[ 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 .

Our War Council was surprised when these Humans asked what we knew about the Aldins' own core worlds. 
 
 `` What are their defenses, their detection systems for tracking ships jumping in from deep space?'' 
 
 We told them that what we knew from our own attempts to fight in Aldin systems was that they were passive at home, that they feared no grand attacks from any societies in their region and that all our atempts to strike out at them were initially successful until our forces were either driven back or destroyed by their ships dispatched *after* we had engaged. 
 
 `` They are preeminent in our space, and unafraid, their navy seems content to swat us away like the stinging bugs of your world. They have no orbital perimeters like you ask.'' 
 
 `` Yes, my Lords, but *how* long does it take for them to come?'' 
 
 `` Perhaps as long as several of your earth days.'' 
 
 The Humans seemed shocked by this. 
 
 `` How did you not destroy a planet then leave before being interdicted?'' 
 
 `` We were a peaceful race with no grand laser sweepers or ray blankets to attack a planet we can barely engage ships in the void, do you expect us to shoot every Aldine in time and leave?'' 
 
 `` These Aldines, they are city dwellers like us and like your people?'' 
 
 `` Yes, they live in big urban cores, besides the farmers.'' 
 
 The humans went on their own and were gone for some days. Aldine attacks destroyed the Faris System Navy and two of our settled worlds in that time, but in a place the Men called Dog Sector, our forces supplemented by a detachment of human advisers repelled repeated landing attempts. When the humans returned we were ready to give them anything. 
 
 `` Now Councilors you can see that our detachments of military advisers have had good results in ground war against these things. But we want to win the war for you so we want at least four of your corvette style ships with crew put at our disposal for a test, an operation over a planet we designated A-1, a big urban world from your intelligence.'' 
 
 `` Whatever you need from us you can have.'' 
 
 `` Very good.'' 
 
 In good time the humans outfitted these ships in manners that seemed odd to us and drove their captains mad, I was sent along with them to observe for the Council. The humans seemed excited the whole time, touring the ships, testing the structures and the computers and always loading great munitions and other things brought special from their system as quick as we could jump them and they even told me their plan but I found it ridiculous, impossible. When we jumped for A-1 I noticed the other three ships did not jump with us. 
 
 `` Slight adjustment for those boats Councilor.'' 
 
 We made normal time to A-1 and there were no Aldine military ships to meet us. We quickly went into orbit and the men made one last check of their payload and me and the Human Admiral watched the green planet below from the bridge observation window and he marveled at the big steel blotches of city in the landmasses. 
 
 `` We are ready sir.'' 
 
 `` Shoot the damn things then.'' 
 
 The admiral shook his head as the ship shuddered and a thousand trails of objects went down toward the planet, some arcing to go around to the far side. 
 
 `` Dumb son's of bitches, goddamn, it's like they never figured on someone doing this.'' 
 
 I wondered why he was so bothered but then I saw it, hundreds of huge blasts on the surface, big red bursts, then black churnings of smoke and dirt, huge thunderheads of dead matter being sucked up and dispersed over the once day lit ground. Ground transmissions we were monitoring cut off. 
 
 `` Well whoever we did n't get will be dead in a week of fallout anyways.'' 
 
 `` Admiral, it seems you only needed one of these ships for the mission, why did you order four?'' 
 
 `` Well we figured we would try and cut the head off these things if what you telling us was true. We'll send word to the other three to proceed, and then we will head off to the rest of the planets in this system and do the same. Then we will jump, a day before these boys show up. Then we do it again. If it works all right we can cripple their empire or whatever in a couple weeks. Their fleets wo n't have a home to return to, and when they try and retaliate we'll blast them out of the sky with these missiles since none of you aliens have them or really know how they work. You wo n't ever have them. After we finish this up we'll talk about the piece up here we get for winning this for you. These corvettes will be a nice start, my boys say already they have our computers ready to fly them if need be. `` 
 
 It was at this moment I thought about how along with these weapons the humans had brought on board a good number of their military advisers and how they more and more seemed to be stationed at bulkhead doors and armed and their smiles seemed mocking. 
 
 

