Star Force: Kaalo (SF99) (Star Force Origin Series)

by Aer-ki Jyr

  “What about the prisoners?”

  “If you have a good idea I’m all ears.”

  “Destroy their ships,” Sara said grimly, but Rio understood what she meant. If their people couldn’t be rescued, and they knew that the V’kit’no’sat were going to kill them anyway, better they go out in battle rather than being tortured to death in the various grotesqueries that they’d long known about from the pyramid database before they started to see some of them here in real life.

  “Yeah,” Rio said reluctantly, not giving up on the prisoners but also not seeing any way to get at them right now, though he’d always keep an eye open for an opportunity if it arose. “Let’s make sure no more get grabbed, but we have to scramble people to get out before the rain starts to fall.”

  “If they want to shoot the Ribbon, it’ll give us free shots at them.”

  “They might do it anyway. Call in some of the larger transports and we’ll see if we can pull a Covenant on them.”

  “Risky, but it’ll save us some time. I’ll take care of it, just don’t go on any dates with our favorite Zen’zat without me.”

  “No promises,” Rio said, knowing full well that he might show up again out of nowhere for round 3 while they rushed to get the remainder of the civilians out.

  Two days later…

  “Let’s go, let’s go!” a Commando yelled as he waved people forward in a thick and fast moving line across the spaceport tarmac.

  Haley and Brittney ran together, arms locked so they wouldn’t get separated amongst the others in dirty clothes that hadn’t been changed in over a week. They’d managed to hide out in their quarters’ building for a while, but eventually people started dying nearby and they ran before they found out what was going on, moving from city to city on the Ribbon and grabbing whatever food they could on the way from abandoned cafeterias as they headed as far as they could get from the Dinosaurs.

  They eventually got to a working rail line and got in a car that took them even further away to a city with some Star Force troops in it, but that city got attacked two days later and they had to run again, somehow managing to stay alive until they ended up in a makeshift refugee center guarded by infantry and mechs. They’d been there until three days ago when all of them had been moved out on foot through the streets with occasional vehicular transports or dropships coming to pick some of them up, but the mass of them had to travel mile after mile on foot until they got to the spaceport.

  There had been no fighting on the way, and Haley didn’t want to think about them getting shot so close to getting out, but it was in the back of her mind constantly as she and her best friend ran forward until the crowd got pinned down as they funneled between a pair of Commandos and into a line only four or five people wide. Hanging onto one another the pair of civilians were shooed forward, running again as they headed for a giant purple energy tube that reached up into the sky.

  They didn’t know what was going on until they got close enough to see people being carried up it, then they were shoved ahead by more Commandos without a chance to think, crossing inside the field and suddenly being lifted off their feet.

  “Shit,” Brittney swore as she was suddenly weightless, but both of them held onto one another as Haley’s foot hit the outer edge of the tube as they were going up. It bounced off it, luckily, rather than letting her fall out and to her death as they and the others above and below them were sucked up into the sky, past the clouds, and to the far up roof of the Ribbon where they passed through the energy field separating it from space and into vacuum.

  Haley thought they were going to die with no air, but the purple energy tube kept them alive and breathing until they reached the underside of a ship. They were pulled inside of it then carried sideways until the field dumped them out beside the hole in the floor that they could see space through, with both cringing away from it as more Commandos pulled off those that didn’t move quick enough, for more and more people kept coming up behind them.

  Haley and Brittney went with the flow that ended with them being herded into a giant empty cargo room packed with people elbow to elbow, so close that she immediately felt claustrophobic with the cacophony of voices from the crowd adding to the effect. She started to cry uncontrollably, feeling like she was going to be crushed as people filled in behind her and surrounded them as everyone was getting packed together as tight as boxes.

  Brittney pulled Haley’s head into her shoulder so she couldn’t see anything, then the two just held onto each other and suffered through it, not knowing if they were safe or going to be shot by the enemy ships. No one was telling them anything, just pushing them around like cargo, but at the very least they were off the Ribbon and that was worth putting up with the sounds and smells and constant bumps of people around them.

  “Close your eyes and think of someplace else,” Brittney said, doing the same thing as she hung onto her friend. “Someplace with tropical trees, beaches, and hot men.”

  “I can’t…”

  “Just try, babe. Just try.”

  “I can’t breathe.”

  “Yes you can. It’s just crowded. And we don’t have to walk anymore. Just stand here and cry. Cry your eyes out if you want. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “What the fuck is happening…” Haley whimpered, pressing her face against Brittney’s neck as her friend held her up while other people were freaking out around them. Some screaming, others trying to sit on the ground and tripping others when there wasn’t room…all the while more people were coming up the gravity lift and being crammed inside far faster than dropships could ever have managed.

  “Hang on,” Brittney said, tears seeping out her eyes as well. “Just hang on.”

  10

  April 9, 3602

  Solar System

  Inner Zone

  The Brat’mar gunship landed inside one of the hangar bays on the inner edge of the ‘tuning fork’ prongs that made up the front of the Era’tran Kafcha, blocking them from most external weaponsfire while daring anyone to come inside the overlapping fields of fire. At the moment that wasn’t an issue, for the entire V’kit’no’sat fleet had reassembled in a null orbit between the first and second planets in the system as they continued to digest the information taken from the prisoners and free data they were still getting from the public grid, the comparison of which was yielding some interesting results.

  Normally discussions between ships would occur via hologram, but this was not a typical situation and Kaalo, a Zen’zat assigned and loyal to the Brat’mar, walked off the gunship onto the Era’tran deck that was even bigger than Brat’mar standards between two waiting rows of assembled Zen’zat who flanked him as he walked, ceremoniously escorting him through the ship amongst the bipedal giants that had built it, drawing many skeptical looks in the process.

  Kaalo took his time, walking rather than running, and over the miles it took to get across the hangar he didn’t wavier. The Era’tran weren’t his enemy even if they were a rival of the Brat’mar, for he was Zen’zat and loyal to the V’kit’no’sat as a whole, but old habits died hard and with the prospect of one or more races betraying the others tensions were even higher than normal…not to mention the fight between the Brat’mar and Kar’ka on the Ribbon that had been thankfully stopped, though not until two Kar’ka were unrecoverably dead.

  So the Era’tran Zen’zat escorted him with respect and purpose to insure there was no misunderstandings as they finally arrived at a Zen’zat support system of tiny tunnels and lifts that Kaalo took to speed his progress across the 47 mile long ship. The base frame of a Kafcha was designated as 36 miles wide/long, but the Era’tran ship design was elongated, much like the I’rar’et’s T-shaped vessels, and the lesser bulk was therefore compensated for by increased length to keep vessel combat capabilities essentially neutral despite the varying designs.

  That meant there was a lot of walking to do onboard an Era’tran ship if one wanted to get from bow to stern, and for security reasons t
he command deck was in the stern and well away from the hangar bays to protect against the possibility of boarders, though such things had not been a concern of the Era’tran for a long time. Lessons of long ago were still heeded to this day as protocol, even if of no apparent use, for the V’kit’no’sat had a long history of bloody battles and when a deficiency was discovered it was adjusted for...which was what brought Kaalo to the fleet commander in person, who chose to receive him in a private chamber rather than on the command deck where their conversation would be in front of others.

  “What have you discovered, Zen’zat?” Mak’to’ran asked, staring down at the tiny biped who stood before his unarmored bulk, though out of respect Kaalo had his armor retracted into compact mode…though even if he deploy it, it wouldn’t matter. The Era’tran could still kill him before he could do enough damage for it to matter. “And why come to me directly?”

  Kaalo took a knee, an unnecessary height reduction given his miniature status, but for Zen’zat it was a sign of confusion and therefore submission to those who could give them direction.

  “I have encountered something truly disturbing. Something that I was long told was impossible. Given that the Era’tran know Zen’zat better than any other I have come to you with this knowledge. I have not discussed it with any other due to the implications, and as fleet commander you are the one that must accommodate for it now.”

  “What new treachery have you discovered?”

  “I have fought their most skilled Archon and defeated him. He fled only for us to meet again a second time in an assault to regain possession of prisoners. He had with him two, then three others. I could have defeated them, for their strength and speed are vastly inferior to mine, but all four possessed Ubven and subdued me long enough to inflict serious injury. I am recovering now and can fight if needed, but never before in Zen’zat history, as far as I am aware, have multiple Ubvens been used in combat. It is something we are not prepared for and gives these abominations a significant advantage.”

  “Four of them?” Mak’to’ran considered. “And if there are four, how many more possess these skills?”

  “It is of great concern, as is their varying fighting styles. They do not fight like Zen’zat, though they have clearly studied our ways and incorporated aspects into their codex. They have built weapons and constructed team tactics that are unfamiliar to me.”

  “I have stopped thinking of them as Zen’zat entirely,” Mak’to’ran admitted. “To do so now would be a grave error, as well as an insult to your race. These mutations are something else entirely, and expecting them to behave as Zen’zat is a mistake that I will not make. Has there been any other noted use of Ubven or other tier 3s?”

  “Jumat is prevalent in combat, and they use it to disengage from me repetitively, but the weapons they carry are inferior. In the second engagement they came with additional ones, but still they are not well equipped to deal damage.”

  “Yet the reports of Zen’zat losses are high.”

  “We have been deployed behind enemy lines. With such risk comes losses.”

  “The Brat’mar should not waste you merely to kill a handful of useless Humans,” he said, using a term that was still unnatural to him. “Especially if they cannot fight. Zen’zat are valuable resources and should not be squandered.”

  “We were also taking captives in the process, but I am not here to debate with you how the Brat’mar operate. There is a more important matter.”

  “The conflict between the Brat’mar and Kar’ka. The Ikrid tricks of these Archons are formidable, it seems. We have always assumed that our minds are too advanced for your kind to enter and control, and that if one does manage to it is the weakness of the individual that is at fault. Did the Brat’mar and Kar’ka underestimate the enemy?”

  “I fear it is something far worse.”

  “Explain,” Mak’to’ran demanded when Kaalo didn’t continue.

  “I cannot speak for what happened to them. I was near but not present, engaged in my own battle, during which I encountered…an impossibility.”

  “You mentioned so before. What is it?”

  “It was not Fornax,” Kaalo began, ruling it out before the Era’tran could ask. “I am certain of that.”

  “They influenced your mind as well?”

  Kaalo looked up from his kneeling position at the huge head over and just in front of him. “It was momentary, but yes, they did. I was told this was impossible for Zen’zat because of our Ikrid restriction. I have reviewed my memories many times looking for fault of my own, but I can find none. I fear that somehow their treachery is responsible for this.”

  “Your hand,” Mak’to’ran said, taking a step forward and almost stepping on the Zen’zat as he came within inches of his kneeling form, then Kaalo reached out and made skin to skin contact with the Era’tran so it could bypass his own block and enter his mind.

  The search did not take long, but the review of his memories, incomplete as such things always were, went on for a very long time. With what seemed great reluctance, Mak’to’ran broke the contact and Kaalo retracted his hand as the Era’tran stepped back.

  “Your failure was not your fault,” he pronounced, relieving a bit of shame from the Zen’zat, but having been so damaged without making even a single kill still burned within him. “Nor is your analysis incorrect. Somehow these Archons have bypassed the Ikrid restrictions…and yet this Rio did not use the technique against you individually. It only manifests when there are multiple Archons…and did you notice that one Jumat blast was far greater than the others?”

  “Two attacked me simultaneously for greater effect.”

  “No,” Mak’to’ran said firmly. “It was not cumulative. The impact was far greater than that would have entailed. It appears they increased their power above and beyond what either could individually generate. Tell me, have you ever heard rumors of such things before?”

  “Never.”

  “I have. From a very long time ago. What I am about to tell you is for your knowledge only. You will not share it with the Brat’mar nor other Zen’zat.”

  “As you wish.”

  “There are stories of Zen’zat with…unusual powers in V’kit’no’sat history. Those stories have been eliminated from all records, but some have still passed through the Era’tran as legends. We have a keen interest in your race and are continually watching your progress to see how many psionics you can unlock. What you have accomplished thus far has eliminated most criticism for your inclusion into the V’kit’no’sat, but we believe you still have greater potential within you. It is a pity that the other races do not train you properly.”

  “The Brat’mar have done well enough.”

  “There is a reason why the Era’tran hold the most powerful Zen’zat save for a few outliers. We have you train better and longer. Others are more lax. You know this, for you have succeeded where they have not, Tiparen.”

  “Others require more motivation than I do.”

  “And that is an oversite of your masters as well as your fellow Zen’zat. What the Brat’mar do not instruct you can still do, and have in your case, but the others do not. They are satisfied with their current strength, wishing it to be greater but not submitting themselves to the optional training to make it so. Push a Zen’zat too hard and they will break, but push them not enough and, like all other races, you become complacent. We do not tolerate this in our Zen’zat, but only those who seek out the training will truly ascend by it, as you have done and are doing.”

  “Your words honor me, but my strength was not enough against the treachery of these Archons.”

  “Nor will it be, I fear. At first I had believed this rogue ‘Zen’zat’ civilization to be a work of folly, but more and more I see a devious and ingenious plan becoming exposed. The Hadarak are truly frightening if they can be controlled, but these Archons are quietly just as dangerous if they can overpower a Brat’mar’s mind…and I would suggest that they did not do so individuall
y, but as a group. That is not unheard of, but like your Jumat encounter, I do not believe it is an accumulation of individual attacks, but rather something more powerful. You say you have not heard any rumor of such things in Zen’zat history?”

  “None. Individuals have tried to hone simultaneous mental attacks, and while that might make it more difficult for a Brat’mar to resist, they cannot coordinate them to a necessary degree and often they counteract one another…and any preplanning is lost when they have to adapt to their target.”

  “Well said. But what I have to tell you comes from the culling of the Les’i’kron. It was more than an internal division that the V’kit’no’sat fought. It was their entire race…and it was not as limited a fight as the records depict. We have access to more complete data, but even those of lesser station within the Era’tran do not know the full extent of their eradication. The Les’i’kron are those loyal to the V’kit’no’sat, but they were originally of another name. It was changed when they were defeated and their race remade, but the originals were a founding member of the V’kit’no’sat along with the J’gar and Oso’lon.”

  Kaalo looked startled. He knew the Les’i’kron were major race, but he had no idea they had actually been a founding member along with those two longnecks.

  “One of air, one of water, and one of land,” Mak’to’ran went on to say. “They were more powerful than the Oso’lon and J’gar, both in numbers and knowledge, but over time the strength of the V’kit’no’sat grew greater and a division formed. The originals were not fully loyal to the V’kit’no’sat and eventually a confrontation occurred that resulted in their annihilation. Rather than lose their formidable power the Les’i’kron were created out of their remains, but they have never had the power the originals had…which included Zen’zat that fought against the V’kit’no’sat during the culling who displayed what is rumored to have been joint abilities.”