I boarded my ship the Iron Vengeance as we left for the spiral. The upgrade was complete so I told them to use the older version as a weapon. Then I left to see how everyone was doing in the astroid field. They love the welfare check. I set up the new defense grid so they can work without hassle. They got the new mining equipment and rations. A man was sent from Niña. He asked us to sign a treaty which allowed illegal occupation. I told him to go home and never come back or I will my people to occupy his world. Søren retorted, "Sasha I have to admit we overpopulated. So I suppose it is a good idea to send our family to live in other worlds." The Niña embassador's face went white. He started to sputter, "You can't do that" I tapped my chin, "So if you do it. It is ok. But if we do it. It is bad. How double standard are you?"
He was sent with a message, "If they ever come again we will go to their world. We will either to bomb their cities or come to annex their world as one of our own." The Kaiser declared the invasion as an act of war and treason so he ordered the other nations to fight them as best as possible. He asked us not to annex Niña because it would turn people against us. Hae was covered with battleships as all the generals were summoned for a group discussion. I have seen this movie but still I went anyway. I requested the head of Hae security forces to check the room for explosives and listening devices. So they did. An hour later we were seated talking about everything but going nowhere.
I watched with boredom as they were haughtily discussing the different styles and techniques to use. Mostly it was just how their forces were the greatest while the rest of us were just kids. In the end we agreed to fight them and not each other. On the way out I was thinking, "Thanks for nothing." The Kaiser came to thank me to for suggesting the security sweep. They had found several listening devices. It was destroyed only after they located who was listening. He shook my hand and I exited the room. I waited my turn to go to my quarters. A younger attaché asked me if I was waiting for my general. Kai explained, "She may not look like it but she is our general." He stared perplexed. Another tried to direct us to the fun room. I waved him off as I went to plan the next round of attack.
The next morning I walked into the mess hall to see a few nations yelling at one another. Apparently the only way to fix this was a friendly war game. We were on the second batch. We had to prove our worth by fighting the Scorpios. They deployed their fighterships and I sent mine. I asked Roland to give them a chance to inflate their ego before he humiliated them. He wasn't laughing as he riled Kiska, Mischa and Adele. They got ready to teach them a lesson. I sat on the platform as the enemy stood in a neat row. I wished my family luck as they sat on the Cinder class fighterships. Roland took the front on his ship the Valkyrie. I sat down to listen as the head of Hae security forces explained the rules. Once both sides acknowledged they heard the rules the fight began. Roland made sure they were focused on him.
Roland was the one they chased. It was a mistake because Kiska was able to shoot down three ships. The other five turned around and got shot down by Roland, Adele and Kiska. I checked the clock. The friendly fight session ended in less than twenty minutes. The others were not pleased but said nothing. We went a few more rounds. The general from Kestrel asked us if we had experience fighting. I interrupted Roland, "No comment." I thought out loud, 'This guy is going to make us cannon fodder.' Roland agreed so he just shrugged, "We just got lucky." I explained to the Kaiser that this meeting was a waste of our time and resources. But since we won the friendly fight we received more weapons as presents. I would like a free spa treatment token. I heard Søren promise me to make that arrangement once the war was over.
I went home with my family. Søren was there to receive us. Everyone was quiet as they listened to my commentary. I was thinking, "This trip was a waste. But we made new friends and enemies. All they did was talk about how they are the supreme beings. Personally I wanted to slap some sense into these people" I did a moment by moment recollection. Søren laughed as did everyone else. Julian was smiling too. I cried, "I am happy to see all of you." A military car kindly took me to the barracks. I took a shower a change of clothes then sat down to eat. The food was good but the company was better. I felt everyone smiling as we discussed the next phase. We were amongst the few who were able to hold their own. Like I said the enemy is learning.
Once they have enough they will make our strength our weakness. So we need to come up with some ideas that don't give my family PTSD. I asked engineering if they have the newer fighterships ready or not. They present the new Spectre class sleek fighterships. The chassis was pitch coloured. They were shaped like a spear. The next was the vengeance class warships. They were obsidian coloured and they resembled harpoons. They were slightly larger and can house twenty people. They showed me the bulk carrier crafts known as the Vanguard class. They were dark blue with red danger stripes. They can carry multiple fighter ships. They can do repairs and maintenance. Drop them off at war zone. Then finally they showed me the deadly phantom class single person ship. They were deep space blue. I had to admit it was the quietest ship I have ever seen.
The next was discussing weapons. The first was the Emperical beam we called the Leech. It drained the enemy's ship as it changed our ship to full power. The next was Ghost Marauder. It duped the enemy missiles to target their own ships. The next was Razor blades. It looked like someone had failed to make a child's toy called the spinning top. Once launched it starts to spin wildly and activates the cutting laser. It spins and cuts so we will have an opening so boarding will be easy. The bottom held a bomb which explodes on impact. The next was Chew. A missile filled with tiny robots who will disassemble anything metal till we hit the kill switch. The next was called Ariya. A sonic weapon that will render the enemy unconscious. The last was Singe. It was designed to destroy the enemy ships and let the passengers live.
Engineering took the old ships and had them autonomized. I felt the astroid belt could use some protection so they were sent there to assist. The ship memorized everyone's faces and they began their duties. I promised everyone that we will all make it out alive. Newer and better blockers were placed. This meant the enemy can come from where we want to come. The enemy came from the space that was dedicated for tourists just Oleg had predicted. This time they seem to be bolder. I realised they must have gotten their hands on the friendly fight footage. Roland was amused as we got in position. They had trouble getting past the debris field and most were damaged by the time they reached us. We made sure they paid for every inch they took to get to us. I stared with baited breath. They opened fire when they saw us. There was no communication or discussion just blast away.
We raised the shield and met them with the counterattack. They sent missiles out way. I activated the Kamakaze drones. All their missiles were destroyed. They tried again. This time we activated the laser grid. A few were sliced so they had to take evasive action. We waited till they were in position and fired the Atrope missiles. Then a barrage of solar lances. The debris attacked them from behind. They were panicking as they tried to figure out what to do. An hour later only one ship was left alive. I asked them to surrender or they can join their friends in the afterlife. We disabled their ship's ability to harm us and used the tractor beam to bring them in. They raised their hands as we cuffed them. We explained, "You are prisoners of war. We will treat you in accordance to our law and the law of the galaxy." The medical team checked them for any injuries. They were given a sedative and sent to the military hospital.
We announced the capture of the enemy and a Scorpio representative asked if we could send a few soldiers to their sector. Søren made it clear, "Sending troops to other sector has been declared as an act of treason. We are not going to face the Senate as conquerors. We are humble people protecting our space." The Kaiser agreed, "They are just defending their territory. They are the immortal ones. So they can't send troops to fight our cause." Others wanted to argue but they were told not to disobey the approved rules of war. If they need help then he will send the Galactic military force to their aid. I watched as the others argued about why this war began. The Kaiser simply said, "Greed" An hour of yelling later everyone took a moment of silence for the fallen. The head of the Galactic military force was summoned so exactly how he will decide to divide his troops amongst the affected ones. I asked everyone not tell the others how we are winning.