The Nature of Managed Democracy (5)

***STROHMANN NEWS***

Freedom's greetings, I'm Coretta Kelly.

Voters across the galaxy rejoice this day as Colia surrenders to the Super Earth Armed Forces. As the war against the False Federation rages on, it is a great boon to gain an extra ally from the jaws of tyranny. Super Earth knows just how hard it is to break out of years of indoctrination, but humanity is always willing to extend an open hand to those attempting to claw their way out from the depths of oppression. We shall open our arms to our new friends, who have so bravely opened their eyes and gazed upon the light of liberty. No more shall the poor citizens of Colia suffer beneath their former Federation's clutches, for Super Earth shall shepherd them into a new age of peace and prosperity. With Colia now under Super Earth control, construction of permanent Permacura factories may finally begin, producing affordable healthcare for all citizens of the free world with absolutely no side-effects.

That's Liberty's Latest, I'm Coretta Kelly.

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, Federation Fleet Command

Date [standardized human time]: October 10*, 2136*

The great doors to the ship hissed open, letting the sunlight of Aafa streak through, blinding my still-groggy eyes. Weeks of travelling through hyperspace to get to the summit had left my senses slightly off-balance, a common occurrence that came with spaceflight.

I grumbled to myself, hopefully I wouldn't trip over my own tail on my way to the podium. I had perhaps the most important speech in my life to deliver in a few hours.

In the two weeks since the Cradle's fall, the rest of the galaxy had no doubt heard the news of humanity's return, or at the very least heard enough rumours to have pieced together a narrative, no matter how nonsensical.

Nevertheless, it was my duty to provide the truth. To warn the rest of the galaxy of the danger that was now baring its teeth at us. Whatever happened after this summit, the Federation had to act. Fighting a war on two fronts against the humans and the arxur was something we couldn't do forever. Time was running out and I may just be the galaxy's last hope.

Hours passed in a blur, most of which were spent reciting my lines and thinking of my family. For Hania, I would do this. I would destroy every predator in the galaxy to avenge my sweet Hania.

The sun rose high into the sky as the summit settled into motion and before I knew it, Chief Nikonus was waving me on.

"Greetings, honoured members of the Galactic Federation," I spoke into the microphone, my voice a projection of confidence despite the bubbling pool of nervousness inside me.

"My name is Captain Sovlin of the...former Gojidi Union."

My voice quivered a bit as I added that last part in. The pain still burned fresh for what the predators did to my homeworld. I noticed several reporters muttering excitedly to themselves, evidently catching on to the word 'former'. Many of them leaned in closer, eager to hear my elaboration.

I told the assembly of the destruction of my homeworld. How Venlil Prime had spontaneously gone dark 2 months prior to the moment the Cradle had been attacked. How the humans had suddenly just appeared without warning above our planet, as if the FTL disruptors and orbital defences hadn't existed.

I described their atrocities in vivid detail, how they hurled themself at us with unrelenting savagery. How little they regarded their own lives like mindless animals. How they turned our own fire against us, burning us like the wretched taint our exterminators fought so hard against.

Several gasps echoed around the room at this drop of information.

"LIAR!" Squawked a voice from one of the front rows.

I looked at the source of the interruption and my eyes fell upon a sunset-coloured beak. The Krakotl Ambassador Jerusim was flapping his wings in righteous indignation.

"Fire is a weapon that belongs to us!" He cried. "No predator can possibly be intelligent enough to navigate its deadliness without being charred to a crisp! What you suggest is an unthinkable violation of the natural order!"

At his words, many of the members of the council members murmured in agreement.

"Perhaps the old captain's lost his mind. The stress of battle must be making him see things," the Mazic President Cupo snorted, his trunk flaring into the air.

"Is he predator diseased? Do we need to call in the exterminators?"

I clenched my teeth and claws in fury.

'Fine, you wanna do this the hard way? Then let me show you.'

Mustering what little self-control I still had left, I leaned into the microphone and spoke loudly over the din of the assembly.

"I am not lying, nor am I predator diseased. I have footage of the engagement right here, if you would like to see for yourselves."

In hindsight, perhaps showing a room full of agitated herbivores raw combat footage involving predators was a bad idea. But right now, I just wanted them to see what I saw.

Behind me, the massive holo-screen projector flickered to life as I replayed the footage from my holopad.

Brutal, visceral imagery of the predators, dressed in bulky armour with helmets that hid their forward-facing eyes and capes that trailed behind them, flashed on the screen in vivid detail. One of them depressed the trigger on a flamethrower, sending waves of purifying flame straight at a gathering of soldiers, laughing with maniacal, sadistic glee as the poor Gojids flailed around in agony.

The room exploded into panic as several Federation members made a mad stampede for the nearest exits, unable to comprehend the sheer depravity and perversion of the natural order that the predators displayed. All the while, I simply stood there numbly, watching the chaos unfold as the effect settled in.

"SILENCE!" Nikonus roared, his voice carrying across the auditorium with unnatural authority for a prey species, almost instantly freezing everyone in their places. "Have you all forgotten your places? You are at an official Federation summit, act like an upstanding member of your species!"

With an air of lingering embarrassment, the room was filled with the shuffles of people returning to their seats. Amongst the sea of movement, I noticed an eager reporter raising their hand into the air, a Farsul, who was practically bouncing on their toes as they clamoured for their question to be answered.

With a flick of my paw, a signal for them to speak, they began their interrogation.

"While this footage you've shown us is indeed horrifying, it does't answer how they managed to enter your system in the first place. How is it that an entire armada of predator ships managed to bypass your planetary defence systems completely undetected?"

The question frustrated me.

'How the brahk was I supposed to know?'

Thankfully, I was saved from answering when a kolshian scientist next to Nikonus spoke up.

"Well, about that...erm, we do have a theory on how the predators have been able to sneak past such heavily guarded defences," he began.

"You see, we believe that the humans utilise a different type of FTL travel that involves moving the space around them in order to reach their destination, rather than relying on hyperdrives to carry them over the speed of light. In other words, they don't move to their destination, they move their destination to them. This allows them to effectively 'blink' across massive distances in incredibly short amounts of time, skipping the weeks it takes for traditional hyperspace travel. Such a method of FTL travel was hypothesised by us in our early days of discovering the technology, but without a way to manipulate 'dark energy', we inevitably abandoned the project in favour of hyperspace travel."

His words settled over the crowd with a frightening effect as the assembly slowly realised what that meant.

"S-so, they can j-just, appear anywhere, anytime with no warning?" One of the attendees asked, their ears flattening in terror.

"But then that means nowhere in the galaxy is safe."

"Are we safe? Right now? What if the predators come for us right now?"

Just as it was starting to look like another stampede was going to form, Nikonus cleared his throat and spoke loudly to the crowd.

"Alright, everyone calm down. There is no need to panic over a hypothesised method in which the predators may travel. Rest assured, the Federation will protect you against the predators like it always has before. For centuries we have safeguarded this galaxy and we will do so for centuries more. If the humans do indeed possess a type of unknown technology, we will adapt to it and overcome it. So long as we stick together as a herd, no predator can stand against us."

His words seemed to have the calming effect he desired as he stepped back and looked at me. "Thank you, Captain Sovlin. If you have no more words to say to the crowd, you are dismissed."

I thanked Chief Nikonous and stepped down from the podium, walking back to my ship as reporters pushed against the fences, desperate to get one final word out of me. I brushed them off as I entered my vessel and collapsed once more on my bed.

What's done was done, now it was up to the council to decide what to do about the humans. For the sake of justice and my sweet Hania, I hoped they would make humanity's suffering an agonising one.

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