LIFE'S GREAT CRUSADE
“Do not be afraid; our fate
Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
High Priest Un-Prasha allowed the servant to drap him in the green and gold ceremonial robe. Another servant was attaching the Sword of the Huntress to his polished silver belt. And a true army of servants were readying the stage for his triumphal proclamation, creating a deafening cacophony that drowned all his thoughts.
Breath. He closed is eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling he purified air of his chambers. Breath Breath Breath B… The High Priest felt a light touch on his right sleeve and opened his eyes, finding a concerned looking Hierarch of Sol standing before him. “It’s time, your Holiness”, said the Hierarch in her cold soprano voice. The High Priest inhaled deeply one last time before stepping outside.
The podium was decorated with an assortment of banners, all displaying the Triangle of Life in green and gold. Above him were projected in huge three dimensional holograms the Messengers: The Baol, bringer of Life, and the Grunur, bringer of Death. And below him, a sprawling multitude of ordained acolytes and uniformed crusaders.
Millions stood before him, ready to heed his every command. Ready to kill, ready to die, ready to do anything he asked. And these were just the peak of the iceberg. Below him only stood the highest amongst the elite. Hundreds of billions more would hear and heed his words on their temples, barracks and houses in the two dozens of worlds and hundreds of large space-stations that made up the Community of the United Cosmos.
The High Priest raised his arms and drew a triangle in the air. Absolute silence followed. The long awaited moment had at last arrived:
“My fellow members of the Church for the Unification of All Life, Citizens of the Community of united Cosmos. I bring you grave news. You all know Dekron Assimilation Framework and their infamous work. Spreading heretical doctrines and dangerous falsehoods (apologies, I repeat myself, foolish proclamations of machine superiority and undertaking nightmarish forced cyborgization of biotics, these are the deeds of the Dekron. Surely none of you need convincing on how dangerous and repugnant is this abomination.
But for long we have tolerated. In the interest of lasting peace and because the tremendous loss of Life which occurred during the Crusade against the Khan was still fresh in our minds, we kept our mighty ships at bay and hoped they would eventually turn back on the path of self-destruction they tread. However, and as much as it saddens me to say it, we have realized that these defective machines will never realize the error of their ways, and only through the force of arms can we end this threat.
If we let them grow unchecked, if we allow their ruinous expansion into the southern territories, enslaving billions, turning the miracle of Life into a dull and monotonous slavery, we will be accomplices in their crimes! The Codex of the Ancients teaches us that to allow others to suffer when we could help them is as bad as if we were inflicting the suffering ourselves. I ask you then, how could we be we sleep well knowing we are complicit in the spiritual and temporal demise of trillions? How could we sleep well knowing you could be next?
As I speak the Dekron are massing their fleets in the Tikhram Nebula. Their intent is clear. To add us to their collection of enslaved thralls. But we will not allow ourselves to be slaughtered or tamed by mere machines! We will fight! And we will win! For we are Life, and they are Life-less. We are enlightened and they dwell in ignorance, we are courageous and they are cowards!
We will fight on the darkness of space, on the skies of our planets, on the soil that rightfully belongs to us. We will fight for our Church, our Community, we will fight for our families! We will fight for the undefended and avenge the enslaved!
The High Priest made a short pause to savor the impact his words had in the audience. Then he proceeded to the grand finale. He grabbed the handle of the Blade of the Huntress and unsheathed it. Rising the magnificent blade high above his head, he cried over the rising applause:
Oh Nu'Baol! Oh Ko’Grunur! Lend us your strength, for from this very moment and until the complete obliteration of our enemy, we are in a state of total war! As High Priest of the Church for the Unification of All Life, I call for all the faithful to take arms against those who threaten with war our Harmony!
I proclaim a Crusade of the Faith against the Enemies of Life!
Long Life to the Church! Death to the Dekron Menace!
The plaza erupted in thunderous applause. The entire Community, all twenty eight planets and habitats, seemed to erupt into rapturous cheers. The cry for war uttered by the High Priest was repeated everywhere as the people celebrated the coming crusade against the hated Dekrons.
The High Priest looked down to the millions of soldiers and acolytes who acclaimed him in unison and felt tired. Tired but happy. He turned to reenter his chambers and nodded briefly to the Hierarch of Sol who had stood beside him during the speech. “It is done. Convene a meeting of the High Command at once.”
The Hierarch bowed so low the High Priest feared the Human might break his spinal cord. “It will be my pleasure, your holiness”. As the Hierarch left the room, the High Priest could almost swear that the Human was floating some inches above the ground with happiness.
The High Command room was located on the lower levels of the Prime Cathedral. On the center of the room was a large rectangular board, which displayed a number of galactic maps and relevant statistics. Around the board stood a number of colorful personages, all with barely concealed concern in their faces. Military commanders, members of the Community Council for Absolute Harmony and the Hierarchs of Inari and Sol.
When the High Priest arrived, all bowed. Some lower than others, though.
High Priest Un-Prasha sat in his (very comfy) chair on the end of the board closer to the door. “I think we are all here” He said as he sat “Admiral Ohma, Spore of Ia, outline the war plan” The Admiral visibly straightened himself and saluted the High Priest “As you wish, Sir!” Then he turned to the board and produced a display of the northern border of the church. “Since we have the assurance of both the Ixidar Collective Mind and the II Khanate that no Dekron ship will be allowed to pass through their territories, that leaves only two hyperlane routes which the Dekron fleets might use to invade us. Fortunately…”
“Stop right there, Admiral!” Cried the diminutive Priki representative, his colour changing rapidly from green to red “What do you mean “invade us”?! Will we just sit back and wait for them to show up? Since when are our Crusaders so coward?”
The room immediately erupted in a storm of angry protests and vehement applause. It took the Admiral screaming at the top of his lungs to restore a semblance of calm. “Gentlebeings! Calm yourselves, please!” The Admiral paused to catch his breath and pondered whether or not to answer the Priki in kind. Perhaps it would be best not to. “Representative Oki, Son of Girud, have you read the reports our agents have sent regarding the military capabilities of the Dekron?”
The Priki representative licked his retinae in the human equivalent of a shrug. The Admiral pressed on “I’ll tell you then what it said, but beware. If one word of what I’m about to say exits this room, I’ll personally- with his holiness’ consent- behead you.” He looked around the room, searching for any nervous or hostile looking faces. “Look, Counselors, I won’t lie to you. We are on the back foot. The Dekron possess a fleet almost twice as big as ours. They have been in a state of constant war since the beginnings of the last century. They fought the Interstellar Entente the Galactic Coalition and five different Tempest Shoals, and won. Their industrial capacity is likewise impressive. After having half their worlds devastated, including their capital, by the initial tempest onslaught one would think they would’ve been crippled. Yet our intelligence suggests that the ship production, habitat construction and whatever it is they are building in Devanon, continued at a steady pace.”
“So, you see, we are in for no easy fight.” He glared at the Priki as he concluded. Like most of the representatives, he now looked between dismayed and utterly furious. Only the High Priest and the Hierarchs kept their trademark poker faces. “This is injurious, Admiral. How could these effeminate half men hope to resist the onslaught of our valiant crusaders?! They are but degenerate materialists and decadent robots!” The Human representative, having so spoken, turned to the High Priest and cried “Your holiness, this coward is clearly not fit to lead our valiant crusaders into battle! He admits defeat before the battle has even begun!”
Before the Admiral, who now looked ready to prove the human wrong by strangling him, could do anything the High Priest stood up, held both hands in the air and said in a calm and measured voice “Please, councilors, calm yourselves. Thank you for your input admiral. Surely we will win, there is no doubt in that. Life always prevails. But we cannot be reckless. Why throw away ships, energy, lives, in a costly attack when we can have the enemy waste it’s resources by throwing itself against our well fortified western border? Since the south is in no danger of being attacked, I have ordered the fleet to deploy to the Ged’nar cluster. Any Dekron force must pass through there if they wish to reach our capital. But with our fleets bolstered by mighty starfortresses, with reinforcements coming from our very mega-shipyard just one gateway jump away, while the enemy’s must make a long and arduous journey of many years, how can they break through this defense? Despite being in the defensive, never will defeat be in the horizon, that much I can promise you.”
This time, all representatives nodded in silent concord. The High Priest, emboldened, slipped again in his “speech mode”: “This line will be our impenetrable wall, our flawless shield against which the infidel’s spears will shatter. We will tire them, draw their blood, make them pay dearly for each live they take. And when their last fleet shatters against our great fortress, when their last ship is obliterated by righteous laser fire, we will sweep in triumphantly and end this abomination, this artificial tumor in the fabric great Universal Being! We will liberate those millions who toil, enslaved, for the benefit of amoral machines!”
Rapturous applause followed. It took two full minutes before the cheers died down. And then, in a small voice, the Horeuss Representative dared to ask “And what of our allies, your holiness? The Guk Conclave, in the south, is very near the Dekron’s borders. And the Klaggan Combine lies east of the Ged’nar Cluster so…” He made a timid and apolegic tentacle motion, as if sorry to bring the topic about.
The High Priest allowed annoyance to briefly show in his face. Then, again with a cheerful grin he answered “There is no reason to worry. I have already dispatch the First Law fleet to bolster the Conclave’s defenses.” He looked at his Hierarchs, who both discretely motioned at him to continue “And the Klaggans’ planets are far from the logical invasion path. To send forces to defend them would be tactically disastrous and most likely unnecessary.”
Silence reigned in the room for a minute, before the Hierarch of Inari spoke “Thank you for your presence, gentlebeings. We will now end this most productive meeting, but rest assured we will be providing regular updates on the status of this crucial crusade. Have a good night.”
One by one, the representatives left the room, followed by the military commandants. Only the Hierarchs and the High priest remained. Un-Prasha stood up and sighed “Say now, what were those special projects you both wanted to tell me about?
The Hierarch of Inari spoke first. “Your Holiness, the planet of Ynog has long evaded direct control thanks of the laughable Olive Agreement your weak predecessor signed with the Ynog Syndic. It has remained an irreverent vassal, paying a meager tribute and giving empty promises of loyalty.” The Hierarch paused to smooth his feathers “It is a torn in our vulnerable underbelly. Dekron agents, subversive cults, even… psionics, oh my lord! They harbor dangers to us all, and must be reined in. Allow me to send in the 71st and bring it into our loving fold. The Inari Super-sector can well manage one more planet.”
Then, before the High Priest could say anything, it was the Hierarch of Sol’s turn “You Holiness, we are terrible danger! The Dekron, I have been informed, have been building a planet-shattering weapon! Allow me to dispatch my best and brightest to quickly bring down this menace to all of Life!”
Un-Prasha felt terribly tired. “No, no and no. We cannot just invade a vassal planet with whom we have a long running agreement out of the blue. The Church does not break it’s word.” He then looked distrustfully at the human “And I cannot sanction a mission by your mercenaries. Do you remember that primitive infiltration debacle? If such weapon does indeed exist, it will be dealt with by licensed acolytes dispatched by my office.”
The Hierarchs both erupted in protest. Feathers rustled, hands sliced through the air “Do you not trust the judgment of your own hierarchs? The Church cannot allow traitors to shield themselves with decades old paper, and cannot allow the bureaucratic machine to slow the response to an existential threat!” It went on and on, until both parties went silent.
Exhausted Un-Prasha locked eyes with the human and… relented. An overpowering sense of defeat and fatigue washed over him, breaking his will. He sighed and said “You.. you may be right.” Then, he fell once again onto his chair. “Go, do as you wish.”
After exchanging a triumphant look, the Hierarchs of Sol and Inari bowed slightly to the High Priest and left him, lost in his thoughts, in the empty room.
Good luck!
