Free Warlord's Invasion (Starfight Book 1) by Lee Guo Page B

to fight? What did they intend to do with the planet after they had conquered the population?
    Streit sat at his interface console, thousands of images pouring through the holographic displays that surrounded him. The clear odor of well-ventilated oxygen kept the theater-like command room smelling fresh despite the anxiety and adrenaline that poured through the bodies of the men and women who occupied it. Men and women who were ranked too high to be in the street fights, or had administrative and technical skills that were more suited for the task of maintaining the command center. What would happen to these men and women when those outside dying in the streets were all dead?
    The articles of war that existed between human nations prior to the unification of humanity had always ensured that captured enemy personnel be treated in humane manner. Prisoner of war camps, reintegration, labor extraction. These were the humane ways to treat enemy soldiers. However, theses aliens were a complete mystery. Did they have a policy towards treating enemy soldiers? It seemed they must have had a policy towards treating enemy civilians, or they would have bombed the living hell out of the cities long ago. These new aliens were not like the old aliens—the flat-headed Orions nor the chlorophyll-skinned Draconians. There had been no agreement or past precedence that Streit could draw upon to determine the fate of his army if he chose not to fight.
    By surrendering, he could very well be ordering the execution of his remaining troops.
    But they would die anyway.
    They would just take out more enemy soldiers in the process. But did it matter? There were millions of them on the planet.
    What possible alternatives could he be left with?
    The enemy did not have a way to communicate in any known language, therefore he couldn’t even negotiate a deal. Nor did they even appear as if they would accept any deal.
    For more minutes, he thought about it. Finally, he came to the conclusion that his only choice would be unconditional surrender. He had to hope that the aliens wouldn’t kill their enemies if they gave up. If they didn’t, his troops were dying out there needlessly.
    Damn though—they could very well die just as quick after they surrendered.
    He eyed the planetary hologram, portions of it flashing red where combat was still occurring in the cities. The minds of a hundred people in the room were still channeling their energies towards fighting the aliens. Streit knew they would until he ordered them not to. The question was…when would he do that? If the alien did treat enemy soldiers in a humane manner—or at least, not execute them outright—how would he live with himself knowing that he could have ordered the surrender hours earlier and prevented more deaths?
    Colonel Streit stood up. He picked up a mic and pressed a button that would transmit his voice across the room. He cleared his throat.
    For a moment, the room quieted in eerie silence as everyone turned their attention towards him.
    “All personnel, we are going to surrender. Commence F8 procedures immediately. Purge the central datacore of all information. Relay the orders down the chain of command. All combat units are to follow F8 procedures and terminate offensive activities.”
    Then the room rushed into a new flurry of sounds as the orders were sent down the chain.
    He hoped he had done the right thing.
     
    Bajor City, Southern Continent, Meerlat
    Main Hospital Complex
    Outside Building 8D…
     
    “Everyone, lay down your weapons.” Kubersly’s voice came as a shock even to himself. After all that gruesome fighting, all that killing , he still couldn’t imagine himself giving up. The Black Cats—that’s the name he’d given them secretly after seeing inside their armored exoskeletons—had given him hell. Hell and back. They had killed off ninety percent of his platoon, and now he was giving up to them? He wanted to kill as many of them as possible, even if it