The entire security detail paused for a moment as they slowly took in the contents of the message. They laughed nervously and glanced at each other before returning their attention to what awaited them on the other side of the glass. No words could describe the feelings that were passing through them as they gazed in awe at how far the humans had come. According to their standards, it wasn’t possible—what the humans had accomplished defied logic. They shouldn’t have been able to colonize other planets and construct space ships in such a small amount of time.

Perhaps no other individual was as bewildered as Ca’luc, who was the commanding officer of this operation. He was a veteran of five deployments to the human’s planet and was lauded by many as the utmost authority on anything regarding humans.

Ca’luc knew the majority of his crew had never been apart of the deployment forces, so he couldn’t count on them for any input. That was what worried him the most. He—the leading authority on humans—didn’t know what to do.

He spent countless Chaos Cycles studying the humans, mingling with them, and gaining their trust over and over again. He observed how their wars started, how the strategists of each army directed their troops, and most importantly how the wars ended. He even watched as history repeated itself—nobody learned from the past. A single conflict could easily erupt into a full-blown war and the process would repeat itself. After experiencing countless petty wars and conflicts, Ca’luc came to the conclusion that humans were mere animals.

To put it in his predecessor’s words, “Humans are brutish, violent creatures who act primarily on impulse than reason. They constantly tell themselves to learn from the past, yet they still repeat it. They are beyond hope. Ironically, the humans say they advocate peace; however, they spend a majority of their time researching and building new weapons. It is clear their lust for war is something that will never be satisfied.”

Despite their flaws, the brutish people somehow managed to create a flourishing society unlike any other. It irked him to see the beings he considered as insects—with below average lifespans—advancing themselves further and faster than any other known species.

“The humans thrive on chaos; their society evolves off of it. Based off of expert analysis of the human’s evolution trajectory, it doesn’t seem possible they would get to this point so quickly. What changed?” Ca’luc asked.

“Captain?” his second-in-command asked.

Ca’luc didn’t answer. He was busy replaying the message over and over in his mind—We remember. We are ready. Now we will conquer. Good luck.

In four short sentences, the humans conveyed their intent and showed how much they had matured. His mind raced as he pondered potential possibilities to how they came this far in so little time. He even considered the humans knew more about the Alliance than previously imagined before shaking his head and laughing it off. Still three questions lingered in his mind: Did the humans really know about the Alliance? If so, how much did they know? The most fearsome question that lingered was how far have they truly come since the last extermination?

Suddenly, a thought crossed through his mind—did we leave anything behind after the last cleansing?

As with the previous human extermination, he and his team were ordered to remain behind and remove all traces of their arrival as well as any hint of mankind’s past civilizations in hopes that the humans would stop their rapid advancement and return to normal growth patterns. The upper echelons of the Alliance hoped that with every cleansing the humans would lose their edge and become docile, thus paving the way for the Alliance’s forces to take over.

“Captain, what should we do?” his second-in-command asked.

Ca’luc snapped out of his trance and turned his attention to the screens around him. He quickly scanned and analyzed the status reports, which revealed hundreds of space-faring vessels honing in on their three ships. There was no question left in his mind—they had been lying in wait.

Ca’luc took a deep breath before saying, “Nothing. We will do nothing, but fight. If we retreat, we die. If we fight, we have a slim chance for survival. If we die fighting, at least our deaths will not be for naught—the details of our skirmish will be transmitted home. The data will be analyzed and used for battle preparations. Sooner or later, our two worlds will collide and war will break out. Brothers, if we are destined to die today, let us die with honor and take out as many humans as we can! It has been a pleasure serving with you all.”

“Yes, sir!”

Ca’luc understood even with the latest weaponry and additional ships, they were still doomed. The Alliance had become too confident in their powers. In the past, every species they deemed a threat—eliminated. Perhaps being in power for eons made them careless and merciful. No longer did the Alliance seek to eliminate entire civilizations; rather, they let them live.

Ca’luc realized that time was a commodity they couldn’t afford to waste. He had to accumulate as much data as possible regarding the humans to transmit back to headquarters.

He walked to his seat and pressed a button, linking him to the other ships and gave his final orders—two ships were to buy time and divert the humans’ attention, while his ship scanned and collected data.

“Sir, the humans have locked onto our location and are approaching fast!”

“Tell the other ships to arm their torpedoes and begin evasive maneuvers,” Ca’luc said calmly. “Meanwhile, divert some power to maintaining our shields and cloaking, the rest shall be used primarily for data collection. Keep me updated.”

With a groan, Ca’luc sat down and observed the battle raging before him. Bright lights littered the surrounding horizon. Explosions occurred when a torpedo found its target. Destruction was rampant. Ca’luc saw several destroyed enemy ships riddled with holes drift by and knew—for now—their weaponry was advanced enough to hold the humans off.

A part of him hoped the diversionary ships could suppress the humans and win; however, he came to terms that it was a long shot. He only had one goal left—collect enough data to transmit back to headquarters.

Suddenly, the skies lit up. An explosion had taken place.

“Sir, one of our ships self-donated. It sustained too much damage.”

“How are we on the data collection?”

“75% done.”

“Start evasive maneuvers, circle the solar system, and speed up data collection. We have no time left!” Ca’luc ordered.

He squirmed around on his seat as nervousness set in. In his time as part of the security detail, he never once imagined the humans would be responsible for his death.

Another explosion rocketed the area. It was only a matter of time before the humans locked onto his location.

“How are we on the data collection?”

“85% there. But sir, you must see this!”

Ca’luc swiveled around his seat and took a look at the screen. His chief science officer pointed at a planet they had cataloged in the past as greyish looking. Upon closer analysis, it appeared the planet wasn’t grey anymore; rather, it looked quite similar to the humans’ home planet. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to tell him what it meant—the humans successfully terraformed a planet!

Goosebumps crept up Ca’luc’s arms.

He thought to himself, humans were thought of as a potential threat. Who knew, if left unimpeded, they would advance this far…

“Sir, the humans have locked onto our ship.”

“How much data have we accumulated?”

“95%, sir.”

“That will have to do. Start transmitting the data back to headquarters! Allot the remaining power to the shields.”

“Understood.”

He looked around the command center and saw grim, determined faces on displayed. He knew the crew understood the consequences of failure. If they failed to transmit the data, their civilization would be at risk. It was unspoken, but it was clear to him and his crew that the humans had somehow come across evidence of the atrocities committed against them. Perhaps the humans had even discovered that the other galaxies thought of them as a hostile, brutish civilization that needed to be eliminated every few chaos cycles. If the humans did, then by their current actions, it could be said the humans had given the other galaxies advanced notice. They were going to war, to conquer, to destroy, and to ensure their own survival.

“Sir, the data isn’t transmitting!”

“What? How is this possible? We were able to communicate with headquarters in the past, why not now?”

“The humans seemed to have set up a interference barrier. Any transmission we send out is instantly intercepted and scrambled.”

“Back up the data on a drive. Who is the youngest on my ship?”

“Done and Lieutenant Ga’ruk is the youngest, sir.”

“Tell him to come to the command center.”

Ca’luc got out of his chair, walked to a nearby window, and looked at their surroundings. Enemy ships had surrounded his ship; their weapons ready to fire.

“Ga’ruk should be here by now. What is taking him so long?” Ca’luc asked.

Suddenly, the door leading to the command center slid open and a disheveled young soldier rushed in.

“Sorry it took so long, sir. I was preoccupied…” Ga’ruk said.

“Lieutenant Ga’ruk, I’m assigning you an important task.”

“Why me, sir? I’m the youngest and most inexperienced. Furthermore, there are many others on this ship more qualified than I am.”

“It’s precisely because you’re the youngest. The rest of us have all lived long fulfilling lives, but you haven’t.”

“But…”

“No buts! The humans are currently jamming our transmissions, so there is no way to contact home. You are to head to the escape pod with this drive containing all the data we have collected on the humans and bring it home. Remember it is worth more than your own life. You must protect it at all costs.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Now go! Launch the pod a few seconds before the ship detonates. It should provide you with enough cover to get a head start.”

Ca’luc watched him scurry away. If the boy failed to escape, the Alliance would be doomed.

“Sir, the humans are requesting that we surrender.”

“That we will never do. Did the boy make it to the pod?”

“Yes.”

Ca’luc took one final breath and uttered the words he never thought he would say: “Detonate.”

The last thing he saw before debris and broken parts clouded his view was a full view of the human’s home planet. He had long resented his stationing there and hated the planet to his very core, yet in his final seconds, the planet captivated him. He regretted not taking the time to explore and revel in the planet’s beauty. It seemed to him that this “paradise” had given birth to devils.

He hoped that future generations would not make light of these upstart humans and take caution when dealing them, thus in his final captain’s log, he wrote: The humans we once thought were beneath us, have realized their potential. I fear my death is just the beginning of widespread warfare. Take caution. For when the humans take action, destruction is left in their wake. Our civilized world has never faced such great danger. Good luck in surviving this calamity…