Short SciFi Stories on the go

On the monitor's 15 cadets were sealed inside identical cells, reinforced walls, locked doors, minimal furniture and normal atmosphere. Three two 47 LBs, second, three eight ninety one, LBs, third, four thousand hundred and fifty six LBs. Velkack's open Chun species file. After she left, Velkack's assistant hesitated. Sir, if one human can kick through our walls, what does that say about our facility security.

But the second scan came back the same, then the third, the planet was no mistake, Earth was a nightmare, world continents torn apart and remade by tectonic shifts, where the system's powerful enough to sweep across entire landmasses, and a biosphere where every plant and animal seemed engineered to kill anything nearby. After Patricia Williams greeted the delegation at the spaceport, dressed in what she described as business casual, light clothing that provided no protection against the toxic atmosphere, Velna's team had to remain in full environmental suits, just a function, sorry about the weather, Williams said with a warm smile, unaffected by the brutal 97% humidity and 95 heat, Velna's cooling system was struggling just to keep her alive. This is actually a nice day for us, you should see it during storm season, the tour that followed shattered the Federation's beliefs about habitability, humans built homes on the edges of volcanoes and called the view beautiful, they constructed cities right on top of earthquake fault lines, then engineered buildings that bent and flexed with the ground itself, they swam in predator-filled oceans for fun, and proudly called it the beach, at one point, Williams guided them into a large building filled with equipment and personnel. Williams tilted her head, genuinely confused by the question, survive, we don't just survive, we thrive, all that pressure shaped us to adapt, when you grow up facing hurricanes and quakes, handling hostile aliens or dangerous space missions feels normal, the realization hit Velna like a punch. The galactic order, built carefully on millennia of slow, cautious expansion into gentler worlds, suddenly found itself staring at a species that looked at the galaxy's worst death worlds and saw opportunity, Dr Velna had not uncovered a mistake, she had uncovered a warning, Earth's class 13 rating was no error, it was the galaxy's first clue about the kind of species humanity really was, and by the time the galaxy understood it, it was already too late.

The Craxian Dominion's planet killer weapon had turned humanity's brightest, most prosperous colony into a sea of molten rock. Admiral James Corian stared at the replay again and again his jaw locked so tight it hurt. Warlord Threxus of the Craxian Dominions stood proudly on the bridge of his flagship, watching the replay of New Haven's destruction. The screen flickered to life and admiral Corian's face appeared. Warlord Threxus, Corian said calmly, I want you to understand something.

The Craxian Dominion's planet killer weapon had turned humanity's brightest, most prosperous colony into a sea of molten rock. Admiral James Corian stared at the replay again and again his jaw locked so tight it hurt. Warlord Threxus of the Craxian Dominions stood proudly on the bridge of his flagship, watching the replay of New Haven's destruction. The screen flickered to life and admiral Corian's face appeared. Warlord Threxus, Corian said calmly, I want you to understand something.

Just before the fleet activated the gate and alert flashed across their systems, a transmission, encrypted ancient origin, earth. The humans didn't speak, they didn't send warnings. Tor through three crin destroyers before their sensors even registered the impact. Not because they couldn't, but because they didn't need to. Even the council of world, the same council that had once exiled them, reinstated Earth's sovereignty.

Ah, said Ambassador Maria Santos, the human representative, eyeing it carefully. Lieutenant Shen, Maria's security chief scanned the dish in frowned. It's food, Maria said, uncertainly. For Corinthians, yes, Felcax replied apologetically, but for most species, it's less than ideal. It's fine, Maria said calmly.

To them a human would be easy to scare, but Emily didn't slow down. She reached the door, looked directly at the lead juvenile, a male named Thrac, and said two simple words. His companions froze, within seconds all of them stepped aside, perfectly in sync, like soldiers obeying in order from a superior officer. The Kreftock stood at attention until she was gone, then confused they looked at each other. Like my instincts knew something before my mind did.

To them a human would be easy to scare, but Emily didn't slow down. She reached the door, looked directly at the lead juvenile, a male named Thrac, and said two simple words. His companions froze, within seconds all of them stepped aside, perfectly in sync, like soldiers obeying in order from a superior officer. The Kreftock stood at attention until she was gone, then confused they looked at each other. Like my instincts knew something before my mind did.

The colony of New Haven was dying, and first administrator Joreth knew there was no one left who could save them. The distress beacon had been transmitting for six long days, six days of silence while the ravager fleet tightened its blockade around the remote mining outpost. Joreth looked out through the Command Center's viewport at the enemy ships circling the planet like vultures. Later when the shock began to fade and the reality of their survival settled in, Joreth stood by the viewport, watching the retribution patrol the system. High above New Haven, the human warship held its silent guard, and for the first time in many nights, 12,000 souls slept in peace.

Fleet Commander Zorak stood on the grand observation deck of the Dominion's flagship, the Eternal Glory. Almost Zorak's replied, dragging his claws across the control console. Zorak's let out a sound like grinding stone, his version of a laugh. Zorak's narrowed his eyes. Zorak's clicked his mandibles in amusement.