Reign of Chaos 2 Finale
Stepping quietly and solemnly down from her Thunderhawk, the Shadow Predator, Casene looked around her, taking in all she saw. This was New Taranto as she had known it - although the planet was ruled now by Galactica and not United Earth, it looked much of the same. Few people were about, and she was greatly relieved that they were all human. It brought a thought to her mind. How many humans actually live within Galactica? For all she knew, there could be millions, even billions. For all she knew, the Terrans may be a vast minority of humans. She smiled faintly, and then frowned at her smile. It meant two things. Firstly, that humanity was far from dying off. Secondly, that humanity was, for the most part, Galactica, and that it might well go down as Galactica in history.
She wondered what history would tell of men like Paladin and BattleDoctor, what it would have to comment about the Garland - would it see a titanic dreadnought, whose crew were bent on the destruction of all life? Would it see a graceful colony ship, fleeing from a galaxy of war and suffering? Time was always moving. The present was gone; it was now past. And in the future, the stories were all that mattered. Bloodshed meant nothing if empires like Galactica able to cover it up without a lone word denying what had happened.
Casene had fought many wars, but she had only lived at humanitys true home while she was very young - she had been brought up, for the most part, on the Garland. Herself and a number of other people had been selected by a random poll to board the Garland and travel to freedom. She had been only eleven then, and quick as her mind had been, she had failed to understand much of what had been happening. One thing she knew well was that she would be leaving her homeworld of New Taranto.
New Taranto, with its sapphire blue rivers and rolling, dusty plains, was to her the most beautiful image one could behold - its skies a strong blue fading to a pale green in the distance. The cities were pale grey, comprised of a large number of modest cuboid buildings. She had landed not far from one such building that meant something special to her.
It was apart from the other buildings, not on an estate of any type, and was slightly larger. The building was lived in - that much was obvious. She smiled faintly, feeling again like a young girl, coming home. She stood there for almost half an hour, just staring at what was her home, taking it all in.
Then she sighed. She would not enter. It was someone elses house now - someone elses home, not hers. Her home was back on Terra, and she was no longer a little girl. She had responsibilities, and she had to live up to them.
As quiet as she had entered, not noticed by the small number of humans who wandered the street, she went back to the Shadow Predator, her Thunderhawk. As she looked at it for a moment, she decided to re-name it.
For the first time ever the Homebound took off, from the planet where both it and its pilot were born. New Taranto.
She would put her past away forever. Both the dismal fate of her father, and the great achievement of her mother - the construction of one of the finest vessels in the history of mankind. Few people really knew me...Casene, they know me by, but know many know Im Casene McPherson? How many know my mother was Anna Balashova? How many...?
----------------------------------------------
The Qan fleet, towing the shipyard that had been a present from Galactica, and that would now be another needle in their flesh, hyperjumped into the Svass system, making their way to Voinia. The system was almost completely empty of Galactica ships - barely ten fighters patrolled the sector.
The Qan continued from Svass, moving on the Voinia...
...when they entered the system, again, they found little opposition. Their forces neednt have been cloaked, but for good measure they remained cloaked while they approached Voinia and Borb Station, the explosive power of the Qan reactors remaining hidden.
Once in range, the Qan decloaked, prepared to unleash the full fury of their weapon on Voinia.
In a glorious tribute to times past, two missiles locked on to the Qan force the second it appeared. The missiles apparently had been completely immobile, lying in wait.
They stormed forward, one crashing into the shipyard, the other into the Olympus.
One of the missiles had been rigged up with a set message, which was sent out moments before the explosion.
Dont mess with the Azdgari - YooOe
The two shockwave missiles, the weapons that had left Earth in cinders, incinerated the Qan fleet in seconds.
----------------------------------------------
Rima of the Zidagar and Carnotaur of the Mercenary Alliance both came down on Dames to meet with Emperor YooOe, and officially take over Azdgari space in the name of the Alliance. Mercenary Alliance troops poured through Dames and the other moons, quickly establishing control.
The Flagship project was ceased, and Azdgari scientists were convinced to continue work on it, with different supervisors.
Meanwhile, searches were sent out for Emperor YooOe, but there was no word of him. Not even the faintest rumour that he had left the system. No-one knew anything of him, and perhaps no-one would ever know.
One rumour spread, however, and that was that Emperor YooOe had personally fired two shockwave missiles at a force engaging Galactica in the Voinia system. This rumour was dismissed instantly by almost everyone, in light of the fact that Galactica was an enemy of the Azdgari, and also because shockwave missiles were said not to exist anymore.
Either way, it meant little. Emperor YooOe was out of the way, and the Alliance had been forged.
----------------------------------------------
Galactica was being forced to recover as quickly as it could. Mercenary Alliance attacks had become more and more fierce, and Galactica was struggling to keep hold of its systems. Of the eight hundred ships remaining in duty, two hundred more were rushed into production - in which time, two hundred ships were destroyed. The Mercenary Alliance attacked quickly, and fiercely.
For a long time the situation looked hopeless, especially when repeated attacks began coming from Azdgari space - Zidagar and Mercenary Alliance ships, but not a single Azdgari ship. Confused, and caught off-guard, Galactica realised that they faced total destruction.
Within two months, they had lost a dozen systems, but with the new frontier they pulled back on, they had a strong barrier against further incursions. Slowly, they built up their numbers, until after six months, they were head on head with the newly formed Alliance. They gained no ground, but nor did they lose any. Locked in a stalemated combat, the two sides continued fighting, for a very long time...
----------------------------------------------
The Haorn, hidden behind their nebula, were already beginning to re-establish their forces. Of fifty thousand of their most powerful battleships, approximately two thirds had been destroyed, probably more. Their assualt against the once mighty Prylak may have been successful, but it had come at a great cost. Now, like the wolves they were, they had come to lick their wounds and become stronger for their next journey out of the dark, deadly depths of their nebula.
Word kept coming from Haorn fleet cruisers that a race known as the Sijak had begun to grow outside former-Prylak territory. This was viewed as no threat to the Haorn, and thus they did not spare any crew or cruisers to investigate the reports.
----------------------------------------------
The Prylak beacon had been destroyed - or so everyone thought. Hidden deep in the corners of a system left unexplored, the wreckage of a Prylak vessel floated along aimlessly, everything dead, except for the beeping of one red light. The light of the Prylak beacon transponder, singalling a message sucessfully sent......
Thus ends Reign of Chaos 2
Special Thanks
Thanks to all the veteran players of Reign of Chaos 2; the people whove kept it going in its bad times. A round of applause to:
Captain Carnotaur
Rima
BattleDoctor
Thunder
Lord Asriel
REDchigh
Captain Whitehawk
Also, although Lord Gwydion and Arada Pilot couldnt continue playing, thanks to them also.
Each player can post a summary of their life over the next few months and indeed years if they wish.
Thanks again,
SilverDragon
------------------
Word.
