Star Force: Perquisition Read online

  When he did an alarm bell immediately went off, for this Protovic was not from the independent nation nor any of the other colonies that Star Force had discovered in past years. He let the man pass him by as they walked separate directions, then he turned off into a kiosk where he paused, getting on his comm and contacting security so they could begin to set up a quiet trace on the individual.

  They needed to know where he had come from and where he was going, preferably without stopping him and asking, though that was next on Jarod’s to-do list if they couldn’t scrounge the information via other means. He’d obviously arrived here by ship, so they just had to track down which one it was before he left and begin following the breadcrumb trail from there. If he didn’t speak English it might be difficult to interrogate him directly, though if he was here he probably spoke something that some of the locals did.

  Jarod didn’t know many of the native languages out here aside from a few phrases and a decent amount of Vi’tol, but there were linguists he could recruit to the task if need be. Right now he just needed to get the ball rolling and not let this Protovic slip away, to which end he circled around after his comm call and began working his way through the crowd until he picked up the mind again with a little direction from the monitor watchers in the control room giving him directions.

  He stuck with that mental signature and quietly tailed him, for he knew Star Force was looking for more Protovic out in the uncharted regions and he was pretty damn sure that none found to date had blue skin.

  It took another three years for an expedition to be mounted and for the results to make their way back to Brad on Nym, for this Protovic civilization was located within Skarron territory. Fortunately they hadn’t been targeted for conquest, as a lot of systems within their domain were likewise spared/ignored, and this one had been riding out anonymously within a pocket of a massive nebula that only allowed two jumplanes in, one of which was too long for most starships to make accurately.

  Their world was called Knalll, and while they had spacecraft they hadn’t spread beyond a pair of small colonies on the planet’s moons. These Protovic were essentially hermits, participating in trade with a few of their neighbors but otherwise remaining in place and doing…nothing. As Brad read through a summary of their history it seemed that there was a great catastrophe in the past that had essentially scared them into a status quo state where they were extremely reluctant to experiment or expand. He hadn’t dug into the ample material that had been sent back to him far enough to find out what it was yet, but the notes suggested that a minority on the planet did not take to the seclusion and chose to leave on their own merits to explore the galaxy.

  Brad saw both genetic imperatives at work there, woven into the Protovic how long ago he wondered? And this was yet another example of what was probably a more advanced colony suffering a degrade. How many Protovic civilizations had been seeded out there? And how many had been wiped off the map over the years?

  There had to be a lot if this long term plan had been thought through carefully. To date they’d found some 14 different Purple colonies out there, along with 2 Reds and 3 Yellows. Only one Orange so far, and this made the first Blue. He wondered what the distribution pattern had originally been and how much spreading had occurred after that point. Also, who had done the seeding? Were they still out there and the 8th variant that the Veliquesh hadn’t known about? There were a lot of questions popping into his mind that he still didn’t have answers for, but with this new find came something else of importance…another origin story.

  This one didn’t specify how many variants there were, but it was said that the Protovic had been split apart long ago and destined to be reunited. The Knalllie had read that to mean all they had to do was wait and survive until they were found rather than trying to make it happen on their own. In fact, as Brad read through the notes further, that was the driving reason behind their world. To simply exist until that day, fearing that anything more would be wasted in that it might not match their destiny when it was revealed.

  Tissue samples had been recovered, he saw, and were being brought back to Sol via a separate route than the…observers.

  Brad read further in the notes, compiled by the second gen titan that had been dispatched to handle the first contact situation. It seemed the Blues were eager for the reunion to take place and had actually requested to send representatives to the communal Protovic world. Allysa-527 had agreed and was bringing/sending 72 of them here. Apparently that was a lucky number for them, and Brad should be expecting them within 3 or 4 months.

  The Archon sat back in his chair and blew out a slow breath. This wasn’t the first tour he’d given to Protovic civilizations, but typically they only sent a handful, 6 or 7 at best. Sending 72 of them was overkill, not to mention it was a long journey for them to make. He expected they’d want to stay a while, though others had not. They’d been here to look and then go, but from the continued summary Allysa had sent it seemed they were not only interested, but hell bent on making this connection.

  That could be a problem, because Brad wasn’t going to incorporate them into his faction as is. If they wanted to join up he’d take them, but they’d have to go through indoctrination and that wasn’t a friendly process from an outsider’s point of view, for it didn’t hold them to be equals until they earned that status. If these Protovic wanted to be included in the community it wasn’t going to happen their way, and the more he read through both her notes and the historical files he got the sense that they held a certain amount of disdain for non-Protovic and were planning on using Star Force as little more than a conference room while they negotiated with the other variants of their race here.

  Allysa made a point to mention that they were referring to the Humans as ‘intermediaries’ and Brad could see the writing on the wall. Another reason for sending 72 of them was so they could maintain their pack mentality and not be absorbed into their new surroundings. Safety in numbers, so to speak, and it also suggested that they weren’t here just to look around but to make their presence known.

  Going through their historical records over the next month, he also got the feeling that their ambition and dive hadn’t been eradicated by what had been a biological disaster on their world. They’d been experimenting with viral research and had accidentally wiped out 83% of their population. Since that day they’d instituted the ‘good enough’ protocol, keeping their civilization stable and intact without the risks inherent in attempted advancement. But that genetic imperative, in addition to any ambitions they had of their own, was lurking underneath and now had an avenue for release.

  Brad got the feeling these 72 planned on doing a lot more than just observing, and he made a note to keep them away from the other long term observers here. There were 17 of them from 12 different civilizations, all of which had not wished a reunification at the drop of the hat. Some, Brad knew, were looking to develop closer ties with the Star Force Protovic without going so far to join them, while others were here to learn and report back, something that Brad allowed freely so long as they obeyed certain rules regarding their conduct. They basically couldn’t do anything other than look and listen, while having to put in at least a tiny workout each day to earn their right to remain here.

  He’d argued that to understand Star Force, and this faction of Protovic, you had to understand training. So sampling it was a non-negotiable requirement for a long term observer post, which for some had already stretched into multiple decades with them becoming sort of ambassadors to the Protovic here rather than maintaining diplomatic connections with Star Force overall.

  Brad was not going to allow the Blues access to them. He was going to have to come up with something unique to deal with them and size them up. Allysa’s notes aside, he wasn’t really going to get a feel for them until he could pick their minds, so he needed a chance to contain them for a while before settling on a final course…and he only had a matter of weeks to figure it out and make the necessary arr
angements before they arrived.

  Another little challenge in this overall mystery, and one that he was more than willing to take on. He’d freed other Protovic from cultural shackles and ignorance before, so this would just be a new variation on an old practice…but the trick was that no culture was identical to another, and by that measure new forms of stupidity could blindside you very easily.

  Logic was predictable, for there was an inherent reason to it, but stupidity was quite random and almost impossible to predict unless you’d witnessed a particular version before. With new cultures you never knew what to expect, but with Allysa’s notes Brad hoped to be able to get at least one step ahead of them and then take it from there.

  With the knowledge that the Blues also knew of the other variants and the reunification idea, Brad finally accepted that this Protovic recombination, whatever it was, was going to occur eventually somewhere, somehow. And if that was the case he wanted it to be on Star Force terms, meaning that there was going to be a cultural war taking place, and one that the Blues looked eager to start engaging in.

  Whatever the hidden genetic material contained, Brad knew he needed Star Force to be in possession of it. If it was half as important as he guessed, let some other group attain it and you could end up with a very powerful enemy if the lesser physical enhancements of the Oranges were to be taken as a sign of things to come.

  Whereas before he’d wanted to reunite the Protovic for sentimental reasons, now it was clear there was a greater reason to do it. He had to be the driving force behind it, utilizing Star Force as the medium and collection point, and not let the various civilizations call the shots. To that end his Protovic faction had to stay pure, without bringing in any fresh bodies without them first becoming part of Star Force.

  Play ‘nice’ and just let them all co-mingle here and he’d be inviting a disaster. This had to happen on his terms or not at all, and to that end he realized he needed to keep the Blues isolated immediately upon arrival…and even before that.

  He sent a message out to the rest of Star Force, wherever the Blues’ transit point may be, and instructed that they not be given access to any other Protovic under any conditions. They were to be isolated for the duration of their visit until he said otherwise.

  Brad knew it was possible that they had already met some, but he doubted they had run into any non-Star Force Protovic yet and he wanted to keep it that way. If the Blues didn’t want to play ball with him then they’d remain anonymous as far as the rest of the galaxy was concerned, and they could sit quietly alone on their world for as long as they liked. They weren’t here to pass judgement on Star Force, but rather the other way around and he knew he had to make that point immediately upon arrival.

  To that end he began drawing up program plans, allowing for multiple contingencies prior to his first meeting them and getting a sense of how much resistance they would put up to Star Force philosophy.

  8

  March 18, 3054

  Aphat System (Bsidd Region)

  Nym

  “You busy?”

  Brad glanced up from his short holographic displays on his desk and locked eyes with the glowing red orbs of Jadren, his one and only naval Admiral. “Always. Need something?”

  “Just wanted to report that the fleet is ready to leave.”

  “Then you have permission to depart. Happy hunting.”

  “Why aren’t you going?”

  Brad sighed. “Someone has to stay back and mind the store.”

  “The other trailblazers are out fighting the lizards, but you haven’t been since before I was born. I know your naval skills far surpass mine, so why aren’t you leading our fleet, or your Clan Beyond, or a Mainline fleet out to conquer more lizard worlds and push towards their homeworld like the others?”

  Brad touched a button and made the holograms disappear. “Worried you’re not up to the task?”

  “Perhaps a bit, but more confused as to your priorities. Is there something more important for you to be doing?”

  “We each take on the missions we choose, and if I felt you weren’t up to the task I wouldn’t be sending you or our fleet. But the mission already has a mage commander and Aris is more than up to the task of picking off some small lizard systems with your help, so my presence is unnecessary.”

  “But you could be going after some of the bigger ones like the others are.”

  “I could be. Right now my work here is more important.”

  Jadren pulled a chair over and spun it around, sitting down and resting his arms on the backrest. “That’s the part I don’t understand.”

  “There was a great deal you didn’t understand when you first came out of the maturia. Now you do. But there are a great deal more things that you do not know, and are not privy to, that I have to deal with.”

  “Anything we can do to help lighten the load?”

  Brad snorted. “You are the load.”

  Jadren frowned, but the Archon held up a hand to forestall any reply.

  “By that I mean that the future of the Protovic is not as assured as you might imagine. There’s still a lot in flux that I have to manage.”

  “We seem pretty solid. Is there a problem I don’t know about?”

  “Challenges heading into the future rather than current problems.”

  “Is this about that colony of Whites that were brought back?”

  “Yes and no. How close have you been paying attention to our rosters?”

  “I watch the active lists, but I don’t know who all you have tucked away going through indoctrination.”

  “Let me share that with you then,” Brad said as he brought up a series of holographic lists and maps, not in the sense of geography, but in the designs of the Protovic faction. The 5 military divisions were listed, along with all the civilian branches, and then there was a section off to the side that was labeled ‘Indoctees’ that Jadren had never seen before.

  “As you can see, there are quite a few Protovic that want to join us but aren’t ready yet.”

  “That’s more than a few,” the young Admiral said, looking at the demographics. The Whites that they’d discovered on the very bottom of the galactic plane were there, all 8 billion of them that they’d transported back here leaving nothing behind but an empty pair of planets. Then there were a small number of Purples coming in from either Axius or one of the independent Protovic nations. The one that actually bore that name had been supplying them with a steady stream of volunteers, while the others saw bunches coming over at irregular times. Some wanted to join Star Force, others wanted to get away from their previous lives, but no one was allowed straight into Brad’s faction without proving themselves first.

  Others were going into Axius, where there was no extensive indoctrination gauntlet to run. They were allowed to live there and adjust as needed, mixing in with the rest of the varied races and literally being overwhelmed by it all for Axius was so large that a million refugees could be lost within it easily and Star Force made a habit of splitting up large incoming populations between different planets and systems rather than to allow any group to stake out a bit of a colony as their own. If they were going to live in Axius then they were going to be part of Axius, not a rogue entity competing with the rest of the faction.

  But the Protovic were different, and Brad had made them that way on purpose. They were unified in purpose and working together more like a Clan than a faction. There was a civilian aspect to them, but it was much more diminished than in other factions. Axius had the largest civilian wing, while the Protovic had the smallest. There was no mandatory work, as such was forbidden within Star Force, but most Protovic were interested in helping their faction grow rather than pursuing solely personal agendas.

  And besting Canderous in that category was no small feat, as Brad had noted previously. No, the Protovic were the hardest working, most on task faction within Star Force despite their small size…which was why Jadren didn’t understand why their trailblazer was
constantly watching over them rather than going out and fighting like the others were.

  “I didn’t realize there were so many waiting in line to get in.”

  “Not in line,” Brad clarified, “for each is on an individual program. Most of these groups are undergoing isolation protocols in order to speed up their indoctrination. Only a few are on the slower group plans. Mostly by choice, because they want to get here as soon as possible.”

  “I didn’t realize we were that popular amongst the other Protovic colonies.”

  “It depends on who you’re talking about. A lot of them just want to be left alone, officially, but when there’s a means for individuals to make a choice and travel here we get a steady flow of the curious. As for their governments, the Whites are the exception.”

  “What made them all want to join?”

  “Part of it was because they feel a kinship with the rest of you. The other part was because one of their worlds was dying. Their moon was in a descending orbit, and that rid them of their sentimentality.”

  “So they came here because they had no other choice?”

  “Actually we offered to give it a nudge, but they still requested to join us.”

  “Did you give it a nudge?”

  “No. That would have required building some considerable infrastructure on the surface.”

  “Really? If it was a gradual deterioration wouldn’t a couple of command ships have been enough to push it?”

  “Yes, but we would still need to build a device that would allow the necessary force to be transitioned to the planet rather than burying the ships into the surface. Big as they are, the command ships would punch right through the planet’s crush given enough sustained thrust.”

  “Interesting…I hadn’t considered that.”