Subject: Ship-Head Uleena

Species: Urakari

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: Sol

"Two Omni-Union destroyers just entered the system from warp!" Kriin said with obvious panic in her voice.

A lot of thoughts ran through my mind at once. Why were they here? They obviously pursued us, but how? And why? What do we have that they want? The only reason I could think of was that they had followed us to confirm the kill. Will the aliens be able to fight them off?

I remembered the gigantic ship that first greeted us. Yes, they'll absolutely be able to destroy the OU ships. The only question was whether they would be able to do so before the ships got us. I trepidatiously watched the holographic display. The destroyers were bearing down on the alien vessel at full speed. Alarms pinged as the OU ships fired their weapons.

"Weapons fired. OU shields have spooled up. They're advancing," Kriin continued her play by play.

The alien ship had already maneuvered to face them. I watched the missiles travel from the OU to the aliens and bit my tongue nervously. The OU ships began to turn to port and starboard for a broadside, acting in a kind of unison that only they can manage. They were going to be able to fire on all three of our vessels at once, and those broadsides would tear through us like a tissue.

Before they got a chance to complete the maneuver the alien vessel disappeared. It was gone for less than a second before it reappeared between the OU ships and the missiles they had fired. The aliens fired weapons, but the display didn't know what to make of them. It was over in an instant, both OU destroyers crippled in a single shot from a ship that was smaller than they were. I watched in awe as they both exploded from reactor meltdowns.

The word shocked doesn't even begin to describe my feelings. I just witnessed decades old war doctrines crumble to dust. Not only were the alien's weapons advanced enough to punch through the shields and armor of the OU ships, but they had been able to secure kill-shots without knowing anything about the enemy.

I almost felt relieved until I remembered that these aliens had never fought the OU before. They didn't know the SOP {standard operating procedure} and how dangerous they were even after being crippled. I turned to the lieutenant.

"You need to tell your ship to avoid comms contact and stay away from their debris field, NOW!" I said, panic seeping into my voice.

Lieutenant Babanin looked confused, but nodded and donned his helmet.

"Acknowledged. Doing so."

As Babanin warned his ship I turned back in time to watch the alien vessel dispatch the missiles with what seemed like point defense lasers. I made eye contact with Kriin and Liwna, who were both noticeably paler.

Kriin spoke first, "An in-system precision FTL jump followed by immediate weapons fire."

"And they didn't lose shields even for a second," Liwna said with a tremble in his voice.

"That's a pretty standard maneuver around these parts," Corporal Simmons said from beside me.

I couldn't help but jump a little. He had somehow moved from across the room without me noticing. Something that big shouldn't be able to move like that. It's unnatural.

"How do you compensate for the solar radiation's effect on the FTL field?" Kriin asked.

"I don't know. I'm just a grunt. I don't get paid to think," Simmons said with a laugh.

"You sure don't Simmons," Babanin interjected. "Ship-head Uleena, quick question."

"What is it?"

"What happens if the USSS Valor already made comms contact with the enemy vessels?"

I didn't even have time to react with horror before the target lock alarm began pinging. I turned back to the display to find the alien vessel pointing directly at us.

"Then we die," I said.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The only sound on the bridge was the droning target lock alarm as we all made peace with what would surely be our quick demise. I almost cried, we had come so close and now I was about to die along with all my crew. At least their weapons would ensure we didn't suffer. Much. We all stood together not saying a single word as we awaited certain death.

After about a minute, Lance Corporal Johnson cocked his head to the side and said, "They should have fired by now."

Then the alarm cut off. It took a few seconds to realize that we might not die after all, and I released the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. This was too much. I collapsed in my seat and held my head in my hands. When I looked back up, Lieutenant Babanin appeared to be having a silent conversation with someone. Then he turned to look directly at me.

"So... The, uh... Omni-Union? They're AI?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes," I said.

"Okay. Right. Hacking. That explains no comms contact. But why avoid the debris field?"

I stood back up, "The bastards booby trap the hell out of their ships to prevent reverse engineering their technology. Nuclear seeker mines, antimatter mines, hullripper drones, and even EMP devices are all released once the ships are crippled or destroyed."

"Roger that. I'll radio it in. Let's get you all to safety."

Things were less stressful from there. I oversaw the evacuation of the injured and dead, then the non-essential personnel. Finally, it was time for me to evacuate with the two remaining members of my bridge crew. I sent Kriin and Liwna on ahead as I took a moment to say goodbye to my ship. The aliens had said that they'd repair it, but you never know. This might be the last time I see it. It's not right for a ship-head to leave their ship without a goodbye.

After my moment of emotional indulgence was over, I checked my respirator and briefly considered grabbing my sidearm from my chair. I thought better of it, though. I doubted that I would have any need of it, and even if I did it wouldn't do anything against the alien's armor anyway. I turned to find that Lieutenant Babanin had stayed behind with me.

"Let's go," I said.

He nodded and led me to the umbilical. It was less structurally sound than I had imagined. It looked like a very long plastic tube with a rope down it. I was confused by this until Lt. Babanin stepped inside the tube and began to float. Right, no artificial gravity in a plastic tube in the middle of space. Makes sense.

I followed the lieutenant's lead and used the rope to pull myself down the tube. I hate the feeling of weightlessness. Joints popping as they float apart slightly, the tumbling of your stomach. Being unsure of which way was up is a horrible experience, in my opinion. The fact that I was upside down by the time I got to the end of the tube further cemented my disdain.

I righted myself and climbed aboard the shuttle. Everyone else had been assigned a seat. I checked on the wounded before finding my own seat. Kraan and the others were hanging in there. I let Kriin know that her brother was still alive as we departed for the alien frigate. Johnson and Simmons had removed their helmets and were sitting opposite myself and Kriin.

Johnson was a darker shade of beige than Lieutenant Babanin but had the same eye color. His hair was dark brown and he had scars along his jaw. They looked like claw marks. Simmons had dark brown skin and black hair. His eyes were yellow. They both had the same close shaved haircut.

"So what are your species called?" Kriin asked.

Johnson grinned and said, "Well I'm human, but Simmons here is a shit-bag."

"Fuck you," Simmons said with a laugh. "We're both human. The Valor is a human ship, and we were chosen as your rescuers and point of first contact because Sol is our home system."

"So you have other aliens on board the bigger ship?" Kriin asked with widened eyes.

"Please forgive her for the questions, she's naturally curious," I said with a hint of exhaustion.

"It's no problem," Simmons said, "but yeah we do. You've got the Alumari, which are bug people. Then you've got the Knuknus, which are bird people. And you've got the Gonts, which are... Like bear... centaurs? But with paws instead of hooves?"

"What's a centaur?"

Johnson laughed and added, "A centaur is a mythical beast that is half human and half horse. You probably don't know what a horse is either, but that's okay. Gonts have four legs and two arms. The legs have paws instead of feet, but the arms have hands kind of like our own. You'll probably end up meeting one or two once we get back to the USSS Thanatos. Our engineering staff is mostly Gont."

"Got it. So let me ask you something. Why are your weapons so... advanced? How were you able to kill those two ships with one salvo? How did you counteract the AI's hacking? It isn't just your ship's weapons either, is it? Those suits you're wearing, I noticed the shimmer..." Kriin was nearly salivating as she asked this.

Johnson and Simmons looked at each other. They seemed to decide that Simmons should answer.

"Well, we don't really know how advanced our weapons are compared to yours. And I'm not really sure how much I'm allowed to tell you about our tech. As far as how we advanced the way we did... well I'm sure the brass would rather give you a spit-polished version of our history."

I found myself curious though. "What's the shimmer you're talking about, Kriin?"

"I think... um... I think they have portable energy shields on those suits," she said as she looked at the humans and back to me.

Simmons smiled with all his teeth and tapped his nose, "Got it in one. You're pretty clever, lizard lady."

I knew it wasn't meant to be offensive, but Kriin couldn't help but click her mouth in distaste. Lizards are a type of reptile, as are we, but we are not lizards. We don't even have tails. Johnson picked up on the offense and elbowed Simmons.

"Aw, shit. My bad. SR has been working with me on that. Won't happen again, ma'am," the corporal apologized.

"What's SR?" Kriin asked, having already forgotten the offense.

"Sapient relations. Their job is to make sure that we get along with the other species," Simmons answered sheepishly.

"Yeah, Simmons is their biggest job. He's lucky he hasn't been busted down for it yet," Johnson said with a smirk. "Give him time, though. He'll be a private again soon."

"Fuck you with a stick, Johnson."

"That's enough, you two," Lt. Babanin interrupted. "We're initiating docking procedures. Make sure everyone's secure."

He glanced back at me from the cockpit, "Ship-head, you're going to be debriefed by the captain once we're aboard. We will need to know everything you know about the Omni-Union."

"Understood," I said, swallowing nervously. Even though they were friendly enough, these "humans" were damned intimidating.