Star Force: Axius (SF47) Read online

  “How many Humans are here?”

  “Quite a few, if you know where to look.”

  “That aren’t Star Force.”

  Arron smiled. “Well, now there’s the kicker. I know of 52 personally, not counting the new arrivals such as yourself.”

  “52?! How many people are in the colony?”

  “Upwards of 10,000, last I heard.”

  Haley whistled.

  “Not many, I know, but I think that’s the point. I’ve developed some non-Human friends and from what I hear, each of them had to go through some pretty intense training just to get colony slots. They all know English, but most aren’t very good at it until they’ve spent some time here and get used to the various dialects. You’ll probably get some attention just because they want to practice dialog with someone who speaks it as their native language.”

  “Trade language as backup?”

  “Yes, but all the media is in English. It was difficult at first, but the community has adjusted somewhat.”

  “What have you been up to the past year?” Haley asked as Arron pointed her down another walkway, with this one leading to a wavy path through an interior park.

  “I’m a writer, so I just bum around from place to place, getting ideas or keeping up on current events…meeting new people.”

  “What kind of writing?”

  “Fiction. Mostly romance, but I do chime in on the news nets every now and then. People back home want to know what Axius is all about, so I do a bit of correspondent work for Jasper. What are your long hours here going to occupy you with?”

  “I just graduated from my maturia and I haven’t a clue,” she said with a laugh. “Felt like having an adventure.”

  “Well you’ve certainly come to the right place…though after a while you’ll get to see that all the ‘wildlife’ are still just people. Strange, odd, and sometimes crazy people, but people just the same. Have you had anything to eat?”

  “Just got out of indoctrination. Three hours of indoctrination.”

  “What do you say I take you around for a tour and a bite to eat after we get you to your quarters?”

  “Am I to assume there’s more to that request…coming from a Romance novelist?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Arron held up his hands in innocence. “Not today. Newbie rule is in effect. You get at least a week before I start hitting on you.”

  “I think that qualifies,” she said with a smirk.

  “Just a friendly offer. There’s no dating scene here, at all, so us few Humans try to stick together as much as we can, help each other out, and so on.”

  “Promise me I won’t end up in one of your books…”

  “I promise.”

  “Alright then, friend, let me dump my overpacked cargo off and you can show me around as much as you like…with my thanks.”

  “My pleasure, Haley. Think nothing of it.”

  “Ok, wasn’t expecting this,” she said as they both walked into the cafeteria and saw the wide variety of foods. There were stations with universal foodstuffs, much like Star Force colonies usually served, but then some of the stuff Haley ate was located in another section. It had various tags on a banner overtop, made up of icons she didn’t recognize other than them having been mentioned in indoctrination as being warning labels. Sometime during that part of the lecture she’d started daydreaming, and she didn’t have any idea what they meant.

  “Expecting what?”

  “What do all these thingamabobs mean?”

  “The labels?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, if you see the black one that means Humans can’t eat it without getting sick. Same goes for the Protovic, Densan, and some others. The other labels are things that we can eat but other races can’t, so you don’t look for an ‘ok’ label, you look for one that says ‘not for you’…which in this case is just that one section,” Arron said, pointing to their left.

  “So we can eat any of the others?”

  “Well, if by ‘eat’ you mean digest, then yes, but I don’t think you’ll like the taste. Various races have various tastes, and in fact that’s one of the biggest complaints going around,” Arron said as he picked up a plain roll and put it on his plate next to a glopping of golden macaroni. “A lot of people don’t like the Star Force food at first.”

  “Or ever,” a Critel said from ahead of them in the loose line that had formed along the various foodstuff displays.

  “What’s wrong with it?” Haley asked, staring up at the gangly alien and its X-shaped lips.

  “It’s not food,” he said in perfect English, but with an accent she had never heard before. “It’s nutritional supplements. No sauces, no meat, no smokes. It’s edible, but beyond that I wouldn’t call it food.”

  Haley glanced at the station the Critel was pulling a variety of items from, and to her eyes it all looked like normal foodstuffs, just a different variety from what she ate. The mashed potatoes they had were red, the rolls and other baked goods were the same as hers, as far as she could see, and there were small pockets that contained who knew what inside. It looked alright to her, but then again she didn’t know what Critel usually ate.

  “You eat meat?”

  “Used to before coming here,” he said with some disgust. “But some sacrifices had to be made.”

  “Excuse me,” Arron interrupted. “Smokes?”

  “Is that not the right word? Things you breathe in. Inhalants,” he said, switching to the trade language.

  “We don’t breathe in food,” Arron said, intrigued.

  “Well that certainly explains a few things,” the Critel said, adding a blue-tinted pocket to his plate. “I still don’t see why we have to eat Human-style food when most of the population here isn’t Human.”

  “What was that about sacrifices?” Haley asked.

  “I don’t know what got you here, being Human and all, but the rest of us had to make a lot of changes to be allowed to live here.”

  “And why do you want to live here?” Arron said. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

  “Not for the food, that’s for sure,” the Critel said, adding one last item to his plate before giving the two Humans his full attention.

  “Then why?” Haley wondered.

  “One thing that Star Force knows how to do is business. I’m here to make credits.”

  “And why can’t you do that outside of Axius?” Arron asked, hoping to get a line on another story.

  “I can and have, but Axius is special. The rules don’t permit visitors, at least not yet. Not sure if that will change, but there’s also an embargo on outside goods. Nothing comes in except through Star Force, meaning everyone here has to buy from them or local vendors,” he said, tapping himself on the chest.

  “A fresh market?”

  “An unreachable market for my competition. Trouble is I have to rebuild everything here from scratch using a local workforce and supplies purchased from Star Force, but once I overcome those hurdles I’ll have dozens, if not hundreds of stores up and running, enough to make me rich enough to tolerate this food.”

  “Why not make your own?” Haley asked.

  “I’m not that kind of vendor, and most of the ingredients I’d need aren’t available here anyway. Most native foodstuffs require either meat, milk, eggs, or sperm…none of which Star Force will allow. Some races agree with them on part or all counts, but the Critel do not. As it is, I doubt I could do much better than what they serve here for free.”

  “Sperm?” Haley asked, wondering if she’d heard right.

  “Andolosian sperm is a very expensive seasoning.”

  “Oh gross,” she said, holding a hand over her mouth. She’d never seen meat, and while that idea turned her stomach a bit she had smelled sperm, hence the ideas coming to mind of what it would taste like on her food.

  “Seasoning?” Arron asked.

  “Additions made to food. Similar to your icing paste, but in granulated form. With the consumer
allowed to make whatever additions they want. That’s something Star Force is missing as well.”

  Arron glanced back at the section that held pastries and the small bottles of icing that could be added on top, each of which held various nutrients and was color coded to know what you were getting. He’d always known it as simply ‘icing,’ with the word ‘seasoning’ not ringing a bell, making him wonder if the Critel had gotten the wrong word. His own knowledge of the trade language was limited, which was why he didn’t inquire further.

  “What do you sell?” Haley asked as she stepped aside to let a short, rabbit-like creature move past, whereupon it climbed a mini staircase to get up to the platform that she’d just been sitting her tray on so that it could retrieve a stack of cookies on its own miniature version that was barely the size of her palm.

  “A variety of things that Star Force doesn’t care to produce, mostly imitations of products unique to the various races. Things that they already know and use but can’t get here. Clothing, decorative pieces, grooming tools, knickknacks, custom electrons, software, games…whatever there’s a demand for. But all of which can be sold in package form, whereas foodstuffs would have to be served in store and fresh. That’s where I draw the line.”

  “Interesting,” Arron commented as Haley started to geek out over how cute the little Urik’kadel was. “How many stores do you have at present?”

  “None as of yet, but I’m renting three fabrication slots using the credits I brought with me. Star Force operates with a very low overhead. They barely charge anything on their leases, and there are no taxes whatsoever, with the promise that there will never be. I found that hard to believe until I investigated their other economic activities, but it seems they are very shrewd operators. How they manage a profit is a mystery I have yet to unlock, but with the vast amount of slots available, I’m going to sweep up as many as I can. Problem is the limited and unskilled workforce. I have found three employees thus far, and am in need of far more. I don’t suppose either of you have skills I could use?”

  “I’m a writer and currently engaged with my own projects, but thank you for asking.”

  The Critel looked down at Haley, who had finally turned her attention back to the conversation after the tiny alien had left with its plate full of cookies. “And you?”

  “I’m new here, today actually. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing, if anything.”

  “That’s another interesting facet of the Axius colonies,” the Critel mewed. “Everywhere else that I’ve ever been or heard of, an individual has to work for themselves or a collective in order to survive. The fact that Star Force is welcoming in individuals to this colony without compensation and is willing to house, feed, and otherwise sustain them indefinitely is a very odd occurrence…but one that I think will serve my business interests. I won’t have to worry about the welfare of my workers and can offer up as small of salaries as I like, so long as I can entice them to work for me. That will keep costs low, assuming that boredom and greed set in with the populace.”

  “Greed?”

  “Star Force may be odd, but I’ve found that they are not stupid. They give everyone what they need to survive and live well off of, as far as necessities are concerned, but they do not hand out luxuries. The want of more without the need of it is the essence of ‘greed’ and is what will drive the economy here. It’s a much more sanitized environment than I’ve traditionally worked in, and will present new challenges…but where there are challenges there is opportunity…and where there is opportunity there are credits to be made. So I will ask again, Human, do you have any skills that would be useful in my employ? Surely you have something of value, or you would not have been granted a place in this colony?”

  “I’ve been through maturia training, but that’s it.”

  “And what does that entail? As of yet this colony doesn’t have a maturia, but it will when the denizens begin to reproduce in sufficient numbers, I’m told. Are all Humans taken into this maturia?” he asked, looking at Arron.

  “There are a few exceptions, but I’d say 99% are.”

  “And what happens in one?”

  Haley and Arron exchanged glances. “Well, it’s really a bit of everything,” he finally said. “Physical training, linguistics, math, science, history, games, fabrication, design…it pretty much gives you a base level of knowledge in everything, then once you graduate you can choose whether you move on to more advanced training or leave to join the general population.”

  “As I just did,” Haley added.

  “Do you speak the trade language?” the Critel asked.

  “A bit,” she answered pithily.

  “Would you care to earn a few credits?”

  “Doing what?”

  “I do not know, but having someone with a wide variety of skills will undoubtedly become useful as I build my corporation.”

  Haley shrugged. “I’m not sure what to say. I just got here.”

  “Take your time, Human. I am not in a rush. I have many people to recruit, it is true, but the bulk of my customers are not even here yet, so there is time. If you find yourself interested, seek me out. My name is Kasdema, and I have an administrative office in section 18. One of only a handful there, so I will not be hard to find. Between 02:00 and 06:00 every day.”

  “That’s normally when I sleep,” she said offhand.

  “Sleep cycles in this colony seem to be all over the chart, none the less, if you are interested I’m certain I could find a place for you in any timeslot. Good day, Humans,” he said politely, turning and walking off with his tray towards one of the more private tables in the pavilion-like lounge that made up the bulk of the cafeteria.

  “First day here and offered a job?” Arron commented. “You certainly seem to be on the fast track.”

  “Not sure I want one.”

  “Could get you a bigger set of quarters.”

  Haley considered that, never having had more than a small pod-like room to herself, with the ones here nearly identical to the ones on Ceres.

  “I don’t know. Eat now, think later,” she said with a smile a she stepped over and grabbed a few cold carrot slices to add to her plate before the pair found themselves a table and proceeded to talk about a great many things.

  5

  June 21, 2521

  Leil System (Zeta Region)

  Zastdan

  Cor’san and his fellow Scionate walked off their own transport, wearing their equipment satchels on their backs, as they met their welcoming committee…a Human ranger, the third tier of the Archons within Star Force’s military. He had been standing in his green armor on the edge of the landing pad when the Scionate transport landed and hadn’t moved since, with the 14 volunteers walking over to his position…all without their standard armor, for they’d been told it wouldn’t be used.

  As soon as the Scionate departed the transport left, heading back up to a Star Force jumpship in orbit that had brought it and a few other non-Star Force vessels into the system as part of the ADZ transit network. While Cor’san knew that was strategic folly, many of the lesser races were utilizing the service that Star Force was beginning to provide in increasing numbers and focusing their resources on building smaller ships and infrastructure. That would only work so long as the Alliance defenses held out, and in truth would probably make better use of their lesser strength, though Cor’san and the other Scionate saw it as a mark of weakness.

  Their transport had come through the ADZ network simply out of convenience. The Scionate had many jumpships, but for the purpose of transporting only 14 individuals it had been deemed a wasted trip, so they’d been shipped out via Star Force, though allowed to travel on their own vessel as a measure of pride…but from this point on everything would be Star Force, whether they liked it or not.

  The Scionate volunteers walked up to the Archon, but he didn’t move or speak until all 14 of the quadrupeds were standing before him, with their heads coming up to his shoulder. There were many
different sizes of Scionate, with all assembled here being the larger variety more suited to hand to hand combat, or in their case paws.

  “Follow me,” the Archon said unceremoniously as he turned and led the group off the landing pad and into the spaceport. After a very short trip through security they were taken on a long walk through the colony, seeing dozens of different races inhabiting it, much as they’d been told would be the case.

  Without a word, the Archon took them to their quarters, which were spread out in three different sections and each on different floors. Cor’san felt that was probably deliberate, but it didn’t matter. He was just glad that proper facilities had been built to accommodate Scionate, for the needs of quadrupeds differed greatly from those of the biped designers of the colony.

  One by one they were given their quarters, allowed to drop off their satchels, and given a half hour to acclimate themselves. Cor’san was 5th in line, being left alone to inspect his small den. There was a single entry door, inside of which were two levels. The bottom level held a small secondary restroom and cleansing chamber with a door that opened into the small open area that contained a vid screen and cushioned reclining pedestal. Opposite the restroom door was a Scionate ladder climbing the right side wall, leading up to the second level of the den.

  The ladder was a mix between rungs and stairs in a circular fashion that had his body wrapping around the central pole as he climbed…except there was no pole. Star Force had reworked their stairs to not include it, and Cor’san found it odd, but functional as he climbed up and slid into the low ceilinged top level.

  It was dark until he pressed a paw against a panel on the wall, low to the floor, that turned on a series of amber light strips on the walls that revealed the shallow sleeping pit that Scionate favored. He examined the temperature controls, seeing that they were in English but otherwise structured in Scionate fashion, and set the device to his preferred setting so that it would be appropriately warm when he returned later.