Humanity Endures

Part 13 - Epilogue | Chapter 6

Gazing at the formally-dressed bridge around her, locking her gaze with each of her most senior officers — Quenthal, Farlina, Elthinar, her ship's generals, and, finally, Theten — in turn, Xertaza cleared her throat, and she prepared to speak. Beyond them lay the rest of her ship's bridge crew, a solid mass of uniformed officers, still shaken from the recent battle, though many of them were appreciating the ceremony as a fine diversion from the logistical and emotional nightmare that had followed the pyrrhic Loyalist victory. Be it search-and-rescue across the Nahmatiix system, where the Ruthless was currently moored, or the gargantuan task of trying to merge with the Traitor and Neutral League ministries, it was dull, stressful work, made worse by the number of casualties the Loyalists had suffered, and friends each individual had lost. Nevertheless, Xertaza's heart beat just as calmly than it usually did, despite the fact that as she spoke, she would be addressing all the billions of people across the entire Ministry of Interstellar Security; drawing in a deep breath, she, her tone a piercing, neutral, and yet authoritatively calming one, began.

"Not since the devourer plague has humanity been so threatened, and not since the devourer plague has our noble ministry borne so much responsibility; as Military Council ships orbit a compliant Nahmatiix, and as the people of the galaxy are now mustered against the alien scourge with great efficiency, it is also clear that not since the devourer plague, or even since the founding of the Military Council, has our ministry prevailed so totally. A few days ago, the galaxy was embroiled in a vicious civil war; thanks to the heroic efforts of the Loyalist military, the Battle of Nahmatiix was won, but it was due to the efforts of officers like you that the galaxy was delivered afterwards, and indeed, that this history-defining battle happened at all. Humanity owes you all a great debt, but the human race can only repay this debt if it survives, and to achieve this, we must fight! For the sake of every human amongst these stars, we cannot relent, we cannot retreat, and we cannot fail; the Empire and the human race depend on us achieving victory."

Xertaza held her breath, glanced at the floor, and allowed her tone to shift into an honest, yet no less passionate one.

"However, it is my solemn duty to inform you all that this victory will not happen for some time. The devourer plague was not vanquished in a week; it took over a decade to rid our galaxy of that world-eating scourge, and the alien menace is far greater an opponent. Where the Devourer Plague blindly spread across the stars, the aliens scheme, and plan endless, devastating attacks; where the Devourer Plague massacred hundreds of billions, the aliens warp these hundreds of billions, and the very worlds they live on, into monstrosities the likes of which we can barely fathom. I have faced these aliens in battle, and I've seen their wicked power first-hand — where the devourer plague was a rampaging, yet senseless force of destruction, the aliens are a ferocious, tenacious, evil. This is the greatest trial that we as a species have ever faced, though if your actions during this civil war are anything to go by, it is a trial that we will survive!"

Xertaza, though she briefly paused to grant even more emphasis to her forcefully-delivered words and to allow the clamor of approval around her to subside, continued, "I will not lie to you: in this war, trillions will die, thousands of worlds will fall, battles greater than Nahmatiix will be waged, and some will be lost. Yet, I also do not lie to you when I say that with human brilliance and human tenacity we can triumph in this — and that, as the unbroken protectors of the Empire, it is nothing less than our duty to!"

Xertaza, her galvanizing tone echoing through the halls of not only her own ship but millions of buildings and ships across the galaxy, grew even more forceful as she continued, "The human race and the Tekran one have faced extinction before, and they have prevailed; as apocalypse rears its ugly visage again, as the sound of alien shrieks is heard throughout our Empire, I know that I can count on our ministry and this galaxy to reply with 'Humanity endures!'"