A somber air filled the bunker and bar in the days after watching the recordings of the end of the world. Saav had asked if he could bring his queen to see the visions of the past and after some thought, Thomas allowed it. As they discussed who else should be shown the recordings, Thomas made his first executive decision and hoped he wouldn''t come to regret it.


    Together, Delvik and Thomas set up the Bar and Grill as a movie theater, complete with projector and a large sheet against one wall, and invited everyone to attend after letting them know what it was that they would be seeing and forewarning them about the recordings. It was a packed house, nearly all of the adult Rakus showed up to see the world before and what created the world they know. A winded Sera arrived with Saav and two other of her Alphas that she promised would be on their best behavior, and then the end of the world began streaming for all to see in the mostly rebuilt mess hall.


    As the scenes played on the large sheet they had set up, Thomas watched the reactions of those watching the end of the human dominated world as he began prepping food and drinks in the back. It took all of his will power to keep from reaching for the hard liquor on the shelf for himself, but he reasoned that he had made enough of an ass of himself to his friends already with his previous antics. He poured a single beer for himself and then sent the rest off on a tray with Delvik for those who needed a bit of liquid reinforcement to their nerves.


    Thomas was ready for a deluge of questions, he was not ready for the contemplative silence that took hold instead. Even Sera, pale as the sheet that the images were projected on, simply thanked him for sharing what he had found and let him know that she would like to speak with him later after she processed everything she had seen. Thomas just nodded and said that would be fine, and she left as quickly as she had arrived.


    He was not ready for the looks of sympathy from the Rakus, especially from Delvik. So as he lay on his cot that night in the heart of the bunker, he made his second executive decision, and hoped he would be able to be strong enough to see it through.


    A few nights later, two humans, a mutant raccoon and a mutant alligator sat on salvaged lawn chairs as a host of insect shaped robots assembled a contraption before them.


    “So, you have kept us in suspense long enough Mr Scientist, what is this all about” Sera asked


    Thomas nodded to the flimsy looking framework being assembled, “I didn''t really have time to think about it since I got her, but something had been bothering me since the night I arrived”, and he pointed up at the large glowing globe sitting high in the sky, “the moon looks weird.” he said authoritatively.


    The collected group all looked up, some scratching their heads trying to figure out what Thomas was talking about.


    “It looks same as always to me” Saav rumbled out


    Delvik nodded in agreement and Sera gave Thomas a side eyed look of suspicion before asking, “You haven''t been dipping into the bottles again have you?”


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    Thomas shook his head no before he turned his gaze back to the moon, “No, i''ve learned my lesson there.”


    He spread his hands as if to encompass the glowing celestial body before he continued, “I realize it may have always looked like this to you guys, but it looks off to me and I think I know why,” he paused for dramatic effect, “tonight we will check it out and see if I am right or not”


    That statement set off both Delvik and Sera, with both launching a battery of questions at a laughing Thomas. He waited for them to quiet down when they realized he wasn''t going to try to talk over them, and he simply pointed at the device being assembled a short distance away,


    All four figures looked toward where a large tube was being fitted to the metal scaffolding by an insectoid robot while smaller versions scuttled around attaching wires and cables from its back to another box sitting on the ground.


    Sera nodded and simply said “ah, so that''s what it is”


    “Thomas, my friend, please explain as if we cannot read your mind” Delvik said with a dry tone


    “I take offense to that you oversized rodent, I haven''t tried to read his mind once” Sera objected, glaring at Delvik, “anyone with a bit of sense would see that it''s a looking glass, just scaled up.”


    The hairs on Delviks back began to bristle at her words and Thomas stepped in between the two to prevent further conflict.


    “You’re mostly correct Sera, it''s called a telescope. I had one as a kid, and people have been making them for thousands of years, but this one is special.” Thomas said, “This one is so much better than the one I had back then. We should be able to zoom in pretty far on the surface of the moon with it, and of course we can use one of the old tablets to display what it sees so we don''t have to take turns crowding around it.”


    The others looked at the device, making various noises of understanding


    Thomas nudged Sera with his elbow, gave her a pointed look before jerking his head towards Delvik. She frowned and crossed her arms, and Thomas narrowed his eyes at her, his mouth compressed into a thin line.


    With a huff, Sera looked to Delvik, “I apologize for calling you an oversized rodent”


    Thomas shifted his pointed look to Delvik, who after a moment sighed, “and I apologize for accusing you of using your mind powers on Thomas”


    Thomas leaned back in the ancient lawn chair, causing it to groan warningly before he sat back up, “see, we can all get along and be civil with each other” he said, missing the glares exchanged between the two as he watched one of the medium sized spider bots pick up a tablet and scuttle towards him with it raised up.


    Delvik shuddered at the sight, “I do not know why you continue to make your little robots look like bugs, I thought you hated them”


    Thomas nodded at that, “Two reasons really, the first is that even though bugs creep me right out, their form is perfect for working in this environment. The second is that while these might borrow the shape, they are not bugs.” he said with a slight shudder, “and if I could travel back to when the plans for releasing chemicals that would cause bugs to mutate and become gigantic, I would drag them to a top floor and kick them through a window.”


    “Now, let''s take a closer look at you and see why you seem so odd” he said turning on the tablet and tapping a few icons


    The newly constructed telescope shuddered and began to rotate and point towards the brightly glowing moon high above and on the display of the tablet as the others all leaned forward


    “Oh,” Thomas exclaimed, “that would explain it” he said as a faint ring of metallic debris spun and danced in a faint ring around the moon, and even more glittered brightly where the wrecked and twisted hulls of alien ships littered the pockmarked surface of the celestial body.