I stared at the deep black of space speckled by countless bright dots and wondered when something would happen.
A poke on my flank pulled my attention away from the ethereal beauty shown by the viewer. I swiveled around to face Krenote, my only companion in the early warning station. His expression feelers showed sarcasm and I stiffened mine to hide my exasperation with what was coming.
His conversation feelers signed, “If the Brontians retained mercenaries from an unknown species called Humans, where are they?” He waved a feeler at the viewer. “We are in the perfect position to spot anything from the Brontian Realm entering this system to attack our forward base. They are certainly taking their time.”
“Must this discussion occur almost every shift? We know the opinions held by each other.”
“I enjoy debates. They lessen the boredom.”
“No, you enjoy making disparaging remarks. Well, as I have suggested a number of times, the Humans are probably doing recon. They will appear when they are ready.”
“No, they will not. They do not exist.”
“You know the information came from the official report about the interrogation of a high-level Brontian prisoner.”
“And you know Joint Command deemed the story slither snot. You are gullible to believe it. The Brontians are attempting to frighten us by telling a fable like the one the Pendjar spun about spirits that would protect them. We annihilated them without any spirits intervening.”
“Joint Command too easily dismisses other species and should not have disregarded the story so abruptly.”
Although I would never admit it to Krenote, piddling doubts about the Humans had started pestering me. They were taking their time.
Krenote signed on and on about my naivety and his theories, but I only pretended to pay attention. His comments hadn’t changed in some time.
Flashes of purple from the warning strobe startled both of us. I turned to the console covered with sensor read-outs and Krenote dashed over beside me. A transit conduit opened at feeler range by space standards and the viewer snapped to its position, marked by a dark shimmering circle that obscured the stars behind. A ship emerged and the stars reappeared as the conduit closed. Both my hearts skipped a beat as I scanned the sensor readings. The ship, a stubby arrow at least five times the size of our capital ships, conformed to no known configuration. It had an unusual dark gray color, carried unfamiliar white markings, and emanated power at a level near the maximum the sensors could measure. I had no doubt about who crewed it.
Krenote stabbed the amber button on the console to dispatch the emergency courier that would summon the Ready Response Force.
I looked at him showing the smuggest possible expression. “So, the Humans are a fantasy?”
We transmitted over and over a request that the alien identify itself, but received only interstellar static in response. It seemed to take no notice of us at all while it approached at a tiny fraction of light speed, as if on a sightseeing cruise.
Five conduits formed ahead of the alien and the RRF–a capital ship and four escorts–popped out. After we reported our inability to identify the alien, our ships maneuvered into an inverted pyramid formation and charged while firing directed energy cannons and salvos of missiles.
The electromagnetic armor of the alien sparkled like a jewel reflecting sunlight from the barrage of the energy cannons, but the ship itself seemed untouched. The readings of the alien’s power level then surged off-scale and every one of the missiles targeting it vanished. Next, in five blinks of an eye, our five ships became dazzling yellow-white balls like small suns. The suns soon faded, leaving only expanding clouds of debris.
Krenote and I stared at each other in shock.
The alien opened a conduit and flew into it.
With the alien gone, Krenote’s expression changed to relief, as if we had escaped from the clutches of a black hole, and he signed, “We are still here.”
“Of course. We have been spared to report on the demonstration of power.” I could not resist adding a snarky comment in repayment for all of his. “I believe Joint Command will need to reconsider what the Brontian prisoner said and reassess its dogma that we are the apex predators, the natural master species that enslaves or annihilates others.”
Krenote turned away with limp feelers. His dejection filled me with delight for a few moments as he walked off, but my joy departed with him. The arrival of the Humans had exacted a high price.
I busied myself assembling a report on the battle, if it could be called that. After loading the report into a courier and launching it, I stared at the deep black of space speckled by countless bright dots and wondered what would happen next.
—
Lance graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with an aerospace engineering degree. He worked for over 30 years with NASA contractors in Houston, Texas performing engineering work on the Space Shuttle and its payloads. Now retired, he writes science fiction.
Good story. I enjoyed the reverse POV. I’ll also be looking to work “slither snot” into a future conversation!
Thank you so much. I’m glad you enjoyed the story.
As always, I enjoy Lance’s stories and the invented slang term was funny. How humans were characterized is appropriate for mercenaries and I liked the way the myth of them was debunked. Also the end suggests more could happen, creating anticipation.
Thanks for the kind comments. I’m so happy you enjoyed the story.