It has been a few months since our last little chat with the people of the Eternal Kingdom, and everything has been quiet; even from the spooks we dropped off, there hasn't been a word. The biggest thing to happen is that the construction crews created a refueling station next to the gas giant within the system. Lucky for us, the spinning ball of gas is largely composed of elemental hydrogen, meaning very little refining or work is needed to feed our fusion reactors.
I guess calling it just a refueling station is incorrect, as it is a ring of metal and composite surrounding one of the smallest moons orbiting the gas giant. This station also contains ammo manufactories and other production facilities with drone ships dedicated to feeding it materials harvested from the other moons, nearby asteroids, and the upper atmosphere of the gas giant. It also contains within it multiple farming facilities growing fruits, vegetables, and large aquaculture facilities, letting us have nice seafood dinners in a few months. All of the scientists were transferred to this facility, and apparently the ships that held back a system away dropped off extra diplomatic and scientific personnel. Supposedly, everything is nice and new there, but I haven't found time to go and visit.
The construction vessels also left this system to the fallback one that has been renamed The Fantastico system, because of our alien friends being rather fantastical. I have yet to be told exactly what's being built there to my great frustration, but based on it requiring two extra construction vessels that put a ring around a moon, no matter how small it is, means it is an absolute gigastructure. Most likely being a Dyson plate and something for the Dyson construct to power or interact with. It also grants us a better foothold in this part of space, too.
I am doing my normal rounds in the bridge of the Catfish when a sensor officer gets my attention, notifying me,
"Sir! We have dozens of contacts. They just popped into the system, definitely Eternal Kingdom ships due to the burst of radiation we picked up."
I purse my lips and order,
"All hands to battle stations. I want everyone ready to rock."
With a single thought, the order is sent to the entire fleet, and a warning alarm sounds throughout the Catfish, warning everyone to get inside an EVA suit just in case we have to vent atmosphere for combat. I slip into my suit and stand above my workstation, watching the preparations for possible combat. I order multiple observation drones to be deployed along the path the alien ships are travelling, and the recon probes that warned us of this appearance spin their cameras onto the incoming vessels, which reveals them to absolutely not be a peaceful fleet.
Dozens of the huge masonry ships, lined with hundreds of those beam weapons and supporting them, are an equal if not greater number of those wooden-looking vessels. They move in a battle-line formation towards their planet. I assume this is just a show of power, them letting us know that this planet belongs to them, since it does, as we haven't annexed it. This was expected, but we also won't let them drive us off unless they give a good reason.
I watch as the ships form a ring around the planet at the equator as equally spaced as they can be, and just hold that orbit. To me, it looks like a defensive ring, so I guess I was correct in my assumption. So it is a waiting game to see what they say and....
All of the Eternal Kingdom ships commit a full broadside against the planet. Brilliant beams of light streak through the atmosphere and set fire to the world below. Forests begin to cook and small bodies of water boil off as the intense beams devastate the world below. The ships continue this bombardment of their own world for over an hour as it is noted that the capital city is entirely spared by the relentless terror from the skies.
I stare in horror as scenes from my life long ago pass before me. Orbital devastation of a biosphere, something I am very familiar with, but their technique is quite poor. Their weapons are beams, and while they can produce an impressive force of energy, they are not very good for orbital bombardment. If I were them I would utilize parts of the big stone ships or a nearby asteroid to slam into the planet, as this is just inefficient, especially as I can tell the shots are just random sweeping beams, very locally destructive but not planetary at all unless they keep this up for a few years.
I shake my head and flush that train of thought. Now is not the time to critique and improve upon their methods of planetary slaughter.
I order multiple observation drones to be deployed into the planet's atmosphere at locations of interest to see what is going on. In the minutes that feel like hours, the bombardment continues with no change. Everyone on the bridge is staring with their mouths agape in horror, and I stand with a stoic expression. I send a binary message to command asking what should be done, but we have hours of waiting before the message can be received by someone who is actually important enough to make this decision.
The drones arrive and find multiple population centers, which can be best described as large villages that have been eradicated by sweeping beams. Movement is spotted within, but it's mostly shell-shocked civilians digging through rubble for their loved ones. The capital is left alone for the most part, but most surrounding villages are swept by the brilliant beams of light. Many villages are spared by what appears to be an accuracy issue, probably something to do with how the atmosphere interacts with their targeting systems or the very nature of the beams themselves.
I try to rack my brain for any reason they would do this. It's entirely illogical to happen. If they wanted their world back, they could just ask we don't want it.
The wooden-looking ships begin moving into the atmosphere of the planet and move toward the ground as the bigger ships stop glassing the world below. The huge wooden vessels land and streams of men wearing armor and carrying hearaldry banners come pouring out of these ships and move toward various villages and the main city itself. For only a moment, I hold the hope that they will realize their mistake and see that we aren't occupying the planet, but this thought vanishes as soon as the first civilian approaches the rushing knights and they are cleaved in half without mercy.
In all my years, I have seen many cases of soldiers going a little berserk after notably terrible battles and taking out all their trauma on civilian populations, and I've seen just rampant looting due to poor leadership on the ground. In all of these cases, be they friend or foe, someone's head rolled for it, and it was an unorganized mob. What happens on my screen is what I'd call cruelty perfected. Their rush toward the cities while mad and chaotic also has some clear deliberation behind it. They move in squads and separate down side streets in measured groups. Men are unceremoniously killed or brutalized, the women are treated as I expected them to be, but at least the Eternal Kingdom warriors are decent enough to take them inside, unlike some scenarios I've read on human behaviors before.
People are tortured, executed via impalement and burning, and everything evil that is written about the medieval era of mankind all happens to the entire populace of the world below. In my head, I don't know if I should consider this a genocide due to the multi-species nature of the planet below. It's a horrific crime and brutalization and has the clear intention of removing an entire population, which is illegal in human space. The problem is the Eternal Kingdom is not signed on any document that would legally give me justification to intervene, but if it's genocide, then I am allowed to do what is needed based on my vows as a member of the US military.
I then notice something horrifying about myself in this situation, why I haven't done a knee-jerk reaction to get involved. I find I don't really care, and it's an odd feeling. I am horrified by the brutality below, absolutely, but somehow my mind doesn't see what is happening on the planet as bad as it could be, as if it were humans being butchered down there. It feels like watching a really poor attempt at a grimdark fantasy movie, and this is the scene that is thrown in just to show how dark and awful the whole setting is. My only feeling is disgust at the whole situation, not the horror I should be feeling, not the rage or the sadness that I've felt before watching a sacking like this.
I ring up Shariah and I ask,
"Are you seeing this? You aren't on the bridge."
She responds immediately in near hysterics,
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Yeah, I'm seeing it! Why aren't you sending hell their way? Sir, we need to open fire!"
I respond in a low voice,
"I sent a request to command. We no longer have a legal team, and we cannot interact unless we can clearly state this is genocide. I want you to begin writing a report on this situation. I can fill in all of the worst actions taken by these assholes, you dress it up to be a report of absolute, and non-negotiable genocide. Unfortunately, due to the laws and rules we are forced to follow, everything is retroactive. We cannot engage unless we are either in a state of war, they put our people in danger, or they are undisputably committing or have committed genocide."
I then end with practically a growl,
"People have to die before anything can ever happen..."
The USS Catfish is set in eerie silence. A few members of the bridge crew have watery eyes, and most have their screens shut off or are watching something else, anything else. I don't even get on to any of them because I get it. I watch the entire thing, the agonizing three hours of horror, and I log everything. When the Eternal Kingdom ships start to leave the system, leaving behind a garrison of a few thousand soldiers, I finish my report, and alongside Shariah's long argument, I think we can justify a response. Unfortunately too late for the recently depopulated planet. I call for Phillia, who arrives after a few long minutes, longer than it should take for her to actually get here. She looks awkward in the spacesuit we gave her, and I bark at her like I've never done before to the poor alien girl,
"When I call, you sprint in situations of potential military action. Understood?"
She nods, a look of fear crossing her face as the speakers in her helmet probably hurt her long ears. I speak more level now and ask,
"The Eternal Kingdom just depopulated an entire planet. Why did they do this?"
She shakes her head and responds shakily,
"I don't know m'lord, even worlds us in the rebellion captured never received that treatment... the only time in history when this happened last was during the War of the Divines 3000 years ago."
I sharply respond,
"Do I look like a lord to you? Explain this War of the Divines."
She shakes her head and quickly responds,
"No, sir... but the War of the Divines is when one of the King's siblings tried to take the throne. Both of them are divine in nature so he easily formed a new and false faith around himself, and entire populations had to be... made an example of, according to the stories."
I grunt in approval and tell the alien woman,
"Understand this. We are going to war in order to seek justice for those slaughtered below. I believe the Eternal Kingdom to have committed genocide against the people of the planet below. You have just given me my justification to declare my next actions are preventative measures against genocide and to bring those responsible to justice. You have stated now, on record, that the Eternal Kingdom only commits actions like these when it comes to matters of theology. By definition, genocide is the deliberate mass killing of civilians based on religion, ethnicity, race, or nationality."
She looks at me confusedly and with fear, but I made my point known and have the entire recording of our conversation transcribed and sent to command, giving me my justification based on all current information for my actions that I will now be taking.
A single Eternal Kingdom wooden vessel remains in the system. It follows a patrol given to it by his most holy Inquisitor and continuously plays the message that the people of this world were slaughtered due to following the false religion that has formed due to contact with humanity. This was done after a group of humans was discovered in a nearby system where a false faith had been created. None were captured, but proof was found that they were able to create homoculi that spread the words of an anti-theology against all the kingdom's beliefs.
The crew of the ship relaxes and counts the gold they looted from the heretics and a few trade and compare slaves they took from the women of the world. It's a scene of depraved merriment, but it shatters when their ships' shield flashes, and instantly the top deck splinters and explodes upward as something moving at incredible speed nearly splits the entire ship in half. The captain of the ship tries to maneuver, but the magical core dedicated to propulsion was vaporized by the fast object.
The crew begins running around trying to keep the ship together as magical power is rerouted to the propulsion systems, as weapons are brought to full power when a second object slams into the side of the ship, running straight through it, and all weapons immediately shut off. The weapons core was destroyed, leaving only the shield core, which is the only thing keeping air around the ship.
Panic quickly fills the ship, and then it is replaced by dread as a large and bulky gray object appears in front of them. It's only a third of the length of the wooden vessel, but it somehow looks much larger as it is far more bulky and ugly. If they could read the letters printed on the side, it would say USS Salamander.
Doors slam open on the side of the marine vessel, and dozens of figures come pouring out, propelled by RCS thrusters hooked up to their backs. The shipbreakers flood from their ship and begin burning toward the enemy vessel. Their orders are to capture the vessel and bring the officers to the Rear Admiral. The modified humans sail through the void, and when they hit the shield of the ship, they move through easily, but the problem is the atmosphere inside. This throws off their trajectories, but using grappling lines and impressive maneuvers, the monsters board the ship.
To the crew, what they see are hulking black monsters with reflective orbs in the place of heads. The M112 Space Combat Powered Armor makes the already massive Marines all the more monstrous. The huge packs on their backs, which both work as their powerpack and maneuvering thrusters, give them an almost hunched back look. The protective padding on the outside of the powered armor was made to absorb the shock of slamming against the hulls of vessels, adding significant bulk to the arms, legs, and body. Instead of the medieval-styled helmets of the standard powered armor instead they have bubble-shaped helmets that are made of a dark and slightly reflective composite that looks like glass but is actually opaque, instead the marines see through a series of omni-directional cameras, which allows them to keep their necks braced and heads protected from the impacts they are designed to take.
Towering above the crewmen, a shipbreaker marine raises his 50-caliber machine gun and begins spraying into the crowd. Limbs go flying as the half-inch rounds liquefy flesh and shatter bones. Others begin utilizing their cutting and breaching tools to burrow into the hull of the vessel to hunt the crew inside and to devastate any remaining systems. Due to the wooden nature of the ship, the normal plasma torches cannot be used without the risk of a fire, so instead they use their powered limbs and chainsaw-like devices to tear through the hull and bulkheads.
Quickly, the ship is turned just as depopulated as the planet below, aside from the civilian slaves that were smart enough to lie on their bellies during the crossfire and the few officers on the ship who are now sporting broken limbs and a nice pair of fastcuffs on their wrists and ankles as they are carried like misbehaving children by the marines. They are picked up by a dropship as one of the Army vessels can be seen splitting apart and deploying down to the planet...
The multitude of knights, levied soldiers, and mercenaries of the Eternal Kingdom all sit around in the ruined city they themselves sacked. Just like the ship, they are enjoying the spoils of good food, wine, and women in the central palace and any of the still-standing taverns all through the ruins. They don't notice the giant ships descending from the sky, but in the next thirty minutes, they notice the earthquake as great steel tracks churn the earth and crush stone. As a few of the drunks peer over the city walls, there is a clap like thunder and the towers of the city are turned to masonry dust.
Having woken completely up, the Eternal Kingdom warriors stare in horror as giant beasts of metal approach over the horizon, a dust storm forming behind them as they thunder forward faster than any carriage ever made. They form ranks the best they can, and the mages prepare their spell when the mighty guns of the Army begin singing. Massive shells burst midair, clearing swathes of warriors with a single burst of black smoke, causing thousands of tungsten balls to rain down on top of the gathered warriors, armor made useless, even the armor of the richer knights.
A few spells are cast but fall terribly short as the approaching tanks halt and continue their onslaught. Masonry is turned to powder, entire squads of knights and mages vaporized, and when the dust settles and the ear-shattering roar of cannon fire ends, the Army moves in. The men in powered armor bound into the city with IFVs supporting them as they hunt down those responsible for the slaughter, and when resistance is too tough, a precision artillery shell removes that entire city block. As the remainders of the enemy forces are removed, the Army begins digging through the rubble for any surviving civilians, and aid is rendered to those who are alive but suffered severe mistreatment.
All over the planet, the same thing happens on a smaller scale as every warrior responsible for the sacking of this entire world is shown what it really means to be killers...
On board the USS Catfish, Shipmaster Giggun al'Herrad moans in agony as his broken limbs throb with pain. He can feel blood trickle down his face when one of these... abominations sprays the wound with something incredibly painful, but the bleeding stops immediately. He feels weak as his mana was removed from him through some sort of... machine that he cannot comprehend, so he cannot resist as the giant monsters in impenetrable armor carry him through the bleak halls of this cold and soulless ship.
He is thrown into a room in near darkness, the only light being some sort of lamp that produces a dull white-glow. He screams in fear when a glass is placed on the metal table that the lamp is sitting on. The bulky armored thing that carried him in, forces him to sit in a hard, metal chair. As his eyes adjust, he can make out the shape of a human... no, a demon...
The blackness of the silhouette is broken up by a pair of blue eyes staring at him, glowing in the darkness like two blue embers. The glass is picked up again, and he can hear the thing swallow loudly; its breathing is calm, and it sets the glass down gently. All of these point at a calm and collected individual is sitting across from Giggun, but those two eyes show only one emotion,
Hate...
