Megaclick 1
Mistress Fleet Conductor Vaxzin unconsciously preened her pedipalps with her small upper arms, a nervous habit from childhood. The breeding rights of her entire genetic lineage would be impacted by the outcome of this endeavor whether it was successful or not. Her duty pulled at her innards like strong gravity. The invasion was a small task but it cast such a long shadow.
The first phase of the invasion would be short but critical: any early orbital resistance must be crushed with overwhelming force. The aliens must be made to understand the bleak futility of their situation. They must be demoralized into submission. It would be easier on them in the long run.
According to the Sensor Diviners the Earxlings had cobbled together some rudimentary orbital defences contrary to the initial reports that they had none whatsoever. This meant it was possible, although still unlikely, that the war fleet had been detected in advance.
Of course if the fleet hadn't been detected that would mean that the initial scouting reports were inaccurate enough to have missed the Earxling orbital defenses entirely. The Fleet Conductor preened her padipalps.
It was irrelevant, in any case, she soothed herself. At their level of technological sophistication there was nothing the native Earxlings could do to stop the inevitable.
The fleet pressed forward. The Earxling orbital satellites attacked, firing low wattage lasers without even basic carrier fields. Each blast was satisfyingly dispersed by the lead ship's shields in rainbow bursts of color. Such weapons had no hope of penetrating the shields of a Zo-categorization Strifecruiser. All the Earxlings accomplished was to give the Adjunct Shield Tenders a little practice and demonstrate to themselves how hopeless their situation was.
One by one the satellites were targeted and destroyed with precise shots from the Strifecruiser's secondary weapons. The humans had accomplished nothing with them besides an expenditure of resources. This was precisely the kind of overwhelming force the Fleet Conductor had been hoping to demonstrate.
"Mistress Fleet Conductor," shouted one of the Sensor Diviner, his four arms working frantically at the elaborate console blooming out in front of him, "I have divined several detonations within the Earxling satellite network."
"More attack satellites?" asked the Fleet Conductor.
"No," replied the Sensor Diviner. "It appears to be sabotage."
"Let them destroy their own satellites then," said the Fleet Conductor. "We have no need of their piddling Atomic Age technology."
It brought to mind the ignorant charm of a child to think that the Earxlings thought denying her access to their satellites would actually be striking any kind of blow against the looming Vavax invasion. If anything this would aid the invasion effort.
"Mistress Fleet Conductor!" shouted the Sensor Diviner yet again.
"What?" asked the Fleet Conductor. "Be wary that you do not waste my time."
"A thousand apologies Fleet Conductor, but there have been several more detonations. It appears the Earxlings are deliberately creating a chain reaction that is completely destroying their entire orbital network."
"I do not relish repeating myself," said the Fleet Conduct. "Let the Earxlings destroy whatever of their own technology they wish. It will hinder us not one xur."
The Fleet Conductor saw what the Earxlings were attempting, what her pathetic mewling underling was trying to tell her. The satellite wreckage would soon become an orbital storm of debris that would make the passage of unshielded ships impossible.
It was almost clever, demonstrative of the kind of low-cunning common among non-starfaring sapients. The Earxlings, lacking shield technology themselves, didn't realize that such an effort would be entirely wasted on the Vavax. It wouldn't stop her Enroachmentskiffs.
"I feel duty bound at this moment to remind-" Journeyman Keeper of Decorum Mavavo began.
"Yes," snarled the Fleet Conductor. "I am aware of the protections afforded a class three biosphere under galactic law. They have been enumerated to me over and over by a particular irritant of mine over the course of a very long voyage."
"I have a duty," said the Keeper of Decorum, bristling.
"Consider it expunged," replied the Fleet Conductor. "I will not demean myself to explain my invasion plan to you but it has taken into account your constant whining."
It wasn't her plan. Not really. It was standard operating procedure for dealing with a sub K0.5 civilization inhabiting a class three or better biosphere. It had been contained in the first databurst she had received at the war academy.
First she had to crush all initial orbital resistance with overwhelming force. This part was nearly complete. Next she would subdue the populace with warfooted compliance drones, subvert their leaders, and communicate through them to the populace what the new status quo would be as tributaries of Vavax. Finally any remaining pockets of resistance would be crushed brutally to set an example.
It was a plan of action that had been used to absorb hundreds of alien worlds. She had altered it only slightly to take into account the peculiarities of Earx.
* * *
Megaclick 2
While a complex web of laws and treaties protected the biosphere of Earx, as sapients the Earxlings themselves were entirely at the mercy of the Vavax.
The Enroachmentskiffs had easily pushed through the wreckage in Earx orbit and began their task of distributing warfooted compliance drones across the various population centers. Earxlings helpfully clustered together very densely with made this task unusually easy.
The drones were specifically programmed not to fight unless attacked first. This would keep the damage they would do to the biosphere to an absolute minimum. Instead their task was to spray out clouds of nanocompilers into the air where they would saturate the bodily fluids of the weak-skinned Earxlings.
Once an Earxling had been infected with the nanocompilers they could be killed remotely. They could also be made to experience pain. This would ensure compliance with the New Planetary Order.
Naturally the nanocompilers would only target sapients so as not to violate the rights of the local biosphere.
The drones had been deployed now for the better part of a megaclick. That should have been more than enough time for them to do their work.
Master Dronefather Rinrovu approached the tall, imposing command throne atop which sat Mistress Fleet Conductor Vaxzin while all around her hexagonal holographic screens buzzed like insects.
"Master Dronefather," said the Fleet Conductor, in acknowledgment. "Do you have something to report?"
"I-I do Mistress Fleet Conductor," the Dronefather stammered. "We continue to encounter difficulties in engaging the drone campaign."
The Fleet Conductor preened her pedipalps.
"Get to the point," she hissed. "What are these 'difficulties'?"
"T-There has been an... un-unusual phenomenon. A non-trivial percentage of the Earxling population has had a-an unusual reaction to the nanocompilers. It seems rather than being pacified into submission by the looming prospect of death it has the opposite effect. Many of the Earxlings react to the news that they have been dosed by becoming suicidally reckless warriors without regard for their own personal safety. They have been frighteningly effective at striking back at us considering our ability to kill them at a distance."
"Does any of this threaten the overall invasion?" asked the Fleet Conductor.
"No," admitted the Dronefather, 'but-"
"Then it is not something that requires my personal attention. Deal with this however you see fit. It seems that the Earxlings are particularly reckless when threatened. We shall assimilate this new information. For now move forward with the subversion of the Earxling leadership. Target them specifically with the nanocompiler clouds. Once we have their leaders under our control we should have less trouble from the locals."
"Fleet Conductor-"
"You are no longer required at this time. Be gone."
* * *
Megaclick 3
"I want an explanation," snarled the Fleet Conductor.
"You see Mistress-" began Adjunct Animal Speaker Zinxu.
"Explanation."
"I'm- We're not absolutely sure what it is that's going on."
"That's not an explaination."
"It appears to be some quick of the umarin psychology-"
"The what?"
"It's the Earxling name for themselves."
"I thought they called themselves Earxlings."
"No, that's just the planet."
"Fine. Proceed."
"The umarin's appear to take issue with any of their leaders siding with us. That would seem to be the deciding factor in the behavior we're observing. The very act of collaborating with our invasion, for some peculiar reason, the umarins interpret negatively cross-culturally. None of the factionalism they had displayed during our observations has come into play. All attempts to play them against one another for our own benefit has failed miserably. They are united in opposition to us in a way we have never before observed."
"You're telling me that as soon as one of their leaders starts working for Vavax these 'umarins' stop seeing them as a leader?"
"Exactly."
"That could be inconvenient. What do you say, Master Dronefather? Why is the Earxling population still in a position to resist us?"
"The situation is unusual," said the Dronefather. "Nobody told me before we came here that Earxlings were insane. Irrational. Through countless sacrifices, killing themselves in fact-finding expeditions mind you, they have determined the maximum range at which our drones can trigger the nanocompiler kill switch. They have a few weapons that can operation in excess of this range. They have already destroyed so many drones, I barely have enough drones to maintain control of the major cities. They know the terrain a lot better than we do and those infected with nanocompilers always fight to the death."
"I can activate any kill switch from orbit," said the Fleet Conductor. "Give me the coordinates of the largest rebel operations and I'll wipe them out."
"Excuse me, Mistress Fleet Conductor..." began one of the Sensor Diviners.
"This had better be important."
"We actually can't trigger any of the kill switches from the Strifecruiser."
"Why in the galaxy not?"
"There's too much debris in orbit," explained the Sensor Diviner. "We can't get a signal through."
* * *
Megaclick 4
The invasion was way behind schedule. The Vavax had not even been able to set up a stable puppet government for more than a half megaclick before it would be assassinated down to a nub.
The situation was just as bad with the drones. Now that the Earxlings had found a weakness drones were falling in too great a number to ignore. It was time to teach these upstart aliens a lesson.
The Fleet Conductor had been hoping to conquer the planet Earx without having to land any living Vavax soldiers, that was always a point of prestige, but these braying barbarians were proving more trouble than she had anticipated.
It had been an honor to play host to an entire division of Miravan caste-warriors, even if she had been certain she would never have to use them. It was an even greater honor to now deploy them at the head of a great invasion force. This would be the foot with which the Fleet Conductor stomped out the last remnants of the human resistance.
The Earxlings may have little devious aliens tricks with which they could dispatch a few combat drones, but they would be no match for a thinking opponent from a true starfaring race.
Yes, the Fleet Conductor told herself. This new plan cannot fail.
She preened her pedipalps.
* * *
Megaclick 5
"You are the Miravan! The most highly trained and well equipped soldiers known to Vavax. Known to the galaxy! You are fighting children armed with sticks who haven't fully crawled out of the gravity well of their own homeworld. What could they possibly be attacking you with that is causing casualties in these numbers?"
"Drones," replied Mistress Force Conductor Xamala.
"Drones?"
"Reprogrammed warfooted compliance drones. They're just using them as war drones. It seems they have a lot of them."
The Fleet Conductor preened her pedipalps.
"These drones... they're doing things it's hard to believe. The humans aren't just reprogramming their friend/foe protocols they're changing their tactics. I have never seen drones fight like this."
"You are supposed to be Miravan!"
This was not good. Even first-class vassal species like the Fleet Conductor's own people didn't understand the secrets of Vavax drone technology. They merely made use of the equipment they were issued. If these 'umarins' were able to manipulate it that did not bode well.
"Contact the Dronefather!" she commanded. "Withdraw all drones from Earx. We will settle this conflict in the ancient way: by personal combat'.
* * *
Megaclick 6
"Explain!" snarled the Fleet Conductor. She never seemed friendly but currently, looming atop her throne of technology, she looked like an outright monster.
Adjunct Animal Speaker Zinxu clacked the tiny feeding hands inside his mouth, a nervous habit from childhood.
"We- we- we- we always knew that the umarins had split the atom. This kind of technology was well within their capabilities."
"I'm not interested in their capabilities!" spat the Fleet Conductor. "I'm interested in the psychology that would cause them to detonate an atomic weapon in their own atmosphere!"
"Actually, Mistress Fleet Conductor," risked one of the Sensor Diviners. "Reports have come in of a second atomic detonation."
"They're insane! They're suicidal! What's wrong with them?" ranted the Fleet Conductor.
"I feel duty bound at this moment to remind you," began Journeyman Keeper of Decorum Mavavo, "that any damage done to the biosphere of Earx during this invasion will be the legal liability of Vavax regardless of which side caused it. As outside aggressors we have an expanded duty of care to the biosphere."
"I know that!" snapped the Fleet Conductor. "Don't you think I know that?"
She preened her pedipalps.
This was a disaster. Forget the invasion, if the humans did too much more damage to their own biosphere the Vavax would be cripplingly sanctioned. There would be raxal to pay back home. Forget her genetic line her entire people would be demoted in status.
There was no way she could allow this to continue for a click longer. She had to salvage what she could from the situation.
"Begin a general withdraw," she announced. "Pull every asset we have on the planet immediately. I want the entire fleet ready to leave this system as soon as possible."
* * *
Day 264
It had been moved to the large custom-built warehouse at great expense. The invading aliens had their own name for the machine, something it was hard to pronounce, but it was obviously an invasion ship of some kind. These were the black monoliths that blotted out the sun and brought with them the hated compliance drones.
The scientists and engineers in the warehouse, a gathering of some of the best minds left in the ruins of the world, weren't brought here to study the alien war tech. No, the war had taught humanity much about that already. They were here to study something else the wrecked ship had to teach.
FTL.