Why Humans Avoid War

Ula POV

Word of the Terrans' decisive victory over the Devourers had finally leaked out to the press. Someone inside our ranks had given the networks highly classified footage from the battlefield, as well as a transcription of the day's Senate session. It could be said that the media reaction was a bit hysteric.

The video was played on every channel for hours, with some stations showing the fleet's disintegration in slow motion. Commentators discussed what the turn of events meant for the Federation, and what we should think of the humans, at length.

I flipped on Federation News Central's feed, listening in on a round table of political scientists.

"Do you really believe that the Terrans would make such a weapon, in good faith? What stops them from turning on us the second we get on their bad side? It is completely against the spirit of the Federation Charter," said one Tujili pundit.

The Xanik waved a tentacle in disagreement. "They haven't attacked us yet, which I think says something. We have no reason to suspect that they will. Perhaps it would be wise to not get on their bad side?"

"So we're just supposed to let them do whatever they want?" the Tujili shot back.

"As long as it doesn't affect us, I say yes. For the record, the Xanik Republic voted against Speaker Ula's reckless proposal. Speaking of Ula, where is she? Has anyone even heard from her since she sent our soldiers to die?"

I sighed. The Xanik wasn't wrong about my absence from the airwaves; eventually, I would have to make a statement on the incident and talk to the press. But for now, my priority was to gauge public perception and to monitor the status of the fleet we had sent to Earth. That mission required my full attention, especially given the ramifications of direct confrontation with the humans.

The General had gone radio silent since entering the Sol System, ignoring the regular check-ins of Central Command. As much as we hated to consider it, it was possible that the fleet had defected to the Terran side. The three military species had been rather staunch opponents of the mission, after all.

Our remote sensors had detected a handful of human ships warping toward Devourer territory a few hours ago. We would know soon enough if they had gone through with their anti-matter bombing raid. There was no sense in scrambling more fighters to pursue them when they wouldn't arrive in time to make a difference.

It would help to quell my nerves if I only knew what was going on out there. At best, the General had allowed the humans to pass, against his orders. Not that I could honestly blame him for avoiding a one-sided battle.

The option that the Terrans had attacked the fleet was ruled out by the automated computer reports flowing in. Zero damage was recorded to any ship by the status monitors, so it seemed the craft were still operational. Yet, inexplicably, they had come to a standstill just out of missile range of Earth. I couldn't imagine what the General was doing if he wasn't defecting.

A distraction from the situation would certainly be welcome. If only I could find a channel that wasn't talking about the Terrans. I switched over to Galactic Broadcast, who were interviewing a retired human general by video link.

"...be justified?" I only caught the end of the interviewer's question.

The human shrugged. "You have to be prepared for anything. That nanite bomb was only built, and used, as a last resort. Most of our weapons are like that. Stuff we have lying around, just in case."

The interviewer glanced down at her notes. "The Federation sees humanity as dangerous. Out of control. Given the Terran Union's plan to wipe out an entire race, why should we believe that your weapons are 'a last resort', as you say?"