Bab 5: Humanity Doesn't Submit
Picture this, you're an aspiring emperor with massive shoes to fill. Big guns, big money, big aspirations. Now stop imagining and learn of the Krag Imperium. They laid claim to the biggest empire ever known, with the biggest ships, biggest guns, and a brand new emperor with unlimited power.
After his father's death, Primus Randoulfus the Eager ascended to the throne. It was from here that he began a relentless campaign of war against much of the known galaxy, and he won with every step. The ancients of Saggitarius, the wise of Norma, and the mighty of Perseus. Each had a mighty fleet, but, when faced with the fury of a Krag battle cruiser, all surrendered to avoid terrible losses.
When a small and disjointed 'Union' of systems within Orion was encountered, the counsel of Emperor Randoulfus wasn't even called. Small strike groups were sent to make vassals of the mere hundreds of worlds controlled by, you guessed it, the Humans.
Before I get ahead of myself, let me explain how warfare commonly occurs within the Milky Way. Opposing fleets would meet each other on the battlefield, all lining up in an honorable display of might. The two fleets would approach in massive broadside lines, firing the full fury of their arsenal while still well within visual range. This form of combat was intended to minimize the casualties of unpredictable stellar warfare and limit collateral damage.
Not only that, battles often lasted for only hours, and wars only days. It was seen as cheaper to become a vassal to a superior force than to lose expensive dreadnoughts. Fleets attacked each other until one side was placed at an obvious disadvantage. After this, the losing fleet would surrender and retreat for repairs. This process repeats until the winning fleet reaches a substantial system from which the losing fleet doesn't retreat, finally fully surrendering. In most cases, this is the end of hostilities.
Now, these tactics weren't used during first contact but played a critical role in the Krag-Human War. The galaxy had never seen a war last more than a year, no doctrine ever foresaw any possibility of such a horrid war. Logistics were planned accordingly, only enough for a minor conflict with minimal casualties. No one, not even the first contact species, was willing or able to fight a sustained conflict. The mentality of most species was simple, strike first, strike fast, don't get struck. From every world, only those who could adapt to such strategies would thrive, and the tactics of galactic nations reflected this.
Humanity went in an entirely different direction from the beginning, it was as if they were forged to be perfect machines of war. It didn't matter if a Human was struck, if they struck first, or if they were slow to act, any species that challenged Humanity was destined to fall. If you struck them, they would strike you with everything they had, giving no regard to casualties, only wishing to spite your attempt to come out victorious. After sacrificing everything, they would strike you over and over again until your ability to fight was completely shattered, and your empire was left in smoldering ruin.
As soon as the Krag Imperium decided to attack Humanity, their fate had been sealed. Humanity sacrificed every last ship within the system they called 'Haven' just to prevent the capture of the planet 'Bastion'. The sub-faction of Humans living within this system were outcasts of an authoritarian nation-state within the greater banner of the 'United Nations of Man'. The freedom-loving humans fought to the last in a spiteful attempt to prevent their capture, and it succeeded with a terrible cost. The small subjugation fleet was destroyed in full, but the Humans lost over 1,000,000 souls for every ship they managed to destroy.
I will now play a recording of what is widely regarded to be the most influential speech of all time, the 'Promise of Vengeance Speech' delivered by then-president Julian Starmann of the Free State of Bastion.
"When we gaze to the stars, Humanity has always seen a land of endless opportunity. After the tragic events today, only fear and uncertainty can be seen. When unknown vessels came to our Bastion of Liberty, we attempted to greet these aliens with all of the hospitality, generosity, and kindness Humanity can give. We received only a torrent of plasma once our diplomats reached visual range. Long-range communications picked up only these words in response, 'Do you submit?'. The answer was no. Ships began to fire from longer ranges towards our planet, they fired indiscriminately, seemingly going so far as to target civilians. Our brave defenders charged their fleet, time and time again until all that remained of these aliens were burning heaps of steel. 15,275,395 of our citizens were killed, and millions more are still missing. 99% of these deaths were civilian. Even as we fought them in the void of space, their weapons continued to fire toward the helpless on the surface. Even as our ships split theirs clean in two they kept repeating, 'Do you submit?', we would only respond with gunfire. Their cries got more and more desperate, yet they never ceased the bombardment. To anyone who can hear this, Bastion will not submit, Humanity will not submit, and our ships will not submit until every last individual involved in the deaths of innocent civilians has been brought to justice. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many of these aliens get in the way, justice will be achieved. Let it be known throughout the cosmos, Humanity will never submit."
It took hundreds of years to truly manifest, but the effects of this speech reverberated through the Milky Way for the rest of time. Humanity turned its loose union of independent planets into a singular entity focused on the protection of all mankind. The Krag Imperium resisted, of course, thousands of the mightiest ships in the galaxy rampaged through Human space for decades, but each eventually fell to death by a million cuts.
Humans could lose billions of people, thousands of ships, and dozens of systems. Yet the resource drain was simply too much for the Krag Imperium to bear. The previously loyal vassals sprang up in rebellion, turning the Imperium's fleet against itself. Internal opposition within Krag systems wrought havoc on the emperor's ability to control his population, and many dozens of worlds declared themselves independent.
All the while Humanity festered and grew stronger, the wreckage of Krag ships was broken down and scrutinized to every last atom by Human scientists eager to learn their secrets. It wasn't long before the reverse-engineered secrets of the once-mighty empire came to cast destruction upon the last remaining Krag battlegroups in Human space.
Primus Randoulfus the Eager could only watch in terror as the ancients of Saggitarius, the wise of Norma, and the mighty of Perseus, alongside their newfound Human allies, charged into his crown system. His once mighty and revered fleets, still clinging to their honor-bound doctrine of warfare were cut down like a field of grass. He could only sit on his throne in shame as a Human strike group infiltrated his palace and stormed the royal chamber. As he was dragged off of his throne in chains, he stared toward the great murals and portraits of past emperors wondering if he would be the last.
When standing trial for his crimes, he asked the now old and decrepit president Julian Starmann,
"Why didn't you just submit like all the rest?"
Julian Starmann, mustered this as a response,
"Submission is the acceptance of defeat, there was still light at the end of our tunnel. As long as even one Human remains alive in this galaxy that light will never go out. Humanity will never accept defeat, and if Humanity remains undefeated, Humanity shall never submit."
Prisoner Randoulfus the Shameful lived out the rest of his days in a prison situated in the orbit of Bastion. Every day that passed he would stare at the ever-growing lights on the surface, and slowly come to terms with the fact that his reign was over. The era of Humanity had begun, and he was but a footnote within the history of Humanity's ascendancy to the stars.
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