The Darkness Approaches

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

Human Time Line 999 851 - 999 900

Cathartic Age

The Darkness Approaches

999 851 UPX over the eons has had many pet projects. None other had become so intrinsic as Europa. For almost 1 million years now, Europa had been declared a Planetary Park. After the creation of Lucifer, the ice moon Europa had been transformed into a water planet. Within a century, life had begun thanks to viruses & bacteria that had been, unknowingly, transported from Earth.

Over the 1 million years, these primitive life forms had evolved. Scientists from the then United Federation of Planet (UFP), & later the Federal Galactic Commonwealth of Planets (FGCP), were constantly amazed as this living laboratory that slowly gave up some of the secrets of evolution.

Eventually, new species came onto the scene on Europa. At first they were not much more developed than their bacteria ancestors. These species, however, then evolved onto a third generation & so on. Now UPX reported that a new species of fish had recently been born. It, along with various other species of vegetation & aquatic life, roamed the oceans of Europa.

In helping to fund the Planetary Park, restricted tourism had been long ago established on Europa. In a special dome, located on the ocean floor, 250 lucky tourists could spend a few days being marvelled by the on going life cycle of the ocean moon. Millions of tourists had thus taken the opportunity to visit.

Europa had become one of the big attractions in Earth's solar system. This solar system had become the most travelled region of the FGCP. Even though Humans & Unis had the freedom to travel as was their wish (thanks to their non-corporeal form), they, & all the other races of the Commonwealth, still travelled to the Mother planet. It was simply due to Earth's system had so much to offer: the artificial worlds of Venus, Mars, Callisto & Ganymede; the ring-train of Saturn; the water moon of Europa; Thermopylae (Earth's famous moon); & the artificially created sun Lucifer. Of cause, one should not forget the fascinations that Earth had to offer herself. No other solar system had anything like it on offer.

9852 Although Oosusa had more or less disappeared from the political scene, that did not mean that debates over the future of the FGCP faded away with him. Genuine leaders emerged from Oosusa's popularist shadow that represented a true cross section of the Commonwealth.

This new group, led by the Morab Nonk L'born, pressed upon the electorate the fact that a large number of the Commonwealth's citizens would go through the Catharsis of Existence. In doing so, the overall corporeal population would be reduced to about 40 precent of its current size.

Added to these concerns, was the release of the latest research into Homo spiritous by Unified Health Service (UHS). The report showed that the transformation caused a number of new skills to have been developed. Some of these were already well known, the ability to float through walls, travel to the stars, shot balls of energy akin to a laser, & so forth. What was new, however, did not go down too well - that being telepathic. Not only among the Homo spiritous, but also the ability to reach many other species as well. Needless to say, privacy was thus a major concern.

The Presidential elections, hence, were just as intense as previously. It became even more so when Congress voted to exclude Vargary candidates as had been done with the Humans earlier. Having thus won a small victory, Nonk L'born thought that he had a chance for the Presidency. He went close, but the Zargah candidate Seekzaw Zelkcah won with a handful of votes from L'born & the Human Vice-President Shane Dubrimski.

9853 President Zelkcah soon discovered that he was in for a tough time. Not only were there the usual hassles of the day to day business of running the FGCP, but a number of worlds began an open revolt. This all started with Zelkcah's refusal to increase economic aid under the Catharsis Emergency Act. Ironically it started on the rather quiet planet of Argie. Argie was the least effected, it was thought, of the sudden changes occurring throughout the FGCP, but its location halfway between Drey, Vargary & Earth had made it a major stop over. Now all that had changed & Argie was in serious economic trouble.

The Argie planetary elections had seen a radical party take government. After having its economic demands refused, the new government declared its independence. Technically it could do this, but not without warning. Furthermore, it required a referendum of the planet's citizens to make it legal. None of these steps had taken place.

Things then went from bad to worse. After the independence declaration, the bulk of Argie's population rejected the independence decree (there was though no referendum just a public outcry) & appealed to the FGCP for intervention. The Argie government, in response, seized all UDF equipment in the Argie system that it could & armed its would-be defence forces for war. At the same time, thousands of critics & their families were rounded up & arrested.

All this left President Zelkah with little alternative. He ordered the UDF to intervene. In the frontlines where the Humans & the Unis. Orders were made very clear. No or few casualties. Thus in non-corporeal form, they disarmed the Argie forces & arrested the Argie government. The fact that the UDF were helped as much as possible by the Argie people themselves insured that only a handful of rebels were casualties.

Good government was reinstalled on Argie, but the actions of President Zelkah did not go without criticism. Thankfully no other planet rebelled like Argie, but the event began debate over such possible future action elsewhere. The Wellous simply looked on.

9854 NGW Oracle had developed new prototype Vale & Beyond device thanks to the lessons learnt from the mistakes from the previous test. As previously, no one really knew what would happen during the test. Computer simulations appeared promising, but then again so did the simulations for the first time.

Put simply, the NGW team were experimenting with technology that was beyond them. Just like the original warp engines & organic ships were explorations into the unknown, thus the Vale technology was on the same level.

For this test, however, various safety factors had been incorporated into NGW's procedure. They had little choice. After the disastrous previous test, the environmental groups had lobbied Congress extensively. And due to the results of the previous test, Congress could not turn a blind eye.

Whether these safety restrictions had any bearing on the outcome of the tests of the second prototype can not really be known. Fortunately, there was no major explosion. Unfortunately, there was little of anything. Once again it was back to the drawing board for NGW.

9855 UDF received the latest of its new battleships. The UDF Guardian was the first of what would be the most powerful battleships ever built. Actually built is not really the right word, for they were grown.

NGW had eons ago successfully developed a process that permitted the FGCP to employ organic ships. Although weapons, engines & powerplants were still constructed, the hulls, decks & so forth, where all grown. And while the ship served its duty, it continued to be alive.

Organic ships had provided the UDF with tremendous advantages. Linked with a MICC organic computer, the ships could look after themselves. This meant that crew numbers were lower. Other advantages was repair. The ships conducted their own maintenance. Similarly, battle damage, as long as it was not too sever, was repaired by the ship itself. In battle, due to its organic nervous system, its manoeuvrability was unmatched.

9856 President Zelkah was once again presented with a political crisis. Earlier in the year, Oosusa was released from prison. After being declared mentally fit for release by the UHS, it did not take long for Oosusa to become politically active on Blurgiss.

As before, Oosusa was preaching radical changes to the FGCP. Although he was very careful not to mention anything about a neo-Blurgiss Empire, nonetheless his message was one of independence. When the local police refused to arrest him for inciting sedition, the Unified Federal Police Service (UFPS) moved in.

Alas this move sparked a riot which Oosusa was quick to take advantage of. Having escaped the UFPS arrest attempt, he led a mob to the Blurgiss Planetary government buildings. With little warning, & no help from the local police, the planetary government was captured. Oosusa immediately declared a liberation government & announced that Blurgiss was independent. At the same time he called for the other planets & colonies that had Blurgiss populations to do the same.

Once again President Zelkah had to call in the UDF. But unlike on Argie, it was difficult to identify who the public supported. Some of the Blurgiss clearly supported Oosusa, while many others did not. Attempts at revolt on the other Blurgiss planets failed, thankfully, & the problems were only limited only to the planet Blurgiss. As on Argie, the Humans & Unis went in first to limit casualties. Unfortunately for Oosusa, he was one of these casualties. The planetary government was reinstated.

9857 The political fallout from Oosusa's death would ruin the President's chance at a second term. Furthermore, as Zelkah had feared, Oosusa’ death had turned him into a martyr. Sensing that he might have a second chance, Nonk L'born stood as a "compromise" candidate for the presidential elections. The Vargary could still not put forward a candidate. Voters, as before, had become polarised. This had been reinforced since the Oosusa revolt.

The Humans & Unis, for their part, had become, in many eyes, enforcers & not brothers. Their recent involvement in the Argie & Oosusa revolts only appeared to support this assumption. The Vargary & Zargah were, likewise, seen as part of this political takeover. Regardless of what laws Congress & the President enacted, fear was the main motivator here.

Few were hence surprised when President Zelkah lost the election. Although it was close, Nonk L'born won by a narrow margin. It was in fact the first such victory in years. When asked about L'born's victory, the outgoing President simply stated: "If he thinks it's easy, wait until the next crisis comes along. We're only just starting".

9858 The first crisis came in the middle of the planning several reforms. As the funding was doubled for the economy under the Catharsis Emergency Act, the Vargary underwent the Catharsis of Existence. Billions of dollars, that had been earmarked for the Vargary, was left in limbo while the Vargary settled down to their new existence.

While they did, some Buckhoo could not resist the temptation. Although crime had drastically fallen off over the last few decades, the Buckhoo did not give up their old ways without a fight. Thus it came as a shock when $150 billion disappeared from the FGCP treasury holding account on Vargary Prime. The UFPS tried to track the money down, but the thieves hid their tracks extremely well.

It goes without saying that the first crisis made the new President look incompetent. Although the Treasury Robbery had little to do with the President's abilities, the warnings from most economists were clearly aimed at his economic policies. Then there were the cries of "votes for cash" from the opposition. Needless to say, all this was rejected by the President.

9859 In all arrogance, President L'born demanded to be allowed to be present at the next Ancients Council meeting. It was a unique situation. Unlike the other members of the Council, the FGCP was unusual. In fact the FGCP was not actually member. The Humans, Unis & now the Vargary were. Membership was based upon race, not political structure.

This, however, did not stop L'born trying to get into the meeting. Yet the Ancients stood firm. The Morab had not been accepted as Ancients, thus they were barred from the Council. In spite, the President then ordered the Humans, Unis & Vargary delegations not to go & boycott the Council until he the President was permitted to attend.

The Humans, Unis & Vargary response was to ignore these presidential orders, which were clearly unconstitutional. When attempts were made to arrest the delegates, these ended in comical routines as the delegates reverted to their non-corporeal form. Appeals to the FGCP Constitutional Court overturned the Presidential orders & the various delegations eventually arrived. Once again the Wellous took careful note of this latest internal dispute of the Commonwealth.

9860 UPX had now committed 20 ships to the area now commonly called the Homer Sector. Although this area of space was still free space, the search for the mysterious black cloud, that the UPX Homer had encountered, had become a mission all its own. Even the UDF had been somewhat drafted into the search adding five of its warships to the UPX fleet.

Although UPX & UDF made every attempt to keep their activities secret, it was only a mater of time before the Sassnorah had gotten wind of the activities of these two FGCP institutions. Soon, the Sassnorah were complaining to the Galactic League demanding that the FGCP withdraw their forces from the Homer Sector. Even though President Nonk L'born reassured the Sassnorah that there was no aggressive intent, he was not too convincing. The Sassnorah were quick to point out the internal problems in the Commonwealth & this appeared like a political move to avert internal tensions.

And the Sassnorah were not far from the reality. Although President Nonk L'born had no intension of starting a war with anyone, internal tensions were still high. Due to the President's high spending policies, the economy had not improved. In fact all confidence had been lost in the FGCP economy. Inflation had reached 12 percent. Unemployment had risen to 8 percent. Life on the outer worlds & less developed parts of the Commonwealth had become hard. Although social welfare agencies ensured no one starved, this came no where near solving the problems.

9861 Once again the economic problems led to outright revolt. In the New Territories Sector, out past Quence Sector, several of the colony worlds declared independence. The New Territories, having been annexed into the FGCP almost 100 000 years ago, had always been virtually ignored by successive FGCP governments since. Colonists had to do virtually everything for themselves.

These colonists came from all the species. This also included Humans who had become Homo spiritous. That, however, did not stop them sharing the same views as their fellow citizens in the New Territories. Events became more complicated when the Sassnorah & Phillis recognised the independence of the New Territories Federation (NTF). Even the Cordah came out of their total self imposed alienation & recognised their independence.

President L'born was truly in trouble. A sizeable part of the FGCP had just revolted against the Commonwealth & was recognised by other civilisations. When he announced that the UDF would subdue the rebels, the Wellous also recognised the NTF. In turn the NTF appealed to the Galactic League for help. Although many delegates at the League stated it was an internal matter for the FGCP, just as many stated that the Commonwealth should let the NTF go. In the end, the President had little choice but to concede, particularly when the Joint Chiefs of the UDF expressed their displeasure at having to fight the rebels of the NTF.

9862 As the events of the last 5 years were reflected over, the FGCP headed for its Presidential election. And considering the current environment within the FGCP, it was no wonder that 12 candidates tried out for the presidency. Debate was aggressive as candidates blamed the President, & each other for that matter, for the problems of the recent past. Few expected President L'born to survive.

Further news ensured the President would not. New economic forecasts clearly indicated that the FGCP was in a depression & there was little evidence of improvement. This, coupled with the recent revolt in the New Territories, were issues that constantly hounded the President.

The election itself was chaos. All 12 candidates received similar first preference votes. What made matters worse was the fact that 3 Humans had stood as candidates, thus splitting the Human vote. After exhaustive recounting & issuing of preferences, the Terran candidate Billpon Stillon, became President. No one really knew if he could hold the FGCP together.

9863 The first thing the new president did was to recognise the NTF. Although it was a very unpopular decision, it was considered the lesser of two evils. It also recognised the reality of the situation. Various treaties were signed & ambassadors swapped.

The NTF, for their part, adopted a constitution & system of government not too dissimilar to the FGCP. If there was not to be any reunification in the future, at least the next best thing had been established - a new multi-species democratic federation. Naturally, the new federation needed aid. The result was, the aid earmarked for the NTF when it was a member of the FGCP, was sent as humanitarian aid for the new independent federation. Ironically, it was no extra burden for the Commonwealth.

The official recognition of the NTF increased the internal stress within the FGCP. Soon President Stillon had to deal with potential claims to independence from individual planets from around the Commonwealth. Unlike the NTF, however, it was an individual issue & the President was able to calm the rebels. It should be noted, however, that the use of the word "rebel" should not be confused here with earlier actions by the likes of Oosusa. These people were expressing a genuine concern as to their future within the FGCP.

9864 As the FGCP continued to undergo immense political & economic problems, it appeared ludicrous to many when the Shakespeare Festival got under way. Although the old bard’s works were not enjoyed by everyone, the Humans, Vargary, Unis, several Freedom Sector species, the Zargah & the Terrans all revered the various Shakespearian plays.

Interestingly, it was the Zargah who had found Shakespeare the most fascinating. At first they could not understand the language, even when translated into their own, but over time Shakespeare came to rival their own great writer Zimon Sarjar. Alas Sarjar was never appreciated outside of Zargah culture.

Thus it came as no surprise to the Shakespeare going public, that the best theatre companies participated in the Festival. In particular, The Royal Shakespeare Company put on, what was considered, the best ever production of Macbeth. Many said that the ability to have an actual "live" Banquo’s ghost, thanks to the Human actor Roy Benson being able to act in both corporeal & non-corporeal forms, was the reason that it was so successful.

9865 President Stillon's economic reforms had finally stopped the degrading economy. That, however, did not meant that things got better. More complaints were voiced, again, about the drift between the Catharsis members & others in the FGCP. It had become very clear over the last few years that the Humans, Unis & Vargary suffered nothing during the latest difficulties.

These complaints, however, were rather unfounded. It was true that these three species no longer required material gain, but at the same time these species were more than willing to help out were possible their fellow FGCP citizens. Many had given their previous wealth to charities to help those in poverty. Others helped out at these same charities.

This, unfortunately, did not stop the complaints. Needless to say, no one really had an answer either. Again as previously, it was the outer planets that expressed the most concerns. And again cries of independence were rather loud.

All this the Wellous took in with glee. Already they had seen a part of the FGCP break away & go on its own. Although the Wellous had no part in this, it made them make the next move. Considering the Wellous had failed in a frontal assault on the FGCP, now they had an opportunity to destroy the Commonwealth from within. Soon the Wellous were covertly approaching several outer worlds to break away like the NTF had done. In doing so their independence would be a certainty & that President Stillon would merely accept the situation as had been the case with the NTF.

One problem, however, occurred with the Wellous plans. Unlike in the NTF, where the revolt had occurred internally with little warning, Nazzdorra had intercepted the Wellous movements. Likewise, Enigma2 had decoded several Wellous communications on the issue. The UDF had plenty of time to organise accordingly. Thus when the time came for the revolt, the leaders had already been arrested. The ranks of the rebels soon thinned, especially when it became obvious that the Wellous were not coming to help them. In a sign of reconciliation, President Stillon released the rebel leaders on probation.

9866 In a surprise to everyone, the Sassnorah entered in force into the Homer Sector. After complaints about the presence of the UPX & UDF ships, the FGCP had refused to withdraw them. Not only were the ships conducting legitimate research, they were also in free space.

The Sassnorah, however, considered this area their backyard. Although they had not claimed it as such, they still considered its location close enough to be considered within their sphere of influence. Knowing that the UDF & UPX ships were vastly outnumbered, let alone it was an area of space not worth anything, President Stillon ordered the FGCP ships to avoid all contact with the Sassnorah & return to Commonwealth borders.

For their part, the Sassnorah were content to just patrol Homer Sector. Not having the advantages of Nazzdorra, tracking the FGCP ships was almost impossible for them. Although the Wellous passed on intelligence as to the location of FGCP ships, the Sassnorah had, like the Commonwealth, no intension of starting a major conflict. The defeat of the Combined Ancients fleet was still fresh in their minds.

9867 Although the pressures of the past had eased throughout the FGCP over the last few years, they had not gone totally. Furthermore, the withdrawal from Homer Sector in the face of the Sassnorah did not go down too well with the electorate. This was besides that fact that President Stillon had done a competent job in difficult circumstances.

President Stillon, however, was only popular with his fellow Terrans. A candidate from Lyonies was actually much popular, but considering the Lyonies were the next on the Catharsis List, all Lyonies candidates could not partake in the Presidential elections.

As with the previous election, many candidates decided to run. By election day, an initial list of 23 had narrowed to 10. All appeared set for another Human President, when the candidate died a week before the election. Although the her Vice-President candidate would stand in her place, this replacement was from Innocence & had little chance of retaining the large Human vote. In the end, a compromise candidate, the experienced Avakous Governor Joshish Vercko, won the Presidency with a slim majority.

9868 Like previous Presidents, President Vercko did not get it easy. Within two months of the inception of his administration, the Lyonies went through the Catharsis of Existence. As before, there was little warning. Within a few days, the entire Lyonies specie had transformed. Their bodies began with a faint golden glow which grew in intensity to the most brightest of whites before each individual body exploded in white light. Needless to say, the Humans, Vargary & Unis were on hand to help guide the new species with their first steps.

Even though there was opposition from the Wellous alliance, the Lyonies were accepted into the Ancients Council. Although a few of the neutral Ancients expressed concern about a Human takeover, the pro Human group were actually encouraged by the new arrivals. A sense of energy had been brought to the Council that had been lacking for at least 250 000 years.

That energy was more than evident when the Humans, led by the FGCP UDF Chief of Staff Admiral Elliot, tabled evidence indicating that the Wellous had been involved with the internal troubles of the FGCP. As previously, the Wellous denied these allegations, but the other members of the FGCP at the Council meeting supported the Humans. So too did the Nazzer. However, when the Vargary demanded sanctions be placed on the Wellous & other Ancients involved with this business (seconded by the Unis), the majority of Ancients had voted no.

9869 After a long analysis, President Vercko introduced new economic policies. Although the economy had stabilised, even with the transformation of the Lyonies, there was still much work to do. Unemployment for the corporeal species was at 15 precent. Likewise inflation was not any better. But instead of handing out social welfare, the President decided that the unemployed would work for government payments.

At first, however, these work programs appeared rather trivial. Unemployed teams would work on civil projects such as keeping parks clean or repairing streets. Many considering it demeaning & criticism was widespread. Soon, though, followed a public works program. This was particularly aimed at the outer planets where political unrest was still present. The third tier of programs saw re-education programs introduced. This was to train workers for industries that had either been unaffected or had grown thanks to the changes in the FGCP.

By the end of the year, although the unemployment level had not been reduced by a significant margin, many citizens deemed the latest policies as promising. Importantly, confidence returned to the market place. Although no corporations had gone bankrupt, many thousands had to reply on government support under the terms of the Catharsis Emergency Act. Several, though, were pleased to announce that this support was no longer required.

9870 Since the withdrawal from the Homer Sector, UPX had been simmering over the UPX Homer investigation. UDF, likewise, did not like the fact that they had to withdraw in the face of the enemy. The Sassnorah, for their part, celebrated the fact that they had won a bloodless victory over the powerful FGCP.

Even though UPX wanted to go back & continue to search for answers in the Homer Sector, President Vercko constantly said no to their requests to return. In a similar vein, the President said no to the UDF when they suggested a limited patrol of that region of space. To put it simply, the President had other problems. Budgeting the FGCP was not an easy task, & considering the economic problems still faced by the Commonwealth, having UPX & UDF sending several ships on a wild goose chase was the last thing the President was going to waste money on.

In a compromise, however, UDF suggested that it could send some of their spy probes to continue the job. Although not as good as having crewed spaceships conducting the mission, at least the basics would be done. UPX concurred with the UDF proposal, underlining the massive savings, while UPX could continue with their role of exploration. Admiral Elliot added that "... it would also permit us to keep an eye on Sassnorah intensions in the Homer Sector". President Vercko, to his credit, agreed with this proposal & several spy probes headed for the Homer Sector.

9871 In an unauthorised venture, a small number of Homo spiritous in non-corporeal form, unknowingly entered Sassnorah space. They had been part of a group of Humans that had left the FGCP & decided to explore the galaxy on their own. Where they could, they smuggled aboard merchant ships to travel at warp speeds. Otherwise they travelled between stars at the speed of light.

No one, not even the Sassnorah, knew of their location until the Homo spiritous group arrived at an outer Sassnorah colony. Knowing that there were friction between the FGCP & the Sassnorah, they thought it would be amusing to "haunt" the colonists. The colonists, however, were for the most part scientists & knew exactly who was haunting them.

Soon Sassnorah military personnel arrived &, although their efforts were pointless in capturing or killing the Homo spiritous invaders, they did clearly document the "invasion." Thus with this evidence, the Sassnorah demanded that the Galactic League do something about it. There was little that the FGCP ambassador could do to defend their position. Although the majority of League members dismissed most of the Sassnorah allegations of an invasion, they did demand that the Commonwealth do something.

President Vercko had little choice. A special UDF unit, made up of the four Catharsis species, arrived at the Sassnorah colony under the escort of several Sassnorah battleships. Unlike the Sassnorah military, the UDF unit was able to capture the renegade Homo spiritous. Actually the renegade Homo spiritous were more surprised than anything & surrendered to the UDF unit.

9872 The political backlash in the FGCP over the latest Sassnorah event overshadowed all else. Unlike previously, it was now the Humans, Unis, Vargary & Lyonies who expressed concern, if not outrage, over the Presidential actions. The usual cries by the non-corporeal species were ignored.

For his part, the President tried to be conciliatory as possible with all those involved. The actions of a few Homo spiritous had become an intergalactic issue that required action. Although the renegade Homo spiritous were released when they were returned to FGCP territory, the fact that the President had cooperated with the Sassnorah was too much.

The Presidential elections were thus intense. It was sad that the first President, in a long time, who had dealt with the internal troubles, particularly the economic ones, had been caught up in an event not of his making. In all fairness, he had made the only realistic decision possible. But the four Catharsis FGCP species did not see it that way. Their combined vote ensured that Jeanne Tozer, a Human from Eden, became the next President with a comfortable majority.

9873 From the outset, President Tozer indicated that she was not going to be a President to be messed with. Having said that, the President continued with the economic policies of her predecessor. The outer worlds continued to receive major assistance. Thankfully, the unemployment rates in the outer worlds began to drop dramatically.

Elsewhere things changed. The Ancients Council now had to deal with a President of the FGCP who was also Human. The combination was a powerful one, especially when the powers of the Humans had become more matured & hence mastered. Furthermore, thanks to support from the three other Catharsis species of the FGCP, the Humans had a power base from which to work from.

The Wellous naturally led the opposition to the Humans. But now the Humans spoke with the voice of the entire Commonwealth. When the Wellous brought up the Sassnorah incident of a few year ago, President Tozer was quick to remind everyone the recent activities of the Wellous. As before, none of the debates got anywhere.

As part of the President's stabilisation policy, the NTF were approached about a possible return to the fold. It was a unique situation between the FGCP & the NTF. Basically the NTF was, in a defacto manner, still part of the Commonwealth. Aid continued to flow from the FGCP to the NTF as before, & this aid was put into economic relief programs that were copied from the Vercko/Tozer administrations. Even the population of the NTF was that of the FGCP, although fewer Humans were present. But, the NTF was determined to remain independent, even though they were content to keep the current relationship.

9874 NGW Oracle once again tried to conduct a successful test with their Vale technology. Although the last test was unsuccessful, many of the NGW personnel hoped that the lessons learnt so far would ensure this test to be at least promising.

The President & Congress, however, were beginning to express concerns over the Vale & Beyond project. Billions had been spent so far for no result. Even during the recent depression, the NGW budget had been left alone. But the money spent on this NGW project could easily support a world or two during this time of economic hardship.

The environmental groups too continued to express concern. Even before the first test of the Vale technology, they protested that NGW was playing with technology that they knew little about. This was exactly the situation as the results so far had shown. Various Ancients had been approached about Vale technology, but all had refused to help out. Even the friendly Nazzer refused to help NGW.

Few were thus surprised when the latest test failed. Although valuable data was collected, Presidential observers were not overly impressed by the results. It took all of NGW Chairperson Rutz efforts to convince the President not to cut NGW's budget.

9875 UPX reported exciting news from Europa. Even though a number of new species had been recently identified on the water planet, the latest specie caused all sorts of excitement. A new specie of "crab" began to, not only live in communities, but actually constructed their own dwellings on the bottom of the ocean. These communities would, furthermore, nominate different individuals various duties. Some would build, others gathered food while others would nursed the young.

This new discovery on Europa mirrored that, albeit at an early stage, as the civilisation on the water planet Neptune Prime in the Terran Expanses Sector. The main theory thus linked the civilisation on Neptune Prime & this new specie on Europa. It was further argued that one day the Europans would develop into a parallel civilisation of intelligent aquatic beings in their millions living just as diverse lives as any other civilisation. It was thought that even space travel may be a possibility one day for the beings of Neptune Prime & hopefully Europa.

9876 All seemed to be quiet, for a change, until the UDF spy probes picked up major military manoeuvres by the Sassnorah in the Homer Sector. Since the departure of the UPX & UDF ships, the Sassnorah had set up two small research colonies in the sector. Neither were large. The UDF considered neither to poise any danger to the security of the FGCP.

But one of the spy probes intercepted a distress call from one of the research bases. Although the message was not clear, it did indicate being under attack from an unknown enemy. After the one message, nothing more was heard from the base. The Sassnorah dispatched a rescue task force to the location of the base, which a UDF spy probe followed. It did not take much analysis to identify that the base had been destroyed.

Investigations by the Sassnorah began immediately. Likewise, the UDF commenced their own. To their credit, the Sassnorah dismissed UDF activity early. Clearly this was an new enemy. UPX, for their part, also received data from the spy probe as was part of the arrangement with UDF. Their own analysis, unlike the others, produced a few interesting conclusions.

Although these conclusions were not without their faults, the evidence, nonetheless, indicated that whoever attacked the UPX Homer also attacked the Sassnorah colony. The same energy residue was present as were the same damage patterns. Once again the mysterious black cloud was suspected, but as previously, there was no sign of it.

9877 UPX, exploring rimward from the Quence Sector, came across an new civilisation called the Mardon Empire. Contrary to all such new discoveries, the captain of the UPX Torres decided to attempt First Contract. Instead of studying the new civilisation for months in advance, the Torres simply invited itself to arrive at the capital planet of the Mardon. The result was a disaster.

Mardon warships, although inferior to the UPX ship, immediately opened fire. Damage was only slight, but the Mardon gave a clear message that they did not want to be disturbed. The captain of the UPX Torres refrained from returning fire & quickly withdrew from Mardon territory. Before doing so, however, a number of UPX probes were left behind. This should have been done in the first place, in order to study the civilisation prior to First Contact.

Hence, if they had sent the observation probes in the first place, they would have known not to have attempted contact in the first place. The Mardon had a very barbaric society based upon slavery. Only 20 percent of the population were free. And all these were male. Slaves had no rights & constituted the rest of the male population & all of the females. Discipline was brutal & many thousands of slaves would be executed every year.

UPX for their part were rather surprised to have stumbled across such a society. The trend over the eons had been for such civilisations to either reform or die out. Such had been the case with the Passalous who eventually died out in 250 458 AD. A number of factors had joined together, such as environmental damage & evolution stagnation, that slowly reduced the Passalous reproduction levels until it reached zero. The Humans considered it a dreadful situation & wanted to help, but the Terrans vetoed every attempt. Then when the last Passalous died, the Humans inturn stopped Terran attempts to annex Passalous territory. Still to this day, the Passalous Trust Act holds the entire Passalous Region as a cemetery - a reminder to all of what can happen.

Other races, unlike the Passalous, simply retreated to their own regions becoming hermits. The leading race to do this was the Cordah. After several defeats against the UFP & the FGCP, the Cordah isolated themselves from the galaxy around them. Little contact had continued since. UDF spy probes continued to monitor the Cordah & they reported lately that it is like viewing a living museum. Very little, it seemed, had changed in 750 000 years.

UPX's troubles with the Mardon had no impact on the Presidential elections. In fact little did. Debates continued over the split between the Catharsis & non-Catharsis species, but the fact that the economy was once again strong & that the development of the outer worlds continued smoothly, ensured most voters were satisfied with President Tozer's administration. The President was thus returned to office with a slightly larger majority than previously.

9878 Because of UPX's contact with the Mardon, UDF decided to place the 10th Fleet on ready alert. Admiral Elliot had been analysing the reports coming from the UPX probes & hated what he saw. Elliot approached President Tozer over the matter, but the President refused to get the FGCP involved in a "liberation war".

The President did, however, raise the issue at the Ancients Council, but it got no where. Not even the Nazzer showed any interest in getting involved. The Wellous, though, took particular attention at first, but even they shied away when President Tozer completed his briefing on the subject. It appeared that even the Wellous had limits to their political games & partners.

For their part, the Mardon did not appreciate having their space being trespassed upon. What was even more infuriating to them was that the UPX ship had the arrogance not to even return fire, but simply left with little damage. Accordingly, the Mardon did what they could to trace the UPX ship, which proved almost impossible. Nonetheless they vaguely knew it came from an inward region from them. Long distance patrols where sent out, all of which were identified by the Nazzdorra station on Quence. The 10th Fleet patiently waited behind the border just in case the Mardon tried anything stupid.

9879 The UDF spy probes in Sassnorah territory once again identified sudden fleet movement towards their Homer Sector border. Nazzdorra revealed that the Sassnorah ships were heading as fast as possible to their surviving research colony there. As before, a UDF spy satellite was despatched to investigate the Sassnorah movements & again came across destruction. The second Sassnorah research colony had been destroyed in the same fashion as the first one.

UPX, having argued that the destruction of the UPX Homer & the first Sassnorah station were caused by the same entity, again argued that the mysterious black cloud was lead suspect in this latest attack. But as previously, they was no data identifying its location.

9880 For the first time, at the Galactic League Conference, the Sassnorah requested help in regards to the unexplained destruction of their two colonies. The FGCP held back at first to study what the others would do. No help came, not even from their one time allies the Wellous. After being informed of the Galactic League response, President Tozer made a quiet approach to the Sassnorah Ambassador to the Galactic League. Although the Ambassador was cautious at first, after remembering the "cooperative" operation of a few years back, he accepted the President's offer.

Soon a joint investigation team was arranged under the guise of the Galactic League. Although the FGCP only surrendered a little of its data to the investigation team, all the FGCP members were fully aware of the UPX analysis. Clearly, President Tozer & the UDF, did not want to let the Sassnorah know that they had been spying on them. Thus using only Sassnorah data, & information from the UPX Homer investigation that was supplied, after a "brainwave" from a member of the UPX contingent, the FGCP team members put forward the mysterious black cloud theory. Although the Sassnorah rejected it at first, they eventually came round to accepting the theory as it was the only one that fitted the evidence.

9881 Now armed with the information from the joint team investigation, the Sassnorah began heavy patrolling of the Homer Sector. President Tozer offered to send some UDF ships to also patrol the region, but this was rejected by the Sassnorah. They still suspected the "real" intensions of the FGCP.

This rejection of FGCP help, of cause, did not stop the UDF to continue patrolling Sassnorah space & the Homer Sector with spy probes. But as before, the spy probes discovered nothing on the mysterious black cloud. They did, however, gather invaluable information on current Sassnorah military tactics.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Milky Way Galaxy, the Mardon's patrols continued to get closer to the FGCP border along the Quence Sector. UDF analysis of the Mardon's ships, however, indicated that they were at the limit of their patrol range. With some 100 light years distance between the closest Mardon patrol & the FGCP border, the 10th Fleet went off alert.

9882 As in previous Presidential elections, the next specie facing the Catharsis of Existence could not field a presidential candidate. This was rather unfortunate, because the Zargah hopeful Mezic Zonder had developed, over the last decade, a good support base with many of the species of the FGCP. The Zargah representatives in Congress sought to suspend this section of the Catharsis Emergence Act, but the majority in the Senate rejected the amendment.

President Tozer, of cause, had to resign. Tozer had brought stability to the FGCP during a difficult time. Although the economy was not as strong as 50 years ago, as it could never be again, it had recovered to levels that ensured that prosperity was once again enjoyed by all the corporeal member species. Vice-President Barbour stated that if elected, the FGCP could expect the same from his Administration.

It was an upstart from Nolange that got in Barbour's way. Promising everything to the corporeal citizens, Dekka Penlonx offered everything he could think of. Top of this fanciful list was the very alluring policy of discovering the secret of the Catharsis of Existence. Thus Catharsis would be offered to any citizen, regardless of specie. This offer even grabbed the imagination of many of the Humans, as such a debate had been carried on quietly, for a few decades, among themselves.

Taking all this into consideration then, it was no surprise that the results of the election was close. Even though Barbour had experts come out stating that the Catharsis could not be merely handed out like some miracle drug, many of the voters not believe him. Even some Humans thought that it was worth a try. Thus after several recounts & awarding of preferences, Penlonx became the next President.

9883 Upon becoming President, Penlonx immediately ordered NGW Enigma to expand the Catharsis Acceleration Project. The project had continued to conduct research since the completion of its objective, although this had been limited to predicting the next specie to undergo the transformation. Now they were charged with discovering how the transformation actually took place.

NGW, however, from the start, questioned the idea of being able to develop a process that could permit any specie to go through the Catharsis of Existence. In fact the Lyonies & Unis NGW personnel were hostile to the idea. Vargary members were not overly happy about the idea either. Only the Humans were indicating any support for the project. Naturally, the corporeal NGW personnel were enthusiastic over the new projects.

The economic markets, however, were not at all keen on the new Catharsis For All Project. Although NGW was as secretive as ever over the project, just the simple presidential announcement on the project was enough to ensure that markets fell. The market slump may not have brought on another depression, but they certainly sent the message that the economic sector had little faith in the President.

9884 Anxious to know the latest on his pet project, President Penlonx ordered a report from NGW Enigma on the progress of the Catharsis For All Project. Naturally, little had been achieved, but that was indicative as to the difficulties of the research. What the NGW team did know was simply concluded as evolution. Basically, as the Catharsis List species evolved their DNA did likewise. But it was more than merely a physical evolution. Part of the secret lied with a spiritual evolution as well. The leading theory concluded:

"... the fundamental element has as much to do with the physical as the metaphysical, or the spiritual evolution of the specie. Each individual of a specie must reach a certain level of evolution before the specie is thus transformed into the new one. Considering the measuring of an individual's spirit has always been impossible, the team considers any procedure to permit a specie to undergo the Catharsis of Existence through artificial, means totally impossible."

Naturally this was not what the President wanted to read. Thus in total disregard of the team's report, he ordered research to continue. As a sign of his determination, the President doubled the team's budget.

9885 UHS announced that the environments of Earth, Mars & Venus were never better. Although various governments over the eons had always strived to ensure minimum environmental damage, it occurred all the same. But now that the small number of corporeal FGCP citizens living on these planets made little impact, these planets had quickly recovered.

Although the UHS announcement was interesting, the following UPX announcement was simply stunning. UPX, through shear accident, stumbled across a new specie on Earth. Related to a branch of well developed specie of apes, this new evolved species was almost overlooked. To be fair, no one expected that Earth would offer up such a new specie.

What, however, was the important news was the fact that this new specie was both clearly sentient & intelligent. Although they kept away from the cities built by Mankind, they established their own communities in the National Parks that covered the Asian continent on the planet. And just like on Europa, various individuals performed various tasks that supported the overall community.

Needless to say, the three National Parks in Asia that this new specie was discovered in were closed to everyone but researchers. Sadly, when President Penlonx was informed of the exciting discovery, he took no notice. UPX named the new specie Homo neo-luminous (New Intelligent Man).

9886 UPX, after the accidental discovery of Homo neo-luminous on Earth decided to search the other inhabited planets in Earth's Solar system. Venus & Mars was given particular attention. Obviously Europa was not part of this new project because it was constantly monitored for precisely this purpose. Ganymede & Callisto was also to be part of the search for new species.

Unfortunately, the results from Ganymede & Callisto returned no new findings, but Venus & Mars pleasantly surprised the UPX scientists. Although nothing was on the same level as that discovered on Earth, numerous new species were discovered on both Venus & Mars. Again, like on Europa, these new species had evolved from imported ancestors from Earth.

Unlike their ancestors from Earth, though, they had clearly evolved to suit their respective environments. Yet, due to their outward appearances, at first glance, the Venus & Mars indigenous species appeared not too dissimilar to that of their Earth cousins. The only ones that did have unique differences were only found on Europa. But even these, allowing for these differences, could fit into the millions of species that have, or still do, populate Earth.

The most striking feature common among the species on Europa is the lack of eyes. Only recently had new species been recorded with this sense. Previously, it had been thought that aquatic life got around through touch & possibly hearing. This development was in marked contrast with both Venus & Mars. But it had to be remembered that all of the new species discovered on these two planets evolved from those that already had their senses fully developed. Thus Europa was unique that it had, like Earth, evolved its life forms from the most basic beginnings.

9887 UDF reported that the Mardon had introduced a new ship class into their fleet. These were more advanced than previously seen. Concerns over Wellous involvement were quickly discarded, when analysis of the new ships indicated an obvious development from previous identified classes.

Having said that, warnings were issued to President Penlonx over possible conflict that could soon take place with the Mardon. The President, however, only really cared about the Catharsis For All Project, even though the latest report from NGW was little different from earlier ones. Still he persisted with it, even after the latest report was released to the media along with the tremendous budget that NGW had for the program.

All these issues, coupled with a stalled economy, did little to help President Penlonx at the presidential elections. The Quence, in particular, were more concerned now about the Mardon than attaining non-corporeal bodies. Others, especially those once again effected by the economy, such as the Wazzen & Quotos, demanded attention to the economy & worry about the fantasy projects later.

In such an atmosphere then, no one was surprised, except President Penlonx himself, when he lost to the Quence candidate Nice Quainnyle. As previously, though, the result was by no means certain as it came down to preferences & recounts. Even then, Penlonx took the results to the Constitutional Court who, after their deliberations, awarded the Presidency in a split decision to Quainnyle.

9888 President Quainnyle immediately ordered two actions. The first was putting the UDF 10th on battle alert. Although the UDF fleet was not to open fire without being fired upon first (just in case the Mardon actually wanted to make peaceful contact), they were also told not to take any nonsense from the Mardon either. If it was a fight that the Mardon wanted, then that would be what they got.

The other was cutting back the budget to NGW & other government agencies. Even UPX suffered a cut back. Only the UDF escaped the cuts. In return, the money thus saved went into the economy. Although it was not as bad off as 20 years ago, the policies of the previous government had certainly made it stagnate. These economic policies were also seen as a political reward for the Wazzen & Quotos for supporting the President's electoral campaign.

NGW Oracle once again tried another attempt at their Vale & Beyond project. Although the Catharsis For All project had lost a considerable part of its budget, the Vale project remained untouched. NGW personnel had managed to convince the President as to the strategic importance of the program.

9889 As previously, little warning was given for the next specie to undergo the Catharsis of Existence. Like before, the bodies of the Zargah began to glow a golden colour which slowly progressed to the now familiar explosion of pure white light. Thus a new specie was born.

It was, as now become custom, the Humans who welcomed the new Zargah specie into the non-corporeal family. Not long after the Zargah had settled down to their new existence than they were invited onto the Ancients Council. The reaction of the Wellous was predicable, but the majority supported the new membership.

Alas the news of the transformation of the Zargah was not universally welcomed in the FGCP. Although now a private citizen, Penlonx brought up the old arguments of the past. Once again debate broke out as to the obvious differences between the corporeal & non-corporeal species. President Quainnyle, however, placed more importance on keeping an eye on the Mardon & the economy.

In an announcement, many cynically observed for re-election, Penlonx suggested that an independent research team be established to continue the Catharsis For All project. Funding was offered by Blurgiss, Nolange & Hippa at the prestigious, albeit it small, University of Blurqin. The wages on offer were excellent, so it was not at all surprising that a number of NGW specialists, who had worked on the NGW project, transferred to the Blurqin one.

9890 As the Mardon got closer to the FGCP borders, the NTF began to expand theirs. After stabilising their new federation, confidence in their future development had increased. Contact with the FGCP had remained constant, & although the last decade had been up & down within the Commonwealth, the NTF had begun to grow.

Now that confidence led to an expansion of their territory. It must be remembered that the NTF was originally only one sector of the FGCP. Since its establishment, millions had either been born in or migrated to the NTF. Thus the average citizen of the NTF was rather nomadic & that meant more territory was needed.

Alas for the NTF, they expanded their territory in the direction of the Mardon. While the FGCP kept behind theirs, scouts for the NTF ran into the Mardon patrols. Although the encounters were brief, two things occurred. First, the Mardon thought that the NTF was the origin of the UPX Torres & that the NTF only had a handful of such vessels. And secondly, the location of the aliens had been discovered, which of cause it was not.

For their part in the drama, the UDF watched these first encounters with some concern. Although it meant that the NTF would draw off the Mardon from the Quence Sector, it would mean that the NTF would become involved with a most dreadful enemy & a war. When President Quainnyle was informed, naturally he was relieved. He, however, refused to offer any help to, who he considered, a rebel sector & thus traitors (ironically the President never stopped aid going to the NTF).

9891 After the initial clashes between the NTF scout ships & the Mardon warships, the government of the NTF knew something was wrong. Although they did not enjoy the tremendous support that the UDF enjoyed in everything, the NTF were just as technologically advanced. Resources, however, were limited.

Having said that, spy probes of the small NTF military were sent in place of their scout ships. Soon the Mardon ships were revealed as the reason for the fate of their scout ships. Requests were made for help from the FGCP, but the President rejected them. UDF personnel in the Quence Sector did, however, unofficially send all the data they had been collected over the years on the Mardon.

Even the most seasoned citizen of the NTF was sickened by the data supplied by the UDF. Like the FGCP, the NTF had a free media, so rumours followed by detailed information about the Mardon, was soon known by the NTF population. This, of cause, got back to President Quainnyle who inturn sacked the senior staff officers of the UDF 10th fleet.

9892 The NTF fleet gathered as it could to defend the small federation. No help, officially or unofficially, came from the FGCP. With the sympathetic UDF officers no longer at the 10th fleet, it appeared that the NFT was on its own.

For their part, the Mardon advanced cautiously. Thinking that the NTF may have their large ships in ambush waiting for them, they mustered hundreds of their own ships in large fleets. Many of these were also of older classes, so their advance was further held up due to logistical support.

Many citizens of the FGCP, however, objected to this non-intervention policy of President Quainnyle. Although many did not like the fact that they had broken away, most still thought of them as close cousins. The Zargah leader Zonder, in particular, became very vocal over the issue, as the Zargah race constituted 25% of the NTF.

Still the President refused to act. In fact he was more than happy to state that he did not want to get the FGCP into someone else's war. Zonder, who quickly became the leading opposition candidate, demanded intervention & made it his election policy. A clear majority of the FGCP citizens agreed with him. Thus Zonder was elected President with a clear majority.

9893 President Zonder immediately offered military assistance to the NTF. Although the NTF leadership thanked Zonder for the offer, they would for the moment only accept intelligence data. This President Zonder thus ordered the UDF to do, but privately he was saddened by the fact that the NTF did not take up his full offer.

But NTF politics was another matter. Many of the NTF citizens did not want to see UDF ships patrolling their space. Many commented that there seemed little difference between Mardon or UDF ships within their territory. Even so, many were glad that the FGCP was prepared to help if needed.

For the present, though, the NTF looked after its own defence. Thanks to data supplied by UDF Nazzdorra stations, the first Mardon task force was tracked entering NTF space. Immediately, the NFT navy sent everything it could to intercept this task force. It was not long before battle commenced, wherein the Mardon task force was severely beaten back.

The results of the first small battle clearly showed the technological advantage that the NTF enjoyed over the Mardon. Thus the NTF became confident that, although they were smaller in number, the technological advantage was more than enough. UDF warned caution, but the NTF were confident that they would be able to defend themselves without UDF help.

Admiral Bock, UDF Chief of Staff, reported the situation between the NTF & the Mardon with concern. He was convinced that "... the NTF were in for one hell of a fight. They think they're not coming, well they will soon find out for themselves". President Zonder agreed with the Admiral & ordered the 10th Fleet to be ready for intervention, regardless of the complaints that were bound to flood in from the NTF.

9894 Since the defeat of their small advanced force, the Mardon decided to build up their forces prior to any move against the NTF. Thankfully for the NTF, all this activity was recorded by the Nazzdorra stations of the UDF. As part of their agreement, all this information that was collected by the UDF was forwarded to their NTF equivalents. Along with this information, the senior staff of the UDF 10th fleet once again expressed their concern to the NTF naval personnel. After identifying well over 400 Mardon ships, the NTF began to agree with them.

Unfortunately, the NTF politicians were not as quick to accept direct UDF support. To his credit, President Zonder requested that negotiations begin in order to establish a working relationship in regards to joint military operations. The NTF leadership agreed, but nothing moved fast.

On the other side of the galaxy, UDF spy probes noted that Sassnorah patrols in the Homer Sector, which had become rather routine, sprang into aggressive action without warning. Little information had been available, but it appeared that a patrol had been attacked without warning. Although there was no evidence, everyone suspected, both Sassnorah & UDF, that the mysterious black cloud was involved.

9895 As predicted, the large Mardon fleet invaded NTF territory. Outnumbered five to one, the NTF fleet put up a gallant defence, but in the end numbers told. After suffering 50 percent losses, the NTF fleet had to withdraw.

At this point there was little option but for the 10th UDF fleet to enter the war. As the Mardon fleet advanced, the NTF fleet did as best it could in order to slow its advance. Soon the NTF military commanders were aware of the activities of the UDF 10th fleet, but welcomed them to the NTF. It was, however, a different story with the NTF politicians. The military staff, however, from both parties ignored the complaints from the politicians.

The Mardon never knew what hit them. The ships of the UDF 10th fleet, far superior to both the NTF & the Mardon, cut into the Mardon fleet with little mercy. None of the 10th Fleet ships were destroyed, while 356 Mardon vessels never returned to their territory. Only a handful of their latest battleships escaped the massacre.

The Mardon, however, for their part did not let the massive defeat turn into a panic. Within hours of discovering the massive loss, all their reserve forces & other fleets came on alert. Within a few days, the entire Mardon Empire resembled a fortress. The UDF & the NTF agreed that for the moment they had done enough. In readiness for further action, the UDF 7th & 14th fleets were ordered to the Quence Sector.

9896 Although the UDF build up in the Quence Sector continued, no one suggested invading the Mardon Empire. When the suggestion was even raised with President Zonder, he rejected it outright. As far as the President was concerned, this would be a defensive war. If the Mardon kept within their own borders, that was fine with him.

Other issues, however, became more important. The first was weather the 10th Fleet should remain in NTF territory. As far as the UDF was concerned, it should. This sentiment was shared with their NTF counterparts who had no real fleet to speak of - particularly one the size of the UDF 10th Fleet.

While the FGCP concentrated on the Mardon, UDF spy probes continued to monitor Sassnorah military activity. Once again, the Sassnorah were rushing around their military forces in the Homer Sector. Although the UDF could guess that this latest activity was caused by the mysterious black cloud, currently there was nothing that they could do. As previously, the Sassnorah jealously guarded their own affairs & above all territory.

9897 As the Mardon reviewed their situation, they remained behind their borders ready to defend against any invader. This the UDF had no intension of doing, but like the Mardon, they had every intension of defending the FGCP & their cousins the NTF. Similarly, the NTF only intended to defend their borders. Unlike either the UDF or the Mardon, the limited numbers of their military forces ensured that they could little else.

Elsewhere, the Sassnorah military were at maximum alert. UDF reported this to President Zonder who was notably concerned. This, however, was not at the Sassnorah alert status, but more so at the fact that something or someone was at war with the Sassnorah & no one knew who or what. The Sassnorah, for their part, refused to comment on the matter. This only caused further concern for the UDF. Many feared that much worse was to come. No one really knew what it was, but as previously, the Homo spiritous members of the government & UDF knew it was something evil.

In the Presidential elections, there was really no potent opposition. President Zonder had brought calm & stability to the Commonwealth. The economy had become positive again & strong. A friend, that being the NTF, had been helped out & saved from the barbaric Mardon Empire. Truly the President had done well. It surprised no one when the President was returned to office for another 5 years.

9898 The Catharsis For All team at the University of Blurqin attempted their first major experiment to create a new Catharsis specie. Ten Blurgiss had volunteered in order to undergo the experiment. Many thousands had wanted to be such a guinea pig, but after an exhaustive search, only 10 were found to be suitable.

None of the scientists really knew what would be the result of this test. NGW was still adamant that science could not provide a procedure that could permit a specie to undergo the Catharsis of Existence, without the necessary natural phenomena, that allowed a specie to evolve to such an end & new beginning.

Regardless of NGW's constant objections, Penlonx pushed the Blurqin team on. The results of the test, however, were disastrous. As the time came near, the now familiar golden glow began with the test subjects. But this was the only positive result. Soon the experiment went wrong as each individual turned into flames. As they did, each body then exploded killing each subject.

Due to the dreadful results of the Blurqin Catharsis experiment, President Zondar banned any further such research. There would be no more testing on living beings. If the University of Blurqin continued, everyone involved with the project would be arrested. Penlonx protested this decision, but it was to no avail. Even NGW's project had limitation placed upon what could be done.

Before Penlonx & his team at Blurqin were closed down, they quickly packed their equipment & disappeared. Still backed by years of funding, they were rumoured to have left the FGCP & taken in by the Wellous. The Wellous, of cause, denied such rumours.

9899 NGW Oracle once more tried to test their latest Vale technology. Much had been learnt from previous experiments even though nothing had worked. What had come to knowledge was what the Vale technology did. It was more or less confirmed that it was a gateway to another dimension of existence. What was in that dimension no one knew.

The test, however, once again was not successful. Yet, as before, invaluable data was collected for future tests. Even more encouraging, although not realised at the time, was that for about a second, the gateway had opened. The data was analysed over & over again. This research clearly supported the theory that a dimension existent outside of the time-space continuum. It was further theorised that one could exist forever, in such a domain, while travelling freely to every location in the time-space continuum. Naturally, such a finding only spurred the NGW personnel on.

9900 The UDF continued to build up its forces in the Quence Sector. The UDF 4th Fleet now joined the others in order to balance the constant build up of Mardon forces. Similarly the NTF navy had been slowly growing as capital ships began emerging from their few space docks. Although more advanced than the Mardon, the NTF could only build one ship as against five of the enemy. Neither side, however, made any aggressive moves.

Although the moves & intensions of the Mardon kept the President's & most of the UDF's attention, the commander of the 3rd fleet, Admiral Lysindon, was more concerned with Sassnorah activity. Nazzdorra stations once again sprang to life as Sassnorah ships, now organised in fleets, raced towards their border along the Homer Sector.

Even though the Sassnorah considered the Homer Sector as their backyard, they had never, for fear of antagonising the FGCP too far, annexed the sector as theirs. Lately, as previously mentioned, they had been under almost constant attack by an unknown enemy. Previously it appeared that the Sassnorah had been able to deal with the attacker to a certain degree. More importantly, this attacker appeared to have kept to the Homer Sector. But now, the UDF spy probes suggested that Sassnorah territory itself was under attack. Although the FGCP had offered help, this had been refused.

This theory, supported by Admiral Lysindon, was supported by strong evidence after a UDF spy satellite came across what was obviously a battlefield. The remains of over 100 Sassnorah battleships were scattered over an area just inside their border. Examination of the damaged was the same as that collected at the two destroyed Sassnorah research colonies & the UPX Homer. Clearly the black cloud was on the move. The important question was where.

Forward to The War To End All Wars (999,901-999,950)

Back to The Rapture (999 808-999 850)

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