“Maybe I should have stayed under!"

"Glad to have you back, Pyotr. Believe me, we all wish we were anywhere else right now," said Francis. "Are we sure it's not just meteorological activity?"

The Doctors and nurses didn't know what to say. So Melina answered for them, "They wouldn't lie for no reason. It's in our best interest to believe what they say is true."

Charles shook his head. "I mean, it really shouldn't have been any surprise. At some point, we were going to come across live ones."

"And now of all times," Francis said, rubbing his brow. It's one thing after another at this point.

At that moment, the doors behind him opened, and Eva and her new friends walked in. Despite still looking dead inside, Francis suppressed his doubts about her and met her in the middle of the room. "Eva, I presume you heard the alert?"

"Whole base did, Frank."

"Let me guess; you and your newfound friends want to help defend this place?"

Eva's glassy stare penetrated the man. She remained unphased by his calm demeanour. "I see no other choice."

"I was prepared to take the transport and leave," said Charles. "We don't know what type of firepower these things are packing."

"They could just blow us out of the sky," added Echo.

"What's the plan, Sergeant? You always have a plan?"

The way Eva said that made Francis blink a few times, letting the silence settle for longer than he liked. Something has changed about her since we got back, but then, who wouldn't be after experiencing that facility? "We have two options so far: we can defend this base or -"

"Or what?" asked Melina, leaving Pyotr to join the two men. "I don't think we'll like this."

"The alien facility might be our last resort."

Pyotr swung his legs over the side of the hospital bed and said. "He's right. I think."

Francis looked his way. "Savin left a parting gift?"

Pyotr, although still unsteady, got to his feet and nodded. "In his memories. I saw these gates that they used to reach the Earth. I think it was the Earth at least; it's all very blurred."

Melina sighed and shrugged. "So that's it. We hold out here and wait for our chance to leave in the confusion. Dooming everyone here?"

"Unless you have a better idea," Francis said. "Our fate is already decided now that aliens are on our doorstep."

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"It has to be them! What type of manpower does this base have?"

Now it was Cain's turn to laugh. "We're a frontier base; the last thing we expected was aliens to show up unannounced on our doorstep!"

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Savin's stare hardened, and they marched over to Cain. "Chief Cain, you are this base's head of security. I want everyone armed if it comes to it. They cannot be allowed to win."

"This is personal for you, isn't it?" Cain said, managing a smile. This was the first time since he seized control of Reginald that the aloof alien had become flustered.

"Those animals took everything from me."

"They are that bad, huh?"

Savin looked about, ready to explode in anger. "You have no idea what is heading towards us… ruin, Cain. Ruin is all the Ascenders ever bring."

Cain approached the window and pointed off into the distance. "How do you know these are in any way the same as the ones responsible for the way you are now?"

"There is too much history there for me to explain, but they will show you no quarter either way. Whether it's the Nirikiri or the human race."

Cain faced the man, his bluster replaced by abject terror. "We could still try talking to them. Find another way without needless bloodshed."

"No, no! They won't understand your ape language."

"You did."

"Only because one of you touched me. They won't be so willing to, I bet."

"And you're absolutely sure it's these Ascenders."

"Out of all alien life, only one other race achieved FTL alongside us. Them. We practically handed it to them."

"Then they what? Turned on you."

Savin nodded. "They hunted us. Those that survived hid in the outer reaches or came here. We had planned to raise an army to meet them, just as fierce and capable as they are."

"But with a longer leash, I bet. That explains all the shit you left behind on Earth, just waiting for us to dig it up."

"Like I say, it's all very crude but commendable… I fear it may not be enough."

Cain marched over to Savin and almost slapped him, but he resisted. "Savin, it'll have to be because any minute now. They'll be here, and we'll need to get them talking. You're human now. That legacy is gone, and the now is what's important. And the last thing anyone wants is this base venting its air."

"You're right. Let me speak to them when the time comes."

"Fine, meanwhile. Let's go rally the troops; we only have minutes at most before they get here."

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Their sudden arrival had at least caught the alien’s attention. It was clear to all those aboard the Forward Citadel that the settlement on this planet was not native to do it. They had been in orbit a short while and tried listening in to some communications. It had proven tricky for their AI systems to fully grasp the alien language. The only choice they had was to deploy to the surface while the main ship continued onward to where the distress signal had come from.

“This is Sergeant Johann Becker. I represent Orcus Security of the Lazarus lunar city. This message is a warning. The city has fallen to the Mortalis. If anyone down below hears this, we need urgent backup.”

They knew little of the transmission's contents except for one word they recognised. An uncomfortable familiarity resonated with the Kaskari. The Mortalis they had run from had not completely starved or wiped out; like a weed, it had spread to countless worlds. There was no true way to escape it. Even now, its legacy taunted them.

“How should we proceed?” asked Soldier Kul’varn.

“It would be preferable to avoid hostility. We need to find a way to speak to them,” answered Commander Varon.

“Without reliable translation, conflict might be unavoidable, especially if they are also here.”

He knew what Kul was referring to, which made him question whether deploying the citadel was the right option. By all accounts, the Dauntless had the firepower to destroy the alien base and any monsters it harboured. Could we do that? We have no way of knowing if the monsters mentioned in the transmission are also here. Nothing on the surface suggests an infestation of any kind.

The Commander recalled the stories told to him of entire worlds blighted by the Mortalis when left unchecked. No, we haven’t spent all this time travelling just to wipe out another race. We just need to be able to reason with them.

“Deploy a small unit and attempt to make contact with the aliens. Let them let us in. No reason to breach just yet. No doubt our sudden arrival has them all on edge. Let’s not push them to act recklessly now. That would be most unwise.”

“Understood, sir. A unit will be deployed to make first contact. We will attempt to use their words based on rough translation.”

“Something is better than nothing. Let's hope we didn't scare them too much.”