***
Kivda sat in the copilot’s seat of the shuttle as they headed toward the surface. The beacon continued to blare, a constant SOS in the most ancient form of their language. He had no idea why Renz’s father hadn’t let him know that part. Or if he did, the general hadn’t seen fit to give up that information.
We’re looking at a major find, he thought. Something many people would like to get their hands on.
When he’d attended the Academy, he had studied in the monasteries. He had learned the ancient scriptures by heart. His personal beliefs never felt challenged by those words not because they felt false so much as they didn’t seem relevant. Their people already proved to the galaxy they were destined to rule.
Constantly reminding the people of this fact seemed… desperate to him. Later, he understood the significance of repetition. As a leader of men specifically, the constant reinforcement of rule, ensured obedience. There could be no room for doubt because that led to questioning.
Someone here believes they can take an item that might challenge that. Kivda hoped they might capture the perpetrators but as they broke the cloud coverage, he recognized they would have to die. None of us can risk these individuals going back to tell others what they saw. It might start some sort of illegal pilgrimage.
Standard travel within the Kahl Empire tended to be restricted to all but the elite members of society. The military, high ranking officials, and the wealthy… those who contributed to the war effort the most and maintained the colonies. Many people still moved about but they did so through shady pilots. Ships without concern about the law.
Kivda helped run several such entrepreneurs down but after taking out more than a dozen, he put in a recommendation to ignore it. He hadn’t known about the Prophet then, and he felt grateful no one put it together that he offered up a concept of turning a blind eye to illicit travel.
If this site proved to be what he thought, then many of his people would happily risk the consequences if only to see it in person. Regardless of what they were about to find. That message, the ancient language crying for help, would sound like a clarion call for the Kahls and they would rush to defend it.
We have to keep this secret. That might mean destroying the site. The thought filled him with some guilt. Because that’s essentially blasphemy. I’m considering obliterating a piece of our history that I’ve only ever imagined. Kivda wondered if the priests would approve of his defending the faith or condemn him for his destruction of their culture.
“What do you see?” Renz’s voice came through the speakers in his helmet. “Are you near enough the site to know?”
“Almost,” Kivda replied. “Right now, I’ve only got the beacon message. I’ll have scans in a moment to relate to you.”
“Keep me informed immediately.”
What else do you think I’m going to do? Kivda gritted his teeth. At times, his friend could be a real idiot. He said things without thinking. Some of the times came from a need to show the rank-and-file troops he was certainly in charge of every aspect of his ship. They know it without treating me like an extension of his arm.
The frustration abated as he noticed the sunlight reflecting off something metal in the midst of a rock quarry. He turned to the sensors, zeroing in on the thing. It looked like some kind of spacecraft… though he didn’t recognize the silhouette. That surprised him given his experience with the various races throughout the galaxy.
Where did you come from?
“Renz,” Kivda said, “we’ve found a craft. It’s like nothing I’ve seen. We’re getting scans now.” He frowned. “This thing has practically no power. The reactor is beyond inefficient. I… I don’t know how anyone even flies it! I’m sending back the data for you to see.”
“What’s the nearest habitable planet?” Renz asked. “How far did they have to come from? By my reckoning of these numbers, it would’ve taken them almost a full ten cycles. Maybe more.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Kivda replied. “There are no lifeforms aboard right now. The passengers must be inside this cave I’m seeing. We’ll need to get lower to make it out but I believe we should destroy their means of escape. Inefficient as it is, they can still move in it, and then we’ll minimize our chances of catching them.”
“Do it. Obliterate that garbage. Land and take prisoners.”
“Yes, sir.” Kivda engaged the weapons himself. He took aim, opening fire with two separate turrets. They belched out a dozen blasts, loud enough to be heard in the sealed cockpit. The red beams hammered the ground all around the target, the last three striking it dead center.
The resulting explosion surprised him. Smoke and fire burst into the air, debris slamming into the rocky walls around it. Dust followed, kicked up by the sudden burst. The vehicle had been wiped off the surface of the planet with nothing left to salvage. Only a blackened spot would remain.
We should have captured it. Kivda lamented the decision. It was just as much his fault for not thinking about it. I had no idea it would react to our weapons so violently. It shouldn’t have. Whoever flew on that thing had real courage… or total stupidity. How did it stand the stress of space if it couldn’t take a few hits from a turret?
“Vehicle destroyed,” Kivda announced. “We’re moving in to land now. Standby for an update.” He turned
