Spawn of the Lightside Read online

  All but one of those enraged races relented when the orbital bombardment began, but the Jestiv did not. They were amongst the strongest of the Vargemma races, and they actually turned their Essence weapons against the Caretakers in order to protect their cities. The attacking drone warships disappeared in explosive bursts from disintegration attacks while the Olopar remained silent. The Vargemma could not use them to defend themselves, but the weaponry they had built on their own they could use, and someone made the decision to forget trying to appease the Caretakers by sacrificing part of their cities. They were going to fight back, and that was something the Temple could not allow to escalate.

  One of the nearby Olopar that had a crew made up of another race began to move…but only one, and it was not at the direction of the crew. The Caretakers were assuming remote control of it, which was an ability that the Vargemma had not known they possessed. The single Olopar began charging with orange energy at its points, giving the Jestiv fleet ample warning that it was going to attack. Rather than backing off they moved towards it and engaged the Olopar, whom they thought one of the lesser races had figured out a way to use. Only a few realized that this might be a Caretaker override, but not soon enough to stop the fleet from attacking it.

  But the Jestiv weapons were far less powerful than Star Force’s, and the Essence shields of the Olopar easily handled the standard weaponry, as well as the few Essence based weapons the Jestiv fleet had. They couldn’t do enough disruption to the shield before the Olopar fired down into one city, and only one city, as an object lesson designed to scare the others into submission.

  The invaders on the edge of the city got caught in the blast as well, but mainly from debris rather than the directed disintegration attack. The Fruc’zo hit in the city center and transformed all matter there from solids and liquids into plasma. Even the air was split, causing a light so bright it blinded those nearby that saw it without helmet reduction technology.

  The explosive radius threw the surrounding matter out, cracking and breaking it into billions of pieces…then those pieces hit buildings further out and the city fell like dominos, burying the invaders on the edge as virtually all of the Jestiv in the city were killed in that single, swift attack.

  The Caretakers were programmed to let the attack sink into the psyche of the denizens, and if they relented no more cities would be destroyed. If not, they too would be purged until all zones of rebellion against the Caretakers were eliminated. But for the Jestiv fleet that was shooting the Olopar, it would not be spared.

  Nearby there were other parked Olopar that had not moved. Their crews could not use the weaponry if they wanted, and they did not understand why one of the Kik’ki’s had until their own began to operate independently as four more activated and moved to eradicate the Jestiv fleet that had dared to assault the other Olopar.

  When they saw the others coming the Jestive tried to run, but that only got other Olopar and warship drones deployed to hunt them down. By the end of the week every ship that had taken part in the attack would be destroyed, reducing the Jestiv ship count within the Temple by 24% and killing over 30 million crewers in the process.

  But the losses were necessary, for they would prevent greater losses later. So the Caretakers were not concerned with the ‘friendly fire’ that was only aiding the Hadarak. They had specific orders for situations like this and many more than the Founders had outlined, and as machines they had no free will to make choices of their own. They simply did as they were programmed to do.

  The Vargemma, after seeing an entire city vaporized in a moment by their own weapons that they could not control, quickly realized that they had to submit or face further penalty…but the invaders did not stop their assaults. How could the Caretakers not intervene when they were under assault? Had Star Force hacked the Caretakers? Was it because they were using stun weapons?

  Many questions races across the Temple, but in the Vargemma’s confusion the invaders’ assault rolled on and Star Force acquired every major facility within the Temple that was not built by the Vargemma and many that were, but only on the ground. It wasn’t until several months later did the invaders’ own warships emerge from underground to take the fight to the space-based platforms, but before then the land assault continued without stop, and more and more advanced units emerged, including mech armies.

  They too were bearing stun weaponry and anti-tech guns that would disable or pin the Vargemma’s weapons if they chose to use them…and whenever they did they had the Caretakers rush in to aid Star Force.

  Or so it appeared. Some of the Vargemma figured out what was happening, but they had so few stun weaponry of their own that they were horribly outmatched. The Temple was so massive that they had time to start building stun weapons and equipping their troops with them, at which point the invaders started to meet effective resistance in some areas, but there was nothing that could stop them. Even well-established strongpoints with ample stun weaponry were overcome with a combination of deviousness and technological superiority…for every time the Vargemma used their Essence to try and kill the invaders the Caretakers would intervene, and for some reason they’d only been taught a handful of techniques that allowed them to disable with Essence…and those were rarely practiced, for they did not measure on the Temple’s strength rankings.

  The invaders used no Essence at all, and because the lethal techniques were banned they essentially had an even fight with better technology and a steady flow of reinforcements from subsurface tunnels that the Vargemma could not backtrack, though the Caretakers did at last and began to identify the breaches in the outer shell. When they attempted to reseal them Star Force did not intervene…at least not for 5 weeks. At that point most of the breaches had been repaired, but not all, though the close observation of the drones at the breach points had been extremely useful, for suddenly they disappeared from Temple observation and any additional drones sent to the same locations also disappeared.

  In truth Star Force had learned how to jam their transmissions, which were operating on a very curious set of energy frequencies that were not unknown, but had never been utilized in this fashion. The Paladin adapted fast and figured out the weak point in their communications, then when they had them effectively blocked the Paladin attacked and destroyed the drones without the Temple knowing what happened deep under the bedrock where most of their sensors would not penetrate.

  In fact nothing would that could monitor a battle in the hollowed out chambers, and the limited comms signals that could get through the rock or passed along the outer shell to conduits up to the surface were being jammed with redundant jammers. The Paladin couldn’t take the risk of even one message getting out, or they’d be the ones having to fight the Caretakers…for they would not sacrifice even one of their personnel if they came under attack.

  That was why it was imperative that they all follow orders, but for the Paladin that wasn’t an issue. They were united as one, fought as one, and thought as one. Orders given were orders carried out, which was why Samsiv had been willing to pursue this strategy, and after 4 months of combat and the final space-based Caretaker facilities taken, along with the major Vargemma shipyards, it was finally time to let the Vargemma know his demands, for there were far too many people inside the sphere for him to capture. The cities would be beyond his control for years to come as the Paladin population increased, and if he had to pacify them gradually he would, but a negotiation could yield far faster results if the Vargemma were of a mind to cooperate.

  He routed his transmission through several couriers, with no active signal being made that could backtrack to his location. If the Vargemma wanted to talk, he would give them the means later. Right now they just needed to hear him, and with Paladin scattered all throughout the Temple, they could transmit to everyone simultaneously on time-stamped orders to further mask the origination point.

  “I am Viceroy Samsiv, commander of the Paladin occupation force now besieging the Temple. The Vargemma’s unprovoked attacks on Star Force have resulted in your forfeiture of this grand facility. Though we do not possess all of it yet, we will continue to advance and take stewardship of it piece by piece until we have it all. We are not here to kill you, but your misdeeds now require you to forfeit control. This can be achieved through further combat, or you can come to terms and remain here under our domain.”

  “We have assimilated many belligerent races in the past, and our process has become quite efficient. Since I have arrived here, I have studied you…and your lack of leadership is appalling. If not for the Caretakers you would have destroyed each other long ago. This wasteful disrespect for the gifts given to you by the Founders is embarrassing. The galaxy burns under the assault of the Hadarak, and you who have the tools to destroy them hide in fear…worse still, you destroy the weapons we created to destroy the Hadarak in your absence. You have aided the Hadarak…yet you inhabit a Temple whose sole purpose is to raise an army against them.”

  “You can stubbornly cling to possession that you no longer can maintain, or you can submit to our authority and return to the purpose of the Temple. You can use Essence. Star Force can use Essence. We both are targeted for Hadarak destruction because of this. We are natural allies against the Hadarak. You will no longer be able to launch attacks on Star Force from this Temple, but you would be wise to advise the others to cease immediately. If you wish to fight this out, we will win, for we are superior and we are now inside. We will not be removed again, and without the strength of the Temples shielding you, you cannot stand against us.”

  “Star Force is going to destroy the Hadarak with or without your help. If you insist on helping the Hadarak by hindering us, then you will be eliminated one way or another. But I offer you this standing ultimatum. We will assimilate this Temple into Star Force. Those willing to work with us will be greatly enhanced in the transition. We seek no punitive action against you, only the removal of the threat. If you choose to voluntarily cease being our enemy, no harm will come to you. You do not need to fear us.”

  “But we are asserting control, so your sovereignty is now revoked. That is the consequence of your actions against us, or your silence while others in the Vargemma did so. Star Force views all of you as individuals, and each of you will have a choice to make. Your leaders cannot make it for you. When the time comes, you will determine your own path. Until then, you will remain in your cities until we can take full possession of them. Those willing to begin working with us prior to us taking direct possession are encouraged to do so. Those intent on defying us at every turn, you will be dealt with accordingly when the time arrives.”

  “As of now, this Temple and all those within it are being annexed into Star Force territory. Welcome to the Empire.”

  7

  January 9, 128546

  Dyson Sphere, Krichkraw Nebula (Novatis Kingdom)

  Region 119

  Administrator 428 had been spawned during the second year of the Paladin presence within the sphere and had been moved around to four different assignments, with his latest being the largest. He was tasked with building, supplying, and maintaining security on Prison Facility 28 that was being filled with unconscious bodies coming from the war zones. They were being transported by hover train from three cities that had not yielded to the Paladin, with all the ‘prizes’ being stunned and packed into train cars that followed a series of beacons across the natural landscape out into the ‘no man’s land’ far from any Vargemma infrastructure.

  The trains would pull in at the arrival station, with an army of Paladin Dragoons waiting to unload them. Automated systems on the train would restun any prisoner that began to wake, for the Paladin could not take the chance of direct interaction. The Vargemma had Essence skills that could kill them in a few seconds if they wished, so they had to be moved unconscious and kept that way until they got into the labyrinth that AD428 had chosen to set up.

  There were many different prison schematics within his genetic memory, but the nearest equivalent were those designed to hold psionics capable individuals and those largely used inhibitors bonded to their skeleton so they could not remove them. The inhibitors would block most of their psionics, but there were some prisons built without inhibitors and they were structured on using drone interactions while keeping the prison staff out of range of the psionics.

  But Essence was a whole new paradigm and there were no prisons designed to handle it. AD428 had decided to go with a basic labyrinth that would be accessible by air, and none of the races being sent to him could fly, but he had a shield dome extension that could be built if necessary later to handle those.

  Other Administrators would be tailoring their prisons as they felt necessary, and customizing them for each race coming to them…as well as the different Essence skills of those individuals, which the Caretakers were happy to supply. None of the Vargemma could hide their skills from them in the monitored areas, and there was an easily accessible catalog of their strength levels in addition to the new components being produced in Caretaker facilities under Paladin control that would allow AD428 to directly measure Essence levels and see the aura extensions that the individuals produced.

  He wasn’t going to rely on any non-Star Force technology for the prison, but he was going to use it as an extra. The labyrinth he had set up and was continuing to expand upon was an open air prison with a maze of walls that would give the prisoners a lot of exploring to do to occupy their time. Provisions would be flown in to certain drop points, as well as random others, to keep the prisoners nourished as well as incentivize them to avoid stagnation. The labyrinth was not an indoctrination center, for how to handle Essence wielders was something that the Archons were going to have to handle.

  No, AD428’s orders were for containment, not training, though he did incorporate the standard interface programs that would allow prisoners to spend their idle time on useful things rather than causing trouble. Holographic interfaces that couldn’t be damaged appeared as glowing statues at various points throughout the labyrinth of stone-like walls that rose some 12 meters high and were completely smooth and unable to be climbed without special augmentation.

  Yet the Vizxo could climb them, thought with some effort. Their hands and feet had some type of adhesive quality that when enhanced with Essence allowed them to cling to just about anything, including the anti-grip walls, but the energy shields capping the entire labyrinth prevented them from climbing up and over. After seeing their ability to climb, AD428 added some special tunnels that only had access points at the top, giving the Vizxo a portion of the labyrinth that only they could get to individually, though some of the other races could lift a person up to them if they worked together.

  And they did. As more and more individuals were delivered on a regular basis, they began to organize, explore, and begin to build makeshift shelters that were pointless. The shields kept the rain out and allowed the interior of the labyrinth to be heated or cooled as needed. The natural environment was not a threat, but the Administrator felt the prisoners wanted to exert some sort of control over the area, so they were using a myriad of Essence skills to deconstruct portions of the walls and turn them into other materials that they were fashioning into just about everything you could imagine possible.

  Their ability to do so was impressive, so much so that AD428 requisitioned a research team from the hatcheries to study their alchemy and organizational techniques. He didn’t want them actually devising a way to get out, though he didn’t mind them damaging the portions they were in…because the labyrinth was expanding far faster than they could deconstruct the walls.

  So far they hadn’t been able to do anything to get through the shields, but AD428 was wondering if they might have an Essence technique for that. He knew they could use the stargate method to pass through just about anything, but if they couldn’t see what was on the other side they were risking suicide. With the help of information coming from Thrawn, they’d identified the necessary range for one individual to act as a beacon for another and set their prison beyond it, so the inhabited cities couldn’t just pull their prisoners back to them or invade the prison from within.

  Ranges for that sort of thing were usually less than a mile, but with technological upgrade it could go much further. That was how they got people from the now destroyed outposts into the sphere and back again, but to do it without augmentation meant the ranges were damn short, even for those more skilled than others.

  Grouping together helped to increase the range, but not to what was needed to reach one of their cities thousands of miles away. The Paladin were keeping the airspace clear, for if a Vargemma craft flew over the labyrinth they could pluck some out by that method, but so far none had attempted to do so. He assumed they knew they’d be intercepted, but then again, maybe they didn’t care about those that had been captured. The brief history of warfare with Star Force saw them making sacrificial attack runs to accomplish their missions, so perhaps a jailbreak wasn’t even on their priority list…especially when they were still fighting the Paladin to keep them from fully taking over their cities.

  But AD428 had to prepare for all options as he continued to supply foodstuff by drone drops down through the shield barrier. Some of those drones did not return, being captured or destroyed by the Vargemma, but that was not an issue. He simply made more while having others move in and repair walls that were damaged, giving the prisoners a sense of hopelessness with regards to escaping when whatever they damaged just ended up repaired back to new a few days later.

  So this was a game he was playing with the powerful Vargemma as more and more were sent his way. He kept them separated into sects so they couldn’t all pool into one region and demolish a lot at once, and sometime he had to redesign the labyrinth to separate out new groups as they found or created pathways to access each other.