Balance Mod Game Story - Rise of the Xiati Empire

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Rise of the Xiati Empire Main | Previous Chapter 2415.1-2416.0 | Next Chapter 2417.1-2418.0

Turns 2416.1 to 2417.0

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Rebuilding the Fleet

The destruction of the Obotron Defense Fleet at the "hands" of the EEE and ship losses from the Cue Cappa offensive had reduced the Xiati's combat ship total by almost 20%. Space Yard queues were filled with a variety of upgraded designs and rally points established in the Obotron, Utekra and Lezzari systems. Existing ships were retrofit, although being primarily an armor upgrade, progress was slow to return the ships back to full service. By the end of the year, approximately half of the ship losses had been replaced with the other half nearing completion. Pulling ships from the Fornax and Ootoola defense fleets and incorporated new builds from the Orion system, the Obotron Defense Fleet was re-formed.

The New Mobile Economy

Perhaps one of Emperor Tax'renath's best decisions in the last 5 years was to fully embrace remote resource gathering from asteroid fields. The Aggregator and Extractor class ships now totaled 25 and were providing almost 50% of all minerals and radioactives collected by the Xiati Empire. The intensive resource operation allowed for the expansion of the fleet to match rival powers with only half the colony base. However as time has progressed, the resource value of the asteroids continues to drop and current estimates put a shelflife of 5-10 years before many of the fields will no longer be economical to mine.

Jraenar War

After their loss at the Battle of Lacerta IV, the Jraenar were content to blockade the Drax-Eskirk warp point rather than move against the heavily defended Eskirk III. However, the continued presence of the Jraenar ships kept the Eskirk population uneasy. Once the Eskirk Defense Fleet's retrofits were complete, the fleet was dispatched to engage the Jraenar Fleet. The Eskirk Defense Fleet successfully destoryed the Jraenar fleet without any losses, although several of the Xiati ships were heavily damaged. After the Eskirk-Drax warp point battle, Jraenar activity in the region dropped.

EEE War

After destroying the Obotron Defense Fleet in the Fwandrei system, the EEE battle fleet breached the Obotron-Fwandrei warp point two months later in 2416.0. The newly restored Obotron-Fwandrei satellite group, consisting of 45 Dart B seeker sats managed to destroy 6 of the 20 EEE ships and damaged several others before it was destroyed. With the ship losses, the EEE no longer had sufficient strength to attack Obotron I and were content to hold the warp point and prevent the Xiati from placing any new defenses.

EEE Battle Fleet breaching the Obotron-Fwandrei warp point in 2416.0:

The EEE kept their hold on the Utekra-Fwandrei warp point were they continued to amass ships. The Utekra Defense Fleet remained in orbit of Utekra I, slowly upgrading its ships in anticipation of an EEE move against either Utekra I or Utreka IV, both major resource colonies for the Xiati. By the end of the year, the EEE had 29 ships staged at the warp point, which outnumbered the Xiati combat ships in the system. However, both colonies were flush with defenses which deterred the EEE from attacking directly. The stand off would continue into the 2417s as there was no viable options for Emperor Tax'renath to remove the EEE ships.

Cue Cappa War

The loss of Fezzran II had been a blow to Cue Cappa morale and much effort had been spent in the 2415s to re-capture it. However, the Xiati managed to hold onto the planet and had restored its facilties back to 100% capacity by 2416.0. The newly annointed Fezzran Defense Fleet, numbering in the 20s, was a formidable force in orbit and new defensive installations were being contructed on the planet's surface. In 2416.3, the Cue Cappa made another attack against the planet with a fleet of 10 large cruisers and battleships. The Cue Cappa attack was repelled, but two Xiati ships were lost in a strange fashion. After being struck by a new Cue Cappa weapon, a Dauntless and Phantom class ship began firing on other Xiati ships. Both ships ended up being destroyed by the Xiati themselves. Afterwards, it was revealed the Cue Cappa were utilizing a new weapon called an Allegiance Subverter (AS). It was known that the Cue Cappa had Psychic capabilities and utilized them in their weaponry, but this was the first observed weapon that exhibited mind control.

In 2416.4, the Cue Cappa overwhelmed the mine and satellite defenses of the Lezzari-Cunaxa warp point with a fleet of 16 ships. Lezzari I was heavily defended with planetary weapon platforms, but the orbiting Lezzari Defense Fleet had been reduced to only 6 ships after most had been transferred to protect Fezzran II. The Cue Cappa were content to hold the warp point and Emperor Tax'renath had no available options to displace them. This stand off would continue as well into the 2417s.

Battle of Lezzari-Cunaxa Warp Point in 2416.4:

A Pirate's Life Part V

Charger class ships operating in the Reticulum, Questriss and Fezzran systems continued to capture stray enemy transports or leftover combat hulls from battles. Recent captures and subsequent technologicals analyses had provided key advances in armor, shield and resupply technologies. In fact, most of the Xiati's recent advancements had come from ship captures rather than dedicated research programs.

Quadrant Map 2417.0: