Ultimatum Poll: Demand

[Velox]

Vote here for your favorite Ultimatum story; entries have been randomized. Please MAKE SURE YOU READ ALL ENTRIES BEFORE VOTING.Voting begins now and will end on June 9th at 11:59 PM EST. Entries that do well will move on to the Ultimatum Final Poll, which will be posted at the conclusion of the 12th round preliminary poll.

• [*]Earth Space-Ship Ultimatum “Captain of ESS Ultimatum!” I opened the communication channel. “Yes?” “We have the collaborators and are approaching ESS Hermes, but they’re not making it if you don’t hold against the approaching hostiles!” The collaborators. They might be the way to end this war peacefully. This sect of the alien forces had managed to translate our language by gathering their species' best linguists. Unfortunately, that got them labeled traitors by their own government. They’d gotten away safely to a human colony world and we were now trying to evacuate them before their own forces exterminated them. This battle would decide if the war ended with a treaty… or with eventual genocide. I sighed. “Understood. We’ll hold.” The evac shuttles were not capable of faster-than-light travel. If we didn’t hold until they made it to the ESS Hermes, they were goners. Aside from the Hermes, which had to stay clear of fire so the allies could board, we were the only cruiser in-system. The Ultimatum was so named because it was supposed to deliver precisely that: an offer to flee in face of its might or die. I hoped it would live up to its name, but there were three alien cruisers approaching with a full complement of fighters. This would be a lopsided battle, even for the Ultimatum. Suddenly, plasma fire was searing our shields. “Prep stealth bombers!” I commanded. “Captain, there’s too many enemy fighters; they ain’t getting out of the hangar!” “Don’t question it; I’ve got a plan. Where are we taking the most damage?” “Sectors 2G and 4D.” “Drop shields in 2G.” “What! Are you mad?” “If you think that’s strange listen to this: bring the port side to face the first ship and make sure they have a clear shot at 2G.” “You’re mad.” “Just do it.” Meanwhile, I gave the stealth bombers orders to fly out of the hangar and ordered all Ultimatum’s escort fighters to loop around behind us and to redirect all power from their shields to sensor jamming instead. I got a lot of fighter pilots raging that they were going to get shot down with no shields up, until they saw the tactical uploads I sent to their dashboard displays. Tempted by the obvious weakpoint on our vessel at 2G, all the enemy dogfighters and bombers swooped in close. This cleared them away from the hangar and the stealth bombers flew out unharmed. Despite having their shields down, the friendly fighters were ignored by the enemy dogfighters because they were too busy unloading fire on 2G. The fighters then laid on suppressing fire that forced the enemies to swoop in even nearer to our hull. They were practically touching our exterior. With the sensor jamming our fighters were causing, the enemy fighters never realized that Sector 2G was now facing their own cruisers… or that said cruisers were unleashing heavy fire on that area, at least not until it was too late. They enemy fighter/bomber complement was largely swept up by their own cruisers’ fire as a result. I reactivated shields in 2G and they soaked up most of the remaining heavy fire before going down, for real this time. Now we were in a dangerous spot, but our bombers, which had remained unnoticed, were about to do their job. Two of the cruisers erupted into flame as our bombers launched shield-piercing torpedoes. The last tried to flee, but now it was outgunned. It didn’t make it. “Allies aboard the Hermes. I don’t know how you did it.” “Engage faster-than-light drives, my scanners show more cruisers inbound.” And then we were gone. ------[*]Whitney, You Don’t Know Whitney You don’t know How much you drive me crazy Not the lusty kind of crazy, I must say You change your mind so much That I can’t find anything to compare You say confusing things And they make no sense to me And get mad that I don’t understand My dear, I am only a man Whitney, You don’t know How much you’ve cost me And I don’t mean the dates and dinners Those costs I could not care less about But you have cost me myself I have surrendered every spare thought That ever strays into my head To you And you just being in my head Robs me of any focus And replaces it with you The funny thing is That I know without a doubt That you are worth it Whitney You don’t know The times, the countless, countless times In a day when I think of you I wait at a stoplight on the way to work And I see your deep red hair I sit at my desk in a glass windowed office And your laughter echoes in my mind In the small shop running errands I hold open a door Not to let a cart by But for you You show up when you please Both in my head and not And each time you do I am left that much happier Whitney You don’t know What you’ve made me regret About my childhood and my past How I wish I could have been the boy next door for you And we could have grown up side by side together You don’t know how much I wish we’d gone through school Sharing classes and sharing smiles Whitney, You don’t know How I long to have your life’s story Tucked into my firsthand memory So I can understand you And love you all the more But Whitney, you don’t know How much I’m glad that isn’t so Because if I already knew about you All that there is to know I wouldn’t appreciate you for who you are In the same way that I do today And I wouldn’t get to listen To your captivating voice Telling me the stories of your youth And drowning me with you Just a little bit further My Whitney Who has turned me mad And made me sane Who has cost me everything And who is worth even more Who has called me to doubt myself But who is my solid and worthy rock Whitney Hear my ultimatum Marry me ------[*]Heart Hezul stared at the wall opposite him lost in his own thoughts. He was a young man, barely into adulthood, and already he was in love. It was true love, too; the love of the heart, the mind, and the soul. He loved dear Fala, loved her with his entire being. But, that was not enough. He learned of her illness as she did, but he did not know how far it had progressed until she was admitted into hospital in a critical condition. He had watched as she lay in the white, sterile room, with doctors hovering over her night and day. Finally, the doctors left, one by one. The last, a tall, icy man, had told Hezul that she would need a heart donor if she were to live. He had been shattered, and he began raising money and awareness in the hopes that a donor could be found. Sadly, it seemed that Fala had a rare blood type, and a donor would not be easy to find. That is, until Hezul took the test. He was the next best thing to a genetic relative. His blood type matched hers, and his heart would be compatible. But he would be dead, and he would never see her again. Now, he stared at the wall in the waiting room of the hospital, mulling the situation over and over in his head. If he agreed, his precious Fala would be alive, free to live out the rest of her days as she pleased, but he would not be there to celebrate with her. If he disagreed, she would be dead, and he would be weighed down with guilt for the rest of his life. Would it be so bad, though? Some dark, ugly part of his mind whispered to him in charming, lilting tones. You would get over it. No one would blame you for leaving now. That… was technically correct. Hezul glanced at the door. All he had to do was get up and leave, and he would have his bright, sunny future ahead of him. Without Fala. He dropped back into his seat as quickly as he had half-risen. Without Fala, what was there to life? Was there any purpose to living if he could not see her joyous smile again? What would he do without her? He glanced up as a doctor strode meaningfully towards him. He decided there and then. He would not give her his heart. It was hers to begin with. He smiled at the doctor and said, “Save her. My heart is hers. It always will be.” ------[*]First Day “Today is the first day of your lives. If you do not pay attention, it will be your last. Today, you will complete a series of simple tasks. Those that fail more than a single task will be disposed of. We don’t need incompetence.” The chief of staff recited this speech without any emotion, for they didn’t need it. It was the same every week. A set of engineered soldiers would be created, and they would complete five tasks during the course of the day. Some would fail, and they would be discarded. Many would be successful, and they would spend the remainder of the week undertaking further training. Eventually, they would be shipped out to serve the military forces. Some of the men in front of him wouldn’t live to see their second day. The rest would be sent to war. He felt nothing. One of the soldiers, however, did. His name was 60. He felt that he should have an actual name, since he was a person, not a number. He was also fearful of what the chief had said. We will die if we fail two tasks? He had just been born. He didn’t want to die. None of his fellow soldiers’ faces showed any emotion. He wondered if his fear was normal. The chief finished speaking. They were marched off to begin their tasks. Their first task was a test of endurance. They had to run for the entirety of the appointed hour through a twisting, uneven track with natural obstacles placed at random intervals. 60 found this easy. He finished along with the majority of his brothers, though he saw some, who hadn’t coped with the obstacles, being pulled away by staff. The second task tested their strength. They had to pull or push weighted objects across a track. 60 found this slightly difficult, but he still completed his duty in time. Others were not so fortunate. Some were pulled away by staff. Others, who had also failed the first task, were escorted by the chief to another room. They would not leave it ever again. The third task saw the remaining soldiers being split across two teams. Their task was to shoot down the other team. 60, barely noticing the weight of the mock rifle in his hands, was skilled in stealth. But he did not do any shooting. Towards the end, however, he found one of the opponents in his crosshairs. He couldn’t press the trigger. This time, he was one of the ones pulled away by the staff. They delivered a simple ultimatum: Never hesitate, be ruthless, and be wary of failure. He could not fail again. He hardly noticed his fourth task, his fear too potent. It was a test of accuracy, and he was relieved to succeed, but all too scared of his fifth and final task. The last task tested his ability to obey orders. The remaining soldiers were placed in a virtual scenario, where they would be raiding and plundering an enemy village, fighting its forces. He could not take the horror he witnessed. “Number sixty, enter the orphanage to your right. Shoot down the staff, take the children hostage. Signal your squad to take refuge there. Number sixty, do you hear me?” He did, but could not believe his ears. Why would anyone do this? He didn’t understand. He dropped his rifle. The ultimatum hadn’t served any purpose. He had been flawed from the beginning. He could never condone this. Later, 60 joined a few others in the small room. Nobody wept for him. ------

[Excelsior]

I voted for 4.-Excelsior

[fishers64]

I'm going with 4 as well, the one with the most clear vision of an ultimatum. Have to commend the author of 1 for original thinking, however.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

Voted for number three, which was not only one of the most well-written entries, but also one which approached the theme with a bit more subtlety.~B~

[Nuile the Paracosmic Tulpa]

I give my kudos to the writer of #1 and also #2, but my choice was an easy one. #3 was absolutely beautiful.

From the desk of Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

[Velox]

Dang. #2 was so fantastic and awesomely unique and very well-written that I really, really wanted to vote for it. Not to mention just the idea of it was extremely sweet and well thought-out; I really, really liked it. But in the end I had to go with #3. Extremely sad and beautifully written. Kudos to both of those writers, though -- they were both amazing stories, and this was seriously the hardest decision I've had to make in a poll. Polling period over; poll closed.