Memory transcription subject: Onso, Yotul Technical Specialist
Date [standardized human time]: March 25, 2137
The lasers from the planetary defenses gave the Kolshians no quarter, as humanity ramped up its efforts against the shadow fleet. While the Arxur were getting eviscerated by the higher quality drones, we took it upon ourselves to direct our allies. The Sapient Coalition, who’d been distracting the Dominion so the Duerten could go after the Commonwealth, joined the avians in whaling on the enemy with everything they had. UN automatons mobilized from beside the moon, while the Federation was preoccupied with the frenzied grays. More of our drones swooped in to reinforce them, coming from the far side of the planet, where our foes’ fleet was capsizing.
Dominion ships had fallen in with Ilthiss, and were meandering toward our half of the globe; Yotul Technocracy vessels stationed over there took charge of hunting down the last stragglers. Our warship, meanwhile, fired off plasma shots and every mini-missile we had left, enjoying our cozy spot out of the firing lines. Even as isolated Arxur near our engagement floundered, they were hellbent on issuing parting gifts—that meant every missile or close-range kinetic they could throw against Kolshian metal. No algorithm could escape the quantity of weapons firing all around our enemy. The shadow fleet numbers were ticking down like sand in an hourglass.
I was transfixed by the viewport, as far-reaching particle beams cut through Kolshian vessels with an invisible paw. The Dominion had comprised close to half of the enemy contingent here, so flipping their ship count alone put us on even numerical odds. The planetary defenses were built to tear any invading foes to shreds, which meant they could smite thousands of Aafa’s defenders until they were removed from play. The enemy had no chance to take the complexes offline; we were really doing it! I wasn’t sure the shadow fleet could fend off the assault even if the UN, the SC, the Technocracy, and the Duerten Shield ships were taken out of the equation.
The Arxur are the miracle reinforcements we needed, here all along. It wasn’t worth the risk of provoking Betterment before, but now was the opportune moment to flip the grays—however humanity achieved that, it was a Ralchisend.
I perked my ears up. “Sir, I’m sure you know, but we should take precautions with our manned vessels. We need as many ships like ours intact as possible to occupy Aafa; it’s ideal if this doesn’t turn into a two-way bloodbath.”
“Right on. I’m going to the ground, when we end this fight, to find out what happened to Slanek. I don’t know if you want to come with me, but you ain’t got to. There’s no telling what we’re walking into,” Tyler replied.
“I wouldn’t let you bumble off on your own. After their ordeal, we’ll have to see if Sovlin and company are up for another ground excursion; they could be worn out. Might need some shuteye.”
“Well, this battle’s been ongoing for a lot of fucking hours. We’re all tired, but we can rest when the Federation no longer exists as an entity. Any ideas for how we help kill the ones up here, quick and easy?”
I gestured toward the sea of explosions, as the Kolshians were bombarded by thousands of munitions. “I say we sit back and watch the show. Is this what ‘fireworks’ are like on Earth? I see why you said it’s beautiful.”
“This is a fine light show, but spectating ain’t really seizing the opportunity, Onso. I thought you wanted to make them pay.”
“Well, I also want to make it back to Leirn, and see you and all the others on a return flight to Earth. We can still kick their ass from here. It just takes a little imagination.”
“I’ll bite. What’s your play?”
“Remember on the submarine, with the torpedoes…how they went past the enemy and looped back? Why don’t we try that with our missiles? With the abundance of stimuli right now, the Kolshian drones might see them as off-target—less warheads would be deflected.”
Tyler tapped my screen. “Forward your suggested pathing to weapons. I’ll loop everyone into the picture.”
Proud of myself for improvising that idea mid-conversation, I began passing along targeting vectors to weapons. The missiles could have new instructions transmitted to them mid-flight, coordinates I’d have standing by for the humans to send them doubling back. There were still sixty thousand active shadow fleet ships, despite their enormous losses. While that count was much lower than our combined force, we had to take them down before they could land a counter-punch. The flipped Dominion ships were going to be a memory in the next few minutes. That meant we’d bear the enemy’s full attention soon, if we couldn’t dial up the pressure.
Plus, the racist old Gojid will be back any minute. I don’t want him to get a word in, questioning my skills in this station.
It was as if the thought of that former Federation captain summoned him. I could hear the clicking of claws on the floor behind me, the methodical plodding of Sovlin’s feet; however, the light strikes of boots belonged to a single pair, and it wasn’t the commanding thuds of Carlos’ bulky form. Samantha looked unusually dispirited, the standard sneer wiped from her face. The Gojid’s haughty air was also missing, replaced by his claws curling into a ball with rage. I drew in a sharp breath, as I put two and two together about what happened on the moon. While I hadn’t known Carlos well, he had always been a kind-hearted presence on the bridge.
Tyler’s mouth parted with sorrow, as his bushy eyebrows slanted downward. “How bad is it?”
“Carlos isn’t coming back,” Sovlin said, in a voice that lacked tonality. He squeezed his eyes shut, as if to bury his emotions. “Tell me the planetary defenses made a difference. If we didn’t have a chance, our…whole mission was for nothing.”
I placed my tail on his wrist for a brief second. “Those lasers killed at least ten thousand of the shadow fleet ships. I’ll tell you: revenge, it didn’t make me feel as good as I thought it would…but you’re wired differently. Turn toward the viewport, and watch the end of the Federation. I came up with a damn good idea for our missiles.”
“You have lots of good ideas, Onso. There’s no need to prove yourself to anyone.”
“Um, who are you and what have you done with Sovlin?”
Samantha’s eyes landed on me. “I’ll tell you what he won’t. Sovlin agreed not to call you a primitive. He told me he was proud to work alongside such a bright-eyed ‘taushana.’”
My tail snapped away from the Gojid’s arm. “The fuck did you just say?”
“It was a joke, but it’s not funny anymore,” the Gojid sighed. “I don’t have the heart to mess with you.”
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“That’s not messing with me. That’s crossing a fucking line. The only reason I’m not dropping you, military law be damned, is because you’re suffering from Carlos. You ever say that word again, and I’ll rearrange your facial features the way you did to Marcel.”
Tyler glowered at Sovlin. “Then I’ll throw you into another cabinet for good measure. But I’m gonna cut you some slack, and assume you weren’t in your right mind ‘cause of what happened to Carlos; it’s a damn tragedy. I liked that guy. He had his whole life ahead of him.”
“I’m sorry,” Samantha grumbled. “I didn’t know there was anything wrong with that word.”
The Gojid slumped his shoulders. “I just wanted to get under Onso’s skin. For what it’s worth, I only took the time to even research Leirn culture because I like him.”
“That’s enough on this topic for now, but you’re gonna hear why slurs are real fucked up later,” Tyler scolded. “I don’t want to spit on Carlos’ memory with this bullshit now, ‘cause it ain’t the right time. Also, I don’t wanna miss the shadow fleet getting blown the fuck up for your bullshit. My best friend’s ideas are gonna wreck those ships!”
If anyone else had called me that charged term for Rinsians, I would’ve resolved this issue on the spot. However, my opinion was that Sovlin was sincere in viewing it as playful banter, without understanding how it was far beyond acceptable. It was difficult to summon anger when the Gojid looked so devastated by Carlos’ demise. I was forced to consider how easy it would be for any one of us to bite the dirt. After losing one of our station’s personnel, it drilled home the risk we’d be undertaking landing on Aafa. I tried to shake the thought of our peril, but I knew, now more than ever, that I was responsible to help protect our group. The pledge I’d made to my best friend wasn’t one I’d back out on, no matter how much I’d love to stay up here.
What I did know was that Sovlin and Samantha were committed to see this all the way through as well. While we hadn’t asked them, I could tell they intended to head to Aafa’s surface with us, as soon as the shadow fleet was eliminated. It was difficult to muster up my old exuberance, following such heavy news, but I did want to burn the Federation’s fall into my memory. Years of resentment for the aliens who stole our culture and made a mockery of my species led up to today. Humanity needed one more spike of enemy casualties, and the threat of Kolshian control returning would be gone. The primates’ arrival had given us a chance at being our true selves again.
The missiles are away, and sailing wide of their targets. Let’s see if the underwater tactics translate…if we can deliver the final punch. I’m ready for this all to be over; I’ve seen and done too many things that risked my welfare.
The stakes of this moment weren’t lost on any of the binocular-eyed faces in the room; the Terrans had endured a great deal, in such a short timeframe. Much like the species who’d suffered under Federation rule for centuries, humanity had their worldview flipped upside-down after first contact. I knew what it felt like to be treated as a primitive, but the burden of being viewed as a monster, unfit to exist, seemed worse. They’d been staring down the potential extinction of their species for many sleepless nights. As the explosives began to snake back toward the shadow fleet, I echoed the Duerten commander’s wish that the Earthlings could win and find closure.
The enemy seemed mystified by the explosives passing them, as they cleaned up the last of the Arxur. Particle beams were cutting down hundreds of Kolshians, from far-side UN drones closing in on them. The Duerten Shield was flying with senseless aggression, not giving the bastards time to process what the missiles were up to; our armada badgered Commonwealth marks with plasma beams from afar. Lasers scored instant kills from the complexes that Carlos had lost his life to bring into our possession. When thousands of warheads sent from an array of Terran ships doubled back in a flash, the shadow fleet was too overwhelmed to respond.
“Here we go!” Tyler declared, a grin of schadenfreude on his features. He must’ve been telling the truth about sharing my desire for payback, back on Leirn. “This is gonna be some flashy fireworks, Onso!”
I was mesmerized alongside the blond-haired human, as explosions rocked the shadow fleet. The hits landed in close succession, encouraging the Sapient Coalition to send follow-up missiles. Debris from the enemy detonations struck their own allies, as thousands of drones crumbled against a new tactic and sensory overload. It was now that the nearest human vessels swept in for the kill, going all-out for the finish. With the numerical advantage on our side, UN automatons found the surest way to eliminate the shadow fleet. They rammed themselves into surviving Kolshian vessels, with guns blazing on approach.
Planetary defenses had their pick of the few remaining survivors, sniping enemies without the need to recharge. Meanwhile, Ilthiss’ remaining band had arrived from the other side of the globe; the Arxur chased after the shadow fleet, hungry for revenge after the Kolshians wiped out their comrades on this half. Particle beams were still dissecting enemies, some from Technocracy ships that were hurrying to aid us. My disbelieving eyes stared at the sensor readout, as our flurry of threats made quick work of the few thousand enemies that remained, after the missiles and the UN’s own kamikazes. It was difficult to find hostile indicators on the screen.
Control of Aafa is ours, just like that. As long as the Duerten Shield will uphold their bargain about glassing the Kolshians and the Arxur will let us do the “raiding”, it’s time to start gearing up to head planetbound.
I scrutinized my readout for the decisive moment, and wagged my tail with enthusiasm when it arrived. “The shadow fleet has been eliminated from the orbital vicinity. It’s over—humanity has control of the Federation’s heart. We won!”
Captain Monahan didn’t quiet the cheers and applause, as my shouted announcement reached the ears of the crew. Humans embraced each other, with forward-facing gazes that watered with emotion. Tyler clapped his hand on my back, with a bit too much force. Samantha reached out for her fellow guard, to find he wasn’t there; she finally let the tears overflow, while shooting brief glances toward Sovlin. My gaze hardened with resolution, since I knew what I said wasn’t entirely true.
It wasn’t over. What came next was uncovering the truth about how the shadow fleet operated, to ensure they weren’t hiding out somewhere in space. If we discovered the origins of the conspiracy along the way, that would finally close the case on why the Kolshians were doing this. I didn’t care what their reasons were, but humanity did; Tyler mentioned something about recording history to avoid it happening again in the future. Assuming we were able to land safely, the United Nations still had to reckon with the fate of Aafa…and the entire galaxy.
Tyler pursed his lips, once the celebrations settled down. “Alright, we ain’t breakin’ out the champagne yet. Anyone who’s heading to the surface, follow me to the hangar. We’ll get a briefing there on everything we need to know, and any intel on the shadow caste that might help, then we’re going. No time like the present. Everyone else, watch out for enemy stragglers and reinforcements. Intel says that was all the ships they had, but we can’t afford to get blindsided. Now who’s with me?”
“I’m coming with you,” Sovlin said.
Samantha bobbed her shoulders. “I haven’t shot enough Kolshians for what happened out there. Let’s go.”
“Glad we’re all sticking together. Let’s just be careful for any spiteful traps they set for us down there,” I growled.
Tyler bared his teeth. “Yep, the way I heard it, all human soldiers will be wearing gas masks. I’m a red meat guy—don’t want to be cured.”
“Red meat?” Sovlin wrinkled his nose with utter disgust, a trace of his normal attitude surfacing. “You mean, blood-soaked?”
“Nah, I’m talking about the color of their flesh, my dude!”
“Which is determined by how much oxygen is held in the muscles,” I added, with a tail lash of mischief.
The Gojid flailed his claws. “Why the fuck do you know that?! I didn’t need to think about that, Onso! I mean, Protector, are you getting a doctorate in predation?”
“I know many things. You’d be amazed what reading actual words on paper can teach you.”
Tyler smirked. “Something tells me Sovlin doesn’t want knowledge about our culture. Why don’t we resume the discussion about meat eating on the ride down?”
“I’d rather not,” Sovlin spat. “Just walk, predator.”
My exchange partner snickered to himself; it was clear that our orbital victory had lifted everyone’s spirits, except for the sullenly silent Sam. We needed to find a new normal without Carlos, so we could achieve success on our mission. As I marched toward the hangar bay, I considered how our stint on Aafa might play out. Humanity was likely taking its first actions as the default leaders of the galaxy. While I was grateful for how differently they treated aliens from the Federation, I hoped that they would continue to uphold a moral example in this new future.