Terran Republic Ship 44906 was flying through contested space.

  Despite the recent truce, Command had decided to send Pioneers on a mission to a tightly scrutinized Frontier star system. This system was close to the border of both powers and moderately wealthy. It saw a decent amount of fighting throughout the war as both sides vied for every slight advantage. Now that everyone was at peace, both powers decided to look elsewhere in their salvaging operations. There were plenty of other options, and this particular place was something of a reverse scale for everyone. Touching it could mean further diplomatic trouble.

  However, someone in Republican High Command had gotten a tip about a valuable Aeterna facility within the system. Someone upstairs had decided that such a prize was worth the risk of their fragile peace. Captain John Campbell was having serious doubts about that as he stared at the ship’s central Holodisc, showing him a 3D map of the planet below. The 44906, or Lonely Ghost as the men called her, was one of the best stealth transports in the Galaxy. She was well and truly cloaked as she entered the planet’s atmosphere, and Campbell wasn’t worried about her being discovered. He was worried about the pods.

  Tiny red signatures appeared on the map as the men below flew up to join them. The pods were cloaked as well, of course, but they needed to communicate with his ship in order to connect with it. That left them vulnerable to discovery, as even backchannel and encoded frequencies could be detected and hacked. Anyone listening carefully would know they were there, making this the most vulnerable part of the operation.

  Beads of sweat sparkled on the captain’s head as he watched one red signature after the other fly up and reunite with his ship, time ticking by breathlessly. The other officers on the bridge occasionally glanced at him, and the captain projected strength and confidence as best as possible. As the final pod was meandering its way back to the ship, he let out a slow exhale. Time to go: “Fire up the Horizon Drive. Set us on a course for the FOB at Cora.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The Lonely Ghost quickly began rising and turning, angling toward their destination. Campbell glanced back at the 3D map one last time, more out of reflex than anything else. He glanced, and just as he did, half the map turned red: “Heat signature dete-“

  The officer didn’t even get time to finish that sentence before the entire ship suddenly jolted. Shield indicators and other red numbers flashed across their central display, more officers crying out: “Stern shields are down! We’ve been hit!”

  “Engines 1 and 3 are gone! We’re losing altitude!”

  Now it was a free-for-all, everyone reporting disaster. The bridge lurched sideways as the entire ship angled downward. The captain’s stomach sank even as he tried to somehow salvage this: “Activate all secondary thrusters! Controlled descent!”

  The ship shook and thrusters screamed as they fought against momentum with everything they had. Then the captain saw the map light up red again: “Evasive maneuvers!”

  Those were Captain Campbell’s last words.

  …

  Gru’Kothor watched as the human ship crashed into the ocean below, giving a slight click of its tongue in annoyance. It had hoped to annihilate them entirely with that second shot, but a final evasive maneuver had allowed the ship to remain partially intact. The ship crashed at a location far away, making a closer investigation inconvenient. It had also sunk into the water, making another clear shot impossible. The creature’s five eyes blinked as they assessed the situation.

  The Markon would be angry at It for dallying too long here. There was work to be done, and Its skills would be needed. The intelligence that had sent It on this mission was hazy anyway.

  It marked the ship’s final location, resolving to send one of its subordinates to clean up the mess later. Hazy or otherwise, it couldn’t abide even the tiny possibility that the humans would obtain Litradia.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Job complete, It opened a portal point and walked away.

  …

  Seth Norlow had had a baffling 2 months.

  He had called a Duceps meeting months earlier, but that wasn’t the baffling part. The Imperium’s governors were busy men and women, and aligning their schedules for a full conclave was not a simple task. He had requested a meeting in 1 month and expected it in 2, even at the time. So far as he was concerned, it just gave him more time to get his facts in a row and provide a thorough presentation. This was a serious problem, but probably not a time-sensitive emergency.

  And then, the problem vanished.

  Norlow initially received widespread reports of their expedition teams being attacked, only to have those reports begin to taper off very quickly as time went on. Now, there were very few returning Pioneers who indicated being attacked. Some Zeta class missions were still being run, but he didn’t expect them to alter the equation. His entire team had been scrambling to put together theories on who these mysterious attackers were, what their plans were, and how the Imperium should respond. Two months almost didn’t feel like enough time.

  The official Duceps chamber was a lavish room, decorated in the Imperial black and gold. Obsidian columns flanked a circular mahogany table, their capitals and bases inlaid with gold and precious gems. The light fixtures lining the walls and the chandelier above were also golden and bejeweled, but Norlow noticed that they gave off relatively little light. The room’s old-fashioned yet opulent nature was strange to the modern eye, but Norlow soon found himself focusing on the people sitting around the tables instead.

  The Duceps were the leaders of the Imperium’s 8 Great Clans. Centuries ago, when Emperor Akaadia had first rebelled against the Terran Republic, he had leaned on the support of 10 powerful companions. Their family names had been Fallanir, Toshak, Brekinar, Goraka, Sho’Tan, Korta, Laktar, Hecta, Kufal, and Co’Trak. These names were strange to the human ear due to the fact that the Republican elite had adopted Aeterna names as a matter of custom. These particular elites had resolved to throw off the chains of the central government and establish a new order under the charismatic leadership of Akaadia. They had proved so successful that their established Imperium’s power now dwarfed that of the Republic’s. The Republic now needed to form a coalition with some of its old vassals, who had also broken away, to keep from being absorbed by the Empire. This agreement was known as the Libera Coalition.

  This victory did not come without cost, however. During the war for independence, the entire households of Laktar and Hecta were wiped out. When the dust settled, the Emperor could only mourn his companions and move on. The remaining 8 Companions and their vassals were later more formally established as the 8 Great Clans who ruled over the 8 Sectors of the Empire. The heads of the Clans and governors of the Sectors were known as the Duceps. They possessed power second only to the Emperor in their sectors, and their decisions as a body also held great sway with the autocrat. In the days of Akaadia, the Imperial office had been unilateral and unquestionable. Now, the Emperor relied on the support of the Duceps for much of his legitimacy. While he technically held ultimate authority from a legal standpoint, the de facto situation was that this Council was a significant check on his power. If he opposed them, he did so at his peril.

  To Norlow’s shock, all the Duceps had come in person instead of choosing to call in via SmartGram. The six men and two women sat on the other side of the central table, watching Norlow and Brekinar probingly as they walked into the room. As the name suggested, the Commander of all Pioneers was a member of one of these Clans. He was a tall, heavyset man, with hands like warhammers and biceps the size of Norlow’s head. The bald, dark-skinned commander was mirrored by a similar-looking man sitting across from them. Chekta Brekinar, Duceps of Sector 3, could have been Commander Oran’s twin brother, but Norlow knew they were actually cousins. The only difference between them was the scars. Oran looked like he’d shaken hands with death more than once in life, while his cousin was smooth-skinned and suave. But Norlow knew that the differences between the Commander and the Duceps ran much deeper than the superficial.

  The chief showed no fear under the piercing gazes of his cousin and the others. Norlow tried to imitate him, which was harder than it looked under the watchful eyes of people who could kill him with the snap of their fingers. The Pioneer chief took a single seat on their end of the table, while Norlow elected to stand. Saluting, he began the presentation: “High citizens of the Empire, I come to you with an urgent report…”

  A single SmartGram, embedded in the center of the table, activated and began to show the higher-ups a few key pictures. Norlow described the creatures in terms of their combat ability and intelligence, indicating he viewed them as an organized Xenos power that could shake the balance of the Galaxy. He detailed Pioneer losses, the wave of the Xenos attacks, their sudden cessation, and argued that these were the result of complex tactics and coordination. After digging through the historical archives, Norlow had found proof that the Aeterna had mentioned the reality of organized and hostile Xenos before the Collapse. One name in particular stood out: “Our sources are limited, but we believe these creatures match the descriptions of the Kharnidd.”

  Finding that name had been a small triumph that the Deputy Commander was proud of. Many of the records of humanity’s brief time with the Aeterna had been destroyed by Galactic conflict. Figuring out that these things were the Kharnidd and gathering what little information they had on the Xenos had proven a complex task: “The Aeterna did battle with the Kharnidd in the past, and it nearly wiped both sides out. The Aeterna were still recovering when they first made contact with humanity, but never got the chance to fully regain their strength before the civil war and subsequent Collapse.

  As for the Kharnidd, they were even more devastated. Some Aeterna suspected they’d gone extinct. Though others feared their return.”

  He paused before saying, “And they were right to. If the Kharnidd threat is even a fraction as powerful as it was in the past, then they are a threat to humanity itself. They may have retreated for now, but our analysts suspect that they are gearing up for another, greater assault after this first test. I recommend putting the army on high alert and redoubling our efforts at recruitment and resource gathering. Further material support is also necessary. The Federation would be grateful for any support the Duceps could provide.”

  He saluted, turned off the presentation, then waited for a response. After a short pause, a cold voice rang out from across the table: “Why do you waste our time with bogeymen, Deputy Commander?”