The Final Horizon

by Touhoufanatic

Taking a different route of technology, humanity ascends to the stars upon Sails of light with hearts full of hope and adventure. the second Age of Exploration has truly begun, and nothing, not aliens, ancient space squids, or genocidal robots will stop humanity, and perhaps its greatest legend of the seas, from finding the Horizon once more! Rated T for now.

3. Chapter 3

"We have a situation that is forming."

"Which one? As far as I was aware we have had multiple in the last few days."

"Agreed. Please be more specific."

"If you let me speak I would. . . . . . Good. We have had five first contact scenarios occur in the last week."

"That, is a situation to be sure. How are they looking?"

"One is going well, one is a dead end, and the others are, tenuous."

"Explain."

"The Caracal, one of our exploration clippers, encountered two separate alien races at the same time in what they believe was a first contact situation of their own. One race appears to have just mastered the creation of satellites, while the other was found by one of those satellites. A third race, with a similar technology base to the second, then appeared and fired on them, destroying the satellite, and damaging the other ship. The Caracal then opened fire on it."

"And was subsequently destroyed I assume?"

"No. its Polaron cannons were mostly stopped by a shimmering field, some kind of energy shield of some form. But its Aurora apparently struck the third alien ship dead on and caused the ship to detonate in a blue flash of energy."

"Aurora's should not be capable of doing that, right?"

"Correct, the Aurora is a solar weapon, it should not be capable of causing such a reaction . . . what happened then?"

The Caracal has informed us that they have stayed in the system, as has the other alien ship, and have been trying, and apparently failing, to send messages to the other. They are requesting a team of proper linguists, computer specialists, emissaries, as well as security."

"I see no reason to not. Anyone disagree?"

"Let us hear the other situations first, and then decide."

"A good idea. What of the other two situations?"

"Yes, you said one was a dead end?"

"Yes. The Exploration clipper Serval encountered an unknown ship that they described in messages to be not dissimilar to a historic UFO saucer, however it left the system shortly after they discovered it. Moving through some sort of portal that it created that then disappeared a moment after it was gone."

"Little green men? Goodness."

"The proper term is Greys I believe or Sectoids depending on the situation or source material."

"What we call them will not matter unless we can find them . . . . . what of the last contact?"

"That was done by the Exploration Caravel the Termenin. It encountered an alien ship that they describes as shaped like a column initially, and then describe more as a hollow pipe. Apparently they have managed to begin proper conversations with the aliens in that ship on a rather friendly first terms."

"How? Exploration caravels are for in-depth system research, not scouting or finding life on their own."

"Please use your brain and remember what the Termenin actually holds."

". . . You mean its captain? Basu is a well-respected captain but I fail to see-"

"Jack Sparrow; Or Jack Dee as he is calling himself in public currently. You know the immortal pirate who very nearly shaped the end of the age of piracy all on his own?"

"Oh, him . . . that was the ship he was on?"

"it was the one we had him put on if you recall properly."

"Yes, he was put on that ship so we could at least know his location and keep him out of trouble."

"So much for that. Are you saying he is speaking to alien's that we have no idea how their language works?"

"Apparently, yes."

"How?"

"We do not know,"

"Probably some kind of immortal tomfoolery bullshit, you know how it is."

"No, I don't. None of us do, and we've looking into it multiple times. He and every other mystical thing, like manifestations of the world mocking our lack of understanding."

"It is not anything that targets us specifically. You are aware of that of course, as we have been told by many of those of the more mystical persuasions."

"Yes, and we just take their words at face value for we have no other choice."

"That is a conversation for another time. If mister Sparrow has managed to begin speaking to them, I am sure he has passed on at least some information on these aliens to Captain Kurwa Basu. What do we know of these aliens?"

"Arthropods apparently called the Alconians. Friendly, but very direct and proactive. What has been passed on states they have a culture of exploration and a desire to challenge themselves."

"So, they are concerning similar to many of our own you mean?"

"Yes, they seem to be an entire race who style themselves as adventurous explorers who wish to find the unknown."

"And they are friendly to us at this point? Goodness that seems far too good for us. Are we being watched by a benevolent god for once?"

"I doubt that, the best we get are those who are neutral at best."

"We are getting away from the main issue at hand here. We must decide upon our official plan of action."

"Well I think it should be obvious. Envoys should be sent to both the Termenin and Caracal to officially speak to and begin proper contact with these aliens."

"I agree, but I believe we should also send a Full Galleon to the Caracal. It already encountered aliens who are violent, so we need to be able to protect our diplomats."

"And what of the Serval?"

"I think we should send additional explorers to that region, look into the sighting to discern if they will be a danger or not."

"That's not a bad idea, but do you not worry about spooking the races our people ended up assisting? Or what if, perhaps, we assisted the wrong side?"

"Well, we will have to deal with that when it comes, don't you think?"

"Hmmm, Admiral, your thoughts?"

Everyone in the room went quiet and looked to the head of the expansive table where a seat, larger than the others, was turned away from the table and toward a large screen that currently showed nothing but but the expanse of space, full of all the colors of gases and energies. Not to mentions the glimmer of stars and the celestial currents.

The Star Admiral, a woman in truth, but a man to the public, did not turn her chair as she spoke, her voice calm like still water, yet coordinated and deep, like something hiding in the depths of that water itself. "I believe that envoy's should be sent, and perhaps that another should be sent, let us send out a carrier, so that its child might be tested."

Everyone in the room tensed at that proclamation.

"Are, are you sure, Admiral? I mean, they are all still being tested, they are still just prototypes."

"Yes and the only Carrier that itself that is capable of being out out right now is being looked over due to the, uh, rumor of its AI acting odd."

"That is merely that child's soul awakening to the wonder of life, and should not be of a true worry," The Star Admiral said with a light chuckle.

"Admiral, with all due respect, you believe in these rumors of the Ship AI's being able to gain sentience?"

"It is no mere rumor, but the souls truly awakening," the Star Admiral said. "But if you worry so much, simply have the carrier with its child merely stand at the ready on our shores. Your other ideas are proper for what is to come. Is there anything, else?"

Many people muttered or asked themselves and those near them the same question. But no one could speak, and when they did not, the Star admiral spoke up again.

"Then you are all dismissed," she said with a simple wave of a hand, barely noticed in the rooms dim light. Over the next few minutes everyone in the room left, and as the last one did, a small section of a wall opened up and a rather large crab scuttled out and over to the star Admiral, allowing her to pick it up and began petting its back with a smile on her dark lips. "Now then, what shall you do little sparrow?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The sound of cracks of wood, or whatever the material was that was close to it, rang out over the deck of the Termenin. The Termenin itself was docked alongside the Alconian ship in orbit of a large greyish colored world with patches of green and orange all across it. It looked truly alien with the way it swirled and turned, but over the past few days of communicating with the Alconians, first with Dee translating and later when the two ships managed a simple but workable translation, the appearance of the planets looks had waned in the minds of each crew as they discovered more about the other. First it was about the others cultures, and upon finding many equal standings, they delved further, learning of the others as individuals.

Now, they were discovering each other's capabilities for combat. It had been a worrying proposition for captain Kurwa, but after awkwardly speaking with the Alconian captain they agreed to use materials and weaponry meant for practice.

And after some back and forth arguing, decided to first test their mettle with melee weaponry, and Jack Dee had volunteered to go first. He stood there armed with a crude unsharpened plasteel rod shaped into a facsimile of a blade, a cutlass specifically, and it looked strange. Most people found heavy blades like that to be an issue, yet as he stood upon the Termenin's deck with it in one hand it was as if his whole countenance had changed. He went from an annoyance that was an utter enigma, to somehow looking like a consummate professional.

His opponent was, perhaps properly, the Alconian that he had been most often speaking with over the past few days. Kurwa could not pronounce the Alconians proper name, something about their mandibles being able to make noises humans couldn't, but Jack had settled on calling the Alconian skrikt.

Like all Alconians, Skrikt was shaped sort of like a large, semi humanoid beetle mixed with a centipede and a mantis, though such a simple description did not do their looks justice. Dozens of smaller legs on their lower sort of beetle like section could propel them at speed. Their upper body was more similar to a mantis in some ways. They had two pairs of arm analogies that had two elbows each in them, but were only slightly longer than a humans arms on average. With the way their upper body's leaned back over their lower however, that length did not mean much. Untimely though, it was their heads that unnerved kurwa more than anything. He could deal with insects, even the big ones, but the Alconians heads unnerves him something fierce. Insectile, but not, almost their entire head was taken up by their large mouth and the three pairs of large sharp looking mandibles that flanked it on both sides, while their eyes, four pairs, were split with two above their vertically split mouth, and one pair to each side. It gave them a dark alien appearance, and made them very difficult to sneak up on, but the way the eyes never closed and seemed to unflinchingly gaze outward in many direction unnerved him.

Jack Dee seemed unfazed though he stood across from Skrikt, a smile on his face. "So, what do your people use when the fight gets close to home hmm? Your lovely little claws? Perhaps a forged blade?"

Kurwa felt that Dee's question could sound pretty racist in a way. The Alconians had claws on their hand analogies, but being three fingered and set in a triangle, they did not exactly have thumbs, and insinuating they fought with their hands might be taken badly without knowing more about their culture.

Skrikt however did the Alconian equivalent of a smile, that resulted in its mandibles spreading out in a almost wave like motion, giving a horrid look at its mouth of small razor sharp teeth. "Claws, mouth rippers, Calyxal, there are many weapon we have used, but as you are using a forged material, I shall do the same," It, or he technically, said as he reached back and lifted a blade off his lower body from some form of case or sheathe, further disturbing Kurwa. The object looked like a branch at first glance, but upon a second look it appeared made of many sectioned curved objects and seemed fused all over it at strange angles, like a branch made of blades that seemed to oddly placed.

"That a Calyxal then," Jack asked curiously as he, and everyone else, watched as Skrikt held it with one hand and looked it over with another.

"Correct. Its usage dates back to the Tachkatcha wars. Resources were scarce and many found the best weapons were our own bodies, but that reach was an issue if one was to survive. So the mandibles of the dead were taken, and forged together into an implement capable of inflicting horrid irregular wounds. Though now those of us who use them, build them out of our own discarded mouth rippers."

Kurwa felt his stomach roil against him, the idea making him sick, but Jack merely chuckled and held his blade in front of him. "I see, so it's like making a sword out of sharks teeth, but they're your own. Well, shall we begin and see what we can learn?"

"Of course friend, first to, what your term was, disable was it?"

"Surrender," Jack offered. "First to be unable to fight back, or give up."

"Good, then let our souls sing the call of carnage," Skrikt said as he skittered forward first. A wide swing with his weapon came first, one that Jack Dee deftly parried and, in a quick motion then brought his blade in a low swing downward. Skrikt leapt backwards, something manty were surprised an Alconians body could do, to avoid the blow, and grinned at Jack. "Ksha, I have not seen such a motion."

"I am a tad skilled I admit," Jack said as he began stepping to the side, blade in front of him. "Swordplay is a historic thing to humanity, and there are a number of rules, but it does amount to footwork. Shall we see if you can discern mine?"

"With zeal," Skrikt said as he tried to circle around jack and follow the motions. It was difficult as Alconians could not move side to side easily without moving forward, but after a few minutes of circling, striking, parrying and deflecting blows, he seemed to find a way around that by zig-zagging his body forward and back a bit as he moved. With the basics of how sword combat seemed to work though, the two of them went into it full force and Dee began to prove to the rest of the Termenin's crew, to their complete shock, that he was more than just a tad bit skilled. No strike Skrikt made at him got close, being parried or straight up blocked, and multiple times Jack managed to even strike Skrikts carapace. The result a barely noticeable scuff mark, showing both the carapaces toughness, and the blades dullness. Yet even in the face of a weapon so strange that it seemed to naturally curl and twist as it was swung, and even wrap around his own blade, Jack never lost his grip or footing, he kept moving, twisting, and flowing.

He was no amateur, he was a gods dammed master.

"Skaaaa, skaaaaaa, it seems, that despite my power, I am no match for you, my friend," Skrikt said with a smile at Jack. It is your victory."

"For now, but we both were not going all out," Jack said with a smile. "That weapon is, interesting with it moving.

Skrikt held up his weapon and shifted his grip, causing the weapons flanges and branches to shift and curl in and out in different places like a living thing. "A Calyxal made from one our rippers will react to the motions of grip due to what remains within. The older the calyxal, the longer, and more variable its motions will become."

"So it's like an extension of yourself in a way," Jack Dee said with an understanding nod. "In humanities pasty many different cultures have talked about becoming one with their weapons, but that is rather literal."

"Perhaps. It is a, grim duty, of those of the skatha."

"I see. And is that-" Dee began to say, only for a high pitched ping to ring out over the Deck of the Termenin, making all of it crew go tense.

A Second later the hologram of the Ship Ai appeared on deck, bowing toward Captain Kurwa. " Captain, we have received information from the home port. They are sending official envoys to meet with our friends here and establish proper political first contact. Additionally, it appears that other ships have in the last weeks encountered first contact scenarios of their own."

Many of the crew on the deck began muttering nnd congratulating one another. After all, they had encountered friendly aliens, so others probably had as well, right?

"Why did you set of the alert call then?" Kurwa asked seriously, causing many to go silent as the meaning of his question to the AI was understood.

"Addendum. In addition to the notification, it also stated that the Caracal had, in addition to encountering multiple unknown alien ships, also encountered combat, and that for security, all ships within seventy five parsecs of that event are to be on high alert. We are within this distance, albeit barely."

Kurwa's expression became cold. "What happened, do we know?"

"The only information that has been given to all forces is that it encountered a violent unknown ship that opened fire on it. Other alien ships were damaged, but the Caracal was not, and is awaiting a Galleon for security during a proper first contact. It is expected to arrive within 1 week of departure. Which according to information given, was yesterday," the AI explained.

The crew began talking in an instant. Galleons were not fast, and if whatever violent aliens had appeared were vengeful, the Caracal could be in danger. Their fellows could be in danger. "Captain, we are close enough to go and help!" one crewmember exclaimed, causing many other to voice their agreement.

Kurwa looked conflicted for a moment before glancing at Jack Dee, finding that he looked surprisingly calm, expectant even. "Mister Dee, as an Admiralty board Backed Executive Mate, what do you believe is the proper thing to do?"

"Well, that depends; have our gracious Admiral given orders explicit?" Jack Dee asked the Ai with a smile.

"The Admiralty Board has not."

"Then I think it only right to go and help our fellows," Jack said with a smile. "Only proper as we are long past squabbling amongst ourselves, no?"

Kurwa looked at his crew. He could see it in their eyes. The desire to help their own, the desire to protect. The need to be there in case the worst happened. "Alright, then we will go and help them immidaitly!" Kurwa declared to the shouts of his crew, before turning to the Alconian Captain. " Captain I apologize but-"

"We will come with you," The Alconian captain said, much to everyone's surprise.

"I, don't think that is a good idea. It could endanger your people and-"

"That matters not," the Alconian captain stated with a shake of its head. Kurwa still had no idea its gender. "Our crew has decided the same. You, you are our friends now, and I see only a deeper bond forming between our kind. We have made merry, and learned of one another. Now, we shall fight alongside one another as, what do you call it?" The captain asked as he looked toward Jack Dee.

"Brothers in arms, is the common term,"

"Yes, as that."

"But, how fast can your ship move?" Kurwa asked. "Would it be able to keep up with us with your differing technology, or-"

"Captain, I have been speaking with the Alconian Ships computers these last days since the translator software was mostly finished," The AI spoke up. "I believe if we wirelessly exchange the right data, we can tether their ship to our own and pull it through the currents with minimal issue. It would only add seventeen hours to our journey by my calculations."

"I did not ask you that," Kurwa said quietly before sighing and thinking it over. "Very well, I will inform the admiralty board of our choice. Mr Dee. Prepare the Termenin for departure,"

Jack Dee smiled at Kurwa turned and began walking toward the door into the ship, and then immediately turned in place to look at the crew. "Well? What are you all standing around for? Get to positions, man the sails and prep the ship for travel! I want us in front of our friend's ship and those tethers going across five minutes ago; get to it you layabouts!"

The crew began acting in an instant, rushing across the deck and up into the sails, allowing Skrikt to step toward Jack. "My captain shall return to the ship, I will stay here to assist in the relay of orders and assist where I can."

"Excellent, I'm sure we'll need it when accessing two different computer systems," Jack said before grinning. "So, ready to meet some new faces?"

Skrikt merely smiled.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Authors note: Took a while, but this continues, not that I'm trying for any specific update speed. I do know I need to fix some spelling errors in previous chapters, I'll get to that soon.

The next chapter will be our first big hit in combat, and I'll probably get to codex entries at some point.

Hope ya liked it.