NationStates Jolt Archive

Exploration, the process in which one expands an empire. However, this time was different, instead of searching for an uninhabited planet the fleet was searching for a empire to conquer. Soon their wishes would be granted....

Stardate 50431.22 (new calendar)
0200hr, Unknown Space
The first task force (20 Que class frigate, 200 Carbon class explorers, 20 Turtledove class cruisers, 5 Catapult type subspace torpedo launcher, and 5 Daytona class carrier, 1 lac'tar C&C) had struck gold, a very rich system that would suit the purposes of the mission
[Lac'tar bridge]
"Admiral BAILEY," said a ensign, "the fleet is ready to enter the system."
"Very well, engage" he made a signal to the helm officer and com officer and soon the short jump to the probes location was completed...
Message to Unknown Race
"This is the first task force, we are here to take control of the system surrender and lay down your arms or you will be destroyed"
Just after the transmission ended the fleet entered the system. The boxy ships quickly activated their Newtonian drives and accelerated into the system. However, Lurking on the blind side of the planet would be something that the fleet was never expecting.

((NPC taken))

NOTE: I am playing the NPC, not my own nation.





A return message was sent soon picked up from the natives of the system.

Ptau'al invaders,

Udos orn neitar surrender doeb delmahen ulu l' dyunhk d' dos. Dosst filthy honor-less rhoquil orn inbal ulu pry udossta sarolen dal udossta inthuul elghinyrr rahi. Dos orn neitar wynthye wun dosst illegal invasion.

Alu rath delmah ulu dosst ilhars p'los dos morfeth udossa hasstn lu' udos inbal ulu sarn'elgg dos.

After being ground up to pieces and put back together, the translator was able to function properly after the sample message was analyzed. The initial message was replayed so it could be understood.

Attention invaders,

We will never surrender out homes to the likes of you. Your filthy honor-less scavengers will have to pry our weapons from our cold dead hands. You will never succeed in your illegal invasion.

Go back home to your mothers before you make us angry and we have to punish you.

Sensors could detect several defensive positioning of known ships in the system as the fleet sped closer.

Stardate 50431.23 (new calendar)
0200hr, Enemy Space
The message came in and was analyzed. Soon a reply was sent out.
"Than fear the power of this fleet!"
The first taskforce was now in a war. It entered formation. The support ships went forward followed by the cruisers and the carriers, but the Lac'tar cloaked to observe the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy fleet. Numerous fighter and mechs launched from the carriers and flew by the advancing ships. The enemy fleet was outnumbered Soon flashes appeared to reveal torpedoes that streamed to the enemy fleet and at the same time a salvo of MAC shells from the fleet launched at the enemy. They continued ominously advancing to the enemy fleet all the while firing off MAC shells as fast as the capacitors would recharge.. ((that reminds me I forgot my landing craft))

At the end of the first salvo four military transport craft entered the system. They carried numerous vehicles and infantry to facilitate the take over of the new planet. They bore few space weapons of any kind but the underside and front were dotted with numerous weapons and systems including: missiles, area denial systems, Linear Artillery, RADAR, optical sensors, spatial sensors probe launchers, Sismic sensors, point defense systems, and heavy shielding. These weapons and systems were ill suited to space combat but could quickly pacify the landing area.

The clock for battle just struck twelve and would soon reach the first minute. (metaphorically speaking)

The reply to the invaders oppressive message was a barrage of MAC rounds launched at them. The massive wall of projectiles flew towards the fleet and fighters. As they neared, they detonated in a spectacular display.

The detonations were not miscalculations but a cleaver play to be used against incoming missiles and fighters. As each MAC round fragmented, it created incredibly sharp fragments, much the same way a grenade will fragment. The high speed cloud of magnetic fragments would cause problems with engines, hulls, and score the canopies of the fighters. It might even possibly weaken the thick glass enough to cause catastrophic failures of hull integrity resulting in ruptures in the cockpits. The cloud of splintered shrapnel continued upon their path forming a deadly defense of flack.

The following wave of MAC shells were strong EMP pulsed projectors. They were designed to screw with the sensors and any other electronic devices. False sensor images were created and hopefully the EMPs would mess with he shields of the invaders enough for the third wave to exploit.

The Third wave was a barrage of tungsten alloy slugs designed to penetrate the hulls of the enemy. If the shields were disabled or allowed physical attacks (some only affect energy attacks) then the shell could punch holes into the intruders. Tile will see if they were successful.

After the wave of MACs, the fighters began to show on the long range scanners. They were not advancing, but taking a defensive formation around their worlds. Each of the five planets had their own defensive fleet as well as a sixth force that was designed to move to back up any singular planet of the system that needed assistance. They were fast on their way to the world closest to the invasion fleet.

Unfortunately for Sigma VII, the initial MAC shells of the invaders began to strike the defense fleet. Explosions could be detected in orbit through the sensor clutter and visually, the orange blossoms of death erupting above the cold world below were an encouraging sight for the imperialistic invaders.

...bridge of a random ship...
"Sir, the Faraday cage has been activated by the ships AI. Point defense has also been activated." Said one ensign. The Faraday cage would protect the ship from the EMP however the 0ncomming MAC rounds posed a problem. In response to that threat the point defense system activated. Numerous proximity missiles were launched and coupled with lasers and omni-directional phasers around 90% of the Incoming MAC shells were destroyed. the same ensign spoke again "Impact followed closely by EMP in 3...2..."
"brace for impact!" said the captain
"1..." Numerous MAC rounds impacted the ship, which was also the lead ship. Soon after the ships, transponder went off line. The same thing happened on many other of the expendable Carbon Classes at the front. Numerous fighters simultaneously exploded before the remainder were able to avoid the cloud of shrapnel. Several dozen also limped home trailing exhaust plasma.

The fighters launched several missiles. These missiles warheads contained nanobots. They exploded in the cloud of shrapnel and began to decompose it.
All the while the ships moved forward. Soon along with the MAC shells they launched a volly of three hundred fusion missiles at the enemy ships.

OOC:



I misunderstood him when he described this little empire as having five planets. I thought he was meaning they were all here and not in five different systems. Some things will change but nothing too superficial. This system has changed status from being the heart of the Empire to being one of the colonies.

If anyone else wants to help with this, please send a TG to Waterhelper or myself explaining how you can assist and possible RP experience if need be. The outcome will remain the same, he will eventually win but I plan on giving him one hell of a fight and make him earn these worlds using this tech as well as I can. Perhaps “you” can take one of the other colony worlds…





IC:




Governor George Robertson was infuriated. These aliens just come barging in to the system and lay claim to everything without even trying to talk. This was outrageous and insulting. Their imperialism was going to interfere with the harvest of the Hawthorn Berries and possibly ruin an entire season’s crop of Beryl Wine. That meant a serious financial loss to the colony and after last winter’s early frost; they could not afford two disasters in a row. They were already scraping the barrel and barely getting by with the current budget. The colonial government would rather surrender to these aliens hoping they would just stand by as overlords while things carried on as normal. He knew better than thinking the military would think of the concept of least damage options and challenge these aliens to a bitter battle to the death.

“Michael, get me information on what the hell is happening up there. We cannot sit down here blond to what is happening.”

Michelle Johnson, the Lieutenant Governor hurried to find out some sort of information for her boss. After making a few phone calls, she was able to get hold of someone that might have a way to help.

“George, I think I found a way.” Michelle rushed into the Governor’s office with a padd in her hands. “I made a call to the Department of Weather Tracking. The DWT said the Arcturius Satellite can be turned away from the planet to look out into space. The cameras and instrument packets can examine the battle and relay the information back down to us.”

“Michelle, you are a genius. How soon before we get anything from them?”

“About ten minutes. We should be getting something after that.”

“I am surprised they are willing to use one of their precious toys to help.”

“After the flack they got from last winter’s early frost, they need every bit of positive public relations they can generate. I kinda suggested the public might find out they refused if they turned down my request to use one of their satellites. They didn’t like that at all. I even talked them down from thirty minutes.”

After a couple seconds, George started laughing until his eyes watered so bad he could not see. He took his glasses off and wiped the moisture from his eyes. He had taught her well while she worked as his second in charge.

“Have you told your husband and kids about this yet?”

“Of course not. Something like this I would need your permission to leak this.”

“Have them moved to shelters in case this turns out badly. Leave them a message to be delivered to them once they are safe telling Henry and the twins what is happening.”

Michelle pulled a data crystal out of her pocket. “I figured you would tell me that so I already make one. I’ll have it delivered while we wait for the link to be established.” Michelle picked up the phone and called for one of the Service Guards and send him away with the crystal.

Ten minutes later had the top members of the colonial government sitting around several monitors watching the events play themselves out on the displays. Several of the front line frigates were taking one hell of a beating from the alien MAC cannons and many erupted into orange blossoms of death as the drives were ruptured.

“I see the military took control over the mining platforms and they are using the railgun transport system. It appears they redirected them towards the invader’s ships and are shooting raw materials at them as MAC slugs. I bet those thousand ton cargo containers really hurt when they hit.”

“It would be a good idea if it destroys them. If not, it will only be harder on us when the military pulls out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at the screens.” George waved his hand at the multiple displays. “Our defenses are getting blown away. They outnumber us and we have more ships being destroyed. It is only a matter of time before the Top Brass drops their options and pulls out to regroup at the next staging grounds. The enemy will swarm us and take their anger out on us and we will suffer for the military’s pride.”

“Frack, I never thought of that.”

“Yep, and we can’t do a damn thing until they leave. When that happens the planet will contact the invaders and we can only hope they understand out position. If we were to contact them before they leave, we will be marked as traitors by both our military and the citizens. If we contact them after the navy runs away, we will be seen as trying to help the people as best we can. The only way we can come out anywhere other than in a grave is to wait for the military to pack things up and leave.”

“We have to find a way to save people’s lives.”



OOC:



About 1/3 of the front line ships have been destroyed or crippled so far.

((Dumb expendable ships and the "numbers over quality motto" I should have thought that through.... anyway though, if you want to join send me a TG))

[On the Holographic Bridge of the Lac'tar]
The entire bridge glowed with the glow of simulated directed energy weapons as the two fleets engaged each other in the bridge, which was also a miniature representation of the battle in its entirety. Soon A large flash occurred as a large amount of material ejected from what appeared to be a space elevator hit several ships. The large amount of ejected material went straight through the formation impaling all the ships in a long line. The information screen on all the ships briefly said "shields failing" as the flicker of shields went out and the ships were destroyed. Six explorers, five cruisers, and two carriers were destroyed by the enemies maneuver. Several ships also disappeared from the map as they headed home venting plasma. ((yes its a messed up battle of reach))
One priority one message was sent to all ships
"Flashfire T minus 1hr 32min 56sec and 10 milliseconds." It slowly counted down as the transports and advance forces moved into position.
Soon only 15 Que class frigate, 150 Carbon class explorers, 10 Turtledove class cruisers, 5 Catapult type subspace torpedo launcher, and 2 Daytona class carrier, 1 lac'tar C&C remained.

Quickly the admiral ordered several Carbon class explorers to form a shield wall and thwart any more attempts at using cargo containers as improvised weaponry. ((too lazy to do any speech today)) The admiral also ordered a risky maneuver. Soon 6 cruisers and 20 explorers disappeared at warp nine leaving only their after images. (my ships have multiple FTL drive types in a reconfigurable system that selects based on power availability and distance) They reappeared under the enemy and began to fire their weapons up at the opposing ships. ((yes space is three dimensional as opposed to these dumb linear fields of battles in SciFi.... and I doubt that will work a second time))

Also with the main enemy force engaged with the fleet the transports began their re-entry phase and descended in the atmosphere leaving a bright trail of plasma (I think thats what happens I forget) behind them as they descended into the ever increasing density of gas. Along with the transports, several obital drop pods containing mechs (yes I like gundam...) were launched in missiles. These missiles were positioned in a pattern to immediatly enter formation upon re-entryand secure the DZ before the main landing. ((yes media black out wont work when there are enemy tanks blowing up fortified urban defensive positions)) The time displayed in the cocpits was T minus 1 hr 20 min 32 seconds 21 milliseconds and was exactly 10 min before the Flashfire Countdown. All the missiles than activated active cloaking devices and began to wait for the appropriate time to deploy.

note: my formation is a sphere however at the distances normally used it wont matter as all shot would still impact the forward shields. However, as a result of this firing solutions are limited and fewer ships can fire at once and results in the large amount of losses compared to the enemy (that and carbon classes are basically A civilian ship with shields and weapons but are actually designed that way) Also in their function as shield ships carbon class explorer's shields are extended in a forward plane and strengthened by diverting all energy from offensive weapons. This renders them near invincible from the forward angle but vulnerable from the sides.

OOC:

Sorry for not posting lately.

Between work, headaches, appointments, RL, and brushing up on the tech you suggested for the defenders I have been unable to compose a post. When I get home from work I will replace this post with something.

I also have another player to suggest for one of the colonies, I'll talk to you on I M when I get on my PC in about 6 to 7 hours.



IC:



“Captain! There are enemy ships engaging their FTL drives.”

“Where the hell are they going? Track them corporal.”

“They are appearing below us.”

“Evasive maneu…”

Suddenly hot plasma flooded the bridge and was immediately vented into space as the shots went through the ship and blew off the ceiling of the bridge. The crewmembers that did not die from being flash cooked twitched as their torn bodies vented themselves in the vacuum. Then the ship exploded with the shrapnel mercifully ending their last moments much sooner than the few minutes of agony being vented into space had in store for them.

Six more ships were morphed into plasmatic blossoms as their shields and hulls were penetrated by the alien fire. Several more ships were damaged as they shifted their shields to accommodate the surprise attack. Fortunately the closest ships provided them with a bit of cover so their sacrifice was nor for naught.

“Dammit, get us out of here NOW!”

“Yes Sir.”

The remaining ships activated their Slipstream Drives and faded away in a shower of photons leaving behind an after glare, and seven dying embers marking the graves of several hundred good men. A Death shroud of debris was all that was left of the seven vessels. They were to be made martyrs to the cause in the days to come but for now, they were just statistics to the enemy.

Aboard The Balanced Justice, Commander Armand Pearson watched as the display showed the damages to his small defense fleet. He was barely fighting back tears as he remembered many faces that went with the blinking red numbers on the screen. Some of them were sons and daughters of his classmates while others were life long friends. He had no reason as to why these aliens were so ruthlessly attacking. They had done nothing to deserve this. They have done nothing but inhabit an empty world and try to make a safe place to live. Instead, death came calling and they were killing family and friends alike.

“Commander!”

Armand shook his head to clear the thoughts that were crowding his mind and judgment. “Yes Lieutenant?”

“We have reports that there have been several incursions upon the planet. They already made landfall while they distracted us out here. They are entrenching themselves around the capital and we are completely cut off from the planet.”

“Damn, Damn, Damn!” Armand smashed his fist against the counsel causing the surface to shatter. Sparks flew and blood splattered as it cut into his hand. The pain made him wince and brought his mind to focus. He took a deep breath.

“There is nothing we can do here. Order the ships to withdraw. They have us outnumbered and outgunned. There is no way we can defend the planet and our presence would only cause them more harm. They will take time to ensure their victory before moving on. They need every ship we have left at the Throneworld to keep that from falling.”

“You are letting the…”

“I said order the withdrawal of the fleet to Calabrine. If you don’t, I will trhow you out the closest airlock and promote someone who will follow orders. This system is a lost cause and will only bleed ships the Empire needs. They have to split their forces to keep this system under control and when they reach Calabrine, they will be whittled down to nothing. Now send the damn order!”

Armand sat there staring at the reports wondering if, no praying he had made the right decision. If he hadn’t, them he might have placed the noose around the neck of the Empire himself. He could only sit there and wonder as the ships of the fleet used their Slipspace Drives to jump out of the system headed for Calabrine.

The enemy fleet left finally realizing the situation. Flashfire was disabled as the ground forces now had orbital support. A message was sent to the one city on the planet saying
"Surrender unconditionally and you will not be harmed."
On the ground soldiers continued to pour out of the landing craft. They encircled the main settlement and prepared for artillery bombardment should they not comply.

A messenger upon a bicycle rode towards the front line. The youth on the two wheeled passenger vehicle stopped at a distance so he was clearly seen. He stood there for a couple minutes before climbing on the bike and continued slowly toward the soldiers. When he got close, he stopped and dismounted, turned to the soldiers, and held out a simple piece of folded paper. The boy nervously smiles to show the scores of foreigners he was harmless.

When the paper is taken from him a message is written across the paper in flowing script:

Welcome to our world. We are glad you chased away those boorish government types and hope you will not be the same. Please allow the boy to return to his family because he has chores to do before suppertime.

I wish to discuss a business venture with someone who would have the authority to make decisions and policies that are binding. Please come to town hall shortly before sundown and we will feast together before we start the negotiations.

The boy waited to be allowed to return home.

A colonel stepped up to the boy and took his note. Quickly he read over it before sending the boy away. He than called over to a private. ((the privileges of command=) )) The private quickly ran over to where the colonel was.
"Contact the fleet. Tell them to send the admiral down in time for dinner." The Private than gave a salute before running over to the communication center of the tent city.
[space same time]
The fleets ere searching for anything that might be a black box or navigational recorder in the dibris field. Systematically they moved through and beamed on board anything suspicious. Slowly they continued.
[evening, unknown agrarian city]
The Admiral and three guards beamed down to the planet. Slowly they made their way to the city hall ignoring the stares they received from the local inhabitants.

The boy hurried off and rode his bike back to the village. That night his parents would hug him all the more knowing how brave he was and they realized even more how much they cared for him.

As the sun neared the horizon, the sky was tinted with the orange and crimson hues that brought back memories of childhood to the villagers who were quietly going about their business. The hustle and bustle of town was understandably more subdued this evening. Word had traveled quickly about the meeting between the invaders and their most prominent landowner in the colony.

George Robertson owned the largest vineyards in the colony and he had made sure his ideas were carried out in what he felt was the best interests of the entire colony. He has demanded the colony establish guidelines that restricted any sort of pollution that might affect the fragile Hawthorn vines. He had even spent the credits on the weather satellite to divert hazardous storms away from the valleys where the berries grew the best. Transportation was limited to those forms that would offer no pollution and the power generator would be safe from destroying any of the local habitats. George had made the colony what it was over the last half century and he intended on keeping the valleys pristine.

Much of the bottling of the wine they produced was using processes the Robertson family had brought from Calabrine when this world opened for colonization. Even the distillery processes as well as the aging was considered family secrets and improved upon through dozens of seasons before their final product was ready to send back to Calabrine and it’s markets. He had made much money and had turned it right around and invested in the Hawthorn Valleys Vineyards. The label had even become famous back “home” although George no longer felt it was anything but a “home” best left behind. All they really did for the colony was to levy taxes.

The entire town had watched the transmissions from the weather satellite and saw the Calabrine Imperial Navy desert them when things got tough.

As the foreigners approached the doors of the house they were greeted with golden light streaming through the tinted glass panes. The slight chill in the air told of a cool night ahead of them and a slight fog began to gather in the lower valleys. The whole scene was quite picturesque and something you would send to a dear family member back home, wherever that was. As their footsteps sounded on the wooden porch, the doors were thrown open and an elderly gentleman of about 70 years greeted them.

“Hello friends, I am glad you arrived. Dinner is about ready and you have just enough time to wash up and get comfortable. Please follow me into the study and we can be civilized.”

The three officers and three guards followed George the son of Robert into a large dining hall. It was lighted by a chandelier that casted a pale yellow glow on the small company. The six men sat down at the table and waited for their host to make the next move.

The table was set for guests. The good china was set and the table held too many eating utensils for anyone with two arms to use at once. There were more forks on that table than wrenches in a tool box. Makes you wonder what those people that thought up etiquette were on that morning.

“I hope you don’t mind, we asked some of your soldiers what was edible for your physiology. We didn’t want to make you sick or to serve anything offensive. That would not be proper to do to any guest.”

As the serving staff began to bring out the meal, it was obvious a few of the men played a joke on their superiors. The roast fowl stuffed with the native variety of habanera peppers caused the host to choke on a small taste before taking a deep drink out of his glass. The servant quickly refilled the empty glasses with fresh clear water. There were other little things wrong with the meal that would cause a lot of funny memories later but now were just plain annoying. (I’ll let you fill in some and let you find those soldiers too!)

After the painful dinner, George suggested they retire to the study to sample some of the house wine and to talk about business.

((OOC: yes house wine and get drunk and then while in a drunk state, they find the person responsible and execute him :mp5: ))
Space: The entire fleet was only able to find one intact navigational recorder as it seemed that they were programmed to self destruct upon the destruction of the ship in the event of a defeat. The semi-intact recorder only contained one intact stellar coordinates. These coordinates were sent to the second task force which contained the same amount and types of ships as the first task force.

Ground: The commander's and their guards followed the man into a large room. When they were offered some of the wine they refused saying, "Starfleet regulations state that we must not consume any mind altering beverages during official business. ((I can't spell that)) We wish to discuss any terms you would like to have for a conditional surrender."

Fleet 1, Second Task Force: The second and third task forces were part of the militarisation program initiated by the Waterhelper Government. These ships ((fact book is not updated)) were all Mark 2 and contained several new technologies produced the the Waterhelper Scientific Community. However, they were all basically the same ships as those in the First task force with some Upgrades. The ships of the fleet crossed the void of hyperspace in scilence as they approached their next destination.
ETA: 3(hr):24(min):05.1992321(sec) to P-M194 Suppression Area
((OOC: they were already en route to the system and were 1 hr out, being a small empire i assume that it would only be a short amount of time between systems.))

George turned to an antique floor lamp.

“They don’t trust us. After all the trouble we went through to prepare their dinner and even asked their own soldiers what was edible and now they don’t trust us. That is intolerable.”

George began to pace back and forth becoming more agitated. Michelle, who was watching from the doorway hurried to his side and helped the 70 year old patriarch to his chair. He remained sitting there grumbling to himself until Michelle returned with a glass of water and some medication.

“Sorry, he gets this way sometimes. The meds usually helps in a couple minutes. Please be patient sirs.”

She gave the pills to the old man and allowed him to drink slowly. After a few minutes of comical outbursts, he settled down again and the shrewd look returned to his eyes.

“Surrender? Why do you keep talking about surrender? You already control the planet. We are just settlers here that have a unique product we want to continue making. If you don’t want us here we will leave and take our brewing secrets with us. You have an opportunity to gain an export that millions love.”

He picked up a new bottle and walked over to the Admiral which he handed it to. The glass bottle was sealed with a tight cork. The red-tinted amber liquid gurgled inside the bottle, scattering the flickering candle light through the room.

“You will never know how good the product is until you test it.”

George returned to his chair and sat down, looking at his guests. It was clear he was being stubborn.

(It’s not a drinking wine, it is a sipping wine and damn expensive to boot.)




Calabrine System:



The Balanced Justice appeared at the edge of the system in a brilliant photonic display as the command ship and the remains of its escort fleet exited Slipspace. Aboard the command ship, Armand was busy giving commands.

“Contact High Command and fill them in on the details. Tell them I am returning to Headquarters and to suggest placing the system on alert.”

“Yes Commander. They want to see the logs immediately.”

“Tell them I am on the way with them. Ask them to consider warning the other colonies in case they are targeted next. Take The Balanced Justice directly to HQ.”

“Yes Sir.”

The semi-impassive commander frowned.
"Well call it conditional surrender sir, unless you wish that we do what ever we want to the agrarian world of yours, you should state what ever limitations you would like on our developing this planet." He paused, "I also know that this crop of yours happens to have specific requirements for optimal growth, unless you with those requirements to be disturbed please state your conditions."
Behind the commander, one of his liutentants sipped some of the winde and shouted. "Hey, this is good."before sipping some more. "Beats anything those nanobots and replicators replicate."
The commander stared at him. "When we get back you are going to get a reprimand lieutenant." The lieutenant stopped his drinking immediately.
"Yes, sir!" he saluted.
"Now please state your requirements and we will attempt to keep them in check as much as possible."

Calabrine System
H Hour ((yes its fluid time... Telros your up))
Three cloaked missiles entered the system emerging from hyperspace. Swiftly the proceeded to the planet and exploded in a bright flash ((cloaked overloaded EMP generators tied to a reactor 30 min from entering to detonation)). Eminating from the flashed was a massive EMP. This EMP spread from the detonation points and covered all of the main inhabited continental masses and any over head ships. Soon the fleet would arrive in order to pacify the area.

((I like seeing how people will improvise as anything thats unprotected will be destroyed..... includes lasers because most of them have a computer. Well its time to get out the old and reliable proejctiles))

OOC:


Actually, Calabrine is the name I created for the Home System. That is why the Commander is heading to the Headquarters there. You will have to ask Telros what he named his Colony.



IC:


“What? You just don’t get it, do you? There is no government here anymore, only respect between craftsmen. There is nothing left to surrender. When you chased away those governmental leeches, they took the Calabrine Imperial Authority with them. The only government here is yours. Like I said all we are is a bunch of uniquely skilled craftsmen. If you damage the source of the wine, there will not be any more crops and the potential profits will go away. You will lose a source of tax. You will lose an exportable product that exists nowhere else.”

“I know where I stand. If you ruin this for your bosses, they will make you feel it for some time. If you cultivate this then you would probably get a bonus. You stand to profit personally from your bosses if you let us continue as we are, practicing our skills.”

George took a sip of the wine in his glass and made a face.

“I am sorry; this batch is a bit off flavor. It happens occasionally. The rest would be much better.”



Calabrine System:


The Balanced Justice was holding position near the massive station in orbit around the Empire’s Throne world. His shuttle had already landed and he was at this moment hurrying through the corridors with a copy of his logs in his pocket. He knows the ship would be transferring all the log entries for their entire mission but there were the ones that pertained to the invasion and were needed immediately. He stopped outside a door and showed his ID to the sentry who pass him through.

Armand entered the room and approached the table. Shortly afterwards several others entered the room. There were a number of empty chairs for the other colony worlds but the System Command side of the table was fully occupied. The Commander saluted his superiors and waited for them to sit before taking his own seat. The meeting would soon begin.

The commander frowned. "Very well," he said, "I will contact my superiors and instruct them that they may send colonists and trade ships here"
He thought for a second. "It would also be nice if you would have a second product to sell as your economy depends on one crop, albeit one we can't replicate accurately."