"We return to the Human empire in a time of intense activity, with the people of Sol about to settle the steppe world of Guradas, bringing their civillian population nearer than ever to Alkari space, while much of their settlement and scouting effort continued north through the heart of the galaxy. The humans' forward base in their race to control that region would be founded three years after Guradas, at the rich, barren world of Volantis, in 2357, even as their Discoveries, using Denubius for a fuel base, encountered a series of incredibly valuable worlds ... all of which the humans were convinced they would one day possess!"
"GNN certainly found the 12th human star system news-worthy, but most intriguing of all for humanity was the situation at Neptunus: A minimally but unquestionably habitable world dotted with the ruins of Orion-era cities, that prompted one of the most famous speeches ever made by Chairman Ref of the Twenty Two:"
Buh ... guh ... um ... wow. Yeah. Gimmegimmegimmegimmegimme!
Nodding sagely, Ssoriad continued, "A Darlok Scout departed the system as soon as the humans' Discovery arrived, presumably bringing some looted technological secrets back to the Darlok emperor, and giving the humans reason to guess the location of the Darlok homeworld, and to infer the shapeshifting people's possession of at least Deuterium and probably Irridium Fuel Cells - all of which was confirmed almost immediately, as Nazgur established a connection with the Volantis relay station, warning humankind to stay clear of Darlok territory."Smiling warmly at Ythistra, Ssoriad continued, "Of course, in spite of their then-emperor's xenophobic bluster, the Darloks were at heart a wise and empathetic people, whose culture placed a heavy emphasis on diplomacy, and they gladly embraced the opportunity to trade with humankind, beginning with 150 BC of annual trade, and continuing with an exchange of what at the time was truly advanced technology."
"
Deuterium Fuel Cells, acquired in exchange for Improved Terraforming +20, immediately became the Human state of the art, and would allow a Pioneer to divert to Neptunus immediately. The Darloks would be able in the meantime to increase the population of every world in their empire significantly, a great boon to any species. The Humans established their Sakkra NAP in the same year, establishing a safe front in the southwest, little knowing that the next year would open up yet another front for conflict or diplomacy: Out of the blue, just as a Pioneer arrived at Centauri, an Alkari fleet, undetected until that very moment, arrived at the same world - the first such fleet to be seen by human forces outside the colony ships and battle cruiser that appeared years before at Altair. With no armed human ships in the area (indeed, with no armed ships or bases anywhere in the entire empire) theater commander Elsa Dobbs held her breath as the local Discovery's and newly-arrived Pioneer's scanners revealed ... a single ... unescorted ... Scout. It departed immediately. 'All right,' Dobbs was said to remark, 'Let's just claim that world then, shall we?'"Doing so not only showed no other threat in the area, but prompted Emperor Skylord of the Alkari to finally open communications with RBO22, with a friendly warning that anyone entering Alkari space would be destroyed on sight. Upon informing the xenophobic militarist that there were no human plans to approach his single star, the human Minister of Commerce, coincidentally named Ref, was able to persuade Skylord to accept a trade package amounting to 75 BC per anum, the most that the one-planet Alkari empire could bear."
"Darlok and Alkari space are both visible here as the Humans first came to know them, with ship positions as of 2357 but up-to-date colony reports from 2358 when humankind first established communication with the Alkari. The empty stars around them however would not long remain empty. Not far southwest of this region, the humans would claim Kakata in 2361, just as their scouting reports from around the galaxy culminated in the discovery of the jungle world Dunatis, practically on top of Darlok space. On receiving the report, Chairman Ref of the RBO22 said, 'You've got to be kidding me. Where has Nazgur
been?!' With the terran world of Incedius spotted, likewise still available for colonization, just beyond Kakata, the Chairman could only say, 'Okay, this is getting ridiculous,' but the Darloks fortunately also chose that moment to finally decide they wanted Dunatis after all."
"We are detecting a Darlok Colony Ship and Scorpion destroyer escort on approach to Dunatis 3. Hailing ... hailing ... okay, response coming in:""Attention, Human Discovery. We bear a message from our emperor: We claim this world. We claim this system. Depart or be destroyed.""You read that, Houston? Both ships are still advancing. Even the colony ship appears to be armed. Request permission to leave the system.""Permission granted, Discovery 13. We were shocked to find that world still open anyway; no reason to stand in the way of what's rightfully theirs.""Roger that, Houston. Plus, this way, I don't get blown to smithereens."
"As you can see, the Darloks would also colonize Paranar with a large fleet in 2367 and prevent the just-arriving Discovery from scouting any of its planets, just four years after forming their Dunatis colony. Undisturbed, recognizing both worlds as clearly Darlok property, the Humans continued their voyages of Discovery," the professor smirked very slightly, "scouting nearly every star in the galaxy, notably including poor Regulus in the northwest, which prevented the waste of the Pioneer that had been tentatively earmarked for Dunatis when it was built, 'in case the Darloks turn out not to want that world after all.'"Technological discovery continued as well, with Human agents reporting that the Sakkra had learned not only how to settle ecologically dead worlds, but a new, state-of-the-art "death spore" technology as well. Thus, as soon as the project finally completed in 2368 - the heavily understated odds of discovery had climbed all the way to "26%" - the RBO22
exchanged Enhanced Eco Restoration for Sakkra Controlled Dead Environment technoloy. The humans only saved a few years of research this way, as well as getting a few new colonies up to speed sooner, while the Sakkra benefited immensely, but the Twenty-Two considered it an acceptible exchange: Given the state of their own enormous and growing empire, they had no fear of their 'pacifist buddies.' The next human planetology project would be
Soil Enrichment, but this would be delayed for some years while human scientists played catch-up in a series of fields that had long been neglected due to the continuing political hot-button research priorities.
Human electrical engineers - disappointed to see no other choices - would begin work on
ECM Jammer Mark II the very next year, thanks to the immediate completion of the first generation version of the same technology, at a reported "29%" chance, even as a Pioneer was finally forming the new Neptunus research colony - and the first pair of Vitality 1 colony ships were complete, ready to bring life to lifeless worlds. Having traded for it, the humans intended to make swift use of Controlled Dead Environment technology. A total of five Vitalities would be built by the end of 2371, just three years after their construction became a possibility. As it happened, the completion of the fifth coincided with the development of hand laser technology (at a '50%' chance - meaning it was literally guaranteed) and a proclamation that the next weapons research project would be Defense Minister Ref's beloved
Neutron Pellet Gun technology, after a suitable delay to address shortcomings in other fields of research. They would blow through deflector shield research over the next two years (with success in 2373 at odds actually far better than the reported "28%") and with their sights set on a
Personal Deflector Shield, with an economy that had just landed three different technologies from scratch in the course of just five years, the Humans ... just ... kept ... on ... growing."_______________
Next: Escape Velocity
