Beyond the End of the World, Lokians 1

Chapter 5

One morning, at 07:00 hours, Presh station received new transmissions. The beings called themselves Thewls, and an English-Thewlish translation was underway. The unknown creatures revealed they, too, were of a double helix DNA, but their ATCG makeup was slightly different. They also had two arms, two legs, two eyes, and a strikingly similar genetic makeup. They were Carbon based and breathed Oxygen. Finally, they specified that the repeating signal they originally broadcasted was a distress signal. Their planet had been attacked ages ago.

That was big news. Not only had Eon made first contact with an unknown race, there was a second, unknown race out there also capable of space travel, and bearing destructive powers. The Presh scientists were told the other beings were radically different in their genetic makeup. They were also hostile. News traveled quickly, and Admiral Lay set up a briefing with Phoenix Crew. A top-secret mission was underway. Eon colony was not to be informed.

****

The AMS came on general broadcast, calling, "O'Hara, Day, Martinez, Swain, Imes, Becker, Nandesrikahl, Zakowski, DeReaux, Fitzpatrick. Admiral Lay is ready to receive you in conference room B."

After hearing the summons, the crew proceeded from the mess hall, or crew quarters, or from whatever post they occupied. One-by-one, they filtered into room B. Admiral Lay was sitting next to the lectern, his legs crossed. Once the crew lined up at attention, the admiral stood. The crew saluted, and he saluted back. The soldiers waited impatiently for briefing.

"Be seated," Lay started. "What I'm about to tell you will not leave this room." The admiral took a patented, long inhalation. "Over the past week, the Thewls have informed us of a great many things. Turns out their communication abilities surpass ours by a long shot. Other than exchanging pleasantries, we've been informed of a hostile race they call Lokians. We know that the Lokians destroyed the Thewlian home world. Now, they're telling us Human colonies might be next.

"Lokians are...efficient. It seems they travel through space and destroy advanced civilizations. Once a civilization masters space travel, the Lokians view them as a threat; the implications are mind boggling.

"Because Thewls believe we'll be targeted soon, they want to arrange a meeting in person," Admiral Lay said with a furrowed brow. A great deal of concern flooded his visage as he spoke. His commanding presence was his saving grace. "I'm this crew to meet with them. It's hard to believe, I know, but Thewls can travel much faster through space than we imagined. They're set to land on Eon some ten thousand miles southwest of the colony. This will eliminate any chance of the colonists discovering our meeting."

The captain stepped forwards, a frown on his face, and said, "I appreciate the involvement here, Admiral, but shouldn't you be meeting with them?"

A smile flickered across Lay's face. "It's imperative they meet the men and women who discovered their beacons. It's also imperative that I stay behind the scenes in order to play down suspicions among the colonists. As far as they're concerned, Phoenix Crew is simply scouting out a second location to colonize. You're to leave first thing tomorrow morning. They'll be arriving in less than twenty four hours."

Nandesrikahl stepped up, asking, "Sir, if I may?"

"Of course, I expect most of you have questions. I'll be happy to answer to the best of my ability," the admiral replied.

"Yes," Nandesrikahl began. "Can we be sure Thewls aren't misrepresenting themselves? I mean, 'ow do we know their story's accurate, truthful?"

"That's a good question," Lay breathed. "We've been exchanging quite a bit of intel, and their planetary history is part of the exchange as well as their military history. Their main ship isn't entering the Gemini system. They're only sending a small shuttle with a select crew and an ambassador.