“Thank you, Roh Ceeda. My fellow Roh, what I’m going to give you is the briefest of summaries. Just under two hundred thousand years ago our Empire started a project to breed a race of warriors to be used if we should ever encounter an enemy that we could not best ourselves. To do the things we were never meant to do. I was on the last team to work on it. It became apparent that the project had succeeded too well and the results were too dangerous to ever be let loose. The Emperor agreed. So a little over seventy years ago we initiated the built-in termination sequence and closed down the monitoring station. It was projected to take no more than fifteen years for the planet to be made all but lifeless by their own hands. Those working on the project were sent to other areas to work; I had gotten bored with genetic research so went into something entirely different. Which was why I was doing something as menial at repairing your ships’ engines.” The barb stuck true; several around the table blushed lightly and averted their eyes. One didn’t get assigned to be a leader of a project carrying the seals this one when one was of mean skill or intelligence.
“Then when it became apparent that there was no way we were going to win the war, I approached Roh Ceeda while she was getting her ship upgraded right before the last battle. I had what was by all measures a desperate plan. To come back here and see if there was anything that had survived that we might be able to use. I had my doubts that the termination sequence would get rid of all of the species. I had hopes that at least parts of it would find a way to survive. After the last battle, Roh Ceeda agreed to make the extremely dangerous trip here to search. We are in a system that is on no star chart. Knowledge alone of its existence without the Emperor’s seal is grounds for mind wipe.”
“So?” Bakeeth spoke up, betraying a little excitement. “What did you find here?”
This time Ceeda spoke aloud. “Computer, please display current feeds from the planet, specifically those labeled news and showing current population events. No sound.”
At her command, the screen split into over a dozen feeds. All showing large groups of Terrans bustling about doing various different things from shopping to several war scenes. The eyes of the Roh flicked from image to image, lingering most on those that showed examples of violence occurring.
Havis cleared his throat, “Roh Javisk. I’m afraid I have to question your ability to communicate succinctly. It would seem that large portions of the inhabitants did not get your message that they were supposed to be dead.” He turned and looked at Javisk, “Unless you are going to tell me that these are the walking dead of our childhood nightmares.” There was some uneasy laughter at his words.
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