"We have unidentified vessels on course for Terroc VII."
"Acknowledged. Helm, plot a course for us to intercept them at twenty kilometers from the local port."
"Aye, sir. Plotting course at 882-403."
"Raise weapons, sir?"
"We are an imperial ship, ensign; a star destroyer at that. No one in this alien-infested galaxy can defeat us."
Frailty is a fault that most humans subscribe themselves too. It would mean their preconceived notions of being indomitable would be proven false. There is something else humanity does not accept.
The actuality of being wrong.
"Sir! Unidentified vessels have just released their IFF codes. Their Insurgents!"
"Oh dear God, they're opening fire!"
It is that which makes them weak. Their lack of understanding that a no-win scenario truly means 'unwinnable'.
"Shields down to 67 percent!"
"Starboard gun batteries still unresponsive."
Though to be fair to humanity, they do think better when under duress.
"Begin spinning maneuver at 180 degrees. Get our port guns to bear on the bastards!"
"What about our starboard guns, sir?"
"Send emergency teams to gunnery and fix whatever the hell went wrong. I need those damn turbolasers operational!"
"Torpedo inbound!"
Through not accepting their frailty, humanity thoughtlessly took on the notion of indomitability, which does work to their advantage. From time-to-time.
"Hostile cruiser is drifting. She won't be bothering us again."
Though most times it forges a false 'bubble of invincibility'.
"Deck 24 is compromised! We are venting atmosphere! REPEAT: venting atmosphere!"
A bubble that is shortly 'popped'.
"Secondary shields are at 54 percent. Hull integrity at 78 percent."
"Sir! We are going to die if we do not leave this thrice-damned battlefield!"
Some humans need only an extreme experience to change their mind-sets to a more, shall we say, accepting one.
"Steady your hearts men! You are worth twice that of those alien bastards! You are Men of the Imperial Navy, now act as such!
Some, while truly inspiring, are quite foolish,
"You are invincible!
Petty,
"You are indomitable!
Vulnerable,
"And you are no tri-eyed, alien whore! You are imperials!"
And xenophobic. Quite the amassing of adjectives humanity has accrued, have they not?
"Back to your stations, men! We have aliens to slaughter..."
The bubble has returned.
"Enemy fighters on attack vector for the command tower! They're launching torpedoes!"
"All hands, brace for impact! Raise the blast doors to the front viewing screen!"
And...
"(cough) (cough)Lieutenant Teresel, status report!"
"Teresel's dead, sir! The control panels inner workings impaled her! Dear God, it's...it's...it's awful!"
"(cough) Spill your stomach at another moment ensign. Now, give me a bloody status report!"
"...Yes, sir. Shields have completely failed. All gun batteries are either nonoperational or destroyed. We're venting atmosphere in multiple sections of the ship. Shielding is failing to cover the punctures in the hull. Engines are destroyed, and I think this flashing text means we have failing life-support."
"You think?"
"Sir, there's a whole bunch of broken shit over the command console, as well as the fact the console is flickering from the lack of constant power going through the power conduits! With all due respect, I think it's pretty good that I can see that much."
"Can we enter hyperpace?"
"With no engines, multiple punctures in the hull, and, most likely, loss of oxygen within the next couple of hours, Hyperspace could expedite our death!"
"...Well, it looks as if we have no other option. Signal our surrender, ensign. Can't believe I'm surrendering to these wretches..."
"...Sir! They've stopped firing, but...What the hell! They're hailing us! Coming on audio!"
"So. The brave men of the Empire are surrendering to thrice-damned insurgents such as I. I am touched, truly. I think I've shed an actual tear!"
"Give me your name rebel so that I may know the name of the alien that I'll next throttle!"
"Hahahahahahahahaha. Hahahahahahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You are truly one of the indoctrinated of the Empire. Hahahahahaha! It's quite hilarious! Come now! You must now fall for the fallacy that there are only Insurgent aliens. There are some humans that have broken free of the mould of xenophobia your precious Emperor preaches. Hahahahahahahaha. It's what makes it so funny! Your truly amazing gulibility!"
"Your name, wretch! Give me your name!"
"What's in a name, captain? What part of the name gives you power over the person? Does it give you the right to kill a man? I sincerely doubt that. Your emperor proved on Taral IV and other such places that genocide can be committed without the lack of familiarity a name provides.
"Regardless, we've tarried too long. Fleet officer, load torpedoes. Target their engineering section."
"What! You lawless deviants would fire on ship that has surrendered?"
"We forsook our government the day they thought they could commit genocide for six people. Obviously the law does not apply in this new regime. Besides, what's wrong with adding a thousand corrupt people to the gallows?"
"Wait! Wait!"
"Say hello to my son, would you? One of your imperial 'brothers' executed him. Ready?"
"Torpedo launch, imminent!"
"Ensign plot a blind course through hyperspace, then execute it!"
"What?"
"Fire!"
"Do it, Ensign!"
"Impact imminent."
...The bubble is popped.
'Tis a remarkable facet of humanity, most likely brought about due to the majority of their species not accepting frailty. The facet is clinging to a life with a death-grip no other species can manage with such fervor. Most times, it saves one from completely falling into the abyss of total devastation.
However, some people prefer to fall. Why? Because to fall means to break apart the previous life, and embrace a new one. A change. Invergence.
Invergence. What is invergence? Invergence is change; it is evolution. Evolution from one biome to another; from one stage of humanity to another; from one mind-set to another; from one government to another...
The tale you are about to experience is not one of fairies, Gods, demons, angels, or mythical warriors with pretty swords. It is about a man; a man, who on a war-torn planet ridden with the blood of innocents, fell into the abyss.
He had killed a man.
Not through revenge or for petty enjoyment, but because the man asked him too.
This action, coupled with what the fallen man had said before, led him to accept his frailty. He has seen what his government could do; had seen how wrong the local populace were in thinking themselves completely indomitable when holding enemies-of-the-state willingly. It led him, unknowingly, to change. It led him, unknowingly, to invergence.
That was three years ago. The man, though still in the military, is different. No longer is everything black and white. He sees the shades of grey. He notes the disgruntled citizens and military alike. He notes the fact that the Insurgence may not be all bad.
With this information, what will he do?
Will he defect?
Will he ignore?
Will he die?
Truly no one knows, but such is the way of evolution. No one knows the end-result.
Such is the way...of invergence.
