Star Force: Quenar (SF88) (Star Force Origin Series) (6 page)

“Which means we need to pursue simultaneous courses of
interaction,” Davis wisely said as the possibilities unfolded in his mind like
pages of a book being speed read. “If the Uriti will respond to orders, we can
train it even if it doesn’t understand why. And the more orders we get it to
successfully follow, the greater the influence we will have over it. Perhaps
more than even the Chixzon did. And while the Uriti seems to be immune to
stagnation as far as death is concerned, my gut says that it is not immune to
all of its effects?” he asked, looking to the trailblazers.

“My credits say the same,” Paul agreed, with Jason
nodding in sync.

“We might get it liking us despite the genetic
controls,” Riley added, “just by getting it into better shape.”

“Them,”
Yetti
amended,
drawing glances from them all. “If we’re going to solidify our position here we
need to bring in more Uriti, perhaps not immediately, but there is one nearby
that we have leverage to get released. Others are well guarded, but some races
might not be protecting them to gain leverage, but rather to keep their own
people safe. If we could prove that we could remove the threat safely and take
it far away from their civilization, some of them might give them up freely.
Hell, they might even pay us to take them off their hands.”

Davis, on sudden impulse, stopped his pacing of the
perimeter and headed for a work station, pulling up a map of the system and
zooming out until 10 or so systems were visible. He then pulled it out again,
seeing what was there within the nearest 100, then pulled back again to the
nearest 1000 before spotting the first inhabited system…a Star Force colony
that was relocating the
Hedrock
race to their
homeworld, but doing so as a ward of the empire rather than an independent
civilization, per their request.

Davis remained silent as he worked, pulling up stellar
data for the stars around the Alamo System and seeing how much of the necessary
elements the Uriti needed and favored were there, finding several prime areas
and a lot of adequate reserves. A secondary search of systems gave him a feel
for the geography, then he began highlighting systems in a clump situated off Alamo.
To that he added another section that ringed the inner area, then pointed at
both.

“My friends, welcome to Jurassic Park.”

6

August 29, 3256

Alamo System

Inner Zone

“I assume everyone’s translation software is updated,”
Yetti
said as she looked out at the mass of holograms
surrounding her on the observation deck. “If not, well, I think we’ll know soon
enough.”

She looked around, making eye contact with all the
varied races, of which 7 of The Nine were present in addition to the
representatives in the various ships in system observing the Uriti and the
activity here. Some had refused this meeting, and thus were being kept out of
the loop, but 53 of them were here, bringing the gallery of holograms to an
even 60.

“Save your questions for now and just listen. I am
Star Force Duke
Yetti
, Uriti Preserve Inquisitor. I
will be the point of contact for your empires. Information will flow from me to
you and vice versa. Most of you have been sent here to observe and report,
which is acceptable, but make no mistake when I say that you will not be
permitted to interfere in our operations here. We are only now beginning
construction of what will be a great many facilities in this system and others
nearby in what we’re creating as the boundaries of the Preserve.”

She hit a handheld control and the
starmap
of the region was set up before her and transmitted to each of the
representatives’ ships.

“These 34 star systems are what we are designating as
the Uriti Preserve. They are off limits to all traffic save for this system
where we will establish facilities for you and others to come and visit if you
wish. You will do so on our terms, or our military will deal with you in one of
various methods. We will likewise keep the Uriti here, rotating through these
systems and no others. We will keep them away from inhabited systems, and
likewise keep outsiders away from them. At present we have one Uriti here and
no infrastructure. Both facts will change over time as we seek out and offer to
relocate any other Uriti found or within your care if you so wish it.”

That announcement sent twitches and convulsions
through a good portion of the representatives, including the Sety, but no one
interrupted her and she continued on quickly to take advantage of the moment of
confusion and keep the revelations coming.

“Furthermore, several of you have already committed
yourselves to the containment of this Uriti, pledging to do what is necessary
to keep it from harming worlds. Star Force’s intent is to do more than that. We
have no intention of sedating this one or any others we bring here. We intend
to care for them, study them, and treat them with the respect that their
creators did not share. The Uriti were created to be living weapons and thrust
at enemy systems with orders to demolish them. They are quite good at that sort
of thing, but we intend to never utilize that function unless as an act of last
resort against anyone foolish enough to try and conquer us.”

“I do not make this as a cavalier threat. I make it as
a promise. If your relations with us are peaceful you need never fear
a
Uriti showing up in your system. We will keep them here,
in this Preserve, and should we engage in a war of conquest against another, as
we have done numerous times in our history, the Uriti will not be used. Those
few of you that have studied our history, and I’m sure others will do so in
coming years, will realize that we do not fight those who do not deserve it,
and when we do fight we do not do so sloppily. Sending
a
Uriti to destroy a planet is extremely sloppy, and so long as we are not
betrayed, we have no intention to ever use the Uriti as a weapon. They will
stay here, within the Preserve, permanently.”

“As to what we will do with them here…that remains to
be determined. We are already attempting to find a secondary means of
communication other than the controlling function encoded within them by the
Chixzon, and how we proceed down the road will ultimately be determined by what
level of communication we are able to achieve. You need not concern yourself
with that if you do not wish it. You will be welcome to observe our efforts and
we will make records available to you, but this is our Preserve, our Uriti, and
our project. There may be opportunities for you to assist, but we will always
maintain control.”

“And we will guard the control of this Uriti against
anyone who tries to steal or destroy that control. Already a race called the
Trinx have betrayed and attacked us, so please understand that we are not in a
trusting mood. I know your empires and races have questions and concerns, which
I will address in time, but for now you need to accept that we are in control
here and will be further cementing that control over time. Right now we are
building an embassy station that is mobile enough to avoid the Uriti if it
should come our way. There will be no fixed installations within the Preserve
that we are not willing to lose, and any such expendable infrastructure will
not be permanently inhabited. While we can order the Uriti, the level of that
control has not been fully tested yet, though doing so is on our to-do list.”

“We will test and learn about this Uriti while
building infrastructure that will be able to move and stay out of its way.
Those of you who are agreeable will be allowed to establish and maintain an
embassy on this station for a variety of purposes. Already we have a great
number of far flung races here that probably have little or no contact with one
another through other means. As long as this is a focal point for you all, we
might as well make this
Preserve
a diplomatic station
as well. On a lesser note, people will want to come and see the Uriti for all
number of reasons. To that end we will, over time, allow a select amount of
visitors, whether they be researchers or tourists, to enter the Preserve on our
terms.”

“For those of you who doubt our control, take note of
the star with your ships’ sensors. In a moment we will call the Uriti out to
demonstrate that it will respond to us.”

There was a long pause, but once she had given
everyone ample time to prepare, she sent a signal to the
Zeus
and almost immediately the feeble tracking of the Uriti within
the star showed it begin to gain altitude.
Yetti
didn’t say anything more until it finally burst forth through the highest level
of material that made up the ‘surface’ of the star and out into the hazy
atmosphere that surrounded it, slowly making its way out into full view and to
the coordinates that the Duke had already highlighted on the map for the
representatives to see. As promised, the Uriti flew up to those coordinates and
stopped on the spot, holding position and doing nothing else.

“There will be other such demonstrations in the coming
months as we study the Uriti, but I hope this answers any lingering questions
as to whether or not we are being honest. The Uriti responds to our commands
and we promise to keep it within this preserve, not only to protect our own
inhabited systems, which are far closer than any of yours, but to protect
everyone that might be coming in the path of
a
Uriti
on the rampage, as this one recently was.”

“You do not know us, yet, but our word is good. So
stay and observe. You’ll see that the Uriti does not travel beyond this
Preserve, not will we allow anyone else to have access to it except through us.
They will not be used as weapons again, and any Uriti deposited into this
Preserve will likewise be free from misuse or roving rampages. If you know of
where another one is located, or are guarding it yourself against others or
simply against the chance of it waking, you may contact me at any time to
discuss the matter. Though the establishment of this Preserve is in its
infancy, we will eventually be able to bring any other Uriti here for safe
keeping. At the moment we intend to study this one further before we attempt to
find and retrieve others.”

“If you do not wish
a
Uriti
that you are safeguarding moved, so be it. Let it slumber for now. We have much
work to do, but I will state clearly that anyone who releases
a
Uriti to go on a rampage will be dealt with harshly, and
it’s only a question of whether Star Force or someone else will get to you
first. These Uriti are not to be trifled with, which is why we will require
everyone in this system to obey our protocols as we set them forth, otherwise
you will be removed from this system and the rest of the Preserve.”

“Now, on a partial side note. Some empires have
requested permission to colonize worlds in this empty region that we are reclaiming
from a regional threat. There are many empty worlds, but the presence of
a
Uriti will undoubtedly make people rethink the safety of
putting down fixed infrastructure that’s anywhere close by. This preserve is
going to be ringed by a neutral zone of systems that the Uriti will not be
allowed within, nor will anyone else. The systems just outside it will be safe
to travel through and inhabit, though I understand if you’ll want a few hundred
years of activity to monitor to confirm that. I’m not offering you worlds to
colonize, though some of you may be so inclined to make such requests. I am
telling you this to let you know that we do not fear the Uriti running rampant,
and if we are wrong we will be the first to suffer the consequences.”

“So stay, listen, watch, and learn…but do not try to
assert yourselves here. We are in control and we will remain in control. Star
Force is a fair empire, but not a weak or timid one. Deal with us honestly and
there will be no reason to deny you entry to this system. But if you do give us
cause to deny you, we will enforce such a ban up to the point of confiscating
any ships that trespass here.”

“Will we use the Uriti to do that? No. They are not
designed for such use. They were meant to target a system and destroy it. Finer
control was never the Chixzon’s intent. And for those who do not yet know, the
Chixzon were the race that created the Uriti. Information on them we will also
share, along with a wealth of other things. There are inroads for you to make
here if you choose, but you must do so respectfully and peaceably. Attempt to
force anything and you will be met with equal or greater force, and not just
from our empire. Keeping the Uriti contained here is a matter of concern for
many of you, and as I said, some of you have already pledged your empires to
insuring that the Uriti does not go on another rampage and that those sleeping
remain sleeping.”

“This Uriti will not be remaining in this system
permanently, for we will rotate it around the Preserve, but the embassy that we
are building will remain here, in a safe orbit where it will not cross paths
with the Uriti by accident. In addition, many of our ships and mobile stations
will also remain here to further develop inter-empire relations that may result
in many beneficial outcomes. For the most part, you have permission to travel
through Star Force territory unhindered so long as you do not interfere with
the systems you are passing through or the traffic that you may encounter. We
prefer open borders in most cases. This Preserve will be one of the few
exceptions.”

Paul was in the nexus onboard the
Sanguine Blade
monitoring the Uriti and the assembled ships in the
system as Davis and his Dukes were laying the law down just in case there was a
problem that needed dealing with. Jason was in a training session so Paul was
covering for him when he got a personal
comm
routed
to him from the newly arrived Sety representative.

“Is there a problem?” he asked when he accepted and a
small hologram popped up before him.

“The revelation is over and your Duke is busy
answering questions. I will ask you this bluntly, but as politely as I can. Do
you intend to remove Glaech from its sedation?”

“We’ve really got to work on the name thing. I’m
sticking with Bahamut.”

“Whatever you wish to call it, please answer my
question.”

“Not immediately. We need to study Nami before we try
to bring Bahamut here. It will not be a quick process.”

“Then you will rouse…Bahamut…despite our objections?”

“What objections are those? For what possible reason
would we leave that Uriti in a separate place that would require a separate
fleet to defend it? Better to have them both in one location.”

“There may be some wisdom in that, but it is a
decision that we all should make.”

“We will gladly listen to counsel, but the decision is
ours regarding Bahamut. It is in our invasion corridor against the
Li’vorkrachnika. The Uriti that you and the others guard is a different matter.
We will not wake them and put any people living above them in danger, but we
will suggest that all of them be moved here for safekeeping.”

“And if we decline that suggestion?”

“At the moment there is no cause to start a war with
The Nexus to reclaim a sleeping Uriti. However, if after study we learn that
the sedation is in some way harming them that may change.”

“You put the wellbeing of Uriti as higher priority than
our lives?”

“No, I put it as higher priority than your ego.
Remember, we are doing you a very, very, very big favor in all of this.
Remember back shortly to when you had no way to control
a
Uriti and this one was loose and heading wherever it wanted. I should not be
hearing ingratitude in your voice.”

“It is the arrogance in yours that concerns me.”

“It’s not arrogance,
it’s
accuracy. Though if I were in your position I would be cautious as well. If we
wanted to we could use
a
Uriti to cause a lot of damage.
We’re not like that though, as you’ll learn if you haven’t yet, but from your
position I would also recognize that at least we
can
control the Uriti, and since at the moment it’s not out tearing
up systems it is an improvement in condition.”