| |
Alvon saw something that, at first, didn’t register.
No matter if he looked at the sensor readings or out the forward viewport, his mind couldn’t take it in. It felt it should be obvious, and yet, it wasn’t.
After another moment or so, however, it was clear.
The battle was paused.
Every single starship floating in this part of the Ravusq Q’suvar Ai had ceased firing at one another, wild maneuvering to get in and out of position, and all else associated with combat.
The IITA and their allies had been preparing to destroy all the Ditufgne remaining after their superweapon’s destruction. But on his request to make one final attempt at opening a dialogue, all was still.
“I think they know you’re about to speak to them,” stated Ervik with an unnatural softness in his tone. “They’ve stopped their futile attempts to open wormholes.”
Alvon took a deep breath. He was still formulating in his mind what to say, how best to address this utterly alien species. They had disregarded all prior attempts at communication. How could he get them to listen now?
“Ervik,” Alvon said, “please open every single communications channel you can. All of them, no matter how seldom used or over-the-top. I want to make damned sure they get this message.”
“Good luck,” Ashira said to Alvon.
There was a high-pitched squeal for only a split second, then a sense of electricity filled the air of the flight deck of the Dawnstrider.
“You’re on,” Ervik almost whispered.
Alvon took a deep breath. Then, he began what might have been one of the most important communications in the history of the galaxy.
“Attention Ditufgne forces. I am Alvon Gargarm, Deputy Director of the Cosmic Security Agency, neutral representative of all the parties arrayed against you here. I am transmitting on every known frequency in the hopes that I might at last convince you to open a dialogue.
“All previous attempts at communication with you have been ignored. Yet, as evidenced by your attack on the former CSA headquarters on Gilmard, you receive our signals. So, I know – we know – that you receive transmissions that we send in the open to you.”
He took a breath, gathering his thoughts and calming the sensation of angry butterflied in his nervous stomach. “I demand that you stop ignoring our transmissions and open a dialogue with me. Why now? Because we are all unable to leave this sector faster-than-light, and after the two worlds you’ve sent to the void and the destruction you have rained down upon Humans, Ravusq, Zathru, Doolari, and the Yalifira, if we don’t speak now, we will have no other opportunity. You will be destroyed.
“While in all likelihood, given past encounters, this would lead to mutually assured destruction, I cannot imagine that you truly want that. Maybe you came here, to our galaxy, to teach the five races I mentioned a lesson. But your tactics, your unwillingness to communicate, and your continued destructive acts have had a far broader impact. The whole galaxy has taken notice.”
Alvon paused. He waited a few moments to see if they would respond.
When the Ditufgne did not reply, Alvon continued, “Arrayed here to stop your superweapon before it could banish countless more worlds to the void between galaxies are the most diverse and massive representation of races ever gathered in a single sector of space. What we have here are representatives from more than eleven races of this galaxy, some of whom have never interacted before. But all have come together to stop you and your terrible superweapon.
“Why? Because none are certain that the five races you began targeting are where you will stop. What’s to say you won’t destroy the militaries of those five raced and then move on to conquer the rest of the galaxy? When the Xorcerizts – who, like you, come from somewhere beyond the void between galaxies – offered us assistance to stop you, they wound up helping us to form the most unprecedented, interspecies coalition ever imagined. Perhaps we should thank you for that.”
Alvon paused again. But he felt he’d left it too open-ended, so he continued, “Your arrival and tactical obliteration of forces representing five races was so unsettling that they began to join together to understand the threat you represented. Everything in the years since your incursion began has been unprecedented in numerous ways. Even if today leads to the destruction of every starship here, what has been created beyond this mutual defensive cooperation will forever change the whole galaxy.”
He stopped again. Once more, Alvon waited to see if the Ditufgne would respond. He gave them about thirty seconds or so.
Sighing, Alvon began again. “Ditufgne forces, why do you not respond? Don’t you see that right now, unable to leave this sector of space by any means faster than light, we have a unique opportunity before us? That if we do not communicate here and now, all that’s left is chaos and combat? Why are you so unwilling to have a dialogue with us? Do you care only to wipe out the military forces of the descendants of those who wronged your ancestors tens of thousands of years ago?
“And just what is your ultimate goal? After you wipe out the military forces of Humans, Ravusq, Doolari, and Zathru, do you plan to murder all the peoples of those races, like the conclave of Yalifira you destroyed? And if that’s your plan, will you move on to destroy the other races of the galaxy, some of which are represented here now? Or will you return to the void from whence you came, satisfied that successors of those who caused you such hurt so long ago have paid the ultimate price? None know your intent.”
Once more, Alvon waited to see if the Ditufgne would respond. He glanced around at the crew of the Dawnstrider. All of them, including Jeck, were watching Alvon. But that didn’t make him nervous or uncomfortable. It made him feel strong and supported by his chosen family.
Alvon started once again. “Ditufgne forces, the IITO believes that your intent has been to punish the peoples who sent Project Outbound across the void. We are also aware that when you met Project Outbound - the ancestors of the Xorcerizts made of Humans, Ravusq, Doolari, Zathru, and Yalifira – that they mistreated your hospitality. That before they left you, they stole your DNA. And in return, they refused to give you the technology that they possessed so that you might leave the lone solar system in the void you called home. Those five races would manipulate their DNA with yours to create a new race, the Xorcerizts. But they left you nothing in return and abandoned you to the void.
“Hundreds of millennia have passed. During tens of thousands of years, you crossed the void to come here to punish those you deemed guilty. Yet you chose to not share who you were or why you began decimating the forces you faced. Then, ultimately, you began to dispatch whole worlds of the peoples that made up Project Outbound to the void, presumedly to share your pain. While we know that the worlds would survive that transition, without a doubt, you murdered millions in the process. The Ditufgne must answer for that. But I am rather certain than none here – IITO or otherwise – desire for that price to be the extermination of your race.”
Alvon paused once more. But it was not a long pause before he continued, “That will be the only recourse left to us if you do not open a dialogue now. What you see here is a representation of eleven different races from across a vast swath of this galaxy. But these eleven races – though they each number in the billions – are only a relatively small fraction of the total number of races and sentient beings across this galaxy. There are many, many more out there. And if you continue to resist communication, if there are any more of you in this galaxy, or if any of you survive the certain carnage that would result from combat here today, the trillions of beings in this galaxy will only see you as a threat and an enemy. Make no mistake: The result of that will be them summarily hunting you down and utterly wiping you out to protect themselves.
“Ditufgne fleet, you cannot open a wormhole to leave this sector of space. The temporal shockwave resulting from the destruction of your superweapon has rendered faster-than-light travel of all known variants impossible across this entire sector. We cannot enter hyperspace, and the Xorcerizts cannot warp. Which means that none of us can leave here via any means other than conventional, subspace propulsion.”
Alvon paused once again. He felt that he’d made his point but needed to reiterate it in his conclusion. “This is your final opportunity to open a dialogue. Because if you do not choose to communicate with us here and now, you will be telling us in no uncertain terms that you’ve no intent to do anything other than continue a path of devastation and destruction. Which means you will accept the consequences of that, and the absolute certainty that the end will be your ultimate genocidal extermination. Please speak with me. Because I would rather that we end this without more destruction and death. But it will end today.”
At last, Alvon was done. He had said his peace. He knew his throat should be sore and his mouth parched from such a long-winded oratory. But that wasn’t the case. He felt elated.
But as the seconds ticked by, he felt a sense of grief. Would they truly choose obliteration? Then, it happened. There was the sound of a communications channel opening that Alvon knew well. A moment later, on the visual communications channel, a humanoid figure appeared.