____________ _____________ _____________ / / / / / / / / / / / / /_____________ /____________/ /____________ / / \ / / / \ / / / \ / __________/ / \ /___________ _______________________________________ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ / _______|___________________\/__________ T h e C o n f r o n t a t i o n SRE is one of the most popular games in WWIV BBSes today. The idea was taken from SEE (Space Empire Elite) for Atari BBSes (FoReM ST), and slighty improved. SRE is a fascinating game, and I've written a series of files based on one of thebest SRE game ever played. Welp, at the request of several people, I endeavor towrite my first SRE work of fiction. Please note SRE, SEE, FoReM ST, and WWIV arethe copyrights and trademarks, which are now being credited to their owners .This story is entirely fiction, with the premise being you know who Ultra and Mace are, them being the center of the story. Well, enough about SRE and about me,on to the story!! --=== SRE IV ===-- The Galaxy was at peace. The ultimate battle between good and evil was finallyover, with good emerging as the victor. The Geneva Alliance had defeated the Dark Alliance in one of the longest fought wars in Galaxy history. Dune Realms was the wealthiest empire that existed now. It's ruler, SandMan was kind and generous. The aftermath of the Battle was subsided and now Dune was helping other smaller empires get on their feet. The Galactic Coordinator was pleased to see the Battle's end, and to see that the Geneva Alliance had beaten the Dark Alliance. Perhaps, he thought, the empires had waken up to the fact that the Darkies wanted only to destroy the Geneva Alliance in hopes of wealth. Perhaps his job here was over, and he should overseethe creation of a new Galaxy for seeding. Or maybe he should stay here in case any new trouble arose. The news shook the Underground. Geneva was shutting down to allow empires to devolop without any obligations. It also allowed the big empires to drop their financial commitments to other empires. Perhaps the Survivors whould begin to formulate a plan. MaceMan, leader of the once-feared MaceLand, was very pleased at the news. It meant an oppurtunity to regain lost fame. Lots of little empires were easy to fight than a big alliance. Mace began gathering thoughts on how to organize the few Survivors of the Battle and on how to begin a new Alliance to overtake the Galaxy. --=== Chapter 2 UltraEmpire was not sure all Dark acitivity was over. The ruler of UltraEmpire, Kirk, was totally against the dissolving of the Geneva Alliance. 'They'll be back!' he said. He had been right before, when he told the Alliance leaders that the Darkies were back during the Peace Era. It was possible he could be right again. There were two solutions. Attempt to infiltrate the Dark network, or send BountyHunter in to do the job. Kirk decided he'd do it himself. So, he offically withdrew his empire from Geneva and shut it down. It was a joyous moment for Lil Red Empire and Jed's Solar Empire. FInally freeof their oath to protect other members, and to pay money to them, they could become larger. They had both conspired together to bring about the dissolution of Geneva, with aspirations of Dictatorship dancing in their heads. Their greed had severly hindered Geneva's chances at survival during the Battle. Now it was back to rear it's ugly head. Meanwhile, the Underground was preparing to join the Galaxy as empires. The Survivors were Mace, Dominion, and Mad Dog. They took over fellow Underground members, and had prepared a strategy. One new member, a certain Zakal, and someone who claimed to be a Geneva-convert named Khoteth had joined their ranks as well. With the Galactic Cooridnator gone away helping in the creation of another Galaxy, the oppurtunity was open. --=== Chapter 3 Elite was built up. Ultra had warned him before he went Underground. In all ofspace, Ultra only trusted two empires. The Elite Empire, and BountyHunter. Elitehad boned up, preparing for what was sure to be an onslaught from the Darkies. He would've gone with Ultra, but too many new converts would've been suspicious. So Elite was left with the task of preparing the Galaxial end of space for war. With a hefty 2000 planets, and a semi-large army, Elite began the task of warning other empires. Namely Dune Realms, but anyone who would help him was welcome. What was suspicious was that there were so many new empires. Dune Realms, Solar Master, always took over the job of validating 'New Empire Requests' whenever the Galactic Cooridnator was away, which was very rare. Many, many new empires were joining his Galaxy, and it seemed odd. Perhaps there was truth to the rumor that the Underground had been conquered by MaceMan and forced to sign up for empires. What Dune found odder was UltraEmpire's abdication of his empire. Dune hadnever met so dedicated a ruler as Kirk, so it just seemed strange he'd do something like that. Dune went back to validating all the new empires and setting off their Galaxial boundaries... So, -this- is what having an empire was like. New empire Khoteth was experiencing Empirial duties for the first time in his life. But, it wouldn't last. MaceMan, a brutal once-dictator, had taken control of the Underground, of which Khoteth was a member. Now forced to obey MaceMan, and his empire, or die. Khoteth, ofcourse, did what any right-minded individual would do; obey and stay alive. The control! MaceMan was now leader of his new empire, 'Steel Talon,' and how appropriate was that name! He would rip all the once-leaders of the dissolved Geneva Alliance limb from limb. He'd start with The Elite Empire, smallest of themall. He'd slowly work his way up, and eventually crush Dune Realms, his only remaining mortal enemy. Mace would've liked to have killed UltraEmpire, but he abdicated his empire, for some stupid reason. But Mace had power again. All the Underground empires he owned, and then his companion, ever-loyal sidekick, Mad Dog.Dominance, Valiance, HyperDomain, Zakal, and Khoteth, all under his control. So- Mace had an 'Alliance', and the Galaxy had no unity at all. This would be interesting.. --=== Chapter 4 Lil Red had finished his plans. After carefully wraught spy raids, he knew thestrengths of all the empires,and which ones to attack. First on his list would be The Elite Empire, who possessed the only large military, outside of the Big Three (Dune Realms, Lil Red Empire, Jed's Solar Empire). Soon enough, Lil Red hoped he'd be in charge of the Galaxy. Although the Galactic Coordinator posed a little problem, but nothing that wasn't insurmountable. The word was in. Lil Red would attack Elite tomorrow. Jed knew this couldn't happen. If Lil Red got Elite's wealth, Jed wouldn't have a chance at defeating hi. So, Jed decided to attack Lil Red before he had a chance. He gathered his military, and strengthened his defenses, preparing for a backlash that would be stronger than anything the Darkies could've dished out. War again! As UltraEmpire had feared, war was breaking out. Jed's Solar Empireattacked The Lil Red Empire, without provocation. Or so it seemed. Jed had sentDune a letter explaining why he would attack Lil Red, and asking DUne not to interfere, as the war would not affect anyone else. Dune wanted to trust Jed, after serving with him, and learning to trust him during the Battle. But the two of the three only remaining trustowrthy leaders were fighting each other, over the third trustworthy leader. Dune was torn, and decided he would lightly attack both empires as a warning. Ultra had made it. He got into the Underground, and had gotten alot more than he'd hoped for: Fourth in Command, and a direct servant to Mace. His empire, Zaklian Forces United, he'd named it, and himself posing as Zakal, was built up quickly enough to gain Mace's favor. But a fight between Lil Red and Jed's Solar Empire had occured, and that was trouble. Something internal was going on, and if not resolved, left the perfect oppurtunity for Mace's new operatives to start their slow take over of the Galaxy. --=== Chapter 5 Everything was perfect. His old enemies Lil Red and Jed were fighting, and theUnderground said it was a power struggle. They both wanted Elite Empire's planets. If things went the way he thought they would, Lil Red and Jed would either self-destruct themselves fighting, or kill Dune Realms when he attempts to bring justice to the matter. Mace could not have been happier. No matter what happened, one of the Triad would be dead. Dominance and Valiance were not up to speed yet, their empires slightly slow in growth. They didn't get their Military-Income Planet ratio right when they started, and as a result, they didn't have enough money to stabilize their empires. Now that the empires -were- stabilized, they could focus on building militaries. The ZFU Empire was coming along unexpectedly well, for someone new to the Underground. Zakal had gotten almost as good a startas Mace himself, which slightly scared him. The moment for a Dark Alliance attack was drawing closer. Lil Red fought for control. His empire was weakening, from having to support an army twice as large as what he could sustain without reserves. Once his reserve cash flow was gone, Lil Red would be famished. Fortunately Dune Realms hadn't attacked them hard enough to sway the scales in either direction. Lil Red suspected Dune Realms wouldn't get involved, knowing full well that Lil Red and Jed could probably overthrow him. Elite Empire showed no signs of getting involved either, perhaps a sign that he didn't yet know why Lil Red and Jed were fighting. That was good.. Elite was ready. His empire poised for attacking whoever lost today. Elite could feel the loss in his bones. Neither empire would be stable much longer. It was just a matter of who buckled under first. Elite planned to take them out now. In a sweeping motion, Elite took 200 planets from Lil Red. Easy enough he thought. Unfortunately, now Lil Red would try to get those planets back. Elite knew that if Lil Red were not equal with Jed, Jed would take all Lil Red's planets, andbecome strong enough to defeat Elite. So Elite decided to balance the scales, by attacking Jed. The attack brought 207 planets in, and Jed was about to crumble. Elite now had 2,384 planets. Lil Red had 1,050 and Jed had 1,062. Elite was playing his cards perfectly. Ultra knew that Elite was going to come out winning this one. By attacking both Jed and Lil Red, he assured himself complete success, while deepening the notch in Lil Red and Jed's empires. Ultra wasgoing to wire Steel Talon for permission to attack Lil Red and Jed. He knew he'd get it, and it would help Ultra become stronger, and give him a shot at destroying Mace/Steel Talon, as well as his comrades Valiance and DOminance. Ultra knew that this Battle would probably be the last, and that he, Elite, and Bounty could come out on top. --=== Chapter 6 When was the Galactic Coordinator going to come back?! Dune Realms did not want to get in this fight, and with Elite in it now too, it was at boiling point. Dune had recieved an anonymous tip that the Dark Alliance was back in town, whichwould explain all the new empires. But, most likely that rumor was false, becuase Dune had seen to it himself that MaceMan was killed, and itr couldn't be possible. Dune had to make up his mind. He decided to attack both Lil Red and Jed very severely. He planned to contact the Underground and have them ship him some Nuclear Weapons. Although the Galactic Coordinator severly punished empires who got illegal Nuclear Weapons from the Underground, Dune wanted to make it crystal clear that the war was going to have to end. Dominance was slightly disgruntled. Valiance had wired a Galactic Telegram, and to his amazement, it seemed that two things would be happening. Dune Realms, acting Galactic Coordinator, would use Nuclear Weapons to stop the war between Lil Red Empire and Jed's Solar Empire. But more directly personal to Dominance wasthe fact that Steel Talon was considering making Zakal of ZFU his new third-in-command. That would mean ousting Valiance. Dominance decided two courses of action could be taken. The first would be to attack Zakal, and whip his butt. But that would probably make Steel Talon extremely angry. The second was to ship Valiance as much cash as he could, to help him make his empire stronger. Dominance decided that the second course of action was the best. Lil Red was in total disbelief. The cost of his greed was his empire's life. Dune Realms attacked full-strength with Nuclear Weapons, the second most outlawedweaponry available. He was down to 400 planets, and that was worse then quite afew empires. Lil Red's military standpoint wasn't helping either. He could no longer make enough money to pay for his armada. It was time to contact Jed's Solar Empire and call off the attack. Maybe a new Battle would not start after all.. The time was now. Steel Talon had 900 planets, many more than Lil Red or Jed. Not quite enough to overtake Elite, and not near enough to have a shot at takingDune Realms over. But there was still a way to keep war going. He sent a covertagent out to make Dune believe he'd been counter-attacked by both Jed and Lil Red, and make Lil Red and Jed think Dune had taken some planets in an attack. Hopefully, they would believe the reports and spark off a new war, maybe leaving the oppurtunity of a dissolving Dune Realms open.. --=== Chapter 7 This was not just. The code of ethics, the laws of morality, all being defiled. Was it worth the risk of being discovered and losing the position of Galactic Coordinator? The deal he'd made with one of the empires went farther than the Justice System allowed for. What if that ruler was wrong? Or what if that ruler ceased to exist anymore? The Galactic Coordinator's mind was filled with the images of a past Universe. It had been half-full, when the Wars began. Corruption began to spread when the Ghetto and the Syndicate took over the galaxies. The all-powerful Universal Coordinator, and his understudies, the Galactic Coordinators, had not been able to stop them. Or at least, the Universal Coordinator hadn't. The Galactic Coordinators all made deals with either the Ghetto or the Syndicate,and abandoned all Justice in order to have a shot at taking over the Universe. So, the Universal Coordinator fled and started work on another Universe. And he hand-picked the only once-ruler he felt to be just, and able to keep from coruption. That man was now the only force in the Multiverse with unlimited power. Andwas he, too, going to be corrupted like the now-destroyed Universe? --=== Chapter 8 The fight between Lil Red and Jed had almost been over. Then they had both started fighting again, and taking shots at Elite and Dune Realms occasionally. Hydroxinia had taken it upon himself to side up with Norland and The Forever Empire. He had to protect himself, and allies were the key. There were alot of empiresnow, but it didn't seem like four empires fighting was enough to spark interest n a Geneva-like alliance. Perhaps Hydroxinia and his allies could take out Lil Rd! It was an enthralling thought, becuase Lil Red had shown himself to be a man with -VERY- greedy intentions.. What the heck were these fools trying to pull? The Lil Red Empire and Jed's Solar Empire were going full force against Dune Realm with occasional pot shots at Elite! Elite was very mad about this. If Nuclear Weapons didn't stop this, ovbiously Lil Red and Jed thought they could win. Which ment they might have Biological Weapons! If they had BW bombs, the Galaxy was in great danger. One bomb wiped out 200 million people! Not that BW bombs were cheap... They were expensive, and hard to get. However nearly-impossible they were to get when the Galactic Cooridnator was around, they would be slightly easier to find now that he was away on some sort of business, and Dune Realms was acting-Coordinator. Elite was gojng to attack Lil Red full-force, and eliminate him if possible. He believe Jed could still be brought back tot he light. The Lil Red Empire was to far off in greed to ever come back... Jed was winning. He had gained the advantage over Lil Red, and at least if they both died, Lil Red would go first. Why Dune Realms had prolonged the attack, he had no idea. Dune was a man of peace and this was not his way doing things. In fact it was his peacefullness that Jed had counted on before attacking Lil Red. No bother. He'd stop attacking Lil Red, and let everyone else finish him off. Jed could begin from scatch like he'd done in the past. Viper Pit was a small empire waiting to be conquered.. Perhaps it'd be Jed's first victim. --=== Chapter 9 The Organizer, they called him. HitMan, Head of Distrubution for the Underground, was busy. Dune Realms had ordered Nuclear Weapons, which could get him punished. Acting-Galactic Cooridinators were not allowed to have ANY illegal weapon. And normal empires got punished enough. Lil Red Empire had ordered Nuclear Weapons and Biological Weapons. Those babies were bad boys. Only someone realy desperate took the risk of ordering BioWeapons. Then he'd heard a rumor that the Zaklian Force United empire was considering a shipment of both Nuclear Weapons and Chemical Weapons. ChemWeapons were basically Biological Weapons on a lower scale. But they were illegal anyway. The Underground, and it's ruler, would be making atidy profit... HitMan gave the report. Lil Red had indeed ordered Biological Weapons, and probably intended to use them on Dune Realms. This was his chance. If Steel Talon got as many BioWeapons as he could hold, he would eliminate Lil Red and Dune Realms when Lil Red attacked. Lil Red was the only real threat, as BioWeapons could severely hurt =ANY= empire. However, once Dune was weakened, Steel Talon would move in and wipe him out. Another concern to Steel Talon was the fact that Dominance and Valiance were still not up to speed. Dominance had gotten his empire back to self-sustainable levels, but Valiance was doing horrifically. Tal had decided he would temporarily replace Valiance with Zakal as third-in-command and se what type of skills this Zakal really had. Dominance would have to start growing soon, or else someone would get HIS job too.. --=== Chapter 10 His empire was severely injured. Dune Realms had been attacked by Lil Red Empire with Biological Weapons. He was down to 4,728 planets from 5,611 planets. Hisinsurgency was at Under Coup, and his military effectiveness was low. Lil Red had somehow afforded these weapons, or been given them, and might have more. DuneRealms could no longer stop any further attacks. Only the real Galactic Coordinator could, and Dune had lost contact with him a week ago. If only Dune had attacked them both very hard the first time, maybe this wouldn't have happened. A distant memory of the old Ultra from the Second War Era flooded back to him. it was a memory where Ultra kept prodding Dune, telling him he had to take action andattack the Darkies now while he still could. And Ultra'd been right. Dune held off the attacks, and the Darkies wedged their way into a War. Fortunately Dune, Lil Red, Jed, Elite, and Ultra had fought them off. But now a similiar situationerupts and Dune refuses to accept the reality of it. If Dune was destroyed, that would be his punishment for his stubborn nature. How Dune wished Ultra was here to give him advice, or that Bounty was here to give him a spy report. And he wished the Galactic Coordinator would get his butt back over here and restore justice. BioWeapons. The new Battle was unfolding slightly differently from what Zakal had expected. He'd anticipated Dune's reluctance to fight, and expected SOMEone to use a BioWeapon, but not the whole Galaxy. Steel Talon had them, Lil Red had them, Hydroxinia had them, and Zakal himself was ordering some to be safe. Tomorrow Steel Talon would be taking Dune Realms out. Zakal would get in on a real attack, and get some planets. Maybe he'd close the gap between himself and Tal. Ormaybe not... Ha Ha!! Lil Red was about to dance with joy. His attack was successful, and with a little luck, his empire would take enough planets to establish itself. DuneRealms was hurt bady, Lil Red knew, but would be back on his feet shortly. Lil Red needed to make an alliance with someone strong while he still could. The best person it seemed would be the Steel Talon, who Lil Red did not know. But the ZFU Empire and Hydroxinia were also out there, and might be willing to pact. He had to try something. This was going way out of hand. BioWeapons were illegal, and now it seemed everyone had them. In the past two days, 1 billion civilians had been killed in Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Weapon attacks. Elite had to stop this. His only options were to send in a Covert Team and steal Lil Red's BioWeapons and then destroy them. If Dune Realms couldn't keep the peace, then someone had to step up and do it for him. Elite wondered where Ultra had gone after he abdicated. Ultra would be the perfect ruler in a time like this. --=== Chapter 11 Norland was getting nervous. Attacks were spreading. No longer was it a Quad-Empire War, but a Penta-Empire War. Steel Talon used BioWeapons to permanently detroy Lil Red Empire, and Hydroxinia was joining the attacks on Dune Realms in anattempt to plunder him. The Forever Empire had not mentioned what it was considering, but Norland guessed it was going to join the war as well. As some had feared, the war went out of whack the minute Lil Red and Jed began attacking Dune Relms, and now the Galaxy was paying the price. Norland needed new allies. Strongones. Norland didn't want to get in this fight, but his comrades did. Once a Bounty Hunter, always a bounty hunter. Khoteth had put a price on The Forever Empire's ruler, Nirvana. And it seemed one empire, an ally of FE's, Norland was going to send Covert Agents to assassinate Nirvana. Khoteth had successfully sent one covert agent into Valiance's empire, and destroyed his banks. Now Valiance was penniless, and Zakal was assured a Third-In-Command rank. Tal was gearing up for another strike on Dune Realms. Steel Talon had an endless supply ofBioWeapons, being the leader of the Underground. Khoteth planned to change THAT too.. There was a bounty going up for HitMan's head.. He felt the empire buckling. The entire Galaxy joined the 'Dune Raids,' as they called them. They were all attempting to destroy the Dune Realms, and kill Sandman. With Dune out of the way, war would be imminent. Where the heck was the Galactic Coordinator. Noone in other Galaxies had seen him. Dune still had the largest empire, but he wasn't sure his empire could hold up much longer against the strength of the attackers. He almost made Elite Empire the acting-Galactic Cooridnator, but that would've been even more foolish, becuase Elite was not even asbig as DUne Realms. Elite however was off attacking someone else, for who knowswhy. Dune Realms planned to focus all his attacks, and BioWeapons, on this Steel Talon, who seemed to be the leader of them all. he was the biggest empire, followed by ZFU, Hydroxinia, and then Dominance. ZFU wasn't attack Dune, however. Maybe DUne should contact Zakal or Norland, the seemingly only ones not attcking. --=== Chapter 12 Elite sided with Norland. Dune Realms was almost destroyed, Lil Red =was= destroyed, and Jed seemed to be headed the same way. Dune Realms could come back, but he seemed to overwhelmed with his own problem to fix it. Norland was really the only empire Elite thought he could trust. Elite had received word from an anonymous tip that MaceMan was back, and he brought the Underground with him. That was big trouble. If Dune was exterminated, Mace would probably take over the Galaxy. Elite was still trying to contact the Galactic Coordinator, but to no avail. WHy he would leave and not come back was beyond all reasoning. Steel Talon was enraged. He couldn't get anymore BioWeapons due to an explosion at the Biological Plant. HitMan assured him it would be fixed shortly, but unmtil then he'd have to settle for Chemical Weapons or Nuclear Weapons. ChemWeapons were not enough to destroy Dune. Tal's third in command was not helping either. Zakal refused to attack Dune, stating he wanted a clean ercord when the Galactic Cooridinator got back. Tal was about to remover 3rd-In-Command status from another empire! The Galaxy was in shambles, for sure, and the Underground was the only stable thing. Tal had no doubts he would take over the Galaxy. But there wouldn't be much left to rule over... The diseases had spread. An epidemic was now flooding throughout the Underground, due to the release of disease and virii when the Biological Weaponry Plant blew up. HitMan was going to tell Mace, but he decided against it, knowing Mace'dhave his head. It would be impossible to put the BWP back into operation for atleast half a year, and Mace planned to take over in less than a month. ChemicalWeapons were quite effective, however, and HitMan thought Mace might be satisfied with just those. However now was Mace's oppurtunity to make a fortune. If theUnderground sold BioWeapons to the empires, he couldn't give them anything. But Mace could keep the money for himself, and further his Steel Talon empire. --=== Chapter 13 The Galactic Coordinator should be reciecing another set of instructions soon. He now knew of the death and destruction rampant in his Galaxy. He wanted to go back and stop it, but he knew it was too late for that. He had to rely on the empire to do it's part of the job. He knew Dune Realms had done a terrible thing:use Nuclear Weapons in an attempt to stop Lil Red and Jed from fighting. How he wished he could be there to stop it. He was a disgrace to all Galactic Coordinators who ever lived. Letting his Galaxy go that far. He was the 'Chosen One,' theonly one left after the horrible war with the Universal Coordinator who could be trusted never to let an incident like that occur again. ANd here it was- happening again, on the brink of an interstellar bloodbath. --=== Chapter 14 Dune couldn't hold up much longer. His attacks were directed at Steel Talon, the seeming leader of the group. Tal, as they called him, was stronger than any empire, even Dune himself now. Dune Realms had lost over 600 million people in the past few days, and the total loss of life was over 1,650,000,000. The GalacticCoordinator had written a GalaxyGram to him, telling him he knew of the NuclearWeapons, and how the Galaxy was collapsing. He said to hang on, for he would beback within two weeks. Dune wanted to, but he wasn't sure he could. Valiance was enraged. Zakal was refusing to fight Dune Realms, and yet Mace allowed him to keep his post at third-in-command!!! Valiance wanted to kill Zakal,but he knew that ZFU could easily overtake his empire. Valiance was arranging for that to be taken care of, though. Dominance and HyperDomain had agreed to destroy ZFU when the time was right. Valiance would personally execute Zakal when the time came. The Forever Empire was doing excellently. The raids on Dune Realms were providing it with strength. Hydroxinia had been right; attacking Dune was better than standing with him. Norland, however, was a strange story. He was the smartest ofthe HyNorEvr Alliance, but he refused to attack Dune. He also had a new ally, the strong Elite Empire. Forever and Hydroxinia were considering dropping Norland from the alliance. Hydroxinia was sending applications for the HyNorEvr Allianceto Steel Talon, Dominance, Elite, and ZFU. He hoped one of them would join, becuause they would make the HyNorEvr Alliance very strong. --=== Chapter 14 Steel Talon laughed with malice, joy, and vengeance. Dune Realms had finally been completely destroyed. Zakal actually had the final attack, which surprised Tal. But the final hurdle in his conquering of the Galaxy was cleared. His vengeance would finally have a chance to begin. He would destroy The Elite Empire first, as he was the only strong empire left in the Galaxy. Then BroncoBuster would die, and then Tal would declare himself Galactic Ruler of the Galaxy. He knew Elite would be no problem, and Bronco could be killed now. In fact, Tal decided, I'll attack BroncoBuster first. It happened. As he'd expected from the beginning, as he knew, Dune had been destroyed, and Zakal had been the destroyer. There was now no acting-Galactic Coordinator, which meant Universal Law did not apply here anymore. There's was the first Galaxy to -ever- rid itself of this burden. Steel Talon thought for sure his plan was going to work, but now that Dune Realms and Universal Law was gone, Zakal had a plan working out in his mind. HitMan was happy. Tal had been successful in his defeat of Dune Realms. Almost surely now, all empires would obey him, and law would be abolished. Thisof course mean free sales of ChemWeapons and Nuclear Weapons.. HitMan decided to establish his -own- empire, and try out the Galaxy Game called 'ruling an empire', a game at which many had failed. Elite knew it was coming, and it had come. Now he had to figure out how to escape Tal. NorLand seemed eager to help, with this new alliance they had. Noren had official resigned from the HyNorEvr alliance, and Hydroxinia had said 'Good riddance.' Hydrox reminded Elite of Lil Red: Greedy. Well, the new HyEvr alliance was supposedly doing well, and looking for a big empire to join it. Elite made up is mind to make the Forver Empire and Hydroxinia join NorLand and Elite's alliance, the 'Genesis Alliance.' --=== Chapter 15 The Galactic Coordinator heard the news. Steel Talon had overthrown Dune Realms. The Galactic Coordinator had now lost all hope. Lawlessness was sure to abound, and the Galactic Coordinator knew it was becuase of the deal he'd made. If the Plan did not work, the Galactic Coordinator would have to destroy the Galaxy, if that was possible anymore. He knew with Steel Talon's strength it might nowt be. The Galactic Coordinator was also considering creating a new Galaxy, and have it populated by several empires, and give them all the goods they could have. He would send them in to defeat Steel Talon if such actions became necessary. The Galactic Coordinator didn't want to do that. --=== Chapter 16 Dominance had joined with Valiance in a merger. Valiance was not strong enough to survive in this Galaxy which had become overrun with wars. Dominion was mighty, but needed more planets and more supplies. Merging had not been done in centuries, and it shocked some rulers. The new empire was named The Superior Realm. Dominion and Mad Dog were content that they could face anyone that came at them.They were also convinced they could destory Zakal, with some effort. A merger? That was something Zakal had forgotten about. Usually they failed, becuase the rulers struggled for complete power over the new empire. But this struggling could prove useful. Zakal had an idea. It was a dandy too. NorLand recieved the blow. HyperRealm attacked, but NorLand absorbed it. NorLand wanted to retaliate, but that would bring the Alliance into it, and give Hyper an excuse to attack Elite. NorLand had one choice only. He had to leave the Genesis Alliance, and attack HyperRealm himself. It was the only way... Hyper attacked NorLand, huh? Elite pondered the dilemma. According to his sources, retaliating against Hyper would bring Steel Talon down on him. Elite knew beyond the shadow of a doubt he could destroy HyperRealm in one day, but if he tried it, Elite wouldn't survive the onslaught of attacks. How could he keep HyperRealm off of Noren's back? --=== Chapter 17 Tal watched in amusement. HyperRealm tookan easy way of getting planets. Hyperovbiously knew that any retaliation would result in immediate destruction. And the Dominance/Valiance merger was a smart move too. The Galaxy was coming to a more peaceful state. Jed's Solar Empire hadn't done anything, as of late though.Tal knew Jed very well.. He wasn't done fighting. Zakal of ZFU continued to be amystery. He had refused to attack Dune, and then finally decided to finish Dune in the final battle. Now he was asking Steel Talon to be excused from Talon Enforcer Duty. Tal was pondering just obliterating Zakal to avoid his rebel minded moves, but Tal also recognized a veyr strategic, very clever mind inside of him. Steel Talon waited in anxiety to see what would happen next. Hydroxinia knew this was coming. Noren left the Hyever Alliance, and was immediately attacked. Steel Talon was sending out 'Talon Enforcers,' a fleet designedto keep the Galaxy under his command. Hydrox had fought against Dune to rid himself of rule, and now he was under a power again. The Forever Empire, however, was performing quite well. He was growing steadily, and trade with Hydroxinia was improving as well. Things were mixed... --=== Chapter 18 The Time was coming. He was contacted for the first time, and told the Plan had been made. Soon the Galactic Coordinator could return to the Galaxy and perform the duty he'd been dealt. The Galaxy was in more order now, not as much fighting, and no more BioWeapons. The Galactic Coordinator was glad for that. Soon he could return, return to the place he called 'home,' the place he had made full of Justice. --=== Chapter 19 Intruiging. Zakal wanted Steel Talon to force Dominance and Valiance to allow him to merge with their 'Superior Realm.' Zakal's reasons were beyond Tal, for Zakal's ZFU Empire was vastly larger than theirs, and a merger required the rulers to share the new empire equally. But a merger between ZFU and Superior Realm gave Tal a new tactical advantage over the Galaxial subjects he ruled. He decided he would make the merger official. Why, why, why?? Steel Talon was imposing a merger upon them. It might not havebeen so bad, but it was Zakal of ZFU! Superior Realm, of course, would become larger, but that was beside the point. Oh well, they would have to enjoy ZFU's newadded size to their empire. Perfect. Tal said yes, and the plan was unfolding perfectly. The ZFU Empire would soon join Superior Realm, and Zakal had a new oppurtunity to do what he'd planned all along. Perhaps all was not lost. Soon the Galaxy would be shaken by another Battle. This one would be short, but it would be decisive. --=== Chapter 20 Zakal merged with Superior Realm. What -WAS- Zakal doing? He was full of mystery, Elite knew. Zakal, the supposed 'Third In Command' of the new Talon GalaxialEmpire. How could three rulers share an empire? Especially the large size it was. One would be greedy, Elite knew. The covert agent was in. His mission- Kill Dominance. Sent by someone with a grudge, or someone who wanted to take over. The agent didn't know, but he did know he was being paid alot of money. Fifty Million credits was not chump change, that was for sure. But his mission was accomplished, and Dominance was dead. NowSuperior Realm was left in control of Valiance and Zakal. Valiance was deeply afraid. He knew -HE- hadn't sent the agent. SO it had to be Zakal. Or it could have been Tal. TAL had been the one who'd demoted Valiance,and promoted Zakal. THEN he forced a merger on them. Was he now going to make Zakal the lone head of a gigantic empire? He feared for his own life. But fear couldn't save him. But Valiance knew someone who could. He decided to go Underground again. The Superior Realm was his. The plan worked, and Dominance was dead, Valiance 'hiding.' Zakal would rename Superior Realm, of course. But this was another notch in his scaling of the Galaxial Ladder. --=== Chapter 21 Clever? He was down right brilliant. He'd taken Dominance and Valiance's empries and made himself twice as big with a little loss of life, army, or money. Talhad every right to be afraid of this Zakal, Head Of ZFU, a seemingly new brilliant emperor. This of course meant Zakal was Tal's new Second In Command. HitMan almost had the ChemPlant ready for operation again. Steel Talon would glad to hear that. There had been some heavy empirial activity in the Galaxy after Tal's takeover. It seemed Dominance and Valiance had been tricked by Zakal, Head of ZFU. Valiance was requesting asylum from the Underground, claiming it was Tal's plan to kill him. HitMan couldn't deny it to him, and so he gave him a place to go.. --=== Chapter 22 The Galactic Coordinator was pleased. He had just heard news that thrilled himto the very core. He also knew the Galaxy was about ready to take him back. Soonhe been assured. He had found out that order was being restored by Steel Talon who was setting up new Galaxial Commandments. That was good.. A Galaxy without rules is like a ladder without rungs, he'd always said. Soon, he would be back in control, at home, in HIS Galaxy. --=== Chapter 23 He couldn't believe it. Zakal had just written him a note. Zakal, Head of ZFU,was actually UltraEmpire! Elite had had no idea Ultra had survived the entrance to the Underground. Now it seemed Ultra and somebody named Khoteth were beginning a plot to retake the Galaxy. Zakal would need the Genesis Alliance help, though. When Noren heard of it, he felt a rush of joy. Zakal was UltraEmpire!! Of all the unexpected things, this was atop the list. Ultra was much smarter than Norenhad ever imagined, especially the latest merger plan of his. But Zakal's plan wasn't finished, he'd learned. The Genesis Alliance had a new purpose, and it was a biggy. Khoteth was ready. He'd merged with the ZFU Empire, and two more empires were following suit. The only remaining heads of the old Geneva Alliance were gathering together into one mighty empire headed by none other than UltraEmpire. Could they overtake Steel Talon with an empire larger than any other ever seen? Only time would tell... --=== Chapter 24 This was beginning to worry Tal. The ZFU Empire had increased by a factor of 4with the new additions of NorLand, The Elite Empire, and Khoteth. The fact that Zakal would even allow someone outside of Tal's forces into his empire showed Steel Talon that something was up. Noren and Elite would have to be executed, but Tal wasn't sure about Khoteth and Zakal. ZFU was quite large, and almost comprable to Steel Talon himself. Zakal was a major threat, and Tal decided to dissolveit. HyperRealm knew he was dead. NorLand had joined ZFU, and that meant vengeance for sure. Hyper would abdicate his empire rather than lose to another. Hyper hadbegun an empire with aspirations of ruling the Galaxy, but it was all crumbling even though Steel Talon had a vise grip over it. The so-called 'Common Empires' were fed up. DustWorld, Finway, Briton, and Gojuon were speaking up to Steel Talon, although they had no chance in the world ofdefeating him. Hydroxinia assured them he would find a way to oust Steel Talon and his associates. If only all the empires would band together, instead of just the four.. --=== Chapter 25 Noren and Elite stood before Tal, tyrannical leader of the Galaxy. "Elite," hesneered,"I've been wanting to kill you since I was defeated by your petty GenevaAlliance." Tal turned to Noren. "You. I never knew you. But you have joined Zakal in attempt to overthrow me," he said. Noren tried hard to keep from turning white. How'd Tal know they'd been planning an overthrow? Tal looked to the guards."They will die in a Galaxial honored way. There is no more honorable way to die than by the firing squad," he stated he sharply. --=== Chapter 26 Zakal knew what Tal was doing. His only hope for winning this war wasn't here yet, so Zakal had to attack now. He gahtered as large an army as possible, and struck mightily. He didn't get any planets, but anything Zakal could do to knockhis amry size down, Zakal would do. --=== Chapter 27 "Tal, The ZFU Empire has attacked," said the messenger. Tal turned to his captives. "Zakal shall die. As will you," he said. Elite looked up. "Before we go, I wanted to tell you something. Zakal is UltraEmpire, your sworn enemy." Talturned blood red. He'd been fooled! ALl this time he thought he'd found the perfect protege, and it was Ultra! The ultimate vengeance was within his grasp. "Kill them," he said simply. He turned on his heel and left, while shots rang out. --=== Chapter 28 Tal recoiled against ZFU, causing tremendous damage to it. But Tal knew that bneither he, nor Ultra could keep up the fight long. Tal had the advantage, but even if he won, he probably wouldn't have enough power to control the Galaxy. It didn't matter. Bloodthrist was on Tal's mind, and Zakal was the blood he wanted. Zakal had his heart wrenched. Elite and Noren had died. They didn't even put up a fight. But Tal had learned Zakal's true identity, and Zakal knew that was fatal. This would turn into a fight to the death. Neither Tal, nor Zakal, could win. Or at least that's what Zakal thought. Tal was widening the gap. Though severly injured, Steel Talon would survive and The ZFU Empire would perish. That made him very happy. All of his enemies would be dead, and there would be noone to stop him. His conquests would continue.. --=== Chapter 29 He returned. The Galactic Coordinator saw the destruction. Zakal had been right. This was the only way. From the beginning, Ultra had convinced the Galactic Coordinator that Mace was still alive, and this was the only way to finally see him demolished. But the Galactic Coordinator decided to add another factor to the battle. Himself. Steel Talon was frightened. The Galactic Coordinator had returned from seemingly nowhere, and now perhaps it would be Zakal who won. Tal and Zakal were virtually the same in strength. Once the Galactic Coordinator struck, Tal and Ultra would be even. Totally, unconvincingly even. They would be the same for the first time in history. ANd that scared even Tal. The Galactic Coordinator's army could wipe Tal out quickly. But Ultra wanted to wipe Tal away himself. Ultra would destroy Steel Talon, and give himself as amartyr to the Galaxy. The Galactic Coordinator was shocked. Ultra wanted it that way, and the Galacitic Coordinator complied. It was terrible. The only one who, in the Coordinatorsjudgement, could take the reins of the Galaxy and use them Justly. But it wasn'tto be. The Galactic Coordinator would find someone else... --=== Chapter 30 In a swirling cloud, a cloud of interstellar dust, the mighty empires of Steel Talon and Zakal, Head of ZFU, were swept away, along with their rulers. An age-old power struggle had come to an end, with noone prevailing. Ultra gave his life to finally, and completely, destroy the ultimate evil in the Galaxy. The Genesis Alliance, The Hyevr Alliance, the Talon Galaxial Empire, the Dark Alliance: They all ceased to exist. The Galactic Coordinator established Justice once againand began the search for someone to succeed him. All the while being more careful to keep evil out. --=== Chapter 31 Hydroxinia, Forver, and Khoteth were going Underground. The Galactic Coordinator was back, and that meant Justice. Hydrox had convinced Khoteth that the Coordiantor was ruthless, and they must escape. Together, they banded and headed the way pf Valiance: To the Underground. //// As it would seem, this story is not over. While our two main characters //// are dead, the next SRE story is coming around. Get ready for a jolt //// of andrenaline when SRE: V- The Underground hits. Look for it soon