Reddit Stories 2019

Space Story

Victory was quick at first. Years of infighting, paranoia, and grudges molded humanity into a vicious killing machine. Even their civilian ships and the humans on them were armed, 'just in case.' But their real strength was their sheer tenacity. Planets longed deemed uninhabitable by The Congregation became populous settlements. If their home planet, found only a century after negotiations, was anything to judge by, they were accustomed to hostile environments. They spread across every part of every planet like a disease, terraforming, conquering, or mining their way to dominance. There were no obstacles that humanity did not eventually overcome.

No obstacle, save for the Quiet.

The Quiet, humanity's name for the slender, mouthless reptilians, were similar in a lot of ways. They lived in harsh planets with little atmosphere, building their homes underground. No member of The Congregation knew how long they lived. Not naturally. In the four millennia of their unification, not one Quiet had died, except in war, crime, or accident. The Quiet were content to live in their holes and live in peace with the rest of The Congregation. They so rarely emerged, many had forgotten they were even there.

Then humanity and the Quiet found the same violent planet. The Quiet found it first, nesting and biding their time for two full centuries before the first human explorer even set foot on the land. Humanity favored technology so they were fascinated by the stone structures. For the better part of a decade, their xenoanthropologists theorized about the structures and their scientists studied the blue light that emitted from its stone. The Congregation had done the same when they first discovered the Quiet and after a full century concluded it was nothing short of magic. Humanity insisted it had to be something different. Something explainable.

Then it happened. The first human met the first Quiet.

Slowly, the Quiet emerged from their holes, opening the earth like giant doors, swallowing entire human cities. For humanity, this was an act of aggression. The Quiet insisted that it was all an accident. It didn't matter. Humanity was wronged.

They would have their revenge.

They did not stop to think they were the aggressors. If one had that thought, it was drowned out by the war cry of hundreds. The planet was claimed by the Quiet long before humans discovered the planet, Catalyst, or its moon, Retribution. The Quiet had planted their temples, which humanity defiled with their tools and scientists. Worst of all, humanity actively sought to ruin these temples by setting up their own devices to cool the planet.

Humanity insisted that it was unintentional. It didn't matter. The Quiet were wronged.

They would have their revenge.

The Quiet were content to wait, pray, and plot. They had been wronged before but those who hurt them eventually paid the price. The Congregation once proudly had thirteen member races, and hundreds more vying for status. Mysterious storms plagued their worlds and eventually communication was lost altogether. The revenge of the Quiet was different than humanity's. Less provable. But whether it took a year, a decade, or a century, their aggressors always lost out.

The Congregation tried to prevent conflict. They failed.

Then they saw the battles, and quickly joined a side. Humanity was fierce. The Quiet were not. The humans quickly gained control of Catalyst. Even after the moon mysteriously shattered, they held it, turning it into a major base. But that was not enough for either side. Humanity pressed on, invading the violent planets of The Quiet. They spent decades conquering each one, first removing the pest, then cooling their planets to something more hospitable. If humanity had no need of the planet, they simply turned it over to The Congregation. It was humanity's way of securing their position.

World by world, bit by bit, the Quiet lost. If they had simply surrendered, humanity might have stopped its pursuit. But they fought on every single world. Until, one day, they simply stopped.

The Quiet retreated, sealing themselves deep inside their desert worlds. A year passed and they did not show. Then a decade. Then a century. The Quiet did not show. Humanity still studied their temples, terraformed their planets, and drilled away. Even as their army lost support, their scientists and explorers hacked away at the vaults, hoping to renew contact with their old enemies. The Quiet became history then myths, but humanity never stopped chasing them.

A full seven hundred years after their first contact, humanity reluctantly agreed to allow The Congregation to visit Earth. It was a large event, filled with leaders from not just the twelve members, but their nonmember planets as well. Earth Day was meant to be a festival and a celebration. For the tenth time since its founding, a representative from each member of The Congregation gathered on one planet. For the tenth time since its founding, The Congregation welcomed a new member.

It was meant to be a glorious day.

It was a maelstrom.