The Hauk looked to the
stars and wondered. They knew they were
not alone, the only race in all of infinity to think and feel, to be aware of
what it means to be alive. They felt
this in their hearts, and the telepaths, mostly hatchlings and hens, could
sense that it was so, with great certainty in fact. But all feelings aside, they also knew it as
a fact. For in their ancient past, they
had indeed not
been alone – two sentient races had evolved on Pandion at the
same time, but now only one, the Hauk, survived.
The Hauk were slower
to reach sentience, and when they did the Krall were already sailing great
ships upon the three seas, scrabbling across the decks, their black carapaces
glistening with the salt water spray.
Anchoring themselves to the galley roof hang-racks using their spiky
tails, the Oar-Kralls swung upside down and rowed, four oars to each Krall, as
they chirped out songs in time, songs about seafaring ancestors, their antennae
waving in unison as they sang together. Crowning
the head of each Krall were seven lidless round eyes, arranged in a circle, and
each of these peered out anxiously across the endless grey sea, searching for
land. And find land they did, having
settled two other continents and numerous islands beyond their own.
Hauk rifle infantry
On one fateful morning,
when a boatload of Krall found land, they found the Hauk too -- savage feathered
creatures, utterly unlike the Krall, running swiftly on a single pair (a single pair?) of hindlegs across the
plains between the great coniferoid forests, hunting with a primitive missile
weapon resembling a sling. Stranger
creatures than these no Krall journal had never recorded, and for their part
the Hauk were terrified by the black monstrosities that swarmed like so many
great scorpions up and out of the tall ships anchored to the shore.
This Hauk grav APC has only one chin rotary gun mounted but many mount two, or a pair of seeker missiles
After many false
starts the Hauk and the Krall established rudimentary communications and then an
accord, and the Krall set about teaching the ways of civilisation to their new
charges. And this was their undoing, for
within four generations the Hauk had utterly destroyed the Krall and
extinguished all evidence that the black arachnoids had ever built cities or sung
songs together as they sailed the grey seas.
Hauk cities (built above the ground this time) and Hauk fleets replaced
these. Hunted without mercy, not a
single Krall survived, although there were rumours – just old hen’s tales
really -- that in the deserts, hidden in caves, individual Krall endured, and
stole the souls of unwary Hauk in vengeance for what had been done to their
world.
Hauk Armoured Fighting Suits are piloted by veterans and can carry a variety of weapons
For millennia this
story was passed down as an inspirational myth amongst the Hauk: The cleansing
of the world of the black abominations that streamed out of crevices, clicking. But as Hauk civilisation matured and
weathered war after war between their great nation states, they came to
understand themselves better for what they truly were. Hand in hand with this growing awareness came
scientific research and analysis of the tiny fragments of Krall culture which
remained. Jaded Hauk society began to actually
mourn the ugly, beautiful creatures they had shared this world with so briefly,
so long ago. There was a Krall craze in Hauk culture. Romantic female Hauk took Krall names when
they reached maturity, to the exasperation of their parents. “Krall Epics,” animated drama vids set during
great moments in Krall history, were produced and became hugely successful,
being watched by millions of Hauk, even across opposing nation states.
To a bird, each Hauk
yearned for another chance. They wanted
to meet a new civilisation and join it, partners in the stars. And surely this was close at hand? Hauk hatchlings often had the gift of
foresight, and they were sensing a contact, a joining of sentience with
sentience, and sometime soon. As these
stories spread out across the great nation states of Pandion, a thrill rippled
through Hauk society, and they looked up to the stars and hoped. Hauk frigates, now capable only of travel
within their solar system (Pandion was the fourth planet from their star), sent
out hailing messages on many frequencies.
Probes were launched radiating a greeting. Many felt it was only a matter of time now. Finally they could atone.
* * *
The Meso-Nai
battlecruiser now entered the solar system, shadowed by its light cruiser
escort. The two great intergalactic
travelers crept through the blackness with a purpose, headed for the fourth
planet from the star. While this was
just one of the infinite number of star systems willed unto them by great god
Urodela, this fourth planet represented a special threat to the Meso-Nai way of
life. For against all logic and in an
open challenge to Urodela’s infallible word, the planet was showing signs of a
self-aware civilisation.
Reach Force unit leader risks removal of his helmet to peer about as the team heavy gunner covers him
Naturally, seen purely
objectively, this was preposterous. Even
a half-educated Salamandroid was aware of this.
Urodela had shown the Meso-Nai long ago that dominion of the universe
was theirs and theirs alone. But there was something real about these signs,
these false echos of civilisation – as the Meso-Nai priests knew, they were a real
manifestation of Meso-Nai faithlessness, of doubt in the God who had so
generously granted all to them and them alone.
These perceptions of other cultures were a sin, a crime against God, and
needed to be purged with an iron will and ceaseless devotion. Confronting these delusions, wiping them from
the minds of the faithful, was the only way to fortify the soul and make amends
to Urodela for this grave lack of gratitude.
This required violent exertion.
Meso-Nai Reach Force Braves, ready to banish impure thoughts with the application of a great deal of firepower
Such had been the
pronouncement of the priesthood which stood at the summit of Meso-Nai society,
and the Reach Force, the Meso-Nai interstellar colonial force, made it so. Using one tactic or another, the Reach Force
would forever banish all delusion from these planets. Yes, violence was indeed the key, for, as
they had found, only cataclysmic destruction silenced all doubts as to the
exclusivity of Meso-Nai sentience in the universe. Such was the faithlessness of the Meso-Nai, a
heresy within their hearts which they were keen to overcome.
Meso-Nai Armoured Fighting Vehicles are like mobile fortresses (painted by dwartist)
One common method was
to induce the explosion of the star at the center of the problematic solar
system. If Meso-Nai self doubt did not
permit this method – self-doubt which often manifested itself as an imaginary
fleet of “enemy ships” preventing the painstaking process of nova induction --
then the Reach Force would regroup, acknowledging, with great shame, that
heresy was embedded deep within their own hearts. This demanded that the planet, from which
such impure thoughts radiated, must be invaded, occupied, and scrubbed clean,
purified. It was a terrible process, but
it had been done before and would be done again. The lives of many Reach Force braves were
often spent along the way; Reach Force veterans knew well that doubt might be a
mental failing but it could, and did, physically kill. But at least once it was all over, and the
doubts that inexplicably emanated from the planet’s surface were forever
silenced, the surviving braves felt their faith invigorated.
The captain of the
battlecruiser swam up to the upper bridge, surfacing from his immersion pond,
and evaluated the readings coming from the fourth planet. What a cacophony. He was filled with shame,
but also determination to be a better Meso-Nai.
There would be a great test of faith here, but the Reach Force was
ready.
* * *
Hauk infantry with Newtcracker Cannon, developed to penetrate the heavy armour worn by all Meso-Nai Reach Force Braves
We have already
released models representing the extreme xenophobes of the Meso-Nai Reach Force, and
the first codes of their greatest enemy, the Hauk, will be released soon. As can be seen from the above image, the Hauk
quickly learned to defend themselves, adopting weapons to fight back against
the Meso-Nai campaign of extermination, but could they reach out to the
Federation to avoid the fate looming over them?
Stay tuned for details.
