First Contact: A Pax Aeterna Novel (Call of Command Book 1)

by Trevor Wyatt

  This race of gentle bipeds is not based on a planet. The entire species--over two million individuals—live in a flotilla of ships and a swarm of hollowed-out asteroids circling 18 Scorpii, a main sequence G2 star about 45 light years from Earth. Zorm is one of only two worlds circling 18 Scorpii.

  The Children of Zorm have resided in space for over a thousand years, while their planet, Zorm, a Mercury-sized planet with a thick atmosphere, undergoes an ice age. They plan to return to Zorm, however, when the ice recedes. In the meantime, they established themselves firmly in the asteroid belt, mining the rocks for metals and ice.

  Physical Appearance

  In appearance, Zormians are humanoid, with a small round head bearing a prehensile trunk, two gentle black eyes, a pair of huge ears; relatively thick, elephant-like legs, and long sensory whiskers, like those of Terran cats. Their bodies are covered with short, greyish-brown fur. They have long tails. Their stubby hands possess two fingers and a thumb

  Anatomy/Physiology

  The Children of Zorm are oviparous (egg-laying), warm-blooded oxygen breathers. Their skeletons are less bone than cartilage, and because Zorm’s gravity is only about a third that of Earth, they require physical augmentation such as mechanical exoskeletons on higher-gravity worlds. All Zormians are vegetarian.

  Home World Geography & History

  Physically delicate, the Children of Zorm achieved intelligence, as do many species, as a result of being preyed upon by larger, more savage foes. Before its ice age, jungle-like Zorm was home to a flourishing fauna of giant dinosaurian creatures. The Children of Zorm evolved intelligence to escape the marauding monsters. (See Science & Technology, below, for details.)

  Politics & Government

  The Children of Zorm practice basic democracy: one Child, one vote. Overall rule is vested in the captains of their ships and in the governors of the asteroid colonies. All Children participate in debates and law-making. Sitting out an election is frowned upon. Their economy is based on precious metals and organic compounds that they mine from the asteroids.

  Society

  The Children have two sexes, male and female. They are strongly family-oriented. The young is raised by their parents and extended families. The female lays one egg at a time, and can remain fertile for up to twenty years. Even so, small families are the norm, given the relatively limited space available on their flotilla and in their asteroid colonies. Certain families may be allowed to have additional children as a mark of respect or as a reward for service above and beyond the call of duty. Otherwise, reproduction is limited, with potential parents being chosen in a lottery on a yearly basis.

  Science & Technology

  They discovered steam power when their main civilization was technologically equivalent to ancient Greece on Earth. Using steam-propelled projectiles the Children were able at last to drive the dinosaur-like creatures menacing them into near-extinction. The use of these projectiles, as well as simultaneous advances in electromagnetic theory, soon led the Children to experiments in heavier-than-air flight—relatively easy to accomplish on Zorm, whose thick atmosphere is the result of constant outgassing from the planet’s interior.

  The rate of outgassing, however, was found to be declining; the air was slowly beginning to leak away because the planet’s gravity was not strong enough to retain it. The Children are working to establish experimental domed cities on Zorm’s equator, and plan to move into similar cities when they return from space.

  Strong believers in democracy, the Children have long had a love of political debate. Other forms of government rarely took hold in their society, though this may not always have been to their benefit; the discussion of whether or not to abandon their threatened world went on for nearly two (Earth Standard) centuries before they decided to collectively take up residence in the asteroids.

  The Children of Zorm originally had little interest in trying to reach other stars, though they had successfully launched probes to the only other world in their star system, Haddi, further in toward 18 Scorpii. Haddi possesses plant and animal life but is too hot for the Children; they prefer their climate-controlled asteroid cities and space vessels. Although Zorm and Haddi both have moons, none are capable of supporting life.

  The Children experienced First Contact when their system was visited by an expedition of astronauts from the Reznak Empire. The two races were similar enough in development, worldview and technology to have a great deal in common. The Children had long supposed that there must be intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and were hugely excited by the visiting Imperial representatives. An exchange of information provided the Children with a great deal of knowledge and stimulated a belated debate among them concerning the practicality of visiting other star systems.

  However, before the debate could proceed further, catastrophe struck. The contact between the Empire and the Children resulted to a sudden uptick in psychological disturbances among the Zormians. It was revealed, eventually, that the disturbance originated from the flood of telepathic energy from the Reznak. Mild though it was, this flow, which was involuntary on the part of the Reznak, triggered mental stress in the Children, and led to a wave of aggressive behavior and an increase in suicides. Shocked and dismayed that their mere thoughts could cause such a negative reaction, the Reznak withdrew from all physical contact They have, however, maintained electronic communication from a safe distance. Researchers on both sides continue to search for a way to solve the problem.

  The Zormian fleet is larger than that of most other known space-faring culture, but their vessels are generally less of an offensive/defensive nature, and are oriented towards simple maintenance of the population. When the situation calls for fighting, though, The Children of Zorm have proven themselves to be formidable foes.

  Kurta Colonies

  Physical Description

  Kurta are felinoid mammals. In height, the female averages up to six feet, and the males slightly over five. Their bodies are covered with short fur in one of several uniform colors. There are no splotches of additional color/patterns, as with Terran cats. Their hands have three fingers and an opposed thumb. Fingers, as well as toes, possess retractable claws. The Kurtan tail is slightly prehensile. The face looks pushed-in, as with a pug dog, but still has an obvious muzzle.

  Anatomy/Physiology

  The Kurta have an internal bony skeleton. Their teeth reflect their carnivore ancestry, but the dentition is somewhat adapted for chewing as opposed to simple biting and tearing. Being mammalian, they are warm-blooded oxygen breathers who give birth to and nurse their young.

  The Kurta are more or less nocturnal in their habits.

  Home World Geography & History

  Lomagon has two moons, Keda and Pondak, and this fact had a great impact on their development as a species. Primitive Kurta believed that the universe was dominated by two warring sister goddesses, Haeia and Beloria, who lived on the moons. Both goddesses sought to destroy Lomagon because it blocked their view of the stars, but were kept from doing so by their mutual jealousy and enmity. Kurta mythology is filled with tales of mortals who were victimized or assisted in one way or another by the scheming goddesses or their underlings as they strove to gain ascendency over each other. The Kurta regard the enmity of Haeia and Beloria as the source of all earthly misery and woe.

  Lomagon is an arid world with no oceans and only a few seas which are a bit bigger than large lakes—scattered here and there across its face. Even so, with two moons, the tides on these bodies of water can be sizeable. Kurta dwelling on their coastlines developed sailing in their prehistory, and soon established trading routes and thriving coastal port cities. Land-based caravans also spread Kurta cultures.

  Other cities grew around desert oases. But given an innate distaste for groups and a somewhat paranoid world view, the felinoids rarely congregated in large numbers. This reluctance was also informed by the Kurtas’ rather piratical nature: settlements and caravans were often raided, with wealthy in
dividuals being held for ransom by powerful brigands.

  To this day, Lomagon remains rather sparsely populated, though wealthy Kurta have established many large estates around some oases. City-dwellers are looked down upon to some extent as less that self-reliant.

  Politics & Government

  Prehistoric Kurta lived in small packs to facilitate hunting. Over time, these developed into tribes, with complicated inter-tribal relationships. Each tribe was led by an alpha female and her immediate family, always including at least one male shaman. Modern-day Kurta retain the tribal structure, which is overseen in the planetary capital, H’eghdom, where representatives of all Kurtan tribes on Lomagon meet in a parliament to discuss issues and vote on laws.

  Society

  Endlessly curious about their world, the Kurta discarded their primitive religious beliefs relatively early in their development, while maintaining their temples and a ceremonial priesthood. Males, smaller in stature than the females, are thought to be unsuitable for more feminine pursuits like hunting and government. Great numbers of males are also to be found in the field of education. Kurta have occasionally experimented with patriarchy, but these experiments are always short-lived.

  Kurta children, though born live as are most mammals, are placed in creches as soon as they are weaned (about six months after birth) to be raised by neutered males. The bonds formed between the children (especially the males) and their surrogate fathers sometimes last for a lifetime. Female children are turned out of the creches when they attain their third birthday, by which time they are fully capable of fending for themselves. Rather than being taken back in by their families, the children are expected to survive for two years in the wild, after which they are welcomed back into society and may take their proper place as adults. They have attained adult stature by that age and are capable of reproducing. A newly socialized female is responsible for establishing her own home with the help of males stolen from other settlements and put to work as slaves and/or consorts. This is regarded as normal behavior by Kurta at all levels of the culture.

  The theft of males often results in a kind of traditional duel between houses, an ancient rite called St'ahanut. These duels, which are to the death, are fought with bladed pole weapons called trielluds, which are like spears. The victor retains ownership of the male (see Naming Conventions below).

  Despite their technical prowess, Kurta are naturally very conservative in their thinking and are slow to adopt the fruits of scientific research. Male Kurta have traditionally been less reluctant to embrace change, especially in the social sciences. Often dissatisfied with their lot, males occasionally rise in revolt against their female oppressors and mistresses. These revolts, though sometimes successful, are always brutally put down with all male conspirators sentenced to public execution.

  Science & Technology

  Kurtan scientists delved deeply into astronomy and physics, and developed space travel some five thousand years after their culture founded their first cities. Their earliest space flights were to Keda (inner moon, rocky and airless) and Pondak (further away, but larger—almost a third the size of Lomagon, and possessing an atmosphere and lower forms of animal and plant life).

  Three hundred years after becoming a space-faring species, the Kurta experienced First Contact on the planet of a nearby star. This happened to be a colony of the Tyreesians. The meeting between the two alien races was peaceful and resulted in regular communication between their worlds, but meddling in Kurtan politics by the Tyreesians have hurt the relationship.

  The Kurtan fighting style remains essentially unchanged from antiquity. Their space fleets are comprised mostly of smaller, more agile ships as opposed to larger battle cruisers like TUS Seeker. These small vessels have the benefit of being easily maneuverable in atmosphere or in space. Kurta fight like lions on the hunt, in packs with quick surprise strikes to the jugular.

  Kurta Naming Conventions

  Consider the name of the space pirate da-Silantha Marenni Oleirónathiss, for example. The syllable da infers that she is a first-born, with the given name Silantha, belonging to the house of Marenni, of the Oleirónathiss tribe.

  Alternately, the name ti-Caren Daghannelin Darienathiss, who could be called Tic or Tica for short, by her family, contains the information that she is Caren, the third-born daughter belonging to the Daghannelin house of the tribe of Darienathiss.

  A woman named da-Fortori Beritren Holennadórathiss could be Dafo or Dafor or perhaps Berit for short. Formally, of course, she'd be da-Fortori.

  Males are considered to have no tribes, and are essentially owned by their houses, or estates. So a male character name Heerbaga would formally be Heerbaga Marenni; the house name being appended to his given name.

  Drupadi Regime

  Physical Appearance

  The Drupadi resemble other humanoids excluding two specific distinctions: their skin is pale white, almost translucent and they have a set of rounded appendages that narrow to the tips in rows straight back from their forehead in an approximation of hair. It is believed that these ‘tentacles’ are a vestigial carry-over from their cephalopod ancestor. It is also speculated in more than one Terran xenoarchaeologist journal that the Drupadi visited Earth centuries before first contact but only briefly – just long enough to inspire the Greek legend of Medusa. However, there is no physical evidence to support this theory. The Drupadi themselves merely shrug and smile when asked.

  Anatomy/ Physiology

  Unlike other two-legged humanoids, the Drupadi have a non-humanoid ancestor that most closely resembles a Terran octopus. However, the Drupadi have retained only a few traits from their unusual progenitor: skin with microscopic "feelers" over their entire body, the ability to produce air-borne pheromones to attract mates and rounded tentacle “hair”.

  The microscopic feelers on their skin act like mini-mouths that give the Drupadi an almost 3-D ability to "taste" and "feel" anything they touch. The effect of this exotic ability is that their bodies are one big erogenous zone. This unique adaptation creates such an intense sensory touch experience for the Drupadi that any type of skin-to-skin contact is considered sexual. Interacting with other species can be awkward as just shaking hands with a Drupadi is considered a sex act.

  Adding to this already potent sexual arsenal is another trait retained from their cephalopod ancestor: internal ink sacs that disperse pheromones to attract a mate.

  Although the "ink sacs" of the Drupadi do not actually produce ink (that aspect has been evolved out), the glands do create a musk of peptide pheromones that are automatically released in the presence of potential mates.

  The third trait: the ‘tentacles’ on top of their heads are not considered to be true tentacles as they do not move, but simply lay flat straight back from the forehead in neat rows. However, these hair tentacles are also covered by the same sensitive skin as the rest of their body.

  Ironically, there remains one key mystery surrounding the sexual nature of the Drupadi: reproduction. Specifically, it is not known how the Drupadi reproduce or if there are even male Drupadi. A male Drupadi has never been seen and when asked regarding the existence of males or whether they reproduce asexually the Drupadi give only vague, evasive answers.

  Planet

  Drupadi Prime is small and covered with more water, mostly oceanic, than landmass. It is believed that this inverse of water to land ratio is evidence of their early aquatic origins. It is further speculated that the high humidity produced by the large amount of liquid surface area is necessary to maintain the unique sensory qualities of their skin. When Drupadi are off-world, which is often, they travel with large quantities of humectants to protect their skin from losing too much moisture.

  Culture

  The Drupadi are a highly sexual, sensual race devoted to pleasure. Their soft skin, intense touch stimulation as well as their pheromone attractants make them highly desired as sexual partners throughout the galaxy. However, encounters with the Drupadi have had repor
ted side effects including permanent insanity (one suggested safety measure is to wear white noise earplugs so as to shield oneself mentally). They are a matriarchal society given the fact that there is lack of any males in their species. While they do not deny access to their planet, they also do not invite it. The Drupadi travel throughout the galaxy so that there is little cause for other species to make a trip to their planet.

  Politics

  The Drupadi are considered an influential race and are members of the Galactic Council formed by Captain Jeryl Montgomery of Earth. However, their interest in politics seems to focus on maintaining contact with other species in a bid for discovering secrets that they can then use to exert both influence and power in other political circles. An example of such a power play occurred when the Drupadi leader Marjda revealed information to Captain Montgomery regarding whom was behind the attempt to sabotage the formation of the Galactic council.

  It should be noted that the Drupadi enjoy cultivating an air of mystery in all of their dealings whether in politics or scientific inquiry.

  Any attempts to discover more about them are ultimately met with failure as any individuals (male or female) who attempt to ask them become distracted and lose their train of thought as well as their original queries.

  Prolonged contact with the Drupadi can also result in a loss of motor control, speech, common sense, inhibitions, large amounts of credits and occasionally the failure to recall one's own name.

  About the Author

  Life-long sci-fi nerd living in Austin, Texas, Trevor Wyatt cut his teeth on the works of Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury, eventually moving on to everything from Star Wars to Futurama.

  He discovered his love of writing during college and has written off and on for the last ten years.