Chapter 142: (Dreams) (2/2)
The Vuknaraan shook his head. ”I have no idea, Miss Dreams.”
”Exactly, to the day, twenty Terran years,” she said slowly. ”Before that the record was fifteen years.”
The watching Vuknaraan all expressed shock.
”Would you care to guess, before the Terran race's diaspora, what the longest period of species peace the Terrans ever had?”
The Vuknaraan thought for a moment. ”Two centuries?”
Dreams laughed. ”Before the diaspora, the Terran species never had a single year go by without warfare going on between at least two groups. When my species glassed Terra, they were actually about to go from intermittent combat between various elements to full on war between Terra and its colonies.”
”BREAKING NEWS: MANTIDS CLAIM TO HAVE GLASSED TERRA!”
”Miss Dreams, what does that have to do with why they would occupy our worlds for decades?” another diplomat asked.
Letting the chain drop down and start to swing again Dreams looked at the gathered diplomats. ”They won't trust you not to attack them as soon as they turn away from you to pick up a gift to hand to you.”
”ARE TERRANS CLINICALLY PARANOID? EXPERTS SAY: NO. PARANOIA IS AN UNREASONABLE BELIEF OTHERS ARE OUT TO GET YOU.”
”They will change your culture, change your society, attempt to show you a better way that does not involve attacking them. They will even leave you to your own devices, never contacting you until you contact them. Eventually, they will forgive you, because that is a very Terran thing to do, forgive your enemies,” Dreams said. ”My race was forgiven and we glassed Terra, killed a third of the Terrans alive during the war.”
”But in war, they are terrible,” Dreams said softly. ”Terrible beyond anything you can imagine.”
Another Vuknaraan stood up and Dreams pointed at them with a bladearm.
”Miss Dreams, why are you telling our people this?” the Vuknaraan asked. ”Are you asking us to surrender even before war is declared?”
”War had already been declared by Terran rules with my attempted assassination,” Dreams said. ”But, should you not prefer to surrender, the Terrans do have another option.”
The assembled Vuknaraans looked from Dreams to the heavy looking matte black almost robotic looking cyborgs with the amber eyes.
”What might that be, Miss Dreams?” the Vuknaraan asked, feeling his tail twitch and the fur over his spine lift up in fear as he realized he had seen those same black cyborgs fight Precursor machines.
”Neutrality. Or even ask to be allies. Neutrality means you will not engage in combat operations against the Terran Confederacy, although a strict interpretation would also mean that you could not trade or aid the Lanaktallan or their allies,” Dreams said. ”My speech, to be honest, is merely to allow you to consider that you have more choices than surrender or be destroyed.”
The Vuknaraan all nodded slowly. Another stood up and Dreams pointed at the female.
”So the Terrans would offer more than 'surrender and be destroyed' to our people?” the female asked.
”The Terrans have a long history of war and because of this fact, this irrefutable fact backed up by tens of thousands of years of warfare and this has given them a depth of understanding of war that far surpasses anything you might believe from such a young species,” Dreams said. ”And they would tell you 'surrender or be destroyed' because they would not intend on destroying your culture and society and way of life even if you surrendered.”
”But you stated that the Terran Confederacy would do just that if we had surrendered,” another Vuknaraan blurted out. ”We asked you what the Confederacy would do if we surrendered and you stated that they would occupy us and do just that.”
”I stated they would do that if you went to war with them. Right now, you are a victim of the attempted assassination in the same way that I was intended to be,” Dreams said. ”The Terrans will agree with me that an Act of War was perpetrated against your people.”
Dreams flicked open the knife and drove it into the top of the podium, feeling like an old time Terran diplomat as she did so.
”You are at war. You have been attacked. You have been betrayed,” Dreams said.
”You are at war. The Terran Confederacy offers its support to you in your time of war.”
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MANTID FREE WORLDS
They attacked her! Tried to kill her! HOW DARE THEY!
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TERRASOL
If they offer to surrender or be neutral, will you accept it?
/////////
TREANA'AD HIVE WORLDS
There's irony for you. TERRASOL asking sis if she's going to be calm.
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
MANTID FREE WORLDS
Someone attacked us! Us! We're pacifists.
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TERRASOL
I hate to say this, but I don't think you're the first.
And I don't think you're going to be the last.
/////////
TREANA'AD HIVE WORLDS
I hope you're wrong.
I really do.