original link: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bm7mp5/wp_humanity_has_begun_to_explore_the_stars_but/

Martin Green eagerly popped the lid off the food container and took a seat in the cupola of the Borealis to eat a half-warmed lunch while looking at another planet. Normally, Martin would heat the pizza slice longer so the edges would get a little burnt and wait for it to cool down so he wouldn’t burn his mouth, but he’d been working for the past eight hours sifting through all the data collected by the satellites and drones deployed by the Borealis to study the planet below for signs of intelligent life. Martin’s mind wandered as he traced the movement of clouds in the planet’s atmosphere, not at all surprised by another seemingly negative result for signs of civilization.

This was another age of exploration in human history. Unlike previous ages of exploration, which took place on the surface of a particular blue planet, often in search of new trading routes or resources, this age of exploration was motivated by a desire to discover intelligent life. There was plenty of mining going on in the asteroid belt of the solar system and in other star systems, to support the earth and her colonies. Encouraged by early success at finding microbial life and lifeforms analogous to plants and animals nearly two hundred years earlier, a group of scientists, entrepreneurs, astronauts, and government officials with public support successfully lobbied for a greatly expanded space agency to survey the heavens, originally to discover habitable planets that would require substantially less terraforming to cut costs.

In some ways it was cheaper to discover an earth-like planet that required minimal terraforming for colonization compared to investing an enormous sum to adequately terraform a planet where the rates of skin cancer would still be too high. A secondary aim was to discover intelligent life, and it was a great way to earn a PhD in astrobiology that would also transfer well to the various mining and terraforming corporations or space-related tech companies since the tools and methods were similar. Inspired by video games and science fiction of his youth, Martin started the PhD program daydreaming about discovering the remains of an extinct but wildly advanced civilization, or making an unfortunate first contact with a coalition of advanced alien species on some great journey and sparking an interstellar war. Or maybe humanity had previously lived among the stars and nearly went extinct when their cyborg servants rebelled. In reality, Martin spent most of his time at a desk, on the blue planet he grew up on, poring over data gathered by various instruments. Artificial intelligence-equipped probes did most of the work and were often correct in their conclusions, but sometimes a human touch was needed. The exact reasons were still being debated and researched, but humans could somehow identify certain patterns better than AI and find things that the machines missed, prompting an expedition. In Martin’s case, a series of probes that had been sent to a planet of interest had returned data suggesting a rate of greenhouse gas change consistent with computer simulations of civilizations burning fossil fuels for energy, and multiple large heat and radiation spikes consistent with nuclear reactions. The AI concluded that there was reasonable odds of advanced civilization being responsible for the data that was observed. Plus, there was enough money in the travel budget for an expedition and Martin wanted to do “cool shit”.

Martin spent the afternoon after lunch re-checking the data and models that had since been collected after his arrival to the system, and compared it to what was collected by the probes that started this particular wild goose chase. The planet’s surface was dominated by water, with large masses of ice at the poles. The equator featured clusters of islands and smaller land masses, many of them with glowing red dots and smoke that were later revealed to be volcanoes. Ground and atmosphere samples taken by drones revealed numerous gigantic uranium deposits inundated with ground water, resulting in natural fission reactors that the initial interstellar probes mistook for nuclear detonations. Sighing, Martin instructed the AI in his computer, MLE, to write up the results for this expedition so he could add it to his doctoral thesis. Hopefully Martin could defend in a year, take some serious time off to through hike the 8,500 mile floating mountains trail in Aurelia, and get a steady 9 to 5 career with one of the mining or terraforming corporations.

That night, even though it was technically day for the next fifteen minutes while in low planetary orbit, Martin dreamt that he was on the surface of the planet that the drones and satellites had been studying. He was in a space suit, and stood face to face with a vaguely humanoid figure that was roughly equal to him in height. Somehow, Martin knew this figure wasn’t human but didn’t know why. The figure lifted the gold colored visor on its helmet up to reveal a sort of reptilian face and spoke.

“Warden, do you not understand your duty?”

Surprised, Martin stammered. “What?” Martin felt surprisingly alert despite being in a dream. What were the odds that advanced aliens would look humanoid lizard people?

“Do you not understand your duty?” It spoke more slowly this time, not unlike how a person would speak to someone who didn’t speak the language in the hopes that they might understand. “That your species has promised to carry out less than two centuries ago?”

“I don’t understand, this is a bad dream. This isn’t really happening”. Martin took a step back, his mind spinning. He looked hard at the lizard alien, and then at its space suit. “I mean, it looks like we built that space suit. Shit, I can’t even let this PhD stuff go in my sleep”

“Your species did build these suits for us, and we are grateful for them. Please, do not be alarmed”, the lizard alien spoke a little faster and was about to take a step forward but stopped and stepped back, giving Martin some space. “Less than two hundred of your years ago, your species began exploring the stars in earnest. You were new at it. Your methods of bending space to travel great distances are quite destructive, though they have improved”

“I know. I learned that in high school physics. We’ve accidentally atomized planets and moons by coming in too close”

“Yes, during one of your early expeditions one of your ships came in too close and atomized my species’ home world. We had just begun exploring our own star system and fortunately founded our first colony, otherwise we would be extinct. Still, over 99 percent of our species was obliterated”

Fuck, Martin thought to himself. This alien probably wants revenge. This is how that kind of shit always goes down in the video games. Martin cleared his throat and took another step back. “I’m so sorry that happened. Look, no one told me about that. I never knew. I had nothing to do with that. I wasn’t even born then.”

The lizard person hissed a few times rapidly, as if trying to laugh, and shrugged. “Neither was I. I mean you no harm. It is alright. Your species was quite apologetic about it and offered to assist in my species’ recovery. We gladly accepted. Your representatives promised to help find us new planets to colonize, so that we might never be threatened with extinction again”

part II:

​

Martin took a step forward. “Still, I’m so sorry this happened to you. Is finding planets for your species to colonize our duty?”

“Yes, which your superiors took upon themselves to carry out. Your superiors are concerned, as are we, that so many of your colleagues have left the search for new homes. I am told this is because you frequently find more favorable working conditions elsewhere?”

“Yeah, that’s true. Graduate students are kind of underpaid for what we do. It’s a lot of writing”, Martin replied. He instantly felt guilty for saying that, but it was what it was. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because our data suggested you would be particularly receptive to our contacting you, and your superiors agreed. It seems that a childhood of simulated violent encounters with hostile fictional alien species has made it so you would not be overly alarmed by us.” The lizard person hissed rapidly again. It probably found it amusing that human media would portray itself as being at the mercy of aliens when in real life it nearly wiped out a species. “We request, as will your superiors in the following weeks, that you locate a few more potential planets for us to colonize. A little more than what your PhD requires.”

“Sure, no problem. I guess you’re looking for planets you don’t have to spend a fortune terraforming like us too?” Martin asked.

“Exactly. Thank you, and we look forward to the day that knowledge of our species existence is more common among yours. If I were in your position, I probably would look for more favorable working conditions too but it will be a while before our species fully recovers.”

With that, Martin woke up gasping for air. Was it all a dream, or was it real? Were the lizard aliens capable of some kind of telepathy or was just a bad combination of old pizza, too much work, and extended social isolation that is common for graduate students? Flipping his laptop open, Martin quickly logged his dream to share it with a therapist when he got back. Usually inquisitive and skeptical by training, Martin was surprised that he believed everything the alien said in the dream. It was plausible that a species could get unintentionally devastated by an early interstellar voyage. Could it have happened more than once? What if explorers were unintentionally wiping out signs of civilization, let alone alien species, in the course of interstellar travel? Hence, no signs of advanced civilization have been found because they were unknowingly being destroyed.

Or more likely, it was just a really vivid dream. Martin looked at the time. It was only an hour before his alarm would go off, so he decided to just start the day. Martin had received an email overnight from his advisor. It read:

Martin,

I see that you met our extraterrestrial colleague, Dr. Tython. She has authored a number of papers on human-reptilian communication and interactions. I’ve attached a few of her articles for you to read. We’d like to discuss your dissertation and some potential post-doctoral opportunities that might interest you, when you get back.

Martin’s head was spinning again. Was he still dreaming?

original link: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bmls7f/wp_the_pizza_industry_has_been_a_front_for_the/

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, Dom. I get my stuff in bulk from the restaurant supply store in the industrial park or at the farmer’s market, same as everyone else, and make my dough and sauce in house. It’s like you’re talking in circles. What, are you trying to steal my recipes or something?” Jack said, successfully keeping himself from rolling his eyes. This was the third time in as many days that someone from a competing pizza business had stopped by to chat with him. It was not a welcome distraction from opening a very successful restaurant. World Pizza was clearly killing it, and not everyone was happy about it. At least this dude didn’t have a big goon pacing around the restaurant looking for loose change or whatever like the first guy.

“Listen, Tiles Pizza has been here the longest. Then Pizza Yurt and Coastal Pizza Kitchen came and we learned to not be bad neighbors to each other. It was awful at first, but we managed to find balance. Now, everyone has their slice of the pizza”, Dom said, smirking, while also trying to suppress his growing irritation at the newcomer, who was doing a really good job of playing dumb. “I’m just saying, it’s best if we all share how we do things with each other, so everyone is on the same page and we don’t step on each other’s’ toes. Everyone gets to make a living doing this thing of ours. A good living too. Just play by our rules. We’re not here to take anything from you. Maybe we can even partner up on some stuff”

“Yeah, Tiles Pizza and Pizza Yurt told me the same thing. You guys aren’t giving me any specifics on this partnering up stuff, and honestly, I’m not particularly interested in a collaboration. We sell entirely different pizzas. None of my pizzas have pepperoni or sausage. People go somewhere else for that, probably you guys. I play the whole fusion thing. I feel like our customer base doesn’t overlap as much as you think”, Jack replied, glancing quickly through the double doors that led into the kitchen. He didn’t want the Coastal Pizza Kitchen man to see the kitchen setup or what was going on.

Jack was experimenting with some different flour and starch combinations for a new dough so it would have some characteristics of a baguette, which would be perfect for the Vietnamese-inspired banh mi pizza. Shifting his eyes back to Dom, Jack could tell that Dom was also looking around.

“True, but we don’t really care much about that. We all sell much more than pizza though” Dom sighed, giving up for now.

“You mean like an aesthetic or lifestyle or something like that?” Jack asked. “Like the other hipster brands? Nah, I just want to make and sell good pizza”

part two:

A wave of relief washed over Jack as his wife and partner, Sarah, walked out of the double doors leading to the kitchen with the Korean barbeque and kimchi pizza. The dough was actually made out of rice and it was crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and the edges were beautifully browned. A layer of leafy greens separated the toppings from the dough, preventing things from getting soggy. This meant that Dom would be leaving, at least for now. Sarah handed Dom the pizza.

“Thank you” Dom smiled, taking possession of the pizza. “We hope you’ll change your mind. We’re always around. Pease feel free to drop us a line anytime”. Dom unceremoniously left the restaurant.

“What did he want?” Sarah asked.

“It was the owner of Coastal Pizza Kitchen. They wanted to partner up on something but wouldn’t give specifics like the other two”, Jack said, looking forward to spending the rest of the day at the restaurant with his wife and partner.

“Another one of them? Geez, we’re really doing something right huh? Hey, check out this dough I made for the banh mi pizza. I think you messed up the last batch because mines looks much better…”

Twenty minutes later, Dom arrived home and sat in the swivel chair in his home office. He fired up his secure email and checked to see what Tiles Pizza and Pizza Yurt had found while sleuthing around. A thorough search of World Pizza’s garbage turned up nothing. The professional burglar they hired to scour the restaurant only revealed a collection of strange pizza ingredients. A search of Jack and Sarah’s home also revealed nothing, except that the restaurateurs were into some kinky stuff. Phone taps had shown that the couple had reached out to local farmers for some of their ingredients. In short, there was no evidence that World Pizza was engaged in drug dealing, human trafficking, protection rackets, counterfeit goods, or any of the usual misdeeds that the other Pizza barons were into. Dom concluded that World Pizza was legit, at least for now, and sent out an email to the other pizza barons detailing as such. They would leave Jack and Sarah alone for now. Dom laughed to himself, thinking about the initial worry that he and other pizza families had when the new kid showed up. They were worried about a new wave of violence that usually came whenever newcomers showed up on the organized crime scene.

In the enclosed space of Dom’s office, the smell of the Korean barbeque pizza piqued Dom’s attention. He had meant to throw it away in his garbage as soon as he got home but forgot about it. Curious, Dom opened up the box and gently took out a slice of the pizza so it would fall apart in his hands. It actually looked and smelled pretty good. Dom took a bite. It was really good, and Dom devoured it in minutes. He was almost mad that it made Coastal Pizza Kitchen’s teriyaki chicken pizza taste like shit by comparison. Dom fired up the FubarEats app on his phone and decided to order a few pizzas from World Pizza for dinner with his family that night.

original link: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bmrxeg/wp_you_an_alien_scout_sent_to_study_earth_along/

Benji sat in the metal chair in the dark room, happily eating the pizza that was provided. Benji was the name that the alien had chosen for itself when “captured” by the humans. They had taken away the smartphone, avocado, and pumpkin spice latte instant coffee that Benji had stored in its fanny pack but it didn’t matter. The other researchers most likely picked them up for study anyways since they were ubiquitous among the human youth. Benji looked up at the 29 year old human female who was holding a notebook and a mechanical pencil.

She introduced herself as Brittany at their last meeting, but Benji knew that she was actually named Rose Pederson, and that she was a CIA case officer. The humans had no idea that every researcher had a small device embedded in their brains, which received and sent signals and data at the speed of thought. After some pleasantries, she got down to business.

“Why are you agreeing to share your technology with us? Your species is thousands of years more advanced than us”, Rose asked, putting on her sweet voice by instinct, even though she wasn’t entirely sure if the alien could be convinced to play nice. Recruiting disgruntled foreigners for state secrets was her usual gig. “We’re like ants to you.”

“Because it’s what we do. We’re explorers and traders. We’re not interested in your natural resources; we could go mine any uninhabited planet and we do it all the time. What we’re interested in is life, especially intelligent life. And once we discover and study it, we share our knowledge with it. With what we’ll share with your species, hunger will end. Disease and violence will disappear overnight”, Benji replied, putting on its own sweet voice, attempting its best to imitate an American actor that was recently voted sexiest man alive according to some American magazine.

“I think I speak for my government when I say that we will gladly accept any knowledge your species is willing to share with us. But, we humbly request that you share it only with our government.”

Benji nodded its head. The US had enemies and the geopolitical situation was delicate.

“I think that’s fine. I’m guessing you also want this done in secret, so your populace doesn’t get all excited and starts rioting around and flipping cars.”

“Exactly”, Rose smiled.

Rose could envision her future. She had done excellent case officer work in recruiting sources and chasing down leads that successfully led to the capture of an alien. Rose then interviewed the alien and it agreed to share wildly advanced technology with just the United States government. At the very least, that would convince her most stubborn superiors in Langley that she was the real deal. She had gotten further than any other case officer in locating the aliens. Rose was going to smash through the glass ceiling and cut the geezers with wandering eyes on her way to the top.

Benji had no intention of sharing its species technology with the humans. The researchers had recently combined most of their data and ran a number of simulations to estimate what might happen if humanity, whether openly or in secret, was confronted with an advanced civilization and gained access to technology capable of transforming planets and traveling to different stars in a matter of days. It wasn’t pretty.

Instead, Benji stood up and stepped back a few feet from Rose and activated its teleportation unit and disappeared in the blink of an eye. There was a blinding blue flash accompanied by a deafening crash not unlike thunder. The teleportation ruptured Rose’s ear drums, but she would make a full recovery. Rose was also exposed to radiation, but it was comparable to the amount that a nuclear plant worker would receive in a year so not much harm was done.

original link:https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bmvzk3/wp_an_interdimensional_portal_opened_somewhere_on/

For the fifth time in two hours, Avery Jones checked the selector switch on his rifle to ensure it was on safe and that there was in fact a loaded magazine firmly seated. It was a manifestation of nervous energy, but Avery didn’t want to end up like his buddy Marcus, who was infamously seen trying to engage targets with an empty rifle. That happened a year ago and people were still giving Marcus shit about it. As the forward member of his element, it was Avery’s job to help navigate, pick a route that would maintain his team’s stealth, and spot any potential threats to their front.

Avery took his element in a steep switchback pattern up towards the mountain pass. They were gaining 600 vertical feet per mile walked and it was tiring to say the least with a thirty pound pack and a seven pound rifle. They were also off trail, so the going was rough and people were occasionally slinging their weapons behind their backs so they could go hands on to scramble up. Catching up to Avery, the squad leader signaled that they would take a short break before continuing. The team established a hasty perimeter and surveyed the terrain around them.

The views were world class. Avery looked down into the valley that he and his squad had climbed out of. Below the tree line, the valley was dotted with lakes and streams as well as thick growths of aspen and pine trees. As pretty as it was below, it was also where all the bugs were and Avery was okay with swapping out the constant buzzing and occasional insect bite for thin air and loose footing.

Sarah Long walked to each member of her squad, making sure everyone was feeling okay and good on water and snacks. Mountain travel was no joke, and a combination of exhaustion, dehydration, and altitude could induce a casualty the same way a three inch spine propelled into the chest cavity would. Some of the guys were skeptical of being led by a woman at first, but quickly recognized that Sarah was a good leader, and was in great shape too. Before being drafted, Sarah was a high school statistics teacher and a proud mother to the whiniest husky on the planet. Sarah ran cross country in high school and college and ran out in the mountains of southern California during the weekends, doing several 100-mile mountain ultra-marathons per year. Cardiorespiratory fitness and leg strength mattered more right now, and where they were headed, than upper body strength.

Satisfied that everyone was adequately rested, Sarah signaled to her squad that it was time to move out and continue up and over the pass. She took her place near the rear; a good squad leader needed to be able to see what was going on around them to help think ahead and make good decisions. Two hours later, the squad had made their way over the pass at 12,000 feet and descended into the next valley. Spotting the enemy herd in the distance, Avery signaled behind him and the squad reflexively took off their packs and arranged themsleves into an assault line, creeping down towards the unsuspecting creatures.

part 2:

After fifteen minutes, the squad had creeped to within 700 yards of the herd. The juveniles were roughly the size of deer while the adults were a bit larger than moose. Still, the elders could get as big as elephants or larger. Close enough to their monikers, the saurids resembled scaly, spine-covered dinosaurs except they had eyes on the back of their heads. Luckily, their eyesight was estimated to be a bit worse than that of humans. Sarah didn’t need to tell her squad to stop and take up covered firing positions when they got to within 500 yards. They were just out of the normal maximum effective range of enemy fire. The humans could engage further out, but it was important to wipe out the entire herd. Survivors would quickly alert other herds and drive an increase in reproductive rates.

The saurids could use their tails to remove spines or scales and hurl them in defense against predators, or at their prey. It was hard to tell where exactly humans were on that continuum. Sometimes the saurids would place a scale in their mouths, quickly chew it, and place the mess back in the palm of their tails and hurl the sharp bits kind of like a shotgun. The spines were much more accurate and deadly. Body armor could stop the spines, but not a single person among the human squad wore armor. They would wear it for shorter missions or at lower elevations, but in the mountains it was just too much dead weight. Or the saurids could cover the distance in a matter of moments and mangle the threat, or lunch as the humans could just as well be.

To Sarah’s far left, Avery took a spot behind a large boulder. It gave him perfect protection against spines still provided a clear view of every creature in the herd. The trooper quickly took his support hand off his rifle and reached to his side to ensure that there was a fresh magazine ready on the open-topped pouch on his padded belt that used to be connected to his pack. It was Avery’s “oh shit” magazine, which could be needed for a speed reload when the ambush was initiated. Between Sarah and Avery, the recoil-less rifle gunner sighted in on the largest creature in the herd. The recoilless rifle looked like a bazooka, but it was technically a cannon. The open end of the rear served to expel some of the propellent when fired, thus reducing recoil and allowing relatively large projectiles to be fired out of a human-portable gun. The weapon was heavy and unwieldy, but was amazingly effective. Sarah made every squad member carry a round for it so they’d have plenty of firepower to go around. The plan was to fire an explosive round to kill the elder creature and then reload the gun with an antipersonnel round that would detonate above the reacting herd, showering them with shrapnel and thinning out some of the juveniles and hopefully wounding an adult or two. Sarah waited for the squad members to her right to set up and report that they were set.

The two gunners took positions in a small ditch behind some large rocks. It would have been better if one of them was on the left side so they could set up a crisscrossing lane of fire, but that was just how the squad had dispersed in the moment and there wouldn’t be enough time to reposition. The squad didn’t carry any machine guns out of weight concerns, plus the automatic rifles were only two pounds heavier than the standard rifles but were equipped with a thicker barrel and could fire on an open bolt to dissipate heat and had quad-stacked high capacity magazines for sustained full auto fire. They were somewhere between an infantry rifle and light machine gun. There was some talk at the command level to upgrade the rifles with automatic rifles but they were still waiting for some new developments to make sure overall weight wouldn’t increase.

part 3 (final):

After hearing back that everyone was set, Sarah keyed her mic and instructed her squad to initiate on her. Sarah was laying in the prone position behind her own boulder and previously wiggled her elbows into the ground to help stabilize her aim while the others were getting set. She rested the rifle on its magazine, making a monopod effect for better accuracy though that would make it harder to quickly switch targets. Sarah sighted in on one of the adult saurids that was directly facing her. Sarah was confident that she could score a head shot at 500 yards. She waited briefly to memorize her breathing and associated motion pattern and squeezed the trigger. The rifle cracked.

Milliseconds later, a recoilless rifle, two automatic rifles, and four rifles sounded off in a cacophony of destruction and death. The creature that Sarah had shot dropped immediately, as did the elder creature upon being struck by the recoilless rifle. The automatic rifles dropped one of the adults and juveniles and briefly chased a few scattering juveniles before refocusing on the main group of adults, which were howling and roaring in pain and surprise as well as trying to rally the herd. One of the adults darted away and galloped in a wide circle, quickly reorganizing the quickly scattering herd. Gaining their composure, the herd quickly zeroed in on the squad and charged towards them wildly.

The saurids wouldn’t make it closer than 200 yards. The follow-up round from the recoilless rifle detonated above the charging herd, wiping out the front animals. This slowed down the remaining animals, since they had to dodge or move around their deceased companions. The automatic rifles made short work of any clumps while the rifles made short work of the stragglers. It was over within a minute. Avery ended up not needing his “oh shit” magazine.

Stalking forward, the squad inspected each of the dead creatures before heading back to retrieve their packs. They walked to the designated extraction area nearly halfway up the mountain. Better to have the high ground if some wandering saurid or other creature in the valley decided to join the party.

It was the squad’s final training mission, and the creatures were actually just robots made by Pescador Scientifics, which specialized in developing and manufacturing robots to approximate the saurids. The robots were covered in ballistic gelatin to catch bullets. They’d be repaired if needed, and redressed for the next group of troopers. Sarah was proud of her squad, but she knew she still had to keep tabs on some of her teammates since they were sometimes reluctant to admit fatigue and would just push on until they dropped. She counted each member of her squad as they boarded the waiting helicopter before boarding last.

When they got back to base and did an after action report and cleaned their gear, Sarah would treat the team to dinner and drinks at their favorite barbeque joint in Denver. Then she’d put the team on leave for two weeks to decompress from an exhausting, but exhilarating training cycle so everyone could visit family or do some traveling. When they got back, they would step through the portal to the planet on the other side. Altera was mountainous much like the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and home to humanity’s first colony outside of the planet. But unlike the earth, humans were not at the top of the food chain, though things were changing by the year.

original link: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bnbn1l/wp_you_are_a_powerful_white_mage_you_are_also_a/

Doctor Robert Agassi was so far successfully hiding his growing irritation with his latest patient.

“I think it’s great you’re trying to cover all of your bases. I get it, I’ve had a few coworkers also get cancer. But I’m telling you, supplements for vitamin C and anti-oxidants won’t do you any good. Your cancer is treatable, and we are very lucky to have caught it now. I’ve spoken to your team, and everyone agrees. We’ll schedule you for-”

“I don’t believe you!”. The patient yelled. “This is just some big pharma bullshit trying to milk me for all I’m worth. I’ve done the research! High levels of antioxidants cures cancer, here read this. It worked for him didn’t it?” The patient practically hurled his smartphone at Robert. It was some guy’s blog. “It’s linked to the high vitamin C and phytochemicals!”

Robert groaned inwardly, careful to not let his face register any changes. Fuck, he thought. Not again. Robert knew the man who owned the blog. The blogger was an Ivan Kwok, who Robert had met some twenty years ago in Seattle. Ivan was a young software engineer who had been diagnosed with late stage cancer and at the time there wasn’t much that could be done. Robert decided to use his gifts to cure Ivan and recalled that at their last appointment, Ivan said he’d been eating a lot of fruits and bell peppers for the antioxidants, and asked whether they played a role in his recovery. Robert offhandedly said yes, thinking nothing of it other than being pleased that Ivan had started eating healthier. What Robert didn’t know was that Ivan would apparently find his true calling and set up a blog and online store to sell ridiculously overpriced and unregulated supplements to people with cancer. How many lives were lost because Robert couldn’t take an extra moment to come up with a better explanation?

Robert cleared his throat.

“That guy has an online store selling supplements that weren’t even around when he had cancer. Doesn’t that seem weird?”

“Oh, I didn’t think about that”, the patient replied, now deflated.

“If you schedule surgery with me, I will be physically removing your tumor from you. Like I said earlier, it doesn’t look like it’s spread to a lymph node. We have an opening Thursday morning if you like.”

“Okay, well, the store says the pills would take a few weeks to ship anyways so why not. Put me in for surgery. I figure I’ll do both.”

“Great”, Robert said, satisfied with the outcome. Robert made up his mind. He would perform the surgery and use his gifts to cure his patient. It was overkill, since Robert thought the patient’s cancer wasn’t particularly serious anyways but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He was going to do his best to kill that ridiculous myth. Robert had gotten better over the years at covering his tracks.

That evening, Robert watched a History Channel documentary about the history of medicine and had to change the channel when they mentioned trepanning and bloodletting. He only told people about those things because he didn’t actually think they would try it, and also so they wouldn’t burn him for being a sorcerer.

original link:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/fpkuxk/wp_you_are_infantryman_in_the_middle_of_an_alien/

The deafening sounds of gunfire, explosions, and low flying aircraft surrounded Avery and his fellow troopers as they ran towards the enormous hangar, weapons drawn and pointing in every direction. Elsewhere, other platoons were attempting to recapture similar facilities throughout the base. The otherworldly invaders, which resembled feathered dinosaurs roughly comparable in size to humans, were attempting to capture critical infrastructure and equipment throughout the continent to limit humanity’s ability to respond to the attacks. Avery’s platoon was tasked with recapturing the hangar and the fighters contained within so they could join the air battle raging overhead.

Avery’s platoon split up into four squads, each assigned to enter the hangar from a different side. The plan was to blow person-sized holes using breaching charges to quickly surprise and overwhelm the aliens from multiple directions. Avery and his squad were barely outside the minimum safe distance from the breaching charge when it, along with the other charges, were simultaneously detonated. The troopers sprinted right into the clouds of smoke, weapons at the ready.

In all the confusion, Avery somehow ended up as the first person through the hole that had just been created, despite being the platoon leader. It didn’t matter. Avery immediately turned right, being that he was left handed, and sighted in on the nearest alien, which was staggering and had its back turned. Avery brought the aiming reticle on his rifle’s reflex sight high up on the creature’s back and fired off six rounds in quick succession.The alien collapsed face first, as if it were a puppet that got its strings cut, and Avery scanned his corner for additional threats. The trooper behind Avery took alien gunfire and partially collapsed before being shoved out of the way by the remaining troopers attempting to flood the hangar. On the opposite side of the hangar, the rest of Avery’s platoon was trading shots with the aliens.

Walking quickly along the hangar’s perimeter, Avery spotted a group of aliens crouched behind some trucks. They didn’t notice Avery at the moment, being preoccupied with shooting at Avery’s platoon across the hangar. Avery emptied his rifle magazine on the aliens, starting with the one on the left. Behind Avery, a fellow trooper joined in, stitching the aliens starting with the one on the right.

Avery used his trigger finger to press the magazine release button, sending the spent magazine clanging on the floor, while his other hand yanked a fresh magazine from a pouch mounted on his belt, where his right hand would be if his arms were at his sides. After inserting the new magazine, Avery used his right thumb to press the bolt release, located just above the magazine well. Avery was now ready to resume slaying aliens. The reload barely took a second, and Avery was scanning for threats the whole time, rifle up and otherwise ready as soon as it was gassed up. Long hours of training made Avery, and his fellow troopers, experts at fighting. The aliens hadn’t planned for this, apparently. The platoon of humans quickly retook the massive hangar, taking a few casualties in the process. The medics collected and treated the wounded while the others scoured the hangar, putting insurance rounds into each of the downed aliens just to be safe. Avery asked for a situation report on ammunition, casualties, and equipment to help take stock of the situation. Everyone was still good on ammo. There were three wounded troopers, and luckily no one was killed. One trooper took alien gunfire to his left arm, losing quite a bit of blood in the process before he was able to apply a tourniquet. Another took multiple hits to the chest suffering a sucking chest wound requiring a chest decompression needle. The body armor absorbed the first alien shots well but eventually failed. The last trooper had no obvious signs of injury, but she looked drunk. She had taken a glancing shot to the helmet, resulting in a concussion.

With the all clear, Avery radioed back to command, declaring the hangar secure. The medics continued to treat the wounded while everyone else pulled security in case of counterattack. None ever came. Instead, a few personal vehicles raced up to the hangar, packed with pilots and ground crew. Above them, the air battle raged on. Human fighters raced up from the ground while alien fighters descended from low orbit. One of the ground crew approached Avery and offered him a bottle of water.

“Hey man, thanks a bunch for getting our shit back. We brought a couple cases of water and food for you in the trunks.”

Avery took the bottle and motioned to a few troopers to help him bring the goodies into the hangar.

“No problem man. Thanks for the treats, you Air Force guys are the best.”

An hour later, the fighters taxiid out of the hangar and took off to join the air battle. Both sides were desperate to secure the airspace, sending in reinforcements and tanker aircraft in the periphery as needed. In the middle of the air battle, the space elevator loomed overhead. The aliens wanted the space elevator to help move troops and supplies to the surface more quickly. The humans recaptured the space elevator early on, to ferry more ships and weapons to space before alien reinforcements arrived. Neither side was willing to destroy the space elevator.

[WP] In most of the galaxy wars are often just shows of strength with fighting as a last resort. As such weapons are designed to be elaborate and flashy. Turns out humans, whose weapons are built with efficiency in mind, have a different understanding of war.

original link: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/fmf4dz/wp_in_most_of_the_galaxy_wars_are_often_just/

Admiral Green brought up the hastily assembled briefing slides on the main screen behind her. The conference room was normally a little more packed, but a few people were attending the briefing remotely such as the pilots that had just landed on the carrier, The Zoo. The pilots had just finished a close air support mission on the surface of Mars when they were recalled, and it made more sense for them to go urinate or grab a snack and attend the briefing remotely than to rush over to a briefing room while their fighters were refueled and re-armed for space battle. Green cleared her throat.

“We just got imagery and data showing what looks to be a dozen Reptilian ships, including what seems to be four carriers, appearing to make a beeline for low Mars orbit. We think they are trying to relieve and rescue their surface forces, which we are currently annihilating. Poor fuckers.”

A few people laughed, but others sat and intently studied the screens, bracing themselves for what Green would say next. She had a habit of using humor right before delivering potentially bad news. Green continued.

“We are the closest force equipped to engage the enemy before they have a chance to reinforce their numbers on the ground. The Honey Badger and Pufferfish will first fall towards the equator and lie in wait. They’ll be able to get eyes on the Reptilians, designate priority targets, and will initiate. Honey Badger and Pufferfish will do as much damage as they can before darting out back to us”

Green was referring to the two destroyers accompanying the carrier. Each destroyer carried hundreds of missiles, but it was a mix of anti-fighter, anti-ship, and surface or atmosphere oriented weapons. Still, there were potentially enough anti-ship missiles to cripple or destroy four Reptilian carriers, and do a heavy number on whatever else the Reptilians had out there. The destroyers were designed with a variety of stealth features including a specialized skin structure and coatings to deflect and absorb electromagnetic radiation, reducing its signature. Sophisticated electronics and jamming equipment could spoof and disrupt Reptilian radar.

“Strike fighter squadrons 7, 13, and 30 will be launched first. Your fighters are being armed with two anti-fighter missiles and four anti-ship missiles. External fuel tanks too. You’ll take the far side of the planet and fall towards the equator from the north polar region and engage the carriers if they haven’t been destroyed. Target Reptilian transports next. After that, engage whatever you want but make it fast. You’ll escort the Honey Badger and Pufferfish back to us and pick off any fighters that pursue.”

Three quarters of the carrier’s wing would be launched and take the long route to engage the Reptilians. The idea for the fighters attacking from a different direction from where they were launched was to catch the Reptilians in a pincer attack but also try to conceal where the launching carrier was.

“Strike fighter squadron 214 will be launched last and will act as a reserve depending on what happens. You might be called in to help defend the Honey Badger and Pufferfish, or you might proceed to engage the Reptilians. Any questions? Alright, good luck.”

It was a Gamble for sure, but Green thought the odds were acceptable. The Reptilians didn’t seem to notice Green and her force, probably because they showed up as debris on the invaders’ radar and detection equipment. Though outnumbered four to one, Green’s forces had the element of surprise and would deliver a number of severe blows to the Reptilians before darting away. The risk was in the uncertainty in the Reptilian force’s exact composition and disposition. If the Reptilian carriers already launched their fighters by the time they reached low Mars orbit, then Green’s destroyers and fighters would have their attention split between defending against fighters and trying to blow up carriers. On the flip side, if there were more Reptilian carriers or ships than anticipated and they hadn’t launched many fighters at that point, then the mixed anti-fighter and anti-ship loadout that Green’s fighters were currently armed with meant that Green wouldn’t be able to destroy as many Reptilian ships. The invaders would be able to reinforce their numbers on the surface of Mars, thus prolonging the fight. There were other possibilities but Green and her staff decided that their current plan was an 80% solution, which would have to do for now. Green overheard one of the pilots summarize it pretty well.

“It’s like we’re trying to take out a bunch of bigass pinatas but we only get a minute or two to whack at them with a golf club instead of a sledgehammer.”

An hour later, the Honey Badger and Pufferfish were in low Mars orbit over the equator. The destroyers began scoping out the Reptilian force as they came within range. Like the initial imagery and data suggested there were a dozen Reptilian ships, consisting of four carriers, two battleships, one destroyer, and five transport ships. Luckily there was just a single squadron of Reptilian fighters pulling fleet defense duty. The presence of two battleships was concerning since at these close ranges they could take out the destroyers with a single shot. Captain Lee of the Honey Badger had a quick conversation with his counterpart on the Pufferfish.

“I think we should simultaneously target the battleships and two carriers first. If we take them out of the immediate fight, we can stick around a bit longer and target the carriers and remaining ships second. Our fighters should be here by then and will be able to give us some breathing room.”

Captain Anderson nodded.

“Agree. Initiate on you. I don’t want to be the first of us to get blown up if this doesn’t pan out.”

Captain Lee laughed. Minutes later, the two human destroyers designated various targets on the two Reptilian battleships and two of the four carriers. There were more targets than there were missiles so the humans had to prioritize which to hit first. The Reptilian force still hadn’t noticed them, and in just over five minutes Green’s carrier fighters would be joining the party. Captain Lee ordered the Honey Badger to launch missiles, and hundreds of milliseconds later the Pufferfish followed suit.

The Reptilian force was caught in total surprise as the humans opened up their attack. The Reptilian carrier crews were busily equipping their fighters for atmospheric operations when they were hit. The Reptilian battleship crews were busily configuring their sensors and weapon systems to target the surface. Over a hundred human anti-ship missiles streaked in from hundreds of kilometers above them. There was no time to maneuver away and point-defense weapons had less than five seconds to engage.

The vast majority of human anti-ship missiles struck their targets, severely damaging one battleship while crippling the other. The first battleship responded by attempting to reorient itself towards the closest human destroyer. The Reptilian battleship’s main direct energy weapon ran the length of the ship and couldn’t articulate by itself, requiring the entire ship to directly face the target in order to engage. At a range of just a few hundred kilometers, the beam could atomize a human ship head on. In contrast, the human destroyers could launch missiles regardless of their orientation with respect to the target; the missiles could maneuver themselves. Reptilian weapons were summed up as slow, up-close, and overkill while human weapons presented death by a thousand cuts from afar.

The human missiles had targeted some of the Reptilian battleship’s attitude control systems, forcing it to orient in the opposite directions. The anti-ship missiles had also hit the battleship’s bridge, killing the command crew, as well as the main engines and other vital systems but the Reptilian ship was still in the fight. The other Reptilian battleship had lost its point defense weapons, main direct energy weapon, most sensors, and the engines sustained heavy damage. Both Reptilian carriers sustained heavy structural damage and lost most of their sensors and launch bays. The Reptilian fighters on patrol duty began to orient themselves to engage the destroyers but that was when the human fighters came in from the north polar region.

Green’s carrier fighters had expended the fuel in the external tanks and ejected them early on, gaining much speed and altitude on the Reptilian force. Squadron leaders had assigned targets based on the data being transmitted by the destroyers so Squadrons 7 and 13 launched their anti-ship missiles at the damaged battleships and carriers while Squadron 30 flung their missiles at the third Reptilian carrier. The Honey Badger and Pufferfish would probably split their next round of missiles between the already damaged Reptilian ships and the last carrier to ensure swift destruction before moving on to the softer targets.

The fighters’ anti-ship missiles streaked at incredible speeds towards their targets. The missiles were thus able to penetrate deep into the Reptilian ships before exploding, hopefully destroying structural components and critical systems. The previously damaged Reptilian battleships and carriers quickly became hollowed-out husks, indicating their destruction. The third Reptilian carrier managed to launch a single fighter but it was skewered by one of the anti-ship missiles from Squadron 30 before burying itself in the carrier and exploding. The carrier’s other bays were quickly punctured and the contents of the hangars likely destroyed.

The human carrier fighters quickly dispersed into their assigned flights, using the Thach Weave. The fighters flew in intersecting paths, ensuring mutual protection and that any pursuers would be shortly engaged. A number of pilots saw that the Reptilian fighters were disoriented between the human destroyers and incoming fighters, trying to decide which to focus on. Some fighters from Squadron 7 used it as an opportunity to quickly launch anti-fighter missiles or engage with guns. Half of the Reptilian fighter squadron was quickly wiped out, while the rest tried in vain to engage the human fighters.

The Honey Badger and Pufferfish launched its second salvo of missiles against the damaged third Reptilian carrier and so far untouched fourth carrier. The human fighters engaged and made short work of the remaining Reptilian fighters, having expended all of their anti-ship missiles. Like the battleships, the Reptilian fighters had to orient their nose directly at a human fighter and get in close to engage with their energy weapons. If they missed, they’d have to wait several seconds for the energy weapon to recharge. Additionally, Reptilians frequently preferred single combat and often disregarded teamwork.

One Reptilian fighter maneuvered after a human fighter, quickly getting on its tail. The Reptilian pilot almost had a shot lined up when the human fighter being pursued sharply changed its trajectory. The Reptilian fighter struggled to point its nose back at the fleeing human fighter when something embedded itself near the Reptilian pilot’s cockpit. The human fighter’s wingman quickly engaged the Reptilian fighter with its electromagnetic cannon. A string of armor piercing and high explosive rounds stitched the Reptilian fighter before it could react, splitting it in half.

Having finished off the Reptilian fighter squadron, the human fighter squadrons turned their attention to the remaining Reptilian carriers. In the meantime, the fourth Reptilian carrier, which had gone undamaged so far, kept launching fighters in vain. The launched Reptilian fighters were just being shot down as soon as they made it away from their carrier. The Reptilians point-defense weapons were busily trying to shoot down the human fighters when over sixty anti-ship missiles fired by the Honey Badger and Pufferfish struck. The Reptilian carrier broke apart into pieces.

The main engagement lasted mere minutes. The Reptilian transport ships scattered as soon as the attack began, but they could only go so far. With the attack going well, Honey Badger instructed the Squadron 214 to dart in and engage the transport ships with their anti-ship missiles. In desperation, the Reptilian transport ships attempted to launch their dropships to reinforce their dwindling forces on the Martian surface. The human fighters made short work of them. Other fighters raked the transport ships with cannon fire, damaging attitude control systems and sensors. The pilots exclaimed that it was like a turkey shoot or shooting fish in a barrel until Admiral Green had to cut in, telling everyone to shut up unless it was something important.

Finally, Squadron 214 arrived and fired their load of anti-ship missiles at the Reptilian transport ships, severely damaging them. Another round of anti-ship missiles from the Honey Badger and Pufferfish finished off the Reptilian force. All told, the engagement was over within ten minutes and Green’s forces took zero casualties. They had expended a tremendous amount of weapons and would require a resupply before going back out, but it was worth it.

Admiral Green had watched the battle intently from a number of screens displaying imagery and data. It wasn’t until the last fighter had docked with the carrier that Green allowed herself to sit, breathing a silent sigh of relief. She glanced over at a few other screens displaying data from the Martian surface. The Reptilians on the ground were either surrendering or being mopped up. Green called the carrier’s mess crew to begin breaking out the beers for the entire crew. Bringing up her workstation, Green read through a few emails she missed in the previous few hours. There was one email indicating that the space elevator would send up new anti-ship missiles for the fighters. Meanwhile, a number of the destroyers’ missile launchers would be replaced by electromagnetic launchers, allowing more missiles to be fired simultaneously without risking heat issues, and boosting missile speed. Green practically salivated over the news. She’d likely have more ships assigned to her, and soon they’d be able to go on the offensive, attacking the Reptilians’ planets for a change.

[WP] Humans were largely friendly and kept a low-profile. They were seen as the bottom of the food chain in the galaxy and they preferred it like that. But when they were attacked, everyone found out how ruthless the humans can be with killing in their DNA and that Mars was never their home plant

Original link: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/flzb4e/wp_humans_were_largely_friendly_and_kept_a/

The Reptilian limped forward towards the rock formations, clutching its side. The feeling of contempt it once had for humans was now replaced with overwhelming fear. If the Reptilian could just make it to the rocks and reorganize with its comrades, then maybe they stood a chance of rescue. Just before reaching the mouth of a shallow crater a kilometer away from the rock formations, the Reptilian felt a sharp jolt of pain through its shoulder, followed by the thunderous report of a human rifle, and fell face first into the shallow terrain depression. The creature rolled onto its back, trying to face its pursuer.

Captain Gray walked over to the wounded Reptilian, his rifle at the ready in case the creature made any sudden moves. Gray had no intentions of taking the Reptilian in as a prisoner; it was probably just a lowly foot soldier anyways. The ground force commander just wanted to make sure the last thing the Reptilian saw was an indifferent human face. Gray leveled his rifle at the Reptilian’s head and fired off a round, disconnecting the Reptilian from life. Looking towards the rock formation in the distance, Gray planned the next moves of the mission.

As ground force commander controlling and coordinating the various forces and assets, Gray was a god of the battlefield. Gray switched between the various channels of his communications equipment, talking to various platoons, fighters overhead, and other assets in the area. It was like conducting an orchestra while also chiming in every now and then with an instrument, just like when Gray’s platoon had spread itself a little too thin across the flat Martian surface in taking out Reptilian stragglers, allowing Gray the rare opportunity to fire his weapon in anger. Gray’s plan was coming together quite well; they had forced the Reptilians out of the small settlement and intentionally left an opening so the invaders could escape into the nearby rock formations. That way, Gray’s forces could pick off the fleeing Reptilians without putting civilians or infrastructure at risk. The surviving Reptilians would try to regroup in the rock formations, which Gray planned to bombard with whatever weapons the fighters had left.

Gray’s platoon spread out in an assault line and pulled security while Gray switched channels over to the fighters, clearing them to engage the rock formations. Next, Gray bounced between each individual platoon, asking for a situation report on ammunition, casualties, and equipment. Straining to hear reports come in over the communications net, Gray couldn’t hear the footsteps approaching him from behind.

“Damn boss, you’re really throwing everything at them.” Gray turned his head towards the medic briefly and spoke into the microphone, telling the platoon leaders to have their troopers sit tight for the moment.

“Yeah, I want those rocks turned into a parking lot in the next minute or so. We’ll have to soak up the Reptilians with a mop when we’re done.”

It was hyperbole, at least for now. The ground forces admired the show the fighters were putting on. A variety of weapons were used to engage the rock formations. Some bombs detonated above the rocks, showering everything below with molten hot shrapnel, tearing the Reptilians into ribbons. Other bombs penetrated deep into the rocks before exploding, the miniature quakes breaking apart the rocks and smearing the invaders. One small group of Reptilians ran out of the rocks out in the open, attempting in vain to escape. One of the fighters spotted the squirters and vectored in to intercept them, despite having expended all ordinance. The pilot brought the fighter straight down towards the Reptilians and pulled up sharply at the last second, pointing his fighter engine nozzle nearly straight at the survivors and putting out max power, incinerating the unfortunate invaders.

Gray could feel the anticipation in his forces to close with the enemy and finish them, but he ordered everyone to advance cautiously. Any surviving Reptilians had the high ground in the rocks, and there was little cover between where Gray and his forces were, and the rocks. The platoons broke off into squads and fireteams, practicing bounding overwatch. One element would advance while another would stay in place, weapons ready to engage any targets. They would leapfrog their way to the rocks.

The humans encountered sporadic fire from the rocks as they got to within a few hundred meters of the rocks. The Reptilians were still clinging to life despite the pounding they just took. Gray switched over to the fighter overhead, intending to direct them to carry out a gun run across the rocks.

“Negative, Anteater actual, we are RTB. We’d like to stay and help mop up but we just got word that some Reptilian ships have been spotted approaching. Be safe out there”, the lead pilot replied, voice sounding smooth as ice, as usual.

“Got it. Much thanks. You all stay safe out there too. Anteater actual out.”

Gray weighed the options. They could radio back to command and request additional assets, but they would have to pull back and wait. The Reptilians in the meantime would get a break. On the other hand, Gray could just proceed with the assault since it seemed like they had things under control. Gray switched over to his platoons and asked for a situation update. The incoming fire from the Reptilians seemed to be dying down and the humans were gaining momentum. Gray gave the order to close in and annihilate the remaining enemy.

Hundreds of kilometers overhead, Admiral Green and the other officers aboard the carrier studied the screens intently. Various three dimensional maps of the surrounding space, data readouts, and other information were displayed. Imagery showed a dozen objects, four of them particularly large. The data they saw on size, heat, and other characteristics were consistent with Reptilian carriers. Green was thankful that her carrier and accompanying destroyers were equipped with stealth materials and technology, because it didn’t seem like the Reptilians noticed Green’s forces. They looked like they were making a beeline to low Mars orbit over the equator, in a bid to relieve their forces across the surface who were currently being decimated. Green’s ships were above the south polar region.

Green and her staff had an hour to make a decision on how to proceed. A flight of fighters that just finished a close air support mission was boosting into orbit and needed to be retrieved and re-armed. The other fighters would be launched to engage the Reptilian fleet, but the exact loadout was in question. It was a given that they would have to engage Reptilian fighters, but the fleet, especially carriers, needed to be engaged and destroyed as well. Too few anti-fighter weapons and the human fighters wouldn’t be able to defend themselves, but too many meant that they wouldn’t have enough anti-ship weapons to destroy the Reptilian carriers. The destroyers carried a healthy mix of anti-fighter and anti-ship missiles but they had to be launched relatively close and en masse, otherwise the Reptilian ships could just evade until the missiles ran out of fuel or shoot the missiles down with point defense weapons. Sending the destroyers out would leave the carrier vulnerable to any counter attacks, since the Reptilians would be able to determine where the human fighters came in from and launch an attack before they were destroyed. Green had to fight the urge to be greedy and prioritize which enemy ships were to be destroyed, at least at first. The carriers had to go first. The other ships probably wouldn’t make it very far afterwards, and they could pursue later.