2418: We scan a Titan at Paranar just before the Sakkra reach Willow with their death fleet! (Yes another one; the lizards have death fleets in plenty!) The tiny colony is doomed of course, spored down to nothing in the course of the battle, and I lose several dozen Talons to the two Titans, dozen cruisers, and colony ship, but the Sakkra pay dearly: Also in the course of the battle, before any can escape, I wipe out their entire fleet! Almost simultaneously, a similar battle occurs at Firma, except that no harm is done to the world and a single Titan manages to retreat ... because Firma - for now! - is a Sakkra colony! Then another of my spies infiltrates a Sakkra research lab at Dolz! Rather than impersonating a computer scientist and risking a lame battle computer, we let him convince the computer he's a propulsion specialist, risking lame hydrogen fuel cells, and get ... Uridium Fuel Cells, which we would have developed for ourselves in a few more years anyway. Disappointment turns swiftly to hope however: Though we didn't manage to steal them, we'll now get to start research on Impulse Drives of our own! (Or I could go with more fuel cells! What a difficult decision!) And there's still more good news: Even though I didn't bomb any Sakkra worlds, my good work in destroying their fleets brings Krungo calling to thank me! If only he weren't completely insane, this might even have meant something! In fact ... it even kind of does ... because he's just voicing the general opinion of the entire non-Sakkra galaxy! Both he and Zygot are now feeling affable toward me, and even Darquan is more neutral in his feelings than he's ever been before! I open a large trade agreement with the Shape Shifter immediately, and even give him my IIT8 for Gatling Laser, strictly for miniaturization purposes. This is also a kind of a thank you to Darquan for glassing the lizards' Misha just as its first Sakkra transports were about to arrive.
Vega goes to work on ship parts at once, and our fleets move into position to take and hold our target worlds ... starting with the re-acquisition of Firma!
2419: As it turns out, our Talons have to retreat from Firma, as the Sakkra managed to put up a last-minute single missile base. To my relief however, a single nuclear missile base kills (slightly!) fewer of our transports than 168 of our fighters killed of theirs. Our surviving troops still outnumber the enemy by a reasonable margin, and are wearing battle suits, so 30 million live to retake the planet and its 167 factories! Our Talons there will immediately return from their "retreat," to become what they were meant to be all along: The planetary defense force! And in the meantime, among the factories at Firma, we discover Improved Robotic Controls IV, which will be a nightmare for our many immature colonies, Class V Deflector Shields, which is frankly of no use to us whatsoever, and Controlled Barren Environment, which might be the least valuable technology the Sakkra possessed. Still, I'm not complaining: My spies should be more effective than ever, and Vega is going to be a massive ship-building powerhouse! Plus, we're now in touch with another old enemy of Sauron's, as the Proxima colony we built this year gives us contact with the one-planet Meklar empire! The xenophobic ecologist Meklar, whose interracial relations differ from Saurons in that there is one emperor with whom they are not at war (Yup: Ours) are pretty calm considering their ugly situation. I get to speak with their emperor, INT-986, put together the biggest trade package they can handle, find out there is little our scientists can offer them (meaning there's nothing theirs can offer us), and set up a non-agression pact with them. I also spring for a NAP with the Psilons, and even with Krungo, in spite of the fact that he's out of his mind.
I'm well aware that he will gleefully go to war with us, pact or no, if he finds the wrong letters in his alphabet soup. Until he does though, my work will be a lot easier if I don't have to worry about cold war with him.
2420: Three Colossus cruisers reach Firma, and die under the guns of our defense fleet, doing us no harm ... and we discover Scatter Pack V Rockets, which is terrific news! They might even give our missile base (Yes, "base." I've only bothered building one so far, before I discovered what the Titans were packing, since they frankly can't do anything against the current Sakkra fleets...) a reason to exist! Though I consider bigger bombs briefly (and don't consider hard beam at all), after consulting with Kestrel, I decide our next project must be a Fusion Beam, for space superiority!
Onward, then! Our last remaining warp-one starships, the Farcry 1.0s, are scrapped for parts. They did yeoman's work, and we couldn't have saved Ajax without them, but their time has passed, and our empire is in desperate need of minerals to build up our factory base - an understatement if ever I've made one. We'll scrap our Clouds next year as well, assuming any survive the fighting at Firma and Selia, for much the same reason.
2421: One more fleet hits Firma, but the Star Wing Clan lives up to its reputation, taking out the enemy at the expense of a little over a dozen Talons! Meanwhile, the Sakkra fleet at Selia has left, leaving the assault fleet I sent to destroy it with nothing to do but watch our transports land! We still have superior technology - everything they've got, plus battle suits - and outnumber them almost three to two, so it's no surprise that we take the world with nine million survivors. The five factories yield no new technology, but I wasn't really expecting anything. What matters is that the nearest neutronium-rich world to Altair is back in Alkari talons again!
2422-3: Small alien fleets are repelled or destroyed, and the Darloks take care of Misha for us - just recolonized by the Sakkra the year before - by bombing the poor spud into the ground again ... and the Sakkra have scrapped their Hydra design in favor of a new dreadnought called the Dragon, with Impulse Engines to judge by its speed. That's worrisome to say the least. I put together a new, no-frills Hawk Eye 2 to check it out, but that's all I can spare for now, as I also start work on the heart of my new fleets-to-be: The Divebomb 2, with a fighter hull, is a fusion bomber, with a stabilizer, a mark 1 computer, and all the maneuverability we've got, is under production at Vega, and our new Ion Fighter, the (Thunder) Bolt 2.0, fitted with our best battle computer, goes into production at Guradas and Ajax for the latter's defense. As an afterthought, I call on Zygot ... only to find that he's willing to make some trades that might help us tremendously!
I take his Personal Deflector Shield for my Scatter Pack V Rockets because the only thing I care about right now is killing lizards before they kill me. He's also willing to give me Neutron Blaster for my Uridium Fuel Cells, and I don't even hesitate. At that, I decide Darquan might be able to provide something worthwhile, and accept Improved Robotic Controls III for my Inertial Stabilizer. If only he'd been willing to make this deal before I got RC 4! Still, it'll help with miniaturization and spying, both of which are critically important.
2424: I'm glad I traded for that personal shield, as the Sakkra now have the advanced Absorption version! They've also got a Dragon at Gienah, and its design and destination will determine the success or failure of my attack on Rotan (unless the Sakkra pick up a bunch of superior techs in the next two years and slaughter me regardless of their Dragons). As of now, my main attack fleet is departing from Vega to take the world!
2425: After my Farcry dances around with a Valkyrie at Misha and eventually retreats, my spies come through against the Sakkra again! Only Propulsion and Computers are possibilities, so I decide (perhaps incorrectly) there's no hope of acquiring sublight drives and go with computers for the obvious Battle Computer Mark II. At that point, the Galactic High Council convenes once more, with no change in the nominees, unsurprisingly. Sauron's vote total hasn't changed, but this is not so for the rest of the galaxy! The glorious Alkari fleets and their de-facto allies have contained the lizards effectively, while our total votes have been climbing steadily, and Yreet Kree now controls fully a quarter of the votes in the galaxy! Let's try and accelerate this trend then, shall we?
Wellll ... we can try, at least! Sauron just got Zortium Armor, possibly the single tech that will be most effective for him in the battle for Rotan, and he now has two Dragons at Gienah, while the first is incoming to Firma with a lot of company - to the tune of 31 cruisers, almost all of them Colossus f-bomb/spore ships! Rotan meanwhile has 13 Valkyries in orbit, and will likely have more by the time the battle begins. If we lose either one of these battles, it could decide the war ... so let's make sure to win them! Onward! To victory!
2426: We start with a scan of the Dragons, and find that their weapons are limited in number but potentially deadly to planets and ships alike, while their huge duralloy hulls, swift combat speed, and Class 5 shields make them very hard to kill. It's a good thing none of them showed up at Rotan!
With only 13 Valkyries present, my bombers take out all the bases then lure the Valkyries into attacking them from afar while my Talons tear the enemy apart. We destroy six before the rest retreat, and are sorry they didn't stay longer to lose more! And then our troops hit the ground, and we're ready for the moment of truth: Thanks to their new shield and zortium armor, we're biting our wingfeathers, here ... but we outnumber them more than 3 to 2, and it's enough! 12 million Alkari survive to claim Rotan and its 121 factories! We manage to take Hydrogen Fuel Cells from the ruins, which ... well, it'll help our spies net something better, at least ... plus a Hard Beam that should be great for miniaturization ... but that's all there is. Oh, how I long for an engine!
Daunted by the sheer number of years it's going to take to invade another Sakkra world, I approach Sauron the pacifist once more to request peace. He won't accept unless we hand over enhanced eco restoration, so I clench my talons on my perch, and glare, and tell him what he can do with both his demand and his "pacifism." I've had enough. If he won't end this war, we'll have to do so ourselves, the hard way. Next target: Paranar! This is going to take a massive concerted effort from virtually all our worlds, but if we can somehow claim it, the battle should be decisive, and after years of struggling for our very survival, give us a chance to win this war. In the meantime, my existing Divebombs head in that general direction. They're going to make a stop-over on the way ... at the Sakkra's nebula world of Incedius!
In the meantime, looking ahead to the battle for Firma, I design a new Talon 2.1, identical to the 2.0 except for a Mark 3 battle computer. This is the closest thing I can devise to an answer for the Dragon. It's not a good answer, but it's what I've got!
2427: The huge Sakkra death fleet at Ajax seems so cute and cuddly now that I've seen what some of the Dragon doom fleets look like. Four huge Titans? A dozen Colossus bomber/sporer cruisers? Just four Valkyries? Come on! It does kill some of my fighters before being completely destroyed, but two kinds of Talons and a big fleet of Bolts keep the Titans away from the planet and blow everything to pieces. And since the Meklar don't feel quite right with only four enemies....
... they cancel our NAP agreement. Looks like we're going to be facing attacks on two fronts now (and more diplomatic penalties for breaking treaties that were broken by others against my most heartfelt protests). Well ... it's a good thing we Star Wing pilots enjoy flying combat missions....
2428: The erratic Bulrathi are tired of watching us grow in power. This is odd, since I honestly don't feel strong at all. Now, if I were at peace with the Sakkra, or if their war was phony, or if they didn't have Dragons, all right ... but under the circumstances, I have enough trouble just fending off saurian death fleets without worrying that I might make Krazy Krungo mad at me! The Psilons and Darloks choose this year to complain about our strength as well, but ... don't they want someone strong enough to take on Sauron in this galaxy? Do they have any idea what will happen to their people if he has his "pacifistic" way? By the wind! Now, hopefully, this will get better when my Divebombs reach their next target ... but that's a long, long ways away at our miserable speed. Fortunately, no one in our ad-hoc the anti-lizard coalition actually hates us, no matter how much they may compalin. Darquan is even willing to offer Hyper-X Rockets for our Ion Cannon technology. This is mainly a move for miniaturization purposes, but technically, the X Rockets will allow my missile base (yes, still just one) to do minimal damage to a ship bearing Class 6 or 7 shields. Not enough damage to matter, but it's a good theory....
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Next: Stormbreak!
