Star Force: Mak'to'ran (2) Read online

  Everything about the Hjar’at was built around war or preparation for war, and if the V’kit’no’sat were going to survive the instability plaguing them they were going to need the Hjar’at intact, loyal, and not fighting other races.

  Mak’to’ran knew the value in them, he just hoped Hamob had picked the right time and place to further the bonds of brotherhood that Dagobeth had obviously already begun to forge.

  2

  The group traveled a long distance over the tops of the ridge buildings, essentially flying on solid, mostly invisible platforms that were open to the wind. Mak’to’ran’s escorts were close behind along with a handful of Hjar’at, all of which still wore their full armor. Mak’to’ran wondered if there were any assassins eyeing him as he was out in the open, but if there were they didn’t attempt any attack. They hadn’t in Battiwipot, rather striking at fellow I’rar’et that refused to agree with their methods, and a lingering question now was how the Hjar’at would react. Hamob was sending him around the empire not just to negotiate with potential allies, but also to draw out the traitors. He was bait, and sooner or later they were going to strike at him directly…but would it be the Hjar’at to do it?

  Mak’to’ran didn’t think so, but if they did they’d hit the hardest. He was sure of that.

  When they came to the end of their trek across the skytops of the Hjar’at city they were very far away from their landing pad and the protective swarm of starfighters that oddly hadn’t followed them. Had Mak’to’ran been in charge of security he would have had at least one tracking their progress through the Satu. Maybe the Hjar’at had been wary of some action he would take, and now that they’d learned his purpose in coming here had decided there was no threat from him alone…and yet he could see on his armor’s internal displays that the Paklo were still circling over his drop pod.

  Hjar’at were predictable in many ways, but a part of their psyche had always eluded Mak’to’ran. Garrtak he had known well, but the veteran Hjar’at had continually surprised him at the oddest moments. From that he’d learned not to underestimate the battle-savvy quadrupeds, for as brutish as they were at times there was also a sleeping strategic mind within them that occasionally poked itself into evidence.

  When Mak’to’ran descended from the Satu it wasn’t down to street level, but rather the side of one of the ridge buildings near the summit. There an extendable platform moved out to allow them to land and assemble, then as a group the 25 Era’tran followed the Hjar’at inside to another wide expanse with low ceilings. There they found a descending staircase that brought them out onto the side of such a huge chamber it surprised Mak’to’ran. There was far too much air, almost as if…

  Then he saw the Les’i’kron perched in a nook near the floor, its wings tucked back along its body in such a way that they almost disappeared. Not far from it was a large pool that took up half the floor space in what Mak’to’ran deduced to be a neutral meeting place for all the races in the V’kit’no’sat, with the ample air space to accommodate the fliers and the water for the aquatics while providing a large area of land as well with tiered rings of platforms surrounding it containing many different things, including the walkway they were traveling down.

  His Ikrid picked up several more minds hidden from view that were not Hjar’at, and he immediately turned his attention to Dagobeth.

  Why are we here? I was sent to discuss matters with the Hjar’at, not others.

  They have not told me, but I believe we are only passing through this chamber. There are Tayri chambers beneath this, and I suspect that is our destination.

  That made more sense. The Tayri were the negotiation wing of the Hjar’at, and while not quite their leadership they held a considerable amount of influence within their race, for there was no way the Hjar’at were going to allow non-warriors to negotiate for them. Only those with considerable combat experience and wisdom made their way into the Tayri, and given that this was a Hjar’at regional capitol there should be some very high ranking members here.

  As Dagobeth predicted they headed lower into the ambassadorial chamber then ducked into a tunnel-like exit that brought them down into the more predictable flat architecture the Hjar’at preferred. The Era’tran were led through a kill zone of tunnels so narrow that they had to walk single file to allow traffic to pass from the other direction, though there was little of it. Eventually their tunnel opened out to a smaller, but still widespread level that had a few dozen Hjar’at in it…including one very powerful mind that Mak’to’ran could feel seething nearby.

  Their path brought the Era’tran towards it, then a Hjar’at half again as big as most of the others walked out from behind a wall and into view. His gray/green skin was covered with tattoos that Mak’to’ran instantly recognized and he drew in a surprised breath, for this wasn’t one of the Tayri. This was Yaquik. The eldest and arguably one of the most powerful Hjar’at in existence with a battle record so long that the corresponding tattoos spread across more than half his body.

  “Show me our new enemy,” the Hjar’at said with an echoing telepathic insistence behind it that almost made Mak’to’ran’s head hurt.

  The Era’tran stared down slightly, but the Hjar’at’s head rode higher than the others due to his size, leaving it still lower than Mak’to’ran’s but with a sea of clear spines rising taller than him to reinforce the lethal power he could sense telepathically along with an anger that he guessed was not directed at him, for when a Hjar’at disliked you their biological cues were hard to miss.

  Mak’to’ran trigged his armor to produce the holograms that contained the information and chose the ship that the Era’tran had engaged in the Preserve to show him first, both a schematic and the actual battle footage. He let it play through for more than a minute while Yaquik remained silent, then a cascade ripple of blue lighting energy traveled from his neck spines up and over the arch of his back and disappeared on his tail as the Hjar’at’s eyes looked into Mak’to’ran’s faceplate.

  “Show yourself, Era’tran.”

  Mak’to’ran retracted the armor over his head, but left the rest intact as he locked eyes with his counterpart. Part of him couldn’t stand submission, even if this Hjar’at effectively outranked him, so he held his ground with a counter stare and just enough telepathic aura to let Yaquik know he was holding his ground, but not making any form of attack out of it…physically, psionically, or thematically.

  “You are known to me, but your refusal to answer Itaru’s call has been perplexing. It speaks of treason in a time where we are known to have traitors amongst us. Show me your claws.”

  Mak’to’ran withdrew the armor over his hands, then guessing as to his meaning flashed his red energy over them, causing all the other Hjar’at nearby to recoil angrily, but not Yaquik. A quick telepathic ordered from the elder Hjar’at calmed them out of attack mode as Mak’to’ran let the offensive glow linger long enough to make the point, then he dissipated it and recovered them with his armor.

  “The rumors are true,” Yaquik said casually. “You have committed treason.”

  “Have I?” Mak’to’ran challenged.

  “You have directly defied Itaru, and your illegitimate Saroto’kanse’vam are a far greater trespass than your refusal to heed the recall. Era’tran are reputed to have superior intelligence, so I assume you have a plan in this. Why have you sought me out?”

  “I was sent by Hamob to warn the Hjar’at of the threats we face. I did not know that I would find you here.”

  “Hamob…” Yaquik mewed. “He has always been annoyingly right in reflection, but he has never known how to please others.”

  “Coming from a Hjar’at that is almost humorous,” Mak’to’ran quipped.

  “Simply stating a fact is preferable to teasing it before others, and he has a habit for the latter.”

  “The dominant should be capable of deconstructing a tease. If not, are they still worthy?”

  “Then you come here with a challenge, Era�
��tran?”

  “I do. We are not traitors, but we are defying Itaru. I am visible symbol of this, and as you noted, we are not being subtle about it,” he said as he dropped his armor’s passive shields. That went unnoticed by those not viewing him in Pefbar, but the shimmer that soon covered his body did not. He let it pool around him then threw out a ring-like Jumat blast that barely budged the Hjar’at and Era’tran nearby, but it sent them all into even further shock, for not even his own Era’tran had known he possessed Jumat. “I come as loyal V’kit’no’sat seeking the assistance of others to root out the corruption within us.”

  “You truly wish to goad the Oso’lon, don’t you?” Yaquik said, visibly getting calmer while the other Hjar’at looked like they were ready to attack and put down the traitor here and now if given the order. “Were you holding back or is that the extent of your power?”

  “Holding back, but the psionic is new to me.”

  “And the rest of you?” Yaquik asked, gesturing towards the other Era’tran.

  “Only I have it and a few others of equal need. If I am to be the bait to draw out the traitors, I already suffer enough disadvantage. This helps to counter it.”

  “I could still kill you now if I wished.”

  “Perhaps so, but no loyal V’kit’no’sat will harm another. If you are one of the traitors, then the empire might as well start its self-destruction here and now.”

  “You are a bold one, Mak’to’ran, and I think Hamob has encouraged you to be even more so. He is playing a dangerous game.”

  “This is no game. The empire is in peril, and we must act to preserve what parts we can before all is destroyed…and we will not wait for Itaru’s permission to do our duty.”

  “And what duty is that?”

  “This is not the only advanced race we have discovered,” Mak’to’ran said, altering the still present holograms into rows of ship hulls, each from the different races seen in the Preserve and laying them out before Yaquik to display the mounting incompetence of Itaru. “If we do not know of these threats, then it is because Itaru has not been looking. Such powerful races cannot go unheard of in the rim, and it may be that Itaru has been blocking our exploration and surveillance in order to allow the Star Force heresy to ally with these powers to unknown ends. The treason runs far deeper than previously believed.”

  Yaquik studied each of the ship hulls carefully, saying nothing but with his eye line telling Mak’to’ran of his progress. When he finished inspecting the last one he sent a quick telepathic ping to the Era’tran indicating that he wanted more details.

  Mak’to’ran responded by pulling most of the ship hulls away and leaving only three, around which analysis data was displayed that showed bits and pieces of unknown technology. When those three passed his inspection Yaquik signaled for the next set as he silently reviewed the data while the surrounding Hjar’at increased in number as more arrived to surround the Era’tran, making it clear that they would not be leaving if Yaquik decided otherwise.

  But Mak’to’ran wasn’t concerned with them as he continued to feed data to the elder Hjar’at, who grew more and more intense as he inspected the reconnaissance data that ended with profiles on each of the altered Hadarak.

  “Hamob was right…once again,” Yaquik said slowly and reluctantly, for he knew the implications of this. “Itaru has betrayed us.”

  “No!” another Hjar’at all but yelled. “These are the traitors and they will be dealt with now!”

  The jewelry covering the four stubby legs on the Hjar’at transformed into pieces of armor that did not cover his entire body, but were enough to carry shield generators that flashed on to protect him from incoming energy weaponry as he and two other nearby Hjar’at flashed their Saroto’kanse’vam into full power, with the clear spines glowing pure blue and ready to cut through anything that had the bad fortune of touching them.

  Sparks of lightning flew between them as the trio sprinted forward, with the leading Hjar’at firing a huge lightning cascade at Mak’to’ran, hitting his reformed shields as they also came on full and the Era’tran escorts rushed into combat positions, but the lead Era’tran didn’t fall back. He stepped forward and held his ground as all the Era’tran circled up tail to tail in a defensive ring that held the armorless Dagobeth in the center as Mak’to’ran’s armored faceplate reformed.

  The three Hjar’at charged forward, lowering their heads and ready to spin into battle rolls, but as the leader got close enough to plant his four legs and begin a springing leap forward that would begin the roll, the armorless Yaquik flashed into view so fast that it even surprised the Era’tran, with the elder Hjar’at body slamming into the side of the impudent attacker and knocking him sideways as he pressed flesh against flesh while hitting him below his glowing Saroto’kanse’vam.

  The Hjar’at fell sideways as Yaquik whipped his tail around and lashed the following Hjar’at across the face with enough force that it twisted his head around and nearly dumped him to the ground, though the elder Hjar’at’s Saroto’kanse’vam remained unenergized.

  “Submit!” he yelled with an even more terrifying telepathic copy of the words emanating out along with a Fornax field that half succeeded in making Mak’to’ran’s body go wobbly, but none of the Era’tran fell. Had Yaquik attacked them in that moment he would have had a significant advantage but his rage was not turned on the Era’tran, rather the three attacking Hjar’at that were staggering as they tried to remain standing with the leader flopping on the floor where Yaquik had knocked him down.

  Then the third attacker, the one that Yaquik had not made physical contact with, did the unthinkable. He fired a Saroto’kanse’vam energy discharge at his fellow Hjar’at.

  Yaquik’s own Saroto’kanse’vam snapped active and caught the energy cascade, absorbing it on the spherical shield effect they created that would also protect against the glowing spines, but not in more than 3 million years had a Hjar’at turned their Saroto’kanse’vam against another Hjar’at…and that single act sent the remaining Hjar’at into a frenzy that Mak’to’ran had never witnessed before.

  Hold position, Mak’to’ran ordered his escorts as they stayed tucked into their outward facing circle, but unfortunately they didn’t have the option of not fighting, for some of the other Hjar’at chose to attack them as well. None of them got close enough to ram, for even as the Era’tran returned fire with their large belly-mounted canons other Hjar’at came rushing in and intercepted the charges, peeling the attackers off without using their own Saroto’kanse’vam as weapons. It looked more like a wrestling match for the helpful Hjar’at, but those trying to attack the Era’tran did turn their Saroto’kanse’vam against their fellow Hjar’at as well.

  Mak’to’ran didn’t see any clean hits, with their targets hunkering down and using their own canopy shields to absorb or deflect the strikes, but if they could get to their underbelly the spines would cut them up with only a few hits once they got past the technological shields a few of them had, and even fewer actually had full armor on, but those that did quickly began to dominate the fight along with Yaquik, who apparently didn’t need armor to handle these traitors. His larger size was an advantage, but he was displaying unnatural speed beyond anything Mak’to’ran’s former Hjar’at sparring partners had demonstrated.

  More and more Hjar’at arrived from elsewhere and soon the Era’tran were surrounded by so many flashing spines and energy discharges that Mak’to’ran was rattled. He held his Era’tran to their circle, tucking in tight to remove any gaps and make the Hjar’at face so much weaponsfire if they did get through that they might be struck down before they could cut the Era’tran to pieces. After a few insane minutes one of the Hjar’at did get through and tried a battle roll into the other side of the Era’tran formation where Mak’to’ran couldn’t physically reach, but his Lachka could. Together with the other 24 Era’tran they all pushed as one and were able to stop the charge just shy of the spines hitting Jatt’ri.

  Th
at Era’tran and four others on his flanks fired on the Hjar’at with their Dir’ken cannons, firing short lived energy orbs that slammed into the Hjar’at shields along with Dre’mo’don shots coming from arm-mounted weapons…then they ceased fire as a Hjar’at got to the now shieldless attacker that was showing a few burn marks as it tried to scramble away.

  The incoming Hjar’at rammed it, and had it chosen to use its spines its target would have been gutted, but instead it dipped down and side slammed it into a tumble then kicked into its gut several times with its forward legs, almost standing on it, until the Hjar’at submitted and its spines lost their glow.

  The prisoner wasn’t guarded, for the other Hjar’at moved off to attack/defend others, and oddly the defeated one with smoking burn marks laid down on the ground, tucking its legs underneath it and curling up in a defensive ball as it held still. Mak’to’ran reached out to it telepathically, intending on getting into its mind to try and figure out what it was doing, then he realized it had also been damaged mentally with an equally obvious defensive cocoon formed around it that was reeling with damage.

  Apparently when the Hjar’at had been fighting physically there had been a mental war as well and this one had lost and was now reduced to a casualty despite the fact that his physical wounds were not that debilitating. Mak’to’ran was quite familiar with mental warfare, but he’d never seen nor heard of it occurring between Hjar’at, and whatever had happened to this one was on a level of attack that surpassed his knowledge.

  Apparently the Hjar’at were as equally vicious with Ikrid attacks as they were the physical, and he warned his Era’tran to armor over their minds as they continued to hold their defense ring in a picture of calm control while the landscape around them was littered with crazed Hjar’at fighting each other in a battle that was only escalating as more arrived from other areas of the building.