Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

OK, this one’s going to need some explaining. This is the culmination of my considerations of what might have happened if the Race, of WORLDWAR fame, encountered a more advanced race in space. I’ve used the beginnings of IN THE BALANCE as the start point for my POD. For those who don’t follow my work, the UAS was the alien force that invaded in my Future History ‘The Peacekeepers’, which can be found here, which includes a full explanation of the UAS and its motives. The Race, the Race characters and any none-historical WORLDWAR characters who appear in this story all belong to Harry Turtledove. The UAS belongs to me and anyone who wants to use it can, provided they give me credit for the original idea. No profit is being made.

PART ONE

127th Emperor Hetto

Fleetlord Atvar was not expecting to be disturbed as the Conquest Fleet approached the star system Tosev, but he was soon to be disturbed anyway. As he glanced through the reports, Subleader Erewlo asked to enter his suite.

"Exalted Fleetlord, kinsmale of the Emperor, as you know, we draw very near the Tosev system," he said, his voice hardly louder than a whisper.

"I had better know that," Atvar said with heavy sarcasm.

"Y-yes, Exalted Fleetlord." The junior officer, almost on the point of bolting, visibly gathered himself before continuing: "Exalted Fleetlord, I am Subleader Erewlo, in the communications section. We have picked up an unusual spatial alommony on the radar, heading out of the Tosev system.” The officer shook as he spoke. The race did not take well to things that it could not explain.

In fact, the fleetlord was too startled to be furious. "That is ridiculous," he said. "What could possibly cause the radar to detect an alonly? The logical conclusion is that it’s a ship!” Atvar’s mode changed from startlment to disbelief. “It is impossible that Tosev 3 could have built a ship capable of interstellar travel and there are no other races in this region. Certainly, we would have detected another Empire.”

The fleetlord and his distressed underling entered the command station of the invasion fleet bannership 127th Emperor Hetto. Officers stiffened in their seats as he came in. But for the way his eye turrets swivelled in their sockets, one to the left, the other to the right, he ignored them. Under other circumstances, none would have been so foolish as to omit the proper respect, he would have noticed--and remembered. This day was different.

Shiplord Kirel, the commander of the bannership and Atvar’s second in commend, swivelled one eye towards his commander. “Exalted Fleetlord, please look at the readings. No ship could emit such readings, its like something out of a hatchlings tale.”

The fleetlord studied the readings. The unknown object was about six hundred meters in leanth, one-fifth the size of the 127th Emperor Hetto, and it was travelling at about five percent of light speed. While that was not a particular surprise to the Race, the small size of the ship would have precluded a Race ship from that speed, and there were other strange parts. The radar was unable to pin down the crafts exact dimensions, as the odd field that surrendered the craft was interfering with the rangefinder and the race’s probes. As Atvar considered this strange craft, wondering who could have built it, an alarm sounded in the bannership.

“Report!” Snapped Atvar.

“Exalted Fleetlord”, hissed Erewlo, in a hushed and nervous voice, “the object has changed course and is on a direct bearing towards the bannership”

UAS Battlecruiser Explorer

The captain of the Explorer, an Aion called Amee, could not believe her luck. Sent over 3000 light years from the UAS centre worlds after an affair with a superior officer, in exile from her family, she had not only discovered a new species that could be added to the UAS’s workforce, but had encountered a fleet that clearly belonged to a primitive race, which could also join the UAS. There was no way, she reflected, that the planet called ‘Earth’ by its natives could have produced over a hundred six-kilometre long Starships. Best of all, there was no sign of any hyper signature on the ships at all, which meant that the owners of the ship clearly needed to be taken under the UAS’s wing, even if the UAS had to kill them all in order to save them. She ordered the Explorer to change course and the weapons to be powered up. Just in case, she also ordered the Hyperdrive to be prepared. Slowly, the huge, primitive ships grew on the viewscreen.

127th Emperor Hetto

The atmosphere in the Bannership had grown rank with nervousness and anticipation. Several of the crewmales, including three shiplords, had had been consumed with their fears as the unknown craft performed manoeuvres no Race ship could hope to do. Atvar himself was hanging on to his sanity by a thread, as were most of the other males on the command deck. The unknown ship gilded towards the bannership and positioned itself directly in front of the ship, moving towards the bannership. If it stayed there, Atvar saw, the two ships would collide in ten minutes.

Realising that death was near, not realising that the unknown craft could move out of the way as easily as it had arrived there, Atvar sent a silent prayer to the sprits of emperors past to accept his soul in their heaven. Suddenly, the communications console started bleeping. “"Exalted Fleetlord,” said Subleader Erewlo, “the unknown craft is hailing us.”

“Open a channel,” said Atvar. “Audio and visual coming through, superior sir. They’ve adapted very well to our systems.”

UAS Battlecruiser Explorer

The communications link was established and the two sides looked at each other for several seconds. Atvar saw a tall, blue, humanoid creature with three eyes and the suggestions of wings down its arms. Amee saw a small lizard like creature looking back at her. Amee made the first move.

“Primitives,” she announced, “you have been discovered by the universal body responsible for overseeing your development until you are deemed fit to become a superor species. I demand that your submit yourselves to use at once and surrender your ships. Your cultures will be absorbed into our system.” The small creature recoiled in shock, while Amee chuckled to herself. Of course, the UAS was not universal in scope, or even galactic, it was just trying to convince the aliens of the wisdom of surrender. Suddenly, one of the other ships opened a channel to her.

“Alien race,” declared the voice, “we are the race! We have ruled this part of space for fifty thousand years. We will not surrender to you.” Amee saw that the same ship had just launched two missiles at her. Three minutes later, the reminder of the fleet also launched missiles.

127th Emperor Hetto

Straha! Atvar had been in shock when the strange being had delivered her ultimation. Now, the shiplord of the 206th Emperor Yower had taken matters into his own hands and fired on the ship. Atvar had no choice, calling the other ships, he ordered them to add their missiles to the ones heading towards the strange ship. Atvar saw them almost reach the ship and then….

A bubble of light appeared round the ship as the first missile struck the bubble. Flaring though colours, the bubble protected the unknown craft as the missiles expended their nuclear warheads on the bubble. Then the ship began to shoot back. Atvar watched with a horrified fascination as the unknown’s missiles, weapons that travelled at three-quarters light speed, hit several of his ships, including the 206th Emperor Yower, and completely destroyed them. Whatever warheads the strange race used, nothing the race had could stand up to them. Whatever ship was hit was lost, with all hands. Atvar grabbed the communications consoles.

“Unknown vessel,” he broadcast, “we surrender. We surrender!”

He started hissing in complete dismay. He was still hissing when the UAS marines broke into the command deck and took the crew captive.

Culture Shock

PART ONE

UAS Battlecruiser Explorer