Wrath of an Angry God: A Military Space Opera

by Michaels, Gibson

  Drix turned to Diet and asked, “Can this be true?”

  It is… Diet just doesn’t like admitting to it. He is also a member of the Royal Family of the Imperial Germanic Empire, one of the other human nations attacked by the renegade quadrant-master, so Diet is also an official representative of their government, as well. Excessive modesty has always been Diet’s primary personality fault. His uniforms and credentials confirming these facts are in the captain’s cabin, where he and Noreen sleep.

  Drix looked towards Xior and Varq and asked, “Should I do this?”

  Varq looked at the warrior he’d raised from a cub and said, “Let your spirit be your guide. You are Dol’s instrument… his chosen one. None can know the mind of Dol as surely as you, for his thoughts are yours, and yours are his. Seek his guidance from within your own heart.”

  Drix nodded and sought Xior’s eyes. Xior merely nodded and responded in solemn agreement with his brother OverMaster saying, “I stand in accession with the wisdom of my brother and add my own admonishment to his. If you truly follow your own heart in this momentous decision, you cannot go far wrong, my son.”

  Drix turned to Diet and said, “I must sleep on this. With your permission, I will return here tomorrow evening with my mate and kit, so they too may taste of these human delicacies and come to know Hal’s family. I will give my answer then.”

  * * * *

  Late that evening, Hal spoke to Diet softly, as to not awaken Noreen or especially, little Hans. Drix is lying prone, before the Altar of Dol, within the main sanctuary of the temple.

  “How do you know this?” asked Diet.

  I wanted some warning in case they decided to send assault troops from the palace against us, so I sent a few of my smallest maintenance microbots scurrying within the shadows throughout the Temple of Dol and the imperial palace to keep an eye on everything going on around us. I’m receiving digitally encoded video feedback from those microbots using double-sideband, suppressed-carrier AM transmission, which I have found no similar utilization of, within the Raknii usage of the frequency spectrum. I’ll display one of those feeds on the main monitor now.

  Diet turned and saw what appeared to be a Raknii male lying prone before the altar, but the lighting was quite dim and identification was impossible to Diet’s eyes. “Are you sure that’s him? It’s hard to tell in that dim lighting from just those few torches.”

  Sorry… Let me enhance the image for you.

  Diet watched as the light levels of the video were artificially amplified and the resolution sharpened until he could see that indeed, it truly was the Raknii supreme-master there, supine and seeking the will of his god.

  “Do you really think he is actually going to surrender the entire Raknii Empire to two human males, one female and an 11-month-old child?”

  You left out the part about the marvelous sentient computer with an undetectable warship… and a partridge in a pear tree. In a word… YES. Drix has been desperately looking for a justifiable reason to do just that.

  “And you know this how?”

  You forget, the me who’s asleep in the XO’s stateroom right now has lived with Drix for over three years. Lived with him, discussed the concepts of morality and ethics to beyond doctoral level with him, and suffered through the maze of problems Drix faces in changing the moral fabric of an entire race.

  Drix knows the most stubborn of die-hards in his culture will never be able to accept such radical changes, simply because he orders it. Only if his race’s ingrained and hypnotically-enhanced responses to defeat in dominance combat can be triggered, may all eventually accept having their violent aggressiveness curtailed by an outside force more dominant than themselves.

  He needed this war with humanity to demonstrate mankind’s military prowess, and now he has a legitimate reason to publicly submit to that prowess.

  “Just because the four of us managed to sneak into the heart of his capital, undetected?”

  Neither Drix, nor any of his people can truly know how many other undetectable ships might be lurking just outside of planetary orbit, just waiting to unleash a cataclysm of biblical proportions upon their sacred home world. They undoubtedly suspect the devastation that Stillman’s 2nd Fleet wreaked upon Slithin might have originated from a massive nuclear device, but they cannot be completely sure that humans were the cause of that explosion.

  The idea that humanity might be so uncivilized as resort to ruinously lethal weapons of mass destruction terrifies them. What might a few new suns created by 100-megaton nukes detonated over the planetary poles of their home world do to their densely inhabited coastal areas? How many undetectable ships within their home system would it take to unleash enough nuclear hell to make this planet totally unlivable for the next few thousand years? Those are the questions that haunt Drix tonight.

  Their population pressures have driven them ever outward, in search of new territory, for over a thousand years, so habitable planets are precious to them. They simply cannot comprehend a race depraved enough to turn a perfectly good, habitable planet into ruined glowing wreckage, just to kill their enemies upon it. The very idea of poisoning a living world, simply to deny it to one’s enemies, is absolutely heinous to the Raknii.

  “But still, how can you possibly think he can justify surrendering the entire Raknii Empire to just three humans and a baby?”

  It’s not what little that we few can actually do, it’s the unknown — the invisible threat of what “might” be lurking out there, and the unimaginable horrors those monstrous lurkers might not hesitate to unleash. That is what Drix will be submitting to.

  * * * *

  Chapter-30

  Men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all the other alternatives. — Abba Eban

  January 1, 3870

  Sealed videos were sent out by spaceliner to every world in the Raknii Empire, with orders that the seals be broken and the contents of those videos broadcast simultaneously on every planet, on this particular day, so that the entire Raknii race would share equally in this momentous news. Twin sets of sealed videos were also dispatched by Raknii spaceliner to all of the planets lost to the human aliens… one in the Raknii language and another in English to apprise humanity of these events as well. The contents of these videos were meticulously scripted, thoroughly choreographed and carefully edited, so their impact would be maximized, as they documented history in the making.

  The scene opened showing the Raknii supreme-master sitting upon his magnificent throne, in the great audience hall of his Imperial palace on Raku — flanked on all sides by region-masters of those three regions not yet engulfed by the rising human tide, wearing their regional colors of red, blue and brown on their silk blouses, with imperial white leggings. The camera then slowly zoomed in to display a close-up headshot, which filled the frame with Drix’ face, displaying his brilliant diamond-on-diamond sunburst rank-stones of the supreme-mastery to maximize their hypnotic effect on the viewers. The view then switched to display a chest-and-head shot, as Supreme-Master Drix began to speak.

  “My fellow Raknii. It is with a heavy heart that I come before you today, for I bear a somber message. Almost twelve cycles ago, an oracle brought forth a dark message from our god, Dol. Since that time, a great number of the things that prophecy foretold have indeed come to pass, so the validity of that prophecy can no longer be doubted. It behooves us then to reexamine those prophetic words, in order to view current events, in light of the wisdom and undeniable will of Dol.”

  Drix then extracted a sheaf of papers and began to read from them:

  “I would that all Raknii returned to the old ways. There is wisdom in the old ways that our race has forsaken. Dol gave us this wisdom in the ancient days for a purpose, to guide us and shape us into what we should be, to fulfill our role in nature. When herd beasts proliferated beyond the land’s ability to provide sufficient nourishment for all, the Raknii culled their numbers back so that balance might be restored and there would o
nce again be plenty for all. That was our great purpose in the universe.

  “We did not kill just because something other moved within our perception. We killed and ate solely to satisfy physical hunger, a message from our bodies that they required additional nourishment to fuel life. When our hunger was satiated, prey beasts were perfectly safe to walk freely among us, and often did. We did not kill just because it was there.

  “Today, the Raknii suffer from a different kind of hunger, a craving not related to the need for nourishment of the body, but for acclaim and acknowledgement. Now we kill whenever prey is present, simply because we can. We kill for amusement. Nothing is safe around us. We kill without consuming, and the nourishment of the kill goes rotting upon the ground.

  “It is abomination! We no longer share the sacred life-death-life relationship with our prey. This insatiable hunger for glory and status is not a natural hunger, but an addiction. We are now the ones who are throwing nature out of balance, for the universe itself cannot manufacture enough blood to slake our ever-growing thirst for more, and yet ever more. Dol will not allow this error to flourish forever. We have become a proliferate weed that strangles the fruits in Dol’s garden of creation and threatens extinction of all of his creatures. Even now, I begin to perceive the beginnings of a great event… the birth pangs of an event that will cull the Raknii as we once culled back the prey herds when their numbers threw nature out of balance.

  “Do not fear this coming apocalypse, for it is necessary… required… ordained of Dol to restore nature’s balance and return our people to their natural role within it. Even if this event were somehow averted, it would be worse for our people in the end, for the universe itself would vomit forth the aberration of the Raknii, expelling us from physical reality, leaving only extinction as our heritage.

  “The Trakaan were merely carriers of the disease that has eaten the soul of our people, by their docile nature and the mere fact that they exist. For generations, Raknii have slowly been losing their way, as we expanded amongst the stars. Our faith turned away from the ancient ways, weakened by the new gods of science and their cub, technology. Dol and the ancient ways were gradually dismissed as mere superstition, unnecessary for beings that had mastered the stars themselves.

  “So Dol sent the Trakaan as a test… a test that our people failed, miserably. It was a test of the spirit, to see whether the Rak’s new self-inspired wisdom could stand in the face of unparalleled prosperity. The abundance of such easy prey poisoned the hearts and minds of our people. It deceived and lured them away even from their new gods of science and technology. The ancient hungers returned, but perverted without Dol’s moderating hand. The hunt, always the hunt… the hunt has now become the newest god of the Raknii. The hunt is a natural part of life, NOT the totality of life itself. We once hunted to live, but now we live to hunt. Those who live for the hunt, shall die by the hunt.

  “We forget that, in ancient days, we were not the only predators on Raku, merely the most successful. This ignorance breeds arrogance among our people… an arrogance that assures us that because we have not yet encountered another, then by default, we must be the ultimate predators in the universe.

  “But there are others… inconceivable raptors so magnificent in their prowess, they routinely cull their own numbers for little more than sport. Even now, Dol is preparing these aliens as punishment for our arrogance and foolishness, bringing a new test of fire and steel to our people. Our attempts to hunt these fearsome predators will begin an ordeal… a scourge that will shatter our arrogant belief of holding the predominant position over all creation — our foolish illusions that we have somehow risen above fulfilling our intended role in nature. Dol will examine us indeed, to see whether our ambitions can stand in violation of his ancient precepts. Avoiding this trial leads only to extinction. If we fail this second test, annihilation is also a possibility.”

  Drix looked up from the paper and said, “Virtually in the very same sub-cycle when that dire prophecy was first pronounced, one of our warships on solo patrol, seeking habitable planets beyond what is now Region-7, discovered a previously unknown race of star-faring aliens. Coincidence, you say? Due to communications delays from the vast distances involved, it took another six full cycles before the Great Hunt was declared by my sire and predecessor, and we attacked these unknown aliens without warning.

  “Our attempts to hunt those fearsome predators truly did begin an ordeal for our people, just as the prophecy foretold — a scourge that has surely shattered our folly… the belief that we hold the predominant position over all creation. Knowing that they would be needed, Dol secreted away more fearsome predators than ourselves against such foolishness. After all that has transpired since, can there be any doubt remaining that these human aliens are indeed, the ultimate predators of that prophecy?

  “Our hundreds of thousands of standard warships have proven totally ineffective against the incredible armor and firepower of the alien fleets. At Slithin, the humans deployed three monstrous asteroid-warships the size of small moons, the likes of which our warriors had never seen before. Those three ships alone destroyed over 6,000 of our newest and best warships, before our fleet was forced to withdraw.

  “Over half of what remained of those new warships was later destroyed at Yegraia, by a single human fleet, that demonstrated a level of courage and determination in combat that far surpassed the bounds of sanity. How are we to defeat such, with what we have at paw?

  “As of this moment, the humans have conquered over 20 per cent of all Raknii worlds. Over 10 million of our people are dead. Thoughts of our courageous warriors, as well as others who have fallen in combat, those who died at their posts, or those who met death otherwise, and all their bereaved families, pain my heart continuously. The welfare of the wounded and other sufferers in this war — those who have lost their homes and livelihood, is the source of profound anxiety both to the Imperial government and myself. Such being the case, how are we then to save the remaining billions of our people from further ravages of futile struggle? The nations of the combined fleets of humanity, who have overwhelmed our fleets, have demanded nothing less than our unconditional surrender, for our unjustified, surprise attack upon them.

  “The vast majority of our finest warships are wrecked, and we stand virtually defenseless before the alien onslaught. And now, I have the unfortunate duty to inform you that these aliens yet possess weapons far more deadly than any they have utilized against us in the past. I have personally witnessed that humans have created an artificially engineered race of sentient computers, capable of controlling entire fleets of warships without a single human aboard.

  “But there is even worse yet, that I must share with you. Those others are here… here at Raku. You say, ‘How can that be?’ These implacable humans have also created warships that are totally undetectable and invisible to our scanners… one of which recently entered the Raku system without our knowledge, and actually landed in the Garden of Dol, atop the Temple of Dol, right next to the Imperial palace, from where I now speak to you.

  “I have personally been aboard this human warship, and have seen its wonders with my own eyes. I have spoken with its occupants… only two males, a female and a kit. You might ask, ‘how is it that so few can be so audacious as to dare sneak in right next to the Imperial palace and land in the Garden of Dol?’ They did it because they could, and they see no reason to fear us… and they are right. We fought them with fang and claw, and they fought us with armor and inconceivable energy weapons. We have been totally outclassed in every battle — mere kits confronting a combat-master, by comparison.

  “You might ask, ‘why I have not ordered this human intruder destroyed for their insult?’ I have not, because I cannot know how many others of its kind lurk out there in the darkness. What are we to do against such incredible technology wielded by a race so deadly, that they dare consider bathing inhabited planets in the radioactive fires of thermonuclear weapons?

 
“I have wrestled and agonized over this question, for events force me to do something to resolve this conflict, based upon what I now know to be true of our enemy’s capabilities. But I found hope, only in one place. At the very end of that dire prophecy given by the oracle who, cycles ago, predicted this very situation that we now find ourselves in.”

  “But if somehow our people can find the wisdom toendure this trial and overcome the disease of narcissism that poisons the mind, only then can the balance of life be restored. Only in passing this test, may the Raknii mature and discover the concept of morality in how we relate to the rest of the universe, and become civilized enough to remain part of it.”

  “Despite the best efforts of our courageous military forces and the devoted service of our people, this war against the humans has not progressed to our advantage, and there remains no logical anticipation that this may change. I have heard it said by our warriors, who have fought the humans and survived, that it appeared that Dol himself was fighting against them, and perhaps it was so — to humble us in this war, for the general trends of the universe have certainly all turned against our interests. I have finally been forced to accept that there can no longer be any hope for victory, but for merely survival. We must endure. We must survive.

  “We arrogantly challenged a true alpha to dominance combat… which we have lost. Our only choices are death, or submission. I am keenly aware of the innermost feelings of all of you, my people… the heartfelt passion to strive against our enemies to the death. But to what purpose? Is our mindset so totally inflexible that any of us can truly believe that racial extinction could possibly be preferable to submission?