Xenophobia - Chapter 33

    "To start, I feel the need to reiterate, these entries aren't directly about the Old Judge." Illiquina stated hesitantly.
    "We know that already." Ferris agreed.
    "Mmm." Darrian with a nod.
    "But it's something." Ferris added. "They were all from the same batch, right? Theoretically they have the same purpose."
    "A reasonable assumption." Illiquina confirmed.
    She let out a sigh and seemed to consider their two expectant gazes.
    "Well, the original batch consisted of a dozen units." Illiquina began. "Much like other robots from that era, they were identical in appearance, if not design."
    "At that time, they were pretty much just referred to by a basic code designation: DR." she continued. "After reviewing the files, I'm thinking that the old judge might have been DR-5. Not that it matters."
    "DR?" Darrian asked.
    "Diplomatic Robot."
    "So they were meant for diplomacy." Ferris observed. "Somehow I expected something a little more vile."
    Illiquina snickered to herself and tapped a few things on her datapad.
    "Diplomacy has many purposes, Rodent." she shot back snidely.
    Ferris begun to huff up at her aside, but Darrian weakly waved a hand at him. He didn't have the patience for their back and forth at the moment.
    "What do you mean?" he asked weakly.
    "I mean that people can use diplomacy for different things." Illiquina repeated.
    "That doesn't..." Darrian began.
    "They were designed to get something from someone." Ferris clarified.
    "Not just someone, but many someones." Illiquina confirmed.
    "You have to remember: this was the very beginning of the Consortium. The Merrenians had just discovered a half a dozen different races, all who had active war machines and armadas that vastly rivaled anything of their own." she continued. "But there was one thing that your species had that no other did."
    "Robots?" Ferris asked.
    "True, you had a mastery of robotics." Illiquina said with a nod. "Your evolution had demanded that for your exosuits."
    "More than that though." she said with a look of mild disgust. "The Merrenians were incredibly cunning and wonderful at wheedling what they wanted out of others."
    "But...what did they want?" Darrian thought out loud.
    "Sounds like not getting caught in a six species war was a good goal." Ferris remarked.
    "Water." Illiquina said simply.
    Darrian and Ferris glanced at each other.
    "Water?" they asked in unison.
    "Goals don't change much do they." Illiquina remarked.
    "Well. We all use water, don't we?" asked Darrian.
    "Now we do. But Merrenains were the first to really utilize water on a mass scale. It served a million purposes. But just like today it was an essential component in the cooling systems for Merrenian robotics and industrial capabilities."
    Darrian nodded softly but Ferris looked confused.
    "Things haven't changed much that way." she added in that way.
    "What's that mean?" Ferris questioned.
    "I means that the Merrenians still hold stakes in seventy percent of the galactic water stakes." she shot back with just a hint of anger.
    Darrian had never considered it before, but figured she must be right. He also doubted that Illiquina would embellish such a fact even with her occasional temper.
    "Ok. We wanted water." Ferris snapped back quickly. "Hell. If I remember my history classes correctly, the discovery of water was what drove us off planet. But what do the DR robots have to do with that?"
    "Because what better way to get what we need than to take it from others?" Darrian said thoughtfully. The words were slow but weighed heavy on his mind.
    Illiquina gave a little nod.
    "And what's better way to take from others?" she said coolly. "Than to have it given freely."
    They sat there in silence for a minute, considering what had been said. Darrian felt like lightning was jolting through his brain. Even with the sludge of exhaustion, the wheels began to turn again.
    "The Consortium's whole purpose...was to steal water? To take it from the other species?"
    "It's not like it says in the file." Illiquina said. "And it's not like the Consortium hasn't done wonderful things. But everything points to that. That and keeping the other species relatively passive to avoid unnecessary cost or wars."
    He couldn't believe what was being said. Thousands of rotations of peace and prosperity. Born of simple avarice.
    It was just too much to take in.
    "Then the old judge is just the last of the DR robots?" Ferris asked curiously. "The last remnant?"
    "Yes." Illiquina confirmed. "But I think it might be more than that."
    "How so?"
    "Well, I can't confirm without the Judge's profile...or the Guillae's..."
    Darrian tilted his head in curiosity at the mention of the plant people.
    "But I think the old judge stood out among his 'brothers'." Illiquina said quietly. "I think he was special in some way the others weren't."

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Xenophobia - Chapter 12

    "Have you lost your minds?!" bellowed the old judge at the holographic images of Guor-a and Juag-e.
    Darrian had never seen them side by side, but it suddenly struck him how much smaller in stature Juag-e was in comparison to the High Maister. He knew the little Juag-e was known for being a bit shorter than his compatriots, but he had to wonder if the Armada leader that he stood side-by-side with was not also larger than normal for his species.
    "You think I'm crazy?" yelled back Guor-a with just as much ferocity. "You're the ones that are out of touch with reality! All it seems that you ever do is talk and talk!"
    "Yes! We've been hosting a council to review information! Our purpose isn't to declare war on defenseless species!"
    "They're defenseless now, but what about in a rotation? Damnit! What about in half a rotation? These creatures move at such a rapid pace they might achieve interstellar travel in thirty cycles! Beating down our doors in thirty two!"
    "So you admit you'd be slaughtering a defenseless civilization." snapped A'alan't 32 with more emotion than Darrian had ever heard from the Bivvie.
    "Is it considered slaughter to vaccinate a victim from a disease? To give them medicine and kill an infection before they are cowering with illness?"
    "The humans are not an infection!" screamed the old judge.
    "Then why quarantine them if they aren't little more than a plague waiting to happen?"
    Murmurs whispered throughout the Consortium at that. A large number of the ambassadors had remained silent through the screaming contest. When the emergency council had been called, no one knew what to expect given the last time war was declared by anyone was many rotations ago. Now, sitting before this fervent anger, few even knew how to react.
    "To observe and collect data. To avoid outward influences." retorted the old judge.
    "And to keep us safe in case they proved themselves dangerous." growled Guor-a
    "Guor-a." said Illiquina softly.
    His scaled visage glowered back at her.
    "The humans are a terrifying race. Hell, the fact that they can breathe poison is unsettling enough. Yet, they are exceptionally young. We've already had observations regarding a majority population living in support of many ideals the Consortium holds dear."
    "We've seen many who are in support of peace and prosperity and ending the needless violence their species has suffered." she finished with a joyous lit to her voice that seemed to defy Guor-a's anger.
    "Would these be the same creatures that declare war on each other regularly? Would this be the same species whose only reason for trying to escape their atmosphere is in the name of competition?"
    "It's the same species who is learning to overcome their primordial instincts and move on to something greater. To look for something greater." said Cherryl with a level of confidence in her normally shaky tone that left several ambassadors staring with surprise.
    "Don't talk to me about what humans are or aren't like." growled Guor-a, pointing a clawed finger at no one in particular. "I've learned all I need to know."
    "And what does that mean?" inquired the old judge.
    "After Juag-e came to me some cycles ago, I decided to do some digging. I found out that a few of my fellow compatriots had already known about this monstrous little species."
    Any side discussion there was within the Consortium fell dead silent.
    "What are you saying?" asked Darrian in utter shock.
    "We've already known about humans for some time now. In fact, it would seem that our own survey was being conducted. We even have Tulguck infiltrators in a number of higher governmental offices learning all about..."
    "YOU TREASONOUS PIECE OF SHIT!" screamed the old judge, pounding the table with an echoing boom.
    Darrian stared in disbelief at the old judge. The old robot had been around for more rotations than Darrian would ever know. He'd been programmed with the ability to learn, but, at the end of the day, he had a base programming. Where or when the old judge would have learned such a fervent and emotional reaction was beyond him.
    "YOU MOCK US WITH THIS INFORMATION?!" continued the old judge. "HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN EVERY FACET OF THE CONSORTIUM'S AGREEMENTS?!"
    "And what would you be referring to?" asked Guor-a with a look of contempt.
    "Your government withheld information about a possible spacebound species! Not only that, but you're bragging that you've INFILTRATED their government?! Do you know that kind of damage you could be doing."
    "Look robot..." responded Guor-a in a surprising docile tone. "I'm not the one who made those calls. Hell, I'm not even sure I could find out who. But at the end of the day, we're talking about a plague. A pestilence. A virus that needs to be wiped from the galaxy before it can spread."
    "That's not your call to make! You're going against everything your species agreed to...everything this Consortium stands for!"
    "Then stop me."
    The old judge fell silent. No one on the Consortium maintained an Armada or Fleet anymore. No one but the two youngest species: the Tulgucks and the Gorderians. At best, each species kept a small defense force, but nothing that could even hope to stand up to Guor-a.
    What was worse: given the sheer amount of how often Jin'thun and Juag-e agreed on matters of state, Darrian didn't doubt the Gorderians would soon be joining the Tulgucks to cull the humans.
    And there was nothing they could do.
    "That's what I thought." continued Guor-a with a sneer when no one said anything.
    "If you do this, you'll be making an enemy of us, Guor-a." said the old judge in a low tone. "The Tulgucks will be stripped of their trade rights and positions within the Consortium."
    "Maybe so." said Juag-e. "Maybe it means our species has a falling out for now. But in a few rotations, after you've had time to think about how nice it is not being murdered in your beds, I'm sure we'll be welcomed back. With sanctions, of course...or maybe as heroes."
    "Time will tell." finished Juag-e with a small smile that suggested he really did believe they were in the right.
    "Don't do this." Darrian suddenly pleaded.
    The humans terrified him, yet the thought of simply wiping them from existence...murdering billions of people before they could respond. He couldn't stomach the idea.
    "It's already done." said Juag-e.
    "Our Armada is mobilizing as we speak." added Guor-a. "Soon enough we will remove this threat and you all can sleep peacefully once again."
    The image snapped out and the reptilian visages of the Tulgucks disappeared. No one said anything. No one knew what to say. Everyone just seemed to stare at the blank space where the hologram had been.
    "They're all going to die..." whispered Ugul woefully.
    Darrian's gaze wandered the room to Ugul and then to the other ambassadors. All of them looked devastated. There was nothing that could do. The Tulgucks were going to Earth and would probably be joined by...
    The Gorderians.
    Everyone seemed to have the same thought. As if on cue, dozens of eyes were staring intently at Jin'thun and the other Gorderians representatives.
    "Well shit..." growled Jin'thun with a look of annoyance.

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(Hello Lovelies! I'm so sorry that this took longer than planned to come out, but I had a few personal things that hit me hard and, to be candid, I've found I'd much rather focus my efforts on Xenophobia right now then simply forcing myself to right random tidbits. I should have a more stable schedule now, so I'm sorry again for missing a couple days! Keep an eye out to find out what the Gorderians are going to do.)

Xenophobia - Chapter 5

    "Clearly the only thing we can do is eliminate them before they become a threat to the entire galactic community." stated one of the Tulgucks with a disturbing coolness.
    The attention of the entire table was instantly turned towards him.
    "You're talking about genocide." the old judge retorted with an edge of warning in his voice. "And last I checked, that wasn't even on the table."
    "Who are you to even suggest such a thing?" snapped Darrian. He couldn't deny the fear that these humans set in him, but the thought of simply killing them all...
    "My name is Guor-a and, when I'm not listening to galactic monster stories, I'm the high Maister of the Tulguck Armada."
    That explains it. thought Darrian.
    The Tulgucks were one of two races that were regularly on thin ice in the Galactic Consortium. The other being the Gorderians. Both were a younger species, newer in the Consortium, and still felt the need to maintain regular defense forces. They had been regularly encouraged to decommission the majority of their fleets but neither were ever actively forced to since galactic conflict was practically extinct at this day and age.
    "These creatures. These humans. They're showing all of the viciousness of another Krellan empire. Or am I the only one who remembers them? I don't know how you were even entertaining the idea of quarantine initially. We need to deal with them before they gain a foothold in the galaxy."
    Darrian started to feel sick, but for a new reason. The other Tulgucks wore a stoic stare and nodded as Guor-a spoke. Likewise, several more members around the table, including all of the Gorderians, also seemed to be agreeing with him on this.
    "W-w-we can't do that." shuddered the Cadrax. "It wouldn't even be a war. It'd be a slaughter."
    "Exactly." replied Guor-a
    "Now wait." demanded the Jigger. "It's not like the Tulgucks started off on the best footing, but you were allowed time to learn the way of the universe. Could you imagine if we had reacted so brashly?"
    "We would have responded in turn. And besides, could you imagine if you had reacted to the Krellan's quickly enough? We'd still have the Iqru and the Logast joining us for this meeting."
    "The Krellan were a long standing member of the Consortium and had the ability to fight back. Whether we agreed with them or not, they had a right to life. If you were to bring the might of your Aramada down on the human planet you'd be erasing a species before it's time comes."
    "Actually, it sounds like their time came and went already."
    "ENOUGH." the old judge snapped. "As of currently, we have a grand total of a twentieth of a rotation of on-planet observation. A TWENTIETH! This is combined with another twelve rotations worth of long range data that needs to be corroborated. We cannot destroy a species on so little evidence."
    Guor-a snapped up and glared at the old judge. The robot glared right back. Darrian thought he could practically feel the tension in the air.
    "Hold on!" snapped one of the Gorderians. "It's not your place to tell us what we can and can't do. We didn't build you, that was the Merrinians. If they want to listen to a robot, that's their choice but we'll vote on what we want to do!"
    There were a number of cheers from around the table and Darrian felt himself sinking back into his spot. The judge was looking back and forth around the table, clearly battling with the decision.
    "Fine. We will vote." he finally said.
    "But..." the judge's gaze turned towards Guor-a. "All members of the Consortium will obey the decision."
    Guor-a simply nodded in agreement but said nothing more.
    "Alright then. By a show of support." the judge said.
    "All those in favor of Interaction?"
    No response.
    "All those in favor of Extermination."
    There were several grunts of assent and datapads lit up around the table. Darrian was surprised at the sheer number.
    "And those in favor of Quarantine?"
    Darrian tapped his own datapad and watched it light up with a large number of others around the table.
    "It's settled than. Quarantine will be instated due to a vote of 53% compared to 47% for Extermination."
    Guor-a growled and immediately stomped out of the room, the other Tulgucks in tow behind him. The Gorderians quickly followed along with a scattering of others. Darrian couldn't help but feel relieved that they hadn't just condemned a brand new species to death.
    "The species will be Quarantined until further notice." stated the old judge. "For the time being, however, we will be assigning a group to maintain constant vigil and assess the galactic risk that they might pose. Should something be discovered that might tip the scales, we shall reconvene. You are dismissed."

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