Star Force: Retribution (SF60) (8 page)

Vedja also realized one other thing, and that was the
reason why the ships coming back home after spending time in the raiding fleets
showed less than the stellar stats that were being reported from the joint
raids. When the H’kar were following orders they didn’t attach their egos to
the assignments and were able to mentally leave the outcome in the hands of
their alien commanders…but once back under their own direction they could not
think like Star Force did, at least not completely. Some small amount of
tactical knowledge was coming back with those ships and crews, but in order to
maintain this overpowering kill to death rate the H’kar had to work jointly
with Star Force.

Vedja had known that hooking up with the Humans was
necessary in order to learn from them, but now he saw that it was more than
that. Their psyche was operating on a different level than the H’kar, and it
happened to be in a way that directly countered the Li’vorkrachnika. Vedja
doubted it would be as effective against the Nexus races or others, but against
this enemy Star Force’s curious ways were more effective than H’kar battle
philosophy had ever approached being, and in order to hurt their common enemy
the most the H’kar had to do joint battle as often as possible.

As Vedja wrote his messages he outlined this as well, noting
that in the short term it would be easier just to use the Star Force commanders
rather than attempting to retrain the entire H’kar military. They could
incorporate lessons learned and modify their existing philosophy rather than
attempting an immediate and total overhaul…but in order to make it work there
would have to be an unprecedented level of cooperation, for without the Star
Force commanders the H’kar could not defeat the Li’vorkrachnika.

But with them, and a lot of favor…it might just be
possible.

And that was something that no H’kar had legitimately
imagined since the early days of the war.

8

March 16, 2682

Achkor System

Zenniza

The
Excalibur
dropped into planetary orbit around the Voku world, with Paul immediately
seeing the bolstered ship count that Cal-com had spoken of in his last message.
They hadn’t met one another since he’d been recalled back to his homeworld,
communicating through the relay system as Paul had gone out on another raiding
mission into lizard territory. Their conversations were intermittent and
delayed, but they’d continued making plans for the war going forward in
piecemeal knowing that they’d have to get back together again for a proper
planning session at some point.

The trailblazers didn’t need face to face conversations
to coordinate, for they practically knew what each other was thinking with only
a few lines of text being shared across lightyears, but Cal-com, as much as
Paul had grown to know him, operated on a completely different mental frequency
that required a lot of back and forth between the two in order to hammer out
strategy. They worked well together, but it was a communication heavy
relationship that just couldn’t work over distance with an endeavor this
complex.

Cal-com had said he’d be getting more resources,
enough to push up their timetable for the
reconquest
of Calavari territory…a little project that was only in the planning stages,
for aside from the handful of systems along the ADZ border there was no major
push underway for territory, merely nipping at the lizards here and there while
disrupting their holdings with more and more raids.

When the Voku had sent the message requesting their
meeting as soon as possible Paul had arranged for his raiding tour to allow him
to split off while the bulk of the H’kar fleet cycled back to the Core Systems
for refueling and damage repair. The Star Force vessels were stopping off short
at Rotunna for resupply then heading back out with a mixed Calavari/Bsidd
support fleet in lieu of the H’kar for some smaller strikes with Paul catching
up eventually. He’d taken his command ship, which didn’t require resupply yet given
its larger cargo holds, and had gone straight to Achkor, now arriving amongst a
sea of Voku conglomerates sitting in orbit like an asteroid field composed of
small moons.

He took a dropship down to the surface along with a
Voku escort that led him directly to the facility where he’d met Cal-com on
previous visits. The two had their own private planning center to themselves,
constructed on Cal-com’s orders, with a lot of Paul’s personal data stored
there for him to utilize on visits like this rather than having to work from
scratch.

Cal-com was already inside when he arrived, but even
before he saw his friend he felt a change in him. The always serious Voku mind
was even
more sharp
than before, but also more relaxed
as he made some casual adjustments to the
starcharts
before him, sorting through a variety of options without committing to anything
until he had Paul’s input.

“Welcome back,” the taller alien said when the Archon
arrived in his dark blue armor. Cal-com triggered the door to close behind him
and Paul pulled off his helmet, setting it aside. If this had been a Star Force
facility he would have come down in his casual uniform, but whenever somewhere
else he wanted to be in his armor just in case something unexpected happened.

“Important trip I take it?” Paul asked.

“And beneficial,” Cal-com said with a mental twitch so
large that it stood out to Paul’s casual feel of his mood. Curious, he probed
deeper…following the twitch to the source and opening up the memories of the
recall.

Paul didn’t say anything for several seconds, merely
looking up at the dark black face of his friend as he pulled out the memories.
Usually he didn’t pry, but fortunately this time he had.

Cal-com twitched his head to the side. “What’s wrong?”

Paul set his helmet on one of the nearby planning
tables. “Is this room being monitored or recorded in any way?”

“Of course not.”

“Then I suggest we be honest with each other.”

“Have you not been previously?” Cal-com challenged
casually.

“You met with an Elder,” Paul said flatly, getting the
surge of shock that he’d expected, but also with a desperation that he quickly
tracked back to the order of secrecy given to him. “Relax, your secret is
safe.”

“How do you know this?” the Voku said, half angry half
curious.

“The Elder read your mind the same way that I can read
yours. I’ve been able to do so since you first arrived. We knew the Elders sent
you here to help us.”

Cal-com took a step back, shocked and humbled at the
same time.

“Furthermore,” Paul continued, “we’ve met your Elders
and they know we have this ability. The one you met spoke my name, so it had to
know from your memories that I had access to yours. You have not betrayed their
trust, and I believe they are also sending me a message through you.”

“And you didn’t think I could be trusted with this
knowledge before?”

“Few know of our full abilities, which are many. While
there are rumors abound no one knows the true extent of the powers we possess
and we prefer to keep it that way. We also knew you were told not to tell us of
the Elders when you first arrived, and we felt it best if we let you maintain
that…illusion.”

“Then why tell me now?”

“Because I trust you…and because we’re going to have
to work together without interference. If you try to hide your given mission
and I pretend not to know our troops movements will have to be curtailed to
maintain this fantasy. We cannot afford that restriction.”

“I am annoyed, but I cannot find fault in your logic.”

“I know,” Paul said with an almost apologetic smirk.

Cal-com huffed and leaned forward, setting his big
fists on the table between them. “And all the times you’ve had me explain Voku
strategy was for show?”

“I don’t read your mind continuously, and it makes it
easier to access memories if you’re thinking about them actively.”

“Is there anything that you don’t know?”

“Plenty. Don’t assume I always know what you’re
thinking. It takes some effort and I can’t think freely when I’m in someone else’s
head, so most of the time during these planning sessions I don’t know what
you’re thinking and don’t pry unless there’s a language issue.”

“And here I thought the Voku were the superior. You’ve
hidden your true strength well, and I fault myself for not linking your
telekinetic ability with this sooner.”

“Moving objects and reading minds are completely
different abilities.”

“And you gave no clue with regards to your words. You
hid your stolen knowledge well.”

Paul shrugged. “I wouldn’t like it either if someone
could pry into my mind, but as long as I can…”

“You should make use of the ability,” Cal-com
reluctantly agreed. “I’m beginning to see why the Elders value you so.”

“That was the message I referred to,” Paul said,
taking a moment to pull more of the memories from his friend concerning that
discussion, as well as visuals. The dragon he’d spoken with was not the one
Paul had seen on Earth, meaning those eggs that Kara had told him about had
apparently hatched.

“How so?”

Paul looked at the floor for a moment, then glanced
back up at Cal-com. “I possess a secret of yours, though not by your choice.
Can I trust you with one of mine?”

“If I lied you’d know,” the Voku quipped with a bit of
frustrated merriment.

“If I was paying attention,” Paul amended, trying to
give his friend some parameters as to his ability in order to calm his mind.
Omnipotence was a myth, but as an illusion it was very effective at making
someone worry with indecision, for if you didn’t know the capabilities of an
opponent you would have no way of knowing if you could effectively fight them
or would be walking into a beatdown.

“What is your secret?”

“We have many,” he added, “but the relevant one
involves the Elders. We share a common enemy, one so powerful that if either of
us are discovered we’re as good as dead. When the Elder told you that we were
valuable to them, I think he was sending me a message stating that one day in
the future that fight is going to come to both of us, and they want us to
survive and develop to the point where we can at least cause our enemy some damage.”

“You are not allies then?”

“Not exactly. We share some common ancestry, which is
why we both have the ability to read minds, but we have only had one encounter,
and I am speaking for Star Force on the whole. We did them a favor and they did
us one in return…then we went our separate ways. I would not call that an ally,
but it seems they think we’re an asset to potentially use in an end game far
into the future.”

“This common foe you speak of. Is it the power in the
galactic core that you will not approach?” he asked, referencing the Star Force
no-go line that had come up in their previous discussions.

“It is.”

“I find it hard to imagine any foe capable of
matching, let alone exceeding the Elders…and it scares me,” Cal-com admitted,
knowing that Paul could sense the emotion anyway.

“It would scare you even more to know the details.”

“Your race…why is it so primitive technologically?
Given your rapid advancement I would guess you are in the process of reclaiming
a familiar level rather than researching into the unknown.”

Paul smiled. “Good guess.”

“Deduction.”

“Same thing.”

“It is not…and it seems I don’t need to explain why.”

“Don’t let my abilities be an excuse for your
laziness.”

Cal-com breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. “This
will take some getting used to.”

“Only Archons acolyte level and above possess this
ability, along with a scattering of other specialized individuals,” Paul
offered.

“It is artificial then?”

“No, just dormant until we wake it up. More
reclamation.”

“I feel that…”

“Yes,” Paul said, answering his question regarding
other secrets that he wasn’t going to reveal.

“Do I even need to speak your language?”

“Yes you do. I can barely understand yours.”

“So most of my knowledge you can’t translate?”

“It makes it difficult, but there are a few cheats I
can use.”

“So, my mind is not a complete status report for you.”

“As I said, it takes some effort…and skill. When I
first got this ability I could barely use it until I learned how, and then I
had to develop it the same way one does their physical skills. Digging out
memories is very difficult, and few of my people are capable of doing it to the
degree that I can.”

That admission seemed to settle the Voku considerably,
knowing that it had to be trained for rather than just a default biological
function.

“You then know of my mission? Or do you need me to add
missed details?”

“I know what the Elder commanded you, but I do not
know what you have planned…and I’d prefer if you told me rather than forcing me
to try and find it in that huge head of yours.”

“I sense you are being polite.”

“The more different the mind from mine the more
difficult it is. Humans are far easier to read.”

“You know of the upgrades then?”

“I know what the Elder said, but nothing beyond that.”

“The fleet that has arrived here is the first of many
current vessels coming to us. More will come when they are replaced with new
ones, giving me a much larger force to work with before any of the new upgrades
become available. I am told it will take some time to adjust our
infrastructure, so I will not be able to produce any here on Achkor for some
time, but give me 20 years and that will change. I have to protect our current
territory and the bulk of the new tech will go to that priority first, but once
it is secured there will be a flow of vessels coming here above and beyond what
we can produce locally.”

“What you have in orbit already is impressive enough.”

“According to the reports I’ve been receiving, they
are mere toys in comparison.”

“Ooh…now you’ve got me being envious.”

“Yet I get the feeling that your own advancement won’t
be far behind?”

“It will continue, but I get the feeling you’re going
to maintain your advantage for a while.”

“So…you do expect to exceed us over time.”

“Yep.”

Cal-com laughed. “It is good we had this sharing. I
prefer a strong ally, and your strength has been well hidden for some time. I
will need it if I am to accomplish my mission.”

“What’s that new title of yours?”

“Dafchor…and it is not a Voku title. I now supersede
my race.”

“I caught that. You have full command of them and the
others?”

“I do, but as of now I do not believe the others know
it, though it is possible the Elder has foretold of my coming.”

“Makes you rather popular.”

“I worry about getting to them in time. They are
weaker than the Voku, and smaller. The lizards will destroy them in time if I
cannot reach them.”

“Where exactly is this target system?”

Cal-com pulled up the map he’d been fiddling with and
highlighted the location the Elder had provided him…along with the other hidden
data that he hadn’t been planning on showing Paul.

“Other side of Calavari space,” the Archon commented.

“I must create a supply route there from Achkor, then
create auxiliaries on a more direct route if possible. For that I ask for your
help.”

“What do you need?”

“I need fire support…and you to eventually pull your
border all the way out to here. I can help hold it once the foothold is
established, but I’d rather not have a single system sitting in the middle of
enemy territory. I can make it work if I have to, but it’ll require far more
ships to secure supply lines and delay movement. I need a secure route back to
Voku space, even if it means traveling extra lightyears to accomplish it.”