The Urgath - by Sharktogonapus

Warning: the following contains non sexual content I am writing this piece and the episodes that follow to introduce an alien species I created for Snekguy's Pinwheel universe. This is a non profit fanfiction that's a labor of love dedicated to Snekguy, the world he created, and anyone who likes his stories. this is my first story I have written in such a manner. And Im no good at writing sexual content. Also I typed this whole thing out on a tablet so writing and editing this thing's gonna be a bitch.

Arrivals:

To say there was an air of suspense on Fort Hamilton, known to most as the Pinwheel, would have been an understatement. The hallways around the transport hanger were packed with people waiting eagerly to see the newest members of the Coalition, the Urgath. The secretive aliens had only made contact with the coalition forces barely four months ago, but already their presence was being felt. Rumors circulated about short aliens covered in fur. The landing in the hanger was supposed to be a small event but the news of an arrival of a whole new race had somehow gotten out. Exactly on time an odd craft started approaching the pinwheel, the ship was like a giant box, blue pulses coming out of the engines as it slowed down from FTL speed to landing speed in an instant, less than 300 yards away from the pinwheel's hanger doors. It cruised into the hanger landing gear sprouting from hidden crevasses letting out a soft hiss of pressurized air. A Minute crack appeared on the side of the ship turning into a ramp that lowered down on cleverly designed hinges two doors behind the ramp opened and an Urgath stepped out.
	He was a short creature no more than 4'9" and his bowlegged stance and short legs did him no favors. He looked like a cross between a mammal and a reptile. While he was covered in a short silky dark fur, from what the crowd could see, it was all uniform length, covering the entirety of his body, with the exception of his face, palms and soles of the feet revealing tough looking leathery skin.  His head was reptilian with a round muzzle and dark lips. Four eyes scanned the crowd two large ones in front facing forward while two smaller ones stared out too the side though currently all four were focused on the crowd. While the Urgath didn't posses a nose like structure he had two large nostrils resembling a gorilla's. Two holes on the side of his head served as ears. At his sides hung four long powerful arms each almost long enough to touch the ground his hands each had three fingers and an opposable them. He had stumpy but powerful pillar like legs ending in round feet from which three round toes stuck out and a fourth one stuck out of the back. A short fat tail came out from between his legs. He raised his four arms in greeting.
	"I hope we weren't late, the time halfway across the galaxy is 16 minutes off" he spoke in a deep bass voice. The crowd was stunned silent. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, an oddly  human gesture. "Eeesh tough crowd." The Urgath marched to the commander of the pinwheel. Saluting with his upper right arm. "Permission to disembark sir?" the admiral returned the salute, a tiny grin floating on his face, hidden by his mustache.
	"Permission granted"
	The urgath raised his hand and closed it into a fist a column of 20 urgaths marched out of the ship in a tunic like military uniform, like most creatures with tails, they seemed to avoid pants each one had a different skin color most were earthy colors but two of them were purple. They urgath leading them was covered in silvery gray fur except where he was scarred, he looked like he had picked a fight with 5 chainsaws and somehow had come out on top he also had the distinction of a green and black striped fur cape that draped from his broad shoulders all the way to his thighs. Clearly he was in charge.
	"Commander Tifilin Murchrarch and the Gath division of extraplanetary soldiers reporting for duty sir" both he and the commander shook hands. Every Urgath behind him saluted simultaneously. Thus the urgath joined the unn.

Chapter 2: fitting in

The following is an extract from a report from an officer of Fort Hamilton
Commander,
It's been two weeks since the our new allies boarded and integration has been going better than projected. The Urgath squadrons from its colonies have arrived as well the Mystol urgaths are a lot hairier and much taller than their cousins when their commander (a tall male named Urnzt with a huge beard) met Tifilin they started shouting at each other in their language most thought they'd come to blows but they both started laughing, turns out they're old comrades.
	The Dystol Urgaths are led by a female named Lazul, she's the youngest out of the three but still quite skilled I saw her spar against 4 of our marines at once and she wasn't hit once. The Urgath treat krell  like long lost brothers, apparently most living space on their homeworld is underground. They use subsonic frequencies to communicate over long distances they actually talk and listen to Krell. Some even learned Borealan, two of the Mystolans learned the polar language much to the delight of the mad cats. Considering their strength and durability some were afraid the Borealans would start fights with them. Urgaths rarely fight alone and they're accomplished martial artists. They have gained an understanding of one another plus they have something in common, apparently both their planets are full of monsters.
	I heard some hunting stories from the Urgath that will give me nightmares. I was drinking with a female who actually lost two arms hunting apparently they can regenerate lost limbs even damaged organs. On a personal note, never play cards with them i don't know how they do it but they can always tell when someone's lying to them even when they were good and drunk no one could out bluff them even Krell.
Corporal [redacted] signing out.

Part three: kills bugs dead

	Tifilin led the group of marines to the firing range while normally under Stanley's command, Tifilin, as the senior Urgath commander, was given full reign to demonstrate Urgath tech which was becoming standard issue in most coalition engagements. He turned around looking at the cadets up till now he'd been giving this lecture to cadets but everyone here had seen combat he grinned internally.
	"At ease ladies and gentlemen i understand you want to get back to your shore leave but we got some new toys for you to play with here so pay attention" the marines relaxed visibly. Tifilin walked over to a table set out on the range picking up a red ball shaped grenade. "This is the red mist grenade it's loaded with a pheromone blocking compound that is non toxic to all coalition members." The Urgath looked up at the assembled all eyes were on him even the Borealans, nearly twice his height, were paying close attention. "This cuts off the bugs ability to communicate in battle though it dissolves completely into non toxic substances after roughly thirty human minutes. The red mist also confuses and disorients them." A Borealan raised his hand Tifilin acknowledged him. "Ask your question"
The Borealan barked out "sir any side effects?"
	Tifilin spun the grenade on his finger like a basketball "it deadens your sense of smell until it dissolves but again that just takes thirty minutes we've had centuries to perfect this tech. But it works wonders on the enemy. The bugs panic, lose formation in a few instances they've turned on each other slicing their companions to ribbons. Unable to communicate they become easy targets even when the red clears of course it has a limited amount of time to work again roughly 30 minutes but that's an eternity on the field in a battle."
	The officer demonstrated how to arm the grenades and to disarm them. Then he gave it a toss down the firing range at some dummies Tifilin could have pitched for the world series his long arms making the throw a hard fastball. The grenade landed in the exact center of the targets letting out two loud metallic tinks then it burst, almost instantaneously  covering the entire group of dummies in a red swirling cloud of smoky mist that dissipated after 30 seconds. "After that went off any bug in the vicinity would be acting twitchy at worst or attacking its sisters at best." Tifilin walked over to a large crate close to the table where the grenades sat he opened it pulling out a black chestpiece it was roughly human sized "this is Urgath armor made for humans we're working in a codename  but this armor has served my species in battle for hundreds of years it is the closest thing we can get to being plasma proof it's powered by body heat, can track vitals, absorbs and dissipates plasma shots for extended battery life, and can withstand multiple railgun shots with no ill effect, it's also lightweight and one size fits all." he tossed the chestpiece to a large marine "try it out son."
	The marine looked doubtfully at the armor then put it over his head the armor moved like silk over his body and mechanically adjusted itself, fitting his torso perfectly "wow" was all he could say and that was the general consensus.
	Tifilin smiled "how'd you like to test it out?" "um sir?" the marine queried as the shorter alien hit him with a quad palm strike to the chest sending him flying back 7 feet into a Krell who caught him. The marine was dumbstruck "i didn't feel a thing". Tifilin grinned "That's the idea, currently earth scientists are unable to mass produce this tech but we're teaching them. in approximately 3 years this armor will be available for all soldiers of every species." Tifilin took the armor back placing it in back in the crate.
	"Not that your ceramic was doing a bad job"
	"We're also working on upgrading the XMR rifle bodies but I don't have any prototypes to show you yet"

Chapter 4: older than the hills

	Kofe looked down at the human in disbelief and disappointment "what do you mean all the rooms are booked for hours?" the human looked up at her furry friend.
	"Just what I said all the rooms are booked, some of the Urgaths have taken a liking to here. room 2 has just a few though if you ask them they might allow you to join them." Kofe gave a nod of approval. The little aliens had actually taken a liking to her business in the words of one of the females "tasty, and it keeps us full for days". So she liked them back they were always polite and she liked watching them split her longburgers, usually eating them in groups of two, each of them paying her a compliment after eating. The receptionist got on the phone and called one f the rooms after a brief conversation she put down the phone.
	"Room 1 will happily let you in." Kofe paid and went  down the hall stopping when she heard an unusual sound, it was deep music rich and haunting. Coming from room 7 the largest room Kofe felt the fur rise along her spine as the deep notes penetrated her core. She opened the door looking in.
	8 Mystol  Urgaths sat in the Borealan sized benches they all had their heads raised and eyes closed. Each of them holding a note they all sang in low tones from deep in their chests in perfect harmony. Kofe listened to the hypnotic music as each one fell silent. They all looked at her till a female called out "either join us or close the door dear"
	Kofe elected to join them sitting on an unoccupied bench.
	Mystol Urgaths are slightly different from their homeworld  brothers and sisters after millennia of years their bodies adapted to the winters of Mystol. Their hair was longer and shaggier they all were taller to though most of their height difference was made up by longer legs as they no longer had to remain compact because of underground living. Some of them almost reaching 6 feet. Their feet all ended in hooked claws that could grip ice and snow better and the males all seemed to grow long bushy beards many of them braiding them even braiding some of their longer body hair. Though their faces remained hair free.
Kofe cleared her throat as the aliens waited for her to speak, their were 5 males 3 females each of them forgoing a towel as their genitalia were hidden by their cloacae. The females all had breasts that would have seemed a little big for them if it weren't for their large ribcages.
	Other than their breasts and their flared feminine hips there was little to distinguish them from males aside from a lack of long beards and sideburns, though Kofe had seen two females with large sideburns too.
	"What was that?" asked Kofe
	A scarred male looked up at her, Urnzt, the commander of the Mystol forces on pinwheel "tis the song of Secran, an old city on Mystol a few of us were feeling homesick, so we thought we'd sing an old song. were we disturbing you?" his voice was a deep grumbly growl if bears or mountains  could talk they'd sound like Urnzt.
Kofe shook her head "oh no I'd just never heard anything like that before" The 8 aliens nodded understandingly. "Not like you have heard many of us singing." one of them put some more water on the stones filling the room with mist. "Is there anything we can help you with mirshka?"
	Kofe shook her head no but asked, "my name's not mirshka it's Kofe what does mirshka mean?"
	"Mirshka is our word for a youngster  seeking answers" one of them explained.
	Kofe suddenly felt a bit like a kitten again. The 16 pairs of eyes looking at her seemed like they were boreing into her she felt like she was younger than she was.
	"But I'm a full grown woman not a kitten" she said.
	"By your standards yes" Urnzt rumbled. Another picked up his sentence "if you were an Urgath you'd be considered a child." the Urgath speaking looked the same age as the others only Urnzt and the female next to him showed any signs of age. Urnzt had more scars than some equatorials Kofe knew as well as more salt in his beard than pepper (though his fur was a dark grey) and the female next to him had silver hairs on her shoulders and on the top of her head.
	"Oh come now you can't be older than 50 Urnzt"
	Every Urgath laughed till tears rolled down their faces one of them actually rolled off the Borealan sized bench. It took minutes for the hilarity to die down.
	"Kofe, mishka by the reckoning of humans I'd be 354 years of age" Urnzt chuckled. He clapped the shoulder of the silvered female, "Raga here is even older than I at 376"
	Kofe was stunned speechless. After awhile she spoke, "That can't be right, are you sure you don't mean months?" Raga spoke " if he meant months he would have said months"
	This explained so much about them, their carefulness, the way they looked at people like they knew what they were thinking, the way they gave advice and council to everyone, these were habits of age picked up over centuries of life. Kofe asked Urnzt "are you all old?"
	"Age is a number but a military life is considered by my people to be for those who are past the age to have or raise children their are exceptions"
	Urnzt continued, his head bowed "I once was an exception, I started my career at the age of 97, way younger than my superiors I rose through the ranks now I'm the commander of my planet's forces outside our system. Experience means a lot to our people."
Some of the other Urgaths put their hands on him, patting him softly. The aliens seemed so comforting. Kofe looked at him hard, his skin was riddled with scars from bug knifes a few patches of fur were missing on his arms from plasma burns. Over 250 years fighting bugs had marked the tough little alien in ways she couldn't imagine she felt a combination of pity and awe.
The bell suddenly rang, the ten minute warning. 4 of them left, going to the showers including Urnzt. The older female stayed though.
	"Don't pity Urnzt, he chose his life. A few of his relatives were killed on Dystol during a bug invasion. He never really got over it. So he protects others through his life. If it weren't for him bugs might have come to Mystol, they only found it once. And thanks to soldiers like him they never even set foot on it." the other three nodded knowingly.
One of them patted Kofe. She snapped back to the present. "You need this relaxation as much as us ill pay for another 30 minutes for you." The other four aliens left simultaneously, leaving Kofe alone with her thoughts.

Chapter 5 on the front and in the trenches. Your local Urgath are fighting for you.

	It is often said that by those who have experienced it that war isn't glamorous, rather it is long periods of unrelenting boredom, punctuated by brief moments of stark terror. Captain Reynolds was thinking along those lines as he looked over his troops. The marines consisted of the usual mix of humans, Borealans, and krell, but 6 new faces were among them the Urgath. As the newest members of the coalition many officers didn't know if they needed special treatment or even how to use them. One thing Reynolds noticed right of the bat was they seemed to treat everything that wasn't an order as a joke they always had good natured grins on their faces they made quick quips at most things he'd even seen stern faced Tigra (the Borealan alpha) crack a smile at some of their jokes. But on military business their grins vanished and became grimaces of determination. The only officer among them was a male named Agruk who carried the rank of sargeant. He was a crusty old soul but he was good at his job and he was always ready to talk. At the moment Agruk was looking over the ramparts of the new base. Reynolds joined him.
	Both he and the aged alien looked over the sparse lowland of cruxi 3 a tough little planet on the edge of coalition space it looked similar to the Australian outback mostly rocky soil and the occasional scrubrush,  twisted tree or patch of tough grass. It was also swarming with Bugs. The bug colony hadn't been established for long but it was definitely there. Warriors had been encountered at other coalition  outposts on the planet too. The bugs hadn't taken kindly to the joint forces of the coalition and Urgathian space navies reducing their orbital defense satellites to flaming piles of scrap metal. Attacks were frequent and all of the bases on the planet were on constant alert. The Urgath had been fighting Bugs since before the coalition's  founding so the smart little aliens had developed many technologies to fight them, technologies they were happy to share with their new allies their observation drones were especially useful. Being able to detect movement above and below ground.
	Agruk chewed a piece of jerky he had with him offering a piece to Reynolds, who accepted it. The jerky had come from Mystol and was very tasty but tougher than leather and took an eternity of chewing to become soft enough to swallow. Reynolds had seen pictures of the creatures they got the meat from, resembling armored reptilian rhinoceroses, which explained the toughness of the meat. It was good if you needed something to chew. Reynolds having given up chewing tobacco a few years ago found it pleasant.
	"Anything to report?"
	"Scanners have reported activity 23 clicks from here i'll keep you posted sir also from what our spy drone network has found surface foraging has diminished meaning the bugs are trying to remain hidden either that or they're a colony with farming capabilities and they've managed to establish a crop."
Agruk had been fighting Bugs since before Reynolds' grandfather was a tyke the captain trusted the old alien's council.
	"Your opinion?"
	"They're probably scouting for a weakness before an attack also this planet is harsh and barely capable of supporting the foraging tactics bugs are fond of. They're probably going to use us as materials for nutrition if they can I'd say expect an attack within 2 weeks maybe 5 days with no way to get offworld it's a war of attrition for them till Urgath command get some tremor makers here. With those we can collapse their nests. Till then we're gonna have to play defensive."
	"Fuck"
	"Yep"
	"How long till your people can help?"
	"Don't take this the wrong way sir, but this little backwater planet isn't top priority so maybe 2 months for tremor makers on the other hand we got aerial support at anytime and I've been informed that an Umbaf is stationed in orbit."
	"Umbaf?"
	"Urgath's answer to bug warriors"
	The short alien didn't elaborate further, both he and Reynolds looked to the horizon. Cruxi 3 was beautiful in its own right but the fact it was crawling with bugs turned the whole scene sour. Both officers looked out chewing slowly. Tigra broke the silence popping up next to them.
	"Seen anything interesting?"
	Both replied "no." She took her place next to them. "It's so boring lately"
	Agruk looked up at her "cheer up, fight's coming soon, I can feel it in my bones."
	Tigra patted the alien on top of his velvety  head. "Your bones are usually right, that is good news sarge."
	"So to what do we owe the pleasure, Tigra?" Agruk asked straightening his head fur.
	The Borealan grinned "I smelled jerky," Agruk tore a piece  from his uneaten hunk handing it to Tigra, who popped it into her mouth.

Day 2: Gifts from above

	During the night several cargo ships had come down from the Coalition star ships above, new weapons ammo and supplies were of course among them but three large seamless white crates and several small ones puzzled everyone until someone thought of asking Agruk. Upon being approached by one of the Urgath soldiers a script appeared on the side. The Urgath script looked like it had been chiseled out of the container when she put her hand on the smallest box and seams appeared letting her open it, the system was much easier than using crowbars or box cutters. The only Mystol Urgath on the base stepped forward taking the contents.
	"Watcha got?" one of the marines asked.  The alien held out her hand proudly, in it was a carved stone figure of some animal very lifelike and detailed. "Personal effects" the Urgath smiled proudly, "my mate's an artist he said he'd send me something."
	The Urgath marched over the her new friend a Krell  she had bonded with, no one other than Urgath and Krell could pronounce his name so most people called him Tank. She showed him the stone carving and he huffed appreciatively, the unlikely duo went to sit in the shade neither liking the hot and dry climate. The rest of the Urgath sorted out their delivery some receiving disks containing holographic letters from their home but the three largest crates remained, the first one contained a military supply drop including a crate of the Red Mist grenades.
	The second however had Agruk's name on it, it was a large container covered in Urgath writing the 5 remaining Urgath gathered around it looking at Agruk. One word came out from his lips "muchi." He opened it immediately an earthy smell came from under the unsealed lid inside the large crate was over 40 large lumpy mushroom caps each the size of a dinner plate, the color was the golden brown of crust of a home baked bread, they were about three inches thick as well. The five Urgath looked at the crate like it was full of the finest treasure, one  even wiping away a tear. "Torsin farm muchi mushrooms, the best muchi shrooms in all of Gath." Agruk spoke quietly.
Two of the supply officers looked into the crate. "What's the big deal? They're some goofy giant shrooms what's the big deal?" All 10 pairs of eyes looked at him. "The big deal is these are Torsin farms muchi" one of them explained, "the contents of this crate probably cost a year's salary, it's a delicacy"
Agruk took out one of the shrooms breaking it into pieces, he shared it equally amongst all present. The Urgath munched happily while the humans scanned it before eating the cake slice sized portions. The flesh was dense and packed with nuitrients, it had a nutty, hardy flavor with a hint of starch. Agruk sealed the container again.
"We shouldn't eat these all raw, mushrooms these good deserve to be cooked in something delicious, and shared with everyone here."
"Cooked in what though the cuisine here isn't top notch"
The supply officer finished his slice. "Why not fry them with the cook's permission? Then you won't be using superior ingredients with inferior cooking?" the Urgath contemplated for just a moment then smiled, "that's as close to a perfect idea as I can come up with right now thank you," one said.

***

"Sure," said the cook, "S'long as they're nontoxic to humans, Borealans or Krell."
The cook was excellent at his job despite his location, available ingredients and the stigmas that always followed army chefs. Frying the gourmet mushrooms expertly he put a few in some of the meat dishes he was prepping but the majority were fried expertly cut into portion sized pieces and served it on plates like slices of bread.
The mushrooms were an almost unmitigated success, the exotic but familiar taste combined with their nutritional qualities made them an amazing dish.
Near the end of dinner one of the privates was cleaning up the mess, with an Urgath, one of the muchi slices remained untouched, he picked it up finishing it off. "Say what  muchi mean anyway?"
"It means crap" the Urgath replied, "they grow nicely on fecal matter."
The private spat out the mushroom.
"You know they're  washed before they're shipped right? Waste of good muchi"

Chapter 6. A meeting of the minds.

Admiral West was in a nervous mood, pacing around his office like normal, he stopped in front of his mirror for what seemed the 16th time he was a noble looking fellow with streaks of grey in his hair despite being only 39. Not a hair out of place as usual. West was one of the most well informed individuals of the Unn, as a high ranking member of not just the military but also of the intelligence division. He was a worrier by nature but kept a cool head and a usually pleasant attitude at all times, but it wasn't often one got to interview one of the enlightened sages guideing a planet.

The Urgath had made only a few conditions for joining the Coalition, the first and foremost being a new planet of their choosing for colonization, the second one being that three of their leaders the Elders be allowed to be relocated to the pinwheel, one from each planet, as military strategists. All three were scheduled to arrive today, but before they were to start work Admiral West was going to interview one of them and hopefully pump the alien for information.

Right on time the Elder's ship docked in Fort Hamilton's port, the short aliens never liked hurrying but they were almost always punctual, something West always appreciated. By now Urgath ships were a common enough sight that the appearance of one didn't draw crowds, aside from those whose job it was to attend to such matters. The ship's doors didn't open until the go ahead from the station's security chief, Moralez. The ship's doors opened an a small, tight knit group of individuals disembarked. 4 were heavily armed and armored Urgath soldiers, 4 tall quad armed robots flanked them carrying glowing polearms in the top pair of arms their second pair of their arms resting on large plasma rifles that looked like they could melt a hover tank. In the center was two Urgaths in robes looking at a singular one in a floating chair, that resembled a wooden throne, the guards opened ranks allowing the admiral to approach the elder.
The Urgath looked like the definition of the word "old". The four arms resting on the four arm rests were devoid of almost any muscle, the four eyes were sunken into their sockets what little fur remained on his visible body was white and wispy like threads of cotton. His leather like skin was wrinkled like an elephants (though it was the color of milk chocolate.) Even the way he was placed in his chair indicated that he was struggling against the age of his own body. Yet things indicated their was still life in him his four forest green eyes still sparkled and twinkled with intelligence, he was extremely alert too judging by the way his eyes roved.

"Admiral West, pleased to make your acquaintance, I am elder Kaukran." his voice rang out like a bell as he reached forward to shake West's hand, there was no quaver of age and as West found out when he shook his hand, he still had a firm grip.

"My pleasure Elder." West said, genuinely meaning it. He led what felt like a miniature parade as the guards surrounded the elder again, following him to his office in the central hub of the pinwheel.

Admiral West stopped eventually at his office. The Urgath Elder's entourage blocking access to the VIP. As admiral West opened the door to the office one of the droids stepped forward.
" I am designated the name of Garros admiral West," it spoke in a voice that was soothing, but authoritative "Protocol dictates that I scan your room before the elder enters it without guards permit me temporary access to your office."

West was taken aback but allowed it, the robot placed its intimidating weapon outside the room then walked quickly inside. Standing still, it scanned the room quickly. After which the droid bowed respectfully and retrieved its weapon. "The room is secure, thank you for patience and understanding."

West and the Kaukran went inside the Elder's chair unfolding mechanical legs and turning of the gravity manipulation device that allowed it to hover and settling down on the opposite side of West's desk.

"Before we start may I ask what that was about?" West inquired. Kaukran rubbed his chin one of the few places his hair had not been thinned by age. "Around 8000 years ago there was a trend of Elder assassinations Garros is a product of that era he's very thorough."
Kaukran folded his hands, "but no elder has died due to violence since then."
"It's almost as if he doesn't trust me." West said, amused.

Kaukran chuckled. Now then to business, I believe you had some questons for me?"
West poured over his notes. Then put them down he knew what he wanted to ask but he needed to compose himself he turned on a recorder. "Why really did you join the Coalition, according to our records and the data on your species you've given us, your species is self sufficient,  technologically advanced even surpassing humanity, and well protected? It has caused some suspicion among certain individuals that you'd be willing to ally with us and even share some of your technology with us."

Kaukran straightened up in his chair. "How much do you know of our history with the bugs? Or just of our history, period?" "it all starts with Dystol. When we found that planet it was an uninhabitable rock the only things it had going for it was surface water, good soil composition a magnetosphere, if it had life it would've been a perfect planet. We terraformed it over the course of 10000 of your human years towing in ice laden meteors introducing bacteria and then plants we took a dead uninhabitable planet and made it into our species' third home. It was the crowning achievement of our species, we built a glorious city named Saucren. I've seen footage of it it was beautiful. That was 5000 years ago. Then 2500 years ago they came. The bugs." Kaukran sank into his chair. He looked sad and angry. His hands gripped the chair arms. "Those insects gassed the inhabitants of Saucren 2 million Urgath died there. My species collectively went crazy every Urgath with a ship capable of FTL travel and a weapon headed for Dystol. Within days the torrent of my species had wiped out the invaders but at great cost, one in three of my species across all three planets was dead or injured. The population only made it up to that level just 300 years ago, within my lifetime. Today Saucren is forbidden to all of my kind it's a memorial and a reminder of the cruelty of those insects. We don't want any other species to suffer as we have suffered. Then we picked up coalition ships on our scanners we started spying on you, seeing if you'd be good allies. We initiated contact with your government  and the rest is known to you."

West looked down at his notes. "reguarding the spying, during your species'  confirmation hearing we asked that you turn over all data and analysis you had on us but from what some of our data analysts could observe, the data seemed imcomplete you had already figured out Earth's coordinates by the time you began your observations can you explain this?"
Kaukran brought out a small disk shaped computer from one of the arms of his chair the hologram display booted up "You're absolutely right but that's because our first received signal from you wasn't a military broadcasts but a cultural one." Kaukran typed on a hologram keyboard bringing up an old file "we found your species from a deep space probe picking up space signals it was only a short broadcast we caught but once we translated the code we got this. Kaukran pressed the file the unseen computer speakers playing harsh static then West could hear distinct human voices.
"Is this the real life? Is this just fanta* ***** aught in a landslide, no escape from reality." the whole song played out occasionally interrupted by static. Finally finishing with the voice of a long dead radio jockey "that was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Now by special request What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. The first opening bars played before the recording dissolved into static.
West folded his hands resting his chin upon them. Kaukran powered down his computer, sliding it into the hidden slot in the chair arm.
West turned off the recording device. "My friend are you serious the first human voices that your species heard was Freddie Mercury and Queen?"
Kaukran laughed "not a bad first impression all things considered, wouldn't you agree?"
West nodded "no not bad at all"

Kaukran unhinged a hidden compartment in his chair pulling out a hologram computer "in recognition of our alliance I'd like to present you with this, it is the most complete star chart known to my kind if you'd turn down the lights I'd like to show you how it works."
West resumed his recording, dimming the lights. The elder turned on the hologram and a vast detailed map of the galaxy sprang forth from the projector it was vast, three dimensional, and moving in time with the galaxy. Kaukran spent a few hours showing West how to interface with the map and how to upload the map to Coalition computers, what was classified for the Urgath and what was common knowledge. The chart was a masterpiece, with planetary and star chemical analysis it included plans for mining and  planetary exploration. West was fascinated by the extent of the Urgaths empire which was massive for a species only colonizing three planets, most exoplanets near the Urgath were unlivable and uncolonizeable. Thus most had been mined for resources by the clever aliens a few possible candidates had been destroyed by them as a defense against the Bugs.

Kaukran brought up a menu bringing the galaxy, "there's something you should see." He pressed on a button on the display. Immediately coalition space was changed to a bright green. "This is the coalition's sphere of influence and all territory it has been updated with the Val'a'bra's data. The tattered green expanse of space spreading that was the territory protected by the UNN, it made him smile. The Urgath elder tapped another menu and a different color lit up a massive blotchy red that stretched from coalition space to the Urgath's space. In a few places they intersected it was like a massive rash. West recognized a few areas.
"Is that?..... No."
Kaukran's face was the picture of sadness. "This is the sphere of influence of every known Bug hive." Kaukran moved the map shifting it more towards Urgath space. "I'd like to draw your attention to one planet in particular." Kaukran tapped on one planet. It brought up a green and red blotchy planet covered in spires. "This is a planet my people call Carabas. All but one hive ships targeting our planets have come from this hive. It has 1.1 times earth's gravity is covered in heavy forests and is immensely fortified. The queen of this planet seems to see us as her natural prey. She has sent non colonizing ships to attempt to weaken Dystol. This planet and the monster it hides have been my species's bane for 5000 years if it's all the same with you, we'd like to destroy it, completely." West looked at the planet. "Why haven't been able to take it out by yourselves?"
"Not for a lack of trying we've attempted to invade it three separate times but we simply lack the manpower, pardon the expression there aren't more than 4 billion Urgath along all our planets, most of whom are not capable of being soldiers. As for droids we are currently working on creating more that are combat capable but we currently don't have enough made. What we need is a larger invasion force to take out the numerous shield generators. Once that is done we plan on shattering this planet so it may never be used against us."
"If this is done, West, we will be free to use our vast navy in the Unn's service, but until it is gone most of our navy will remain in protection of our planets."

West touched the menu, the territories were color coded, Humanity a blue, urgaths were yellow, Brokers and Krell where a dark green, the Val'a'bra and its former colony were a beautiful violet [dear snek if you don't want this part as part of your universe please delete the section in the parenthesis] (but one color had no label, curiously West pushed it, the map spun to a arm of the galaxy largely unexplored and unprobed by humanity it was colored gray and stretched for multiple systems at least twelve planets were shown prominently. "Kaukran what is this?"

Kaukran sighed "it is a long story for it i will require some water or a stiff drink"
West turned around getting a pitcher of water pouring Kaukran a tall glass he also got out a small bottle of aged whiskey and two glasses putting a shot's worth into each glass as well as some ice he handed it to him taking a sip from his own. The elder slowly gulped his water taking another sip from his glass filled with liquor. "Good stuff this."
"Anyways about these planets, they are forbidden and dangerous. They are home to one of the great failures of intelligent life."
West choked on his whiskey "intelligent life? Are you serious?"

Kaukran grimaced "life is a bit of an overstatement. We don't know what they called themselves, or even if they had a name that could be spoken in sonic vibrations, what we do know is they were incredibly intelligent, they were capable of telekenisis, and most likely telepathy their cranial structures were double humanity's in brain to body ratio. We call them the Wergasnor a word in our language meaning wise fools. Also they went extinct almost 15000 years ago. We know what caused it they were mentally strong bur their bodies had atrophied by evolution almost to the point of uselessness. They fulfilled their physical needs with automata, droids, robots, mechanical helpers. Unfortunately from what we can tell either a virus or malicious AI turned the mechanical servants on their masters it was complete and utter genocide. The planets are all completely devoid of life above the microbiological level. What's worse the robotic servants are all still active, the solar power plants are still maintained and new robots are still created by working factories. All of them are hostile toward any organic life."

West looked at the line of planets "what of the one in white"
Kaukran took another sip of his drink. "It was their newest colony no more than a few months old we estimate. By consequence it had no working robot factories. Thus all its robotic inhabitants had all run out of power and malfunctioned by the time our archaeologists got there it was quiet."

West looked at the 12 planets "out of curiosity have you managed to recover any of the tech of the extinct aliens?"
"Unfortunately the only tech we've been able to adapt is the matter we use for our fuel cells and batteries it allows incredible amounts of stored energy in proportion to the amount of substance used and it stores the energy for an immensely long time we refer to it as werelector currently humanity doesn't have the ability to create the stuff but we're teaching your scientists within a decade you'll be able to make your own even the brokers are interested in it. As for other tech a research lab did experiments on a deactivated house cleaning droid. They ended up reactivating it. The result was like something out of a human horror film." Kaukran took another sip of whiskey, "the droid could telekenetically move  matter it was easy for it to tear limbs from bodies and heads from necks. The rouge droid was disposed by a security guards. But not before robbing 48 Urgaths of their lives. As for other tech most buildings on the colony were sealed probably because of the chaos most of their buildings were shut tight and all of the buildings require telekinesis to open most of them by moving a nonmagnetic ball inside a lock. The construction of the buildings is so sturdy that the amount of force needed to enter would destroy the interiors. When we got what info we could we marked the planets as forbidden as they are all essentially graveyards. We want to respect the dead. And before you ask...." Kaukran raised his hand stopping West from asking a question. "Even with the help of the Queen of Jarillo I very much doubt we could resurrect their species for several reasons. First off their DNA is fundamentally different from yours and mine as they were silicon based lifeforms with a DNA structure different in construction from ours they have a triple helix which I'm not sure she can read. Second even if she can resurrect them the only two specimens of Wergasnor we have DNA from were both male we would not be able to be able to clone genetically diverse race, they'd all end up inbred or just clones. Third off the living conditions of most Coalition members would be toxic to them they didn't breathe oxygen but they breathed ammonia if one were to take a breath of the air we are breathing it would be like inhaling fire also as the mechanical inhabitants of their planets wiped out all the other biological inhabitants of their worlds we wouldn't be able to fulfill their nutritional requirements. They wouldn't be able to breath our air, eat our food or maybe even speak like us. We elders have been discussing this issue for thousands of years. That's how we choose to leave it.")

West looked back at the map, then turned it off. "Thank you for your information this will drastically shorten the war hopefully."
Kaukran folded both sets of his hands. "It's my new job helping you and the UNN you are our allies now and I want, no We want to make this war as short as possible with the smallest amount of lives lost. I've got lots of experience on the field as a soldier as well as commanding soldiers on the ground as well as remotely. I know it's impossible and an old pipe dream but I want the unnecessary loss of life to stop. And I'm going to put my brain and mind to work till this relic of a body conks out on me. West..." the old alien took West's hands into his "I'm giving you full license to work this old war dog to the bone if necessary." Despite Kaukran's age there was a fire in all four of his eyes.

 "We're not going to kill you friend." West said "but this is gonna be to tough"
Kaukran leaned back,  " of course not, but I've always been a hard worker."
Kaukran pointed at the clock "I believe we must end this little chat, as nice as it has been, it is getting late and I'm growing tired, a little side effect of age." West turned off the recording device. The old alien reactivated his chair the soft blue glow of the hover tech was very soothing. They both walked into the corridor, into another procession. At the center was a different hoverchair. The chair was metal but trimmed with black polished horns shaped and carved into a head rest. Upon the chair sat a majestic, beautiful, white furred, female Urgath, clad in blue green robes. West stared, just a little startled.
"Jadara, you're early." Kaukran chimed.
The new Elder's mouth curled into a smile. Her voice was soft but powerful, slightly sultry too "Kaukran, an unexpected meeting, but not an unpleasant one. You are looking well, both physically and emotionally." A loud voice from behind the throne spoke up "Kaukran iszat you?" from behind the chair came an enormously fat, bearded Urgath stepped forwared. Kaukran slid out of his chair waddling toward him. The tall Urgath leaned over picking up Kaukran into a 4 armed bear hug. West watched a little awkwardly. The tall Urgath walked his old friend over, gently placing his old friend into his chair. Jadara spoke quietly "my love, you two can catch up tomorrow as much as I like reuniting with old friends I'd like to retire to bed. Kaukran, would you and Alma care to join us for a meal tomorrow?"

Kaukran nodded. "Nothing would please me more Jadara." With only a slight nod from her, the Mystol Elder's procession moved towards the quarters reserved for the elders and their entourages. In the pinwheel's hub.
When they where out of sight lost to the interior maze of corridors, West asked "Who is she?"
"Elder Jadara of Mystol. She's a master of space combat techniques, space naval engagement, and during her youth she was an unequaled spacefighter pilot. She was an admiral during the last war with the bugs. Even while pregnant she led her fleet against the bug colonization ships to victory." she'll make a top tier admiral if you ever decide to make her such."
"And the large male's her husband?" West asked walking along as Kaukran started heading towards the Elder quarters.
"He is, and he's a dear friend of mine, but Bizkal is everyone's friend he's the kindest individual I've ever met, I've been alive for 436 years and I've never met a kinder heart or a gentler soul."
"So who's Dystol sending?"

"Elder Rikol, he's  bit of an oddity, he's disrespectful of his elders, egotistical, and is often acts contrarily to tradition just to spite people who value it. At the same time he's fucking brilliant. The best military strategist that I've  ever encountered before he gave up his personal wealth for the position of elder he was the 6th most whealthy Urgath on all three planets building an empire of companies based on his inventions, financial investments, and just his own wit. He's the equal of any Broker, when it comes to financial decisions, and on top of all that, he's the third youngest Urgath to pass the Elder exams, in 60,000 years."
"Aw Kaukran I didn't know you cared."
Both West and Kaukran swiftly turned around as well as Kaukran's guards. Behind them was a solitary Dystol Urgath, clad in human suit, grinning.

Kaukran lost none of his composure. "I never said I disagreed with your abilities or your talent. But your obnoxious personality is something I could do without."
Rikor laughed. "Well even someone like me can change maybe with age I'll mellow out and become an old fogey bound to a hovering chair like you. But for now I can still walk on the legs i was born with."
"I'm only 92 years older than you and I can still walk you know." Kaukran replied. Rikol laughed, "then get walking old one, lead this collection of species to a brighter tomorrow."

West stepped up "you better pull your weight too. Don't let him do your part." Rikol nodded. "Of course not, thanks to this dreamer our fates are intertwined. I want a brighter future for all of us, same as any elder."
Rikol walked past Kaukran's guards heading toward one off the command rooms "there's a situation on a planet called Cruxi 3 that they want my guidance on, you get some rest wise one, no doubt we'll all be worked half do death trying to win this war. The perfect job eh, our wits against the bug's numbers."
West and Kaukran watched him go. "What did he mean by that?" West queried mostly to himself.

Kaufman's contingent walked further down the hall with West in tow. They stopped at the quarters reserved for Kaukran's  guards and his two advisers, who bid the elder goodnight. One of the droids walked along with Kaukran and West.
"What's he mean, Rikol said they were all in this because of you?" West asked.
"Oh that, of all the elders who wanted to join the Coalition, I was the most outspoken and the most dedicated to changing the naysayers minds. Many Urgath view joining as my idea. Despite the debate going on since the Borealans joined. Rikol was for it too but he was a bit more skeptical."

"About that guy how should we deal with him?"
"Keep him busy, he's as hard working as he is intelligent. He was languishing on Dystol it was too efficient and too tame even with the ever present threat of impending bug invasion, being an elder mostly involves giving advice and reviewing and changing laws, he needs stimulation. If the UNN keeps him busy he'll be a great asset." Kaukran looked up at West, "looks like we're here."
West looked around finding himself at the Elder's new apartment renovated from a room formerly used to house alien dignitaries, which it was still technically doing, just with a permanent occupant. "Come in West, I want my wife to meet my new friend." The door opened letting out a delicious smell and the sound of a woman singing.

West entered after the elder, he looked around the room had been entirely redecorated, foreign technology occupied one corner, a communications array capable of reaching the other elder councils. The rest of the room was decorated with sturdy wooden furniture, comfortable and pleasing to the eye, although the furniture was clearly made for Urgath, sturdy stools capable of seating Borealans and Krell were pushed to the sides indicating the elder and his mate were prepared to accommodate visitors of other races. At the kitchen a female Urgath stood stirring a pot of something. A small speaker was playing music.
"Alma, I'm home." Kaukran got out of his chair taking a cane from the front which had been disguised as a coiled serpentine carving on the front the chair seemed to go on autopilot hovering to a certain spot in the room where it powered down. Kaukran walked over to his mate kissing her cheek.

Alma looked like concentrated essence of grandmothers. She had grey blue fur and old brown eyes she wore a plain tunic covered by a flour stained apron. She put one arm around Kaukran giving him a quick hug. "Get the bread out of the oven it's ready."
Kaukran pulled a fresh loaf of bread out of the oven, then taking over the job of stirring. Alma walked over to West offering a hand. "Nice to meet you admiral, been keeping my mate busy?"
"Only as much as possible, ma'am," West couldn't help but smile, she looked so sweet.
"Admiral, do you have someone to go home to?"
"No ma'am, but I have things to do"
"Then eat dinner with us sometime I'd love to meet you"
"I'll make time for you as soon as possible" West made a mental note to schedule a free night, keeping a good working relationship with the elders was top priority, besides, he'd genuinely enjoyed Kaukran's company. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.