“Duraguardian Kruktusken, what am I looking at?”
“Captain, Sir, I’ve no idea why, but they don’t want Earth, they want their probe. This attack is a decoy.”
“Aroxia, options?”
“No time for the fighters to intercept or to power the Dark Energy Array31. At this range, conventional weaponry can’t destroy ESP4. Given a more immediate issue with a potential result of mission failure, we have to let it go. I recommend Vdub Group 2 join the pursuit of Intruder 3.”
She was right. If Intruder 3 reached Earth, that would be it for the quarantine. Perhaps worse. Millennia of experience had proven that extraterrestrial tech on a Class-T accelerated self-destruction, or worse, led to interstellar war—as in the incident involving COS founder, General Odian Spek. Though few knew, the information being zeta classified—Spek was a former GSA operative.
8.2 million turns ago, 9 worlds established the Alliance. Maintaining galactic order through force proved unstable, so they iterated more covert strategies, finally finding harmony in creating an elite, invisible army to deal with insurrection, defectors, warlords, and pirates quietly, or better yet, preemptively. They were called Voidwhisperers.
The Valkon, a GSA founding species, were particularly powerful, flight-capable, and most important, receptive to cerebral quantum-entangled implants. They were the first approached for recruits, while the fiercest, Odian Spek, became the Vdubs most decorated General.
Meanwhile, the Saakyri had earned reclassification, first contact, and trade. Unfortunately, their peaceful aspect was a front that helped them spread an engineered plague to weaken other worlds. Five planets were devastated before they were discovered and their efforts stopped.
It was then the GSA created a more deadly, more enduring foe. Rather than eliminate the Saakyri, they stripped them of GSA tech, burned their starships, EMP’d their cities, corrupted their data cores, collapsed their infrastructure, and irradiated their ionosphere making it dangerous to punch through for over a century. Spek, on a mission far from home when Valkürin became one of their victims, was enraged at the decision. Taking it upon himself to correct the Saakryi’s survival, he used the Voidwhisperers to spread his own plague.
His revenge complete, Spek’s public surrender forced the GSA to acknowledge the Voidwhisperers. At trial, he argued his actions were not only justified, but necessary. The court disagreed, but the Vdub easily escaped custody.
600,000 worlds outraged and fearful, the GSA officially shut down the program. Unofficially, they made VWs more obedient by adding explosives to their implants. Rather than accept, many existing Vdubs fled, becoming mercs, pirates, criminals or, worse, joining Odian’s new army; the Creators of Space.
For two hundred turns, they attacked Class-T 32worlds, including a few the GSA had yet to discover. At times, they’d pretend to be the GSA. After each assault, they let enough time pass to convince the galaxy they were gone. The biggest legacy of their last appearance was the elaborate, expensive precautions the GSA now used to protect pre-contact worlds.
Most of this Kruk heard from his father, Prime33 Councilmember KruktuskenBor. He also said Spek died in the Loronzon incident34. The rest was scattered, baseless rumor. Only the innermost government and the Creators themselves knew the truth.
“Duraguardian Kruktusken, are you part of this crew or not?!”
Paradon’s snarl reminded him history wasn’t one of his duties. “Yes, sir! Sorry, sir. Initiate planetary failsafe?”
“Only as a last resort. Stand at the ready. We let the Voidwhisperers do their work for now.”
The choice puzzled Kruk. What if they appeared over a city? Did Voidwhisperers have a cloaking field? Was that even possible? How big were their ships? Kruk didn’t even know what species VW used now.
An auto countdown began. “Intruder arriving in Earth’s atmosphere in 10…9…8…”
“Sir, the planetary failsafe. We should activate.”
“And detonate whatever antimatter is planetside? In flowspace, passing that close to Earth’s gravity well would tear our fighters apart.”
“Sir,” Aroxia said, “if the intruder was capable of dropping out of flowspace precisely atop the field, what’s to say they can’t do the same near the planet’s surface?”
“5…4…” The last of the fighters joined the Voidwhisperers in hot pursuit, but the countdown, chirping with increased urgency, told them they wouldn’t be fast enough.
“3…2…” Heart heavy, defeat imminent, Paradon’s order was soft, but clear, “Deploy Failsafe.”
The auto count completed. The icon designating Intruder 3 reached the atmosphere—the flowspace drive presumably destabilized and blinked out of existence, leaving no sign of its alien presence.
Aroxia reported, “Intruder 3 destroyed. Flowspace antimatter reactor breach confirmed.”
Kruk closed his eyes and braced for the bad news.
“Sensors detecting an antimatter detonation on the surface. It’s bad sir, blast radius is several rudons. There must have been a research facility stockpiling antimatter.”
Paradon was visibly shaken. “Those… maniacs… Get me Prime Abbotkrine,” Paradon barked. “The last mapping of this planet showed no warning zones of antimatter production of this magnitude.”
“The remaining bogey at ESP 4 has dropped out of flowspace.”
All 19 quarantine stations watched helplessly as the probe vanished and the bogey jumped back into flowspace. The Voidwhisperers and fighters too far away, the bogey disappeared from their scopes without interference.
Kruk felt a darkness descend. The humans couldn’t help but notice that the devastating antimatter blast and loss of their probe, thousands of endons35 apart, occurred at the same time. This was it…the quarantine was finished.
An Anduuzian Cricket36 could have been heard as everyone awaited the captain’s next orders. Finally, he confirmed the failure.
“We’re done. Recall the Voidwhisperers. Retrieve damaged and destroyed vessels, get repair teams to generator 0512, and give me a direct line to SAC.”
Species Assessment Command37, on Mijorn, hadn’t been contacted in 50 turns. The mood dour, the future uncertain, everyone tore their eyes from the main tactical hologram and moved with haste.
Kruk continued to wonder why. If it was the COS, they already knew there was a sentient species here. So, why take the probe? Better yet, why attack to do so? Depopulation could have been accomplished with a bioweapon. If they wanted mayhem, they could’ve publicized Earth’s coordinates through any Alliance relay.
Paradon gestured to the blast door. “DG Kruktusken, with me. I’ll need you to explain the override, but that’s hardly the main concern. Clearly, you did the right thing. If high command agrees the Creators may be back, you’ll accompany me to Mijorn. It’s the SAC debrief I expect will be received poorly.”
It was an understatement. Under normal circumstances, a return to civilization would thrill Kruk; now all he could do was gulp.
As they passed through the blast doors, Pardon lowered his voice. “The Loronzon Incident is classified. A midlevel Guardian38 having knowledge of it is… noteworthy. That’s the biggest issue you’ll have to explain. As well as how you acquired a high level override command code. ”
Dread filled him. He wished with all his heart he could go back to complaining about the boredom. But after two turns, so many gobbletek39 games, everything—his life, the future of the GSA, had changed in the blink of an eye.
The Creators had returned.
1 9th Sector’s, Kramer de la Ku
Sectors are regions of the 9 founding planets of the GSA. This jungle planet is the Capital of Sector 9 and homeworld of the Droteans since before the GSA.
2 Agrippa Trench
A massive trench that spans halfway across the planet Agrippa, located in Sector 3. One of the most profitable mining sites of Zurillium in the galaxy.
3 Barkle
Native to the planet of Teczas, The �
�Water Menace” has been commonly discovered in packs. This species thrives in polluted waters and has extremely high resistance to toxins and radiation.
4 Turn
GSA unit of time: One turn equals approximately 1.33 Earth years.
5 The Galactic Star Alliance
An 11 million turn old galactic government which oversees 600,000 planets and millions of species. The Council of Worlds and Assembly of Planets enact the will of the governing document of the GSA: The Accords Of The Alliance (TAOTA).
6 Quadlox System
Known to humans as the Alpha Centauri System, this GSA outpost was established 6 million turns ago.
7 Mijorn
Planet inhabited since the Builders (90 million turns ago), Galactic hub and homeworld of the Metra since the Classical Galactic Era, founding location of the GSA, and Capital of Sector 1.
8 Woofha Slugs
Native to Kramer de la Ku, these non-sentient lifeforms defend against predators by secreting super adhesive slime as they move, instantly trapping a predator to the ground.
9 Drotean
A shapeshifter, the Drotean species has been crucial to the espionage construct of galactic dealings for 10’s of millions of turns.
10 Copek
Valkon in dialect, the word can be translated to mean “Victory.”
11 Wavoon
6 legged, neon turquoise, blue, and purple. A Wavoon, is a nocturnal and twilight hunter. Its hunting call temporarily paralyzes prey, so it may catch and eat it. The “Death Roar” is native to the planet Kin’jetanga and can be found in deserts and tropical grasslands.
12 Sliptube
Created by the Yallaweh’n Yannisk Indibidus Val, the magnetic field transportation system for lifeforms and machinery was first used by the Baleen to aid moving their water supported bodies around GSA ships and facilities. Sliptubes are the standard means of transportation within structures throughout the GSA.
13 Suppressor Fighters
The Epikan 9th Generation Suppressor Fighter features a dual pilot configuration (1 biological, 1 sentient A.I.) with a fusion drive. Primarily used by the GSA for short range combat, the supressor fighters have been in use for a million turns.
14 Duma
Members of the GSA from Rapsidian, of Sector 3, the Duma are from a rocky high steppe far from any ocean. They evolved communities around massive sinkholes. They possess a quad-core respiratory system, each capable of breathing independently and in continuous cycle. Their hands, made from locking cubic fingers that can form into hard hooves, deliver a brutal impact that can easily dent armor plating.
15 Gagaric Snow Buffalo
The “Cold Thunder” are native to Rapsidian of the 3rd Sector. Living in large herds, they roam polar plains and migrate along a mountain ridge from pole to pole. In recent millennia, they migrated to Sentron, within the 3rd Sector.
16 Paraguardian
PG is a high ranking officer of the Department of First Contact. There are 100,000+ Paraguardians throughout the GSA, each serving 4 turns.
17 Dillinger-haist
Created by Thumatra Industries for GSA military departments. A Dillinger-haist fusion propulsion system is known for its exceptionally low signal output. They are well suited for stealth capability as well as commonly used by smugglers, pirates, police, and high end security.
18 Flowspace
A parallel dimension, discovered by the Dramurian Scientific Cooperative, through which GSA starships travel faster than the speed of light relative to our universe. There is no changing direction once in flowspace, but gravity alters the jump trajectory. Jumping may be capable through a sufficiently low massed object as a small ship, but an asteroid, moon, or planet would be lethal. Therefore, using flowspace may require multiple jumps to get around a dense area of space.
19 Nolaprike
GSA standard unit of time. The nolaprike is 10^2 duprikes and equivalent to 60.48 seconds.
20 Rudon
GSA standard unit of distance. The rudon is 10^3 tradons and equivalent to 3 kilometers.
21 Duprike
GSA standard unit of time. The duprike is equivalent to .605 seconds.
22 Rainstar
A superior space combat missile designed to fragment near target into hundreds of molten plasma balls that drain shields, and stick and burn into any physical surface. This weapon was constructed by Arealta Armor and is now used by both the GSA and the Creators of Space.
23 Quad-core
A type of respiratory system that has 4 “lungs.” Each is capable of breathing independently and in a continuous cycle. The lung passages are directly through their chest. Duma possesses a quad-core respiratory system.
24 Darkness Protocol
A GSA quarantine battle tactic that powers down or hides activity that could be seen by alien sensors, while deploying and reassigning troops to close a perimeter net around a system in the unlikely event a ship gets through.
25 Voidwhisperers
Sometimes called the Whisper of Death, Voidwhisperers utilized high-level stealth-tech with no transponders or drive-signature. One of the GSA founding species, the Valkon, helmed the majority of the Voidwhisperers. Rumors were they never spoke and only communicated via quantum entan- gled neural interfaces. They are an elite black ops division of the GSA, the galaxy’s deadliest troops. The program was “officially” dismantled in the aftermath of the Saaryki War.
26 Duraguardian
A mid-level officer in the Department of First Contact. They operate and manage technical, strategic, and personnel teams, actions and upkeep. They are elevated to or demoted from their position by the government computers based on their success in their work. There are 10,000,000+ Duraguardians throughout the GSA, each serving 3 turns.
27 Patch
Created by the Dramurian Scientific Cooperative, The Builder, Daro Lutican ni Dramur, is its architect. The Patch is a doorway to flowspace created by vibrating spacetime to match the flowspace frequency. Patches are needed to safely enter and exit flowspace. Draumurians understood a way of vibrating a section of spacetime until it matched the resonance of flowspace. At this time, a properly shielded and vibrating ship can pass through the “patch” into flowspace. A Patch uses antimatter as its power source.
28 Greel
Originating from the language Rakillak of Rakilla, the word refers to a fledgling who jumped before they were able to fly. It is widely used throughout the GSA as a slang term for a military pilot.
29 Quarantine of Dimur 7
2.3 million turns ago, the GSA almost released a godlike race when they granted the Venu Class-S status. They were normal, peaceful, lifeforms until they had travelled in the first starships away from their sun. The absence of their homeworld’s particular radiation signature slowly destabilized their genetic code, eventually killing them over the course of turns. But during that time, the Venu slowly became more radioactive, able to absorb and dispel energy, melt through steel with their bare hands, and kill all around them from exposure. If left unchecked, they would become planet killing entities with their deaths. The GSA asked the Venu to return to their homeworld. Those who did not and those who tried to leave were killed. An indefinite quarantine is placed around Venu until a cure can be found. None has.
30 Dragsan
Arguably the “fathers” of the GSA, these blue skinned humanoids posses three sensory tentacles that protrude from the back of their head. Dragsans are prolific for their trained use of “Recall,” where one can exist in memories.
Dragsan Eel
Originating on Dragsa, the Dragsan Eel now lives in several Sector 6 planets with oceans. An invertebrate, formed from interlocking armored exoskel- etal segments. Has tail fins along its length for propulsion. They can generate lethal electrical shocks to defend and hunt. As lone hunters, they prefer offshore reefs.
31 Dark Energy Array
Instantaneous destruction of matter or an FTL blind ju
mp. Two intersecting beams created by two different dark energy arrays will discreetly destroy matter at their intersection. This is unblockable. All GSA ships are equipped with a miniaturized Dark Energy Array for a one time use. Once it is acti- vated, it cannot be stopped. It can’t be weaponized; it is a tool of last resort. 50% of the time it vaporizes the ship; the other 50% of the time the ship will instantaneously jump either forwards or backwards along that vector to an unknown and potentially limitless distance. From an outside observer, the ship will always appear to jump away, so you never know if anyone made it unless they came back. There is a 1⁄8 success rate with using a DEA for travel. Origin of the DEA, Valkon.
32 Class-T
A classification in the GSA Dept. of First Contact Planetary Index. Considered a Diminishing Lifespan Planet, they have interstellar detectable tech, planetary scale conflicts, and a failing ecosystem. These conditions together, indicate the native species’ high likelihood of violent expansion to other planets. Too dangerous to engage, they are reassessed every 55 turns by the DOFC. Improved resource balance, interplanetary travel potential, and a strong preference for diplomacy could earn an upgrade to Class-S - Safe for Future Expansion. Further improvement, evaluated every 10 turns, might grant First Contact.
33 Prime
A top ranking member of the GSA that formulate and designs laws. There are 171 Primes throughout the GSA. A 7 turn endeavor, whereas if a Prime is appointed to three consecutive terms, they become a Prime for their life and are retired to Havlangar after their service, never to return. Each Prime leads one of the 19 Departments in each Sector. Primes comprise the Council of Worlds and are elevated to or demoted from a Prime by the government computer algorithm created by the Kaleans. This function uses an amalgamation of data including but not limited to their successes within the role.
Beyond Kuiper: The Galactic Star Alliance Page 4
