by Aer-ki Jyr
“And I’m just sitting here training my butt off.”
“We’re just sitting here training our butts off,” Aaron amended. “I can go, but I figured this is more in your wheelhouse.”
“It is,” Paul agreed. “But there’s no way we have the ships available for this.”
“The Adamant will be available soon,” Riona added. “Repairs are almost finished.”
“We’re going to need more than that,” Paul said with a shake of his head. “Even if we can fight through both the Nestafar and Skarron fleets, it’s going to take a long time to evacuate their people…not to mention we’re going to have to configure cargo ships to carry aquatic passengers. That alone will take a few months, minimum.”
“Yeah, about that,” Aaron said deviously. “Sounds like we could use a little help.”
“So it does,” Paul agreed after a second’s delay. “Then take them to Atlantica?”
“Not sure about that one or what kind of resources they need, but that’s a definite possibility.”
“How many people need to be transported?”
Aaron cringed. “The Hycre couldn’t give us a specific number.”
“Wonderful,” Paul said, frowning. “Did they say where this messenger was?”
“At a Hycre world in the old Calavari zone.”
“Well I need more information if we’re going to make this happen,” he said, turning to Riona.
“Go,” she said, dismissively waving her hand at him. “I can take it from here.”
Paul frowned. “What, and leave my new best friend behind. Uh uh, you’re coming with.”
A smirk worked its way onto her face. “Best friend huh?”
“You know someone else with bioshield?”
“So you only like me for my abilities?”
“Pretty much,” Paul said, turning back to Aaron. “I’ll take care of this, but I may need your help down the road.”
“You know where to find me.”
Paul fist tapped Aaron’s chest and jogged towards the open door. “You mind keeping her company for a while? She gets lonely real easy.”
Riona scoffed at his back as he ran out of view, then saw Aaron smirking.
“Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything. You up for some sparring?”
“Actually…yeah,” she admitted.
“Come on, we’ll grab a different chamber. What were you working on?”
“Shield deflections,” she said, walking out with him.
Two months later…
Paul and Riona crossed through the shield barrier on the rear of the Sparrow-class dropship and into the watery environment of the Elarioni hangar bay. Each Archon wore a wet suit with breath mask and swam away from the dropship to where one of the mermaid-like aliens were waiting. Their muscular tri-finned tails trailed below them in the blue-lit water as their neon-colored hair floated loose around their heads. All the Elarioni were ‘female’ in appearance, reproducing trisexually, so they all tended to look alike…almost identical save for a minor tweak here and there.
Whereas Ariel had green hair these two had orange, and one of them raised a three fingered hand up to wave them forward. Paul and Riona followed, swimming crudely by Elarioni standards through the tube-like passageways with Paul doing a weird looking flip kick for propulsion that kept him ahead of Riona and her struggling to keep up most of the time.
Their guides slowed to match their pace, but were clearly riding the brake the entire way to a large chamber that had a squashed spherical design with multiple protrusions that doubled as ‘chairs’ in that there were Elarioni latched onto them operating various control consoles, though in truth they were merely floating in place, tail down for the most part.
Both of them were led over to a pair of spindly tentacle-like arms coming up from the floor that put them nearly in the center of the room with something to hold onto, after which a blue-haired Elarioni swam down to them, her skin darker than her hair save for the patches that glowed with bioluminescence.
“Thank you for coming,” she said, translated through the programming in the Archons’ breath masks, which likewise transferred their words into the Elarioni language…with a bit of imperfection, but reliable enough for most conversations.
“If we’re going to make this happen I need information,” Paul said without preamble. “How many of you are there, where is the fighting currently taking place, how many enemy ships, etc.”
“We will tell you what you require. At present there are 800 billion Elarioni spread across 8 worlds. We believe that all will be under assault in the near future, which was why we have come now to ask for assistance.”
“How many can you transport on your own ships?”
“Only a small fraction, I’m afraid. We have lived in seclusion for so long we do not have many starships, but we do have warships and we will fight both the Nestafar and Skarrons in order to get free. We simply do not have the numbers or transports to do this alone, and we will not leave people behind to die. We ask that you help us evacuate everyone, and in exchange we will use our abilities, knowledge, and strength to become part of your Alliance and fight both the Cajdital and the Skarrons. We had hoped the latter would be honorable, but their conduct thus far has shown otherwise.”
“How did you get this ship out through their fleets?”
“It wasn’t difficult. Their technology is vastly inferior to ours and as you well know orbit isn’t something that can be locked down easily. We ran through their lines and jumped away from our world without major inconvenience, but they also didn’t know we were coming. An evacuation is quite another matter.”
“As I well know?”
“We are well aware of who you are, Paul-024, even before you agreed to this meeting.”
Looks like your famous, Riona commented telepathically.
“And who am I?”
“A skilled naval tactician and a bold and powerful fighter. We have seen the recordings of many of your battles, including the raid you made against the Scionate den.”
Guess I am famous, Paul answered her. “Then you know what I’m capable of, including sizing up our opposition. Getting your people out will be very difficult, but there is a plan in the works. Before that can begin to take place we need data…and an understanding. Have you reviewed the message?”
“Yes. Our sister has described the world in question and we are willing to take her at her word. We also thank you for rescuing her. I would ask, on a personal note, how have you preserved her so long? She is more than twice the age of the oldest known Elarioni.”
“A little thing called self-sufficiency.”
“A drug?”
“No, it’s a state of maintaining a positive healing to attrition ratio, accomplished primarily through training. She learned to do it and as a result doesn’t physically age, though she does grow wiser with time and experience.”
“We have no knowledge of such things.”
“We can teach you, or she can.”
“And there is much we can teach you, in exchange for your assistance.”
Paul smiled, tapping into her mind for a bit of a read. “You’re not sure she’s telling the truth.”
“We have no reason to doubt the word of our sister.”
“You doubt whether she is real or a fabrication we have concocted. You don’t think it’s actually possible to live that long.”
The Elarioni was silent for a moment. “I do wonder why you did not bring her with you.”
“Time,” Paul stated simply. “If we’re going to evacuate your people the longer we wait the more the war between the Nestafar and Skarrons will escalate, which will make a difficult extraction even more so. At present Ariel is in transit. She will not be coming outside the ADZ, but I’ve arranged a meeting on a world near the border.”
“What do you require of us, in addition to information?”
“If we are going to go to the effort necessary to pull your people out, it’s
not going to be so you can sit in the ADZ and watch the rest of us fight. You will have to become invested in the defense as well…and not just in an advisory role.”
“Agreed.”
“What are your combat capabilities?”
“Nothing that would be of use to you on land, but our ships are superior to yours. Given time to build more we will be able to defend any world you give us.”
“We’re not giving you a world, we’re offering to share one.”
“I misspoke. I apologize. I only mean to say that we will not be a burden in the long term. What aid you give us now we will repay down the road once we are free to build and grow.”
“By that do you mean other worlds?”
“Possibly, but I meant being free to build without having an enemy sharing the same worlds. The Nestafar have restricted our growth, though they also helped to hide our existence. We do not wish to make a visible impact on galactic events, for it could draw our pursuers to us, but at the moment we face a more imminent concern. We must step into the light whether we wish to do so or not. I must ask, for Ariel mentioned it, that you too are hunted by the V’kit’no’sat?”
“They do not know we exist, but if they did they would hunt us to extinction. Of that I have no doubts.”
“Yet you operate freely and obviously. Is that not welcoming your enemy to you?”
“I hope not,” Paul said honestly. “But if we’re going to have any chance of standing up to them in the long run we have to build and grow now. It’s a bad situation all the way around, but if we’re going to die we’d rather die trying than waiting and hiding.”
“Waiting and hiding have served the Elarioni well. We are uncomfortable with what we must do, but we have no choice. I would ask that our contributions to the Alliance be allowed to occur in less obvious pursuits.”
“So long as that doesn’t mean you’ll shy away from a fight, I think something can be worked out. In fact, I already have something in mind.”
“And that is?”
Paul smiled beneath his breath mask, but the Elarioni couldn’t see the gesture. “What is most obvious to outsiders is your technology. They recognize ship hulls first off, so the answer is simple…don’t use your own. Use ours instead.”
“Yours are inferior.”
Paul raised an eyebrow. “I’m not so sure about that. But even if I grant you your point, keep your current technology for defense of your new home, but use ours when battling elsewhere in and around the ADZ.”
“I hardly think you have ships to give away so freely…or do you mean to teach us how to make yours?”
“Actually, I was thinking of a third option…some of your people joining Star Force.”
6
May 27, 2537
Solar System
Inner Zone (Warship Adamant)
Paul threw a handful of tiny thuds at Riona, telekinetically guiding them into hovering orbits around her in an erratic pattern before launching one in at her leg. It hit just above her skin and bounced off, with him catching it and returning it to the halo. He repeated the process with one coming down at her head from above, but the Archon blocked it high with a projected shield rather than a ‘skin’ one. Next came a simultaneous pair, one coming at her gut and the other at her back with her deflecting the one in front but missing the other and getting a little tap on her spine.
Paul shook his head. “Pay attention to your surroundings, youngling.”
Riona rolled her eyes. “I suppose I deserve that,” she said, resetting her mental composure.
“Yes you do, “ Paul said, sending in another towards her face that she reached up and swatted out of the way with a shield-covered palm.
“Better…” he added, sending in two again, this time from left and right.
Riona closed her eyes as she manifested dual shields both a few inches away from her body and only a hand’s length wide. Both circular barriers went up in time to block the hits, but the left one was weaker than it should have been and crumpled on contact, letting the thud drop motionless to the floor while the other bounced off as it should have.
“Tolerable,” Paul noted. “You need to think of both shields as two parts of the same projection. You’re favoring one over the other and that’s a bad habit to get into.”
“I know. Hit me again.”
Paul did as asked, working with her for another 15 minutes with little progress, but each failure and mistake she made was something Riona could use to calibrate, thus the experience, while disheartening, was for a purpose and she understood that. She also knew that Paul knew, meaning there was no ego involved. He was pressing her to force her into a situation where she could learn from mistakes and kept the pressure on so that she would keep making mistakes and challenging her current limits.
That was the sort of thing a friendly Archon did, but if you didn’t have the right understanding in place beforehand it could be misconstrued as hazing, for Paul sought out any and all opportunities to exploit her weaknesses and really grind in the failure. Fortunately the two had gotten used to each other quite fast, helped in no small part by the battlemeld sessions, though for this workout that would have been counterproductive.
When he’d finished pummeling her they switched up, with her pelting him and watching how he responded. Riona didn’t hold back either, throwing three and four at him at a time and Paul having to block them with small shield projections only…no all-encompassing shield that she knew he was capable of summoning up. Still, she couldn’t get any through until she added a Fornax blast and caught him off guard, bouncing two off his taught chest.
He looked over at her with a wry smile. “Cheater.”
She was about to say something when the intercom activated with a repetitive tone. Both Archons glanced at each other as Paul walked over to the side and hit the comm. “Yes?”
“They’re here,” the Admiral said pithily.
“On my way,” Paul said, turning the comm off and walking out of the training room and eventually the sanctum onboard the warship with Riona at his side. The two eventually made their way up to the bridge as the main holo was depicting the arrival of several dozen massive ships, each far larger than the Adamant and bullet shaped, much like the old school Star Force jumpships had been, save these were shiny chrome in color and looked not to have a single protrusion, bump, or dent on their hulls.
“How are we set?” Paul asked.
“All fleets are on standby.”
“Have they made contact yet?”
“No.”
“Do so, and route it to the nexus,” Paul said, heading over that way. Riona followed him and stood a respectful two meters back to stay out of the holocomm when it activated, showing a small version of a Voku with its pointy head and thick, muscular arms. Its skin was pitch black and it had but one eye, that one a deep green and wide set like a visor, for it appeared to be made of crystal rather than flesh. Riona didn’t know if that was a natural growth or a mechanical implant, but regardless it made the Voku look intimidating…despite the fact that they were the size of Knights and larger.
“Greetings, Warlord Paul.”
“Morning, Cal-com. Glad to see you could make it.”
“I have no greater mission of importance at the time.”
“Which group are you personally traveling with?”
“That which proves the greatest challenge.”
Paul smiled. “Same here. Our ships are a bit slower than yours, especially some of the transports we’ve had to scrounge up. Do you wish to jump with us or ahead of us?”
“We will not attack until you are there, so there is no need to travel separately. We will escort you to the divergence point.”
“How soon before your full fleet arrives?”
“Only moments more.”
“Our two largest ships will bracket the convoy. The Ultrix will lead, I will bring up the rear in the Adamant. Work your ships into the formation wherever you like.”
The Voku
bowed his head slightly. “As you wish. Jump when you like, we will follow your lead without further communications being necessary.”
“What is your full ship count?”
“There will be 37 conglomerates arriving. We will not reform prior to the last segment of our journey.”
“Very well,” Paul said, seeing that 32 Voku ‘ships’ had arrived. “I’ll signal the fleet to get underway.”
“May fortune favor us on this endeavor,” Cal-com said before cutting the transmission, with his holo being replaced by the sensor feeds as they came back from their miniaturized form on the left.
“Friendly,” Riona commented.
“I’ve met him before and we have an understanding. They don’t talk much, so don’t take that as a negative.”
“Big ass ships though.”
“Their version of a jumpship…except that there is no jumpship.”
“I’m interested in seeing that.”
“Apparently you’ll have to wait a couple months.”
“Bugger.”
“Yeah, it is pretty impressive.”
Riona raised an eyebrow as Paul handed out mental orders to the fleet through the nexus. “You’ve seen them transform?”
“Nothing that large, but yeah, when we had our meet and greet they showed off a bit.”
“And?”
“Worth waiting for…and stealing, if I can work out a way to do it.”
“What’s the holdup?”
“Their combat philosophy doesn’t match ours exactly, and they’ve tailored their tech to match it. Still, the adjustable nature of the transformations is immensely useful. I just have to find a way to do it without sacrificing the advantages we already have.”
“Lesser applications?”
“Probably. It’s a back burner project I dabble with from time to time. Don’t expect Optimus Prime to show up any time soon.”
“You mean for a mech?”
Paul’s head came up slightly and he turned back to look at Riona. “Damn girl, I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“I see that spark in your eye and I like it. I’m calling dibs on naming privileges for whatever you come up with.”