Dark is the night there as the systems of that world emerged to usher them all in. Out of the four vessels, only one was recognized as one of their own; the other three would have to be scrutinized, but it was clear that they posed no threat, considering their protective formation.
As they descended down upon the mysterious planet, a myriad of highly evolved yet archaic intertwined apparatuses came forth, in all manners eyeing them, sending information through the vast network, and autonomously making decisions on where to bring them. It truly felt as though they had finally arrived at the nucleus of a cell, after having been welcomed past the membrane.
As they soon entered the atmosphere, surprisingly, it was easy for them to see across the landscapes, in spite of the dark night. Remnants of what must have been a biologically megadiverse environment still maintain their presence, even amidst the now severely scarred land. Here and there, floating islands could be seen following invisible currents throughout the continent.
The most visually striking thing to them however were the cities. Despite the ancient feel of their aesthetic, they all appeared to be more highly advanced than anything they could previously have conceived of back home. In some parts, the sheer scale and magnitude put even the most developed worlds to shame. Sprawling buildings, endlessly stacked up on top of each other reached through the skies. Entire metropolises sat atop sky islands, moving about the entire planet depending on when they’re needed most. Even the buildings seemed to shift, entire structures appearing as though they can fold in all manners of indescribable ways to suit an infinite number of purposes. An impossibly intricate ecosystem of vessels flew about the skies in a manner that felt eerily more natural than the more artificial nature of the kinds of ships they were used to.
Yet of course, this is a comparatively ancient society. Across every visible part they could see, traditional aesthetics remain in use. Anything that looked to be the most outwardly advanced is vintage in comparison to what they were used to. Many of the roofs and architecture appear classical in nature with corners that curved upwards and sometimes elaborate detailing from bygone eras. Many more however, especially the newer ones, can be differentiated in increasingly minimal aesthetics not only as a means to save resources but also as hope and soul increasingly faded.
Upon closer inspection, one can see the scars of previous battles left unhealed. Could they be healed? Either way, they remain visible. Some parts of the land remain unsettled, seemingly pummeled to a nearly irrecoverable extent.
In all, it felt like the entire place is a living organism, constantly working together in a colossal and monumental effort to survive. Anything and everything is endlessly compiled on top of each other in ceaselessly relentless fashion, so much so that for as technologically advanced as everything became, nothing else caught up with the sheer speed of its development, not even their visual forms.
Just as everyone else did, Lym too looked out the window in a sense of awe and disbelief, even if for different reasons. While she was not taken aback by the fact that it does indeed exist, she nonetheless felt a potent emotional stir within her, finally witnessing the collective might of her people before her. Having been born offworld deprived her of this connection that she felt so strongly now, it felt overwhelmingly touching in a sense. It was her first time seeing everything she had grown to be familiar with so authentically and unapologetically condensed in a single place.
Soon, two large vessels on either side began escorting them down from the sky, invisible forces projecting towards them from the ancient ships to safely guide them. Surrounding these ships emanated a peculiar aura that seemed to ever so slightly distort the air around them as they swam through the skies. Just inside, they could barely make out the figures of the Happians that crewed the vessels, who likewise seemed to be looking into their ships just as curiously.
Slowly, they seemed to touch down at what appears to be their equivalent of a skyport, though seemingly much more robust and versatile in nature. Everywhere around them, vital functions busily carried out nonstop for just this one part of the collective effort, and for them, a special clearing was immediately made for this particular circumstance. Disciplined lines of armed soldiers immediately formed to intercept anything that might pose a threat, even as they were expecting a more diplomatic approach.
Now, from the Happians’ perspective, none of them truly knew what was going on. For all of their experience in the war since time immemorial, such an event is actually unprecedented. It had been several centuries since the planet’s previous encounter with the enemy, and they have since moved their world and holed up in a secluded corner of the universe, exponentially bolstering their already overwhelming defenses ever more in the ages since.
Suddenly before them, one of their gunships arrived with a clear sign of life on it. Its black box has been damaged and much of its data corrupted or irretrievable, so they don’t have any footholds to work off of. It came accompanied, likely even protected by, given their formation, multiple armed vessels that are foreign, alien, and highly primitive in nature. It has yet to be decided whether the life forms within them pose a threat or not.
But this wasn’t the biggest mystery for them.
The gunship bore the markings and identification of one considered lost on a crucial one-way mission several standard years ago. Likewise, one of the undeniably identifiable signs of life within it included an unmistakable individual, once run through the system.
Lym Alzie-Rugen, previously condemned by the Happian military court to strategic suicide mission for operative failure, troop endangerment, troop capture, and by their definitions, gross negligence.
A dead woman has returned.
What is going on here?
*****
“Vertan,” says Lym, as they looked out the windows of her vessel.
“What is it, Lym?” asks Vertan. “Are you alright?”
“I should be,” answers Lym. “But I don’t know.”
“That doesn’t sound very reassuring,” responds Vertan. “Are you sure?”
“I’m a little scared,” replies Lym.
“Really? Now? I’ve only seen you scared once before. These are your people, what’s going on?”
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“I know, I know. It’s just—maybe I’m too different now. And I wasn’t supposed to come back.”
“Don’t be silly. We have to work this out. We’ve come so far already.”
“I know.”
Instinctively, Vertan clasps his hand around hers, and Lym looks up to Vertan, as though looking for assurance that she would never admit to.
“I’ll come out with you,” Vertan continues.
“I don’t know how they’ll react,” says Lym. “What if you get hurt?”
“You didn’t hurt me,” smiled Vertan. “And now we’re here.”
Taking a deep inhale, Lym nodded as they stepped up to the gunship’s door. Hiau, who remained nearby, stepped out of the way for them.
Slowly, the door opened, as if the vessel itself was hesitant and protective of them as well. The Happian soldiers’ formation immediately tightened with discipline, but their fingers remained off of their triggers. Immediately, Vertan found himself slightly blinded by the spotlights shining on them from various different angles, either from watchtowers or vehicles hovering overhead. Now perceiving them more up close, Vertan could make out that nearly all are donning various standardized versions of powered armor similar to the one Lym possessed.
“Wiog yat nwol!” one of them shouts.
“What did he say?” Vertan asks Lym.
“He wants us to put our hands up,” responds Lym.
They obliged, even as they kept holding each others’ hands in a symbolic gesture of alliance. Around them, they likewise saw the rest of the Ulminhans being escorted out, all of them with their arms similarly raised. Hiau seemed to attract particular interest for them, and created a sense of unease. The sense and uncanny aura of their own kind being implemented within her emanated with near overwhelming intensity.
Two armed soldiers approach from behind Vertan and Lym. Lowering their weapons, they put a hand on each person’s shoulder, and begin walking them forwards, keeping the two’s hands raised.
They are brought in front of who seems to be a high profile individual. The manner in which he is dressed is simple and pragmatic in contrast to the more elaborate uniforms Vertan was used to seeing across the Coalition. From a distance, it could even be perceived as underwhelmingly innocuous.
And yet somehow in front of him, this was anything but. The man stood out with such overwhelming imposition that it made Vertan feel dwarfed in comparison. Somehow every feature was brought out in its simple shapes and basic form. Upon closer inspection, Vertan also realized that the man looked ever so slightly different in biological structure. This man seemed to have more prominent nostrils and facial hair. Are those what should be horns on each side of the head? Looking around, Vertan could see that this was not the case across everyone. Some had tails. Some had backwards facing knees. Others have eyes with slitted pupils and less prominent nostrils. They all looked almost human like he was, yet in some way there were going to be such differences that stand out to him. Perhaps Lym did mean it in the literal sense that multiple species coexisted under the Happian banner.
The colonel that stood before them stoically looked down at them with great interest. He wondered about the man that now stood next to the girl. Who is he? Where did he come from? Why is he with her? Yet moreover, having read up on the girl’s file the moment they landed, he felt that he should know the gist of it. Somehow, he felt less confident. Something about her is different. Not in any particularly good or bad way, there was just an overall sense in her present nature that has since deviated from what a typical Happian may be. Moreover, she is dressed completely differently. What has she seen?
Quickly glancing around at the scene, everyone else had already been rounded up for inspection, with special caution and attention heeded towards the strangely skinned woman of four arms and eyes. It bothered him that her species is indeterminable, and appeared as a vague “nobody” to the senses. Just as quickly as this process was for him, he found himself satisfied with everything being carried out smoothly and moved his eyes back towards Vertan and Lym, who remained in front of him.
“You may both put your hands down,” he commanded sternly.
The two complied, and Vertan looked at the man with bewilderment.
“You speak our language,” Vertan began.
“I picked it up overhearing their conversations,” the colonel, nodding towards the numerous Ulminhans, who continued looking around at the Happians with anxious curiosity. “I apologize for any potential misunderstandings.”
Vertan could only nod back at these statements in complete shock. He remembered the bewilderment he felt witnessing the quickness of Lym to begin speaking their language for the first time when she had first arrived. This man sounded nearly fluent, save for a slight accent, almost at a moment’s notice.
Out of the corner of his ears, Vertan tried to pay attention to what’s going on. Already, most of the other Happians, even if still conversing largely in their native languages, had immediately begun picking up on the Ulminhans’ way of speech and attempting to communicate with them more effectively through these means. Witnessing it all for the first time in front of him is an indescribable experience, given all that he had gone through.
“Awht ij?dd isát, ioot nix ix?ol fìv tsáab f?k nfòot ij?h, uséeiht tsós cjw?oh ur?eih mfàal ofàn fàm ioot sóc re?ht x?dd yaag ar,” Lym said to the colonel. She immediately bowed, putting her left fist into her right palm, her fingers pointing straight up, as a sign of respect to her superior. “Ioot gnom nsóoum tsáat r?c gxnw?hn ifwòwgn idd gnfùc ioot cjw?wdd nsódd pséeit gnfòon uj?ah fàv cjw?wdd ar fèev hnfìb na oov jw?s. Uséen sóc tsáab f?k hnfìh tj?hp ofàn hnfàd ohc ioot, ioot x?s gnoohk nfàagn ij?gn uj?hc gnjw?dd.”
In the most approximate translation possible:
(
Vertan looks on with anxiety, not knowing what Lym just said. The colonel, in thought, considers her statement for just a moment. It’s very typical of Happian culture to be like this. In some parts, he himself lamented how unforgiving they are to themselves as much as he himself is expected to impose it.
But within this context, everything came a little out of left field for him. He can tell that her feelings were genuine in the way she expressed them. In fact, more openly than he has ever seen, completely atypical to the usually suppressed shame that is prevalent across Happian culture. He could sense that some layers must have been peeled away, that the fact she admitted to such things immediately at all, even if left in underlying tones, was telling.
In that passing moment, he considered the details of her files again. Condemned to a one-way suicide mission as retribution for her battlefield failure. Several years later, she comes back alive. Yet she still expects additional punishment, more than she has already served. Perhaps in compensation for the sake of those she had brought.
He glanced around at the other soldiers and officers surrounding the scene. Already, he can hear anxious chatter about the situation. What could the potential outcome of such an event be?
Even casting aside any semblance of empathy, the situation is too circumstantial and invaluable to dismiss.
“Don’t fret,” he says more gently this time, though maintaining his stoic face, as did every Happian. He nods at the two. “I will see that they are looked after. Come with me.”
Lym finally comes back up, relieved from her bow. From the corner of his eyes, Vertan could see that she was in a state of disbelief behind the steel of her face.
With the colonel leading the way, and with the two additional soldiers still escorting behind them, Vertan and Lym followed suit towards the massive and intricate complex ahead of them.