Star Force: Fracture (Star Force Universe Book 47)

by Aer-ki Jyr

  But the Era’tran fleets were clustered around the Core fighting the Hadarak, so they weren’t in position to immediately help, but they would be able to get to the systems across the galaxy far faster along with the other 37 races that had not taken part in the Star Force invasion. But even then, they were going to be late getting there and already some systems were reported to have completely fallen into enemy hands.

  Bearadan would not fall so quickly with 6 worlds, so Tre’sti was somewhat sure there would be V’kit’no’sat in the system to reinforce when he got there. Would the I’rar’et worlds hold out, he couldn’t say, but the fact that they were getting hit by an enemy the V’kit’no’sat had no knowledge of was disturbing. They were using ships even larger than those of the V’kit’no’sat and some weapon systems that seemed to defy the laws of physics. Their effect wasn’t greater than the weapons of the V’kit’no’sat, but the unknown nature of the combat made it difficult to predict what months of conflict would result in.

  But still, 6 V’kit’no’sat worlds that could reinforce each other would bleed the enemy dry unless they came in with so much force that they were completely overwhelmed. There was no data on fleet size in the most recent update, so Tre’sti couldn’t know, but he wasn’t going wait here any longer than he needed. I’rar’et worlds were under assault and his fleet belonged there, defending their territory, rather than here going after an enemy that didn’t have the arrogance to directly attack the empire…save for one quick strike on their shipyards with a Uriti to prove their point.

  Mak’to’ran had been right. Tre’sti should have given him the benefit of the doubt earlier, but the heresy of Star Force had blinded him with rage to the point that he agreed with the Oso’lon that they must be destroyed or, at the very minimum, annexed back into the empire. But Mak’to’ran had seen wisdom he had not, and the vulnerability that few had been willing to admit existed was now being exploited by races that had never been seen before.

  The V’kit’no’sat had assumed dominance, but now it was clear there were many races out in the Rim that wished to challenge them…and they’d been biding their time until they saw an opportunity to strike, which apparently was now.

  And if they were somehow coordinating with Star Force, then this whole invasion may have been a massive trap.

  Tre’sti couldn’t be sure of anything. The empire was so large the idea of it falling was absurd, but a few systems had already been lost and more were under assault. What was the enemy thinking? Did they actually have a chance to topple the V’kit’no’sat? Tre’sti thought not, but why would they do this if they didn’t have a chance of victory? Was the real situation out there worse than the reports indicated?

  The more he thought about it the more concerned he became, and the fact that Mak’to’ran had seen fit to overthrow the Oso’lon and J’gar, not to mention disbanding the Elder Council, suggested the situation might just be that dire.

  Tre’sti hated waiting for his fleets to return to his command center, but he couldn’t leave anyone behind. They’d be easy targets for Star Force, and when his fleet moved they might even get ambushed enroute. They had to go as one, and Tre’sti had already decided to abandon Flying Monkey as well. The Hjar’at had agreed to move in and hold it for them, for they were not heeding Mak’to’ran’s order to withdraw…at least not all of them. He’d heard that Hirojen was, in defiance of Virokor’s orders, and there may have been many other defectors from his own race, which was all the more reason to get out of here as quickly as possible. This warfront was now chaos, and while Tre’sti had not followed Mak’to’ran’s lead before he would not make the same mistake twice. The Era’tran were the only reliable leadership now, and while he didn’t know how long that would last, what Mak’to’ran was ordering made sense.

  The empire was under attack, and the empire had to respond. Tre’sti was going, though he didn’t know how many others would. Itaru was helpless to fight this coordinated attack without the war fleets, and there was no way Tre’sti was going to stay here fighting a defending enemy when I’rar’et systems were calling for aid.

  When the last of his ships arrived Tre’sti gladly gave the order to jump out, even before the Hjar’at had enough ships to properly defend the system. They were here, it was their problem now, and he wasn’t going to waste a day. The I’rar’et fleets were already late as it was, and he wasn’t going to make it any worse by delaying more.

  Virokor wisely did not try to order him to stay, for he would have disobeyed anyway, and he had not received any orders from I’rar’et superiors, so he left the V’kit’no’sat communications network behind and jumped out of the system along with his 32,733 ships and began taking the quickest route to Bearadan possible, meaning he’d be out of contact with the empire as he pushed through the Rim spinward and came in behind the mysterious attackers.

  Assuming they would still be there 5 months from now. He just hoped there would be some I’rar’et left to save, though he had a sinking feeling he just might find the entire system razed and lifeless without any enemy to avenge themselves on…

  8 months later…

  Hamob had been recalled to Itaru after Mak’to’ran had seized it, and the Elder Era’tran had been thoroughly surprised by both his decision and the response by the empire. There was nearly unanimous support within Itaru for his actions. Not amongst the elite leadership, but from the mid level planetary commanders and the populous in general. It seemed the direct assault on V’kit’no’sat territory had been enough to bring them in firmly behind his leadership…yet the dissolving of the Elder Council was a step that he didn’t think anyone would have stood for.

  But they had. The empire was now at war, and a righteous one at that. There was no division on the need to protect their own territory and Mak’to’ran had already made the painful decision to pull off the bulk of the Era’tran fleets on the Hadarak border save for the current hot spots. He was gambling on the other areas, for the remaining patrols allowed the V’kit’no’sat a presence for the Hadarak to detect, though without them knowing how weak they now were. Add in the fact that the Hadarak moved slowly and it might be a gamble that would pay off, though the Hadarak combat of the past year was vicious enough to give him pause.

  He didn’t envy Mak’to’ran the choice, for he knew the younger Era’tran hated abandoning their duty on that border, but with the bulk of the V’kit’no’sat fleet on the opposite side of the galaxy from Jamtren it would take them a year or more to cross the distance, and Hamob knew they couldn’t wait that long. The races holding the Hadarak border had to respond, along with every scrap of defense fleets from the other worlds not yet under attack. Those could get to the fighting sooner, but the Era’tran had the strongest fleet available after the J’gar, who curiously had agreed to hold the line against the Hadarak until reinforcement fleets from the Star Force warfront replaced them.

  When Hamob had arrived in Itaru he’d had a very long and heated debate with Mak’to’ran, but the path they were on had already been chosen and there was nothing to do but follow it. He’d confided in Hamob about the decision of the triad and the dissolution of the V’kit’no’sat, but that didn’t fully explain the J’gar’s decision to stay on the Hadarak border. They’d be taking serious losses there as well, perhaps more even than those heading for the Rim because planetary defenses had little to no effect on the Hadarak. The attacking races were not so immune, so the J’gar’s play was both curious and a relief, but it was clear they wanted to separate themselves from the rest of the empire and perhaps even fighting alongside one another was too much for the Didact’s ego to handle, hence they were not rushing to the Rim border.

  The bulk of the Oso’lon fleets were engaged against Star Force and Hamob did not know if they’d all recall or not. The Primearch had said they would, but how many they would leave behind to guard their taken worlds was in question. They had not agreed to relinquish them, and he doubted the Oso’lon would break ranks on Mak’to’ran�
��s order alone, so at best they would be even more delayed in getting to the other Rim warzones than the rest of the races.

  Mak’to’ran had called Hamob to Itaru for the specific reason of using him as an emissary to Star Force. He wanted to go himself, but he admitted that he could not leave Itaru any longer. Not even to go to the Hadarak front or these Rim assaults. Itaru had to hold the empire together, and without his presence Itaru could not function. For better or worse he was stuck here semi-permanently, but an agreement with Star Force had to be forged and Hamob had been his choice to go.

  So now Hamob was racing through space beyond V’kit’no’sat territory to rendezvous with Virokor, who had volunteered to stay behind and oversee their conquests. That was not easy for a Hjar’at, especially a legendary commander such as him. He wanted to be in the thick of battle, and while this conflict with Star Force wasn’t over yet, the idea of the empire being attacked and him not being involved must have hurt him badly…but he had a duty and he was carrying it out as he saw fit. Hamob respected that, but when he finally tracked him down and brought him up to speed on most of what Mak’to’ran had confided in him, the Hjar’at was incensed.

  They did not come to blows, but the idea of abandoning everything they’d been fighting for the past two decades was not something he could take. He flat out refused to abide by Mak’to’ran’s orders or accept him as the uncontested leader of the V’kit’no’sat, but as Hamob gradually went through the logistics of the war they were fighting on multiple fronts, the Hjar’at finally saw the sad truth behind the numbers.

  Star Force was beyond their ability to destroy now, unless they were willing to sacrifice the Rim border worlds, which was something the Hjar’at was also not willing to concede, but he was so conflicted that Hamob ultimately decided to exercise the option Mak’to’ran had given him. So he’d taken Virokor into a secure chamber and revealed the truth about the Zak’de’ron and the much larger fight that was ahead of them…and how the Oso’lon and others had wanted to waste time and ships on conquering Star Force first.

  It took only moments for Virokor’s demeanor to change, and the fire in his eyes nearly matched the glow of his Saroto’kanse’vam as Hamob explained the situation in detail. Once he did, and Virokor got past the shock of their existence, he could see the writing on the wall clearly enough. Mak’to’ran’s takeover of Itaru was necessary to prepare for what was coming, and the war that Virokor had been so painstakingly progressing was for naught. They needed Star Force as an ally, or at least as a distraction against the Zak’de’ron, and the past 20 years had no doubt seriously hurt that potential cooperation.

  When he learned that it was Star Force who had informed the V’kit’no’sat of the Zak’de’ron’s existence the Hjar’at was fuming. Whatever heresy they had committed had been absolved in his mind, and the fact that he’d been tricked into fighting them after they’d confided the most valuable secret in the galaxy to the V’kit’no’sat was appalling to him. At that point he demanded that he be allowed to travel with Hamob to meet with them, and the Era’tran knew the Hjar’at’s honor would not allow anything less.

  So he took Virokor onboard his Kafcha and secretly left the ‘safe’ captured systems and ventured into Star Force territory…where they came to a respectful stop inside one of their more fortified systems and began broadcasting their request for a summit to discuss the ending of the war.

  7

  August 18, 4915

  Bearadan System (V’kit’no’sat territory)

  Tewvo

  It’d been three months since Tre’sti had arrived in the Bearadan System, and in that time the situation had not improved. Three of the 6 inhabited planets were gone. Every living thing on their surface destroyed, and not just the V’kit’no’sat living there. All the plants and indigenous lifeforms were gone as well, leaving nothing but scorched, barren soil behind.

  One of those had been an I’rar’et world, but fortunately the other still stood, along with a Brat’mar planet and one mixed with 8 different races, the largest faction being the Bez. Only the Brat’mar world was not yet under assault, with the other two already having massive holes in their planetary shield system and enemy troops on the ground going after the others.

  Tre’sti’s fleet had saved those three worlds, temporarily at least, but he did not have control of the system. The enemy fleet, still unidentified since the invaders wouldn’t respond to any communications, had received reinforcements two weeks ago and Tre’sti was now firmly at a disadvantage in naval combat…but pull within range of the planetary defense stations and he has zones of dominance to work out of, which was why the enemy was breaking off pieces of its huge ships and landing them on the surface.

  From there they broke down further, forming their ground ‘troops’ that were floating just over the ground and engaging the V’kit’no’sat infantry. They were smaller than Star Force drones, but larger than Zen’zat assault craft and so many in number that it was hard to kill them fast enough, given their higher mass…and they could recombine into larger units that had better shields when needed, such as when attacking fixed emplacements.

  Who was inside the ships had remained a mystery up until Tre’sti had arrived and led a short-lived reversal on the shared planet. They’d managed to capture and examine some of the dead ‘troop’ ships, finding biological material inside that was apparently grafted to the vessels. It had died along with them, for the most part, and what was there was not something that could have escaped the ships.

  The V’kit’no’sat were not quite sure what to make of them. Were they biological components akin to computer systems, or were they people physically and permanently melded with the technology? He feared the latter, for the ships were psionically shielded against Ikrid, and when they had tried to connect to the biological parts once the shells were breached they died instantly. A few Bez had indicated they have very brief contact that was ended immediately with their deaths, but it was so short they couldn’t be sure if it was just an echo off the neurological systems or an actual person’s mind inside.

  Speculation was that there was a suicide protocol on the biomatter if the psionic defenses were breached, and perhaps even when the ships were damaged to the point of inoperability. Either way, it was clear this enemy did not want prisoners taken or their biological technology examined, and they were behaving in the same way with their attack on the V’kit’no’sat. On the three devastated planets, once they had the shield generators down, they attacked the geography with some kind of energy weapon never before seen. Tre’sti had no idea even what class it was in, for there was nothing in the database like it.

  It started small, dropped on the surface like a Uit Streamer in a glob of energy matrix, then it sat there for several minutes, seeming to do nothing. After a while it began to move, burning all beneath it, and with the more material it digested the larger it got. It spread outward like a donut, leaving the interior scorched and lifeless as the ring expanded and washed over territory with growing rapidity. How it escalated so much was beyond current V’kit’no’sat science, and when it hit water it went crazy, growing beyond measure and totally vaporizing the oceans.

  Except it wasn’t vapor that remained. It was hydrogen and oxygen being released into the atmosphere and growing it considerably in size…then some lightning strike would occur and detonate the hydrogen, causing it to reform with the oxygen in explosive fashion…resulting in huge amounts of rain that were washing over the dead planets hour after hour with no end in sight as the oceans gradually reformed, dirty with ash and debris.

  But this enemy was not launching this weapon until all the shield generators were down. Whether that was protocol or functional Tre’sti didn’t know, but if they couldn’t keep at least some shield generators up on the remaining worlds they’d be eradicated in a similar fashion…along with far more people, many of which had been evacuated off the other worlds during the fighting. Not all had made it off, but now the survivors were pinned
along with the inhabitants of these three worlds, and if all fell, virtually every one on them was going to burn in that final red energy corrosion attack.

  The V’kit’no’sat still had their Urrtren link, and were sending out calls for assistance constantly, but so far only Tre’sti’s fleet group had arrived from the Star Force invasion front. Other smaller bits of assistance had been arriving from nearby systems in the empire, but not in the numbers they needed to combat this larger unidentified fleet who had many ships twice as large as a Mach’nel.

  And the enemy had already received reinforcements once, they may very well get more in the coming weeks, for since the attack here other systems in this region had come under assault from the same type of ships, now 9 systems in all, and they kept getting reinforcements too. Whoever this was, they were proceeding gradually, and that didn’t bode well for the future of the Bearadan System.

  Tre’sti felt they were going to lose everyone here, and damn him and the others for leaving the empire so exposed as to allow this.

  Hamob’s Kafcha held position with Star Force ships all around it. They weren’t shooting, but they were cutting off all escape avenues as the V’kit’no’sat were forced to wait for days that became weeks before another Star Force fleet arrived. This one came with the Uriti named Bumblebee, and the yellow-colored semi-rectangular mass of living terror released from its transport vessel and headed down into the star…and not towards the single V’kit’no’sat ship.

  That was a relief for both Hamob and Virokor, but one of the command ships in the fleet did come towards their location and was let past the blockading ring of drones surrounding the Kafcha, then the trailblazer onboard signaled for the V’kit’no’sat delegation to transfer over to his vessel.