The Powers That Be by Aer-ki Jyr (best pdf reader for ebooks txt) 📗

personnel or ships in recompense. They might not kill you, but they’d take your entire planet and your civilization’s sovereignty with the same alacrity as the V’kit’no’sat had when some lesser race dared to strike them…except Star Force reacted the same way with the more capable opponents, and even the J’gar knew better than to test them.

And what he had briefly witnessed of their combat with the Hadarak hadn’t shaken that assessment, so when he finally got his face to face discussion on a Star Force aquatics world just on the far side of the Hula Hoop over a year later, he was blunt but polite, knowing that he had no leverage whatsoever.

We have a few options to offer you, Joor’nak, the Elarioni said telepathically as she swam up in front of his huge face that was more than capable of swallowing her whole if he wanted to. It is noted that you wish to join the other Joor’nak in Star Force?

I and the others do. We were denied the opportunity by geography, otherwise we would have answered the call earlier.

The Elarioni squinted. So you wish to join the Grand Border V’kit’no’sat?

We do.

That is not what the Joor’nak are doing. They are a faction in the Rim, though now they’re being renamed the ‘Falkor.’

I do not understand the division. I thought all of your Knight races were tasked with fighting the Hadarak?

We have a large empire with many battlefronts and needs. The new V’kit’no’sat are tasked to only the Grand Border. The Knight races are tasked with going wherever in the galaxy they are needed. That may be to fight the Hadarak, perhaps not. The Grand Border V’kit’no’sat are focused on defending a specific slice of territory and holding it in perpetuity. We are currently accepting Joor’nak into this new V’kit’no’sat, as well as offering some positions in the Falkor. In addition, there are other options.

Name them.

Assisting other aquatic races with exploration, colonization, and construction of new ocean civilizations to accommodate other evacuees coming from the Core. We do not have enough room to house everyone, thus we are being forced to expand rapidly. Often to oceans that are less than ideal, that we have to terraform or create contained cities within. Joor’nak are heavily requested in these efforts due to your Lachka skills, but the choice of paths is yours. I have 3910 colonization teams that have requested Joor’nak after they have completed indoctrination, which you already did on your journey here.

Where can I assist Star Force the most?

Highest priority recruitment notice is from Ariel’s team. She is one of the Elarioni’s Matriarchs, and is older than Star Force itself. She has been given a rare aquatic system that is raw and dangerous, but has the potential for 48 oceanic worlds of a minimum 85% water to land ratio.

48 aquatic worlds in the same system?

Many are toxic, and all are undesirable in some way, which is why they have never been colonized, but there is potential if suitable resources are applied to the terraforming. Several have indigenous races of low intellect and high predatory nature. For security reasons, Joor’nak are highly preferred to patrol the untamed depths and bring some sanity to the savage currents.

As hunters?

As bastions of sanity. If we wanted them killed that would be easy to do. Taming them is far harder, but all sour oceans have the potential harmony within them. Crafting it anew is a daunting task that will take millennia to even partially achieve.

And this aquatic system is going to house refugees?

I do not know. If it does not, those going to it will free up slots for refugees on other worlds. Either way, the habitation created will assist the evacuation efforts considerably given the size of the oceans in play, some of which are hundreds of miles deep.

Hundreds of miles deep. Bio’bo had dreamed of such worlds, but had never been allowed on one. He had only inhabited 4 in his lifetime, all of which were shallow.

I will answer your Matriarch’s call. Send me to this system.

The Elarioni smiled. I had hoped you’d say that. There is a transport filling for departure within the week. You will find it this way…

3

May 4, 128885

Neverending Seas System (Zutarri Kingdom)

Prime 3

Ariel swam without armor through the slowly improving waters of Scaravo Trench, a place no one else was allowed to go without armed escort, but she needed none. Nor did she need armor encapsulating her against the waters she was tasked with calming. She needed to feel them against her bioluminescent skin and see the light the patches and her glowing eyes produced reflecting off the otherwise dark depths.

But she could see far more than that. None of the creatures here could sneak up on her when she was on guard, for she could feel their Cores even when hidden behind solid rock. Ariel’s Essence abilities separated her from the rest of the Elarioni and allowed her the freedom to explore and troubleshoot on a world too raw and dangerous for others to inhabit at the moment.

‘Prime 3’ was the name she had given it, for it was one of the largest planets with the most water. All those within this system were given the ‘Prime’ designation and had no landmasses rising above the waves at all…though she was creating a few artificial ones to facilitate transport from one water world to another. Aquatic ships were not built for such things, though the larger ones could manage the hop from planet to planet when necessary, yet to build an integrated aquatic system rather than have vastly different civilizations on each world yet right beside one another, you must have communication and transit.

The air bastions would create this, as well as give the air breathers a place comfortable enough