Balance Mod Game Story - Rise of the Xiati Empire
Turns 2422.1 to 2423.0
Minerals are the best!
A Phong saying for sure, but much effort was spent by the Xiati in the 2422s to upgrade both planetary mining facilities and retrofitting
the remote mining fleet, the Aggregator class, to help replenish the stockpile of this key resource. With pressure to continue expanding
the fleet, Emperor Tax'renath has been deplating resource stores for some time. As asteroid values continue to drop with each month of mining,
acquiring new colonies is a neccessity.
Building up Warp Point Defenses
Aside from upgrading planetary infrastructure, many construction queues have been dedicated to pumping out Dart and Ray
satellites along with Eruptor mines. The units are being collected and dumped at key strategic warp points throughout Xiati
space, including Eskirk-Drax, Lacerta-Praxis, and Fezzran-Falcor warp points. Up to 500 mines and 100 satellites are considered reasonably
effective to free up fleet resources for short periods of time to launch strategic strikes against the Xiati's many enemies.
Norak War
The Norak Continuum continues to primarily target the Sergetti Empire as well as expanding their colony base across the north, but still has
time to harrass the the Xiati's northern defenses at the Eskirk-Drax warp point. After 2421.7/8's breakthroughs, the Eskirk Defense Fleet had
just restored the warp point's Eskirk side defences when the Norak struck again with a small fleet of 10 ships cruiser to dreadnought-sized
ships. With the close proximity of the two fleets, the Norka's short high intensity beam weapons were particularly effective and they managed
to destroy 4 Xiati DEs and LCs. However, the Eskirk Fleet managed to destroy the attackers despite the losses. After the battle, the Norak
remained content to buildup their forces.
Eskirk Defense Fleet engages the Norak Fleet at Eskirk-Drax WP in 2422.4:
Ukra'Tal Surprise Attack
At the end of the year, the Eskirk Defense Fleet was enaged unexpectantly through the Eskirk-Drax warp point, not by the usual Norak or
Jraenar forces, but instead by a Ukra-Tal fleet (12xDEs,2xLCs,1xLCX,3xCRs,1xBB,62xFtr). The Eskirk Defense Fleet (10xDEs,6xLCs,6xBBs,7xSat)
defeated the attack with the loss of one Dauntless LC and 7 Dart satellites. The attack was unexpected as the Ukra-Tal have
only a few colonies in the north and very few actual ships.
Ukra-Tal Attack Eskirk-Drax WP in 2423.0:
The North-Eastern Front
After the Xiati takeover of the Fezzran system, Emperor Tax'renath had fleets and satellite groups blockading the south-north warp points
between Lezzari-Cunaxa and Fezzran-Falcor, leaving only the Sirius-Andross warp point open to allow EEE and Cue Cappa fleets to move into
the north. The takedown of the Fezzran system was considered a key blow to the Cue Cappa's Sergetti ambitions, which instead were exploited by
the Norak.
The Xiati's strategy moving forward is to merge fleet Fezzran and Lezzari fleet assests and use them to hold the Sirius-Andross warp point
and prevent the passage of Cue Cappa or EEE fleets to the north. Once the warp point can be sufficiently blockading with mobile units, the
fleets will focus engaging remaining combat assests in the north and trying to isolate and pick off the weaker EEE/Cue Cappa colonies that
will be cutoff from the bulk of their respective empires.
End of the Sergetti Empire?
With several recent colony losses to the Norak and Cue Cappa empires, the Sergetti Empire has been reduced to two planets and a handful of ships in the three most
north-easterly star systems. The Sergetti are a proud race so it is likely they will fight to the bitter end rather than allow themselves to be incorporated into
another empire.
Stellar Cartography
The Xiati Empire exclusively controls the central region of the quadrant, which has allowed them to concentrate their defenses on fewer strategic points. Many of the other
empires are diffuse, with many colonies spread over large areas which has hampered their ability to respond to hot spots and effectively concentrate their fleets. The Phong
Confederation is the most significant empire and have a substanial presence in all but the the southeast quadrant. The Cue Cappa and EEE empires are interwoven through the
southeast and a bit into the northeast. The Ukra-Tal occupy many planets throughout the southern systems and continue to battle the Terrans for control of the southwest. The Norak
have become the predominant empire in the north, where they taken much of the Sergetti's holdings as well as co-habiting much of the Jraenar Imperium's territory. The Jraenar have
found their systems full of "allied" colonies from the Norak, Ukra-Tal and Phong, but anger is slowly building within the Imperium as it has fallen greatly in influence over the
last decade.
Quadrant Map 2423.0:
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