Free Star Force: Shame (SF59) by Aer-ki Jyr

actual transmission
through the relay grid two days later .
    That right there told Roger that this wasn’t a low
level race within the Nexus like the H’kar, and that whoever they were they had
gravity drives far faster than what Star Force currently possessed and probably
a full tech tree to match. He made contact with the H’kar first, then let them
make the formal introductions via comm , during which
the newcomers wanted to meet with Roger in person…and onboard one of their
ships.
    Donning his dark blue mage armor, the Archon headed to
one of the landing bays in his Ma’kri where the Dsevmat transport eventually
landed, sprawling what looked like glowing white hairs in the thousands beneath
the ship as landing legs to cradle its mass as a portion of its hull melted
open and the material reformed into a meter-wide foot ramp.
    At first Roger waited for someone to come out, but
when no one did he reluctantly walked up to the base of the ramp and looked
inside, seeing nothing more than a dark hollow. Using his Pefbar he was able to
penetrate the hull and look all the way through the small ship, seeing that no one
was inside. Guessing that the transport was remote controlled he walked up the
ramp only to have it melt and pull back up to reform the wall behind him, then
the landing ‘hairs’ retracted and the ship floated out of the hangar as Roger
meandered further inside.
    There were only two chambers inside the seed-like pod,
a main floor and a small adjunct not counting the short hallway to the door.
Both were bare, but he could see additional structures in the floor, walls, and
ceiling that he guessed were extrudable if the
situation called for it. The main chamber flashed on a flat hologram mimicking
a window across the side of the smooth-walled room that had not a single crease
nor crevice in it, showing the departure from the bay and the flight across
orbit to one of the pearl-colored ships.
    They were likewise smooth and lumpy in places, with
tiny splotches that glowed white, blue, or even a tinge of purple here and
there. Mostly their hulls were just blank, but several places had been
highlighted on the ships during their entry into the system denoting the
position of weapons batteries that had since been retracted into the hull and
were now hidden, probably behind the same melty technology that the pod’s door was made of.
    Likewise a hangar entrance formed on the side of one
of the biggest ships in the Dsevmat fleet, with small ripples of material
moving aside and allowing the pod within, only to close up behind the
trailblazer and seal him in. A moment later a trickle of apprehension ran down
his spine as he reached out with his Ikrid and sensed the surrounding
minds…with him immediately picking up reflective feedback.
    He could only get the faintest of readings on them,
but could tell that his telepathic touch had sent them into a flurry, for each
one he brushed minds with immediately became agitated. Roger pulled back from
the penetrating scans that he usually used on new species and just noted the
position of their minds as the pod’s door opened and reformed into a ramp,
inviting him to leave the tiny ship.
    When he did he saw the source of three of the nearby
minds…which sent another little tickle down his spin, for the Dsevmat easily outmassed him and moved in an unusual manner, given that
they had no arms, legs, or appendages of any kind. They were literally giant
pearl-colored snakes.
    “ Hello ,”
Roger said in the Nexus common language, which he’d learned a number of years back, as all the trailblazers had.
    “ We were not
told you had telepathic abilities ,” the closest snake said, slithering up
beside him in the heavy gravity and raising its tri-finned head up level with
the Human’s. “ Do not try to access our
minds again or you will be harmed. ”
    “ No need for
threats ,” Roger said calmly. “ You
asked for me to come here, remember? ”
    “ Calm yourself, Hameen . He