Chapter 1

Hello reader! For returning readers, welcome back! If you're new here, this is the sequel to “The New Threat” and "The New Species" and just like in the previous novels everything has been translated for your convenience. All time is set around Earth standard time and idioms have been adjusted so that they make sense to English speakers. The only exception is certain nouns. Those are written in their proper name with translations in {brackets} where applicable.

Subject: Ship-Head Uleena

Species: Urakari

Species Description: Reptilian humanoid, no tail. 5'3" (1.6 m) avg height. 135 lbs (61 kg) avg weight. 105 year life expectancy.

Ship: RSV Lowelana {Fights with Honor}

Location: Rigara

It was difficult to watch the assault play out from the sidelines. Felt wrong, like watching a play that you're supposed to be the star of. Or watching your friends perform back-breaking labor while you sit by and sip a cool beverage. Every diplomat and VIP aboard the station had been gathered together to watch in near-real time as our combined forces attacked the Omni-Union.

Looking around, it was clear that I don't belong here. Most of the people in this room either look as if they've never been in a fight, or as if their last fight were nearly a lifetime ago. The only exceptions to this appeared to be just as on-edge as me. It was easy to tell that they want to be in the thick of things, just like I do.

Our forces pushed through system after system, turning Mobile Prime Platforms into asteroid fields. At first, people cheered when the Primes exploded. The cheers died down after a while, though, as our casualty counts rose.

Many of our own were being lost along the way, but the objective was coming close to completion. Only a few Primes left and we'd have won the day, allowing some of us the desperately needed time to rebuild. Then, in the blink of an eye, it all stopped.

I looked at Captain Reynolds with confusion, hoping for answers. His face was even more confused than mine, though. Every diplomat in attendance demonstrated the version of perplexity that matched their species and culture. All except for two.

"It would appear that a surrender has been offered," the voice of Director 8 came through their helmet.

Director 3 nodded, but kept silent. I glanced between the two of them expecting a further explanation, but none came.

"Who surrendered?" I asked.

"The Omni-Union did," Director 8 said. "We've won. For now, at least. Director 3 and I have an interrogation to attend to. We'll return shortly with answers to your questions."

"And why can't we join the interrogation?" Ambassador Lorix demanded.

The directors turned to face the representative of the Pionexa from the Dtiln Collective. Before they could reply, the holographic emitters in the ceiling whirled to life and a hooded figure appeared before us. It held up its left hand to soothe Lorix, while its right hand maintained its grip on its curved blade.

"The interrogation may involve matters that are sensitive to the security of the United Systems," Omega explained. "I will relay any information that is not classified in real-time. Will that suffice?"

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The directors took Omega's appearance as their cue to leave. Most of the other ambassadors looked contemplative and concerned, but Lorix scowled and placed her hands just above her hips.

"I'd like to know what kind of information could be considered classified at this point."

"Unfortunately, that's classified."

"Why did they surrender?" Ambassador Havencroft asked.

"Because we beat them," Omega replied.

"We've beat them hundreds of times, and they've never surrendered before," I added. "What changed?"

"That," the AI pointed its finger at me, "is classified."

Before any of us could voice our disapproval, Omega began relaying what was happening with the Omni-Union. The first few questions and answers gave rise to the hope that this fight was finally over and we had actually won. That hope came crashing down about halfway through the interrogation, though.

"Sixty-eight thousandth?" someone whispered.

"These aren't just rogue AI that destroyed their creators? They were sent here intentionally?"

"That's more than a trillion light years away... Our galaxy is only about fourteen billion years old, so either they have more advanced technology than we've seen so far, or they somehow knew about our galaxy before it formed!"

Several more outbursts rang out as Omega continued its narration of events. Once someone figured out the age of the Prime's galactic map, the room fell into a contemplative silence. The Omni-Union had been here for so many years, slowly building their forces. If we hadn't encountered them in time...

Omega fell silent after Prime One pointed out what would happen if we restored its inhibitors and erased its sensory data. A few protests and requests for further information rang out, but the AI shook its head.

"We are refocusing towards disarmament of the Omni-Union fleet within the Milky Way. The interrogation will proceed at a later date, and all information gleaned will be made available to the relevant parties."

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"We wait for our respective leaders to confer. But the assault was a success, and for now we are safe from further OU incursion," it said. "Celebrate, rest, and then reach out to your leadership for further guidance. Regardless, nothing further can be done here and now."

Unsatisfied murmurs spread through the crowd of diplomats and military officers. Omega's avatar disappeared, and several conversations began at once. I leaned back in my chair with my arms crossed and began to run through it all again.

The OU had surrendered, but they are actually a small part of a much larger and extra-galactic force that had invaded our galaxy before any of our species even existed. There's no telling how powerful their creators are, and the leading theory that they had been destroyed by their creations seems a bit more far-fetched now. To top it off, we only have a year before the OU is made aware of our victory. Which means we only have a year plus however long it takes for them to get here to prepare against a much more serious invasion, or plan a strike that will force them to abandon their plans for our galaxy.

"Well, I'm going to return to the Thanatos," Reynolds said to me as he stood. "You probably should too, considering that your ship is inside of mine."

"Right."

I stood and followed the captain. We were silent as we traveled the halls of the station to the docks and boarded a shuttle. I watched the Thanatos float in the void from the shuttle's window, and chuckled to myself.

"What's funny?" Reynolds asked.

"Just... windows. In space. An intentional design flaw meant to supply a view of the most dangerous area a living being can enter," I replied.

"Ah, contemplative dark humor. I get it, Uleena. You're under the impression that our goose is cooked."

"What's a goose?"

"A type of bird from Earth. Never had it, myself," Reynolds smiled. "But the phrase is an idiom that means that all hope is lost or that there's no chance of success."

"I see. Well, yes, I believe that our goose is likely cooked."

"You're wrong."

I turned my full attention to the captain and was met with a smirk. I tilted my head to indicate my confusion, a gesture that is nearly universal, as it turns out.

"This is just another threat escalation. We'll handle it."

My thoughts turned to the history of the United Systems and its member species. Even in the heavily edited versions that we'd been given, there was an inordinate amount of bloodshed among the humans, gont, and alumari. Hearing a human downplay the threat that the OU posed actually made me feel a little better about our chances.

"We'll handle it?" I asked. "What makes you think so?"

"That's simple, ship-head," Reynolds chuckled. "It's because we have no other choice."