The Ohm, Delta Quadrant

Clyde

The battlefield was pockmarked with various holes and steaming debris. Body parts lay steaming and seeping fluids onto the once beautiful field. It was torn asunder now. With burned grasses and stained soil. It would never be the same. Sure, perhaps, decades from now the ground would reset and grass would grow here again and hide the evidence of the horrors it had once seen. But, in Clyde’s lifetime, that would not be the case. War was never beautiful.

He used the binos in his hand with a telescoping lens that allowed him to see up over the trench where he had hunkered down with three of his Brothers. The Bugs were on the move. Peace had failed. It had failed before it had truly began. The Bugs were vicious and nasty. They had once seemed peaceful and easy going. That was before their goals became the same. The metal known as the Gorg. It was an extremely strong metallic alloy that the Bugs had discovered deep in the mines of their mountain. They wall wanted some and the Bugs were not up to sharing. In fact, they only got territorial and started murdering anyone that came close to their mountain territory.

The Ohm were much more advanced than the Bugs. They had built cities on the surface of the planet. Technology came along slowly every day but remarkable advancements were made from time to time. Now with the discovery of Gorg they would finally be able to do what they had been trying to do.. and failing for years.

Go to the stars.

His kind, the Ohm, wished to be among the stars. The stars had been worshipped since the beginning of time. It was said the Queen was born of the stars and given to them in their own form. It was said that the night a woman was born unto the Ohm; if a star fell across the sky she was Queen. And so, it had been for centuries. His own sister was currently the Queen in training. She was younger than him, but one day she would be the most important person to their entire race.

The Bugs were on the move again.

[Take them out, go now.] The voice in his ear piece stated. He lifted his hand and raised one of his five long slender fingers. Whirling it in a circular motion the three men were poised to strike. He shot his finger forward and the three of them burst over the embankment and into the fray of battle. The Bugs were odd. It seemed that no matter how many they killed there were always more but they would whittle them down. Their armor stopped most of the Bugs weaponry but some of them had gotten their hands on a few of the Ohm weapons and had figured out how to use them with their odd pincer hands.

Shots were fired. The gun recoiled against his shoulder as the bugs fell. Armor piercing rounds ate through the Bug’s exoskeleton. At first, that had been a challenge. Their exoskeletons were tough and not just anything could go through them. But, it hadn’t taken long for their research and development teams to figure things out.

Shots came from the other side. Clyde ducked down behind a heavy bush and tried to lay suppressive fire down on the Bugs so his Brothers could get to the enemy camp. Their goal was to get into the camp and if they couldn’t take it over, they could wipe it out. After they stole the Gorg that was stored there. Today was important, the Queen wanted success and she would have it.

“Jex. Robor. Go. Get in the trench.”

[Got it.]

He watched his men move as he continued to rain suppressive fire down. Hoping that the men could get the guards down and they could infiltrate the camp smoothly.

“Corgo, location?” he called into his mouth piece.

[We’re circling the camp and working our way through the forest to the back.]

“ETA?”

[Probably about five.]

“Speed it up! I’m not sure we have five.” He said quickly.

[Got it.]

Una

Queen Apparent Una stood on the balcony of her high castle. The Queen was always stationed in the highest building. Closer to the stars. Closer to the true beginning of themselves. She lived with the True Queen. The massive building was sprawling with beauty and opulence. But, this was only a temporary home. They would one day walk among the stars. Up there were they were chosen. Up there were the mysteries of how their world came to be would be waiting them.

She could see the lights of the battle. The lights from the muzzles of the gun lighting up the night sky as she stood there. Clyde is out there. This is for the best. He is the best of the Brothers. They will get the Gorg and we can get ourselves elevated.

Una knew that the Brothers were strong. They were the most elite team of the Queen’s army. The Brothers had once numbered exactly nine, an extremely lucky number to them. Now it was only six. Two teams of three. She wasn’t sure which one her brother was but knowing him he was likely right in the midst of the biggest fight out there.

The beauty of Star City lay out around her. The moving and breathing beauty that she would one day reign over. Their kind were advanced. They were highly mindful of the environment. The stars could not be seen clearly when pollution populated the air. They walked to the places that needed to be. People worked and shopped close to home. The city was small but it had all the things one needed. A beautiful crystal clear lake shimmered, water lapping at the shores of large buildings that went upward instead of outward. They tried desperately to conserve the planet and reach the stars by any means necessary.

This is why we need the ship. We need the Star Metal to get to the stars. We cannot reach them through our buildings or prayer. We must reach the stars so that we can truly ascend.

She refused to call it Gorg. A name the Morfids had come up with. It was the Queen’s army that had begun to first call them the Bugs because of their odd nature that was much like some annoying bugs that often were found trying to carry off food.

The Morfids had large long tentacles on the tops of their heads just over their four eyes all set in a cluster. They had a strange nasal cavity that they used to communicate through snorts and clicks of their mouths. The Ohm had learned there was a plate in the back of their throat that vibrated when air passed through which was where most of their communication came from. There were three bulbs that made up their body. The head, thorax, and abdomen. Two sets of arms on the thorax were odd and different. A set of pincer hands on the top, a pin and hammer like hands on the middle. It was as if they were created just for mining the Star Metal. Lastly, their abdomen held two thick legs and large feet for their long hours standing and getting as much work done as possible.

The only thing they had in common was the fact that they were both ruled by Queens. The Hive of the Morfids was ruled by a single woman called the Queen. Just like the Ohm, women were revered in the Morfid way of life.

Tonight is the night. I can feel it. The stars are with us. We will get the Star Metal and we will build the ship that will take us to the stars. I am the first Queen that will see the stars and we will merge and be one with them. We will become great.

Clyde

Clyde stood over the Bug that lay squirming and wounded underneath his boots. One foot pinned each of his second arms down. He couldn’t have the Bug stabbing him with his long pointed appendage. He didn’t need any complications. The Bugs fought til they weren’t breathing anymore, something he found almost admirable. Yet, he didn’t care enough to save this ones life.

“Where is the Gorg?”

The Bug looked at him with his four oval eyes and chattered from the back of it’s throat. The translator in his ear sparked to life after a brief moment of static. It was a new device and far from perfect but it was better than learning the language they would never be able to repeat. “You won’t be able to use it.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion on it’s uses. I asked where it’s located.”

The Bug shook it’s oddly shaped head. The antennae shaking back and forth weakly against the ground. “You don’t have the knowledge.”

“We’re smart. We’ll figure it out. You won’t live by trying to make yourself important.”

The Bug shook. I swear it’s laughing at me. I don’t appreciate the laughter. Bye bye, bug faced bastard. Clyde quickly lowered his weapon and pressed it against the joined eye sockets of the Bug. It froze, and a grin crossed his face as he pulled the trigger. Bug goo flew up and stained his clothes and armor. Their blood was thick and an opaque color. Clyde sighed. He stepped over the dead Bug, his boot crunching in the head at the shot site as he passed by and headed up the revene.

“Search the buildings. Kill who stands in your way. Get the Gorg. It’s time to go home.” He said in a calm voice. The two men on his team snapped into a salute and took off. “Corgo, location, status.” He said into his mouth piece.

[In the camp. Seventeen Bugs down so far. Concentrated on the far back building, half underground.]

“Enter, we’re right behind. Alpha team, far back building, lets go.”

[Sir!]

Una

The firefighting had died down, and Una hoped that meant success was just around the corner. She pushed back from the beautiful railing and headed back into the large room that was just her own. She moved towards the mirror and sighed. Tonight, might be the first night in centuries that they would have actual success. If the men came home with the Star Metal she wanted to be there to congratulate them. Of course, an added bonus would be seeing Clyde come back alive.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her tall willowy frame shot up to around seven feet. The tiny pores in her skin absorbed the air around her allowing her body to circulate the blood in her system. If she undressed, one could see the small pink heart beating clearly through her purple colored chest. Most of the Ohm were born with a purple hue of skin. Various shades from lavender all the way to a deep violet. Those that were born improperly were an odd grey color and tended to become your less desirable matches.

Her eyes were a vibrant gold color. It was said, that when the Stars gave birth to the Ohm they gave each child born unto them a small piece of the stars’ own power. Up in the sky each person belonged to a star. It was why she was so excited to finally reunite with the stars. Decades and decades of trying desperately to reach them. But now, now it was in their grasp all they had to do was take it. Una’s hair was long, it was the custom of their people that a Queen was not to cut her hair or she would lose the connection with the most powerful star. Hers fell down to the backs of her knees, most of the women in their city kept their hair long but coifed in the most complicated styles. With hair being white, it was easy to accessorize and change things for maximum effect.

She pulled her long white hair up and she quickly began to braid it. Her fingers were extremely long and worked the hair showing how long she had been putting braids into her hair. Pulling it up into an elaborate wrap around her oval head she pinned it in place and prepared for the men to return.

Clyde

Clyde stood before his men. They were all covered in varying degrees of Bug gunk. They weren’t going to be washing these uniforms and reusing. The Seamstresses would have to make them new ones before their next mission. But, hopefully, after they opened this door they would get their Gorg and it would be enough for the ship. The Queen planned to send a small ship with the Queen Apparent on board to confer with the stars and then the rest would follow as more Gorg allowed them to make a bigger ship. The Research teams were all ready working on what kind of fuel it would take to power something to go that high.

“On three. One, two.. three.”

Jex raced forward and used the butt of his massive rifle to bash in the archaic door and the six members of the Brothers raced down the few steps and quickly found themselves confused. Not only was the Gorg not there. But, it was a tunnel. He looked at the other members of the Brotherhood and nodded. They were going forward. Gorg was the most important thing tonight. They had to get their hands on it. The Queen would wait no longer and accept no further failures to attain the metal.

One by one they began to walk down the tunnel. It was empty but one could see the dirt underneath was covered in the footprints of the Bugs. This had to have been part of their camp. It was empty now. They just had to find the metal. A left turn and they could hear an odd noise in coming from beyond where the eyes could see. There were no lights from here on out. Clyde paused, thinking, what was the best move. They could not go home without any Gorg. They had to go forward but who knew what exactly was waiting ahead.

“Lets keep going. Lumes on low.” He said. All six men lifted their hands to the lights on their shoulder and clicked the button only once. Which gave a very soft and gentle light but it was enough for their eyes to see by. They continued forward at a slow and steady pace. The tunnel seemed to move in a large arch and when it stopped they found themselves at the doorway of a huge cavern. It was a massive underground room and there were hundreds if not thousands of Bugs chittering away. For a moment nothing happened and then all at once, their antennae twitched and the heads swirled so fast Clyde was surprised necks hadn’t been broken.

All at once they screamed a loud ear ringing scream and the Bugs began heading their way. Climbing on top of one another to reach the tunnel first. Clyde grabbed a small hand held bomb off his tactical vest and lobbed it into the room.

“Run!” he told his men as they turned tail and ran for their lives. From the Bugs. From the explosion that was about to come, and who knew what kind of structural integrity the mountain would have once they detonated a bomb in it’s core.

Now they had to get out. Find another way to get Gorg. The war would go on.

Una

Una’s arms were behind her back as she tied the glistening crystal belt around her slender waist with her adept fingers. She was ready, now, to meet her men. To take pride in their accomplishment. Perhaps the True Queen would finally see fit to allow her a husband. The Queen took only one male counterpart and it was the one that the True Queen picked for her. Una could only hope it was a good man. She would, afterall, be stuck with him for her entire life.

A tremor shook the building before she heard the explosion. She turned and rushed to the window. Nearly tripping several times on her long skirts as she made it to the balcony she saw the rocks and debris flying from the mountain. Heat at it’s core. Her hand went over her chest. Her heart felt heavy.

Clyde. What have you done? Where are you? What has happened!