Homestar Saga

Chapter 134: Pretending to be Professionals

The captured Federation fleet floated in New Pixa's farthest asteroid belt. The ships had been repaired and painstakingly placed as close to the mining and manufacturing stations as possible without interfering with operations. It was a smart arrangement, keeping the ships out of range of City 43's anti-tech field and allowing the Peacekeepers to board the ships quickly in case of emergency.

Now that the emergency had arrived, Yvian was once again taken aback at the speed and efficiency of the machines. Individual Peacekeeper units jetpacked to ships, boarded, activated the jumpdrive, and disembarked, all in a matter of seconds. Carrier class vessels took longer, as the units boarded in large groups and launched the fighters they would be using later. In a mere nineteen minutes most of the fleet had been jumped to Vrrl space. Peacekeeper units powered up the fighters and YEET Artillery Barges, waiting for the shields to charge before jumping into battle themselves.

Meanwhile, the Vrrl forces were barely holding on. The Starfang Empire was equal to the Federation in terms of energy weapons and ship design. That didn't change the fact that they were being riddled with holes. Their fleets had sustained massive losses, with only a few thousand human casualties to show for it.

"So where's Scathach going to come up with two hundred million pilots?" Lissa wondered aloud. "He said he'd have them there within an hour."

"Warmaster Sithis will drop them off," Scarrend told her. "Delaying reinforcements a few extra minutes will be a small price for that many ships."

"Vrrl ships carry a lot of personnel," Mims explained. "Their preferred method of combat is to knock out the shields and board with a bunch of Hunters."

"A tactic the humans are prepared for," Scarrend added. "Our Hunters will be more effective as pilots." He gave the holodisplay a troubled look.

"What?" Yvian asked.

"It's not important." Yvian gave him a look. The Vrrl sighed. "It's just... Using human ships. Killing from a distance. It's not what we do. If you had suggested such a thing three months ago I would have laughed." His frown deepened. "Or tried to kill you. I am beginning to see why the Warmaster sent me here."

"I thought he sent you to learn martial arts," Yvian reminded him.

"That was the reason he gave." Scarrend ran hands through his mane. "The Warmaster rarely acts with only one goal in mind. I think he knows how limited we've been."

"He's talked about it before," Mims admitted.

"I expected to steal the Scargiver's methods." Scarrend shook his head. "I didn't know it would change me this much."

"You have become non-standard." Kilroy's eyes flashed blue for a moment. "It is a difficult thing."

"That's not what I meant," Scarrend corrected the machine. "I'm not afraid my people will reject me. I'm worried that there is so much that had to change. My life, my way of thinking..." He crossed two of his arms. "I have lived and learned in the way the Gods set out for us. To find so much of it is wrong..."

"Not wrong," Mims told him. "Limited. Intentionally so."

Scarrend spared him a sharp glance. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it," Yvian jumped in. "You know the story. The Varma made you. Genetically programmed you to worship them. And they built an entire culture to keep you from questioning their methods. Or anything, really."

"They've been dead for two hundred years," Mims pointed out, "and your people still follow their rules."

"It's not... They wouldn't..." Scarrend growled. "They made us!"