The Burning of Desolation

We are scientists. Abducted, tortured and made to work, while our families are held hostage. We are forced to find new ways of destruction. Poisons, weapons, creatures. We gave them our minds and they made us the creators of death. This planet has been left scorched and barren from our work. The atmosphere and water are toxic. Killing machines and creatures inhabit every corner. We had no choice but to obey... The Stenza.

— The Ghost Monument

The reasoning behind the Stenza shifting so quickly from discovering other inhabited planets to enslaving and destroying one is primarily not discussed. However, on the whole, Stenza tend to conquer out of spite, for purposes of ultimately destroying. If the pattern holds in this case, then this points to a possibly ideological affront presented by the concept of sophont alien life. The mere thought is known to have sparked a civil war in the council hall at Strares, and the mass withdrawing of Religious Experts from the debate is telling enough on its own.
An outsider looking in might still wonder why, and come to the conclusion that the Stenza felt they weren't special enough in the eyes of their gods. This may be true for some. Another outsider might wonder if the Stenza wanted to terraform the planet for their own use as a possible extrasolar colony. This might also be true, but does not fit the above-mentioned pattern. One might reasonably argue that reasoning is irrelevant, and their actions led to the destruction of at least one civilization (up to several hundred or a thousand, if other planets can serve as good data points). This is a valid position, but may not satisfy anyone investigating the event.

Conflict Type

War