END GAME (Short Story)

[Atrocities]

End Game

The congress hall was filled with people leaving no room but standing as the Galactic Chancellor entered the building. As he walked from the door, down the long center isle, toward the podium, and history, he pondered the events that life had forced upon him, leading him and the people of Galactic Commonwealth to this dark day. The cheering and applause died down slowly as the Galactic Chancellor stood patiently behind the podium. What he had to say was nothing to cheer about. He silently stood there while the Last of the representatives quieted down.

As he gazed out across the huge hall, he tried to look at each and every person directly. There were so many, and the hall so large. Finally, after over ten minutes of silence, he spoke.
"My fellow representatives, leaders of the common wealth what I have to say today does not garner cheers." The noise in the room began to rise at his words.
"We have fought the Aliens for nearly twenty years now. We have suffered heavy unimaginable losses by their hands. Our fleets destroyed, our colony worlds either conquered, occupied, or destroyed.
"100 billion dead, 1 million ships lost, and not one person alive today who has not lost a member of their family in this wasteful war." The room was silent now as the meaning of his words were becoming clear to all. The day had come, that dreaded day that they all feared had finally come to pass.
"We have fought bravely against the most impossible odds and lost so very very much." He said with all sincerely.
"The war has taken its toll upon us, our resources depleted, our military nearly extinguished, and over half of our colonies under enemy control." He looked about once again from side to side before continuing.
"My Friends, the day has now come for us to end this costly war. That day that we have long since feared and have fought against for twenty years has finally come to our door steps and we are now charged with facing it without fear." He paused for effect, “Without fear, without regret, and without despair. Life will go on, just not on for us.”

He looked down and relaxed a bit before continuing his statement. He knew that over six hundred billion lives were about to erased from existence, and that over three and a half trillion were now watching his every move from one end of the galaxy to the other. He even understood that this stellar cast was being watched by those whom his people had been at war with for over twenty years. He smiled to himself as he looked up and continued on.

"With the enemy ships now entering our solar system, the bulk of their entire fleet from what our intelligence has been able to ascertain, we are forced to make the decision that will forever alter our race, our history, and our future." The room began to fill with quiet moans and the sound of fearful tears of agony.

"We estimate their forces to be over ten thousand ships, one fifty million troops, with at least two of their highest ranking leaders and most of their military command staff." He looked directly at the image recorder hovering in front of him and spoke in his most stalwart tone.

"The coming battle will leave our inner worlds devastated, our population wiped out, and all of us dead, but our way of life will go on!" The moans and cries were now an uproar of despair.
"Facing defeat and the knowledge of what that will bring to our great Galactic Commonwealth, I am forced to act in the best interest of our people. I therefor gave the evacuation order and have issued the directives that will end this war once and for all." He looked down at his wife and two children sitting in the front row looking up at him. He felt heart sick over what was about to happen, and knew that there was no other recourse. It had to be done to save the Commonwealth.

"The dawn of peace will soon rise over the galaxy, a dawn that I am afraid we here will not live to see. With that new dawn will come a new age for our people. In little over a minute from now, the future of our people shall be ushered with our deaths." He once again, looked about the chamber. He saw on the faces of those who were still looking up, resolve and commitment. This gave him strength, within them he saw a light of hope that gave him the will to continue on.

"To our remaining forces, you have your orders and you know what must be done. To those we leave behind know this, although we fall here today, the struggle lives on through you.” The chamber began to fall quiet once again as those in attendance silently pondered their faits knowing that their coming deaths will save so many more.

“After today, Gods will shall be done, you must take vengeance upon our enemies and take the fight to them! After today, nothing will stand in your way for they have committed a fatal error that will forever be recorded in the anals of history as the turning point of this war. God bless the Commonwealth and God speed to victory." With that he stepped from the podium and down to his wife and children and embraced them in a huge. This was how he wanted to remember them on their way to the after life.

Out in space a single ship orbiting the sun decloaked. On its scanners it could see that the enemy ships had all moved inward toward the Capitol planet of the Galactic Commonwealth. All those ships, all those men, and all the lives on the eleven core planets were about to end. With a sense of duty like none that he had ever felt before, the captain of that small ship read the directive issued by the Galactic Chancellor and sighed. His duty was clear, and he had trained for this day in the hopes that it would never come. With one hand he touched the picture of his wife and new borne child with the other he removed the silver key suspended by a gold chain from around his neck and inserted it into its slot on the control panel. A second later, with tearful eyes and he turned the key. Gods will had been done.

[ February 16, 2004, 04:42: Message edited by: Atrocities ]