The Martial Unity

Their mapping of the Milky Way tapered off the further away one went from their home planet. Within their domain of influence, they had absolute control. Their territory was composed of millions of star systems. Certainly an unfathomably vast civilization compared to Gaian Civilization, which had only just moved out of its home territory yesterday.

Within their territory, they occupied many star systems and solar systems with native and indigenous alien lifeforms that were, of course, forcefully subjugated under the rule of the Laminar Civilization. They were considered occupied territories, even if the Laminar Civilization allowed them a measure of self-rule.

The Laminar Civilization could thus be described as a colonial nomadic federation. The sheer number of civilizations and worlds it presided over was truly enormous, going far beyond its conventional territory. In total, including both domestic and occupied territory, the laminar civilization controlled a segment of the Milky Galaxy across nearly a billion star systems, a whopping seven percent of the entire Milky Way Galaxy.

Rui’s ethereal eyes widened with shock as he struggled to control his reaction at the slap of a realization. He had known they were powerful; there wasn’t even the slightest question about it.

The laminar integument before him had destroyed half their solar system with its own innate power. Even a single one of their warships would be powerful enough to rule over even advanced civilizations. Yet, when he looked at the sheer amount of territory that the Laminar Civilization controlled, he could barely begin to comprehend the vast expanse of their control. “Your civilization is more powerful than I anticipated,” Rui admitted even as he processed the information that the laminar integument was transmitting to him.

“Our. Civilization. Advanced. Greatly. Over. Hundreds of thousands. Of years,” the laminar integument replied to him with a hint of what could only be described as pride. “Since. Destruction. Of. World. We. Decided. Never. Again. Would. Get. Dominated. By. Hostile. Forces. Became. Nomadic. Became. Powerful.”

The light within the depths of its translucent body grew red. “And. Yet. Civilization. Not. Secure. Exist. Threats. Exist. Competition. Exist. Alien. Virus.”

It continued transmitting information about the Milky Way Galaxy to Rui, who greedily processed it as the laminar integument showed him what existed beyond their civilization. Outside of the Laminar Civilization was where the resolution of information reduced, but they still had an understanding of what presences occupied the stars beyond their reach.

There were many names.

Names of civilizations.

A vast majority of them were minor, limited to a single planet. There were those who occupied multiple neighboring star systems. And then there were those that went beyond even that, occupying a large number of star systems. Most of them were still small, of course.

However, of all of them, three names stood out to Rui.

Names of three civilizations that were larger than the rest. They were some distance away from the Laminar Civilization, closer towards Gaia in the Milky Way compared to the laminars, who were on the other side of the galaxy.

BABEL.

The Astralite Cosmofederation

The Gargantian Hive.

These three names dominated much of the Milky Way.

The information that the laminar integument provided to him exceeded his wildest fathoming.

BABEL was unlike anything he had ever parsed in his entire life. When he zoomed into the information that the laminar integument provided, he didn’t see images of powerful aliens.

No.

He saw broken, incomplete images of an equation.

They were images of an equation.

A mathematical equation.

A four-dimensional fractal mathematical equation, unlike anything Rui had ever seen before.

A fractal equation that has mind-boggling complexity and strange symbols that were embodiments of the equations themselves. The virtually infinite depths of the profound fractal equation were so unfathomable that even Rui, with all of his Transcendent might, found himself approaching the abyss of insanity in his attempt to comprehend it. “What…” A tinge of horror and awe emerged in Rui’s voice. “What is this?”

The laminar integument’s light took on a grave color.

“Legacy. Of. Highly. Advanced. But. Dead. Civilization. A. Force. For. Death. Destruction.”

Those words only made Rui even more grim than he already was, and yet, the other two civilizations only made him feel even more severe.

The Astralite Cosmofederation was the only other species of alien life aside from the nebulars that had evolved in the depths of outer space. A spark of life born in the death of a star. A species of life that had evolved for the vacuum of space itself. It was a species that was destined to rule over the cosmos. If the laminar integuments were adept at space war, Rui couldn’t even imagine just how much of a master of space war these species were.

What truly surprised him was their appearance.

It was a species that resembled octopi. “Considered. To. Have. Some. Of. Most. Powerful. Space. War. Combatants. In Galaxy.” The laminar integument is offered. “Highly. Aggressive. Highly. Offensive. Highly. Imperialist. Species.”

The third of the largest civilizations across the Milky Way was one that truly shook him. The Gargantian Hive sent chills across his entire body. A civilization that spanned across a significant portion of the entire galaxy, stretching extraordinary distances. It was a civilization of planets.

Sentient planets.

Like Gaia.

Except, they were capable of reproducing and translocating of their own volition. A Civilization where the individuals were composed of planets, and not lifeforms that emerged upon those planets. The sheer scale and power of such a civilization beggared the mind. He couldn’t even fathom what their sociology and minds looked like; he could barely comprehend Gaia’s thoughts despite living on her for more than a hundred and fifty years with both his lives combined.

The images that the laminar integument shared with him were eerie. The planets were clad with exotic matter, making him consider a truly horrifying realization. “Are these infected planets?!”

“Progenitor. Of. Species. Failed. Infected. Planet.” The Tendril of Light explained. “Most. Likely. Damaged. Alien. Virus. Seed. Failed. To. Create. Sentient. Virus. Instead. Created. Sentient. Exotic. Planet.”

Chills crawled across Rui’s skin as he realized what that sounded like.

“That sounds exactly like Gaia.”