by Rashid Ahmed
Finally, the EMP device was ready. It was taken to the underground vault trapdoor. Maji ordered, “Trigger the high heat incendiary fuses.” He received a confirmation that the incendiary munitions were destroying items in the warehouse. He spoke again, “Turn off all electronic devices. Count to five, then trigger the EMP. Wait for another five counts before turning on your comms. Go.” The team did as commanded.
This time, the trapdoor was opened without any incident. The drone had gone deeper into the underground vault before the EMP was set off. The drone had located two Rakkniv personnel frantically destroying equipment, before the EMP cooked it. Both Rakkniv persons were taken down with beam weapons. Hard drives were removed from their computing equipment and sealed into foam lined cases.
Maji’s team withdrew from the site, after placing each opposition member into the closest bunk. They’d wake up disoriented.
The team drove off in their SUVs to their rendezvous point at the mining vehicle maintenance warehouse. The injured were patched up and the downed crew member was placed in a body-bag. The bag was then placed in a lead-lined transportation case.
At dawn, still tingling from all the action, Maji’s team arrived at the airport in their vans and boarded a separate aircraft arranged by Shun. The cargo aircraft had arrived half an hour earlier with a load of fresh vegetables. Shun worked miracles with logistics.
“Kilima, we came up short on this mission,” Maji addressed Max as their aircraft took off. They would be flying to Alta in Norway, where they would switch aircraft and head back to Murmansk. Max replied, “I agree. We need to upgrade reconnaissance technology as well as breaching techniques. The opposition may have got data on our tech, out of their base in Kiruna, before we hit them.”
Maji nodded. He took out his pad and put together a brief report, adding upgrade requirements. The report made its way to assigned Lýsi covert operations oversight members. Shun scanned the report and appended recommendations, based on available technologies and covert operation tactics, from various global sources.
Max updated Gogh over his pad. He said, “We believe information on the technology we went to recover, may have been transmitted out of Kiruna. There’s the likelihood of it being released publicly.”
Gogh replied, “Our tech has always been meant for the common good. We’ve trickle-released portions of these technologies to the world. Of the items catalogued as destroyed at Kiruna, there are some which can be used for harm. I’ll task our electronic information management team to track down any relevant leaked information.” “Meanwhile,” Gogh continued, “I’d like to place a large burden on you, my friend.” “From what I’ve learnt about Lýsi so far, nothing is too great a burden,” Max replied.
Gogh said, “Glad to hear it. Here’s what’s needed. You’re to head out to space with the team you’re accompanying. Yours and the team’s task, is to first train all Lýsi space-based personnel, in defence operations. Your next task is to use the team to come up with and develop plans, to defend Earth against massively superior extra-terrestrials. Then you’ll need to implement your plans. We need to be prepared, and we do not have much time.” Taking a moment to think, Max said, “This planet is my home. It’s home to my daughter. I’ll do everything I can to protect it.”
“Excellent,” Gogh said, “I’ll see you back on Marion Island with the team you’re with. Shun will make the arrangements. Right now, I need to get into a meeting patched in from Átt. The crew is going to meet with the framandi. This is a critical moment in our history. Be safe and see you soon.”
Max pondered what it would be like to be facing the framandi. He wondered if he’d be up to it. Possibly! His stomach tightened as his thoughts shifted to the conversation with Gogh. He had to prepare for possible conflict with alien species. Shun interrupted him, “You’ve been invited to observe the interaction with the framandi. Patching you in.” Max’s eyes widened as he watched.
Alliance
Framandi System, Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy.
Jón and Ásta stepped out of Suður’s forward airlock, into the large hanger space, inside the framandi asteroid-like vessel. Being amongst the first to undergo the DNA modification process, and having many genetic switches already triggered, they were also the least affected by the changes. Instructions were provided to the foreign material covering Átt. A section just outside the airlock parted, so that the universal docking port could open and let the twins out.
Floating into the cavernous space, Jón turned to look at Átt. It wasn’t recognizable at all. In fact, it looked like any one of the numerous asteroids present in the framandi system. His point of view was captured by various cameras on his HSEVA suit, and transmitted to observing and participating Lýsi members, back in the solar system.
Ásta thought to him through the diadems they wore, “Keep up. There’s a platform approaching us from the right. Let’s head out to it.” Jón turned and caught up with his sister, using compact rocket and compressed air bursts, a part of his suit’s reaction control system.
The platform stopped moving. As the twins approached it, they felt a downward pull of gravity. Compensating with their suit thrusters, both neatly landed on the platform. A circular portion of the uneven wall nearest them pulled inward and away, revealing a brighter space beyond. Two figures appeared and stepped off into the vessel’s hanger space. The twins assumed they were framandi.
Ásta said aloud to her brother and to observers, “I thought our suits were advanced, but these guys are something else.” Everyone patched into the first face-to-face interaction, could see the twins’ feeds. Jón said, “The outer layer looks like it’s similar to the smart material covering Átt now.” As the two framandi got closer, they slowed and stepped onto the platform.
The twins’ diadems activated themselves and ‘requested’ that active incoming connections be initiated. They both agreed. Ásta asked the framandi if their other crewmates might ‘observe’ the interaction. She received an affirmative. The initial interactions were short and comfortable. The twins weren’t assaulted with too much information this time.
The framandi facing them transmitted longer thoughts now, “I am Advisor of the Masked.” This thought was followed by references to earlier conversations, appended to which, detailed information had already been provided, about the individual. Jón thought back, “May we refer to you as ‘Áom’. It’s a name formed using an abbreviation of what you call yourself. It would be simpler for us”. He received a positive thought response. The rest of the crew aboard Átt, gave participants and observers from the solar system a verbal narrative of the proceedings.
The framandi moved a little to the left, allowing the accompanying individual to step up. “This is ‘Advisor of the Explorers’,” Áom thought to them. This time, there was a lot of data to go along with the thought. The data was picked up by Kei, who began deciphering it all, making it available to the twins and the crew, as it became consumable.
Jón thought back to both the framandi, “We would like to call ‘Advisor of the Explorers’ as ‘Áox’. The name would make communication simpler.” This time the twins received a happy/positive response from Áox.
Continuing without much of a pause, Áox went on thinking to them, “As you know we have remained hidden or masked for a long time since conflict occurred in our system, and later in yours.” A series of references to information previously shared, was appended to the thought.
“Áom and those holding the position before, have worked hard to keep us camouflaged, from species who may do us harm,” Áox went on. This time there was data on various extra-terrestrials. Jón thought to Ásta, “Ignore the data for now.”
“Ever since conflict engulfed our system, we have constantly been observed. Our recent attempts to explore other systems may have been noticed,” Áox provided mental imagery of AL-I leaving the framandi system, and then an armed drone changing direction, heading to the wormhole which led to the solar system. “Then you entered our sys
tem and encountered the drone,” some more imagery flashed into their minds supporting the framandi’s thought.
Áox went on at a brisker pace now, “Destroying the first drone attracted another observing drone. Your vessel was noticed. Although masked now, the presence of a viable route to and from our system is now known to others. The appearance of your undisguised vessel may be the reason for mobilization.” A set of images appeared of several vessels, visibly identifiable of a certain type. And then, another larger fleet. Áox ended with, “We are not as yet fully prepared to confront them.”
Ásta thought to Áox now, “Is there some way to hide the wormhole?” She received an instant response, “The inter-system paths are detectable by observing material passing out of, or into a system.” Images of dark matter, space dust and debris passing out of a wormhole appeared in her mind. Ásta thought, “How have you kept the wormhole hidden so far?” Áox thought back imagery of a swarm of asteroids, dust and material moving at speed, in front of the wormhole. The current of debris carried along any new material entering the system from the wormhole. Some of the asteroids looked fuzzy, like they were projections.
Ásta thought back, “I understand.” She said to the observers, “they’ve kept the wormhole leading to the solar system hidden behind a stream of asteroids and space debris.”
Jón asked the framandi, “What kind of offensive and defensive systems do you have?” Áom replied this time, “We have none. Remaining masked has been our defence. The Enlightened have gathered and developed our knowledge meanwhile. Just as your species was nearly wiped out as a fallout of conflict in your system eons ago, ours too faced near extinction for the same reasons, much before. After conflict passed your system, we collapsed most of the wormholes there, just like we collapsed or hid most of those connecting ours.”
“Then why have you kept the ones, where hostile forces are camped at, open?” asked Ásta.
Áox, Advisor of the Explorers, explained, “Because those systems contain other wormholes, to still other planetary systems. We have long considered stealthily exploring them. But we will do this, only after spreading ourselves, to a few other stars. Beginning with a system, connected to yours. Then the risk of extinction will be reduced. We closed off wormholes to and from our system, which led to the more aggressive species, from both our galaxies. We did the same in your planetary system too. Coincidently, conflicts took place in our systems, only when each of our species had reached a specific level of development. We believe, that is when we may have attracted attention. That is when we may have been ‘usable’.”
“The ones headed our way now seem aggressive. And well-armed,” Jón thought to Áox. He was told through a series of thoughts and mental images, “They are a tiny force, tasked with resource accumulation, manufacturing and observation. They have constantly supplied vessels and material via adjoining systems, never surpassing a threshold fleet strength.”
Jón and Ásta considered this. With thoughts being added by their colleagues on Átt, Jón mentioned to the framandi, “It seems like a fairly large force. I’d hate to imagine what an armed fleet at strength would be like.” Not realizing that he hadn’t limited his thoughts to only the crew, he received a response from Áox, “This is what a limited gigil skirmish force looks like. The Gigils are from our galaxy. They have been assigned systems neighbouring ours. They are very capable manufacturers, something they do at scale and with speed. We suppose, that is the reason they were assigned the task of resource gathering and frontier guarding. Their name has been carried forward from a time when we still used words, as you still do.”
Images gradually flowed through to their diadems. The framandi had got a grip on how much information humans could absorb. The thought rate was still brisk enough that both Jón and Ásta required to concentrate. All this while, they both had frowns of thought on their foreheads. Seeing the size of other gigil fleet vessels, their faces inside the HSEVA suits contorted into expressions of shock. There was even an audible gasp from Isla over their earpieces.
Áox explained with each set of imagery. He thought to them, “The primary unit is a moon-sized vessel. This is used to contain and distribute energy, transferred to it from various locations in the galaxy, by harvesting radiation from large stars.” Isla said aloud to the team, “It looks like they prefer to harvest blue-white ‘B’ class stars, but primarily harvest yellow-white ‘F’ class stars which are slightly more abundant.”
Crystal was digging deeper into the appended data, with help from Kei. She said, “Energy seems to be transferred using technology that is somewhat like how the gaupas function. Instead of tiny pulses of information carried over a limited number of analogous quantum foam bubbles, high energy vibrations are passed through a vast array of these stabilized bubbles. The corresponding agitation of quantum foam inside this moon-sized primary gigil vessel, delivers massive quantities of energy. The energy is transformed from quantum foam vibration to various other forms as needed. Including electromagnetic radiation.”
While narrating her explanation, she had also inadvertently thought all of this. Áox expressed happy thoughts which were picked up by the twins and Átt’s crew. The framandi was glad the humans could grasp technology and concepts, even though they had disadvantages in mental processing and information retention when compared to themselves. But Áox also sensed the intensity of ‘worry thoughts’ that were passing between them.
Feeling the press of time, Áox went on, “The primary ‘moon-ship’ unit supplies the rest of the battle fleet with focussed radiation energy, boosting their offensive capabilities. The gigil fleet vessels, also produce their own energy, like how your vessel does. Their vessels also share energy, offloading excess amounts to ships which require it. This is something we have learnt to do. To defend itself, the primary unit is also capable of releasing vast, concentrated beams of destructive energy.”
The team saw a series of images in their minds. Tight intense beams a few kilometres wide, shooting across inter-orbit distances, decimating entire continents when directed at a planet. Then, wide swathes of radiation taking out entire fleets, rendering them into mere particles. Adding to the intensity of the thought, Áox stated, “They travel in groups and units of three, each accompanied by a vast support armada. The gigil armadas are supported by resource gathering fleets, like the ones in our neighbouring planetary systems.”
Sven thought across the linked diadems, asking the framandi, “Is this what we might engage? The ‘moon-ship’ unit?”
Áox responded, “Unlikely. They confront superior forces of equivalent size and strength. Eons ago, they passed through our system while confronting and pursuing just such a force, which originated from your galaxy. The gigils and their allies were successful and drove the annexation-fleet, back to where it came from. It was during this transiting battle approximately ‘fifty-two thousand’ of your years ago, that our own planetary system was decimated. All life was nearly extinguished here. The gigils supported themselves utilizing resource gathering fleets, deployed in systems adjoining ours via wormholes. Occasionally, many of our own planets and moons were aggressively mined for resources, as the engaging forces pressed each other. It was a battle of attrition which the annexation-fleet lost.” Images of colossal destruction flashed through their minds.
“Fortunately, we learnt to hide well, to observe and to record. We learnt to put aside our differences, and to manage our evolution. We survived,” Áom added.
Áom took over the conversation, thinking to them, “The resource gathering forces left behind in the neighbouring systems have only recently begun to maintain a presence in our system. They have ignored us for most of this while. We have observed their activities. For eons, they have progressed with their task slowly, deliberately, consistently. Its only recently that they’ve accelerated their activities. This is what prompted us to act. To look for other systems, for our survival. We fear, another battle may be approaching. Here or somewhere nearby.”
This time, Áox responded. Thinking to them, the framandi indicated “There are many vessels that we know of. There may be others we have not observed. Some are used for offence, many for defence. The sizes of these vary. The gigil fleets normally comprise twelve types of vessels. They have smaller vessels for transportation, logistics, and even storage. As they pass through each system, they consume most resources in and around these, storing material as they go along. They can possibly engage in battle for extended periods of time without the need to regroup. The gigils are part of an alliance of some sort. A military cooperative.” Having shared these thoughts, the framandi shared a large amount of overview data with known details of the battling forces.
Eiji enquired, “How is it there are no remaining artefacts from the battle which took place in the solar system? We haven’t seen anything to imply that there were a series of engagements, which took place in our planetary system, approximately twenty-seven thousand Earth years ago.”