Free Star Force: Zealot (SF87) (Star Force Origin Series) by Aer-ki Jyr Page A

as the Uriti was, it was dead slow in comparison to starships.
    That said, if one came your way, and you had any brains, you were the one to move and move early…especially when your control ship wasn’t here yet to call it off if it took offense to your presence or just yawned in the wrong direction.
    As he got his ships out of the way he watched the Trinx, who were not sticking around to fight again. They were transitioning around stellar orbit to a nearby jumpline, making it clear that they had been sent here to do just one thing.
    Take out as many ships in the leading task force as they could.
    That told Paul that this was just the beginning and they were being whittled down for a larger strike to come. Next jump he’d have almost his entire fleet going first, though he was tempted to let the Uriti lead. While in lizard territory there wasn’t much chance of someone happening to get in the way, but now that the Uriti was on their leash they were responsible for it. That meant he had to go first and make sure the road was clear, even if there were lizard ships in the path.
    The real question was, where would the Trinx hit them next? They didn’t know where Star Force was taking it, nor did they know even the next jumppoint they were taking. And big as this fleet was that hit them, rumors had it that the Trinx had far more in reserve and he seriously doubted that they wouldn’t be using them. Star Force had upstaged them and, in his gut, he got the feeling that the Trinx derived their identity from being a Uriti, or as they called it, a ‘Hamoriti’ guardian.
    And he was pretty sure they didn’t want to relinquish that title or the power that it imposed upon them. Their priorities came before everyone else because of the Hamoriti, including screwing over a good portion of the galaxy by feeding the lizards tech in order to get what they wanted.
    But all because of the Hamoriti…
    He’d seen twisted logic like that before, and now that the Trinx were no longer needed and their impossible mission now ended, more or less, they were either going to be grateful or snap…and based upon the attack he’d just survived, ‘snapped’ was all but a certainty.

 
    7
     
     
    “Can your ships continue?” the Brpet’s hologram asked.
    “It’s heavily damaged, but can limp along faster than the Uriti can travel,” Paul said, his voice betraying just a hint of anger. “The rest of our ships are being recovered while the Uriti takes a dip in the star. We’ll be able to move when it finishes.”
    “Do you know how long it will take? Or do you tell it how long it has?” the Sety asked.
    “If we let it go too long without eating the likelihood of it ignoring our commands increases. We can monitor its status, so we know its reserves are deplenishing. It was told to restock. We will know when it is finished.”
    “Can you share this data with the rest of us?”
    “I’m not feeling overly generous right now.”
    “Do not hold us responsible for the Trinx’s attack.”
    “If I was, your ship would be in pieces by now,” Paul said icily.
    “Your curiosity about the Hamoriti can wait,” the cyborg told the Sety. “We have a much larger problem to deal with.”
    “Agreed,” the Dati said passively. “Not only are the Trinx very strong militarily, they control a Hamoriti site. While I do not believe they would release it, no matter how askew from their responsibilities they have gone, I no longer feel comfortable with them having it.”
    “If they do not release it, what threat is there?” the Sety argued.
    “Perhaps they do not believe that the Chixzon is the only one who can control them,” the Jonstar said ominously. “I do not mean to pry, Archon, but are you certain that only he can send the proper signals. Cannot they be copied?”
    “There are multiple redundancies in the signal to prevent unauthorized access,” Paul said simply. “I won’t go into detail as to what they are, but I am not worried