by Aer-ki Jyr
Nathan flipped over midair, then pummeled the Zen’zat with a Jumat blast so hard he heard the floor crack underneath him. In that moment he pulled a death stick out of the rack on his back as the Zen’zat appeared in view with its shields replacing the null field, but not fast enough. Nathan kept a waterspout of Jumat energy flowing from his left hand that disrupted the shields from fully forming as he jabbed the short cylinder down into the chest armor of the Zen’zat with him beginning to take shots from two more Zen’zat further down the hall that abandoned their camouflage.
When the death stick released its ultra condensed Ta’lin’yi blast, it burnt through the Zen’zat’s armor almost completely, then Nathan let the single shot weapon go and pressed his own forearm weapon into the gap as it started to refill, drawing material from elsewhere on the Zen’zat’s body but Nathan was too fast, pumping several shots into the damaged area and down into the flesh even as a fist came around knocking him off.
Nathan stuck midair, flying back a meter and grabbing the wounded Zen’zat by the wrist, then twisting around and throwing him like a rag doll down the hallway towards the others coming his way. So far those ahead hadn’t turned around, so he only had to face opponents coming from the rear, and as he threw his barricade ahead of him, blocking a few Dre’mo’don shots in the process, he flew himself into the body and pushed it further, running over the two Zen’zat on the other side before letting them all drop as he flew on down to the fourth coming into the hallway.
He pulsed his Rentar as he felt telekinetic pulls on him, with the energy field melting them away and allowing him to fly freely as he released multiple mind-interfering psionics while dancing about, barely setting foot to ground as he delivered more death sticks into his opponents and followed up enough to wound six of them before more began to pile up and throw so much firepower his way he had to back off.
The death sticks were useful, but you couldn’t carry too many of them with you. They were good for doing quick damage, but now he was going to have to take these guys down the hard way, which meant grinding down their shields and armor, for his Jumat disrupted shields rather than stripping them away. Still, it was an advantage he had over them, for he had yet to receive a Jumat blast directed at him as he circled around through another hallway and came back at them from behind, though they saw him coming with their Pefbar that allowed them to see through walls.
See through, but not shoot through, so Nathan’s shields recovered a bit by the time he got back to them, flying so fast he hit the far wall when he pushed through two Zen’zat, bouncing to the left to get back to the injured ones…over top of which he released an Ubven field, sealing everything in a thick telekinetic field that did not allow movement. But that same Ubven allowed him a Rentar-like immunity that let him cut through and neutralize the field wherever it hit his body.
He got to the wounded ones, pinned in place helpless and unable to move more than an inch or two with great effort as Dre’mo’don blasts came towards him and hit the field. The particle part of their cocktail stuck there glowing as the energy part flashed on through without hindrance, hitting his shields with less effect as the mass of glowing green particles pounded in the edge of the field.
Then one of the Zen’zat got up, telling Nathan that one had Rentar, but the Archon was still able to get to and kill two of the wounded Zen’zat before the field fell. He sent a Jumat blast into the one with Rentar that was rushing him, knocking him back as Nathan flew off in the direction of the Zen’zat at the head of the line that still weren’t showing up. Right now he couldn’t worry about them, but sent out a signal via the battlemap marking his location and the presence of the Zen’zat, then he got back to running and fighting.
Unfortunately the two Zen’zat he killed and left lying on the hallway floor didn’t stay dead. The regenerators, known as Kich’a’kat, built into their armor repaired and revived their bodies, bringing them back to life as their armor thinned to supply material to cover the breaches. Weakened but still deadly, the Zen’zat got back to their feet and followed the others as they worked together to track and fight the elite Archon as he would not let them get to their objective.
They had to keep moving, for fighting him was pointless, so they kept working forward as best they could while suffering these attacks, hoping to rack up enough damage to his shields and armor to scare him off before he wore them down so much that the next mind blinding attack would leave more dead and less to fight with…all the while giving Star Force time to summon reinforcements to their location.
20
April 19, 4814
Jennizeren System (Star Force Front)
Zulu
Paul had been overusing his planetside drones, now having only 3 corvettes remaining with the others now crashed into the surface and scattered in bits after taking so much fire from the V’kit’no’sat ground troops, but he’d had no choice. He had to take the pressure off of the Star Force troops and hold the line as much as possible, even as that line was constantly moving in the wrong direction.
And to make matters worse, Tardon was down to only two planetary shield generators left. All the Star Force survivors from that world were there, clustered underneath that protection in an Alamo situation. If those shield generators fell, they’d be annihilated from orbit and at the moment Paul had no way to get them out with the blockade currently in place.
But Star Force had learned long ago how to prepare for situations like this, and even now evacuees that couldn’t go up to orbit were going down…deep down underground to magma ships and even mobile cities that could slowly move through the molten core. Such things did not exist on any planetary blueprint and across the Devastation Zone many such sanctuaries had ridden out planetary bombardment and resurfaced again at specially developed docking points on the underside of the crust where they then dug new passages up to the surface when rescue teams arrived and signaled them long after the planet had been left for dead.
But there were too many people left and they couldn’t all just disappear at once, meaning some had to hold the line to buy time for the others…and Paul couldn’t help them. He’d reduced the size of the V’kit’no’sat fleet up until a group of their reinforcements arrived. It wasn’t a massive number, but an additional 723 ships jumped into the system and added an extra layer to each of the three planetary assaults taking place. Zulu was in the best shape, but once Tardon was finished those ships would probably be rejoining the other two fleets.
When that happened Paul’s job would get even harder, but other systems had it far worse. The second wave of V’kit’no’sat reinforcements was beyond anything he had imagined with a total of half a million additional ships, mostly of smaller size, and they’d come in 78 fleets working their way across the Devastation Zone by different routes, most of which Star Force hadn’t seen coming.
And they were now assaulting 59 different systems, all of which were getting hammered. For that reason Paul had signaled for no additional reinforcements for Jennizeren, for he was fairly confident that even with the 700+ reinforcements the V’kit’no’sat had received that he could hold onto the 3 untouched planets. If he could do that it would be a major victory, and the more fleets he could send elsewhere to fight the better.
Right now the Paladin were massing at the varied waypoints with a few of their fleets already enroute to the battlefields that were spread all along the front, but it would be another month or two before they all got into play, meaning that the additional Defender fleets that had been rotated up from deeper in Star Force territory had to help the system defense ships hold planetary defenses as long as possible, but already updates were coming through the relay network indicating breaches and footholds established on worlds with overwhelming numbers of V’kit’no’sat ground troops pouring down to the surface.
That meant the clock was ticking on those worlds, and even with the Paladin coming Paul knew they were in for at best an even fight. He’d do his part here, and even with so many lo
sses on three planets the other three needed to be held onto. If even one was maintained Star Force would keep the system, for the V’kit’no’sat were not inhabiting the worlds they were attacking. They were razing them and moving on, with no system to date not having fallen to their assaults save for Orica, but they’d had to abandon it afterwards anyway. If Paul could hold at least one world here it would be a historic stop…but for how long?
Even if he could pull this system fight into a minor victory there were plenty of other V’kit’no’sat fleets out there that could rotate over and pound it flat, and right now he was questioning the wisdom of his orders to Kara. He could really use her Clan right now on the front, but he’d sent them on a bolder mission that should have been going down about now. He was blind to it, for it was happening on the other side of the Devastation Zone and even if a full relay grid had been in place it would have been over a week’s worth of signal delay.
He didn’t know where Kara and her Clan were right now, but he knew they wouldn’t be coming here. This fight was his with the ships and ground troops insystem, and he was very glad to have the few Paladin with him that had come early.
Still, if he didn’t play this right he’d lose all 6 planets and the system, but right now Tardon and Zulu were his main concerns while Ennvor was falling just as fast, but it more cityscape and defenses to take down. Paul couldn’t help anyone else right now, but he did need to find a way to help the remaining defenders on Tardon, but there was no way to get an evacuation ship down to them…but he might be able to screen for some to get out from the planet’s surface.
Problem was it would be a percent victory, for if 5 took off he might be able to protect 3. He didn’t like those odds, but it was better than waiting and watching people die, so he began to coordinate another costly strike to try and get some people out, for if they were going to go down fighting, they were all going to go down fighting. Star Force didn’t leave people behind, and Paul would rather see their entire civilization fall than to betray even a single member of it.
As he was planning the raid he got pings for incoming ships on a jumpline from rimward, but again without any forewarning from the relay grid. That could mean more Paladin violating orders…which he kind of hoped they’d done…but he was glad enough when it turned out to not be any more V’kit’no’sat. Rather it was non-Star Force ships from three races…the Gfatt, the Meintre, and the Albos. All were major members of The Nexus and 3 of the 12 races that had planets in the secure region around Grid Point Stargate that were now cut off from the rest of their civilization.
Tardon didn’t have a lot of time remaining, but the ships emerging were powerful. Their technology was a bit different than Star Force’s, and in general inferior, but they had some strengths that Paul’s ships did not and were at least in the same league as Star Force…not to mention bigger. They were manned by crews, which Paul always cringed at, but they could survive a slugging match that the drones could not.
The Excalibur turned over command of the surface drones on Zulu to another jumpship then made a microjump away from the planet and back to the central star so Paul could converse with the new arrivals in real time, getting an incoming three-way holocom from the commanders of the incoming fleets.
“Our apologies for not announcing our arrival,” the Gfatt said, with its two huge arms hanging limp over the ground as it hovered in an antigrav harness with its one leg/tail draping on the ground below. “We were concerned about a potential hack of your relay telemetry and received permission to pass through your territory without record.”
“No harm done,” Paul assured him, his expression still grave. “Why are you here?”
“We are not traveling to Grid Point Stargate,” the Gfatt assured him. “We recognize that without Star Force’s assistance The Nexus’s collapse will continue even if the V’kit’no’sat choose to ignore us. Your situation is more dire than we realized when we departed, but that makes our arrival all the more important.”
WE ARE HERE TO FIGHT, the Albos said, clicking its insectoid mandibles together aggressively over its mouth as the computer translated its words into English, for it did not have the vocal capability to make the necessary sounds for the Star Force language.
“We know we will lose many…” the Meintre said, anticipating Paul’s objection. The bulky, six legged mass had a huge head with 4 tentacle-like trunks underneath, looking like an alien elephant, but its race been a firm supporter of Star Force ever since The Nexus had taken away their own Grid Point to give Star Force one. Others would have held resentment to the recipient, but Star Force had always dealt with them fairly where The Nexus had not. “…but we stand to lose more if we do not fight. We are offering 22,000 ships to your personal command, if you will accept us."
Paul blanched. That was an enormous amount of ships. “Where are you pulling them from?”
“System defenses across our territory have been reduced. Not enough to encourage invasion, but it does weaken us. Losing Star Force will weaken the rim and we will suffer from additional predation, thus we must stand with you now. We trust you to use our ships wisely, and ask that you do not hold us back if you do accept us. We are here to fight, not to survive. We mean to ensure your survival and know you will put us to the most effective use.”
Paul swallowed hard, but the Gfatt spoke before he could.
“We bring 34,000 ships and to your personal command.”
WE BRING 17,000 VESSELS, The Albos added. TO KILL V’KIT’NO’SAT.
Paul took a deep breath. He’d thought they meant 22,000 ships in total. This was 73,000 ships, all of which were in excess of 4 miles long, with some upwards of 30.
Paul looked at each hologram in turn, saying nothing, then he finally sighed as he lowered his head.
“I do not like fighting this way, and I wish you’d converted your fleets over to drones long ago, but if you are willing to aid us now I will not turn you away. We need all the help we can get.”
“We are volunteering to fight under your direct command, not with others,” the Gfatt reiterated. “We wish to be a unified fleet for you to counter the greatest threats from the enemy.”
“We do not distrust your other commanders,” the Meintre added, “but we know you are a naval magician that will lead us through even the worst fights with beneficial outcomes. We ask that we be allowed to help you rid this system of the invaders, then have you lead us wherever else is needed as a unified fleet.”
“Terms accepted,” Paul said firmly. “And we will not forget this.”
IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS FOR ALL SHIPS TO ARRIVE.
“One of the planets here doesn’t have days. Do you have our battlemap interlink protocols?”
“Yes, but they are code locked,” the Gfatt reminded him.
Paul’s eyeline froze as he reached into the comm system and connected to the alien ships, gaining access and finding the Star Force programming given to them when the V’kit’no’sat neared the Grid Point and the systems they had there. To date those systems were still standing, and aside from some small skirmishes the V’kit’no’sat had ignored them, but the need to fight combined battles had prompted the comm interlink programming to be developed, though to date it had never been used.
“It’s unlocked now. Grant me access and I’ll make use of the ships arriving immediately.”
WE ARE YOURS TO COMMAND. DEATH TO YOUR ENEMIES.
“That’s the general idea,” Paul confirmed as their ship IDs were added to the Star Force battlemap and he could feel every weapon and capability they had, with him being able to send them orders, right down to their individual gunners, with a mere thought just like he would his own ships. “Usually they’re too dangerous to take prisoner, and unless I give specific orders to do so, attempt no captures. Shoot to kill.”
“By your command, Archon,” the Gfatt said, pounding a giant hand against its ape-like chest before it disappeared along with the other two holograms, for these commanders were here to
fight, not talk, and they could now see through the Star Force battlemap system the situation on all 6 planets and how dire the situation was on Tardon.
Paul could also see their identities, and was glad that all three commanders were war veterans. On top of that they were upper tier commanders, though not their ultimate best. There were wars being fought in The Nexus that required them, but they hadn’t sent newbs expecting them to die. They’d sent skilled individuals who had seen and survived many battles…and Paul intended to keep them alive, along with as many of their ships as possible by combining them with his drone fleets and using the larger ships to soak up damage while the drones protected them from killing hits long enough for them to retreat.
That was the idea, but this kind of combined combat had never been attempted against the V’kit’no’sat. Fortunately Paul was among the best at improvising, and he was going to have to write the book on The Nexus vs. V’kit’no’sat naval combat in the coming hours as he fought to live up to his reputation, for these fleets were coming here to be under his personal command, and that wasn’t lost on him.
Nor was the fact that if he could pull out the victory here, he’d been free to go drop the hammer elsewhere.
One thing at a time. Tardon first, and hopefully before the final shield generator fell…which meant they had to move fast, and The Nexus’s convoy spacing was large. That meant it was going to take even longer for them to arrive as a few ships dripped out of the jumpline every 20 seconds or so.
On the surface of Tardon a group of Bsidd soldiers were hunkered inside a well-fortified cupola with four big anti-mech guns on top. They were in the lower portion, ready to defend the cupola against Zen’zat attack or any other small-scale assault meant to take it out so the cupola couldn’t target the larger V’kit’no’sat races and punch down their shields with a few shots.
