Star Force: Rajamal (SF97) (Star Force Origin Series) Read online

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  “We have a much larger foe than expected, so I will expect more of you,” Rajamal said to the six military commanders gathered onboard his Zen’zat Na’shor in orbit of the captured Li’vorkrachnika world tasked for research and as an initial base of operations set well within enemy territory, but still on the outer edge of their overall empire. It had been suggested that they should base out of the Sector Capitol, but that made no logistical sense. It was too far away and any necessary supplies could be shipped from there to here easy enough. Making that call had been one of many decisions that he’d made that went against what the council wanted, and he hoped they’d eventually get it through their thick craniums that if he was in command, then he was in command.

  “Those of you who show merit in your actions will be rewarded with more work,” he continued. “Those that do not will receive less. I know you want to make this a competition between yourselves, but your purpose here is to eliminate the Li’vorkrachnika. Do not forget that, nor your responsibility to your own troops. Lose any of them and you will be heavily penalized. I want clean assaults, and by clean I mean no casualties and no side projects. These worlds are not there for you to play with. You are to eradicate the infestation and nothing else. These worlds are beyond the sector boundaries, thus they will not become acquisitions. Attack, annihilate, and move on.”

  “From what we have discovered, the Li’vorkrachnika grow their worlds along a predetermined escalation protocol. The manufacture of equipment and personnel alters with more advanced units produced on the higher level worlds, particularly a strategic specialist that is extremely rare. At the height of their hierarchy are a dynasty of leaders that rule over the others. They are live birthed, the rest are clones that serve them. The strategists are also clones, but they do not grow them to numbers that would be advantageous. Why this is we have not determined, but it is an untapped potential. Do not underestimate the cunning of the strategists or you may find yourself experiencing light losses.”

  “Capture of a strategist is a secondary goal, but is not necessary for the success of the eradication. Their leaders are of no known tactical use, but their capture is also a secondary goal.”

  “The Li’vorkrachnika typically use mass engagement tactics and as such have a basic ship design to match, but they also have larger specialized assault units. These should not be an issue for us with our range advantage, but do not try and close with the energy cascade field they utilize. Wait until adequate assets arrive to take it out safely. Also be prepared for multiple attempts at collision maneuvers. It is a common tactic they use when facing superior opponents and they will hurt you if you give them the opportunity.”

  “As for ground ops, they will be necessary because the Li’vorkrachnika burrow underground as much as they build on top of it and we must make sure that every last one of them is destroyed. Orbital bombardment alone will destroy most, but we cannot leave any behind by accident or negligence. You will have to follow up assaults with subsurface infiltration teams. I suggest exclusive use of Zen’zat given the tighter confines, but how you proceed is up to you. Expect explosives and cave-ins. If they cannot defeat you, they will try to hurt you. In this they are genetically bred to be brave. You will find no cowardice in them.”

  “The primary objective is their core worlds, of which we do not have all the locations. At present we know of six that have at least partial shipyards of massive proportion. The Li’vorkrachnika build full rings situated around a planet in which they create an impressive number of ships. What they lose in battle they expect to replace in short order, and eliminating even one of these shipyards will significantly hurt their production…but we are not targeting them initially.”

  That drew odd looks from the commanders, but out of respect they remained silent and continued to listen.

  “If the Li’vorkrachnika survive they win. Even if it should be one world or one ship fleeing beyond our reach, for they can regrow everything. There is not a single world that is critical to them, so we must take care to not destroy their strongholds only to push them into other areas. For this reason, we will begin boxing them in by assaulting their smallest worlds first. The ones where they are expanding in order to test borders and the strength of new enemies. To do that we will need scouts, and lots of them. At present some have been procured through allies, but we need more, lest I fear they will escape us. I am assigning the Ari’tat and Sli’nar to drop sensor buoys in all star systems for a width of 60 lightyears across the coreward border,” he said, highlighting the huge wall on the map that ran from upper galactic plane to the lower.

  “If they move further in, I need to know where. Stealthed buoys only, for I do not want them to know they are being observed. I have already requisitioned them, so use what you currently have and more will replace them over the course of time. As for the location of the expansion colonies in this region, we have the system locations and procuring more in every region we take is of the highest priority. There will have to be more recon missions prior to planetary devastation, for we need these maps in order to get the most of them we can. I do not believe we can rely on scouts alone, so we must get the necessary information from the source.”

  “Unfortunately the Li’vorkrachnika do not have tidy divisions, so I am sending you to specific areas that I have guestimated. The Lir’nen will go to the Bren System, retrieve the necessary data there, then destroy all between it and the sensor wall,” Rajamal said, outlining a roughly cubical area of space. “You will need to ascertain the location of the expansions in order to accomplish this, and I want to be informed the moment you. All intelligence gets shunted to me immediately, and that goes for all of you.”

  “The Ari’tat will take Vocorik and push toward the Skarron border. We have no quarrel with them, and do not start one. They are not involved in this campaign, but they are helping to do the work of it nonetheless, so treat them with some respectful distance. They are keeping worlds, we are not. So if they want to pick up what you have cleansed allow them to, for they will be doing us a service in their ignorance.”

  “The Nic’bar will take Hammseti and, based on the data collected there, will have a border defined by me somewhere here,” he said, mentally drawing a hazy zone across the map on the opposite side of the Li’vorkrachnika empire from the Skarrons.

  “The Lir’nen will assault Volka,” he said, highlighting a system at the very top of the galaxy, “and push rimward towards Jartel, which is one of the noted core worlds. You will assault it after you have cleared to this line, but not before. How fast you get there will be determined by the density of worlds found and your skill. If you defy this order and skip ahead, you will not be assigned any further core worlds. I cannot be clearer in this. Jartel comes last.”

  “May I ask why?” the Lir’nen asked.

  “Hit them at the center and they will spread. Hit them on the flanks and they will concentrate. We want them together where it is more easy to kill them, not running for the farthest reaches of the galaxy in more ships than we can track. We will not show our full hand until they are closed in, and any violation of my orders will jeopardize this. Do so and you may very well forfeit your slot entirely.”

  “That is not…”

  “It is for me to decide,” the Zen’zat cut off the Ari’tat before he could make his full statement. “You will obey me or you will be sent home. If you are not capable or willing to do that, then pull out now to avoid the later shame, for I will not forgive any alteration from my plans. I am allowing for considerable leeway within your regions, but where I have firm boundaries you will abide by them. You may question the reasoning, but you may not question your compelled obedience.”

  “I will take the Zen’zat to Arcor and push forward along the underside of the galaxy while the Voro’nam slip past the Lir’nen, laying sensor buoys behind them, and eventually attacking Kilox. Beyond that the map begins to diminish, but it is essential that the sensor wall be stretched beyond t
heir borders and not cut through it. We cannot allow them to establish a foothold outside it.”

  “Understood,” the Voro’nam said, seemingly content with their invasion corridor, “but that will require a huge amount of buoys. We will need more than one per system to insure all jumplines are monitored.”

  “Three per system are required so as to cover all angles and provide redundancy if one should fail. I realize the amount that requires, but it is essential. The Li’vorkrachnika will fight us to the death rather than running…but they will do it to buy time for others to run and rebuild. Our task is not simple eradication when the enemy worlds keep shifting, and we have not fought an opponent like this for more than 400 millennia. Getting them all is our task, and it will take a great effort to do so. I am up for the challenge, but I will not have our efforts spoiled by head hunters. The mass of deaths will come when I say so, and not before we have them completely encircled.”

  “Which is why the I’rar’et are going to be assaulting the worlds discovered here and conducting other information raids. Once we have a rimward boundary located they will reposition there and with the help of the Sli’nar establish a rear sensor wall, then being pushing in from either corner of the box once it is established. The Ari’tat will also stretch out around the Skarron front to deploy sensor buoys in their wake and around the periphery, linking with Sli’nar on the rim. The I’rar’et side will link to the Voro’nam, and the galactic voids will form the other sides of the box.”

  “What if they bypass on the outliers?” the Voro’nam asked.

  “That’s where I will be sending a great deal of our scouts. Those areas have not been properly mapped anyway, so there will be a handful of Tivet ships with them to ensure the records are accurately updated.”

  “Why are the Tivet involved?” the Lir’nen asked. “They were not granted a slot.”

  “Not a combat slot, no. But they will not be fighting unless the Li’vorkrachnika attempt to circumvent the sensor wall that they should not even know is in existence. I asked for their assistance and they agreed to supply it. I do not trust in the competence of hired scouts.”

  “Understandable,” the Ari’tat agreed.

  “You are delaying our involvement in combat,” the Sli’nar complained, tapping its long claws on the floor in frustration.

  “You will be the last, yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Placement of the sensor wall is of the utmost priority and you have more ships to do it with than the others. But also remember, when the other sides of the box are intact and we are moving in, where do you think they will try and flee to?”

  “Picking up scraps is hardly worth our time.”

  “Yet you will do it if I order it, or you will be left behind.”

  “We are not refusing, we are seeking the reasoning behind the choice.”

  “Our data indicates that the Li’vorkrachnika originated rimward. If that is true, where do you think their most developed systems will be located?”

  The long necked Therizinosaur huffed approvingly, then offered no further complaint.

  “Entrapment is our first priority, and to do that we must make the path of least resistance be into their core. Initial assaults will be designed to do that, so you must hold to your assigned corridors and clear them thoroughly. Monitor systems not belonging to them, but do not take action in any without my prior approval. From what we can tell the Li’vorkrachnika do not share worlds, and if there is any evidence to the contrary I will decide what to do with it.”

  “You don’t want us making auxiliary strikes?” the I’rar’et asked for the benefit of the others.

  “No, I do not. We are operating beyond V’kit’no’sat borders, but if you think you have a free hand here to play you are mistaken. Stick to your duty and do not deviate from it. If another race needs hit, that is a decision for others to make or myself, should it involve this campaign. You will not attack others for additional ‘practice.’”

  “Once we have the Li’vorkrachnika boxed in I will assign interior invasion corridors based off your battle records. As of now, the only one with a guaranteed primary world to hit is the Lir’nen, and they are guaranteed nothing beyond that. There are plenty of worlds that need conquering and I will make use of you all for that lest you give me a reason not to, but as for who will get the choice worlds and the bulk of the smaller ones will be decided later based on merit, and I alone will make those decisions.”

  “You will judge your own Zen’zat equitably?” the Lir’nen asked.

  “My loyalty is to the mission. I will not reward incompetence, no matter where it appears.”

  “And if all perform equally?”

  “Then there will be great shame on the I’rar’et,” he joked, referencing their superior status within the V’kit’no’sat.

  “Rajamal was chosen for a reason,” Ha’chet said evenly. “He will not misuse any assets, so do not look for favoritism here.”

  “Still,” the Ari’tat differed, “it is a concern.”

  “We are not worried about Zen’zat preference.”

  “Then neither will we,” the Voro’nam said with a note of finality. “There should be ample opportunity for combat even for those with the smallest assigned corridor.”

  The Lir’nen agreed with a head flick. “When do we launch?”

  “The sensor wall must come first, and if there is a delay in its implementation we will have to push back the timetable, but you have 120 days to assemble your forces and arrive at your initial targets. The Ari’tat and Sli’nar will begin dispersing sensor buoys immediately. The I’rar’et will wait until nearby segments are complete before they launch their first strikes. I estimate that will take longer than 120 days. We don’t want to prompt an evacuation before we have the ability to track it.”

  “Acceptable.”

  “You have your assignments. Rally your fleets and requisition any additional supplies as needed through my staff. Sector-wide production is at our disposal. If there are no other immediate concerns, make haste.”

  There weren’t, and the six military commanders left the chamber to consult with their command staffs that would be remaining onboard Rajamal’s ship so to coordinate the overall campaign. The commanders themselves would be leaving, but having individuals that could represent them in person was highly preferred over weeks of signal lag, thus those left behind were of high station and personally trusted by their commanders.

  When the room emptied, Rajamal telepathically summoned those waiting nearby and his Zen’zat peers entered with him altering the starmap to their assigned corridor.

  “We have a large berth to cover,” Rajamal began as the 8 of them joined him in a loose circle around the map. “I trust I can give each of you a piece of it and not have any concerns?” he asked, addressing some that were of even higher station than himself.

  “The I’rar’et will be difficult to surpass,” Daemon warned, looking at the mass of tiny star system dots that they were going to have to take possession of, “save for clearing subsurface areas. They will be of no use down there, but their own Zen’zat will be prepared. I think we will have an advantage, but I do not know if it will offset their other strengths. I cannot promise that we will outperform them, but we will get the job done.”

  “That is all I require. If we simply match them, it will be to our credit.”

  “Still difficult,” Yarro agreed, “but possible. You can be assured we will make progress with all available haste, and I suggest you do not assign yourself territory to take. You need to be free to troubleshoot.”

  “And keep an eye on the Lir’nen,” Proarch added. “They have a score to settle that their skills may not match. Expect some form of duplicity from them.”

  “I intend to preempt it if I can.”

  “Are you assigning our own monitoring rovers?”

  “Yes. I’m not rely on their own relays. There can be too many ‘accidental’ disruptions.”

  “T
here may be an issue if the Li’vorkrachnika already have scouts beyond the sensor walls,” Daemon warned.

  “Which is why I’m having the contracted scouts working outside the walls rather than in after this initial sweep. If they are savvy enough to send out splinter colonies immediately we will not be able to stop them unless they leave record of it. That is why data recovery is vital.”

  “We’ll be thorough,” Proarch promised.

  “I know. And I thank you for coming to assist despite your seniority.”

  “It’s your campaign. I just want a piece of the action.”

  “As do I,” Daemon added. “We have a score to settle with the Li’vorkrachnika and an example to set. I’m curious how we can match up against the I’rar’et, but we should be able to at least surpass the Ari’tat. Their combat capabilities are almost a hindrance rather than an asset.”

  “On the ground I agree,” Rajamal echoed, “but their fleet is formidable and we have lesser numbers than any of them.”

  “Are any more on the way?”

  “Yes, and we may get continual reinforcements as more volunteers arrive, so I can only give you low end estimates of available assets.”

  “We will make do, but the Hjar’at ships I brought outmatch anything the others have,” Daemon promised.

  “I know,” Rajamal said with a smile. “Make sure to demonstrate that for the record keepers.”

  “Watch our back,” Proarch told him, “and we’ll take care of the bulk of the work.”

  “As I expected.”

  “I was informed that Itaru will be watching closely,” Daemon said cautiously, referencing the V’kit’no’sat empire’s capitol deep in the galactic core. “There are issues involved that we are not privy to, and my sources believe it involves the I’rar’et.”

  “Something to prove?”

  “Perhaps, but whatever it is, it is intricate and kept from our knowledge deliberately.”

  Rajamal looked at all of the Zen’zat legends around him slowly, judging from their expressions their mood given the mental blocks preventing him from assessing them directly.