Best HFY Sci-Fi Stories: I Watched Them Fight

I felt the corness of the grass beneath my feet I felt the warmth of the light shining upon me I felt the crisp fresh air in my lungs I felt the gentlest Breeze graze across my skin all these Sensations stirred within me the deepest sense of nostalgia I had ever experienced alongside a bitter Melancholy a soft beep alerted me that my time here was near nearly up with a heavy heart I Rose from the small hill I had rested on and made my way to the exit a large brick fence with a homely looking door

came into view a clever disguise to preserve the illusion of this place turning the knob I prepared myself to leave this brief resite and returned to hard reality the illusion was shattered the moment I stepped through the threshold what awaited me on the other side was the cold metal of an industrial airlock with the door closed behind me the red flash of a scan filled the room the lights scrutinized my person ensuring I had taken nothing with me with the scans approval a robotic voice began his automated survey greetings Observer delt would you say that

you enjoyed your time in the terrarium yes I replied back good would you say that you feel more refreshed by your time in the terrarium yes I replied again good how realistic would you say the terrarium is real enough a bit of my own sadness slipped into my answer good is there anything you would like to see changed in the terrarium the thought of the Babbling Creek that once flowed in my old childhood home came to mind a flowing water feature request noted thank you for your feedback your next time allotment for the terrarium will

be in 120 days have a good day with the survey complete the industrial airlock hatch let out a Pneumatic hiss and opened what met me on the other side was the drab holes of the massive Subterranean complex that housed what was left in my species it's hard to believe that we have been trapped here for almost two decades at this point for some the only experience award once was the surface of our homework is the terrarium I felt great sadness for those whose only experience of life is these metal walls but this was the only

choice the alternative was complete Extinction now I must return to my duty as Observer that nightmare is still out there in the void his movements must be watched and cataloged if we are ever to return to the surface making my way through the Crampton tro corridors of the complex I prepared myself for Onslaught of depressing recordkeeping soon to be upon me how many wars have been consumed since I was relieved from my post how many Souls were snuffed out with no living witness of their existence the amorphous swarm had ravaged the Galaxy destroying world after

World in a ce's Act of consumption they first appeared on the outer edge of Republic Frontier space a single civil transportation shuttle was the only Survivor that managed to flee from the destruction it was their warning that alerted us to the danger coming for us all the Swarm appeared as an amorphous blob of constantly undulating flesh his mask could take the shape and function of whatever it deemed necessary to forward his Conquest the Republic's forces could just barely hold the Swarm in quarantine each attack wave revealed new and more horrific confirmations the Swarm could take

the fleet however remained determined they had managed to repel the monster year after year it seemed like the nightmares could be held back long enough to develop a permanent solution to eradicate them with then the Swarm changed when the Swarm traveled in space it took the form of a large asteroid like mass of Flesh when in battle it would rapidly Rush any hostile ship and attempt to pull it into itself and crush it many larger ships of the Republic's fleets were lost in this manner the fleet found that it could use his smaller and faster

figers to distract and outmaneuver his grasping tendrils until a destroyer could lock his main cannons and obliterate the monstrosity but it adapted in the next attack wave the Swarm asteroid approached the fleet's bade just like it had before just as the fleet prepared to engage the large mass broke into an inumerable number of smaller parts these pods as they were called quickly began to overwhelm the fleet's defenses the small frigates that had already advanced in the Swarm were the first to fall the P smashed against their Halls bursting open with a corrosive payload eroding the

whole place at an unnatural rate deflective Shing could only provide so much protection and against an onslaught as innumerable as this it simply was not enough the PA flooded through the holes made in Hall the Fate that awaited the unfortunate crew within is beyond nightmarish I have only seen the recordings once I never wish to view them again this new tactic of the Swarm broke through the blockade with horrific speed the fleet desperately attempted to reform its ranks recontain the nightmare but it was far too late it had already found a planet to Devour the

planet itself self was inconsequential deemed less than suitable for colonization his atmosphere was arid sources of water were few and far between and the life it held was too dangerous for many colonists to handle to the Swarm it might as well have been a paradise from the moment it made plan it for it began spreading contorting and corrupting the land as it went any life caught in his path was quickly consumed and added to his biomass the fleet did what they could from orbit shower after shower of bombs rang down all in some hope to

holdt the spread but the swarm's tendrils sunk deep into the land cleansings would be carried out in one area only for the Swarm to appear somewhere else soon enough there weren't enough bombs to Halt it the command was given to destroy the planet an order of this caliber had not been made in a very long time the the devastating Weaponry needed to carry out such a task had long been dismantled for the Peace of the Republic now old designs were hly being reconstructed to eliminate the foothold the Swarm had gained when the first doomsday weapon

was complete it was sent out as fast as it could it was to the Galaxy's great sorrow it was not sent out sooner the device was still in transit when p and asterids began surging forth from the planet from that point forward there was so little that could be done the fleet between stopping more swarm from breaking through the blockade and suppressing the newly created swarm Planet were too spread thin the Republic could only watch as their once Mighty fleet was steadily torn apart their sacrifice brought us only just a few years of time to

prepare the only thing that saved us all from complete anation was when we observed it passing over a desolate world we realized then then that the Swarm was only interested in planets that bore complex life with no Defenders left and the Abomination bearing down upon all of us we were left with one Grim decision take the weapons we have made to stop the Swarm in his infancy and turn them on our own planets large Subterranean complexes were built and the surfaces of hundreds of H worlds were raised to only rock and molten glass remained and

then we hi the Swarm passed over us to our great relief we had survived at the cost of almost everything I was pull from thought as my station neared observation was written in glowing letters above yet another industrial door now my soulle crushing work was to begin immediately upon entering my station dread filled me a flashing notification informed me that the deep space probes had detected large amounts of activity the Swarm had found new prey rushing over to my desk what I saw sunk me deeper into despair a civilization that had just begun its Journey

Across The Stars had come face to face with their Devourer quickly searching for the old Republic's database I pull what history I could on these people it appears they were known to The Republic Humanity was what they called themselves they were being monitored until they achieved all the Milestones required to be introduced into the Galaxy at large according to the last update on them they were so close too having reached their Moon and beginning the preliminary steps to reach their next closest planet sadly the swarmer put a stop to all uplifting efforts long before everyone

buried themselves and glassed their planets now this species had grown all on its own and colonized its next closest star or at least it had it PID me to see the Swarm had completely overrun The Colony some time ago I was now bearing down on their home world I closed my eyes in despair I just couldn't bear what I was about to witness watching the Swarm consuma primordial world was disheartening but this this was an intelligent species being eradicated by the worst horror the Galaxy had ever known I just couldn't no the Republic may have

failed these people but I will not if I neglected my task there would be countless civilizations snuffed out without the universe ever knowing they even existed I forced my eyes back onto the display they were holding the fourth planet admirably but from the sheer number of evacuation ships leaving the planet it's clear they planned on abandoning it concentrating their forces was a good plan these humans must have had many wars in their history judging from their tactics and weaponry but their increased resistance had only drawn more attention from the Swarm in fact I had not

seen a gathering this large from the Swarm in a long time just as the last transport ship left the Doom world the human Fleet pulled back allowing the Swarm to take the planet the monstrosity flooded down upon the planet quickly corrupting the land and life it held just as I thought I'd be watching the creation of a new swarm Planet my screen lit up with a bright Flash no several flashes and huge radiation spikes multiple nuclear devices placed strategically all over the world detonated all at once vaporizing the Swarm that had attempted to feed upon

this planet I couldn't help but smile these humans tenacity denying the swarm's meal and delivering a devastating blow to it all in one move if only the Republic had kept the weapons these humans did maybe then the G Galaxy wouldn't be faced with such a grim existence however as the radioactive dust settled the Swarm collected itself it lost quite a bit of its strength and it needed food to restore itself so it turned upon the closest life bearing planet with a rage and voraciousness I had not ever seen before the human home world what comes

next always weighs the heaviest on my heart a species last and final stand against as the ceases and unfeeling Destroyer how I wish there was something anything I could do to stop the impending Extinction but there was nothing I could do buried Beneath The Remains of my own home world like years away so I watched the battle rage on once again I found myself impressed by the attitude these humans had for fighting the Swarm was clamping down on them like a vice yet they did not relent they were holding the Swarm back surprisingly well considering

their stage of development they had even turned their own Moon into a quasi orbital defense station but the stronger the resistance the stronger the response from the Swarm hour after hour ticked by as this fledging race fought on for his very survival slowly I could see the ti Of Swarm encroach further and further soon enough the moon formidable as it was was in danger of being swallowed up by the unyielding m his vast amount of guns flared with all the might they could bring but the Swarm still crept closer and closer more hours passed and

their moon was no more drowned beneath a notion of ring flesh and ceaseless hunger exhaustion began to wear on me I have stayed awake for far longer than any of my race could optimally work for just to witness these events even with their largest a defense platform gone they continued to fight on by the gods they were just as Relentless as the Swarm was sleep called to me like never before my eyes beged for rest but I couldn't abandon these people now no I shouted to myself you will not go into Extinction alone the universe

will know that you lived that you fought bravely till the end I resolved Within Myself I refocused myself on to the Raging battle the void around the planet was Ablaze with Humanity's efforts the Swarm in turn crashed itself against the defenses searching for any openings it could find but there were none to be found with each passing hour the swarm's grip grew Tighter and Tighter but Humanity's resolve did not falter this was turning into the most gring Battle of attrition I had ever witnessed between it all I could catch glimpses of the plan Planet below

the blue of his oceans the green of his forests all hints at the life this world Bears also similar to what was once on my own world I couldn't help but wonder how similar this planet was to my own would their grass feel just as cool would their Sun be just as warm would their air be just as crisp I was tempted to try a planetary scam but that would be akin to feding a needle in the middle of a hurricane with all the interference from the battle the probe would be lucky to even get

an atmosphere reading even so I'd like to imagine it would be similar in another reality maybe I could be some Envoy to this world and his people I could see myself conversing with them sharing our cultures exploring all they had to offer and in exchange I would show them the Galaxy I could practically feel my Wonder and a at thought I could feel it I was asleep my head shot up from my desk the screen before me had gone dark i' been signed out for quite some time due to inactivity checking the time display I

was horrified to see I had been asleep for at least 10 hours I enter my credentials as fast as my diges could input them dread filled my mind in anticipation of what would be left of the human Defenders I pleaded that the worst hadn't come to be that I wouldn't just see a swarm infested Planet I would rather see a dead and desolate Rock than that at least that would mean Humanity's death came at Great expense to the monster that killed them when the probe finally awoke what I saw shocked me the fighting had not

ended not even slowed over 4 days straight of non-stop fire and death and they still fought on as Valiant as ever not even the strongest of the Republic's members lasted this long against the Swarm somehow in the midst of all this it appears that they had even managed to launch a new orbital defense platform wait no it can't be but the white pearl on my screen was unmistakable they had taken back their Moon they pushed them back I could not believe what I was seeing not what once had any military force professional or otherwise ever

regained ground from the Swarm every battle I have seen in all my time as Observer have been a slow grinding ordeal until a final collapse obser a delt are you all right I heard you shouting from behind me one of the technical assistants had come to see what had caused my Outburst I turned to face the young Tech my eyes wi with excitement and fervor the tech took took a nervous step back I quickly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the screen look I had no need to shout at this point but

I could hardly contain my Elation the Ted looked at Battle lines as I rewinded and fast forwarded through the last several hours I could see him come to the same realization that I had he then turned to me with the same excitement that I had do you think it's possible that they might win I had not yet asked myself that question in truth Pro I had long given up on such a notion for over 20 years I have watched as the Swarm devoured planet after Planet never once been halted for more than a day yet

here these humans are beating it back for four straight days even wrenching their own Moon back from its ravenous Mo for the first time in a very long time I had hope I I want to believe they can go inform the governor that we have a situation in OB observation that requires his attention I was careful with my words I did want to spread a false hope but I also wanted so badly for there to be a chance of Victory the tech nodded his head and left I returned my gaze to the monitor even in

that short amount of time the swarm's lines were pushed farther from planet before I was fully aware of what I was doing I had opened up the pros communication array typically I couldn't stomach listening to what was normally a civilization's last dying gasps but now they were pushing them back succeeding where so many others had failed I wanted to know what they were thinking the moment I patched into their communication Network I was flooded with unintelligible barks and grunts our translation software was up in an instant and began indexing their language the program seemed to

stutter for a moment probably a result of the vast qu quantity of data being fed to it but thankfully a transcript appeared on screen of their words written in my language soon after the audio component became operational and I could hear their orders in my own tongue through my headset they were surprisingly focused no war cries course of Vengeance or colorful threats only absolute focus on the task at hand this was quite contrary to the fervor of how they fought Observer you say you have something to show me I abruptly Rose from my desk upon

hearing my title behind me the governor and his two escorts had entered my station I bowed to him and showed him to my monitor doing as I had before I rewinded the battle and showed how the humans had begun repelling the Swarm I watched the governor's usual calm neutrality Harden into determined seriousness I felt his firm grip on my arm as he pulled me closer and fixed me with a Steely gaze Observer do you believe that they have a chance to win I can see it in his eyes he is just as desperate for Hope

as I am my first instinct was to quash these Rising sentiments so many other times whenever the slightest hope arose the Swarm sted out with cruel efficacy but now when I look at my screen I am met with further evidence that Humanity might win if they can keep this up then yes I believe that they may half an hour after I had said those words my station was teaming with all sorts of government officials and important figures some was were attempting to play their political games but almost all of them had their eyes glued to

the screen as the hours ticked by there were occasional murmur of amazement and curiosity of the humans currently in the fight of their lives the farther back the Swarm was pushed the mood of the crowd behind me Rose soon enough I could hear the sound of expensive drinks being opened and toast being made Humanity hadn't won yet I knew this but even I could not help but be pulled into the mert it had felt like lifetimes have passed since I had ever experienced Joy like this years of misery and hopelessness were finally giving way to

something many had thought lost a future I ass an expensive vintage the governor had brought to me I was usually not one for intoxicating drink but I made a rare exception for a rarer opportunity its flavor reminded me of a kind of berry I enjoyed in my youth the WF that radiated throughout my body made me feel like a small weight have been lifted from my soul I consider throwing the rest of the glass back and giving in to its Blissful Euphoria but I still had a duty to keep and Humanity was not done fighting

yet their enemy was cruel and Relentless lowering your guard for even the briefest of moments would spell your end against them and just as I had said at the start of this battle the more you resist against the Swarm the greater and harsher its response at the outer edge of the solar system I spotted a fast moving object an untrained Observer would dismiss it as a passing Comet likely caught by the solo it well but I was not untrained and my scans revealed this passing object was not made of rock and ice but of hateful

flesh and ravenous hunger no I cried aloud many of the guests were caught off guard and began to grow concerned I focused the probe onto the foreign body hurling towards Humanity's unaware defensive line the room broke into shock and horror once the Swarm reinforcements were in Clear View on the screen we could only watch as the Swarm regrouped into the largest attacking Mass anyone had ever seen Humanity's defenses buckled almost immediately under the sheer weight the Swarm had brought against them ground that took hours to reclaim was lost in M moments friger struggled desperately to

plug the gaps that were rapidly appearing the moon was once again steadily sinking beneath the endless tide they were on the verge of total collapse the room behind me had broken into pure turmoil there were shouting matches unabashed crying fits and even a brawl all the while what law enforcement present did their best to calm things as for myself I could only stare into the screen in utter disbelief no I muttered no I yelled tears Welling in my eyes no I smashed my hand against the desk no no no no I struck the desk again

and again and until my hand achd you can't do this to them you can't do this to all of us I screamed into the screen even with their collapsing lines the humans fought on with grim determination my rage turned into overwhelming sorrow as I saw ship after ship fall to the Swarm but their resolve did not break I could hear their orders become fiercer and more Focus than ever each second the Swarm was delayed was pay for in their own blood fighting to for now to hold off the Abomination for as long as they could

I have never felt more helpless than I did in that moment a deep black pit formed in my stomach I did not understand how they continue fighting just watching all this left me completely broken I couldn't bear to look at the screen any longer my already trembling legs gave out and I fell to my knees I buried my face into my hands and collapsed to the floor my body was overwhelmed with sorrow anger and despair even if I wanted to move my limbs felt numb and distant the only thing I had some control of was

my voice so I did the only thing I could do with tears streaming from my eyes I began to pray the absurdity of such an Act was not lost on me here I was praying to Gods we had since abandoned on the behalf of a race who didn't even know we existed nevertheless our day it is but it was all I could do with each line I spoke I could hear status reports of the battle for my headset none of them were good gaji squad ler is suffering major casualties please grant them the strength to

stand against this monstrosity we just lost a cruiser we need to cover the Gap now please grant them the wisdom to surmount their shortcomings for plon p is not responding radar shows no survivors please grant them the skill to use their weapons to their fullest the USS volunteers core has gone critical crew is abandoning ship please do not let them fall destroyer guu and th Jin have lost all major life support systems only free Escape pod functional I want our children to know more than metal Wars and fake skies I lunar defense platform has been

overrun Bas is reporting 3 million casualties and Rising I want to see the sun again emergency hostiles have broken through and begun entering atmosphere all units prepare for disruption I want this nightmare to end there was only static coming from my headset I HED my prayers and listened I didn't even know what I was listening for I just wanted to hear something nothing anything but only silence replaced the static this was it there was no more hope I thought so mired in my own despair I barely felt the hand on my shoulder Observer what is

going on the governor shook me asking me to explain the obvious to him can't you see they're all going to die I mumble surely he didn't need me to explain what happens once the Swarm makes landfall no something else is going on they're just all floating there I was confused by a statement the Swarm had broken atmosphere the planet's fate was sealed looking up at the screen I understood the governor's question everything was simply a drift it was like the Swarm had just gone limp not just the Swarm but the humans as well their ships

were just listing in the void had they all just dropped dead minute after minute ticked by and still there was no conscious movement from anything it struck me that if ever there was a time to perform scans it was now starting up the pro scanning array I noticed some residual em field it was of a low frequency and Incredibly short lived after it dispersed I turned the senses toward the first thing I could think of a human the biological report show consistent findings with the previous cataloges taken from their race many decades ago there was

however one anomaly in the report this human's brain WS were erratic not matching any prior recorded pattern I scanned another human only to find the same thing biologically normal say for their seemingly scrambled neurons just what was going on here just when I was about to scan another the probe detected a flaring heat signature I was about to dismiss it as re-entry friction for one of the drifting ships but the probe showed it was leaving atmosphere somehow a lone fighter had regained Consciousness and was baring toward the Swarm guns roaring it strafe the Invader again

and again each run ripped through hundreds of bioforms I marveled at the speed and ferocity of this Fighter's performance when I noticed he was suddenly not alone one more fighter had joined his strafe and yet another was rising to add to their formation soon there were multiple fighter squads unleashing all the Firepower they could bring with a few gunships too showing signs of Life slowly but surely the entire fleet was coming out of the stuper that had entrapped them the Swarm however was still completely Paralyzed by whatever had been done to them over the course

of a couple of hours the whole of Humanity's defenses were awake once more their combined might Tor into the helpless swarm with a new found Fury I was likely to never see again they Avenged every ship lost by a thousandfold I stood there in pure awe of what was at least to me a miracle but I was so afraid that this miracle might end if the humans could pull out of that trance who's to say that the Swarm couldn't also but my fears were ill- founded as the seemingly endless number of swarm actually began to

diminish no longer forced onto the defensive Humanity's ability to annihilate was on full display finally able to pull myself away from the Carnage I turned to see most of the crowd had vacated my station only myself and the governor remained the rest must have been removed by law enforcement till they calmed down to together he and I watched as Humanity purged the Swarm from their home world the closest the Swarm ever came to Awakening was a fruitless quivering like an animal in his final death row I felt like I should be cheering or sobbing or

anything but I couldn't bring myself to do so my emotions were completely spent I can't believe they've done it was that relief or disbelief in the governor's voice I could not tell what should we do now I asked him ideas of my own flew from my head but I was no leader this situation requires wisdom far greater than my own the governor stared at me for a moment in confusion then almost as if he just remembered what his job was for his eyes went wide as he began to Pace in deep thought he continued to

do so for a handful of minutes talking to himself all the while before seemingly coming to some consent with himself can we contact them with this probe to answer his question I opened the communications menu and prepared to broadcast I then turned my headset over to him and assured him the translation software will ensure his message is received correctly tuning the broadcast to the largest ship I could find the USS bwork I nodded to the governor that he was ready hailing USS bwork do you hear me the governor sounded confident but I could see the

nervousness in his eyes confirmed unknown craft identify yourself and state your intentions they were undeniably on edge I see multiple weapon systems lock onto our tiny probe the governor took a breath and answered I am governor doxis of the last city of the corar people we were once members of the Orion Republic a coalition of government and peoples that once oversaw much of this side of the Galaxy we Harbor no ill intentions towards you or your kind and only desire to speak with a representative of your people there was a long pause before we heard

anything back in truth I was afraid our prob would be blown out the void but then the human vessel responded in a different voice attention corar craft I am General greywall the Commanding General of this vessel I have been given the authority to speak as a representative of my people first confirm for me that you are an alien people then State your purpose for contacting us the governor readed himself to speak once more yes we are indeed of alien origin as for our purpose to contact you it is complex the governor paused for a moment

to gather his thoughts firstly I would like to apologize to you and your kind on behalf of the Orion Republic we fail to protect you and many like you from that monstrosity you just faced secondly I would like to commend you and your entire race for accomplishing an impossible task there was a brief Silence from the humans the general must be gathering his thoughts as well if your Republic feels responsible for failing to protect us then it can assist us in rebuilding furthermore where is your Republic we've been searching the stars for years now and

sending out sign signals for long before that we have never detected any evidence of you the governor sighed I could see the pained expression on his face that is because the Republic is no more the enemy you just defeated was responsible for its fall we held it off as long as we could and during all the fighting we couldn't welcome more civilizations to the community though you may not know it your Victory here means so much more to the Galaxy than your own Survival you have shown us that it can be failed that it can

be beaten there was another pause perhaps the general was starting to realize the gravity of what they had done are you saying that we are the only ones to ever win against these things the governor nodded instinctually yes there has not once been a successful defense from an invasion Mass until now however I am afraid to say that the monster is not dead yet there remains many planets out there that that have been taken over by it and they will continue to produce more Invasion masses but you have brought yourselves something we did not have

enough of time it will come for you again it may take you two whole decades for it to mass an invasion like what you just faced but it will try again this time the general answered immediately you can't be serious we barely survived this attack and it costed us over a billion good men and women the governor's expression hardened I saw in him the look of pure conviction you do not have to fight alone many members of the Old Republic asked to out there we glassed our home worlds and buried ourselves beneath the rubble to

avoid Extinction but if you can find us and dig us out you will find determined allies ready to stand with you this must have called the General's attention judging by his response Governor are you proposing an alliance the governor's jaw flexed and his fists clenched there was no denying the certainty in his answer general for over the last 20 years my kind of coward beneath the ruins of our home planet terrified that the Swarm would somehow find us and erase our existence from this universe many of us have never seen stars with our own eyes

if you and your kind place to continue to face the Swarm and seek out allies Among the Stars then I shall pledge to you not only all the knowledge technology we can give but also that my kind shall wait for the day you arrive to our destroy home ready to take up arms and fight right beside you it has been 6 years since the formation of the great pact if anything can be said about the humans they are Reckless but incredibly quick Learners they took our knowledge and with it forged faster jump drives better Automation

and a fleet the likes of which I have never seen before four that Fleet now sits above the desolate Rock of my species home world we had learned that the miracle that saved them was just that they had taken a device used to treat epilepsy and altered it when it was used it triggered a catatonic seizure in all organic life within its range the miracle was that they had no idea if they would recover faster than the Swarm they just took the Gamble and fate smiled upon them sadly a trick like that likely won't work

again the Swarm will almost certainly adapt to counter it when Humanity arrived they found that the governor had kept his promise hundreds of millions of able-bodied corar stepped out from our cly bunker trained and ready to repay the debt ow to mankind as for myself I too stood out on the cracky surface waiting for a transport shuttle though I was too old to find stra to my back was a data story cell containing the map I had spent 20 years making I dreaded every day I had to work on it but now I'll be using

it to guide this Fleet as I waited I looked up to the star that gave this planet life his rays were harsh and scorching because of the reduced atmosphere but I have never been so happy to see it