Star Force Perseverance (SF81) (Star Force Origin Series) (2 page)

was indispensable, obviously. This colony had gotten along fine without him to

this point, but taking it forward was his responsibility and there was no way

of knowing when someone out here might come sniffing around and find them.

And if they were a superpower like The Nexus, well,

Jeyron would have little to defend this system with…and the number of planets

alone would be reason enough for someone to take it from them if they found it.

Calling for help would be pointless, for they’d be

dead before a message could make its way back to the ADZ. No, the defense of

this system would lay, for the moment, in the Archons and warships sent here to

watch over it, but in the long run it would come down to what defenses and

ships that Jeyron could build from local resources. Archons would come from the

Earth and always would, but commandos, naval officers, pilots, techs, etc could

be ‘grown’ locally out of the population. Maturias would be established and

freedom of movement would be retained via the sporadic convoys, so no one would

be stuck here if they truly wanted to leave…but by the same note volunteers

would still be coming in to supplement this system’s population.

Fast forward centuries and you’d have a large enough

population that you’d see people staying here rather than leaving, meaning that

this little piece of the Star Force empire was going to be almost entirely self-contained,

and it was up to Jeyron to design, build, and manage it. That was a monstrous

task and one that he was kind of glad was going to take a while, because he was

going to have to learn as he went, as all Monarchs did, though the Director had

given him some notes for him to make use of going forward. Notes from Davis

himself that he’d compiled over the years that Jeyron had virtually memorized

on the trip out here.

“Count, there’s an incoming message for you,” Captain

Jihadia said, startling Jeyron out of his daze.

“Go ahead and put it on the main display. It can’t be

my mistress all the way out here,” he said with a sarcastic wink.

Jihadia snorted a quick laugh, then the holographic

image of an Archon striker appeared out of armor, but with the telltale

identification stripe on his uniform that Jeyron could just barely make out.

“Welcome to Shangri-La, Count Jeyron,” the man said

with a polite bow.

“Klevin, I presume?”

“I am. I’ve gotten this system up and running, but it

needs a Monarch’s touch and I’m glad you’re finally here.”

“Situation report?”

“Still empty space around us. Scouting teams have

found a few more native civilizations, all pre-grav drive tech. If there are

any significant powers out here they’re not right on our doorstep.”

Jeyron visibly sighed. “That’s a relief.”

“Quite so.”

The Count winced, trying to find a non-accusing way of

asking this. “I didn’t notice any shipyard construction yet?”

“Priorities,” the Archon said apologetically. “Getting

the base industry established was more important, thus I had resources focused

on giving you as many building blocks as possible. We’ve got enough ships at

the moment, so a full shipyard was unnecessary.”

“Support craft?”

“Dropships are being built in a surface shop within

the city.”

“Ah,” Jeyron said with some pleasure. So they hadn’t

built a proper shipyard, but they did have a tiny one for the smaller craft up

and running. That was most welcome news. “I had hoped for as much. I trust I

can leave the security of the system in your hands while I get to work?”

“Always. We’ll watch your back while you build.”

“If so much as a piece of debris floats within 10

lightyears of this system I want to know immediately, I just don’t want to make

a habit of checking surveillance reports myself.”

“I’ll make you aware of anything that pops up, but

thus far it’s pretty dead out here.”

“I hope for our sake it stays that way. I can’t turn

this place into Epsilon Eridani overnight.”

“I’ll give you a week.”

“Gracious of you,” the Count replied with equal sarcasm.

“Though I suppose I should also inform you now that a detachment from Clan

Sangheili is within the convoy. They have orders to establish a separate

presence here, a pure startup of their own. I don’t know where that leaves your

chain of command.”

“Sangheili? Interesting, but not a problem. I’d been

told you were in full command?”

“I am, but you know how the Clans like to do their own

thing.”

“And Sangheili likes to be the first to jump the gun

whenever possible,” the Archon said with some chagrin.

“And you are what Clan?”

“Clan Joanna. The rest of the Archons here are a mix

with no official Clan function on this mission. May I ask who made the

addition?”

“The Director added it at the last minute before we

left.”

“Well then, no arguing that. He must have something

good in mind.”

“He always does. They have a padawan with them. Will

she take lead or will you retain it? I can work either way, I just didn’t want

to make assumptions.”

“A padawan? No mage?”

“No, but she’s already completed her apprenticeship.”

“Baby mage then,” Klevin mewed. “If her duties are

Clan specific then I’ll maintain operational command. If not we’ll figure it

out. We don’t actually bicker about that sort of thing.”

“Arm wrestle?”

“No,” the Archon said, shaking his head slowly. “I’m

glad there’s someone here now that’s stronger than me. It’ll give me a

challenging sparring partner.”

“If anyone other than an Archon said that I’d assume

it was innuendo, but with you guys I know better.”

The Archon smiled. “Sorry, Count. We won’t be helping

you boost the population numbers…though others are doing an admirable job of it

right now.”

“A population surge request?”

“No, I gave none. They’ve volunteered themselves to

it.”

Jeyron cringed. “It’s that boring out here, isn’t it?”

“I can’t speak to that. My work is essentially the

same everywhere I go.”

“Diminished workforce?” Jeyron asked, knowing that if

a lot of the female population were pregnant they’d be incapacitated for at

least a short period of time.

“Yes, but nothing too worrisome. Filling out the

maturias sooner rather than later seemed more prudent, so I didn’t interfere.

Most of the women are being responsible about it and taking breaks in between

pregnancies, so we’re not losing whole chunks of population. They’re

coordinating an alteration pattern on their own.”

“Wise of them.”

“They’re Star Force. Should you expect less?”

“Perhaps not, but I’m also used to dealing with raw

civilians who are less…insightful in their mating habits.”

“We don’t have any raw civilians out here…save for the

younglings.”

“How far along is the first maturia?”

“They’re 8 years old.”

The Count nodded. “A good start then.”

“I assume I can officially relinquish master builder

activities?”

Jeyron smiled. “I officially relieve you, Archon. You

can get back to full training now.”

Klevin bowed gratefully. “Much appreciated. I’ll meet

you at the spaceport when you land and give you a proper tour.”

“Looking forward to it,” the Count said as the

transmission cut off…then he noticed the Captain giving him an odd look. “What?”

“Mating habits?”

“Sounds more professional than fucking.”

“Sounds like something you shouldn’t need to worry

about.”

The Count shrugged. “Population statistics are

something we have to keep our eye on.”

“Is that what your interest in me has been then?”

“Unless your trim figure is somehow hiding it, I don’t

think you’ve chosen to go that route, so the answer is no. This trip has been

unbelievably boring and you’re the one thing that has made it bearable, so

thank you for that, Captain. I don’t know how you crewers handle these doldrums

on a regular basis.”

“Some of us prefer solitudes, and the Archons don’t

seem to have your boredom problem.”

“Training is useful, but for a Monarch we need to be

active in a practical way.”

“So ‘mating’ with me was just to keep you busy?” she

asked with a rueful smile.

“Busy no. Break up the boredom occasionally…yes.”

“How flattering,” she said, neither offended or

amused. “It seems you’ll have a lot more prospects to keep your attention down

in the colony.”

“Afraid not. I’m going to be too busy doing real work.

I only let myself relax when I have nothing else to do.”

“So now I’m ‘relaxation?’ A promotion of sorts, I’d

imagine.”

“And I was?” the Count asked, curious.

“A feather in the cap,” she said honestly. “Never

bagged a Monarch before,” she said with a devious smile.

Jeyron made a ‘tsk, tsk, tsk’ sound as he slowly shook

his head, looking at her petite and trim figure as she sat in her Captain’s

chair. “Oh the perks this job would have if only I were corrupt.”

“Which is why Monarchs are virtually impossible to

nail. You’re quite the score for me.”

“If that’s what alleviates your boredom,” he said as

he stood up and made ready to leave the bridge and the ship. “Have a dropship

readied. I’ll be taking my leave of you and your ship now. Make sure to keep

that feather properly fluffed and cockily displayed.”

“It’s been a pleasure,” she said honestly.

“Likewise, Captain. Likewise,” the Count said, leaving

the bridge to gather his belongings and head down to his new planet that the

cargo fleet would be departing as soon as it had unloaded.

Another bridge crewer threw the Captain a glance after

the Count had left. “He doesn’t know about the scoreboard?” she asked.

Jihadia shook her head. “No. I took it down before I

plucked that feather. It’s going back up as soon as he’s gone.”

The crew member smiled. “A Monarch, huh? Didn’t think

any of us would actually get one of those. They’re as hard as getting an

Archon.”

“Archons are impossible,” the Captain stated flatly.

“Anyone who claims to have done one of them is lying.”

“What if they did them before they became an Archon?”

Jihadia looked at her navigational officer, not ever

having considered that possibility before. “Technically that wouldn’t count as

an Archon, but it’d still be scoreboard worthy.”

March 31, 3102

Menchet System

(lizard core)

Tess

Tavarini reached down with his armored mandibles and

picked up yet another lizard body, throwing it over the railing to the pile

below to clear the small area of cover behind a bulkhead on the walkway the

Bsidd were holding. The last assault had nearly choked them out, leaving them

with too many bodies and not enough room to put them. The next wave would be on

them any second and he needed to get behind cover as much as possible, hence he

and the others were chucking the warm corpses wherever they could.

The walkway they were on was small, barely 8 meters

wide, but it had a lot of nooks and openings into other areas, with a railing

beside the bulkhead that opened to another larger promenade below. It didn’t

connect to the upper level directly, and this damn lizard shipyard ring was a

maze of connecting tunnels, ramps, and ladders. Almost all of the fighting was

being conducted in small groups at extreme close range, with the lizards

literally crowding out every available open space with a flood of bodies

running at you and firing at pointblank range.

Their rifles and pistols were annoying, but it was the

det packs that were the biggest concern. They’d cornered many Bsidd over the past

two months and blasted through their armor. A handful had died, but most had to

be evacuated with mangled bodies. This type of fighting was different than he

was used to, but at least the lizards couldn’t throw hundreds of phaser shots

against your shields at once…but the downside was that you didn’t have anywhere

to run when one of the little bomb carriers found his way through the others

and ran up in your face.

Hence every square meter of clear floor was precious,

and as he grabbed another lizard body…or rather the upper half of one that had

been cut in two with a plasma rod…he chucked it over the side ignoring the

blood splatters on his armor. His shields were down on his mandibles for the

moment, and the purple battle plates were already covered in lizard gore. It

was something he’d gotten used to, barely even noticing now as his mind was

focused on the next engagement.

A ping on his battlemap told him that was going to be

on them soon enough. Star Force had already managed to conquer and secure a small

slice of the shipyard ring, but they were having to defend it on both sides

across miles of interior terrain, both up and down, as the lizards poured

combat troops up the elevator shafts from the planet’s surface and continued to

send them against the invading troops.

The promenade below was a battleground that had