Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 26, 2021 13:31:57 GMT
Silver Cradle: Union Space
The numbers were appalling.
Eiasten ran a hand through his hair, a small calming measure as the Economics Minister gave him the blunt numbers. He had specifically asked not to be lied to or given it softly, he needed to hear just how screwed things were.
“The matter of fact is at current consumption, harvesting and import rates we only have enough capacity and stored Ancerium for another 4 months at absolute maximum not accounting for any deviances or further rise of Ancerium prices or drops in mining output.” The news was flooring. The entire nation would grind to a halt in 4 months, and that was if prices miraculously halted right this moment.
“The Eclipse Lord really fucked everything up” Eiasten sighed “Do we have any additional measures we can take?” The Minister nodded, the frills on his head twitched as he spoke.
“We can massively reduce or cease Ancerium export, this alone will add perhaps an additional 2 months to the time scale but it will impact our export economy and trade relations substantially. We can also activate older synthetic Ancerium colliders which havent been used since 1AW which can alleviate our fuel problems especially if we reduce our traffic and prioritise use of the Quantum Gate network over thousands of individual ships. It will create bottlenecks and again hurt our economy but it will help” The matter of factness of the Jorgal hit the Prime Minister like a truck.
“Reduce our exports, and take other measures. Lets see if we can get all the time possible. Talk to me about losses”
“We lost approximately 54 harvesters and 5 warships during the Massacre. Around 20 vessels have escaped and have now limped back to FRK space. Reports indicate the Westland, Liberator, Blue Noah, Hesperia and Duskwood all went down fighting. They tried to form a line to protect civilian harvesters from withdrawing at the cost of their lives” Eiasten nodded. A sliver of hope in the darkness, something the Navy represented well. He stood up from his seat and took a few steps towards the window overlooking the government complexes.
“Posthumously see to their honour. They deserve awards and full state funerals, total honours. They were heroes. How does this affect our harvesting fleet?”
“Harvesting projections are down nearly 62.7% especially with the corridor cut off. The loss of harvesters was not crippling but they do need replacing.”
“Understood, see that it is done. What is the official action of the Aedleshaven Government in response to the ultimatum?” He tensed. This was a moment where he may very well have to follow through in actions that could see him loose the next election.
“Aedleshaven has allowed limited access to their space and provided small amounts of supplies to those fleeing the attack. Other nations have picked up the slack such as the Nucleans, Lithorians and many others. However with the Orillian guarantee Aedleshaven is not fully complying” The Jorgal grumbled. The Orillian guarantee was crippling, but they had no choice. Eiasten stood motionless for a moment as he was thinking. The future of the Union quite literally hinged on his words.
The galaxy too.
He had always been a timid man when it came to conflict. He never would willingly start a war at the start of his term, peace was always the way. But this time, if he did not act, then the Union would slowly starve to death on fuel. Either he took the way out to save it and sacrificed his career, or he captained a sinking ship and would likely be thrown overboard anyway.
“Ready the fleet”
“Sir?”
“Ready the fleet. I want Harguns projections at my desk and all forces put on high alert. I dont make ultimatums that I dont intend to follow through with. If we back down it will destroy our credibility. Now-” He was going to continue but a frantic burst of activity and an aid came into the office.
“What is-”
“Their back!” Eiaste and the Economics minister looked confused.
“Prime Minister the Far Reach Expedition! Their back! The guns online and the outer halo is accessible! It worked!” Both of their faces lit up.
Finally some good news. For now.
Far Reach System: Union Space
It was good to be home.
Kexele seemed to relax so much in her captain's chair that she almost slid off it and onto the floor. The familiar sight of the original FTL gun and the huge assembled fleets in the system was a welcome sight. They were home now, and the guns had been set up. Fleets waited for the chance to be fired into the Outer Halo and now Kexele and all those who had come with her in the first run could finally rest. The Hastraxian, ASN, RANGSI, CES and Carnaithian contingents were similarly relieved. It had been well over a year since the expedition had been sent to their destination and in all that time they had worked and toiled non stop. Fighting self replicating machines, staring down conflict with the Phene Clan and discovering all sorts of new wonders like Monopoles and a psionic star.
But that was over for them, the others, the future fleets would take over for them. Plenty still resided in the Halo, waiting their turn to come back as they kept the Arrival point online and all set up infrastructure going. It was a momentous achievement, and the crew were cheering all around her.
Kexele couldn't help but smile.The elation of her crews was overwhelming. They had accomplished so much.
It did not take long for the fleet to begin docking with the horde of starbases and dockyards that surrounded the site, at each one was shouting and cheering crowds that welcomed the crews home. The noise was overpowering as people from across the galaxy came to celebrate the affairs even as the first official transit open for business was prepared and the gun recharged for its shot.
Kexele, Rodak, Archon Aathnos,Komansh, Jun-Aria and Vartan were all gathered together, the leaders of the factions for the entire project. Press took many pictures as they stood together, the Unions Prime Minister and other foreign officials waiting to greet them once the photo op was over. Kexele thought it was overly excessive, but then from what little news she had managed to read in the blur of activity since they had arrived. Good news seemed hard to come by.
“My friends! People of the galaxy! We have endured much these past weeks, and finally we have some good news. Our heroes of Far Reach have returned to us, opening the door to a new prospect and era of exploration on the very fringes of the galaxy. They have brought with them tales of new resources, new peoples and wondrous places, and brought hope when we are at a time of great testing. Without all of their united effort, it would not have been possible, and it goes to show that together, we can overcome any obstacle, any threat. Mark my words, this today is the start of the tide turning. And I give my humble thanks, to each of you for your momentous efforts, and to all of those who made this project a reality”
He began clapping and the roar of such was quickly taken up as cheers and whoops went up from the crowd. One by one commemorative medals were given out to each of the nations representatives, and then placed on the leaders of the expedition.
“To the heroes of Far Reach!”
The crowd cheered in response. It was a bright moment given the dark days.
But it would not be enough.
—---
“The truth is sir we simply don't have enough Ancerium to support Far Reach operations for long or at the capacity we hoped” The corridor was dimly lit and Ministerial guards watched over both ends. Eiasten stood, now dour listening to the Project leader and the Economics Minister again.
“What about the monopoles? I was told they would be extremely useful”
“Yes sir, very valuable and may help improve our technology. But they will do nothing to help the fuel crisis, at the most they can help prop up our economy for a short period but it won't be enough. We will have to schedule Far Reach operations at a highly reduced rate. With Natar pulling out of the Chain of Pearls and wanting the loan repayment on the gun we are out of options” The men seemed stressed. Eiasten hoped this would be the bright turning point, now it seemed like yet another crisis.
“Do whatever you have to in order to keep this gun going, even if it means taking out loans to pay for more fuel. This is the cornerstone project of our political goals, if it falls through we are done for and the Union will be made a galactic laughing stock in front of Orillia”
“But Prime Minister we simply-”
“Enough! Just see that it is done. Whatever it takes!”
BREAKING NEWS:
UNN News (Silver Cradle) –
Bringing you the latest of todays news:
The heroes of Far Reach are celebrated as the triumphant return and official opening of the FTL gun route goes ahead. The news comes as a welcome reprieve and Prime Minister Eiasten has hailed it as the ‘Greatest venture of our time’. However time will tell of its success as rumours circulate that the Union does not have enough FTL fuel to maintain its operations for long. Something which has already been denied by the Prime Minister and the Unity Party Government. The Orillian Free State has commented stating ‘It is a sad day to see the colonials overtaking yet another piece of the galaxy in their bid for control’. Still the first official commercial flight is scheduled to take place later today, and heralds the start of the FTL guns public use.
In other news the Union's economy has begun to slump as the effects of the ongoing Ancerium and Corridor crisis continue. Civilian sector prices have risen on a wide variety of items, most clearly food and kolleronic related products due to the ongoing critical situation with Palm Rhashidya. Takeema has also felt the pressure now with the fuel prices reaching record levels and still climbing leading to shortages of goods and the government rolling out plans for Ancerium export scale back. This scaleback is to ensure fuel storage is kept up in equal to demand however this has caused market backlash as Ancerium buyers react to the events. No doubt this will have even more knock on effects and the economics experts predict things will continue to slump into the foreseeable future.
The Aedleshaven Authority have taken ‘too little action’ according to the Prime Minister who today stated that the ultimatum had not been fulfilled. Despite guarantees of protection by the Orillian Free State who called the ultimatum a ‘Bluff’ and ‘act of bullying by a colonial power’ the Union military has been placed on higher alert and several fleet forces have been mobilised. There is no current word on what the next action is and the Prime Minister has refused to comment whether the Union will use military force to open up the corridor.
We will bring you more as it unfolds.
Unknown Location: Inside Union Space
It was finally taking shape.
Lumis Kari stood in silence, she liked it that way. It made it easier to think, to delve deep into oneself and find truths that many seemed to shirk away from. The room was dark too, pitch black even, apart from the large aperture which let in the light from the depths of space. Stars twinkled silently, and she gazed with a smile knowing that she was looking back in time.
It was briefly disturbed by a black shape above her, rapidly causing her to shut her eyes as the bright blue drive plume of the vessel stabbed at her and cast the room in a bright flickering azure colour. Opening them again carefully the brightness had died down, and Lumis surveyed the vessel. One of the transport ships for numerous components on route to the main dock, which too, was mostly shrouded in blackness.
Out here in deep space was the start of something truly special. One of three locations chosen for the instrument of the Union's rise. Too much had been lost under the current government, too many threats had been allowed to grow and mature into serious threats to their existence. If they had been as they were, Yog Narr would have been put down before awakening, Capitol would never have been allowed to fracture, Orillia would never have been given the breathing room to gain its influence and the Army of the Panopticon would have been reduced to ash on Rubikon II.
The civilian government had allowed the Union to languish, and in turn, the threats which it now faced seemed overwhelming.
It was Lumis job to ensure that they took all necessary measures to ensure the Union's survival. At any cost.
This was just one of several projects to help do so.
Looking down onto the dark dockyards below the drive plume of the same ship observed earlier now lit up one of her many assets. It was sleek, powerful and stealthy. Unlike anything they had produced before, and it was only one ship. The Ghost Fleet they called it, a weapon which would allow the Union to strike out at foes unseen and unheard without any ties back to the nation with which to incriminate. It would be a scalpel of course, not enough to take on enemy fleet elements, but enough to destroy command centers, cripple production areas, assassinate heads of state in transit, and cause false flag actions to help gain the Union allies in the coming war.
It was her perfect instrument. And one that was slowly being built to completion.
The ongoing shortages were proving problematic and some individuals were getting close to discovering what was going on. Only the most trusted could know about the ongoing projects, others would not understand, they would see it as against the Unions very principles. But Lumis knew best. She would do anything to keep this nation protected and on the rise, the more people who could be kept from the damning knowledge the better for them.
Sometimes, the end justifies the means.
Silver Cradle: Union Space
“Approximately 174 warships in Aedleshaven at the last reports with over 378 in the corridor conducting security operations” Volkus pinged the holographic over to Hargun who side eyed it before flicking it away.
“Their securing of many ships is troublesome. Do we have any estimates on orbital defences?”
“3 medium class starbases, around 40 orbital defence platforms, mostly old Triarch Bastille class” The two Navy leaders went through reams of information, citing things to each other as the AIs processed data and projected it onto a large holographic map. The Prime Minister had asked for a full projection on what it would take to secure the corridor, and he wanted it ASAP.
“Aedleshaven forces while haphazard would prove to be an issue, now we need Orillia into the equation. They don't hesitate to capitalize on their word and stop our attack” Hargun stated, scrolling through reports and intelligence data on Orillian numbers. With Istralan it didn't look good.
“I just wish Eiasten had actually taken this line earlier. We put together all the projections for stopping Yog Narr and… Nothing. Now look at what's happened” Volkus deflated, annoyed as he adjusted his glasses. Hargun didn't even look at him to reply.
“They chose not to intervene, it was the government's decision. Besides we don't even know if our estimates would have led to its destruction” Volkus shook his head and wiped his brow.
“Come on James, they made the wrong call. And now we are going to lose even more men and women fighting a war we are simply not prepared for. Maybe we wouldn't have stopped Yoggy, but we would have made it bleed, and Orillia couldn't have used the opportunity to blame it all on us” Hargun turned to face his friend.
“Aaron, Orillia would have blamed us irregardless. This war was coming for a long time, we couldn't choose how it started no more than we did 2AW” Harguns expression was one of weariness. Volkus could see that everything was taking its toll on the old man.
“We could have been proactive. We could have stopped things before they escalated. Eiasten and the Government were wrong and now many lives and the galaxy itself has to pay the price” It was clear Volkus was angry, this isn't some random outburst, it was resentment. Hargun placed down the PDA he was holding and crossed his arms.
“We made a lot of wrong calls in our time Aaron. Nobody ever gets it truly right. The government isn't perfect for certain, but the people elected them, and it's their job to lead us now. We have to do our job and ensure that we support them and that we protect this nation”
“We could protect this nation if they allowed us to do this job. They gave us the Horizon fleet and then told us we couldn't use it, now they want us to use it because they slipped up, and slipped up bad. I don't like this James, yes we screwed up before but we never caused the galaxy to fly into a full on war with countless threats facing us” Volkus had become animated, gesturing with his hands to the map.
“No, but we got a lot of people killed. Yulunarch, Rubikon. Both examples where we made the wrong calls and many innocents got killed. We follow their orders Aaron, for good or bad this is what we do, help them when they need it. Look, think of it this way. Your helping protect the people, by securing this corridor we help the Union's economic situation” He smiled trying to lighten the mood. Hargun was worried that this outburst was more deep seated than he realised.
“And also help the government save face from their failures. I know I caused the deaths of many at Rubikon, I also know that Capitol killed my family. And despite that I supported their rebuilding and support, but they pulled out of that too and now the only legacy of that help is a small few systems on the edge of their space, which we don't even fully support. Things are wrong James. Eiasten has lost his way” His frustrated body language made Hargun take a more stern tone.
“That is not for us to decide. But for the people at the next election. For now let us focus on our job, we need that corridor and we need to ensure our nation is protected. Are you with me or not Admiral?” the more professional tone made Volkus straighten and nod, seeming more collected.
“Yes Grand Admiral. I apologise, the Union must come first. Now I have the Orillian projections here…”
Hargun blanked for a moment. The man, the friend in front of him, was still tense as he listed the numbers. He needed to speak to Sacule about this.
Crucius System: Union Space
But it didn't make any sense?
Why were they lessening export operations when there were so many resources going into voids in the monetary systems? Ancerium, which was now precious, was being funneled into fake projects and facades, and building materials were being repurposed for things that didn't even fit entirely.
Chamax could not entirely believe it. He had been scanning countless monetary files, folders, project resource allotments and more as part of the read up on the current rollback legislation relating to trade downturn when he had found these facts. He knew the military and government had black projects, but they had always been clearly labelled as such and he had known not to push or pry. But this was different, it was like things were disappearing entirely into thin air.
Something was going on behind closed doors.
The congressman of Crucius sat down on his specially made chair and put two of his arms up to his mandibles to focus. The Violar pondered what the hell was going on. He had put out two alerts to fellow congressmen for them to meet him virtually in the hour so they could review his findings together but this stirred him more than usual. These were dark times, and for critical resources to be going missing was something he simply couldn't ignore. Chamax had been elected as part of the Unity party, initially hopeful of Eiastens term his voters had slowly turned against him in recent times, and that meant Chamax was also in the firing line. But if he could uncover what was going on he could potentially hand a win to Eiasten. If the Prime Minister could stop something major behind the scenes and ensure the resources went to the public all would be well, it might even help ratings.
His lavish apartment in the top of the spire gave him the perfect view over the nighttime skyline of Crucius capital city. Despite being a mining system the cities and places here were kept pristine. And the lights which trailed off into the distance always helped him relax.
That was until he heard the elevator chime to open. That was impossible, he hasn't called anyone up. Chamax jumped to his feet just as the door opened, revealing what appeared to be a military woman in dark uniform along with four guards, all in dark uniforms and moving in a large medical pod. They entered without speaking as the woman gestured for the pod to be put to one side.
“Who are you! What… Is the meaning of this!” Chamax chittered in irritation and fear.
“Congressman Chamax. I am Lumis Kari of the Reserve Administration. I have recently become aware of your exploits and wished to meet with you personally.” The Violar did not respond.
“I am here to ask you a very simple question, or set of questions. Do you think the Union's current direction is desirable?”
“In… What way? While we are suffering economically our direction is good-” She cut him off.
“Do you support the active intervention against threats in the Union within and without?”
“I support such matters yes, but only if-”
“Do you support the military?” Chamax looked flustered.
“I do, however-”
“That is all. I already read up on all your files and details. I just had to ask you those questions as a personal matter of honour” She turned to look at the guards and nodded. They began opening the pod.
“I have no idea what this is but I will be filing an immediate protest against…” Chamax faded out speaking as he looked at what was getting out of the pod. It was an exact replica of himself “What…”
“Congressman Chamax. I am sorry, but you are a threat to the safety and security of the Union and by your own admission a supporter of my actions. This is a cloned persona of you, identical apart from certain traits. You will be kept in animation until such a time as to answer for your actions” Before Chamax even could speak Lumis raised her hand and fired the tiny dart gun. The round went in between the Violars chitin and administered the tranquiliser. He hit the floor quickly. Lumis turned and walked over to the new Chamax as the soldiers picked up the Congressman's unconscious body and placed it into the medical pod.
“Congressman Chamax, I trust you have had a good evening?”
“Of course… Thank you for your company madam. Everything is safe with me” The clone replied. Lumis nodded and swiftly left, all traces of the conversation and security footage had been erased or tampered with. Chamax went about his duty, renewed in his belief that intervention and the future of the Union could once again be restored.
Halo System: Union Space
The view stirred something in him.
It was a good view of course, nearly 550 warships of various classes arrayed into smaller fleet groups and battle formations. All vessels were from the new Horizon fleet, and crews were working overtime to train, get used to and master their new vessels. Some fleets had literally been assigned their new ships within the last 5 days, and so measures to ensure maximum training regimes had been implemented.
And they didn't have a lot of time.
Dewitt stood on the bridge of his new ship himself. The Transcendent Angel had been sent back through the wormhole, and the new vessel had been officially commissioned. It wasn't quite the same. But this new girl had even more teeth, even more power and she was brand spanking new and shiny. The Admiral smirked a bit at the assembled display of forces, all had been brought together on high readiness due to the ongoing crisis.
Let them eat it, he thought. With the assembled force they could smash Aedleshavens fleet and annihilate the Orillian forces. Secure the corridor and then help take down Yog Narr. The thought of his own ship's Graviton Pulsar firing the killing blow to the Eclipse Lord made him fidget for a moment.
But that was if the government even gave the go ahead.
This was of course the furthest they had come in terms of military action, but they could still turn around and back down. If they did, Dewitt even considered resigning his career in protest.
But he had faith in Volkus and Hargun.
He hoped this time the Union would do what needed to be done. And what was needed was conflict, conflict against the threats, and conflict to secure them all a future. He watched a Dart group conducting rapid acceleration maneuvers then switched to two Ferrum battleships undertaking live firing exercises to engage and destroy several thousand simulated missile targets. The forces were doing well. The new ships may be untested, but the crews were well trained and many had served in the 2nd Ancerious war. They would not go down easy.
Orillia had numbers, but they had experience and technology.
When the time came to strike. They would be ready.
The numbers were appalling.
Eiasten ran a hand through his hair, a small calming measure as the Economics Minister gave him the blunt numbers. He had specifically asked not to be lied to or given it softly, he needed to hear just how screwed things were.
“The matter of fact is at current consumption, harvesting and import rates we only have enough capacity and stored Ancerium for another 4 months at absolute maximum not accounting for any deviances or further rise of Ancerium prices or drops in mining output.” The news was flooring. The entire nation would grind to a halt in 4 months, and that was if prices miraculously halted right this moment.
“The Eclipse Lord really fucked everything up” Eiasten sighed “Do we have any additional measures we can take?” The Minister nodded, the frills on his head twitched as he spoke.
“We can massively reduce or cease Ancerium export, this alone will add perhaps an additional 2 months to the time scale but it will impact our export economy and trade relations substantially. We can also activate older synthetic Ancerium colliders which havent been used since 1AW which can alleviate our fuel problems especially if we reduce our traffic and prioritise use of the Quantum Gate network over thousands of individual ships. It will create bottlenecks and again hurt our economy but it will help” The matter of factness of the Jorgal hit the Prime Minister like a truck.
“Reduce our exports, and take other measures. Lets see if we can get all the time possible. Talk to me about losses”
“We lost approximately 54 harvesters and 5 warships during the Massacre. Around 20 vessels have escaped and have now limped back to FRK space. Reports indicate the Westland, Liberator, Blue Noah, Hesperia and Duskwood all went down fighting. They tried to form a line to protect civilian harvesters from withdrawing at the cost of their lives” Eiasten nodded. A sliver of hope in the darkness, something the Navy represented well. He stood up from his seat and took a few steps towards the window overlooking the government complexes.
“Posthumously see to their honour. They deserve awards and full state funerals, total honours. They were heroes. How does this affect our harvesting fleet?”
“Harvesting projections are down nearly 62.7% especially with the corridor cut off. The loss of harvesters was not crippling but they do need replacing.”
“Understood, see that it is done. What is the official action of the Aedleshaven Government in response to the ultimatum?” He tensed. This was a moment where he may very well have to follow through in actions that could see him loose the next election.
“Aedleshaven has allowed limited access to their space and provided small amounts of supplies to those fleeing the attack. Other nations have picked up the slack such as the Nucleans, Lithorians and many others. However with the Orillian guarantee Aedleshaven is not fully complying” The Jorgal grumbled. The Orillian guarantee was crippling, but they had no choice. Eiasten stood motionless for a moment as he was thinking. The future of the Union quite literally hinged on his words.
The galaxy too.
He had always been a timid man when it came to conflict. He never would willingly start a war at the start of his term, peace was always the way. But this time, if he did not act, then the Union would slowly starve to death on fuel. Either he took the way out to save it and sacrificed his career, or he captained a sinking ship and would likely be thrown overboard anyway.
“Ready the fleet”
“Sir?”
“Ready the fleet. I want Harguns projections at my desk and all forces put on high alert. I dont make ultimatums that I dont intend to follow through with. If we back down it will destroy our credibility. Now-” He was going to continue but a frantic burst of activity and an aid came into the office.
“What is-”
“Their back!” Eiaste and the Economics minister looked confused.
“Prime Minister the Far Reach Expedition! Their back! The guns online and the outer halo is accessible! It worked!” Both of their faces lit up.
Finally some good news. For now.
Far Reach System: Union Space
It was good to be home.
Kexele seemed to relax so much in her captain's chair that she almost slid off it and onto the floor. The familiar sight of the original FTL gun and the huge assembled fleets in the system was a welcome sight. They were home now, and the guns had been set up. Fleets waited for the chance to be fired into the Outer Halo and now Kexele and all those who had come with her in the first run could finally rest. The Hastraxian, ASN, RANGSI, CES and Carnaithian contingents were similarly relieved. It had been well over a year since the expedition had been sent to their destination and in all that time they had worked and toiled non stop. Fighting self replicating machines, staring down conflict with the Phene Clan and discovering all sorts of new wonders like Monopoles and a psionic star.
But that was over for them, the others, the future fleets would take over for them. Plenty still resided in the Halo, waiting their turn to come back as they kept the Arrival point online and all set up infrastructure going. It was a momentous achievement, and the crew were cheering all around her.
Kexele couldn't help but smile.The elation of her crews was overwhelming. They had accomplished so much.
It did not take long for the fleet to begin docking with the horde of starbases and dockyards that surrounded the site, at each one was shouting and cheering crowds that welcomed the crews home. The noise was overpowering as people from across the galaxy came to celebrate the affairs even as the first official transit open for business was prepared and the gun recharged for its shot.
Kexele, Rodak, Archon Aathnos,Komansh, Jun-Aria and Vartan were all gathered together, the leaders of the factions for the entire project. Press took many pictures as they stood together, the Unions Prime Minister and other foreign officials waiting to greet them once the photo op was over. Kexele thought it was overly excessive, but then from what little news she had managed to read in the blur of activity since they had arrived. Good news seemed hard to come by.
“My friends! People of the galaxy! We have endured much these past weeks, and finally we have some good news. Our heroes of Far Reach have returned to us, opening the door to a new prospect and era of exploration on the very fringes of the galaxy. They have brought with them tales of new resources, new peoples and wondrous places, and brought hope when we are at a time of great testing. Without all of their united effort, it would not have been possible, and it goes to show that together, we can overcome any obstacle, any threat. Mark my words, this today is the start of the tide turning. And I give my humble thanks, to each of you for your momentous efforts, and to all of those who made this project a reality”
He began clapping and the roar of such was quickly taken up as cheers and whoops went up from the crowd. One by one commemorative medals were given out to each of the nations representatives, and then placed on the leaders of the expedition.
“To the heroes of Far Reach!”
The crowd cheered in response. It was a bright moment given the dark days.
But it would not be enough.
—---
“The truth is sir we simply don't have enough Ancerium to support Far Reach operations for long or at the capacity we hoped” The corridor was dimly lit and Ministerial guards watched over both ends. Eiasten stood, now dour listening to the Project leader and the Economics Minister again.
“What about the monopoles? I was told they would be extremely useful”
“Yes sir, very valuable and may help improve our technology. But they will do nothing to help the fuel crisis, at the most they can help prop up our economy for a short period but it won't be enough. We will have to schedule Far Reach operations at a highly reduced rate. With Natar pulling out of the Chain of Pearls and wanting the loan repayment on the gun we are out of options” The men seemed stressed. Eiasten hoped this would be the bright turning point, now it seemed like yet another crisis.
“Do whatever you have to in order to keep this gun going, even if it means taking out loans to pay for more fuel. This is the cornerstone project of our political goals, if it falls through we are done for and the Union will be made a galactic laughing stock in front of Orillia”
“But Prime Minister we simply-”
“Enough! Just see that it is done. Whatever it takes!”
BREAKING NEWS:
UNN News (Silver Cradle) –
Bringing you the latest of todays news:
The heroes of Far Reach are celebrated as the triumphant return and official opening of the FTL gun route goes ahead. The news comes as a welcome reprieve and Prime Minister Eiasten has hailed it as the ‘Greatest venture of our time’. However time will tell of its success as rumours circulate that the Union does not have enough FTL fuel to maintain its operations for long. Something which has already been denied by the Prime Minister and the Unity Party Government. The Orillian Free State has commented stating ‘It is a sad day to see the colonials overtaking yet another piece of the galaxy in their bid for control’. Still the first official commercial flight is scheduled to take place later today, and heralds the start of the FTL guns public use.
In other news the Union's economy has begun to slump as the effects of the ongoing Ancerium and Corridor crisis continue. Civilian sector prices have risen on a wide variety of items, most clearly food and kolleronic related products due to the ongoing critical situation with Palm Rhashidya. Takeema has also felt the pressure now with the fuel prices reaching record levels and still climbing leading to shortages of goods and the government rolling out plans for Ancerium export scale back. This scaleback is to ensure fuel storage is kept up in equal to demand however this has caused market backlash as Ancerium buyers react to the events. No doubt this will have even more knock on effects and the economics experts predict things will continue to slump into the foreseeable future.
The Aedleshaven Authority have taken ‘too little action’ according to the Prime Minister who today stated that the ultimatum had not been fulfilled. Despite guarantees of protection by the Orillian Free State who called the ultimatum a ‘Bluff’ and ‘act of bullying by a colonial power’ the Union military has been placed on higher alert and several fleet forces have been mobilised. There is no current word on what the next action is and the Prime Minister has refused to comment whether the Union will use military force to open up the corridor.
We will bring you more as it unfolds.
Unknown Location: Inside Union Space
It was finally taking shape.
Lumis Kari stood in silence, she liked it that way. It made it easier to think, to delve deep into oneself and find truths that many seemed to shirk away from. The room was dark too, pitch black even, apart from the large aperture which let in the light from the depths of space. Stars twinkled silently, and she gazed with a smile knowing that she was looking back in time.
It was briefly disturbed by a black shape above her, rapidly causing her to shut her eyes as the bright blue drive plume of the vessel stabbed at her and cast the room in a bright flickering azure colour. Opening them again carefully the brightness had died down, and Lumis surveyed the vessel. One of the transport ships for numerous components on route to the main dock, which too, was mostly shrouded in blackness.
Out here in deep space was the start of something truly special. One of three locations chosen for the instrument of the Union's rise. Too much had been lost under the current government, too many threats had been allowed to grow and mature into serious threats to their existence. If they had been as they were, Yog Narr would have been put down before awakening, Capitol would never have been allowed to fracture, Orillia would never have been given the breathing room to gain its influence and the Army of the Panopticon would have been reduced to ash on Rubikon II.
The civilian government had allowed the Union to languish, and in turn, the threats which it now faced seemed overwhelming.
It was Lumis job to ensure that they took all necessary measures to ensure the Union's survival. At any cost.
This was just one of several projects to help do so.
Looking down onto the dark dockyards below the drive plume of the same ship observed earlier now lit up one of her many assets. It was sleek, powerful and stealthy. Unlike anything they had produced before, and it was only one ship. The Ghost Fleet they called it, a weapon which would allow the Union to strike out at foes unseen and unheard without any ties back to the nation with which to incriminate. It would be a scalpel of course, not enough to take on enemy fleet elements, but enough to destroy command centers, cripple production areas, assassinate heads of state in transit, and cause false flag actions to help gain the Union allies in the coming war.
It was her perfect instrument. And one that was slowly being built to completion.
The ongoing shortages were proving problematic and some individuals were getting close to discovering what was going on. Only the most trusted could know about the ongoing projects, others would not understand, they would see it as against the Unions very principles. But Lumis knew best. She would do anything to keep this nation protected and on the rise, the more people who could be kept from the damning knowledge the better for them.
Sometimes, the end justifies the means.
Silver Cradle: Union Space
“Approximately 174 warships in Aedleshaven at the last reports with over 378 in the corridor conducting security operations” Volkus pinged the holographic over to Hargun who side eyed it before flicking it away.
“Their securing of many ships is troublesome. Do we have any estimates on orbital defences?”
“3 medium class starbases, around 40 orbital defence platforms, mostly old Triarch Bastille class” The two Navy leaders went through reams of information, citing things to each other as the AIs processed data and projected it onto a large holographic map. The Prime Minister had asked for a full projection on what it would take to secure the corridor, and he wanted it ASAP.
“Aedleshaven forces while haphazard would prove to be an issue, now we need Orillia into the equation. They don't hesitate to capitalize on their word and stop our attack” Hargun stated, scrolling through reports and intelligence data on Orillian numbers. With Istralan it didn't look good.
“I just wish Eiasten had actually taken this line earlier. We put together all the projections for stopping Yog Narr and… Nothing. Now look at what's happened” Volkus deflated, annoyed as he adjusted his glasses. Hargun didn't even look at him to reply.
“They chose not to intervene, it was the government's decision. Besides we don't even know if our estimates would have led to its destruction” Volkus shook his head and wiped his brow.
“Come on James, they made the wrong call. And now we are going to lose even more men and women fighting a war we are simply not prepared for. Maybe we wouldn't have stopped Yoggy, but we would have made it bleed, and Orillia couldn't have used the opportunity to blame it all on us” Hargun turned to face his friend.
“Aaron, Orillia would have blamed us irregardless. This war was coming for a long time, we couldn't choose how it started no more than we did 2AW” Harguns expression was one of weariness. Volkus could see that everything was taking its toll on the old man.
“We could have been proactive. We could have stopped things before they escalated. Eiasten and the Government were wrong and now many lives and the galaxy itself has to pay the price” It was clear Volkus was angry, this isn't some random outburst, it was resentment. Hargun placed down the PDA he was holding and crossed his arms.
“We made a lot of wrong calls in our time Aaron. Nobody ever gets it truly right. The government isn't perfect for certain, but the people elected them, and it's their job to lead us now. We have to do our job and ensure that we support them and that we protect this nation”
“We could protect this nation if they allowed us to do this job. They gave us the Horizon fleet and then told us we couldn't use it, now they want us to use it because they slipped up, and slipped up bad. I don't like this James, yes we screwed up before but we never caused the galaxy to fly into a full on war with countless threats facing us” Volkus had become animated, gesturing with his hands to the map.
“No, but we got a lot of people killed. Yulunarch, Rubikon. Both examples where we made the wrong calls and many innocents got killed. We follow their orders Aaron, for good or bad this is what we do, help them when they need it. Look, think of it this way. Your helping protect the people, by securing this corridor we help the Union's economic situation” He smiled trying to lighten the mood. Hargun was worried that this outburst was more deep seated than he realised.
“And also help the government save face from their failures. I know I caused the deaths of many at Rubikon, I also know that Capitol killed my family. And despite that I supported their rebuilding and support, but they pulled out of that too and now the only legacy of that help is a small few systems on the edge of their space, which we don't even fully support. Things are wrong James. Eiasten has lost his way” His frustrated body language made Hargun take a more stern tone.
“That is not for us to decide. But for the people at the next election. For now let us focus on our job, we need that corridor and we need to ensure our nation is protected. Are you with me or not Admiral?” the more professional tone made Volkus straighten and nod, seeming more collected.
“Yes Grand Admiral. I apologise, the Union must come first. Now I have the Orillian projections here…”
Hargun blanked for a moment. The man, the friend in front of him, was still tense as he listed the numbers. He needed to speak to Sacule about this.
Crucius System: Union Space
But it didn't make any sense?
Why were they lessening export operations when there were so many resources going into voids in the monetary systems? Ancerium, which was now precious, was being funneled into fake projects and facades, and building materials were being repurposed for things that didn't even fit entirely.
Chamax could not entirely believe it. He had been scanning countless monetary files, folders, project resource allotments and more as part of the read up on the current rollback legislation relating to trade downturn when he had found these facts. He knew the military and government had black projects, but they had always been clearly labelled as such and he had known not to push or pry. But this was different, it was like things were disappearing entirely into thin air.
Something was going on behind closed doors.
The congressman of Crucius sat down on his specially made chair and put two of his arms up to his mandibles to focus. The Violar pondered what the hell was going on. He had put out two alerts to fellow congressmen for them to meet him virtually in the hour so they could review his findings together but this stirred him more than usual. These were dark times, and for critical resources to be going missing was something he simply couldn't ignore. Chamax had been elected as part of the Unity party, initially hopeful of Eiastens term his voters had slowly turned against him in recent times, and that meant Chamax was also in the firing line. But if he could uncover what was going on he could potentially hand a win to Eiasten. If the Prime Minister could stop something major behind the scenes and ensure the resources went to the public all would be well, it might even help ratings.
His lavish apartment in the top of the spire gave him the perfect view over the nighttime skyline of Crucius capital city. Despite being a mining system the cities and places here were kept pristine. And the lights which trailed off into the distance always helped him relax.
That was until he heard the elevator chime to open. That was impossible, he hasn't called anyone up. Chamax jumped to his feet just as the door opened, revealing what appeared to be a military woman in dark uniform along with four guards, all in dark uniforms and moving in a large medical pod. They entered without speaking as the woman gestured for the pod to be put to one side.
“Who are you! What… Is the meaning of this!” Chamax chittered in irritation and fear.
“Congressman Chamax. I am Lumis Kari of the Reserve Administration. I have recently become aware of your exploits and wished to meet with you personally.” The Violar did not respond.
“I am here to ask you a very simple question, or set of questions. Do you think the Union's current direction is desirable?”
“In… What way? While we are suffering economically our direction is good-” She cut him off.
“Do you support the active intervention against threats in the Union within and without?”
“I support such matters yes, but only if-”
“Do you support the military?” Chamax looked flustered.
“I do, however-”
“That is all. I already read up on all your files and details. I just had to ask you those questions as a personal matter of honour” She turned to look at the guards and nodded. They began opening the pod.
“I have no idea what this is but I will be filing an immediate protest against…” Chamax faded out speaking as he looked at what was getting out of the pod. It was an exact replica of himself “What…”
“Congressman Chamax. I am sorry, but you are a threat to the safety and security of the Union and by your own admission a supporter of my actions. This is a cloned persona of you, identical apart from certain traits. You will be kept in animation until such a time as to answer for your actions” Before Chamax even could speak Lumis raised her hand and fired the tiny dart gun. The round went in between the Violars chitin and administered the tranquiliser. He hit the floor quickly. Lumis turned and walked over to the new Chamax as the soldiers picked up the Congressman's unconscious body and placed it into the medical pod.
“Congressman Chamax, I trust you have had a good evening?”
“Of course… Thank you for your company madam. Everything is safe with me” The clone replied. Lumis nodded and swiftly left, all traces of the conversation and security footage had been erased or tampered with. Chamax went about his duty, renewed in his belief that intervention and the future of the Union could once again be restored.
Halo System: Union Space
The view stirred something in him.
It was a good view of course, nearly 550 warships of various classes arrayed into smaller fleet groups and battle formations. All vessels were from the new Horizon fleet, and crews were working overtime to train, get used to and master their new vessels. Some fleets had literally been assigned their new ships within the last 5 days, and so measures to ensure maximum training regimes had been implemented.
And they didn't have a lot of time.
Dewitt stood on the bridge of his new ship himself. The Transcendent Angel had been sent back through the wormhole, and the new vessel had been officially commissioned. It wasn't quite the same. But this new girl had even more teeth, even more power and she was brand spanking new and shiny. The Admiral smirked a bit at the assembled display of forces, all had been brought together on high readiness due to the ongoing crisis.
Let them eat it, he thought. With the assembled force they could smash Aedleshavens fleet and annihilate the Orillian forces. Secure the corridor and then help take down Yog Narr. The thought of his own ship's Graviton Pulsar firing the killing blow to the Eclipse Lord made him fidget for a moment.
But that was if the government even gave the go ahead.
This was of course the furthest they had come in terms of military action, but they could still turn around and back down. If they did, Dewitt even considered resigning his career in protest.
But he had faith in Volkus and Hargun.
He hoped this time the Union would do what needed to be done. And what was needed was conflict, conflict against the threats, and conflict to secure them all a future. He watched a Dart group conducting rapid acceleration maneuvers then switched to two Ferrum battleships undertaking live firing exercises to engage and destroy several thousand simulated missile targets. The forces were doing well. The new ships may be untested, but the crews were well trained and many had served in the 2nd Ancerious war. They would not go down easy.
Orillia had numbers, but they had experience and technology.
When the time came to strike. They would be ready.