819 lines
43 KiB
Plaintext
819 lines
43 KiB
Plaintext
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/_____________ /____________/ /____________
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__________/ / \ /___________
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_______________________________________
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_______|___________________\/__________
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T h e C o n f r o n t a t i o n
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SRE is one of the most popular games in WWIV BBSes today. The idea was
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taken from SEE (Space Empire Elite) for Atari BBSes (FoReM ST), and
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slighty improved. SRE is a fascinating game, and I've written a series
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of files based on one of thebest SRE game ever played. Welp, at the
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request of several people, I endeavor towrite my first SRE work of
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fiction. Please note SRE, SEE, FoReM ST, and WWIV arethe copyrights and
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trademarks, which are now being credited to their owners .This story is
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entirely fiction, with the premise being you know who Ultra and Mace
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are, them being the center of the story. Well, enough about SRE and
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about me,on to the story!!
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--=== SRE IV ===--
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The Galaxy was at peace. The ultimate battle between good and evil was
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finallyover, with good emerging as the victor. The Geneva Alliance had
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defeated the Dark Alliance in one of the longest fought wars in Galaxy
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history. Dune Realms was the wealthiest empire that existed now. It's
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ruler, SandMan was kind and generous. The aftermath of the Battle was
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subsided and now Dune was helping other smaller empires get on their
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feet.
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The Galactic Coordinator was pleased to see the Battle's end, and to see
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that the Geneva Alliance had beaten the Dark Alliance. Perhaps, he
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thought, the empires had waken up to the fact that the Darkies wanted
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only to destroy the Geneva Alliance in hopes of wealth. Perhaps his job
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here was over, and he should overseethe creation of a new Galaxy for
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seeding. Or maybe he should stay here in case any new trouble arose.
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The news shook the Underground. Geneva was shutting down to allow
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empires to devolop without any obligations. It also allowed the big
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empires to drop their financial commitments to other empires. Perhaps
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the Survivors whould begin to formulate a plan. MaceMan, leader of the
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once-feared MaceLand, was very pleased at the news. It meant an
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oppurtunity to regain lost fame. Lots of little empires were easy to
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fight than a big alliance. Mace began gathering thoughts on how to
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organize the few Survivors of the Battle and on how to begin a new
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Alliance to overtake the Galaxy.
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--=== Chapter 2
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UltraEmpire was not sure all Dark acitivity was over. The ruler of
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UltraEmpire, Kirk, was totally against the dissolving of the Geneva
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Alliance. 'They'll be back!' he said. He had been right before, when he
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told the Alliance leaders that the Darkies were back during the Peace
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Era. It was possible he could be right again. There were two solutions.
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Attempt to infiltrate the Dark network, or send BountyHunter in to do
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the job. Kirk decided he'd do it himself. So, he offically withdrew his
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empire from Geneva and shut it down.
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It was a joyous moment for Lil Red Empire and Jed's Solar Empire.
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FInally freeof their oath to protect other members, and to pay money to
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them, they could become larger. They had both conspired together to
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bring about the dissolution of Geneva, with aspirations of Dictatorship
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dancing in their heads. Their greed had severly hindered Geneva's
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chances at survival during the Battle. Now it was back to rear it's ugly
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head.
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Meanwhile, the Underground was preparing to join the Galaxy as empires.
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The Survivors were Mace, Dominion, and Mad Dog. They took over fellow
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Underground members, and had prepared a strategy. One new member, a
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certain Zakal, and someone who claimed to be a Geneva-convert named
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Khoteth had joined their ranks as well. With the Galactic Cooridnator
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gone away helping in the creation of another Galaxy, the oppurtunity was
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open.
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--=== Chapter 3
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Elite was built up. Ultra had warned him before he went Underground. In
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all ofspace, Ultra only trusted two empires. The Elite Empire, and
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BountyHunter. Elitehad boned up, preparing for what was sure to be an
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onslaught from the Darkies. He would've gone with Ultra, but too many
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new converts would've been suspicious. So Elite was left with the task
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of preparing the Galaxial end of space for war. With a hefty 2000
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planets, and a semi-large army, Elite began the task of warning other
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empires. Namely Dune Realms, but anyone who would help him was welcome.
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What was suspicious was that there were so many new empires. Dune
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Realms, Solar Master, always took over the job of validating 'New Empire
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Requests' whenever the Galactic Cooridnator was away, which was very
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rare. Many, many new empires were joining his Galaxy, and it seemed odd.
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Perhaps there was truth to the rumor that the Underground had been
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conquered by MaceMan and forced to sign up for empires. What Dune found
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odder was UltraEmpire's abdication of his empire. Dune hadnever met so
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dedicated a ruler as Kirk, so it just seemed strange he'd do something
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like that. Dune went back to validating all the new empires and setting
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off their Galaxial boundaries...
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So, -this- is what having an empire was like. New empire Khoteth was
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experiencing Empirial duties for the first time in his life. But, it
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wouldn't last. MaceMan, a brutal once-dictator, had taken control of the
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Underground, of which Khoteth was a member. Now forced to obey MaceMan,
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and his empire, or die. Khoteth, ofcourse, did what any right-minded
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individual would do; obey and stay alive.
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The control! MaceMan was now leader of his new empire, 'Steel Talon,'
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and how appropriate was that name! He would rip all the once-leaders of
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the dissolved Geneva Alliance limb from limb. He'd start with The Elite
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Empire, smallest of themall. He'd slowly work his way up, and eventually
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crush Dune Realms, his only remaining mortal enemy. Mace would've liked
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to have killed UltraEmpire, but he abdicated his empire, for some stupid
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reason. But Mace had power again. All the Underground empires he owned,
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and then his companion, ever-loyal sidekick, Mad Dog.Dominance,
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Valiance, HyperDomain, Zakal, and Khoteth, all under his control. So-
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Mace had an 'Alliance', and the Galaxy had no unity at all. This would
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be interesting..
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--=== Chapter 4
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Lil Red had finished his plans. After carefully wraught spy raids, he
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knew thestrengths of all the empires,and which ones to attack. First on
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his list would be The Elite Empire, who possessed the only large
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military, outside of the Big Three (Dune Realms, Lil Red Empire, Jed's
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Solar Empire). Soon enough, Lil Red hoped he'd be in charge of the
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Galaxy. Although the Galactic Coordinator posed a little problem, but
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nothing that wasn't insurmountable.
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The word was in. Lil Red would attack Elite tomorrow. Jed knew this
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couldn't happen. If Lil Red got Elite's wealth, Jed wouldn't have a
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chance at defeating hi. So, Jed decided to attack Lil Red before he had
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a chance. He gathered his military, and strengthened his defenses,
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preparing for a backlash that would be stronger than anything the
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Darkies could've dished out.
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War again! As UltraEmpire had feared, war was breaking out. Jed's Solar
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Empireattacked The Lil Red Empire, without provocation. Or so it seemed.
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Jed had sentDune a letter explaining why he would attack Lil Red, and
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asking DUne not to interfere, as the war would not affect anyone else.
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Dune wanted to trust Jed, after serving with him, and learning to trust
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him during the Battle. But the two of the three only remaining
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trustowrthy leaders were fighting each other, over the third trustworthy
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leader. Dune was torn, and decided he would lightly attack both empires
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as a warning.
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Ultra had made it. He got into the Underground, and had gotten alot more
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than he'd hoped for: Fourth in Command, and a direct servant to Mace.
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His empire, Zaklian Forces United, he'd named it, and himself posing as
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Zakal, was built up quickly enough to gain Mace's favor. But a fight
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between Lil Red and Jed's Solar Empire had occured, and that was
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trouble. Something internal was going on, and if not resolved, left the
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perfect oppurtunity for Mace's new operatives to start their slow take
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over of the Galaxy.
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--=== Chapter 5
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Everything was perfect. His old enemies Lil Red and Jed were fighting,
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and theUnderground said it was a power struggle. They both wanted Elite
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Empire's planets. If things went the way he thought they would, Lil Red
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and Jed would either self-destruct themselves fighting, or kill Dune
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Realms when he attempts to bring justice to the matter. Mace could not
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have been happier. No matter what happened, one of the Triad would be
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dead. Dominance and Valiance were not up to speed yet, their empires
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slightly slow in growth. They didn't get their Military-Income Planet
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ratio right when they started, and as a result, they didn't have enough
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money to stabilize their empires. Now that the empires -were-
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stabilized, they could focus on building militaries. The ZFU Empire was
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coming along unexpectedly well, for someone new to the Underground.
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Zakal had gotten almost as good a startas Mace himself, which slightly
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scared him. The moment for a Dark Alliance attack was drawing closer.
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Lil Red fought for control. His empire was weakening, from having to
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support an army twice as large as what he could sustain without
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reserves. Once his reserve cash flow was gone, Lil Red would be
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famished. Fortunately Dune Realms hadn't attacked them hard enough to
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sway the scales in either direction. Lil Red suspected Dune Realms
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wouldn't get involved, knowing full well that Lil Red and Jed could
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probably overthrow him. Elite Empire showed no signs of getting involved
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either, perhaps a sign that he didn't yet know why Lil Red and Jed were
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fighting. That was good..
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Elite was ready. His empire poised for attacking whoever lost today.
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Elite could feel the loss in his bones. Neither empire would be stable
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much longer. It was just a matter of who buckled under first. Elite
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planned to take them out now. In a sweeping motion, Elite took 200
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planets from Lil Red. Easy enough he thought. Unfortunately, now Lil Red
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would try to get those planets back. Elite knew that if Lil Red were not
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equal with Jed, Jed would take all Lil Red's planets, andbecome strong
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enough to defeat Elite. So Elite decided to balance the scales, by
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attacking Jed. The attack brought 207 planets in, and Jed was about to
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crumble. Elite now had 2,384 planets. Lil Red had 1,050 and Jed had
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1,062.
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Elite was playing his cards perfectly. Ultra knew that Elite was going
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to come out winning this one. By attacking both Jed and Lil Red, he
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assured himself complete success, while deepening the notch in Lil Red
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and Jed's empires. Ultra wasgoing to wire Steel Talon for permission to
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attack Lil Red and Jed. He knew he'd get it, and it would help Ultra
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become stronger, and give him a shot at destroying Mace/Steel Talon, as
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well as his comrades Valiance and DOminance. Ultra knew that this Battle
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would probably be the last, and that he, Elite, and Bounty could come
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out on top.
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--=== Chapter 6
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When was the Galactic Coordinator going to come back?! Dune Realms did
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not want to get in this fight, and with Elite in it now too, it was at
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boiling point. Dune had recieved an anonymous tip that the Dark Alliance
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was back in town, whichwould explain all the new empires. But, most
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likely that rumor was false, becuase Dune had seen to it himself that
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MaceMan was killed, and itr couldn't be possible. Dune had to make up
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his mind. He decided to attack both Lil Red and Jed very severely. He
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planned to contact the Underground and have them ship him some Nuclear
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Weapons. Although the Galactic Coordinator severly punished empires who
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got illegal Nuclear Weapons from the Underground, Dune wanted to make it
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crystal clear that the war was going to have to end.
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Dominance was slightly disgruntled. Valiance had wired a Galactic
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Telegram, and to his amazement, it seemed that two things would be
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happening. Dune Realms, acting Galactic Coordinator, would use Nuclear
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Weapons to stop the war between Lil Red Empire and Jed's Solar Empire.
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But more directly personal to Dominance wasthe fact that Steel Talon was
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considering making Zakal of ZFU his new third-in-command. That would
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mean ousting Valiance. Dominance decided two courses of action could be
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taken. The first would be to attack Zakal, and whip his butt. But that
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would probably make Steel Talon extremely angry. The second was to ship
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Valiance as much cash as he could, to help him make his empire stronger.
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Dominance decided that the second course of action was the best.
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Lil Red was in total disbelief. The cost of his greed was his empire's
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life. Dune Realms attacked full-strength with Nuclear Weapons, the
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second most outlawedweaponry available. He was down to 400 planets, and
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that was worse then quite afew empires. Lil Red's military standpoint
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wasn't helping either. He could no longer make enough money to pay for
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his armada. It was time to contact Jed's Solar Empire and call off the
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attack. Maybe a new Battle would not start after all..
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The time was now. Steel Talon had 900 planets, many more than Lil Red or
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Jed. Not quite enough to overtake Elite, and not near enough to have a
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shot at takingDune Realms over. But there was still a way to keep war
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going. He sent a covertagent out to make Dune believe he'd been
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counter-attacked by both Jed and Lil Red, and make Lil Red and Jed think
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Dune had taken some planets in an attack. Hopefully, they would believe
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the reports and spark off a new war, maybe leaving the oppurtunity of a
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dissolving Dune Realms open..
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--=== Chapter 7
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This was not just. The code of ethics, the laws of morality, all being
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defiled. Was it worth the risk of being discovered and losing the
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position of Galactic Coordinator? The deal he'd made with one of the
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empires went farther than the Justice System allowed for. What if that
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ruler was wrong? Or what if that ruler ceased to exist anymore? The
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Galactic Coordinator's mind was filled with the images of a past
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Universe. It had been half-full, when the Wars began. Corruption began
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to spread when the Ghetto and the Syndicate took over the galaxies. The
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all-powerful Universal Coordinator, and his understudies, the Galactic
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Coordinators, had not been able to stop them. Or at least, the Universal
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Coordinator hadn't. The Galactic Coordinators all made deals with either
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the Ghetto or the Syndicate,and abandoned all Justice in order to have a
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shot at taking over the Universe. So, the Universal Coordinator fled and
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started work on another Universe. And he hand-picked the only once-ruler
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he felt to be just, and able to keep from coruption. That man was now
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the only force in the Multiverse with unlimited power. Andwas he, too,
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going to be corrupted like the now-destroyed Universe?
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--=== Chapter 8
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The fight between Lil Red and Jed had almost been over. Then they had
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both started fighting again, and taking shots at Elite and Dune Realms
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occasionally. Hydroxinia had taken it upon himself to side up with
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Norland and The Forever Empire. He had to protect himself, and allies
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were the key. There were alot of empiresnow, but it didn't seem like
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four empires fighting was enough to spark interest n a Geneva-like
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alliance. Perhaps Hydroxinia and his allies could take out Lil Rd! It
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was an enthralling thought, becuase Lil Red had shown himself to be a
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man with -VERY- greedy intentions..
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What the heck were these fools trying to pull? The Lil Red Empire and
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Jed's Solar Empire were going full force against Dune Realm with
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occasional pot shots at Elite! Elite was very mad about this. If Nuclear
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Weapons didn't stop this, ovbiously Lil Red and Jed thought they could
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win. Which ment they might have Biological Weapons! If they had BW
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bombs, the Galaxy was in great danger. One bomb wiped out 200 million
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people! Not that BW bombs were cheap... They were expensive, and hard to
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get. However nearly-impossible they were to get when the Galactic
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Cooridnator was around, they would be slightly easier to find now that
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he was away on some sort of business, and Dune Realms was
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acting-Coordinator. Elite was gojng to attack Lil Red full-force, and
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eliminate him if possible. He believe Jed could still be brought back
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tot he light. The Lil Red Empire was to far off in greed to ever come
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back...
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Jed was winning. He had gained the advantage over Lil Red, and at least
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if they both died, Lil Red would go first. Why Dune Realms had prolonged
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the attack, he had no idea. Dune was a man of peace and this was not his
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way doing things. In fact it was his peacefullness that Jed had counted
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on before attacking Lil Red. No bother. He'd stop attacking Lil Red, and
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let everyone else finish him off. Jed could begin from scatch like he'd
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done in the past. Viper Pit was a small empire waiting to be conquered..
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Perhaps it'd be Jed's first victim.
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--=== Chapter 9
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The Organizer, they called him. HitMan, Head of Distrubution for the
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Underground, was busy. Dune Realms had ordered Nuclear Weapons, which
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could get him punished. Acting-Galactic Cooridinators were not allowed
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to have ANY illegal weapon. And normal empires got punished enough. Lil
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Red Empire had ordered Nuclear Weapons and Biological Weapons. Those
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babies were bad boys. Only someone realy desperate took the risk of
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ordering BioWeapons. Then he'd heard a rumor that the Zaklian Force
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United empire was considering a shipment of both Nuclear Weapons and
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Chemical Weapons. ChemWeapons were basically Biological Weapons on a
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lower scale. But they were illegal anyway. The Underground, and it's
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ruler, would be making atidy profit...
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HitMan gave the report. Lil Red had indeed ordered Biological Weapons,
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and probably intended to use them on Dune Realms. This was his chance.
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If Steel Talon got as many BioWeapons as he could hold, he would
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eliminate Lil Red and Dune Realms when Lil Red attacked. Lil Red was the
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only real threat, as BioWeapons could severely hurt =ANY= empire.
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However, once Dune was weakened, Steel Talon would move in and wipe him
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out. Another concern to Steel Talon was the fact that Dominance and
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Valiance were still not up to speed. Dominance had gotten his empire
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back to self-sustainable levels, but Valiance was doing horrifically.
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Tal had decided he would temporarily replace Valiance with Zakal as
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third-in-command and se what type of skills this Zakal really had.
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Dominance would have to start growing soon, or else someone would get
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HIS job too..
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--=== Chapter 10
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His empire was severely injured. Dune Realms had been attacked by Lil
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Red Empire with Biological Weapons. He was down to 4,728 planets from
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5,611 planets. Hisinsurgency was at Under Coup, and his military
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effectiveness was low. Lil Red had somehow afforded these weapons, or
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been given them, and might have more. DuneRealms could no longer stop
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any further attacks. Only the real Galactic Coordinator could, and Dune
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had lost contact with him a week ago. If only Dune had attacked them
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both very hard the first time, maybe this wouldn't have happened. A
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distant memory of the old Ultra from the Second War Era flooded back to
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him. it was a memory where Ultra kept prodding Dune, telling him he had
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to take action andattack the Darkies now while he still could. And
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Ultra'd been right. Dune held off the attacks, and the Darkies wedged
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their way into a War. Fortunately Dune, Lil Red, Jed, Elite, and Ultra
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had fought them off. But now a similiar situationerupts and Dune refuses
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to accept the reality of it. If Dune was destroyed, that would be his
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punishment for his stubborn nature. How Dune wished Ultra was here to
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give him advice, or that Bounty was here to give him a spy report. And
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he wished the Galactic Coordinator would get his butt back over here and
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restore justice.
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BioWeapons. The new Battle was unfolding slightly differently from what
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Zakal had expected. He'd anticipated Dune's reluctance to fight, and
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expected SOMEone to use a BioWeapon, but not the whole Galaxy. Steel
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Talon had them, Lil Red had them, Hydroxinia had them, and Zakal himself
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was ordering some to be safe. Tomorrow Steel Talon would be taking Dune
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Realms out. Zakal would get in on a real attack, and get some planets.
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Maybe he'd close the gap between himself and Tal. Ormaybe not...
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Ha Ha!! Lil Red was about to dance with joy. His attack was successful,
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and with a little luck, his empire would take enough planets to
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establish itself. DuneRealms was hurt bady, Lil Red knew, but would be
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back on his feet shortly. Lil Red needed to make an alliance with
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someone strong while he still could. The best person it seemed would be
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the Steel Talon, who Lil Red did not know. But the ZFU Empire and
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Hydroxinia were also out there, and might be willing to pact. He had to
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try something.
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This was going way out of hand. BioWeapons were illegal, and now it
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seemed everyone had them. In the past two days, 1 billion civilians had
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been killed in Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Weapon attacks. Elite
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had to stop this. His only options were to send in a Covert Team and
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steal Lil Red's BioWeapons and then destroy them. If Dune Realms
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couldn't keep the peace, then someone had to step up and do it for him.
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Elite wondered where Ultra had gone after he abdicated. Ultra would be
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the perfect ruler in a time like this.
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--=== Chapter 11
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Norland was getting nervous. Attacks were spreading. No longer was it a
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Quad-Empire War, but a Penta-Empire War. Steel Talon used BioWeapons to
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permanently detroy Lil Red Empire, and Hydroxinia was joining the
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attacks on Dune Realms in anattempt to plunder him. The Forever Empire
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had not mentioned what it was considering, but Norland guessed it was
|
|
going to join the war as well. As some had feared, the war went out of
|
|
whack the minute Lil Red and Jed began attacking Dune Relms, and now the
|
|
Galaxy was paying the price. Norland needed new allies. Strongones.
|
|
Norland didn't want to get in this fight, but his comrades did.
|
|
|
|
Once a Bounty Hunter, always a bounty hunter. Khoteth had put a price on
|
|
The Forever Empire's ruler, Nirvana. And it seemed one empire, an ally
|
|
of FE's, Norland was going to send Covert Agents to assassinate Nirvana.
|
|
Khoteth had successfully sent one covert agent into Valiance's empire,
|
|
and destroyed his banks. Now Valiance was penniless, and Zakal was
|
|
assured a Third-In-Command rank. Tal was gearing up for another strike
|
|
on Dune Realms. Steel Talon had an endless supply ofBioWeapons, being
|
|
the leader of the Underground. Khoteth planned to change THAT too..
|
|
There was a bounty going up for HitMan's head..
|
|
|
|
He felt the empire buckling. The entire Galaxy joined the 'Dune Raids,'
|
|
as they called them. They were all attempting to destroy the Dune
|
|
Realms, and kill Sandman. With Dune out of the way, war would be
|
|
imminent. Where the heck was the Galactic Coordinator. Noone in other
|
|
Galaxies had seen him. Dune still had the largest empire, but he wasn't
|
|
sure his empire could hold up much longer against the strength of the
|
|
attackers. He almost made Elite Empire the acting-Galactic Cooridnator,
|
|
but that would've been even more foolish, becuase Elite was not even
|
|
asbig as DUne Realms. Elite however was off attacking someone else, for
|
|
who knowswhy. Dune Realms planned to focus all his attacks, and
|
|
BioWeapons, on this Steel Talon, who seemed to be the leader of them
|
|
all. he was the biggest empire, followed by ZFU, Hydroxinia, and then
|
|
Dominance. ZFU wasn't attack Dune, however. Maybe DUne should contact
|
|
Zakal or Norland, the seemingly only ones not attcking. --=== Chapter 12
|
|
|
|
Elite sided with Norland. Dune Realms was almost destroyed, Lil Red
|
|
=was= destroyed, and Jed seemed to be headed the same way. Dune Realms
|
|
could come back, but he seemed to overwhelmed with his own problem to
|
|
fix it. Norland was really the only empire Elite thought he could trust.
|
|
Elite had received word from an anonymous tip that MaceMan was back, and
|
|
he brought the Underground with him. That was big trouble. If Dune was
|
|
exterminated, Mace would probably take over the Galaxy. Elite was still
|
|
trying to contact the Galactic Coordinator, but to no avail. WHy he
|
|
would leave and not come back was beyond all reasoning.
|
|
|
|
Steel Talon was enraged. He couldn't get anymore BioWeapons due to an
|
|
explosion at the Biological Plant. HitMan assured him it would be fixed
|
|
shortly, but unmtil then he'd have to settle for Chemical Weapons or
|
|
Nuclear Weapons. ChemWeapons were not enough to destroy Dune. Tal's
|
|
third in command was not helping either. Zakal refused to attack Dune,
|
|
stating he wanted a clean ercord when the Galactic Cooridinator got
|
|
back. Tal was about to remover 3rd-In-Command status from another
|
|
empire! The Galaxy was in shambles, for sure, and the Underground was
|
|
the only stable thing. Tal had no doubts he would take over the Galaxy.
|
|
But there wouldn't be much left to rule over...
|
|
|
|
The diseases had spread. An epidemic was now flooding throughout the
|
|
Underground, due to the release of disease and virii when the Biological
|
|
Weaponry Plant blew up. HitMan was going to tell Mace, but he decided
|
|
against it, knowing Mace'dhave his head. It would be impossible to put
|
|
the BWP back into operation for atleast half a year, and Mace planned to
|
|
take over in less than a month. ChemicalWeapons were quite effective,
|
|
however, and HitMan thought Mace might be satisfied with just those.
|
|
However now was Mace's oppurtunity to make a fortune. If theUnderground
|
|
sold BioWeapons to the empires, he couldn't give them anything. But Mace
|
|
could keep the money for himself, and further his Steel Talon empire.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 13
|
|
|
|
The Galactic Coordinator should be reciecing another set of instructions
|
|
soon. He now knew of the death and destruction rampant in his Galaxy. He
|
|
wanted to go back and stop it, but he knew it was too late for that. He
|
|
had to rely on the empire to do it's part of the job. He knew Dune
|
|
Realms had done a terrible thing:use Nuclear Weapons in an attempt to
|
|
stop Lil Red and Jed from fighting. How he wished he could be there to
|
|
stop it. He was a disgrace to all Galactic Coordinators who ever lived.
|
|
Letting his Galaxy go that far. He was the 'Chosen One,' theonly one
|
|
left after the horrible war with the Universal Coordinator who could be
|
|
trusted never to let an incident like that occur again. ANd here it was-
|
|
happening again, on the brink of an interstellar bloodbath.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 14
|
|
|
|
Dune couldn't hold up much longer. His attacks were directed at Steel
|
|
Talon, the seeming leader of the group. Tal, as they called him, was
|
|
stronger than any empire, even Dune himself now. Dune Realms had lost
|
|
over 600 million people in the past few days, and the total loss of life
|
|
was over 1,650,000,000. The GalacticCoordinator had written a GalaxyGram
|
|
to him, telling him he knew of the NuclearWeapons, and how the Galaxy
|
|
was collapsing. He said to hang on, for he would beback within two
|
|
weeks. Dune wanted to, but he wasn't sure he could.
|
|
|
|
Valiance was enraged. Zakal was refusing to fight Dune Realms, and yet
|
|
Mace allowed him to keep his post at third-in-command!!! Valiance wanted
|
|
to kill Zakal,but he knew that ZFU could easily overtake his empire.
|
|
Valiance was arranging for that to be taken care of, though. Dominance
|
|
and HyperDomain had agreed to destroy ZFU when the time was right.
|
|
Valiance would personally execute Zakal when the time came.
|
|
|
|
The Forever Empire was doing excellently. The raids on Dune Realms were
|
|
providing it with strength. Hydroxinia had been right; attacking Dune
|
|
was better than standing with him. Norland, however, was a strange
|
|
story. He was the smartest ofthe HyNorEvr Alliance, but he refused to
|
|
attack Dune. He also had a new ally, the strong Elite Empire. Forever
|
|
and Hydroxinia were considering dropping Norland from the alliance.
|
|
Hydroxinia was sending applications for the HyNorEvr Allianceto Steel
|
|
Talon, Dominance, Elite, and ZFU. He hoped one of them would join,
|
|
becuause they would make the HyNorEvr Alliance very strong.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 14
|
|
|
|
Steel Talon laughed with malice, joy, and vengeance. Dune Realms had
|
|
finally been completely destroyed. Zakal actually had the final attack,
|
|
which surprised Tal. But the final hurdle in his conquering of the
|
|
Galaxy was cleared. His vengeance would finally have a chance to begin.
|
|
He would destroy The Elite Empire first, as he was the only strong
|
|
empire left in the Galaxy. Then BroncoBuster would die, and then Tal
|
|
would declare himself Galactic Ruler of the Galaxy. He knew Elite would
|
|
be no problem, and Bronco could be killed now. In fact, Tal decided,
|
|
I'll attack BroncoBuster first.
|
|
|
|
It happened. As he'd expected from the beginning, as he knew, Dune had
|
|
been destroyed, and Zakal had been the destroyer. There was now no
|
|
acting-Galactic Coordinator, which meant Universal Law did not apply
|
|
here anymore. There's was the first Galaxy to -ever- rid itself of this
|
|
burden. Steel Talon thought for sure his plan was going to work, but now
|
|
that Dune Realms and Universal Law was gone, Zakal had a plan working
|
|
out in his mind.
|
|
|
|
HitMan was happy. Tal had been successful in his defeat of Dune Realms.
|
|
Almost surely now, all empires would obey him, and law would be
|
|
abolished. Thisof course mean free sales of ChemWeapons and Nuclear
|
|
Weapons.. HitMan decided to establish his -own- empire, and try out the
|
|
Galaxy Game called 'ruling an empire', a game at which many had failed.
|
|
|
|
Elite knew it was coming, and it had come. Now he had to figure out how
|
|
to escape Tal. NorLand seemed eager to help, with this new alliance they
|
|
had. Noren had official resigned from the HyNorEvr alliance, and
|
|
Hydroxinia had said 'Good riddance.' Hydrox reminded Elite of Lil Red:
|
|
Greedy. Well, the new HyEvr alliance was supposedly doing well, and
|
|
looking for a big empire to join it. Elite made up is mind to make the
|
|
Forver Empire and Hydroxinia join NorLand and Elite's alliance, the
|
|
'Genesis Alliance.'
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 15
|
|
|
|
The Galactic Coordinator heard the news. Steel Talon had overthrown Dune
|
|
Realms. The Galactic Coordinator had now lost all hope. Lawlessness was
|
|
sure to abound, and the Galactic Coordinator knew it was becuase of the
|
|
deal he'd made. If the Plan did not work, the Galactic Coordinator would
|
|
have to destroy the Galaxy, if that was possible anymore. He knew with
|
|
Steel Talon's strength it might nowt be. The Galactic Coordinator was
|
|
also considering creating a new Galaxy, and have it populated by several
|
|
empires, and give them all the goods they could have. He would send them
|
|
in to defeat Steel Talon if such actions became necessary. The Galactic
|
|
Coordinator didn't want to do that.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 16
|
|
|
|
Dominance had joined with Valiance in a merger. Valiance was not strong
|
|
enough to survive in this Galaxy which had become overrun with wars.
|
|
Dominion was mighty, but needed more planets and more supplies. Merging
|
|
had not been done in centuries, and it shocked some rulers. The new
|
|
empire was named The Superior Realm. Dominion and Mad Dog were content
|
|
that they could face anyone that came at them.They were also convinced
|
|
they could destory Zakal, with some effort.
|
|
|
|
A merger? That was something Zakal had forgotten about. Usually they
|
|
failed, becuase the rulers struggled for complete power over the new
|
|
empire. But this struggling could prove useful. Zakal had an idea. It
|
|
was a dandy too.
|
|
|
|
NorLand recieved the blow. HyperRealm attacked, but NorLand absorbed it.
|
|
NorLand wanted to retaliate, but that would bring the Alliance into it,
|
|
and give Hyper an excuse to attack Elite. NorLand had one choice only.
|
|
He had to leave the Genesis Alliance, and attack HyperRealm himself. It
|
|
was the only way...
|
|
|
|
Hyper attacked NorLand, huh? Elite pondered the dilemma. According to
|
|
his sources, retaliating against Hyper would bring Steel Talon down on
|
|
him. Elite knew beyond the shadow of a doubt he could destroy HyperRealm
|
|
in one day, but if he tried it, Elite wouldn't survive the onslaught of
|
|
attacks. How could he keep HyperRealm off of Noren's back?
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 17
|
|
|
|
Tal watched in amusement. HyperRealm tookan easy way of getting planets.
|
|
Hyperovbiously knew that any retaliation would result in immediate
|
|
destruction. And the Dominance/Valiance merger was a smart move too.
|
|
The Galaxy was coming to a more peaceful state. Jed's Solar Empire
|
|
hadn't done anything, as of late though.Tal knew Jed very well.. He
|
|
wasn't done fighting. Zakal of ZFU continued to be amystery. He had
|
|
refused to attack Dune, and then finally decided to finish Dune in the
|
|
final battle. Now he was asking Steel Talon to be excused from Talon
|
|
Enforcer Duty. Tal was pondering just obliterating Zakal to avoid his
|
|
rebel minded moves, but Tal also recognized a veyr strategic, very
|
|
clever mind inside of him. Steel Talon waited in anxiety to see what
|
|
would happen next.
|
|
|
|
Hydroxinia knew this was coming. Noren left the Hyever Alliance, and was
|
|
immediately attacked. Steel Talon was sending out 'Talon Enforcers,' a
|
|
fleet designedto keep the Galaxy under his command. Hydrox had fought
|
|
against Dune to rid himself of rule, and now he was under a power again.
|
|
The Forever Empire, however, was performing quite well. He was growing
|
|
steadily, and trade with Hydroxinia was improving as well. Things were
|
|
mixed...
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 18
|
|
|
|
The Time was coming. He was contacted for the first time, and told the
|
|
Plan had been made. Soon the Galactic Coordinator could return to the
|
|
Galaxy and perform the duty he'd been dealt. The Galaxy was in more
|
|
order now, not as much fighting, and no more BioWeapons. The Galactic
|
|
Coordinator was glad for that. Soon he could return, return to the place
|
|
he called 'home,' the place he had made full of Justice.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 19
|
|
|
|
Intruiging. Zakal wanted Steel Talon to force Dominance and Valiance to
|
|
allow him to merge with their 'Superior Realm.' Zakal's reasons were
|
|
beyond Tal, for Zakal's ZFU Empire was vastly larger than theirs, and a
|
|
merger required the rulers to share the new empire equally. But a merger
|
|
between ZFU and Superior Realm gave Tal a new tactical advantage over
|
|
the Galaxial subjects he ruled. He decided he would make the merger
|
|
official.
|
|
|
|
Why, why, why?? Steel Talon was imposing a merger upon them. It might
|
|
not havebeen so bad, but it was Zakal of ZFU! Superior Realm, of course,
|
|
would become larger, but that was beside the point. Oh well, they would
|
|
have to enjoy ZFU's newadded size to their empire.
|
|
|
|
Perfect. Tal said yes, and the plan was unfolding perfectly. The ZFU
|
|
Empire would soon join Superior Realm, and Zakal had a new oppurtunity
|
|
to do what he'd planned all along. Perhaps all was not lost. Soon the
|
|
Galaxy would be shaken by another Battle. This one would be short, but
|
|
it would be decisive.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 20
|
|
|
|
Zakal merged with Superior Realm. What -WAS- Zakal doing? He was full of
|
|
mystery, Elite knew. Zakal, the supposed 'Third In Command' of the new
|
|
Talon GalaxialEmpire. How could three rulers share an empire? Especially
|
|
the large size it was. One would be greedy, Elite knew.
|
|
|
|
The covert agent was in. His mission- Kill Dominance. Sent by someone
|
|
with a grudge, or someone who wanted to take over. The agent didn't
|
|
know, but he did know he was being paid alot of money. Fifty Million
|
|
credits was not chump change, that was for sure. But his mission was
|
|
accomplished, and Dominance was dead. NowSuperior Realm was left in
|
|
control of Valiance and Zakal.
|
|
|
|
Valiance was deeply afraid. He knew -HE- hadn't sent the agent. SO it
|
|
had to be Zakal. Or it could have been Tal. TAL had been the one who'd
|
|
demoted Valiance,and promoted Zakal. THEN he forced a merger on them.
|
|
Was he now going to make Zakal the lone head of a gigantic empire? He
|
|
feared for his own life. But fear couldn't save him. But Valiance knew
|
|
someone who could. He decided to go Underground again.
|
|
|
|
The Superior Realm was his. The plan worked, and Dominance was dead,
|
|
Valiance 'hiding.' Zakal would rename Superior Realm, of course. But
|
|
this was another notch in his scaling of the Galaxial Ladder.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 21
|
|
|
|
Clever? He was down right brilliant. He'd taken Dominance and Valiance's
|
|
empries and made himself twice as big with a little loss of life, army,
|
|
or money. Talhad every right to be afraid of this Zakal, Head Of ZFU, a
|
|
seemingly new brilliant emperor. This of course meant Zakal was Tal's
|
|
new Second In Command.
|
|
|
|
HitMan almost had the ChemPlant ready for operation again. Steel Talon
|
|
would glad to hear that. There had been some heavy empirial activity in
|
|
the Galaxy after Tal's takeover. It seemed Dominance and Valiance had
|
|
been tricked by Zakal, Head of ZFU. Valiance was requesting asylum from
|
|
the Underground, claiming it was Tal's plan to kill him. HitMan
|
|
couldn't deny it to him, and so he gave him a place to go..
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 22
|
|
|
|
The Galactic Coordinator was pleased. He had just heard news that
|
|
thrilled himto the very core. He also knew the Galaxy was about ready to
|
|
take him back. Soonhe been assured. He had found out that order was
|
|
being restored by Steel Talon who was setting up new Galaxial
|
|
Commandments. That was good.. A Galaxy without rules is like a ladder
|
|
without rungs, he'd always said. Soon, he would be back in control, at
|
|
home, in HIS Galaxy.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 23
|
|
|
|
He couldn't believe it. Zakal had just written him a note. Zakal, Head
|
|
of ZFU,was actually UltraEmpire! Elite had had no idea Ultra had
|
|
survived the entrance to the Underground. Now it seemed Ultra and
|
|
somebody named Khoteth were beginning a plot to retake the Galaxy. Zakal
|
|
would need the Genesis Alliance help, though.
|
|
|
|
When Noren heard of it, he felt a rush of joy. Zakal was UltraEmpire!!
|
|
Of all the unexpected things, this was atop the list. Ultra was much
|
|
smarter than Norenhad ever imagined, especially the latest merger plan
|
|
of his. But Zakal's plan wasn't finished, he'd learned. The Genesis
|
|
Alliance had a new purpose, and it was a biggy.
|
|
|
|
Khoteth was ready. He'd merged with the ZFU Empire, and two more empires
|
|
were following suit. The only remaining heads of the old Geneva Alliance
|
|
were gathering together into one mighty empire headed by none other than
|
|
UltraEmpire. Could they overtake Steel Talon with an empire larger than
|
|
any other ever seen? Only time would tell...
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 24
|
|
|
|
This was beginning to worry Tal. The ZFU Empire had increased by a
|
|
factor of 4with the new additions of NorLand, The Elite Empire, and
|
|
Khoteth. The fact that Zakal would even allow someone outside of Tal's
|
|
forces into his empire showed Steel Talon that something was up. Noren
|
|
and Elite would have to be executed, but Tal wasn't sure about Khoteth
|
|
and Zakal. ZFU was quite large, and almost comprable to Steel Talon
|
|
himself. Zakal was a major threat, and Tal decided to dissolveit.
|
|
|
|
HyperRealm knew he was dead. NorLand had joined ZFU, and that meant
|
|
vengeance for sure. Hyper would abdicate his empire rather than lose to
|
|
another. Hyper hadbegun an empire with aspirations of ruling the Galaxy,
|
|
but it was all crumbling even though Steel Talon had a vise grip over
|
|
it.
|
|
|
|
The so-called 'Common Empires' were fed up. DustWorld, Finway, Briton,
|
|
and Gojuon were speaking up to Steel Talon, although they had no chance
|
|
in the world ofdefeating him. Hydroxinia assured them he would find a
|
|
way to oust Steel Talon and his associates. If only all the empires
|
|
would band together, instead of just the four..
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 25
|
|
|
|
Noren and Elite stood before Tal, tyrannical leader of the Galaxy.
|
|
"Elite," hesneered,"I've been wanting to kill you since I was defeated
|
|
by your petty GenevaAlliance." Tal turned to Noren. "You. I never knew
|
|
you. But you have joined Zakal in attempt to overthrow me," he said.
|
|
Noren tried hard to keep from turning white. How'd Tal know they'd been
|
|
planning an overthrow? Tal looked to the guards."They will die in a
|
|
Galaxial honored way. There is no more honorable way to die than by the
|
|
firing squad," he stated he sharply.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 26
|
|
|
|
Zakal knew what Tal was doing. His only hope for winning this war wasn't
|
|
here yet, so Zakal had to attack now. He gahtered as large an army as
|
|
possible, and struck mightily. He didn't get any planets, but anything
|
|
Zakal could do to knockhis amry size down, Zakal would do.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 27
|
|
|
|
"Tal, The ZFU Empire has attacked," said the messenger. Tal turned to
|
|
his captives. "Zakal shall die. As will you," he said. Elite looked
|
|
up. "Before we go, I wanted to tell you something. Zakal is
|
|
UltraEmpire, your sworn enemy." Talturned blood red. He'd been fooled!
|
|
ALl this time he thought he'd found the perfect protege, and it was
|
|
Ultra! The ultimate vengeance was within his grasp. "Kill them," he said
|
|
simply. He turned on his heel and left, while shots rang out.
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 28
|
|
|
|
Tal recoiled against ZFU, causing tremendous damage to it. But Tal knew
|
|
that bneither he, nor Ultra could keep up the fight long. Tal had the
|
|
advantage, but even if he won, he probably wouldn't have enough power
|
|
to control the Galaxy. It didn't matter. Bloodthrist was on Tal's
|
|
mind, and Zakal was the blood he wanted.
|
|
|
|
Zakal had his heart wrenched. Elite and Noren had died. They didn't even
|
|
put up a fight. But Tal had learned Zakal's true identity, and Zakal
|
|
knew that was fatal. This would turn into a fight to the death. Neither
|
|
Tal, nor Zakal, could win. Or at least that's what Zakal thought.
|
|
|
|
Tal was widening the gap. Though severly injured, Steel Talon would
|
|
survive and The ZFU Empire would perish. That made him very happy. All
|
|
of his enemies would be dead, and there would be noone to stop him. His
|
|
conquests would continue..
|
|
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 29
|
|
|
|
He returned. The Galactic Coordinator saw the destruction. Zakal had
|
|
been right. This was the only way. From the beginning, Ultra had
|
|
convinced the Galactic Coordinator that Mace was still alive, and this
|
|
was the only way to finally see him demolished. But the Galactic
|
|
Coordinator decided to add another factor to the battle. Himself.
|
|
|
|
Steel Talon was frightened. The Galactic Coordinator had returned from
|
|
seemingly nowhere, and now perhaps it would be Zakal who won. Tal and
|
|
Zakal were virtually the same in strength. Once the Galactic Coordinator
|
|
struck, Tal and Ultra would be even. Totally, unconvincingly even. They
|
|
would be the same for the first time in history. ANd that scared even
|
|
Tal.
|
|
|
|
The Galactic Coordinator's army could wipe Tal out quickly. But Ultra
|
|
wanted to wipe Tal away himself. Ultra would destroy Steel Talon, and
|
|
give himself as amartyr to the Galaxy.
|
|
|
|
The Galactic Coordinator was shocked. Ultra wanted it that way, and the
|
|
Galacitic Coordinator complied. It was terrible. The only one who, in
|
|
the Coordinatorsjudgement, could take the reins of the Galaxy and use
|
|
them Justly. But it wasn'tto be. The Galactic Coordinator would find
|
|
someone else...
|
|
|
|
--=== Chapter 30
|
|
|
|
In a swirling cloud, a cloud of interstellar dust, the mighty empires of
|
|
Steel Talon and Zakal, Head of ZFU, were swept away, along with their
|
|
rulers. An age-old power struggle had come to an end, with noone
|
|
prevailing. Ultra gave his life to finally, and completely, destroy the
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ultimate evil in the Galaxy. The Genesis Alliance, The Hyevr Alliance,
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the Talon Galaxial Empire, the Dark Alliance: They all ceased to exist.
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The Galactic Coordinator established Justice once againand began the
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search for someone to succeed him. All the while being more careful to
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keep evil out.
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--=== Chapter 31
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Hydroxinia, Forver, and Khoteth were going Underground. The Galactic
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Coordinator was back, and that meant Justice. Hydrox had convinced
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Khoteth that the Coordiantor was ruthless, and they must escape.
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Together, they banded and headed the way pf Valiance: To the
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Underground.
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//// As it would seem, this story is not over. While our two main characters
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//// are dead, the next SRE story is coming around. Get ready for a jolt
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//// of andrenaline when SRE: V- The Underground hits. Look for it soon
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