The Borrega Test by James Vincett

Author:James Vincett [Vincett, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-06-03T18:30:00+00:00

Gavanus

The Spoor Follower emerged from hyperspace two hrulas from Naath, the capital world of the Naati Hegemony. Gavanus, Fangrik and Commander Koor occupied the raised platform on the command deck, the latter seated in the command chair. Over the next several hours, holographic images of Naath and thousands of ships began to populate a large volume at the front of the deck as the ship’s instruments received sensor data. The command crew kept their heads down and ears flat, working their consoles in the trenches on either side. Gavanus studied the images as they appeared in the holographic display while the Spoor Follower decelerated.

“All the other Commissars are in attendance,” Gavanus said, studying the holographic projection. The ships, grouped into thirteen fleets, loitered in low and medium orbit, well within Naath’s hyperspace limit. “I ordered the core of the Vallia Prime Fleet here some time ago. The rest of the Tolkist Faction has done likewise.” He tapped a few keys on the arm of the command chair. “They are all here: Lord Commissars Mirksha, Kileer, Peiirk, and Mirsham.

“The Tolkist fleets occupy low orbit above the Capital.” Koor said.

“Yes,” Gavanus said. “The Reactionary Faction’s fleets are in medium orbit.”

“They are still honoring the Protocols,” Fangrik said, “by allowing place of primacy to the dominant faction.”

“That is a good sign, yes?” Gavanus looked at Fangrik.

“We shall see, but we must take precautions. The Spoor Follower’s assault platoon will serve as a bodyguard for both Arch Commander Gavanus and myself. Commander Koor, you will stay with this vessel during the council.”

Koor’s scent of disappointment filled the air, but he said nothing, and began barking orders at the command deck crew.

As the Spoor Follower approached, the image of the planet loomed large in the holographic display, a red-tinted blue and white ball stained with black and dark red streaks and patches. Ecological wastelands covered large regions of the surface and pollution poisoned vast areas of the oceans, the result of the decades of constant warfare that wracked Naati society before the coming of Maldar. The yallic science slaves had made steady progress in repairing the damage, but there was still much to be done.

The largest settlement on the surface, the Capital covered thousands of square kidaheedas, home to a population of over a billion. As the Spoor Follower flew toward the Memorial, the light of the setting star cast an orange and red glow over the slave quarters, hunting parks, factories, and the vast warrens of huts that housed the population, vein-like paths and roads snaking through all of it. Gavanus had studied Human cities, and couldn’t understand how the homs could live all piled on top of each other; a Naati needed breathing space and room to run and chase its prey.

The structures became larger as the Spoor Follower approached the center of the Capital; birth-factories, technology labs, and a vast spaceport occupied the area around the zukkaree ritual hunting grounds and the large central plaza. The Memorial, the tallest structure on the planet, towered above the surrounding plaza.

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