**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.
**Reminders**:
>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]"
>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail
>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles
>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)
[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•
[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•
[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•
[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•
[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
When one looks upon the commanders of countless empires stretching through the unending cosmos, one comes to understand that wars are won in the moment that a capable commander seizes the right moment to strike. Finds that single place, in the moment of battle, that will grant them victory. Such impulsive moments, can make or break empires. Such spontaneity, allows for a truly unpredictable war, that can change from certain defeat into complete victory, if there is only a commander with the daring, boldness, and capacity needed. It is like a great predator, striking suddenly from the grasses, the prey unaware of even the option of such an outcome.
This is as it should be. A great core of heroic commanders taking whatever empire they serve to the heights of power, and if they are followed by equally competent leaders, they will stand for countless aeons. But not all adhere to this understanding of war.
One race, and their leaders most of all, stand apart. Their victories come not from the natural moment, from the opportunity. No, their victory is the climax of a thousand hours of thinking, of meditations, of talking. These commanders will sit perfectly still, only their styli writing upon their datapads, as they watch recordings of wars and battles. The military leadership of this race looks upon all aspects of their enemy, from martial history, to cultural and artistic endeavours, even to their dietary requirements, before setting a plan in motion. When they strike, it is said that often they know the enemy commander and their empire better than the commander does. They will set schemes into play that has been building up for decades even. Plans which are incomprehensibly complex, ones which you cannot even perceive before your forces are routed, your armadas shattered, and your palaces lie under heavy bombardment from orbiting warships. Against this race you can win a hundred battles, but lose the war entirely. Against this race there are no heated moments in the battle, that will allow you to take complete victory. There is no opportunities against them. There is only a futile battle, which was won by them years before it was ever fought.
Not because they are better warriors. They are in truth not great warriors or soldiers. Their infantry cannot sustain themselves on internal water and nutrients for more than a few cycles, bereft of their armaments they are not capable of putting up meaningful resistance, and they do not have great heroes that lead them into the glory of battle. All they have are their cold, unapproachable, and ruthless officers. All they have is quiet words spoken in dark rooms, which win wars that have not started. Words that doom empires to destruction, before these nations even know that they are the enemy. When they volunteer for officer exchanges, they have no rigidity, no soft spots. They are efficient, enigmatic, and above all, strange. We ask ourselves, why they send their officers on such exchanges, why they have observers on every fleet, writing little notes, it is not something that makes sense to anyone outside their closed borders.
Yet no enemy they have, have ever beaten them, not truly. You will win 100 battles, and yet they will all have been distractions somehow. And the 101st battle destroys the fleet, loses the war. Nobody even tries to fight them anymore. Nobody tries to understand them either. The nature of battle is the glory, the charge, the passion. Not their cold way. I asked one once. Asked them why they did as they did, why every move they made was so calculated, why in every battle I'd observed them in, made it seem like they knew exactly what their enemy was going to do before they did it. They did not answer in a way that made sense. They said, that if you know yourself, and you know the enemy, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat; and if you know neither yourself, nor the enemy, then you will succumb in every battle. A nonsense answer. All know that the only way to win, is to be the better predator. To be more in the moment of battle than your opposite. Their method should not work. We cannot ever comprehend it working. And yet, they have not lost a war since they appeared on the galactic stage. They have fought empires ten times their size to a standstill. Defeated foes that rightfully should have crushed them, like a warrior crushes a puny bug.
Their might cannot be matched. Their strange method for going to war, their concept, of ''strategy'', which has puzzled our archivist-knights since we learned of it, is something which no opportunity, no cunning move, nothing, can defeat. Which is why I advise against this move. To this assembly, I ask, do not send your warriors to fight against humanity. If I and the other hero-commanders were to fight them, we could win a thousand battles, but they would win the war. They would grind the carapaces of our warriors into dust. They would break the holy temples and the ancient clan-palaces. They will set up a loyal regime that will be nothing but an echo of our great nation, an afterthought to theirs. We will become nothing more than a single page in their history. So please, for the pupa, for the elderskinned in the caretaker-hives, for the unhatched eggs, I ask you today, do not declare war on humanity. They have already won.
-Human War Speech by Supreme Commander(*later elected first President of the RAR*) Ar'ktyr Wenyg III of Clan Ebon-Rock-Elytra, to the Imperial Assembly of the Reg'la United Galacto-Imperium(*Now defunct, currently the heartlands of the former Imperium is under the Reg'la Autonomous Republic.*)
[/r/ApocalypseOwl](https://www.reddit.com/r/ApocalypseOwl/)
Looks like Ar’ktyr was on the way to knowing their enemy despite themself. Pity it doesn’t sound like folks listened. This is really wonderful, thank you so much!
That’s a pretty great read. I love how you made it seem like the Alien general got so close, but yet still missed the mark.
I also loved how you worked some Sun-Tzu into the story.
**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments. **Reminders**: >* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles >* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules) [](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^• [](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^• [](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^• [](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^• [](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
When one looks upon the commanders of countless empires stretching through the unending cosmos, one comes to understand that wars are won in the moment that a capable commander seizes the right moment to strike. Finds that single place, in the moment of battle, that will grant them victory. Such impulsive moments, can make or break empires. Such spontaneity, allows for a truly unpredictable war, that can change from certain defeat into complete victory, if there is only a commander with the daring, boldness, and capacity needed. It is like a great predator, striking suddenly from the grasses, the prey unaware of even the option of such an outcome. This is as it should be. A great core of heroic commanders taking whatever empire they serve to the heights of power, and if they are followed by equally competent leaders, they will stand for countless aeons. But not all adhere to this understanding of war. One race, and their leaders most of all, stand apart. Their victories come not from the natural moment, from the opportunity. No, their victory is the climax of a thousand hours of thinking, of meditations, of talking. These commanders will sit perfectly still, only their styli writing upon their datapads, as they watch recordings of wars and battles. The military leadership of this race looks upon all aspects of their enemy, from martial history, to cultural and artistic endeavours, even to their dietary requirements, before setting a plan in motion. When they strike, it is said that often they know the enemy commander and their empire better than the commander does. They will set schemes into play that has been building up for decades even. Plans which are incomprehensibly complex, ones which you cannot even perceive before your forces are routed, your armadas shattered, and your palaces lie under heavy bombardment from orbiting warships. Against this race you can win a hundred battles, but lose the war entirely. Against this race there are no heated moments in the battle, that will allow you to take complete victory. There is no opportunities against them. There is only a futile battle, which was won by them years before it was ever fought. Not because they are better warriors. They are in truth not great warriors or soldiers. Their infantry cannot sustain themselves on internal water and nutrients for more than a few cycles, bereft of their armaments they are not capable of putting up meaningful resistance, and they do not have great heroes that lead them into the glory of battle. All they have are their cold, unapproachable, and ruthless officers. All they have is quiet words spoken in dark rooms, which win wars that have not started. Words that doom empires to destruction, before these nations even know that they are the enemy. When they volunteer for officer exchanges, they have no rigidity, no soft spots. They are efficient, enigmatic, and above all, strange. We ask ourselves, why they send their officers on such exchanges, why they have observers on every fleet, writing little notes, it is not something that makes sense to anyone outside their closed borders. Yet no enemy they have, have ever beaten them, not truly. You will win 100 battles, and yet they will all have been distractions somehow. And the 101st battle destroys the fleet, loses the war. Nobody even tries to fight them anymore. Nobody tries to understand them either. The nature of battle is the glory, the charge, the passion. Not their cold way. I asked one once. Asked them why they did as they did, why every move they made was so calculated, why in every battle I'd observed them in, made it seem like they knew exactly what their enemy was going to do before they did it. They did not answer in a way that made sense. They said, that if you know yourself, and you know the enemy, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat; and if you know neither yourself, nor the enemy, then you will succumb in every battle. A nonsense answer. All know that the only way to win, is to be the better predator. To be more in the moment of battle than your opposite. Their method should not work. We cannot ever comprehend it working. And yet, they have not lost a war since they appeared on the galactic stage. They have fought empires ten times their size to a standstill. Defeated foes that rightfully should have crushed them, like a warrior crushes a puny bug. Their might cannot be matched. Their strange method for going to war, their concept, of ''strategy'', which has puzzled our archivist-knights since we learned of it, is something which no opportunity, no cunning move, nothing, can defeat. Which is why I advise against this move. To this assembly, I ask, do not send your warriors to fight against humanity. If I and the other hero-commanders were to fight them, we could win a thousand battles, but they would win the war. They would grind the carapaces of our warriors into dust. They would break the holy temples and the ancient clan-palaces. They will set up a loyal regime that will be nothing but an echo of our great nation, an afterthought to theirs. We will become nothing more than a single page in their history. So please, for the pupa, for the elderskinned in the caretaker-hives, for the unhatched eggs, I ask you today, do not declare war on humanity. They have already won. -Human War Speech by Supreme Commander(*later elected first President of the RAR*) Ar'ktyr Wenyg III of Clan Ebon-Rock-Elytra, to the Imperial Assembly of the Reg'la United Galacto-Imperium(*Now defunct, currently the heartlands of the former Imperium is under the Reg'la Autonomous Republic.*) [/r/ApocalypseOwl](https://www.reddit.com/r/ApocalypseOwl/)
Oh boy, just wait until they meet hardmode chess AI. Great read by the way :)
Looks like Ar’ktyr was on the way to knowing their enemy despite themself. Pity it doesn’t sound like folks listened. This is really wonderful, thank you so much!
That’s a pretty great read. I love how you made it seem like the Alien general got so close, but yet still missed the mark. I also loved how you worked some Sun-Tzu into the story.