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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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A
Contemporary Alternate History of the Epsilon Wars 1975-2003 By David Atwell Introduction Human
civilisation, as it was known back then, ceased on 1 May 1975. It would take a
further 29 years before Humans could once again call their planet truly home.
But this calamity to the Human race did not take place upon their own hands, as
had been feared for many decades since World War Two, but by the invasion &
conquest of the Earth. At the time,
few people knew that something was amiss in the Milky Way Galaxy. No aliens had
ever made contact with Humans: & there was good reason for that, even though
Humans had for some years now been exploring the sounds of the universe looking
for proof that intelligent creatures existed elsewhere out there. To further
their efforts, signals were deliberately sent into space inviting a response in
return. No signal ever came. That does not
mean to say that no one was listening. Over a small period of time, an alien
civilisation had begun to detect various radio signals & the like which had
begun transmitting from Earth at around the beginning of the 20th
Century. These signals grew in both frequencies & strength. Later, this
alien civilisation, which would become known to Humans as the Epsilon Empire,
finally took notice of Earth when the First
Contact messages were received some 30 years after they were first
transmitted. Unfortunately for Earth, the Epsilon Empire decided to reply in
person. The
Epsilonians, however, did not gain total surprise. Although they had nothing to
fear from most Human weaponry, they nevertheless conducted reconnaissance
missions in order to ascertain, not only the strength the Human military, but
more importantly to see if Earth could be colonised. The reports from the
reconnaissance missions proved to be impressive on both topics. Not only was
there very little chance of an invasion being defeated, but the planet was a
true gem in the galactic scheme of things as there were few rivals in the known
universe. For the Epsilonians, the decision to invade was thus not a hard
decision. Although the
reconnaissance missions went extremely well for the Epsilonians, they were also
eventually noticed by the United States military, albeit by accident. At first
no one really knew what they had spotted, but it did not take long before the
Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) to take charge of the investigation. Being
classified as “black”, the highest level of secret operations, DIA soon
realised what the data from various sources was telling them. President
Ford, when he was first briefed on the situation, believed that it was the
Russians. But DIA was adamant that it had nothing to do with America’s long
term adversary. This was something else & it only meant one thing: an alien
civilisation was spying on the USA & the rest of the planet. As far as the
military was concerned, this was not good. However, it took much effort &
time before Ford was eventually convinced by the arguments of the military.
Thus, without reference to Congress, he gave his last Executive Order - the last
one ever to be made by a President of the United States. A space based weapons
system, nicknamed “Star Trek”, would be made ready as soon as possible. But
for planet Earth, it was far too late for anything except prayer. “Star
Trek” never got past the concept stage. The
First Epsilon War They
literally came out of nowhere. Before the warning could even be raised, which
would have been pointless anyway, the assault fleet of the Epsilon Empire
attacked. Then handful of Human military units which did attempt some form of
defence were destroyed, albeit with some effort. But the strategy which the
Epsilonians had little time for such military niceties. Their plans for
conquering Earth involved much bigger plans. Humans had
only just started to tinker with the science of the neutron bomb. Essentially,
as the theory went, an atomic device would be able to detonate immediately
irradiating the target zone with deadly short term radiation. In fact this
radiation had such a short life, it was possible, within a matter of minutes, to
occupy the target area without any radioactive protection. Needless to say, such
a weapon was highly desired. The other
benefit of the neutron bomb was the fact that very little damage was left
behind. This meant that buildings, city infrastructure, industry, basically
anything innate was left for the invaders. Only those items, apart from
everything organic, which suffered from the electromagnetic pulse, would have to
be repaired or replaced. As a weapon of conquest, rather than ultimate
destruction, it was a highly desired weapon indeed. Humans,
however, had merely begun the development of such a weapon: the Epsilon Empire
had already perfected their use. In the initial Epsilonian attack, then,
hundreds of neutron bombs rained down on Human cities all over the globe. In
many ways the Epsilonians were practicing genocide on a world wide scale. They
were not interested in turning the Human race into a slave class. They simply
wanted us removed from the planet. But they wanted to ensure that the enormous
civilian infrastructure which covered the planet remained as millions of
colonists would soon be arriving. It is,
however, with much irony that a civilisation that was so willing to use
thousands of neutron bombs were also highly environmentally conscience. Their
initial plans called for clearing out the Human cities, where incidentally the
great bulk of the Human population lived, with the neutron bombs. But out in the
rural areas, where small towns & villages were scattered, the Epsilonians
used more conventional military methods as in air & land power. Inevitably,
although the Epsilonians suffered casualties as a result of these “clearing”
operations, the Humans had all but become an endangered specie on their own
planet. Although there are no figures available, the loss of Human life was
horrendous. Of the estimated 5.5
billion Humans living on planet Earth prior to the attack, it is thought that a
mere 350 million survived by the time the Epsilonians called off their
“clearing” operations at the end of May 1975. In all, only 6% of the Human
population survived the First Epsilon War. The Human
survivors, people from all walks of life, hid in terror wherever they could find
shelter. This usually meant in forests, wilderness, deserts, anywhere the touch
of Human civilisation had missed. Modern Humans had thus been drastically
thrusted backwards 40 000 years to the beginning. A beginning when they were
called Homo Sapiens & all these survivors knew of this period of their
specie’s history was memories of what archaeologists had theorised. Obviously some of the survivors knew how to survive off the land better than others. This was reflected in each region’s Human development prior to the Epsilonian attack. Thus many Third World regions, especially Africa, South America & much of Asia had the ancient skills in order to survive under these drastic conditions. Alas by the very nature of their development, Europe & North America had not. That is not to say that there were survivors in this part of the world, but due to the high level of urbanisation, their numbers were much lower than elsewhere. Australia, likewise, suffered terribly akin to Europe & North America. The
Survival What was left
of the Human race was a mere shadow of its former self. And things from the
first were far from anything better. Starvation, exposure to the elements &
disease were the immediate problems facing most survivors. Another was
isolation. No one knew what was going on outside of their immediate location.
Most trappings of the previous Human civilisation had been thoroughly lost. But
not everything. As Humans are
always prone to do, especially in adversity, communities quickly began to form.
These soon replaced the civilisations lost as the survivors began to organise
among themselves. Villages, many of them based in caves or tunnels, anywhere
which ensured safety, were readily established. Above all, any knowledge,
especially items such as books, were gathered up & kept in libraries where
possible. Above all Human organisation had
established itself & previous patterns of civilisation had remerged. As a result
of this Human activity, populations where structured into basically two groups -
hunters & gatherers. Within each group various specialists emerged such as
teachers, carers, warriors & the like.
Alas even with all this societal development, a further 150 million
Humans had died within a year of the Epsilonian attack. According to all the
signs, the Human race was heading for extinction. The Epsilonians need not do
anything else, except moving into the very cities which the Humans once occupied
& live the life as a colonial. Humanity,
though, would not die out. As the communities came together, so too did
families. Soon children were born. Although the “survivor generation”, later
called the First Generation, had no medical services to speak of in the modern
sense, nonetheless the Second Generation replacing the death rate. Having said
that, the infant death rate was tragic. It is thought that one in every four
children never made it to the age of 10. Millions would die by illnesses, which
a few years ago could be successfully treated. But not now. Nature had returned
with abandon. It was now truly survival of the fittest. Thankfully, the
Epsilonians did not return for some time. To be honest,
however, even with the heroic efforts by the surviving Humans to avoid
disappearing into eternal darkness, it must be acknowledged that Homo Sapiens
survived thanks to the Epsilonians. The Epsilonians did not have to call off
their “clearing” operations of May 1975. They could have continued on, for
there was nothing, which the Humans could have done, to stop the invaders. But
Epsilon High Command had considered that they had done more than enough to
secure the planet. The Humans, it was argued would not survive. It was thus a
waste of Epsilonian lives, time & above all money to continue. Instead, it
was the time to get on with building a new colony of the Empire: one which would
surely become a jewel in the Imperial Crown. Unbeknownst
to Epsilonian policy makers on this matter, the Humans had learnt to live &
remain in the wilderness areas. All contact with the outside world was avoided
to limit the risk of Epsilonian attacks. For Humans, there were better things to
do, such as gathering food & thus ensuring survival of the community. As
part of this process, basic survival skills had to be relearned & taught.
But all previous knowledge, well as much as could be kept, was also taught to
the Second Generation. Although there was no universal coordination, it seemed
the obvious thing to do regardless of where the community was located. The end
result of years of Human survival during this period was indivertibly not what
the Epsilonians believed would happen or desired. Instead of an extinct specie,
the Human race was transformed into a lean, mean, fighting machine. The Second
Generation, noted by many in the First as being very different from them, were
very much a result of their rugged Spartan environment. In fact some considered
them to be “enlightened but ruthless barbarians”. And if that was not bad
enough for the Epsilonians, by 1994, there were over 400 million of them. On the eve of the Second Epsilon War the Second Generation, one educated, all highly intelligent, all physically fit & healthy, all educated in hunting skills, including concealment, cunning & teamwork, all replying too on their primeval instincts as much as their tools & training, were ready for a change in the scheme of things. However, it was not any hot headed member of the Second Generation who would begin the war. Rather it was complacent Epsilonian colonists who would unwittingly invite the war. The
Second Epsilon War The war to
reclaim Earth began not with a bang but a whimper. Until the beginning of 1995,
no contact had been made between the Epsilonians & the Humans. That,
however, as soon to change. With a dropping of restriction by the Epsilonian
authorities, civilians were now permitted to travel wherever they wished, except
for obvious military bases & the like. For the most part, this meant the
wastelands & wilderness areas where the Humans had retreated to in 1975. Many of the
Epsilonian civilians went out of simple curiosity. Others went to see more of
“their” planet. Others went to see if there was any commercial gain to be
made. None, however, were aware of the dangers which awaited them. None were
armed. And none had escorts. At first, nothing took place. The wondering
Epsilonian & Humans missed each other, but that was to change. Although no
one knows the exact date of the first contact, it is thought that Asia was the
first region for it to happen. Certainly it was Asia where the Second War began. The first
clashes where, however, very low key affairs. Basically it involved a few
unarmed Epsilonian civilians being killed by Human hunting parties. Although the
Humans were really in search of food, they nonetheless knew who the Epsilonians
were. There was no mistaking them for other Humans or some primate. They were
humanoid in appearance, though, albeit much smaller at about 150cm, thinner,
& not as strong as their typical Human counterpart. The Epsilonian made up
for this by technology. But all the technology in the world was not going to
help the Epsilonians in the wilderness where Humans reigned. At first the
Epsilonian authorities hardly took notice of the handful of its missing
citizens. But as 1995 went on, more & more Epsilonians went missing. At
least police investigation units began searching for the missing civilians &
eventually discovered various remains. The investigators realised from the start
that the civilian deaths were not by wild animals or by natural causes. These
deaths were by the work of crude weapons & that meant Humans. As if by an
act of careful planning, which in reality it was not, numerous police units came
under attack by Human hunting parties. Many of the police did not survive, but a
handful did in order to raise the alarm. The police
kept the immediate reaction to themselves. Instead of calling in the military,
police units started patrolling the danger zones & kept civilians out. The
police, however, trained for civilian duties & not for military action soon
discovered that they were ill equipped & far outmatched by the Humans. But
that did not stop Epsilonian reinforcements being sent to the danger zones in
order to help the already embattled police. The
Epsilonians were not the only ones sending reinforcements to the so-called front
lines. The front lines were, though, far from front lines. Rather it was a
guerilla action on a small scale.
Police units would conduct search & destroy missions whilst Humans in
parties would hunt them. Instead of the police actually doing the destroying,
more often than not, it was they who were destroyed. As 1996 began, with the
police thoroughly defeated, the Epsilonians sent in their military. The military
initially did no better than the police, even though the police offered the few
lessons which they had learnt from their experience in fighting the Humans.
Essentially the military conducted the same strategy as the police had &
ignored to their peril advice from the police veterans. The result was, although
a few victories went the military’s way, basically the same as befell the
police. The military, however, had be benefit of strategic planners &, after
it became clear that things were not at all going well, decided to take a step
back & analyse the situation. Although at a
ground level, to those involved, it appeared that these clashes were nothing
more than a local thing. Yet when the Epsilonian annalists began looking at the
situation at a global level, they immediately became alarmed. To them it
appeared that a highly organised global uprising was on their hands. In one
sense they were right. Even though it was only a consequence of Epsilonians
moving into Human regions around the same time & thus the simultaneous globe
response, the annalists made the huge error of assuming that some Human global
organisation was conducting it all. Two
recommendations were thus put forward which would be taken up. The first was to
use all measures deemed necessary in order to repress the uprising &
liquidate the Humans once & for all. The second was, in order to achieve the
first, the Human central command had to be found & destroyed. Of course
there was no such thing as a Human central command & the Epsilonians would
waste vast amounts of resources, time
& effort in trying to discover its whereabouts. Naturally they never found
it. Whilst the
Epsilonians wasted their resources on factious Human command bunkers, they
nevertheless added greatly to the on going ground war. By mid-1996 this had
become rather vicious to say the least. The Epsilonians, now relying more &
more upon their technology, began to hammer the Human units. Instead of search
& destroy patrols, the Epsilonians used their superior surveillance
equipment & merely pin-pointed Human positions. Although it was still hard
work, over the period of a month, some 10 million Humans were killed in the
Epsilonian counterattack. It goes
without saying that the Epsilonian offensive was a sever setback for Human
operations. Yet at the same time it was an important lesson & one which was
quickly learnt. Too many Humans had become over confident. Now they understood
what a modern war meant. Tactics quickly changed & concealment became the
ever important word. The next important word then became theft. It was soon
realised by many that they only way to overcome the Epsilonian technological
advantage was to use their own technology against them. This was
easier said than done. But over the year, captured equipment had, slowly but
surely, begun to appear within the ranks of Humans. Some equipment had made it
make to the villages, where the few which understood once about electronics
& computers, tried in vain to unlock the secrets of Epsilonian science. This
proved to be impossible to much degree, especially in order for the Humans to
make their own, but they did figure out how to use them. As knowledge
& education had remained important to Human society, even during the dark
times of The Survival, so schools & training was not unusual. Now new
lessons were being taught: how to use Epsilonian technology & especially
weapons. Weapons, though, come in many different forms & possibly the
biggest Human discovery was of the abilities of Epsilonian military clothing.
Not only did it shield the wearer from infra-red & radar detection, but it
also provided some protection from energy weapons. Ironically, it gave almost no
protection against crude weapons like spears, arrows or blades. Thus by the
beginning of 1997, Human combat
parties, as they were now called, armed with the latest information about
Epsilonian equipment, went about to secure such equipment whether it be off the
dead bodies of Epsilonian troops or from Epsilonian camps or supply depots.
Either way it did not seem to matter to the Second Generation, although supply
depots were usually easier to hit & much more equipment was gained. Six
months would go by as Humans supplied themselves with all sorts of Epsilonian
equipment. As a
consequence of gaining significant amounts of Epsilonian equipment,
sophisticated communications equipment became available to the Humans. After
much trial by error & some luck, not only could various combat parties
communicate instantly with each other, but soon neighbouring villages could do
the same instead of walking. Not long after contact was being made with other
communities from distant lands & a communications network was able to be
established globally for the first time in 22 years. Amazingly for the Humans,
& yet a joyous one too, everywhere it seemed a war was being raged somewhat
successfully, albeit with limitations, against the Epsilonians. It was soon
agreed that a coordinated strategy be adopted with definite objectives. The
Epsilonians were in trouble. It did not,
however, take long for the Epsilonians to discover the Human communications
network operating. It was, though, a rude shock when they discovered that the
Humans were using their equipment! But that was not the worst of it. The
Epsilonians, due to the very nature of their military activities, had made
interception & decoding of their communications impossible. If a
communicator was not part of the recognised network, then it was thoroughly
impossible to understand the messages going back & forth. The only
major benefit, which the Epsilonians thought came from their frustrating
discovery, was the Human Central Command theory was a reality (actually it was
not). The only problem though, which one of the millions of communication sets
was the command centre. Just as bad was the fact that the location of these
sets, changed rapidly. Clearly the Humans were fast learners & had been
underestimated. Unfortunately for the Epsilonians they did not realise the whole
truth of the matter. Not only were the Humans using their communications
equipment, but the Humans were using everything else Epsilonian that they could
get their hands on too. Nonetheless,
the Epsilonians decided to up the stakes. Although they did not knew where the
Human combat parties really were, they did establish where a number of the Human
settlements were through one means or another. Another vast “clearing”
operation would thus take place wherein, if the Human soldiers could not be
destroyed, then their means of support most definitely would. It, though,
required some time to organise, as their military was rather scattered all over
the place, but given a month & it would be done. The Human
combat parties, though, realised something was amiss. As the battlefields became
deserted of Epsilonian troops, it became obvious that a major offensive would
soon take place. The Human leaders nonetheless decided to attack & take
advantage of the void created by the missing Epsilonian troops. It would,
however, be a carefully planned offensive with one objective: the Epsilonian
arsenals holding the neutron missiles. As a precaution, the Human civilian
population, mostly the First Generation, were warned to seek safety as best they
could. On 15 March
1998 the Epsilonians launch their great “clearing” operation. It was
horrendous. Even with the civilian Human population deliberately hiding from the
expected assault, 25 million died within two days. The Epsilonians, though, did
not use any neutron weapons in their attack, as some had feared, because
ironically the Epsilonians believed that the use of such weapons would be far
too destructive to the environment. It was the Humans which they wanted to kill,
not everything else. After all, this was their planet now. The Epsilonians
believed that they were finally succeeding against the Human problem. It was
only a matter of time. It did not
take long for the Human commanders to ascertain that the great Epsilonian
offensive was on. In response they commenced their own. Enjoying the benefits of
their enemy’s technology & weapons, two million Humans came out of
no-where & descended upon their one objective. Being both surprised &
overwhelmed, the Epsilonian forces, guarding the important arsenals, fought as
best they could but did not last long. The Humans got what they came for &
more. Not only did they get 2 500 of the deadly neutron missiles, but they got
various armoured vehicles, transport & aircraft, not to mention millions of
weapons. The next part
happened so fast, no one can really say with certainty what happened. Human
specialists, who had been studying Epsilonian technology for some time, went to
work on the neutron missiles. These had various safe guards of course, but with
were dealt with in due course. By midday Zulu time, 17 March 1998, Epsilonian
military units began returning from the so called great offensive, desperate
battles ragged around the now Human defended arsenals. Armed with the same
equipment as their Epsilonian counterpart, wave after wave of Epsilonians were
repulse whilst they desperately tried to defeat the defenders. It was to no
avail. The Human specialists managed to get around the last safeguards. At 18:00
Zulu time, the neutron missiles flew. A few minutes afterwards, all 2 500 hit
their targets. The Epsilonian population was decimated like the Human one before
it in 1975. The battles around the arsenals, however, continued for some time.
But soon, secondary Human units numbering in the tens of millions began to
infiltrate the neutralised cities looking for anything of military equipment.
Much was found, & although items like fliers & the like was more or less
useless, save for a few specialists, other ordinance was not. Although Epsilonian casualties were by now dreadful, with at least 500 million dead (65% of the Epsilonian population), it was the global evacuation order by the surviving Epsilonian authorities which really ensured victory for the Humans. Not knowing what the Humans had in stall next, it appeared to everyone, whatever the move was, that the Epsilonian military had no chance of stopping it. Thus the surviving Epsilonian government feared total annihilation. The military shared, albeit in a disgruntled manner, similar thoughts especially after the Humans used the neutron missiles without any restriction. It was far better to evacuate the planet, regroup & be reinforced, & then return to take back the Earth. For
The Needs of Earth - The Third Epsilon War The Human
race, ironically, had a lot to thank the Epsilonians for: not only did it bring
the Humans together as one, something never achieved before in our history, but
their technology, & above all their weapons, ensured Human victory in 1998.
But the Epsilonians only considered their defeat & evacuation as a temporary
measure & intended to limited their casualties which had already become
unacceptable. Although the military could somewhat hold their own, it was clear
that the Epsilonian civilians could not be protected. The return of
the Epsilon Empire to Earth in late 1999 would be, however, an anti-climax.
Nonetheless their return would also witness one of the greatest space battles in
history. The Humans, though, were waiting for them. The specialists, since the
conclusion of the Second War, had become tutors. Now thousands of their fellows
were given a crash course in Epsilonian technology & equipment. Although
their skills & knowledge were not up to Epsilonian standards, their desire
& enthusiasm certainly made up the difference. Another
aspect which must be considered for the Third War is the fact that the Humans
were able to capture much of the Epsilonian industrial base on Earth. This
ensured that the Humans could produce the same type of equipment which fitted
out the Epsilonian military. Again the Epsilonians had helped the Humans here by
the very fact that both civilian & military equipment was all rather user
friendly. Basically all the operator had to know was which button to push. The
computers & robots did the rest in the construction of the
required item(s). Furthermore,
there were the immediate changes taking place to the Human race once again. Even
before the Humans had taken back
their planet, the Third generation began to be born. Although this would
obviously distract the efforts & resources of individuals, it also gave
extra emphasis upon ensuring that the Human race would, not only keep hold of
Earth, but to go further. Any future plans, however, were put on hold as most
rightly believed that the Epsilonians would return soon. And it was this ability
to concentrate upon the here & now which would ensure that the Humans were
ready. Human
civilisation too was rapidly changing. For the previous 20 years, Humanity had
more or less been isolated from everything including each other. Decisions were
done on a village level. Most were democratic. However, now that Humanity was
united & the common enemy gone, differences between villages & regions
soon raised to the surface. But once again the Epsilonians were the Human’s
savour. Thanks to the highly advance communications equipment, the Humans became
experts in the field & even improved upon the original Epsilonian
technology. By 1998 most of the population could contact instantly almost any
other Human on the planet. Seizing upon this communications revolution, most of
the Human leaders, all from the First generation, agreed that a Participatory
Democracy be established globally. Thus important decisions, especially about
their common enemy, would be made by the entire People of the Earth. If Humans had
thought that they had seen all there was to war, the return of the Epsilonians
in 1999 would change all that. In comparison to the space battles which would
soon occur, the previous fighting on Earth had been merely trivial. The
Epsilonians would have returned much earlier, but they had their own troubles.
As other civilisations had heard of the reverses of the Epsilon Empire at Earth,
two other societies had begun making threatening moves. As a result, any
Epsilonian return to Earth was postponed until these more disconcerting events
had been dealt with. Nonetheless,
after eighteen months, the Epsilonians returned to Earth on 2 November 1999. It
was an enormous fleet, even by Epsilonian standards, but the Empire had made
several strategic & tactical mistakes. The most notable was the lack of
reconnaissance missions. Only a handful were launched which proved to be next to
useless. The Humans, who had been alerted by the advance of the Epsilonian
Fleet, thanks to their own reconnaissance missions, deliberately hid their fleet
behind the Moon. They had set an enormous ambush for the invaders. The other
mistake made by the Epsilonians became apparent when the massive battle began.
Unlike the Humans, only half of the Epsilonian ships were actually space combat
capable. Anticipating little or no space combat, the Epsilonians had included a
large number of surface bombardment ships. These were to support the surface
elements of the invasion army & to fire thousands of neutron missiles at the
Human cities. But for space combat they were next to useless. At 06:00
hours the Epsilonian Fleet arrived & immediately
formed their battleline. 900 vessels of several classes & 250
fighters, screening the main fleet, organised themselves for the attack on Earth
in total ignorance of the Human fleet. Then the Epsilonian scanners picked up
the impossible - a large fleet approaching them to their rear. Immediately upon
the arrival of the Epsilonians, the Humans attacked. Moving at flank speed, the
Humans advanced rapidly in order to get into range. Furthermore, from
the surface of the Earth, came close to 300 fighters. As the Epsilonian
fighters engaged their opposite numbers, the main fleet was left exposed to the
charging Human fleet. At first it
may have seemed undisciplined of the Humans charging recklessly, but it was in
fact a well thought out plan in order to trap the Epsilonian fleet & offer
it no chance. It also ensured that the large Human combat ships would get to the
Epsilonian bombardment vessels first, thus ensuring that their neutron missiles
could not reach the Earth. By the time the Epsilonian escorts could turn to face
the oncoming Human threat, most of the bombardment fleet had been destroyed
without loss to the Humans. Next came the
Epsilonian escorts. Now battle would be sever. The Humans, although they had
more or less equalled the numbers, now began to suffer as many casualties as
they claimed. The Epsilonian experience & training was more than a match for
the emotion & enthusiasm of the Humans. Many Human ships were hence
destroyed due to inexperience in space combat. Things appeared to get even
worse, however, when the Epsilonian fighter screen, even though outnumbered, had
finally defeated the Human fighter force. At this point, the Human space fleet
began to retreat in some initial disarray towards the Moon. Only 89 of 430
survived. The
Epsilonians, determined to destroy the Humans now rather than have them
interfere with any invasion attempt, charged after the fleeing Humans. Convinced
that they had routed the Humans, the finish should not be much of an effort,
especially they still had 151 ships & 40 fighters which were combat
effective. To their credit, though, the Human fleet was actually retreating in
good order. This fact began to concern the surviving Epsilonian commander who
did not quite know what to make of it. Either it was vindicating his concern
that the Humans would attack again to stop any invasion or they were up to
something else. By the time the Epsilonian commander realised that another
ambush was possible, his fleet, now near the Moon, came under heavy ground fire. Ordering a
retreat, he was horrified to see hundreds of deadly particle beams hitting his
ships. Added to this firepower, the Human fleet had quickly turned around &
was now advancing towards his position. Knowing that victory had been turned
into a defeat, there was only one thing left & that was to leave. The
Epsilonians had little other choice other than total destruction. The Epsilonian
commanders decision witnessed 93 Epsilonian ships & 25 fighters survive. Humanity had won its freedom. Peace, however, would be a different story. Cry
Havoc - The Ongoing Conflict After the
repulse of the last Epsilonian warship, Humanity thought it could finally be at
peace: at least for a while. The Epsilon Empire was truly defeated, as much by
Human efforts as by the enormous cost of the war. But Human victory in 1999 had
merely become one part in the overall scheme of things. For the Epsilon Empire,
Human victory in 1999 was only the calm before the storm. Humans continued the
massive construction of their space forces throughout 2000. The following year
would then witness the beginning of the end for the Epsilon Empire. By mid 2001,
apart from the establishment of a defence fleet, two attack fleets had also been
constructed. The Human Participatory Democracy, which a few years ago had seemed
like such a good idea had, in fact, become a nightmare for some. The First
generation had lost control. Drunk from numerous victories which they had won,
the Second generation demanded the right to take the war to the Epsilonians.
Enjoying sheer numbers on a ratio of 2:1, the Second generation simply outvoted
the First, regardless of the concerns argued. About the only concession the
First generation got, & one which the Second generation readily agreed to,
was the establishment of the defence fleet. The last thing anyone wanted was
losing the Earth after all the effort to win her back. Nonetheless,
by 1 August 2001 the two attack fleets had left Earth to wage war upon the
Epsilon Empire. In normal warfare, such an audacious attack upon a much larger
enemy would be ludicrous, but not now. The Epsilonians had lost much more than
equipment & personnel in their conflict so far with Earth. They had also
lost all confidence after the Third War. Furthermore, Earth now enjoyed surprise
& the initiative. The Empire never thought that the Humans would
counterattack & do it so soon after the massive battle for Earth in 1999.
Thus thanks to a mixture of reasons, the Humans achieved victories in two quick
battles in November 2001. By the
beginning of 2003, the Epsilon Empire was in serious trouble. Having lost ten
planets, 37 moon/planetoid colonies & a similar number of space stations,
there seemed nothing which could stop the Human fleets. Added to the woes of the
Epsilonians, two more Human attack fleets have only recently joined in on the
offensive. Much debate on the war, however, has erupted in the body politic.
Tactics which involve the use of massive neutron missile bombardments, at a rate
even higher than that which the Epsilonians conducted on Earth, has coursed much
division. Nevertheless the Second generation continues the war unabated. Many of the First generation have given up on the savage & barbaric Second. The Third generation (numbering about 600 million in 2003 & still growing), however, now growing up in the trappings of a free & democratic civilisation, show much promise for the future. Thanks mostly to circumstance, the Third have had much more contact with their grandparents than their parents. If things go right, not only will they inherit the strengths & skills of their parents, but also learn knowledge & wisdom from their grandparents. The future will be theirs to write.
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