Star Force: Rescue (SF71) Page 6

  “Different from the Voku, but in the same league. Rigid but collapsible armor, ships are fixed design as is all other large structures. Favor hull armor to shields, though they possess both. Chess piece mentality, battleship their smallest warship. Utilize jumpships that will connect their territory with their staging system at surprising speeds. These guys aren’t messing around and they’re more than fit to fight the lizards. I think the Voku could take them with even numbers, but it’s hard to say without seeing them fight. I don’t suppose there were any visuals of the combat between them and The Nexus?”

  “And publicize their defeat? No, there were none to be found and no rumor of there ever having been any in the first place.”

  “Well then, this is just speculation from what I was able to glean from their minds, but I think they’re the responsible hammer that won’t pick off more than it can smash. I don’t get the feeling that they are very adaptable, but with them taking a turtle mentality they haven’t exactly needed to hone that ability. The Voku are much more complex, no doubt due to the dragons’ influence. The lizards can’t fool the Voku twice, but if they find a weakness in the Preema, which I doubt will happen, I could see it tripping them up a while. They’re rooted in their winning ways, whereas the Voku are constantly changing and have woven that into their technology and battle strategies. If we had to pick a fight with one of them, I’d rather fight the Preema.”

  “Let’s hope that we don’t. Short of the Zak’de’ron ordering them to do so, I don’t feel that the Voku would betray us, but you know them better than I do?”

  “Agreed, though I wouldn’t want to see Cal-com put into that position. He trusts the dragons due to their wisdom above all else. Let’s hope they stay that way and don’t try to backstab us. He might balk, but the rest of the Voku wouldn’t.”

  “What arrangements have you made with the Preema?”

  “We shared some intel, maps mostly, and I got you an extension out towards the rim,” Paul said, pulling out a datachip and tossing it to him. “Didn’t get that decoded until a week ago. Their computer systems are ‘wacky,’ and I’m quoting one of our techs on that. We’ll have a conversion package set up within a year, but right now that bit of info is all we’ve been able to translate out of the data nodule they gave me as a going away present.”

  Davis inserted the Star Force datachip into his clear desktop and produced a galactic hologram between the two men that was scaled down to their galactic arm and the rim beyond it. With a few keystrokes Davis had the computer add it to a copy of the master database that he reserved for himself and a few others, seeing thousands of star systems fill in with spotty data. There were lots of gaps in between systems but hundreds of new empires were cataloged, including two very large ones beyond the edge of The Nexus’s territory.

  “It seems the mega empires are a galactic fad nowadays,” Paul commented as Davis took a moment to soak in the obvious revelations, then the trailblazer stuck a finger in the map and directed his attention to lizard territory and the scattering of dots there that indicated races within the vast expanse that remained independent.

  “Interesting. So there are more out there.”

  “Some extremely advanced as well just sitting out the storm,” Paul said with some disgust. “Not sure if I want to congratulate them on surviving or punch them in the face for not stomping on the lizards when they were tiny.”

  “The Preema seem to know a lot of what goes on far beyond their borders.”

  “Motivated self-interest,” Paul reiterated. “They claim to not scout, rather let the information flow in to them. They were particularly keen to get a piece of the V’kit’no’sat map we have.”

  Davis raised an eyebrow. “What did you give them?”

  “The chunk surrounding their territory. It seemed about an even trade for what they were offering us, but their ambassador did get his eyes on all of it while we were negotiating. He was rather shocked, so I’m guessing the V’kit’no’sat didn’t boast about how big their empire was to the neighbors.”

  “And now they know where to look if they want to reestablish contact?”

  “They wanted the map for the other races it detailed, and they were aware that it was badly out of date. As they said, they don’t scout, and in all this time they have never gone looking for the V’kit’no’sat after they were told to basically mind their own business. Again, that’s from the mind of those I met, and there’s a possibility they’re dupes fed misinformation.”

  “No, you’re right. The V’kit’no’sat are so large that finding them isn’t going to be a problem if you just head coreward. And this update will help us considerably. Already I’m beginning to glimpse a few insights into The Nexus from these placements. They are not nearly so secure as they would like people to think.”

  “Which means the likelihood of them helping us against the lizards is nil, save for the H’kar.”

  “About that,” Davis added, his eyes still on the map and all its glorious new data. “There’s some major feelings getting rubbed the wrong way internally. Apparently the H’kar are spending too much time with us and some of the other Nexus members don’t like it. Nothing has happened, but I’ve learned that it’s an underlying thread in their relationship, especially since The Nexus is starting to be viewed badly within the H’kar for refusing to help them retake their old territory. There’s even a few rumors of them leaving to join Star Force?”

  That brought Paul’s head up, but Davis waved him off. “There’s no truth in it, at least not as far as they’ve brought to me. There hasn’t even been the slightest discussion, though what the H’kar are thinking internally is anyone’s guess. Their people see us taking system after system while the H’kar’s territorial zone in The Nexus continues to be pilfered. They haven’t lost one of their own systems, but the lizards are making gains nearby and the other races think the H’kar are not fulfilling their duty.”

  “Technically they aren’t,” Paul pointed out.

  “They don’t have the resources to, or rather the resources and the knowhow. Every time they engage the lizards without us they lose a lot of ships, as you well know, and their people and those in other Nexus races are noticing as well. Star Force is getting some jealous attention, it seems.”

  “Where did you learn all this from?”

  “I have established some inroads with the H’kar that led back into The Nexus. I’d like to get a relay link to them, but that’s probably a century off at least. For now we’re utilizing courier ships to cover the gap, but the H’kar are obliging and running routes to keep us in the loop along with their own civilization. Through them I have contact with The Nexus and a few of their more reasonable races, as well as some living within their borders but not part of their organization.”

  “Sneaky, sneaky,” Paul commented approvingly.

  “Something I learned from you guys when you colonized the outer zone of this system without my knowing about it.”

  “Yeah,” Paul said proudly, “we did that.”

  “So where are you off to after this?”

  “Back to the advanced training group indefinitely. Still got a lot of work to do there. Always have a lot of work to do there.”

  “Are you going to help out with the Veliquesh?”

  “No. We’ve already got 5 trailblazers lined up for the invasion when it goes down and they don’t need help from me in the prep. I’m sending a chunk of Clan Saber, but I’m going to be remaining here and available to troubleshoot in their absence. We’re looking at a multiple decade mission and I have to stay free to co-op with the Voku and now the Preema going forward.”

  “This is going to be the biggest annexation we’ve tried to date. Make sure you guys don’t go too thin on the staffing. We have to get this right from the outset.”

  “I know…we know.”

  “There’s more to it than you know,” Davis said, finally looking up from the map. “Despite their efforts, the Protovic have sprung a lea
k.”

  Paul rolled his eyes.

  “Yeah, that too. Apparently the news of far off kin was too juicy for someone to keep their mouth shut. It’s spread like wildfire throughout their civilization and back into the ADZ. A few details regarding their savagery and our intent to take them out have also surfaced, then got shredded by the rumor mill. Sadly most of the ADZ denizens that are outside Star Force are newborns. They don’t remember us giving their ancestors safe harbor or pulling them off worlds under lizard attack. They’ve grown up here knowing nothing more than what they see on the news or hear from rumors. One that keeps popping up on both is our ‘master plan’ to conquer and enslave all those that we are protecting, either over the course of time or, in more recent versions, once the lizard threat has ended.”

  Paul whistled. “That’s definitely eating the crazy cake before it’s baked.”

  “These people have no clue what’s going on unless we tell them, and many outside our worlds don’t get or aren’t allowed to view our news broadcasts. There’s a building movement towards a united front against us, much akin to the Rebel Alliance versus the ever dominating Empire in Star Wars.”

  Paul sat up straight in his chair, glaring at Davis. “Oh no you just didn’t…”

  The slightly older man held up his hand for Paul to stay with him. “They’re romanticizing it, almost like a game because they know they have no leverage on us. They also know that we’ll protect them regardless of how stupid they get. In that situation people tend to allow themselves to get stupider and eventually drown out the ones that are somewhat reasonable, generating more hype as they go until they’re believing their own nonsense. The news of the Veliquesh has amped up that tenfold and is seeming to give truth to the predictions. As a result, everyone is going to be watching very closely to what we do, and I intend to give them plenty of news updates and raw data to analyze.”

  “Um…”

  “Within reason. They won’t be sending any ships to take a look for themselves. If they do send them packing and I’ll deal with them accordingly. Most of the news agencies know better than to cross me, given our history of fairness. They also know that the more responsible they behave the more leeway I give them with regards to our databases. Most will respect the edict to stay away, and in exchange I’ll supply them with battle footage where acceptable, though most of their analysis is going to be in the civilian centers afterwards.”

  “That is going to be a huge mess.”

  “Exactly. And I want them to see who it is that we’re conquering and how messed up they are.”

  Paul lowered his head and sighed. “Can’t you just let me conquer them too and end this nonsense once and for all?” he said only half sarcastically.

  “Their current population is far greater than that of the Veliquesh,” Davis reminded him. “We couldn’t absorb them without it destroying us from within. As it is, the Veliquesh are going to have to be self-contained for decades else they’ll do the same.”

  “How big of a threat is this, really? I thought we were long past this nonsense mattering.”

  Davis chewed on his lip as he considered how to answer. “We’re dealing with younglings, Paul. Most people in the ADZ outside of Star Force haven’t attained self-sufficiency and are less than 100 years old. They don’t know we’re the good guys, and we have to show them that, again, because of their population turnover. It’s like mowing the grass, you never truly finish. I’m not worried about these other races being a threat to Star Force. Even the proposed economic sanctions they’re tossing about with each other won’t do more than tickle the economy I’ve set up. It’s not about us, it’s about them. We get a steady flow of immigrants from those races because they see a better way to live with us, and it’s the people still there that haven’t understood, or maybe haven’t been born yet that need to know.”

  “I still say it’d just be easier to conquer them all, one at a time if necessary, that way we wouldn’t have to deal with them being ignorant in the first place.”

  “I know, and agree. But we made agreements that we are not going to break, so long as they hold up their end. They start prohibiting emigration or eating meat and I’ll give you the go ahead to revoke their sovereignty. But so long as they hold to terms, they’re free to be as ignorant as they like. I want to take over the entire galaxy, but know we can’t, V’kit’no’sat and others aside. If we grow too big too soon we’ll collapse internally. How big we can grow without risking that is an ever present question mark in my mind, and I honestly can’t even give you a prediction.”

  “So long as we don’t lose our core people, there’s no limit to how large we can grow, theoretically,” Paul pointed out.

  “But there’s only so much you and I can keep our eyes on, and you know as well as I do that good people are a minority in the galaxy. We need more of them the larger we grow to keep Star Force free of corruption. A lot of the people we have, that are good and trusted soldiers and techs, are that way because they’re followers. So long as we shine the light and keep it shining they’ll mimic us and follow. If they can’t see the light all manner of problems will arise. How many torch bearers we have is the critical number to our growth, logistical and military challenges aside.”

  “And with the mess that the Veliquesh are, you want us to make sure we shine the light as brightly as possible?”

  “I don’t need to warn you to do what’s right. I’m warning you to not cut it so close. I know you’re going to have to pull more Archons into this mission than ever before assembled because of the need of our psionics, but you’re also going to have to delay missions against the lizards to do it and I know you hate that. Don’t take what you think you’ll need. Take that and then some and forget the lizards for now. We’re the Jedi, the Veliquesh are the Sith, and this invasion is about showing which side of the Force is stronger. And the ADZ and beyond will be watching to see the outcome. We can’t just succeed in this, we have to kick ass so boldly and smoothly to send a message that everyone needs to hear.”

  “That the darkside isn’t stronger?”

  “That the darkside isn’t supposed to even exist. It’s a disturbance, an anomaly rather than a peer. The Veliquesh civilization has to be annihilated, and it has to be annihilated by the light of Star Force rather than by the creep of the lizards.”

  “So you want us to show off?”

  “I need you to show off. The galaxy is mostly followers. Give them something worth following.”

  “Alright. I still can’t go, but I’ll make sure the others make this mission lopsided.”

  “And it has to be just us. No outside help that could make mistakes.”

  “The Protovic don’t want in anyway, I hear. We’ll do this in house, but it’ll take a lot of troops and techs to go big on this one.”

  “Go big, Paul. The bigger the better. Get this done and get it done quickly, then you can get back to the lizards. Kill the Sith first, then worry about the stormtroopers.”

  “That’s not fair to the lizards. They can actually hit what they’re aiming at.”

  7

  July 2, 2831

  Ghav System (Veliquesh territory)

  Umbralsht

  “Here we go,” Greg whispered to himself as the four holos of his fellow trailblazers assigned to this crusade winked out above the nexus control boards and he mentally linked with the equipment. His fleet appeared in his mind as well as in holo and he gave the final jump order with his command ship and 56 warships under his command winking out of stellar orbit and taking a few minutes to cross the Ghav System to the far out planet of Umbralsht.

  It was the only one that the Veliquesh had colonized in this system as opposed to the cluttered Aphat System where Mike had originally found them. It’d been decided to start with the smallest of the 5 systems they owned after a thorough scouting expedition had been sent to them all. Each had lizards present knocking on their door, so it was likely that Star Force was going to have to fight a 3 way c
ampaign to claim this planet but so be it. They had enough firepower with them to get the job done and then some, with four other command ships and their constituent fleets making the jump into planetary orbit shortly after Greg’s.

  Jason, Rafa, Kip, and Oni were here as well to ensure that this mission did not have so much as a hiccup, and they were prepared to stay for the duration of this system’s engagement. If needed they could swap out before they went after the other 4 Veliquesh systems, but Greg knew that the others wouldn’t. They were going to own this, even if it took them the next 20 years to play out. The Veliquesh were not a small empire, and were made all the larger in the scope that their population was the goal of this invasion. They were to be captured, not killed, so orbital bombardment was out of the question. They were going to have to get tricky in order to make this work, which was exactly why Greg and the other trailblazers were here.

  When his command ship came out of its jump he saw the planet with a lizard fleet higher up than the Veliquesh defenders and right where the reconnaissance drone had put them less than an hour ago. Neither side was fighting, maintaining what looked like a standoff for the moment, but the lizards immediately began to redeploy as soon as they saw his giant donut of a ship wink into existence after a very hard deceleration. It was followed by the elongated shapes of the warships who maneuvered off the jumppoint to clear it for those yet to come before they began releasing their drones.

  Greg began issuing deployment orders to them as soon as they were free, getting his screens set up to cover the larger ships while sending a group off to deal with the lizards. He expected them to run, but if they wanted to stick around and get killed then so much the better. Every ship Star Force took down here was one they couldn’t use again elsewhere and that would matter to someone somewhere who didn’t have to fight these ships at a later date.