0:00 they never replied this is the United
0:02 Teran Coalition Heavy Cruiser Baltimore
0:05 of the planet Earth we are sending
0:07 greetings to all peaceloving beings in
0:09 the Galaxy the humanoid thriven
0:12 Ambassador stopped struggling and looked
0:14 up at the view screen repeat this is the
0:17 United Teran Coalition Cruiser Baltimore
0:20 we wish you everything good from our
0:22 planet it is our procedure to meet first
0:24 contact with communication of your own
0:27 we mean no harm the insectoid C Captain
0:30 nodded to their Communications officer
0:32 this is the interplanetary races
0:34 Starship Nostalgia do you understand
0:36 this transmission the humans never
0:39 replied this was the first exchange
0:41 between the Federation of interplanetary
0:43 races and the United Teran Coalition the
0:46 Federation warship had been summoned to
0:48 gather information on the war between
0:50 the thriven Republic and the Coalition
0:53 the Coalition had appeared out of
0:54 nowhere on the edge of thriven Republic
0:57 and immediately opened fire the thriven
1:00 immediately demanded military action
1:02 from the Federation but they weren't a
1:04 highly thought of nation and there were
1:06 other businesses to attend to war was a
1:09 dirty business after all and they'd just
1:12 come out of one 10 years before the
1:14 Coalition wasn't invading anyone else
1:16 anyway what was the big deal
1:19 nevertheless they did have a job to do
1:22 and the nostalgia's battle group was
1:24 dispatched to investigate the thriven
1:27 had lost a few colonies after all and
1:29 they needed to be sure there weren't any
1:31 Sapient rights abuses they'd met with a
1:33 thriven government official who briefed
1:35 them on the situation not that it was
1:38 very useful in the words of the
1:40 nostalgia's altl captain they lie
1:43 through their teeth as a way of greeting
1:45 the Federation weren't Saints by any
1:47 means but no one particularly liked the
1:50 thriven there was little they could do
1:52 about them though they had a potent
1:54 Fleet and no one felt like dealing with
1:56 them it would cost too much even what
2:00 few bits of truth that could be gained
2:01 from the thriven were valuable though
2:04 truth be told nobody knew anything about
2:06 this Coalition except the message they
2:08 sent to the first thriven craft to meet
2:11 them we the United Teran Coalition the
2:14 people of Earth greet you Humanity has a
2:17 message for you if you can look into the
2:19 seeds of time and say which grain will
2:22 grow and which will not speak then to me
2:25 who neither beg nor fear your favors nor
2:28 your hate
2:30 they'd taken three colonies by the time
2:32 the Nostalgia made it to the thriven
2:34 Border their orders had changed they
2:37 were to intervene and immediately put an
2:39 end to the war the only thriven military
2:42 vessel to escape the initial Carnage
2:44 returned to base soon after the
2:46 Nostalgia arrived it delivered a second
2:49 and final message Humanity has a message
2:52 for you to beguile the time look like
2:54 the time bear welcome in your eye your
2:57 hand your tongue look like the the
2:59 innocent flower but be the serpent under
3:02 it the thriven Ambassador told them the
3:05 Tern were irrational and refused all
3:08 Communications they didn't know them
3:10 they didn't know what they looked like
3:12 they were strange in their behavior not
3:14 too unusual just a little note they
3:17 didn't bomb or invade the planets they
3:19 took they simply destroyed or occupied
3:21 the orbital equipment and moved on a
3:25 fleet remained to guard each colony
3:28 captain or nut the nostalgic Commander
3:30 was thankful for that fear wasn't a war
3:33 crime after all it saved the paperwork
3:36 he'd brought his battle cruiser to
3:38 confront the nearest Teran flotilla he
3:40 could find to approach them as an
3:42 independent party and find out what was
3:44 going on that certainly ruffled the
3:47 thurin feathers if they had any the
3:49 bipeds were ugly things mamons without
3:52 scales feathers or exoskeletons or nut
3:56 never understood how they may do without
3:58 his Race's mandibles
4:00 he thought with some idle Amusement that
4:02 if they looked anything like his people
4:04 perhaps these humans were just disgusted
4:06 by the thriven curiously the thriven
4:09 Ambassador grew more and more nervous
4:11 the closer their ships came to human
4:13 territory orn not knew the thriven were
4:16 hiding something they always were but
4:19 this was the first time he'd seen one
4:21 concerned rather than arrogant he'd been
4:24 in a fit when they'd come into the
4:26 system and he demanded they open fire
4:28 when they got into community
4:29 Communications range and then the
4:32 Ambassador froze when that alien voice
4:34 crackled from the speakers orn not spoke
4:37 to the Baltimore and opened a dialogue
4:40 the humans were not willing to pull out
4:42 of thriving territory naturally they
4:44 were surprisingly gentle with the
4:46 Federation ship despite their initial
4:48 messages orn not wondered if they'd
4:50 realized the depth of their mistake or
4:53 were creating a false sense of security
4:56 there were more details that ornot found
4:58 curious the human began with a force of
5:00 Cruisers and destroyers their names
5:02 weren't that unusual for any race but
5:04 there was something about them Baltimore
5:07 harbon and perm for the Cruisers
5:09 Whitaker and Mandel for the Destroyers
5:12 cities and people the humans were
5:15 extremely evenhanded with the Federation
5:18 they went out of their way to be kind
5:20 nothing like the monsters they were made
5:22 out to be by the thriven it was a
5:24 surprise when it was found that the
5:26 humans looked very similar to the
5:28 thriven onnut would have thought that
5:30 any biped humanoids with their typical
5:33 revulsion to bugs would despise the
5:36 altl but why did they hate the thriven
5:39 so much they'd made many concessions to
5:42 the Federation in their opening meeting
5:44 but never explained that it got to the
5:46 point that during their initial
5:47 face-to-face diplomatic meeting the
5:49 captain asked their Ambassador bluntly
5:52 why do you hate the thriven what did
5:54 they ever do to you the human Ambassador
5:56 fixed the quadruped with a smoldering
5:58 gaze from his small immobile eyes we at
6:01 War yes but why ask them orn not got
6:06 only a bewildered answer from the thurin
6:08 Ambassador the human gaze only worsened
6:11 we do not quarrel with the Federation we
6:13 are kind to everyone we contact so you
6:16 have the chance we never did but we will
6:18 not stop hunting them until their home
6:20 World falls the chance you never did orn
6:23 not asked what is this about you didn't
6:26 communicate you didn't hail them you
6:28 just sent cryptic messages is we've been
6:31 at War for 200 years but you said you
6:34 only made it into space 50 years ago the
6:37 human nodded I did he placed a data
6:41 recorder on a desk all human
6:43 representatives in the room turned to
6:45 look a scratchy yet presentable audio
6:48 recording played as the Secretary
6:50 General of the United Nations an
6:52 organization of the 147 member states
6:56 who represent almost all of the human
6:58 inhabitants of the planet planet Earth I
7:00 send greetings on behalf of the people
7:02 of our planet we step out of our solar
7:05 system into the universe seeking only
7:07 peace and friendship to teach if we are
7:10 called upon to be taught if we are
7:12 fortunate we know full well that our
7:14 planet and all its inhabitants are but a
7:17 small part of the immense universe that
7:19 surrounds us and it is with humility and
7:22 hope that we take this step the humans
7:26 smiled
7:27 strangely it was some sort of pleasant
7:29 memory then a terrible squeal came
7:32 through the speakers the voices were
7:34 different recorded with another sort of
7:36 microphone there was no formality there
7:38 was nothing but impromptu statements
7:41 desperate statements panicked voices
7:43 washed over one another reading hundreds
7:46 of large objects too many to track this
7:50 is Houston Houston do you read London do
7:52 you copy we're going to try and stay on
7:55 the air but we've detected impacts in
7:56 major cities Washington come in St Louis
8:00 St Louis come in this is Houston Houston
8:04 do you copy Baltimore this is Houston
8:06 control come in please Canaveral this is
8:09 Houston do you read come in please more
8:12 speakers entered the channel it was
8:14 stitched together from different sources
8:16 some read off numbers and tracking data
8:18 others reported observations and some
8:21 just called for help in a Litany of
8:23 languages London terrible devastation
8:27 reports Berlin has been destroyed obl at
8:29 obliterated Washington please come in
8:33 this is the nits we just saw total loss
8:37 emergency the recorder hissed sharply
8:40 and one final voice came through ISS to
8:43 Mission Control come in please where are
8:45 you Houston come in please the recorder
8:48 squealed isn't there anyone on the air
8:51 anyone isn't there anyone out there the
8:53 human Ambassador pulled out an
8:55 old-fashioned piece of paper we reached
8:58 out our hands we we reached out our
8:59 hands in peace and friendship and the
9:02 first thing they did was hurl asteroids
9:04 at us we defended ourselves when we
9:06 could barely even tell if it was a ship
9:08 or another asteroid and their response
9:11 was to try to take out our capitals and
9:13 when we defend ourselves they destroy
9:16 our world three billion died in the
9:18 bombardment and billions more followed
9:21 and we've spent centuries just getting
9:23 back he narrowed his gaze at the thriven
9:26 and they're the ones who did it the
9:29 document was a compilation of data it
9:32 showed an object in high orbit above a
9:34 planet with a radar scan a variety of
9:36 numbers and figures and a photo from a
9:39 telescope the object in orbit had the
9:41 same profile as a thriven cruiser it was
9:44 old but still similar enough to be
9:46 recognized
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