Star Force: Excursion (SF46) Read online

  “We begin evacuating to the sanctuary zone with the rest of the Alliance.”

  The queen puffed out multiple little spurts of air in all directions, nulling out the movement but producing a razzing sound of displeasure.

  “That would be folly,” a fourth Hycre said. “It would take centuries to build new worlds equal to what we already possess. Abandon our territory and we hand victory to the Cajdital.”

  “I concur,” Bv’en said, snaking a tendril out to a control board and producing a holographic map between the Hycre leaders for emphasis. The map showed the widely spaced Hycre systems, many of which now sat inside Cajdital ‘territory,’ though their enemy didn’t possess all systems in the area, leaving many uninhabited or unclaimed ones that were useable for transit, but the former Alliance worlds belonging to other races were quickly falling, leaving the Hycre as the last man standing in many regions.

  A handful of the systems were highlighted with danger markings, indicating that they were under assault, with intelligence coming in through courier ships for the most part now that the Bsidd relay grid had mostly been destroyed, which meant that the data wasn’t as current as it used to be. They’d requested the specifications of the technology from the Bsidd so they could patch or reroute around breaches in the grid, but they’d hadn’t responded to their multiple requests and the Hycre didn’t expect them to now after several years of silence…which from the Bsidd was their polite way of saying ‘shut up and stop asking.’

  In fact, all Alliance coordination and assistance on the Kvash half of their combined territory had ground to a halt. Those races that hadn’t chosen to relocate to the Sanctuary Zone had either thrown in with the Kvash or Bsidd, or just backed out of the Alliance altogether, attempting to find their own means of surviving the Cajdital advance.

  The Hycre still had systems in those regions, which they were continuing to defend, but the Kvash and Bsidd wanted nothing to do with them now, for what reasons they couldn’t fully comprehend.

  “We must maintain our current territory,” Bv’en continued. “Time is now our ally, for with every year that passes we field more of the Shaven vessels. They are wholly superior to the Cajdital fleet, and with them I believe we can hold out against their advance.”

  “But we don’t have the ships to hold our territory now,” one of the other Hycre leaders stated, this one serving the queen as her master builder.

  “Not all of it, no,” Bv’en conceded. “Which why I suggest that we temporarily evacuate these systems down to a minimal caretaker population,” he said, adjusting the hologram with dozens of dots shifting color. “We can sink the clusters below what the Cajdital have shown to be capable of reaching while leaving a few ships behind with them. Our orbital facilities will be a loss, but if we can maintain functioning clusters in a type of stasis we can return to these worlds later, once our fleet is full of Shaven, and restore them to productive status without having to rebuild.”

  “How long will this take?” Arnja’el asked.

  “It will take many years to evacuate them, then well more than a century to build up our fleet. It will allow the worlds we choose to hold greater defense and less distance the Shaven have to travel to respond to attacks,” Bv’en said, using the Hycre term for ‘hybrid’ to describe their warships that incorporated Star Force tech into the design.

  “Where would these evacuees go?” the Hycre in charge of internal harmony asked.

  “To the new colonies in the Sanctuary Zone,” Bv’en said firmly. “There they can assist in building Shaven to send back here, but it is here that we must make our stand. If the Cajdital destroy our primary shipyards the war of attrition will weigh heavily in their favor. The Sanctuary Zone production must add to this, not replace it.”

  “Can Star Force protect the Sanctuary Zone without us?”

  “They do not have the numbers,” Bv’en dismissed offhand.

  “But they do have the technology,” the master builder said. “I have seen data from a recent weapons test in their second home system. They have developed a medium-ranged weapon of immense power, and of a type I cannot categorize. It is energy-based, but neither beam nor plasma. They are keeping the nature of the weapon a secret, but not its damage potential. I believe they fear our portion of the Alliance cracking, and are releasing this information to instill unity and hope in securing the Sanctuary Zone, but they are not sharing the technology with us.”

  “Have we received a response regarding the relay technology?” Arnja’el asked.

  “They have offered us a choice between their older, slower models…which we just received the specifications for two days ago, or the option of them building newer models for our use.”

  “In exchange for what?” the logistics chief wondered.

  “They offered their older schematics freely, but the production of their newer models would be in trade for assistance with deep mining of gas giants. They are having trouble procuring enough specialized materials, namely corovon, to produce their advanced technology. They have located a number of sources but are unable to reach them, given the pressures involved. They want us to teach them how to access them.”

  “Material in exchange for knowledge?” Arnja’el asked.

  “Star Force has garnered a reputation amongst the other races as generous, as this exchange would also suggest, but I believe they are savvy negotiators who do not allow others to know what it is that they want or need, so as to not provide diplomatic leverage. It is quite possible that this mining technology is essential to their future plans…then again it could be simply an enhancement that they desire. What their motivation is, I do not know. But their breakneck advancement belies great wisdom in their planning. If not for their small population they would be able to hold back the Cajdital on their own.”

  “Then it is fortuitous that we came to their aid when we did,” Arnja’el pointed out. “Sanction the exchange.”

  “Looking at this map,” the internal harmony adjutant said, addressing Bv’en, “you would have us cede several valuable worlds, including Darmek. How is that in our best interests?”

  “They are valuable in a non-military sense. We must build more ships, thus those worlds with extensive shipyards and material resources take priority. And we will not be ceding them to the Cajdital, for they cannot claim them. Only we can live there, and it is possible that if we appear to abandon them they might not try to get at the sunken clusters…or even realize they exist.”

  “A big assumption on your part.”

  “A probability,” Bv’en countered. “Regardless, we cannot waste resources guarding extraneous systems. If we can preserve them for later, it is best not to devote fleet resources to them.”

  “Is this a limited list?” Arnja’el asked.

  “I do not understand your question.”

  “Have you chosen the minimum number of worlds to lie dormant?”

  “I have. Any fewer and our continued existence is a gamble. The Cajdital will send as many ships as necessary to defeat us, so only by feigning weakness and hiding our true strength will we buy enough time to create enough Shaven. Grouping our existing fleet deployments gives us more regional strength than they are expecting.”

  “Then I command you to choose more worlds to lie dormant. Keep only those that are vitally important to us and send the rest to the Sanctuary Zone,” she said, startling the other four Hycre, with Bv’en seeming unphased. “We cannot act meekly, and if these worlds can be reclaimed later then we should not be hesitant to hide them away now. Choose no more than half to keep, and go as low as you dare. When we are surrounded by enemies, our footholds must be like stone.”

  “We will lose resources,” the logistics chief informed without complaint.

  “If the exchange is greater, then so be it. Choose your worlds carefully,” she told Bv’en, “then begin relocating all non-essential personnel from all our worlds to the Sanctuary Zone. We need to lean our numbers here before the Cajdital grow bolder
in their attacks. See to it that transportation begins immediately, then allow the evacuees from the worlds we are abandoning to transition through here. Let them feel the atmosphere of a secure world before they go to the Sanctuary Zone so that they know this is a strategic decision rather than a defeat.”

  “Are we staying to buy time for Star Force?” the oracle of wisdom asked.

  “We are staying because this is our home and we intend to keep it,” Arnja’el said stoically, “but the two motivations are not mutually exclusive.”

  6 years later…

  “Fourth section has arrived,” Captain Dseng said, taking a momentary break from overseeing the Starkill’s drone fleet as it fought the Skarrons around the perimeter of the construction site.

  “Bring it in immediately,” Jennifer-801 ordered from the bridge command nexus, having taken direct control of the construction drones. “And get that jump cradle out of here before the Skarrons strafe it to death.”

  “Copy that,” Dseng said, then he went about issuing orders to his remote pilots who were also on the bridge and spread out into rows of control booths. On the main hologram several dozen of the drone warships peeled off from their defensive assignments and retreated in to the massive space station Star Force was constructing in orbit over Praxnek, a Protovic world that had been a Skarron target for more than two years, but one that the enemy had failed to land more than a few ground units on.

  Both the Protovic fleet and Star Force’s smaller naval force, that was constantly jumping around from system to system to assist on multiple fronts, had managed to hold planetary orbit at great cost, with the Skarrons responding by upping the pressure periodically, with this latest assault hitting them hardest of all…simultaneous with other assaults across Protovic space. This planet was the most vulnerable and on the verge of falling, which was why Star Force had retasked one of its Sentinel stations for deployment here, and after the debacle the Skarrons had suffered when they’d assaulted the one set up at Erentia they knew they couldn’t let another one come into play here.

  As a result they’d repositioned their entire insystem fleet and sent them after the first piece of the jumpship-sized station that had arrived, with the Protovic moving en mass to block their way, leaving all Star Force warships to set up the final defensive perimeter and escort the massive jump cradles in and out from the star they were arriving on.

  Each one looked like a giant spider with legs that would wrap around the craft they were carrying and extend an IDF field over the entire inner area, as well as latching on with any range of physical holds. Current there was an empty one sitting a couple of kilometers away from the station that Jennifer was hurriedly putting together, for the massive segments had been designed for quick assembly, though like with all new toys, some assembly was required.

  The drones that broke off formed a wedge ahead of the cradle, whose legs were now curled in underneath it and creating a much smaller presence than what it had just been. It had a small crew onboard that took control of the drones after it reached an outgoing jumpline, pulling them with it in nearly simultaneous jumps and hanging onto the escort until it got to the star and an outsystem jumpline. There they ordered the drones to return to the planet, but they’d be late getting back to the party.

  The jump cradle that had just arrived was likewise built by Star Force, having slightly patterned themselves off the Hycre version, and inside its open space hold it carried a 7 kilometer long piece of Sentinel that contained several package pieces ‘glued’ alongside. Once it made it past the Skarrons and into the ‘safe’ zone that Star Force and the Protovic were mostly holding and losing a lot of ships to maintain, the jump cradle moved it into position alongside the other three main segments that were already attached, with Jennifer getting it into the position she wanted before dismissing the cradle, but not ordering it out.

  There was enough room in the defensive perimeter for it to sit for the moment, and she didn’t want to lose more drones in escort or risk losing the cradle and crew by sending it out alone. She picked the spot she wanted it and sent the nearby coordinates, getting it clear of the massive chunk of station that her construction ‘bots’ scurried out to and began removing the extraneous pieces.

  Some of the bots moved into positions around the perimeter of the mass and latched on, becoming maneuvering thrusters, and very gently lowered it down atop the other three, forming a long, cigar-like grey gem with multiple faces, all with sharp lines and not a single curve in the design. Onto those faces the extra pieces were added, some fitting into preexisting slots and all but disappearing inside, others remaining on the surface like ugly warts.

  Jennifer knew they were running out of time, so even as the last pieces were being put into place she began reworking the internal configuration of the completely automated station and got one of the lower cleansing beams online, then routed control of it over to one of the pilots on her warship, bumping him from drone control and leaving his drone with only 2 pilots instead of 3.

  The pilot immediately put the large cleansing beam to use, targeting the strongest of the Skarron vessels within firing range, for many were blocked by friendly ships, and proceeded to put a shot into its shields that penetrated within a second and a half. When it abated there was a small hole in the ship that was otherwise fully intact.

  The next shot didn’t hit the ship, but picked another and likewise breached its shields, leaving it vulnerable to the Protovic fleet. Wisely the pilot continued with the targeting motif, plucking shields off the Skarrons’ heaviest ships rather than taking the time to cut one apart.

  Satisfied with that addition to the battle, Jennifer continued with the construction efforts and avoided any more reprogramming shortcuts, knowing that the cleansing beam she’d jerry-rigged would have to be taken offline and retasked before it could link up with the others. Normally that would have been accomplished with only a few keystrokes, except that the Sentinel station was designed with moveable internal equipment that would allow for reconfigurations to keep it fighting at maximum potential when suffering from battle damage.

  Getting the fourth piece in place took too long, but in reality was accomplished in all of 6 minutes once the main section made physical contact with the others…which was remarkably fast for the size of the project they were undertaking. As the construction bots scurried out of the way and back to their own specialized jumpship sitting nearby, the cleansing beam went silent as the internal components began to shift, but the other 9 large batteries came online instantly once the primary power cores synced up, which Jennifer quickly delegated off to more of her crew, leaving the main extra large battery silent to save juice…plus none of the Skarron ships were strong enough to require its attention anyway.

  With its power being rerouted to the others cleansing beams the 26 kilometer long behemoth began spitting out tiny lines of light that looked like tinsel falling off a Christmas tree, inconsequential compared to the overall mass…but those tiny little beams were so concentrated with energy they ripped through Skarron shields and armor with ease, prompting a massive retreat 20 seconds after they saw the station go operational.

  The Protovic fleet, or what was left of it, let the Skarrons go, but the Sentinel station continued to tag them at range until they all microjumped out, giving the Alliance a 1000+ mile radius around the station into which the Skarrons wouldn’t go unless they had overwhelming numbers…and at present they didn’t have close to enough ships within the system, and probably wouldn’t for some time.

  That didn’t prevent them from assaulting the planet from other locations in orbit, but it did mean the Alliance now had a foothold that the Skarrons would be hard pressed to remove…and to which any ships would greatly add to the defense, for the enemy had to throw everything they had against the station to take it out, with any delay resulting in egregious damage to their fleet while its cleansing beams remained active.

  “Begin recovery operations,” Jennifer ordered once the Skarr
ons were well away. “I’ll get the construction bots to help,” she said, referencing their own control pilots onboard their jumpship and the massive amount of debris and damaged ships left behind in a crude halo around the now fully operational station as the Archon saw the 10th cleansing beam move into the green on her holographic schematic. That meant it was good to go and any Star Force warship or properly equipped outpost could remote control it and let the Skarrons waste hundreds of ships taking it out if they so chose, and if not, it would pick apart any fleet that came near it, letting Alliance vessels run towards it for sanctuary.

  Yet one more piece in the overall ADZ defense line now in place. Problem was, the massive stations were both hard and expensive to build, but worth every bit of their construction. And the longer the conventional forces of the Alliance could hold their turf, the more of these would come online, making the ADZ that much harder to breach, whether it be Skarrons, lizards, or anyone else.

  Time was on their side, so long as they could win or reduce these current and near future battles to a draw. Doing such was burning through a lot of Star Force drones and an even larger amount of Protovic lives as their unaugmented ships were aggressively defending their territory, knowing the stakes and the overall strategy, and leaving their growing mainline fleet with roving duty as they hunted the Skarrons with their own cleansing beams and maulers.

  The old school ships and their crews were the barricades being thrown up as defense, and they were committed to doing their part, no matter how many of them were lost to the effort, if it would ensure the Protovic race’s survival.

  3

  May 3, 2502

  Rvot System (Protovic territory)

  Praxnek

  Two days after the Sentinel went online Jennifer boarded a dropship and descended to the surface of the varied planet, landing in an ice field where the Protovic didn’t have any native populations. There Star Force had been allowed to establish a small base that it was continually expanding into a home for a significant ground force. With the Skarrons looking like they were fully committed to conquering the Protovic no matter how long it took, Star Force had decided to put down roots as well rather than flying in troops and dropping them into combat zones essentially unsupported.