Balance Mod Game Story - Rise of the Xiati Empire

---

Rise of the Xiati Empire Main | Previous Chapter 2433.1-2434.0 | Next Chapter 2435.1-2436.0

Turns 2434.1 to 2435.0

---

Xiati Empire Report

In the last 5 years, the Xiati have made significant gains in territory and population, increasing from 38 colonies and 39.5B population to 52 and 72.8B respectively. Much of the gains have been concentrated in the Sergetti branch, where a tremendous military campaign resulted in the capture of the Equandul, Spirador and Arakang systems in their entirety. However, despite the success, the Xiati economy remains strained as the military budget continues to absorb an ever larger portion of resources leaving the Empire in a perpetual near bankrupted state.

Xiati Empire Summary 2435.0:

Empire Comparison 2435.0:

The Ukra'Tal Collective continues to expand and is now the leading resource producer with a vast pool of population to draw labour from. The Xiati Empire now ranks 2nd in the quadrant by these measures but perhaps 1st in terms of military strength. Many of the Xiati's gains in the Sergetti branch came as losses for the Phong Confederation, which has now dropped to 4th after holding 1st fewer than 10 years ago. The Jraenar and Norak hold steady while the Cue Cappa and EEE continue to fall as their long time war with the Xiati continues to take its toll.

Xiati Empire Colony Report

The Xiati Empire now holds the second most colonized planets in the quadrant although its own native population barely represents 20% of the total population under their control. The amount of resources dedicated to keeping the captured populations under control and moderately productive is staggering.

Xiati Empire Colonies:

Xiati Empire Fleet Report

The Xiati Empire has the largest fleet in the quadrant by a significant margin. The modernization program has not only increased the cost of each individual ship to maintain but the average tonnage has increased with smaller warship counts waning in favour of larger more heavily armed and protected capital ships. The overall maintenance budget essentially consumes 100% of total resources collected by the Xiati each year.

Xiati Empire Ships and Bases:

Image	Class	Hull	Design Type	In Service
	Forager I	250kT Frigate	Ship (Scout)	9
	Raptor P	400kT Destroyer	Ship (Attack S)	11
	Phantom M	400kT Destroyer	Ship (Seeker S)	5
	Protector J	400kT Destroyer	Ship (Point-Defense)	6
	Dauntless N	600kT Light Cruiser	Ship (Defense S)	26
	Striker M	600kT Light Cruiser	Ship (Seeker M)	18
	Razor E	600kT Light Cruiser	Ship (Attack M)	52
	Defiant M	900kT Cruiser	Ship (Defense M)	49
	Ravager H	1,200kT Battleship	Ship (Attack L)	30
	Avenger-C	1,200kT Battleship	Ship (Bombardment)	9
	Vengeance	1,800kT Dreadnought	Ship (Defense L)	14
	Charger J	400kT Destroyer	Ship (Boarding)	5
	Fixer E	500kT Small Freighter	Ship (Repair)	25
	Caretaker	1,000kT Medium Freighter	Ship (Space Yard)	7
	Dropper C	500kT Small Freighter	Ship (Mine Layer)	2
	Sweeper F	500kT Small Freighter	Ship (Mine Sweeper)	25
	Palantir E	500kT Small Freighter	Ship (Satellite Layer)	8
	Invader H	500kT Small Freighter	Transport (Troop)	10
	Transporter C	500kT Small Freighter	Transport (Cargo)	6
	Aggregator B	1,000kT Medium Freighter	Ship (Remote Mining)	25
	Extractor B	1,000kT Medium Freighter	Ship (Remote Refining)	32
	Harvester	1,000kT Medium Freighter	Ship (Remote Farming)	16
	Space Yard E	700kT Small Base	Base (Space Yard)	8
	Neutralizer E	1,000kT Small Base	Base (Defense S)	35

The newly designed 2,000kT Defender class Starbase:

The Sergetti Branch and the Northeast Systems

The capture of Equandul III from the Phong in 2434.5 finalized the Xiati's conquest of the former Sergetti territory. The capture of the planet itself ended up suprisingly difficult as the Phong resisted the first troop drop necessitating a second larger Xiati invasion force. The Xiati colonies in the Sergetti branch are resource rich, although difficulties with managing the native populations has hampered overall production. With the three systems (Equandul, Spirador, Arakang) of the branch under complete control, the Arakang Defense Fleet is enroute to the Butkuret Nebula in conjunction with the Bebblebrox Patrol Fleet blocking off access to the Corneria system. This will effectively close the northern east-west corridor and isolate the northern colonies of the EEE and Cue Cappa from the rest of the quadrant.

Fezzran Breach

In 2439.9, a Ukra-Tal fleet breached the Fezzran-Falcor WP destroying all the defensive installations that were in place. That fleet was destroyed shortly after attempting to bombard Fezzran III, a short distance from the warp point. Although new defensive satellites were dropped, just a few months later in 2434.3, another Ukra-Tal fleet broke through and was destroyed in an attempt to bombard Fezzran II in 2434.7. Very rapidly a new defensive screen of satellites and mines has been built up at the Fezzran-Falcor WP to stem the flow of Ukra-Tal ships for now.

Ukra-Tal attack Fezzran II in 2434.7:

Lylat Defense

With the completion of the Lylat system conquest in the late 2433, the Xiati have faced several significant counter-attacks against the Gweebik-Lylat WP by all 3 of the system's former tenants - the EEE in 2434.0, Cue Cappa in 2434.5 and Ukra-Tal most recently in 2434.8. The Lylat Attack Fleet held the warp point each time with minimal losses where it still maintains a defensive posture in the face of a half dozen antaganistic Gweebik colonies.

EEE Fleet Attacks the Gweebik-Lylat WP in 2434.0:

Western Borders

The Xiati Fornax and Ventrux systems have held frontier status for many years, unlike some of the eastern systems where the frontier has continued to move outwards. For the most part, the Xiati have held fast with only the occassional breech into either system. Most of the attacks have been perpetrated by the Phong, Norak or Ukra-Tal - the major players in the west. However in 2434.5, a remote EEE fleet (9xDEs,3xLCs,2xCRs,1xBB,1xDN,2xMFs,5xLFs) attempted to break the Fornax-Firaxis warp point. The Fornax Defense Fleet and the static defenses at the warp point obliterated the EEE with minor losses. It was suspected the EEE had become trapped in the western half of the quadrant as the Xiati closed off most of the routes to the east.

EEE Fleet Attacks the Fornax-Firaxis WP in 2434.5:

Looming Drax Showdown

Unlike the rapid consolidation of the Sergetti Arm star systems, the Xiati have been unable to complete the conquest of the Drax system as it has proven impossible to isolate the system from enemy reinforcements while also providing sufficient ship support to take the three remaining enemy colonies in the system (Jraenar, Phong and EEE) which are all heavily fortified. In 2434.6, a Jraenar Fleet (2xFGs,7xDEs,2xLCs,2xLCX,14xCRs,1xCX,1xBB,6xDNs,3xMFs,1xLF,28xLFtr,6xSFtr) was spotted crossing the Praxis black hole by a lone Forager class scout. On course for the Praxis-Drax WP, the Xiati's Drax Defense Fleet was withdrawn back to Drax IV rather than engage the larger Jraenar fleet at the warp point. The Jraenar made light of the defensive satellite group at the warp point and has held position there for the last few months. At this point, no formal plan has been put together to engage the Jraenar fleet, so the stalemate will stand.

Jraenar attack fleet travels past the Praxis Blackhole:

State of the Quadrant

The Xiati have almost managed to bisect the quadrant with near complete control of the core systems. The only reliable southern route to travel East-West for the enemies of the Xiati is through the Prot system, while the northern route through the Mveolem system remains open, it will likely be choked off as the Xiati's Arakang Fleet will take up an active defense role in the Butukret Nebula. With the Sirius system now also well protected, the Cue Cappa and EEE have had their northern colonies cut off from the bulk of their empires. Despite their isolation, it's unlikely much will change quickly as the Xiati do not have sufficient forces to attack the fortified colonies and so a policy of containment is likely for some time.

Quadrant Map 2435.0: