History of the Galaxy, part 1-Story Thread

[Jmenschenfresser]

2413.1
In some ways, I envy Pellwain and probably were it not for my sound knowledge that the Almight leads all to their rightful course, I might have gone with her. I continually receive Messages from her detailing her trip. Despite her prominance as a space explorer and colonizer, she has hardly left the Xiban system. Certainly this is the furthest she's ever been from our cottage by the sea on Xiban I....and from the quaint Temple where we both learned the ancient prayers. She's just about to leave what could be termed Norak space, were the Norak High Counsel ever to develop a system of annexation and territory, and enter the space of the Farzah. Pellwain is not the captain of the ship...that job was given to the military, but once the ship lands in the Knoglam system, Pellwain will take the reigns. Since the world they are bound for is Methane, most of the colonists are Xi'Chung. I've tried to describe under the oppressive rule of language, what it is like to live on world a Methane world and under a dome. You soon begin to miss a natural breeze and smells that accompany the freedom of Nature. She'll soon wish to sell all she has for a cool pond to dip her hands in. Perhaps the Farzah will permit her to frequent one of their oxygen worlds. But so is a life strung from the fixtures of many worlds.

Ever since the Sergetti made their peace with us, Tallik and I have had nothing to do. Now that the Sergetti mine fields no longer bother our ships, we've given up thinking about them. I do think in fact that the Norak are at peace with every known race. The High Counsel has taken the opportunity to update the fleet. After an assesment it was found that fewer than one third of the entire Norak armada had components developed within the Last 5 years. Most had been built when the Amon'krie and the Norak teetered on the brink of all out war. The Templar fleet has hardly left Olontra since it saved the planet from the Amon'krie. Tallik cannot say enough on the topic of our armada. The High Counsel has decided in favor of scrapping the Nevada X, which has been used to create 20 or so worlds. This will free up enough resources to up the strength of the fleet.

I personally have to wonder at the recent obsession with military strength. Never have the Norak needed more than 10 ships at any time in any given system. I suppose the argument is that these 10 ships cannot be in all systems at all times. True. But is not our purpose a peaceful one. Do not grand armadas breed reasons for them to exist? Who shall we fight? Perhaps only the Sallega have the capabilities to threaten our survival, and any war with them will be mutually destructive. The Sallega empire is far more compact than ours. It would be no problem to cut us in two or even three.

No, war contains little wisdom. I say rather, use these resources to improve the conditions of those who suffer. Build infrastructure. The Almighty's blessings can easily rot on the vine if the farmer tends not the fields.

Our grand allies, the Praetorians have given us partial news of some trouble brewing in the northern quadrant between them and the Farzah. Our alliance with the Praetorians has been extremely fruitful over the Last months, and I doubt the High Counsel would let much come between it. There are banners and salutes all over Xiban I tributing the power and respectiblity of the Praetorians. No doubt these banners don't come so much from pro-Praetorian factions, but anti-Farzah Groups. Several members of the High Counsel are taken by this influence, but not enough to threaten the peace. After talking at lenght with Tallik on the subject, I've come to realize, no one within the Norak intelligence community knows what is transpiring between them other than the fact that the Praetorians have destoryed several, what they call, "stray" Farzah ships. Perhaps this speaks to a lack of cooperation between the Farzah leaders. I certainly do not know.

Tallik brought up an interesting development he's heard circulating through the halls of the Continuum. Since the galaxy is filling up quickly, many think it might be wise to define what would be called, Norak Space. The only real empty space left is in the center of the galaxy, where the warring empires of the Sergetti and Xiati once roamed in force. I've read a bit of the history of this long war, and until the entering of the Sallega, who destroyed most of the Sergetti empire in several months, they were quite equal in strenght. The Norak were one of the first to move into Sergetti space, and we did so, without the intentions a conqueror would have. The Sergetti at first tolerated our colonies, of which there were only two. As the first foundations of our proto-colony deep in Sergetti space were being laid, primitive sensors picked up some activity nearby. It was actually a scientist, whose visual telescope array happened to be trained upon the Sergetti homeworld 7 or so sectors away, who first noticed the Xiati fleet. The pictures are famous...one can actually see the napalm explosions. Every Sergetti not living on a colony or a ship was vaporized. Tragic. Ghastly. This war has so weakened the two empires that most of the center of the galaxy is empty. The two empires now probably inhabit no more than 10 worlds combined, with about as many ships between them...most of which are not equipped for war.

I pose the question, how would one define Norak space? We share systems with five different empires and are about to change that to six once Pellwain reaches Knoglam. Tallik thinks me naive..perhaps I am. He says it is not so much saying, "This belongs to us," but rather, "Within these systems our interest lie." I wonder at the implication of this side-ways talk. To me it sounds like a transition from the traditional, co-existence we have promoted. The planets are merely a means to spread the Text...nothing more.

Within the Last month, several covert converts within the Amon'krie empire have warned the High Counsel of ships turning over their reigns to the Farzah. For what reason, we do not know. Certainly the war between the Farzah and the Amon'krie has been a long one. Tallik doubts that these defectors where actually gifts from the Amon'krie. The High Counsel will never stand for this continued action. The Amon'krie/Farzah war has been greatly limited due to the fact that neither has direct access to the other's space. We will not allow this quadrant to be thrust into the mouth of carnivorous War! The Farzah are not attempting to live peacefully as we first thought. Perhaps their only reason for making peace was practical in the light of other, more pressing, wars.

Be as it may, the Continuum continues to grow by the blessed hand of She who clothes the moon flowers of Xiban I.

[geoschmo]

Year 2413.1

The Maiden Voyage of the S.R.S. Gartok (500Kt Gartok class - series 0001) had been quite successful. Captain Tadminum had led his ship and his crew as far east as the black hole system of Equandul before having to turn back for resupply. The route plotted had been a little more circuitous than he would have liked, but it was necessary to avoid several unstable wormholes the Fazrah had charted in the area. They also needed to avoid the heart of Sergetti space as they didn’t have the weaponry to fight off a fleet of their ships.

First contact was made with two new races. The first, a race calling themselves the Nultoh Group inhabited the Utekra system. Despite a decent level of technology, and having colonized several planets in their home system, the Nultoh did not apparently have any desire to explore the areas around their space. The Gartok had in fact not encountered them until warping into their home system. The were basically peaceful, if rather isolationist, and had no problems with enacting a trade agreement with the Sallegan Republic.

The second, and far more important race was the Eee. A gas dwelling race inhabiting several systems in the eastern part of the galaxy. The discovery of the Eee caused quite a stir, as there was evidence that they, or their ancestors were the race that had inhabited the Gas Giants in Narcisston and the other systems in the west. Apparently this was either an offshoot of the previous race, or some calamity had befallen them in the distant past, because technologically the Eee were no more advanced than the Sallegans or any of the other races they had met. A treaty was enacted and plans were made to send cultural and exo-biology experts to the Eee empire to try and unlock these mysteries.

The Last major event to occur on the Gartok’s mission was on the return trip. While skirting known Sergetti space the ship was passing through the Marjoram system and came across an unarmed Sergetti ship in some significant distress. They had run afoul of an ion storm and the crew was close to death. While the Sergetti had two colonies in the system they had nothing close enough to respond to the distress call. Captain Tadminum responded and saved the crew and dropped them in an escape pod close to one of the colonies for one of their orbital ships to pick it up.

It was not clear if it was this act of charity, or some other unknown factor, but soon after the Sallgan consulate in Ushphada received a communication from the Sergetti requesting a dialogue for peace. A Non-Aggresion pact was signed, and plans made for a conference towards closer cooperation.

“The next ship to venture into those parts should be able to take a far more direct route.” Tadminum thought as his shuttle landed at the New Capitol City SpacePort on Narcisston VIII. He had been summoned to report directly to Admiral Grandow. Not unheard of, but unusual nonetheless. Tadminum had rather expected it considering the momentous events of the Gartok’s mission, and the fact that she was currently in space dock on Ushphada III being retrofit to the latest in solar cell technology that would greatly increase her range.

As he entered the Admiral’s office he could see that Grandow had something serious on his mind. After some general pleasantries, Tadminum ran through the events of the preceding two-year mission for the Admiral. It was all a formality of course. The Admiral had read all the reports, and had an intimate knowledge of what had taken place. Captain Tadminum tried to give him a deeper understanding of those things that don’t get put into official logs.

When he was done the Admiral spoke. “What do you know of the conflict between the Fazrah and the Paretorians lately?”

“Only what has been in the news, and in the daily briefings sir. We saw no Praetorian ships on our mission, and only encountered a few Fazrah once we returned to Sallegan space” the captain answered. “Do we think there will be a war?”

“We do.” Grandow answered. “And we fear for what that may mean for the stability of the quadrant. The Fazrah are strong, but the Praetorians are as well. And recently the Paretorians and the Norak have become quite close.”

“Does this affect us?” Tadminum asked. “The Fazrah-Pretorian border is far from us. And we are allies with both of them, as well as the Norak. Do we have an interest in this?”

“We believe we may.” Grandow answered. “If the Fazrah were to be overrun, the Norak-Praetorian alliance would be quite strong. Much stronger than us alone. We must think of the long-term consequences if something like this were to happen. We occupy a strategic position between the Norak and the rest of the galaxy. They may someday decide they no longer need us around if they feel they can remove us without too much trouble.”

“So you mean to attack the Norak? If I may speak freely sir, that would be madness! They are quite strong. Even if the Fazrah were able to handle the Praetorians, we would have quite a fight if it were to come to open warfare between us and the Norak. And would the people support it? Their religion is quite popular these days, even among my ships crew there are converts. I don’t doubt their loyalty to the republic, but I would hate to have to put it to a test such as this.”

“No captain. We do not intend to attack the Norak, or even the Praetorians. But we are making preparations. We have not been asked directly by the Fazrah for assistance as of yet, but we plan to be ready when such a request comes. The Fazrah have been a loyal ally, but they are erratic. Their chaotic government, if it can even be called that, has trouble maintaing control over their own ships. We do not cherish the thought of them defeating the Praetorians any more than we wish to see them defeated. We intend to give them sufficient aid to maintain the status quo.”

“This will be a dangerous path Admiral. Do you wish for me to go to the Fazrah as an advisor?”

“No Captain. I have another for that job. I need you to return to your ship and head east again. The Eee tell us of another race farther to the east called the Jraenar. We wish you to make contact with them, and any others you find along the way. And we need you to scout the strength and extent of the Praetorian Empire to the northeast. We have the maps of all the systems, but no Sallegan eyes have ever seen those planets up close. We need to see it for ourselves so we can have a fuller picture of what is to come.”

With that Captain Tadminum was dismissed and returned to his shuttle. As they lifted off and returned to orbit he looked out over the capitol below. He thought back to the ruin that was left after the first attack in the Great War. A visitor from another planet, or even another city would have trouble locating any remnants of that battle over thirteen years ago now. But having grown up on a farm in this province, and having been involved in the cleanup and rebuilding of the city afterwards, he knew all too well.

He knew where the mass graves for the millions with no identification, or no surviving relatives were located. He could still make out the scarred earth in the few areas not yet redeveloped. Scarred by the fire from above, and the bulldozer afterwards. He wondered if those fires would burn again on his homeworld. He would do his best to make sure they didn’t.

[spacefan]

2413.7

Ship Lords' Log, Alpha Tau Spaceyard

I was ready to pilot the Wisconsin class right through the lines of the Praetorian, along with a dozen warships behind me. But it appears the praetorians have withdrawn, and said nothing, so at Last it seems we we are at peace, if only for a moment.

Life on a ship equiped for construction and repair is rather different than anything else. First order I made was rechristening her the Alpha Tau. Laru has called the fleet she's in the "Elite Guard".

I suppose it fits his idea of a proper force. He's much more militant than I am, but his strategies are mostly defensive.

Since we are orbiting homeworld, Laru and I have stayed in touch. There's been a hell of a lot of fowl ups with colony ships trying to colonize where a colony already is.

There's quite a bit of communications about a transport and minelayer rushing back to homeworld. It appears our demonstrations of Fazrah freedom and Fazrah gold have converted 2 ships fed up with Amon'krie's totalitarianism.

Unfortunately they have to pass through space teeming with traffic from 3 different empires. We can't reach the Amon'krie directly, because we fear sending our main fleet through some of the systems filled with the Norak would draw their wrath, and because we still don't know what the Praetorians are planning.

With a bit of time, and a lot of delicate manuevering, Laru plans to learn about Amon'krie technology through this. I have no moral objections, for we are releasing these citizens of Amon'krie from a life of burden and orders, and giving them wealth and freedom.

Strange as it may seem, his choices for research are very wise. He is studying stellar mechanics, trying to find out if there is any way to reach the Amon'Krie without going through Norak space.

I feel like this is aiming for the moon, but considering how surrounded we are, it may be the only way to spread our interests past the Norak and Praetorian borders which constrict us.

The Norak seem to be galactic peacekeepers with their own agenda as well. They have a presense in the systems of every empire we've seen. They've set up shop in our territory, preaching that book of theirs. I'm sure some of the poorer members of the Fazrah will be convinced. Relatively speaking, our poor people rarely riot, as there are few truly poor, while most people have moderate incomes.

[Jmenschenfresser]

2413.8
Tallik and I are back in Cephedri. The Last year has been a shuttle from one system to another assessing fleets, ships, satellites and the theory of how they best support one another. Something I am particularly interested in is the newest starbase class. 2500kt simply boggles the mind. I've been on several of the smaller stations, and those had more than enough of every luxary a Norak could want. Those things must look like cities in space. Several military designs are under construction about the continuum.

Being the simple man, or simpleton, I'll let the reader judge, that I am, I am wary of this new integration of technology and religion. My ways are the ways of century old traditions. In spite of the fancy gear our space marines now storm about in, I still wear a robe and sandals. I see some of the gear they wear and I see the points of those who argue our military is by existence alone, aggressive. I think if I were clad from head to toe in black and leather, I'd have a degree of bloodlust as well. The new integration I speak of is a device made of metal from a most unholy place back on Xiban I. The quarry for this ore is the very site of the imprisonment of He Who Is Not Named. Our legend tells us that long ago, when the universe was but an infant and the Creator had finished Her work, She fell into a deep sleep beyond the Void, in a place unthinkable to mortal creatures, but some call it the Womb of Eternity Past. Here She slept, but the fabric of the universe felt the lack of Her presence. Things began to grow cold; the Divine Geometry lost much of its original truth; murder crept into the world; and the first rebellion began. Never doubt that evil is very much aware of itself, and only by the Hand of She who guards the eternal watch, was evil made knowable and partitioned. But in those dark days, Evil grew and all its various emmanations existed as a single, focused personality. A personality which eventually became presence, which eventually became shadow, which eventually became force, which finally became being. The Great and Holy Text tells of the wars and death wrought upon Xiban. Life, on its Last breath and Last leg. Life itself was not worth the pain. He Who Is Not Named moved freely over and through all there was. Nothing stood before him which he feared. But the Almighty awoke and reentered Existence. Angered the She ripped a jagged mountain from Xiban's thick crust and thrust it through the belly of He Who Is Not Named. His blood ran down the mountain, soaking it, penetrating its very molecular structure. Still full of divine rage, She drove the mountain, top down, back into the crust of Xiban, burying deep the rotting body of evil. The plain, which was a mountain, is barren and contains a metal found no where else.

Within the Last year our scientists have suddenly encountered strange properties within this metal. I say suddenly because now that I know what it does, I have to wonder about much of Norak history. Are we really the first to know about this metal? It seems agression and hate and malicious intent are intensified by this metal, giving the user great success in his path of destruction. The supposed discovery came when the science community did tests upon several sacred blades residing in the old Imperial Palace. They contain some of this metal. Apparently this metal is too brittle to use solely in the making of blades. On to the important...

Several of our star ships are now equipped with a large chunk of this metal. Still too brittle to use in the hull of the ship, a large quantity of tonage must be allocated for the installment of this, what the pilots call, Talisman.

Personally it makes my skin crawl. Surely the Almighty will not condone benefit from her one and only true enemy. I pray constantly for forgiveness from the blindness our ambition spawns.

The Praetorians have contacted us about buying the Nevada X, and we are more than willing to sell it to them. They have already paid us the cost of having her unmothballed, and upon delivery they have promised to show us several new technologies we do not possess. I have not gone back and checked my starcharts, but I suppose they have a system or two full of useless asteroids.

Pellwain contacted me from deep within Farzah space yesterday. We had a holographic tea party, like we used to do when we were younger. Several hours passed in conversation probably only of interest to the two of us. She said the new colony was coming along. Basic infrastructure would soon be in place and the Counsel has allotted most of the world as deep space research. Perhaps there are phenomena in Knoglam which we have not seen yet. I do not know, and neither does Pellwain really. I asked her about living within telescope distance of the Farzah, and she said they can be charming in an offensive kind of way. I think that is her way of saying she feels right at home. Pellwain herself has always been considered offensive by the majority of people who meet her. If anyone can talk to the Farzah, it should be Pellwain.

[spacefan]

We could name this "History of Europe" and it would be just as accurate.

The more I've got into this game, the more it seems to parallel the Medieval feudal society, with the church as a unifying force for all the little kingdoms and fiefs and such.

As you might have expected from above, just like in Medieval times, where the Church owned property in many different places, the Norak now have planets in the systems of nearly all of the other "empires". Like in Medieval times, the Norak are trying to keep us in line with religious teachings, but we continue to fight our petty disputes, plunder, kill and such (although so far the game is relatively peaceful by comparison.)

The Fazrah which I play, seem to represent the truly chaotic knights and assorted others that serve to stir things up, and whom offer only token fealty to their overlord.

The Praetorians and Sallegans represent more organized nations, which really seem to come more from the later stages of the Medieval period. They both are powerful, but no where near as powerful as the Norak, especially if the Norak managed to convince all the Groups with some tie to its religion to join them.

The remaining empires that the Norak have met represent some of the other small nation-states.

And then there may be a few empires the Norak haven't met, but unfortunately we have no real enemy to go on crusades against, so I predict internal conflict to continue. Fazrah at least seem to be boxed in, and pretty much limited forever in what empires they'll have contact with.

[spacefan]

2413.9
Alpha Tau, Ship Lords' Log

When I called for election nearly a year ago I assumed we'd be at war with the Praetorians within a month and I'd be far from homeworld. Instead neither side has said a thing in the conflict, indeed most all contacts are silent at this point.

The only thing keeping the warships from going berserk from boredom is constant news about undisclosed contacts within the Amon'krie, and the progress of two ships that have defected and are heading to Homeworld for a celebration and feast.

Its rare to see this many ships orbitting homeworld. Many captains and their crews have been visiting other ships, exchanging war stories and other gossip, and getting a Oom'vra championship set up. The Cue'Cappa are here as well, with a light cruiser and crew, and they plan on being the first outsiders to play Oom'vra in the championship.

Oom'vra tournaments are sporadic at best, occuring when at least 32 lords promise to play throughout the duration. Individual Oom'vra games are played frequently in any corner of Fazrah space, and Oom'vra is a game that is vastly different every time it is played.

The tokens that are used are made by the players, and they may have bizarre rules that would seem to unbalance the game. However the real fight is in the first phase of each game, where players try to get the right tokens, as each player may end up with mostly tokens brought by the opponent, or not, depending on the play. The main mark of skill in the game is to confuse your opponent, while making the Token understandable enough for the judge to allow it. (Pure gibberish and truly ambiguous tokens are not allowed)

Amateurs and outsiders often have difficulty with the odd quirks of this game, as it gives a first impression of simply being a matter of making "I WIN" tokens. An old saying goes, "The fool writes 'I win', while the master uncovers it."

I've played a bit of Oom'vra, but I'm not up to the top players. I've seen their tokens, and they manage to fit quite a bit into 100 words.

Other than the 'I win' tokens, even our Fazrah gold coin has Oom'vra token rules on the back, as it can be played as a token. It is a very broadly used token, more popular than 'I win' and all good players have to account for its rules and try to counteract them.

Oom'vra is good fun, and a good example of Fazrah ways for outsiders. It can get rowdy, with a whole gaggle watching every token played and cheering them on. We plan on showing it to the Amon'krie captains that defected. The bit of the Gold being a token gets them every time. I've also heard a few Lords banter about a new Token in play, thats been christened in my name as,

"Lord Alzene's Undo Mischief"
[A rough translation from Fazrahn of course, but the best that can be had]

[siderial]

Disturb the ether but slightly,
We ride the soft currents in joy.
Disturb the ether with great force,
We ride the cyclone in fear.
It is thus within as without.

- Poet Eed (SR 451)


"We are the Many and we are One."

The Elders of the Eee recited the Song of the Truth at the beginning of every gathering. Translated into the limited language of alien races, it was but a line of text, a few syllables. For the Eee, this simple idea was the basis of their society. Their language embellished this simple idea in the same way that others embellished simple churches to make them into cathedrals. To invoke the Song was to invoke the harmony of the Eee. There was no epic more profound in the Eee language, no work more sacred. It was Truth.

High Elder Elw beheld the candidate for the Eldership that was before the assembly and waited.

"The Eee have decided that I am not ready for the Eldership," the candidate said finally.

"This is so, E'en," Elw said simply.

"The Eee are wise in our harmony. It is not my role to be an Elder." There was no disappointment from E'en. The Eee had decided and E'en knew it was for the best. E'en began to withdraw.

Elw was not finished, however, and spoke to E'en. E'en was among their best. Elw would not let him leave without an explaination.

"The Eee know that you are a wise Strategic Coordinator and a fine scientist. You have learned much from the alien races we seek to befriend. You have learned their ways from your time on the borders." Elw paused. "You know of a thing called Gold?"

E'en made the wordless vibration in the ether that was like the nodding of a head to some alien races.

"The Eee know that you have employed new ideas and tactics," Elw continued. "Some alien races use stones or metals such as Gold to assign value to themselves. You have also sought to work with these aliens by similarly using Gold and heavy metals to assign a value to what is beyond value: the Eee. You do this to foster understanding among traders and politicians. The Eee appreciate your efforts to foster understanding and peace."

"And yet...." E'en said expectantly.

"And yet, Gold is a heavy metal and we are a light race, both of mind and body. The Eee have never used Gold and Gold is a new idea. The Eee fear it for its weight, not just in mass, but also in how it can pierce our harmony as easily as an asteroid would pierce the atmosphere. An asteroid can drag us into the Underether, into the great liquid Darkness below. The same thing can happen to the Eee under the weight of these new ideas. You feel that the future is to play with Gold, but the ideas are too new for us. You cannot play with Gold and yet lead the Eee."

There was nothing else to say. E'en understood and began to leave silently, but then stopped and said one Last thing. Strangely, it sounded almost apologetic.

"The Eee honor me when they considered for the role of Elder. I will continue to be honored in my role as a Strategic Coordinator. If there is a time the Eee can accept Gold, I will be here to serve. I should have known that my ideas were too new but I have spent too much time among those who harbor such ideas. I shall return to my fleet and coordinate its actions in the spirit of the consensus."

Having finished, E'en floated away from the assembly and withdrew.

[Skulky]

Great story, i really loved reading everything so far. How about another placing update, and a gam file?

Also, what about allowing members of the forum to act as lawyers and such in disputes amoung different parties over ICQ or AIM or by email? maybe too lengthy but could be cool.

[Jmenschenfresser]

2414.9
My stomach is grumbling. I think it's the stress and exhaustion and lack of a steady diet of something substantial. I'm a monk, so I am supposed to be able to handle times of persecution.

I am leaving the Tribunals and the Insanity behind in fear that I too might lose my life. The recent cleansings have taken many good friends of mine. Tallik, while not dead, is unable to leave Xiban I. He is watched round the clock by secret police of the Tribunals. What are the Tribunals? History must know. I personally don't know how long they've been worming their way into positions of authority. But I do know their elite come from an underground order of pious monks, who left the homeworld in the early years of colonization. I doubt any of their rhetoric concerning those races which are infidels and that aren't come from real conviction. They are power hungry. They are hate filled. May the Almighty strike them down for their blasphemy!! They've perverted the Holy Text! They've mistranslated and cut its meaning to suit their purposes. And now...they seek the death of those who know the difference in what should be and what is. I pray constantly that Tallik will find a way off of Xiban I, but he is in Her hands now.

I would to Pellwain, but because of the High Council's new agenda, I fear we may be at war with the Farzah before the year is out. We are heading to the two worlds on the outer rim of the Norak Continuum. Here the local officials are tolerant to those the Tribunals are persecuting. They will retain us till this has passed, or until the Elders decide to send a fleet out this far and crush this defiance. But until the course laid is completely seen, they will not risk ships on a few disgruntled intellectuals and powerless theologues like myself.

We will take up communications with all empires in an attempt to coordinate operations against the Tribunal government. Hopefully, we can incite enough Norak, enough Priests to rise up and retake power, and it won't have to come to the complete destruction of the Norak empire in order to change things.

I only escaped because I disguised myself as a first degree priest and caught a military freighter to Organtrix. From there I was able to find a ship, organized by a group of local dissenters, heading to the outer rim. I've come to find out that all the passengers aboard are in the same boat I am...literally and literally. The brain drain back on Xiban I fear will drag us back 100 years. We've already lost just about every capable diplomat. The Tribunals don't trust those who've stayed too long with other races. That is why I was targeted and that is why they want to remove Pellwain. Tallik is suspected because of his incredible knowledge of Norak weaknesses militarily. They'll never let him leave Xiban alive.

I've been out of the loop for the Last few months. For certain, I cannot predict what is happening. Not until I reach the outer rim and regain contact with the excommunicated. However, I fear that already the Tribunals are moving against the Jraenar. The reason I am officially excommunicated is because I refused the position of double agent/diplomat within the Jraenar empire. Right as the Tribunals gained the upper hand in the High Council, the Council was about to vote in favor of a trade agreement with the Jraenar. I have it on good authority that members of the Council were threatened and bought...anything to strike down the Jraenar treaty. I do not know what they plan. I only know that if they are allowed to carry on, the entire galaxy will fall into war.

[dumbluck]

The plot thickens...