An Acquired Taste (standard:science fiction, 2798 words)
Author: Robert G Moons	Added: Aug 08 2011	Views/Reads: 3129/2028	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


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