by Aer-ki Jyr
Randy turned to the Kiritas beside him in the hold of the shuttle. “Are they going to be a problem with the offloading?”
“No. They are here to help and to watch,” the diminutive alien said with its tail twitching rhythmically.
Randy walked a step over to the pilot and put a hand on her shoulder. “Pick a spot along the water and take us down…but give us a few meters of beach between ship and water.”
“You want me to wait on the ground or air?” she asked, beginning their final descent.
“Air. I’ll comm you when I want pickup.”
Randy watched from the cockpit monitors as the shuttle slowly set down on the angled beach, not feeling the tilt due to the inertial dampeners/artificial gravity. He half-expected the crowd to swarm them when they touched down but to his surprise not a single one of them moved. Carrying his helmet the trailblazer walked out the boarding ramp and down onto the sands of Kirit with two other Clan Star Fox Archons beside him. All three of them were armed with weapons on their backs, making for a formidable first contact party as they followed the hopping envoy up the incline to the edge of the crowd.
Randy noticed the steep incline to the beach, which he guessed was at least 15%, figuring that was going to make the cargo offloading a bit slower and wondering why the Kiritas had selected these coordinates. Surely they had some courtyard or airfield they could have set down in.
A few of the other Kiritas along the edge of the crowd came down to meet them and there was a brief conversation between the envoy and the others in their native language, then a loud cascade of elated chirps broke out that made Randy’s skin crawl. He guessed that was their version of cheering, but it could just as easily have been war cries by the sound of it.
The envoy walk/hopped back over to Randy with two others, both of which looked slightly larger than those in the crowd, but still very thin. He couldn’t see ribs on these two like those in the crowd, so he guessed they were higher placed in Kiritas society and had access to more food. He also noticed that most of the crowd was topless, wearing only thin pants opposed to the envoy who wore much more clothing.
The air was hot, which could have offered a partial explanation, but Randy also wondered if it might not have something to do with available resources given a population of trillions living on one planet.
“Human Ran-dai, this is Kiritas Lorni leader,” the envoy introduced. “I speak for them.”
“Hello,” Randy offered, looking down on the pair. From previous conversations he’d had with the envoy he knew that their clans were led by brood pairs, with both functioning as one individual within Kiritas society. “Where would you like us to deliver the foodstuffs?”
The envoy translated for him and got a quick response from the one on the right.
“Kiritas Lorni thanks you for granting mercy. They say to put supplies here and they will carry them where needed.”
“Alright,” Randy said, slipping on his helmet and giving the go ahead to the first dropship. Within 30 seconds one descended from the holding pattern that had begun to accumulate above the lake and set down beside them, its long wings filling the beach side to side as the Dragon barely had room to land. In fact, its front landing legs were sitting in the water with the nose of the craft sticking out over the lake in order to secure some acreage of beach between the main cargo door and the surrounding buildings to facilitate the offloading.
With the Kiritas hopping along behind him, Randy and the other two Archons headed over to the dropship and supervised the crew as they began to offload large pallets of boxed foodstuffs onto the sand.
“Can you move them this large or do we need to unpack them?”
The envoy translated again and got a quick response.
“We will unpack and carry by hand. Show us how to open.”
“Loader, I need a cutting tool,” Randy said, walking partway up the wide aft boarding ramp and into the dropship.
One of the crew retrieved and tossed him the device as they continued to haul the large crates out on tiny forklifts that carried far more weight than it would appear possible, looking more like sweepers than lifting gear.
Randy walked back out of the ship and down to where the Kiritas were waiting at the nearest crate, some of which were eyeing it expectantly. He cut through the straps holding the containers in place then pulled one of the bathtub sized boxes off the top, finding it a bit heavier than usual given the planet’s high gravity but it wasn’t anything his acolyte muscles couldn’t handle.
Setting the tub down on the ground he undid the latch on the sturdy plastic container and opened the lid, revealing stacks of packaged foodstuffs. Everything in this box was type C rations, specifically created for the consumption of the Kiritas with months of taste test help from their envoy back on Babylon. Each package contained 64 cubes, each of which held enough calories to sustain a Kiritas for a day, based on the minimum amount most of their population was surviving on.
The Lorni leader and the envoy conversed again, with the well clothed Kiritas looking up at Randy expectantly. “Can we take them now or do you want to set terms first?”
“Have at it, Sparky. Food first, talk later,” he told him, using the nickname he’d assigned the envoy months ago. The Kiritas naming system wasn’t very useful for the Humans, mainly because the little aliens rarely used it for themselves, preferring to be addressed by their race, clan, or at best their occupation. Familiar titles were used in private company only, it seemed, but Randy wasn’t having any of that and had named the envoy anyway, which it reluctantly accepted.
“Your mercy is great,” Sparky answered, then translated for the Lorni leader. They gave another round of instructions and the crowd suddenly moved forward and slowly swarmed around them, causing Randy’s senses to flash a proximity warning, but no trouble broke out. Each of them grabbed one of the packages and disappeared into the crowd, carrying the foodstuffs away to somewhere else.
Before Randy could take a few breaths the box was halfway empty so he pulled another one off and set it on the ground for the shorter aliens to get at, with the other two Archons stepping up and doing the same. Once the loading crew saw what they were doing they stopped bringing out more pallets and started opening the ones already on the beach and collecting the empty boxes for reuse later, slowing the entire unloading process down considerably but maximizing distribution out to the Kiritas population.
After getting the first dropship squared away Randy and his squad went around to the other dropships landing nearby on the beach and showed their crews what they needed to do, after which there was a round the clock beach party offloading a continual stream of foodstuffs. Randy opted out after an hour or so and called the assault shuttle back down to pick him up along with Sparky and one of the ruling brood pair while the other stayed on the beach. From there they took to the sky and supervised the offloading from above while taking a brief tour of the city.
“We need to set up another landing zone, or this is going to take forever,” Randy told him as he searched the city for any opening big enough to use. “How about there?”
Sparky looked up at the display screen where the Human was pointing then chattered away with the Lorni.
“Bad things happen there.”
“Have happened or will happen?”
“Both. Not safe.”
“What’s dangerous?”
“Starving Kiritas go crazy for food. Banished to this place and others. They hurt others to stay alive.”
Randy’s gut clenched, reading between the lines of what Sparky was saying. “Is there another safe zone?”
“We will make more when food is eaten. Less crazy Kiritas.”
“Will you send food there?” Randy asked, pointing again to the banished zone.
“Yes, but they eat last.”
“No,” Randy said firmly, realizing that ‘last’ on a planet of 2 trillion meant never. “They eat now. Pilot, take us down there slowly,” he said, then contacted one of
the descending dropships, a smaller falcon, and had it divert to their location.
“Not safe,” Sparky repeated, looking back and forth between Randy and the Lorni.
“Do they have weapons?”
“They are crazy. They use anything for weapon. We die we go down there.”
“You stay inside. Same for him,” he said, gesturing to the clan leader as he walked back into the small hold and pulled up one of the seats revealing the store of stun weapons underneath. “Fellas,” he prompted, tossing stinger rifles to the other two Archons before grabbing one for himself and checking to make sure that it was loaded.
“Bad idea,” Sparky insisted.
“We feed all Kiritas,” Randy said, staring him down but not letting his voice go as dark as his emotions were. “Our terms.”
The two Kiritas had an animated conversation but Sparky didn’t offer any more translation, then both fell silent as the assault shuttle landed in the middle of some type of landing pad, large enough to hold several shuttles and with faded markings on the surface. That, combined with the light debris scattered about indicated that it hadn’t seen use in some time.
Randy led the other Archons out the back while the two Kiritas cowered up near the pilot, then Randy shut the ramp and signaled the shuttle to lift off and circle overhead leaving the threesome alone on the pad for a moment while the dropship was on approach.
“How many?” Randy asked.
“I spot six, hiding in the entryways.”
“Couple more up on the roofs.”
“Hold here and make nice. Not sure how rabid they’ll be, but remember we’re here to help them. Some head banging may be necessary to establish order, but be as gentle as you can,” Randy instructed.
“Permission to check the perimeter?”
“Go,” Randy told the Archon as the dropship drifted over the surrounding buildings, each of which were about 5 stories tall, and stalled out overhead.
“Ditto,” the other Archon said, heading out to the opposite edge of the pad after a confirmation nod from Randy.
“Bring her down and stay buttoned up until I give the word,” Randy instructed the pilot, then walked off to the edge as the flying wing of a craft floated down on anti-grav engines and opened up the belly hatches, extending its landing legs, then compressed them slightly as the engines powered down and the gray/white ship settled onto the roughly rectangular pad.
“Any movement?”
“Scurrying away,” one of the Archons reported.
“Alright, bring it in and cover the ship while I unload. Pilot, open her up.”
The main bay door opened and Randy walked up the boarding ramp, meeting the loaders inside.
“Just one for now and set it down at the foot of the ramp. And cut it open,” he ordered, glancing back outside as the other Archons took up guard positions on either side of the ramp, stun rifles held at the ready with their lethal weaponry still on their backs. He could see sets of eyes popping up in the shadows but they held back, unsure of what was going on.
After the first pallet was cut open Randy pulled a box off and walked it over towards one of the entrances and set it down on the ground. He opened it up and took out a package, tearing it open to reveal the small food cubes. He took one and tossed it into the nearest of the shadowy entrances beneath an arched overhang. For a moment there was no response, then he heard a scuffle and squeak before silence returned.
The trailblazer tossed out a few more, each progressively closer until the Kiritas had to come out into view to grab the food. Hunger propelled them forward in short, panicked runs, followed by retreats back into the shadows. When nothing happened they started to get bolder and come further out, then the group began to inch their way out into view and Randy could clearly see how near death they were. Their skin looked like tissue paper wrapped around bones and several of them had visible injuries, some splattered with blue blood.
Randy committed himself then and there to saving these people, even if they had to conquer the damn planet to do it.
He pulled out another three packages and opened them, sliding handfuls of food cubes around the area, both towards the entryway and elsewhere, then he stood up and walked forward, gesturing for them to come out.
Their need and curiosity overwhelming their fear, the Kiritas began coming out by the dozens, grabbing up what food cubes they could, some of which began fighting each other for the last ones. Randy pointed a finger towards one of the culprits and a stinger flew out from behind him and nailed the would-be thief, knocking him unconscious. He pointed at another and it was hit as well, then Randy walked back to the open box and pulled out several more packets. He opened one and slowly walked up to the crowd, which surged back and forth, wanting to run but wanting the food just as bad.
Randy picked out one cube and reached forward, offering it to one of those nearest to him. He pointed to it, then held the cube out palm up and waited.
Shaking, the Kiritas came forward and snatched it out of his hand and devoured it within a second…then choked as its throat wasn’t accustomed to so much food. It eventually worked it free and swallowed, then stepped forward hoping to get more.
Randy pointed to one next to it and held out another. When the first one reached for it he closed his hand and waved his finger in an ‘uh-uh’ motion, then held it back out to the other until it took the food. He repeated the process, establishing some semblance of order as he slowly handed out food cubes to all those who came…then more came, and more, their wildness suddenly gone as they saw the others calmly taking the handouts. Soon there were hundreds, and those hundreds became thousands.
Randy called in more personnel and expanded the auxiliary relief zone and kept it running throughout the day and into the night. Still more came, and they kept coming until the dropships ran dry.
7
March 2, 2348
Iona System
Kirit
With the Nebuchadnezzar gone, having unloaded its full cargo of foodstuffs onto the populace, Tom and the Chimaera remained behind to safeguard the Forge for a while longer, just in case any non-Kiritas ships entered the system. The 2 trillion member race truly didn’t have any space assets to threaten them with, but with at least the occasional offworld trade ship coming through Tom didn’t want to leave Randy uncovered.
The Forge was capable of remotely controlling a fleet of warships left behind, but given that they’d come all this way the Archons figured that it’d be a waste to turn around and leave so soon. Both of them had agreed that the situation on Kirit had to be dealt with, and despite their willingness to help the Kiritas undesirables Star Force was being given virtually unlimited authority on the planet. Randy had already met with all of the 287 clan leaders, using Sparky as a translator as his techs worked to upgrade their translation software with the Kiritas language, and secured permission to start reorganizing the planet’s resources and food distribution network into a more efficient system.
As to be expected they were finding and rooting out existing corruption with various individuals and groups syphoning off foodstuffs for themselves, but overall the Kiritas were doing well to share what little resources they had amongst each other, which Randy took as a good sign that they’d be able to work with their population. The less corrupt they were the faster their orders could be implemented, and given that the ratio of Humans to Kiritas was so low it was going to be impossible to provide sufficient oversight, meaning that if the Kiritas were going to cheat there’d be no way to stop them.
Fitting, considering it was their planet that Star Force was trying to save, that their fate would ultimately be in their own hands on as simple a matter as following orders.
The first of those orders were already being followed with a long line of convoys being routed to specified landing zones where dropships from the Forge were picking up loads of raw materials that the Kiritas were giving them to feed the factories inside the jumpship. Those specially designed factories were then c
onstructing building materials for predesigned buildings, each engineered to perform a specific function that would allow the Forge to expand its shipboard operations onto the surface of the planet.
The Kiritas had evacuated several sections of their cities, turning over the buildings and land to Star Force to level and recycle while they moved out to adjacent areas, doubling up with other residents as dropship after dropship brought down personnel, equipment, and a continual flow of materials that quickly became familiar Star Force production facilities that clashed with the surrounding Kiritas infrastructure. To them the buildings were almost sacred…a promise of a better future that all Kiritas worked hard to contribute to.
Within 2 weeks the first hydroponic facility went online using seedlings that had already been started in their growth cycle onboard the Forge. The crops were staggered, with a new indoor field being started every week so that once the first came to harvest they’d be getting a regular supply of grains. Randy started them off with the fastest growing varieties and within only a few weeks the first of the output started flowing into the surrounding factories that Star Force was adding, along with more hydroponic structures.
Like a real-life version of an empire-building videogame, Randy added structure after structure using the resources the Kiritas were providing while Tom managed the Kiritas’ local foodstuff production and distribution network. Two months in and the Star Force foodstuff production facilities were adding a small but steady supply of food cubes to the workers in the mines and other Kiritas production facilities, knowing that the stronger those people became the more productive they would be.
Tom meanwhile used the Kiritas’ own production network to maximize and stretch their own supply while Randy gradually pulled more and more mouths to feed off his hands. They were still coming up short, however, and the death tolls coming in from starvation were in the millions per week, but Tom kept strict rationing on what they did have and saved as many as he could.