Star Force: Quenar (SF88) (Star Force Origin Series) Page 9

  “And then?”

  “It depends on whether or not they welcome additions to the elite class or are threatened by them. Their dismissal of the issue of Uriti control is curious though.”

  “If the Chixzon come back they can make more of them, as far as they know. Stopping that is the greater priority.”

  “I think it’s more than that,” Davis said as a thought hit him. “What if they’ve gotten bored?”

  Paul looked at him for a moment then caught on. “And our revelation of an ancient Chixzon plan to rebuild suddenly makes them relevant again. Those born after those times are loyal to something they can never touch, but now it’s real, the threat is real, and they’re…eager?”

  “Patience,” Davis reiterated. “In that light it makes a great deal more sense.”

  “Watching the sleeping dogs isn’t all that fun.”

  “More to their Oath. Have you read it?”

  “Yes. Pretty standard stuff.”

  “But it’s all in the past. There’s nothing to look forward to. They’re maintenance keeping the floors clean and patrolling in front of the locked safe not knowing if there’s even anyone capable of cracking it. Now they know they’ve been dupes all this time and their great enemy was not truly defeated. The war isn’t over like they thought, so now their Oaths have considerably more meaning.”

  Paul held up a finger. “They never rebuilt.”

  “Exactly. Their heads are still in the war, trying to cling to the conflict and their race’s former glory rather than starting anew. The conflict with the Chixzon was not a short one. It literally defined the Traelix and the other Ancients. It made them defacto rulers over the other alliance members and placed upon them a great burden of responsibility as well as glory. They have clung to that glory, and rebuilding would put the emphasis on current events requiring them to let go of the past.”

  “And now they hear from us that the war isn’t over. Round 2 may be about to start.”

  “I think so,” Davis said, mentally sifting through permutations. “I think we can use that.”

  Three days later Davis walked up to the shallow wall in the middle of the arena and stood face to face with only one Knight of Quenar. It was the one that had been middle of the row on the first occasion, but today he was alone and so was Davis…aside from a fully armored Paul that stood beside him. The Director wore no armor, but the shield was up and separating them from the get-go this time, offering an invisible barrier of protection against a lot of threats, but not against the KoQ’s Force-like ability.

  That was why Paul was still here, as backup, but otherwise Davis wanted this meeting as low key as possible.

  “Thank you for speaking with me personally again,” the Knight said agreeable. “I do not believe we introduced ourselves before. My name is Keez.”

  “I have been reading your historical records, Keez, and I trust you’ve done considerably more research on us by this point?”

  “We have made inquiries. Your Star Force makes a great deal of information public, though certain aspects of your skillset have remained well hidden,” he said with a glance at Paul’s opaque helmet.

  “We’re fair and open, but we like to keep some of our strength hidden. Telling a potential enemy all your assets is an invitation for them to counter you.”

  “Despite the actions of my fellow Knight, we did not come here as enemies,” Keez apologized again. “He misunderstood your hesitancy as one of obstinacy rather than calculation. Am I right to assume you have asked me here to negotiate?”

  “You are. Your ultimate goal is to prevent the Chixzon from returning?”

  “If we are so fortunate, yes. If they are already here we must locate and destroy them in their infancy.”

  “If I told you what race holds their genetic legacy, how would you proceed?”

  “We would eradicate that legacy wherever we found it.”

  “By committing mass murder?”

  “As a last resort. If the Chixzon are allowed to return they would kill far more.”

  “Unacceptable,” Davis said firmly. “Defeating the enemy is pointless if you become one yourself. Tagging the Chixzon as the enemy is foolishness if you do not have a reason for doing so.”

  “And you ask what is our reason? They seek to conquer the galaxy and subjugate it to their will, destroying those who will not yield and any they deign for other reasons.”

  “And if you kill people for reasons you deign, how are you not an enemy?”

  “I would say that is because it is a means to a greater end, but I see your logic. You do not want to take dishonorable action and see that the methods are as important, if not more so, than the outcome.”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “That is not totally without merit, but if you hold back what needs to be done and are destroyed because of that hesitancy your ultimate goal is for naught. There will be no one left to check the unscrupulous from running rampant. Sometimes dishonorable acts must be taken to prevent far greater ones from occurring.”

  “We have an old saying. Death before dishonor.”

  “Honorable, but potentially shortsighted.”

  “We don’t compromise on that which matters.”

  “But you barter away the future for the sake of the present.”

  “The future is only speculation and never truly exists. Everything exists in the present.”

  “Well said, but there are many circumstances where a clean outcome is impossible.”

  “We are committed to facing those circumstances without contributing to the filth, even if we cannot prevent it from occurring.”

  “And you wish to know if we can abide by these standards here?”

  “This is our territory, and it is us who hold the leash on the Uriti.”

  “And the identity of this poisoned race.”

  “Killing them off is unacceptable.”

  “What alternative is there if you do not provide the inoculation? Monitoring them and killing those who transform?”

  Davis smiled. “Do you really think we haven’t already considered the problem?”

  The Knight’s muzzle rose slightly. “You have found multiple solutions?”

  “We possess the Chixzon knowledge of how the genetic coding was constructed. With it, we have created a means to remove that coding without harming the individuals who possess it. It is not suppressed, but erased. Suppression is much easier, though we prefer that the ‘poison’ is destroyed while sparing the innocent carriers.”

  “Such a method would be greatly preferable.”

  “We have already been inoculating those colonies that we have discovered and are working with other races that have a reach beyond ours to do so as well. The question is, can we trust you to do the same?”

  “Our goal is to stop the Chixzon. If we have to kill to do it, then so be it. But we would prefer a less treacherous method.”

  “Then we will discuss that matter at a later time. What is your position on this Uriti and the others?”

  “We are still observing your control. You are testing its limits and thus far it appears you have a firm grasp on the beast. So long as that remains the case and the Uriti stays within this preserve, we have no qualms with you maintaining possession of it.”

  “But you would prefer if they were destroyed?”

  “The cost of doing so would be too great…unless you know another way?”

  “Cost aside, they are living beings enslaved by the Chixzon. We respect their right to live and are establishing this preserve as much to aid them as to protect the rest of the galaxy.”

  “With there being no way to rid the galaxy of their coreward kin, it makes little difference so long as we can be assured that a renewed Chixzon race cannot claim control over them again. How firm is your control over this one if it were to receive orders from afar?”

  “The orders would appear to be the same, and I can tell you that there can be none given from afar. The Chixzon required a ship in
system to issue orders.”

  “Did they? We rarely saw their vessels at all save for the last stages of the war. How complex are these orders?”

  “Directional mostly. Go there, destroy that planet, spread minions here. There are no complex chained orders possible, but a region can be denoted for destruction and the Uriti will figure out how to adapt and make it happen.”

  “They set loose their creations and let them mark their own path within the bounds of a single order,” the Knight said almost reverently as he referenced the past, “with no threat to themselves in the process.”

  “If another Chixzon were to enter this system and transmit orders, they would be equal to our own. The Uriti would not know the difference.”

  “Can you rework this one to accept only yours?”

  “No. Such things can only be changed during the developmental process. Once grown and released, the Chixzon do not control the Uriti. They only guide them. They cannot be recalled for alterations or captured again.”

  “Such power is difficult to reign in even by their masters. What would happen if two contradictory orders are given?”

  “The most recent one takes priority.”

  “So the only way to ensure that the Chixzon do not claim them again is to put them into your possession, and make sure that your control ship remains intact. Is there no way for you to create redundancy? If this hybrid of yours dies, what happens then?”

  “One reason we have brought the Uriti here is to study it and seek alternative methods of control, or at the very lease communication. At the moment only Nefron can control it. It is our goal to find a redundancy without putting another through the transformation process. We will not allow the Chixzon transformation process to occur again, for fear of losing the individual and creating an enemy within our midst. We were fortunate that Nefron had the internal will to break free of the genetic shackles. There is no way for us to cultivate the process. We have one Chixzon that is reliable, and that is all we will ever have. We will not gamble on others.”

  “While some would argue otherwise and simply kill off those who did not prove loyal, I am in agreement. Your hybrid is but one and apparently loyal to you, therefore not a threat. Even if he were to rebel, he could not rebuild his race. If we allow more than one to be reborn then the probability of collusion increases dramatically.”

  “I can vouch for his loyalty. He is Star Force, not Chixzon.”

  “You refer to your ability to read minds?”

  “That is not our only method of verification, but it is a primary one. The Chixzon cannot block our telepathy, though they do possess some of their own.”

  “Do they now? That is something we never knew. And you are doubtlessly wondering why you cannot read my mind?”

  “I am curious.”

  “We have dealt with telepathic races before, often to our disadvantage. We have learned not to trust them, and have developed an ability to block their sight of our own minds. Perhaps that is why you are distrustful of us. You cannot easily verify our intentions.”

  “You are more of a mystery than others.”

  “And that will remain the case in many areas, but there is common ground here for us to negotiate on and you have already given us valuable information. In return we will respect your wishes regarding any actions within this Preserve, as discussed previously with Paul,” Keez said, briefly glancing at the Archon. “We offer our assistance with security, but we will not kill any whom break your designated lines.”

  “In principle we accept, but there is a great deal of refining and familiarizing that we must do before we can establish a stable working relationship.”

  “I appreciate your candor and your wisdom. Such things are unfortunately rare within this galaxy. How would you like to proceed?”

  10

  March 9, 3260

  Unnamed System

  Hamorit/Uriti containment planet

  “The last transport is away,” the Chamra representative said via holo to the Zeus command nexus where Riley stood. “The Oracle components are also onboard.”

  “Can the rest of you confirm?” the Archon asked the assembled 7 races that still remained loyal to the cause, with the Yisv being notoriously absent, though they were devoting resources to the construction of facilities in the Preserve and engaging in scouting missions around and within Trinx territory in the build up to what would eventually be the reckoning that their former ally had fated themselves with. That said, they still wouldn’t come near a waking Uriti, so they were seen as a secondary member in this new partnership that Star Force now led.

  “All Sety assets are clear.”

  “We are evacuated,” the Bpret acknowledged.

  “All Dati have been removed.”

  “Jonstar assets are outside the danger zone.”

  “The Domu are likewise clear.”

  “We are at a safe distance,” the Breti said, finishing their final checks.

  “Alright Nefron,” Riley said to a hidden hologram that only he could see. “Work your magic.”

  “I’m going to take this slow,” he advised. “I’m not sure what its mental state will be when it wakes.”

  “No rush,” Riley assured him as he checked the status on the KoQ ships. They were holding position in high orbit ready to dive in and assist if needed or to intercept anyone entering planetary orbit. There were only 8 of them here, but the Archon knew they possessed more firepower than any other ship present ton for ton and by a wide margin. A recent weapons demonstration in the Preserve under controlled conditions had confirmed that, giving Star Force and everyone else a none too subtle warning about not messing with them or the neutral zone around the Uriti systems that they had been tasked with monitoring and enforcing in a number of locations.

  Star Force was taking the others while limited backup from The Seven and two newcomers called the Shestive and the Lordax were present in the Alamo System for added security where the Uriti had been ordered to take a dip in the star and stay there for a protracted period of time while the Zeus took this little field trip. Shorter tests of the Zeus’s absence had been successful, so both Star Force and the KoQ had decided it was an acceptable risk to leave in order to retrieve the more or less exposed Uriti that The Seven had kept a decent fleet defending.

  Riley watched as the status readouts on Bahamut shot up near the danger zone. The sedative was no longer flowing from the shell reserves, and combined with the light prodding signals coming from Nefron the giant Uriti was beginning to stir with a few visible twitches on the monitors. Its pale yellow wing bent slightly, then its snout tipped up a fraction followed by a light roll to one side, but beyond that it didn’t show any sudden signs of waking.

  True to his word, Nefron kept the process slow. The Uriti gradually came back to consciousness, then when it finally flushed its senses and found itself ensnared in a giant cage it rose up on its four massive legs and stretched out its wings that nearly touched the sidewalls. Bahamut was some 24 miles long snout to stubby tail tip, and had a wing span of some 38 miles. It wasn’t until the Uriti stretched them out that Riley’s mind truly comprehended their thickness, for they were more than 3 miles of rocky-like flesh that could never have hoped to propel the beast through the air or any other medium.

  Instead, when Bahamut stretched them out an energy field formed on top of them, pooling in place until it became like wispy green smoke, then there was a flash upwards and out that a moment later destroyed the monitor everyone was watching. Riley’s view switched to an external one above the dig site where the earth had suddenly become no firmer than dust that was blown off the broken remains of the Ancient shell as the Uriti rose up from it with its wings stretched straight out to either side and not moving, looking for all the world like anti-grav generator or, as a more accurate analysis would dictate, weapons arrays.

  “How we doing?” Riley asked just before Bahamut began to climb out of the subsurface crater and head for orbit.

  “Car
dosan is proceeding to the designated coordinates,” the Chixzon replied gravely, “but its vitals are cascading to the negative. Its slumber was far more costly than Namishta’s.”

  “Recoverable I assume?”

  “I think so. But it will take a few decades at minimum to get it back to full strength.”

  “Time we have,” Riley reminded him. “What kind of speed is this guy going to be able to manage?”

  “Less than we thought.”

  The trailblazer frowned. “Very well. Slow and steady it is then.”

  “Namishta will hold position. Don’t worry about that.”

  “First time without a babysitter.”

  “Not as far as it knows.”

  “Are you sure this one won’t eat the other one?”

  “As sure as I can be. They’ve never actually encountered another Uriti before. I would guess base instincts will take over and they’ll group together by choice.”

  “And if not?”

  “We see if they’ll listen to a stand down order.”

  “Lovely,” Riley said, switching his comm back over to the assembled holograms. “It looks like Bahamut is accepting our commands. You and your ships are hereby relieved. Proceed according to other assignments.”

  “We stand relieved,” the Sety commander said, with all but a handful of their defense ships starting to head around planetary orbit to another jumppoint and keeping their distance from Bahamut. Likewise the Dati, Bpret, and Breti departed with the majority of their fleets to head back to their own territories. The Chamra and Jonstar fleets, on the other hand, moved into escort formation around the Zeus and its existing guardians, adding their firepower to that which had already been assigned to the Preserve whereas the other races had more pressing needs for them…especially the Sety who were rumored to be hanging onto several sectors within The Nexus by spit and baling twine.

  Over the past year relations between the Sety and Star Force had improved considerably, so much so that Davis had told him that the Sety were in desperate need of stability and that if Bahamut was able to be brought back to the Preserve and could coexist with Nami and the restrictions placed upon them, then the Sety were going to purchase several systems in the region to begin establishing trade posts and small colonies in an effort to further link The Nexus and Star Force economies together.