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【Vision of an Alternate Future】

Arc 1: Ascendance

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【VAF】Chapter║: 12 ─ Political Expediency & Commerce

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Four months after the Crill Campaign the Galactic Alliance Council Approved O'con Federation's membership to the Galactic Alliance. The Accession Ceremony would take place on Andronus, and on the Earth date 02-10-2189. There were few races who survived to be as old as the O'ltana, and most of those that survived were destroyed by the Migon, or simply died at their own hands.

The emergence of the O'ltana was welcomed with great excitement, and that was because there were only 7 known Civilisations that were more than 1.5 million years old, and the six of these were 2 million years old. The closest to the O'ltana are the Entig of the Entig Republic. The Entig are 2m tall humanoids with 2 legs, 2 hands and 5 eyes encased in a large head. The Entig are 900000 years old, and they are one of the more Highly Advanced Interstellar Civilisations, but they were going through a biological transformation the result of which has been low birth rates and a decline in the size of their population from some 20 Billion to about a billion.

This is a biological transformation that all races eventually go through as they become increasingly more biologically complex. The Entig are one of the Oldest Interstellar Civilisations, and a highly evolved race of Immortals. The transformation to an Immortal was usually tumultuous, and many races did not survive the process. This was largely due to religious wars that would occur over the questions relating to God, Afterlife, Faith, etc.

Many Civilisations derive their purpose from the associations with the shortness of life, and if death is removed their society begins to crumble. The other difficulty is that an Immortal’s body can become a perfect breeding ground for deadly diseases that can erase entire Civilisations. An influenza type virus in an Immortal’s body can, over hundreds of thousands of years become a deadly plague that can kill an Immortal.

This is the primary reason why most Immortals or Older Civilisations wear protective Armour during contact with younger Civilisations. The Technogarnic O'ltana are virtually immune to any bacterial or viral infections, and this is the primary reason why they succeeded where many perished. The O'ltana had been very careful not to expose Humans to O'ltana diseases, and actively produced Human vaccines for all their diseases.

Every Interstellar Civilisation understood the risk of contact with new species, and the Hakum and Migon often used biogenetic warfare to destroy entire Civilisations in their war with the Galactic Alliance. At the beginning of their rise to power in their sector the Migon erased many powerful Civilisations with biogenetic plagues, and some of these now extinct races were highly advanced at the time.

However the Galactic Alliance had the Nanotechnology to cure almost any biological weapon, and this was the primary reason why the Migon didn't use such weapons anymore. The Migon had other more effective methods of eliminating Civilisations that they perceived as possible threats to their dark plans. Sadistic methods that they used to Kill entire worlds, and to render them lifeless; cruel methods designed to destroy life.

Humans had just witnessed with their own eyes the absolute malevolence of the Hakum, the premeditated murder of billions of Sapient lives. This was exactly the kind of fate that Humans would face if they wavered in their fight against the dark forces of the galaxy.

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After the Crill Campaign the 5 Earth Governments accelerated their development of their BattleCruisers with the ultimate objective of fitting them with Advanced Fusion Beam Cannons.

The African Federation's engineering division was experiencing some difficulties with technology integration of the Enhanced Weapons Array on the Vanguard Class BattleCruiser and the Nubia Class Destroyer, and there was growing fears that the ships would overshoot their 2189 delivery date. There were increasing calls for the Enhanced Weapons Array weapon system to be abandoned in favour of a more practical weapon system.

The Crystalorb Leadership wanted to save the project, and so they offered to complete the construction of Vanguard Class BattleCruiser and the Nubia Class Destroyer at no cost to the African Federal Government. This was an extremely generous offer, one that the African Federal Government and the African Federal Parliament could not refuse, but it would mean that the 2 prototypes would be completed using Crystalorb Crystals rather than standard alloys.

The Vanguard Class BattleCruiser and the Nubia Class Destroyer were delivered on time along with a smaller 950m long Valiant Class Corvette, and all three classes included the new Enhanced Weapons Array Weapon System. The Valiant Class Corvette had a similar shape to the Vanguard Class BattleCruiser and the Nubia Class Destroyer but it is smaller, equipped with Crystalorb Stealth technology including invisibility fields, and its primary purpose is to serve as a long Range Scouting Ship.

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The Valiant Class Corvette:

1〙 950m in Length. 2〙 500m Maximum Width on the 550m long and 500m wide Cylinder. 3〙 20 meter thick Armoured Hull with 5m thick Crystalorb Black Crystal external layer. 4〙 A forward Crystalorb Electrolaser Energy Crystal. 5〙 Equipped with 3 Standard Multidirectional Particle Beam Cannons and 6 Multidirectional Electrolaser Particle Beam Cannons of the Enhanced Weapons Array arranged in groups of 3 at 2 levels. 6〙 4 Advanced CVI Nuclear Fusion Reactors, 7〙 Carry 3 Drone Fighters. 8〙 Jump capabilities of 70 LightYears from Nth Hyper-Space to Normal Space. 9〙 A Fusion powered plasma propulsion System as Secondary propulsion System. 10〙 Repulsive Electromagnetic Radiation energy Propulsion System that uses Spatial Compression Technology for braking and Multidirectional manoeuvring and as the Primary Propulsion System which can be used together with the Enhanced Weapons Array Crystals for Atmospheric manoeuvring.

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The Enhanced Weapons Array Weapon System proved to be the most powerful weapon system outside of Crystalorb's Energy Weapons Crystals. Crystal Valley Industries was once again responsible for technology integration, and the African Federation's engineering division learned how to combine the new technologies. The African Federation now had a warship comparable to the Crystalorb Ships in their ability to provide plasma ball intercept defence systems, and limited Particle Beam and Fusion Beam intercept defence.

The Beam intercept defence systems were born from the battle with the Hakum's Fusion Beam armed ships, and included 2 new systems: 1〙 Increased power Energy Shield projectors, 2〙 The Enhanced Weapons Array Weapon System could be used to intercept incoming Particle Beams or Fusion Beams depending on the speed of the Beam. The ships Advanced computer systems could automatically detect incoming Beams and fire Electrolasers to deflect the Beams provided that there was enough distance and the speed of the incoming Beam was less than 0.4 X c relative to minimum required distance. 〘c is the speed of light〙

In the aftermath of the Crill Campaign Crystalorb developed the Point Deflector Shields as an enhancement to the Refractive-Reflective Bio-genetic Organic Crystalline Armour. The Crystalorb Ships had taken significant damage, and Crystalorb wanted to avoid such damage in future combat operations. The Point Deflector Shields 〘PDS〙 were an answer to a long standing problem of High Energy Particle Beam defence.

The Beam Intercept Defence System was a new development designed by Crystalorb as part of the improvements to the defence systems of the Crystalorb Ships. The Point Deflector Shields forms part of the Refractive-Reflective Bio-genetic Organic Crystalline Armour and is a natural progression from the original system. On the Crystalorb Ships the Energy Weapons Crystal provides directed Electrolaser Particle Beams at any point on the shield that is hit by a Particle Beam.

The Crystalorb Scientist were finding it difficult to teach the Crystalan Ships the Point Deflector Shields methods, and by introducing the system to the Vanguard Class BattleCruiser, Nubia Class Destroyer and the Valiant Class Corvette the data collected would help the Crystalan Ships quickly learn the Point Deflector Shields methods as part of their Reactive Refractive-Reflective Bio-genetic Organic Crystalline Armour systems.

Full production of the Vanguard Class BattleCruisers and the Nubia Class Destroyers began as soon as the prototypes were delivered. The Valiant Class Corvette was a favourite with the other 4 Earth Governments as a long range scouting ship that could operate undetected. The other 4 Earth Governments placed their hopes on the development of Advanced Fusion Beam Cannons, but Crystalorb quickly realized that their Ship's Energy Weapons Crystals would not be able to produce Advanced Fusion Beams, and that to install Fusion Beam Cannons would require a redesign of the Crystalan Ships.

It would take time for Crystalorb to develop Fusion Beam Cannons that could be deployable, and this was a complicated project that would need years of development. In the meantime Crystalorb would work on applying advanced O'con Federation technology to improve the Crystal Armour Shield technology. Crystalorb had advanced O'ltana knowledge in their database and systems like the Enhanced Weapons Array were based on O'ltana designs.

The 5 Earth Governments were working hard on improving their energy systems as a prelude to Fusion Beam Cannons, which was becoming their long range view.

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As the Humans worked on their technological development the O'con Federation was preparing to join the Galactic Alliance, and as the date approached 6 O'con Federation BattleGroups prepared to travel to Andronus as part of the O'ltana Delegation.

Council Bital of the O'con Federation High Council asked Consulate Naole to accompany the O'ltana Delegation, and along with the Crystalorb BattleGroup Naole would provide escort for the O'ltana Delegation. The O'ltana were aware that Crystalans are very powerful warriors and they wanted a Crystal Guardian protecting Council Bital during meetings with other races. The O'ltana knew that even without Armour Naole could provide adequate protection for one of their leaders.

Naole welcomed the opportunity to be the first Human to visit Andronus, and Naole knew that protecting Bital would give him an opportunity to interact with some of the evolved beings in the galaxy. The Crystalorb Ships would play their part and be the first to jump into any area the O'con Federation BattleGroups were to jump in along the route to Andronus. The well established Galactic Alliance route held little risk for the O'con Federation BattleGroups, but the Hakum had been known to conduct limited long range raids along the route.

As the O'con Federation BattleGroups were cleared to make the final jump to the Primus system the Crystalorb Ships would now only jump in after the formation leaders of the O'con Federation BattleGroups. Because the Crystalorb Ships were not officially Galactic Alliance Affiliated Ships they would not be allowed to dock at the Andronus Defence platforms, and only the O'con Federation ships could dock.

At this time the Naole transferred from the AFS Indigo to the Elmak Class Ship carrying High Council Bital, and prepared to act as Bital's Bodyguard. Because weapons are not allowed in the Galactic Alliance Council Chambers Naole went down to the planet with his Armour sphere in its invisible form to prevent people asking questions about why there's a Crystal Sphere hovering above him.

Naole needed Crystal Armour close to him in case he needed it to protect Bital, and since Naole would not go into the Galactic Alliance Council Chambers there was no concern about possibly violating Galactic Alliance policy. When the Shuttle Craft arrived at the Galactic Alliance Council Chambers the O'ltana were met by Ambassador Vinach of the Andronian Federation; he had been selected to welcome Bital's Delegation.

Few races had been personally welcomed by the Andronians or one of the older races, but the O'ltana were clearly a special case, and the Galactic Alliance would be stronger because of their involvement. The emergence of another possible Galactic power would surely strengthen the Galactic Alliance, and having seen the military capabilities of the O'con Federation there was no doubt about their Status as one of the older races.

As the O'ltana emerge from the Shuttle Craft the Andronian is waiting to greet them.

Vinach : " Welcome to Andronus High Council Bital! I am Vinach; Ambassador for the Andronian Federation!"

Bital : " Pleased to make contact with you Ambassador Vinach! I'm Bital of the O'con Federation High Council. This is Nutal; Designated O'con Federation Ambassador to the Galactic Alliance."

High Council Bital presents Nutal to the Andronian Ambassador.

Vinach : " Pleased to meet you Ambassador Nutal!"

Nutal : " Likewise Ambassador Vinach"

As the introductions are made the 2.7m tall Technogarnic Andronian notices that there is a smaller being amongst Bital's security personnel.

Vinach : " Is that a Human?"

Bital : " Yes!"

Vinach : " Curious creatures Humans. Bold in ways most developing aren't! Haven't seen one in a Hundred thousand years."

Bital : " You've met the Humans?"

Vinach : " There was a time when we travelled the Galaxy; We were explorers! Like the Humans want to be. We made contact with thousands of Species; most of them are extinct now. Killed by their own hands, or by the Migon. Few races want to explore, to meet other races, and interact with them."

Bital : " They are fascinating. We’ve found that they are at their best when things are at their worst. Do you want to meet him?"

Vinach : " Yes!"

High Council Bital calls Naole over.

Bital : " Naole; This is Ambassador Vinach of the Andronian Federation."

Naole : " Pleased to meet you your Excellency."

Vinach : " Excellency?"

Bital : " That's how they refer to an official representative of a Government."

Vinach : " Interesting; You've come a long way since I last saw a Human. Is your culture as Violent as you depict it in your Visual works of fiction?"

Naole : " Hardly your Excellency. We used to be. But ever since the Hakum Assault on our world we've focused our aggression towards our Enemies."

Vinach : " Are you a Crystalan? Your putting out far more energy than one would expect of a race so young."

Naole : " I am!"

Vinach : " They say that you’re Fearless?"

Naole : " Not fearless your Excellency. It's our fear that propels us. That forces us to rise to new heights. To dig deeper. Forcing us to find the strength to persevere."

Vinach : " Fear of what?"

Naole : " Fear of loss your Excellency. We fear losing the ones we love. We seek to make them safe."

Vinach : " It's actually Love that propels you?"

Naole : " Yes your Excellency. We love our families! Love our friends. It's the reason why we fight. We've found that there isn't a more noble reason."

Vinach : " Of Course. There are more meanings for Love in your languages than any other word."

Naole : "We are simple Creatures your Excellency. We live to Love. Love adds meaning to our lives. We have a saying; God Is Love. Humans can find no greater reason than this, and we extend our affection to other beings that share our values."

Vinach : " I can see why so many Developing Interstellar Civilisations are fascinated with human culture. You have great clarity for a species so young."

Naole : " We only try to live full lives your Excellency."

Vinach : " Is this why so much of your culture is dedicated to Entertainment."

Naole : " It is, your Excellency. We want to be happy for as long as we can! As long as we live."

Vinach : " You live such short lives; Gone in a flash."

Naole : " Which is why they have to be Full Lives your Excellency. Filled with Love and the joy it brings."

Bital : " Amazing isn't it? Such clarity of purpose."

Vinach : " It is indeed."

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Later that day the Accession Ceremony began and the O'con Federation was formally inducted into the Galactic Alliance, and with that access to advanced technology of the Older Interstellar Civilisations. Naole had caught sight of the powerful Andronians, and he now understood why they were legendary. The Andronians are powerful in ways Naole could not begin to imagine, and their appearance clearly indicated that they are a force like no other.

The Andronians are on average 2.7m tall, they have two legs, two hands, but they have a highly mobile tail that functions like a third Arm, and the tip of the tail has a Technogarnic Organ that has significant similarities to a Chest Crystal. They are very muscular, four Eyes, four Ears, a nose consisting of 3 nostrils and a mouth that could probably vocalize any Sound.

The Andronian physic is indicative of their status as an Older Civilisation, and they wear Technogarnic Armour comparable to Crystalorb's Crystal Armour. Naole could read enormous Psionic energy from Ambassador Vinach, and he knew that the Andronians must be extremely powerful Psionics. The Older Interstellar Civilisation wear Bio-Mechanical Armour comparable if not superior to Crystalorb's Crystal Armour.

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On Andronus, amongst some of the most powerful races in the Galaxy Naole found himself dwarfed by the major powers in the Galaxy; Dwarfed in size and in terms of Civilisation! Humanity as a Civilisation is relatively inexperienced and young compared to the major races of the Galactic Alliance. The power held by the 5 Earth Governments is relatively insignificant compared to the might of the Galactic Alliance.

Naole understood that Human survival would depend on their ability to work together towards the goal of joining the Galactic Alliance, and if they failed to cooperate they would find themselves alone, on the edge, fighting against insurmountable odds. Crystalorb would have to play it part, and show the Human race that their differences are trivial in the face of their similarities. The Crystalans would have to foster unity of purpose amongst all Humans even if that does now mean a united Earth Government.

The Human race would benefit from the O'con Federation joining the Galactic Alliance, and that would mean that there would be Galactic Alliance monitoring and patrol of the edge of the Null sector. Although the patrols would be limited the presence of the Galactic Alliance Forces would generate a measure of security for the region, and at the very least the Hakum would not be able to openly establish bases.

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Unlike the Advanced Interstellar Civilisations Humans did not have Advanced planet Teraforming technology that could change suitable planets to have breathable Atmosphere in 5 decades. The Humans had to take a long term view to planetary Teraforming; a process that could take some 170 years depending on the size of the planet. Advanced planet Teraforming technology was given to the Galactic Alliance members by the older races, and the O'con Federation would now gain such technology, but the O'con Federation would not be allowed to share that knowledge with others.

Consequently the human races made extensive use of underground facilities on planets without a breathable Atmosphere. Along with the underground facilities the Humans used large air locked surface structures that were built using the interlocking block construction Method similar to that on the windowless StarShips. The structures would contain advance reflector systems designed to focus sunlight into the Structure.

This was the primary reason the humans were able to expand much faster than the other races in the region, and the number of human colonized Solar Systems was comparable to that of most Developed Interstellar Civilisations. The humans were the first to achieve such colonization levels without extensive Advanced planet Teraforming technology, and many of the races in the region were baffled by the human tenacity.

In that spirit, on 02-09-2193 the 5 Earth Governments agreed to set up a long range joint trading outpost on Silenia 5. This is the Fifth planet in orbit around the Star Silenia, and Silenia 5 is a Mars size planet with Nitrogen, oxygen and methane atmosphere not suitable for human Breathing, but with significant Teraforming potential. The fact that Silenia 5 has a small moon meant that the planet would be relatively easy to protect, and the moon would be both a military base and a primary Cargo Freighter loading area.

This was a project that none of the 5 Earth Governments could afford to undertake individually, and to minimise the financial costs the 5 Earth Governments agreed to contribute equally to the project. Working together the planners estimated that Construction on Silenia 5's moon would take approximately 2 years, and the Construction of the multinational colony on Silenia 5 would take ten years.

The trading outpost on Silenia 5 had two major objectives: 1〙 To increase Earth's trade with the Developing Interstellar Civilisations. 2〙 To reduce the requirement of protecting Cargo Freighters bound for Earth. The Silenia System is near the heart of the Developing region where most Developing Interstellar Civilisations are located, and because it's unclaimed by any Governments it is the perfect location for an Earth long range joint trading outpost.

This project would allow the 5 Earth Governments to focus their protection ships on long range Cargo Freighters from and to their particular Earth Government. Cargo Freighters would have to be organized into groups and escorted by a BattleGroup. The long range trading outpost would allow Earth Corporations better access to their growing markets in the Developing region, and Humans could better guarantee supply of their products.

On 20-06-2194 Construction formally began on Silenia 5, and with the 5 Earth Governments working together. The primary Cargo Freighter loading area on Silenia 5's moon was expected to be complete by the end of 2196. The planetary Colony would take longer to build, but it was essential that there be a large Human Colony to foster good relations with the Human Civilisation's trading partners, and the Earth BattleGroups would need the colony to provide a human environment for resting military personnel.

This was the most ambitious project ever undertaken by humans, and it held to promise of great rewards for the human Civilisation as a whole. However there were others who did not like the Idea of the Human presence in the region, and there was growing animosity against the Humans amongst these groups. This was potentially dangerous terrain for Humans, and even though they had significant military power the older Developing Interstellar Civilisations had larger numbers.

Most Developing Interstellar Civilisations operated fleets larger than that of the 5 Earth Governments, and even though their ships were generally not as big as Earth warships they were heavily armed. However most of the Developing Interstellar Civilisations that had problems with Humans resisted the temptation to openly display their disdain for humans because of the close relationship humans had with the Azlecks.

None of the Developing Interstellar Civilisations wished to antagonize the Azlecks, and for that reason many enemies of the Humans tended to simply avoid any contact with Humans. But there were those who for whatever reason didn’t care about the Azlecks and openly displayed their hostility to the Humans. The Curmallion Communion and the Elmachi Empire showed an open hatred for Humans, and the long range trading outpost being built on Silenia 5 was just 600 LightYears from Curmallion space.

The Curmallion operate 3.6 km long Galaxy Class Warships, and their fleet numbered at about 9500 Galaxy Class Warships; 4500 Destroyers and 5000 Frigates. The Curmallion were clearly a major power, but because of the constant conflicts with other races in the Developing region they could not be allowed to join the Galactic Alliance. The Elmachi had comparable numbers of 3.2 km long Galaxy Class Warships, and both races had allies who are members of the Galactic Alliance.

Earth with some 500 Military Galaxy Class Warships, and about 3000 Gunships was no match for these two races, but Earth had a component that would make any enemy think twice. The 283 Adult ships, 106 Juvenile ships and 194 baby ships that formed the Crystalorb Contingent could lay waist to entire fleets. The members of the Galactic Alliance who had seen the Crystalorb StarShips in operation knew that the Crystalorb StarShips ranked amongst the most powerful in the Galaxy.

Any Nation making war on the humans would have to cum up with a plan to deal with the Crystalorb StarShips. The Developing Interstellar Civilisations had heard how the Crystalorb StarShips shielded the other Earth ships from taking significant damage from Hakum Fusion Beams, and they were keenly aware that Earth warship technology was continuously improved to include Crystalorb StarShip technology.

The enemies of the humans knew that they had very little time to deal with the humans, and that once the human fleets grow beyond a certain size it would be impossible to oppose the humans militarily. The trick was to start a war with the humans without directly threatening Earth itself, drawing the humans into a fight, but not threatening the humans as a Civilisation. This would be a conflict to show the region that they were still the great regional powers.

But how do you get the 5 Earth Governments to all participate in a single conflict? The long range trading outpost being built on Silenia 5 presented an interesting opportunity for the enemies of the Humans, but because Crystal Valley Industries was one of the major contractors the Crystalorb Leadership agreed to provide an 11 Ship BattleGroup to protect the Silenia 5 construction project.

Few would be foolish enough to launch a raid on a facility protected by a Crystalorb BattleGroup. Though not many outside of Earth understood what Crystalorb was or meant, all that they knew was that Crystalorb meant Crystal-orb, and since the ships were made from what looked to them like Crystals they could make simple correlations, but Crystalorb was much more complicated than could be discerned from appearances.

For many races first contact with Humans had been with Crystal Armoured Crystalan Humans, and they naturally assumed that the Crystalans were simply a human sect or tribe, but with later contact with other humans those who originally made contact with Crystalans realised that the Crystalans were significantly more advanced than other humans. This distinction was over time lost with increasing Interstellar Trade.

The Silenia project had 2 stages: Stage 1 is the moon base Construction and Stage 2 is the Colony Construction. As the Silenia 5 construction project neared the completion of stage 1 the 5 Earth Governments sent BattleGroups to the system to establish secure Cargo Freighter escort routes in preparation for long range movements of large Cargo Freighters to Earth. Each of the 5 Earth Governments agreed to a BattleCruiser and 4 Destroyers in the space around Silenia 5, a further 4 Galaxy Class Destroyers would also be required to escort groups of Cargo Freighters to and from Silenia 5.

Each group of Cargo Freighters would be escorted by 2 Galaxy Class Destroyers, usually Apollo Class Destroyers. The deployment to Silenia 5 was the first long range mission for the African Federation's newly developed Vanguard Class BattleCruiser and the Nubia Class Destroyer. Unlike the Apollo Class Destroyer, the Atlantis Class BattleCruiser and the Asia Class BattleCruiser the African Federation's new types of warships had not been tested in battle.

Military analysts from the United Atlantic Federation, the United Indian Federation, the Asian Consortium and the Islamic Alliance remained unconvinced at the projected abilities of the Enhanced Weapons Array on the African Federation's Ship of the line. On testing the newly developed Enhanced Weapons Array proved its mettle, and this led to the other four Earth Governments ordering Valiant Class Corvettes, but their numbers still favoured their own class of BattleCruisers.

One of the problems of the Vanguard Class BattleCruiser and the Nubia Class Destroyer was that even with some of the most advanced robotics technology the Ships took 3 years to build. This compared to the 22 months it took to build the Atlantis Class BattleCruiser or Asia Class BattleCruiser the 37 months require for the Vanguard Class BattleCruiser meant that there was a build time advantage to the other types of BattleCruisers.

There was virtually nothing that could be done to speed up the production of the Vanguard Class BattleCruiser and the Nubia Class Destroyer because the Energy Weapons Crystal for the Enhanced Weapons Array took long periods of time to grow. The Energy Weapons Crystals can not be manufactured, and must therefore be grown by Crystalorb.

The Black Crystals required specific rare minerals, growing the Black Crystals required an incredible amount of energy, and Black Crystals growth process is also time intensive, but not as much as the Energy Weapons Crystal. While this causes considerable delays the technology offers its own technical security in that it can not be duplicated by enemies.

In an attempt to increase production the Engineering Department of the African Federal Security Force built 16 additional Construction docks on Earth's moon; Two for the Vanguard Class BattleCruisers, 12 for the Nubia Class Destroyers and 2 for the Valiant Class Corvettes. This brought the total number of African Federation Construction docks on Earth's moon to 19 including the 3 existing docks for the Construction of Apollo Class Destroyers.

By early 2196 the African Federation had built 3 full 11 Ship BattleGroups with a Vanguard Class BattleCruiser at the centre of each 10 Nubia Class Destroyer BattleGroup formation. The other 2 Vanguard Class BattleCruisers were assigned to Earth defence and on a reinforcing role on the outer colonies.

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On 01-02-2197 the Nubia Class Destroyer AFS Gaborone B2196 was sent on a solo mission to the Ra solar system 1064 LightYears from Earth. The purpose of the mission was to investigate possible high value mineral deposits in the asteroid belts of the 2 gas Giants that orbits the local star known as Ra. A newly promoted John Mobida was assigned to command the Destroyer AFS Gaborone B2196 on the mission to the Ra solar system.

Captain John Mobida was one of a new generation of the African Federation's new Commanders, and had served as Lieutenant Commander during the Crill Campaign, and as such had slightly more experience than most African Federal Security Force Commanders. The reforms in the African Federal Security Force Command had led to most experienced Officers being removed and replaced with younger people with little experience.

This was done in an attempt to remove all the commanders who had served the previous Military Government, but one of the unfortunate results was that most experienced ship Commanders were removed from service and relegated to a training role. Another thing that complicated matters was that the new Vanguard Class BattleCruisers and the Nubia Class Destroyers are significantly different from the Apollo Class Destroyer many African Federal Security Force Commanders trained on.

The Bridge of the ship held the Captain and the senior staff who all held the rank of Lieutenant Commander, but the Executive Officer 〘Exec-O〙 held the rank of Commander. The senior staff are: The Weapons Officer 〘Wpns-O〙, The Navigations Officer 〘Nav-O〙, The Communications Officer 〘Coms-O〙, The Tactics Officer 〘Tact-O〙, The Surveillance Officer 〘Surv-O〙, The Security Officer 〘Scrt-O〙, The Engineering Officer 〘Eng-O〙, The Science Officer 〘Sci-O〙, The Watch Officer 〘Watch-O〙.

As the AFS Gaborone B2196 reaches 19 LightYears from the targeted Ra Solar System Captain John Mobida prepared the crew for the final jump from the relative safety of the series of nebular systems to an exposed position in the Ra system

Capt-Mobida : " This is the Captain! Activating Red-Con 3! Stand By for Jump!"

Nav-O : " Coordinates locked in!"

Eng-O : " Jump Drive ready"

Capt-Mobida : " Weapons at the ready!"

Wpns-O : " Aye! Weapons systems activated Captain!"

Capt-Mobida : " Jump!"

The AFS Gaborone B2196 jumps into hyperspace and then jumps into the Ra system as a single manoeuvre

Capt-Mobida : " Run Silent!"

Eng-O : " Stealth systems Active Sir!"

Capt-Mobida : " Begin security scan!"

Surv-O : " Beginning Search Captain!"

Capt-Mobida : " Navigation; bring us closer to the first planet! Ahead One Quarter!"

Nav-O : " Aye Captain! Ahead One Quarter!"

Capt-Mobida : " Science; Begin planetary scan!"

Sci-O : " Aye Captain!"

Surv-O : " Captain; We're picking up trace emissions on the other side of the second planet"

Capt-Mobida : " All stop! On Screen!"

Nav-O : " All stop Aye!"

A distorted image appears on screen as the ship slows down.

Surv-O : " Minerals in the Asteroid belts are interfering with scanners! Can't get a good reading on it"

Exec-O: " Should we launch Gunships to ID?"

Capt-Mobida : " Negative! Surveillance; Can you tell me anything from Shape of target!"

Surv-O : " From this distance and angle the shape is similar to a Hakum Sky Dagger, or a Hakum Sky Blade, but I can't be sure!"

Capt-Mobida : " Tactics; Report! Activate Main Weapons!"

Wpns-O : " Activating Main Weapons Array!"

Tact-O : " They haven't seen us yet! We have no records of that type of ship! It could be a Hakum Sky Blade; scouting survey ship!"

Surv-O : " Captain I'm picking increased energy from the target! Weapons active!"

Capt-Mobida : " Fire Main Weapons! Maximum power!"

The AFS Gaborone B2196 targets and fires at the 3.1 km long ship using the long range weapons of the Main Weapons Array, and when the unknown ship is hit the damage is such that the ship begins to break up, but not before it sends a distress message.

Coms-O : " Picking up possible communications Captain."

Capt-Mobida : " Alright let’s get out of here! Prepare to...."

Surv-O : " Wormholes forming at 12 O'clock."

When 3 more ships appeared it becomes clear that the ships are not Hakum ships, they only look like Sky Daggers from the back and when the visual systems were distorted by the mineral compounds.

Capt-Mobida : " Open a Channel! Tell them we made a mistake! That we're willing to negotiate!"

Coms-O : " Aye Captain!"

Surv-O : " They're Firing on us Sir! Missiles active on all ships"

Tact-O : " Reading Multiple plasma Balls"

Capt-Mobida : " Activate Point Deflector Shields!"

The Advanced defence systems of the Nubia Class Destroyer stops all the missile and most of the plasma balls.

Coms-O : " They're not responding Sir!"

Capt-Mobida : " Weapons; Fire at will! I repeat; FIRE!"

Wpns-O : " Aye Captain!"

The AFS Gaborone B2196 opens fire on the 3 attacking ships, and after a few hits 2 of the ships are destroyed. The remaining ship makes a run for it, and jumps into hyperspace

Exec-O: " Captain! Should we attempt to pursue?"

Capt-Mobida : " Negative! Inform Fleet command of our situation!"

Exec-O: " Aye Captain! Communications Open a Channel to fleet Command!"

Coms-O : " Aye Sir!"

Capt-Mobida : " Navigations; Withdraw us to Hyperspace pending Orders!"

Nav-O : " Aye Captain!"

Capt-Mobida : " All sections; Damage reports!"

As the AFS Gaborone B2196 retreats to hyperspace the command sections reported their damage to the commanding officers. The AFS Gaborone B2196 had taken only minor damage, and the Enhanced Weapons Array had been proven to be an extremely effective system. The Admirals of the African Federal Security Force ordered the AFS Gaborone B2196 back to Earth where a full enquiry would take place.

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As the rest of the 5 Human Governments learnt about what happened they began to worry that the African Federation may have created a new enemy for Humans, and the fact that they knew almost nothing about the ships that were destroyed by the AFS Gaborone B2196 was of great concern. To find answers the 5 Human Governments turned to the Azlecks for help in identifying the race that had mistakenly been attacked by the African Federation Destroyer.

The Azlecks confirmed the ships to be of Elmachi origin, and therefore to avoid conflict the 5 Human Governments asked the Azlecks to open negotiations with the Elmachi on their behalf. The Elmachi agreed to meet with human negotiators at Arun, and at the negotiations the Elmachi Empire demanded that the ship's Captain be handed over to them for trial, but after protracted negotiations the Elmachi agreed to settle the matter for the equivalent of $570 Billion 〘Atlantic Dollars〙 in reparations to the Elmachi Empire.

The African Federation of City States would take full responsibility for paying the full amount to the Elmachi Empire within 3 months in various minerals, and that would settle the matter. The Elmachi knew that this was much more than their first ship was worth, and the other 2 ships were destroyed in legitimate combat and would not form part of the settlement, but this was enough for them to claim political victory.

The disaster in the Ra system led to Captain John Mobida being removed and discharged as an Officer in the African Federal Security Force, but he was not found guilty of any other crime than that of breaching the Peace. The African Federal Security Force needed to review their protocols and no African Federal Security Force Ship would ever be sent on a solo mission. It was determined that the minimum size of an expedition should be 3 Galaxy Class StarShips.

The Elmachi Empire did not want to start a war with the humans, and after their encounter with the Nubia Class Destroyer they were afraid that their ships were simply no match for human ships. However this incident had started hostile relations between humans and the Elmachi Empire; Hostilities that would continue for generations, leading to a lot of pain on both sides of the line, a line that had been drawn by inexperience.

In private circles African Federal Security Force Admirals would boast that the Nubia Class Destroyer is the final word in warship design, the most powerful ship of its class; as far as Earth ships were concerned. The Enhanced Weapons Array incorporated Crystalorb technology that had been developed from advanced O'con Federation technology, and the weakness in the weapon system proved to be the Human component.

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Clearly the Humans were not ready to wield the power they now held in their hands, but they would have to rapidly evolve the care and diligence to use that power wisely. Humans weren’t like most species in that humans reproduce much faster than other Sentient-Sapient Life forms, and this was rare. Most Sentient-Sapient Life had a very limited time period in which they could reproduce, but the Human reproductive period was 35% of their lifespan and constantly increasing with advances in medical technology.

This had to do with Human Ideas that love is the only true purpose of life, and where others pursued meaning in advanced knowledge or in Glory the humans simply found meaning in moments that make the heart sing with joy. Humans form communities on distant planets and moons, and that is enough for them, they raise their children in relative security, anything else is incidental.

Not deriving purpose from Work or Career proved to be a human's greatest strength, and all one needed to do to be respected by other humans was to be a good parent. Those who tried to find meaning in their function or career had always found themselves lamenting the fact that they had not spent more time enjoying the simple pleasures with the ones they loved. This was a world view that was reborn after the Hakum attack on Earth.

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