we could get them to proper confinement. It is because of this and the intelligence that we are recovering that I believe they will try for the others if they can find them. We are not going to make it easy for them, lest they expect a trap, but if they do not attempt so before the rest of this construct’s inhabitants are removed, then we will leave before they can turn their naval guns on us. See to it that you are among the first to leave. You are too valuable to the Brat’mar to be lost here. Let the I’rar’et Zen’zat
take the risks if they wish. This purge will not end with this fleet. I fear it will take many more to destroy them all, and I do not think they will die quickly. Keep your focus on the longer conflict ahead.”

  “As always. My apologies for not completing my mission.”

  “Your confirmation of Ubven is suitable compensation. Had we not learned that here and now, we would have lost many more Zen’zat needlessly. Their sponsor’s treason is not your shame. Ubven is reserved for the most sacred of Zen’zat, and with it comes great power. I am satisfied in that he was not able to defeat you. Go and spread your insights with the others so that they might better prepare.”

  Kaalo clapped his fist against his chest then turned and walked out of the chamber, his armor reforming across his body as he did so.

  3

  March 15, 3602

  Solar System

  Outer Zone

  The remaining vessels in the Hjar’at contingent of the V’kit’no’sat fleet assigned to Terraxis, some 243 in number, continued their slow deceleration in the Outer Zone of the star system as they approached what was now clearly visible as a large sensor-stealthed wall, behind which Garrtak knew they’d find the source of the larger ship reinforcements that Star Force had been drawing upon. He expected there to be considerably more here, especially given the size of the wall that could not defeat V’kit’no’sat sensors at this close range.

  Thus far Star Force had destroyed far more ships than should have been allowed, and the damage returned to them, while of greater magnitude, was not sufficient for the Hjar’at commander. V’kit’no’sat were meant to dominate, not merely win, so he was taking no chances here and bringing all of his remaining ships, as well as assigning himself to this mission while other races attended to duties amongst the planets as he investigated this deep space outpost…hopefully with a lot more ships he could destroy before they left to reinforce the currently embattled fleets.