Star Force: Relocation (SF44) Read online

  Dre’for had been surprised when he’d been informed that they’d be moving to Human space with the assistance of the Hycre fleet, but right now it seemed the only sane option, for both the Scionate and many others in the Cajdital’s immediate path.

  As the descending starship closed range Dre’for casually glanced at the identification tag, then did a double take. He was nearly through his loop around the city and about to head back onto his patrol route, but veered off for a pass by of the average-sized transport, seeing for a fact what his sensor board told him.

  It was a Dvapp ship. Dre’for had never seen one before, outside of pictures, for their territory was at the farthest end of Alliance space, opposite that of the Humans, and only marginally connected to the Bsidd. Originally they had rebuffed an Alliance invitation, citing that the Cajdital were not a threat to them given the distances involved, but a number of years ago that had changed and they came in as an ally of the Bsidd, though they never had much contact with any of the other Alliance races. With the Bsidd cutting ties to the Calavari, what the hell were they doing here?

  As the transport came over the city Dre’for saw it divert to the construction site and double checked his heading to make sure he wasn’t going to run into anything, for he had a hard time taking his eyes off of it. Unlike all other Alliance vessels, the Dvapp starships were not built of metal or rock, they were constructed of crystal, all of which glowed from within, much like Bsidd technology did. This transport shown ruby red, as well as picking up reflections from the sunlight, making it stand out brightly against the cityscape and making for one grand entrance.

  The ship was compact, with a number of short, thick pylons jutting out here and there, but overall it was elongated fore and aft with sharp corners and edges and not so much as a single curve in the entire design. It came to a hover over the Calavari and Humans, prompting Dre’for to come in closer for a look at what it was offloading.

  He flew so close that he virtually brought the Valerie to a standstill, but it was worth it, for the underside compartments opened up and out dropped globs of rounded crystal that fell to the ground and, rather than shattering, smooshed like thick liquid, then pulled back up into globs and moved their way across the ground.

  Dre’for was amazed that such a life form could exist. The Dvapp were completely amorphous, and even as he watched he saw several of them heighten and form arms, legs, and a head, mimicking the Calavari and Humans in a very crude manner as several of the Alliance construction crews came forward to meet them. Other Dvapp extended themselves into long tendrils that snaked back up to the ship’s underside, creating slide ramps when four or more of them worked together, down through which ‘hard’ crystal containers followed.

  The Dvapp themselves were crystal, though only on a microscopic level. They had redundant everything, allowing themselves to lose massive amounts of their body to damage and still keep fighting…or so the rumors went. The Alliance had gotten a large amount of information about them when they’d joined, but still there were many questions left lingering.

  But above the splendor of it all was the undeniable fact that the Dvapp were the largest Alliance race after the big four, with their power ranking matching, though being somewhat questionable given their lack of combat with the Cajdital or others by which to evaluate them. They exclusively used beam weapons, no particles or plasma, which also left their combat capability questionable, especially if they were seeking refuge with the rest of the Alliance races this far away from their own territory.

  The Scionate had come far to get here, but that distance paled in comparison to what the Dvapp had to travel, making Dre’for wonder if something else wasn’t in the works, because their presence here made no sense whatsoever. He did know that this ship was a transport rather than a warship by its color, for their warships glowed green, and it was said they had no jumpships. Had the Hycre carried them here? Dvapp territory was well beyond what he knew the Hycre border to be.

  Dre’for watched the unloading begin, then forced himself to return to his patrol route with many questions running through his mind. Had he stayed a bit longer he would have gotten another eyeful, learning about it from others after his patrol had ended, though he and the others were banned from visiting that particular Calavari city, given that the Dvapp preferred some amount of autonomy, much as the other races did with their own warrens.

  “Greetings allies,” one of the Dvapp said as it took a bipedal form in front of Vanessa Locke and her Calavari engineering partner Sanmat, whose height it matched exactly.

  “Hello,” she answered back in the trade language, though her own voice seemed pathetically flat compared to the almost electronic voice of the Dvapp, which was laced with an overlapping echo. “You’ve arrived earlier than we expected. The transit terminal isn’t completed yet, but we do have the growth components you requested on hand.”

  “We’ve marked the boundaries,” Sanmat continued in his deeper voice, “with the low wall you see there,” he said, pointing. “Can you build around that?”

  “We can,” the Dvapp answered. “It matches the schematics given to us in orbit. If you will allow us access to the cargo you agreed to provide we can begin immediately.”

  Vanessa turned around and motioned with a flick of her wrist to someone behind her, then some 20 seconds later a hovertruck floated out of the construction site with large vats of liquid and boxes of solid compounds, most of which was powderized carbon…all of which were in pure form.

  More hovertrucks followed, eventually forming into a long cargo convoy that the Calavari workers unloaded onto the dirt and allowed the Dvapp to do with as they pleased…which involved them setting up a large tarp over the mostly level ground, around the edges of which a retainment ring was formed a meter and a half high, making it look like a football field-sized kiddy pool that sparkled bluish/white.

  With that in place, and many others being set up at specific points underneath the hovering cargo ship, the vats of liquid were drained while additional gel-like liquid was deposited directly from above, extruding out of vents in the underside of the ship’s hull. A few of the Dvapp ‘walked’ out into the shallow pool and deposited a large, sharp crystal shard at a precise place, then backed away as it began to pulse with an inner white light.

  The Dvapp oozed their way over the edges of the pool as more gel and liquid continued to flow in, threatening to spill out as it nearly reached the top, but when the solid components were added and eventually drifted into the shard near the center of the irregularly shaped pool, the object suddenly shrieked and began to rise up out of the liquid on anti-grav.

  Except it wasn’t anti-grav. The crystal was growing at a rate of several inches per second and draining the liquid/gel/powder mix around it, creating a shallow crater in the fluid that drew the rest back towards the center and kept it from spilling over the rim. Slowly, but fast enough for the eyes to easily register, a Dvapp structure rose up, expanding in all directions while the city denizens got to withstand the nearly constant whistle/shriek of the flash growth.

  Vanessa and Sanmat watched with wide eyes over the next 12 minutes as the Dvapp crew continued to pump resources into the pool up until there was only a narrow ring left around the exterior, with the building finishing its construction a meter from the retainment wall and soaking up nearly every drop of liquid within it.

  “Damn,” she whispered, looking up at the 5-6 story high structure. “Talk about your fast builds.”

  “What?” Sanmat asked, not taking his eyes off the building.

  “Nothing. Just engineer envy. We’re going to need to bring their cargo in faster.”

  “Agreed. I did not realize they, or anyone, could build this fast. I am thoroughly impressed.”

  “I’m curious to how strong it is,” Vanessa said, touching her earpiece. “Bring up the rest in continuous convoys. We’ll have additional offloading spots marked by the time you get here…yes, bring it all up. There’s no need for a del
ayed schedule. It seems the Dvapp can grow their structures as fast as we can deliver the raw materials…no I’m not joking. I’ll fill you in later. And send someone with a camera, I want to document this for later analysis.”

  9

  August 11, 2473

  Numar System (Calavari Territory)

  Sashneo

  Ik’re drew considerable attention as it walked through the Calavari city streets, glistening with reflected sunlight as its sand-like white body tissue shifted with every bipedal step, a courtesy to the other Alliance races, for normally it would have traveled through other configurations. The Dvapp was headed for the center of the city, far past its own warrens, and was the first to do so of its own race, causing quite a stir in the other denizens.

  Ik’re ignored their attention. As an ambassador/diplomat it had dealt with other races before, though never as many as were present here. Most around it now were Calavari, but there were others scattered among them, causing it more apprehension than normal, for most mono-forms found the Dvapp disturbing, and even though these were their supposed allies, old habits were hard to break.

  But Ik’re had enough poise to ignore them and continue on its way with large, plodding steps most similar to the Calavari whose form it was mimicking, save for having only two arms. Those arms had no hands, nor the feet toes or the face features. Its body was configured into appendages that pressed flat against the ground below and hung uselessly at its sides for balance. The bipedal form seemed to calm some of the apprehension in others, given it was familiar to them, but Ik’re was still vastly alien and carried with it a group of onlookers all the way up to the ambassadorial building.

  Inside the reception was muted, as the street travelers didn’t follow it in. The Dvapp was met by Calavari receptionists and directed to the appropriate chamber in which it met the Calavari ambassador assigned to them on this planet.

  “Hello Vorshak,” it said coming into the room and seeing the Calavari standing with his back to it as he looked at some type of hologram mounted on the wall. The Dvapp stood perfectly still just inside the door as it shut, leaving the two of them alone.

  The Calavari turned around slowly. “You spoke of an important matter in your message. What is it? And please relax, there is no need to hold that form for me.”

  “Thank you,” Ik’re said, melting in place and forming a thick pool of material on the floor that quickly pulled back together into a rounded pillar similar to a Jell-O mold. “What I have to say is also for the Hycre. Can you initiate communications?”

  “I already have,” the Calavari said, touching a button on the chair he stood beside and enlarging the hologram on the wall to real size, with the floating gas bag materializing to his left.

  SPEAK AMBASSADOR

  “Many of the Alliance races have made inquiries as to why we requested permission to establish an outpost on this transitional world. To all we have told that we wished to create a diplomatic link to the other races in the Alliance beyond the Bsidd and to extend that link to the new territories you are retreating into when the time comes. This is true, but it is not the full truth. I offer it to you now.”

  “Proceed,” Vorshak urged, crossing both sets of arms over his chest.

  “It is with great shame that I reveal this information to you, and I would ask that you keep it a secret, for knowledge of it endangers the Dvapp, but we no longer have any choice but to ask the Alliance for assistance. All are suffering from the Cajdital invasion, but we more than any other. They have found a weakness in our technology and are exploiting it to ravage our fleets and annihilate our worlds. We have no defense against their new weapon. I am here to ask that we be allowed to join in the relocation, in whatever numbers we can muster, but above that we ask if either of your races can devise a technological solution to our vulnerability. Our scientists cannot.”

  WHAT VULNERABILITY DO YOU SPEAK OF?

  “The Cajdital have developed a chemical that causes a chain reaction within our building materials. The reaction dissolves the structure while creating more of the chemical in the process. The Cajdital deliver it to our ships via physical impact once our shields are down, and even a single drop will consume an entire starship given enough time. But far worse is that fact that they are now using the chemical on our worlds, delivering it to the surface with little loss to their own fleet. The chemical devours and spreads across the entire world if we cannot starve it out by destroying our own infrastructure ahead of the reaction.”

  Vorshak glanced at the Hycre, then unlocked his arms and pounded his right fists into his left palms. “Then that is why you have ventured this far out. Have you not asked the Bsidd for aid?”

  “When they discovered our weakness their aid to us ended. They said they will not waste resources defending those that are already dead. Likewise the Kvash have refused our pleas for assistance.”

  DID EITHER ANALYZE THIS CHEMICAL?

  “No.”

  “Did you bring some of it with you?”

  “No. It is too risky to bring onboard our ships. We have not been able to analyze it, for it affects our tools as well. All our technology is built around the same crystalline structure. We have nothing aside from energy shields to repulse it…and our own bodies. We contracted another race who was unaffected by the chemical to study it. We brought their data with us.”

  Ik’re’s body moved internally, and soon a small Calavari data module extruded from inside, held aloft by a white tendril. “We beg your assistance, and failing that, sanctuary far from our enemy, whom we cannot combat with this vulnerability. If compensation is required, we are willing to negotiate.”

  11 months later…

  Leif-069 jumped over a moving bar on Balboa Lane before sliding under an identical one a half second later. From there he pivoted on one knee up into a jump over yet another, rolling out of the leap into a somersault and avoiding contact with the object. He landed in the finish area at the end of the lane, triggering the clock to stop and the challenge to end.

  The trailblazer glanced at the time, satisfied with that run when he noticed a message beacon blinking on the control panel on the wall. Had it been something urgent the Admiral would have interrupted him via the room’s comm…but then again, if it wasn’t important it would have waited until he’d left the sanctum onboard the gigantic Command Ship.

  He walked over and pressed the button, pulling up a text message indicating that the Hycre wanted to talk to him. That usually meant something worthy of paying attention to, for unlike some of the other races within the system, the Hycre weren’t ones for chit chat.

  “Are they still available?” he asked once he got an open comm to the bridge.

  “Standing by,” Admiral Bennington confirmed.

  Leif pressed a few buttons on the wall-mounted panel. “Route it down here, private line.”

  A moment later a hologram appeared around Leif, from which he stepped back a couple of meters but still within the receiver’s limits, leaving him staring at the reduced image of a Hycre from a distance of a few inches.

  “You wanted to speak to me?”

  WE HAVE A PROPOSITION FOR YOU TO CONSIDER.

  Leif frowned lightly. “Concerning what?”

  THE DVAPP.

  “Proceed,” Leif said, not having a clue what this was about. The Dvapp mainly kept to themselves, with little interest in the other races, though more of them were coming into the system by the week on isolated ships.

  THE CAJDITAL HAVE DEVELOPED A WEAPON THAT HAS LEFT THE DVAPP UNABLE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. IT IS UNIQUE AND NO THREAT TO US, BUT IT HAS LEFT THE DVAPP COMPLETELY INCAPABLE OF COMBAT.

  “Go on,” Leif prompted.

  THEY HAVE CREATED A CHEMICAL THAT DEVOURS THE CRYSTALINE STRUCTURE OF THEIR TECHNOLOGY ON CONTACT. THE PROCESS LEAVES A RESIDUE THAT INCLUDES MORE OF THE CHEMICAL. IN THIS WAY A SINGLE DROP DELIVERED TO THE HULL OF THEIR SHIPS CAN EXPAND AND CONSUME THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE. THE SAME IS TRUE OF THEIR SURFACE INFRASTRUCTURE. SEVERAL
PLANETS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY CAJDITAL CRUISERS DROPPING SMALL PACKETS OF THE WEAPON AND RETREATING.

  “Devious as always,” Leif said, now understanding why the Dvapp had come out all this way.

  WE HAVE DEVELOPED A CHEMICAL THAT NEUTRALIZES THE CAJDITAL’S WEAPON ON CONTACT. IT WILL BE USED TO COAT THE HULLS OF THE DVAPP WARSHIPS, BUT AT PRESENT THEY ARE UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE SUBSTANCE. WE HAVE AGREED TO PROVIDE THEM WITH AS MUCH OF THE CHEMICAL AS WE CAN MAKE, BUT IT IS NOT A SOLUTION. MERELY A DELAYING MECHANISM.

  “But still valuable. Are you wanting us to assist with its production?”

  NO. WE CANNOT PRODUCE ENOUGH OF THE CHEMICAL TO PROTECT THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE. WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEARCH FOR A MEANS TO OVERCOME THEIR WEAKNESS, BUT GIVEN THE RATE OF THE CAJDITAL’S ADVANCE THROUGH THEIR TERRITORY WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME. ONCE A WORLD IS INFECTED WITH THE ENEMY’S WEAPON IT IS DIFFICULT TO STOP THE SPREAD OF DESTRUCTION. THE CAJDITAL KNOW THIS AND ARE SENDING RAIDING PARTIES OUT TO MANY DVAPP WORLDS THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE THE MILITARY ASSETS TO CONQUER. THEY ARE INFECTING THEM AND LETTING THE CHEMICAL REACTION TAKE ITS COURSE, LEAVING ALL STRUCTURES DESTROYED WITHOUT THEM FIRING A SINGLE PLASMA CANNON.

  “Does the chemical kill the Dvapp?”

  FORTUNATELY IT DOES NOT. IT DOES CONSUME ALL OF THEIR TECHNOLOGY.

  “If you can provide us a sample I’ll have our techs see if we can come up with a solution.”

  THAT IS A SMALL REQUEST WE MAKE OF YOU. WE HAVE A LARGE ONE.

  Leif raised an eyebrow. “What is the large one?”

  YOUR WAR AGAINST THE SKARRONS. WE BELIEVE THE DVAPP WOULD BE WILLING TO AID YOU IN EXCHANGE FOR PLANETS AWAY FROM THE CAJDITAL. THE DVAPP HAVE LONG RANGE WEAPONRY SUPERIOR TO OUR OWN PRIOR TO YOUR GIFT OF THE CLEANSING BEAM TECHNOLOGY. THEY ALSO HAVE A POPULATION AND FLEET FAR LARGER THAN YOUR OWN. IT IS NEXT TO USELESS AGAINST THE CAJDITAL. WE BELIEVE IT WOULD BE OF GREAT VALUE AGAINST THE SKARRONS.