Star Force: Penance (SF49) (10 page)

When the last of them was removed Ken’slan walked up
to the central reclining pedestal and stood beside it, with most of those in
the chamber expecting him to claim leadership for Grisst, but true to his word
he did not.

“
What was done
today was necessary, on the grounds of honor, to right a terrible wrong that
has cost us many lives. The Humans are our allies, not our enemies, and they
have proved far more honorable than I had previously given them credit for.
That was my mistake, and I am glad to admit that I have learned from it. While
capable of ruling, Grisst is not the best suited bloodline to that task given
the realities of life within the ADZ. Perhaps someday when war does not cling
at our throats like a constant noose we will lead, but now, when war is upon
us, we must fight the enemies at our doorstep
.”

“
Prior to now I
believed that meant hoarding our forces here, to defend our own worlds when the
Cajdital broke through into the ADZ. I was wrong in such thoughts, and it is
only proper for those who had more clairvoyance than Grisst to lead. With our
blessing and support, Wennitan will ascend to leadership and make this
den
their own
.”

Paul could clearly feel the shock in the other
Scionate, with a lesser version mirrored in
himself
.
He hadn’t expected Ken’slan to choose a rival bloodline, but fortunately it was
the one that Paul had guessed to be on par with Grisst. Still, he was seeing
some aspect of the inner workings of Scionate society that he didn’t yet
understand…and that intrigued him. Not to mention the fact that Wennitan were
supporters of front line combat.

Jen’ton walked out of the crowd and stood beside
Ken’slan for a moment, exchanging gestures of respect, then the Grisst stepped
away from the pedestal and Jen’ton climbed up on top of it…with the rest of the
Wennitan leadership doing the same and assuming their positions as the new
Chieftans of the Scionate.

“
War Chief Paul
,”
Jen’ton called out with a high pitched voice…for a Scionate anyway, “
please
come
forward.
”

Paul raised an eyebrow inside his helmet and walked
through the various cats, who parted to give him a direct line to the front,
whereupon he removed his helmet and stared eye to eye with the Scionate, given
that it sat on a pedestal and that Humans stood taller than the quadrupeds,
giving them an equal eye level and an unexpected symbol of parity, whereas the
other Scionate were lower to the ground, even as they stood.

“
On behalf of my
wayward kin, I apologize deeply for the affront we have committed. Not just the
most recent attack and those few lives that it cost your people, but by our
reluctance to do our part in the defense of the ADZ. We have lived in safety
for many years thanks to the efforts of Star Force, the Protovic, and the Hycre
with little in compensation. With your permission, the Scionate would like to
colonize a handful of worlds on the border to further strengthen our perimeter,
as well as to be included in ongoing combat operations effective immediately
.”

Paul didn’t smile, though he was pleased with the
turnabout.

“
As you said,
you killed some of my people.
That we cannot and will not
forgive.
Even though you have deposed those responsible for ordering the
assault, your troops willingly carried it out. Loyalty is valuable, blind
loyalty is dangerous. It is clear that the Scionate do not see Star Force as an
inherent ally, otherwise your troops would have refused the attack order and
spared their own lives in the process.
”

“
There is a rift
between us that has grown larger
,” Paul continued with an even tone. “
Words cannot heal the wounds of battle…only
further battle can. Given time, effort, and execution we may one day grow into
true allies, but that is not by any means a certainty. I will, however, grant
you the opportunity to try and forge that bond. Your request for worlds on the
border is granted, with specifics to be arranged later. Your request for
inclusion into ground operations will have to be approved by the Protovic, for
they are leading many of those campaigns, but I grant you permission to fight
in conjunction with Star Force on ours. You will be given the opportunity to
regain your honor and one day
call
yourself our
ally…if you prove worthy
.”

“
Stern words
,”
Jen’ton said with an equally even tone, “
but
those of a warrior who does not have time for games and respects us enough to
give us the blunt truth. We welcome the chance to prove ourselves, and will
atone for our dishonor in Cajdital and Skarron blood…or Nestafar, if we should
get the chance.
”

“
I believe there
is a line forming on that last count
.”

“
As there should
be, though your Calavari have priority rights after what they suffered. As for
your loss of lives…that is something we cannot compensate you for. Your ships
and other machines are another matter, and we will supply you with 10 times the
resources necessary to replace them
.”

“
And
the meat market?
”

“
I will send out
couriers within the day instructing that it be dismantled and those responsible
apprehended. You need not continue your clandestine attacks. If we do not
locate them all, point out to us what we have missed and we will eradicate them
ourselves. We made a pact with Star Force, and Wennitan will see that it is
honored
.”

“
So long as you
are true to your word, consider this to be the official end of hostilities on
Star Force’s part
.”

“
And
likewise for the Scionate, again, with our deepest apologies
.”

“
Rule wisely
,”
Paul said before putting his helmet back on and turning to leave, with Kara and
Morgan falling into step with him and leaving the audience chamber enroute to their
gunship, which they then took back to Admat directly.

10

July 23, 2534

Solar System

Earth

Davis sat in his office reviewing the report that Paul
had sent him, detailing the resolution to the Scionate problem with better
results than he had hoped for. Their military, while not as well equipped as
Star Force’s, was far larger and adding them to the front would add another
level of stability to the ADZ. As it was most of the ‘front’ was unoccupied by
either friend or enemy, given that it was a spherical perimeter. The more dots
on that shell that they could fill, the more secure the sphere would become, if
for no other reason than to have secure bases to strike back from should, or
rather when, an invasion occurred.

The Scionate had also agreed to end the meat market
and vigorously pursue any violations that they found or that Star Force pointed
out. Because of that last caveat Davis guessed they were being genuine, which
Paul also echoed, but only time would tell on that point. The teams out
dismantling the meat market through special ops action were being called back
temporarily to allow the Scionate to take care of it themselves, but Paul and a
few of the others were sticking around to make sure the job got done properly.

The other trailblazers were heading off to other
assignments/training as was usual, with Davis’s part of this endeavor now
coming into play. Paul had sent along a copy of both raids on the Scionate den,
along with their own security recordings, detailing the Archons’ strike and how
effective it was in cutting right past their defenses. Those records he was
going to edit a bit, maybe cut out some of their psionics, but otherwise he was
going to distribute them to the various news agencies within the ADZ so
everyone could see what had happened and how Star Force could and would come
after them if they violated the terms of colonization.

There would be a secondary reaction, he knew, to how
powerful the Archons were, but word of that had already begun to spread of its
own accord from various races’ troops that had gone into battle alongside them.
Davis knew well the risks in tipping off the V’kit’no’sat to their existence,
but at this point there was little they could do to stop the information from
spreading…so he might as well use it to his advantage.

He believed, and hoped, that the V’kit’no’sat were too
far away to notice. There were potentially millions of races within the galaxy,
and if the V’kit’no’sat hadn’t returned to reclaim Earth by now then it was
probably in a region that they cared little for. They were almost outside the
V’kit’no’sat maps anyway, but bottom line was that Star Force had to be Star
Force regardless of what happened…though there were plans in the working
should/when they came back. They were far from complete, but Star Force
couldn’t wait a few centuries to get them established. They had two warfronts
to deal with that could end them before the V’kit’no’sat even glanced this way,
making dealing with those the top priority.

The trailblazers had already set a no-go line on the
edge of Beta Region, which Davis concurred with. Hopefully that would keep word
of Star Force local, but at the end of the day the future was uncertain and
there were no guarantees, no matter what they did or didn’t do. The ADZ was
Davis’s immediate concern, and releasing this information would go a long way
to heading off a list of problems before they arose. Fear of retribution was an
effective weapon when coupled with justice, so that your allies didn’t fear you
but your adversaries did. It was a delicate balance to maintain, but one that
Davis and Star Force had already mastered.

Included in the news release he was compiling was
footage from the assault on Admat…which Davis was furious about. Paul’s calming
wisdom had kept him from going through the roof, but in no way, shape, or form
could killing people ever be construed as a legitimate form of diplomacy or
airing of grievances. By including those data records…which he was going to
leave Kara out of…Davis intended to show everyone else the foolishness and
price of attacking Star Force, for Paul, Morgan, Kara, and the rest of the Star
Force troops there had pulled off a victory that Davis was still having a hard
time understanding given the numbers that had been thrown against them.

Their losses should have been far worse, but those
people they had lost were still eating at him. He was pleased with the
resolution the trailblazers had managed to accomplish, but something still felt
wrong about the Scionate avoiding responsibility for their actions. Them
joining the warfront was meant as a form of penance, and Davis could appreciate
that, as well as the fact of them losing so many lives in the attack, but still
their empire was intact with only a change of leadership as a result…a tactic
that had been employed in democracies on Earth back in the day to avoid
responsibility, preserving the nation through blaming and discarding a few
individuals.

Paul’s report indicated that wasn’t the case here, and
while Davis trusted his judgement he still had misgivings, though he was going
to let them pass and watch how things played out. The victory on Admat and the
two successful raids into the Scionate capitol gave him plenty of social
ammunition to use in the cultural clash that was ongoing, and putting the
Scionate in their place was going to be part of his efforts. If they were
admitting responsibility and altering from within, so be it, but he wasn’t counting
on that good of luck, so in the news release he made sure to detail the events
truthfully, but with an emphasis on the Scionate biting off more than they could
chew and getting their asses kicked.

That was the message the ADZ needed to hear, along with
various other threads. It also doubled as Davis’s personal jab at the race, for
he could not and would not
ever
tolerate his people being killed, and there was no way the Scionate or any
other ADZ race was going to spin this to their favor. He was going to make it
crystal clear what happened and where the blame lay, then let the threat of the
Archons and Star Force’s military might speak for itself. Stating a ‘this is
what will happen to you’ boast would work contrary to the intended point, with
letting the truth work its own magic being, Davis had discovered over the
centuries, to be the most effective way of convincing someone of something.
Push and they got defensive or disbelieving.

Davis was just going to make sure they had more than
enough data to squelch any spinning before it began, as well as to make it
clear that Star Force was capable of defending the ADZ against the lizards,
Skarrons, and others…something that was still very much an active question
floating around. Up until now Star Force had been seen as a tech guru, building
the Sentinels and aiding the Protovic and Hycre in the fighting…but now the
races would see just how much teeth Star Force had for a conventional fight,
given that the Scionate had always been assumed to be the stronger head to
head.

Several hours later, when Davis sent the packet off
for final review by his staff to make sure he hadn’t missed or messed anything
up, he was still fuming over Admat. The equipment destroyed could be replaced,
but the lives lost couldn’t…and they hadn’t been lost fighting an enemy. They’d
been killed by a so-called ally, and that just left Davis with a very wrong
feeling tugging at his gut.

Unable to shake it, he left his office and went down
to the gym for a workout, hoping the effort would help to clear his head and
feeling the incessant need to hit something.

On the planet Rassakatt, far outside the ADZ and on
the very edge of Nestafar space,
Sarrew
woke to an
alarm, bolting out of his hanging sleep pod and pulling on his clothing before
flying up the ceiling exit and through the narrow tube-like passageway that
curved over into a tunnel that led to a nearby prep room where he and many
others were hastily pulling on combat gear.

Sarrew
grabbed a pair of
hand blades, not expecting to need them but always carrying them in a sheath on
his small belt just in case. He added a pistol and some extra gear in a ready
to go utility harness that he pulled on around his back and clasped in the
front, then headed out another tunnel that lead to the ready bay where he took
to the air and flew across the vast chamber to the waiting transport, ducking
inside a few minutes before it launched through a topside door the size of a
grain field.

As the transport took to the air
Sarrew
moved about within the ship, coming to the internal hangar bay and climbing
aboard his walker and joining the other crew assembling inside. Normally they
would have boarded the walker prior to its being put into the hangar, but this
particular military base was for fast response, with the machines being
preloaded so they could leave in a minimum of time. The troops were the same
way, having been kept nearby and on alert, rotating out in cycles, to maintain
constant readiness.

Sarrew
had been on call for
some 3 years now after returning from the successful yet bloody Calavari
campaign, but this was the first non-drill call he’d responded to, given that
Rassakatt was a secure world far from what had previously been Calavari
territory. In fact it was on the coreward edge of Nestafar territory, making it
about as safe of a backwater world as you could get.

The planet was well established and boasted a large
population, so it wasn’t some dinky outpost and undefended, but these types of
military positions were for the young soldiers who needed experience and the
old veterans that needed a breather…both serving a purpose in the defense of a
world that probably wouldn’t need defending.

Yet now here he was, being called out to fight who
knew what. Perhaps the Alliance had found them…the thought of which terrified
him. The annihilation of their capitol system and all its worlds still haunted
the Nestafar, and if they had come here with similar intent he could be facing
overwhelming numbers of troops as soon as they dropped out of the transport.

Sarrew
didn’t get an
intelligence report until two minutes prior to drop off, with him unable to
read more than ‘unidentified foe’ before he was actively walking the super
dragon out of the transport with smaller walkers skittering out ahead of the
giant machine. He got a heading from the regional military commander and set
the Ho’shemon on its course, forming into the echelon typical of Nestafar
walkers when traveling towards a target.

Sarrew
was piloting the
machine while the rest of the crew were handling weapons and other systems, and
it didn’t take long before their enemy appeared on the horizon…for their own
version of walkers were
huge
. Never
before had he seen an enemy with something bigger than the Ho’shemon, which
among this region of the galaxy was considered the dominant ground assault
vehicle.

As they moved forward he could see weaponsfire ahead,
with red plasma exchanging with white amongst many targets. Normally
Sarrew
would have been tasked with heading towards the
biggest and strongest enemy to counter and usually kill while the smaller
walkers engaged the others, pulling the heat off them and putting it on the
beast that he was driving, but today wasn’t the case, with him being tasked
with heading towards the nearest of the enemy walkers as a hoard of four-legged
Nestafar
Urriak
were engaging the large, almost
floating masses that moved about on impossibly thin legs.

But there were smaller ones yet,
each bipeds with thick legs that were running forward into flanking positions.
Sarrew
saw the main plasma battery fire a spurt of
red at the orb-like top of the enemy walker, splashing over it and impacting
some type of shield before melting into the armor…but it didn’t go down as he
expected. Instead it took three hits before the plasma melted all the way
through and the burnt out hulk came to a rest…then slowly tipped over as its
legs weren’t quite in the proper position to maintain balance.

From there he kept the super dragon on its original
course, with the targeting head moving independent from his leg motions unless
otherwise directed. He saw one of the big walkers go down ahead under a
coordinated attack from the smaller Nestafar walkers,
then
his went into combat with another to its right, with
Sarrew
setting them in place and adjusting their standing angle to assist the gunners
in case the spindly-legged thing tried to run.

It didn’t, and the two machines exchanged direct fire,
neither doing as much damage to the other as they expected.
Sarrew
knew the Nestafar armor would protect them against all but an overwhelming
onslaught, but the enemy shields and armor were serving them well and kept them
alive and fighting far longer than he was comfortable with.

Once the big machine collapsed and crushed its own
legs,
Sarrew
moved them on towards the next one,
taking down three more before they met up with an even larger enemy walker and
the odds became a bit more even…but with time and the assistance of his
escorts,
Sarrew’s
super dragon downed it as well,
beginning to put some order to the ground battle.

That was when he got orders to travel to another
location as quickly as mechanically possible. He responded appropriately,
turning the super dragon to the right and walking forward as he saw a plume of
missiles streak across the sky and land on another super dragon ahead, blasting
into its armor so badly that when the smoke finally cleared the impact divots
were obvious…meaning significant damage.

That super dragon fired back on its target…only that
wasn’t what had fired the missiles at it. As
Sarrew
brought his super dragon into play and assisted the other with the takedown
along with hundreds of plasma orbs and streamers from the smaller walkers, he
finally saw the missile firing target on the horizon, far outside their current
range and to which the military commander was eventually working them.