Cheekeet Longflight stared at the scanners and clicked her beak in frustration and grief as she stared at the screens, which painted everything in lurid colors. Ruffling her feathers she willed the screens to change.
They didn't.
Her species could see five primary colors. Her hearing was more sensitive than that of all but two of the Unified Civilized Races despite having rejected membership in that august body. Her people were one of the Ununified Races, rarely considered civilized by the rest of the races, but outside of the ever present rules and laws and regulations of that eons old organization.
But that didn't help.
In up to 150% of standard gravity she could fly, unfettered by earth, for miles at a time. Her people had taken to space and exploration as a natural extension of their own abilities, their hollow bones and unique muscle structure quickly adaptable to nulgrav and microgravity.
But that didn't change anything.
Her people, the Akltak, did not worry about such things as the Precursors. Those eggs were smashed, why worry about them? It was like worrying about last year's wind. You should know about it, but it didn't effect today's flights. They were not afraid of what some called the Long Dark, others called the Great Void, and still others called the Great Empty. They had explored it in the three centuries since they had obtained FTL, established colonies, and explored the worlds with what other races called reckless abandon.
Which is why things were what they were.
Precursor ruins were examined, resulting in the knowledge that those nests were empty and abandoned. Not even bones remained, much less anything useful or enlightening. The ruins were exactly that because of warfare. Akltak understood struggles over nesting grounds, which made it so that the Precursor Ruins intrigued them. What would make two star-faring civilizations completely destroy one another to the point where nobody had even found remains, fossilized or not. This planet, this dead world, had extensive ruins in the sand and rock. The atmosphere was able to support life, able to allow the Akltak to fly, and was rich in oxygen.
Which is why things were burning.
The ruins had been interesting. Evidence of ground fighting, orbital strikes, of terrible weapons being used that Cheekeet Longflight and the Longflight Clan had eagerly gone over, hoping to glean knowledge from the evidence of the weapons. They had not reacted in superstitious fear like the other Civilized Races to the old breezes of a forgotten nest fight.
Which is why her Clan was dying.
Almost a hundred years of exploration, expanding the colony, the Longflight Clan budding off into five other clans. The population moving from two-thousand to nearly a half-million.
Then The Discovery.
Rock had been turned molten, covering The Discovery, concealing it until a hundred million years of wind and dust storms had exposed it to the Longflight Clan's sensors. They had examined it, slowly excavated it as they recorded and examined it. Strange, advanced alloys, unknown construction. The entire Longflight Clan had rejoiced. They had found an intact Precursor Artifact.
Which is why Cheekeet had watched her people die.
It had suddenly activated. Come to mechanical life.
And set out to destroy all life on the planet.
Cheekeet had managed to load precious eggs and chicks into a shuttle, had managed to reach one of the stations, and now watched her people die.
Kikteek Deepswoop was sitting at the communication station, normally used to file reports, talk to family, or watch the GalNet news. Her feathers drooped with despair as she repeated the request for help from someone, anyone.
But they were halfway into the Great Empty and there was no way help could reach them in time.
"High Nest Six, are you in need of assistance?" the voice was translated by the Omnitranslator, changed by the computer into the language of the avian Akltak but even so, the calm confidence in the voice came across electronic translation.
"By the Great Egg, yes. Oh, Those That Soar, we are all dying," Kikteek wailed into the communicator. Her professionalism was gone, burned away like the feathers of all of the warrior caste who had tried to stop the rampaging machine.
"May I assist you?" The voice asked.
Cheekeet checked her scanners. There was one energy source, coming in fast, nearly at light speed, but her scanners could not detect a ship.
"Please! Please help us! There are still eggs, chicks, and moltlings down there! It's killing them all!" Kikteek cried out. "Help us, stranger!"
"Then you have invited me in and I may assist," the voice said.
Cheekeet checked quickly. The voice was coming across the GalNet superluminal communications array, somehow speaking across a wavelength that normally required huge arrays.
Yet she could not find a ship on her scanners, just that energy signature, bright enough to be a huge colony ship.
Cheekeet watched as the energy source came streaking at the planet and she cringed, hoping that the being offering assistance wasn't going to "help" by slamming into the planet at nearly light speed.
Instead, it suddenly stopped in a flare of inertia and kinetic energy being dumped into jumpspace as if a battle cruiser had just lit off its engines.
Cheekeet focused her scanners, eager to see their possible savior, putting it up on the main screen to replace the horror of what was happening on the surface.
Everyone trilled in shock.
They had expected a ship. Perhaps a battle cruiser full of drop troops. Maybe even a light attack craft willing to enter atmosphere to engage the machine.
Instead, it was a bipedal figure, positioned as if they were standing on an unseen platform, upper limbs crossed across their chest. A long piece of material, perhaps even cloth, rippled behind the figure as if it was in wind despite the impossibility of such a thing in space. It was dressed in red and blue, one arm mechanical, one leg mechanical, and one half of its face obviously robotic.
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Yet exposed skin was visible on the face, one hand, half the neck.
Cheekeet chirped softly in confusion. Perhaps its flesh wasn't affected adversely to vacuum? Still, seeing an eye blink, she wondered how that worked, how the figure could even see. She glanced at her scanners and was startled.
The energy signal was greater than she'd seen on anything outside of a major metropolis on one of the Core Worlds.
"I'll stop this evil-doer," The voice said, and Cheekeet's eyes widened as she realized the figure's lips moved.
It was some kind of primate, melded to mechanical robotic parts. As she watched a panel opened up in the figure's leg, disgorging some kind of machines that took up positions around the figure at various distances.
"Those things are broadcasting. They want to know if we wish to view the broadcast," Kikteek said.
"Yes. Log the transmissions," Cheeket said. Kikteek fluttered her feathers in acknowledgement.
The figure suddenly moved, faster than the speed of sound, somehow leaving a blue and red streak behind itself even though Cheekeet could detect no reason for it. Cheekeet set the scanners to follow it, to watch it.
"It can't win by itself," Eekreek said, using the peeps of a molting chick rather than the authoritative clicks and chirps of an adult, as she had since the slaughter had reached its crescendo on the planet.
Cheekeet's scanners followed the figure as it swooped down on the closest fight. There were twelve of the lesser mechanicals moving in on a nesting area, rushing up on the defenders and ripping them apart with mandibles and blades, almost seeming to relish in the slaughter.
The new being landed in the middle of the battlefield, dust raising up from where it had crashed to earth. Cheekeet expected to see a huge crater but instead the figure was just kneeling on the dirt. The broadcast devices swooped down to get the best views from different angles and distances.
One of her monitors reported that a massive amount of kinetic energy had been dumped in jumpspace.
The figure stood up and surveyed the scene calmly. Energy, in the high red visible spectrum, lashed from its eyes. Despite the attempt by Cheekeet's people to use laser weaponry to no avail, these beams blew huge chunks from the robotic killer's armor, severed limbs, and when ever the beams touched something vital, caused explosions.
In less than then ten seconds all twelve robots were destroyed and the being took to flight, one limb extended in front of them, the broadcast devices keeping up.
After the third combat against The Artifact's manufactured minions Cheekeet noticed something odd. Something that tickled at her like a loose feather.
The being, which was no taller than Cheekeet, made sure that Cheekeet had the best scanner view. She shifted one of the satellites to check and the being shifted its lines of attack in order to give Cheekeet the best view.
Is it ensuring that I can record and document its actions? Cheekeet wondered.
The battle against The Artifact took the longest, and was obviously the hardest for the half-mechanical creature. Several time the being's clothing was torn and damaged and she saw bruises appear on the flesh. She saw the mechanical parts on the being get damaged. Every time a broadcast drone was destroyed another was deployed.
Twice she saw the being's skin get cut and blood flow. The broadcast drones focused in on those wounds, replaying the blow that caused them.
Finally The Artifact collapsed and the being was thrown back by the explosion caused by what was obviously The Artifact's self destruct.
The figure laid on the broken glass for a long moment, then got up, wiping the biological part of its mouth with one upper forelimb. It looked up, to Cheekeet's view straight into the camera of the satellite, made an odd expression, then launched itself toward space. It should have left a crater, taking off like that from the ground and no built up momentum.
Again, her instruments showed a massive energy dump into jumpspace.
The figure stopped suddenly, as if the laws of inertia were something the figure could just ignore. Again, the figure had its upper limbs across its chest, lower limbs pressed together, as if it was standing on an invisible platform. The cloth was missing, torn free during the fierce battle on the planet.
"You should be safe now," The figure said across the GalNet link. "I'll leave a League buoy in case you run into trouble later. Don't worry, it will be monitored."
"Our thanks to you, stranger. Do you require assistance? You appear injured," Kikteek said, wondering how they'd repair the figure's robotic parts much less flesh that could withstand point blank plasma bursts without even discoloration.
"I'll be fine, citizen," The figure said.
"Might we know your name, stranger?" Kikteek asked. "We are the Longflight Clan of the Akltak People."
"Klark Kant," The figure smiled.
"May we know where you are from?" Kikteek asked. "We are from this planet, but originally we are from The Feathered Nebula Cluster."
"Sol, my friends. I'm a Solarian, originally from Krypton," The figure smiled and made a sweeping gesture to encompass further into the Great Empty.
"How may we reward you, Klark of the Kant Clan?" Kikteek asked.
"No reward is necessary, friends," The figure said. "One of TerraSol's greatest heroes is always willing to help out those in need!" It touched two fingers to its brow...
and was gone.
Cheekeet looked at her scanners. The figure was rapidly accelerating, too fast for even major capital ships to withstand without the inertia crushing the ship to debris. Right when it reached the speed of light there was a rippling glitter and the figure was gone in a flash of blue and red then white light.
They were safe, their nest-mates on the planet were safe.
And the being had recorded every iota, every microsecond, every joule of the fight, uploading the footage to the station.
Cheekeet knew that the Unified Science Council would want that footage.
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In an emergency session the Unified Exploration Council determined that a seventh type of xenosentient had been discovered in the Great Gulf. The Executors argued that all quasi-authorized and unauthorized colonies or scientific outposts in the Great Gulf should be recalled, by force if necessary.
The Executors argue that the actions against the Precursor Artifact show that the Solarians have not only dangerous attitudes but dangerous technology at their disposal.
The Unified Science Council counsels caution at this time.
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TO: Hero League @ Cyborg-Collective
From: Klark-351
Check out the attached file! Just over a hundred drones and a Precursor war machine, looked like one of their late generation planetary assault machines, luckily not one of the big boys, but still more than they could handle. I took it down, but man, it was a fight. Attached are visual files so you can tell I upheld our appearances and standards.
I want full point credit for this on the leaderboards. Make sure the files get uploaded to InfoNet, I want everyone to check out that last battle. Man, I look good.
These bird people, though. I felt bad for them. They didn't stand a chance.
Let everyone else on Hero League know that the bird people are pretty formal. They want to see what you look like and know where you're from. Seemed like a cultural thing.
Their computer systems are pretty last-gen, software is worse than even the old Mantid pre-war software. I made sure to upload footage of my battle to their servers, as per League rules.
Anyway, I think this sector needs some heroes. This should put me over the point score needed to get a League Assemble Trial Raid.
I'll need a Wallace from CONFED INT. too, they probably want to know what goes on in this sector.
This sector needs protected.
I should have enough achievements to establish a base at this time. Any League members who want to take part in the Trial will be required to put up double-standard points to compete. Once a League is assembled, I will be building a base in this sector.
There's plenty of heroic deeds to go around out here.
--KLARK-351
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CONFEDERATE INTELLIGENCE MEMO
CC: Artificial Biological States; Digital Artificial Intelligence Infonet Worlds; TERRASOL.GOV; Cyborg Cooperative; Clone Directorate; Mantid Free Worlds; Traena'ad Hive Worlds
Looks like the LARP group out of the Cyborg Cooperative is starting to patrol the Great Gulf. Someone REMIND THEM that they can't open to Villain League at this time. These are First Contact Species out there, let's not give them the wrong idea about the Confederacy.
We're giving the Hero League permission to establish a League Base in that Great Gulf sector and will be assigning a director ranked intelligence liaison.
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CYBORG COOPERATIVE
RE: Your Last
Will inform the Hero League that at this time only those with a GALACTIC rating or better are allowed in the Great Gulf and any others will be stripped of rank and banned if they do not return in 15 standard units. Understand that this is a delicate situation regarding First Contact xenosapients.
Will allow only Admiral and above members of FEDERATION LEAGUE LARPers into the Great Gulf. At least those guys follow directives thanks to the quasi military nature of their organization.
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