[ WP ] A peaceful alien race is besieged by another race in the same galaxy . As their last planets fall and their home-world comes under threat they do the unthinkable . They ask for aid from the only known creatures more brutal than their foes in exchange for FTL technology . Humans accept the deal .

`` They called us monsters, did you know that? I mean, they way they pronounced it, it sounded like a cat choking on a bagpipe - but it meant'monsters'. Maybe'demons'. Does n't really matter. Point is - they were never our friends. 
 
 `` See those little purple bastards were the ones that had that - whaddya call it? - Galactic Congress thing quarantine Earth. A few other races thought they should come visit, but not our'benefactors'. Not ever. We had all kinds of people back home asking'Where are they?'. We'd look up at the big black sky and millions of stars every night and wonder if we were alone. Turns out, not so much. But those purple bastards sure made us think we were. 
 
 `` But that changed. You changed it, did n't you? Could n't be satisfied with the worlds that Congress let you have so you decided to go off the reservation. You planned this for a long time too. I can tell. I suppose I ca n't really blame you - I'd be pretty pissed at being told'you can only have this much' too.'' 
 
 `` -- -hrrrkk'' 
 
 `` Oh, just hush for now. This'll be over before you know it. Anyway, you lead a charge across half the damn galaxy, conquering worlds left and right. We had a name for it back home:'War across the heavens'. Down right poetical, ai n't it? Just about the time your boys were knocking on the front door of those purple bastards, they had a ship landing on the lawn of the White House. That's a big important government building back home, by the way. 
 
 `` There was a lot of talking, a lot of arguing, and in the end, we decided to help. Countries from all over the world were going to send to troops. But do you know who was going to carry the heaviest load? That's right - Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. I'm whatcha call a bird colonel in the Corps. I love it. Been a fighting man all my adult life. I've studied warfare and killing and battles and victories and losses for forty years. My people have been fighting each other in wars for thousands and thousands of years. Each war is a little bit more horrific than the last. 
 
 `` That's why you guys lost so badly. You're amateurs. Oh sure, you planned out your attacks for a good five or six years, but you just did n't know what the hell you were doing. It's like watching a little child make a drawing.'' 
 
 `` k! ggrhh...'' 
 
 `` I still do n't know what you're saying. Hell, I'm not even sure you know what I'm saying. But they tell me you guys are great with languages. Anyway, the purple bastards gave us those screaming fast ships and we started kicking ass. General Li is a tactical genius - but his talents were wasted on this war. Oh sure, you got us a couple of times there in the beginning when we were adapting our fleet tactics to three dimensions and you caught us with our pants down on a couple of planets. I lost more than a few friends on... some mudball or another. 
 
 `` But the General decided to allow me to lead Task Force Tango Prime. My mission was to find the leader of the hostile forces - that's you, by the way - and either kill or capture. Now, I had no intention of capturing you. Sure, some critics will say this turns you into a martyr, but they're not going to find your body. You'll just go missing in all this chaos. Your civilians were absolutely unprepared for the shitstorm they just received. Nobody is even going to think about you for a couple of weeks. By that time, we'll have installed a new government who's a little easier to work with. My country - sort of like a tribe, you understand - has a history of that. We've got practice. Fun fact - my country is the only one to fire a nuclear weapon in anger. You know those giant nukes you asked us to stop using against your ships and cities? Yeah, we used that on our own people. 
 
 `` You look surprised. I told you, we've been fighting each other for a very long time and we are very good at what we do. We've tortured people for no more reason than they were wearing the wrong uniform. We've burned entire cities to the ground to get at a handful of enemies. We've wiped entire countries and cultures from history. That's who you've been fighting. 
 
 `` Well, my boys are probably wondering where I wandered off to about now. To be honest, I'm surprised you've made it this long with that big ass knife right through the middle of you. You are a tough old bastard are n't you? Anyway, I figured before I put this last bullet through your... head? whatever... I figured you deserved to hear that. To know the people that beat you. Any survivors that surrender after this will be allowed to go on. We'll oversee their government, of course, but they will still have country and culture of their own. We're not going to wipe out your people. They will be de-militarized though - with force if necessary. You're just not going to be around to see it. 
 
 Bang.
