3.10.
Enforcer Vessel #39585 pulled up to the station. It had been missing for three days, pursuing the criminal Tumbaruna Toko from the craft’s last sited location. Somehow it had suddenly been cut off from the tactical network, but that alone wasn’t unusual. Particularly if it survived combat, which it clearly had.
Certain weapons, such as Kirata beams, would unpair paired particles, resulting in connected ships suddenly falling dark. While this was usually accompanied by the ship becoming a derelict as the rest of the technology aboard was destroyed, a glancing blow would explain the disconnection.
So when the ship’s IFF squawked its ID and demanded to be reconnected to the network atoms were split and the network chip was manufactured. The first among peers smiled as he accepted the chip from the technician who delivered it, saluted in the Rosantean fashion, and returned to the Enforcer vessel immediately to install it.
The vessel departed hours later, having reestablished contact with the station. The hours that followed on the military outpost were filled with horror as a rogue nanite swarm abruptly erupted and turned the walls into powder. The station literally fell apart around the people, who clung to each other in various vacuum protection methods until their oxygen ran out or they worked up the courage to end their lives on their own terms.
The crew of the Tumbaruna Toko piloted their refurbished enforcer vessel back to where they had stashed their flagship. Their computer expert rushed through all of the tactical data that he could uncover before the sniffers in the system realized that they had a security breech. When he finally triggered the security programs, he launched one final program.
His connection was severed. He shrugged. He’d gotten what he could. He returned to the Toko , setting the enforcer vessel to pilot itself into a nearby station, dock, and self destruct.
The Tumbaruna Toko growled with the predatory satisfaction of a cat which was about to pounce as it launched itself at the nearest target they had just located.
The program that had been loaded onto the secure network by the rogue operator slid in deep and began to execute it’s program slowly. It searched out messaging contacts and began sending them edited pornographic content featuring deepfaked images of their mothers marked as mandatory viewing messages.
The program jumped from inbox to inbox, multiplying as it went. It reached millions of high ranked individuals, causing the Rosanteans who worshiped motherhood to experience a level of disgust and horror which was visceral and all encompassing. Generals, admirals, and politicians found themselves opening innocuous messages only to have their very psyches shattered.
Including the emperor.
The war of the Tumbaruna Toko continued.
~~~~~~
“The advanced warfare fleet, which was clearly launched prior even to the Yonohoans’ official declaration of war, known as Tumbaruna Toko , continue to wreck havoc on the rear lines of the Rosantean empire. Nobody knows for certain how large the fleet is, but it is estimated to be an entire flotilla. The Toko ships demonstrate definitively exactly why so much effort is placed on obtaining the signatures of the Yonohoans when seeking to ratify a treaty. Each race believes that they are the masters of war. The Yonohoans have proven it time and time again. Retiring their great leader Eodar has not lessened their combat effectiveness in the slightest,” The orange faced human said calmly.
His conversation partner, a blue scorpion like creature, wagged its tail. “Yes, the Toko fleet is absolutely terrifying. They say that if you see even a single one of their ships, you’re already dead. Thank the ancestors I’m not Rosantean.”
“How do you predict the war will end, my friend?”
“With a full surrender by the emperor, of course. They were foolish to provoke the Yonohoans. They should have anticipated that the empire most known for its advocacy of Darkworld Rights would have a monitor in place. They stung themselves in the face with their own tail, my friend.”
“I should think so if a single fleet of ships, which nobody can even identify, has completely locked down three quarters of the empire due to fear. And this last psychological attack method of theirs was particularly effective,” the human pointed out. “Who knew that the Rosanteans were such momma’s boys.”
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Diego chuckled and shook his head. He was dressed casually in the gray shipboard clothes, watching some of the news streams as he monitored the war.
It would last for decades, but the opening would be the most bloody. It would take decades to hunt down the remaining imperial forces once the initial wave was broken.
The core worlds of the Rosantean Empire would likely be blasted back down until they became darkworlds. While they adhered religiously to their rules of warfare, the Yonohoans were more than justified in blasting a core world with the Kirata or throwing more of that technology-eating Nanite powder into the atmosphere.
The Rosanteans themselves had put that option on the table when they’d done it first.
One of the Topokans aboard the ship stepped into his line of sight. Diego looked up, surprised. “Yes?”
“How many children will you have?” the Topokan asked.
Diego sighed. They had been asking him for a number, lately. “I don’t know. I haven’t met anyone whom I both thought would make a good mother and who wanted to be the mother of my children yet.”
“We shall help. How many?”
“I don’t know, I have to find the woman I will marry and have that discussion with her.”
“How many!”
“Go lick the toilet you blue polar bear alien!” Diego shouted.
The Topokan’s ears abruptly slumped down. It turned and fled from his anger.
Diego sighed and turned his attention back to the news.
He wondered if there was really an entire of Tumbaruna Toko vessels. When he had discussed the matter with Eolai, the man had laughed and told the joke about the name. According to Eolai, it was probably a Korjakala ship, rather than anything from their government.
The government of the Yonohoah was still gathering its forces. It was the earliest of days in the war. The metaphorical ink on the declaration was still wet. If the Toko was a single ship, then they were changing the shape of the war all by themselves.
Either that or the reports of their effectiveness were vastly overstated.
Diego browsed the trending topics and found a new one.
Oh, no, it was still the Toko . Everyone was talking about it for some reason. He sighed and tuned into the earth’s news instead.
He almost fell out of his seat as a child gave a press conference.
~~~~~~
Olivia patted his shoulder, but John was stiff as a board and no reassurances from her were enough to get him to relax. He had been afraid that, now that his systems were coming back online, he would have his freedoms, so recently earned, removed. Or that he would have to go on the run again.
Olivia had called Agent Morrison, who had called Major Mary Phillips, who had called President Walker. Who had reassured everyone that as long as John cooperated with lawful instructions from the government and didn’t hurt anyone he would be allowed to remain at liberty.
However, she asked a favor.
One which only John could do, but which he’d never be able to take back.
There were hundreds of other scouts on the planet. John might know some of them. Perhaps he could convince them to come forward, rather than hiding. Perhaps he would be labeled as a traitor. They wouldn’t know until he tried to reach the others who had been sent.
“Hello,” he said nervously, standing at the podium. “My name is John Doe, but it’s also Eodar of the Yonohoah. I was born on planet Totola about ninety thousand years ago, but I have only lived twelve years. I know that doesn’t really make sense to you earthlings, but if you’d lived through the Liberation wars it would make perfect sense.
“If you were born a very long time ago, you should know that things have changed. I didn’t know that and I made some terrible mistakes. You don’t want to make mistakes like I did. If you were born a long time ago but haven’t lived very long, you should talk to an authority figure and come forward so that the government can help you. They want to help us. I was a Forward Scout Rank Two. I decommissioned myself, but the people of Earth put me back together.
“That’s all I have to say right now. Thank you.”
John stepped down and the reporters tried to shout some questions at him, but he turned and stiffly walked away. Olivia put her arm on his shoulder when he walked by her, and they left together in her car.