Sodenia's War Box Set

by Luigi Robles

  The Herrion began speaking in his native language, and subtitles appeared at the edge of the main view screen.

  “I am Areanle O Aree.” The Herrion spoke with what looked to be a saddened expression. “And if you are seeing this, it means that death has come once again to our galaxy.” He moved away from the center of the recording, and a planet appeared instead.

  “This is Harrendor.” Areanle’s voice now narrated. “A planet so rich with life that it was the cradle of our civilization.” The planet disappeared, and instead a time-lapse of a town took its place. “Since the beginning of time, as we grew into a civilization, we have looked to the stars. Those marvelous celestial bodies of life-giving light. We dreamed of one day reaching them, so we set out to do just that.”

  The image showing the town quickly turned into a city, strikingly similar to the cities on Earth. The images on the main view screen kept changing to match what Areanle was narrating.

  “I’m the fourth of my kin, the fourth in a generation of Star Seers in the second life of people. And it’s my duty to study the dust left behind in the galaxy and the dust that is yet to come. Dust is all around us, and dust is what we are.

  “This is the second time in the history of my planet that our civilization has given birth. We were here once before, but when death came for us all in the form of machines, little was left. Thankfully the machine mind has a reckless, uncaring nature, and a few, along with some technology, were spared.

  “But we were naïve beings, and the resilience in our hearts didn’t let us quit on life. So, we rebuilt again. But this time the concept of the end was embedded in our minds. From that, we knew two things. The first was that we needed to protect ourselves against any future threat. And we also knew that if our species were to survive and perhaps live on beyond the life of our planet, we must spread the seed of life.

  “So, we did just that.

  “For uninterrupted generations, we developed technology capable of great feats. We started life on a distant planet. We eradicated famine, poverty and drought and lived in abundance. But we’re not without our faults. For a generation or two, the same technology caused us great heartaches in the form of war. It turned out that greed was one of our most formidable enemies, and difficult to extinguish from our hearts.

  “But when we traveled between the stars, our civilization came together once again, and we remembered where we came from and what truly was out there. We saw countless lifeless planets, entire races and civilizations, turned to ruins. The stories passed down by our ancestors turned out to be undeniable truth, and with evidence for us to see, uniting our people was possible. Our differences were set aside and forgotten.

  “So that we may have the chance to live for future generations to come, we came up with an answer to the great death that lingered in the galaxy. We built our ships, our fleet, the pride of the Herrion: our Champion, with the sole purpose of being able to stand up to the great death. We prepared for a great battle, a battle that we were determined not to lose.

  “But the battle with the machines never came, at least not as we had hoped for; instead it came in the form of other life from far away in the galaxy—a powerful force known as the Acram.

  “We tried to negotiate at first, and when that didn’t work, we pleaded for peace. But they also had only one goal in mind: the conquest of the galaxy. Without any choice left, we fought back, and we won the first battles. But at a great cost, as our ships were not meant to fight among ourselves. The Acram were relentless and their numbers overwhelming; we knew they wouldn’t stop until we were a threat no more. We saw the end coming, but before it did come for us all, we decided to send our Champion to the planet where we had seeded life all those generations ago. We did so in order to give our kin on that planet a fighting chance. But many more generations would have to pass before they reached the level of technology we now have, and time was not on our side. For we predict the death of the galaxy is upon us once again.

  “We’ve given you the best of us; we’ve chosen the most beautiful planet in the galaxy to be the cradle for your civilization. We’ve given you our Champion to protect your world and to reach out and protect those you can. For you are the best of us, for you are our future, for you are us, and we were you.

  “I’m afraid I don’t have much time left; this is the end of Harrendor. But I will return to the dust in the stars knowing that somewhere out there we still live on.

  “I want to leave you with one last thing. If you must start a war to end all wars, do so. Life in the galaxy is worth saving. Let our Champion unleash its true power.

  “This is goodbye. Our future is with you now.”

  The messages stopped, the main screen turned off and the lights on the bridge returned to normal. Fain didn’t know what to think or feel about what he had just seen. It was jarring, to say the least. In less than five minutes, his entire reality had been turned upside-down.

  No one on the bridge said a word; it seemed as if everyone was waiting for Fain. But he was far from knowing what to say, or what was the right thing to say. Besides the overwhelming truth about the origins of life on Earth, something he knew they would discuss at length at some other time, the underlying message was clear. Now there was a solid anchor for hope.

  “There’s hope,” Fain said. “It’s always been there, but now something other than us has brought it to light.”

  “I agree with Fain,” Green said from the floating orb. “The message is hope. We’ve been preparing for this war for a lot longer than we thought, to say the least.”

  “Truthfully, I am shocked. It’s a lot to take in,” Truman said. “I’m sure we all heard many key phrases in the message, and there will be time to analyze every frame, every word that was said. If anything, let this be a reassurance that we are on the right track. Thank you, Kya, for uncovering this. For now, and until all of this is over, this should remain in ESAF hands only. It’s already hard enough dealing with the politics on Earth.”

  Fain nodded.

  “I understand,” Kya said.

  “Since we’ve had the ability to think,” Fain said, “we’ve always wondered where we came from. Now we have our answer.”

  The group on the bridge was quieter than normal; perhaps everyone was lost in thought.

  “And what an answer we got,” August said. “Just like that, we find out that the Herrion aren’t really aliens? They were humans, but pink. I don’t know. I think…I’m going to be sick.”

  “Heck, that’s not even the best part,” Eora chimed in.

  Everyone in the room stared at her.

  “Don’t you realize what this means?” Eora asked.

  “I think we realize many things right now,” Larissa said. “Don’t know which to choose from.”

  “No, seriously,” Eora said. “It means that Sodenia isn’t really an alien ship. It was made by our ancestors. Well, sort of. But still, it’s closer to us than we thought. We’re capable, or more accurately we will be capable of her technology in a few hundred years or so.”

  The room erupted into conversations. Kya, who was standing near Pycca’s station, approached Fain.

  “Thanks for bringing this out,” Fain said as he turned towards Kya.

  “I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing or not,” Kya said.

  “This was the right thing to do by far,” Fain said. “And I’m glad you did it. Everyone deserved to know. I just hope they don’t become too distracted thinking of this.”

  Kya smiled and took a few steps away from Fain.

  “Alright, listen up,” Fain yelled over everyone’s voices and clapped his hands twice. “Attention.”

  As much as Fain wanted to make this moment last and discuss all of what they just saw and heard in the message, he couldn’t. He knew that the silence from the Immortals could end at any time, at any second. They needed to be ready.

  The room fell silent at once.

  “The implications of the Herrion message might
be many,” Fain continued but in a normal tone of voice. “And throughout today, tomorrow and the days to come, it’s going to be hard to top what we’ve learned, but we must focus. If you must think of the message, let it only be fuel for the flame. When we send the Immortals back to the hole they’re coming from, we’ll have plenty of time to go over what this all means. Let’s return to the task at hand.”

  “Yes, Captain,” many of the lower-ranking ESAF officers said in unison.

  “For now,” Fain said with his hands behind him, “everyone that shouldn’t be on the bridge is dismissed. Report to your COs.”

  A group of fifteen or more began walking towards the corridor. Those who passed by Fain saluted him. Eora was the last one from the group to leave, and she stopped next to him.

  “Seriously,” Eora said. “Think about what I said and what that means. I think we’re doing the right thing.”

  “I will,” Fain said. “But let’s try to hurry to get everything ready.”

  “Will do,” Eora said as she walked away.

  “Kya,” Truman said, “can you send a copy of the Herrion message down to Soden Island?”

  “That won’t be a problem.”

  “Great,” Truman said as his orb got a bit closer to Fain. “We’ll leave you to it, Fain.”

  “Before you leave, General Truman, I do have one request.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Recall all non-essential ESAF personnel on board the fleet, including Sodenia.”

  “Are you sure?” Truman said. “That will basically eliminate your twenty-four-hour shift. You might end up overworking the crew.”

  “I’ll have Larissa go over the logistics with you,” Fain said. “We’ll be keeping full crews in the receiving areas of the ships until our goals are met. Once we’re ready to depart, they too will be recalled.”

  Fain purposely made the request to Truman on the bridge; that way he could keep the questions to a minimum. Fain figured he could evade Truman’s questions for a few days, or at least until he came up with a good excuse not to have a full crew on board.

  “Alright,” Truman said with a sigh. “We’ll start that process right away. But I do expect a full briefing on the matter.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Truman said as his orb turned off.

  “Fain,” Green said as his orb also neared. “I want to remind you that we’re one hundred percent behind you. With that said, we’re only here to guide you as best we can and nothing more. There’s going to come a time when you’ll be the only one to make the right decision. Keep that in mind. For everything else, just let us know. Keep us up to date.”

  Fain nodded, and Green’s orb also turned off.

  “Larissa?”

  “Yes, Captain?”

  “Come up with a plan to make the space elevator as efficient as possible so we can get as many ESAF officers off the fleet’s ships as we can at one time. We need the devices in and supplies in and more than half of the officers out. Get August to help you.”

  August nodded.

  “The rest of the captains in the fleet aren’t going to like this.”

  “That’s OK,” Fain said with a smile. “Let them know that the order comes from me directly. Once you get it all figured out, coordinate with the fleet’s captains and ship GMs and let Truman know.”

  “I’ll do my best.” Larissa turned and began walking towards her station; August followed.

  “Alright, let’s get to it,” Fain said as he moved towards the center console and pulled up the map that Saavan had given him. He was already sick of the map, but he had to push through. “We don’t know how long we have, but whatever time we do have, let’s make sure to use all of it.”

  Alexander Green leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh, trying to detach himself from what he had seen on Sodenia’s bridge. He knew that Truman would come knocking on his door any minute. Alex no longer shared an office with Truman. Thanks to the building technology left behind by the Ochilenes, along with government and private funding, ESAF was able to have proper buildings constructed in record time.

  Unlike Truman’s office, Alex preferred a more modern looked. He adopted the minimalism aesthetic and often had nothing on top of his desk but what he needed for the task at hand. The minimalism made his office look larger than Truman’s, although they were the same size.

  There was a knock at the door.

  “Come in,” Alex said, knowing that it could only be Truman.

  Truman walked in, took off his hat and pulled out a chair for himself in front of Alex’s desk.

  “Yeah, please take a seat,” Alex said with a mocking tone. “Why not?”

  “Don’t mind if I do,” Truman said as he placed his hat on top of Alex’s desk. “Well, what do you think?”

  “Where to even start? The things we thought we knew about humans have suddenly disappeared. And just when I thought we were getting close to understanding our place in the galaxy.”

  “Yeah, the bar got raised pretty high this time around. But let’s not beat around the bush. As remarkable as the history of humanity now is, talking about it won’t help us at all in the coming battle. It looks like your boy made up his mind. He’s going.”

  “I get the feeling that his mind has been made up for a while now. We are just learning about it because it’s our turn to act.”

  “You do realize that getting rid of more than half of the people on board the fleet is going to put them at a severe disadvantage if they end up facing an enemy in the space landing zone.”

  “I fear that if we faced the enemy in the space landing zone,” Alex said, scratching his beard, “it would be disastrous for all the fleet’s ships. This way, there will be a lot fewer lives at risk. Fain is being smart about this; he’s making space in the ships so that all personnel can fit easily in one ship if need be. There’s no guarantee of coming back from where they’re going.”

  “That’s true. Though one thing does worry me.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “That your theory comes to fruition and he wants to go alone. He’ll be able to do it if the ships are more than half empty.”

  “I know Fain, and the only thing that’s for sure is that young man won’t be wanting to lose. He will fight, and he will fight with everything that’s inside of him in order to win. He will weigh his chances, his advantages and disadvantages, and in the end he will do whatever gives humanity the best chance of surviving this whole thing. We are lucky to have him.”

  “I hope you’re right on this. It’s a huge gamble you’re taking on him, and it’s the only chance we have. You’re the mastermind behind this operation.”

  “Sodenia might be the Herrion champion, but Fain and his crew are our champions. We should have faith in them. We must believe that they’ll be able to pull this off.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right on that. Each one of them is the best we’ve got. Do you have anything to drink?”

  Alex got up from his desk and went to his mini fridge, where he kept a bucket of ice and chilled drinks; next to the fridge there were several room-temperature drinks. He took the bucket out of the fridge and placed it on the credenza.

  “What will you be having?” Alex asked as he half-turned towards Truman.

  “Let me have some of that good stuff. Whiskey never fails.”

  13

  Unbreachable

  Saavan was standing where he spent most of his time while on board the Iveria: in front of the main viewer. But this time there was no empty space to stare at. The majority of his view was walled by ships belonging to the Acram and their subspecies. Close to twenty-nine loyal subspecies had gone to aid the Acram in their efforts to hold the enemy back. He was proud of the unity they were ultimately able to achieve, but in his gut, he knew that it still wouldn’t be enough.

  He had felt them coming from a vast distance away; the news of the Immortals appearing on the ship’s instruments only
served to confirm just that. Though he had suspected they would come, he did not budge. There were no last-minute adjustments to make with the countless ships. He wanted to face the enemy head-on.

  For a brief moment, he thought about contacting Captain Fain Jegga, to ask him what fate he had chosen, since in a few moments they would lose all communication. But then he thought better of it. He would leave their path their own, though he hoped that whatever path that may be would lead to the end of the Immortals.

  He knew within himself that it was time to learn whether his life had prepared him for this moment. Whatever he was meant to be, he would be; whatever waited for him, he would find. It was time.

  “Noble Saavan,” Galeah said as she opened yet another screen next to the seven she had opened earlier. “We’re now picking the enemy up on our instruments. I can confirm with certainty that it’s them. Awaiting orders, sir.”

  “It’s time to find out our real place in the galaxy,” Saavan said without looking away from the main view screen. “Send one hundred of our fastest ships to greet them, weapons ready, and instruct them to block all incoming communication. Have them report on their findings, and if they can make it back without engaging the enemy, tell them to do so.”

  Moments later, Saavan saw a group of ships disengaging from the formation and accelerating into the darkness.

  “Have everyone else ready for battle,” Saavan said. “Shields at maximum, weapons ready. As soon as we hear from the scouts, engage the signal scrambles.”

  The Acram answer to the Immortals’ ability to control other machines was to deploy signal scramblers. There were scramblers all around the battlefield, a couple of units attached to every single ship in the massive fleet. The Acram engineers believed that without a clear incoming signal, taking control of another machine would be challenging, if not impossible. When the contingency plan was first proposed, many loopholes were found, and in order for the signal scramblers to really work, extra steps would need to be taken. The signal scramblers would scramble all forms of incoming signals, including those between ships, and each one of the scramblers would have to be turned on manually.