They Answered The Call

Pleiades Cluster, 2175 A.D.

442.2 light years from Earth

Automated Border Outpost 1D-25

Ray Buncomme barely resisted the urge to punch the smug exosuit in front of him as he continued to listen to the occupant of the biomechanical construct lecture him like he was a barely sapient child.

He regained his composure and concentrated on maintaining the bland smile on his face, his thoughts consumed with worry of the potential failure of the discussion he was engaged in. He was the official representative of the Republic to the Ma’lit Domain, and he had spent many years carefully cultivating this relationship.

Despite the intransigent nature of the many Ma’lit representatives he had dealt with over the years, he had slowly earned their grudging respect and managed to get them to engage with him in matters that they typically refused to consider with the younger species.

He was responsible for the technological transfers they finally agreed to after annoying the crap out of them about it for over a year, and he was rightfully proud of getting them to the point that they gave him what he wanted just to shut him up.

He did not have the luxury of time to do the same thing here. The Commonwealth Liberation Fleet was mere hours away from launching their assault on the Ominian system, and he needed to get them to act fast. Fat chance, he thought to himself as he waited for the long-winded lecture to finally be over.

The Ma’lit did not do anything in haste. They pondered, they ruminated, and they took forever to reach consensus and finally decide on an issue, even for simple things like changing a delivery date for trading ships coming to one of their automated border posts. It was maddening to deal with their lack of concern for doing things in a timely manner.

I suppose that is a natural thing when you live for hundreds of years and view things in the scope of centuries and millennia. I can see why they view us as mere children squabbling over nonsense compared to their 500,000-year-old interstellar civilization, he thought to himself as he readied himself for his rebuttal to their denial of his request to intervene.

The exosuit speakers finally stopped speaking, and he started slowly counting to ten in his head to make sure the Ma’lit was finally done. Speaking out of turn or interrupting them was a grave insult to the Ma’lit and would immediately end the session.

He learned that lesson the hard way when he first made that mistake, and they punished him by refusing any overtures from him for eight months. It was only when he informed them that he was being replaced by another representative that they resumed speaking with him, informing him that they would rather not go through the trouble of “properly training” his replacement.

When he had counted to ten and was sure that it was in fact his turn to speak, he addressed the Ma’lit exosuit in front of him. “Honored Elder, I hear your words and know the wisdom contained within them. I thank you for enlightening me, and I wish to ask that you please consider my thoughts.”

He paused, silently counting to three, before continuing to speak. They preferred short, concise bursts of speech, and it took a while for him to change his speaking style and cadence to accommodate them.

“Article 3, Subsection 1A clearly outlines the repercussions for deploying fusion weapons with the intent of using them against other species. The Ominians are in violation.”

The Ma’lit responded after the appropriate length of time to be sure that the human had finished speaking.

“This is an internal matter, not subject to sanctions by the Ma’lit Domain.”

After the appropriate interval, Ray responded, growing impatient.

“It matters not if this is an internal issue. When the Insectoids invaded the Commonwealth, they did not resort to using them in self-defense. Though they were entirely within their rights to do so, they did not use them, believing that it would be in violation of the Treaty of Sirius.”

The Ma’lit responded almost immediately, surprising him with such a rapid response.

“Your statement has no bearing. This is an internal matter and not subject to sanctions by the Ma’lit Domain.”

Still flustered by the rapid response of the Ma’lit, Ray waited for the appropriate duration and pressed his point.

“Yes, it does. Believing that violating the treaty would trigger sanctions from the Ma’lit Domain led to the Commonwealth not deploying them against the swarms, and almost seven hundred billion souls were eradicated by the Insectoids as a result. Now, the Commonwealth has descended into a civil war because of the treaty. You are responsible.”

After twice the usual interval of time had passed, the Ma’it responded, its synthesized voice replaced by its real, unfiltered voice. Ray winced as the shrill, rapid sounds pierced his ears, causing immense pain as he doubled over. The Ma’lit finally stopped screeching, and his translator put words to the terrible sounds.

“How dare you accuse us? We are not responsible for the actions of children such as you. We made the treaty to protect you from your own self-destructive tendencies, and you insult us by claiming that we are at fault. This is why we have chosen to isolate ourselves from immature and incompetent species such as yours.”

Ray straightened himself back up, his hands trembling from the rage he was feeling as he stared at the black lens of the recording sensors that transmitted the outside world to the Ma’lit within.

“When the Insectoids invaded multiple times, you did nothing. When they swarmed and murdered over one hundred billion souls during the first wave, you did nothing. And when they came for the Eleani, you were not there; we were. When they wiped out the V’rni, you were not there.”

He started to pause to give the Ma’lit a chance to respond before changing his mind. Screw this; I am tired of their arrogant bullshit, he thought as he continued speaking.

“And when they went to the Jaleeni system to exterminate them, they did not find you there. They found us, and our entire fleet sacrificed itself to save them because it was the right thing to do. For all your vaunted power and wisdom and the exalted status you have conferred upon yourselves over us younger species, your failure to act has shown us that you are not worthy of the honor and respect that you demand.”

Ray spun around and started walking quickly towards the exit, which was ten meters away. He was no longer kissing their asses, and he did not care anymore. He got to within three meters of the open exit when the recessed door silently slid shut. He turned around and glared at the Ma’lit, raising his voice so that he could be heard over the distance between them.

“You will open this door. Need I remind you that I am an accredited diplomatic official of the Republic of Humanity and that detaining me against my will is a hostile act?”

The Ma’lit did not respond right away, and after a few moments, it started walking towards him. The exosuit legs whirred as the Ma’lit came closer to him, the wide bases of the suit legs clanging as they lifted and fell onto the hard granite floor.

Ray forced himself to remain still, maintaining a proud bearing that belied the uncertainty he felt as the 2.5-meter-tall exosuit continued towards him. The Ma’lit stopped one meter from his position, looming over him as the lenses of its sensors focused on him. It started speaking again with its own voice, though it mercifully lowered the speaker volume this time around to avoid hurting his auditory organs again.

He listened as the Ma’lit continued to stridently vocalize, and he grasped his translator and held down the side button to stop it from immediately translating until the Ma’lit finished speaking. It finally stopped speaking, and he waited for the customary ten seconds to pass before he double-tapped the button on the translator to let it perform its function.

“We were great explorers when your kind had yet to learn how to speak. We were among the first ones, one of the great species that claimed dominion over this area of space. We observed the barely sentient ancestors of your species and others for millennia, like the deities of the skies they worshipped.

We have seen species rise and fall. We have seen empires grow and decay. We have seen great wars and pestilence lay waste to the stars and all those who inhabited them. We watched as our allies and friends died by the deca trillion, powerless to save or help them. Nature had selected them for extinction, and who were we to try to deny the natural order of things?”

The translator stopped momentarily, mimicking the pauses of the Ma’lit when it spoke before.

“The Insectoids are such a force, implacable like the nature that created them. There is no appeasement, no common ground. They will continue inexorably, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. You might as well ask the planets to stop rotating or the stars themselves to refrain from undergoing nuclear fusion.”

There was another pause, and the translator resumed its dictation.

“They are a part of the natural order of things. We do not interfere, and because we know our place, we remain, and we will continue to remain long after all the great works you wrought have returned to the very dust from whence they sprang.”

Ray had been listening silently, feeling the pain and sorrow of the Ma’lits words, even though the translator was not capable of conveying the emotion behind them. He did not respond, and he turned his gaze to the floor, utterly defeated. He had failed to secure their intervention, and now their allies are going to invade a system armed to the teeth with salted fusion weapons.

The Ma’lit started speaking again, and he barely paid attention as he continued to stare at the glossy black triangular tiles on the floor. After another burst of speech, the Ma’lit finished speaking, and he double-tapped the button to listen to what would surely be another lecture.

“My human child, think not that we are so callous as to not care for what happens to you and the others. We seeded the stars with null drives for you to find so that we would not have to be alone anymore, and we waited patiently for over a hundred thousand years for our children to join us.

Every time one of the young ones left their solar systems, we rejoiced and watched with pride as they took their first foray into the unknown. We felt the greatest joy when your species finally made it through the great filter and clawed its way back from extinction. Your contrasts are unique and continue to confound us to this day.”

Another pause, and Ray was now looking at the sensors of the exosuit, surprised at what was being said by the Ma’lit in front of him.

“You are capable of equal measures of love, hate, beauty, ugliness, creation, and destruction. You have chosen to emphasize the better aspects of your duality, and we are proud of what you have become.

When you fought and died for the Eleani, our pride was immeasurable. When you did it again to save the Jaleeni, it was then that we truly knew that one day you might take your rightful place next to us as enlightened ones if you could only survive the coming trails that await your species.”

There was another, longer pause before the translator resumed.

“This is why we gave you technology to help you when we refused to do so for the others. This is as far as we are willing to go, and in this matter, we decline to interfere. This is the order of things, and we fervently hope that your species has been selected for survival. Fare well, human.”

The translator beeped, indicating that it was finished. Ray stood silently as the Ma’lit waited until what it had to say was communicated by the device, and then it turned away from him, heading back towards the center of the chamber. Ray turned around and saw that the exit he had headed for before was now open.

He walked towards it and had just passed the threshold when he realized that the Ma’lit was wrong about one thing. The Insectoids were not a force of nature; the proof was that the Hive mother was allied with the Republic. He spun back around and reentered the chamber, walking fast as his excitement grew, having found a flaw in their logic.

“Honored Elder!” He called out, rapidly closing the distance between them until he was once again two meters from the exosuit. This was a serious breach of decorum, and he did not care one bit. He had something to show the Ma’lit, and he was damn well going to prove them wrong and force them to act.

The Ma’lit started shrieking again, and this time he could clearly discern the emotion behind it as the shrill vocalizations penetrated his ears. It caused a weird sensation, making him feel a little faint as his head felt like it was getting both smaller and larger at the same time.

It was pissed at him, and he did not need the translator to pick up on that. He reached up and pressed the side button three times in rapid succession, turning it off.

He then activated his wristpad, quickly scrolling through its files until he found what he was looking for as the Ma’lit continued to stridently vocalize while pointing towards the exit. He ignored it and took off the wristpad, placing it on the floor in between them and activating the holo system.

The program activated, and a 3-D representation of the first contact between the rebel queen and the Republic shimmered into view. The AI Bandit and the rebel queen were signing to each other in Eleani sign language, and President Lopez could be seen clearly communicating with the two of them.

The Ma’lit stopped shrieking, and he saw the lenses of the suit sensors look away from him and towards the hologram, focusing on it. It continued to watch the hologram as it played the entire conversation, and when the program finished, he bent down and quickly activated another file.

This one was a compilation of holo videos showing humans and their androids helping the rebel queen build her Hive on the Republic world and worker drones helping Republic scientists dismantle the Hive ship and cruiser for study.

The Ma’lit was silent while the entire twenty-minute video played, and when the program was finished, it turned towards him and spoke to him in the synthesized voice it normally uses. This time, its words were in Republic standard.

“Human, this is a fabrication. I pity you for thinking that you can fool us with such nonsense. I fear that your mind has drifted from reality if you think we will believe that a queen has joined forces with another species. Such things are not possible.”

Ray bent back down and picked up the wristpad before standing back up and offering it to the Ma’lit. “Take this and analyze it. You will find other files that show the same truth, and if you still don’t believe me, then send a ship to that world and see for yourself that there is a Hive in Republic space.”

The Ma’lit did not move at first, and his arm started to tremble slightly from extending the wristpad. Finally, the Ma’lit suit reached out a three-fingered hand and took the device from him before speaking again.

“You will wait here while we verify the contents. Refreshments will be brought for you, and we will provide waste processing facilities for your use.” An enclosed conical structure silently appeared from the floor five meters away, while another door opened on the opposite side of the chamber.

A vaguely humanoid android appeared, holding a tray that had a liter-sized glass with a clear liquid and what looked like food. It walked towards them, stopping ten meters away from his position as another structure slid out of the tiled floor and morphed into a table and chair that were perfectly sized to human proportions.

The Ma’lit turned and walked out of the chamber, its suit legs whirring softly. Ray walked over to the conical structure and peered inside of it, seeing that it had a toilet and a sink. He relieved his bladder, and after figuring out how to activate the sink water, he washed his hands and left the commode.

He went over to the table to inspect the food that was placed there, seeing that it was formed of what looked like gelatinous cubes. He gingerly tasted one, finding that it was bland. He swallowed that cube and two more, chasing them down with the water that was provided, and he sat down on the chair.

He was surprised as the solid-looking material molded itself to him as he moved in it. It was quite comfortable, and he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down after the emotionally charged discussion he had had with the Ma’lit.

He was startled awake an indeterminate amount of time later by the presence of the Ma’lit exosuit, and he looked around, confused. He had fallen asleep, and his subconscious must have made him aware of the large figure in front of him.

He had a disturbing dream of being on a ship surrounded by people, and they were begging him to help them as their skin sloughed off in large sheets. He kept trying to put their skin back on while they were screaming in pain and staring at him with bloody, empty eye sockets, their eyeballs having already melted from the salted fusion missiles.

The Ma’lit reached out a three-fingered suit hand, offering him his wristpad back. He took it, looking at the time displayed on the screen, his eyes quinting at the elapsed time. Eight Hours? I slept for eight hours. How? His thoughts grew in confusion, and then he started panicking, pushing himself out of the chair and stumbling a little bit as the grogginess persisted.

“Did you drug me? He asked the Ma’lit, anger coursing through him at the thought of them violating him like that. He looked at his wristpad again, and as his mind cleared up from the effects of whatever they gave him, he realized that the assault on the Ominian system had already begun over four hours ago.

The Ma’lit answered him, its synthesized voice still speaking in Republic standard.

“You fell asleep naturally. After verifying the contents of the data device, we flooded the chamber with gas to perpetuate your normal sleep cycle while we decided on what to do.”

Ray looked around, his confusion mounting. He was about to start speaking again when the Ma’lit raised a suit hand, and he clamped his mouth shut, grinding his teeth in frustration.

“A scout ship was sent to the Hive world in Republic space to verify the truth of the matter. We detected the Hive and the presence of humans inside of it. This changes the parameters that we have held ourselves to regarding the Insectoids, and we no longer consider them to be a force of nature incapable of reasoning.”

The Ma’lit paused, putting down the suit hand it had been holding up before continuing.

“Therefore, we reached a consensus among ourselves that to remain neutral in the matter of the civil war and the use of the outlawed fusion missiles would be a dereliction of our duties and responsibilities under the Treaty of Sirius.

We injected you with a protective agent to mitigate the effects of our advanced null drives during our journey here; that agent is why you are suffering lingering effects.”

The Ma’it paused again, and a large holo screen shimmered into existence along one of the walls of the chamber. It took Ray a few moments to figure out what was being shown to him, and he gasped as understanding finally dawned on him.

The Ma’lit had moved the border outpost he was on over a thousand light years to the Ominian system in just a few hours, a feat almost beyond his comprehension. He had no idea that the massive ringed structure, over five kilometers in radius, was even capable of navigating null space.

He was stunned at the display of such raw technological power, and he could barely fathom the energy requirements to do such a thing. He was also shocked by the rapidity of their actions, as they had never made decisions or reached a consensus with the celerity they had just displayed.

As he continued to look at the holo screen, he could see the wreckage of hundreds of Commonwealth ships scattered throughout the system, as well as the remains of multiple defensive forts. A massive battle was fought all over the system, and the holo screen zoomed in on an area of space along the boundary between the inner and outer systems.

There were over a dozen drifting Commonwealth ships, still intact with signs of scorching on their hulls, but no obvious critical damage such as breaches or weapon impacts. Ma’lit script appeared along the bottom of the holo screen, and as his ocular implant deciphered it, dread mounted inside of him as the scans confirmed that they had been hit with salted fusion missiles.

We were too late. He thought to himself as he tore his eyes away from the holo screen, his heart heavy with grief. They must pay for this, and he turned back to face the Ma’lit, his grief being replaced with an overwhelming desire for vengeance against the cowardly Ominians.

“Honored Elder, they have used the outlawed weapons, and they must pay for their actions.” He ground out between his clenched teeth, not caring that he was snarling at the Ma’lit as he spoke. The Ma’lit focused its sensor lenses on him, and he could see the inner mechanisms rotating as they roamed over his face.

“Human, it is not your place to punish them. The Ma’lit will sanction the offenders, and you will abide by the judgment we render, as will your government. The rest of the Commonwealth fleet is in null space, and we will order them to exit and see the penalty we will impose.”

Relief flooded through Ray when he heard that there were survivors of the failed assault, and he closed his eyes, whispering a grateful prayer. He opened them again and addressed the Ma’lit, his voice trembling with emotion.

“Honored Elder, I am grateful that you have chosen to intercede, and the Republic will never forget this. We have a long memory, and we will be forever indebted to you.”

The Ma’lit responded after a long moment. “It is our duty. Perhaps we have forgotten that in our desire to limit our interaction with the younger species. Thank you for reminding us that we are still needed, my human child. You will speak to the Commonwealth fleet on our behalf and order them to exit and assemble their fleet 900,000,000 kilometers from the primary and one of your astronomical units above the plane of the ecliptic.”

The Ma’lit turned towards the holo screen, and Ray followed suit, quickly fixing his sash and smoothing his hair back. I wish the commode had a mirror, he thought to himself. He must have looked quite a sight after all he had been through. A few seconds later, the holo screen changed, and he saw a male Nekuli appear on an obviously damaged Commonwealth bridge.

Commodore Therax had a carefully guarded expression, though Ray could see the surprise in his eyes as it roamed over them. He probably was not expecting to be speaking with a Ma’lit, especially in the Ominian system. The commodore bowed his head and looked at the Ma’lit exosuit, addressing it first.

“Honored Elder, may the ancestors bless you. I am Commodore Therax, and I am honored that you have deigned to speak to me. How may I be of service?” The commodore’s eyes quickly flicked over to look at him again before returning to the Ma’lit.

The Ma’it responded, his synthesized voice speaking in the Nekuli language as it replied. His translator activated immediately, having detected another language, and he listened intently as it translated the Ma’lit response to Commodore Therax.

“You will speak with the human representative; it speaks for me. Consider all commands from it to be our own. I must depart and prepare the sanctions.” The Ma’lit exosuit abruptly turned and started walking towards the exit, and Ray saw the chagrined expression on Commodore Therax’s face as the Nekuli turned his eyes to look at him, upset by the dismissive attitude of the Ma’lit.

Ray understood how he was feeling, considering their ancestor worship. They had an extreme reverence for the Ma’lit, and to be dismissed by one so curtly was most certainly hurtful to the commodore. Ray bowed his head in the proper gesture of respect and spoke quickly to try to mitigate some of the offense Therax must be feeling.

“Commodore Therax, I am honored to meet you. I am Ray Buncomme, and I ask that you not be upset by the unintended curtness of the Ma’lit elder; it is deeply disturbed by the actions of the Ominians and the losses suffered by your crews.”

Commodore Therax’s expression softened after hearing his words, and he appeared to be somewhat mollified by the explanation. He returned the head bow to Ray before responding.

“I am honored to know you, Ambassador Buncomme. May I ask what is going on here? We are about to launch a planetary bombardment on Ominia; they must be punished for daring to use those evil weapons.”

Ray nodded and held up both hands in a placating gesture as he responded.

“Commodore, I share in your desire for vengeance, and if it were up to me, I would do the same. It is not up to you or me anymore; the Ma’lit have decided to intervene and require our obedience in this matter. You are to assemble your fleet in an orderly formation and exit null space 900,000,000 kilometers from the star and one AU above the plane of the ecliptic.”

Commodore Therax regarded him with suspicion, narrowing his eyes as he responded.

“They have hundreds of those abominations throughout the system running cold, just waiting for my fleet to flash out of null space and irradiate them. I refuse to make such an unsound tactical error, and if you were here, you would refuse to do so as well after watching your crews get hit by them.”

Ray smirked, realizing from the Commodore’s words that the Ma’lit somehow were able to hide the massive border outpost despite being in between the orbits of the third and fourth planets. The Ma’lit technology was incredible, and he relished the thought that this meant that the Ominians also had no idea they were there either.

“Commodore Therax, I am in this very system, 85,000,000 kilometers from the sun, on board a Ma’lit automated border outpost. You will comply with the orders of the Ma’lit, or we will leave. Your choice.”

Therax looked away from the screen, obviously listening to someone on the bridge confirm that they could not detect the presence of the station. He turned his gaze back and took a deep breath before responding. “I am trusting you with the lives of thousands of my warriors. Do you swear upon your honor that no harm will come to them?

Ray nodded. “I swear upon my honor, Commodore. No harm will come to your ships. Please comply.”

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Commodore Therax flicked his head before ordering his crew to close the channel. The holo screen went back to the view of the solar system, and Ray waited patiently for the Commonwealth fleet to flash out of null space. Two solar minutes later, the scanners picked up exit flashes far out in the system and zoomed in, showing the fleet emerging in neat, orderly formations.

Ray sucked in a breath between his teeth as he saw the scanning results displaying the number of ships. There were only 728 ships remaining out of the over 1100 strong fleet that invaded the system.

The Ma’lit scanners also showed the positions of hundreds of fusion missiles loitering throughout the system, easily able to detect them even though they had powered down to avoid emissions detection as they cold-coasted, waiting to strike.

In the inner system, there were thousands of small ships with no life signs, and their cores were obviously overpowered for such small vessels. Those must be the suicide boats, he thought to himself as he continued to take in the scanning information that populated the holo screen.

The Ma’lit sensors had scanned Therax’s ships when they flashed out and discerned that the Commonwealth ships had hundreds of missiles with antimatter warheads, definitely not standard munitions. They must have reconfigured them while hiding in null space.

Conflicting emotions raged inside of him as he realized just how close the Commonwealth fleet had come to committing genocide. On a personal level, a part of him wished that they had not come to the system and stopped Therax; the Ominians deserved to die for what they did.

On a logical level, he was grateful that they did stop Therax in time. The government of the Republic would have most likely reacted with horror. They would have certainly cut off all ties with the rebel fleet and any government that would have been formed after winning the civil war.

He heard a Ma’lit exosuit entering the chamber and turned around, waiting silently for the Ma’lit to reach him. It took position next to him, and they both resumed looking at the holoscreen while it spoke.

“Sanction has been decided based upon the severity of the Ominian violation of the Treaty of Sirius. They have shown that they are capable of evil, and they will pay the price for such abhorrent behavior. They are no longer worthy of being a space-faring society, and they will now suffer the indignity of being a planet-bound species for ten generations. This is our judgment.”

Ray continued looking at the screen without replying or acknowledging the statement. He thought it was too lenient, but he had agreed to abide by the judgment of the Ma’lit, and as the representative of the Republic, his government was now bound to the judgment, as was the Commonwealth Liberation Fleet. The Ma'lit spoke again.

“It now begins."