The Walkers, updated 9-28-03

[chewy027]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys, how can i improve the story?

Terrans 19th place with 81.4k pts
Vandron 15th place with 122.6k pts
Rebel Alliance 13th place with 135.1k pts
Aquilaeians 4th place with 269.1k pts
Star Empire of Romii 1st place with 433kpts

2403.5 -2404.2 ~ Preparation

“While I am extremely satisfied with the new advances we’ve achieved from our research on Gliese I, I am perturbed at what our presence there may cost us”, began Chagnon. “It appears that this system had been previously claimed by our allies, the Aquilaeians, and that they are not very pleased that we have colonized a world there. Let alone the fact that the world contained those ancient ruins, which we beat them to, that it was a world that was fully colonizable to them, and that we have other colony ships on the way to colonize other planets there.”
“I am working around the c…clock on appeasing them my lord” answered Vice Lord Mandron.
“This is not an enemy that I wish to make” the room was silent for a moment before Chagnon went on. “By our shared star charts we know that they are much larger than us, and they have a larger and more powerful navy then we do. We also know that they are aware of these same circumstances.” He paused for as second before he went on, “In addition to that, they are our closest and most important allies”, he put extra emphasis on the Last word.
“Might I suggest moving in more ships to help solidify the systems defenses,” put in Vice Lord Defcon.
“And give them a signal that we are willing to fight to keep the system?” replied Exnon. “Is that precaution worth the message it will send?”
“That is something we will have to risk,” replied Chagnon. “I will not abandon the millions of colonists in the event that they are attacked.” He looked over to Defcon, “send more ships to bolster those defenses, make sure those wormholes are well patrolled.”
“And what of the colony ships headed towards the system?” asked Exnon. “Should they continue on their course?”
“Yes,” answered Chagnon, “and make sure that all of the colonists began preparations for space yards as soon as they make landfall…we may need those extra ships from that system if, indeed there is trouble, which, I hope to the Almighty, there is not.”
“I agree Chagnon” put in Defcon. “That system is completely isolated from the others we control. We would have a hard time getting to it if the Aquilaeians were to cut it off.”
“There is also the matter of the Rebel planet in the system” added Exnon. “Perhaps we could enlist their aid.”
“Not likely” came the reply from Mandron, “they have been m…most uncooperative.”
“I see” finished Exnon, “then I too agree that we must make ourselves ready for whatever may lie ahead.”
“Perhaps we could make some seemingly unfavorable trades with the Aquilaeians to make them forget about the Gliese System” suggested Vice Lord Junon. “We have many resources stockpiled, many of which came from the Aquilaeians in the first place. We could offer that in exchange for certain technologies.”
“A good idea Junon,” he turned to Mandron “see what you can do with that idea”
“Right away my lord” and with that Mandron left the room.
“Any other pressing issues at the moment?” asked Chagnon. “Good, then see to it that this situation with the Aquilaeians doesn’t get out of control, and remember, our main objective here is to remain at peace. It would not be wise to enter an unnecessary war when it can be avoided.”

Unfortunately, despite the members of the High Commands best efforts, the situation with the Aquilaeians continued to degenerate. Vice Lord Mandron pleaded for the cause of peace, but his transmissions went unanswered [he was able to broker a trade and research alliance with the Star Empire of Romii however]. Therefore, more defense ships were sent off to the Gliese system, as colony ships arrived by the tenth to inhabit the planets there. Both of the fully colonizable planets were the first to be taken by our colony ships, and a system capital was immediately established on the gas giant in the system which was renamed Gliese Prime. At the same time, a mining colony was founded on Gliese VII to produce minerals for the system. The continuing colonization of this system did not make our allies happy. At the same time, colonization of a system adjacent to Gliese, the Alpha Leo System [named by the Terrans] was also undertaken. This system was partially inhabited by the Rebel Alliance, and this made relations with them bitter as well. The empire is growing, but at a high cost.
On a lighter note, Vice Lord Junon made incredible headway with the projects he was working on. He reached what was determined the highest level possible of projectile weapons, and made headway into two new fields: stellar harnessing and phased energy weapons. These phased weapons were nothing short of incredible as they could pass directly through normal shields. It was decided that these new weapons would take the place of the DUCs as the new fleet standard once a sufficient level was reached. As it was now, none of the races which they had encountered new of the marvel that was energy shielding. It was precisely because of this, that Overtaker Class Frigates were stationed at key wormholes in the event of an Aquilaeian attack. It was believed that should there be such an attack, because none of the Aquilaeian vessels were shielded, the Overtakers could board and capture the most powerful ships of the oncoming battle Groups and decimate the attacking forces in conjunction with our own battle Groups. Illustrating this tactic was the fact that several Rebel Colony ships had recently been captured coming through wormholes. This, in and of itself, is particularly noteworthy in that we were able to deconstruct these ships and unlock the keys to colonizing ice worlds. With this information in hand, production on Arctic Class colony ships began. Apart from all this, Junon also completed his research into a new level of ship construction, and the destroyer class vessel was born. Immediately, Redemption Class Attack ships began to be produced all around the cluster in preparation for what appeared to be an inevitable confrontation with an old ally.

[ September 10, 2003, 00:32: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[EvilGenius4ABetterTomorro]

How can you improve the story? Go to war! I bet you can war against the Aqualarians and the Rebels at the same time.
"You rebel scum!" - one of the best lines out of Star Wars.

[chewy027]

I think war may be coming from the Aquilaeians, of course I won't start anything myself simply becasue i'm trying to roleplay the Vandron as best I can, and they're a peaceful lot. Still it is tempting, the Aquilaeians are just now starting to finish off the Terrans and are ripe for an attack, oh well. It's a pity really about the Terrans, I was so looking forward to giving Admiral Nefta her revenge. I guess i'll have to write it in some other way.

[oleg]

Originally posted by chewy027:
...I was so looking forward to giving Admiral Nefta her revenge. I guess i'll have to write it in some other way...

She murdered ~40 millions for one sibling. Should be enough. Aquarlians are pure evil. Andreas made a _very_ good job here

[chewy027]

I guess when you look at it that way Oleg someone could make the case that she should forgive them already...

Terrans 19th place with 89.1k pts
Rebel Alliance 16th place with 125.5k pts
Vandron 12th place with 171.7k pts
Aquilaeians 3rd place with 408.7k pts
Star Empire of Romii 1st place with 581.5k pts

2404.3 - 2404.9 ~ A few Thoughts

The Following is an excerpt from the personal logs of Lord Chagnon:

While the preparations for an adequate defense are being made, Vice Lord Junon continues to work tirelessly to advance his people and keep them technologically competitive with the other galactic powers. He knows that should we fall behind, there would be no hope for our people. The only thing that could be more catastrophic then loosing a technological race would be a severe resource shortage, but ironically, we are not in danger of that. And so Junon works day and night on the various projects that we decide upon. He is currently working on finishing the assignment of reaching a new level for religious technologies. It appears that he will finish this current research within the next few tenths, and then the cycle will begin again with another technology area or even another set of technology areas. Recently he has made advances to our shields, phased weapons, point defense, and propulsion. Apart from this, Junon also has taken it upon himself to constantly petition me to make colonizing the remaining worlds that hold those mysterious ruins a top priority. Now that we have stolen the technology to colonize ice planets from the Rebel Alliance we will begin to do this in earnest. Already we have reached another in the Aquilaeian controlled system of Asellus Astralus, they were not very pleased. From this world we learned of a technology we did not even realize existed, that of massive engine destroying weapons. We also learned more about the race that had previously inhabited the planet, discovering that ice planets were their preferred planetary composition. We know that these worlds hold more secrets of this mysterious empire that seems to have existed long ago, and we want those secrets to be in the hands of the Vandron. Junon has worked very closely with Vice Lord Exnon in seeing that there are ships bound for each of these planets.
Speaking of Vice Lord Exnon, he is doing an excellent job of making use of our colonization capabilities. Serenity and Hope are producing a colony ship every two tenths, and with the recent procurement of ice planet colonization, he has been busy finishing the colonization of our home system and our neighbor the Parvenium System. These two systems are our backbone and must be solidified from any possible infiltration. At the same time we are continuing to claim worlds in the Gliese System as well as its neighbor Alpha Leo. Both of them are about half colonized by our people. Our empire now spans five systems over twenty-eight worlds.
Of course, the overseer of all of our defenses for those worlds can not go without mention. Vice Lord Defcon knows every detail of every plan so well that he dreams about the preparations while he sleeps, or so he tells me. We now have thirty battle ready ships to the Aquilaeians over sixty battle ready vessels, many of which are much larger then our largest class. It is hoped that our Overtaker Class ships can help to tip that balance in our favor. Defcon has also recently convinced me to take a gamble and upgrade the entire fleet’s weapons to the phased polaron beams or PPBs. If we were to be attacked now, the only thing that would prevent us from being slaughtered would be those same Overtaker Class boarding vessels positioned on the wormholes. But I don’t believe that even they will be enough if our entire fleet’s weapons are out of commission, however, it is hoped that it will not have to come to that. Defcon has also recently made a trip out to personally brief Admiral Nefta and her Host of Heaven battle group. Should we be attacked, her ships will be the main force to counterattack. He bulked her battle group up to eight ships, including two Overtakers, and confided in her some of our counter strategies. He also explained to her how it had been discovered that it was the Aquilaeian’s fault that Redemption One had been destroyed by the Terrans, as the Terrans thought is was an Aquilaeian vessel attacking them. Defcon tells me that he could see that the affect this information had on the Admiral was exactly what he was looking for.
Vice Lord Mandron keeps himself busy with working on improving relations with the Aquilaeians. Unfortunately, they have declined all of our trade offers and gift offers and after a while, have simply refused to even acknowledge our transmissions. Therefore, Mandron has turned his attention to improving relations with the other known empires. He outdid himself with a military alliance with the Star Empire of Romii, and is now working towards a partnership with them. If our relations with the Aquilaeians should fail, Romii will be a powerful ally that we may be able to turn against them. The Rebel Alliance continues to be wary of our presence though they have made no aggressive moves towards us, and we are in no danger from the Terrans, as they continue to hold us in high regards. However, their war with the Aquilaeians does not go well for them. They have pleaded with us to end our partnership with their enemy and join their forces, and while tempting, simply is not the way of peace for us. We will wait and see what the future holds, and will be prepared for whatever course be taken.
As for myself, I have overseen each of them in their endeavors, and have tried to guide them with wisdom and honor. I do not think that I will be able to come to a peaceable agreement with the Aquilaeians, but by every means available I will continue to try. In the meantime, I must continue to prepare our worlds for any and all possibilities. May the wisdom and favor of the Almighty guide me, and may he watch over us all.

[ September 10, 2003, 15:54: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[chewy027]

Terrans 18th place with 98.1k pts
Rebel Alliance 15th place with 113.4k pts
Vandron 10th place with 229k pts
Aquilaeians 3rd place with 501.7k pts
Star Empire of Romii 1st place with 770k pts

2405 – 2405.5 ~ Commencement

“…and our upgrade has been complete. All of the ships in our armada are now equipped with the PPBs,” finished Vice Lord Defcon as he was briefing Lord Chagnon on the current condition of the fleet. “We are now moving all ships back into defensive positions astride the wormholes sir.”
“Good work Defcon, keep me informed as to the progress of these maneuvers. How is our actual ship production coning along?”
“It goes well sir, we have been adding a vessel or two every two tenths. However, the constant production of colony ships has severely impaired our ability to mass produce an adequate fleet. We are relying heavily on the Overtakers’ ability to steal ships from the enemy should an attack come.”
“I see,” answered Chagnon. “Do not fret Defcon; many of those worlds which the colony ships have built up are now beginning to produce ships themselves. Soon enough we will have more shipyards than we’ll know what to do with.”
“I understand Chagnon; I just don’t feel comfortable knowing that the Aquilaeians fleet is twice as large as ours, and constantly growing.”
“I wouldn’t worry too m…much about that Defcon,” put in Vice Lord Mandron.
“And why do you say that?” asked Chagnon.
“Because sir, we must not forget that the Aquilaeians d…depend on us for our resource p…production. I believe that that f…fact alone is what is keeping them from attacking us.”
“An interesting point Mandron,” agreed Defcon, “one that I hadn’t really thought of before.” He went on, “So it must be safe to assume that when our resources become dispensable to the Aquilaeians war will not be far behind.”
“But Defcon, you must remember that it is never wise to make assumptions,” corrected Chagnon half jokingly, and then more seriously went on, “besides, in the Aquilaeians eyes, if they were to attack us and win they would have no need for resources traded to them by us…they would be able to colonize our fallen worlds and take all that they would ever need. Still, the fact that our trade is a significant portion of their resource supply is a fact that we must use to our advantage.”
After a lull in the conversation Vice Lord Exnon spoke up, “My lord, I have just received word that Arctic Seven has reached its objective in the Shedir System.”
“Excellent, contact them over the com at once,” ordered Chagnon.
“Right away sir” obeyed Exnon. “Captain Impo of Arctic Seven is ready sir.”
“Captain Impo, good work on securing your objective.”
“Thanks my Lord, the fact that the birds don’t have ice colonization technology makes it pretty easy actually.”
“So any idea as to what these ruins will teach us?” asked Junon
“Well it’s a bit too early to tell, the scientists are combing over them now. I’ve been told that it looks like some more new technology that we’ve never seen before, something about massive shield depleting weapons.”
“Excellent work Impo,” put in Defcon. “You have done well in securing the ruins on these worlds. Make sure that a space yard and re-supply station are built so that we will have another forward base within Aquilaeian territory should we need them.”
“Yes,” agreed Chagnon, “see to it that those facilities are built, and then return back here to Serenity for your next mission. We have detected another world in the southern star cluster that seems to have more ruins, you will head there next.”
“Well I guess they weren’t lying when they told me I’d be able to see the galaxy if I went into the space navy. I’ll get those facilities built right away and then return home. Impo out.” And with that he ended the conversation.
“Well I must say,” said Exnon, “that Impo certainly is a reliable captain.”
“Yes he is,” agreed Defcon, “I may have to steal him for a battle group.”
“Let’s allow him to finish these missions before we go sending him off into combat,” said Chagnon, “of course, if a war does come upon us we will need all of the able Captains we can get.”
“Now then,” went on Chagnon, “Junon, how goes your research?
“Ah yes of course, I suppose I should let you all know what I do everyday, now shouldn’t I?” he said with a chuckle. “Well then, I just finished research into the theoretical field of construction, as you all know. We then decided to increase our defensive capacities by researching space mines. I recently finished that project, and am now awaiting the next. As for the mines themselves, it appears that I can devise a way to make larger more powerful mines with more research. But as it stands, we now have the capacity to make small seeking mines that we could easily place over wormholes or even above our planets as a first line of defense against any oncoming vessels.”
“Outstanding," echoed Defcon, “we should begin production of these mines at once. We can store them on any and every planet and then launch them as necessary.”
“There is one small problem,” Junon put in, “in order to make the mines truly effective I believe that we should research stronger warheads to place inside of them. This will allow us to deliver maximum firepower per mine.”
“Make it so,” said Chagnon. “These mines could be our final defense if all should go wrong.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before going on, “Now then, where were…” he was cut off by an aid that came scrambling through the door.
“Excuse me my Lord,” the aid looked both nervous and saddened to be bearing the news she did. “We have just received news from the Gliese Protectorate Battle Group that they have been attacked.”
“Those Damn Aquilaeians,” said Defcon aloud, “I knew they were building up in that system. I should have had them better prepared.”
“It wasn’t the Aquilaeians who attacked us Vice Lord, it was the Rebel Alliance,” answered the aid.
“The Rebels?” a puzzled Chagnon asked “why would they possibly attack us after not even acknowledging our presence for so long? This makes no sense.”
“Perhaps, the Aquilaeians bought them off and are using them as a sort of probe to feel where our defenses are the weakest” put in Defcon.
“Impossible,” spoke up Mandron, “The R…rebels and the Aquilaeians have been at w…war with each other for almost two years now. It m…makes even less sense for the Rebels to become allies with the Aquilaeians than for them to attack us.”
“Any other information about the attack?” questioned Chagnon.
“Just that no damage was taken to any vessels in the Battle Group and that the attacking Rebel cruiser was destroyed.”
“You mean to say that there was only one attacking ship?” asked Defcon incredulously.
“Yes sir, only one ship attacked the battle group.”
“This information only serves to deepen the insanity of such an attack. These Rebels must be a truly unwise species.”
“One other thing my Lord,” finished the aid, “We have detected enemy ships approaching some of our colonies in the Alpha Leo System.”
“Thank you, you are dismissed,” said Chagnon with a wave of his hand. “Well gentleman, it appears that we misplaced our fears. This is not to say the Aquilaeians are no longer a threat however.”
“So what will be our immediate actions?” asked Exnon. “We must move to protect the colonies in the Alpha Leo System.”
“I agree” put in Junon, “We can not allow those colonies to be lost.”
“But the only available ships to protect that system are in Gliese,” shot back Defcon. “If we were to divert them it would leave the Gliese System wide open for an Aquilaeian invasion!”
“Nevertheless, Defcon, we must move to protect those people,” came Chagnon’s response. “Vice Lord, see to it that none of those colonists are harmed, and that all threats to them are eliminated.”
“Yes my Lord,” replied Defcon, “and what of the other Rebel colonies in those two systems? We do not have enough manpower for an invasion of those worlds. Therefore, in order to neutralize them we would have to destroy those colonies completely, a massacre of countless innocent lives.”
“I am aware of this fact Defcon,” Chagnon then paused for a moment before going on, “that is why you are not to touch those colonies. Destroy any ships you find, but harm no innocent lives. We must uphold the tenants of peace.”
“I understand my Lord. I will see to it at once.” And with that Defcon left the room.
“Junon, continue on with your research into these mines and warheads. I want to be able to begin mass producing them in their strongest form as soon as possible.”
“Yes my Lord,” said Junon.
“Mandron, see if you can find out why in the name of the Almighty we were attacked.”
“At once my Lord,” he replied.
And Exnon,” he paused for a second, “elevate the priority of reaching the worlds that hold ruins on them.”
“Of course, my Lord,” obeyed Exnon.
“This could be the beginning of a very long fight for us, and we need all the help we can get. You are all dismissed.” And with that the meeting was adjourned.

[ September 11, 2003, 04:13: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[chewy027]

Rebel Alliance 17th place with 98.4k pts
Terrans 16th place with 117.8k pts
Vandron 6th place with 277.8k pts
Aquilaeians 3rd place with 593.8k pts
Klingon Empire 2nd place with 624.8k pts
Star Empire of Romii 1st place with 872.6k pts

2405.6 – 2406 ~ Adaptation

“All hands to battle stations!” cried Commander Halas of the Gliese Protectorate Battle Group. “Close on the lead battle cruiser, and fire at will.”
Vice Lord Defcon had immediately mobilized this battle group to intercept the Rebel threat in the Alpha Leo System. Presently, there were two separate Rebel battle cruisers posing a threat to Alpha Leo Prime, the system capital. It was these two ships that the battle group had to intercept.
“Commander, I am detecting no shields on the present target.”
“Excellent, maybe we can end this engagement quickly with some swift boarding action.” He collected his thoughts and then went on, “Captain Ambron of Overtaker Thirteen, make your way to that vessel and board it.”
“Yes sir” came the reply, “and what about those guns?”
“Don’t worry about those guns; we’ll take care of them. Just get in close enough to launch your boarding pods…All other vessels lay down cover fire for Captain Ambron’s ship.”
In an instant, the space around them was lit up by PPB fire. Overtaker Thirteen skillfully navigated the distance between itself and the battle cruiser and made ready to launch its pods. Just then, the battle cruiser took notice of what was going on.
“Commander, the battle cruiser is turning towards us, they are beginning to loose their gu…” just then the enemy vessel let loose a broadside barrage into the oncoming Overtaker that instantly depleted the ship’s shielding, decimated its boarding pods and main weapons, and blew away much of the top portion of the ship including the bridge.
“Damnit, those were good men!” the commander screamed aloud to no one in particular. “Redemption eight and thirteen, swing around that ship’s starboard side and unleash hell. The rest of you, shoot to kill.”
The two redemptions drew across the starboard side of the ship raking it with PPB fire and disabling two of the main large DUCs aboard the ship. At the same time, they evaded or absorbed all return fire within their shields. The ships to the fore of the engagement surrounding Commander Halas’s own Redemption Five continued to loose their PPBs into the ship. They succeeded in destroying the enemy’s crew quarters and life support.
“They’re crippled” exclaimed Halas, “Redemptions Eight and Thirteen target the main engines, don’t let them escape.”
Just then a faint buzz was heard over the comm., “this…i…ensi…Farragut abo…Over……teen. I have con……the…engi……attempt…ram….Rebel…”
“What was that?” asked a bewildered Halas, “Are there still people alive on Overtaker Thirteen?”
Just then the tiny little vessel’s engines flared and the crippled ship turned toward the mighty Rebel battle cruiser and plunged full speed into the mid underbelly of the ship. A blinding flash lit up space as the Overtaker’s engines ignited and hit what must have been the weapons Cache aboard the battle cruiser. Explosions reverberated through the ships hull and tore it apart from the inside out
“Battle group report in” said Commander Halas in a solemn voice, “what’s your status.”
“All ships report zero to minor damage Commander” reported his first officer. “They are awaiting their orders.”
“All ships regroup into formation; make way for the second battle cruiser. Let’s try this again, without losing anyone this time.”

“I want the good news from each of you first,” commanded Lord Chagnon. “We’ll start with Vice Lord Exnon.”
“The good news, ah yes, let me see,” he thought for a moment and then went on, “Well, we have colonized several new worlds and our ship on its way towards Bastion in the Gamma Pavonis System is progressing rapidly.”
Bastion is a fully colonizable gas world in the far south of the star cluster below the Vandron’s home cluster. It holds more ancient ruins in an uninhabited system. It had been decided that Captain Impo head there instead of the previous target and begin construction of a system capital, far away from Aquilaeian Space, in the off chance that they should have to flee.
“Is that all?” asked Chagnon.
“Yes my Lord,” Exnon answered, almost sounding sorry. “With the increased production of the military vessels, there has not been much new exploration or colony ships built.”
“I understand,” replied Chagnon, “see to it that the ‘ruin worlds’ continue to get top priority.” He then turned to Mandron and addressed him, “So what have you got?”
“I’m afraid I don’t r…really have any g…good news sir. Our relations have remained the s…same with all known races. However, there is b…bad news.”
“I didn’t ask for that yet now did I,” said Chagnon a bit jokingly, but stern nonetheless.
“I’m s…sorry sir.”
“Well spit it out then, what is this bad news,” commanded Chagnon.
“Well we have m…made contact with a new r…race sir, the Klingon Empire. Unfortunately, they immediately d…declared war on us, citing something of our unworthiness, and the g…glory of battle.”
“I see,” answered Chagnon, no one else would dare speak. “And how great of a threat do they pose to us?”
“That is unknown at this time,” answered Mandron.
“Anything else then?”
“No sir,” replied Mandron as he slouched back in his chair as if having gotten a great burden off his shoulders.
“Junon, surely you have something good to report.”
“Yes, my Lord,” he began. “I finished my project on the warheads for the mines, and I believe I have reached as high a level as is possible. As for the mines themselves, I also finished my research into developing a larger size; still, I believe it would be possible, with much more research, to increase the size once more. However, I believe my time would be better served in a different area of research with the onset of this war with the Rebels.”
“What did you have in mind?” asked Chagnon.
“Increasing the range and firepower of our PPBs, sir.” He went on, “After much discussion with Defcon, we decided that in order to give ourselves a tactical advantage we must have the most powerful weapons available to us to pierce the armor and shields of our enemies.”
“Sounds alright to me, continue on with that line of research then.” Finally, he turned to Defcon, “and what news from you.”
Defcon’s face was a mix of emotions as he spoke, “Well my lord, I too have mixed news, though I fear the bad outweighs the good.”
“Go on,” commanded Chagnon, “Lets have it all then.”
“Well, sir, the Gliese Protectorate has recently engaged the two Rebel vessels in the Alpha Leo system. They destroyed both, but lost an Overtaker in return.”
“I see,” commented Chagnon. “This is to be exp…”
“If I may finish then, sir” interrupted Defcon.
“I’m sorry, go ahead.”
“The worst news however is a recent discovery Junon and I made. We recently went over everything we knew of the Aquilaeian ship designs, and found that all of their most recent designs are using self-destruct devices.”
“What does this mean for us?” asked Chagnon.”
“It means, sir,” answered Junon, “that if an Overtaker captures a ship with one of these devices on it, the ship will automatically explode and most likely destroy our Overtaker with it.”
“Those treacherous Aquilaeians,” sputtered Exnon, “they know exactly what we will try to do to them.”
“Precisely,” put in Defcon. “We will still be able to capture ships that do not have these devices, but they are not expected to be in great number.”
Just then Lieutenant Tramom, the aid to the High Command, entered the room. “My Lords, we have just received word that the Rebel colony on Alpha Leo II has completed a battle cruiser and is sending it towards Alpha Leo Prime. The Gliese Protectorate is not in range to intercept it in time.”
“We only have one option then,” answered Defcon, “we must move the Gliese battle group to take out that ship, and then we must order the battle group to attack that Rebel planet. We can not allow it to continue to produce ships that can take out our colonies at will.”
“Wait,” put in Exnon, “isn’t there an Overtaker that was just finished on Alpha Leo Prime? Perhaps it may succeed in capturing this attacking ship.”
“Yes, there is” answered Defcon. “But look what happened to the Last Overtaker that tried that.”
“Still,” exclaimed Chagnon, “we must try.” He paused and then went on, “However, I agree that we cannot allow that colony to continue to produce ships to attack us. This is a fact that I have puzzled over in my daily prayers and meditations, and I have decided that in this war, or any others, if the enemy is willing to burn our worlds, then we must do everything in our power to stop them, even if this means destroying their colonies. This may not be the way of peace, but it is the wisest thing for us to do.”
There was a moment of silence as the High Command took this in and pondered what it meant for their people. Throughout their history, the Vandron had prided themselves on their commitment to peace as well as wisdom. This would now change; they would now employ the means necessary to ensure their own survival, even if that meant destroying an enemy’s world.
Chagnon then went on, “this does not mean that we will look for a fight, it simply means that if, and when, war comes we must do whatever is necessary.”
After some more brief discussion, the High Command agreed on this new policy and set to work on the various duties given to them. In the meantime, they anxiously awaited the outcome of the upcoming battle between the lone Overtaker and the Rebel battle cruiser approaching Alpha Leo Prime.

[ September 11, 2003, 23:15: Message edited by: chewy027 ]