Star Force: Bahamut (SF86) (Star Force Origin Series) (3 page)

“
That’s what you
mean by ‘peacekeeper’ then?
”

“
An inadequate
word for a very real motivation that I cannot fully articulate
.”

“
And what
happens when you don’t have an injustice to deal with?
”

“
I train to
increase my power so that the next big one I encounter I can deal with
.”

“
And if all
threats in the galaxy are neutralized, what do you do then?
”

Paul shrugged. “
Travel
to another galaxy
.”

“
And if all
conflict everywhere was ended. All was at peace. What then?
”

“
I don’t think
I’d have a reason to exist
.”

“
That is the
doom approaching me
.”

“
You said you
wanted to fight…why exactly?
”

“
To do something
of worth rather than simply sitting here and existing
.”

“
But is it
fighting or killing?
”

The mastermind considered that. “
To fight against an opponent and achieve victory. That does not always
involve killing. It is the act of accomplishing something worthwhile that is
what drives me. The means to do so are immaterial.
”

“
Define
worthwhile
.”

“
I cannot. I
know it when I see it, but I cannot define it
.”

“
You’ve tried
before?
”

“
Many times. To
me it had always been carrying out the
templars’
orders. Now when I seek an alternative I cannot fabricate one. No matter what I
try it always ends up hollow and does not match my drive.
”

“
You are a
soldier who is interested in fighting a war, not picking a war
.”

“
It is the
challenge itself that drives me…so long that there is cause behind it.
Challenge without cause is a waste of time
.”

“
We call that
training
.”

“
Your training
has a cause
.”

“
But we train by
facing challenges without causes in order to practice them via experience. We
create meaningless challenges just to spite them. You can’t learn spite without
an opponent, and if you wait for real ones you’re going to usually be
inadequate to the task
.”

“
Yet underneath
it all you still have a purpose
.”

“
Yes, but
therein lies a difference. You want something real every time. You don’t want
training. You want to fight and ascend through combat and experience gained.
That’s how all of you have existed for your entire lives.
”

“
All needed
knowledge is given via genetic memories
.”

“
Not all. You’ve
gained a lot of experience that wasn’t given to you
.”

“
Most then
.”

“
I have a fellow
peer that thinks somewhat like you. She doesn’t dislike training, but would
prefer actual combat to it if possible…though real combat often isn’t
challenging enough for her, so she has to create challenges sufficient to push
her limits
.”

“
Therein we are
alike, though I did not have that luxury. Here on
Michra
,
before you arrived, there was no combat. My tasks generated troops and ships
that would be sent out to fight, so it was not without merit, but such things
are well beneath my limits
.”

“
So you need to
feel challenged?
”

“
I would prefer
it. Need is not required so long as I am serving…my civilization
.”

“
And it comes
back to that again. That core purpose you’re lacking
.”

“
So it seems
.”

Paul sighed, and suddenly the standard variant
Li’vorkrachnika flanking the mastermind froze in his peripheral vision. He
turned at the minor, but significant alteration, staring at them for a moment
before look back at the Human.

“
What have you
done?
”

“
They can’t hear
us anymore. Nor will they remember anything. They’re asleep yet frozen in place
while I control them. I have something to tell you that they can never know.
And I need your word on that
.”

“
Keeping secrets
from them is easy enough
.”

“
None can know,
not even a few details. This is for you and you alone
.”

“
Agreed
.”

“
You asked what
I would do if there were no longer any threats. The truth is, I’ve never had to
worry about that. I’ve got more to deal with than I can handle, and that’s not
going to change any time soon.
”

3

“
Your dominance
over the Li’vorkrachnika is not at issue. It is simply a matter of time until
your victory is complete
.”

“
You’ve been the
most immediate threat for a long time, but you’ve never been the biggest
threat.
”

“
The Nexus?
”

“
No. Not even close
.”

The mastermind stared at him for a long moment. “
Something towards the core that you do not
want to encroach upon? That’s why you will go no further?
”

“
I have known
,”
Paul began, knowing that what he was doing was a calculated risk, “
since the first day that I chose to begin
training to become an Archon that a war was coming. I didn’t know when or how,
and I still don’t, but it is going to happen. A war that will make the conflict
between Star Force and the Li’vorkrachnika seem inconsequential. A war that I
could not win, and one that I have worked every day of my life since to close
the gap to the point where we might just be able to survive…not win, but
survive when it comes to pass. That has been my purpose. It is our purpose.
Most of Star Force does not know of this, only the leaders, but it is the
reason we created the original organization that then grew into an empire
.”

“
What is this
threat?
”

“
They are called
the V’kit’no’sat, and are a conglomeration of races that dominate the core of
this galaxy. My homeworld was once on the furthest edge of their empire. They
do not conquer and consume every system like the Li’vorkrachnika do. They pick
and choose their targets, then ignore the rest so long as they do not get in
their way. They do not conquer those who are pathetic and inconsequential, so
they have come to dominate half this galaxy…but a rebellion occurred from one
of the member races and the empire contracted. My homeworld was razed in the
fighting and subsequently abandoned
.”

“
I am descended
from Zen’zat
,” he explained as the mastermind listened intently, lots of
lingering questions about Star Force suddenly being resolved. “
They are a servant variant of a race called
Ter’nat. Ter’nat are the lowest members of the V’kit’no’sat and are kept as breeding
material to spawn Zen’zat. They are individuals who prove themselves worthy and
swear their allegiance to serve the other races. They are given powers Ter’nat
do not possess, and are forbidden from reproducing
.”

“
When my
homeworld was abandoned, somehow there were a few Zen’zat left behind. We don’t
know how, but they were my ancestors and the knowledge of the V’kit’no’sat and
the abilities given to the Zen’zat were lost over time. Until we made a
discovery that opened our eyes to the truth and the potential within us
.”

“
Your
technology…you are not developing it, you are rediscovering it?
”

“
Yes, though
that is far harder than it sounds. The V’kit’no’sat are extremely advanced in
all categories. If they came back today we would not be able to defeat them. We
might cause them some damage, but it would not be a fair fight. And understand
when I say that the penalty for Zen’zat breeding is death…for those that did
the breeding, and all their offspring
.”

“
Your entire
race is under a death sentence?
”

“
Every Human
within Star Force, yes. We are all descended from those original Zen’zat who
were left behind. If the V’kit’no’sat discover we still exist, or simply come
back to reclaim their lost colony world, we will all be destroyed. Most likely
the other races within Star Force would be as well, perhaps even our allies.
They will purge us from existence, for all the races within the V’kit’no’sat
cannot leave. You are part of the group, or you are destroyed. There is no
middle ground. No rogue factions. The V’kit’no’sat do not suffer rivals in any
way, shape, or form. If we are discovered, we are dead
.”

“
Why entrust me
with this knowledge? If I were able to get word to the other Li’vorkrachnika
they could simply find these overlords and bring them down upon you, then they
could reclaim all the worlds you have taken from them.
”

“
You have no
transmitters here, but it is possible you could find a way to slip something
away when outside this system. Do you want to do that?
”

“
I believe you
already know the answer to that question, otherwise you would not have told me.
”

“
You said you
needed a purpose. Everything the Li’vorkrachnika have built, conquered, and
expanded into is for naught if the V’kit’no’sat mark them. Grow too powerful
and they will take you down. Granted, they’re a long way from even poking up
into their vision, but the Li’vorkrachnika will never conquer this galaxy. Not
even close. The templars may be ambitious, but there are other races out there
beyond the V’kit’no’sat that they will not be able to touch. If they simply
want to expand to expand they will not be able to do so indefinitely, and
should they be stupid enough to attack one of the greater powers they will do
to them what we are doing, only far worse. They will not fight honorably. We
have the means to generate biological weapons that could easily wipe out the
population of your worlds without us having to invade, but we don’t fight that
way. Others would
.”

The mastermind regarded him quizzically. “
You have weapons that could easily destroy
us, yet you do not use them? For what purpose do you have those weapons?
”

“
We have the
ability to create them, but have not
.”

“
Still, why risk
your own troops, a few of which have died, when you could have prevented it,
let alone the massive amount of resources you have expended?
”

“
Do you not
already know by this point?
” Paul asked.

“
No, I do not.
You have regarded the preservation of your own troops as your highest priority.
Why lose some of them and give us time to grow and spread when you could more
quickly defeat us?
”

“
Not defeat.
Destroy. Why did I not kill you?
”

“
I still wonder
about that. I know your stated reasons, but something about them never fully
rang true
.”

“
We do not kill
you because we want to. We kill you in order to stop you. If we can do so via
other methods, then we will
.”

“
Surrender. This
is all about giving us a chance to surrender. You’ve prolonged this war to give
us a chance to live, one that we would never take. Are you insane or clever
beyond my reasoning?
”

“
We are
honorable. And we will not hold every Li’vorkrachnika responsible for the
actions of the others. To do so would be
…”

“
Inaccurate
.”

“
Yes
.”

“
You kill those
who deserve it, not their kin
.”

“
That’s another
way of putting it
.”

“
Yet you sparred
me when I was the one giving the orders opposing you
.”

“
Sometimes the
past must be avenged. Sometimes it must be let go. Are you still a threat to
me?
”

“
If I was you
would have killed me by now
.”

“
Then if your
threat has been eliminated, I have succeeded in my mission. Your destruction
was never the goal
.”

“
But yours is,
by these overlords of yours
.”

“
Yes it is, or
would be, if they knew we existed
.”

“
And they are
not honorable, so you do not wish to emulate them?
”

“
There is a mix
of honor and dishonor within them. More of the latter, but they are not wholly
degenerate. I have no illusions of negotiating with them. They are compulsively
loyal and arrogant. More so than even you. When they place a death mark, they
will not be swayed from it. And the more resistance given the more it will
galvanize them…and they have far more worlds to draw power from than Star Force
and the Li’vorkrachnika combined. Each of which is in itself wholly superior
.”

“
Your entire
civilization exists under a mark of death, and yet you pursue honorable goals
rather than mere survival. You compromise that which matters most in order to
see to the needs of others?
”

“
Our survival is
not in our power to control, but even if it was, yes, we will fight honorably
.”

“
Would you ever
use these more efficient killing weapons if needed? Under any circumstance?
”

“
Honor does not
lie in the weapons, but how they are used in the given situation. In theory
there might be a time and a place for them, but never where we initiate the
combat
.”

“
Defensive
vengeance then?
”

“
Possibly. If we
are to die, we will die honorably, but that doesn’t mean we won’t take as many
of them with us as possible
.”

“
Within the
bounds of honor?
”

“
We won’t harm
those who do not deserve it in order to strike at those who do
.”

“
Suddenly I find
we have more in common that I allowed for. You will fight like us when the
circumstances are correct, and you will not surrender?
”

“
Even if the
V’kit’no’sat gave us that option, no, I would not
.”

“
And the others?
”

“
The average
person might. The Archons will not
.”

“
You will fight
to the death?
”

“
We won’t seek
death, but we will not submit
.”

“
So in that, we
are alike
.”

“
We don’t engage
in suicide attacks
.”

“
If your death
was assured, would you not ram your warship into your enemy?
”

“
If death is
assured, then it’s not suicide. It’s a choice of how to die and to do as much
damage to the enemy as possible before you do
.”

“
We have long
assumed you did not have the fortitude to do what was necessary. Then when we
began losing to you we tried to study you to determine why. Technological
progress was evident, but there was always something else in play, tactics
wise. Now I think I finally understand what it was. You were holding yourselves
back rather than being incompetent. Reserving certain methods of fighting for
situations you deemed honorable. I imagine that is a mistake many of your
enemies have made
.”

“
A few. The
Li’vorkrachnika found us when we were very weak. Had it not been for the
Hycre’s intervention we probably would have been destroyed. We needed time to
grow and they gave it to us
.”

“
And you have
repaid them with the gift of weaponry and the return of their worlds?
”

“
Yes
.”

“
But you did not
annex them?
”

“
We only
forcibly annex those who are our enemies…if we so choose
.”

“
But that is not
what you want from us?
”

“
No. Like I
said, given access to your genetic material, we could have done that a long
time ago
.”

“
Yet we have one
advantage that you do not, as far as my information tells me
.”

“
And that is?
”

“
We are born
with genetic memory and are functional immediately. Your young take time to
develop, including your Bsidd. We can expand faster and more effectively
.”

“
You expand with
inexperienced units. I will grant they have more immediate effect than our
younglings ever could, but over the course of time ours will exceed yours
.”

“
But it’s an
advantage you could have incorporated by annexing us. So why didn’t you?
”

“
There are many
ways in which to fight. We prefer some methods over others, and your type of
colony building, while effective, doesn’t suit our methods. You risk your
personnel too much, but you gain from that risk in many occasions. We put our
experienced troops in harm’s way while we protect the young long enough that
they can become experienced. Your method is the reverse
.”

“
Given the
threat the galaxy faces, weak units, no matter how many, are pointless
.
So you have engineered your combat forces to
face an unbeatable opponent rather than tooling them to face more immediate
threats?
”

“
Partly true
.”

“
And you believe
our suicide attacks would not be affective against them?
”

“
Nothing you have
will be effective against them
.”

“
If you were to
implement them?
”

Paul sighed. “
They’ve
been around for millions of years, and have grown quite accustomed to people
trying to take them down. They’ve developed technology to block a lot of
suicide attempts
.”

“
Which you have
implemented
.”

“
They have far
more
.”

“
Are they as
concerned with maintaining their troops as you are?
”

“
No. But they
find retraining new ones to be tedious, so they take care not to lose them
unless absolutely needed
.”

“
They will still
spend their lives if necessary?
”

“
Their
collective ego is more valuable to them
.”

“
Yet you have
never met them?
”

“
We recovered
extensive records, so we know them well enough to be certain of their response
.”

“
Why not abandon
your world and travel far from it so they will never find you? If their empire
is in the core, flee to the rim and be rid of them
.”