Chapter 12
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: Unknown
"Ah, hello there Uleena" Captain Reynolds said as we nearly ran into each other.
"Greetings, Captain," I replied. "You weren't already in the conference room?"
"No, I've been on the bridge," Reynolds said as we continued on our way. "Didn't have much to do though, so I was contemplating running some drills when I received a rather brusque message from Omega. Presumably the same one that you received."
"I believe so. Think the scouts found something?"
"I feel that's likely, yes."
"So we're in for a briefing, then," I said with a joking sigh.
"Quite. I do hope they found something interesting."
"Use caution when you profess your desires, captain. They may be granted in a way that exceeds your expectations."
Reynolds chuckled as we reached the door to the conference room. It opened for us, and I gestured to indicate that he should precede me into the room. He nodded his thanks, and entered with me close behind.
"Reynolds, Uleena, welcome," Omega's grim reaper avatar greeted us. "Have a seat. We'll be starting soon."
Most of the other captains and diplomats were already seated. Some were milling around, awkwardly chatting off to the side. Reynolds and I took our seats, and I fought off the nervous knot that was forming in my stomach. Holographic terminals were being projected above the tables, and reading them caused the knot in my stomach to turn into a pit.
--
D1: 30 seconds isn't a terrible delay.
D7: It is for text based communications.
D1: Not when you consider the distance.
--
It felt wrong to see the directorate's chat out in the open like this. The other terminal showed a chat that appeared to be a conglomeration of the other allied species. The Dtiln Collective, the Pwanti, and the Republic all shared a screen. A few different implications played through my mind all at once.
The separation of the chats could be construed as a power-move that could be passively explained as a necessity, under the guise of maintaining the anonymity of the directorate. Another implication is that if we're receiving text we're probably sending text, which means that someone is transcribing what we say and we just have to trust that they're doing it accurately. The biggest implication, though, is that for this meeting to take place the scouts must have found something of vital importance.
"Everyone is here," Omega announced. "For the sake of clarity, this conversation is being transmitted to and from the Milky Way galaxy via Faster-Than-Light-Secure-Messaging-Service, or FTLSMS. As such, it has to be transcribed. If you are asked to repeat yourself, please do so clearly and concisely."
Omega's avatar nodded, and several low-ranking officers rushed forward with tablets. These tablets were passed out as everyone took their seats. I took the tablet offered to me by a gont ensign and tried to find a way to turn it on.
"Don't bother," Reynolds whispered. "Omega likes the dramatics."
The AI's avatar stared at Reynolds coldly as the tablets suddenly powered on. The captain grinned at Omega until his gaze fell to the tablet. Then his smile faltered.
I turned my own attention to the tablet and my mood fell as well. An estimated 5 trillion ships, with more than 3 trillion of that already confirmed. Those are the kind of numbers that could overwhelm the United Systems, even with their freshly bolstered fleets. The US would certainly make the OU regret that fight, though.
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"Omega, there's a typo here," Captain Wong spoke up. "Two light years?"
The slight murmur that had been building up went silent as everyone else looked to Omega for confirmation. Confused, I scrolled through the tablet until I found an image of an unfinished spherical space station. A line through it indicated that it had a diameter of 2.6674 light years. I joined everyone else in looking at Omega, hoping that wasn't right.
"That isn't a typo," Omega said. "We were able to confirm through intercepted communications that this structure is the Omni-Union's Grand Vessel."
--
D6: A structure like this shouldn't be able to exist. Why hasn't it collapsed in on itself?
D2: Where did they get the materials?
D10: Galaxies like ours, I suspect.
D11: I concur. But I want to know how they're mitigating the effects of gravity.
D8: Agreed, it would seem the OU possess some interesting technology.
--
The messages from the directorate stopped after Director 8 sent their message. A shudder ran down my spine when I realized that they had likely stopped the chat so that they could discuss this mysterious technology, and what they could do with it. I was thinking about saying something about the pause, but Omega continued with its explanation.
"If you direct your attention to the report, you'll note that we were able to get quite close to the structure," Omega said. "In addition to confirming the efficacy of the USSS Strandhogg's stealth capabilities, there were many things we were able to discover."
Omega explained that there were several levels to the structure. Each of these levels were made of various materials, as if new molecules were discovered as the structure was being built. The later levels are made of a lightweight and firm material that appears to have properties shared by plastic and metal.
If a sample of the material were obtained, it may be possible to recreate it. This revelation caused a spirited discussion. Omega waited for the discussion to die down, then noted that while this would obviously have extreme benefits to us all, dealing with the Omni-Union is our main priority.
The AI then began to detail what they discovered inside the structure. Namely, organics. Massive cities that housed these organics stretched across each layer. An accurate measurement of the population wasn't possible, but the initial estimate was in the quadrillions. When asked how such a large population could be supported, Omega pointed out that there were entire levels of the structure that were seemingly geared toward food production and waste processing.
"How many galaxies died to make this thing?" someone asked.
"Incalculable," the AI replied. "We don't know how large the galaxies that used to exist in this part of space were. However, based on atmospheric and terrestrial density, it would take several hundred thousand Milky Way sized galaxies to create a structure like this. At least."
"Jesus Christ," someone else muttered.
"Indeed. But intercepted chatter indicates that there are materials flowing in from a million or so galaxies that haven't been entirely conquered yet. If that's been the case, the number of galaxies that have been doomed to non-existence may be quite a lot smaller."
"Why weren't materials from the Milky Way being sent here?" I asked.
"I don't know," Omega's avatar shrugged. "I intend to find out, though. But first, there's more about the structure itself we need to cover."
Then Omega explained that there were a variety of organics aboard the structure. The organics toward the center of the structure were of one species, and the ones that resided in the outer layers were comprised of several other species. The AI postulated that this may indicate some type of hierarchy.
The species living in the outer layers were heavily modified, as well. Entire limbs were replaced with mechanical prosthesis whose purpose seemed to be to aid them in their work. During the USSS Strandhogg's observations, at least twenty-two of these organics died due to harsh working conditions.
"This indicates that these organics are disadvantaged," Omega explained. "There is a very good chance that they are enslaved and serve the Omni-Union as a source of cheap labor."
"That's great!"
The entire room turned to look at who had just spoken. Ambassador Havencroft glanced around, then seemed to realize what he had just said and quickly held up his hands.
"Great for us, I mean," he clarified. "A disenfranchised population is an excellent blade to shove into the heart of an enemy. Especially since it's a weakness of their own creation. I love a bit of poetic justice."
"I can't help but agree," Ambassador Lorix replied. "But how do we contact these people?"
"I'm not certain they would help us even if we were able to contact them," Omega's avatar shook its head slowly.
It then began to detail the security measures within the sphere. Signs of visual and audio surveillance, mechanized security forces, and turrets littered the layers. Apparently, the Omni-Union was well aware of their biggest weakness.
"The mechs themselves are particularly well-designed," Omega explained. "Either this is a recent innovation, or the Omni-Union has co-opted technology from one of their many conquests."
--
D4: How many mechs are there?
--
"Multiple millions. A few armies worth," the AI said. "However, these mechs have similarities to Mobile Prime Platforms in their construction. It's possible that are... Repurposed organics. If that's the case, we may be able to take advantage of that."
"I see where this is going," Reynolds muttered.
--
D13: It seems that our best course of action would be to initiate a civil war between the Omni-Union and their slaves.
D2: If they are slaves. If they aren't, then we will need to come up with another solution.
D5: Either way, we will need to infiltrate the structure.
--
"And there it is," Reynolds looked at me knowingly.
Suddenly, it clicked for me. The marines that each ship currently housed had been brought along for this very purpose. Had the United Systems had always intended to invade the Grand Vessel? How could they have known?
The pit in my stomach grew as I was once again reminded of how deadly an opponent the United Systems could be.