Humans Don't Comply

 Star Emperor G'Gerlian lept from his throne in anger.

"The Terrans did WHAT?"

"They dumped the shipment of terrillium into one of the waterways.  When terrilium gets wet it..."

"I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO TERRILIUM WHEN IT GETS WET" The emperor roared.

J'Jark shrank a bit.

The Emperor grabbed his scepter in his third hand, and luched for the communications terminal.

"Bring me the Grand Fleet Marshall.  I want that mudball LEVELED.  At this point, I'm open to waiting 200 cycles before we can settle it."

J'Jark looked away a moment, and idly fingered the pendant his late love had given him.  The memory of her courage filled him, and he spoke.

"Sire, I wouldn't normally speak out of turn, but I have to speak up about this.  It is only because my family has sworn a duty to you for 11 generations, my family is inextricably tied to yours.  If you were to, say, force elevens of colonists to a planet that had radiation weapons dumped on it, it wouldn't matter how long you waited.  Nobody would go.  Your Doctor wouldn't even let you visit until after three elevens' of cycles passed.

G'Gerlian slammed his scepter on the ground, cracking the marble tile.

J'Jark tried not to audibly gulp.  He failed.

"You DARE question the STAR EMPEROR, you fool?"

"YES!" he squeaked, without thinking.

G'Gerlian laughed.

"What is it that you wish to say, that you will risk death for it?" G'Gerlian asked.

"The Humans... Please, Sire, I disobayed because I wish to be of service to you more than just a page-boy.  I want to lead your conquests.  And I can.  And I want to explain to you how, and I will prove it to you with the humans."

G'Gerlian looked away, and pressed the communications terminal.  "Where is the Grand Marshall?"

The terminal beeped back. "He was eating, he is about eleven minutes away."

The Emperor turned around.  You have until Marshal Nandor arrives, since it will take that long for him to arrive to execute you."

J'Jark gulped and inhaled, and stammered.

"I sent, forging your authorizations 3 mutagens to the planet the humans have illegally settled.  Using the prisoner's genetic information, I was able to craft 3 that fit in perfectly.   I have been getting reliable reports from two of them about everything the Humans are doing.  I have enough intel from those two to allow your fleet to destroy the humans by the elevens of thousands."

"Why were you only getting reliable reports from two mutagens?  What about the third?"

J'Jerk gulped.  He had to play this one close.  His emotions might betray him.

"She went native.  She did send a few notes, but... These are the ones I think you should read."

"You want me to read the words of a traitor?"

"Yes, Emperor.  I Do.  Because for the first time, I think we have found the allies we need against the M'hrrkst empire.  The Humans have wonderful, dangerous ideas.  She..."

J'Jark had already blown it, referring to a mutagen by a gender, but he hoped the Emperor wouldn't notice.

"... read their history.  Studied it, and understood it, and it appealed to her in such a way, she went native.  What I'm saying is, the Humans ideas are so dangerous, once people in our Empire find out about them, it will be very bad for you, and us.  But instead, I think we should join them.  Listen to some of their ideas! Here.  Read this."

J'Jark palmed the data chip in his lower arm, respectfully handing it to The Emperor.

"The part about their economy is fascinating.  Also, and I think this is because of their free economy, the absolute speed they have developed is even more fascinating.  And that's why we need to stop NOW."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow

"700 of our cycles ago, they were bound to the planet in a different arm of the galaxy."

"That's impossible!"  The Emperor himself was 1100 years old.  The Star Empire was millions of years old.  Nobody remembered a time before they had ruled the stars.

"Yes.  It's scary, isn't it?"

The Emperor stopped pacing, and turned to the small page-boy.

"You dare to tell me something scares me?"

"Sire, I promise I will always be honest with you if you allow me the honor."

G'Gerlian scratched his head

"I don't understand how you could do this without me finding out." The Emperor puzzled to himself, out loud.

"I promise to use this ingenuity to benefit only you and The Empire.  See, the time is NOW.  We can, as the elder race of this arm of the galaxy, stop this war and usher them into the galaxy as a whole.  We can be their friends, that introduce them to how things work on this side of the galaxy.  Because, and i'm only being honest, in another 700 years, they will make a move against us.  And we will not survive with both the Humans and the M'hrrkst on our borders."

The Emperor sighed.

"When D'Lurk met the gol-beast, in the Old Stories, he didn't fight it.  It was smaller than him..."

G'Gerlian sat up.

"You are saying we should offer fruits and drinks to the Humans, like D'Lurk did to the Gol-beast?"

"Yes!"

"And then, after a few elevens of years..."

"YES!" J'Jerk shouted

"Like D'Lurk, we will slay the Gol-best of humans when they expect friendship for..."

and they both quoted from one of the Old stories together

"...No creature should challenge the Star Empire, and Honor is for the conquored!"

"YES!" J'Jerk shouted.

G'Gerlian pulled his sidearm and shot J'Jerk directly in his first heart.

J'Jerk fell over, his bloodlife jumping in spurts on the floor, as his lesser heart tried to pick up the slack.

"The files on the humans, on their systems will be sent automatically upon my death, you coward of an Emperor." J'jerk spat.

"Fool. No creature should challenge the Star Empire.  And the Emperor IS the Star Empire.  I will never take council from the lowest."



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