THE ALIENS ARE COMING! THE ALIENS ARE COMING!

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 8:30am by Lieutenant Commander Mindo & Mujal Junyx
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 1:48pm

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: Unity Tower, Sylvaxe
Timeline: Current

A Mission Post by Mujal Junyx & Lieutenant Mindo
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: Unity Tower, Sylvaxe
Timeline: Current
Wed Nov 22nd, 2017 @ 2:26am

On Sylvaxe, the Mendazian people were going berserk...by their own standards. All day newscasts could be seen broadcasting on every street corner, traffic had quadrupled and the military was rumoured to be mobilising. The great defence shields protecting the twin cities had been activated, and every citizen had the same question on their lips: what is happening?

High above the city of Mentiras in his atmospheric flier, Mujal Junyx had the same question. For the tenth time since rushing into his vehicle in the university hangar, he reviewed the emergency newscast. Mujal was an old man, with long white hair, an equally long beard and severely wrinkled cronal lobes, but his bright blue eyes held the excitement of youth.

“Thus far no attempts to communicate have been made by the alien craft since it entered orbit,” the newscaster reported, her voice professionally crisp. Next to her was an image of a silver-grey object, with a saucer attached to another section witn two long blue protusions at the back. “Experts from the Ellin Academy have analysed the alien ship, and thus far they have agreed that it is far more advanced than anything encountered by Sylvaxe thus far. Many argue that it is a warship, pointing to its numerous weapon emplacements and faint detections of recently repaired battle damage.”

Mujal grunted impatiently, urging the newscaster to hurry up. He could see the government spire, which meant he had only minutes left to absorb the information before meeting the Elders.

“Analysis of the alien ship’s defensive preparations upon the approach of the Ravager fighters also suggests a high capacity energy shield, a sophisticated translight engine and extremely powerful sensors,” the newscaster continued. “While the High Lord General has expressed confidence in combating further Ravager fighters with the planetary defence nerwork, when asked about the probability of defeating the alien ship, she claimed it would be ‘difficult’. Meanwhile, elite soldiers of the Elder’s Own Fist continue to fly to the crash site of the Ravager fighter. No word yet on survivors. Regardless, there is broad agreement on one thing: whatever happens, Sylvaxe’s long history of isolation has finally ended.”

With a sigh, Mujal clicked off his monitor as his flier began to dock at the top of the spire. This was going to be a very interesting day.




By the time Mujal arrived at the Forum doors, he could already hear the loud chatter within. He sighed, dreading what he was about to dive into, and one of the nearby guards chuckled.

“Yeah, I don’t envy you professor,” she said with a grin, then hurriedly bowed as she realised the breach in etiquette. Mujal mused that the girl must be a part-timer, perhaps a plumber or a technician as her day job; few guards were required for the government spire on most days. “They’re expecting you, professor. Just go right in.”

He did, and immediately upon entering and seeing everyone standing in the room, the old professor bent into a deep bow despite the creaking of his back. The Elders, High Lord General and Chief Mugwump of the Senate all bowed back, though with varying degrees of respect. Mujal didn’t take it personally, though. It was, after all, hard to judge proper respect for a mere university professor, especially from such exalted individuals.

“Professor, thank you for coming,” one of the Elders said warmly. He was even older than Mujal, leaning heavily on an elegant crystal cane. “We have been waiting for you before we could properly begin. Belaia and Rapal have returned to us.”

Mujal stared for a moment, amazed, before smiling in heartfelt relief. “That is most excellent news! I had assumed the worst when we received the distress signal, but it does warm me to hear this.” He paused, making some mental calculations. “How, exactly, did they return?”

The High Lord General stepped forward, a young and fierce woman. “We don’t know, professor. They simply turned up at the Spire street entrance half an hour ago, but we have not seen their shuttle land on the surface, nor indeed have any spaceships landed besides the Ravager attack ship that crashed. Hopefully Rapal and Belaia can explain.” She tapped a bade on her breast smartly. “Let them in, please.”

At once the doors opposite the ones Mujal had entered burst open and a guard ushered Rapal and Belaia Nyznix into the room.

They both appeared clean, and Mujal suspected they had been given time to make themselves look nice. Their clothes were nicely pressed and looked much nicer than one would think after being stranded in a life pod, which was the most he had heard of the incident.

The two bowed to the group, who returned the gesture, and took their seats at the table, ready for their interrogation.

While everyone took their seats at the round table with Belaia and Rapal, the High Lord General remained standing, moving herself behind the two guests. Mujal met the General’s eyes and smiled patiently, knowing precisely what the General was communicating by her position. Rapal and Belaia may not be members of the military but they had left Sylvaxe on her authority, and thus they were her responsibility.

“Well,” Mujal began gently, his blue eyes twinkling. “Since Belaia was my student only a few years ago and Rapal is a dear friend, I hope you will all forgive me if I begin. Belaia, Rapal, you departed our world eight months ago on a mission to the Talarian Empire, to trade and learn from our cousins. We know that your ship was ambushed in the Killing Fields outside our star system while returning home, but little else. We would all very much like to hear your account of how you managed to come back to us...and, apparently, without a vehicle.”

"Our ship was destroyed," said Rapal. "My daughter and I barely made it out alive. Our pod was not properly programmed to navigate the Fields, so it was difficult to pilot. Eventually we drifted into a nebula and were attacked again by the Ravagers. Our small engine was failing and we were drifting. Then there was a tingling sensation which I could only think was the feeling of death. But when I opened my eyes, my daughter and I found we were now aboard another ship, slightly bigger, with more sophisticated and foreign equipment. It took a few moments to realize that, somehow, we were rescued by strangers."

A total silence followed Rapal’s words. Everyone listened with rapt attention, determined not to miss a single detail. Even the Chief Mugwump, a notoriously outspoken and aggressive woman, sat still with the uncanny look of an attentive student in a lecture.

“Teleportation,” Mujal murmured, his hands steepled together thoughtfully. He then bowed his head slightly, smiling. “My apologies, Rapal. Please continue.”

"They called themselves the United Federation. The ship we were on took us to a mother ship. This ship, called Pandora, was enormous! Bigger than any other spacecraft I could even imagine! And inside it were many different kinds of people, all from different worlds!"

“A multi-species civilisation?” the Chief Mugwump interrupted in disbelief, unable to resist any longer. “There have been rumours...but such a society should be impossible. The social friction alone...” she paused, realising that most of the people around the table were glaring at her, then bowed her own head deeply in apology. “This ship, this Pandora, is extremely well armed. They have made no attempt to communicate since entering our system. Rapal, answer me clearly: are they hostile?”

Rapal was not quick to answer. It was apparent there were many thoughts going on at once in his mind. What he said next was surely carefully thought out.

"I do not believe they are hostile," he said. "They are very interested in us, but I don't feel they wish to threaten us."

"We were treated very kindly," Belaia spoke up. "They're very curious, but I believe they mean well. Some of them were... very kind." Belaia smiled a little while saying this.

"Some were kind, yes," said Rapal. "Their Chief Engineer was rather... charming."

Belaia sat forward again. "We did not get a good look at how their ship runs so well, but they seemed willing to communicate with us further."

Rapal put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Yes, Belaia, that is what they said. But while our social interactions were quite peaceful, I cannot overlook the fact that their ship may be responsible for bringing the Ravager threat to our door. If they have truly found a way past the Fields, this could mean more danger to us. And we are already too much in their debt. While I believe the Pandora may be capable of taking on the Ravagers, it is asking too much of them to protect us. We owe them. They do not owe us anything."

A young council member named Trogatha spoke up. "You mean you owe them," he said.

Rapal swallowed. "Yes. I suppose you are right."

“So you are not entirely without bias, my friend,” Mujal said gently. The High Lord General shot a warning glare at him, but the old professor merely smiled enigmatically. “Regardless of their intent, these Federation people have put us in peril. No Ravager vessel ever pierced the Killing Fields before today, but now we must deal with our new reality. Sylvaxe is no longer alone, nor safe. General Enin-Lao, what of the Ravager ship that crashed? Have our troops arrived yet?”

The High Lord General raised her wrist and glanced at a tiny display embedded in her gauntlet. “Not yet, professor. The storm is disrupting our aircraft, but our troops should be landing momentarily.” She jerked suddenly. “But if the aliens have teleportation technology...”

“...Then these Federation people may already be on our world,” the Chief Mugwump said in horror, “and we would have no way to detect it. They could subvert our entire defence grid without ever firing a shot! We only have a handful of spaceships, none of them armed...”

“Yes,” Mujal interrupted sharply, silencing her. It was a risk, he knew, to speak so rudely to someone with such political clout. Mujal’s presence at the meeting was out of respect, not obligation. “Our only option, it seems, is peaceful discourse, which I like to think we would have chosen anyway.”

“We will need to assemble a diplomatic contingent,” another Elder said stiffly. “The preparation for such will take at least a day before any communication can be established. There are protocols to be followed, laws to be obeyed.”

Mujal nodded sagely at the Elder. “Yes, yes, quite right. I will, if you will all permit it, join the team to represent our academic community. Belaia, Rapal, I understand that you have been through a terrible ordeal, and you have been away from your home for so long...but if you would consent to join the team, given your experiences...”

"Thank you, but I think we really need to..."

"I would love to," said Belaia, interrupting her father. She turned to Rapal and took his hand. "You get some rest. I'll go with the team."

Rapal put on a proud smile and said, "Very well."

The High Lord General smiled faintly as well, before a sharp beep from her gauntlet caught her attention. “We have detected weapons fire at the Raider crash site, but our aircraft cannot see who is shooting whom in the darkness. They may be these other aliens.”

Another solemn silence followed, the implications of the General’s words hitting home. As one, every single Mendazian in the room shivered, all feeling that same spine-tingling sensation of discomfort. Armed aliens were on the surface of their world...and for the first time in recorded history, as Mujal had noted, Sylvaxe was no longer alone.

And that was terrifying.