Star Force: Mak'to'ran (2) Read online

  “If an Era’tran dies,” Yaquik said, turning his attention to Vitt’rol, “does it become a major problem then?”

  “If that happens, the assassins will not be able to flee. We will identify and capture them.”

  “Their mission will still have succeeded. We gave the Era’tran our promise of safe passage, and we are presented with a situation where our own people are not honoring this pledge. Furthermore they are defying direct orders. This is far more serious than you are admitting.”

  “What do you wish us to do, Yaquik?”

  “I do not like this course of action, but this is the only one left to us. If we cannot trust one another then we do not deserve to be V’kit’no’sat, and I will not wait until the Era’tran or loyal Hjar’at are killed to underscore the point. Our race has become compromised by more than a few dissenters,” he said, eyeing Vitt’rol before sweeping his gaze across the others. “We cannot tolerate the death of even one.”

  “No one is,” Gorgat argued.

  “You do so with your apathy. Why have you not made sweeping changes in security after the first attack? You have done nothing, and thus permit this treason by not opposing it.”

  “Treason is too harsh, Yaquik. These are rogues and they will be dealt with individually. This is not an assault on the V’kit’no’sat nor our race. Assassinations are not permitted, but they are not unheard of either. We will deal with the guilty individuals appropriately. Their motivation is irrelevant.”

  “No. You do not see the threat…or perhaps you are one of them.”

  That sent twitches through several of the Hjar’at, for now the eldest among them was insinuating treason amongst those gathered here.

  “You challenge me without a shred of proof? I have done nothing.”

  “Nor did the others until they found an opportunity to strike. If we cannot relax amongst our own people and have to watch our back every moment for fear of being attacked on our most secure worlds, then we are dysfunctional and I will not allow that to persist.”

  “What has Gorgat done, specifically?” Yaara demanded as he walked up next to and slightly in front of the other Hjar’at, putting his right shoulder in between him and Yaquik.

  “Hopefully nothing, but we cannot let these assassins rule. They have the advantage of anonymity until they strike, and they will throw us into anarchy even if they do not attack again. Merely their presence will undermine us, but their actions with the defense gun say they want to do more than disrupt. They want to kill those who do not agree with them. We are in great peril and action must be taken.”

  “We can temporarily disable our anti-orbital batteries while the Era’tran return to orbit,” Bair’te suggested.

  “The traitors will remain in our midst afterward, and we cannot have those of us who have survived so many years only to be destroyed by our own kin in cowardly attacks. We cannot allow even one, and waiting till they successfully strike the Era’tran or our own is pointless. If we wait they succeed, and given how many attacked us the first time they have to be very widespread. How much so I do not know, but there is one way to find out.”

  “They have to be communicating and organizing somehow. There’s a trail to be found somewhere.”

  “No,” Yaquik said firmly. “We could never be sure we found them all. Our loyalty to the V’kit’no’sat and our race is the foundation on which our civilization is built. That foundation has crumbled and must be reformed. The Era’tran were able to do so more slowly, weeding out their own traitors, but we do not have the luxury of time. I apologize for what must be done, but there is only one option. Our race is unfit for duty until our loyalty can be confirmed, and every moment that goes by is further shame heaped upon us.”

  “How do we confirm loyalty without mental scans?” Pirr’at asked.

  Yaquik stared at him with a look of resignation. “We cannot.”

  “No!” Gorgat said, splaying his legs wide in an attack stance. “You will not commit this heresy.”

  “There is only one way I can be assured of your allegiance. You will either submit for a full mental scan willingly or I will force it upon you, the latter of which will be far more damaging. But as a civilization we cannot continue on as we are.”

  Gorgat’s Saroto’kanse’vam flared into brilliant blue as he held his position, indicating his utter defiance.

  “Gorgat!” Sha’brel all but screamed, but the other Hjar’at didn’t take his gaze off of Yaquik.

  “I think his treason is obvious,” Yaquik said with a growl.

  “I will not be mind raided in some perverse loyalty test,” he all but spat.

  “So you use your Saroto’kanse’vam?” Sha’brel said like a knife being thrust into his opponent.

  “I will defend myself.”

  “As will I,” Har’kat said, walking up beside Gorgat and igniting his own spines as several others began to walk and position themselves in varying places.

  “So I expected,” Yaquik said evenly as his jewelry-like armor melted and quickly expanded to cover his entire body save for the clear shard-like spines and spikes running the length of his neck, back, and tail. “No one leaves this room until I have confirmed your loyalty. Those wishing to object may do so now, otherwise stay out of the way.”

  “Yaquik!” another Hjar’at yelled in exasperation, but the time for talk was over. The elder and largest of the Hjar’at launched himself forward and absorbed an energy discharge from Gorgat on his shields, not even bothering to ignite his own Saroto’kanse’vam. Traitors as some of these elder Hjar’at were he was not going to stoop to their level and attack with his own…nor did he need to.

  Yaquik fired several stun weapons equipped in his armor, keeping his aim low so the Saroto’kanse’vam dome wouldn’t interfere with them. They’d still penetrate, but the effect could be reduced considerably with the mixing of matrixes so he aimed for Gorgat’s exposed feet and began numbing up his legs with several hits as not one, but three Hjar’at charged him in attempted battle rams, stupid as it was with them having no armor, but these ‘arrogant,’ as Mak’to’ran had described them, were proving to be just that.

  Yaquik threw up a huge Fornax field, then proceeded to physically batter them aside with a combination of side slaps and tail whips, all the while putting stun shots into them that further hindered their coordination. Within less than 20 seconds all three were tripping over themselves trying to get up off the ground as Yaquik paced around them eyeing the others.

  “You will submit or be disabled. If you are unconscious the process will be much more complicated.”

  “If we are cleared, then we will proceed to do the same with others until the system is cleansed of heresy?” Voto’kan asked.

  “No. Our minds are meant to be sovereign. This is a betrayal that I must commit, and I alone will commit it.”

  “There are too many Hjar’at.”

  “I will start with those highest placed and work my way down. As soon as we have enough cleared I will reassign them to the planetary defenses and other key systems. We will regain marginal control and deal with the masses later.”

  “Better if he does it,” Bair’te added. “A weaker mind would have to work harder to break through reflexive barriers.”

  “I still do not think this is wise.”

  “It is reckless,” Yaquik agreed, “but if we are engaged in battle do we stay back and contemplate or dive in amongst our enemies? Do we take the Era’tran method and slowly vet our population through other means that could be compromised, accepting what deaths and other forms of treason occur in the meantime, or do we face this directly, here and now, and do what has to be done to reforge our civilization?”

  “The assassins think they strike out of the shadows at will,” Voto’kan echoed. “As such they will have a perpetual advantage so long as new recruits can be secured. They do not have to hold ground, but can strike anywhere while appearing to be allies. I could be eating tomorrow and the Hjar’at beside me could att
ack without warning. Mental violations are severe, but we will survive them. We cannot tolerate this heresy, and if we must face pain to purge it from our ranks permanently then that is what we shall do. We are warriors, and we will take the hit if we must for the sake of the Hjar’at. I have but one question.”

  “Ask it.”

  “How widespread are these traitors in other races? You mentioned the Era’tran, but what of others? And are they connected to Terraxis?”

  “I have been blind to their presence until recently. The Era’tran warn of them in every race and in having at least nominal control of Itaru. Their connection to Terraxis is probable, but not confirmed. As you said, they lurk in the shadows and are difficult to isolate prior to them revealing themselves in an attack.”

  “What is their end goal?” Bair’te asked.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Voto’kan said firmly. “We must purge them from our ranks, after which we can get whatever answers we need. Our civilization bonds must be restored. I will lower my defenses as much as I can, but do what you must to confirm my loyalty, Yaquik. If we cannot trust you, then our race is doomed.”

  Voto’kan walked up near the golden armored warrior and laid down on the ground with his legs tucked underneath as he tried to undo as much of the layering of mental defenses that he had accumulated over his 1.3 million years of existence, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to consciously lower them all…and the remainder would have to be broken through.

  “I take no pleasure in this, but it must be done,” Yaquik said as he made contact with his mind.

  “Be swift, but thorough. I want all question of my loyalty resolved.”

  “It will be,” the eldest Hjar’at said as he probed deeper, allowing Voto’kan to see his gradual advancement as he checked surface thoughts and other painlessly accessible areas that were willingly opened up, but the deeper Yaquik moved the more resistance there was until the blocks over his base personality and motivations slammed shut involuntarily. When that happened the real damage occurred, for Yaquik pushed back so hard he shattered the first few instantly.

  The rest that followed felt like a fragmentation grenade going off in Voto’kan’s mind, but knowing that this was his duty he suffered through it until Yaquik eventually retreated, but most of the pain did not and his defenses recovered themselves as well as a door slamming shut now filled with gaping holes.

  “Your loyalty is intact,” Yaquik declared, “and trust restored. Who will be next?” he said as he shot the partially stunned Hjar’at again as they began to make progress in standing back up and crawling off. When they slumped back down still partially conscious the youngest of those assembled walked up to Yaquik and took his place beside where Voto’kan was visibly crying as he tried to pull himself together.

  “Make sure we are not attacked in the aftermath,” he requested, taking a similar seated position on the floor and tucking his legs underneath himself so he could flex them unseen against the ravages to come.

  “I will guard any loyal Hjar’at with my life,” Yaquik promised, then began his second mental invasion with many more to come.

  By the time he’d finished with all 14 of them a crowd had assembled outside the locked doors, for they’d heard the mental screams and were on the verge of blasting their way inside but assurances from Yaquik kept them at bay long enough for him to finish. When he did the guards and others outside entered in a rush, seeing 14 Hjar’at either laying on the ground or stumbling around awkwardly.

  “Take them to confinement and hold them there until I personally release them,” he ordered, mentally directing the guards to the 5 Hjar’at whose loyalty test had failed, Gorgat included.

  “What?”

  “You do not need to understand. Simply obey and you will be informed later.”

  “Do it,” Voto’kan agreed. “They are traitors.”

  “Tar’nakis!” Yaquik roared, with the other Hjar’at flinching then turning around to look at one of the crowd pinned between dozens of other bodies that were flooding into the chamber. “Step forward you coward.”

  All eyes turned on him, and for a long moment he didn’t move as he tried to figure out what was going on. Someone else in the crowd beat him to it, then shared the realization of the mental raids with everyone else telepathically. There was a mix of stunned silence and outroar, the latter part of which had bodies moving around erratically. Some moving forward in rage and others turning to flee out of fear. Tar’nakis tried to leave with the latter, but Yaquik smashed through the crowd to get to him, resulting in a short chase through two levels before body slamming him into a nearby support column.

  “Submit,” he said with disdain. “Your treason will not be hard to uncover, for I already know where to look.”

  “You’ve crossed a line that Itaru will not let you live to regret.”

  “We are Hjar’at,” Yaquik said, kicking him in the gut as he likewise rammed his Ikrid into his mind and forcefully grappled with the unwilling target in a losing effort for Tar’nakis. “We take care of our own internal disruptions. As for Itaru, we will deal with those traitors once we have our own civilization in order.”

  “You…will be…executed…for this.”

  “We are V’kit’no’sat. The dominant rule, and your cowardice prevents you from ever becoming so. If I am wrong, please demonstrate otherwise,” Yaquik said as he increased his mental attacks to the level where Tar’nakis could do nothing but vainly try and slow him down while Yaquik multitasked and communicate with others to ensure that those loyal Hjar’at in the conclave came to no harm in their diminished state.

  He was going to assemble a core of trusted individuals to fight this battle with, but until they were established every one that he confirmed would be in a vulnerable position until they could recover their strength…and that could take weeks depending on the severity of their injuries.

  8

  August 17, 3604

  Yat’ri System (Hjar’at Regional Capitol)

  Hattoman

  Very little word from Yaquik made its way to Mak’to’ran over the following days save for brief snippets of news coverage accompanied by highlight text. They were detailing a series of fights on the planet’s surface, but thankfully none were close by and the rage of anarchy hadn’t yet sprung up in full force. The battles appeared to be fierce with numerous casualties reported…and the severed head of one Hjar’at bespoke the depths of these traitors’ heresy. According to the news reports Saroto’kanse’vam were being used, and Mak’to’ran had thought he’d never seen a Hjar’at look so afraid.

  But the fear was justified. If this was as deep an affront as Yaquik had explained then younger minds would react to it even more strongly. The fear of suddenly being killed by those beside you would drive a wave of paranoia into the planet’s population if not for the additional reports of the counterattack, for many of the battles were not being started by assassins, but rather Yaquik’s loyalist forces as they rooted out individuals and regions rife with treachery, all the while NOT using their Saroto’kanse’vam for more than defensive blocks.

  Lopsided as that was, it seemed to make it clear which side was in the right and had probably avoided the mass insanity that such destabilizing undercurrents could produce, but after three days word of the loyalty checks became public and drove their own wedge into the planet’s inhabitants. Doing such a thing was almost as bad as a Hjar’at using their Saroto’kanse’vam against another and there was considerable uproar over the breach of privacy, quelled only by the fact that it was Yaquik along who was conducting the tests, but even then there were Hjar’at refusing to yield…which added to the list of battles being fought.

  But no Hjar’at was dying at the hands of the loyalists. They were defeating, subduing, and capturing their opposition even while losing a few of their own. Reports were most were revivable, but a handful had been confirmed irrevocably dead and that threw another orb into the flames. The Hjar’at news service for the planet was an open fo
rmat one, and while Yaquik’s brief messages had directed him to selective feeds he also had access to the others and spent a great deal of time digging through them.

  There was a huge rift forming within the Hjar’at, with the majority of the planet still trying to fathom how and where this conflict had arisen from. Many trusted Yaquik, but the mind raids put them on a very narrow edge of support that amounted to neutrality. If his people started killing Hjar’at then that would tip the scales…many had stated…and the same went for mass loyalty checks. If he alone was doing them that did not endanger the masses, for he was only one and could not get through them all, plus he was one that could be trusted in your mind where underlings would not be tolerated.

  There were many subfactions forming with reservations or fears, but as news of the new battles springing up incited more protestations and calls for the Hjar’at capitol of Mavro to come and take control, information began to get released on the particulars of the treason taking place and Mak’to’ran quickly realized why Yaquik was too busy to contact him directly.

  The elder Hjar’at knew he had to lay this heresy out for all to see and he was doing just that, taking some memories from the discovered traitors and loading them into digital engrams. The Era’tran seldom used such technology, preferring the precision of artificial constructs, but the computerized memories were something more common amongst the races without Sav and the uploaded memories being transmitted over comm channels and stored for any and all to review were damning.

  Creating an engram without permission was a deep violation of not just Hjar’at protocol but also of Itaru’s edicts, so when Yaquik began publishing these engrams he lost a lot of support…up until bits of the conspiracy were laid bare and the loyal Hjar’at on the planet could see the treason with their own minds. Most acknowledged the trespass had been necessary, but there were some sticklers for protocol that he permanently lost the support of, or so they said. Hjar’at were notoriously blunt, and while all races were capable of lying they were more disinclined to it than others. Some said that was because they were not as smart, but Mak’to’ran knew it to be a behavioral tilt originating from their genetic code and necessary to excel in combat.