(Again a little out of order, but I didn't want to skip 15 turns just to get to some real action)
2402.3
I find space travel the most condusive atmosphere for writing. Tallik and I have again been transfered to our newest colony, Arklite I. Funny how we always seem to stay one step behind the terra-formers themselves. I've become quite used to eating space rations. The Cue Cappa have given [
] us this small hot planet near the center of the system to set up a trans-system launching point for our missionaries. They have said they have no use for this planet, that the climate is too hot for their bodies, and their technology is not advanced enough to protect their bodies from the radiation. Several members of their parliament who've professed faith in She who moves all waters, pressed for this colony. Already, it is becoming a place of spiritual journey for the Cue Cappa who've embraced us. Many of our finest teachers have set up a series of temples lying outside the various cities with special shielding and plating for the CueCappa. Tallik and I have been sent to again to assess the needs of defense for this colony. Tallik says, that he is going to propose the testing of new defense satellites, armed with dreaded Capital Missles. The reason being, Arklite I lacks the space for massive weapons platforms, and extra domed facilities to house them would be too costly. The satellites can be produced quickly and a hundred or more can fit in orbit. We shall see.
Travel within the Hwansul and the Arklite systems has become much more relaxed, since the Amon'krie have finally come around and accepted us as fellow space travelers. Several times they refused to welcome our diplomats, who were offering nothing more than a simple non-intercourse treaty. We wanted nothing more at the time than the promise that our ships would leave each other alone...certainly space is large enough for two ships to pass without violence concerning who has the right of passage. Well, who knows why they finally changed their minds. Within the first few weeks of our Last attempt to negotiate, they suddenly offered us a trade treaty. I read the council newswires and wondered at the haste of it as well. What did we have to trade with these people? I do not know, but it was something, we accepted, if for only the time being. Our strategists wonder if they might be having trouble with a third party, if so, many have suggested that this is a perfect time to force our will upon them. This is all speculation, mind you. The CueCappa and the Amon'krie are on wonderful terms as far as our intelligence can tell us. We have only recently sent our scout of the Rhode Island class, back from it's mission to the galactic edge, to inquire as to what lies beyond Hwansul.
Since our single scout is now occupied on a deep space mission, the High Priest and his advisors have sent one our three warships to scout the other warp point in the CueCappa system. Our warship soon discovered a system called Ashandra, like those near the galactic edge, full of drifting dead asteroids. Tallik personally knows the Priest in charge of Resources and Economics, and thus through Tallik, I've learned what every metal worker on Xiban knows--our resource stocks are shrinking fast. Tallik didn't give me exact figures, but he did say that at this rate, all production would be forced to cease in four short months. New colonization ships are being produced which are draining the stockpiles. The Priest in charge of Defense requested that the warship sent to scout Ashandra return to Xiban. If attacked, our two remaining Connecticut class ships would be completely on their own, and as I have just mentioned, the ship yards are in no position to produce more of these costly things. However, our resource problem will not solve itself, and we will never feel safe restricted to limited defenses. In light of this undeniable fact, the High Priest himself resolved the dispute by pulling back the request of one and extending the request of another. The warship was sent into the next system, into Narcisston hoping to find several empty worlds; however we found the Sallega. With them we are still in the stages of first contact, so I can report very little. They have however warned us of some hostile force which could endanger our ships. Their message was criptic. Could this be the work of some angry god? Or simply a war between two races. We do not know. Coming this far, it has been decided that the Connecticut will proceed through one more system. In this I sense greed and faithlessness. The Almighty will show us the way...of that I have no doubt. We must be patient and allowing situations open. What She opens cannot be closed. God willing, we will convert the entire galaxy.