Star Force: Revelation (SF79) Read online

  Brad telekinetically lifted the arm up, knowing that there would be more data collection inside the chamber but right now it was a moot point, for they were going to make damn sure no one else went through this transformation.

  “Have a seat. We’ll bring you additional foodstuffs while we chat.”

  “Thank you, Brad,” Radonon said as he stepped out, his bare feet clicking on the floor for the first time as the stubs of claws or talons were beginning to show. “We do have a great deal to discuss, and I won’t be fully able to answer your questions until my mind is complete. The knowledge is unspooling as I speak.”

  “Food first then,” Brad said as he spun around and headed for the door, then hesitated and half turned his head back. “You won’t go anywhere?”

  “Yes, we do have a sense of humor,” Radonon said, picking up on and answering the reflexive probe.

  “Probably helps make up for the ugliness,” Brad said, glancing at Kip as he walked out. This one’s not dumb.

  2

  March 2, 3092

  Aphat System (Bsidd Region)

  Nym

  Kip walked into the visitor ‘gallery’ outside the containment shield where Brad and a couple of mages were sitting. Vortison was nowhere to be seen, nor were his typical replacements. Brad knew he had to take breaks, just as the Archons, but he usually left someone else here to actively monitor the data feeds coming in from the biomonitor still attached to Radonon’s head, though it’d slipped off numerous times during the physical transition that was now complete.

  The Chixzon was sitting on a stool on the opposite side of the energy shield with its tail wrapped around the vertical pylon, the tip of which was twitching rhythmically against the solid floor and making a dull ‘thud’ every time it hit. It was colored black, but transitioned into splotches of dark green halfway up. Its legs were likewise colored, with its solid torso being blank. Apparently the splotches were badges of merit and would augment the standard ones that were emblematic of their civilization’s achievements once Radonon earned them.

  His arms still had hands and five fingers, but coming off the elbow there were spine-like limbs tucked into niches on his forearms that he could pull clear and use whenever he wanted. He had more on his upper arms that ended in telescoping talons while the lower ones were blunted and much thicker, intended to be used for movement rather than attacks. The talons doubled as poison injectors in addition to the ones in the palms, though they each had different types of poison, not all of which were lethal, that could be customized as needed depending on the target race and whether you wanted to debilitate or even just stun your opponent, giving the Chixzon an easy way of taking prisoners when they so wanted.

  Radonon’s head no longer looked Protovic, for it had elongated out into a skull twice the size that accommodated the additional brain tissue by stretching out into a cone tapered backwards, leaving the facial structure more or less the same. His nose was covered with a nubby spine that was only a little more dense than the rest of his light armor-caliber skin, and like other segments of his body it was black with dark green splotches. Gone was the Protovic exoskeleton and bioluminescence, replaced by a ghastly and intimidating visage of a being that was almost entirely black save for the green patches, but the most prominent feature was the two limbs coming off his back.

  Situated like wings, the two bendable limbs arched up behind his head like ornamental brackets and could bend forward into much larger versions of the talons on his arms. They had enough reach that he could shoot them forward in a stabbing motion or twist them around to do the same in just about any direction, giving the Chixzon a bit of StarCraft’s Kerrigan in his body shape. They did not have poison, but rather armor piercing capabilities in the form of an energy coating that worked like a dull lightsaber blade. They were strong as metal and sharp enough to do damage on their own, but once activated they could tear through just about anything given enough time.

  They were the only bioluminescence that the Chixzon had in addition to the eyes, both of which glowed green but could be triggered at will. When not active, both the back spike mandibles and the eyes appeared pitch black, matching the majority of the rest of its body coloration, including the toe talons that were built more like cats’ claws than anything else. They could do damage but were mainly for grip, with the Chixzon being impressive jumpers and would bound more than run from place to place.

  Right now that wasn’t being tested, for Radonon was still confined to his private quarters with at least 2 Archon guards stationed here round the clock so he couldn’t tear his way out through the walls or use his limited telekinesis to otherwise escape. He’d made an attempt earlier, right in view of Brad so he knew he wasn’t serious about an escape…then was appalled when he realized that the Human had the ability to disrupt his own telekinesis.

  Radonon was learning from them while they were learning from him, but Kip knew he wasn’t going anywhere, as did the Chixzon. But as long as he was stuck here he might at least gain what information he could, with the hopes that Star Force would come to the conclusion that it was better to side with the Chixzon than against them, though Radonon was truthfully allowing a long exploration period without taking offense to insure the Humans and their empire knew what it was that they were being offered…and threatened with.

  “Morning sunshine,” Kip said as he sat down next to Brad, though his comment was directed at Radonon. It was hard not to think of him as such, for the Nefron he knew seemed to have been completely replaced by a new person, though he knew that wasn’t technically correct. Visually, and even mentally, he was totally different and didn’t identify himself with his past, with his memories having been converted into useful data while his Chixzon manufactured memories were what he clung to as his sense of self.

  “Is it? I seem to have lost track of time. How long then before you let me do some real workouts? The hamster wheel you’ve got in here is insulting.”

  “Do you even know what a hamster is?” Brad asked.

  Radonon thought for a moment. “I don’t believe so. It’s just a phrase I learned from others. You know well that I have nowhere to go. Even if I broke free and spread the transformation to the rest of the Protovic on the planet you would act immediately to control the situation. There is no hope of success there, so why will you not believe me when I state my intentions? You can confirm them directly, so why not let me have a proper facility to use?”

  “One is being built,” Brad answered. “Have to keep the air clear, and we don’t feel like dispossessing others to accommodate you.”

  “Or do you intend to withhold it in exchange for my assistance?”

  “You should know us better than that,” Kip floated as one of the mages got up and left.

  “Farewell, Weyni,” Radonon said, waving a hand at the departing Archon.

  “Nefron,” she replied evenly before disappearing.

  Radonon made a chirping sound with his teeth clicking together that Kip could sense was a sign of frustration. “Outdated moniker,” he commented, but otherwise let the name drop pass. “So, Kip. What shall we talk about today…or would you like to spar? If your armor has corovon elements my cutting edges will not be able to penetrate it quickly, so there will be no real threat to you.”

  “Trying to gage our strengths?”

  “The more we understand of one another the better…plus this body is new and needs calibration, so we would both benefit from it. I can promise I will not hold back, so you can accurately ascertain my current strength.”

  “Not today,” Kip dismissed. “What were you discussing?” he asked Brad.

  “It seems they have learned to create biological starships.”

  Kip raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” he said icily.

  “Constructs only,” Radonon assured him. “They had a similar reaction of distaste. They are not living beings, nor do we rely upon them. They are merely one element in our concord, but one that most other races cannot comprehend.”
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  “Used for what purpose?”

  “Many. We do not build as quickly as Star Force. Your material collection and processing rates are astounding. You should truly be proud of that accomplishment.”

  “Lose the patronizing,” Amy said.

  “We are superior, so you misunderstand my tone. Until you come to accept that, many things you will misinterpret. You build faster than us, but not better. Our technology is far superior, and a good portion of that is what you would call biotech. Our word for it is ‘Hamjat.’ It will continue to function where mechanical elements will not.”

  “Such as when they detonate a certain weapon,” Brad added for Kip’s benefit.

  “Ion cannon?”

  “More or less,” Brad answered, sensing that Radonon didn’t catch the reference. “The Chixzon don’t always go for the brute force approach. They come at you from the sides whenever possible, and are used to winning that way. I don’t think they do well in a straight up fight.”

  “If we are mismatched, why would we fight in such a manner? You should not begrudge us this given your aversion to losing troops.”

  “Paul would eat them alive navally,” Brad said, eyeing Radonon.

  The Chixzon did an approximation of a smile with his rock-like lips bending ever so slightly. “I remember his reputation, but I am curious to meet him. Is that to ever occur?”

  “Not on the schedule at the moment,” Brad said as he sensed another person approaching.

  “Ah, the master manipulator is back,” Radonon said a few seconds before Vortison entered the doorway, having sensed him approaching. “Still failing to find a way to do the undoable?”

  “I’m fairly confident now,” he said, ignoring the Chixzon and addressing the Archons. “But I can make no guarantees.”

  “A new attempt?” Radonon asked curiously but laced with sarcasm and boredom, for he knew there was no undoing what had been done. The Chixzon had made sure of that in their programming, for this had not been a hasty measure. They had fought long and hard to give their scientists enough time to get this right and spread the seeds before they were presumably wiped out in one final grand push, with the surviving Chixzon going to their deaths and hoping to take as many of their enemies with them as possible to create a more fertile future galaxy for their seeds to grow within.

  “Do we need to throw you inside or will you walk?” Brad asked evenly.

  “I trust in your ethics,” Radonon said, uncurling his tail from the stool and standing up, his claw talons clicking on the floor as he shuffled his way over to the medical station with his tail riding a few inches off ground level and oscillating behind him.

  “But don’t share them,” Kip added.

  “You are predictable at least, if not fully competent,” he said as Brad lowered the arm bar to seal him in. “That you have accomplished this much is testament to your potential, which with our help you could fully unlock.”

  “Still trying to sell us that deal?” Kip asked.

  “Attempting to open your eyes to the logic of it, yes,” Radonon said as he placed his black hands on the sphere. “What are you attempting today?”

  “Your transformation is complete, correct?” Brad asked.

  “It is.”

  “And what of your transformation mechanism. Is it still active?”

  “If you are attempting to grow additional brain tissue, it will not be affected. Now that I am fully Chixzon the transitional programming has eradicated itself and only exists within other seeds. There is no need for me to carry it any longer.”

  “Software too?”

  “The full process is complete,” Radonon reiterated. “I carry nothing of the seed.”

  “So I believe,” Vortison echoed, “but I’ve been wrong before.”

  “You can do a partial?”

  The medtech nodded.

  “Make it small,” Kip said, giving him the go ahead.

  “Am I to guess?” Radonon asked.

  “No, you’re to stand still and shut up,” Brad quipped.

  Radonon huffed once, but decided there was no point in arguing and did as they wished. A few seconds later he was unconscious and standing within the device like a statue.

  “He’s out,” Vortison said, looking at Brad. “I have no idea how this will interface even if it works.”

  “Bit by bit then and see what happens. We’re not in a rush.”

  Vortison closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. “I suppose I am.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. None of us expected this,” Kip said, guessing at his thoughts even though he couldn’t read them.

  “He was my responsibility and I failed him. There is no getting around that.”

  “Let me rephrase then. Don’t distrust your judgement, for it did not fail. We stumbled across something much larger than we’d ever imagined and it took us all by surprise. It wasn’t lack of skill that created this situation, it was lack of understanding.”

  “I still screwed up.”

  “Don’t do so again by rushing or second guessing yourself,” Brad said stiffly. “This was our idea too, and Nefron is also our responsibility. If we can’t return him to his original form that is our failure, but we’ve let it go now. We’re not going to abandon him, but we’re going to work the problem for what it is rather than trying to get back to what cannot be. This happened, we lost, now time for the next battle.”

  “I’m not getting sloppy,” Vortison promised. “I just don’t like him having to live like this.”

  “It’s done…and you didn’t do it. The Chixzon did with their hidden programming. You just didn’t find it in time. They’re to blame, not you. We did screw up, but we’re not the one who caused it. Now we have a lot of work to do to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else, starting with trying to get a little bit of the Protovic back.”

  “I don’t need a lecture. I need results.”

  “Then let’s get some,” Brad said, gesturing to the control board.

  Vortison started working it, with the master holo enlarged enough that the three Archons could follow along, more or less. The capsule that they’d created earlier was being altered, with a tiny portion of it being walled off from the rest with a new barrier being grown. When that was complete Vortison began to slowly remove impediments from that section, allowing it to reconnect with the rest of his now Chixzon brain, though the biochemistry was virtually identical, save for new subsections had been grown to add to what had originally been there.

  That allowed the two tissues to match up functionally, and when the first impulses began to travel between the two Vortison saw a spike in mental activity…in the negative. It was a compatibility issue that was essentially grinding his mental gears, but the corruptive flood that had been present previously was no longer here. The exposed bits of the Protovic section were not being compromised, but rather accessed by the rest of his mind and attempting to integrate. Up until now the puzzling functions of Radonon’s mind had been absent, and the Archons had tested as much. The additional brain tissue hadn’t replaced them, leaving him only with the ability to act and remember rather than reason.

  He could still do a fair amount of deduction, but the parts of his mind where learning would occur was what the Archons had fought so hard to preserve, and the first bits of that were now trying to integrate with the rest of his Chixzon mind.

  “It’s rough, but taking,” Vortison reported, not expecting the Archons to be able to fully interpret the holograms. “Far rougher than I’d expected, but it’s working itself out. If we progress very slowly this might work. Go any faster and I can’t even guess at the problems that could result, but it would be bad.”

  “System crash?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Segments or do this in one long haul?” Brad asked.

  “Having him fully awake with only pieces of this programming would be a bad idea and could cause further complications. I’d like to keep him out until it’s ful
ly accessed then bring him slowly back to consciousness and troubleshoot as we go. We’re talking hours, minimum.”

  “How’s he set with food stores?”

  Vortison brought up another hologram, imputing multiple commands until he got the scans he wanted. “He needs to eat again soon, but I can supply what he needs through the machine enough to get him through the delay. His digestive systems are still raw and need food to adjust, but that’s a low priority right now. I’d prefer to get this all done first then let him fully acclimate.”

  “Do you need anything from us?”

  “Just your protection. Even now I’m detecting faint telepathic activity, which is another stark sign that I do not fully understand their biology, for he should be fully unconscious and unable to actively use his abilities. My guess would be this is something automated, but I have no idea what it is and I don’t want to speculate. If his telekinesis also becomes active I’ll need you here to shut it down before someone could get hurt.”

  “We’ll stay here permanently,” Kip promised. “The new facility will have insulated walls so you don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Which he can tear through?”

  “We’ll keep a guard on him to make sure that doesn’t happen either. We’ve got your back then and now. He’s not going to misbehave and get away with it. Count on that.”

  “That’s what I was hoping you’d say. Proceeding with the gradual activation,” he confirmed aloud as he started drawing another line of tissue across the capsule in prep for the next reveal once the first eventually got stabilized.

  Kip and Brad exchanged a few thoughts, then excused Amy so she could get some training time in as the pair of trailblazers stayed with and mentally monitored their sedated friend…who had unwittingly become their enemy.

  3

  Radonon’s eyes slowed opened, with his mind not far behind them. He looked down at his hands on the sphere then out to the pair of Archons and the medtech. “You rendered me unconscious. Why?”