Cleaning Up After The Ancients - Chapter 43

Chapter 43 - The Umbral Death

When the psychic death knell of Crimson Moon had woken Umbra from her hibernation, it had been with the fragmented knowledge the now dead Queen had extracted from the mind of a human from a world called Earth. 

An amusingly spiteful act for the old watcher on every level given the lengths she had gone through to avoid anything even approaching conflict prior to her inglorious death.

Most had ignored the message, after all, what use was knowledge of a new galaxy rich with humans to feed on when you didn’t know where that galaxy was or have ships capable of reaching it. 

Others capable of seeing the long term had sent out offers of rich rewards for humans from Earth, likely hoping they would be able to extract more from them then they had gotten from Crimson Moon’s dying message. 

A rare few like Umbra however had realized where a few brief flashes of an underwater city were pointing them, one of the Lantean's last remaining bastions, Atlantis.

She'd been the first to confirm it, her grandmother's foresight in leaving a small monitoring outpost with a few darts and loyal drones in stasis behind when she'd left Lantea after the last of the Old Ones had vanished.

The following months had been spent gathering her fleet and forming an alliance with a particularly insipid Queen by the name of Goldspun, at which point they'd begun their trek to Lantea. A particularly trying trip, not the least because she'd had to put up with Goldspun's constant posturing, but her patience had paid dividends when the dart she'd had the monitoring outpost dispatch confirmed the bastion's defensive weapons were at least somewhat operational.

From there it had been relatively simple to let Goldspun believe she had finally browbeat her into letting the other queen's fleet lead the assault.

Umbra had watched the beginning of the attack with rapt attention, the odd ship that had arrived during the last leg of Goldspun's journey an amusing addition whose only point of note seemed to be its oddly effective shields.

When the battle had begun in earnest and the only response from the bastion had been raising its shields she had begun to consider the possibility that her caution may have been unneeded, but that had quickly vanished under a wave of vindication when the Old One warship had jumped out of hyperspace.

Things had been over surprisingly quickly after that, with Goldspun and her entire fleet being wiped out in short order. The tense hours that had followed as she’d readied her fleet to engage the vessel had been an unfortunate miscalculation on her part, but it had at least confirmed the humans were not in league with the Old One's, as they would never have left her fleet poised to cull humans worlds like it was.

Then less than a day later it had left, and shortly after she'd been forced to trigger the monitoring outposts self-destruct when the smaller vessel had begun heading towards it. Potentially overcautious of her, but the telepathic ansible if captured would risk her entire bloodlines holdings.

“My queen.” Steelwind interrupted her ruminations, her consort sounding oddly worried given his normal implacable nature. “It has been ten days, the other hives are becoming restless.”

“Of course they are.” She snapped without any real venom in her voice as she shifted on her throne. “But I have not survived for seven thousand years by rushing to feast on every succulent that presents itself.”

And the only way the Old One bastion could be more obviously baiting them was if the humans there attempted to contact her and sue for peace.

“Perhaps we should test just how dedicated they are to drawing us in.” She mused as an idea came to her. “What is the closest unculled world to the Lantea system?”

“Chopra Three.” Steelwind put forward. “It was last culled a little under two hundred years ago.”

Not the most optimal breadth of time between cullings for a world, but with the massed awakening beggars couldn't be choosers, and it wasn't like Umbra was particularly concerned about long term sustainability in this particular case.

“Set a course for Chopra Three then.” She ordered with an irreverent wave. “Tell the fleet to prepare for a complete culling of the world.”

She considered that for a moment before shaking her head. “Have them leave at least a dozen alive around the gate so many who come through know what happened.”

The human’s response would give her insight into what kind of beings she was dealing with. Would they attempt to stop her like ancestral memories said the Old Ones always had. Or would they sit back protected by their bastion only venturing out when they believed it safe to do so.

“Of course my queen.” Steelwind said, bowing his head slightly as she received a brief sense of unease.

“Something more?” Umbra inquired in suspicion as she glared down at him. “Speak.”

For a moment it looked like he would refuse, a privilege she allowed him only due to his long and fruitful service to her, but then he looked up and met her eyes. “Mist has begun to move against you.” 

Umbra would have been disappointed if their daughter had not, but to do so openly enough that Steelwind had already discovered it showed either an arrogance unbecoming of their line or a lack for the need of caution that suggested the plan had already been in motion for some time.

“And does she find support?” She inquired, idly drumming her claws on the bone of her throne.

“Very little my queen.” Steelwind returned cautiously, still clearly concerned that she would judge even that enough to put an and to the girls life. 

An understandable thing given the reputation Umbra had purposefully cultivated, but the young couldn't learn if you cut them down before they'd had a chance to grow.

“Perhaps then I shall give her a chance to either take power directly or see the error of her ways.” She mused as she languidly rose to her feet. “When we arrived at the world the two of us shall go down to cull one of the settlements together. And either she shall act there or I, no matter what though I shall use the opportunity to teach her a survivable lesson.”

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Author’s Notes: Meet Umbra, the queen I made up to lead the fleet currently pondering the question that is Atlantis.

Enjoy the surprise update to make up for missing Thursday.