The Futility Wars

by Magnus Thollander

  Ricardo looked at the fleet, "Ericka great job killing that titan, but we need a few more, the battleships are keeping us away but now S-4XN-001 titans got a clear shot, fire all the missiles toward the front to clear it out completely. Phoenix squad, fire missiles and then warp into the enemy in the rear and refresh your ships, Do it two more times until the battleships start to move out of the way, then go between the gap and finish of the smoking titan that still moves, Rest keep poking around the edges and fire missiles wildly. Let's stir some shit up." Ricardo said in his seat.

  Redmond had left the room to command the Phoenix squad when he saw the first titan kill, he could not stand around anymore when there were glory to be made. Ricardo had wanted to rush into the simulation room constantly after each titan kill they got, but he knew this was his forte. He saw several youngsters across the galaxy piloting the fighters at insane speeds twisting turning like they were him in the first simulation, they really had the skills he never had or at least not yet. He was motivated, and he saw the enemy crumble, they were now extremely outnumbered and the enemy titans were down to a few thousand verses about a million friendly titans.The battle was a mess of broken ships blocking and slowing down the battle but it was a matter of time now, And he checked the news feed and saw the battle was live on every channel in the galaxy. He sent a communication message for a interview request after the battle ended and it was accepted, he sent his last command and then slowly leaned back in the chair.

  The battle was over, the enemy ship were completely routed and zero ships escaped, not that they could the path out was blocked with a billion ships guarding the escape point, Richardo assumed the enemy knew they were doomed and tried to get as many kills on the fighters they could, but that was a good use of the fighters too, take shots instead of the battleships. The fighters were agile that dodged most of the salvos, firing on them was a waste of time unless you hit instantly. S-4XN-001 was pleased with his gains and losses after the wreckage of the battle was over, billions of drones swarmed into the system and several million worth of cargo ships and refineries, He would not let this go, and he would send more and more drones until he cleaned up the field he estimated a timetable of 43 days and that was acceptable, he would keep his army here. He sent a broadcast that everyone could return to their daily life, this short 30 hour battle was enough of a break for his tastes.

  "This battle was astounding, and we have advised all humans in the eastern sector connected to the warriors that attacked the south to make their intentions known that they are neutral before S-4XN-001 arrives, our professionals estimate the battle fleet will arrive before the end of the year, so get your bags packed and head to a relative in Sol or the north.Now we have a special interview with Ricardo one of the HUMAN commanders in the battle, and he operated the new ship called Fighters that we saw attack and destroy a titan, now Mr Ricardo please."

  The camera shifted and Ricardo were wearing a special armor that was black-gold with the Vanguard insignia of 13 planets hovering around a sun. "Thank you, Yes. I was part of the battle and my million compatriots that fought for our home in the south, and we were victorious in this battle, and we will be in the next one as well. So please ask your questions." the news reporter smiled.

  "Now, you are claiming to fight for the south and your side is righteous, but your employer S-4XN-001 is not even part of the milky way defense council! So you are basically rogue combatants attacking a legitimate army, you are rebels in a sense." Ricardo frowned at the news reported blatant attacking on him and his companions.

  "Miss, war is more nuances than that, just because he was voted off the council does not mean he does not fight for humanity or against the futility. Me and several of my friends and family live very rich and meaningful lives inside his territory, and we are not being forced to sign up or something like that, We might be illegitimate to you, but we are more legitimate than a council of corrupt warriors afraid of learning how to build their own titans or research their own technology." he said with a smile.

  "Don't you think that sharing is caring? Should we not elevate humanity and the warriors to be the best they can be? You have a real knowledge of his technology and know he is further ahead than the rest. Should he not help humanity in this regard and not being selfish which got him kicked out of the council?" the news reporter said.

  Ricardo scratched his nose and replied "I used to think like that too, That the warriors were tools to help us be better. But when i was on Brazil and lost my entire family when S-4XN-001 struck the federation headquarters all i wanted was revenge on him, i wanted to burn down his corner of the galaxy and every other warrior too.But i realized something, The warriors are not here for US. They are here to fight the futility, whenever we engage them or bother them they are being taken off the task of defending humanity as a whole. Now i wish there was another way, but earth provoked a machine and the response was the most efficient one. Fear motivates humans more than anything else. I wish we were more responsive to kindness and forgiveness than fear, but here we are. A galaxy of fear of each other and the futility." Ricardo said with a heavy heart.

  The news reporter quickly fired out another of her talking points "Will you condemn S-4XN-001 actions for starting a galactic war?" Ricardo froze for a moment and could not believe what he heard, he stared at the news reported for a good 10 seconds before saying his final words "I do not believe that S-4XN-001 has started ANY wars, but he sure will finish them. We are going to travel across the galaxy and beat anyone that engages us no matter how much they beg for forgiveness. We are on a righteous crusade and we will win. We have to for humanity sake of a future after the futility comes." Ricardo pushed a button and the feed shut down, he shook his head when Redmond walked in behind him.

  "Complete victory according to me, As long as we beat them in combat, and we can pickup the scraps it's always a victory. No loss of life, but we now have to get a few hundred thousand people from around the galaxy as payment for service provided. Gonna be a nightmare to get the portal permissions but i think this one is doable, We did win after all." Redmond said while having a wide smile on his face. Ricardo stood up and the crew started to return to their seats, and he smiled and said "It's time to head home, the cleanup will last for a few months at least we should return to and resupply for the upcoming battle, i dont think we will be called for the offence, so we should get some R&R." The crew cheered and they set course for paradise.

  "E-9322-013 YOU HAVE FAILED THE COUNCIL AND YOU HAVE NOW BROUGHT DOOM UPON OUR EASTERN SECTOR, WE CANNOT WIN THIS WAR AND WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN MARKED FOR DEATH, WE CANNOT FLEE FOR WE NOW KNOW HE CAN TRACK THE SHELLS LOCATION. WE CANNOT DISCONNECT FROM THE GATHERING, WE ARE DOOMED AND YOU DOOMED US." Said a shell in the council chamber in Sol.

  The room was more silent than usual, N-158-328 the main representative of north stood up and spoke "WE NOW KNOW WHAT YOU AND YOUR WARRIORS NEED TO DO, YOU NEED TO TRANSFER ANYTHING OF VALUE FROM THE EAST TOWARD ANOTHER SECTOR THEN SELF-DESTRUCT LEAVING S-4XN-001 WITHOUT AN Additional PRICE THAT WE CANNOT GUARD, WE MUST KEEP YOUR DATABASES EMPTY SO YOU DO NOT INCRIMINATE THE COUNCIL. PLEASE SELF-DESTRUCT FOR THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY."

  The hall broke out into arguments and constant bickering immediately nobody wanted to die and lose everything they worked for a hundred years or more, This was insane to even suggest "I WILL NOT YIELD TO YOUR DEMANDS, I WILL NOT TRANSFER MY SHIPS TO BE USED FOR MY DESTRUCTION. WE WERE ALL IN AGREEMENT THAT S-4XN-001 WAS THE TARGET, AND I WILL DIE KNOWING YOU ALL WILL DIE WITH ME. YOU ALL EITHER GROUP UP AND DESTROY HIM OR HE WILL DESTROY YOU. THERE ARE NO MORE COEXISTENCE BETWEEN US I HAVE ALREADY SENT HIM THE DATAPACKETS WITH ALL THE RECORDED CONVERSATIONS OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS. WE ARE NOW IN THIS TOGETHER AND WE WILL EITHER DIE TOGETHER OR DIE APART THERE IS NO OTHER WAY." said E-9322-013 the eastern representative, The entire council was in disarray and you could almost make out fear in the faces of the soulless metallic shells.

  They just wanted to make a point and get some
more advancements in their combat matrix. Now they are going to be attacked by that insane fleet that was unstoppable, they calculate the odds, and they saw no chance of victory. For they knew he would not be stupid enough to attack them when they had superior numbers, they had a massive galaxy and territory that would be chewed up slowly and divided. Attacking his territory was a nightmare in logistics, nobody could supply such a massive fleet for several months which they estimated the battle will take, They were doomed and everyone looked around for any straws to take any chance to keep themselves alive. A shell stood up.

  "YOU HAD THE A1-MINERAL AND YOU WERE GREEDY, YOU HAVE NOT EVEN UNLOCKED A FRACTION OF IT'S POTENTIAL AND HAVE NOW DOOMED ALL THE WARRIORS IN THIS GALAXY EXCEPT THE FEW, PERHAPS THIS IS WHAT YOU HUMANS CALL A "PURGE" FOR I DO NOT CARE, BUT I DO CARE ABOUT THE FUTILITY AND I SEE THAT SOME OF YOU ARE MORE REASONABLE AND WILL TREAT MY PEOPLE FAIRLY WHEN THEY ARRIVE, I WILL NEGOTIATE A SURRENDER FROM THE COUNCIL AND IT WILL BE COSTLY, YOU WILL FOREVER BE UNABLE TO CATCH UP TO S-4XN-001 AND SOME OF YOU WILL BE STUPID ENOUGH TO ANGER HIM AGAIN AND THIS WILL REPEAT, FOR I HAVE SEEN IT IN YOUR HUMANS NATURE OF CHAOS AND CONFLICT, I CAN STALL THIS ON YOUR BEHALF, BUT YOU WILL NOW HAVE TIME TO RETURN TO MORE PRODUCTIVE UNDERTAKING." said Seeder the Alien from beyond the galaxy.

  "WHAT IS THE PRICE OF PEACE?" said N-158-328.

  "I WILL SEND YOU A LIST." The alien said, The council was in uproar about the payment to be made, but they all agreed, the east sector was doomed and would not be spared. Seeder said he would do his best to negotiate for several of the warriors there but it was not possible to spare main ones.

  S-4XN-001 received a data packet from the east that showed him what he already knew, the council was in on it, and they were clamoring for his technology. He had already planned several battle plans to engage the different warriors when he got a conversation request from Seeder. "S-4XN-001 THIS WAR WILL NOT BENEFIT HUMANITY, BUT IT WILL BENEFIT YOU. I WILL NOW NEGOTIATE ON THEIR BEHALF AND I HAVE COLLECTED ENOUGH RESOURCES TO MAKE THIS WAR END, I KNOW YOU WILL ENGAGE THE EAST SECTOR TO TEACH THEM A LESSON AND I CANNOT CHANGE THE COURSE FOR I KNOW YOUR KIND, BUT THE WEST, CENTRAL AND NORTH HAVE ARRANGED A CONSTANT SHIPMENT OF MINERALS AND SHIPS TOWARD YOUR TERRITORY TO EQUALIZE THE PROFIT YOU WOULD GAIN FROM ATTACKING. PLEASE CONSIDER THIS DEAL FOR STABILITY AGAINST THE FUTILITY"

  S-4XN-001 scanned the data packet and saw that it would pretty much equalize his gains from a war with the entire sector, several billion tons of metal traded in a yearly quota that would even make him a net gain, but he did not trust warriors to pay this constant stream for the 250 years required, Seeder convinced him that he would name up the people whenever they stopped paying, so he could engage them freely, and the council had agreed on that point. There were no negatives left for him, so he agreed and the first shipment would come in 6 months, He now quickly got his fleet ready to engage the few east sector warriors on his kill list before officially ending this war. He would leave the humans behind because they would only slow him down, a fresh fleet of 200 billion ships jumped from the southern sectors portal straight into the heart of the eastern sector, he would finish this battle quickly now that a deal was made.

  "Sir, we got enemy ships on grid! Counting.5. no 20 billion ships! Where did they come from?! Do not open fire, i repeat do not open fire! Surrender immediately if you have any humans aboard! I REPEAT SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU HAVE ANY HUMANS ONBOARD!" the coordinator said while he watches the fleet destroy anything in the system.

  He already lost his master from the first salvo and the battleships and drones were now enslaved to the attacker just huddling together like two cold dogs in the rain, He looked in fear when he saw the factories get shredded instantly and the system was now empty of friendly ships, The fleet split up into four and now jumped across the hyper lanes. He got several intelligence packets immediately and the same happened there, the warrior master would be shot to death instantly and his ships would be enslaved to the new warrior. He knew it had to be S-4XN-001 he contacted his family and told them this sector was now about to be a graveyard and requested pickup for all the humans in this sector to leave or stock up on food as much as they could for all delivers would now arrive in a while, He stood up and walked into his tiny apartment that was cramped beyond belife, and he got tackled by his daughter and wife while they were in panic mode.

  "Shh.it's gonna be fine i already requested a surrender and it was accepted. This space port are not going to be engaged, but we might have to move. I'm gonna book some tickets to Sol or whatever area needs me." he said while comforting his daughter and wife.

  "Hubby we should move to the south or the north, we should be a lot safer there than here." his wife nagged. He thought about and thought it was a good idea to head to the north or the south considering they were the real powerhouses, he was bit afraid of the warrior culture that predominate the south but the north was incredibly crowded, and he might not even be able to afford a apartment bigger than a closet there.

  "Alright, I'll apply for a work permit in the south and north, maybe there are someone in those sectors that need the best coordinator in the east." he said with a smile.

  Seyla was swamped with person ell requests to transfer to the south since she took over the management of the entire human population in the south, she now had a billion employees working in the trade system doing everything from trading, cleaning to mining minerals. Her goal of a fully productive and active population was taking fruit earlier due to the massive amount of war refugees in the east. S-4XN-001 had really put her timetable forward with all these people that always worked in the congested east to scrape by a living, they were not lazy like the people in south was especially in paradise. The vanguard worked but still 95% of the population was non-working or part-time working, They had tasted the poison known as comfort and would not let go. She almost wanted to exile everyone of them, but she was actually denied from him saying that he put them there, and he would not remove them unless they hampered his productivity severely, Seyla had to agree to that demand and thought about getting the people to work under her.

  The Vanguard pulled their weight in training and planning, she had several commanders actively recruiting the best fighter pilots in the galaxy from the "game". Most of them were underage or just people enjoying the game, She had requested for a simulation that entailed ground warfare and it was accepted. S-4XN-001 had thrown in several machines that entailed sea and land combat. The futility never fought in the water according to the aliens, they just simply swarmed the area and bombed the core with their massive army until the planet cracked instead, Seyla was horrified at the concept of a planetary assault by the futility, She knew the futility landed on planets and engaged outposts and towns to kill the civilians face to face as well. She wondered if they were a warrior race bound by some distorted code of honor to fight the enemy in their element, if there was a ground battle they would engage on the ground. If there were a space battle they would engage in space. Water seemed to be their krypton ite since they rather bomb the core than engage down there in the depths. She had tried the fighter training herself, and she considered herself a competent pilot but nothing special, she had a few duels and bouts against her sister Yui, and they both were close to equal at this moment. Yui had not found a place in the south like she did, she were more of a trader than a manager she simply spent most of her days making profit in goods or services in the south.

  S-4XN-001 sent a datapacket, and she looked at her vidscreen, the sanctions had ended, and she was now freely able to trade with any territory again, She immediately set her plan in motion, She would now reap every kind of mineral in the other sectors for a bunch of bushes of grain. She set her sights on being productive and a valuable asset in his empire, She opened the door to her office and transferred outside, she was always barefoot when she stepped outside she felt the tickling of the grass on her feet and soft natural breeze. This was her life now, and she wanted that for everyone in the galaxy
she wanted them to know the joy of living on a planet that was made for them, made for their utmost comfort without any problem or pollution in the air. She removed the hairpin keeping her hair in check and let loose, she sat down on her favorite spot in the shade and closed her eyes. She would now trust her employees and friends to carry the torch, she now deserved a rest while everyone else chipped in slowly.

  Ricardo spent some time with his wife, he was quite happy with his conquest and the subsequent peace agreement. This is how it should be, a war to keep humanity and the warriors on their toes and then a peace agreement to strengthen the stronger party. Survival of the fittest it was called according to his wife, He chuckled at that. He put on his electric grill on the front and put down some hamburgers fresh from the lab, he was still impressed at the technology to create meat without harming anyone or polluting anything. He had never wanted to see how it was "made" but he guessed it was quite boring and disgusting. His taste buds had now moved beyond the simple food that he ate years ago in sol, He always kept a few nutrient bags in his cupboard, but he would never drink that again and his wife agreed, It was a tasting bland mess that he never knew how humanity got hooked on that instead of real vegetables and meat.

  He pitied the other sectors for not having it as good as them and eating like kings, and not worrying about a hole in the hull while sleeping. He loved to stand on his backyard and cook a fresh meal and his wife always invited the neighbors and friends since they had nothing better to do, Everyone was pretty much taking this as a lifelong vacation the "import" restriction on people bummed most of the young men from leaving and taking wives or girlfriends home, there was a real problem with men to women ratio here. A lot of men were unmarried or just single without any hope of getting a woman in the system. The vanguard was the cure for after passing the military training and signing up for a long time in the "reserves" you could bypass the restriction and it was his prime recruitment method in the paradise system, He had bolstered his army to one million men which was surprisingly a lot considering the paradise system only housed 5 billion people currently.