A short story I posted on .com
This was partly done by me,
The ship exited ftl at the outer most Lagrange point of the third world of this system. The Ship s captain griped the side of his station tightly; trying to hide his nerves from the crew as the sensors began their slow sweep of the not so empty void.
Captain, we are detecting a large number of derelicts in orbit of this world. The Sensor operator fluted from his station. The Captains swiveled an eye down to his control panel and studied the read outs for a long moment before leaning back, nerves soothed by the lack of power readings among the multitude of ruined ships and floating debris.
Entering visual range now sir. The navigator called. The Captain singled his acknowledgment as rose from his command chair to improve his view of the remains in orbit of this world when his crest sagged in shock.
An Outsider ship floated in void, dead and surrounded by both Outsider and Unknown derelicts. It was the largest ever seen by his species, dwarfing previous ships in width and breadth. The Captain's face grimaced as his crest pressed against his skull in a moment of fear, but he got a hold of himself. Glancing down at his station reading what the sensors learned of the unknown vessels only for his crest, which had been slowly rising, to sag once more.
There were many Outsider ships... and many more unknowns, primitive ones, the fastest seemingly barely capable of maneuvering in comparison to even his own ponderous dreadnaught.
How warships decades if not centuries more primitive then his own race s could even stand against let alone defeat the monstrous Outsiders that had driven ruin before them escaped him. For decades his civilization had lost colony after colony to the advanced scouting forces of the outsiders, their fleets broken by Outsider ships both more powerful beyond belief, and yet more numerous than anything they had.
Only for the attacks to cease without warning.
For Fifty years they waited, building up their defenses and praying for salvation, their entire civilization dedicated to survival as they canabilized their greatest works of construction to fuel the war machine, even their culture destroyed as they built more and left all else behind.
But the attacks never came.
And now the captain saw why.
The last incident, the partial destruction of the closest colony to the core world; saved as the attacking outsider ships turned and flew away for reasons unknown.. they had come here.
After fifty years of terrible fear, of unknowing of their own fate, quivering as their crests rested against their skulls in fear as they worked day and night to construct, to build, to do everything they could to prepare for a fight they could not win.
His people had come, a reconnaissance in force, too afraid to send more than a single ship, he had come.
And he saw this.
A graveyard, a seemingly never ending field of stars covered in the remains of the Outsiders and their final defeat.
Were he capable of tears, tears of joy, the captain would shed them. But he was not. he opened his mouth, to produce a tune of joy.
Ping.
The crew reacted instantly, weapons were aimed everywhere, scans reached out and embraced the dark ruins of the enemy fleet as they sought out hidden foes.
Ping.
A small satellite, in orbit of the planet, miraculously untouched sent a signal. Spoken in the Outsider language, the computers of the ship had no problem deciphering it.
"If your here, if you are listening to this, it means your alive."
The voice rambled out of the speaker, unintelligible to all. The computers immediately translated it into the fluting speech of his own people, same in timbre and tone, the warmth of the voice being perfectly translated into the Captains language.
I don t know who you are, but I want to tell you this. We gave everything to stop the invaders from moving past this world in their campaigns, in their war of genocide. We fought and died not to save our world," The voice, male and calm up to this point, broke and trembled momentarily. "For that was impossible."
The Captain stood, his four feet coming into position as he stood at attention and saluted, the bridge crew followed in silence. Their crests rising as their spines straightened and fists clenched.
The voice continued on unperturbed, steel entering it as it continued. "We fought to keep them at bay, to make this world the world that broke the back of their advance upon the helpless, we fought to end the war."
The voice quietened. Then continued, not so loud, not so strong, but firmly. As if this was the most important message that would ever be heard by any being in all of creation.
The captain took a deep breath as he awaited the final words of the dead.
"This is our only gift to all other races that stand free of the Invaders. That we stopped them here."
A hiss of escaping air comes across the speakers.
"Don t waste your freedom.