When things settled down on Tuc, and the migration was in full swing, he would bring this issue before the council; but now there were too many unknowns, and he didn't like to bring up questions unless he fully understood them and decided how he wanted the council to vote. For now he would quietly initiate more study. He had already talked to the head of the research group and issued orders to study this intruder species, what their capability was, and verify their home world was, in fact, a planet of that nearby star.
If the alien species came in force they would need plans to defend both Tuc and Gath. And if they didn't they might still want to mount a mission to the home world of the aliens in the future; someday they would need more space for their growing population, and the alien's home world might fill the bill.
EPILOGUE - BOOK II
Darkness had descended on Alpha 2, with only the Kraa remaining in significant numbers; with humans and Torgai a meager few on the scattered islands or living a marginal existence in the mountains. Retreating to the eastern side of the mountains, the Kraa continued to exist much as before, ignored by the Gath unless they concentrated or ventured to the west.
Over the years large numbers of Gath immigrants arrived on the mainland, but adapting to Alpha 2 was not easy. In their cool underground world they had failed to develop sweat glands, and exposure to normal Alpha 2 temperatures for prolonged periods could prove fatal. Additionally, lack of pigmentation made working on the surface difficult. The end result was they concentrated on underground development as they had on Beta 3. Some experiments with above ground living were undertaken, but Gath activity on the surface was largely that required for travel from their burrows to scattered mining locations for raw materials. In spite of the difficulties the bar to surface development was more psychological than real.
To the naked eye the archipelago remained unchanged, the scattered population making little visible mark. The level of civilization gradually declined as the largely disconnected population found contact and central control increasingly difficult. While over the years many of the colonists, particularly those scattered over the more remote islands, developed an agrarian or fishing lifestyle, a core remained dedicated to retaining the trappings of civilization. This core group continued its efforts to maintain at least some technology and constituted what limited government remained, although with little control over the outlying areas.
And on Earth? When word of the conquest reached them in Earth Year 2170 the shock reverberated worldwide. But that is a story for Book III.
Resurrection: Book II: Settlement Chronicals Page 24
