The Chief General slammed his fists against the table and yelled, "Have you gone mad?!"

"Sit, down, sir," Larry said from across the table.

"You are asking us to try to sabotage the Red Eyes' own sources of energy, and then try to attack them when they are in a so-called weaker state? Is that what you're asking?"

I nodded to him and the other military officials. "Yes, that's what I'm asking."

"That's suicide! You are becoming responsible for genocide!"

Then it was my turn to pound my fist against the table. "And I will become responsible for your removal in you continue to behave like that!" He became silent and sat back down. "We have waited too long and too many lives have been lost."

I sat back down and continued my explanation. "Now, Assistant Commander in-Chief Larry and I have discussed this for a long time and we both have concluded that it is time that we stop running with tails in between our legs. It's time we played offensive!"

"And what do you suggest?" asked the Secretary of Defense.

"Well, we have discussed the military tactics that both we and the Red Eyes have used since our friendship started. Now, first of all, how do the Red Eyes attack? What tactic do they usually use?"

"Well, they use hit-and-run attacks, mainly," said the Director of the Department of Domestic Security.

"And they also like to use quick and massive invasions," said the Secretary. "Kind of what the Nazis used. A form of blitzkrieg."

"Yes, except that when they make hit-and-run attacks they don't just attack in small groups. They use armies of thousands or more," Larry said. "Then, when they're on the leave, they use their most famous attack, the Synchronized Weapon."

The Synchronized Weapon is a notorious act of war invented and patented by the Red Eyes. Yes, you heard me. They even patented it. Yeah, they're crazy. Anyways, this form of warfare includes a highly complicated and you could say choreographed method. Basically what they do is that during the retreat, all tanks, planes, guns, and spaceships all come together into one giant mass and all fire at the same time.

Trust me; it's extremely ugly and highly destructive. We've lost entire armies in that way. And entire cities have been wiped off.

"You want to attempt that?" the General asked.

"We've tried to. Many times," the Secretary explained using hand gestures. "But so far, we've failed. Our planes come two seconds late, or the tanks aren't in position, etc. We just don't have time to practice to attempt that. It would take years!"

Ignoring his comment, I said, "But, this is our question…we've used traditional warfare tactics against the Red Eyes. But…has anyone else used the Red Eyes' own tactics against them?"

A silence fell over the room and everyone slowly stared at each other. "You mean…that we also use hit-and-run attacks, lightning invasions, and the Synchronized Weapon?"

Larry said, "I don't think it will work against the Red Eyes. I am sure that it will." Then his tone of voice changed to a more solemn one. "But remember one thing: the Red Eyes always, always attack…to kill. It has been 18.7 million years since they fought defensively when they arose of what was left of The Great Conglomerate."

"That long ago?" the Director asked. "What exactly happened?"

"They were just starting as a military power. And they weren't as powerful as they are now. I remember because I was in war against Rexy at the moment. He was the main threat before the Red Eyes. And a smaller nation recognized the potential threat from the Red Eyes, even though no one else had ever heard of them. So they attacked them. That's the only time the Red Eyes fought in defense mode."

I was agape, as this was the first time I'd ever heard this. "Really? I had no idea that ever occurred!"

"But that other nation…well, it didn't go too well for them. The Red Eyes had already sent double agents and had planted bombs all over the capitol city. All they had to do was press the buttons. The nation was destroyed in one day." He made a lengthy pause to let the fact sink in and make effect.

"Since then," he continued, "we knew that the Red Eyes would be a nuisance."

The General scoffed. "A nuisance? They are a grave threat to every single thing in the universe!"

"Not only that, but after achieving that victory that made them into a dangerous galactic superpower, all of the sudden, their females started laying hundreds of eggs at a time. And those babies were reaching maturity in less than a year. We discovered that in order to make their armies larger, they were using a modified growth hormone on all citizens. No exceptions. Even the Emperor uses them when he has children with one of his wives."

"What kind of hormone?" I asked

"We have no scientific term for it. Just a modified growth hormone that has no side effects other than helping the Red Eyes enlarge their empire."

"Where do they get it from?"

"From bones."

"Bones? What bones?"

He sighed and rested his hands on the table. "Another sickening part of their society. They unbury their dead, especially recent ones and extract minerals from the bone marrow. The part where blood cells are made."

My stomach got queasy and I felt the nausea returning to my mouth. I tried clamping my mouth shut as the General asked, "If their access in producing this hormone was interrupted, would it help weaken the system?"

"I'm not finished," Larry said. "We've also discovered something else in recent days. The agent who sent us this information was killed minutes after he sent the transmission." Larry sat straight up. "The Red Eye Empire is getting overcrowded. Think of this: two billion Red Eyes are born every year."

"Two billion per year?!" I asked, stunned.

"Not only that, but we have made calculations based on current food, water, and energy sources, the type of planets they reside on, and their financial state."

"And what did you find?" the Secretary asked, quite impatient. I understood him, but I wanted to be able to grasp every piece of information carefully.

"The total population in the entire Red Eye population is 200 billion. The maximum carrying capacity is 220 billion."

That means that…they would reach over their carrying capacity in just ten years! "So that means that…at one point or another, the overpopulation problem will get serious, food and energy will become in more demand but in less supply and…"

Larry finished. "Yes, it is possible, highly unlikely, but possible that the civilian population will get angry and frustrated. They are already suffering from an energy crisis. They keep needing more and more power for more things and at a lower cost, but they're not keeping tabs. And as far as we know, the central governmental has no plans. No emergency plan for a situation like this. They are unprepared for that."

Larry was about to speak when the phone on the desk started beeping red and he answered. "Yes, what? When? Yes, I'll tell him." When he hung up, he said, "Seventeen planets in the next galaxy have just been attacked."

"W-what?" I asked.

"Red Eyes. They just attacked. And now, they are gathering iridium from the rings on those planets. All the planets had rings."

"That's no coincidence!" said the General.

Larry was just sitting there, his hand in his palm. He looked puzzled. "I don't get it, though. Usually they exterminate all life forms. But though they killed all the intelligent life forms, they preserved all the trees and plants. And…our spy planes reported that they're even feeding the animals! Plus, our space radar indicates that their rockets are circling several nearby stars, even as close as Alpha Centauri."

The pieces of the puzzle were all suddenly falling into place. The riddle had been solved. I snapped my fingers and jumped out of my seat. "I got it! They're keeping the animals to get more bone marrow to keep making that hormone that makes that exaggerated population growth! They're expanding into new territories to avoid overpopulation! Can't you see? They're preparing those planets so that Red Eyes can inhabit them!"

Larry nodded his head slightly. "That's the only thing that can explain it."

"You may have something there, Your Majesty," said the Secretary.

"Yeah, I think I do. If we let them continue damaging their resources, and let them continue overpopulating, we can better attack or sabotage their energy resources! See? They'll be in a weaker stance to defend themselves."

They all nodded in agreement.

We had a plan. We knew what we had to do to bring justice to the universe. It was wrong to let evil ones go on unpunished. And we wouldn't have to fire a single weapon.

At least for the moment.