Star Force: Retribution (SF60) (5 page)

As a brand new acolyte stepped out of the chamber
Ginsi stepped in, taking his place with Taryn throwing her a wink when their
eyelines
crossed. It had only been some 14 years ago when
the trainee had graduated from basic training and the trailblazer had luckily
been able to bring her into her Clan. Her scores had been impressive but not
groundbreaking going through basic and she’d been highly sought after, but even
Taryn had no idea what a monster she’d become after being ‘released’ from the
group training and allowed to fly free as all adepts did, more or less.

Previously Morgan had held the record of the quickest
elevation to acolyte, both in age and in years training. She’d been 74 at the
time and had spent 49 years after graduating from basic training, from which
Archons emerged at a variety of ages. That record had been eclipsed a few
decades ago by an Archon named Mathias-489220 who’d squeaked in at 48 years
training and an age of 110, with him being one of the ‘slower starters’ who
didn’t pass Archon testing during the last phases of the maturia training but
had volunteered to give it another go years later after some further
development (often along with a host of other tests) and found that he’d
improved to the point of trainee candidacy.

Some of his physical skills were head of his
classmates, which some had argued gave him a head start, but Taryn had looked
up his scores at the time and while they were strong they weren’t record
setting. She and the others, Morgan not included, had pretty much agreed it was
time that someone had reached acolyte faster than the slow troll that most
Archons progressed through simply because the process had been so polished
since Taryn and the others had literally been making it up as they went along
the first time.

The Archon trials were a huge boost, as were the
various training methods and equipment that had been established, not to
mention the peerdom available within the Clans that gave you stronger trainer
partners to work with…all of which the trailblazers never had. That said, even
the ‘inferior’ Archons should have been reaching acolyte faster than they had
been, and when one finally beat Morgan’s training years mark it had generally
been accepted as something that had been very long overdue.

But Ginsi was totally different. She’d accomplished in
14 years what had taken Morgan 48, and she was only 41 years old. Her rapid rise
had caught the trailblazers’ attention, and even Davis was keeping a close
watch on her, prompting the discussion as to how fast Taryn and her classmates
would have leveled up if they’d been born into this generation and had all the
advantages afforded to trainees and adepts today.

Even when they had that discussion there was a lot of
doubt as to if they could have achieved what Ginsi had, so as Taryn watched her
get her psionics the trailblazer wondered what was laying in store for her in
the future…and knowing that nothing was automatic. Ginsi had been busting her
butt in training ever since graduation, but 14 years was a far cry from 600,
and there were some side bets going as to how long she could keep this up. Many
thought she’d plateau eventually, as many other Archons had, but so far Taryn
didn’t see it happening, though with the inclusion of psionics into the level
requirements there was no knowing how she’d progress.

On one level Taryn did resent her a bit, though that
was little more than competitive envy. She could snap her like a twig if she
needed to, but the look in Morgan’s eye whenever her name was mentioned was
more than worth it, for her fellow trailblazer didn’t like losing records, of
any kind, and had gradually worked her way back up to top Archon status after
being at a decided disadvantage to those who’d camped out in the advanced
training group while she was off on field missions.

But this was different, for she not only lost the
record but had it literally blown off the map. The trailblazers weren’t quite
sure what to make of her, and despite that fact that she was so young and weak
compared to them Taryn and the others looked at Ginsi like a little sister,
wondering just how long this hot streak would last and if she was truly in
their league…or perhaps even better.

Taryn didn’t know, for a big part of being a
trailblazer was figuring things out for yourself or with your peers and Ginsi
was having everything fed to her. That’s what the trailblazers had worked to
build, so weaker Archons could gain greater strength by following their example
and using training programs and drills refined to perfection before they were
even born. It was a very good thing, but there was a higher level for those who
managed to do it on their own, which left Ginsi in ambiguity as to what her
caliber was as far as Taryn and the others were concerned.

So they were in wait and see mode, with Taryn keeping
a very close eye on her little sister and fellow Clansmen heading forward.

5

December 28, 2679

Pooovalla
System
(H’kar territory)

Ratchniva

Gavra
walked down one of the
long, curvy corridors that typically made up H’kar infrastructure, coming to a
dead end and stepping on the elevation pad that lowered him down to the next
level. The four-legged armored ‘crab’ walked on, finding another pad nearby and
moving down a second level, then another 8 until he came to a guard post with a
pair of fellow H’kar soldiers with weapons strapped to two of their six arms.

He was known to them, so with a nod of recognition he
passed through the checkpoint and into one of the off limits areas of the
command complex where only a few high ranking H’kar were allowed to enter. There
he walked through a few more corridors, traveling from memory rather than the
navigational markings on the ceiling, until he came to the main receiving
chamber where a small assembly was ongoing.

The Royal halted their conversation the moment he saw
Gavra
, clicking a welcoming tone on his mandibles and
getting the crowd to part ways to allow the senior military commander access to
the central slot in the approach bank. The H’kar formerly standing there backed
away, leaving two other niches in the narrow, curved table occupied by
non-military personnel but otherwise high ranking officials with the H’kar.
They faced the Royal, situated inside the shallow arc of the approach bank and
surrounded by control boards and display screens/
holos
.

Gavra
ignored them all,
along with the tidbits of conversation he had heard upon entry. Without a word
he began pressing buttons and accessing a secure file that even the Royal
didn’t have the access codes for, bringing up a map amendment that changed the
regional holo that was centered on
Pooovalla
and
showed the scattering of H’kar systems butting up against the Li’vorkrachnika
border.

When the update was applied, several new dots interspaced
between the H’kar systems changed color, indicating new acquisitions by their
enemy. None of the systems were previously H’kar owned, but it was clear that
they were failing in their Nexus mandate to control the local region.

“
The situation
has worsened far more than we anticipated
,”
Gavra
said sternly, his respect for the Royal present in his tone but it not masking
his anger and frustration. “
We wrongly
assumed the Li’vorkrachnika would strike back at one of our worlds in
retaliation for the strike on their core worlds. To be truthful we hoped they
would, for such an attack would be to our advantage by consolidating a large
percentage of their fleet into a single location for us to destroy in our
greatest place of strength
.”

“
The
Li’vorkrachnika have not been so stupid. They continue to strike us where we
are weak, but they
are
retaliating.
The number of expansions we’ve previously noted have increased by 23% since the
combined strike with the Gfatt, but the latest survey numbers indicate a much
larger increase…in the realm of 340%. They are devoting far more resources to
this region, all without any large fleet action. The loss of the majority of
our strike fleet had diminished our ability to hunt down and eliminate these
expansions, but do not mistake that as being the primary cause of this
onslaught. The enemy has increased its attention here, and we are unable to
stop them
.”

The Royal remained passive, then held up one of its
pointy, fingerless arms. “
Have we lost an
engagement?
”

“
No. The enemy
is not engaging us when they have the option to run. Those times when they
cannot they are doing what damage they can, targeting individual ships for
destruction. I’ve instructed our commanders to withdrawal those vessels in such
occasions, but we have lost a few when they stupidly chose to remain in
position. Each ship we lose is a defeat, but we have not lost a full battle
since the core world strike
.”

“
Then in what
danger are we?
” the Royal asked obtusely.

“
We are in
danger of allowing the enemy to grow to a level where they can threaten us.
Joining the Nexus advanced us considerably, but we are not safe. The Li’vorkrachnika
have not been beaten, and now that we’ve shown we can hit their core worlds
they are paying us more attention than before. It is only a matter of time
before we are isolated and surrounded
,” he said, bringing up a specific
intelligence report that he’d only received 18 days ago.

“
This is the
beginning of a trend, I fear
,”
Gavra
said,
highlighting a neutral system on the
starmap
situated
in between two widely spaced H’kar worlds. “
The
Li’vorkrachnika have placed a semi-permanent raiding fleet in the
Kiltuum
System. They are disrupting traffic, killing what
civilian ships they can, then running when our warships arrive. I believe they
will continue to do so, and we do not have the ships necessary to secure our
shipping lanes. If this continues we will either have to dedicate vessels to
Kiltuum
or reroute traffic flow. Either way is a win for
the enemy
.”

“
Assume they do
the same for 100 other systems, and tell me again how safe we are
.”

The H’kar to
Gavra’s
left
bristled with the insult that the military commander was throwing the Royal’s
way. “
Then it’s time to recall our ships
from the ADZ. We obviously need them to secure our own territory.
”

Gavra
made a click/clash
noise so violent that all the H’kar around him visibly shook with surprise.

“
You have said
as much yourself
,” the Royal reminded him calmly.

“
I have been
stupid and unwilling to see the truth
,”
Gavra
admitted. “
Recent events have forced my
vision to clear. We are making the same mistakes we made before, emboldened by
Nexus membership. Our methods saw us lose the first time, nearly to the point
of extinction before
Samenra
ordered the evacuation.
He was shamed and exiled for that decision later, but it saved our race. Had we
stood our ground and fought it out we would not be here today.
”

“
He was right to
do so
,” the H’kar on
Gavra’s
right said
irreverently, “
for it brought us into
contact with the Nexus.
”

“
But you still
speak of him with shame, as most of us do. We did not learn, and now that we
have superior technology to the enemy we have fallen back to using flawed
strategy, myself included. I however am learning to adapt…or at the very least
learning how to read a scorecard
,” he said, bringing up another display,
this one with numerical tallies.

“
This is the
killcount
for our fleets operating out of Star Force
territory. Compare with those here…
”

“
Those numbers
are being augmented…
”

“
No
,”
Gavra
said, cutting off the H’kar to his left. “
I have omitted partial ship kills. These are
those resulting only from our weaponry. Our fleets, when operating under Star
Force command, are destroying more enemy ships than those here, and the Star
Force warlords are keeping our fleets virtually untouched in the engagements. I
will not recall them when they are doing more damage to the enemy there than we
are doing here.
”

“
Our mandate
takes priority here
.”

“
The enemy is
the same, their ships do not belong to any one region. If we kill them here or
there it does not matter, only the number is relevant. Furthermore, the
performance rates of those crews who have participated in the raiding fleets
increases once they are cycled back into our standard forces. We are not only
killing Li’vorkrachnika in considerable numbers there, we are learning how to
fight them better. I will not recall those fleets, and I am here to recommend
we augment them
.”

“
If we are
already shorthanded
,” the Royal said, beginning to think
Gavra
was going senile, “
how can we spare anymore?
”

“
Our worlds are
secure for the moment, and we are losing the region regardless. We need to fuel
our successes, and right now those are only occurring in the raiding fleets
.”

“
We have a
mandate to acquit
,” the H’kar senior diplomatic officer said, whose primary
duty was dealing with Nexus issues.

Gavra
pivoted around,
shuffling his
footpoints
until he squarely faced the
H’kar on his left. “
It is time we
acknowledge that we have failed in our mandate and move on
.”

“
We cannot!
”

“
It has already
occurred
.”

“
If we admit
failure
,” the Royal interrupted, “
we
run the risk of losing our Nexus membership. If that happens they will reclaim
the technology granted to us. Our civilization will be cannibalized
.”

“
That will not
happen, and I am not suggesting any political push. I am saying that we should
admit to ourselves that we have failed and stop trying to protect systems that
we cannot. We must focus on the long term while we still have the benefit of
strong worlds. The Li’vorkrachnika will take them eventually, this I can
promise you, if we do not alter our course
.”

“
You are talking
nonsense,
Gavra
,” the diplomatic officer said,
exchanging a questioning glance with the Royal. “
No Nexus member world has ever fallen without an immediate and massive
reprisal from the other members. They are our insurance against the
Li’vorkrachnika. If we abandon our mandate we abandon them…and we will be
committing the equivalent of suicide
.”

“
Define
‘immediate?
’”
Gavra
demanded, throwing the other
H’kar off balance with the simple question.

“
You know the
battle history better than I do, I assume
.”

“
Yes I do, but I
no longer underestimate our enemy. We hit one of their most valuable worlds and
took away an equally valuable asset, one that no one, to my knowledge, has ever
touched before. And how do they respond? Calmly. They increase their efforts
here drastically, but with no overt moves. No big battles. In fact, they are
attacking less than before. Perhaps the resilience of our ships scared them,
but they do not quit. Instead they hit us where we are weak, where we cannot
defend
.”

“
I ask you this
,”
he said, raising his voice and using it to verbally beat down the non-military
H’kar, “
what happens if the enemy strikes
ALL of our worlds simultaneously, with enough numbers to destroy our
populations? They will undoubtedly lose their fleets in the process, such as we
did to kill their shipyard, but our people will be dead, our industry crippled,
and our defeat all but complete before even one ship from the other races
arrives to avenge us
.”

“
So I ask you
again, will their backup be immediate? Or is that just a comforting lie you
tell yourself to preserve this false security you cling to
.”

“
You speak of
fiction yourself
,” the H’kar on his opposite side said. “
They cannot launch such an attack of this
scale, not against all of our worlds.
”

“
Perhaps not
today, but they are growing. How long do we have until they reach that
numerical strength?
”

The H’kar didn’t answer. He wasn’t convinced, but
didn’t have a retort handy.

“
How does
increasing our fleet size in the ADZ help counter this possibility?
” the
Royal asked.

“
We cannot
defeat the Li’vorkrachnika
,”
Gavra
said plainly,
his words essentially treason as far as H’kar philosophy was concerned. “
But they are, slowly, in small parts. They
are holding their territory and slowly expanding it. The Li’vorkrachnika are
expanding faster, growing larger, but they are, for reasons I don’t fully
understand, unable or unwilling to topple Star Force and its allies, one of
whom I’m told has come from further away to specifically aid Star Force. An
ally that has, what is rumored to be, Nexus-level technology. For whatever
reason they value Star Force’s ability to stand against the enemy and are
assisting in their raiding fleets as well
.”

“
We would be
wise to do the same, and I for one will not risk the future of our race to
appease those who foolishly cling to the old ways. I admit, until recently I
was one of them, but through the strategic savvy of our enemy in recent days
and the lashings of my old master I have forced myself to reconsider many
things. I will not waste my time trying to do the same with you
,” he said,
looking at those non-military personnel that ran most of the empire for the
Royals, “
nor will I waste our limited
resources on strategies that the Li’vorkrachnika have proven time and again to
be impotent
.”

“
Are the other
commanders in agreement with your assessments?
” the Royal asked, suspecting
otherwise.

“
Most are not
,”
Gavra
admitted.

“
Why then should
I sanction this ambiguous new strategy?
”

Gavra
stared back at the
Royal, this time with no respect. “
To
keep the empire from fracturing
.”