“December 17th. The year is 3174. Today, the ship’s computer has picked up a planet that may be able to sustain human life. I’ve ordered the bridge team to keep this quiet until it is confirmed the Sestrenka has found a home for our people.”

Kalix sat in his quarters listening to the overly detailed daily logs made by the commander of the human ship. After four cycles of the seemingly endless recordings, Kalix was coming to feel like perhaps he was being punished, and not awarded.

It was untrue and inaccurate, but listening to the goings on of the daily life of the humans, trapped in their inferior vessel, was akin to torture.

It made him question his own daily reports, wondering if the council found them as tedious to listen to as this.

Before the Aria had been destroyed, everything in the human ship’s protocols had been downloaded into the Sarazen database. From their communication frequencies, to what passed for their military and medical records, to the daily recordings made by their commander.

The Asho had even ordered readings to identify the metal composition of the human ships. Metal so weak it was a miracle the humans had even survived entry into space in the first place.

It couldn’t repel radiation, couldn’t withstand plasma fire, and couldn’t move faster than a Sarazen ground cycle. It even dented if a piece of common stone collided with the hull. 

It was unlike any of the starships they were familiar with, making the metal unique and easily detectable to most any scanning equipment.

It was how the sensors of Warship Five had come to positively identify the Sestrenka floating in the space between galaxies.

It hung there in the middle of territory unclaimed by any of their enemies, or allies, nowhere near any habitable planets.

When his warriors had alerted him to the ship’s location, Kalix had been excited to so quickly have come across the ship.

Only five of their solar months, and already they had discovered one of the weak vessels? One potentially filled to the brim with viable mates on his very first assignment as a Warship Commander?

The esteem, the proof that former Fifth Commander Brennaugh and First Commander Tarek had chosen well when giving Kalix command of the Fifth, would have been assured.

He had ordered his warriors to jump to the Sestrenka’s location immediately. As soon as they dropped out of the void, they began to scan the ship for signs of life. 

His feelings of victory turned to bitter disappointment when it was confirmed not a single heart beat aboard the Earth ship.

Kalix sent two squads aboard regardless, ordering them to search the entire vessel in hopes that the inferior metal was causing an inaccurate reading.

He sat on the command deck listening to his warriors breathing through the open communication channel, watching their progress, shaking his head over the cramped, strange configuration of the interior.

His warriors were thorough. Going deck by deck, room by room, they left no corner of the ship unexplored.

Their scans had not been inaccurate.

*****

“December 20th. The year is 3174. Christmas has come early. Reports indicate the atmosphere is able to support human life. Radiation levels are beneath tolerable levels, and bodies of bountiful freshwater have been identified.

“Thus far, no indigenous life forms have been noted. The sweep of the planet and search for inhabitants is ongoing. There are two suns, one moon, and our initial analysis of the climate proves favorable at this time.

“Commander Kalix, report.”

He came to attention as his personal view screen came to life, displaying the proud warrior who was now their Asho.

The golden stripe of his mane and black clan markings identified him as the absolute ruler of their pride.

His features were distinctly feline, the slanted corners of his eyes and wide nose were the standard of their race and easily identified throughout the galaxy.

He stood behind his heavily pregnant mate, cradling her distended belly with a thickly muscled arm.

Kalix had received news the Asho’na was carrying her mate’s cubs, but Kalix had not seen the female since their initial interaction when she had still been aboard the Tarek’s ship.

She looked...radiant. And very large. Kalix was horrified in the most fascinated way, but knew that to make mention of the Asho’na’s size would only bring dishonor to him, likely upset the female, and send Tarek into a rage.

Kalix cleared his throat, noticing Clary was staring at him expectantly, eagerly waiting for his report.

“Asho, we have found one of the human vessels.”

Tarek nodded tightly, reaching down to curl his hand on his mate’s shoulder. “Well done. How many humans remain?”

Kalix took a deep breath, fingers moving over his data tablet to send his full report to the Asho. This was the first mission he had undertaken as Commander of the Fifth and thus far, he had failed.

“None, sir.” The Asho’na gave a little sound of distress and Kalix fought back his wince.

“Explain,” Tarek ordered, his golden gaze sharp enough to slice.

“It appears the life support system failed, or was damaged in some way. They have been dead for what I calculate as twenty Earth years. I have downloaded all the data to your secured unit as ordered.”

“What ship is it?”

Kalix blinked at the Asho’na’s question, tilting his head at Tarek to await his permission to answer her directly. The Asho gave a tight nod, checked his wrist unit, and removed it to hand to his female.

“The word is unknown to me, but I believe it is called Sestrenka.”

Clary snatched the wrist unit from Tarek and bent over it. Muttering under her breath, she scrolled through the information Kalix provided.

She rolled her lips together and pressed them into a tight line, sucking in a long, slow breath before speaking.

“It’s a word in a human language, Russian. It means ‘sister.’ God, twenty years?” Clary sounded relieved, turning more comfortably to lean back against Tarek but not yet taking her eyes off the wrist unit.

“What else did you find, Commander?”

“Upon cursory investigation, there were only a third of the previously recorded number of crew onboard.”

Clary’s head jerked up, her eyes wide and round with surprise. “What? Are you sure?”

“I am certain, Asho’na.”

“Where the hell are the rest of the crew?” she demanded.

Out of respect, Kalix fought the twitch of his lips. Tarek had no such qualms about keeping his amusement from his face, though it seemed alien to see his stern lips curved ever so slightly in a smile.

“Unknown at this time, Asho’na. I will continue reviewing the human commander’s status recordings as soon as we conclude. May I ask how the investigation goes into discovering the traitors?”

Tarek’s amusement faded. His expression transforming into the hard, battle ready sneer Kalix was more familiar with.

“Our communications and security systems have been purged of all taint. The analysts are beginning to identify individuals responsible for the corruption.

“Continue to use only the secure channel for your reports and alert me immediately through my direct line if the secured code is not attached to any orders or correspondence.”

Kalix gave a nod, “It will be done, Asho.”

Tarek gave a tight grunt. “Any further disturbances among your crew?”

Once the traitors back home on Saraz had begun to feel threatened, they had triggered all the control implants placed inside willing and unwilling warriors, killing them within moments.

Over one hundred of Kalix’s crew had instantaneously dropped to the ground, roaring in agony as they had bled from their eyes, nose, and ears.

Kalix was uncertain if those hundred would have become slaves to the will of the ones controlling the implants.

Uncertain if they would have turned on their fellow warriors in an effort to sabotage the mission, or to have killed every human they found.

Whatever the intent, one hundred warriors was exactly the minimum number of crew required to man the warship.

“None, sir.”

“Good. Report back when you find something else of merit.”

“I will. My apologies for disappointing you, Asho’na.”

The bright-haired female looked up from the data unit and huffed out a little breath, sniffling back the tears Kalix could see clinging to her lashes. Tarek made an unhappy rumble at the sight of her unhappiness and she lifted her hand to stop him from acting any further.

“I am not disappointed, Commander Kalix. I am saddened by the loss, but after so long without contact it was not a complete surprise. Good luck on the hunt.”

*****

“March 20th. The year is 3175. This is Captain Yuri, standing on terra firma. Because of the date it was discovered, the crew has decided to call this planet Moika. It is...it is beautiful.

“I had not ever thought that it would be my crew who would find us a new home, one so peaceful and new. So full of hope.” 

Kalix paused the recording and leapt to his feet, carrying the data unit with him to the command deck.

“Dax!” His second jogged up to stand beside him while Kalix activated their database. “The human captain has left coordinates of the planet they deemed viable. Can you match it to our star maps?”

Dax’s fingers flew over his console, but as the line between his furrowed brows got deeper, then deeper still, Kalix began to feel less than optimistic.

While Dax was trying to match the star maps, Kalix input every description the human commander had given of the planet and its topography into the database.

Dax gave a frustrated snarl, waving his arm at his screen while he scowled at it.

“The human maps are ridiculously inadequate. The range of their data is so small that as it stands, it is impossible for our computer to match any star clusters. I will have to recalibrate.”

Kalix flicked his search query over to Dax’s console, nodding to it. “Then we must go about this in a different manner. Enter in every known planet that matches this description.”

Dax huffed with irritation, his console facing the wrath of his frustrated glare. “In which territory?”

“All of them. Apply the parameters from the human ship Aria required for their optimal survival.”

Dax’s brow gave a curious quirk. “You are adding the molecular composition of their star ships?”

Kalix nodded, sweeping the tiles on the holo-screen toward Dax’s terminal to enhance his search.

Dax grunted impatiently, muttering under his breath about how the humans could possibly have thought they could leave and find this planet again with such poor star maps. A flick of his wrist sent the search data back to Kalix’s terminal.

There were forty seven partial matches, all of them too far away to detect whether or not the unique metal composition of the cannibalized parts from the Sestrenka were present, or not.

To properly eliminate the planets where the humans could have taken shelter, the warship would need to be within proximity to them by at least several cycles.

That would take far longer than he was interested in searching. Kalix would of course search until all possibilities were exhausted, but space was vast, and the possibilities innumerate.

“Change the search parameters. Mark the location the Sestrenka was found, factor in their rate of drift, then calculate the rate of speed the human ship could reach at maximum velocity.

“Apply the distance they would be able to travel per cycle, and expand the search radius by five in every direction to compensate. Do any of the planets on our current list fall within that range?”

Kalix waited, feet braced, while Dax worked.

“Five, Commander,” Dax reported triumphantly.

*****

“January 1st. The year is now 3182. Our colony on Moika is established. Structures have been built, enough to house the entire crew, with more being built and completed.

I can now return to space, seek out whatever else may remain of our fellow humans, and bring them back to Moika.

Lieutenant Commander Sully of the Starsong and his mate Sage, will be left in charge of the colony. God go with them, and with us.”

A chime of sound drew Kalix from the recordings. He was surprised to see he had become so engrossed as to not have realized the passage of time. He was expected on the holo-deck to meet with the Asho and the other commanders.

Kalix raked his hands through his hair to make himself more presentable, grabbing a clean tunic on the way.

He had just modified the bench to better suit his needs and sat when the room shifted to display an oblong table where the fifteen commanders sat, each of them able to see one another and discuss pertinent business despite being spread out across the galaxy.

“All of you will cease gaping at my mate like green recruits, or the very next time I see you, I will decorate my cub’s rooms with your-”

“Shush. It’s fine.” Clary leaned against her mate, soothing him with a touch and laughed softly.

Kalix choked on his laughter to see how quickly their pride ruler, renowned for his terrifying ferocity, retreated from verbal battle lest he upset his mate.

“Report!” Tarek’s half roar made all of them sit up straighter, any urges to laugh gone in the wake of that sound. The bark of the strongest beast present.

Kalix turned his attention to Cavil, the warrior who had taken Tarek’s place as First Commander of the Sarazen armada.

The male reported the transition was going smoothly on his end, no unrest or further indication of compromised warriors. As of right now, Kalix was the only commander reporting directly to Tarek and not under Cavil’s immediate direction.

“We will hear from you last, Kalix,” Tarek ordered when it came time for him to report.

Kalix could only incline his head to acknowledge while the holographic rendering of Sixth Commander V’ar reached forward to link his data unit to Tarek’s.

“Mining continues to go well on S6. We have had no recent activity from the prisoners, no deaths or crippling injuries to report.”

“You have a penal colony on S6?” Clary’s interruption had Tarek grunting, nodding while he looked over the report he was likely receiving from V’ar.

“Indeed, my One. We host prisoners from several of our allies. Those prisoners work the mine. In exchange, our allied systems receive a small percentage of ore, and the assurance that their most dangerous criminals are being housed away from their population. We also trade with those allies. Commander V’ar, you have changed the duty rotation, explain.”

V’ar cleared his throat uncomfortably. “After another season without mates, Asho, my warriors grow restless. They required more activity, so fifty at a time rotate down to the planet to patrol the colony. Another fifty volunteer to work in the mine to put their building aggression to productive use.”

Tarek grunted and continued to read the report, thoroughly doing right by his people, his pride, by reading all the details.

For the past hundred cycles or so the council, not the former Asho, had been present for the Armada’s meeting.

It was not lost on Kalix that even as Tarek gave the report his complete attention, a few quiet moments passed and he shifted to blindly reach down just below their view sight, presumably to place his palm on his mate somewhere.

Most of his fellow warriors were rabid with the desire for a mate, their patience growing thin after so long when the bounty of a possible human mate was offered to them. But not him.

Kalix had just received everything he had ever desired. Status elevation from a primary warrior among tens of thousands to commander of his own warship. Someday perhaps, he would desire to relinquish that position he had worked so long for, but not yet.

“Commander Cavil, at the conclusion of this meeting, we will discuss rotation of the ships. If the warriors of the Sixth are becoming restless enough to request to work in the mines, they have been at their duty station for too long.”

The dark-haired First Commander gave a sharp nod, looking around the table with the same sort of calm, ruthless edge as their Asho.

“Agreed.”

V’ar looked as though perhaps he would object, but before he even was given the opportunity Tarek looked up from his data unit and lifted his chin at the Sixth Commander.

“V’ar, you and your warriors have tirelessly and without failure protected one of our most vulnerable installations. I find no fault in your command, but your warriors cannot be restless.

“Despite your well-placed landing maneuvers, never in the same place twice, the changing of the guard is now a routine.

“Routines are vulnerable to attack. Has anyone else been experiencing a rise in aggression among their warriors? If so, it is time to discuss our options.”

Two other commanders reported an increase in aggression and more time spent in the holo-rooms to relieve the feeling of confinement. It was discussed, a solution decided, and done. And then it was time for Kalix to share his findings.

“I have come to the end of Captain Yuri’s daily reports-”

Clary jerked in her seat, anticipation and hope plain in her expression. “Did you find the planet?”

It was his turn to send his report to Tarek’s personal unit. The Asho didn’t even look at it, just took it off his wrist and gave it to his mate.

“I don’t know why you won’t just link up mine to yours,” she grumbled.

Tarek cleared his throat while the warriors around them tried not to grin. “Security, my One. We have discussed this.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She waved her hand at him dismissively.

Tarek rolled his eyes, a gesture of annoyance he seemed to have adopted from his female. “Continue, Commander Kalix.”

“Sir. My second, Dax, has calculated where the human vessel might have come from and we have narrowed down the area to five solar systems.

“Captain Yuri states that he took only as many crew as was necessary to man the Sestrenka and after the colony was stable, he once again set off into space.

“He states his intention to find the other four human ships and give them coordinates to Moika. He left in charge a Lieutenant Commander Sully of the Starsong, and his mate Sage to—”

“What?” Clary interrupted again, only this time her voice was a strangled shriek. Tarek jerked up from his relaxed position to put his arm around her, but she stared at Kalix from across the holographic table.

“What did you just say?” she demanded,

“That Captain Yuri left in command Lieutenant Sully of the Starsong and his mate, Sage, in charge of the colony.”

Kalix’s chin jerked back to see tears fill the Asho’na’s eyes. How pale her skin had gone and how her hand shook as she lifted it to her mouth to cover the sob that hitched.

Tarek drew her tighter to his side. “Clary? Do you know these names?”

Kalix wished he had been able to scent the emotions clearly affecting her, worried that he had delivered unwelcome news.

“My parents. M-my sire, my mother. Oh my god! They’re there, on Moika?”

Kalix shifted uncomfortably, not having that answer at this time, and seeing the Asho’na’s hope he felt the weight of a warship settle on his shoulders.

“At the time of the Captain’s report, Asho’na, yes. Until I locate the planet itself, I apologize, but I cannot with accuracy say it is so. There is a crew manifest included in my report, should any other names be of significance.”

Clary nodded, leaning heavily on her mate. She rested upon his lap now where Tarek had unashamedly taken her into his arms to offer her what comfort he could.

“Thank you. I um, I haven’t heard from them since I was ten years old.”

Her voice caught and she tried to not show them what he was certain she perceived as weakness, but they all could see her joy, her grief, the strength of her bond with their Asho when she allowed him to soothe her with the special rumble their beasts only ever made for their mate.

Unable to stand her upset, Tarek called the meeting to a halt. “Commander Cavil, I will contact you regarding the rotation schedule at a later time.”

Cavil nodded his assent, but Clary shook her head and tried to get up.  “No, I’m sorry for disrupting. Please, I can leave and get it together,”

Tarek snorted and stood up with her in his arms, murmuring to his mate as the hologram faded.

For a moment, all fifteen of the warship commanders sat there in silence, staring at the space where their ruling pair had been with awe and reverence.

“How many humans were left to colonize this planet?”

Kalix turned to the hologram of V’ar beside him, clearing his throat to free the odd feeling lump that had formed.

“Five thousand, five hundred and twenty four. Males, females and cubs.”

“How close are you to finding the planet?” another commander asked.

“Do you require any assistance?” demanded another.

“One of our ships may be close enough to the planet to offer aid.”

Question after question came from the eager males all around him. All of them so ready for the other human ships to be found, their demands became almost comical in their fervor.

Commander Cavil slammed his fist down onto his table, the loud bang of it enough to capture their attention.

“Enough!”

His peers fell silent, shifting uncomfortably in their chairs while their first commander glowered at them all.

“I understand your eagerness to find potential mates among these humans, but until further notice Commander Kalix answers directly to the Asho, and no one else.

“We will be kept apprised of his progress and no doubt if he requires assistance, it will be delegated to the warship in closest proximity.

“You are to focus on your assigned duties and ensure that if you are blessed with a human mate, our territories will remain indisputably secure. Am I clear?”

All gave their confirmation, and were dismissed. Kalix found himself alone in the holo-room, Commander Cavil now only one seat away from him, instead of four.

The commander blinked, leaned back in his seat and regarded Kalix with cool interest.

“This is your first mission as commander. Do you feel you are doing well, thus far?”

There was nothing in the tone of that question to suggest that Cavil was questioning his ability, but it was undeniable that Cavil was indeed doing just that.

Kalix clenched his jaw to withhold the immediate response that wanted to escape. Struggling to withhold the challenge the first commander seemed to be waiting for.

Kalix had to remind himself he had been chosen for this mission, not any of the other primary warriors among Brennaugh’s crew.

There had been grumbles among some of the other candidates to take over command, and Kalix knew the reason was because his clan still bore the stigma of their long since passed dishonor.

When T’kalis had still been Asho, he had cut a bloody swath through the clans in order to unite them. He sought to end the warring between clans in their push for territory or dominance, the warring that had taken the life of his mate. Kalix’s clan had fought the hardest to retain their independence, or so he had been told.

Kalix had been a small cub when it began, at the age of being drafted into military service when it had ended, and one of the few remaining of his clan to have survived their resistance. His first few years as a warrior had been brutal.

At every turn his motives had been questioned, and his markings had identified him as a clan member who had refused supreme sovereignty. It mattered little to the others he had been too young to even lift a claw to resist.

Kalix’s sire, grand-sire, and his elder brothers had all fought, resisted, and died during the wars. He remembered how his mother had spoken of their honorable deaths.

How proud she was to have been the mate of such a strong male, the mother to strong sons, unbent and refusing to take a knee before T’kalis.

The last time his mother had spoken of it was right before she had taken up her mate’s claws and left to fight and die for a cause already lost.

They had all died before Kalix could truly know his family. He remembered little of his sire. Even less of his brothers beyond knowing they had cared for him, played with him as a cub, and taught him to hunt small lykarra in the woods of their territory.

By the time he was old enough to truly understand, his clan had been entirely wiped out and Kalix had been inducted into warrior training.

Over and over, he had had to prove himself.

Prove his loyalty.

Kalix and his beast both had chaffed at the self-restraint, the control it had taken for him to endure the distrust and disdain of his fellow warriors, but his patience in the end had been worth it.

Brennaugh had seen him training, fighting to not let his beast loose on the warriors who had been taunting him with his shameful heritage, their intent to make him lose control and prove his weakness. Prove he was unworthy to be chosen for duty aboard one of the warships.

Brennaugh had walked over to the knot of warriors and watched as Kalix methodically, ruthlessly defeated all eight of the males. With his fellows lying in a heap around him, panting and groaning in pain, Kalix had faced the commander.

He had braced for what he was sure was to be a brutal dismissal, but instead Brennaugh had asked him how far he had progressed in his training.

At his answer, Brennaugh had nodded and turned his attention to the warriors just gaining their feet behind Kalix, then to his wrist unit.

“I am requesting your assignment to my warship. Expect orders for deployment by the next rising.”

Brennaugh had never explained why he had specifically chosen him that day, but from the moment Kalix had put his boots on the deck of the warship, he had experienced a sensation of relief.

The warriors aboard the warship had accepted him despite the obvious clan markings on his skin. They welcomed him into their fold and like brothers, had been proud of him when he had advanced. In no time at all Kalix was promoted from a warrior among many, to a primary in the squad of ten that served directly under Commander Brennaugh.

When Asho Tarek had discovered the humans, when his mate had been found among them, the request to the council for a ship to be sent out into space to find the remaining humans—if any remained—the Fifth had been chosen to undertake the mission.

The mission meant the warriors on board would miss the upcoming breeding festival, and likely several others. But the news had not been a deterrent to Kalix in the least.

So he missed another breeding festival. It wasn’t like any of the females would choose a male from his clan willingly, even if their beasts connected and bonded.

Commander Brennaugh had done right by his warriors, asking permission for his males to be given opportunity to discover whether or not one of the humans aboard Tarek’s warship was a potential mate before the Fifth accepted the mission.

Kalix had been stunned, shocked, when one of the human females wound up calling Brennaugh as her mate.

He had truly felt joy for his commander. Pleased beyond measure to know the little female had been strong enough to overlook the terrible battle scars the male had carried for most of his life. That she had found beauty in them and welcomed him with curiosity.

Paired with a mate, Commander Brennaugh had retired from active service and set out to choose a warrior from among his crew to take his place.

It had never occurred to Kalix that he would be put forth by Brennaugh as his choice, or that Tarek would accept. Or that the council would accept Tarek’s approval.

For an entire cycle, Kalix hadn’t believed it.

Not until Brennaugh had given Kalix his data tablet with a proud grin and told him not to wreck his warship did he believe it.

Commander Brennaugh, with his exemplary military service award, his flawless pedigree, had chosen Kalix to take his place.

First Commander Cavil was one of the eight warriors Kalix had put on their asses the day Brennaugh had personally chosen him to serve on his warship.

Now it was as if they were back there on that sandy yard, green, not yet having earned their armor, Kalix’s loyalty was questioned, his ability questioned.

“Do you feel differently, Commander Cavil?” Kalix managed to murmur evenly.

Cavil lifted his shoulder in a casual roll, shaking his head with a quick jump of his lip.

“Much is riding on the success of your mission, more so now that the Asho’na has kin waiting to be safely recovered.”

Kalix remained seated and calm. Cavil was now in control of the Armada, and once this mission was completed Kalix would no longer be reporting directly to the Asho.

It would not do Kalix any service to remind the First Commander that he had been chosen twice, before Cavil. 

“My mission from the beginning has been to discover the location of the remaining human starships, discover if any humans remain alive, and return those willing to Saraz. I will complete it with as much haste as possible.” Kalix would have continued, except an alert chimed from his wrist unit, summoning him to the command deck. “We are within proximity to the first possible planet. I take my leave, Commander.”

Cavil inclined his head and watched Kalix from his side of the hologram until Kalix passed the open door and out of his sight.

*****

After a brief, yet oddly satisfying skirmish with the Adiveeze who took exception to the Sarazen presence within their territory, they discovered the first planet having fit their search criteria was not a match.

Not a hint of the unique human metal was detected from orbit, and neither was it detected when Kalix had sent a squadron of close contact fighters to do a fly over.

The second planet on their list was also not a match and Kalix was beginning to feel the strain of failure.

News of the Asho’na having given birth to a pair of healthy cubs not long after had caused their ship wide sour mood to lift with joyous celebration.

Their rulers had cemented their place within the pride, providing the next generation not only with the son of their strongest warrior, but also a daughter of a hybrid female with yet unknown potential.

He lay staring up at the ceiling of his quarters almost a full rotation later, thinking about his brother warriors volunteering to work in the ore mines on S6 in order to relieve their aggression. The option would have been nice to have right now.

Three of Earth’s months, one of theirs, and they were not yet within range of the third planet on their list.

“Commander?”

Kalix sat up with a groan, rubbing the heels of his hands into his tied eyes, longing for a few revs of good rest.

“Yes, Dax?”

The warrior never seemed to sleep, and yet always seemed perfectly on point and ready to attend to his duties.

“Apologies for disturbing you, but we have detected a communication frequency coming from a system on our list.”

“On my way.” Kalix jogged into the command deck and ordered the frequency to be brought up on screen. He frowned when he saw it, confused by what he was seeing.

Dax inclined his head to the screen. Eagerness lighting his eyes. “It is broadcasting a distress signal, and there are periodic uploads of more data. More recordings.

“I have compared the two and confirmed, the voice recordings made by the captain of the Sestrenka and that of this beacon were made by the same human.”

Kalix gripped the railing, all but vibrating with the promise of victory within his grasp.

“The most current, when was it uploaded?”

Dax’s fingers flew over his terminal screen, touching here and there, nodding when he had deciphered the codes used to identify time. “Three human months. Would you like for me to play the recording?”

“Yes.”

“Accessing.”

Kalix waited, feet braced as he silently prayed for good news. There was no image, but the voice was distinctly female, though very distorted. Dax cleared his throat when Kalix shot him a nonplussed look.

“One moment, I can get better reception.”

“August 4th. The year is 3210, I think. It may be September, I’m not quite sure anymore. There was another raid last night.

“We have ten personnel dead, two of the five Scylla confirmed dead and three humans infected. Early stages, but in total, we’ll be burning eighteen bodies come morning.

“If you’re hearing this, we have moved camp again higher into the trees. The Scylla are ill equipped at this time to climb, but they’re proving to be relentlessly resourceful. It won’t be long before our location is compromised.

“They are showing up with regularity now, every three weeks they’re on the move. Looking for us. Our next projected safe zone is the plains beyond our first settlement.

“If you find us, enact full quarantine procedure and wear full protective gear. Leave no skin exposed.  This is Alec, Firstborn Moika, and we hundred and ten are the last of the Sestrenka. Out.”

Silence settled on the deck at the end of the sad, despondent recording, shock seeping into their bones.

“Dax, run voice recognition and find the first entry made by that female.” Dax was already anticipating such an order, because seconds later the recordings were downloading to his unit.

“Jump the ship.”

“Preparing to jump, sir!”

Kalix felt the distinct tug of gravity in his belly as the ship moved into the void, racing through space as fast as possible to reach the humans. He moved back to sit in his command chair, listening to the recording via his private link.

The earpiece projected the voice of the female to his ears alone, and this time, he could hear the tears plainly in her speech, and the fear while she struggled to make her report.

She sounded younger, not as confident.

“November 27th. The year is 3192. Um, this is Alec, Firstborn Moika and... and I think I’m in charge now. There was a raid on our settlement by some kind of... some kind of monsters, thirty-two days ago.

“They came out of the lake and took most of the men. The ones they didn’t take, they k-killed. Sage said they took the strongest members of our colony, so that the rest of us would be vulnerable and undefended.

“Sage, um, she fought from behind the laser fence when they came back? And at first we thought we’d beaten them, but a few of the women, they got slimed by the monsters and have developed some kind of infection. We u-used the last of our antibiotics to try and fight it off, but it didn’t w-work.

“Sage put me in charge, I think mostly just to keep the other kids calm, but it’s for real now. She d-died this morning, and we haven’t been able to make contact with LC Sully or his team for about two weeks. We’re... we’re assuming that they’re all dead too.

“Sage told me to document everything as often as I could so whoever hears this on the satellite uplink, you know what you’re walking into.

“These things must live underwater or somewhere we haven’t explored, because in twenty years, we’ve not seen a single one of them or even a sign of their presence.

“We’re calling them Scylla because it’s impossible to see them in the water until it’s too late. They just sort of appear and disappear like they can melt into it.

“They have big, bony plates that cover most of their body, and protrusions on their heads to protect their eyes.

“Their teeth are like serrated knives, they’ve got webbing in between their freakishly long fingers and toes, and they smell like rotting meat left out in the sun.

“Sometimes the smell comes before they do, so we have some warning. It’s really hard to do, but a straight shot to the eye seems to be the only way to kill them.” 

“Don’t forget about what happens, the infection.”

Kalix heard another voice, almost identical to the first, whisper from somewhere else in whatever room they were in.

Alec, the heartbreakingly young female, sniffled louder.

“Right, the infection,” Alec continued. “The monsters spit some kind of slime at us whenever they attack. Before she got too sick to speak, Sage said when she looked at it under her microscope, her blood was teeming with some kind of parasite. I have her personal log with most of her recordings.

“Day one, the infection isn’t noticeable. The slime gets in through any open wound, the eyes, mouth, ears even.

“The Scylla do their best to spit it at our faces, but if you have a face mask on, they cut you instead and spit in the open wound.

“By day four, the blood starts to turn black, and you can see it in the veins closest to the skin surface. The body tries to fight with a fever, and all the infected people want is water.

“More water than the human body can hold. Their skin is stretched tight over their bones, and despite all the water being consumed, they’re dehydrated to the point where they should be dead.

“Day six, they’re in so much pain they can’t even speak. Vomiting up what we think are internal organ remnants, muscle, bones even, as the parasites start pureeing their insides.

“Day nine, the person is basically just um, just dead. But the parasites don’t rupture out of the body until day ten, when you’ve dragged yourself to the nearest body of water.

“We had people wha-watching the infected p-personnel, and they reported that they thought Sage and two of the others were dead.

“They had no pulse, no pupil activity. But they g-got up like zombies out of one of Captain Yuri’s old horror movies, and when we tried to stop them they fought like demons to go free. To get to water.

“We caught up to Sage in time to see her get into the lake. H-her skin sort of just turned to jelly and s-split open. Dissolved into n-nothing and hundreds of little egg looking things poured out of her.

“The Scylla came back and we watched them use weird nets to gather up the eggs. They took them back down to wherever the hell they come from.

“S-so if you’re hearing this, please come rescue us, we need help, I don’t know how long we have, how long we can survive down here.

“Please come, it’s just me and my sister and a bunch of kids. I don’t... I don’t know what to do.”

The breath heaved out of Kalix’s chest when the recording ended. He dropped his head for a minute while he digested the young female’s desperate plea for help.

To absorb the news he would have to tell the Asho’na her kin were long dead. That their deaths had been neither painless nor quick.

He sat there for what felt like only moments, trying to forget the sounds of the female crying and struggling to be strong. Trying to forget the same sounds made by the other young ones in the background.

Great Beast, how could the cubs have survived?

“Commander?”

Kalix sat up and back into his chair, nodding at his second to say that he was all right.

“The female made a full report on what it is we will be dealing with. I want infantry squads eight and ten prepared to engage, and flight squads two and four to provide areal cover.

“Full quarantine procedures, I want medical standing by, and every warrior on the ground with me to take an extra torque.”

Dax relayed his orders, activating the squads at Kalix’s nod. He surged from his command chair, all traces of fatigue gone while he paced back and forth in front on the platform.

“Dax, can you reverse the transmission feed?” Dax tilted his head with a small frown, causing Kalix to hiss with impatience. “To transmit a message to whatever device the female is using to make her reports.”

Dax gave a sound of understanding. “Of course. I will need one rev, perhaps less. Commander, is it wise for you to join the ground crew?”

Kalix ignored the question, pointing a finger at his second as he left the command deck to prepare with the infantry.

“Get me that frequency.”