Star Force: Mak'to'ran (4)

by Aer-ki Jyr

  With a new force capable of aquatic combat, albeit in an unusual fashion, allegiances had begun to shift and many aquatics that had grudges against the Garas’tox or simply didn’t tolerate the slaughter they had been exacting had either joined Mak’to’ran’s reforged V’kit’no’sat or loaned forces to him for the purpose of this culling. The fact that he wasn’t trading their lives for immediate gains had garnered even more support, as well as the all too clear presence of the commander himself leading these heavy assaults instead of organizing multiple ones simultaneously and overseeing them from afar.

  Currently Mak’to’ran’s issue was getting to the remaining planetary defense station the Garas’tox still held. The other he had already taken and was using to guard his troop and supply convoys as they came up and down from the surface, for the Garas’tox had a sizeable naval force in the system that had avoided direct conflict. They didn’t want themselves to be destroyed and leave Mak’to’ran with complete naval superiority, so the Era’tran had to guard against any attack runs they might make and keep a close watch on all his smaller craft and exposed troops on the surface…not to mention the fact that the Garas’tox warships could bombard the ocean around the Garas’tox-held planetary defense station from orbit where they were holding position, daring Mak’to’ran to come after them and face the Tar’vem’jic fire from the surface.

  Mak’to’ran had to take out the defenses station from below, which meant aquatic fighting to get his digging teams in place and that was what was taking so much time, for he couldn’t just run his underwater army up within range and start digging. They’d be countered from above and from the Garas’tox army in the water, so his approach was taking on new wrinkles as he adapted to his foes and improvised in addition to pulling up data from long forgotten aquatic battles in an effort to glean any useful insights.

  Mak’to’ran was patiently mulling over options as he monitored the progress on the planet below when sensors picked up ships entering the system. They were few but large and belonged to the J’gar, who had been absent along with the Oso’lon from almost all affairs within the empire as they held the line against the Hadarak along with a small but growing fleet from the new V’kit’no’sat to try and take some of the burden off them while they tried to put up enough resistance to convince the Hadarak that there was not weakness for them to exploit…and so far it had been working.

  The J’gar ships did not make contact until they made planetary orbit and Mak’to’ran sent word to allow them passage, for his fleet controlled most of the system and was maintaining a blockade on anyone coming in or out. When they got to his position they contacted him demanding a private audience, to which Mak’to’ran agreed so long as they would come onboard his vessel and not vice versa. To his mild surprise they agreed, so he had his Kafcha reconfigure one of the cargo bays for water and had the J’gar drop pod release a single individual into it, with Mak’to’ran walking out on a platform just above the surface of the water as the huge aquatic four times his mass broke the surface and raised its long, thin neck up higher than Mak’to’ran stood.

  Its top of its ridged body floated in air, with two massive wing-like fins and a long, thick tail keeping it upright, underneath which four tentacle-like legs drifted lazily. It’s body was pale blue in color, but had many bioluminescent patches that glowed a deep purple in the dark room with nothing but running lights on the platform where Mak’to’ran stood. Both individuals could see well with their Pefbar so the illumination was frivolous, but the J’gar liked low lighting and seeing as how they had agreed to come onboard Mak’to’ran had ordered their preferred accommodations set up for this impromptu meeting.

  “If you are here to convince me to end the culling, you are wasting your time,” Mak’to’ran said, looking at the smaller head hovering before him.

  “Far from it. Your culling is appropriate and your execution exemplary thus far. Going forward you will receive more resistance as the Garas’tox adapt to your methods.”

  “They cannot rebuild their infrastructure so fast, and I do not intend to let them have centuries to rework it.”

  “Never the less, there are Garas’tox worlds you will not be able to take without excessive bloodshed, either in orbit or within the waters. The J’gar want to end this, but we carry an unwarranted taint that must be addressed first. We have made exhaustive efforts to locate any potential traitors without our own race, but have not encountered even a shred of suspicion, let alone evidence. Those responsible for Terraxis must be another, though we are now skeptical that it is the Oso’lon who are responsible. Evidence is sparse and logic untenable. This is a mystery that must be solved, and yet we cannot solve it. So we have investigated ourselves heavily to make sure we were not at fault, and we are now convinced that the treason originated elsewhere.”

  “I cannot take your word for that.”

  “The investigation was not meant for you, and involves many matters that you are not cleared to know of. It was for us to be certain that we are not at fault.”

  “And now?”

  “We need to find a way to reconcile. The Garas’tox would never have dared come this far if we were not incapacitated by this taint. We seek a way to remove it if the traitors are not able to be identified.”

  Mak’to’ran growled slowly, but his ire wasn’t directed at the J’gar, rather the predicament they found themselves in.

  “That has been on my mind for many years, and I do not know of a way short of the Hjar’at’s path to do so.”

  “That will not work on us. Our minds are too powerful. You could never penetrate deep enough.”

  “That I know, and the betrayal of trust required would do more damage to the empire. The Hjar’at are stubborn enough to make it work, but it has temporarily weakened their resolve. Success will heal their pride, but I do not think the other races would respond the same way. Invasive loyalty tests are not an option. What would you suggest?”

  “Nothing that would be sufficient in our estimation, so I am here to ask you what you would require.”

  “Are you merely a messenger?”

  “No. I am Didact of the J’gar. This is a matter too important to be left to intermediaries.”

  Mak’to’ran involuntarily stiffened. The Didact of the J’gar was their supreme leader, but one that was never seen. Much like how Hamob and other elders worked from behind the scenes, the J’gar Didact was even more elusive and operated under no name other than the title. Why the J’gar were so secretive had never been revealed, but assuming this J’gar wasn’t lying, the Didact being here, alone, and within Mak’to’ran’s ship totally vulnerable was a huge act of trust…not to mention why he had not wanted to communicate with the Era’tran over a comm line.

  “Didact?” he asked, both skeptical and in awe. “Why would you need an investigation when you rule?”

  “I lead. I do not rule. And given the size of our holdings there is much that could be occurring without my knowledge. Such subterfuge has not occurred, but we had to make sure.”

  “Then I need answers from you concerning things you may not wish to speak of.”

  “I am here because you are deserving of trust and have the intelligence necessary for a conversation of equals. Ask your questions.”

  “What was done to the Zak’de’ron when you transformed them into Les’i’kron?”

  The Didact’s head snapped back a fraction in reaction, but a calm steadiness replaced it as he leaned his neck forward a bit more than he had before.

  “The assassination of the Les’i’kron Tew’chor.”

  “He brought me information that was disturbing. I need to know the truth, not the propaganda that has replaced our historical records.”

  “Propaganda is necessary for lesser minds to grasp. More complicated matters are too intricate for those without Sav, and inherently they will come to believe something based on the words that will end up at best being incomplete, but more likely some form of lie despite us speaking the t
ruth. It is best to construct a lie to that is more honest than the ones they would erroneously manufacture themselves.”

  “The lack of trust that engenders is divisive.”

  “But necessary.”

  “Why not upgrade all V’kit’no’sat with Sav so such duplicity is not necessary?”

  “Because they are not deserving of it. There is a necessary hierarchy, and pure equality will not be possible even with Sav, for the racial differences are too much. Even with Sav, Era’tran are not on the mental level of the J’gar, but you are close enough that we can interact effectively…and in turn you can interact effectively with the lesser races.”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that attitude the reason why we destroyed the Zak’de’ron?”

  “It was, amongst other things, but in their absence some of their wisdom has come to light.”

  “We erred.”

  “We did,” the Didact admitted. “And we have paid a high price for that betrayal on numerous occasions.”

  “What of the Les’i’kron?”

  “They were constructed to serve multiple purposes, one of which was pure ego. Destroying the Zak’de’ron was us taking down a superior, but by subjugating them we believed that would make us equals by exchanging roles. In order to do so we had to strip most of their psionics from their genetic code while adding their Saroto’kanse’vam. Removing their Sav was not possible because they did not have the upgrade. It was simply natural and from that state they developed our upgrades. In order to degenerate them to a sufficient level we had to crudely chop away much of their mental capacity…but we also had to ensure they would not rebel, so we input mental programming to cement their loyalty.”

  “Tew’chor’s programming did not activate,” Mak’to’ran revealed. “He hid his mental state from the other Les’i’kron, citing that they would have killed him had they known. What part of the programming was that?”

  “He was an anomaly?” the J’gar said, aghast.

  “And one that I intended to use to restore, at least in part, the Les’i’kron. Then someone kills him and blames the Era’tran.”

  “Was it not an Era’tran ship?”

  “No. The Urrtren was altered to make it appear as such. What did you do to them to make them kill their own?”

  “Loyalty is measured in many ways, and we did not want to have to enforce it. Thus we programmed an inclination to enforce it themselves, with any small anomalies being discouraged by others.”

  “And large ones?”

  “There have been no large ones since the inception of their race.”

  “Are you still making alterations in the hatcheries?”

  “No. The Les’i’kron are what they are now. They need no looking after, but this Tew’chor is alarming. If he is an anomaly and has been reproducing, there could be others.”

  “You will not kill them,” Mak’to’ran said firmly.

  “You could not stop us if we wanted to, but do not concern yourself with that worry. That is not my intent.”

  “What is?”

  “To discover the flaw.”

  “And correct it?”

  “If necessary.”

  “Such betrayal only weakens us further.”

  “Correction does not always mean purging, Era’tran. The Les’i’kron are a powerful race and charting their own path forward. They are a key piece of the empire that we do not want to see unravel.”

  “That key piece is a pawn of Itaru now, thanks in large part to your programming.”

  “Itaru is not a threat. It is those you call the ‘arrogant’ that are. They have gathered in Itaru, but they do not rule there. Many of the J’gar also fall into that category, but I am not one of them.”

  “Are you helpless to deal with the others?”

  “Our interactions are not easy for a groundpounder to contemplate, but I can assure you we are not fracturing. It is more a difference of opinion how to proceed.”

  “And the J’gar there allied with the Itaru faction?”

  “Assisting only. There is too much taint on them to do much else.”

  “Then who is leading the faction?”

  “They have no leader. They are a paranoid group that moves in unison.”

  “Much like the Zak’de’ron thought of us?”

  “Perhaps, but they are gone and we are here. You and I must chart a course of action.”

  “There is only one thing to be done short of exposing the treason.”

  “You have a plan?”

  “For the moment I am the key. The V’kit’no’sat are reforging around me, but this is not a stable arrangement, nor is the false equality the arrogant wish to force upon all. On that point, why did the J’gar agree to not recovering our colonies lost during the Rit’ko’sor Rebellion?”

  “The galaxy is too large for us to control, and it was feared that we had pressed too far out into the Rim. Reworking the post rebellion territory seemed wiser than reckless expansion.”

  “The dominant do not fear strength. After reconstruction was complete we should have begun expanding again.”

  “To what end? Full conquest of the entire galaxy? We can’t patrol all the systems around our current territory.”

  “We do not need to, but there are threats out there that we have no knowledge of because we have no presence on the Rim and apparently we have not been looking. How has that been allowed to happen, Didact? Why did you allow it?”

  “I was not Didact then. I have only been so for the past 300 years.”

  “Was the other killed?”

  “Died. The particulars of which are hidden even from me. I hold great power, but I do not rule the J’gar.”

  “And you cannot find answers if you look for them?”

  “I did not deserve the promotion when I attained it, and I have been reluctant to push too hard. Now, given what has become of the empire and the revelation of Terraxis, I no longer have the luxury of timidity. What answers I could have sought before have long since been eradicated, but I can assure you we have looked into everything trying to determine if there was a link to Terraxis. There has been a malevolence within the J’gar, quiet, behind the scenes, but it has been nothing more than corrupt individuals covering for one another. They are part of the arrogant and have been dealt with. I hold a mandate by all J’gar to find the corruption and destroy it, by any means necessary, and I have done so…but the treason of Terraxis no J’gar is responsible for. I cannot solve what is not within our race.”

  “Is there evidence of an exterior power influencing the arrogant?”

  “I have searched, but there is no evidence of one beyond mere ideology. Individuals advanced beyond merit are susceptible to it, which is why the Zak’de’ron probably held us back as well.”

  “Not enough,” Mak’to’ran pointed out.

  “You spoke of a possible solution. What have you conjured?”

  “Something you will not like, but something that is necessary. Originally there were three that led, the strongest of which is now gone and the remaining two are tainted with suspicion. Other than myself, the V’kit’no’sat have nowhere to place their trust.”

  “And your remedy to this?”

  “There must be three again.”

  The J’gar shook his head sadly. “The Les’i’kron are what they are. They cannot be remade into the Zak’de’ron. We made sure of that at the time.”

  “I am not speaking of the Les’i’kron. My interest in them is dealing with an injustice.”

  The J’gar’s neck pulled back slightly as he finally understood Mak’to’ran’s unspoken demand.

  “The Era’tran…”

  “We must become the third. We are not of the sky, but that is irrelevant. With the J’gar and Oso’lon tainted by the possible treachery of Terraxis, a third equal partner is required to stabilize the leadership…along with select elevations of others according to merit where they have been hobbled by the arrogant in the past. Equality cannot be fo
rced, but it can be cultivated with time and scrupulous effort.”

  “How do you see this occurring?”

  “We are already taking steps on our own to rise to this position,” Mak’to’ran said, flashing his Saroto’kanse’vam on, and in the dark of the chamber they glowed far brighter than the Didact’s bioluminescent patches. “But we would require a sharing of knowledge with you and the Oso’lon to bring us up to speed.”

  “And sanctioned psionic upgrades?”

  “No. Only select individuals will get these and others, as will those in other races that earn them. Too much is given based on hatching and too many who warrant more power are restricted because of their race. A pathway must be established similar to the Zen’zat for deserving individuals. The Era’tran are seeking no mass upgrades.”

  “I cannot make the Era’tran an equal simply by edict. Growth takes time.”

  “It does, but the Era’tran are already part of the reforged V’kit’no’sat. If the J’gar and Oso’lon join us rather than us rejoining you, parity can be accomplished through the reunification…but we will require accurate historical records and technology that you have been hoarding in order to generate parody…and once that occurs we will share with you a few things that you do not know.”

  “You claim some parity already exists?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then perhaps there is more wisdom in your plan than mere greed would suggest.”

  “Without the Era’tran there would be no reforged V’kit’no’sat.”

  “Obviously,” the Didact admitted, “but this will not be accepted easily.”

  “Do you see another way?”

  “It does not matter if we cannot make it happen. Great care we must take, and the Oso’lon must also be in agreement.”

  “So you agree?”

  “You may have Sav, but I still can think faster than you. Elevation of the Era’tran will alter the empire in many ways, most of which can become positive if handled properly. How to do that is the question.”

  “Then it is fortunate that you came in person so we may plan without delay…but I do have an invasion to continue and that requires a great deal of my time.”