niqhtlord01

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Video Games Part 11

Alien: So what is this one about? Human: Vampires in the wild west. Alien: Sounds interesting. Human: You’d think so, but when the main characters are as animated as the undead monsters they fight it’s pretty hard to take them seriously. Alien: From your own admission they are fighting vampire cowboys…..how serious were you expecting it to be? Human: ……. Touché. ---------------------

Alien: What is “The Quarry”? Human: Murder porn and sadness. Alien: ……………… ------------------------

Alien: “Boltgun”? Human: A man too angry to die because of what a sassy bitch he is. Alien: How does being sassy make you avoid death? Human: Because even death is afraid of being mocked so hard. ---------------------

Alien: Why would anyone want to play an aquatic predator? Human: You ever just look at someone and wonder what they’d taste like? Alien: I believe that is called cannibalism. Human: Not unless you’re a giant fish. ---------------------

Alien: Why does the tiny creature have a machine gun? Human: To stop you from eating it. Alien: Most effective. ---------------------

Alien: I heard this one is a popular game. Human: Eh, I guess. Alien: What do you mean “eh”? Alien: There have been five of them made. Human: It’s mostly made for people that like to watch a slow mo shot of a bullet going through a man’s balls over and over. Alien: What sadistic beings are you?!? Human: You should let me tell you about Meat Boy sometime for more context. ---------------------

Alien: This one looks cute. Alien: It’s about a brother in sister in your primitive era. Human: And a shit load of rats. Alien: What? Human: Yeah, you can make the rats devour a man whole as he screams and begs for his life. Alien: I…..but…..just….why? ----------------------

Alien: Why on florps name would someone want to play a game about manual labor? Alien: is not the point of your entertainment games to seek enjoyment? Human: Some people feel pleasure from a job well done. Alien: That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Human: Didn’t your people worship a rock a couple centuries back because when the light hit it the thing sparkled? Alien: ………touché. -------------------------

Alien: I wish to escape this bunker. Human: You just need to find some dynamite and a plunger to trigger it. Alien: Sounds easy enough. Human: And avoid the ancient giant rat god stalking the halls of the bunker. Alien: What is with your people and rats?!!?!?!? ----------------------

Alien: What is this “Crackdown 3” about? Human: A cops fantasy about how they view themselves. Alien: How so? Human: They see themselves fighting crime when more often they help prop up a totalitarian regime. Alien: Did not the second one have monsters in it? Human: That’s how they see poor people. Alien: Holy gargle…..that’s messed up. --------------------

Alien: What is this one? Human: Designing overly elaborate death machines to murder guys in metal suits with swords. Alien: Is that not what we did to your people during the third age of your species? Human: Come again? ------------------

Alien: Is this game about zombies? Human: More a social experiment. Alien: How so? Human: It has no set rules or goal in a zombie apocalypse, but more often you find people choosing the worst things to do to each other for shits and giggles. Alien: It can’t be all that bad. Human: I watched a group of high level players capture a new player, strip them of their gear, and force them to drink bleach under pain of death for a meme. Alien: ……………….. ----------------------

Human: How’s the new game goin- Alien: *Grabs human friend and sprays them with foam Alien: Good…you’re not one of them. Human: spits out foam One of what? Alien: A shape shifter! Alien: They were everywhere on the station and that made me wonder if those bastards are here in the home as well! Human: Wouldn’t say they’re all bastards. Table: Yeah, some of us are actually nice fellows. *Alien and Human both scream*

#humans are space oddities #humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space orcs #scifi #funny #niqhtlord01 #video games

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: An army of heroes

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)  

Abarax strode through the corridors with a stride so long it was borderline running. His aides tried their best to keep pace but their need to present themselves with composure meant they could not run and were slowly losing distance with their boss. Watchers on either made way for the Lord Commander or were shoved aside by Abarax himself as he would not be hindered from his destination by politeness. He had only been made aware of a developing situation and he was intent on discovering its cause as soon as possible before it spiraled out of control.

Finally, after navigating several more corridors and descending several hundred feet underground, the lord commander reached his objective. A thick metal door stood before him with a full complement of Arthorian Guards standing on either side of it. Their polished armor reflected dully in the bunkers lighting but Abarax was more interested in the thirty Revar Blasters now being pointed at him.

“You are not authorized to be here, lord commander.” The leader spoke to Abarax. He could be distinguished by the painted blue markings on their right shoulder guard signifying the original crest of the guard’s founders.

“I am Lord Commander,” Abarax began, “and I have full authority over all forces within the empire; so you will stand aside now.”

The guard captain shook his helmeted head. “Only the senate may command the Arthorian’s-“

“And who does the senate report to?!” Abarax shouted, raising his voice in frustration.

Several of the guards quivered in their armor, the clacking of plates giving them away; but their captain would not be so easily intimidated. They broke ranks and strode in front of Abarax and looked down at the lord commander. Abarax’s face reflecting in the chest plate of the captain as a pair of burning red eyes fixated on him from the helmet.  

“Do you think me so easily cowed?” the captain spoke. “Your title means nothing to me and should you take one more step towards that door I will strike you down without hesitation.”

The two warriors glared at each other while the rest of the guard and aides watched with baited breath. Abarax’s eyes twitched with rage, fists clenched tightly, and muscles tensed preparing to make the first strike when one of his aides cut through the silence.

“Guard Captain, I believe the senate is trying to reach you over the communications link.”

Keeping his eyes fixated on the lord commander, the guard captain brought up a hand and placed it against the side of his helmet to activate the internal communicator. What was said could not be known, the captain’s voice now low and muffled as he communicated with the senate, but when they took their hand away the conversation’s intent had been made clear.

“Open the vault.” The guard captain spoke to his men. When none of them moved the captain turned to look at them and nodded. “He has been given permission by the senate for a conversation with the guest-”

“-provided I join you for the duration.” The captain finished as he turned back to face the lord commander.

“I will not be chaperoned by a fanatic.” Abarax retorted. The guard captain was not moved. “This is nonnegotiable.  If you wish to speak with the prisoner, I will be in the room; if you refuse this condition, then leave now.”

Abarax let out a low snarl but threw up his hands and nodded. With that confirmation the vault door was unsealed and pulled open by three guards. Without saying another word the guard captain entered the vault followed swiftly by Abarax.

The interior of the vault was not what Abarax had expected.

Lavish furnishings dotted the space while the floor was covered in a richly oriented rug. Various tables lined the walls and were filled with decanters of fine liquors and foods. At the opposite wall stood an expansive bedframe Abarax had not seen before and looked full enough that were he to lay in it the bed would swallow him whole.

With a loud thud the vault door sealed behind the pair just as Abarax had found the objective of his visit.

Sitting in a chair off to the back corner of the room was a lone human female. She wore a gown of ocean blue dotted with specs of gold that clung to her figure as she sat reading. She had not bothered to raise her head as the pair of aliens entered the vault and instead lazily flipped the page of her novel with one hand while taking a sip of a beverage with her other.

Abarax’s mind was reeling in disbelief of the current situation when the guard captain spoke.

“Lord Commander, may I introduce Empress Imelia Asghar; ruler of the Terran Empire and protector of the Alliance of Independent Worlds.”

The captain then motioned with his hand towards Abarax. “Empress, this is Lord Commander Abarax Caston; head of the Sygonic military and advisor to the Sygonic senate.”

With the introductions finished the human Empress looked up from her book and took in the measure of the two aliens before her. Her face was expressionless as she stared at the two before setting down her drink and book and rose to her feet.

“It is a pleasure to speak with you again guard captain,” she nodded towards the Arthorian captain, “and an honor to finally meet the famous butcher of Talsazar in person.”

“I am surprised you know of that battle.” Abarax replied, masking his actual surprise well beneath a display of calm.

Imelia smiled. “It does one well to know their enemies well before they ever meet them in battle.”

“And is this a battle?” Abarax countered.

“Of sorts.”

The Empresses words did not sit well with the lord commander. None of this sat well with him and the more he thought of his circumstances the more enraged he became.

Abarax made to take a step towards the Empress but the guard captain’s hand was on his shoulder in a flash.

“You will speak from here and not a step closer.”

Abarax fixed the captain with a death glare that had made aides leap from buildings in fear. “That was not part of our arrangement.” He snarled.

“It is now.”

The captain said no more but kept a firm grip on the lord commander’s shoulder. Finally relenting, Abarax took a step back and the captain let go of his shoulder.

“Pardon an observation,” the human empress continued as if the combative display never happened, “but you look quite troubled lord commander.”

“That is because you are troubling.” Abarax stated as he pointed at the empress.

A flash of surprise crossed the empress’s face and she brought a hand up to her chest.

“Me? I have been hardly troubling since I was placed here. I would have thought myself a model captive.”

“That is what troubles me.”

Abarax paced along back and forth as he martialed his words. The guard captain’s helmet slowly tracking him to ensure he did not step closer to the human empress.

“Your people declare war on the Sygonic Empire and the next day their leader surrenders themselves to be held as a prisoner.”

He glared at the human. “This does not make sense, and what does not make sense becomes my concern.”

“I admire your ability to condense a decade long disagreement into a single sentence.” Imelia replied as she returned to her chair. “We established colonies in the Orion Cluster, and then five years later after they are fully functioning autonomously you claim that those worlds are actually yours and order us to vacate.”

“Because they belong to us and have been ours for centuries.” Abarax retorted, rather more harshly then he had intended. The empress chuckled at his outburst which only further angered the commander.

“And it certainly wouldn’t be because they discovered large deposits of M93, and swiftly saw a vast influx in wealth being generated from its mining?”

“An argument for politicians and sycophants,” Abarax replied, “but that still does not explain why you surrendered yourself to your enemy.”

The empress clasped her fingers and leaned back into her chair.

“Do you understand the fascination of humans and heroes?”

When Abarax did not respond Imelia continued.

“Every human, man or woman, desires at one point to be a hero. To be admired and praised for completing some great deed or achieving victory against impossible odds.  It is in that quest to become a hero that humans will push themselves to try the impossible and come out on top against unimaginable odds.”

“Your reply continues to avoid giving an answer.” Abarax stated with disdain.

“On the contrary,” Imelia countered, “I have just given you your answer.”

Abarax replayed her words just now again in his head but still none of it made sense. He pondered the statement unsuccessfully until the guard captain spoke up.

“By handing herself over to the enemy, the empress has given her military a purpose and cause to fight for,” they nodded towards the empress sitting in the chair still as she smiled, “freeing their ruler from the grip of their enemy.”

“Be silent!” Abarax rounded on the captain. “I was just about to say that you fool!”

The empress chuckled again and gave a small applause. “Don’t be too hard on our friend; he did just save you from appearing more of a fool than you are right now.”

Abarax’s face burned red as his anger brewed hot but the empress continued.

“Right now every soldier, every commander, every worker in the factories to wealthy industrialist is seeing themselves as being part of a cause to save me. Some right now are even fantasizing about being the one to blow open that door behind you and whisk me back to Earth to be greeted by heralds and applause.”

“And for those who even don’t support me, they must now contribute to the war lest be seen as villains seeking to topple my power. For only the evil would plot to overthrow an empress who so loved her people that she would willingly give herself to the enemy as a captive and possibly be the first casualty in war.”

To everyone’s surprise Abarax laughed as the empress finished her explanation.

“Your people are either fools or possibly the stupidest creatures I have ever fought before.” Abarax spoke between giggles. “To think you could motivate with such mundane propaganda tactics.”

“Call it what you will,” the empress said undaunted, “but my people would rather die a hero in service for a cause greater than themselves, then face death alone and forgotten.”

“And yet there is another option you did not foresee.”

“Oh?” There was a tone of interest in the Empresses voice at Abarax’s remark. “And what might that be?”

The alien commander grinned, showing a row of razor sharp teeth. “We could demand that unless your people surrender we will torture and kill you before they ever reach this world.”

Behind him Abarax heard the guard captain step forward but the Empress held up a hand to forestall their intervention.

“It is charming to see you think that while your betters in the senate have already considered the matter.”

“Betters?” the word stung Abarax and he felt his eye twitch at the candid answer.

Imelia nodded and waved her hand at the surroundings. “Why else am I surrounded by such lavishness and not rotting in a common prison cell? Why does a full complement of guards stand ready to protect me and even listen to me while I am their enemy?”

It was the empresses turn to smile now as she answered her own question. “Because should any harm befall me, or even death, then you will have turned me into more of a martyr than I already am and the hearts of my people will turn black in rage as they no longer seek to rescue me but to avenge their fallen empress.”

“The senate realized that and so they are keeping me as comfy and content as possible, because when my military arrives and rescues me I will tell them that I was treated like royalty and the peace talks will end amicably for both our two powers.”

She leaned back in her chair and picked up her novel as Abarax stewed in raged. “Now as entertaining as this visit has been I am quite finished with it now, you may leave.”

You may leave…..

You may leave…

You may leave…..

It was those final words that finally snapped Abarax’s temper. Since obtaining the role of Lord Commander no one had dared address him with such a dismissive tone and he would not stand for it now.  

As the vault door began to open and the guard captain began to usher Abarax out the lord commander reached for a nearby bottle sitting on a table. Before the guard captain could react Abarax had grabbed the glass bottle and threw it as hard as he could.

The empress lowered her novel to see what the commotion only for the bottle to miss the book and smash against her face. Shattered bits of glass embedded themselves in her face and ruptured one of her eyes from the impact as a mixture of alcohol and blood seeped down her face to stain her blue dress.

In a flash Abarax was tackled to the ground by the guard captain and his arms pinned behind his back as the empress let out a scream of pain and anguish.

“MEDICAL TEAM NOW!” the guard captain roared to his waiting subordinates as several flooded into the room to further restrain Abarax.

“How does it feel, Empress!?!” Abarax shouted as he was hauled to his feet. “How does it feel to be insig-“

The guard captain’s fist smashed into Abarax’s chest driving the words from his mouth and air from his lungs.

“You have doomed us all you petty fool!” he shouted as he punched the lord commander a second time before his own men stepped in to restrain him as well.

As the pair squabbled a medical team rushed through and began making their way over to the empress who had ceased her screams of pain and now was laughing.

All those present stopped and stared at the empress as she uneasily rose to her feet, a hand covering the now punctured eye while the other glared at Abarax with such madness and glee behind her stare that Abarax felt a chill run down his spine.

“It feels wonderful,” she spoke, her voice ridden with glee, “for now when I am rescued and my people see my face, they will hang you from your innards by the tallest tree and make you watch as your world burns around you!”

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #tw: violence

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Poop Crystals

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)  

The pace in which human technology progressed over the millennia was rather standard for a class 4 species. Even when accounting the periods of scientific degradation which resulted from natural plagues or religious persecution; it was expected that humans would not achieve advanced space travel until another 2-3 thousand years had passed.

Scientifically speaking human scientists were well more advanced than the society they lived in, but due to the technological limitations of the human race they were held back from implementing their designs. A primary limitation was the lack of a sufficiently powerful power source. They did have many different forms of power generators ranging from solar to nuclear, but to power larger machines often required equally large energy sources. To power their ships alone around a third of their vessels were dedicated to the power cores.   

With these restrictions in place travel between stars for humans often relied on decade long journeys in cryo sleep; which ironically required even more power generators to maintain. Their large size made them easy targets for natural disasters such as space debris or prowling space pirates seeking an easy profit margin at the slave markets. These dangers became a standard for human travel until the Terran civilization encountered the planet Nolla 987 and the species that called it home.

During a long duration colonization trip the human ship “Midas” was struck by the trail debris of a rogue comet and knocked off course. The robotic caretakers tried their best to maintain the course, but with the damage done to the ship their primary programming to maintain the lives of the crew kicked in and diverted the ship to the nearest habitable planet for debarkation. Nolla 987 was the closest planet with a stable atmosphere. Originally charted several years earlier but deemed unsuitable for colonization or industrial expansion, it was not ear marked for either and left alone; until the Midas incident that is.

The landing was not a smooth one. Several engines had been damaged and multiple hull breaches resulted in portions of the ship being shredded away during the entry process. It would be safer to say that the Midas crash landed during the final stretch of the maneuver, but with a 73% survival rate of the crew a rather acceptable crash landing.

One by one the crew and colonists were unfrozen to find the ship a burning wreck and only a handful of robotic assistants still functioning. The industrial printing machines were relatively undamaged but without the ships power core they could not be used to print components or tools needed to make the necessary repairs. The crew was then forced to ration its remaining power supply and divided into two teams. The first team would comb through the wreckage and salvage what they could of the wreck while also building shelter. The second group would scout the surrounding area for anything of use and then report back.

It did not take long for the second team to stumble upon a nest of the dominant species of the planet. An insectoid called the “Sectar” which ranged from the size of a house cat to as large as a two story building. These insects digested their food and excreted the waste into a dense crystalian substance that they then used to build massive hive like complexes.

The occupants of the hive had been driven from the hive by the crash landing of the Midas leaving it almost completely empty save for a few eggs and new hatchlings who were not strong enough to flee on their own. Several of the second team members had been scanning the crystal structures while interacting with the newborn Sectar’s. To quote a journal entry of one of them, “They were like insect golden retrievers. Extremely derpy with at least four times as many sets of eyes. They followed us around on their legs like we were their mothers and clung to our legs when we began to return to our ship for the night.”

At least one of the second team was confirmed to have brought a hatchling back to their camp. There was a debate amongst the survivors on if they should try and eat it, but the notion was quickly squashed as they still had food reserves and no one was brave enough to see how the alien’s bio matter would react inside the human digestive system.

The same human who had brought the hatchling back offered it a portion of food which it eagerly ate. Not long after the hatchling excreted a hardened crystal roughly the size of a thimble. When the human made to pick up the seemingly beautiful gem they recoiled as an electrical discharge shocked their hand. This immediately drew the attention of the rest of the crew who began carefully examining the crystal substance. After some rather rough jury-rigging, the crystal was wired into one of the printer machines and to the surprise of everyone powered the machine. The crew quickly learned that the older Sectar’s would produce larger crystal excrements but were extremely hostile and territorial. Smaller Sectar’s were deemed more desirable for the time being as they were easier to train and harvest crystals from.  

Within a matter of days the crew had not only collected enough crystals to power all of their machines and send out a distress signal, but also used the new found crystal power to create a full settlement on the planet complete with water filtration, crop fields, and a sizeable wall to keep out the native wildlife.

It would not be for another thirty years before a passing human shipped picked up their distress signal and went to investigate the planet. When they arrived on Nolla 987 they were astonished to find a fully functioning colony complete with limited orbital facilities. Nearly every human settler and their descendants had a Sectar in their household that they would take care of and feed and in exchange use their crystal excrement to power nearly everything they needed to live.

From there it was only a matter of time before the entirety of human space was aware of the events of Nolla 987 and the Sectar species. Within the decade the colony on Nolla 987 became the capital for a fully settled world with dozens of cities and communities. The Sectar species were transported throughout human space and began being implemented in all aspects of society.

There was initial resistance to the new power source by existing power blocks which realized Sectar power would be far more efficient than nuclear powered engines, but unlike other power sources they had squashed in development the Sectar power option had thirty years of trial and error to back it up with research as well as a fully functioning model with the planet of Nolla 987.

Sectar’s became a common sight on every human planet and were treated like common pets. It was even studied that when introduced to different food sources the energy output of crystal excrement could be increased resulting in certain food industries booming overnight. The composition of spices, cooking technique, and flavoring became an entirely new and highly prestigious academic field with the most successful of its practitioners being highly sought after by companies.

The technological capabilities of humanity experienced a massive surge in advancement within fifty years to the point humans no longer needed cryo ships to travel between stars. Those who had been studying humanity found themselves now being introduced to them as humans winded up on their doorstep with a Sectar on their shoulder and a perverse obsession with collecting its bodily waste.    

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #funny

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: The price of a meter

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)   The Klendari War saw the most brutal fighting the galaxy had seen since the days of the Fracture Wars.

On one side you had the Coalition of United Planet, a loose union of several dozen star faring civilizations brought together for economic and military security, and on the other stood the Klendari Empire which had reigned in its corner of the universe for some several thousand years.

The Klendari had survived so long because of their instinctual need to fortify their holdings. Their worlds were labyrinths of fortress walls, gun emplacements, razor trenches, and all other manner of engineering fortification. To try and take a world from the Klendari it was deemed the attacking force would need a minimum of ten times their standard forces to even have the slightest chance to succeed.

Relations between the two powers were cordial for many years. The Coalition had no desire to expand into Klendari space, and the Klendari benefited from wider trade access through the Coalitions standard market system. Events only began to take a downward spin when Klendari immigrants began spreading further and further into Coalition space.

Their travel permits were entirely legal and they established communities on several dozen worlds within the Coalition; often forming small Klendari quarters of larger cities as they would tend to group together. It was here that the nature of the Klendari began to upset their new world’s hosts.

They would begin fortifying their quarters and neighborhoods and turned them into sudo-military fortresses. Blockhouses became guard towers, avenues blocked off by reinforced gates, windows reduced in size to firing slits, etc. Within a few months of several families of Klendari settling on a world their new homes would be an impregnable bulwark of the Klendari Empire.

Naturally the legitimate rulers of the worlds were concerned by the sudden militarization of portions of their cities. Local law enforcement agencies tried to maintain order within the Klendari quarters but found with more and more Klendari migrating to them they began following the Klendari Empire laws instead. It was not uncommon for law enforcement to eventually refuse to patrol those areas as the Klendari began reacting hostile to them, as if they saw them as invaders.

Tensions reached boiling points on a dozen worlds but only when the Klendari Empire made an official statement declaring all Klendari settlements and enclaves within Coalition territory to be in fact part of the Klendari Empire did conflict erupt.

Coalition planets with Klendari enclaves issued ordinances denouncing the notion that they would relinquish sovereign territory and sent military units to demand the surrender of the enclaves. The enclaves refused, the military attempted to repossess the enclaves, and so the enclaves resisted triggering the Klendari War.

Each enclave took several months to reconquer, which was made worse by the fact the Klendari Empire was sending troops to reinforce each of the enclaves. Multiple convoys of troops were intercepted enroute, but a handful making it and further dragged out the war.  

By the seventh month of the conflict and only a handful of enclaves recaptured Coalition Military Command deemed that a new strategy was needed to bring the Klendari to the negotiating table. The idea was put forward that if the Coalition could capture a single Klendari world it would show them that they were not as invulnerable as they believed. Septimus Prime was deemed the perfect target as it was deep enough in Klendari territory to sends shockwaves when captured, but not too far that supplying it would become untenable.

So the Coalition assembled a massive invasion force, diverted 75% of their naval forces to protect it, and dispatched it for the heart of Klendari space. The moment the fleet exited their jump they found the Klendari resilience was well merited.

The first elements exiting the jump found themselves emerging into an orbiting minefield at the edge of the system. The mines were set to roam randomly throughout the system and only target ships that were not equipped with a Klendari transmitter. The “Righteous Fury” super battleship took the brunt of the damage upon emerging as it was the largest vessel. The shields held out as long as they could but by the time the rest of the fleet emerged it had sustained so much damage it had to be abandoned.

From there the fleet elements pressed forward to Septimus Prime while creating a cordon for the troop transports to move through safely. Though the Klendari had minefields in place they had not expected such a brazen attack into their territory and only a few Klendari fleet elements were present. These few ships hugged the orbit of Septimus Prime and used the orbital and ground based defenses to augment their lethality.

Coalition ships fought hard against the Septimus defense network, losing several more ships to ground based energy cannons. Klendari ships held out as long as they could but were eventually driven off when the final Hydron Cannon platform was knocked out of orbit removing the last of orbital defenses. They reduced themselves do hit and run tactics while they waited for the rest of the Klendari navy to arrive. With them driven off the Coalition could begin ground landings to take the planet itself.

There was a large debate about who would be the spear tip of the assault. Projections listed that whoever it was would take massive casualties. As brave as the various Coalition races had been to join the effort, none now were willing to be the first into the grinder.

Humanity did not share such hesitations.

Through the flak and energy cannon fire their drop ships rained down on Septimus Prime. 30% were lost in the first wave before they had even touched the ground. When they did the humans were met with an intense counter assault by Klendari forces that had been waiting to repel the ground invasion which resulted in a further 45% loss of forces before the Klendari withdrew.  

Despite their losses humanity had secured the beachhead and further reinforced it with additional forces. Soon the beachhead was a military compound with scores of humans marching out in columns.

To watch humans fling themselves at Klendari defenses was something beyond understanding. You would watch dozens of armored tanks charge across no man’s land to be wiped out one by one all for the destruction of one reinforced pillbox, or their soldiers crawl through piles of their dead to sneak up on their enemy unnoticed. Lesser species would have broken from the losses but humans simply put their heads down and continued marching forward. The rest of the Coalition contributed of course, but when faced with the stubbornness of the Klendari fortifications it was more often the humans who were brought in to finally break them open.

Meter by bloody meter the Klendari were driven from their strongholds as the death toll continued to mount. Wrecks of vehicles turned the surrounding landscapes into forests of rusting metal and were filled with the stench of rotting flesh. Some Coalition forces suffered such horrendous casualties that they withdrew from the assault, but humanity was one of the few that continued the fight until finally, after almost a year of intense fighting, Septimus Prime surrendered and the Klendari Empire as a whole opened up negotiations for peace.

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Where Heroes Flew

When Florelia had gone to work today she had expected it to be a day like any other. She’d man her post in orbital control, direct cargo traffic from the spaceport on the surface of the planet to the orbital lanes in the upper atmosphere, and then head to her quarters for the night and binge some trans-system entertainment. She was hoping to catch some of the Dorgan Finals being played out on the surface. The matches had drawn in close to a billion offworlders to the event and was the largest gathering seen on Zenbara in decades.

She was just about to get up for her designated lunch break when she noticed something odd on her tracking monitor. One of the inbound ships was bypassing the waiting que for reentry and was attempting to skip ahead of the waiting ships for reentry.

Putting her headset back on, Florelia flipped through the communication channels until she had the channel for the marked ship.

“Inbound vessel DCN4, return to your position in que.” She transmitted.

No response.

“Inbound vessel DCN4, this is orbital control; return to your position in que immediately.”

Florelia wondered if the ships communicator was broken, but before she could call up an engineer to confirm the inbound vessel suddenly increased speed and began blowing past the que of waiting ships.

“DCN4 cut engines and respond immediately, this is your final warning.”

“You were given many warnings,” a strange voice came back, “and now we are the culmination of all your sins. We are the children of Nu’n and in his name we shall punish the nonbelievers and cleanse them from this universe.”

As the voice continued delivering their speech Florelia ran a scan of DCN4 to confirm its cargo. When the scan came back her eyes went wide and she slammed her fist into the panic button built into her console. Sirens began blaring as her supervisor came over as Florelia opened a direct line to orbital security.

“Security, apprehend ship DCN4 now!” Florelia shouted into her transmitter.

“What’s wrong?” her supervisor asked as he came up to her finally. Florelia turned to let him see her screen.

“I believe DCN4 is under the control of terrorist elements and is loaded with over 900 thousand tons of Genthi explosives.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth did her supervisor tap his com piece in his ear and shout, “Security move your asses now! Grab DCN4 and bring it to a halt.”

Entering in his command codes he then addressed the entire line of waiting ships still in que.

“Attention all vessels, evacuate the area immediately. Divert courses away from lane 71-93; repeat, all vessels evacuate the area immediately!”

Florelia watched on her scanner as the security ships left the station. She watched as they pushed their engines to the max to catch up to the rogue vessel but even at max speed they wouldn’t be able to catch it in time. Calculating the trajectory, the computer predicted that the terrorists were steering themselves directly towards the Dorgan Finals stadium on the planet below.

“Should we issue an evacuation for the stadium?” she asked her supervisor. To her surprise he shook his head.

“It wouldn’t matter. With that much explosives it’ll turn everything within a 500km radius into the world’s largest crater.”

Florelia couldn’t speak as the horror of the situation set in. The devastation about to unfold would be the worst terrorist attack in the known universe.

A sudden beep from her console made Florelia look back and see that while many of the other civilian vessels were scattering one ship had begun moving towards the terrorist ship.

“What in the niv’nar….”

Florelia brought up the information about the secondary contact and saw it was a human mining ship designated the “Jackdaw”.

“Orbital control to human vessel Jackdaw, what are you doing?” Florelia asked as she realigned the transmitter to communicate to the human ship. “You have been instructed to evacuate the area.”

“I thought about it,” A young cheerful voice came back over the radio, “but my pappy taught me that when a robber comes at you you don’t show them the door; you show them your arm.”

Not understanding what the human was talking about she looked up to see the live camera feeds being displayed on the main monitors. DCN4 was long and narrow, while the human Jackdaw was bulky and looked as if it had been welded together with scrap metal.

It looked as if the Jackdaw was going to block DCN4 but as soon as the cargo ship drew close the mining ship ignited its engines and lazily drifted above the cargo vessel as it blew by. As it passed underneath the mining ship Florelia watch as a dozen compartments opened up on the mining ship and grappling arms the size corvettes shot out and latched on to DCN4.

The arms soon went taut and the Jackdaw ignited its engines to full in a dazzlingly bright display of light.

Like a fisherman wrangling a mighty sea creature, the Jackdaw tried to pull the terrorist ship back into orbit and give the security ships a chance to disable the vessel before it could carry out its task. Every set of eyes in the control room was locked to the main monitor as the DCN4 engines burned brighter and the ship veered left and right to try and shake off the Jackdaw.

The security ships had almost made it to DCN4 when several of the grappling arms tore away chunks of DCN4’s hull. Each of the security ships swung to avoid the debris but were struck by the whiplash of the grappling arms and exploded in a cloud of burnt metal. To the horror of orbital control one of the grappling arms swung back and damaged a few of the Jackdaw’s engines as well.

With renewed fervor the terrorist ship began plunging once more into the atmosphere with the Jackdaw still holding on with what few grappling arms remained. Though it refused to let go of the terrorist ship, it was a struggle it could not win.

“Orbital control to Jackdaw, you’ve done everything you can; disengage and get out of there.” Florelia transmitted to the Jackdaw.

“Not everything,” came the reply over the radio, “I got one last trick up my sleeve.”  

Florelia was going to ask what they meant when the Jackdaw began retracting the grappling arms while they still held on to DCN4. Slowly the arms pulled the two vessels closer and closer together as new energy warning sirens started off.

“That crazy bastard’s going to make a jump.” Florelia heard her supervisor say in disbelief.

“Jackdaw, if you attempt to make a jump in orbit-“ Florelia began but the human captain cut her off.

“It’s the last trick I got to play lassie.” They said in their chipper tone.

“There’s no guarantee you’ll make it out of the jump intact.” She persisted. “No ship has ever withstood a jump while in a gravity well.”

“First time for everything I suppose.”

The two ships were nearly touching hulls as the Jackdaw’s jump drive neared full power.

“Why are you doing this? You don’t know this world or these people; why give your life for them?”

To her surprise the human captain laughed over the coms.

“When someone’s in trouble you don’t stop to ask for details, you just help them.”

With that the two ships hulls finally touched and the Jackdaw ignited its jump drive. For a moment both ships blurred in and out of the atmosphere as DCN4 desperately tried to free itself from the mining ship’s grasp.

In a final bright flash the two ships made the jump out of the atmosphere, leaving behind a trail of scrap metal that slowly burned away as it fell to the planet below. To the public below it looked as if a series of elaborate fireworks were going off to celebrate the day’s events while those in orbit held a silent vigil for the unknown human captain who had just saved billions of lives.

For all the barbarity the human race has been known for it was easy to forget that there were still those amongst their people who would lay down their lives for strangers without ever needing a word of thanks.  

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Best form of Revenge

Alien: What is the best way to get back at someone you despise?

Human: Why are you asking me?

Alien: Because humans are renowned for their ability to plan elaborate revenge schemes against those who have slighted them.

Human: On behalf of the human race I am offended by that.

Alien: I have witnessed you slowly drive your co-worker insane by moving everything in their office one inch to the left every day for 3 months.

Human: To be fair I only kept doing that because they refused to pay me back my $1.50 I loaned them for lunch.

Alien: *Stares at human with mocking eyebrows

Human: Fine, I see your point.

Human: Alright, here is what you do….

Alien: Wait, do you not wish to know why I want revenge?

Human: No.

Alien: Really?

Human: Yes.

Alien: Oh….okay.

Alien: So what should I do?

Human: Ignore them.

Alien: What?

Human: Ignore them, diminish them; make them feel beneath your notice.

Alien: That seems rather childish for an elaborate revenge plot.

Human: That is because I haven’t expanded it.

Human: If they come to you to gloat about something they did, anything, ask them who they are.

Human: When they explain who they are and how you should know them, still act like you have no idea who they are.

Human: If they continue to persist about how you should know them simply, and this is important, shrug and say “If you say so”, and then leave.

Alien: How is this revenge?

Human: Because in their eyes now they will think that they need to prove themselves somehow for you to notice them.

Human: Like a kid trying to win his drunken father’s affection.

Alien: That’s rather dark.

Human: So is revenge; keep up.

Human: Now they will continue to come back to you day after day trying to win your notice and you will continue to dismiss them or give them the bare minimum attention.

Human: If you want to get further under their skin start talking up someone else in their presence; someone who you would consider more of a rival then they are.

Alien: How would that work?

Human: Like this. *In mocking alien voice “Yes, yes, I’m sure you’ve done rather well for yourself; but not as much as Thomson on the 3rd floor. That bastard has been upselling me all week and I’m convinced he’s the one stealing my parking space.”

Alien: What good will that does to bring in someone else?

Human: By actually acknowledging someone who your target thinks is beneath them, they will further become enraged as you’ve just reinforced how little they appear on your radar.

Alien: And that works?

Human: Indeed.

Human: You need to treat your displeasure towards someone as gift to them, for you have deemed their existence worthy of acknowledgement.

Alien: Alright, I guess I could give it a shot. ------------------------------

*Two Months later

Human: So how’s the revenge going?

Alien: I’m not sure.

Human: What do you mean you’re not sure?

Alien: I mean they came up to me today and offered to have sex with me.

Human: Oh….in that case they must be very desperate for you to notice them.

Alien: What should I do?

Human: If you want to keep up with the revenge have sex with them, then afterwards don’t speak with them.

Human: If they come up to you and demand an explanation say that the sex was so bad you wanted to forget that moment by never speaking with them again.

Alien: ……………….

Alien: Who broke you to make you so devious?

Human: *Grins as they sip their drink

Human: I’m human; we were made broken.

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #funny #revenge #long game #scifi

[niqhtlord01]

AHHHHH I MISSED YOU!!!!! YOUR STORIES BRING ME SO MUCH JOY!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️

I'm glad you enjoy my stories :) Apologies for being less frequent with story drops, especially to my patron's over on patreon. Back on my honeymoon in October I was let go from my job at Sucker Punch without warning. For those who've been watching the gaming industry since then it's been layoffs all around so it's been nerve wracking getting a new job. Thankfully I've just gotten a new one so trying to get back into a new balance of work and story writing. As always I tip my hat to you all for following me and promise there are still many more stories to come :D

#niqhtlord01 #thank you

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Criminal Detectives Part 2

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

The human’s words and observations certainly caused a stir back at police HQ. Trem and Morbin’s chief was not pleased to have had his two star detectives not only mislabel a murder as a suicide, but to have also had those determining facts shown to them by a human who had been on the scene for less than ten minutes.

With the case reclassified as a murder investigation the human government had taken control and placed Douglas Finch in charge moving forward. Their Chief had fought against such a decision, but it was standard policy that in the event of a human murder case the human government would oversee all investigations into the matter. The Mayor of the city had even called the chief to “reinforce” the new structure and told the chief that they should offer Finch every courtesy in the matter.

It was a phone call so heated officer’s two floors below could still hear the Chief’s voice shouting.  

So it was now that both the alien detectives watched their crime scene now swarmed over by a host of humans snapping pictures, collecting samples for testing, and interviewing not only the rest of the building’s occupants but reaching out to several people who frequented the outside office areas who may have saw or heard anything strange during the time of death.

Finch, the CSI human who had been dispatched, was standing in the hallway outside the murder victim’s office reading a data file when Trem and Morbin approached.

“Glad you two could find your way back so easily.” Finch remarked to the two alien detectives as they approached. He didn’t even bother to take his eyes off the data pad as he continued scrolling through its contents.

Morbin was smart enough not to rise to the bait, but Trem was less than cordial.

“We’ve served on the force for over thirteen stellar rotations!” Trem replied sharply.

“Yet you missed the file cabinet’s lock being broken open, several missing files, that the murder weapon was put into the wrong hand of the victim to fake a suicide, and thought it wasn’t odd that the victim would wait for a passing train to blow his brains out to muffle the sound.”

“We…I….you!” Trem stammered as he boiled in rage as Finch tucked away his data pad and walked past the alien detectives.

“Where are you going?” Morbin demanded. Finch didn’t even bother to turn around to answer and just shouted over his shoulder as he left the building.

“Going to see what I can dig up on my own.”

Both alien detectives looked at each other in astonishment as the human left before quickly following after them.

------------------- Three sector grids later the pair of alien detectives watched from the shadows as the human got out of his hover car. They’d been trailing him the moment he left the crime scene and despite a few instances of nearly getting caught they were sure the human wasn’t aware of them.

To his credit the human had covered their tracks surprisingly well. They’d transferred into four different hover cars during their wanderings across several different city levels until finally ending up in the industrial district. Neither Trem nor Morbin knew what the human could want here, but they were both well aware they were in the shady part of the city that had unsuspecting cops vanishing all the time.

“What’s he doing now?” Morbin asked as Trem focused on the scanner lenses.

“He just got out of his car and is walking down the street.”

Morbin was at the wheel of their hover car while Trem was next to him in the front with the scanner lenses. They could pierce through solid materials and focus on certain living organisms but only within a range of about 50-60 feet.

“I hope he gets in another car soon so we can get out of here.” Morbin kept his eyes peeled to either side of the street. “You don’t hover into the Pipelands unless you got a police battalion behind you.”

“Relax,” Trem quipped as he adjusted the scanners, “it’s not like the human is going to meet-“

Trem’s voice trailed off as he finished adjusting the scanner.

“What is it?” Morbin asked as he sat up. When Trem didn’t respond right away he upholstered his laser pistol with one hand and tightened his grip on the steering wheel with the other.

“That flesh sack,” Trem stammered, “is meeting Fnar.”

“What?!?” Morbin snatched the scanner lenses out of his partner’s hands and brought them up to his eyes. The scanners quickly cut through the building between him and their human target and sure enough he saw the outline of Finch slowly take shape; and standing over him like a looming tower was a new bio-signature that identified itself as none other than Fnar Batal, the unofficial ruler of the Pipelands.

His criminal operation spread across sixteen sector grids and he ruled them with an iron fist. Even the mayor was too scared to cross Fnar directly, but thankfully the crime lord had learned that make a big show of power tended to get his kind jailed or killed. Fnar had opted to rule through intimidation and a deaf hand to not invite a similar fate and was the oldest crime lord on the planet.

“What are they say?” Trem asked as he reached for the scanner lenses back. Morbin swatted his hand away while he kept his eyes glued to the outlines of Finch and Fnar.

Finch’s back was towards Morbin so he couldn’t make out what he was saying, but the human was making several hand gestures and Fnar seemed to be nodding. Whatever the human was saying was clearly the right words to be used. Finch’s outline then turned in Morbin’s direction and a hand came up to point directly at the alien detective.

“FRAK!” Morbin shouted as he dropped the scanner lenses and made to hit the accelerator when a pair of massive arms smashed through the driver’s window and yanked him from the hover car. The blaster in his hand was snatched away by another thug while Trem was likewise hauled from the vehicle.

“Thought coppers like you knew the Pipeland’s were off limits.” The thug holding Morbin remarked; the smugness dripping from every word as the other thugs chuckled. The thug’s grip tightened further and Morbin could hear his exoskeleton creaking under the intense pressure. He tried to speak again but his voice was little more than gasps at this point.

“Ease off lads.” A new voice cut in. ‘I just wanted to give them a bit of fright, not kill them.”

Morbin followed the voice to see Finch standing in front of the hover car pulling out a cigarette. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a match which he immediately struck off against the hood of Morbin’s car and lit up while the thugs watched on.

“We don’t take orders from you flesh sack!” The thug holding Morbin shot back.

“But you do listen to your boss,” Finch countered, flicking the burnt match at the thug dismissively, “and I don’t think he’d take kindly to you making his guest feel unwelcome.”

Finch walked over to the thug and tilted his head back a smidge to look up into their face.

“So kindly put them him and his friend down, and then piss off somewhere else.”

The thug mashed their teeth together in rage before relenting; dropping Morbin followed shortly after by Trem on the other side of the car.

“Next time we see them we gut them like sigs.” The thug spat before leaving.

Morbin and Trem grasped their throats and coughed several times as air flooded back into their lungs. When Morbin’s eyesight cleared again he saw Finch smiling down at him.

“Need a ride?”

--------------------- “What….was…that about?” Morbin gasped as he and Trem were flown out of the Pipelands by Finch in his own vehicle.

“Bit of field work.” Finch said dryly, turning to avoid an oncoming hover hauler. “I needed to get some info about the case and Fnar was the only one who could provide it.”

“What could you…”, Trem spoke up, “possibly have that Fnar wants?”

“A promise to move his incarcerated son to a max level human prison for one thing.” Finch said with a grin. “Seems he’s got a whole list of enemies that wouldn’t mind gutting the little runt in prison to get back at dear old papa, so he was all too willing to make a trade for the kids safety.”

“You deal with criminals?” Morbin spoke up; his voice returning to his stable tone. “I thought you were a human enforcer of law?”

“You spend enough time fighting crime you eventually learn that it never goes away,” Finch replied seriously, “and that having someone with their ear to the ground can be even more productive than someone behind bars.”

Morbin was astonished to hear that human could so easily rationalize dealings with criminals. The idea of allowing criminals to exist just so they could turn on other criminals was beyond his comprehension of law and order.

“And did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Did you get information?” Trem asked.

Finch nodded.

“It seems Morgan Solis was very good at accounting and had noticed some irregularities with the book keeping of his company.” Finch opened up. “Large sums of money were being swept under the table and were written off as charity donations.”

“That’s nothing new.” Trem admitted, “Corporations do that all the time.”

“True, but Morgan made the mistake of tracking down who the money was being diverted to and was in the process of going public with that information.”

“And how would Fnar know all this?” Morbin inquired.

“Not too long ago a contract was floated around about a B&E job paying big credits. Fnar remembered it since it was rather light on details aside from it involving a human. He passed on the job, as did many of the other main providers, since crossing humans tends to lead to bad business; but he kept a copy of the contract and the details match up with the crime scene.”

“We’re looking for someone who is heavily invested in staying in the shadows and is not afraid to kill someone to keep themselves there.”

Morbin and Trem say in silence for a time taking in the new information they had just been given. “So,” Morbing finally spoke up as they neared the upper sectors of the city again, “what do we do now?”

“I don’t know about you,” Finch said cockily, “but I mean to find these bastards and drag them into the light myself; kicking and screaming all the way if needed.”

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #criminal detectives

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: What use is honor in war?

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

*Clouds of ash part to reveal burnt out husks of barracks complexes, shatter communication towers, and looming over all of it was the crumbling structure of the once proud command center itself.*

*Setting down in front of the command building a small squad of human soldiers approach and form a cordon to either side of the lowering boarding ramp.*

*General Marius Fimble slowly walks down the ramp flanked by a pair of black clad honor guard. His robotic left foot slamming against the ramp with a resounding cannon like echo until he reaches the bottom*

Colonel: *Salutes* General.

Marius: *Returns salute lazily while scanning surroundings* Colonel.

Colonel: You can relax sir; we’ve cleared the area of all resistance.

Marius: Complacency breeds overconfidence; never forget that.

Colonel: Sir!

Marius: Do you have him?

Colonel: We are keeping him in the main building to prevent escape.

Marius: *Confused* Have they made attempts?

Colonel: First one he killed three and injured twelve.

Marius: First?

Colonel: Second he killed seven and injured six, then again three hours later with eight injured.

Marius: He’s tried escaping three times already?

Colonel: Oh no.

Colonel: Those were all within the first seven hours of capture; we’re on twenty seven attempts by now.

Marius: *Grunts*

Marius: Let’s get this over with then before he kills any more of my men.

*Colonel escorts the general and his guards inside the command center. Descending three flights of stairs the group comes to an armored door guarded by twenty soldiers and an auto turret pointed at the doorframe*

Marius: Open it.

*The armored door slowly creeks open as all twenty guards take aim at the opening. The auto turret slowly begins spinning its turrets in preparation to fire as the general walks by.*

Marius: *Waves his bodyguards* Wait here.

Colonel: I would not recommend that, sir.

Marius: *Walks past Colonel and into the room* Noted.

*The door slams behind Marius as he takes in the surroundings. A single light hangs from the ceiling illuminating a lone figure secured firmly to the ground my numerous heavy chains*

Marius: Commandant Fring, we meet at last.

Fring: *Spits out glob of purple blood at Marius’s feet*

Marius: *Steps over it without acknowledging it*

Marius: I had heard tales of the great Grung military back in my academy days and I must say after fighting you, I am deeply underwhelmed.

Fring: *Low growl*

Marius: *Circling the room* Over a thousand years of military prowess and I took you apart in less than a day.

Fring: YOU STRUCK WITHOUT HONOR!

*Fring lunges at Marius who doesn’t flinch. The chains straining under the sudden pressure with Fring just out of reach of Marius’s throat*

*Marius watches in silence as Fring continues for several minutes before relenting*

Marius: I never understood that.

Fring: What?

Marius: Honor.

Fring: You do not understand it because you have never held it.

Fring: You preach of taking down our military when you attacked like cowards and thieves in the dead of night! Slaughtering my warriors while they slept rather than dying by their hands on the field of battle!

Marius: The purpose of war is to win.

Marius: Everything else takes a back seat to that one concept; because if you don’t win nothing you were fighting for matters.

Fring: And yet it is the manner of how you fight that defines who you are.

Fring: And you are a coward!

Marius: So you justify your incompetence by claiming I am a coward?

Fring: You dare!?!

Marius: You were unprepared for an attack despite declaring war on my people. They should have been mustering for war and already onboard troop ships heading out of system; instead they were…how did you put it? Ah yes, they were sleeping.

Marius: *Leans in close to Fring who lunges again only to be grabbed by the general’s hand*

*The general’s grip is iron and Fring claws at it as he gasps for air. There is no emotion behind the eyes of the human leader as he watches his foe*

Marius: Honor, is a novelty for those who can afford it. A justification to fight in a manner of combat they prefer regardless of how many souls die by the outdated ideal that is “Honor”. I fight to win wars, and though my victories seem beneath you I ensure that my men, my soldiers, will return home safe and sound because I fought using my head and not my heart.

*Marius let’s go of Fring who collapses to the ground*

Marius: *Looks down at Fring* You fought with your heart and you lost five field army’s worth of soldiers in a single night.

Fring: Do you keep me alive just to mock me? End me then, for I will hear none of this.

Marius: *Chuckles* I’m sure I had a reason for keeping you alive, but seeing you now I can’t for the life of me wonder why I thought it was worth the effort.

Marius: *bangs on door and the door opens*

Marius: *motions to the soldiers* kill him.

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Prank Gone Wrong

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

“Filnar Go F%$@ Yourself!” was possibly the most disruptive software virus the universe had ever seen.

The program was designed to download itself to a computer, copy the functions of existing software before deleting said software and imitating it, then running its original programming all the while avoiding the various attempts to locate and remove it by security software.

What was strange about such a highly advanced virus was that it did not steal government secrets, nor siphon funds from banking institutions, it ignore critical infrastructure processes, and even bypassed trade markets that if altered could cause chaos on an unprecedented scale. The only thing the software seemed focused on was in locating any information regarding the “Hen’va” species, and deleting it.

First signs of the virus outbreak were recorded on the planet Yul’o IV, but once the virus began to migrate at an increasing rate and latched on to several subroutines for traveling merchant ships things rapidly spiraled out of control. Within a week the virus had infected every core world and consumed all information regarding the Hen’va. It still thankfully had not resulted in any deaths, but the sudden loss of information was beginning to cause other problems.

Hen’va citizens suddenly found that they were not listed as galactic citizens and were detained by security forces on numerous worlds. Trade routes became disrupted as Hen’va systems were now listed as uninhabited and barren leading to merchants seeking to trade elsewhere. Birth records and hospital information for millions of patients were wiped clean as they now pertained to individuals who did not exist.

Numerous software updates and purges were commenced in attempting to remove the virus. Even the galactic council’s cyber security bureau was mobilized for the effort, but if even a single strand of the virus’s code survived it was enough to rebuild itself and become even craftier with hiding itself while carrying out its programming. This was made worse by the high level of integration the various cyber systems of the galaxy had made it so the chance of systems being re-infected was always high.

After ten years every digital record of the Hen’va was erased from the wider universe. All attempts to upload copies were likewise deleted almost immediately leaving only physical records to remain untouched.

To combat this, the Hen’va for all official purposes adopted a new name; then “Ven’dari”. In the Hen’va tongue in means “The Forgotten”, which is rather ironic as the Hen’va have had to abandon everything about their previous culture to continue their existence. The virus had become a defacto component of every computer system in the galaxy and continued to erase all information related to the Hen’va. Even the translator units refused identify the Hen’va tongue and so the Ven’dari needed to create a brand new language.

It wasn’t until another fifty years had passed before the original creator of the virus stepped forward and admitted to their crime. A one “Penelope Wick”.

At the time of the programs creation Ms. Wick was a student studying on Yul’o IV to be a software designer. While attending the institution Ms. Wick stated that a fellow student, a Hen’va named “Filnar”, would hound her daily. He would denounce her presence within the school and repeatedly declared that “what are the scrapings of humans compared to the glory of the Hen’va?”

The virus was her creation as a way of getting back at the student for his constant spite. Ms. Wick was well aware of the dangers it could pose if released into the wild and so had emplaced the limitation that the virus would only infect computers on site with the campus. The schools network was setup that students could only work on their projects within the confines of the institution to ensure they did not cheat and have others make them instead. What she had not counted on was this rule only applied to students and not teachers. So when a teacher brought home several student projects to review and then sharing those infected files with their personal computer, the virus then gained free access to the wider planets networks.

When the Ven’dari learned of this there were several hundred calls for Ms. Wick to be held accountable for her actions, and nearly twice as many made to take her head by less patient individuals who had seen their entire culture erased. Much to their dismay Ms. Wick died shortly after her confession from a long term disease that had ravaged her body for several years.

Much to her delight, she had achieved her goals of removing the source of her mockery.

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #story #scifi #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #funny #prank #prank gone wrong #virus

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Do not give them Toys

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

When the human government wished to initiate trade with the Filthrax Conglomerate the Filthrax were understandably cautious. They had always been sensitive when it came to sharing technology with other species. To that end they had an extensive amount of restrictions on what could and couldn’t be traded; excluding much of their more advanced technology from ever reaching the market.

The humans in comparison were technologically inferior to the Filthrax in nearly every aspect so they pictured the humans to heavily lobby for advanced technology to be made available. So it was with some surprise that when negotiations began the humans did not lobby for advanced technology, they instead seemed deeply invested in obtaining the Filthrax toys.

This was not something the negotiators had expected. Research into human culture had showed a deep rooted sense of aggression, towards outsiders and themselves when promoted, which made them believe that the first opening bid would be towards military grade technology.

Sensing the discord, the human diplomats explained that while they would like more advanced technology to be an option, they understood the hesitance and reluctance to trade such dangerous items. They said they would be fine earning the Filthrax’s trust over an extended period of time through trade. It seemed that several human enterprises had their eyes on Filthrax toys and they seemed like a safe enough items to begin trade. The Filthrax agreed and so trade lines were opened between the great powers.

What the aliens saw as a harmless deal was in fact the first foot in the door that could never be closed.

Several million orders for toys were placed almost overnight and the economic boon was felt overnight throughout the Filthrax Conglomerate. None of them understood the fascination humans had with their trinkets but if they were willing to pay then they would be more than happy to sell. It wasn’t until the Nexus Wars began that the Filthrax would come to understand their folly.

The “Nexus” was a series of star systems that held the majority of trade lanes between the core worlds and the far flung resource rich outer zones. Trade through these lanes was deemed to be the most stable for long distance transportation so whoever controlled these regions would make considerable wealth from their stewardship.

Current stewardship fell to the Omicron Empire who had held the systems for the last several hundred years and as such used the profits it generated to fund their empires expansion. The humans wished to control these routes to fund their own imperial ambitions but had never leveled the playing field with the Omicron military to make such a transgression possible.

Then, without warning, the human military launched a series of strikes against Omicron bases and fleets in the Nexus systems triggering the “Nexus War”. The Omicrons raised their fleets and armies and dispatched them to the systems with the full intention of repelling the humans and then carrying on their counter offensive into human space. What they met however was a suddenly technologically advanced human military spouting drastic advances in military equipment not seen.

Human soldiers now carried portable shielding units that blocked everything less than a direct hit from a hover tank, while their ships launched fusion bombs carrying a heavy enough payload to shatter Timbar class battleships in half.

With this new technology, the human military had taken control of half of the Nexus systems within five months of the wars start. Other powers dotting the stars took notice of the sudden prowess of the human military, as well as the calculations predicting that within another five months the Omicron Empire would be driven from the Nexus systems. Some cheered at seeing their old rivals in the Omicron’s brought low, others sent delegations to the human government pledging alliances and treaties, many more came to join the war effort now sensing blood amongst the stars; but to the Filthrax, they quickly came to realize the part they had played in this war.

While Filthrax toys were rather unremarkable, they were unique in the way that their power sources could last an entire lifetime. Through controlled energy distribution, the Filthrax had created a rudimentary power source that, while considered basic in their society, was light years ahead of any neighboring species.

The humans were well aware of this feature.

They knew before negotiations even began that the Filthrax would never part with their advanced weaponry or technology, but they would be willing to part with something they considered nothing more than a toy. Toys that were then torn apart to get to the power source, reverse engineered, and then used to power weapons and machines of human design.

Filthrax toys were now forming the basis for a new galactic power, and they had been fooled into giving them away for nothing more than currency.

The sudden realization sent shockwaves through the upper echelons of the Filthrax. If they admitted this they would be not only be publically humiliated on a galactic scale; but also be portrayed as cobelligerents in the war. Not only that, it would invalidate their own standing treaties with other species which specifically stated they would not trade anything that could be repurposed for war. They could see trade agreements torn asunder for a dozen species with even embargos placed upon their territories. Worse yet was if they did cease trading with the humans the human government could release the information and still black list them to the wider galaxy.

So they sat and watched the war from the sidelines, contemplating that their bobbles may have very well just doomed the universe.

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: They sing going to war

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While serving alongside the human forces during the Torus Campaign I learned much of their strange culture.

Their need to stack foods in elaborate combinations which they call a “Sandwich”, their constant need to play “The Game” without ever explaining what it is unless to tell you that you have lost it, and even their obsession with petting anything within arm’s reach with an almost religious like dedication; but the strangest custom I only witnessed during the final stages of the war.

We had just deployed over the world of Obidon III and were launching a joint ground assault with the human forces. Enemy resistance was expected to be heavy and many would not survive the drop, but command believed that if enough forces reached the surface of the planet they could establish a beachhead and allow the rest of the contingent to be brought in.

During the decent to the planet all I could do was keep my eyes closed and hope beyond hope that we would survive. I was so lost in this trance like state that my friend Septem had to physically smack me on the helmet to get my attention and tell me to turn my radio channel to frequency 13.

I was confused at first since that frequency was being used for our human allies but he insisted that I would not believe what they were doing. So I reset my radio in my helmet to frequency and what I heard was something I had never expected on a battlefield.

They were singing.

The frequency was chalk full of voices in such volume that I had to turn down the volume but it seemed like every single human that was part of the attach was joining in the song. My translator unit was trying to keep up but the sheer intensity of the humans singing was causing it to drop in and out, picking up every other word.

I wanted to listen closer to them but the enemy flak began pounding the outside of our dropship. Each detonation sent the ship rattling side to side violently. I had just retightened my straps when a shell burst just beneath us sending a shockwave through the ship so strong it sent several of my comrades flying from their seats into the opposite wall. They hit the wall hard and did not get back up when their bodies collapsed to the ground.

All I could think about was how this was the moment I was going to die. This was the moment my existence in this universe comes to its conclusion and I return to the dust and atoms of the cosmos. And as I tuned myself to this reality all I could hear were the humans still singing over the radio.

They must have been going through the same amount of enemy fire as he was and yet still they somehow were still able to sing as if nothing was wrong with the world. I got so focused on their singing that I forgot about my worries for such a time that I was startled when the dropship landed with a loud thud against the planet’s surface and the boarding ramp lowered.

The following battle was a grueling six hour run and gun with the enemy as we tried to carve out a safe LZ for reinforcements. I got separated from my unit on more than one occasion and wandered into the human designated areas in the confusion.

To my utter surprise the humans were still singing.

Clad in their blue and gold armor, they broadcasted their voices from their helmet speakers as they advanced street by bloody street. One of them took shelter with me for a time as we prepared to rush a fortified courtyard which housed heavy anti air emplacement. I nodded a greeting to the human who replied in kind, yet their voice never ceased in song. I saw them rush around the corner and take several heavy rounds to their chest, but the shells ricocheted off the armor leaving only scratches on the paint.

I watched in disbelief as this wild singing human leaped over the barricade and slapped a detonation charge on the anti-air weapon before leaping back as it exploded the weapon. They stood in the smoldering flames to take a moment to catch their breath when a sniper’s round from down the street struck them in the head and blew out a large portion of their cranium. It was the first time during the entire battle I had seen a human die but I did not have long to contemplate it as the rest of the humans charged past, still singing, in the direction of the snipers shot.

Another hour of combat and the landing site was finally secured and reinforcements were brought in to take our positions. What was left of the initial landing force were sent back to orbit and recover and regroup from their losses. Out of my people’s forces I was one of twenty soldiers to have survived. I imagined the humans had lost equally as many until the pilot remarked that additional shuttles had been dispatched to carry their force back up. It seemed that despite the intensity of the fighting only three of their warriors had fallen in battle; one of them including the warrior I had watched fall.

I was beyond myself.

These reckless warriors had somehow survived one of the most intense battles the campaign had seen and only lost three of their number.

Once back on the ship the first chance I could I sought them out for an explanation. They were quartered in the lower reaches of the ship, isolated from the other contingents onboard.

Outside their area were two guards still in full armor that initially would not let me through until one of them recognized me from the fighting in the city. I was then led inside and found many of the humans feasting and laughing. Two long rows of had been setup facing each other; between them were several fires, each with a different animal being roasted over them. At the end of the rows stood three large pyres of wood which held three bodies atop each of them.

As I passed through the humans many ceased their laughter and looked at me, their eyes with suspicion. We made it half way through the throngs when a giant of a human stepped forward and blocked our path. They demanded to know why I had been let it in; going even further to say they will throw me out personally if the answer was not good. The guard who had recognized me said I had witnessed the last moments of one of the fallen and would speak of their deeds. There was a long pause as the large human glared at me, his eyes as cold as the crescent moon of my homeworld.

The human finally relented and let out a loud boastful laugh, clapping me on my shoulders and welcoming me to the feast. Those gathered around cheered and similarly welcomed me now as the ceremony proceeded once more. I could barely say anything as I was seemingly pulled into the celebration. I drank, I ate, I laughed, I even boasted of my own achievements during the battle.

At the height of the feast I was called forward to speak of the final moments of the human soldier I watched die. I learned their name had been Moris Yu, and had served in the human contingent since the beginning of the campaign. I spoke of his final moments, of how he charged the enemy alone and had single handedly destroyed their war machine. I spoke of the snipers bullet laying him low to which all the gathered humans spoke as one “To Odin’s hall he flies.”

With that pyres were set on fire and the bodies slowly turned to ash. I imagine it had some significant ritualistic meaning in human culture but it was beyond me.

After the funeral I asked one of the soldiers the question I had come to them with.

“Why do you sing in battle?”

The human took a long huff from a wooden pipe and blew a cloud of smoke before answering.

“Long ago, my people were raiders and conquerors of the sea.” They began, “Our gods watched over us and should we prove worthy we would be sent to them to join them in their halls and fight alongside them for eternity.”

“There was one warband led by a giant of a man called Osmond Frig. He loved song just as much as he loved fighting, so he made his warriors sing during every fight as it made him happy.”

“They agreed to such silliness?” I asked, to which the human grinned.

“They did after he felled the first three men who laughed at him with a single blow from his axe.” They finished before continuing with their story.

“What was truly surprising was not the sight of these warriors singing, but rather the fact that they were rather good at it. It was said they could make the Valkyries themselves shed a single tear with their songs.”

“Eventually one of the gods, Bragi, noticed Osmond’s warband and took a liking to them. Much like the Valkyries he too was moved by their song and decided to reward them with his patronage. He used ancient magic and made it so as long as the warriors sung they would be impervious to harm of all kinds.”

“So the warband grew in fame and glory as they went conquest to conquest, emerging from battles against impossible odds with nay a scratch on them. First across the northern seas, then across the continent of Europe, and then soon the entire world knew of Osmond; which is when they finally drew the attention of the king of the gods, Odin.”

“Odin watched these powerful warriors and wanted them in his hall for the eternal battle, yet despite every challenge they faced they emerged victorious. No matter what enemy Odin placed in their path or scheme he unleashed on them they refused to fall. Odin knew of Bragi’s patronage and tortured the god to reveal his secret and after seven days and seven nights Bragi told Odin of the spell he had cast and how it could not be undone.”

“But that was all Odin needed to secure his warriors.” The human said with a devil’s grin.

“During the midst of the most recent battle Odin took the form of a mighty warrior and stalked the fields for his prey. He waited for each warrior to catch their breath and cease their song before striking and slaying them, one by one. By day’s end only Osmond remained to fight Odin and though he sang long into the night he too eventually gasped for air and was slain.”

“So that is why you sing?” I asked the human. ‘Because you believe your gods will protect you?”

The human chuckled and nodded to the three pyres. “Did you not say that Moris was only slain after he ceased singing?”

I wanted to counter him with some logic, some reason grounded in reality, but I could not. I left that human area with a profound new perspective of myself in the grand scheme of the universe.

The next time I was in a combat drop my comrades laughed when I began singing. I wasn’t sure if it was good or not, but I hoped that in some way the human god would at least find me amusing and let me live another day.

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #odin #bragi #norse mythology

[niqhtlord01]

Great writing

I'm glad you enjoyed my works :)

I get a smile whenever I see someone sharing my story or leaving a comment about what they thought.

#niqhtlord01

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Minecraft Part 2

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

Alien: *Observes ruined remains of once proud city Alien: What happened? Human: There was a spider and in my attempts to kill it things got out of hand. Alien: How does trying to kill a spider destroy your whole city? Human: I tried using fire. Alien: How much fire? Human: *Points to several dozen lava buckets used* Human: I want to say all the fire. ---------------------

Alien: Am I meeting you at your base? Human: Nah, I lost that one so I had to build a new one. Alien: Wait, how did you lose it? Human: Turns out piglin’s can walk through the ender portal into the above world. Alien: So? Alien: It’s not a problem if you- Alien: …….. Alien: wait, you didn’t seal off your portal room? Human: I did not. -------------------------

Alien: *walking through dying npc village* Alien: Wasn’t this place thriving last time we were here? Human: Yeah; probably fell apart when I diverted the river. Alien: You what?! Human: I didn’t like how it looked so I blocked it off and shifted it in a different direction. Alien: What gives you the right to destroy this innocent town? Human: Innocent? Human: Have you seen their trading rates? Human: Why would I pay 15 emeralds for an iron pickaxe? -----------------------

Alien: Why are you hiding? Human: I am being hunted by the deadliest creature in the game. Alien: *Intrigued* What is that? Human: *Points at looming shadow* There…. *Shadow takes shape and reveals itself to be a frog* Alien: Seriously? Frog: Ribbit. *Frog opens its mouth and shoots out to alien* *Tongue latches on to alien and eat him* Human: They never listen…… --------------------------

Alien: What the hell is this? Human: It’s my home. Alien: It’s made of dirt. Human: So? Alien: Why in the sixteen hells would you make your house out of dirt? Human: I mean, it’s everywhere. Alien: So are fraking trees! -----------------------------

Human: BEHOLD! Human: A TOWN MADE OUT OF IRON! Alien: Seems like a waste of iron. Alien: Why did you make this? Human: Because I wanted to make the golems protecting the town have an existential crisis as they ponder the question “Are we made out of the town, or is the town made out of us?” Alien: By the gods you should not be left alone with your thoughts for long. ------------------------------

Alien: *Finishes building village in middle of a lake* Alien: Finally! Alien: No mobs will be able to make it across the water to reach them! Human: Um…. Human: You do know about the underwater zombies, right? Alien: I’m sorry, the what? *Trident goes flying past head as swarms of underwater zombies emerge* -----------------------------

Alien: Why did you spend three weeks rearranging the landscape? Human: So I can go on long walks through it. Alien: That’s it? Alien: How can that possibly be worth the effort? Human: Join me and see. *Pair proceed to walk down a long intricate pathway with different color trees, rivers and waterfalls, mountain ranges and rolling hills* Alien: Damn. Alien: That was peaceful. Human: I know, right? -----------------------------

Alien: What are you doing? Human: Trading with the piglins. Alien: Why? Human: It’s fascinating watching them when you throw gold at them. Alien: Didn’t they destroy your city my swarming through the open ender portal? Human: Yes. Alien: And you’ve forgiven them for that? Human: Oh no. Human: I plan on sealing up their home area later on and then pouring buckets of lava into it from the highest places and watching them run, scream, and beg for their lives before the all-consuming flames devour their flesh. Human: But right now I find them amusing so I think I’ll pause on that plan for a day or two. Alien: ……………….. Alien: What your gods must think of you when they see such casual malice. Human: They learned long ago to leave us be. For we have learned that they topple just as easily as their temples, and their names cast to the sands of time beneath our feet.

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #funny #minecraft

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Ramming Speed

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The idea of ramming space ships into each other as a form of combat maneuver was beyond many galactic military minds comprehension.

A single spacecraft, let alone a military grade class vessel, would cost up in the billions of credits. Entire galactic economies had nearly bankrupted themselves trying to maintain a fleet large enough to secure their borders, so in turn each military ship became an asset not to be squandered lightly.

Perhaps it was this conservative mindset that nearly shattered when these powers first looked upon the Terran ship codenamed “The Ram”.

Unlike other modern vessels the ships of this new classification lacked all weapon emplacements. No energy cannons, missile launchers, rail guns; it was entirely free of weapons. What it did have was excessive amounts of armor plating, several separate shield generators, and a pair of overly powerful engines that could reach max speed in roughly five minutes.

The first time it was observed in combat was during the Terran/Crux war. Both powers had sizable fleets at their disposal and for the first couple months the two powers played cat and mouse games between each other; each trying to find a more advantageous position to commit their forces. Much to the dismay of both powers the first large scale battle was triggered by mere chance than a tactical decision.

A Crux patrol stumbled upon a Terran patrol emerging from a dense nebula in the Viper System. Both patrols requested reinforcements. Nearby patrols were soon diverted to the engagement and within short order what was a small skirmish ballooned into a full scale battle.

There were no battle lines or frontlines as ships opened fire at near point blank range with each other. Even when higher rank Admirals arrived to take charge both sides were too embroiled in the slugfest to make any more nuanced tactical moves without exposing themselves to the enemy.

It was here that the Ram emerged and showed its prowess.

Crux warship crews were not trained on how to handle enemy vessels rushing towards them. What’s more several gun crews became panicked when they saw the Ram ships rushing headlong towards them without diverting course.

With the extra armor and shielding the Terran ships not only struck head on into Crux ships but emerged from the attack relatively unscathed. In most cases the prow of the Ram ships punched clean through the entire hull of the Crux warship and emerged through the other side.

The Crux fleet desperately tried to regain order and form battle lines but each time they did so the Ram ships would plunge head first into their formation and take out the command ship coordinating the effort.

As more and more Terran ships arrived and formed their own battle lines the tide of battle soon drastically changed. After thirteen hours of intense fighting the last of the Crux fleet withdrew from the battle leaving the Terrans the victors.

A full fifth of the Crux navy was lost during the battle with the Ram ships having personally claimed 45% of the kills.

While the war itself would continue for another two years, the Ram ships and their unorthodox tactics had earned them a modicum of respect from the wider galaxy, and a great measure of fear from the Crux.

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: The Pettiness of Man

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Human pocket kingdoms were the result of the fragmented nature of humanity’s space exploration and settlement programs. Central authority still resided with the Terran Protectorate the closer one got to the Terran homeworld, but the further one went the less and less power the Protectorate had leaving opportunistic parties to establish their own domains.

The Federalist Union and Kingdom of the Fallen Sun were two such domains. Each situated in their own star system neighboring the other, the two realms had at one point been part of what was known as the Caspen Initiative. Funded by the Caspen Corporation, both systems were colonized and put under direct corporate rule rather than the laws of the Protectorate.

The Truna System held the most infrastructure and had turned its settlements into thriving cities. The comforts of the core worlds could be found here in abundance leading to a higher quality of life. It was here Caspen situated their corporate headquarters for the initiative which further led to the system becoming a major trade hub.

In contrast, the Kefer System was still largely untamed and wild yet rich with natural resources. Caspen did not wish to risk losing more experienced personnel on these planets nor take the time to invest in an expensive robotic work force. The wildlife across all the planets within the Kefer System was extremely hostile and dangerous; resulting in the failures of two colonization attempts already. In the end Caspen instead was able to obtain several transports of convicted criminals and turn them into penal laborers.  Fortified factories were established with a heavily armed guard force watching over the laborers and delivering them expected quotas. In exchange for their labor they were provided with basic necessities for living and comfort; though the prisoners soon realized that the corporate ideal of “comfort” was often the least expensive option they could find.

Initially the management of both systems under the Caspen Corporation went well the company saw ever increasing share values. Unsurprisingly though, corporations are not equipped to act as a governing body and rifts soon began brewing in both systems. In Truna, the citizens began moving for more reasonable work hours and a louder voice in who is selected for high level positions. Around the same time the penal laborers in Kefer began planning mass revolts to overthrow an increasingly oppressive guard force that repeatedly put them in danger for the sake of profit margins. Caspen naturally tried to clamp down on the unrest, but their often heavy handed retaliations only further inflamed dissident movements to the point open revolt occurred almost simultaneously.

The resulting struggle would eventually see the complete removal of the Caspen Corporation from both systems, but also lay the groundwork for future conflicts between the newly established Federalist Union of the Truna system and the Kingdom of the Fallen Sun in the Kefer System.

The Unionists of Truna saw the penal laborers as nothing more than convicts and refused to recognize their newly founded kingdom as legitimate. Likewise the newly freed prisoners of Kefer, under their chosen king Sigvold the Mad, saw the citizens of Truna as part of the corporate machine that had made their lives a living hell and wanted nothing to do with them.

Each side regards the other as being the natural aggressor, but to finding the truth of who fired the first shot will never be known. What is certain is that not long after their corporate overlords were driven away did both systems set their sights on each other.

For nearly two centuries both systems have been at war with each other with the Federalist Union developing into a thriving independent system and the Kingdom of the Fallen Sun becoming a haven for every backwater, illegal, and nefarious scoundrel the galaxy has to offer. The Federalist council has attempted to isolate the Kefer system via naval blockades, while the new king Haren Hammer launches periodic raids against the Union to steal technology and supplies.

It looked like the stalemate would continue until the end of time until a third party intervened.

The alien species Gresh’n had been eyeing the prosperous worlds in the Truna System and had waited for the right moment to strike and claim them for their own. This moment came when the Federalist Union deployed the majority of their fleet to make yet another attempt to destroy the Kingdom of the Fallen Sun and remove the corruption so close to their doorstep.

Once the Gresh’n confirmed both human fleets were locked in deadly battle did they commit their own forces to invading the Federalist Union.

Caught completely unaware, the forces left to protect the borders of the Federalist Union were easily swept aside in a series of lightning strikes. Even the capital world came under siege with Gresh’n forces poised to conquer the world in little more than a month.

Just when the system was at its darkest something beyond comprehension happened.

At the outskirts of the Truna System the Gresh’n detected a massive fleet. The picket lines established to screen the main invasion force were decimated and when the mystery fleet finally held orbit and squared off with the primary fleet of the Gresh’n military they were surprised to see that it was comprised of both Unionist and Kingdom forces. Before the final battle commenced a system wide broadcast went out originating from the Kingdom’s flagship and personal ship of king Harren Hammer.

“YOU FUCKING INGRATES!!!” the pocket king shouted into the camera, “YOU’VE RUINED EVERYTHING!!!!”

“FOR YEARS I PLANNED THE PERFECT WAR TO END THESE UNION BASTARDS ONCE AND FOR ALL AND YOU COME ALONG AND FUCK IT UP! I WILL NOT HAVE MY VICTORY STOLEN FROM ME!”

With that the massed armada descended on both the Gresh’n fleet and their forces on the capital world. The civilized citizens of the Union watched as they were rescued by pirates, thieves, criminals, and every variety of psychopaths the galaxy had a name for while overhead Kingdom junkers and corsair ships boarded Gresh’n ships and took them as trophies.

After thirteen hours of intense fighting the Gresh’n finally flung up the proverbial white flag and surrendered. King Harren replied that he would give them a three hour head start and that after that every Gresh’n in system would be hunted down and killed. In its weakened state the Federalist Union could not oppose this decision and so remained quiet.

Three hours passed and true to his word King Harren began a massive hunt the likes of which are still spoken of. Fleeing Gresh’n ships were magnetically harpooned as they fled and dragged back to be boarded by cutthroats while Gresh’n ground forces pleaded to deaf eared Union citizens for shelter as the Kingdom vagabonds scoured the planet for new trophies.

When the hunt was finally finished there was no exchange of thanks, nor celebration held in honor of their saviors. The forces of the kingdom withdrew one by one, hulls full of new bounty, until only King Harren’s flagship remained.

“You get five years to rebuild.” He said over another system wide broadcast. “After that I’m coming back and taking this all proper.”

With that final ominous warning the pocket king left.

The effects of the Gresh’n failed invasion would have limited impact on the wider galaxy save for the fact it would teach future alien leaders that when considering invasions of human territory, one could not always count on the enemy of your enemy being your friend.

#humans are weird #humans are insane #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Do a human a “Solid”

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

On Xenthari it was both culturally acceptable and almost mandatory to participate in duels. They could be fought for honor, profit, social status, or for the sheer thrill of it should one be of that disposition. Participants could even choose champions to fight for them instead making the position of professional duelist a very lucrative occupation.

Lulu did not particularly enjoy the idea of dueling. She never was good with a sword and would more often end up losing, and she lacked enough funds to make hiring someone in her stead near impossible. At school she had few friends and the ones she did have would never volunteer to be her champions when she was eventually challenged to duels.

It wasn’t because she was actively searching for them. She rather liked her quiet life and avoided such confrontations that would lead to a duel being issued. Yet she was a social outcast and picking on her had been deemed a past time for some of the more aggressive students at her school. They would easily disarm her and then take great relish in attacking her.

Duels for those underage were different from official duels. One could not deal a lethal blow in underage duels. Rules stated that while surrender was a great dishonor, a duelist could surrender and forfeit the duel after being dealt one blow. Because Lulu hated fighting she would let her opponents get a blow in and then surrender. With that though came dishonor to her name and her standing as an outcast only further grew.

Lulu had resigned herself to this fate until one day a transfer student came to school.

Her name was Trisha Yulie, but she preferred to be called “Triss”. Her family had sent her to Xenthari after several “incidents” happened at her school back on her homeworld. They thought that being in such a drastically different environment and society would make her appreciate the things she used to have. Little did her parents know that the combative nature of Xenthari would only increase these tendencies; one of which introduced Triss to her new friend, Lulu.

The two had never interacted with each other until one day in the cafeteria Lulu saw Triss near one of the food dispensers. She was rummaging through her pockets and looking upset; Lulu figured the human did not have enough currency to purchase an item.

“Here.” Lulu said as she walked next to Triss.

She leaned forward and put a token into the machine and then smacked the side of it three times in certain places. The machine sputtered and beeped for a moment before a food package emerged from the dispenser. Lulu took it and handed it to Triss.

Looking down at the food Triss smiled as she gratefully took it. “Thanks,” Triss said as she followed Lulu back to a table, “was getting so hungry I started wondering if there were any horses around here.”

Lulu looked at Triss and something must have shown on her face as Triss realized she would have no idea what a horse was. She was just about to explain when a group of students came up behind Llulu and shoved her.

“Get up.” The leader of them laughed. “It’s time for your correction.”

Lulu didn’t need to see who had shoved her as she recognized the voice even before she stood up and turned around.

Ulia, the most popular student and heir to a wealthy transit corporation run by her family, gave a sadistic grin as her gang of lackeys laughed. She loved to pick on Lulu and normally she would have just allowed the duel to happen, but Triss had other ideas.

“Oi, fuck face!” Triss spoke up as Ulia shifted he gaze to Triss. “Me and my new friend here were having a conversation and you weren’t invited, so piss off!”

“How cute.” Ulia chuckled. “You let your dog speak for you now, eh Lulu?”

“Did she just fucking call me a dog?” Triss asked a still silent Lulu. “Have you looked in a mirror? Your face is so ugly it gets flagged for indecent exposure online.”

For the first time Lulu could ever remember she was Ulia’s face twitch in anger.

“I see that I need to teach our new exchange student here some manners.”

Triss sighed loudly. “I was going to give you a chance to apologize, but now I’m just going to kick your ass.”

The surrounding students pulled tables away to form a circle. Ulia drew her sword and activated its power field. The blade lit to life as it was enveloped by a green glow casting shadows across the room.

Ulia grinned as she drew the blade close to her face “Draw your blade so we can end this farce.”

To her surprise Triss shook her head and shrugged off her school jacket revealing a well-toned body of raw muscle. “Don’t need a fancy stick to beat you when I got these.” She shook out her hands and brought them up as clenched fists.

“Your funeral.” Ulia laughed as she took up a ready stance. One of her lackeys stepped between Triss and Ulia and acted as ref. “The duel will begin when I step back out of the ring. First one to verbally surrender or be rendered incapable of continuing the duel will be designated the loser and thus ending the duel. No lethal blows are allowed.”

With that the lackey stepped backwards beginning the duel.

Ulia lunged forward ready to run Triss through with the tip of her sword. Triss stood motionless for the last second until the blade was inches from her.

Pivoting to the side at the last moment Triss avoided the blade as Ulia’s forward momentum kept her going. She was about to spin her blade around when Triss drove a hard right punch directly into her jaw.

The blow was heavy enough to stagger Ulia as she tried to recover but Triss gave her no time. She was within Ulia’s guard in a flash and delivered another blow to the opposite side of Ulia’s jaw.

“Waaagh?” Ulia stammered as she stumbled back into the crowd of onlookers. Her eyes went wide as she gurgled more noises with increasing frustration but no intelligible words came out.

“By now you’ve probably realized your jaw has been completely dislocated from your skull.” Triss spoke as she circled Ulia. “I didn’t want you giving up too early; gotta lot of steam I need to blow off.”

Ulia shoved the people around her away and tried to shout something only for it to be slurred beyond recognition. She brought the sword down hard in a long sweep towards Triss but she backed away to avoid it.

Unleashing a flurry of blows each one capable of cutting through flesh, but Triss continued dodging them left and right like a prize boxer. She opened up another devastating blow to Ulia’s midriff causing her to vomit a large amount of fluid.

The crowd watched with horrified silence. Never had they seen a duel with fists before. It was something utterly foreign to them and had been taught to be barbaric. Yet here was a human who with only her fists was decimating a sword wielder.

Triss circled Ulia who had collapsed to the ground. “You want to give up princess?” she mocked. “Just say the word and…oh wait! You can’t much say anything right now can you?”

Ulia swept her blade for Triss’s ankles. With a swift motion Triss lifted her right foot and brought it down as hard as she could on Ulia’s hand holding the sword, crushing the wrist with a loud wet crunch. The blade fell from Ulia’s hand as she cradled her now broken wrist with her remaining hand.

Triss picked up the blade and inspected it. “What you think Lulu?” Triss called over to Lulu who was standing in the gathered crowd. “She started messing with you; want me to rough her up some more?”

Every eye in the crowd suddenly turned to look at Lulu. Lulu’s mouth opened to speak but nothing came out as Triss continued.

“I wonder, how much credibility do you think you’d lose if you were cut by your own blade?”

She held the blade out against Ulia’s cheek as her eyes went wide. “Bet you’re little groupies here might bail on you.” Triss leaned down and whispered to Ulia. “Or maybe you’re more worried about what your family would say?”

Tears of pure teal formed in the corners of her eyes as Ulia tried to speak only for Triss to shush her by putting a finger over her mouth.

“If you don’t want that to happen, I think you should leave me and my friend alone from now on; else the next time we have this little dispute you won’t end so peacefully.”

With that Ulia nodded and collapsed to the ground.

“Looks like she can’t continue,” Triss announced proudly, dropping the sword in, “I think that means I’m the winner.”

The crowd parted as Triss walked back to Lulu and put an arm over her shoulder. “I think we were having lunch before all that happened, want to get back to it?”

“Ssssure.” Lulu stammered as she let Triss lead her back to their table. As the pair sat down she finally worked up the courage to say “Thank you.”

“For what?” Triss remarked as she tried to pull open the food package Lulu gave her earlier.

“For standing up for me.” Lulu replied. She leaned over and pressed a button on the package and it flash cooked the meal and opened itself.

Triss nodded her thanks and began digging in. “You did me a solid so I do you one; tit for tat.”

“So because I got you lunch you fought a duel for me? Lulu asked, astounded when Lulu nodded.

“A solid is a solid, doesn’t matter if it is equal or not; that’s what friends do for each other.”

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #doing a solid #fighting #dueling