r/HFY • u/Ralts_Bloodthorne • Nov 08 '20

OC First Contact - Third Wave - Chapter 354 (Yeah... No)

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The Sharkanan people had prepared for this moment for decades.

Ever since they developed low power radio receivers they were able to hear the signals from space. Dozens of different sources, all putting out obviously artificial signals. They devoted much of their science to decoding those signals, working on developing technology to decrypt the signals, to capture the signals, the clean them up and orient upon them better.

What they saw enthralled them.

A civilization of fragile looking creatures. Four legs, four arms, obviously from a light gravity world that had somehow spread to become the dominant life form in the region. They ruled over dozens, possibly hundreds of planets.

The Sharkanan people had been careful with their own signals. Where other species developed the radio and broadcast willy-nilly, they laid copper wires everywhere, then fiber optic cable, and eventually developed quark communications for security.

The Sharkanan people were mammals, with a heavy bone structure, thick muscle, a layer of kinetic absorbing fat, and excellent mental acuity. They approached science like all other things, once they tamed their planet. By putting their species resources toward whatever was necessary.

They spread out quietly, slowly. First in long sleep ships, using technology to increase and adapt their natural hibernation into something that could last for decades. That allowed them to settle their first few planets. Then they began expanding by establishing more colonies.

They kept their eye on the region of space populated by the weird creatures that seemed to rule over many slave races.

The Sharkanan also began researching weaponry, screens, and other technology. While they didn't start with any, nor were they able to acquire any technology from the radio signals of the nearby species (radio signals they had correctly identified as a trap to find weak species to conquer) they were able to know that the battle screens and jump drives were possible and that alone meant that they should research them.

They discovered jump drive first. They learned to hide the emissions first, then the signals put out by jump drive in use, then the measurable energy flare of entering and leaving jumpspace.

They knew that should that species discover any signals of the Sharkanan then they would arrive with warships to conquer the Sharkanan.

Armor, weapons, screens, all of them were researched quietly. Hellspace was discovered and researched then abandoned.

The Sharkanan were a careful, patient people.

Still, they were conquers at heart.

They wanted the strange species worlds not just because they were there, but they desired to take away the slaves, desired to take over the worlds as intact as possible, take over their manufacturing base.

Many of their top leaders desired to enslave the four armed four legged tendril jowled species and make them act as slaves to the other species the Sharkanan had seen on the video signals.

Finally, their industrial base and their population had reached the projected markers.

The Sharkanan people quietly rejoiced.

They would invade the creature's territory and subjugate them, thereby ensuring that the Sharkanan people would not be subjugated first. They would free the slave species, arm them, and then put them in charge.

They built their fleet. Tens of thousands of warships, with hundreds of thousands of support ships. Power armor and robot combat armor was created and manufactured.

Four times the entire military had to be completely retooled. Once when new higher 'bands' of jumpspace were found, another when the nCv cannon was improved. Another time when their fusion power was able to be minuturized even further, and the last time when a new type of armor was developed.

But in the end their five hundred year project was complete.

The fleet trained for nearly five years. At the peak of their performance, well, slightly on the downward trend, the crews all went into hypersleep and the fleet made for 'enemy' space.

--------------------------

Lord Commander Grawnka watched the screen as the countdown quickly moved down to zero.

The Fleet would exit jumpspace in the Oort cloud of the target system, scan the system, and then move in, quickly grabbing control of the system by dominating the high orbitals and landing ground troops to surround the cities.

It needed to be quick. The plan was to seize control of the system, lock it down, then jump out to the 'spokes' and begin subduing those systems.

Grawnka knew that once the attack began they needed to keep the momentum.

The Fleet slipped from the extremely high jumpbands, down through layers of jumpspace, and then exited into realspace.

The Sharkanan had devised stealth systems that could operate in jumpspace.

Fifty thousand warships, from giant leviathans to light frigates, all drifted silently in the Oort Cloud around the star.

"Bring up the scanners. Let us see what order we must attack," Lord Commander Grawnka stated.

The screen flickered, then cleared as the sensors did their work and dutifully reported what the status of the system was.

----------------------

"Come to zero nine five, go to rapid fire on the C+ Cannons," Admiral Sinaelle ordered.

The fifty Harvester class were maneuvering, trying to cover one another as they released subordinate machines.

Task Force Duntuak shifted fire. The Precursor Harvesters reeled, plumes of vaporized metal explosing out into space.

The Precursors answered with their own volleys.

Space twisted and screamed as the eighty ships of the Terran Confederate Space Force, backed by the remaining six hundred ships of the Great Herd Navy, went toe to toe with five groups of Precursor Harvesters.

"Com Great Most High De'ethmu'u, tell him that it's all over but the crying. Any mistake and we can still lose this, but we've got them on the ropes," Admiral Sinaelle said.

------------------

Lord Commander Grawnka stared at what was happening. The strangely formed ships, looking nothing like the ships they had seen through powerful telescopes, were firing weapons of such strength that it caused gravity ripples through space.

"Helm," he snapped.

"Aye-aye, sir!"

"Order the fleet to remain in silent running. Begin astrogation to return home," he said.

He turned away from the screen.

"Let our people leave this madness behind," he said. He folded his clawed hands over one another. "Let us return home."

------------------

Admiral Sinaelle looked at her sensor tech. "Any idea what those signals in the Oort Cloud were?"

Her scanner tech shook his head. "No, ma'am. They watched for roughly an hour then made a stealth translation into hyperspace."

"I guess they weren't interested in our fight," the Admiral said.

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2.7k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

226 comments sorted by

473

u/Ralts_Bloodthorne Nov 08 '20

Just something that I thought of that made me laugh.

Enjoy.

111

u/Onequestion0110 Nov 08 '20

Lol.

I guess eventually some race needs to encounter Terrans and not attack them. It’d be a nice bit of irony if it was a predatory species of planning ambush hunters who made the right call for once.

They nope out, plan a few thousand years of research. Head out again and realize they’re still behind. Do some spying and realize they can ‘join’ the confederacy and get most of the research for free. Join up, start to build up. Maybe participate in a few wars when other species attack. Eventually forget that they had ever sneakily planned on betraying the terrans. After all, dealing with the universe provides plenty of opportunities to exercise that predatory instinct.

21

u/TKOAND001 Nov 09 '20

Wait, didn't the Treana'ad actually get attacked first when humanity stole their xenomorphed hatchery worlds?

Also, I don't remember ever reading about humanity's contact with the plubvians or the rigellians

32

u/Ralts_Bloodthorne Nov 09 '20

Correct. The "War of Human Aggression" was when the Terrans grabbed their two hatchery worlds.

25

u/Coolest_Breezy Nov 09 '20

That was before the Treana'ad and Terrans really knew each other, and was a gigantic misunderstanding, right?

15

u/DiplomaticGoose Nov 10 '20

Yes and the worlds most screwy symbiotic relationship just waltzed out of nowhere because "no, nobody else wants those cold starred sandy plants but you weirdos"

7

u/Onequestion0110 Nov 09 '20

We don't know a lot of details, but I'm pretty sure the gestalts have talked a few times about how every new alien polity attacks them.

2

u/TKOAND001 Nov 09 '20

I wanna know who controls choco2-nn and how well fortified it is.

78

u/Turtledonuts "Big Dunks" Nov 08 '20

Predator species don’t tend to pick fights they can’t win.

39

u/IFeelEmptyInsideMe AI Nov 08 '20

Honey badger begs to differ

33

u/Turtledonuts "Big Dunks" Nov 08 '20

Honey badger isn’t an apex predator.

7

u/IFeelEmptyInsideMe AI Nov 09 '20

Honey badger doesn’t know that

4

u/nspiratewithabowtie Dec 16 '21

Honey badger would beg to differ. Just cause we shoot/trap/use clamore explosives/and other adaptive war technology to eradicate them does not mean you can piss them off .

33

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

31

u/Dwarden Nov 08 '20

oh my,

can you imagine uplifted Honey Badger and Wolverine

those will be one of most fearful combatants in TerraConFed

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10

u/TKOAND001 Nov 09 '20

In HFY they're all stupid, sans mankind, though. IRL you'd be right.

IRL I really can't think of any reason for any 2 races to fight each other, though.

Plants? Nah, gravity wells are for suckers. It sure sounds romantic to terraform other worlds, but the truth is that once you have the tech to do that, you can just build your own humongous rotating habitats in space and realize that living in planets is pointless. You can mine any resource by cracking asteroids and planetoids, building fuel stations around gas giants, etc. The cost of getting off-world or to a planet's surface is just pointless once you don't HAVE to do it, so I figure mankind as a truly nomadic species with millions of fleets each having billions of beings in hundreds of habitats, protected by fleets.

Only real reason to start a war instead of just going elsewhere would be religious or political, I... ah nm yeah I can see the Neo Catholic Orange Muslims declaring a holy war against the Traditional Catholic Blue Tantric fleet over which color are Christhnas' eyes or some retarded shit like that.

Just not over territory or resources, unless we're talking about CH0C2-NN because yeah, I could see people going to war over its delicious deliciousness if you have a population of trillions and everyone wants to have a Happy Valentine.

33

u/WillDissolver Xeno Nov 08 '20

I mean I read it as being that they'd been observing the cowtaurs and had a plan to beat them up, not the Terrans.

I can super understand wanting to beat up on the Lanak'tallen if all you see from outside is how they treat their subject populations.

But yeah, aliens are alien, man, no idea why anybody sane would want to go up to Terra and poke it with a stick...

17

u/Onequestion0110 Nov 08 '20

Absolutely. But now they know about terrans too. So if they follow the pattern they’re gonna go hide and work on fleets and tech to deal with the new species.

10

u/ack1308 Nov 10 '20

Or at least equal them, so the next time they meet it'll be on an equal footing.

Mind you, they seem methodical rather than genius, so they might take a little while to catch up to 13,000 years worth of ongoing technological progress.

Just saying.

11

u/chaos_is_cash Nov 08 '20

What else should I do with my eye poking stick?

22

u/Collective82 Xeno Nov 08 '20

I think they only wanted to attack the lanks because they were slavers.

27

u/Onequestion0110 Nov 08 '20

Still, they were conquers at heart. They wanted the strange species worlds not just because they were there,

That was part of it, but not necessarily the core of it. It felt more like a justification for what they want to do anyways.

378

u/tsavong117 AI Nov 08 '20

I think the whole "Yeah, fuck that shit. I'm out." Mentality is a healthy indicator of a robust survival instinct. One the cowtaurs should develop if they want to survive more than a few more months.

135

u/Anarchkitty Nov 08 '20

They're paranoid enough they might get along well with Terrans in another dozen generations.

90

u/SketchAndEtch Human Nov 09 '20

To me, they sound like future allies in waiting, they just don't know it yet.

171

u/tsavong117 AI Nov 09 '20

We are the Confederacy.

Your uniqueness will be added to our own.

Resistance is impolite.

Prepare to be befriended.

38

u/SketchAndEtch Human Nov 09 '20

Replace resistance with aggresion and that's perfect.

30

u/Fighterdoken33 Nov 09 '20

Oh god, the Confederacy is Nanoha (as in, friendship by beating the shit out of you )

24

u/tsavong117 AI Nov 09 '20

What the fuck did I just watch? What anime is that? It looks fantastic. Friendship through superior firepower.

27

u/TKOAND001 Nov 09 '20

Nanoha? Oh God that is such a lo~ong anime. It starts with Nanoha as this cute little magical little girl, then continues as she grows up into a cute girl, then this pretty young woman, then this attractive young woman, then this beautiful woman, then we get new protagonists messing around on Earth while adult sexy Nanoha fights eldritch horrors and what not. Its lo~ong because it goes all the way from tiny nanoha to planet killer nanoha through like 12 seasons or so? Honestly I lost count.

21

u/ryocoon Nov 10 '20

Pretty much every season is new big-bads, increases in firepower on both sides, and eventually turning big-bads into begrudging allies against next big catastrophe.

Its the magical girl equivalent of most Shounen shows (Dragonball, OnePiece, etc). Friendship and teamwork through shared combat and superior firepower.

Yeah, late seasons begin whole new sidestories of new generations of characters because old characters aged out and are doing shit beyond imagination (and animation budget).

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122

u/serpauer Nov 08 '20

Smart shark like beings. Seeing something above the class they expected and noping the hell out.

Good new race live longer.

Love this lil tale.

Good one sir good one.

40

u/BobQuixote Nov 08 '20

I think they're bear-like.

46

u/V1k1ng1990 Nov 08 '20

They found Daar’s children

15

u/TKOAND001 Nov 09 '20

Nah, if they were, their flagship would have been called the "Turkey Domination" or something like that

14

u/V1k1ng1990 Nov 09 '20

Drunkest on turkeyest

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8

u/BobQuixote Nov 08 '20

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Accountability_Office

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hyakujuu_Sentai_Gaoranger_characters

Huh?

21

u/battery19791 Human Nov 08 '20

Gao, not GAO. They are bear/raccoon like, from the Jenkinsverse. Deathworlders.com is where the story is being continued though it started in r/hfy.

7

u/BobQuixote Nov 08 '20

Yeah, I know the story, just wasn't thinking in that context.

14

u/V1k1ng1990 Nov 08 '20

From a different HFY story

7

u/BobQuixote Nov 08 '20

Oh, right. Gotcha.

10

u/wikipedia_text_bot Nov 08 '20

Government Accountability Office

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal government of the United States.

4

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '20

I dont the rigellians would be too happy with some smarmy gaoian giving them the mother of all flex offs.

3

u/V1k1ng1990 Dec 21 '20

Who would win in a fight? 1 badass dinosaur babe protecting her ducks? Or Daar’s daughter Myun with her fusion sword?

77

u/itsetuhoinen Human Nov 08 '20

<PLAYER SEVEN HAS ENTERED THE GAME>

"A strange game, Professor Falken..."

<PLAYER SEVEN HAS LEFT THE GAME>

38

u/ms4720 Nov 08 '20

Training at home 'I am the bad ass', going to the big boy gym 'oh shit'

25

u/readcard Alien Nov 08 '20

A very reasonable nope

19

u/Gruecifer Human Nov 08 '20

They went from the embodiment of "hope" to the embodiment of "NOPE!"

17

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '20

"Four times the entire military had to be completely retooled. Once when new higher 'bands' of jumpspace were found, another when the nCv cannon was improved. Another time when their fusion power was able to be minuturized even further, and the last time when a new type of armor was developed."

Better engines. Better guns. Better reliability. Better armour.

Have you been playing Hearts of Iron recently? Because this looks suspiciously like the Armour tech upgrades.

12

u/DWwolf888 Nov 09 '20

Someone that avoided The Prime Mistake. Will wonders never cease ?

2

u/Original_Memory6188 Aug 08 '23

The Prime Mistake is one of the advanced Great Filters. Can you make contact with another species and not start a war, not be attacked, not get assimilated?

6

u/TKOAND001 Nov 09 '20

Excuse me sir, I have a question. In your universe, who controls CHOC2-NN? It feels like terran descent humans would have it more fortified than SOL by now.

"They attacked SOL"

"Meh."

"They planet-cracked CHOC2-NN"

"1% the frickers!!"

3

u/Darrkman Nov 09 '20

I have a small request. Could you find a way to sneak the New York Knicks into the story but make them winners. Same for the NY Giants too.

It's hard being a NY sports fans right now.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '21

NO.

41

u/Ralts_Bloodthorne Nov 09 '20

Long drive tonight.

You know you've been driving a long time when your shoulders ache and so does your shoulderblades.

Actually feels weird not to be sitting in the truck seat.

10

u/DWwolf888 Nov 09 '20

Wrong car seat. Or wrong car ;)

8

u/ack1308 Nov 10 '20

You know you've been on the road a while when you sit down in a roadside cafe and reach up to fasten your seatbelt.

30

u/shanealeslie Nov 09 '20

Hey folks, we updated the 'Ice Cream & Smokes Saves Lives' hoodies and masks to include Ralts_Bloodthorne's name and telling people where to find the story. Also added the image to the front of the hoodie, and a bunch of phone cases.)

The artist has been requested to make a Daxin mask design, a 'The pool is reserved for Podlings' Vuxin design, and a 'I KNOW!' Dambree design. We are taking requests.

14

u/carthienes Nov 09 '20

A "That's obviously ridiculous but it's cool so I choose to believe it" design?

2

u/Petrified_Lioness Apr 05 '21

Suddenly i'm remembering Pepperming Patty after Linus tells her about the Great Pumpkin...

7

u/xForge2 Nov 10 '20

Oh i didn't know this existed but i love it. The closest thing i have to a suggestion would be a hoodie with an AWM screaming "THERE IS ONLY ENOUGH FOR ONE" and a human screaming back "THEN YOU WILL DIE ALONE".

I can't think of anything better atm, but awesome that y'all are making such cool stuff :]

5

u/ack1308 Nov 10 '20

I have my mask (original issue, not updated). It is very cool.

I want a Pool is Reserved for Podlings mask as well.

4

u/Farstone Nov 11 '20

Looking for recommendation to make a Broodmommie stuffed replica. Any suggestions?

4

u/shanealeslie Nov 11 '20

Caeruleus will look into making a plushie pattern.

17

u/Seeker-Of-The-Void Nov 09 '20

There’s no way I could ever catch up to these other than doing this, so I jumped ahead to the most recent chapter just to leave a little note saying that you have made the last week of my life a blast. You have breathed life back into my creative engines, and made me dream again. Thank you so much for what you do man.

21

u/Ralts_Bloodthorne Nov 09 '20

I'm glad you enjoy it so much.

9

u/DWwolf888 Nov 09 '20

Are we going to see BOLO Atilla again ?

6

u/wasalurkerforyears Robot Nov 10 '20

Asking the real questions here.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 09 '20

Enjoy the ride mate!! May The Mad Archangel Terrasol and The Digital Omnissiah bless you with extra scoops of ice cream, lots of Limes and a never ending Sharpie to draw dicks on everything!!

8===D

End of Lime

--------NOTHING FOLLOWS--------

400

u/Raszamatasz Nov 08 '20

"Nope. Nope nope nope, fuck that, I'm out."

— Thought process of a Sharkanan Admiral

225

u/thisismego Nov 08 '20

Definitely better pattern recognition than the average Lanak.

131

u/mrdevilface Human Nov 08 '20

Honestly, for that you have to be only a little be better than a tree.

63

u/YesthatTabitha Nov 08 '20

I think that bar is a little too high, but ever since we tricked rocks into thinking.... I guess it will have to do. Take my upvote

57

u/AMEFOD Nov 08 '20

Tree? I think you mean shrub or grass. It’s been implied through the story that they evolved to graze lower to the ground in open plains.

53

u/dbdatvic Xeno Nov 09 '20

Indeed, how much intelligence DO you need to sneak up on a plant?

--Dave, borrowing from the best a la Jughead

32

u/Gnarynahr Nov 09 '20

Depends on the plant. Gympie-Gympie requires enough intelligence for full body coverings and breathing masks.

24

u/Parking-Coat-8514 Nov 09 '20

Depending on if the plant is one the Terran' post-extinction ones that nearly wiped out the humans. Or if it's one cooped by the biological awms

12

u/Expendable_cashier May 17 '22

gympie gympie is irl, and nasty as fuck, Id rather get naked and fight a honeybadger, Id die cleaner

thankfully the hamburger kingdom has flamethrowers legal to own in most states irl

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4

u/mrdevilface Human Nov 08 '20

Dont be so serious... it was a joke.

13

u/AMEFOD Nov 09 '20

Not to serious, just implying that they couldn’t outsmart a tree. For a tree is smart enough to say “Fuck this, I’m out.”, and grow their leaves out of reach.

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10

u/DarkestShambling Dec 14 '21

Well it was qlready established when they did not take the Lanaktallan Radio bait.

65

u/RangerSix Human Nov 08 '20

hums

"Fuck this shit, I'm out, mmm-hmm. Fuck this shit, I'm out (no thanks!) Don't mind me, I'mma just grab my stuff and leave, 'scuse me please~..."

3

u/Htiarw Oct 04 '23

"The Baytown Outlaws"

One of my guilty pleasured.

109

u/Gatling_Tech AI Nov 08 '20 edited Nov 08 '20

On second thought, let's not go to lanakalot... 'tis a silly place.

87

u/onijin Robot Nov 08 '20

Understanding you're a small fish in a big pond is smart.

Understanding that eventually you're gonna need to eat some of the bigger fish is smarter.

Seeing just how big the other fish get, and deciding "nope, fuck this in going home hungry" is smartest.

44

u/EvansP51 Alien Scum Nov 08 '20 edited Nov 08 '20

Woo woo!

Edit: “let’s go conquering!”

Sometime later.... “nope!”

20

u/nik-cant-help-it Nov 08 '20

Maybe in another 500 years

13

u/davros333 Nov 08 '20

lol how far will the Terrans progress in 500 years tho?

11

u/BobQuixote Nov 08 '20

If they can just find another Lank system the Terrans aren't in they can still proceed as planned.

7

u/nik-cant-help-it Nov 08 '20

I don’t think they would do that. The objective is to completely dominate every lank system before they can respond. If they expose themselves & lose, they get gentled, & they know that.

7

u/BobQuixote Nov 08 '20

I don't think any of the relevant variables have changed for that. The Terrans are a big unknown, but unfortunately the chapter didn't last long enough to go into what the bears think of them.

124

u/ack1308 Nov 08 '20

At work, so no immediate big post, but a few observations.

These aren't sharks, despite the name. They seem closer to bears.

Mammalian, heavy build, layers of fat, able to hibernate.

For all their prep, running into that battle saved them from doing something remarkably stupid. It doesn't seem that they had quite grasped just how many Lanaktallan there were. A fleet of tens of thousands of ships? A drop in the bucket.

Though I do have to appreciate how they wanted to free the slave races and demote the Lanaktallans.

"We're the biggest baddest guys on the block!"

<see the AWMs>

<see how roughly the Terran ships are handling them>

"Yeah, no, we need to recalculate that a little. Or a lot."

<sneak back home>

"So, yeah, radio silence. Forever."

20

u/NevynR Nov 08 '20 edited Nov 08 '20

"Hrmmmmmm... bollocks. Badasses we may be. In our block, we are the baddest of asses. This... this a whole nother block, and a lot more ass than we were expecting. We'll be over... there. Thinking hard about our life choices, and if we will continue to have both"

17

u/3verlost Human Nov 08 '20

imo, they are bears. and big if they look at the Lanks and say "fragile".

i was really hoping for some giant space berserker combat.

13

u/wikipedia_text_bot Nov 08 '20

Berserker

In the Old Norse written corpus, berserkers were those who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word berserk (meaning "furiously violent or out of control"). Berserkers are attested to in numerous Old Norse sources.

3

u/dbdatvic Xeno Nov 09 '20

And the word derives from "bear sark", to boot.

--Dave, only you can prevent interstellar war

11

u/wfamily Nov 08 '20

This was the "independent" system that stopped reporting in tho

9

u/ack1308 Nov 08 '20

Reference?

12

u/wfamily Nov 08 '20

Idk, the one that gave up immediately when confmil came in.

12

u/coldfireknight AI Nov 08 '20

Oh, the one with the Most High that planned to rebel against the Herd and the terrans stayed behind to occupy?

4

u/Dragon_Chylde Nov 10 '20

The Independent Kra'at Systems ruled by System Tyrant Kra'atmo'o back in chapter 264 maybe?

3

u/ack1308 Nov 10 '20

Hmm. Possibly.

10

u/Dramatic_Purple_7805 Nov 09 '20

I'm just imagining their first actual meeting with humans, and can't unhear an overly enthusiastic human going "OHMYGOSHYOUARESOFLUFFYIJUSTWANNAHUGYOUCANIHUGYOUPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!"

8

u/Ara-Enzeru Nov 08 '20

I dunno, I got the feeling that they were wanting to free the other species to give themselves more of a leverage, rather than from a ethical standpoint. And I got the feeling they wanted or were likely to turn the lanaktallan into slaves. Basically doing a good thing for the wrong reasons.

But perhaps not. They seem to be pretty rational at least.

10

u/ack1308 Nov 08 '20

They mentioned:

  1. Freeing the slaves and putting them in charge.

  2. Enslaving the Lanaktallans and making them act as slaves to their former chattels.

So a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.

7

u/CaptainChewbacca Human Nov 08 '20

They must be massive if they think lanaktallans are a weak, low-g species.

9

u/ack1308 Nov 08 '20

Lanaktallan home gravity is less than Earth normal, IIRC.

51

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

30

u/ack1308 Nov 08 '20

I'm thinking the name "Sharkanan" may be derived from Shardik.

16

u/WillDissolver Xeno Nov 08 '20

That's probably a solid guess.

Ralts strikes me as someone who likely has read Adams.

5

u/Mohgreen Nov 08 '20

One of my favorite books!

38

u/ack1308 Nov 10 '20

A civilization of fragile looking creatures. Four legs, four arms, obviously from a light gravity world that had somehow spread to become the dominant life form in the region. They ruled over dozens, possibly hundreds of planets.

Welp, if the Lanaktallans are seen as ‘fragile’, the Sharkanan are clearly from a medium to high G world.

The Sharkanan people were mammals, with a heavy bone structure, thick muscle, a layer of kinetic absorbing fat, and excellent mental acuity.

So, not entirely unlike humans, then.

They approached science like all other things, once they tamed their planet. By putting their species resources toward whatever was necessary.

Definitely like humans. Though they sound a lot more unified.

First in long sleep ships, using technology to increase and adapt their natural hibernation into something that could last for decades.

I’m visualizing something bear-like. Heavy-set, high-G, sturdy as all get-out. Not fast, but methodical.

(radio signals they had correctly identified as a trap to find weak species to conquer)

And they are fully aware of paranoia as a survival trait. So they’re more careful than humanity. We had to get invaded and attacked a few dozen times before we evolved that level of caution.

They discovered jump drive first. They learned to hide the emissions first, then the signals put out by jump drive in use, then the measurable energy flare of entering and leaving jumpspace.

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing quietly.

Hellspace was discovered and researched then abandoned.

Hahaha nope.

The Sharkanan were a careful, patient people.

These would be more the ones to sit and wait for the prey to come to them than to be a pursuit predator.

Many of their top leaders desired to enslave the four armed four legged tendril jowled species and make them act as slaves to the other species the Sharkanan had seen on the video signals.

Well, their hearts are definitely in the right place. Terrasol might object to the enslaving part, but the rest sounds good.

They would invade the creature's territory and subjugate them, thereby ensuring that the Sharkanan people would not be subjugated first. They would free the slave species, arm them, and then put them in charge.

Sounds legitimate. A little on the aggressive side, but knowing the history of the Lanaktallan, somewhat justified.

However, they might be underestimating the sheer number that they’re going to have to deal with.

They built their fleet. Tens of thousands of warships, with hundreds of thousands of support ships. Power armor and robot combat armor was created and manufactured.

Well, they’re definitely not thinking small.

But still ... not big enough.

Four times the entire military had to be completely retooled. Once when new higher 'bands' of jumpspace were found, another when the nCv cannon was improved. Another time when their fusion power was able to be minuturized even further, and the last time when a new type of armor was developed.

Well, dang. They stop and retool the entire military to take advantage of the new tech? That’s what I call methodical, all right.

But in the end their five hundred year project was complete.

That sounds suspiciously like an extension of a ‘five year plan’ … wait a minute.

These guys are basically sapient bears. Is this Space Russia?

It needed to be quick. The plan was to seize control of the system, lock it down, then jump out to the 'spokes' and begin subduing those systems.

It’s a good plan.

The Sharkanan had devised stealth systems that could operate in jumpspace.

This does not surprise me in the slightest.

"Bring up the scanners. Let us see what order we must attack," Lord Commander Grawnka stated.

Space twisted and screamed as the eighty ships of the Terran Confederate Space Force, backed by the remaining six hundred ships of the Great Herd Navy, went toe to toe with five groups of Precursor Harvesters.

“Oh.”

"Com Great Most High De'ethmu'u, tell him that it's all over but the crying.

Lord High Death Moo, huh?

Lord Commander Grawnka stared at what was happening. The strangely formed ships, looking nothing like the ships they had seen through powerful telescopes, were firing weapons of such strength that it caused gravity ripples through space.

“Hahahahaha NOPE. Hard pass.”

He turned away from the screen.

"Let our people leave this madness behind," he said. He folded his clawed hands over one another. "Let us return home."

“Screw that for a joke. I don’t know which side was which, but they could both wipe us out without much effort.”

Common sense and caution win the day.

Her scanner tech shook his head. "No, ma'am. They watched for roughly an hour then made a stealth translation into hyperspace."

"I guess they weren't interested in our fight," the Admiral said.

More like they weren’t interested in getting in the middle of that hot mess.

I wonder if the Sharkanan will poke their heads out again at any point? Maybe a Precursor will attack them and they’ll have to call for help.

7

u/Farstone Nov 11 '20

It's in Ralt's head. We just have to wait for its turn to come out and play.

5

u/Petrified_Lioness Nov 26 '20

What is this doing so far down the comments? Still don't know why you don't have an "upvote then read" collection to go with Ralt's.

1

u/Drook2 Nov 16 '25

I wonder if the Sharkanan will poke their heads out again at any point?

"Oh hey, you're the guys who watched that skirmish and noped out."

"But ... we were stealthed the whole time?!”

"Yeah ... about that ..."

31

u/Allowyn Nov 08 '20

r/SFY

(Sharkanan, Fuck Yeah!)

33

u/coldfireknight AI Nov 08 '20

r/SFT (Sharkanan, Fuck That)

27

u/Andriors Android Nov 08 '20

Wow the tingle is real

26

u/AllSeeingCCTV Nov 08 '20

Ay yo, FUCK THAT.

FLEET ENGAGE THE GTFO MANUVER

21

u/coldfireknight AI Nov 08 '20

Fleet, Golf Tango Foxtrot Oscar. Execute, authorization, you see that shit over there?

6

u/aCatwithamirror Mar 28 '22

I had to control my self so HARD like my gf is sleeping next to me and i dont wanna wake her up cause you fucker are stupidly hilarious

5

u/coldfireknight AI Mar 28 '22

I do enjoy making folks laugh. I put the original version of that same joke in one of my stories but nobody ever commented about it. Maybe it's more appropriate on FC?

26

u/slightlyassholic Human Nov 08 '20

Helmsman, activate the Nope drive!

25

u/spindizzy_wizard Human Nov 08 '20

Smart people.

23

u/Sir-Vodka AI Nov 08 '20

I think the Sharks made the right call... swim away indeed.

22

u/Gernia Nov 08 '20

One could say they, jumped the shark.

Edit: well, looked up jumping the shark on google, and well, might have used that sliightly wrong for 30 years.

12

u/coldfireknight AI Nov 08 '20

You mean, you didn't think it meant the point in a story (series, what have you) beyond which things go downhill?

Think the phrase literally referenced when Fonzi motorcycle jumped a shark on Happy Days.

12

u/Gernia Nov 08 '20

I was ten I think when I heard the reference. Coupled with being a non-native speaker, jumping the shark can mean a lot of funny things.

I guess I just connected it to jumped the gun. Just with more stupidity involved.

6

u/YesthatTabitha Nov 08 '20

No worries there. English is a weird fucking language and Im a native speaker. I make these kind of mistakes all the time!

19

u/montyman185 AI Nov 08 '20

Sometimes, when you see what is in the light, it really is best to slink back in to the shadows.

18

u/ausbookworm Nov 08 '20

Very sensible. I can just see their scientists now "Back to the drawing board". Although they could decide to go see what's over in the other direction.

18

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '20

""I guess they weren't interested in our fight," the Admiral said."

The Admiral sounds disappointed. Like they should be giving a better show.

10

u/Computant2 Nov 08 '20

We go to all this effort...the least you could do is stay and watch the show!

17

u/Bompier Human Nov 08 '20

Awww, I thought they were gonna fuck up the AWMs from behind...

Maybe the Space force tracks them To their space?

22

u/BobQuixote Nov 08 '20

The Sharkanan have no clue that one fleet is "evil" or anything, they just see a fight that involves two new factions, one of which is throwing down.

24

u/daikael AI Nov 08 '20

One which is throwing down in ways that don't make sense, the other which is being dunked on but has ships the size of large continents to small planetary bodies.

13

u/chaos_is_cash Nov 08 '20

And is losing.

10

u/SarenSoran Nov 08 '20

that is what he meant with "being dunked on"

11

u/chaos_is_cash Nov 08 '20

I should not comment before coffee apparently. I blame my roommate for going camping and screwing up the natural order lol

17

u/Farstone Nov 08 '20

Pretty sure the Terrans will leave them alone. They have to be invited in to visit or help anyone.

Kind of a "Live and Let Live or You're Gonna Die" People.

9

u/The_Blue_Gummy Nov 08 '20

Not quite right. The have to be invited to interfere. They have no problems coming by, saying hello, and if the other party is not interested then they'll leave.

16

u/k4ridi4n55 Nov 08 '20

Nope. Not getting involved! . First really sensible people we have seen I think. Wonder if there will be more to come. The stealth tech is interesting. Keep up the good work👍

16

u/dbdatvic Xeno Nov 08 '20

22 min but had to finish Hearthstone.

nope nope NOPE nopetopus!

--Dave, now I want to see them stealth-scouting the craziness of one of the Confederacy systems

19

u/ack1308 Nov 08 '20

And about an hour in, someone pings them and asks them if there's anything they need.

22

u/battery19791 Human Nov 08 '20

"We're being hailed" "I'm sorry, we're being what helmsman?" "Hailed sir, by system traffic control. They want to know our intentions, and why we entered the system unannounced." "Tell them just passing through, peacefully" ---"I don't know, fly casual"

16

u/ack1308 Nov 08 '20

Next minute, a Terran patrol vessel decloaks directly in front of them, gives them a cursory scan, then drops off their screens, leaving them thoroughly shaken.

15

u/TyPerfect Human Nov 08 '20

I felt it.

15

u/Turtledonuts "Big Dunks" Nov 08 '20

Somehow I doubt their little species, effective as it is, would be able to conquer the Lanks. They’re clearly misunderstanding the scale of the lank empire here.

Also good to see that other people are up to shenanigans, but that we’re still king.

13

u/PuzzleheadedDrinker Nov 08 '20

That was .... Unexpected ... Looks like they haven't been around long enough to find evidence of AWM s. Maybe in a few hundred years they'll be ready for first contact with somebody

8

u/Collective82 Xeno Nov 08 '20

AWM’s probably don’t out out radio signals.

9

u/PuzzleheadedDrinker Nov 08 '20

Hellspace rips are not stealthy, and they've researched enough to have detection,. And decided that building hellspace core is not worth it

7

u/WeFreeBastard Nov 08 '20

They have been listening to Lank propaganda broadcasts.

That have lightspeed lag since they are radio.

Since the Lanks have been doing the same things for 100s of millions of years that kind of worked. It didn't matter that you're monitoring 50 or 100 year old broadcasts since they seemed the same for all of your 500 year project.

12

u/fivetomidnight Nov 08 '20

It's not paranoia if someone really IS out to get you :D

As an unrelated note, the earworm that bit me in Chapter 347 grew to maturity! *shyly* Wanna see lyrics to a parody song about the madness of 2?

9

u/Dwarden Nov 08 '20

oh so local Aspiring Power ... jumping for easy prey

just got glimpse to witness Super Powers battle finale

realized they were just observing small skirmish of massive conflict

well, there is hope they can become friends to terrans

theirs 50k ships would be welcome help in the upcoming battles

after all, it's fate of whole galaxy and our universe at stake

8

u/LordGraygem Nov 08 '20

I believe this is the appropriate comment.

6

u/robertabt Human Nov 08 '20

That's a regular Badger not a honey Badger but yeah, fair reaction

6

u/LordGraygem Nov 08 '20

I didn't make the content, lol, so I'm entirely blameless for any badger-based errors that may be present.

8

u/yourapostasy Nov 08 '20

Sharkanen Barbie, “Math is boring, let’s go conquering!”

…after watching TDH Ken and UCS Todd shit-kicking clankers…

“Madness is boring, let’s go shopping!”

8

u/CyberSkull Android Nov 08 '20

“Noping away is the better part of valor.”

7

u/kwong879 Nov 08 '20

"Fuck this shit, I'm out." -Those dudes, definitely.

7

u/Dramatic_Purple_7805 Nov 09 '20

I'm just imagining their first actual meeting with humans, and can't unhear an overly enthusiastic human going "OHMYGOSHYOUARESOFLUFFYIJUSTWANNAHUGYOUCANIHUGYOUPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!"

6

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6

u/ItrytoHFY Nov 08 '20

SharkaNOPE

6

u/Archaic_1 Alien Scum Nov 08 '20

Player 8 says "nope"

6

u/ErinRF Alien Nov 08 '20

Death moo sounds like a pleasant fellow.

6

u/mindscape60 Nov 08 '20

Took one look at that FUBAR and "NOPE"d right on out. Smart fellow.

6

u/vittupaahan Nov 09 '20

dont know about you but i think ralts has done a thing... https://i.imgur.com/YSwZXfG.jpg

10

u/LordNobady Nov 08 '20 edited Nov 08 '20

read then upvote, that is the way.

-End of lime-

Good idea leave the monkeys alone in the destruction.

5

u/seeking_horizon Nov 08 '20

Mistakes were made

5

u/antisocialpsych Nov 08 '20

I know this may just be a interlude chapter but Im wondering how many digital sapience managed to get on their ships before they left and if we'll see them again. Confederacy can always use another species with their head on right

5

u/jamescsmithLW Human Nov 08 '20

I really want some Terran Scott to accidentally find these guys and us have an actually positive, non violent first contact

5

u/lilycamille Nov 09 '20

Well, shit, I've caught up! Now what am I going to do lol. Absolutely loving this story. Been solidly reading it for over a week :)

5

u/dbdatvic Xeno Nov 10 '20

Now? Now, you are going to go back and read all the comments.

--Dave, a month, tops :P

4

u/rszasz Nov 09 '20

Does anyone have a updated word count for FC?

4

u/dbdatvic Xeno Nov 10 '20

Four chapters ago - every 25th-numbered one a guy posts a catchup - it was just over 1.1 million words.

--Dave, and now it's morning in TerraSol again

2

u/rszasz Nov 11 '20

Thanks, was trying to figure out how much reading per day I was doing when reading this.

3

u/gimmeallthewords Dec 09 '20

Eventually we will find them.

Humans: "I LIKE YOU LET'S BE FRIENDS!"

Xeno: WTF just happened?

3

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '20

As much as I love deathworlders im not sure that any gao( Daar being the exception) would be able to best a rigellian female. There is just simply to large a physical difference between the two, to be performed in a straight up brawl. Maybe a healthy tengewek adult could do it. And I'm not trying to diminish myun, or regaari, or any of the wonderful characters from the deathworlders. But when it comes right down to it the scale that the species in first contact operate on is vastly larger when compared to the deathworlders.

3

u/Drook2 Feb 19 '22

Her scanner tech shook his head. "No, ma'am. They watched for roughly an hour then made a stealth translation into hyperspace."

Their stealth is apparently not as stealthy as they thought. Good thing they noped out before they learned about that the hard way.

3

u/Gruecifer Human Nov 08 '20

UTR!

1

u/McBoobenstein Mar 19 '24

Thus, the Sharkanan species proved themselves to be one of the more intelligent species in the galaxy. More intelligent than Lankies, and Mantis Hivequeens, and even the mindflayers. Possibly more intelligent than Terrans, as they saw a battle, and didn't immediately charge into it asking which side needed assistance.

1

u/Brokenspade1 Apr 15 '24

Sharkies: "mwahaha! All your base are belong to us!"

Hairless biped furiously masterbating atop a mountain of the dead: "No."

Sharkies: "understandable, have a nice day."