"Careful." Someone mumbled as a couple of researchers oversaw the transportation of a crate. The contents of the crate was classified as a highly important material, and this group of researchers were tasked with confirming the recent readings that Grokus' crew had picked up when they scanned the material.
The guards that were transporting the crate quickly moved the crate to the lab before leaving the researchers to their jobs.
"Did you hear what that commander Grokus claimed? Do you really think this is it?" One of the researchers in this team of twelve asked his colleagues as he moved to his post, smoothly operating a terminal to seal off the material as part of standard procedure.
"That's what we are here for right?" Another person replied the first one as they all began to work in tandem, like a seamless machine. Silence enveloped the group as they immersed themselves in their work. Time passed as the heavy block of black metal was analyzed deeply. As the minutes ticked by, the emotions that the researchers displayed on their faces became weirder and weirder. The head researcher's eyes had long turned into large saucers that displayed his shock.
"This is... Bx-12! How is this possible?! What did that commander say? That this was used as starship hull plating?! How dumb are those ignorant humans?!" The researcher's anger and irritation shot through the roof as he kept on going over the readings that the scanners were displaying.
"W-what should we do?" Someone asked.
Spinning around, the head researcher glared at the Xenon that spoke, spitting out harsh words. "Are you dumb? Did you turn into a human overnight?! Go report this to the board!" He yelled, saliva flying free from his mouth like bullets.
The other researchers were immediately frightened. They knew what kind of person their head was, and he was usually quite laid back. For him to lash out like this only showed how seriously he took this matter. Well, they would consider him a fool to not take the matter seriously in the first place.
Quickly, the team reported this finding to the board that headed the civilization's research department. Their findings sent waves of shock running through everyone that read the report, and those on the board passed the information further up, handing it to the civilization's council.
The Xenon civilization was not ruled by a sole person. That would be impossible in a civilization like this. Although they had a central leader, he was mainly just there to give the average citizens a person to look up to. In truth, he held just about forty percent of the decision making power, and any agenda he wanted to push had to be agreed upon in tandem with the council before being passed. He could pass orders, but when it came to deciding the direction of their civilization, the council had to be involved.
When the report came, the council and leader of the Xenon immediately convened for an urgent meeting.
"...Is it true?" Domamu, the Xenon leader asked slowly when he projection appeared in the meeting area. He was a large individual, standing at three meters in height, and he had a domineering but steady air around him. Even his voice was enough to let one know that his words had weight to them.
No one replied him, instead a large holographic screen appeared in the center of the round table that the thirteen figures were seated around. Upon seeing the report, Domamu closed his eyes and a solemn expression crossed his face. A few moments passed before he opened his eyes again, a resoluteness to his gaze. He looked around, examining everyone's expressions, before speaking.
"Exercising my powers as civilization leader, I propose that we change the direction of this war. From simply conquering another race for slavery, I propose we wipe them out." He said, his tone deep and decisive.
Silence reigned for the next few seconds before...
"Seconded!"
"I agree!"
"On with it!"
One by one, the council members sided with Domamu's decision. Most Xenon were inclined towards war in the first place, so the wiping out of a lesser civilization did not shake them. While there were some civilians that might claim it was morally wrong, who cared?! In the face of the advancement of the Xenon civilization's technological capabilities, the extinction of a lesser developed civilization did not register on the radar of the council members. This was how important Bx-12 was to them!
One might be wondering what this mineral that caused such prestigious people to go bonkers was. It was not as simple as the humans thought. This material, which they referred to as Rilon, was actually a strategic resource that was crucial to interstellar travel.
The technology that they currently used to travel both in-system, and between systems was very basic and rudimentary compared to what it was supposed to be if that technology was more matured. At least, that was what it looked like theoretically.
Through trial and fail, the Xenon had made some gains in this field, but even then, the application of this high technology was very limited, as Bx-12 could only be sparsely found in their star system. On a normal basis, it would take roughly two months to travel to the next star system, but when a jump drive that integrated this high technology was used, this trip could be shortened to just a week!
A few plans were quickly hashed out, with Domamu taking the lead in the talks. No one argued with him, as his words were all in line with their intentions. No one intended to spare this race of lessers.
After an entire day of discussions, the talks finally came to an end, and the projections of the various council members blinked off one by one, with Domamu being the last to leave.
With this meeting, the fate of the humans had been sealed. The flames of war would be stoked, burning up the tinder of life that nurtured the human race. None shall be spared.