GlenSkunk

Join Date 11/2003

The Confederacy of Man

Part 1: 2225-2229

The Confederacy of Man: Expansion, Planet's Rights, and Slavery

The Confederacy of Man is, to be certain, an enigma. Historical data suggests that the Confederacy of Man was founded by citizens of the old Earth nation known as the Confederate States of America, or CSA. But strictly speaking, this should not even be possible - Earth history records the CSA ceasing to exist in the Earth year 1865. How a Confederacy could have survived so long, transported through time and space, and wound up at the head of a stellar empire, is beyond the ability of most scientists to understand. Nonetheless, the Confederacy of Man has begun to make their presence felt, starting in a far-off mass star cluster...

Lead by a charismatic man named Reginald Elwood, the Confederacy of Man was structured along much the same lines as the Confederacy of old - a superior "white race" lording over their darker skinned "inferiors" in a property-owning, master/slave system not too dissimilar from the Confederacy of old. One major difference, however, is that the Confederacy of Man has managed to make slavery a more economically viable option, using them as cheap labor for factories and so on. They put these into practice on an entire world they called "Gettysburg," perhaps in honor of a pivotal battle that, in their alternate universe, the South won.

Beginning in the year 2225, the Confederacy began their climb into power, bringing ships filled with settlers and slaves (the slaves being listed as non-persons). By early 2227, the Confederacy already controlled four worlds - the two habitable planets in the Gettysburg system, and two in the nearby Hough system. A number of deep-space mining outposts had been planted in the territories as well.

The dual prongs of this expansion were two venerable ships of the Confederate Navy - the fast colonizer CNS Furlong series, and the space miner series CNS Prospector.

Utilizing various Ion Drive systems and basic life support systems, the CNS Furlong lead the charge of the first colonization drive for the Confederacy. Capable of moving 500 million colonists rapidly across great distances, the CNS Furlong was the true workhorse for the Confederate Navy, quick, efficient, and inexpensive to produce.

2227 turned out to be a banner year for the Confederacy - by August, the Confederacy had acquired a crucial military resource just outside of the Gettysburg system, a small field of dense crystalline structures capable of incredible focusing. These crystals were used to jumpstart the Confederacy's budding weapons project, with the search for viable Laser attack and defense systems. Soon, the first of these experimental laser systems would be rolled out on a new class of defense fighter - the CNF-2 Sharpe.

The rollout of the new CNF-2 Sharpe series of fighter spacecraft, however, was marred by riots in several cities on planet Gettysburg. Indeed, the homeworld's overcrowding was becoming notorious, with approval for Reginald Elwood at a low of 54%. Clearly, something would have to be done, and quickly. Research was diverted from military matters over to researching new ways of entertaining the population, to make them forget the overcrowding. By 2228, the first Multimedia Centers were coming online on planets throughout the Confederacy.

By now, the Confederacy had gained sufficient strength to increase its relentless colonization drive, and by 2229, more CNS Furlong ships were being built and sent off to far-flung planets, feeding the Confederacy's need for more land, more slaves, more of everything. But these colony ships also served a secondary purpose - as ersatz exploration vessels. While enroute to their destinations, the colonist-laden ships were asked to scan nearby space and report any findings to the Confederate Navy - whether it be resource-rich planets, new resources to exploit...or alien civilizations.

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By the dawn of 2230, the Confederacy of Man had made tremendous strides in its size and power. New Laser technologies were producing deadlier ships, while colony vessels crisscrossed the empire, bringing the Confederacy a total of 14 colonies total by February. Truly, the Confederacy had never known such prosperity - tax revenues were reaching the hundreds of billions, and approval was rising as steadily as the population.

February also brought a rather curious problem - in recent months, the planet Gettysburg welcomed the addition of a fantastic new amusement park, known as the Happiest Place In the Galaxy. However, the rides turned out to be so extreme, a severe medical problem ensued - namely, death by cardiac explosion, caused by extreme doses of adrenaline, coupled with high heart rates, extreme G-forces, and the rather unorthodox medical experiments of a doctor known to be a "heart fetishist." While the sexually deviant nature of the doctor was kept secret, the park received record attendance, in part because of the extreme danger. Thrill-junkies from all over the Confederacy came to the park to experience near-terminal excitement. Reginald Elwood, seeing how fun everything was there, allowed the park to continue operation, and morale soared.

Experimentation wasn't just affecting morale on Gettysburg either - on August 8th, 2230, an experimental power generation station suffered a catastrophic explosion, killing 100 million people in the vicinity. Although officially the disaster was blamed on sabotage from slaves, unofficially reports surfaced that the disaster could have been averted by swift action, but the Confederacy didn't want to lose any of its research papers on the power generation. Although research sped up on the project, many citizens of the Confederacy called the disaster names such as "August Atrocity", "8/8," and "Nightmare by Elwood." The dissent was quickly oppressed.

A short week later, the Confederacy came into contact with an alien civilization, the Ebarran Coalition. Using universal translators and many espionage agents, it was learned that the Ebarran Coalition was a collection of aliens who had fled wars in far-off sectors to settle in a much less hostile sector of the galaxy...as time would tell, the Ebarran Coalition had made quite an error in settling in this particular sector. Confederate scientists were already working on prying apart secrets from the Ebarran Coalition's first-generation scout ships. Scientists, however, discovered that by-and-large, based on initial contact, the Ebarran Coalition was inferior in terms of technology.

The Confederacy of Man, however, thought that the Ebarran Coalition might prove to be useful in some fashion. Late in 2230, the Confederacy of Man supported a proposition from the Ebarran Coalition to end all current wars. No mention, however, was made on future wars...perhaps this cease-fire would buy the Confederacy time to prepare for a war...up to now, military expendetures had been focused on planetary defense.

For better defense, the Confederacy of Man began to release two new fighters - first, the CNF-6 Grenadier, then the more advanced CNF-8 Barricade. The Barricade especially represented the pinnacle of Confederate Laser technology, able to lay down fire from five laser cannons on any approaching foe. Newer attack fighters, meanwhile, would surely vex most foes...assuming they were ever ordered. The Ebarran Coalition seemed determined to go a peaceful route...

Research, meanwhile, advanced as never before. Confederacy scientists, working in secret with some of their alien colleagues, developed a new form of propulsion enhancement, and on October 15th, 2231, unveiled UltraDrive to a bedazzled public. The Confederate Navy took as much of the research with them as possible, but the discovery already disseminated to many alien cultures outside of Confederacy control. Nevertheless, such new power would prove quite useful to the Confederacy, especially given that it had so many colonies spread so far apart.

Of course, as always the criminal element of the galaxy needed looking after, and the Confederacy of Man had obtained a great many dissidents, conmen and criminals within its borders. So, when the subject of a Galactic Prison came up before the United Planets, the Confederacy of Man sought to obtain this Galactic Prison, to house and put to work all of the malcontents within their system. As a location, the Confederacy chose the inhospitable Betelgeuse II, a planet rated a lowly Class 3 on the Planet Quality scale, the ideal place to put convicts and criminals to work. Such harsh conditions, however, could prove to be quite a problem is left unchecked for the convicts...even if the prison were only to last three years.

The would-be imprisoned, however, did not go into the prison willingly. One prisoner, a scientist by the name of Adrian Ennui, released a genetically engineered virus on Betelgeuse II a short time before the January 1st, 2232 opening of the Galactic Prison. The virus, which caused no visible marks but affected neurochemical activity in such a way as to create instant apathy, spread like wildfire across the entire Confederacy, greatly sapping the abilities of its people. A cure for this disease was urgently needed, and within a matter of weeks, as the disease took its toll, scientists worked feverishly to contain the so-called Ennui Plague. Billions of credits were funneled into research to combat the devilish plague...

The plague came at a most unfortunate time as well. On April 1st, 2232, the Confederacy came into contact with the fiendish Enaso Regime, a group of dissident Altarians who had fled the ruins of the Altarian system after war had virtually ruined it. The Altarians, lead by a dictator named Heras Enaso, sought to conquer the galaxy in the manner of the Drengin - and thus, the dictator and his regime posed a direct threat to Confederate ambitions. The Enaso Regime and the Confederacy would be staunch rivals as time passed, but for now curt pleasantries were exchanged between the two cultures.

Finally, on September 15th, 2232, the Confederacy of Man announced they had discovered the cure to the dreaded Ennui Plague. Acting quickly, within a matter of hours replicated serums were being distributed to every infected citizen of the Confederacy, with even slaves receiving the cure - after all, they reasoned, a sick slave was less productive, and thus, less profitable. A swift rebalancing of Confederate expenditures quickly followed, as everyone tried to recover from the plague that had inflicted them for so many months.

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With the dreaded Ennui Plague cured at last (and with the plague still ravaging many alien civilizations), the Confederate colony rush continued in earnest. By November of 2232, a full third of the galaxy had been colonized and tamed by Confederate colonists with their slaves. Thoughts of the Enaso Regime, the Ebarran Coalition or any other civilization were quickly pushed aside as the hustle and bustle of Confederate life reached a fever pitch. Never before had the Confederacy known such morale!

As the year 2233 dawned, a rather unusual proposal came before the United Planets - it had been determined that the civilization with the largest economy - namely, the Confederacy of Man - should be required to use a portion of its income to subsidize less-fortunate civilizations. The idea of subsidizing aliens with their hard-earned money was, to be certain, virtually anathema to the Confederate leaders. Reginald Elwood immediately voted no on the proposition, displaying a certain brand of xenophobia that would become more apparent in future years. Surprisingly, the Enaso Regime and Ebarran Coalition also voted no - which irked the Confederates and left them feeling insulted. It was all well and good asking for money, but then refusing it even if it were offered? What on Earth were those xenos thinking?!

The xenos, of course, could wait - for now, exploration would take priority. Taking a page from Earth history - the Earth history in the universe they were currently in, and not their own - they created a new class of exploration vessel, dubbed CNS Enterprise, to upgrade and refit the existing exploration flagship. A stark deviation from normal Confederate design, later Terran Alliance observers would state that the Confederates had "ripped off" a creation of their time. During this initial foray, however, the CNS Enterprise would be more than adequate to deal with the xeno threat...

Care would need to be taken to deal with the perceived threat of the ruthless Enaso Regime and the expansionist Ebarran Coalition. To counter their moves in the start, espionage was begun, first against the Enaso Regime - in January of 2234, agents from the Confederacy began to penetrate the Enaso Regime world of Altros IV, a planet of great potential use...for the Confederacy. With plans for invasion already being discussed, steps would be taken to gain information about the foe - strength of arms, economy, technology, disposition. Soon, information trickled back to the Confederacy, including some shocking news - Altros IV was the site of a Precursor Library!

The Confederacy colonizing machine never wavered at all during this time...indeed, it found some choice gems of its own. While CNS Engineer class ships were busy grabbing up available resources, a lone colony ship discovered a newly-habitable world, Trenor II, not far from an existing colony. On that planet, an amazing find was discovered - a working Precursor manufacturing center! And so the Trenor II colony, established in 2234, became the Manufacturing Capital of the Confederacy!

The manufacturing capabilities of the Confederacy would soon be put to the test - in January of 2235, from a distant corner of the galaxy, the Dread Lords arrived. The dreaded foes of many civilizations, the news of their arrival in the sector spread like wildfire. The Confederacy immediately launched a concerted campaign to expose the location of this new foe and neutralize it. This would be rather hard to accomplish, as the Dread Lords were extremely advanced, powered far beyond all reasonable ability to defend against them. Only a quick, all-encompasing blow - before the Dread Lords could gain a foothold - would ensure their defeat.

All over the Confederacy, manufacturing facilities swung into high gear, preparing for an advanced scouting fleet to locate the hidden base world of the Dread Lords. Each scouting vessel would be sent with espionage agents, to neutralize vital production facilities on the Dread Lord world before they could be brought to bear on Confederacy citizens. The people prepared for war on every front, and all thought of the Ebarran Coalition and Enaso Regime was cast aside as the all-out war against the Dread Lords began.

To finance the war effort, huge amounts of taxes were collected from the Confederacy, fueling the ever-growing need for more ships, more troops, more of everything. Curiously, even at a staggering 63% tax rate, the populous remained astonishingly upbeat, offering an unheard of 100% approval for Reginald Elwood according to a March 8th, 2235 poll. This was probably due in large part to the oppressive government, as well as intense barrages of morale boosters and high quality products on the citizens themselves. Whatever the reason, the citizens of the Confederacy of Man went into the Dread Lord War in high spirits, though they may not be getting much money.

And yet...for months, the Dread Lords remained elusive, with precious time lost trying to search for them. While the exploration and scouting parties detected no trace of the Dread Lords, they did run into another rather curious civilization - the Dark Yor, a machine species related to the Yor - only far, far more erratic and dangerous. The Confederacy decided that the best approach would be to destroy the Dark Yor as soon as convenient.

2236 dawned with the Confederacy no closer to locating the Dread Lords. For some peculiar reason, the planet the Dread Lords had chosen was situated far outside of Confederate space, beyond the range of any of the exploration ships available. (Or, as some cynics in the Confederacy pointed out, they could be close by but cloaked.) Not taking chances, the Confederacy began to roll out new defense and attack units, including the CNF-10 Rampart, CNF-11 Flagbearer, CNS Hunley Defense Frigate, and especially the CNS Merrimac Frigate. While probably ineffective against Dread Lord technology, the Confederacy was already looking towards its other foes - the Ebarran Coalition, the Enaso Regime, the minor civilizations, the Snathi and the Dark Yor.

Finally, late in September of 2236, the Dread Lords base world was found. Known as Amalda by many cultures, the Confederacy found the Dread Lord world to be thankfully bereft of defensive vessels, leaving a pristine world ripe for conquest. A massive espionage campaign began swiftly, aimed at the Dread Lords' prodigious industrial sectors. With luck, the sabotage would cripple the Dread Lord war machine before a single ship was launched.

But perhaps it was already too late...two months into the program, spies reported the launch of the first Dread Lord defense unit, with an offensive power greater than the entire Confederate Navy! But curiously, the unit was primarily aimed at attacking and defending along an energy weapon line, a perfect counter to current fleet tactics. Clearly, a crash-program in shield technology and a different weapons system would be needed to counter the Dread Lords. Espionage was stepped up in the meantime, to slow or prevent the creation of new units.

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The dawn of 2237 saw the Confederacy of Man at a high position in the sector, an empire of masters and slaves stretching across more than half of the known space. Controlling powerful technology, the Confederacy outshone almost all of their neighbors...and the Dread Lords would soon feel the legendary military talents of the Confederate Navy. With espionage units in place, and generals promising total surprise in their attack on the Dread Lords, all that remained was to obtain the proper technology to make the assault on the Dread Lords possible.

Plans were put into motion to create a new fighter, cheap and expendable, to counter the Dread Lord menace...on February 8th, 2237, Confederate Navy officers announced the unveiling of their answer to the Dread Lords - the CNF-13 Rebel Cry. A small, manueverable fighter craft, it was basically an engine and guns strapped to a fragile cockpit, with wings and stabilizers thrown on almost in afterthought. Sporting twin Mass Driver cannons and the latest warp drive, the fighter had short range and a shorter life expectancy. But perhaps, with a strong first-strike, these tiny Rebel Cry fighters would be able to destroy a Dread Lord defense unit...Sidal I became the production home for the Rebel Cry Squadron, and fighters were soon being mass-produced from there. The first unit flew off the assembly line on April 22, 2237.

With tax revenues skyrocketing, and the treasury filled to bursting with blood money from slavery and other endeavors, the Confederacy began a series of retrofits on old defense vessels, starting with the venerable CNF-2 Sharpe fighter ships, now quite outdated by advanced in weapons and defense technology. A similar refit was intended for the CNF-8 Barricade fighters, but so many of them were still in use that the treasury would be nearly irreperably drained by such an upgrade.

Nonetheless, the Confederacy felt bold. With about two-thirds of the sector under their direct control, and colony ships still flying all over the region seeding distant worlds, the Confederacy had a right to feel proud. They even settled themselves on a planet in the same system as the Dread Lords themselves! With their espionage programs firmly in place, and with no need for more agents, the Confederate Navy drastically cut their espionage funding, confident that none of their enemies would ever know just how deeply they had infiltrated. Confederate Intelligence referred to the drastic spending cuts as "Black July."

By August of 2237, the first battle-ready squadron of CNF-13 Rebel Cry fighters, the 8th Fighting Rebs, was sent out towards Amalda, with fate uncertain. The pilots were not wholly optimistic about their chances - Confederate military analysts noted that if the first strike from the fighters failed, every fighter would be destroyed, probably instantly. However, with a trip of several months ahead of them, the pilots had plenty of time to write letters home and last wills - the chances of survival were pinned at slim to none. If they survived, and defeated the Dread Lord defense, it would open the way for military transports to invade.

Not everyone in the sector seemed to regard the Dread Lords as a threat, or at least they wanted to make sure that they weren't threatened by them. On November 1st, 2237, operatives reported that a peace treaty had been signed between the Dread Lords and the Ebarran Coalition. To the Confederacy, this only proved the decay and evil of the "xenos" surrounding them, making peace with an enemy to all. But for now, the Confederacy could not act - although there were plenty of troop transports circling Amalda by now, they were too weak to dream of attacking. The 8th Fighting Rebs, meanwhile, were still weeks away from their destination. The Confederacy held their collective breath as the days ticked by...

December 8th, 2237. Confederacy sensors pinpointed the location of the 8th Fighting Rebs - they had entered orbit over the Dread Lord world of Amalda. Now the gambit that had taken so many months of planning was about to be realized. After a final contact, the 8th Fighting Rebs went into comm silence. For hours, their fate was uncertain - even if the Dread Lords only had one vessel, that one vessel had more fire power than most star fleets did. Even with the support of brilliant tacticians and ace pilots, many felt that the 8th Fighting Rebs were doomed.

Time seemed to stand still. Vast bursts of energy were recorded scorching the skies above Amalda for hours, with tremendous shockwaves reaching out even to the parked invasion transports a few parsecs away. And then...nothing. No activity whatsoever. No one was certain what had happened...and then, approximately nine hours after combat had begun, Confederate intelligence picked up a transmission...

It was a man whistling...whistling Dixie.

Amazingly, against all of the odds, The 8th Fighting Rebs had managed to survive the Dread Lords' dreaded defender and destroy it. To many observers it seemed a miracle - the Dread Lords had unheard of technology! Shields and lasers beyond anyone's imagination! And yet a mere squadron of tiny fighter craft, no bigger than fifty meters each, had managed to do the impossible, and destroy the defense over Amalda. The Battle of Amalda had taken a great many hours, with the nimble pilots taking potshots at the defending vessel, trying to outrun the frightening death rays the ship kept firing. The casualties were high that day - two-thirds of the squadron was destroyed in the desperate gamble. But the gambit had paid off - the way was clear to invade Amalda itself. The 8th Fighting Rebs would forever be remembered by the Confederacy for their heroism and sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds.

With the 8th Fighting Rebs battered but still flying, they were quickly sent off to regroup near Amaldia V, just the other side of the Amaldia system. Now the invasion of Amalda from orbit began in earnest, with billions of elite soldiers filtering down to the planet. Amazingly, the casualties were surprisingly small for such a massive operation - spectators thought that with the loss of their primary defense ship, the Dread Lords simply had lost their will to fight. Others, however, suspected that it was sheer numbers more than anything else that sealed the fate of the Dread Lords - even with their high technology, twenty million Dread Lord soldiers couldn't stand up to eight billion elite Confederate troops. Amalda fell on December 15th, 2237. The Dread Lords had been utterly destroyed in the sector.

With the war against the Dread Lords won, the Confederacy of Man was understandibly jubilant. After all, they had just defeated the great nemesis of every race in the galaxy, the supreme evil. They felt proud and confident, and in the wake of their victory sought to do far better still. Now the Confederacy could focus on other enemies of the state - the Ebarran Coalition, the Enaso Regime, the many minor races thriving in the sector. With the Confederate war machine still churning out material even after the Dread Lords' defeat, the general feeling was that it was noble and just to continue the cause against the wretched xeno - more slaves for their industry, more slaves for their agriculture, more slaves for every walk of life.

At around this time, with a war effort against all aliens being stepped up, a curious social development occurred - the Confederacy began to stratify their slaves. The idea of multiple levels of society, usually based on wealth levels, was nothing new - indeed, the Confederacy enjoyed a great many classes, with a small but powerful upper class of tycoons and multisystem plantation owners, a respectable middle class of artisans, skilled workers and military personnel, and a lower class employed in various vital industries. But with the rising Xeno Wars, Confederate officials began to devise different levels for slave labor, in some ways reminiscent of the old Earth colonies of Spain, where differing grades of color were used to define their relative social status.

The Confederate Slave Caste system developed along these lines - pure human slaves were the best treated, usually taking up positions as servants, waiters, and other industries where face-to-face contact was required. Altarians were also commonly included in this class, but sometimes would up receiving lesser jobs in the same fields as pure human slaves, owing to their status as not-quite-humans. Most other races were relegated to menial and crude labor, with manufacturing jobs going to particularly tough aliens, and disobedient aliens being sent into military duty...as target practice. Altarians, especially those from the Enaso Regime, often wound up being used as living targets by Confederate soldiers, by dint of there strong resistance to becoming any kind of slave. The outright killing and even butchery of Altarians became so common, and so accepted by the military, that a variety of colorful racist slurs and slogans began to come into use, with Altarians being commonly referred to as "Alts." Some wags, taking terminology from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries of Earth, originated a slogan for dealing with Altarians - their motto was "Control Alt - DELETE!" Indeed, within a short time, Confederate military officers commonly referred to Altarian murders, executions and other atrocities as "deletions," perhaps because "deletion" seemed a rather kinder euphamism for killing.

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Ouch that took a LONG time to read, But spent a good time reading it. Well Done

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((Heh, and it's not even DONE yet! That's what I get for starting an Epic game with three opponents. I'd hate to think of how long this would be if I gave them decent intelligence to play with too...))

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((Oh! And before I forget - if you want a little view into the earlier history of the Confederacy of Man - well, the CSA part of it, anyway - there's a nice indie fake-documentary out there called "The Confederate States of America," which shows the history of the CSA if they had won the war...or at least, one possible mutation of it. It's told from a British perspective so that it seems somewhat more neutral. If you can find it, take a look at it!))

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Interesting post. Its nice to read a game that a player takes the time and effort to make interesting. I'll check up later once you have posted more.

P.S. Keep up the good work.

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Fate

Join Date 05/2006

Nice, I love reading these epic generators.. this one seems like its half way threw though, keep updating it till the finish aye. Epic generations are my favorite part of DA so far... but thats only because I dont have it! =p

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((Heh, thanks, but this wasn't created by the Epic Generator. This was done the old fashioned way - keeping a write-up and taking screenshots as you play. It does make the game last longer, in its way, and it also leaves people with a lasting impression of what you did. It can be cumbersome of course, but that's just one of the things you have to deal with...after all, you couldn't write a complete story about an entire game if you started after the game ended!))

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Fate

Join Date 05/2006

wow... that's some incredible writing abilities there! Congratulations, that's really indepth and well, cool!!! Keep up the good work, and let us know how the Confeds pull threw!

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two questions

is the crew made up of slaves or citizens

and do the human slaves have a union as in the star trek episode of earth two with the roman empire

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Great story, little tough on the slaves, but nevertheless. Keep up the good work soldier.

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Very well written. Hope to see more.

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Good story wish i had skills like that

kept us inform and when time let you another please !!!

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You see? This is really cool, this site should have a fanfic section for this kinda stuff. Maybe you wouldn't call it a fanfic section though... maybe "Epic Games" or something.

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This is awesome, keep it up!

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The dawn of 2238 saw the Confederacy of Man really begin to flex their newfound power. With a new system for placing newly acquired alien slaves in a proper hierarchy (many aliens had fled to Confederacy space with the arrival of the Dread Lords, which led to their rather sudden enslavement), and the resources of the Dread Lords at their disposal, the Confederacy began to prepare new armadas of warships. In addition to a replacement for the CNF-13 Rebel Cry - the CNF-14 Pickett - they also developed the first true battleship to be deployed by the Confederate Navy, the CNS Antietm. The first CNS Antietm was launched on January 1st, 2238, signifying the Confederacy's might in the new year.

But the Dread Lords' technology had already borne fruit for the Confederacy...in the utmost secrecy, the Confederacy began to equip a ship with the most terrifying weapons they had found...a missile system raided from the Dread Lords' stronghold of Amalda in the final hours of the assault. This weapon, a Quantum Torpedo system, outmatched every single weapon an enemy was capable of throwing at the Confederacy. With this weapon, the balance of power would shift decisively to the Confederates, a way of sealing the fate of every alien out there. And so, the Confederate Navy began, in secret, to design and construct a terrifying battleship of unheard-of power...the CNS Chancellorsville.

Even at this early stage, however, the Confederate Navy was already eyeing new acquisitions. The first targets on their quest for more alien slaves to feed their factories would be the minor races...and an appetizing target was right on their doorstep. Not far from the boundaries of Confederate space, the planet Theta Iota II had seen the rise of a fairly inconsequential species, the Paridians. By all accounts a peace-loving, pleasure-minded society, the Paridians seemed quite decadent to the Confederates in their fashion. With word reaching Confederate ears about excessively erotic events in Paridian high society and needlessly frivolous acts of pleasure, officers found themselves an easy target for conquest, a war that the people would support easily. With Propaganda Centers fanning the flames with accounts both false and true, the people began to demand a war against the sickening xenos, the Paridians. This was a war that the Confederate Navy was only too happy to wage...

The lights would soon go out for the Paridians...the night view of Theta Iota II would be covered in darkness...

With the plans for conquest laid, care was taken to disguise intentions to the outside galaxy. While the 7th Trenor Sky Squadron rerouted from a course to Amalda to a heading towards Theta Iota II, the official reason for the shift was the need to protect a Confederate colony on Umera II from marauding bandits and criminals. Quietly, preparations were made to gear up local planets for a border war, with production facilities gearing up to produce CNS Railroader transports and CNF-14 Pickett fighters. Research was invested in new Hyperwarp technologies and improved logistics. With any luck, the blow against the Paridians would be silent and swift, with little antagonism from other xenos. Meanwhile, the venerable CNS Merrimac frigate received a much-needed upgrade, equipping it with a broad range of weapons systems and the latest advances in propulsion, life support, and sensor technology.

As construction proceeded on fleets of ships, various planets were placed on strategic alert to provide war material and supplies. The main collection point for these vessels would be in the Umera system, a short jaunt from the Paridians' homeworld, and just far enough away so as not to arouse suspicion. The Confederate Navy authorized surprisingly large expenditures for the operation, not what would be expected of a normal one-planet invasion. At the time, however, the Confederacy was looking at both the short-term and the long-term - any forces left over at the end of the Paridian campaign would be free to pursue other xeno targets...

A great many changes began to shake up the Confederate Navy. The CNF-13 Rebel Cry fighters, so useful during the Dread Lord campaign, were ordered to be retrofitted to the CNF-14 Pickett specifications on February 15th, 2238. Plans were also afoot to retrofit existing CNF-6 Grenadier and CNF-8 Barricade units to optimal specs, despite the tremendous cost such an upgrade would pose to the treasury. The Trenor Shipyards, meanwhile, were producing capital ships for a new massive fleet, the Grand Armada, with the first CNS Chancellorsville class battleship as its flagship. If ever there was a reason to cower in fear, the Chancellorsville gave plenty of reason. Many in the Confederate Navy felt themselves practically invincible, dealing with foes who were apparently so inept they couldn't even root out any of the spies lurking in their midst, or protest when invasion ships moved too close to them...

Even with the extensive refits already underway, the Confederate Navy still felt that more defense was needed. To that end, a new defense fighter was designed - the CNF-16 Barbican. Armed with the most power array of weapons yet seen on a defensive fighter, the Barbican also included a range extension, which would allow it to venture further should it need to reinforce an auxulliary outpost or colony. Its most impressive feature was its sheer armament, fully benefiting from Dread Lord technology. The design was deemed useful but perhaps a bit overpowering for some circumstances, and so plans were developed to produce alternate versions of the CNF-16 as time progressed, and different technologies dictated the balance of power and use of weapons systems. Nevertheless, the CNF-16 Barbican would be hailed as a marvel of Confederate engineering.

Events began to move quickly on the invasion timetable, with ships being created by the dozens, from concentrated manufacturing centers like the Trenor system and Amalda. On June 8th, 2238, the vaunted Grand Armada made its maiden voyage, setting course for the Umera system to lead the charge against the Paridians. Espionage agents kept tabs on the diplomatic situation, preparing, if need be, to wage war on the Enaso Regime and the Ebarran Coalition, should they prove to have sided with the Paridians in an Alliance. The possibility of a multi-front war did not escape the Confederate high command, and so they made major offensive preparations along their borders. Cultural liasons, meanwhile, sought to convince alien worlds that the Confederate way of life was the best way, with floods of influential products and services - while conveniently forgetting to mention that all aliens who came into Confederate space would be enslaved instantly. Indeed, many mining bases in and around Confederate space had already felt the full brunt of Confederate slavers, with their workforces being composed of "disposable" xenos exclusively.

July 15th, 2238 marked a major milestone for the Confederacy of Man - on that day, with the acquisition of the colony Wilea II, the Confederacy had grown to 300 planets and nearly 2 trillion citizens, an almost unheard of number. With the Confederate holdings dwarfing all nearby civilizations, plans were made to bring the entire sector under Confederate control. To that end, new attack and defense units were planned, morale boosters were organized, and research routed to the full-time exploration of new weapon and defensive systems. The first new fighter to roll off the assembly line was the CNF-17 Cannonade, a cheap but powerful heavy fighter designed with massed wave attacks in mind - like the tiny CNF-13 Rebel Cry and CNF-14 Pickett fighters before, the larger CNF-17 benefited from large concentrations of relatively cheap, easy to replace units. Meanwhile, Mk II versions of the venerable Merrimac frigate began to make their apperance, either as part of the Grand Armada or as support units for transport fleets. The vast majority of Confederate offensive forces, however, was concentrated in tiny, two-man fighters like the CNF-14 Pickett.

On August 22nd, 2238, the 8th Fighting Rebs arrived at the Umera rally sector, prepared to once again go down into the history books. Significantly expanded since their legendary assault on the Dread Lords, the 8th Fighting Rebs had also been given escort duty - namely, they were assigned to escort two CNS Railroader class advanced transports, each one capable of bringing two billion troops to bear on any battlefield. With the Rebs fully enforced and ready for action, Confederate High Command sent them off into combat post-haste. The other units at Umera, notably the 7th Trenor Sky and 9th Pickett's Boys, along with the 3rd Transport Fleet, would have to wait until later to participate in assaults. For now, the 8th Fighting Rebs would be the first on the scene in the first Xeno War...

On September 8th, 2238, the 8th Fighting Rebs, supported by the Grand Armada itself, assaulted the planet Theta Iota II with ground troops - the Paridians, apparently either not realizing the threat or unable to gain enough funds, had completely neglected to defend their planet's orbit. The battle was thus decided on the surface of the planet itself, with information warfare enticing xeno squads to either surrender or switch sides entirely. Although the Confederate troops were still outnumbered, they had an immense technological and training advantage, a sharp edge honed by the Dread Lord conflict. In the end, Theta Iota II fell to the Confederate forces, and the Paridians ceased to exist as a sovereign nation. No other civilization filed so much as a protest over the action, with the Ebarran Coalition and the Enaso Regime remaining strangely quiet. Either they were not ready to show their cards yet, or they felt that the Paridians deserved destruction. Either way, this lack of response emboldened the Confederacy to set their sights ever higher. A short week after the Paridians had fallen, the 9th Pickett's Boys squadron moved towards Lentzlandians III to enforce Pax Confederata on the hapless LentzLandians. The 3rd Transport Fleet, meanwhile, was sent off to deal with the Vegans, while the Grand Armada was sent after the dangerous Dark Yor.

More battles began to unfold in rapid time. Just a month after the fall of the Paridians, the LentzLandians felt Confederate might, as the 9th Pickett's Boys assaulted the planet with unmitigated ferocity. Tens of billions of LentzLandians were either enslaved after surrender or slaughtered wholesale. Exaggerated accounts speak of valleys filling with blood, of piles of corpses the size of mountains, of vast slaver ships swallowing entire cities. The likelier truth is that while atrocities took place, they did not go to such an extravagent extent, since to the Confederates, dead aliens were useless as slaves. As several armies mopped up the LentzLandian campaign and sent slaves all across the galaxy, the 9th Pickett's Boys quickly departed to take on the Snathi. It appeared that the
Confederate war machine was gaining great momentum, with vast fleets plying across space and subduing lesser civilizations. It would only be a matter of time before the Enaso Regime and Ebarran Coalition would feel the full force of Confederate might.

To fully drive home the point on the might of the Confederacy of Man, a new, terrifying warship was designed - the first ship to be rightly called a Dreadnought - the CNS Jefferson Davis class. Armed with a frightening array of quantum torpedoes and phasors, the CNS Jefferson Davis was truly a force to be reckoned with, the most powerful ship the Confederacy had ever designed or fielded. This monstrous weapon of war was so feared by some than they dubbed it the Nightmare, and it was truly a nightmarish vessel to behold, frighteningly fast and with a range of massive proportions. The CNS Jefferson Davis was, to some, not just a dreadnought - it was a one-vessel fleet in its own right. Although designed in 2238, it would be some time before the massive craft would be constructed - indeed, few naval yards in the Confederacy were yet capable of handling such a massive vessel in their docks, and so a conversion process was begun on several, including the capital planet of Gettysburg. Nonetheless, with the sheer speed at which many of the fleets were assaulting alien worlds, it was unclear to Confederate planners if the CNS Jefferson Davis would ever see real combat.

At the same time as the CNS Jefferson Davis was taking shape in various shipyards, the Confederate Navy also decided it was time to modernize an aging defense vessel, the CNS Hunley class defense frigate. Taking some pages from the design of the CNS Jefferson Davis, the CNS Montgomery was built to take advantage of many of the same weapons systems as her much larger cousin, utilizing quantum torpedo technology raided from the Dread Lords, as well as phasors and singularity drivers. Given the massive surplus available to the Confederate Navy due to a high sustainable tax rate, the plan was to instigate a massive upgrade of all existing CNS Hunley frigates, replacing them with the more modern CNS Montgomery. On October 22, 2238, this massive upgrade began, with trillions of credits worth of treasury funds being diverted to modernize and retrofit aging CNS Hunley vessel. The upgrade, although extremely costly - in the end it was calculated to have taken a full 1/6 bite out of the existing treasury (or 139000 BC approximately) - it was felt that the heavy defense would prove invaluable in the event that the Ebarran Coalition or Enaso Regime made a first strike. Confederate Intelligence, however, begged to differ, citing that the economies of the two nations had been broken for years, and that the leadership in power could not, colloquially speaking, find their bottoms with both hands.

After such a long string of victories, on November 22, 2238, the Confederacy of Man suffered a reverse - the Vegans, thought to be the weakest alien culture in the sector, turned out to be more than passable warriors in their own right. Using ambush and guerilla warfare techniques, the Vegans managed to hold off and destroy an entire Confederate invasion force, rendering the 3rd Transport Fleet without any troops to continue the invasion. Irked but not completely beaten, the Confederates retreated from Ditla II for a time to lick their wounds and request more soldiers for their fleet. Moving the fleet to the Hammer system, the Confederate Navy sent along some funds to Hammer II to construct new transport vessels with greater troop-carrying capacity. Unfortunately, Hammer II's production facilities proved to be rather slow, and so it would take a great deal of time for these new transports to be prepared and ready to fly. In the meantime, other fleets continued to their targets, in the hopes that they would be more successful in their missions.

The 9th Pickett's Boys would not disappoint. On December 1st, 2238, they arrived over the planet Snathi II, home of the evil squirrel-like race known as the Snathi. Although initial sensor scans picked up a large fleet of vessels circling over the planet, later scans would indicate that the majority of them were civilian vessels, mostly freighters. That meant that although the 8th Pickett's Boys would only be fighting one true warship, they would also have to destroy several civilian vessels. It was decided that a slaver run would be enacted to capture the crews of the massive freighters, and so slave vessels were accompanying the fighters as they flew down onto Snathi II's fleets. In the end, the Snathi ships proved no match for Confederate might, and one by one, the Snathi vessels were destroyed, their crews captured and enslaved for the ever-increasing Confederate war effort. Indeed, so quickly did the Snathi space defenses fall that within a matter of hours, ground invasion had commenced, with the fighters providing a screen against any other potential defenders laying in wait further away. The Snathi turned out to be very poor soldiers, and were utterly crushed by the Confederate armies. The remaining Snathi were immediately enslaved, and the 9th Pickett's Boys went off to fight on other fronts, leaving a puppet government behind to govern the newly acquired slaves. The fall of Snathi happened with such stunning speed that even Confederate observers were surprised. Now, thought most observers, the Confederacy of Man was truly unstoppable.

Just a week later, the Grand Armada reached the homeworld of the Dark Yor, and found that like the Snathi homeworld, the Dark Yor homeworld had a screen of freighters orbiting over the world. This time, there were no true defensive units at all to bother the Grand Armada. Additionally, since the Dark Yor were so bent on the destruction of all life, the Confederate High Command decided unanimously that their utter destruction was the only reasonable course of action. The carnage against the Dark Yor was immense, with so much debris being created that much of it rained back down upon the Dark Yor, causing more destruction. The Grand Armada destroyed every last Dark Yor vessel, and soon prepared to attack from orbit. The invasion of the Dark Yor homeworld ended in an immense battle, where tens of billions of machines were eviscerated and used for scrap to create the new war units so craved by the Confederacy. The Dark Yor, like the Snathi, had fallen astonishingly fast...almost TOO fast. Here was a machine race, supposedly among the fiercest and most evil warriors in the universe, and they had been destroyed completely in less than a day. Something else must be at work here, Confederate scientists thought - the Dark Yor couldn't be naturally THIS stupid and slow!

At around the same time, a scientist on the periphery of Confederate science, a Dr. James Winslow Cardiff, proposed a theory as to why the sector was so inundated by morons and buffoons. Apparently, though the Ennui Plague had been erradicated very effectively by Confederate doctors six years earlier, alien species exposed to the plague became even more apathetic than humans exposed to it. For some reason, the plague reacted strongly to alien DNA, not only making them apathetic but also physically weakening them to the point that most physical labor became completely exhausting. So far, so good, but this did not explain how the Dark Yor could be affected. Dr. Cardiff proposed that the Dark Yor, in the process of liquifying other xenos for energy, were exposed to the Ennui Plague, and reacted quite bizarrely - although the plague could not directly infect them, the plague-infected flesh they processed turned out to cause extreme friction, causing overheating and mechanical seizing in many Dark Yor units. Indeed, had it not been for the invasion by the Grand Armada, it was entirely conceivable that the Dark Yor would have simply self destructed from the overtaxing of their systems.

Theories aside, the Confederacy of Man was exploiting the disadvantages of its enemies to brilliant effect. With 2239 dawning, the Confederacy of Man launched an assault with the 9th Pickett's Boys on the Jarkians, a relatively minor race with little advantages over Confederate firepower. Ground combat was heated, but despite being outnumbered more than 3 to 1, the Confederates managed to just gain the upper hand over the Jarkians, securing yet another colony for their use, and more slaves for their factories. On the same day as the Jarkians fell, the dreaded CNS Jefferson Davis became a firm reality - the first vessel launched from Amalda, part of a new massive fleet dedicated to the destruction of all xeno races. Time was running short for the enemies of the Confederacy - who would fall next?

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Fate

Join Date 05/2006

This is sooo good mate, keep it coming! Vote 1 the destruction of the Enaso Regime!

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Just Wait till he goes after the MAJOR races!

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((Actually, I think I set the AI to be WAY too weak in this one - they're not putting up a fight. Maybe for a next encounter for the Confederacy of Man I'll use a higher AI - and probably, some newer civilizations for the Confederacy to fight against. At the moment I'm working on developing a race called the Pax Machina - very Yor-like in a way, but I wanted to make them seem even more machine-like, so if I do an AAR for them, I'll write it in a rather more technical style, a bit like a computer readout. Of course, I realize that'd be a hard style to read, so I'll add notes from a "cryptanylist" to clarify and add more flavor than the dry reports might suggest.))

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Fate

Join Date 05/2006

yea screw dry reports! I think you should just go on a rampage and kill/enslave everything in this sector before you move on though, coz that's the only thing to do to easy bots

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This is really interesting and well-written, but as you said, I think you've neutered the AI so much that this is almost a little on the boring side.

Still a good read though.

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((Heh, yes, I plan to fix that on the next game I play as the Confederacy of Man. I want to be sure that things are a bit more shaken up. Actually, I was playing a Normal game as the Enaso Regime, but I found the pace to be a bit too hectic for me, though strictly speaking I was doing rather well...I also found that if one gets a very high military power, the "Super Dominator" ability can cause massive slowdown as the computer deals with hundreds of corvettes flying around...))

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The state of the sector in the early months of 2239 was one of war and fear - the Confederacy of Man, eager to gain new territories for their slaves to till and for masters to control, conquered planet after planet, swallowing up entire small civilizations and leaving destruction in their wake. The dangerous CNS Jefferson Davis dreadnoughts were beginning to make an appearance, and fleets of Confederate Navy vessels plied the sector unchallenged. It would be only a matter of time before the fleets of the Confederacy came to bear down on the Enaso Regime and the Ebarran Coalition. Clearly, they were in a significant bind. The odds, statistically, were stacked against both regimes, with both groups suffering from broken economies and poor leadership. Millions of their citizens were being routinely rounded up for slavery, or worse, outright slaughter, something that their governments could do nothing about. Confederate agents were everywhere, and they were lagging behind in virtually every single capacity they could lag behind in. Indeed, the Confederacy had acquired a surprising number of Precursor facilities, including major production facilities on the planets Trenor II, Valens II, and Lacroix II, along with the Dread Lords capital world of Amalda. With these facilities prepared to churn out ever increasing numbers of war material, the threat was quite clear to any civilization who took the time to look.

The Confederates, meanwhile, couldn't be more overjoyed with their success. In a period of almost fifteen years, they had grown from just one planet to over 300, a military greater than any in the sector, an incredibly robust economy, and the happiest population known. Reginald Elwood, though dictatorial in power, was held in the highest regard and respect by his subject citizens, even being worshipped by some as God incarnate, or a messiah. Such praise aside, Elwood had made the Confederacy a true force to be reckoned with, easily swallowing up every enemy in his path with his fleets and his soldiers. Even in Earth history, the old Confederate States of America had never known such success! New fleets were being assembled all over, with the Grey Dread Fleet, based at Amalda, being the most feared of the new fleets. The fighter squadrons also patrolled and secured the sectors under Confederate control, enforcing the law with an iron hand and a plasma cannon. Of course, with tax revenues netting over 10,000 bc every week, even the Confederacy could afford to be magnanimous...could afford to, but perhaps would not.

To secure economic and military advantages to their fullest extent, Elwood ordered the development of a new breed of constructor unit, one that could quickly and safely create new starbases around critical sectors of space, providing valuable automated engineering assistance. To facilitate this new plan, the venerable CNS Engineer class of constructors was once again upgraded, this time to a MK III unit. Utilizing the latest hyperwarp and life support technology, the CNS Engineer Mk III increased speed by approximately 40%, while tripling its effective range, allowing it to exploit resources deep in enemy territory if need be...and if escorted. Although very fast and long-ranged, the CNS Engineer Mk III lacked any significant defenses to prevent it from being destroyed. Instead, it relied on its sheer speed to keep it out of harms way, since constructors of this period were rarely if ever escorted. Considering, however, that enemy vessels dared not venture into Confederate space, the CNS Engineer Mk III was fairly free to operate within its own borders.

Curiously, none of the Confederate vessels developed during the period of the Confederacy's ascendence were trade freighters - historically, a very unusual omission, considering the Confederacy's dependence on trade in past eras. However, whether due to extreme xenophobia, a lack of technologies, or an unwillingness to let aliens have access to Confederate technology, trade vessels were never designed by the Confederacy, and thus, the Confederacy never committed to deep space trade like other comparable civilizations. Later, this attitude towards trade would be put to rest as the Confederacy of Man regained its historic high trade skills, but in this conflict, trade was not high on the Confederate High Command's priorities. Indeed, given historical attitudes about the rights of individual "states" or planets, the Confederacy of Man curiously chose not to pursue governmental systems besides an outright dictatorship. It has been speculated that Reginald Elwood didn't trust the populist attitude of the planet's right movement, and sought to consolidate as much power as he could within his own grasp to keep the planet's righters in check. Others speculate that Elwood gained extreme powers during a coup or other emergency, and was loathe to let go of those powers once the Confederacy had begun to reach for the stars. Whatever the case, the Confederacy of Man was not really a confederate system, but an imperium.

In February of 2239, it was announced by Elwood that two fleets had been finished and prepared for active duty on the frontlines - the Southerner Fleet, and the old 7th Trenor Sky squadron. Accompanying these ships were a number of military transports, bringing soldiers to far-off fronts near and far. It soon became clear where their destination was - the Ebarran Coalition. The Southerner Fleet left the Umera system on February 1st, supported a week later by the 7th Trenor Sky squadron. Hoping for a quick resolution of any conflict against the Ebarran Coalition, the Confederate Navy aimed these two fleets right at the capital world of Ebarra. At about the same time, the 11th Umera Squadron moved onto Ditla II, the location of the disgraceful Confederate defeat at the hand of the Vegans. Determined not to let the defeat go unpunished, the Confederate Navy sent a great many more troops with the 11th Umera Squadron, outfitted with stronger weapons and better training. It was hoped that this combination would accomplish revenge...on February 15th, the 11th Umera Squadron invaded Ditla II. With the forces more evened out than previously, the Confederate troops triumphed on the battlefield. The slaughter of the Vegans commenced almost immediately after victory was achieved, with the death toll ranging in the billions. Ditla II had not only been conquered, it had been utterly devastated by the Confederates. The few Vegans to survive were paraded in captivity as animals, imprisoned in confined cages and treated horrendously.

With the defeat at Ditla II thoroughly avenged, Confederate forces continue to move towards Coalition space. By March of 2239, the Southerner Fleet had entered Coalition space, within striking distance of the capital world of Ebarra. Officers onboard the fleet's flagship reported widespread jubilation, as the Confederates prepared to "whup some xenos but good." By now, Ebarran Coalition sensors must have discovered the Confederates, but there would be little they could do to prevent the oncoming onslaught - thanks to an intense recession, the Ebarran Coalition had no money available for the construction or purchase of new warships, even with the support of local asteroid fields for Ebarra. Sources report that numerous tiny transports, usually housing no more than a few thousand people each, left the planet Ebarra in the days prior to the Confederate invasion. Widespread panic is said to have ensued on Ebarra, but the exact details have been lost - the Confederates jammed much of the ongoing communication between Ebarra and her colonies, and many records have been either lost or destroyed. What is known, however, is that the Confederates were sure to be merciless, as they had been with the Vegans, the Paridians, the Snathi, the Dark Yor, and all the citizens they had enslaved and murdered in their quest for power.

On March 8, 2239, the Confederacy declared war on the Ebarran Coalition.

The Ebarran defense fleet, never very strong at the best of times, was utterly decimated by the Southerner fleet within a matter of minutes. The Southerner Fleet, comprised of a small core of frigates escorted by fighters, made short work of the Ebarran defense, in the process destroying an orbiting constructor unit. Nearby mining stations reported seeing brilliant explosions over the surface of Ebarra, and a few even reported seeing behemoth landing ships filtering down to the surface. The lights were going out on Ebarra, one by one, as hordes of Confederate soldiers assaulted the capital world of the Coalition with the utmost ferocity. Millions of slaves were captured and imprisoned aboard waiting slaver ships, and the death toll reached catastrophic heights. And yet, this was only a taste of the utter devastation the Confederacy would lay at the Coalition's feet, day after day, month after month, as the war raged on. A few survivors of the Ebarra invasion, interviewed years later as the Confederacy continued to gain dominance, spoke of the orbital bombardment the passing fleets of ships rained down, with one particularly eloquent citizen calling it "a grey veil of sorrow, a neverending horizon of death stretching across all worlds."

The Confederate perspective of the invasion was, of course, one of utter jubilation. When the news reached Confederate space that the capital of Ebarra had fallen in a matter of hours, many cheered - here now was an opportunity for the Confederacy to smite the aliens for good! News reports poured in steadily about the invasion, including how an impressive charge and defense was performed by a major general in the Southerner Fleet, the brilliant General James Stuart Early. In a critical ground battle during the short campaign, a brutal urban warfare campaign aimed at the capital city, it was Early who conducted his troops with perfection, conducting miniature pincer movements and strategic strikes to inflict massive casualties on his alien foes and minimize damage to surrounding structures. Indeed, it was during this campaign that Early, known both for his cleanliness and his boldness in battle, that gained the nickname "the Planetsweeper," suggesting that he swept away debris and filth - I.E., aliens - with a broom or duster as opposed to a laser cannon. On other fronts later on, he conducted blitzkrieg-like strikes on numerous xeno strongholds, also using mobile forces to help defend his forward-bases. In one memorable defense, often replayed in many video entertainment reels and a thrilling spectacle for the masses, "Planetsweeper" Early used outside decoys and deft feints from within his fortress to confuse and reroute the enemy forces, catching enemy units in numerous vicious traps that totally stunned the Ebarran Coalition forces. At one stage during the defense, Early even took up a laser-guided RPG dropped by one of his fallen soldiers, then fired a round at an oncoming Ebarran fighter, corkscrewing it to prevent it getting shot down. Early pinpointed his rocket right onto the fighter's engine, causing the fighter to explode in spectacular fashion, much to the amazement of his troops. This display of fighting prowess, a major surprise from an officer expected to usually command away from the front lines, was so spectacular that his soldiers cheered raucously before returning to fighting, a major morale boost that would prove important in beating back and even destroying the Ebarran forces.

The Confederate High Command was overjoyed by the success of the Ebarra invasion, and after the campaign many in the officer corps suggested that General Early be decorated in front of the entire citizen body of Gettysburg in a grand celebration. Upon hearing the offer, however, General Early slyly suggested that instead, the officer corps come out to Ebarra and commend him there, in front of the soldiers, pilots and officers of the Southerner Fleet. Although initially balked at by the more conservative officers of the corps, in the end Reginald Elwood decided that he would grant Early's request. Several weeks later, in a grand ceremony in the rebuilding capital city of Ebarra and in front of his entire command, General "Planetsweeper" Early was decorated with the Confederacy's highest honors, with the events being simulcast live across the entire Confederacy to commemerate the historical event. Many observers observed that in addition to being a brilliant commander, General Early apparently had a flair for publicity and pathos, and yet always remained quite modest - a rather curious combination. Some foresaw that Early might become a danger to the Confederacy itself, if he gained the ambition of taking power in his own hands. For now, however, General Early had no ambitions of becoming an emperor, instead dedicating his decorations to the brave men and women fighting under his command. He also made his appreciation of their efforts plainly felt in months to come, as he gave a great many promotions, raises, and celebrations in addition to the normal and intense training regimens the soldiers worked on.

At the same time as the Southerner Fleet was assaulting Ebarra, the famed 8th Fighting Rebs began their mission within Ebarran space - they were tasked at first with strangling the supply lines of the Coalition with hit-and-run tactics, as well as destroying major mining and navigation starbases. On March 9th, 2239, the 8th Fighting Rebs assaulted a military supply starbase at the furthest extent of Coalition space, a mining operation aimed at extracting precious laser focusing crystals and explosive material to aid in the Ebarran war effort. Although the base was heavily armored, the fighters of the squadron were able to neutralize and eventually destroy the space station, crippling the Ebarran Coalition's military capabilities in quick order. Indeed, the actual defense of the station was very weak, so weak that one pilot in the 8th said it was "like shooting fish in a barrel." The Confederacy swiftly began to exploit these freed resources for their own use, sending back the war materials to forward supply bases and rear-ward production facilities. A short week later, on March 15th, 2239, many of these supplies were brought to bear, as the 7th Trenor Sky squadron successfully assaulted and conquered the planet Ebarra II, effectively removing the Ebarra system from Coalition control. The 7th Trenor Sky soon relieved the Southerner Fleet from its regular patrol duties, and many parts of the Southerner Fleet soon moved towards other Ebarran Coalition planets unimpeded. At the same time, the Grey Dread fleet launched from Amalda and pushed up towards the Ebarran Coalition as well, heading towards the Quatrale system and seeking to recreate some of the glories of the assault on Ebarra a short time before.

As it turned out, many of the fleets wouldn't have a chance to prove themselves in battle yet. A scant few days after the loss of the entire Ebarra system to the Confederacy, the Coalition government-in-exile officially surrendered unconditionally to Confederate forces. It had been a stunning victory for the Confederacy, as in the course of just three weeks, the Ebarran Coalition had been completely taken, a victory so fast that it stunned everyone, even skeptical observers and antiwar protestors. Now the Ebarran Coalition's citizens were sent off as slave laborers to various factories around the Confederacy, with the Ebarran Coalition's head in the sector, Doge Rikthar, being executed under the accusation (falsely, as it turned out) that he had been a primary instigator of the defeat of Confederate forces on Ditla II. Outside observers remarked that the Confederacy had lied about all of the details of the so-called "crimes" in a puppet court as an excuse to murder a potentially dangerous leader. Very few details about the trial itself have been disclosed at all, and any attempts to find more information are politely but firmly rejected. Whatever the legality and morality of the trial of Doge Rikthar, it was clear that the Confederacy had scored a major victory in their ongoing drive for galactic dominance.

With the Ebarran Coalition safely removed from the picture, the Confederacy turned to other conquests. On March 22nd, the Confederacy launched an assault on the Paulos, with the 12th Yankee Busters squadron leading the charge and protecting the transports. Thanks to magnificent planning and great advantages in technology and luck, the Paulos fell to the Confederacy in record time, leaving the Confederates with a prime planet in their control. Additionally, the Confederacy rerouted the Grey Dread fleet to deal with the Carinoids, another small thorn in the Confederacy's side. The Confederacy's main aim, however, remained the annihilation of the Enaso Regime, the only major threat remaining to the Confederacy's power. Fleets that had been earmarked for the Ebarran campaign were redirected to enter Enaso Regime territory quickly, with the intent of crippling the Enaso Regime as fast as possible. General "Planetsweeper" Early was placed in charge of the entire operation from his Southerner Fleet, and Early, characteristically, performed a swift and decisive move. On the same day as the 12th Yankee Busters were conquering Paulos, Early sent the elite 8th Fighting Rebs on to a critical starbase for the Enaso Regime, a base known to be producing massive amounts of entertainment and morale products. Hardly a military significant target, it was nevertheless thought that a sufficient blow to this facility would be useful in bringing the Enaso Regime to its knees. True to form, Early had made an effective move - the 8th Fighting Rebs destroyed this starbase as easily as the one they had been sent against a few weeks earlier, and the Enaso Regime lost a major entertainment source.

More victories began to follow for the Confederacy. On April 8th, 2239, the Grey Dread fleet made planet orbit over the Carinoids' homeworld, and soon began to relentlessly bombard the planet, sending in massive numbers of troop transports to the surface. The Confederates quickly overran the planet, and the Grey Dread fleet remained above to enforce Confederate law, as well as resupply units with their stolen gains. Just a day later, the 8th FIghting Rebs captured the Enaso Regime world of Thebes II, a planet already on the verge of cultural revolt thanks to its long-time proximity to Confederate space. The 8th Fighting Rebs then swept into Regime territory, harrassing vessels and destroying mining installations unimpeded, the Enaso Regime fleets being either wrecked beyond repair or otherwise occupied. It seemed to most that nothing could stop the Confederacy from taking over the entire sector. To reinforce this, on April 15th the old Grand Armada struck at another Enaso Regime starbase, this time a crucial research station located a short distance from the old Dark Yor homeworld. With this research station destroyed, the Enaso Regime would be even less capable of countering new Confederate weapons and defense systems. For all intents and purposes, the Enaso Regime seemed doomed.

As victory after victory came to the Confederacy of Man, and billions of alien slaves entered into servitude, Confederate citizens recoiled at some of the ghastly practices that these aliens had brought with them. Xenophobia, already quite prominent and encouraged in Confederate society, became a massive epidemic, with virtually any alien influence being shut out by panicked and enraged citizens. Curiously, this xenophobia seems to have taken to the other alien races in the sector as well, and a massive backlash against all things foreign gripped the sector like a vise, reducing the political influence of many of the civilizations, especially the massive Confederacy. This xenophobia only helped to fuel the war effort against the xenos, with billions of credits pouring into the Confederate coffers from both taxes and Confederate war bond drives. With these massive funds, the Confederacy could pursue the war as never before, creating and designing ships of unheard-of power and intimidation.General Early, meanwhile, was quite busy. On May 15th, 2239, after a great deal of preparation, the Southerner Fleet under his command assaulted the critical Enaso Regime planet of Altros IV, known to have significant resources - including a Precursor Library. Eager to get their hands on this research facility, the Confederates made their orbital landing just south of this crucial facility. Facing them were billions of the Enaso Regime's prized elite troops, ready to give their lives to protect the facility. The defenders fought fiercely, confident in their 3-to-1 superiority in manpower. Unfortunately, they had not counted on General Early's willingness to use unorthodox tactics and experimental weaponry. In the massive battle over the planet that ensued, millions of soldiers died, and millions more were enslaved and forced to run the factories and research centers of the new Confederate planet. Early's contributions on this crucial battlefield convinced Reginald Elwood that General Early would be an ideal candidate for exploration and conquest outside this sector - the Confederates, hungry for power, already saw that this sector was beginning to get rather cramped, and so were already making plans for future conquests abroad. General James "Planetsweeper" Early would soon be more than just a household name to many Confederate citizens...

Meanwhile, the Enaso Regime had found themselves in a virtually unwinnable situation. Surrounded by Confederate fleets and pressed by massive setbacks, the empire here would not long survive. Sensing this, Heras Enaso, the dictator of the Enaso Regime, fled the sector on his own personal escape ship with several billion loyal citizens. The remaining citizens, faced with the sudden disappearance of their leader, began to bicker and squabble about the appropriate action to take. A defeatist attitude began to take hold of the government, and on May 22, 2239, just a few weeks after the beginning of hostilities, the government of the weakened Enaso Regime surrendered en masse to the Confederacy's major officer, General James Stuart Early. It was a historic occasion for the Confederacy, who for years had labored, toiled, and enslaved billions, won the sector outright. The military surrender of the Enaso Regime cemented the control of the sector, permanently placing it in Confederate hands. The great Xeno Wars were finally, at long last, over. The Confederacy of Man reigned supreme in the sector. But already, the Confederacy of Man was casting its eye outward...their enemies still lurked in further sectors...the Enaso Regime survived elsewhere, and the Ebarran Coalition was reviving...and more sinister enemies lurked far beyond the Confederacy's ability to see. So long as these enemies remained, the Confederacy swore it would not rest, not waiver, until all of them were defeated. The true rise of the Confederacy of Man had begun.

((End of AAR))

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correct me if i am wrong but the break down of the population of the confederacy of man

is

humans

20% slave owners
20% government elite
80% slave owners, owning large pops of slaves

30% free men who may or may not own a few slaves

50% slaves
10% indendurted servents
10% selected slaves (those slaves that have a chance to become free men not meaning that they ever will but a way to keep the rest of the slaves happy)
80% just slaves

aliens

top ranking alien slaves would be those that actually fought to protect their nations in this case all of the minor races

and at the bottom those who just surrended

one other note the squarrel race was found to be delicous(taste like chicken lol)

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