Star Force: Quenar (SF88) (Star Force Origin Series) (3 page)

Oddly enough, the trapped vessel began moving too. Not
nearly as fast, but it motored away from the
Sanguine Blade
then made a microjump out of range as soon as it
passed through the boundary of the IDF, leaving Jason’s jaw hanging open.

“Son of a bitch,” he said, reviewing sensor scans as
he moved the command ship to follow them to the jumppoint. It didn’t take long
to narrow down the possibilities, but in the end he didn’t have a confirmed
answer, though his gut told him enough. These guys had a secondary engine
system, and he was all but sure it was a mag drive.

Magnetic propulsion was extremely erratic for making
jumps, which was why The Nexus had to build gigantic artificial emitters to
provide a stable platform to jump off of rather than the unpredictable magnetic
fields of a star…but one could use those fields in a low power setting to move
around orbit where pinpoint accuracy wasn’t needed. The IDF field was designed
to screen gravity, but it didn’t stop incoming objects nor did it interfere
with magnetic fields. These guys had just sat inside Jason’s trap knowing it
couldn’t hold them, then jetting off as soon as they felt like it.

That told him one thing…these guys were here on
business and they didn’t feel like taking orders from someone as weak as Star
Force tech apparently was compared to theirs. Maybe they didn’t have full
knowledge of what his ship could do, for he could have had a magnetic drive put
into the
Sanguine Blade
if he wished,
but there was no reason to do so in place of the…

Suddenly he wondered if there was another reason they
would have two different engine systems. Having a thrust based backup was
understandable, and a lot of older Star Force ships still had emergency
thrusters to make small course changes if the gravity drives went down, but his
command ship was so big and fat that the thrust required to move it around even
a little bit would have required an enormous amount of fuel that just didn’t
make economical sense.

Now, a mag drive was another matter entirely, but so
long as your gravity drives was functioning why have an alternate that had far
less range of operation? It could only work in the presence of magnetic fields,
meaning some planets wouldn’t provide propulsion and the workable band around a
star was very narrow compared to the feasible
grav
jump range.

One answer would be that there were other transit
systems out there similar to what The Nexus had built and these ships could
utilize them on their own without having to hitch a ride on a jumpship. But the
thought that there might be something else, another reason he wasn’t aware of,
scared him even more. Maybe some enemy used IDF as a weapon and these ships had
been built to counter it? Or maybe they had some form of propulsion that was
unlike anything he’d read about in the V’kit’no’sat database…thought to be
fair, he hadn’t exactly memorized the whole thing.

A chill ran down his spine with the knowledge that
whoever had been watching the Uriti, whether it be one of The Nine that had
informed others or some hidden watcher, had sent word out to a lot of extremely
advanced races across at least this portion of the galaxy that had the engine
power to get here this quickly. A tech level of that height meant equal to or
superior to Star Force’s current level of technology.

And that meant something big was going to go down.
They probably had some time, hopefully enough to get Nami to Alamo, but
whatever it was that these other races wanted with the Hamoriti was going to
come to a head. Hopefully it wouldn’t mean another fight, but Star Force was
going to have to get ready for this, no matter what happened.

To that end Jason entered the jump for the destination
system at full speed, accelerating up as fast as his ship could go within the
system then drifting off the jumpline to pass by the convoy and the Uriti while
sending Riley a message as he passed telling him what was going down and that
Jason was racing back to the ADZ to rally the troops and inform Davis…

3

May 19, 3256

Alamo System

Stellar Orbit

Paul’s warship came out of the deceleration jump along
with the rest of the escort fleet that he’d rejoined previously, seeing that
there were far more Star Force ships waiting for them around the smaller of the
two stars in the binary system than were arriving. That gave him a sense of
relief, not to mention the pair of Voku conglomerates holding a slightly higher
orbit nearby, and when the signal lag finally caught up he discovered that
Avery-040 was also insystem, but no Jason.

Before his fellow trailblazer could contact him, he
got a signal from one of the Voku conglomerates which resulted in an image of
Cal-com appearing over the nexus control board.

“You arrive at last. Is the Uriti trailing you?”

“It is. We have the control ship and a few others
trailing it to make sure it doesn’t go somewhere else.”

“Has that been an issue?”

“Not yet, no. But as you’ll see soon enough, we’ve got
8 ships following us at a distance that are unknown to me. A few have
identified themselves, and all seem to be from very far away. Watchers
monitoring the Uriti. I get the feeling many more are going to be coming, and
perhaps to do more than just watch.”

Cal-com nodded gravely. “It was wise you sought my
assistance. I have other assets in the immediate area on assignments. I will
recall them here immediately. How far behind does the Uriti trail?”

“About 28 minutes back. I’d recommend keeping a safe
distance at all times. We’ve had no incidents, but we haven’t approached it too
close either.”

“I understand. I am eager to set eyes on this beast.
If others are the same, then we must establish a policy for this system.”

“Keeping the watchers out is going to be difficult, so
I’m going to let them pass through and look if they want. If they do more than
that we’ll have to act. Be warned, their tech level is extremely high. Possibly
even beyond yours or mine.”

“That is disturbing. How long have they been
observing?”

“I would guess some time since this Uriti broke free
of its containment. There hasn’t been enough time for word of our actions to
spread unless someone already watching took notice.”

“Logical. What are your immediately plans?”

“We’re going to tell Nami to take a dip in one of the
stars and recharge, then we’re going to keep her here surrounded by warships as
we try and find a way to talk to her. So far all we know is that we need a
bigger transmitter. We’d started building one before the attack and haven’t had
time to begin fabrication on another with the damage to the
Zeus
eating up available resources for
repair. Even then, we’re going to need some specialized components that we
can’t easily make in the field.”

“Do you require assistance?”

“We’re keeping the Chixzon tech a closely guarded
secret, my friend. I would guess that may be the reason why we’re getting so
many prying eyes.”

“They would have to know of it.”

“I don’t know how much word has leaked out through The
Nine. I’m simply preparing for more trouble.”

“My condolences on your losses. I reviewed the battle.
Your forces fought remarkably well to deny the Trinx the claim or destruction
of your key vessel.”

“It never should have happened in the first place. The
Trinx were supposed to safeguard the Uriti while looking for a solution to the
containment problem, not try and destroy that solution when it presented itself.”

“They fear your control of the beast.”

“And I’m assuming others will as well. Jason went back
to the ADZ to get more reinforcements.”

“What of the other Uriti still imprisoned?”

“The newest site is weak, but without our ability to
issue the Uriti orders there is no rational reason to try and release it.
Others may claim it in order to blackmail us against their release of it, so we
have to help The Nine secure it.”

“Shall I send a conglomerate there now?”

Paul shook his head. “This is the danger zone, and I’d
prefer having as many of your troops here as possible. There should already be
a defense fleet there, but if we get into long term strategic maneuvering on
the part of these shadow observers we may need to fortify that system.”

“I understand. You will not be bringing it here?”

“That’s option number 2.”

“Preferred?”

“Depends whether or not we can talk to them and come
to terms.”

“I also have a message for you from the Preema. They
want to discuss recent events and have a ship nearby. They did not want to be
waiting here when you arrived.”

“Did they say why?”

“They wanted a quiet conversation. Beyond that they
would not say anything, nor would they send a ship directly to you.”

“Did they want us to come to them?”

“No. I believe they are being overly formal and do not
want to intrude where not welcome.”

“I do wish to speak with them. Tell them to come here
and I will hear them out.”

“I’ll send a messenger immediately. As for the favor
you requested, that message was also sent.”

“Thank you. Now, tell me if any of these ship profiles
are familiar,” Paul said, sending him files on the ships that had been trailing
them.

Cal-com took his time analyzing them, but in the end
he only could identify one.

“The
Corbrini
. We have
diplomatic contact with them, at the most basic level. They are truly distant
from here. I am surprised they would…” he cut off as the Uriti slowed to a halt
at the jumppoint.

“Little thing, isn’t it?” Paul scoffed.

“Perhaps,” the Voku offered, his tone indicating that
he was thoroughly impressed. “But to see a being that can travel the stars
without need of a ship is a rarity in this galaxy.”

“Not so much if you head further into the core.”

“Where is it going?”

“To a holding orbit designated prior to the jump.
It’ll wait there until the control ship arrives and gives it orders.”

“We are detecting strong telepathic emissions.”

“Yes. Are they a problem for you?”

“Not at these levels, but our equipment is designed to
detect them should they become perilous.”

“Some other threat out there I should know about?”

“A few,” Cal-com admitted. “Have you had issue with
the Uriti’s aura?”

“Only at extreme close range. Riley tested it and got
quite the headache, but he was able to touch another one as it slept. The aura
amps up considerably when they’re awake.”

“And you said there are many such Uriti imprisoned
across the galaxy?”

“We think so. We know of only a handful at the moment,
and have personally laid eyes upon only the two.”

“Combat capability?”

“If we are close enough it could destroy every ship
present here, but for a starship it’s dead slow and not a threat if you keep on
your toes. A planet, however…”

“An impressive weapon indeed. Where would you like our
ships positioned?”

“Somewhere they can be seen and close enough to
respond to trouble if it arises.”

The Voku nodded. “If distant empires have been
monitoring this Uriti from afar, they will undoubtable come here when they
realize it is the final destination point. We have much to prepare for, my
friend. This is…

I must speak
with you privately
, a voice pounded inside Paul’s head so hard that he
couldn’t even hear Cal-com. He squinted and the Voku stopped speaking, sensing
something was wrong. The Archon held up a wait finger as he tried to trace the
telepathic presence.

Zak’de’ron
?
Paul asked back along the still active
tendril.

Yes, we are
here. Hidden. We must remain so, but it is imperative that we speak.

Where and how?

Open your main
hangar.

Paul raised an eyebrow.
Your stealth tech must be very good if you’re that close by.

We will remain
hidden until you close the doors behind us. Our mental proximity you will be
able to trace.

I understand. 20
minutes?

Satisfactory.

The presence in his mind disappeared and he blinked
away the pressure he’d felt, now very glad he had an Ikrid block in place.

“I’ll talk to you later,” he told Cal-com. “Your boss
is here and wants to speak privately.”

He saw the Voku flinch, but no other reaction
followed. “I will be available when you wish to speak again, via com or in
person, whichever you choose,” he said, cutting off the signal so the Human
could attend to the summons.

Paul walked out of the nexus and onto the bridge,
catching the Captain’s eye.

“Clear and evacuate the main hangar in the next 15
minutes, then open the outer doors. We have a hidden ship coming onboard. When
I give the signal close them again and wait for further orders. Keep everyone
else away from the hangar.”

The Captain snapped her fingers and her bridge offers
got to work executing his order. “Trouble?”

“I don’t know yet,” he said honestly.

“And you can’t tell me who it is that’s coming
onboard?”

“Dragons,” he said simply, walking away as her eyes
widened.

Paul stood at the back of the hangar, which had been
cleared of ships and cargo by pushing them over to the side and leaving the
entry point in front of the massive bay doors clear as he waited and felt
outward with his telepathy. It was past 20 minutes by a hair, but he didn’t sense
anything coming as a shimmer crossed through the containment shield and the
complex light that was coming from the floor, walls, and ceiling got bent in
ways it wasn’t meant to.

Still he could feel nothing, then when the mass landed
just inside the entrance a powerful mind manifested itself, making it clear to
Paul that it could decide when and where it was felt. He had the same ability
as well, Kgat, though he couldn’t be sure if the Dragons had it or if the ship
itself was built to conceal their ability.

“Close the doors,” Paul said into his
comm
, then turned it off as he waited for the armor plates
to slide over the
starfield
and have their image
wrinkled through the ship’s camouflage. It was reassuring that not even the
Zak’de’ron could produce a fully functional cloaking device, though for
mimicking starlight it would do more than adequately, meaning that if it also
absorbed all sensor signals like the Ma’kri did, there was almost no way to
detect it moving through space.

Passing through atmosphere or a nebula was another
matter, but with this configuration you could snoop around just about wherever
you wanted if you were careful, and they’d successfully gotten up within
telepathic range without Star Force’s sensors even picking up a blip of signal.

When the doors fully closed the camouflage faded away,
revealing a compact, but rippling hull full of undulations and ornate markings.
It looked more or less like a turbine hat, with no visible weapons or other
equipment that had to have been concealed beneath armor plates. Given the
transformable tech that V’kit’no’sat had, he didn’t imagine it was difficult to
sculpt a hull such as this to conceal whatever you liked beneath layers of
protection.

Yet one more area Star Force had to catch up to them
in, navally speaking.

As he watched, part of the hull melted away and turned
into a ramp from which a red dragon walked out, followed by a yellow one of
about equal size, barely larger than a horse but with a much longer tail and
its wings tucked in at its sides so you almost didn’t know they were there.
Following them came a much larger one the size of a house and colored deep
grey, with Paul fairly sure this was the same one he’d seen before on Earth.

“Cu
sen’a
dench
mit
harmen
asc
,” the big one said, speaking in V’kit’no’sat. “
What you have brought here is immensely
dangerous
.”

“
I assume you
were not previously aware of their existence
,” Paul replied in kind as the
two smaller dragons walked around to flank him on either side. He gave the red
one on his right a glance, then looked back up at the big one in front of him
as it sat on its hind legs with its tail looped around on the floor in a
somewhat odd position, making it look far less intimidating than normal.

“
We were not,
but these Chixzon your message spoke of explain several unanswered questions in
our history. We have never known of anyone to coopt a Hadarak, nor to rework
their biology to their advantage. The one here is small, but it is immensely
dangerous even without the upgrades you detailed
.”

“
I’m well aware.
What do you know of the races it is drawing to it?
”

“
Little. Our
presence in the galaxy is still small. There is much happening that we are
unaware of, and the entire history of these Uriti is beyond our knowledge.
Where is this Chixzon you spoke of?
”

“
On the control
ship. His loyal is not in question.
”

“
How were you
able to override the genetic rewriting?
”

“
We helped him
break free from within
.”

“
Then his
loyalty should be in question
.”

Paul shook his head. “
He can’t shield his thoughts from us. We’re certain that he is the
original and not the upgrade…though he’s chosen to maintain his current state
to give us the knowledge and capabilities of the Chixzon
.”

“
A perilous link
if you are unable to produce more loyal Chixzon…or have you found a way to
circumvent their control restrictions?
”