- Ava -

“Oh, about twelve billion.”

There was a long silence, until Ava started to think there was something wrong with the translation. Just when she was going to clarify, the alien spoke again.

“Twelve billion. All sentient?”

“Yes. And a few trillion that we consider non-sentient, but are still beings. We call them animals.”

“Earth is a mighty friend. I must contact the Hierarch of Fourteenth Rank, Krun. Esteemed Earth envoy, please enter my spaceship and we can talk further. This thin air bothers me.”

Ava looked past Nur to the other end of the icy tunnel. There was a dark opening into the comet.

She glanced behind her. Xark'ion was standing there, arms crossed over his chest, as secure as the Rocky Mountains. The sight grounded her and made her confident. Everything had gone well so far. This was extremely promising.

“Very well,” she said. “Captain Xark'ion and I will follow you inside your craft.”

She made the hand gestures that meant come closer, and two seconds later she could feel Xark'ion's presence right behind her.

Nur turned around, and made his way back towards his comet with a gliding walk.

Ava and Xark'ion followed.

“I think this could work,” Ava whispered, and the translator said it right into Xark'ion's ear. “They have never had friends before.”

“Then perhaps they will have trouble understanding what it means,” Xark'ion whispered back. “But yes, your diplomacy skills are evident.”

“No skills needed,” she replied. “He's not being difficult. This was surprisingly easy. I get the feeling they want this friendship as much as we do.”

The opening into the comet was the same size as the tunnel, and the temperature only got colder inside what was clearly not a comet at all, but a very alien spaceship. The interior was in half darkness, and the walls were smooth and metallic.

There was just room for the alien to walk tall through the strange and irregular rooms they were passing through, but Xark'ion had to bend his neck to not bump into the strangely congealed-looking ceiling. The smell of ammonia was very strong, and Ava was starting to get a headache.

The alien Nur entered a chamber that was larger than the ones they had seen so far. Without hesitation he walked straight down into a pool set in the floor, filled with a dark liquid with the surface level with the floor. The smell of ammonia was extremely strong.

Ava and Xark'ion stopped before they too would plunge into the unpleasant pool. Nur was immersed in it with only about a foot of his dark-clad body still sticking up above the surface.

“Space travel is mostly agreeable,” he said in his ghostly voice. “But the thinness of pure air is unhealthy for Kunuru.”

“Do Kunuru travel much in space?” Ava asked.

“Much,” Nur replied. “I am now in communication with the Hierarch of Fourteenth Rank, Krun.”

The silence was deafening, and Nur didn't appear to be moving either above or under the surface. Ava had no idea how he could communicate with anyone while mostly submerged in ammonia.

Minutes passed, and Ava sent Xark'ion a little smile. This was the weirdest thing she'd ever done, and probably the most dangerous. But still, with Xark'ion there, it seemed both natural and safe.

She had an urge to stroke his face and his chest and his back, just feeling the sheer maleness of him close to her.

But this was probably not the best time. Still she turned her back to him, shot her hip out and stroked her hand down her butt in a way that she was hoping was sexy.

You okay? she signalled with her hands.

“I'm fine,” her translator whispered into her ear. “I have a good view here. You just watch that alien.”

Still Nur didn't move, and Ava started to wonder if maybe he was waiting for her to say something.

Then he stirred, sending little ripples of liquid across the still pool. “The Hierarch of Fourteenth Rank, Krun, authorizes me, the Hierarch of Fifteenth Rank, Nur, to accept the friendship of Ava Harris from Earth and the eighteen billion others like her. This is a probationary pact. Ava and her people must commit no act of hostility towards the Kunuru or our allies.”

“We won't,” Ava assured him, feeling a strong urge to pump her fist in the air. “And what about the Acerex?”

“The Hierarch of Fourteenth Rank, Krun, has authorized me to receive the Acerex surrender or to discuss terms of a ceasefire. He is puzzled about the friendship idea, but is open to negotiations. He states that while the Acerex are a puny enemy with honorless fighters, and while the Kunuru are close to conquering them and even now maintain a ship in their sacred star system in which we presently find ourselves, and while we find slaughtering their warriors the easiest task in the universe, we also see the value of not being at war at all times. Perhaps a solution can be found ...”

The ghostly voice trailed off, and Ava made sure to memorize some of the most important things he had said. Most of it wouldn't sit well with the Acerex, but the bottom line seemed promising. Stay calm, she signalled again. That speech had been pretty insulting.

“Hierarch Nur,” she said, “as an envoy, I always seek to understand. You said that none have ever understood the Kunuru cause. May I know what that cause is?”

“The death of all that are not Kunuru,” the reply came instantly.

“Oh. You want everyone else dead?”

“Everyone else and everything else.”

“But you're only attacking the Acerex? Using other species.”

“Efficient,” Nur said. “Force must have something to work against. The slave species are crushed between us and the Acerex. The hammer and the anvil. We are the anvil. The Acerex are the hammer.”

Ava felt Xark'ion stir behind her. Stay calm, she signalled again.

“Your attacks on the Acerex are not really to kill the Acerex, but to kill the aliens you send to fight them? I am understanding that correctly?”

“The Earth envoy understands correctly. The Acerex are efficient fighters. Remove wave after wave of unworthy slave species. Yet, not perfect. With friendship, they will promise to be more effective.”

“Not perfect? In what way?”

“Acerex never finish. Never totally eradicate. Fights lesser species off, then backs down. Never invades. Despite our measures taken.”

That was true. The Acerex preferred not to annihilate the aliens they were up against. Sometimes they would eradicate a whole army, but never the alien's home world. And they'd never invaded any planet, as far as Ava knew.

“Which measures taken?” She was working on autopilot now, letting her intuition take over and keeping one part of her mind remembering and analyzing what was said.

“The Acerex are two. Divided. One half fights, the other part gives birth to their offspring. We, the Kunuru, deleted one half. In order to help the other half fight better. Only part successful.”

Divided? The women and the men. The disease that killed most of the women in their world must have come from the Kunuru, although it was other aliens that were blamed. 

A low growling emanated from Xark'ion's throat, and Ava again signalled stay calm. We are talking.

“Your cause is to eliminate all other life? Still you are willing to have friendship with Earth and Acerex.”

“There can be peace. The anvil and the hammer need not be enemies. Can be friends. As long as the hammer keeps hitting.”

“But at some point, you need to kill the Acerex too. As well as the people of Earth.”

Still Nur didn't move in his ammonia bath. “Yes.”

This wasn't as good as Ava had hoped. The Kunuru seemed to want to use them to destroy other alien races, and then the Kunuru would try to destroy them, too.

“Why is your cause to kill all other life?”

“The universe was made for the Kunuru. To prove ourselves worthy of it in the eyes of Vrun, we must destroy all the parasite species, cleanse all of space and make it worthy of him. Then we will be alone in a clean universe and he will return from his Other Realm.”

“Who is Vrun?”

“Vrun is the creator, the owner, the primary and the ultimate. Not in this universe. It is not worthy of him. But we will cleanse it and he will return.”

Ah. Religious zealots. Still, this was all valuable intelligence. Much more than anyone could expect from a first meeting. And Nur seemed willing to talk. Ava had to get as much as possible out of him.

“How many Kunuru are there?”

“Nineteen.”

“Nineteen billion?”

“Nineteen.”

Nineteen? She glanced behind her. But Xark'ion wasn't looking at her, but kept staring at Nur, his face paler than before. But his hand was not on the hilt of his sword. Still, she probably had to speed this up. Despite her suit's advanced climatic controls, she was feeling cold and she had to concentrate to keep her teeth from clattering.

“What do you know about Earth?”

“Earth. Ava Harris is their enjoy. Authorized to speak on its behalf. Eighteen billion sentients, trillions of others. Friends with the Acerex. Possible new hammer for the Kunuru anvil.”

“What did you do with the Ysal?”

“The Ysal. Slave species. The hammer proved useless. The anvil had to kill. In a fashion most befitting them. They are still there. Perfect. But now they are clean. No life remains.”

“What is your relation to the Solp?”

“The Solp. Scavenger slave species. Useful for cleansing dead worlds.”

“Do you have a leader?”

“The only leader is Vrun.”

“Ah. Who is now in his Other Realm, right? How about someone in this universe? Someone my leader can talk to? Perhaps a hierarch of higher rank?”

“The Hierarch of First Rank, Sur. Only Vrun is above him.”

“Is he willing to talk to my leader, the President of Space Expansion? To confirm the friendship between our peoples?”

“The will of Hierarch of the First Rank, Sur, is known only to the Hierarch of the First Rank, Sur.”

“Could you ask him, maybe?”

Nur went quiet for a moment.

“The Hierarch of the First Rank, Sur, will deign to see the Earth leader, the President of Space Expansion. It is the greatest honor for the President of Space Expansion. Only Vrun is above the Hierarch of the First Rank, Sur.”

“Is there a time that's good for him? A location, perhaps?”

“Time to be decided by the Hierarch of the First Rank, Sur. He is very far away, as is every other Kunuru. Location, the holy planet of the Acerex. In this star system. No Acerex is to attend.”

Of course. The Fire Planet. “Okay. So can we come by here at a later time to decide the details? I mean, I'm not sure if I will come back here. But someone from Earth? Using radio?”

“Agreed,” Nur said.

“Okay. I guess that's all I came for. Thank you very much for your time-”

“Ava Harris has come to the Kunuru offering friendship,” Nur interrupted. “It is valued. The Hierarch of First Rank, Sur, thus commands Ava Harris to know the appearance of the Kunuru. If the Earth wishes to be the new hammer to the Kunuru anvil, all must be known.” The alien stirred in the bath, creating waves in the pool.

“Um. I'm not sure we want to become a hammer ...”

Nur slowly strode out of the ammonia, and the black shroud looked as dry as ever.

Xark'ion took two step forwards and stood right beside Ava. But this time his closeness didn't calm her down. There was something wrong here.

The black robe slid down Nur's body, and Ava looked away with one hand over her eyes. Stars, this was probably turning him on ...

Then the creepy striptease was over, the black shroud was pooled on the floor and Ava squinted over at Nur with one eye half open behind her hand.

A chill went through her. Yeah, that wasn't sexy so much as downright repulsive.

Nur was the size of a tall Earthling man, but not as large as Xark'ion. He was humanoid, with two long, spindly arms with two clawed fingers on each one. The brown bones were on the outside of his pale, translucent body, and blue and greenish organs could be seen under the sallow skin. The head was long and pointed and seemed to have no hard skull, because blue veins and bladders were visible deep inside the head. The eyes were milky and the mouth tiny, with long, brown teeth that only showed briefly when the alien talked.

A long metallic object hung from one hand.

“You see why aliens hate us,” Nur said in his ghostly voice. “We are different. Not pleasing to behold. We receive no sympathy.”

“Earth is friends with anyone, regardless of appearance,” Ava said. “Yes, you are different from us. And we are different from you.”

“Different,” Nur repeated. “Thus unworthy of Vrun. I know your Acerex knows who I am. I have sensed him before.”

Xark'ion growled again, and his hand reflexively shot towards his sword, but he caught himself at the last moment.

“Have you?” It was the first thing the Acerex warrior had said loudly inside the comet, and his deep voice seemed completely out of place in these cold surroundings.

“I have. On the Ysal world. A battle. Only me and my manufactured soldiers, fighting off the Acerex onslaught.”

Ava didn't like the way this was going. Xark'ion was as tense as a bowstring.

She waved once, hoping to shut the alien up. “Okay, fine. Thank you. Well, we better get back to our shutt-”

Nur's tentacles waved stiffly. “The battle was necessary. Holy. For the first time, my manufactured soldiers fought the Acerex directly. And he was there. As were others. Pitifully they fought. My metal slaves won easily. And then, as a final triumph ...”

The hands moved and lifted the metallic object. It was a huge scissor, gleaming grayish in the dim light. Along both cutting edges there were darker patches.

Ava blanched as she realized what she was looking at.

“The Acerex have proven less than ideal as a hammer,” Nur said. “Perhaps the people of Earth will be better. Someone who lets me cut their head off as easily as the compatriot of this Acerex did lacks resolve, it seems to me. Why, he laid down for my blades and only wept in his weakness-”

“Xark'ion, don't!” Ava yelled.

But it was too late. The warrior had heard enough.

“Wrrraaaaaahhhhhhh!” The noise resonated through the metal chamber, and Ava's hands flew to her ears.

In one movement, Xark'ion drew his sword, lunged forward and cut a mighty slash across Nur's spindly, alien body.

The alien's shrill scream was cut short as the top half of his body fell to the floor with a wet thud. Xark'ion still wasn't satisfied, and cut the still standing half in two as well. A dirty yellow liquid shot to the ceiling from the remains of the alien, and it stopped moving.

Ava couldn't help it. The repulsive dead alien combined with the chemical stench made her cramp up from out of nowhere, and she bent over and threw up.

Xark'ion froze and gave Ava a short glance before he placed his sword back in its scabbard.

Ava wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She felt faint. That had been the best hope for peace for both Acerex and Earth. For a moment she just stared as the disaster that had happened right in front of her.

Then she finally found her voice. “What the fuck have you done?”