Beyond Kuiper: The Galactic Star Alliance

by Matthew Medney

  12 Roarlan Class Combat Ship

  A 75 tradon long light frigate built by Pelkon-Intok, the Anduuzilian conglomerate. They hold a crew of 400 and are commonly a GSA military escort ship due to their speed and maneuverability. They are equipped with a reinforced hull with kinetic absorption weave inner layers, shields, railguns, laser cannons, plasma torpedoes, and 10 Suppressor fighters.

  13 Raa’Tiki

  The hidden protector of the Primes. The species are Theracnids, a loose interspecies classification of beings who possess common anatomical insect-like traits with a 6 limbed segmented body, head, mandibles, 4 eyes, partial exoskeleton, and an armored carapace. They are capable of surviving in extreme heat, cold, pressure, radiation, magnetism, impact, and short periods in vacuum. Naturally invisible, they proved a formidable enemy when the GSA accidentally colonized their world In’dika. In return for a cease fire, they offered their best warriors to be the lifelong guardians of the Primes. Their decloaking creates an immense energy field so unique that it is coincidentally a perfect natural frequency to program the Valador access within The Andador. It is hypothesized that the Udari and Raa’Tiki were allies before the formation of the Alliance. This has yet to be confirmed.

  14 Anduri

  The largest island and namesake of the Anduri Archipelago on Primidious. It was built by the World Shapers 400,000 turns ago. The island is a former supervolcano with crater walls over four rudons tall, home to dozens of ecosystems, and harbor a central lake: the cradle of the Anador.

  15 World Shapers

  The topmost operators of the GSA Department of Terraforming. They make all final decisions regarding planet creation.

  16 Yurra Hu

  The Ulron Transformative Terraforming Prime of Sector 5. She is the senior member of the World Shapers, the uppermost level of the GSA Department of Terraforming.

  17 Julonga Tree

  Giant plant native to Azoeleo. They have giant elliptical fronds 2 tradons across with a crescent hole through. The Julonga Tree produces 10 times the amount of oxygen as a standard Earth bearing tree.

  18 Trillsucket

  A common, small, flying forest creature of Azoeleo that communicates through singing. They have a birdlike appearance; beak, feathers, end claws for grasping, and four, winged limbs.

  19 Archivist Premier Prime

  A Sector Head of the Department of Archiving. They are responsible for recording and indexing all events within the GSA, preserving artifacts, and creating and managing museums. They are the watchdogs against the degradation of time. After the reintegration of the galaxy during the Reclamation Era, the Metra group, Ka’fla-em (Translation: Keepers of the Flame) realized how little information survived the Great Silence outside of their care. Determined to ensure crucial galactic data would never again be lost between eras, The Assembly of Planets quickly proposed Amendment 12 to create the A.P.P position.

  20 Assembly of Planets

  One of the two main governing bodies of the GSA (containing 3,756) with each member representing roughly 160 planets. Representatives only increase in numbers once all Assembly members reach more than 175 planets of inclusion. It is equal in stature to the Council of Worlds and votes if laws proposed by the opposing body will go into effect. The AOP meets on a remote asteroid at an undisclosed location. AOP representatives are provided with a Metra native company, Tejia Flight’s Space Bus X61. The X61 is equipped with a giant hexagonal Kalean steel plate. When all 3,756 ships engage their steel plates around the asteroid, an orb-like planet is formed creating a secure location for the proceedings.

  21 Machine Uprising

  Refers to the recurring danger of an AI rising to dominate all other life. The most notable instance of this is the event that ended the Classical Galactic Era. A vast, self-replicating machine army was created as an endgame device to stop thousands of turns of resource fighting wars over the limited worlds in the Warpgate system. Instantly growing beyond control, the machines devoured planets and stars travelling along the gates. The Warpgates were sacrificed to send a galaxy spanning blast that disabled all of the robots.

  22 Quasar Screamer

  Built for maximum speed, it is a patch 5 capable starship with a quantum vibration dampening hull for rapid patch transitions and some flowspace maneuverability. Seated for 1, they have triple redundant inertial dampeners and can reach up to 30% of the speed of light. The first generation has been the winning starship in the Neruda Circuit and the Sector 6 Loop 8/10 times for the past 400 turns.

  23 The Distant Zones

  The vast, uncharted regions of the Karandu Galaxy (Milky Way) that are beyond the edge of Alliance controlled space. This area comprises over 60% of the galaxy, including the galactic center, and remains largely a mystery. It is unlawful for Alliance civilians to travel there; it is where political exiles are banished, and it is rumored to contain hidden civilizations. Ancient maps indicate portions of the Builder Warpgate system extended far into this unknown space. The Department of Exploration conducts missions into this realm to learn and discover new worlds, beings, and resources.

  24 Anador

  Called “Place of Power” in Udari, this giant crystal structure was grown from an Udari crystal that was crashed into Primidious by the World Shapers 400,000 turns ago. To this date, its composition is still a mystery; however it is known to be of a material that even temperatures within a star’s core cannot harm. It contains a temporal chamber, the Valador, where the Council of Worlds takes place. It is also a sleeping consciousness that has refused to wake even after being explored, partially decoded, and reprogrammed by GSA scientists and the Kaleans over thousands of turns.

  Fourteen

  The Anador

  Unwilling to let any opportunity to enjoy a vast body of water slip by, as they approached the center of the Anduri archipelago, Bor asked the pilot to take the ship as low as he could. With the Bridalgo practically skimming the turquoise waves, a wondrous menagerie of marine life could be seen below the surface. Vast schools of Crimptons played in the shallows’ colorful corals. In the deeper water, cinkplods1, alerted by the ship’s magnetic field, flung themselves from the sea into the air.

  Abandoning the observation deck for the cargo bay, he slid the hatch open. A vertical bar of sunlight entered accompanied by the hissing, salty ocean breath. Bor eagerly gripped a handhold and leaned out letting the cool spray flash the fingers of his free hand.

  The sensation brought him into Recall—conjuring a childhood family trip to the purple Sea of Nedsewa2 on Dragsa3. He and his cousins were on surfskimmers4. Led by Uncle NooktuskenDor5, they spent long drikes looking for rudiathens6. When they breached, the gargantuan creatures generated massive waves twenty tradons tall. Leaping to them with their glideboards7, they’d surf the swells for rudons.

  “Close that hatch! We’re about to pull up and the anti-grav can’t kick in unless we’re sealed!”

  Bor swung back to see Pias’ disapproving look. The Recall faded. It was, and felt like, a lifetime ago. Epiko didn’t have oceans, and Primes lacked the luxury of vacations. A brief assignment once took him into orbit around the water world Yallaweh. He thought back to when he heard the beautiful symphonies of the Murakoor whales. Even the view from space of that endless blue expanse brought him overwhelming happiness.

  He hit the close button and, smiling happily, headed toward a grunting Pias. “Your behavior is quite unbecoming of a Prime.”

  Bor’s response was guiltless. “I know. That’s why I’m doing it in the middle of the ocean. Don’t worry Pias; I just needed a moment.”

  On their way back to the observation deck, his friend’s objections faded. “I understand. The immediate stakes are personal for you.”

  Though still distant, Anduri already loomed large. The archipelago’s namesake and largest island was once a supervolcano. Its absent peak suggested a massive eruption collapsed it long ago. The coast was a mix of blinding white beaches and monolithic stones standing
defiant against the waves. The shore gave way to dense jungle that climbed high up the mountains before finally yielding to their snow-capped peaks. There, the reflective ribbons of waterfalls sluiced down the slopes.

  Pias tapped his comm band. “I just sent alternate coordinates for a more scenic route, Lydon. Take note, you may never see this again.”

  The Tycan8 pilot responded with a stiff, “Thank you, sir.”

  Though Lydon was the product of strict military training, Bor could still sense his excitement. It was a feeling shared by all, except perhaps the Raa’Tiki.

  Adjusting course, the ship slowed and moved parallel to the ridgeline. Pias had directed them through a magnificent fjord roofed by crisscrossing, 400 tradon length Junadian9 tree boughs. Their multicolored leaves created a magical, prismatic glow.

  “A bit more grandiose than I remember,” Bor mused, “but stunning.”

  “It’s the single best replication of nature ever created,” Pias said. “It should be grandiose.”

  A sudden mist left them in a nebulous, colorful, haze. Only the growing light above indicated the Bridalgo was still climbing. Once they rose above its source, a massive waterfall, the haze vanished. A giant caldera came into view; its crater, a vast lake feeding a broad river, ringed by barren cliffs and pristine forest shores.

  Chuckling, Bor nodded.

  The Anador itself sat in the middle of the lake. Some of it looked naturally jagged. Other portions had a too-perfect, too-smooth geometry. The central orange crystal, though, was riveting. Two hundred tradons wide, its hexagonal structure rose over a rudon skyward. Reflecting sunlight, the lattices and facets glinted occasionally creating a blinding flash.

  Rather than built, the Anador grew from a single seed: a Udarian crystal 10sent here 400,000 turns ago by the World Shapers. After crashing to the surface it activated becoming the great hall of governance as well as serving as a reminder to the GSA that there were always technologies greater than their own.

  The silicon-based Udari once created vast cities of unfathomable technology from these crystals but were tragically obliterated at the end of the Reclamation Era11. The method of controlling the crystals was largely lost to time. Even if one could be drilled into, no one would dare. It had taken generations of collective effort to program only a few elemental functions. An Ulron12 pirate vessel crashed on Neruda 7 four million turns ago activating one of the rare crystals. Even with thousands of turns of research before the existence of the Kaleans, the GSA could not fathom the necessary skill and knowledge to functionally manipulate the Udarian technology. As far as any knew, only the Kaleans had completely learned its secrets.

  Tordok’s Screamer zoomed by followed by scores of vessels: some moving leisurely enjoying the scenery, others swooping in from above.

  The Anador base glowed; its light rose up the structure. Growing in intensity, it pulsed in cycles like a charging railgun becoming a flowing, humming stream that filled every crystal face. Reaching the top, it shot skyward until, high in the atmosphere, it hit some invisible barrier. Those on their first visit to Primidious grew afraid until the plasma waves scattered brilliantly outwards becoming the familiar aurora that announced the approaching meeting.

  The Bridalgo spiraled down landing on a platform neatly concealed by the cliff ring. There were similar pads scattered about, often hidden from one another, adapted for that use wherever the crystal had grown large, flat surfaces. Three ships shared their pad bearing the markings of the departments of Health, Arts, and Mining, respectively.

  The Bridalgo’s landing gear faintly hissed. The ship’s hum faded leaving an eerie silence. Pias, holding his voting talisman, remained motionless apparently reviewing some final details for his presentation. When Bor placed a hand on his friend’s lower arm, Pias blinked, stored his talisman, and gestured it was time.

  A flurry of activity ensued; the crew inspecting ship’s systems, political aides gathering data blocks and making last-minute communications. While the Primes met, they’d have their own negotiating duties with their Sector counterparts.

  One aide stepped forth with a small case containing two injectors and two blue nanite13 spheres. The nanites would absorb any waste material from the Primes during the lengthy debates ahead.

  “Ready to not defecate for seventeen prikes?” Pias joked. Bor sighed.

  Each took a set, loaded the spheres, and injected themselves. He’d done it before, but Bor would never get used to what felt like freezing lightning filling his body.

  Ready, they exited with their entourage expertly in tow. Outside, the looming crystal dwarfed them bathing everything with the orange glow of its reflection. Used only for the full council, few trod the sublime paradise. Now, in a scene replicated across the Anador, Primes and their teams moved in formation disappearing into a tunnel that led to a crystalline staircase weaving through the rock.

  There were no lights, no wiring—no signs of GSA technology of any kind. Everything and everyone were illuminated by an omnipresent surface glow. Within the crystal itself, strange energy crackled in luminous ribbons. Everything, even the smooth stairs, was made from a crystalline circuitry stacked in impossible matrices.

  As they ascended, the groups mingled. For many, it was a reunion, but there were new faces as well. Not being politicians vying for reelection, the momentous occasion didn’t preclude the preeminent GSA authorities from being themselves.

  Trinna Tau, Sector 4’s Archivist Premier Prime, floated ahead. Her deputy curators carried some sort of artifact, undoubtedly, from a world that the GSA had yet to understand. She and her team’s ability to comprehend cultures through their relics had led to nine peaceful first contacts. It had also unearthed dark secrets.

  Though in deep conversation with one of her team, she glanced back, briefly sweeping her eyes across Bor’s face. He thought he caught a glimpse of a smile.

  At the end of the lengthy climb, arrivals from various staircases merged in a toroidal antechamber. Along the outer curved wall, there were entrances to smaller chambers but no markers of any kind. No offices. No inhabitants. Like its smooth walls, the Anador was meant to be a blank slate: intended to have no sign of cultural, technical, or species influence when the GSA voted. Ironically, it made the Anador a very alien place.

  Trying not to appear as desperate as he felt, Bor looked around for Kruk. They couldn’t meet yet, but he hoped to be a consoling presence for his son. Kruk was nowhere to be seen, but the realization that there were no noticeable gaps in the crowd brought a shudder. Were the Raa’Tiki climbing the walls?

  “Trinna Tau! As I crawl and flob.” A seven-tentacled Arpedime14 undulated their way. “Kud Mora Laru, as I paint and judge,” she responded.

  Kud Mora lay flat and curved her tentacles above her head creating an empty sphere. Trinna returned the greeting by forming her many-jointed arms into an arc, holding it above her head, and then lowering it across her face.

  Kud Mora was delighted and eager to share the latest trends. “We absolutely must discuss the Azeoleo-inspired Neorepetitive light sculpting movement sweeping Obsidian 715.”

  Trinna was equally thrilled. “Tell me everything! Who are the stars? Are we talking intersector gallery tours, yet, or do we need to discuss grant funding?”

  Bor chuckled at their friendly conversation, but it also reminded him of those who were missing. “I wish Merrit Lones and Redokin were here. We need all the strong voices we can get.”

  To Pias, any hint of self-pity was anathema. “It was their time, plain and simple. There’s still much good they can do from Havlangar16.”

  Gon’dil Messeni, the Trade Prime of Sector 5, sidled up and rudely planted one of his two tails on Pias’ shoulder. “Pias! We’re all dying to know what grave events motivated you to summon us all. You must tell us!”

  Bor never liked him. It wasn’t that Nithons17 slithered, it was the first-rotation Prime’s utter lack of subtlety.

  The question was echoed by ten others forcing
Pias to raise his arms in four directions. “I called us all because the discussion requires all of us. Any side conversations or speculation will only be an impediment. My reasons will be clear shortly.”

  The curved antechamber continued filling bringing a general sense of urgency. The galaxy was huge—transportation far from instantaneous. After the main meeting, there’d be many other negotiations piggybacking on the rare opportunity.

  Pias, seventeen moves ahead, turned to an aide. “Schedule a military investigation and exploration meeting to follow the Council’s gathering. Prepare a chamber.”

  The light from the inner wall pulsed indicating everyone was present. Attendants and support staff headed into the side chambers or disappeared down strange staircases and halls. Bor, again, looked for Kruk but apparently, not as discreetly as he thought.

  Without breaking stride, Prime Jedareg whispered as he passed by. “He’s being kept by the Sector 9 Investigation delegation in a small chamber on the opposite side.”

  Once only the Primes remained, they spread along the inner curved wall until they circled it all the way around, faced outward, and linked to form a ring. Talking ceased, save for Pias who addressed the air in front of him.