Rise and Fall of

The New Roman Empire

Part Two

The first thing we should have taken note of was that the machines stopped attacking the Ungal system for some time. The second thing we missed is that many of the systems that used to be occupied and controlled by NP-125-QYYB are no longer occupied at all. They are all lifeless systems. Finally and most disturbingly of all, a fleet of over two hundred and fifty warships are sitting in the last Meklar system that happened to border Ungal. To our astonishment, this one single fleet is larger than the combined battle fleets of our entire empire!!!

Immediately Admiral Toranaga pulls the newest and most powerful ships from our reserves and places them in the Ungal system to help buttress their defenses bringing them up to sixty warships, including ten system ships. Knowing that these sixty ships would not be enough he quickly orders the battle fleet that had been hunting down and exterminating the Harvester menace, one hundred and nine ships total, to Ungal’s defense. Every ship in our empire that is not assigned to pirate suppression is immediately sent to address this new threat. Given their distance from Ungal, even using a worm hole as a short cut it will take our main battle fleet nine years to arrive. We are not at war yet. We can only hope that this remains true long enough to build our defenses!

As fate would have it, time was not our friend. Three years before our main fleet arrived at Ungal, the gas bag empire of Ralianuey declared war on us. One year later a combined fleet of Ralianuey and another crystal race calling themselves the Glghacha attacked our forces at Ungal. Seventy enemy ships attacked out system where, with my ally the Riptezew we had eighty-five ships in defense. The battle was fierce. We took some losses, half of our system defense ships were destroyed along with a number of ships from two of our carrier armadas. But in the end the day was ours! We successfully repelled the first assault and we are heartened that in only two years we will have significant reinforcements.

Two years later, our reinforcements arrive just in time for a new assault, this time the attacking ships are exclusively commanded by the gas bags. Once again there is a fierce fight with ninety attacking ships against my one hundred and ninety ships (not all of which can fight due to the number of task forces my and my allies ships are divided into). This time the last of my system ships are destroyed and my allies system ships take some serious losses. The battle is very devastating, but our firepower wins the day and we repulse the second attack!

The enemy had over two hundred and seventy five ships in his fleet prior to the siege of Ungal. According to field reports, he has reinforced his invasion fleet, but his total force is down to one hundred and eighty ships. Given the one hundred and sixty we already destroyed, that means they had over three hundred and twenty warships in that one fleet! We are down to one hundred and fifty ships in our only battle fleet. The odds are improving as we whittle his fleet down, but the bulk of his force has yet to engage.

Two more years go by, we are able to pull one more armada from reserve to increase our defenses, if the war continues with our losses being this high, things look bleak. We have increased our budgetary policy to holy war but military production is not as high as it needs to be if we are to be victorious in a prolonged war of this nature. Our reserves are almost completely depleted. We do not have enough ships of any one class to form even a single armada. Then the third wave of the assault comes in. Seeing that there are only seventy ships in this wave we feel some relief. There is another brisk battle and what was left of Riptezew’s fleet defending Ungal has been pulverized.

This set of attacking ships appears to have been more developed than previous waves. Noting with concern that our technology may be behind our enemy, Admiral Toranaga advises that we immediately redesign all of our ship types in order to maximize the benefit of our technical achievements thus far. Looking at the battle damage assessments and the estimated strength of the remaining gas bag fleet Toranaga can see all too well what the result of this war will be if we lose this system. The galactic map is turning white from the progress of their fleet. If we lose this battle there is no reason to believe they will be more generous to us. If only we would have noticed this threat earlier!

Maybe if we had paid more attention to what was happening elsewhere in the galaxy then we could have made a preemptive strike against the gas bags before they could become this much of a threat. Perhaps we could have come to the aid of the machines and used their forces to help us stop this menace. Then again, maybe we would have seen the threat and sat still hoping that it deal with our enemy and then pass us by.

The next year, the fateful day arrives. A massive fleet of gasbag ships from the Ralianuey empire appear above the skies of Ungal. Toranaga immediately orders his fleet to launch all of its missiles and fighters. (I selected watch, defend planet. Hoping that the comp would help give me an edge by launching my missiles immediately and allowing me get in the first lick of the fight.)

Sitting in the command deck of his Battle Cruiser Toranaga watches with savage glee as the first wave of his missiles impact on the advance armada. Suddenly his glee turns to dread. The missile wave did a great deal of damage sure, but this armada is obviously the more advanced version seen in the last battle. Although a number of ships are destroyed the strike did not have the impact he had hoped. Then more dire news. Wave after wave of enemy missiles and fighters are inbound from their main fleet. While he still holds hope that he can win the battle, Toranaga can see that his fleet is going to pay a very dear price even in victory.

With a thunderous flash the first wave of enemy missiles impact on his forward armadas and disaster! In mere moments the entire armada is destroyed. Then as more and more waves of missiles and fighters come into play, the battle is no longer in doubt. Humanity has lost the battle for Ungal. Our last best hope for keeping the enemy hordes at the gate has failed and the only thing that will stand between them and our destruction are small groups of system ships defending our inner systems.

The battle is over. Our fleet is gone and the colony of Ungal III has been bombed out of existence. Defending against pirates is no longer a priority and all of our outdated task forces are recalled from pirate duty for one last desperate attempt to recapture Ungal. As Toranaga is forced to wait for his force of old outdated and smaller warships to gather for the attack the aliens move on to attack the Saak and Khumba system. The Saak system falls and its worlds are quickly scortched, but the Khumba systems’ defenders are able to repulse the first attack. However their victory is to no avail as the second attack destroys the remaining defenders and opens yet more of our empire to their deprivations.

Next, the Bungala system is sacked. Then the last insult. Like sharks smelling blood in the water every one of our neighbors, save our trusted ally who is suffering similar losses as our own, begin to launch attacks on what were once peaceful fronts. Everything is collapsing. Our people are dying and our civilization is collapsing. Even if our attempt to recapture Ungal is successful our empire will remain greatly diminished for quite some time to come. Then the moment arrives! Drawing out every ship in reserves, every single starship, no matter how old or outdated is put together and in the year 392 we launch the attack that will either save us all or spell the final end of the Roman Empire. In 394 the battle is fought, and the age of the bulk of our fleet is painfully telling. The battle is lost and the enemy suffers barely a third of the losses that we take.

Realizing that all is lost and hoping to both save our people and spite our enemies, we begin to gift our worlds to the New Orions. They were once a dread enemy, but they never sought to exterminate us as these gas bags seem intent on doing. The war is over. Now we only need time to save as many people as possible. Time the gas bags are working hard at denying us.

Well, the game is over and I lost. The patch seemed to do wonders for the computer. I had fun and am looking forward to playing again. Have a good day.