Alex
I looked down at my phone. ‘Turn on the news, any channel, something big is happening.’ If this text were from anyone other than my mom or the ambassador, then I probably would have dismissed the message as some kind of prank call or something. But this was from the ambassador. I looked back up to Aeva and said, “It’s from the ambassador, he said to turn on the news and watch it, something’s about to go down.”
Their feathers puffed up in what I assumed was nervousness. “Hopefully it’s good news!”
I started climbing down the mech so that I could get to the computer on the desk. “That’s all we can really hope for in these unique and challenging times,” I said as Aeva watched me make the trek to the elevator at the base of the desk. “You know, if I had a credit for every time that I’ve heard the phrase ‘unique and challenging times,’ I would be one of the richest men out there. I was getting out of high school when aliens were found, and then it took a couple of years for me to get my mech license. And then I caused a galactic incident!” I shook my head as I got into the elevator and finally got onto the desk proper. “I don’t want to live in interesting times.”
“Wait, it took you a couple of years to get a license? What for?” they asked, getting off the bed and sitting down on the chair next to the desk. It only took a moment for the computer to recognize me and another moment to open up the news broadcast just as it was starting.
“Yeah, those things are massive, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could accidentally hurt a lot of people,” I said before shutting up.
The opening jingle played as the words breaking news flashed across the screen in every language in the Galactic Community, including English. Doesn’t matter where in the galaxy you are, news is still news, I thought to myself for the second time today. The same two anchors from before were back (the Godzilla looking one and that beaver lion looking one), sitting behind the same desk as before as they maintained the same professional nicety that all people on the news seems to have down pat. “Good evening, Galactic Community, I’m Chuuzuk,” the Godzilla one said.
“And I’m Jadriel,” said the beaver one. “Breaking news this afternoon as United Terra has released a statement regarding the war with the Yalayans just minutes before.” They both stared into the camera as a transition played and we were both looking at camera footage of the ambassador. The title card at the bottom of the screen read ‘Terran Ambassador Tobias makes a statement regarding the war.’
He stood at a podium that had the logo of United Terra on it, with the flag for United Terra behind them. He cleared his throat and began to speak. “Good afternoon, members of United Terra and the Galactic Community. As of three minutes ago, a little over two thirds of the Galactic Community has joined us in condemning the actions of the Yalayans in unjustly declaring war on United Terra and her people. We thank you for your support in these trying times and hope to continue to have profitable relations with you in the future. To the rest of you, we hope that you will come to our side soon in condemning the Yalayan Concord and their aggression towards us.” He cleared his throat again. “In other news, thanks to a covert operation, our military has successfully captured the Yalayan capital ship, The Indomitable Crusade, and her crew. To the Yalayan Conclave, this monumental victory was perpetrated by thirty Terrans, and two tactical nukes. Ten of those Terrans weren’t even using mechs. If we can sneak onto the pride of your fleet and make it ours in less than an afternoon with those numbers, then just imagine what the full might of our military can do to you. I implore you to seek peace before this escalates any further, for Terrans are nothing if not devoted to peace.” He gave a heavy sigh before looking back to the camera and smiling. “Thank you for your time.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The screen faded back to the two news hosts as they sat in silence for a second before speaking in their chipper, professional tone. “Compelling stuff. To give us a breakdown on the statement, we go now to our political and military correspondent, Kridlog.”
The screen transitioned once again and on the screen was another one of the Godzilla looking aliens. With the same practiced professionalism of its coworkers, it launched into what it was going to say. “Good afternoon, Galactic Community, as you have no doubt heard, the Terran ambassador has given a statement, and we will be breaking it down. The first thing of note was the number of species condemning the Yalayan Conclave for their aggression. We’ve covered the specifics of what species have decided to side with the Terrans on this issue before, so we will not go into it. This does bring up the issue of why these species are doing this in the first place. As we all recall a few hours ago, the Terran representative to the Galactic Community’s Senate made an ultimatum to the combined species there. Fearing that they would lose a valuable trade partner, they possibly made the choice to maintain the relationship with the main supplier of raw materials in the galaxy, United Terra. I would call into question the sincerity of the Terran’s words due to them lying to the Galactic Community for the entire time they have been here, but Terrans have been nothing but direct and honest with their trading partners, so we can assume that it will stay that way. In addition to this, we have also been given definitive proof of the Terran’s claims about The Indomitable Crusade, as we have been given photos that released at the same time as the statement by the ambassador.” The camera panned a bit to include several photos of what I could assume was the Indomitable Crusade docked with one of the most recognizable ships in our fleet, The Failure to Communicate. I had always loved that name. I started to lose focus, preferring to think about the Terran fleet, but forced myself to focus on the task at hand. “As to the claim of the number of Terrans that captured the ship, I cannot make any comment on that right now. The last thing that the ambassador did was sue for peace, something that Terrans have advocated for the entire time that they have been here. How the various governments of the Galactic Community will react to this, I cannot say, but I do know that this will cause ripples in galactic politics and policy. That’s all I have for now, back to you Chuuzuk.”
The screen transitioned back to the two anchors. Chuuzuk nodded and said, “Thank you Kridlog.” It looked down at the tablet it had on the table before looking back up. “That’s all we have for now, but we will update you as the situation unfolds. Thank you, Galactic Community, and have a good afternoon.” And with that the closing jingle played and the channel went to commercial.
Aeva and I sat there in stunned silence for about a minute as we both took in the information. I shook my head and broke the stalemate. “Damn, I knew the military acted quick, but I didn’t expect a blow like that to happen within a couple of hours of war being declared! They really must want this over as quick as possible!”
Aeva continued to sit in silence. They studied me more closely, seeming to regard me in a new light. “Your military did this with that few men?” they asked softly
“Well, yeah. Minimizing casualties has been a thing in Terran military doctrine for a long time. And if command thought it could be done, then by God would it get done. The nukes did help a bit, I suppose. Why do you ask?”
They continued to regard me with that same look that I couldn’t identify. “You Terrans just love breaking the expectations that people have of you, don’t you?” they finally said.