Tson
Then
It was a regular day on Nix Aeternam, snow was falling as rapidly as ever before, and deep beneath the surface the regular bustle of life continued.
Life had become a lot more isolated since the months of activity prior, ever since the strange dissapearance of Tau the Lupidirans had stayed relatively alone in their small section of the cosmos, seemingly unwilling to have a repeat of the breakout incident from last time.
The great den leaders continued to lead their people underground, in complete security and isolation, never to be disturbed again, they thought...
One morning however, the den leaders would meet Alpha for the final time.
Although they lacked as much of the psionics that regular Lupidirans posessed, they still could see the look of concern on his face as he told them the news.
The colony they had once shared with Tau almost half way across the galaxy had gone mad, screams and howls of psionic communication was all that remained.
Any vessel approaching it lost contact almost immidiately, and the area affected was growing at an alarming rate.
It spread like a cancer across the galaxy.
First ships would go silent and seemingly cut off from all kinds of communications, simply replaced by insane howls and rambling speeches.
Soon it reached nearer colonies, as the screaming became unbearable to those not directly affected by it.
The final hours of their normal lives on their homeworld would be spent in silence, not for they wanted it, but because the screaming and howling made it impossible to speak.
Even the weak den leaders could hear their cries, but their position saved them from their demise.
Time passed, as the twelve leaders sat within their dens with a combined feeling of sadness while they heard the cries lessen in intensity.
They knew what this meant was happening.
Torn apart from within their minds, four of the leaders would fall victim to insanity waiting for a savior that would never arrive.
For weeks they walked across the vast landscape towards the main den once the screaming stopped, to finally meet and assess the situation.
Much to their suprise, the children within the nursery had survived due to their lack of developed psionic abilities, for some of the leaders giving them a renewed sense of purpose to protect them from whatever monstrocity had caused this to happen. For the main den's leader, it was a much welcomed suprise to see her fellow leaders arrive to assist.
A form of worship for the pink tree that sat within the centre of the cavern formed soon after the tradgic event, with many of them seeing it as what protected the young from harm.
It seemed like things may return to some resemblance of normality...
But a few of them knew that if they were to secure their future, and their very survival, they would have to seek out what caused this before it strikes once again.
Now
Far above the surface of Qumni Verdas, high in orbit would appear a small grey kite shaped craft.
Much like the planet below them, its occupants had also been forgotten until today.
From within the aging vessel was little movement...
After a time of silent observation aboard the bridge of the vessel, speech finally broke out between its occupants.
???-α: "This is the place..."
???-β: "..."
???-a: "It... Is less impressive than we-... I had expected. Perhaps... It is hiding more than its humble appearance suggest-"
???-β: "Just destroy the damn thing! No-one on that planet matters! They are not even-"
???-δ: "ENOUGH. Let her speak or I throw you out the damn airlock β."
???-α: "T-Thank you δ. We cannot go around messing with others, think of what you would do if someone else turned up and had destroyed our planet from orbit."
???-β: "..."
???-α: "And im sure the people down there are nice, I still remember when i spoke with some of them."
???-β: "weren't those prisoners..."
???-α: "Well... yes... but..."
Silence washed over the craft once again, as it drifted slowly towards the planet, seemingly readying itself for atmospheric entry.