by John Walker
“You seem to be under the impression we’ll be allowed to talk about it,” Titus interrupted. “I think this is going to be kept classified.”
“We’ll see if they can pull that off. I doubt it though.”
“Anyway, no one’s going to be offering commendations when they realize our way of life, our species itself, stands at risk because of these… these giants.” Titus shrugged. “We don’t have the means to fend them off. We can’t even take two. And I think if the entire fleet had been here, we still couldn’t have stopped them.”
“That’s grim.”
“Just being realistic.” Titus squinted through the force field blocking the entrance from open space. A ship was on rapid approach, another oval design with wings. It was coming in especially fast. Thinking about their guest’s pilot brought him to another topic. “How is Ronin? Will he… did he make it?”
“He’ll be okay,” Anders replied. “Took some serious shrapnel to the chest. Got cut up pretty bad but his uniform saved his life. They didn’t penetrate as deeply as they would’ve had he not been wearing his standard issued flight suit. Those hardened points in the torso are a godsend when it comes to accidents.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“How’d Jane do?” Anders asked. “Obviously, we’re still here so she must’ve been good.”
“She was great. Had good ideas… kept us moving. I’m impressed. I knew she deserved her promotion. I’m going to push harder for it now.”
The alien vessel slowed, penetrating the shield while hovering toward an empty pad off to the left. Their landing gear put down, hissing as the ship landed. The security men stood ready, tensing up as the ramp dropped. Two forms paced out, humanoid… two arms, two legs… head, torso…
“Stand down, guys.” Titus waved at the soldiers. He stood in front of them with Anders at his right.
The alien leading the way looked youthful with smooth, pale skin and a mop of white-gold hair. His eyes stuck out even at a distance… teal and vibrant, enough so that when the light caught them, they seemed to glow. He stood around five-seven, athletic but slight. He wore white pants, black boots to the knees, and a brown coat with wide lapels.
His companion was a touch shorter with short, vibrant red hair and mint green eyes. She dressed the same, though she had an empty holster on her left side. Of the two, she wore a wary expression while the male took in his surroundings… grinning as he pointed things out that the woman didn’t bother to look at.
All her attention remained on the security guards.
“Commander!” The man put his arms out to either side. “I’m Griel Pas Dain and this is Operative Niva Lon Tilas. I thought we should talk in person before you throw out a message to whoever you report to. We’ve got a lot to discuss and not a lot of time to do it. Um… you are Commander Titus Barnes, right?”
“I am.” Titus extended his hand. “It’s good to meet you, sir.”
Dain looked at his hand. The woman leaned close to him, whispering something. “Oh! My apologies. I’m not as familiar with the nuances of your people.” He shook Titus’s hand. “I think that’s the way it goes.”
“It is.” Titus gestured to the doctor. “This is our Chief Medical Officer Anders Brett.”
“A pleasure,” Anders nodded while shaking hands. “We’re pleased to make your acquaintance and to find out there are other people out here. We’ve been looking for a long time.”
“I’m sure you’re not thrilled about the Kahls,” Niva muttered.
“Probably not,” Dain said, “but there are a lot of wonders beside those animals. However, we’ll get into all that later. Is there somewhere we can speak?”
“Yes, right this way.” Titus led them into the hallway then down to a nearby conference room. The lights were off and when he hit the panel, it didn’t respond. He sighed, taking them to the next one. At least it was illuminated but smelled vaguely of electricity. Gesturing to the chairs, he had a seat then waved off the security guards. “Wait outside, please.”
Dain flopped in one of the chairs. “They’re just like ours, Niva!”
Niva rolled her eyes before sitting beside him.
“Can you explain,” Titus said, “what’s going on? Why did the Kahls attack us?”
“That’s what they do,” Dain replied. “They’ve been crusading against every species in the galaxy though not all at once. We’ve been at war with them for a time. A tough one too. But they lack something we have… something that gives us a distinct advantage, even if we haven’t been pushing back as much as we’d like.”
“And what’s that?” Anders asked.
“We’re friendly,” Dain replied. He paused, glancing at Niva. “Well, most of us. Anyway, we can make alliances. And we have some with the other cultures. The Kahls conquer, they take slaves occasionally but they never employ others to help. We recognize everyone’s under threat. So our goal is to unify them into a fighting-force that can end this once and for all.”
“So you’re seeking allies.” Titus frowned. “Is that why you intervened?”
“We’re not barbarians,” Niva said. “We found out about this senseless slaughter and came to assist. We hoped to save more lives. I’m sorry for the loss of your colony… for the civilians. The attack happened before we could mobilize properly. I’ve tried to take responsibility…”
“But,” Dain interrupted, “she wasn’t even on the tech station. Niva’s an overachiever when it comes to intel. Works for our military’s observation league. Which basically are a bunch of soldier spies in your culture. Is that accurate?”
Niva nodded. “Similar to your TCN Operational Agency.”
“You know about that?” Titus lifted his brows as he leaned forward. “How is it you know so much about us and we never even had a clue about you?”
“Oh, we’ve been keeping an eye on you for hundreds of years,” Dain replied. “Since long before you had reliable space transportation. I’d say we were roughly flying ships like this one when you were probing the stars for signs of habitable planets. We’re a bit ahead but don’t feel bad, we had a head start.”
“How so?” Anders asked. “What do you mean?”
“Our homeworld,” Niva explained, “housed more Founder technology than yours. You were a true seed planet. One where your people thrived without the benefits of high tech gadgetry. Ours was… less hospitable in the beginning. Which may be why we focused so strongly on survival and military ideals.”
“Yeah, the actual Prytin military?” Dain shook his head. “They’re pretty intense. I tell you, my current post is vastly superior. It lets me lighten up. A lot.”
“Yes,” Niva muttered again, “you definitely needed that.”
“So what happens next?” Titus asked. “I mean, we’re in serious trouble here. Our fleet can’t hope to stop the Kahls. Why did they even attack?”
“You came too close,” Niva replied. “You’re encroaching on the galactic theater for the war. The Kahls probe new discoveries, find out if they’ll be an easy conquest then decide when and if they should attack. You see, while they are bound by their religion to dominate the galaxy, they find no fulfillment in a simple foe.”
“Meaning they might not come after you,” Dain added. “At least, not right away. But it’s only a matter of time. And if you wait, then many of your potential allies may not even be alive to join you. Which is why we’re here talking right now.”
“I don’t follow,” Titus said.
“Simply put, we need you.” Dain put his hands on the table. “Our other allies have spirit… the contribute as they can but yours. You’re warlike. You’ve been fighting battles for centuries. Even your tactics here proved you might’ve held your own if only your gear had been up to the task.”
“Which means,” Niva continued, “we would like to bring you into the alliance. We want you to fight the Kahls with us. To that end, we have resources waiting to be delivered. Equipment and schematics. Everything necessary to j
ump your technology years ahead of where it is now. Enough to make you useful in the fight.”
“While,” Dain jumped back in, “keeping your colonies safe. Allowing you to update your fleet accordingly so the Kahls can’t surprise you again.”
Titus cleared his throat. “I’m not exactly authorized to… to make this happen.”
“It’ll be easier coming from you and us than just us,” Dain said. “We’ve done this before. That’s the mission of the Brekka. We help other cultures come over while performing special missions. The kind that have the potential to win the war. We can do whatever it takes to bring down the enemy.”
“I have yet to contact my high command…” Titus looked at Anders. “What do you think they’re even going to say?”
“It’s going to blow their minds,” Anders replied, “and there could be some administrative nightmares.”
“Yes, usually there are.” Dain smiled. “We’ve seen that before too. So what we do is get this ship upgraded. Pump resources into it. Bring our techs in to work with yours. Make it happen. Turn over the schematics, the resources, everything else. You repopulate this thing and we make some things happen.”
Niva nodded. “This way, your culture sees the benefit of working with us. They understand we’re on your side. And at the same time, you discover the fact that you can win.”
“After they see this data,” Titus said, “they’ll be ready to try anything, I’m pretty sure.” He let out a deep breath. “How long would it take to do these upgrades?”
“Weeks,” Dain replied, “maybe a little longer. All depends on the internal systems. But we’ve got the people and the tech to make it quick. We need a dry dock, time, and dedication. I say we talk to the most influential person you know and get them to push some things through for us. No matter what we have to do, this needs to happen fast.”
“What do you think?” Titus asked Anders. “You’ve been in the service longer than me.”
“I think we’ve got compelling arguments,” Anders said. “And if we talk to the TCN Agency, we’ll get the push we need to make it happen. It’s just a matter of reaching out ASAP. I’d almost suggest we contact them first. With these two, if you both don’t mind. They’ll have a lot of questions.”
“They always do,” Niva said, “but we’d like to ensure we are moving forward. So when we’ve finished basic repairs here, we need to return to a friendly port… somewhere that’s equipped but not a core world. Somewhere they’d have to send someone to bother us. We’ll undergo the upgrades immediately.”
“That… I don’t know.” Titus didn’t want to jump too far ahead. “How do we know…”
“That we can be trusted?” Dain interrupted. “I guess at the heart of the matter, you have no clue. But we did just save your lives. We have the technology to conquer your homeworld tomorrow if we wanted to. And we haven’t. Because we genuinely want this alliance. We want a free universe where you can explore without threat of annihilation.”
“I should point out,” Niva added, “that my department considers you as partners. Your tactical experience from internal fighting makes you ideal to work with us. We need more warriors. We have no intention of betraying you. Which is why we’re giving you the schematics. I’ll transfer them to your technical people right now if you’d like. They can look them over.”
“And while we head back to your base,” Dain said, “they can see if we’re lying.”
“That seems fair.” Titus turned to Anders. “What do you think?”
“I’m a trusting guy,” Anders replied. “We’ll have to sell it, but I think we can do it.”
“Then… okay.” Titus nodded. “We’ve at least got a tentative plan. We’ll reach out to the appropriate people. Make the connection. Start the dialogue…” He rubbed his chin. “Did we… are we essentially at war then?”
“For lack of a better term,” Dain lifted his shoulders, “yes. But they don’t know about you yet. They’ll never see you coming. Believe me. I’ve looked forward to saying that for a long time.” He clapped his hands. “Anyway, you’ve got comms to send and we’ve got schematics to share. Let’s plan to get out of here in, say… two hours, yes?”
“The ship should be ready by then.” Titus stood.
“Then we should return to our shuttle,” Dain said. “We can get all the data sent over from there. Maybe get one of your tech people to visit us so we can coordinate our interfaces. That won’t matter once we upgrade your computers and such but for now, we’ve got a few compatibility challenges to overcome.”
Titus summoned the guards. “Please escort them back to the hangar. I’ll be along shortly. They’re our guests. Treat them accordingly.” He waited until they left before speaking again. “I trust them… even if that’s insane or stupid, I simply do. I mean… well… what do you think?”
“You saw what their ship could do,” Anders replied. “Do you believe they could take out Earth? Would we stand a chance against them? Or even this new enemy?”
After the Brekka entered the fight, they had torn through the Kahl ships. He’d been shocked by how easily they had ripped through the shields and how quickly they’d lit up the hulls. Especially after the Triton’s weapons did nothing. That was the answer to the question, and it acted as a grim look at the future.
“They can. We don’t.” Titus shrugged. “I guess I’d like to know what you’d think in my place. Would you trust them? Would you give them a chance?”
“I wouldn’t have a choice.” Anders patted his shoulder. “And neither do you. Let high command decide about trust.”
“But by the time they even think about what’s going on, we’ll be upgrading the Triton… if we follow their path.”
“We’ve seen that kind of fast tracking before. Not with aliens, granted, but in our past. Remember the old nations? United States, Germany, Britain? Did you ever read about World War Two?”
“In the Academy,” Titus said. “The first time I visited Earth we toured some of the old museums for that conflict.”
“And so you know about the rapid change of industry. How one country managed to turn all their factories to munitions and essentially pump out an army’s worth of equipment to fight a massive war. Even after losing far more than we did today. No, this definitely feels like a prequel to our version of Pearl Harbor. We need to act now.”
“Our intelligence department didn’t even have the Kahls on a watch list.” Titus huffed. “God, I don’t look forward to this.”
“A British diplomat once suggested the Chinese had a curse they’d leverage at enemies. May you live in interesting times. The idea is that you’re dealing with some kind of strife or chaos in such ages. I’m afraid we’re entering such a period now ourselves and like it or not, we’ll have to contend with it.”
“You reading my mind?” Titus asked. “I was just thinking I wish this hadn’t happened on my watch.”
“Oh, trust me. If you had been in the medical bay during the fighting, you’d know I felt the same way.” Anders shook his hand firmly. “I believe in you, Commander Barnes. And I’m certain you’ll get our point across to high command. If you need my help, my testimony or anything of that nature, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be happy to speak to them.”
“I appreciate that. I’m going to take reports from everyone involved that can help express the gravity of this situation.” Titus saw him to the door. “Now I’m going to speak to our new guests. See what they have for our Engineering team. On the bright side, at least we’ll receive the benefits of their tech.”
“Such things generally come with a heavy cost,” Anders said. “One paid for with blood or the soul.”
Titus smirked. “Now you’re being an ass. First you bolster my confidence about the situation then you throw that out there. Do they train you to be the devil’s advocate multiple times in the same conversation?”
“Nah, I come by that honestly.” Anders headed out. “I’ll be in Medical if you need me.”
I’m lucky to have that maniac. Anders might’ve been a touch strange but also had a lot of experience. People back at HQ respected him. Rudy requested him specifically though Titus wasn’t sure why. They weren’t acquainted before boarding the ship. Apparently he knew he was a good doctor… I guess.
Titus felt an urge to visit Ronin, to check on the people in medical. That would have to wait. His guests took priority over all else. Until he wrapped that part of things up and got them underway, he needed to put all his effort into getting a leg up in the pending conflict with the Kahls.
I have to sell this to high command like nothing I’ve ever done before.
It scared him. All his presentations leading up to that point felt pointless. They were child’s play. Tactical briefings, combat missions, and performance evaluations. Now, somehow he became the harbinger of a new age. The man to tell humanity that aliens not only existed but that some of them planned to attack them soon.
Blessing and a curse. Interesting times indeed. Well. I guess this is my time to shine. I won’t blow it. I can’t.
Chapter 5
Two Months Later
Kyle Burgess stood at the edge of base camp to watch the sun break the horizon. Off in the distance, far to the east, a forest stretched from north to south for as far as the eye could see. As the first rays of dawn came through the unusually twisted branches, filled with square leaves, the silhouette struck him with awe.
Every morning he rose specifically to take in the sight. Most of the worlds they visited fascinated him in some manner. Traveling to new planets partially drove his work. The discoveries took precedence but the more beautiful the locale, the better. Vargas Three wasn’t the strangest place they ever visited though it made up for it in splendor.
They found themselves in a dusty, rocky section near some foothills leading toward a mountain. If someone deemed the place worthy of colonization, it would make an excellent quarry. Thus far, the Republic had yet to send anyone out to even survey the place let alone establish a foothold.
