ENKI

The gestation tank hissed as it drained, viscous amber fluid swirling down unseen pipes. Steam billowed from the opening capsule, revealing a naked figure within. Gasping, the man inside clutched at the sides of the tank, his newly-formed lungs burning as they filled with air for the first time.

"Gahhh!" The Sumerian's cry echoed through the sterile chamber, its white walls reflecting the harsh light from above.

"Five hundred and eighty-eight," a computerized voice intoned, its emotionless timbre at odds with the drama unfolding before it. The man's last body had barely begun to age, a mere 371 galactic standard years old. It was one of the few that non-natural means had destroyed. He had long since lost track of his actual age, each clone's lifespan varying wildly. Counting his bodies was the easiest way to mark the passage of time.

"Enki!" A female Sumerian, her elongated skull adorned with intricate tattoos, rushed from the control panel. Her flowing robes, a shimmering blue that seemed to capture starlight, billowed behind her as she ran.

"Nin!" Enki embraced his wife, his still-damp skin leaving wet patches on her clothes. He didn't care; the feel of her, warm and alive, was all that mattered.

Nin's golden eyes roamed over his new body, drinking in the sight of youthful muscles and unblemished skin. A familiar hunger stirred within her, one she rarely managed to fully control. "What happened this time? Your last body was still fresh. You weren't due for another clone for a thousand years."

Enki's face darkened as the memories flooded back. "It was the Queen. She executed me for being with them." He shivered, phantom pain ghosting across his neck where the blade had fallen.

As Enki dressed, the fabricators humming as they adjusted his uniform to the latest regulations, Nin helped him straighten his collar. Her fingers lingered on the brown sash, adjusting it with practiced ease. "They violated the treaty then," she said, her voice tight with anger.

Enki sighed, savoring his wife's touch even as dread pooled in his stomach. "They will argue that we broke it first."

Nin's hands stilled. "How? They attacked us first."

"They will conveniently leave out that part from the talks." Enki's voice was bitter.

"It's war then." Nin's shoulders slumped, the weight of millennia seeming to press down upon her.

"War was always inevitable. Ever since Edan." Pain flashed across Enki's face, memories of that fateful day still fresh even after countless lifetimes. "We have to talk to the council."

He strode towards the door, his mind racing with possibilities. Nin snatched up his ceremonial head wrap, hurrying after him.

"How are we going to convince them?" she asked, deftly wrapping the band around Enki's elongated skull despite his quick pace. "They didn't see what we saw in that lab! We weren't able to extract the data."

Enki paused just outside the bridge, turning to face his wife. "My love," he said, cupping her face in his hands. "We're going to get the only data from that place still around. We'll bring to the council the very people who survived the encounter. To see them again, along with the data - it will be irrefutable. The council won't have a choice but to declare war!"

Nin's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "We've held peace for so long. Do we really need war?"

Enki's voice softened. "Before we could clone ourselves, how did we treat a malignant cancer?"

"Intense radiological and chemical attacks," Nin replied automatically, "then we would remove the compromised tissue."

"Exactly. We go to war with it." Enki's thumb brushed away a tear that had escaped down Nin's cheek. "More innocent lives will be lost if we allow this cancer to spread further. We must stop it while we still can."

"Innocent." Nin's brow furrowed. "But Almora..."

"Almora was retaliatory," Enki said, anticipating her question. "The Alliance had already slaughtered hundreds of trillions before the obliteration of Almora. It was an act of desperation. We can't fault them for it."

Understanding dawned in Nin's eyes. "But we can fault ourselves."

"Exactly. Sumeria sat and did nothing throughout the war, and let the atrocities continue afterwards. It is more our fault than anyone else's. We need to put an end to it here and now!"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He embraced her once more, cherishing every second before duty called. With a deep breath, Enki stepped onto the bridge. A chorus of "Admiral on deck!" rang out as the crew snapped to attention.

"At ease," Enki said, striding towards the captain's chair. "Captain, take us to the Sol system."

As the bridge erupted into activity, Enki and Nin took their seats in the observer chairs. Nin's fingers intertwined with Enki's, seeking comfort in the familiar touch.

"My love," she whispered, "I'm afraid for our children, our children's children. Will the galaxy look upon us and see us as saviors or oppressors?"

Enki squeezed her hand gently. "My dearest, I too am afraid. Not just for our children, but for the children of all species in the galaxy. If we do nothing, they will see us as neither saviors nor oppressors, but as the hypocritical big brother who refuses to act as the murkbeast slaughters the neighborhood. They will judge us far worse than even the Anunnaki. Complicity is not something we should be proud of."

Nin nodded, understanding finally settling over her features. War was inevitable. There was no other choice.

Her eyes drifted to the viewscreen, where the Sumerian relay station still dominated the view. Concern creased her brow. "Dear... shouldn't we have departed by now?"

The jump through hyperspace should have taken mere seconds - either to connect with Earth's hyper-buoy or, failing that, to use the last known coordinates. But nothing had happened. The captain's approach confirmed their fears.

"Sir," he said, his voice tight, "we cannot contact the Sol buoy. However, we are receiving a return ping from an Alliance sub-buoy... one that appears to be located on an Almorian Dreadnaught."

Ice flooded Enki's veins. In all his centuries, he had never felt fear like this - not for himself, but for an entire innocent species on the brink of extinction.

"How did they discover the location?" Nin voiced the question Enki dared not ask.

Enki stood, pacing towards the main cluster of consoles. "Before you answer that, Captain, is the signal coming from a confirmed location, or a best logical guess?"

"It's confirmed, sir," the captain replied, his face ashen. "It's the Kee-Von'Mar."

The blood drained from Enki's face. "Lithanul," he spat, refusing to use the Queen's title. "She's there. They're going to finish what they started." His mind raced. "Captain, can we use that beacon and jump close to the third planet?"

"We can try, sir, but the closest we can get is the system's largest gas giant. Its gravitational field is too strong for a precise jump."

Nin's grip on Enki's hand tightened. "My love, we may still have access to the Alliance network, but they'll know we're trying to help the humans. No Sumerian ship has ever joined battle against Alliance forces, especially with the Queen present. We might be dragging our people into war unknowingly."

Enki's gaze fell to the deck, the weight of the decision crushing down upon him. They would have no diplomatic protection. The Queen would not hesitate to destroy their ship, killing hundreds of Sumerians. His own life was truly in danger for the first time in eons. If he died here, there would be no time to transmit his consciousness to a new clone. This was a one-way trip, not just for him and Nin, but for every Sumerian aboard.

He turned to the captain, his voice steady despite the turmoil within. "Captain, the Admiral has a point." He nodded towards Nin, acknowledging her rank as well as her counsel. "I will not order you, but give you a choice. You know the risks as well as I do. If we stay here, we allow the Queen to destroy another innocent, young species. But if we go, we have a chance to stop them."

"How?" the captain asked, his youth showing in the tremor of his voice.

"We bring the one person who could convince the Council to declare war," Enki said. "We need him. He has knowledge of the Ancient Empire."

The captain's brow furrowed. "They have disruption fields blanketing the entire system. We won't be able to jump out. Not even our subspace transmitters can cut through that level of interference."

A ghost of a smile played across Enki's lips. "Not to worry. They have the technology to do so."

Confusion painted the captain's features. How could a species so new to the galactic stage possess technology beyond even Sumerian capabilities?

"What if the WarpStar isn't there?" Nin asked, voicing the fear they all shared.

Enki's jaw set in determination. "Then we tell the humans. We get them to send representatives to Sumeria. And we die with honor, knowing we did everything in our power."

The captain looked around at his crew. Young faces stared back, fear and resolve warring in their eyes. Clone ships were not meant for battle. They were the crown jewels of the fleet, always kept far from danger. His decision would put these young lives at risk, potentially ending what should have been long, happy existences. But what were a hundred and fifteen Sumerian lives compared to billions, perhaps trillions of innocents?

The weight of an entire species rested on the captain's shoulders. Send his crew to likely death, or condemn another emerging civilization to annihilation? In the end, there was only one choice.

"Commander," he said, his voice ringing through the tense silence, "battle stations."

The clone ship sprang to life for the first time in its existence. Lights flashed, and crew members rushed to their posts. Enki and Nin strapped back into their chairs, hands clasped tightly as they watched the well-disciplined crew prepare for the unthinkable.

"Hyperspace lock confirmed," the communications officer called out. A countdown appeared on the main viewscreen, each second ticking away with agonizing slowness.

"Jump!" The captain's order cut through the air as the timer hit zero.

The view before them distorted. Stars stretched into streaks of light, twisting and warping as a brownish dot formed at the center of the screen. With each passing heartbeat, the dot grew larger, swallowing the stars until it filled the entire viewscreen. The massive gas giant had seized their exit point, dragging the ship with it.

The clone ship erupted into real space just above Jupiter's swirling clouds, the serene beauty of the gas giant a stark contrast to the battle that surely raged beyond. As the crew steadied themselves, Enki and Nin shared a look of grim determination. Whatever came next, they would face it together - for the sake of humanity, and for the future of the galaxy itself.