Author: Matz Bolender, Zweihorn Statesman

Date: 399 AP

Impulsive, warmongering, cannibal, rapists.

The fish creatures which pollute the oceans and waterways of our worlds must be exterminated, contained, or otherwise managed.

The endless hunger of their clans creates the worst scarcities from over-hunting their natural prey. Not only does this lead to mass starvation among their own populace, but it disrupts zatadun and causes shortages in our supply.

The frenzy of mating season forces all zatadun ships to dock for weeks, putting a full stop to overseas trade and space travel. Any vessel out during such a season will see their metal hulls ripped through, sunk, and the survivors dragged down to the ocean floor and violated until their drowned corpses stop radiating heat.

The cannibalistic orgies that their kind is known for -what they call warfare- see tens of millions dead every few years. The only reason their pitiful species is still trudging along in a gross mockery of civilization is because each female produces up to a thousand eggs at a time. But for us good, land-dwelling folk, the oceans turn a cloudy red and the chunks of unconsumed flesh are left to wash up on our shores and pollute the coastline.

Which is to say nothing of their ‘evolved’ variants.

A newborn fishman must somehow survive over a century in this nightmarish state of being before their brains develop enough to realize they should get out while they can. The vast majority, upwards of 99%, can’t do it, but so many of these creatures are hatched every month that the demonic variants nevertheless manage to keep their numbers stable.

They might become a bogman who will set up in the swamps and launch raids on outlying zatadun settlements for food and slaves. Often the slaves will turn into food after a short period.

Or they could become a siren, twisting their features into a pale imitation of the zatadun form and using their hypnotic voices to cause sailors to travel off course into their feeding grounds.

Granted, some might ascend to High Fitche culture and partake in genuine civilization, residing in marbled, pearl-adorned palaces. The fitche are beyond reproach, and were the original allies of the zatadun when we landed on the fishmen homeworld.

But the off chance of a fishman joining the ranks of the High Fitche is hardly worth the risk of yet another saltdog marauder being spawned. Devilishly intelligent pack hunters. Smart enough to plan sophisticated raids on military ports, yet too cowardly to try the same the settlements of the Slavani invaders. They steal warships, crew them until the vessel is on the verge of sinking, then abandon ship and take off into the deep ocean to do it all again.

It’s clear that exterminating the fishmen is the right choice, but is it realistic to do so?

Sadly not.

The High Fitche do their best to contain the worst abuses of their cousins, but it’s simply too much for them to handle, and technology hasn’t advanced to the point where land-dwellers can do much of anything to assist.

Our ancestors saw the benefits of fishman partnerships but had no way of knowing that the High Fitche weren’t representative of their people. They transported thousands of High Fitche to all six worlds in the zatadun empire, and their offspring quickly flooded into the oceans and began propagating their foul taint.

There is nothing to be done for us at this point.

Except what the Protectorate can do is ensure the fishmen do not spread to other worlds.

Like the recent cirathan migration deals to accept Slavani labor in their territory, I fear worlds might soon attempt the same with the fishmen.

This cannot be allowed.

We zatadun are a strong, hardy people. We pay for the mistakes of our forebearers, and we have a duty to prevent the other races of the Protectorate from falling victim to the same ignorance and shortsightedness.

The fishmen cannot be allowed to propagate on civilized worlds.

That being said, dropping a few thousand eggs on the Slavani Crownworlds might not be the worst idea.