Star Force: Quenar (SF88) (Star Force Origin Series) (10 page)

“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.

“Cardosan 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.

The Sety needed a foothold in the growing Star Force
markets, as well as affording them to contacts that existed outside of their
own maps that made use of the Star Force transit and commerce systems. The
basic idea was that the Sety, and several other Nexus members, could set up
shop and not have to worry about security because it was in Star Force territory.
They could build without having to devote ships to defend it, and the
arrangement being considered by Davis had specified just that. They wanted to slowly
cultivate an economic foothold while leaving Star Force to provide security in
exchange for a number of other concessions, one of which was to allow some low
key member states, such as the H’kar, the choice of leaving The Nexus to join
Star Force without having to suffer the penalties that such a break with the
others had been promised to entail.

Davis had informed Riley via a message, now that he
was back on Earth, that offloading a few minor members that couldn’t contribute
to the greater whole of The Nexus was being seen as a blessing rather than an
insult, though had their tenuous position not be verging on a major
embarrassment they would not have considered such a concession. They weren’t
desperate just yet, but a lot more things were being allowed on the table and
they were finding a useful trading partner in Davis because he wasn’t just
squeezing them to get anything and everything out of them that he could, he was
negotiating deals that would benefit both parties.

That was what had truly turned the Sety around, above
and beyond the fact that the Uriti were now no longer their constant burden. There
was even talk of moving all the others to the Preserve if this one proved
successful, and as far as the Sety were concerned it was no longer a matter of
pride, it was a responsibility that they were more than eager to pass on to
someone else, and that was also a point of negotiation that Davis was using. If
they were to get the Uriti that the Sety had possession of, Davis was going to
get something in return for it, though that and many other deals were still
only on the drawing board, the first of which was dependent on whether or not
Bahamut could play nice with Nami and stay within the borders.

With the first stage of the experiment a success,
Riley and the others watched as the giant Uriti made its way to the jumppoint
and then over to the star. The Knights of Quenar sent their ships ahead first,
then the
Zeus
and its escorts
followed Bahamut out of the system to begin the slow trek over to the Preserve
that was fortunately much closer than the last time they did this. It’d still
take months to get there, but it was just next door compared to some of the
Uriti that the KoQ had identified almost half a galaxy away.

The fleets that parted ways with the group traveled
out on individual jumplines headed back to different home territories, but one
system out the Sety ran into a waiting Yisv fleet of considerable size,
informed them of the successful waking and removal of the Uriti,
then
continued on. The Yisv then traveled back to the now
broken shell and landed their people on the surface to begin cleaning up the
wreckage to insure that no one else happened along and collected the materials
and technology of the Ancients. There were enough technologically advanced
enemies for them to face as it was, and they didn’t need any more upgrading
themselves by reverse engineering or salvaging the large sections of the shell
facility that were below the blast radius.

There were several ships here already there that fled
upon their arrival, and one of which had recovered a party sent down to the
surface. The Yisv didn’t know what they had gotten, if anything, but they
insured there would be no coordinated excavation of the rubble other than their
own, carefully collecting and cataloging each piece that they then spirited
away on their ships back to their own territory. They’d never been a caretaker
of
a
Uriti facility, for obvious reasons, and while
others had been able to study the technology in detail they never had…until
now.

So their volunteering to clean up the site had been
automatic and welcomed, for the rest of the races were ready to be done with
the Uriti if at all possible, and were more than willing to tick this system
off their ‘to protect’ list.

When the
Zeus
returned to the Alamo System behind Bahamut it was just in time to see a
massive burst of radiation hit his ship. From the sensors that he was linked
into via the command nexus he knew it wasn’t damaging, but the origination
point was obviously Bahamut. The burst was consistent with observed behavior of
Nami after her release from confinement, only this wave was much smaller.

Riley checked ship status reports for his escorts and
a few others that were nearby, finding they were all still operational save for
a few sensor arrays being blown out on automated sentry pylons set in low
stellar orbit that allowed all blind spots around the stars to be monitored
constantly. Before Riley could get bombarded with questions,
Nami’s
signature within the smaller star began a rapid
rise, eventually coming up out of the stellar material aglow with recently
stored energy that gradually faded as it moved further into the coldness of
space…which was odd considering how much energy the
Zeus
’ shields were having to block to keep the hull plates from
getting scorched.

That was just another example of how foreign the Uriti
were, literally existing in the same universe but in totally different pockets
of it.

When Nami came out and into the black she headed
straight for Bahamut, who likewise headed towards her. Riley wondered if this
was a battle challenge or a rush to say hello, but Nefron quickly put that
question to rest with a quick play by play of their registered mental stats.
They were not in contention at all, but were eager to see another version of
themselves for the first time.

When the two Uriti came together they almost hit each
other, not able to slow down fast enough, then the two held within a couple
miles of one another and just sat there basking in each other’s aura and having
a very long conversation that Nefron was eavesdropping on as much as he could
and gathering data with every passing second.

Hopefully listening to them talk to each other would
give Star Force a clue as to how to communicate with them someday, but for
right now Riley was just glad they weren’t fighting, as well as being grateful
to be able to facilitate this…well, it wasn’t a reunion if they’d never met
before, but they’d obviously been built to have a pack mentality and now they
were finally being able to put to use that part of their psyche.

The orbit matching continued on for several hours
until there was a cascade of yellow lightning that passed between the two of
them in what looked like a storm that lasted for more than 10 minutes, after
which nothing changed and they continued to hold close formation.