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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/repulsive-ardor on 2025-12-18 07:32:14+00:00.

When humanity first encountered the Galactic Commonwealth, they barely created a stir. Primitive by comparison to the other members of the Commonwealth, they were viewed with pity as they pathetically struggled to expand and create colonies in their immediate vicinity. 

Most of the far more advanced members quickly forgot about the embryonic Human Republic, while some studied them from afar in detached, clinical fashion, hoping to draw parallels and observations of their own development into a space-faring civilization long ago. 

My species, the Eleani, took a greater interest in the fledgling interstellar polity and watched with an anxious paternalism as they took their first steps into the void. We felt an immediate kinship to humans, as they were the most like us in appearance and anatomy out of all the other members within the Galactic Commonwealth. 

Besides the humans unfortunately losing their tails at some point in their distant past, and the largely arboreal lifestyle we still maintained, there were minimal physical and cultural differences between our species, which led us to viewing them as our younger cousin-kin. 

We could not help but have a vested interest in their development as we kept tabs on them from afar, especially after hearing rumors about the terrible war that almost led to the extinction of their species just a few decacycles ago.  

We watched as they bravely flung themselves out into the unknown to explore the great wonders at their fingertips, undeterred by the loss of ships and lives that are inherent in traversing the dangerous void.  

They seemed to have an endless curiosity about anything and everything, with human scientists cataloging everything they could find. They searched for lowly microbes on the surface of desolate worlds and entered dangerous stellar nurseries to find exotic particles. 

Human explorers would pick out a random star and head towards it, heedless of the unknown dangers awaiting them as they went beyond the boundaries of known space. 

Republic traders plied their wares along established trade routes and built trading outposts in less traveled regions, revitalizing long economically depressed worlds and earning themselves the reputation of being savvy but honest merchants. 

We became enamored with them, and after a few years of watching the humans and their interactions with other species, we opened official diplomatic channels and engaged in first contact protocols.  

According to sirefather, our governement was initially nervous about doing this due to the rampant speculation surrounding the humans. None of the other species had ever seen a Republic warship, and yet there were persistent rumors of the Republic being a highly militarized society with a confusing blend of representative and stratocratic government.  

My sirefather was the first ambassador appointed to the Republic of Humanity and helped to form a deep and meaningful relationship with our younger cousin-kin, quickly finding himself seduced by their infectious optimism and lack of duplicity. 

He soon became their most ardent supporter in the Eleani government, and their greatest defender within the Commonwealth at large, and he would tell me many stories of these strange humans whenever he came back from his long absences while serving on Earth.  

The one that stuck with me the most was when my sirefather was describing how a Xenxin liner filled with younglings on a school trip for a science class got trapped by an uncharted subspace rift that suddenly appeared along their course. 

I could sense the awe and sadness in his voice as he described how dozens of human ships answered the distress call. Scout ships, cargo ships, pleasure craft, science vessels, and even pirate ships responded. 

He recalled seeing the sensor recordings as the human ships courageously tried to rescue the Xenxin younglings, with many being outright destroyed or critically damaged in their attempts. It did not matter to them how many ships got destroyed or damaged; they just kept trying despite the dangers. 

As the losses mounted, A squadron of Commonwealth warships finally arrived, arrogantly ordering the human ships to abandon their efforts as it was too dangerous to continue. The humans ignored the commands of the warships, telling them to go procreate with themselves in an unfriendly manner. 

“There are kids on that ship. If you are not going to help us, then shut the hell up and stay out of the way!” was one of the less antagonistic messages the lead Commonwealth warship received. The rest were not so diplomatic, and the human pirate ships even locked weapons on the warships, threatening to open fire if they interfered. 

After a few solar hours, they finally managed to rescue the twenty-five Xenxin younglings at the cost of six destroyed ships, a dozen others seriously damaged, and almost a hundred human lives lost. 

“You could not help but be in awe of their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the younglings of another alien species. They were undaunted by the dangers, and as soon as one ship was destroyed or critically damaged, another would take its place. It was an inspiring sight to behold.” Sirefather whispered reverently said after he finished telling me the story. 

It was this incident, among other examples of humans coming to the aid of alien worlds and ships in times of calamity and distress, that finally convinced our government to covertly assist the humans in their ongoing development. 

It is illegal in the Commonwealth Charter to give less advanced species technology that they had not yet developed themselves, but our government skirted these restrictions by several means, such as Eleani ships being destroyed by random anomalies near Republic space, where they would then be surreptitiously recovered by Republic agents. 

The Xenxin went even further, and in gratitude for the sacrifices the humans made in saving their younglings, they sent an unmarked, stealthed courier ship into Republic space.  

Outfitted with their most advanced technology and a data repository of all their knowledge, the Xenxin also provided coordinates for worlds they had cataloged that were potentially suitable for human colonization. 

In the following forty cycles, the Republic advanced rapidly with the technology and knowledge secretly gifted to them and made a three-hundred-year leap, much to the dismay of the Commonwealth.  

Hearings and investigations were convened at the highest levels of the Commonwealth government but lacking proof that any of the members purposefully uplifted the humans, the matter was quietly closed after a few cycles. 

By this time, the Republic of Humanity had expanded greatly in size and, with the infusion of technology, was now considered a middle power. Their ships were everywhere engaged in trade, scientific endeavors, and exploration, always heading ever deeper into unknown space. 

Our two species became great kin-friends, and together with the Xenxin, we petitioned the Commonwealth to grant membership to the Republic of Humanity. Our efforts were in vain despite intense lobbying by our governments, and the proposal was narrowly defeated by a slim majority of the members. 

Sirefather was livid, but the human officials seemed to take no offense at the rejection. The human ambassador laughed when he saw my sirefather’s anger, remarking “As long as they keep buying our goods, we couldn’t care less what they think of us. It is only the Eleani and the Xenxin who have proven to be our true friends, and only your opinion matters to us.” 

Such was the situation in 2172 A.D. when the Insectoid Empire launched another swarm again and encroached on Commonwealth space in the third month of my 11th cycle.  

The Insectoids were a hive mind composed of trillions of 1.5-meter-tall wasp analogues with vestigial wings, except for the queens, who were rumored to still be able to fly despite never recorded doing so by the few spy drones that managed to make it back from their massive territory.  

They would periodically expand and engage in short, sharp conflicts with the Commonwealth and other smaller regional powers, sending out large swarms and seizing the territory they desired before suddenly ceasing hostilities. 

Since most members of the Commonwealth considered the planets the insectoids seem to prefer as unsuitable for terraforming, we would simply withdraw and allow them to have those worlds, hoping to avoid a large-scale conflict.  

It was impossible to engage in diplomacy or negotiations with the Insectoids as their worldview was so radically different, and we could not bridge the gap between our individual nature and their hive mind. 

The only communication the Insectoids ever had with the Commonwealth was just two words:  

Give. 

Leave. 

Failure to do either resulted in combat, and their ships were exceedingly powerful, especially their Hive ships, which made our largest battleships seem like youngling toys in comparison. 

The Commonwealth, expecting this wave to stop like all the previous ones had once the Insectoids took the territory they desired, was wholly unprepared when the Insectoids penetrated the border regions and thrust right into the heart of Commonwealth space. 

The Commonwealth fleet found itself out of position, and six thousand Insectoid cruisers swarmed out and wreaked havoc, destroying every ship they came across, while s...

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