by Aer-ki Jyr
“A curious metaphor when your civilization goes to great length to remove even ants from your path,” Mak’to’ran pointed out with some scorn, but he was listening. He’d learned more about the Hadarak mentality from this conversation than all V’kit’no’sat throughout history, so his mind wasn’t as closed as the Humans probably thought. “What would it take from us to end this war?”
He saw varied reactions from all 13 Humans, but it was Ethan that spoke again.
“Number 1, you leave our territory and never return. Not even with scout ships. Number 2, you rework the V’kit’no’sat into something that isn’t an abomination so we don’t have to come to your territory to solve that problem for you. We’re not the type of warriors who stand behind a line on the map when bad things are happening on the other side. We go where the trouble is.”
“And if I could arrange for both, could you restrain the Uriti from attacking us?”
“We could order it, but we will not. We have an agreement with them.”
“But if you did order it. They would obey?”
“Probably. There are no guarantees.”
“So in order for there to be peace between us, your philosophy must conquer the V’kit’no’sat?”
“Our philosophy is based on reality. It’s not a frivolous thing.”
“The structure of the V’kit’no’sat is also based on reality. A portion of it that you seem to eschew…but I will confess you seem to have found another corner of reality that we are unaccustomed to, and it may have enabled you to communicate with the Hadarak where we have not. We learn and we adapt, but we will not turn our back on lessons learned. That is what you ask of us, to become like you and forgo our wisdom. Teach us something new, if you like, but we will not release the gains we have made…including the use of death marks. If one is in error I can remove it, but the practice itself is valuable. Reality has taught us as much.”
“And we will always oppose you because of that,” Morgan said with a note of finality.
“Even if you operate in the Rim and we the Core?”
“We will not hold to a line and allow people on the other side to suffer injustice,” Ethan said flatly.
“You underestimate us if you think you can ultimately win that fight…but that is your fate, and your prerogative. If that is how you decide to die, then we will honor that choice and pay the necessary price for our error in allowing you to exist in the first place. However, I am willing to give you an advantage in that fight if you will agree to a lesser, temporary arrangement.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“I care about defeating the Hadarak more than I care about your destruction. My offer of your inclusion in the empire still stands, for now and into the future if you reconsider, but I do not want you to die and take the secrets of the Hadarak with you. I cannot afford to waste such an opportunity, so I will agree to a temporary ceasefire as well as safe passage for you and any number of your Uriti that you wish to travel to the Core and meet directly with the Hadarak.”
That caused all the Humans to stir, with sufficient body language that Mak’to’ran did not need telepathy to register their surprise.
“You’re hoping the Uriti will stay there and leave us vulnerable?”
“A possibility that I have considered, but my purpose in allowing the meeting is to gather data. You share everything you learn about the Hadarak, keeping what Uriti secrets you wish to yourselves, but share all you learn from the Hadarak and I will grant you a Sarma of reprieve from our attacks. I will not promise you will not be surveilled, but we will not attack you in any form for the duration. You will have time to reconsider my original proposal, but even if you do not accept you will have time to rebuild your worlds and increase your fleets. This will make it much harder for us to defeat you, but it is merely an inconvenience when compared to the otherwise unobtainable information on the Hadarak that you will be able to provide us.”
A Sarma was a V’kit’no’sat time measurement, equivalent to 243 years, give or take a few months, and all the trailblazers knew instantly how much of an advantage that would provide them in the war.
“The Hadarak are that important to you?” Ethan asked.
“They are.”
“And if we don’t get the answers you want?”
“I only ask that you give me everything you discover. Whatever it is, it will be more than we currently have. Is it true you can telepathically connect to the Uriti?”
“Yes.”
“And can you listen in to their conversations between one another?”
“No, but we can monitor their stats and determine various reactions. If we want to know what they’re thinking we have to ask.”
“And they share this knowledge with you of their own accord?”
“They do. We cannot force it, for the Chixzon did not wish to communicate, they only wished to point them at a system and say ‘destroy’ while sitting back, feet kicked up with a good view.”
“Do you believe they would share information they obtain from the Hadarak.”
“Probably, but I can’t guarantee it.”
“Can you guarantee that they would never tell us?”
Ethan smiled, seeing where Mak’to’ran was going with this. “Pretty much.”
“Then it is a gamble I will take. You have a habit of honoring your word, and if you promise to reveal everything the Hadarak give the Uriti, or anything you learn through the Uriti about the Hadarak, then you will have your Sarma of Armistice so long as you do not attack our territory for the duration. As much as you might like to, as you said, you have other priorities on the Rim to deal with in the interim as well as preparing for our future attacks if you do not accept my annexation proposal.”
“And if the Uriti don’t want to hold to this agreement?”
“Then I only ask that you do not accompany them when they attack us. We will not hold their actions against you unless you are complicit. And it shouldn’t be hard to make them understand that the war will be coming soon anyway, and that it is in your best interests to wait while you build more ships. Or am I misunderstanding your relationship with them?”
“Their minds are odd compared to others, and not always predictable to those unfamiliar with them. They have never met a Hadarak before, so I’m not going to guess as to how they will behave afterward.”
“Honor your part and I will honor ours. That is all I ask.”
“You’ll give us access to the black hole routes of our choosing?”
“Yes, though I would suggest you let us suggest the meeting spot. We know more about their movements than you could with outdated files.”
“How long will it take you to get word to all of yours ships to stand down?”
“Those connected to the Urrtren will be so instructed prior to your potential arrival even if you left tomorrow. I will escort you there myself if you wish.”
“No. I don’t want your ships anywhere near the Uriti. Right now the one we have in this system is asking for permission to attack you. He doesn’t understand negotiation. You are the enemy, so he wants to smash you every time he sees you. The Uriti trusts our judgement to a point, so they allow us to deal with other little beings as we wish, but if not for our suggestion he would be attacking you now. Having V’kit’no’sat ships traveling with us is a bad idea.”
“Then I will proceed you and clear the path of your choosing. Do we have an accord?”
“The Sarma will begin when we leave the Core, but you will stand down your attacks as of now.”
“So agreed, contingent on your revelation of the data. I assume when you meet the Hadarak our presence would also be a hindrance?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will clear your path and leave the matter to you. I will give you a temporary access code to the Urrtren so you can deliver the data in any system that you wish. Once I personally receive it the Sarna will begin.”
“Agreed. You will also make sure our path
is clear of other hostiles.”
“Of course,” Mak’to’ran added, knowing full well the intricacies of such deals, but he would have dealt with other races harshly on his own anyway, for he did not want anything spoiling this opportunity. “I have more of an interest in this meeting than you do. Yours is curiosity. Mine is a multi-million year war.”
“When ready we will meet you in the Bmakaen System. Our leading ships will arrive first, the Uriti last, so you can wait for us there then depart before they arrive. Our transit will be slower, because we have to make occasional stops for them to star dive. They are patient in their carriers, but that patience has limits.”
“We will wait in each system until the first of your vessels arrives, so not to leave you behind. Is this accord firm, or do you have to confirm it with Director Davis?”
“It is firm. He will be in agreement, and even if not we share power. We have the authority to make this decision. It is official as of now, so long as you are able to speak for your empire.”
“I do, and we are now in accord. The fleets you have been fighting in this region have already been withdrawn. I will instruct them as to the particulars of this deal personally, then await you at Bmakaen.”
“Expect some delay in us getting there.”
“So long as it does not become stalling, I am not in a hurry. But I understand the diplomatic issues between you and the other races in your Preserve. However, there can be no veto or renegotiation of this accord.”
“They are obnoxious observers. They do not give us orders.”
Mak’to’ran huffed his approval. “Bmakaen then,” he said, ending the comm.
Ethan watched from the command nexus onboard his flagship as the four V’kit’no’sat Kafcha promptly left Mars orbit and headed back to the star…while Star Force reminded Papa Smurf to let them go, not that he could have caught them anyway.
“Guys?” Morgan asked as the 13 of them were still in holo-conference with each other.
“Did not see that coming,” Jason-025 admitted.
“Does anyone else think he forced our hand with the Uriti?” Bo-065 asked.
“He did,” Paul agreed. “We made an agreement with the Uriti and he knows we’ll honor it. We just don’t know if the Uriti will come back with us afterward.”
“So we’re not taking all of them?” Morgan asked.
“Not a good idea, transport wise,” Paul agreed. “Plus we need to leave some here just in case Mak’to’ran breaks his word.”
“And if they all want to leave for the Core after meeting the Hadarak?” Sara asked.
Ethan cringed. “I think Mak’to’ran would think that an even better trade for a 243 year pause in the war.”
“Do you think he was serious about the other offer?” Trent-092 asked.
“I think he was,” Morgan answered, “but I think there was a lot left unsaid about the ‘restrictions’ placed on us. He’d probably be generous from his point of view, but not from ours.”
“Anyone actually considering it?” Jason asked, receiving unanimous ‘no’ shakes of their heads. “Good. Just checking. So…who’s going to Dino Land?”
6
March 3, 4834
Narkeem System (V’kit’no’sat territory)
Black Hole Orbit
When the Star Force armada began to come through their very easy deceleration into the black hole system they found the huge gravity well at the center nearly devoid of ships. That was very odd, because this black hole linked to 6 others on long jumplanes that the V’kit’no’sat used heavily, but per Mak’to’ran’s promise he’d cleared the way for the armada even at this massive of a traffic nexus.
The ships were nearby, or at least as ‘nearby’ as one could get in a system of this size. There were four other stars that orbited the black hole and a total of 284 planetoids mixed in amongst them, all in stable orbits. That made the system very odd, and from the naked eye looked more like 4 star systems very close to one another, but take a gravity sensor and you’d quickly find that the dominant force amongst all of them was quietly invisible in the center.
The black hole was the focus for the traffic, due to the immense acceleration and deceleration potential it provided. Had Star Force not come here, the next leg of their journey would have required 18 different jumps and a total of a month and a half going passing through ‘normal’ systems, but that same distance to another black hole, straight shot, was going to take them only 4 days and Paul could see more ships entering the system on this side of the gravitational mass that bent sensor signals enough to be a problem, but it was large enough to physically block out what was on the other side as well, just as a star would have.
The incoming V’kit’no’sat ships were mostly civilian, and soon after each arrived they flew off out to the stars and planets where millions of others were waiting. A lot of them were native to this system, but at least a good portion of those visible were temporarily stuck there to clear way for the Star Force fleet…which was odd, given how huge even the innermost orbit around the black hole was…but the idea was to keep the enemy as far away from the Uriti as possible.
As Paul’s sensors worked themselves around the disruption he saw a mobile mining platform leaving the black hole, guessing that Mak’to’ran had probably ordered it away as soon as he arrived due to the fact that the 5 Uriti Star Force was bringing with them were going to use this system as one of their rest stops. Star Force had no black holes in the Preserve, and one of this size was too tempting a playground for the Uriti to pass up.
By the time the first of the Uriti transports came out of their jump there was already over 82,000 Clan Ghostblade jumpships here with their bays fully loaded with drones, and Kara had already arrived in the Yi. Only those two trailblazers had been sent, sending their best naval Archons in the form of The Admiral and the Queen of Diamonds who, above all others, had the most experience moving and hiding ships. If the V’kit’no’sat didn’t honor their word and tried to ambush Star Force, the other 99 trailblazers would be unaffected and, with the rest of the Uriti, would start lighting up the enemy empire in response.
That was why this wasn’t seen as a vacation with a third or more of the trailblazers going, though they all wished they had. Paul didn’t think Mak’to’ran would betray his word, but they were bringing enough warships to make sure they had plenty of disengagement options if necessary…and if they had to run, they’d have to take the long way back and Paul would have to keep the fleet alive pulling every trick in the book, which was why he wanted Kara and her fleet with him.
So far there had been no trouble though, starting with their rendezvous in the Bmakaen System and the 12 jumps since then. This was going to be the first big black hole jump the fleet was going to make, though they’d already caught one smaller one prior to arriving in V’kit’no’sat territory to save time now that they weren’t trying to be sneaky and could afford to draw attention.
As for the Preserve Council, they’d been heated when Star Force told them they couldn’t come along. Paul had no doubt that the Knights of Quenar were pacing them, under cloak that even Star Force’s fleet couldn’t see. He really wished Tennisonne had a Ghostbane sensor package operational, but the MasterTech said his functional prototypes were not up to snuff yet and he had to make a plethora of refinements. He knew Tennisonne was probably right, but he hated flying blind to their sometime ally’s presence.
He did know that the Bocadeem were trailing them, and suspected others were as well, but the Bocadeem were so close that Star Force was able to pick up occasional sensor blips despite their own cloaking devices. Their stealth was not as good as the KoQ’s, and he’d warned them not to follow because the V’kit’no’sat had sensors that could defeat their cloaks. He hadn’t elaborated on the particulars of that but had delivered the warning nonetheless, and knew for a fact that the Ghostbane could pick up the KoQ vessels, for he’d had Tennisonne send one of his ‘crappy’ prototypes to the Preserve to check on that
and it had indeed been able to pick up some of their vessels at extreme close range.
So if their little toy could do it, the much better V’kit’no’sat sensors probably could at decent range. How many of those things they had Paul didn’t know, but if he were them he’d have one built in each system in addition to their scout ships as a matter of prudence. He’d also warned Mak’to’ran that there might be hitchhikers under stealth pacing them, because he didn’t want the V’kit’no’sat to think Star Force was trying to pull something. He needed this mission to be as obvious and simple as possible, and he didn’t want these idiots screwing it up by passing through V’kit’no’sat systems without their permission.
So Paul had warned both sides and essentially washed his hands of it. Mak’to’ran, if he decided to attack the cloaked ships, wouldn’t be blaming Star Force and if the Council races did come under attack Paul wasn’t going to defend them because he had told them specifically not to follow him. It wasn’t a good situation to be in, but he’d organized his neutrality the best way possible and if his ‘allies’ got killed it’d be their fault.
And the thing was, he probably wouldn’t even know it if they did because they were trailing behind his fleet and if they were going to be jumped by the V’kit’no’sat they’d do it after the Star Force ships had all jumped out, but Paul had a feeling the KoQ weren’t trailing, but intermixing with his fleet. Doing so was tricky with the packed nature of the jumps the convoy was making, but he didn’t feel that they’d be comfortable in the back without being able to see what was happening and they’d never had a collision before…meaning they were damn good navigators.
As for Paul’s own stealth ships, none of the Ma’kri were running with their cloaks up. They were all visible for the fact that they were permitted to be here. There was no need to hide them, especially given that the V’kit’no’sat could see them with the Ghostbane sensor anyway, and he really didn’t like the idea of the KoQ being here and being visible to the V’kit’no’sat making it look like Paul had something to hide.