by Aer-ki Jyr
Low stellar orbit
Alden’s Borg vessel, the Mightiest, transitioned its way around the star in the center of one of the uninhabited adjacent star systems to Jamtren, all the while numerous J’gar vessels were pacing it from outside weapons range, but the largest group were waiting at the jumpline to Jamtren to stop anyone from coming out…or going in.
But the combined mass of those 19 warships was a small fraction of the Mightiest. She was a 327 mile wide cube, and far bigger than the V’kit’no’sat Mach’nels, though nothing even approaching that size was in this system. The J’gar couldn’t stop Alden from going through, but they were doing their best to talk him down as they ranged from making threats to pleading with him to not enter the blockaded system.
It was rather pathetic by the end of his transition around the star, and when he got into prime jump position the J’gar ships were sitting in his way and staring him down. Rather than move around them farther out on the jumpline he simply issued an order for them to move, and when they did not he opened fired.
Nothing that was going to destroy them, but he had more than enough firepower to use shield draining weapons only and peppered them with so many hits they lost their protective energy fields within 20 seconds…after which they took the hint and a few began to move aside, with the others following shortly thereafter when their backup disappeared.
Once the jumpline was cleared, Alden launched his flagship out at a speed the J’gar could not have matched if they wanted to pursue, though none bothered to try. They couldn’t stop a Star Force Borg vessel, and thankfully they weren’t stupid enough to try and seriously engage one. Alden didn’t want to get bogged down with prisoners at the moment. Especially aquatic ones.
When the Mightiest came out of its coast phase and decelerated on the jumpline, it was met by a single Era’tran Domjo sitting just off the traffic lane, and Alden imagined the crew were thoroughly surprised to see such a large ship show up on their doorstep, for they immediately started to drift the opposite direction as they hailed them demanding to know why they were here.
Apparently ‘Garuva’ had not told anyone they were coming. Then again, he didn’t know for sure if they would, or when.
Alden released the Kaeper from one of its hangar bays and let Bran’cen do the explaining as he passed by the Domjo and headed out to Holloi without wasting any more time. Based on the sensor data he was getting, the system was still in Era’tran hands, but a lot could have happened in the year+ that had gone by since Mak’to’ran had dispatched the courier to contact Star Force.
More Era’tran ships met them in orbit of Holloi, some 28, including one Kafcha, which was a rarity nowadays in the V’kit’no’sat empire. Virtually all of the big ships had been destroyed long ago, meaning this was either an exception or a new build, and based on the lack of visible hull damage marks he guessed it was the latter, for most of the ships here had them, indicating that the little repairs were being overlooked in favor of the bigger ones…meaning supplies were limited, or there was so much combat occurring they hadn’t had time to make the ships look pretty again.
“Garuva, I hope you’re still here,” Alden transmitted once he was in orbit of Holloi. “I’m missing a playdate with the Hadarak for this.”
No hologram responded, nor did a voice message. Just a set of coordinates on the surface along with landing instructions.
“Paranoid,” he scoffed, abandoning the command nexus on the bridge and heading for a hangar.
When his dropship came down inside Garuva’s palace, he was met with a lot of Era’tran guards and a large contingent of Zen’zat, almost as if they suspected this was a Trojan horse operation and not a guest arriving by invitation.
Alden walked out and down the boarding ramp unconcerned in his red and yellow Archon armor that matched his Clan colors. The weaponry the guards had was formidable, but he could dodge enough of it to break free if needed with a combination of technology, psionics, and Essence...though he sensed enough erratic telepathic leakage from those assembled to know that they were afraid of him, and he didn’t know why.
Mak’to’ran didn’t show himself at first, but eventually the door on one of the buildings opened and the Era’tran of legend walked out without his armor deployed and met Alden midway, stopping short of stepping on him as he towered over the small Archon with his big head looking down.
Alden peeled back his helmet, but kept the rest of his armor active as he looked back up at him. “You wanted to speak with me?”
“Yes I do,” Mak’to’ran said, speaking the Star Force language. “You are Alden-031?”
“I am.”
“You are stealing my Ter’nat.”
“That’s funny. I thought for sure we were saving them.”
“Not all. Some you have taken from the Era’tran that were not in jeopardy. I need those back, though I thank you for saving the others. I do not have the necessary ships to safeguard all in need.”
“We noticed. And if we weren’t busy with the Hadarak we’d be lecturing Itaru about that right now. Taking possession of the Ter’nat worlds and forcing Itaru to fight us to attack them is the best we could do. So far they haven’t been that stupid, because we do hold grudges. It’s safer for the Ter’nat to remain in our custody rather than yours.”
“Will you allow the Zen’zat they produce to serve us, or will they serve you?”
“Why would they serve you when you can’t protect them?”
“Zen’zat are the common element within the V’kit’no’sat. The other servant races are not as common, or as useful. We need our Zen’zat, and in order to produce them we need the Ter’nat.”
“Why not just breed Zen’zat from Zen’zat?”
“Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer? You have patterned your Archons off the same principles.”
“Did we? I’m not so sure about that, but there is a similarity. I’ll give you that much.”
“What I need you to give me is the Zen’zat,” Mak’to’ran quipped.
“Is that the only reason you wanted me to come here?”
Mak’to’ran huffed. “It is not. The status quo will not persist. Our war with Itaru and the encroaching Hadarak will not remain stable. You cannot hold them back alone, we cannot defeat Itaru, and Itaru cannot defeat us…at least not quickly enough to survive the Hadarak. We are on a course with oblivion, and in order to avoid that fate your empire and ours must come to an agreement.”
“What kind of agreement are you talking about?”
“That is why I needed you here. So we can negotiate something that is mutually beneficial.”
Alden mock sighed. “Dang. I was hoping you were going to finally surrender to us.”
“V’kit’no’sat do not surrender.”
“Some do,” Alden pointed out.
“If your enemy is honorable enough to accept an amicable surrender, then why are you fighting them in the first place? Better to die fighting free than to die in restraints.”
“Yes, that’s a damn good question, Era’tran. Care to answer it?”
“For myself, I was foolish, blind, and loyal to the Elder Council’s will. Neither of those things is true now.”
“And what about them?” Alden asked, thumbing towards the guards. “Are they so enlightened?”
“If they were, then we would not be in the position we are in now. The Elder Council disobeyed my orders as soon as they thought I was dead and attacked the Zak’de’ron, starting a war they did not win and leaving the empire gutted and vulnerable to the Hadarak.”
“And leaving us to fight them alone,” Alden added.
“It would never have happened had Eldorat not maimed me. I could not stop them while incapacitated.”
“Your empire is not up to your standards. That’s a massive problem.”
“We are in agreement there. Do you come with a recommendation how to remedy that problem?”
“I have many recommendations and options. I
need to know what you’re willing to accede to.”
“We must survive this war, rebuild, and stand against the Hadarak before they come racing up our tails. I am open to all options that achieve this.”
“Do you trust them?” Alden said, referencing those listening silently around them.
“If I did not we would be speaking inside.”
“Alright, Mak’to’ran. Before we knew you were alive we had plans to gradually absorb your empire when able, but we’re not able to right now. Between the Hadarak and the mass evacuations we’ve got our hands full. We had to pull the Meintre off the war front to safeguard the Ter’nat, trading saving them for people we know nothing about. And the Zen’zat that have come to our aid since have pledged their service defending the Ter’nat and fighting the Hadarak. Some are already there now, helping to screen the evacuees on infested worlds. If you want a mutually beneficial arrangement, what can you offer in your broken state?”
“We are broken, but not beaten. The lack of the Urrtren has separated us, but most of our worlds are still out there. Isolated, being picked off when able, but the stronger ones have too many legacy defenses to be touched. I know they continue to exist even without scouts telling me so. Our empire cannot be quickly conquered, except by the Hadarak. Legion was our best hope of stopping them from crushing our planets, and I have begun constructing new units here in limited capacity. If we can prevent them from landing, our legacy defenses will defeat their minions.”
“You’re spread out so far it’s almost a moot point. And the edge of your empire has already fallen. Without our assistance large chunks of it would be gone, but we’ve been helping to eliminate the larger Hadarak with our Essence warships. We are doing very well hunting them down and destroying them, but the minions are reproducing so fast they are winning the war. There are too many, attacking too many worlds for us to defend against. We cannot put up a wall around the Core anymore. They’ve progressed too far.”
“We do not have a warfleet to aid you. We cannot even protect our own worlds in some cases, but the roots of our empire are intact and can regrow our strength if given the opportunity. Provide us with that and we will throw out full power against the Hadarak alongside you.”
“How can we provide that?”
“I was hoping you would know, given your superior reconnaissance of my empire.”
“How much do you have?”
“A small network of backup transponders linking a few systems. Enough to get past the J’gar blockade and receive reports from my scout ships, but many do not make it back. The J’gar are hunting everything that moves without superior speed or escort. They may be no threat to your vessel, but to us they are lethal.”
“Alright. Story time,” Alden said, using his armor to produce a huge hologram above his head that the other Era’tran and Mak’to’ran could look down on, but one that the Zen’zat could look up at from below just the same.
“We don’t have full knowledge of everything going on in V’kit’no’sat territory, but we know enough. Your worlds are scattered and blind to one another, and the Zak’de’ron are using this to hide their own weakness while they pick off small, vulnerable ones. They eliminated the major systems early on to invoke fear and helplessness, and that has seen some worlds switch sides without a shot being fired…but your stubbornness has kept those numbers low, and the Zak’de’ron do not have the strength to finish this war, or even sweep up a fraction of your territory. They are cherry picking specific systems in order to stifle trade and communications, making it appear they are everywhere when in truth they have few ships to spare other than the J’gar fleet.”
“What is ‘cherry picking?’” Mak’to’ran asked.
“Selective choice. They cannot take systems en mass, so they pick the ones best suited to their limited resources and take them while skipping over others. They have no borders and are as scattered as your worlds, but you still have a vast territory advantage. Itaru may have been a huge loss, but in truth it was never that valuable compared to the full territory of your empire. It was meant to kill your spirt and save the Zak’de’ron from a long and bloody campaign against you, but it didn’t work as well as they’d hoped. Your stubbornness is epic, and even disillusioned your worlds go down fighting rather than surrendering, as you noted before. Your empire may not realize it, but it is not defeated. It is a sleeping giant that cannot wake itself, blinded by the loss of the Urrtren…and you.”
“We cannot rebuild the Urrtren quickly, even if the J’gar were not working against us and destroying every relay they can find.”
“They haven’t touched ours yet, and we have limited links through your territory to the Hadarak war zone. Those can be branched off to give your Regions limited connectivity to others, but no, the Urrtren cannot be rebuilt fast enough. The blindness will stay in the foreseeable future.”
“We are two empires of the same legacy, and yours has risen to dominance. If you can lead us to victory, we will accede to your direction. Our mandate is to fight the Hadarak, and you can do so far better than us now with your Essence skills.”
“I hear you have them too?”
“Very limited, but I have broken the barrier…as the Zak’de’ron also claim to have. Do you know if this is true?”
“We can’t confirm or deny. We haven’t spoken to them since this war began, when both your empires bailed on us.”
“I cannot teach others what I do not know, and am I correct in that even if you wished it, there is not enough time to teach us?”
“Mak’to’ran, our ability to kick the Hadarak’s ass is not due to our Essence skills as much as it is to the Uriti. They are providing us with so much Essence we can almost use it freely. Even the Founders did not have that, and they had to collect small amounts from those in the Temples and save it up for time of war later. Without the Uriti, we could not effectively fight the Hadarak because we could not store up enough Essence. It is our ammunition, and our production is severely limited without them.”
“Explain this further.”
“The Hadarak draw Essence from the Wardens, which is what we call the regular Hadarak you have fought for so long. They are nothing more than tankers and mobile bases for the minions. But their one Essence ability is that they can give it to others. So when a Lurker is depleted, it can recharge off the Wardens, and so can their Mainline units that also use Essence. The Uriti were built from Warden genetics, and we discovered they have this ability as well. One of them saw an Archon was low and recharged her without her even asking. It threw so much Essence on her she couldn’t even absorb it all. We now know how to bottle it for use in our warships, and as our Uriti grow larger they can produce more…but each time they donate their Essence their ability to do so also grows. This is why these ancient Hadarak Wardens can produce so much for their weapon units. And now we have this power as well. A power that even the Founders, the ones who built the Temples, do not have.”
“The Uriti are not being used to fight in any way?”
“They still view the Hadarak as their kin, and are resistant to do so unless directly attacked or their herd is attacked. We keep them away from the other large Hadarak, but they do help with combat against the minions occasionally. Their primary task, though, is to stay safely away from the combat and provide us with Essence recharges. With that, we can now own their most elite units in combat that is more than a fair fight. We now have the advantage, and our best naval Archons are out hunting the Lurkers down, for they are the most dangerous. The less of them there are, the more our advantage grows. The cruel trick of it all is that Essence is worthless against the minions. We can kill many, but they will run us dry of it before we even begin to scratch their numbers. This is why the Founders and other Essence users are ultimately defeated by the Hadarak. You must have both the Essence kill power and the conventional warfare to defeat the minions.”
“Do not the Founders have their caretaker drones to accomplish the latter?”
“They are useful, and perhaps effective in defense, but from what we’ve learned the Founders cannot take additional galaxies. They are trying to hold onto their own three while stoking rebellion in the others. They will be an enemy of ours eventually, this much we have confirmed, though we have not met them directly. We believe they are orchestrating the resistance from their infrastructure as we conquer it, and if they should show up now to fight us we are going to be helpless against them. We are already maxed out in combat against other threats. We are gambling they will not come here when their own galaxies are besieged. If we are wrong, then we’ll have to abandon the Hadarak border to retreat to the Rim.”
“Then we are encroached on all sides,” Mak’to’ran said dejectedly.
“However, we don’t think they will come. Or rather, they might not be able to come. We now have one of the Temples fully under our control and are annexing the others. If that wasn’t enough to trigger their arrival, I’m not sure what would be. And with the Hadarak surging forth, maybe they figure this galaxy is going to be trashed anyway. We’re betting we have time on that front, but there is no guarantee.”
“How would you fare in combat against them, all other factors being irrelevant?”
“Their Essence skills far surpass ours. You witnessed that first hand. However, we might have an Essence production advantage. But if they go after the Uriti and are able to kill them, they will destroy our one advantage. They can gut us with Essence if they are willing to devote enough of it. But I do not think their drones will ever be sufficient to counters us in conventional warfare. Machines are not intelligent enough to handle warriors, and it seems the Founders rely too heavily on machines to do the mundane work in their empire.”
“How can we assist you in this? Our bodies are larger. Would they not also produce more Essence?”
“Essence is too powerful to allow the masses to possess. And while you have done so with psionics with limited success, we dare not risk it with Essence.”
“Why do you say ‘limited success’ when our empire has thrived with broad based psionics?”