3. First Contact

Written July 7th, 2023

Central Calendar, Day 8 Month 12 1639, Night, Vauxnia Islands

The sun had finally set, but the horrors unfolding below were still ongoing. Namys had been brought separately to get the construction crews ready and when she was escorted back to the women’s quarters there were even fewer than before. In the streets the bodies had been cleared up, though the aftermath of slaughter was everywhere.

Namys and the other workers had been told what they would be doing, and none of it made anything better. Even though the Gra Valkans had machinery to move the earth, they still needed hands to do some of the work, and who better to do that than the new slaves of the Empire.

It was the cold that really started to bite. The general store and the docks had been spared, but barely. The cold seeping in through broken windows, doors and walls began to sap what little energy remained from the inhabitants. After countless deaths, no one was willing to even voice any dissent, let alone do anything to resist their new rulers. Inside the women’s quarters it was silent except for the occasional scraping on the floor or cough.

One of the women, Wyn, came and sat next to Namys. Her face was blank, her once lively demeanor having left. They sat in silence. Neither having the will to sleep nor the energy to remain awake. The entire room seemed to hover on the edge.

A dusting of snow began to fall. Pure and white, it contrasted perfectly against the darkness the town now faced. Through the hole in the ceiling some of the flakes floated in, further cooling the interior. Even faced with hypothermia, no one moved.

This would be a long night.

Above Vauxnia

“Got it.” Clem took off his headset and looked back at Casey, then towards the thermal monitor to watch the movement on the island now that the sun had set. “The base just gave us authorization to make contact with the people who were invaded, though we are to avoid any permanent damage for now. The gun is only for emergencies.”

The ship’s emergency armory contained two rifles and two pistols, enough for the pilot and copilot should anything happen. The rifle was a standard issue military rifle for defense if the ship went down, and it would not fit underneath the poncho Casey wore to conceal his mechanical parts, so he was stuck with the pistol. It didn’t have much in the way of power, but it should help if he needed to defend himself. Only really showing his face, he looked almost human. “There’s no way we completely avoid these invaders, but I’ll try.”

With a final visual check that the pistol was safe for the jump, he looked to Clem. The jump kit, usually used for fighting but also for survival and exploration mobility, would slow Casey’s fall to safe levels before he hit the ground with micro-jets. A final okay from Clem as he finished the jump kit diagnostics made Casey feel a bit safer, but it had been a while since he’d had to jump like this. Most times the survey ships could at least land.

Hydraulic hissing echoed through the cabin before the floor hatch opened up to the darkness below.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

Casey jumped, the unfamiliar island rushing to meet him, his poncho billowing out.

—

The landing was soft thanks to the jump kit, and the poncho was more than welcome to keep the water off. Since darkness had fallen no more of the planes were in the air, so it was very unlikely that anyone had spotted him plummeting through the clouds.

More fucking snow. I thought they said this place had liquid water and greenery.

After checking his communication equipment, Casey got out his pistol and readied it while scanning his surroundings. According to the photos they had taken above, the edge of town should be to the west, away from the massive number of people near the water. There was one building he wanted to visit. According to thermal imaging, there were a bunch of people inside, and some of them had been taken during the day. Far from most of the perpetrators of the slaughter, they seemed like the easiest way to make contact without going against the guidelines from home.

All around him were evergreen trees and other flora, and according to quick scans they were almost all the same composition as the old flora in the archives from Earth, before it became uninhabitable.

Interesting. Everything here feels like it’s out of an old novel or ancient history book.

He walked through the forest, careful to move silently, but even the animals had run away from the village so there was no one to disturb.

“Look out, Casey, it looks like a couple of people are heading into the forest.”

A data-link opened up and Casey could see the feed Clem saw, three heat signatures moving into the forest. If they kept going in that direction, they would end up walking a few meeters away from where he currently hid. Without even knowing it, the pistol was in his hand and held at a low ready close to his chest. If they did spot him, that would be unfortunate. The poncho was non-reflective on one side, and in the darkness, it blended in with the undergrowth just fine.

“They’re not deviating, keep your sensors out for anything.”

Casey noticed a light moving through the forest. As it got closer, it split into two.

“Get moving!” One of the voices called out, a light seeming to turn around and lose intensity. A defeated gasp echoed around the trees. “Come on, get up of we’ll just get it over with right here.”

“Nah, it’s too fucking cold, let’s get deeper into the forest, there’s that shitty barbarian cabin.” Another voice, gruffer and lower, responded.

At least we can understand them. They seem to be speaking Galactic Common, so that’s one problem taken care of. Though with what I suspect is going to happen, I’m not sure I want to understand.

They were finally close enough to be seen, and their hypothesis looked to be correct. They walked and looked human, with human faces and features. Two of them were clad in gray uniforms made of a heavy wool-like material, with painted metal helmets. They both had long rifles with wooden stocks, ancient but still powerful weapons. Between them was a woman being dragged across the underbrush. Wearing only soft leather boots, light pants and a shirt, her skin was starting to turn blue from the cold. Her hands were bound roughly in a thick rope, one end leading to the leading man’s hand as he dragged her along.

“I can’t just sit back and watch this happen, Clem.”

“We have to. We can’t get involved here.”

“I get us not interfering when we’re a few kilometers up, but I can almost touch these people.”

“No, we can’t do that without making contact and getting permission to–”

There was no longer need to argue his case. These people spoke Galactic Common, if they ask for aid Casey would be able to render it. There was a small empty shed nearby, probably a hunting blind or something of the sort, and the trio moved towards it. In the ship they had seen movement into the forest, but it was just four souls here right now. They must have found this and prepared it during the day.

“Wait out here and don’t move. We can’t have you dirtying up the inside before we get comfortable.”

They tied the woman to one of the evergreen branches and entered the small wooden shed. The lights stopped moving inside, replaced by moving shadows and the sound of dark laughter. The woman was freezing outside, and these men didn’t care. Casey, seeing a chance to finally make contact, left his hiding place and quietly approached the woman.

His hand reached out to cover her mouth and keep her from screaming, though she didn’t even try to scream, only a slight surprise showing as she suddenly tensed up. As she turned, Casey brought a finger up to his lips, the universal symbol to be quiet. He hoped it would work here.

Casey whispered, “I’m not going to hurt you, but I need your permission to help. If you ask for it I can possibly save you.”

—

Namys had started to go numb. Before the night, the soldiers stayed away from her, knowing that she had at least talked to their commander, but now that he was asleep, these soldiers had different ideas. They had walked her out to a hunter’s shack in the forest, currently empty for the winter season.

Now tied to a tree outside, she barely had the energy to stand, let alone fight. It was then that a cold hand reached out and covered her mouth. Preparing for the worst, she didn’t even bother trying to scream.

“…save you.”

The whispered words finally broke through Namys’ fugue. What had this person just said? She looked at him quizzically, and he slowly removed his hand.

“Please, just ask and I can do something about this,” the voice whispered.

Her voice wasn’t working, and the first syllable was lost in her frozen throat.

“…me please. Help us.” The sound trailed off, quiet and almost inaudible. Namys barely heard it herself, but the person kneeling by her side smiled weakly and got a distant look in his eyes.

“Thank you.” Suddenly she was warm, covered in a cloak that seemed to radiate its own heat. Warm at last, she turned around and what was in front of her caused Namys’ eyes to widen. What she saw below wasn’t human. Its face might have been, it even moved like a human, but everything else was metal. Arms, legs torso, everything was metal, and it wasn’t armor, it was too compact. He finished wrapping her in the cloak and she instantly felt the warmth well up in her.

Who…no, what are you?

She thought the words had come out, but they never did as he walked towards the hut. Attached to his leg was what looked like a pistol, and as he moved silently towards the hut, she never saw him draw it.

Why had he thanked her? As her mind raced through what had just happened, she started to actually think about what was going on. Maybe this was all a hallucination. The warmth she felt must just be her finally dying from the cold. That must be it. Just before she closed her eyes from exhaustion, she saw light flood out of the door of the hut.

—

The warmth had spread through her body, and she finally felt like she was alive again, though her fingers and toes were still stiff.

“Here, this should help get rid of the hypothermia. I ran a quick diagnostic of your vitals; you were almost gone when I brought you in.” The metal man had brought her into the hut, and as she started to sit up, she could see two men in gray outfits tied up in the corner. They were breathing, but not moving. “I don’t usually carry water, but there was some in the hut that seemed mostly potable.” The pewter mug blended into the metal man’s frame as he handed it to her. “It’s not poison or anything.”

After drinking a small sip of the cold water, she felt her voice come back, finally.

“I…owe you my life.”

“It’s nothing. Had we been able to interfere earlier this whole massacre could have been prevented.” He looked down at his hands. “If we could find the leader of this island, then maybe we could bring in more help, but as it is now, I can only help you directly.”

“The leader…of Vauxnia?”

The metal man nodded. “Sorry, I haven’t even thought to introduce myself. I’m Casey Simpson, I’m the head of the survey department in our frontier research group.” A gray metallic arm with an intricate hand reached out. Namys simply looked at it, entranced by the otherworldliness of the craftsmanship. “Oh, sorry. Do you not shake hands here? I’m not from around here. You said this place is called Vauxnia?”

“Up until today I was the leader of this small country. Then a country called the Gra Valkas Empire decided to invade out of nowhere.”

The cold water was finally warming her from the inside. Casey, as he called himself, was watching her intently. In a human, they would at least make small movements, some kind of shifting, but Casey just sat perfectly still, only his eyes moving slightly.

“For centuries, we had remained a peaceful country, simply existing and trying to live on this island we call home. Called.” She looked into the pewter mug. “Trade with Mu had let us start to expand. We got some technology to keep us warm in the winters, preserve food, even a radio to be able to talk to our ship as it came into port and warn it of dangerous weather. But none of that mattered, I guess. We still ended up either dying or becoming enslaved.”

“I asked before to save you, but if you simply ask, I can help this whole island. What the invaders here did wasn’t something my team and I can look away from. But due to our charter, we’re not supposed to interfere with sentient life unless it’s requested directly. Sadly, we only have our defense force, so it’s nothing special, but…”

“If you can help us, please, I beg you. Save my friends, my family. We’re a small village and we’ve only gotten smaller. We need help.”

Casey looked relieved, his face, the most human part of him, relaxing, and a smile formed on his lips.

“Okay. Give me a few minutes.”

Blue light started flashing behind his eyes. It looked just like magic to Namys. His eyes focused past her, as if he wasn’t seeing her or anything else.

—

“Yeah, I’ve gotten in contact with their leader. You’re never going to believe this, but it just happened to be the person they were dragging out of that building.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. So now we can call in the full defense force?”

“Route me through the ship we have orbiting, it should be in position for the next few minutes if my timing circuits are right.”

“Patching you through, Casey.”

The system connected and he was able to get messages back to the main base. The leader of the frontier research group, Taylor Graham, was waiting for more information after their early messages.

“Casey, holy shit. I just saw the report your pilot sent over. You’ve found the leader of that massacred island? And they speak Galactic Common?”

“Yes, and they’ve requested our help. You’ve seen the visual sensor logs, Graham. You know how bad it was. I haven’t seen anything like that on any planet, not even from those Corpo rats.”

“Gods, yes. Someone leaked some of the images to the defense force, and they’ve been itching to get over there. I think they’ve been bored for the past few years. Our Corpos were pretty tame in Omuen. I’ll have them on route to you in a few strike craft. You research guys just hang back and stay out of the way. I’ll route you details and telemetry soon.”

—

Casey’s connection cut after he confirmed what the full plan was going to be, and he came back to the shed.

“Were you using some kind of magic communication?”

Magic? That’s new. “Something like that. I have some friends of mine coming, they should be able to deal with what is going on here.”

“A few people won’t be able to help this village, especially not with the ships and mechanical planes that the Gra Valkans have at their disposal.”

“Don’t worry about them, from what we saw in the air, nothing here is a real threat to even our defense force, but the numbers might be something we have to look out for.”