Chapter 2

“That is the last of what we know of what happened with Commander Mitt’s mission. What you have all witnessed was what we could piece together from Beagle’s headset. The rest is a blur, and what we have witness of the intruder is only evidenced by the red light. As you can see from Beagle’s headset, the enemy’s ship is of a size unfathomable even to those of us who have advanced since the days we were bound to stay on Earth. I have called each one of you here, since this affects us all, not only in our business and shared interests, but that we each of us represent a sizeable portion of the Confederation and can take decisions rapidly. Make no mistake, this is an unprecedented event of the likes that could define our very sense of what it is to be human.”

With that President Zachary Wolf, inventor of the hyper wormhole transportation, and sole holder of all rights to it, took a seat in the Council, now controlled by the ruling dynasties. They were all here, the major ones at least, the ones whose very word was law on each of his own planets and a mere glance from them could elevate a person to high status or erase him to oblivion. All of them equals here, all controlling various parts of the intricate workings of the Confederation. They were more like feudal lords in their own right, with more power than any king could hope for, but they ruled justly and for centuries, peace had been the foremost concern, as poverty, aging, disease and other such appalling things had been eradicated and bringing new freedom to man. However economics was the one thing that bound all humans and these men as they were represented the brightest and the climax of what humanity had achieved. The Konark dynasty with its control of all shipping, Marlon with its terraforming capabilities, and the other dynasties Geriac, Wedenstra, Micsola, and Omicra made up this council.

“Well, its not one that I have built. That kind of scale would take centuries just to make plans for it. Its as large as a small moon. Makes the Deathstar from the old Earth movies a joke.” Mark Konark, the head of the Konark dynasty, was immediately  fascinated that such a thing could exist. He had been working on building larger ships to free man of planets and roam the stars, but this was beyond his wildest dreams. Already he could see himself retooling his factories to work out his plans. However, the loss of his ship troubled him that he lost some his best men working on them. The Interstellar Navy, technically which worked for the Confederation, was a direct extension of his empire, as he supplied all the ships.

“Gentlemen, I think we can say without a reasonable doubt that this ship, is not human, and is definitely alien. We have encountered alien species here in this Galaxy, but none of them sentient enough to raise a concern. This is something that we have not planned for, and have no contingency for that an alien species far more advanced than us, could be violent enough to wipe out an entire squadron, without attempting to raise any contact.”

“Zach, can you venture a guess on how this alien ship moves? To make a hyper wormhole jump, calculations take us normally hours before we execute it. We try to make sure to avoid ending up in a star, yet this apparently dormant ship powered up and left, before we could make any moves.”

“To answer your question Mark, I would have to say that this makes my theories a joke. I cannot answer your question in this lifetime or the next. I can take a look at that video all I want, but its not going to get us anywhere. Until that thing reveals itself to us, we have nothing to go upon. The only thing I can say looking at the quantum subspace fluctuation that took place before the ship powered up, is that the ship deals with the fabric of space-time itself. Its almost as if that the ship is part of the space itself. With that kind of powers, for all we know, it could be God or anything it chooses to be. Also remember the planets, they had to be made. No way that the planets be so round, or placed so vicariously with those double stars. We have to assume that this alien has planet building capabilities. Consequently, with the power to build, they also have the power to destroy.” With that, a chill could be felt within the room. It had been a while since these men had to deal with such a situation. Centuries of peace had convinced them that war was an anachronism, and that fighting for material was outdated. But an alien fighting them without any motive and with the power to destroy humanity or a significant part of it was frightening enough.

“Mr. President, should we start with weapons research again? Just to make sure we have something that we can counter with? I for one would feel a lot safer, knowing that some defense is possible against the indefensible. We may not be able to fully defend ourselves but at the very least force them to come to the negotiating table or preserve a part of humanity that could continue.” A babble of voices came to the fore as Zach watched the lively debate. Starting weapons research would end the centuries old ban to weapons for destruction, however he couldn’t see any way around it. No doubt that the Omicra dynasty would profit from this, but at this level, profit was no longer a motive.

“I call the vote, the Confederation starts weapons research with an intent to defend the human race from extinction.” As each raised their hands, the dice was thrown and Zach could think of a line he had read a child in a distant past. “The moving hand writes and having writ gestures.”

“Next item, how do we handle this with the rest of the planets? Surely we should tell them about it?” Wedenstra were known as the peacemakers, as they had successfully convinced the warring factions of Earth to give up their weapons to herald the beginning of the Pax Wedenstra as it was now known. They had been great statesmen, and would always probably remain so, thought Zach cynically.

“I propose that we do a limited statement release to the people explaining that the squadron was investigating an unknown phenomenon in those planets and that an accident caused the subsequent destruction. We need to hold for some time before making any rash statements. Obfuscate reality for now, to ensure a safe future. Outside this council, I don’t think anyone needs to know about this incident.” Small wonder that it came from the Omicra dynasty, as the others exchanged looks across the table. It would mean that they would have a larger say at this table, but it was the only course of action as they saw it.

“We shall keep in regular contact until the next such incident occurs and I hope that it is not within our lifetime that such an event comes to pass. However, at this point of time, we are the best equipped and the most able minded to handle such a crisis, and I intend to see that the Council is up to the mark.” Zach had been president for four hundred years, not only because of his hyper wormhole transport system but also for his ability to convince the rest of the Council of its usefulness towards mankind in general. No oligarchy in history ever had such power and none ever would. “I urge all of you to use your discretionary powers that are available to you in keeping this under wraps until we are ready. My own planet will provide any amount of resources that you will all need to survive this. With the survival of our race at stake, I pledge with all my life that we shall overcome this obstacle.”

Far away from that room, in the outer reaches of spaces, an unknown ship emerged as if just created, from a hostile situation it just encountered. For a million years it had hid, but never forgot what had forced it into hiding. Within the confines of this ship, it survived through the ages, ever adding to itself, ever growing in its consciousness as it reached out across the stars looking for any enemies. With the encounter of the small rafts it had fled the scene after destroying, fearful that finally they had caught up to it. It seemed so long ago, but just a blink of an eye for its life. Breaking off from the F’rmo’gyhs it had forged a life of its own. It knew that it was the climax of its civilization that had taken to the stars, building themselves into the very fabric of space, with its ability to create stars and planets, controlling galaxies to shape and bend to their will. The civil war that had started had lasted for millions of years, fought across galaxies and planets, till the very end when it watched the remnants of the splintered groups burn, it fled across the universe, to hide and fight another day. Shutting itself, and watching the universe go by had been the hardest thing to do, but it was the only thing left for it to do and go on survive. Sure that inactivation was the only mode of survival, it had gone on for eons waiting for a signal, waiting to be found. That the ones who found it were of a technological scale a full universe behind, hurt it more as to how degraded it had become. It was a being of a different kind, having a genetic code different from its own civilization. A mutation that fully developed and threatened to overtake its own species, yet through a combination of sheer numbers and luck, it was barely defeated and now taking refuge in this galaxy. The only thing it had left was patience, and the reticence to survive. It would wait, wait until those that made it run, found it again. It had come to rest at a star, a yellow star, with many planets. Four gas giants and several smaller rocks. Several signals seemed to be emanating from the third and fourth planets, but all seemed inconsequential. It would wait here, till the end of time perhaps, but wait it would, and watch the universe burn.