Star Force: Ghostblade (SF67) (9 page)

“And?” Gary asked, picking up on something in her
mood. Something that she was holding back.

Morgan let slip a wry smile. “We’re going to keep a
good number of our Archons in Mainline leading it, but our combat operations
are not going to be pairing with them anymore, nor the Calavari or Bsidd. Not
even the Voku or H’kar. We’re soloing from now on and advancing our Clan
towards fighting the V’kit’no’sat through combat experience gained. When the
tech rolls around we’ll incorporate it, probably steal a lot of ideas from the
others in the process, but our people are going to be the most combat savvy
because we're going to be spending our years on the fronts rather than in pure
training.”

“Pure training hasn’t hurt Vermaire,” Gary pointed out
almost apologetically.

“Pure training doesn’t
hurt
anybody,” Morgan clarified, “but you don’t get the same edge
you get from fighting in live situations. Those with extensive Trials
experience might be more polished, but those with combat experience will be
more savvy
. Trials are explosive and intense, frontline
combat is often grinding and one-sided with moments of intenseness the Trials
will never match because of what is on the line. Losing is bad, but losing
people is unacceptable. The Trials are meant to build skill sets and do so
extremely well, but applying them in the field is a whole other trick that we
are going to set the benchmarks for.”

“Define soloing?” Gary asked skeptically.

“A little arrangement I worked out with Davis
privately. The others will know soon enough, but we’re not going to expand any
more within the Core Region. We’re going to hold on to what we’ve got, no way
we’re making the mistake the Snowstorms did, but any territory that we win in
the upcoming Trials we’ll trade off. We need to focus what population we have
at our new home.”

“New home?” Gary asked when Morgan didn’t say any more.

“Our borders are constantly in flux, with us beating
back the lizards on most fronts and colonial expansions, even if in piecemeal,
on the others…save for one. Our coreward border is fixed by the no-go line, and
even though the Voku have a presence there that is keeping the area somewhat
subdued, the more the lizards eat up the Skarrons and spread out through their
back territory we’re going to have to counter them all along the line and hold
it…without taking the worlds from them.”

“That’s a situation we’ve not faced yet,” she said
with all sincerity, “and it defies our very drive to smash the enemy. We can’t
chase them coreward. They have a safe haven to operate out of now, against us
anyway. The Voku can go after them if they wish, but right now they’re busy
with other matters, and even if they weren’t they don’t have the numbers to
purge the galaxy of these bastards. As much as I hate to say it, we’ve got to
put up with them being there on our coreward border, and how to do that
effectively hasn’t been established yet, for they haven’t had a chance to truly
strengthen those areas.”

“Even if we don’t colonize beyond the line,” Gary
differed, “we can still mow the grass a bit.”

“Yes, and we will,” Morgan assured him, “but it’s just
a matter of distance going back far enough to where we won’t visit that they
can build up massive armies and have them sitting and waiting to hit us where
we’re weak. Even if we turtle up well there’s always going to be a lot of
tension there, especially if they develop another new toy and are willing to
throw trillions of disposable troops at us testing it.”

“What are we going to do about it?”
Falconi
asked.

“Davis has granted Clan Ninja Monkey permission to
take possession of as much of that border as we want and to hold it
indefinitely, shielding the Achkor Region and everything else beyond. He’s not
giving us any worlds or resources, but is letting us keep every lizard world we
can take.”

“Damn,” Gary said with a laugh as he glanced at the
others in the room. “That’ll one up the other Clans and then some.”

“Each of us is finding a way to contribute to Star
Force’s future,” Morgan explained, only slightly suppressing a smile. “We can’t
do it all ourselves, but we’re going to do more than the others. They’ll
experiment and train, teaching us new tricks as we go along no doubt, but we’ll
be the one fielding a well-rounded empire out of necessity. We’ll be picking a
fight with the lizards on our own and holding the line on our own, learning and
growing as we go. Whether you are an Archon or a tech, if you want to find the
heaviest fighting to contribute to, Clan Ninja Monkey is where you go. That’s
our recruitment incentive,” she said, looking at
Falconi
.
“Use it to get me as much civilian support as you can. I’ll handle the
recruitment of the troops…from multiple races. We’re not just sticking to an
all-Human Clan. Anyway who wants in on the fighting is going to be welcome to
join our ranks and help carve out our border territory.”

9

August 8, 2812

Retari
System

Atlantica

Erin-016 literally ran through the Star Force colony
city of
Manaan
coming off the dropship that had landed
her here, having taken a jumpship directly from Earth as soon as the
trailblazers’ brainstorming session with Davis was completed. She knew as well
as the others that there would be a mad rush for recruits going forward and
there was one in particular she wanted to get to before the others, having sent
a message on ahead to forestall any remote grabs. Being the first to get to her
in person, she hoped, would give Erin an advantage.

When Erin came to one of the air/water transition
sections she grabbed a breath mask off a nearby rack, checked its
functionality, then pulled her shoes off and stripped down to her underwear,
leaving her clothes in a pile on the floor and diving into the aquatics section
of the city. She swam through a myriad of tunnels, passing by a number of
Elarioni and a handful of individuals from other aquatics races until she
eventually came to where the city’s computer had logged Ariel’s present
location.

The pale Human swam into one of the many workrooms
that had several dozen Elarioni going about various tasks. They all looked
similar, save for their hair which was a myriad of colors. She found only three
emeralds in the room and pulled a quick mental search to identify which one she
wanted, then swam across the chamber and up behind Ariel.

The Elarioni turned around before she got to her,
hearing the crude swimming strokes of a Human, but she grinned widely when she
saw who it was.

“Hello, Erin. I didn’t expect you here this soon.”

“Am I too late?” she asked, with her mask also
handling the computer translation as she floated in near neutral buoyancy
making small hand motions to steady herself about a meter off the floor as she
slowly sank down, for all Archons were sinkers due to their muscle density and
trim bodies.

“For what? I haven’t heard from any of the others.”

“Really?” Erin said, surprised. But then again maybe
she’d just caught a break while they were pursuing other ends. Aquatics wasn’t
high on most people’s wish lists, but she was really surprised Lens or Kyler
hadn’t said anything to her yet. “Guess I’m just faster than them. I want your
help.”

“Gladly. What is it that you need?”

“I want you to join Clan Alterra.”

Ariel blinked her glowing gold eyes curiously. “Join?”

“The Clans are changing drastically and we’re all
scrambling to grab up whatever advantages that we can get. I want to grab you
before anyone else does and have you help me add Elarioni to my Clan. We need
to go above and beyond what Star Force has already done with aquatics, with an
eye geared towards the larger threat…in the core.”

“Are they coming?” Ariel asked, knowing better than to
use their name amongst others who probably didn’t have security clearance high
enough to know about the Humans’ relationship to the V’kit’no’sat.

“Not that we know of, but while the rest of Star Force
lives in the present, the Clans are going to work towards the future and I want
your help.”

“I’m not sure how much further help I can be. I’ve
already shared all I know with you.”

“I don’t know either. We’re going to be looking for
ways of doing things that we haven’t tried before and I want you on my team.
And now that we’re not limited to just Humans, I also want you to help me kick
the crap out of the other Clans in the Trials.”

Ariel smiled. “And that’s why you thought the others
would ask me as well?”

“I think it’s only a matter of time before they do,
and I wanted to get to you first. Especially before Paul or Jason did. Their
Clans are too dominant as it is.”

“Not in aquatics.”

“No, which is why I’m sure they’ll be after you
eventually to join them, as will many others I’m sure. I’m hoping that me
getting here first gives me at least a little edge in your decision?”

Ariel reached out a thin blue arm and gripped the
Human’s shoulder with her three fingers as she smiled soothingly. “You can
relax, sister. I’d be honored to join your Clan.”

“Sweet!” Erin exclaimed, jumping off the floor with an
excited twitch of her ankles.

“When do we leave? Or are you expanding your Clan to
this world?”

“I wish. Kyler’s been keeping us out, but Clan Alterra
has some water of its own to play in on
Demacia
.
Currently we’re ranked 38th in overall Aquatics, and any Clan that adds
Elarioni is going to shoot up their skill scores. Some of the Clans are staying
all
Human
for various tactical reasons and I really
want to stick it to them in aquatics, as well as getting our Humans less slow
in the water.”

“Less slow…good word choice.”

“Just being honest.”

“As always, but you have a funny way of putting
things. Where are your clothes?”

“I didn’t take time to change and I didn’t want my air
clothes slowing me down.”

“Am I really that big of a prize?”

“Yes,” Erin said flatly. “And you already agreed. No
second thoughts allowed.”

Ariel laughed, which amounted to a melodic screech
that the computer didn’t try to translate. “I am yours, Erin. When will we
leave?”

“As soon as I can snag an aquatic starship. Give me
three hours?”

“I will be ready, and rebuff any further requests that
may come in in the interim.”

“Even if it’s Paul…and he’s begging?”

“Even if.”

Erin pointed a finger at her. “I owe you big time. Be
back,” she said, pushing off the floor and awkwardly swimming away at decent
speed from the Elarioni’s point of view.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Having doubts?” Randy asked as their dropship was
flying down to the surface of
Kirit
.

“This is a huge alteration based on a whim,” Mara-677
argued. “Shouldn’t you think it through first?”

“You think I haven’t?”

“Not enough.”

“What am I missing?”

“If I knew that I would have said something by now. I
just have a funny feeling.”

“I know the Kiritas better than anyone,” Randy
reminded her.

“I’d feel better with a gradual shift.”

The Clan Star Fox leader shook his head. “No need. I’m
sure about this.”

“Still think you’re jumping the gun.”

“The others are rushing to make changes too.”

“That doesn’t make it any smarter.”

“What’s the downside?”

“It won’t be our Clan anymore,” she said without
hesitation. “Too many new faces…we’ll lose the essence of who we are
practically overnight.”

“Like hell we will. What exactly do you think I’m
doing?”

“The Kiritas don’t think like we do. We’re a Human
Clan, who knows what we’re going to end up after this little experiment.”

“Badmouth it all you want, but don’t call it little.”

“Ah…you’re incorrigible.”

“Careful, your British is showing.”

“No such thing anymore.”

“A complaint?”

“No, just a statement of fact,” she said as they began
to heavily decelerate against the thickest part of the atmosphere while
simultaneously braking against the planet’s gravity.

“Bedazzle me with another.”

“You’re dragging me along just to gloat.”

“Half fact,” the trailblazer corrected her. “I also
want you here to learn.”

“I already know you’re reckless.”

“You were never involved in our Beta Region colonies,
so you don’t know the Kiritas any better than the other Clans.”

“I know the Kiritak well enough.”

“Same thing, yet not the same thing.”

“Thank you, that clears up so much.”

“Watch and learn, youngling.”

“Damn it, Randy, I’m as old as you. Stop with the
youngling crap.”

The trailblazer just smirked and left it at that for
the rest of the ride down.

“My friends,” Randy said, standing on the floor of the
Kiritas High Council and staring up at the 58 members seated around the
rectangular floor he was standing on. “
Meesa
back.”

Mara, who was standing beside him and a step behind
his left shoulder did a visible facepalm, but Randy either didn’t notice or
didn’t care to show it.

“You have not been on
Kirit
for a very long time,” one of the Kiritas said. “We are very pleased that you
have returned to us. Is there something we can assist you with?”

“Yes there is. Star Force is about to undergo a major
revision, with all factions affected. The changes to the Kiritas will be
minimal, but I think I’ve found a few improvements to be made.”

Mara noticed all the Kiritas sit up a bit straighter,
and she could feel their curiosity spiking as well.

“Please tell us what you want us to do.”

Randy clasped his hands behind his back. “First, the
rest of Star Force is being restructured into societal tiers in order to reward
those who are working for the betterment of everyone rather than pursuing
business ventures or just kicking back and relaxing. That isn’t needed with
you, for your race has a work ethic that puts most others to shame. With your
permission, I will be making some structural alterations to increase
efficiency.”

“The Randy does not need to ask,” another Kiritas
said, almost taking offense by the politeness. “We will do whatever you want us
to do without question. Have we given you reason to think otherwise?”

“No,” Randy said dismissively, throwing a quick glance
over his shoulder at Mara. “But I have more to ask of you than just this. I
need your help.”

“What do you require of us?” another said with evident
determination in his voice.

“The Clans are changing, more so than the rest of Star
Force. We are no longer raising younglings of our own, but are increasing our
numbers through recruitment of those sufficient to meet our standards. Such
recruits will be volunteers, and may leave the Clan whenever they like, for our
internal activities are going to be far more stressful than normal. All the
Clans are
amping
up the intensity in order to make us
stronger, and any individual that joins us for even a short time should benefit
from the environment and take their upgraded skills back to other sections of
Star Force.”

“As such we will be the elite within Star Force,
pushing the boundaries and developing new strategies that we will then share
with others. The competition between the Clans is also increasing on multiple
levels. Clan Star Fox is one of the largest Clans, but with our new mandate I
intend to make it
the
largest, and by
a huge margin. Not just in terms of population, but in industry. There’s a
nasty rumor going around that the lizards can out-build us. We certainly take
our time and do things right, but are we really slower? I don’t think so, and I
intend to prove it by growing Clan Star Fox into a giant.”

“Do you require additional resources?”

“Such outside economic assistance is still forbidden
within the Clans. Star Fox has to build internally or trade with other Clans
only, so no, I cannot accept any help from the Kiritas…at least not in such a
way. All 100 Clans are taking their own route towards our new mandate and are
diverging more than we ever have before. We each have our own goals and vision
of what we want our Clans to become…and then we’ll see who prevails in the Trials
and power rankings over the coming years.”

“Clan Star Fox has been a Human Clan up until now. I’m
altering the makeup to allow for individual Kiritas to join the Clan if they
meet a very high standard of measurement…and they must continue to meet these
standards to remain in the Clan, just as the Humans will have to do. There is
no longer any room for true civilians. Everyone has to work and keep working.
If someone can’t handle that, or wants to take a long break, they will leave
the Clan and land somewhere else, but knowing you as I do, I know that won’t be
an issue for most Kiritas. The question is how many of you will be able to make
the various standards I set forth.”

“Furthermore, I intend to experiment with integrating
Kiritas into our combat units in addition to your obvious industrial aptitude.
I don’t know what he end result will be, but already your advanced units have
shown promise and I intend to probe your capabilities even further. Even if the
combat angle totally bombs, I still want you guys as part of the Clan to help
bolster our supply and transport units.”

“How many volunteers do you need?”

Randy smiled. “That all depends on how fast we can
build, for I intend to take as many Kiritas that want to join and can qualify.
I suspect there will be more willing than we have room for, but like I said, I
want to kill this nasty rumor that the lizards can out-build us, and I figure
the best way to do it is by expanding Clan Star Fox as fast as we can and
literally putting all the others to shame. We have no additional territory as
yet to work with, so we’ll have to work with the sites we currently control,
but there are plenty of untapped resources there if we devote the necessary energy
to go after them.”

“There will be new territory slots awarded for Trials
success, but I’m not counting on us gaining any of them. If we do it’ll be
bonus, but I’m planning to work with what we have and expand it rapidly. In
order to do that I need an influx of qualified volunteers, and there is no one
better at the supply game than the Kiritas. Not even the lizards.”

“May we volunteer the entire Kiritas race?” one of the
High Councilors asked.

Randy laughed. “I appreciate the sentiment, but my
Clan is too small to accommodate even a fraction of your numbers. Plus the
standards I’m going to be setting down are going to be a stretch even for you
guys in terms of productivity and fitness. Most of you won’t qualify initially
and will have to work your way into a slot over the years to come, with more
slots opening up the faster we can grow our infrastructure.”