Human Time Line 3101

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

Human Time Line 3101-3150

Fourth Age

Trials & Tribulations

Fourth Age Glossary (2950-3200)

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3101 After their massive defeat at the Battle Of Honshu, the Essence Ancients continued to remain quiet. They were content to conduct reconnaissance missions only. No engagements were conducted. This suited the UDF fine as planing meetings gathered pace between themselves & their new war allies the Zargah.

The Zargah for their part wanted to get on with it. Energised by their participation in the Battle of Honshu, restraint was not an option. This was besides the fact that senior UDF staff constantly advised caution. The UDF had had a number of setbacks so far & had learnt not to take the Ancients lightly. Having said that, they were pleased by the attitude that the Zargah brought with them.

Stationing Zargah forces within the UFP, however, was another matter. Many groups, especially the Vargary, were not overly happy on the issue. Even though President Patricia Roman tried everything to placate the Vargary population, she had little luck. Furthermore, the Drey shared similar thoughts about the Zargah "invasion". The President, in the end, came to a compromise. The Zargah would be limited in their patrol territory. Vargary & Drey Sectors would be left solely to the UDF.

Honshu Sector was the first region to have a Zargah fleet defending it. As the UDF 11th Guards Fleet was being rebuilt after the Battle of Honshu, the Zargah 9th Fleet conducted the defence. A similar situation occurred in the Grand Sector where the Zargah 5th Fleet relieved the UDF 4th Fleet, which in turn patrolled in the Hi-Lang-Ja Sector. All things considered, the UDF was better defended now than ever before.

3102 NGW finally managed to get into one of the captured Essence Ancients ships. The technology was extremely advanced, at least equal to the Nazzer ships that the Nazzernich used. The worst sight was the dead crew. The effects of the gamma radiation weapons of the Zargah were horrifying. That, however, did not stop examination of the dead bodies.

Even taking into account for the effects of the gamma radiation, the Essences Ancients were just plan ugly. In 1 million years of evolution, from what was a rather typical looking humanoid specie, had drastically changed. Instead of the usual arrangement of a head, neck, torso & 4 limbs (the Nazzernich being the only exception with 6 limbs), the Essence Ancients were truly unique. Many of the other humanoid species could in fact be considered branches of the same race. Certainly the Humans & Vargary fell into this category. Apart from slight differences in height, eyes, & feet "design", little else was different (except their DNA). Lyonies, likewise, could fit in with the Humans & Vargary, except for their profuse amount of hair & bulky looking head. The Drey, even with their green skin, again had a body shape similar to Humans.

The Essence Ancients, however, appeared anything but Human. Their neck & heads had grown into their torso. Thus they had a "lump" on top of the torso where the skull was attached to the backbone. Panoramic vision was, though, available thanks to four eyes: one on each temple with two in front. The four main limbs, two arms & two legs, were supplemented by ten tentacles that were attached to the backbone. These, it was theorised, could easily hold, manipulate or fight as extra arms. Examination of the brain indicated a gland similar to those found on the Nazzernich. The Nazzernich "extra" gland was where their psychic powers came from. Accordingly, it was thought that the Ancients also had psychic ability. This was more or less supported by the fact that few control panels could be found on the bridge or elsewhere on the ship.

Although examination of the Ancients bodies revealed much about who the UFP were facing, the secrets of the ship would be harder to discover. That, however, did not stop hundreds of NGW personnel going over the ship to document every detail. The Zargah wanted to share in the data discovered &, although NGW was reluctant at first, President Roman ordered them to do so. She even, as punishment due to NGW’s constant bickering, forced them to hand over one of the Ancients ships. Naturally the Zargah were delighted.

The Ancients, while all this was going on, returned. Their numbers were low, though, as small Essence Ancients task forces returned to their hit & run tactics of before. The Nazzdorra network was kept extremely busy as hundreds of task forces moved around the time stream daily. Likewise, the UDF & Zargah forces, guided by Nazzdorra, had to shadow the Ancients while keeping to real space. The Joint Chiefs suggested taking the battle back into the time stream, but President Roman did not want to risk it. Clearly the Ancients had all the advantages in the time stream & besides there was an election to win.

The election did not have the heated campaigns of the previous ones. The victory at Honshu had settled down the internal bickering of the Federation. The victory also ensured that the "pro-war" party had gained the upper hand. Likewise a victorious President Roman had little completion & was re-elected. A last minute emotionally moving appeal, however, by the "pro-peace" Quotos candidate did manage to get some votes back, making Roman’s winning margin less than that expected.

3103 The Ancients continued with their tactics from the previous year. Engagements began to take place at several locations, but only when the task forces concerned were small & only when the Ancients had the numbers. The UDF & the Zargah never really won any of these, particularly in a tactical sense, but then again the Ancients never got past the UDF & Zargah lines. The planets, transports & civilians were untouched.

The Essences Ancients ship that the Zargah were presented with did not last long. Unlike the UFP, the Zargah never had any experience with examining alien technology. It was one thing for them to be given Indorra, which was not that difficult to master, it was another thing taking an Ancients ship apart. NGW, on the other hand, had turned this very exact science into an art form. And like any work of art, patience was the key. Patience was, however, one thing the Zargah had little of. Thus it did not take long before the Zargah’s Ancients ship exploded in horrific fashion, taking some of the best Zargah scientific minds with it.

NGW were not impressed to see an invaluable asset, such as the Ancients ship, destroyed by the Zargah amateurs. They impressed upon President Roman not to send another one. She simply smiled at NGW chairman Ike Simpson & said:
"You know Ike, what better way to keep MMD getting into Zargah hands, than by letting them being their own worst enemy?"
"Are you saying you knew that they’d destroy that ship?" Simpson replied.
"I’m not saying anything & you, of all people, should know better. Besides, now we’ve got a very good reason to keep the others."
"Very good reason. At this rate we’ll have none ourselves if the Zargah are this hopeless", Simpson said with a chuckle.
Roman’s next comment, though, made Simpson lose his chuckle. "I want to see everything from your office before it’s sent to them [Zargah]. After this war is over, there’s no telling what they’ll do with captured Ancients’ technology. Regardless what their Chancellor reassures me about, I still don’t trust them.".

As Brock B’laree once said long ago about his experience as President; "Although the enemy of my enemy may well be my friend, you better make sure that that new friend isn’t standing behind you with a hidden knife."

3104 The Ancients, as before, changed tactics. Large task forces would now jump into real space at some distance from their intended target. Not only were the UDF & Zargah forces taken unawares, but their smaller task forces needed to combine before trying to intercept the larger Ancients one. Several pitch battles occurred across the Federation.

On one such occasion, the Zargah 5th Fleet got themselves into serious trouble. To their credit they managed to disengage. Their capable commander, Duke Seanzea, soon realised that the Essence Ancients were trying to encircle his position & thus annihilate his fleet. Although the 5th Fleet lost 21 ships, they nonetheless thwarted the Ancients attack on Nolange. The Ancients, noticing that the 5th was skilfully handled, decided not to push the issue, considering that they had lost the advantage (even though they had lost only 6 ships).

NGW, using the "Cap" & experienced psychics, managed to get one of the captured Ancients ships under partial command. It was an amazing ship. They were a somewhat hybrid between the organic ships of the Nazzernich & advanced alloy-atomic science. While the hull & internal structure of the ships used manufactured alloys & the like (not too dissimilar to UDF ships), the computers, wiring & much of the equipment was organic. They were a "cyborg ship" for one of a better class name.

Although all this was impressive, minds at NGW had already started wondering whether the time threshold could be broken. Here they had a ship from the future that naturally enough could travel back to the future. Until now, for whatever reason, this had never been achieved, regardless of how much effort was put into making it happen. More work would have to be completed before the ship was fully operational. But NGW were confident that would be achieved within a few years. Their experience from the Nazzernich ships should surely pay off on the Essence Ancients ones.

3105 As the task forces of the UDF & Zargah grew larger & larger, so too did the Ancients ones. Soon these forces were the size of fleets again as the Essence Ancients stuck to their tactics of jumping into real time, some distance from their intended target, & advancing from there. The UDF & Zargah, thanks to data from Nazzdorra, likewise had to adapt their tactics to match the Ancients.

Venturing further out from the planets they were defending, skirmishing often took place before the Ancients fleet would jump back into the time stream. Then a race would occur back to the target between the two enemies. Sometimes the UDF would get their first, other times the Ancients would. Civilian casualties rose as a result, but they were never excessive. The Ancients paid particular attention to UDF & Zargah fleet movements & would immediately withdraw at the approach of a strong defending fleet.

All this was extremely annoying, not only to the UDF Joint Chiefs, but also the President. She wanted to know why the UDF, even with Nazzdorra, could not defend the Federation adequately. The explanation was simple. As before, the Ancients had the advantage of the time stream. Furthermore, even though the UDF may enjoy the strategic aspects of Nazzdorra, little could be done to counter smart battlefield tactics. Clearly the Essence Ancients were avoiding UDF & Zargah forces where possible, while attacking & demoralising the civilian population. The UDF was doing all the right things, but so far so were the Ancients.

3106 The Zargah rotated their 5th & 9th Fleets out of the UFP & replaced them with the 3rd & the 6th. Neither fleet had seen action in decades. As a result, although eager, they were also very inexperienced. The UDF was sad to see the Zargah 5th & 9th Fleets go, but understood the reasons for the rotation. To help the new Zargah fleets "settle in", they were each paired with a UDF task force.

The Zargah 6th Fleet took up station in the Honshu Sector. Little action had occurred there since the Battle of 3099. The Hi-Lang-Ja Sector, where the Zargah 3rd Fleet would defend, was a different matter. This sector had experienced many engagements, & the Zargah 9th Fleet had done well in their duties. They had also learnt how to work with the UDF forces & this relationship had developed into an efficient & professional one. The 3rd Fleet still had a lot to learn.

Nonetheless, this did not stop the Zargah 3rd Fleet wanting action. And they soon got it. Teamed up with a task force of the UDF 4th Fleet, both fleets were under the nominal command of UDF Admiral Hancock. Soon, Nazzdorra identified a large Ancients task force heading for Jaffona. There was also large Ancients fleet that appeared to be accompanying them. At some distance from the planet, as had become a routine tactic, the Ancients task force jumped into real space while the larger fleet remained in the time stream. Hancock ordered caution as the combined fleet moved to intercept the Ancients.

That, however, as far as the Zargah 3rd Fleet was concerned, meant attack at full speed. Soon the 3rd Fleet burnt their engines at flank in order to intercept the Ancients task force. A worried Captain Doug Fletcher, commander of the UDF Nimitz could not believe it. "I hope you don’t expect us to go with them Admiral."
"Stop your frowning Doug. Wait a moment. You’ll see them come tumbling back", Hancock replied.

Sure enough, Hancock’s prediction came true. As the Zargah 3rd Fleet charged after the Ancients task force, the main Ancients fleet jumped into real space. Frantic manoeuvring by skilful, yet inexperienced, crews helped save the day, as they tried to avoid the unwelcomed surprise. Amazingly, most of the Zargah managed to race back to the steady UDF battleline. Although the Zargah lost 12 ships to none, it was an important lesson that they learnt. The Ancients, for their part, began a pursuit, but broke it off when they realised that the Zargah were reforming next to the UDF task force. Fearing that a counter-trap was about to be sprung, both the Ancients main fleet & task force withdrew to the time stream without any loss. Jaffona was saved from attack.

3107 NGW at Millennium managed to open the data storage files on board one of the Essence Ancients ships. Numerous files were discovered about gene manipulation. One particular file covered OrganicBots. Although NGW & UDF had experimented with battle robots in the past, battle robots had always been disappointing. Besides that fact that they were not cheap to build, a fully trained humanoid with the right equipment usually came out on top in combat. The various skills, experience, instinct & plain common sense, more often than not, witnessed the live humanoid soldier defeat the unalive robot soldier. The OrganicBot program of the Ancients, however, captivated NGW.

Before President Roman was due to retire, NGW approached her about their new program entitled Project UniBot. Considering that the war could go on for years to come, NGW argued that at some future point, robots may be needed to replace losses in UDF personnel. NGW would develop these UniBots from the technology discovered from the Essence Ancients & that known about the Nazzernich. The result, it was hoped, would be countless numbers of highly intelligent military personnel capable of fighting the war for the UDF. The most important factor would be that UFP citizens would not have to die - the robots would. Countless lives would thus be saved. Although Roman was sceptical of Project UniBot, the idea that lives maybe saved was very appealing. Thus she authorised the project.

The Ancients continued to attack the UFP from the time stream. Employing the same tactics that had almost caught out the Zargah 3rd Fleet the year before, various planets were once again attacked. The Zargah, though, were quick learners &, with the UDF, managed to thwart most of the attacks.

The general public wanted to know were the Sparta class had disappeared to. Here were, undoubtedly, the most powerful warships ever built & they were in hiding. Although President Roman had authorised three times their deployment, the battle was over before they arrived. Many in the UDF queried whether hiding them at secret bases was really the right strategy. Others, however, argued that the Ancients were deliberately trying to get them out into the open whereupon massive Ancients forces would descend upon them. Then, with the Sparta class out of the way, the real invasion would begin.

The presidential elections, even though the war was hotting up, were a rather quiet affair. The concerns about whether the UFP was getting into a dreadful war had past. It became clear: whether the Federation liked it or not, it was in a war that it did not want. At least one important fact was known this time; the UFP did not start this one. Many citizens thus wanted continuality in leadership. Few were surprised when Vice President Harvey Vega of Earth won the election.

3108 When the Essence Ancients attack continued along the same patterns as previously, President Vega agreed that the UDF needed more flexibility with deployment of the Sparta class. The current policy of hiding them in three secret locations, although ensuring no losses, also meant that they had missed every engagement that they were authorised for. Consequently, they were formed into task forces of four ships each.

Calling them a task force, though, was a major understatement. The firepower of each of these task forces equalled that of even the largest UDF fleet. Although each Sparta task force would still be hidden, they were spread out across the UFP as they were once decades ago. Thus if authorised, they should be able to intercept any sizeable Ancients force without, in some cases, having to travel 1 000 lights years to do so.

3109 Even though the UPX expedition to Essence had been destroyed at the beginning of the war, some years later, when it was deemed safe, they & NGW had returned. Although not as large as previously, they nonetheless tried to find out more about the Essence race. Other Ancients planets, likewise, were explored for anything that might aid in the fight against the Essence Ancients. It was unfortunate - that which had merely started as a genuine scientific mission to satisfy the quest for knowledge, had now been turned into the quest for military hardware.

UDF was curious to report that Ancients activity had dropped significantly. They had no particular evidence to suggest the change. No large battle had taken place to reduce their numbers. If anything, the evidence of the past few years indicated that their numbers had increased. UPX, however, soon discovered the answer to UDF’s questions. Many UPX & NGW ships had been refitted with either old Tindorra sets or the new Nazzdorra sets. To their horror, UPX personnel received warnings of the approach of the Ancients.

Keen not to repeat their slaughter on Essence as previously, frantic evacuations took place. The same patterned occurred everywhere else. Wherever UPX had an archaeological project on an Ancients planet, the Essence Ancients would arrive in force. Hundreds of UPX, NGW & the occasional UDF & UHS ship, came flooding back over the border to the relative safety of UFP territory. Several Sparta task forces were authorised to cover the incoming evacuees. Thankfully, the Ancients were satisfied with just clearing the Ancients planets & did not pursue.

The first UniBot prototypes where a thorough disaster for NGW. Regardless how they followed the Essence Ancients instructions, the UniBots were nothing but hideous forms resembling nothing more than a lump of flesh. Many began to speculate that such a program was even beyond the Essence Ancients. Possibly more research should, instead, be conducted into Nazzer techniques. After all, they had been successful with the Nazzernich.

3110 The Zargah began rotation of their fleets in the UFP. As before, only two fleets were committed to assist the UDF. Although the Zargah Empire was not as large as the Federation, it still had a large area itself to defend. The Zargah military were well aware of their defence requirements & deemed fairly that they could only spare two fleets to support the UFP. This was understood & accepted by the senior UDF staff.

As before, the Zargah fleets would take up positions previously patrolled by them, namely the Honshu & Hi-Lang-Ja Sectors. Several UFP members, like the Vargary & Drey, still wanted nothing to do with the Zargah. This, however, was about to change.

As the Zargah 8th Fleet was moving past Ni’Vil on its way to Nolange, the Nazzdorra set on the planet alerted the defences. It was not known whether the Essence Ancients where targeting the planet or the Zargah fleet passing nearby. The problem was, however, that all Zargah forces had strict instructions not to stop for anything while in Vargary or Drey Sectors. Defence here, for political rather than military reasons, would be left to the UDF. The only problem was that the nearest sizeable UDF force was at Vargary. It would take more than a day to cover the distance. The Ancients would arrive in hours.

Luckily for Ni’Vil, the Zargah disobeyed their orders, which was not anything new. The Ancients arrived in force just as the Zargah 8th fleet was forming up. While the Zargah ignored Ni’Vil space control, who were screaming about various code violations, the Ancients attacked. Although the Zargah force was outnumbered two to one, they fought as bravely as any Zargah would. Revenge class ships fired away, while Essence Ancients ships cut into the Zargah. The local UDF command quickly realised what the Zargah were doing & deployed the planetary defence grid to support them. The local UDF security force joined into the battle, but its eight ships were no match for the Ancients. All were eliminated. So were all but 12 Zargah ships.

The heroic & stoical stand by the Zargah 8th fleet would become legendary. 198 of their ships stood against 415 of the enemy, over 200 of whom did not return to their time. The remaining Ancients ships, who still had a sizeable force, withdrew to the time stream when their scanners identified the UDF 9th Fleet rushing at flank speed to intercept them.

Ni’Vil & its mostly Vargary population of 1 billion was saved. 55 000 Zargah had perished so that the Ni’Vil population would not suffer. The Vargary would never forget the Zargah sacrifice. Only a handful of extreme Vargary activists continued the old hatred. The Drey too, changed their attitudes as a result of the Sacrifice of Ni’Vil. President Vega awarded the entire Zargah 8th Fleet with the Medal Of Honour. No one in Congress disagreed.

3111 After the Sacrifice of Ni’Vil the Ancients virtually ceased operations while they analysed their position & regrouped. The Zargah, like the UFP, honoured their 8th Fleet. Although technically it was a defeat, it nonetheless was celebrated by everyone as a massive victory. Militarily, though, it was a massive hit for the Zargah. An entire fleet had more or less been lost in battle. It would take years to recover the numbers. It also meant that the UFP would only have the support of one Zargah fleet for the next five years.

Now that all of UPX personnel were back within UFP territory, projects that were put on hold or taken a distant second, once again came back to life. One particular project, which had all but been forgotten, was the Lucifer project. Although Lucifer continued to shine as bright as ever, much to the annoyance to Mars that had experienced periods of the Looney Duel Toons, everyone had forgotten about Europa & Ganymede. Both moons now resembled alien landscapes. Europa was now a water world, something akin to Pacifica. Its icy crust had melted long ago. It was one vast ocean of water. Ganymede appeared to resemble an very young version of Earth. Oceans had replaced ice packs while continents had formed. Importantly, atmospheres on both planets showed promise. UPX went to work to make Ganymede habitable.

3112 The Essence Ancients continued to be quiet. Although a few raids took place to keep the UDF on their toes, nothing substantial took place. UDF, out of curiosity, sent spy probes to a number of the Ancients planets that the UFP had been "evicted" from a few years ago. Although the Essence Ancients had destroyed any remaining UFP infrastructure, they themselves had left no presence. UPX considered returning, but President Vega was not overly interested. UDF considered it a waste of time & pointed out that they could do nothing to protect the UPX teams.

NGW produced a second batch of prototype UniBots that, like the first ones, did not survive long. Having included more Nazzer technology, however, did improve their results. Although nothing like what they were trying to achieve, NGW personnel were confident that success was not too far off. Clearly, for them, a hybrid method of gene manipulation that included Essence Ancients, Nazzer Ancients & current UFP technology, would eventually be successful. Then UDF could have all the UniBots that they required. The only problem was no one, either NGW or President Roman at the time, had asked UDF if they wanted any.

The presidential elections were a rather emotional event this time around. The President made sure that the Sacrifice of Ni’Vil was not forgotten, especially on the Vargary. Many complained that this was in bad taste. Furthermore, the "peace" party began to be heard again. Now that the Essence Ancients had become absent, many started to discuss a possible peace. The end result was extremely close, but President Vega was narrowly re-elected.

3113 UPX, with little else to do, announced that Ganymede would undergo the habitation process. For UPX, & their other partners NGW & UHS, this had become rather routine. Not only had several worlds, including Epsilon, been brought back to life, but both Mars & Venus, that had never had any significant periods of life (if any), had also become thriving, living planets. Lucifer had already helped in the habitation process, now UPX would do the rest.

Europa, however, became a bit of a mystery. Although the changes to the moon had been pronounce, even more so than Ganymede, it was questioned whether the moon could ever become an effective colony. Put simply it had too much water. Although its core was made of rock, its entire surface was water. It would be almost impossible to, thus, establish a large population on the moon with having to develop either elaborate underwater infrastructure or cities that would float on Europa’s oceans. It might be one thing to have a holiday resort established in such a way, but a community of millions of people was something else again. Nonetheless, UPX established a research base on the moon.

The Essence Ancients, meanwhile, returned in some force applying their harassment tactics. Having been somewhat absent for the last few years, every UFP sector was attacked by small Ancients task forces. The UDF & Zargah were kept busy trying to counter these latest attacks. They were partly wrong footed having reverted to the fleet formate anticipating that the Ancients would attack in force. Nonetheless, UDF & Zargah task forces were once again established & patrolled the UFP.

3114 NGW at Millennium finally got one of the captured Essence Ancients ships fully operational. Not only could they get the weapons to fully fire, which surprisingly were not any better than the destructive power of the BlackStar Beam arrays, but more importantly the MMD was working normally. First tests, which involved jumping in real space, returned surprising results. In real space, the MMD worked no better than current UFP technology. Everyone wanted to test out the time stream travel ability of the ship. Particularly if they could travel into the future.

When President Vega heard of NGW’s request to try out the captured ships time travel capabilities he said "Absolutely not! The second that the Ancients discover that we have one of their ships, NGW will have the biggest space battle on their hands ever recorded. Mark my words, the Ancients would track that ship down, destroy it & NGW’s base at Millennium. In fact I’m surprised that they haven’t already tried".

Although NGW was rather annoyed at not being given the chance to fully test out their Ancients ship, Admiral Hancock took in deeply what the President just stated. There could be an opportunity here to force a major engagement on UFP’s terms. If the Ancients would act in the way the President just described, then a nasty surprise could be waiting for them at Millennium. Even the Spartans could finally get involved.

3115 NGW continued, however, at full speed with their other major project. The third batch of UniBots were a major improvement over the previous two. Numerous problems continued to plague these prototypes, though, & all had to be scraped. The lessons learnt in their analysis would insure that the fourth batch could be successful. It appeared that the answer was just around the corner. While all this was going on, no one at NGW gave any consideration to any moral or ethical code behaviour. Everyone considered the UniBots to be simply that: Universal Robots.

Just as NGW were still having problems with their projects, so UPX was having problems with Europa. Having established a research station on the moon, data started to be collect that could not be explained. As far as anyone knew, prior to the creation of Lucifer, Europa was dead. UPX had never found evidence that life existed on the moon. Many centuries ago, it was hoped that there was, but alas Earth had no neighbour that even enjoyed the simplest of life forms. Now, however, some of the data collected from Europa appeared to indicate the contrary.

The Essence Ancients once more stepped up their attacks on the UFP. Large task forces now raided the frontier colonies & planets spreading panic. Millions of terrified colonists, thinking that they were safe being so far away from the main planets, fled in fear. UDF & the Zargah forces were taken by surprise, especially by the size of the forces that the Ancients deployed. This had never occurred previously, as the Ancients had mostly hit the core planets. Locus suffered in particular. The University of Locus, as well as most infrastructure, regardless it be government, military or civilian, was destroyed. Casualties were high. In desperation, UDF closed the planet & evacuated the entire population. Bizan suffered a similar fate. By the end of the year, no one knew what had hit them.

President Vega demanded that the UDF do something. The Joint Chiefs replied that there was little that could be done. As previously, the Ancients enjoyed the advantages of the time stream. It was they who could choose where & when the attack could take place. The UDF could not be everywhere at once. It was at this point that Admiral Hancock spoke up. The President liked the plan, especially when he was given credit for it.

3116 NGW was delighted that the President had finally permitted them to test the MMD capabilities of the captured Ancients ship in the time stream. Indeed they were pleasantly surprised that everything worked well. They were told to be careful. If there was even the slightest chance that the Essence Ancients had detected them, then they would return immediately to NGW Millennium at best speed.

Few people took any notice when the1st Home Fleet left its bases at Mars & Venus. Although once long ago, 1st Fleet hardly ever left Earth’s solar system, now due to the war, various task forces came & went all the time. Even the entire fleet would depart at times. Around the same time, the 11th Guard Fleet departed Epsilon. This did raise a few eyebrows due to the fact that the entire fleet departed. Since the Guard Fleet had been transferred to defend Epsilon in 3001, only the occasional task force had ever left the system.

It did not take long for the Essence Ancients to detect one of their lost battleships. What it was doing they did not know, but they did suspect that the Humans were up to something. The common consensus was that the Humans had captured one of their ships & had finally gotten it to work. This could not be allowed. The ship & any data on it had to be destroyed.

UDF Nazzdorra operators, & UDF patrols, began reporting that Ancients activity had immediately ceased. More importantly they appeared to have returned to their reconnaissance missions which were particularly concentrated around the Honshu Sector. The Zargah 2nd Fleet immediately went on alert as did the UDF 7th Fleet. Nothing further, however, was seen of the Ancients.

UPX still did not know what to make of the data coming from Europa. Many theories developed. The leading one was the genesis of life itself. Europa had always had all the right ingredients for life to begin. It was possible that the creation of Lucifer was the final ingredient required for it to happen. The idea was exciting & UPX took on a new energy. UPX, thus, poured all their resources into discovering this answer. In the meantime, nothing got done on Ganymede.

3117 After NGW had successfully concluded the first test run of the captured Ancients ship, they were given permission to conducted another test. Although a few of the older ones thought something was up, NGW personnel were eager, nonetheless, to take the opportunity. Little did they know that they were bait.

CNN were the first to start asking the question: "Where was the 11th Guard Fleet?" Since last year, it had not been seen. When the UDF gave no reply, CNN head office on Earth suddenly realised the same thing in regards to Earth; "Where was the 1st Home Fleet?" Again it, like the Guard Fleet, disappeared last year & had not been seen or heard of since. It appeared that some disastrous battle had taken place & now the UFP was extremely vulnerable.

The NGW crew aboard the captured Ancients ships suddenly became concerned. Their scanners, which were not as good as Nazzdorra as a matter of interest, identified what appeared to be a large Ancients fleet on an intercept course for them. The captain immediately followed his orders & headed back to Millennium. He just hoped that the Ancients would not follow.

The NGW Ancients ship jumped into real space at Millennium. The captain, now thinking that transmission was safe, called ahead to warn of a possible attack. A very nervous space traffic controller acknowledge the captain & proceeded to advise on the usual docking process. The captain thought it unusual, but complied. As the ship docked, though, the captain thought it odd that the Millennium space dock & the surrounds were deserted.

Out from the time stream 480 Essence Ancients ships entered. It was the most horrific sight that ever was beheld by anyone. As there appeared to be little around, the huge Ancients fleet moved in on the planet & importantly the captured ship. Nothing of the ship or the planet would survive. They moved into for the killed.

Admiral Hancock, in his flagship, gave the order. Before the Ancients the entire 1st Home & 11th Guard fleets de-cloaked. 500 of the finest ships that the UDF had on offer opened fire with everything. These ships had been waiting for a year for this & they were not going to be disappointed. The Ancients, however, were not going to go down without a fight & returned with a horrendous salvo of their own. Ships vaporised & exploded by the hundreds. But the Ancients wanted out.

Just as fast as they had attacked, the Ancients turned around to escape. To their horror four Sparta class ships de-cloaked blocking their escape path. In doing so, the Spartans let loose with a volley of firepower not yet experienced. At least a hundred Ancients ships were destroyed as a result. Many Ancients ships returned fire & it was not long before the Spartans began to take damage. This, however, was only a temporary respite as the new Zargah 8th Fleet jumped into the battle ensuring that the Ancients had no where to run. They were surrounded. They were annihilated.

It was a massive victory for the UDF & Zargah forces. It was not, however, without casualties. Zargah forces suffered the lowest, losing only 21 ships. It was a major reversal. The last time the Zargah 8th Fleet met the Ancients it was the 8th that was almost annihilated. The 1st Fleet suffered 81 ships lost, while the 11th Guard lost 92. The Sparta class ship, UDF Thrace, although survived the battle, had to be scuttled due to her extensive damage. The saddest loss though was Admiral Hancock & his crew. Leading from the front, his ship the UDF Gettysburg, was destroyed near the end of the battle.

The Federation received news of the battle during an intense Presidential election campaign. Much speculation had arisen over the whereabouts of the 1st Home & 11th Guards fleets. The "pro-war" party candidate was in serious trouble. It appeared that for the first time, a "peace" candidate would become President. But with a great victory to support his "cause", Juan Modesto won in a narrow margin after having trailed in the polls for most of the campaign.

3118 After the dreadful defeat at Millennium, little was seen from the Essence Ancients. This was good news for the UDF & above all for the UFP. Many believed that the war had ended. Surely the Ancients had finally learnt that the Federation could, in the long term, manage to stand firm against them. If they continued the war, they would be the ones who would lose. The UDF was, in fact, so confident that they allowed the two Zargah fleets to return home. President Modesto thought the same way.

NGW’s other project, the UniBots, was at last successful. 100 prototypes appeared to be fully functional. Although it would take ten more years until they would be ready for service, the UniBot program would succeed. NGW decided to start production with 6 000 in the "A" batch. Every year, for five years, another 6 000 would be produced. After a 10 year break, NGW planned for a Mark II to be produced that would, in all likelihood, fill numerous roles for the UDF. Federation citizens would never have to die in battle again. Or so they thought.

3119 Having learnt what they could about the Essence Ancients ship, NGW requested permission from President Modesto to see if they could travel forward in time. Since the UFP first achieved time travel, regardless of the efforts, travelling forward in time remained impossible. Various theories were abound as to why this occurred. The President gave his authorisation to NGW after pressure from the UDF. If successful, it would mean that they could tackle the Ancients in their time zone for a change. The technology may take a while to develop, but it would be worth it.

Everyone, however, knew it would be dangerous. Just as no one knew what could happen to the time continuum when various missions travelled back, so it was travelling forward. Furthermore, Dr. Sydney Albert argued that nothing from this time zone could ever go forward. If anyone or anything attempted it, they would be destroyed at the time threshold. He argued that, if they did send the Ancients ship forward, those aboard would be crushed at the threshold wall while the ship would more than likely reach its destination.

Most of NGW’s experts, eager to try, disagreed with Dr Albert. In reality no one really knew until they tried. Accordingly, a volunteer crew agreed to one test journey forward. In order to limit the risk, particularly by interception by the Essence Ancients, 24 hours was considered acceptable for the test. NGW would know soon enough of the results.

On the day of the test, all appeared fine. The ship was working at full capacity. To ensure security, the UDF 9th Fleet patrolled the space around NGW Millennium. At the appointed time, the ship jumped into the time stream. A day later, as scheduled, the ship arrived. When NGW tried to communicate with the ship, there was no answer. NGW support ships immediately captured the ship & boarded it. The crew was no where to be found. The ship’s log was also missing as well as all the monitoring equipment that had been placed aboard the ship for the test. The ship had been cleaned of everything of the past

NGW began an analysis of everything. They checked Nazzdorra to see if the Ancients had attacked the ship. Likewise they contacted the UDF to see if they knew anything. The reply was the same as Nazzdorra, nothing. In desperation, a task force of the 9th Fleet went into the time stream whereupon they discovered some contacts. Permission was given to identify the contacts which were 24 hours in arrears of current time. Sadly, it was the crew & equipment of the test mission. All had been instantly killed when they reached the time threshold. Some of the equipment still worked & NGW was able to view the terrifying event. All thoughts of travelling to the future was thus well & truly forgotten.

3120 NGW wanted to distance themselves from the future time travel disaster as fast as possible. Many of the resources were transferred accordingly. Research would continue on the Essence Ancients ships, but other projects waited. First on the list was the UniBot Project that continued to be successful. Now that batch "C" was produced, the 100 prototypes were achieving or surpassing all objectives. Given a few more years & NGW would approach the UDF & the President to display their creation. It would be one of NGW’s greatest achievements. But the result would not be what they originally intended.

Once again the Essence Ancients stayed away. Although UDF was concerned about NGW’s tests on the captured ship that might get a major response from the Ancients, none came. Even when the task force from the 9th Fleet briefly travelled in the time stream, there was no reaction of the Ancients. The result was a show of some confidence from the Joint Chiefs. Considering the Ancients had apparently abandoned the time stream, the Joint Chiefs ordered task forces to reoccupy it. Soon, although with much caution, over 200 UDF ships were once again patrolling the time stream. Still there was no reaction from the Essence Ancients.

3121 As life appeared to be returning to normal for the UFP, President Modesto announced a major rebuilding program. Several planets had been hit hard. Locus, for example, had to be evacuated due to the massive attack that it suffered. Now that things appeared safe, its refugee population wanted to return. Although the planet was not the most habitable planet within the Federation, it was still nonetheless home to these people. Likewise Hollows, which was hardly attacked & never evacuated, was high on the list, but for different reasons. Its mining operations were essential for the economy of the UFP.

Other changes in policy also occurred. UDF had been, due to the war, taking a large slice of the UFP budget. Although this meant that dockyards were kept busy, other ships needed to be built. The Ancients had destroyed large amounts of civilian shipping in their attacks. The result was that everything, from transport ships to civilian "liners" were in limited supply. Similarly, UPX had received no new ships for close to 50 years. Its fleet of explorer ships were getting old fast. Few had even enjoyed refits. Thus UDF’s budget was drastically cut in order to fund civilian requirements. There would be no new ships for the UDF for a while. All the same, UDF numbers were at the highest level in history.

NGW continued to work on its various projects. As the UniBot Project proceeded successfully, a request from UPX rekindled interest in the Essence Ancients ship. Communications were UPX’s inquiry. They wanted to know if NGW could develop technology that could allow BigEar to operate in the time stream. This could enable identification the location of intercepted communications. If so, even though a ship may not be able to advance in time, communication signals might. When UDF heard of UPX’s request, they added one of their own. They wanted to know if Enigma2 could, likewise, be adapted for usage in the time stream. NGW went to work.

3122 Although he was accused of pork barrelling, President Modesto continued to spend lavishly on civilian projects. And it was an impressive amount too. Not since the rebuilding program of the post-Zargah War had the UFP seen anything like it. Many pointed out that it was an election year & the President was merely playing politics. That may have been true, but he successfully realised that several worlds needed help. His election campaign, moreover, needed little help. He was comfortably re-elected for his second term. Incidentally, it should be noted that Modesto won overwhelming majorities on planets with large rebuilding programs.

UPX, though, missed out on receiving the new ships they had requested. This was a disappointment for them, but money was provided in order to refit their entire fleet. This would ensure that the lives of the old ships was extended for another 50 years. UPX hoped, however, that this did not mean they would have to wait another 50 years for a new class of ship.

NGW produced the last batch of UniBots. It was a remarkable achievement. They now had a small army of 30 100 of the UniBots & they were progressing extremely well. Soon, the 100 prototypes would be ready for demonstration. NGW was convinced that the UDF would be delighted by this project. Furthermore, President Modesto was bound to authorise funding for the Mark II. Soon millions of UniBots would take the place of UFP citizens in combat roles. Surely the virtues of the UniBots would, by the humanitarian nature of the project, sell itself. Several of the NGW team were even suggesting that they would receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

3123 UFP reopened Locus for habitation. Everything was brand new & more. The rebuilding program ensured that the planet got the best of everything. Furthermore, some of the best personnel that the Federation had to offer were enticed to work on the planet. The University Of Locus was given an enormous budget & head-hunted for the best. Their largest prize was Dr Albert, who had resigned from NGW not long after the disastrous test of the Essence Ancients ship. The planet’s population was soon back to that of 3100. It was hoped that more would soon follow.

Nazzdorra began to pick up Ancients activity in the time stream. Although it was limited, UDF nonetheless went on alert. Those UDF ships patrolling the time stream cautiously continued their duties. Their reports confirmed that which Nazzdorra had identified. The UDF reported to President Modesto on the developing situation, but he showed no concern. He wanted more tangible evidence of Ancients aggression before he would change his policies.

UDF, however, were concerned. As far as they could determine, the Essence Ancients were repeating their strategy of the past. The UFP probably had two years before it was once again under attack. Out of interest, considering UDF was certain that the war would recommence soon, they inquired with NGW about the Enigma2 hybrid project. NGW gave no promises, & certainly nothing was ready yet, but eventually something should be available at a future date. In the mean time, NGW had an exciting program that it would reveal next year.

3124 The Ancients returned with a vengeance. Although Nazzdorra sets were issuing alarms hourly, the UDF patrols in the time stream were quickly overwhelmed. It seemed that the bad old days had returned. And there was nothing that the UDF could do about it. Importantly, engagements only occurred in the time stream. UFP territory for now was being left undisturbed. The Joint Chiefs agreed that the Essence Ancients simply enjoyed too many advantages in the time stream & reluctantly withdrew the patrols. At that, the Ancients seemed reluctant to follow up any attack & remained content to hold in the time stream.

The actions of the Ancients brought on much anticipation in regards to NGW’s latest project. President Modesto & the Joint Chiefs eagerly awaited the demonstration to be put on by NGW at Millennium. The 100 UniBots demonstrated their combat skills with ease. They quite frankly looked like seasoned Lyonies troops as they went through the combat holo-simulator. Everyone was impressed until NGW boss Joan Masters gave details about the UniBots.

President Modesto was horrified as were the others. He asked, "Do you mean to tell me you’ve created a specie of sentient beings to work as robots?"

"In a manner of speaking, Yes Mr President" she proudly replied before going on. "They have been engineered with the best mix of DNA the UFP has to offer. Their bodies are modelled on Humans which appears to be the most adaptable & rugged; their red eyes are Vargary which permits the best vision over various spectrums; their hearing is Lyonies permitting the best hearing; strength comes from the Braggah; while other attributes come from virtually every specie in the UFP. They are the ultimate warrior. But fundamentally, they are a robot. No UFP citizen need ever die in combat again."

This was too much for Admiral Doug Fletcher. He stated in rather undiplomatic language, "You have to be kidding me! You have built a living being to die in place of other living beings? Are you insane let alone evil? I can’t believe NGW sometimes!" Turning to the President he continued, "There is no way in God’s Creation that the UDF will have anything to do with this crap. Sir, do you know how many laws they’ve broken this time? That’s not to mention the moral & ethical dog’s breakfast involved with this!"

President Modesto was just as concerned as Fletcher & just as outraged. Masters was immediately sacked & an investigation started into NGW. The ostracised ex-employee of NGW, Dr Sydney Albert, now at the University of Locus, was asked to return to his old employer - but this time as the boss. Although at first reluctant, Albert finally agreed.

No one knew what to do with the UniBots. NGW was in deep trouble. Clearly the UDF did not want them & President Modesto put as much distance between NGW & himself as was possible. Sydney Albert did not know about the UniBot Project until he arrived at Millennium. And then only a month after he arrived. Certainly no more would be "constructed". Nonetheless, NGW was left with 30 100 of them. Obviously they could not be destroyed & their life span meant that they would be at least around for another 30 years. Albert, though, was a very humanitarian man & for him there was only one alternative. The UniBots would be allowed a normal as life as possible while still alive. They could never leave Millennium, but had the freedom to roam the planet.

3125 The Essence Ancients attacked. Unlike previously, however, the UFP was not their target. After analysing their situation, the Ancients decided to attack the weak link in the UFP defence: that being their ally the Zargah. Ancients task forces roamed effortlessly around Zargah territory. Soon engagements were taking place virtually everywhere as the Zargah fleets tried in vain to stem the flow. Although some Zargah fleets scored victories, more often than not it was the reverse. Numerous planets & colonies were attacked. There appeared there was little hope. Millions of Zargah civilians died as a result.

Desperate for help, the Zargah called the UFP. Although President Modesto was just as concerned about attacks on UFP territory, he agreed to send two fleets. The UDF 7th & 14th fleets thus rushed to the aid of the Zargah. Soon, running battles occurred as the two UDF fleets, guided by Nazzdorra, intercepted Essence Ancients forces invading Zargah territory. As the Zargah had no equivalent Nazzdorra technology, they had to take on a supportive role.

3126 The Essence Ancients continued with their attacks upon the Zargah. Although slightly more intense than the previous year, coordination between the UDF fleets, with their Nazzdorra technology, & the Zargah forces had dramatically improved. Although the Zargah did not like being ordered around by UDF personnel, they soon learnt to comply, especially when it meant stopping the invaders. The UDF fleets were also in action, but the casualties & battles of the previous year were missing. Thanks to Nazzdorra, significant sized forces, of either the UDF or Zargah, were able to contest any Ancients move. Importantly, the Ancients had become extremely hesitant in attacking any large Allied force. The typical engagement was thus between small forces.

As the UniBots enjoyed & experimented with their first year of freedom, they began to develop their own ways. The infant stages of a new society, based upon UFP principles, rapidly grew. They elected their own leaders, developed a democratic "Congress", & numerous other walks of life other than soldiering. And speaking of infants, families began. Before NGW knew it, the Mark II UniBots were well on the way.

To the UniBots, though, they were no longer robots but their own specie, as indeed they were. Considering they were the universal DNA creation of the best that the UFP had to offer, that is what they called themselves - Universals or Unis for short. No one, however, at NGW knew what to do with them. And even worse: soon thousands more Unis were on the way.

3127 The Essence Ancients continued with their manoeuvres around Zargah territory with little increase in activity. The UDF, however, were concerned that next year the Ancients attacks may dramatically increase. After going through previous patterns of Ancients tactics, both the Zargah & UDF Staffs concurred. The out going UFP President was consulted over the matter & he reluctantly agreed. A further UDF Fleet, the 10th, was sent to help out the Zargah Empire.

Chancellor Shuzor, the first Commoner Chancellor to lead the Zargah, was mightily impressed. He invited President Modesto to tour the Zargah Empire before he had to retire. This he did to a tremendous welcome wherever the UFP President went. What further impressed the Zargah people, was not necessarily President Modesto himself, but the fact that during a time of danger, considering the Zargah were under constant attack themselves, that Modesto had the courage to come to Zargah & share with them this danger. Thus, a simple gesture of friendship went a long way for future relations.

While President Modesto was touring the Zargah Empire, an event known as the "Great Buckhoo Heist" took place. Although most Buckhoo are law abiding citizens, they do also, unfortunately, have a reputation for being the thieves of the galaxy. Thus, while taking advantage of the President’s absence, a rather infamous Buckhoo theft gang managed, in total secrecy, to break into the President’s Residence on Epsilon. Millions of dollars worth of valuables disappeared within a few minutes. By the time the Presidential Guard was alerted, the thieves & the valuables were long gone. Investigators were never able to catch the thieves, although some of the items were recovered years later.

The presidential elections were a heated affair. Many expressed concern that the assistance to the Zargah would do one of two things. The first was that it was a drain on current UDF levels. The second, related to the first, would witness a return of Essence Ancients attacks on the Federation. Similarly, many would rather see the war remain in Zargah than in UFP territory. A strange alliance, thus, developed between the "pro-peace" & "limited warfare" groups against the "pro-war" groups. The alliance groups chances were furthermore enhanced when President Modesto endorsed their candidate. Hence, thanks to the numbers, the alliance candidate, Margaret Natnawatti of Duel, became the next President of the UFP.

3128 President Natnawatti got off to a bad start. After her settling in period, she wanted to call back two of the three UDF fleets serving in Zargah territory. At first Admiral Fletcher refused, but after being threatened with the sack, he complied. But complied in a slow manner. While the Joint Chiefs continued to argue with the new President, orders of withdrawal became orders of limited action. Importantly, information from Nazzdorra continued to flow to the Zargah forces while the UDF fleets complied with "limited action". No one really knew what "limited action" meant, so for the most part it was action as usual.

When President Natnawatti discovered that the UDF fleets were still in Zargah territory, she demanded answers. These were rather complicated & started with the explanation that "limited action" was the first stage in the withdrawal process. Arrangements would need to be finalised with the Zargah in order to ensure that their ally would not be left in the lurch. Needless to say, Fletcher impressed upon the fact that the Zargah were their ally. Relations between the President & her UDF personnel then got worse when the Joint Chiefs had to admit that no withdrawal negotiations had taken place.

As these things do, the Congress Defence Committee got wind of the dispute & the Presidential orders concerning the withdrawal the UDF fleets. Soon Congress started asking questions in public hearings. This, of cause, were covered by the media & soon everyone knew about President Natnawatti’s new defence policies. The Zargah, who had not been forewarned, were disgusted. Chancellor Shuzor could not believe that the UFP would betray them like this. Behind the scenes, the UDF informed Chancellor Shuzor that they would never desert the Zargah. This was merely Federation politics. That still did not impress the Zargah Chancellor much, but he was still willing to trust the Joint Chiefs for now.

Now that President Natnawatti’s new defence policies were out, untold criticism could be heard everywhere. Congress was in up raw over the issue, as was the UDF & the Zargah. Many of the "limited war" voters decided to change their attitudes & backed a moderate Zargah support movement. In thorough embarrassment, President Natnawatti had to reverse policy & officially acknowledged her mistake. The "pro-peace" groups now complained & took away their endorsement. Yet the three UDF fleets continued to help defend the Federation’s ally. Trust & honour were, albeit shakily, restored.

3129 The Unis population on Millennium continued to grow. Already 30 100 had grown to about 40 000. Sydney Albert was not sure what to do about the situation, but it was obvious that the Unis had adopted a policy of "populate or perish". The limited NGW medical personnel were stretched to the limited catering to the needs of the growing Unis population. This was partially rectified by several of their own specie learning all they could about medical practice. Due to their high intelligence, what took five years for the average Human medical student, was achieved by disciplined study in one year by a Unis.

Medical personnel were not the only profession that the Unis became proficient at. Soon engineers & builders began building homes & buildings, farmers began producing food, crafts-people began producing household items & basic tools, artists began entertaining (Shakespeare & Dishen V’ah’Pack were very popular), while above all teachers began educating the young. And it was not long before the young began hacking their way past NGW computer security & onto the Federation computer internet. A whole galaxy of bothers & sisters were out there, but all of it was denied to the Unis.

The Essence Ancients continued to attack the Zargah as they had previously. With the addition of the third UDF fleet, however, they found the going tough. Even so, that did not stop them with the attacks. Disturbing evidence also indicated that a new class of ship, better than the current one, had entered service. Although no larger than the current ones at 13km in length, they nonetheless had improved weapons. UDF & the Zargah were concerned that these new ships would soon replace current Ancients ships, which were not much better than what the Allies had to offer.

3130 More of the new Essence Ancients ships were encountered by the Zargah & UDF forces. The Ancients numbers, however, had not increased. The analysts tried to calculate what the Ancients were up to, but no one could offer any conclusions. The best that anyone could speculate was that the Ancients were trying to develop a reserve that could be used when appropriate.

Admiral Fletcher, when asked by the President for the latest on the war, informed her of the changes in Essence Ancients tactics & added more. He suggested that previously, whenever the Ancients had suffered a massive defeat, they had withdrawn to rebuild their numbers. In a similar fashion, so had the UDF. If, however, the Ancients managed to organise a reserve the size of their front line forces, then after a major engagement, this reserve force could counterattack with devastating consequences.

This report, which was really Fletcher speculating, scared the President into action. Although somewhat rash, she ordered the UDF to begin patrolling Federation territory with the Sparta class. She even wanted to send four of the Spartans to support the Zargah, but the UDF were strictly against the idea. Besides, the mega engagement tactics, which had allowed the Sparta class to smash a large Ancients fleet, was still the best strategy for Sparta class deployment. Sending four of them to Zargah territory dramatically dropped the number available for the mega engagement. A compromise did take place, however, whereupon the UDF 5th Fleet was sent to help the Zargah. Needless to say, the Zargah were grateful. Furthermore, the President’s orders helped change Chancellor Shuzor’s opinion of her. Soon they were on friendly terms for the first time.

3131 Admiral Fletcher’s speculation over Essence Ancients new strategy was more or less confirmed, when reports indicated more of the new class of ships were involved in the conflict. Interestingly, Ancients numbers were also down this year & few actual engagements took place. Whether the deployment of the UDF 5th Fleet to Zargah space made the Ancients more cautious with their manoeuvres, no one could tell.

In response to these changes, the remaining UDF fleets stepped up their alert levels. Although Nazzdorra had indicated nothing substantially new, there was, however, an increase in Ancients reconnaissance missions in the time stream, that were somewhat intimidating to several UFP planets. The Sparta class, as a result, now patrolling UFP territory, hovered around where the Ancients reconnaissance missions took the most interest. The Spartans, though, had orders not to engage the enemy unless authorised. They were to remain hidden by using their cloaking technology.

The Ford Transport company celebrated its 25 millionth Replica Mustang V8 Convertible. Since they had reintroduced the 1960s Mustang back into their range of automobiles, the model had achieved the Federation sales record for the most popular automobile. And it just was not Humans who bought them. Over a million had been bought by Vargary owners, while even the occasional Lyonies could be seen driving one. There was just something about a Mustang convertible that still appealed to people more than 1 000 years after they were first built.

3132 The situation in Zargah territory remained the same. Both the UDF & Zargah analysts scratched their heads trying to second guess what the Essence Ancients were up to. This became even more complicated when Nazzdorra indicated that Ancients reconnaissance patrols had dramatically increased in the time stream effecting UFP territory. But like the previous year, there were no attacks upon Federation territory. The common theory was that the reconnaissance patrols were a decoy. This would not be the first time the Ancients had deployed such tactics & it probably would not be the last time either.

The Unis had continued to grow & develop as a society. In three years they had managed to add another 10 000 to their small specie. As the first generation began to mature, so did their confidence. Sydney Albert had endeavoured to ensure that the Unis were well catered for, but as the UFP government had demanded, they were to be kept secret from the general population. That had not stopped various Unis from getting onto the UFP computer internet & merrily communicating with the citizenship of the Federation. Due to the large number of species online, only a few people raised their eyebrows that a specie was indigenous to Millennium. Most citizens did not even know where Millennium was anyway.

Having said that, the Unis started demanding more. And as their covert forays onto the internet had clearly demonstrated, a vast population existed that was free to travel & do whatever they wished. Billions of others enjoyed the fruits of citizenship of the Federation that the Unis were created to protect. But that Federation did not want them. The hypocrisy hit home more so, when a few Finites told them of their first years as residence of the UFP.

Soon, Sydney Albert was fighting a bush fire with a garden hose. Whatever he would say, the Unis had a much better answer. And truly they were, at least for the moment, ideal non-citizens of the UFP. Although the Unis truly stood alone as a specie, without a doubt their DNA origins came shining through. Vargary humour was clearly evident. Human curiosity & an adventurous spirit was mixed with a Lyonies discipline. There was even a hint of Blurgiss arrogance & a sense of some Braggah roguishness. And that was the other thing, the Human-Vargary sense of individuality & love of life was particularly self evident. These were no robots, but an intelligent & highly capable specie. One that was developing & above all alive.

The elections, like last time, were a heated event. President Natnawatti’s record was constantly hammered by everyone. Vargary jokes about the President suffering the Looney Duel Toons were the most damaging, as it indicated that this resident of Duel was insane. Even though UHS doctors would constantly deny that the President was crazy, that did not stop the speculation. Even so, the election was extremely close. It was only after a three week recount that the Earth candidate Marcus West was declared the next President.

3133 The Essence Ancients increased their attacks in Zargah territory. These attacks, though, were easily contained by the four UDF fleets & the Zargah forces. What concerned the UDF, however, was that the Ancients had begun forays into UFP territory. The Ancients had left the UFP alone for some years now, but seemingly they had returned. It was assumed by the UDF planners, that the Ancients were now testing out the UDF for weak defences. And to be fair, the UDF was stretched to the limit.

President West was notably concerned. The Joint Chiefs quickly pointed out that it appeared that the Ancients had built up a large reserve. They now feared that this reserve could now come into play. If so, the Essence Ancients could take on both the UFP & the Zargah forcing both allies to defend themselves, while unable to come to the assistance of the other. Possibly another ally was needed.

The only possible ally to help out were the Nazzernich. The Cordah wanted nothing to do with the UFP & had rather cool relations with the Zargah. None of the Independent worlds in The Great Void, wanted anything to do with the war. In reality, they really did not have the capacity to engage in a war of this size anyway. The Nazzernich, too, were not overly keen to join in a massive war. They had, though, helped out with Nazzdorra which had gone a long way in helping the UDF do its job. But a fleet of 200 ships patrolling the Avakous Sector would also free a much needed UDF fleet for defence operations elsewhere. Negotiations started, but President West got no where.

3134 As feared, the Essence Ancients increased their attacks across the entire territory of the Allies. Although not overwhelmed, the UDF had to recall the 7th Fleet from Zargah territory. Although the Zargah protested the decision, they understood there was little other choice. The Ancients tactics made this happen whereby only civilian shipping, whether be single ships or convoys, where hit time & again. The UDF simply needed more ships.

Alas so did the Zargah, as the Ancients employed the same hit & run tactics on their shipping as well. Furthermore, even Zargah warships were not immune to attack, especially if patrolling alone or in a small task force. Planets, in both the UDF & Zargah Empire, were avoided by the Ancients. On too many occasions, the Ancients had suffered high casualties when trying to attack heavily defended planets.

Caught up in this melee, the UFP ex-president Natnawatti was en-route to Capital at Chancellor Shuzor’s invitation. The Chancellor was retiring at the end of the year & thought it correct to invite Natnawatti, to thank her for the fourth UDF fleet that she sent to help out the Zargah. President West, who had defeated Natnawatti in the election, thought it also a good gesture & authorised the use of the Presidential Ship. Considering the Presidential Ship was also an old Deja Vu class battleship, which could look after itself, only small escort travelled with the old battleship. Combat ships were needed elsewhere.

Whether or not the Essence Ancients knew about the UDF Presidential Ship was unknown, but the target was too tempting. Before the small Presidential task force of four ships got anywhere near Capital, they were under heavy attack by twelve of the enemy. The battle was savage & three Ancients were destroyed, but alas for the Presidential task force there were too many of them. All four ships were destroyed before any Zargah ships could come to their rescue.

Chancellor Shuzor was truly sorry for the death of Natnawatti, but she had died in battle. She was pronounced a hero of the Zargah Empire & a battle honour medal was named after her for Zargah military personnel. It rapidly became a great honour for a Zargah citizen to be awarded the Natnawatti Star. Even so, President West was furious. Many commented, however, that he was more angry about the fact that it could have been himself killed in the attack.

Nonetheless, in retaliation to the death of Natnawatti, the President called on NGW to develop a weapon "… to send the Ancients a message in their own time." Although this idea had been discussed before, Dr Sydney Albert reminded the President West that nothing from the current time zone could go forward. Admiral Fletcher then inquired about the captured Essence Ancients ships, "Can’t they go forward? And if so, let’s tinker with the ship’s reactors and turn it into one big bomb." Albert did not like the idea. It would mean that NGW would be losing one of its prized possessions. But the President in the end insisted on the idea. NGW would start work on the project immediately.

3135 It was the Essence Ancients, however, who sent the next message. And it was not their last. A small Zargah colony, Zuffer, near the Cordah border, was the location chosen. The message was not only aimed at the Zargah & UFP. Its location would also send the Cordah a message about staying out of the war.

Nazzdorra identified a large Ancients fleet of 196 ships moving on Zuffer. As the Zargah forces were rather wide spread, it took time before the Allies could organise a fleet in order to intercept the enemy. But an ad hoc fleet of UDF & Zargah ships did eventually rendezvous & head for Zuffer. Meanwhile the Zuffer defenders did what they could in a vain effort to defend the colony of 6 million Zargah. It was, however, hopeless.

As the Ancients fleet arrived, everyone immediately noticed a enormous ship surrounded by the rest of the fleet. Although not as large as a Sparta class, it could still be seen by the naked eye on Zuffer. Images of what was about to happen was transmitted throughout Zargah territory. The ad hoc fleet watched in horror as they sped to Zuffer, but they were too late. A massive burst of energy left the Ancients planet killer that literally ripped the planet apart. It was all over in a few minutes. What was once a thriving young Zargah colony, was now an asteroid belt. No one survived. By the time the Allied fleet arrived, the Ancients were long gone.

Although President West tried to keep the Zuffer Massacre a secret, within hours reports of the planet’s destruction was everywhere. The Zargah were stunned & angered. Everyone blamed everyone, but in reality there was nothing that could have been done. The President called NGW & ordered more of the "bomb ships". He wanted three of them. This would ensure that the three identified Essence Ancients locations, in their time zone, would come under attack. Admiral Fletcher concurred with his President, "Three ought to make them think twice before coming back".

3136 Before NGW could get the three "bomb ships" ready, the Essence Ancients returned. As previously, their attacks were spread out across Allied territory. The Zargah were particularly nervous thinking that another of their planets, possible one of their main ones, could be the next destroyed. The Zargah were right about the destruction of another planet, but it was not one of theirs.

The Nazzdorra set on Hollows sprang to life. This sleepy planet of the UFP had hardly seen anything of the war. It was, however, a large contributor of resources & minerals for the UFP. Its mining operations were on a planetary scale, although due care was always taken in regards of the environment. That no longer mattered. The 3rd Fleet rushed from Nirvana in an attempt to intercept the Ancients. But the Ancients fleet of just under 200 ships arrived first. And as at Zuffer, the huge planet killer was with them.

The Ancients, though, did not get it their own way. The 3rd Fleet, knowing what would happen, burnt their engines at flank. Ships which could go faster did. Although this meant that the two Sparta class ships with the 3rd Fleet would be late, time was the issue. The result was that 48 ships of the 3rd Fleet arrived in time & a wild melee of battle commenced. As it did, more UDF ships trickled in as speed would allow. The planet killer was their target. But the Ancients fleet protecting the planet killer were in greater numbers & had little trouble stopping the uncoordinated UDF attacks.

While desperate battles surrounded it, the planet killer released its fury. It took about a minute while the awesome weaponry destroyed Hollows. 30 million UDF citizens were killed in the process. Having succeeded with its nefarious mission, the planet killer withdrew into the time stream with its surviving guard. The two Spartans & the rest of the 3rd Fleet arrived missing the Ancients by a few minutes. Regardless how fast the rest of the Fleet raced to the battle, ultimately they had failed.

President West called for a day of mourning. The citizens of the Federation were shocked. Dr Albert even noticed that the Unis, who had become even more rowdy of late, had suddenly become quiet. The President promised that "… the murder of Hollows will be avenged. The Essence Ancients will pay dearly for what they have done." When asked how would this be achieved, he just stared at the reporter who had asked the question without saying anything. The sheer hate in the President’s eyes told its own story. The reporter’s question was silently answered.

3137 NGW achieved two breakthroughs that they hoped would turn the war to the Federation’s favour. The first was President West’s demand to send the Ancients a message. The "bomb ships" were ready. The second was technology that they had been working on for some time for the UDF. It was developed from Enigma2 in order to intercept the communications of the Ancients. Called Tima (Time-Enigma), it was about to get its first mission.

President West was delighted when Dr Albert informed him that the three "bomb ships" were operational. UDF took possession of them &, with NGW help, prepared the mission. Three locations had been identified, over the years, where the Essence Ancients organised their attacks from. Whether these were their planets or major bases was not known. What was known was their location & that meant that the "bomb ships" could attack them. The plan was simple. Set each "bomb ship" on automatic pilot & send them on their way. Each ship would transmit back information on the mission, which Tima would intercept. Thus the UDF & President would be kept informed of the mission's status.

During a lull in Ancients activity, the three "bomb ships" were sent on their way. All three would reach their targets at the same time. The Ancients would have no or little warning. Besides, these "bomb ships" were Ancients ships. The ships reactors had been deliberately programmed to self destruct upon reaching their destination.

The Joint Chiefs & the President held their collective breaths as the ships continued with their mission. Tima worked well as a continuous flow of data returned from each ship. Then the moment arrived. The three "bomb ships" reached their respective time stream exit & headed in real space for their target. As suspected, each target was a huge military base that rivalled NGW D1.

The "bomb ships" got closer before they were challenged at by base. Having no crew or program to reply, the ships continued unknowingly on their way. Soon all three came under fire. One of the "bomb ships" exploded prior to its target, but its massive explosion took out the six ships that had attacked it. There was no information as to damage to the target. The other two "bomb ships", even though suffering sever damage, made it to their respective targets. The resulting explosions, equal to at least 1 trillion tons, ripped the military bases to pieces. Hundreds of Ancients ships were destroyed in the process, including the dreaded planet killer.

With this information in hand, President West faced the electorate. He enthusiastically claimed that the Essence Ancients had paid the price. Furthermore, he was very quick to point out that the planet killer had been destroyed in the attack. There was nothing now for the UFP to fear. To further his re-election claims, he pointed to the fact that since the attack on the Ancients in their time zone, nothing had been seen of them since. In this atmosphere of victory, no one was surprised when the President was returned to office with a comfortable majority.

3138 Peace seemed to quickly settle over the UFP, as all thought that the Ancients War had come to a conclusion. The same atmosphere spread across the Zargah Empire, although many were still nervous. This feeling was also shared by many in the UDF. The three UDF fleets would, for now, remain in Zargah territory, albeit at a lower state of alert. A similar pattern was copied for UDF units throughout the UFP.

During all this time, negotiations had continued with the Nazzernich. Although the planet killer had certainly scared them, thanks to the UDF "bomb ship" attack, they finally decided to enter into a defence alliance. Part of the deal, however, saw return of the 49 organic ships that NGW were still holding. They were still fully functional &, needless to say, theirs. NGW were not happy losing another of their treasures, but President West thought it a reasonable price to pay in order to gain the Nazzernich as a war ally. Another part of the deal saw old retired UDF battleships of the Iowa class being transferred to Nazzernich ownership. By the end of the year, 120 old Iowa ships joined the Nazzernich navy.

3139 As life got back to normal for the rest of the UFP, NGW found they had a nightmare on their hands. The Unis were in revolt. 100 000 of them refused to take any more orders or accept the restrictions placed upon their lives by NGW. They had become totally frustrated with the fact that they could not participate in the Federation that they were originally created to defend. Instead they were dumped on a restricted planet & forgotten.

What had led to open revolt, from the previous calm protests, was that their computer access was closed. For years, NGW security had run a constant cyber battle with the Unis, as they constantly attempted to get online with the UFP computer internet. Although few members of the public knew anything about the Unis, the occasional foray into cyberspace ensured that more & more people knew about them. But NGW finally pulled the computer plug for good, when the Unis started appealing to members of Congress about their situation.

Although the Unis were outnumbered on Millennium 100 to 1, that did not stop them. Created for warfare, they were more than a match for NGW security. Thankfully, no one was killed in the takeover, but before anyone knew it, NGW had just lost their most secret base. Most NGW personnel were told to get in their ships & not come back. A few, like Sydney Albert, were "asked" to stay. NGW did not know what to do. In desperation they called the UDF.

The Unis, however, proceeded with their plans. Soon the computer internet links were open again & members of Congress & the President were inundated with requests & demands. Likewise, the cyber friends of the Unis throughout the UFP began hounding the politicians. Naturally the media smelled a huge story & coverage was intense. Most citizens had never heard of the Unis before, let alone what all the fuss was about. Yet, as more of the story came out, more citizens started demanding action. Within a week, virtually everyone wanted to know why the Unis had been dumped on Millennium. Just as importantly, most demanded that they should be made citizens immediately.

Unlike most of the public, Admiral Fletcher knew all about the UniBots, now called Unis. When the request for help came in from NGW, he just laughed. "No way are we getting involved in this mess", he told the President. "I just knew NGW’s stuffing around would one day blow up in their faces. Now I’m no politician, but I’d make ‘em [Unis] all citizens." Then with a sarcastic grin, "Hell, why not let ‘em run NGW."
A shocked President West replied at Fletcher’s last comment, "You have to be kidding Doug! Why?"
"Well they couldn’t do any worse than the current lot; & after all NGW did create them. Talk about poetic justice."

Although President West did not let NGW get taken over by the Unis, they did achieve their citizenship. The President even travelled to Millennium for the swearing ceremony. The UFP just gained a new specie & 100 000 citizens. NGW, however, would have to find a new secret base. Millennium was now a member planet of the Federation &, as such, citizens could come & go as they pleased. Soon Unis were popping up all over the UFP experiencing in awe that, which for years, they could only dream about.

3140 As more Tima stations came online, a wealth of information on Ancients activity came flooding in. UDF personnel did as best they could, but much of it could not be decoded. What they did discover though brought much concern. Although Ancients attacks had stopped, it was considered only temporary. It appeared that the Essence Ancients would be soon back. And goodness knows with what this time. One thing was certain: the UFP would be their target this time.

Armed with this information, the UDF recalled their three fleets remaining in the Zargah Empire. The Zargah at first protested this move, but became convinced when the UDF Joint Chiefs went to Capital, with President West’s blessing, & discussed what they had discovered from Tima. Chancellor Duke Zefrons even offered a Zargah fleet to help defend the UFP.

President West would have gone to Capital, but was on the same mission to the Nazzernich. Now that they were in the Alliance, & it was very clear that the UFP were to be attacked again, President West requested help. After long & exhaustive talks, the Nazzernich agreed to station a 150 ship fleet in Avakous Sector. This would permit the UDF 12th Fleet to be deployed elsewhere in readiness for the anticipated Ancients attack.

3141 The first of the Unis volunteers graduated from their UDF training & joined their various units. Since they had become citizens of the UFP, about 1 000 of their number had joined voluntary the organisation that they were once created to serve in. The Unis impressed everyone & not only for their military skills. What impressed their fellows was their sense of honour, dignity & duty. Even the Lyonies personnel had to admit that for once they had competition for their elite status. They clearly represented the best of the Federation.

Tima continued to intercept Essence Ancients communications. It appeared that a large fleet was gathering for the anticipated offensive. Although the target had not yet been identified, UDF had figured out that it would be a planet. This further indicated that a planet killer was probably going to be involved in the attack. Whether it was the original one or a new one, was not known. More than likely, however, it was a new one: hence the temporary halt in attacks.

The first V8 Mustang Convertible arrived on Millennium. Although there was no Ford agent on the planet, in fact few companies opened for business on Millennium, that had not stopped the Unis importing various items that the Federation had to offer. Money, though, was a problem, & soon the Unis had started their own industries in order to join the UFP economy. Thanks to much equipment left behind from NGW eviction, the Millennium Instrument & Computer Corporation (MICC) was born. Soon MICC computers & electronic equipment began flooding the market. Not only were they cheap, but they were better than anything else available. The Unis soon had more money than they knew what to do with.

3142 The UDF analysts finally began to decipher more of the Ancients communications thanks to Tima. In doing so they were able to reduce the number of planets that were likely to become the target (or targets) of the expected Essence Ancient attack. There were six on the list: Earth, Epsilon, Vargary, Lyonies, NGW D1, & Phoenix. Even though this gave the UDF ample time & opportunity to prepare, it was still a major strain on their resources.

Clearly the Nazzernich & the Zargah would have to be involved. For political reasons, Epsilon would be defend by all three Allies, while the five other planets would be left to the UDF. Needless to say, the rest of UDF space would still have to be patrolled by whatever force the UDF could put together. In UDF plans, the Sparta class would certainly be involved. Each targeted planet would, thus, receive four of the Spartans as part of the defence. The Ancients might be coming, but the Federation was ready.

In amongst all this activity, the UFP held their presidential elections. The Zargah often thought it strange that, during a period of intense warfare, the UFP continued with such things with so much vigour. Yes elections had taken place in the Zargah Empire since the First Civil War, but they were hardly ever contested with much energy in peace time let alone in war time. In a act of continuality, Vice-President Maria Khan Yunis was narrowly elected President.

3143 And then the attack came. The Nazzdorra station on Epsilon saw it first. Soon the same report was coming in from Nazzdorra sets across the 11th Guard Fleet. There was no doubt about it, Epsilon was the target. As the Ancients came closer through the time stream, one large ship could be identified. It was the planet killer.

Admiral Fletcher, now in his 70s, issued orders like a twenty year old. The closest fleet, the 5th at Phoenix was immediately ordered to Epsilon. It may not make it for the beginning of the battle, but it would ensure that the UDF would end it. The 11th Guard Fleet, meanwhile engaged their cloaking devices & waited in silence with the four Spartans. The Zargah & Nazzernich continued to hold their positions on the right.

The Ancients jumped in from the time stream some distance from Epsilon. Scanners immediately identified two new ship types other than the usual Essence designs. One new ship type was unknown, but the other looked very familiar. In a short period of time, the Ancients fleet of 550 ships moved towards their target. They thought they were in luck when only 300 ships, none of them UDF, were opposite them. What surprised them, however, were 95 ships that looked very similar to some of their own.

When Fletcher noticed some hesitation in the Ancients ranks, he ordered the 11th Guard Fleet to de-cloak. The Spartans, however, remained hidden. Suddenly the Ancients had another 226 ships to contend with. This stopped them in their advance. Taking advantage of this situation, Fletcher ordered the Spartans to flank the Ancients line & head for the planet killer. No one was to open fire without his order.

The Nazzernich began reporting that the ships that resembled theirs began communicating with them. It was soon discovered that these were the Nazzer Ancients. Messages soon raced back & forth between the Nazzer & their children trying to establish what each other were doing. In the end, the Nazzernich Admiral Noveon Nass sent the message, "These are our friends. They have helped us & we are now helping them. Once we killed each other, but we both saw the error of our ways. Now, we are ready to die for each other." With that, the Nazzer disappeared. Nazzdorra tracked them back to their own time zone.

After seeing the 100 ships of the Nazzer depart, the Mangalois Ancients soon announced themselves to the UDF ships. Fletcher was more than happy to give them a quick briefing of UFP’s position. Within a few seconds, the 92 ships of the Mangalois Ancients withdrew & headed home. Now only the Essence Ancients remained. Their new found allies had deserted them before a weapon was even fired. It did not take them long before they rapidly withdrew to the time stream, & headed back to the safety of their time zone, like their erstwhile allies.

It was an amazing victory, but a dangerous one. Clearly the Ancients still had a large fleet. More importantly, the planet killer was still at large. Interestingly the Essence Ancients had enlisted the help of other Ancients. They, however, proved very relucted to get involved. Possibly the Essence Ancients were hurt more than the UDF thought. Hopefully the Essence Ancients were now totally alone. And in being so, leave the UFP alone.

3144 President Khan Yunis was furious that the Allied Fleet had missed the opportunity to destroy the Essence fleet & more importantly the planet killer. The problem was Fletcher, & everyone else, was rather stunned by the events of the battle. Instead of having a massive fight on his hands, the UDF had discovered two more Ancients races, which were not overly happy being dragged into a war by the Essence Ancients. Furthermore, both these new Ancients had deserted the Essence Ancients prior to any weapons exchange. Before anyone knew what happened, even the Essence Ancients had yielded the "field" to the UDF without a shot being fired.

The Essence Ancients, however, had not gone far. Tima intercepted numerous communications that kept everyone on their toes. Soon the Essence Ancients were back, but kept to the time stream. President Khan Yunis wanted the UDF to enter the time stream & take on the Essence Ancients, but Fletcher & the other Chiefs advised against action. They pointed out that every time the UDF had attempted such action, they had suffered high casualties for little return. The better strategy would be to wait, analyse the data collected by Tima & then act accordingly.

3145 The MICC, owned by the Unis of Millennium, was listed on the Federation stock exchange. It was an amazing feat for a brand new corporation. From no where, the company was now worth billions. More importantly, the company’s products had become the benchmark in many areas. Other computer & electronic companies, who had been established for centuries, soon found there was a new kid on the block. It also forced these old companies, that had become rather entrenched in their ways, to become invigorated again. Importantly, in the end, it was the customers who won.

The Essence Ancients returned. And returned to their old ways. Their attacks began as before with their annoying harassment of UFP shipping. The UDF was forced to split their fleets up into task forces & race around the Federation after the small Essence task forces. Tima gave little help in forewarning the UDF of intended targets. They appeared, as always, to be random. Only Nazzdorra, as previously, was useful in organising any meaningful defence.

3146 Once again the Essence Ancients attacked the UDF. Again the UDF & their allies did everything in their power to meet each new attack. The Ancients too, increased their intensity with every attack. But these attacks were confined to only UFP territory. The Zargah & Nazzernich were left alone, even though their ships were involved in the defence of the Federation.

Tima began to intercept a lot of new communications. Unlike the previous year, there was a large amount of data collected by the code breaker. In fact it happened all of a sudden. At one stage there were only a few signals, then there was a tremendous rush of information being transmitted between the Essence fleets. Clearly something was being planned. Alas only a small amount was being deciphered. And what little they could decode, did not read well. Certainly the planet killer had something to do with it, yet that was about all anyone knew.

Then came along a new Unis Tima operator by the name of Henry Hotspur. Hotspur, using the latest MICC computer, rewrote the Tima decipher program. Furthermore, instead of having the Tima computer run the raw data through the program, he ran the raw data on the MICC computer. The results were very encouraging as about half of all the messages could now be deciphered. What Hotspur read, however, made him turn pale.

Admiral Fletcher was immediately informed of Hotspur’s discovery. He was speechless. All he could do was to see President Khan Yunis. The President, when told, was violently ill. UDF’s worst fears were just realised. The battle for existence had just begun. After the shock of Hotspur’s discovery had faded, plans were put in order. The Human race, in fact the entire UFP, had only one chance to survive. The hardest decision to make was what to tell the public. In the end the President decided to speak the truth.

In the most important broadcast made in centuries, not since the dark days of the Zargah War, a President of the UFP had to face her fellow citizens with dreadful news. Many could not believe what would soon happen. The entire Federation was stunned. So too where the Zargah & the Nazzernich. A rather worrisome demeanour spread through every Human. Their days were numbered. Extinction stared them in the face. 48 billion living beings would be no more if the UDF failed.

3147 In the greatest risk ever undertaken by the UDF, the "Grand Fleet" left to face the Essence Ancients. It was a huge gamble. The 1st Home, 2nd Gallant, 5th, 8th & 11th Guard Fleets, accompanied by no less than 18 Spartans, left for battle. It was the largest fleet ever assembled. Its firepower was unprecedented, as it had to be.

Tima continued to feed last minute information to Admiral Fletcher on board the UDF Thebes. It would be his last command one way or another he jokingly said, but few laughed. The Humans in particular had almost become detached from their emotions. Many cried when they had left their loved ones behind, but all now took their stations. All hoped & prayed that they would return to see those loved ones again.

At the anticipated time, Nazzdorra jumped to life. It was the dreaded signal that they were waiting for. At the same time, the UDF Grand Fleet jumped into the time stream & headed back in time. They would arrive, hopefully before the Ancients would, millions of years into Earth’s past.

The Grand Fleet’s journey was successful. Earth looked like a totally foreign planet. Not even life had begun yet. It was just prior to that special moment before the first life was born on Earth. No one, however, had the luxury of time to see this occur. Now fully cloaked, the UDF awaited the enemy. In the front line stood the Spartans surrounded by the smaller battleships. The Ancients were in for one hell of a surprise.

And then the Essence Ancients arrived. It was the largest fleet that they had ever gathered. With it was the planet killer. Unknown to them, though, was the Grand Fleet. Then when the Ancients came in range, Fletcher gave the order. Every UDF ship de-cloaked & fired at once. The first salvo was horrendous as the BlackStar Beam arrays let loose. The Ancients, with 1 800 ships, returned fire & a mass of destruction befell many a UDF ship.

Still the Ancient moved forward as savage battle continued. Tima identified urgent signals being sent requesting all the Essence ships to reinforce at once. Fletcher, however, did not have that luxury. The only way he could send for reinforcements was to send a ship back to get them. By the time they arrived, it would be all over. About another 1 000 Essence ships heeded the call. Immediately these reinforcements entered the battle. The Grand Fleet was now in trouble, as the Essence had gained the advantage of numbers.

Damage too was mounting fast to the UDF ships. Almost half their original number had been destroyed. Only 500 now remained. At least the Spartans were all still in the fight, but even they began to suffer heavy damage. Before anyone knew what would happen next, the UDF Corinth broke the battleline & advanced towards the main Essence battle group. She, however, only got half way before she exploded in a huge explosion. Her core had given way.

Like the Corinth, several more Spartan’s cores started giving off alarms. The UDF Delphi was the next in trouble. Her captain, knowing that they could not reach the Essence lines in time, decided to emergency vent the core. As the Delphi top hence exploded, she was violent pushed out of the battleline. Several Essence ships continued to fire on the now powerless ship & the Delphi broke up under this fire.

The UDF Argos likewise suffered the fate of the Delphi. Having stayed in the battleline for too long, the captain had to vent the core to ensure that the Argos did not explode & take a large number of his fellow UDF ships with him. That, however, meant that the Argos was an easy target, & like the Delphi, broke up under heavy weapons fire.

Seeing the carnage around him, the captain of the UDF Tegea decided to charge the Essence line before he no longer had the opportunity. The Tegea had hardly moved before she was destroyed. Now the Essence planet killer, in an desperate act, opened fired on the ill fated Spartan. The smaller UDF battleships may have been impossible for the planet killer to hit, but not the huge Sparta class ships.

Next it was the UDF Messenia’s turn. She had not even moved from her position in the battleline before the planet killer hit her midships. The explosions of these two ships caused holes to appear in the UDF line. Alas each huge ship took about 50 smaller defending ships with them.

Now the UDF Thermopylae took on dreadful damage. Although the killer planet was aiming at the UDF Mantineia, the Thermopylae’s control systems were destroyed. She spun out of the line & out of control. Then when the Mantineia exploded, the force pushed the Thermopylae on a direct collision course with Earth. Within minutes the great ship would come crushing onto the planet it was here to protect. In doing so, the Essence may achieve what they had set out to do. The Thermopylae’s quick thinking captain, however, gave one last order, "Engage the MMD now!" Thankfully it was still working. Thermopylae disappeared into the time stream.

Fletcher was desperate. He was losing ships fast. He was losing the Battle of Existence too. The planet killer was taking out the one trump card he had - the once invincible Spartans. Before he knew it, he saw the UDF Salamis advance forward towards the left wing. He immediately ordered his own ship, the UDF Thebes, to likewise advance, but towards the centre of the Essence fleet & not the left wing. Just behind him, the UDF Macedonia exploded when the planet killer once again fired its deadly weapon.

The Humans now went mad as a demonic spirit seemed to take hold of each one. Several other species would later comment that at this point in the battle, that they did not know who to be more scared of: the Humans or the Essence Ancients. Yet all the UDF personnel fought on. No one left their duty. It was all or nothing.

The Salamis almost made it to the Essence main line when the planet killer opened fire yet again. As had happened to all the other Spartan ships, the Salamis could not withstand such a destructive weapon. She exploded, but took some of the Essence ships with her.

Ironically, it was the destruction of the Salamis that ensured salvation. The explosion gave cover for the advancing Thebes. The Essence could not see her until the explosion dissipated. Furthermore, the enormous amount of radiation from the blast interfered with the Ancients scanners. They could not lock on with their weapons for a few precious minutes. Before they knew it, the Thebes was in amongst them & made them pay.

Fletcher ordered all the surviving BlackStar Beam arrays to concentrate on the planet killer. As his ship was being destroyed around him, Fletcher was satisfied to see the evil planet killer explode before him. Not long after, however, the core of the Thebes gave way. In the middle of the Essence line, a horrific explosion thus took place. Hundreds of attacking Essence ships were either atomised or ripped apart by the forces that were unleashed, when the Thebes’ mini-sun exploded into space.

The surviving UDF ships were shocked at first & for a few seconds everyone stared in horror. The Humans, though, quickly regained their senses & continued the battle. All the remaining UDF ships advanced. As far as the Humans were concerned, not one Ancients ship was going to survive. The Essence Ancients had come to make the Human race extinct, now it was the Ancients, well at least the ones here, who would suffer that fate.

The battered survivors of the once Grand Fleet, arrived back in their time zone. All were glad that those that they had left were still there. Sadly, many did not return to their loved ones. But their loved ones, the entire Human race, not to mention an entire civilisation of 115 billion beings, had survived thanks to their ultimate sacrifice. Surely the war was over.

President Khan Yunis declared all the personnel of the Grand Fleet as heroes, as indeed they were. Few, however, wanted to talk about it. The Battle of Existence was the most horrifying event that anyone had ever gone through. No one really wanted to remember the experience of it.

The Presidential elections were a rather sombre affair. The debates were rather subdued as were the campaigns. The casualties suffered at the Battle of Existence effected the lives of many. President Khan Yunis was quietly re-elected for her second term

3148 When there was no sight of the Ancients, restrained celebrations started across the UFP. Tima & Nazzdorra reported no activity at all in the time stream. Nonetheless, UDF task forces cautiously entered the time stream & carefully began patrols. Although the Joint Chiefs were confident that the Ancients would not be back after such a tremendous defeat, it would not take much effort for an Essence force to go back in time & try again.

Henry Hotspur’s programme became the standard for the Tima sets. NGW was so impressed by the obvious abilities of Hotspur that they offered him a job. Although he still had time to serve in the UDF, they saw no problem with him being seconded to NGW.

3149 The Unis population reached 400 000. It was a remarkable achievement for a species that was not even 50 years old. Numerous generations had now been born. And each one began to make its presence felt in the UFP. Needless to say, Hotspur was the specie’s hero & the Unis were quick to point out that one of them had been central to saving the 115 billion citizens of the UFP. Mind you, Humans were quick to point out that 400 000 Humans had died at the Battle of Essence. This sacrifice ensured that millions of years later, Humans would create the Unis. It was a point well taken.

3150 It appeared that peace had finally come once more to the UFP. Again there was no sign of the Ancients. Nazzdorra or Tima did not pick up any trace of them. Citizens began to become more relaxed as a result. Soon, the pursuit of peace would once again become the business of the UFP.

Even though it was a long & costly war, positive things had come of it. The UFP had now two close allies, where previously they had none. The Zargah & UFP had fought side by side defending each others citizens & territory. Now they had a friendship & above all trust that had never existed before. Likewise, the Nazzernich had become a trusted friend. Although they never suffered any of the destruction that the UFP & Zargah Empire had, they nonetheless helped both fight off the enemy.

During all this, the Ford Transport company continued to build its products. Ford was pleased to announce two cheerful events. First was that a Ford agency had opened on Millennium. It was the first official automobile dealership on the planet. The other announcement was that the 50 millionth Replica Mustang Convertible was sold. Ford also planned to bring out a new model of the Mustang in the near future.

Forward To Chapter Five

Fourth Age Glossary (2950-3200)

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