The Azure House

September 2244

‘“The hero of Almada!”  That’s what they’re calling me!’  I had shouted in frustration slamming the GNN E-Media card down on my desk angrily. ‘It is neither an epithet that I want or deserve!’

‘Mike calm down please’ the President had entreated but he knew my blood was up.  In the 5 months since my greatest victory I had been feted all over the alliance and indeed all over the galaxy: the Dread Lords had been a menace that threatened everyone after all.  I should have revelled in it but somehow it only served to accentuate my loss and my growing frustration that somehow the greater threat hanging over us remained unchecked.

Multi-hued autumn was beginning to embrace the Japanese capitol-it only made me lonelier: Mirathro and I had used to wonder these tree-lined boulevards in happier times.  Grimly I had reached for my Fleet Manifest Report and started reading it to the President.

‘Mr President we have 52 Battleships spread throughout our 25 systems-most are concentrated to the west bordering on Torian space. 39 of these are the Hawk Class Battleships designed especially with missiles and armour to take on the Torian Threat…’

‘Mike we have been through all this before’ the President’s voice had an exasperated edge to it-this was a game that we had already played more than a few times.

Undeterred I continued ‘by contrast-and the spooks at the IRM confirm this-the Torian high command can muster no fewer than 200 attack ships of which 75% are heavy capitol ships the equal of our own Hawks and Kestrels.  They have even started producing larger capitol ships-we have designated them Dreadnought Class-it’s frakking useless!’

I let out an explosive sigh and slumped at my desk. ‘It’s just all so frakking useless…’ I repeated.  I could think of no way out-we simply could not match the productive capabilities of our amphibian foe.

From across the office the President surveyed me coolly.  ‘Mike, as you know the political avenue and a path to a pan-galactic peace is not open to us.  The secret embassies of Smith’s people have been rebuffed’

I knew it-the ambassadors, specially selected by the President to lead an alliance delegation with the offer of a large sum of money, had been humiliated and sent packing-there was to be no Terran-Torian pact.

‘And so’ the President continued ‘we have no choice but to prosecute this situation to its conclusion…’ my friend’s voice trailed off as he flicked a switch on my holo-projector.  An image appeared of Toria-our enemy’s homeworld-that planet of oceans I despised so.  Next to it a smaller orb appeared-smaller but massive nonetheless-it looked man-made.

‘What’s this?’ I asked puzzled. At which there was an imperceptible knock on the door and in trouped my great friend Professor Emeritus Andrew S. Sharp Esq.  With him were several erudite and serious looking workers from the Shipbuilders Guild and Mitrosoft.

‘That General is an NC-174S Terror Star.’  It was the Mitrosoft rep who spoke-he looked rather pleased with himself, I noted with irritation.

‘A what?’

‘It is a sub-planetoid sized offensive Starbase, General, packing enough firepower to quite simply destroy a sun and thus eliminate all planets in its system…’

There was a pause as I contemplated the enormity of what had just been said.

‘You have the capability to build one of these things?’ I asked, staggered. 

Andrew Sharpe had grimaced ‘not yet General-we are working on prototypes-a fully fledged version is some years off yet.’

I had turned to the President who met my enquiring stare evenly.

‘This is what you have been wanting Mike-this is the thing that will even the balance and allow your fleets the chance to defeat the enemy-you wanted a war-well we will give you one.  I can’t imagine that Tlas Kzientha will sit idly by after we park several of these off his homeworlds. He will have to declare war which makes him the aggressor not us.’

It made a crazy kind of sense: this way we wouldn’t be going to war with the other three Star Races-all allies of Toria.  What I was not so sure about was the genocide that these weapons would unleash…still Torians were not like us were they?  And then again my deputy at Almada had been a Torian-we had four Torian Worlds in our Federation for Frak’s sake!

‘I don’t like it any more than you do my friend’ Sharp had interjected, as if sensing my inner turmoil, ‘but they will even the odds if war is to come’

‘But whole worlds….’ My voice trailed off

The President’s tone was steely: ‘General this is your commission if you want it-the Council has spoken-you have your own command in the Star Navy back: they want the hero of Almada to draw up the battle plan.  Let me put it to you this way: if we don’t strike they will-we’ve all seen what they do to subjugate races…’ 

The silence was ominous.

My mind was racing-this was Armageddon and it was we who were to bring it to the galaxy but deep down I was already devising a plan-if anyone was to be the architect of Torian doom it would be me……….

As komnenos said..I shall also be waiting with baited breath..most excellent.

November 8^th 2244

Terran Alliance Federation Council

The Green Zone

Tokyo, Japan

My recollection of that momentous evening is still so crystal clear it might have been yesterday.  On my 61^st birthday, I had entered the massive Council Chamber that was the seat of our galactic power and the source of its democracy with the words of my friend, the President, still ringing in my ears:

‘You must be at the top of your game General, your powers of oratory at their most persuasive.  The “Council of 25” will need some reassurances that the prosecution of this coming war is in good hands.’

The ‘Council of 25’ sat in a vast debating hall that could house 500 Senators-all seated in political grandeur.  At the front were three concentric semi-circular rings of seats each of 10: the first two and half rows were filled with the Senior Planetary Reps or Senators.  As if by some sort of statement of intent, there was space for considerable more seats after the third row.  Behind them were the backbench Senate seats or those reserved for the Junior Senators from each star system.  Each could send up to twenty depending on the size of that system-Earth for instance, had the full quota: 5 Senators representing each continent, including the Senior Senator, Abraham Ikzulu from South Africa.

Facing them was the President and on occasions various members of his cabinet-his job to chair the meetings and provide guidance when there were disagreements.  He also had the power of veto on certain bills and proposals but, of necessity, was constrained to use this sparingly.  The Industrialist Party to which he belonged was in power across the Alliance and so, by and large, the Council’s desires and those of my friend’s Administration tended to coincide. 

On this night, all were there and the hall was packed and expectant as I strode forward resplendent in my No2 Dress Uniform, my medals glinting on my chest.  It was a deliberate ploy on my part to awe these politicians not just with my plan but also with my bearing and demeanour: every planet in our great Alliance needed to get four square behind this project and tonight was the night that this was to happen-the last thing any of us wanted was political interference.  My Aides shuffled in behind me as I took my station at a huge Hover desk that had whirred in from my right.

‘Council Members and Senators, ‘I had begun in booming tones  ‘I  am here tonight to outline the particulars of Operation Jade Thunder-the plan to take on and destroy the Torian menace for once and for all within our Galaxy.’

I paused, suddenly aware of the five Senators sat in front of me, who were Torians themselves, all representatives of Torian worlds that had defected to our Alliance.  As if sensing my discomfort, the oldest and most experienced of them, Hlas Sziontho, adjusted his spray device to further moisten his amphibious skin and spoke:

‘It’s ok General, you may speak freely-the Torians of the Terran Alliance see the ongoing machinations of the Torian Confederation as being just as much of a threat as any human I assure you-pray continue.’

I breathed out slowly-my brief had almost started in hesitation and subsequent disaster-I thanked the old Torian silently whilst outwardly making an almost imperceptible nod in his direction.

‘Senators this will be an operation in three phases, the first two of which will run concurrently whilst phase three will be consecutive.  The opening phases have already commenced Honourable Councillors-I say again the first two phases have started already.’

I  paused to let this sink in-I certainly had their attention now-you could have heard a pin drop such was the hush. At a nod to my ADC, the Hover desk 3D projector sprang to life beaming an image of part of our galaxy in crystal clear dimensions onto a point above it so that all could see.  I cleared my throat and began:

OP JADE THUNDER Phase 1

‘To our immediate West we have the most difficult task as here are the main concentrations of enemy systems.  I have grouped them into four: Severus all by itself, with the Paulos system and Paulos I to its south.  Moving clockwise from Severus, we then have the Torian main systems centred on Megres, Drengia, Ancros and Athena: five planets in four systems.  We then have the Torian Lentzlandians systems and finally what I have termed the Torian Primary systems as they are the ones closest to our Western worlds.’

Again, another pause for effect-this bunch of politicians needed to know what we were truly up against.  This would be no cakewalk but probably a battle for our survival.

‘Our plan depends on the completion of planetary sized space stations we have called Terror Stars.  They pack enough firepower to destroy complete suns and thus the planets that depend on them.’

At this, there was a collective intake of breath and murmuring from all around the hall.  I ploughed on-this was not the time for faint-hearts,

‘Yes a public/private consortium of our Shipbuilders Guild under Professor Sharpe and the Mitrosoft Corporation are indeed working on the blueprints for these.  We will require up to three of these Stations, one for Torian Prime, one for Torian Main and possibly one for the Lentzlandians system.  The money and research that will be necessary for these is immense but that, Senators, is not my concern.  You have given me this assignment and I intend to prosecute it with all the strength and all of the resources at my disposal.’

The murmurings had lessened. Underneath my tight fitting dress suit I could feel the sweat dripping down my armpits-outwardly I looked as cool as if I had just stepped from an Altarian spice bath.

‘Here and here’ I indicated with my laser pointer ‘are two blue defence lines I have designated one and two.  DL1 running north to south will protect us from attack from Torian main.  DL2 which is to our Northwest and runs west to northeast will protect our north-western systems from any move by the Torian Battle Fleets on the worlds in Torian Prime.’

‘General if I may...’ an interruption by the Senator from Mars, an elegant lady called Sirwa Mahmood.  I bowed in deference to let her speak.

‘I am sure that you would join me in welcoming our newest member planet of Marie IV, recently joined our Alliance from the area that you call Torian Prime.’

‘Of course my lady’ I returned smoothly,

‘Sadly Senator Mzor Frakientha is not able to join us but would you not agree that, given that Marie IV has fallen, then so too could Marie II and neighbouring Britannion without bloodshed?’

There was much nodding in agreement, particularly, I noted, from the Torian Senators.  At this point, the President stepped in:

‘Senator Mahmood is quite correct and General Mormon’s plan is predicated on us not needing a third Terror Star to subdue Torian Prime as we will hopefully have brought these worlds to our Alliance through peaceful means by that stage.  That is correct is it not General?’  The President said, eyeing me intently.

It was not quite as I had envisaged it but it made sense, not least because of the massive timescales that could potentially be involved in researching all the levels of Terror Star development, Professor Sharpe’s remit.

‘That’s absolutely correct Mr President.  Now if I may continue to Phase 2, which primarily concerns our Korath systems’

OP JADE THUNDER Phase 2

Suddenly there was loud roaring and banging on seat tables by the Korath Senators representing our Far North Western worlds: twenty years of being part of the Terran Alliance had merely softened some of the rough edges of the Korath Clan.  It would seem-once a Korath, always a Korath. 

I waited for the commotion to die down and continued:

‘Phase 2 is very simple: culturally subvert the worlds in the Torian systems of Snathi and Alexus and establish DL3 to protect from the inevitable attacks that will come from the Torian northern worlds.  We already have fleets moving into position along DL3 and many constructors building Influence Starbases around those enemy worlds I just mentioned so Phase 2 is actually progressing faster than Phase 1.’

Another nod to my ADC and the last of the images was projected:

OP JADE THUNDER Phase 3

‘Once Phases 1 and 2 are in place then Phase 3 will swing into action.  It is not so crucial for our survival but is necessary to help damage the Torian infrastructure.  Here you can see the start of the Torian Main systems to the North and to their south a forward Starbase line.  Phase 3 requires the destruction of those Starbases and then the establishment of DL4 to protect our own main systems from the inevitable Torian incursions from the North.’

I  had stopped speaking now and gave the Senators time to digest the plan and prepare their questions. It was a bold plan, one that I  had prepared carefully and planned with my able no 2, Hias Pzientho, herself a Torian battle commander of no mean repute.  She had been impressed but had helped me touch up the plan in a few places- not least our intention to use the fact that our ships were technically superior to theirs by some margin and were properly configured to take on their ships whereas theirs would have little answer to our nightmare torpedoes: a war of attrition we would not win....

As if reading my mind one of our Arcean Senators raised his seven foot bulk off his seat and addressed me in sonorous tones:

‘General this is a bold plan, worthy of any Arcean H’sak but might I ask what you will do to counter the fact that they outnumber us possibly as much as four to one in heavy capitol ships?’

‘A good question Senator-if I  may pass this onto my Senior Weapons Officer; Colonel Nordvik Haas he will respond.’

My capable Weapons Staff Officer nodded to me and coolly took up the brief;

‘Senator we believe that over the years that we have configured our ships correctly in Torian sectors to take on their weapons, which are primarily mass drivers.  Our formidable Zero Point Armour should stop all but the most powerful mass driver attacks.  Conversely, they appear to not have researched the main point defence systems needed to keep out our missile-based weapons and more specifically the Locksteed XV Null Point Generator Missiles better known as Nightmare Torpedoes, which generate the event horizon of a black hole near their target and are utterly devastating.  We envisage that fleet actions should be heavily weighted in our favour in spite of the mismatch in ships numbers.’

It was a pleasing answer, which had many a Council Representative smiling and nodding confidently: at this stage I  had the whole Chamber eating out of the palm of my hand, responding personally to some queries and handing others off to various of my staff.  By the time the questions ceased we had been briefing for fully two hours and I was exhausted: my long illness a few years earlier had permanently sapped me of much of my vaunted stamina.  I felt myself swaying in the bright lights. 

Then a rumbling clapping interrupted my hazy thoughts and I came to.  The whole chamber was on its feet-all 400+ Senators-all shouting and clapping.  The President too, was on his feet and he came down towards where I stood unsteadily, clapped me on the shoulder and, beaming, whispered:

‘A bravura performance Mike- no one will stand in our way now.  I may be their President and guiding light, but you are their passion, you are their hero!’

It was as grand a moment as I could remember: all the elected heads of all the systems in our great alliance, Torians and Korath, Arceans and humans all acknowledging me and my plan..................

To war it shall be..Seriously this is one excellent AAR, in fact you and Admiral maximus have inspired me to write up my own..as soon as things at work calm down i shall begin.

To war indeed. Thats a very well planned invasion you have laid out there. Lets hope you can pull it off without too many hiccups. Make sure you guard those Terror Stars well too, the Torians will be gunning for them.

Great update!

The Alliance is going to genocide? Yay! The Dark Side is strong with you!

Were the Terror Stars for getting the Torians to declare war so you wouldn't have to fight their allies or part of your plan for winning the war? I would think parking transports and influence starbases next to their planets would be enough to get them to declare war.

Those water monkeys still trying to figure out their heads from their rear ends..??...lets hope war begins soon..nothing like battle ready troops and no battle..Again fantastic read dude.

January 2245

Office of Chief of the Star Navy (CSN)

Kampala, Star Navy HQ

Uganda

My 24 year old son had come leaping into my makeshift office and spurning the Altarian half of him that would exercise emotional restraint flung himself on me and gripped me in a hug of such intensity that I barely had time to catch the smile of my ADC as he quietly closed the door.  How was it that my son was here? On earth? Once my surprise had abated I gripped him by the shoulders and held him at arms length, proudly taking in the glistening Captain’s stars on his shoulders.  I was grinning broadly now and stood back and snapped out my smartest salute.

‘Captain Starla Mormon!  Well well well-I knew that you had passed your Lieutenant to Captain’s exams but I didn’t know that they had already promoted you son.  And here?  Why are you here on Earth?  You have quite caught me by surprise-my office a mess-the real one is being refurbished’

‘Dad, Dad, it’s ok.  I meant to surprise you-I don’t care what state your office is in-it’s you I came to see,’  Starla grinned back-he had lost none of that boyhood charm or that ethereal Altarian beauty so reminiscent of his other father.

‘Dad-ahem-General, Chief of the Star Navy,’ he said suddenly straightening up and snapping out a crisp salute, ‘I have been re-assigned from the Almada sector to Defence Line 4.  I am to be the SGO for TAS Iron Duke, one of the newest of the Mark 5 Hawks-Dad I am so excited!’ and he once again gripped me in that breathless way of his that was so endearing and at the same time so un-military.

The TAS Iron Duke, I mused, that was the newest ship in the Fleet, commissioned from our very own Abuja Shipyards and soon to embark to join the five other Hawks of the Chester A Arthur Battlegroup protecting DL4 way to the north.  The Mark 5’s were effectively vast missile platforms and the Ship’s Gunnery Officer was tasked with the command and control of her twelve missile batteries, his job to ensure that the devastating salvos were on time and on target so that the Ship’s Commander could bring her full weight of firepower to bear against the enemy-it was a difficult job for a young Officer and only the brightest got it-most of them went on to have their own commands so my son was evidently doing something right.

I ruffled the lad’s blonde hair, smiling weakly-he reminded me so much of his father it sometimes hurt.

‘Let’s do lunch son-how does that sound?  I am told there is a wicked Tapas bar down in the old town’

‘Sounds great Dad and whilst we eat I can bore you rigid with tales of my Lieutenant to Captain’s exam.’

‘Oh great’ I sighed in mock sarcasm

Undeterred Starla continued the joshing ‘yeah and the Gunnery simulator’s Xanadu paradigm Dad. Did you know that I passed it….’

That last comment, spoken so nonchalantly, stopped me dead in my tracks,

‘You what?’

No one had ever passed the Xanadu paradigm-it had deliberately been programmed to be virtually impossible for aspiring SGOs-the angles, rate of attack and defensive parameters all too marginal and too tight to allow anyone to plot the correct firing solutions to allow the ship’s Commander to effect a fighting retreat from the simulation’s enemy forces.  A failure coefficient of 45% was considered a very effective score but it was still a defeat: I had scored 32% when I had taken a much older version of the test some 40 years ago and that was considered to be one of the best scores ever-it was still a failure though.

‘You what?’ I repeated looking my son intently in the eye to see if there was any trace of dissembling.  There was not.

‘I passed it Dad-with a pass co-efficient of 55%’ he said smoothly, colour rising to his cheeks ‘like I said I will tell you how….over lunch’

And with that there was that cheery smile again.  I was wondering at what a marvel we had sired when we were interrupted by an urgent knock at the door and the subsequent entrance of my ADC.

‘Sir-the Chief of Naval Intelligence is outside-he has some urgent news-says it can’t wait.’

My look of irritation did not go unnoticed but it had to be an urgent matter to bring Colonel Jack Watts here. The look I gave my son was of pure apology but we had a future war to plan-he knew it as well as I.

‘Dad-I am not due to embark for another 24 hours-maybe catch up tomorrow?  I will be at home in any case tonight’

‘Sorry son-yes for sure.’ We hugged briefly again before Starla left after saluting sharply.  ‘Captain Carter please show the Colonel in.’

Colonel Jack Watts-a native of South East England, like myself, glided in. He was smooth, and sharp-qualities you would expect from someone who commanded the Navy’s spy division. He got straight to the point:

‘Sir bad news I am afraid. My sources in the Torian Navy have reported a general upfitting of all their capitol ships with rudimentary point defence systems’

I shut my eyes-it was the bad news that I had been dreading for some months now.

‘Show me Colonel’ I waved him to my holo projector into which he was already inserting a memory card.

‘Like I said General-rudimentary point defence systems-we don’t think that they have the money or resources to properly upscale their fleet-this is a token gesture-no more…..at this stage.’

We huddled around the projector peering at the 3D image that it had generated of a Torian Battleship.  We studied it closely since on our assessment would rest future battle and training protocols: no longer could we rely on total tactical weapons superiority over our foe-the game had changed once more…….

I have considered it General Homsar but the problem is my sparsely spread forces will not be able to stand a war with both the Torians and all their allies (Arceans=moderately powerful, Iconians=more powerful than me, Altarians=weak)

If I attack without cause I will be fighting a war of aggression and that will drag all of the above into the fight against me

I dont want a smash and grab against the Torians I want to fight a war of annihilation against them and that will only happen if i am not having to worry about fighting it on several fronts

Get it?

It's a great idea mon General but it would simply drag all the other races in as well and that would spell my doom...have toyed with idea of attacking 1st anyway and then trying to pay off the other races as have quite a lot of cash...

Building terror stars and snatching the Torian Worlds is not seeming to do the trick sadly as far as them declaring war on me is concerned

If you really have a lot of credits, why don't you try to get the Iconians vs the Arceans? This will leave the Altarian alliance in shambles. Wait a few turns and when they'll be too busy firing at each other... Attack! To quote Julius Caesar, Divide et impera!