-------

Terra

The Genesis Incident

----------------------

Foreword

-------------------------------

Normally you would read some long speech here, about why this was done and why it was done this way. Sometimes a dedication to someone who did something for the author. Those things you will not find here. There is no reason to tell you why, there is no one to dedicate a work like this to.

I only bring to you advice, and a warning.

Here is a work of fiction, strange and wonderful, ghastly and terrible; here is a tale that makes reality pale in comparison. I have only one thing to say to all of you, to all that read this tale…

Whatever happens, whatever wonders or horrors you see, whatever you do, remember that it isn’t real. It’s all in your mind, and the mind can trick you. What doesn’t exist can’t hurt you…so they say. Reality and Imagination are far apart and yet very close together, and chances are it will become hard to tell the difference.

So take a deep breath, steel your nerves, turn the page, and whatever you do…

…don’t blink.

-------------------------------------------

Prologue

-----------------------------------------------------

After the events of World War III, human civilization had taken a turn for the worse. Though the world of technology was at its peak, tension was present in such amounts it could be felt all over the globe; massive megacorporations fighting for power, factions fighting for their beliefs, and everyone else fighting for their very survival. Earth is torn by war, fueled by greed, and held together by beliefs that have no more meaning in a world with no values other than wealth and power. Amidst all of this, humanity finally discovered the answer to the greatest question they had ever asked.

They were not alone in the universe.

On July 19, 2017, a military base near El Paso received a message in an unknown language, completely indecipherable by any man or machine. The message was recorded, but no one took heed of it otherwise, thinking it was a scrambled bit of code. Three hours later the first ship arrived, carrying the exiled members of a far superior race. They arrived silently in the morning, landing in the center of an American military base without raising an alarm…and first contact was made with the draconian race.

They had no weapons of any kind, except for small sidearms similar to our own, but their ships were so well protected not even a nuclear weapon could damage them. The creatures had been exiled from their homeworld; the criminals, the mentally unstable, the ones who just didn’t fit in or were too powerful to keep…all of them were sent to our planet as they were long ago.

Humans abandoned their petty conflicts to take in this new race, and soon both races were benefiting from this unexpected event. Humans helped the draconian scientists develop weapons, and the draconians helped the humans to develop ways of space travel. And so, by the year 2050, humans were ready to sail the stars, forming a single society with the fully integrated draconian race, and now new hope bloomed for the planet Earth.

But, as it has always been in the past, this peace was crushed by a single, unfathomably unexpected event; for you see, the draconians were not the only race in the galaxy. Another race came to Earth, ones bent on erasing the newly allied races from the face of existence for unknown reasons. They were the Kisrahk, a diabolic race powerful enough to destroy Earth completely, blowing the entire planet into bits of broken rock.

Only seven ships escaped destruction, loaded down with the men, women, and children of both races. They began their long, desperate search for a new home, a new planet to settle on. They were lost in space together for more than thirty years…until they found their haven.

Terra, a planet that could have been mistaken as Earth because of its similarities, became their home, and they began rebuilding their civilization from the ashes that were a tragic past. This new nation of Terran prospered for more than four-hundred years, becoming the greatest civilization in the known universe.

Arts and science came together to create wonders unlike anything any being in history had seen, and for those four-hundred years Terra was a beacon of light unto the dark void that was the rest of existence. The humans and draconians, due to a strange course of events, mingled and were able to create an entire new race, merely called hybrids. How a mammal and a reptile were able to produce a hybrid was unknown, but it had happened, and now the hybrids number in the billions.

And yet again Fate intervened. The Kisrahk found them once more, but this time the Terrans were better prepared. War ensued, and the battles continued for decades unabated…until the Terrans finally made a decision. They sent several ships away from their great planet in the hopes that a new world could be found, that the society that was Terra would not die out. These ships were lost in the void, and nothing was heard from them again…

This is the story of one of those ships… The T.R.V. Novastam…

---------------------------------------

Chapter 1

Yet another rock…

---------------------------------------

Tyrammafar Slithiani scanned the reddish-brown waste that was the planet of Vacris, sighing into his helmet. The dark-green suit he wore was to protect him from the hazards of surface exploration and supplied the much needed oxygen to his human body. His partner, Thissa the draconian, stood by his side with a scanning computer in his hand. His wings were probably cramping up inside the suit he wore, and if they didn’t get him out soon he would be in pain for some time afterwards.

“Nothing.” Thissa hissed, kicking a rock with his heavy boot. “Ty, this rock is so unsuitable for colonization it should be vaporized.”

“Just tell me what I need to know.” Ty said quickly, placing a hand on the dragon-like creature’s shoulder. “The sooner we have the info the sooner we get back to the ship.”

“Too much CO2, too much methane…too hot during the day, too cold at night…overall this planet absolutely sucks!” The draconian yelped as he let out some flame in his anger, smoke billowing from the ports at the back of the helmet. He coughed and sputtered until the air inside his suit cleared. “Ugh, you would think that I would be used to smoke by now.”

“Alright, come on, this planet isn’t worth our time.” Ty tapped the side of his helmet. “This is recon delta to Novastam. Place is a barren rock, not even worth putting into the computer. It’s just a waste of matter.”

“Roger Delta, we’re transporting you up now.” The ensign said. Tyrammafar locked his arms and legs together and waited. Nothing happened for a full minute. “Nova…why aren’t we being moved?”

“Hold up, this is delicate work!” The hybrid on the channel said. “If you want to come up without a limb, be my guest, but this takes time and effort! This is experimental hardware you know! We can’t do everything at-“

“Alright, I hear you, calm down…” Ty waited a little longer and felt the sensation of being pulled through a pinhole by his nose, and suddenly he was standing on the deck of the T.R.V. Novastam. The hybrid that had transported them aboard looked up from his control panel, tongue snaking out to taste the air and dark-green scales shimmering.

“God, show a little patience…another rock?” He hissed, red eyes glowing in the dim light of the room.

“Another blasted rock.” Thissa released the helmet clamps, taking it off and breathing in the clean air of the ship. His storm-gray scales reflected the light of the florescent lamps, his icy eyes slitted to block out the change in brightness. “How are the rest of the teams?”

“Already aboard…they said the same thing.” The hybrid chuckled, looking more like a monitor lizard standing on his hind legs. “One group was attacked by some kind of insect…they had to use their chameleon implants to get away. Pansies…” Ty laughed along with him.

All the recon teams were equipped with an implant at their spine that allowed them to become nearly invisible, but Tyrammafar had refused this augmentation. Thissa, however, had not only let them put the chameleon system in him, but several other implants that enhanced his body’s abilities. Ty removed his helmet, shaking suit dust from his brown hair. The suit restricted movement, but it would take an armor-piercing weapon to harm him while he was inside.

Thissa pressed a switch that released the back plate on his suit, his thin wings spreading behind him. “Ahh…much better. I can’t believe we don’t have draconian suits anymore; all I have is this hybrid suit.” His tail whipped with frustration while he followed Ty through the hatch that led to the rest of the ship. “Ty, why did we volunteer for this mission?” Thissa asked for the thousandth time that week.

“Because Terra needs us. The humans, the draconians, the hybrids…they all need us to find a new world…a New Terra.”

“Damn the Kisrahk.” Thissa growled, flames flickering at his nostrils. “Why did they have to attack us? What is Terra to them?”

“Who knows? All I know is that we have a job to do.” Thissa sighed, his metal-shod claws scraping the metal deck of the ship.

“Tyrammafar…this is going to be a long mission…” Ty nodded, rubbing his temples as he entered their cabin.

----------------------------

Tyrammafar Slithiani had been named after a draconian, a very famous one in fact. It was one that had been a hero in the battles with the Kisrahk several centuries ago, sacrificing his life and that of his team to save a small group of civilians; Tyrammafar’s ancestors. In memory of him they changed their surname to Slithiani, which means ‘savior’ in draconian, and from then on every other generation would name their firstborn Tyrammafar. The reasons for this pattern of naming were not known, but it was a part of his family.

Ty’s name literally meant ‘Reviled’ in old draconian, but such names were not thought of as grim. After all, a human named Hope killed off her entire nation, and a draconian named Velaresk, or ‘Foul Murderer’, saved several children from a burning building at the expense of his own life. Names mean nothing when translated, and so Tyrammafar could have well meant ‘loved’ instead of ‘hated’.

Ty sat down on his bunk, sighing heavily. His head hurt horribly from the hours spent inside the pressure suit. He had got stuck with a hybrid’s suit, which didn’t have as much pressure inside as it was supposed to, and this usually gave him horrible headaches that lasted for hours. Thissa threw the suit off of him, stretching his wings to their full length.

“That was the longest I’ve gone without flapping my wings. How you holding up?”

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a cruise missile.”

“I got you…you need anything, partner?” Thissa turned his head completely around to look at him while he stowed the suit away.

“No…I’m fine, just need some time to adjust to the climate.” Ty looked at the computer screen on the furthest wall from the door. “Vas?” The face of a human woman appeared on the screen, completely emotionless.

“You have my attention.” She said quickly. The computer was always a bit snappy, but it was programmed to be that way. “How can I help you?”

“Any news from the outside?”

“Pardon?”

“Do we have any messages?” Ty corrected. The AI couldn’t understand human slang.

“One moment…no. Is there anything else?”

“No, thank you.” The face vanished, the screen going black once more. “I hate AIs.”

“Too emotionless…and I know we can make them at least simulate feeling…” Thissa shook his head sadly.

“I know, but that’s the way they make ‘em, and I can’t do anything about it.”

“Ugh…” Thissa threw his left wing in front of him, examining the membrane. “I think I strained a muscle…”

“You’re fine…they were just cramped in that suit. What happened to the draconian suits, anyway?”

“No idea…I think the ones higher up got them.”

“Well that’s a load of-“ Thissa broke off as one of the ceiling lights flickered and shattered into bits with a loud bang, raining glass on them. “Berak!” Thissa swore in draconian “What in the name of gram happened?!”

“It’s ionized gas; it does that when it gets too old.” Ty got up, avoiding the glass on the floor and typing on the panel next to the blank screen. There was a soft humming noise for a moment as a custodial drone was called. Ty looked back at Thissa in the half-lit room. “Are you alright?”

“I think I got glass in my scales, but yeah, I’m fine.” He brushed a fine dust off his wings. “A little pulverized glass won’t hurt me.” The door slid open, but instead of a little box that rolled on the floor, an orb floated in, hovering in the air.

It was bright silver, and had no features on it whatsoever. It was plain and smooth, no lines, no lights, like a huge ball-bearing. It had a clouded surface so that it wouldn’t be too reflective, and it hummed softly in the air. The surface vibrated to produce the metallic sound of the drone’s voice.

“Yes, Bio?” It said in a vaguely male voice, which had a slight whining sound in it.

“A lamp burst, we need a new one and the glass cleaned up. I thought I called for a custodial drone…” Ty couldn’t quite remember what this robotic drone was called; he had never seen it before or even knew it existed.

“I was the only one available at the time, and it would have taken too long for any other drone to reach this room. I responded to what I believed to be an emergency!” The drone spun slowly around in the air, though there was no obvious way it was seeing anything, nor how it could move. “I will call for a replacement lamp now. Are there any injuries?”

“None.” Thissa said quickly.

“Umm…I don’t recall you being on board the ship. What is your designation?” Ty asked.

“I am LOR-7387. Even I have no idea what the letters stand for, though I suspect they do nothing.” The orb beeped. “Though…I prefer to be called Lor. It sounds much better, don’t you think?”

“I think it’s…why am I having this conversation with a robot?” The drone leapt backwards at Ty’s annoyed glare.

“How rude!” Lor vanished with a flicker of movement too fast to trace.

“What the…what was that supposed to be?” Thissa said, staring out the door. He jumped back as a vaguely humanoid robot with a black coating walked in, immediately fitting a new tube into the ceiling. It was more than eight feet tall, and had no features other than arms, legs, head, and two holes for eyes. There were no markings except its designation. As soon as it was done sweeping the broken glass into a bin it left, and everything was back to normal.

That was how efficient Terran robotics was; perfection in everything they did. Ty looked after it at the open door until it shut with a hiss. “I have to report that drone’s malfunction later. What was its designation again?” Thissa thought for a moment.

“LOR-7387, I think.” He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it; it probably was having a bad day.”

“Robots don’t have…nevermind.” Ty glanced at the new light, hoping the other light wouldn’t go out anytime soon. “It’s been a long day, I’m going to get some sleep before they either drop us or freeze us again.”

“Sounds good, I might be back in a second.” Thissa pressed the door panel so it would open. “I need a drink.” Thissa had always had a thing for fermented drinks, most of them human in origin. For some reason, draconians couldn’t become intoxicated, and they had no age restrictions on who could drink. Humans however, had to wait until they were at least thirty, since the previous value of twenty-one was taken down a century ago.

“Don’t kill yourself.” Ty said, sitting on the bed.

“I can’t be killed by the bull-crap excuse for a drink they have here.” Thissa left, sealing the hatch behind him. Ty looked at the blank metal walls for a few moments, thinking deeply.

In all his twenty years of life, he had never met someone like Thissa. They had been friends since they were ten, and since they worked so well together they had been assigned as their own two-man recon team. Thissa was strong, agile, and fit for any activity that required something to be physically manipulated. Tyrammafar, on the other hand, was able to adapt and change to any scenario, and he learned from his mistakes very quickly. They were both qualified with most weaponry, and were reasonably good pilots as well. The only thing they couldn’t do well was take orders.

And that was why they were just on recon. Having no respect for authority had nearly gotten them both court-martialed.

Ty lay down, looking up at the blank ceiling. “Computer, lights off.” The room plunged into darkness.

--------------------------------

“What is the next planet, Ensign?” The human captain said wearily, stirring his cup of coffee. He had added too much creamer again, but he was still tired from having to oversee the maintenance of the escape-pod bay. It had taken two days, but it was worth the effort. That was a vital area of the ship, and their last resort when under attack.

Besides, of course, the X-5 weapon on board the ship, but it was not able to be used unless charged.

“Sir, the nearest planet is in the…S-1 system.”

“S-1? Solar system one?”

“Aye, Captain, solar system number one.”

“Strange, never heard of it before…what about the planet?” The ensign, a draconian, turned and began typing on his panel. A holographic map appeared, showing a three-dimensional image of the solar system.

“Eight planets, one asteroid belt…the sun is type G, perfect for colonization. It appears that planet number three is habitable, at least from what our sensors say, but we need to get closer.”

“Well, do it then!” The ensign nodded.

“Aye, Captain, plotting course for S-1-T-…4? From the map it is planet number three, but the registry says it is number four.”

“Computer error?”

“Not likely…should I continue?” The draconian turned around, and now the entire bridge crew was listening.

“Ensign, plot a course to take us to the fourth planet in the system.” The captain said finally. The draconian smiled and turned, typing quickly with his long fingers.

“Aye, Captain, course set and engines powering for Nexus travel.” The floor of the bridge began to vibrate. “The X-5 weapon is coming online and is charging…” A field of blue surrounded the edges of some surfaces, showing the energy that was gathering in the ship. “The Rift-Ripper is ready for use…should I-“

“Tear space a new navel, Ensign.” The captain said with a smile. The sharp sound of the Rift weapon filled the world, all the lights dimming as the kinetic-dampeners caught the blast. The white light filled the viewscreen at the front, blinding them for a moment. In a second there was a white hole, a tear in the very proverbial fabric of space, and the portal pulled the ship in.

“We’re going in…hold on!” A hybrid yelled from the communications station, gripping the sides of his panel with a grimace.

The world filled with sound and color, and then there was nothing, just plain blankness before them. With a sharp bang they reappeared in space, but more than a thousand light-years away. It wasn’t faster than light, it was just taking a shortcut through another dimension. Cheating was not something any scientists cared about when they developed the X weapon.

“Well, there it is…” An orb of blue and green was suspended in the void of space, held in the invisible bonds of gravity that kept it orbiting the star. Where there was exposed land, it was a bright red, like rust.

“Lots of iron-oxide, but there is enough proper topsoil for the plants to grow.” The ensign said. “They are almost identical to Terran plants, and so are most of the other features. We can’t know for sure until we get down there, but I think we may have found our mark!” The crew cheered, but was interrupted by a short blare from a warning klaxon.

“Sir, two ships are approaching…they have powered up their weapons and are moving into attack position!”

“Someone else had this planet first…” The ensign muttered, looking at the gray shapes on the view screen. The world was suddenly thrown into chaos as the viewscreen lit up with cannon-fire…