ONE: Epilogue of Hermesh

4. The Lost Armada

Commodore Reemon Erra gazed into the depths of the gigantic wormhole as his ship, Tooran, journeyed towards its center. Even after all that had just transpired, the old Amarthian sat in silent contemplation, without betraying any visible singns of emotions.

   The only bipedal reptilians amongst the primary sentient species of Hermesh, the Amarthians had inherited a rather unique evolutionary trait from their more primitive ancestors. Their skin and their eyes changed colour with fluctuating emotions. Yet, unlike others around him, Erra's skin remained the same shade of green, while his eyes maintained their amber hue. Commodore Erra appeared calmer and more composed than he had ever been in his 277 years of life. But hidden away from prying eyes, the blood racing through his veins, with ever-increasing intensity, was making the heart in the middle of his chest, pound with unrelenting fury.

Not too long ago, Reemon Erra was leading the single largest armada of Amarthian and Helmeshi warships in an interstellar battle, approximately 1000 light years from the outer edge of Hermesh. That battle may have been lost, but Erra knew, the most devastating war in the history of the galaxy had only just begun.

Yet, when it all started, things were very different.

A science observation station based in Ralnac detected a small light source that had appeared out of nowhere, approximately 20 Centrons or 200 light years from Hermesh. The discovery of a phenomenon that had mysteriously appeared in the cosmic void beyond the outer edges of the galaxy, emitting light strong enough to be seen from Ralnac, was enough to excite even the most unenthusiastic of astrophysicists. However, as it turned out, this mysterious light source had far more perplexing scientific conundrums to offer. What was previously dismissed as an error in data recording was later confirmed to be true. It turned out that this strange light source was so heated that it was emitting gamma rays.

Scientists knew that gamma radiation can only be produced through the interaction of sub-atomic particles when moving at incredible velocity. But more importantly, it was believed that no object in the known universe can possibly be heated enough to start emitting gamma rays as consistently as the Tear was. As it turned out, not only was this mysterious light source emitting heat, but that heat output was constantly increasing, as was the mass and diameter of the object itself.

Scientists came from all over Hermesh to Ralnac, for a chance to study this inexplicable cosmic phenomenon. But the more they stared the more perplexed they became. Whatever that thing was, it simply refused to adhere to the laws of the Universe that surround it. Finally, after a lot of deliberation and negotiation, the most eminent scientists of the galaxy were able to convince their governments to fund a massive research project aimed at cracking the mystery of the anomaly.

As Ralnac was in Amarthian space, they took the lead and constructed the single largest wormhole that connected two points 150 Centrons apart. Dozens of drone ships were sent through that wormhole to collect details about the anomaly. But to the frustration of the scientists waiting in Ralnac, when they began to study the data relayed back, most of what they received made very little sense to them. Furthermore, it was soon discovered that the intensity of the gamma radiation being emitted by that anomaly prevented any ship from getting too close. The ones that dared, ended up destroyed by the radiation.

It got stranger. Hermesh witnessed the anomaly expand at a super light speed. According to some estimates, within about an Amarthian year, the anomaly had stretched off a few hundred millions Centrons. It looked like an enormous arc of light etched across the silhouette of the dark cosmos. The brilliant spectacle mesmerised everybody. On a clear night, it could be seen like a sparkling blue band across the sky, from as far as Alamiin on the other end of Hermesh. They named it, The Tear. It seemed like some invisible cosmic giant had sliced open the very fabric of the universe and exposed the innards of the darkness. And from it, a strange white luminous cloud seeped out.

Finally they came. Just over 2 years after the light anomaly first appeared, strange objects were detected coming out of that tear. A closer inspection revealed they were ships of alien design. Hundreds and thousands of them  poured out every day. Once out, they simply waited, motionless in the space between the Tear and Hermesh.

No one knew what kind of species were flying those ships. But the Amarthian Intelligence was convinced that most of those ships were of military specifications. In other words, the aliens were assembling an invasion force before advancing on Hermesh. Alarmed by this development, Amarthians and the Helmeshies put together the single largest armada under the command of Commodore Reemon Erra of the Zaarnan Imperial Guards and Admiral Muurash'Hanaak of Helmeshi Peace Force. Their mission was to neutralise the potential invasion before they could enter Hermesh. They called it the Goulash Armada. Two days ago, they had crossed the wormhole for a decisive encounter.

Erra, like everyone else on the bridge, remembered vividly what happened next. As they made their final advance towards the alien formations, without warning, wave upon wave of these strange elliptical, hemispheric and crescent shaped ships came charging at the three-and-a-half thousand ships of the Goulash Armada. What followed was without doubt the single largest military engagement of its kind in the galaxy's history. As it turned out, it was also the bloodiest. 

Soon, to the horror of eveyone in the armada, it was evident that this enemy was technologically far superior, with numbers far greater than they had previously anticipated. The alien's weapons were so powerful that neither the Amarthian nor the Helmeshi battleship armours seemed capable of withstanding their attack. The enemy's primary weapon, which appearead as beams of light, could in a single discharge severely damaging the armour of a large battleship. Smaller ships, on the other hand, were sliced in half. In contrast, weapons used against the aliens seemed to have negligible effect. Still, as thousands of these alien ships kept indiscriminately decimating the Goulash Armada, Reemon Erra remembered gazing on with pride as he witnessed the bravery of the crew. They kept fighting till the very end.

Finally, after holding back this enemy force for 3 hours and 20 minutes, Commodore Reemon Erra, who had never left a battlefield or retreated without being ordered to, transferred command of what remained of the armada to Muurash'Hanaak, before re-entering the wormhole, to return to Hermesh. Even as his ship flew towards the wormhole, he and the rest of his crew helplessly watched the slow but inevitable annihilation of the Goulash Armada.

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Author's Note: And then there were aliens in spaceships! How did we get here? What just happened? Any guesses? Feel free to drop a comment. Would love to discuss your ideas. Vote too, if you like it. Your engagement will help with the visibility of my story. TIA