Chapter 126: Open Fire!!

The waiting was unbearable. Humanity was standing at a massive crossroads, one path led to survival, the other to extinction. After broadcasting the radio warning, the anxiety aboard the ship only intensified.

That afternoon, the Department Heads and Senior Scientists convened to discuss their next move.

“Sending that radio signal could expose our exact coordinates!”

“If they retaliate with a light-speed strike, we’ll be hit before we even know they’ve fired. There’s absolutely no way to intercept it!” Minister of Security Austin said, his voice heavy with concern. He was painfully aware of the technological canyon separating human weaponry from a true interstellar civilization.

Light-speed strikes were the most terrifying form of space warfare. Because light is the absolute speed limit of the universe, such attacks are impossible to detect in advance or intercept.

Humanity possessed near-light-speed weapons, such as laser and ion cannons. However, these were pieced together from the salvaged Martian wreck. They were barely functioning prototypes, possessing less than a tenth of their original power. Furthermore, they only had enough energy to fire a handful of times.

“By sending the radio broadcast, we’ve already signaled our willingness to communicate. Now, we need to flex our muscles to establish a proper deterrent!”

“Think of it like firing a warning shot into the air. We need to… shoot at them!”

Austin’s booming voice filled the room, his excitement building with every word. He slammed his fist onto the table. “Yes, exactly! Firing a shot is the best way to prove we aren’t helpless!”

His aggressive proposal immediately sparked intense backlash. The more conservative experts felt this was incredibly reckless. What if firing a weapon provoked the aliens into a full-scale assault?

“If this triggers a war, none of us can shoulder that responsibility!”

Austin lifted his chin and shot back, “If a simple armed deterrence triggers a war, it just proves they were hostile to begin with! We can’t keep hiding forever. If they want a fight, it’s going to happen sooner or later!”

“You all need to remember: they trespassed in our territory! We cannot afford to look weak! If we flinch now, our entire disguise falls apart!”

When it came to military strategy, Austin was one of the best.

Jason watched the debate quietly, acknowledging that both sides made valid points. His mind raced. The enemy was out in the open, while humanity was hiding in the shadows. They had already taken the initiative by issuing a warning. Should they fire a warning shot, flex their muscles, and seize total control of the narrative?

If only humanity were stronger, he sighed inwardly. Things wouldn’t be this complicated.

“…I agree with Minister Austin!”

The voice belonged to a young councilor named Evan, a rising star in the Federation. Despite his youth, Evan possessed exceptional emotional intelligence and handled administrative affairs with remarkable efficiency. Much like Dr. Arthur Lambert, Evan was someone Jason deeply respected.

“Our radio signal will take over eight days to reach them. Assuming they respond immediately, it will take another eight days for their reply to reach us. That’s a sixteen-day blind spot!” Evan argued.

“Are we supposed to just sit on our hands for two weeks? We need proactive countermeasures! Minister Austin is right, we need to fire a warning shot to solidify the deterrent!”

A middle-aged scientist immediately jumped to his feet, shouting, “This is sheer stupidity! Your idea of a countermeasure is to open fire?!”

The conference room erupted into chaos. Hawks and doves clashed fiercely, their faces flushed red with anger as they shouted over one another.

“…We need to show them our teeth! We have to prove our weapons aren’t just for show!” another radical senator yelled, seemingly forgetting that, for the most part, human weapons were just for show.

“We don’t need to hit them! We just need to scare them!”

“Exactly! Let them know we mean business. They’re the ones encroaching on us!”

Gradually, more and more people began to side with Austin and Evan. The sheer audacity of firing upon an advanced alien vessel filled the room with a manic, terrifying thrill.

It was a thrill born of desperation. The unknown is always terrifying, and every choice they made carried monumental risks. But for many, pulling the trigger felt safer than doing nothing at all.

Now that the radio broadcast had been sent, they were committed. There was only one path forward: absolute deterrence!

“We cannot allow them to test us. If they probe our defenses, they’ll see right through us. The only way to stop a test is with an overwhelming display of force!” Evan shouted over the din.

The hawks believed that if you were going to bluff, you had to go all in. The “lion” that humanity was pretending to be couldn’t just roar; it had to take a swing!

Yes… a stray cat pretending to be a lion, facing down an intruder in its territory, had to do more than just growl. It had to snap its jaws. It was the only way to make the illusion convincing!

The Noah was primarily populated by younger generations, who naturally leaned toward bold, adventurous action. As the hawkish sentiment dominated the room, it became clear: if they were going to fire, they had to do it right now.

The conservatives eventually fell silent, their brows heavily furrowed, unable to propose a safer alternative.

Even Jason had to admit the radicals had a point. In this cosmic standoff, humanity had to appear dominant, volatile, and overwhelmingly aggressive!

The debate quickly shifted to which weapon to use. They were strictly limited to the experimental tech they had on hand.

Using a laser wasn’t practical. The goal was deterrence, not destruction; they explicitly didn’t want to hit the alien ship. However, they needed to make sure the aliens actually saw the shot.

Because space is a vacuum devoid of dust and microparticles, light does not undergo diffuse reflection. Unless a laser actually strikes a physical target, its beam is completely invisible in the dark void. The cinematic scenes of glowing lasers zipping through space during dogfights were a myth.

Therefore, a laser warning shot would fly right past the enemy completely unnoticed.

After consulting the physics department, they found their answer: the Ion Cannon!

An ion cannon fired a concentrated stream of charged particles at near-light speed. This beam generated a massive electromagnetic field. Even if the beam missed, the alien vessel’s sensors would easily detect the violent electromagnetic disturbance passing by.

Furthermore, just because a ship could detect an ion beam didn’t mean it could intercept it. While slightly slower than a laser, an ion beam still traveled at relativistic speeds. Intercepting it would require god-like computing power and impossibly fast targeting systems.

Humanity didn’t want a war. This shot was purely psychological warfare. It was designed to send a clear message: We are highly territorial, deeply paranoid, and we have a very short temper.

Yes, that was the angle. Humanity was a heavily armed powder keg, ready to blow at the slightest provocation!

Jason gave a firm nod. The plan was incredibly risky, but it made perfect tactical sense. If they pulled this off, they would successfully paint themselves as an irrational, overpowered juggernaut.

Back on Earth, firing the first shot usually meant losing the moral high ground. But this wasn’t Earth. In the cold, suspicious void between civilizations, firing a warning shot wasn’t a crime, it was a statement of power.

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