2361: When Controlled Dead research finally finished in 2360, with Controlled Toxic Environment selected in lieu of enhanced ecology, Bloviator was of course proven right. Still, Rex Bipolar Obsessivus XVIII knew very well what was about to happen to his empire, and had prepared to at least minimize the amount of time lost, by building hulls for colony-ships-to-be at both Sssla and Xengara, the empire's only fully-developed stars. From the launch ceremony for one of the twin ships built at Sssla:
Envy not the Sakkra leaving aboard the Deathtake 2 and her sister ship today. As these hardy lizards take dead and barren worlds, they will toil not for themselves alone, but to open the way through space toward more distant, vibrant worlds, like those which Xengara's Grasp 2.0 colony ships in time will take in their grips. With another Deathtake already in production, expected to finish next year, and more ready to be queued at both worlds in our core, we shall stretch our scaly claws to the far reaches of the galaxy!2364: Colonization of Paranar brought contact with the Meklar machine-people.
The map of their massively powerful empire displayed above, provided by Xenophobic Industrialist Emperor M5-35, was delivered with a covering letter:
Not-So-Dear Alien Emperor:
Enclosed, please find a data-file containing the locations of all Meklar worlds. Mark them down as places to never visit for the rest of time. Please continue to check for updates so that you will know what other worlds we claim, to which you should also make sure to never send any star ship or representative, ever. Frankly, we would prefer that you not visit any planets at all in our direction. Don't bother us. Good bye.
Not yours, sincerely or otherwise, so don't even think about it,
M5-35
They did agree to a 45 BC trade agreement, but only when RBO-18 conceded that all transactions would occur in deep orbit around Paranar, with Meklar traders flying in for the purpose when decontamination chambers were prepared. The Humans, of course, continued to be far more friendly, though they too remained far more powerful than the Sakkra: Improved Industrial Tech 9, obtained from Lasitus for Nuclear Engines, would help the obsessive-compulsive Sakkra civilization build the factories they so craved, make their colony ships a little easier to build, and prevent not a single lizard in the empire from continuing with the all-out expansion effort constantly.
2365: From a distant third in total colonies, the Sakkra leapt directly to first, doubling their total number of planets in just two years.
It was in this year that Colonialus Poetate wrote:
Aurora, with your riches, tempt me not;2367: With Selia's factories complete and Ryoun's ready to finish the following year, the Sakkra were in a stronger position than ever, and though still the least powerful known race in the galaxy, they were nipping at the Psilons' heels as soon as they achieved first contact in 2365.
Nor lure me, dark Endoria, to your vastness.
O, Beta Ceti whose bright ice sheets dazzle
The eyes and thoughts of all who look on you -
Shine not for me; my eyes and every thought
Are set forever over your horizons.
The stars my home, the unknown ever calling
Carries me on - no love but for the new.
Emperor Quark, a Pacifistic Industrialist, was happy to trade Hyper-V Rockets for Deuterium Fuel Cells even as ruthless RBO-18 prepared to backstab him as soon as he could achieve more total power. No records survive of whether a trade agreement was formed, only to be broken two years later, or whether Obsessivus skipped that process entirely, but by 2367, when he passed Quark on the power chart, all deals had been broken, and Emperor Obsessivus issued a war declaration. This led to Quark's galaxy-famous pacifistic response, as transcribed here from the Mentar Historical Archive:
La-la-la! I can't heeeeeeeeeeeear you! La-la-la la-la la-la la-la!_______________
Next: Not the Best Time for a War
