The month that passed in preparation for their return went by simultaneously way too quickly and agonizingly slow. The world was kicked into overdrive, production went through the roof, volunteers seemed to sprout from the ground, and training for armed forces that had been selected to enter the aliens had been expedited. You could feel the excitement in the air as everyone wanted a chance to meet an alien or do something that would help them.
A new unofficial branch of the military was created, called the exterminators by those who became a part of it. This was the “branch” that most of the volunteers wanted to be a part of, yet there was much to be done outside of shooting parasites, and plenty of soldiers already present to fill that role. The soldiers who had already been inside of the aliens ran drills on protocol and presented the biology of the parasites to the new recruits who became exterminators, pointing out vital spots on the parasites that will ensure a quick death to them.
Doctors, supported by an army of volunteers, began learning about the biology of the gigantic aliens and how to most effectively treat the wounds and infections that would be present. While those in charge would have preferred if only doctors were allowed to treat the aliens, there were concerns that there would not be enough personnel to do so while still leaving our hospitals operational. Special packs were created that could hold several gallons of disinfectant and neutralizing agents which were hooked up to a misting pump that would spray it over a wide area.
By the time a month had passed, we had armies prepared, not for war, but for medicine. Though to be fair, some claimed it was a war on the parasites, and the internet was doing what it did best in that regard, creating endless amounts of memes. There were a lot of Starship Troopers and Warhammer going around across the web, all of which in favor of extermination for the unfortunate parasites, which the internet dubbed Centicites, that would soon be expelled from our giant alien patients.
People were getting antsy after thirty days had come and gone and we still didn’t see any sign of the giants. They didn’t have to wait too long though, for a few days later we saw them appearing alongside Mars. It was at first a trickle, then it became a drizzle, and shortly after that, hundreds of them were floating outside the orbit of the red planet. Earth was already feeling overwhelmed, and they hadn’t even landed yet.
They moved as a group across space at their ridiculous speeds. It would take them less than a day to be in our orbit. When they arrived, we received a signal from them, most likely the one that had first visited us.
“Hello again small ones, I have returned with others like I said.”
“Greetings to you again as well. We have prepared as much as we could for your arrival, though these numbers are more than we expected.”
“Are you unable to treat so many?”
“We can treat you, but we will have to do so in groups, organize you, and call you in when we are ready. Actually, now that we realize, in all the excitement, we haven’t officially introduced ourselves to one another. We are humans, or humanity. What might we call you?”
“We are the -------.” There was only a fluctuating static that came through.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that, we might have lost signal for a second.”
“We are -------.” Again, nothing came through but a strange static sound. The people monitoring the communications confirmed that they were receiving signals from them still, but evidently it was nothing that registered in our language or comprehension.
“I’m afraid we cannot comprehend your native language. Is there a way for you to say that in a familiar way to us?”
“I will try. I believe it would sound something like, Retvalin?” They did not sound sure about that, but it was better than nothing, so we took it.
“Okay, now, do you have personal names, that might make things easier for organizing.”
“We don’t have those; we can identify each other by our unique frequency oscillations.”
“Noted, I suppose we will just have to start with the ones that are most injured or sick, so they don’t get any worse. We have repeater signals set up in areas that we cleared for all of you, can you detect those?”
“Yes, I was curious about what that noise was.”
“Okay, if you can, please tell those who are the worst off to head towards an unoccupied signal repeater. If there are none currently available, you can wait wherever you are comfortable. The moon, our sixth planet Saturn, wherever. We will inform those who are waiting when there is an opening, please be patient and we will get to everyone in time.”
The Retvalin started moving again, some going to a signal, others heading off towards Saturn or the moon to wait their turn. All over the world the giants touched down upon empty landscapes only to be met by armies of humans waiting to clear them of their parasites and treat them. The armies of the world had time to train for this and moved with much more confidence and expediency than the first time.
Quarantine zones were set up, though they were mostly used to keep unauthorized civilians away so the soldiers, doctors, and volunteers could work in peace. There wasn’t much concern about biological contamination from the Retvalin, they were practically self-quarantined, being naturally hermetically sealed and all. The only way for something to get in and out of their bodies was if they let it.
That little fact opened up a question that a scientist wanted an answer to and asked our first patient, who decided to hang around the moon with the rest of the sick ones who were loitering about. “How did you become infected with these parasites when there is no way to get into your body without your consent?”
“We aren’t entirely sure how it first happened, but we think that it was when some of use visited a planet to take in the atmosphere before traveling. We think they might have gotten infected then and it just spread after that whenever they had contact with another to share breath.”
“Share breath?”
“When one is low on breathable stores of atmosphere, they sometimes need to share breath with another to make it to the next planet.”
“So, you breathe air despite being space capable?”
“Yes, we store enough air to make our journeys whenever we can, but sometimes we need to share breath to make a particularly long journey.”
It turned out that they could basically hold their breath for weeks at a time, which for them was usually enough to make it to the next world where they could get some fresh air, well, fresh for them anyway. They seemed to have a wider variety of gases that agreed with their system and considering just how rare certain gases must be out in the universe, this is a useful trait to have. Their level of cooperation is very high as well, forming what is basically supply chains between planets that are far apart, delivering breathable air to whoever needs it.
We learned what we could from our first couple of patients during the initial clearing phases, but these were the sickliest and most infested of the bunch so we focused on making sure they could get better. There would be plenty of time to learn about them later. They seemed to be in a great deal of pain, and their insides reflected that, positively overrun with centicites and infections. We actually became rather worried about them to the point where doctors and soldiers volunteered to go in together and treat them for both things at the same time. There were a few incidents where they had close calls in the midst of swarms, but fortunately there had only been minor injuries reported.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Things were going pretty well, up until we heard that someone did something stupid. Some crazy bastards over in the Russian medical zone decided they were going to try and eat one of the centicites. This sparked a bit of a panic as we did not know if they would become infected with some sort of virus or toxin that may be present in their bodies. The only reassurance we had was that he properly prepared the centicite, draining it of bodily fluids and cutting out all the organs leaving just the meat beneath the carapace.
We put them in isolation for the next few days to make sure they wouldn’t become patient zero in a potentially catastrophic new disease. During their time in quarantine, they talked about their unauthorized meal, apparently thinking it tasted kind of like shrimp with the texture of soft chicken breast that basically falls apart with little effort. May have sounded tempting, but the only issue is that they may all turn into a puddle of meat juice with their insides melted for all anyone knew.
They were kept in their lockdown until after the first wave of Retvalin had been treated and left to float around Saturn while they recovered completely. They went through a round of blood tests, mental examinations, and even had their excrement tested. There were no visible signs that anything had, or would, go wrong, prompting new research into the edibility of these centicites.
Meanwhile, we received the second wave of Retvalin planet side for their treatment. These ones were in marginally better condition than their predecessors, with a few that were doing alright but feeling the effects of prolonged infections on their overall health. We asked the ones who were better off if we could run some additional tests and ask some more questions about them while we worked. To our surprise, everyone we asked agreed to the extra tests so long as the centicites were removed.
We took some samples of their blood and flesh, with their permission of course, sampled some of the gases they held within their bodies, and even sent some drones down their feeding tentacle to see what the stomach looked like. Naturally, we didn’t want to send any people into the stomach for obvious reasons, and as it turned out, that was the best move. The stomach was not only a hotbed of radiation, but the drone didn’t even survive more than a few seconds once it actually entered the chamber.
From the few images and readings that we managed to get out of it before it expired, the stomach was unlike anything we have ever seen before. The closest comparison we could make would have been considering it like a cloud of interstellar gases that are edging on the precipice of bursting into a star. Every scientist was now solely invested in researching the gastrointestinal cycle of the Retvalin.
A major roadblock we encountered in this process was the fact that we were literally dealing with power on a cosmic scale, and anything that we had now would not be able to hold up to that. After some brainstorming about how they would go about studying this, absurd as it was, biological phenomena, an idea came about that was both smart and a little awkward. Send the drones through the “rear” entrance.
It was a strange conversation to have, asking to send equipment through a place where things don’t normally go in. Unsurprisingly, a couple of them refused, stating their discomfort with the whole idea. We did, however, get a few that were willing to submit themselves to this examination, and we thanked them profusely for their cooperation.
Drones were prepared and sent inside for their impromptu colonoscopy. It was surprisingly clean inside, only “waste” gases being detected while the drones went through the large intestinal passages. Approximately halfway through the intestinal tract we found signs of the biproducts the stomach created, a strange viscous goop that seemed to give off a little light. Samples were taken and the drone extracted back towards the exit.
The scientific community was in awe at the material they collected. The liquid goop was of a substance that did not exist in or around Earth and carried an energy potential of a level that we could not fully understand with our current level of technology. The only thing that we could infer from this substance was that it was most likely responsible for the Retvalin’s ability to move as fast as they do. This fuel-like substance was being created and absorbed by their body and was the only substance with enough energy potential to support their massive bodies and propel them through space.
We started studying this for its potential use, but that would still take time to find a way for us to use it with our machinery. In the meantime, we continued to treat and study them, finding out what they were capable of and how they might be able to help us in turn. The second wave was treated and departed for Saturn to recover and feed, giving their thanks as they did so. The third wave was much better off than the first two waves in terms of bodily condition, so we asked them for more samples during the treatment.
After we were done treating them and they were cleared to leave, we asked a few if they would be willing to help us right now. The lunar base was in need of supplies and equipment upgrades, we even added a few things that would not have been possible to transfer by standard rocket. Those that we asked agreed that it was the least they could do and would be a simple thing.
Large vacuum sealed capsules, that could survive a trip through space, were prepared and held a massive amount of equipment and supplies that would have been impossible for us to launch into space just by weight alone. To the Retvalin, however, it was like they were handling a small toy. They made it to the moon in record time, gently setting the capsule down outside the base to be collected.
With such a successful first test of moving things into space with the help of our new friends, we began to seriously consider expanding our effort to create large, modularly designed space stations. They could be prefabricated in atmosphere and then dragged into space for assembly. So many new possibilities for construction and transportation, we only had to work out the logistics of it all.
It was a little over a month and a half before we managed to cure the last of the Retvalin that had shown up. By this point, a small market had sprung up for butchered centicites, there were even some attempts by government agencies to conduct controlled breeding of a few that had been captured alive for the purpose of slaughter. It seemed they could subsist on cow’s blood, among other animals, so there was now additional use for the blood that is normally drained from the animals after their slaughter.
These were not the last of the Retvalin, there would be more in the future, but for now those who did not have any pressing matters of their own chose to stay and pay back the debt they owed us. We immediately saw the value in their ease of travel through the void of space and worked to find ways that we could join them. In the meantime, we had those who stayed help us move supplies up into space.
Our first goal was the construction of an orbital station. It would be much easier, and safer, to study the Retvalin in space, their natural habitat. There were also plans to make it medically capable for them, sporting many systems that would be made specifically for that purpose. It was all still in the planning stages, so it wouldn’t actually make an appearance for some years yet.
A simpler project we came up with was the creation of a piggyback transportation system. What that boiled down to was creating a spaceship, only it didn’t have any engines, minimal propulsion capabilities, and was focused on durability over all else. It took into account the biology of the Retvalin and would attach to their underside with minimal obstructions. While it was too early to test if it could stand up to their max speeds, the basic design could be used to travel within our own system efficiently.
The first test of what was lovingly called the “backpack project” went smoothly, transporting several astronauts to the lunar base for deployment. We even went as far as sending a few scouts to Mars, marking the first successful round-trip humans had made to the red planet. It was a momentous time in history, so many events happening back-to-back.
The energy rich goo that was collected from inside the Retvalin also saw a breakthrough in technology for us. We created a machine capable of tapping into the energy present within the fuel, creating reactors that had more output than nuclear power did. Humans everywhere no longer had to deal with anything close to a power outage again, bringing light to even the darkest corner of the world.
We leapfrogged off the back of every new discovery we made, striding further into the future at a breakneck pace. The blood samples from the Retvalin proved to contain a unique immune trait that we ended up using in several cures for long standing diseases. When synthesized correctly, it had a revitalizing effect on the body, curing many abnormalities or defects such as poor eyesight and diabetes.
We had entered a modern-day renaissance, everyone trying to outdo the last invention made using the new discoveries. Our understanding of energy, matter, travel, medicine, it all changed. And in the end, Humanity had finally gotten what it always needed to get out of the rut our species had found itself in. We had new friends, new possibilities, and a universe of places that just begged us to see them. Our goals aligned, countries came together, and we stepped out into the universe as a changed people, literally standing on the shoulders of giants who would be our lifelong friends. We would always thank our strange visitors the same as they would thank us. It was a good time to be alive.