-A.C.

Adverb (Calender)

Abbreviation for After Commonwealth: used in the Commonwealth calendar when referring to a cycle after the destruction of the final Shelgol Swarm and the induction of seven signatory species into the Terran Commonwealth.

With the ratification of the Interspecies Bill of Rights by the Commonwealth Senate in the year 3 A.D. and the synchronization of all new member calendars, this became the new standard cycle measurement. After the Great Betrayal of 28 A.C., the continued usage of After Commonwealth spurred numerous debates in the Neo Commonwealth Senate… Neo Commonwealth Almanac, 3rd edition.

Yiel'oh Homeworld, Year 38 A.C. Earth year: 2376 A.D.

The Yiel’oh pup glanced curiously at the large stone sculpture in front of her, seeing it for the first time. Her progenitors had deemed her old enough to accompany them to this cycle’s Day of Remembrance ceremony, which they attended every year since she was weaned. As she nuzzled against her mother’s chest, she could feel her two hearts quicken, and her breathing became shallow. Soon, a low rumble of grief arose from within her mother’s chest, and it was joined by and harmonized with her father’s.

The grieving dirge had begun.

Sometime later, when the grieving dirge had concluded, her progenitors and many others slowly trotted around the statue in the traditional Yiel’oh funeral procession, eight times in one direction, then eight times in the other. Afterwards, each one left a gift for the honored dead in front of the plaque bearing their names. Some left food to nourish their spirits. Others left handmade jewelry and homespun clothes so that their spirits may adorn themselves in the afterlife in comfort. Most left pictures of their families, and all silently prayed for the Life Giver to watch over the saviors. Every prayer ended with the same words: “We live for them, for they died for us.”

The pup watched all this from where she was lying in the shade under the colonnade that surrounded the memorial. Looking once more at the sculpture, the pup studied it. It showed a small herd of Yiel’oh progenitors clutching their pups and crouching. Surrounding them was a larger group of bipedal beings, some of them covering the Yiel’oh with their own bodies, while others were facing outward with weapons pointed at an unseen danger. While the Yiel’oh faces were full of terror and hopelessness, the two-legged beings bore visages of grim determination and defiance, as if daring the unseen danger to challenge them.

Who are they, the pup wondered?

Seeing the herd starting to disperse, the pup got up and trotted over to her progenitors. They each took one of her third hands into theirs, and they started trotting towards home together. After a while, the pup could not wait any longer and asked her progenitors, “Why do you come here every cycle? Who are the two legs in the statue?”

The mother and father glanced at each other. Mother shook her head in the negative, but father answered, “She will reach the decacycle soon; she is old enough to know. Better she finds out from us than from her instructor at the academy.”

Mother didn’t respond, but the sadness that overtook her features broke the pup’s two hearts and made her almost not want to know. Almost. Father trotted them over to a grassy area and told them all to lay down and get comfortable.

Mother started to braid the pup’s mane, a habit she had when she was nervous or worried. Deftly, the four fingers of each hand started twisting the pup’s jet-black mane into long, narrow strips while the pup looked expectantly at her father to begin.

“Little one,” Father began, “what I am about to tell you is a story of great wars, of terror and death, of bravery beyond compare, and of a great betrayal.” Father’s eyes, filled with deep anguish, found the pups and stayed there. “This is not a good story, little one; there is no happy ending, only anguish and shame that you will carry in your soul for the rest of your life.” The pup, looking into her father’s eyes, was suddenly unsure if she wanted to really know. Feeling her mother braiding her mane gave her sudden strength, and she was determined to know. She just sat there, looking into her father’s eyes, waiting.

With a sigh, her father began the story.

“Many cycles ago, when we first journeyed into the firmament and started exploring, we encountered a great spacefaring civilization known as the Interstellar Hegemony. They were a great power, dedicated to the preservation of scientific knowledge and the common defense of their member species, who numbered in the dozens. Seeing how we learned the secret of faster than light travel, they invited us to join their organization and to reap the benefits of membership.”

“But aren’t we in the Commonwealth?” The pup interrupted.

“We are now, little one. Be silent!” father commanded the pup.

With an exasperated frown, the father continued, “We, being a young race, were overjoyed at joining such a large and prosperous herd in space. Our technology advanced, medical knowledge was transferred to us that cured most diseases and delayed aging, and other amazing changes were rapidly realized by our herd. They even upgraded our defensive technology and weapons, despite the last interstellar conflict being over 1,000 cycles ago. Though, like most of the other species, we are ill-suited for war being descended from herbivores, we still gladly accepted the technology onto our ships. With this infusion of technology and science, we continued to explore and grow our herd on many colonies.”

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“This peace and prosperity continued for many cycles, until the Swarm arrived.”

The pup felt the change in her progenitors when he said the word swarm. Her mother’s fingers stopped braiding her hair momentarily, then continued. Her father quickly made a warding gesture the pup had never seen before and then continued the story.

“The Swarm burst into the outskirts of Hegemony space from the void between the arms of our galaxy, with over 700,000 vessels. The smallest swarm ship was five times the mass of the largest Hegemony Dreadnought, while their largest vessels were small planetoids converted into massive fortresses with FTL engines added to them. Life sign readings taken by a nearby sensor buoy indicated that there were tens of billions of lifeforms amongst the swarm.”

The pup cowered slightly, feeling the disquiet within her father while he was narrating this great disturbance, but not quite understanding. “Alarmed, the Hegemony Defense Command started the process of re-activating ancient, mothballed warships and hastily called up and assembled all the member species self-defense flotillas.”

“Thrice, diplomatic envoys broadcasting messages of peace and friendship were sent to the binary star system where the swarm congregated after their sudden arrival to determine their intentions, but the envoy ships just disappeared after arriving, never to be heard from again.”

Father looked at Mother, hesitating to continue. She continued braiding the pup’s hair and avoided his look. Resignation crossed his features, and he continued.

“A short time later, we received a holo transmission from the binary star system. The carrier wave was so powerful that it brute-forced its way into every transmission, every device, and every viewer all over the Hegemony. It showed our envoys being... ” Father’s voice trembled, and his lips quivered, and he seemed unable to continue. He looked at his mate once more, and she quietly whispered, “Within us they live, for we remember.”

Father seemed to gain courage from what Mother said, and he continued.

“The holo showed the three envoys and their ship crews tied down on a long table being slowly carved apart while alive, and the beings that we would come to know as the Shelgol seated around the table began eating their victim’s flesh in front of them. They seemed to relish both the flesh and the screams from the envoys and the crew, and they were chanting a word that the translator categorized as meat or spoils.”

The pup gasped and covered her face, trembling. Her mother stopped what she was doing and embraced the pup from behind, her warmth and strong arms making her feel safe.

Her father waited a bit, and then gently asked the pup if she wanted him to continue.

"Yes," the pup quietly answered, looking again at her father’s face. Her mother gave one last squeeze and then resumed braiding the pup’s mane.

“The Hegemony Parliament held sessions with the Defense Command and member governments and drew up a plan of action to confront the Swarm. Sadly, the lack of conflict for over 1,000 cycles and the predominant membership being comprised of peaceful herbivores meant that the Hegemony was ill prepared to engage in war. There were only three known species that had any martial ability remaining from their evolution, those being the Khotak, the Zel, and the... exiles.”

The pup knew of the Felid Khotak and the Canid Zel, but who were the exiles?

Her father sensed the coming question and said, “The exiles are humans, the two legs in the statue.”

The pup felt her mother shaking behind her, and when she turned around, her mother had her face in her hands, sobbing gently. The pup snuggled into her mother’s chest and held her. She looked at her father and was shocked to see him looking down at the grass, with tears freely flowing off his face to the ground. Her father had never cried in front of her before!

“Who are these humans to make them so sad when I’ve never even heard of them before?” the pup thought to herself.

After a few moments, her father collected himself and continued with the story.

“First, a little history. Twenty cycles after we had joined the Hegemony, our herd had become great explorers and scientists, pushing further and further into the firmament in pursuit of wisdom and knowledge. Being a young race, we had the energy and zeal to brush aside the calcified bounds of Hegemony science and were eager to take on the mantle of pioneers."

"The Hegemony Exploration Committee was supportive of our efforts but adamant that we were to avoid a certain area of space within the Orion Spur. The exclusion zone encompassed a radius of ten light years, with a main sequence yellow dwarf G-type star in the center. When we asked why this sector was off limits, we were told to follow protocol or face sanctions.”

The pup got angry hearing this, even though she didn’t understand. But she did understand galloping freely in the fields and couldn’t imagine someone telling her she couldn’t anymore. “That was a mistake, little one, for nothing makes a Yiel’oh more likely to do something than being told not to, right?” The pup brayed, knowing how many times she did things she wasn’t supposed to just because her progenitors told her not to.

“That’s what I thought," her father replied. “Now where was I? Oh yes, so naturally, our exploration division sent a long-ranged scout to the outskirts of the exclusion zone, only to find that there were automated sensor buoys placed by the Hegemony all around the ten-light-year sector. They were of a design at least fifty cycles of age, in ill repair, and easily manipulated by our scientists to erase any evidence of our presence there.

We did not enter the sector, but all our sensor and emissions detection protocols from our scout ship were directed towards the center of the sector. We immediately started getting data indicating that an advanced civilization was thriving there from the returns our sensors were harvesting. Our curiosity was piqued, and so we started sending messages.”

The pup was beside herself in excitement, despite knowing this was a sad story.

“What happened, father?” The pup yelled out.

“The humans answered.”