Exiles (The Progenitor Trilogy, Book One)

by Dan Worth

  Studying the view helped to calm him, helped him to think with more clarity. The scene was as serene and beautiful as it was astounding. Mentith’s sanctum lay almost ten kilometres from ground level in the upper half of Kiralus Spire, one of the many great cities of Gigarathme that rose into the sky like exquisite crystalline trees, swelling gracefully from their trunks to a width of almost five kilometres before tapering gradually back to their apexes over three times that distance from the ground.

  Kiralus’s latticework structure housed hundreds of thousands of Arkari families within its criss-cross outer shell of branches. The gaps between the branches were sealed with transparent crystal or force fields and the largely hollow interior was filled with beautiful multi-levelled gardens and parks for the inhabitants.

  Held aloft by its structural strength and by anti-gravity fields, the design of the city was not merely aesthetic. Though beauty had been a major consideration in its construction, the city’s shape allowed it to house a great many Arkari in a settlement that only utilised a small area of land, and thus had a minimal impact on the planet’s environment. Gigarathme was dotted with hundreds of such tree cities. Mentith could see several rising majestically above the cloud deck in the distance, giving the world a population of around fifty billion that occupied less than one percent of its surface. Around the equator the cities were taller still, so tall that they projected into the upper atmosphere, and from their tips sprouted space elevators that joined to the orbital halo like the slender spokes of a wheel. Mentith could just see the halo against the growing dusk, a narrow arc of light that crossed the sky low down by the horizon. It formed the hub of the Navy’s docking and defence facilities in the system and was home to hundreds of thousands of fleet vessels, just one vertebra in the backbone of the great Arkari Navy.

  Those were Mentith’s ships, his crews to command at the behest of his superior - Fleet Meritarch Beklide - who always allowed him a suitable level of autonomy. The thought of the power that he held filled him with pride, and with a sense of great responsibility. For was it not the restraint of the Arkari that made them more civilised than the other more barbarous races? He wondered what the K’Soth, or even the Commonwealth would do if they possessed such power to wield. The Arkari had not expanded their dominion for almost ten thousand years, instead contenting themselves to laying claim to a perfect sphere of space five hundred light years in diameter within which they strove to make every world as perfect as possible.

  Mentith was aware that among the other races there was much speculation as to why the Arkari had done this. Why had they not swept all before them with their superior technology? Mentith knew. The expansion had stopped at the request of the Navy, who thought and planned in the extreme long term. The Arkari population had long remained roughly static in number. Not only did they not require more living space or resources but, with the manpower available, the Sphere was deemed to be the largest volume that it was practical to defend without the risk of losing entire systems or worlds. One day they would have to do so.

  For now, the younger, brasher races must be shepherded and nurtured until they too were strong enough. Those like the Humans and their Commonwealth who showed promise would be encouraged, whilst those like the K’Soth who did not would be allowed to wither and decline, perhaps with a little push now and again given to both parties one way or the other. As for the Esacir and other peaceable races, they would be shielded and protected and their expertise and knowledge put to good use.

  Mentith was worried. It seemed that the day of reckoning was far nearer than anyone had suspected, that already agents of the enemy were abroad in this portion of space, seeding disruption and conflict. This business in the Fulan system for example, it vexed him greatly. There was a warble from the door to his sanctum which disturbed his thoughts.

  ‘Come,’ he called out. The door slid aside silently, revealing a slim Arkari dressed in the uniform of the Military Intelligence Cadre. It was Entillo Vadil, Meritarch of the Cadre and though he came under Mentith’s direct command, the War Marshal did not entirely trust Vadil, suspecting as he did that Vadil resented the fact. Mentith bade him enter.

  ‘Good evening Vadil, you’re rather late.’

  ‘My apologies, War Master.’

  ‘Never mind, you gave me additional time to think. How goes the surveillance operation?’

  Vadil looked uneasy. ‘We have had… mixed success, War Marshal. We had enlisted the assistant of Commonwealth intelligence assets. However, they were not able to ascertain whether or not O’Reilly was in fact an enemy agent. In addition it appears that she evaded them in the Klondike system with outside help?’

  ‘How?’

  ‘We have a logged transmission to O’Reilly personal communicator informing her to take a different flight than the scheduled one she was booked on. The gist of the conversion was that the transport vessel was suffering mechanical problems and would not be departing on schedule and instead she should board an independent vessel the Nine Lives.’

  ‘I see.’

  ‘The transmission was faked. The image of the caller was entirely computer generated and the scheduled service to the Fulan system did in fact depart on time. In addition the transmission was encrypted and we were not able to decrypt it in time determine its contents and to prevent O’Reilly from leaving.’

  ‘And where is O’Reilly now? On Maranos?’

  ‘We believe so. The Nine Lives was found drifting in interstellar space and her captain dead. Evidently he had played host to one of the enemy’s agents. However Maranos’s neutral and protected status means that we are having some difficulty in placing agents on the planet. We’re trying some diplomatic back channels, but there are questions about local sovereignty that are proving something of a stumbling block.’

  ‘It isn’t good enough Vadil,’ chided Mentith. ‘We need to know what O’Reilly and Cor are up to. You should’ve moved more quickly on this.’

  Vadil regarded him through eyes slitted with suppressed anger. ‘War Marshal, Meritarch Beklide commanded that we should focus our resources upon the military stand-off between the K’Soth and the Commonwealth. Other operations have been somewhat starved of resources and the diplomatic corp have also been devoting most of their attention to this. What with that to consider as well as monitoring the galactic core…’

  Mentith sighed wearily. ‘And how is the situation there Vadil?’

  ‘The Shapers are moving.’

  ‘They are?’ Mentith was filled with dread.

  ‘Yes. Something has united them, they no longer fight among themselves and they move with a single purpose. Our modelling suggests that at best it may merely be a handful of years before their reach extends this far.’

  ‘Let me see the full report Vadil. I’ll need to consult the yards if we need to step up our fleet building program.’

  ‘Yes, of course. I’ll have it sent here immediately after this meeting.’

  ‘Good. For now however, we need to concern ourselves with the more pressing matters at hand. You say you were not unable to uncover the agent?’

  ‘Do you believe that one exists somewhere on Maranos?’

  ‘Yes, all this points to a plot to weaken all parties in the region. It certainly fits the pattern. Whether or not O’Reilly is a host or not, those idiots are being strung along like Kildessi shadow puppets.’

  ‘Indeed, War Marshal. The enemy are few in number and seek to gain allies or to weaken those who would oppose them via their scheming. This particular case could embarrass us and damage our reputation even if we do intervene and risk the bulk of our fleet to deal with any incursion. Doubtless it would devastate the Commonwealth and the K’Soth possibly the Esacir as well if we don’t. They cannot hope to oppose the Banished Ones.’

  ‘In the event of an incursion we can hardly avoid intervention though, can we?’

  ‘No, it is a problem of our making after all, and only we can hope to oppose the Banished Ones.’

&
nbsp; ‘You would sanction the fleet to use all means necessary?’

  ‘Yes, if need be.’ said Mentith firmly.

  Vadil looked disgusted. ‘War Marshal, if I may speak freely.’

  ‘You may.’

  ‘You would allow the fleet to… to… Maranos may be a sparsely populated backward world but it is home to over twenty million sentient beings.’

  ‘I will do what is necessary. If the Banished return it could prove disastrous, not only for the Fulan system and the Commonwealth, but for ourselves also. We lost many ships last time and though we have not been idle these past millennia I very much doubt whether they have stagnated.’

  ‘We have to act in a civilised manner until all else fails. Else we become like the Banished, like the Shapers or K’Soth. Would you have that!? Would you? World death is barbaric.’

  ‘It would be a rational, measured response, given the risks’

  ‘What you and Beklide plan to do in the event is measured?’

  ‘It is a last resort should your people fail, I shall say no more on the subject!’ barked Mentith with a finality that silenced Vadil who by now was perceptibly quivering with rage. ‘Now Vadil,’ he continued calmly. ‘What news of the Commonwealth-K’Soth standoff?’ Vadil said nothing. ‘Please, sit. I apologise for my harsh words but it was necessary.’

  Vadil seemed to calm a little and he did as Mentith asked.

  ‘Very well,’ he said with some resentment, and then produced a small projection unit from his tunic. He placed the device on a low table in the centre of the room.

  Vadil touched a small button and the air above the table was filled with a three dimensional map of the volume of space around the Commonwealth-K’Soth border. Hundreds of star systems were shown, coloured according to their allegiance, together with fleet dispositions on both sides. The map was bisected by the Demilitarised Zone, shown as a thick pale blue wall that cut a slice through the image. The range of the DMZ monitoring arrays was shown as an additional wall of stacked yellow bubbles that projected from the various star systems within the Zone to a radius of twenty five light years. Vadil began to narrate as he manipulated the image, expanding various systems or regions to fill the view as he talked.

  ‘The current deployment of both sides is as follows: Both have adopted a very aggressive posture with regard to the positioning of their fleets. In theory, one could launch an attack on the other in a very short space of time. The K’Soth deployment is quite straight forward. They are gathering ships at four key locations along the border, at Shafar, Con-Lytic, Varu and Quar Kist.’ The four systems were highlighted, forming a vertical diamond shape on the map. ‘All are K’Soth dominion systems rather than colonial possessions and allow each fleet to be positioned so that a maximum area can be defended by each one. Ideally one fleet would hold any attack, allowing the other three to respond quickly and provide reinforcements.’

  ‘I understand that the Commonwealth are aware of this, Haines told me as much.’

  ‘Yes, such concentrations of ships would be difficult to conceal, even to sensors as primitive as those possessed by the Commonwealth.’

  ‘The Commonwealth have deployed their ships quite differently though haven’t they? I couldn’t quite fathom it out from the scraps Haines let me have.’

  ‘Doubtless his warrior’s pride and prudence would not allow him to reveal his plans fully even to you. Haines has spread his forces very thinly throughout the entire volume, a few ships in each system.’ A swarm of symbols flashed on the map. Mentith studied it thoughtfully.

  ‘Hmm, it would take them longer to deploy their fleet but I believe it allows them to hide their numbers.’

  ‘Yes, we thought so too.’

  ‘These ships near the border are commanded by Captain Chen are they not?’ Vadil nodded. ‘They are very visible to the K’Soth, as are these others over here.’ He gestured at the Normandy and her group. ‘But these ones further back would be difficult to detect if positioned correctly. My guess is that Haines would try to trick the K’Soth into attacking the smaller force whilst he gathers the Navy for a counter-strike.’

  ‘That was our analysis also.’

  ‘Haines wouldn’t tell me what he was planning fully. Well, well…’ he paused for a moment. ‘So,’ he continued. ‘What is the likelihood that these two navies are actually going to fight one another? I am aware of the rumours and speculation, tell me the facts.’

  ‘It seems very likely I’m afraid. Crushing the K’Soth would not only vanquish the old enemy but would make the current administration popular, providing it was fairly swift victory. This is an administration formed by a party that has assumed a fairly belligerent stance since the last war with K’Soth and which has achieved great political success as a result. War would solve the Commonwealth’s main external threat and in addition, the liberation would open up whole tracts of developed systems for business.’ Mentith snorted derisively, the Arkari had long since surpassed any need for economics. Vadil continued. ‘The K’Soth also require additional worlds and resources to fuel their feudal system and relieve their military’s drain on their economy. Conquest of the Commonwealth would provide an intense but brief rejuvenation to the Empire, though in the long term the increased overstretch would prove counter-productive. We believe that the current negotiations between the two sides are nothing but a formality. Both sides seem to think that they can win, and both feel that they have much to gain from victory.’

  ‘I see, and who is likely to win, Vadil?’

  ‘We aren’t certain. Certainly the Commonwealth has better ships, but they are far fewer in number. It will depend on whether Haines’s plan is successful or not. If I may ask, are we to intervene?’

  Mentith snorted scornfully. ‘So far, our far sighted Council has only agreed to intervene should the Commonwealth appear to be losing badly, and then only to defend their core systems, not to defeat the K’Soth utterly. They believe it is not our place. I however would disagree, but we must obey them, right or wrong.’

  ‘The Council do not see the greater picture.’

  ‘They do see all too well, but they do not know what to do about it. One of the great flaws of our systems Vadil; when people are elected to high office based on their intellect and abilities it often destroys those very qualities that put them there. It swells their egos and they listen to the advice of others less and less. They bicker and squabble endlessly about how to act. Consequently, they have not adjusted their policy of non-intervention.’

  It was nearly dark outside now. The other distant cities were visible as glittering reefs of light in the distance. Vadil reached down and switched off the projector, then placed it back inside his tunic.

  ‘I thank you for your briefing Vadil,’ said Mentith. ‘Remember what I said. Now I must consult Beklide. I’m sure that she would appreciate knowing immediately what you have just relayed to me.’

  ‘I shall send my report to her immediately.’

  ‘Yes, of course Vadil. But I shall talk with her anyway in person, it is only proper. You may go.’

  Vadil touched his forehead beneath his crest in salute and then turned smartly and left. Mentith watched him go. So, he thought, we must prepare.

  After consulting the city’s gestalt he located Beklide on one of the upper level gardens. She had also made her home here, as had a number of other high ranking naval personnel. Kiralus Spire was somewhat exclusive - a subtle concept rather harder to define in a society long devoid of monetary divisions. It was the home of those whom Arkari respected and venerated for their achievements, or sometimes the possibility of what they might achieve.

  Mentith headed for the nearest travel tube and requested that it to take him to the station nearest her location. He cursed his aching bones as he sat in the small capsule; at over seven hundred years old even the anti-aging treatments of his people were having a hard time keeping him fit and healthy. His knees were becoming particularly troublesome, though he denied himself an anti
-grav harness. He would stave off that particular humiliation for a while yet.

  Stepping out of the travel tube station he immediately sighted the figure of Beklide sitting on a low bench that overlooked a shallow pool surrounded by landscaped greenery. The pool was one of a chain, linked by sparkling waterfalls that fell from level to level right the way down to the bottom of the city through holes in the different floors or from the edges of artificial cliffs hanging impossibly in the air.

  With the crystalline trunk at his back, the landscape fanned out in front of Mentith, supported from below by a network of branches until it reached the woven outer wall. Looking up a hundred metres or so he could see further branches holding other brackets of land. The branches were honeycombed with hundreds of Arkari dwellings, each of them spacious and comfortable.

  Though Beklide was even older than he, she sat proudly upright. Her movements and demeanour gave away little of her years. Her face too, was surprisingly youthful in appearance. He found her watching a crowd of children, no doubt members of the vast family she had managed to become matriarch of, despite her long periods away aboard star-ships. Mentith wondered how she had managed that. He had never quite been able to balance the two priorities correctly and duty had always won in the end.

  Beklide’s hearing was still sharp also. She turned towards Mentith at the sound of his soft footfalls. ‘Irakun.’ she said. ‘What brings you to see me?’

  Mentith sat beside her on the bench, his joints protesting as he did so. ‘The reports from the core and from our quarrelling neighbours - I trust that you’ve read them, Lorali?’

  ‘Yes, I have,’ she said, and her expression became grave. ‘Most troubling,’ she added quietly.

  ‘Indeed, we could be facing open war in mere years.’

  ‘Of that, I am certain. We should accelerate the ship and weapons programmes.’