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>> Chapter 6: Loose Ends
Part 4: By The Power of SUN
March 16, 2157
Not much left to do on this run. Our next destination:
What little remains of Mycon territory! We have something to pick up here.
HINT: It rhymes with "Brecursor Hartifact."
This is Beta Brahe. What we are interested in, lies on the planet closest to the sun.
MYCON
You must be removed.
The Mycon are not too pleased about what I did with the Syreen, it would seem. Five obliterated Mycon podships later, I can land on the planet myself.
...the ceiling or being bashed against the lander walls, we were looking for whatever it was that the Mycon were hiding down there. We think we've found it!
I don't know what to call it -- it kind of looks like a cross between a spider and an antenna, but Jeevo, the engineer we brought along, says the device has the capacity to radiate incredible amounts of energy in the form of visible light.
We have decided not to experiment with the artifact, and will bring it aboard right after we explore the immediate vicin-ity-ty...
...Uh-oh, Cap-p-tain! Look-k-s lik-ke the-e shock-ks are-e st-start-t-ing up-p ag-gain! We-e can't-t tak-ke m-much m-mo-re of th-h-is!
R-Ret-urn-ning t-to ship-p!
---- END OF REPORT ----
QuasiSpace Portal... check.
Talking Pet... check.
Utwig Bomb... check.
Sun Device... check.
Umgah Caster... check.
One last trip to Earth, and we're ready to initiate endgame.
News from Hayes:
- A race of plant creatures called the Supox have arrived in your absence, Captain. They offered use of their ship designs and will supply you as many starship captains as we require. I, of course, accepted their offer immediately.
- A small contingent of Utwig has visited. After spending a few days setting up our fabricators to build their Jugger starships and providing us with a few capable commanders, they departed. Captain, if you continue to build such strong alliances, we will surely win our battle against the Ur-Quan!
Scientific reports:
SUBJECT: Talking Pet Lifeform
DATA: This creature is physiologically identical to the so-called Ur-Quan 'Talking Pet', with one notable exception: It is highly intelligent, and evidences strong psychic capabilities. Initial AIQR tests rated it well above human super-genius, though immediately after we made this shocking assessment, its scores dropped to the normal-sub-normal range. Interviews with the subject have shown it to be cooperative, though a class-IV pan-species psychological profile places the creature far into the 'Furtive-Hateful' domain.
There wer also some disturbing incidents where we talked about roses, daisies, and other pretty flowers!
SUMMARY: Everything's okay! Nothing to worry about from this cuddly little guy. Not one thing!
SUBJECT: Utwig Bomb Device
DATA: Analysis has yielded little information about this device, largely because of our technicians' unwillingness to open it, or even remove the bomb from your ship. That aside, here's waht we know so far: The device is correctly defined as a Bomb... one of enormous destructive potential... but it is not of Utwig origin -- nothing about it relates to the technology we see in the Jugger ship. We believe it to be of late Precursor origin, though it somewaht resembles certain Chenjesu technology. Its original function? -- Probably a planeteering tool for dispersing unwanted moons.
SUMMARY: Unless there is a strong reason to do otherwise, DO NOT ACTIVATE THIS DEVICE! LEAVE IT ALONE! Any experimentation should be conducted AT LEAST 12 AU from this starbase, and preferably a bit futher.
SUBJECT: Sun Device
DATA: The unit contains a power generator whose output magnitude is simply mind-croggling. When activated, the device radiates energy equivalent to less than 1/100 of 1% of our sun; however, when placed close to a planet, perhaps in orbit, its output would rival Sol's.
SUMMARY: Another Precursor tool, the energy output of which can replace or augment a sun's radiance.
And now we head to our last destination for this chapter, to meet one more alien race.
Another slave shield! The space station is abandoned, but our Umgah Caster can penetrate through a shield and allow us to contact the planet directly.
CHMMR
...we do not understand how you have penetrated the slave shield, or why, but in doing so you have interrupted the process... explain this intrusion.
ZELNICK
We are struggling against the Ur-Quan. Can't you help us?
CHMMR
we cannot be of any assisance now... we are in the middle of the process. i will explain: after we chenjesu and mmrnmhrm were defeated by the ur-quan, we chose to be encased in a single slave shield on this world. as soon as the ur-quan departed, we began the process... we initiated a synthesis of our two species, our two cultures, one crystalline, the other purely mechanical... this process, fueled only by the radiant energy of our sun, will eventually produce a new hybrid race... and when the process is compelte, we will crack the ur-quan slave shield, and emergy from our chrysalis like a winged sinect unleashed from its cocoon... then we will be ready and capable to deal with the ur-quan, their battle thralls, and their dreaded sa-matra.
ZELNICK
But why can't you help us now?!
CHMMR
the complete synthetic hybridization of the chenjesu and the mmrnmhm species will require approximately thirty-five of your earth years... this extended duration is necessary because our synthesis mechanisms are dependent exclusively on the light of our sun for energy.
ZELNICK
What if we could find some way to get you more energy? Would that speed things up?
CHMMR
what you describe is theoretically possible, but it would pose a great danger to us... the process must be executed as planned... or it may fail catastrophically... we would be destroyed.
ZELNICK
We came here to find out what you're doing down there.
CHMMR
though your ship's design is unfamiliar to us, we now understand that you are of human origin, and so we will share with you our reasons for accepting the status of ur-quan slave...
in 2135, our great alliance burned within the crucible of sentience... though our fleets of armed starships held back the hierarchy's grotesque armada for many years, in the end, the ur-quan unleashed a power upon us that was so overwhelming, we knew we would be annihilated if we did not submit... this unstoppable power, this ultimate weapon was a huge starship... an unstoppable battle platform built by the precursors in the ancient past...
your vessel shares some similarities in design to the ur-quan's battle platform... which they call 'sa-matra', meaning 'great trophy'. the sa-matra was many times larger than your ship, and bore weapons and defensive systems that made it invulnerable to all our technologies... it remains a mystery to us why the ur-quan fought us for so long without using the sa-matra... but when they finally brought the ship into combat... the sa-matra incinerated our finest broodhome vessels from ten times our own ships' weapon range.
we had no choices beyond submission or devastation. before the ur-quan arrived to accept our surrender, we sent one last message to your people... a message suggesting that your species do as we chenjesu and mmrnmhrm planned to do... we would accept the ur-quan's demands and become slaves, until such a time as we found a way to destroy or neutralize the sa-matra.
ZELNICK
We really need advice from you.
CHMMR
our wisdom is available... detail your need.
ZELNICK
I seem to have acquired a Dnyarri. What do you make of it?
CHMMR
we know the dnyarri only from legend... where they are described as the embodiment of evil and cruelty... if ever there was a devil, captain, it was the dnyarri... however, if in fact the creature you possess is one of this ancient breed.... its mental power may be useful to help confuse the ur-quan.
ZELNICK
How do you think we can defeat the Ur-Quan?
CHMMR
You must find some way to destroy the sa-matra... to do this you will need a powerful weapon capable of destroying an entire planet... but that is not all... you will also require some way to distract the ur-quan to give you the opportunity to use the weapon.
ZELNICK
Goodbye Chenjesu. Goodbye Mmrnmhrm.
CHMMR
goodbye once and future ally, human... when the process is complete and we emerge from our chrysalis, i shall tell your grandchildren of our conversation this day.
"The process can't be interrupted," they say. "We may be destroyed," they say.
Well, you know what?
That's a risk Zelnick is willing to take.
TO BE CONTINUED!
NEXT TIME: Assembling the Alliance.
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