Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer

Shess comments into the mike.
“Are you not bored with blowing stuff up?”
Ralf hollers back.
“Aw hell no. What else is there to do out here on a weekend?”
I hear Shess whisper.
“Watch the stars, drink, eat, play Konane…”
Far to our left, just over the horizon, something blows up in a ‘hit to the armoury’ kind of way.
“Didja see that? One Ritmarfo cruiser that’ll never return to the stars.”
I lean back and beckon for Shess to do likewise.
“Hey, did you do what you said?”
She nods.
“I made the call, but I’m counted as ‘deployed alien allies’. There’s a lot of sympathy, but nothing can be done until locals speak up.”
Directly above us in LEO the battleship ‘Hammerstorm’ comes apart as a Ritmarfo counterstrike gets through.
How many of ours just died?
How many of theirs moments ago?
What exactly did it settle?
I activate my mike.
“Hey, Ralf, how many did Command say we need to take down before peace talks will start?”
“Last I heard they’d gone back to ‘until we clear our skies of Ritmarfo scum’, or words to that effect. The peace initiatives will never take off. You need trust for those, and there’s been too much bloodshed to forgive. Civilian protests can’t compete against military paranoia and every trooper seeking revenge for lost friends.”
He might be a bit of a berserker, but he sees clearly in ways I can’t.
A series of smaller explosions beyond the horizon trail up into the atmosphere. Just as I think the show’s over, a colossal fireball lights the sky at the head of that blast trail.
“Woohoo, that’s one of their Colossi that’ll be taking no more lives.”
Shess cuts in.
“That was a Type 9: a medical Colossus.”
Ralf snorts.
“Command said those are covers for stealth ops. Better to be cautious than k-.”
Comms break up as a daylight briefly erupts behind us. By the time they stabilise again, we already know that Command Base Shafter has been devastated.
How many-?
Will knowing help reduce the toll?
I lean back and gesture to Shess again.
“What do I need to say?”
“Ask for help. Tell them why you think it necessary.”
“I’ll do it.”
She gives me a long stare, then fiddles with a device around her neck. After speaking rapidly in Nactorisi for a minute or so, she nods to me.
“This is Corporal Bell Reave of United Earth Strike Force One requesting Peace Action because Humanity and the Ritmarfo are too entrenched in cycles of vengeful slaughter to ever stop without one side being eradicated.”
Shess smiles. Minutes pass.
A booming voice comes from the speakers.
“This is a Peace Action. If you hear this, cease all war activities. Look up.”
Something appears above. A ship? It’s black and white and must be over a hundred kilometres wide… No, long: it’s a gigantic cigar shape, and it’s got little silver and gold triangles hurtling about it. No, wait. Those are squadrons of somethings!
I look at Shess.
“This is what you meant by ‘our petty warring’, didn’t you?”
She nods.
“There is always a greater power. You go far enough and they’re either indifferent or benign. Evil powers consume too much to last. Greed is nothing but a primitive tool that evolved societies have moved on from.”
I glance back at the behemoth above.
“I guess there are still a lot of societies that need help doing it?”
She nods.
“This one will for a while. It’s part of growing up, and now you can start.”