Nineteen years prior to the first contact between humanity and the Yiel'oh
Larit, Hegemony Capital, 2316 A.D.
Hegemony Security Council Meeting-Docket H47
The five members of the Integration Committee sat around an oblong Ellaca wood table, impassively listening to the Director of Intelligence as he presented the results of the annual expansion projections. “It is my assessment that the Yiel’oh are prime candidates for preliminary integration, and I recommend that we accelerate our timetable.” The Director of Intelligence concluded.
“Threat assessment?” Hissed one of the Khotak Committee members.
The Qhin Intelligence Director involuntarily flinched at the hiss and responded, “Level Two, honored one.” The director quickly looked up, baring his throat in a proper display of submission. The committee members all quietly conferred in low tones, with only the occasional hisses and growls being heard by the Qhin Director, who kept his throat bared.
After a few moments, the Khotak committee members all nudged each other with their heads, indicating that a consensus was reached.
“Begin integration immediately. See to it that the proper orders are issued to my underlings and wait outside.” Hissed the Khotak in charge of Xeno Affairs. The Qhin Director lowered his head back down. “At once, Honored One.” He backed away ten paces and exited the chamber.
The Khotak in charge of Xeno Affairs then started speaking. “We should disembowel him; I have lost confidence in his abilities after his failure to properly assess the threat of the Human Commonwealth.”
“And will you do his job after you have spilled his entrails, Minister Jarlik?” Jarlik turned his yellow eyes to Minister Shalish, who posed the question. “The runt of my litter could do a better job. This is an egregious oversite on your part.” Shalish hissed and extended his claws, his hackles rising. Jarlik responded in kind.
“Enough!” growled the chairman, gouging the tabletop with his protracted claws. “Sit back down, or I will rip out both of your throats!” Jarlik and Shalish both sat down and retracted their claws, hackles still raised.
The chairman pointed a clawed finger at Shalish. “Jarlik is correct. You are the Minister of Military Affairs, and your underling failed to properly categorize the human threat assessment. That failure is yours as well.” Shalish swished his tail nervously, remaining quiet.
“Minister Shalish, what was the initial threat assessment your underling provided for the humans three cycles ago?” The chairman asked. Shalish stood and answered, “Level Four, Chairman.”
“Level Four.” The chairman repeated. “Please clarify what that means for the Committee, Minister Shalish.”
Shalish hiss-cleared his pharynx before he began. “Threat level is determined by a few factors, including fleet size, composition, defensive capabilities, and firepower index. All of these are compiled and fed into a formula that then provides a threat level.”
“Thank you for that concise explanation, Minister. Now, please tell the committee what threat level you would label the Hegemony?
“Level Ten, Chairman,” Shalish answered.
“Level Ten.” The chairman repeated. “Is there any level higher than that?”
“No, Chairman.” Shalish replied, “There has not been a Level Ten encountered yet in this galaxy.”
The chairman looked around at the other committee members and then resumed his questioning. “Minister Shalish, how many active warships do we have currently deployed?”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Shalish thought for a moment and replied, “2,346 warships are currently active.”
“And our reserve fleet?" The chairman asked.
“One moment, Chairman.” Shalish pulled out a pad from his tunic and fiddled with it. “7,612 ships are currently in reserve status.”
“Just under 10,000 ships. How many ships do the humans have, Minister?” The chairman asked. “512 warships, Chairman.” Shalish’s tail slinked down in between his legs. He knew what the next question would be. “And what is the correct threat level for humans, Shalish?” The chairman now stared at him with unblinking eyes.
“Level Seven, Chairman.” Shalish answered, looking away from the chairman’s dominating stare. The chairman took advantage of the opening and leapt across the table, clamping onto the back of Shalish’s neck with his 3-inch canines and severing his spinal cord instantaneously. He opened his jaws, letting the body fall, and stood there, watching Shalish’s last involuntary body spasms until they subsided. The chairman licked the back of his hand and used it to wipe the blood away from his jaws.
“Get that director back in here. Now.” The chairman ordered, sitting back down in his seat.
A few moments later, the Qhin director was back in front of the committee. Carefully avoiding looking at the corpse of his superior lying on the ground in front of him, he bared his neck in proper submission.
The chairman stared at the director with narrowed eyes. “Shalish has paid the price for your failure. Explain to this Committee how humans, with only 500 ships, are a Level Seven threat.”
The Qhin Director lowered his head, pulled a data pad out of his stomach pouch, and started accessing his files. “Part of the problem, honored ones, is that the formula relies heavily on the number of ships as the primary basis of threat level. This is a fatal flaw, as the formula operates on the historical trend of most species being peaceful or having limited martial abilities.” The director took two steps back and placed his pad on the floor. Above it appeared a large holographic display with controls that the director started manipulating.
Images and video started scrolling across the display, showing humans fighting wars across the centuries. Massive land and naval battles, air battles with thousands of fighters, and the bombing of entire cities all scrolled across the screen in a nonstop progression through the last 300 years of human history.
Space battles followed, showing human ships fighting each other with exceptional skill, laying traps and ambushes, and ramming each other when out of weapons. Planetary assaults were shown next, with massive carriers disgorging thousands of fighters and bombers while shuttles streamed out of troopships carrying thousands of elite drop troopers.
“The humans are warriors, honored ones. They have been at peace for the last eighty cycles since they formed their Commonwealth, but they are an intrinsically war-like species. This, coupled with their large population, is why they are a Level Seven threat.” The director manipulated some more controls, and a diagram of a Commonwealth Warship came up with highlighted sections and technical details.
“Their shield and weapon technology are a generation ahead of ours, if not more. With this technological advantage and their skills of war, I estimate that one human ship can defeat four Hegemony ships of the same class, an unacceptable loss ratio.” The director turned off the holographic display and bared his neck, sure that he was about to die.
Jarlik was the first one to speak. “It is unacceptable to allow such a threat to exist. They breed like field voles, with no concern for genetic purity. They even allow their defectives and those too old to contribute to continue living.”
The chairman ignored Jarlik's statement and gave the director a baleful glance. “You will capture a human warship and have it brought to Larit for analysis. Failure to complete this task will result in the forfeiture of your life. You have three lunar cycles. Get out of my sight.” The Qhin director bowed deeply and walked back ten paces before he turned and exited the chamber, breathing a sigh of relief when he finally crossed the threshold. He will live, at least for today.
The chairman then turned to another committee member, Ambassador Tilkas. “You will go back to that filthy habitat in the Gliese system and continue putting pressure on the humans. We cannot declare war, for that will cause dissension among our membership. Use all means at your disposal to antagonize them. I want them already incensed by the time we steal their ship; perhaps they will declare war on us and we can finally rid ourselves of a potential enemy with cause.”
The chairman got up and looked at each committee member. “We alone know the terrible menace our ancestors fled. We cannot tolerate any species that will not accept our supremacy and guidance. Our continued expansion is the only way we can ensure the survival of our species. When the Shegol Swarm arrives in this galaxy, our only hope will be to let them feed on our membership and flee. The Khotak are all that matters.”
The chairman looked at Shalish’s corpse once more. “Cut off his head and send it to the director as a reminder not to fail me.”
“This docket is closed."