Galactic Horde

A New Reality

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I will explain why we should not decrease the funding we have for space exploration, thinking that all danger is past. If anything, the funding should be increased exponentially.

Surely you jest, Doctor Richards.  That came from the Indian president, Ghandi, and a grand niece of one of the former presidents, if he had his history correct.

He looked directly at her.  Actually I am very serious, Madam President. I also realize that is not going to happen. Looking around the packed house, you all have many priorities begging for funding and attention. I understand that. The people at the Institute understand that.

So, too, does the military understand about funding. But, consider this, and he paused to gather his thoughts.  I know there are thousands of plants discovered on other planets, but, there were two samples that could not have come from any other place but Earth.  He let that sink in for a moment.

Yes, but you destroyed the machine that came to Earth and gathered them, President Ghandi interrupted again.

We destroyed a machine that would have eventually made it to Earth, once we encountered it and piqued its interest as to where we came from. That machine had no records that we could find, of ever being to Earth in its history.

That brought the sound of a lot of folks sucking in air in astonishment. He had to make them understand that Earth, and any other planet out there, most probably was in danger.

The machine we destroyed would take sentient beings from one planet and transport them to another. It was switching beings from one planet to the next in great numbers. Then it would bombard the planet with asteroids to make it almost unlivable before replacing the removed sentient beings with beings from some other world.

If it encountered a race that was too advanced, then it used some kind of energy weapon and split the planet apart, killing everything.

Nothing in Earth’s history indicates that something like that ever happened here. There have been theories of alien visitations in the past. Those have always been dismissed as fantasies, because no definite archaeological finds were ever unearthed to support those theories.

So, you are saying now that we have found such evidence? Ghandi asked.

Yes, we have, but this evidence is from two other planets and the evidence is living plants, not fossils. According to the evidence we have, after accounting for genetic drift, those plants could not have been obtained from this planet any farther back than a few thousand years.

He had everyone’s full attention now, but they ain’t seen nothing yet, he thought to himself with a smile.  So, the old Indian myths are now seen in a whole new light by the rest of the world. He hoped he had just made an ally out of her.

There is at least one more alien group out there visiting other planets and perhaps causing some amount of mischief.

In this case they did not cause any problems. I mean taking plant samples would be a normal function of exploration. Why bother with them? Ghandi asked.

They may not be a problem at all. Then again they might have caused some things to happen we are not aware of. Alternatively, their civilization might be entirely gone by now. Still, after encountering this planet busting machine, do you feel comfortable assuming anything now?  She offered no indication either way.

Before I finish, I would like you to meet a friend of mine. He said something into his translator that the built-in microphones on the lectern did not pick up.

They sat expectantly, waiting for his guest to appear, but they did not expect him to appear over Alec’s head and come crashing down in the open area in between Alec and the semicircular seating arranged in front.

He was an impressive looking creature, to say the least. His name was Gart, or that was what they called him. When he spoke his own name, it sounded like Gart. Alec was sure there was more he was not hearing, but he and his kind used mostly infrasound to communicate.

Standing on two long solidly built legs ending in three large digits in front and one in back, he gave the impression of a small dinosaur. In fact their race had been classified as Saurian.

His digits were tipped with fairly sharp claws, which he raised when walking. He counter-balanced himself with his rather heavy tail, which was also used as a seat when resting or a weapon when needed.  The rear claws were used for braking, which had created two long furrows behind him in the floor.

His head was fearsome in appearance with bony ridges and recessed eyes. The somewhat elongated snout was filled with a great many sharp teeth.  His hands, if you could call them that, were comprised of four long digits with retractable claws.

His arms were kept folded next to his sides most of the time.  Unless he was reaching for something one could not see just how long they really were.

When you considered that he went something over 250 kilos and, when fully erect, stood about two and a half meters tall, he was more than impressive at close range. President Ghandi was getting a very up close and personal look at him just now.

She was about the only one that did not jump over the seats behind them while screaming at the top of their lungs.  In fact, they were eye to eye. Gart had to turn his head to get really close to her.

He stood fully upright, towering over her and looked up at the ceiling and let out that multi-tone bellow he did from time to time. At least he did not bellow into her ear and deafen her. He had to hand it to her though. She sat still through the whole presentation.

President Ghandi, I would like to present Gart. He is the newest member of our exploration team. He is one of the sentients we rescued after our little encounter with the machine. It was his planet it destroyed.

Does he talk? she asked in a weak voice.

He does, but he uses infrasound. We have to wear translators to be able to communicate effectively.  Alec noticed the other delegates and leaders assuming their previous seats, while trying to appear as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Alec gave them a few moments to settle down. As they did so, Gart began pacing slowly back and forth in front of them. They all got a very good look at him, and they were all mesmerized by his presence.

We destroyed a very old machine. I would not call it sentient, for it did not respond quite like a sentient being, when we boarded it. We encountered a computer that had no programming to tell it what to do in response to being boarded.

In fact, the robots it had available were not designed for any kind of combat. It did have some armed robots in storage.  We do not know if they were designed for real combat or some kind of police duty long ago.  However, when these armed robots were faced with a new threat, neither they nor the machine were able to adapt.

What almost got us was its sheer size and numbers, not ability.

Imagine, if you will, what would have happened had we boarded that machine and had encountered beings like Gart and his kind. Also, imagine that they had modern weapons available and knew how to use them to their best advantage.

Add to that they were combat trained and had leadership and sufficient numbers on their side. He stopped to give them time to think about that before continuing.

As I am sure you have all figured out by now, the mission would have been over almost as soon as it had begun. We would now be looking forward to having thousands upon thousands of these combatants landing here with a ship the size of a small moon to back them up.

Civilization on this planet would be over.  Thank you all for your attention. There will be a chance for all of you to meet Gart after we take a short break.

The remainder of his time was spent in answering questions and observing their reactions to actually talking to Gart through a translator. After getting a signal from Ray, he made excuses about having to return to work, but not before he was forced to make a promise to try and give them more time to talk to Gart at a later date.

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As Alec and Gart walked into Ray’s office, he spied Michiko sitting there in front of his desk, which was to be expected. He also noticed Admiral Uyehara sitting next to her, which was not expected.

Have a seat, Alec, Ray said, pointing to one of the other chairs.

I am not sure there is time to sit down. I suspect that the Admiral is not here on a social call.

The Admiral actually smiled slightly before responding.  That is correct, Doctor. We have another odd situation.

Odd situation? he asked.

Yes, Ray said. We have an exploration team doing research on a planet called Omicron V, and they have reported something very odd.

Which would explain why it is an odd situation, Alec added. What is so odd about Omicron V? Alec wanted to know.  Surely there are lots of planets that have odd things to figure out.

In this case, there is no life on the planet, but there was at one time. We do not know why it died out.

Perhaps a virus or some kind of planet wide cataclysm wiped it out.

You know very well that is highly unlikely to wipe out all life, down to the cellular level, Ray said.

Yes, I have to admit that is odd. The Navy is interested in this oddity as well? he asked, looking at the Admiral.

He nodded. Yes, after this encounter with the machine, the Navy is taking an interest in anything that seems out of place, until such time as it can be explained satisfactorily.

Alec sighed. When do we leave?

A New Mission and a New Friend

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Alec sat and watched the aft camera, and saw earth disappear behind them. It never ceased to amaze him how fast these new ships could accelerate and the sight of earth disappearing so quickly was more than a little unsettling.

Enjoying your show? Michiko asked.

Alec turned to look at her before replying.  Yes, I am. Seeing the planet disappear like that always fascinates me no end. I wonder how long it will take me to get used to that.

I know, she turned to look at him over her shoulder. Things have moved so fast the past couple of years and they are going faster all the time. It is almost magical.

Alec turned to look at the newest member of the crew.  Your people had space flight before we found you.

Yes, but this is beyond what we ever dreamed of doing. Some among us thought about traveling to the stars, but exploring our own system took most of our time.

Well, now you are traveling to the stars.

Yes, I am, and Alec heard an odd sound from the translator he took to be laughter.

Gart was a scary thing to behold close up. Alec had never really given it that much thought after their initial encounter. Since meeting him on the alien space station, he had found him to be intelligent and actually quite easy to get along with, all things being equal.

He had never considered being frightened by him until their little impromptu show at the Institute a few days back. When Gart dropped to the floor after jumping over his head right in front of President Ghandi, and stood up tall and intimidating, even Alec was taken aback.

When he let out that tremendous screeching howl from deep in his throat, he was very frightening.  Everyone at the meeting was frightened when Gart dropped from over head, even though they all pretended not to be.

That made Alec chuckle out loud.

Are you still thinking about the meeting? Michiko asked.

Yes, I am and it is still as funny as it was then, he replied.  How long until the jump gate?

Seventeen minutes, the computer responded.

Michiko. Can you head for Omicron V at a somewhat slower pace than usual? We really need to go over all of this information and I have not had a chance to look at it in detail.

Sure, we can go slower. How much time do you think you will need?

I would think one day should be enough. All of us need to be up to speed on what is going on there before hitting the planet.

Yeah, well it would not hurt to know what we are getting into before having to make critical decisions.

I agree.  We need to anticipate possible enemies and their capabilities.  He looked at Gart.

Leave it to Gart to think about potential enemies. Well sometimes the enemy can be very small and has to be attacked in different ways.

And that is why you are here, he replied.

Yes, I suppose so, but the computer does most of that kind of investigation for us.

Thank you for remembering me, it responded.

No problem, Alec laughed.

Entering jump gate, and as the computer finished speaking they did enter the jump gate and into what some called hyperspace.

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It was not really a place, as one would think of it, as there really wasn’t much to see. It was more a feeling of being nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

He always wondered what there might be that they could not see. Perhaps other beings living there and watching them each time they entered and left? He would have to think about that later.

Even so he wondered why they never encountered any other ships there, either their own or someone else’s.

Jump gate forming, came the computer’s melodic voice and sure enough there it was in front of them and they were through it in an instant.

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We have entered the Omicron system, the computer announced.

Michiko turned and came towards Alec. I have the program laid in and the computer will pilot for the time being while we go over the information on Omicron V.

Very well, Alec replied. He turned to the bigger monitor behind him and brought up the files on Omicron V. He liked this way of looking at big files. You could read notes and descriptions, as well as full reports and have vids and audio going as well; all on the same screen.

Michiko sat down the chair next him and waited expectantly. Alec could tell without looking that Gart was right behind him, looking over his shoulder. For one thing he heard his claws clicking on the metal deck. For another, he felt his breath blowing in his hair. Must be an amazing smell when he is on his regular diet, he thought.

OK, Alec. So what do we know about this planet? I’ve gone over the summary from the Institute, but there must be a lot more detail than that, Michiko looked at him. He felt a sigh of warm wet breath, harder than usual, directly behind him.

Well, for one thing, we know this planet is the fifth planet in orbit, yet it still orbits closer to its sun than earth does to its own sun. Omicron has a bit less output in energy than our own sun but the closer orbit makes it slightly warmer than earth.

Also, the planet has sufficient water to support life as we know it, but yet does not have any life at all.

It has no life at all? came the question from behind him.

No, none that has been found by the scientists working there.

Then, why do we go to a planet with no life?

Because the planet did have life at one time. In fact the life forms there were fairly well advanced. Now, however, there is no life to be found, anywhere on the planet. Everything that was once living is dead.

Why did it all die out? again from behind him.

That, my good friend Gart, is why we are going there. May I continue?  He got a guttural response to his question.

Omicron V is slightly smaller than earth and there are a lot less heavy metals in the crust. The gravity is about three fourths of Earth’s. It is dry and dusty for the most part. It does rain occasionally and with no plant life to hold the soil, erosion is massive, as you might guess.

There is still subsoil in many areas that has not been washed away by rain, so the theory is that this event, whatever it was, did not happen that long ago.

Furthermore, microscopic analysis shows a great many kinds of dead cells. Well, what there is left of them that is. The scientists are trying to gain access to the bottom of some of the smaller lakes to take samples to see if they can obtain cells in better condition.

What about the advanced life forms? What do we know about them? Michiko asked.

I think you both will find that very interesting, as he brought up another set of pictures.

That brought out a gasp of surprise from her and even Gart made some kind of audible noise.

Alec, those are insects! she said with surprise.

Yes, in fact they are very similar to insects from earth and some of the other worlds we have visited. Actually they look a bit like wasps, if you excuse their extra legs or arms.

They do have a lot of legs, she agreed.

As you can see, they have five pairs of legs. Actually the back three pairs appear to be more for walking and the front two are more like arms. The front pair is longer and more powerfully built than the next pair, which might be for very delicate kinds of work.

He heard Gart’s tail move on the deck as he shifted his weight.  They have a weapon, he observed.

What weapon? I don’t see anything, Michiko said.

Alec stared at the picture for a bit, before agreeing with Gart.  Good eyes, Gart. Yes, they do Michiko. Look closely at the end of the abdomen.

Oh, my! she exclaimed. They do have a stinger. I wonder if they were venomous.

No way of telling at this point, but perhaps we will find that out later. In the interim, there is more to cover.

Good, she said.  I find this interesting, like a crime drama.

Well, dear that is what it might be. We have no idea why these beings and their world died, so we are an investigation team.

The probes in orbit, around Omicron V, have also spotted what look to be some kind of underground structures. Apparently buried by the wind over time. They do not appear to have been very tall.

What have they found inside? Michiko asked.

Most of the structures are collapsed or partially so. What they have been able to figure out so far is that the inhabitants lived in some kind of colony structure. Again much like social insects back on earth.

How did they get these pictures of dead beings? Gart wanted to know.

They dug into one fairly intact structure and found it to be some kind of cemetery or mausoleum. Apparently when they died, their bodies were put in there to dry out and become mummified.

I am surprised that anything is left of them besides bones, Michiko remarked.

They have no bones. They are built with their skeleton on the outside. It is called an exoskeleton. The internals are mostly gone, and the outside is about all that remains of them.

Are those wings? she asked, staring at the picture on the monitor.

It would appear that they are indeed some kind of wings. Of course we do not know if they were capable of flight or if they were only vestigial remnants from long ago. The scientists are hard at it trying to find out all they can and we will be there to help interpret what they find.

Why do they need us for that? Gart asked.

Because even though most scientists are very good at their specialty, they sometimes have trouble putting many pieces of a puzzle together from specialties other than their own.  That is what we will be doing, for the most part.

For the most part? she asked, staring at him.  What is the other part?

We are there to look out for the interests of the Institute.

So, what is our primary mission objective, Alec?  She looked at him very intently now.

Our objective is to find out what caused this disaster. Whether it might be some natural cause or the result of a biological war or anything else.

What else would cause such a thing to happen? Gart wanted to know.

I would not care to hazard a guess just yet, Alec replied.

Michiko frowned at him. You are sounding more and more like Uncle Hideo.

I would not let him hear you say that, he smiled.

Is that all? she asked.

Yes, that is everything I wanted to cover with the two of you. There are a lot more details in the reports of soil samples and air samples, magnetic radiation and the like. They are boring, but might be important. Study them over and see if anything jumps out at you.

OK, she said as Alec heard another guttural noise from behind him. Then afterwards, we should get things ready for landing and get some sleep while we have the chance.

Gart simply stood upright and raised his heavy tail off of the floor and headed out to his own quarters, while Michiko went back to the control console to check on things. The computer would let them know if something was wrong, but she was thorough that way.

Dead Planet

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Entering the planet’s atmosphere, came the announcement by the computer. The anti-grav thrusters on the newer ships compensated so well that one could not feel them while in operation.

Alec watched the landing from his monitor and finally saw the settlement appear. It was not as large as he expected.

He always found it hard to get used to the eerie silence when the thrusters were shut down after landing.

As the three of them came out of the small elevator, they were soon greeted by a small group of people. The man in front seemed to be in charge. He approached them directly and held out his hand.

Welcome to Omicron V folks. I am Dr. Ronald Grimes, the mission head. You certainly made good time.

At that point his mouth fell open and he stood there as if frozen to the ground. Alec could tell he must have suddenly come to the realization that what he was seeing over their shoulders was looking back at him.

Is that thing actually alive? he sputtered.

Alec chuckled and replied; well yes he was the last time I checked. Dr. Grimes, meet Gart, the newest member of our group.

Finally the good doctor got the courage to say something.  Hello, he said, as he held out his hand a bit timidly.

Gart had become used to the human custom of hand shakes when meeting other humans and promptly responded by reaching out and grasping the doctor’s hand in his much larger hand.  It must have been more than a little unsettling to see your hand disappear up to the wrist inside something that large.

Gart says hello back, Alec informed him.

I did not hear him say anything.

He uses infrasound and you need to be wearing a translator to understand him.

Oh, I see.

And this is my pilot, Lieutenant Uyehara. She is my assistant as well.

Pleased to meet you doctor, she said while shaking his hand.

The doctor again looked at Gart. What is his responsibility, if you do not mind my asking?

Gart? Oh, he takes care of security for us, among other various duties.

Oh, well. Excuse my manners. This is my assistant, Dr. Jacob Pendergrast, and again hand shakes all around.

Finally Alec cleared his throat. Well, then can we get started?

Certainly, Dr. Grimes said.  Right this way, and led them over to a small group of sleds. Turning around again and looking at Gart, I am not sure how to fit him in one of these. I am afraid they are not made for someone of his size.

"No problem