Massacre on Alpha

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

As Petty Officer Third Class Xander Kapp floated through space in the escape pod, he could still hear the screams of his fellow naval crewmen.

He didn't want to leave them, he was no deserter. He should be dead like the rest of them aboard the UWSC (United Worlds Space Cruisers) Alpha.

Alpha was a beautiful ship. All white, accented with grays and light blues on the inside. Though all Kapp could picture now was the blood splattered instruments of his work station.

He survived the attack through no choice of his own. Though even now as the sounds of his fallen brothers and sisters in uniform threatened to snap the remains of his psyche, he knew he had a mission to complete. He had to bring the information of this new threat back to the United Worlds headquarters.

Thinking back on it, the only thing he could hear through the reverberating wails of his compatriots was the demands of the grotesque attackers.

It had been a regular day in what had become routine on the Alpha. Their mission was to scout a previously unexplored sector of the galaxy. Kapp was on the navigation crew, plotting points in between gravity wells with his fellow Petty Officer Kendall Bristax. Bristax was a tall woman, with uncooperative, brown hair. It was regulation to have it tied back and she did all she could to keep it that way. However, when she leaned over the star maps, her hair always ended up in her eyes. Resulting in what Kapp had named the Bristax shudder as she shook her bangs out of her face.

"Is it cold in here?" he said in the mocking tone he used multiple times a day.

"No, I always shudder at the thought of a cycle spent arguing with you over the safest star alley, Kapp," she stated.

"Well it's your lucky day,” Kapp stated with a chuckle, suppressing his disappointment at Bristax’s matter-of-fact tone. “This time we do it exactly as I say, and no one has any need to argue."

"Kapp, may I remind you, if we had done it exactly your way yesterday, there would be nothing left of us other than a ship full of holes and dead bodies," Bristax was referring to the small asteroid cloud Kapp had plotted a course through, before she had intervened. She looked up at him and again performed the Bristax shudder. "What stinks?" She asked, as if their previous conversation was of no consequence.

At first Kapp thought she was trying to make an uncharacteristic joke, but then a stench reminiscent of rotting seafood hit him like a physical force.

The bridge on Alpha consisted of rows of workstations all arranged in a half circle surrounding a central viewport. Displayed on the viewport were several data readings including ship speed, gravity pull, and other necessary diagnostics. All displayed over the breathtaking view of deep space. The other crew members had their noses covered. So did Captain Krell, a more significant indicator that something was amiss. Captain Jerrick Krell may have been getting on in years, but he was a fit, heavily muscled man. Many a junior crewman had walked out of the combat cage with him sporting a freshly blackened eye. Beneath all of this he was a kind, greatly respected leader.

Alpha had an advanced oxygen system. The air had previously been lightly scented of fruit trees. It was the first thing Kapp noticed when he had toured the ship. Now it smelled like a rotting whale carcass.

Alarm systems began to wail, and red lights began to flash, casting eerie shadows across the equipment of the bridge.

"Lieutenant Malta, report!" Krell shouted.

"Deck 7 is sealed off sir, there was a change in atmosphere," she said, in confusion. "It looks like there may have been a leak."

"Kapp, Bristax, did we hit something?" The Captain demanded as his gaze fell on them.

"No sir," reported Bristax in a more rushed tone than usual. "We are in a particularly empty area, there is nothing to collide wi--" before she finished her sentence, the bridge doors unsealed.

All eyes shifted towards them as they opened. The stench was now completely untolerable, as it wafted through the expanding opening. The large doors separated horizontally, revealing a group of humanoid creatures standing ominously. In their center was the largest, standing well over seven feet tall. He had a mostly human face, with long dreaded black hair down to his waist. His eyes were red, and skin unnaturally gray. From the neck down he wore what appeared to be some kind of natural armor. He was completely covered in a greenish blue shell. It reminded Kapp of an unboiled lobster exterior. Though the lobster comparisons did not end there. One arm had a mostly regular looking hand, though even the fingertips were armored. In the hand was a brutal looking weapon which he held like a sword. It was the color of bone, with a central shaft that had blackened spikes sticking out at every angle. His other hand was starkly inhuman. It had a powerful looking lobster like claw.

Flanked on either side of him were six similar looking creatures all above six feet in height. They wore full face helmets to complete their shells. Red eyes peered out angrily through narrow slits in their helmets.

They proceeded through the door. Moving as one organism, all matching step perfectly. As they moved their long black hair swirled behind them, floating as if underwater. They all carried barbaric and crude weapons similar in style to their leaders. Some more club-like, others like long saws, each of them with the blackened spikes.

All members of the crew now had their sidearms drawn and pointed at the approaching intruders.

"Halt!" Exclaimed Captain Krell. "Stop, we are friendly," he said, knowing that the approaching aliens were not.

A voice pierced the air all around them. It was the leader of the invaders but the voice didn't just emanate from him, it came from all of them. It seemed to bounce off of the walls. Kapp felt it inside his head as clearly as he heard it all around him. The tone was cold and almost calm, which seemed impossible given the volume at which it was heard and felt.

"One will survive," it said. "All others will die."

As he spoke the words a helmet extended from his armor and encased his head like the others. "Die fighting, die standing, the choice is yours."

The crew all began to fire their weapons at them, but nothing stopped their progression. Continuing confidently forward they held their lobster claws in front of them forming a shield like barrier. Bullets found their marks over and over, only to ricochet away. The invaders increased their speed to a trot and crashed into the first line of crewmen. Smashing with both crude weapons and claws they tore through the crew. Fighting with no fear of death or injury.

Kapp fired his weapon until it had nothing left. Fear washed over him like he had never felt before. He drew his knife from its sheath on his side, knowing it would do nothing against these attackers. Other crew members had that same idea and were now slashing at the attackers ineffectively as they continued to dispatch them with reckless attacks. One of the figures slammed its claw into Kapp, sending him flying against the wall.

Trying to shake off the attack he scrambled to his feet. He saw Bristax about to engage with her knife against one of the attackers. He shouted at it and threw his knife, trying to distract it from Bristax. It clattered against the carapace of the monster and then uselessly to the floor. The creature turned and glowered at him. As it did, Bristax flipped the hair out of her face, and jumped on its back. She was able to shove her knife into its eye slit. It screamed, shaking her off and turning it picked Bristax up by the throat with its claw. Kapp averted his gaze at the sight, but couldn't stop the sound of cracking sinew and bone as the claw clamped shut.

Determined not to cower to this threat he advanced with nothing but his fists. As he approached he realized that all of his crewmates had fallen to the carnage. Except for the Captain who stood alone surrounded by all seven invaders.

"One at a time Demons!" Krell challenged.

An invader stepped forward and handed Krell its weapon, then backed away. Krell stood, staring down the leader holding his newly acquired spiked blade.

"You and me?" he spat with contempt at the leader.

The leader stepped forward and allowed Krell to swing the weapon once. He then caught it in his claw, and brought his own weapon down on Krell's head.

The other monsters moved away from the slain Captain and were now finishing off any injured on the floor. As they did, their leader focused those evil red eyes at Kapp.

He approached Kapp, helmet now off. Moving with a speed that should have been impossible for something of his size. He lifted Kapp up like the other had to Bristax. His claw was cold to the touch, but powerful around Kapps throat. He knew with a twitch the monster could remove his head.

"You live to tell of what happened," the voice again invaded Kapp's ears and mind. "This is a challenge. Bring your weapons and ships. Attempt to destroy us. War is coming. We are the Nokken."

With that Kapp was thrown into the escape pod by his station and ejected. All he could do now was float and wait. Replaying the sounds, images, and putrid smell of the attack. A tailing support ship was following the trail of Alpha to bring it fresh supplies. He knew it would find his pod within a day.

He had a day at least to contemplate the horror he had just witnessed.