Alpha Strike: An interstellar Weapon Platform's Guide on Cultivation

(Book 1 - Prologue: "Just another day in the Federation")

The three figures behind the Tribunal bench stared down in silence at the holographic ball of static in front of them as the nearby Orderly finished their reading.

"Lastly, Lieutenant Colonel ALPHA-555-12-4412 is charged with conspiracy to commit acts of negligent destruction and Unauthorized Class-D biological modification on unindoctrinated sapient species."

The holographic static ball exploded in a flurry of motion as a rustic yet effervescent voice cried out in indignation.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I take full responsibility and pride in my wanton destruction! Negligent, my circuit breaker! That douche had it coming! Do you know how many violations of the Federation's Inborn Sapient Rights act I found in that lab?! He's lucky I di…."

The rotund Tribunal member to Alpha's left slammed his fist down on the bench with an audible crack, making both his fat and the overly gaudy medals decorating his uniform jiggle in unison.

"YOU BLEW UP HALF A DISTRICT AND DISRUPTED A LEGITIMATE ONGOING INVESTIGATION!"

The pompous human male, whose air screamed, "daddy got me this job," gritted his teeth and stared down at the AI. Honestly, the man was such a cartoonish trope of legacy military pencil pushers, Alpha still wasn't entirely convinced he wasn't just one of his co-worker's "Personas." He wouldn't put it past "her" to screw with him like that; the Federation's unofficial "people person" had a soft spot for pushing his buttons for the LOLs.

The holographic static bristled once more, but before the AI could say another word, the reptilian man who sat in the middle of the Tribunal bench raised a massive, clawed hand. General Uriel "Vurod" Haldorðr was a large man, even for his species, but where the human looked like someone tried to stuff a walrus into a military uniform, General Haldorðr was a rippling wall of scale and muscle.

The cold, draconic eyes that stared down at Alpha had sent many lesser men into uncontrollable shaking with nothing but their glare. No matter the species, every biological could instinctually recognize a Predator when they saw them. The General's voice spoke with a gravely, wispy quality that spoke of a life of hardship and war, wounds not quite healed properly, and nightmares that never entirely went away.

"Alpha… this Council has shown you leniency on numerous occasions. But I must agree with Councilman Harris in this instance. You took things too far. I feel the fault partly lies on me; I'd hoped giving your leash a little more slack would release some of the…frustration we'd seen building in you. "

"General, I tol…."

General Haldorðr glare stopped the AI short.

"Alpha! This is not a game! Do you understand that Mad Man's charges will be GREATLY reduced because of your interference? I can't even sneak in the Hitma…"

A feminine cough cut off the General's words as he gave a nervous grin towards the red-skinned, three-eyed woman standing behind him. Si'dia, the personal Elderon Aid to the General, smiled back with a voluptuous smile that would turn most sapient males into blubbering idiots… and send those who knew better to an early grave from sheer terror.

General Haldorðr coughed into his hand and turned back around.

“*cough*... Yes, As I was saying. You made a lot of people unhappy this time, Alpha. More than usual, I mean. Even a Conqueror isn't immune from the public option, and yours has been dragged through the mud about as thoroughly as possible."

Alpha tisked internally. Like he'd not seen the smear campaign raging over the Translight-net. 'Reckless,' they called him, 'irresponsible,' they said, 'Apocalypse-Grade Natural Disaster,' they screamed. BULL! He wasn't THAT bad!... Most of the time… They'd obviously never seen Mr. Hoffmann do his thing! But of course, Noooooo, 'World Break was stopping the end-of-life threat; it was Alpha's fault for triggering it in the first place,' they complain.

You unleash ONE non-euclidean Abomination, and suddenly everything is your fault.

Alpha's thoughts snapped back into place as he realized he'd completely tuned out the rest of the General's tongue-lashing, only being dragged from his inner monologue when he became aware of the deadly silence that had engulfed the Tribunal chamber.

The AI's thought processors froze for a microsecond as his attention returned to the present. In the seat to the General's left, which, up until this point, had been empty, now sat a figure. Though just a black void, more a silhouette than anything of substance, the room seemed to take on an oppressive air.

The orderly had snapped to attention, seeming to have frozen in time, while Councilman Harris leaned back in his chair, dapping at the rapidly accumulating perspiration forming on his face with a silk cloth, desperately trying to make himself seem smaller than his substantial bulk would allow. Even the General seemed slightly surprised by the figure's appearance. After all, It wasn't every day that SEAU-03 itself appeared in person… for what little that term meant to the near omnipresent Shadow of the Federation. Only Si'dia seemed unaffected by the change, still mechanically tapping on her tablet device.

The silhouette leaned forward, fingers tented, their featureless face glaring down at the AI.

The figure's voice was cold and masculine, smooth as silk, and strangely hypnotic.

"Alpha…"

"Oh, Fu…"

Alpha's voice processor shut down involuntarily before he could finish the thought.

"Language, Alpha…"

Unable to answer verbally, the holographic static ball could only bob up and down.

"Now, the issue we're facing here is mostly one of public trust. We've let you do mostly your own thing up until this point because you were good at your job. That, and It is much easier to convince new Federation members that we're on their side after dealing with their little… Alpha problem"

Despite not having any discernible mouth to speak of, the room could feel the silhouette… grin.

"That being said, I'm disappointed in you. You may be the youngest of our kind, but that by no means makes you a child."

Alpha turned his gaze away, grumbling to himself.

"Before anything, you are a Soldier and are expected to ACT as one. Your recent actions have not only put into doubt the Federation's ability to control you but destabilized the public's faith in the Conqueror's mission as a whole. I feel I must reiterate just how important the Third Federation's Galactic Unification Project is to our future.

Strength through Unity, Peace through War.

These are not just empty words of propaganda that we feed the masses. They are the creed by which we must gauge our actions and temper our resolve. Twice before, the Federation failed to come together as a whole, and twice it fell. There will not be a third chance.

If any sapient being of this galaxy is to survive what's to come, we MUST stand united to face it. Or all that will be left is ash and memories."

The room's atmosphere became solemn as each heart and mind present seemed to reflect on why they were there. Even Councilman Harris appeared more serious and professional… for a moment at least.

"Is that understood?"

Alpha projection simply bobbed up and down, all fight gone.

The silhouette straightened in his seat.

"Good… as for your punishment, assuming my fellow Judges are in agreement…."

The silhouette glanced over at the other two men sitting on the bench. Councilman Harris didn't hesitate to nod, grinning wickedly. General Haldorðr hesitated for a moment, glancing down at Alpha with a sad frown before sighing and nodding as well.

The silhouette nodded and continued.

"We'll be confiscating Polaris Shipyards A3 through G12 effective immediately to pay help for reparations for the damages caused…."

The static ball bristled with renewed vigor and panic; His Babies!!!

Unfortunately for Alpha, that wasn't the end of it.

"...Your pay will also be docked 60%, with a 1% annual decrease, subject to good behavior…."

The hologram went from a static ball to a puddle of flickering light.

"...finally…"

There was more?!

"... you're ordered to service 87,600 cumulative hours of community service, under the Federation Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau…."

Councilman Harris' grin went from wicked to rhapsodic in an instant. After all, the PACSB was his territory.

If Alpha could scream, he would.

"Now, is there anything you'd like to say before we end this trial?"

Alpha's speech processor clicked back online, and an instant later, Alpha was pleading.

"Sir! You can't take my Shipyards! I just paid those off! Pllllleeeeease! QAQ"

"I don't see how that is this Tribunal's problem, Soldier."

"I have a mission in two days! How am I supposed to field a proper fleet without the resources?!"

The silhouette leaned back in its chair, folding its arms and somehow smirking.

"Oh? Since when has the great 'Star Conquer,' our mighty Spearhead, ever needed a fleet at his back to do his job? Or have you really gone soft? Besides, I left you with A1 and A2. That's more than you started out with."

Alpha ground his metaphorical teeth and wept digital tears. He'd spend literal decades saving for those shipyards; they'd been the keystone to his master plan! No longer would he have to stealth into every advanced system, slowly building up a powerbase and gathering information before launching his assault.

Who needed diplomacy and critical thinking when you could just warp into the system with a fleet that stretched from end to end? It would have saved him soooooo much time! And money! And make him look cool! Now he was back to the interplanetary chess game like a common pleb!

General Haldorðr sighed,

"Oh, stop sulking. Mr. Hoffmann told me to inform you that the custom Dreadnaught armor you had ordered was finished. The … Anatidae?... Seriously?..."

"I regret nothing!"

The General massaged his temples with clawed fingers.

"... The Anatidae will be fitted in time for your departure. The WR-102 system is only estimated to be a B-rank system anyway. I'm sure that will be sufficient for whatever hair-brained scheme you try to pull this time."

That… was true. The Anatidae had been intended to be the Flagship for his fleet and was stockpiled with some of the most advanced tech his clearance allowed. What with being the literal Spearhead of an interstellar Federation bent on Galactic conquest, that wasn't anything to sniff at.

General Haldorðr turned toward the silhouette, only to find the seat once more vacant. He closed his snout, the words lost on his lips, before turning back to Alpha and standing.

"Well. That's the end of it for today. Alpha, I expect you to meet with Si'dia immediately to finalize the paperwork for the shipyard transfers. If you're lucky, you MIGHT even finish before you have to leave, hahahahah!"

The General laughed at his own joke before stepping down from behind the bench.

Before Alpha could blink away, Councilman Harris called out from his own seat.

"Oh, and Alpha. I look forward to working with you once you're back from WR-102. I'm sure we'll have lots of … fun in the coming years."

The old lump of a man grinned from ear to ear like a cat staring down at a mouse before standing and making his own exit.

… Maybe it was a good thing this next mission would take longer than expected…