“Our long-range scanning technology was useless. To them, we were slow-moving and stupid, no better than brainless zombies stumbling through space in vessels that were all but deaf and blind.
“They did not rely on external technology, and that was their strongest advantage. From their methods of spaceflight down to their defensive and offensive weaponry, everything grew from an evolved organic base. When our scientists recovered enough of their material to perform proper studies, they discovered that the enemy had more in common with insects than any other form of life that we knew of.”
“Bugs?” he asked.
“Bugs, but not. It was then that we learned how incomplete our genetic science was. Those studies punched gigantic holes in our understanding. Were they mutants? Had conditions on their home world been such that mammals never evolved, and the insects rose to sentience? We didn’t know. There was no communicating with them, and they demonstrated no interest in communicating with us. It was clear that they had only one objective, and that was the eradication of all life on Earth.”
First draft: 150404
Published: 231026