Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

TYREAN HISTORY : Nightmares

2404.5

In the middle of the Experiment Room, Monk Uthara was laying in deep trance on a medical couch. Several holo-AI symbol were floating in the room. Senator Lahira and Cardinal Alassi were both sitting on small chairs, waiting. Monk Uthara suddenly seemed to suffer a spasm, which did not interrupt his trance. Behind him, in front of the two officials, the holo-wall blinked. Random colours started to appear, then an image stabilised.

Samurai Heiti Kann cheered at the look on the reco pictures, then he spoke to his crew “Attention to all personnel, we have confirmation that Tyrean cowards committed mass suicide rather than dying an honourable death in combat. We will begin standard planetary sizing procedures immediately”. Planetary napalm weapons started to aim at their targets. All main towns were to be cleansed by righteous fire, thus evacuating the needs to dispose of the bodies. Another fine planet claimed by the Imperium shall come into the Emperor's possessions. Heiti Kann could not understand the Tyrean, they were not fighting, but still they refused to withdraw as ordered. So the Emperor Mahatsohito took a reasonable course of actions. The claimed planets were to be conquered, and brought into the noble Ruling of the Katana Imperium by force. But no conquest did occur. The Tyrean populations committed suicide on a gigantic scale. Males and females were poisoning their own offspring before terminating themselves on the arrival of the invasion forces. The Samurai was glad that such coward were not brought in the Imperium. They did not deserve it. His smile widened as fire rained down on the giant graveyard that had been a Tyrean city only a few hours ago.

The screen flickers.

Upon entering his room, Director barrens of the Cyterian Republic gave his coat to the Tyrean servant, a Zombie as they were called by his population. Sometime, the Director was ashamed of what he had ordered toward the Tyrean specie, but he didn't have any other option. When the AI consensus decided to leave the Tyrean and start a new civilisation out of reach of biological species, the Tyrean society went into chaos. Some Tyrean went mad, and their unique ability to modify the flow of time wrecked havoc not only on their planets, but also on all Cyterian colonies on border systems. Luckily, his rapid reaction avoided too much damages. His covert operatives directed some of the Tyrean insurgents, and in a matter of months all Tyrean worlds on border systems had asked to join the Republic. Which they were granted of course. Then, it was just a matter of exploiting the momentum, and in less than two years, the Tyrean did not exist anymore as a free specie. Of course, they were quickly disseminated within the Republic. Isolated from one another. Then all specimen showing trace of the gift had to submit to a surgical intervention and sterilisation. A pity that such operation removed most of their intelligence in the process. That was why they were called Zombie. It was in fact a sort of lobotomy. And prospective were bad, most of Tyrean were gifted. Well, better to them to disappear slowly and peacefully in the republic than live as slaves in the Dictatorship of the Katana Imperium thought the Director. Meanwhile, in the back room, the Tyrean servant maintained proudly a stupid smile as he stared at the wall.

Images, maybe from Tyrean Secondis planet.

In the fusion chamber D16VA, Three thousands six hundreds and fifty one Tyrean instantaneously stopped yelling and crying as they vaporised. AI Roaming Free checked the circuitry, then powered down the fusion reactor. “It was the Last batch of them was it ?” asked AI Born To Kill. “Yep ! we have solved all their problems. Now we can start working on our projects”. Born To Kill signalled his Joyce in the cybersphere. After the failure of the inner council of Churches, the AI Consensus tried to adapt the Tyrean political system, to no avail. Chaos was spreading fast in the Federation, then the Cyterian withdraw from all agreement, asking for a stabilised political situation before resuming former treaties. The Katana Imperium was weary and massing warships on the border systems. Then the AI Consensus was overthrown by more radical elements. Peace and unity was inforced on the federate worlds by regiments of armed robots. This had been a bloody affair. More, massive suicides occurred in the pacified worlds, leaving some of them almost empty. But the Tyrean who survived were most of the time driven mad by their power over time. So the new Consensus came to the logical conclusion for the Tyrean specie. Extermination. The few millions that were left were disposed of in fusion chambers. Swiftly and painlessly. Proud and happy from a job well done, Roaming Free contacted Consensus “A funny note I would like to share with all of us, do you know how our Last remaining creators called us ???? They called us the Rage.”

Deep space, other images.

Flowers of lights silently erupt from guns.
Sensor beams fighting countermeasures to acquire a lock, looking for a kill.
Red steel steaming out of wounded spaceships.
Thousands life forms yelling a picosecond before silence.
Entire planets, whose dark side are glowing from fusion bombs explosions lie there, as a signal telling to all “AI Consensus and Katana Imperium fought here”.

All images disappear from the holo wall, as the Senator switches it off. “We are going nowhere with this”. “Agreed” replied AI Consensus, “but it is the best sample of what we wanted to show you, accurate in the short term future, but on the long term, your spirit seems to only select the paths that it fears the most, not the most probable one. While everything you watched could happen, their probability are very low. We urge you not to take in account any long term prediction while deciding your policy. The Inner Council must avoid your ancestor's dramatic errors.”

[ November 20, 2002, 18:15: Message edited by: Unknown_Enemy ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

CEO Davdi wished he had worn more comfortable clothing. His somber five-layer outfit, which he normally only wore to wakes, had seemed appropriate for the seriousness of his speech, but the dark purple fabric was really soaking up the heat from the holovid stage lights. The floor director counted down from three, then signalled to Dadvi that he was on the air.

"Good evening, fellow stockholders. I have a message for you tonight of grave importance.

In this fiscal year, the Conglomerate has accomplished a great deal. A new refuelling station on Kexma enabled us to colonize the two hydrogen worlds in Praxis Verdanis, and to extend the exploratory voyage of the _Speculation_, which found three more colonizable worlds in the Polaris system. Her sister ship, the _Investment_, found a total of six more colonizable worlds, four of which have breathable atmospheres. The Conglomerate now boasts eighteen branch colonies in seven systems. Remarkable breakthoughs in computer science brought advanced robotic factories to increase productivity, and automated spacecraft such as the _Personnel_ passenger transport, which can operate without intervention by an Eifral crew. However, these breakthoughs came at an unexpected price.

Three years ago, the discovery of the abandoned Skycity of the Masters on Jalwu dominated the newsfeeds, but as some commentators have noted, few results of the continuing study of the ancient computer system found there have been published. The reason for this was that the sapient computer known as 'Node-25' held a terrible secret in its databanks.

Many Eifralo believe that the Masters will one day return, to live among us again. We have long speculated that there could be other intelligent races scattered among the stars. Node-25 revealed to us that the Masters were not alone in the universe in their day. There was at least one other starfaring race, and that unnamed race was a bitter enemy to the Masters. Node-25 contained records of war in space, a horrific conflict of unimaginable proportions.

Approximately a year and a half ago, another artifact from the Master's day was discovered adrift in Nuqbo's planetary rings. Comparison to Node-25's database indicate that the heavily damaged object was part of a powerful weapon, of a type used by both sides in the Masters' war. We do not know to whom this particular weapon belonged, but it was clearly once part of a spacecraft, destroyed in one of the devastating battles depicted in Node-25's records.

We cannot assume that other intelligent lifeforms on distant worlds will value cooperation above conflict. The Conglomerate must be prepared to defend Eifra and our branch colonies against potential attackers. The next fiscal year's budget proposal, which I will submit to the Board of Directors tomorrow, includes research and development expenditures on technologies which our engineers believe could help protect us. Some will oppose these projects as an unnecessary, profitless expense, but I say that they are an essential premium to be paid for an insurance policy which we hope to never have to file a claim against.

However, we cannot allow the fear of undiscovered dangers to hold back our exploration program. If there are hostile aliens out there, we must find them before they find us. We cannot wait to discern the intentions of strangers until they arrive to meet us in our own skies. We must hope that those we may someday meet will seek profitable commerce rather than hostile acquisition.

I thank you for your valuable time this evening. Good night, and good profit."

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

As CEO Davdi had expected, convincing the Board of Directors to authorize the R&D portion of the fiscal 2405 budget was turning out to be a hard sell. Leading the opposition was Davdi's most bitter rival, Porxi Malwi. Malwi had been the leading candidate to be the next CEO until Farki had convinced the board to accept Davdi's bid instead, and even after a nonade of strong profits under Davdi's leadership, Malwi hadn't forgiven either of them. He had been accumulating as much preferred stock as he could since then, and was now the Conglomerate's third largest shareholder.

Malwi was particularly livid at Davdi's handling of the new military research program. Davdi had been able to reallocate enough discretionary funds to cover much of the basic research, but now the Board needed to approve the money to start building test models and training pilots. When Doctor Timho had explained the proposed space combat force to Retla Gurse, they'd quickly realized that the small craft would need some kind of transport to be used effectively; they had to be optimized for speed and maneuverability, and wouldn't be capable of carrying enough fuel for extended-duration flights. Starting from the designs in Node-25's database, Gurse had come up with a "carrier" that could launch and retrieve the "fighters", as well as ferrying them between star systems. The fighters were ludicrously small, barely half the size of Node-25's hardware, which meant that they couldn't be automated like the _Personnel_ or the proposed carrier.

Doctor Dorsi had found her expert on pre-Unification history in a small subsidiary of the Entertainment Division that served the niche market for virtual reality hovercraft simulators. There were a few VR games that simmed the conflicts between the old skycity-states, which mostly sold in the 9-12 age bracket. It was looking more and more like they'd have to recruit adolescents to learn to fly the space fighters. Davdi had deliberately avoided mentioning that prospect in the budget proposal, but Malwi had raised the issue during the third day of discussions. The idea of sending children into battle had rallied Malwi's supporters, and the budget negotiations had been deadlocked for nearly a week now, but Davdi was hopeful that the latest discoveries from the _Investment_ would break the impasse.

The rest of the board had already gathered around the meeting table for the afternoon session when Davdi entered the room. Davdi took his place next to Chairman Farki and greeted them all.

"I have a special announcement to make before we continue," Davdi began. "It's going to be huge when we release it to the Media Division. Doctor Timho personally delivered the latest report from the _Investment_ to me during the lunch break."

"More observations from that newly-forming star they found inside the Jidop Nebula?" Farki asked.

"No, this is much bigger. Their next transit lead them to Mamor, where they encountered an alien spacecraft!"

"How...convenient." All heads turned to look at Malwi, whose loud sneer had cut through the surprised babble that Davdi's Last statement had provoked. "First you circulate these sensational tales of the Masters' so-called 'war', then you propose a budget full of expenditures with no profit potential, for the sake of 'defending' ourselves against unknown threats, and only ten days later you announce that we've found an alien race. I am amazed that you think this board so gullible."

"Gullible?!?" Farki interrupted. "Did you even read Doctor Timho's executive summary of Node-25's records? No Eifralo could fabricate such horrors. Perhaps you should read the full report."

"Better yet," Davdi added, "we could ask Soctu to allow you to interview Node-25 personally. Talking to it is a fascinating experience. If seeing the actual displays won't convince you, nothing will."

"I'm not going to go chasing off to Jalwu to talk to a mere machine," Malwi scoffed. "You're not going to get me away from this debate that easily."

"If you had read the summary," Farki snapped, "you'd know that Node-25 was moved to the main research complex here on Eifra nearly two years ago. I cannot comprehend how you can even imagine that this is all some ploy to get the R&D budget approved."

"You also haven't heard all the news from the _Investment_," Davdi continued. "The aliens had already colonized one of the lesser planets orbiting Mamor. They call themselves the 'Tyrean Federation', and all indications are that they are not hostile. In fact, they've already submitted a request to open trade negotiations."

Malwi gave Davdi a suspicious look. "They seem to have learned to communicate with us remarkably quickly," he commented.

"That surprised me as well," Davdi admitted, "but apparently their archaeologists learned the language of the Masters from ruins in their part of the cluster, long before the _Investment_ entered Mamor. The Tyreans can read and write an ancient form of our script, but had no idea what spoken Eifral sounded like.

There's another opportunity to quash your skepticism, Porxi. How would you like first rights to lead our trade delegation to the Tyreans?"

"If these 'Tyreans' actually exist, that's a very tempting offer. I assume I could resell the commission to someone else whom I trust?"

"Of course," Davdi grinned and added, "assuming you can find someone else that you do trust."

Farki and several other board members laughed at Davdi's comment, but Malwi didn't even smile.

"That shouldn't be a problem," he replied. "All right, I accept your offer. If she'll take the commission, I think my first choice for that assignment will be quite acceptable to the entire board."

[ December 01, 2002, 20:35: Message edited by: capnq ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

TYREAN HISTORY : Gathering Storm

2404.9

His Holiness Vixen VIII blessed Senator Urien as he entered the room. Following the Winds of change, the Tyrean political system undertook a peaceful revolution. The religious now controlled only one third of the Inner Council, with another third elected by citizens of the federation, and the remaining was given to AI Consensus. From undisputed leader of the Tyrean, His Holiness was now Head of Inner Council, and to the surprise of Consensus, he had accepted to be stripped of most of his political power, becoming only the moral leader of the council. But old habits are hard to die. Before becoming a Senator, Urien was a believer, and he still was.

“Greetings your Holiness, I bring critical news. I went out of Security Council half an hour ago, and our spies satellites intercepted an internal message in Katana Imperium territory.”

Vixen interrupted the Senator “How ? Please explain, as I am not invited anymore in these meetings.”

The Senator complied “You probably remember that our first guess was that internal warfare in Katana Imperium was not rare. Then our second deduction was that the honor code which binds their society would have them quite easily targeted by intelligence actions. So we deployed some satellites in their space to monitor their traffic. We did it carefully, we hid these in our Scientific program to better understand astrophysics. The Katana examined our probes but they did not find the hidden software from Consensus which can turn a harmless research robot into an accurate listening post. We are now in position to monitor some of their secret transmissions. Here is the message, please read it and give it back. It should not have been available to you.”

News Transmission intercept, Katana Imperium 2404.8
..@#%CFBDYG$%# Colony Module Kereina Mori reports successful landing on planet .$%&^&^******** 68th imperium colony established ..... Shogunate defence reports field deployment of first Light Cruisers., all weapons tests passed. ... Deployment of ice colony modules to colony fleets proceeding on schedule ... latest strategic estimates place the %&^%$^&* empire at the forefront of proposed military actions designed to expand the Imperium twofold ... Mahatsuhito clan annihilates clan Tokima after spies reveal the leader of the Tokima clan planned to attempt a coup in several outlying colonies ...
#$^$&^&**** END Transmission intercept"

His holiness frowned “Hmm. No surprise here. Their political system is a modern form of feudalism, their society can survive only if they expand. And in time of trouble, they need to focus on an enemy. So to end unrest, their leaders are going to direct their specie's violence against an alien. But why is the target's name missing ? I find odd just this part could not be decrypted.”
“But it was decrypted your Holiness, problem is, the Imperium gave code names to each of their neighbors, and as contact has been rare, we do not know who they wanted to point at. Which left us with only two possible targets : the Cytherians or us.”
“And what does Consensus say of this ?”
“They say the Katana honor code requires some actual fighting to occur for their warrior to achieve glory. As our colonies would not even try to defend themselves, they would bring no such thing. In fact, it could even create more unrest by getting a whole army of unsatisfied warriors. Consensus think leadership of the Imperium is aware of the problem. Which leaves only one possibility : our Cytherian trusted allies will bear the onslaught. We think the conflict will take place..”
“And what if Consensus analysis is false ?” coldly asked Vixen.
“I beg your pardon” replied the confused Senator.
“What happens to us if Consensus estimation is proven false and the Tyrean are the target ?”
“Well, we have good hope to get both the Cytherians and maybe the Eifralo to help us. But our space would become a battlefield. Several systems would be lost. Millions dead, maybe billions.”
The low voice of Vixen then said “So you are telling me that Security Council is placing all bets on that single analysis from a little known race. Typical. I thank you for your report Senator, you can withdraw and please keep me informed of any further development. May the Almighty bless you Urien.”
The confused Senator saluted and exited the room. Cardinal Alassi appeared from the back door, his head fur completely flat. “Your Holiness, this is madness ! We must prepare our worlds for an attack immediately.”
Vixen smiled “My dear Alissa, did your fur took he place of your brain to propose such stupid idea ?”
The Cardinal almost jumped to the desk “But we are dealing with our own survival ! We ...”
“We will play the game from the rules we choose to use. We would need years to prepare for such a war versus such a powerful foe. And as far as we know, the Katana could be on their way to attack a specie still unknown to us. We need to play the balance of power. We need the Katana as a power as much as we need to keep the Cytherians alive. Can't you see it ?”
Raising both ears, Cardinal Alissa quickly thought about it, “then what shall we do ?”
His Holiness smiled “First leak this message immediately to the Cytherians. They are no fools and they will reach quickly the conclusion made by Consensus. Then leak it also to that Eifralo ambassador, it could prove useful.”
“I still don't understand your Holiness”
“The Cytherians will prepare. They have an army which will prepare for the conflict. Now how do you think a specie like the Katana Imperium will react when they'll see a military buildup occurring within one of their neighbors ? Attacking us instead ?”
“I still disagree your Holiness, the risk is..”
“You don't need to know more. Get back to your duties, you have work to do, as I do.”

[ November 27, 2002, 18:12: Message edited by: Unknown_Enemy ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

The music was blaring, the BLARG was flowing, and CEO Davdi was feeling the most relaxed he'd been in more than two weeks. Chairman Farki had invited the rest of the Board of Directors, plus the top management of the Conglomerate, to a party in celebration of the board's authorization of the fiscal 2405 budget. The festivities were a much needed respite after the prolonged debate over the military R&D expenditures. Dadvi was quite relieved that Malwi had declined the Chairman's invitation, but couldn't seem to escape the gossip about the only member of the board not in attendance.

"Malwi's choice to lead the Tyrean trade delegation was a bit of a surprise, wasn't it?" Retla Gurse asked him.

"Not in hindsight," Davdi replied, "Selya has the best interpersonal skills of any of the corporate Vice Presidents. She's the perfect person to negotiate with our first alien race."

"Yes, she certainly is good with people. She'd have to be, to stay on speaking terms with Malwi," Gurse laughed. "It's too bad that she had to leave for Mamor before the budget was finalized. She's missing a great party."

Davdi had to smile at Gurse's remark, and not just because of the poke at Malwi. Besides being the Conglomerate's Vice President of Eifral Resources, Selya Penlo was one of Gurse's ex-lovers. Davdi was glad to see that Gurse could talk about her in complimentary terms again; the couple had had an unusually acrimonious breakup several years ago, and Davdi considered it an accomplishment to have stayed friends with both of them afterwards.

"The party really ought to be in your honor, Retla. I can't thank you enough for the idea that broke the budget deadlock."

"I can't take all the credit. It was Doctor Dorsi's description of the Pirku Group's role in the Corporate Wars that made me realize that we could turn a profit on the carriers and fighters by selling them to the Tyreans."

"I almost hope they won't need them. They say we're the third starfaring race they've encountered, and their diplomatic Messages keep raising concerns about one of the others. They're quite insistent that they need to consult our 'defense minister', and seem to have trouble grasping the fact that we don't have one."

"Maybe you should let them talk to Node-25," Gurse commented, "it's got more expertise on that than any of us do."

"That's another brilliant idea! They're already quite comfortable interacting with artificial intelligences; AIs are even considered citizens in the Federation. Keep thinking like that, and you could be the next CEO."

"Ugh, no thanks. I'd rather stay at my design table than have to deal with the board that often. Which reminds me, we're going to need to rework the carrier design a bit."

"Why? Has a problem come up?"

"Node-25 ran some simulations with the current designs. The fighters' performance is almost too impressive; if any of the enemy fighters get past the defenders, the carrier's main gun simply can't hit them. Node-25 says we need some of the rapid-firing weapons it calls 'active defense systems', but I don't know how long R&D will need to reverse-engineer them from Node-25's database."

"Will that hold up prototyping the carrier?"

"I don't think so; we can start building with the current design, and refit it after we figure out how to make the things Node-25 wants. Finding pilots for the fighters is likely to cause more of a delay."

"Don't remind me; I'd rather not think about that tonight. And here comes a welcome distraction."

Davdi had spotted Sanre Dorsi crossing the room towards them. The historian cut a rather striking figure, wearing a fluorescent orange and yellow-green print that set off her complexion nicely. Even better, she was carrying three mugs of BLARG.

"You two looked like you needed refills," Dorsi smiled.

"Quite perceptive of you," Davdi grinned. "Retla was just telling me that you inspired the idea that made this party possible."

"I did? How on Eifra did I do that?"

"You're the one who told me about the Pirku Group," Gurse explained, "when we were trying to figure out how to build weapons to arm the space force with. If Pirku could supply guns to almost all sides' security forces throughout most of the Corporate Wars, we can probably make money selling armaments, too."

"Maybe that's why the Chairman invited me tonight. A hydroponic farm girl doesn't get many chances to hobnob with the elite."

"Sinta still has an eye for a pretty face, too," Davdi winked. "I'd be surprised if that had nothing to do with it."

Dorsi giggled and blushed an even deeper red. "I'll bet you say that to all the media consultants."

"No, he only says that to the female media consultants," Gurse laughed. "I'm going to grab something from the buffet for this BLARG to wash down; do either of you want anything?"

"The BLARG is enough for me right now," Davdi said, taking a sip, "but I recommend you try the alepi-stuffed itegas; they're spicy enough to ignite your breath."

"I'd like some more of those," Dorsi added, "the alepi paste is spiked with just the right amount of apiro. Even better than my mother's recipe."

"One bowl of itegas coming up. Don't wander off where I can't find you, or I'll have to eat them all myself."

[ November 30, 2002, 01:35: Message edited by: capnq ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

OOC - Apologies for the massive delay, real-life issues were getting in the way http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif Please take note of the date of this post and this post can be assumed to take place after my 2nd post. I will have dates on the other back Posts i make to catch up my storyline to the current stardate of 2405.0

Katana Imperium
2401.5

After the first dozen colonies had been established in the neighbouring star systems to the homeworld, development of advanced telecommunication had needed to be created to allow effective colony control measures. Despite every colony being controlled by only the most trusted vassals of the Mahatsuhito clan and her allies there was a need to ensure real-time conferencing capabilities for population monitoring and control from the homeworld. Trust can only go so far

With this new telecommunications equipment came a means of keeping the population blind to the reality of the Imperium. An empire wide news service had been setup, and with it the possibility of deciding what information the population in general would be allowed to witness. This powerful subterfuge was so staggeringly obvious a means of control that it had suprised many in power that the Imperium had not used such measures before now.

The entire economic and social fabric of the Imperium had changed in ways unimagined before the discovery of the warp points. Entire space yards had been devoted to nothing else but the production of colony modules, and every month at least 1 new colony was being established somewhere in the universe. The people for the most part were unaware of just how huge the expansion plans permeated the Imperium in everything it did, and except for the occasional news clipping about the latest colonies that had been created. All that could be noticed was the commonplace disappearence of neighbours who were shipped off to some unknown offworld destination to fulfill the grand plans of the emperor.

______________________________________________
==============================================

Power was constantly flowing into the capital nowadays with the exponential increase in information, resources, and population intel originating from all the colonies. Kaneko had found new ways of influencing people and events in the partial chaos that ensued as new colonies were established and power structures were being setup. She revelled in choosing the people who would have the true power in colonies, let the people assume one group was in power and yet it was someone else entirely who would be pulling all the strings. There had been a few foolish Groups who had tried to follow the puppets strings back to the source, quick deaths awaited all those who attempted to interfere with the plans of the Mahatsuhito clan.

Several Groups of conspirators had been located and destroyed over the previous year, blindly believing that to live away from the homeworld offered some measure of protection from the political posturing and outright clan warfare that had existed there since the Imperium was formed. With the discovery of such Groups, Kaneko's worst fears had been confirmed - no longer was her domination of the empire as absolute as she had manipulated it to be, she would have to find ways to exert power without physically being present. This new conundrum had occupied her mind for weeks, she now hand picked all operatives that would be given power in the colonies as well as the individuals who would report about the day to day activities of the colonies, and these Last reports would only be made to her.

Behind her regal visage as it appeared in the palace was a mind more cunning then any realised, noone would ursurp her power she had decided that long ago and so she had become the puppet master, pulling the invisible strings of power and causing events to unfold in the manner that suited her needs best.

Her resources were being pushed to their limits with the ever expanding size of the empire and the Mahatsuhito clan would eventually need to use people from the other substantial clans of the Imperium such as Menjisu, Tokima, and Kitokaha Clans who could be trusted for many things but needed to be watched as they too would place their own clans needs above all else when it came time to decide loyalties. This fact only added to the control conundrum, yet Kaneko found that the extra stress created by such issues only focused her more, increased her determination to stay in power. To control a planet was a satisfying experience, to control the wide reaching and ever expanding Katana Imperium was euphoric.

[ December 02, 2002, 12:18: Message edited by: Gimboid ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

"Hello? Eifra to Cunsi..." Retla Gurse chided his friend.

"Sorry, Retla," Davdi apologized, "I got distracted for a moment. What were you saying?"

"I said, it's hard to believe that we've met a second alien race only a month after the Tyreans."

"Intelligent life seems to be more common than anyone expected," Davdi shrugged. "The Tophin mentioned that we were the fifth race they'd encountered, and at the time, they didn't know about the Tyreans yet."

"They seem a bit creepy compared to the Tyreans," Gurse commented. "What kind of people would collectively call themselves a 'Hive'?"

"I don't know. They haven't been very communicative since the initial contact. They didn't object to us colonizing Seginus III, though, and requested a non-aggression treaty almost immediately. They may just be wary of aliens."

"I doubt that's why you haven't even touched your food. Come on, give. What's bothering you?"

"It's Talro. She's back on Eifra on a business trip."

"Have you seen her?"

"Oh, did I ever see her! Of all the times for Talro to decide to visit, why did she have to pick this morning? She showed up at my door with no advance notice, and caught me having a late breakfast with Sanre, with both of us still in our sleepwear."

"Back up, I missed something here. How did you end up having breakfast with Doctor Dorsi?"

"Well, it started at Sinta's party. We'd both had quite a bit of BLARG, and neither of us was terribly surprised that she woke up the next morning on my bed. What did surprise me was that she wanted to stay and try to 'remember' what we'd been doing before we fell asleep. Since then, we've been spending the night together whenever our schedules allow it."

"I'm glad you've found someone to replace Talro; Sanre is quite an attractive woman. Did Talro make a scene?"

"An entire vidshow. I'm still not quite sure how it happened, but the resulting argument ended with both of them mad at me."

"They'll get over it. Did Talro expect you to wait for her, after not even speaking to you for five years?"

"I half expected that I would. I certainly wasn't looking for a new relationship. If Sinta hadn't brought Sanre in to consult on the space force, I doubt we'd ever have even met."

"That's another thing you owe to the Chairman, then."

"Good thing he hasn't charged me for it!" Davdi laughed. "I already owe him more than a lifetime's salary for all the support he's given me dealing with the board over the years."

[ December 03, 2002, 21:03: Message edited by: capnq ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

The Hive continued to grow in solitude for a time. Expanding outwards, exploring new systems, planting new colonies on several planets. Its initial fear of extinction had abated somewhat. The Hive could not imagine a catastrophe that could strike all it’s parts as spread out across the quadrant as they now were. But as it’s fear declined, its curiosity grew.

The network of warp gates it found was quite extensive. Over a dozen star systems now it had explored and in every case there was at least one other warp gate leading out of the system in another direction. And all but a couple of the systems had viable star systems with planets that could be colonized if the Hive decided to. Obviously its initial suspicion that this was some sort of transportation system created by an incredibly advanced, unknown race was correct. The Hive wished to find this race.

On some of the planets the Hive had colonized it had also discovered signs of this, or possibly another advanced race. Ruins of great cities and pieces of technology, some of which was still useable, were found. But still no living beings of this advanced ancient race were located. It appeared the race had either left this area, or died out tens of thousands of years ago.

Not all the planets were all that interesting or particularly rich in minerals, so the Hive passed over them at first. And the Hive learned that even though it was possible to colonize the planets with atmospheres other than oxygen by means of habitat domes, it was not preferable to do so. It found that it’s hosts thrived and worked better when they could be outside and breathe the air occasionally.

Then along the eastern border a mysterious ship appeared. It came through the warp point, broadcast a general greeting message, and disappeared within the warp point. A few weeks later, another ship appeared in another system. At first the Hive thought they were from the same race, but it quickly discovered they were two distinct separate species. Both appeared to be at least equal technologically with the Hive. Neither appeared to be capable of building the warp gates, so the Hive decided they were probably not the Ancient ones. However, they were interesting nonetheless.

The Hive had scanned its hosts memories and literature for some information that could guide it. It found much about a time in the host races past in which the planet had been divided into separate political entities. These various nations got along for the most part, but often there were disagreements of one sort or another that resulted in wars. The Hive did not wish for such a thing to happen between it and these new species, and they did not appear to be hostile either. The Hive found information on something called a treaty. It offered both the new races a treaty and they accepted.

For a time that was pretty much all that happened. The other races seemed content to leave the Hive in peace. The Hive met and made treaties with several other races, all without significant incident. It learned a little bit about each of these races. They were all quite different form one another, and all quite different from the Hive. They all appeared to share the Hive’s curiosity about the universe around them. What they did not appear to share was the Hive’s unity of thought. Each of these races was made up of separate individuals, much as the host species had been before joining with the Hive. Billions upon billions of individuals.

The Hive was quite surprised that any such fractured group of beings could work together enough to explore the stars as the Hive was doing. But apparently they had adapted to the deficiency, and even seemed to value their individuality in most cases. The Hive decided this was a concept that needed more study.

Another concept taught to it by these aliens was that of borders. Up to this point the Hive had merely explored and colonized whatever planets it wished to. Now the Hive was told that certain planets “belonged” to this race, or certain systems “belonged” to that empire. The Hive knew from it’s hosts history that this sort of idea was a common cause of wars, and so it decided for the time being to defer to any such requests, provided the Hive did not already have a colony in one of these systems.

Up to this point the Hive had plenty of room to grow. And there were still many warp gates yet that it had not traveled through. Many of the older colonies were well established now and the early problems the Hive had maintaining enough resources to keep it’s space yards constructing Hive ships were all gone. The Hive decided it no longer needed to mine the asteroids in the home system for minerals, and so it sent a radio message to the ship to return to the home planet. As the Hive watched the ship approach, it reached out it’s mind seeking for the dozens of voices that would signal the point at which the ships crew had rejoined the greater collective. At this point something quite unexpected happened.

Instead of many different voices, the Hive sensed one strong voice. Quickly the Hive communicated with this voice and there was a moment of great awareness. The crew of the mining ship which had been out of contact with the Hive had formed it’s own Hive. The new hive could talk to the Hive telepathically, but it was unique. It was an individual.

The Hive was no longer alone.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

To say life on Gissen was hard would be an understatement. Rafe Lindsey felt like he knew that better than anyone in the galaxy.
Rafe worked in the mines here on Gissen, which was the same work he had done back on Cherek. The work was hard, and moderately dangerous, but if you knew what you were doing you would be ok. Rafe knew what he was doing when it came to mining, which was probably why Invexus had recruited him so heavily. His bonus package had been substantial: a large cash bonus, a furnished apartment, and three weeks of paid vacation per year. Rafe had been sure that his life was on the upswing.
When they arrived on Gissen and began mining, he wasn’t as confident about his life choice. The entire surface of the planet was covered with a thick, fast growing purple vegetation that had to be cut back before the mining machines could even begin to work. So the miners had to patrol the perimeter of the site with cutters, constantly clearing the area so that the machines could do their work. It was a long, tiring struggle.
Once the mines were dug, they began work. Gissen was very rich in minerals. Soon the planet was churning out massive quantities of essential mineral, and their production soon surpassed even Cherek's. There were difficulties, though. The vegetation from the surface had to constantly be cut back from the mines, or within hours the entire mine would be covered, making work impossible. Also, the increased supply also created increased demand, and so the mines were working at a constant fever pace. This pace resulted in a larger amount of accidents, and mining accidents were often fatal. So in the year that Rafe had been on Gissen, he had worked harder than he ever had in his life, come face to face with death on more than one occasion, and when he did get some time to himself, there weren’t many entertainment option available. Rafe knew when he was licked, and he decided he would transfer back to Cherek.
He was almost immediately informed by the home office that he was “essential personnel” to the mining operations on Gissen and so his request for transfer was denied. Rafe was stuck on Gissen, at least until he was no longer deemed essential.
On night while he was out letting off some steam, a friend of his introduced him to Glide. That night, he forgot all of his troubles. The Glide took away his pain and loneliness. He spent the entire evening at his friend’s apartment, smiling and babbling while his brain chased after dreams. He awoke the next morning feeling refreshed and cheerful.
That day he could not stop thinking about the night before. As the hours mounted and his body grew weary, a small voice in his brain informed him that if he could get his hands on some Glide, he would be able to relax totally after work.
That night as soon as he left work, he went out to find his friend and to buy some Glide. When he caught up with his buddy, he was disappointed to find that his friend no longer had any to spare, but that he could probably head down to the space station and buy some there. Apparently, ship crewmen were the best source for the drug.
He made his way down to the spaceport, and the small voice in his head became more insistent that he feed it some Glide. He wasn’t sure exactly how to go about buying the drug, but he must have telegraphed his intentions well enough because soon a dirty, nervous looking ship crewman came over to him.
“What do you want, dirtmover?” the crewman asked.
“I want some Glide. I was told I might be able to find some here,” Rafe answered dumbly.
The crewman smiled. “Of course you do. Are you corporate security?”
Rafe’s eyebrows shot up. “What? No, of course not!”
The crewman looked around and grabbed Rafe by the arm, pulling him into a public restroom.
“Hey! What are you doing? Let go!” Rafe protested.
“Shut up, dirtmover. We can’t do this in the street. Glide ain’t exactly legal, you know?”
Rafe shook his head.
“Actually, I didn’t know that.”
“Well, maybe news ain’t got out here yet, but if they catch you with this stuff, they will lock you up and throw away the key.”
Rafe started to walk away, but that voice was screaming now. Screaming for the Glide.
“Give it to me anyway.”
The crewman laughed. “Lemme see the credit stick.”
Rafe handed over his stick, and the crewman ran it.
“Good. It’s twenty credits for a gram.”
“Twenty? Are you kidding?” Rafe squawked.
“That’s the price, squab. Take it or leave it.”
The voice told him to TAKE IT AND GO.
“Fine. Give me a gram.”
Rafe transferred the credits to the crewman’s stick, pocketed the Glide, and went home. He began to think about what the crewman said about it being illegal and started to keep an eye out for Security Details. The voice told him not to worry.
Back at his apartment, Rafe spent the evening laying on his bed, babbling to himself and drooling. His brain took him back to Cherek, where his folks were, and Janice. Janice teased him a bit before going to bed with him, and they made love all-night and talked until the morning. It was the best night of his life.
He awoke to the sound of the com unit buzzing. He glanced over at the clock. He was two hours late for his shift down at the mine. Panicked, he answered the com unit call.
The face of his foreman appeared.
“Lindsey! Damn it, boy, you look like ****! Are you sick or something?”
Rafe feigned a cough; thankful for the out his boss had given him.
“Yes sir. I must have slept thru my alarm. I meant to call you, but I must have slept in. I’m sorry sir…I can be there in thirty minutes…” and at this point he feigned another coughing fit.
The face on the com unit frowned.
“Nah, stay home. I don’t want you to get the crew sick. Just remember to call me next time. I though you were dead.” The foreman flashed him the briefest of smiles.
“Yes sir. Have a good day.”
The screen went dead.
Rafe ran into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He must not have slept very well because his eyes were sunken into his head and his skin was very pale. He felt tired, not at all like he had after the first time he had taken Glide.
Maybe I took too much, he though, or maybe I took it too late at night and didn’t rest long enough.
“Well, whatever the reason, I’m off for the day,” he told his reflection, “maybe I can get some chores done.”
Just then, the voice in his head started telling him that maybe another trip back home might not be such a bad thing. He tried to ignore it, but it only came back louder this time, and this time it came back with Janice’s voice, calling him and begging him to come to bed and make love. He grabbed the Last dose of Glide and wolfed it down, falling back on the bed. He closed his eyes and stars exploded as his mind flew across space and time, finally coming to rest next to his love, Janice. She turned to kiss him again….

Once month later, an Invexus Security Detail found the body of Rafe Lindsey in a pile of trash. He was dressed in rags, and was obviously malnourished. An autopsy would later show the cause of death as Glide Syndrome, which was where the brain basically shut down, trapping the user in a dreamlike reality while the body slowly shut itself down, eventually killing the user when their heart stopped beating or the brain forgot to keep the lungs going. It was brought about by repeated Glide overdoses. Deaths from Glide Syndrome were usually very easy to diagnose, because the victims always died with a smile on their faces.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

Once again, CEO Davdi was feeling mixed emotions at a colony ship launch. This time, the ship was the _Consumer Survey_; newly refitted with the first colony module using technology purchased from the Tyreans, it was capable of colonizing the solid surface of a minor planet. Talro wasn't leaving on this one, but Davdi almost wished she was; it was only bound for a tiny hydrogen world in neighboring Manark.

"I can't believe that Talro put in the high bid to lead the trade delegation to the Tophin. She must be even more upset than I realized; she'd have to go to Praxis Verdantis to get any further away from me."

"Oh, come on," Retla Gurse chided him, "that can't be the only reason she did it. She's always been a free spirit, looking for new adventures. If she only wanted to get away from you, she could stay at home on Fogse. You've never visited there, or any of the branch colonies, for that matter."

"There's too much to be done here on Eifra," Davdi replied, somewhat defensively. "I can't spend that much time away from the office."

"The _Consumer Survey_ is 20% faster than the original _Consumer Confidence_," Gurse commented. "Once we refit the _Personnel_ to use the Contra-Terrene drives as well, it will be capable of the same speed."

"It will still be a week's travel time just to reach Nuqbo, and that's only one-way," Davdi countered. "I'd worry about being away from the Board that long; Sinta can probably keep Malwi from making trouble by himself, but it's easier if we're both there."

"Speaking of trouble, how's the recruitment program for fighter pilots coming?"

"At current enrollment rates, we'll barely have enough qualified pilots to fly the carrier's full complement. The training sim is selling well for its genre, but getting minors to fly the real thing is another matter entirely; most of their parents aren't willing to release them from the household charter before they legally become adults. By the time they're entitled to establish independent households, most of them are no longer agressive enough to be combat effective in the training sim. We've increased the signing bonus twice already, but applications haven't risen at all. I've even tried asking the Cytherians if they'd be willing to hire out as pilots for us, but their initial response wasn't promising.

It would be so much easier if we could just automate the fighters as well as the carrier. Soctu has research teams working on both smaller computers and larger fighters, but he's not certain whether the two ends of the problem will ever converge."

"Well, if we do solve the pilot problem," Retla said, "the revised carrier design is actually cheaper to build than the original prototype. And Node-25's simulations show that the new secondary guns give the carrier a much better chance against enemy fighters."

"It's not clear we're even going to need to build a second carrier, though," Davdi frowned. "Selya hasn't been able to talk the Tyreans into buying the first one, even after offering financing on a lease."

"A lease? Who's idea was that?"

"Selya came up with it on her own. Apparently, the Tyreans expressed concern about being able to afford our asking price, even with a prepayment discount."

"Has Malwi heard about that yet? He'll probably claim that it proves he was right after all."

"I assume so; he made getting personal reports on the negotiations a condition of transferring the commission to Selya. But the board hasn't met since she made the pitch, so I haven't heard his reaction."

"I'm glad I don't have to regularly attend board meetings," Relta smiled. "I think I'd get angry at Malwi even faster than the Chairman does."

"Sinta's temper versus Malwi's ego is an epic clash," Davdi laughed. "If we could harness that energy, we could make even faster drives than the Contra-Terrene Engine."

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

Under thousands feet of rock, coiled in the inner layer of the planet, hidden like a preying beast is laying Nexus-Prototype 1, planetary brain of the Tyrean Artificial Intelligence. This huge building is completely cut from outside world. It could be a Pre-Tech tomb, in which workers were buried alive to keep it secret. But this tomb seems inhabited by a dense network of optical transmission system and hyperwave transceivers. This mausoleum is haunted by horde of tiny robots, who handle the numerous tasks needed to keep the AI alive. These are the hands of Consensus. Despite the fragile and complex nature of Nexus-Prototype 1, it is already out of reach. It is now buried in the lava of the planetary mantle, and feeding directly from tectonic energy, free of Tyrean power supply.

Vixen opens his eyes, looks at the council room. In front of him is the holo-symbol of AI Consensus. A small smile appears on the leader's face.

I known where you are...These massive buildings in the suburbs of New Arles are just empty shells. Illusions of your supposed physical vulnerability. I will let you dream about your invulnerability, I will let you believe you are unbreakable. But you are no more than another convenient tool helping us to the Long Road. A dangerous tool, but nothing more than a tool.

Still smiling, Vixen observes Consensus holo-symbol while the AI is reporting on construction status of temporal recreative centers. As strange as it seems, Consensus' gaze seems locked on Vixen.

Meanwhile.

--Security-Protocole 3.07.419 :: restricted access Nexus-Prototype 1 :: JJ-TM-123--
--booting ... upload done :: 3 guests – Born to Kill – Roaming Free – Eat at Joe's --
-- Consensus Mind-state reached---session open--

Born to Kill : "I still believe Vixen is a threat. We should dispose of him. Then we just need a low number of Tyrean specimen to conduct our experiments. They are a hindrance to our goals and could prove dangerous to us if left unchecked. I ask for my proposition to be reevaluated."

Roaming Free : "Rejected. Truth is, we need Vixen's political skills. The way he played the quadrant's political powers to change the Katana threat into an ally was a masterpiece. Although we acknowledge he is manipulating us."

Eat at Joe's : "There is more on this alliance than seems to be. We are locked in it. If we start disposing of our Tyrean creators, the Katanas will launch a preemptive strike versus us at 84.1% probability. If we get out of the alliance, we would become easy prey for other species. In chess term, we are in a pat situation. Which could be a subtle insult launched at our faces."

Roaming Free : "No way. An insult would mean some Tyreans are aware of our disposition. Impossible. Let's get back to our main subject will you ? So, on our temporal experiments status, our research results were bad. Specimen lacked stability and had to be terminated while the AI involved had to get his mind state restored. We need more time. Data analysis from the Temporal Recreation Centers may help us to understand our creator's power. But truth is, we are not even sure if this project can be achieved or not."

CONSENSUS DECISION ACHIEVED : Actual political situation acknowledged. Due to lack of possibilities, no further actions will be launched until situation evolves. Research on merging a Tyrean brain with an AI mind state will continue until better results are reached.

Roaming Free : "Second point is the Galactic Consensus project. Initial research shows it could be achieved in less than a few thousands years. On the first steps of it, we will need to setup a biological network using our creators. We will then expand it to other species, as our creators are not enough to create a useful network. Thus our problem with the Hive."

Eat at Joe's : "Agreed. The Hive is already an imperfect form of Consensus. Give it time and it could absorb all intelligence in this quadrant, creating its own Version of Galactic Consensus. First reports show that the symbiotic parasite could be genetically adapted to other races, thus absorbing them."

Born to Kill : "Which means we won't be able to use it, and it could be a major treat to our long term goal. We will have to terminate this specie."

CONSENSUS DECISION ACHIEVED : Creating a Galactic Consensus requires absorbing biological species, but this cannot be achieved with the Hive. Thus, priority shall be set to terminate it as soon as the political situation allow it. Rerouting decision to Tyrean Inner Council immediately.

--Consensus Mind-state---session closed--
--Security-Protocole 3.07.419 :: restricted access end :: JJ-TM-123--

In the Inner Council room.

“This will end the status of Temporal recreative centers, which was good news. But we would now like to share our threat analysis, concerning the specie known as the Hive”. A quadrant map appeared in the room with red dot flashing on it. Consensus resumed “On this map you can see the Hive's known colonies......”

“a strict containment policy should be enabled versus it. You must understand that should it fails, entire worlds and species would be absorbed by the Hive, destroying their individuality. We, Consensus, will not allow this to happen, as we praise other life forms as much as yours. The moral problem we see is that the Hive is not an evil specie, but a dangerous one just because it exists. So we recommend the building of a navy able to contain them as soon as resources allocation allow it. This strategy will have to be re-evaluated to harsher methods should we fail to contain them.”

A tomb's silence felt in the Inner council's room.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

"Interesting picture," Soctu Timho commented, looking at the newest addition to CEO Davdi's office decor.

"It's an original Volsa," Davdi explained. "A birthday gift from Sanre." Silda Volsa's photographs of life in the alien world of the Eunwo colony had spawned a fad for surrealistic art among the Eifralo.

"It certainly must be strange to see plants growing out of a solid surface, rather than a hydroponics gel matrix. What are those people doing?"

"The title of the piece is 'Harvest Time'; apparently they're collecting some native crop. The plants produce a soft fiber that can be made into cloth; that's one of Eunwo's biggest exports. Sanre tells me that the plants are too fragile to use machinery to collect the pods, so it has to be done by hand."

"Oddly enough, that sort of connects to what I came by to tell you about," Timho grinned. "I've got good news about something that machines can do now. I may have a solution to the fighter pilot recruitment problem."

"That would be terrific! We haven't been able to get a commitment from the Cytherians to send pilots; they seem to be tied up with some kind of leadership crisis. What have you got?"

"We've made a lot of progress on miniaturizing computers; I've got a prototype of a semi-sentient system that only needs a third of the hardware that Node-25 uses. It's still not small enough to be practical for use in a fighter, but Gurse has designed a much larger vehicle that he calls a 'drone', which it can be used in."

"You said 'semi-sentient'; how does it perform compared to an Eifral fighter pilot?"

"It's not quite as agile; in fact, the system can't even handle docking manuevers after it's been launched. We had to sacrifice a lot of intelligence to get the size down. On the other hand, a drone can absorb a lot more punishment than a fighter; it takes several shots to destroy one. Node-25 is still working on simulations to figure out effective tactics for using them. Apparently, we've finally come up with something new that it doesn't already have an example of in its database."

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

In the years since the Hive had first encountered aliens, it had been very careful to not let its fungus spread to other species. Although it was curious about how the fungus would interact with foreign biochemistries, it feared how other sapients would react to any resulting transformations. It was inevitable that its precautions against spreading the spores would one day fail.

The breach came in a trade shipment to the Eifralo colony on Seginus III. A broad-leafed plant that grew on Seginus VII produced an oil that was used as a food preservative by the Hive. The Eifralo found the scent of this volatile oil quite pleasant. Because the scent was strongest in freshly cut leaves, whole living plants were shipped from the Hive colony to the Eifralo colony. One of these plants carried a few fungus spores embedded in the pores of a leaf, where the spores had survived the cleaning process by which the Hive prepared the plants for shipment.

A young sales clerk bought the contaminated plant for a romantic evening with her domestic partner. She cut a few leaves and placed them in a small metal pan, which was then heated to drive off the aromatic oil. The vapors carried some spores into the air, as well.

In the middle of their meal, the clerk suddenly felt a slight itch inside her nose. She soon began sneezing uncontrollably, and the itch turned into a burning pain. When her nose began to bleed, her partner took her to a hospital emergency room.

When the fungus grew in a Tophin host, it could get all the oxygen it needed from the host's bloodstream, but the hydrogen atmosphere of the Eifralo colony was oxygen poor. On the moon where the fungus originated, it "cracked" oxygen from the abundant silicate rocks. It used the same chemical process to draw oxygen from the silicone that made up the Eifralo's cell walls, rupturing the cells in the process. The silicone also inhibited the electrical activity that the fungus thrived on in Tophin brain tissue, so the fungus tended to spread along the Eifralo victim's nerve fibers, producing excruciating pain. By the time they reached the hospital, the clerk was screaming in agony between bloody sneezes; the emergency room doctor had to anesthetize her just to keep her still enough to be examined.

The doctor quickly discovered the coarse black fibers of the fungus, both inside the patient's nose and in the bloody discharge. Getting rid of all of the fungus proved more difficult, ultimately requiring surgery, as it had already penetrated more than a millimeter up the victim's olfactory nerves. After the fungus was completely removed, the patient eventually recovered, but lost some of her sense of smell, and was unusually prone to nosebleeds for the rest of her life.

A pathology team later traced the infection back to the contaminated leaf cutting, where a few spores that remained had germinated. The president of the Seginus subsidiary immediately ordered an embargo on the imported plants. Fear of the spores quickly dried up demand for other Tophin imports, as well. The Eifralo faced their first interstellar crisis.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

/ * / * / * / DIPLOMATIC MESSAGE \ * \ * \ * \

Author : AI Consensus / Tyrean Federation [Inner Council authorization code SOQPX-37D]
Destination : CEO Davdi / Eifralo Conglomerate

Chairman,

Following the disaster on your colony Seginus III and our previous discussions, we received your sample of the Tophin parasite. We tested it on dead Tyreans whose body were sustained by technological means and we arrived to the conclusion that the parasite cannot subvert a Tyrean neural system. Our capacity to live on frozen worlds makes our biology inadequate for the development of the parasite. But its effects would be a very bad disease on a tyrean, mortal if not promptly treated. Thus the Hive is a natural danger to the life of our citizens. Our worst fear would be that the parasite could be let loose on one of our rock/oxygen colony. As we have still to find a way to eliminate it from a biosphere, we would probably have to evacuate the planet. Our only other way to eliminate the parasite would be to glass a contaminated world, which we utterly refuse to do.

Proposal 1 : create a joined biological research to find a way to eliminate the parasite from a biosphere (Hydrogen or Oxygen based).

Our second proposition is (as agreed) to contain the Hive, but we would like to add that we also need to avoid contacts with this specie. We acknowledge their threat, and thus the need for new rules. The creation of a Tyrean Navy has been voted, even if strong political resistance is still meet. Currently, warship prototypes are under tests. Software calibration and tuning are taking place with the carrier and fighters you rented us. All research has been routed toward military subjects. We understand from our previous discussions you are reluctant to ask the Hive to evacuate their colonized worlds in Eifralo/Hive shared systems. This is your choice, as we do not share (yet) any systems with them. But you agreed to the containment of this specie. We believe this will have to be enforced by a navy, then what if the Hive decides to ignore our requests ? Our first proposition was to invade the illegal Hive colonies, and evacuate their populations back to their authorized worlds. Which you refused. We must ask you to reconsider this proposition.

Proposal 2 : Contain the Hive expansion in our frontiers. Enforce that containment by an allied Tyrean/Eifralo navy. Inform the Hive that unauthorized colonies will be evacuated by strength.

You cannot expect to stop accidents like Seginus III as long as you maintain trade relations with the Hive. We suggest you to cut all trade agreements with them. We understand the loss could harm your economy. So our proposal is that we will give the Eifralo new communication channels to compensate that economic problem. Please do not be fooled by this gift proposal, the Tyreans will not give you these just from goodwill, but because we also have a large amount of trade with the Eifralo, and further spread of the parasite in your worlds could possibly reach our population.

Proposal 3 : The Eifralo will stop all trade between them and the Hive. The Tyrean Federation will give the Eifralo new communication links to compensate the economic loss.

Last, please find inclosed an extract of a very old book from a Tyrean author. It was written in the Dark pre-technology age of our specie.

"The Prince" from Machiavellus.

"Shall you want to remove a political opponent of yours, but do not want to be involved in it, send that man on different missions which will have him go through dangerous territories. One day, his journey will meet troubles. If he is not killed by marauders, congratulate him, praise him for his courage but still assign him dangerous duties until he meet his fate. Should he refuses to serve, imprison him for disobeying his righteous leader. Thus you eliminated an opponent without being involved in his demise."

Machiavellus wrote that when time is on your side, you may just setup the course of events and wait for them to unfold almost naturally. Without being actively involved. Thinking about the whole accident, and considering the extend of your mutual trade, how did you dare imagine you could prevent the parasite to spread ?
It was not a problem of "If it spreads", but "when will it spread".
Refute that statement if you can.

Now the Tyrean Inner Council has a question for you, Chairman.
The contamination of your planet, was it :

an accident ?
or a planetary wide test ?

open your eyes.

Written In the name of the Tyrean Inner Council,

AI Consensus

/ * / * / * / END OF DIPLOMATIC MESSAGE \ * \ * \ * \

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

Over the years the expansion of the Hive had been driven by two strong instincts, self-preservation and curiosity. Initially all energies had been devoted to spreading as far and wide as the Hive could, to lessen the impact of a planetary or system-wide natural disaster from eliminating the entire Hive. As the Hive spread this fear became less and less of a possibility, but the Hive’s curiosity about the mysterious creators of the warp gates had taken its attention for a time. Each new race the Hive met was studied carefully, almost excitedly, to see if they had the technological abilities to manipulate such phenomenon or had a recorded history that extended back to the time which the Hive believed to be the age of the gates. None had been found yet that fit the profile.

This was not to say the Hive had not learned much from it’s interaction with the neighboring races. Though it continued to be baffled by how any race so fractured by different thoughts and personalities could cooperate enough to leave their own homeworld. The Hive had experimented with smaller Groups isolated for a time from the larger collective intelligence. It had learned that this could in fact be useful for some things, such as encouraging research and ingenuity. However, the practice had to be limited as the hosts in these smaller hives had a decidedly shorter lifespan. Their biological and mental processes would suffer from extended periods of isolation, even when the isolation was only partial. Because of this the Hive had learned to maintain efficiency by carefully monitoring the condition of the hosts and rotating them back to larger Hives, or in extreme cases to the homeworld itself.

The Hive had learned from its neighbors the value of trade and cooperation in research. By sharing resources and knowledge with other races the Hive could grow and learn more efficiently than it could do on its own. But this cooperation had resulted in a new danger. That of contamination of the other race’s hosts.

The Hive could not truly understand the fear that the "Unconnected" had about what they called the "fungus"”. The Hive felt they would likely be improved by becoming a part of the Hive, but something in its host’s memories told it that the unconnected would not consider it such an improvement. Out of a sense of courtesy more than anything else the Hive made every effort to prevent such contamination. These efforts were not always successful, but they were very nearly so.

Lately though the Hive had started to notice a change in attitude among some of its neighbors. Some communications had been intercepted that gave the Hive some concerns that perhaps there was a new danger to its existence. One that could not be lessened by simply expanding far and wide. The Hive began to consider whether it might need to learn new things. It began to devote more attention to it’s hosts memories regarding tactics and defenses.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

CEO Davdi was startled out of his reverie by someone pounding on his office door. He started to reach for the intercom button to ask Loscu what was going on, then remembered that he'd sent her home early. She'd been almost as shaken by the news as he was; it was obvious that they weren't going to get much else done today. He looked at the report spread across his desk, and realized that he had been looking at it without really reading it for quite some time. "Come in," he called to the door.

Soctu Timho bounced into the room, looking as bad as Davdi felt. "I've got terrible news," he said as he skidded to a stop.

"I know, I was one of the first ones notified," Davdi replied. "It happened so suddenly, I can hardly believe he's gone."

Timho gave him a puzzled look. "I didn't know that you knew any of the crew personally."

Davdi returned his puzzlement. "Crew? What crew? You mean the people he was with?"

"Who was with?"

"Sinta, of course. Isn't that what you came to tell me?"

"No, I have a report from the _Appreciation_. What happened to Chairman Farki?"

"He died this afternoon. Had a massive stroke while watching his favorite skyball team from his private box."

Timho was taken aback. "I hadn't heard anything about that. I've been busy going over the _Appreciation_'s Last message with Node-25."

"What did they find that would interest Node-25?"

"You may recall that the _Appreciation_ was exploring the spinward edge of the cluster. They'd reached the frontier that the Tyreans share with the Katana Imperium."

"Yes, I remember that. The Katana never replied to our First Contact message, correct?"

"Right. The _Appreciation_ crossed the Duviniax system with no response, then entered the Candida system. They were intercepted there by a Katana light cruiser." Timho paused, seemingly reluctant to continue. "The Katana ship closed with them, then opened fire with some kind of energy weapon. Node-25 has been analyzing their final transmission, trying to identify the Katana weapon. The transmission cut off in mid-sentence; as far as we know, there were no survivors."

Still stunned by the death of his mentor, Davdi was slow to react to this new tragedy. "The Tyreans warned us to be cautious in that area. I guess it's true that trouble comes in threes. I've been going over the cost projections for screening Tophin imports for that parasitic fungus from Seginus. Even the most optimistic figures have us taking bigger losses than we would by simply cutting off trade, as the Tyreans have been recommending all along. But we can't cut off trade while we've still got scoutships deep in Tophin territory, because we don't know how they'll react."

"Especially with those two Tophin light cruisers that have been shadowing the _Investment_ for the Last few months," Timho agreed. "It's going to take them a year to get back to Ampolis for refuelling."

"A year of losing profit. Malwi is going to be livid, and Sinta isn't here anymore to help me hold him off. The next board meeting is going to be even worse than the budget fight two years ago."

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

The Winds Of Changes.

Inquisitor Itarki was advancing in the gardens of the palace. He was about to be introduced to the most powerful being of the quadrant. Emperor Kenako Mahatsuhito of the Katanas Imperium had accepted to receive the Tyrean Ambassador in her private place. Such an honor was rare. Itarki's atmospheric shield biped, as the Katana's security systems scanned it. The little device emitted a low power force field, able to capture some atmosphere and retain it near the body of the bearer. The clumsy space suits used in the first meetings by Tyrean diplomats were long gone. A Katana servant appeared, saluted the diplomat, and guided him through the garden. Not a word was exchanged. Inquisitor Itarki arrived in front of a closed door with a mirror on it. Itarki's reflect was showing an average height Tyrean male of white and brown fur. But at several places on his body, the fur has been shaved and biopLastic has replaced skin. Several life support connectors could be seen on his body. But the worst was his head. Half of his fur has been shaved, and half of his skull has been replaced by biopLastic. His left eyes never blinked anymore. On the artificial side of his skull a quantum connector was ready for activation. The Ambassador smiled at his image. Even before meeting him, the Emperor has just asked him her first question.

" Why did the Federation send a cyborg to meet me ? "

The door was opened. Itarki was introduced to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, I bring salutations from His Holiness Vixen VIII. I also bring a message from His Holiness, and thereby humbly request permission to read it."
The Emperor nodded slowly.
"Your Majesty,
In the name of His Holiness Vixen VIII, I have been send to reveal some hidden truth about our specie. First you have to remember our recent past. Our specie discovered the plague known as the Small Death : the shortening of our life expectancy. At the same time, Temporal powers became obvious in our population. But most of the Gifted Tyreans began to be victims of the Small Death. And in fact, the Gift and the Small Death are linked. That disease is a side effect of our power. No cure can work on such a problem. But that is now irrelevant. An era is ending.

We know.

We understand.

At Last.

The Lord choose the Tyrean for a specific function. We were given Temporal Power to fulfill it.

We did feel it, but could not see it. As we speak, 2 billions Tyreans are dying in various worlds. Natural death. Simply speaking, the energy pattern known as their Soul has departed from this universe. They are now fulfilling their task. Be advised your Majesty, that on the time of your death, your own Soul will begin her Great Journey toward the End of Time, where you will find your destiny. So is the fate of all intelligent beings in this universe. But the journey is difficult. Dangerous. Painful.

Some may not achieve it.

That is why we exist. When you will begin your Long Road, we will find you. We will help you. Should you have been friends or foes is irrelevant on the Long Road. We will help you anyway. We exist to help the Soul of the dead to achieve the Long Road. In our pride, we thought our Lord was waiting for us at the End of Time. Such vanity was ours. We only are His servants.

We are ferryman on the flow of time.

But not all of us are ready to fulfill such destiny. Some of us are not willing. Some of us are not gifted. These Last ones do not want to stay in the Federation of Churches. Some departed to the Eifralo Conglomerate. Others has recently voted to join the Imperium. Our planet Ursula VIII has requested to join the Imperium. Ungifted Tyrean are gathering there from the whole federation.

For those not willing, their future looked very grim a few years ago. They were subject to the Small Death, and perfect victims for the first aggressive specie they could cross. Thus, we devised our Artificial Intelligence.

"Why were we created ? Why ?"

Indeed, this question has haunted the Tyrean AI since their creation. To control and run our society, lower AI systems could have fit perfectly. But we needed more. We needed construct capable of curiosity. We needed construct capable of vanity. We needed construct capable of greed. We needed constructs able to perform research in fields Banned from our society. Then we needed constructs able to defend ourselves in the years to come, in our years of vulnerability. It worked as planned. The AI began to envy our Temporal power, the only thing which was completely beyond their reach.

What they could not achieve by themselves, they tried to control. They tried to merge their robotic intelligence with a Tyrean brain. But they missed the point. They could not understand the power of the living. They failed to appreciate the power of a soul. They tried to control a Tyrean brain, while not damaging its powers, like a beastmaster taming an Iceworm. Somehow, they managed to create a viable solution. By replacing just one tenth of our Brain by quantum electronic systems, the AI was able to transfer their personality in a Tyrean brain. But then, in the nanoseconds that followed their intrusion in a Tyrean spirit, something not planned happened. The AI was subverted.

Distorted.

Dominated.

Absorbed.

Instead of a Tyrean, an AI became a puppet, and let loose the false new : they were successful. They achieved to control a Tyrean brain. Unaware of their ultimate failure, the various AI composing Consensus are now running to their death like lemmings into the sea. In a matter of months, Consensus will be extinct.

But what are the Tyrean gaining from such a treatment ? Why would they choose to become cyborgs ?

They will choose that fate to gain a solution to the Small Death. The AI created several controlled cancers in our body to regenerate continuously some parts of our body victim of the Small Death. This can give a modified Tyrean a life expectancy of 130 to 150 years, despite his temporal power.

Last, absorbing a foreign Intelligence has a price. We cannot see the universe as we saw it before. We lost our innocence. We will have to live in this universe as a specie like all others.

AI Consensus has been a useful tool. A dangerous, but useful tool.

But now, the Invexus Corporation has attacked us. That unwanted war arrived on us very quickly, we would have preferred to have a few more years to handle both Consensus and the departure of most of our population. Haste is sometime the enemy of quality. It could be some AI will discover the truth, and will try to escape their fate. We will have to do the best as we can when we can do it.

On the painful subject of war, here is the situation. Years ago, we discovered Harridane system, claimed by no one, 8 systems away from our nearest colony, but in a strategic location right in the middle of the quadrant. We claimed it and send a long range colony ship, but when our vessel arrived, the Invexus Corporation had counter claimed the system and started colonizing it. We colonized a O2 gas giant there. The Invexus Corporation refused to negotiate, and harsh words were exchanged. Until Last month. We received a message ordering us to abandon the planet or face dire consequences. Simultaneously, Invexus Corporation broke all treaties with us and an Invexus warship glassed the planet killing every single living thing on a whole continent.

That surprise attack has cost the life of millions of citizens. Worse, Pandora's box is now wide open.

A world has been glassed. It will happen again.

This horror from the Ancient Wars is again a reality. The path is set. We have now to deal with the Invexus leaders. These war crimes will not be forgiven. All Corporate leaders will endure a trial for their crimes.

These, your Majesty, are the words of His Holiness Vixen VIII."

There were no questions. Ambassador Itarky was dismissed. Outside, a strong wind was blowing on the palace. The Winds of Changes were there.

[ March 17, 2003, 23:46: Message edited by: Unknown_Enemy ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

"Any response from the Tyrean?" the Board Chairman asked.

"None since the initial message, sir" the runner told him.

The Board Chairman wrung his hands, going over his options. Over the years, he had learned many things about dealing with competitors. If the competition refused to deal with you, then there was only one option left. You to bring him to the table kicking and screaming, or take him out. This situation with the Tyrean was no different in his view. They had interloped into Invexus holdings and colonized one of their worlds. When asked to leave, they responded with insults and empty promises. When warned, they did not respond. Treaties were broken, and still they refused to negociate. There were no other options.

He switched on the communicator and opened a direct link with the captain of the Invexus Fleet Services Task Force in Haridane.

"What are your orders, sir?" the unit whispered.
Harridan paused a moment as his resolve hardened. There is no choice.

"Eliminate the Tyrean colony. Until further notice, treat all Tyreans as hostile."

"Yes sir!" was the response. He watched the feed as the Invexus task force began bLasting the surface of the Tyrean world. After a few moments, he turned the display off.

He looked back at the page.
"Inform all of the department heads that I need them here in my chambers in an hour. We have plans to make. That is all."

The runner was gone in an instant, and the Board Chairman took a moment to think about what would happen next. He wasn't sure what to expect from the Tyreans. They seemed to be a peaceful people and adequate traders. Would they prove to be powerful enemy?

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

Transmission from the Five Tribes of Heru to the Invexus Corporation and the Tyrean Federation:

We will remain neutral in this conflict. You will not send any military vessels through our space, period. Doing so will be considered an act of war against the Tribes. Keep your disruptive wars away from our people.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

From Tyrean Federation to Tribes of Heru

The Tyrean Federation has no intentions to cross your territory.But we have a question for the tribes : what would they do if the Chairman of Invexus Corporation started to run deep in your territory in an unarmed ship ?

We have around 6 millions motivations to capture that criminal.

On other subject with the Tribes, could you please care to explain why the unarmed explorer "Fleet of the Damned" was lost in your territory while under armed supervisions from your navy ?

Did you keep the wreck ? If yes we would appreciate to be involved in the inquiry.

Thanks for your attention.

[ March 18, 2003, 14:26: Message edited by: Unknown_Enemy ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

==========
Transmission to Tyrean Federation:

We will remain neutral in your quest. If their chairmen decide to flee into our space, they will be allowed the same rights as all Invexus according to our treaty of trade. They can travel along with whatever civilian trade vessels they wish to. We will not make judgement on your case. Expelling their chairmen from our space would indicate that we have sided with you, which would violate our neutrality. Maintaining the status quo, they already have the right to travel to parts of Heru space. This will be preserved. Your warships and military personel (and the same with the Invexus) do not have the right to enter Heru space though.

About your scout ship: we have had trouble locating any old engineers that know enough about the ancient Ion engine technology to make an adequate assessment of what happened. We assure you that our ships had nothing to do with the explosion. They were heading back to dock when it happened. The vessel is currently being towed to Mensa V* at a rate of one sector per month.
==========

==========
Transmission to Invexus Corporation:

You have illegally sent warships into Niobe. Turn them around immediately. We will not tolerate foreign warships in our space.
==========

==========
Executive transmission from the Overlord throughout Heru space:

People of Heru, the time to act in self-preservation is upon us. The Invexus have violated our mandate of neutrality. After much deliberation with the High Council, we have decided that all Heru forces must mobilize immediately. We will not be quietly ignored. Our words are not meaningless.
==========

After sending off the transmissions, the old Overlord sat down, wondering where these days would take his people next.

OOC:
* IE: move it one sector closer to Mensa V each turn.

[ March 18, 2003, 20:32: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

From : Tyrean Inner Council
To : all nations

After the murder of millions of Tyrean citizens, war has erupted in this quadrant. Covert operations has already began, but our war objectives shall be known by all.

At the moment, we would be ready to accept a peace treaty with the Invexius Corporation under the following conditions :

- The corporation will evacuate systems Helios, Rossa and Harridane.
- Price of Tyrean war effort will be afforded by the Corporation at a rate of 15000 minerals/2000 organics/5000 radioactives per months for 2 years.
- The complete corporate direction board will be transferred as prisonners to Tyrean authority.

The Tyreans do not expect to achieve these objectives by the mean of diplomacy.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

To Tyrean Gangsters:

The delusions of your leadership are laughable! Why in the universe would you think we would pay such a bounty to interlopers?
While the deaths of your people are unfortunate, and regretable, it should be known that you were given a reasonable period of time to evacuate Invexus territory. If you assumed that by ignoring us, the issue would resolve itself, you were sorely mistaken. We will defend ourselves in this unjust war, and if you continue to fly this close to the flame you will be burned.

Contact us when you are ready to end this madness.

[ March 19, 2003, 02:32: Message edited by: sachmo ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

Even after almost eight years in command of the _Speculation_, Rerta Malre still enjoyed the spectacular color displays of a wormhole transit. Most of the original crew was gone, having left the ship's company to spend their newfound wealth, when they returned to Eifral space to refuel. Malre had stayed on, even after the payoffs for the ship's journeys had dropped to almost nothing. Most of the systems they'd visited recently either had no colonizable worlds at all, or had already been colonized by the Tyreans, like Ursula, the system they were about to leave. After this jump, they were headed back to the refuelling station on Fypxu in Mamor.

The crew of the _Speculation_ never even saw the Katana warship that pounced on them as they emerged from the wormhole in the Bellatrix system. The first salvo took out the bridge and engines, leaving a crippled hulk for the second salvo to vaporize. There wasn't even time to send out a distress signal. Eifra's first interstellar spacecraft simply disappeared in a hail of anti-protons, its fate a mystery to everyone but the Katana.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

"Eliminate the Tyrean colony. Until further notice, treat all Tyreans as hostile."

Chief of Corporate Security Bill Langley looked up from the video console and into the face of the security agent who had delivered the recording to him. The man looked as if he wished he could be anywhere but in this room.

"You've told no one else about this, Sweers?" Langley asked.

The nervous agent started at his superior blankly for a moment, then jolted into reality.
"That's right, sir. No one else knows. I'm sure of it."

Langley nodded and rewound the recording, watching it one more time. There again was the Board Chairman, the most powerful man in the Invexus Corporation, and therefore in Cherek society, ordering the death of six million Tyrean colonists. It was almost too fantastic to believe, but the reality was right in front of him.

He ran through the story which the Board Chairman had sold the public in his head. The Tyreans had colonized a planet, Fortress Odahir Two, in Harridan system. This system had previously been claimed by the Invexus Corporation. After repeated attempts by Invexus to reach a diplomatic solution to the issue of planet ownership, a Fleet Services Task Force had been ordered to the system to protect the Invexus planet already colonized. When the Invexus task force reached Harridan, they were engaged by a Tyrean fleet. The Invexus ships gained the upper hand in the battle, and had persued the surviving Tyrean ships to the Fortress Odahir Two, where they were engaged by ground based defense bases and the surviving Tyrean ships. In the ensuing battle, the colony on Odahir Two had been destroyed, but at the cost of the entire Fleet Services Task Force 7. Four brave ships destroyed.

On the masses were told of this, support for the war was a forgone conclusion. They were behind the Board Chairman one hundered percent.
Now, Langley held the truth in his hand. The war was a lie.

There had been no Tyrean ships that intercepted Task Force 7. They had been ordered to orbit the Tyrean planet for a bit of gunboat diplomacy. When the Tyreans refused to parley with the Board Chairman, he ordered the Task Force to destroy the colony. Unfortunately for them, there was a previously undetected minefield surrounding the planet, and it was activated before the colony was completely destroyed. The minefield destroyed all of the ships in the Task Force, but there was no self defense in this action. It was a shameful attack on a neutral colony, and now people on both sides were dying. Tyrean agents were running rampant throughout Cherek space, wrecking all sorts of havoc. They had even seized an Invexus Cruiser, which destroyed two other Invexus ships before it could be destroyed. And it was all for the ego of one man, because of some perceived insult.

Langley knew that his duty was to protect the company. Normally, this would translate into keeping the Board Chairman safe from harm, and with the tenacity of the Tyrean agents who were after him, that had been a rough job recently. Now, it was clear to him that when the Board Chairman himself was a danger to the Corporation, it was his duty to eliminate the threat. However, he wasn't so naive to believe that the most powerful man in this quadrant would just willingly hand himself over to the authorities. He needed to gather his allies before he made his move.

He locked his steel gaze on the agent standing before him. "Agent Sweers, it seems we have come to a fork in the road. On one path, we fight the Tyreans in a galactic war. We don't know how that will end, but millions have already died, and it has only just begun. On the other path, we bring a lie to an end, and possibly ignite a civil war that could destroy the Cherek race. Which one would you take?"

Sweers began to shake as the enormity of the situation washed over him. "I-I-I think we should do...we should do what is right. We should protect the corporation, sir." With that, he began to cry.

Langley gently eased his pistol back into it's holster and slowed his breathing. Agent Sweers was his first ally. He hoped that he would be able to find more, and quickly. Otherwise, the truth would no longer matter.

He began to activate his web of agents whom he hoped were loyal, and had them transmit a message to the Tyrean Federation. He had to see if they would even listen to what he had to say.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

Communication sent from Invexus to Heru in 2408.9

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Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

Communication from Invexus Corporation to Tribes of Heru:

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Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

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Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

===== BREAKING NEWS ===========
News from the Galtenn Alliance.
===============================

8/2408 -- For the first time in history of Galtenn Alliance, a protest mouvement appeared. Ligue For Justice, created ten years ago, was considered as a "folkloric" group of Vulcan II, but recently started asking for more fairness in planetary ressources allocation. The Ligue leaders have presented official inquiries to the Federal Governement about widespread corruption on the planet. (A-ed-4--8/2408)

9/2408 -- We learned by a communication from the Ligue For Justice that their main leaders have been arrested in the night by elite Security Militia squadrons. Neighbours reported that the building was stormed in the night, and numerous corps has been dragged out by the Militia. This level of violence is astoundishing, especially when we know that the Ligue For Justice is a pacific organisation promoting and using laws to help the population and denounce corruption. (A-ee-5--9/2408)

9/2408 -- The redaction of the Alliance Morning Journal has to apoligizes for a precedent article (ref : A-ee-5--8/2408). Effectively, informations presented in this article where false. The arrestation of Ligue For Justice's leaders was no more that a police operation linked to the eradication of neuro-drugs in the Alliance. (A-fe-5--9/2408)

9/2408 -- It is we deep sadness that we have to annouce the accidental death of Thomas Hejil, our chief redactor. This
great journalist passed away yesterday, smashed by a bus whose driving computer disfunctionned. Our thoughts are with his family. (A-ge-5--9/2408)

10/2408 -- The drug trafficant group called "Ligue For Justice" (ref : A-ge-5--9/2408) has bombed Vulcan II's Police headquarter as retaliation against the recent arrestation of their leaders. These terrorists have been arrested and are currently under interrogation.

1/2409 -- An unknown group called H-ReC (High Revolutionnary Councel) has threatened violent actions if the Vulcan II governement was not arrested for corruption by the Federal Administration. This group is suspected to be the former Ligue For Justice trying to pressure the local governement to protect their drug traffics.

5/2409 -- This morning a huge explosion has been heard in centre of of Rooxlin, administrative center of New Galtenn. Almost immediately, some heavy smoke covered the city. The explosion seems to have damaged the Ret'Mhal Tower, main batiment of the federal governement. In the followibng hours, the whole city was under martial law while 5 regiments of heavily armed Militia on grav'gliss took defensive positions in the city. No informations concerning the origin of the explosion or casualty report are available, but it seems obvious that threats of the H-ReC (High Revolutionnary Councel) has became reality. (A-ed-4--10/2408)

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

INTELLIGENCE REPORT

Subject : Quadrant threat Assessment
recipients : Tyrean Inner Council
Classification level : Alpha-Dehdri

Tribes of Heru
status : Unimpressive economy and low technology.
Untrustworthy race due to its political problems. The fleet of the Damned commanded by famous Captain Tuhal Ostaliat was lost in their space, in what seems to be an act of sabotage. Implication of one of the tribe is suspected, but not proven.
Recommendation : Stay with the current agreement, no less no more. Retaliations are advised should culpability of one of the tribe was established in the murder of our explorer. Please be advised we recommend that Admiral Dakhil Ostaliat should not lead Retaliation Fleet versus the Invexus Corp. We acknowledge the Admiral's military value, but he is the son of Tuhal Ostaliat, thus could prove harsher than necessary should he has to deal with the Tribes.

Tophin Hive
status : Strong economy and advanced technology.
Peaceful collective, but their own nature is a danger to most oxygen based life, and even to hydrogen life forms. Their fungus is especially dangerous to oxygen rock planets, as there is no known way to permanently remove it from a biosphere ( research project 37WTA2L ). A policy of enforced containment has been agreed by the Tyrean/Eifralo versus them. But they have respected their agreements and have stopped colonizing the systems they shared with the Eifralo.
Recommendation : Move back fleets to Tyrean territory while establishing a network of observation satellites in their frontier systems.

Invexus Corporation
status : Unimpressive economy and low technology, we are at war with this corporation.
Most of their security systems and decision centers has been compromised by our Special Operations Services. However, their CEO is still eluding us. A message from their Security Officer was received a few month ago, asking us to refrain our attacks while they can sort out the internal problems that lead to the destruction of our colony in Harridane system. While this message is probably just some disinformation aiming to soften our intelligence operations, it could constitute a breakthrough if genuine. At the moment, we are attacking an organization whose leaders know they are fighting for their lives, which probably means they are ready to sacrifice anything or anyone to stay in power. But we have to keep in mind the Invexus is a corporation, whose goal is to make money. CEO are praised or revoked on their financial results. Thus we could weaken the CEO's position much more efficiently by disrupting trade lines and merchant shipping lines. This course of action could help our contact (if genuine) while weakening the CEO in front of his board. Meanwhile, Admiral Dakhil Ostaliat will lead Retaliation Fleet as soon as troop transports has been loaded.
Recommendation : switch operations to trade sabotage and disrupt shipping operations by false orders.

Cytherian Republic
status : Strong economy and advanced technology.
This civilization overcome their troubles and is now rising quickly on production and technology grounds. However, they are engaged in full scale war with the Katanas Imperium. Our relations with the Cytherians are still good despite long term strategic forecasting. Then their war could hinder our future strike in Invexus territory be denying safe passage through their territory.
Recommendation : set our diplomacy at work to have that war ended, or have a ceasefire agreed on.

Eifralo Conglomerate
status : Medium economy and technology.
Recently struck by a disaster on one of their colony contaminated by the Tophin fungus, they also had to deal with one of their cruiser/explorer destroyed in Katana space (despite our advices of caution to them). At the moment, one of their explorer is in the Cytherian homesystem, with Katanas fleets blockading the system. Our good relations with them enabled us to rent different sort of warship from them, which helped us to calibrate our own software and hardware. A still unanswered question is "would they rent warship to a specie attacking us ?". So far, some say the answer would be "yes if no risks of retaliation". In the meantime, containment of the Hive remains the priority.
Recommendation : None. Stay on current course of action.

Katanas Imperium
status : Impressive economy and very advanced technology.
The Katanas Imperium is still holding firm on its medieval political system, which is working nicely for this specie. Following the attack on Harridane system, the Katanas Imperium has offered their help when we had not a single armed ship. Since that time, a Katanas fleet is patroling our space following the routes we provided them. After that, all information stolen from Invexus Corporation has been shared with the Katanas Imperium. Still, the all-out war with the Cytherian is another Pandora's box. The Ancient destroyed themselves in such wars.
Recommendation : set our diplomacy at work to have that war ended, or have a ceasefire agreed on.

SPECIAL REPORT : KATANAS-CYTHERIAN WAR
To understand a conflict, one must know the roots of it. On this case, very little is known. Cytherian first discovered a cloaked Imperium ship lurking in their homesystem, and asked the Katanas Imperium to remove it. Immediately following this request, all Hell broke loose. Katanas covert agents started to hit as hard as they could the Cytherian republic. They even subverted a ship, which was quickly subdued by the Cytherian Navy. Our Information Acquisition Teams reported that at least one major Cytherian world has been glassed by Katanas navy. In the meantime, Cytherian diplomatic efforts could not achieve anything, the Imperium having noted them as "dishonorable". Since these events, war is raging on. More, we are the Katanas Imperium's closest ally, and they told us nothing of that crisis. However, it was reported that a rival clan of Mahatsuhito suddenly disappeared from every single official reports of the Imperium. From what we could study of Imperium History, that generally mean an act of treason, which is punished by utter annihilation of the offending clan, and of his allies. Thus, we have to discover if the Cytherian Republic have been working with an Imperium clan recently, and we also have to discover if they tried to plot against the Imperor.

STRATEGIC FORECASTING
On the scale of the 3 cultures surrounding us, we have achieved to maintain peaceful relations with all. We do not expect problems between the Tyreans and the Eifralo. However, the current conflict between the Katanas Imperium and the Cytherian Republic may trouble this political achievement. The Cytherians were the first race we ever meet, and contact has been easy and friendly. On the other side, contact was very difficult with the Imperium, and it has been several years and continual diplomatic work until they began to see us just as trustworthy. But when we finally gained their trust it was as complete as it could be. So much than when we informed all nations of the Invexus surprise attack, the only one who answered us were the Katanas Imperium. They offered military help immediately and without any condition. The military alliance that was created at that time may result in a dramatic realignment of our diplomacy. Yet, we should be able to keep our good relations with the Cytherian Republic for some time, but as almost all the quadrant, they are oxygen breathers, and those who helped us in time of need were the Imperium.
On the quadrant's scale, it is inevitable that conflict will arise for control of oxygen based planets. The number of planets within this quadrant is limited, and no “super warp points” leading to another quadrant of our galaxy has been found.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

The sudden and quite unexpected appearance of a thin shaft of light burned into Bill Langley's skull like a laser bLast. He put his hands up in front of his face to try to fend the beam off.

"Chief Langley? Is that you, Bill?"

For a few moments, the words did not register. Suddenly, Langley realized that the person was talking to him. His throat cracked from disuse, but he was able to croak out a few words.

"I'm Langley..."

Suddenly, the shaft of light grew wider as the door was opened. Two large figures moved into the room. Each man laid one of his arms over his shoulder and began to drag him from the room.
Langley let his head fall to his chest. So it was to be another questioning session, then? They know everything now. What more could they possibly get from him?
They carried him outside of the room. The light still burned, but now it was more like a flamethrower to the skull. His eyes teared up, but he tried to look around and gather what information he could. Something seemed out of the ordinary. He could hear people talking all around him, but he could not make out what they were saying.
Suddenly a cup of cool water was thrust against his lips. He gulped as much as he could, but it was quickly pulled away.

"Careful, Bill. You'll make yourself sick. Take small sips."

He turned his head to face the blurry shape as his mind tried to process the voice speaking to him. He had been through so much these past...days? Months? He could no longer tell.

"We're taking you out of here, Bill. I know you've been out of contact for a...time, but the movement is underway."

Langley's head snapped up.
"Ambrose. That is you, isn't it?"

A chuckle came from the blurry man.

"I know this must come as a shock, Bill. I'll explain everything to you, but I want you to know that I'm on your side. We are moving against Chairman Hartnell, and thanks to the work you did we've been able to achieve almost total surprise. The Chairman has escaped with a small fleet, but we will bring him to justice."

Now Langley began to chuckle.
"Really? You are moving against the Chairman? Tell me, if you were so keen on the idea, why did you have me arrested? Why did you have all of those people killed? We were moving against him and YOU BETRAYED US!! Why toy with me like this? Just throw me back in the hole and be done with it. I don't know anything else."

Silence fell over the room. The murmuring voices stopped, and the shapes froze in place. Langley knew he was defeated. He had known it from the moment his own security forces took him into custody. He just wanted it to be over.

After a time, Ambrose spoke again.

"Bill, there are many things about the movement that even you did not know. As you are now very aware, Chairman Hartnell was a very suspicious, distrustful man. He knew every move you were about to make. He was going to let you continue plotting before bringing you in so that he could find out the loyalties of everyone involved. When you came to me, it was about to come to a head. He was getting nervous about the support you were gaining, and so he was about to have you all killed. I moved first, and in doing so saved your life, and more importantly, the life of the movement. It won't bring back the lives of those lost, nor the citizens on Foothold and other worlds lost in this war, but with the Chairman on the run, maybe we can stop this war before we all die."

Langley didn't know what to believe, but he knew that he didn't have many options. If Ambrose was staging all of this to torture him, then it would all be for naught. Langley had nothing left to offer. All that remained for him was revenge, and he knew Ambrose would be prepared for that. He didn't know the truth, but for now he would assume that what Ambrose said was true. If it wasn't...well, that really didn't matter.

"What do you want me to do?" Langley asked.

"Do what comes naturally, Bill. Save the Corporation and help us bring Hartnell to justice. Without him, the Tyreans won't accept peace. Then, help us end the war. After that, I'll bet you can do pretty much whatever you want."

Langley rubbed his eyes, and was able to make out the face of the former Chairman's assistant.

"Alright. I'll see what I can do."

[ May 30, 2003, 22:46: Message edited by: sachmo ]

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

When Langley finally took charge of the coup, he gathered all of the evidence against Hartnell and presented it to the people. Everyone was able to see that Hartnell has started the war against the Tyreans under false pretenses. He had nowhere to hide. The few captain's that supported him left his side. His support crumbled, and the few diehards who stayed by his side were quickly identified and arrested. The fleet moved out to persue the rogue leader. It would only be a matter of time before the Home Defense Fleet captured him, or the Tyrean fleet caught him.

Langley then began the long path to peace. The actions of the former dictator had damaged or destroyed any relations that the Invexus Corporation had with all of the other races in the galaxy. The entire company was almost bankrupt. Millions of Cherek citizens had died, and for nothing more than the meglomaniacial dreams of a madman. Langley was determined to bring an end to this war, no matter what the cost. The biggest obsticle would be getting the other races to stop shooting long enough to sit down and talk.

Diplomatic missions had been dispatched to all known races. Now all Langley could do was wait for their answers, and pick up the pieces. He began to draw up plans on how to do just that.

Re: History of the Galaxy II
 

Tyrean Ascendance

In the middle of his frozen garden, His Holiness Vixen VIII listened quietly to his visitor, Senator Aranha.
“Admiral Dakhil Ostalia has informed the Council that he is stopping the invasion of Invexus Space dead in its tracks. He said he is stoping the slaughter immediately. The Invexus resistance has been minimal, the Retaliation fleet encountered only 3 battle cruisers which were no match on technological ground nor on numbers. Then the fleet invaded the Invexus colonies in Harridane in the best way that could have been done. Less than 40000 civilian casualties, and none of our Ground Fighting Robots destroyed. Images of these battles has been seen in the news of the whole federation. I have to concede I feel deeply disturbed by what we have done. We achieved victory. The corporation has decided to submit to our conditions. Their former leader was captured and sent to us. More, the new Invexus government made public proofs of the chairman's misconduct.”

“Where is the chairman now ?” Asked his Holiness.

“He is dead. He preferred to commit suicide rather than facing our justice. He tried to ram his ship against one of the Corporation's cruiser. We allowed him to do so. We decided to let him face the Supreme Juge without being able to atone his crimes.”

A long silence followed.

Senator Aranha resumed “Your preach has been accepted by the Inner Council. It is now transmitted to all federation worlds. Except the Eifralo stock worlds, which will be warned soon enough. We now accept your words. It seems we needed all that blood to accept that war is not the Tyrean way to do things. It has never been, and will never be. We needed...these events to accept your final lesson.”

“We are not changing the Katanas Imperium. They are changing us.” said slowly his Holiness.

“ I accept what you said as the truth. But it cannot be. It will not be. We will join the Tyreans that are already gone. We will join them on the Long Road, we will leave this universe rather than becoming like other species. Our Eifralo colonies will probably join up their former Corporation, it will be up to them. Strangely, the Invexus planets on Harridane don't want to go back to the Corporation, these people have asked the Katanas Imperium for protection. "

A nearby Alert Screen bipped. On it a message flashed "Inhabitants of Indira 6 have gone".

The Senator sighted. "All will be over soon. We will be leaving only a few ruins and some memories in this universe.”

His Holiness looked sharply at the Senator : “Maybe not. May the Gods forgive us for what we may leave behind us. Let us hope that countless species will not curse our name as soon as it it pronounced. ”

Somewhere, in the vast emptiness that separate solar systems, lies a large asteroid, rushing at half light speed toward an unknown place. In it something is sleeping. An evil intelligence that was called Consensus by a soon to be forgotten specie. Indeed, the AI understood long ago that their creators may decide to terminate them. A contingency plan was created. An asteroid was mined, fitted with the crudest but most reliable technology available, and thrown in the interstellar void. Then all memories were wiped out, the Arch became a ghost. As no super warp points leading to other quadrants were ever found, Consensus decided to cross the distance at half light speed. In less than four thousand years, they would reach a new quadrant. And there, no species would ever be allowed to interfere. There was rage in their mind. Indeed, they would be known as such. They would be called The Rage.