2455: Xengara held thanks to the fighter defenses sent from all over the empire, and Paranar's bases managed to destroy their incoming bomber-sporer dreadnought just as it was about to reach bombardment range, but the empire's defenses were about to be decimated, for reasons revealed in this official transcript of a meeting between Dr. Iguanaius and RBO-18:
Iguanaius: We finally figured out the cause of those unfortunate side-effects our Impulse Engines had on life support systems...
Obsessivus: You're sure? No more lizards turning into giant mushrooms?
Iguanaius: Very rarely. And we can isolate the effects so they no longer threaten ranking personnel.
Obsessivus: Good enough! Let's get these babies installed on all our new ships!
Iguanaius: So, with no other options except pointless range, I figured Intergalactic Star Gates...
Obsessivus: ALL our new ships! All our ships altogether!!! HAhahahahahahahaha! No more watching warp two junkers scuttle around for me!
Iguaniaus: Um ... RBO...?
Obsessivus: We do it now! Scrap our fleet! All of it! Immediately! Wheeeeeeeeee!!!
2459: Three years after fusion bombs were ready to deploy, with Stinger Missiles selected as the next thing to never be researched in RBO XIV's reign, the Impulse era officially began, as dozens of Calcium ion fighters fought off yet another attack on Xengara, and Admiral Vipersian's new western fleet reached the Human colony of Laan. Doc 5.0s scrambled to intercept Human fighters as Midgard bombers roared toward the planet and its heavily shielded bases. If Viperius could take the planet, Sakkra transports would be going in outnumbered three to two, but armed with laser rifles and zortium armor with deflector generator packs against Humans firing kinetic weapons and wearing clunky titanium plates. His report on the battle follows in its entirety:
Enemy sighted.
...
Bases destroyed. Their decimated fleet is retreating. Transports are now in position.
...
The planet is ours.
The troopers on the ground would discover plans for an Inertial Stabilizer, Anti-Missile Rockets, a Graviton Beam, Class V Deflector Shields, and Fusion Drives plus the final secrets of Repulsor Beam development that Dr. Iguanaius had been developing himself. Proceeding with his research, the doctor judged Personal Absorption Shield a more valuable option than double-power planetary shields for the next tech to never ever research under RBO-18's rule.
2461: A year after Viperius and the western fleet took Obaca's orbit, the eastern fleet met the entire Psilon armada in Uxmai's skies. A Monitor cruiser and 37 Doc destroyers faced off against the Nova dreadnought, a Coraona cruiser, four colony ships, 63 Star Streak missile destroyers with lasers for point defense, and 357 high-speed Comet laser fighters. The Monitor, with auto repair, and better targeting and maneuvering capabilities than any of the Psilon ships, proved more than a match for the enemy, and the rolling up of Quark's empire commenced. At the same time, transports hit Obaca, claiming Class IV Deflector Shields and Enhanced Eco Restoration as well as increased peace of mind for Obsessivus: This unretouched holo-image is the very one from which RBO-18 first learned the Sakkra could use an Improved Space Scanner:
2462: The Human empire built a new state-of-the-art dreadnought, and the Meklar arrived at Xengara with eight dreads of their own - mostly bomber/sporer/missile Annihilators, but with a Nexus fusion gunship as well, sporting mostly heavy fusion beams, and no less than 30 Ajax cruisers, stuffed to the gills with megabolt cannons. A time of reckoning had come, but Obsessivus was distracted, as revealed in this top-secret exchange with Admiral Vipersian, believed by many to have been the first foreshadowing of the fate of the galaxy:
Obsessivus: I can't take it any more. Not only did Quark beg for peace last year now that I clearly have the upper hand in their region of space, but that idiot Lasitus called up to compliment me, of all things, for taking it to the Psilon patsies! None of my other advisors can come up with anything - isn't there any way to make these emperors shut up?!
Vipersian: ... Yes.
2468: The middle years of the 2460s saw Sakkra ground troops claim numerous technological secrets for the empire: Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Hard Beam, Improved Industrial Tech 7, Merculite Missiles, Battle Computer Mark III, and Sub-Light Drives from Quayal in '63; Irridium Fuel Cells from Alkari Gion and Reduced Industrial Waste 60%, Controlled Barren Environment, and much-needed Improved Terraforming +20 from Altair itself, all in '66; and Omega-V Bomb, Fusion Beam, Improved Robotic Controls V, Soil Enrichment, Improved Robotic Controls IV, and Megabolt Cannon from Meklar Phantos in 2467. Phantos itself was extremely important strategically as well, as the Meklar refueling station that gave their ships access to the Sakkra core. Far more important than all this to Obsessivus however was the execution of the Admiral's plan to make Quark and Lasitus stop making their annoying holo-calls. The fruition of this plan was described by GNN in understated fashion unintentionally appropriate to Vipersian:
2469: The Alkari followed the Humans and Psilons into oblivion, and the galaxy seemed within RBO-18's grasp, with only the deadly Meklar and also-ran Bulrathi remaining to stand against the Sakkra people. The first transports were launched for Draconis, timed to arrive in six years as Obsessivus planned to eliminate the Bulrathi and so prevent any further galactic elections from taking place. All seemed ready for the tyrant's ultimate triumph, as this map from that time period suggests with its sea of green:
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Next: The Fall of RBO XVIII
