Update 6
Massive warfare raged across the Choon world of La, as a three-way flurry of diplomacy surged back and forth between the Ma’Autra, The Dancer and the Collectivity of Sanath. After a blindingly quick and bloody offensive, the grand force of Lauki-Maus called a truce, first demanding the Dancer’s destruction. They would later settle for the surrender of The Dancer’s hyperspace frame, or ‘stone’, as they called it. The Dancer readily accepted, donating the piece of technology and seeing the fleet leave with some relief.
The end results of the confrontation are clear. The Dancer has pledged herself to the cause of the Collectivity of Sanath, La has been badly damaged- but not beyond recovery, and Ma’Autra leaves with the firm belief that it has humbled and rendered useless a powerful implement of the robotic entity ‘One’, and taken a critical piece of its technology.
Ma’Autra continues its outward pushes into space. The Choon on Uex have been, as far as the Maus can discern, entirely eradicated, and the home planets are safe once more. Many fleets and weapons are fabricated to ensure that this remains so. Meanwhile, scouts have discovered a primitive, violent reptilian species with the faintest semblance of civilization several hundred light years rimwards from Uex. A fleet has already been dispatched.
Zaff Slaver Fleets continue to push deeper and deeper into Ullau Space. The lack of industrial capacity to construct a fleet to combat the Zaff alone, combined with omnipresent pro-Collectivity propaganda, has driven the population’s opinions firmly towards joining the Collectivity. The Ulla thus become the fifth species to be directly represented by the aegis of Sanath.
The Collectivity has been, understandably, swamped as it dramatically increases in size. The bureaucracy is slow to catch up, and the integration with Ulla has been slow going. Sanath’s forces have been very tightly stretched, although one city ship encountered and destroyed a Zaff Slaver fleet, giving the invaders some pause and granting much relief to the anxious Ullau.
The United Republics of Hedge find themselves at an impasse with The Dreamer and the Talarthyn Conclave. The massive Choon, now containing the mind of one of the displaced Cherwal and displaying obvious sympathy for the Talarthyn cause, has requested for the Republics to withdraw from their occupation sites on Cherwyn. Hedge fleets were brought down into low orbit to defend the colony, but for now the two sides remain caught in a deadly stalemate. Ground forces can deal no real damage to the massive creature above them, and The Dreamer has no defences against bombardment from space- but if he is attacked from above, his death would come hand in hand with that of the colony. Many Verthommes have fled in fear of the upcoming conflagration, while bold Talarthyn Cherwals begin to move back into their ancestral homes. All the while, both sides are equally ready and unwilling to strike.
Nidkubra is thriving, despite its terribly precarious position, as its densely packed population is now more than capable of fending off Zaff psychic assaults. Their defences are prepared, and a host of rescued slave species from the destroyed Zaff Slaver fleets have joined their number. Amongst them some of the native populations of Koraft, Braniga, Glare and Naellae, each of whom are helping in whatever way they can to fend off what they expect to be the inevitable Zaff counterattack.
Allentryen celebrations at alien contact have been cut horrifyingly short. The alien vessels descended on Nuxue A and immediately began a mass abduction of the settler population, leaving before any sort of resistance could be mounted. A second alien vessel approached Nuxue B, but just moments after it fired grapples at the Allentryen Orbital Command, its power seemed to die, and the vessel tumbled downwards towards the ocean planet’s surface, at which point it decelerated and was gently sucked under the waves. If the Allentryen weren’t superstitious about the mysterious goings-on at Nuxue B before, they certainly are now.
The Tal’Edra Clan continues its exploration of space, observing the Tapani but declining to make contact. War amongst the lower classes on Jen’Tsa is beginning to escalate, though the highest-ranked place little weight on the deaths of their lessers.
Zephyr is unusually quiet.
The Karronics are massing their forces, assembling a great fleet to ensure their immediate and near future security- through the surprise subjugation of their immediate neighbours.
While their region of space is otherwise inactive, one Sgligatiki faction, the hands of Izoza, has built a warship and set out on their own, believing that the only way to serve Izoza is through one’s own actions. The warship is expected to be cruising through empty space for the next century or so.
Their neighbours, the Amur, Nurm, Kog’Vlad and Fplinmy, do nothing of particular interest to the galactic community.
As the war between Hegemony and Dominion, Zan and Zaff, reached its climax, the Zaff suspected little beyond a continuation of the normal. Herdmasters continued to bring in more exotic new species from the frontiers, a new colony was founded at Navart, and a few further fleets were thrown into the meatgrinder that was the battlefield between Wairt and Glare.
Shamai looked upon the empty vista of space before him with sorrow, muted though it was. All he had fought to gain was now for naught. The war would end. In his hands were borne three terrible weapons. The bringers of the ends. Always had he been reluctant to wield these instruments... but no longer. The decision had already been made. With great reluctance and terrible purpose, Zan Shamai reared up, ethereal hands stretching across the stars, as he began to compose the dirge of the end the Zaff Dominion.
Ancient warmachines of Shamai ascend from beneath the galactic plane against the underprotected belly of the Zaff Dominion. The Branigan prepare to lead their defences, but there is no attempt at battle made on the planetary surfaces. Shamai rules supreme in space.
As the Zaff fleets are scattered over the dense, industrial planet of Wairt, homeworld of the Zaff, a terrible, spindly array begins to fold across the planet’s skies.
On Koraft, massive, burly mechanicals tumble searing through the thick, stormy atmosphere.
The denizens of the verdant world of Braniga look up to see a single, terrible form hover above.
One is consumed by light, as arcs of energy race between the arrays, incinerating the surface.
The next is crushed and burned, as voids open up in the crust of the planet itself, rending the surface asunder.
The last is scattered like a trillion motes of dust, as the planet dissociates into a shapeless cloud of matter.
Wairt is silent, a serene, glassy expanse.
Koraft burns and shudders, as magma seas encapsulate the land.
Braniga is lost forever.
Map
