Y:10 D:4

  Argos

  The satellite that was sent to scan the second planet of the solar system had

  returned its data and was currently arriving at the first planet. Solis-B had a tragic

  past, just as much as Gaia. The planet was littered with ancient cities but with no sign

  of technological civilization. It was expected that primitive remnants of the same

  species would be found there as well.

  In the meantime, the Orcs had made their first contact. They were witnesses to the

  battle that was nearly fought between the Goblins and the humans.

  Habo, the leader of a large settlement, visited Argos to contact Alex.

  Although they did not meet that day, Habo and his party of four were

  asked to help humans learn their language. They spoke some Goblin, which helped

  speed the process, and soon their language was ready to be used. Habo was asked

  to join Alex for a meeting on the outskirts of Argos, in the same tent where he met

  Ags.

  Entering the tent, Habo was visibly worried.

  “Why do you look worried?” asked Alex in Orcish. “There is no danger for you

  here.”

  “This is Goblin land,” answered Habo “I would be a fool to not worry.”

  “Sit, Habo. Let’s learn about each other. You approached me first, so there

  must be something on your mind.”

  “I want to know who you are. Whom do you stand with?”

  “We are visitors from the stars. You knew that. We are not standing with

  anyone. I told the same to Ags. We will not fight anyone, unless it is to protect

  ourselves.”

  “Then why has Ags let you stay on his land?”

  “That I do not know yet. I also wondered.”

  “It seems that your wisdom does not match your technology.”

  “That remains to be seen, Habo. Tell me. What do you know of your history?”

  Back when those cities were built.”

  “Our history is as old as the stars. Most of it forgotten over the eons. This is

  not the time to speak of history, however.”

  “What is it you want to speak about, Habo?”

  “War. What else? You stand on Goblin land alive, and you wonder? Goblins

  are not easy to defeat or to reason with. You must have agreed something with

  them.”

  “I have agreed nothing. They seemed to be reasonable to us. Why do you

  fight them?”

  “Why fight them? Are you a child? Because they are Goblins. Because we are

  Orc. If you have not agreed with them over anything, then you will soon meet their

  axes.”

  “Why are you so sure they will attack us?”

  “If they don’t, then you are even more dangerous to us.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Alex, confused. “Why is it there is no way for us to

  speak outside of the premise of war?”

  “Because Goblins want to conquer. More than anyone else. And now they

  found the way through you. They will use you one way or another.”

  “You are underestimating us, Habo. We came from the stars. We have

  technology. You can’t force our hand to do anything we don’t want to do.”

  “It is time for me to leave. I don’t find the way to trust in your words. Perhaps

  in the future, Alex of the humans.”

  Y:10 D:59

  Argos

  The situation in the city was growing strange. It felt like there was constant

  preparation for war. Many weapons were made, and defensive structures were taking

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  up increasingly more space. The once-beautiful plan for a green city now looked like

  something of the distant past. Every excursion out of the city was accompanied by

  drones that scanned the area around and warned of possible hostility. Alex and his

  team understood that there could be things at play yet to be revealed. Drones flying

  high were taking turns monitoring the neighboring cities of the Orcs and the Goblins

  alike. The Orcs were gathering a large number of people over the days. Anais was

  reporting movement over at the Goblin side too. The Goblins and the Orcs were

  preparing for war, just as Argos was. Most of the humans had not come face to face

  with the Orcs, and even more so, had never felt the fear of another creature hurting

  them. The nanobots in the body could make everyone superhuman, so there was a

  very strong sense of security. Alex and Bara, however, know that this was not trust

  well placed. Orcs were a lot bigger than Goblins, bigger than humans. If their bodies

  were filled with the same war technology as the Goblins, it would mean that they

  were impossible to fight against in close combat. Open war would be an easy win for

  humans, but it was never open war that Alex and Bara were afraid of.

  Alex and his team were making plans and scare tactics in order to avoid any

  upcoming battle again. All plans finished at the same line—the showdown with the

  Cerberus landing and a last stand at the walls of the city. Alex insisted that defense

  would send the right message in any situation. Resources had been gathered for

  long periods of time, and within a couple of days, the Eagle had been armed to act as

  aerial support if needed. It did not become an efficient combat machine but enough

  to fight off a wave of Orcs or Goblins.

  “We came to start something new here, and now our city looks like a fortress,”

  said Alex to Jain while preparing for sleep.

  “We are adapting to the challenges we meet,” answered Jain.

  “Sometimes I want to go tell them not to prepare for battle, but I am doing the

  same. It will only sound stupid,” said Alex sadly.

  “They might be gathering armies only as a means of defense, just like we do.”

  “I asked Dimitri for his insight. He explained to me that the situation for them

  is far more complex.”

  “In what sense?” asked Jain.

  “They don’t have a government. They have leaders of cities like humans did

  in our ancient past.”

  “Yes, I was aware of that. What does that mean, though?”

  “It means that the ones who are gathering are soldiers are expecting

  something in return. They need food and goods, and Habo will not be able to keep

  them for too long. That means he is gathering them for an attack.”

  “You think they might work with the Goblins to attack us together?”

  “No. We’ve observed the Goblins for a while now. They are surely much

  better organized than the Orcs and far smarter than we thought them to be.”

  “If they come alone, then they stand no chance, do they?” asked Jain

  worriedly.

  “No, they stand no chance, even if they come together. It’s not the coming

  battle that scares me. It’s the possibility of an ongoing war for generations, which

  they are used to. We don’t have rich veins of every material here, and eventually we

  will run out of supplies. We can’t be in constant war with this planet’s inhabitants.”

  “I see your worries. It’s time to put them to rest, and tomorrow we will think of

  solutions for everything.”

  “Good night, Jain.”

  “Good night, my love.”

  Early the next morning, Bara alerted Alex to wake up. “They began to move,” he said.

  “Who?” asked Alex. “Goblins or Orcs?”

  “Orcs. Habo is coming with his army.”

  “I am coming. Prepare the meeting, please.”

  Twenty minutes later, the leaders were all gathered to discuss, and the gates

  of Argos were closed. None was left outside.

  “We have visual from the army,” stated Bara, “and it seems they have tamed

  some animals that they are carrying with them.”

  “Oh my,” said Dimitri. “Those look like Manticores. We have not seen those

  around here. they must have brought them from another location on Gaia.”

  “That’s a lion-looking thing. What did you call them?” asked Jain.

  “Manticores. Yet another mythological creature manifested in front of us. I

  guess this will be a discussion for another time.”

  “How much time do we have?” asked Alex.

  “They will be at the spot we have set the show in less than two days,” replied

  Bara.

  “I need to address everyone. Let’s gather everyone at the agora. In the

  meantime, Bara, finalize the last details of our plan, and let’s make sure we will not

  let this battle happen. “

  Alex notified through the communicators for everyone to gather at the agora.

  “Hello, everyone,” he started “We are currently being approached by a large

  army of about fifteen thousand Orcs. Once again, we are called to stop the

  bloodshed with tricks and scare tactics. We cannot be sure they will work, however,

  so we need to prepare for the worst. If they reach our city, you will need to mount the

  walls and act as you have been trained. There will be no heroics, and if anything

  goes wrong with your weapon or if the enemy climbs the wall near you, use the hatch

  and get to safety. I repeat, no heroics!” He took a deep breath and allowed a couple

  of seconds for this to sink in, then he continued. “Fifteen thousand Orcs is a strong

  army, but it stands no chance against our weapons. That does not mean that we will

  not have a Cerberus ready to land in case we need it. That also does not mean that

  the plan is perfect. It will all depend on you. If you can’t fire straight and if you can’t

  keep our enemy away, they will overtake us. This is nothing to be taken lightly.”

  Alex saw in the eyes of his people something scary. He saw no emotion. Near

  apathy. Something he had not seen since he was on apostasis-infested Earth. After

  his speech was over, he called for Jain, Bara, and Juuda.

  “I don’t think they understand,” he said.

  “I too think that we are at higher risk than they think,” said Bara. “If the scare

  tactics fail, then these people are not going to hold well. Thirty soldiers cannot fire

  fast enough against a perimeter-wide attack. We will be in peril.”

  “Then let’s make sure the scare tactics don’t fail,” said Juuda.

  “He is right,” added Alex. “We are not ready for war. We need to make sure

  they will stop and not reach our city.”