Star Force: Fracture (Star Force Universe Book 47)

by Aer-ki Jyr

  But not in Nooron and the surrounding systems. It seemed the area near Star Force territory was being left alone, perhaps because the fighting had pressed into their territory and there was no need to backdoor the forces they were already fighting with.

  That had been the theory, and some of the few ships that could be sparred had been sent to reinforce the neighboring regions adjacent to Tamprani, leaving Nooron and the other border systems with a skeleton defense fleet as some of the major combat fleets passed through enroute to other engagements.

  Or rather they had been. Now it was quiet here, for the fighting against Star Force had now stopped and both sides were in a holding action while negotiations were being pursued. That was all that Nooron knew, thinking they were safe from reprisal so long as at least some of their fleets were nearby and holding the territory they’d won to date in the war.

  But that didn’t prove to be the case when ships started pouring in through one jumppoint only. The few patrol ships the V’kit’no’sat had there intervened and fought a pitched battle, but they eventually lost it and this new foe had gained a foothold that, for the following weeks, poured ship after ship into the system and began to overwhelm orbital defenses and installations through sheer numbers of weaker craft that were noted in the database, though no one in the system recognized the inferior race they belonged to.

  They’d been marked for extermination before, then Terraxis had been discovered and the civil war following it had caused them to be ignored and spared. Now they were actively attacking the V’kit’no’sat in a way they’d never dared to do before…except now they were not so weak. Their technology, while still inferior, had advanced greatly. Too much to have occurred without outside help. They were approaching the level of the strongest non V’kit’no’sat races encountered and defeated in the past, but they didn’t build like it. They were fielding massive jumpships that carried smaller attack craft on them, somewhat similar to Star Force drones, yet these were manned and incredibly aggressive...eager to trade their lives for V’kit’no’sat losses without hesitation, and they were using that strategy to great effect as more and more of their ships continued to enter the system.

  Nooron had no backup, and as the number of enemy ships eclipsed 400,000 they realized that the single inhabited planet might be in danger, despite their small size. The ship count continued to rise as all installations beyond the planet were attacked, being destroyed or in some cases captured, but they did not attack the planet. Instead they continued to wait for more ships to come in, and when the number passed 600,000 the combination of Oso’lon, Pas’cha, and Zep’sha that shared this world began frantically calling for help…but there was no one available to help as the Li’vorkrachnika took advantage of the multi-prong assault against the V’kit’no’sat to launch their own attack against multiple systems in the Tamprani Region…

  Leonit was surprised when the Oso’lon contacted him. The Neokko were one of the lowest races in the V’kit’no’sat hierarchy and one often shunned because of their favor by the Zak’de’ron, who had included them into the empire shortly before the group betrayal. The Neokko had not stood by the Zak’de’ron when the time came, but the fact that they had been gifted with more psionics than the others felt was deserving had left a lingering resentment afterward that still existed to this day.

  As a result, the Neokko were allowed less planets, less population, and were forbidden from having any stature whatsoever within the empire. Their small claim to their name was their cargo fleets, as they focused on trading to supplement their limited resources and make themselves valuable to the few races who would make agreements with them. But beyond those exceptions, most of the empire ignored them, forcing the Neokko to live in semi-exile while still being a part of the empire.

  When the choice of the Star Force invasion hit them, they’d decided to side with the Era’tran...the only major race that had offered even minimal trading options for the Neokko cargo fleets. Leonit had never expected an Oso’lon to contact him, yet here was the message transmitted through the Urrtren offering him and the Neokko a deal.

  One of their colonies was under assault on the border, as many were, but the Oso’lon did not intend to keep the planet. They were going to let the enemy have it and were not asking for reinforcements to fight…only to help evacuate…and they were offering a high price in exchange for the Neokko’s help. They needed to move some 74 million of them, plus another half billion Zen’zat, and they didn’t have the transports available to do it.

  Abandoning territory was not the V’kit’no’sat way, and the Oso’lon did not want them to transport the survivors to a nearby system…but all the way out of Tamprani to the Feerno Region. That was a quarter way around the galactic swirl and would take, at best, 4 or 5 months travel time even with utilizing the main black hole jump routes.

  But the offer of one of their exclusive systems in the Scrim Region was unheard of, making Leonit question whether this was a legit message or not, but it had all the proper coding. Why the Oso’lon would want to trade one of their fully intact systems for help in evacuating another to an enemy invasion was perplexing. Leonit researched the Ghanset System and saw it had three habitable planets, all moderately built up but not overwhelmingly so. There was still plenty of untouched land masses, but the Oso’lon weren’t offering to let them build there…they were going to give the entire system to the Neokko as is once they evacuated it as well.

  It was not, as far as Leonit could determine, under attack nor near the current invasion zones. It was in the rimward half of the empire, but not on the far edge. It was too good of a deal, but one that Leonit could not pass on if it was legitimate, so he began calling in all of the Neokko cargo fleets in the area, had them dump their cargos in the closest safe system, then proceed to a rendezvous point near Nooron but far enough away that Leonit could gather his ships together without fear of getting attacked.

  The quadruped ‘Chimaera’ did not know how this hasty transaction would go down, but he intended to be there himself to find out, so the third highest ranking Neokko boarded a system defense Na’shor and traveled out with the cargo fleet and as many escorts as he could scrounge up within Tamprani and the adjacent Olobiv Region. The Oso’lon had included a brief window of opportunity and Leonit wasn’t going to miss it, though if he’d only had an additional 2 months he could have brought ten times the number of ships to bear.

  As it was, he had 7 weeks to work with and no more, for the Oso’lon were going to evacuate what few they could on their own in that timeframe and they did not expect to be able to hold the system beyond that point.

  Leonit did not know which was more shocking. The Oso’lon losing a system that they shared with their two most trusted subordinate races, or the fact that they were asking the Neokko for help. Either way, things within the empire had drastically changed over the past few centuries and Leonit did not like it, but he did sense opportunity for the Neokko and he was going to seize it…and hope that Mak’to’ran could hold the empire together through this invasion and the fallout from him disbanding the Elder Council and taking full personal leadership of the V’kit’no’sat.

  10

  March 19, 4916

  Detention System (Dagran Region)

  Planet 3

  Lasme had finished his obstacle course run in record time…which wasn’t too surprising. He’d been breaking personal records off and on for the past 3 years during his confinement. Initially the Kret’net Ultra had resisted the Star Force ‘options’ available for him, but eventually the boredom and stagnation convinced him to try some of them just to break the monotony.

  He’d expected some sort of trick, or humiliation, but Lasme had learned it was simply what it was stated to be…training. Done the Star Force way. And as long as it helped Lasme maintain his fitness he was now willing to go along with it, and after his record run today he was led back into his cushy prison cell by a series of doors that opened and closed without any sight of th
e Humans or anyone else.

  Aside from the few times they’d come to speak with him, he was left entirely alone. It was not what he’d expected when he’d been taken prisoner. He’d expected some sort of torture or other punishment, but he hadn’t been touched.

  But his ego had. He was one of the largest Kret’net in the galaxy, having earned the size increase by being one of the rarest of the rare warriors his race possessed. And one that was willing to tolerate the disadvantages of that size as well. Not all did, but he knew his role and it wasn’t to be quick or agile. His place was one of immobility, soaking up damage and taking on the toughest opponents while the others handled secondary measures.

  Ultras were meant to work as a team and provide a valuable asset in heavy combat, and they were only applied for such. Now Lasme had no one. If there were other prisoners here he had never seen them, and could not feel them, for he wore a brain box melded into the fin on his skull that was suppressing his telepathy and other psionics. He’d had to eat his foot with his hands or bend over and just shovel it in his face with his tongue.

  Maybe Star Force didn’t know what level of an insult that was, or perhaps they did and it was an intentional humilitation, but he had long lost his animosity for his captors. What he hated was the confinement, but he’d numbed up to it and focused on learning what Star Force had to offer…which was more than he’d expected from heretics who had stolen their knowledge from the V’kit’no’sat.

  They had a unique philosophy on life and the universe, one that had apparently worked well for them with the Uriti. There wasn’t a lot of information about them available to Lasme, but it was stated that they rarely used their command controls for the spacefaring beasts. Rather, they had used that connection to establish a relationship that now did not require the brute force control mechanism.

  The V’kit’no’sat had long searched for that closely held secret, but no one they had ever captured had known of it. Yet, if what Star Force said was true, they no longer needed it. Their ability to befriend others was something the Kret’net had never bothered to attain since joining the V’kit’no’sat, and now Lasme wondered if that wasn’t a mistake. He still had little doubt that Star Force would be destroyed and one day he would be rescued, but there was no denying how much the heretics had accomplished and now that he had no choice but to sit and think, over and over again, he couldn’t deny their accomplishments.

  Their take on training was also curious, for the V’kit’no’sat often pushed one to the physical breaking point then repaired them afterwards. Star Force held back on the damage aspect, focusing instead on exhaustion prompting adaptational advancement.

  But it was the failure that gnawed on him the most. The training ‘challenges’ were designed to make you fail, over and over again, until you advanced enough to succeed, and that was something that Lasme could not tolerate in the beginning. V’kit’no’sat were not supposed to fail, yet Star Force hammered you until you did…all while making you do it to yourself. Those that simply refused were not punished. They were let alone so stagnation could eat away at them. There was no prodding, which the V’kit’no’sat relied on heavily for their hatchlings, and that made no sense to the Kret’net initially, but now he understood.

  Those who were self-motivated advanced in Star Force, while those who were not were simply left behind.

  No, that wasn’t quite right. They weren’t left behind because Star Force never abandoned them. They’d put the opportunity before them every day until they finally accepted it…or died from stagnation. And had it not been for that persistence, Lasme would not be doing their training now, for it took a long time for his ego to finally surrender to boredom.

  And therein lay their secret. They didn’t use pain or damage as torture, but Star Force did torture. And they did it with simple boredom…which the prisoner would ironically inflict upon themself.

  Tricky they were. They appeared incompetent, but there was a hidden strength to them and as long as Lasme was imprisoned here he might as well learn from it so the V’kit’no’sat could assimilate their small advantages once the Star Force empire finally fell.

  Lasme returned to his cell and bathed in a deep pool before laying down on a cushioned pedestal for a nap…which was interrupted by a door opening. It was so unusual, for the training times were literally hammered into the stone walls of the cell and never changing, that the Kret’net jolted upright at the sound of the door as if it were a bomb going off.

  And as far as his prison routine was concerned, it was. But the sight of a tiny Human standing behind the opening door was far more alarming…for none had ever entered his cell before. Perhaps this was another…

  “No, I am not a hologram,” the Archon said in English with an ironic smile, for all the prisoners had been forced to learn the language in order to access certain privileges. “You’re time here is now over.”

  “The planet is under assault?” Lasme asked, standing up and walking halfway towards the Human but no closer, fearing a trap. He could kill the Archon with ease even without his psionics and the Humans knew it, so there had to be something else…

  “No, but you are being released. A V’kit’no’sat fleet has arrived to pick you and the others up. Your empire has already released their prisoners, now we are releasing you.”

  Lasme huffed in utter confusion. “Why would we release our prisoners?”

  “Because the war is over…or rather, the V’kit’no’sat war against Star Force is over. At present you are fighting others and do not have time to bother with us anymore.”

  “What has happened?”

  “They can explain, but let me just say that other races in the Rim want to be left alone and they’re all attacking simultaneously to force the V’kit’no’sat into an agreement to stay out of the Rim altogether. Your people are currently negotiating with ours as to the final details, but right now you’re getting your assess kicked and your invasion fleets have left to defend your borders. The war between us and you is at an end.”

  “Itaru would never agree to this.”

  “Mak’to’ran now leads, and he has disbanded the Elder Council as punishment for leaving the empire so vulnerable. He is not here, but there is another Era’tran speaking for him and he arranged the release of all our prisoners. So now we release you. A path will show you the way to the spaceport. I am here simply to say goodbye.”

  “What have you been promised by Mak’to’ran?”

  “You stay on your side of the line, we stay on our side…more or less.”

  “He has given you dominion over the Rim?”

  “That was the agreement if you could not conquer us.”

  Lasme looked at the open doorway beyond the Human and the new route to the left just a little further out that had never been open to him before.

  “What are you waiting for? You want to stay?” the Archon asked.

  Lasme hesitated, his mind racing with emotions and fears that he had long since buried. All of it was coming out now, unnumbing him, but he was not so overcome that he couldn’t think. If he was being released, then there was no point in delaying.

  He stepped forward without saying another word, nearly stepping on the Archon before he jumped up and flew into the air, pacing the giant Kret’net through the massive hallway.

  “Who are you?” Lasme asked as he walked up to the door in the corridor that had never been open before, seeing that it led to a long, thin passage that curved slightly to the right.

  “My name is Liam.”

  “I thought only the most elite Archons could fly?” the Kret’et asked as he passed through the new doorway and felt a shiver of excitement and trepidation run through him.

  “Correct,” the Archon said, following him in the air. He wore no armor, just a simple white uniform with pair of blue and orange stripes running along the limbs.

  “Are you the warlord Liam?” Lasme asked, but he was faced forward pacing through the hallway at a fast walk and eager to
see what lay beyond.

  “I am a trailblazer, if that is what you mean.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “The fighting is over, so my fleet was recalled. Figured I’d come here and see you guys off.”

  “Why did you take us prisoner? You did not need us as hostages?”

  “We get tired of killing, so taking the extra effort now and then to keep some of you alive helps us stay sane.”

  “I suspect it is more than that,” Lasme said as he continued to walk through a very long and meandering hallway that had several hills, both up and down, making it hard to know which direction he was actually going after several turns that seemed to defy predictable geometry.

  “Perhaps, but that’s the main reason.”

  “I suspect you knew you were going to win. You had this invasion planned all along, didn’t you?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Then I say you brought me here to teach me things you wanted the other V’kit’no’sat to learn,” Lasme said, stopping and turning to face the Archon. “Why?”

  “We will never forgive the V’kit’no’sat for what they’ve done. As an empire, they are our forever enemy. But the individuals within that empire are not necessarily our enemy. If you learn, and change your ways, you will cease to be V’kit’no’sat. We seek to destroy you with knowledge.”

  “And what happens to the fragments if you succeed?”

  “The Rit’ko’sor have already joined us,” Liam said simply.

  Lasme huffed. “Do not expect more to follow.”

  “We don’t have to except to lay the seeds for what might later grow into an ally. We don’t give up on anyone, or hadn’t you figured that out yet?”