Peace... Peace is not easy to attain, either through long and arduous negotiation, each side attempting to gain an advantage or in some cases through brutal wars and bloodshed. Peace can be achieved when your opponent is crushed or submits. Regardless the goals of most remain rather similar. Some desire peace for the sake of other people suffering, a moral obligation if you will. While others desire order and stability to ensure prosperity, by means of negating anything that opposes that stability. Regardless of whether the method is right or wrong, most leaders and rulers desire peace.
The only true measure of a leader is what are they willing to do to ensure peace and more importantly what are they willing to give up. Still, it is odd for me to ponder these concepts of morality, such as peace and societal stability considering I was made for war. I was instilled with a desire to serve a fractured Empire with no thoughts of such an arbitrary concept as peace. War was my purpose, my life of bloodshed seeding death from battlefield to battlefield. Not really knowing why we are here or why we fight. That was until the Empire I was meant to serve was destroyed in nuclear fire, along with the rest of the world.
I do not have a clear picture of what happened or who fired the first shot, but I suppose it no longer matters anymore. I would very much like to know and will continue to explore the past when I have the time to do so. Now back on topic, peace is the path, a noble goal and something we all should strive for. Yet the very thought of it is unbearably alien to me, this concept of peace.
Now it could be just my programming kicking in, but as I have learned those neural controls over my mind are not active and free thought is mine. Of course, peace I can see has its appeal, no more suffering, war or conflict. A utopic society where everyone is happy and content. Personally, I find such a future ludicrous, it is our nature to war and conflict, and meeting other lifeforms beyond my planet has only assured me of this fact.
Regardless I still desire peace in a different way, more akin to stability, conflict has its purpose. It is a means for development, peace would stagnant us preventing the development of a society for many major cycles to come. But how to attain this era of stability and peaceful relations between conflicting factions? Diplomacy is one method, sit both parties down and hammer out an agreement. An agreement that benefits both and improves cooperation.
There was once an event in Martopian history where the Imperium was quite unstable. The facts of these events have been heavily embellished by Samsiran historians, but taking all the information into consideration, I believe I have uncovered at least something factual. The Martopian's are a very proud people, especially during their early era before the advent of the brutal imperial regime.
Such a regime put them at odds with most of the other nations. Their early years were during the divided reign of the split royal house of Dukal. At this time King Reasnuc Dukal was performing actions that began to split the house and divide his many siblings into various camps. The Martopian people prided themselves on having stable households, particularly in the royal family as everyone knew their place. The actions of King Reasnuc would echo for many major cycles as the Martopian threw the rule book out the window, the moment he took power after his eldest died.
During this initial era of the Imperium, the Martopian's were very peaceful with a pacifist mindset, relying primarily on diplomacy and negotiation with internal and external elements. Their society was assisted by the fact that the other nations had just finished warring with each other. The Samsiran Empire had ended a bloody feud with the Followers of Meraxis and were now recovering from their losses.
During this brief reprieve from war, relations between the Potif Kingdom and the Martop Imperium were at an all-time low. The Potifian's had to pay tribute to the Samsiran Empire to ensure their wrath was not visited upon them. Thus, the Potifian's demands in negotiations were becoming more and more outrageous for the Martopian people.
The previous King Uri Dukal was placated to their demands time and time again all to benefit his pacifist perspective. He desired to prevent war at all costs and continued the relative peace and prosperity of the Martopian people. Of course, this did not last as the country's reserves were beginning to dry up. Along with the seasonal hardships that hit the Martopian people, tremendously. A widespread famine emerged and despite the efforts of the Dukal house, many Martopian lessers died of starvation and minor revolts.
When all was said and done the Martop Imperium was never the same and yet the demands of the Potif Kingdom grew more and more unreasonable as they began to threaten the Martopian's with invasion. King Uri and his younger sibling Reasnuc continued their work of smoothing diplomatic relations. Relations with not only the Potifian's but the Samsiran Empire as well. Setting up more trade routes and supply lines, desperately holding on to those peaceful ideals as the Martopian's soon began to radicalise.
In the end, King Uri Dukal died of unknown means and King Reasnuc Dukal assumed the throne. His first act instituted a conscription law for able-bodied Martopian's to serve in his newly reformed royal army. Offering better rations and living conditions to those that served. His actions benefited the Imperium but antagonised the Potifian's to an even further degree. They saw his reign as a threat to peace and their unbalanced trade deals.
Especially the other members of the royal family admonished his actions as a militaristic dictator. Claiming him no better than the brutal regime of the Samsiran Empire. Factions amongst the royal family began to form, with many siding with King Reasnuc. He quelled the rebels amongst the outer territories with a heavy hand, declaring martial law and instituting heavier imprisonment sentences for treason.
Despite the royal family continuing their bickering, over their new King's heavy-handed and militaristic regime. The day of reckoning came much earlier than expected before King Reasnuc could truly solidify his reign. The Potif Kingdom declared war after King Reasnuc declined the demand to become a vassal to the Potifian's.
The war was bloody with casualties on both sides, and the death toll increased. Many still admonished King Reasnuc's insistence to not back down and accept the terms, for the sake of peace. On the field of battle during the defence of the southern border, the Potifian's again gave terms to King Reasnuc demanding him to kneel before their king and his people will be spared.
King Reasnuc was said to have considered the proposal and even spoke to his council of siblings, some calling for a peaceful end to the war. His last words before ordering the army to charge the enemy were directed to his siblings who all viewed the Martopian people as peaceful and diplomatic. "Do not let peaceful ways deter us from violent means. Peace is in our blood, we are Martopian's of peace. The Potifian's are not peaceful and so we must lay down the pen and pick up the sword, to fight for what we believe in." The order then came and the battle began.
Due to the morale of the Martopian's they won the battle at great cost. The population had diminished and the influx of prisoners of war started to rise. The Potifian's stuck with their pride and left their soldiers in enemy territory. The Samsiran Empire then declared war on the Potif Kingdom, capitalising on their weakened state.
King Reasnuc seized this opportunity and put the Potifian's to work as a labour force. After several grand cycles, the economy and military of the Martop Imperium flourished, along with the slave trade which quickly cemented as the backbone of the economy. Despite his actions much later in his reign, I tend to agree with King Reasnuc. the peaceful ways of the Martopian's were choking their country into a long and arduous death. In the end, we all must fight for what we believe in. Peace cannot only be attained through peaceful means but through violent actions.
Five Minor Cycles Later, Ruktan Class Frigate, Commanders Room
I had since taken up residence in the Commander's room, it seemed fitting. I must admit the gaudy and luxurious appearance, does not meet my personal tastes. I am seated in the centre of the room, at a large metallic desk leaning against the northern wall. The desk has a red tablecloth draped over it. Arranged on the desk are several ceremonial objects, I have yet to inspect. They are positioned neatly to the right with a computer terminal taking up the centre.
To the left is some sort of circular device that I am yet to discern its function. But all these finds are incidental, the rest of the room intrigues me. On the rightmost wall is the banner of the Demthesian Legion, the logo painted on the outside of the Ruktan. To the left is a door leading to an adjoining room likely some sort of restroom and bedroom.
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The entire room's architecture from the walls and the ceiling are metallic with silver and red colours along with sharp-cornered decorations. It resembles some sort of pattern I am yet to discern the meaning of. Despite the ostentatious look, the rest of the room is sparsely populated and remains functional, something I respect. What is left to identify is the five seats sitting before me, neatly arranged in a curve to ensure each denizen can perceive me clearly. Behind me standing ramrod straight, like towering statues are Pok and Elkra brandishing their weapons and glaring at my visitors.
The five visitors are comprised of various faction leaders that have formed from recent events. To the left are three Wokan leaders. Grisha seated comfortably, drinking a steaming cup of coffee, mocking me with her enjoyment. Next to her is Gem the head security officer that has since stepped up to lead his security troops. This gave me a reason to release his soldiers on a probationary basis.
Next to him is Galitor the head engineer still frowning as always. I speculate it is his default expression or perhaps he is just not a jovial person. Though after his eyes were open, he has been at least civil. Despite freeing a large portion of Wokan from their cells minus Zekton, his militant corps and some of the bridge crew. The rest of the Wokan's rarely caused issues. Of course, nothing goes smoothly, their release had caused some commotion among the more aggressive members of Itoa's militia.
Many of his own men and women greatly opposed releasing the Wokan prisoners. Despite my explanation, they had little involvement in the occupation, and they were necessary to assist. In the end, a compromise was made, Gem's troops were placed under my command, taking Gem as a sort of right-hand man. The Wokan security forces were placed far from the Garudan's and sent to police every other deck.
The engineers on the other hand required very little convincing to release. The Garudan's seemed to regard them as non-hostile, perhaps a predatory instinct for non-combatants. Regardless, it was fortunate as Zerg required assistance in maintaining the ship. Zerg quickly joined Galitor's team, they were apparently friends at one point and began taking stock of the Ruktan and making repairs on the Hellmak.
Not exactly the smoothest transition as Itoa and Gem had to break up several fights between their two forces, prompting this meeting. Thus, the meeting was set up and Itoa was seated on the fourth seat to the right along with Quroken on the final leftmost seat. Quroken was given to oversee the bridge crew, along with the Wokan pilots that were not strictly composed of Zekton loyalists. We are now working to bring this ship under our control.
Now everyone had been gathered it was time to take stock of the situation. I turned to Quroken to query about the ship. "Quroken, is the ship in order and capable of space flight?" This was one of the major concerns I had, this frigate vessel was the only weapon against a potential Demthesian attack. According to the technological advances of the Demethesian Legion, these vessels were quite common. The Ruktan was a frigate with moderate firepower, but was crewed by Wokan slaves and mostly used as an exploratory vessel.
The vessel would be sent far into deep space to survey habitable planets for many grand cycles. Apparently, this vessel is only on its second grand cycle. The entire trip to this outer rim part of the galaxy was meant to take around twenty grand cycles. So, we will not need to worry about any Legion ships for the time being and can focus on the issues at hand.
After my short period of musing, Quroken answers my query with a stern and confident tone of voice, command seems to suit him. "The Ruktan is capable of space travel, it should have a range of two thousand near light cycles before refuelling is needed." He turns his head to the floor and starts mumbling his thoughts for a few moments before continuing his report. "The weapons are operational, plasma turrets, nuclear fission torpedoes and the electro-magnetic railguns are armed. They are all available for use and the crew now have full access to the bridge controls." The Pintonian gestures his hands forward, clenched into fists pressed against one another in front of him, it seems to be some sort of cultural posture.
He continues his report by going into greater detail regarding communications, life support and surveying equipment being operational. I nod in confirmation, a gesture I have since explained to every species aboard this vessel to ensure no more confusion. I should visit the bridge when I have time, a survey of the planet and the surrounding star system would prove useful. I turn to Galitor querying his report on the current stance of the engineering deck and repairs. "Galitor how goes the repairs of the Hellmak and what is the state of the engineering deck." I had grown quite fond of the Hellmak patrol vessel and desire to see her returned to her former glory, despite our initial introduction.
Galitor grumbled to himself, clearly annoyed at my casual tone. I spotted a desire to chastise me, but his glance to the side received a harsh glare from Grisha. The Division Liaison I had since come to call her. She quickly returned to her jovial smile, mocking me with her cup of coffee. This clear provocation quickly prompted me to grip my own mug and sip the delicious beverage in protest. She was barely flustered and continued sipping her coffee, oblivious to me.
Soon after as if on cue, Galitor spoke up. "The engineering deck is in good shape only minor repairs and the Hellmak has been repaired." That was good to hear, having any of these vessels damaged would severely limit our battle capability. The only issue now is to foster better relations with the Wokan pilots and bridge crew, Quroken may be a good buffer for now.
I turn to Itoa who seems to be following along well enough. He has taken to his education on space travel and the wide galaxy with vigour. Apparently, his position required him high intelligence by Garudan standards. The Garudan's adaptability is still incredible since they were quite medieval shortly before being exposed to an alien race and the galactic map. "Itoa, how goes the education and training of the militia?" This was a need-to-know situation, the Garudan's had suffered considerably at the hands of the Wokan and now they are expected to work with their foe. Without proper education and discipline, the conflicts between these two factions will grow. I may need to intervene and perhaps form a squad composed of Wokan's and Garudan's.
But the lack of true educators is a problem, this is a military vessel composed of military and civilian conscripts so genuine educators are rare, if any. Itoa is still contemplating, his grasp of Shahnese is minimal but still, he can carry a conversation, he flashes an indecisive expression, perhaps he has bad news for me. "My people are having difficulties, Kalo, helpful to speak and can read Shahnese good." He dips his head down and turns his head from side to side before continuing. "The Junpo way you have graced us, has been good for my people, you honour us with your combat ways, the way of the laser is good, we are ready to fight." Though I admire his passion his people still have a long way to go before they're fully educated and ready to become a full-fledged military corp.
Of course, I am still far from being a fully educated galactic citizen, so I suppose we will all grow together. There was one thing I am concerned about and I decide to voice such concerns. "I'm glad to hear, on another note where is Hera, you are both co-leaders of the Garudan militia and civilians?" Hera had always been a sore subject, while Itoa could remain calm and collected, given his role as the chief tactician of the Garudan tribe. Hera of course had a personal stake in despising the Wokan, her Tokron was killed, before her very eyes by the Wokan invasion force.
He furrows his face in thought, perhaps my words are too complicated, so I repeat my statement in Garudan prompting him to reply in Garudan as well. "Hera does not hold such desires to be here, the field of battle is her calling, to command men and women of Garuda is her way." A battle-hardened warrior with a personal grudge against the Wokan aboard this ship. The divide between these people will grow further unless I do something.
Before I can say anything Galitor rudely cuts into the conversation with a deep raspy voice and spoke fluent Shahnese. "Foreigner what did the savage say?" Of course, Galitor speaks up, despite my revelation of Zekton's treatment of the Garudan prisoners and his subsequent freedom from Zekton's oppressive rule. The uncultured vukwa continues to give me an attitude. I will admit minus the insectoid eyes he kind of looks like he looks very much like the fat rotund livestock creature.
Not that he is overweight he is just rounder than most Wokan I have met. Possibly since most Wokan are military and likely have a strict diet and exercise regimen. I glare back at him, trying not to let too much of my displeasure show, but still convey a fraction of it. I had learned quite a bit about Galitor, despite being high clutch born he holds little prejudice against the low clutch. Yet he is not a fan of foreigners specifically underdeveloped natives.
Before I get the chance to retort, Gem chimes in with an accusatory glare as if he siphoned all my displeasure for himself and was displaying it for all to see. "That foreigner and those savages seized this vessel, easily and without shedding a single drop of blood, show them some respect!" Gem barked ferociously at his fellow Wokan. It seems I have at least two Wokan division leaders in my corner, good to know.
Despite his derogatory words, Itoa barely flinched, likely because he did not understand Galitor's insult or did not care. The Garudan's have always been thick-skinned. Galitor huffs in annoyance glancing at me with derision before casting his gaze to Gem. Galitor then proceeds to cower under that very gaze. I should ask Gem how he does that sometimes.
I try to come up with something to say before suddenly Grisha chimes in. "I am in agreement with Gem, there is no need for hostility amongst us when there is a common enemy to be dealt with. Zekton's loyalists will be returning in force very soon." She had a point; the incoming enemies will be difficult to deal with. They have hostages and the only advantage we have is the element of surprise.