Not content with this state of affairs, Kalie overheard Agent Vaughn ask his partner across from him, “Do you feel enough water in here?”
“Not much,” she answered, “but I think I can manage.”
Agent Grace, who was in the cell ahead of Kalie’s, touched the floor with her gloved hand and a layer of ice started to form beneath her palm. This thin sheet of ice began to expand toward the control room, swiftly snacking its way up to the wall to keep it from being detected by the enemy targets. The ice trail advanced all the way to the corridor’s entrance. When the barrel of a rifle poked out, Agent Grace thrust out her hand. Her warped ice expanded in half a blink, and the enemy rifle and clawed grip became incased in the element. Before the enemy could react to what had happened, the agent pulled her hand back as hard as she could, having the effect of hauling the stumbling draken into the lieutenant’s and sergeant’s direct line of fire. As the draken was re-stabilizing itself in order to regain its cover, Lieutenant Ukai prevented the action by fiercely pulling the air under the draken’s feet, making it fall onto the floor. From there it had no chance to replenish its shields and succumbed to the double volley, spattering some purplish blood on the punctured sections of its armor.
The second draken had ceased his onslaught in this turn of events, but restarted a moment later, shortly accompanied by several other distinct ordnances, though only the echoes of the expelling bullets crossed into their threshold. Kalie noted that Ibi-Jed was able to take a breather when the ceiling dismissed its fracturing. The firefight outside the control room did not last long. Some untranslated words were then spoken between the major and a familiar voice heading closer to their position. The appearance of General Tebias and two other eldrick answered Kalie’s queries.
To the humans, the general said, “We apologize for letting a squad breach this far in. We had-”
She was interrupted by the same contrivance interpreting for her when it said, “General, our fleet has arrived.”
The general gave a nod to the major behind her. The major nodded back and took the lieutenant and sergeant out into the dock.
“Now we can make our offensive push,” the general clarified to her guests.
The humans saw no more action in the battle. The reinforcements the fleet brought down rapidly overwhelmed the incursion above and below. After a few draken bodies were moved out of the way, the humans were allowed back onto the Oracle.
An hour after the battle had ended, an ADF frequency was picked up. Ibi-Jed told the agents they could connect first.
Agent Vaughn linked with the frequency and said, “This is Agent Vaughn of the Arcadian Investigation Agency. You guys aren’t going to believe where we are.”
The Nimbus Age
2876 – The Alethean Empire makes first contact with an intelligent alien species when an Arcadian smuggler ship accidently stumbles upon an eldrick outpost, officially ending the Silent Age and starting the Nimbus Age. It is quickly revealed that many of the galaxy’s most influential species are at war with one another. Humanity announces their intention to stay neutral. As one of the species who have been directly contacted by the Sacred, known as the Chosen, humans are invited to join Parliament. Both the Coalition and the Alethean Empire accept the invitation.
2879-2898 – Holding the belief that humanity will inevitably align itself with their enemy, one of the draken factions opposing the eldrick launch a massive surprise attack on Arcadia with the intent of crippling its military forces. However, the plans for the attack are discovered by eldrick-aligned draken spies and so the enemy armada, which is supplemented by an ikuga fleet, is met in the Arcadia system by an eldrick fleet and a fully primed Arcadian armada. The enemy armada is routed and the Alethean Empire officially unites to the eldrick cause. Not wanting to miss out on the now open trade of alien technology and goods available to its counterpart, the Coalition declares war as well. Human forces help bolster the talorian military, allowing eldrick and allied draken to concentrate on countering their previously stalemated lines. Nevertheless, the deadlock is not truly broken until the nehwai species reveal themselves and start contributing their ships to a Vith’maar faction allied with the eldrick. Soon after the ruling ikuga faction is usurped by a successful coup, the Galactic War comes to end.
2900 – The Valor Initiative (a joint alien venture of Parliament’s best soldiers used during the war) is revealed to the public. In one of the efforts to prevent another galactic war, Parliamentary species agree to continue a restructured version of the program and allow it to be used as Parliament’s primary tool to safeguard peace.
Testing
February 26th, 2910 S.E.
“What follows is an excerpt from a recovered e-journal of one Fita Tin-Mackerfin, an eldrick and apparent Depraved worshiper. It was downloaded from her cerebral data link soon after the commandeering of the iniquitous space station (no designation) and apprehension of its crew by Valor forces led by the glorious Captain Bens in 322-6 Galactic Standard. Transmitted with related incriminating data to the Parliamentary Committee for further evaluation. The human specimens she speaks of were found dead by the time we reached them, but we did find a living human child in the station. We have her in sick bay and will send her to the nearest human colony when possible. Awaiting further orders. Submit report… Wait, don’t tell me you actually dispatched the report with the word ‘glorious’ inserted?”
“Yes, sir,” confirmed the disembodied voice of the starship’s artificial brain. “You sounded serious at the time.”
“You know, go ahead and send my earlier proposal for a new A.I.”
“Sir, I’m not sure if you noticed, but you sounded serious there as well… Sir?”
…………………………………………………………………………………………
321-198 G.S. - Finally! After weeks of intolerable waiting it appears that the deal has fallen through and the human batch of specimens has been bought. They were a hefty price, but our gracious employer is evidently as eager as I am about testing the effects of ascension on the recently discovered species. They do show promise of acclimating well to the process. There are already many arcanists among them, as they’ve turned out to be among the Chosen, learning to warp the elements from the gods several millennium before first contact with my kind. As it would have cost far too much to purchase captives who’ve already unlocked the aptitude, our test subjects can’t control an ounce of any elemental or corporeal aspect, but that shouldn’t pose a problem in these initial experiments. I’m just grateful that I’ll be among the first scientists to study these organisms up-close!
321-215 G.S. – They arrived! A collection of two dozen sedated humans. A few had minor injuries of various kinds, but they were otherwise unspoiled. Most interestingly, there were three children in the group, two adolescent males and an especially small female that I find oddly endearing. Of all the known species in the Nimbus galaxy, these look the most like eldrick, though there are significant differences, such as their protruding snout, curiously shaped external ear flaps, and smaller eyes, to start with.
As I understand it, the slavers snatched them from a diminutive agricultural colony. Still, I endured a lecture from the slaver captain—an uncouth draken, naturally—at how he lost two of his crewmembers in the foray and that we bought his catch at a bargain. It seems the humans are formidable fighters if even a small security force gave them trouble. I took the abuse (as only someone of my standing could) paid the courtesy tip, bowed, and sent him on his way to frighten someone who cared.
There was no trouble in placing the subjects in their respective compartments, but I decided to leave out the tiny female and keep her as my own. At any rate, she’s far too young and fragile for ascension. I could just have kept her in a vat and have her grow in there for future testing, but I want to endeavor on an impromptu psychological experiment and see if I can raise her to be an unquestioning assistant, of sorts. I find the idea far too delectable to
resist.
321-216 G.S. – The scanners have perused every scrap of genetic material in the humans. (Mental note: Perhaps I should request our employer to allow us to grow a few clones? They might not handle ascension all that well, but I think it beneficial to fine-tune our methods on them before testing on more pricy specimens. Plus, we could later sell them and make back some credits. We do have the facilities for it.) Anatomically, they fall among the moderate class: average brain activity, typical musculature, adept immune system (even disregarding the supplemented nanotech, which will be extracted before we begin the procedure), and a sturdy, if reedy, skeletal frame.
Of course, as our previous ventures have indicated, the ascension process cares little for corporeal characteristics and are a poor indicator in reading out the potential of a species, or an individual, for that matter. In fact, one of our more successful trials came from one of the feeble talorian species; a female that kept much of her sanity and, when I last checked, was still kept by our employer. Imagine if more of that flimsy species accepted our views. Ascension could vault them into true prominence! I’m sure we would gain plenty of converts. Sadly, my skills are relegated to the research sector, my employer insisting on total secrecy from me. I can’t even contact those I believe I can convert on my own. I’m certain Diro would love working in this state-of the-art facility. No matter. I have time to prove my commitment. The real tests begin tomorrow.
My new pet is quiet, as expected. The little thing is terrified and scurries to a corner or under something whenever anyone gets close. I downloaded the updated translator program into our respective cerebral tech, so we can understand each other whenever she does decide to interact.
321-220 G.S. – I don’t think I’ll sleep for weeks! Predictably, the majority couldn’t handle ascension—eighteen of them outright died or had to be killed before they damaged the compartments—but two of them handled it exquisitely, both cases turned out to be the adolescent males, who are siblings. We started with the usual dose of the purified micro-crystals. Most handled it well enough. The usual symptoms appeared in all the specimens: excess blood generation, marked increase in muscle and bone density, and the insanity-inducing pain. Four eventually died from their internal injuries. Two nominal escalations of the dosages later and the juveniles were not only alive, but their physiology was absolutely thriving! Best of all, the pain was not enough to break their minds.
This could be pure luck, but if not… Well, in either case, we’re going to need more humans. Preferably, those who have a similar genetic pattern to these two males. If this is possible with these non-arcanists, then I would love to see what happens with those who’ve already accessed some aspect of the warping capability.
My little pet has largely stopped scuttling from fear and is proving to be quite inquisitive. She still doesn’t speak much, but she watches everyone’s movements closely, particularly mine. She will learn quickly, I think.
3085 S.E.
3085 – A Coalition mining company makes first contact with a new spacefaring species, however, it is a violent encounter with slavers. A single mining ship is able to escape and informs Earth of the incident. A Coalition force is sent to the system where the incident occurred, but weeks pass without any sign of the nameless aliens.
3086 – In more comprehensive sweeps conducted by eldrick ship-drones, another intelligent, if somewhat primitive, species is detected near the original sighting. The discovery reveals that this second species is subservient to a handful of the more advanced first species, which comes to be known as the advok. A more formal first contact is made days later with what the advok call the Ispen Imperium, but the advok quickly start proclaiming their dominion over a vast swath of territory that already encompass several Coalition colonies.
3087 – After numerous failed negotiations over this region of space (with the advok continuing to insist that the Coalition should be annexed by them and their own refusal to stop using other species as slaves) a buildup of advok fleets in Coalition space compels the human conglomerate to send their own armada to meet the encroaching competitor. After a standoff of a few days, an advok and human fleet come to blows, starting the First Advok War. The beginning of the war sees the advok largely use their slave species as their leading combatants, but the aid the Coalition receives from the Alethean Empire and the Valor easily counters this strategy and prompts an advok retreat from Coalition space.
3088-3090 – The advok begin to use their principal armies against the Coalition, resulting in an even-sided conflict. It is not until Parliament sends a substantial draken force, which is able to effectively target advok-inhabited worlds, is Ispen induced to seek a peace treaty.
3091 – The war officially ends when Parliament and Ispen agree on a boundary line with the condition that the advok do not spread their slaver activities outside their own territory. The peace treaty triggers an upheaval in advok leadership. The brief civil war between advok’s elite ends with the new representatives promising its citizens they will take back their “lost” territory. Despite the proclamation, the Ispen military do not mobilize.
3131 – Not long after a team of scientists and their defenders start exploring a lost civilization on a world bordering Ispen space, communication is lost. A Parliamentary rescue squad and a Coalition ship is sent to investigate the world dubbed “Ember,” however, once contact is severed from them as well, the Coalition sends a large taskforce to secure the region. The human fleet discovers an advok force occupying the planet. The advok claim the science and rescue teams to have fallen victim to human pirate attacks and use it as a justification to subjugate the “barbaric” region.
3132-3135 – After failed attempts at reconciliation, the Second Advok War begins, with the events leading up to the war becoming known as the Ember Incident. The war is a stalemate at first, even after Parliament reinforces the human military with draken forces. It ultimately requires a Vith’maar armada to coerce peace talks. Humanity is able to stretch some of its borders to include a valuable nebula in exchange for a sizable portion of uncolonized Coalition territory for the advok.
The Pursuit
March 3rd, 3173 S.E.
If anyone had set an alarm for midnight on this largely barren world, it would be currently buzzing to notify the time-setter. Up above, not a twinkle of starlight could be seen in a sky choked by the low-hanging, billowing clouds that were capable of suppressing the souls of the weak minded. There were a few drooping streetlights at ground level, but they could no longer provide even a meager torch to illuminate the broken lanes winding between the timeworn buildings. A solitary figure silently glided through the fractured, empty streets, using the rows of the forgotten mining facilities to keep hidden. The night-piercing warrior, wearing a shade of combat armor that allowed him to blend with the deep darkness surrounding him, soon came to a complete halt and leaned on a concrete building not unlike the others, keeping his body close to the entry for a few moments. He gently opened the rusting metallic door, creating a gradual creaking echo within the sizeable room he carefully walked into, assault rifle in hand.
The inside was worse off than the outside. Strands of an unknown, milky-white substance dangled like old cobwebs from the ceiling, of course, no Earth-based spiders could exist in this world’s dense atmosphere. The unidentified substance also cloaked a crumbling counter to the left of the staid room. A film of dust incrusted the floor, where the soldier could make out various boot prints of several sizes and shapes scattered throughout the splintered wooden surface. Trailing the freshly molded prints, using eyes injected with night vision, he saw that they led past a conspicuously open door and into a hollow room to the right of the entrance. Drifting farther into the building, he cautiously kept his steady finger on the trigger, ready to expect the unexpected.
As soon as he crossed his first foot through the threshold, a challenger’s armored-sheathed hand reached out to grab the barrel of the soldier’s weapon, successfully pointing it at the
floor. The rest of the challenger unveiled himself from his hiding place beside the entry and, using the other arm, the assailant released a razor-sharp blade from within his gauntlet, aiming its point directly toward the soldier’s presence. Faster than naturally possible, the warrior moved his head to the side, forcing the blade to harmlessly flick off his helmet. He next maneuvered to have his back against the wall for greater leverage, and was now eye to eye with one of the terrorists he and his team had been searching for. His opponent wore an ashen colored, mobile friendly suit of light-armor with a distinctive white band covering his left bicep. Without hesitation, applying his sharp edge yet again, the terrorist heaved it at the soldier’s thinly reinforced neck, expecting the intruder’s annihilation. But before his foe could strike, the warrior was able to roll to the side, causing the blade to harmlessly hit the wall, placing a generous impression upon it. After the impact, the soldier saw some portions of the archaic wall and ceiling sprinkle the fighting space, some of it landing on his meticulously cared for suit.
With his firearm now freed, the proficiently trained soldier began firing at his adversary, who was already receding behind a cement column and was in the process of drawing out his pistol. The soldier, also moving into cover behind a nearby pillar, knew he just needed a few more favorably placed shots to tear through the shielding and end this much sought after battle. Although, before he could fulfill his enemy’s fate, the terrorist discharged a smoke grenade out of the underbarrel of his firearm and the whole room abruptly became engrossed with fumes. These gases were not merely the type to obscure sight, but integrated with the capacity to interfere with electrical signals, leaving all, including his sensors, temporarily blurred until they reset or he escaped the cloud. The soldier paused and reasserted himself behind the pillar, anticipating his enemy to strike at any instant. However, the sullied space remained in silence, with a hushed breath inside his helmet being the only noise he could ascertain.
Generations (The Nimbus Collection Book 3) Page 12
