Star Force: Ghostblade (SF67)

by Jyr, Aer-ki

  “I’d suggest,” Sam said before Davis could answer, “that all races and Axius operate with the same, but separate civilian tier. Allow transfers in the economic tier, but keep all maturias with their respective races then allow individuals to move where they like. If a Calavari wants to live in a Mainline colony so be it, and if a Bsidd wants to live with the Calavari, same thing. Most people will stay where they began, but it will also reinforce that we’re all Star Force and that merit is what matters, not origin point or race.”

  “Transfers from colony to colony or between factions?” Davis asked.

  “Factions. If someone is born in Axius, they stay in Axius unless they advance to the economic tier, but they can always request relocation to another Axius colony or planet.”

  “That won’t work for all races,” Jason warned. “We’re still going to have size issues, let alone atmosphere. There are going to have to be some blocks that can’t be breached. I don’t think an Irondel would be safe living in a Bsidd colony.”

  “Easy fix,” Randy offered. “Make tier 2 moveable between the racial faction and Axius only. Tier 3 will have access to other factions given that it will be work related. That way you don’t have to put any blocks in place, because we’re not going to assign personnel to inappropriate locations.”

  “I like that,” Davis said with a nod of respect.

  “Back to the Christmas list,” Mark-084 brought up. “I’d like to see Mainline integrated with difference races where beneficial. Calavari operating as pseudo-Knights works well enough that we should explore implementing it regularly.”

  “You tell me,” Davis said, deferring to the trailblazers’ military expertise.

  “We need both,” Paul said flatly. “Integrated units where advantageous, not like Axius that uses a combined force out of need of numbers.”

  “That begs the question who pairs best with each other,” Greg said, hinting at something more.

  “Damn, you’re right.”

  “What?” Davis asked, not picking up on the cues.

  “There might be combos that don’t even involve Humans,” Jason answered. “Aside from Archons.”

  “That brings us back to the question of whether or not Mainline is being geared towards fighting the V’kit’no’sat or others?” Taryn reminded them. “If we’re invaded, do we use them? If we’re invaded, will the V’kit’no’sat ignore them and only come after us? Or will they hunt down and destroy all of Star Force?”

  “If we lose,” Greg added.

  “If it’s tomorrow, we lose,” Taryn quipped. “I know we’ve all thought about this, but I’ve never heard a strategy talked about. If we fully integrate then we’re pulling the others directly into that fight, and without Ikrid blocks they’re sitting ducks for a slaughter. Against the lizards it’ll work. Against the V’kit’no’sat it won’t.”

  “What’s their mental range,” Davis asked, “in naval engagements?”

  “He’s got a point,” Liam said. “So long as they’re not sitting on our jumpships’ hulls they’re not going to be able to use that disadvantage against our naval crews, it’s the other four divisions of the military. And since we’re not using Ikrid between ships, we can even conceal the jumpships inside Ikrid blocking hull plates. We know that a fight with them is going to be virtually all naval unless we lose, at which point having non-Humans in a ground fight will be a slaughter.”

  “And if we build a Calavari an Ikrid blocking helmet like Magneto?” Ace wondered.

  “The Dsevmat have psionic capability,” Roger pointed out, “and there are probably other races out there. Are we going to hold back all but our Human troops if we ever have to fight them?”

  Ace nodded. “We have to upgrade them, through equipment if not genetically. Or at least be able to if a sufficient threat emerges. Right now it’s lizards, lizards, and more lizards. We need to use our strengths to whack them down as fast as possible…while also building towards greater threats. I think we need parts of Star Force working on everything so we have options and flexibility if an unknown hits us.”

  “Agreed,” Paul said, thinking ahead already to what Clan Saber was about to become. “We need to maintain separate armies for each race, where applicable. The Lacvamat aren’t going to be building aquatics and the Elarioni aren’t going to be fielding commandos, but the races that can field all 5 divisions need to do so and have independent units. We can, the Calavari and Bsidd can, Scionate maybe.”

  “No, their swimming skills suck horribly,” Lens pointed out.

  “I’m sure the Elarioni would say the same about us,” Megan countered.

  “We can debate that later,” Paul said, waving off that discussion. “We may even want to elevate some of the wards that are physically capable of all 5, but that’s not the point now. We need that redundancy so each faction can operate independently of the rest of Star Force if disaster were to befall part of it, like say Earth and all the Human colonies were wiped out. That’s why we have separate economies, and the same should remain true for the military, Archons aside. That said, I think we need another level of military that integrates advantageous configurations.”

  “We should expand Mainline,” Liam suggested. “Keep some units Human only, then add additional ones with whatever combinations we find useful.”

  “That won’t be enough,” Steve differed. “There are far more Bsidd troops now than Humans. Mainline is and always will be Human-led, but we’re going to need combo units with few Humans involved, maybe even just Archons only. Calavari pilots coupled with Bsidd/Scionate infantry teams is just one example I can easily come up with. The key here is that this new faction wouldn’t be tied to any territory. Mainline has held the responsibility of going everywhere and doing everything for centuries, with the other races helping out when and where they could. That’s not the case anymore, so I think we do need a new format going forward.”

  “On par with Mainline or above it?”

  “I’d say on par, so far as newbs being able to join from the get go.”

  “And this mixed fleet would use what ships?”

  “Special construction per unit requirements,” Paul answered. “Our pick, not the factions.”

  “Doable,” Roger added, “but it’d take a long time to set up and we’d have to commission additional shipyards specifically for it. I don’t want Mainline suffering production shortages to cover.”

  “I can see to that,” Davis offered. “The fourth tier of non-military personnel will be segregated to exclusive planets. Those will supply the ships for this new fleet, as well as be exporters to the rest of Star Force. The populations will be there to work and nothing else, experienced individuals only that will live with like-minded people, and I believe that will increase production up another level, much like I experienced in basic training.”

  “With the Clans being the next step up,” Jason asked, “for both civilian and military?”

  Davis nodded. “Maturias will be a pseudo fifth tier that will feed all graduates into the civilian tier. The others will pull individuals up rather than have to worry about reproduction from inside. The new fourth tier colonies will have maturias on site as needed for transitional purposes, but the infants will be shipped off to other worlds as soon as possible. That way they won’t be burdened with younglings or rookies living amongst them, and the same method would be used in the Clans.”

  “So much for a population surge,” Oni said sarcastically.

  “I know that interferes with some of your Clans’ population pushes, but am I wrong in thinking that it will elevate the skill pool?”

  “You’re right,” Morgan agreed. “And we’ll still be able to push our numbers, just through other means. We won’t have to try and stack the odds of a youngling buying into the Clan mojo when we can directly recruit those who already do and boot those that lose their way. I like this idea a lot, but it will require a lot of transitional headaches, biggest of which is the loyal Clansmen we already have that
won’t measure up to the new standards.”

  “Keep them if you want,” Davis suggested. “As much as I want the Clans to be the elite of the elite, I also want to maintain and even enhance your experimental status. Try whatever you like and see what works best. The Clans are your little empires, continue to tailor them to your wishes.”

  “What of Canderous and Australia?” Mark-099 asked.

  “With regards to Canderous, there is only one alteration that I see being necessary, but feel free to add anything you like. I think they’ve got to become not only a space-bound faction, but a nomadic one. If we are to face the V’kit’no’sat we need to have bases that they don’t know the location of, and the only way to do that in the face of a potential computer hack is to have mobile ones. All future sedas need to be constructed with interstellar gravity drives defaultly internal. No more reliance on jump cradles.”

  “We’ve been thinking along those lines for some time now,” Paul admitted. “We were just waiting on the necessary technology to catch up. As it is now, we can order a redesign with a loss of a decent amount of internal space to accommodate the drives. It’ll lower their population count, but we can work on increasing it over the years rather than waiting for a prerequisite number. What about Australia?”

  “They’re the weak link, by far, but so small in number I’m considering not even tinkering with them. Thoughts?”

  “Let me handle them,” Remy suggested.

  Davis raised an eyebrow, about to ask what that meant when Randy interrupted.

  “Um, we’re overlooking the Kiritas/Kiritak why?”

  Davis sat up a bit straighter. “I had assumed the Kiritak were good to go as is. As far as the Kiritas are concerned, the Kiritak are already their upper tier, and to date you haven’t wanted them involved in military operations. Are you wanting to change any of that?”

  “I’m just wondering why, if we’re altering all the other factions to the same model, are we leaving them unchanged.”

  “Frankly I hadn’t considered it because their civilization is so polished already that I didn’t want to mess with it. You know them better than anyone. Do you think they’ll benefit from an internal tier structure?”

  “Not my point, exactly. But Mainline already has a large number of Kiritak in it, working mainly the cargo fleet. Are we expelling them to keep it all Human? And this new tier 4 you’re planning sounds an awful lot like what the Kiritak already are, minus the reproduction part.”

  “I feel a criticism here. Just spit it out.”

  “We can’t be split minded on this. Either we’re Star Force or we’re just the Human Empire. Humans and Kiritak integrate so well together in naval there’s no functional reason to split them up. If we’re worried about the V’kit’no’sat targeting them along with us, then shame on us. We can’t treat them as family and outsiders in the hope that the enemy will leave them alone one day in the hopefully distant future. We’re either in this together or not, and if not we need to split Star Force apart and give the various factions their independence and stop feeding them additional technology. That’s the only way they have a hope of not being targeted.”

  There was silence for a moment, but then Liam blew out a long breath. “He’s right, and I would go forward to add that we can’t pretend that Humans are just one faction out of several. We are the core of Star Force so we shouldn’t try to isolate ourselves. We need to extend the Mainline fleet, not create a separate group. Same goes to civilian operations. We pull other races in where beneficial while letting them keep isolated groups as a supplement.”

  “We can’t evacuate everyone out to the rim,” Davis said regretfully. “And if we fight it out here, we’re most likely to die along with them. I don’t see a good option in this, so please feel free to throw out ideas.”

  “Let the Clans experiment and figure it out,” Randy suggested. “If the V’kit’no’sat come back now we’re screwed anyway. You work the present, we’ll fight the future.”

  Davis looked around at the 100 trailblazers, realizing how simple that solution was. Not because it was a solution, but because he knew he could trust them enough to take that burden off his shoulders and find a way, if one existed, to make this monster of an empire they’d cobbled together work in the face of that potential doomsday.

  “I can live with that,” he said simply, suppressing a grin for what he was about to say next. “So, the next question before us then is whether or not Kara gets her own Clan.”

  “Ah…” Paul groaned, burying his face in his hands in visible complaint while several other trailblazers snickered.

  7

  July 30, 2812

  Solar System

  Earth

  “Found something?” Jason asked, walking up behind Paul in the Zen’zat barracks in the pyramid as he was reading a vertical holographic display.

  “Just trying to size them up with an eye towards where they might be in the present.”

  “The others have gone already. Figured you would have been first in line.”

  “Clan Saber is pretty set, so we won’t be heavily contending the territorial allotments. Why are you still here?”

  “Same reason you are. Trying to find another angle.”

  “Any luck?”

  “I’m giving all my current people immunity to whatever standards we use, so there’s not going to be a turnover period,” Jason said casually. “The younglings will start being shipped out to Mainline colonies as soon as the message I sent arrives, so I’ve got time to ponder.”

  “What about the race for the six systems?”

  “You know as well as I that our Clans are more even than others. We don’t stand a chance of earning a major slot, so I’ve chosen not to waste resources overly prepping. I thought you might, given your naval dominance.”

  “I’m working a different angle.”

  “Care to share?” Jason asked, sitting down on the bench next to Paul’s.

  “Territory defense only works if we can gain an advantage on the ground, otherwise it becomes a death trap. We can’t put down roots where the V’kit’no’sat can see them.”

  “You thinking of moving your Clan rimward?”

  “Even that’s not good enough. We can’t just hide, we have to strike and be on the move at all times. I keep running scenarios through my head and the only way I can see that Clan Saber can have a chance of effectively combating the V’kit’no’sat is to stay mobile and never fight a defensive battle. We have to be rogues, pirates even, as far as they’re concerned.”

  “Rebels against the Empire?” Jason floated.

  “Davis is right to worry about the masses. Until we can build planetary defenses sufficient to hold out against a modest fleet we’re sitting ducks. I don’t want the Sabers being sitting ducks. If we’re playing defense we can’t be protecting others. We have to be free to move. A Jedi has no attachments for a reason, and I’m seriously considering applying that principle to my entire Clan.”

  “Like Canderous?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s going to set you back so far you’ll be worse off than the Snowstorms.”

  Paul smiled.

  “Alright spill,” Jason insisted.

  “Think Starcraft. The Terran structures built on the ground could fly if necessary to evacuate so you didn’t have to leave them behind to get destroyed.”

  Jason stared blankly at the holographic text and diagrams for a moment, remembering back to the ancient game and realizing the genius in it. “Incredibly difficult to create, because you’d be starting from scratch, but you’d still be utilizing and living on the surface whereas Canderous does not. If your position is compromised you could evacuate in short order, then put down your infrastructure at another location and almost instantaneously have full production resume. Downside would be size. You’d have to have everything small and exchange mega facilities for hundreds of smaller ones, but it is theoretically viable.”

  “Far more than viable
.”

  Jason frowned. “What are you seeing that I’m not?”

  “It would make my Clan very hard to kill so long as we have forewarning. Everything would be naval. I’d build the structures into starships rather than mobile sedas. Quick to move, easy to replace if lost. Focus on a smaller fleet rather than having big chess pieces. The necessary few we could keep in deep space and safely anonymous. The problem is we’d become very, very small and give up the industrial base we’ve established. Against the lizards or even the Voku we’re better off proceeding as we are, but the V’kit’no’sat are so far ahead of us that this is the only way I can think of to give us a chance at survival. We have to be able to run and poke, no full-on engagements. No even fights. We have to be ghosts operating out of view when necessary.”

  “And you’re thinking sooner is better than later? Which is why you’re not even interested in the territorial allotments.”

  “I get the feeling that if we’re tied to any planet we’re not safe. We’ll make use of them when necessary, but we’re not going to stay anywhere permanently.”

  “You’ve settled on this then?”

  “We can’t all do it. It’ll leave us too weak. But I’m nearly convinced that this is the path Clan Saber has to go down. Not my first choice, but it has too many advantages over an enemy that typically holds all the cards. The more I review past battle records, the more I see the V’kit’no’sat being used to running over people through sheer tech advantage. They find out where you live then they pick the circumstances you’re bound to because you have a home to defend. If we become homeless they’ll have to fight in another manner, which they don’t have a lot of experience doing.”

  “But there are some cases?”

  Paul nodded. “They’re cagey, and almost exclusively utilize computer or mental hacks to get the information they need to track down those who hide or run away. If you leave a trail of breadcrumbs they’ll find and follow it, but the cases that interest me the most are those they never succeeded in locating.”