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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/PolishChurchNo4 on 2024-04-10 06:21:12.

As of the Standard Year 2759, the Terran government has requested the creation of a defensive pact between themselves and our Federation. Due to the nature of this request, I am tasked to evaluate their military capabilities for a more cohesive joint-command. (Note: I learned this term from a human diplomat. He told me about a similar pact created in their 20th century, which used this term often.)

First, I must describe a bit of their history. Despite their rather weak build compared to other member races of the Federation, the humans have a violent past. They have had wars with death tolls in the millions, even before the development of nuclear fission.

Here, I draw attention to the enigma of humanity. Despite their incredible ability to wage war; of which we will immerse ourselves at a later date, the humans have a rich culture. They have a wide variety of music, art, food, and many other forms of entertainment. If I found myself in a different field of study, perhaps I would explore this culture.

At this point, I must bring up recent history. In Standard Year 2687, the Jix’nal Empire ( approximate standard spelling ) invaded Terran space. Upon this, the humans demonstrated another unusual ability of their society. Their ability to enter a state of self-proclaimed “Total War”. In these times, most human tensions and frictions between their sub-jurisdictions dissolve almost instantaneously. Their military opens temporary recruitment and training facilities, humans put themselves to work manufacturing weapons, gathering materials, and transporting said weapons and materials. If their Marine Corps or Army lack troops, young men and women will step up. If their Navy needs ships, many humans are ready to offer up cargo shooners, large yachts, or anything large enough to mount a railgun.

One particular facet of this violent past combines with their ability for “Total War.” Due to the mass production of military assets in the past, they have large stockpiles of weapons and ammunition ready to dust off and send to the front. I recently met a yacht captain who told me about an unusual program their navy has. On certain occasions, they mount outdated high-caliber artillery weapons, some of which are nearly 600 years old. I met a marine who told me about the rifle she carried, which was of the “M4” pattern. This unit was nearly 200 years old. A combat engineer I spoke to was using an armored vehicle known as the “M60A3E9U17Q2”(another unusual feature of human technology, they really like their “alphanumerical” designations). He stated that although this unit wasn’t meant for frontline combat, he secretly hoped that some enemy would “FAFO” ( an ancient phrase from their early internet ) so that he may just get to “try it out”. I should note this vehicle is once again nearly 600 years old. (Perhaps a large conflict occured in that timeframe?)

In a brief conclusion, I find that although even their most modern equipment is primitive; still being mostly ballistic in nature, their ingenuity and ability to cooperate may allow them to be a valuable ally in future conflict, as well as possibly providing assistance in Research and Development.

♧My first post here, feel free to rip into it with criticism