Star Force: Galactic Empire Revealed (Star Force Universe Book 63)

by Aer-ki Jyr

  “I counsel patience, as I will display now. You have not had time to digest the information I have given you. I will wait until you do so. Once you know the full weight of the certain future ahead of you, you will not be so quick to call my counsel cowardice.”

  The Zak’de’ron ended his transmission and curled his tail up around him, retracting his wings and turning into what looked like a sleeping pose as he drifted in orbit nearby his ship.

  “Perhaps he is right,” another Era’tran said, prompting an angry look from Mak’to’ran. “We need more time to develop the Ysalamiri.”

  “At the cost of all our worlds being overrun? We would become vagrants, our strength stolen from us. How much do you think we could accomplish from a fleet alone?”

  “In theory we could rebuild afterwards, if we are talking on a scale of a million years or more.”

  “If we are defeated, you can assume we will do just that,” Mak’to’ran promised. “But we will not surrender our worlds to the Hadarak. If they wish to claim them, they will pay the price in blood demanded of them.”

  “If we are to have any chance of defending our core worlds,” another Era’tran advisor said, “we will need Star Force. What I am seeing in these records is beyond either of us now. Only together can we reach for the possibility of victory, for we do not possess it now.”

  “Finally I hear wisdom,” Mak’to’ran approved. “We are not victims of the Hadarak, we are an empire forged with the singular purpose to fight them. We do not have all the tools we need yet, but we have far more than the V’kit’no’sat have ever possessed. Now we have a Zak’de’ron coming out of nowhere to tell us to stop fighting and flee? Even if this one is aligned with the Temple builders, the universe mocks your gullibility.”

  A prompt for an incoming comm got Mak’to’ran’s attention, and he mentally flipped the activation switch. The image of a Hjar’at appeared before him, coming from elsewhere on Wendigama.

  “Tell me you are not considering this cowardice?” Telvara challenged.

  “I am not,” Mak’to’ran said firmly.

  “That is a relief. I am hearing whispers of it everywhere.”

  “In my own counsel chambers as well,” the Era’tran said, throwing a glance to his left at the banks of his kin scrolling through hundreds of holograms and breaking down the most important information being fed to them by others methodically sorting through the data packet in different buildings across the capitol. “What do you make of this Zak’de’ron?”

  “What does our information from Star Force say about his truthfulness?”

  “It aligns.”

  “Then he may be a disciple of the Temple builders.”

  “I do not care if he is.”

  “His ability to destroy Hadarak is extremely important. Why is he preaching retreat?”

  “We are still ignorant of the Hadarak’s true power. To me it does not matter, they must be opposed regardless, but if they are far more the monsters than we know, lesser minds would run. I am beginning to question the steel of the V’kit’no’sat, and whether it is real or merely a function of ignorance of the threat we face.”

  “I thought we’d eliminated this poison from the empire long ago.”

  “Poison has a way of recurring when there is a lack of courage.”

  “Perhaps we should remind the others that this disciple is stating that we are superior to the Zak’de’ron and that they are not worth his time?”

  “That does concern me. You and I both know they still hold advantages over us.”

  “A ploy then?”

  “I do not know. If the Zak’de’ron had Essence power, especially of this magnitude, we would not be free. I do not understand the dynamic here, unless Legion alone is what has garnered his attention.”

  “Perhaps it is the death count of the Hadarak.”

  “If what I know of Essence is accurate, it takes a very long time to build up the power level this one has demonstrated. Building Ysalamir is but a heartbeat in comparison. We may already be on the superior path, in terms of galactic warfare. Essence is also limited in capacity. Perhaps killing those two Hadarak nearly depleted this one.”

  “How long does it take to recharge?”

  “I am told days at the minimum, perhaps months depending on how deeply you diminish yourself. Push too far and draw too much, and you will kill yourself.”

  “Curse Star Force for keeping this from us.”

  “What have we given them, Telvara? They shared Ysalamir with us. Without it we would not be in the position we are with the Hadarak. Do you truly expect them to give us all their secrets?”

  “We have abandoned the death sentences on them. Why should they hold back?”

  “Because they are wise, and I would do the same in their position. They do not even trust their own populations with psionics. They guard closely who has power, and there has never been a rebellion amongst them. They are far more stable than us, or am I wrong?”

  “I always assumed it was the threat of our existence that kept them together.”

  “Inferring that we would attack them if they were divided? And yet you ask them to give us their greatest power?”

  “I concede the point. I am just frustrated at our lack of Essence, more now than ever. It is a higher level power that we have not yet attained. I do not like the feeling of being inferior after as far as our empire has come.”

  “Nor do I, but the battlefield does not give us what we want. It gives us what we must overcome. It is for us to figure out how.”

  “Just show me an enemy I can kill. I dislike distractions.”

  “Would you have preferred I did not recall you to Itaru?”

  “No. This Zak’de’ron must be dealt with, and it is far more powerful than a Hadarak. You were right to recall us. What do you plan to do?”

  “Gain information, but we are not abandoning the fight with the Hadarak. To do so would kill the identity of our empire, and I will not have us devolve in the carnage that is the Vargemma. They have been denied a fight, so they turn on each other instead. No, our cause must remain pure and undistracted. Better to die righteous than live to descend into the monstrosities of decay.”

  “Is that the Zak’de’ron’s ploy? Weaken us prior to their own attack?”

  “What would they gain? The Hadarak are still coming, and eventually they will even get to the Rim. Much can happen before that, but what would be their purpose when we are accomplishing so much damage to our mutual enemy? Would they have given us the location of their worlds if the greater threat wasn’t cause for parallel fighting?”

  “They may not have given us all their worlds,” Telvara cautioned, “but I concur. I cannot make sense of this Zak’de’ron’s presence or purpose. Where are these other superior races hiding? Out in the Rim where we never explored?”

  “I do not know, but Star Force has not found them either, unless they wear cloaks of weakness to disguise their truth strength.”

  “How many does he need before his master returns? I wonder if the Temples and this one are not in the employ of the Hadarak to prevent attacks against them? With no time mark to rally around, we could be facing perpetual running and hiding if we yielded to his strategy.”

  “And the Vargemma are confined to the Temples waiting for a promised return that might never come? I see your point, but given the nature and size of the Hadarak, it could very well be an intergalactic conflict that would necessitate millions of years to play out. Perhaps billions.”

  “Billions?”

  “I am told the Temples may be that old.”

  “Then where are all the other races collected from that time? If this disciple is young compared to the Temples, then where is the army compiled over that same period of time?”

  Mak’to’ran’s throat rumbled, not an angry sound, but one of confusion. “That is something I would like to know as well,” he said, reactivating the comm and querying their guest in orbit.

  “You cannot h
ave processed the information in such a short space of time,” the Zak’de’ron said, not bothering to uncurl from its napping posture in order to respond. A deliberate slight to the mass of the V’kit’no’sat empire below and surrounding him.

  “Are the Temples more than a billion years old?”

  “The war with the Hadarak has stretched more than a billion years, and long ago it was decided to gradually seed the occupied galaxies and those that were on the verge of being occupied with refuges to preserve Essence users. They were not built quickly, but they were designed to persist. As time goes on the Hadarak spread to more galaxies, increasing their number and putting more pressure on my Master’s home galaxy. This is a very long fight, Mak’to’ran. Those who wish to survive to see the end of it must mentally reconfigure their priorities to the long game.”

  “Where are the others like us that have been preserved over the past billion years?”

  “That I do not know. My knowledge begins with the time I was recruited and what has occurred since then in this galaxy.”

  “Have you been beyond this galaxy?”

  “My work is here. I have been graced with a supreme task and do not ask more than it. I have not traveled beyond this great swirl, but I have been taught by those that have.”

  “And when do you expect your Master will be ready to lead the rebellion in this galaxy?”

  “Not anytime soon. I have collected too few and the Vargemma have not advanced enough to bother interacting with. Without direct intervention, the Temples require slow evolution to develop those within, but they will accomplish their task…regardless of your empire’s interference. When they do so, and I have collected enough supplemental support, we will assault the Deep Core and deny this galaxy’s reinforcements to others.”

  “And what happens when the Hadarak’s reinforcements come here instead?”

  “Then we will hold the gates or be destroyed. That is why we cannot act hastily. We must acquire enough strength to quickly defeat the Hadarak and position ourselves to hold what we take, otherwise we will be washed away with the return tide.”

  “What ‘gates’ do you speak of?”

  “The points in this galaxy that allow for quick intergalactic travel. You cannot guard against a slow invasion, but if you wish to get a large number of reinforcements here in a relatively short period of time, your options are limited to the gates, in all their forms. The Hadarak guard these closely, and if they can defend them long enough their reinforcements will arrive in a perpetual stream that we will have to fight. If we launched an assault now, with all the races I have accumulated plus the Vargemma, we would breach their outer lines…then be overwhelmed before we could even reach a single gate. Even with my personal assistance, we would lose badly.”

  “Do the Veloqueen fight as you do? In space with your personal Essence as weaponry?”

  “Not just the Veloqueen, but many others as well.”

  “And technologically?”

  “There are many ways to kill Hadarak, not all of which require Essence, but Essence is the primary weapon because the only defense against it is Essence itself. The hordes of Hadarak minions cannot use it, thus they can easily be swept aside by it. It is their larger units that require direct confrontation, and they are many. Some of which are stronger than I.”

  “Can you defeat a Lurker?”

  “At risk to myself, yes. We know them as assassins, and if caught off guard they can kill someone like me in an instant. But the reverse is also true.”

  “The Olopar allow the small Essence users to fight as you do, correct?”

  “Finally, some wisdom I see in you. The Hadarak are so large their Essence stores are untouchable. Only with time and training can one such as me match them. Those as small as your servants would never be able to individually, but by pooling their Essence into storage containers, a little each day, they can amass a great deal to be unleashed as quickly as an assassin can. This is why the Vargemma must develop further. They must produce more Essence, and do so at a faster rate if they are to resupply the Olopar. If not, their usefulness in battle will be short-lived in a war that demands endurance.”

  “Why not give the Zak’de’ron and others the technology needed to fight? Why do you wait until we achieve it on our own?”

  “I cannot watch over you all. If you do not develop the skills necessary to wield such power, then it will destroy you. Why are you obsessed with my former race? Is it not clear that I have transcended them? Or are some of them of my size and power now?”

  “I have never known an honest Zak’de’ron. They always have some form of deceit in their words and actions.”

  “That is why I have given you the information you need in the open. Take time and study it, for I am hiding none from you,” Eldorat said, signing off once again.

  “They need batteries,” Telvara scoffed, “and skirmishers to screen for those that can deliver the Essence. They are not seeking peers.”

  “We are not their peers in strength, Telvara,” Mak’to’ran admitted, “but I believe we are their superiors in tenacity. The V’kit’no’sat abandoned expendable troops long ago, and I will not let our empire become such for a foreign power.”

  “Then tell him no and be done with it.”

  “I am curious to how he will react, but for the time being let us study the records he has given. Perhaps we can convince him that there is another way.”

  “You have not mentioned the Uriti. Does he know?”

  “I am uncertain, but without Star Force’s controlling mechanism I doubt they would be of use. Though I could be wrong. Star Force has enough to contend with now. I do not want to unleash this Zak’de’ron on them. We will deal with this one, so let us keep his attention here, for he still believes Star Force answers to Itaru. Let him maintain that illusion, along with the rest of the galaxy.”

  “To what end?”

  “If Star Force can conquer the Temples, then they can learn from them and assimilate at least part of this Veloqueen knowledge and technology. I do not want to face their kind in our current state. We must advance first, so let’s keep this one’s focus on us and away from Star Force’s work.”

  “You think they will share what they learn with us?”

  “So long as they stay one step ahead of us, yes. They will keep some knowledge and power as a hedge against our potential betrayal, but like the Ysalamir they will not let us remain impotent to the threats we face. They have earned my respect in battle, and I believe we have earned theirs as well. Our heritage, though tainted with betrayal, has the same roots. We are brothers in blood, and when the time comes they will defend us the same as we will defend them.”

  “Is that why you let them have our genetics?”

  “They would have acquired them anyway. Doing so created more than a myth of a binary empire. It created one in fact.”

  “You seem to trust them a great deal?”

  “I know their nature now. That is different than trust. They have a nature of unity, and so long as we stay within their ‘lightside’ we will be their ally. Venture in to the ‘darkside’ and we will be their enemy. Unlike others, they let us choose our relationship by our actions. Because of that fact, they are predictable and reliable, unlike the Zak’de’ron who are quite the opposite.”

  “And what of this one?”

  “I am assuming no less…”

  6

  December 7, 128558

  Itaru System (V’kit’no’sat Capitol)

  Wendigama

  It had been a little over a day since the Zak’de’ron had arrived, and Neofenn had been given a good seat for the spectacle. The two Star Force Mach’nel were in high orbit around the planet with a view down onto Eldorat as he passed by multiple times given that his lower orbit was a much faster one.

  There had been no further discussion for hours, with the massive dragon giving everyone time to digest the information offered to them…and there was a great deal of it. Neofenn had been looki
ng through it himself, as had Anders, and both their crews were helping to sift through the records that appeared to detail failure after failure to survive the Hadarak purges.

  The curious thing about them was that none were comprehensive. What was occurring now was more like a Nova spreading out from a star in all directions and consuming the galaxy in a slow, but unstoppable wave of destruction. What had happened in the past was more like solar flares, with the Hadarak moving out to target a region and annihilate it while ringing in the area with pursuers to make sure no one could escape.

  And they were damn good at it. The Warden/minion attack force the V’kit’no’sat had been formed to counter was just their cleanup crew, and now that Neofenn had some context as to what he had been seeing over the past years he felt like facepalming. The Wardens were not attack ships, they were simply big, fat tankers so strong they could kill ships on their own if needed. That’s why they didn’t have any ranged weaponry built into them…and their tentacles were built for digging and docking as much as for point defense combat.

  The Wardens didn’t just store Essence, they stored raw materials that were either harvested by their minions or dug out of planets and stars directly. While moving through them using gravity drives was possible, the tentacles helped propel them faster, as well as clawing and stirring resource pockets towards their surface where they could be absorbed en mass. And for those really tricky pockets, the tentacles would act like straws that, as long as they got a little surface area to connect, would suck them dry while also being able to deliver minions directly to the spot to chew and digest even more material in the case of a planet.

  Tankers. The V’kit’no’sat had been fighting and getting their ass kicked by tankers all these years while the real warships were back in the Deep Core fighting larger enemies…with the emphasis on larger.

  A subset of the data was focused on the numerous wars going on inside the Deep Core, an area that no one had any real data on other than what Kara had recently delivered. Eldorat didn’t provide any maps or useful navigational data that Star Force could one day use to fight in there, but he did offer battle records that apparently he had observed but not taken part in…and the fighting was pure carnage.