The Second Wave War refers to the battles fought during the Aligned Systems Independence War after the liberation of Burrow. This is the phase where other spacefaring nations around the Human and Shraphen systems actively joined the war.
When those nations formed alliances with the human cause, it was, in most cases, simply to gain their own freedom.
For all of them, however, it soon became clear that it had become a struggle for survival.
The transformation, or, as some biologists describe it, the regression of the Hyphae to what is now known as Protohyphae, changed the scope of the war.
While it had only been a rebellion in the beginning, it had now turned into a fight for survival for many of them. The Batract Hyphae had seemingly chosen a defensive strategy, retreating everywhere the Protohyphae advanced. Where the Protohyphae closed in, the Batract chose to firebrand systems, depriving the advancing Protohyphae of needed biological matter.
Leaving the species caught between the fighting powers, only the chance to choose between extinction, fight, or exodus.
— Excerpt from Encyclopedia Federatio, 300 B.I.
Firebrand/Firebranding: A terminal denial procedure developed by the Batract Hyphae during the Second Wave War. It encompasses the sterilization of habitable systems, including planetary glassing and the destruction of all orbital and deep-space infrastructure.
The term emerged from a linguistic convergence during early interstellar standardization, combining Germanic administrative terminology — particularly Brand (burning, controlled fire) — with Anglo trade language. Originally referring to controlled ecological burns, its meaning shifted under military usage to denote system-wide sterilization events.
Firebranding was first employed when the Batract Hyphae used it to slow the progress of the Protohyphae.
In later conflicts, the Aligned Systems adopted modified firebranding doctrines — stripped of their genocidal application — as a strategic tool of area denial in their defensive war against the…
— Excerpt from Encyclopedia Federatio, 750 B.I.
“Minister Georgiou, can you explain why you authorized the relocation of the 1st Fleet, the just-recommissioned 7th Fleet from Epsilon Eridani, and the 2nd and 3rd Fleets from Sirius to Zeta Tucanae?”
Admiral Georgiou scratched an itch under his eye, partly to hide the disgust he felt for Senator Donald Stone, who continued his questions in this Senate hearing.
“Leaving not only two important strongholds with little defense, but also Earth. All of this to aid an unknown species directly after Earth was attacked viciously, and the stationed fleets here did nothing but hide!” The senator had now begun to shout.
Georgiou wouldn’t be surprised if the man had started to foam at the mouth.
“We send our most capable fleets even further into the dark, helping some aliens while we risk annihilation in the face of endless horrors this galaxy is throwing at us. My military advisors —”
That was it. Georgiou couldn’t stand the nonsense this populist fool spouted here. He stood up from his seat and cleared his throat.
“— It is Admiral Georgiou, Senator. I earn my living with work, not shouting like a monkey at feeding time.”
Georgiou knew he didn’t need to shout to cut the senator off. The priority line in the microphone would do that for him.
“As for your military advisors, they didn’t manage the entry exam for the Aligned Space Navy, so their opinion is worth less than a rat’s ass. With all respect, sir.”
It was a pleasure to see Stone’s head turn red.
With some luck, the buffoon might keel over from cardiac arrest, and then we might end this charade of a hearing in time.
“The positioning of ASN fleets is the sole responsibility of the ASN Admiralty and will be done at their discretion. But in my personal experience, facing the horrors of this galaxy is much easier with allies than with enemies, Mr. Senator.”
Georgiou could see that most of the other senators agreed, much to the anger of Stone.
“Lastly, while the first advances of the Doomsphere into our system were indeed not challenged by our fleet, Admiral Browner used the time to stabilize the situation and defeat the enemy successfully. All to ensure not a single victim on Earth. And given that none of the other members of the Aligned Planets had any issues with the fleet’s actions, I find it particularly surprising that of all the members who had to endure massive loss of life, EarthGov is the only one who complained.”
That hit hard. Georgiou enjoyed the shameful faces.
“So I have to ask myself, why would you, Mr. Senator, use the death of millions as currency in a political farce?”
The last line made Stone’s head shine red as a fusion core about to explode. Admiral Georgiou had a few more biting lines prepared, but he decided to keep them for later, if the senator didn’t stop his attacks.
As he sat down, he saw the head of the Senate Committee, Senator Shore, walk over to the speaker's podium.
Stone, who saw he had lost the round, retreated to his seat.
“Thank you, Admiral Georgiou. My esteemed colleagues and I are well aware of the casualties other members of the Aligned Planets had to endure in recent weeks, and our thoughts are with them.”
Shore looked in the direction of Stone before he continued.
“However, even if some of our colleagues have a… rougher… way of showing this, please understand, we are just here to address the fear and uncertainty many on Earth feel in these hours.”
The almost bald, but still young-looking senator received a datapad from his blonde, beautiful assistant. Georgiou noticed the look the senator gave his assistant as she walked away.
“Now, to address the last point of today’s agenda, so we might actually, for once, end a session on time.”
Around Georgiou, he could hear the senators chuckling. This Shore was a dangerous adversary; he took control of the room in seconds.
“Let’s open the discussion about the estimated cost of further fleet expenditure. But before we do that, might I address the room with some thoughts?”
This was unexpected. The whole reason Georgiou was here was to defend the planned budget expansions. The expansion was massive — all in all, it was almost double last year’s, and that budget had already been raised by triple from peacetime expenses.
Georgiou expected a fight tooth and nail and had his planners already factor in a 300 billion buffer.
The murmur around him signaled that everyone was surprised. It was unusual for the head of the committee to address the room before a point was discussed.
“My dear colleagues, I know that it is common in EarthGov to discuss everything until it is a bland and toothless compromise between the different parties and forces.”
Georgiou raised his eyebrows. Shore wasn’t known for holding back, but this? Telling the Senate they ruined every law by watering it down?
“But for those who haven’t noticed it, we are at war. And I don’t know about you, but I have the feeling this war is different.”
Shore looked into the crowd, seemingly looking every single one of them in the eyes.
“This war is not about who owns some mine, or what government should rule. This is a war of survival.”
The senator made a pause.
“So, I have to ask myself, what are we doing here?”
Another, longer pause. Georgiou had the feeling that Shore was improvising and didn’t follow the prepared speech.
“Instead of pulling in the same direction, we squabble and fight. We moan that we have to pay a bill, while the other members of the AP have to rebuild from scratch. From nothing! I don’t hear them complain.”
Shore now stood there, one arm symbolically stretched out to the stars.
“They know what hardship is, while we grew fat on the minerals they harvested. Have we become so complacent that we can’t spare a few bucks to ensure our survival? Ladies and gentlemen — our existence. Because, don’t get me wrong, if we lose this, not a single human will be left to regret it.”
Georgiou could hear him breathe. Never had he imagined such a large room filled with people could be this silent.
“So my recommendation is to double whatever Admiral Georgiou deems necessary to continue fighting, and think about how to fix the money issue later. Because the other way around, there won’t be anything to fix for us.”
Georgiou didn’t believe his ears. Did that maniac just recommend doubling the proposed budget?
The senators around the dazzled admiral rose in applause. Georgiou saw Shore standing on the podium, staring him directly in the eye and giving him a small wink.
————————
Antonin came back to his apartment tired and drained. His apartment was in the upper parts of the inverted skyscraper that was Sagan City. Entering the brightly lit living room, he saw that Sixtine wasn’t home from school.
With her still out, and his two older sons somewhere in Epsilon Eridani with the Navy, his apartment was painfully empty. Ever since his wife died due to a ripped restraining cord, he had suffered from depression.
Marie was his life, except of course his children. But it had been her dream to move to Venus. And Venus had killed her. She was an engineer. She had built Sagan City. And every time he looked out from his terrace, he saw her work. The doughnut-shaped floating balloon topped with the glass cupola, and the city nestled on the inner sides of the balloon, creating terraces full of parks and ending at the lowest spot with the pond.
It was the largest city on Venus, and probably the largest artificial structure in the solar system.
Twelve million people lived in this floating city. And still, he felt alone.
At first, everything was perfect. As one of the heads of the design department, she was also chosen to head the maintenance engineering team.
He was a biology professor from Strasbourg, specialized in molecular and plant biology. Perfect to head the Floating Gardens of Babylon Project — the floating farms that supplied food for Sagan City.
Venus’s newest power couple. That’s what they were called.
Then Marie died, and he didn’t even have a body for burial. She was down there, somewhere. On the planet she had loved so much.
The autocook made a chirp. Dinner was ready. He sat in the sun on his terrace, the alien, never-setting sun of Venus.
The colony floated slowly around the planet, always staying in a position of perfect noon. Not that much movement was needed; the cursed place didn’t even have normal days. A place where days are longer than a year.
He sipped his tea, knowing very well why he was especially cynical today. Their anniversary. At least it would have been their anniversary.
The door opened. Sixtine was home. The only reason he still lived here. For now, he didn’t have the heart to tell her that they were moving as soon as this college semester was over. Three more months…
“Papa, papa, I’ve been accepted!”
Accepted? Where? He mentally checked their recent conversations. No, he couldn’t remember anything. She was already in college, so that’s not it. Maybe some club or student union?
“Oh? How nice, tell me at dinner, ma petite.” He even managed to force out a smile.
Six, as everyone called his daughter, rolled her eyes. She hated it when he called her ma petite… Teenagers.
While he served the food, Six prepared the plates.
Boeuf bourguignon. Marie’s favorite. The autocook was still programmed with her menu. He didn’t have the heart to erase another part of her…
As he sat down, Six’s face was glowing with joy. Now his smile wasn’t forced anymore. Six had been silent and sad for months now. Who could blame her? But now, she seemed to be genuinely happy again.
“Okay, tell me, where have you been accepted?”
“Okay, first I was rejected — no more open slots and so on — but then with the new budget, they opened five more classes, and I will train and work with Shraphen and maybe even Gliders. It’s the first class where aliens are integrated. Isn’t that wonderful, Papa?”
Antonin had difficulties following his daughter’s stream of words. She was hyped up like he’d rarely seen her. What budget? Shraphen? There were almost no Shraphen on Venus. And what training?
“Six, I am happy, but where?”
“Armstrong Naval Academy.”
His daughter smiled, and Antonin barely kept the first bite of dinner in his stomach.
Naval Academy?
She wants to join the Navy too? While we’re at war?
How did that happen?
“Papa?”
Six had caught up to the fact that he was shocked.
“No.”
“No? What do you mean, no?”
“No. I won’t allow it.” I won’t lose my little girl too. Never!
“What do you mean you won’t allow it? It’s my choice!” Six was gearing up for a full tantrum. He didn’t care. She won’t leave him too.
“You can’t just storm in here and drop this bomb on me. You must have known for weeks, and today of all days you drop this on me?”
Six’s face froze.
“Don’t bring Mama into this. I lost her too, you know? And I don’t intend to drown here in her memories like you do.”
He wasn’t drowning, was he?
“You will leave with me, back to Strasbourg. I got my old job back. I’m not drowning.”
Now Six sat there with an open mouth. Then she smashed the fork on the table. Antonin prepared himself for a full-blown teenager meltdown. Doesn’t matter, he won’t let her go.
“Strasbourg? Back to Earth? If you think I’m moving back, tu es fou!”
“Six —” He needed to calm her down. Get through to her.
“No! You tell me that I had known for weeks, but you kept planning for us to move? And how will you stop me? I’m 18, Papa. I go where I want!”
With that, she jumped up and stormed out into the hallway.
What just happened? What happened?
————————
Nirfir scanned the next cargo crate. Everything had to be stored before the Punchy Mac Punchface was ready for departure.
Admiral Sanders had already left with the fleets, and the Army was preparing to deploy too.
Now if the humans would just find a way to transport supplies just as easily as they bombard planets. That would be a joy.
The giant hangar was buzzing with activity. Every moment, Sleipnirs were landing and departing, bringing crew and supplies or sending them off to one of the other ships.
It was chaotic, but Nirfir knew, somehow it worked. Somehow the human logistics actually worked.
He was still convinced that somewhere a wizard was casting spells, ensuring that somehow everything was where it was supposed to be.
A new Sleipnir landed while he carried the box to the designated area. At least the Army was smart enough to lower gravity in the hangar, so the boxes were just awkward to handle, but not heavy.
Wait… What’s that?
He sniffed. The air was filled with sweat, stress hormones. And nicotine smoke. Somewhere, someone was smoking. But there was something else.
Of the crews transferring to the Punchy , many were Shraphen. But there was a smell he knew…
The new Sleipnir!
He turned and saw Shraphen disembarking.
Medics.
Could it be?
Then he saw her…
Sikkra…
What was she doing here?
Before he could think, his daughter ran over to him, obviously surprised as well.
“Dad!”
“Sikkra!”
She jumped, a bit too strongly, almost passing over him in the low gravity, but he managed to catch her.
“What are you doing here?” He couldn’t believe his little daughter was here.
While he hugged her after this long absence, he noticed she smelled healthy. Not close to starvation, as when she left for Taishon Tar.
“We got the order to join the Punchy today. I didn’t know you were here.”
She rubbed her nose in his chest fur, as she had always done when she was little.
“I don’t mean that. When did you arrive in the system?”
His daughter, here… Wait, did she join the campaign?
“We reached it yesterday. I wanted to surprise you.”
No. Please. Great Hunter in the Sky, spare her!
“You’re going on this campaign with us?”
She looked up at him. Her eyes were full of joy.
“Yes, Father. With you and the whole 33rd Spaceborne.”
For seconds, Nirfir fought between dread and joy. Then, when he looked down at his daughter, decked out in her medic’s armor, full of happiness to see him again, joy took the upper hand.