Drinking a now almost priceless class of zucco, her mind wandered. Never would she have imagined that she would leave Datha, let alone the sector. Yet here she was, simply another person of a vast fleet heading towards the outlands. Why? Was it because she still remembered that day? But who didnt remember when hundreds of billions began to scream out
and were silenced.
We interrupt you to bring breaking news: all signals from Datha have ceased to broadcast. Our system analysts have already denied any technical malfunction and the representative of the Government has stated that they are still receiving reports on what is ongoing. We shall endeavor to keep you updated.
She froze. It couldnt be a big deal, right? Communication blackouts were common after all. The Dathic-Apeilic war had already gone on for a while before she left Datha yet she had never really felt concern there. It wasnt the most pressing thing on her friends minds; the next show or the new restaurant was much more pressing than the war. After all, nobody had expected the Apeilics to stand a chance. It was just a sideshow.
She shook her head to try and forget. Through intermediaries, her father had arranged for her and her little brother to leave Datha for some safer location. It would have been difficult but her father was a quite influential shipper and had extensive contacts in the Csserian Confederacy of the Core Worlds.
It has been confirmed. Datha of the Hundred Moons has ceased all communications. Datha of the Hundred Moons has been inflicted a horrific attack by the Apeilics. The estimated casualties number in the tens if not hundreds of billions. We are still receiving reports and Government has yet to make a statement on these truly horrific actions of our allies.
Her heart had almost stopped. It couldnt be. It was over then. Any battle over Datha would have horrific. If a single moons orbit was slightly de-stabilized, untold numbers would die. And in battle, more than one moon might be affected.
After that, there was really nothing left for her. She wallowed away. When she was offered a position as a doctor on one of the many starships leaving the Core Worlds, she took it and with the job, took her brother and herself away from the civilization and into the unknown.
She would never forgive the Apeilic genocide.
She was Dathic Csserian.
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Senator Cvorak? He sighed. The young rascal would never remember to simply call him by his first name, as he preferred, Haymir. Those overeducated younglings were too fond of formality. Senator? The Chancellor insists that you come immediately. It is extremely important and is related to
the war. The intern said that with a hint of excitement. He knew it. He glared at the young man, The war is not something to feel excitement for. We fought reluctantly, to defend the weak against an aggressor. Standing up, he put on his jacket and made his way to the Chancellors office.
Pausing outside of his office, he paused to admire the marble sculptures of two black Neferis. Free, independent, friendly and righteous; they were the symbols of the Csserian People. And what beautiful animals they were. He would need that inner calm before meeting with Chancellor Andrygiz. It wasnt that he disliked the man; far from it, he immensely liked Adrygiz and they frequently played croquet polo together whenever the weather allowed. It was that politically, he and Adrygiz were polar opposites. While Adrygiz commanded the majority, he was the leader of the Loyal Opposition in the only issue which mattered: the issue of the war, and the alliance with the Apeilic Iris.
He was no Datha-lover. He wasnt even sure of the Datha themselves even liked each other. When Datha had dispatched her second warfleet to teach the Apeilic Iris a lesson, he had advocated an aggressive diplomatic and economic program aimed at relieving the tensions. His bill had been outvoted on a slim margin. The denouncement of Dathic hegemony and domination had been proposed by Adrygiz and now years later, the war had been fought.
Walking into the room, he almost stepped back in shock. It was not one of the many personal meetings he had with Adrygiz. This was a full-on military-political-economic-intellectual conference. What was going on? Was this the military coup he had always feared? Probably not. Andrygiz was chairing the meeting and as much as he liked the man, Andrygiz wouldnt know the difference between a gun and a bow.
As Haymir has so gladly decided to grace us with his presence, I will endeavor to begin. I am afraid I have the most distressing news that this your respective persons will likely have ever heard. My government as of two hours ago received a formal notification from our allies, the Apeilic Iris, about an occurrence
of a solar flare in Datha. This solar flare is estimated to have caused an horrendous amount of casualties. The Apeilic Iris do not project there to be any survivors.
A collective gasp, and then silence filled the room. He felt his palms instinctively turn into fists. Billions
dead? Just like that. He could only imagine
As a trusted ally, the Apeilic Iris has also informed me that it is extremely possible that this solar flare could have been induced by the actions of their military though they lack all of the necessary information at the moment. This tragic news was delivered most solemnly by Ambassador Stavi. Our advance scouts and long-range sensors have also confirmed the account of the Apeilic Iris.
The silence in the room could have killed. The expressions were hardly polite: half were torn with disgust and the other half with sheer livid rage. He stood up, absolutely livid.
This is
nothing more than sheer genocide. The Apeilics are mass murderers and nothing more. This is nothing but a repeat of the slaughter of the Weizpony. I demand that we take immediate action against the Apeilics. Solar flares would not suddenly occur in a way to engulf Datha and her Moons. I demand that we launch an inquiry.
The Csserian People shall have no role to play in the genocide of billions!
.
