I just came across an an old piece of fiction related to the Rigellian campaign. It's short but I thought I may as well post it for completeness.
First Ometeccatl Tenoch watched the distant star in silent contemplation, wondering how he ever managed to find himself in this situation. For months now, his carrier flagship Michoacan had maintained its position in the outer reaches of this godforsaken system, waiting for an attack that never came. His fleet of thirteen carriers, a dozen superdreadnoughts and six battlecruisers was a significant part of the Khanate Navy and it was deployed far from friendly territory to assist allies he could hardly stand the sight of. Every time he considered the arrogant crews of the Drax warships with their shell-like exteriors and multitude of writhing facial tentacles, he felt a cold shiver run down his back. They even smelled bad. Until three weeks ago, he at least had the comfort of knowing he was protecting another sentient species against the threat posed by the ruthless aliens who has invaded Drax territory without provocation and slaughtered millions of Drax civilians.
The alien fleet waiting beyond the warp point guarded by the allied force represented a faceless menace which had accelerated the improvement in relations between the Khanate of Aztica and the Council of Drax. A military alliance had soon become a close partnership and now there was talk of amalgamating into a single government which could more effectively control the defence of both races. However, given the graphic Drax reports of what the aliens had done to their civilians in the Warhoon system, at the far side of Drax territory, Tenoch had been surprised at the aliens' lack of aggression. Over the last few months there hadn't been a single attempt to force the warp point.
Then, three weeks ago, came startling news. A Khanate colony expedition to the Mazhuetlan system, on the rim of known space, had encountered a colony expedition sent by the same genocidal alien race. To the surprise of the colonists' leader, the aliens were unarmed and willing to talk. Even more surprising, they were remarkably similar to the Aztican race in basic body form. Two eyes, two arms, two legs, no tentacles and no smell. This was the first situation in which the Azticans and the aliens, who called themselves Rigellians, had actually been in a position to try and talk, rather than shoot at one another. Communication was rapidly established and the two sets of colonists got along remarkably well. The Rigellian account of events regarding the war with the Drax was dramatically different to the version put forward by the Drax. Apparently a Rigellian ally, the Communion of Loren, inadvertently sent a scout into Drax territory and it was attacked without provocation by a Drax fleet. The Lorentians retaliated and the Rigellians were drawn into the fight due to their treaty obligations. The Rigellian colonists seemed genuinely horrified at the suggestion that their military would ever harm civilians.
While the colonists talked the Rigellians had used a more direct approach and sent a message drone into Hal Vas, the system guarded by Tenoch's fleet and its Drax allies. The message contained a proposal for an immediate cease-fire in place. The Rigellians stated that they had no designs on either Aztican or Drax territory and no desire to continue the fighting. Although the most paranoid members of Tenoch's command staff suggested the whole 'accidental meeting' scenario could have been a ruse of the part of the Rigellians, Tenoch found that difficult to believe. The Rigellians appeared to be completely unlike the image portrayed by the Drax and Tenoch quickly came to the conclusion the Drax had not been entirely honest about the situation.
The contents of the drone were sent to the Aztican and Drax High Commands and replies soon arrived from both governments. Tenoch was not surprised to find the Khanate wanted to pursue peace talks but the Drax were very hostile to the idea and reiterated their stories of Rigellian-inspired death and destruction in the Warhoon system. Initially, Tenoch decided to maintain a united front and sent back a message to the Rigellian commander saying the Azticans would not talk until the Drax were ready. A flurry of messages over the next few days between the Drax and Khanate home systems and Hal Vas failed to resolve the situation with the Drax becoming increasingly irrational. As well as rejecting any suggestion of further communications with the Rigellians, the Drax also flatly refused an Aztican request to visit the Warhoon system and see the extent of the destruction. Finally, four days ago, the Khan himself intervened, tired of Drax intransigence, and declared that the Khanate would seek a cease-fire alone if necessary, regardless of its treaty commitments. The Drax responded that the Azticans were betraying the treaty and would destroy any drone which the Azticans tried to send into the Rigellian-occupied Horton Gur system.
Running through the recent events in his mind, Tenoch was now concerned that the increasing tension between the Khanate and the Drax could actually turn into a major incident. His Drax counterpart, Padwar Gan Tadar was refusing his calls and the two fleets were virtually facing off, rather than guarding the warp point. Substantial reinforcements had just boosted the Drax fleet to twenty-three superdreadnoughts, seven carriers and thirty corvettes, at least a match for his own force, and Tenoch knew that a battle would have grave consequences for both sides.
An Aztican message drone arrived from the chain of systems leading to the Khanate and headed straight for Tenoch's flagship. Once the contents had been downloaded and decrypted, Tenoch's communication's officer passed him a message from the Aztican High Command ordering him to withdraw immediately to Aztican territory. The message also contained details of negotiations carried out with the Rigellians at the other point of contact, a system known simply as Aztica 015 to the Khanate and Ageo to the Rigellians. As the existence of the second point of contact was unknown to the Drax, Tenoch was sure those negotiations had been far more productive than those at the Hal Vas - Horton Gur warp point. If he were honest with himself, Tenoch thought the Azticans would get on a lot better with the Rigellians than the Drax. Besides, he was tired of wearing a nose filter whenever his allies came to visit.
Without ceremony, the Aztican warships which comprised the Third Spear of the Khan pulled away from the warp point to Horton Gur and set course for home. The Drax commander broke his silence to send a torrent of abuse after the Khanate fleet, the gist of which was that the Drax would smash the Rigellians and then come looking for the treacherous Azticans. Tenoch switched off his viewer then leaned back in his command chair with a silent sigh of relief at finally leaving Hal Vas. He was not too worried about the Drax finishing their war any time soon. If the Rigellians were as powerful as their colonists seemed to believe, the Drax would be in for a most unpleasant surprise.
Steve
