by Aer-ki Jyr
Suddenly a wall opened up and Bi-tor could see what he knew to be one of the Elders, though the Voku had never seen an image of one before. Rumors abounded, but what they truly were had never been confirmed. How he knew this was one and not another servant Bi-tor couldn’t say, but when the dragon expanded its wings to full height then rose up into the air without even flapping them he could feel the presence of a very powerful mind connecting with his own.
The yellow dragon hovered there for a long time before finally speaking, and not one of the Voku spoke to ask questions or interrupt. They all respectfully waited, then a flush of new knowledge flowed into their minds answering many questions before the Elder finally spoke.
“Welcome, Voku. Each of you have served us well in the war against the Skarrons, but what we require of you now is another matter entirely. You are here to train and ascend to a level no Voku has ever attained. We require personal servants who are trustworthy warriors capable of working alongside us while also going on solo missions across the galaxy as needed. You are not fit to do that as you are now, but we see potential in you. The coming years will cultivate that potential, but you must use your accumulated skills to press to develop it.”
“It will not occur naturally nor easily, and we will make biological alterations in accordance with your development. What your final form will be even we cannot see, but we cannot advance you beyond your worth. You must prove the worth of your race, and the more worth you display the greater powers we can bestow upon you…thus you will control how useful of servants you become, and you have been chosen from amongst the volunteers because we have seen in you a relentlessness that will be required here.”
“But do not be mistaken. You are already our servants, and if you do not ascend to the heights we hope you are capable of, you will not be turned away. You are valuable as you are now and we will make use of your skills, but our overriding command to you is to aspire for more and never stop improving. What we discover working with you we will use to better train others that will follow. You will be the trailblazers that we learn the most from, which is why we must have your total and unyielding effort. Ascension is amongst the hardest challenges in the universe, and we require those who embrace challenge. Service to us cannot be sufficient for you. You must strive for more, but that is an internal quest only you can pursue, so make of it what you will.”
“As of now, you are no longer Voku,” the Elder said, summoning a pedestal out of the floor that had Voku-style eye pieces laid out on top of it, except these were not green…rather they were a deep red. “Replace your augments.”
Bi-tor and the others walked up to the pedestal, with him removing the green crystal technology that covered his three small eyes. The natural light was a little disconcerting, but not painful. The enhanced vision was gone, but he felt like he was losing a great deal more as he set the green piece down and picked up one of the red ones. He slid the two pylons on the inside of it into the slots between his eyes, linking the new technology to the old implants and immediately gaining access to a plethora of new sensory capabilities that came with the knowledge of how to use them.
“You are now Bo’ja,” the Elder said once the last of them had made the replacement. “What that name comes to mean over the coming millennia is entirely up to you and what you become. Begin.”
Bi-tor needed no further explanation. He knew they were onboard a ship that was taking them to a Zak’de’ron Hive, and there they would be given training as well as tasks to perform, but until they arrived the ‘Elders’ required data on the new Bo’ja, and that meant various forms of mental and physical testing, the first of which was hand to hand combat against holographic opponents.
Bi-tor didn’t receive any additional orders, for they were already loaded into his mind via the implant. He moved through the ship, knowing the location of every corridor and chamber in this configuration and the others it was capable of morphing into, and ended up in one of the observational areas where holographic Skarrons and Aronsic appeared.
Fighting them was engrained into his very core at this point, so he slipped back into a familiar combat mode and began fighting them as the difficulty level gradually rose, knowing that there were many sensors watching him from beyond while the implant monitored various things internally…but that wasn’t for him to worry about. He was to focus on fighting in order to get the necessary data the Zak’de’ron needed, and that’s what he intended to give them.
He didn’t know what they were looking for, but he had his orders and that was more than enough for him. What Bo’ja meant was a hollow term at this point, but he knew they were meant to be a replacement for a previous servant of the Zak’de’ron that had betrayed them. The Zen’zat had not lived up to their potential, and even those who had stayed loyal to the Zak’de’ron when they were all but wiped out had not fulfilled their promise. The Zak’de’ron were grooming the Voku to potentially achieve what the other bipeds never did, and Bi-tor knew this endeavor would be measured in the thousands of years, if not hundreds of thousands.
It was strange, for as he punched and kicked holographic Aronsic aside, he was realizing for the first time who the Elders actually were and how they’d been betrayed by the V’kit’no’sat. Bi-tor knew it like an old fact tucked away into a corner of his mind, not something now being revealed to him.
He didn’t let it distract him, but his purpose here was now crystal clear.
The V’kit’no’sat had betrayed the Zak’de’ron, and their Zen’zat along with them. Rather than rebuilding their own loyal Zen’zat, the Zak’de’ron were wiping the slate clean and starting over, with the Bo’ja intended to replace and hopefully rise to a level the Zen’zat never did. That, more than anything, was what would drive Bi-tor forward over the coming centuries. His mission was to serve and ascend, so to become a more powerful servant and ally of the Zak’de’ron.
It was an honor beyond all reckoning, and both he and the other Bo’ja onboard the ship immediately and fully devoted themselves to the path laid out before them.
The Zen’zat may have betrayed the Zak’de’ron, but there was zero chance that the Bo’ja ever would. How strong they would become Bi-tor and the others didn’t know, but they’d be reliable and fight to the last for the Zak’de’ron without question.
And from the current state of the galaxy, the ‘Elders’ were going to need a massive army to begin to set things right. The Bo’ja weren’t the only elevated servants they had, and there would be many others onboard the Hive when they arrived, but there was a special purpose awaiting the Bo’ja…if they could prove themselves worthy and attain it.
10
June 3, 3679
Unnamed System (Li’vorkrachnika territory)
Unnamed Planet (Subsurface city)
An obscure wall panel covered in the shadow of several large columns suddenly burst into illumination that was a combination of green and orange…the orange from the molten material being cut by a green spike that slowly traced an approximate circle along with a mirror image twin, eventually cutting out a wall plug that was pulled back from view as the molten slag dulled and hardened without any of the Templar denizens taking notice.
There were hundreds in the nearby area and millions within the city buried deep beneath an uninhabited planet that was wreathed in a toxic atmosphere and covered with icy glaciers that were marred by acid rivers. It was located in a ‘pass through’ system, one that saw a lot of Li’vorkrachnika traffic transitioning around the pair of stars at system center, but none coming this far out…save for when they confirmed that the system was clear of any other trespassers. Then and only then would an occasion ship make its way out to the planet to deliver supplies or exchange personnel.
The ships that continually passed through the system would transmit data packets, but no return signals ever came. The Templar city was meant to be invisible to the galaxy, with the majority of all decision making being taken care of by the Templars sent out sporadically to
direct the empire while the masterminds ran it.
If changes were needed, another Templar would be sent out and then spread the necessary information, for there was no backtracking to this system and the other handful of ultra secret worlds unknown to any mastermind, and they had to remain absolutely secure to protect the Li’vorkrachnika’s true leaders as they birthed, instructed, and trained the ever expanding Templars to keep up with both the expansion of their empire and the suicides of those caught in the wrong system at the wrong time…for they were instructed to wholly destroy themselves before they could be located, let alone captured.
Secrecy was the lifeblood of the Templar, yet none of them had detected the unauthorized landing on their planet, nor the tunnel dug down and around their clever defenses all the way to the outer hull of their subsurface sanctuary. They also didn’t see those who did so walking through the shadows, for the Templar minds were being distracted by telepathy beyond their reckoning.
The interlopers moved throughout the Templar city until they came to the area reserved for those that led the Templars…known only as the Sovereigns to the few privileged enough to ever hear the word. They were of the same basic proportions as the Templars, with enlarged heads on a simple biped frame, but the Sovereigns had entered their second stage of development that saw them grow in height by a factor of 6, making them literally giants walking amongst the smaller version of themselves.
The Sovereigns were those that produced Templars through biological birth, unlike the genetic replication that the rest of Li’vorkrachnika society operated on, but unlike most races in the galaxy, the Sovereigns were asexual and capable of triggering a reproductive cycle on their own. Their lifespan was limited to only a few thousand years, but their offspring contained their genetic memory, enabling their leadership to continue on in perpetuity and avoid any internal wrangling. The Templar and Sovereigns operated as if they were cells in one massive brain that guided the Li’vorkrachnika forward, with no personal ambitions or internecine.
They were one, and kept apart from everything else in the galaxy in order to preserve their clarity and anonymity as they attacked races superior to their own. The swarm of bodies that was the Li’vorkrachnika’s greatest strength would become meaningless if the Templars were discovered and eliminated, thus the necessity of hidden worlds was the linchpin upon which their civilization relied.
Never before had one been discovered, let alone breached, until now.
There were only four interlopers, but they made their way into the Sovereign-reserved inner sanctum of the Templar city, literally walking within meters of the giants and not being noticed until they chose to be. They knew there would be a virulent reaction, so they remained calm and stationary as they emerged before a pair of Sovereigns that were near to giving birth and cradling their massive weight inside flotation tanks, for when they birthed they would release dozens of tiny Templars at once that were currently inhabiting a pouch along their backs just above their tails.
“Remain calm,” one of the interlopers said as he seemed to appear out of haze, with the others using their telepathy to subdue the reactive emotions as much as possible, but they failed. As soon as the intruder was known both Sovereigns went crazy, screaming with such hatred and fear that those three chambers away could hear through the walls.
Other Templar arrived within seconds…but they saw nothing. The interloper concealed himself again, walking to a wall and staying there while telepathically distracting all those that entered from seeing him, then he continued to talk, but only using his telepathy so they could not backtrack the sound of his words to his location.
We are not here to fight, so calm yourselves, he said in the Li’vorkrachnika’s native language. If we wanted you dead, you already would be. On the contrary, we are here to negotiate a mutually advantageous deal.
The Li’vorkrachnika didn’t listen, instead scurrying around looking for the invaders as more arrived, bringing with them the familiar combat forms that were stationed on the edges of the city to fight in case they were attacked from the exterior. In such a case they were not expected to win, but rather to buy time for the Templars and Sovereigns to escape if possible, but if not, then to buy them time to kill and disintegrate themselves to the point where nothing was recoverable.
The interlopers suspected this, but their telepathy was not capable of reading minds to the degree necessary to withdraw information…only to implant what they wanted, which in this case was false images that concealed the four.
It took many hours and a great deal of patience before the Sovereigns finally decided to talk to the invisible intruders rather than panicking and searching everywhere. Understandable considering they had never laid eyes on another race before, as well as the fact that they knew their discovery would lead to their doom.
But these Li’vorkrachnika were intelligent, and given enough time to take stock of the situation and think, they finally decided to entertain the negotiation that was being floated.
“Who are you?” a Sovereign finally asked, partially shielded behind a wall of troops that didn’t even rise to its waist, making for very ineffective blockers.
We are potential allies here to discuss the future of your race.
“Where are you hiding?”
We are here, and will reveal ourselves if you will not attack us. Your seclusion has made you recklessly reactive, but we will wait as long as needed until you come to your senses. You are fighting a war against the Skarrons that may well be your downfall even if you are victorious, and it would truly be a shame for a race with such potential to face that end merely due to hasty reaction.
“Reveal yourself,” the Sovereign demanded, and not one in the floatation tanks. This one was fully capable of fighting and stood looking down at the ground where all its troops were spread around the chamber.
If I do so and you attack me you will pay a price, but we will not hold your entire race responsible. Look before you, the interloper said as the telepathic trickery ended and his black, scaly body was revealed standing perfectly still looking up at the Sovereign.
Whether it was a conscious choice or instinctive reaction, the Li’vorkrachnika troops didn’t stand still. They attacked him immediately, firing weaponry that soaked into his body while doing limited surface damage…then the intruder leapt off the ground and landed on the chest of the Sovereign, delivering a massive electrical charge that took the much larger alien to its knees.
Then the intruder disappeared again, but not before two standard variant Li’vorkrachnika were bisected by green flashes that left the cuts on their bodies cauterized as they wriggled around on the floor in their death throes.
We will try this again and again until you come to your senses. We are here to negotiate, but we are fully capable of killing you all if necessary. If we have to do that it would truly be a shame, for you were very difficult to locate.
“Who are you?” another Sovereign asked as the one that had been attacked stayed on one knee with his chest blackened and smoking from the electrical damage.
We are ancient, our name unknown to you, but we have knowledge far beyond your understanding and that of your enemies, some of which are impediments to our future goals. If we can come to an agreement, we will fight them by proxy through you. Our anonymity is necessary until we can garner a sufficient powerbase to reassert ourselves publically. You understand this concept intuitively, and we must remain hidden from those that could defeat us until we have weakened them so far to no longer remain a danger. The primary threat is one you are familiar with and lucky to have survived. “We too are an enemy of the V’kit’no’sat,” he said aloud as he reappeared in a slightly different position.
“Wait,” the Sovereign ordered, with the minions and Templars obeying immediately, though a pair of plasma shots did hit the intruder before they could be called off.
The craggy black skin absorbed it and the interloper didn’t attack, merely looking up at the Sovereign with a sl
ight smile on its ugly face. “Better.”
“What strength do you offer that can stand against the V’kit’no’sat?”
“You have survived because they are distracted with higher priorities. You cannot stand against them, and even with our assistance you cannot defeat them directly. Our immediate help will strengthen you in your fight against the Skarrons, and if you are able to survive and prosper, there will be a chance to strike back and destroy the V’kit’no’sat in the extreme long term. We have other associates and methods that will weaken them. We wish you to become strong enough that, while pursuing your own goals, will be able to fight and kill a portion of the V’kit’no’sat empire once they are sufficiently diminished…along with other threats to us that you have not encountered yet, but will if your expansion continues.”
“What proof of this strength do you offer?”
“We found you, didn’t we?” the interloper scoffed. “But from your point of view I would be wondering the same. We are not frauds, and will over time offer all the proof necessary. We, in particular, have an immense knowledge of biotechnology that could aid you greatly in creating…better subordinates,” he said, looking at the minions that were still training weapons on him. “Also, you still using plasma weapons is insulting.”
“They are easier to produce in large numbers,” the Sovereign argued.
“And you expected no combat here, so you saved your upgraded weapons for those that needed them most. Your production facilities must truly be diminished.”
“Sacrifices must be made to ensure victory.”
“And the V’kit’no’sat did far more damage to your infrastructure than you have let the Skarrons know. Had they pushed a bit further they would have broken through your ring of strength and found the mass of systems that you have all but stripped of their defenses. Your strategy was brilliant and caused them to turn back at precisely the right moment, suffering the travel delays yet a second time while you attack their infrastructure strongholds. They will never know how close they came to breaking you, and with our help you will be able to rebuild your strength fast enough to finish the Skarrons before they can gut your empire on the effort.”