Microstory 625: Eradication of the Narvalian Gardbirds

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Narvalian Gardbirds did not evolve anywhere naturally. They were genetically engineered in a laboratory by a strange geneticist with a flair for the dramatic. When the first wave of exodus ships arrived in the galaxy, factions began claiming territory. They believed that, since there were plenty of habitable planets, there was no real problem in that. But these claims did not come without their disputes. Military conflict spread across the stars. People sometimes didn’t even know who or what they were fighting for, the theatre became so confused and complicated. This was not what the Sacred Savior had in mind. He was not concerned about all the killing and death, but these conflicts were making it difficult for anyone to establish their lives anywhere. If allowed to continue, we would destroy ourselves before we even got started, and the dirty communists we escaped from would win. So he convened a summit on what’s largely considered to be the most beautiful planet in the universe. The Narvali Summit was not designed to discuss peace, but resolution. It was time to decide who was owed what, and how much they were willing to pay for it. These were not decisions that could be made by the pawns with sticks and stones. They required the intellect and strategic insight of the elite. After weeks of negotiations and dealings, boundaries were drawn. All those deserving possessed their own territory. But there was one important property that was yet to be decided upon. Narvali itself could be a source of great advantage over rival factions. Of course, we believe that Sotiren Zahir, and his Lightseeing followers had the right to it, but our wise Savior knew that demanding the system would cause an unnecessary protraction of war.

Days later, all faction leaders realized that they were at a standstill. No way was anyone giving up their commitment to seizing this territory. In the end, the only conclusion was for no one to have it. All travel to the Narvali system was completely banned, and for decades, this remained the status quo. But following Sotiren’s death, new plans began brewing. New faction leaders, some of new factions, circled back around to the concept of taking ownership of Narvali. At this point in history, our peoples were well established in the galaxy, with the majority of us identifying themselves as Fosteans. The war for Narvali would no longer put our independence from the communists in danger. Fearing this war, and worried about his loved ones, the aforementioned geneticist released a small flock of avian beasts that he had created into the Narvalian wild. They were nearly indestructible, and were capable of replicating their species faster than they could be killed with our weapons. They were also engineered to destroy the environment each time they were under threat, in a sort of instinctual scorched land policy. The campaign to take control of Narvali would be pointless if, by the time they overcame the Gardbird obstacle, there was nothing but barren lands anyway. And so Narvali was once again left alone...until now. Under orders of newly appointed Loctener, Luvras Seldasic, scientists began to rework the problem of eradicating the Gardbirds. They came up with a virus that spread so quickly, the birds barely had any time to react before swiftly spiraling into extinction. Now Narvali was not only free from this terrible blight, but also controlled by Lightseers, and their Sacred Light.