The K’te ambassador was finally allowing himself to relax, as he sat pretending to listen to the Kree representative’s speech. The official signing ceremony was almost over. The Kree delegation’s speech was the last one before the formal ratification that would made the Peace Treaty law.
The K’te ambassador had been warned by his government of possible… difficulties… that might complicate matters, but they also assured him that these matters would be dealt with. Nevertheless, the ambassador was quite relived to see the ceremony proceed so smoothly.
As the Kree ambassador was finishing his speech, the large golden doors to the council chamber were suddenly thrown open. Flanked by security guards, a motley group of four walked forcefully into the center of the chamber. One looked to be some kind of robot, the other two were of some nondescript humanoid race, and the fourth, the one who had thrown open the doors….
…and the fourth…!
The K’te’s eyes widened in shock and fear. He stole a glance at the Warpsmith delegation. The lead Warpsmith ambassador locked eyes with him, while his assistant vanished. It was a full three seconds, an eternity for the Warpsmiths, before she returned.
The office of General Secretary for the conference rotated through the attending races, and on this auspicious day, it had fallen to the Shi’Ar. Majestrix Lilandra, a striking, regal figure glad in the shining silver ceremonial armor of her empire, rose to the podium. “Who dares interrupt these proceedings?’ she demanded.
The Traveler noticed Zero Man glaring at the K’te delegation and stepped forward. “Your Majesty, I am called Traveler and represent the Noirmer. We sincerely apologize for this intrusion, but we have information vital to the work of this assembly.”
Lilandra’s tone softened. “We do not dispute your right to attend and observe these proceedings, Traveler of the Noirmer. But as an independent race, uninvolved in this conflict, you have no standing to actively participate.”
“It is not I who must be allowed to participate,” the Traveler said. He then pointed at Zero Man. “It is him. If the galaxy is to ever know true peace and true justice, he must be allowed to speak.”
Rallying his courage and indignation, the K’te ambassador leaped to his feet. “This is outrageous!” he exclaimed. “We have a fair and equitable peace agreement that has been negotiated in good faith and agreed to by all races! We cannot allow some ridiculous spectacle at the last minute to….”
“No!” the Traveler interrupted, his voice booming in the minds of all assembled. “Your eyes do not deceive you. Yes, he is indeed Cholonu! The last of his race!” The Traveler walked back behind Zero Man, his telepathic voice now soft. “And you may ignore him, but you do so at your peril.”
The council chamber erupted in a chorus of urgent murmuring. A single, strong voice cut through the din.
“The Warpsmith Empire would be very interested in hearing what this individual has to say.”
The council chamber grew silent. The Cholonu who men called Zero Man stepped forward and began to speak. His address was short and to the point. He spoke of the race and his planet, now gone. He spoke of the K’te and how he believed they had deceived the Warpsmiths, by using their own honor against them, and all in order to save themselves. He spoke of his conversation with the K’te emperor. He spoke of the numerous efforts made to silence him, and the involvement of the Skrull, a rogue Green Lantern, and the renegade Shi’Ar Imperial Guard, their presence obviously bespeaking an even greater conspiracy. And when he was done, the chamber was as silent as a tomb.
The lead Warpsmith diplomat stood up as his assistant again vanished. This time, she did not immediately return.
The lead diplomat’s words were terribly calm and precise. “Our Empire’s truce with the K’te was based solely on our desire to honor the wishes of the Cholonu people. It was conditioned on the belief that the individual who made that request for mercy was the last living representative of that race.” He looked at Zero Man. “That is now clearly not the case. The Warpsmith Empire now declares the truce with K’te null and void.”
A shudder passed through all the delegates. Suddenly, on the eve of peace, the specter of war was again upon them all.
The gray female Warpsmith who was the lead diplomat’s assistant suddenly appeared in front of Zero Man. “Please come with me to our homeworld,” she said. “The Black Warpsmiths wish to meet with you.”
Zero Man began to refuse, when Traveler put his hand on Zero Man’s shoulder.
“No,” Traveler advised. “You need to go.”
Zero Man turned back toward the Warpsmith. “All right.”
“Take my hand.”
*****
Ten seconds after Zero Man had finished speaking on Dressilus, two hundred thousand Warpsmiths had appeared on the K’te homeworld, all of them with their knives to K’te throats. The planet’s shield generator facilities were instantly occupied, ensuring that they would never be activated. In orbit, mobile warp batteries that could teleport portions of K’te’i’s sun directly onto the planet’s surface, materialized into position over the largest cites.
The Warpsmith had not yet taken one life. They simply stood silently, all over K’te’i. Waiting.
*****
Zero Man was brought into the presence of the Black Warpsmiths.
They were immense, over fifteen stories tall and seated with their backs to one another; a colossal black triad sculpted from ebony. They looked down upon Zero Man, their faces stern masks that betrayed no emotion.
The nearest to Zero Man held up his empty hand, fingers curled as if holding something.
They spoke in unison and their voice vibrated both the ground and the air.
“LAST OF THE CHOLONU, WE HOLD THE K’TE IN OUR HAND. ALL YOU NEED DO IS ASK, AND THEY WILL DIE.”
The Cholonu who men called Zero Man began to consider his response.
The galaxy held its breath.
The Warpsmiths were broadcasting this moment back to Dressilus, and from there it was reaching everywhere else. All who saw it understood the ramifications of what they were seeing. They knew, with grim certainly the shape of everything that would follow, their future unfolding before them in every detail.
If the Cholonu chose vengeance, as was his right, the Warpsmiths would indeed honor it. They would scour K’te’i of all life and then move on to any other world where the K’te might hide. They would not rest and would stop until the K’te were extinct.
Terrified K’te refugees would flee into the only place they could: The neighboring Skrull empire. The Warpsmiths would pursue them; the Skrull would demand they withdraw; the Warpsmiths would ignore them and dive deeper into their territory.
As the Warpsmiths plunged forward to exterminate the K’te, they would leave the ruins of the empty K’te empire in their wake. The Kree would move in to occupy it, in order to better strike at the Skrull, and wouldn’t care who got in their way. The Warpsmiths would protest; tensions would mount. Soon open warfare would erupt between all three races.
With the Warpsmiths distracted, the Qys would again try to retake the systems they had always coveted. Fighting so near the fragile Shi’Ar empire would collapse Lilandra’s government and spark a bloody civil war.
On and on… without end…
They all saw it so clearly and so accurately—it was like for one trembling moment they all possessed my insight.
The galaxy held its breath.
Zero Man finally looked up and met the unflinching gaze of the Black Warpsmiths. “What you offer is not necessary. I wish only that the K’te be brought to justice and punished for their crimes according to galactic law.”
The faintest traces of smiles whispered across the visages of the Black Warpsmiths. ”YOU ARE INDEED WISE. THEY WILL BE JUDGED ACCORDING TO THE COVENANTS OF GALACTIC CIVILIZATION”
“Thank you.”
“YOUR RACE DID NOT DESERVE THE FATE IT RECEIVED, AND WE DEEPLY GRIEVE THE ROLE WE PLAYED IN IT. WHAT YOU HAVE LOST, WE CAN NEVER RESTORE. ALL WE CAN DO IS MAKE THIS SMALL GESTURE IN SINCERE RECOGNITION OF YOUR RACE’S BRAVERY AND THE WISDOM THAT YOU HAVE DEMONSTRATED: YOU MAY MAKE ONE REQUEST OF US AT ANY TIME, AND IF IT IS IN OUR POWER, IT SHALL BE GRANTED. UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN HERE TODAY, AND WHEN THE TIME COMES TO ACT UPON IT, CHOOSE WISELY.
“FAREWELL, LAST OF THE CHOLONU. MAY YOU FIND PEACE AND HAPPINESS.”
Zero Man blinked and found himself back in the center of the council chamber on Dressilus. He had traveled faster than the signal from Hod did, and as he looked up at the chamber’s communication screen, he could see himself vanish from the presence of the Black Warpsmiths. The screen then went dark.
The lights came up on the Skrull delegation trying to slip quietly out of the room.
The Kree ambassador stood up. “Madam Secretary, I move that we arrest the Skrull and K’te delegations until we get this mess sorted out.”
“Seconded!” the Qys ambassador yelled from across the chamber.
Lilandra fixed a glacial stare on the K’te and Skrull. “Motion carried. Guards!”
Security guards marched in, and as pandemonium and yells of “We weren’t even briefed!” and “It was a rogue faction of our military!” filled the chamber, Wonder Man, Alex Ryan and the Traveler gathered around Zero Man.
“Now what do we do?” Alex Ryan asked.
Zero Man allowed himself a smile. “We go home.”
*****
A unified force of the Warpsmiths, Kree, Shi’Ar and Qys scoured K’te space over the next few weeks. Among other things, they found several abandoned secret bases which had obviously been evacuated in a hurry, as they still contained considerable amounts of Apokolips technology. While many of the more notable fugitives, like DeSaad, D’Ken and his Imperial Guard still managed to slip away, they found themsleves rapidly running out of places to hide.
The fate of the God-Emperor of the K’te, Vexel, demonstrated this quite well. The Skrull caught him tying to sneak past their border and turned him over immediately to the other races. He committed suicide three weeks later, on the night before his war crimes trial was to start.
A new peace treaty was negotiated and signed a month later. The “rehabilitation” and “restructuring” of K’te society played a big part of it, as did massive war reparations and territorial concessions on behalf of the Skrull.
Sinestro was taken to Oa for trial. The Guardians, themselves, began studiously investigating his crimes and were profoundly shaken by what they found. Perfecting their case, the Guardians eagerly looked forward to passing sentence on him. But, as we now know, they never got the chance.
The Traveler departed Dressilus a minor celebrity. He hoped that would help in the trade talks he had scheduled next. He was impressed by his newfound friends from Earth, and knew that he would see them again. Soon.
Thanks to the intervention of the Shi’Ar government, humanity’s first starship, the Argo was returned, intact, to Alex Ryan, Zero Man and Wonder Man, who then returned to Earth.
Mankind’s next interaction with the Shi’Ar would not be nearly so pleasant.
But that is another story….