"Our recent survey of system MLR-235 has come back with interesting results. It is a nine- planet system with a class-G star at the center. The third planet is the only one with life," began Senior Scientist Lorten. He nervously pulled on one of his eye stalks.
"One bipedal species has risen to sentience. They have colonized the fourth planet and are on the verge of leaving their system. Normally, this would call for first contact. However, this species has a disturbing peculiarity." Lorten extended one of his eight fingers, pressing a button on the control board in front of him. A collage of pictures appeared behind him, showing multiple structures. Each bore odd symbols that seemed to lack any practical purpose or function.
"Even though their Technological Quotient is well over sixty-four, they persist in having non- scientific modes of thought." Lorten paused long enough to calm himself and inhale deeply before continuing. "In other words, they have not abandoned religion." Bedlam resulted as all forty-three members turned to consult each other. It was generally assumed that religion had to be abandoned before reaching a T.Q. of thirty-two. The only species with religion were primitive beings that accomplished little. The Galaxy treated their planets like stellar pariahs. Some even advocated the merciful genocide of religious people to put them out of their misery. Being called religious was one of the greatest insults in the Galaxy.
The Committee chairbeing slapped his head against his highest appendage, creating a squishing sound that quickly brought the committee to order. "Please continue, Senior Scientist," said the chairbeing.
"Thank you. As you can see, we face a problem. The committee must decide on a course of action." A second bedlam filled the room as representatives consulted with each other. Finally, the Karlarian representative stood.
"We should obliterate their system now," she bellowed. The Karlarians were the greatest warriors in the galaxy, entrusted with its defense. They always recommended military solutions.
Lorten looked horrified, his face turning green. "But what about the scientific knowledge we could gain from such an abnormality. I had to restrain several of my sociology researchers from heading out there immediately. Besides, we can clearly see that they are a very industrious race."
"Religious races are incapable of anything but rot and decay," she countered. "Imagine what would happen if they did limp out of their system. Their ideas could infect our offspring, destroying our civilizations. Besides, imagine the suffering they are going through. It is best to destroy them now, while they are confined to their system." Several representatives performed the equivalent of nodding.
"But they are an advanced race, T'Kor," pointed out the Thaxorian representative, defending the Senior Scientist. A dozen representatives signaled agreement.
"Religious beings cannot be advanced!" replied T'Kor. A huge argument broke out, the two factions screaming at each other. The chairbeing wore out several layers of skin in an attempt to restore order. After several minutes of debate, the din died down.
The Protegan representative slowly rose. He was an ancient being, respected throughout the galaxy for his wisdom. Eyes turned to him in anticipation.
"There is no doubt that religion is a primitive thing," he began. T'Kor growled in agreement. "The danger it poses may be great. However, genocide is an extreme solution that should be considered carefully." T'Kor's hopes sunk. Her thoughts filled with visions of endless debates and meetings, which are very frightening to a Karlarian warrior.
"Therefore, I advance the following proposal: We send a message with an ultimatum to this race. Either they abandon their religion or face annihilation. We then send a squadron of ships with a scientific team. If they have complied, we welcome them. Otherwise, we follow T'Kor's suggestion. I assume it will be possible to send them a message."
"Yes, they have a fascination with the possibility of other life," answered Lorten. "They have built an extensive receiving system to search for extra-system transmissions. However, I object to this . . ."
"Good," the Protegan interrupted, cutting Lorten off. He pointed to T'Kor and continued. "I'm sure that none would be better suited to lead the group than High Admiral T'Kor." T'Kor's hopes returned.
"It would be an honor," she replied. Visions of her squadron tearing apart primitive ships floated before her eye. She clicked her claws in anticipation.
"I am also sure that Senior Scientist Lorten would be perfect to lead the science contingent," finished the Protegan. Lorten twitched his eyestalks unhappily. The Protegan sat as the chairbeing cleared one of his throats.
"May we have a vote?" he asked.
The proposal passed unanimously.
T'Kor paced the bridge anxiously. Other Karlarian warriors surrounded her, operating her flagship, Crusher of Worlds. She turned to an aide in frustration.
"When do we arrive?" she barked. The aide trembled as he answered.
"Within a pargon, High Admiral." T'Kor turned away. The aide scurried off the bridge, his claws clacking in fear. Lorten came on the bridge and slithered over to T'Kor.
"I understand we are almost there," he said.
"Yes," replied T'Kor, staring at the target system with a deep hunger. Many pargs had passed since the ultimatum was first sent to the religious race:
Beings of MLR-235:
Your race has been deemed a threat to galactic stability. Your religious belief has persisted in spite of the development of scientific thought. The fact that you have made it this far technologically has amazed and disturbed us. Therefore, you must abandon your non-scientific beliefs immediately.
If you fail to do so, your system will be destroyed. A squadron will arrive in eight orbits of your homeworld to check on your condition. Should you fail to comply, the squadron will annihilate you.
Sincerely yours,
The Galactic Community
The Community repeated it in several different MLR- 235 languages for all eight orbits. The deadline was almost here.
"Please remember to give my team enough time to ascertain the race's level of religious thought before reducing their planets to ash," Lorten said with whatever passed for sarcasm among Thaxorians.
"What? Oh, sure, Senior Scientist," replied T'Kor, unaware of Lorten's tone of voice. "I will even try to save artifacts for you and your team." T'Kor always got generous when she got her way.
"Thank you, High Admiral," said Lorten, barely concealing his contempt. Luckily, T'Kor was too happy to notice.
"Approaching the system now," announced a bridge officer.
The squadron penetrated the Oort Cloud of MLR-235. They crossed the orbits of the gas giants that orbited in the outer area of the system. The ships slowed as they approached the asteroid belt, located just before the colonized fourth planet.
Lorten consulted his communicator to receive data from his science team. His assistant appeared on the screen.
"Data coming in now, sir," the assistant announced. Lorten waited patiently.
"Well?" asked T'Kor. "May I begin their destruction?"
"I'm not sure yet," answered Lorten. "The data is just coming in. It may take some time." T'Kor resumed her pacing.
"An enemy formation sighted near the fourth planet," yelped a young Karlarian. Any unknown ships were assumed to be enemy craft by Karlarians. T'Kor stopped pacing and looked at Lorten with glee.
"It would appear that your data is irrelevant, Senior Scientist. They are attacking us."
"You can't be sure of that," argued Lorten. "It could be a welcoming party."
"There's a second group coming in from the asteroid belt," announced the young Karlarian.
"Put it on screen," ordered T'Kor. An image of the belt appeared on the front screen. Two groups of green dots were slowly approaching the smaller group of red dots, which marked T'Kor's squadron.
"However primitive, this move is clearly military in nature," commented T'Kor. "Hopefully, the primitives will put up a good fight in spite of their religiousness." Liquid dripped from her mandibles in anticipation.
Meanwhile, Lorten's assistant finished his data collection. "Preliminary data indicates an increase in religion," he reported with surprise. "The number of religious structures has tripled since our first scan. Do you wish us to continue our survey?"
"Yes. We will not have much more time," answered Lorten. "Gather as much data as possible." He cut the link and turned to T'Kor, who was engrossed with the main monitor.
"What are you planning to do?" he asked.
"Destroy them," she answered simply. The two clusters of green dots crawled closer. "Get me a report on those ships," she ordered her subordinates. A flurry of activity filled the bridge as the crew strove to fulfill her order.
"The flotillas are composed of a roughly equal number of sublight ships," reported Y'Garr, the intelligence officer. "They are armed with primitive laser and missile weaponry. Their shielding offers no protection against our weapons. Virtually none of the ships are identical," she finished with surprise.
"Apparently, they can't do anything right," said T'Kor. "They can't even decide on a proper ship configuration." She vibrated her antenna in disgust. "Split the squadron into two flights," she ordered. "Have X'Wya lead the second flight against the ships from the belt. I will attack the ones from the planet."
The squadron split in two, T'Kor's flagship in the lead of one of the flights. The distance to the enemy quickly shrank as the Karlarians engaged their main drives.
"The enemy ships are split into three groups, each with its own symbol," continued Y'Garr as more information came in. "The other flight reports similar conditions in their target flotilla." T'Kor thought for a moment.
"Tell the ships to break off and engage at will. There is no glory to be made in a strategic victory this parg." She turned to Lorten. "Individually, our ships will batter the religious until they have no choice but to run," T'Kor explained. "We will then systematically destroy them, cleansing this system of their polluted thoughts. Perhaps this system can be colonized by another race when we are done."
The engagement began as the Karlarian ships swept across the planetary forces. T'Kor ordered her ship back, so that she could see the one-on-one success of her subordinate captains. The battle continued, stretching longer than she expected.
"What is taking so long?" she yelled. Y'Garr scanned her computer console to provide an explanation.
"The enemy is proving stubborn, High Admiral. Each group fights in a different way," she answered. "The ones marked with two perpendicular lines swarm our ships with massive numbers, regardless of the danger to themselves. The ones with a crescent attack viciously with large ships. The smallest group, the ones with the six pointed star, mount far more weapons per ship than the others. Our troops cannot effectively develop strategy due to the enemy's variety." She paused. "All of them fight to the death. They seem to have no sense of self-preservation," she concluded.
"What?" asked T'Kor, shocked by the idea. "How can a sentient race, even a religious one, have no sense of self-preservation?" Before Y'Garr could try to answer, the ship was rocked by an explosion.
"High Admiral, we've lost a ship," said a Karlarian.
"That's impossible!" screamed T'Kor. Her rage caused the entire bridge crew to cower in fear. She rushed to the main screen to view the battle.
One by one, the attacking ships destroyed T'Kor's flight. Taking heavy casualties, the enemy ships swarmed over the Karlarians, firing everything they had without regard for their safety. A few even rammed the Karlarians after exhausting their munitions. They advanced from ship to ship, some with entire sections missing from their hull. Lorten stared in amazement, both frightened and fascinated by the battle.
"X'Wya is reporting similar conditions in his battle," said Y'Garr. "He requests permission to withdraw."
"No!" screamed T'Kor, her mind reeling under facts she could not accept. Half of her flight had been destroyed. The attacking ships were down to a fifth of their number, but still advancing. Rammings became more frequent as the enemy's missiles ran dry. "We will not be defeated by this race's lunacy!"
"Another flotilla is leaving the fourth planet," shouted Y'Garr. T'Kor ignored her, lost in her thoughts. Enemy ships broke through the rest of her flight, having deduced that Crusher of Worlds was the command ship. They advanced with frightening determination, losing half their number to attacks by T'Kor's other ships.
They dived at Crusher of Worlds, firing everything they had. Several exploded from the stress that repeated firing put on their power sources. T'Kor could not stare at the main screen any longer; the stress had built up into a massive pain in her head. Her mind worked in agony over the problem. All of her training and experience seemed useless now.
The main screen flashed warnings, indicating shield failures across the board. Klaxons soon joined them. T'Kor screamed in response, her crew running in a frenzy around the bridge.
What can I do? she thought. I am the greatest warrior in the galaxy! How can the best be defeated? How can there be more than the best? Her rage reached a peak so painful, she could almost see it. They must know they cannot win! What makes them fight? What do they know . . .? T'Kor stared at the main screen, realization dawning as her ship came under fire.
Just before her death, T'Kor was a believer.