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An Acquired Taste (standard:science fiction, 2798 words) | |||
Author: Robert G Moons | Added: Aug 08 2011 | Views/Reads: 3105/2018 | Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes) |
The Gulrathian Empire has sent it's finest battle cruiser to wipe out a small Earth colony. They assumed it would be easy and quick, however, they made one error - They didn't know their enemy. | |||
An Acquired Taste by Robert G. Moons The massive battle class star cruiser entered system S-394 and proceeded directly towards the system's second planet well ahead of schedule. The flag ship, and pride of the Gulrathian fleet was as black as the darkest of nights; the multitude of gun ports on its bow made it instantly clear as to its function. Shaped somewhat like a gigantic manta ray, it glided silently toward the small, unsuspecting planet – truly the calm before the greatest of storms. The Gulrathian Empire was the dominant power in this sector of space. A warrior race, they lived for conquest, the glory of battle, and the spoils of war. Race after race fell before them only to be enslaved and forced to work for the Gulrathian war machine. A cruel race, twisted and corrupted by greed for power, they were the disease that infected every system they claimed. “Go to stealth mode,” ordered the Captain. “Stealth mode initiated,” confirmed the helmsman. The humanoid Gulrathian crew were as formidable looking as their ship. They were an ape-like race standing about eight feet tall, weighing a solid four hundred pounds, with thick, muscular long arms, hands that looked proportionally too large for the rest of their body, and four fingers on each hand that looked more like thumbs. Each crew member was of the warrior class which meant that they had been tested in battle; skilled at hand-to-hand, blade, and beam/projectile combat. No one could best them in battle; all other races avoiding eye contact as these warriors defiantly strode the streets of their conquered worlds as if they were demigods. The mythical Heracles himself would have had a fight on his hands against even one of these giants for they were even stronger than they looked. The all black, shark-like eyes of the Captain peered into his tactical monitor where the target planet was magnified on the centre of the screen; the e.t.a. to the world quickly ticked down on the bottom right. There was a small colony of humans down on that dark little planet; it would be a first contact situation with this race. The Gulrathian Empire had been aware of this race for some time, but these humans were always too many light years away, till now. Now, well, they were on the edge of Gulrathian space. All the Warlords had agreed that this would not be allowed, and a show of force was in order. The colony would be destroyed, most of the colonists would be killed, a few would be brought back for study and dissection, maybe even a couple of them put into a zoo for their children's amusement. Information about these humans had been acquired from a conquered race not far from this new colony. These humans were physically very weak; technologically inferior in every way, and therefore posed no threat. However, when an unwanted rodent is in ones home, it is quickly killed and disposed of; that is exactly what the Gulrathie intended to do with these humans. The great ship established a high orbit around the target planet, with no indication of being detected. The planet did not rotate on its access as most in this system, instead, one side always faced the heat and brightness of the nearby yellow star, the other side was in constant darkness and bitter cold. However, it was just the right distance from the star for the impossible to become the possible – there was life here. Most of it was along the latitude that bordered where the light and dark met. No breathing suits would be necessary by the Gulrathie invasion troops. “Scan for these humans and locate a tactical landing site,” snapped the Captain. “Scanning,” replied the navigation officer. “Strange.” “What's strange?” inquired the Captain impatiently. “Speak!” “I expected the colony to be somewhere on or near the longitudinal Click here to read the rest of this story (299 more lines)
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