A History of the Homo Intelligens People

Chapter 5 Coming of Age
 

Provocation
 
 

It did not take long, under the circumstances, for the tension along the Phillis border to explode. Under orders to help any distress call, regardless of the location of the caller, patrol ships of the UDF 15th Fleet were soon crossing the border to intervene. Such acts seldom got the thanks of the Wellous ships who were usually the reason why a civilian Phillis ship sent the distress call in the first place. Small scale space battle were thus the result.

The Wellous, on the other hand, seized such events as proof that the UFP was deliberately being aggressive & was softening up the border for an invasion. Further proof, the Wellous argued, that such an invasion was not far off was evidence that clearly indicated that the 7th & 14th UDF fleets were either on the way to the Phillis border or were already operating along the border. The UDF would not confirm or deny such claims considering the possibility that the war could start at any moment. What was worse was the fact that both fleets were actually operating along the border, but in a defensive manner only.

Still it was enough for the Wellous to bring into the Ancients Alliance as active military participants two other Ancients civilisations, the Bennigious & the Xixaho. Little was known about these two civilisation other than the fact that they were about equivalent to the Wellous. In some respects this was a positive thing for the UFP as Federation technology was more advanced than the Wellous. But the Wellous had clearly organised an Alliance which outnumbered the UFP. Furthermore, one of their allies, the Jehovah, were more advanced than any of them.

As far as the Wellous were concerned, war started when the UDF put the 12th Fleet in Sassnorah Sector on full alert. Being part of the Federation that also bordered Phillis space, any activity on behalf of the Wellous had been rather quiet. The Wellous declared that they were deliberately trying to reduce the tension between the two powers, but in reality it was a ruse in order to trap the UFP. It seemed, according to the Wellous, that the UFP was getting ready to invade on two fronts & thus attempt a huge pincer manoeuvre that would swallow up Phillis space whilst trapping the Wellous forces.

Considering the mess going on, it came as a rude shock when Phillis forces began patrolling the Sassnorah border in earnest. UDF planners thought that the Phillis had all but been disarmed by the Wellous, but here it was very clear that the Phillis military was intact. When it became obvious that a large part of the Phillis military was ready to fight along side the Wellous, a few of the deposed Phillis leaders that had escaped to the Federation denounced their fellow Phillis. Unfortunately their cries of such actions were ignored & were continued to be ignored when skirmishes began along the Sassnorah border as well.

In total frustration, & fearing the next move by the Wellous, the UDF Joint Chiefs gave the order for spy probes to enter Phillis space & seek out the Alliance depots, fleets & whatever else may tell the UDF what may happen next. The Wellous, with their tactics, had been very successful at screening the movements of the main Alliance ships & fleets. For the first time, the various Indorra  stations could not see what was taking place. It appeared that one of the Ancients had developed some form of jamming technology that stopped Indorra tracking the magnetic warp signals of the enemy’s ships.

For the Wellous, though, once again the UFP were playing into their trap. Not realising what the Wellous & the others were planning, several of the UDF spy probes were caught right where they should not have been. The few that were not captured discovered nothing that would warn the UDF of the Ancients Alliance next move. The Wellous, now armed with the latest invasion of their territory, once more cried foul. The UDF were once again made to appear like the aggressor. This time the rhetoric of the Wellous was almost a declaration of war. As a result, the 7th & 14th UDF Fleets moved to cover the border in anticipation of a major attack. It was a fatal mistake.
 
 
 

Attack
 
 
 

Regardless of the concerns at Navy Headquarters,  President Lysander demanded that the 7th & 14th Fleets behave in an aggressive manner. The message to the Ancients Alliance was clear: the UFP was ready for war. As indicated, so were the Ancients. The Battle of the Border would be horrific. Seldom before had such a battle taken place. Even more scarce was defeat for the UDF.

As part of the aggression policy, both fleets had been deployed forward, that is the main force was concentrated in a thin line along the border. There was little or no defence in depth. This was not too unusual if ready for offensive action, but if they were inturn attacked it meant that the line could be overwhelmed & any defence was almost impossible. This is exactly what the Ancients wanted.

Only a few hours went by as the UDF Fleets got into their final positions. Then the attack came. Thousands of ships belonging to the Wellous, Bennigious & Xixaho attacked along the border with superior numbers. Absent at the time were Phillis vessels. These appeared to have been held back to concentrate on the Sassnorah Sector border. Even so, no aggressive action took place along this border.

Another group missing were the Jehovah. Even though their technology was known to be more advanced than anything the Federation had, & thus it was assumed that their vessels were more powerful, nonetheless they were absent from this first battle. Having said that, they were not really needed.

The UDF Fleets were in serious trouble from the start. Caught out & surprised, the UDF suffered high casualties. Still the Alliance forces suffered three time the number of losses as their counterparts. But, as stated, the Alliance enjoyed the numbers. They had built up their combined fleet the five times that of the Federation’s two fleets along the border. And with these numbers, they sent wave after wave at the UDF line.

It was very simple tactics & at the same time very brutal. The Alliance simply employed a massive frontal attack, knowing all too well that the UDF enjoyed no defence in depth. It did not take long before several holes appeared in the UDF defences. The UDF Admirals, on the other hand, knew they were in trouble & began a withdrawal when it became obvious as to what was going on. First the 14th Fleet began to withdraw in good order, while the 7th Fleet did what it could in order to cover their comrades withdrawal.

This ensured that much of the 14th Fleet survived, but the 7th took a mauling in the process. By the time the 7th Fleet had the opportunity to withdraw it had suffered up to 70 percent casualties. In fact it would be safe to say that it was no longer a fleet, considering the loses. The 14th Fleet, however, had only suffered about 25 percent loss.

Both Fleets withdrew rapidly on NGW Oracle. Normally such activity was frowned upon by NGW, but considering the circumstances, the UDF vessels were welcomed. To those serving in the 7th Fleet, however, it was a sad time. Not only had they been soundly defeated, but they lost their Fleet. Those ships that survived were amalgamated into the 14th Fleet. NGW also discovered that the same orders came through to them. Their security force at NGW Oracle were seconded to the UDF to be used as the UDF saw fit.

Fortunately, for the 7th Fleet, it would be reconstituted at Earth. It would not, however, enjoy the same ships & personnel that made up the original Fleet. Instead, all the reserve & second rate vessels that were scattered around the UFP would be rushed to Earth, along with anything current that could be spared from other missions. In some cases this meant taking capital ships from local planetary defence squadrons.  Needless to say, Earth’s security squadron of ten vessels were the first ships of the new 7th Fleet.

As the Alliance forces thus pursued the defeated UDF vessels to NGW Oracle, the "Rust Bucket Fleet", as the new UDF 7th  Fleet quickly became affectionately christened by the Intelligens rank & file, formed up at Earth. Other than its somewhat mixed ship class appearance, making it unique in the UDF, it also had another major feature about it. It was crewed mostly by Intelligens. This was another first for the UFP. The President had decided that the best people to defend Earth was without doubt its best fighters. It would prove to be a wise decision.
 
 
 

Under Siege
 
 
 

The Siege of NGW Oracle was a half hearted affair as the Ancients Alliance was concerned. Having pursued the UDF 14th  Fleet from the border, the attackers were themselves rather exhausted in the process. This was even more evident when a rather haphazard assault upon the NGW defence perimeter was beaten back with high casualties to the Wellous forces. Having done so, the Wellous awaited the arrival of their allies before attempting anything further.

After a council of war, it was decided that the planet was indeed too well defended. As a result, any serious attack on NGW Oracle would not only take time, but would mean a high cost in casualties. Speed was also very important to the plans of the Ancients Alliance. The next stage of their offensive had to go ahead before the UFP reacted in strength to counter their moves.

For the UFP, NGW Oracle was an extremely important asset. It was no wonder then that the President ordered the planet to be defended at all costs. Thus it came as no surprise that the 14th Fleet was given much authority in defending the NGW base. That, & the fact that 250 million UFP citizens lived & worked there was another aspect to its defence. Then there was strategy. UDF planners knew well that NGW Oracle was indeed the gateway to the Federation. Although it could be detoured, which was in fact what eventuated, keeping it in UDF hands meant it would be a major thorn in the side of any invader.

This became rather evident when, after the Ancients Alliance went rather quiet in their siege operations, small UDF task forces would launch lightning raids upon any sleepy Ancients. Intelligens became rather expert in these lightning raids overnight & were often employed in such task forces. To the Ancients Alliance NGW Oracle became an annoying boil that would not go away. Furthermore, whenever they did manage to intercept a lightning, more often than not the UDF task force would successfully fight its way back to the safety of the NGW defense perimeter.

It thus became clear to the Ancients involved with the siege, the Wellous, Bennigious & Xixaho, that the UDF had quickly learnt from their earlier mistakes & now it was they who were under attack. On the eve, however, of stage two of their campaign, the Jehovah would have none of their concerns. Granted, here at NGW Oracle, the UDF was showing strong resistance, but elsewhere the UDF were holding back & defending the main planets. Unbeknown to the UDF, this was exactly what the Jehovah wanted them to do.

The only clue, for the UDF, that something was amiss was when Phillis units started replacing the Bennigious & Xixaho forces around NGW Oracle. But what concerned the UDF leadership even more was the lack of any Jehovah activity. Now having a moment to breathe, analysis of the disastrous Battle of the Border clearly indicated that not one Jehovah ship was present. The Navy analysts made two conclusions. Either the Jehovah had left the Alliance, which seemed unlikely, or they were holding back for another attack. This second conclusion seemed the correct one as this was soon to be confirmed.
 
 
 
 

The Cosmic Schlieffen Plan
 
 
 

As with the initial attacks, the second stage of the Ancients Alliance offence came with little warning. For the Ancients, however, other than the UDF forces at NGW Oracle, there were no opposing forces. For all intents & purposes the second stage was merely an advance. Only UDF spy probes were the only thing in their way & these were given a short life.

Indorra, & all of its variants including the very advanced Nazdorra, still proved to be next to useless. Usually having a range of about 200 light years, it was a good day if the UDF got two light years range out of their detection equipment. Instead, as mentioned, spy probes had to be used instead. This had several drawbacks, namely the time it took for a probe to be in position not to mention the short life a probe could expect, but they did gather the necessary information & even their path of destruction told the UDF planners where the Ancients Alliance were heading.

Another benefit of the probes was first hand identification of the enemy’s forces. Indorra was not always able to exactly note ship type, although ship origin was usually identified by each civilisation’s magnetic signature. But actual visual identification ensured ship type &, unfortunately for the probe, weapons ability could also be documented. In a round about way, the Ancients Alliance actually did the UDF a favour. Thus the UDF knew, after a short period of time, the strategy employed.

At the front of the Ancients advance were the Jehovah. This was not all that surprising considering that they had not been seen to date. But the strategy being employed did take the UDF by surprise. Instead of an invasion deep into UDF space, which was expected hence the numerous fleet deployments around Blurgiss, Braggah, Hippa, Quotos, Nirvana & Epsilon, the Jehovah kept to the edge of UFP space. In doing so they created a corridor between the main worlds of the Federation & the emptiness of the Lessor Rift.

Although this corridor ensured that one of their flanks was protected, the other facing Federation territory was not. But here they made certain that this too was protected. As Phillis units had replaced many of the Ancients forces around NGW Oracle, this forces positioned themselves along the corridor created one long perimeter opposing any UDF counterattack. Furthermore behind the perimeter, reserve groups awaited any such attempt to break into the corridor.

The UDF commanders had been outmanoeuvred & out thought. To top it off, the Jehovah had still not indicated what their objective was. Currently, according to their movements, it appeared that the planet Akin, once a Planetary Protectorate until its recent membership of the UFP, was the intended target for the moment. This was rather logical considering its position in comparison with the main hub of the Federation. Establishing a strong base there would allow the Ancients to advance in several directions: either towards Lyonies, Earth, Nirvana, or the capital of the Federation, Epsilon itself.
 
 
 

Plans Upon Plans
 
 
 

The briefing was extremely important as these things go. The Jehovah offensive had been very successful. So far, nothing that the UDF had tried had worked. Their tactics, unfortunately, had more or less invited the success of the Ancients Alliance. Only at NGW Oracle had the defensive nature of the strategy been successful in stopping the Ancients.

"And as you can see, the Jehovah have stopped for the moment not far from Akin. We have the 8th Fleet covering Akin while the 6th is covering Lyonies space" Admiral Marg Mangin, a Spiritous, stated.

"Have we stopped them then?" asked a optimistic President.

"No sir. They’re consolidating if anything while considering their next move" answered Mangin.

"And that will be what Admiral?" asked Vice President Gee.

"Hard to say, but from the limited information that we have, I’d say they’ll move on Earth." The Admiral let that sink in before continuing, "but that’s not the current stunning development". Looking over to Admiral Zochovak, Mangin said "Admiral… "

"The Military Intelligence Corps conducted a mission yesterday to capture some Jehovah prisoners. At great cost to our personnel, they managed to get two. As we all know, the Jehovah appear human in appearance. There’s nothing new there as the Vargary & Unis, even my own species, could pass as human given a few changes. But this is where it gets interesting: they are human."

"How can they be human? They’re one million years older than Sapiens for starters" argued General Msinga.

"I know, but the tests clearly show that their DNA is Human: Homo Sapiens Sapiens to be exact. And yes, they are originally of Earth origin" replied Zochovak to a stunned room.

After a quiet moment, Msinga wondered out loud "Why do I suspect that the SSS know everything about this?"

Turning to the head of UPX, President Lysander asked "Is there anyone in the Elysium Union that is willing to talk to us off the record. The general here is right, I think, & we need to have a chat with the SSS."

Abi Loylic, the Minister for Foreign Affairs & a Lyonies, cut in saying "I’ve approached the Elysium Union diplomats several times during our crisis & they continue to say nothing. I get the feeling that we’re on our own."

"I’m fully aware of that Abi, hence the back channel approach" was the President’s sharp reply.

"But there’s something that you don’t know Mr President. I only found out this morning. The SSS are aware of our attempts to spy on them. It seems that your order to stop clandestine activity was never put into effect." Turning to face Zochovak, Loylic continued, "And there’s another thing: they’re also aware that Admiral Zockovak has made attempts to contact the Luciferins. Whether these discoveries are dictating their current position I can’t say, but from what I was quietly told I know they’re not happy."

Before the President exploded in anger, Lee Kobin (now Fontusme) spoke up "Mr President, I do have an important contact in the Elysium Union that might help. I have no idea if she’ll will, however, considering what I’ve just heard, but even if she does help it’ll be dangerous for all parties to say the least. Having said that, I might just have the ship that could pull it off. It’ll have to be an extremely complex mission too if we want to stop the war."

Still clearly angry, the President asked "What do you need?"

"I’ll need to coordinate with NGW & the UDF. We’ll have to keep it an immense secret, especially from the SSS. If they know what were up to, especially with one of their own, it’ll make the current conflict appear like a traffic accident" replied Kobin.

"What do you need from us Lee"? asked Zochovak.

The President quickly interjected "Not you Admiral, we’re going to have a long chat later. General Msinga here will head the operation." Turning to both Kobin & Msinga he continued "Whatever it takes. This must be successful. I’m not at all keen on giving orders that may mean fratricide."

As Kobin & Msinga left to begin their planning, the President seemed to age ten years in about as many seconds. Then he announced "Earth must be defended. I want the 2nd Fleet moved to Earth from Eden & join up with the 7th. And I want as many Army units that can be moved to Earth done so as well. If other reinforcements can come from Vargary & Lyonies Sectors then move them to Earth too. Mother cannot fall."
 
 
 

Operation Desperation
 
 
 

Although General Msinga was an Intelligens, he was not at all stupid. Having said that, Msinga thought he was stupid for volunteering for this mission. Still, he was the commanding officer of Operation Desperation & believed that if others were prepared to risk their lives for this part of the operation then he should too. He was even given command of the experimental ship for the mission, UDF Xenophon, even though it belonged to the navy.  Only commissioned the day before, NGW had worked overtime to, not only to complete the altered design of the ship, but also speed up its construction.

The UDF Xenophon was truly weird in appearance. Nothing, other than the ancient Sparta Class battlestations of long ago, resembled anything like it. Being a sphere, with a box on the bow for the bridge, command & control, the mess, stores & living quarters, with a larger box attached to the aft for engineering, power plant & engines, it was nothing like anything else. Furthermore, NGW had originally built the experimental ship for UPX, but this mission demanded the ship for the military.

Nonetheless, being for the military meant added features. Not only were BlackStar Beam Arrays attached, something never done to a UPX vessel before, but extensive defence shielding was likewise added. Another new piece of technology was a cloaking device. Although used on vessels before, only a handful of UDF ships had employed them. And these were mostly Military Intelligence Corps vessels. Furthermore, this was, like the ship, a new prototype cloak. Not only was it design to make a ship invisible in the Real-Time & Space Universe, but it would also work in the Elysium Universe.

But it was the experimental Barrier Shield, still in development at NGW, that was the fundamental part of the ship. Having been secretly ordered by President Munchester decades ago, NGW finally believed that they had gotten it to work, albeit still in prototype form. In truth, regardless what the successful tests at NGW Enigma had shown, the Barrier Shield had not really be used for anything, let alone for the mission at hand. In theory it should work, but putting it into practice was another matter entirely.

Still with all this knowledge Msinga, & a mostly Intelligens crew, were headed for the Elysium Universe. It was a very risky affair. If the SSS really knew what they were up to, & as yet there had been no indication that they did, the UDF Xenophon would not have lasted a second. Although the BlackStar Beam Arrays could do deadly damage to a SSS Guardian, the retaliation by the SSS would mean annihilation of the ship & its crew. Yet success of the mission would far outweighed the risk.

It did not take long for the Skimmer Engines of the UDF Xenophon to do their thing. But again NGW had been developing something new. Instead of merely using the edge of Elysium space to speed up  travel in the Real-Time & Space Universe, these modified engines made a Vale Gateway that permitted the ship independent entry into the Elysium Universe. Considering all the secrecy & associated technology involved, the planners of Operation Desperation were confident that the SSS would not know of the presence of the UDF ship. Msinga, however, was not as confident.

Upon arrival at the rendezvous point,  Msinga ordered that the cloak remain engaged. Furthermore all scanners were to be kept off line. Any chance of detection of the ship was limited as much as possible. Only cameras & other passive sensors would be used to constantly scan the area for signs of activity. If the wrong contacts were around, the ship would do what it could to remain undetected.

Suddenly the technology that they had gotten off the Ongoum sprung to life. This was another first. The non-corporeal life detector that the Ongoum had pioneered was far in advance of anything the UFP had. Its acquisition by the Military Intelligence Corp was probably the most secret & most successful mission ever conducted by Buckhoo personnel. If, however, the Ongoum government, or the SSS for that matter, ever found out about it, there would be an enormous amount of explaining to do. But in comparison to this mission, that was nothing.

The Ongoum device indicated that there was one non-corporeal life form approaching the UDF Xenophon.  Further analysis concluded that the approaching life form was a SSS. Msinga hoped it was the one that they were expecting & not a Guardian investigating the area. Soon the cameras picked up a single SSS that appeared not to be a Guardian. According to the ship’s computer, the SSS matched that of an Explorer. Msinga let out a long breath & ordered the cloak be disengaged.

The sudden appearance of the strange looking ship actually surprised Sarah. Not only had the SSS Explorer not sensed the presence of the ship, but she had not seen it. Only now, with the cloak turned off had she been able to sense its presence. Furthermore she could now tell that there were some Spiritous & Sapiens on board plus a large number of Intelligens. Interestingly there were no Luminous, or more to the point, their Catharsis Fontusme evolutionary persons. Still everything appeared to be in order, & after exchanging greetings, Sarah came aboard.
 
 
 

Battlefield Earth
 
 
 

The Jehovah reconnaissance force did not know what hit them. Being made up of only a few frigates & destroyers, the full weight of the 7th "Rust Bucket" Fleet gave them no chance. Admiral Zochovak was going to give the Jehovah no chance whatsoever. After being transferred to command the UDF 7th Fleet from head of Military Intelligence, he knew this was not a promotion. The President was giving the Admiral one more chance. It was, however, also an acknowledgment that the President needed someone who would fight & someone who may not follow the rules. Furthermore, the Zargah & the Intelligens under his command got along well as both knew the score.

With little warning, the vanguard of the Jehovah Fleet arrived. It was almost equal in size to the 7th Fleet by itself, which meant that the odds were with the Jehovah. But the defence of Earth was considered paramount by the UFP. The 2nd UDF Fleet was also present, thus doubling the numbers of defenders. Even so, the 2nd Fleet was being held in reserve so that something of substance would be waiting for the main Jehovah fleet.

There was also another aspect to the defence - that being the Air Force squadrons stationed on the Earth. Fighters, however, had become a left over from previous times &, as a result, had become a forgotten weapons system when it came to fleet engagements. It was somewhat true that one fighter was all but useless, but one thousand of them was another matter when acting together. Considering the circumstances, Admiral Zochovak was desperate & everything was put into the defence of Earth. And that included the Air Force fighters.

Due to the fact that the Jehovah reconnaissance force was quickly destroyed, the vanguard had little information available. Yet, upon arriving, they immediately attacked in order to soften up the Earth defences for the main fleet. Arrogance, however, made the Jehovah decision to attack instead of sound judgement. In reality, though, that meant little as Zochovak was going to attack them anyway.

This came as a rude shock for the Jehovah. They had become used to the UDF forces withdrawing in the face of a Jehovah attack & previously this had been the case. Previous encounters with the UDF, especially as shown at NGW Oracle, had indicated that the UDF was fighting a defensive campaign. That may have been the case elsewhere, but not for the "Rust Bucket Fleet". It was attacking!

What appeared at first to be a mad charge into death was, however, a carefully planned attack. To the fore were the Air Force fighters that were screening the capital ships of the 7th Fleet. Crewed almost exclusively by Intelligens, all knew that their lives would most likely be lost this day. As the Jehovah opened fire at long distance, the fighters took the brunt of the horrific attack.

Further the 7th Fleet rushed forward at maximum speed in a desperate attempt to get into range themselves. As they did so, more salvos from the Jehovah reached out, which only destroyed more of the fighters. Hence with well over two thousand fighters screening the 7th Fleet, few of the capital ships of the UDF suffered any damage at all. Even so, the fighters suffered well over 60 percent casualties. By the time the "Rust Bucket Fleet" opened with their own salvo, the fighters however had done their job with great courage & sacrifice. For them the victory would be credited.

The Jehovah were now the ones caught out. Having little of a fighter screen  themselves, their capital ships suffered great damage with the first salvo of the UDF BlackStar Beam Arrays. Having the advantage of longer weapons range no longer mattered for the Jehovah. And now at closer range, great damage was done to the Jehovah. Yet they too managed to score several hits as the UDF fighter screen was no longer effective. Still the Intelligens crewing the 7th Fleet did not care. Their blood was up & they were giving more than they suffered. Firing madly, but with precision, the "Rust Bucket Fleet" all but annihilated the Jehovah vanguard.

Admiral Zochovak’s tactics had paid off, but at a heavy price. He no longer had a choice but to commit the 2nd Fleet & have it, which was in reserve for the first two engagements, come into line alongside the 7th Fleet. This meant that his overall numbers were larger than ever, but as he did his calculations he realised that it probably would not be enough. Intelligence reports clearly showed that, even with the Jehovah vanguard being no more, the main Jehovah fleet was about the same in size as his Grand Fleet. If that was not enough, he only had a few hundred fighters left: no where near enough to repeat the successful tactics just employed.

It was in this situation that the Grand Fleet’s scanners started indicating the approach of the main Jehovah fleet. Unlike the approach of the two previous forces, they came in cautiously. Clearly the defeat of the vanguard had sobered up the Jehovah commanders & they had adjusted their tactics accordingly. Soon, however, the Jehovah battleline had formed up not too far from Moon orbit (albeit at a safe distance from any possible interception) & advanced towards Earth. It was a fearful but impressive sight. The Jehovah, though, made it clear that they were taking no chances.

Zochovak was given no choice. He had to match the battleline of the Jehovah, but stay close to Earth. He wanted the Jehovah come to him. With any luck the Jehovah would blunder into the BlackStar minefield, but this was unlikely. As they had shown elsewhere, the mines could be detected in advance & thus made to harmlessly explode causing no damage. No: it would come down to what General Msinga once said - they would have to "… slug it out".

In the middle of no-man’s land, that deadly zone between the battlelines, a Vale Gateway opened with no warning. Instantly picked up by everyone, Zochovak hoped it was who he thought it was. He was relieved to note that the UDF Xenophon exited the Vale Gateway in one piece. What was even better was the prearranged message from Msinga confirming that the first part of Operation Desperation was successful. Now came the tricky part.
 
 
 

Revelations
 
 

 
"Ready?" a nervous Msinga asked Sarah.

"Well considering this has never been done before…" was her reply.

At that the image of Sarah disappeared to be replaced by her real self - a bright white sphere in the middle of the dome. It was an usual & unique part of the UDF Xenophon. Originally a UPX ship, its original mission was one of a diplomatic vessel. The large dome that was  part of the ship’s design, was originally intended for concerts or diplomatic meetings. Now it was being used as a telepathic enhancer studio for Sarah’s message for everyone.

Suddenly, for those in range of the telepathic signal, namely the personnel aboard the two fleets about to engage in deadly combat, a vision of sorts appeared in their minds. It was something of a hologram mixed with that of a dream. Everyone saw it & the vision distracted, in fact took control of them, from their duties: whatever that may have been.

That which they witnessed was a history lesson. Out of the mists of a forgotten time, a massive war was being raged. On one side there were several specie members of another UFP (Vargary, Drey, Lyonies & Sapiens), whilst on the other the Zargah ravished planet after planet. The fleets of the UDF could not stop the oncoming hoards. Millions of UFP civilians fled in a wild panic from the Zargah. Many came to Earth or Lyonies, while others escaped to safe havens in the Freedom Federation & elsewhere.

Even though fortunes changed for the other UFP, many humans kept going. Rumours of an empty long distant Earth like planet brought together a convoy of close to 10 000 refugees. Having lost everything they were desperate. Yet destiny saw them through. After some fighting against unknown civilisations, mostly the Wellous, they finally made it to this mythical planet. It truly resembled Earth. In gratitude they named it after God - in other words Jehovah.

Thousands of years now flashed by as the planet Jehovah was colonised. After a while, the new civilisation quickly expanded as the population grew. Soon tens of millions of humans populated the planet, but as they were human so their curiosity grew. Out from the planet went explorers who discovered other habitable worlds. Although these were not as grand as Jehovah, they were nonetheless colonised. By the year 1 million AD had come along, a human federation spaned across 6 planets in thorough ignorance of the one that they had left behind so long ago.

Then it happened. The catastrophic UFP Vale Gateway experiment. The time distortion wave thus created, ripped through the Milky Way Galaxy resenting time itself back to 1945 AD. Almost everyone was touched by its power. With no warning, travelling at unprecedented speeds, it even travelled towards the Jehovah on the other side of the galaxy from the UFP. The other planets in the federation, other than Jehovah, all suffered the same fate as elsewhere. But not Jehovah.

There was one amazing feature of the Jehovah solar system that Earth never had: a wormhole to an unknown destination. Its gravitational & magnetic forces often played havoc with communication systems, but other than spectacular views from the planet, little else took place. Until now. Thanks to providence, the wormhole was eclipsing Jehovah at the time when the time distortion wave came ripping through the Jehovah system. That, combined with the gravitational & magnetic forces put out by the wormhole, saved the planet. Alas the Jehovah discovered that somehow the galaxy had changed, but they never knew how. That, however, recently changed thanks to the Wellous.

Next came the new humans: those that came along in the new post-Vale Gateway galaxy. Their history flashed past for all to see. Very different was it from the one the Jehovah could remember. Only the Liberation War appeared the same. Everything else was different. Even the Catharsis, which missed the Jehovah, came much earlier for the "new" humans. Furthermore, there were other humans now - the Luminous, Intelligens & now Fontusme. Above all was the realisation, for the Jehovah, of the SSS. And that one of them, Sarah, was here for them to see. It was a brave new world. And one which the Jehovah immediately envied.

With the completion of Sarah’s vision, everyone came back to their own senses. No one had, during the vision, noticed, however, that the two battle fleets had come well within range of each other. Everyone had been absorbed by the history lesson that they had just experienced. Now they had a choice: life or death. Now that the truth was known, only all of humanity would decide which choice it would be.
 

This creative work is the property of David Mark Atwell.
Enjoy!
You must gain the author's permission prior to any reproduction by any technology currently available now or any new technology at any future date. That also includes those damned thieves the Buckhoo. (Why they remain in the UFP I'll never know).
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