Star Force: Summit (Star Force Universe Book 44) Read online

  Hamob sighed. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was something. He had come here with no answers and no path forward. Now, at least, there was a path. Whether or not it was going to be beneficial was another question entirely.

  For he too, like Gavi, was not convinced of what would happen when they eventually engaged the Uriti with Star Force warships in support…for there was no way to take their primary worlds without facing that eventuality, though that would be left to last, and Hamob would make sure of that wrinkle being included in whatever plans they formatted going forward.

  7

  December 12, 4885

  Solar System (Star Force territory)

  Earth

  Morgan was busy in a planning meeting, working on the construction schedule for a year and a half in advance as Earth continued to be rebuilt into a battlefort. The population now was up to over 80 million, but those were all workers and fighters, without a single civilian present. She knew there was going to be a big fight here, but it was Earth and she wasn’t going to give it up again without exacting a hell of a price…though it was also a way to pull the V’kit’no’sat to a target of Star Force’s choosing where they could prepare for a massive strike without having to guess and pull ships away from the true targets.

  Seeing as how this was by far the closest system to V’kit’no’sat territory, as well as Star Force’s original capitol, it literally begged to get hit first, so Morgan was continuing to lay out an industrial plan maximized for ground combat. She knew she was going to lose all the equipment on the surface and these tracts of land were going to become either craters to orbital bombardment or a battlefield for V’kit’no’sat troops trying to take down the shield generators and spare their warships additional losses.

  If it was orbital bombardment it wouldn’t matter how she built them, but if there was to be a ground invasion it definitely did matter, so she was personally designing the layout for every square mile of Earth’s surface and she had to get it done well prior to construction, for the Kiritak, Bsidd, and assorted work crews were eating up her to-build list at a furious pace.

  It was a surprise, however, when the V’kit’no’sat alarm sounded. Morgan linked her mind into the nearby node in the ceiling and got a data feed from sensors, finding a fleet was jumping into the system…or rather had, for there was a big delay in the feed from the warships she had in stellar orbit. No fighting had broken out, and they relayed the hyper-compressed message they’d picked up moments before the first ship arrived, declaring they were here to talk.

  The message was repeated in normal compression once the first ship exited, and Morgan saw that the fleet only consisted of 12 ships in total, two of which were Kafcha, and all were Era’tran, easily identifiable by the tuning fork shape of their hulls. A few minutes later a follow up message was relayed to her, with Morgan already having moved over to the nearby control center and into a command nexus where she could get full data streams.

  Mak’to’ran was in one of the Kafcha, and he wanted to talk…now.

  Morgan waited while the drop pod crossed over to her new beastly command ship Gold Ranger, with her having flown out to the star rather than having the V’kit’no’sat come to Earth. All surveillance in the cargo bay had been deactivated and the crew cleared out, leaving her alone to talk to the Era’tran that came stomping down the boarding ramp into the Star Force vessel. He waited until it had left the bay before he spoke, but Morgan could already tell he was not happy.

  “Davis is not here,” she told him.

  “I did not expect him to be, so you will have to relay this conversation to him,” Mak’to’ran said, his voice not betraying the anger and shame his telepathic aura suggested. “The truce is about to be ended.”

  Morgan frowned. “You’re breaking it?”

  “Unfortunately yes. I do not have the power to stop the others without revealing the existence of the Zak’de’ron. Short of that, they are committed to destroying your autonomy if you will not willingly accept my command. I am here to ask you to reconsider, but I already know your answer.”

  “We’re not joining you,” Morgan said flatly.

  “And I do not blame you for that decision. We should be honoring the truce, but the others are lacking in honor. The few that were entrusted with knowledge of the Zak’de’ron have been emboldened to attack you now, before you can grow stronger, and eliminate the threat you pose before we have to fight the Zak’de’ron. You have 8 more years, then the truce will end. That is all I could force of them to wait.”

  “I told Davis that telling you was a bad idea,” Morgan said, putting her hands on her armored hips.

  “I am sorry,” Mak’to’ran said plainly. “I came here to explain exactly what is happening, for almost all of our empire does not know the full truth. The death mark on Humans has been lifted. It has been deemed that you have earned that much by your past efforts, so your worlds will not be obliterated through orbital bombardment. They will be conquered and your populations annexed into the V’kit’no’sat.”

  Morgan raised an eyebrow. “So we join you willingly or by force?”

  “That is what was decided. Also, we will not be engaging your Uriti. That would cost us too much. So we will strike where they are not, then use your captive populations as a shield against you using the Uriti for orbital bombardment.”

  “Of course,” Morgan scoffed, but it was considerably better than everyone getting outright murdered. At least she’d have a chance to rescue them later. “Why are you telling me your battle plan?”

  “It is not mine. I will not be fighting you, nor will the Era’tran. Of the 194 races in the V’kit’no’sat, there are 38 that have refused to take part in the invasion. Those 38, with myself included, agree to your proposal. We will keep to the Core, while we grant you the Rim to do with as you like. So long as you do not invade V’kit’no’sat territory, of any of the 194 races, we will ignore you. And I do not count the expansions as our territory. Our border prior to our invasion of Terraxis will be the boundaries. Anything beyond that is a fair target for you.”

  “Having civil war issues again?”

  “No. We have avoided that, though the divisions are there and growing. The 38 races not participating will take the place of the others on the Hadarak border, freeing them up to be used in the invasion, so you will still face the same number of vessels…the quality of which may have been lessened with our absence.”

  “So you’re not really helping out any, are you?”

  “If it were up to me no one would be attacking you. Every ship lost, on both our parts, only makes it easier for the Zak’de’ron to push their reclamation of the galaxy. For those of us that know the truth, we have agreed that we need time to upgrade the Urrtren to the point where the Zak’de’ron cannot shut it down on us. If they did so, it would destroy our ability to function as an empire, far beyond anything you can imagine. The Zak’de’ron mandated that our territory be spread out, with no clump of systems belonging to a single race. Because of that, if we lose communications, the Zak’de’ron could pick us apart with a fraction of the fleet necessary to fight us directly. And if they have a Uriti and the ability to command it, that blackout scenario becomes far worse. The others are playing for time, using the invasion of you as cover, amongst other things.”

  “That is insane.”

  “It holds some merit, but the losses are not worth it. The Era’tran will not suffer them, nor will the other 37 races. We at least will stay strong to oppose our true enemy, for our Harthur are diminishing fleet losses on the Hadarak border significantly and we will continue to produce more over time.”

  “Are you supplying the invading fleets?”

  “No. Our resources go to the Hadarak border and our own security. The others are on their own, but we have forced a promise from them. They will not destroy you, only conquer you, and if they fail to do the latter this one last time, the other races will be obligated to join us and grant you full authority in the Rim
. One way or another, the war between Star Force and the V’kit’no’sat will end and we will focus on the Zak’de’ron.”

  “That means you’ll be coming after us with everything you’ve got.”

  “Indeed they will, but they will not have the 38 races with them. Even if an equal number of ships are present there are differences between the races that have an effect on combat. Those which you face will be slightly weaker due to the lack of diversity and Era’tran leadership. We are now one of the three leading races in the V’kit’no’sat along with the Oso’lon and J’gar, and the J’gar are one of the 38 not attacking you. They do not know of the Zak’de’ron, for there is not an individual in their ranks that I can completely trust, but they see the folly in wasting our forces against you when we have the Harthur and could be doing serious damage to the smaller Hadarak.”

  “How firm is this dividing line? Could the J’gar or others change their mind?”

  “No. I have made sure of that. None of the 38 can alter their choice now, though any of the others can relinquish their attacks on you if they find the task untenable. And that is a line that cannot be crossed without starting a civil war. The Era’tran will enforce it with our fleets if needed. We are breaking our truce now, but I cannot stop it. If there is to be another breach of honor, it will split the empire. All know this, so it will not happen. You will not have to face the J’gar or Era’tran, but you will have the Oso’lon…and the Hjar’at, which is in some ways worse.”

  “I’ve noticed,” Morgan said, remembering the furious combat with them quite well. “So our translation agreement is off?”

  “That is up to you. I have brought with me all the data we have collected. I will give it to you now. If you choose not to send us the translation, I will not fault you for that given our upcoming breach of the truce.”

  “There better not be any code hidden in that data.”

  “There is not, though your security measures seem adequate to filter out any such intrusion.”

  “So what are the Era’tran now to us?”

  “We are too busy with the Hadarak and future enemies to bother with you anymore. Stay away from us and we will do the same.”

  “Well that’s something,” Morgan admitted. “So how do we beat the other races bad enough to force them to accept our independence?”

  “We have an internal measurement that I will not share with you. If they do not meet it, they will pull back. It is a long term measurement, so do not think a furious defense in the short term will save you. They will not be attacking the Uriti, so this will be a long, grueling war. If you can somehow survive, the Era’tran will welcome you as an ally against the V’kit’no’sat. If you are annexed, I do not think you, Morgan-063, will live as a servant. You will die fighting, like the rest of your kin, and we will take possession of your less valuable population.”

  “You can be sure of that,” she all but spat.

  “Both I and our empire deserve your ire for the breach of the truce, as well as past actions, but what is done is done. I cannot stop what is to come, but I have tempered it as much as I can without inciting another civil war within the V’kit’no’sat. I fear the coming fighting will weaken us to the point where the Zak’de’ron can exploit the opportunity, but the others do not agree. I have learned to think differently, but they are still clinging to protocol. The V’kit’no’sat must adapt if we are to survive, and it may come to pass that the 38 races refusing to attack you will break off and form a new empire if the others are taken out in their weakness. The future is grim for us, and this upcoming war makes it even more grim. It seems Star Force is wiser than Itaru, and that only adds further to our shame, but things are the way they are and I cannot change them.”

  “If you do not resupply the attacking races, we promise to not attack your Core territory. If you do, then we have nothing to lose by doing so, for the bulk of your ships will be tied up on the Hadarak front anyway.”

  “The annexers must do so on their own strength, and they must not obliterate any world. Those are the rules that are avoiding a civil war, and if we should face another the empire will end before the Zak’de’ron can take overt action against us.”

  “You suspect they’re already stoking the divisions?”

  “I do. I think they were previously as well, if your timeline is accurate. They knew unlocking the planetary defense station would cast blame on either the J’gar or the Oso’lon, and I think they did it as much for that reason as to help you grow stronger to further hurt us. Had I not turned rebel they might have succeeded by now. We cannot risk it happening again. This invasion, under the current terms, is a bad solution, but anything else will tear us apart, for there are those who will not follow my leadership. If they did, we would be facing an entirely different future.”

  “Even when your own asses are on the line, you guys can’t be smart. You just won’t relinquish control.”

  “To our doom, I fear.”

  “If this is your way of trying to apologize, you’re extremely bad at it.”

  “I have thought about what you said before, about the V’kit’no’sat learning from the Zak’de’ron and emulating them. Sadly, I believe you are correct. Our concept of dominance has been corrupted, and I have been forced to reevaluate everything I have ever been taught. I cannot fix the empire, but within the Era’tran we are learning. I know we must now lead, in ways the other races do not yet comprehend, but there is much within our race that has to be altered to remove the taint of the Zak’de’ron. Star Force has shown a superiority to us, one that has made us angry rather than taking the opportunity to learn and advance ourselves. It is the way of the Zak’de’ron to strike down rivals. You, I believe, use rivals to drive your competitiveness to new heights.”

  “If you eliminate your competition you get lazy,” Morgan added. “So I guess you have been paying attention.”

  “Though I cannot make an official statement, I apologize for what I personally did leading the first invasion, and I apologize for the actions of the Era’tran since then. We are responsible for our actions, but in truth they have not entirely been of our own making. We have been influenced by others far too much, and going forward I am not going to make the same mistakes again. We hereby denounce the war against you, and end all hostilities on our part. If you still claim us as an enemy I understand. We have earned that status and we do not shirk from it.”

  “I still hate you guys,” Morgan said flatly. “And I’m not going to forget all my friends you killed, but the past is the past and I can’t change it any more than you can. My focus is on the future. We may never be friends, but so long as you stop misbehaving we won’t have any reason to attack you, now or in the future. We have far too much to do, so we will also relinquish the state of war against the Era’tran, unofficially, so long as you stay on your side of the fence.”

  “Agreed.”

  “With one caveat,” the trailblazer added. “While we’re fighting your brothers, find a way to kick the crap out of the Zak’de’ron. We know they have subservient races already. The Voku are one of them, and you will not touch them, for they are our allies. That is not a pleasant situation we are going to face, but leave them to us. I suggest you try and identify the others, for they will not be hidden as the Zak’de’ron are.”

  “The Voku serve the Zak’de’ron?”

  “They did before you thought you destroyed them, and they stayed loyal through their absence. There are probably others spread across the galaxy as well.”

  “In the Rim, perhaps, but we eliminated those in the Core.”

  “They can always add new ones. I do not believe they will destroy you through just the strength of their own fleets.”

  Mak’to’ran considered that for a long moment. “Thank you for trusting me with that fact. The Voku are in the Rim, therefore they are your responsibility and we will leave them to you up until they choose to attack us in the Core. If they come to your aid against the other races, we will not
interfere.”

  “And while we’re starting to get along,” Morgan added, having to clamp down on the uneasiness in her gut resulting from playing nice with this bastard, “let’s discuss these Harthur you’re building...”

  8

  March 23, 4886

  Meinto System (Zadjen Region)

  Treneis

  “So that’s where we are,” Davis said as he sat at the head of a rectangular conference table inside his massive office with the 18 available trailblazers and all 8 Arch Dukes as Morgan finished explaining her lengthy conversation with Mak’to’ran. “We’ve got 8, maybe 7 years before they drop the hammer on us. How do you want to play this?”

  “Told you so,” Rio-058 declared.

  “Yes you did,” Davis acknowledged. “As did several others. In light of what has transpired, would you go back and withhold the information?”

  “We needed the time to build,” he reiterated. “But we didn’t know they were on the verge of breaking the truce anyway. Could Mak’to’ran have held them back for the duration? I don’t know, but we’ve lost a number of years at least and if they can’t keep their mouths shut the Dragons are going to know we betrayed them. We’re not ready for this.”

  “We were never ready,” Beck-061 noted. “Same old, same old.”

  “The status of the V’kit’no’sat is not what I thought it was,” Taryn-047 said with her dark brown ponytail hanging over the front of her right shoulder as she sat in the high backed chair. “Our information, even our captured updates, is woefully inadequate. We’ve been making a number of wrong assumptions for some time now. I’d glad we’ve come to this, despite the ass kicking we’re about to get, because I think we can survive it…and if we do, they will grant us dominion over the Rim. Not just permission to exist here, but the entire Rim all the way around. This is a test of worthiness, and though I don’t like playing by other people’s rules, at least we have an end game now.”