The Arrival

[ajw]

Authors Note: This is an original sci fi story that I'm working on.

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The Arrival

Prologue

The interstellar survey probe transited smoothly out of its hyperspace slipstream into normal space, having reached its destination after several weeks in transit. Its normal space Henderson gravimagnetic drive system came online, boosting the probe forward at a speed of 64 PSL, as electronic senses began to probe the space around it.

Initial scans confirmed the findings of previous long range scans carried out by the Science Directorate. The systems sun was a red giant, approaching the end of its stellar life, with six remaining planets, any inner planets long since enveloped and consumed by the dying star. Only one of the surviving planets was terrestrial, the others were all gas giants.

As protocol demanded the probe moved towards the terrestrial planet first, even though there was no chance of it still sustaining life – if it ever had. It didn’t take the probe very long to reach the planet and begin an orbit, while training its best sensors on the planet below. As would be expected the surface resembled a scene from hell. Volcanoes were erupting all over the planet, covering the ground with massive rivers of molten rock and endless planes of ash. As it probed the fiery surface of the planet the probe noticed and catalogued large deposits of useful minerals and metals, some dissolved in the rivers and lakes of burning liquid rock.

Finally after surveying the volcanic world for nearly a day the probe broke orbit and began a journey towards the closest of the gas giants. It had barely covered half the distance when strange readings began to tease its sensors.

Drawn by a curiosity as great as the one possessed by the people who had created it the probe changed direction to investigate. The readings were coming from a very specific a very localised part of space and the probe focused its scanners on it.

Just in time to observe a small region of space warp and distort, curving over on itself into a sphere and beginning to glow with multicoloured light. Light that the probes sensors reported was being generated by a variety of radiation particles from the stellar winds being annihilated on contact with the anomaly. Cautiously the probe moved closer and probed the anomaly in greater depth.

As it did so the anomaly began to expanded, growing in size at an exponential rate. Hade its mechanical brain been capable of emotions the probe would have been concerned by the sudden sharp change in the anomaly. As it was the probes computer decided that digression was the better part of valour and began pulling back from the anomalies perimeter. But it wasn’t quick enough, the anomaly enveloped the probe and it suddenly found itself floating in a strange confined universe of glowing energy.

At the very centre of the anomaly the probe detected a large mass starting to form. To the probe it was the unmistakeable outline of a starship, sketchy and indistinct at first like an outline on a drawing board, but rapidly turning solid. The outline didn’t match anything in the probes database, nor did the energy emission profile that it was beginning to detect coming from the vessel.

After a moment the alien vessel became completely solid and the anomaly began to recede. The probe suddenly found itself back in normal space, with the anomaly almost completely gone. As the probes sensors adjusted to being back in normal space the anomaly vanished completely leaving the alien vessel in its place. For a moment nothing more happened then the alien ships drive fields came on and it began to move clear. The probe detected sensor beams reaching out from the alien vessel.

The probe cautiously probed the alien vessel closely and immediately came to the conclusion that it was a warship. The hull was armoured, sensors picked up a shield emission/alignment grid along the hull, along with numerous weapons mounts and torpedo tubes.

As protocol demanded the probe sent a data burst transmission streaking through the either of hyperspace to its makers at the Science Directorate. As it did so the alien sensor beams played across it and the probe immediately registered an increase in the warships power emissions. Analysis indicated that the alien weapons were powering up. Immediately the probe prepared to take evasive action while beginning the process of powering its hyperstream drive back up, procedure indicated that in such a situation it should endeavour to withdraw.

A targeting scan played across the probe just as its sensors reported three more anomalies like the first one forming. A sharp spike of energy from the alien warship registered on the probe sensors, a millisecond before a brilliant bluish green bolt of energy was fired its way from the vessel. With a reaction time far beyond that of organic beings the probe dodged the energy bolt and accelerated away from the alien vessel.

The alien vessel fired a second shot and again the probe dodged, though the shot from the alien was closer this time. The probes hyperstream drive was almost online, another few moments and the science probe would be able to escape. It sensors abruptly revealed three more vessels identical to the first one in the system, where the new anomalies had been. The probe concluded that the anomalies were really an unknown form of FTL propulsion that did not make use of hyperspace in any known way.

All three new warships were moving and their weapons were coming online as well. The probe concluded that the aliens were going to try and bracket it with their fire. The original alien warship fired again, firing several shots in a complex pattern from multiple batteries. The probe dodged all but one of the alien weapons bolts.

The remaining bolt reached the probe but didn’t immediately impact it. The alien energy weapon expanded and changed into a glowing net of energy that enveloped the probe before collapsing around it, hitting it from all sides at once. Instantly the probe exploded, disintegrating in a short lived blast of plasma flame, energy and debris.

The probe destroyed the four alien warships moved away, though kept their weapons powered up. Had anyone been watching they would have seen as the alien vessels assume sentry positions as dozens, then hundreds more anomalies of various sizes began to form in the dead system.

From the depths of intergalactic space a new force had arrived in the Milky Way.