Pride and Prejudice Among the Stars: Interstellar

By J. M. Sampson

Earth’s first contact with extra-terrestrials, requesting permission to land on Antarctica to repair one of their three ships, proves to be a potential extinction event for the human race. When a nuke, and missiles, prove to be futile against alien defensive screens, Earth’s last hope is put in the hands of a six-man Navy Seal team. Cody Hawke leads his team to the site, and they damage the annihilator weapon as it is fired, but the team and much of Earth’s population is wiped out. Twenty-five years later, another alien ship arrives with damage caused by an attack from Horde ships, from another galaxy.

Setting down near the three Zirralonian war ships, they discover the damage done to the planet, whose existence is new to them. Reptilian scientists use regeneration transference to animate three earthlings whose bodies are frozen in the ice. Though the bodies are supposed to be temporary shells without awareness, used for scientific study, they prove to be much more. Is it possible for a technologically-challenged Earth to help advanced friendlies defeat the even greater tech of another galaxy?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Nov 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889101772

J. M. Sampson

J. M. Sampson enjoys creating and telling interesting stories. He resides in Florida with his wife and family. Mrs. Cooper’s Bible is his fourth book.

Book preview

Chapter 1

A top-secret surveillance aircraft with call sign, Overwatch four, propelled by the newest hybrid rocket-jet engines, soared above Antarctica at the edge of space. The pilot, Captain Jackson, eyed the radar image showing ten hypersonic navy fighter jets approaching from the northwest.

Overwatch four to Knight 1, we are in position. Jackson switched to internal communication. Have those cameras rolling.

Knight 1 pilot, Major Locke, looked at his video screen. A mountainous, transparent hazy dome encompassed the target area.

Knight 1 to Overwatch four, we are beginning attack run. Knight 3 and 4 from the east and Knight 5 and 6 from the west. There is a mist or fog over the target, but visibility is not affected.

Copy that, Knight 1. Overwatch has eyes on you, Jackson looked at the image on his monitor. The image was transmitted from Knight 1.

I see the haze. Avoid contacting it with your aircraft. It may be a weapon of some kind.

Lieutenant Maxwell in Knight 3, pulled out of his run as he watched the weapons detonate on contact with the haze.

Knight 3 to Knight 1, we’ve fired all missiles and they impacted a shield surrounding the alien ships. There is…

A blinding flash of light illuminated the cabin of Overwatch four. Captain Jackson shook his head in an effort to recover his sight.

What the hell was that? Overwatch four to Knight 1, what is your status? Captain Jackson’s eyesight was clearing. He thumbed the internal com.

All crew members engage dark lenses, he slid his helmet’s dark filter into place.

Major Locke shook his head trying to clear his sight. Even with his dark lens in place, the flash was intense.

Knight 1 to Overwatch, my four attacking fighters are gone. The aliens fired four beam or laser weapons. I didn’t see any chutes. The planes disintegrated. I’m dividing the rest of my flight into two groups of three. I believe we might have a chance if we stagger the attack into a one-two punch. I’m going to launch the tic tac at the last moment.

Overwatch to Knight 1, your flight will be too close to survive.

Roger, the earth is more important at this moment. It may be possible that a nuke fired at close range can penetrate the shield. Knight 1 out.

Captain Jackson left his holding pattern and gave full throttle to the hybrid rocket-jet engines of the recon aircraft. The impact of the nuke rocked the aircraft as the specially armed missile impacted the target. Jackson banked the plane and flew closer to film the results.

Snow and ice that hadn’t been blown away from the shield was liquefied, but the three alien ships still stood inside the force field, along with the aliens’ doomsday weapon. The attack had failed. Captain Jackson sighed before transmitting the bad news to General Thompson.

This is Overwatch four to Sentinel one. The attack was a failure. The Knight squadron was wiped out and the nuke fired at close range did not affect the alien force screen.

General Thompson shook his head.

I copy, Overwatch. Return to base. I want to see the recon film as soon as possible.

Roger, Sentinel one. Overwatch out.

Several hours later, General Thompson and Lieutenant Commander Walter Myles finished viewing the images from Overwatch four as well as satellite imaging. General Thompson leaned back in his chair and looked at Myles.

Walter, we are out of aerial options. The alien weapon shielding is too strong for our technology, he sighed. The only thing we accomplished was placing the additional threat of radiation in the path of any ground assault.

Myles chewed on an unlit cigar as he leaned back in his chair and looked toward the overhead plating.

It’s obvious a haymaker is not going to knock out the alien weapon. What may work is a strong sucker punch. Instead of high-tech machines, we need to consider something more in line with human fortitude.

You really think your team has a chance? Getting close to the target will be a monumental task. Antarctica’s weather and terrain are unforgiving.

Myles leaned forward and took the cigar from his mouth.

I have my best Seal team aboard. I can see no other option in sight. They’re our last hope.

As Thompson and Myles continued their meeting, Petty Officer Cody Hawke was sitting at a table in the galley of the U.S.S. Sampson. He sat staring at the cup of coffee resting on the table in front of him. He sighed as he considered the nature of his team’s next mission. He rotated the cup as he thought about what Myles had revealed to him earlier that day.

Petty Officer Laura Desmond entered the galley and settled in a chair across the table from Cody. She frowned as she looked at his face.

Myles didn’t tell me much about the mission. Actually, he didn’t tell me anything except that it may be a one-way trip, and it has to do with the alien site.

Cody shook his head.

I’m surprised he told you that much. We’re supposed to have a briefing shortly.

Laura smiled and said, He shared that small bit of info, because I went to him with a request. I was seeking a discharge.

Cody looked up from his cup and stared into the amber eyes, set into her dark brown face, a gift of her Ethiopian heritage.

I’ve known you since high school. You love being a Seal, and you’re one of the best. Why would you seek a discharge?

That, my dear leader, is classified information and will not be divulged until after completion of our mission, her smile evaporated into a frown.

I know that you have more info than I’ve been given. Is this a one-way mission, or did Myles use hyperbole when he described it as such?

Cody reached across the table and grasped her hand. He didn’t say anything as he returned her gaze. He squeezed her hand and released it. A voice came over the intercom, calling Cody’s team to the meeting.

Laura stared into his eyes, leaning back in her chair as she read the truth written on his face, she said, Oh. They left the galley and walked toward the Sampson’s conference room.

When the team was assembled, a briefing on the alien threat was held aboard ship. General Thompson’s face reflected the grim subject of his briefing. A map of Antarctica filled the video screen behind him.

There’s great evil that now threatens to make the human race extinct, he paused for a moment as he made eye contact with each of the Navy Seals seated before him.

You know about the alien presence on Antarctica. When the Zirralonians made first contact with Earth, they claimed to be peaceful and requested permission to land their ships. They claimed their ships needed repairs. The world leaders agreed to allow the landing, hoping to obtain knowledge of their interstellar technology in exchange for our hospitality, he indicated the icon that represented the alien landing site.

He then pointed to another icon, this one of a ship, offshore but at the closest possible navigable approach to the alien camp, This is the approximate position of our guided missile destroyer, he paused.

The rest of this briefing is information that has been held in secrecy. Allowing them to land was a catastrophic mistake, but with the weaponry they possess, we probably could not have prevented it. I believe they lied so they would have time to make their camp invulnerable, before we could discover their plan. When they contacted us, they used broken English, but their native language was undecipherable by any of our conventional means. Our country and several others, share a scientific facility some distance from their landing site.

Our government declassified a very important piece of equipment and sent it to the facility. That equipment is the most advanced linguistic and decoder computer ever constructed. The scientists at the facility have been able to decipher enough of the alien short range transmissions, that we now know their true intensions. They are assembling a weapon they believe will destroy all higher life forms on this planet, he paused; a pained expression darkened his face.

We have kept all of this, and the loss of ten of our best aircraft, classified. Wide spread panic would make it more difficult to deal with the alien threat.

Petty Officer First Class, Cody Hawke asked, What happened to the fighter planes?

A new image filled the screen. It displayed a view of the alien encampment. The general pointed to a translucent dome, with three alien spaceships sitting inside. Near the ships stood an odd-looking structure. Two humanoids stood by the device and appeared to be making adjustments.

It’s something science fiction writers have described for years, a force field that’s very effective in protecting them from our weapons. Our aircraft delivered their missiles and bombs with pinpoint accuracy. A tactical nuke didn’t make a dent. A new image appeared on the screen.

In this photo, notice the green force field is down, and we can see another shield that is almost invisible to the eye. When the aliens used their weapons against our fighters, they lowered the clearly visible inner force field, a moment before they fired.

The force field, or shield, was only down for seconds, as it reclosed almost instantly at the firing of their defensive weapons. The analysts tell me they believe the shield is interconnected with their firing control systems, allowing for the coordinated opening and closing of the shield. It’s impossible to sneak a missile through the brief opening of the force field. The arsenal they have employed against us is something we have only imagined.

Hawke frowned, What about the second, translucent shield, positioned over the more visible one? What’s its purpose?

Thompson pointed to the photo, It appears its function is to shield the camp from snow and ice. It doesn’t seem to affect the ice beneath the camp, but it prevents the camp from being covered. The effect of the secondary shield extends some distance beyond the visible dome, he paused.

This concludes the background information that has led to the necessity of this briefing. Lieutenant Commander, Walter Myles, will address the details of your mission.

General Thompson took a seat as Myles stood and faced his men.

This Seal team was selected for the most important mission in the history of the human race. Each of you have been informed this is tantamount to a suicide mission. We believe the aliens are capable of carrying out an attack that will result in total extinction of mankind. If you succeed, the human race will survive. Even though you are the best of the best, we are not guaranteed that even superhuman effort will prevail against the technology you will face.

You will be put ashore with two specially equipped Snow Panther vehicles. They were designed to withstand harsh environments, but we don’t know for certain how they will function in the harshest winter conditions on earth. Each vehicle will carry three team members and one of these.

He pointed to a weapon nestled on a rack.

Our newest portable missile launcher. You have already been trained to operate the vehicles, but the terrain you must navigate will put that skill to the test. The Panthers are small and stealth equipped so you can cover most of the distance through the snow and ice in the vehicles. There is a deep and very wide crevasse within a mile of the alien camp. When you reach the crevasse, you will cross by firing the Panthers’ spike mechanisms, anchoring the vehicles to the ice.

The harpoon cannons on the vehicles will be used to fire the harpoons across the crevasse. The team, and the launchers, will have to cross with cable slings. There’s a small ridge about a hundred and fifty yards from the camp which will provide cover, and a point from which to fire your missiles.

Cody Hawke raised a brow, doubt written on his face.

Are these missiles somehow capable of penetrating the force field?

No. The missiles will have to be fired when the aliens are ready to use their weapon. When they fire the super weapon, our intel indicates they will have to lower the force field, the same as they do for the firing of their defensive weapons. Our previous attempts to slip a missile in during the time the shield is down, were complicated by the fact that our aircraft cannot penetrate close enough to reduce the time until impact.

To help avoid detection, we’re sending a small unit in, with the hope that you can fire your missiles from a site right on top of them. When you get into position, we’ll send a drone to attack the camp. The drone will serve as a lure to get the aliens to lower their shield. We hope you are in place far enough in advance for us to use the drone before they are ready to fire the big one, he hesitated.

We know the weapon is near completion, which means we may not have the luxury of getting them to lower the shield on our terms. If they complete preparations and you see they are proceeding to activate the doomsday weapon, you will be our last and only hope. When that shield goes down, don’t hesitate.

Hawke looked around the table at his five Seals.

Looks like my team needs to mount up. Time may be too short as it is.

The lieutenant commander nodded and said, Dismissed. Your equipment is on the landing craft waiting for you to make personal preparations.

The team filed out quickly and went to their quarters to don their extreme cold weather thermal clothing. They wore side arms in insulated holsters when they assembled aboard the landing craft.

As the craft began to navigate through the rough sea, Hawke pointed out three Seals.

You three, man Panther Two. Radio silence will be maintained the entire way. We’ll communicate by hand signals if necessary. We have good visibility and the glass view ports are large enough to see the signals.

After the teams boarded their vehicles and ran through their operation check lists, they sat in silence. The freezing fingers of the icy continent penetrated the craft, so that even their special clothing allowed some of the chill to enter. Or was it a chill caused by the specter of failure?

Cody pushed doubts aside and held to the confidence he had in his team. They had served together through some really tough situations. He knew they had a chance. Even with the knowledge they might not survive, his Seals would carry out their parts to the fullest. There was always the chance to win.

A bump and the sound of the landing craft treads engaging solid ground, signaled their departure. The front ramp lowered and the two Panthers rolled out and navigated toward their destiny.

After three hours of negotiating ice outcroppings and skirting hills, the team arrived at the crevasse. The drivers maneuvered the two vehicles so they sat side by side and then triggered the anchor spikes. The machines rocked as the spikes drove into the ice.

They fired the harpoons using high compression gasses to propel them upward in an arc that brought them down, point first, on the other side of the crevasse. Petty Officer Hawke, engaged the cable winch to pull the cable taut. The operator of the other Panther did the same.

The teams exited the vehicles and made preparations to cross the chasm. Hawke opened the equipment locker on the side of the Panther and removed four trolly assemblies. The devices had grooved wheels that rested on top of the cable. A hinged flap secured the trolly wheels to prevent them from going off track or separating from the cable. Icy wind whipping upward from the depths of the crevasse made the process more difficult. Hawke opened the hinged flap on one and secured it in place by closing the flap and locking it.

Vance Donovan assisted Hawke with the preparations. His voice was muffled by the insulation about his face.

I’m taking this ice ball off my list of things to see and places to visit.

Cody motioned Laura Desmond forward and he checked the harness she had strapped on. Satisfied it was secured, he motioned her to go first. She hooked her harness to the trolly and pushed off the edge of the crevasse with a strong shove that sent her gliding to the other side, her body buffeted side to side with the stiff, swirling wind.

Hawke positioned another trolly and fastened the missile launcher to it, with the missile locked into place. He secured a line to the launcher and sent it across the void at a slower speed. Petty Officer Desmond grappled with the launcher and moved it to solid footing before detaching the sling from the trolly. Petty Officer Vance Donovan crossed over and joined Laura. Hawke watched as the last man on the second cable crossed over before he took his turn.

When they were all assembled, Hawke checked his GPS to verify direction. Laura and Vance carried the launcher assembly and two men on the second team carried the other. It was tough going as the snow was nearly waist deep. They wore snow shoes, but the snow was not packed, causing them to wade through. With the snow cover resisting them, they moved forward with great effort. Cody and the Seal leading the second launcher team continued to test the path with probe sticks, wary of voids under the snow.

A void opened so violently that Cody almost fell to his death. They finally reached their goal, at the base of the ridge. Hawke eased to the top of the ridge and looked down on a scene straight out of a science fiction movie. Snow thrown up the ridge by the wind, made it difficult to see. He surveyed the camp using binoculars and discovered the aliens were humanoid, but far from human. They had over-large eyes and slits where a nose should have been. Their general movements were very much like those a human would make.

As he watched, an alien came out of one of the ships and hurried over to one of his cohorts working on the weapon. The alien from the ship was gesturing and seemed excited as he communicated with his colleague.

Hawke said to himself, I don’t like the looks of this. He noticed the workers were hurrying away from the weapon, moving toward their spaceships.

Hawke moved down the slope quickly and told his men.

I think they’ve completed their preparations. We’ll only have one chance at this. Move the launchers just below the top of the ridge, and arm the missiles. Be ready to move them to the top of the ridge for line of sight the moment the force-field comes down, Cody scrambled back to the top of the ridge to put eyes on the enemy.

The team moved the launchers to a point just below the top of the ridge, out of view of the alien ships. They quickly armed the missiles, and set the launchers to ready.

Hawke took another look at the camp and noticed something that seemed even stranger than the alien equipment. It appeared some kind of radiation, or mist, was emanating from the ground between him and the camp. The mist had a green hue and seemed to writhe like a living thing as it shrouded the base of the super weapon.

What the hell is that? Is it something the aliens are causing, perhaps for their weapon to function?

As he watched, he saw the few aliens still outside of the ship act as if panicked. One even fired a high-tech weapon that seemed to vaporize the ground around the emanation, but it did not appear to have any effect on the green mist. Hawke realized the force field was fading out.

Get the launchers set up quickly.

The teams had their launchers in place within seconds. Hawke heard a hum coming from the direction of the alien weapon.

Fire! he shouted. The missiles traveled true and hit the weapon just as it began to fire. A deafening explosion, followed instantaneously by a great rush of wind and snow, raged over the ridge with hurricane force. The team was tossed like ragdolls toward the crevasse they had crossed. Cody was helplessly whirled and tossed through the air, surrounded by blinding snow and ice.

For an instant, he made out one of his team, barely visible in the maelstrom of debris, flailing and twisting in the air as the form hit a rocky crag. He knew the Seal had bought it. He felt his left leg strike something and snap as he went over the edge of the crevasse and fell some distance.

He hit another obstacle before becoming wedged in a narrow gap in the crevasse. His right arm was broken, and his breathing came in ragged gasps, with pain caused by broken ribs. He knew his life was draining away. Through his pain, he saw Desmond’s body wedged near him, her neck broken. As the snow and ice engulfed him, his last thoughts were about his team. Did we make a difference? Darkness closed in as he took his last breath.

Chapter 2

Ess-Rahley secured the restraining straps on his jump seat as Captain Jeris Hoag’s voice announced through the overhead.

Pray to Raulus we don’t find ourselves in the heart of a star or planet.

Ess-Rahley looked across the cabin at his fellow scientist, Ara-Kesal. Both Terestrans were shaking with fear.

Kesal’s ear frill laid flat against his head.

Why did I not heed the advice of my mother? She told me not to go into space because it was too dangerous. She told me I should stay home and seek knowledge through studies.

Rahley tried to sound calm, even though his ear frills were fluttering with his fear.

No place is safe, with the Horde destroying planetary defenses and enslaving systems. Our home world will fall prey to their war ships before a yaron has passed. If we drop out of hyper drive into the middle of a star, we will at least not be around to see the end of our civilization.

At the control console on the bridge, Astrogator Shauna Smith was rapidly making adjustments to the Astral charting computer. She turned to the captain.

Astral charting is fully functional. The Horde’s attack did not damage navigation or communications, but the structural analysis computer shows damage to the hyper star drive fuel cells, she paused as she ran a fast computation.

The Naugasau will be dropping out of hyperspace within two mils. We will experience rough buffeting with the uncontrolled deceleration. Proximity sensors detect nearby planets at our emergence point.

Captain Hoag grimaced as he thumbed the overhead communicator.

We have a rough, uncontrolled emergence in one mil, as the captain finished the short sentence, the quiet hum of the hyper drive ceased.

Full power to the inertial dampeners, Hoag struggled with controls that resisted his efforts. He said through clinched teeth. Come on you lumbering piece of scrap metal. Stop fighting me.

Shauna flipped up a safety cover and pushed the dampener lever full forward.

Dampeners powered at maximum.

The ship began to buck and gyrate as Captain Hoag continued to fight the controls in an effort to regain flight trim. He was able to stabilize the Naugasau but did not have time to relax as the ship was plummeting toward a planet. He flipped the safety cover for the planetary propulsion engines and applied full power to the nose thrusters of the Naugasau.

Shauna was rapidly reading distance computations from the computer.

She said, Our speed will be slowed enough for a controlled course correction in 1.5 mils. Make a fifteen degree starboard adjust on my mark. She paused.

Now! she said tersely. Fifteen degrees again, on my mark.

Almost immediately she said, Now!

She scanned her instrument panel.

Our speed is slowing and approaching orbital velocity compatible with the planet’s diameter, she eyed another instrument. Twenty degrees on my mark and cut nose thrusters. Both on my mark…now! She sighed in relief and laughed nervously for a moment as she looked at the captain. Both were drenched in perspiration despite the Cyrillian jump suits they wore and the ship’s ventilators functioning at maximum.

Captain Hoag, his hand shaking, thumbed the communicator.

Hyper emergence is completed. We have established orbit around an unidentified planet. Dr. Rahley, how are you and Dr. Kesal?

Rahley’s voice announced, We are fine, though Dr. Kesal had to use one of the sick bags. That was quite a ride for a few mils.

Hoag next communicated with his engineer, Rey Steln, What’s your status, Rey?

Planetary propulsion readings are normal. Anti-gravity flux generators are at 100% and functioned normally when they assisted the nose thrusters during our emergency deceleration procedure. Hyper Star Drive is fine mechanically, but the fuel cells are empty, Rey paused. Structural damage to external panels and the fuel cell wall is repairable according to my scans, but we’ll have to set down somewhere for me to make an attempt to repair the damage.

Hoag closed the communicator and released his seat harness so he could move to view the instruments with his astrogator.

Do you have any idea where we are?

Not yet captain. Our emergency hyper jump has led to the discovery of an uncharted corridor. The Astrogation star charting computer has recorded star positions where we entered hyperspace and when we emerged. Time in hyperspace was recorded so we have almost everything we need to go back the way we came, with a controlled transition. Two factors complicate a return. A missing variable necessary to calculate the needed corridor length, and the Horde controlling that sector now.

Unfortunately, I am unable to tell you the distance traveled, an important factor if we try to return the way we came.

She sighed.

Other than that, I have no idea in Helma’s realm where we are. This is uncharted space. None of the star charts in our navigation computer matches the star field we currently occupy.

Captain Hoag frowned, Everything we need except distance in transit, and hyper drive fuel. He looked at the video screen. The planet’s image filled most of the view.

When I had to jump with leaking hyper drive fuel, the only reason we weren’t blown up was because the fuel flowed into the hyper corridor wall and was left behind us. I had to let the fuel fully expend before we could emerge, otherwise we would have experienced detonation of the remaining fuel.

Shauna said, When we discovered how to create corridors, the first pioneers who established them, discovered that speeds produced by the drive were not constant. We are still ignorant of how this happens, but the speed adjusts to the highest rate necessary for stopping in a specified distance. Since we made a jump without specifying an emergence point. We have no idea about the top speed we attained, if such exists.

Shauna paused for a moment, We could have traveled fifty light years, or we may have traveled for thousands. The only limiting factor would be if we entered intergalactic space, where the hyper drive is not effective. She brightened some as she looked at the planet below.

We are still within our galaxy or we would not be orbiting this planet.

Hoag gazed at the blue planet.

What’s down there?

Planetary sensors are operating at optimum efficiency, but they do not detect communication signals. Scanners detect a few, scattered, functioning surface energy sources. There are quite a few communications satellites in orbit, but only a few are even emitting static. If there are higher life forms down there, they are not using their technology.

She flipped a switch and a three-dimensional holographic image materialized, suspended above the console. Symbols appeared to be floating around a holographic model of the planet they were orbiting.

The atmosphere is Acaprisa normal and there are minimal radiation readings.

Ess-Rahley entered the control room and gazed at the hologram and then at the planet displayed on the vid screen.

Beautiful, look at those oceans. This planet reminds me of Tannis, but with larger oceans than that world boasts, he moved closer to the instrument displays. Have you checked the bio transepter?

Shauna frowned, I have not initiated it yet. Since you are the science officer on this tub, see what you can do with it.

Rahley settled into the seat next to her and powered the transepter. The screen of the device was touch-sensitive, so he swiped one of his scaled reptilian fingers across the screen. The image of the planet displayed on the screen, went completely red. The hologram model of the planet turned red as well. As they watched the hologram, small octagonal segments began disappearing from the globe. A scattering of green dots began to populate the screen in some areas, as the red retreated.

The red octagonal segments began to disappear more rapidly, revealing the original presentation of the planet, except for the presence of the dots. A haphazard field of green dots were showing across the northern and part of the southern hemispheres. Blue dots of various sizes began appearing on the continents. Finally, all of the red was gone.

Rahley lifted his right hand and rubbed at his ear frill.

The green dots represent a smattering of higher life forms. The meager volume of green doesn’t account for the great numbers of blue.

Captain Hoag asked, What do the blue dots represent?

Those dots signify where cities are located. Some of them rival the size of the major cities on Acaprisa. These cities are mostly deserted and probably crumbling, depending on how long ago the catastrophe occurred that destroyed most of their civilization. Some of the cities are massive, and yet have very small numbers of higher life forms. This planet should have billions of inhabitants, and yet there are only a few million.

Shauna pointed at the holographic model.

What does that small yellow dot represent?

What? Rahley looked at the hologram and moved a cursor over the southern ice continent. He swiped his hand across the computer screen and the vid display zoomed in to show something unexpected.

Three space craft where they shouldn’t be. There are no deserted cities or signs that a population has ever existed at that part of the world. There is no indication of a spaceport where the ships are resting.

Captain Hoag reached over and tried to increase magnification.

I can’t see much detail. We are at the upper limit of our scanner, he paused. Wait just a myro, I recognize the shapes of those ships. The captain went to another computer and punched in some numbers. That’s what I thought. Zirralon war ships. The captain returned to stand next to Rahley. Do you think they’ve detected our presence?

That would be difficult captain. There are no life forms near or on those ships. They are as dead as much of the planet they are sitting upon.

Shauna stood next to Hoag, Didn’t you command a battle cruiser in the Zirralon war?

Hoag exhaled a deep breath.

I did. It was a tough war, and I usually don’t talk about it. The Zirralonians had a terrible weapon that could destroy the higher life forms on a planet. They would seek out a sub-interstellar world, use the annihilator weapon to depopulate it, and then they could colonize the empty world. In some ways, they were worse than the Horde, since Zirralon was actually part of the Alliance before they committed planetary atrocities. When their crimes were discovered, they recalled their council representative and quit the pact.

The Zirralonians were emboldened by the fact they were the oldest and most advanced member, with technology that gave them a slight advantage in combat. That advantage was offset by the unity of the other members of the Alliance. The only thing in the favor of the Central Interstellar Alliance in the prevention of more civilizations being destroyed, was the fact the annihilator weapon had to be assembled on the planet it was to be used on. That was the vulnerability that led to their defeat. We beat them back to their home system and destroyed their technology.

Unfortunately, they succeeded in wiping out the populations of two planets situated just beyond Alliance territory, before they were defeated. The colonies they established on those two worlds were removed and they were taken back to Zirralon. The planet is banned from interstellar space and there’s an Alliance military presence maintained on Zirralon to assure their compliance. That’s been twenty-five yarons ago.

He looked at the image on the screen.

We did not know they had ventured this far away. I wonder if there are other planets, we are not yet aware of, that have Zirralonian colonies.

Shauna turned to the captain, Those ships must have used hyper drive engines to have made it here.

She pushed her short auburn hair behind her right ear.

Hyper drive fuel and the answer to our navigation problem might be found aboard those ships.

Hoag grinned.

You are absolutely correct. If the fuel cells are intact, we may be back in business, he glanced at the hologram. There are no higher life forms on the southern ice, so we may be able to escape interaction with the indigenous people scattered over the rest of the planet. Is there a suitable landing site for the Naugasau near those ships?

Rahley’s ear frill stood out and his mouth spread into a toothy reptilian grin.

This is what I live for, an archaeological exploration of a world rich in relics. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to use the molecular corporeal synthesizer.

Shauna grimaced.

I hope not. You scientists give me the creeps when you decant a synthetic being.

You definitely do not have to be involved. It is the best way to learn about the lives of people who no longer exist, at least in this area of the planet.

He paused in thought, Perhaps we could pay a visit to other unpopulated regions to seek knowledge from this world.

Captain Hoag frowned, "That would involve greater risk of breaking the law, so traveling around this planet is not an option. And I have to agree with Shauna. Recreating a replica