Star Force: Retribution (SF60) Read online

  Along with their Stranom mechs came transports dropping three man teams at various points around the colony where they began chewing up the bits of infantry in the streets that the Dvapp had left alive and the masses still inside the buildings and underground passageways. They knew their job was to be scouts/hunters, seeking out the enemy and destroying what they could while Dvapp troops would follow them in…and were even now starting to flow out of two low flying transports that bathed the yellow/tan buildings in a slight red glow from their hull crystal.

  Barely 10 meters off the ground, white globs of liquid dropped out as if the ship was a giant, red leaky bucket and splattered on the streets and rooftops. Those splatters quickly pulled themselves together into a variety of shapes and grouped up, some traveling the streets as long snakes, others moving in arcs, taking one ‘footstep’ at a time while constantly flipping one end of their body tube over the other, while still others went bipedal and pounded their way forward, tracking down the Voku beacons and closing in on the larger lizard formations that they weren’t confident they could take alone.

  This was the first time the Dvapp and Voku had worked together, but both races had plenty of experience fighting the lizards and knew the danger they posed even in a huge mismatch such as this. With the Dvapp relying on the Voku to sniff out ambushes, explosives, and other potential dangers, the amorphous crystals cleared building after building and level after level, creating a perimeter around various structures then calling in pinpoint fire from their warships floating overhead, more often than not to cut passageways down into the understructure where the lizards hadn’t planned on defending from, but also to destroy buildings so the lizards wouldn’t have positions to fall back to and so the Dvapp wouldn’t have to waste troops placing guards on them.

  Given that this wasn’t a raid and the Dvapp intended to keep the planet they had to make sure every lizard was destroyed and they didn’t intend to leave the city standing. That said, they preferred to search it while it was still mostly intact, though it was a common sight for the Voku to see several warships in the sky nearby blasting specific sections into powdery rubble that was sending up debris clouds that the ships were containing with energy shields and shunting skyward to keep them from hindering the troops on the ground.

  Jas-mek was one of those Voku, operating as the ‘Hammer’ in his trio as they flushed out the lizards from one of their tank bays. It was empty but intact, with a plethora of equipment that gave the enemy lots of cover to either ambush from or hide within. With their intricate shield generators protecting their otherwise armorless bodies, Jas-mek followed his two skirmishers in, leaving the sight of the overhead warships behind, and began flushing out the lizards from what the Voku guessed were their typical hiding spots.

  They were sneaky, but they tended to think alike and Jas-mek had a pretty good idea where to look as his fellow Voku led him to the spots he would have picked first off had he been in the lead. That wasn’t his job here, and as one of his skirmishers directed him to a particular spot he activated his chest-mounted dwio and fired a small orb of red/pink oscillating energy across the floor and caused it to curve hard right, swinging around the corner of a large piece of machinery and disappearing from view for a split second before exploding and throwing debris and lizard bodies out everywhere.

  His two skirmishers jumped in from different angles, finishing off the other lizards that were left alive as he heard commotion back at the entrance and turned to see several dozen Dvapp arriving. He signaled to them with a set of predetermined motions, given that neither spoke each other’s language and they didn’t have time for computer translations.

  They got the message and moved off to the positions he indicated as the skirmishers likewise transitioned on, identifying a few more ambushes waiting for them, either by scouting them out or drawing their fire. With the Dvapp present the Voku trio were able to be a bit more aggressive and pressed their search faster, often using their odd allies to finish off the lizards while they just went around busting up their formations.

  Once that building was cleared they moved to an adjacent other, then three more before Jas-mek saw the sky again with more conical clouds rising up marking the place where the Dvapp were already remodeling. He appreciated that efficiency, for the quicker this world was rid of the lizards and their infrastructure the sooner it would begin growing into an allied stronghold, with the Dvapp having promised to reinforce it heavily.

  That would be one less point in Achkor’s area where the Voku would have to patrol, which was the main motivation for Jas-mek to be here. The more he could assist the lesser races in taking and securing worlds the less drain there would be on Voku resources babysitting them. His fleet had held this region secure for a long time, locking down and containing the Skarrons here and elsewhere while withering them away with diminished or sometimes completely cut off supply lines, forcing them to either die or produce enough resources to sustain themselves.

  That wasn’t the type of task Jas-mek preferred, with him being forced into naval duty far too often. He and the others would do whatever was necessary, but he much preferred being on the ground fighting the enemy, whoever they were, in hand to hand, racking up kills and taking territory. Today he was doing that, even if the Voku weren’t going to keep this planet. Word was once this area was secured they’d be moving on to more proper assaults that would result in actual territorial gains as the Voku spread out from Achkor and firmly cemented their hold in this part of the galaxy.

  For a long time the Voku had been fighting defensive wars, important enough, but there hadn’t been a grand push for anything of consequence. With Jas-mek liking to fight on the ground he was content with one battle at a time, no matter where it was, but when he could sit back and look at the big picture he hadn’t seen any goal in play, only never-ending defense.

  Now that had changed, with the newly minted Dafchor setting the Voku on what was rumored to be a nearly impossible agenda…which was exactly the kind Jas-mek liked, not to mention the rumors of a massive expansion of their empire. He didn’t know how it all fit together but knew it was more than just rumor. The Voku were on the move again, with a purpose, and even if Jas-mek didn’t know what it was yet, just knowing that there was one was enough for him. He wanted a grand conquest to work for, and the faster they got through helping the locals tidy up here and elsewhere around Achkor the sooner they’d be free to move on to securing their own gains.

  For the Dvapp this was their grand crusade, and a world that they were taking from the enemy rather than being given out of charity by Star Force. They liked and appreciated their ally very much, for they had literally saved them from annihilation twice, as well as giving them the fix to their chemical weapon vulnerability, but there was just something missing for a race like the Dvapp if they weren’t able to stand on their own merits.

  It was true they had taken a lot of blows by the Skarrons in order to shield Star Force and their allies, but those were still losses. This was different because they were on the upswing and winning, heavily, in this battle. The Voku were here to assist, so it wasn’t entirely a Dvapp affair, but the responsibility for securing this world after the Voku left would be entirely theirs and any reprisals by the lizards or Skarrons would be theirs alone to handle.

  And after that, when they’d built the planet up considerably, they’d begin patrolling the surrounding systems, establishing a small footprint similar to what the Voku had done. This system was their piece of the gigantic puzzle and as pride had it the Dvapp were going to own it in every way, shape, and form…with the chance to fight and kick the crap out of the lizards being a sweet payback that was long in coming.

  It wouldn’t be the last, for the Dvapp were staking out their spot on the new front lines, with many more conflicts to come in the following years as the lizards further consolidated their growing conquest of the Skarron systems around the ADZ.

  10

  August 17, 2687

  Z
eta Region

  Mid Jump

  Vedja was in his personal quarters onboard his flagship and had been there for several days, moving as little as he could for his joints were paining him terribly. When H’kar neared the end of their life one of three things typically happened…their carapaces weakened to the point of cracking, their digestive systems malfunctioned and began to leak acid into the rest of their body, or their carapaces overhardened, extending their firmness into tissue where it didn’t belong.

  The elderly H’kar was experiencing the latter, barely able to move without extreme effort and pain. He only came to the command deck when battle was imminent, and ever since this recent campaign had concluded he’d become a recluse, with all food and other sustenance being brought to him by a single aide. The rest of the crew didn’t have access to him, nor did Vedja want them to. Right now the only thing he was holding onto was his duty, and with his fleet on a return trip to Loki with a host of Li’vorkrachnika kills to add to their already impressive totals he had nothing to do but review battle data and wait for the next opportunity to be of value.

  But he wouldn’t make it back to the Star Force core worlds. Forcing himself out of his unrestful sleep he slowly walked across his quarters, pushing through movements that felt like he was lifting weights given the resistance in his joints as he headed to the adjacent chamber to relieve himself. He wasn’t so far gone that he’d become completely sessile and was determined never to be, with him putting as much effort as required to make the short walk to where he could properly empty his internal bladder…which for a H’kar couldn’t expand much given the rigid volume of their bodies.

  Vedja made it halfway there when he felt something inside him snap. A few moments later his vision blurred and he lost consciousness, then a few minutes later he was dead…but standing in place, for without the effort of his muscles his stiffened joints held him still like a statue that his aide would discover several hours later.

  When the younger H’kar entered the elder’s quarters and found him frozen in place he knew immediately that he was gone, but did the various biological checks to be certain. Before he informed the captain of the dreadnaught he walked over to a storage compartment that Vedja had instructed him to open on the occasion of his death, for inside it contained his final orders.

  The aide pulled out the small data storage device and quietly input it into a nearby reader, seeing a mass of text as well as visual records. He sorted through them, for they were itemized in great detail, even as the statue corpse seemed to look over his shoulder as he did so. It didn’t take long for the aide to find the order meant for him and read it through thoroughly, for it was simple text only.

  Complying with his orders he took the data device with him and immediately had it copied, securing several in device form and hiding them away within the ship before taking one to the Captain and informing him of what had occurred.

  That conversation occurred on a lightly staffed command deck, for mid jump there was little to do but the Captain preferred to remain there when on duty. There was no surprise when he revealed Vedja’s death, for they had known it was coming for a while now. There was only a deep sadness and resignation, knowing the loss that the H’kar had just suffered. Within the orders was one directed specifically to the Captain and the aide referred him to it, then left the rest of the assigned task in his hands, for now his only job was to preserve copies to insure that they did not become ‘lost’ in the coming days.

  There was no risk of that occurring on the dreadnaught, for the crew were fiercely loyal to Vedja. The Captain immediately read through the order specified for him, then had the crew carefully preserve the elder’s body in a stasis pod that was put into storage until they arrived back at their ever growing colony on Loki. It was then when the H’kar were informed of Vedja’s passing and the Captain met with the other H’kar commanders on the moon. They went through his final orders, which were many…some not to take effect for years to come, but sending a message via courier ship back to their empire was the first priority.

  That message was not going back to the Royals, however. It was going to Vedja’s former students, many of which held high positions within the military and who had supported his move to the ADZ. They had to be informed first, so as to prepare themselves for what Vedja assumed would follow news of his passing reaching the empire at large.

  Gavra received his message first, via a specialized courier ship sent directly to him. His portion of the orders, of which he got a complete copy, were extensive. Vedja did not want a recall from the joint Star Force mission...in fact he wanted escalation and, if his predictions were valid, a backdoor assault on the Li’vorkrachnika invading the H’kar’s assigned Nexus territory. Gavra didn’t understand at first, then it finally clicked that he wanted to turn Star Force’s territory into the primary warfront.

  That was not going to go over well, for the idea of fighting through the full length of enemy territory in order to get back to H’kar space was ludicrous. They couldn’t even defend their own region, how then were they expected to fight through the thickest and strongest Li’vorkrachnika colonies?

  But Vedja had a plan for that as well, and after the third read through Gavra reluctantly agreed with his former master…though he knew the Royals would never go through with it. It put primary emphasis on aiding Star Force and defeating the enemy through them while basically abandoning their Nexus mandate to protect their assigned territory. On the face of it there was no possible way to convince others of the wisdom hidden within the order, even with the numbers that Vedja provided. Gavra knew their significance, but others would not.

  The H’kar fleet, under Vedja’s command, was killing so many enemy ships that they dare not assign them anywhere else. They were actively pushing the Li’vorkrachnika back in several areas and raiding even more systems deeper into enemy territory, racking up results that the H’kar had never come close to matching throughout the entire history of their losing war.

  Vedja was adamant in his final orders that victory could be achieved in a joint venture with Star Force and their assembled allies, with or without other Nexus support, and his master implored his former students to find a way to make it happen. For so long victory hadn’t been more than a foolish notion for the H’kar, who were so decimated and demoralized that, even when they received Nexus membership, only hoped to survive and hold the enemy back.

  Victory was what Vedja and others had long sought and never achieved, so even a whiff of that sentiment from his old master put Gavra into a state of anxiety…for he knew that the Royals would never allow them to do what was needed, but that if they had such a chance they could not let it pass by and allow their enemy to continue to grow stronger.

  Fortunately Vedja had also included several contingency plans, with one that seemed to fit the circumstance.

  But this wasn’t something that Gavra could do alone, so he immediately sent out messages to Vedja’s other supporters informing them to gather at a rendezvous point so they could discuss matters amongst themselves. Once the messages were sent the H’kar departed on a ship of his own, traveling to the secret summit even as Vedja’s messages began to arrive at the others.

  Slowly his followers began to assemble and take action, whereas before they’d been spectators reading the reports coming back from the ADZ. Now it was up to them, and they agreed that they would do whatever was necessary to give the H’kar a chance at true victory and honor Vedja’s last orders, impossible as they were.

  They considered keeping his death a secret from the empire, but knew that word would eventually leak out or his absence would be noted indirectly no matter how close a charade they concocted. It was also noted that such a deception could backfire, so they decided to go with the polar opposite and make his death public knowledge…but with a political push going along with it.

  It was many months later when Vedja’s body eventually returned to the empire, escorted by a massive honor guard fleet that
grew in number as it began a long ceremonial tour of each and every H’kar world. With his body came the open publication of some of his final orders, with Vedja’s students loudly declaring that they would be followed and trying to preempt the Royals from making any decisions to the contrary.

  That built backlash that was contained but brewing, with the Royals being patient but ready to begin removing Vedja’s supporters now that he was gone, one by one if necessary to keep the empire calm and secure, but they had no intention of letting this presumptuous faction gain defacto control.

  That was until they began getting reports back of the reaction that the ceremonial tour was having on the worlds Vedja’s remains were visiting…as well as the promise that victory was possible, followed up with the legend’s last orders and predictions detailing what he thought would happen if they were implemented.

  The ground swell of support broke all expectations and eventually became fervor, with the empire having been subconsciously waiting for the seed of hope to grasp onto. The Nexus had once been that hope, but with the stalemate that it brought that hope had faded, with it seeming that no matter what the H’kar did they would never be able to defeat the Li’vorkrachnika. For if even with Nexus support they could only survive and not push the enemy back, with them being fated to be survivors at best and never victors.

  The combination of that lingering bitterness, the gravity of Vedja’s death, and his assertion that there was a way to win hit every world the honor guard visited like a storm, reawakening belief in even the most ardent doubters when they saw that the legend had not only promised a possibility of victory, but had laid out a battle plan…his last contribution to the H’kar…of what exactly they had to do to achieve it.

  When word reached the Royals they went into a panic, for there was no resisting this patriotic uprising. They immediately sought a way to steer it off course or to put it to their own use, but with Vedja having laid out in detail what had to happen, and his former students making sure there was no misinterpretation allowed, there was no way to stop the uprising short of instigating a civil war.