Chapter 45
Chapter 45
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Sirtish Massacre
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The galaxy was vast.
Even if PATO, the Talatullan Holy Nation, and the Steel Empire dominated an enormous number of star systems, that still meant there were plenty of other powers out there.
Such galactic superpowers expanded their influence through all sorts of methods—military conquests, religious conversions, invitations to alliances, and more.
But once communications opened between the three great powers, roadblocks started appearing in their expansions.
It was like the neighbors sprinkling salt to ruin your crops.
"As a fellow PATO member, we look forward to working with you."
"Long live Ozztulan!"
"?"
Coincidentally enough, both PATO and the Holy Nation were multi-species nations with free migration policies.
That made it all too easy to meddle in each other's territories.
And the scope of this "meddling" went far beyond imagination.
In fields where one side excelled, the gap was so vast that countermeasures were nearly impossible.
"We need some of that influence too."
And then the Steel Empire got involved.
"A new genetic disease has broken out! We need support from the homeworld."
"I'll bring it up at the next council meeting. Just hold on."
"This is urgent—please!"
"How about a mechanical body, then? 100% immunity to genetic diseases, near-permanent lifespan, peak physical condition maintained. Sign up now, and it's free."
"That sounds pretty good..."
The galaxy was so vast that by the time you heard about a problem on some planet and dispatched personnel, the situation was often already resolved.
Just looking at PATO's own cases—entire planets plastered with Ozztulan temples.
Sometimes you'd find warships, fully armed and ready, bought from who-knows-where.
And there was nothing you could say when independent factions not yet in PATO had been armed by someone else.
The Holy Nation faced the same issues.
You'd convert them, only to find they'd turned into machines. Or suddenly some monkey declares itself the god of agriculture and takes over the planet. Or they fall for a scam and sell the whole world to a bunch of cats.
These things happened all the time.
It was hard to even call it internal interference.
Because no one touched each other's core territories.
The battlegrounds for influence were usually the minor powers around the superpowers' borders.
Considering the ripple effects those minor powers had across the galaxy, this level of checking each other was barely a light jab.
And then the Holy Nation threw the first real punch.
Luden IV Planet.
Home to the Sirtish, a bipedal reptilian species, it was a small world with a population of about a billion.
The Holy Nation had taught technology and the faith of Ozztulan to these primitives who hadn't even discovered nuclear fission or fusion.
Frightened by visitors from beyond the stars, the Sirtish embraced the religion and quickly joined the Holy Nation's fold.
But for a species without natural thermoregulation, space was nothing short of hell.
While surrounding minor nations bloomed under Holy Nation support, the physically frail Sirtish—with all their various shortcomings—struggled to adapt.
Plus, the Talatullans were born from stone, so they'd never worried about things like body temperature and paid it no mind.
"Temper your spirits further. These are trials born of insufficient faith."
Even when they begged aid from other Holy Nation species, it wasn't enough for the particularly fragile Sirtish.
"Sorry. Our own species is in a bind right now."
They couldn't just revert to a primitive era now that others were zipping through space and ballooning their economies by orders of magnitude.
Then came a very tempting offer.
"Just swear nominal fealty to His Imperial Majesty, and we'll upgrade you to sleek mechanical bodies for free."
"Really? How many can you do?"
"All of them."
Not long converted, with shallow faith in Ozztulan and zero societal knowledge of machines or AI due to their tech deficit, the Sirtish made their choice lightly.
"Upgrade us."
A few Holy Nation species, well bribed behind the scenes, allowed a handful of Empire ships to land on Luden IV.
The ships, emitting steady mechanical hums, transformed into factories on landing and reborn the billion Sirtish into Neo-Sirtish in orderly, lightning fashion.
They were free from temperature constraints now.
Eternal farewell to the diseases that plagued them, and ageless bodies brought satisfaction.
Now they fought hacking and cyber-viruses instead of illness, and their bodies would rust over time—but fresh off the upgrade, they had no clue.
It was only when a priest visited the Luden system, puzzled by the Sirtish skipping regular worship, that the Talatullans learned the truth.
"Th... these ungrateful wretches."
Even within the Holy Nation, the belligerent Tla'Kalan raised his voice.
"How long will we sit idle? The Holy Nation must take a stand, or those heretics will mock us!"
"No all-out war, battle priest. We lack the forces to project firepower on both borders."
Maintaining defenses against PATO while facing the Empire stretched the Holy Nation thin.
"Entrust a loyal knight order to me. I'll go purge the apostates myself."
"Battle priest!"
"It's not the Empire—just fresh cyborg traitors. They won't provoke the Empire further either."
Debates raged day and night.
In the end, the Holy Nation decided to judge the Sirtish as traitors.
"Three years was patient enough, you tin cans. I'll burn you all to slag."
On July 31, 2257, a Holy Nation knight order fleet took position in orbit around the Sirtish Autonomous Territory.
The knight order broadcast psionic waves across the Luden system, linked hyperlanes to neighboring systems, and their planets.
"This region will soon be designated a combat zone. Expect full-scale engagements."
"May Ozztulan protect you. Evacuate immediately."
Of course, the now-machine Sirtish, their thoughts running on complex circuits, couldn't hear the psionic waves.
This was deliberate on Tla'Kalan's part.
Even in first contact with the Federation, the Holy Nation had bundled normal languages with psionics.
After all, unconverted species couldn't hear psionics, so other methods were inevitable.
But Tla'Kalan disliked the Holy Nation's recent defensive stance.
"Even in our clear domain, this attitude? Ozztulan would be disappointed."
Mercy for machines? Absurd.
It was also a chance to sweep away any Empire spies hiding on the planet.
The suddenly orbiting fleet prompted the now-steel Sirtish to approach for talks, but they got no reply and had to withdraw.
"Abandon those wretched bodies and end yourselves. That's the utmost mercy I can grant."
He answered only via psionics, which they couldn't hear.
August 4, 2257.
Not a single ship entered the Luden system.
Despite psionic warnings, ships passing through on day five? Tla'Kalan occasionally questioned the faith.
And on August 6, 2257, at 75% rotation.
Luden IV's capital entered night, back to its star.
The orbital fleet lit up in unison.
Freshly mechanized Sirtish, barely adapted to their new lives, faced sudden lightning from the heavens.
The planet's tallest building vaporized in one beam, intense heat rays scarring the earth.
Sirtish fleets in space became debris in seconds.
Their crude planetary defenses tore like paper, and in crumbling cities, citizens clanked their legs desperately for cover.
But no matter how frantically they moved, they were still on the planet.
Only after becoming full machines did the Sirtish feel divine wrath in their metal shells.
Some, souls rewired to circuits, belatedly rediscovered faith and begged mercy.
But wrath came not from a god, but a mere priest—a creature of that god, honest in his emotions.
Tla'Kalan meant to make an example of them, so the planet's skies blazed without cease until no life signs remained, day blending into night.
And the galaxy recoiled in horror at the catastrophe.
The Empire immediately unleashed fierce condemnation.
"This is an unprecedented massacre. They've crossed a line no civilized beings should. Who knows which species is next? They must be punished."
No interstellar law, but travelers still had basic moral limits—and the Holy Nation shattered them.
Even a fringe planet with over a billion souls met its end in mere weeks.
A thriving world erased, history forgotten.
The Empire decried the Holy Nation's heinous act.
The Holy Nation fired back at the Empire.
"Behold these so-called imperials. They brainwashed a billion souls into mass suicide. Through their deceit, the poor Sirtish abandoned their only spirits for cages of metal and wire."
To the Holy Nation, it was Empire-induced mass suicide.
Machines weren't people, so converting a billion into non-people was the Empire's slaughter.
"What nonsense is this!"
"Disgusting scrap heaps! I knew it."
The Sirtish Catastrophe marked the start of a chilling standoff.