Chapter Eighteen (2/2)
the mantis creature?
The confusion that action caused kept the council chamber to go silent.
A slight blush colored Speaks wings and slowly colored two lines, one on either side, of his abdomen. He reached out for the little russet speaker, calming its mind, and spoke through it.
”I have come before this body, not to ask permission, but to merely inform,” the little russet one said, it's voice a high pitched peep that some in the council thought was done to make it appear cute.
Some noted that one of the two big armored figures aimed his rifle at it and wondered why. It was so cute and harmless looking.
”You should know, and understand, not only what you face, but what you have no choice but to rely upon to save you from an onslaught you cannot defeat,” Speaker said, its voice slowly lowering. ”If you are ready to hear my thoughts signify a vote of yes upon your podium.”
The little black one spoke. ”Vote no and we shall leave and you shall wonder why it all happened.”
Speaks found himself trembling and willed his implants to shock him down his central ganglia.
The vote was carried, barely passing, and an electric shock broke into Speaks's fantasy of exploding into sudden and violent motions, screeching his species ancient war-cry.
Omnitargeting data was shared across the linkages.
”We will hear your words,” the High Council Speaker said.
I would rather make you hear my thoughts, Speaks thought to himself. Being so close to these species made digestive juice slowly coat his mandibles, but he cleaned it away rather than let his escorts see it drip from his jaw... mandibles.
The little gold one shocked him.
Hard.
”In ancient times, before your species were much more than barely sentient creatures crawling, not understanding, the Precursor War occured between...” Speaks started.
Several of the councilbeings shouted they knew history and get on with it. A half dozen screamed that Precursors were mere rumor, baseless unfounded rumors designed to frighten and spread conspiracies among the mentally ill.
Speaks disconnected himself from the sight organs on everything around him, slowly cleaning his bladearms as the cattle around him brayed and whinnied and mooed as if their words and crude vocal sounds mattered at all.
The gold one shocked him again and brought to the attention of his guards that one of her cybernetic implants was showing signs of overheating.
Wisps of vapor drifted from the mouths of the 60mm cannons and the council was stilled by sound of superdense capacitors charging.
”Between two races,” Speaks continued. He had to impart this knowledge to them, to make them understand what they faced. ”Those races build vast machines to combat one another.”
Again the council chamber fell to arguing whether or not the the Precursor races could have built what was ravaging their worlds, how they could last a hundred million years.
Speaks slowly stood to his full height, a twelve foot mantis, with thick exoskeleton armor over thick biomechanical muscle. His bladearms suddenly molted, the dead carapace puffing away, the blades glittering in the lights of the council chambers.
Thirty billion viewers shrunk back and gasped as the sight of the Mantid triggered some kind of primordial instinct in their brains.
The council members all went still, their muscles frozen, their words stuck in their throats, even their hearts stilled as their brains were squeezed somehow. The invisible wave crashed through the building, washed over the city, and began to cover the world.
”HEAR MY WORDS AND DESPAIR!” Speaks in Loud Spaces roared out with his mind.
Billions screamed in terror.
”WE PRECURSORS REALIZED THERE WERE ONLY ENOUGH RESOURCES IN A FINITE UNIVERSE TO SUPPORT A SINGLE RACE! ONE SIDE'S WAR MACHINES DETERMINED THAT THEY WOULD BE THAT RACE AND THEIR CREATORS FLED THEIR MACHINES!” Speaks in Loud Spaces howled into every mind within a fractured microsecond.
His little ones went perfectly still.
”WE LEFT BEHIND OUR CATTLE TO BE EXTERMINATED BY THE OTHER SIDE'S DEATH MACHINES!” Speaks roared out. ”NOW THEY HAVE COME TO FINISH THE JOB! ONLY THOSE WHO CAN WITHSTAND ONE SUCH AS I HAVE ANY HOPE AGAINST THEM!”
He exploded into motion.
The council watched as the two armored figures roared in wrath and hatred, abandoning weapons to shift their weight to bring fists to bear.
Speaks turned inside out and splashed into his component parts as the implosion charge, forged into a wire that ran from his skull to the end of his abdomen, was triggered as he moved faster than the cybernetic embedded in his spine would allow.
”Now you know,” The little gold one said, looking at the terrified beings of the council chamber. She looked around at the gathered politicians. ”Do you understand?”
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MANTID FREE WORLDS EXTERNAL MEMO
now they know
terrasol protect us from ourselves
--------NOTHING FOLLOWS--------
CONFED MEMO
TO: ALL
Safety precautions went well. Now they know why they can't win on their own. From what we've seen, we have to help them break the chains laid in the ancestor's minds that still hold them today.
May the Omnimessiah protect them.