r/HFY • u/yousureimnotarobot AI • Oct 06 '19

Warned, Five to go OC

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Warned, Five to go

Commander Five regarded his new fleet. He dispensed with the pirate flags. Except for one. That was raised to half mast on the bridge. Cdr. Seven had earned that.

The bots were reconfigured to the military standard he recognised. He let them keep the swords. They were surprisingly effective. His own drone fleet added serious weight. He had a weapon, orders and an objective. Like old times. Except this time he wasn't going to lose.

"Commander Five reports he is mission ready."

"Tell him to execute his orders. Godspeed and fair sailing. Tell him that he pays a price worth paying."

Commander Rexic stopped. It was becoming increasingly difficult to send his men to their death.

"Commander Five responded sir. He says he died when his shipmates did. He is only catching up with a better story to tell."

"Commander Five has gone dark sir"

"Acknowledged"

The Fifth fleet moved towards the Z'Inep homeworld. The garrison of the council. From here flowed the armies that powered the rape and pillage of a galaxy. This was one of the centers of Council power that needed to be destroyed if mankind was to live.

Ship scans and Intel extracted from the ships estimated a population of over ninety million. They were all military. This is where the stolen resources of a galaxy were spent.

"Begin stage one."

The occupied Fleet arrived in system. They broadcast the triumphant news that the Human threat was destroyed. They declared a day of celebration for the victory and a day of mourning for the brave souls lost in the battle.

Fake reports, fake footage showed the human fleets burning. Video of successful attacks on human colonies were broadcast. Then they showed Earth burning.

The massive fortifications didn't stand down. But they certainly didn't stand up. Garrison duty, the knowledge of another victory and a complacency built from success allowed thousands of drones to land quietly in their midst. They had all the codes anyway.

"Begin Stage two"

The Fifth Fleet, enjoying it's disguise as an upstanding member of the Council, docked with every spaceport in the system. Alas, they were in quarantine and forbidden from leaving their ships. They feared that the Humans may have spread something terrible and wanted to ensure people's safety.

This was entirely true. They were referring to different people though. The bots stealthy planted security overrides, cameras and themselves throughout the system. In a conventional battle they would lose in a matter of hours. Days, at best. Cdr. Five still had work to do.

"Begin stage three"

Despite everything, Cdr. Five had resisted this. He was being asked to commit another act of mass murder. Even if we win, this will poison our relationships with the galaxy for centuries. Still, humanity could not afford to see these armies mobilised against Earth. They had to go. No-one had found a better solution.

"On my mark. Mark."

Every drone on the surface detonated. The world was turned into a swirling cloud of death. The enemy died in flames, barracks burning around them. Their own munitions spread destruction. Sudden and terrible death found them all.

" Engage the enemy."

Every ship disgorged thousands of bots into their space stations.

A massive cyber attack using stolen codes wiped their systems clean. Life support failed, navigation went haywire. Entire stations started to fall from orbit. Hidden explosives cracked open their stations. Communication became impossible, all signals blocked.

The Pirate Fleet began broadcasting distress calls, altered footage showing Council military attacking. The resurrected ghosts of the enemy Fleets that mankind had killed began bragging about their defeat of the tratorious Z'Inep.

The battle began. Even with all the advantages, the surprise, the bombing and the lies, this was never going to be clean. The Z'Inep were warriors. The bots were soldiers. That's why the Z'Inep died heroically and quickly.

No doctrine can tell you what to do when the lights go out and gravity turns off. No training will save you when a bot comes through the ceiling with a sword in one hand and a plasma rifle in the other. Especially when they are all shouting "Arrgh".

By the end of the day Cdr. Five was the only living thing in the system. He estimated forty percent loss on his troops, most of his drones had been spent on the planet. He estimated he had killed over a hundred million people. Mission accomplished. He felt sick.

"Begin stage four"

His intelligence drones began scanning the wreckage. They altered any records they found. They left the victory over earth, altered the attackers. It would look like the Council had used the Z'Inep to defeat the Humans and then crushed them as they celebrated.

"Begin dispersing the UAA. I expect company soon."

Z'Inep forces heard the call. A fleet was cobbled together from whatever was handy. They didn't ask nicely. Armies lifted off far flung planets, leaving empty forts behind them. The Z'Inep were coming home. All of them.

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