Starblood: A Military Space Opera Series (War Undying Book 1)

by N. D. Redding

  I stared down at my wound and saw it was already sealed and looked like something I had suffered years ago. When I looked closer, I realized that it wasn’t just a scar. There were two circles burned into my skin, a circle within a circle, which was the symbol for the Eres race. I had the mark of a Rak’kri, which meant I was part of the Eres race as long as my deeds were honorable.

  I fell to one knee and bowed my head. Never in my life had I been honored like this. Had I fantasized about it? Of course I had, but to be honored as Rak’kri by Qualt himself was beyond my wildest dreams. Beyond anything that anyone could have dreamt really. I almost teared up when I realized what just happened. Luckily I didn’t, because my Rak’kri status would have been short-lived and that golden spear would probably have made another pass through my guts.

  “I can’t find the words to describe how honored I am,” I said after several long seconds passed. I spoke the words from the bottom of my heart and really had no idea what to add.

  “Raise your head, Stavos. Take this with you as well.” A second Bloodrinser approached me, carrying in his hands an Eres Ro Sword. “This is yours, Stavos, for every Eres and every Rak’kri must have their own.”

  I accepted the sword with shaky hands while scanning it with my INAS. The sword faintly shone with translucent light as I took hold of it. Before I knew what was going on, the H-Nan in my body started going crazy and formed a thousand needles across my palms, then stabbed out and hit the glowing blade. The dull gray intermingled with the golden yellow and turned a darker shade of orange as the blade became part of me and vanished into a million tiny pieces before it entered my skin.

  I didn’t flinch as I knew what the blade would do to me, or at least had assumed. Even worse would have been to lose face in front of Qualt. Catching up with studies on Persei Prime had been a blessing in disguise as I’d come into contact with quite a few things over the last weeks that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. We had even tried to copy the technology back where I worked, but it was way out of our reach. The symbiotic relationship between the holder and the sword was virtually magic to us human engineers.

  “You honor me, General Qualt.” I stopped myself from saying anything else as no Eres had ever been honored beyond what they were worth, they honored you just as much as they thought you deserved.

  I felt the ground tremble suddenly. Qualt’s face, which was an image of unshakeable seriousness, somehow became even more serious. His gaze met something in the far distance, something far behind me. When the familiar sound of exploding air particles rang out and became ever louder, I knew what was going on. The Donnerjack was making its way toward us, and deep within its impenetrable hull and inside a water tank, an Imminy swam.

  The Donnerjack crushed houses, production facilities, and destroyed roads as it floated, but the mere power that radiated from its very body and engines, destroyed anything that was nearby. Just behind its two massive legs, hundreds of raw-rats rushed to fix the destruction.

  General Qualt was a massive figure, both in size and importance, but this Imminy with its reckless destruction and absolute disregard for any traditions, etiquette, or non-Imminy life hovered far above all of us.

  With each step, the Donnerjack’s super-heavy legs shook the entire mine, even though they barely touched the surface. The Class 4 mech was a walking battleship; only the detrium drill outshone it in size. The mech stopped some thirty steps from us after a large group of Eres scurried to escape the large legs and released a loud hissing sound as it aired its vents.

  Despite its entrance, the Eres soldiers never spared it a glance, at least not those that hadn’t been in the way. They’d been subjugated by the combined strength of the Imminy and Ka, but they knew their worth and they would never allow complete surrender to anyone in the galaxy. They’d much rather choose death.

  Just below the Donnerjack’s feet walked a procession of Orros. They carried our symbol, the Commonwealth’s flag. When the belly of the Donnerjack opened and the Imminy’s tank lowered itself via elevator to the ground, the Orros dropped to their knees.

  The Imminy in the tank was the same Imminy I saw back on the Arc Knez’un, or at least that’s what I thought. The color scheme of its fragile jellyfish-like body seemed to be the same, and so was its size. You could never be sure because the Imminy could change their colors since it was an ability, an evolutionary trait that had saved them from the many predators of their homeworld. Its main use now was to distinguish themselves from their peers.

  The Imminy grabbed the rim of the tank with its tentacles and pulled itself out, and as it did, nanites enveloped its appendages and then the rest of the body, creating a full-body armor that significantly changed the Imminy. When it left the tank, it wasn’t a jellyfish anymore. Instead, it looked like a robotic octopus made from solid material.

  Qualt stood up from his throne and was followed by thousands of Eres soldiers that first stood tall and then fell to a knee. The whole ceremony confused me endlessly. I didn’t know whether or not I should get on my knees or not, and if I should, to whom should I turn? I decided to stand, as I was neither Eres nor Orros, and I didn’t feel like kneeling to any of them. Not after doing us all a big-ass favor.

  As the Imminy approached with his Orros escort, I saw Tailor and Winters walking behind them. What the hell did Winters have to do with the Imminy, I wondered. I knew he wasn’t happy with Qualt, and with me by extension, but I was sure he was happy to do as the Imminy asked.

  One of the Orros stepped forward, bowed, and spoke. “The Absolute Rillon Gar’Esh of the Imminy.”

  The Orros removed himself to the side as the Imminy strode forward. The Absolute, huh? This must be one big fish, pun intended. From what I remembered, the Absolute title was only bestowed on those from the inner circle of their ruling body.

  “Lord,” General Qualt said with the same grace as earlier and slightly bowed his head.

  It was unreal to see this giant of war bow to the much smaller creature, but it only helped me realize where we as humans were in the pecking order of the Federation.

  “General Qualt,” the Imminy’s translator box boomed. “You almost destroyed the Second Army and even forced me to the ground this time.”

  There was no “thank you Qualt for taking the mine, for sacrificing thousands of your own kind,” not even an “attaboy.” Nothing.

  Qualt’s expression didn’t change, however. “The battle is won and the mine is ours. The Eres have proved their worth once again.”

  A high-pitched scream came from the Imminy in response. “The Eres once again test our orders! They test our power, and they test our mercy!” Qualt said nothing, his facial expression not changing in the slightest. “Is it true, General Qualt, that a mere human called Richard Stavos saved you this day?”

  The Imminy didn’t even try to respect the Eres culture. I knew it was well aware of it. The Imminy were apparently the most intelligent race in the Federation which meant the jab was very much intentional.

  “Richard Stavos of the human forces proved himself an ally of the Eres and earned the title of Rak’kri.”

  My heart pumped like mad as he spoke. General Qualt and an Imminy were discussing me and acted as if I wasn’t even there. If I had any political ambitions, this would have been an express elevator to the very top. The Imminy turned its gawky body toward me when I stayed quiet.

  “You have disobeyed your orders, Richard Stavos,” it said flatly.

  “I have, Lord,” I answered, keeping my head low.

  My knees grew weak and it felt like I was about to faint. I was still exhausted from the fight and I hadn’t had a second of respite between then and now. Winters now stood just behind the Imminy, watching me like a hungry hyena.

  “Without you, the Second Army would have been destroyed and the Sardok Mine would still be in the hands of the Aloi after having suffered such casualties.” I felt a moment of relief just to tense up when Rillon Gar’Esh continued. “And yet, your loyalty
is to yourself rather than to the Federation. Is that so, Richard Stavos?”

  “My Lord, my loyalty is to the men and women around me. Those who bleed and die on the same ground as I, then it’s to my race, and then it’s to the Federation.”

  It just came out as a single stream of syllables knotted together. Fuck that. I wasn’t going to kiss anyone’s ass, not today. If anything, they should have been kissing my ass! Another high-pitched scream came from the Imminy’s translator, and based on the last time I heard it, I thought it meant disagreement. Even anger.

  “That is not the answer of a Federation soldier!” I saw Winter’s face light up slightly at my mistake. That motherfucker hoped the Imminy would throw me into a Dwaqqa prison. I had to play this right or his wishes would be fulfilled.

  “My Lord, if I may,” I said and gave it a second to answer. The Imminy said nothing which I regarded as approval. “Without my fellow soldiers I am nothing. If I am nothing, I cannot defend the Federation. In my heart, I am a soldier of the Federation, but on the ground, I am a soldier of my unit, no more, no less.”

  This answer seemed to have pleased the Imminy because it said nothing but neither did it scream again.

  “Colonel Winters,” the Imminy finally said after a few long seconds passed. “Humankind has shown itself worthy for the first time since we allowed you to join the Federation. You may honor this man, promote him, or award him the way your race sees fit. Unlike you, he truly made a difference for the Commonwealth Federation.”

  Winter’s face turned sour in a second.

  “My Lord, he disobeyed a direct order!”

  Another screeching high-pitched sound left the Imminy, this time viler and louder than before. Winters bowed his head and took a step back.

  “Don’t be pathetic, Colonel. It doesn’t suit one of your rank,” the Imminy said. “You are superior to this man in title only, so behave like a superior or choose a different life path.”

  Winters apologized by bowing his head deeply and remaining quiet. I looked over at Tailor and saw the smirk on his face.

  “The Sardok Mine produces 4% of all detrium on Detera. It is the greatest victory the Federation has had in this cycle.” Just as the Imminy said those words, it looked to the sky and seemed to freeze in place. The air crackled with electricity and a wave of warmth washed over all of us.

  “What the—” I was about to hiss when my eyes widened in shock and fear.

  The Imminy’s translator box went silent as Qualt looked over at me and said four short words, ones that bore the weight of this whole universe. Before I even registered what he’d said, the general dropped to his knees.

  “Bow to our masters.”

  Before solar winds swept away the hydrogen and helium,

  leaving only heavy, rocky materials from which Earth had been formed,

  they had built a galaxy-spanning civilization that surpassed,

  in its glory and might even those great races of our collective imagination.

  Less than a shadow of their former power now exists,

  and yet it unifies trillions across the stars.

  — Barhein Orvul, Commonwealth Federation Ambassador to Earth, 2291.

  23

  My INAS reported heavy radiation coming from right overhead, as in right above our heads. The entirety of both human and Eres forces locked their eyes on the same spot. Only faintly did it seem like a translucent ball was forming there, distorting the reality within it. Shivers ran up and down my spine, and my palms began to sweat as I realized what was about to happen.

  A gust of wind followed up by an all-encompassing boom that burst from the spot and shook those in the vicinity to the bone. Immense heat radiated from—no, it wasn’t from overhead. It came from within my blood. I assigned it to the fact I was witnessing an event that only a few individuals in the entire universe had witnessed.

  A blinding light caused us to close our eyes and look away as not to get blinded. It was brighter than anything I had ever seen and if it weren’t for the retina protection of my INAS, I think I’d never be able to use my eyes again. Finally, the light subsided and a literal sun hung in the air above us. It was perhaps the size of a big living room.

  The light shifted from yellow to a light red color and back several times. I then noticed shades of black and grey move around the ball like apparitions of death, and as they did, a harrowing sound like a forceful draft came in random intervals. My INAS flared up signaling a notice I had never read before.

  YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF A KA.

  IMMEDIATELY STOP ALL ACTIVITIES AND

  OBEY ALL COMMANDS. FAILURE TO COMPLY

  WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE PERMA-DEATH

  Now, this was going to be a day that would be remembered for ages. I only read about the Ka as much as we all had to, both in elementary school and at the academy. From what I had gathered they were benevolent, almost omnipotent do-gooders whose only goal was to unite the galaxy in peace. Why then such beings required absolute servitude was beyond me. Even the Imminy kneeled as much as it was physically possible. Qualt, the entire Eres army, Winters, Tailor, all of them kneeled with their heads bowed.

  The oppressing presence of the Ka wasn’t just symbolic. It literally pushed you toward the ground and I could practically feel a weight building on my shoulders. How was this not godhood, I wondered? The Ka hated religions, especially because the Aloi were such fanatics but this larger-than-life presence, this unwavering power radiating from this inexplicable being was essentially godlike.

  I bent the knee as all of us did but within me, some other force stirred. I could sense a reluctance to obey the Ka which I attributed to my general frustration over hierarchies that caused soldiers to die unnecessarily. I thought I was projecting the taste of Winters’ decisions on every creature stationed above me, but I was wrong. There was something deeper within my guts that wasn’t just reluctant to obey the Ka. It felt like fear and anger which when mixed provided the soul with one of the purest emotions: hatred.

  The Imminy Rillon Gar’Esh was suddenly raised into the air as if by magic as the shades around the miniature sun grew louder in their nightmarish tongue. The Ka was speaking to it in the language of stars that only the mind of an Imminy could at least partially comprehend. The Imminy, in all its grandeur and power, looked just as helpless and fragile as the rest of us at that moment. There was always a bigger fish, they said, and the Ka were as big as they got.

  Not a single soul moved while the Ka filled the Imminy’s mind with orders, and yet I felt an unnatural need to stand up. As much as I felt the weight coming from the Ka, I also felt a force countering it from within my body. Two powers fought over control, but I knew very well that giving in to the turmoil in my blood would end up with me being fried by that being in the sky before I even fully stood up.

  It was only then that I was completely sure what I had witnessed below the mountain wasn’t a Ka. Or at least it wasn’t this Ka. There was no oppressing force, no notice from my INAS, and most certainly there were no dreadful utterings as those coming from the specters around the burning ball of radiation. And yet I felt that both these forces had something in common. Perhaps it was just the strangeness of their existence that bound them in my mind. Perhaps it was something entirely different.

  Just before the Ka left the Sardok Mine, I had felt as if I had been somehow the focus of its attention. I ascribed this to my ego, for what man wouldn’t want to be the talk of the gods. Recognizing such thoughts both blasphemous and stupid, I pushed them away.

  Just as it appeared, the Ka vanished with a powerful blast of wind leaving the world of mere mortals to their petty squabbles. For a long moment, there was only silence at the Sardok Mine, a silence that any simple creature of the Universe had to absorb before reality would kick back in. The Ka had left us, but the feeling of insignificance lingered even with those whose words could move mountains.

  Rillon Gar’Esh finally gathered himself and was the first to speak.


  “We have been blessed for our actions by the Ka Ascendency,” he said and a feeling of relief washed over thousands of faces. “Colonel Winters, you have been chosen by the Ka to be uplifted within your ranks and will now carry the title Brigadier General of the Human Commonwealth Federation Forces. You are to take command of the Third Legion and will immediately leave Detera to rejoin the First Human Army at Zaria VIII at the far reaches of the Ulyx Cluster. As an added reward, all members of the so-called ‘Skull Company’ have been awarded a rebirther slot.”

  Winters’ face went from scared to ecstatic and then to terrified quicker than almost humanly possible. Everyone knew that Zaria VIII was a death trap, one even worse than the world we were in right now. While it wasn’t nearly as big or important a battlefield as Detera, Zaria was deep within Aloi-controlled territory. The Ka reached out with one hand only to slap us with the other. I heard other races curse the planet and call the First Human Army a sea of walking corpses. Were the Ka this confident in Winters’ abilities, or were they just trying to get rid of us? It was hard to guess, but the only thing I knew was that I wasn’t at all happy with our new destination.

  The Imminy also gave instructions to General Qualt. We weren’t privy to them and it didn’t really matter in the end. What should have been a glorious festivity quickly turned very destructive. The luckiest of all were the raw-rats which fixed up the Donnerjack’s calamitous walk as they had neither emotion nor brains.

  The Eres remained at the Sardok Mine while we had to pack our things and get ready for another war. As we marched to our dropships, I glanced at the golden army one last time, taking in the picture and storing it in both my mind and the memory of my INAS. Something told me I wouldn’t see Qualt and his Second Army for a long time. If ever at that.