Star Force: Retribution (SF60) (6 page)

“
Explain yourself
,”
the Royal said, the first hint of anger in his voice.

“
Most of the
other commanders are not in agreement, but a few are. More importantly I have
already sent orders to dispatch the appropriate ships to Star Force territory,
as have some of the others.
”

“
You have no
authority!
” one of the H’kar standing behind the three in front of the Royal
shouted.

“
I am in command
,”
Gavra
said forcefully, “
and it is my mandate to protect our people. I will not fail in it, even
if I end up suffering the same fate as
Samenra
. And
there are others who are of similar mind.
”

“
But more
important that that is this
,” he continued before anyone else could speak,
though there was considerable mandible clicking that he had to raise his voice
to talk over. “
Vedja has come out of
retirement because he senses the danger we face, and the new ire we have
invoked in the Li’vorkrachnika with our strike on their shipyard.
”

The clicks shifted in a heartbeat at the mention of
the legendary commander who almost singlehandedly had saved them from
destruction during the time just prior to Nexus membership. He was held in
great esteem, and his name alone gave weight to what
Gavra
was saying, not to mention the fact that the commander had been one of
Vedja’s
primary students.

“
Who authorized
his return to service?
” the Royal asked, his tone uncertain as to which
side to take in this dangerous schism that was forming. If one of the other
Royals had done so he should have heard about it by now.

“
I did
,”
Gavra
said firmly. “
And
my old master is already en route to our colony in Star Force territory.
”

“
Colony? It is
little more than an embassy
,” the diplomatic officer said as the Royal
virtually blanched, though his exoskeleton wouldn’t allow for any color change.

“
It will grow if
needed, for my Master has informed me that he intends to pursue this war bond
with Star Force regardless of Royal sanction. He has few years left in him, and
is willing to risk exile if it is necessary to save our race. I and a few
others are willing to follow him, so I submit that sanctioning this endeavor is
in the best interests of unity, for it is happening regardless of how many
stubborn traditions we have to trample in the process.
”

“
You are far
beyond your birthright
,” the Royal warned.

“
I know. But my
mandate supersedes it, whether officially recognized or not
.”

The Royal was silent for a long moment, but
Gavra
didn’t break his stare, underscoring that he was
fully committed to this. Others would be as well, with Vedja involved.

“
Why did you not
come to me with these concerns earlier?
”

“
I was stubborn
and did not want to admit the losing position that we are in
.”

“
And you believe
that we are showing the same stubbornness?
”

“
I recognize it
well
.”

The Royal considered what
Gavra
was saying, not from a military position but from a political one. Nexus
membership guaranteed the
H’kar’s
survival, so the
threat of their defeat was farcical. Their mandate to protect their allotted
region was not, and in that they were failing, though he’d never admit it
publically. The only risk came from a revocation of membership, but he was
aware that the Gfatt didn’t currently fault the H’kar for their inability to
stop the Li’vorkrachnika, though that could always change going forward.

Vedja, however, changed things. The old warrior was a
legend, and his involvement in this none too subtle treason made the Royal
wonder if there was a greater threat involved or if he also realized the risk
of a revocation of membership. Regardless, siding against him could very well
split the H’kar
empire
and even run the small risk of
triggering a civil war, not in a military sense, but by fracturing the
political bonds that held them together.

They were safe, the Royal reminded himself, so long as
the Nexus did not abandon them.

“
If Vedja thinks
this is of merit, then let us not bicker. Keep what ships are necessary to
defend our worlds and maintain a semblance of our duty to the Nexus mandate,
then send as many others as you wish. We will fully support Vedja in this, and
hope that his genius leads to a second pivotal moment in our race’s history
.”

Gavra
didn’t say anything
further, nor did he gloat. He simply offered a small gesture of respect before
withdrawing, realizing he’d just won the political war and gained more than
he’d hoped. How the rest of the H’kar
empire
would
respond he didn’t know, but this region’s resources were going to the ADZ…as
many as he could spare, anyway.

6

May 31, 2680

Szequat
System (Voku
territory)

Nergthen

When Cal-com arrived back at his race’s homeworld it
was with some displeasure. He had been summoned to return, but without any
notification as to why. The priority summons couldn’t be ignored, but it had
come during one of his planning sessions with Warlord Paul as they began
mapping out the
reconquest
of what had once been
Calavari territory. Such a task was a bold one, and Cal-com wasn’t convinced
that it could be done so quickly, but the pair worked so well together they
were laying out the difficulties and devising countermeasures in an attempt to
see just how far down the road their plans could become reality when the
summons had arrived.

He’d left immediately, with all apologies given to
Paul, and headed back across the long journey between the ADZ and Voku space.
During that time he wondered what would have been important enough to recall
him, and now that he’d finally arrived he still couldn’t deduce a valid reason.
Only two individuals had the authority to summon him back in such a manner, one
was the Brosika and the other the Letrifiv.

The Brosika was the
Voku’s
chief of tranquility, tasked with maintaining the inner workings of their
civilization and hunting down problems before they began. With any interstellar
empire, let alone one the size that the Voku sported, divisions could easily
occur with the distances and communication lag, thus preserving a single
cultural identity was a huge necessity that could not be overstated. The
Brosika held the responsibility of holding the Voku together, not through
censorship or restraints, but through a gentle push or pull here or there
dictated by the tenants of wisdom.

The Letrifiv was the complete opposite and responsible
for the day to day running of the empire. It was the highest
administratorial
position and also the most difficult, with
an insane amount of data to process daily. Even with a support staff the
Letrifiv needed to know everything that was going on in order to insure that an
oversight didn’t leave a planet without enough foodstuffs for the coming year
or that the fuel supply wouldn’t exhaust itself leaving ships stranded
insystem. While local administrators accomplished a variety of tasks
independently, it was the Letrifiv that had to keep the empire’s priorities
fulfilled, and as such he was the most knowledgeable person in the empire when
it came to current events.

Both leaders held a slightly higher position within
Voku society than a Renimar, but they respected each other enough not to give
orders. The military was separate and the third part of the trinary that made
up Voku society, but technically the Letrifiv and Brosika were co-rulers…though
the term ‘ruler’ had a different meaning for the Voku, since they all served
the Elders’ will.

The small conglomerate that brought Cal-com back home
passed through their orbital defense grids without delay, being allowed
immediate and priority access through the defense fleet screens, bypassing the
Kastas
, and coming into very low orbit where a tiny bit of
the conglomerate broke off and headed down into the thin atmosphere of the
planet with the Renimar onboard. It was allowed direct access to the Hall of
Majesty, which was the capitol within the capitol and the home of the Letrifiv
and Brosika, when the Brosika was insystem, for he was traveling almost
nonstop.

When Cal-com’s ship landed he was escorted by an honor
guard into the sprawling complex that he had become well accustomed to since he
became a Renimar, though most of his duties kept him away, similar to the
Brosika. So it wasn’t a great surprise that he noticed the change in
architecture within the Hall of Majesty when they entered a particular wing.
Cal-com remained silent and simply observed, seeing more and more alterations
that appeared to be of extremely new construction, yet all were complete with
no signs of ongoing work.

Then when they turned a corner the size of the
architecture changed drastically, and the Renimar saw himself standing in a
foyer large enough for a starship to land in, and in fact he could see on the
distant roof the markings indicating that there was a hidden exit to the sky
built into the structure that could be opened at will. But it was the huge
doors that stood closed before him and the presence of both
Yev’jat
and the Letrifiv waiting for him that truly shocked him.

The honor guard stopped in their tracks as
Yev’jat
waved them off, leaving only the three leaders
behind as the infantry retreated to a respectful distance away from the doors.

“
What is this
place?
” Cal-com asked, having to crane his neck up to see the top of the
doors that stretched a third of the way up to the ceiling.

“
An Elder is
here
,” the Letrifiv said, almost a whisper.

Cal-com immediately stiffened with awe and shock, then
forced himself to push the foolish emotions aside. “
Why have I been recalled?
”

“
The Elder
specifically requested your presence. I am sorry I could not tell you by
message
,” his fellow Renimar said, “
but
his presence is not to be made known to the public. He comes and goes as he
chooses, but aside from the nearby eyes no trace of him is recorded. Our
machines will not betray his existence, and I could not do so in message either
.”

“
Did he say why?
”

“
No, but he has
made many changes since his arrival. The first of which was the creation of
this,
”
Yev’jat
said, pointing at the chamber in
which they now stood. “
What lies beyond
the doors if of Elder technology, and none are allowed to enter except by
invitation.
You have yours
.”

The Letrifiv stepped over to the doors and pressed a
hand against them, with the touch creating a split that pulled apart the lower
halves like a zipper about twice Cal-com’s height then stopped, with the two
flaps bending outwards and bracketing the threesome.

“
We have not
been requested
,” the Letrifiv said simply, then stepped back.

Cal-com didn’t delay nor fawn over the presence of the
Elder and walked through the opening, intent to be as efficient as possible. If
the Elder wanted to speak with him, then he was going to show himself promptly.

As soon as he walked through the doors resealed behind
him
and Cal-com found himself standing on the edge of
a ridged floor that circled up into a large tunnel. Almost immediately he felt
a presence in his mind, guiding him forward, and he began hopping from one
flat-topped ridge to another and bypassing the small toughs in between. The
architecture was not straight, and the Voku had to meander through several
tunnel branches before he finally came to the end of the ridged tunnels,
thankfully before he hit one of the down ‘ramps’ that would have been much
harder to traverse.

The chamber just to the left of the ramp had a smooth
floor that led up to a dome with a low lying wall, and as Cal-com got halfway
up to it the dragon behind it rose up, giving the Voku his first glimpse of the
red, scaly skin that covered its lithe body.

“
Welcome home,
Renimar
,” the Elder said graciously. “
You
have done well in your absence
.”

Cal-com dropped to a knee respectfully, but a
tisking
noise that was both physical and mental halted his
reverence. “
Rise. I have no need of
supplicant servants today
.”

As the dragon said so Cal-com’s eye line returned to
the neck that was reaching above the wall and the bit of body connected to it,
then a pair of arms reached up to grip the edge and pulled the Elder over top
of it, with his body sliding over the rim as he came fully into view and dropped
down onto the solid floor in front of the Voku, who was now standing back up as
ordered. The dragon’s wings were tucked along its body, looking like little
more than patches of wrinkly skin and blending in well with the rest of the
scaly tube, but the deep red was both intimidating and surprising, for the
Elder that had visited them previously had been colored grey, or so he had been
told. The size of this one was also considerably smaller, but the presence it
emanated could not be denied and the Voku felt very small in comparison despite
the fact that the Elder stood only half again as tall as him.

“
You honor me
with your praise, and your presence. What have you summoned me for?
”

The dragon walked sideways in front of the stationary
Voku, then twisted its long neck back towards him, looking him in his
artificial eye from only a meter away.

“
The Voku are
not the only race we have guided from afar. There are others, like you, who
serve us across the galaxy. Some old, some new, but they are few and the threats
many. You and the other Voku have done well during our long absence to preserve
yourselves and the knowledge we granted you, and in return I am here now to
elevate you to the next level. This will be done in secret, as always, but of
you personally I have another task
.”

The dragon sat back on its tail and hind legs, rearing
up to bring its front two off the ground and stretch out its wings. The thin
material flexed with remarkable strength as a wind was summoned forth simply by
him reaching out and stroking the air a few times.

And as he did so a sea of holograms surrounded the
Voku, with him fixating on one in particular that was a galaxy map. It slowly
zoomed in until he recognized their own empire and the ADZ, but it also showed
a great deal more, including the current domain of the lizards, the Skarrons,
and many others that he did not know of, but all were detailed before him, with
images of various races swirling about that he did not recognize.

“
You have done
well to safeguard Star Force, and it is growing in size and strength rapidly.
Your task there is done, but you are correct in assuming that the ‘lizards’ as
you call them will eventually reach the Voku. Star Force will survive and
prosper, but your enemy cannot be so easily stopped
.”

Various areas of lizard territory were highlighted by
an eerie glow that seemed to defy any technology, leaving Cal-com in awe at the
spectacle but with his mind also working furiously as a tactician to soak up
all the data before him…and its implications.

“
The enemy is
fighting hard to expand, but as they do they are encountering those who do not
submit easily. You are aware of two such engagements. The Skarrons and the
Nexus. As you can see here, there are others. The enemy has found that it is
not alone and seeks to quickly devour systems so to stay on the offensive to
cover their overreach. They are temporarily weakened, and not for the loss of
one of their shipyards. They are processing through a growth surge that will
make them far more deadly in the future, but for now they must digest their
holdings and develop them
.”

“
They are not so
weak as to allow you to defeat them, but you can deny them significant gains if
you progress wisely and quickly. If you wait until they are on your doorstep,
you will not survive given your present strength…which I am now amplifying.
When completed, you will have no need to fear this enemy at home. Your fight
with them will be abroad. I require a
warfleet
to
secure this region
,” the dragon said, highlighting a much larger squashed
sphere around present day Voku territory that ran all the way up to the ADZ as
well as bit into a large chunk of Skarron space…not to mention traveling out
below the galactic plane to the scattering of systems that didn’t hold to the
boundaries.

In fact Cal-com saw several star clusters out there
that would be difficult to reach, but if the Elder commanded it they would find
a way to make it happen. That determination aside, this new mandate was beyond
anything the Voku had expected of them and was indeed a fitting task for the
promised upgrades to their empire.

“
This task will
put you into direct conflict with the lizards that Star Force now fights. You
cannot destroy them so do not try. The
Voku’s
task is
to hold and protect the territory assigned to you, much as you have done in the
past with your current territory…do not concern yourself with the Nexus
,”
the Elder said, reading his thoughts. “
They
are fools with delusions of grandeur. Powerful they may be in technology, but
in wisdom they are lacking. Their time is coming to an end, but that end will
not be soon. In the interim allow them to fight the lizards as they will, but
they are a temporary power that will fade, so draw no close bonds with them
.”

“
Look closely,
Renimar
,” the dragon prompted, highlighting a few new sections of the
galaxy map that bordered lizard space on multiple sides. “
These are some of our other servants, all of which have or will come
into conflict with the lizards shortly. Alone they will not survive what is
coming, for they are not as large nor as gifted as the Voku, and we will not
give them that which they have not yet earned.
”

“
We do not wish
them destroyed in their infancy, so I have a special task for you, Cal-com. You
are no longer a Renimar, but the first Dafchor from the Voku. From this day
forward your race will take orders from you, as will these others. You are my
personal emissary and war leader, and I task you with preserving and shielding
my servants against the lizards.
”

Cal-com wanted to bow, but refrained from doing so. “
How am I to accomplish this?
”