Y:14 D:23

  Argos

  Anais had returned from Alpha City after the sighting of the Pars drone and had

  begun surveying Argos. She had spent a considerable amount of time setting drones

  in strategic locations to observe the species that approach the city during night hours.

  The past few days, she was paying special attention to the north, where the drone

  had come from. At the Gathering of the Leaders, she was called to explain the

  findings she had previously spoken about with Bara.

  Anais was a bit anxious about talking to all the leaders, but she composed

  herself and began. “I have some strange things to report. As some of you know, last

  night from the north of the city, the cameras we have set to monitor the area went

  offline before they could detect anything. We have a failsafe mechanism where if the

  cameras turn off, then two drones turn on and fly around the area immediately so that

  we still have feed. Those too turned off as soon as they turned on, also before any

  feed could come through. At that point, I went out at night and tried to make an

  ambush. What I saw was a yet another type of humanoid. One we have not seen

  before. Shaped more like a human. I could only see the outline and only briefly, since

  it was like it was expecting me. I think it came to see me just in the same way as I

  was trying to see it.”

  “So, our next enemy is here,” said Alex. “The Pars, as the Naga call them,

  have access to at least some technology.”

  Juuda was almost angry. “Why do you say that our next enemy is here? Why

  don’t we give them a chance to be friends?”

  “I take that back, Juuda. You are right. They might be friendly.”

  “So, what is the strange thing about it? I feel you have more to report, Anais,”

  said Jain.

  “Yes, I do. This device is a camera. It is very old school, with terrible night

  vision and no signal output. You cannot see what this camera sees, change its

  spectrum, or control where it points.”

  “Sounds like a great tool,” interrupted Gakuto.

  “Well, It does have its advantages. Especially in the military,” said Anais

  confidently. “Without trying to bore you, I will say that it was used at the end of the

  human wars because it was undetectable by an EM detector and could not be

  jammed by an EMP. Downside is that you have to retrieve it to get the information it

  has recorded and recharge it. I had placed it far outside the city along with three

  more, mainly out of curiosity and as a checkpoint of my excursions.”

  “What did it record?” asked Alex excitedly.

  “It’s better if I just show you.” She played the recording on a monitor. “As you

  can see, it’s a human. Or at least a species extremely close to humans. His speed,

  however, is many times that of ours, even at our nano’s maximum capacity. I think

  we found what the statue represented.”

  “With a quick view, I would be pretty sure it is using nanotechnology, like

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  everything else in this world. These legs could not support that speed. It nearly broke

  the rocks under his feet by accelerating on them.”

  “We can also deduct from the recording,” continued Anais, “that it’s about 190

  cm in height and resembles a male. We do not know what he will use to try and take

  us out, nor when he will attack. From now on, we are on alert.”

  “Again!” said Juuda. “Again, we are sure he is hostile and prepare to shoot

  and then talk. Am I the only one here who sees the madness in this?”

  “Here I will side a bit with Juuda,” said Jain. “We can’t kill him.”

  “We can’t or we shouldn’t?” asked Bara.

  “Well, think about it,” said Jain, trying to explain her thoughts. “He is probably

  alone. Prana also told us that according to their legends, only one comes to take

  them out. Also, there were very few of them to begin with. This could be a species

  that multiplies very slowly. We can’t be the ones to bring them to extinction. We need

  to capture him and talk with him.”

  “It’s hard to argue with both of you,” said Alex, looking around to see what the

  rest thought. “We will do our best not to harm him then. But this might not be

  possible. Time to set a plan. Any ideas?”

  “We need to set a trap for him and physically restrain him. Perhaps we can go

  old school and put an underground trap which will activate once he is on top?” asked

  Bara.

  “Let’s try to think here,” said Jain. “He has a long history of primitive

  civilization conflicts. Traps are probably what he expects. We need something more

  sophisticated.”

  “I think I might actually have a solution for it,” said Juuda, to everyone’s

  surprise. “But we will need to move fast. Call Jabir. We have had a discussion about

  something, and it might come in handy now.”

  Jabir joined the conversation and was explained the whole situation.

  “Now that you see the problem,” said Juuda, “don’t you think we can use the

  projectiles we were discussing before?”

  “To make everything clear to everyone,” said Jabir, “we had spoken of some

  chemicals that, once mixed, become like plaster. We can create bullets with those

  two components, and once they strike, they will combine, and in a matter of

  milliseconds, they will expand into a foam that hardens almost instantly. This way we

  can immobilize anything without killing it. That is if it has the same tough skin as

  everything else. The bullet itself will be very hard and fast. If his skin is unaided by

  technology, he will be injured from the shot.”

  “I think this is perfect,” said Alex. “Get busy and provide a large number of

  those bullets. Bara, arm a couple of fast drones with those and get them ready. Set

  them at a distance, and once the time is right, start shooting them before he can

  disable them. Anais, Giuli, get your snipers and some of these foam bullets and go to

  the hill near the west to make camp. Be in constant preparation and alert. Make sure

  you have a clear view of the west side of the city. Guys, keep lights facing all

  directions during the night and place extra cameras. We can only hope his weapons

  are not as advanced as ours.”

  “I really hope we will not be met with a missile. Is our anti-air system able of

  defending against missiles?” asked Jain.

  “If it’s only a couple missiles, then yes,” said Bara, trying to calm everyone

  down. “We have a high-energy laser with an automated targeting system to shoot

  missiles. This will only be good for a couple of shots, though. It tends to get very hot

  and also recharges slowly.”

  “It’s the first time that I realize that our military technology is not in par with

  everything else. We could be better equipped,” said Alex.

  “Well, military research stopped with the Osiris impact before we were all

  born,” said Bara. “What we have are weapons that were made with past

  technologies. We never expected an advanced civilization, though.”

  “I am not so optimistic suddenly, but we can also hope that his weapons are

  just as outdated,” said Jain.

  “When it comes to combat,” said Bara, “weapons are half the story. It’s

  strategy, precision, timing, and more that determine the winner. I also want to let you

  know that even though our weapons are not as advanced as everything else we have

  here, they have been thoroughly tested. These are the same technologies that fought

  countless wars before the Osiris.”