Humans were supposed to be cowards.

The Galactic Federation's species registry had them listed as a 2 of 16 on the aggression index. Our interactions with the Terran Union up until this point supported those conclusions. They had not fought any wars among themselves in centuries, and had formed a unified world government prior to achieving FTL travel. They had responded with eagerness rather than hostility to first contact, unlike many species.

Earth had resolved every dispute through diplomacy and compromise since it became an official member of the Federation. For example, a few years ago, the expansionist Xanik claimed a Terran mining colony as their territory. The Federation braced itself for a minor conflict, as they expected the humans to defend their outpost. But the humans simply shrugged and agreed to hand off the planet, for a small yearly fee. Rather than going to war, the Terrans somehow ended up as prominent trading partners for the Xanik.

There was also an incident where the paranoid Hoda'al arrested Terran ambassadors on charges of being spies. Imprisoning diplomats with zero evidence was a clear provocation to war, but the humans did nothing. They didn't even raid the facility where their representatives were being held! They simply opened backchannel negotiations with the Hoda'al and arranged a prisoner exchange, swapping a few smugglers for their people.

Thoughts on the humans varied depending on who you asked. Some in the Federation found their pacifism commendable, and appreciated their even-tempered statesmanship. Others thought that it was weakness that led them to avoid war. I was in the latter camp; the only reason not to respond to blatant insults with aggression was that they didn't have the wits or the strength for it.

When the Devourers came, the three most militaristic species in the galaxy (as per the aggression index) banded together to stand against their approach. We didn't know much about them, but we called them the Devourers since their sole mission was to drain stars of their energy. I can't tell you why they would do such a thing. Whatever their reasons, they would take one system by force, suck it dry, and move on to the next.

Our fleet, the finest the Federation had to offer, suffered heavy losses when we clashed with enemy destroyers. We fought as hard as we could, and it didn't matter. Our weapons hardly seemed to scratch their ships. It was a tough decision, but I ordered what was left of the fleet to retreat. As much as we needed to stop them, we would lose the entire armada if we stuck around any longer.

I sent out a distress signal, relaying our grim situation and pleading for reinforcements. There were other species with lesser, but still potent, militaries within the Federation. But my request was returned with silence. Not a single one of those cowards volunteered to help. Hearing of our defeat, I suppose they decided to flee and fend for themselves.

I thought we were on our own, until we detected human ships jumping to our position. How ironic, the only ones who came to our aid were the galactic pushovers. There were only five of them according to our sensors, which was not nearly enough to mount a fight. A pathetic showing, but it was more than the zero ships that had been sent by the other Federation powers.

"Sir, the Terrans are hailing us. What do they think they're gonna do, talk the enemy to death?" First Officer Blez quipped.

I heard a few snickers from my crew, but quickly shushed them. "We need all the help we can get. On screen."

A dark-haired human blinked onto the view screen. "Federation vessel, this is Commander Mikhail Rykov of the Terran Union. We are here to assist in any way possible."

I bowed my head graciously. "Thank you for coming, Commander Rykov. I am General Kilon. Please join our formation and help cover our retreat."

"Retreat?" The human commander blinked a few times, looking confused. "Our intentions are to engage and terminate the enemy."

"With five ships? All due respect, the Devourers number in the thousands, and they crushed our fleet of equal magnitude. I wouldn't expect a peaceful species like yours to understand warfare, but it's in your interest to follow our lead," I said.

Commander Rykov seemed even more confused. "You think humans are a peaceful species? What the hell? Why would you think that?"

"Well...you never fight with anyone. You resolve everything with talk. Humans are the lowest rated species on the aggression index," I replied.

"I see. The Federation has misjudged us there. Do you know why we avoid war, General?"

"Because you don't think you can win? Fear?"

The human laughed heartily. "No, it's because we know what we are. What we're capable of. And nobody's deserved that quite yet."

The idea of Terrans making ominous threats would have been a joke to me before now, but something in Rykov's tone told me he believed what he was saying with conviction. This was a clear case of delusion stemming from a lack of experience with interstellar warfare. The Devourers would make fools of the Earthlings, and punish them for their overconfidence. However, if the Commander really wanted to send his men to a slaughter, I would not stop him.

"If you insist on fighting, I certainly won't stand in your way. But know that you're on your own, we're getting out of here. What is your plan?" I asked.

"We brought a nanite bomb we developed. We've never actually used one before, since in about five percent of simulations, they don't stop with localized entities and consume all matter in the universe." Commander Rykov said this way too casually for my liking. "But, we programmed them to self-destruct after a few seconds, which will probably work. Ensign Carter, fire at the enemy in five seconds."

My eyes widened in alarm. "Wait, hold up, you just said it could destroy everything..."

The Terran flagship fired a missile before I could get in another word to stop them. At first, I thought that they had missed their mark. The projectile sailed through the Devourer fleet, not connecting with a single ship. Then, it detonated at the rear of the formation, and all hell broke loose.

Space itself seemed to shudder as an explosion tore through anything in its vicinity. The force was so powerful that our sensors could only provide an error message as measurement. At least a third of the Devourer fleet was instantly vaporized, as an improbable amount of energy and heat turned them to metal soup. There was no way any occupants of those ships lived through that.

The enemy vessels further out from ground zero survived the initial blast, though many of them sustained heavy damage. But an invisible force seemed to be slowly dissecting each of them; I could only watch in disbelief as the mighty cruisers disintegrated bit by bit. I suppose the bomb had thrown out a swarm of nanobots, which had attacked the ships' structure on a molecular level.

The Devourers hardly knew what hit them. By the time they thought to return fire, there was nothing left to return fire with. Their arsenal evaporated in a matter of seconds, and undoubtedly, their personnel suffered the same fate. Where there had once been an unstoppable army, now only stood empty space.

The humans had unleashed a wave of destruction that was unrivaled by anything I had ever seen in my military career, with just a single missile. Horror shot through my veins at the thought that they might one day turn their monstrous weapons on the Federation. There was no way to defend oneself against such diabolical creations.

The aggression index needed an update. The kind of species that would invent weapons like that was no 2. Glancing around at my crew, I saw stunned and aghast reactions that mirrored my own. If they ever became hostile, the humans represented a threat of the highest level. They could more than likely wipe out the entire galaxy without breaking a sweat.

"Now that's taken care of. You should have just invited us to the party to start with!" Commander Rykov grinned. "Tell you what, General, next time we meet, you owe us a beer."

I frowned. The humans could ask for much more than a drink if they wanted to. "Yeah, I think we can do that."

Commander Rykov terminated the call, and I watched as the Terran ships warped back into hyperspace. I was still trying to wrap my mind around the whole thing, and I wondered how I was going to put this into words for the combat report. The Federation had no idea who the Terrans truly were, but I was going to make sure they did.

And as I played the events of the day over in my mind, it clicked. I finally understood why such a powerful species would not show its hand.

The humans avoid war because it would be too easy for them to win.

Ula POV

The Federation Senate was expecting the worst when the messenger arrived.

As per galactic customs, the fastest ship was sent ahead of the fleet to provide a firsthand account of the battle to the ambassadors. The terrified look on the young Jatari ensign’s face as he entered the Senate chamber seemed to confirm everyone’s fears.

I remembered the transmission we had received just a few hours ago, detailing the grim predicament of those who had confronted the Devourers. The numbers of confirmed losses had already been hefty, and without any Federation members sending in backup, we could be looking at as much as a 90% casualty rate.

As Speaker, I had tried to persuade the mid-tier aggression species to offer assistance, but they all flatly refused. If I had the power to force them to go, I would have. We all knew about the trail of destruction the Devourers left in their wake, but we had no choice but to stop them. They would push us to the brink of extinction if we allowed them to plow through our galaxy.

There were a few odd points to the messenger’s behavior, however. As he walked up to the podium, he locked eyes with Terran Ambassador Nikki Johnson and swallowed nervously. I noticed that his hands were shaking. The Jatari were a proud, honor-driven race who had seen the horrors of war time and time again. Never before had I seen one return home looking like they’d seen a ghost. And why would his fixation be on the peaceful humans, of all races?

“Uh, hello S-Senators. I’m Ensign Telus.” The herald’s gaze had not left Ambassador Johnson. “The Devourers have been defeated. Not a single one of their ships survived.”

Surprised murmurs spread through the assemblage. I was puzzled as well; the earlier correspondence had painted a hopeless picture for our men. If there had really been such a drastic turn of events, we needed to know how it had happened. Whatever tactics the fleet had employed could be passed onto other commanders for future encounters.

A quick glance across the room revealed most of the representatives in a state of confusion. But the Terran Ambassador was smirking, a predatory glint in her eyes. There was something about her expression that unsettled me deep in my subconscious.

I leapt to my hooves, keen on restoring order. “Silence! How is this possible? Please explain.”

“Well, Madam Speaker…it was the humans. They only sent a few ships to our aid but…they built something awful.” The Ensign’s voice had dropped to hardly more than a whisper. “It was like they harnessed a supernova. Never in my life have I seen such destruction.”

Utter chaos erupted as shocked exclamations rose to a crescendo, and all heads turned toward Ambassador Johnson. I wasn’t sure I believed this account of the battle; the humans, possessing some terrible weapon capable of destroying the Devourers? It was common knowledge that they avoided war at all costs.

Xanik Ambassador Cazil laughed and raised a talon to speak. “Respectfully, the humans are not a fighting species. Savvy, cunning, greedy…they are all these things. But if they had weapons that could wipe out the Devourers, they’d be more than talkers and diplomats. They’d rule the galaxy by now.”

The Xanik were in the upper echelons of aggressive species, but also were humanity’s primary trading partner. The Terran Union had won them over with their willingness to sell anything, for a price, and despite differing philosophies on violence, the two powers had become close allies.

“You’re wrong. I saw it with my own eyes,” Ensign Telus replied. “The truth of humanity is that they are killers. They are dangerous. The General thinks we should seek their friendship, but I’m not sure I agree. I don’t trust them.”

I turned my gaze to Ambassador Johnson. “We should let the Terran representative answer. What do you have to say? Is this true?”

Ambassador Johnson sighed wearily. “Yes. It’s true. Earth has many last resort weapons stashed away. We are very good at warfare, but we try to find a different way.”

“Why did you present us with a false image of your species?” I demanded. “You speak of peace, and yet you've been hiding away the strongest weapons in the galaxy.”

“We never wished to use them,” she said. “Your aggression index: the high aggression species are often territorial and seek to conquer. If the Federation had looked into our history, you would have seen that we were once like that. We lost millions of lives in wars between our factions, and we grew tired of all that bloodshed.

Humanity has tried to be better. Our destructive, impulsive nature is still there, we just buried it deep. You see, we are the only aggressive species to have a strong sense of empathy as well. We grapple with that duality constantly. We control ourselves with rules, and for the most part, we choose good.

But we know the depths of depravity that exist. We knew that one day, someone truly evil would come along…and we would have to be worse.”

I digested her words, my mind still reeling. A war with one’s own species that had millions of casualties? Even the worst conflicts in the Jatari’s early history numbered around 200,000 dead, and they were a 15 of 16 on the aggression scale! The bloodiest war we had previously known of didn’t hold a candle to the humans’ past.

A species with that much of a propensity for violence should have killed itself off. There was no way they should be able to form a functioning society. Let alone to think that they were acting as the galactic peacemakers! It was hard to reconcile my experiences with civilized, smooth-tongued human diplomats with the vile history Ambassador Johnson had described.

No matter how much the humans claimed to be able to control their savagery, we could not trust them. A species with such a drive to violence could easily stab you in the back in a moment of anger and think nothing of it.

Honestly, if I wasn’t afraid of retaliation, I would have raised a motion to oust the Terran Union from the Federation then and there. But, even if it was playing with fire, it was probably better to have them on our side than to have them turn their artillery on us. We would have to monitor them much more closely though.

I forced a neutral expression. “You did save us from an enemy we could not beat on our own. We owe you a great debt. It will take some time for the Federation to fully consider what you have just told us, but we thank you for ending the war.”

Ambassador Johnson’s eyes hardened. “The war is not over, Speaker. We defeated one fleet, but the Devourers will send more if they are not eliminated. And they only would come back stronger. Humanity does not expect your blessing, but we do ask for your forgiveness for what we are about to do.”

“What…what are you about to do?” I asked cautiously.

“We’re going to strike their home world with antimatter bombs, no survivors. It is a permanent solution. It may not be pretty, but we don’t see any other options to put an end to the terror they subject the rest of the cluster to,” she replied.

Even the most aggressive species looked appalled at the suggestion. I noticed the ambassadors in closest proximity to the human edging away, as though they were afraid she might bite.

I shook my head fervently. “That is genocide! The Federation cannot accept the eradication of an entire species; please, let us try to negotiate a truce. We must exhaust peaceful avenues before even considering an attack like this.”

“You can’t reason with someone who only wants to destroy you. Kill or be killed.” Ambassador Johnson rose from her seat, collecting her belongings. “How many innocent species have already perished by their hands? As far as we’re concerned, it’s better them than us.”

The Terran representative exited the building, waving farewell to Ambassador Cazil as she departed. I could not fathom how any sentient could be so calm and detached at the prospect of glassing a planet, even one of a parasitic race like the Devourers.

I wondered if we should at least make some sort of attempt to stand in the humans’ way. It was unlikely we could stop them, but at least we could say we tried.

Things were simpler when we had thought they were peaceful. A part of me wished that that lie could have lasted for just a bit longer. I missed our pacifist friends already.

Kilon POV

I had feared that the humans might attack as soon as our ships entered the Sol system, but the fact that we were still here was a good sign.

The Federation Senate had narrowly voted to confront the Terrans, with Speaker Ula being one of the most ardent supporters of the motion. Even with her political pull, many representatives were on the fence about taking action. The fate that had befallen the Devourers could easily be ours as well if we provoked the humans.

Honestly, I think if it were their own species being summoned to action, the Senate would not have passed the proposal. But as always, they assumed that the Jatari, the Xanik, and the Hoda’al would do their dirty work, while they stood by and watched from the safety of their offices.

I was less than thrilled about leading this mission. After all, we were risking Federation lives to protect the very people that had sought to destroy us. While the Terrans’ solution was extreme, I could at least understand where they were coming from. But it would be dishonorable to refuse a direct order; the last thing I wanted was to be branded a traitor and a coward.

Besides, if I commanded the fleet, I would at least be level-headed enough not to charge into battle against a superior army. I wasn’t sure my cohorts, who had not witnessed human weaponry in action firsthand, would be so cautious. Especially given that most Jatari officers viewed diplomacy as an admission of weakness.

First Officer Blez glanced up from his computer as we passed the first of the outer planets. “Sir, we are almost within missile range of Earth. Should we ready our weapons?”

“Our orders are to stop them, not to attack them. If we get into a direct fight, we’re doomed,” I replied. “Let’s hope that the humans still like talking. Hail Terran Command.”

Blez opened his mouth to argue, then thought better of it. He silently input a few commands into his terminal, muttering under his breath. The few moments that the call went unanswered were nerve-wracking; I feared that the humans would simply ignore us. Relief washed over me as a familiar face blinked onto the view screen.

Commander Rykov did not look well. His black hair was disheveled, his uniform was wrinkled, and dark circles had taken up residence under his eyes. This was a far cry from the radiant and confident man who had come to our rescue yesterday. It seemed that he should be resting rather than on the bridge of a ship, but I feared pointing out his condition would cause offense.

The human officer stared into the camera, a pleading look on his face. “General. We strongly advise you to turn your ships around and stand aside.”

“I can’t do that. What you’re about to do is wrong. Intelligent life is sacred, and killing off an entire species is a crime against sentience,” I said.

“The Devourers have hardly shown that they are sapient. I’m surprised you of all people would rush to their defense,” Rykov mused. “It hasn’t even been a full day since they wiped out thousands of your ships. You and I both know if we hadn’t shown up, they would have killed all of you without a second thought.

I flinched. “Don’t remind me. For all that they’ve done, I don’t want to see an entire species slaughtered. That makes us just as bad as them. Their actions don’t make yours right.”

Commander Rykov sighed. “Well, it seems we’re at an impasse. I assume you’re going to attack us if we don’t stand down?”

“We just want to talk. You don’t have to do this. Your species has a moral code, right?” I took a deep breath, trying to collect my thoughts. “What if there are innocent people, children and civilians, on their home world?”

“Look, I don’t like what we’re about to do, but I have my orders. We don’t even know if they have civilians or if they can show emotion. “

“Exactly, we don’t know. What’s the harm in waiting, and getting more information? Don’t you want to know why they’re doing this?”

“I’d like to understand.” Rykov tilted his head, as though thinking. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to gather some intelligence. Hell, it might come in handy down the road. What would you suggest?”

“Do you think you can capture one of their ships? We need to bring one of them in alive.”

“Yeah, I think we can do that, General. What would you say to joining us in person on our flagship? We would rather stand together than as enemies.”

I weighed my options. This could easily be some sort of human trickery, luring the highest-ranking Federation officer to their headquarters just to be imprisoned. Taking me out of the picture would disrupt our fleet’s command; it was only natural to find their offer a bit suspect.

But I figured if Rykov’s intentions toward us were malicious, we wouldn’t be having this dialogue in the first place. The Terrans had the ability to knock out our entire fleet in one fell swoop, yet they had not fired on us. At any rate, I still owed the Commander a great debt for saving my life. The least I could give him was a bit of trust.

“I’d be happy to join you, Commander,” I answered.

The hint of a smile crept onto Rykov’s face. “Excellent. We’ll await your shuttle. Come alone and unarmed. Please order your ships to halt their advance and allow us passage.”

The transmission ended, and First Officer Blez immediately piped up. “Sir, you can’t seriously be thinking of going over there.”

I scowled at him, not appreciating my decisions being called into question. “I have to. It’s our only chance at talking the humans down, and it will be the first time anyone has spoken with the enemy firsthand.”

Of course, any insight I could glean into the Devourer’s nature would be priceless to the Federation. But I would be lying if I said my curiosity wasn’t personal. I delighted in the possibility of demanding their reasons myself. Mass murder was not the solution, but our foes needed to be held accountable for the losses they had inflicted.

---

Two Terran soldiers were waiting in the airlock as my shuttle docked. The pat-down they gave me felt a bit… invasive, but I suppose they just wanted to be thorough. Once they were satisfied that there were no weapons on my person, they led the way to the bridge.

Compared to Federation vessels, the Terran flagship was downright ugly on the inside. The passageways were cramped and the colors were a drab mix of gray and off-white. It was evident the humans gave little consideration to design elements, rather focusing on packing the warship with as many weapons and stations as possible. I couldn’t help but feel a bit claustrophobic as we navigated through a series of winding corridors and tight staircases.

The hallway finally opened up into a wider chamber, which was lined with rows of computer monitors and a holographic display at the center. My first thought was that I had never seen such a disorderly command center in my life. Dozens of personnel were bustling about the place, tablets in hand, shouting at each other. How could they even function amidst such noise and chaos?

Commander Rykov was at the heart of this madness, studying a projection of the Devourer fleet. Two officers stood by his side; from what I overheard, it seemed that they were providing rough estimates of enemy capabilities and reviewing a plan. I grimaced and rubbed my forehead as I walked over to them. A headache was already setting in from the commotion.

“Welcome aboard, General.” Rykov didn’t look away from the holomap for a second, so I wasn’t quite sure how he spotted my approach. “We’ll be leaving in a few moments. I trust you won’t give us any trouble. Sit back and enjoy the show.”

“Alright, everyone to your stations!” Rykov’s voice raised to a booming shout, carrying over the background chatter. “Set course for System 1964-A. Weapons systems on high alert, boarding party stand by.”

In an instant, all conversation ceased, and the crewmates scrambled to their posts. A silent, attentive team replaced the mayhem in a flash. I marveled at how drastic of a shift it was, watching as they executed their assignments with trained efficiency. The duality of humanity was as evident in their day-to-day operations as it was in their martial policy.

A familiar sinking feeling clasped my stomach as we slipped into hyperspace. There was a strange rattling noise echoing from the walls, suggesting that the ship was pushing the upper limits of its warp speed. The human craft leapt back to real space in a matter of minutes, on the fringes of Devourer territory.

“Our sensors are detecting a formation of 16 ships on patrol trajectory, within weapons range, sir,” a young officer called out.

Commander Rykov nodded. “Very good. I want all of the ships but one destroyed before they know what hit ‘em. We disable the last and board her. We need systems online so EMPs are off the table, stick with conventional weapons. Let’s go.”

I watched out the viewport as hundreds of missiles sailed toward the fleet. An indicator flashed on the display tracking the target locks; it seemed that the computer was remotely piloting the weapons. The patrol ships pivoted around to face us, firing kinetic rounds in an attempt to destroy the projectiles. Their bullets connected with a few missiles, but with only seconds to react, there was no way to take out all of them.

The human explosives punched through the metallic Devourer hulls like they were paper. The force of multiple, simultaneous detonations ripped them down to their skeletons, tossing deformed metal in all directions. The only ship that remained was the straggler at the rear of the formation.

A single projectile clipped the last cruiser, tearing a gash in its side. There was no way the vessel could jump away while venting atmosphere. A human transport approached the crippled ship. It was unclear what the boarding party would face inside, but after the unfettered might I had witnessed again, I had confidence that any Devourer resistance would be put down with little trouble.

Rykov tapped his foot impatiently as his men swept the craft. “Team Leader, status report please.”

“Sir, we found two unconscious enemy combatants on board. Life support appears to have been shut off.” A gruff male voice crackled over the speaker. “We didn’t hit their computer or their power. They did this to themselves.”

“What?! Attempting suicide rather than being captured…” The Commander trailed off. “Get them back to your ship at once. Try to resuscitate them.”

“Yes, sir. We’re on it.”

I frowned in confusion. Why would the Devourers switch off their life support? Perhaps it was about honor, but it made no sense to opt for slow suffocation over a simple bullet to the brain.

I had to hope that the human medics were as proficient as their soldiers. There were so many questions to ask, but dead men wouldn’t give us any answers.