Star Force: Resolution (SF89) (Star Force Origin Series) Read Free Page A

graciously to the arriving
titans.
    “Duke,” Oro greeted evenly, then he glanced at the
ViLord. “Riley.”
    “Follow me,” the Duke said as he turned and began
walking. The Archons fell into line behind him and the fourteen of them made
their way through what was obviously a very empty station despite the number of
people coming and going. Eventually they came to an armed checkpoint with a
ranger and a squad of Commandos visible. They let the group through, then the
Duke took them into a dead end hallway where he input a code into a locked
door. It opened by sliding into the wall and allowed them all inside through
the small opening.
    “A lot of security,” Eaton-2503 commented as mist
dropped over them in the long, narrow corridor they were forced to pass
through.
    “When several of the civilizations represented in this
system have adequate or better stealth technology we have to be careful. Two
years ago we stopped a tiny probe from infiltrating this facility because a
passing Archon happened to have their Pefbar deployed. Since then we’ve created
safe zones where we tightly screen everything passing.”
    “Who’s was it?”
    “The Fajanni . Duke Yetti
made them pay for that, but there had been earlier attempts at security
breaches and apparently they hadn’t been deterred, so we have to make sure this
area remains locked down no matter what.”
    None of the Archons said anything more until they all
passed through the misty hallway and got the last of the little robots flushed
off them on the far side with a wall of wind that would have made Yasuo proud. When a door slid over the scanning hallway
Duke Pryon let out a slow breath.
    “Safe to talk now,” he announced, checking with a nearby
tech that gave him a thumbs up indicating that the scan was clear.
    “What’s all the secrecy for?” Oro asked.
    “Up until recently only Nefron was able to give orders
to the Uriti. He was our weak link and knowing it the other empires have wanted
to get access to him…either to recruit or kill. While this system appears to be
tranquil, I can assure you it’s not. Tensions are running high underneath it
all and only our leverage is keeping things in order. The Uriti are powerful
weapons that we’re not using, but a lot of people don’t like us having that
ability and would deny us our controller if they could get access to Nefron,
even if it would mean the Uriti would roam free and destroy what they like.”
    “Was?” Hera asked.
    Pryon glanced at Riley.
    “There are now two of us that can control the Uriti.
I’m the second, but no one knows that yet. As far as the intergalactic
community out there is concerned, Nefron is still our weak link. We’re going to
make him redundant, and if they know of our plans they might act to try and
stop them, for once many people can control the Uriti they will no longer have
the option of mounting a swift strike to take out Nefron if needed. So our work
here has to remain secret until we have all of you up and running.”
    “How can you control the Uriti?” Logan-2522 asked with
a curious expression on his face.
    Riley looked to his left and a device floated through
the air over to him and landed in his hand. He slipped it on over his wrist and
snugged up the forearm gauntlet that looked decidedly V’kit’no’sat in its
chrome surface and jeweled accessories, one of which glowed yellow as it
touched Riley’s skin.
    “With this. You can thank Nefron for the brainstorm.
Only Chixzon can control the Uriti, and this makes me look telepathically like
a Chixzon as far as the Uriti and the transmitter are concerned. Note the
yellow light,” he said, pulling the gauntlet off and tossing it to Oro. “Put it
on.”
    The Archon caught and slid it onto his own left arm,
seeing the light go red.
    “Red means you’re not compatible. Yellow means you’re
close. And green means you’re good to go. I have to modify my own telepathy
into a certain range to turn it green thanks