Maty, Aer-ki Jyr [top 20 books to read .txt] 📗

there that we don’t have, but there also appears to be galactic record-keeping all the way up to the present.”

“It’s been keeping watch on us?”

“Partially I think. But not in a comprehensive…ah there, I see it. Survey missions sampling the galaxy looking for particular trends. I don’t think it has enough capability…at least not in its current state…to do much more than that.”

“Current state?”

Paul looked down at her shorter frame. “I’m not joking, ok?”

“Ok. About what?”

“I think it can transform…and even move…if directed to.”

“Wait…” Morgan said cautiously. “He said machines…”

“Yeah. There are no pictures of the Gahana that we’ve found yet, but the technology indicated and some of the choice records that Mak’to’ran sent…”

“I’m going with you. Period,” Morgan said firmly.

“I get the feeling this is going to be a class trip regardless of what Davis decides.”

Morgan stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Paul’s bare, sweaty shoulder. “See you later, giganto.”

“Where you going?” Paul said, not looking at her as his eyes were focused on the holograms as she began to head to the door.

“For a shower…then some arm twisting if Davis needs it.”

“I’ll be right behind you,” he said, still rifling through the holograms.

“For the shower? Is Kara busy?” she said, holding the comment for the moment she turned out the door so when Paul’s head came up she was already gone.

“Fucker…” he muttered, then looked back down at the holograms at Azoro’s insistence given the fact that he couldn’t see them well enough to read them except through Paul’s eyes.

10

June 13, 154960

Meuneushi System (Hesphatus Region)

Meuno

Rajamal stood onboard a Zen’zat Domjo-class warship along with the ragtag rebel fleet made up mostly of ships of similar size. The largest they had were a pair of Na’shor captured from the Per’tal in the same battle, and neither had been fully repaired. All were spaceworthy, but many were missing weapons, hangars, sensors, and other items where the hull had been patched over cleanly without replacing them.

Rajamal and the rebel Zen’zat didn’t have the infrastructure necessary to repair most of them, for the Star Force Zen’zat worlds no longer assisted them freely since the Deathmark had been officially withdrawn. They could still use their services if they paid for them, and they often did when possible, but Star Force had bigger enemies to worry about…and they had gotten the official Deathmark removed, which was no small feat. But they couldn’t be everywhere and do everything, and the rebel Zen’zat had been told if they wanted to continue their war they would have to do it on their own terms.

That suited Rajamal fine, but it also meant he couldn’t dock the damaged warships they salvaged from battle into the nearest Star Force repair yard to get them fixed up and put back into service on his side. Though, even if Star Force allowed it, they had so many of their own ships waiting in line with priority that he doubted he could get his worked on soon enough to matter…though some were so badly damaged he had to just sit them in a hidden location and use them for spare parts. Those he would have let sit in line for as long as necessary, but Star Force’s generosity had evaporated along with the official Deathmark.

He had discussed that with a Human High Admiral by the name of Chadon at the time, and Chadon had informed him that Star Force was aware that unofficial bad behavior was rampant in the areas they didn’t monitor well, and for that reason Star Force wasn’t going to intervene and stop the Zen’zat in their war against the Zak’der’on. As long as their common enemy pursued their agenda in the shadows the rebel Zen’zat could as well. But if the day came when the threat ended, Star Force would be of another mind about the matter.

Rajamal wondered what they would think of this mission as he rode in one of 2,319 warships just above Meuno’s atmosphere as they bombarded the planet from orbit now that the defense shields were down.

They probably wouldn’t like it, but there was no way Rajamal could organize an effective planetary assault into the oceans. The J’gar were too dominant in the aquatics realm, and it would be suicide for the Zen’zat to go down there and fight them hand to hand. Even with aquatic ships that he did not have many of it would be a slaughter, for this world was one of 5 that the J’gar had moved their capitol infrastructure to after their previous capitol was consumed by the Hadarak surge.

Itaru had survived because it was on the good side of the Grand Border, but the J’gar and 43 other V’kit’no’sat races had their capitols and/or homeworlds wiped clean by the Hadarak. Nothing remained on them but rubble and enemy infestation, and the J’gar had chosen the redundant approach afterward rather than simply moving all their people to another system on the safe side of the Grand Border and rebuilding it as close to what it had been before.

Meuno was not even close to the J’gar’s former glory, and was a testament to how far they’d fallen. It had been strong enough to defend against just about any attack the galaxy could throw at it aside from the major players…but the rebel Zen’zat were using the V’kit’no’sat’s own technology against them, and they hadn’t built up enough defenses to stop them from coming in and clandestinely targeting one of the planet’s shield generator complexes.

They didn’t overlap, so when the one went down the planet had a hole in its spherical protection, and through that hole the rebel fleet had moved in and destroyed the rest along with the pittance of a defense fleet the J’gar had here…for they didn’t think anyone would dare attack them other than the Zak’de’ron,