Neo-Socialist Enlightenment Admiral Norris, Twenty-Second Expeditionary Fleet Commander.
Journal Entry: August 25, 157 Post Neo-Socialist Enlightenment (PNSE) (2402 A.D.)
ENV Armand
In orbit around the planet Nazta, Nazta system, and homeworld of the Naztain race.
For the past seven days, our fleet has been carrying out the Fifth Martial Directive, ordered by Enlightenment High Command, without question or delay. The vessels of my fleet, the Twenty-Second, hang in orbit around the accursed planet, raining death down upon the surface without respite. Dictators praise! More than a decade has passed since that fateful day we encountered the accursed Naztain and their navy, and the end of the war is finally in sight. As distant as victory may seem, we must continue to reach towards our goal- even if our hopes for peace are as fleeting as a desert mirage, we cannot break off our assault at this point. It is just not reasonable!
It pleases me to watch the shockwaves blossom upon the surface of the planet. Every passing day brings a plethora of fleeing Naztain vessels, alien freighters and couriers attempting to escape the cataclysm unfolding upon the surface of the planet. Needless to say, the Lacodeia class assault cruisers have been kept busy with interdiction duty. I must admit, even to a NSE patriot like me, the prospect of blasting unarmed vessels out of the void is slightly distasteful. During my attendance at the Academy, I remember reading an old history text mentioning some ancient document- the Geneva Convention? But its generally agreed upon by the Admirals that such concepts as the separation of civilian and military activities are outdated relics of a pre-Enlightenment world.
Do we know that we are obliterating a homeworld? When we agreed to undertake this endeavor, I was fully aware of the implications. I am proud to say that I have no regrets at least none that are worth mentioning. Perhaps deep underneath my refined, polished naval façade, a current of humanity runs yet. I have spent the past eleven years attempting to extinguish this remnant of my former self- I do admit that I have not yet succeeded.
Journal Entry: August 26, 157 PNSE (2402 A.D.)
ENV Armand
In orbit around the planet Nazta, Nazta system.
The morning dawned with wonderful news! Our comrades fighting in the Ninety-First Fleet have intercepted and completely annihilated a convoy of civilian freighters passing through the Tovin system- the transmission from an enthusiastic Admiral Galleni arrived soon after the morning meal. It seems as if two million Naztain have perished in the conflict. Surely the Naztain will face the bitter reality of their condition and surrender to the Neo-Socialist Enlightenment now!
Today was relatively uneventful. The Munitions Officer tells me with pride that we unleashed no fewer than two hundred ultra-high-yield thermonuclear weapons upon the planet this twenty-four hour cycle. More explosions, each one accompanied by the dying screams of millions, picked up over general-use radio frequencies. I must inform Communications that I desire nothing other than the most urgent of transmissions routed to my command post.
I recall my memories the beginning of the war was a terrible time for the Neo-Socialist Enlightenment. It was only by the providence of the Dictator that we survived the first onslaught. The alien battlecruisers that attacked our borders obliterated our outer outposts, but let our fleeing troops mercifully live, recuperate for another days war. To their lasting regret, we have not repaid the favor. And soon, there will be none left to regret. Such are the realities of war.
Tomorrow brings another set of trials and challenges. I sincerely hope Ill be fit to meet them head-on.
Journal Entry: August 27, 157 PNSE (2402 A.D.)
ENV Armand
In orbit around the planet Nazta, Nazta system.
Another two hundred warheads deployed. Otherwise, today was another relatively uneventful day. I look forwards to a promotion after this blasted war is over.
Im beginning to question the wisdom of this directive. Was it really necessary to resort to such drastic measures to end a war that we were already clearly winning three years ago? However, it is common knowledge that only the most foolish of people would dare openly question the wisdom of the Dictators.
Journal Entry: August 28, 157 PNSE (2402 A.D.)
ENV Armand
In orbit around the planet Nazta, Nazta system.
Everything has changed
Something happened today. A pitifully outmatched warfleet jumped into the system, desperately trying to stem our advance- of course, I ordered the immediate annihilation of the Naztain light destroyers. They fought like savages- it was to be expected, as they had nothing to lose. But it did not matter how they fought. We outclassed and outgunned them; no tactical maneuver, however brilliant, could have saved them from our brutal but mercifully short retaliation.
Amid the newly-created debris field, another set of vessels, this fleet even more pathetic then the first, came into the system. These made no attempt to engage I ordered their destruction anyways.
Twenty minutes later, five marines led a bound and gagged Naztain into my quarters. He was the sole survivor of the group- the only one who bothered to escape his vessel in a pod. One marine slapped a translation unit upon his throat, while the other trained his rifle upon the Naztains head. No doubt they were waiting for my casual dismissal, the almost-ritual procedure to be followed before executing any prisoner of war.
I was intrigued today. What do you want here? I had never seen a Naztain before; such duties I usually delegated to the first mate.
Norris I have heard much about you. We of the Naztain warrior class all have. Many you have killed. We offer to surrender. You pay us no heed why? The translators imperfect rendition of his plea served its duties nonetheless.
From what I now know to be NSE propaganda, I pictured the Naztain as hideous, malformed beings. The Naztain standing in front of me was neither hideous nor malformed, simply different. Standing erect, he was perhaps five feet tall, and piteously exposed to the elements. Running down his arms, torso, legs, were hard exposed stripes of carapace, coal-black and gleaming in the cold blue fluorescent light that illuminated my command bridge. The same exposed carapace manifested itself upon his head, where it split and formed points on opposite ends of his face, each set of points sweeping in towards each other. He was more muscular than the average human naval ensign the two larger upper arms ended in large, pronounced fingers, while the lower arms branched off into tentacle-like growths. There were two vertical rows of spiracles running down his strong, plated chest, and these would expand and contract as he inhaled and exhaled.
I replied indignantly. What do you say about this surrender? The military networks have continually emphasized the fact that your race refuses to surrender, refuses to come to reason.
He cut me off. NSE lies to you, Norris. The NSE lies like our previous masters, who have long been deposed and now rest dead underneath the burning surface of our homeworld. Look down upon Nazta see what you have done to so many who were innocent, who rendered you no harm.
What was once a lush green world was now splotched with black wasteland and orange wildfires, truly hideous scars upon a mortally wounded planet- even now in the throes of death. Another cluster of nuclear explosions I had gazed upon the same sphere many times in the past week with uncaring, unseeing eyes. It was as if blinders had been removed, filter lenses retracted. I saw, and for the first time, comprehended utter destruction.
The Dictators! What have I done?
You say that the war is for your defense. But so long ago, it ceased to be defense. It became genocide. We were liberated from the mind-tyranny of our leaders one year ago, but even after that the human navies descended upon our worlds, blasting innocent people to oblivion. Two days ago, another fleet destroyed a fleeing convoy. NSE knew that it was unarmed, but they engaged anyways. I lost friends, comrades.
I had never read alien expressions before, but I realized the look upon his lean, angular face to be one of despair and hopelessness.
How do I know what you say is true? I was acclimated to thinking about the Naztain in terms of statistics; I had reduced a people from distinct, sentient individuals to numbers added and subtracted from Enlightenment naval intelligence document figures. Seeing a Naztain in front of me had shattered those barriers. The full enormity of what I was involved in did not hit me at that moment
You have seen it for yourself. No NSE captain has shown mercy before. I decided to take my chances and plead for mercy. A (Naztain term for naval officer) of high rank I formerly was, just like you. Our race is not dying, Norris. It has already been murdered. It was murdered ten days ago, when you first started your bombardment. We thought that you would be satisfied with unconditional surrender, but we were wrong
We were not aware. Or at least I wasnt Slowly, I began to realize exactly what the nature of our previous activities was. Finally, after years of delusion and avoidance, I was forced to face the truth. What kind of person was I? Were those years of loyal service to the NSE really meant to lead up to today- the day I realized I committed genocide?
I have not lived for long, Norris. As the war dragged on bright Naztain were forced into the navy. I was one of those. Our navy is no more and my rank is now as much use to me as the burning planet below us is as a place of refuge. I am surprised that I have found myself in front of you and have been granted an audience I do not expect to live for much longer. You will not spare me it would not be the way of the NSE.
What do I have to gain by lying? I have lost everything already. I tell you this only for your benefit, as my life has been ended already. I hope that even after you have ordered my execution, my words will somehow force you to consider what you have done.
I was speechless. For what seemed like an interminable period of time I stared into his eyes, not daring to move or breathe.
Finally, I regained my composure. Shaking my head as if to eliminate the remnants of a nightmare, I gave orders to the marines.
Take him to the brig. Attend to his injuries and needs I need to be alone for a while.
Journal Entry: August 29, 157 PNSE (2402 A.D.)
ENV Armand
En route to Torvin system.
It has been finished.
The liquidation of an entire civilization has been accomplished, masterminded by the Dictators, prepared by the Naval Staff, and executed by Admiral Norris. The Naztain have been extinguished.
It was early this morning when I realized for the first time, the full enormity of what I had been responsible for. In my great grief, I picked up the ceremonial saber given to me during the Academy graduation ceremony. It is well known that these weapons are awarded to the finest of students, the ones whom have handled NSE brainwashing in the most adept manner. The fact that these weapons are fully functional, containing a full shockwave-pulse generator unit within the blade, is lesser known.
The thumb-switches I flicked on, almost casually, and certainly without conscious thought. I prepared to impale myself upon the glowing blade
The first mate stopped me before I could fall upon the deadly point- I suspect he heard the hum of the blade generator powering up. Being considerably younger than me, he felt confident enough to tackle me from halfway across the small room I landed upon my back, the wind knocked out of me. He calmly picked up the glowing blade and replaced it within the decorative scabbard before asking me to gaze upon the planet that we orbited. His expression was as grave as mine, his grief muted.
Nazta is nothing more than a blackened sphere, glowing only from the radioactive by-products of the nuclear weapons that we unleashed upon an innocent and defenseless society. As the Armand passed into the shadow of the planet, the unnatural fluorescence became all the more apparent.
Journal Entry: September 1, 157 PNSE (2402 A.D.)
ENV Armand
En route to Torvin system.
From what I hear from the other naval captains, nothing remains of the Naztain but a few smoldering worlds.
I gathered the crew within the carriers Ceremonial Hall. This was the location where I gave my acceptance speech upon becoming Commodore and commander of the Armand. That day, lasers pulsed, confetti flew, and the voices of a thousand young men and women became one, urging me to take the place that had been appointed for me by the Dictators themselves. They swore their ultimate loyalty to me, their voices rising like an ocean swell, carrying and uplifting me. Today, the thoughts of these ensigns would be purged and purified by the hottest of plasmas. I admit that I was tense myself; I did not know exactly how binding their promises of loyalty had been. If it had been willed, I could have been executed on the spot. But even that fate would have been better than living with my shredded conscience, a fleet commander with blood upon his hands.
I informed them that we were heading for Earth even as I spoke, and that what we had accomplished was completely unconscionable. I told them that the Twenty-Second would hereby absolve itself from any Neo-Socialist Enlightenment activities and defect to the Resistance. The hall was absolutely silent- not one dared speak up. They agreed. Every single one of them realized
if ever there was a wretch that most deserved to suffer for all eternity, it would have been me. I was directly responsible for the slaughter of a hundred billion Naztain. Never before has genocide occurred on such a vast scale, never before have men thrown aside their consciences so easily and attempted such an abominable undertaking.
I watched the classified NSE file footage. Naztain running in terror as pillars of smoke and ash rise up into the sky, blotting out the sunlight. Tanbain class battleships pummeling cities from low orbit, each barrage of missiles bringing another set of mile-tall skyscrapers down in a sheet of flame and dust. Dying civilian transports, their sides seared with jagged marks and leaking atmosphere, pulling away from their brethren in order to spare them from the inevitable reactor detonation shockwave.
We were all vaguely aware of the true implications of what we were doing, but it seemed almost as if the whole affair were an illusion, some sick training exercise. The fullest true import of what I have done has even now yet to dawn upon me- despite the incident this morning; the entire crew is in strict denial about the incidents that transpired over the past two weeks.
When I was young, I wanted nothing more than to be known among my peers. Now, I know with certainty that ten thousand years from now, men will still revile me as the method by which the NSE annihilated an entire people.
Journal Entry: September 30, 157 PNSE (2402 A.D.)
RMS Astral Darkness
Docked for refit at Eridani.
It has been so long since I have picked up this pen, opened this archaic hardcover volume. The sweet smell of the creamy paper and the arcane patterns decorating the border of the pages beckon me in, encourage a habit that I have not been interested in for the past several weeks. But where should I start?
The Resistance were willing to take me in, to listen to my story and to share my burden. They offered to send me far away, away from the Purgation Units that are still searching for me, hoping to swiftly administer what the NSE Dictators call justice.
During my childhood, I remember my mother as always been haggard and dejected, even compared to the other abjectly poor men and women who populated the Enlightenments empire. It was a common occurrence, the disappearance of a few it must have happened at least three or four times a week in the city where I lived. When the children asked about the disappearances, the adults would answer with the worn-out drivel put in their mouths by the Enlightenment, that the person or persons in question were guilty of some heinous crime, that they were being subject to the fair judgment of the NSE. We could see the truth in their eyes, their tired acceptance of the unforgiving and arbitrary decisions of the Enlightenment Party and the perpetual fear that they would be taken away by the Purgation Units. My mother she was taken too. I joined the Navy at 16, believing that if I served the NSE faithfully and without question, I would somehow earn her back. Back from the dead! I think to myself contemptuously now.
It is time to stop deluding myself. I know that nothing more of her remains than a vial of ashes located somewhere within the bowels of the Ministry of Truth and Records because of what I could not do. I know that an entire world lies in ashes because of what I did do.
NSE declared the Fifth Martial Directive complete and successful one day after we left the system. My friends inform me that there was celebration throughout the twenty-three systems that make up Enlightenment space for weeks on end. Let them celebrate they do not know anything! I ruined and am now left as a ruinous relic of humanity. The Destruction of Nazta has slaughtered any trace of humanity that remained in me even after I became a NSE Naval Officer cruel and haughty, despising anything not directly involved in winning myself military victories.
From reliable sources of mine, I hear that the Naztain that survived our bloodbath now call themselves the Nazt. They are destined to wander the reaches of space, to become pirates and raiders. They have no technical expertise besides that necessary to maintain their vessels; their motivation to survive as a race has been shattered and they feel no compulsion to settle a new homeworld and rebuild, as we would have done.
Resistance officials offered to send me to the Christian Alliance. They offered to send me to the Setalriitanius Empire. They tell stories about societies where people are free to express their thoughts, where people do not live in fear of Purgation Units or secret police. For one who has grown up among such, the stories are hard to believe- that does not change the fact that they are true.
I refused. My duty is to stay here, within the island-worlds of sanity located amidst the sea of madness we call the Neo-Socialist Enlightenment. Already, there is talk of open resistance. I have learned the truth about the NSE, about their Purge of Ignorance- disguised genocide that has claimed the lives of five thousand million to this date. NSE admirals are beginning to discuss the idea of applying the vile arts that we perfected during the last war to silence dissenting human worlds. It saddens me to realize that the works of planet-destruction will, in all likelihood, be my most lasting legacy to humanity. And it sickens me to even contemplate the possibility that what I did to the Naztain, NSE captains may some day do to their own countrymen.
My prayer is that one day, there will be those who choose to stand upon the surface of Nazta. Five years, or five hundred thousand, it does not matter, only that it is eventually accomplished. Across the scarred, radioactive landscape they will gaze, contemplating the race that once resided across those barren, blackened plains. They will remember the depths to which humanity sunk so many years ago, and to those who suffered because of the arrogance and egocentricity of a few.
And they will never repeat the mistakes that so many overlooked.
Resistance naval deployment begins tomorrow; I truly have nothing to lose.
