Star Force: Bahamut (SF86) (Star Force Origin Series) (2 page)

“
You’ve come a
long way
,” Davis said in The Nexus common language that he’d learned long
ago, though he sensed that put them off balance right away, for they’d come
here expecting to speak English, “
and
didn’t bother to tell us beforehand. You’re lucky we don’t shoot interloping
ships on sight. This system is closed to public travel within our territory.
All diplomatic contacts typically go to Epsilon Eridani. But as long as you’re
here, tell me why you’ve come…specifically
,” he added as he sat down last
of the three Humans.

“
We have had
dealings before
,” the Dsevmat answered. “
Beneficial, even if some at the time believed otherwise. We believe we
can have more beneficial outcomes if we integrate your civilization into our
network.
”

“
Annexation?
”

“
Depends on how
you define that word. We are not offering membership, but rather an
interlinking across the rapidly shrinking mass of Li’vorkrachnika territory. We
believe the establishment of formal relations and integrated travel and trade
would be mutually beneficial
.”

“
We have no wish
or need for a grid point within our territory
,” Davis said firmly. “
If you wish to establish one on our border
you’re more than welcome to do so, but such would be your expense and
responsibility for maintaining it.
”

Half The Nexus envoys visible twitched, but it was the
Telmar
that spoke next.

“
It is
inappropriate for you to use your telepathy here
.”

“
On my own
world? It is inappropriate for you to dictate to me what to do on my own world
,”
Davis replied icily. “
You would use your
telepathic abilities to read me if you could, but ours are more formidable so
you complain that such use is inappropriate. You are a hypocrite, and I do not
care for dealing with hypocrites. If you wish to negotiate something with me,
do it bluntly and respectfully. I have no care for lies or trivialities. You
wanted us to fund the creation of a grid point in our territory and give you
free travel passes throughout our territory. That is not going to happen
.”

“
Are you against
formal relations?
” a mouse-like
Jpqwel
asked.

“
Formal relations
could have been entered into long ago, but you didn’t deem us worthy of your
time. We’ve been working with one of your members closely in a matter of mutual
interest…yet the H’kar are not here. Why?
”

“
They are junior
.”

“
And yet Star
Force already has more than formal relations with them. Why? Because they did
not snub us. If you seek to come to mutually beneficial arrangements, you need
to stop pretending to be dominant. I know a great deal more about you than the
reverse, though it seems you got a lesson upon entering this system. I can
establish separate relations with each of your nations if wished, or you can
deal for the entire Nexus here and now. But whatever you choose, do not think
that your thoughts are your own. If you wanted to shield your minds from us we
would be having this discussion via hologram. You came here, before me, so do
not insult me by giving me orders…let alone absurd ones
.”

“
Our apologies
,”
the Sety finally spoke. “
As you’ve said,
we know far less about you than we’d like, and that is perhaps our fault for
not taking advantage of the openness you’ve developed with the H’kar. None the
less, we are here now and wish to learn more. Given your growing engine power,
commerce can be achieved via slower travel than the grid point system, but we
still offer that possibility if you should wish to reconsider it later. It is
the fastest way to link our economies
.”

“
And what do you
hope to gain from such a linkage?
”

“
A great many
things, and as you wish to be blunt I will tell you. You have become a
stabilizing force in this galactic arm, and while your territory is small in
comparison to ours I have no doubt it will continue to grow, as will your
calming influence. We would greatly like to have a stable border
.”

“
There are still
a great number of Li’vorkrachnika between us and you
.”

“
Which it
appears you will deal with in time…and our apologies for not having done more
from the other side. The H’kar are getting some additional support from us, but
given the size of our domain our ships are needed in many places. We will
continue to push back on our current border, but if and when the two meet we
wish it to be as friends rather than strangers
.”

“
That can be
arranged easily enough. We’re already friends with the H’kar
.”

“
We also are
interested, on behave of certain members, in the possibility of trading for
some of the now empty systems that you have taken in battle. If you do not
intend on inhabiting them yourselves, there are those that wish to purchase
select ones for their own use
.”

“
To fall under
Nexus domain or my own?
”

“
That is one
detail of many that we have come here to inquire about
.”

Davis looked at the Sety, then in turn made eye or
head contact with every one of the other races present, knowing that there were
far more members in The Nexus than were here.

“
Then let me say
this. Star Force is fair. If you come to us and seek to negotiate honestly then
we will listen. We might not always accommodate you, but we will listen. As far
as interlinking our economies, there are many possible ways to do that, and
several that I will not permit. If you wish to interact with my civilization
you will do so on my terms, and as I said, we’re fair. We don’t seek to steal
or cheat, and if you can benefit from fair dealings then there is a great deal
for us to discuss…and I will say, that it is a discussion that has been long
overdue
.”

2

March 21, 3254

Krachnika
System
(occupation zone)

Michra

Paul’s dropship landed on the lizard planet again,
coming down into a wide courtyard rather than one of the spaceports that Thrawn
had rebuilt, and the pink armor-clad Archon walked out to find the largest of
all the lizards waiting for him with his typical escorts bracketing his robed
body.

“
Due to your
quick return I assume you have an urgent matter to discuss
,” the mastermind
said, looking into the opaque helmet that only at the last moment retracted to
show the Human’s displeased face.

“
We discovered
the destination of the diggers, approximately where you suggested. An unclaimed
system showing recent activity
.”

“
What were they
recovering?
”

“
I don’t know.
Our ship couldn’t take a close look, let alone send a team down to the surface
,”
Paul said as he produced a hologram between them showing the planet and the
mass of ships above it. “
They weren’t
alone
.”

“
I recognize
only one grouping of these vessels. They are Trinx, an enemy of the
Li’vorkrachnika that we were never able to eliminate. The others are unknown to
me
.”

“
We know of one
other, called the Sety. They lead The Nexus, but the others are not Nexus
members. And they’re all in league with the Li’vorkrachnika and ordered our
ship out of the system. When it moved in for a closer look on its way out it
was even fired upon, but easily outran the pursuit when they didn’t chase it
far beyond the planet. They don’t want us there, and it has to do with this
object.
”

Paul zoomed in on the subsurface scan the Ma’kri had
taken, which revealed little beyond solid rock and the tunneling that had been
done recently by the lizards, for their infrastructure was showing in multiple
locations plus a scattering of other add-ons not of their making.

“
Look closely,
and you’ll see the sensor readings are faked. It’s fortunate that we got even
this little variation
,” he said as he adjusted the display to highlight the
region that was being hidden…an egg shape that extended for some 60 miles tip
to tip.

“
I have no
knowledge of this
,” the mastermind said.

“
How often do
you cooperate with other races?
”

“
Only when we
have a specific need. It is likely that their new allies identified this
location, otherwise it would have been discovered long ago. Show me which
system it is in
.”

Paul threw up a
starmap
and the
lizard became more certain.

“
We have nothing
there and never have. They would not be investigating that worthless planet
unless they were told to.
”

“
These races are
far stronger than the Li’vorkrachnika. They wouldn’t need their assistance if
they wanted this planet. They can move about at will. Why would they involve
them?
”

“
The presence of
the diggers suggest that they did not come straight to the planet. They had the
Li’vorkrachnika locate this hidden object for them and have now come to claim
it. Perhaps they did not know exactly what system it was in, and they have been
searching for it in many places
.”

“
That sounds
feasible, but I didn’t think you guys were all that generous
.”

“
We’re not.
There must have been additional factors. How advanced are these ships?
”

“
Very
.”

“
More so than
yours?
”

Paul cracked a smile. “
In some ways yes, in some ways no
.”

“
Even fight
then?
”

“
Given that
we’ve never seen 8 of these races fight we’re guessing, but they all look to be
very elite…meaning that whatever this is down there is damn important
.”

“
While this
could be a recent occurrence, there is the possibility that this was a
continuation of a previous relationship that I was not aware of
.”

“
The tech
upgrades?
”

“
It would make
sense. We could not match your technological progression, thus another source
beyond our own research was located. They could have struck a deal that
involved searching for whatever this is. That fleet arrangement suggests
cooperation, not enslavement. They are partners in this endeavor
.”

Anger rose within Paul at the thought of the Sety
feeding the lizards tech improvements…and then there was The Nexus’s reluctance
to squash them like a bug when they were giving the H’kar all they could
handle.

“
Have you seen
any other inklings of this?
”

“
The additional
shipyard ring you mentioned. It was kept from my knowledge with no apparent
reason. Coreward assets were supposed to be secret so you could not learn of
them when you overtook us here, but anything of that size in the original
holdings I should have known about
.”

“
Why would they
need to build ships?
”

“
Find the
location and see for yourself.
”

“
We know the
location…we think, but it’s a long ways off and didn’t want to bother with it
until we could get our supply lines closer. Taking you guys down requires a lot
of material expenditure
.”

“
In exchange for
your lack of personnel expenditure
.”

“
Yes. Something
I think you’re starting to learn
.”

“
So why not send
a scout?
”

“
Because until
now I didn’t think it was anything special, at least nothing that could match
the core worlds we still have to take down. But if it’s related to whatever
this is
,” Paul said, pointing at the hologram of the planet, “
then we’d better take a look
.”

“
Population
,”
the mastermind said, knowing that Paul would be inside his head.

“
And ships to
carry them where needed
.”

“
It is our
greatest asset…and one that technologically advanced races might require
.”

“
Trading your
lives for tech?
”

“
Until recently
I would not have objected. They are a commodity
.”

“
And now?
”

“
If I were them
I’d still make such a trade, for more could be accomplished from it. I can
assure you that these are allies of necessity, and that there is no trust
between them. Without their tech the templars know they are subject to a
slaughter if they turn against them, and the only way to close that gap is by
advancing their own technology, slowly through research, or quicker by trade.
The lives of a small fraction of the population, which can be easily replaced,
are more valuable than what they would be in combat against those same races
.”

“
Numerically I
can agree with you. If you’re going to die, do it in a way that most hurts your
enemy.
”

“
Yet?
”

“
Hard to say
without knowing what deal they’ve arranged, but some of the options going
through my head are downright disgusting
.”

“
What point is
there in existing if you betray your purpose to accomplish it?
”

“
Something like
that. You’ve had a change of mind since we last spoke?
” Paul inquired,
picking up on something else within the lizard’s mind.

“
This world will
fill up soon, and despite my efforts to increase capacity via infrastructure
and your population control stipulations, we will exceed capacity before I am
done conscripting worlds
.”

“
I know that
.”

“
And I doubt
that I will get the answers I need from the templars if they are all gone from
this region, unless those answers are somehow hidden within me. I cannot wait
to learn their intent, I must have a course of action. Preserving and
reorganizing those here is but a means to an unspecified end
.”

“
And what end
have you determined?
”

“
What end do you
wish for us?
”

“
You want to
fight?
”

“
A worthy fight,
yes. If our own judgement has been imperiled by these genetic blocks, then you
could bypass that deficiency by choosing the fight for us.
”

“
Fighting just
to fight is another means to an unspecified end. It doesn’t answer the question
of purpose.
”

“
My purpose is
to serve, to accomplish goals given to me. That is why I exist. Until recently
those goals always held merit, now I am questioning their true veracity. I need
to be accomplishing something real. No more lies or misdirection. What do you
intend for us?
”

“
For the short
term, containment. Beyond that is a wait and see
.”

“
You’ve surely
considered options
.”

“
But haven’t
settled on any yet
.”

“
We are bred to
work, and while I can keep the minions busy with varied tasks I cannot do so
with myself. Now I have work to do, but once the repair of this world is
complete and it is filled with inhabitants that have no purpose, this
civilization in a containment cell will unravel, and I first among it. I have
known this was coming but forestalled acknowledgement of that fact because I
did not know the truth of the templars. What knowledge they possess is critical
in how I am to proceed…but the fact is I do not think I will know of them in
time. I have to work, else I will self-destruct. This is not something I have
encountered before, but it is a very real doom I am seeing on the horizon
.”

“
There is an old
saying from my homeworld. A tiny, but powerful empire once said that it must
expand or die, for all it knew was to conquer and grow. It could not maintain
.”

“
I am not
designed to maintain save for that function in relation to a greater purpose
.”

“
Nor am I. We are
constantly training and growing more powerful. Individually as well as an
empire.
”

“
Could you
handle not improving?
”

“
No, I couldn’t.
Setbacks that I could fight against are one thing, but stagnation is an enemy
that I will not allow to exist. I am entirely incompatible with it
.”

“
And what fate
would you have us see?
” the mastermind asked, and Paul could feel him
almost pleading.

He didn’t answer for several seconds, looking him over
visually and mentally. “
I’ve never told
anyone this before, but the stronger I grow, the wiser I become, the less I
feel like I belong in this galaxy. Or rather, there’s nothing wrong with the
galaxy itself, but the people in it become less recognizable. I am so far
beyond most of them that it is like my success is ostracizing me. I have to
become better than them in order to protect them, but it leaves me alone with a
very short list of peers…and as others rise to that peer group I am leaving it
behind at the same or faster rate. Unless I stop advancing I will never be one
of them.
”

“
That’s just
part of the job
,” Paul continued. “
And
for you it’s similar. You have billions of your kin with you on this planet,
but they are all beneath you in terms of skill and knowledge. There are no
other masterminds here, and you’ve even said that you never interacted without
exceptional need. The only peers you came in contact with were the templars…but
you didn’t see them as peers, you saw them as superiors. They gave you a
purpose. A place. I have no superiors within Star Force, unfortunately, so I
have to chart my own course.
”

“
And now that I
have none, I must chart my own as well?
”

Paul spread his arms wide, gesturing to the planet
around them. “
You control one of the most
densely populated planets in this region of the galaxy. There is so much here
to do that most people would be overwhelmed. You’re so good at it that it
almost bores you, and that gives you time to look around and ask yourself…what
is the point of all of this? In the past, following the orders of the templars
was your point. It was your purpose. You didn’t have to think beyond that and
you consumed yourself in carrying out those orders. You were a facilitator, not
a leader. Not a trailblazer, anyway. There’s a significant difference between
the two.
”

“
I was not
designed for that
.”

“
No, but you are
intelligent enough to become one. You already have in some respects
.”

“
I have no wish
to be one. And what changes you have seen are me identifying weaknesses and
addressing them. They are inefficiencies and therefore must be eliminated. That
does nothing for me with regards to setting goals, only in achieving them
.”

“
I didn’t always
know my purpose. At least I never understood it in the beginning. I’d get bits
and pieces of meaning out of various things, but it wasn’t until I was past 300
years that it truly dawned on me why I exist. It’s not something I decided, or
swore an oath to. And it’s not genetically encoded, I can assure you of that.
It’s what happens when I see something bad happen. An injustice. When I observe
one something inside of me snaps. I cannot tolerate it. It is instinctual, and
in that moment I have a purpose. Whether it to be to prevent something bad from
occurring, or occurring again, or avenging that which took place. I cannot…will
not, tolerate injustice. It’s the very fiber of my being that makes me
incompatible with it. This is something I had to learn, but something that I
always knew from the beginning of my existence.
”