Exin First Contact
Overview
First Contact with the Exis — or more accurately, first collision — marked a turning point in humanity’s expansion into interstellar space.
They are the first confirmed intelligent non-human species encountered by mankind, and also the first enemy.
Our knowledge remains painfully limited. The Exis are hostile, secretive, and relentless. Their technology rivals or exceeds our own in most areas. Their motivations are unknown. Their methods are alien. No Exis body has ever been recovered. No ship captured. No communication received beyond violence.
We are at war, though even the word feels too simple for what has begun.
What We Know (or Think We Know)
- The term Exis was assigned by the United Systems Astronautics Corps (USAC) during early encounters. The meaning of their true name — if they even have one — is unknown.
- An individual member of their species is referred to as an Exin.
- Exis ships vary greatly in size, but favor large numbers of small vessels supported by a few enormous capital ships whose exact functions remain unclear.
- No surviving humans have seen an Exin unarmored or unmasked.
- Exis military behavior suggests precise tactical coordination,
- Captured technology is rare, often incomplete, and appears to incorporate organic or semi-organic components.
- Direct communication attempts have failed. Signals are ignored or met with encrypted noise pulses that scramble local communications.
In short: we know little. Most of what humanity believes about the Exis comes from desperate battle reports, scattered debris, and the grim certainty of mutual hostility.
First Contact: The Odyssey Incident
"We believed in the inevitability of cooperation. First contact protocols were ready. Translators. Open hailing frequencies. Signs of peace. It didn't matter."
— Lieutenant-Commander Sasha Mbeki, survivor of the Odyssey Incident
The heavy cruiser Odyssey was the lead vessel in a United Systems Astronautics Command formation conducting survey operations approximately 22 light-years from Sol, within the VX-976 System — later known by its informal name, Odyssey’s Grave.
Initial sensor sweeps detected an unknown contact near the system’s third planet: a vast, irregular structure emitting faint but complex radiation patterns. Believing it to be a derelict alien artifact or dormant station, the fleet approached cautiously, broadcasting standard first-contact greeting protocols across multiple bands.
No reply was received.
At a distance of roughly 50,000 kilometers, the object came alive. Several smaller contacts separated from the main structure, accelerating toward the human vessels with velocities that exceeded any known propulsion models.
Within moments, the Odyssey came under attack. Weapon systems of unknown design manipulated localized gravitational fields, ripping through hull plating and shielding with terrifying precision.
The Odyssey was crippled almost immediately, and its loss fragmented fleet command. Emergency orders for retreat were issued as surviving ships attempted to break contact and escape the engagement zone.
Only a handful of vessels — including the damaged Exigence and three escorts — succeeded in fleeing the system. They returned to human space bearing fragments of telemetry, black box data, and testimony that shattered the assumptions of peaceful first contact.
The message they carried was stark and undeniable:
Humanity was not alone — and not welcome.
The Battle of Severn's Reach
The second major encounter — and the first coordinated military engagement — occurred at Severn's Reach, a resource-rich system along a planned expansion corridor.
A small human fleet — three corvettes and two supply vessels — was ambushed while establishing orbital facilities around Severn II.
Initial sensor readings suggested multiple small objects closing at high speed. Assuming it to be a meteor event, the humans did not immediately respond.
By the time it became clear the objects were powered vessels, it was too late.
Hundreds of fighter-sized Exis craft swarmed the human ships, overwhelming point-defense grids through sheer numbers. Energy weapons of unknown type sheared through ship armor with horrifying efficiency.
Of the five ships present, only the corvette Savant managed a partial retreat — and only after the ship's captain ordered a desperate ramming maneuver against one of the larger Exis vessels to open a gap.
Tactical analysis of the battle revealed key insights:
- Swarm tactics: overwhelming the enemy by massed precision strikes.
- Psychological suppression: electromagnetic and sonic interference flooded human ships’ systems and even crew nervous systems, causing panic and disorientation.
- Target prioritization: command ships and communication hubs were destroyed first, suggesting strategic intent.
The Severn's Reach Disaster ended any lingering hopes for peaceful contact.
Ghosts of the Khauran Belt
In the months following Severn's Reach, human survey ships and patrols began reporting strange phenomena along the Khauran frontier:
- Ghost signals that appeared and vanished.
- Ships found dead in space, their crews missing without a trace.
- Entire colonies falling silent, with no signs of battle — only the slow, cold realization that something had been there, and then moved on.
The Exis do not always attack openly. Sometimes, they simply erase.
Entire vessels have been found adrift with all power systems drained, hulls punctured by unknown means, and every scrap of data wiped clean.
No survivors. No explanations.
These incidents have instilled a deep, abiding fear among frontier crews. It is said among spacers that "when you see nothing at all, that's when you know they're closest."
Current Strategic Situation
The United Systems now recognizes the Exis as a Level Zero Threat Species: capable of total annihilation of human colonies if left unchecked.
Standing orders regarding Exis encounters are as follows:
- Assume hostility.
- Engage only if necessary to protect human life or critical assets.
- Attempt communication protocols, but expect no response.
- Prioritize survival and reporting new data over victory.
In short: avoid them if possible. Survive if you can.
Final Notes
There are some among human leadership who still believe that communication is possible. That somehow, if the right words or the right gestures are made, this war can be ended before it consumes us.
Others argue that the Exis cannot be reasoned with — that their hostility is not a choice, but a fundamental law of their existence.
For now, humanity stands alone in a galaxy that feels darker and stranger with every passing year.
First contact was not a handshake. It was a wound.
And it is still bleeding.
End of Entry
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