Star Force: Knighthood (SF36)

by Aer-ki Jyr

  “Welcome to the Hermes 18,” a dark blue uniformed Human said in the trade language as it stepped out in front of them. “This jumpship is going to be your refuge in the near future, and we need to organize your survivors according to your skills. If any of you are techs, please step forward and follow this woman,” the attendant said, pointing to a yellow haired Human in an identical dark blue uniform.

  “We are all soldiers,” one of the Calavari beside Bronsor told the Human.

  “In that case, follow him.”

  Another Human stepped up, held up its hand, then walked off leading them to wherever they were destined to go. After a couple of exchanged glances the Calavari complied, with Bronsor stepping third in line as they dropped into single file on their own accord, much as the rest of the Calavari across the expansive deck were doing.

  Once they were several steps away from the dropship the entry port came into view, and outside of it through the containment energy fields Bronsor could see six other Human ships stacked closely nearby, all jumpships. He wished he could see more, but there was a narrow tunnel leading to the outside of the ship that constricted his view, but it was clear that the Humans had come here in large numbers, despite their much smaller populated race.

  He looked around at the others, seeing a large number of females and infants…lots of infants, in fact, coming off a trio of the Human ships. They must have evacuated a training brood that the Nestafar hadn’t gotten to, which was fortunate, given their enemy targeted them specifically once they broke into their cities.

  Bronsor followed the Calavari in front of him as they left the hangar deck and moved into the ship…which to his surprise had Calavari height hallways. He’d expected it to be compact, but that wasn’t the case.

  Eventually they arrived at a set of stairs which they climbed…and climbed, until they got off on an upper level and were led to an area with other Calavari, where the Human dropped them off. Bronsor walked inside the large doors that two of the bigger Humans guarded and was met by a higher ranking Calavari that got them moving through a series of checkpoints where they turned in any equipment they were carrying, removed their clothes, had a quick but thorough injury check, then were shuffled into a bath house.

  Bronsor washed off the grime he’d accumulated over the past few days with the ice-cold water jets the Calavari preferred. How and why the Humans had such things built into their ship he didn’t know, but it felt good to find some familiarity on the alien jumpship, and the cleaning did his mood a world of good.

  When he exited the cleansing station he found Calavari-sized clothing of Human make, and while it wasn’t familiar material it fit well, as did the boots that they somehow knew to make in the standard Calavari sizes. Apparently they’d come prepared as a relief ship, having gotten information from other Calavari…which made Bronsor worry about how the war was progressing across their territory, if they were assisting the Humans in creating relief ships rather than warships.

  The accommodations were none the less welcome, as was the pallet of foodstuffs available outside the dressing area. It was all Human food, but with enough familiarity to suggest that there had been a Calavari cook involved in its preparation. Bronsor filled up a triangular plate and sat down on Calavari-sized tables along with others dressed in the same red clothing as him…and who were having similar reactions to the Humans’ knowledge of Calavari needs, for there was a lot of low level chatter going on amongst the tables and not in the trade language, which they figured was what the Humans would understand.

  Bronsor would get no answers as to what they were doing here, but he did hear numerous stories from across the planet, all of which were thoroughly depressing. Their defensive effort had been a total rout, with the number of survivors coming in from various locations occurring only in handfuls.

  After he and the others finished eating they were directed into another nearby chamber that held 50 or so seats, also of Calavari size, and once they were filled the door was shut and another Calavari commander stood before them along with a Human.

  “I have been here a few days longer than you,” the Calavari began, speaking the trade language for the benefit of the Human, “so I’ve had more time to process what is going on. At first I didn’t like it, but now that I’ve had time to think it through, and the fact that they’re giving us a choice, I have come to respect the Humans’ plan. We all owe them a debt for saving us. On that merit alone, hear him out.”

  The Calavari beside the Archon crossed both sets of arms over its chest and remained silent, offering the short man a ‘go ahead’ nod.

  “You are fighting the Nestafar,” the level 65 adept began, wearing his casual white uniform rather than armor onboard on the jumpship, “but despite your long history with them, the true enemy is the Cajdital. The Nestafar are fighting you on their behalf, and doing a damn good job of it.”

  That caused a bit of stir amongst the seated Calavari, some of whom were mere hours past active combat with their longtime nemesis. The higher ranking Calavari raised one hand to settle them, but didn’t take sleight at the Human’s words.

  “They have devoted their entire military to destroying you, and you in turn have devoted your entire civilization towards your defense…and while you have the help of the Alliance, you are still fighting the Cajdital on another front, as is most of the Alliance, which means that none of us can devote our full strength to helping you. Star Force is, at this moment, engaging the Cajdital on a battlefield far from here where they are encroaching on our territory, and we have split our resources and fleets between fighting there, and fighting the Nestafar here.”

  “We believe the Cajdital are biding their time, using the Nestafar to either destroy or cripple the Calavari, leaving you nearly defenseless for when they make a larger push. Or perhaps they mean to go after the Bsidd or the Kvash…and you won’t be in a position to help them. Regardless of how they plan to proceed, the Nestafar are intent on destroying you, and the Cajdital mean to use this blood feud between you to their own advantage.”

  “The bottom line is, you can’t win this war. The Nestafar are too powerful of a match for you. Even now, as your fleets see victory in key star systems, dozens of others are being abandoned…not by choice, but by lack of available resources. Lrat is one of those worlds, and I don’t need to remind you what happened down there.”

  “But I can tell you that this is happened across Calavari territory. Up until recently, Star Force has had roving fleets attacking Nestafar targets rather than establishing defensive lines around your worlds and waiting for the enemy to come to us. We’ve killed many of their ships, their fleets, and their pesky walkers because we’ve been able to choose our battlefields. You have not had that luxury.”

  “While our approach is working, it is not enough. Our population is small compared to yours, as is our fleet. We don’t have the numbers to hurt the Nestafar enough to push them back, but we have no intention of letting our Calavari brothers be wiped out…not by the Nestafar…not by the Cajdital…so we’ve come up with a different strategy.”

  The Archon activated a large hologram set behind him and the Calavari commander that showed the most recent map of Calavari territory they had.

  “The Red is secure territory, the Yellow is Nestafar held worlds, with the Blue being systems that are current under contention. The Green is worlds that you still hold, but are so weakened that the Nestafar can take control of them at will, if they choose to devote the resources.”

  Bronsor looked at the sea of blue, with only small patches of red remaining…he also noticed the black on the opposite side that he knew marked Cajdital-held worlds. Near it was a narrow slice of blue, indicating that they weren’t making a major push forward, but were still inching their way in.

  “Star Force has decided to hit as many Yellow worlds were we can, as Lrat just was, and evacuate their populations. Same goes for Green worlds. Both of these categories are beyond the ability of the Calavari government to a
ffect, for they’ve got their hands full fighting in the Blue and defending the Red.”

  “Star Force is evacuating as many off these worlds as we can get to all the while hitting Nestafar targets. When we take out their ships on their low priority worlds they have a choice to make…leave them undefended or move troops away from battering the rest of you to counter us. We’ve retaken many worlds since we’ve been out here simply because they don’t have the ships to send to take them back, but long term, it’s the key systems that are going to determine the outcome…while worlds like Lrat get abandoned by both the Calavari and Nestafar.”

  “Eventually someone will come back to claim them, and there’s a good chance that it’ll be the Cajdital. We don’t like that, so Star Force is claiming them…or rather, their populations. We know the Calavari need every military asset they can get to fight this war and defend the worlds you already hold, which is why we’re not asking them to participate in this endeavor. We’re picking up people like you…who have been cut off from reinforcements and resupply. Many of whom are starving to death.”

  “We’re taking your females, your young ones, your techs, your medics, and other civilians out of the war zone…far out of it, to a planet where they will be safe. There Star Force is beginning to rebuild the Calavari civilization using our resources, our tech, and creating a fallback point should either the Nestafar or Cajdital defeat you.”

  “Now hear me out,” the Archon said as some of the Calavari began to get up out of their seats in livid protest. “Please, you’re not the only ones to react like this. If we take you back to your territory, they’re not going to have room for you. Refugees from thousands of worlds have been fleeing back to your safe systems, and as a result they are overloaded. Food shortages are common, with strict rationing taking place.”

  “I know you want to return home, and if I was in your position I would not be running away from a fight…which is why we are willing to return you, the soldiers, to a safe Calavari world where you can rejoin your military and do what you can against the Nestafar. You are fighters, as am I, and we will not deny you that path if you wish it, but we will not send your civilians back only to face another Nestafar attack. We are taking them away and helping them rebuild, combining what they know and what we know, and making a stronger Calavari civilization…one that, if we work quickly, could send fleets and troops back here to fight before this war is over.”

  “Whether that happens or not, we intend to give your people an escape route, a fighting retreat back to new territory we are providing you. We are not going to let the Calavari be annihilated, even if all we can save is a small piece of your empire.”

  The Calavari commander dropped its lower left hand onto the Archon’s shoulder, knowing that he was done speaking, for they’d gone through this speech many times already.

  “If you wish to return to the fight, I can understand that,” the four-armed giant said with a deep voice that seemed to calm down the rest of them. “The Humans have offered us training and equipment, of which I have been able to witness a small amount of here. Their skill is not to be underestimated. I would ask that some of you go with them…learn from them, and build a stronghold for the rest of us to flee to, if the war should go ill for us.”

  “However, there is a third option. I am not returning to our military, despite the sense of duty I know you all feel. I have requested, and the Humans’ have granted, permission to join their warfleet that is fighting the Nestafar and rescuing survivors such as we just were. The more of us that we can return to the fight, the better it will be for all Calavari. Those of you who wish to stay with me, we will be fighting the Nestafar again within weeks!”

  “What training?” Bronsor asked, swallowing hard as the others turned to look at him, realizing he had spoken out of turn. “What do you think you can teach us?”

  “A fair question,” the Calavari commander agreed, dismissing the impertinence of the question, given the situation they found themselves in. Normally Calavari didn’t interrupt a superior, rather saving questions and comments until after they were done speaking. “Come forward.”

  Bronsor stood up and walked to an aisle, his mind reeling from the choice before him. Running away felt like dishonor, not returning to the Calavari military seemed like abandoning his duty, and going back felt like a drawn out death sentence, leaving the soldier thoroughly conflicted.

  The commander glanced at the Archon, who offered a nod of agreement.

  “Pin this one to the floor, if you can,” the commander said, gesturing to the Archon, who took a step away and dropped his shoulders an inch or so into a combat stance.

  Bronsor frowned, but did as he was told, not seeing much challenge in it. The Human was tiny.

  When he reached for it with his upper arms he had them knocked away with blindingly fast punches, then a small hand grabbed his huge wrist and yanked, pulling the Calavari forward and off balance.

  Bronsor reached out with all four hands, grabbing for the Human that was no longer there. It had backed up and moved to the side. The Calavari stumbled forward, keeping from falling, but as he stood back up and started to turn in the direction his opponent had moved he caught a hard elbow in the waist just below his right arm.

  Bronsor bent into the blow, then found a thin arm looping around his neck from behind, followed by a kick to the back of his knee that crumpled his left leg. He fell backwards, but as he did the arm vanished and he hit the floor without squashing the Human…who quickly appeared over top of him, planting a palm against his forehead and using its full weight to pin it in place so he couldn’t sit up.

  “Enough,” the commander said before Bronsor could swat at him with his huge arms.

  The Archon let go and stood up, taking a step back as Bronsor did the same.

  “As I said, they have many skills, despite their missing arms. Will you accept the challenge of learning from them, and helping teach the others we send after you?” he said in the Calavari’s native language, making it a more personal request now that the Human was out of the loop.

  “Promise me I will see combat again.”

  “I don’t need to promise you what you already know. We have more enemies at our throats than we can deal with. There will be no shortage of fighting in the years to come.”

  “Very well,” Bronsor said, making his choice. “If this is what you think is wise.”

  “I know it is. We need a future to fight for, and this is our chance,” the commander said, turning his giant head and looking out at the others still in their seats. “Who else will go?”

  6

  October 8, 2439

  Jasne System

  Drema

  Bronsor had mixed feelings, seeing many of his comrades departing the Human jumpship via their oddly shaped dropships to head down to the surface of the Calavari world they now orbited. Many more Calavari had chosen to stay onboard and make the trip back to the promised world the Humans were claiming to give them, though most were females and techs. Very few soldiers had agreed to go, and he just felt out of place.

  But he’d made a commitment and he intended to see it through. While everyone else was scrambling to fight the Nestafar, he would be attempting to build the groundwork for a new Calavari army, comprised of forgotten and abandoned soldiers that the Humans were gratefully rescuing. For that much, at least, he figured he owed them, for had they not come to Lrat he would probably have been dead by now.

  That didn’t make it any easier seeing the others leave. Those Calavari that were staying behind to help in the rescue efforts had already departed piecemeal to other Human ships, but this mass exodus had a different feel to it, partly because Bronsor knew they would be leaving Calavari territory shortly thereafter…at which point he’d be entirely in Human hands.

  After watching the departing refugees board their craft and saying farewells to the few he knew personally, the Calavari retreated into one of the Humans’ training areas and continued to work through th
eir fitness program he’d started over a month ago. It was challenging enough to distract him from most of the negative thoughts swirling through his mind, and was altering his body in a way to increase his speed while decreasing his muscle mass…something that he also had mixed feelings about.

  He and the other soldiers onboard trained constantly, while the civilian Calavari had other tasks to keep themselves busy with. The Humans had prepped their transport ships well, so that even before they could get their passengers back to the new world, they were training them for what they would need to do upon arrival rather than wasting precious time sitting stagnantly onboard ship.

  Ever since the ‘demonstration’ his first day onboard, Bronsor had wanted to spar with one of their Archons again, but unfortunately none were left onboard for the journey back to their territory. That he could understand, given that they were warriors who wanted to be where the action was, making him feel even more out of place, save for the fact that some of the bigger Humans were onboard and proving to be a nearly even match, despite the fact that they had only two arms. They were called ‘Knights’ in the Human tongue, and Bronsor had been told that their training and what the Calavari were going to be put through were quite similar.

  Once the jumpship departed along with 5 others carrying Calavari, not to mention a slew of Human cargo ships escorted by only a single warship, Bronsor and the others spent the next 4 months training in four sessions per Human day. That kept him busy with little time to think, complain, or sorrow…with him grateful for the constant activity. The Humans knew well how to treat their fellow soldiers.

  When they eventually arrived at their destination Bronsor and the other Calavari were flown down to the surface via dropship, and this time the Calavari did get one of their ‘datapads’ so he could observe what was outside. They were no longer packed inside the back, shoulder to shoulder, but seated at regular intervals that gave them plenty of leg room, though the Human seats were clearly designed for two-armed individuals with no indented arm rests for their lower set.