[geoschmo]

Year 2407.0

The war with the Xi'Chung had barely ended when the next crises flared up. The Sergetti, having just signed a non-aggression treaty the month before the invasion of Organtrix IX, abruptly cancelled it. Attempts had been made to renegotiate, but all had been refused. They had not made an official declararion of war, but it was clear that they were very hostile towards the Sallegan presence in the Organtrix system.

There were additional skirmishes. A single Sergetti ship had to be detroyed when it refused to withdraw from the Organtrix system, and two more were destroyed in what was apparently an attack on Organtrix IX itself. The space mines, which had just recently been deployed around the planet worked to perfection.

The fleet was dispatched to take control of the lone Sergetti colony in the system. But during the bombardment to neutralize the defensive weapon systems and make it safe for the marines to land, a fluke shot punctured the main habitation dome and set off a chain reaction within the colonies power plant. It was totatlly destroyed, along with the entire Sergetti population on the planet. A horrible waste thought Grandow. We must review our policies to make sure nothing like that happens in the future.

A fleet of six Sergetti light cruisers came through the eastern warp point on a direct course for the Xi homeworld. A final urgent plea to the Sergetti was made to end the hostilities before things got completely out of hand. Suprisingly they accepted and another non-aggresion pact was signed, but Grandow doubted that would be the end of the matter.

On the other side of Sallegan space, the Zynars were continuing their insistance that the Sallegans could not allies with them and the Norak at the same time. They were threatening to cancel the military alliance and expel the researchers on Cephredi VIII. Grandow decided that it was time to call their bluff. He did not believe they actually wanted to endanger their safety in such a haphazard way. It would be different, he thought, if the conflict between the two were still raging. Then they might have a legitimate claim on the Sallegans in the basis of their military alliance. But the Norak had appeared to lose interest in the Cephredi system, and had in fact sought the assistance of the Sallegans in resolving the conflict peacefully.

Grandow had been suprised that the occupation of the Xi homeworld had been as peaceful as it had. The Xi'Chung people themselves were plesantly tolerable once removed from the control of their despotic Queen. They had a great tolerance and acceptance of authority figures, and once it was clear to them the Sallegans had no intention of holding them responsible for the crimes of their former leaders, they proved to be quite good citizens and hard workers. Grandow almost felt ashamed of himself for his open hatred of the Xi race in the past.

Suited to methane aptmospheres as they were, several million volunteered to be relocated to the two methane colonies in the Narcisston system. The Sallegan population there was more than happy to dismantle the domes they had lived under all these years and move back to the homeworld. Something inherant in a person made them long to be able to walk outdoors in the sunshine. One could only live inside for so long.

The colonization of the remaining planets in the Organtrix system was proceeding rapidly. Priority would be given to defensive preparations, in case the Sergetti resumed hostilites in the near future. These additional planets, and the expanded use of the methane worlds in Narcisston, almost doubled the size of the Sallegan Republic. And none too soon, Grandow thought. The Republic was in danger of becoming swallowed up by one of the major races.

All of the known races, with the exception of the Sergetti, were still on good terms with the Sallegans. The Cue Cappa and Fazrah had even offered partnership agreements, which the Sallegans accepted. The information recieved from these agreements gave Grandow a picture of the galaxy that would have taken years to gather on their own. They now had star charts for systems strecthing from one galactic edge to the other, and almost to the galactic core. Nearly half the galaxy in all. They also had knowledge of several races they had not yet actually met. Grandow decided that they would have to send emmisaries to these system. He had long ago become a believer the ability of trade to support the growth of the Republic. And if relations were to sour with any of their current allies, new allies would be needed to replace them.