Star Force: Resurrection (SF84) (Star Force Origin Series) (9 page)

“
Negligible. You
put value on life where there is little. If we need more personnel we simply
create more.
”

“
So if I offered
to let you and every other living Li’vorkrachnika in this system go, you
wouldn’t consider it. You’d just write off trillions of people as
inconsequential losses
.”

“
You would have
us forfeit the remaining worlds without a fight?
”

“
In exchange for
your lives and your freedom, yes
.”

“
Our lives are
worth less than your losses and consternation with having to remove us
.”

“
And is that
your personal assessment, or do the others do your thinking for you?
”

“
The logic is
sound
.”

Paul all but snarled, letting his displeasure and
annoyance visibly show as he theatrically reached out a hand towards the lizard
and telekinetically lifted him up off the floor and lightly bounced his head
against the ceiling.

“
My power is
strong, not because it is built that way, but because I have increased it in
small amounts year after year, and others have done the same. I have lived for
more than a millennium, and will continue to grow stronger so long as I survive
and continue training as I have. That power is something civilizations with
your expendable philosophy will never achieve. You relegate your own powerbase
to that which you can take cheaply and quickly, while true dominance is forged
with time
.”

Paul smashed him back to the floor, but kept his
restraining hold on him so he couldn’t rip the Kich’a’kat off his chest. “
You are inferior because you do not see the
value in life. And you, personally, are someone who should see it, if only in a
combat perspective. Highly skilled troops that, if allowed to continue
development, will
outscale
the young 2 to 1. 3 to 1.
10 to 1. You know how damn effective we are in combat, but all of us are like
that because we have had time to grow stronger because we weren’t deemed
expendable. We keep our people alive in order for them to grow stronger and
kick your ass. Can you not get that concept through your feeble
mind!
”

There was a brief, but chilling silence that the
lizard finally broke. “
That is why you do
not push all advantages?
”

“
Destroying the
enemy at the cost of ourselves is not an option. We would rather wait and
devise a way to kill you without any of us dying. I do not know how much
information flows back to you, but I have personally conquered several of your
planets without losing a single person. We take injuries, then heal them, but
if we do our jobs right none of our people will die
.”

“
We have cost
you lives here
.”

“
Some, yes. And
even one loss is unacceptable. A defeat
.”

“
Why then are
you concerned about our lives?
”

“
Given time you
could learn, overcome your blocks, and realize that we are only fighting you
because you give us no choice. Stop destroying other races and we’ll leave you
alone. If you would just understand that the war could be over in an instant
.”

“
You think to
spare yourselves more losses via strengthening us?
”

“
You could look
at it that way. Your strength is not a threat so long as you do not misuse it
.”

“
Strength is
always a threat, and there can be no security if others have the power to
dominate you.
”

Paul sighed. “
There
it is then. That’s why you’re doing all this? You’re trying to take out threats
before they can harm you. You’re so scared of the galaxy that you want to
destroy it before it can destroy you.
”

“
We are not
alone in that motivation
.”

Paul flicked off the energy shield and walked inside
the containment area, then turned it back on with him standing only a few
inches away from the mastermind. He wore a thin robe like Kara had observed
previously, but this one had been fashioned out of Star Force materials given
that the clothing he’d worn when the building fell on him had been torn and
battered upon recovery.

“
If you are truly
dominant, you do not need to fear others
,” he underscored by tapping on the
lizard’s exposed chest next to where the V’kit’no’sat device was. “
I have no need to kill you. For all your
strengths, you cannot harm me. And if not for that medical device I would
release my hold on you to prove it. You would attack me and I would kick your
ass, over and over again until you understood that I do not fear you. I respect
your skills, but I do not destroy you because you possess them. My
responsibility as a leader of Star Force is to be the best. And if I am not the
best, I do not try to destroy those who are. I improve myself until I am the
best again, then I continue improving to increase my advantage. Destroying your
opposition instead of developing yourself is a telltale sign of an imposter
.”

“
I know my
physical skills are no match for your abilities
.”

“
Are you not
compelled to try to kill me regardless?
”

“
Perhaps
.”

“
And what
purpose does that serve?
”

“
I might get
lucky
.”

Paul smiled. “
Ok,
I can agree with you on that count. But wasting numerous lives by telling
everyone to do the same thing in the hope of you getting lucky every now and
then is not worth the tradeoff. If you have nothing to lose, then go for it.
But if you can live to fight another day, you shouldn’t waste your life looking
for a lucky hit.
”

“
How then would
you recommend we go about defeating you?
”

“
Defeating us,
or keeping us from killing all of you?
”

“
Defeating you
.”

Paul decided to indulge his curiosity as long as he
was showing it. “
You would either have to
develop units stronger than ours, whether they be ships or personnel…especially
personnel…or you would have to field so many weaker units that you’d need to
blanket a star system with troops and ships in order to wear our superior units
down. You almost did so long ago when we were weak, but now you do not have
that option short of generating truly insane numbers, the like of which you do
not possess the ability for.
”

The lizard tilted its head down and slightly forward
as far as Paul would allow him and stared the Human in the face.

“
And there is
your answer to why we must conquer the galaxy
.”

9

June 21, 3221

Krachnika
System (lizard
capitol/homeworld)

Trexklip

Paul walked into the holding area again, this time
with only a pair of titans present and using their telepathy to hold him in
place. Feeding him and other amenities had been tricky, but they’d kept Archons
here round the clock to prevent him from killing himself and potentially
destroying the regenerator…something that they didn’t have the skill to replace
yet.

“I’ll take it from here,” Paul said, getting a
telekinetic grip on the lizard and allowing the other two Archons to release
him and walk out of the room. The trailblazer gestured to the pair of techs,
one medical, one mechanical, to leave as well, then when the door shut behind
them Paul walked up to the edge of the blue energy field and stared up at the
mastermind again.

“
More questions?
I thought you had grown tired of my interrogation.
”

“
We are done
,”
Paul admitted. “
We’ve learned a great
deal from you, and there may still be some secrets you carry deep within your
mind, but we’re not going to spend the time trying to find them when we don’t
know what is or is not there
.”

“
Then why are
you here?
”

“
We can cancel
the self-destruct protocol within your mind. It requires equipment we do not
have onboard this ship, but it is possible. We can even remove the capability
from you if we wish
.”

“
You are moving
me then
.”

“
No
,” Paul
said with a sigh, “
but I will return you
to another Li’vorkrachnika system, if you’ll allow it.
”

“
Allow it?
”

“
Are you going
to kill yourself as soon as I release you? With your claws even if I arrange to
disable your current method?
”

“
What do you
wish to use me for? A courier?
”

Paul shook his head. “
Would there be any point? No message we send will be considered. You
have made that clear.
”

“
Then what is
your purpose? Contaminate me?
”

“
No. I simply
don’t want you to die, but if we keep you here you are going to find a way to
do it. And I will not keep guards on you at all times.
”

“
Why is my
continued existence valuable to you?
”

“
I hate seeing
skill such as yours be wasted
.”

“
So you would
return me to another world, not one here that you are about to assault, but
another where I will fight you later?
”

“
Perhaps, but
that is of no disadvantage to us. They will grow a replacement for you if
needed. Sending you back gains them little other than your experience
.”

“
That is
something of note, whether you realize it or not
.”

“
And even now
you are trying to find a way to die
,” Paul said with irreverence. “
Rather than trying to find a way to freedom,
you seek to die. Do you not know I can see right through you?
”

“
So you say
.”

“
Sending you
back may gain the Li’vorkrachnika a bit of information, and therefore not be in
our best tactical interests, but the simple fact is we’re winning and you’re
not going to be able to stop us. I do not expect your people to negotiate, so I
am not offering to send you back as a messenger, nor am I intending to use you
in some tactical sense. I am simply offering you travel back to your people as
a courtesy.
”

“
Why not then
send me to a planet in this system?
”

Paul stiffened. “
You
won’t live as long here
.”

The mastermind stared at him intently. “
I cannot determine your intent. Your intent
does not make sense.
”

“
We are enemies
because you chose it. We don’t have to be enemies. I’ll fight and kill you if I
have to in order to stop you from killing others, but I don’t do it because I
seek your death. Someone of your skill should not be treated as expendable, and
you deserve a chance to think and reason your way out of your genetic shackles.
You’re smart enough to do it, given time, if you have a reason to try
.”

“
And what reason
would that be?
”

“
Curiosity. Now
that I’ve told you of it, you will want to know the truth. You can’t help it.
You’ve been bred to find solutions, ascertain what works best,
not
blindly follow tradition. You are built to think, and
once I have shown you the chink in your armor you will not be able to resist
picking at it. You do not tolerate weakness or vulnerability, and in our
conversations I have shown you many within the Li’vorkrachnika, though you may
not fully understand them at the moment. In time, however, I am confident that
you will reason most of them out
.”

“
So you seek to
contaminate us with knowledge?
”

Paul smiled faintly. “
Perhaps so. But the truth is not a poison. It is a weapon that I am
giving you. Only those who are wise can truly wield it. All others, no matter
how effective they may be, are clumsy when trying to grasp it because they are
in some form of denial. Only those who are loyal to the truth in its pure form
can grasp its full power, and none of them are enemies of one another. All find
themselves to be allies over time. If you came to see the truth you would be
our ally, and I’m not speaking of your race, but you individually. I don’t
think most of your kind are smart enough to work their way around your
genetics.
”

“
Then why not
keep me imprisoned in order to give me the time to contemplate these
revelations?
”

“
Because I know
at this point you already have, and you will either choose to pursue them
further or turn a blind eye to them. Further time in this state is pointless.
Only when you are free will you be able to truly think through the matters we
have discussed.
”

“
Even if you did
so it would be of no use. They would not accept me back unless I escaped by my
own means.
”

Paul pointed a finger at his scaly face. “
There. You just did it. You broke with your
programing for a split second and considered an alternative option. Don’t deny
it, it’s too late. I saw it
.”

The Human lowered the energy field and stepped up to
him.

“
I will not
assist you with this
.”

Paul loosened his grip on the lizard enough that he
could move freely, but kept a zone over his chest where his arms would not
move. He gave him a split second to realize he was no longer bound, then
another to realize his arms wouldn’t allow him to tear at the device, before
Paul leapt up to get more height and punched the mastermind in the side of the
head.

“
Think!
” he
demanded. “
You are nearly my equal in
strategic skill. Use your abilities and prove me wrong if I truly am, but do
not cower like an imbecile. Find the truth, whatever it may be, and face it.
”

Unable to get his clawed hands at the device on his
chest, the mastermind went for his own throat…only to find that it was also
inescapable. Unable to kill himself he decided to go after the Human instead
and found that option was still available to him. He struck out with his thick
right arm in an overhead slash that abruptly stopped as Paul simply raised an
arm and blocked it.

The mastermind’s arm hurt as if he had just flung it
against a bar of metal, with the two seemingly locked in place as he did not
relent against the pain and tried to force his arm down, mostly out of spite,
rather than trying to attack with his other.

“
If you are
truly my peer then you will think!
” Paul half yelled. “
If not, then you and the whole of the Li’vorkrachnika are INFERIOR
,”
he said, emphasizing that word with significant telepathic force just before
the lizard grew faint and fell to the floor, soon to black out.

The mastermind woke up groggily, not knowing where he
was or even who he was for a long moment, then he saw the interior of a
familiar ship…one of their small atmospheric troop transports, and he was
laying on the floor of the hold bound up in several restraining straps. He
reflexively pulled against them, then as his head cleared enough to focus his
strength he snapped them and freed himself, standing up just as his memories
clicked in of his captivity.

He froze in place, looking and listening around as he
heard the distant sounds of battle coming in through the broken cargo bay door
that was slightly ajar and spilling in light from the exterior. He had no
memory of coming here, nor where he was, and the fact that he was in one of his
own craft made no difference. This must be some type of subterfuge. Reaching
into his mind he sought out the self-destruct function, seeking to take this
chance to fulfill his responsibility before the Humans could stop him, having
erred by giving him this moment of freedom.

But it wasn’t there. The spot was dead in his mind.

He snarled, taking a moment to give Paul credit for
doing exactly what he said he could do, then the mastermind brought his hand up
to his throat, not relishing going out this way but finding it preferable than
remaining a captive or assisting the enemy with whatever plans they had set in
motion. He stiffened his arm then raked his fingers across his own throat,
closing his eyes in the process…

But his fingers slid across his throat with no
resistance.

The mastermind looked down at his hand, seeing that he
no longer had his claws. They’d been removed, and done so with such finesse
that he could see no surgical damage. He simply didn’t have them anymore.

Clever
, he
thought, glancing around and hoping for a weapon but seeing none and not
expecting Paul to have been so careless as to leave one in here with him.

He stretched his body, testing to see if he was
restricted in any way by their invisible machinations, then touched his chest,
finding the device gone and his movement no longer hindered. He walked up to
the cockpit, finding it empty and damaged, with the front of the ship smashed
and mostly buried in the ground.

He returned to the small cargo bay, pressing his
shoulder into the gap between door and wall, then used his considerable
strength to pry it open a bit more, enough for him to crawl out the bottom of and
onto the burnt rubble of the outside ground. His thick skin didn’t cut against
the abrasion as he crawled out nude through and around several large chunks of
debris that had once been lizard buildings, then he finally got out into the
open and stood up, looking around to try and see where he was.

The view of the sky overhead showed the tiny specs of
warships in orbit, and from the size and position of them he knew they were
Star Force. He was on a world under attack, for he could hear distant sounds of
weaponsfire, but what world? What system?”

Looking around he sought out something he could use to
kill himself with, but then pushed that thought aside. If Paul had returned him
to a world already under assault what would be the point? He would die when its
defenders fell, and Star Force didn’t need subterfuge in order to take
Li’vorkrachnika worlds. If they had wanted to contaminate them with a
biological agent they could have done so long ago through a variety of means,
and had they wanted to they would have returned him to a fully intact world and
let the disease ravage them. Putting him down on a world that was already
falling to their assault had no logic in it.

The mastermind walked a ways, trying to find a perch
of higher ground, or in this case rubble, where he could get some better
visibility. It took him more than an hour to find one, but when he finally
climbed up the wall of one building…which was very difficult without claws…he
was able to see for several kilometers in all directions.

Not all of the landscape was wrecked. Only select
areas that he immediately knew held key structures. The rubble of a shield
tower lay behind him, and the ship he had woke in had obviously been crashed
into the rubble afterward. How he survived that crash he didn’t know. Maybe it
was a plant and not a real crash, but Star Force didn’t hold this region yet.
Damaged as it was, it was only softened up for their ground assaults yet to
come. He’d seen the routine so many times, and been unable to do anything about
it, that he could get a sense for just what stage of damage this city was in
and about how much time it had before falling within only a few seconds of
visual inspection.

The sound of weaponsfire was coming from a city to the
west, and he could see occasional flashes of phasers and the Star Force plasma.
None was coming from orbit, which meant that the full ground invasion was
present there. Paul hadn’t put him down in a region of safety as he had
planned, so what was his purpose in this?

Before he could think on that much he heard a whistle.
Not a mechanical one, but one that was used by troops to identify themselves to
each other.

He turned in the direction it was coming and saw
several standard variant lizards creeping through the rubble in his direction.
Conflicted between trying to find a way to kill himself or rejoining the others
he hesitated for a moment, then seeing the warships overhead and the
inevitability of the oncoming ground assault he figured he would die soon
anyway and he might as well use his skills to try and take some of the enemy
with him.

The mastermind whistled back and began to climb down,
wondering if that was what Paul had intended. Giving him a circumstance where
he would be disinclined to find a way to kill himself after the most obvious
routes had been denied him. Perhaps he was true to his word about not wanting
to kill prisoners and was affording him a death via battle rather than a
suicide.