The communication from one of the Delta-9 leaders, who identified herself as Catherine, arrived eighteen hours after the failed negotiation attempt. The transmission bypassed all three factions' monitoring systems, reaching Genesis on frequencies that suggested a sophisticated understanding of galactic communication protocols.
When Tanya accepted the private channel, she found herself looking at a woman whose genetic modifications were subtle but unmistakable, but whose bearing suggested she had transcended her original programming entirely. Tanya had noticed her during their initial negotiation; she appeared to be the de facto leader of the group.
Catherine sat in what appeared to be a secure facility buried deep underground, surrounded by displays showing population data, resource allocation models, and evacuation logistics that had clearly been planned before Tanya's arrival.
"I have a proposal," Catherine said without preamble, her voice carrying the calm authority of someone who had the power to make her statement come true. "One that serves your needs and ours."
"I'm listening."
"You need skilled personnel for your evacuation fleets and forge world construction. We need to break the cycle that's destroying our people." Catherine activated holographic displays showing the brutal mathematics of their situation. "The solution is to remove us as a source of conflict while preserving what can be preserved."
Tanya studied the data, recognising the clinical precision of someone who'd accepted hard truths rather than clinging to false hope. "How?"
"Genesis becomes neutral territory for all Delta-9 populations. We relocate every Delta-9 member to your ship, establishing gestation facilities and genetic preservation systems." Catherine's expression remained perfectly controlled, but Tanya could see decades of careful planning behind every word. "The adults are beyond saving. They will fight until they die. We cannot change that. But we can save the children and ensure genetic continuity for all genetic lines."
She activated another display showing detailed evacuation logistics that were not wishful thinking, but operational planning that accounted for resistance, complications, and the likelihood of violence during extraction.
"We take all Delta-9 populations off-world immediately, along with every child under fifteen currently in our care. We establish artificial gestation facilities on the planet, preserving the complete genetic codex for all four templates."
The scope of what Catherine was proposing began to sink in. "You're abandoning the factions to die on a poisoned planet."
"We're preserving what can be preserved while letting what cannot be saved destroy itself." Catherine's expression didn't waver, carrying the tone of someone who had already grieved for people who were still technically alive. "The artificial wombs and genetic codex mean the factions can rebuild their populations from scratch whenever they choose. They can just deal with downsides."
Tanya understood the brutal logic but felt compelled to probe deeper. "What are the downsides to artificial gestation?"
"Higher failure rates than natural reproduction. Increased susceptibility to certain genetic disorders. Reduced psychological bonding between adults and children." Catherine listed the problems with clinical detachment. "But the alternative is extinction within two generations, so the trade-offs are acceptable."
"You give them the technology to recreate their people, then leave them to kill each other off."
"We give them the choice to continue their war or start fresh with forge world colonies. If they choose war, they die. If they choose to work with you, they can rebuild their civilisations properly." Catherine paused, her mask of control slipping slightly. "Either way, the children we take will grow up without faction hatred, and the genetic templates survive intact."
"That's not saving them. That's writing them off."
"That's accepting reality." Catherine's voice carried the exhaustion of someone who had spent years trying alternatives that didn't work. "I've been watching these factions tear themselves apart for forty-three years. I've mediated conflicts, negotiated ceasefires, arranged prisoner exchanges, and managed resource-sharing agreements. Every single attempt at peace has failed because they cannot forgive what's been done to them."
She pulled up historical data showing decades of failed diplomatic efforts. "Seventeen major peace initiatives. Forty-two minor agreements. Hundreds of temporary ceasefires. All broken within months because war debt creates psychological patterns that transcend rational self-interest. So we will take the next generation away from it all."
"You're talking about an entire generation, won't that cause problems?"
"I'm talking about the only generation that hasn't been fully poisoned by war debt. Children who know the factions exist and have been taught to hate, but haven't experienced war directly. Any problems won't be ours to deal with." Catherine's determination manifested into something approaching passion. "If we relocate to Genesis, we take those children with us. All of them. We raise them together, as a unified group. By the time they're adults, they won't see faction divisions as natural or necessary."
The plan was audacious in its scope and terrifying in its implications. "What about the factions? They'll never agree to give up their children."
"We won't give them an option. We will take them by force." Catherine's conviction was absolute. "The children are already in our facilities for protection during combat operations. The extraction will be surgical—minimal resistance because the factions won't risk harming their own offspring."
Amara, monitoring from her station, raised the obvious strategic concern. "How do you prevent immediate retaliation? They'll unite against you the moment they realise what's happening."
"They can't unite. That's the point. Each faction will assume the others are responsible for the extraction. By the time they realise we're gone, we'll be beyond their reach." Catherine smiled grimly. "Their paranoia becomes our protection."
Cameron voiced the logistical challenge. "The scale of evacuation you're describing... we're talking about thousands of people, complex medical equipment, genetic preservation systems that require specialised facilities."
"Fifteen thousand Delta-9 individuals. Eight thousand children. Medical equipment that can be fabricated using your capabilities." Catherine had clearly calculated every detail. "The genetic preservation systems are already built. We've been preparing for this contingency since the atmospheric degradation became irreversible."
Tanya found herself calculating the resources required, such as medical facilities, transport capacity, and genetic preservation systems. The mathematics were stark but possible. They would need to find a forge world candidate quickly, as the Genesis was large, but even it would struggle to house so many people.
"What's your timeline for extraction?"
"Seventy-two hours once we begin. Any longer and it gives them too much chance to respond." Catherine's fingers moved across her interface, transmitting detailed schematics. "We'll need Genesis positioned for rapid dimensional transfer, plus fabrication capacity for the artificial gestation infrastructure."
"The genetic codex you mentioned—how complete is it?"
"Every viable combination documented over the past century. Not just the original four templates, but all successful variations that have emerged through natural mutation." Catherine's expression grew more focused. "Some of the spontaneous modifications are superior to the original designs. Enhanced problem-solving in the Beta-2 line, improved fine motor control in the Gamma-5s, stress resistance in Alpha-7s that exceeds baseline specifications."
"You're not just preserving what was created, but you're offering evolutionary improvements?"
"Exactly. The factions see their modifications as fixed legacies. We see them as starting points for conscious development." Catherine pulled up genetic analysis data. "With proper guidance, these templates could be refined for specific forge world challenges. Enhanced radiation resistance for construction crews, improved cognitive processing for logistics coordination, optimised reflexes for precision manufacturing."
"You're talking about turning failed social engineering into successful biological engineering."
"I'm talking about separating function from ideology. The genetic modifications worked. It was the cultural programming that failed." Catherine paused, choosing her words carefully. "I also want your commitment that those who wish to join us can join, no matter their factional alliance"
"That might be tricky. These people have been defining themselves by opposition to their enemies for generations. Will they really work together?"
"We don't give them a choice. If they don't work together in forge world operations, we send them back to the planet to die." Catherine's pragmatism was ruthless but logical. "Cooperation becomes a survival requirement rather than an ideological choice."
The communication ended with Catherine transmitting detailed logistics
As Tanya studied the proposals, she felt deeply unsettled despite recognising it's logical foundation.
"It's coldly efficient," Amara said, reviewing the evacuation plans with professional attention to detail. "But you're essentially performing triage on an entire civilisation."
"We're saving the genetics while letting the culture die," Cameron added grimly. "These people will cease to exist as distinct societies."
//The proposal eliminates the problem by eliminating the people who created it,// Sage observed. //Genetic continuity without cultural continuity. The templates survive, but everything that made them who they are dies with the planet.//
Tanya stared at the dying world below them, watching heat signatures that indicated the three settlements were accelerating their war preparations. Artillery movements, defensive fortifications, resource stockpiling—all the preparations for a conflict that would likely be their last.
"Catherine's right that the adults can't be saved. But this feels like giving up on the possibility that they could choose differently."
"They've had a century to choose differently," Amara pointed out with characteristic pragmatism. "At what point do you accept that some problems can't be solved, only survived?"
Tanya didn't have an answer for her, but she still didn't like it.
Catherine's plan would work. The genetics would be preserved, the children would grow up without inherited hatred, and the factions would face the choice between cooperation and extinction without hostages to complicate their decision-making.
But it also meant accepting that an entire civilisation was beyond redemption—that a century of genetic optimisation and controlled evolution had produced something that could only be salvaged, not saved.
Whether that represented pragmatic acceptance of reality or moral surrender remained an open question.
"Initiate the planning for extraction protocols," Tanya decided, feeling the weight of choosing survival over salvation. "And hope we're not defining ourselves by what we're willing to abandon."
The decision felt like crossing a line she couldn't uncross, but the alternative was watching everyone die for the sake of principles that meant nothing to people who'd stopped listening decades ago.
Sometimes, she reflected bitterly, leadership meant accepting that some choices were just different kinds of failure.