Rise of the Star Ch. 02

James had to admit that watching a civilization grow into a space empire was very different from playing a 4X game. But it was also rather similar. You just had the various lives and adventures of people to spice things up here and there, with the BIG events being stuff for the news and history books. And still, it all started with someone doing something, often not as a direct decision of the higher-ups. And some things did occur only because of the combined efforts of the nation, those few actors propelled by the vast resources behind them.

It was the year 938 After Arrival, and a series of quite important events started as the science ship Deliverance came in the tracks of the Genesis, further probing at anomalies that the other vessel noticed but could not dedicate time to. This ship was led by a stern, but friendly man with a knack for piecing things together, a man called Allistair, and the science vessel had only slightly improved capabilities brought on by the new technological innovations, improvements that the Genesis did not have when it stumbled into this system.

The Genesis actually found three habitable worlds so far, and was just about to discover a fourth. This one was not a pleasant prospect, as its increased mineral content also gave it a much stronger gravity, the kind that a human walking on the surface of the planet of Ebucrosie II would feel as if they wore uranium plate of impressive thickness, gravity that would snap femurs and crush ribcages under their own weight if people dared to go down there. There was a noted imbalance in the mineral distribution and fauna, which might suggest a previous alien presence.

As such, the Deliverance would begin to thoroughly scan the planet with a much more precise mindset, trying to see what caused that. The answer would come by accident, when one of the scientists looked upon their screens, receiving footage from a probe sent down to the planet.

They were wrong about "previous".

*

"Is that a door?"

Matthews was mildly impressed at the structure glimpsed inside one of the bigger caves of this planet. Building on this thing must be a miracle of engineering. But, the planet had mountains, so gravity was not so all-powerful.

The survey room was a tight place, with barely any room between the consoles and servers, chief scientist Allistair Wilks surveying the room and the combined view from ten such probes, all under the control of a different technician. His eye spotted something MUCH more important.

"Adjust tilt down 36 degrees and pan left 15 degrees. And zoom to 1.7 magnification." The man commanded with a sure voice. Stern, but everyone knew him as reasonable.

What this was supposed to do was point the drone to a mark that one might almost ignore, a depression in some loose soil inside the cave. One might confuse it for a rock, or a strange coloration in these conditions, but focus showed them something else.

"Dear Outsider..." Matthews said the words as he understood what was there.

A footprint. That was a very well-defined and undeniably recent footprint. This was no fossil or random shape, but one could tell the firm shape of it, a wide and short footprint. Some scientists got excited for less.

"Indeed. I think we might have found a sign of life. Intelligent life."

It was easy to put together. The structure ahead seemed to be in good shape, though the stone construction might promise a long life, but that mark was at worst some fifty years in age, at best it might have no more than an hour.

"How did we not notice?"

"Judging by the harsh planetary conditions..." Oh, right... the planet also had some storms that could peel your skin off. "... the residents obviously developed a preference for underground life, as the combined factors made construction of settlements a difficult task, and possibly a fruitless one. So they must reside in such well-hidden places not out of a desire to hide from us, but from the elements. They have few reasons to go out, so we have not been lucky to catch these rare occasions. But they could only evade us for so long."

The other people in the room had to agree that the boss's summation made sense. After all, the aliens were not trying to hide from them, and they SHOULD have thought that such conditions might make the idea of construction terrible. This was another reason why this planet was discarded as something to colonize. That place could grind cities to dust. But here come the locals to show them how you do it... their mountains were made of much tougher substance to be able to STAY mountains with this gravity... yes, mountains are affected by gravity... and thus they took to the underground, possibly at first in natural caverns, then in artificial ones.

"Reminds me of stories about the first colony. How James told them to make a mountain base... totally impenetrable, and not just because of enemies, but it kept you safe from the weather."

"Yes, well... I doubt they did so because I asked."

All faces in the room turned to the figure that silently materialized there, a man in a burgundy coat who stood and looked toward the screens, unabashed at his presence in the room. If there was anyone who might make such a surprise visit to a vessel light-years from any other human grouping... it would be the Outsider. James leaned back on a server as he didn't feel like leaving yet. Matthews noticed that in his telling... he used the name rather than the title, and the name was something that always got James's attention... why nobody named children after him. Even if they did not see this as impossible, having the man here felt like an event.

"I can assure you that his intent was not to call."

"And I could tell that as well, but... ya know... decided to. So, you guys want some coffee?"

Said as a blue, flower-patterned mug appeared in his hand, steam rising from it before the deity took a sip. Casual as can be. They took that offer, trying to return to what they were doing with some semblance of focus. It was not like James was going to execute a guy even if he accidentally made a console explode, but having him there was something.

"Right. So, time to poke around in those mountain homes. I assume that any usage of fire would also need something akin to a chimney, so let's look for any sources of it."

In retrospect, they should have taken any smoke emanating from mountain shafts as such, but it could just as easily be from recently-disturbed geology unveiling some gas pockets or volcanic activity. With an estimate in mind on the location of this underground settlement, the drone would zip upwards to find several holes emanating wood smoke, compacting to fit through, its aerial agility suffering while small wheels could now move it along the shaft.

With bated breaths, the scientists directed the remote-controlled drone from the orbit of this world, the connection laggy, but stable. The drone descended down the shaft and found itself at a junction of several such chimneys, following one of the bigger ones down to not risk crushing. Already it was tight in there. When it emerged, if it had been sentient, the drone might have stretched out and enjoyed the liberty of space.

The crew did expect to find civilization, but seeing it was another thing. The footage showed a wide room, with the ceiling remarkably low and support pillars being thoroughly prevalent. The room they were in seemed to serve as both kitchen and eatery, with low tables set around the stone stove to assist in the process of cooking, and other tables in the room intended for those dining. It was mercifully empty at the moment, or else any local might spot the drone. They were trying to keep a low profile.

"This is just fascinating." Matthews thought this might be the most important time of his life.

"And refreshing to see that aliens are still in need of the kind of facilities we employ."

With its manipulators, the drone would pull the bigger door out of this room open, that door leading to a hallway. This was where they had to practice stealth, and it was hard to do so since the drone was remarkably big for the space. The ceiling of the hallway was barely 2 meters up, smooth stone pillars marking equal and methodical distances showing a civilization that did not just master construction, but architecture. The drone ducked back into the room at the sound of footsteps on the stone floor, Allistair trying to judge when that figure might have passed and it was clear. So far, so good.

The reason they were trying to not even hint at their incursion was because you get much better results if the subjects don't know they are being watched. If the drone was spotted, they might do something unusual, and such they might be judged on this. Unfortunately, they have not managed perfect optical camouflage and neither was James giving it to them. This was their challenge. The god watched it all go.

A careful peek around the corner would give them the first glimpse of this species. They were short, with this particular subject showing no more than a meter in height, with green skin and thick limbs, but a remarkably humanoid shape, complete with hands and feet that were just one digit short of equalling theirs. This one was a female, and her long, black hair went down to her ass... which was also very similar to theirs. How could they tell? Because this figure was practically naked, with just sandals and a belt on her, pouches hanging from that belt, and the entirety of her form there to be seen.

"Congrats, you have found the space goblins." James said those words as if he had been struggling to keep them inside for a while. "Or space Dwarves? Since they do underground stuff. A bit of each, I guess."

"We are not calling them Space Goblins. Until we have some local identifier, we will call them the locals of Ebucrosie 2." That star name was a mouthful. "Let's try to get more."

It was a risk, but the operators sent the drone forward, moving slowly and low to the ground, trying to hide behind the columns as much as possible, anticipating movement. Several other locals passed through the hallway, deft movements holding the drone out of their notice. They got another marvelous sight that came as a momentary glimpse of their front section.

"Okay, now... those are some tits. Those are very, very clearly mammaries." Matthews commented on the sight.

The figure had very little hair on its body, and this one was also female. Her bare chest showed two breasts the size of footballs, which for her small size looked utterly ridiculous. Her face was so similar to humans, bearing a shorter nose, a similar mouth, eyes.... Though the head was far more rounded and short. They could start drawing some conclusions.

"High gravity has turned them to grow shorter and stockier to endure it... and they must be VERY strong, since they walk around like it's nothing. Used to it. Their skin must be a lot thicker, with no need for hair, the one on their head some remnant of protection. And they seem rather communal and... casual about their nudity. Hm. And I have yet to see any males. Do they keep them separate? Why they can be so casual?"

By now they have followed the little space goblins for a while, seeing further evidence of them not only having the ability to build an elaborate mountain base, but also evidence of CULTURE. They had wall carvings and paintings, flower pots and decorative embellishments, their bodies showed beautifying elements like jewelry and body paint, and there was a small hint of organization. They were a proper civilization.

What would make for a remarkable sight... and audial joy... was when the drone managed to sneak up all the way to a location where these short stacks were hard at work mining... and three others were performing something akin to a work song, one that was both catchy and pleasant despite the astorians having no idea of their language at this point. A video to catch as much sensation as it could.

They have found the Gull.

*

First contact with an alien species is a big thing, especially the first first contact. The knowledge that they were not alone, the reassurance that these aliens were doing things that they also were doing, to the point where one might even imagine them living among them. This did not mean that they were about to contact the Gull and invite them to join the empire. But it did prompt a first consideration of how they should interact with these alien species, both pre-spaceflight and the ones that might theoretically have achieved such a level.

It was rare for the overseer, the big guy in charge of everything, to ask James for an opinion, but this time the reason was not just because there was no clear consensus, but because the man at the time, an aging gentleman called Lance, wanted to know what the Outsider had to say about aliens. He knew what he felt about their people, but what about the others?

Astorians were told and practiced a doctrine of no mercy to their enemies. This meant that any on the planet would not turn the other cheek to some hostile action. The animals on their planet had three choices of how they would interact with humans... they could be docile, though still heavily respected and not abused, they could be fearful and run for their literal lives from the guys that murder you dead if you so much as fuck with one of them... or they could be dead. While there were some "animal rights" groups, they had such a small reach that they accepted the idea of nobody even caring for their message. Stray dogs that got a bit too conceited and started attacking people were not rounded up by dogcatchers, they were shot in the street by a community, with particularly numerous packs inciting a full effort. Seagulls that might steal food with no care for their owners were shot out of the sky like it was a sport.

Horror movies were not popular in the empire... as they might have one of two reactions. The first reaction was to take the movie as a prompt that this threat needed to be removed, with an example of a movie where a woman was harassed, stalked, and worse by a corrupt security officer resulting in a tenfold increase in security officer deaths from misconduct. The other option, if it was some supernatural entity beyond the scope of humankind to deal with in any way, was to believe that the Outsider would kill such things dead. He took care of challenges they could not face, and there came an almost determined request to show how the god would come and end the thing at the finish of a movie. Horror was not popular in the empire.

But, this was not quite an enemy, nor a friend. Lance was curious about what James had to say, inviting him to appear during a meeting with the highest community, with the representatives of the planets and various organized fields, or those responsible for bigger issues. None there anticipated the spirited speech this man had.

It is almost obligatory to mention that James was no xenophobe. He grew up in an area where several cultures mixed together, he had gone to school with people of radically different beliefs, he was woken up during many mornings by the distant prayers broadcasted from a minaret and accidentally fed a muslim schoolmate some pork sausages. But these cultures, in the area where he lived, got along swimmingly, they were the kind to have learned how to work together, even the group known for doing most of the crimes. But James had also lived in a time when a sentiment was forced on others, a demand that those of greater success and tolerance feed and house those coming from less successful places of the world, a demand that these people ignore their crimes and LET these strangers destroy them. He lived in a time when war had changed and refugees were used to destroy countries. His speech might make a particular other xenophobe look like death had not contained them.

"We are in a competition. Even if it does not look like it, even if we do not act like it. These other species will do the most reasonable and understandable thing... they want what's best for their communities. We are not in those communities. For them, we are the other, we are the Chaos outside their control, we are the thing they can use to improve their lot in life. There will be no ally that comes to give us exclusive benefits, there will be no fair trade offered or accepted without leverage. Everyone out there wants to use us, to reduce our lot if only so they look better. Our best friend would be one that minds their own business while we mind ours."

James had never served in such positions to know the fine wheels of politics, and the empire was bereft of them since the community system made traditional politics more or less impossible. The only ones they could engage with in such exchanges were outside forces, and they had yet to do so. And thus, the man was mostly speaking from his experience in 4X games. The computer would NEVER give him anything for free, would demand things for free and get upset if they were not granted the request, and they would never accept a trade deal that was equivalent in value, to also say that they would never give some things even if they requested them shamelessly. He did not have the best image. But politics were no different.

"So, our policy should be to mind our own business and leave the aliens be. Study them, maybe... have the occasional, trivial communication. But we should not bank our success on any interaction with them. At any time, such a cooperation might end and we might be worse off, at any time they might find maintaining such an agreement as leverage to push us into other actions, as we might also be able to do that. Leave the outside well enough alone and focus on ourselves. Be ready to defend ourselves from any sort as no doubt these aliens will resort to war when they can't get their way through peace. Because they don't want our goodwill. Few would, and those would quickly change their tune after having others abuse it."

He was proposing a policy of isolationism. A strategy to just ignore the rest of the galaxy and mind your own garden. To ignore any demands that they need to cater to those who would not return the service, to fight back with force against any attempt to intimidate them. It was the strategy that James found most effective in his games. The Gull would not qualify for most of that speech, but his stance would be to leave them well enough alone, study them if they wanted to, but not uplift, not conquer, nor even save them from their challenges, even if those challenges might overcome them.

This was a time for a schism to form in the religion of True Family, if not such a great one. The single difference was in who the outsider was a god of. The first, the traditionalists, would believe that James was here for them and them alone, possibly because other species would not appreciate his help. The second argued that he should be there for everyone, even the aliens. That the outsider was who he was because he gave everyone the same things. It was a very small schism, and it lasted little time... as James could say openly that he was there only for the empire and none other. He could be fair to those outside his designated empire, giving no extra advantages so that they came on top... other than his advice. But he was not wasting his time on the others. Doing so might make him enraged when these people would continue to go against what he thought was the proper path in life... and he wanted to let the aliens have their way with their kind, however fucked-up it might be.

But, regarding the Gull... James fully approved of them setting up an observation station, and thus the required mechanisms would spring into action. Another outpost set up in their system, and the moon of their planet, specifically its dark side, would make for an excellent place to watch them from. Eager scientists and support staff got recruited and sent forth in this place away from home, to watch a species that many others were excited about.