by Aer-ki Jyr
“Their naval forces are equally robust,” Mafrin pointed out. “And if they wish they can send a ship directly into the atmosphere to distribute spores. It is doubtful we will ever be able to stop that from occurring. We cannot win this war, so stop thinking like we can. We need to do the most damage possible as the Hamoriti’s forces spread, and the best way to do that is to hit the seed ships when they’re vulnerable during their transition period.”
“Mafrin is correct,” Sefib said, her body undulating between solid and cloud, a sign of frustration. “We cannot let ourselves be drawn into even fights. We must hit them when and where they are weak, then flee retaining the majority, if not all of our forces. If we are goaded into a frontal engagement the Hamoriti will achieve through attrition what we seek to deny it…and easy victory.”
“When its minions can grow faster than we can build ships, I’m forced to concur,” another quadruped member of The Nine said, this one without arms and looking more like a horse. “We must pick our fights wisely and slow the spread. We cannot become fixed on holding any location. It must be a fighting retreat.”
“The best way to slow their advance is to deny them systems,” Ivvit reiterated. “We must have some hard battles to deny them entry, otherwise their numbers will scale too quickly and the evacuations will be compromised.”
“The Trinx are the closest,” Sefib pointed out. “And I do not believe they are going to evacuate, fearing the release of a second Hamoriti. They may very well fight until they are exterminated rather than give ground. If that comes to pass will we aid them or not?”
“The larger question in play is do the Hamoriti know of each other’s locations? Does this one know there are others imprisoned and where they are?”
“How could it know?” Mafrin asked.
“The Oracles have said that the Hamoriti may have collected information from the minds of those that came within range of its psionics,” Sefib added. “If we engage it we could be leading it directly to the others.”
“Or perhaps the Trinx have already done so,” Ivvit agreed.
Mafrin exchanged glances with the others. “Why have I never heard of this ability?”
“It is speculation on the Oracle’s part,” Sefib explained. “The Ancients never knew for sure.”
“Let’s assume it is true. Will the Hamoriti come directly here and the other locations, or spread out geographically around its current location?”
“There is nothing in the Ancients’ files that covers this eventuality,” Ivvit said. “They imprisoned the Hamoriti, so there’s no way of telling if one would care about the others or not. They always occupied different regions.”
“As to the evacuations,” Mafrin said, his fears amplifying with this new revelation. “We have to have compartmentalization as to the destination locations so the minions will not be able to follow. The troops we send into combat must not know where they are beyond a designated rendezvous point.”
“Agreed,” Praxma said, with the tanky biped speaking in almost mechanical tones.
“The Trinx vassals would be ideal to conceal this,” Ivvit noted.
“Yes they would be,” the Sety agreed. “But I do not believe there will be any of them available off their homeworld if Nesfa speaks the truth about their intentions.”
“I truly hope he does not,” Sefib said, unsure if the Trinx had been adamant out of certainty or stubbornness that might evaporate with time.
On the trip back to Vikod Nesfa racked his brain trying to find an alternative solution. He knew they had a limited opportunity to keep this disaster from becoming fatal, but no matter what he considered there was simply no way around the fact that a lot of people and resources were going to have to be expended in order to keep the Hamoriti’s minions suppressed.
The Nine had to see reason or else they were all doomed. The hopes that the Ancients could be found again were nothing more than reckless dreams, and the chance of finding another race that could at least contain a Hamoriti was likewise a waste of time, though possibly there was one out there somewhere. Problem was they had no time to look, and just for the sake of argument say that they did find one tomorrow…what were the odds of them even caring to fight a war far from their own borders?
No, if this containment was going to happen it had to be done now, before the spread began. Nesfa knew he had some time to work up a plan, for his people were paying for it in blood, but he feared the analysis teams he’d set to the task before leaving for the summit would likewise have nothing to offer.
It wasn’t until his ship had made the decel into their capitol system did a possible solution finally strike him. It was reckless, but at this point if they didn’t stop the minions from spreading nothing else mattered anyway. During the short trip in to the planet Nesfa thought through the various ways he could approach it, then went straight to his various ‘think tanks’ and had them begin chewing on the proposed plan.
Within a day they had a viable course of action laid out, with several contingencies in place should Nesfa need them. Knowing that time was of the essence the Prefect left the system again, this time taking with him a small warfleet from the local defense force. Most of their navy was in the Haphchap System surrounding the Hamoriti, but the 16 ships he brought with him in escort should be enough to make their point.
Jumping out immediately, Nesfa headed to the largest known Li’vorkrachnika world on their starcharts.
By the time Nesfa’s fleet reached one of their former enemy’s core worlds his linguists had finished writing the active translation program necessary for the Trinx to communicate directly with the representative he would be negotiating with. Their first meeting had gone amicably enough, with them only having to destroy a few hundred ships before the Li’vorkrachnika finally decided to let them talk. That talking had occurred over text transmissions using crude translations based off of a common language that both races spoke…one coming from a neighboring race that the Li’vorkrachnika had recently destroyed.
An agreement on the scale of what Nesfa was proposing was not something that could be handled locally, so arrangements had been made for his fleet’s passage to one of their core worlds where he would speak directly with someone that had the necessary authority. When the Trinx fleet arrived at the location it became clear that the Li’vorkrachnika were more numerous than their intelligence reports had indicated, for the system was filled with millions of ships and four ring-like constructs circling a pair of planets.
The technology they used was primitive in the extreme, but they were much more savvy than he’d anticipated with the implementation of it. As his fleet was recognized and given clearance to a rendezvous point in orbit around one of the planets, his people determined that the rings were in fact shipyards, and judging by the schematics they were capable of producing an insanely large number of ships.
That made Nesfa feel better about their chances, but it also underscored that even with the Trinx’s technological advantage his small fleet was vulnerable here. His ship commanders assured him that they could fight their way out if necessary, but there could be no direct engagements that would result in anything other than their deaths, primitive tech or not.
Once they arrived at the rendezvous point they were given instructions to meet with the representative onboard one of the Li’vorkrachnika stations. Nesfa’s fleet surrounded the station, then sent a heavily armed boarding craft full of guards and vassals to take the Prefect over to the meeting location. They set down inside a large hangar bay with the robotic bipeds filing out and creating a defensive perimeter around the ship, followed by some living Trinx troops, then the Prefect.
The air smelled badly, but it was breathable so he tried to push the foulness from his mind. He wasn’t here because he liked the Li’vorkrachnika, but because he and the galaxy needed them.
“I am Prefect Nesfa,” he said, softly, allowing the headband he wore to translate his words into the Li’vorkrachnika’s native language, with it
likewise translating back anything that was spoken in it. He looked out at the sea of short, green reptilians, most of whom carried their primitive plasma weapons, but none had stepped forward to greet him. “Where is your Templar?”
“I am here,” a strangely soft voice said, with the more rigid translation occurring half a second delayed in Nesfa’s ear. A thicker and slightly taller version of their race moved out from the crowd towards him and the vassals, but brought no escorts with it, so long as you didn’t count the thousands in the bay.
“Have you reviewed the information I gave you?”
“Not completely. Your arrival was quicker than we anticipated. We have seen enough, however, to augment our own data on the creature. We recognize the threat it poses and our inability to counter it alone. For this purpose we are open to negotiation.”
“What I require of you is simple. In order to keep the Hamoriti from spreading its minions we must strike at the seeds as soon as they are produced. Such a task is a suicide mission that my people are currently undertaking, but without assistance we cannot keep up the necessary pace indefinitely. Our ships and population will expire in time, then the Hamoriti will be free to begin reclaiming the region around it, and in time the galaxy.”
“Your race,” Nesfa said pointedly, “while technologically inferior, operates on a turnover rate of both personnel and ships that can keep the Hamoriti’s minions suppressed indefinitely. We will search for a way to destroy the creature, if such a thing is possible, but I require you to make strikes against its minions continuously, no matter the resources required, for all of time if necessary. The Hamoriti cannot be allowed to gain a foothold, no matter what the cost.”
“Your information indicates that these ‘minions’ are too advanced for our technology to harm in any appreciable way. How do you suggest that we kill them?”
“With numbers and some help from us. We will be producing weapon patches that we will apply to the hulls of some of your ships to augment your firepower. These ships will most certainly be lost in the attacks, and we cannot produce enough patches for all of your vessels, but it will be enough to get the job done.”
“And in exchange for our never ending sacrifice you will gift us with what?”
“Technology upgrades. Small ones over the course of time, but beginning with a replacement for your plasma weapons. It is known as a Vichsam, and while primitive by our standards it will offer greater range and damage compared to your current plasma weapons while operating off of the same power requirements.”
“Will you also be producing these for us, or instructing us how to build them for ourselves.”
“All our resources will be going towards containing the Hamoriti. We will give you the knowledge necessary to construct the technology yourself.”
“We will need a demonstration of the weapon and the ability to analyze its functionality in order to determine the level of upgrade it offers us. We will also need a fixed timetable for future payments of technology. If we are to continuously engage this creature we will require continuous payment.”
“In principle we are in agreement,” Nesfa said, looking into the pure black eyes of the reptile that stood erect with its tail curled around its thick right leg.
“Furthermore, if we can come to terms on payment, we will also require security guarantees for the systems we devote to building the forces you require. We have many enemies, and they must not be allowed to strike at these worlds and disrupt the flow, for we may or may not be able to compensate from other locations. We will draw what is necessary for the time being, but new worlds will have to be acquired and constructed by us under your protection…and that protection must never expire.”
“If such systems are local, that is an acceptable addition.”
“How soon would these strikes be instigated?”
“We can have the first of the weapons patches available within 4 months, and we will modify your ships on site when they arrive. Do note that until your vessels begin carrying Vichsam more will be required to neutralize the minion seeds utilizing plasma alone.”
“What numbers do you estimate will be needed?”
“That depends on the Hamoriti. Right now we estimate no less than 200 of your warships per day and the addition of ground troops if needed.”
“We can draw that number from our existing fleets for a time, but in order to provide a steady flow of ships we will need additional raw materials in order to construct the designated supply worlds quickly enough.”
“I can offer assistance in acquiring materials from those sites, but not from Trinx stockpiles.”
“We are in principle agreement then, but must demand one additional caveat before we begin negotiating payment terms. Your guarantee not to interfere in our expansion. We will respect your worlds, but will be unchained from assaulting any others, regardless of your associations with them.”
Nesfa smiled ironically. “If you try to assault any of our associates, I wish you luck. You will suffer a quick death.”
“But you must agree not to interfere even if we should try.”
“Agreed. The threat of the Hamoriti trumps all other concerns. Proceed as you like so long as you hold to the agreement without fail. Even a slight pause will allow the minion seeds to gain a foothold, and that cannot be allowed to happen.”
“We will supply all that are necessary without fail, so long as you continue to deliver the technology upgrades as promised.”
“Let us begin working through that timetable then,” Nesfa said, pulling out a palm-sized holographic generator and setting it on the floor where it created a virtual workstation between the two of them. The Trinx tapped on one of the solid holograms, bringing up a timeline matrix that they would begin to fill in. He wasn’t going to give them any advanced tech, but there was plenty of valuable improvements he could offer short of that. How much the Li’vorkrachnika would demand was a question mark, but he intended to broker a limited deal and not let them gouge tech out of him.
Containing the Hamoriti was worth any amount, but he wasn’t a reckless negotiator and would haggle until they reached an amicable agreement no matter how long it took. His fleets would buy them enough time for that, now that they had a viable plan for which to sacrifice and stall for.
6
March 18, 2724
Haphchap System (Hamoriti location)
Unnamed planet
The Sety fleet was mostly stationed in middle orbit around the star, with a handful of ships scattered elsewhere within the system for observational reasons, but none anywhere near the surface of the planet. The closest was in a high elliptical orbit so it could stay in position over the Hamoriti and observe the continuing Trinx suicide runs in to eliminate the minion seeds within a few hours of their spawning. Each time they did nearly all their ships were lost, and the Sety were not about to contribute to such sacrifice when all it did was buy them a few more days.
The Hamoriti didn’t seem to care about the situation and merely continued with its seed laying attempts, further trashing the surface with its weaponized tsunamis each time the Trinx ships came down low enough to shoot the minions. They were waiting, however, until the Hamoriti moved off from those it dropped beneath its mass, for they couldn’t be targeted well from orbit. Some side shots were possible, but knowing how many ships would be lost the Trinx were not making any attacks that they weren’t fairly sure they could pull off in one strike.
The Hamoriti didn’t stay parked over a single position to shield them. Instead it kept moving, sinking into the surface periodically to feed on the rock beneath. The surface soil had been stripped down with multiple tsunamis, with hillsides having been shaved off and bare rock exposed, for each time one of the massive blasts leapt out from the creature a cascade of damage would touch everything around the Hamoriti, but for the ground at least it appeared to be spread out whereas anything in the atmosphere was literally vaporized on contact.
On closer inspection of the surveillan
ce data the Sety were gathering from afar, it seemed the tsunamis were hemispherical rather than truly omni-directional. None the less, the sheer amount of power the Hamoriti had to be generating to affect an area with a radius in excess of 1000 miles was beyond fathoming. What would occur on one of the Nexus worlds from such a blast would be nothing short of utter devastation, even if surface structures ate up and spread out the damage as the topography here appeared to be doing.
There had to be a limit to what the Hamoriti was capable of emitting, and while the original 7’s limitations had been explored and documented the Oracles had no data on this one. While the Trinx were wrong in their approach, they had been correct about the need to gather intel, so as long as they were making their strategically pointless suicide runs there might as well be someone here to document it.
The Trinx fleet, hundreds of thousands strong, sat in orbit around a nearby planet and continually fed ships over to the danger zone as needed, but they didn’t leave them parked nearby just in case the Hamoriti took flight. It might be slow in terms of starship standards, but two of the other Hamoriti had pinpoint weapons that were able to reach much farther than the tsunami. It wasn’t known yet if this one did or not, for its skin/hull defied inspection, but there was no point in risking the majority of the fleet by keeping them so close.
The Sety were here to take the opportunity to strike at the minions if the Hamoriti left the planet, or to strike at the minions if they tried to leave the planet. So far they hadn’t been allowed to develop even close to that level, but if/when the Trinx finally failed to prevent their growth the Sety were going to diminish their numbers as much as they could short of sacrificing themselves. They needed to preserve their warfleet, small as it was here, and had been ordered only to engage when they had the advantage.