Just one year later, as the Klackons - with ever fewer scouts in place across the galaxy as their pilots were recalled to lead colony missions instead - established a base on Stalaz, just near enough to Meklon for contact to be achieved, Refakira made his largest trade agreement yet, with the machine people of INT-986.
He could only hope the peace would hold on that front while he dealt with the Silicoid threat: An armed colony ship and Morey bomber escort were already en route to Mu Delphi, but Cicado was waiting aboard his armed starship, and Earwigi's was on the way. A similar fleet would reach Pollus before long, but that colony was mature enough to build a pair of Hyper-V missile bases, and with Dustmit's laser fighter to support them, they made shorter work of the enemy than had Cicado and Earwigi, suffering no losses of any kind. Stalaz itself had to be defended when an armed Psilon colony ship arrived - demonstrating that, trade agreements or no, bandits would show their true colors - but Dustmit and Fleads, the latter in his new destroyer-class war ship, were up to the task.
Refakira took the opportunity of speaking with Tachaon again, hoping the battle had taught the old warlord a lesson - and the hope seemed not in vain. Together, they agreed immediately to a non-aggression pact which would secure the peaceful Klackons from Psilon predation, and the Psilons from the resulting retaliation, at least so long as it lasted.
Soon after the signing of the Klackon-Psilon Pact, just as Klackon scientists developed a personal deflector shield, Captain Beemont was nearly lost in battle. His scout ship soared far across space to the east of the galaxy, and in orbit at a golden star, found a monster-ship known only as the Guardian. Had he activated his ejector pod an instant later, he would have died along with his ship as the Guardian's stellar converters, channeled through a high-energy focus, burned his ship away to its component atoms; only by a hair's breadth did his escape pod - as his ship could not - escape in time into hyperspace.
Devastating though its power might be though, the Guardian was aptly named, and would not leave its home system. Refakira wisely said, "We have no quarrel with it. From now on, let us leave it in peace."
In spite of the Silicoid war, peace indeed became the watchword of the Klackon people. Another High Council came and went, but as the Klackons held a veto, and everyone else but their Silicoid opponents abstained, it was a meaningless exercise. Three armed colony ships and a pair of Morey bomber-destroyers were repelled at Pollus - by its missile bases and Beemont's new starship - while their new Kraken rocket boat and armed colony escort were equally helpless at Kholdan itself. While the war with the rock-head bandits was raging, Klackon scientists developed class-40 Terraforming technology, an ion cannon for space defense, and advanced waste reduction technology.
It was then that the INT-986 chose to declare war on the Klackons as well, still apparently seeking all the fruits of their labors for its own. Refakira responded by increasing his reconnaissance and espionage activities: "I'll worry about them when they develop the fuel they need to reach any of our colonies." His agents also managed to reverse-engineer some scraps of alien technology, but they weren't really of much use to him or his people.
They came up with Controlled Barren technology - redundant with existing tundra and inferno techs - while watching for signs of aggression from the Psilons, just as insect scientists were completing an improved space scanner. They found ways to improve factory construction techniques when no new factories needed building. And to top it all off, their greatest spy proudly returned to Kholdan with plans for warp-2 nuclear engines moments before a Klackon science team showed off its new sub-light drive, with a cruising speed of warp 3.
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Next: Completing the Set
