by Aer-ki Jyr
“No,” Zeno’dor said firmly. “We cannot. They have hidden Nefron well. The most we could hope for is a tissue sample, but even that is too risky. We must maintain our relationship with Star Force. We risked much with our previous seizure. An assault on their Chixzon would turn them against us.”
“They may soon be destroyed. Are we not going to act before we lose the opportunity?”
“If it comes to that we will, but Nefron’s location is a closely guarded secret. They do not have that information in their pubic databases, nor the secure ones we’ve tapped. We only get location brushes on occasion.”
“Then I fear we are at an impasse.”
“Patience, young one. I understand your eagerness, but such powers that we are contending with are long term affairs. We have time. There is no cause to panic.”
“Every year that passes the Knights of Quenar find and inoculate more Protovic. Time is not on our side in that endeavor. We need more eyes. There are too many systems to search, especially with the majority of them in the Rim where we do not have full charts.”
“Neither do the Knights of Quenar. You have a race to contest. Do so wisely and we may still prevail.”
“As you wish, but I do not see the likelihood of success that you do.”
“We do not require the Chixzon knowledge. It is an asset of great importance, but not a necessity. We will be able to influence the Uriti in time, but the Chixzon control mechanism is greatly preferred. Regardless, we are proceeding even if we cannot ever control the Uriti.”
“I still do not understand why we cannot alter the Uriti.”
“Nor do I, but there is a mechanism in place to restore any altered genetic coding. With the Chixzon knowledge we may be able to bypass it.”
“Why did we not have any knowledge of this threat from the distant past? The coding is too advanced to have been done by anything less than a peer.”
“Our superior, in fact…at least in this small regard. We still have little knowledge of the far Rim, and what we have now we did not have previously. I am not surprised we did not encounter them, for they did not contest the Hadarak. They chose to avoid them.”
“And conscript their strength. Even we cannot do that.”
“Not yet,” Zeno’dor added, though the young Zak’de’ron was not incorrect. “We will have to if we are ever able to conquer the inner Core. Which makes your search all the more important.”
“Are you hoping the V’kit’no’sat will acquire the knowledge during their invasion?”
“I doubt we would be so fortunate, but it is possible.”
“Why will you not try and steal it from them? I do not understand your reasoning.”
“When they discovered me they did not understand what we were. I could have killed them then, but did not. They revived me, and in some small way I owe them a debt for that. I made a miscalculation and the uninhabited planet we were on did not remain uninhabited. Foes built directly above us, and they would not have spared me had they found us first. Star Force did, and I have been able to maneuver them into a useful tool against the V’kit’no’sat.”
“You think they can prevail against them?”
“No, they are about to die. Had they not used the Uriti they would have persisted, but they grew too bold. They will wound the V’kit’no’sat so badly that the cracks in their alliance will widen. We will not be ready to destroy them, but it will delay their growth and reconciliation around the Harthur that Mak’to’ran has created. We cannot let them become a united force. We must preserve the cracks until we are ready to pounce. Then we will break them apart and turn their strength against each other, but when we do we must be able to step into the void and corral the Hadarak, and our servant races are far from ready.”
“Star Force is. Why not annex them?”
“I had hoped to, in some fashion, but they pushed too hard. The V’kit’no’sat will not let them continue to exist. They have sealed their fate.”
“All the more reason not to let the Chixzon’s secrets die with them.”
“You underestimate their security. Such a thing is not as simple as you think. They are on the level of the V’kit’no’sat now, and we do not have full access to their version of an Urrtren. We must be coy, else we tip our hand.”
“I fear an opportunity missed, in light of my inability to procure the necessary strands.”
“If one presents itself, I promise we will not miss it.”
“That is enough for me,” Tranxen said deferently. “Do you think Star Force will honor their agreement with the Era’tran faction and not strike their worlds with the Uriti?”
“Of course. They will only fight defensively. Vengeance would require others to hurt the V’kit’no’sat, but Star Force’s survival is dependent on holding their own territory. That is where they will place their full effort. Assaulting a handful of systems, even if they completely destroyed them, is irrelevant in the long term. They will not act emotionally. They will be savvy and stay out of V’kit’no’sat territory, seeking to claim the Rim for themselves. They do not realize it is a ploy to keep the V’kit’no’sat unified, for there is no chance for their survival other than to flee.”
“Will they?”
“Some will to their deep Rim worlds, but only after they fail to defend their territory. They will not run out of fear, only as a last resort.”
“Should we help them do so?”
“No. If they lose what they currently hold, they will not be a power worth our interest out on the Rim…though if it comes to that, we will try to pluck what secrets we can from the survivors. Even if they rebuilt out there, they cannot do so to sufficient strength to threaten the V’kit’no’sat before we are capable of doing so ourselves. Their usefulness will be coming to an end when the invasion conquers and absorbs their strength.”
“What will the V’kit’no’sat gain from them?”
“I am unsure,” Zeno’dor admitted. “But it will not be much. Star Force’s alliance of races will not accept V’kit’no’sat rule as easily as they assume…and what little strength the Humans have drawn from them will disappear. The V’kit’no’sat do not understand this, so they will gain nothing of equal value to what they will lose…unless they are fortunate enough to recover the Chixzon data.”
“Or our existence?”
“We have looked for any trace of it in their civilization, and they have hidden it beyond our view. The V’kit’no’sat will not find it, and if they do, we can use it to further destabilize them.”
“Was that your intention all along?”
“It was a possibility I considered, though I am pleased it has not come to pass. Though wild, Star Force is loyal to their allies. Unfortunately we will not be able to fight simultaneously with them. I would much prefer if we could.”
“Why? Other than their obvious strength with the Uriti?”
“It would be a fitting demise for the V’kit’no’sat…and they are already expressing interest in fighting the Hadarak, though in their own way. It is a threat far from their borders, yet they respond to it for what it is. I wish we could save them, but we cannot. A lost opportunity that will not hinder us.”
“Did you truly come that close to dying?”
“I did. Stasis left me so weak even a small force could have killed me, and had I not been properly revived, I doubt I could have even attacked before I was overcome.”
“Where did you err?”
“I did not erect perimeter sensors. I assumed such things would be more of a detriment than an asset, but I assumed wrong.”
“And that still pains you?”
“That I was so reckless? Yes it does. I was entrusted with our legacy and I nearly blundered it. I will not make the same mistake again, and moving to seize Nefron would be such a mistake. Unless he makes himself vulnerable, we will not attempt to retrieve him or a genetic sample.”
“Understood.”
“Keep searching for the strains. They are our best chan
ce of obtaining a complete set of Chixzon knowledge. I would also like to meet this enemy face to face, and Nefron is no longer fully Chixzon.”
“Do you believe they will resurface on their own?”
“After we obtain a complete set, we will assist the Knights of Quenar in making sure that they do not.”
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