Invaders With Immortality
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The first thing I did was try and find out who the invaders were. The only people who knew anything about them had been killed in the battle, so there was no one left alive with any information. But I found a few things that might be useful.
I went into my office and pulled up the file on the invasion of Earth. It was quite detailed, but it didn’t say much except for what happened at the end. They’d taken over most of Europe and North America, and then they started expanding outward from their base. By the time we got involved, they were well established all over the world. There wasn’t much more detail than that.
It looked like they were trying to expand by taking over the planet’s major cities. That made sense; if you wanted to take over an entire planet, you needed a lot of resources. You also needed a lot of soldiers to defend your territory. And since they were immortal, they could just keep fighting until they won.
But I wondered why they hadn’t taken over the whole planet already. After all, they had been here for thousands of years. Surely they should have conquered everything by now.
Then again, maybe they couldn’t do it because they were too powerful. Maybe they needed some kind of outside help. Or maybe they were waiting for us to come along and give them a hand.
There were a couple of other files in the folder. One was about the war between the aliens and the human race. The other was about the history of the aliens themselves.
The alien war lasted almost two thousand years, which is pretty long even for our species. We’ve fought wars that last less time than that. The first war took place after the aliens landed on Earth, and the humans managed to defeat them. Then the aliens came back later when humanity was stronger. This time the humans defeated them as well.
That part sounded familiar. I remembered reading something similar in one of the books I’d read before coming to this world. It was a book called The War Between Us, by William R. Forstchen. In it, the aliens came down and attacked the US. At first, we were able to hold them off, but eventually, they overwhelmed us.
I wondered how much of that story was true and how much of it was fiction. If it really was based on real events, then I hoped we weren’t going to repeat those mistakes.
The alien history was interesting, though. Apparently, the aliens had originally come from another star system. When they arrived on Earth, they discovered that it had already been colonized by primitive humans. These humans were very weak compared to the aliens, so they decided to wipe them out. Unfortunately, they underestimated the strength of the humans, and they ended up losing the war.
Afterward, the aliens retreated to their own planet. They spent centuries rebuilding their technology and preparing for the next assault. Eventually, they returned to Earth, where they met the same fate.
They were apparently unable to conquer Earth without help, so they started looking for allies among the stars. They sent out scouting missions to see if anyone else would be willing to join forces against humanity. None of the planets they contacted were interested, though. So they tried to convince the humans to join them instead.
Eventually, they succeeded. A group of humans traveled to the aliens’ home planet and joined them. From there, the aliens expanded outward from their base.
That reminded me of the story of the Trojan Horse. The Greeks used it to sneak into Troy and capture the city. The aliens must have figured out the same trick, although they probably didn’t call it that.
Anyway, the humans were still under the control of the aliens at that point. They helped them conquer the rest of the galaxy, and then they became part of the ruling council.
So far, the story seemed to match up with reality. But I still wondered whether or not the aliens had actually conquered the whole universe.
I opened up a new window and searched for information about the Milky Way. There were lots of articles, but most of them were about the solar system. Most of the articles talked about the asteroid belt, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. There was nothing about the Milky Way itself.
I kept searching, but I couldn’t find anything else. There were a few other galaxies in the universe, but none of them were anywhere near Earth.
I closed the search window and went back to my desk. I sat down and stared at the screen for a while. I thought about what I’d seen during the battle, and I realized that the aliens had been trying to take over the whole planet.
Why? Why did they want to conquer Earth? Did they plan to use it as a staging ground for their invasion of the rest of the galaxy?
Maybe. But why bother conquering the entire planet? It wasn’t like the humans would have been any more useful to them once they’d taken over the planet. All they’d done was build some cities and train a bunch of soldiers.
If the aliens really wanted to conquer the galaxy, they should have just left us alone. We wouldn’t have been much competition for them anyway. We were a small country, and we only had a handful of warships.
It was possible that the aliens didn’t know about the human race’s technological capabilities. That might explain why they’d gone through such an elaborate scheme to try to conquer Earth.
Or maybe they knew about them, but they still chose to attack us. Maybe they saw us as a threat, or maybe they just wanted revenge.
I shook my head. No matter what the reason was, it didn’t make sense. The aliens could have easily destroyed us if they’d wanted to. And they certainly didn’t need our help in order to conquer the rest of the galaxy.
I sighed. I guess I’ll never know the answer.
***
“Captain,” said Commander Adams, “we’re receiving a transmission from the alien ship.”
“Put it on the main display, please,” I replied.
A hologram appeared above the table in front of me. It showed the inside of the alien vessel. The aliens were standing around, looking confused.
“What do you mean?” asked the alien commander. “We received your signal. What are you doing here?”
“You’re supposed to be on the other side of the galaxy,” I said.
“Yes, but we’ve recently learned that the human race is also present in this region of space,” said the alien.
“How did you learn that?” I asked.
“One of our scouts found evidence of human activity,” he explained. “He followed the trail to a world called Earth.”
“Where is the scout now?” I asked.
“His ship has been destroyed,” the alien admitted. “But his data recorder survived, and we recovered it.”
“Is there anything else in the data recorder?” I asked.
The alien hesitated before replying. “There are some images, but I’m afraid that they’re incomplete. The recording was interrupted by a sudden burst of energy.”
“Did the energy come from the human ships?” I asked.
“No, it came from the surface of the planet,” the alien answered.
I frowned. If the energy had come from the surface, it meant that the aliens had already attacked Earth. But I hadn’t heard anything about that yet.
“Was there anyone on the planet when the energy hit?” I asked.
“No,” the alien replied. “Our sensors detected no life signs.”
“Then the energy must have originated from the planet itself,” I concluded.
“Could it have been a natural phenomenon?” the alien asked.
“Not likely,” I said. “Natural phenomena don’t usually cause explosions like that one.”
“Are you sure?” the alien asked. “Perhaps the explosion was caused by something else. Perhaps it was caused by a meteorite, or perhaps it was caused by an earthquake…”
“Earthquakes don’t cause explosions,” I pointed out. “And meteors aren’t powerful enough to destroy a warship.”
“What about nuclear weapons?” the alien suggested. “They’re quite powerful, and they can create explosions that rival those of a meteor strike.”
“Nuclear bombs wouldn’t have been able to damage the alien vessel,” I said. “The aliens probably used some kind of advanced weapon.”
“So the humans have developed new technology,” the alien said. “That means that we’ll have to take steps to prevent them from developing even more advanced technology. Otherwise, they will eventually surpass us.”
“You sound like you’re worried about the humans,” I observed.
“Of course I am,” the alien said. “Their civilization is growing rapidly, and they may soon develop technologies that we cannot match. We must ensure that they do not become a serious threat to us.”
“Do you think the humans will be a threat to us?” I asked.
“I doubt it,” the alien said. “They’re a primitive species. They haven’t managed to develop any significant technological advancements, so I don’t see how they could pose a threat to us. On the contrary, I suspect that they’ll be easy prey for us. Once we capture them, we’ll use them as slaves to build our fleet.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said. “Because if you’re wrong, then you’ll have to deal with the consequences.”
“What consequences?” the alien asked.
“Well, if you decide to attack Earth, you’ll find yourself facing a formidable enemy,” I warned him.
“Really?” the alien asked. “Why would you say that?”
“I’m referring to the United Nations Space Force,” I said. “They’ve already sent a task force to Earth. As far as I know, they’re currently stationed near the planet’s moon.”
“I see,” the alien said. “In that case, we should avoid attacking Earth at all costs. That way, we won’t have to worry about encountering UNSF forces.”
“Good luck trying to convince the others,” I said. “They’re already preparing to launch an offensive against the human race.”
“If you’re talking about the UNSC,” the alien said, “then I agree that their intentions are questionable. However, they’ve been given authorization to carry out this operation. Therefore, we shouldn’t interfere.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” I said. “However, I still recommend that you avoid attacking Earth. If you do, you’ll regret it.”
“I don’t intend to make that mistake,” the alien said. “We’re going to destroy the human race.”
“I wish you good luck,” I said. “But remember: you’re not the only ones who want to wipe out humanity. There are many people in the galaxy who share your goal.”
“I don’t care what other people want,” the alien said. “As long as I get my hands on the humans, nothing will stop me from destroying them.”
“Don’t forget that the humans are also fighting back,” I reminded him. “They might be weak, but they’re not completely helpless. You’d better keep that in mind.”
“I’ll certainly bear that in mind,” the alien said. “Now, I must go. Our fleet is waiting for us.”
“Wait,” I said. “Before you leave, I need to ask you one last question.”
“What is it?” the alien asked.
“Have you ever encountered the Covenant before?” I asked.
“Yes,” the alien answered. “I’ve fought them several times.”
“How did you defeat them?” I asked.
“It wasn’t easy,” the alien admitted. “The Covenant was extremely powerful opponents. It took a lot of effort to beat them. But I finally managed to win.”
“Did you manage to kill all of the aliens?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “There were still a few of them left. And when I saw that they weren’t going to surrender, I decided to destroy them.”
“Wasn’t that dangerous?” I asked. “I mean, you had no idea whether the aliens were carrying any kind of weapon. What if you’d killed them instead of capturing them?”
“That didn’t concern me,” the alien said. “I knew that the Covenant couldn’t have carried any weapons. After all, they were too primitive to possess such things.”
“And why was that?” I asked. “Were they incapable of developing advanced technology?”
“No,” the alien said. “They were capable of doing just that. In fact, they were among the most technologically advanced civilizations in the galaxy. The problem was that they lacked the wisdom to use their knowledge properly.”
“I see,” I said. “So the Covenant were simply ignorant?”
“Yes,” the alien said. “They thought that they understood everything, and they believed that they could achieve anything. But they were wrong. Their ignorance led to their downfall.”
“Thank you for answering my questions,” I said. “I appreciate your time.”
“You’re welcome,” the alien replied. “Now, I must go. Good-bye.”
“Goodbye,” I said. Then, I turned around and headed home.
***
After returning to the Ark, I went straight to my office. Once there, I sat down behind my desk and began working. First, I reviewed the information I’d collected during my meeting with the alien. Then, I started thinking about how I could use this new intelligence to our advantage. Finally, I came up with a plan that I thought would help us defeat the Covenant.
My first step was to contact Admiral Anderson. He was the leader of the UNSC, so I needed his approval if I wanted to implement my strategy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach him by phone or video call. So, I decided to send him an e-mail.
I opened a new message window, typed a short message, and pressed Send. Moments later, I received an automatic reply. Admiral Anderson had read my e-mail, but he hadn’t responded yet.
I waited patiently for the admiral to respond. Meanwhile, I continued working on the project that I’d been assigned to complete. When I finished, I checked my inbox again. Still no response from the admiral.
I tried calling him again. No answer. I sent another e-mail. This time, I included a reminder at the end of the message.
Still no response.
I felt frustrated. Why wouldn’t the admiral respond? Was something wrong? Had he forgotten about me? Or perhaps he was busy dealing with some other crisis. Whatever the reason, I didn’t like it.
The End