“Let me tell you what I think,” the captain continued. “I think you and your kind happened upon this little rock gift wrapped and floating out at the edge of the spiral. You ran your tests and found out it was full of V, so you came down with your drills and your processors and all your shiny promises and you dug deep and started sucking the planet dry. But then the Djarik got wind of your little treasure trove and came here to pick a fight, all resulting in this.” He opened his arms wide, taking in the ruins that surrounded them, the few buildings still standing and the several that weren’t.

“You are very astute,” Lark said.

“Please don’t tell him that,” Kat muttered.

“But you are not entirely correct,” Lark continued. “We did discover this planet first. And we did begin the mining process. But the Djarik never arrived. By the time they even learned about this planet we had already extracted every last molecule of EL-four eight six. We had—as you say—‘sucked it dry.’”

Leo heard his father’s voice. What is happening with us . . . it has happened before.

Kat shook her head. “So you’re saying this—all this destruction—this isn’t because of the war?”

“Everything is because of the war,” Lark replied. “But the devastation you see here was not the direct result of any battle between the Aykari and the Djarik. It was the inevitable by-product of years and years of extraction, the destabilizing ecological aftermath of our resource acquisition.”

Leo looked through the open archway to the stone-lined street, the scarred faces of buildings on the edge of collapse, the arid soil that had once been dark and rich. Destabilizing ecological aftermath. That was one way to put it.

Or you could just say they ripped the planet apart.

“So you are at least half correct, Captain,” Lark continued, turning back to Baz. “The Aykari are responsible for what has happened here. We did this.” His eyes flashed orange, just for a moment, then resumed their sea-calm blue. “I did this. And that, if you must know, is why I am here.”

The Aykari offer their deepest regrets and most sincere condolences to the peoples of Earth and to the families who have lost loved ones in this terrible act, an act which can only be interpreted as a declaration of war by the Djarik empire upon the planet. Be assured that this aggression will not go unpunished and that our retribution will be swift and merciless. To that end, we encourage humanity to stand against our common enemy. To rebuild their planet even stronger than before. And to join us in our fight against the warmongering terrorists who threaten the future of our peaceful galaxy.

—Excerpt of address delivered by the Aykari High Council in response to the Djarik bombing of Earth, 2050

The Price You Pay

LEO SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING. AFTER ALL, there were signs. Literally.