Why Humans Avoid War

Kilon POV

I had feared that the humans might attack as soon as our ships entered the Sol system, but the fact that we were still here was a good sign.

The Federation Senate had narrowly voted to confront the Terrans, with Speaker Ula being one of the most ardent supporters of the motion. Even with her political pull, many representatives were on the fence about taking action. The fate that had befallen the Devourers could easily be ours as well if we provoked the humans.

Honestly, I think if it were their own species being summoned to action, the Senate would not have passed the proposal. But as always, they assumed that the Jatari, the Xanik, and the Hoda'al would do their dirty work, while they stood by and watched from the safety of their offices.

I was less than thrilled about leading this mission. After all, we were risking Federation lives to protect the very people that had sought to destroy us. While the Terrans' solution was extreme, I could at least understand where they were coming from. But it would be dishonorable to refuse a direct order; the last thing I wanted was to be branded a traitor and a coward.

Besides, if I commanded the fleet, I would at least be level-headed enough not to charge into battle against a superior army. I wasn't sure my cohorts, who had not witnessed human weaponry in action firsthand, would be so cautious. Especially given that most Jatari officers viewed diplomacy as an admission of weakness.

First Officer Blez glanced up from his computer as we passed the first of the outer planets. "Sir, we are almost within missile range of Earth. Should we ready our weapons?"

"Our orders are to stop them, not to attack them. If we get into a direct fight, we're doomed," I replied. "Let's hope that the humans still like talking. Hail Terran Command."

Blez opened his mouth to argue, then thought better of it. He silently input a few commands into his terminal, muttering under his breath. The few moments that the call went unanswered were nerve-wracking; I feared that the humans would simply ignore us. Relief washed over me as a familiar face blinked onto the view screen.

Commander Rykov did not look well. His black hair was disheveled, his uniform was wrinkled, and dark circles had taken up residence under his eyes. This was a far cry from the radiant and confident man who had come to our rescue yesterday. It seemed that he should be resting rather than on the bridge of a ship, but I feared pointing out his condition would cause offense.

The human officer stared into the camera, a pleading look on his face. "General. We strongly advise you to turn your ships around and stand aside."

"I can't do that. What you're about to do is wrong. Intelligent life is sacred, and killing off an entire species is a crime against sentience," I said.

"The Devourers have hardly shown that they are sapient. I'm surprised you of all people would rush to their defense," Rykov mused. "It hasn't even been a full day since they wiped out thousands of your ships. You and I both know if we hadn't shown up, they would have killed all of you without a second thought.

I flinched. "Don't remind me. For all that they've done, I don't want to see an entire species slaughtered. That makes us just as bad as them. Their actions don't make yours right."

Commander Rykov sighed. "Well, it seems we're at an impasse. I assume you're going to attack us if we don't stand down?"

"We just want to talk. You don't have to do this. Your species has a moral code, right?" I took a deep breath, trying to collect my thoughts. "What if there are innocent people, children and civilians, on their home world?"

"Look, I don't like what we're about to do, but I have my orders. We don't even know if they have civilians or if they can show emotion. "

"Exactly, we don't know. What's the harm in waiting, and getting more information? Don't you want to know why they're doing this?"