STGOD2 Main Story thread

[phongn]

The Aquarian [credit] continues to devalue in the wake of recent news of universal conscription. Analysts across the universe were stunned to hear this announcement as it came to be a complete surprise.

Eiwelt McGreagor, professor of economics at Cambridge on Old Earth is with us this afternoon. Thank you for your time, Professor.

"Thanks for having me. The recent universal conscription law passed by the Aquarian Union came as a shock to all of us here. While their intent is understandable, this will ruin their already devestated economy. They simply do not have the ability to arm such a massive population even as unorganized militia -- and their intent to arm all as light infantry will be their downfall. The economic shockwaves and political fallout may be very dangerous indeed."

Somewhere within the Aquarian Union
The raid executed now, deep inside the underwater cities of the Union. Panicked civilians fled in terror, numerous innocents cut down by uncaring terrorists. The police responded quickly, but they were unable to resist in the face of superior firepower. The few who could not get out of the area watched in disgust and dismay as the few police withdrew from their own station -- and the attached judiciary building.

The building was stormed by force, bodies of foe and friend strewn around and blood in the water. The remaining strike force fanned out in the building, cutting down some cowering inside and freeing numerous criminals awaiting transport elsewhere. Then the building was filled with high-powered timed charges and the terrorists retreated.

Similar strikes were executed elsewhere against government buildings and other authorities. The first phase was working: make the populace begin to distrust the government. Then they would supplant the government.

[Raxmei]

His Eminence the Seerlord has seen fit to grace you, the galactic public, with the following message:

"This galaxy is a dangerous place, with tensions flaring and factions polarizing. Many of you wonder, where do the loyalties of the Nyfitsar lie? Which monolithic alliance do we align ourselves with? This may come as a shock to some, but the Nyfitsar suborn themselves to no one. We are independent, free and proud. So don't ask us which faction we belong to, for we belong to no one. Let this be a glorious proclamation of Nyfitsar neutrality!"
"But, the galaxy is a dangerous place. Aggressive expansionists and power-hungry consortiums seek to consume us all. Neutrality alone will not stop those who are determined to conquer. To them, a neutral nation is a tempting target, one that can be singled out for destruction before moving on to the next. They will not be satisfied with just one country. They will conquer and conquer until they are stopped. A threat to any one neutral nation is a threat to all. Therefore, it is necessary precisely because we are neutral that all neutral nations band together under a common cause. The Nyfitsar Hegemony now guarantees the neutrality of the Aquarian Union, and they ours. This announcement brings in a new era, one in which all the galaxy will learn to respect the awesome might of Neutrality."

[SirNitram]

"The Aquarian economy spirals into oblivion, they foolishly cut all defensive ties in a declaration of neutrality, and they enact some ridiculous law to make everyone fight, starting protests in a dozen systems!" Andrews laughed aloud on his flagship. "It's almost too perfect."

The oversized Alliance convoy of warships and superfreighters was hidden now, using local nebulae and the great speed of the Fleet Tenders to penetrate deeply into the Union. The main shipyards of their foe awaited. The Union was about to receive a very painful reminder that they were not on top of the dogpile.

With one of their shipyards in sight, the fleet broke apart, the three Psychopaths accelerating ahead with their escorts as the remainder of the fleet remained untouchable in hyperspace. Andrews knew it was a gamble, as he aimed a full half of the Black Alliance's military directly at the throat of the Aquarians and hurled them forth. But consequences would be later.

The three battleships, unrivaled in mass and nearly unrivaled in firepower, were wrenched into realspace by the Aquarian FTL Inhibitors. The fleet of three battleships, flanked by a dozen cruisers and even more frigates, skidded into the system with poor Grid friction, rapidly closing with the defenders.

"Lord Andrews. We are reading one Eviscerator battleship, one Emancipator cruiser, and two dozen older Aquarian heavy capitals.. Looks like their carrier and cruiser models since before the invasion. No match for our forces." Not that he was surprised. The Aquarians had been set back massively by the war with the Azgardt, and were still rebuilding. He'd be surprised if they had a second of those Eviscerators.

In system, the battle had begun. The three battleships formed a wedge, simply advancing ahead through the defensive formations. With a three to one advantage, coupled with their massive size and firepower, they were wearing through the lone defending battleship's shields with incredible speed. The Cruisers faced a harder battle, as they were nearly evenly matched with the smaller Tuethis and Emancipator craft. Fighters swarmed over the Alliance vessels as they pushed ever inward, the defending forces unable to stop the advance of those huge battleships.

"I wonder why they haven't launched fighters yet. Surely they can't ignore the threat posed by our bombers.." Muttered one Aquarian officer to another as the enemy fleet advanced on them without any Privateer fighters launched.

Andrews, far from the battle, watched on. "They are at one light-second from the enemy battlestation. You are certain it is the source of the inhibitor field?" His sensor operator asked.

"Yes. Give the order to displace our fighters and blast that station. It should open the path for our new toy."

With uncountable tiny wormholes opening in space, four wings of Privateer fighter-bombers emerged into space around the enemy battlestation, releasing their fusion bombs to weaken it before surging to attack the enemy fighters.

[Thirdfain]

FROM: Deep Patrol Manipule Gamma (CNV Arquebus near Aquarian Border)
TO: Commonwealth Navy Command (Desjardins)
SUBJ: Distress Calls

-::-

Command, we are picking up distress calls from the Aquarian shipyards in the Cigni Alpha 2 system, they are under attack by foreign agressors. We are within half an hour's hyperjump from the region. Orders?

-: ENDTRANSMISSION :-

FROM: Commonwealth Navy Command (Desjardins)
TO: Deep Patrol Manipule Gamma
SUBJ: RE: Distress Calls

-::-

Continue your patrol route, Arquebus. Continue spacelane guard duties.

-: ENDTRANSMISSION :-

[Raxmei]

"Father, distress call from, this can't be right. It's right in the middle of their defenses, a massed Black Alliance attack."

The commander of Nyfitsar forces in the area broke his meditation. The Black Alliance, pirates, attacking. And here he was in a task force charged with hunting pirates. Such astounding happenstance. He glanced at the situation report, strategies already dancing through his head, until he saw exactly how much was attacking, and shuddered.
"Call up all the ships, in both fleets. We'll rendezvous at the system. Call up Home, too. Tell them to muster reinforcements and hurry. This is big."

[Alyrium Denryle]

The Planetary defense systems opened fire. Green bolts of energy lancing out toward the pirate ships and striking with lethal efficiency at the cruisers. Ships exploded in cascades of energy and debris, freeing up the Aquarian fleet fo concentate fire ship by ship.
The formed into a line and crossed the T, concentrating fire on each ship in the Aliance lines successivly Frigates and cruisers exploded with amazing requency, as the enemy ships bloked each others fire arc.

The Eviscerator, flanked by her emancipators Was not faring as well. Interceptors were running hot, and her shields were dropping quickly.

Then, the amazing happened. The inhibitor fields were recalibrated and jumpoints explded around the 3 battleships. Dozens of Makos standing by in hyprspace flew out, as the energy washes from the jumpoints tok their toll on Aliance shields.

Simultaneously, the planets planetary turbolasers opened fire, slamming into the lead battleship.

Both Man o' War opened fire, the Pirates had not picked their vecot very well. Her weapons supplemented the fleet. The tide of battle was turning in the Unions favor.

[Alyrium Denryle]

The Aquarian [credit] continues to devalue in the wake of recent news of universal conscription. Analysts across the universe were stunned to hear this announcement as it came to be a complete surprise.

Eiwelt McGreagor, professor of economics at Cambridge on Old Earth is with us this afternoon. Thank you for your time, Professor.

"Thanks for having me. The recent universal conscription law passed by the Aquarian Union came as a shock to all of us here. While their intent is understandable, this will ruin their already devestated economy. They simply do not have the ability to arm such a massive population even as unorganized militia -- and their intent to arm all as light infantry will be their downfall. The economic shockwaves and political fallout may be very dangerous indeed."

Somewhere within the Aquarian Union
The raid executed now, deep inside the underwater cities of the Union. Panicked civilians fled in terror, numerous innocents cut down by uncaring terrorists. The police responded quickly, but they were unable to resist in the face of superior firepower. The few who could not get out of the area watched in disgust and dismay as the few police withdrew from their own station -- and the attached judiciary building.

The building was stormed by force, bodies of foe and friend strewn around and blood in the water. The remaining strike force fanned out in the building, cutting down some cowering inside and freeing numerous criminals awaiting transport elsewhere. Then the building was filled with high-powered timed charges and the terrorists retreated.

Similar strikes were executed elsewhere against government buildings and other authorities. The first phase was working: make the populace begin to distrust the government. Then they would supplant the government.

The free for all did not last for long. The citizens quickly responded with weapons fire. And sonic grenades. The terrorist scum were subdued by the very citizens they were trying to harm, and frighten. More blood mngled wth the water, as Xenomorphs in the equivalent of the SWAT team, stormed the besieged government buildings and retook them.

Terrorists were lead away in shackles, the telepaths would have much fun interogating them...

Soon, propaganda posters publicized the attacks to obscene levels, and only solidified the needs in the minds of the people to arm themselves.

[phongn]

Terrorists were lead away in shackles, the telepaths would have much fun interogating them...

Soon, propaganda posters publicized the attacks to obscene levels, and only solidified the needs in the minds of the people to arm themselves.

"Ah, the fools." O'Neal was safely away with the majority of her team; only a few know-nothing patsies left behind to convince the silly Aquarians that they had the upper hand. It had been some hours since the retreat and the buildings were declared retaken as government officials re-entered them, while a few souls declared how efficient arming the population was.

Then the buildings exploded. As chaos reigned, more terrorists concealed in other buildings opened fire on the crowd below in a carefully-planned manner. Panicking civilians immediately returned fire, from street and building, but they were green, too green. One weekend a month, indeed. What she forgot is that most reserve troops had to be trained in boot first before they could be effective. The Aquarians just gave them a weekend's seminar and expected them to be useful.

Now the unnerved civilians were shooting each other's buildings, thinking that the others were enemies. The professional military would be quickly called in to call order, but for now -- despite propaganda to the contrary -- the government's policies were, in a word, ineffective.

[Alyrium Denryle]

OOC: Do you read a nations history at all? 200 years of war... ended recently. Full fledged resistance that played a key role in kicking out the Azegart... Most citizens are trained with weapons anyway, that just made it mandatory

[phongn]

OOC: Do you read a nations history at all? 200 years of war... ended recently. Full fledged resistance that played a key role in kicking out the Azegart... Most citizens are trained with weapons anyway, that just made it mandatory

You have a resistance, yes, but they can't be everywhere at once, nor did you make it clear. Secondly, just because civilians are trained how to shoot does not mean they know how to react when under fire. Need I bring up the experience of the American Army during the Vietnam War -- with troops likely much better trained than yours? Finally, just because you have a resistance force doesn't mean that it is uniformly competent.

[Pablo Sanchez]

OOC: Do you read a nations history at all? 200 years of war... ended recently. Full fledged resistance that played a key role in kicking out the Azegart... Most citizens are trained with weapons anyway, that just made it mandatory

OOC:
Hmm... let me think. Many citizens with basic firearms training and small arms. A few teams of well trained and highly experienced paramilitaries with weaponry superior to those available to most armies.

Have you ever seen Blackhawk Down?

[SirNitram]

Around the Aquarian shipyards, the battle raged. Several Black Alliance heavy capital ships lay dormant, damage inflicted until their fusion cores shut down cold, their internal pressure doors sealing. The sheer bulk and mass protected the crews, but not forever. Still, the battleships were active, and were shredding the opposition by sheer overwhelming force.

Still, Andrews was calm. He watched the readouts. "The results of the battle?" He questioned his sensor operator.

"Planetary and orbital batteries have opened up, inflicting greater damage than the ships alone could. We have seven ships down.. A further ten hurting badly. The inhibitor field has all but collapsed.. We can Displace the crippled ships into our bays."

Closer to the planet, the lead battleship vectored backwards, letting one of it's less-wounded brothers take point for a while. Massive ionic fire poured into the Eviscerator, finally knocking her out of the battle. The Union ships, deprived of their only true equal to the superheavies, were becoming skittish.

Moving through Hyperspace, the Fleet Tenders activated their Displacers. The first wave of Cruisers vanished into their bays, being replaced with half their number in fresh ships. The reinforcements, so close by, took the Aquarians by surprise; the next push had knocked out the Emancipators in a flurry of concentrated fire.

But something was odd. The enemy ships were merely disabled, kept from firing. The Alliance was after something else. The battleships were already knocking out sections of the orbital batteries, ionizing great sections of the ships, then withdrawing from range.

One of the Fleet Tenders dropped into existance. It was strange. New. Different. It's top wasn't flat. It was a massive focusing cannon. Energy gathered from stolen and pirated energy sources, flowing together.

"One shot. One... Tenth power. That should drop the shipyard shields and produce sufficient feedback." Andrews noted from the bridge, as the scattered and weakened defenders tried to rally.

The shot, a single long lance of red energy, speared across space and smashed into the main Aquarian shipyards. Shield generators exploded in overload, circuit breakers blew across boards. The battleships quickly poured ionic fire onto the station to ensure it's shutdown.

"And that, my minions, is a perfectly executed smash-and-grab of proportions no pirate has acheived before. Collect our bounty and get us home, Helm."

Displacers worked overtime, vacuuming ships up into the bays of the three Long Haul's. The Aquarian ships, peculiarly, were left to wallow in space, damaged or leaking air. Only the shipyard itself was lifted, as all three massive fleet tenders extended their Fields, lifting it as one ship and accelerating away.

"Maximum safe speed. Expect pursuit and take all precautions. We have a date with the Mixmaster and Trask. Maybe we'll even get a little dinner theatre from the Aquarian navy, no?"

[phongn]

The Black Alliance Ship Mixmaster was their most powerful warship by far -- a partially constructed GSV, though they probably didn't know its true power, nevermind how the main effector workd. Still, a potent ship for the leader of the Alliance, Trask. He was certain safe as could be onboard the ship as he awaited the plunder of Andrews's latest crackpot scheme. He'd better not have fucked up, he thought. That's a good half of the Fleet.

All thoughts of Andrews quickly left his mind when the alert klaxons went off on his ship. Paging the bridge, the news was grim indeed. "HMS Confederation just dropped out of foldspace on top of us. I don't know how she found us, but she's already firing and launching more fighters than I've ever seen." The deck shook, forcing Trask to steady himself against bulkhead...

[SirNitram]

They finally do it. Trask thought to himself, racing up to the Bridge. The battle was already in full swing, as a massive wave of Privateer swarmed to meet the onrushing Kingdom fighters. The two behemoths of ages past engaged their energy weapons, coherent radiation and etheric shockwaves duelling across the void in a massive display of power.

"Where the hell is Andrews?!" Screamed Trask, as another hit threatened to knock them off their feet.

"Still half an hour away, sir! We may just be able to hold out!" Cried his paniced sensor operator, trying to see through the massive swarm of fighters that had become a furball between the relics.

Too soon. Far too soon. I'm not ready for this. thought Trask. Nyugen. It has to be him.

[phongn]

"Still half an hour away, sir! We may just be able to hold out!" Cried his paniced sensor operator, trying to see through the massive swarm of fighters that had become a furball between the relics.

Too soon. Far too soon. I'm not ready for this. thought Trask. Nyugen. It has to be him.

Trask had not been well-informed as to galactic affairs these days. He was out of touch; Nguyen had not been in the Royal Navy for decades now, working for various other government agencies. But perhaps it was something he would have done -- take the fight right to the enemy's leadership and crush him. The stragems of his homeland, that of the ancient United States, still resounded in him. His diplomacy matched it: Realism was his game, though perhaps to be more specific, Maximal Realism.

But Nguyen was not commanding Confederation, and if he was, he would have sent a much larger force to hunt down the Mixmaster. Admiral Himeko Reynaud commanded, and she was a bit overconfident. Still, the match was nearly even. Enormous reflex cannon and super-sized etheric cannon turrets, larger than most warships, swung out and fired brilliant beams of yellow light and disquietingly dark purple pulses, crashing on the Mixmaster's fields even as deadly, invisible beams of hard and coherent radiation lit up her shields as they worked to dissipate the deadly energies. Meanwhile, fighters on all sides tried to press the other while dodging the weapons fire on either side. Sometimes they were grazed by either side's heavy weapons fire, and that was instant death with nothing larger than a grain of sand to remember them by.

Mixmaster flitted around back and forth, thanks to her Culture-originating drive system, but Confederation was covered with weaons on all sides, able to quickly adapt. Her superior training was paying off, but it would take time to wear down Mixmaster's powerful fields. Once those were down, though, Confederation's weaponry would rapidly wear down her hull. Mixmaster's own weapons would be less effective against the Kingdom's overarmored ships.

Her communications section reported in. "Ma'am, Fast Fleet Squadron West is heading to our position at their fastest safe speed; Revenge and her escorts* are headed our way as well. Fifteen minutes for both of them." Fifteen minutes, she thought. And then we can finish off Trask once and for all. Sensors chimed in next. "Ma'am, we've got numerous inbound tracks from the Aquarian Union with Black Alliance stardrive emanations. Fifteen minutes at minimum, it looks like big ones but the readings are obscured. At least three battleships and something else ... big, but not really solid. "

Damnation. So close. If she had arrived but five minutes earlier she would have been able to destroy Trask and run before those reinforcements arrived. As it was ... "Weapons, cycle to maximum power. We've got fifteen minutes to do as much damage as we can. Engineering, keep the drives warm, we may need to run fast. Astrogation, start plotting escape routes; Communications: make ready to order FFS West and Revenge to abort if I give the command."

* Not the entire Fleet Division, of course, that'd leave the sector uncovered.

[Dahak]

Aregath system

"Sir, we are ready," the Chief of Staff announced. The Admiral just nodded.
The ships of the Aregath sector fleet and the fast response fleet started to fly towards the gate ships. They asked the Gate for transmit, and upon authorization from Central Gate Control they flew threw it, to be back in the Avalon system.

After the last ship transfered, and the Gate ships themselves jumped. Now only the rather large base in the planets atmosphere remained, to observe the system.
Let this Affront have their way with them.

***

Avalon Prime

"Yes, Jocelyn," Internal security director Hazmarat Nehul confirmed. "It seems that a higher number of foreign power's tried to infiltrate the Corporation. So far, they all have met with...accidents. A pity, really."

[Raxmei]

The battle had gone by too fast, and in the hours it had taken to gather the fleet from the four corners of the Aquarian Union the attackers had already packed up and gone. But the attackers had only recently left. Their wake in hyperspace was still trackable.

Leaving behind a token force to protect the stricken system, the Nyfitsar fleet, numbering somewhere between one third and two sevenths of the total fleet strength, gave chase. Their slow warp drives had little hope of overtaking their foe, but they could force him into a straight line chase. As it happened, the UTR was very near their projected course, as was a Nyfitsar trading station complete with warp gate. A gate ship was sent through, which from there made haste to the planned interception point.

There was only one route from the AU to Black Alliance space fast enough for the ships to evade persuit, a corridor of neutral space that the fleeing ships had little choice but to take. There would be Kzin to the left, Serenity to the right, and a fleet that shouldn't be there in the middle.

[Thirdfain]

-: Commonwealth News Network :-

"Record Earnings High for Commonwealth Arms Merchants"
"Seventeen major Commonwealth-based weapons manufacturers reported record sales highs over the last few weeks.
'With the collapse of the Alliance and the withdrawal of the Coalition fleet from Azegart space, small nations and duchies across the Galactic east have begun purchasing weaponry in record amounts. Our sales have nearly doubled, I can only imagine how business is going for the largest manufacturers in the Corporate Sector.'
Said a spokesman for the Gunsmith Unlimited corporation. Additionally, Commonwealth starship manufacturers report a new, increased demand for warships from smaller nations across the Galaxy.
"Clients across the galaxy are ordering in record amounts. Every small nation wants to protect itself, and with the sudden resurgance of piracy and violence in the region, it is understandable."
Said a spolesman for Kreiger & Hitashi, an Isis-based shipyard corporation.
"We have orders for over 250 assorted frigates. It looks like we will have to subcontract the construction of new building slips just to meet demand."

Analysts believe the vast increases in military spending by small nations is linked to the recent rash of expansions begun by major powers galaxy-wide, and the collapse of the Grand Alliance.
"The small duchies can't rely on international pressure to keep powers like the Cornerians from swallowing them any more. They know they need to be able to defend themselves. "


"Azegart Empire Signs Major Weapons Deal"

"Following a week of bidding and negotiation with industry leaders, the current heads of the Azegart Empire finalized an agreement which would end in the payment of hard cash for over 30 Destroyer-sized vessels, a dozen light cruisers, and 700 assorted frigates and smaller patrol craft. Major suppliers include Krieger & Hitashi, Desjardins Shipyards, and a number of Corporate Sector manufacturers.
Azegart Emperor Aurelius Kraus cited the withdrawal of Coalition forces from Azegart territory as the reason for the massive military expenditure."

"Terrorist Attacks Rock Aquarian Union"
"Over 200 were killed in a brutal terrorist attack on an Aquarian police station on Gerysartel. Still reeling from the withdrawal of foreign defending forces and their defeat at the hands of the Azegart Empire, the Aquarian Union was unable to effectively handle the attack. Untrained conscripts were massacred by terrorist soldiers descirbed as "lethal" and "Efficient" by Commonwealth observers in the area.

"This action has all the hallmarks of a special forces operation with foreign funding."
Said a Commonwealth oberserver.
"Cornerian, perhaps, or maybe Kzinti. It was an utter massacre, the likes of which I hope never to see again."

President Von Braun sent a message carrying his condolences and hopes for peace to the Aquarian Union.

-: ENDTRANSMISSION :-

[SirNitram]

"That idiot's got into a fight with the what?" Andrew asked wearily from the bridge of his flagship.

"The Confederation, my lord. He is demanding we alter course and assist him." Reported the sensor operator. "I have plotted a new course lifting us over the eliptic of the Galaxy and to the battle point. Call it ten minutes at our current speed."

"Launch the prison ships straight ahead... No point in carrying those fishheads with us. Then alter course."

The massive battlefleet lifted away from it's previous course, the smattering of converted freighters, weighed down with prisoners from the shipyards, were heading along the old course.

*******

The Nyfitsar fleet, powerful and ready, were taken by quite surprise when all that their interdictors trapped was a bunch of freighters. The pirates aboard them weren't stupid; facing the battlefleet, they broadcast their peaceful surrender immediately, expecting the same humane treatment the Alliance gave to all prisoners that declared an allegiance.

(OOC: Sorry, Rax, but I can only focus on so many battles at a time. I hope the freebies you just got tossed make up for it.)

*******

"FUCK!" Was yelled by Task as the Mixmaster was plastered with a full power reflex shot. The General Systems Vehicle wobbled and nearly lost Grid traction, bobbing and weaving at higher speeds in an attempt to avoid the most powerful shots.

Displacers went off, hurling bombs against the Confederation's shields, trying to weaken it's opponent. Coherent radiation stabbed against a single point on the shields, trying to open a breach for bombs to be tossed into the armoured hull.

The shield breaches, much like Field failures, were never lasting long, as both Captain's stressed their ships to the breaking point to keep their defenses up. The two reinforcement fleets were racing closer..

[Pablo Sanchez]

"Cornerian, perhaps, or maybe Kzinti. It was an utter massacre, the likes of which I hope never to see again."

The Patriarch denies any involvement whatsoever with this cowardly attack. If he wanted to harm the Fishmeat then he would have done so by sending his fleets to overwhelm their defenses and boil their oceans into space with turbolaser fire. Blackguard covert actions such as this are the realm of omnivorous and weak species, and the so-called "Commonwealth" is more likely than the Patriarchy to be guilty.

[Alyrium Denryle]

"Bleeding voidmother they took the shipyard!"

"Lucky sir, their were no ships in construction. They had just fnished the construction of a batch of Makos..."

"How many ships did we lose?"

"Not many, the majority were simply disabled... They will be back online soon..."

"Those pirate scum WILL pay.... Luckily, the main shipyards are elsewhere... However, I want damage contaned. Displace our shipyards into the upper level of hyperspace."

"Yes sir"

[Kyle]

Fourth Fleet Command.
"Sir I've got an incmoing message from the Royal Navy, HMS Confederation has engaged a Black Alliance GSV. Royal Navy reinforcments are inbound as well as Alliance forces, ETAs for each forces are expected to be near simultanous."

"What are they reguesting?" Relations between the Republic and Kingdom were based on mutual respect and cooperation officially and militarily with unofficial civil competition in trade and industry. It worked though, both nations were the better for that relationship.

"They're asking for whatever we can afford to spare. They expect the battle to be very even. A small force comptently lead at the right time should break the alliance."

Admiral Muford considered the request and how to respond. Right now his command was rather weakened byt he creation of Fifth Fleet, replacements were being constructed and trained but as the Fourth District neighbored the Kingdom and Corporate Sector he was last on the priority list. Really all he could spare was a pair of Fleet Carriers and three or four Heavy Cruisers and about a half dozen destroyers. Not much but it should be enough.

"Contact Admiral Frencent and tell him to preapre to get underway. I'll transmit his orders on a seperate channel."

Sol System, Earth.

"Mister Tengit please let President Von Braun in." With those words the first direct meeting between the presidents of the Commonwealth and Republic would begin. Perhaps now they would learn the real reason for this goodwill tour. "Welcome President Von Braun, please sit down and make your self at home. Something to eat or drink first?"


Sol System, Olympus Naval Base.

A group of Von Brauns senior militarya dvisors had been taken on a tour of the massive naval base in jupiter orbit and it's massive space yards. Probably the third or fourth largest in the galaxy after Five Fangs and Enigma and Nemesis.

"Coming up on our port is the pride of UTRN. The TNS Republic, the first and only ship to be built of our new Superdreadnought class. We expect her to clear all moorings and begin work outs in a few months."

The ship he was describing could be seen clearly surrounded by massive yard works. Even larger then one of the Republics Terrae class Dreadnoughts, TNS Republic was ten kilometers long and mounted two additional turrets compared to TNS Mars off to the starboard side. While the additional 35% percent increase in offensive armament was impressive the biggest upgrade was to the defensive side, 80% stronger shields, 45% thicker armor, a 50% increase in the amount of point defense and a vastly upgraded EW suite. Very few vessels could match Republic one on one.

All around them they saw other building slip and scoffolding building dozens of escorts and cruisers, and even a few capital ships and carriers scattered around. The amount of construction ongoing was impressive, but they were building two entire navies as well as expanding there own. Smaller civilian yards were scattered throughout the system building private transport and freight vessels.

[Thirdfain]

"President Devley, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'll hold off on the drink, thank you."

Von Braun took the man's hand and shook it firmly.

"I'd like to get down to business immediatly.

I understand that following the unfortunate Aquarian bioweapons strike against the Azegart, it was politically necessary for you to enforce an embargo against the nations allied to the Aquarians. As you can see, recent events have put an end to our connections with the Union. We intend on distancing ourselves from that unfortunate power.

The current border situation is, to us, untenable. Many powerful merchants view your continued embargo as an insult. They call me to action- some factions have even suggested punitive strikes against the Free Star Alliance. Of course, such a move would be madness.

But my point is simple- the embargo enforces an atmosphere of belligerance which we would like to do away with. I personally believe that our two nations can coexist peacefully. I request that you cancel the embargo, and allow Commonwealth trade through your territory once more."

"Which brings me to my second point. The border regions are menaced, currently, by forces of the Grand Empire of Brisbane. My sources have informed me of your efforts over New Moscow. Perhaps your own observers have noted the influx of Commonwealth-supplied weapons and money to those feifdoms which oppose the Brisbanian invaders.

With the recent redeployment of the Fleet, I fully intend on invading the Grand Empire and putting an end to it's murderous ways. With the collapse of the Grand Empire, we will see the last major source of dissonance in the local Cygnus arm collapse.

As many vessels of your navy, and of your allies in the Free Star League, are in the area, I see fit to give you prewarning of our battle plans and fleet deployments. I hope we can avoid any possible disagreements in this fashion."

[Raptor 597]

From: The External Affairs Office, Dorian
To: The Aquarian Government
Subject: Diplomatic relations

We see that your lands are under attack, revolts everywhere. This is most unfortunate. We offer you something that most would not now. Since your former alliance with the TSC is broken we are willing to reenter your borders as peacekeepers. However, unlike the Communist occupiers all forces will be transferred to your command. Full squadrons of battle frigates, cruisers, heavy cruisers, and mechanized forces await your response. We hope to mediate the siutation at a negotiable price.

[Darksider]

The Emperor reviewed his status reports with care.

"Begin pulling our troops out of the Azegart occupied zones. Keep a few there to help out, but transfer control to the local milita we set up."

"When are you going to make the announcement?"

"In a few days."

"also, contact the Aquarian Union and tell them that we stand ready to assist them in any reprisal they wish to undertake."