by Aer-ki Jyr
Nefron stayed in the Ancient shell until construction was completed, then he headed back up to orbit and boarded the Zeus where the ship’s crew would be taking control of The Nexus’s creation. They were gladly turning over all responsibility for the Uriti to Star Force, saving themselves the cost of maintaining such a large fleet in this system that could be redeployed elsewhere, so they hadn’t balked about taking on the construction costs for the custom made carrier despite the enormity of the project.
But then again, The Nexus was much larger than Star Force and had ample resources to draw on if it so wanted. This obviously was taking priority for them, and while they might be shortchanging other systems Nefron knew that the removal of this Uriti from their care would probably bring a touch of stability to the teetering civilization. A long term, unsolvable problem was getting resolved and despite the expense in the short term they knew that cost cutting going forward would be significant.
Right now there were over 8000 Nexus ships in the system not counting the civilian traffic. A little less than half of that had been here on permanent guard while the others had come from various Nexus members to assist with the security regarding the removal, for it was quite the spectacle and races from all over The Nexus were coming to see the now publically acknowledged beast taken out of their territory.
But more than that were the outsiders arriving to witness it. Some had come specifically for this so there had to be an insane amount of security. One ship on a kamikaze run that got through could crash the transport pod and wake the Uriti, which was another reason why Nefron was here. If that occurred he could order it away from the empty city and other resources that The Nexus didn’t want smashed, but he’d also have to begin the very slow journey back to Star Force territory under its own power that would take decades of travel to accomplish.
The Nexus didn’t want Nedrasil in their territory any longer than necessary and neither Star Force nor the Knights of Quenar wanted someone going after Nefron, so all three parties had a large fleet present, though the KoQ had most of their ships invisible and prowling where no one knew, save for a few sitting close, but not too close, to the Zeus to remind everyone that they were in fact here and ready to throw down if provoked.
That threat, Nefron had learned recently, had been forestalling a lot of problems back in the Preserve, and that wasn’t speculation. He’d heard it was being discussed by various outsiders amongst themselves and had the telepathic assurance from the Preema representative standing next to him onboard the Zeus that the discussions were accurate, numerous, and often quite agitated.
If this operation went smoothly the Preema were going to transfer their Uriti to the preserve as well, which was why the trailblazers had allowed them one representative here onboard the ship rather than having them send a fleet. Their involvement with Star Force was known, as was the fact that they had a Uriti, but when the time came to move theirs they didn’t want anyone else knowing about it, so an arrangement was made for one of them to tag along and have access to Nefron…though in truth it was the other way around.
Nefron was able to use his limited telepathy to get inside the Preema’s head, which it voluntarily lowered its mental defenses to allow. It was an expert on the Uriti they had and between the two of them they were finalizing the arrangement and details necessary for building a similar pod that could be flow from star to star to avoid the immense distance lag of having the Uriti fly itself to the Preserve.
But even in a pod it was going to take a lot of time to get it there, meaning they had to be escorted by a fleet and the longer it took the more time that fleet would be tied up babysitting. Their Uriti, named Barratim, was considerably smaller and therefore could be transported more easily and faster than Nedrasil, but for some reason it had a tendency to wake occasionally for reasons their Oracle couldn’t identify. Additional sedative was always applied before it could gain full consciousness, but compared to the other Uriti that Nefron had studied thus far in their imprisonments, Barratim was unique in its level of resistance to the sedative’s effects.
That was a potential disaster in the making for the Preema, and so long as they could effectively transfer it to the Preserve…and the Preserve would actually work to neutralize the threat…they were willing to commit the resources to building their own transport pod and entrusting Star Force with the living weapon, but they needed more than just promises. They’d been observing the two Uriti in the Preserve for some time now and were sufficiently convinced in Star Force’s ability to corral them there, but the part involving moving an Uriti without waking it was another matter entirely.
So they needed proof and Nefron needed information, which was why the Preema was here now with plenty of nearby Archons should he feel like getting out of line, though that wasn’t really necessary. A Chixzon could take a Preema 1v1 fairly easily.
“Are we ready?” Oro asked from Nefron’s right.
“I am. I’m leaving the disposition of the fleet to you.”
“The fleet is ready and the observers are…observing. The Sety say they’re good to go and have relinquished control of all systems to us.”
“Adequate,” Nefron said as he connected to the transmitter in the ship via his crown just in case it would be needed. “Bring it up.”
On the planet’s surface there was a deep tunnel dug into both the dirt and the rock below that led straight to the Ancients’ prison, and up through that passage a bluish/green cube arose. It passed above surface level and slowly began to ascend into orbit so not to mess with the very unaerodynamic silhouette in the thick atmosphere. As it thinned, its speed increased all the way up into a holding orbit without any reaction from the Uriti within.
“No response from Nedrasil. It’s still fully sedate,” Nefron said with a glance to the Preema. “So long as the sedative levels remain steady I don’t think there’s going to be a problem.”
The Griffin-like alien nodded its head as it watched the wall-mounted displays intently. “Good. Very good,” it said via a small headset that acted as a translator, for the Preema had no armor on given its position as guest onboard the Star Force ship.
“Looks like that observers are keeping their distance,” Oro noted dryly. “The Nexus fleet is falling into alignment and reiterates that they’ll stay with us to the edge of their territory…after which they’ll say goodbye and good riddance.”
“I assume you’re paraphrasing?”
“Reading between the lines on the second part.”
“I don’t doubt your deduction.”
“Did you expect them to travel the full distance to your Preserve?” the Preema asked.
“That would be prudent,” Nefron agreed, “but their willingness of only escorting us through their territory says that they’re eager to be done with this matter and return their fleet to other uses. Even though it’s their capitol, I don’t think they’ll keep it so well guarded without the Uriti present.”
“We will not conduct ourselves in a similar manner,” the quadruped promised. “We will see it through the entire journey assuming this one goes well.”
“It will on the Uriti’s part. I can’t guarantee anything regarding outside interference.”
“It is the Hamoriti’s part that concerns me. We will have enough ships to guarantee security.”
“Jumpline,” Oro insisted, with Nefron nodding his agreement. While the ship’s crew had remote control of the transport pod they weren’t going to do anything with it without the Chixzon’s approval for fear of disrupting their extremely dangerous cargo.
With the order given, the crew began moving the transport out to the jumppoint and orchestrating the escort fleets to match with about half the Star Force ships preceding it along with what were assumed to be KoQ ships while the rest of them and the masses of observers were to follow behind. The Zeus took up position just in front of the transport and had it following in its wake as they made the jump out to the star and repositioned around to the interstellar
jumpline.
From there they exited without incident, traveling the first of 4 legs until they came to a grid point where an even larger ship cradled the transport in its grasp while the host of Star Force ships and observers were loaded up into other mag drive jumpships that had been assembled for just this task. One by one they shot off the gigantic dish like a slingshot and headed across Nexus territory far faster than grav drives could take them, let alone the slow crawl of a Uriti’s natural speed.
“You have done well,” the Preema told Nefron as they both watched the new Uriti fly across the Alamo System and rendezvous with its two kin. They grouped together and began exchanging a lot of telepathic communication, once again reinforcing the fact that they weren’t going to start fighting each other, making it clear that the Preserve was a viable option for dealing with the threat they posed.
“We’ve done what was necessary.”
“At great cost for little visible reimbursement should you never utilize their combat capability.”
“It is necessary.”
“Agreed, but we will not be as ungrateful as The Nexus. You will be compensated for taking this burden off us.”
“You are granting your approval then?”
“I am. Construction will begin as soon as I return. What is the best means for us to deliver suitable compensation?”
“I have a few suggestions, but those matters will be handled by one of the Dukes or trailblazers.”
“Of course. Is there anything you personally require?”
“Knowledge of where the other Uriti are.”
“We have already told you what we know, but we will search for leads. Star Force has a reputation for trustworthiness. It would be best if all the Hamoriti were deposited here. Others would not hold to such scruples given the ability that you possess. Is there anything else?”
“I have everything that I require.”
“Is there anything that you desire?”
“Are you trying to bribe me?”
The Preema laughed. “I would not even know how to begin to go about doing that. Your allegiance to Star Force is solid. I am simply offering our gratitude but do not know what form in which to package it.”
“We haven’t removed your Uriti yet.”
“No, but you have given us a viable solution. That in itself is worthy of some reward?”
“I am doing this because of a responsibility, not for reward.”
“Still, is there nothing?”
“No, there is not.”
The Preema nodded. “Very well. If something comes to mind later please inform us. I will stay here a few more days then depart to begin making preparations for our Hamoriti’s relocation.”
Nefron bid his farewell as the Preema left with his Star Force escort for either his quarters or the hangar bay, though the Chixzon didn’t care which. He was an associate that he needed to work with, but the Preema were a bit too arrogant for his liking.
He stayed in the room for another few minutes then left to head for the restricted section where the Preema was never allowed. There he got back to his work and began studying the telepathic communication between the three Uriti as well as their current states. Nedrasil was in bad shape, far more so than Cardosan had been, and he wondered if that was due to more time spent under sedation or some other factor.
Within the day ‘indoctrination’ would begin and basic orders would be given to the new arrival as well as having the other two move through their ‘workouts’ so Nedrasil could see and hopefully learn from that. If there was resistance to be elicited it would happen now, but assuming there was none with these simple tasks and Nedrasil’s different design wasn’t an issue, they’d begin a regimen that would prompt and accelerate the healing process.
While a lot of people assumed Uriti could not die, they did not understand how much damage one could take and still keep living. They could suffer horribly and persist far longer than others which was both a blessing and could be a curse. While sedating them to save the galaxy from the Chixzon had been necessary, it was still doing the Uriti a disservice and he hated seeing them in this condition. While he wished they had had enough willpower to disobey the Chixzon back in the day, he was adamantly hoping now that Nedrasil didn’t, else it’d slow his work here.
And work he still had to do. They’d speculated that adding a third Uriti to the group would alter their interactions considerably and right now he was getting a host of new readings from the trio, telepathic and otherwise. These creatures truly had a pack mentality, and keeping them isolated from one another since their spawning was an obvious oversight the Chixzon had made. They were more powerful together, but that was an aspect of their functionality that was never explored. They were simply used as gigantic wrecking balls and now, in light of this new perspective, Nefron felt anger at his race’s stupidity. While they didn’t tolerate such things, it was now becoming clear just how shortsighted they had been in addition to being in the wrong.
Being a bad guy was bad enough, but to be a stupid bad guy was both insulting and infuriating.
The Chixzon had a reputation for being smart and savvy, so why hadn’t they explored this avenue? Even as he pondered the question he knew the answer, something his Star Force training had instilled in him from the get-go.
The Uriti were people, not machines, and the Chixzon had been treating them as such and using their base abilities to do all the damage while not accounting for improvement or skill. They wanted a weapon to do their bidding, but had completely missed the opportunities that were right in front of them.
Then again, utilizing those opportunities required one to be of a mindset that wouldn’t allow you to wipe out all life on a given planet, so maybe it wasn’t so odd that the Chixzon had missed out on this angle, but missed it they did and that gave Nefron pause to consider how much else he might be missing. He had the benefit of his Star Force memories to put into contrast with his Chixzon ones, but were there angles to the Uriti or other matters that he was still blind to?
It was worth thinking on, and over the coming years he’d do just that as he probed the Uriti’s abilities and temperaments far deeper than the Chixzon had ever cared to, exceeding them and gaining a greater understanding of just how impressive and alien these beasts truly were.
4
June 3, 3288
Paquat System
Vikod (Trinx homeworld)
The escorts for the Trinx representative walked through the membrane wall onboard the Yisv cruiser just prior to it splitting apart to allow the visitor into the small reception chamber. Pattrel floated down from the ceiling displays like a ghost then touched solid feet to the ground as his body changed its molecular alignment and his wispy aura coalesced into a mass more like the Trinx.
“Thank you for coming aboard.”
“I presume you were sent by the others?”
“We were,” Pattrel acknowledged. “Given that you killed a great number of them, it was decided that the Yisv should handle this meeting to reduce the possibility of conflict breaking out. They are still quite enraged.”
“As are we,” the Trinx said with muffled anger. “You have betrayed your oaths.”
“On the contrary, we are in the process of fulfilling them. Regardless, I have not come here to debate the past with you. The Trinx made their choice and suffered greatly for it, but the matter is not concluded. Given time the others will come here to exact a reckoning. I have been sent to entertain the possibility of a peaceful settlement.”
“And I have been sent to hear your words, though it is unlikely that we will agree to any demands.”
“You have destroyed a great many of The Nine’s ships, killed our people while we were defending the very solution that we have all long sought. Had you succeeded, the Hamoriti would be on the rampage again with us unable to do anything but delay its minions from spreading. You were wrong in your judgement of Star Force. The Hamoriti has been contained and two more have been acquired. The one w
e discovered in Li’vorkrachnika territory first, then the Sety’s was successfully extracted while sedate and moved to the containment Preserve. Once awoken it joined the group and is remaining within the boundaries. Our worlds and the galaxy are now safe from them so long as Star Force does not lose control…control which you tried and nearly succeeded in destroying. I will also note that they now have the ability to control the Hamoriti via different ships, so even if the Chixzon is killed they will be able to maintain control.”
“Something that they had promised was impossible.”
“They did not lie. I am told that the Chixzon found a way to do what was never meant to be done. They did not give details, but it is a recent development. We are fairly sure they did not have this capability when you attacked them, meaning that if you had succeeded you would have destroyed our only chance at restraining the Hamoriti. For that the others will not forgive you, and they will seek a measure of vengeance unless contritions are made.”
“For the sake of discussion only, what contritions do they seek?”
“Payment to replace the warships you destroyed, in appropriate material then multiplied by a factor of 8. Severing of all ties and agreements with the other members of The Nine. Banishment from ever entering our combined territories. And the forfeiture and removal of the Hamoriti you guard to the Star Force Preserve. That will satisfy us, but you will have to come to terms with Star Force independently.”
