The Mech Touch

　　In the language of the pakklatons, the large avians generally referred to themselves as shortwingers.

　　Back in their ancestral home planet of Traiss, the pakkletons possessed shorter wings than comparable bird species.

　　As they evolved, the shortwingers preferred to live in forested environments where they found shelter and protection from the many predators of their home planet.

　　Even after they grew smart enough to develop a civilization and tame their own planet, the shortwingers still preferred to live in traditional 'nests' that were based in tall and thick trees.

　　"Our homeworld was beautiful, once." An older shortwinger explained to the gaggle of chicks in the sonorous, chirpy language of the shortwingers. "I did not have the honor of owning a nest in Traiss, but I visited our grand home planet often enough. Now, it only exists in our memories."

　　The old bird's feathers and wings drooped. She had lived the equivalent of around 210 years and experienced much in her life.

　　The Red Star Hive which was the home of the shortwing race had experienced little changes during most of her life.

　　Sure, the neighboring alien species stirred up trouble every so often and the more powerful species played their games with each other.

　　On the whole, the shortwing civilization was in a good spot. It might not be large, but its territory was not attractive enough for other species to fight over.

　　All of that changed when the pink hides attacked.

　　These small, bipedal aliens who lost their fur and only retained patches of them on their heads had not risen from the Red Star Hive where every other species the shortwingers knew of called their home.

　　The 'humans' instead came from another, much larger star hive that had long been the subject of folklore, myth and speculation!

　　The light from the Great Star Hive took hundreds of thousands of light-years to reach the smaller Red Star Hive.

　　Whatever the shortwingers and the other alien races were able to observe from the Great Star Hive was not much and horribly outdated.

　　If the red hivers knew that the Great Star Hive harbored such a large and powerful scourge, the pink hides probably wouldn't have been able to make so many gains since they started their invasion!

　　With the help of immensely advanced warships and small but incredibly powerful war machines that were largely made in the likeness of their makers, the pink hides toppled one alien nation after another, often within weeks rather than years!

　　All opposition was met with overwhelming destruction. From what the elderly female shortwinger learned, the red hivers opposing the pink hides comprehended the true nature of the threat too late.

　　Not only that, but the pink hides must have apparently infiltrated all of the alien nations in advance because a large quantity of assassinations and sabotage attacks occurred just before the main wave of pink hide fleets descended upon the affected star nations!

　　The shortwing star nation fell in an identical fashion to the other ones. Even though their race received advance warning of what might happen, no amount of precautions prevented the pink hides from assassinating their leaders and disabling the planetary defenses and infrastructure needed to repel an invasion!

　　In fact, even if the shortwingers were in their best state, they still couldn't have put up a decent fight against the overwhelming power of the pink hides.

　　What the old shortwinger lamented was the fact that her fellow avians hadn't received more time to evacuate their people from their doomed star nation.

　　The female bird shed a feather at the thought of all of the family and friends she had left behind.

　　"Great mother." One of the younglings chirped. "Will we… will we be able to live on a planet like Traiss again?"

　　The larger avian nodded and swept her articulated wings to the young bird. "Oh yes, my dear. Though our flight has been long, we are moving closer to our goal. The entrance to the Ancient Refuge is close. The pink hides will never be able to reach us once we pass through the legendary Gate of Death. We managed to bring enough godblood from our homes, so we have enough to pay the toll."

　　The younger shortwingers all looked fascinated when the myth of the Ancient Refuge was brought up. Though it had been relegated to a children's tale in the current eon, the doom that had befallen the red hivers had caused many aliens to put renewed attention on this pan-species tale.

　　Some of the aliens native to the Red Star Hive considered the Ancient Refuge to be their heaven and afterlife.

　　Other aliens regarded it as an ancient base built by an ancient race that led to a different dimension or star hive.

　　Then there were those who thought it was imaginary. Those voices existed among the shortwing refugees as well. They criticized Ssorraich, the broodfather of the remnant fleet, of giving false hope to the survivors of their fallen star nation.

　　Personally, the old woman deeply clung to this faint hope. There was nothing else for them to live for. Though she knew that there were many other shortwing fleets that had fled away from the pink hides, it would only be a matter of time before the invaders grasped the entirety of the Red Star Hive.

　　Where could the shortwing refugees flee to next?

　　Flying straight into the enormous dark that separated the galaxies was not realistic at all. A journey would take so many years that the ships would either fall apart or freeze as their power reserves slowly dwindled to nothing.

　　No. Broodfather Ssorraich was right. The best way to flee from the scourge of the pink hivers once and for all was to find the Gate of Death and pass through it, thereby moving far out of the reach of these soft but incredibly powerful mammalian aliens!

　　The playground compartment they were in suddenly shook. The trees planted by the shortwings shed a number of their leaves while the young chicks huddled against each other until their wings blended into a single whole.

　　"Hush now, my little birds! It will be okay. The pink skins will not be able to destroy our ships. The ones attacking us are not their premier troops. Instead, we are just being harried by their scavengers and vultures with their weak and tiny metal hides."

　　"Great mother! Watch out! I think a devourer is coming!"

　　The old bird turned around and saw that a section of the metal bulkhead began to part. The female shortwinger froze, but only for an instant.

　　Predatory and protective instincts welled up inside of her. Despite her age, she was still a member of a race that originally hunted their own prey with the power of their claws and beaks!

　　A glint shone in the old bird's eyes as the matronly figure spread her wings and launched into the air.

　　As soon as a black, insectile creature dug its way through the bulkhead, the old bird cawed before swooping down to attack with her claws!

　　The equipment she wore came to life as a metal sheath covered the lower limbs. Then, the protected limbs glowed as a sharp energy field covered their surface!

　　In an instant, those sharp claws tore through the shell of the devourer, spilling alien blood while completely beheading the four invaders!

　　Through her predatory senses, the old bird sensed that more devourer bugs were approaching the cavity.

　　"Go!" She called towards the small chicks. "Fly along the evacuation route! Don't stay!"

　　The frightened chicks did not argue and flapped away with their short and stubby wings. While the young birds weren't ready enough to fly on their own, it was enough to give them a burst of speed while they waddled towards an exit.

　　In the meantime, the old shortwinger deployed her old war gear. Metal covered her entire body as she turned into a fearsome avian soldier.

　　Her wings were no exception. They were too vulnerable if they were left out in the open, so the protective armor covered them as well.

　　Though this prevented the armored bird from being able to fly under her own power, her armor activated a setting that levitated her body.

　　"You will not devour our chicks, you insects!"

　　The female bird uttered another loud caw as the ballistic weapons mounted under the armored wings began to blast the emerging space bugs to pieces!

　　Under ordinary circumstances, the shortwingers preferred to make use of laser weapons, but the devourers resisted them too well.

　　She was not the only shortwinger to repel the intruding devourer insects.

　　The shortwingers stationed in many other sections of the civilian vessels also fought against the devourers that had made themselves home!

　　Devourer insect after devourer insect died, but there were always more. An infestation was hard to stop once it got going, but the shortwingers were not about to let the menace threaten their chicks!

　　Elsewhere, aboard one of the triangular warships of the shortwing race, the leader of this infested and beleaguered fleet perched atop a metal branch.

　　Broodfather Ssorraich observed the dense collection of screens as they conveyed all kinds of data. The condition of the ships under his command as well as the known properties of the pink hide ships and 'mechs' came under his purview.

　　His predatory eyes darted back and forth as he had to make a lot of hard decisions.

　　He cawed, drawing the attention of his council.

　　"We cannot go on like this much longer. The pink hides are too numerous. We cannot defend against both their mechs and the devourers that are constantly trying to eat our ships from the inside. In order to give the eggs of our race a chance to hatch in the Great Refuge, we must change our strategy."

　　The other elderly shortwingers shook their bodies and shed a couple of their feathers.

　　"Broodfather… if we do this…"

　　Ssorraich straightened his body and spread his majestic wings. Decorative, synthetic feathers were laced with his natural ones, causing his wingspread to be wider and more majestic than that of others!

　　"Listen to me! We are the only hope of the shortwing race left in the Red Star Hive. Our chicks and the eggs that have yet to be born must make it through. We have carried them this far, but the future of our race must make it to the Gate of Death by themselves. Transfer everything of importance to the three ships that are least affected by the devourer insects and can still take flight through the stars. They must leave regardless of who can follow!"

　　One of the elderly avians flapped his wings in panic! "Broodfather, isn't that too dangerous! If we do that, those of us who must fight the pink hides…"

　　Ssoraich closed his eyes and drew back his wings. "It will be our last flight."

　　Silence fell upon the chamber as the leaders of the refugee fleet took in the implications of this course of action.

　　Then, each and every bird raised their wings in unison!

　　"So be it!" The broodfather chirped! "We shall take flight for the last time so that our chicks may flap their wings for the first time in the Great Refuge! Let us show these greedy and murderous great hivers that we shortwingers will do what is right and protect the innocent against their foul and corrupting touch! As long as we have a single feather in our wing, we shall not fall! The righteous shall cleanse the Red Star Hive!"

　　"May our race fly for eternity!"

　　Ssoraich swept his wings in a grandiose fashion even as his eyes shook with uncertainty.

　　Would it work?

　　Would their chicks be able to find the refuge that he had promised for his followers?

　　Or would the merciless, genocidal pink skins crush their eggs to the last shell in this battle?