Vacation Inspired HFY
="Our first ships did not intend to meet the native species of Sol-3, or Earth, as the Humans called it. The Universal Council was aware of a semi-sentient species on the Wild World, and acutely aware that they may one day be spacefaring; however, they opted to avoid the usual contamination warnings with possibly productive peoples. Our people, the Xorg, did not plan to even meet these "humans", but merely needed the water on the planet to be used in our Hydrogen Reactors. Our chosen location was an equatorial region, where the solar radiation levels were high, so high we could not leave the ship without protective gear and, as such, assumed there would be no intelligent life.
We were wrong.
Not only were there humans present, but we discovered the level of radiation did not affect them as we expected, and was even a vacationing destination. We were as surprised as the humans were to find each other present. We expected them to leave our supply ships alone, to flee as a Vorta bird does when you fly too close to the trees of the swamps of our own world. Instead, this hearty creatures approached us, they wanted to know more, they wanted to learn. Our engineers and scientists were fascinated to find such an eager species. There was an exchange of technology from us, low level reactors and engine schematics. Low level tech, things freely available to all Universal Council races. We saw no hard, and we now know that we should have not been so naive.
The supply ships could not stay, intended to land, fill up, and leave, they had over stayed their window and had to make quick pace to catch up to the fleet they had been assigned to. Their Captain left a message buoy and promised we would return in fifty cycles of their planet around their star, assuming it would not be enough time to see any technological development. They were still years away from being able to construct the basic components necessary to facilitate the beginning of those engine designs. We promised to bring more tech, to introduce them to some new fascinating technology. Like that, we picked up and left, expecting nothing more to come.
Fifty-three and a half cycles later, we returned, and were in awe. The small planet was now surrounded by three massive space stations, with a fourth in construction. They had a colony on their moon, and three more on Sol-4, Mars. Their asteroid belt had become a mining operation unparalleled by any species of the same tech level. These descendants from apes had built a terrifying level of technology since their our departure, and had even started to out grow what we had given them. They hungered for it, they wanted more. Our reactors had been implemented across their planets, then miniaturized, then deemed inadequate and replaced by cold fusion ones. They had grown so much in such a little time, advancing far past where we had expected. We were scared. We left a few scientists with them, under the rouse of helping them develop further, and our ships departed for the Universal Council. We had to seek advice.
It was determined, once we had explained the situation, that the Human development had to be stunted, that a war would slow them down. This was before we studied their history, before we knew that humans were unlike most species and that war only made them more aggressive. Council ships arrived from FTL, and the attacks on the asteroid belt were one sided, with the vast majority of casualties on the human side, and only a few small damaged ships on the Council's side. The colonies on Mars were also wiped out, with again, very limited damage on our side. Humans had developed weapons for their ships, but they were primitive, and did little in the way of us. Yet the humans fought with tenacity. Even when the Council sent troops to the surface of Mars to ensure they were all irradiated, every human there picked up a weapon and fought to their death. One sided it may have been, but still awe-inspiring to watch the strength of these creatures. We almost envied them. With the slaughter complete, it was assumed, in arrogance, that humans would be too busy rebuilding to be any further issue for many many years to come. We moved past it, an moved on.
The Council should have made sure to scuttle the ships the humans managed to down. There should have been no technology abandoned, their planet forced backwards and not assumed stagnant. Arrogance in our superiority, and assumption of humans being similar to what we knew, lead to our own troubles. For in a short time of one hundred cycles, we had an unknown vessel drop out of FTL in the Core Worlds, around the very heart of the Council, Tortaga Prime, a glistening world, a jewel in the universe of a perfect environment. It did not stay long, but its sleek shape and form allowed it to punch into the atmosphere and unleash a shower of nuclear weapons upon the Council building itself. Before anyone had the slightest clue, the ship jumped to FTL again, while still in atmosphere. The shockwave burned the planet's atmosphere and left a dead husk.
It was not fathomed where the ship came from, or why they would attack the Council so directly and so harshly. We did not have to wait long, for one by one, outer rim worlds went dark on the communications. It was quick, with no warning and no distress call. When we did receive one, it made no sense, containing only the words "THIS IS FOR MARS". It took time, but the lonely planet Earth, and the battles were remembered. Humanity had taken our abandoned ships and reverse engineered it, and perfected it. They devoted their entire planet to one cause, getting revenge for our attacked. When a real battle finally occurred, we were out classed. Humans were not slowed by war, but made strong by it. Most sentient races became brittle in war, stopping science and development, and war would push us back, making us slow and weak.
Humans were different. Humans were bred in war, made stronger by it. When you push a human over, they get back up and take a rock with them. We were fools to bring them into space, we were arrogant to think we could stop them... And now we are at their mercy for trying to fight them."=
Admiral Kaa of House Huowq
Surrender Address by the Universal Council
November 12th, 2231.
-- Tell me what you guys think. It was an idea that kind of came to me.
We were wrong.
Not only were there humans present, but we discovered the level of radiation did not affect them as we expected, and was even a vacationing destination. We were as surprised as the humans were to find each other present. We expected them to leave our supply ships alone, to flee as a Vorta bird does when you fly too close to the trees of the swamps of our own world. Instead, this hearty creatures approached us, they wanted to know more, they wanted to learn. Our engineers and scientists were fascinated to find such an eager species. There was an exchange of technology from us, low level reactors and engine schematics. Low level tech, things freely available to all Universal Council races. We saw no hard, and we now know that we should have not been so naive.
The supply ships could not stay, intended to land, fill up, and leave, they had over stayed their window and had to make quick pace to catch up to the fleet they had been assigned to. Their Captain left a message buoy and promised we would return in fifty cycles of their planet around their star, assuming it would not be enough time to see any technological development. They were still years away from being able to construct the basic components necessary to facilitate the beginning of those engine designs. We promised to bring more tech, to introduce them to some new fascinating technology. Like that, we picked up and left, expecting nothing more to come.
Fifty-three and a half cycles later, we returned, and were in awe. The small planet was now surrounded by three massive space stations, with a fourth in construction. They had a colony on their moon, and three more on Sol-4, Mars. Their asteroid belt had become a mining operation unparalleled by any species of the same tech level. These descendants from apes had built a terrifying level of technology since their our departure, and had even started to out grow what we had given them. They hungered for it, they wanted more. Our reactors had been implemented across their planets, then miniaturized, then deemed inadequate and replaced by cold fusion ones. They had grown so much in such a little time, advancing far past where we had expected. We were scared. We left a few scientists with them, under the rouse of helping them develop further, and our ships departed for the Universal Council. We had to seek advice.
It was determined, once we had explained the situation, that the Human development had to be stunted, that a war would slow them down. This was before we studied their history, before we knew that humans were unlike most species and that war only made them more aggressive. Council ships arrived from FTL, and the attacks on the asteroid belt were one sided, with the vast majority of casualties on the human side, and only a few small damaged ships on the Council's side. The colonies on Mars were also wiped out, with again, very limited damage on our side. Humans had developed weapons for their ships, but they were primitive, and did little in the way of us. Yet the humans fought with tenacity. Even when the Council sent troops to the surface of Mars to ensure they were all irradiated, every human there picked up a weapon and fought to their death. One sided it may have been, but still awe-inspiring to watch the strength of these creatures. We almost envied them. With the slaughter complete, it was assumed, in arrogance, that humans would be too busy rebuilding to be any further issue for many many years to come. We moved past it, an moved on.
The Council should have made sure to scuttle the ships the humans managed to down. There should have been no technology abandoned, their planet forced backwards and not assumed stagnant. Arrogance in our superiority, and assumption of humans being similar to what we knew, lead to our own troubles. For in a short time of one hundred cycles, we had an unknown vessel drop out of FTL in the Core Worlds, around the very heart of the Council, Tortaga Prime, a glistening world, a jewel in the universe of a perfect environment. It did not stay long, but its sleek shape and form allowed it to punch into the atmosphere and unleash a shower of nuclear weapons upon the Council building itself. Before anyone had the slightest clue, the ship jumped to FTL again, while still in atmosphere. The shockwave burned the planet's atmosphere and left a dead husk.
It was not fathomed where the ship came from, or why they would attack the Council so directly and so harshly. We did not have to wait long, for one by one, outer rim worlds went dark on the communications. It was quick, with no warning and no distress call. When we did receive one, it made no sense, containing only the words "
Humans were different. Humans were bred in war, made stronger by it. When you push a human over, they get back up and take a rock with them. We were fools to bring them into space, we were arrogant to think we could stop them... And now we are at their mercy for trying to fight them."=
Admiral Kaa of House Huowq
Surrender Address by the Universal Council
November 12th, 2231.
-- Tell me what you guys think. It was an idea that kind of came to me.
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