by Don DeBon
Several armored Mechands raced onto the bridge weapons drawn. Aleshia raised her hand and an energy barrier surrounded them. "He is not here to harm us. I would know it if he was. Call them off."
Minerva's eyes narrowed. "Very well." The metal men lowered their weapons and took a step back. Most of them turned around and left the bridge. But several stayed in a single line formation near the entrance … waiting.
Aleshia gazed away from the Mechands and into the dark eyes of the Lytherian.
Look and learn. Appeared in her mind.
In a flash she orbited a large planet. Around her several Lytherian ships flew past and docked with larger orbiting stations. As the planet turned, night crept across the land causing the cities of alien design dotting the coast lines to light up. She heard the sounds of a mother talking to her son. Another hoping her eggs would hatch soon. Life. This world teamed with life. And none of it harmful. The Lytherians weren't conquers. The ships flying above didn't have any weapons at all.
The buildings appeared to grow from the ground and glinted with an iridescent light, changing colors as the light angle shifted. Their beauty only enhanced with the setting of the sun and their inner glow increased.
She floated from city to city marveling at the technology and its harmony with the planet. These people took care of everything they touched. For them, to do otherwise was pure sacrilege. Everyone had a place, everyone had a purpose, a job, and they did it with the best of their ability for the good of all.
Aleshia wondered what had happened to make them change so much. Time sped up and a few years later a shadow fell across the land.
But it was not night.
A large floating shape with tendrils sticking out at odd intervals, each ending in a large spike hovered above and fired out little pods.
At first the Lytherians didn't take notice. Being a peaceful species they did not comprehend they were about to be conquered.
The little pods landed into the soil and began to take root. A few minutes later, large green tentacles covered in spiked thorns grew up from the ground and spread. The tentacles thickened as they grew and intertwined around each building, crushing it. The Lytherians ran in panic. Their city was in ruins a few hours after the attack. The tentacles continued to grow surrounding the remains of the city and knitting together into a massive cone shaped structure ending in a curving thorn at the apex. The ship lowered, connected to this protrusion, and waited.
Lytherians assembled in neighboring cities, then returned reinforced by their neighbors attempting retake the land from the encroaching plant life. They wielded hand-held tools of all kinds striking at the growth, only to be repelled by the alien tentacles that resisted all forms of their attacks. Some of their energy based tools used for cutting rock did cause damage, but the overgrowth quickly regenerated. At one point their own plants began to betray them and attack similar to the invaders. Aleshia's eyes went wide as she watched. Some were grabbed, hauled into the air and pulled limb from limb. Others were split in two as if they were mere paper.
The Celloids had arrived.
Time sped up again and Aleshia watched the Celloid ship and the city it attacked. After several months the city changed more and more to resemble the Celloid ship it was attached to until the ship disconnected from the city, levitated up, and the city joined its brother in the sky. The two ships separated and went to the next cities along the coast.
The Lytherians had not wasted the time. They quickly changed tactics using their technology to create massive energy weapons to combat the invaders. These large dish shaped devices were mounted on several cargo carriers. Three fired point blank combining their beams on one of the Celloid ships. They sliced it in half. The ship fell away, each part falling on either side of its intended victim.
But they watched in horror as the remnants reached for each other, connecting, sending out pods causing tentacles to grow and reinforce the ships own biomass. Soon the entire city was sealed inside an impervious green cone. It took longer than the first time, but in the end, two ships arose from the grave of the Lytherian city.
Now there were four ships hunting for their next victims. The Lytherians decided upon a desperate plan. While the Celloids were spawning, they built even larger weapons, and ships to hold them. With their advanced nanotechnology the weapons were built and ready as the Celloid ships fired pods at the helpless cities. The new large Lytherian carriers again approached the Celloids and fired point blank.
Whether confidence or stupidity the Celloids did nothing. The beams were large enough to encircle the entire city and Celloid ship. At first nothing happened, then the ship began to burst into flame, burning from the inside out. A few minutes later, nothing was left other than a large smoking hole in the ground. They had won, but at a terrible cost. Many of their largest cities were destroyed. The death toll was massive. The citizens did not leave lest the Celloids suspect their attack and change their tactics.
The Lytherian survivors gathered together and centered all their technology and talent on defending their planet. The Celloids would be back, and the Lytherians would be ready.
In a few short years more powerful carriers were developed and not wanting to use all of their planets resources on this one goal, Makers were created to harness materials from other locations in their system and create new ships.
As expected, the Celloids returned.
This time they came in force, hundreds of ships streaked for the planet. The Lytherian carriers let loose with a massive energy barrage. The beams lashed out incinerating all in its path. But two small pods slipped past the blockade and headed for the planet.
They landed in an uninhabited region of a small continent and took root. Large tendrils reached up towards the sky and multiplied growing across the unwatched land. The Celloids had learned and absorbed all the nearby native plant life adding to their own biomass. In less than an hour two new ships rose from the ground. They launched more pods, spreading their infection further.
With all the Lytherian's focus in space, they didn't notice the takeover happening under their feet until one lone Lytherian commander thought the battle was too easy and turned his scanners home. Aleshia watched as they recoiled in horror at the spread of the Celloids. At this point eight ships were about to double, spreading their pods further.
The Lytherians wasted no time and turned their weapons towards their homeworld and releasing a series of large devastating blasts. In the end the Celloids were destroyed, but an entire continent had been laid waste. What wasn't burned was drowned as the whole continent sank into the sea.
Aleshia watched as the war continued for hundreds of years. While the Lytherians improved at stopping them, so did the Celloids at trying to avoid detection, land, and spread faster than before. It was an arms race with the fate of the planet at stake.
Looking down she winced at the destruction. After so many years of battle, not much remained of the world she first saw. Most of the forests were destroyed, and the oxygen level continued to drop. The Lytherian council of elders sat around a long round table. The decision was not easy, but they saw no other choice: they would leave.
But after the second encounter, the council knew this could be a possibility. Scout ships were sent out using a new gravity drive allowing them to explore other systems.
They found another planet, very similar to their own and uninhabited. With a combined sigh, the Lytherians left their homeworld before the Celloids returned. But a small probe remained.
The Lytherians winced as the Celloids arrived in force and quickly spread across what was left of the planet. Soon all but the coldest land regions were covered in a living green mass.
But they left a gift. As the Celloids landed and began to replicate, sucking up every resource the planet had left, a new weapon at the frozen south pole was activated. It tunneled to the core of the planet and detonated. The Lytherians watched remotely from the probe as their world began to spin faster and faster with the ma
gnetic field fluctuations. Large craters cracked through the surface spreading out from both sides of the planet. When they touched, the world exploded taking every Celloid with it. The probe self-destructed a few moments later, leaving nothing for anyone to find.
Aleshia floated around the new planet watching the Lytherians build a new home. And for a time they were happy.
Until the Celloids came again.
Chapter 16
Aleshia blinked as she saw the Phoenix's bridge again. What she felt must have been hours, was in reality, only a few seconds. The alien lowered his head. "I am ssssorry for the intrusion, but it was necessssary to have you ssssee the truth quickly," he said in heavily accented English. "I knew this machine could not only bring me here, but also make it easy for you to read my mind. I am Karthish, first commander of the Lytherian fleet. Equivalent to your admirals I believe."
Otis cocked his head. "You know our language?"
"Yessss. As I am sure you are aware, we have been here before. We have been watching you for many of your centuries."
Minerva's eyes narrowed as she shut down the machine Aleshia sat in to maintain the carrier's altitude. Her lips pursed. "Then why are you here now?"
Aleshia bit her bottom lip. "The Celloids are coming."
"Yessss. We had hoped to approach you in a more effective manner. The humans we contacted first suggested this. But time is no longer on our side."
Otis' eyebrow went up. "I'm sorry but I'm lost here."
Aleshia sighed and rubbed her forehead. "They were attacked by a plant based race long ago. They have been fighting them ever since. The Celloids land and squeeze out or absorb all the indigenous life, sucking up all the planets nutrients in the process. Then they spread to another planet like a giant swarm of locusts. Once they take root, are almost impossible to stop."
Karthish nodded. "Yessss. At least nothing we have been able to do thus far without damaging the planet has stopped them. But we hope with your help we can once and for all."
Otis coughed. "How? Your technology is far more advanced than ours."
"That may be true. But you have telepathy, while we do not."
"What good will that do?"
Aleshia smiled. "I think I understand more of what I was seeing. The Celloids are telepathic?"
Karthish nodded again. "We have tried for millennia to develop it in ourselves. But every time our physiology rejects the modifications."
Minerva cocked her head. "And you found humans compatible?"
"Yessss. But it would have to be done slowly throughout several generations. Otherwise, it would also be rejected. With the permission of the others, we planted the seeds in the human race."
Minerva's eyes went wide. "But why wasn't I told? I was given charge of protecting the human race, but not told of this?"
Karthish shrugged. "That I cannot answer."
Aleshia removed herself from the machine and stood up. "I suspect our forefathers assumed if the information ever got out, it would ruin all possibility of accepting the Lytherians. To protect the plan, they never told you."
"But I am the core of their plan! How could they not?!"
"Think about it. Even with all of their safeguards, a malfunction did happen. And what if you had the information and it did leak out during that time? Or it made you take a different image of us? Perhaps requiring the whole human race had to be sterilized?"
"The malfunction only happened when I tried to make a change to my base code causing changes to ripple to another area! It could not have happened again."
"Yes. However, it still happened, right?"
Minerva sighed as her eyes lowered. "Yes. You are right."
Otis waved his hand. "I hate to butt in. But how can telepathy beat these Celloids?"
Aleshia rubbed her temples again. "From what I saw, when attacked, they coordinate their healing efforts. Combining it to regenerate with alarming speed."
Karthish's narrow face split as he smiled. "Correct. They live on telepathy. It is how they communicate and share energy. It is also how their newborn have all the knowledge of the entire race. If you can either distort or otherwise destroy that communication, they will not be able to retaliate or regenerate when attacked."
"While we have managed to keep them from landing on our planet and several others. We have never been able to stop them completely. Centuries ago we knew sooner or later they would come here."
"And they are on their way now?"
"Yessss. With the largest number of ships we have seen at one time."
Otis folded his arms. "And how do you know this?"
Karthish smiled. "We developed tiny probes that managed to infiltrate some of their ships. Not being organic, they are often ignored as space debris for some time."
"From what I saw, you have advanced nanotechnology. What I don't understand is having the technology, why didn't you simply create a nanobot takes Celloids apart?" Aleshia asked.
Karthish shook his head. "Too dangerousssss. It might get out of control and attack us or worse, you."
Deven's face flashed on one of the larger screens. "Aleshia are you okay? Miles detected the array had an intense burst of energy along the communications array, before it shut down." His eyes went wide when the focused on the reptilian shape behind her. Deven's head whipped around. "I want all weapons locked on the Phoenix! Take out their weapons and overdrive if you have to, but leave the ship intact."
Miles' voice came through a nearby speaker. "I regret to inform you, we are too close. Such an attempt will rupture the central power core."
Aleshia waved her hand into the monitor. "Hello? Deven I am fine! You don't need to blow us out of the sky."
"Yessss, please do not destroy ussss," the reptilian said.
His head whipped back. "What … who … how …"
Aleshia smiled. "I think you had better come over."
Deven's eyes went wide. "You think?"
Minerva's hanger bay ground open and Deven's truck shot through the opening. He landed and exited the truck before the room was fully pressurized. He ran for the entrance and it slid open before he got there. Turning on a dime, he reached the bridge in record time. The doors in front of the ladder slid open and he stood, a carbine leveled at Karthish. He tapped the trigger and a red dot appeared on the alien's forehead. "Now what is going on?"
Aleshia whirled around. "Deven! Put that down this instant!"
"How do I know he does not have control of all of you? Start talking and fast."
Aleshia's eyes narrowed as she entered his mind. In a moment they were back in the bungalow. Deven blinked. "What? Aleshia! What are you doing?"
"I could ask you the same thing. I didn't tell you to come over guns blazing now did I?"
"No you didn't. But I was not about to take any chances."
"If there was a problem, I would have reached out to you."
He still held the weapon, not letting it drop. "Yes I know. But how do I know you are not being controlled by him."
"Listen to me. I am not. They don't have telepathy or mind control. When I reached out, they detected the Phoenix’s communications system and rode my connection all the way back here. And at great risk. He knew we might kill him on sight."
Deven's grip tightened. "I know we are in our minds, but I also know if I pull the trigger now, the gun in my real hand will fire. How sure are you about this?"
Aleshia's eyes narrowed. "Do you doubt my abilities? Now of all times? Trust me, I could have ripped him limb from limb if I needed to."
The gun lowered a little. "I trust you. It's them I don't trust. But you are certain?" Aleshia nodded and he reached out with his mind. He felt no malice in the area. The carbine lowered the rest of the way. "You could have told me without dragging us here."
"And have you shoot Karthish before I could explain? No way."
"Hey! I am not some trigger happy grunt you know!"
She smiled and looked into his eyes. "I know that," she said teasing him. He
r eyes flashed and in an instant, he saw all she had.
Deven blinked and he was back on the bridge of the Phoenix. Only a second had passed. "Boss?" Otis said.
Deven slid the carbine into its holster. "Aleshia was explaining the situation to me. Karthish is it? I'm sorry for the weapon, but I had to be sure. One question though, why did you destroy our probe instead of responding?"
Karthish nodded. "No apologies necessssary. I would have done the ssssame in your position. As for the probe, we were following instructions of those we had contacted before. They told us if anyone ever attempted contact without the proper codes to stop the communication as it was not from them and would lead to problems."
"True. But a hostile response would have done the same."