Sacrifice of Angels

by Trevor Wyatt

  October Terran Union dispatches a 100-ship fleet to investigate the debris of TUS Mariner. The fleet makes contact with Command Legate Laloli of the Sonali. History repeats as she states that the Sonali are not responsible for the destruction of the Mariner and tells the Terran Armada fleet to leave or face attack. The Terran fleet refuses to leave. Legate Laloli fires on the fleet destroying more than half of the Terran ships including: The Maverick, The Aurora, The Iris, The Magus, The Lysander, The Griffin, The Mercury, The H.R. Wells, The Santa Maria, The Hornet, The York, The Wesley, and The Lexington. Surviving ships include: The Celestia. November Sonali war ships begin attack and invasion of Edoris sector settlements: Solange, Mavis, Zion, and Halcyon. Terran Armada begins to establish diplomatic relations with the other alien species.

  December A fleet of Terran war frigates surround two Sonali ships TUS Malai and TUS Gre'nai. Concentrated fire by the Terran fleet severely damages both Sonali ships. However, Terran losses negate this as a true "win."

  2198:

  January Six months after first contact Terran Armada officially declares war on the Sonali.

  Plans are proposed for weapons manufacture on Earth coupled with aggressive R&D to catch up to Sonali military prowess.

  February Sonali expand their invasion in Edoris sector. Colonies taken include: Calypso, Gamma and Logan.

  March Loss of TUS Terror to Sonali at Azukene colony. However, before the ship was swarmed by Sonali the crew murdered the captain in a mutinous move opposing the captain's plan to do a suicidal ram into the Sonali warship. The last moments of TUS Terror as well as the munity were recorded and delivered via automated slipstream log.

  May After the incident with TUS Terror - Terran Armada instigates security officers to be posted on all ships to protect Captains.

  June "Remember the Mariner!" becomes a unifying chant on Earth. Record numbers of Terrans enlist at the Academy in order to train and join the war effort.

  July For the first time in 1,000 years Terrans return to nomadic roots, traveling in small caravans between settlements to avoid attack by Sonali forces. However, it is soon apparent that daytime exodus equals heavy losses as Sonali ships cut down fleeing Terrans indiscriminately. To avoid this danger some settlements near the border empty overnight.

  August Sonali attacks on border colonies continues.

  September A candle-light vigil is held by civilians in remembrance of TUS Mariner on the anniversary of the official announcement of its loss.

  October "Sacred Vow" offensive is launched by Terran Armada in an attempt to halt Sonali encroachment in the Edoris Sector. Due to loss of half of the attacking Terran fleet to Sonali forces and overall failure the offensive is dubbed "Sacred Cow" in civilian circles denoting a loss of hope regarding the war effort.

  November The Sonali continue to conquer and invade settlements on different planets. Despite Terran resistance, the Sonali maintain dominance on overall destruction and causalities.

  December While on patrol TUS Shrike discovers a damaged, but intact Sonali ship. The recovery of this ship marks the first opportunity for research into Sonali technology.

  2199:

  January The vessel is delivered to Terran Armada for research.

  February Sonali forces destroy the following colonies in Edoris sector: Nurtura, Cassis, and Bathory.

  March Settlements lost to Sonali: Esme, Carlise, and Laront.

  April Settlements lost to Sonali: Tamarin, Solaris, Calliope, and Ferris.

  June Settlements captured by Sonali: Langley, Benedict, and Mathis.

  July-August The Sonali begin a series of seemingly random attacks on a consistent basis. They become known as "death drops" because the Sonali would come out of FTL over a Terran colony and repeatedly drop firebombs until it was leveled. Then they would resume FTL back to Sonali space. The assaults were unpredictable and devastating.

  September "Operation Quake" was a covert mission designed to capture Sonali communications relays in the hopes of determining the locations of future "death drops." Captain Wolf of TUS Exeter was sent on this mission with the directive to come out of FTL and take position behind a Sonali fleet to deploy the probes (the probes would be disguised as space debris). Once in place the probes would relay communications back to Terran headquarters. However, one of the engineering officers Yuang Fa was a Sonali sympathizer; he hacked the ship's A.I.'s and murdered a crew mate to sabotage the mission.

  October-December Terran Armada launch "Operation Zodiac." Operation Zodiac (aka"Oz") - was a fleet of self-replicating drones deployed to form a blockade of mines in constant FTL orbit. In order to the fill the blockade area the drones were able to harvest needed materials in space to increase their numbers. A ship moving at non-FTL speed across the mine field would not be affected as it would phaze through at a different frequency than the mines. However, a fleet entering the blockade in FTL would trigger the mines. Upon detonation each mine releases a fusillade of shrapnel. The success of "Operation Zodiac" marks the first time in the Earth-Sonali war that Terrans are able to deliver consecutive blows to the Sonali without suffering immense causalities. This routing of Sonali forces by Terrans revitalizes the war effort at home and abroad.

  2200:

  January-March To counter "Operation Zodiac" the Sonali launch FTL drones into the mine fields to detonate and destroy the blockades. The Sonali are able to "punch holes" in the blockades using these measures. However, the first three months of solid success by "OZ" mark a turning point for Terran forces.

  June Based on intel recovered by a group of mercenaries on Edoris -Terran Armada launches a second wave of self-replicating drones to form a blockade above New Sydney. This second offensive "Operation Xanthe" (aka "OX") creates an effective barrier allowing ground forces to evacuate civilians from impending attack.

  July-August After three years of research and development (that included reverse engineering captured Sonali technology), the start of year four of the war finds Terran Armada military capabilities on par with both offensive and defensive Sonali weaponry.

  Reactions to this new military equality vary on each homefront:

  •Terrans, already accustomed to significant causalities, react positively to these new "wins" against their enemy. Chants of "Remember the Mariner!" resurge as does pride in the military.

  •Sonali citizens begin to question the war and have concerns regarding their daily life now that the enemy has become a real threat. Spurred by this new perspective, Sonali Scholars begin earnest research into a species that can no longer be categorized merely as "primitive aggressors".

  September-December Battles between the matched forces of Terran and Sonali military result in longer battles with significant loss of life on both sides.

  Terran Ships Missing or Destroyed include: TUS Zenith, TUS Cyclone, TUS Hurricane, TUS Tornado, TUS Virgil, TUS Messenger, TUS Carolina, TUS Dynasty, TUS Eckard, TUS Franklin, TUS Claude, and TUS Marseille.

  Sonali Ships Destroyed include: La'na, S'elal, M'alei, La'asi, Ka'era, S'hai, T'lan, M'hida, C'mei, F'ali, D'aie, and A'hai.

  2201:

  January After five months of dealing with a "stalemate of destruction", both Sonali and Terrans begin covert operations to discover alternative means of winning the war. Recovered paperwork and/or testimony from Sonali and Terrans are the only existing proof of such activities during the war. It should be noted that military on both sides refuse to comment and deny the existence of these projects.

  February Omega Project: Designed to enhance Terran abilities due to the injection of a series of sophisticated nanites. One goal of the project was to increase Terran adaptability to extreme environmental changes, in particular the low-oxygen high argon atmosphere of Sonali. Test subject 01 results were found superior to all other subjects.

  April Devanagari Project- Sonali project to create air-borne parasites queued to Terran physiology. Personal logs (original recordings lost) kept by Sonali scientists describe the creation of a parasitic enti
ty designed to attack Terrans-only. Testimony by a scientist on the project said they successfully created the phage with plans to deploy it via introduction into the atmosphere of large Terran cities. However, the war came to an end before the phage was deployed on a wide scale (per testimony of scientist). Despite this testimony rumors persist that select Terran colonies met their demise via use of this lethal parasitic invasion.

  May "Operation Zephyr" was a covert message system based on the American Indian language of Tuscarora. However, Terran Armada Counter Intelligence discovered that the coded messages were compromised. Terran Armada uses this opportunity to send out false messages regarding the location of a military convoy. Sonali war ships came out of FTL with plans to converge on a ship full of high-ranking military officials. Instead they find a "dummy" ship that detonates destroying the entire fleet.

  June Terran Armada decides to carry out the "Wolf Offensive". This dramatic action involves 'glassing' Beta Hydrae III - a densely populated region of Sonali.

  Captain Montgomery is tasked with leading a counter-offensive. However, he still has questions regarding the Sonali's role in the destruction of TUS Mariner. Poised on the brink of genocide, Captain Montgomery returns to the location of the debris from TUS Mariner to investigate further.

  Instead of meeting the Sonali, Captain Montgomery meets and speaks with another species the Nakra who admit that they destroyed TUS Mariner all those years ago. Their reasoning was that this area of space i.e. the nebula is their homeworld and must be kept sacred and secret; any species that trespass are not allowed to leave as they would reveal what they found. Thus, TUS Mariner had to be dispatched in an attempt to stay hidden.

  Ullian of the Nakra tells Captain Montgomery he regrets his next actions; however, he must destroy TUS Seeker as he did TUS Mariner to protect his people. A battle ensues where TUS Seeker eventually has the upper hand insofar as the aliens have suffered great losses. At that time Ullian of the Nakra accepts Captain Montgomery's promise to leave them alone.

  Realizing that the Sonali are guilt-less and that the war should never have started, Captain Montgomery rushes to the location of the large-scale attack between the Sonali and Terrans. Captain Montgomery opens a communication channel between the two warring sides: he reveals that the Sonali were innocent of the destruction of TUS Mariner and that the war was "predicated on a lie."

  July Terrans and Sonali agree to a cease fire under the "Mariner Armistice."

  2202:

  February Seven months later, after numerous negotiations and meetings between both sides, an official peace treaty "The Mariner Accords" between Terran Armada and the Sonali is agreed upon and signed putting an official end to the five-year war. In addition, a provision is made within the treaty to protect the nebula of the Nakra homeworld from incursion from any and all alien species.

  The five-year Earth-Sonali War was the worst conflict either side had every experienced in history.

  Terran Union: Lives lost: 4 billion Number of surviving colonies: 153 colonies out of 198 Loss of overall military force: 25%

  Sonali Combine: Lives lost: 5 billion Number of surviving colonies: 102 Loss of military forces: 18%

  Sonali Combine

  Physical Description

  Humanoid (two eyes, nose, mouth and two legs); however, they have facial slits instead of ears. Average height 6' tall. Hairless. Body color is a uniform pale blue with some darker gradients of blue on the face. Their lifespan is approximately 80-90 years

  Anatomy/Physiology

  Females and males possess the same sexual organs as Terran females and males. Sonali reproduce sexually; however, their path to reproduction is complex. The Sonali are sequential hermaphrodites – they are born one gender and at sexual maturity they switch. The process by is called "Ascension." At the age of 18 (Terran years) the Sonali are put through the Ascension ceremony. Although the specifics of the transformation are unknown to outsiders the following is known:

  •Sonali are born gendered; however they are also born sterile

  •It is only by going through Ascension that the Sonali become fertile

  •By switching genders at maturity their bodies receive a signal to "turn on" the faculties needed to reproduce i.e. ovulation and sperm production

  •Before the baby is born it is incubated outside the body until birth

  •It is speculated, but unknown if this incubation influences the birth gender

  Culture

  The Sonali are a technologically advanced race especially with regard to weaponry. In first contact with Terran Union they had a much greater advantage when it came to combat. Although their society has no record of war amongst itself, the Sonali have devoted a great deal to defense due to their disdain for most other species based on the belief that many are not intelligent enough to warrant contact. In addition they guard their advances in medicine, science and other fields closely.

  Interactions with Terrans were initially only within combat situations. However, once the war ended, the Sonali were willing to cooperate with the Terrans regarding establishing a galactic council.

  Politics/Governance

  A younger generation (pre-Ascesnion age) of the Sonali have formed the Origin Movement pushing for the end of mandatory Ascension. Their belief is that changing gender, or staying with your birth gender should be an individual choice. They also believe that this decision goes hand-in-hand with the additional choice whether to procreate or not.

  Concerns for the future of the Sonali race are driving another group (Post-Ascension age) to argue for the continuation of Ascension both as a cultural tradition and as a necessity for survival of the species. This group called the Ascendents believes that the anti-ascension generation have been influenced by Terrans. They believe that the short-sightedness of Terran society with regard to its own survival and its condition of static gender have "infected" the young Sonali with these ideas. The Sonali population is steady; however, there is fear of its decline should large numbers of the young choose to remain sterile.

  Sonali Caste System

  The Sonali has a five-tier caste system based on vocation: Military, Religious, Scholar, Labor, and Merchant. The caste system was created to insure diversity and regulation of the Sonali workforce over time.

  Sonali from different castes may marry; in this situation, the children may pick the vocation of either parent. However, some Sonali still feel oppressed by having to choose the mandated career paths that are inherited at birth.

  As an example, a Sonali teenager born into a religious/scholar household may feel oppressed if he/she wants to be a merchant or join the military. Another issue with the caste system is the unofficial hierarchy it creates between each type of caste.

  The Military Caste

  The military caste is considered as the highest authority when it comes to matters of law enforcement, regulation of alien (Terran) occupation and other related policies. It is very common to see high-ranking military officials serve in political positions increasing military influence on planetary policy.

  Members of the military caste tend to view themselves as the highest authority on all matters: period. Thus, other castes are often given grudging respect or approval when supporting matters that conflict with military decisions. While other castes may not share the military’s view that they are the “top”, they do afford them a great deal of respect. It should be noted that Sonali civilians give particular deference to military personnel that distinguished themselves during the Earth-Sonali war.

  The Scholar Caste

  Although they may focus on different areas of study, the goal of the Scholar Caste is the same: the acquisition of knowledge for posterity and the overall benefit of the Sonali race.

  The Scholar Caste includes teachers, scientists, researchers and xenoarchaeologists.

  Xenoarchaeologists tend to focus on finding evidence of the “precursor theory of origin” that the Sonali were engineered a long time ago by a superior race that no
longer exists or has left this galaxy. Typically, they split their time between fieldwork to uncover new artifacts and researching and categorizing the artifacts they have already acquired. They often share their findings with scientists since working together they can achieve more, although not all are as open with their research and choose instead to keep their finds to themselves.

  Scientists research a variety of subjects including Sonali biology, Psychology, the Ascension process as well as research into the precursor theory. Despite protests to the contrary, rumors persist regarding the development of parasitic weapons weapons during the Earth-Sonali war.

  Teachers are less concerned with the acquisition of new knowledge or where the knowledge they have come from or by what means. They attempt to keep any personal bias out of their delivery of acquired information. All of the knowledge they are allowed to teach younger generations of Sonali must be approved and recorded. Once information is in written or digital form it is considered part of the accepted curriculum. Each year The Council of Teachers meets to approve any revisions or additions to the curriculum. A majority vote must occur for any changes/additions to be finalized. Colleges do not exist on Sonali due to caste system.

  Once maturity is reached a Sonali youth receives mentorship in their new career from one of their parents. It is through this study that they attain position in their caste. Of all the factions within the scholar caste, teachers receive the most scrutiny from Sonali society and often the most criticism. Although the Council of Teachers may agree upon an acceptable curriculum, other Sonali (even some within the caste) may protest certain subjects being taught to young Sonali.

  The subject of Ascension has historically polarized the religion and scholar castes. The religious caste protests the scientific process being taught; instead, they believe that only religious reasons exist for Ascension and therefore should be taught singly. Scholars argue for the teaching of both.