Long time after that, centuries later when even their bones turned to dust, when the glory of what was once Rome back on Earth was nothing but a legend and a memory of the past, Kvesar’s vision came true. After centuries of trading and closing in on their borders, the Zerg Commonwealth and the Dacarian Empire went to war. The war was brutal and hard. Both races were merciless, and the centuries that passed were well used by the Zerg to prepare for what was coming. It lasted for almost a century and a half before finally the last outposts and colonies and the Zerg home world were destroyed. And before the final battles, when more by accident then intention the Dacarians learned the location of the world they were looking for, for so long, the Zerg did the ultimate sacrifice knowing the whole truth about the past that Kvesar once mentioned. In a last desperate gamble they destroyed everything connected with Earth and the humans destroying even the ships that tracked their ships to Sol protecting the world they pillaged for so long giving humanity the time they didn’t have in order to prepare. All they could do was just hope. The punishment for what they did was severe as most of their race was killed soon after the war and the rest slowly died in the centuries that came. But just as in the eyes of the long forgotten Hanno in their eyes you could still see their hope burning and waiting for the day when a long forgotten race will come back and exact its revenge on the Dacarian Empire.
And now centuries later that time was finally at hand.
First Chapter
15 April 2020 9:30 pm
Arcadia Star System
4200 light years from Sol
Long ago humans and every other creature that would look to the stars, in to the darkness, there they would think of the stars, those small light dots that filled every space of the night sky, like something magical. And when you look at them they seem so close, so bright. But once you go up there in the immense space that separates them, all you can see is darkness, and everywhere you look you will see those same stars shining just the same, maybe a little brighter, but as you look at them you will know how far away they truly are. Humanity tried since the first time it looked at them to try and see them to try and see another star and the system it holds, and by the second decade of the twenty first century it finally did. Huge space telescopes peered in to the night and looked in to those same stars taking pictures and scanning the space looking for any sign of another habitable world, any sign that we are not alone. It was a noble mission, a mission that showed the faith in the goodness and the simple outlook that humanity had of the universe it lived in. It was believed that we were not alone, but it was never believed that if we ever manage to find another intelligent race they would look at us as an enemy.
It all changed one day when a fleet of human ships encountered creatures of another world and it had had to defend itself from their relentless attack. In that one moment the innocent view of the far away stars, the innocence of the search for the extraterrestrial life died. A small glimmer of hope still remained thanks to the bodies of two dead aliens, and the words of a young soldier that spoke to one of them. Humanity knew that there was goodness out there. All that was needed was for it to be given a chance. And they all hoped that a day will come when they can.
But that day now seemed far away as in the years that followed millions both humans and aliens lost their lives in what became the first battle in the Human –Dacarian war. The enemy made its first strike and failed and the humans that survived swore that they will never let them do that again…
The darkness of the space at a point four thousand and two hundred light years from Earth was suddenly interrupted as the normal space was torn apart and a single hyperspace window opened. A single ship came out of it. Even seen from a distance no one could mistake it for something else then a ship of war.
And the heavy cruiser, the USS Excelsior was exactly that.
Jennings looked at the dark space that opened in front of them. He knew that he couldn’t see it really considering that the cruiser had no windows, except for the two observation decks that were now sealed, but the screen showed the view that was recorded from the external cameras and telescopes mounted on the ship. And what the sensors showed was breathtaking.
“We are at the right coordinates sir, at a point 0. 7 light years from the Arcadian star system.”
Jennings looked at the young officer who gave the briefing.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Roberts.”
He then turned to his other side and noticed the avatar of the AI that controlled the ship standing and looking at the same view. While his eyes and the eyes of every human looking at it showed amazement, her eyes he could swear showed pain. And just as everyone else on board the Excelsior he knew the reason for that. While they looked at something never seen before Aria was looking at something that she once saw in another time now long lost…She was one of the fifty AI’s that were recovered from the small fleet that brought the survivors of a long forgotten war. Humans once before were here, humans she knew. While they were reaching towards the unknown she was returning home.
“It is beautiful isn’t it Aria?”
She turned towards him.
“Yes Admiral it is. It always was.”
“I want you to schedule a meeting in one hour. Continue scanning the system with passive sensors only and shut down everything else. We will approach on silent running. Let’s not give them a chance to know we are here…and tell Major Rivers to be there as well. And… inform the crew that we are here.”
The AI just nodded with her head and turned. At the same time her voice could be heard through the ships speaker announcing the safe arrival. He could see the tense faces of his crew relaxing a bit but not letting the tension totally slip away. There was no fear in their eyes. Eight months ago when they left, they were young, most of them with little experience, but they all grew up since then. He knew that he had a ready crew under his command. Eight months ago they started as the spear head of Operation First Strike and now that operation would enter its opening phase. He had sixty soldiers on board of his ship, soldiers from several different countries on Earth, but soldiers that had one thing in common. They were the best at this type of thing, at infiltration and gathering information. His job was to get them there. He was the carrier and they would be the first point of the spear, a spear that in ten more months would descend on the Dacarians with all the fury of humanity.
“I will be in my cabin. Commander Thomson you have the bridge”
His second in command rose from his seat and looked at him.
“Yes sir.”
Jennings nodded and went directly to his cabin. The captain’s quarters on the Excelsior were built the same way as they were on the Alteran ships and were directly connected with the bridge.
When he entered the cabin he sat on his desk and looked at the reports on it. The paper work was never ending. As he sat he noticed the admiral insignia and uniform on the opposite side. He was wearing the rank of a captain again. He knew that once this mission was over and he returned to Earth he would have the rank of an admiral once again, but he took the demotion because he wanted this mission. It was probably the most important one in all the history of humanity considering what lay ahead. Humanity had just four, eight years at best to manage to hide itself again and give itself the needed time for the final confrontation with the Dacarians. They won the first battle but they were not ready for a war of that scale. Not yet.
And this mission was the start of the operation that would give humanity that time.
The reports on his desk were reports gathered in the past seven and half months as the Excelsior traversed the distance between Earth and Arcadia. Four thousand and two hundred light years, a distance that just several years ago was something unimaginable. Even with the upgraded engines that the Excelsior had, they would still be at a distance that the ship would need almost six additional years to cross. If not for the hidden warp points that Aria showed them, warp points not used, four of them at least in the past twel
ve thousand years. Those points shed almost three and a half thousand light years of their journey. The four that helped his ship to travel to points that were hundreds of light years apart were not used for a simple reason; they were not placed in star systems. They were in the black void between the stars. Twelve thousand years ago the ships that brought the last Alteran survivors to Earth traversed them. And later the few surviving military ships did the same. As he went through the reports he noticed the report about one of the systems they passed through on their way here. He shuddered as he went through it. It was a report that in one hand would bring smile on the face of every astronomer back on Earth. The Kepler 62 system did indeed have habitable worlds. It had seven in fact and at least several more that were in the process of being terraformed. Three of the planets were habitable and so were four of the hundreds of moons of the ten planets in the system. Humanity knew of five planets that were discovered thanks to the Kepler telescope and it was always suspected that several more were also there. But the other part of the report would put a lot of fear in to everyone. When the Excelsior entered the system drawn there by a constant signal that showed the presence of an advance race, an alien SOS all they found were debris. An enormous debris field was present in Kepler 62. An advanced race once inhabited the system and it was capable of interstellar flight as well considering the large number of destroyed ships in the system. But they were gone now. The scans of the planets showed huge scars and destroyed cities from orbital bombardment. Whoever the civilization that once inhabited that system was he didn’t know and neither did Aria. Apparently the Alterans never exited there so long ago. But the civilization was gone now, destroyed in some disastrous war with another unknown species. They didn’t stay long enough to find any bodies but he was sure that they would be there. The scans showed that the cataclysmic event happened in the last several decades and the amount of devastation showed that there were other dangerous races there as well. And who ever that enemy was it was a lot closer than the Dacarians were. The galaxy was a dangerous place. Humanity was lucky according to Aria to live in a relatively empty area. According to all scans the closest neighborhood around Earth and Sol had no sentient races at least none developed. Considering the recent events in the past few years and the sight of Kepler 62 that was a proven fact. He just hoped that they would have time to take advantage of that luck.
As he raised his head he noticed the pictures that were arranged on the edge of his desk. They showed him embracing a beautiful blond woman. On two she was alone looking straight ahead and right now it seemed that those green eyes are looking at him. A smile appeared on his face but it stayed for just a moment. But in that short moment his face lost all the tension, all the seriousness it had. He missed his wife. She, like him was an astronaut, a former officer in the air force of the United States. They met in training for the first mission of the Daedalus and in the years that followed fell in love. Right now she was also a captain commanding one of the newly built cruisers back on Earth and although he missed her he also knew that at the moment she was safe. That gave him a small measure of peace and the wish to see her again gave him even bigger will and strength to finish this mission. He rose from his seat and picked up the picture. The smile on his face appeared again. He gently touched it with his hand.
“I miss you.”
He looked at the clock. Time passed fast. He had several more minutes till the meeting. He turned and exited the cabin and headed towards the conference room. As he entered he noticed everyone waiting for him. As he stepped in Aria appeared on the other side. As she did she smiled and nodded. He nodded back.
The conversation in the room quieted down as he entered. All the officers of the Excelsior, his entire command staff was present. Most of them were young with the exception of the engineers and several people he took from the crew of the Prometheus. They all rose in formal greeting. He smiled and waved with his hand showing them to sit down. As he did that he noticed major Rivers looking at him. The major nodded and sat down. His face was serious now. In the previous months he was different, always making jokes in the long conversations they’d had. But now as they were finally about to start with their mission he was starting to look again like the man he really was…A commander of the best soldiers that humanity had to offer. And he noticed the excitement and tension on everyone’s faces.
“Well gentlemen we are finally here. Major Rivers are your men ready?”
The major looked at him. He thought he noticed a sarcastic smile on his face but couldn’t be sure. He had a perfect poker face and you could never be sure what was really on his mind. Deep down he knew that his question was a mute and that the soldiers under Rivers command were always ready. The Seals always were.
“We are Captain. The men are ready to go the moment you give the command.”
“That is good to hear. You will have the toughest job on this mission.”
“It is what we train for sir. We will get the job done.”
“I have no doubt in that.”
He turned towards Aria. The AI stayed quiet so far and waited for him. He knew that she would have all the information’s that the sensors gathered about the system they were going in.
“Aria what can we expect once we get there?”
The AI smiled as he addressed her. And her smile made everyone do the same. She was as much part of the crew of the Excelsior as every living breathing human being. She controlled the ships sensors and weapons always finding time to speak with the crew, to give advice or to simply have a casual funny talk. He even suspected that some of the younger people on board might even have a crush on her. If she was a real human being she would have had a lot of suitors. With the blond hair, slender figure, white teeth, small tin red lips and deep green eyes she was stunning. He once asked her about the real person that donated her brain scan. Aria just smiled and said that she is her in every possible way except that she is artificial. She told him of the real Aria Van Hassen, the Alteran astrophysicist that twelve eons ago donated her brain scan and chose to give life to the creature now standing before him. He was growing more thankful with each passing day.
A moment later in the middle of the desk a holographic image appeared showing the Arcadian star system. Eight planets, hundreds of moons and small planets, a large asteroid field and a huge Ort cloud in which they would soon enter appeared.
It was very similar to the Sol system the difference being that here the habitable planet was the second one and it had no moon. There were two other rocky worlds and five gas giants, one almost as large as Jupiter back in Sol. Several of the moons showed icy cores and probably water beneath the ice and there were at least several that looked very similar to Titan. It was truly magnificent.
Aria gave everyone a second to gather their thoughts and watched them with amazement. They were really different from their ancestors, although they were similar in many things. The way they reacted in the time before and after the invasion reminded her of the Alterans but the way they watched with stunned eyes everything new, and still managed to do the right thing, the way they were taking huge risks that was all different from what she knew about the Alterans. She’d had a chance same as the other AI’s to check the historical data about how their civilization developed both from what they knew themselves and from the Icarian probes that collected information even today after all this time. They were a race that was both capable of great things, things that were so amazing and beautiful it was hard to even imagine. Even in their earliest years when they were primitive, it was pictured in the hanging gardens of Babylon, the Pyramids, Rome and Alexandria, the city of Carthage and so many more and for great unimaginable atrocities and evil demonstrated in all their history in the many conflicts they had. And even then she could see them rising above every challenge always managing to bring out the best of things. It was something that was uncommon compared with their ancestors who had the help of the Icarians to overcome events like those. They were an amazing race and ha
d a chance to become a great civilization…
“The system is very similar to Sol…” – the comment came from lieutenant Roberts. He was one of the officers responsible for the weapons systems of the ship.
She turned towards him.
”Yes Lt. Roberts you are right. As you can see our target is the second planet in the system.”
The planet suddenly was magnified in the hologram. As it was many features that weren’t visible like satellite placements and ships were now noticeable. At the same time other points in the system were magnified as well and they all showed various constructs and defenses. Arcadia was a beautiful world with five continents and multiple islands scattered through the large oceans that were just as on Earth covering a large portion of the planet. The continents were covered with jungles. It was something that was expected as it was already mentioned in the previous reports that the AI provided from the last time Alterans visited the world. The hologram showed two hundred defense satellites placed at various points around the planet. Before they could say anything one of the satellites was zoomed. They could all notice the slight excitement in Aria’s face.
“Aria…?”
The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) Page 43
