Quote from: Warer on December 13, 2022, 08:41:50 AM

Quote from: Andrew on December 11, 2022, 01:49:39 PM

Quote from: Kurt on December 11, 2022, 08:27:22 AM

Or they are led by a crazy dictator, who thinks he can continue to manipulate the entire universe.  <G>

The  Crazy/incompetent option it is. If I was the diplomat for the mad great dictator I would keep talking as long as possible rather than admit failure

I would agree with that but narratively that likely isn't the case. Recall that the D'bringi Empire got help from some sus aliens so maybe he's waiting for help from them? Or some other glorious wunderwaffe. Possibly they're just slathering their home WP in minefields, that'd be my guess.

They had a lot of Gunboats and fighters to repalce which is expensive and explains some delay's  but mining the wp and other defenses are not enough to give them any real chance for victory so either the Great Leader expects diplomacy to work because he says so! and the ambassador is stalling for his own interests , or as you suggest intervention by an outside power is a possibility we have seen no sign of that and the Lothari are in a cul-de-sac so a new arrival or strategic breakthrough is unlikely.
The most likely is the Glorious Leader has a GREAT PLAN and they are setting that up which is probably doomed

Mining the warp point, or even moving bases to defend the warp point would be defeatist and might cause the people to question the Leader's conduct of the war.  Can't have that!

Month 219, Day 20, Lothari Herzberg system
The latest meeting between Skull Splitter and the Lothari Ambassador concluded without much change in either side’s positions.  After the first few meetings Skull Splitter had allowed himself to be convinced to meet on board the Lothari Ambassadorial transport, where the meeting rooms were, indeed, much more comfortable.  And it was true that after the second meeting the Lothari Ambassador had admitted that reparations might not be necessary for the Lothari to sign a peace treaty.  Aside from that, however, neither side appeared any closer to coming to an agreement than they had before the meetings started.  Skull Splitter knew that he had no interest in coming to an agreement with the Lothari that settled for anything less than their unconditional surrender, but he was still in the dark about what the Lothari were in the negotiations for at this point.  It should have become abundantly clear to any reasonably intelligent person that he and the Alliance he represented weren’t really interested in peace negotiations, but the Lothari ambassador seemed oblivious to this fact.  Skull Splitter couldn’t quite figure out if the Lothari ambassador was actually incompetent, or was also playing for time, or had some other game going, but in the end he was fairly confident that it wouldn’t matter.  His fleet would advance when he was ready, and not before.  And when it advanced, the time the Lothari regime had left would be measured in weeks. 


Just a short update to get us up to Month 220 and the general updates I have planned for the major races. 

Or they are led by a crazy dictator, who thinks he can continue to manipulate the entire universe.  <G>

The  Crazy/incompetent option it is. If I was the diplomat for the mad great dictator I would keep talking as long as possible rather than admit failure

So either the Lothari are crazy/incompetent or they think they have a gamechanger given time. Or both.
I can't think of a tech advance which could be a game changer, and I think the Lothari were in a dead end so new ally /Closed warp point seems unlikely , so looks bad for them

Month 217, Day 13, Alliance Liawak system
The empty carriers from the 4th Fleet retreated into the system on this day.  Even though there had been no sign of pursuit, it was a big relief for the crews of the carriers to once again be in Alliance space.  Even better, when they jumped into the Liawak system they met the 2nd Fleet, which had just arrived.  Tai-sa Skull-Splitter, the CO of the 2nd, decided to wait here for additional reinforcements before advancing on the Lothari home world again.  The remaining intact ships of the 4th Fleet will be absorbed into the 2nd Fleet when they arrive. 

The 4th Fleet’s carriers headed in-system, where they would await the arrival of Alliance support units, which were due to arrive in the system in a matter of days.  The support unit included freighters full of crated fighters, along with repair ships capable of prepping the fighters for the empty carriers. 
 
Month 217, Day 25, Disputed Herzberg System (in between Liawak and Lothari Home)
Four D’Bringi corvette-scout/carriers sat on the warp point in the Herzberg system that led to Liawak, watching for Lothari warships or any activity.  The 2nd Fleet, which consisted of ten battlecruisers, seven carriers, six heavy cruisers, eighteen escort carriers, and five hundred and sixty-four fighters, waited on the far side of the warp point.  So far, there had been no sign of Lothari activity, but that now changed as a drive field appeared on the corvette’s long-range sensors.  After reporting back to the fleet, the picket commander ordered three of his corvettes to intercept the unknown contact.  The unknown contact was moving at a cruising speed consistent with a corvette or smaller ship, or a commercial drive vessel.  The trio of corvettes left promptly on an intercept course.  Their ETA to the intercept point was thirty-six hours. 

Just over ninety minutes later, the corvette carriers received a message from the unknown contact.  It identified itself as a diplomatic mission from Lothari Prime, and requested a truce to discuss peace between the Alliance and the Kingdom of Lothar.  The scout force commander relayed the message back to the main fleet, where Skull Splitter himself approved meeting with the Lothari. 

Month 217, Day 27, Disputed Herzberg System
Alliance Councilor Skull-Splitter stood when the Lothari Ambassador was shown into the central crew bay of the pinnace they were using as a meeting place.  Skull-Splitter had immediately turned down the Lothari suggestion that they meet on their ‘luxurious’ diplomatic ship, which appeared to be a small converted colony transport.  The Lothari then suggested meeting on board Skull-Splitter’s flagship, but the Alliance Councilor turned that down as well.  So, after some negotiating, they agreed to meet on an Alliance pinnace halfway between the Alliance fleet and the Lothari transport. 

Skull-Splitter was immediately taken aback by the Lothari ambassador’s outlandish garb.  Every Lothari encountered by the Alliance so far had been dressed in a head-to-toe environment suit, with helmet.  The environment suits tended to be dark, sober colors denoting the Lothari’s status within their various military or governmental organizations.  This Lothari’s environment suit was a garish collage of colors, some of which Skull-Splitter was pretty sure were slowly moving. 

For his part, the Lothari ambassador saw a single D’Bringi officer waiting in the room as he entered.   The D’Bringi was wearing only a harness and, interestingly, an exo-skeleton.  The lack of clothing was most indecent, by Lothari standards, but the Ambassador was quite willing to ignore the ignorance of the alien’s for as long as necessary to gain what the State and the Supreme Leader needed.  The Ambassador decided after a second that the D’Bringi probably needed the exo-skeleton due to the extensive, and obvious, damage to his body.  Inside his helmet the Lothari sneered.  Such a crippled specimen would not be coddled in the Kingdom.  The resources used to keep this…person…alive would have been better spent on many other things.  Still, needs must…  “Ah, finally!  We meet, face to face.  I am Minister Rittentrop, the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Lothar.”  The garishly dressed Lothari bowed to Skull Splitter and then waited for his response. 

Skull Splitter inclined his head and gestured to the only other chair in the room, on the far side of the table.  “Sit, please.”

The Lothari Ambassador sat in the offered chair.  “And whom do I have the pleasure meeting today?”

The Lothari’s voice, coming from the translator chip on his chest, was obviously set to mimic a jovial D’Bringi voice, projecting good will and an openness to any D’Bringi that listened.  It was having precisely the opposite effect on Skull Splitter, though Skull-Splitter declined to show his distrust at this point.  “I am Skull Splitter, a Councilor of the Alliance, and the Provisional Leader of the D’Bringi State.  In the military, my rank is equivalent to that of a Swordsman of Many Stars in your Fleet.”

The Lothari Ambassador immediately leapt to his feet and bowed, impressed despite his earlier feelings.  Perhaps there was a reason these barbarians lavished so many resources on this…person.  “Excellent, excellent.  We have much to discuss if we are to end this…unpleasantness.”  The Lothari representative leaned over the table.  “I am so glad you agreed to meet with me and begin negotiations.  This unfortunate war must end!  And, by the grace of our Supreme Leader and his great wisdom, we now have the opportunity to end this conflict on reasonable terms.”

Skull Splitter leaned back in his seat, astonished in spite of himself.  Given everything that had happened, the loss of life, the brutality of the Lothari military, did this Lothari actually think that all of that of that could be negotiated away? 

The Lothari patiently waited while Skull Splitter digested his statement, then leaned forward again.  “I think we have a unique opportunity to end this conflict here and now, on terms that give us both what we want.  Peace.  Enduring peace for all time.”  The Lothari sat back, sure that he had gotten his point across. 

Skull Splitter stared wonderingly at the Lothari, unsure of how anyone being could be so misguided, but then shook himself.  It was time to get to work.  “I am curious what terms you offer to end the war?”

Ambassador Ritttentrop nodded.  “Very wise.  Right to the point.  Very well.  Our glorious Supreme Leader has authorized me to give you generous terms for the end of this war.  We propose a return to the original borders between our nations, with a one-time payment from the Alliance to the Lothari government of, shall we say, 50,000 megacredits.  Most generous, wouldn’t you say?”

Skull Splitter’s amazement grew, if that was possible.  The sheer gall and effrontery of this…person…was amazing.  He ruthlessly controlled the anger that surged through him, and nodded understandingly.  “Generous, surely.  May I ask, why does your leader demand a payment for a war he began, and which is now being lost by your side?”  Ambassador Rittentrop’s environment suit shifted colors in display that Skull Spitter was sure meant something, but, at least for now, it was lost on him.   

The Ambassador leaned forward.  “Surely you jest!  We destroyed the fleet you sent against our home system, and control all of our original systems.  Our Supreme Leader is most just and benevolent in his desire for peace, in spite of the provocations and injustices offered by the Alliance, but you must understand, there must be some recompense for the brave Lothari who lost their lives trying to civilize the barbaric Alliance colonies that turned to us for assistance.”  Ambassador Rittentrop stopped for a second, and looked around the room.  “Surely you, as a brave D’Bringi warrior, understand the difficulty we faced trying to civilize and rule the T’Pau we found here on this frontier, or the Rehorish insects we found in the Thoen system?  As I understand it, you are one of the D’Bringi leaders that brought the Alliance into existence to help your race rule the other, lower, races?  Surely then, you understand our desire to bring order to our borders, and the difficulty we faced in trying to do so?”

The Ambassador’s words finally cleared up Skull Splitter’s confusion.  The Lothari apparently believed that he had been sent to negotiate as a member of “the superior race” of the Alliance, which revealed an interesting mindset on the part of the Lothari.  This also explained the Ambassador’s apparent belief that the massive civilian death tolls on the planets invaded by their forces didn’t bother him and wouldn’t be an impediment to negotiations.  The Lothari believed that the T’Pau and Rehorish were “lower” races, and thus not due the same consideration as the true leaders of the Alliance, or the Lothari State, for that matter.  This was all very interesting, and gave Skull Splitter an opening he could exploit.  “I understand you have security concerns, but surely you understand that you are not in a superior position at this point.  I may be willing to discuss returning to the starting borders of our two states, but reparations must be paid to us, to recompense the D’Bringi empire for the losses you have caused on our mining and manufacturing planets!”  The Lothari, having no idea of the tremendous amount of rage his race’s actions had created within the Alliance, took the D’Bringi at face value. 

Their initial positions having been established, the two settled down to negotiating with a will.  Both suspected that the other was playing for time, but there was a fundamental difference in their positions.  Skull Splitter would not accept anything less than the destruction of the Lothari fleet and the unconditional surrender of the Lothari state, while Rittentrop desperately wanted a return to the status quo that existed before the war.  In the meantime, both were playing for time. 

Month 217, Day 30, Alliance Thoen system
The last Lothari ground troops holding out on the colonies in the Thoen system surrendered on this date, marking the end of the fighting in the Thoen system. 

The loss of civilian lives was devastating, although not as dramatic as on the colonies in the Liawak system.  All told, five million Alliance civilians lost their lives during the Lothari invasion in the Liawak and Thoen systems.  Many of them lost their lives in the fighting, as the Lothari chose to fight in and around the major cities in the colonies, and refused to allow the civilian populations to evacuate.  Worse, though, were the hundreds of thousands who died in concentration camps in what could only be described as a planned elimination of every colonist in a position of authority or responsibility. 

The images and reports that come out of the Thoen system enrage the entire Alliance, especially coming so soon after the reports of the devastation of the primary colony in the Liawak system.