3000 New Stars (fiction)

The Haganiz spacecraft needed to reach 30% of the speed of light to use their mole drive. The mole drive used a massively linked structure of gravitational component emitters that would allow the projection, at intersection points, of moments of gravity. This allowed for artificial gravity, but more interestingly, gravitational cavitation - or rather, the restricted-region boiling of space-time. Or, put another way ... the projection system created the equivalent of a pocket worm-hole, or slippery region of space-time. Once their ships reached 30% of the speed of light, they could engage their drive and arrive at the other exit point nearly instantaneously - depending upon distances, other cosmic anomalies. This also meant complicated space-time re-entry maneuvers, specifically, slowing the ship from 30% of the speed of light. This meant breaking thrusters, with the plasma neutron drives. This cost was more or less constant, but did mean a great deal of thought needed to go into navigation - you needed the distance to slow down to controllable velocities.

Humans knew none of this.

Humans knew nothing of the Haganiz people ...

They knew nothing of their droughts, their atmospheric issues, their pollution ...

Humans had, basically, the best real estate in the local universe - but when we discovered nuclear fission, it made the target harder, more difficult, just not impossible.

The humans, being humans, assumed they were safe, at home, with their ALEXA ... ordering pizza from FUCKING Pagliacci (Seattle pizza joint) ...

They were not safe - the normalcy bias is stronger than the placebo effect.

They, them, the humans, looked up at the sky ... and they saw a miracle ...

On July 21st, 2025, the human race glimpsed what looked like 3000 new stars.

The stars had appeared out of nowhere ... in a cluster.

The stars had some variability in location, and movement ... a weird shimmer.

The first few days? - there were huge celebrations ...

It was like a beautiful miracle. There were parties all night long. Scientists were excited about a new phenomena they did not yet understand ...

It became clear, within a week, that these were ... in fact ... the engine plumes of advanced starships, heading for Earth. Based on estimates, it seemed as if the Earth had, at most, 12-15 days longer before they arrived. But they decided that any action we could take, if we took some action, needed to happen within 7 days.

7 days to save the world.

If they were explorers?

If they were mere ambassadors?

Why 3000 ships?

They had barely enough time to ask these questions ...

(they had believed, for a while, they were only stars, beautiful signs in the sky)

(now they faced the abyss)

THE END

(until I come up with a stony-sequel)