Coeus?

by Andur

  From now on we should keep a sufficient number of battle drones inside the hull to deal with such attacks.

  An incoming call from the Forlorn fleet draws my attention. Since Gideon is busy with the pod's pilot I decide to answer in his stead.

  The image of the Forlorn commander appears inside my mind, so I send him an image of myself to return the favour. “How can we help you?”

  The Forlorn shifts in its seat and I can make out something like a command bridge behind him. “We just witnessed that you successfully intercepted the fleeing Drazi. It also seems that you managed to capture one of their ships?”

  “Yes, we are learning a lot about them.” I answer. There is probably no point in denying the obvious.

  “There is also a very disturbing broadcast coming from the Drazi ship. They are sending information about you and your boarding action to the other fleeing vessels.” He makes a gesture which shows that he is agitated about the contents, but trying to be polite. “We intercepted the message since Drazi made a public broadcast to reach both their vessels. It seemed polite to let you know about it.”

  “Thank you. But our ships are in the process of intercepting those ships. It's highly unlikely for them to get away. If we don't catch them in this system, then our ships will overtake them and stop them in the next one. They won't be able to carry their information home.” I inform the Forlorn. Probably they have trouble seeing our ships at this distance.

  “That's good. We are also hoping that you'll share any information you get from that captured ship? And maybe the weapon which you used against them?” The commander asks. “We are also gaining information from the pieces of the Drazi fleet. It would benefit both species to share such intelligence. The new ships which the Drazi used were definitely not of their standard type. The ships were much bigger and better shielded. They must have a new shipyard somewhere in the sector.”

  “I don't have the authority to share such information. It would be good if you hand such a request to your diplomats in Antares. They can handle it with our diplomats.” I answer.

  “That's reasonable. There is no need to take the whole fleet back by the way. Our commanders decided that our fleet will stay in this region to strengthen the defence. But it would be nice if you take a messenger back to the homeworld with you. Thank you for your time.” The Forlorn disconnects.

  If that wasn't exceptionally polite? When we discussed our plan with them the first time they didn't seem to be too happy about it.

  Though they still don't have a concept of saying goodbye when they cut the connection.

  I return my attention to the ship's innards and realize that Gideon teleported back into the ship's hull. He is about to enter the command module, but I shut down the air lock.

  While he is mashing the locks controls I establish a connection with his suit's communication. “You can't enter the ship like this!” Especially not since the air lock connects directly to our living room. I won't be the one who cleans afterwards.

  “What do you mean?” He asks astounded.

  “Look down on yourself! Find a way to clean up. You are one 'big' bio-hazard problem.” Gideon looks down on himself and starts trying to wipe away the green, gooey Drazi blood. All he does is smearing the parts which aren't frozen yet and scattering others. But it's clear that he won't get clean like this.

  After a few seconds he starts grumbling. “I guess I'll have to go all the way to the air lock at living module two. They have a decontamination field set up.”

  I smile. “That would be wise.”

  For a while I follow Gideon's path through the gravity maze of his own ship, then I switch my attention to the rest of the fleet. The weapon's platform is closing in on the captured remains of the Drazi ship. Since it's partly a dockyard it has enough space to take up the whole ship. Once the ship is safely stored away we can return to Antares.

  Our two hunting parties will have to go home on their own, which isn't a bad thing since they can use the opportunity to seed even more reconnaissance platforms.

  Once that's done we can hand the problem of dealing with the Forlorn to the diplomats and return to Sol. Going on such lengthy trips is really troublesome.

  I start giving commands to coordinate the fleet. Then I take my time lock down the Drazi ship's network in any way I can.

  After a while my mind wanders back to our journey. Coming out here took us two weeks. Going back will take another two. Maybe our eggheads can use the new technology to establish a direct teleport to Antares? That would be really handy, I hate those long travel times.

  Gideon and I already know each other for more than five months and we spent most of the time inside this ship!

  The problem with teleportation is energy, but the new anti matter reactors should solve that. Hopefully. Why do my breasts feel so strange?

  System 82456, Coeus

  Gideon

  On my way back I encountered Ed and his men. They also decided to stop the Drazi at the ship's hull. Now we are waiting at the air lock since the decontamination field can take only one person at a time.

  “So how did it go?” I ask Ed who is floating next to me. Since the living modules weren't added by me, the engineers placed the air lock in an area without gravity.

  “They poked a hole into the hull, but otherwise they did no damage. We have to decontaminate the insides of the ship though. We used magic to blast them to pieces while they were still inside their landing pod. Some of the goo flew out and into the ship.”

  “No survivors?” I ask.

  Ed shakes his head. “Sadly not. We didn't expect how tightly they are packed in there. In addition the few survivors of the initial blast fought like maniacs.”

  “I interrogated some of them, but it got harder with each time I tried. Calming them down got almost impossible after the first two.” I really tried my best, but no nicety was able to stop the aliens from being upset. I even tried simply hugging number four and sang a children's song I got from its brethren. That made him completely mad with fear though. It was right to assume that human standards don't apply to the Drazi.

  “At least I got some valuable bits of information from the pilot. He wasn't high in rank, but he knew at least some navigational data. Those hamsters have a long way behind them.” I explain. “It's probably best to hold a really long meeting after this. I also have to write a report about the language and their society... or not. I'll simply dump all the information to the net. There are specialists for stuff like this.” I try to scratch my chest, but the damn suit is in the way. “There is definitely something going on. Their star charts have dates added to them. The Drazi flew practically blind until they reached Forlorn space. Then the charts got a sudden update not too long before the Oibras incident with Sol and Antares pointed out as the homeworlds of two competitor species. But according to the Forlorn they don't even know that Sol is our homeworld.”

  “You interrogated them with telepathy?” Ed asks.

  I raise a hand. “Yes, but before you preach to me about laws, remember that the laws don't apply to aggressive aliens.”

  “Yes. Though be careful. Telepathy shouldn't be used that casually. Are you sure that your mind is okay?” He asks concernedly.

  “Yes. No problem. Theirs though is not. There is some kind of incompatibility between our minds and theirs. It feels like attaching yourself to an old CPU and over-clocking it until it fries.” I explain.

  We continue talking on a private frequency until we finally get to use the air lock ourselves. Apparently I caused Ed a few problems when I called him Dad. His men overheard it and are now thinking of me as his illegitimate son. Quite a price to pay for trying to disturb my gene provider a little.

  But Ed should get no problems besides being talked about behind his back. He is a drifter without family, so calling me illegitimate is overdoing it anyway.

  According to his story he should be happy to have someone who is carrying on his genes. We continue our conversation
with small talk until I give my goodbyes to -Dad-.

  On my way back to the command module I instruct the Coeus to deal with the hole inside the hull and the contamination problem. Setting the IMs to incinerate everything organic should do it.

  Back inside the command module I get out of my space suit and into some more comfortable clothes. Being inside this thing for too long is really uncomfortable. I should try to add a finer webbing for the ventilation tubes. A greedy and dirty thought wanders through my mind. Maybe Cyla also wants to get out of her suit to get a bath?

  I enter the command module where I find Cyla lying inside her acceleration chair. Unfortunately her eyes are closed, so she is still doing some coordination for the ship and the fleet.

  I stroke her beautiful long hair and smirk as my eyes wander down her alluring figure. What did I do to deserve someone like that? She isn't just understanding of my nature but also has very pleasing looks. Or did I simply have luck for once?

  Cyla redesigned her suit herself. To my dismay she removed the see through parts completely and settled for a less frilly design. In hindsight it may have been the right decision. What's the point in having them when all you get to see is sweaty skin?

  I really changed a lot since I met her. My previous self would have never indulged himself in so many dirty thoughts.

  My attention returns to the suit. At least Cyla kept to the female design which is emphasizing her curves. Those hips and the chest-piece are simply perfect. One moment. Did she lengthen suit's frontal seal? It runs down from her neck all the way to between her legs. How dirty, but I can see how that makes it easier to put on the suit. Maybe I should do that too?

  I find my eyes staying stuck to her chest, which is really distracting. She won't be angry when I feel her up a little? Earlier she tried to call me Dearest. It felt a little strange to resort to such a nickname, but if I am her dearest I am surely allowed to do that.

  Bending over her I use the opportunity which was given to me, but the hardened carbon plates of the suit make the experience a little less worthwhile than I hoped for.

  It's probably a stupid idea to undo the seals, but she already did a lot of things to me while I was sleeping. If I return the favour she can't say anything against it.

  I slowly undo the seals and pull the suit open. Cyla, you are a dirty girl! I know that she thinks of herself as a decent and moral woman, but deep down she is evil and a little perverted. She forgot to put on underwear!

  I pinch her nipples and cup her breasts in my hands. It is really nice to be the one who gets his share. Normally she always wakes up earlier than me. I kiss her collarbone and suddenly her arms grab my head.

  Then my eyes wander up and meet hers. Her face is red all over, but she is smirking. “So you aren't only the ass-type.”

  I try to smile. Why does it feel like I was caught? “Good morning. I wanted to ask if you want to take a bath?”

  “Is that the right way to ask?” She raises an eyebrow.

  “If you mean that I have to undo more seals the next time...” I reach for her belly. “You know that your suit-design raises certain questions?”

  Her eyes wander down her own body and her expression drops. Her face turns even redder. Then she jumps up and flees the cockpit. “That wasn't the intennnntioooon!”

  45. ~Taking a break.~

  “

  Fire-magic is also responsible for conquering the cold depths of space. Especially the energy manipulation spell that allowed creating warmth and power by fusing water to heavy elements. Without fire-magic the first mages would've never been able to create the first metallic hulls which were able to stand up to pressure and sealing requirements.

  Even if energy field manipulation soon made it possible to secure an air tight and radiation safe environment, metal hulls were never completely abandoned.

  ”

  -The true history of space flight

  Sol, En route to the Forge, Coeus

  Gideon

  I roll my shoulders. After sitting in my acceleration chair for hours I really need to get up.

  We made our return trip to Antares, dragging the Forlorn messenger along. There I happily dropped all the responsibility regarding the gained information into the hands of our diplomats. They weren't happy about the boarding video though.

  The Drazi captured our little massacre on film and sent it to their comrades. That didn't help of course since we caught their ships.

  That the Forlorn intercepted the message is another matter. Our diplomats are calling it a disaster, though I see it as an improvement. The Forlorn were never so eager to be on our good side and the bug, Ayo, didn't chatter us to death for once.

  All points which I am very happy about. There is nothing as important as having the respect of your neighbours.

  I also wrote a very detailed report on my theory regarding the aliens. The entire affair stinks of a much bigger game. We can only hope that the player in question drew a bad card when he started playing with us.

  The analysis of the Drazi data core gave us a lot of information about their technology, but no definite proof.

  What's sure is that the Drazi were fed information. That's if we trust the Forlorn and their version of the story. Though I can't see why they should set up themselves as our potential enemy. The way the first contact was handled at Oibras could have gotten them into a full blown war.

  I don't claim to understand aliens, but they could have handled it in a much safer way. You have to be crazy to risk getting yourself another enemy when you already have genocidal monster hamsters on your doorstep.

  The Drazi got newer technology and navigational data about this sector. And all this so recently that it's hard to believe that the incident at Oibras was an accident. It looks to me like someone walked up to the Drazi and said, 'Hey, there are two species blocking your path out of the spiral arm. How about trying to set them up against each other? Here, some navigational data and technology so that you are on equal footing.'.

  All this was convincing enough to earn me a lengthy discussion with Sanguin. He wasn't happy about the implications and my suspicions regarding the Zeen, but he listened to the whole story without calling me an idiot. I hold that in his favour.

  He also brought in his own thoughts, which weren't that far off in my estimation. He concluded that the entire matter might have something to do with the edict regarding the Drazi.

  The Forlorn told us that there is something like an alliance chasing the Drazi outwards from the centre of the milky way. But that's a slow and very painful process. The milky way has a diameter of about a hundred thousand light years and contains billions of stars. The Drazi don't have habitat technology, but even so. There are enough habitable worlds around.

  I dare to say that the guys who are chasing the Drazi bit off more than they can chew. It's impossible to wipe out a species by going with an approach like this. The Drazi just have to spread out to cover as much space as possible and settle a colony. Then they reproduce like hamsters and build ships until their pursuers find them.

  Once they get found after ten or twenty years their ships run away to settle new colonies while the population planet-side gets wiped out. Then the whole process starts again, leaving behind devastated world after devastated world.

  I highly doubt that the Drazi's pursuers have the numbers fight a lengthy ground battle to clean the planets. Nor that any species has the resources to transport millions of troops to conquer a single world.

  What Sanguin suggested was that the aliens are trying to create a counter-fire. Normally we and the Forlorn would hide ourselves inside our territory and wait out the storm. Exactly what we are doing right now. But that wouldn't stop the Drazi. They would simply flow around our borders, given that we are able to hold them off.

  The aliens made the Drazi a little more dangerous by giving them new technology and information. But they didn't give them habitat technology, the very one thing the Drazi really need to solve their popu
lation problem.

  Make them just dangerous enough, so that the Forlorn and Mages regard them as a big enough threat to justify wiping them out. But not strong enough so that they can defeat your unwilling allies.

  Voilà! The Drazi are caged between the alliance which is chasing them and us, who just happen to be in the way. I can't say that I like those guys. Especially since it's highly likely that they are trying to recruit several other intelligent species in front of the Drazi wave. We'll have to ask the Forlorn if there are any other intelligent races in reasonable distance to us.

  Of course all of this is Sanguin's and my theory at the moment. Completely unproven, so I can't lose a word about it.

  If this turns out to be true, then it's highly likely that this conflict will last for centuries. Which is a real downer in my eyes. I think I'll join the reserve force once I return. After travelling for months I want to stay at home for a while.

  And the next point on my list is finally ending my trip around Sol. I got interrupted and never managed to finish it!

  I massage the base of my nose and return to the living room where I find Cyla snoring on the sofa. Sleeping is a good idea, so I drop down next to her and hug the woman of my dreams.

  Sol, En route to the Forge, Coeus

  Cyla

  “Heavy!” I open my eyes and find myself being flattened under a mountain of male flesh. “Are you sure that you shouldn't take a diet?”

  Gideon stirs and mumbles in his sleep. “It's just about eighty kilograms. Don't exaggerate.”

  “Still, let me lie on top.” I rearrange him into a more comfortable position and sigh in relief upon getting to rest my head on his chest.

  “How about staying at my home for a while? We could join the reserve.” He mumbles. “I've had enough assignments for now and this conflict will last for a long time. I don't think that they can deny us an extended leave from the SDF after we were practically forced to join. They've had more than enough time to recruit people who actually want to do this job.”