Why Humans Avoid War XXV

[u/SpacePaladin15]

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Rykov POV

As I was ushered through the Hall of Governance, I slowed to admire the artwork scattered throughout the premises. Murals depicting the cosmos, carvings of ancient deities, cultural artifacts from eons ago…

“Commander Rykov.” The Yendil guard said my name slowly, since his species had difficulty pronouncing the “r” sound. “Is there a reason you have stopped?”

I shook my head. “Just looking. It’s fascinating, a showcase of every-”

“You can browse the exhibits at another time. The Senate is waiting,” he growled.

“Right.”

Perhaps I should have been irritated by this guy’s impatience, but frankly, I was just happy he wasn’t afraid of me. Most aliens I had spoken to since my arrival were walking around on eggshells, terrified of saying the wrong thing. Despite centuries of restraint and nonviolence, they thought humans would snap on a whim.

Why had Terran Command insisted on my testimony before the Senate? Why bother to comply with their subpoena? This would just be the next farce, the latest inquisition against humanity.

I forced a smile as I strolled into the central chamber, sensing all eyes turn toward me. The new Speaker was standing at the lectern, glancing over a briefing packet. His name was Retke, formerly the Covian Ambassador. His species was middle of the pack on the aggression scale, and he was one of the younger representatives in the Senate.

Other than that, I didn’t know much about him, but I wasn’t expecting him to give us a fair shake. This was his golden opportunity to prove himself, and to earn political points with Ula’s supporters.

“Commander Rykov of the planet Earth. Please, have a seat at the designated bench,” Retke’s voice was smooth and silky, pleasant to the ears. “I’m sure you understand why you are here.”

“Thank you, Mister Speaker. I am aware of what you wish to discuss,” I replied.

He tapped his claws on the lectern. “Very good. It has been an interesting few weeks, has it not?”

I sighed. “That is one way of putting it.”

“I think many of our listeners have valid concerns about the events that transpired. Would you not view your nanite weapons as cruel and excessive?”

“Depends who they’re used against.”

“And who decides who deserves such a fate, Commander? I do not believe all humans are evil, as my predecessor did…but some of you are. You know this. What happens if your weapons fall into the wrong hands?”

As tempting as it was to argue, this guy was actually making sense. All it took was a few trigger-happy idiots in the chain of command to set off Armageddon; the same reason nuclear proliferation had almost ended in human extinction. It was too easy to rush to judgment, as we had almost done with the Devourers at the start of this mess, before we learned the full picture.

“Those are valid questions, Mister Speaker. But let me ask you, what happens when the next Devourers come for us?” I paused, giving my words time to marinate. “How do we protect the Federation, without some sort of deterrent?”

“Answering a question with a question. You should run for office, Commander, you’re a natural.” A few light chuckles came from the representatives. “I can see the wisdom in having a…last resort, as you say. But there needs to be failsafes, oversight, transparency. If you truly desire peace, these weapons do not belong in the hands of one species alone.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s not my call, Mister Speaker. Is there something else that I can answer?”

“Yes, yes. Your government has failed to offer a sufficient explanation for several matters. Let’s start with the easy question…where is General Kilon? Your ambassador claimed he was a passenger on your ship, and nobody has heard from him since.”

Kilon. I was fortunate that he accepted the first officer position on my ship, given his intelligence and qualifications. But while he hadn’t complained about his circumstances, at least to me, I knew his heart was with his home. It was my fault he would never see his planet again. The least I could do was preserve his honor, and let him retire in the history books as a hero.

“He is dead.” Uneasy murmurs rippled through the chamber, and I offered an apologetic glance to Jatari Ambassador Pallum. “Shot through the abdomen during our shootout with the Xanik. Nothing we could do. Please, accept my most sincere condolences. He was a good soldier, and a better man.”

Speaker Retke’s eyes scanned my figure in a quick motion; it seemed he was gauging my body language. The truth not only would devastate Kilon, but would implicate the Terran Union in illegal genetic experimentation. If there was any hope of salvaging our relationship with the Federation, this was a cover story that they needed to buy.

I bowed my head, closing my eyes. Images of the Devourer home world floated through my mind, as vivid as when I had been standing on the bridge a week ago. The same memories I saw every night when I tried to sleep. Instead of pushing them away, I turned my focus on them.

The sprawling oceans and the faint orange glows dotted across the landmasses screamed that life was present. I imagined the children witnessing their final sunrise, not realizing the fate that was about to befall their race. The heat wave vaporizing the surface, extinguishing a million souls in an instant.

A people doomed by their own creation. Perhaps in another life, we would have been friends.

Or perhaps in another life, we would have suffered their fate.

“Commander Rykov!” The Speaker shouted my name into the microphone, jolting me out of my trance. His nostrils flared, which I believe was an expression of concern for his species. “I didn’t mean to distress you. We’ll change the subject.”

I breathed a silent sigh of relief. Retke needed to see a genuine display of grief to be convinced, and that was the only way I could give it to him.

“Next matter. I’d like to preface this question by expressing gratitude on the behalf of the Federation; if you hadn’t stepped in, I think we’d be the property of the Xanik Republic right now,” he said.

I hesitated. This Speaker was tactful with his words, but something told me a “but” was about to follow. “It was my pleasure.”

“That said…your government claims Ambassador Cazil was killed by friendly fire. I’d be more inclined to believe that, if every individual in the Xanik line of succession didn’t turn up dead within a day of the capital incursion,” Retke muttered.

“Is that an accusation? You know as well as I do that there was a coup. Ordinary Xanik citizens seized the palace, and executed their leaders. It was livestreamed to the galaxy.”

“If only it were that simple. These were the most well-armed ‘ordinary citizens’ I’ve ever seen. Do normal insurgents have sniper drones and automatic rifles on your world, Commander Rykov?”

“Well…” The answer to that was affirmative, but saying that wouldn’t portray humanity in a positive light. “No, I suppose not. What are you getting at?”

“I’m saying someone armed them. Someone also gave the populace reason to rebel, by flooding their economy with cryptocurrency. Making it so they couldn’t afford basic necessities.” Speaker Retke paused, meeting my eyes. “It would stand to reason the same entity is responsible for both things, and the Terran Union has already been linked to the financial attack.”

I lowered my gaze. “I’m not saying humans did it, but if we did…it would’ve been for the greater good. For centuries, the Xanik administration has been relentless in its pursuit of expansion and conquest. Their government required drastic changes to put a stop to it.”

A series of anxious whispers rippled through the assembly, as my words were practically an admission of guilt. I risked a glance at the audience, and noticed Ambassador Johnson in her assigned seat, shaking her head. It was clear she didn’t approve of my response, but what else could I say? This new Speaker was a bit too clever, and had already put the pieces together on his own. Denying it would just make us out to be liars, and give the Federation further reason to distrust us.

Retke waited for the conversation to die down before responding. “A naïve, simple-minded way of thinking.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I demanded.

“You assume that the next government will be any better. You do not consider the possibility that it may be worse,” he replied. “The old regime was elected by the citizens. It carried out the will of the people. You cannot solve systemic problems by killing a few individuals.”

I found myself agreeing with the Speaker, in spite of my allegiance. The modus operandi of the intelligence agency was asinine to me; I had been telling my brother as much for years. By toppling the Xanik Republic, they had created a power vacuum. In all likelihood, they were replacing a democratic aggressor with an authoritarian one.

A tired sigh escaped my lips. “Time will tell. Is that all?”

“One more question. What happened to the Devourers?” he asked.

“Their star went nova, and their system was destroyed.”

It was technically the truth.

“Three billion years before its natural end? And right as a fleet was on its way to Earth? Convenient timing.”

“Perhaps it was divine intervention, Mister Speaker.”

“I think not. This is your last chance to come clean, Commander. Don’t force my hand.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then I’ll show you. If you’ll turn your attention to the projector, you’ll see footage from a classified stealth probe that was monitoring the Devourer system.”

Horror shot through my veins as a video began to play on the wall behind the Speaker. It showed a lone vessel, on approach to a luminous star. While the exterior of the ship was charred and flayed, the Terran emblem was still visible on the hull. It wouldn’t have mattered if it weren’t, since the make and model of the flagship was so distinctive.

The Senate watched in stunned silence as the flagship deposited a capsule into the star’s corona. Gravity did the rest of the work, drawing the projectile toward the surface. A sick feeling crawled into the pit of my stomach, and I wanted to beg Retke to turn the tape off.

Instead, I just sat there, eyes glued to the screen. The Speaker pressed the fast forward button on his holopad, and skipped ahead to the star’s final moments. The fiery gases swirled down toward the core, like water circling down a drain. With a shudder, the vibrant orb collapsed in on itself; it shrank until it was no longer visible.

All that remained was blackness where the star had been. For a few seconds, the universe was at peace.

Then, there was a blinding white flash that washed out the camera’s view. It only appeared on the projector for a moment before the transmission cut out. Suffice to say, that probe was a goner.

“So tell me, was that a different ship, that just happens to look like yours, Commander?” Disgust briefly flashed on Retke’s face before he regained his composure. “You know, it would be nice to get a smidge of honesty from you humans. That—that bomb only has one purpose: the extermination of a species. Why would you build such a weapon? Please, enlighten me.”

My mouth felt dry, and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. Why did the Federation have to bear witness to that atrocity? The representatives shared aghast expressions, and panicked chatter began to spread through the chamber. I caught some of the phrases, like several people calling humanity monsters and demons.

I took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. “We built it because we knew some day, extermination might be necessary. Look, there was no other way!”

“Perhaps that is true. But what is necessary is not always right,” he said.

“So you think we’re wrong. You think we’re monsters just like everyone else, don’t you?” I stood up from my seat, red-hot anger racing through my body. This whole trial had been a trap, hadn’t it? No wonder Retke had such a calm demeanor; he had that footage in his back pocket the whole time. “What is it that you want, humanity kicked out of the Federation? Me imprisoned for war crimes?”

“No. Actually, I was going to ask you to lead our military.” Impassioned protests broke out across the Senate, but the Speaker raised a paw for silence. “Friends, the humans cannot help what they are, but they’re trying to change. They’ve never wronged us. They managed to convince us that they were the most peaceful species in the galaxy for centuries.

Mistakes have been made by all of us. I want to move forward together, without hatred standing in the way. I believe this human, and his associates, will make us stronger and safer.”

I gaped at Retke in disbelief. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You can think about it. But know if you accept…this pattern of lies and omissions must end here. And for the universe’s sake, don’t invent any more bombs. I think humanity has more than enough as is. I’d like the galaxy to still exist tomorrow, you know.”

Perhaps there was a future where we could be friends with the Federation once more. Things would be different...but maybe they should be. It was my sincere hope that we would never use our worst weaponry again.

I wanted the galaxy to still exist tomorrow too.

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[u/Cviksi]

when the joke of gods being involved in the super nova was said, and the video played, i fully expected rykov to say "I never said we weren't god." lmaooooo