Star Force: Mak'to'ran (1) Read online

  “I can offer some answers, but as V’kit’no’sat should always do, we share responsibilities and contribute what we can where we can. We do not expect all answers to come from one, but we expect all the answers one has.”

  What are the Era’tran doing to combat this ‘collective’ philosophy?

  “A great deal,” Mak’to’ran said, raising his short arms up and surging the energy from the glands in his hands into them. They glowed red with a sheen of energy covering them that would eat through almost any matter and most shields. The light was so bright he could see tiny flickering reflections in the wide eyes of the Dan’chey. “We must contribute what we can, and the Era’tran will lead where others refuse to.”

  You are in violation of conclave edict. You are not supposed to have Saroto’kanse’vam.

  “Nor are you to have Nakane.”

  We do not possess Nakane.

  Mak’to’ran sighed heavily, though the sound of it was raspy enough to almost be belligerent.

  “You should have been given it long ago. At the very least a pathway should have been established for the elite among you to earn it. How many of you have died in battle because you did not have the secondary shielding? And what reason is there for you not to have it?”

  It is not our place to supersede the Conclave. The decision was made long ago.

  “Then I am unmaking it here and now,” Mak’to’ran said, feeling a cascade of varying emotions ripple through the Dan’chey. “If the Oso’lon and J’gar will not lead us properly, then the Era’tran will do so…and those who are loyal to the purpose of the V’kit’no’sat will join us. Those arrogant enough to kill to maintain the collective,” he said, slashing his hands through the air convincingly, “will no longer have a psionic advantage to hide behind. V’kit’no’sat are warriors, not assassins and traitors. We will air out the poisons within us and right past wrongs. We will reforge the V’kit’no’sat before the treason of Terraxis destroys us all, then we will put our full attention back on the Hadarak where it should have been all along.”

  7

  What are you specifically asking of us?

  It was a question that Mak’to’ran himself didn’t have an answer to, given that Hamob hadn’t told him much, but as instructed he was to lead…and how was for him to determine.

  “What we all must do. We must right our own races and eliminate the corruption within us. The Era’tran have done so already, and now it is time for the Dan’chey as well. The reforging of the empire cannot occur unless each piece of it is intact, and a broken Dan’chey will threaten the rest of us with false bonds.”

  If we knew how to achieve this we would have done so already. Telling us to take action is only feasible if we have an action to take and for some reason have not. Without a course to follow your words are hollow.

  “Then a course of action must be forged. If you cannot construct one yourselves, then it is fortunate that I am here.”

  Our leaders are not.

  “We are V’kit’no’sat all. This is as good a place to begin as any. If you return to form others will see and mirror you. The question is what exactly is your proper form,” Mak’to’ran said, looking around at the packed bodies. “We must fight the Hadarak. We must defend and cull this galaxy as needed to acquit our responsibility. What part in this role do the Dan’chey play? If none, then you do not belong in the V’kit’no’sat.”

  We contribute much.

  “Specify and list,” Mak’to’ran said, raising his head a bit higher and thoroughly dwarfing the flat quadrupeds.

  Resource acquisition. Fleet construction. Ordinance production…

  “Stop. All three of those are the actions of builders, not warriors. We must be both, but some are more inclined to one over another. Where do the Dan’chey as a group lie, not just you as individuals?”

  We create stability. Impediments must be removed through combat, but such victories are short-lived without infrastructure created to cement them.

  “There lies your answer and your purpose. You are not the first ones to enter a fight, but fight you will when necessary, and judging from your history you are not without skills. You do not match the Era’tran in combat, but you need not. We are a team, and as such we contribute how best we can. If I gave you a choice between attacking an enemy world, attacking an enemy fleet, colonizing a conquered world, or attacking and colonizing an enemy world which would be your preference?”

  It would depend on the purpose of the attack.

  “Assume a threat needed removed from a region in order to pacify it.”

  An attack to annihilate or an attack to confiscate?

  “Annihilate and make the world ours.”

  Attack and colonize.

  “Curious, I would have thought you would choose to colonize after the fighting.”

  We prefer building, but when destruction is necessary we will not shirk our duty. We do not require others when a fight is before us.

  Mak’to’ran smiled, barring his teeth and uttering a low, satisfied growl.

  “Then you are V’kit’no’sat, for we are the ones to take the hard duties upon us and any race that cannot or will not does not belong in the empire. They can help as an ally, but to be V’kit’no’sat means a great deal more. The Dan’chey will do their part of a combined battle strategy, but are less likely to be the first to dive into a fight?”

  We are able, but we do not share the Hjar’at’s recklessness.

  “None do, but they have cultivated their weakness into a strength. Now it is on you to do the same. Your females are the problem, you say? Then make them an asset.”

  They are unwise. This is not an asset.

  “I am not speaking of their madness, but rather of their natural tendencies. Find what is beneficial in them and cultivate it while destroying the rest. There can be no middle ground. Either their actions are aiding the fight against the Hadarak or they are not. Let that be your guide.”

  We will not kill our own to remove the corruption, and we do not know how to correct it.

  “If we begin killing each other that only serves to weaken us and the Hadarak can sense weakness. They will exploit it, if they are not even doing so now. I have heard rumor of ships leaving the front out of fear of internal fighting. The Era’tran are not going to start a fight, but if a fight is brought to us we will finish it. And I expect the same of all loyal V’kit’no’sat. Our bonds have been corrupted and made so fragile that we condone selective killings of our own…this cannot be permitted. Only those who strike against us or disobey edicts are condemned to death. Not those who think differently. Your females must be enlightened…and if they will not learn, they must be sidelined.”

  There are more of them than us.

  “Is that a problem?”

  Not if it were a fight, but their telepathic presence is strong. Only in clusters such as this are we free to think clearly.

  “Yet even now you speak with a combined telepathic voice. Are you so uncapable of being individuals that you have lost your sanity?”

  “No we have not,” an individual Dan’chey directly in front of Mak’to’ran said with the telepathic echo now gone entirely…or more likely just not being transmitted to him. “It is a strength of ours that we prefer to use.”

  “Perhaps your females have become over dependent upon it. Do you not train to resist outside influence?”

  “Our elite troops do.”

  “But the rest do not?”

  “It would be counter-intuitive to our racial bond.”

  “Wrong. A bond is not a chain forcing you together. It is a choice. A choice made by individuals.”

  There was hesitation in the Dan’chey, and even without them transmitting to him Mak’to’ran could sense an epiphany forming.

  “The collective is weak because its components are suppressed.”

  “Quite right. And if your females die so young, are they really an asset? If the objective is to fight the Hadarak then they have a
responsibility to strengthen themselves…not each other, but the individual. To do that they must behave as an individual, and if they have never learned then they must be taught through isolation.”

  Mak’to’ran knew that was unpopular the moment he said the word, and given the tight telepathic bonds between the Dan’chey he could image why.

  “We rarely are out of contact with others, and at the times we are it is a disadvantage.”

  “I am stronger fighting with fellow Era’tran, but that does not make me weak individually. Construct training chambers here that block your Ikrid. Practice accomplishing tasks individually. Then when your individual skills have developed further, attempt group tasks and see how much more powerful you become. Your telepathic connection is a strength, but it can only be increased through individualized training.”

  “Theoretically your point is accurate, but the Dan’chey have not operated in such a way before.”

  “Then it is time to begin. If you are successful your strength and experience will transmit easily to the others. The key is in finding the truth. Truth will strength the Dan’chey, lies will poison it. To purge the poison from you, seek the truth. Experiment. Discover. Train.”

  “It would be easier if you set up that initial training, for we fear we are blind to the perspectives you seek us to find.”

  “That I can do, but linger here long I cannot. I have been recalled to Itaru and am ignoring that call. I transmitted a full report from Terraxis, so they are not lacking in knowledge, but the Era’tran will no longer play games in the Conclave. The V’kit’no’sat stand on the precipice of self-destruction and I will not waste an hour. The next few I spend with you will be valuable, but if you cannot determine the truth and course of action for your race with my initial assistance then you are doomed. We are dominant because we can learn and adapt. Those who cannot are not truly V’kit’no’sat.”

  “Then we start now,” the Dan’chey said as everyone in the room started to move. For a moment it looked like the floor had become molten, but in reality is was well coordinated tiny movements on all assembled that allowed them to begin exiting the arena in the quickest and most efficient manner possible with all but the single individual before him motion.

  “I am Vitobok. Instruct me what to do and I will insure that your lessons are put to the best use.”

  “I require an engineering interface.”

  “Follow,” he said, with all the other Dan’chey suddenly moving away from the Era’tran. They doubled and even tripled up on top of each other’s backs to give him a clear path out, and Mak’to’ran was pleasantly surprised with their coordination. Telepathy was a powerful tool, and while it may have gone awry for the Dan’chey, they had clearly gained from it as well. Era’tran had never moved so efficiently, and he made a note to record a few thoughts for study later.

  V’kit’no’sat aided one another in growing their strength, and that included stealing good ideas when they found them.

  12 days later…

  Mak’to’ran returned to his ship for the final time, having finished his brief but vital assistance in getting the Dan’chey loyalists squared away. As it turned out their underlying problem truly was one of perspective. Having the minds of others constantly influencing ones decisions came with such perils that it wasn’t worth the benefit. They needed some periods of isolation and he’d helped them design not only training programs but revised habitats to allow them to sleep outside the hive mind that they utilized…for they’d gotten so used to transmitting that they’d even been in each other’s dreams.

  That should have been a warning sign there, but the Dan’chey civilization was so different from the Era’tran that they just couldn’t see it. Bringing in an outsider had been wise, and while he wasn’t sure about the exact reason Hamob had sent him here, the Elder Era’tran had been quite correct in doing so. All these Dan’chey had needed was some perspective and a nudge in the right direction. While he didn’t know how they’d progress in his absence, the real question was how the changes made here would permeate throughout their race.

  Had it been Era’tran it would have taken a very long time, but their ability to blend together into almost a unified consciousness should speed up the process considerably…even with the limitations he had suggested imposing upon it. Still, with their population numbers and such imbedded habits the changes would not occur quick enough. The V’kit’no’sat empire was huge and even the small Dan’chey piece of it was massive, but these few here were headed in the right direction.

  He only hoped that planting the seed would be enough.

  As Mak’to’ran flew up to orbit in his drop pod he got a message from the Dan’chey he’d been working with. The leaders on the planet had not been privy to his mission here given the fact that it had been a local faction that arranged his visit, but it seemed a follow-up message from Itaru had arrived hours ago instructing that Mak’to’ran be acquired and forcibly transported to the capitol. His present location was cited as being ‘outside Era’tran territory’ but beyond that there were no specifics…until now.

  The loyal Dan’chey had found out and just sent him a warning detailing a return message the planetary leaders had sent out through the Urrtren to all V’kit’no’sat systems stating that Mak’to’ran was here.

  He purred an annoyed growl, checking with his Na’shor and confirming no intercepts of his pod were enroute, nor was the local defense fleet moving out of standard patrol routes. It seemed the Dan’chey weren’t interested in trying to detain him themselves, but rather just tagging his location so that others could pursue and deal with the Era’tran vessel. The Dan’chey had several insystem that were of similar strength, but Era’tran ranked high enough in reputation that thankfully the locals weren’t going to be stupid enough to try and attack his ship. More likely such an assault would have come on the surface or during his rise to orbit when he was most vulnerable.

  That was something he was going to have to be careful about going forward, for now whatever hunters Itaru sent after him would have a trail to follow. If they expected the Era’tran to retrieve him he’d have extra time to work with, for most likely they’d just ignore the order completely. It’d take time for them to realize that given the communication lags and the politics on Itaru, but eventually others would be tasked with retrieving him…and they’d have to send a fairly large fleet in order to be able to take him alive.

  When they realized that his ship was faster than normal they’d increase their pursuit or give up the effort, and if they were insistent on placing blame on him for Terraxis they would use his defiance as further ‘proof’ of his failings.

  There was more going on in the empire than he realized so he didn’t assume anything firm, but he highly doubted that time was his ally. This mission was probably going to be the simplest, and from here on out he was going to be on the run as Hamob had predicted.

  When he returned to the Era’tran Na’shor he got them moving towards the star while he checked the data cache Hamob had given to him with strict instructions not to look at any section ahead of schedule. He saw that there had been no updates sent to it via the Urrtren, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be further instructions waiting for him. So after he filed a report and sent it off to Hamob through the same channels he opened the second tier in the data cache and listened to a holographic recording of Hamob that lasted some 22 minutes.

  With his next mission outlined in similar vagueness to the Dan’chey, he instructed the ship’s captain to take them even deeper into the core and back halfway around the spiral that they’d come to the Battiwipot System, which was a shared one between 12 different races including the Poquot, where he would find his next contact.

  8

  November 5, 3603

  Battiwipot System (V’kit’no’sat territory)

  Covmenor Station

  When Mak’to’ran’s Na’shor entered the Battiwipot System there was a response by the local defense fleet. Ships
from both the I’rar’et and Sli’vok contacted him and confirmed that they were not going to enforce the detain order. That surprised him, for he didn’t realize that Hamob and his co-conspirators had spread their influence that far…or perhaps this was totally something unrelated and these two races were responding to Itaru’s orders for their own reasons.

  The Sli’vok were impressive enough, but with the I’rar’et announcing not just to him but the entire system that they were not going to attempt to capture him, that meant no one else would either. The I’rar’et were the dominant force in this system and had a third of its total population, not to mention more than half the ships in the defense fleet.

  Considering that his destination wasn’t a planet this time but rather a covmenor station, that was even more important for all the races in the system were on the communal station and him boarding it would make him very vulnerable. Even still, he had four other Era’tran with him as he walked off the drop pod into one of the many the hangar bays on the covmenor that were a buzz of traffic servicing all 13 inhabited planets/moons in the system along with the scattering of other orbital stations.

  But the covmenor was not only the largest of them, measuring some 800 miles wide and 340 tall, it was the center of commerce and the defacto command post for the V’kit’no’sat in the system despite the fact that it was not heavily protected. The fleet was its defense, and the covmenor was essentially an artificial bit of territory constructed to act as a binding neutral ground between the local races. It had normalized gravity of .9g that was prescribed on all shared facilities, for covmenor stations were not just built for the local races to use, but rather they were an embassy that all 193 races could access.