Star Force: Mak'to'ran (2) Page 9

  He had loss numbers but no damage assessments, and it seemed that nearly a fifth of the V’kit’no’sat fleet had been spent to get that single penetration onto the surface. It was apparently secure with limited resupply from orbit, but while the defenders had lost a great deal more ships they were far from beaten. Their navy was still massive and getting additional reinforcements from their empire in what Mak’to’ran knew would be a whittling down effort. They’d attack the V’kit’no’sat in the case of a stalemate in order to destroy a few ships here and there while their own were being replaced, or defend heavily in order to do the same thing.

  And Neo’sor would have to sacrifice ships in order to breach the other planets’ defense shields now that he had lost one Mach’nel. Combined the two Tar’vem’jics should have been able to punch through on their own given enough time, or if not a quick follow up by the fleet would have added the finishing touch. Now, if the other planetary defense shields were nearly as strong as Terrax’s, he’d have to bring his fleet into range of their planetary guns to poke a hole in each one, otherwise the Humans would have a stronghold to defend from while their much closer empire continued to pour in reinforcements.

  And with every planetary assault the V’kit’no’sat ship count would drop hard, even with rotating tactics, because the Star Force fleet would be there to aid the planetary defenses. Neo’sor had gotten the primary target breached and troops on the ground, but it was far too high a cost. Mak’to’ran would have found another way and he badly wanted to know why Neo’sor had done this, but in truth he could only guess at what he did do without a full battle record to watch.

  Mak’to’ran had been sabotaged by either the J’gar or the Oso’lon, and if that had not happened the first assault would have gone down differently. Neither of those races was present in the second wave, and unless something totally crazy had occurred…such as an altered Hadarak showing up…then Neo’sor was to blame for this and he could understand why Itaru didn’t want the word spread. Two Mach’nels plus an assault of this magnitude and all the V’kit’no’sat gained was a surface penetration at the cost of one of the Mach’nels and a fifth of their ships? What sort of incompetence was this?

  This was not like Neo’sor at all, and he would not have caved to Itaru if they demanded a full assault on the defense station. If that was the case he would have relinquished the position to a Hjar’at or another more acclimated to such painful exchanges. Neo’sor was a thinker and a mover. How this had occurred completely baffled Mak’to’ran.

  How heavy the damage to Neifil was he did have some data on, for Hamob had sent a repair analysis report attached to his notes that he found later. While internal systems could be rebuilt at a fast rate the Yeg’gor armor could not, and the amount it had lost would require something in the rage of 40 years to replace. The Mach’nel would be combat capable long before that, but not able to weather such grinding assaults as long as it should.

  But this also weakened the Era’tran considerably. While a Mach’nel could only be in one place at one time and a larger fleet had many more battle applications, the Mach’nels were a way to cancel even major assaults on a planet if you could get them there in time. More than that, they could turn a weaker fleet into a victorious one simply by their inclusion and ability to soak up so much damage, which was especially vital when you were the one assaulting planetary defenses…not to mention the Tar’vem’jic they carried.

  Why couldn’t the damage have been done to the Les’i’kron Mach’nel? And how had the damage been done? Was the Era’tran commander following Neo’sor’s orders or had he tried to salvage a bad situation?

  There were so many questions that Mak’to’ran could not answer that it increased his ire to fuming levels as he forced himself to delay long enough to calm down before he shared the news with Yaquik. Fortunately the Hjar’at had been involved in battle at the time he sought him out, so there was an even longer cooling down period before the holo transmission came through, but still the Hjar’at could see in Mak’to’ran’s face that something was angering him.

  “Have you been attacked?” Yaquik guessed.

  “Not here. I have received a partial report from Terraxis, but it is not available on the Urrtren yet. There is no news of Terraxis at all. I got this directly from Hamob.”

  “What are they concealing?”

  “We nearly lost a Mach’nel and paid a heavy price to gain a foothold on Terrax.”

  Yaquik’s face screwed up with a mixture of horror and anger. “Two Mach’nel were sent.”

  “Yes, and I do not know what transpired, but the Humans have brought in a much larger fleet to defend their capitol and I sense incompetence on our part. Itaru is probably trying to cover it up, but such a disgrace of this magnitude will not be kept silent for long. Our Mach’nel was forced to retreat, and when it returns to Era’tran territory word will begin to spread whether Itaru wishes it or not.”

  “The Era’tran Mach’nel was the one damaged?”

  “Heavily damaged. It had to have an escort fleet take it out.”

  “Did they use the Hadarak?”

  “My limited information says no.”

  “What is becoming of us? It feels like the V’kit’no’sat empire I was born into is no longer in existence.”

  “Unfortunately you are correct. My mission is to collect the scraps and reforge a new empire, but even I did not expect us to be so incompetent.”

  “Who is their commander?”

  “Neo’sor, a Kret’net.”

  “Are you familiar with him?”

  “Yes.”

  “I am not. Is this behavior typical?”

  “Quite the contrary. He would rather siege a world than hammer it in such a manner.”

  “Then this corruption is everywhere and poisoning us from within. If someone knew of this long ago, I could see their reasoning in growing an exterior force to conquer us. We are weaker than we realize.”

  “I cannot say for sure what occurred without a full battle report, but I fear you may be corr…” Mak’to’ran broke off as he picked up an alert.

  “What is it?”

  “Ships jumping into the system en mass.”

  “Itaru’s leash?”

  “I have been waiting for it. I have the engines to run, all I need is a small head start.”

  “You’ll have it. I am not near a sensor display. Who did they send?”

  “I’m reading Hjar’at vessels arriving…”

  “And?” Yaquik pressed as Mak’to’ran cut off again.

  “And one of your Mach’nel.”

  The Hjar’at fell silent for a long moment, with both V’kit’no’sat knowing what this might mean.

  “Death before dishonor,” he said gravely. “You have to survive, so run when needed, but if these traitors are here to force a capitulation they are going to be disappointed. I must get to a command deck.”

  Yaquik didn’t wait for a reply and his hologram disappeared from Mak’to’ran’s view as he watched more Hjar’at warships arrive on the jumpline behind the giant crescent moon-shaped blade of a ship.

  The arriving Hjar’at fleet was not nearly as large as that which defended the regional capitol, but the presence of one of their four Mach’nels put a chill through every warship in the system rather than being a reassuring presence. It didn’t waste any time, making a microjump out to Hattoman with its small escort fleet trailing in its wake. As soon as it arrived in high planetary orbit Mak’to’ran got a holo-link request from Yaquik and soon both his and another Hjar’at’s image appeared before the Era’tran.

  “So you are the one who defies Itaru,” the Mach’nel commander noted.

  “I am Mak’to’ran.”

  “I am Sar’keth, and you need not fear me or Jor’wek. If you’re refusing to report that’s your business. I am here for Yaquik.”

  “The Era’tran stand with him and any other loyal V’kit’no’sat. If you assault him here there will be repercussions later.”<
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  “This is a Hjar’at matter, Era’tran, but your loyalty is commendable. I am not here to kill him. I am here to make sure he is not killed.”

  “Sar’keth is a friend,” Yaquik said evenly, though Mak’to’ran could detect just a hint of pride in his stance.

  “There are those rallying to oppose the necessary security measures Yaquik has taken. I am here to submit myself for loyalty testing, then once Jor’wek is cleansed of any potential traitors we will stand guard over this system.”

  “I am needless to say, relieved,” Mak’to’ran admitted.

  “It seems some of the old empire still remains,” Yaquik added.

  “What is this newfound allegiance to the Era’tran?”

  “It seems they have been aware of this widespread treason for some time and have taken measures within their own race to counter it, creating a base of strength they are now expanding out through Mak’to’ran. He has helped draw out the traitors here and open my eyes to the threat. I do not like taking these measures, but we cannot exist guarding against our brothers every moment we breathe.”

  “I am in agreement, else I and the others would not have come,” Sar’keth said, referencing the other ships with him. “I imagine more are thinking along the same lines, but I knew I had to get here first to discourage any reckless combat. They will not take Jor’wek’s presence lightly.”

  “I alone am doing the loyalty checks. I will not trust another, but I cannot move through many quickly. If you trust your second come down immediately.”

  “I cannot claim trust in any of my crew. Not enough to risk leaving the Mach’nel. I need you to come aboard and verify as many as you can, if you are insisting that you be the only one to conduct checks.”

  “It is a breach of honor that I alone will bear.”

  “Many agree it must be done.”

  “Never the less, we will take our time and do this properly. A weaker mind would cause more damage breaking through.”

  “I think my strength is sufficient if you wish me to vet my own crew.”

  “Do not. We must not break the bonds that bind us. Those bonds are clouded in uncertainty now and I will take the burden of cleansing them on myself. If there is to be resentment, let it be towards me alone.”

  “Inefficient.”

  “But necessary to preserve our honor.”

  “Then let us hope we have sufficient time for you to do what the rest of us cannot.”

  “I believe you have just given us more time, Sar’keth.”

  “That was my intent, but I am still not fully aware of what has been transpiring here. Especially concerning the Era’tran. Words are being twisted everywhere, even amongst Hjar’at. I came here trusting you, but now I need to know the truth of the enemy we face.”

  “I will join you shortly. Once your verification is confirmed, you will have the answers you seek.”

  Sar’keth looked towards Mak’to’ran. “Has he been confirmed?”

  “As you said, this is an internal Hjar’at matter. We must purge this heresy from our race. How they handle theirs is their business.”

  “But you trust him?”

  “He has deemed this important enough to defy Itaru. Yes, I trust him.”

  “Despite his failure at Terraxis?”

  “Because of it.”

  Sar’keth twitched his neck in an annoyed fashion. “Burned by treason already, thus cleansed?”

  “Something like that,” Mak’to’ran answered.

  “Be quick with this verification,” Sar’keth urged. “Then I want to know everything you two are up to…and how I can further assist you.”

  10

  September 23, 3604

  Yat’ri System (Hjar’at Regional Capitol)

  Hattoman

  The release of the information regarding the Star Force Preserve and the advanced races represented there was finally making its way through the Urrtren and back to Mak’to’ran. The news was not taken well and already there were questions being asked of Itaru and their strict borders, insinuating that they might have been behind keeping these new races a secret and breaking out another round of suspicion as to which V’kit’no’sat races were colluding with either the Oso’lon or the J’gar…though the idea that both might be responsible for Terraxis was being floated more heavily, for why would one agree to such confinement of V’kit’no’sat territory if they were not complicit?

  Sar’keth had received Mak’to’ran’s update just prior to his leaving to come here, and he’d said that with many other Hjar’at beginning to question the state of the empire that this new information about potential external threats had them both angry and worried. With such internal divisions that Yaquik was bringing to light their own strength was unable to be determined, lending to the fear of being caught at a disadvantage, especially with controllable Hadarak in play, but the anger lay in the fact that there were worthy opponents out on the rim that they had been denied knowledge of.

  Even if they were deemed unimportant or too far away to be concerned with, every formidable race needed to be watched. The Hjar’at were more adamant about this than most, for they were always itching for an excuse to engage in combat. They were not overly belligerent, and had decent relations with non-V’kit’no’sat races when they behaved themselves, but if one stepped out of line the Hjar’at would be in their face at a moment’s notice, and rightly so. The dominant were not deserving of that title if they couldn’t prove it time and again as necessary, but by hiding potential opponents from view one did not know who was now dominant. It was unlikely that these other races were a match for the V’kit’no’sat, but whoever was behind Terraxis clearly saw some weakness, else what was the point?

  In light of the Era’tran already having defied Itaru’s orders regarding borders, Yaquik asked that they also quietly send out scouts into the regions just beyond the current V’kit’no’sat borders in order to start confirming the powerbases out there. Assumptions could be a dangerous thing, and if even the close border was not being patrolled they could have enemies literally on top of their frontier worlds without even realizing it. Blindness could not be tolerated, but right now the Hjar’at were drawing so much attention to themselves they didn’t want the issue of a border violation on top of everything else going on.

  So far Itaru hadn’t commented on Yaquik’s purge, but then again lag times being what they were that didn’t surprise Mak’to’ran. The Hjar’at capitol had also not responded yet, but many closer Hjar’at systems were making inquiries and the presence of a Mach’nel in the system was drawing extra attention from more than just the Hjar’at.

  Three days ago an Uvbor task force consisting of 2 Dak’bri and 4 Ti’mat arrived to scout the system, making contact but keeping their distance as they requested to know what was going on. The Uvbor were a mid-level V’kit’no’sat race that blurred the lines between biped and quadruped. Their rear legs were the larger, but they often leaned forward enough to move around on all fours. Their psionic package was small, with the standard Pefbar/Lachka combo that all V’kit’no’sat had being augmented with Rensiek, Hanme, and Lovo’nek, the latter two of which provided oxygen backup storage nodules and the ability to breathe through their skin, both in air and water.

  Combined with the massive heat generation capability of Rensiek, the Uvbor were well suited to icy, watery worlds. They weren’t aquatic in form, but they could move around in water well enough for groundpounders. The aquatics didn’t accept them as one of their own, but neither were they purely land dwelling. They were an oddity within the V’kit’no’sat that mostly kept to themselves and made a habit out of colonizing frozen worlds that others did not want. With their Rensiek they could walk around in a blizzard without armor and not be bothered by it, while an Era’tran would have considerable trouble surviving in the worst weather.

  Mak’to’ran’s large form provided some insulation against the cold, but he couldn’t go where the Uvbor could so comfortably, and definitely not unde
rwater without assistance. He could hold his breath fairly well, but he’d always have to remain near the surface while the Uvbor did not have that limitation so long as they didn’t over-exert themselves. Their Lovo’nek was not as effective as those the aquatics had because the Uvbor physiology was that of a land dweller, making it more of a useful add-on rather than an everyday necessity.

  Most Uvbor colonies were on land with very few being submerged, but they built freely and adapted to the geography rather than making it fit their needs. They were adaptive and overly cautious, with little public ambition within the V’kit’no’sat. They did their duty against the Hadarak and other threats, interacted via trade with the other races, but for the most part kept to themselves unless situations warranted their involvement.

  Which apparently now they had.

  Both Mak’to’ran and Yaquik had talked with them via holo, explaining the situation and finding out that the Uvbor were being heavily recruited by many different races, including the aquatics, in preparation for whoever the real traitors were to make their move and start the fight that most everyone expected was coming in one form or another. The news that the Hjar’at were fighting themselves hadn’t made any sense, so they’d sent a task force here to investigate.

  They vehemently denounced the mental invasions, but once they were convinced that this wasn’t going to spread beyond the Hjar’at they seemed to reluctantly accept it as an internal matter. The thought of it becoming a trend in other races or even with Itaru beginning its own loyalty checks was foremost on their mind, but Mak’to’ran assured them that the Era’tran would not submit to any such checks and the fact that only Yaquik was performing them for the Hjar’at seemed to sway them. They recognized the extreme measures the Hjar’at were going to in order to eliminate the traitors from their midst, and given the somewhat reckless reputation they had it seemed to fit in the overall order of things.