The Star Cross: The Vorn!

by Raymond L. Weil

  -

  High Profiteer Creed had just finished talking to one of the Head Enforcers on Lylan Six. His fleet had forty-two hours to depart the system or it would be attacked. He had only been allowed to stay this long due to the fact he sold his other battlecruisers to the Lylan space defense force. After the attack of the Vorn every world in the empire was clambering for more warships.

  “These rumors of us bringing the Vorn to the empire are spreading like wildfire,” muttered Second Profiteer Hurkler. “Soon there will be no safe havens for our ships.”

  “At least the Lylans allowed us to stock up on supplies,” replied Creed. It would be months before they ran low.

  Hurkler looked over at the High Profiteer. “Where do we go now?”

  “I know of another small Profiteer world we can go to for a short time. Their largest Profiteer clan owes me a favor. We can stay there until we decide on our next move.”

  “We can’t keep running forever,” said Hurkler. “Our crews won’t tolerate it. They will want to get off the ships to spend some of the credits they’ve earned.”

  High Profiteer Creed knew Hurkler was right. “We will have to go to Kubitz eventually to exchange our gold for credits.”

  “What about the Human ships in orbit? They will not obey the rule about not firing upon another ship. As soon as they recognize the Ascendant Fury, they’ll blow our ships apart. Our energy screens cannot resist the weapons those ships are armed with. If we go to Kubitz we will all die.”

  High Profiteer Creed smiled. “They will be expecting us to jump into orbit with warships. What if we do so with just a cargo ship instead?”

  Hurkler’s eyes widened. “Are you suggesting we go to Kubitz with just our cargo ship filled with gold? That in itself will be a huge risk.”

  “The Profiteer world I intend to go to has a large number of cargo ships and trades routinely with Kubitz. I propose we purchase one of their cargo ships and transfer our gold over to it. I can get another Profiteer I know of to act as an intermediary to sell the gold once we arrive at Kubitz. If things work out right no one will ever know we were there. Once we’ve sold the gold for credits, I know of several nice cozy worlds outside the empire where we can settle down.”

  Hurkler nodded. “It just might work. The Humans will never know we were there and Grantz will never collect his bounty.”

  Creed’s eyes narrowed sharply at hearing Grantz’s name. “While we’re at Kubitz that slimy Profiteer needs to die. I’m going to arrange for a hit on Grantz and this time he won’t escape.”

  “We must be careful,” cautioned Hurkler. “Grantz is not a fool. He can’t learn we’re there or he might tip off the Humans.”

  “Plhtup! He’s just been lucky,” growled Creed, clenching his hand. This was the hand he had regrown at Marsten. “Well this time his luck is going to run out.” A satisfied smile crossed Creed’s face. If he succeeded in his plan, he could still retire as a rich Profiteer and Grantz would be dead!

  “We jump out tomorrow.” Creed looked around the quiet Command Center. It was far less boisterous than it had been in the past. Then in a loud voice, he spoke. “In less than a month every Profiteer in this room will have more credits than they know what to do with.”

  Instantly the Profiteers in the room began talking and slapping each other on the back. For the first time in weeks the crew seemed back to normal.

  -

  Deep in the heart of the galaxy, a small Vorn spindle-shaped cruiser was following a trail of rumors. For days it had listened to multiple communication intercepts from various food worlds speaking of the Ancients, or Glaymons as the food worlds called them. The ship’s stealth field was activated and its military leader was being careful not to come to close to any ships that might be dangerous. Already the Vorn cruiser had detected a number of heavily armed fleets patrolling this region.

  There are more rumors about the Glaymons in this sector than any other we have explored, sent Haycort, the Vorn at Communications.

  We are getting close, Military Leader Victell responded. There are four nebulas we must search. I have summoned four other Vorn cruisers to aid us. One of those nebula is considered to be too dangerous to enter. Reports indicate all ships that do never return. It will be the first one we investigate.

  That must be our target, sent Barlol from Navigation. It will take us two more days to get there. It is also the largest of the four nebulae.

  We must wait for the other four Vorn cruisers,” replied Victell. “If it is indeed dangerous and this is where the Ancients live, we must be very careful not to fall into the same traps as previous ships. The Ancients will have a very efficient detection system in place. In all likelihood at some point our ships will be detected.

  This will be difficult, Barlol sent. The nebula is dense and full of radiation. Our shields can handle it but it is going to take some time to search the nebula for any worlds which may be hidden within. The radiation may also interfere with our stealth field.

  Military Leader Victell gazed at a star map showing a 3D representation of the nebula. It is no wonder the Ancients have been able to remain hidden for so long. With the hazards in that nebula, there has never been a reason to search it. The radiation by itself should make any worlds within uninhabitable.

  That is why this must be their hiding place, replied Barlol. They knew the radiation and dense gaseous clouds would prevent us from performing a search. Any Vorn that ventured close would automatically assume the nebula could only contain dead worlds. The nebula is also located close to the center of the galaxy where the highest concentration of food worlds are.

  I do not understand why they have chosen to interfere with our harvests, sent Haycort. Why, after millions of years, reveal their presence to us?

  Military Leader Victell had wondered about this as well. There was so much the Vorn didn’t know about these Ancients. Set a course for the nebula being careful to avoid as much ship traffic as possible, he ordered. This is a heavily populated region and there are many ships showing on the tactical display. Most are cargo ships or passenger vessels but there does appear to be a large number of warships. Those we must avoid at all costs.

  Victell stood gazing at the data being put up on the long-range sensors. In all of his travels as a Vorn military leader never had he seen so many food worlds this close together. In just this one sector alone there was sufficient food to last the Vorn for years. Even if the nebula they were going to was not the home of the Ancients, the report on this sector’s food worlds would make the trip worthwhile.

  -

  Councilor Valen was busy making plans for the next vote in the council. Somehow or another he had to get over 50 percent to go to war against the Vorn.

  “Anything new from Fleet Captain Waelt?”

  “No,” Gaylith replied. She was standing at her usual place on the balcony looking at the city. It was night and everything was lit up. In the distance other cities of the Aggressives were visible. “I wish the night cycle was longer.”

  “The artificial rings around our sun are set to rotate at a speed giving the entire Dyson Sphere seven hours of darkness,” Valen replied as he studied some information on a screen on his desk. “Most plants and animals require such a period.”

  “We should slow the rings down,” suggested Gaylith.

  Valen shook his head. “If we slow them down the night cycle will be off in some parts of the Dyson Sphere. It would actually extend the daylight hours in some regions while lengthening the number of hours of darkness in others. The rings are set to simulate the number of hours of darkness and daylight on our original homeworld.”

  Gaylith sighed. “I should have studied my space science better when I was doing my studies. I was interested in communication technology and not so much in how we built this Dyson Sphere. I wonder if our original world still exists?”

  “Possibly,” Valen replied. “By now it most likely holds another intelligent race. We left it over 22 million years ag
o.”

  Gaylith nodded. “We’ve hidden too long in this Dyson Sphere.”

  Valen agreed with that. “It’s been over five weeks since the last attack by the Vorn. How is Fleet Commodore Dreen doing on enlarging his alliance?”

  “Sixty-eight Protector Worlds have officially joined,” answered Gaylith, turning toward Valen.

  “Nearly half,” replied Valen, nodding his head. “What about the others?”

  “Some are just too far away. The Hanorians, who are the largest Protector World in our vicinity, have upgraded all of their ships with the latest technology including improved antimatter chambers and shields. They have also shared that technology with the other two Protector Worlds in our region.”

  “That is good,” Valen replied. “It will make it more difficult for the Vorn to find us if they have to go through a number of heavily armed Protector Worlds.”

  Gaylith looked surprised. “You believe the Vorn will find our Dyson Sphere?”

  A strained look crossed Valen’s face. “I believe they’re already searching for it. From some of the reports you have given me there have been sightings of Vorn ships across the galaxy. Most of the reports indicate sightings of just one of two of their small cruisers. It is only a matter of time before they find us, even here in the heart of this nebula.”

  “Then by sending out our fleets we’ve given the Vorn the incentive to hunt us down.” Gaylith looked extremely worried.

  Valen forced a weak smile. “Don’t worry. With the fleets we have in our spacedocks and the defenses on the outer hull of the Dyson Sphere we are in no danger. Perhaps if they did find us I could force the council to vote for war. What is Fleet Captain Waelt doing with the new ships we sent him?”

  “Between Fleet Captain Waelt and Fleet Commodore Dreen they are deploying large joint fleets throughout Alliance space. Their plan is to resist the Vorn at every opportunity. No world within the Alliance will be allowed to be harvested without massive resistance. Those Protector Worlds which are far outside of Alliance space are being provided with the technology for improved power systems, energy shields, and dark matter weapons. Fleet Captain Lilith is holding a portion of the fleet in reserve to protect the new habitat being built and to aid the Humans when necessary.”

  Valen stood and walked over to the balcony. In the distance, he could see the lighted towers of three other Aggressive cities. “Fleet Captain Kriegon has a plan to destroy the Vorn habitats. It’s risky and I’m certain the council will vote against it.”

  Gaylith stared at Valen for a long moment. “You’re going to implement his plan anyway. I can tell from the look on your face.”

  Valen let out a deep sigh. “It may be our only hope for victory. Even so, we don’t know for certain if it will work and it will make Lead Councilor Lavin livid when he finds out what we’ve done. In all likelihood the Aggressives will be thrown out of the council and our habitats quarantined from contact with the Advanced Glaymons for many years to come.”

  “You will do what’s right for us,” Gaylith replied. “How much longer do you think it will be before the Vorn return?”

  “Their food supplies are running low. Some of our strategists are suggesting one to two months at the outside. When they do they’ll bring their entire fleet. They can’t afford to fail in the harvest or it will be the end of their race.”

  Looking up Valen could see a number of bright lights moving across the night sky. These were shuttles going to the nearby spaceport or other cities. For millions of years the Aggressives and the Advanced Glaymons had lived in peace and for the most part harmony on the Dyson Sphere. With what Valen and Fleet Captain Kriegon intended to do that harmony would be shattered forever.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Fleet Commodore Dreen was in the Command Center of the Basera looking at a large holographic star chart showing the latest deployments of the Alliance fleets. There were six fleets in Lakiam space consisting of twelve hundred Lakiam battlecruisers, ten Glaymon battleships and seventy of the Glaymon disk battlecruisers. The six Lakiam fleets could reach any of the Enlightened worlds under their protection in a matter of hours.

  Lakiam was responsible for protecting eighty-seven Enlightened civilizations and fourteen hundred Enlightened colony worlds. All eighty-seven of the primary worlds of those Enlightened civilizations were now protected by massive defense grids consisting of the newest defense platforms capable of destroying Vorn ships. The new defense platforms were two hundred meters across and forty meters thick. They were manned by a permanent crew of ten as well as a complement of combat robots. The platforms had six large direct energy projectors and two powerful force beam cannons. They also had twenty missile tubes all loaded with five hundred-megaton dark matter missiles. These were the new and more powerful missiles which the Glaymons had helped Lakiam and several other Protector Worlds build.

  In addition, Fleet Commodore Dreen was in direct command of the home fleet which consisted of three thousand Lakiam battlecruisers, sixty Glaymon battleships, and two hundred Glaymon disk battlecruisers. In case the home fleet had to leave the Lakiam System, there were still six hundred battlecruisers in orbit around the planet reinforced by ten Glaymon battleships and forty Glaymon disk battlecruisers. Not only that, Lakiam had the most powerful defense grid known.

  “How much longer do we have?” asked Alborg who was busy running simulations on his tactical station.

  “Not much,” Dreen replied as he slowly walked around the big holographic display studying the fleet deployments. “I spoke with Fleet Captain Waelt earlier today and he feels we have about a month left. It seems the Vorn are in danger of starvation and our galaxy is their only remaining primary food source.” Commodore Dreen stopped and adjusted the screen to show Andock space.

  Five massive fleets appeared, four in the region of space where the Enlightened worlds Andock was supposed to protect were located. All of these fleets had been reinforced with Glaymon warships. In the system of Andock Prime was a truly massive fleet commanded by Fleet Leader Arlak Moor. Continuing to change the display, Dreen checked on the deployments of the Parmonts and the Bascoms. Their fleets too contained Glaymon warships. Commodore Dreen spent a few more minutes inspecting the fleet dispositions of several other allied Protector Worlds. When he was done he nodded to himself. They were as ready as they were going to be.

  “I’m glad we have the detection grid,” said Laylem. “We can see our fleet deployments as well as those of our allies. If the Vorn appear anywhere within the grid, we will know and can dispatch our fleets there.” Currently an area of space nearly two thousand light years across was being monitored with more of the sensor satellites being added every day.

  Fleet Commodore Dreen was in total agreement. It had helped that a week back an additional eighty Glaymon battleships and four hundred of the disk battlecruisers had arrived. Fleet Captain Waelt had explained this would be all he could summon. Even so, Commodore Dreen was pleased he had so many Glaymon warships available to reinforce Alliance fleets.

  Settling back down in his command chair he gazed at the main viewscreens showing views of space and Lakiam. “Our time is running out,” he said softly. “Very soon we will be in an all out war with the Vorn.”

  “Can we win?” asked Sheera. She had been watching Commodore Dreen as he studied the tactical display.

  Commodore Dreen gazed at a viewscreen where a shuttle was docking to one of the many shipyards above Lakiam. “I don’t know. I’ve asked the same question of Fleet Captain Waelt. All he says is, hope isn’t lost.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Alborg, looking confused.

  Fleet Commodore Dreen shrugged his shoulders. “He’s a Glaymon. They’re a very advanced civilization and sometimes it’s very difficult to understand what they’re thinking or saying.”

  -

  In toward the center of the galaxy, five Vorn spindle-shaped cruisers circled the nebula Military Leader Victell believed hid the mysterious race of Ancients. As the s
enior military leader all five vessels were under his command.

  Not once have we seen a ship approach the nebula, reported sensor operator Harran. We have circled it forty times mapping as much of it as our sensors can penetrate. The gas density and radiation are leaving nearly 70 percent of the interior out of our reach.

  Military Leader Victell nodded, his antennae waving slightly from side to side. It would make an ideal place to hide a world or worlds.

  Not only that we have located eight areas outside the nebula our sensors cannot penetrate, added Harran. Analysis by the battle computer indicates these areas are protected by extremely sophisticated stealth fields possibly hiding massive sensor or communication arrays.

  Makes sense, Victell answered. If I were this ancient race, I would want to know what was going on in the galaxy and if anyone came near the nebula.

  Harran’s antennae stood up straighter. Do you believe we have been detected by these hidden sensor arrays?

  Victell gazed at a viewscreen showing near darkness due to their proximity to the nebula. It is highly probable. I am surprised we have not elicited a response from the Ancients if this is indeed the nebula they are hiding in. I am confused as to how their planet or planets could survive. The radiation alone would make the surface of any world inside uninhabitable.

  What now? Should we return and announce we have discovered where our enemy is hidden? asked Barlol from Navigation. There is no doubt High Prince Brollen will send a large fleet of our battleships to annihilate this troublesome ancient race.

  Victell moved over to a console and studied the latest readings on the nebula. No, we must have proof. We will send our ships into the nebula in a staggered line. Each ship will move to the extreme range of our sensors inside the nebula and then the next ship will enter. We may be able to scan its center with this method.