16.

“Diego is on the radio for you, captain,” the communications specialist said.

“Thank you, Antoine,” Captain Moon said, switching the connection of her headset to the frequency dedicated to Sergeant Cruz during his mission to the alien spacecraft. “Hello Diego. How are you holding up?”

“Breakfast was pleasant. The topic of the conversation was the Liberation Wars. I got a very brief education on the matter and I thought that I should file a report on it ASAP.”

“The topic has come up occasionally, but the other Yonohoans are reluctant to go into detail on the matter at this time. They say that it is to preserve our innocence,” Captain Moon answered.

“Well, I can see why they would say that. It sounds like hundreds of trillions of people died,” Diego said. His voice was coming in crystal clear, and there was very little latency due to light delay. She made a note to investigate that later.

“War is a terrible thing. We’ve learned that the hard way in our own past,” Captain Moon said.

“Yes. To summarize the war, phase one began when the monolithic empire began using human clones as disposable soldiers. There was a period of about a thousand years where we were the first of the empire. However, it was more than that. They weren’t using us just for defense, or even conquering new territory. They began having us fight each other for fun. It sounds very nasty, like an RTS with thousands of lives on the line,” Diego said.

“Gladiator games on the galactic level,” Captain Moon said.

“There was some of that too, yeah,” Diego commented. “Anyway, phase two began when one of the human commanders cracked the system they were using to control the humans. Not just the soldier castes, but all of the humans. The entire system was in his hands. He saw an opportunity, and he took it. He cloned himself all throughout the empire and immediately disabled the self destruct methods they were using to kill the humans once their purpose had been served. Then he led them in a war against the empire.”

“Every slave owning society should fear the wrath of a slave rebellion,” Captain Moon said.

“Couldn’t agree with you more, Captain. It took the empire a while to muster an organized military response using non-humans, during which time the troops from phase two really wrecked shit up. They destroyed billions of strategic targets more or less unopposed. That lasted for about a hundred years, believe it or not. Finally the government got its act together and began phase three, which was a battle between the human swarms and non-human military trying to exterminate them.

“Apparently, we mopped the floor with them, and before long the non-humans weren’t willing to go into battle with us anymore. What’s more, we took their weapons, their ships, and their technology, and we grew even stronger. Then, just to rub salt in the wound, we looked at the science which was being used in those weapons and we took it further than what the aliens had ever thought possible.”

“Phase three was very demoralizing for a lot of the aliens, captain. A lot of the alien races began suing for peace. That’s where phase four started, which was a period where humanity tried to come to terms with the non-human sapients who had abused them. There were a lot of hard feelings on both sides, but it was looking like peace was returning to the universe.”

“I’m sensing a but,” Captain Moon said when Diego paused for a moment.

“Yeah, a huge one. While most of the aliens agreed to cease fires and were working on treaties, some of which are still in effect, a few alliances formed. Rather than agree to end the war, they began printing out billions of humans. They used those humans as hostages, but they didn’t stop there. They allowed them to form families and the ties of brotherhood with each other, and then forced them to fight against the liberation swarms with the threat that their families and friends would be executed if they didn’t cooperate.”

A moment of silence as Diego paused to allow Captain Moon to process the information. “That is horrible.”

“Yeah. Phase four was humans fighting against humans. It lasted for thousands of years. Even after the masterminds were wiped out of existence, the fighting continued. Some of the grudges from that time still exist. Trillions of people died to warfare during that time. Humans and aliens both.”

“I mourn for the loss of sentient life,” Captain Moon said. “The death of each man diminishes me, for I am connected to humanity. The death of any sentient being in this universe diminishes me, for I am connected to this universe.”

“Yeah, Captain. I couldn’t have said it better.”

“Those are not my words. I can’t remember who I’m quoting.”

“They’re from Earth. I’m certain of that at least,” Diego said. “Anyway, phase five is where the empires began establishing themselves. It’s also where the Yonohoans became relevant on an intergalactic level. See, there was a huge effort to return all of the soldiers to their home worlds. It was the only way everyone would agree to stop fighting. The problem is, the soldiers were subject to life-extending technology. Everyone that they knew or loved had died centuries ago. It was largely this realization which eventually led to peace, but what to do with the veterans?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“The Yonohoans had a solution?” Captain Moon inquired.

“Yeah. Everyone who couldn’t find a home, they invited to be part of their own clan. To come home with them, and live in the worlds that the Sulivans made for them. A lot of the old soldiers refused, but having some place to go, having that option, was important to them. Very, very important. Historians agree that without the Yonohoan solution, phase five would have been far longer and bloodier than it was.

“And that about brings us up to today.”

Captain Moon processed the information for a minute. “How long ago was phase five?” she asked.

“Depending on who you ask, it was either sixty thousand years ago or it hasn’t ended yet,” Diego said. “The Liberation wars were a very, very long and bloody struggle. Some people believe it’s possible that there are still swarms out there waiting for some transmission or codeword to enact an ancient battleplan.”

“Understood. Thank you for your report, Sergeant. It has been recorded. Is there anything else you wish to report at this time?”

“Not at this time. Diego out.”

“Captain Moon out,” she said. She turned to Antoine, the communications specialist. “Make sure that information is transcribed and distributed to the crew. It’s apparently common knowledge out here, so it’s important that we acknowledge and understand it.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Antoine agreed, and he returned to his screen to begin transcribing the information.

She considered for a moment, and then switched to the frequency she’d been using to contact Renosa. “Renosa? Are you there? Come in Renosa.”

“I am here,” the voice said only a few seconds later. The voice was crystal clear and had virtually no delay.

“How is it that there’s no delay in receiving your transmission?” Captain Moon asked. “I noticed with Diego, but your ship is farther away than his. There should be a ten second lapse.”

“We are using the device that was brought aboard your ship by your crew to relay the radio transmissions,” Renosa explained. “They each have a faster than light transmission device inside of them.”

Captain Moon laughed. “So they were trojan horses,” she said.

“What is a trojan horse?”

“There’s a very old story. Well, I guess from your perspective it’s not that old, but it’s ancient to my people. There was a war between city states. The Greeks were fighting against the Trojans, but they couldn’t scale the walls of their city. For ten years they fought in the countryside. Then one of the heroes of the Greeks suggested that they build a giant horse out of wood and offer it to the Trojans as a gift to their gods. They pretended to sail away, and the Trojans brought the wooden horse into their city and had a huge party.”

“I am sensing that there was an element of deception involved,” Renosa said.

“Indeed. There were Greek warriors hiding inside the wooden horse. After the party ended and night fell, they sneaked out of the horse and opened the gates to the city, allowing the Greek army, which had only pretended to leave, to invade and sack the city,” Captain Moon said. “Before hearing the story of the Liberation Wars, I would fear to tell you such a story of my people because I do not wish you to believe that we are violent. I see now that there is a common thread of humanity in our history, and that war is part of our nature.”

“We already deduced that your people have been fighting among yourselves,” Renosa said. “I assure you that we do not look down at you as savages. Eolai has named those aboard your ship as Clansmen returning to the light, and not one Yonohoan of the defense fleet has called him a fool. Hearing of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans only makes me wish to know more about the history of your people, Captain Moon.”

“We do have some darkness in us,” Captain Moon said. “Some terrible things have been done on our planet.”

“That is true no matter where you go,” Renosa assured her. “Even among the Yonohoah, there has been war. We do not look down on you, and we do not fear you. I greet you as my sister, Captain Moon. There is a bond of humanity between us, and I will not be the first to break that bond. I seek to make it ever stronger.”

“I, too, wish to strengthen that bond, Renosa,” Captain Moon agreed.

“The device we sent you was not a weapon, Captain Moon. It is a child’s toy to us. Its propulsion systems were disabled when you brought it aboard your ship in order to prevent it from harming your ship, and it has no dangerous components on it. I hope that its use to reduce light-speed delay does not cause you distress.”

“It’s fine. I’m glad I know where the radio waves are coming from. I’m not ready to hook our computer systems directly up to yours yet, but I think it’s fine if you use the device you gave us for the purposes of improving communications,” Captain Moon said. “I would appreciate it if I was informed before it was used for any other purposes, however.”

“I will inform the others of your desire to be kept informed, and we will do our best to adhere to your wishes,” Renosa assured her.

“Thank you,” Captain Moon said. “Anyway, the reason I called was just to say that I understand why you didn’t want to tell me about the Liberation Wars.”

“It was not to keep you ignorant, Captain.”

“No. There is a difference between ignorance and innocence,” Captain Moon agreed. “However, I believe that my mission is important. For the protection and preservation of the people of Earth, I would gladly sacrifice my life. My innocence is nothing compared to the lengths I would go for the people and children of Earth.”

Renosa was silent for a moment. “I understand and admire your conviction, Clanswoman.”

“Thank you, Renosa.”

‎