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

  “A lethal test,” Morgan pointed out.

  “They’ve been out for our heads since the beginning,” Jason-025 scoffed. “That’s nothing new.”

  “Them using our own people as shields against the Uriti is,” Rio reminded him.

  “They have to take them first.”

  “They will. We can’t put a Uriti on every front porch.”

  “Then we have to keep them moving around,” Jack-020 suggested. “Give our systems a ‘hold out to’ window.”

  “We have to avoid blockades and keep the main jumplanes free if we are going to maximize that tactic,” Arch Duke Hightower warned. “I would also suggest we not display the current location of all the Uriti. The threat of one potentially being nearby may discourage some attacks, or we could catch invading fleets off guard and do some significant damage if they’re fully engaged when one arrives.”

  “We need to do some blockading of our own,” Wes-049 insisted. “We can’t let them choose targets then respond. We need to be outside our borders causing trouble for them and limiting the number of jumplines in. And by that, I mean mine fields. Lots of them.”

  Davis narrowed his eyes slightly. “Elaborate.”

  “There are too many easy routes, so we need to thin them out and force the V’kit’no’sat to choose to come through heavier defenses or even a Uriti. We declare the jumpline as closed, make sure everyone knows, and put warning beacons up on either end. If the V’kit’no’sat want to come through anyway, they’ll have to take the time to clear the mines first.”

  “One sided?” Sara-012 asked.

  “We don’t have time to do doubles, and we can always backfill them later once the war ramps up. I’m talking about getting as many roadblocks as we can that will allow us to slow or divert the V’kit’no’sat attack fleets, and they’re going to be huge convoys. We have to be able to position the Uriti where we want and when we want, but in order to do that we have to know where to put them. Scouts alone aren’t going to do the job, so we need to limit the jumplines the V’kit’no’sat have available.”

  “They can curve their lines,” Morgan reminded him.

  “But they can’t send huge convoys in curved jumplines with normal staggers. They’ll need bigger gaps for safety margins, and if we have even a small fleet at their arrival point we can do a lot of damage as they enter.”

  “We can calculate arrival jumplines off curves as well,” Arch Duke Karthen pointed out. “It’ll be arrival points no one else uses, so we can also put mine fields there without any warning beacons.”

  “We’re talking a lot of mines,” Rio said warily, “even if we isolate a handful of routes.”

  “We pick the best ones to start with,” Wes answered, “then add to them over the decades that follow. It’s a lot cheaper way to take out ships than with drone production.”

  “Assuming they ram them. If they go around all we gain is a delay and better positioning…which may be worth it. Still, it’s not a solution, merely a beneficial wrinkle.”

  “I’ll take as many of those as you can come up with,” Davis said eagerly. “What else?”

  “If they’re not going for the largest targets first,” Kent-076 said, “then they could hit our backwater and do a massive amount of damage. The Frontier Region can’t defend itself, and from what Morgan has said, the V’kit’no’sat are going to be using a very different playbook this time around. No more hard charging with the expectation they’re going to break us early and sweep up the pieces. I’d wager they’re going to be sneaky and adaptive, especially since it seems they’re only getting a single opportunity to do this.”

  “How sure are we of that?” Hightower asked.

  Morgan sighed. “There’s no way to tell, but taking Mak’to’ran at his word, this compromise is the only thing holding off another Civil War. They know they have to do something now before the Zak’de’ron make their move, and they’re split between letting us go and taking us out first. I don’t think the races that have agreed to our dominion of the Rim will have second thoughts if the others fail to take us out. If their empire stays together, I think the one shot holds. But we could see their empire split apart if the attackers don’t want to honor it. Mak’to’ran was in a state of barely controlled rage concerning the breach of the truce. He won’t tolerate any more word breaking, and he gave me his and the Era’tran’s guarantee that if we can survive this we will have a permanent truce. And I think he meant it.”

  “But how far does his influence go?”

  “Good question. I don’t know, but it seems like the V’kit’no’sat are harboring some major bad blood amongst themselves. I wish we knew more, but from the way he talked the Era’tran might be going it alone in the near future as a fallback plan, but he feels that would doom any chance they have against the Zak’de’ron. Keeping the empire together to prepare for them is the only reason he isn’t attacking Itaru himself.”

  “They’re that divided?” Davis asked.

  “I couldn’t sneak much of a peak into his mind, but that’s my gut feeling. The Zak’de’ron were the glue that held them together, and the fear of them may well be again, but the recent civil war showed how shallow their unity is, even if you factor in any poking and prodding the Zak’de’ron did in secret. I don’t like the bastards, but I think those staying out of this fight are genuine. They don’t want to mess with us anymore, and won’t, unless we encroach on their territory. I think they’ve given up on the idea of full control over the galaxy. There’s just too much damn space out there and the reason for their existence is in the Deep Core. Maybe if they were bored they might try to expand again, or go looking for a fight to pick, but right now their plate is full to overflowing.”

  “So they’re not asking to be allies?” Arch Duke Dante asked.

  “No. They just want us out of the way, aside from Mak’to’ran’s interest in the Uriti and future applications against the Hadarak, but right now I think the Hadarak front is being put in a holding pattern. The Zak’de’ron still being alive is scaring them shitless. That much I know for certain.”

  “And their panic is driving most of them towards us,” Davis summarized. “They can’t fight the Zak’de’ron, so we’re the only visible target and the only way for them to do something to improve their situation.”

  “But they’re not telling them why. Only their leadership knows?” Jason asked.

  “A small fraction of their leadership,” Morgan amended.

  “So why are the masses doing it?”

  “To force us to submit. They don’t want us free and clear to do what we want in the Rim and potentially come back strong enough to hurt them later. Which we will, assuming we survive everything else coming our way.”

  “Mak’to’ran is beginning to see the value of negotiation,” Davis added. “We are not out for their throats. Not like a conventional enemy. And he’s been outside the V’kit’no’sat before, branded a traitor, so he has a perspective the others do not. They are still unused to losing and believe in their doctrine of dominance. To fight the Zak’de’ron they are going to have to abandon that. I think Mak’to’ran is also using this invasion as a way to educate them. If we beat them this one last time, we earn our freedom and their egos are destroyed. In the aftermath he can rebuild the V’kit’no’sat how he likes and prepare them for the Zak’de’ron. That’s my read on it, anyway.”

  “Terms accepted,” Ethan-014 said, pounding his right fist into his left hand. “Let’s end this so convincingly they never even think about invading us again.”

  “I think you’re underestimating what is coming,” Rio said with a glare. “Which is basically their entire military minus what they have on the Hadarak front and a few patrol fleets. We’ve never dealt with that level of opposition before.”

  “Which is why we need to ambush them on their way here,” Wes reiterated. “Not in their territory, but on the way through the Devastation Zone and the other stretches they have to cross. If we wait for them
to pool their ships in a single system they’re going to have the advantage. We need to catch them coming out of their jumps, and not at the destination points. They’ll split up and arrive through multiples simultaneously, I can guarantee it if they’re not playing this dumb. We’ve seen it before in their history, and if they take us seriously this time, we have to hit them on the way in.”

  “We also need a massive amount of surveillance,” Hightower added. “Far more scout ships than we’ve got deployed out there. We have to pull back from Nexus territory now if we’re going to reposition enough to make a difference.”

  Davis cringed, but he knew what the Arch Duke said was true. They’d run out of time, and looking for new ways to help those suffering and dying out there would have to be put on hold. No more expansions, no more annexations except where minimal resources would allow. Everything had to be devoted to this upcoming invasion…meaning a lot of people were going to left hanging who needed help but were just on the other side of the territory line. Davis wouldn’t abandon anyone already in their care, but it sickened him to turn people away who were asking for help.

  There was no choice though, for if Star Force fell to the V’kit’no’sat they’d leave all those other people out there to die anyway. Their only hope was Star Force surviving this war, and unfortunately that was going to take too long to shake out, and most of them were just going to be screwed.

  “Expansion programs have to be suspended,” he said, making it official, “in almost all cases. We have to turn everything we’ve got to this and win it. And we win by surviving long enough that the V’kit’no’sat give up. They don’t have time for an unending war. They have to annex us quickly in order to prepare for the Zak’de’ron. So we don’t let them do that. We drag this out, whittle them down, even as we lose worlds. And those we lose, we retake when we have a chance, forcing them to defend territory rather than sterilize it and move on. We’ve played the stall and run game up until now, but this is different. We’ve had a chance to catch our breath. Not as much as we’d hoped, but enough to stabilize our territory and this time we have the Uriti willing and able to fight with us. That’s never happened before, so we’re not in the same situation. We’re playing aggressive defense this time.”

  “So mines?” Wes asked.

  “Mine the hell out of the approaches to our territory and anywhere within it you see an advantage to do so. Pull out every trick you’ve ever used and come up with some new ones. All trailblazers are going to be recalled with their current missions delegated to high ranking second gen. You too Rio. Training time is over. We need all of you out there.”

  The top ranked Archon smiled. “Gladly.”

  “We also need to have a chat with our allies and coordinate with them, as well as spread the word that this fight isn’t just about our survival, but the future of the galactic Rim. If we win, the V’kit’no’sat turn it over to us, and I think there are a lot of races near the border that would be willing to help fight if they saw us winning, for they know we’ll be much more benevolent landlords.”

  “The Preema?” Jason asked.

  “Doubtful, but possibly. I think they’re gonna sit and watch, but there are undoubtedly others on the other side of the galaxy as well. We need to spread the word of the terms of this war so they know what’s happening and what the stakes are.”

  “Paul’s not here, so I’ll say what he would probably be thinking,” Sara said with no hint of a smile on her face, but rather a lethal intensity born of new hope. “Did we just become the leader of the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire?”

  “I hope so,” Davis said earnestly. “If we can’t divide their attention, then we’re going to lose at least half our systems in the best case scenario…but if they’re getting hit in their own territory by other races, they’re gonna have to pull ships off to defend those systems, either from the invasion or the Hadarak front, and I can guess Mak’to’ran won’t let the Hadarak front be weakened. Also, if we arrange that only the territory of those races involved in the invasion are hit, and not those who are sitting it out, we can drive a further wedge between them…”

  9

  January 4, 4890

  Khaterass System (Kiritak colony)

  Mewsovex

  Paul flew down to the glacier under his own power, landing in nothing but his Archon uniform in the frigid temperatures near the concealed entrance. He triggered the automated drill that cleared the ice and gave him access to the lift that he then took down into Kara’s fortress of solitude, but she wasn’t waiting for him below.

  Once he was inside and beneath the psionic concealment layer he could sense her presence and made his way through the large facility to one of the training chambers, drawing a raised eyebrow from Paul as he saw her bouncing around from platform to platform in a zero g sphere with a multitude of drones hunting her. It was an evasion challenge, but one with little use at her level, begging the question what exactly was she working on.

  He waited patiently until she finished, then pulsed a telepathic ping to get her attention, seeing her visibly flinch. Apparently she was so focused on her training she had no idea he was there, but as soon as she saw him a wide smile broke out on her face and she launched herself off one of the platforms until she passed through the zero g field and dropped to the floor…only to curve her trajectory and fly the last little bit of distance over to Paul where she landed in a sweaty mess with a Vorch’nas that now extended all the way up to her right elbow and extended past her wrist down to her knuckles.

  “Hey, Paul, what’s up?”

  “How are you doing?” he asked, not having gotten any updates because they couldn’t risk any messages that might be intercepted by Zak’de’ron surveillance of the Star Force relay network.

  “Good and bad.”

  “Start with the good.”

  “I’m stronger than Rio now,” she said with a smirk. “A lot stronger. This baby has massive strength enhancements on a genetic level, and with each increase I get a boost. This is a level 7 Vorch’nas. I have to go through each and adjust. I tried to go straight to level 12 and it killed me…then I revived, woke up, and it was back to a level 1.”

  “It killed you?” Paul asked slowly.

  “Not fun,” Kara said with all seriousness. “Took several hours, but my body couldn’t handle the upgrades. They have to be made through adaptation, and that only occurs with a lot of training and experience, but I know what to do now and I’m gonna get it maxed out within another 10 or 15 years.”

  Paul looked down at the now pure white jewel that looked like frozen ice on her arm that had been buffed into a glorious sheen.

  “How much control do you have?”

  Kara frowned. “That’s the bad part. I can block detection now. They can enter the system and send out a location ping, but it won’t respond. I’ve got it turned off. The problem is, if they get within close range they can send a control signal to it that I cannot block. They can’t use it to find me, but if they do and they get close I’m toast. There’s also a kill code they can send, and I’ll be dead within seconds. I can’t delete it. I can hide and evade, but if they find me they’re in control and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “Manageable. Who was your last visitor?”

  “You’re the first,” she said, her smile returning.

  “So you don’t know?”

  “About what?”

  “They stole a Uriti from the Knights of Quenar.”

  Kara’s jaw dropped. “What the fuck?”

  “A single Knight survived and managed to get back with the news. They think they all died, but we know now, and so do the V’kit’no’sat. We told them.”

  Kara’s face clenched up, but she said nothing, thinking hard. “What else is going on? You didn’t come here for a visit, because you’d be worried that someone could track you here.”

  “I have ninja skills,” he reminded her, “but I need you to leave. The truce is going to be broken
in a few years and all trailblazers are being recalled. I need you to take Megan’s place with the Paladin.”

  “Will be? How do you know?”

  “Because we have an understanding with Mak’to’ran now. The Era’tran and 37 other races have agreed to give us our freedom and dominion over the Rim while they prepare for the Zak’de’ron threat, though only a handful of their leaders know of it. Some of them decided the best move was to take us out first, then worry about the Zak’de’ron. Rather than fight a civil war over it, they agreed to split up. Mak’to’ran’s group will take the place of the others on the Hadarak front, freeing them up to hit us at full strength. If we survive, we earn our freedom and the Rim. If not, we’ll be conquered and absorbed. They’ve removed the death mark and intend to get as much out of our strength as possible, including the Uriti if they can…which they won’t.”

  Kara’s jaw was still hanging, then she finally made herself close it. “I am so out of the loop.”

  “I’m catching you up now. Mak’to’ran told us what’s coming, and we’ve got about 3 more years before they hit us. Megan has to come back, and I’d like you to as well, but combat against the V’kit’no’sat will probably reveal you to the Zak’de’ron. But they’re not with the Paladin, so I need you…”

  “I’ll go,” she said before he could finish. “I know enough from the public grid where the Paladin are. The Zak’de’ron won’t have much out there, if anything, but I’ll need a different identity.”

  “Already got it worked out. Officially you’re still with Ghostblade, but now you’re a Protovic Administrator named Mara Jade. All the files have been scrubbed so there’s no trail.”

  “Mara Jade?”

  “Only in the files. The Paladin will know who you are when you arrive and tell them, but back here there will be no trace.”