Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  Machkno fires a volley of standard pounders at each dock, then watches as they streak away, and strike the structures. The docks shatter into pieces, but remnants remain, making it look as though something was attached to the station, so he fires again. This time, the support structures, which were anchored to the station, are ripped away, tearing holes in the stations thin outer armor in the process. Machkno fires on the floating wreckage until nothing but dust remains.

  One of the cruisers powers up and moves away, its rear thrusters completed and clearly functioning. The second follows suit moments later.

  Prime Lokarz appears on Voknor’s main view. He shakes his head and says, “To call this ship space worthy is a joke.”

  Voknor’s eyes narrow as he asks, “Will its main drive function?”

  “Sure!” Lokarz replies, then adds, “But we have no main shields, no weapons, and the gravity is set at Kord levels, not ours!”

  Voknor grins, then says, “We will find an uninhabited world, where we can refit the craft.

  Prime Malflik contacts Regent Voknor, and says, “This vessel will need a lot of work to complete. I have no idea what the Kord were doing all these years.”

  Regent Voknor replies to both Primes at the same time, “Those cruisers are not easily built, and we have two. The materials required just for their internal decks could probably build three or four of our usual vessels.”

  Skylow recalls the schematics he saw, and considers the scale of the craft, then says, “Our standard craft have twenty internal levels, this flagship, eighty. Those new ships come half way at forty! That is indeed a lot of resources.”

  Regent Voknor nods, then orders, “Skylow, get us out of here!”

  “Yes Regent!” He replies, then immediately begins coordinating with the fleet.

  The last of the Gamin fleet streaks away mere moments before the Kord inspection team arrives. Sporlz is anxious as he relays details of the attack on his base by forces unknown. His nervous disposition and shattered nerves are easily understood by the new arrivals. By the time Sporlz retires to bed that night, he is certain that all involvement with the Gamin has gone undetected. He sleeps well for the first time in years. Although he supported his grandfather’s wishes, he never embraced them, and was perpetually concerned about the risks of being caught.

  Free Floating

  Regent Voknor’s fleet orbits a desolate world, between two bleak, pock-marked moons. The planets thin atmosphere and desert-like landscape show signs that this world may have once harbored life, but no longer. The world is far from any known Atlan activity, while still being inside their assigned area, making it an ideal location to refit the new cruisers.

  Primes Lokarz and Malflik are both impressed with their massive craft, and yet at the same time disappointed. They join the other Primes on the flagship, each with a long list of things to be done.

  Regent Voknor strides into the flagship’s meeting room, and is surprised to see each and every Prime standing, with their fists in the air. As he makes his way forward they shout in unison, “Hail Regent Voknor!”

  Voknor stops, then lifts his fist and proudly responds, “To us all, the most powerful outer clan of the Empire!”

  The Primes cheer as Voknor makes his way to the front. He stops, and once the room is quiet, he states, “Our clan has just made history!” With a huge grin, he explains, “I have just completed a search of the Empiric database, and can report that no other peripheral clan has ever had two cruisers. Some had one, but none ever had two.”

  Most of the Primes cheer and shout once more.

  Lokarz hesitantly raises his voice over the noise, and comments, “I hate to break the news to you, but neither of our new ships can fight; and are little more than transport hulks as they sit right now.”

  Voknor nods in agreement, yet replies positively, “Yes, but we have been preparing for these construction craft for a long time, and have many of the shield emitters in storage, along with an abundance of the weapons systems.” He motions to a nearby engineer, who stands.

  With a nervous cough the engineer begins, “We have enough shield emitters to fully equip one craft, and provide the second with sixty percent coverage. As for weapons, we have almost enough stockpiled for both.”

  Lokarz interrupts the engineer and demands, “What about the gravity?”

  “Oh that!” The engineer replies absentmindedly. He hastily refers to his notes, then responds, “Ah, yes! The formula is variable; any command console can adjust it. Not only that, we plan to implement this feature to all newly constructed craft.”

  Lokarz glances to Malflik, then says, “Regent, there is an unusual addition to both of our new craft.”

  Voknor waits, then when Lokarz fails to explain, states, “Well, you can tell us!”

  “I think you should look for yourself, after the meeting!” Lokarz responds, then adds, “It will be much more impressive if you see it for yourself.”

  “As you wish.” Voknor replies, curious, but trusting of Lokarz’s judgment.

  The meeting continues, and focusses on one agenda, the equipping, and crewing, of the monstrous craft. Obtaining the new craft has had an unintended effect; the entire clan is energized, and focused like never before. Primes report of clansmen and women working harder, more efficiently, as if they have a renewed purpose.

  Regent Voknor feels a great welling of pride in his clan, and states, “I have a feeling we will accomplish great things for the Empire.”

  Malflik joins Lokarz and Voknor as they travel to Lokarz’s cruiser. Once on board, Lokarz chuckles as he leads them to a walkway, where he places his hand on the wall. A panel slides back, revealing a familiar, yet larger, ball, which rests behind a clear wall. Circular tunnels disappear into blackness in both directions. The side of the ball opens, revealing a cube-shaped interior.

  Lokarz notices Voknor’s smile and says, “There are two systems, one down each side of the vessel. We have already determined that during a battle alert, these shut down, with armor segments closing off the tunnels at regular intervals.”

  “What do they connect to?” Voknor asks, curiously.

  “Let me show you!” Lokarz states as he steps inside, and then motions to one side.

  A basic, three-dimensional schematic of the ship fills the side wall; it glows a soft white. A blue oval rests inside the image of the ship, indicating a main tunnel. Radiating from this are other tunnels, in light blue, which curve back and forth through many of the ship’s levels. At various intervals, square, yellow blocks indicate stops; there are dozens of them.

  Voknor grins as he observes, “This system is well protected, being at least three levels in from the top, and bottom, and quite a distance from the sides as well.”

  Lokarz grins, then says, “Let me show you one of the observation decks!”

  “Observation decks?” Voknor repeats.

  “You will love these!” Malflik states with a wide grin, revealing his sharp teeth.

  Lokarz touches the side wall, near an upper section. The cube closes, and as expected, nothing seems to happen. The wall opens a moment later, revealing that they have indeed traveled. He leads them along a corridor, then stops at a junction. The corridors continue left and right. What appears to be numerous windows, stretch off in both directions.

  The windows are each a smaller version of the main viewer, and packed with sensors. Voknor stares at the planet below and says, “Damn, these would be great on shuttles, as survey craft.”

  Lokarz grins as he replies, “Bandor left us full design specs!”

  Voknor lifts a hand to the window and is surprised to find that it acts as a touch screen. A message immediately appears, which Voknor reads hastily. He relaxes, and rereads it, once more, slowly.

  My good friend Regent Voknor,

  Your ships have blind spots due to your limited sensors. Therefore, I took the liberty of having a series of advanced sensors installed down both sides of your new craft, with a protective arm
or belt which may be raised and lowered. I would hate to see our hard work go to waste because of a handful of fighters. I also commissioned a few other minor enhancements to various systems, to enhance your clan’s survivability, but will let you figure these out as you go.

  May your life be fruitful.

  Bandor

  Regent Voknor smiles. Included with the message, are details on the smaller demolecularizers, armor hardening, and designs for bodysuits which reduce the chance of neural interface failures.

  Lokarz stares in awe at the information, then says, “Bandor somehow keyed that to your DNA!”

  “Those Kord never cease to amaze me!” Voknor responds.

  Malflik comments, “There are two levels of these near the upper decks, and two near the lower decks. A massive armor plate covers the upper two levels, another the lower.”

  “Four observation decks?” Voknor queries.

  Lokarz excitedly beats Malflik as he says, “The windows are sections with sensors, just like the main viewer, only far more advanced than anything we can produce. They provide detailed lateral sensor data. On top of that, the crew can select an option to see through them, or to zoom in, with each viewer capable of operating independently.”

  Voknor’s jaw drops as he comments, “Bandor knew we would be landing these vessels on planets, and in addition to their sensor capabilities, he wanted our crew to be able to see what’s going on outside.”

  “You know,” Lokarz adds, “many of our clan only see outside the ship during their trial!”

  Voknor grins as he touches a panel near him, then zooms in to reveal a close-up of the planet below. He says nostalgically, “I often spoke with Bandor of my desire to have our crew do more than simply exist.”

  Malflik grins wildly once more, then says, “Well, then you’ll love the gravity room!”

  “Gravity room?” Voknor replies, “How many more surprises do we have?”

  “I think that’s the last, but know knows with Bandor?” Lokarz replies with a chuckle.

  The gravity room is conveniently placed near one of the transit-way stops, and yet well inside one of the secondary loops that crisscross the ship.

  Malflik grins as he opens a large doorway, then waves his arm to indicate the dark room inside.

  As Voknor strides inside, a soft light fills the room; it is much larger than he first thought, and occupies an area at least ten decks high. He notices a lit, triangular panel; it is slightly larger than his hand and consists of three main pieces, arrayed around a dark core.

  Malflik warns, “I would not touch anything yet. We’re still trying to figure out what does what.”

  Lokarz grins as he comments, “What we do know is that each of the panels activates one of three situations, each involving the manipulation of gravity. The central section contains a small remote control, presumably to allow one of the participants the ability to reset the room to normal.”

  Voknor gazes around, then says, “I wonder if this is a training room, or something the Kord do for entertainment?”

  Both Primes shake their heads, clearly, they do not know.

  Voknor considers the room, and its possible uses, then smiles as he says, “I would have a room like this installed on all new craft. Our clan must to do more than simply survive, we have to thrive, and to do so, we must change.”

  Lokarz frowns in confusion, then glances at Malflik, before asking, “Regent, what are you talking about? It’s just a gravity room!”

  Voknor places a hand on the shoulder of each Prime and says, “No. It’s a message from Bandor. He and I had many lengthy discussions about both of our societies, and we both agreed that the way we Gamin have existed must change, or we will vanish from the cosmos. The viewing ports and the gravity room are all about our clan’s folk doing more than simply existing. To truly live, one must enjoy life. Those who do, have a passion for living, and excel.”

  Lokarz replies, “So, Bandor is saying it’s okay to waste resources on entertaining ourselves.”

  Voknor grins, and replies, “Bandor is saying that such things are not a waste. Consider this, when was the last time one of our kind was an artist, a musician, or anything other than a warrior for the cause?”

  Malflik feels a chill run up his spine as he realizes, “We have lost our way!”

  “Yes!” Voknor agrees, then says, “And I will see to it that we do more than hatch, fight, and die!”

  Both Primes feel a swelling of pride; to their knowledge, no other Regent has ever considered anything more.

  Lokarz stares at the gravity room with renewed interest, then says, “Well, our clan numbers will have to grow a lot, before we can consider building any more new craft.”

  “And they will.” Voknor states.

  An engineer rushes to the group, and between deep breaths reports, “We have found something else!”

  Voknor glances to his Primes, then responds, “Another surprise?”

  The engineer’s eyes are wide with excitement as he blurts out, “I confirmed with the other cruiser, and have them too!”

  “Have…?” Voknor presses, as he waits to find out what the discovery is.

  “Oh, its…” the engineer pauses, then asks, “can I show you?”

  “Lead the way!” Voknor replies, his curiosity mounting.

  The four of them make their way forward, and up, then stop and stare dumbfounded at the sight before them. An enormous vessel rests inside a specialized dock.

  The engineer relays, “It’s as long as our standard craft are wide, and is a sub-light capable only, salvage craft. Not only that, its capable of aquatic operations.”

  Voknor grins as he stares at the craft, then says, “If I had to guess, its specifications match or exceed those we intended to build.”

  “Yes!” the engineer replies excitedly, then adds, “The other side of the ship has two smaller versions of the same thing!”

  Lokarz shakes his head as he says, “Those Kord are amazing.”

  Malflik stares at the salvage vessel in disbelief. He is astonished by the vessel he controls, and feels a sense of pride at the trust Regent Voknor has in him.

  Rinse and Repeat

  Voknor’s clan watches from a distance as the Kord space station is dismantled, and then carried away by a fleet of massive transport craft. Though the Effen Raiders never return, Regent Voknor feels duty-bound to make sure that his clan stands ready to assist the Kord.

  Voknor feels a strange sense of loss as the last components of the Kord base are taken away, leaving nothing but open space behind. He reviews the status of the cruisers, and sighs. It is going to be a long time before they are fully operational.

  An engineer steps onto the bridge, and hesitantly approaches the command chair.

  Voknor turns and says, “Good, you’re here. Now please explain once more what you were talking about with the power units.”

  The engineer is not used to being summoned to the bridge, and hesitantly reports, “The power units the Kord built are smaller, yet more powerful, and more efficient than our own, but for all intents and purposes, look the same.”

  Voknor grins, then replies, “I knew we were not done discovering the surprises left by Bandor.”

  The engineer nods, then with growing confidence states, “The Kord left schematics, and detailed instructions, meaning we can replace the fleet’s existing units!”

  Regent Voknor stands, and gleefully orders, “Make that a priority!”

  “Yes Regent!” He replies, then leaves the bridge.

  Once the engineer leaves, Machkno turns and says, “More power, means we can fight longer!”

  Voknor grins as he replies, “Power is everything!”

  Uninhabited world after uninhabited world is visited, mined for a period of time, then left as they comply with the Emperor’s wishes not to remain in once place for too long. With the cruisers being vulnerable, the clan stays well away from known Atlan territories.

  During this time, Regent Vokn
or presides over trial upon trial; they blend into one jumbled mix of memories. None of the survivors overly inspire Voknor, with many requesting service on the larger craft in the fleet.

  Engineers work tirelessly, installing automated fabrication plants inside the cruisers; they are after all, construction ships. To call them anything else would go against the Empirical edict in regards to the outer clans constructing them.

  The engineers on the flagship have not been lax either; it takes time, but they eventually come up with a suitable design for a Kord style transit-way, and begin its fabrication on the smaller craft of the fleet.

  Lilpax

  “Regent, Lilpax is in Medical Unit One, and requests your presence.”

  Voknor bolts up from the command chair at the communication, then without a word rushes out the door and sprints down the corridor.

  The bridge crew remain somber; they know that Lilpax has been having difficulties laying eggs, with none being successful, and wonder what has happened this time.

  A Den Mother blocks Voknor’s path, and is one of a limited few who would dare. She stares fiercely at Voknor and states, “Your mate keeps trying to please you, but each attempt almost kills her!” She leans forward and hastily whispers in his ear.

  Voknor considers the ramifications of her words, and his options. If he is to have an heir, he must select another mate. He nods respectfully to the Den Mother, who then lowers her gaze, and lets him pass.

  Another Den Mother turns and states, “If it were not for this device the Kord gave us, Lilpax would be dead.” She smiles weakly, then states, “But she lives. She is weak, but she yet lives.”

  Voknor strides to the bed, takes Lilpax’s hand in his, and then gently massages it.

  Lilpax’s eyes flutter open then, upon seeing Voknor, she immediately cries.

  “No need for tears!” Voknor sooths softly, all the while gently rubbing her hand.

  “There is something wrong with me, I am unable to carry eggs.” She sobs.