Star Force: Unification (SF39) Read online

  “These are lizard systems, and as you can see,” he said, zooming out the map to the point where the blue almost disappeared next to a sea of green, “we’re heavily outnumbered.”

  Jessica sucked in an involuntary breath, shocked by the sheer size of the aliens’ territory. Up until now Star Force had only indicated where the battles on the frontier were occurring. They’d never mentioned anything about how large the enemy was, keeping a tight lid on nearly all war news.

  “Our allies are here,” he said, adding a slew of other colors that combined did not outmass the green dots. “As you can see, we hold the right flank, looking from galaxy center. We’re not involved in the heaviest of fighting because we’re isolated, but had Star Force not held our ground when we did, Earth would most likely already be in lizard possession…and they rarely take prisoners. Those that they do are slave labor, some of which we’ve helped to free.”

  “At present, we’ve made you aware of 6 alien races…the lizards and our allies. The Nestafar,” he said, highlighting their yellow systems with a pulsing of color, “betrayed the Alliance some time ago, siding with the lizards. On their behalf they are fighting the Calavari, their longtime nemesis, and significantly weakening the Alliance. The two races are set to annihilate each other, though we and the other allies are assisting them in their defensive war against the Nestafar. This second war front has not been made public, and is in fact far from any of our systems,” he pointed out with another pulse to both Nestafar and Calavari territory.

  “At present, Humanity has a population of about half a trillion. Before this war started the Calavari had an estimated 24 trillion, and the Nestafar 36 trillion, though the exact number now is impossible to determine, for both sides have lost huge chunks of their population.”

  “Dear god,” the Canadian whispered loudly.

  “The Hycre, our longest standing ally, live inside of gas giants and are altogether incompatible with our living environments, and we with them. They have a population of 19 trillion, and look something like this.”

  The galactic hologram lowered down to table level, with Jessica reflexively pulling her hands back from it, as an image of a plump blob appeared over top.

  “This is true size,” Davis went on. “They float buoyant in their native atmosphere, appearing rather harmless, but they possess the largest and most powerful warfleet in the Alliance, as well as owning the most difficult of worlds for the lizards to take, given the environmental conditions.”

  The image of the Hycre disappeared, replaced by a thin, winged alien.

  “This is a Nestafar…and this,” Davis said, adding a four-armed monster alongside it, “is a Calavari, also life-sized.”

  “Madre de Dios,” the Spanish representative muttered. “Why haven’t you shown us this before?”

  “You didn’t need to know,” Davis said pithily. “Star Force has contact with them, not the nations of Earth,” he said, wiping the two aliens from view and putting up another, this one short and lumpy with a flat-topped head. “This is a Kvash. They are also part of the Alliance, and arguably the strongest race. While the Hycre have naval superiority, the Kvash have size and shield strength advantages, as well as a formidable ground force…something the Hycre lack. Our dealings with them, whose territory lies on the left flank,” Davis said, highlighting their territory, “have been brusque, as they see Star Force as a minor player within the Alliance.”

  “I’m not arguing that point with them, given they have a population rumored to be upwards of 50 trillion. Exact numbers they wouldn’t give,” he said, removing the image of the Kvash and replacing it with a gangly insect-like alien. “And finally we have the Bsidd. Their numbers dwarf all others, with their admitted population somewhere between 220 and 240 trillion. They reproduce so fast even they don’t have an accurate head count, and along with the Kvash they make up the left flank of the Alliance, though as you can see our collective territory isn’t flat as you’re used to seeing on Earth, but rather a lumpy cloud that the lizards have been eating into.”

  The Bsidd disappeared, replaced by a standard lizard. “This is the face of the enemy that has been made known to the public, but what you don’t know is that the lizards have multiple varieties, each with a specific purpose within their civilization,” Davis said, cycling through all 12 variants, the last of which was a Mastermind whose image had been composited from data provided by Kara’s Vorch’nas.

  “We know there are two more versions,” Davis said after it’d cycled back to the standard variant and held that image, “but we don’t have any images of them yet. The lizard numbers are impossible to determine, but it’s safe to say they outnumber all the Alliance races combined, and there are a total of 32, including Star Force. The names we gave you earlier, and the images you’ve now seen here, are the founding members and by far the strongest. Each of which outnumbers us handily.”

  “The Hycre brought Star Force into the Alliance, as they did other races. We are a minor player that has been rising in stature, but there are several other races greater in number and military assets. Ours are increasing, but should we face off with another race we’d be in a world of hurt. The only reason we’ve been able to hold out against the lizards is because we’re on the very edge of their territory and not very important as of yet. They’re busy fighting the other Alliance races, plus a much larger foe further rimward known as the H’kar, who they are in the process of destroying.”

  “They are not part of the Alliance, but more powerful than any of the races we call allies. Perhaps even stronger than all of us combined…or rather they were. Now they are dying off as the lizards exterminate one system after another. When they finish with them they’ll come harder at the Alliance, and eventually us.”

  Davis was silent for a moment, letting the recent revelations sink in as he stared down at the slowly rotating holographic map and the people seated around it.

  “So tell me,” he said, leaning down on the table with both arms extended and all but glaring at the representatives, “why should I give a damn about your tiny, pathetic countries?”

  When no one answered Jessica bit her lip, then decided to offer her opinion. “There must be something, something small we can do to help?”

  Davis looked over at her and slipped a bit of a smirk through his stern face, then he stood up and flicked his remote again, zooming back in on Star Force held territory.

  “These systems,” he said, highlighting about a third of the blue dots with a green tinge so that they appeared aqua, “hold an independent Human faction known as Canderous. Star Force created them long ago, and you’ve probably seen their spherical space stations around Jupiter and other planets. They are part of Star Force, but they operate independently. They take orders from me, and especially the Archons when needed, but unless there is an issue they are left alone. Theirs is a military civilization, structured quite differently from the rest of Star Force territory.”

  Davis brought another hologram up above the map, with 100 icons floating like pieces of glass, each a different shape and color.

  “There are also the Clans. You know a little about them, but what you don’t know is that they are each a nation unto themselves. They exist independent from the rest of Star Force, but are still a part of Star Force. Each Clan is run by one of the trailblazers, the most senior of the Archons. They structure each Clan according to their own unique wishes, and the Clans operate outside of the main Star Force supply lines. They trade with each other, but their mandate is that they remain self-sufficient…same goes for Canderous.”

  Another flick of the remote sent the Clan icons to the periphery of the map, with Clan Star Fox’s Arwing icon settling in front of Jessica. She tentatively reached out to touch it, but her finger passed through the light matrix as another alien image appeared.

  “While you only know of a few alien races, Star Force has diplomatic contact with hundreds. This one is known as the Kiritas, and they are also part of Star Force.�
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  Jessica’s eyes widened, but she held her tongue as a few of the others made hushed comments. The revelations were coming so fast her emotions were starting to numb up, and she prompted herself to absorb what she could now and leave her reactions for later.

  “When I said that Star Force contained a population of half a trillion, I was referring to Humans. There are, at present, approximately 7 trillion Kiritas, with that number rising quickly at our request. Their civilization is split into two factions…the Kiritas independent civilization and the Kiritak colonies, which function as part of the Star Force infrastructure. The Kiritak exist to provide Star Force with natural resources, and as their population grows so too do the amount of resources they can gather using our equipment and methods.”

  “The Kiritas were technologically inferior and suffering from overpopulation when we first discovered them…or rather they discovered us. They came to us asking for help, and we forged a relationship with them that eventually brought them into Star Force…which means that Star Force contains more Kiritas than it does Humans, though we still run the organization.”

  Davis altered the holograms again, pushing the Kiritas off to the side and bringing the huge Calavari back up beside it, dwarfing the smaller alien.

  “The Calavari are also part of Star Force…not their territory marked on the map, but a number of war survivors that we’ve evacuated back to our territory. We are helping them rebuild on a world we gave them, and incorporating them into Star Force. Their numbers are small, given that we can only evacuate so many given the ships we possess, but as of now there are approximately 300 million Calavari within Star Force, and they too operate as an independent faction, with a handful crossing over to join our main ranks where they’re able.”

  Davis altered the hologram again, with a baseball-sized sphere representing Canderous appearing in the center with a large pair of discs labeled Kiritas and Kiritak bracketing it, around which all the Clan markers moved in. Lastly a smaller triangular pyramid representing the Calavari popped up next to Canderous with a large golden square bumping the others aside to get center stage, on top of which stood the Star Force symbol glowing blue.

  “This is the true Star Force, as it exists at present. Each piece operates independently from the others, but all work together, not under threat of reprisal or due to some legal code. Star Force is, for lack of better terms, a brotherhood and family. We choose to help one another, we are not forced to do so. This is a critical concept all of you have failed to understand, and you must understand it now or go the way of the other nations that we are dismantling.”

  “I have no idea what is happening on the frontier unless those there tell me. Our territory has become so vast they can pretty much do what they want out there, and vice versa, because we can’t keep tabs on one another. We can’t look over each other’s shoulders. We are sovereign, for no other reason than pure geographical distance.”

  “For you that is a problem, because it means you lack control, and your governments are structured on control. You force your populations to do or not do things. That is why you don’t understand Star Force. We don’t force each other to do anything. We work together by choice, doing what is necessary. That is why we don’t have a hierarchy. You think that I run Star Force, and you are correct, but the Archons control far more than I do. They’re the ones out fighting the two wars we’re currently engaged in. They’re the ones out making contact with aliens, none of whom I’ve ever met face to face.”

  “Star Force is not a single individual, we’re a team, and we trust each other to do what is right and necessary, as well as have the confidence to know that the other guy will step in and help us if we slip up. Canderous is the oldest example of this, and many times the Archons have had to make alterations to it. At first some found this offensive, but over time it just became standard practice, with Canderous seeking to improve itself to the point where Archon intervention wouldn’t be necessary, and they have succeeded, for the most part.”

  “We are not enemies, nor competitors, we are brothers working for a common cause. While the Canderians might identify themselves as such, they also identify themselves as Star Force. Up until now that meant Human, but no longer. Star Force has become more than one race. We are a civilization. We are an empire. And if your nations want to become part of that empire, then you’re going to have to prove your worth. The time of Star Force babysitting you is over.”

  “Now, each of you have been selected by your nations out of a pool of candidates that we provided. If you are sitting her now, you have skills that Star Force recognizes as at least minimally adequate. Upon you the hard task falls, for I am appointing each of you as the leader of your respective nations, effective immediately.”

  “What?” Jessica couldn’t help but ask, but her words were drowned out by half the others saying more or less the same thing.

  Davis held up a hand to settle them, and eventually stared them down over the holograms of the various pieces of his growing empire.

  “I am no longer dealing with your governments, only you. It is your responsibility to override or work with your nations in whatever manner you see fit during a process of transition. The trick of it is, Star Force isn’t going to tell you how to proceed. If you want to remain an independent faction within the empire,” he said, gesturing to the other holographic pieces before them, “then you’re going to have to prove that you can operate independently.”

  “Your task is this. Isolate your nations, which include your offworld colonies, from the Star Force supply chain. That doesn’t include the transportation network. You can still ship cargo and personnel via our jumpships, which everyone else does as well, but you have to produce everything your nation needs on your own, and you have to do it in a way that doesn’t compromise Star Force legal standards, which you must fully adopt. Any other laws you make are your own prerogative, and we will not be advising you on such, but we will be watching and evaluating.”

  “Every year that passes you will be held accountable for the progress you’ve made or not made. If you don’t make the cut your nation will be annexed in a manner of our choosing and your partial sovereignty will end. The only way your nations survive is to grow…stagnate, and you die.”

  “Earth should be the most important planet in Star Force territory, but soon it will not be, as Corneria has nearly equaled its population, with infrastructure far superior to what the nations have created here. I’m not letting Earth be run by amateurs anymore, and we’re going to remake it into the capitol that it should be. If you want to be a part of that you’re going to have to learn, learn fast, and learn hard, for the training wheels are coming off, and those of you who don’t learn to ride are getting your bikes taken away.”

  “Each of you is in charge now. Trick out your bikes as you like, but between yourselves and your nation’s assets, both physical and personnel, you have to get the job done. Period. Or it’s game over.”

  The Brazilian representative raised a hand, which Davis recognized with a flip of his chin.

  “What’s a bike?”

  Davis rolled his eyes and cradled the bridge of his nose between his fingertips as he sighed, realizing that these people had probably never seen a bike in their short lives, let alone rode one.

  “Younglings,” he muttered, searching his mind for another metaphor to use.

  4

  January 3, 2454

  Solar System

  Earth

  Jessica sat on a park bench, looking out at the Wellington Harbor through teary eyes as the heat of the day puckered her bare shoulders with sweat, but she didn’t notice nor care about the weather, nor the crowds walking past her. She was a roiling mess of emotion after coming out of an emergency session of parliament in which they ‘discussed’ the report she’d filed yesterday upon coming back from Atlantis.

  Everything was a mess. Star Force had only communicated with the New Zealand government to confirm to them that they wer
en’t communicating with them any longer aside from going through Avril. She was the emissary, with direct access to Davis, and in charge of the country according to Star Force…something the parliament had been unwilling to accept. Though they had no military to fight with, the government was adamant about opposing the takeover, for what little good it would do for them.

  The Americans and Chinese had fought…and subsequently been overrun. Star Force had even managed the takeovers without killing any of their opposition, which just showed how hopeless resistance was even for those nations with a military. Worst of it all was the fact that parliament, who’d chosen her for this assignment, had turned against her. They’d even gone so far as to ban her from all government facilities, labeling her as one of Star Force’s agents.

  That hurt, but the worst of it was knowing that New Zealand was wasting its one and only chance to remain sovereign, despite the Star Force security division already present within the country, as well as other small Star Force agencies taking away specific duties and handling them in their own way. And Davis had said it was up to her to find a solution…now that wasn’t possible, given that she’d been banned, meaning New Zealand would be swept up with the other failed nations and cease to exist.

  But maybe that was for the best. Jessica hated even thinking that, but looking out over the water through the gaps in the pedestrian traffic ahead of her she began to visualize the changes that were now inevitable, and she had to admit that for the common citizen they’d at least be as well off under Star Force rule as they were now…if not slightly better.

  Damn Davis…he was right. If New Zealand couldn’t hold its own then it didn’t deserve sovereignty, especially when Star Force was shielding them from alien threats too large for her to fully comprehend. Parliament had been less than receptive to that as well, not willing to believe what she’d told them. Well, a few did, but the mass of the Representatives denied her claims as a Star Force lie meant to intimate and bully her into compliance.