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26 Aug 06

The end of the Hivers came almost unexpectedly. The Humans had launched a few failed attacks against a couple of Hiver planets. They must have inflicted some decent damage as the Hiver ship numbers kept dropping. Then our second cleansing fleet assaulted Zytokot. Though they had more of their capital ship killing cruisers, they were part of fleet of less than twenty ships with more than half being destroyers. The command dreadnought took quite a beating, but the fleet wiped out all the enemy ships and wiped out ninety percent of the colony's population. When the fleet reengaged, they only had to cleanse the surface and take out a few stray satellites. Amazingly the Humans tried to rush a colonizing fleet there to exploit our victory. Fortunately, our colonists landed the turn before they arrived.

Then the first cleansing fleet was outfitted with the upgraded version of the command dreadnought. It began its assault on the planet Tychopre. Though we didn't know it before the battle, it was the Hiver's home world and their imperial capital. They had forty ships in defense of the planet, but only a handful were capital ship killers. They did field some new spinal mount destroyers with their beam weapons, but it was not enough.

The cleansing fleet cut the first wave of destroyers to shred and powered into weapons range of the planet. They quickly destroyed the gate and started the planetary assault. The armored assault dreadnought had to break off briefly to take out some capital ship killers, but the remainder of the Hiver fleet was destroyed with the rear guns on the dreads. By the time the fleet had to pull back seventy five percent of the defenses had been destroyed and nearly half the planets population removed. Once again, the resumed battle was just a clean up operation finishing off the planet and removing the satellites.

The series of defeats followed by the fall of their capital made them realize they could not emerge victorious. Shortly after, they issued their surrender. We were somewhat surprised that wasn't immediately followed by the Humans declaring war on us. They must have agreed with us that we should finish the Tarka before any direct conflict. Right now we have twenty two colonies to the Humans seventeen. The Tarka have five systems left. Perhaps the Humans aim to balance the numbers better with some Tarka planets. Regardless, we have started our assault on the Tarka systems. We will also have our colonists ready so the Humans do not try any more funny business. Soon the empires shall clash. We shall see if the Human sword bites as hard as their tongue. First, the Tarka shall fall. The Humans have made little progress against them. Their destruction may not be as easy as it sounds. We shall see.

Jason
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25-26 Aug 06

War is never a pretty thing. This one is no different despite the sparkling beauties of the galaxy our forces have beheld. We now have two dreadnought based cleansing fleets. They have brought much pain to the Hivers and their empire. Now we have felt a bit of pain back.

It started with the battle for Ketozyz. The cleansing fleet had been launched from Zozoris to take out the planet. With the Hivers there were three option awaiting us. The first was they might have just launched one of their long range attack fleets leaving the planet nearly defenseless. The second was they could be in the middle of production of one of those fleets. The third was that we might arrive just before the launch of one of those fleets and find ourselves fighting the might of the Hiver empire and the planetary defenses at the same time. Since the last would be the only true test of our mighty dreadnoughts, it was, of course, what we found.

Our plan was to exploit a weakness found in our enemies. They sent so many units on assault fleets that they didn't keep much in the way of an emergency reserve. That meant they would have build a response force before using their gates to respond to our attack. So instead of having only one opportunity to take out their deployed gate, we would have two. That dictated our stance for the initial assault.

We could stay back out of weapons range of the satellite defenses and the rear ships. The enemy would come to us to try to protect the planet. We would crush their forces then drive to the planet, take out the gate and cleanse the surface. Given the firepower of our dreadnoughts, we thought we stood a good chance of success.

In truth it worked out almost as predicted. It took two mighty battles, but the planet was taken. The Hivers sent sixty ships against our dreadnought. They had upgraded their ships with improved beam weapons and heavier torpedoes. Each dreadnought at times rang like a bell from the impacts. Yet it was the enemy ships that kept exploding not our dreadnoughts. We could almost sense their panic when they realized how tough our new command dreadnought was. Their old standby strategy of taking out the command ship was no longer simple and effective. The three dreadnoughts in a V formation meant that a direct attack at the command ship was a gauntlet of death. The fleet took out fifty enemy ships before we had to pull back.

Next we would have to take on the remaining ships and the planetary defenses. Also the gate was still up. That could not remain. As we prepared to resume battle we realized the new Hiver weapons were more powerful than expected. The repairs were simply beyond the capacity of our available resources. We immediately dispatched more repair ships to supplement the cleansing force.

Even still bearing some of the wounds of the earlier struggle, the dreadnoughts were nothing to scoff at. This time the drove straight toward the gate ship. As expected, the enemy had only received minimal support. We had to ensure that was all they would receive. The Hivers had only a handful of front line ships left to engage our fleet. The ships drove right past the picket line and opened up on the gate ship and the planet. They were taking a good pounding from the combined firepower of the planet and the satellites, but they were dishing out even more. As soon as the gate ship fell, the remaining firepower focused on the planet. All forward weapons pounded the surface while the broadsides and rear weapons engaged the satellites and Hiver ships respectively. Surprisingly when we had to pull back the Hiver fleet was destroyed, half the satellites were gone, but there will still survivors on the planet. Without a gate, their hopes of relief were tiny.

Even then we were still not able to fully repair the dreadnoughts. Still, they might such slight resistance that the final battle was anticlimactic. The planet was cleansed and the satellites removed. Immediately, our colonists lined up for the honor of helping secure our foothold on the other side of the rift. Once the colony was established, our additional repair ships integrated into the fleet, and the dreadnoughts repaired, the fleet set its sights on the neighboring Hiver planet of Rizdet.

Rizdet turned out not to be half the challenge of Ketozyz. They had only twenty ships in defense with less satellites. The initial assault took out almost the entire defense fleet, destroyed the gate ship and started the planetary bombardment. After repairs, they finished the job and cleared the system for our colonists. That was what prompted the Hiver response.

The Hivers sent a seemingly small fleet to take back Rizdet. It was only sixteen ships. We had cut through several times that to take the nearby planets. However these were fifteen of their top of the line anti capital ship cruisers. They had one repair ship. With such a vulnerable colony, we had to engage them in deep space. Unfortunately that was what they wanted. They hadn't given up on their strategy of taking out our command ship, they had just adapted it. In deep space they didn't have to worry about satellites or planetary defenses. They could move more freely. They could use their acceleration advantage to gain good position. They did all this and used improve cutting beams, torpedoes and energy weapons to pound solely on our command ship. By the time the command realized the real threat of their plan, it was too late. Though the fleet took out fifteen of the Hiver ships including the repair ship, the command ship could not be saved. The remaining ship was destroyed almost as soon as it entered the Rizdet system, it was cold comfort. Clearly the image of the invincible command ship had to be revised.

As the replacement command ship is being completed, the Hivers back is nearly broken. They have only a handful of planets left. They are under siege by the Human, Tarka and ourselves. The question remains, how long will the Humans wait before turning their eyes toward us? Once, the Hivers are defeated, we will likely not have much time at all.

Jason
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24 Aug 06

We would almost admire the Hivers for their dedication if it served another goal than blood lust. They send wave after wave crashing against our defenses. It's no matter now. We are strong enough to withstand their fury. Though they may take out a cruiser or torpedo boat, they lose so much more.

Take their assault on Zozoris. This time they came in two waves. The first had sixty ships nearly half cruisers. The second had over seventy ships but less cruisers. They drove into the teeth of our new dreadnought. Their 125 ships facing never more than our dreadnought and a hand full of cruisers augmented by the planetary defenses and satellites. We lost a total of five ships, one cruiser and four torpedo boats. Their fleets were erased. Beyond limiting production on our planet, they accomplished none of their goals. Their gates were smashed as soon as they were erected. They didn't manage to seriously hurt either our fleet or our planet.

Their attempt to retake Rychopre fared only slightly better. There they managed to take out three cruisers and five torpedo boats with their fleet of sixty ships. They did manage to hit the planet and cause some minor casualties. Overall though they were crushed. These delaying actions have bought us the time we needed.

We have designed our Armada command and control dreadnought. These sparkling ships will be the bane of all who oppose us. They will lead battle fleets such as the galaxy has never seen. The will sweep from planet to planet taking out our enemies. Construction has begun. The Hiver's doomsday clock is ticking.

Jason
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22-23 Aug 06

It's a violent galaxy we live in. We are stronger now. We see farther. We move faster. It's not enough yet. It's clear that true peace will only come through purging the violent from the other races. It is sad that it has come to this, but our path is set. It is violent and bloody, but we swim on the same.

The Hive desperately wishes to gain ground on our side of the rift. They launch sortie after sortie into our sphere of influence. They attempt to overwhelm with numbers. Even our best ships cannot withstand pounding forever. We've taken to fighting them in deep space. It means we fight without the advantage of our planetary defenses or satellites, but we must thin the swarms before they get to us. The young swimmers must be protected.

These nameless battles seem endless. They send thirty, forty, up to sixty ships at a time. Now instead of a handful of cruisers they send tens of them. They must pay no mind to advancement. We have seen similar waves launched against the Humans and the lizards. Usually they do not win. We understand better now what they are doing.

We have seen most of the far side of the rift. The Tarka lizards hold around twenty percent of the stars there. The Humans and Hivers split the rest. We have found one system for us. It is a small planet with decent resources but just at the edge of our ability to recover it. If we can keep it alive, it will be our base over there. We will need a place where we can pull back, refuel and repair. The battles will be numerous.

The lull time has not been wasted. Though our enemies build many of their old style ships to smash against us and each other, we keep designing new ships. Our antimatter engines are now online. Their power shall drive our fleets faster and power more weapons. We combined the lessons of the Humans and the Hivers. We designed our dreadnought class to be bigger, stronger, but still support more guns. These are not the small weapons of the Hivers. These are the mightiest guns of the Liir. When our dreadnoughts speak, only silence will answer.

The Humans were offended by our move across the rift. They briefly cancelled their non aggression agreement with us. After a few encounters with the swarms of the Hivers and seeing the power of our vessels, they changed their tune. They too understand settling business with the Hivers must come first.

Once our dreadnought command ships come online, we will concentrate on construction of new fleets. These fleets will sweep through the galaxy. The Hivers will not be a threat for long. The price will be high, but it must be paid.

We understand that our plans might not work as well as hoped. We do have contingencies in place. We hope it does not come to that. Now our patience is over. We will inflict damage on the Hivers planets. We will destroy their industrial base. The only question is will we emerge stronger or will we be weakened and ripe for conquest? We shall see soon.

Jason
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21 Aug 06

There is not much to sing about this day. The Humans have agreed to non aggression. They send their little ships all over our colonies. It is clear they are scouting for conquest. We must use this time to build and fortify. We must eliminate the other threats. Then we shall deal with the Humans. Unfortunately, it looks like that will be a titanic struggle in its time. Now there is mostly quiet and unease.

The Hivers have taken a blow losing so many worlds. They are not yet defeated. Our scouts are everywhere, but their fleets move in the blink of an eye. At least they do when we hunt them from planet to planet. We have wiped out their fleet at Ko Sothrum. We have cleared out two other small nests of bugs. We leave small ships to monitor the places we cannot live.

The only other news is that we need to build better command ships. The many guns of the Hivers cut through the shields too quickly. They will still concentrate too many resources on destroying our command ship to the exclusion of all else. It's not as crazy a strategy as we first thought. It means we must keep redundant command in all fleets or risk being out gunned in battles we should win. Both tie up resources, but clearly the Hivers cannot keep up with these kind of losses.

The scout fleets have nearly finished finding all the Hiver gates on our side of the rift. Now our scouts scour the unknown on the far side. The bulk of the Humans and Tarka lizards are there. There must be some Hivers in hiding. Soon our fleets shall be there as well.

Jason
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