Star Force: Retribution (SF60) Read online

  He’d taken seclusion as his reward and stepped away from the public, rarely making an appearance other than on a few occasions that he chose to nudge events to his liking. That nudging had made him somewhat aggravating to the Royals because of the influence he maintained, but they allowed him his due and didn’t interfere, knowing that he’d return to seclusion again soon enough.

  Vedja had kept a link to the fleet, monitoring the Nexus upgrades and how they were implemented, with various officials coming to him for advice or with problems to solve. He attended to such things quietly, behind the scenes, but had never had the fortunate of commanding one of their upgraded vessels in combat…but now it seemed he was going to get that chance after all.

  In the past the Li’vorkrachnika had even tech with the H’kar, or approximately so. Both races used plasma-based weapons and other similar motifs but with different applications. Now the H’kar didn’t use plasma at all, having upgraded to far more powerful weapons that the enemy could not stand up against head to head. It was their numbers that they were using to continually defeat the H’kar, this time by surrounding their new worlds with too many conquests for the fleet to adequately prevent.

  But the battles the raiding fleets were engaging in were not lopsided affairs. More often than not the ship count that Star Force would bring to bear would be nearly even, with the tech advantage allowing the H’kar to utterly destroy their opponents during battle…and that was something that Vedja wanted to experience firsthand after so many decades of hard fought retreats just trying to keep his people on the move and alive.

  The elder H’kar had been reviewing the stats ever since they’d started returning to the empire, and he was amazed at how the Star Force commanders were deploying the H’kar so effectively. They were very rarely losing a ship, and that fact coupled with the tech advantage meant that a low number of H’kar vessels could do an immense amount of damage to the enemy fleets. If that strategic wisdom could be learned and duplicated throughout the entire H’kar fleet then Vedja had no doubt that they would be able to repulse the Li’vorkrachnika from their assigned Nexus territory without the help of the Gfatt or anyone else.

  Which was why Vedja was willing to take command of the dreadnaught, giving Star Force and the H’kar designers that they’d worked with the benefit of the doubt. He intended to learn what wisdom they had melded into the design and hoped there was something here he wasn’t immediately seeing. That said, the ship was still vastly stronger than a battleship…and there was no way a proper war commander would oversee a fleet from a behemoth.

  While his aide stood quiet watch behind Vedja the fleet commander settled in and got himself acquainted with the new design. It was mostly standard H’kar, but there were a few tweaks here and there that he thought might have come from Star Force…or some overzealous H’kar designers who liked to change things simply to put their own stamp on them.

  Never the less the design was sound and he adjusted his mind to it accordingly as the final preparations were made amongst the fleet sitting alongside his new flagship in orbit of Loki. He was the last major piece to arrive, and after the last few minor checks were attended to he ordered the dreadnaught to the head of the fleet and they began their microjumps over to system’s center, some 1,394 ships in all that would be traveling to a rendezvous point in Zeta Region before splitting off into three separate groups that would meld with Star Force fleets and constitute the newest raiding groups heading out.

  Already there were H’kar ships out there, fighting and presumably winning battles. They were due back over the coming two years, with Vedja leaving instructions on how to restructure them when they arrived so they could be dispatched with additional fleets comprised in his absence. He didn’t have time to train a new subordinate, so he was just going to work with posted orders. The elder H’kar didn’t have time to do things properly, so the others were simply going to have to adapt on the go and earn their marks.

  Vedja remained on the command deck for many hours, mostly silent and learning about the ship and crew through his displays but vocalizing commands and questions to the crew when needed as any commander would. He would have preferred taking a tour of the ship once it was mid jump but he didn’t have the strength, so instead he stayed put and soaked in the feel of being in command again before finally heading off to his personal quarters where he put himself into a nutrient bath to help reinforce his weakening exoskeleton.

  Soaking in the supplements he studied holographic schematics of the Star Force ships in detail, working off of scans the H’kar had taken given that they had never been trusted with blueprints. That wasn’t uncommon, for allies were only allies to a point, and even the H’kar had never given full blueprints for their warships to Star Force when co-designing the new vessels in order to maintain security and the Nexus edicts about sharing technology.

  The Star Force vessels were curious, and now that he was here he had access to a great deal more information than had made its way back home. Vedja studied their drone system intently, for it was completely foreign to H’kar philosophy and he all but knew therein lie an advantage, but at the moment he couldn’t see it. For as radical as he was a commander within the H’kar, he was still tightly bound by tradition. He might loosen the strings on occasion, but his mind was very firm when it came to how to go about doing things, as were all H’kar.

  But he would learn, slowly, as he studied reports during the jumps out to the rendezvous point and then even more so when he finally engaged in combat alongside Star Force, who also had a Voku vessel with them. Its technology was mind-baffling, in that Vedja never knew how many vessels it truly was. They broke apart and reformed into many hull varieties, offering them plenty of formation options without him being able to figure out just how they were able to accomplish it.

  Their battle strategies were likewise fluid and even more alien than those used by Star Force, but the orders given to Vedja’s fleet were straightforward enough. Wisely he followed them all even if he disagreed with them, and while Star Force passed up many an opportunity to make kills they succeeded in preserving all of the H’kar ships during their first system raid…which was when Vedja had his first epiphany.

  Star Force wasn’t fighting in a way to destroy enemy ships, but to weaken them so that they could kill them later while preserving their own vessels. Moreover, they were seeking to do damage to the enemy while only losing shield strength. That was why they appeared to be so hesitant and often ordered H’kar ships to withdrawal when they were undamaged.

  What would have taken an Archon all of 5 minutes, at most, to figure out, the elder H’kar had finally saw…and when he did he connected it to reports that had come back from previous raids in which Star Force had tried to explain what they were doing to the H’kar commanders. Their words had been farcical then, but now they appeared to crystalize into perfect clarity in retrospect.

  So strong was the H’kar urge to lock onto a target and destroy it that learning to engage and disengage as common practice was something that was going to take a fundamental shift in H’kar psychology to accomplish, but Vedja knew it had to happen. He wasn’t going to be able to do it on his own and began drafting a series of messages to his former students that now commanded the majority of the fleet back home, outlining in better terms what Star Force had been trying to tell them all along and imploring them to begin making alterations in the training programs immediately to make the upcoming recruits more open to the new combat philosophy.

  Vedja also realized one other thing, and that was the reason why the ships coming back home after spending time in the raiding fleets showed less than the stellar stats that were being reported from the joint raids. When the H’kar were following orders they didn’t attach their egos to the assignments and were able to mentally leave the outcome in the hands of their alien commanders…but once back under their own direction they could not think like Star Force did, at least not completely. Some small amount of tactical knowledge wa
s coming back with those ships and crews, but in order to maintain this overpowering kill to death rate the H’kar had to work jointly with Star Force.

  Vedja had known that hooking up with the Humans was necessary in order to learn from them, but now he saw that it was more than that. Their psyche was operating on a different level than the H’kar, and it happened to be in a way that directly countered the Li’vorkrachnika. Vedja doubted it would be as effective against the Nexus races or others, but against this enemy Star Force’s curious ways were more effective than H’kar battle philosophy had ever approached being, and in order to hurt their common enemy the most the H’kar had to do joint battle as often as possible.

  As Vedja wrote his messages he outlined this as well, noting that in the short term it would be easier just to use the Star Force commanders rather than attempting to retrain the entire H’kar military. They could incorporate lessons learned and modify their existing philosophy rather than attempting an immediate and total overhaul…but in order to make it work there would have to be an unprecedented level of cooperation, for without the Star Force commanders the H’kar could not defeat the Li’vorkrachnika.

  But with them, and a lot of favor…it might just be possible.

  And that was something that no H’kar had legitimately imagined since the early days of the war.

  8

  March 16, 2682

  Achkor System

  Zenniza

  The Excalibur dropped into planetary orbit around the Voku world, with Paul immediately seeing the bolstered ship count that Cal-com had spoken of in his last message. They hadn’t met one another since he’d been recalled back to his homeworld, communicating through the relay system as Paul had gone out on another raiding mission into lizard territory. Their conversations were intermittent and delayed, but they’d continued making plans for the war going forward in piecemeal knowing that they’d have to get back together again for a proper planning session at some point.

  The trailblazers didn’t need face to face conversations to coordinate, for they practically knew what each other was thinking with only a few lines of text being shared across lightyears, but Cal-com, as much as Paul had grown to know him, operated on a completely different mental frequency that required a lot of back and forth between the two in order to hammer out strategy. They worked well together, but it was a communication heavy relationship that just couldn’t work over distance with an endeavor this complex.

  Cal-com had said he’d be getting more resources, enough to push up their timetable for the reconquest of Calavari territory…a little project that was only in the planning stages, for aside from the handful of systems along the ADZ border there was no major push underway for territory, merely nipping at the lizards here and there while disrupting their holdings with more and more raids.

  When the Voku had sent the message requesting their meeting as soon as possible Paul had arranged for his raiding tour to allow him to split off while the bulk of the H’kar fleet cycled back to the Core Systems for refueling and damage repair. The Star Force vessels were stopping off short at Rotunna for resupply then heading back out with a mixed Calavari/Bsidd support fleet in lieu of the H’kar for some smaller strikes with Paul catching up eventually. He’d taken his command ship, which didn’t require resupply yet given its larger cargo holds, and had gone straight to Achkor, now arriving amongst a sea of Voku conglomerates sitting in orbit like an asteroid field composed of small moons.

  He took a dropship down to the surface along with a Voku escort that led him directly to the facility where he’d met Cal-com on previous visits. The two had their own private planning center to themselves, constructed on Cal-com’s orders, with a lot of Paul’s personal data stored there for him to utilize on visits like this rather than having to work from scratch.

  Cal-com was already inside when he arrived, but even before he saw his friend he felt a change in him. The always serious Voku mind was even more sharp than before, but also more relaxed as he made some casual adjustments to the starcharts before him, sorting through a variety of options without committing to anything until he had Paul’s input.

  “Welcome back,” the taller alien said when the Archon arrived in his dark blue armor. Cal-com triggered the door to close behind him and Paul pulled off his helmet, setting it aside. If this had been a Star Force facility he would have come down in his casual uniform, but whenever somewhere else he wanted to be in his armor just in case something unexpected happened.

  “Important trip I take it?” Paul asked.

  “And beneficial,” Cal-com said with a mental twitch so large that it stood out to Paul’s casual feel of his mood. Curious, he probed deeper…following the twitch to the source and opening up the memories of the recall.

  Paul didn’t say anything for several seconds, merely looking up at the dark black face of his friend as he pulled out the memories. Usually he didn’t pry, but fortunately this time he had.

  Cal-com twitched his head to the side. “What’s wrong?”

  Paul set his helmet on one of the nearby planning tables. “Is this room being monitored or recorded in any way?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then I suggest we be honest with each other.”

  “Have you not been previously?” Cal-com challenged casually.

  “You met with an Elder,” Paul said flatly, getting the surge of shock that he’d expected, but also with a desperation that he quickly tracked back to the order of secrecy given to him. “Relax, your secret is safe.”

  “How do you know this?” the Voku said, half angry half curious.

  “The Elder read your mind the same way that I can read yours. I’ve been able to do so since you first arrived. We knew the Elders sent you here to help us.”

  Cal-com took a step back, shocked and humbled at the same time.

  “Furthermore,” Paul continued, “we’ve met your Elders and they know we have this ability. The one you met spoke my name, so it had to know from your memories that I had access to yours. You have not betrayed their trust, and I believe they are also sending me a message through you.”

  “And you didn’t think I could be trusted with this knowledge before?”

  “Few know of our full abilities, which are many. While there are rumors abound no one knows the true extent of the powers we possess and we prefer to keep it that way. We also knew you were told not to tell us of the Elders when you first arrived, and we felt it best if we let you maintain that…illusion.”

  “Then why tell me now?”

  “Because I trust you…and because we’re going to have to work together without interference. If you try to hide your given mission and I pretend not to know our troops movements will have to be curtailed to maintain this fantasy. We cannot afford that restriction.”

  “I am annoyed, but I cannot find fault in your logic.”

  “I know,” Paul said with an almost apologetic smirk.

  Cal-com huffed and leaned forward, setting his big fists on the table between them. “And all the times you’ve had me explain Voku strategy was for show?”

  “I don’t read your mind continuously, and it makes it easier to access memories if you’re thinking about them actively.”

  “Is there anything that you don’t know?”

  “Plenty. Don’t assume I always know what you’re thinking. It takes some effort and I can’t think freely when I’m in someone else’s head, so most of the time during these planning sessions I don’t know what you’re thinking and don’t pry unless there’s a language issue.”

  “And here I thought the Voku were the superior. You’ve hidden your true strength well, and I fault myself for not linking your telekinetic ability with this sooner.”

  “Moving objects and reading minds are completely different abilities.”

  “And you gave no clue with regards to your words. You hid your stolen knowledge well.”

  Paul shrugged. “I wouldn’t like it either if someone could pry into my m
ind, but as long as I can…”

  “You should make use of the ability,” Cal-com reluctantly agreed. “I’m beginning to see why the Elders value you so.”

  “That was the message I referred to,” Paul said, taking a moment to pull more of the memories from his friend concerning that discussion, as well as visuals. The dragon he’d spoken with was not the one Paul had seen on Earth, meaning those eggs that Kara had told him about had apparently hatched.

  “How so?”

  Paul looked at the floor for a moment, then glanced back up at Cal-com. “I possess a secret of yours, though not by your choice. Can I trust you with one of mine?”

  “If I lied you’d know,” the Voku quipped with a bit of frustrated merriment.

  “If I was paying attention,” Paul amended, trying to give his friend some parameters as to his ability in order to calm his mind. Omnipotence was a myth, but as an illusion it was very effective at making someone worry with indecision, for if you didn’t know the capabilities of an opponent you would have no way of knowing if you could effectively fight them or would be walking into a beatdown.

  “What is your secret?”

  “We have many,” he added, “but the relevant one involves the Elders. We share a common enemy, one so powerful that if either of us are discovered we’re as good as dead. When the Elder told you that we were valuable to them, I think he was sending me a message stating that one day in the future that fight is going to come to both of us, and they want us to survive and develop to the point where we can at least cause our enemy some damage.”

  “You are not allies then?”

  “Not exactly. We share some common ancestry, which is why we both have the ability to read minds, but we have only had one encounter, and I am speaking for Star Force on the whole. We did them a favor and they did us one in return…then we went our separate ways. I would not call that an ally, but it seems they think we’re an asset to potentially use in an end game far into the future.”