The Martial Unity

His voice broke through the very fabric of reality, overcoming the shackles of causality as they reverberated through time itself. His voice swept the world around them as the trans-temporal resonance shook them to their very core.

“The time has come.”

He repeated once more.

“The time has come to spread our wings and to move beyond our home,” he spoke with a weight that bore down on the atmosphere. “The time has come once more to explore the unexplored. To move beyond our world, beyond our star.”

A small smile emerged on his face.

“This has been a long time in the making.”

His words rang with truth.

“The true world has been preparing for this for a long time, slowly at first, but then, very fast all of a sudden,” he continued with a thoughtful tone. “And now we found ourselves having already taken the first step.”

He directed a gaze at the press. “We have already taken a step into the stars, and there…”

His eyes sharpened.

“We found others.”

This was not unknown, nor declassified. The more harmless forms of life, mostly microbes, some smaller, strange creatures, evolved in strange environments, and the crystal striders had all been declassified and shared with the public.

But what was not known were the three Pioneers who had stopped sharing information with the public.

They hadn’t run into life.

They had run into civilization.

“Civilizations beyond ours exist,” he declared with a serious tone of voice. “Civilizations beyond ours in power and reach exist. And…”

His eyes sharpened.

“They aren’t very friendly.”

Those words ominously downplayed the true scale of the conflict, of course. Even as he spoke, the astralites waged war with the Panamans despite the space force reinforcements. The strange mechanical lifeforms also hadn’t stopped their assault upon Pioneer VIII in Procyon despite reinforcements.

“We have learned on more than one occasion that we are outgunned.”

Rui’s words were a chilling admission to the many billions of people around the world who watched the stream featuring the development of the Gaian Alliance.

“That is all the more reason to spread outwards and grow bigger,” he declared with a strong tone of voice. “To grow stronger. Because even if we do not go to them, they will come to us, as they originally did.”

Nobody had forgotten that their first contact with alien life wasn’t crystal striders, but the Laminar Civilization, whose world ship could still be spotted even by amateur astronomers in Gaia at the edge of their solar system.

They had yet to leave.

It was surreal, and all too real at the same time.

“And that, my fellow Gaians,” he continued. “Is the reason that I, hereby, as Chancellor of Gaia, announce to my fellow leaders and fellow residents of this world the Gaia Reproduction Plan as well as the Gargantian Operation!”

Behind him, the screen lit up, featuring footage of Gaia, as well as a detailed CGI animation that displayed the plan having Gaia reproduce the way that the gargantians did by capturing one and studying it.

Even as Rui explained the plan dispassionately, the press lost its mind.

CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK!!!

FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH!!!

A wave of blinding light flashed across the entire conference room as journalists furiously recorded and noted down the key points of the unbelievably ambitious plan that the leaders of Gaian Civilization had planned out.

He explained the species of sentient esoteric planets and their undoubtedly esoteric manner of reproduction, pointing out that Gaia could replicate it as an esoteric planet herself.

“Once we have acquired a low-cost, high-pace method of planetary reproduction, we will be able to create new worlds for new peoples. The seven races and the many hybrid peoples in our world will have an opportunity to move to worlds beyond our own and explore untold possibilities.”

He smiled. “And undoubtedly, many of you will have the opportunity to participate, if you truly please. This is the future of our civilization.”

Even as he spoke, news of his words disseminated across the interweb at a shocking speed as countless people learned of the Gaia Reproduction Plan and the intentions of human civilization to colonize other worlds and spread the reach of their civilization in a very deliberate manner.

[Is he for real right now???]

[I mean, it’s the Emperor himself, he wouldn’t joke about this at such an important occasion.]

[Damn, we’re really going to become a proper interstellar civilization, huh? That’s crazy.]

[I can’t wait to move to another world, I’m so bored with Gaia!]

[Goddamn traitor. I’m going to stay with our beloved mother.]

[You’re just an overgrown man-child, grow a pair and go explore the universe, the unknown, and brave the dangers like men before you!]

Heated debates broke out almost immediately across forums as users argued about countless matters. The ethics, of course, were among the biggest concerns that many had.

The choice of words that Rui had used invoked many unpleasant memories of the past, and in some cases, even the present. Others were concerned about the alien life native to the worlds that they sought to colonize. The crystal strider fandom, a group that was just a little over a month old, vehemently opposed any action against the adorable crystal crab-like aliens.

Regardless of what they thought, though. The matter had already been decided, so they could merely voice their concerns and hope for the best. By the time Rui’s speech was over, the world’s understanding of the vision of the future had completely changed.

Before, the race to the stars had been about resources.

Energy. Critical minerals. Rare earths.

Now, it was about power.

Expanding the power of their civilization, not just by expanding their resource inventory, but also by exploding their numbers and thus their soldiers, and other non-combatant contributors.

Their pathwalkers.

The connotation to the expansion of Gaian Civilization had changed very rapidly in just a little over a month because of a series of shocking, historic events such as the Laminar and Nebular Wars.

It had taken on a completely different form.

One that would change the world forever.