by Florian Nagy
Chapter 15
Khrrn, the Skyrrnian commander, along with the rest of the expedition, felt relieved. The android was cooperating excellently. Their enterprise had been a critical success, they could not have dreamed of a better outcome. He had recounted to them the intricacies of the people who had once walked the planet, and they had diligently learned all they could about the Kher’Somaaw Empire. Their ship in orbit had quickly conducted a scan of the surrounding area, but no other system divulged any traces of urban settlements.
The entire being of that civilization must have either flourished and died on its homeworld, or the remainder of its existence had been somehow flushed out from the galaxy.
The Skyrrnian expedition had now been stationed on Acar for well over a week. They had excavated the android from his crippled corpse in the ground. He was dug out from under the rocks. His legs, which were completely destroyed, were carefully removed using his minute assistance and the schematic of his structure, which he had provided for them. The Skyrrnians then manufactured a wheeled moving platform built to absorb shock and cross rough terrain. They mounted the android on it and allowed him to move himself by connecting his interface with the vehicle’s controls. This allowed the android to be a fully autonomous member of the group, just as they all were.
In the first few days of their cooperation, the robot had recounted to them all he could produce from his memory banks. If his people were dead, he wanted every little bit of them to be remembered. The Skyrrnian scientists converted what they could from the robot’s data into their own data format. Much of the information he held could not be transferred directly because it was too foreign to the Skyrrnian systems. The robot had to read through the data that was locked up in the form of images, thoughts, ideas, and even emotions in his memory bank and to actively convert it to text and code. He downgraded the memories so that he could recount them to the Skyrrnians, who kept extensive logs and journals and formulated a large volume of what they knew of the Kher’Somaaw existence.
After the company was satisfied that it had acquired all the information it needed, the group urgently pressed on to the real agenda they wished to accomplish. The android led the team towards what had once been a micro-components production facility. The robot remembered that once, eons ago, he had been a worker in that facility.
They were only a few kilometers from its location; he had not been moved far from where he had lived his previous life. They made their way on the Skyrrnians’ ground vehicle. The ground mover was quite crude for the standards of the Imperium, and even more so for the standards of the Kher’Somaaw. It was by no means, however, unfit for its job.
It had several air cushions, which formed a layer of repulsion between it and the ground below. Thus, it nullified the effects of friction and of unsmooth terrain. It had a minute nuclear powered engine that gave enough energy for it to work months without refueling. It had a sleek, rectangular design and was of a bright metallic color. The front and back ends of the vehicle were slightly thinner than the middle. Finally, it was fully stocked will all the types of communication equipment it could need.
A detachment of Skyrrnians left on the large ground mover while the rest packed up their encampment and prepared to move it via a landed ship to the urban ruins. The ground team loaded their things into the mover and started. The vehicle gave an almost inaudible hum as its displays smoothly turned on. Its systems worked, and in a puff the vehicle bounced into the air. With a quiet, steady drone, it plunged forward, dashing across the ground with great speed. The dim plant life streamed by, and the growth directly under the car twisted and turned in the artificial wind. The drive was streamlined, as if in a dream. The surroundings moved by, and the car forged onwards quickly over rough terrain and rocks like a boat treading water. It moved up and down over hills, it seemed to sail in the wind.
After the dreamy trip to the facility, the people in the car proceeded to exit and unload their equipment. Their ship had already relocated to the area and was landed some distance away. The team set up their encampment outside the large mega-structure. Their command post was but a small pebble beside the behemoth that rose into the sky alongside them. The facility spread out in all directions around them, so they could not even begin to comprehend its design and scale. However, the Skyrrnian eyes were robbed of the true splendor they could have beheld. The building retained only its very skeleton. It was broken down beyond hope of repair. There was rubble everywhere, and only the memory of the android contained the building’s image of true splendor as it had been all those eons ago.
Firstman Khrrn, commander of the expedition, gathered his team together inside the command post they had established. He spoke to his men, “My friends, our mission has come to its climax. We have been entirely successful until now; let this not be the end of our path. The glory of the ancient rulers must not come to an end now. It cannot fall into the hands of the Terran scum. For sixteen thousand years, from the first rude awakenings of our ancient fathers, we have endured. Our people have been ever on the rise. It is our very destiny to rise to the pinnacle of all civilization. Just as we struggled through the hardships of our early existence and through the rebellion of the closed minded, we must struggle through this battle. The journey is never-ending and filled with those who will oppose us at every turn. The Terrans now wish to push us down and to cage us like animals. They deny us the skies that we have looked upon for so long from our cradle. They lock us up in a prison, with our glory and pride ripped from our chests. They think they are the masters of creation, but all they will reap from us is their own blood!”
Khrrn hit the table strongly in a definite gesture of defiance that roused the emotions of his companions. Their eyes grew sharp, and their minds moved faster. They grumbled angrily and gave nods of approval.
“As you, my friends, very well know, it has fallen to us and only us, to save our people from this mighty humiliation.” He spoke with enunciation and stressed the last few words in his speech. He turned away from the men assembled and looked at the galactic map displayed on the large command screen in front of the group. The various galactic empires were clearly visible in a tactical overlay.
“We are the last hope of our people,” spoke the commander, knowing that their status was not quite as severe as he presented it. “We must find something to help turn the tide in this conflict. We set out to find something or someone that could aid us. Few allies were likely to be found. None wanted to aid us in our cause against the Terrans. None wanted to come to the side of a clearly inferior enemy against such a large adversary. We will prove wrong all those who did not believe in us! We have discovered here the ancient relics of a civilization much more advanced than any in the galaxy. With its technology, we will create such a fleet as was never seen before!” Khrrn raised his voice as he concluded his speech.
The men assembled with him there were skeptical. What was the meaning of this patriotic speech their commander was giving? The alien planet had yielded little in terms of practical results. So far they had been able to retrieve only histories and information on the civilization that had flourished on the planet.
“Sir, what great technology have we found that we can practically use for our military effort?” a man close to the front asked. Khrrn turned and faced the man.
“Herrah, we have here in front of our eyes the marvel of Kher’Somaaw productivity. There are doubtlessly myriads of great innovations within its walls. We have had a stroke of critical luck in finding the android. He can unlock all this world’s secrets for us. Tomorrow we will leave with him to explore the facility. I am confident that he can point us to the most important centers of production. We are on the verge of a ground-shattering discovery. I feel it in the marrow of my bones and the rushing of my cool blood.”
Chapter 16
Our sphere breathed life. But it was not the only one upon which his gift was bestowed. Others, like us, moved through the heavens. Some were destined for greatness;
some would fall into their own corruption and decadence, and would only be brushed away in Somaaw’s ultimate judgment. Take heed, only those who ceaselessly strive to follow his way will succeed. You must never falter.
- The Book of Somaaw Vol.2 Ps.7