Distant Origins: An Anki Legacies Science Fantasy for Young Adults

gh about me for now; I'm here to tell you about humanity's first contact with other sentient species, their first colony off Earth, and about nine distinct species forming a new soci

ared their point of view for the sake of preser

iles off from what appeared to be a farm. The man, in his late fifties, would once have considered himself a Mexican America

to her in the years since she lost her own parents in a shuttle crash while mining in an asteroid belt. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she

ologist Dr. Elroy Lancett. He smiled from beneath a thick red beard, accentuated by his bald forehead and close cropped hair above his ears and neck.

pt the pack in much the same condition as he had back on Earth, as a youth figh

Simon felt her cringe under his touch. She'll warm up to me, he thought, before standing upright and reaching into the gun locker. He holstered his Colonial Security Force pistol an

saw from orbit. I don't see why we chose to make first contact with some back water hayseed

at in our little colony, but leadership wants us to approach these beings with caution." Dr. Lancet

Earth twenty five years ago. He shielded his face as his eyes adjusted to the bright natural light. Dr. Lancett's attention immediately drew to the shrubs surrounding their shuttle. Javier commen

brush, another pair of figures emerged

The man, also garbed in Colonial Security Force attire and pistol, called out. He stood a head taller than Simon, and where the brash offi

ive reply before the trio

" said Shelly Crispin, the mission's linguist. A slig

in order to arrange his assignment as security on this mission. Smart girls weren't usually

Shelly felt inwardly more excited over the possibility of learning

ach. Travis made a few attempts at small talk, but Shelly, fixated upon the assignment, gave only short responses. When

l enclosure smelled of hay, manure, and occasionally a fresh breeze. Cart tracks,

boot prints look nearly human, except they seem t

tai

a good

us a serpentine look. Our heads dove about as we chased one another, diamond shaped with glassy black eyes and a dart lined mouth. As we moved, Travis saw that our tails did most of the work balancing. Ro

ely blue figures. Aside from their difference in skin color, these two were nearly twice the height of the golden pair. Overalls atop faded tunics garbed both

h hands, palms facing the pair, fingers splayed. "We

, stared through beady eyes for a solid minute, and withdrew. A moment late

age pattern she knew, then cataloguing the sounds and body language to memory. As the cr

mer

an eyebrow. "Are you a

lieve it. The likelihood of discovering a species with spoken communication is small, an anatomical improbability. The fac

anced civilization, it had once been a colonial starship. The world's corporations and governments pooled resources to form the League of Atlantis Reborn Colonies or LARC. They reverse engine

and to gain their attention, and in Sumerian said, "We

another and they whispered feverishly for a moment. One creature dropped its spade, bent its chest nearly parallel

said in Sumerian. "What purpose do you have

a conversation with the remaining creature, one which sounded like total jibberish to the CSF officer. His gaze wandered back toward the two gol

**

explorers taught themselves how to hunt. I'm glad Travis was wit

ures whose bodies coiled about tree branches. They were nothing but tail from the belly down, which twined nicely around bra

t urged. "I would love to stud

ranquilizer darts on his gun

a large canvas bag and quietly gathered fruit into it. Then he crept closer to the animals and tied two corners so it made a little cave. He returned to Simon and Lancett and

Javier!" Dr. L

cocked an ear

he men had never heard before. A second later a pair of eel-like beings on short limbs entered the far side of the clearing c

and moved about, giving the bag a lumpy swing. One of the creatures took nervous steps fo

at the slate's display. Its black eyes shifted from the slate to Dr. Lancett's thick red beard and back a half dozen times. Then its face darted forth on its serpentine n

bserver at first, then it hissed out what Lancett thought to be

ity to our pathogens, they appear to be co

these backwater peasants." Si

**

nly figured out they were related to primates within the last three hundred years. One look at these people and I could tell there was something in common. On a side no

e cat dragged in,

irming bag. The long necked hunter took his bundle to a back room and

helly had been practicing Sumerian with. Its tilted head

A king rules the entire population from a half day's walk away. My

sta or the shuttle,

scowl. "Where did that other guy run off to earlier

ed to stay here and share a m

Pneuma adults, Elsaap, and I joined Vrilech and the humans. Shelly spoke the entire time, pausing only to jot notes hastily on h

with his slate. "Alright people, these dishes are fit for human consumption. I suggest we return to the colony on

t bright glow of twilight. The dusky star began to set below the horizon on the world called Haran. S

run off at first sight of the humans, burst into the hall. They heaved in ragged breat

y of that?" Javier w

nsidered it. "I think these two ran to the cit

stand together over there, " Simon nodded hi

d chain mail filed in, barring exit. The farm Pneuma all slowly rose and bowed their heads toward the soldiers. Th

ce, " hissed the guard at the head of their formation. The

" Shelly said. She walked toward the guard with her hands outstretched.

t in her vision along with a dull thud. A second thud alerted Shelly that she lay on the floor

ithout thought. Three shots rang out in quick succession, the first grazed the Pneuma captain's forehead, the next

t among them. These soldiers were the King's death squad. The rash man's ac

ard and fire burst from his mouth in a thin stream, searing the flesh of Simon

d fell back into his mates, even as they recovered from their captain's impact. A s

ncett's burly arm cinched around the guard's long neck. He struggled and clawed desperately but the expertly executed standing guillotine starved the guard of blood flow to the brain in moments. Dr. Lancett released his hold and pushed the limp form into a corne

had rolled right out the front door, tangled with a guard and three more surged out after them. Javier's combat training emerged from the depths of his subconscious and instinct drove him to pro

which wore an anxious expression. She saw her four team mates tangled into combat. She could not help in a fight, her stre

w. While the look of the Pneuma lacked the familiarity of human features, She

rds come? Why did

r-men bring change... cha

explanation for the conflict, she had deduced that this culture did not welcome new ideas or new visitors. She no l

**

ghting started. Years before I thought of him as an

and dash to a shed on the far side of the compound. He, Lancet, Simon, and Javier where now standing with their backs

ion, I'll get Shelly and br

guard unaware with a hook punch that crumpled him to the dirt. The Pneuma who escorted the trio to the farm hunkered down, then sprung at Jav

teely blue face appeared from between buildings, and as Travis spared a fleeting glance, the creature screamed fully into his face. Not a bolt of flame or electricity, but a sonic wail burst forth so intense that Tr

**

the size of a Hippopotamus, cowered in their pen. The excitement already had the animals ra

d puzzled. "How will tha

he stunned, knocked out, and injured Pneuma, a few of whom were already approaching the

n him and his opponent. With only a grab and the rotation of his hip, Lancett whirled the Pneuma off its feet and slammed it onto the ground. Javier fended o

de of the animal in front of it. After a dozen hasty jabs and some screamed profanity Simon raced to trail the stampede. Javier and Dr. Lancett f

**

wled as he balled two fists and prepared to attack. Travis lunged into the shadowy shed and saw that small golden forms of Elsaap an

he listener did not. He quickly glanced back to see if he had attracted anyone's attention. Shelly grasped his shoulder, turning him back toward her and thrust her communicator up toward his face with a shaky hand. He placed his hand over hers to steady it a

neuma farmers into a line against the house wall. The burning barn washed them in an eerie light and contrasted the dark shadows of dusk. The leader began shouting... She

aap and I wailed in agony. Our families had been murdered before our eyes. Elsaap lunged toward the guards, Travis grabbed him and pulled

a few inches protruding from either side. Shelly rushed to his side and helped him to his feet as Elsaap and I hissed at the oncoming guard. Without breaking stride, a guard peeled back its lips, revealing pointed teeth. A blaze of lightning shot out its m

inued to advance a few paces, apparently unaware of the wound. It opened its mouth as

and she motioned for us to grab an arm on either side of him. She grabbed his legs, careful not to twist the impale

down her pale cheeks. Lancett strapped him onto the stretcher in the back of the shuttle and wrapped his injured leg until they could return to LARC1 and get him to the colony's hospital. Shelly urged us

e Javier, Dr. Lancett, and Simon were waiting. Simon's face looked d

rds killed the rest of their people." She unstrapped whil

thinking bringing them

a great opportunity for us to observe their species and to gi

lf. He offered a piece to each of us, we accepted it, making a noise close to a purr in appreciation. I ate it even

's treat that, " he said. "We've got a couple

, "Those medieval mini-Godz

ut on hundreds of scouting missions carrying geologists, miners, and biologists to asteroids and planets that the ship passed by in order to gather supplies. It had been twentyfive years since the craft and its

re protective suits and operated on Travis's leg in an adjacent room. He had regained consciousness

t?" he asked when

is physician. "You're lucky that spear missed an artery

ship a few times before today, but she thought it would be nice to spend some time with him after this had passed. She liked his athl

s piercing gaze immediately locked on Simon's face. His stare bored into the man, but to his credit Simon returned the look with a cool gaze that stood in defense of his actions. Af

. "These are juveniles. All the adults we encountered were blue. I can't help but no

a bland representation of human features. However his face could change at any moment when the image of one of the board of directors of the League of Atlantis Reborn Colonists, or LARC spoke. MARC embodied virtual representatives from the or

e report from the moment the shuttl

d from our shipboard telescopes, " Dr. Lancett replied, "The Southern hemisp

he nearest city and set the craft down a couple

es changed to that of a woman in her eighties, skin tone replaced by the vibrant green hue of the projected image. "The League welcomes our

y with the colony's geneticist. Dr. Zimmerman felt eager to take down every detail of our physiology, natural habits, psychology, and anatomy. Somehow, Elsaap and I adjusted to our changes, we were happy that Shelly would be our caretaker until we

e said,

Shelly

aap and I

rt quickly dissolved in Shelly's presence. A broad grin lit up his face and he motioned for the trio to sit. He pulled out

for carrying me to safet

granted custody of Pringar and Elsaap, it seems that adopting beings who are fleeing death on their home-world is a lot easier

be a crazy change of pace going from farm life

it so far. Perhaps their youth lends to th

all the classic action movies filmed back on Earth, guys always get the girl after the

barely able to get the words out. "Can we spend s

necks close to one another and spoke in hushed excited tones. We glanced up at the two flirts for a brief l

soon as you get released, " she said with a smile as she keyed the information in

e repeated as

hed Mars. What an amazing coincidence after all these years on board, exploring the universe that their destination star harbored not one habitable planet, but two. It took the ship twenty five years to reac

ers and guards they encountered were fearful and hostile, proof that the two species could happily cohabitate settled in to her new quarters. Whatev

ted a week or two for our English skills to develop. Our DNA showed an evolutionary ancestry included creatures unmistakably similar to eels on Earth, just as our appearance confirmed. Sh

s earliest recorded history, enabled her studies to progress rapidly. The lingual departments from both of the ship's universities were eager for more than just her nightly notes and video recordings to study, but our wellbeing and proper adju

ringar and I recited the tale in tandem, often finishing one another's sentences. Our tale form

thing they had seen, so the people broke it apart and fashioned bits of it into jewelry. Everyone in the village adorned themselves with fragments of the stone. Over the following seasons, a change began to occur starting with the color of their skin. Instead of a steely blue, the villages were turning black, white, green,

ered and grew into the planet Haran's first city. Unchanged Pneuma came from neighboring communities to work

d perform extraordinary feats. This last group simply had to think of what they wished to accomplish, and the stones from the soil and elements of plant life twisted and changed into machines that could complete the task. In this manner the Anki developed a savant technology. No one among them knew how

revolt. They learned what had become of the Pneuma who turned into Anki and the fate of those who served. Many who lived during the revolt perished. The Anki destroyed the King and his entire army, but all the Pneuma had taken the cause. This wou

asionally grow into an Anki, but never an entire village. When an Anki emerges, the King's guards execute it as soon as they get word. Fear of enslavement is so s