The Road Not Taken
When all was said and done, the massive strategic victory at Modica represented a real turning point in human battlefield fortunes against the Hin'in. The psychic aliens were not omnipotent, after all. They could be beaten. This point was driven home thoroughly by both Marianite and Commonwealth propaganda services, in the aftermath of the battle. And, in all fairness, it did boost public morale. Though the Marianites did not really have morale issues on the homefront, at that point, the Commonwealth certainly did. Victory was a fantastic countermeasure to the deleterious effects of rising discontent. The combined human forces suddenly found themselves revitalized - their faith in an eventual victory restored.
Yet, in the political backroom, trouble brewed. The Commonwealth elite hated the fact that it was Respublican forces that scattered the Hin'in. They certainly hated the fact that the contemptible zealots of Santi Maria got all the credit for the victory, while Commo men did all the dying. Most of all, however, they feared the shift in the strategic balance engendered by the operations in Modica and Sonata. Which is exactly why they then refused to pledge Commo forces to the Respublican-planned offensive that was supposed to bring the conflict to a decisive conclusion. When the Marianite admiralty and general staff put 'Vae Victis' on the table, the Commo liaison officers scoffed. 'Too ambitious', they said. Too risky. Plausible excuses were bandied about, but all knew that they were simply that: excuses. The Respublicans grew exasperated.
Reluctantly, they decided to conduct the operation on their own. It took some three weeks to make ready the fleet. The two hundred vessel armada in the active theater of operations was reinforced by an additional detachment of one hundred warships from nearby task-forces. Truly, all would be required, if there was to be any prospective of success. Little intelligence was available as to Hin'in strength at the jump-off point, but conservative estimates put it at near-parity with the Respublicans. This was seen as bad news for the latter - the human track record against the Hin'in with force parity was not good. Considering the overall strategic situation, however, it was still seen as a worthwhile gamble. If the Hin'in springboard could be sufficiently denuded, they were that much less likely to consider a longer, drawn out war to be cost-effective.
It was all very rationally calculated and reasonably thought out. Vae Victis was seen by most to be a necessity and a strategic imperative. And then something very peculiar took place. A Raumeni vessel entered human-held space under a flag of truce, requesting an audience with Respublican and Commo authorities. Though this took a number of days to organize, when the meeting finally happened the humans found the bugs to be the bearers of some very interesting news... and an intriguing offer. They spoke at length of longstanding Raumeni efforts to achieve independence from the Hin'in who now ruled their former domain, and of clandestine resistance. They also spoke of ranging far and wide in search of those who could help them achieve this goal, noting that they had left the humans out of the endeavour due to both practical concerns (human infighting and instability) and bad blood between the Clans and humanity over the latter's 'betrayal' last century.
They had apparently found the allies they needed, on the other side of the Hin'in Empire. A race known as the 'Bron'; mighty in their own right and fearsome enemies of the Hin'in. But both the Raumeni and the Bron needed the Hin'in to be distracted elsewhere, if they were to confront them successfully. For some fifty years now, according to the bug envoy, the Raumeni had thus been secretly building up their strength in preparation for a Great Muster to retake their homes - a noble crusade in the mould of the ancient epics. The Clans were more or less united in this. They had warred amongst themselves viciously before, but the Hin'in were an enemy that demanded unity. So the Raumeni had put aside their differences, for the moment, and patiently conspired against their overlords...
The envoy's proposal to the Codexians was simple:
'The Clans are ready to fight. The Bron are ready to fight. Will humanity join us in the struggle? At this moment, you are a minor distraction to the Hin'in. They have sent their least Alphas against you, so that you may blood them. We know you plan to strike their foothold in human space - the world you call 'Neu-mann'. Our information is well sourced. But this campaign means very little to our foe, you must understand. If you defeat them, they may even entirely withdraw from human space, for the time being. We hope you see that such a solution would work only in the short-term. We will launch our uprising soon and we want you to help us! If you advance into occupied Raumen space after Neumann, the Hin'in will bring their occupation forces to bear against you. Yet you will not have to face them alone for long, as we will strike as soon as they are out of their strategic positions... We can drive them out completely!'
Respublican and Commo representative alike scrambled to put the proposal before their respective governments.
A weighty decision beckons...
Do you... agree to the proposal? The xeno is correct. This foe is beyond us. We must bring them low by working in unison. A momentary victory and a fleeting white peace cannot substitute decisive triumph! This is an opportunity like no other! Certainly, there is risk. But there is risk at every turn! We may come out of this conflict with new allies, more influence and great spoils of war. One of our greatest enemies would be struck down, perhaps permanently. How can we say no?!
(Launch Vae Victis; follow up with immediate drive into Raumeni space)
OR
Do you... decline the proposal? The heathen bugs insult us with this! Firstly, they may very well be lying to our faces. We do not know. We do not know if their supposed fleets and distant allies even exist! And we are to risk all on the word of this scum?! We fight our war, our way! If they wish to wage their own war against the Hin'in, let them do so without another torrent of human blood spilled across the Raumen expanse. Our people would never forgive us, if we did this...
(Launch Vae Victis; stop at Neumann)