Okay, picking up the timeline where we left it with the Council, who have decided that human (and other alien, but mostly human) interference has become a threat to the balance of the Strand War, and therefore - as the Council see it - to the very species itself.
Many players will have asked - probably some time during the sixth hour of the domination battle - just why Council Station has quite so many Warships defending it. They would have been even more shocked to know that concealed within hollowed-out parts of Gadzair was another fleet of entirely new vessels which the Council had been building up for decades (or perhaps even longer) against this kind of contingency, and which dwarfed the station's defence fleet.
Here is some rare footage of a Council Battlecruiser (armed with Phase Turrets, Dispersal Rockets, SAD modules, and carrying three Council Fighters). (This is just a draft design, but it's one of the nicer ones, imo.)
The Battlecruiser might not quite be a match for the Igazra, but it formed part of a much more balanced fleet than any of the Strands had to offer: in a similar vein, the Council Fighter would not be quite as fast (etc) as the Azdara, but it was still an excellent vessel; and a similar comparison would apply for the Council Patrol Frigate against the Zidara. The Council fleet also featured dedicated Carriers (with 6 Council Fighters, and a rapid deployment system like that of the Azdgari Warship) and, naturally, their own customised Arada (equipped with launchers firing missiles much like Pursuit Missiles, but in salvos, intended chiefly for anti-Azdara actions).
At the same time as they revealed this previously unsuspected fleet, the Council announced that the Strands were to be dissolved. The entire Crescent was instructed to submit to Council authority, so that all threats to the species could be dealt with. Only then would a new order be established (and it was not at all clear what form it would take. Were the old Strands to be later re-established?).
Naturally, all this was easier stated than put into practice. Some members of the Strands (including some in very senior positions) were long-time agents of the Council, who knew something of, and supported, its objectives. Others were willing to accept the traditional authority of the Council, despite misgivings, and despite the length of time the Council had been inactive. But very many would not abandon the identity of their own Strand so lightly, or give up its goals! Each of the Strands fractured into internal struggles in the wake of the Council's declaration.
The brand new Council fleet - built and crewed by hand-picked Strandless, who had been conveyed to Gadzair in small numbers over many years - was perfectly placed to exploit all this. They were dealt a few defeats - chiefly when the inexperience of the crews was exposed - but numbers, circumstances, and the balanced nature of their fleets gave them a huge advantage. The resisting part of each of the Strands was fighting its own separate losing battle.
This anarchy in the Strands only contributed to the chaos in the North and South Tips. The Council now offered an open invitation to Strandless to return to the heartworlds of the Crescent (in exchange for their loyalty to the Council, of course). Many set out to take up that offer in whatever ship they could come by, though many remained. In the opposite direction came many refugee members of the Strands, unconcerned, at this point, as to allegiance to Strand or Council, but just hoping to find a safer refuge from the wars. They were disappointed, as Renegades (and Azdgari raiders too) profited amidst the confusion. In the North Tip - where the destruction of Outpost Zachit had already worsened the situation greatly - the Miranu began an evacuation of all their citizens who wanted to leave the region.
Some stability began to return when, overnight, the remaining loyalist Igadzra gave their acceptance of Council authority. Freed on that front, the Council fleets were able to push the other two Strand loyalists back. The Zidagar loyalists retreated to what had been their most remote frontier, also seizing North Tip worlds as the Miranu abandoned them. The Azdgari die-hards were reduced to a desperate existence, hounded up and down the Crescent, with only small asteroids and remote moons as temporary refuges. But most of the population of all the (former) Strands, and all of the (former) Strand homeworlds had now been brought under Council rule.
As the surrendered Igadzra fleets were being broken down, however, considerable discrepancies were noticed. An entire fleet of Igazras (more than a dozen vessels) were unaccounted for. The Council leadership knew that, however quiescent the (former) Igadzra might be now, some group of them, somewhere, was, as always, up to something …
But there were too many other pressing events for there to be time to worry about that now!
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The above would all have been (a part of) the prologue to any sequel to Override. That is, these would have been just events that had already happened before the next scenario started. The huge events above are peanuts to what would happen next! This should give some idea as to why just adding more missions to the existing game would not have been a practical way to continue this timeline. It would have required a universe updated across the board - which I never quite got around to doing …
More to follow (at some point)!
This post has been edited by pac : 21 December 2006 - 07:12 PM
I could have sworn that the hire description had something to that effect. Of course, it is a Voinian jingoist captain you're talking to, though...
