Reclamation: Chapter 1: Inheritance

[Ray of Meep]

Spring 2322

Low Zhuque Orbit

Lord Wang watched the planet rotate underneath him as he witnessed it aboard his personal space yacht, the Minglang (Lucidity). It was a small craft, in comparison to the large, hotel-sized luxury craft owned by human, mega-corporate heads, with their rotational gravity rings, vast amenities, docking space for smaller vessels. The Aos Si CEO was perfectly content though; the Minglang had everything he needed. It featured a personal office, private quarters for both him and his Aos Si pilot, and a powerful enough engine to get him anywhere in the system in reasonable time. It was low-profile, unglamorous, and completely under his ownership, everything he needed to fly under the radar and do as he pleased. He spent too long for this moment, routinely using the Minglang to travel randomly throughout the system, ever since he purchased the craft, so the annoying human space traffic controllers would stop questioning his whereabouts. All of that patience, the pleasantries, the humble attitude as a man of his wealth, it all might just finally payoff on this trip.

Zhuque, Lihana, was as beautiful as it was millennia ago. Covered in rich, red vegetation, awesome mountain ranges, deep blue oceans. Only now, it was infested by the xenos that he had to nod to, and make that awful, hand over fist gesture to. Lord Wang quietly grinded his teeth, closed his eyes, and breathed out. Patience, patience, you've bided your time for millennia now, a few more weeks, months, years, all a drop in the bucket.

The ancient Aos Si felt a wretched pain at his heart that would've sent him to the ground if gravity existed on this ship. Quickly but methodically, he draw a syringe from his pouch holding a silvery metal, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a port at his wrist vein, plugging the syringe in, feeling relief near instantaneously. The relics of his people, melted down, refined, all to keep him alive and healthy. It will all be worth it.

"Lord Wang." His pilot knocked on the airlock, letting himself into the CEO's office. The pilot was a tall and scrawny Aos Si, mild mannered, educated in a human university, indoctrinated by the CEO personally, absolutely loyal. Galae, his name was. Lord Wang liked the child. As with the rest of the Reclaimers, he wanted Galae to witness the renaissance of the Aos Si and the removal of the human plague personally.

"We are ready for departure." Galae stated. He could've just informed him over the comms, but Lord Wang preferred personal interaction whenever possible, no matter how ephemeral. The ancient Aos Si smiled gently and nodded, the pilot returning to the bridge. The CEO felt his weight down to the floor steadily increase from nothing to what he was accustomed to on the planet.

------------------------------------------------------

High Xianglong Orbit

Xianglong was a beautiful gas giant, rivaling the magnificence of the much smaller, terrestrial Zhuque. Its atmosphere was interwoven with a mix of rich oranges and reds, its bright, icy rings fully visible, reflecting the rays of the home star.

"Lord Wang, we're now approaching the vicinity of the human mining fleet. Estimated time of arrival: one hour. Should we hail them?"

"Of course." The CEO sat at his desk while the Minglang decelerated to match velocity with the fleet. "This is Mr. Wang of Bright Day Financials, aboard the Minglang. Thank you for accepting my request to meet here, and for your patience."

 

[Uso]

"Mr. Wang, we have been expecting your arrival. We're sending docking instructions to your ship now. Welcome to Zamyn station."

----

Zamyn Station

Zamyn was fairly low-tech as far as Human space settlements were concerned. The core of the station was a large, hollowed-out asteroid that had been filled with spinning habitation drums. Outside spindly towers extended outward and acted as docking stations for ships of various kinds from water haulers to drone prospectors. The technology here featured smelting furnaces that had been originally built nearly a hundred years ago as well as some of the latest in electronics. The entire station had been mashed together and continuously upgraded in patchwork fashion over its lifetime.

But the only thing of interest to Lord Wang would be the Human he came to meet.

Ein was currently working on expanding the HFR front for Stellar. The multinational corporation had deep roots throughout Human Space and now their sights were set on the markets of the Aoi Si.

That man had insisted upon meeting in person, and had stacked the home court in his favor as tastefully as possible.

The meeting room itself had floor to ceiling glass that looked out into the habitation cylinder where the variously styled structures that made up the living and working space curled upwards with the edge of the habitation drum. The Walls were decorated with images of the first Aoi Si artifacts that the HFR had 'discovered' as well as an image of the first engineers and the prototype SLE that was built using materials refined from those artifacts. The rest of the room was perhaps less subtle, with the pair of sofas in the center of the room flanked by small models of machine guns, artificial eyes, satellites, fusion reactors, and seeds. Every conversation piece in the room was intended to spark a conversation that was favorable to the corporation's interests.

"Can I get you something to drink?" A woman asked as she led Wang into the meeting room. Her short red hair and green eyes had a bit of an Aoi-Si quality to them. Certainly her features looked vaguely eastern European enough that she might be Human. Certainly her well tailored suit and lanyard indicated that her loyalties lay with Stellar rather than with anything else.


Ein himself would time his arrival to be just a moment or two after Wang. Like everything else it was calculated. Early enough to show respect, late enough to remind his guest that he had other responsibilities. It was crafted to fit, just like his suit and tie which maintained a simple style but had an eye to craftsmanship and detail. The trinity knot that he kept his tie in was enough by itself to show he was doing quite a bit more than the common half Windsor. "Thank you Terra, that will be all..." He said, dismissing the assistant and turning to the task at hand, "I understand you have knowledge of a great many Aoi Si Artifacts, and an understanding that the only way forward is through mutually beneficial agreements."

Ein would keep his momentum towards the Aoi Si, sizing him up, the towering Human needing to make that determination of if the Aoi Si would go for a hand shake, or if he should just motion towards the Sofa.

"So lets see how we can help each other..."

 

[Ray of Meep]

Lord Wang looked up at the human, who stood a full head taller than he did. Like the man, Lord Wang wore a suit and tie, which contrasted significantly than the businessmen of the HFR that interacted with the other races of humans, wearing original cultural fashion to make a statement of independence, and demand for equal treatment. The Aos Si amongst the humans did the same. Not him. He bit his lip, and responded to the handshake with a polite smile. Republican businessmen would've refused and put hand over fist instead.

Ein Mythris. It didn't take an immortal to understand the power this man held in the human world without a political title. No, a political title would've chained this man down. Ein was an entity onto himself, holding great power over the American Union. He was a psychopath, an egomaniac, cunning and ruthless, stopping at nothing to expand his wealth and boost his own ego. The man had everything, yet wanted more, only stopped by the surprising resilience of other human superstates, rejecting his corporate intrusion.

Lord Wang decided that this was not a man to be trifled with, not yet. The Aos Si would feed the human's ego for now. His current needs were simple, after all. No need to antagonize.

"Indeed, but you'd be doing me a favor, more than I can offer in return." Lord Wang replied humbly, speaking in perfect English, the culmination of years of careful study; then allowed himself to sit on the sofa. "There is an asteroid around Xianglong, small and obscure, yet holds unfathomable treasures, both in material and cultural value. I lack the means to excavate it, but to my understanding, you do." From underneath his suit, he withdrew a wooden box, revealing a spearhead inside, with odd, vein-like patterns running along the surface. "This is but a small fraction of what I offer, if you allow me access to your mining assets and manpower."

 

[Uso]

"I think we can work out an arrangement that makes sense for the both of us." Ein replied, taking a moment to consider the offer. There were things that didn't need to be said, namely the need for discretion. After all there must be a reason for why this offer was brought to Ein instead of to a local HFR corporation. The only question must be how to extract enough value without turning off Lord Wang. "After covering operating costs of the ships and personnel, we could split the find 50/50."

Ein would take the offered box, keeping the spearhead at a distance as he looked it over. The artifact itself meant nothing to him but the raw materials that made it up likely contained the exotic materials needed for FTL travel.

 

[Ray of Meep]

Lord Wang maintained a polite smile, but internally, he seethed. He loathed to share anything Aos Si with the humans, much less something potentially revolutionary. Whatever was buried out here in the void, his people managed to do it with their flying towers and cathedrals; he was there when it happened. To not do it within the comforts and safety of Lihana, it must've been important to hide it around the gas giant.

Half-and-half was infuriating to him. He needed more than 100 percent of it to fight against the humans, but paradoxically, he also needed human help to obtain it. He looked down, visibly making internal calculations. He didn't need to hide that. To Ein, it'll just look like a business consideration. The Aos Si had to make peace with the offer. After all, the only thing he's bringing to the table on the surface-level is the knowledge of this place. The humans were putting all the resources and manpower required to reach it. It was more than fair, on the surface-level.

He looked back up, smiling again. "Considering the expenses that you are putting forward, I believe that is a just deal. Hopefully, both of us will find what we're looking for in this find." Lord Wang offered his hand. Hopefully, the humans would have no idea what they're looking at with their share.

 

[Uso]

"Then we have a deal," Ein said, reaching to shake, "I'll have my people work out the specifics, and send you the contract to review."

Ein was ready to overthink the situation. He'd learned to wargame such things from adventures long ago. Why was the deal agreed to so easily? Should he have asked for more? Was there something else going on that Wang didn't want him to find out? It seemed odd he would come out all this way for such a straightforward negotiation.

Of course, he'd ALSO learned not to overthink things too much. That acting on instinct was just as important.

"Though we should head off some things. Certainly there are some artifacts you want to reserve for yourself?" He asked.

 

[Ray of Meep]

"Of course." Wang nodded. "But we wouldn't know what until we excavate the asteroid." He stood up. "I will be overseeing the operation personally." He wanted to say more, how it was so important to him, how what is discovered here could change the fate of his people, or force him to grovel to the humans for several more decades.

No, this human already knew too much, he'll have too much. Sooner or later he'd be a thorn in the Aos Si's side. Better limit all the advantages Ein got now, even if he didn't know it.

Thus, Wang kept his mouth shut after his remark.

 

[Uso]

Ein nodded, perhaps that was something the Aoi Si should have mentioned first rather than waiting for it to come out later. Perhaps he was the kind of person who was used to making demands?

"We can work that into the contract," Ein agreed. He'd have to get his own Aoi Si artifact appraisers working on the project, and his own management team to act as a buffer between this Aoi Si lord and the people actually doing the work. Both things that could be taken care of quietly in the fine print. "Are there any other specifics I should be aware of?"

 

[Ray of Meep]

One month later

The Hando, Stellar prospector ship, in high orbit of XL-415

Asteroid XL-415 was a inconspicuous asteroid, one kilometer in diameter at minimum, a few hundred meters more at maximum, an egg shaped body with a gravely exterior surface. Like other asteroids of its size, it was barely holding together its own mass, too low in observable, strategic metals, too close to Xianglong to be worth mining.

The humans were shortsighted, too easily distracted like that. If only they spent a little more time probing, they would've found a treasure trove worth an entire planetary system. Lord Wang considered himself lucky as the bridge technician gave readouts of the asteroid's composition.

"... In summary, based on the initial scans of our probe constellation, we're detecting a high content of Wofleonium, titanium, and platinum, evenly distributed through the asteroid, shielded by thirty meters of regular, metallic astrolith. We're also seeing patches of high concentrations of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen."

Wang knit his eyebrows at the last statement. The previous was music to his ears, but the latter, if he knew his basics on chemistry, meant organic compounds.

"You're saying that there's living beings in there?"

The technician sighed, suppressing impatience towards the CEO's ignorance. "No, Mr. Wang. The presence of those three elements could mean anything. It could just be carbon dioxide and water, maybe basic organic compounds; we see those quite a bit in these living star systems. However, given the strangeness of this asteroid, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of more complex organic presence. Living things, dead or alive."

 

[Uso]

"Anything that would stop us from going down there and getting a closer look at what's inside?" The ship's captain asked.

The ship's captain some kind of upper-middle-management-type angling for a higher station and unafraid to show it. He was dressed just one step above what would be expected for this operation, instead of just slacks and a work shirt, he was wearing a suit jacket. His Gurkha style slacks closed over to the left and his suit jacket closed over to the right. The jacket top came down right to his belt-line giving his grey clothing a distinctive zig-zag pattern coming up from the left side and shooting over to the right. It was just enough to be noticeable without overdoing it. His hair was treated the same way, puffed up slightly, slick, trying but also trying not to look like he was trying too hard. He had made sure to stand near the middle of the ship's CIC, behind and in between two of the workstations so he could put one hand on each. This let him stretch his arms out to either side to make himself more visible.

He also didn't waste time with micromanaging,

"Communications, be sure to forward that information back home. I would like to get our own Aoi Si appraiser's opinion as soon as possible.

Geology, what is the likelyhood that life is down there? This place has been out here in the cold for centuries, so anything we find isn't going to have a claim to whatever we find."

 

[Ray of Meep]

"Whatever is down there won't have access to energy. The asteroid is too small to generate heat from its core. Any water inside will be frozen solid. Based on past records of Wofleonium mining, the exotic material doesn't produce any useful energy spontaneously either." The technician replied. "Still, it's best if we send probes down to do all the drilling and scouting first before we put boots ---"

"No." Lord Wang waved them off. "Go ahead with opening a hole first, but I want to see what's inside with my own eyes." He looked at the Hando's captain. "I hope the early personnel insertion doesn't change your schedule too much." Wang suppressed an annoyance at the mention of an appraiser. He would know the importance of whatever was found inside more than any younger Aos Si, much less a human appraiser.

 

[Uso]

"We'll need to go down there at some point anyways. Geology, how active is this place? It is cold so I assume you don't see anything down there that might get active?" The captain asked.

 

[Ray of Meep]

"No sir, if it wasn't for the Wofleonium it'd be any other cold rock. No wonder the Chinese missed it."

 

[Uso]

"Then lets make some money. Have the EVA team get ready in the airlocks, and get the drones started on drilling. I'll get suited up and join them." The captain said, turning his attention to Lord Wang, "I assume you'll be joining us?"

 

[Ray of Meep]

"Of course." The Aos Si nodded. "This is a potentially momentous occasion. I want to witness it with my own eyes, not through secondary lenses."

-------------------------------

Lord Wang found himself breathing heavily in his spacesuit. Surrounded by rocky, crumbling asteroid regolith in a mined out well, he stood on top of a clean metal surface, secured to it with maglocks. One hand trembling, he knelt down, pressing his gloved palm against it. He seethed, as blood vessels from his heart to the capillaries in his palm tightened, as if the metal surface attempted to permanently bond the two. His heart pounding, the Aos Si retracted his hand and stood back up. There was no doubt about it. This was the highest amount of Wofleonium he's ever seen in one place with his own eyes. The humans perhaps had more in total in their SLE's, but there were dispersed across an entire constellation.

 

[Uso]

"That's certainly not standard. The HFR will require that we report the find of ancient artifacts so they can send a team to monitor the site. Their paperwork alone will add another week to our initial scouting process." The Captain replied, now having gotten a good look at the exterior surface of... whatever this was.

 

[Ray of Meep]

"That won't be necessary." The Aos Si waved off the captain. "Mr. Ein and I, we have an understanding, as he does with the relevant authorities."

"Have your technicians scan the interior again, excavate more of the surface if you have to." Lord Wang declared. "We make our way deeper as fast as possible, even if it means drilling a hole here."

 

[Ray of Meep]

The well was widened, allowing for a specialized breaching pod to be lowered down. The cutting torches were shrouded by an airtight seal, so that once the metal surface was breached, none of the contents below could escape to the vacuum of space. At six centimeters thick, it took an hour to carefully cut a round hole for a humanoid-sized creature, minimizing the material lost in the process. Once the cut out plate was lifted up and out of the way, Lord Wang was the first to lower into the hole with an EVA backpack. It was a risk; this flew in the face of space exploration best practices, but he needed to see first. Besides, human protocols can go fondle themselves.

The Aos Si found himself on the inner surface of a great, hollow, egg-shaped interior. With his flashlight, he could make out two webs that ran parallel to each other, both centering on the long-axis of the egg. What looked to be a circular gate was placed at the smaller pole, the north pole of the asteroid. Attached to each web were six, human-frigate sized constructs in the shapes of rapiers, long and cylindrical, smooth and sharp, a spherical frame breaking part their shape near their bottom, within it a helical swirl of metallic material.

A human drone flew in, stopping next to Lord Wang, as he gazed upon his bounty in awe. "Holy shi---" The technician on the bridge remarked through the comms.

It was an ancient Aos Si shipyard, it had to be. Lord Wang's hand trembled, pressing it against his visor. Cutting his comms, he giggled, then laughed maniacally to himself. The humans that rule this system don't know about this. This could potentially be a game changer, an avenue, to finally end human space supremacy. All these decades, this is what he was looking for.

After his wave of jubilation washed over, the Aos Si blinked, then knit his eyebrows, as he further examined the vessels. There was something else here, something that beat him here.

 

[ParoxysmalBirth]

What could easily be mistaken for battle damage from past conflicts or maybe debris fallen and embedded into the sleek blade-ships revealed a more deliberate, blasphemous alteration to the ancient vessels. Like the barnacles, coral, and worm-tubes clinging to the shells of seafaring turtles and murk-dwelling decapods, clusters of segmented carapace-metal clustered along the bladed length of the vessels. Signs of cracks radiated outwards over the black that had faded and aged into grey, the living clusters shifting ever so slightly as they nested into old wounds on even older vessels.

A faint glow of bioluminescence seeped between the spaces of their plating, trailing lines of blue-green that trailed along illuminated, revealed paths surgically incised along their length. The curling legs of multi-jointed creatures stretched and retracted; the lights only flashed faintly enough to make out the vague shape of some sort of organisms that had colonized the vessel. Not merely inhabiting it but commandeering and corrupting it for their own usage as the green-black smudge-colouration of foreign biometallic plating hinted at in the intermittent, pulsing gleams demonstrated.

These were not aos si vessels but some corrupted and co-opted variation. They were alive even in apparent slumber for after a few minutes of the visitor's presence in the room, the lights changed to a tense, harsh red. Circular portions of the ceiling they had drilled throuhg began to shift and twitch as whatever dwelled within the hidden chamber began to awaken.

 

[Ray of Meep]

They looked abominable. Lord Wang cursed to himself, cursing that he didn't discover this place sooner, before these pests. But then again, what were they?

He recalled a paper published a year ago that made headlines, describing a nomadic asteroid that ended up being filled with organic, sapient life, which started off diplomatic relations with the humans. Vrexul, he remembered the headline. These pests that infested the Aos Si ships certainly matched the description. Could he trust that these carried the same, friendly nature? He had to know.

Wordlessly, he maglocked himself to the inner wall, then carefully made his way to one of the webs, then walking across it to reach one of the ships infested by the Vrexul, all the while keeping an eye on the creatures, and combating the small, but oddly shaped gravity in this asteroid, assisted by occasional, balancing thrusts from his EVA pack.