ONE: Epilogue of Hermesh

8. Helmeshi Dream

Unlike the Amarthians, the Helmeshi were insectoids. According to research conducted by their own evolutionary scientists, the earliest known species with a shared ancestry with the Helmeshi were premitive species of arachnids that evolved billions of years ago on the volcanic bedrocks of their home planet of Oun'ek.

When first contact was established, the Helmeshi were described as 'sentient beings resembling some species of stick insects'. However, it was later that the Amarthians discovered to their surprise, that the unique Helmeshi physiology was less stick and more stone.

The Helmeshi bodies were divided into three seperate parts. The top segment was rectangular and bottom segments were cylindrical in shape. The lower part was longer and horizontal with three wire-like pointy legs on each side of their bodies. The upper part of the body held the head. This was made up of 8 to 10 segments. These included optical sensors and acoustic antennae but no mouths.

It took the Amarthians some time to become accustomed to the Helmeshi's communication manners. They used high frequency sound vibrations that often employed all the upper segments of their bodies. As a result many of their 'conversations' consisted of prolonged bursts of monologues, answered by reciprocating monologues. Over time, like the other two advanced sentient species of Hermesh, the Amarthians also adapted their communication patterns to accommodate the Helmeshis, just as this arthropodal species sought to do the same.

Yet for most Amarthians, the most fascinating part of a Helmeshi, apart from the three individual sockets for their three eyes, mounted on skeletal finger-like protrusions from the top of their heads, were their bodies. The Helmeshi body strangely resembled a polished blue stone. The younger the Helmeshi the shinier and more reflective was the body. The shine was dulled by age.

Erra had interacted with the Helmeshi for most of his life. So when he found himself standing on the petrified valley of the Zaskara'caan, gleaming under Crya'man'tha, the giant white sun of the Helmeshi solar system, he knew that he was on their home planet of Oun'ek. Just as he knew that the staccato tapping of several approaching footsteps across the vast plain and valley of pure diamond, were those of Muurash'Hanaak.

The very next moment, the sound of a familiar low vibration reached Erra's ears, followed by a mechanical voice speaking out from a distance, "I'm sorry to find you here. Really thought you made it safely back into the Wormhole. I had hoped that Tooran would save you again like the first time we met, when she broke rank to attack our flag ship on her own and saved your Ghost Fleet. I'm sorry."

Watching his friend arrive, Erra smiled before replying, "It's good to see you too, old friend. How did we get back to your home planet?"

"I do not think this is my home world, Reemon Erra. I just died. I remember my ship being hit and then an explosion. First I thought this is perhaps where we all come after we are dead. Then I met an alien who looked a bit like your kind. Walks on two legs. He told me I was wrong."

"You made contact with the aliens?"

"Yes. No. An alien made contact with me. But it is not the same ones that we are fighting. It told me so. How did you die?" the Helmeshi asked.

"To be honest, I don't know how or even if I am dead." Erra said looking perplexed, "I definitely remember making it safely into the Wormhole. And I did get your last transmission. I was talking to Tekkar and our science officer about my plan when I felt a blinding pain and probably passed out. When I woke up, I was here."

Admiral Muurash'Hanaak, who was standing right in front of Erra, towering over the Amarthian, looked down at him with all three eyes. After quietly contemplating the situation for a few moments, the Helmeshi spoke, "You still being alive makes more sense. The alien told me he knows what you are planning to do. Very glad you understood the message and what I was trying to convey. Glad you remember Igrathyne. I told him that was the only option. 200,000 alien ships are about to enter the galaxy using the wormhole. My calculation now says the new event horizon will pull in Ralnac. That is not acceptable. But the alien said there might be a way to do what we want without risking Ralnac."