"Engineering Team Eight reporting on our new project. You should be seeing the effects of the new waste scrubbers by year's end: Expect pollution from factory outputs to be cut by at least two fifths as they're fully installed. In the meantime, we're going to work on factory production efficiencies again - we should be able to cut them by a quarter, but I wanted to alert you first to another side-effect of the new scrubbers. The miniaturization they permit should make possible a new, high-speed, long-range, toxin-controlled colony ship design in a standard Class 3 Cruiser hull, and word is that the RBO-28 has been preparing facilities to build just such a starship - the "Panacea" could be finished by this time next year! So, in considering funding for our new project, code-named IIT6, bear in mind that it could provide similar benefits for future starship production."
2417
"Reporting from the ice world of Vox, just beyond Bulrathi space. We have managed to establish the transmission relay station at the new colony! We have already established trade with the insectoid Klackon people of Tau Cygni - a just-established colony the Klackons recently built nearby, so far from the rest of Klackon space that we're convinced it was only made possible by an alliance with another race. We will continue to relay transmissions from their emperor Xantak so long as we can keep our communications array up and running - here's hoping those Bulrathi leave us alone!"
2418
"We have begun to discover the state of the far side of the galaxy."
"For one thing, we've learned that the formation of Tau Cygni did not arise from a calculated risk like our Vox colony, nor was Xantak's initial diplomatic message a friendly joke or mistranslation: He really meant 'Potatoes who chew at elbow pads will become a dire threat to the galaxy!' It looks like this means he'll get along great with Bulrathi Emperor Bullux, last seen singing sea shanties while hanging from a lamppost in his capital on Ursa IV, so we've increased our Bulrathi trade package, and a group of Earth scientists has taken the opportunity of this temporary peace to exchange their knowledge of improved industrial technology for a neutron pellet gun design - which should be useful for shooting down transports should any more be accidentally sent our way."
2422
"Like those who served before you aboard Scouts and Discoveries, you have done Humanity proud. Your Voyager scouts have been decomissioned, but the work you've done will not be forgotten, whether or not you join the crews of our new Sentry laser scouts as they take flight across the galaxy."
2428
"I've been governor of Firma for seventy years, and enjoyed every moment; even now, I go to my retirement only reluctantly. You may be sure however that I leave the star system in good hands and in excellent condition. My people are thriving; the production boost from safer working conditions around radioactive elements - a side effect of the radiation control research finished two years ago - allowed us to finish our factory infrastructure this year in spite of our world's paucity of native mineral resources: The project I insisted on seeing complete before my retirement from the political scene."
"Some might scoff at the project, but I say they are fools; these factories will pay for themselves long before my successor is ready to leave office - even if she were less dedicated than me. Moreover, the fusion drives developed the same year have brought us into more intimate contact with the rest of humanity, which can only be good for morale and interstellar cooperation, especially sinceone of the three radiation-control colony ships completed last year will reach rich Dunatis by this time next year - our nearest neighboring star. Millions of Firmans have already volunteered to emigrate as soon as the new colony is formed!"
2430
"This is a GNN special report. The ape-like Human people of the galaxy have long been known for their facility - some might say obsession - with planetological science, and speculation about the reasons has become a popular sport in other parts of the galaxy. Last year's exchanges of their then-year-old Scatter Pack Rocket technology to the Bulrathi and Klackons, for the simplest terraforming and ecological restoration techniques they had yet to develop themselves, raised eyebrows and feeler-antennae around the galaxy. But perhaps the humans aren't - quite - as crazy as they seem. Their rush to develop radiation control bases allowed them to claim rich Draconis last year as well, and just this year, we've received word of an even grater coup for Humanity."
Ultra-rich Crypto has just become the twelfth monkey-person star system, with their population already well ahead of every other race's, leading to innumerable jests about the number of typewriters they need to turn out their Encyclopedia Brittanica each year."
2434
"Xantak, we Humans are creatures of peace. We make war only reluctantly, and only in response to attack. Just three years ago, we established a Non-Aggression Pact with the Psilons, and over the course of the past three years, we've scrapped our entire star fleet of warp-2 fighters and (a small handful of) warp-4 Sentries. We prefer to concentrate on research, even for our own defense - like the early-warning Improved Scanner and Class-4 Deflector Shields we developed two years ago. The Bulrathi, on the other hand, declared war on us just before we made our pact with the Psilons - and their reason? Bullux was bored! He called our strong post-war relations, technology trades, and profitable interspecies commerce "diplomatic games," and said he'd rather play "war games!" Make no mistake though, Xantak. Our new scanners show his "games" include a dreadnought and over 30 cruisers moving toward Primodius in full attack mode even as we speak. I'm sure you can tell an ally so unreliable as he must..." ... "...um, sure! Okay! Let us indeed perform the ... uh ... ancient Blabbity Dance of Nomorebearalliance! What an ... er ... ingenius and wisdom-filled suggestion!" ... "Well, I'm afraid my ... um ... anatomical shortcomings prevent me from sticking my antennae into my feeding orifice, but I assume it would demonstrate ... ah ... equal dignity ... if I were instead to perform the dance with my fingers up my nose. What do you say?"
2438
"Thankfully, the Psilons haven't made any further threats since their complaint about our growth two years back. And the Klackons haven't made any since their simultaneous complaint about the Immense, Pulsating, Green Goobers of Death that we permit to threaten the galaxy by failing to flouridate our breath properly. We've got our hands full already with these Bulrathi! There are more than 80 Heavy Blast Cannons on that fleet, and we don't even have planetary shields! Of course, we do have a few defenders...."
"Thirteen Scatter bases and over 170 new NPG fighters are ready to meet them. The fighters' engines are blazing like new-minted stars as they close with the enemy, with wave after wave of Scatter Pack rockets screaming through the night sky. Our interceptors are taking the brunt of their fire, and returning fire gamely, but the enemy's sheer numbers are devastating. We've lost nearly a third of our fighter craft already ... but the Punishers have burned! The Warbear, Claws, and Teeth are under heavy fire, their hulls crumpling under the force of wave after wave of rockets and blazing NPGs! Only 130 of our Freedom and Liberty fighters survive, but it's enough - the Bulrathi assault force is defeated! None even survived to retreat."
2444
"Xantak? Xantak, do you read me? Ambassador Yixaribixaribixingbixongnixeep? Anyone? You're not trying to play hide-and-go-seek, are you? You remember how that almost caused an interstellar incident a few years back, right? Especially when you came out from behind your desk waving your antennae and singing "Ninety Nine Bottles of Bug Juice" at the top of your lungs. Anyway, never mind that now; I have important news for you! There's a huge Darlok fleet over your world of Tau Cygni - you know, the one tiny little snowball of a reach colony that's forming the lone tenuous connection between our empires. They've got 37 Tarantula cruisers, and 32 destroyers - a Hornet and a whole cloud of Venoms - and they ... uh ... you can't hear me, can you, Xantak? I, um, notice that there doesn't appear to be a colony under that fleet at Tau Cygni anymore. So that's what my diplomatic advisor meant about losing contact with the Klackons, is it? Just no relay stations in range anymore? Well, in that case ... I guess I'm talking to myself here. Um ... bye?"
2446
"This is Captain Easlan of the destroyer Recon 4. I am departing the Ursa system, en route back to iceworld Vox. A new Rhino dreadnought was stationed here, and I had a chance to scan it: Four heavy fusion beams, a handful of short-range cannons, anti-missile rockets, their most advanced shields, a battle computer, scanner, and stabilizers, all held together with duralloy and duct tape. Probably the most dangerous ship in their starfleet, but our bases will handle it alright. Believe it or not, I think we're a power in this galaxy of ours."
_______________
Next: This Galaxy of Ours
