Reclaimers Page 4

  Why, for all of their lengthy planning, had the Zak’de’ron never realized the central flaw in their methods? It seemed so painfully obvious now, and everything Star Force had been doing over their short life now came into focus.

  They were building to a future empire, and not taking shortcuts to do it. And that empire would be more powerful than all the other ones that had taken the easy, obvious path to lesser power. In the long run, the greatest power was lightside power. You just had to survive long enough to get to that point.

  It was then that Pol’ake had a second revelation, for the way Star Force was built to shield others, even those that were not part of their empire, from harm, was giving them the time they needed to pursue lightside power…and if they were successful, this galaxy would grow beyond all the darkside powers in the neighboring galaxies. They were buying time for those who could not, who would have had no other option that to go to the darkside to survive.

  They were giving them a choice and an opportunity to strive for real power. And if Star Force could continue to shield them within and without, the magnitude of their future empire would be beyond anything Pol’ake could imagine.

  And that was the true definition of dominance.

  Which meant he was right where a Zak’de’ron needed to be, and not with the rejects pursuing more darkside power beyond this galaxy.

  4

  June 18, 154966

  UTOVI GALAXY

  System 92881-44824

  Shosta’tri’lak

  Yui slammed his fist down on the tabletop so hard it flipped up part way before gravity dragged it back down, spilling the drinks of the three other Meerioss onto their laps or the floor.

  “Curse the Neofan,” he said, drawing gasps from many, but not all. “If they had stayed we might be able to win some of these battles. What do they expect us to do? Die fighting for nothing?”

  “That’s exactly what they expect us to do,” another fury Meerioss said, though most of his body was encased in civilian armor with a loose cloak over top of it, unlike the gleaming gold military suits visible on about half the denizens in the bar that was located a few hipcaps from the planet’s second largest military base. “The question is,” he said, not turning to look away from the news reel displaying battle imagery over the bar top, “what are you going to do?”

  Yui stood up, knocking his chair over in the process despite the fact that he hadn’t had a sip of Truli since arriving an hour ago. He was too mad to drink. He walked over to the man and grabbed his head enough to make him face him as he pointed upwards with his free hand.

  “You see these?” he asked, indicating the scars on his face. “They won’t heal. Some kind of poison damage from the Hadarak that makes the cells incapable of repair. I got these four missions ago. And this,” he said, letting go of the man’s head and pointing to a fresh wound on his elbow, “is from our last mission. Half our ship was torn away by a strand from the Pafdreng. As soon it touched our ship it disintegrated everything it passed through because our Essence shields had no fuel. The Neofan took it all with them, and what the crew can produce has to go to the weapons or we can’t damage them. This wound should be healed, but the medical equipment on our ship was damaged. Look at it. And ask me again what I’m doing. I’m fighting and I’m losing because our masters left us behind, and I don’t know what else to do about it.”

  “As are many,” the man said, seeming to take no offense to the head twist that he was now free of. “The question is, do you continue as you are doing, or do you switch tactics.”

  “The Pafdreng are too strong to take down without the Neofan. And we barely killed one with their help. Now they’re gone, or in the process of leaving. I’ve heard stories of both. But I can tell you that they’re not on the front lines, the back lines, or any combat lines. Their warships have disappeared, their planets emptied. They have abandoned us.”

  “They are not all gone. Many Neofan were left behind to die as well.”

  Yui frowned, wondering if the man was drunk. “How do you know that?”

  “Because until a short time ago, I served House Mutavi,” he said, pulling down his neckline and showing the tattoo he had over his left pectoral. And it wasn’t the normal ranking tattoos they all possessed. His bore the mark of a Deoglade.

  Yui staggered back two steps. “How is this possible?”

  “It is possible because the Neofan who trained me had enough pity for my fate to allow me to escape rather than execute me. The other Deoglades, in all Houses, have been killed, not in combat, but by House Mutavi’s order. My master figured since the Neofan were leaving anyway, he could allow me to remain and die through other means, thus satisfying the order without having to personally betray me. Since then I have been exiled from service, and should I show myself in any House’s military the execution order will be carried out by those Neofan who still survive, but there will be no mention of it to the Meerioss, or the Nu’avi, or the Hee’va, or even the Tri’ma. The Neofan are taking care of our elimination themselves.”

  “Why?” another Meerios asked while many were glaring at the man who was seeming to speak heresy…but the losses being taken across the galaxy had sobered them up enough to at least listen before they tore him apart.

  “This galaxy is being abandoned. House Mutavi has taken another galaxy for their own. That’s where their warships are. Kicking out the Hadarak so they can rebuild away from the Pafdreng. This galaxy is forfeit, and they want to make sure it falls uniformly in case the Pafdreng leave early or the Hadarak pull back to avoid engaging them. They want their powerbase destroyed in full, not to leave pieces of it for others to find and use. For some reason they think the Deoglades might be able to eek out a small victory, enough to survive and become a problem later.”

  “And you claim the Neofan are sacrificing their own in this pullout?” Yui demanded.

  “They have too many to take with them, and not enough Temples to hide in…but you wouldn’t know what a Temple was, nor how many of them are hidden around this galaxy as safe havens for some of the Neofan to survive in while the rest of us burn. Come to think of it, that’s probably another reason they want us dead. So you guys don’t go storming their safe havens. Or maybe it’s so the other Neofan won’t. I wonder if they know.”

  “Are you really a Deoglade?” another Meerioss in the crowd asked. “Or is that a heretical copy?”

  “It and I are real,” he said, showing it once again before covering back up. “And I am finding less and less worlds to travel to ahead of the Pafdreng, and I am cut off from both the Stri and Porto Regions by the Hadarak. This is the largest intact system the Meerioss have left, though they won’t say that,” he said, pointing to the viewscreen. “They want you all to bravely keep dying, thinking there is hope, so that all their creations are disposed of just in case we thought about running away to live another day.”

  “Run away to where?” Yui challenged. “The Hadarak will consume everything in this galaxy.”

  “There are other galaxies, and the nearest ones can be reached without Essence.”

  “Only from the Core,” another Meerioss said, the highest ranking in the room, as he walked forward with the crowd parting to clear his way. “And it is besieged. Jumping from the rim would require stasis travel, and our physiology will not permit it.”

  “But others could,” the Deoglade noted. “Plus there are intermediary galaxy fragments much closer. One of our ships could reach them in approximately 13 years.”

  A murmur coursed around the room, with the hard, fanatical edge lifting.

  “You’d have to fill half a ship with supplies to last that long,” the Ju’ie said, which was the rank of commander for an infantry unit across all Neofan servant races.

  “But it’s possible, and they don’t want you to know that. They want their technology, training, and knowledge kept within their control. And if they are losing this galaxy, they have to make sure it will all be destroyed. And the Neofan that
are being given refuge in this galaxy’s Temples are going to make sure nothing survives…even if they have to sabotage our efforts to defend ourselves.”

  “We can’t defend ourselves,” Yui pleaded. “We are all going to die and there is nothing we can do about it. The Neofan don’t have to kill any of us. The Pafdreng and Hadarak are going to do it on their own.”

  “True. I think the Neofan are very possessive, and they can’t handle the thought of us rallying under our own command. So they took away our leadership to ensure we die scattered, broken, and…helpless,” he said, finally looking at the rest of the crowd behind him. “This galaxy is beyond saving.”

  “So you come here to drink your way into oblivion before your belated death?” another Meerioss said, one clearly near that point himself given the way he slurred his words.

  “I have decided that I would try to survive. My service to the Neofan is ended, by their choice, and I am now free to do what I want with my remaining years. I have been looking for a way to rally our race, or others, towards a winnable scenario…but I have found none, so I have not emerged to take command. And if I did so, Neofan would most likely hunt me down and kill me…but it’s a big galaxy and their communication systems are going down everywhere, so after a while they wouldn’t notice. I planned to make my move then, in one defiant last stand if that was all I could manage. I’m a warrior. I want to die as a warrior if I cannot live as one. The Neofan did not give me that, and they gave the others the ultimate betrayal. We are loyal, but that loyalty…I do not have the words. I still cannot fathom it some days, but it is what it is. And the question to you,” he said, looking back at Yui, “is what are you going to do?”

  “You’re saying the Neofan still here won’t help us at all?”

  “They’re going to die defending their own worlds, for their warships have been taken away. They only have planetary defenses and patrol craft left. We helped obscure their withdrawal, then they silenced those who knew of it. I think they feared an uprising that would interfere with their exit.”

  “You said they are still leaving now?” the Ju’ie pressed.

  “Hard to say, but since Essence is the issue, the more collected means the more that can leave. So there will probably be a small flow leaving up until they are all dead.”

  “Are they taking any servants with them?”

  “Not many. Perhaps none at all. The Neofan go first, but there are some servants in other galaxies already, so I would guess they would be used to restart the population if desired.”

  “What other galaxies?” Yui asked.

  “There is much we were forbidden from telling you. The Neofan have assets elsewhere, but they are sparse and in conjunction with an alliance of empires that are fighting the Hadarak across many galaxies. There is a Rim-side transportation system built to facilitate travel between galaxies without having to jump the Core or go the slow route in stasis. It requires a large amount of Essence to use, but it is quite efficient. This is how the Neofan are escaping. They are not going through the Core. The Hadarak have it blockaded beyond our ability to fight past with any certainty.”

  “Are we forbidden from using these escape routes using our own Essence?” the Ju’ie asked.

  “No,” the Deoglade said firmly. “But you must have an escort, and most people in this galaxy don’t even know they exist.”

  “Can we follow the Neofan to their new galaxy?” another asked.

  “We have been ordered to fight to the death. If we show up there, we will most likely be executed. I will be, for certain, but there are many other galaxies we could go to. Not all of us. Very few of us, actually. But some Meerios could survive.”

  “Then why are you here drinking instead of running?” Yui accused, still not fully believing he was one of the Neofan’s legendary commanders.

  “Because I have been contacted by the Rudumak. They have delivered a message to me, and to others of influence that are not Neofan. There is an empire in another galaxy, far from here, that wishes to acquire our skills for their own use, and they are willing to provide the Essence necessary for our escape if we bring certain artifacts with us, and the Rudumak are offering to act as our escort through the intergalactic network.”

  “What artifacts?” the Ju’ie asked.

  “There is a long list, and all of them are Neofan artifacts they did not take with them. Many will be trying to acquire them, quietly, so they can escape this galaxy. We have a shot at claiming one, and only one of them. And it is on Dragiel.”

  Yui punched bar top, which vibrated but did not move. “I was on Dragiel. The Hadarak have infested it.”

  “But it has not completely fallen. If the artifact is still intact, and we can claim it, I can save several million Meerios. But I have to have a warfleet to do it. That’s why I am here.”

  “In a bar?” someone else blurted out.

  “Yes, in a bar, taking the measure of your will to fight. Most other worlds have given up, but not all of you have. You want a mission that is possible?” he said to Yui directly. “I am giving you one. Perhaps the only one, while this galaxy burns around us. If we stay, we will be consumed by it one way or another. Our only chance of victory is to escape it, but that route requires us to move into the fire and face the enemy directly. Do you have the will left to do that? Or have your wounds tallied up so much that you cannot summon the courage required under their weight?”

  “You must be mad,” Yui accused, but the others were not so combative. In fact they were dead silent, all staring at him. “This is not possible.”

  “Unlikely, but not impossible,” the Deoglade said, rising from his stool and assuming the rigid posture that he had previously lacked on entry. The posture of a commander who was not inclined to accept argument. “If I assume command of this system, will you follow me over the orders of the Neofan who remain, if they should show themselves?”

  “If you are who you say you are,” the Ju’ie said, “then the answer is yes.”

  Others nodded in triplicate, the Meerioss gesture of agreement as the slight air sacks on their chin bobbed with the movement.

  “There used to be Neofan on Dragiel,” Yui warned.

  “It was owned by House Mutavi. I am told all of the ruling House are being evacuated. It is the other Houses who have to choose who to evacuate and who to leave behind. Dragiel is most likely abandoned by the Neofan, as you said before. Are you now going to defend them and try to kill me?” he challenged.

  “I don’t know who you are,” Yui said flatly.

  “You will shortly. The planet will know shortly. You have some time to make your choice. Those who fight with me will be taken away if we are successful. Those who do not will have to wait in line. I do not know how many I can save, but they will all come from this system, and in this system’s ships. We will fill them up and leave the others behind, because we have no choice other than to stay and die fighting with them.”

  “You’ll leave them totally defenseless?” Yui accused.

  “Will this system stand otherwise?”

  Yui and everyone else in the room knew the truth, and no one contradicted him.

  “I have already been betrayed, as have you, you just haven’t understood the full depth of that betrayal. I wished to continue serving the Neofan. I still wish it. But it is impossible. We have been discarded, and since our fate is now in our own hands, I choose to try and live rather than die fighting a hopeless fight. If the Neofan do not approve of this I no longer care. I want to be loyal, but given what I know, what was told to me bluntly by my master, I cannot. And I will not die as they wish. I do not want to spite them, but the warrior in me says I must. If this other empire in another galaxy wishes our services, I will take my chance with them, but that chance must be earned, and Dragiel will not give up its prize easily. And the longer we wait, the harder the fight will be. Now is the only time, and the other artifacts are impossible for us to get to.”

  “What is the artifact?” someone
asked.

  “The Zanderline,” he said, receiving outbursts as he said the name of the holiest Neofan relic in the Region, dating back to an era in their history before the Meerioss even existed. It was said to give the Neofan it blessed special powers, and no Meerioss were allowed to lay eyes upon it inside its protective spire. “The Neofan did not take it with them. And this other Empire wants it and they are willing to pay our travel price in Essence for it.”

  “What is the name of this empire?” Yui asked.

  “I am told they are currently engaged in a war against the Hadarak, and are winning it,” the Deoglade said with more emotion than intended. “Their name is Star Force.”

  5

  September 28, 154966

  UTOVI GALAXY

  System 85919-33913

  Low stellar orbit

  “Different than you remember?” the Deoglade asked Yui, whom he’d taken as his assistant onboard the warship Aph-Ri-Nemena at the head of a Meerioss warfleet…everything Shosta’tri’lak had available, leaving the planet and system defenseless until the enemy came within range of the surface batteries, which hardly mattered, for they were going to lose regardless.

  “They’re everywhere now,” he said, watching the system readouts update as the fleet finished coming out of their jumppoint. “When I was here, we were extricating certain Neofan from the surface and lost half our men doing it. I don’t see how we’re going to get the Zanderline out now.”

  “How many others were left then?”

  “Pieces of 6 planets, four others that hadn’t been hit yet,” Yui said, standing tall in his smooth and glossy battle armor as he held his helmet under his right arm.

  “Meaning they left them behind.”

  “Our orders were to get the Neofan out. Nobody else.”

  “Then let’s see if anyone is left in the fight,” the Deoglade said, gesturing to another Meerioss on the bridge who opened a system-wide comm on their encrypted frequencies and sent out a recognition pulse. Any units still present would respond, knowing that the Hadarak couldn’t monitor such transmissions…which was a major reason why all Neofan ships had been refitted with the odd communications transmitters once the invasion of this galaxy had begun, as well as issuing them to ground forces. Hadarak could see many types of energies, including gravity, but they didn’t have omni-vision, and this one they were completely oblivious to.