How to Choose the Greater Good
2/28/2020
For more than a Hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. His is the Master of Mankind by the Will of the Gods and Master of a Million Worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is the rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium, for whom a thousand souls die every day, for whom blood is drunk and flesh is eaten.
Human blood and Human flesh-The stuff of which the Imperium is made.
To be alive in such times is to be one amongst untold trillions and trillions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable; this is a tale of those times.
Shas'o Flav Yah looked back at his Fire Sept warriors and their accompanying drones and still could not decide if he had brought to few or to many. One hundred living flesh and one hundred drones with three Devilfish and one Swordfish grav tanks he knew were not enough to take the Imperial fortress they were approaching. They had not brought any of the heavier battlesuits with them since they were not on a combat mission. Their mission was to escort a member of the Ethereal caste to the fortress. She was convinced she could talk this last holdout into turning toward the Greater Good.
Looking at the one they were escorting he could see she was young and simply dressed for one of her caste. He thought they were making a mistake. He had fought the Humans before and knew there were diehards who could never be turned to the Greater Good. Yes, some of the Humans had willingly embraced the message of the Greater Good the Tau had brought them but many more had decided to fight them.
He had felt a great deal of personal sadness at this, especially since this planet's technology was so far behind his own race's technology. The Humans had tried to fight them with firearms so archaic they had to reload after every shot fired. His warriors had slayed them by the thousands and still many had continued to fight on. Now they were traveling to where the most strident believers in their dead god Emperor had retreated, not to destroy them but to talk to them.
Deciding one last attempt to dissuade the Ethereal from this course of action could not hurt. Shas'o Flav Yah quickened his pace and came up next to her and then said, "Greetings to you, Aun'el Flav Prin'xo, I hope our pace is not to swift for you?"
Aun'el Flav Prin'xo turned and looked at Shas'o Flav Yah as if she were noticing him and all the others for the first time and said, "Greetings to you Commander. No, the pace is just right, and we will arrive at the prescribed time to meet with the leaders of those who have not yet embraced the Greater Good."
Taking the opening she had just given him, he said, "Yes Aun'el Flav Prin'xo there is a point I wanted to make about this meeting."
She said, "Yes Shas'o Flav Yah you think this meeting is pointless and they will not even listen to what we know to be the true path of the Greater Good."
Deciding that he should go on, he said, "While the Greater Good is the obvious true path for all, there are many who do not see the way, like those we are going to meet. They are the ones who benefited from denying a better way to the rest of the population, they will not see the benefits of the Greater Good."
She said, "And yet they have agreed to this meeting and allowed us to bring a military escort. I believe they can be convinced or at least we can save Tau lives by engaging in talks with them as we secure the rest of the planet."
Shas'o Flav Yah thought they already had lost enough Tau lives fighting for this planet. It had been very few lives, but this backward planet did not offer much in the way of resources except for living space and some agriculture.
He said, "Every chance should be made to save all lives Tau or alien, I just do not think this meeting will lead to anything that cannot be accomplished by destroying this fortress by orbital bombardment."
Aun'el Flav Prin'xo said, "We could do that, but we would lose experienced leaders who would have to be replaced by inexperienced leaders which would delay bringing the best from this planet. Come now Shas'o we are almost at our destination. Let us prepare to bring these beings into the Greater Good."
Shas'o Flav Yah said, "Then let us hope they see what is best for their people is the Greater Good."
Staying with the Ethereal, he turned his eyes toward the fortress they had been approaching. Walking the last kilometer had not been his idea. The Imperials insisted on it so that they could have eyes on them as they approached instead of allowing the Tau to swope in with their fast-moving ships. Taking a look at the fortress with his own eyes he saw nothing that his recon drones had not already shown him. The stone edifice stood tall and dark and large enough to hold several thousand people. He knew it went underground for at least 2000 meters. The architecture was more advanced than anything else on the planet. It did have electrical power generation and most likely hidden weapons ports and defensive capabilities not yet seen.
Changing his view, he saw the Humans waiting for them a few hundred meters in front of the fortress. There were sixty of them in three distinct groups. First a male and female in front. Both were dressed in much greater finery than any other he had seen on the planet. The male in flowing robes and jewelry and the female in armor of a more decorative than functional design. He was older and the Shas'o suspected much older than he appeared thanks to the use of certain drugs.
He could not tell how old the female was since most her face was hidden by a half face plate. Her hair was shaved off except for a long and tall ponytail of brilliant red that was held by a gold ring on the very top of her skull, much like his own female warriors wore. She held a long spear of golden metal in her right hand and he could tell by her stance she knew how to use it. There was something else about her though. He just felt uncomfortable seeing her.
Behind them the second group consisted of ten humans whose gender he could not tell because of the very functional body armor and full helmet they all wore. He was surprised to see that they were armed with advanced lasguns. He had not seen anything like them among the population before. This group were spread out and surrounded the third group.
This last group consisted of males and females of all ages even a couple of children. They were bunched up together in such a way as if they were terrified of the other Humans. All of them were wearing simple grey robes and sandals. Each of them wore a black metal collar with a small green light flashing on and off around their necks Again, a piece of higher technology then that the rest of the planet had. Like the armored female, they also had their pale heads were shaved. Only theirs were completely bald. He could not see their eyes since they all had their heads bowed low. From this and their general look the Commander thought they looked like prisoners let out in the sunshine for the first time in months.
The human male spoke as soon as he and the Ethereal stopped ten paces away. He said, "You are exactly on time. That is appreciated. We will keep our message simple. You will leave the planet immediately or we will unleash our final attack and destroy all of you."
Shas'o Flav Yah was not surprised at this act of bravado on the human's part. He was about to respond when the Ethereal touched his arm as a reminder to allow him to give her this chance to end the military phase of their colonization.
She said, "Greetings, I am called Aun'el Flav Prin'xo. I am of the Ethereal caste of the Tau. We are the spiritual leaders of our race and all those who follow the path of the Greater Good. Do I have the honor of addressing the spiritual leaders of this planet?"
The human male looked agitated at this long introduction but calmly said, "No I am not one of the leaders of the God Emperor's Most Holy Church. They all were killed leading those who chose to give their lives for the Emperor and try to drive you out. I am very devoted and loyal to our Emperor and it has fallen to me and those I serve to remove you."
Aun'el Flav Prin'xo said, "Thanks to the teachings of the Greater Good we have defeated all your military. We have also embraced all those who saw that your Emperor is not who your spiritual leaders said he was. We would like to welcome you also into the Greater Good."
The male smiled but to the Commander it was not a smile of pleasure or joy. The male said, "Yes we should thank you for showing us the true allegiances of our fellow Humans. The smelter of combat has tested us and while many passed, we shall deal with those who have turned their backs on the Emperor."
Shas'o Flav Yah could see that the Ethereal's words were lost on the ears of these people. They were fanatics who would gladly through their lives away to show that they were right and everyone else was wrong. He began to touch his fingers together to send the code for his force to prepare to shoot their way out. Of course, since only eleven of the Humans were armed and one with a spear it would not be that hard.
Aun'el Flav Prin'xo was not giving up so easy and said, "Now they are under our protection, but we do not wish to see you and those standing behind you give your lives for your Emperor. If you allow us to, we can show you the many advantages of being a part of the Greater Good. First though you still have not introduced yourself. I believe it is common courtesy with your people to give your names when meeting for the first time."
The human male looked the Ethereal up and down as if seeing her for the first time. He then said, "My name would be meaningless to you for you will either be gone from this planet soon or you will not be alive much longer. To be polite though I am the Coordinator of the Emperor's Tribute. You may call me that."
Latching on to that point, Aun'el Flav Prin'xo said, "Coordinator of the Emperor's Tribute, Tribute is not something we who live by the Greater Good require. All are asked to contribute what they can spare, not to give what they need to survive."
The Coordinator gave the Ethereal another strange look and then said, "It is not our survival that matters. It is by our faith in the Emperor that we survive. It is our duty in giving Tribute that we prove this faith. Whatever your Greater Good is, if you are not willing to sacrifice for it than it is not worth it."
Shas'o Flav Yah thought it was about time to enter the conversation and bring this to its inevitable conclusion. Giving a quick look at the female warrior, he said, "Coordinator you have no army, no aerial units, and no space vessels to fight with. All you have are some last broken units hiding in the forests and mountains. To say it flat you have nothing to threaten us with while we can easily destroy you and then free those behind you so they may join the Greater Good."
Now the Coordinator and for the first time the female warrior reacted. Both looked back at the grey robed crowd and then back at back at the Tau. It was the Coordinator who once again spoke and said, "I see you do not understand who we are. I had thought the traitors you knew more about how the Imperium works and what we do here. You see this place is where we collect the Tribute to be sent to Holy Terra. I coordinate the Tribute collection, but it is the duty and honor for Sister Glocoa and her fellow sisters here at this convent to watch over the Tribute until the Black Ships come to collect it."
Interrupting the Coordinator, the Shas'o said, "Coordinator we are not here to take the trinkets or materials you are sending away. We are here to save the lives of the people on this planet and share with them the truth of the Greater Good."
The Coordinator continued as if the Shas'o had not spoken and said, "Now with your arrival and actions on this Imperial planet we have been forced to rethink our duty to the Emperor. Instead of holding on to the Tribute we have come to the decision to use the Tribute against you. Since this is not something, we take lightly we are giving you this one chance to leave and never return or face complete annihilation."
Aun'el Flav Prin'xo came back and said, "Good people, acts of violence are what we are here to avoid. Coordinator of the Emperor's Tribute if you will allow us to explain the Greater Good to you, you will see how it will benefit all of us."
The Coordinator let out a sigh and said, "That will never happen. I am afraid I must have your decision now."
Shas'o Flav Yah turned to the Ethereal and said, "As I said, they are fanatics and will never allow themselves to learn of the Greater Good. Let us leave them to their destruction at our hands, whatever this Tribute is we will defeat it."
The Coordinator gave the Shas'o a look that was both sad and confused. He said, "You still do not understand. The Tribute, at least that part we felt we could safely use, is standing behind us and we will use them now."
As he spoke the last word, he and the Sister and all ten of the body armored guards started to fall back toward the fortress. The two Tau turned their eyes to the forty-eight gray robed figures. As one the green flashing lights turned red and then all the collars popped open and fell to the ground. Again, as one they all lifted their heads up so the Tau could see their eyes.
No two pairs and in some cases the eyes of the same person were the same and none were what could be called normal. Many glowed and others were solid colors of blue, red, yellow, green, pink, and a black so deep you could fall into it. Still others had eyes of various animals with the eye structure to match, silted or bulging or a protective lens over them. A few had no eyes at all, only burned out sockets or where eyes should be, there was skin covering the sockets.
Shas'o Flav Yah hit the signal to attack while raising his own weapon. The Ethereal was the first to die as she was struck by invisible blows from several angles. His spiritual leader looked to have been smited by the unseen angels of the Emperor.
Four of the gray robed figures suddenly flew up in the air and landed on top of his Devilfish and Swordfish grav tanks. Shas'o Flav Yah could not believe his helmet readouts as these unarmed individuals each destroyed the vehicle they had landed on. One of the gray robed male bursts into flames so hot both he and the Devilfish were reduced to ash and molten metal in moments. Another Devilfish was soon covered in ice so thick it could not move. The third Devilfish, a woman landed on top of it and entered through a hatch. Soon the screams of the crew could be heard over the radio net. To the amazement of all who saw it one of the Human children picked up the Swordfish, flipped it over and then beat it against the ground repeatedly.
The rest of the gray robed humans moved forward and began to kill the Tau warriors. They did so in ways that broke the minds of many of them before they were felled. Shas'o Flav Yah did not have time to spare for the grav tanks and the crews. All his infantry troops and drones that had not died in the first unleashing of these humans were firing their pulse rifles but not a one of them were hitting anything. Most were firing at nothing and for a moment Shas'o Flav Yah could not tell what was happening. When two groups of his warriors started firing at each other it came to him that the strange humans were playing tricks on his warriors' minds making them see each other as the enemy.
Turning his head toward the group of humans he aimed his weapon and fired several shots at the gray robed humans while listening to his warriors screams. He then knew all was lost as he watched all his shots be deflected away from them by some sort of barrier. Nothing he had seen in the last few minutes made any sense. He knew he would not leave this place alive. There was only one thing he could do now.
To spread the Greater Good, he had fought all his life. Now to preserve the Greater Good he would give his life. Using the preset code, he sent the signal to his ships in orbit to begin the orbital bombardment of the fortress. He had not told the Ethereal about this since she had been so sure these humans would see the Greater Good was the right path to follow. Now he could take some joy out of knowing these Tributes and the convent that held them would soon be a smoking crater so a proper colony of the Greater Good could be made.
"I am sorry, but your orbital bombardment will not hit this convent of the Sisters of Silence. It will be the rest of your forces that will be cleansed from the Emperor's planet."
Shas'o Flav Yah looker around and did not see the one called the Coordinator anywhere, yet it was his voice he had heard. He said, "Where are you? How are you doing this?"
The Coordinator and Sister Glocoa appeared behind him and he said, "We are shielded from the psyckers of the Tribute we have unleashed on you. The more powerful of them are now removing your ships from orbit, they will not be able to fire on us."
The Shas'o refused to believe how much he had been tricked and defiantly said, "It does not matter if we lose this colony for now. The Greater Good will be brought to the whole of the galaxy that is the destiny we have set for ourselves."
The Coordinator said, "I will not argue with you in your final moments. There is something that may be a comfort for you to know before you die. Neither I nor the Tribute will be alive much longer either. You see unleashing unsanctioned psyckers is a serious offense in the Imperium. The Sisters of Silence will kill me and all these psyckers after you have been dealt with. I accepted this sacrifice for the simple reason I believed a greater good would be served by saving this planet from your empire than to just turn them over to the Black Ships. So, you see in a way the Greater Good was served."
Shas'o Flav Yah heard these final words from the Coordinator moments before Sister Glocoa leapt at him and with one swing of her spear, clove him in two.