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【Vision of an Alternate Future】

Arc 1: Ascendance

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【VAF】Chapter║: 29 ─ Migon

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Migon BattleSpheres emerged from Hyperspace and began a total assault of Human military outposts at the edge of human territories. Migon BattleSpheres have stealth capabilities similar to Crystalorb's stealth systems, and that made them difficult to detect, but the Human military outposts that were being attacked reported 3 sources of directed energy weapons. The Human military outposts also reported that the Migon used powerful spatial warping Deflector Shields.

The Migon BattleSpheres moved inward like a deflating Sphere, and when they reached the larger and more heavily defended colonies the Migon raiding parties included 100-150 BattleSpheres. Each Migon raid lasted less than 150 seconds, but the destruction to mobile Human military assets was extraordinary. It quickly became clear that the objective of the Migon raids was not to destroy the Human Ships, but cause enough damage to them to make them temporarily immobile.

The Migon BattleSpheres suffered little or no damage from the initial encounter with Human ships, but the Migon commanders clearly knew that larger Human numbers would become a factor in longer engagements. The speed of the assault created confusion amongst the Humans, and Force commanders were struggling to coordinate an effective response. Migon BattleSpheres seemed to be able to just crush through Human defences; knocking them aside like they were nothing.

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At the Joint Forces Command Centre.

Admr-Borega : " Intrepid BattleGroup is Coming through; Naole is on the Coms"

Gen-Tao : " Put him on!"

Naole : " Admiral; Crystalorb's analysis indicates that they'll bypass main colonies and hit Earth directly."

Gen-Aziz : " What?"

Admr-Sutra : " There are 10 Billion people on Earth!"

Gen-Tao : " Are you sure?"

Naole : " They didn't come all this way to destroy a few Colonies; Galactic Alliance Reinforcements will arrive in about 45 minutes. They'll want to get the job done quickly. We have to stop them from attacking Earth with missiles and Fusion Beams!"

Admr-Borega : " Understood"

Admr-Miller: " Godspeed!"

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Onboard the Intrepid Isis is on Joint Communications Channel with the Crystalorb Command Centre.

Isis : " Is everyone ready Commander?"

Cyris : " Fleet is mobilized and ready Isis! We have 50 Crystalan Ships, 500 Casara Class Cruisers and 70 Esara Class SkyCruisers. We'll split the Crystalorb Force into 3 Divisions. You, Naole and I will each command a division. Formation leaders are; the Intrepid, the A'ltana and the Indigo."

Isis : " I've received the Data! How long do we have?"

Cyris : " Maximum; 5 minutes!"

Isis : " Enemy fleet estimates?"

Cyris : " 1200 to 1600 Migon BattleSpheres!"

Guardian Naole joins the JCC.

Naole : " They're ready to jump; The Spirit Stone can sense their Intent."

Wormholes open and the Migon fleet begins to jump in.

Isis : " By the source!"

Cyris : " May the Crystal Source give you Strength!"

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As the battle began the Human fleets tried their best to hold off the Migon force, and in an exchange of firepower the Migon had a clear advantage despite the larger Human numbers. The only ships that were able to hold their own against them belonged to the O'con Federation's BattleGroup, but the Migon quickly surrounded the O'con Federation's BattleGroup and the O'ltana were in serious trouble.

The Cyris division of the Crystalorb moved in to assist the O'con Federation's BattleGroup, and that offered the O'ltana reprieve from the Migon assault. The new Casara Class Cruisers were more effective against Migon BattleSpheres, and the ability of the Casara Class Cruisers to combine their Thunder Force Strikes enabled 3 Casara Class Cruisers to destroy a Migon BattleSphere.

However the Migon BattleSpheres fought in such a way that isolating a single Migon BattleSphere for a combined assault was incredibly difficult. The Migon had more battle experience, and they quickly adapted their strategies to compensate for changing human tactics. The rapid fire mechanism of the Migon BattleSpheres devastated human ships, and laid waist to large numbers of Human ships.

For the most part the Migon BattleSpheres seemed to ignore Gunships, and they rarely targeted the Gunships, choosing to focus their fire on the larger Human ships. The Migon BattleSpheres fought in such a way that nuclear missiles were made redundant, and that was because the 2 fleets were intertwined. The Fusion Convergence capabilities of the Migon BattleSpheres were being used to great effect against the Human ships.

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Five minutes into the battle a quarter of the Human ships were destroyed, and a fifth was damaged and immobile, but only 89 Migon BattleSpheres were damaged. With the human fleet cut down to size, 500 Migon BattleSpheres broke off from the fight and approached Earth for a planetary assault. In their approach to Earth the Migon BattleSpheres quickly destroyed the planetary defence stations; leaving Earth completely vulnerable.

The 500 Migon BattleSpheres then began to Converge their Particle Beams and Fusion Beams on a single point on the surface of the planet. The other Migon BattleSpheres blocked attempts by human ships to interrupt the 500 Migon BattleSpheres attacking Earth. The battle grew in intensity as the Human ships launched an all out assault in an attempt to save their Homeworld from imminent destruction.

Ramming into the Migon BattleSpheres quickly became the most effective way to damage a Migon BattleSphere, but the Migon BattleSpheres have rapid nuclear acceleration and can quickly move out of the way.

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On board the Indigo Naole is on Joint Communications Channel with Isis and Cyris.

Isis : " No!" looking at the Migon attack on Earth "No!"

Cyris : " They're Killing Earth!"

Naole : " Not on my watch; I'm going in!" talking to his division "Jump sequence 113; Activate!"

The Naole Division jumps into Hyperspace and emerges near the 500 Migon BattleSpheres attacking Earth.

Isis : " He's in!"

Cyris : " Provide cover"

They move in to support Naole's Division.

Naole : " Attack pattern Nalen 015 Gamma! Fire!"

The ships of the Naole Division feed Indigo their energy, increasing the energy output of Indigo to astronomical proportions, and this allows the Indigo to simultaneously attack and destroy 4 Migon BattleSpheres. When the Indigo destroys another 4 Migon BattleSpheres the Migon begin to respond to the Indigo by despatching 50 ships from those attacking Earth and a titanic battle ensues.

Indigo : " They're still attacking Earth sir!"

Naole : " Ramming speed!"

Indigo : " All Ships activate Emergency action 110! All personnel abandon ships!"

As the ships of the Naole Division speed towards the Migon BattleSpheres attacking Earth. Crystalans are ejected from Crystalorb Ships and Crystalan Ships.

Naole : " Is every one out?"

Indigo : " Yes sir! You should leave Sir!"

Naole : " Negative! We go together!"

Indigo : " It's been an Honour Sir!"

Naole : " Likewise my Friend!"

The Naole Division speed towards the Migon BattleSpheres attacking Earth and collide with the BattleSpheres in a spectacular explosion. Moments before impact Indigo forcibly ejected Naole into space using his energy, but Naole was still caught in the shock waves of the explosions

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50 Migon BattleSpheres then quickly moved in and helped to finish the job of attacking Earth, and once that was completed the entire Migon fleet vanished into Hyperspace. The 61 Damaged Migon BattleSpheres self destructed in a fusion explosion destroying all data and technology, and all that was left of the BattleSpheres was molten metal. The Migon made their way out of Human space and eventually disappeared into the Null Zone.

The Migon had lost 211 of its 1500 BattleSpheres; 61 Damaged Migon BattleSpheres self destructed, 59 lost to Crystalorb's Fleet, 13 to the O'con Federation BattleGroup, 78 to the Combined Human ships. The 5 Human Federations had lost nearly 6000 Galaxy Class Warships and 23615 Gunship Class StarShips. Crystalorb had lost 421 Crystalorb Ships and 43 Crystalan Ships, including the flagships: the Indigo and the A'ltana. The O'con Federation lost its entire Elmak BattleGroup.

The Humans had suffered a near total loss to its defence stations in the Earth system and on the surrounding colonies. The Migon raids had left the 5 Human Federations with no real defensive capabilities, and most of the surviving ships would need significant repairs before they would be battle ready. The Joint Forces Command Centre on Earth's Moon was left largely intact because most of the facilities were buried deep underground, but the port facilities were destroyed.

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On Earth it soon became clear what the Migon had done to the planet. The Migon BattleSpheres Converged their Particle Beams and Fusion Beams on:

The Transform Faults: The San Andreas Fault, the Dead Sea Transform, the New Zealand Alpine Fault, the Chaman Fault, the North Anatolian Fault, the Queen Charlotte Fault.

Convergent Faults: The Eurasian plate and the Indian plate, the Pacific plate and the North American plate, the Nazca plate and the South American plate, the Pacific plate and the Australian plate, the Eurasian plate and the African plate.

Polar Ice caps and Glaciers

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The Migon attack melted the contact point of the Transform Faults and thereby reduced the friction allowing for the release of the built up tension. The reduction in friction allowed the plates to move further than they would normally move, resulting in Earthquakes of Moment Magnitude 10. This combined with the Migon attack on the Convergent Faults resulted in a chain reaction of Earthquake swarms and storms across the planet as the Tectonic plates realigned themselves.

The Earthquakes triggered a series of Tsunami Waves that raced across the world's oceans and destroyed coastal cities. The energy of the Earthquakes accelerated the cycles of affected volcanoes, and the build up to eruptions started. Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8 〘VEI-8〙; volcanoes Lake Taupo Volcanic zone, Lake Toba and Yellowstone began to build up to their Super-eruptions. The VEI-7 volcanoes of Kikai Caldera and Campi Flegrei also accelerated their cycle, but first to erupt were the active VEI-5&6 volcanoes.

The attacks of the polar Ice Caps released glacial sheets into the Oceans triggering more Tsunami Waves, and the attacks also destabilized methane hydrates at the bottom of the Oceans. Some 400 million tons of methane locked in methane hydrates was suddenly floated to the surface, and dissipated into the atmosphere. The climate of the planet would now rapidly spin out of control creating even more devastation.

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Four hours after the Migon's departure 90 Elmak Class O'con Federation BattleGroups arrived as support of the reinforcing Galactic Alliance BattleGroups that arrived three and a half hours earlier. The 5 Human Force Commanders forming the Joint Forces Command Council were coordinating recovery operations, and they were also trying to get an accurate assessment of the devastation on Earth.

The Five Force Commanders at the Joint Forces Command Centre turned to Crystalorb for a detailed scientific explanation of what the Migon had done to Earth.

Guardian Jalen appears on the screens to explain Crystalorb's analysis.

Jalen : " We are looking at a total loss to the coastal cities, and the destructions caused by the Earthquakes and Tsunami Waves has been unimaginable. We expect the first super-eruption within the hour. However the African Federation shelters have survived intact, and once the waters begin to recede we can begin rescue operations. Crystalorb analysis indicates that when the cycle is complete we'll be looking at 87% loss of life on Earth as a whole! The African Federation loss is estimated at 30% because they were more prepared. The figures rise as time progresses, and unless we implement full scale evacuation of Earth it will get worse."

Gen-Tao : " 8.7 Billion lives?"

Admr-Sutra: " Hard to imagine!"

Jalen : " We think that this was the intent! To scar the human race forever!"

Gen-Aziz : " And so they have!"

Admr-Borega : " Is there no way for Crystalorb to stop the Super-eruptions?"

Jalen : " I'm afraid not; In the five minutes that the Migon BattleSpheres attacked Earth they delivered a minimum of 628.75 million Megatons of Energy! That's 1080.53 Zettajoules of additional energy that is currently locked into Earth's system! With the planetary weather control mechanisms destroyed we have no ability to influence the weather, and nature will now take its course. We expect the global temperature to increase rapidly, and that will be followed by a prolonged period of cooling. We don't expect most of the vegetation to survive, and we expect that Earth will not be habitable for at least 100 years."

Admr-Miller: " 100 years? What are we suppose to do?"

Jalen : " Survive!"

Gen-Tao : " How? Earth is the centre of the Human Civilisation's Commerce. All our economies are tied to Earth."

Gen-Aziz : " The loss of Earth will cripple our Economies for generations!"

Jalen : " We must not let that happen! The Crystalorb Council of Elders has ordered 50 Nalen Class SkyGarrisons to the Earth systems to assist with the evacuation of the civilians to Mars. Crystalorb will not allow the human race to fall apart. We will use every resource we have to make sure that the human race is not permanently crippled by this. The scar the human race now carries is no different to that of the Azlecks. They have survived much worse."

Admr-Sutra: " You had the power to stop the Migon fleet? You did nothing?"

Admr-Miller: " Why didn't you bring your SkyGarrisons into the fight?"

Admr-Borega : " The Nalen Class SkyGarrisons are not ready for battle! They're only about 65% complete. Bringing them into a fight prematurely would only Guarantee a total Migon Victory at a later stage. It's the doctrine of Unintended Consequences! The emergence of the Human SkyCruisers has led us to a direct assault by the Migon Federation, and now how we deal with this crisis will define the Human race. I for one want to believe that we are the phoenix! We will rise from the ashes of our Homeworld stronger! Wiser! And ready for round three!"

Jalen : " The Night is darkest before the Dawn! But Dawn is breaking! Crystalorb will stand with the rest of humanity, and together we will rise to new heights! There are Hard times ahead for all of us, the war with the Migon Federation will intensify, but we will be ready to meet that challenge! Our Nalen Class SkyGarrisons will usher in a new age of security for the Human Civilisation. Once the Nalen Class SkyGarrisons are fully operational they'll harvest much more minerals than the Intrepid and Indigo Class Crystalan Ships, and that will allow Crystalorb to increase the size of its fleet exponentially."

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After Jalen concludes his briefing of the Joint Forces Command Council he enters the Council Chambers of the Crystalorb Council of Elders to give an hourly report of the devastation on Earth. The Guardian Council is also present to account for security planning, and the only senior Guardian not present is Naole.

Scarlet : " The Crystalorb Council of Elders has reached a decision on the future of Crystalorb. We're relocating to the Crystalorb Moon."

Kilan : " We will hand over the original Crystalorb to the African Federation of City States, and they will use it as a permanent presence on Earth. We will help to maintain the systems, but this is our last day in this our home for the past 393 years."

Maole : " The Crystalorb Moon will be our home for the foreseeable future! We've informed the African Federal Government and the African Federal Parliament about our decision, and we've agreed to assist in the relocation of African Federation Citizens to the Ra system."

Scarlet : " We will use the Nalen Class SkyGarrisons to accelerate construction on Mars, and because the SkyGarrison Carry a fragment of the Spirit Stone they'll be able to build much faster than would otherwise be possible. We will make Mars a home for all of Humanity."

Kilan : " At least until Earth is fully restored"

Maole : " Cyris; What progress can you report?"

Cyris : " We have an accurate count of our losses, and we're conducting repairs on all damaged Ships! We've recovered most of our injured and dead, but there's still a lot of work to be done. 8 million Crystal Armoured Crystalans have been mobilised to assist with the evacuation of Earth, and the Nalen Class SkyGarrisons are bringing with them another 2 million Crystal Armoured Crystalans to help with the evacuation of Earth."

Scarlet : " Isis; What progress can you report?"

Isis : " We're making an assessment of security risks, and we've deployed 8 scouting BattleGroups to find out how the Migon were able to move a fleet to this region undetected. We'll place millions of long range probes throughout the region and create the largest network of wormhole detectors in the region. We've tasted defeat, and we now know the power of our enemies. The Migon are a power like no other. Crystalorb will have to rise to new levels to meet this growing threat."

Kilan : " And for that we look to our Knowledge Guardians. Any news about the fate of Naole?"

Cyris : " We've been searching for hours, but the debris of Indigo is making it difficult to detect Naole’s Armour energy signature. We don't even know if he's still alive."

Kilan : " He's alive! The Spirit Stone can still sense him!"

Maole : " The time for Naole's departure is at hand. The Spirit Stone speaks of Naole's absence as necessary. It is for this reason that Naole will in all likelihood not go with us to the Crystalorb Moon."

Cyris : " He would leave us at this our hour of need?"

Scarlet : " Yes! He has to leave! It is the will of the forbidden! The will of the Spirit Stone! His spirit needs time to rest, time away from the demands of Crystalorb, time away from the needs of our people."

Maole : " For the next 500 years Naole will rest; Sleeping and surviving on energy. Hopefully Naole will return to a better Crystalorb society." pause "Jalen; What progress can you report?"

Jalen : " As we can all see the changes to the climate are accelerating, and we estimate that the weather will achieve relative stability in about 36 hours. Evacuation should therefore begin in 36 hours. However there is an immediate problem that we must deal with; The debris of thousands of destroyed ships is in a decaying orbit around Earth. We estimate that in 3 hours the debris will begin to impact Earth if we don't find a solution! We are talking about millions of tons in StarShips."

Isis : " Most of these Warships carry nuclear missiles!"

Jalen : " Their impact could exacerbate an already awful situation" a transmission comes through from the Juvenile Crystalan Ship Cobalt "Search teams are receiving a priority signal from Cobalt!"

Scarlet : " Put him on screen!"

Cobalt : " Honoured Elders! Respected Guardians! I've located Deputy Commander Naole!"

Scarlet : " Good work Son!"

Kilan : " Is he Okay?"

Cobalt : " He's unconscious, and his Crystal Armour has suffered extensive damage, but he is intact!"

Scarlet : " Recover him, and bring him straight to Crystalorb!"

Cobalt : " Will do mother!"

Transmission ends! Juvenile Crystalan Ships are allowed to break protocol, and as such Cobalt can refer to Lady Scarlet and Deputy Guardian Crimson as mother.

Isis : " With Indigo gone Naole will now be solely bonded to Cobalt!"

Jalen : " And even though Naole has to leave that Bond will endure!"

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Moments later the Executive Council of the United Atlantic Federation appeared on Interstellar news networks. Senator Paul Arthur the senior member of the UAF Executive Council began to address the citizens of the United Atlantic Federation.

Sen-Arthur : " Today we came face to face with the Enemy! Face to face with the most powerful race in the Galaxy! An absolute evil!" a brief pause “Our scientists have just informed us that in a few hours Earth will no longer be habitable. With this in mind the Executive Council of the United Atlantic Federation has ordered the evacuation of Earth. From this day onwards the capital of the United Atlantic Federation will be the Atlantis Colony!" after a brief pause "The ease with which the Migon knocked our combined human fleet aside has led us to conclude that they're more dangerous than we initially anticipated, and that means that there's hard work for all of us ahead." after a brief pause "To survive we will need to embrace new and advanced technologies! We need to cooperate more closely with the other Human Federations to accelerate the construction of warships and defence platforms." a brief pause "Now that we've seen first hand what the Migon are capable of, we can no longer afford to be complacent. We can no longer afford to be driven by narrow political interests! We must be more than we've been in the past! Focus our energies on building a better Civilisation than the one we've lost!" after a brief pause "I have no words to express the sadness I feel over the loss of so many of our fellow citizens! No words of comfort for all those who've lost loved ones!" after a brief pause "With my own words failing me, I'll borrow from the poet Tennyson" pause "Though much is taken, much abides, and though we are not now that strength which in old days moved Earth and Heaven; that which we are, we are! One equal temper of heroic hearts! Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will! To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield!"

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