If you have found this text blog, I commend your bravery. However, I have to warn you, the Ul’nigic will kill you if they find this data in your possession. I have altered some details to hide who I am, to preserve my safety. I hope the translation matrix works for your language.
I’ll warn you, I’ve only woven a few stories for my mate. But I haven’t written anything more complex than quarterly mining results and personnel reports. But I’m going to do my best to gather and write the stories of the freed species, including mine. I will start off with when I first saw the humans.
My homeworld, Boldais, was “enlightened” 290 solar rotations ago. Twenty-six and a half generations have lived under the Divine Alliance. We had only known life as servants of the Ul’nigic. Until that day.
I was sitting in the records office of the Ul’foroth Mining Consortium, Boldais Division. The sickly sweet taste of Yigen on my tongue. Making me long for my mate’s beetle-shell tea. The smell of my coworkers still hung in the air. Anxiety and stress played a prominent role in their signatures.
The office holo was playing a rerun of Gegmatic The Brave. I was about to turn off that Ul’nigic drivel when all channels received a forced Divine Governance holo-stream. Which was odd because they only did this when there were criminals to execute or during the rotation’s governmental address. But there had been no recent trials and the rotation’s address was two seasons away. I remember thinking that something important must have happened.
It opened with a wide shot of the circular Grand Hall in the capital, Ul’draqual. In the center was a multilevel dais made of stone, wood, and metal. It rose to a large podium where Ul’nigic Prime Minister Houyin sat. There was a bright light singling him out. With darker lights shining on each governor’s seat on the lower dais. I didn’t hide my disgust for the governors seated there. The Swe’Hen traitors. Hiding behind expensive circular clothes and medals, showing their dedication to the Alliance. They betrayed my people for false power. Those collaborators covered their short, six-limbed arboreal bodies as much as they could to hide the truth. They would never be Ul’nigic.
I hissed as my ears rotated back, and I grabbed the desk with my larger upper arms, znars. Digging my claws into the wood. Clenching my lower, thinner arms, dnars, close to my chest. A high-pitched whine colored my outburst and made my threat odor fill the room.
I took a breath to steady myself and released the desk and my tension. I looked around the holo-stream. A bright circle of light shone down on one of the evenly spaced testimony circles. Equally spaced circular metal irises surrounded the perimeter of each circle.
Movement caught my eye at the edge of the stream. Various species’ silhouettes milled about in the seating areas. Murmuring came through the hall’s microphones. As the clock rolled over to 224.5, the camera zoomed in on a Swe’Hen governor. A nameplate floated above his head. Kyru Bogish, Hall Mediator.
If the Prime Minister and all the governors were at the Grand Hall, this was very important. I thought about recording it. But I recalled that last time, the authorities sanctioned me because only Ul’nigic had permission to record official streams.
Kyru announced, “The Divine Alliance meeting on 5829:224.5 is now in session.” He controlled his overtones in order to hide how he felt.
It took several moments for the murmuring to die down. The patient Prime Minister took that time to clean his digits and groomed his greying stalk. A nervous tic that only invited more soft murmurs across the hall.
Prime Minister Houyin called out, “Order, order, order! By the call of the gathered will!” The hall fell silent. Bogish continued, “We are here today to hear testimony on Incident DAI-2563:4289:25682:12024 regarding case SS12659-3.1. That occurred on the centralized date of 5827:102.6866. Divine Fleet Admiral Tkchik’ Oot Noye Skth of kin Lopin, please advise the gathered on what has happened.”
A tall, sand-colored Ul’nigic stood up from the front row of the seating area. His neutral-colored clothing belied his status as he hesitantly trudged to the closest testimony circle. His damaged claws clacked with each labored step, echoing through the eerily silent hall.
The office holo, like most holo-displays of Ul’nigic design, did not display the full spectrum of Swe’hen sight. So I could not see the admiral’s markings. Nor did it have a scent transmitter. Not that it would have helped. All of those Ul’nigic buildings move the air too much to get a proper smell. I probably couldn’t tell the mood of the room either way.
When he centered himself in the circle, the irises opened with a foreboding hiss. Promising answers are taken more than given. Cables snaked out and slithered up his limbs. His respiratory fans pulsed from his bronchial vents as he winced away from them. He had to consciously slow their expansion and contraction as the cables formed a circle around his stalk. As they connected to his body, they pulled taut, and his large, lower eyes glazed over. The holo-display above him coldly stated ‘Regressing’.
Admiral Noye rose to his full height as he took a military stance. He commanded the space. A stark contrast to how he had been a few moments before. He used his four arms to make a circular salute. The raspy voice of Noye echoed throughout the hall as the hologram filled the space. Showing his memory of looking at the main viewer of his capital ship. An image of a blue planet, a distance yellow sun, and a muted brownish-grey moon filled the view. Dated the rotation before and noted that it was from a probe.
“On Divine Alliance standard date of 5806:137.3134, My fleet arrived in the solar system SS12659. We received orders to investigate the third planet. It had produced carbon-based life forms of untold variety. However, we were there to focus on a single species. The natives called themselves humans. A dioecious, bipedal, omnivore mammalian pursuit hunter. “
The display showed an image of two four-limbed creatures with very little fur on them. At the bottom of the image, it showed the variations in skin color the species has.
“They were on the cusp of entering the quantum age, as they had broken the quantum computing barrier and survived the great filter. As per tradition and divine right, I was sent to domesticate and civilize these savages. In order to preserve the order of the universe. To make sure that they integrated into the Alliance per its divine tenets.”
There was a murmur of agreement in the gallery. The prime minister paused Noye’s regression. His body growing still as Houyin allowed the swell of patriotism to ebb and flow. When Houyin resumed the regression, Noye panted for a moment, his fans rapidly expanding and contracting, and then he continued.
“When my fleet entered the solar system. There were no colonies, intersystem traffic, or inter-planetary communications. As we reached their home planet and began orbiting, we saw that there was a disturbing lack of planetary defenses. Only three primitive stations orbited the blue planet. They could not produce artificial gravity or replicate matter. It had confused our exobiologists and anthropologists.”
“How could such a primitive species reach the quantum stage and not have colonized their solar system? We scanned the planet. There were three quantum computing centers and some particle accelerators. They had broken the entanglement barrier. But the most advanced power systems were thermal nuclear power plants. Along with a few fusion power plants. Some regions still used fossilized plant remains as a fuel source. This only added to our confusion. The humans would be the lowest species to be uplifted in Alliance history.”
“Bureau of Native Integration and Assimilation, BNIA, looked over the scans. 10.3 billion humans lived on this one planet. BNIA representative Nol’ic of Veyok was very concerned. She believed we needed more staff to complete the operation.”
I bristled when I heard BNIA. They have been the bane of our existence since the lobe-heads landed.
“I looked down at her and said, ‘You are a perfect example of what savages can become. You have risen above the falsehoods of your primitive mind. To enlightenment through our teachings and guidance. I hope these humans will rise to the occasion.’”
“She bowed to the floor and said, “You honor me with such kind words.” I waved her off and said, “Their population will reduce as we take over the planet.” I ordered the fleet to encompass this tiny planet and monitor their primitive, guttural languages. In order to find the most compatible language that we could stoop to use.”
“Our ascension officers of the BNIA found one in a government city-state of Ba’zil. It was the closest to our divine tongue. We adapted it and taught it to the lesser species. I had the fleet follow procedure and stayed in orbit for three solar rotations. Sending one-way communications expressing our intent and desire to help. We did not interfere with the primitive world’s so-called civilizations. We returned the ones that were in orbit to the planet and dissuaded the inhabitants from sending any more of their kind to taint divine space.”
The hologram showed the Divine fleet shooting down rocket-based shuttles. Soft laughter came from the gallery members who watched the loss of life.
“It was a long three solar rotations. Their rotations are 172 days longer than ours. However, we did not waste that time. We found out that the humans had 195 distinct tribes comprising over 3800 ‘cultures’. The BNIA worked to tailor the education program for each tribe and culture. We downloaded and studied their history, culture, and the depths of their information networks. We studied their primitive militaries and their tactics. We watched as they fought over resources, and alliances were made and broken. They scrambled to build a defense against us. We allowed them to send probes to get scans. To show our superiority. They did their best to build bunkers and civilian safe houses. Their media changed as we came to the forefront of their minds. As it should be.”
A series of what I assume were news programs flashed across the viewscreen as they sped up time in Noye’s regression. His body shuddered under the strain. It ended as the star crested the planet, and the light filter closed on the main viewer as Noye assumed his admiral's post.
“When the time came to civilize this savage species, we thought ourselves prepared. Our officers ran drills to re-hone their skills with the Weaver Quantum Nanites version 204.9 system. BNIA prepared primitive plant cellulose-based educational materials and readied the drop ships for re-education centers and camps. We were at the peak of readiness for C-Day.”
Readouts of go-no go for each department showed on Noye’s monitor with some indistinct writing under a few of the departments. The writing under BNIA was long, and Noye truncated it into a small text box.
Admiral Noye straightened, and his secondary eyes let out a single tear. The Prime Minister clicked his claws in disgust when Noye stated, his voice filled with pride, “My charges performed their duties with efficiency and professionalism. I recommend that all members of my fleet receive medals for valor, effectiveness, and duties becoming of Ul’nigic. I recommend all enlightened crew members for full citizenship. Letters of commendation to be filed for their respective species.”
The captain paused for a moment as the memory drive beeped and whirred. Suppressing his emotional response. His voice returned to its normal timbre. “Then the moment came. We launched Operation SS12659-3.1. Our ships descended to their assigned landing zones. Wading through primitive kinetic, plasma, electromagnetic, and thermal nuclear weapons. We had to deploy radiation scrubbers because those savages did not know the damage they were doing to their home.”
“After we landed and established our cities, we began the education and ascension protocols. We neutralized their warrior classes and tribes within 36 planetary rotations. However, not without heavy losses to our enlightened and mechanized ranks. The savages fought with a bravery that would make any Ul’nigic proud. Their ever-changing tactics and styles of warfare kept us hanging. But they could not prevail against the Divine Alliance Military, nor the superiority of the Ul’nigic way.”
The audience and the governors rose in excitement. Raising their limbs in circular salutes, cheering, yelling, snorting, and other exciting sounds. The hall echoed with their approval. The prime minister allowed everyone their moment of joy. Pausing the regression. Admiral Noye stood quietly. Members noticed the somber look that had taken hold of his features; even the emotional suppression protocol could not stop it. Cheers gave way to small conversations, to murmurs, to silence. The Prime Minister waited an uncomfortably long time; the silence was heavy in the hall when he resumed Noye’s regression.
Noye’s voice softened slightly as he went on, “We eliminated all of their storytellers, religious figures, cultural creators, authors, artists, and songwriters. Anyone who can visualize the world’s connections and shape them. Establishing our rule on the planet.”
There was visible nodding in the gallery. As this was a standard and accepted practice of the Ul’nigic. Those stalk strokers in the hall believed it was right to kill off a planet’s collection of cultures and replace them with the Ul’nigic. I had heard this propaganda over and over growing up. But it still left a pit in my being. Knowing that their cultures were lost to time and memory.
“We removed all juveniles from their parents and brought them to the education centers as per procedure. This was the first mistake. We deemed any resistance an inferior trait and culled it from the populace. We began the long-term domestication procedures. As we have done on all enlightened worlds. We assumed it would be easy, as humans have done it with lesser fauna before. We assumed they would welcome being domesticated by the Ul’nigic. This was our second mistake.”
My ears perked up and rotated forwards, and the room filled with the smell of excitement. I could not believe what I was hearing. The Ul’nigic never admitted to making mistakes. Instead, refer to them as variance in the system. That the system will correct it as designed.
A note of awe crept into Noye’s voice. “Our third mistake was assuming the warrior caste was limited to their military. Resistance cells cropped up in and around all major settlements. Every male and female of the species fought our forces at every turn. Day or night. Hot or cold. Nothing stopped their attacks. We had to change our guard rotations to accommodate the persistent attacks on our cities and education centers. We thought we had prevailed when the attacks slowed down and then stopped. We assumed we had broken the spirit of the species. We were wrong. They became quiet, patient, and subservient. It was all to distract us from their true strategy.”
“The weaver was more in-tune with their young. Our tests were not designed to detect such high levels of looming. The adolescents allowed us to bring them in and teach them. They did their best to fit in and serve us. We could not believe their progress in the education system. No doubt, thanks to the extensive education systems that humans had employed throughout their world. We were complacent. Assured of our superiority. The adolescents were prepared to give us anything we wanted. Their minds and their bodies for us to do with as we wished. They took abuse after abuse. They fulfilled every request, just like their precious dogs. Lulling us into a false sense of security. They even killed their own to win favor.”
Noye sighed as his alveoli fans lingered in the air as he prepared himself. After a moment, he continued. His voice taking on a resigned tiredness as he said, “The humans hacked our databases during those three solar rotations we were in orbit and discovered our plans. They had trained their children and adolescents to forgo their own futures and paths to become sleeper agents, spies, and soldiers. These children gave up everything to defeat us.” Noye took a steady breath.
I ran and locked the two doors to the records office and hit the security door release button just to be sure. Then I searched for a data crystal I could use. Most were password-protected. But I found one in the secretary’s desk with a nude sticker and my boss’s name on it. I didn’t care. I formatted it and started a backup of the active stream onto it. This was too important and needed to be saved. I told myself that I would hide it later.
“Their dedication was staggering. They spent the first five solar periods being the most obedient savage race we had ever ‘enlightened’. They took over positions of other races. Becoming assistants, guards, personal companions, concubines, anything we asked of them. Never betraying their true intentions.”
The admiral shuddered as the memory drive whirred again. Forcing Noye’s mind to move forward in time. His voice grew softer and filled with regret. “Then it began. It was slow at first. A warehouse of Weaver QN-204.9 disappeared. Then another and another. The humans masked their absence with hit-and-run tactics and computer warfare. They timed it with natural disasters and large storms. It was always portrayed as the planet’s weaver’s desire. Their adolescents, now young adults, would reassure our various leaders that it was common to have large storms sweep away coastal cities and villages.”
“This caused us to move our settlements to the interior of the larger landmasses. This played right into the human’s plans. When the thirteenth solar cycle dawned, the humans were ready. They had reverse-engineered our technology. Disseminating it throughout their resistance cells. Which included the humans in our settlements. The ones that served our daily meals, entertained us, took care of our clutches, and worked in our factories. Our rule ended in a whisper. To be more precise, a text message. ‘Remember the stories and songs of our ancestors. Remember the games, legends, movies, shows, plays, and books of the past. Teach these colonists the meaning of fear. Show no mercy. Today, we are not people. We are not animals. We are not death. We are vengeance.’”
I cheered. The odor of elation filled the room and tickled my nose. These humans did what only a handful of other species have: saved their cultures from extinction. But the Ul’nigic eventually removed those other species’ cultures through systematic assimilation. I had hoped that these humans would be different. Better.
The hall was quiet, and all I could hear was the soft patter of tears. Noye wept at the memories that he was being forced to live again. He took deep breaths and continued. “At first, it was slow. In the area they called Europe. We received frantic and fragmented reports of soft blue lights, mimicking navigation lights from personal assistants, leading citizens to creatures of fur and teeth standing over six meters tall. The next day, we found the mutilated corpses. Displayed like a gallery of gore along roads and pathways. Headless riders on equine species would visit households. Then, smaller humans with brownish-red hats would go into the homes. Leaving carnage in their wake. Always posing the viscera for maximum effect.”
Scenes of gore and atrocities flash across the hologram in the hall. The crowd gasped. The holo-stream emitted sounds of vomiting and crying.
“Then, in former Africa, creatures that seemed to be enormous apes would rampage through our settlements. Then, retreat and disappear into the dense forests and jungles. Ethereal creatures would possess our citizens. Causing them to have seizures so violent that it would break internal and external skeletons. Each time, they used the corpses to leave us messages. Telling us how they have fought off the colonizers of their world, we will not be any different. Then, we would find others that seemed to have slept well, only to have small bite marks. Their bodies were drained of all liquids. Showing they could come and go from our settlements as they wished.”
“The tipping point was in former Canada. Attackers targeted one of our hospitals. The attackers killed all the citizens. Humans alone remained alive. They used the yolks from our incubator rooms to write on the side of the building, ‘Geneva doesn’t apply, sorry.’ Attacks from that point forward escalated.”
I drew back from the holo-display when it displayed the image of the message. Broken eggs and the reddish-brown yolks spelling out words I didn’t know. I pulled my dnars in close. Using the yolks of the young to write a message is brutal even by Ul’nigic standards. I don’t know what Geneva is, but it must have been something important to the humans. I remember thinking that they weren’t better. Thinking that the Ul’nigic had found something worse than themselves.
“This continued in every region. Our scientists could not find any flora or fauna that matched the descriptions in the reports that the central government was receiving. It was an anthropologist from one of the lesser enlightened species who found that all the descriptions were of creatures from human mythology. We were fighting the weave of the entire species.”
“Fearful citizens demanded answers. We sent patrol after patrol. Restricted movement of humans. Removed them from all positions of power or close to any Ul’nigic of power. We instituted martial law. Executed all criminals. We sent out messages to our military units, authorizing index 3 weapons. Nothing worked!” The gathering gasps and murmurs.
Prime Minister Houyin interrupted the admiral, “You allowed the use of our most advanced weaponry on savages!?” He turned his body in disgust. That surprised me as well.
The admiral gave out a snort and resumed. “We found one of their strongholds in the catacombs of the former seat of the Vatican government. We raided it only to find them mass-producing our technology, especially the Weaver QN-204.9. In those dark tunnels, our valiant soldiers fought off creatures known as devils and demons. Along with winged humanoids known as angels. We had to retreat from those cursed tunnels. We performed an orbital bombardment of the surrounding land. Sinking the peninsula into the sea.”
Noye took a long breath and steadied himself. “That was the ‘dinner bell’, as the humans would say. Media from before our arrival filled every communication channel. Showing what humans called anime, movies, TV shows, and video games. Not a planetary period later. Large mechanized humans emerged from various continents and islands. Along with reptiles, insects, and apes. Kaiju, I believe, is one of the lesser called them. Humans with tails covered in various colored energy fields streamed across the sky. They could lift tanks, shoot plasma and fly at speeds reserved for space travel.”
“From the northern region of the largest continent came a myriad of horrific creatures. Including humans standing three meters tall in mechanical suits with guns that would rip through our armor. They called them kosmicheskiy desantnik. The same came out of each region. Males and females of the species growing and becoming these monsters of soldiers. Then there were the flying reptiles that could breathe what could only be described as flames, ice, acid, and lightning. Creatures with multiple eyes who shot beams of death aided them. I don’t have the time nor the memory to describe the whole of what attacked us that day.”
Noye’s body grew limp. His pride faded. Replaced with weariness. “That was not the worst of it. Those children and adolescent humans we took in, taught, cared for, and trusted. Each took their time ripping their ‘families’ apart. One moment, they were doing their tasks, and the next, unleashing unfathomable horror. Some of the fortunate ones died fast. They made the rest of us endure their anger.”
“I was in my office when it happened. Looking over casualty and military reports. Juan, my butler, got a message on his PA. Then, he turned into a three meter tall emaciated human with a human skull for a face and a large, ornate headdress of blue and red. Feathers and disembodied human limbs worn as decoration. He left and took his time killing the guards and servants, as I later found out.”
Noye shuddered again as the cables forced him to continue. Tears flowed down to his mandible. His voice quaked as he said, “Laila, my sweet Laila. A quiet and obedient female who was in charge of my broodings. Who had raised them from eggs. She was like their second father. I watched over security feeds, opposite my desk, as she turned into a blue-skinned human with countless arms and carried severed heads of humans and citizens alike. She ate all the broodings and my various mates. She even killed and ate the ones that she and I sired.”
The display showed a truly horrific scene. Corpses of Ul’nigic and servant species lay scattered around. Their lives painting the room, windows, and courtyard beyond.
“I tried to stop her. But Mùchén, my studious aide, turned into a fearsome-looking human with bulging eyes and deep-red skin. His clothing changed into that of his culture’s past, with a cap that had the symbol on it. He held me firm with the weight of his presence and his piercing gaze. I tried to fight, but my weave was no match for his. He did not move from his desk on the room’s edge. Forcing me to watch Laila and Juan. As he just pulled a scroll from thin air and listed those who died because of my rule over Earth. Etching the last moments of each human into my mind.”
Noye fell to the ground, his legs splayed out. He lowered his stalk and said, “After he was done, he judged me and gave me my punishment. To see the death of each of my citizens in my earthly empire, human and alien alike. How they died and what they felt. For those memories to never fade. To remain fresh in my mind. The worst part was when he said I would live. I would live a long life. Longer than most.” Noye stuttered the next sentence. “He gave me the human resolve and the need to survive.”
Silence hung in the hall and in my office, like rotting fruit. Prime Minister Houyin banged his fist out of habit. Before noticing that not a single member in attendance had made a sound. He cleared his throat. “I am having a hard time believing you. An index zero species with a greater weave than ours. That isn’t possible! Bringing civilized rule to worlds is our divine right. You must’ve been mistaken, ‘admiral’. They must have hidden their true armies away somewhere. This report just highlights your incompetence. I’ve heard enough. We will send another armada to that savage system and correct your mistake. Then, you will be executed for high heresy against Divinity. You failed your citizens, your brethren, and the Divinity. That is the only explanation that would make sense. These ‘humans’ made a fool out of you! There is no way our people lost to a lesser species’ weave. We are the Ul’nigic. We never lose! Praise Divinity!”
Houyin waved his limbs to turn off the memory drive. As the hall echoed, “Praise Divinity!” However, the cables didn’t retract. He waved again. Nothing.
The lights in the hall flickered. The hologram had frozen on the image of Mùchén holding a scroll, looking at Noye / the audience. Laila was in the background, holding up one of Noye’s mates. Laila turned and began walking towards the viewer. Her soft, authoritative voice echoed as she stated, “You ended your reign when you darkened our skies. You weave, we imagine. You change. We create. You bring nature to heel. We force it to change.”
The human voice sounded weird to me. Like listening to the tone-deaf voice of the Ul’nigic. There were no overtones telling me how she felt or her intent. It was strange that the voice of our potential liberators would be as devoid of emotion as the Ul’nigic.
Juan and Mùchén appeared in the hologram, growing larger and larger. As they approached the viewer, all three became more solid. Laila’s voice continued to echo in the hall. “Our stories inspire. Our songs make souls shudder and weep. We can and will make any species soar on the wings of hope. What you gave us was the ability to make our imaginations real. To change the universe to our liking. To change the fundamental rules of reality.”
Houyin frantically tried to shut down the hologram as Laila stepped through it, followed by Juan and Mùchén. She looked at the gallery and then up at the Prime Minister. “For that, we sincerely thank you.” Noye cowered in the circle, croaking out, “I’m sorry. I had to do what they told me.”
Mùchén leaned down and patted Noye on the top of his stalk. Saying something in a language I did not know. But the system translated it as ‘Good animal’.
The hall erupted into chaos. Every creature attempting to escape the hall. Mùchén looked at the gathering and gave a firm command: “Sit.” Everyone sat where they once stood. Laila nodded at Juan, and he pressed a button on a device hanging from his shoulder. Nanite swarms burst out of the device. Creating circular structures around the hall. Each with 39 strange symbols on them. Each structure had an outer ring and an inner ring and nine triangle pieces of metal spaced around the outer ring, overlapping the inner ring.
Once the last one materialized, Juan’s device powered down. He pulled out a computer pad of some sort and started typing on it. The inner rings of the structures spun. As the inner ring of the circle moved and stopped on a symbol, the top triangle moved. A chorus of metal clanks reverberated through the hall. Each time one triangle lit up.
The clanks were steady, like the footfalls of a predator that had cornered its prey. The Prime Minister stood up as the guards stood up and drew their weapons, and began to say something. Laila moved to the large, towering dais. She leapt to the top and, in one smooth motion, separated the minister’s head from his body before he could speak. Throwing the rest on the floor. She held the head up for all to see. Juan did the same to the guards in the room. Moving faster than the cameras could track. Laila’s voice rang out, “We are humanity’s stolen generation. The generation you took. You abused. You attempted to strip down and tame through violence of the body and mind.”
As the last triangle lit up, an explosion of water appeared and disappeared. Forming a portal of water in the center of the circular structure. Humans of various builds, ethereal beings, and creatures of every color and form stepped through.
“Humanity has chosen us to be your species’ judges. The Ul’nigic will face the judgment of thousands of years and millions of worlds. Our past had humans who acted like you. Treated others as you do. Those civilizations are gone and buried. We evolved past it. We will take this gift that you forced on us and make the universe better. Starting with the Ul’nigic and all who supported, aided, or even joined them. You will be wiped from the galaxy. Your history preserved as a warning to others. You came to domesticate us. We will free the universe from you. To all who suffer under the rule of the Ul’nigic, rise. Raise your limbs and voices. Sing and have hope. We will soon be there. We will liberate you.”
The hall erupted in violence as the humans exacted their revenge. Video feed sheared horizontally. Then it cut to the Divine Alliance Central Media symbol, stating that there had been technical difficulties. I stopped the recording and waited for it to save. I could hear yelling from outside, the overtones muted by the walls. But it sounded like alarm whines covering the yelling. Then the alarms started blaring. I watched the door, hoping that no one would come down there looking for me.
When it was done, I uploaded it to my contraband server, at my nest, and stashed the crystal in my bag. I knew I had just witnessed history, and the lobe-heads would cover it up. But I had the proof. Proof of hope.
It took me hours to make it back to my nest complex. However, security had it locked down. Stating to the gathered crowd that there was a security operation being conducted. I tried to get past the guards, but they stopped me. Pushing their weapons in my face.
I gave them a soft warning squeal. The guards charged their weapons, ready to shoot me when my mate and our joining statue crashed out of our balcony window. She sprayed the ground with her life as the sculpture revealed our secret. The guards looked at the statue and then back at me. Asking if that was my mate. Before I could answer, one of those humans with a brown fur tail crashed to the ground.
I don’t know what they said as they stood up. But it chilled me. It had such hatred in it. It made my fur ripple. Alarm squeals ran out through the swe’hen in the crowd, and the air filled with the smell of alarm as they ran for cover.
The human blasted anyone in uniform and protected us from the crossfire. They moved faster than I could see. I only saw the afterimage of their energy shield. Then they were gone, and the Alliance security guards were dead.
A rising song of string instruments and horns played as I watched flying machines in angled formation fly above me and the crowd. Followed by a white machine with blue and red accents. It was angular with the bright, buzzing white of high noon highlights around the edges as the pale orange of the sun hit it. It screamed towards the main military base on our island.
War had come to my planet, and I couldn’t have felt safer.
I gathered my senses and looked around me. I couldn’t use the Ul’nigic rifles because of their circular design. But I grabbed two of the pistols for my dnars along with some recharge cells. Then I ran to my mate. She was gone. I wailed for a moment, grief filling my overtones and the area.
Then, an enormous explosion rocked me. I had to drop into a running stance to stabilize myself. Then the pressure wave hit me. Thick and heavy, filled with the smell of death, fire, and explosives. I had to fight the instinct to run from the smell of fire.
I paused for a few breaths before I grabbed the server housing, shoved it into my bag, and ran. I didn’t know where to go, but I needed to find a safe hovel deep in the ground and wait. Luckily, I knew of a few places to hide in the surrounding forest.
I will update once I have another story or more information. Please stay safe and have hope. They will be there to liberate you soon. As the humans say: “Memento Fabulatorum,” Remember the Storytellers.
NOTICE: I’ve attached the restricted, unredacted video of the declaration of war in the Alliance’s Grand Hall of Governance to this data shard.