Speaker 1: The first alien ship appeared over Earth on a Tuesday
morning in March twenty three, eighty seven. It was massive,
bigger than any city Sarah Chan had ever seen. The
ship looked like a crystal mountain floating in space, with
thousands of lights dancing across its surface. Sarah stowed in
the observation deck of the Lunar Station, watching through the
reinforced glasses. More ships arrived. They came from every direction,
filling earth sky with strained shapes and colors. Sarah was
fifty three years old and had spent most of her
life in space. She commanded the Earth to Fence Fleet,
though everyone knew the name was more hope than reality.
Humanity it had only been traveling between stars for three
hundred years. Their fastest ships could barely reach half the
speed of light. Their weapons were simple nuclear missiles and
laser cannons. Now, looking at the alien fleet above Earth,
Sarah realized how small and wikimans really were. The aliens
had been watching humanity for decades, as radio signals had
reached their wells long ago. They knew about human war's,
human violence, and human expansion into space. What they saw
worried them greatly In all the thousands of years of
space travel, they had never met a species quite like humans.
The leader of the alien fleet was names Extaa. She
belonged to a species called a Sepherians. Her body was
made of living crystal that changed colors as she spoke.
She stood twelve feet tall and had no face as
humans understood, it just patterns of light that moved across
her crystal head. When she spoke, her voice sounded like
wind Chein's in a gentle breeze. Admiral Chan six Starr
said through the translation device, we represent a galactic confederation.
We have come to offer your species membership in our
great alliance. Sara tried to hide her excitement. First contact
with alien life was the dream of every human. Scientists
had wondered for centuries if birth was alone in the universe.
Now she knew the answer. Not only was humanity not alone,
but there was an entire confederation of alien species spatting
the galaxy. We are honored by your offer, sir replied, carefully,
What does membership require? The crystal aliens let flickered in
what might have been amusement. First, you must understand what
you are journing. The galactic Confederation includes eight hundred forty
seven different species. We have maintained peace for over fifty
thousand years. This piece exists because we all follow the
same rules. Six arero gestured, and a holographic display appeared
in the air between them. It showed a map of
the galaxy with millions of colored as representing different worlds
in species. Sarah could see that most of the galaxy
was already claimed and divided among the various alien races.
Each species is given specific territories and resources. The alien continued.
Technology is shared and controlled to prevent any one race
from becoming too powerful. Military forces are limited and regulated.
Most importantly, expansion and colonization follow strict guidelines approved by
the Confederation Council. Sarah felt her heart sink. She was
beginning to understand what this really meant. You want to
control human development, We want to guide it. Corrected another
alien who had remained until now. This one looked completely
different from zec Thora. It was more like a giant
insect with multiple arms and a head that twitched constantly.
Its skin was dark green and covered in what looked
like armoplates. I'm CRATHEX of the Curl Collective. My species
learned long ago that unlimited growth leads to war and destruction.
The Kerale alien move closer to Sarah, its multiple eyes
focusing on her. Humans are unique admiral chron Most species
developed space travel after they have learned to live in
peace with themselves. Humans achieve faster than light travel while
still fighting wars on their home planet. Most species evolve
from pre animals that learn cooperation to survive. Humans evolve
from predators that learned to hunt in packs. Sarah felt
a children down her spine. She was beginning to understand
why the aliens had come. They were not here to
welcome humanity into the galactic community. They were here to
put a leash on a dangerous animal. What exactly are
you proposing, Sarah asked? Six thorough asked crystal body poles
with soft blue light humanity. You will be allowed to
keep it in your current weelth colony worlds. You will
be given access to certain approved tecknoledges of will improve
your quality of life. In return, you will accept Confederation
oversight of your military, your expansion, and your research. And
if we refuse, Sarah asked, though she already knew the answer.
The Insecularian cratnics clicked his mandibles together in what sounded
like laughter. Look around you, Admiral, our feat contains more
fiber than your entire species has ever produced. We have
weapons that could tone your son into a supernova or
freeze your ocean solid, but we do not wish to
use them. We prefer peace. Sarah looked out at the
alien ships surrounding. There were hundreds of them, maybe thousands.
Each one was larger and more advanced than anything humanity
had built. Even if every human ship attacked at once,
they would be destroyed in minutes. However, Sucsorer continued. However,
its becoming colder. The Confederation has learned from experience. Three
times in our history. We have allowed dangerous species to
develop with that proper guidance. Each time it led to
tr wars that cost millions of lives. We will not
make that mistake again. The crystal alien moved to the
window and looked dawn nat Earth. Your planet is beautiful,
Admiral chan Your species has great potential, but you are
also the most violent and unpredictable race we have ever encountered.
In just three hundred years of space travel, you have
fought seventeen wars among yourselves. You have used nuclear weapons
against your own kind. You have poisoned your own atmosphere
and stripped entire worlds of resources. Sarah wanted to argue,
but she knew the alien was right. Humanity's expansion into
space had been marked by conflict and competition. The Mars
Colony war, the asteroid mining conflicts, the corporate wars around
Jupiter's mood. Humans seemed unable to explore the galaxy without
fighting each other for control. But we have also achieved
incredible things, Sarah said. We have cured diseases, explored dangerous worlds,
and built cities among the stars. We have art, music,
and literature that celebrates the beauty of existence. Yes, gree Krathnax,
this is why we offer you membership instead of elimination.
Your species has value, but that value must be carefully managed.
The aliens presented error with a thick document called the
Sapient Species Accords. It was hundreds of pages long and
written incompliss legal language that took her Iyos to understand.
The basic terms were simple but devastating to human freedom.
Humanity would be restricted to their current solar system plus
twelve designated colony worlds. It could not establish new colonies
without confederation approval. Their military would be limited to police
forces and system defense units. No new weapons research would
be allowed without alien oversight. Human ships could not travel
beyond their assigned territories without special promits. Most importantly, human
technology development would be strictly controlled. The Aliens would provide
certain approved advances in medicine, energy, and agriculture, but humans
would be forbidden from researching faster than like communication, advanced
artificial intelligence, or quantum weapons. These restrictions will remain in
place for at least five hundred years. Sink Star are explained.
After that time, if humanity has proven itself peaceful and responsible,
some limitations may be lifted. Sarah read through the document again,
her anger growing with each page. The aliens were offering
humanity a comfortable cage. They would be fed and protected,
but never allowed to grow beyond what their keepers deemed safe.
What about human rights, Sarah asked, what about our freedom
to explore and expand? Freedom is a luxury that must
be earned. Reply, Cratics, Your species will have freedom within
the boundaries we set. You will be free to live,
to learn, and to grow, but you will not be
free to threaten the peace of the galaxy. Sarah real
as she had no choice. The alien fleet could destroy
human civilization in a matter of iOS. Those leaders had
sent her to negotiate, but there was nothing to negotiate.
This was surrendered, disguised as diplomacy. A new time to
consult with my government, Sarah said, of course, Kstara replied,
you have seventy two iOS to provide an answer. After that,
we will assume humanity its chosen conflict over operation. The
aliens left Sarah alone with the document and her thoughts.
She spent the next three days in constant communication with
US leaders, the colonial governors, and their military command. Everyone
reached the same conclusion. Humanity was not ready for a
war against the Galactic Confederation. They had to accept the
terms now, matter how infa they seemed, and the third
day Sarah met with aliens again. This time, represents from
dozens of different species were present. She saw creatures that
looked like walking trees, others that were simple flying jewfish,
and some that were just clouds of glowing gas. All
of them watched as she signed the Sapient Species Accords.
Welcome to the galactic Confederations, Extor said, Sarah put down
the electronic pen. His species is now under our protection
and guidance. Sarah looked at the signed document and felt
like she had just sold humanity's future, but she also
knew it was the only way to ensure that humanity
had a future all. As the alien ships began to
leave us all bit, Sarah noticed that several remained behind.
These would be the monitoring stations. She realized the Confederation
would be watching humanities have removed, making sure where they
followed the rules of the new present. Standing on the
observation deck of Luna Station, Sarah watched the loss of
the alien fleet disappear into space around her. I've looked
peaceful and beautiful in the darkness, but she knew that
humanity had just lost something precious. They had lost their
freedom to choose their own destiny. The galaxy was fast
and full of wonders, but humans would only be allowed
to see the small corner that their alien master's steamsafe.
Sarah wondered if this was how every species in the
confederation had started. Had they all been free once? Had
they all been forced to give up the dreams of
unlimited exploration and growth. She thought of her own children
and grandchildren. They would grow up in a world where
aliens decided what humans could and could not do. They
would never know the feeling of pushing beyond boundaries and
discovering something new. They would be safe, but they would
also be slaves. Sarah made's silent promise as she watched
Earth turn slowly in space. Someday, somehow, humanity would be
free again. The aliens thought they had timed the human spirit,
but they had only hidden it. Like a fire covered
with ash. It would continue to beout, and when the
time was right, it would burst into flames again. The
Galactic Confederation had made one crucial mistake. They assumed that
because they could control human actions, they could also control
human thoughts and dreams. But dreams, Sarah knew, were the
one thing that could never be caged, and human dreams
had always been bigger than any prison. Fifty years had
passed since Admiral or Sarah Chanzay in the Sapient Species.
Of course, Sarah was long dead, now buried on Lunar
Station with four military honors. Her daughter Elsa followed in
her footsteps, climbing through the ranks of what was now
called the Human Devent's cause. The word Earth had been
removed from the name at the suggestion of the galactic peacekeepers.
They said it sounded too aggressively. So Tian was now
forty five years old and commanded the monitoring station above
New Guettsburg, one of humanity's twelve lar colony Welt. She
had grown up under alien rule, but unlike many of
her generation, she remembered her mother stories about the time
before the Confederation. Sarah had told her daughter about the
dreams humans once had about exploring the galaxy and building
something great among the stars. New Gettysburg was a mining world,
named after an ancient at battle where brave soldiers had
died fighting for freedom. The irony was not lost on
the lease that the planet was rich in rere minerals
that were essential for building faster than light engines and
quantum computers. Under the accords, humans were allowed to mine
these materials, but only in amounts approved by the Confederation Council.
The mining operation was run but Director Marcus Ware, a
tough man in his sixters, who had what the asteroid
mines before the aliens came heid. The cans covered in
scars and a voice rotened by years of breathing recycled
out in spaceps. Marcus hated the Aliens with the passion
that burned bright after five decades of restrictions. Commando Chan,
Marcus said, as he entered Lisa's office in the orbital station,
we have a problem. Lisa leapt up from her reports.
Every month she had filed detailed accounts of mining, app
population growth, and resource consumption. The aliens wanted to know
everything about human activities. What kind of problem, Marcus, The
kind that's going to make out our alien friends very unhappy,
Marcus replied with a grim smile. My teams found something big,
really big. Marcus activated the holographic display on Lisa's desk.
It showed a three dimensional map of new guests works underground,
mineral deposits deep beneath the planet's surface, a massive vein
of rarer with elements stretched for hundreds of kilometers. Sweet mercy,
Lisa whispered, how much are we talking about? Enough to
supply the entire human fleet for the next thousand years?
Marcus said, enough to build quantum computers that could think anything.
The Aliens have enough to power weapons that could punch
hols through the crystal ships. Lisa stared at the display.
This was exactly what humanity needed to break free from
Ilion control. But she also knew what would happen when
the peace keepers found out about it, and they would
find out the Aliens monitored everything. Have you told anyone
else about this, Lisak? Just my senior mining supervisors. Marcus replied,
I want to talk to eurost We both know what
the aliens will do when they hear about this. Lisa
knew he was right. The Galactic peace Keepers would declare
the deposit excessive for human developmental needs and take control
of it. They had done it before or on other
Waltz Whenever humans found something valuable, the aliens found reasons
to confiscate it. The peace Keepers were the enforcement on
of the Galactic Confederation that wore sleeks over armour and
carried weapons that could disintegrate matter at the molecular level.
Their ships were fast in deadly, designed to respond quickly
to any threat to galactic piece. Most peacekeepers with othok
species that looked like tall then humanoids with grayskin and
no hair. They had call calculating mines ensured no emotion
when carrying out their detas. We have to report it,
Lisa said. Finally, if we don't and they find out later,
things will be much worse for everyone on this planet.
Marcus slummed his fist in the desk. Damn it, Lise,
how long are we going to keep bending over bastards?
That mineral deposit could change everything for humanity. It could
give us the power to stand up and fight back
and get everyone killed in the process. Lies replied, you've
seen what their weapons can do. Remember what happened on
Sirius Station when the miners tried to assess Marcus's face darkened.
Everyone in human space knew about Series Station. The asteroid
miners have refused to hand over a shipment of process
uranium that the peacekeepers wanted for the Ornustali. In response
that had been swift and brutal. They had used some
kind of energy weapon that turned the entire station into
dustin seconds. Three thousand humans had died. Insiddly, that was different,
Marcus argued, there were just a few thousand miners on
an isolated station neuguttespoke as two million people. The Aliens
wouldn't dare, wouldn't they? Lisa interrupted the Confederation has been
very clear about their priorities. Galactic peace comes before individual species.
If they think we're become in a threat, they'll do
whatever it takes to start bus. Despite her words, Lisa
felt the same anger and frustration that Marcus did. She
had spent her entire adult life watching aliens control every
aspect of human existence. They decided where humans could live,
what they could build, and how they could grow. Every
human innovation had to be approved by alien scientists, who
treated them like children playing with dangerous toes. The next morning,
Lise filed her report about the mineral discovery within Ires,
a peacekeeper fleet appeared in orbit around Neugattisburg. The flagship
was a massive ship called the Eternal Vigilance, commanded by
Peacekeeper primes ethkl Seth Call was a typical vorthak, seven
feet tall, with skin like polished stone and eyes that
glowed with pale blue light. He had been overseeing human
space for twenty years and had a reputation for strict
enforcement of Confederation law. When he spoke, his voice was
flat and emotionless, like a computer reading a technical manual.
Him under chan s if coalsaid as his holographic image
appeared in Lisa's office. You have reported the day discovery
of significant mineral deposits on Nugettsburg. The Confederation Council has
reviewed your findings and determined that these resources exceed human requirements.
Lisa felt her heart sink, but she tried to keep
her voice steady with respect. Prime z f called, these
minerals are essential for our technological development. The Accords guarantee
humanity the right to use resources found in our assigned territories.
The Accords also state that resource extruction must so have
legitimate developmental needs. The alien replied coldly, the amount of
rare earth elements you have discovered far beyond what a
species requires for peaceful purposes. Such quantities could only be
used for military applications. Our mining equipment is old and inefficient.
Lisa argued, we need these materials to upgrade our technology
and improve life for our colonists. Zeth Coll's clonas fixed, honor,
Commander Chin, do not insult my intelligence. I have studied
human psychology and behavior for decades. I know exactly what
your species would do with such resources. You would build weapons,
military ships, and quantum computers designed for warfare. Lisa wanted
discream it the aliens arrogance, but she forced herself to
remain calm. The Confederation has always said that humans could
develop as long as we remain peaceful. How can we
prove our peaceful intentions if you won't allow us to advance.
You can prove her peaceful intentions by accepting our decision
without resistance, Sekel replied. The mineral deposits will be extructed
under Confederation supervision. The resources will be distributed among various
member species according to galactic need. And what about the
needs of New Gettysburgh's colonists, Lisa asked, These people have
worked for decades to build their homes here. This discovery
could have improved their lives immeasurably. Their lives will continue
as before, the Aliens said, dismissively. The Confederation will ensure
that they receive adequate resources for their basic needs. They
require nothing more. Lisa realized that arguing was pointless. The
Aliens had already made their decision. They would take the
minerals and leave humanity with just enough to survive, but
never enough to grow strong. Over the next several weeks,
Peacekeepers ships landed on New Gettysburg's surface. Alien mining equipment
was brought down from orbit. Machines that could extractmen was
a hundred times faster than human technology. The aliens work
quickly and efficiently stripping the valuable deposits from the planet's
crossed to The human miners were forced to watch as
their discovery was stolen from them. Some tried to protest,
but Peaskeiper guards quickly silenced any resistance. Marcus Webb blared
a group of miners in a peaceful demonstration outside the
main mining facility. The peacekeepers dispersed the crowd at sonic
weapons that left the humans writhing on the ground in agony.
This is what galactic piece looks like, Marcus said to
Lisa as she helped him to his feet after the
sanic attack. His ears were bleeding and his hands shook
from the after effects of the weapon. Were not members
of the Confederation, We're prisoners. Lisa helped Marcus to the
medical station, where human doctors treated the injured miners with
primitive equipment. The aliens had medical technology that could heal
the sonic weaponed Ammageminiz, but they did not share it
with humans. Such advanced medicine was deemed unnecessary for human development.
As the weeks passed, Lisa watched the alien mining operation
with growing anger. They were not just taking the row
Earth elements. They were also extracting other valuable minerals that
the original survey had missed. The aliens were strip mining
the planet, taking everything of value and leaving behind empty
holes in the ground. The worst part was the efficiency
of it all. The aliens treated the theft as a
routine administrative task. The file reports, followed procedures and maintained
detailed records of everything the stall. To them, this was
not theft at all. It was resource management for the
greater good of the galaxy. Commander Chan, one of her
junior officers, said, as he entered her office. I've been
monitoring alien communications their planning to establish a permanent mining
base ONMNU the Oediesburg. Lisa looked up sharply a permanent
base for Halng indefinitely. The officer reply, they found additional
deposits deeper underground. They want to make sure humans never
get access to them. Lisa stared out the window at
the alien ships in orbit. More were arriving every day,
bringing fresh equipment, and additional personnel. The Peacekeeper were not
just taking the minerals, they were taking the planet itself.
That night, Lease called an emergency meeting with the senior
staff of New Iceberg. Mining supervisors, colonial administrators, and military
officers gathered in the conference room of the orbital station.
Everyone looked tired and angry. We all know why we're here,
Lisa began. The aliens are stealing our world, piece by piece.
They are not going to stop with the minerals. They'll
find excuses to take everything else too. Director Webb spoke
up from across the table. What can we do about it?
We've tried peaceful protests, legal challenges, and diplomatic appeals. Nothing works.
They just ignore us or threaten us with force. Maybe
it's time to stop playing by their roles, suggested Colonel Harrison,
the senior military officer on Nugattisberg. He was a veteran
of the Corporate Wars and had fought in the Asteroid
Belt before the aliens came. We have people, we have
some weapons, and we know this planet better than they do.
You're talking about armed resistance, Lisa said, that would be suicide.
They could call on the entire peace keep a fleet
and turn this planet into greater So we just sit
here and let them take everything? Why bass bitterly let
them turn us into slaves in our own homes. Lisa
looked around the table at the faces of the other humans.
She saw anger, frustration, and desperation. These were good people
who had worked hard to build something on Neugettysburg. They
deserved better than this. There might be another way, Lisa
said slowly, something my mother told me before she died.
She said there were others in human space who were
working on long term plans, people who never accepted the accords,
who've been preparing for the day when we could fight Beck.
What kind of plans, Colonel Harrison asked, I don't know
the details Lisa made it, but she said there were
secret research facilities, hidden bases, and people who've been developing
technologies the aliens don't know about. She said that some day,
when humanity was ready, we would have our chance. The
room fell silent as every one considered her words. The
idea of secret human resistance was both exciting and terrifying.
If such plans existed, they represented hope for human freedom.
But if the aliens discovered them, the consequences would be catastrophic.
How do we contact these people, we're basked. I'm not
sure we can, Lisa replied, but I think they'll contact
us when the time is right. Until then, we have
to endure. We have to survive, and we have to
remember that this isn't forever. As the meeting ended and
the staff returned to their judies, Lisa remained in the
conference room alone. She looked out at the alien ships
surroundings Ugettesbrigan made a silent promise. Sunday, humanity would be
strong enough to take back what was theirs. Some day
the galaxy would learn that humans were not men to
be caged. But for now, they had to wait. They
had to watch as the aliens stripped their well barren,
took everything they had worked for. They had to smile
and co operate while burning with rage inside. They had
to be patient while their dreams were slowly strangled. The
Galactic Confederation thought they had broken the human spirit. They
thought they had turned humanity into just another obedient member species.
But they were wrong. Human anger was like a slow
burning fire, getting hotter and more dangerous with each passing year.
The aliens would lead Eventually that there was a difference
between compliance and surrender, and when that day came, they
were discovered just how dangerous a case human could be.
The emergency call came to Lisa Chan at three in
the morning ship time. She was pulled from deep sleep
by the urgent beeping of her communication device. The voice
on the other end belonged to Captain Madriguez, commander of
the supply ship Aureora's Dawn, which had just arrived from
Eden Prime. Commander Chan, you need to hear this immediately,
Rodriguez said, his voice shaking. Eden Prime is gone. The
whole colony is dying. Lisa sat up in her bed,
instantly awake. Eden Prime was one of humanity's most successful
agricultural worlds, home to nearly half a million people. The
planet's fertile soil and perfect climate had made at the
bread basket of human space. Eden Prime fed not just
its own people, but also supplied food to six other
human colonies. What do you mean gone, Lisa asked as
she pulled on her uniform. The crowd came three weeks ago,
Rodriguez continued. They demanded that Eden Prime hand over eighty
percent of its grain harvest to fee some famine on
their world of Nixta. When the colonists refused, the crew
released something into the atmosphere, some kind of biological weapon
that sterilizes the soil. Lisa felt her blood turn cold.
The crow were one of the founding members of the
Galactic Confederation, and insect like species the Fault with a
collective mind. They had always been strict about following Confederation law,
but they had never used biological weapons against humans before.
Are you sure about this, Lisa asked, I saw it
with my own eyes, where Driguez replied, the crops are
all dead Brownfield's as far as you can see. The
soil won't grow anything now, not even weeds. The colonists
are starving, Commander. They've got maybe six weeks of food
left in storage. Lisa closed her eyes and tried to
process what she was hearing. Eden Prime had been humanity's
most productive world. If the Crell had destroyed its ability
to grow food, it would affect the entire human population.
Other colonists depended on eden Prime's surplus to feed their people.
What was the official justification, Lisa asked, though she already
said expected the answer. Crell said it was a legal
requisition under Confederation Emergency pro to call seven, Rodriguez said, bitterly.
They claim their world was experiencing a famine that threatened
the survival of this species. Under the Accords, member species
are required to provide assistance in such emergencies, even if
it means letting our own people starve. Lisa asked, according
to the Krell Eden Prime us hoard in surplus food
while a Confederation member species face extinction, Rodriguez continued. When
Governor Martinez refused to comply, they declared the colonists in
violation of their membership obligations. Lisak new Governor Elena Martinez personally,
she was a tough woman, and her servants, who had
helped establish ed in Prime forty years ago lener have
fought through droughts, floods, and equipment failures to build the
colony into a thriving agricultural center. She would never have
refused aid to truly starving people. There's more, Commander Rodriguez
said quietly. I managed to speak with some of the
colonists before I left. They said the Crell demand wasn't
really about famine relief. The Krell world as plain of food.
They just wanted to test how far they could push
human compliance. Lisa felt rage building in her chest. The
aliens were not content with stealing human resources and limiting
human growth. Now they were actively destroying human colonists to
prove their power. How many people have died, Lisa asked,
twelve thousand so far. Rodriguez replied, mostly children and elderly.
The colonists are trying to evacuate, but the peacekeepers have
restricted their travel permits. They say the evacuation with violet
population distribution agreements. Lisa wanted to scream. The aliens were
not just destroying Eden Prime. They were trapping the colonists
there to die slowly of starvation. It was genocide disguised
as administrative policy. Get me everything you have about this,
Lisa ordered documentation, witness statements, recorded communications. Everything already, prepare
a commander, Rodrigue said, but I have to warn you.
The official Confederation report says the biological agent was deployed
accidentally during routine agricultural assistance. Their claim it was a
tragic mistake, a mistake that just happened to occur. After
the colonists refused their demands, Lisa said sarcastically, the timing
is listed as coincidental, and the official record Rodriguez confirmed.
Dallas has spent the next several hours reviewing the files
that Rodriguez had brought from Eden Prime. The evidence was overwhelming.
The Cural had deliberately deployed a biological weapon to punish
human disobedience. They had murdered thousands of innocent people and
condemned an entire world to death. But the official Confederation
records told a different story. According to the alien bureaucrats,
Eden Prime had experienced an unfortunate accident during a humanitarian aidmission.
The Krial had been trying to help improve corp fields
when a containment failure released an experimental growth inhibitor into
the atmosphere. The Confederation Council expressed deep regret for the
tragic incident. Lisa knew that protesting through official channels would
be pointless. The Aliens controlled all the courts, all the administrators,
and all the judges. Had written the laws, and they
interpreted them however they wanted. Human complaints were always dismissed
as misunderstandings. Emotional of reactions. That evening, Lisa called her
senior staff together for an emergency meeting. She shared the
news about Eden Prime and watched as their faces went
through the same progression of shock, horror, and reached that
she had experienced. This is it, said Colonel Harrison, slamming
his fist on the table. This is where we draw
the line. They've gone from theft to out right murder.
What can we do, asked doctor Sarah Kim, the chief
medical officer. If we protest too loudly, they'll just find
excuses to punish us too. Maybe that's exactly what we
should do, suggested Markswipp, who had requested permission to attend
the meeting. Maybe it's time to stop being afraid of
their punishment. Lisa looked around the table at her people.
These were good humans who had spent decades following alien
rules on accepting alien authority, but she could see that
something had changed in their eyes. The destruction of Eden
Prime had crossed a line that could not be encrossed.
I need to tell you all, something, Lisa said, slowly,
something my mother shared with me before she died. There
are others in human space who have been preparing for
this day. She told them about the secret resistance that
Sarah Chan had mentioned, hidden research facilities for human scientists
had been developing Forbiddens Technologies secret She appeared where new
types of warships were being built underground networks of people
who had never accepted alien rule. How do we contact them,
Colonel Harrison asked, we don't. Lisa replied, they contact us,
but first we need to prove that we are ready
to fight. What did you have in mind? We're bestd
Lisa activated the holographic display on the conference table. It
showed the current positions of peace keeperships around Neugettysburg, three
cruisers and a dozen smaller patrol craft, all armed with
weapons that could destroy human ships and seconds. Tomorrow morning,
I'm going to broadcast a message to every human world,
Lisa said. I'm going to tell them the truth about
Eden Poem. I'm going to tell them that the Aliens
are not our protectors. There are enemies. That's treason under
Confederation law. Doctor Kim pointed out, restue immediately let them try,
Lisa replied. Someone has to speak the truth. Someone has
to remind humanity what we used to be before the
Aliens put us in cages. The next morning, Lisa sat
in her commander's office and activated the broadcast system. She
knew that her words would be transmitted to every human colony,
every orbital station, and every ship in human space. She
also knew that the peacekeepers would try to stop the transmission.
With the minutes People of Humanity, Lisa began looking directly
into the camera. My name is Commander Lisa Chan, daughter
of Admiral Sarah Chan, who signed the Sapient Species Accords
fifty years ago, and speaking to you now to tell
you the truth about what happened on Iden Bryne. Lisa
described the Crell attack in detail. She explained how the
Aliens had twelve thousand innocent people to prove their power
over humanity. She talked about the years of theft opression
and humiliation that humans had endured under Confederation rule. The
Aliens tell us that we are members of the galactic community.
These continued, but members are not murdered for refusing unreasonable demands,
are not robbed of their discoverers and achievement. Members are
not treated like dangerous animals that must cage and controlled.
The broadcast was reaching millions of humans across dozens of worlls.
Lisa could imagine families gathering around our communication screens, listening
to words that had been forbidden for fifty years. We
are not members of the Galactic Confederation, Lisa said firmly.
We are prisoners, We are slaves, and it is time
for us to remember that humans were not ment to
eleven chains. Three minutes into the broadcast, peace keeperships began
moving toward the orbital station. Lisa could see them on
her tactical display, closing in to stop per transmission. She
had maybe sixty seconds before they would jam her signal.
The aliens think they have broken our spirit, Lisa continued urgently.
They think we have forgotten how to fight. They think
we will accept an abuse as long as they led
us live. But they are wrong. Human dignity is not
something that can be traded away for safety. Human freedom
is not something that can be sold for peace. The
first peace Keeper ship reached the station and began electronic
jamming procedures. Lisa's signals started to break up, but she
kept talking. Remember eating, she said, as the transmission began
to fail, Remember that twelve thousand humans died because they
refused to bow down to alien masters. Remember that we
are human, and humans do not surrender. The broadcast cut
off as Pierskie betrooched forced their way into the communications center,
Lisa sat back in her chair and waited for them
to come for her. She had said what needed to
be said. Now others would have to decide what to
do with her words. Within an hour, Peacekeeper Prime Zethchal
arrived at the station personally. He stood in Lisa's office
like a statue of gray Stone, his glowing eyes fixed
on her with cold anger. Commander Chon the Alien said,
you have violated Section twelve of the Sapian Species Accords
by broadcasting seditious material designed to cite rebellion against lawful
Confederation authority. I told the truth about Ian Prime. Li
Sir replied calmly. If the truth is seditious, then maybe
your laws are wrong. The incident on Edenprime was a
tragic accident. Sack Call stated, your deliberate misrepresentation of these
events constitute a serious crime against Galactic p Twelve thousand
people are dead, Lisa said, standing up to face the
Alien children, families, ell'serly people who never hurt anyone. Your
people moted them to make a point about human obedience.
The crowl deployment of agricultural enhancement compounds was carried out
according to paper safety protocols. The alien replied mechanically, the
containment failure was unforeseen and deeply regretted by all part is.
Lisa laughed bitterly. You really expect me to believe that lie?
You expect humanity to just accept that our people died
by accent. I expect humanity to accept the official findings
of the Confederation Council, zefgl said coldly. Anything else is
conspiracy theory and dangerous speculation. And what happens to me now,
Lise asked, you will be transported to a Confederation detention
facility for psychological evaluation and reconditioning. The alien replied, your
actions suggests that you have been contaminated by pre contact
human aggression patterns. With proper treatment, you can be rehabilitated.
Lisa realized that the aliens were not just going to
imprison her. They were going to try to break her mind,
to turn her into another compliant human who accepted ali
in authority without question. You can do whatever you want
to me, Lisa said, defiantly. But you can't and do
what I've already done. Millions of humans heard my broadcast.
They know the truth about eden Prime. Now a temporary
set back, Zachor replied, The truth is what the Confederation
Council determines it to be. Alternative narratives will be corrected
through proper education and guidance. As peacekeeper gods escorted Lisa
from her office, she looked at the window in New Gettysburg. Below.
The planet's surface was scarred with alien mining operations, its
resources being stripped away and sent to other worlds. Soon,
she knew there would be nothing left but empty holes
in the ground. But Lisa also knew that her message
had reached human colonies across the galaxy. People would be
talking about eden Prime, asking questions about Confederation justice, wondering
if there might be another way to live. The seed
of rebellion had been planted. As the piskip A transport
ship carried her away from Neugettysburg, Lisa thought about her
mother's words about secret human resistance. Somewhere out there. She
hoped people were preparing for the day when humanity would
fight back. The aliens had made a critical mistake by
destroying eden Prime. They had given humanity something more powerful
than weapons or ships. They had given humanity a reason
to hate. The war was coming. Lisa realized it might
take years or decades, but it was inevitable now. The
Aliens had finally pushed too hard, taken too much, killed
too many innocent people. Human patients had limits, and those
limits had been reached. Eden Prime would not be forgotten,
its dead would not be ignored, and Sunday, very soon
the galaxy would learn what happened when you backed humans
into a corner with nothing left to lose. The rescue
came three days after Lisa Shun's arrest. She was being
held in a Peacekeeper detention facility on the Astor Roads
station on Gumnus seven, waiting for transport to Confederation reconditioning center.
The facility was supposed to be escape proof, protected by
energy shields and automated defense systems that could destroy any
approaching ship. Lisa sat in her cell, a small gray
room with no windows and a single dim light. She
had expected to spend months or years in alien inctivity,
having her mind slowly reprogrammed until she became another obedient
human puppet. Bout three hundred forty seven Iris station time
explosions began echoing through the facility's corridors. The first sign
that something was wrong came when the lights went out.
Emergency power kicked in a few seconds later, bathing everything
in red light. Then Lisa heard sounds she had not
heard of fifty years, the distinctive wine of human plasma
cannons and the crack of kinetic rifles. Her cell door
suddenly melted away, to solved by some kind of molecular acid.
A figure in black combat armor stepped through the opening,
carrying weapons that Lisa did not recognize. The armor was
sleek and advanced, far beyond anything the Confederation had allowed
humans to build. Commander Chan, the figure asked, lifting the
helmet viser to reveal the face of a young woman
with short brown hair and determined eyes. And Captain Saravos,
Human Liberation Fleet. We're here to get you out. Lisa
stared at the woman in shock. Human Liberation Fleet. I've
never heard of that organization. Most people haven't, Captain Voss replied,
as she helped Lise to her feet. We've been operating
in the shadows for the past thirty years, preparing for
this day. You were broadcast three days ago was the
signal we were waiting for. As they moved through the
detention facilities corridors, Lisa's all day after math of a
battle unlike anything she had ever witnessed. Peacekeeper gods lay
unconscious or dead, their advanced armor and weapons useless against
the human attackers. The facilities automated defense systems had been
completely disabled. How is this possible, Lise asked as they ran.
Human technology isn't advanced enough to penetrate Peacekeeper defenses? It
is now, Captain Boss replied with a grim smile. We've
had fifty years to work on it. While the aliens
thought they were keeping us under control, some of us
were getting ready for war. They reached the facilities docking bay,
where Lisa saw something that made her heart race with excitement.
Three human ships were docked there, but they looked nothing
like the crude vessel's shoes familiar with. These ships were
sleek and deadly, with armor that seemed to bend light
around it and weapons that hump with barely contained energy.
Welcome to the hs F Retribution, Kept and Voss said
as they boarded the largest ship. Quantum drive, adaptive armor
and firepo that can punched through a Peacekeeper cruiser like
paper The ship's bridge was a marvel of advanced technology.
Holographic displays showed tactical information with incredible detail. The crew
moved with practice efficiency, their equipment far superior to anything
Lisa had seen before. These were not the restricted, monitored
humans she was used to. These were warriors. Captain Voss,
one of the crew members, called out Peacekeeper reinforcements in coming.
Three cruisers in a battleship. Let them come, Voss replied, calmly,
it's time to show the galaxy what humans can really do.
Lisa watched in amazement as the human ships engaged a
Peacekeeper fleet. The alien vessels were larger and theoretically more powerful,
but the human ships moved like predators hunting prey. They
used tactics that the aliens had never seen before, appearing
and disappearing like ghosts, striking from impossible angles. The first
Peacekeeper cruiser exploded within minutes, shields overwhelmed by concentrated fire
from weapons that seemed to ignore conventional defenses. Kin crewis
had tried to retreat, but human fighters swarmed around it
like angry wasps, their pilots showing skills that decades of
Aliens oppression had not managed to destroy. How long have
you been building ships like this, Lisa asked Captain Voss.
The first proto type was completed fifteen years ago, Voss replied,
as she watched the battle unfold. We built them in
hidden facilities throughout human space, asteroid mining stations that were
really shipyards research laboratories disguised as agricultural senders. The Aliens
never suspected because they thought they had us completely under control.
The Peacekeeper battleship, seeing its escorts destroyed, tried to use
its massive firepar to overwhelm the human ships. But the
human vessels simply when there were the alien weapons fire,
they moved with impossible speed and agility, the quantent rice
allowing them to appear anywhere in the battlefield in seconds.
The Aliens always underestimated human adaptability, Foss continued. They thought
that because they could control our official technology, they could
control all our technology. They forgot that humans are very
good at hiding things from their enemies. Lisa realized she
was witnessing something historic. This was not just a rescue operation.
This was a beginning of a war that would reshape
the galaxy. For fifty years, humans had been forced to
live as prisoners in their own space. Now they were
fighting back with weapons and ships that the Aliens had
never imagined. Where did you get the resources for all this,
Lise asked. The Aliens monitor every mining operation, every factory,
every research facility. They monitor the official ones, falsaid with
a slight smile. But humans have been miners and builders
for thousands of years. We know how to dig tunnels,
how to hide factories, how to make things disappear from
inventory records. The Aliens are very good at bureaucracy, but
they are not very good at understanding human creativity. The
last peacekeepership exploded in a brilliant flash of light. The
human fleet had won a complete victory without losing a
single vessel. Lisa could hardly believe what she had witnessed.
The supposedly invincible Peacekeepers have been destroyed by humans using
itcknowledgey of they didn't even know existed. This is just
the beginning, Captain Voss. As the human ships prepared to
leave the battle zone you broadcast about Eden, Pryne has
reached every human colony. People are angry and they are
ready to fight. Resistant cells are activating across human space.
As the retribution jumped faster than light speed. Lisa found
herself in the ship's briefing room with Captain Voss and
several other officers. They showed her holographic displays that revealed
the true scope of the human resistance hidden basses on
dozens of worlds. Secret shipyards in remote asteroid fields. Research
facilities spare deep underground where human scientists have been developing
technologies that violated every restriction in the Sappian Species Accords.
For half a century, while most humans lived under alien rule,
others had been preparing for rebellion. We call it Project Prometheus,
explained Commander Jake Morrison, the grizzled veteran who look like
he had been fighting aliens his entire life, Named after
the mythological figure who stole fire from the gods. We've
been stealing technology, adapting it, improving it, and preparing for
the day when we could use it. The aliens made
one critical mistake, added Docter Eline of Vesqu's, who appeared
to be the fleets chief scientist. They thought that because
they could limit our official research, they could limit our understanding,
but human curiosity cannot. They stopped by laws and regulations
we studied everything they brought to our worlds. We learned
how their technology worked, and then we built better versions.
Lisa looked at the displays showing human ship designs that
were clearly superior to anything the Confederation used. How many
shits do you have currently operational? About two hundred, Commander
Morrison replied, in various stages of construction, another five hundred.
By the end of the year, we'll have a fleet
of over a thousand ships, all equipped with technology the
Aliens have never seen before. Ah, but that's not nearly
enough to fight the entire Galactic Confederation, Lisa pointed out,
they have thousands of worlds and millions of ships. Numbers
aren't everything, Doctor Vesque said, the Aliens have been at
peace for fifty thousand years. They've forgotten how to fight
real wars. Their tactics are old, their strategies are predictable,
and there technology has become stagnant because they've had no
serious challenges. Humans, on the other hand, have been studying
war for our entire existence. Captain Voss added, we spent
fifty years analyzing alien weaknesses, learning their patents, and developing
counter measures for their weapons. When this war begins, we'll
have advantages they can even imagine. The briefing continued for
IROs as the human officers explained their plans. It was
not just about building ships and weapons. They had spent
decades in filtrating alien facilities, gathering intelligence, and establish in
support networks throughout Confederation space. They knew which alien species
were unhappy with Confederation rule and might be turned into allies.
They knew where the aliens stored their resources and had
their supply lines operated. The key is not to fight
a conventional war, Commander Morrison explained, we caun't win by
building bigger fleets and having masses space battles. We have
to fight like humans have always fought when facing superior enemies.
We have to be smarter, faster, and more ruthless than
they expect. Guerrilla water on a galactic scale, Lisa realized exactly.
Captain Voss confirmed hit the supply lines, destroy their communication networks,
turn their own technology against them, make them a free
to leave their home systems, jo the galaxy that the
Great Confederation can't even control one small human species. As
the Retribution traveled through hyperspace toward a secret human base,
Lisa thought about everything she had learned. The resistance was
far more advanced and widespread than she had ever imagined.
They had weapons that could destroy peace keeper ships, technology
that violated every alien restriction, and plans that could bring
down the entire Confederation. But she also realized that this
war would cost millions of lives, both human and alien.
The Confederation would not surrender easily. They would use every
weapon at their disposal to crush you in rebellion. Entire
worlds might be destroyed before the fighting ended. Are you
ready for what's coming? Captain Voss asked, as if freeding
Lisa's thoughts, this won't be like the corporate wars or
colonial conflicts humans fought before the Aliens cane. This will
be total war across the galaxy. Billions of people will die.
The Aliens made that choice when they destroyed Eden Prime,
Lisa replied firmly, when they murdered innocent people to prove
their power over us. We didn't start this war, but
we're going to finish it good, Fosse said, with approval,
because we're going to need leaders who understand what we're
fighting for. Your mother signed the course up to Humanity
in James's maybe it's time for her daughter to be
the one who breaks them. The ship dropped out of
hypospace near what looked like an empty asteroid field, but
as they approached, Lisa could see that it was actually
a massive hidden base carved into the largest asteroy. Hundreds
of human ships were doped there, with more under construction
and concealed ship hards. Welcome to five bass Alva, Captain
Voss said, one of twelve major bases we've built in
secret over the past twenty years. From here, we co
ordinate resistance operations across three sectors of human space. As
Lisa looked at the base, she realized that the war
had already begun. The aliens just didn't know it yet.
For fifty years, they had believed they controlled humanity completely.
They thought humans were domesticated, broken and harmless. They were
about to learn how wrong they were. The prey had
become predators and the hunt was about to begin. The
galaxy would never be the same again. Lisa smiled as
she watched human fighters patrolled the asteroid field. After fifty
years of humiliation and apperssion, humanity was finally ready to
show the Aliens what they really were. Not victims, not prisoners,
not pets to be controlled and managed. They were humans,
and humans did not forgive, They did not forget, and
they definitely did not surrender. Six months after Lisa Chan's rescue,
the Human Liberation Fleet was ready to send their message
to the Galaxy Fire. Bezoffa had become the command center
for the largest military operation in human history. Admiral Lisa Chang,
promoted after proving her commitment to the cause, stood in
the main command center, watching holographic displays that showed human
fleets cross dozens of star systems. The plan was simple
in concept, but devastating in execution. Ad exactly to a half
hundred eyes galactic stand a time, every peacekeeper monitoring station
in human space would be destroyed. Simultaneously, Supply convers carrying
resources stolen from human worlds would be ambushed. Communication relays
that allowed the aliens to coordinate their activities would be
turned into expanding clouds of debris. All fleet commanders report ready.
Captain Voss announced from her position at the Tacticuls station.
She had been promoted to Admiral Voss and now commanded
the third Attack Fleet. Operation Liberations Go in thirty seconds
Lisa looked around the Commands center at the faces of
the men and women who had spent their lives preparing
for this moment. These were not the broken, compliant humans
the aliens expected. These were warriors who had hidden their
true nature for fifty years, waiting for the chance to
show the galaxy what they really were. Begin Operation Liberation,
Lisa ordered across human space. The carefully coordinated attack began.
Peacekeeper stations that had monitored human activities for decades suddenly
found themselves under assault by ships that appeared out of nowhere.
The aliens had grown comfortable in their superiority, confident that
humans lacked both the technology and the wiltersyst They were
wrong on both counts. The monitoring station above Newgettysburg, where
Lisa had once served, was the first to diet Human
stalled ships materialized around the Alien facilitied and open fire
with weapons that tore through piecekeyper sheiels like they were
made of paper. The station's automated distress call was cut
off after three seconds. On the planet below, human ground
forces emerged from hidden bunkers and began destroying Alien mining equipment.
The peacekeepers had taken everything valuable from Nugetzburg that they
had left the planet's population alive. That population now turned
on their oppressors with fifty years of accumulated rage. Admiral Chhan,
what of the communication officers called out were receiving reports
from all sectors. Peacekeeper casualties here running at ninety seven
percent total tactical surprise achieved. Lisa nodded grimly. The aliens
had never expected humans to be capable of such coordinative violence.
They had seen human compliance for so long that they
had forgotten humans were originally predators who had fought their
way to the top of their planet's fu chain. The
second phase of the operation began an io later. Human
fleets that had been hiding in the outer reaches of
various star systems revealed themselves and began attacking alien supply lines.
Convoys carrying resources stolen from human worlds found themselves facing
warships they had never seen before. Admiral Morrison's second fleet
intercepted a mass of Krell Convo near the Proximate System.
Fifty alien cargo ships protected by twenty Peacekeeper escos were
carrying grain that had been taken from human agricultural worlds.
The convoy's commander probably expected any human attack to be
easily repelled and stared at the human ships used tactics
that the galaxy had never seen. The attack from multiple
directions simultaneously. Their quantum drives aligned them to appeared anywhere
in the battlefield instantly. The Krell ships, designed for the
collective hive mind, could not adapt quickly enough to counter
human and predictability enemy convoy destroy Morrison reported over the
communication network. Cargo ships eliminated, all escort vessels destroyed, no
human casualties. Similar reports flooded in from across human space.
Alien supply lines were being systematically destroyed by human forces
that fought with the ferocity and intelligence that shocked their enemies.
The Confederation had grown soft during their fifty thousand years
of peace. They had forgotten that warfare was about more
than superior technology. But the real message was being prepared
for transmission from Firebase Alpha. Lisa stood before a communication
array that would broadcast her words to every inhabited system
in the galaxy. This time, there would be no peace
keepers to cut off for signal people of the galaxy.
Lisa began her voice, carrying to billions of alien beings
across thousands of worlds. I am Admiral Lisa Chun of
the human species. For fifty years, humanity has lived under
the depression of the Galacic Confederation. We have been restricted, monitored,
and controlled like dangerous animals in its If the holographic
displays around the command sent assured alien communication networks carrying
her transmission throughout Confederation space, she could imagine the shock
and confusionist aliens who had considered humans helpless pray suddenly
realized they were listening to Predator. The Confederation told us
that we were members of a great galactic community, Lisa continued,
But members are not murdered for refusing unmeasonable demands. Members
are not robbed of their resources and achievements. Members are
not treated like prisoners in their own homes. Use for
a moment, thinking of Eden Prime in the twelve thousand
innocent people who had died there. Their deaths had awakened
something in humanity that the aliens should have left sleeping.
Six months ago, the Crow species murdered twelve thousand humans
and the world of eden Prime. They used biological weapons
to punish our people for refusing to let their children starve.
The Confederation Council called an accident. We call it genocide.
Reports continued to flow and from the ongoing military operations.
Human forces were winning victory after victory against alien defenders
who had no idea how to fight an enemy that
refused to follow their rules. Peacekeeper fleets were being destroyed
by ships that appeared out of nowhere and vanish before
effective retaliation was possible. For fifty years, you believe you
attained humanity, Lisa said, her voice growing harder. You thought
we were broken, domesticated, harmless. You were wrong. We were
never tamed. We were patient, We were learning, We were preparing.
The tactical display showed the scope of human preparation. Secret
bases throughout the galaxy were revealing themselves, launching fleets that
had been hidden for decades. Research facilities that aliens had
never suspected existed were producing weapons and ships at an
incredible rate. While you watched our official activities, we were
building in the shadows, Lisa continued, While you monitored our
permitted research, we were developing technologies you never imagined. While
you congratulated yourselves on controlling human aggression, we were studying
your weaknesses. Implying your downfall. Admiral v also approached Lisa
with a status report. All primary objectives achieved. Admiral Peace
keep a monitoring capability in human space has been reduced
by ninety four percent. Supply line disruption is at eighty
seven percent effectiveness. Enemy communications are in chaos. Lisa nodded
but continued her broadcast. The military victories were important, but
the real message was what came next. The Galactic Confederation
is finished, Lisa announced to the galaxy year fifty thousand
years of imposed piece n Today, humanity will no longer
submit to your authority. We will no longer accept your restrictions.
We will no longer pretend that you are superiors. On
the tactical displays, Lisa could see Confederation fleet beginning to
respond to the human attacks, but their responses were slow
and predictable, following tactical doctrines that had not changed in millennia.
Human commanders who had started those doctrines for decades were
easily countering every alien move. You have a choice, Lisa continued.
You can accept the new reality and negotiate with humanity
as equals, or you can try to maintain your domination
through force. If you choose force, you will learn what
happens when you threaten a species that evolved by defeating
every predator on their planet. The first major confederation response
came in the Alpha Centaury System, where a Zephrim battle
fleet attempted to retake the mining facilities that humans had liberated.
The alien fleet consisted of twelve capital ships and forty escorts,
commanded by experienced officers who had fought in the last
into species conflicts centuries ago. They faced a human defense
force of only eight ships, commanded by Admiral Torres, a
former mining engineer who had spent thirty years secretly studying
Zephyrn tactics. The battle lasted less than an eye, Admiral
chant Torres reported over the communication network. Enemy fleet eliminated.
The crystal ships are beautiful, but they shattered real nice
when you hit them of quantum torpedoes. Lisa smiled grimly.
The aliens were learning that their technological advantages meant nothing
when they faced an enemy that understood their weaknesses better
than they understood human strengths. The humans you thought you
knew were an act, Lisa continued her broadcast. We showed
you what you wanted to see compliant citizens who accepted
your authority. But underneath the act, we remained what we
have always been. We are hunters, We are survivors. We
are the species that looked at a galaxy full of
alder more advanced civilizations and decided we belonged to here
to More reports arrived from across human space. Alien mining
operations were being destroyed or captured. Peacekeeper garrisons were surrendering
rather than face human assolve forces that fought with tactics.
They could not understand the careful system of control that
the Confederation had built over fifty years was collapsing in
a single day. Some of you may be wondering if
humanity can be reasoned with, Li said, her voice becoming
almost conversational, If perhaps this is all a misunderstanding that
can be resolved through diplomacy. Let me be clear. We
are beyond reason, We are beyond negotiation, We are beyond forgiveness.
The holographic displays showed the advancing positions of human fleets
throughout the galaxy. They were not just attacking Confederation forces
in human space. They were pushing into alien territory, liberating
worlds that had been oppressed by Confederation pulses offering protection
to species that had grown tired of alien domination. We
offered you partnership fifty years, it continued. You chose to
make us your prisoners. Instead, we showed your restraint and
patience for half a century. You mistook our self control
for weakness. We tried to prove we could be civilized
members of your galactic community. You responded by murdering our children.
Admiral thus approached with another report. Admiral, we are receiving
surrender requests from peacekeeper forces in seventeen systems. Some of
their commanders are asking for terms. No terms, Lisa replied firmly.
They surround or unconditionally, or they die past That message
to all fleet commanders. You had fifty zier or years
to learn wisdom, Lisa said, to the galaxy and state.
You chose to learn arrogance. You at the chance to
guide humanity's development for partnership and mutual respect. Instead, he
chose oppression and control. You could have had our friendship.
He chose to earn our hatred. The tactical situation was
becoming clear. Confederation forces throughout human space were either destroyed
retreating or surrendering. The aliens had built their entire system
of control on the assumption that humans could never effectively resist.
That assumption had been catastrophically wrong. The Galactic Confederation is
hereby dissolved, Lisa announced. Your counsels, your laws, your treaties,
and your authority over other species are null invoid. Any
attempt to restore confederation control will be met with overwhelming force.
Reports began arriving of aliens of Vilian populations fleeing border
systems as human fleets advanced. The predators had become prey,
and they did not like the feeling. In place of
your failed confederation, Humanity offers a new arrangement, Lisa continued.
Individual species may negotiate by lateral agreements with us based
on mutual respect and nikol. Those who choose co operation
will find us generous partners. Those huchoos continued hostility will
find us some placable enemies. The broadcast was nearing its end,
but Lisa had one final message for the galaxy. Remember
this day, she said, her voice filled with quiet menace.
Remember that you created the situation for your own choices.
Remember that humanity offered you peace, and you chose war.
Remember that we tried to be civilized and you forced
us to become savage. Lisa paused, looking directly into the
camera as if she could see every alien being in
the galaxy. We are human, she said, simply. We do
not forgive, we do not forget, and we never ever surrender.
The transmission ended, leaving the galaxy in stun silence. In
a single day, the Galactic Confederation had lost control of
human space and faced the reality that their greatest fear
had come true. The dangerous species they had tried to
contain at broken free and revealed capabilities that no one
had suspected. The age of human dominance in the galaxy
had begun, and it had started with a simple message
that said, we're dumplaying nice.