The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (18 page)

Lomatz stood,
taking note of the armed escort the admiral had brought. “Your Marines will be
comfortable outside this meeting room,” Lomatz said. “You’re quite safe on
board my ship.”

Kurt knew
Lomatz didn’t have a problem with him bringing an armed escort; Lomatz would
have done the same. Nodding to the Marine sergeant in charge of the security
detail, Kurt told him to wait outside in the corridor. If there were any hidden
danger, Grantz wouldn’t be around.

“If all of you
will have a seat, we’ll get this meeting started,” Lomatz announced as he sat down
at the head of the large wooden table.

Kurt took his
seat, noticing how comfortable it was. The chair seemed to adjust itself to his
physical form. “I’m a little confused,” he began. “Why are you here? And where
did those six warships you brought come from? I wasn’t aware you possessed such
ships. They don’t match anything in our ship database.”

“It’s a long
story,” said Lomatz, leaning back in his chair and moving his gaze across the
Humans who had come with the admiral. “First off, I must confess I know a lot
more about the black ships than I’ve let on.”

“Is that what
this is about?” Kurt wasn’t surprised the weapons dealer had additional
information. It was one of the ways Lomatz and Avery Dolman made their living.

Lomatz nodded.
“If one knows where to look, there’s evidence of attacks by the black ships
going back over twenty million years.”

“Twenty
million years!” gasped Colonel Hayworth in disbelief. “People didn’t even inhabit
Earth twenty million years ago.”

Kurt studied
Lomatz with renewed interest. Any information Kurt could get on this new and
dangerous enemy he wanted to hear. “What do you know about the black ships?”

Lomatz let out
a deep breath and placed his hands palm down on the conference table. “The
black ships come from a race called the Vorn. The species is insect-based and
very similar to what your people would call wasps. The Vorn stand upright,
having a basic humanoid form with two legs and two arms. The average Vorn looks
like a cross between a humanoid and a wasp. The head is covered with very short
hair and triangular-shaped with two antennae. Its eyes are multifaceted and can
see in several different light wavelengths. They have small wasplike wings that
normally stay folded on their backs. Their hands consist of seven thin digits
with which to manipulate equipment. However, the most shocking aspect of the
Vorn race is that they’re telepathic. They can sense each other’s thoughts over
a short distance. What their exact telepathic range is, I don’t know, but I
believe it’s well over fifty thousand kilometers.”

“A telepathic
race,” said Kurt, finding it hard to believe. “Where did they come from?”

“Another
universe,” Lomatz answered gravely “They were involved in a great battle with
that universe’s controlling intelligences and on the verge of defeat. In
desperation, a group of their motherships, with Hive Queens on board, attempted
to transit the singularity at the heart of a black hole. When they emerged,
they were in our universe.”

Colonel
Hayworth’s eyes were wide and puzzled. “Why are they attacking the Enlightened
Worlds?”

Lomatz placed
his hands together and looked directly at Fleet Admiral Vickers as a strange
and almost frightening look crossed his face. “For food. Their motherships
convert all organic substances found on a planet into food for their race.”

Silence filled
the room as Kurt and the others with him sat stunned at this revelation.

“For food?”
asked Colonel Hayworth in disbelief.

“Yes, they
have a weapon that dematerializes life-forms and breaks them down into a basic
organic compound. This compound is transmitted to their ships and converted
into small food cubes to feed their race.”

“How do you
know all this?” asked Kurt, finding it hard to believe what Lomatz was saying.
It all sounded so fantastic. A race that fed on all other civilized species?
This sounded like some old twentieth-century science fiction movie. “Can the
Vorn read our thoughts? Why don’t they raise their own food?”

Lomatz’s eyes
took on a haunted look. “Many years ago I was on a trading mission to one of
the Protector Worlds. This particular Protector World was near the heart of the
galaxy. Before arriving there, my ship detected another vessel in distress. We
dropped from hyperspace to render assistance. The ship we found was unlike any
I had every encountered before.”

“I’m sure you
haven’t seen every ship type,” said Kurt, confused. “Tens of thousands of
inhabited worlds are scattered across the galaxy.” He had learned this
startling fact on Kubitz. He had never imagined how much intelligent life there
was.

Lomatz shook
his head. “Actually there are many more than that. However, this ship was more
like what you would call a space-going yacht. We brought the ship into our main
cargo hold and found only one person on board. The science on that ship was far
beyond anything my crew or I had ever run across. Not just a few years ahead of
us but thousands of years more advanced. With the help of the being piloting
the vessel, we repaired it.

“For our
assistance he paid with pure gold, gold purer than any I had ever seen before.
He also took me aside and warned me about a great menace soon to return to our
galaxy. He told me of the Vorn and the black ships. He told me, while the Vorn
could speak to each other telepathically, they could not read the thoughts of
other races. Only their own.”

“How did this
being know so much about the Vorn?” Kurt found Lomatz’s story highly intriguing—if
it were the truth and if the weapons dealer wasn’t making up the whole thing.

“His race was
very old. They had been an Enlightened World before the Vorn first put in an
appearance.”

“Twenty
million years ago?” asked Hayworth, his eyes widening. “If this race is so old
and their science so great, why haven’t they done something to stop the Vorn?”

“His race was
spared the harvesting by the Vorn the first time they came to our galaxy. They
were so terrified of what the Vorn had done to all the other races that they
immediately took it upon themselves to hide once the Vorn left. They learned
who the Vorn were and why they had come to our galaxy from a disabled Vorn
cruiser. In sheer fear, their entire civilization relocated to a place where
the Vorn would never find them. To ensure no one revealed their hiding place,
they very seldom venture forth. The small ship I aided was a research vessel
that had gone out into the galaxy to see if the Vorn had returned.”

“These people
just ran, not telling anyone about the Vorn, leaving everyone else in the
galaxy to die?” uttered Hayworth disgustedly. “What kind of people are they?
With their advanced science and knowledge of the Vorn, surely they could have
helped.”

“I asked the
same question,” Lomatz replied. “He said it wouldn’t make a difference. There
was nothing they or anyone could do to stop the Vorn and their black ships. He
claimed the Vorn were like a force of nature, and the only sure defense against
them was to stay hidden.”

Kurt leaned
back and gazed speculatively at Lomatz. There had to be another reason why the
weapons dealer had come to Newton. While his story was fascinating and told a
lot about the Vorn, there had to be something else. He couldn’t imagine Lomatz
coming all this way just to talk about the black ships.

“Why are you
here, Lomatz?” Kurt asked bluntly.

“The
harvesting by the black ships has already begun,” replied Lomatz, his eyes
focusing sharply on Kurt. “I have confirmation of at least fifteen Enlightened
World colonies that are now nothing more than empty worlds, their populations
converted into food for the Vorn.”

“Why should
that concern us?” asked Colonel Hayworth. “We’re not an Enlightened World, not
even close. Perhaps the Vorn won’t come here.”

“All worlds
are in danger,” Lomatz responded, his yellow-tinted eyes shifting to Colonel
Hayworth. “In time, the Vorn will spread their harvesting to include all space-going
species, including the Gothan Empire, Newton, and Earth.”

“If the
Protector Worlds can’t stop the black ships, what can we do?” asked Kurt.

Since
returning from Kubitz, this fear had been haunting Kurt the entire time.
Against a regular enemy, such as High Profiteer Creed or even the Marsten
mercenaries such as Clan Leader Jarls, Kurt could come up with a plan. But the
black ships were something else. How could he stop a race that has spent tens
of millions of years conquering and destroying countless civilizations?

“You noticed
the six strange ships that accompanied my vessels when we dropped from
hyperspace. What you don’t know is that all six of those are Protector World
warships. My cargo vessels have been watching the areas of space where battles
between the black ships and the Protector Worlds have occurred. We salvaged six
vessels that were relatively unharmed. The power had been drained from their
ships, killing the crews. I brought with me two Lakiam and four Andock
battlecruisers. My crews and I are willing to teach you how to operate these
vessels and explain the advanced science behind their systems.”

“What’s in it
for you?” asked Kurt, finding it hard to believe what Lomatz offered. Kurt
wanted the ships, but what was the price? This was too big of a deal for the
weapons dealer to be offering for free. Kurt wondered how many hundreds of
millions of credits Lomatz would demand for the six warships.

Lomatz’s eyes
narrowed. “It will take time for the Vorn to reach this area of space. I will
turn over those six warships to you as well as what I’ve brought on my cargo
ships. All I ask in return is that you pay for the cargo, and the six warships
are yours free of charge. I still have a business to run on Kubitz, at least
for a little while longer.”

“And?” asked
Kurt, knowing there was bound to be more.

“A group of us
want to come to Newton to live out our lives. That includes family members as
well. In total, nearly twenty thousand of us. If we come here, there is a good
chance we can live out the remainder of our lives before the Vorn find us.”

Kurt closed
his eyes, unsure of what to say. Did he dare agree to allow twenty thousand of
Lomatz’s people to come to Newton? Many of them were probably associated with
the Profiteers or might even be Profiteers!

“I’ll need to
speak to Governor Spalding first,” Kurt finally said. This was too big of a
decision for him to make on his own.

“I
understand,” answered Lomatz. “We would even be willing to settle on an
uninhabited part of Newton away from your people. However, before you speak to
Governor Spalding, let me show you one of the Lakiam warships. I think you will
quickly see the wisdom in accepting what I’m proposing.”

Colonel
Hayworth shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt to look.”

With a deep
sigh, Kurt nodded. “We’ll see, but I’m not promising anything.” Kurt glanced at
Grantz, who had a big grin on his face. Kurt wondered just how much the greedy
profiteer was involved in all of this. Standing up, Kurt motioned to Lomatz.
“Let’s go. I have to admit I’m curious to see a Protector World warship.”

-

Kurt, Colonel
Hayworth, a bevy of ship construction engineers, several of Newton’s top
scientists, and a few technicians walked through the Lakiam battlecruiser in
awe. Lomatz was with them, along with a few specialists familiar with the
ship’s systems. One of the first things Kurt noticed was how wide and bright
the ship’s corridors were. Hell, even some carpeting was on the deck.

Lomatz stopped
and opened a door by sliding his hand over a sensor. It opened silently,
revealing living quarters. “This is for the crew,” he stated. “You will find
the quarters are quite comfortable and even luxurious compared to what you’re
normally accustomed to.”

Kurt stepped
inside, glancing around at several comfortable-looking chairs, some super modern
viewscreens, and a kitchen setup he wasn’t familiar with. “How large a crew
does a ship like this take?”

“This is the
flagship
Aurelia
of one of the Lakiam fleets that engaged the Vorn,”
Lomatz explained. “It normally takes a crew of forty-seven.”

“Forty-seven?”
one of the construction engineers said, his eyes opening wide in disbelief.
“How do they conduct repairs on the ship if it’s damaged?”

One of the
specialists accompanying Lomatz turned toward the engineer. “The ship is highly
automated and uses advanced repair robots to perform maintenance and emergency
repairs. The robots are currently in their storage cabinets since we
temporarily deactivated them. The ship also possesses a supply of specialized
nanites used to repair breaches in the hull in case of major damage to the
ship.”

“Submicroscopic
robots,” commented Colonel Hayworth as he thought of the applications. “Those
might be useful.”

“Can the ship
handle a larger crew?” asked Kurt. He didn’t know if he would feel comfortable
with such a powerful warship having only forty-seven people on board. What if
it were boarded by the enemy? There should at least be a company of Marines on
a vessel this size.

Lomatz smiled.
“Yes, the living quarters can accommodate up to one hundred and twenty. The
Lakiams very seldom have full crews on their ships as they deem it unnecessary
and inefficient.”

Colonel
Hayworth shook his head. “It’s hard to imagine a ship this size could be
operated by only forty-seven people. How many warships like this do the Lakiams
possess?”

“I don’t
know,” admitted Lomatz, frowning. “They’re responsible for protecting
eighty-seven Enlightened World civilizations. So their fleet must be very
large, probably numbering in the thousands.”

Kurt only
shook his head at hearing this. He was just beginning to realize how powerful
the Protector Worlds were. What was frightening about all this was that the
Protector Worlds seemed to be powerless to stop the black ships.