The emergency alarm screamed through every corner of the Galactic Council Station. Red lights flashed in patterns that made the crystalline walls glow like dying stars.Inside the Grand Chamber, representatives from 40 different species rushed to their seats. Something terrible was happening and everyone knew it. The Veltrine delegate appeared on the massive display screen.Her crystalline body was cracked and dim, not bright and colorful like it should be. Behind her explosions lit up the sky.She was crying, though tears looked different on her kind. Small pieces of crystal fell from her face.
Please, she begged, her voice breaking through the translation devices. Anyone who can hear this. We need help.The Krell are here. They came three days ago. We tried to hide.We tried to run. Nothing works. They just keep coming.
Millions of them. They're eating everything. Our cities. Our people. Our children. The chamber fell silent.
Every species there knew about the Krell swarm. They were the nightmare that parents used to scare their young ones into behaving. Giant insects that traveled in massive groups, consuming everything in their path. No one had ever stopped them. The only option was to run and hope they didn't follow. The Council President, a tall being made of flowing water, spoke slowly.
How long until they reach your main cities? Seventy hours, the Veltrine delegate whispered. Maybe less. The debate started immediately.
The Thrall suggested evacuation. They had big ships that could carry refugees. The Marathi offered to send supplies.
The Xelorn promised to open their borders to survivors. Every species had something helpful to say, but no one talked about fighting.That wasn't how things worked in the galaxy.
When predators came, you ran. That was the rule. That was how you survived.
Ambassador Sarah Chen sat in the human section and listened.
She had been Earth's representative for five years now. In that time, she had learned that most alien species didn't understand humans very well.They found humans confusing and sometimes frightening. Humans asked strange questions like, what if we fight back? And how do we win? Most species didn't have words for those concepts in their languages. She raised her hand.
The gesture was very human, but the Council had learned what it meant. The President looked at her with his watery eyes. He seemed worried.Humans always made him worried.
Ambassador Chen, do you wish to speak? Sarah stood up. She was short compared to most aliens, but she had learned to use that.
Let them think humans were small and weak. It made the surprise better later. We'll handle it, she said simply.
Confused chirps and whistles filled the chamber. The automatic translators struggled with the meaning.Handle what? Several delegates looked at their devices, thinking they had malfunctioned.I don't understand, the President said. Do you mean you will help with evacuation? No, Sarah replied. I mean humanity will deal with the Krell swarm. We'll stop them. The chamber erupted. Some species made sounds of alarm.
Others simply stared. The Threl delegate, a peaceful herbivore covered in soft fur, stood up on shaking legs. Ambassador, I think your translator is broken. Did you say you will fight the Krell? That's impossible. No one fights the Krell. They cannot be stopped.This is known. This is fact. Sarah pulled out her communication device.
She typed a short message and sent it to Earth's military command. The message was simple. Greenlight. Krell swarm, Kristera 4, respond immediately. The response came back in seconds. Just two words. Already moving. She looked up at the worried faces around her. So many species. So many peaceful, gentle beings who had never known war. They evolved on safe worlds where nothing tried to eat them.
They didn't understand that some species came from harder places.Dangerous places Places where you learned to be the scariest thing in the dark or you died. You asked me once, Sarah said, looking at the president, why Earth has no large predators in the wild anymore.
You asked what happened to our wolves and bears and big cats.You thought maybe they went extinct from natural causes. The president nodded slowly, his form rippling with uncertainty.They didn't go extinct, Sarah continued.We killed them. Not because we hated them.
Not for fun But because we needed their territory And they were dangerous to our children It took thousands of years, but eventually we won. We became the only apex predator on Earth. We became the top of the food chain. And now we don't need to hunt animals anymore. We hunt much bigger prey when necessary. The chamber was completely silent now.
Even the emergency alarms seemed quieter. The Krell are predators, Sarah said. They hunt and kill and consume That's what they do. It's their nature. She smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was the smile of something that knew it was dangerous. But humanity learned a long time ago how to deal with predators. You send bigger predators after them. The Veltrine delegate appeared on screen again.
Ambassador Chen, I don't understand. Are you saying humans will fight for us? Yes, Sarah replied.Our fleet is already on the way. They'll arrive in 48 hours. Tell your people to stay in their shelters.Keep away from the Krell.We'll handle everything else.She closed the communication and looked at the council one last time.
You're about to learn something about humans. We're not like you. We don't run from monsters.
We never learned how. Where we come from, if you run, you die. So instead, we learned to be the thing that monsters run from.
Deep in space, far from any civilized system, there was a military station that most council species didn't know existed.Fort Ragnarok floated in the darkness like a sleeping giant.
Its walls were thick metal covered in weapon systems.Around it, dozens of ships waited in organized rows.These weren't the sleek, beautiful vessels that carried diplomats and traders.These were warships.Human warships.
And they had been waiting for this moment.
Admiral Marcus Webb stood on the bridge of his flagship and read the message from Ambassador Chen.
After five years of peace talks and trade agreements, humanity was finally being allowed to do what it did best. He was 60 years old with gray hair and scars that told stories of Earth's bloody past.During the Unity Wars, when Earth's nations finally stopped fighting each other and joined together, he had commanded the forces that ended the last conflict.
He was very good at his job.
His job was winning battles. All ships, this is Webb.He spoke into the communication system. Activate Predator Protocol. We have authorization to engage a Krell swarm at Krysthera IV. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill. The station came alive.Lights blazed. Engines roared. And from hidden bays, the Predator fleet emerged.
Four massive warships, each one named after a creature from Earth's past. Creatures that no longer existed because humanity had killed them all. The HSS Direwolf was Admiral Webb's flagship. It was three kilometers long and covered in railgun batteries. The HSS Megalodon carried missile systems that could level mountains.
The HSS Smilodon had energy weapons that could cut through asteroids.
And the HSS Tyrant King, named after the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, was a carrier filled with smaller attack craft and autonomous drones. On the planet Krysthera IV, a young Veltrine named Sheltyr worked in the communications center. She was barely an adult by her species standards, still learning her job.
For three days, she had watched the Krell ships get closer. Thousands of them. They looked like insects but were as big as buildings.
Their ships were made of organic material, grown rather than built. They fired acid and disease. And they were hungry. Always hungry. Her supervisor had sent most workers home to be with their families. Only a few volunteers stayed to monitor the situation.
Sheltyr stayed because she had to know. She had to see the end coming. At least then she could warn her family when to pray for the final time.The sensor system made a sound she had never heard before. Something was appearing on the edge of their system. She adjusted the display, thinking it was broken. Nothing moved that fast. Nothing could cross that much distance in so little time. Supervisor, she called out.
Something's here Four ships They just appeared out of nowhere Her supervisor rushed over His crystalline face went dark with fear More Krell? No, Sheltyr whispered, staring at the readings.
The signature is different.These ships are... They're tearing through space. I've never seen anything move like this.
They're leaving scars in their wake. The display showed the four vessels. They were angular and aggressive. Every surface bristled with weapons.They didn't glide gracefully through space like council ships.They moved like they were angry.Like they wanted to hurt something.Get their identification, the supervisor ordered. Sheltyr sent the standard hailing frequency.
The response came immediately. Text scrolled across her screen in the council's common language.This is the human predator fleet.
We are responding to your distress call. Stay in your shelters. Do not approach the Krell.
We will handle this situation. Humans? Her supervisor said in disbelief. But humans don't have military ships.
They're a council member. They're peaceful. Sheltyr looked at the sensor readings again.
These ships were anything but peaceful. Far above the planet in her massive organic command ship, the Krell swarm mother received reports of the newcomers. She was ancient, over 1,700 years old.
She had consumed hundreds of worlds.She had fought dozens of species. All of them ran or died. Those were the only two options. Four ships? She had 10,000 in her swarm. The numbers were ridiculous.These humans must be fools. Or perhaps they were coming to negotiate surrender.Some species did that. They offered tribute
to be spared. It never worked.But they tried anyway.
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