HIP 84051 System
A single-star system, with a M1V primary orbited by four planets, one terrestrial, one gas giant, one super Jovian, and one dwarf planet.  None are habitable, although one of the moons of the super Jovian has a nitrogen-CO2 atmosphere at 0.72 pressure. 

None of the buoys placed in the system by the survey group survive, bit there is a group of life pods close to the wreckage of a Bob light battleship in proximity to the jump point.  Admiral Gabehart, commander of the assault force, orders one of his destroyers to pick up the life pods while another returns to the 86 Cygni system to call the other ships forward. 

Once the fleet is assembled, Admiral Paglinawan dispatches scout fighters to probe the inner system and the jump point to the suspected Oct home system. 

May 16, 2165, 1114 hours, Oct controlled HIP 84051 system
Scout Group 1, headed for the location of a group of wrecks orbiting the system’s 3rd planet, detect three Oct ships located not far from the third planet’s LaGrange point.  All three are light destroyers of unknown capability.  The commander of the recon group sends a contact report back to the fleet and halts his advance to maintain contact with the Oct ships. 

Admiral Paglinawan, once he receives the report, orders the 1st Carrier Group to launch their fighters to eliminate the Oct ships. 

At 1414 hours the Recon Group advancing on the jump point reaches sensor range and detects seven Bobruisk warships guarding the jump point.  One of the seven is a light battlecruiser massing 17,787 tons, four are light battleships massing 35,577 tons, and one is a heavy battleship at 53,375 tons.  There are two wrecks on the jump point, one Bob heavy battleship, and an unknown class massing roughly equivalent to the Bob heavy battleship, presumably an Oct warship.  Oddly, there are life pods clustered around the Bob HBB wreck, and none of the Bob ships are moving to pick them up. 

Encouraged by the fact that there are Bob ships guarding the jump point to the Oct-controlled system, Admiral Paglinawan orders the fleet to advance to a point halfway in between the jump point to Rho Camelopardalis (Oct Home), and 86 Cygni. 

May 17, 2165. 0827 hours, HIP 84051
The 1st Carrier Group’s fighter wing launches one hundred and twenty Sparrow III ASM at the three light destroyers from just over a million kilometers.  The three Oct destroyers remained stationary, almost as if they didn’t see either the fighters or the missiles, but responded vigorously when the missiles reached point defense range.  The missiles scored twenty-eight hits on the three LDD’s on the first pass, another sixteen on the second, five on the third, and four on the following attacks.  None penetrated.  Two of the LDD’s suddenly accelerated to 18,104 km/s and went into pursuit of the fighter group, which was only 1,908 km/s faster than the DD’s.  Still, they were faster, and thus were able to maintain the range.  The fighter group launched its remaining missiles at the three LDD’s.  The three hundred and eighty-four Sparrow III’s completely overwhelmed the LDD’s, destroying all three.  As the fighters returned to their carriers, the recon fighter accompanied them, as it was at the limits of its endurance.  The fighter group detached a recon fighter to replace it.   

May 17, 2165, 1143 hours
The recon fighters have detected no additional Oct ships in the system, so Admiral Paglinawan orders the fleet to advance on the jump point to the Rho Camelopardalis system. 

Approximately thirty minutes later, as the recon fighter dispatched to probe the third planet is returning to its carrier, it detects two 16,783 ton Oct ships at the location close to the third planet’s LaGrange point where the three light destroyers had been destroyed.  The recon fighter immediately sends a warning to the fleet.  This is mystifying.  There are no other LaGrange points or jump points in the system, and all the planets have been probed with no further contacts, so the only place the Oct ships could have come from is deep space. 

Admiral Paglinawan detaches the 4th Assault Group and two carriers from the 1st Carrier Group to destroy the two ships and probe the area. 

May 19, 2165, 0301 hours, HIP 84051 system
The 1st Expeditionary Force has reached its standoff position, five million kilometers from the jump point to the suspected Oct home system.  The jump point is still invested by seven Bob ships, all capital ships.  The 4th Assault Group and its carrier escorts has arrived and is standing off of the system’s sole LaGrange point, watching the two 16,783 ton Oct ships from ten million kilometers out.  The assault group’s superior sensors have detected something the fighter scouts failed to see, an Oct listening post on an asteroid approximately five million kilometers from the LaGrange point.  This could explain the Oct ship’s presence, along with the wrecks strewn about the locale.  As of yet, there has been no sign that the Oct’s have seen the imperial squadron.     

Once in position, Admiral Paglinawan establishes communications with the Bobruisk guard force. He explains that his fleet is present to engage the Oct’s, not to interfere with any Bobruisk operations.  In addition, he requests any information on the Rho Camelopardalis system and the Octs that the Bobruisk can give him.  The Bobruisk, enigmatic as always, merely reply that the Rho Camelopardalis system is dangerous, but that the Terran fleet’s presence was “acceptable”.   

Captain Jaime Lockmiller orders his group to close to three million kilometers.  His preference would be to engage the Oct ships directly, to save the hard-to-come-by missiles in the carrier’s magazines, but his ships are slower than most known Oct designs, so it is unclear if the Oct’s will let them close to weapons range. 

0331 hours
The 4th Assault Group is now in position, five million kilometers from the Oct ships, with still no reaction.  The two carriers, the Malaysia and the Mexico, are following one million kilometers behind the assault group with the fighters ready to launch.  Seeing no reason to delay, Captain Lockmiller orders his ships to close with the enemy and engage at close range. 

At 392,000 kilometers, the Oct ships, which had sat and watched the Terran ships approach, opened fire.  This was disconcerting as it was beyond the Terran ship’s range, although just slightly.  The Oct’s concentrated their fire on one of the destroyers, getting thirty-four hits, knocking her shields down and seriously damaging her armor.

In response, Captain Lockmiller ordered his ships to continue to close and to open fire, concentrating their fire on one of the Oct ships.  All six Terran ships opened fire immediately, the destroyers with their six 15 cm X-Ray lasers, and the jump cruisers with their four 15 cm and one 52.5 cm X-Ray lasers.  The range at that point was 344,000 kilometers, and the Oct’s had activated extremely effective fire control jammers.  The Terran ship’s weapons fire missed completely. 

The Assault squadron continued closing.  Twenty seconds after their first salvo, the Oct ships fired again, this time targeting one of the jump cruisers.  This time they scored thirty-five hits, dropping the cruiser’s shields to 14%.  In return the Terran’s managed to score two hits with their 15 cm lasers, causing minor armor damage.  Combat analysis of the Oct ships has revealed that they are equipped with seven rail guns and a laser, with a maximum range of 392,000 kilometers.  Their engine type and speed are not known, and they appear to have no shields, only armor of unknown thickness and strength. 

Captain Lockmiller knows that he has fifteen seconds to deal as much damage as possible to the Oct ships, so he orders his ships to close to point blank range, where they will have the best chance to hit and deal the most damage.  The jump cruisers are almost within range of their 10 cm laser turrets, and he has hopes that they will be able to score more hits than his other weapons if they can get close enough. 

Unfortunately, the Oct ships chose that moment to activate their engines and run in front of the Terran squadron, keeping the range open.  The Oct ships are almost twice as fast as the Terran ships, and if they open the range they will be able to pick apart the Terran ships piece by piece.  Captain Lockmiller opens a channel to the carriers and orders them to launch their fighters and destroy the Oct ships.  The he orders his ships to come about and retreat towards the fighters, to draw the Oct ships in towards the soon to be oncoming missile strike. 

The two carriers launch their fighters, which had been held at readiness for just this occasion, and the fighters immediately launch their missiles as they are well within their fire control range.  In seconds one hundred and sixty Sparrow III ASM’s are racing towards each of the Oct ships.  The Oct ships rapidly moved out of the Terran ship’s firing range, and scored one hit on one of the cruisers at 412,000 kilometers range.  As Captain Lockmiller had hoped, once the Oct ships moved out of the Terran squadron’s weapons range, they turned around and pursued, running straight towards the oncoming missile wave.  Twenty seconds after their last salvo, the Oct ships fired again, concentrating on the same jump cruiser as before.  This time, perhaps because they were at extreme range, they scored only nineteen hits, but this was enough to strip away the cruiser’s weakened shields and lightly damage her armor.  Fifteen seconds later, before the Oct ships could recharge their weapons, the missile wave slammed into the two ships.  The first strike scored twenty-one hits on the two ships, with another twenty-one being decoyed away. 

The next missile strike scored forty-four hits on the two Oct ships, with none being decoyed and two armor penetrations on one of the ships.  One of the penetrating hits must had hit something important, as the Oct ship immediately came to a halt.  By this time the Oct ships had recharged their weapons and again targeted the same jump cruiser, scoring twenty-one hits, knocking her shields down again and scoring nineteen hits on her armor.  The Eradicator’s armor was at 90%, but one hit had almost penetrated all the way through her armor. 

The intact Oct ship continued pursuing the Terran squadron, while the other fell behind.  Both were swarmed by the remaining Terran missiles.  The missile’s third strike scored forty-nine hits on the two Oct ships, with three penetrating hits on one and ten on the stationary ship.  The fourth strike finished the crippled Oct ship when the fourth penetrating hit destroyed something critical.  The other ship, which was still pursuing the Terran ships, took eighteen hits, nine of which penetrated, leaving it at half speed.  The fifth strike caused multiple penetrations, one of which caused a massive internal explosion, destroying the ship. 

Captain Lockmiller ordered his squadron to come about and close on the Oct asteroid base.  The fighters returned to their carriers.  As his ships closed on what was almost certainly a listening post, Captain Lockmiller dispatched a report to Admiral Paglinawan.  His ships had suffered no internal damage, but one of his cruisers and a destroyer had suffered moderate armor damage.  In addition, the Oct ships had been confirmed to be much faster than human ships, and were incredibly hard to target, as they possessed fire control jamming systems that were at least one generation behind current Imperial designs.  Finally, the missile strike that had destroyed the two Oct cruisers had been overwhelming, at least in his initial evaluation, and a potential waste of missiles that were very hard to replace this distant from the Imperial core.  However, the speed of the Oct ships meant that the missile strike had been sufficient, but certainly not overwhelming.  This would have to be taken into consideration for future action against the Oct’s. 

The 4th Assault Group reaches the asteroid at 0340 hours, and detects a small ground defense force, but there are no ground-based attacks on the Terran ships, meaning that the defenders might not have STO units.  Captain Lockmiller, pursuant to standing orders, orders his ships to engage the Oct listening station.  The initial salvo destroyed seven installations, but failed to destroy any of the ground force targets.  The next salvo destroyed two more installations, but the ground forces were proving difficult to target.  The next salvo took out the last installation, and several of the ground troops.  After thirty seconds of targeting the ground forces to little effect, Captain Lockmiller called for a cease fire.  He was depleting his ships maintenance stores to little effect, and the installations the troops were guarding were gone.  He ordered his ships to proceed to Asteroid #11, the site of another Oct listening post, detected by the survey group some time ago. 

At 0712 hours the 4th reaches Asteroid #11 and confirms the presence of a listening post, and a guard force slightly smaller than that of the other asteroid.  Captain Lockmiller orders his ships to eliminate the listening post, and once that is complete, he orders his ships to rejoin the main fleet. 

 May 19, 2165, 2113 hours, HIP 84051
The 4th Assault Group and its escorting carriers have arrived at the fleet assembly point, and Admiral Paglinawan has recalled his scout fighters from across the system.  Thermal buoys have been dispatched to watch the two asteroid bases and the jump point back to the 86 Cygni system.  In addition, Admiral Paglinawan has dispatched the DD Joseph Keller back to the forward base in the Upsilon Puppis system.   The Keller had suffered armor damage and was the perfect candidate to carry messages back to the forward base.  Once there it will deliver his message calling forward the support ships to refuel and rearm his ships, and the salvage ships to begin salvaging the incredible bounty of wrecks in the system.  Rearming is necessary before transiting into the Rho Camelopardalis system as the carriers have substantially depleted their magazines. 

Roughly twelve hours later the Bob force guarding the jump point leaves its position and heads back towards the jump point to 86 Cygni without a word to the Terrans. 

May 26, 2165, Upsilon Puppis system
The Joseph Keller enters the Upsilon Puppis system and dispatches a message to the base before heading in-system.  When the report arrives at the base, the base commander dispatches a message back through the communications network detailing the fleet’s victories over the Oct’s, and dispatches the requested support ships for the fleet, along with an escort from the base’s defense force. 

At 1600 hours a Terran fleet scout enters the HIP 84051 system, bound to rendezvous with the 1st Expeditionary Force.  Three hours later it detects the seven Bob ships moving back towards their original positions, and an Oct light cruiser 249 million kilometers ahead of them.  If they are pursuing the Oct ship, they’ll never catch it, as they are even slower than Terran ships and the Oct ship is more than twice as fast.  Strangely, the Oct ship is headed straight for the Bob fleet.  The scout comes to a halt to observe. 

One hour later the scout picks up two additional Oct ships accompanying the first, a light destroyer and a corvette.  The Bob’s and the Oct’s begin playing some sort of game, rushing towards each other and then retreating.  Once the scout’s reports arrive at the Expeditionary Force, Admiral Paglinawan orders the 2nd Carrier Group to launch its fighters and eliminate the targets, if the Bob’s fail to do so.  The Oct ships lay between the Expeditionary Force and the jump point back to the forward base, and the support ships will run right into them if they aren’t taken care of. 

May 27, 2165, 1530 hours, HIP 84051 system
The Terran fighter strike group has now closed to 80 million kilometers of the Oct battlegroup, which is on the scout’s thermal sensors.  The Bob and Oct ships are approximately 60 million kilometers apart, and given the fact that the Oct ships are twice as fast as the Bob ships, they must not want to catch them very badly.  Possibly because the Oct battlegroup was out-massed by the Bob force by about eight to one. 

The Terran fighters closed on the Oct force as it played cat and mouse games with the Bob fleet.  When the fighters reached the range of their on-board sensors two new Oct ships appeared, another corvette and an escort, for a total of fourteen thousand tons of new naval ships. 

At 1732 hours the fighters had reached firing range, and launched on all five Oct warships.  These fighters were armed with Sparrow III’s with laser warheads, which had proved to be less effective than standard Sparrow III’s, at least so far.  Still, seventy-eight fighters carried enough missiles to overwhelm the small Oct ships, or at least it was hoped that they would suffice.  In short order six hundred and twenty-four light ASM’s were racing towards the Oct squadron. 

The attack was completely overwhelming.  The Oct ships appeared to limited active defenses and no decoys, and the missiles simply swarmed the beleaguered alien ships.  The first strike got a total of one hundred and forty-one hits on the five ships, with two of the smaller ships suffering multiple penetrations of their armor.  One hundred and forty-one missiles were shot down by the Oct defenses.  The next strike got ninety-seven hits on the five ships, with the same two smaller ships suffering multiple penetrations.  The third strike got sixty-six hits, with only the light cruiser avoiding penetrations.  The next attack got sixty hits, causing penetrations on all targets. 

The missiles doggedly pursued the Oct ships, scoring another two hundred and thirty hits on the small squadron.  The light destroyer was destroyed outright, while the escort, light cruiser, and one of the corvettes were left motionless.  One Oct corvette, in spite of being hit many times, escaped serious damage and accelerated away at 18,104 km/s.  The fighters turned back to their carriers. 

Over the next hour the damaged light cruiser and corvette regained engine power and began moving away from the oncoming Bob fleet, but the crippled escort was left behind.  The Bob fleet destroyed the crippled escort as they passed with long range missile fire, then began pursuing the fleeing Oct ships.  At this point the Oct light cruiser was slower than the Bob fleet, and would eventually be overhauled if they didn’t repair more of their engines. 

Against the possibility that the Oct ships escape from their Bobruisk pursuers, Admiral Paglinawan dispatches the Boarding Group, bolstered by a carrier from the 1st Carrier Group, and several destroyers, to intercept and capture the damaged ships. 

At 0016 hours on the 28th, the Bob battlegroup began bombarding the Oct light cruiser with missile fire from a distance of 1.4 million kilometers.  The CL’s fate was a foregone conclusion, and after two salvoes of one hundred and forty anti-missile missiles the light cruiser blew up.  That left one active contact, an Oct corvette that was somewhat faster than the Bob ships, and was still charging at the Bob force and then running away.  There was an additional Oct corvette that was known to be present, but it had fallen off of the Terran’s sensors and its position was unknown. 

At 0916 hours the Boarding Group picked up the missing Oct corvette on its sensors, headed towards the jump point to the Oct home system at 18,104 km/s.  Captain Wooldridge of the carrier Australia ordered the group to intercept the fleeing Oct ship. 

The Boarding Group launched its boarding pods at 1048 hours, but the Oct CT turned and ran, and with a mere 1,953 km/s speed advantage, the pods would find it difficult to close in a timely manner.  Still, the marines in the pods were determined, and after an 87-minute chase the pods overtook the fleeing Oct warship and began their boarding operation.  The marines’ losses during their boarding attempt were hideous, ranging from 50 to 90% due to the speed of the evading Oct ship.  Once they were aboard the ship, that changed.  The Oct crew found themselves hard pressed to fight the armored marines.  In the initial engagement 137 Oct crew were killed, in exchange for five marines.  The battle within the small ship raged for another minute, before abruptly coming to an end when the marines penetrated to the control spaces and killed the last Oct, losing one additional marine.  The marines wasted no time in bringing the ship under control, and then transmitted the ship’s particulars to the Australia, which forwarded them on to the fleet. 

CT Backfire class Missile Destroyer      8,562 tons       165 Crew       3,323.8 BP       TCS 171    TH 3,100    EM 0
18104 km/s      Armour 11-37       Shields 0-0       HTK 57      Sensors 24/0/0/0      DCR 4-4      PPV 29.7
Maint Life 1.41 Years     MSP 970    AFR 147%    IFR 2.0%    1YR 531    5YR 7,959    Max Repair 775 MSP
Magazine 494 / 64   
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Plasma Core AM Drive  EP1550 (2)    Power 3100    Fuel Use 9.09%    Signature 1550    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 350,000 Litres    Range 81 billion km (51 days at full power)

Size 16 Decoy Launcher (4)     Decoy Size: 16    Hangar Reload 200 minutes    MF Reload 33 hours
Size 9 Missile Launcher (30.0% Reduction) (11)     Missile Size: 9    Rate of Fire 450
Missile Fire Control FC147-R20 (1)     Range 147m km    Resolution 20   ECCM-6

Active Search Sensor AS127-R20 (1)     GPS 5760     Range 127.3m km    Resolution 20
Thermal Sensor TH1-24 (1)     Sensitivity 24     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  38.7m km

Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Missile 6   

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Warship for auto-assignment purposes

May 28th, 2165, HIP 84051 system
The 1st Expeditionary Force detects an Oct corvette transiting into the system from their suspected home system.  The Terran fleet is positioned three million kilometers from the jump point, and the Oct corvette merely sits on the jump point watching the Terran fleet.  Admiral Paglinawan orders a missile strike from two of his CAG’s, hoping either to force the corvette to retreat or to destroy it.  Five seconds later twenty-eight Sparrow III laser ASM’s were in space, racing towards the corvette.  The missiles lost lock when the Oct corvette jumped out, leaving them to self-destruct. 

Several hours later the Oct corvette reappeared and launched a salvo of size nine missiles before disappearing again through the jump point.   Oddly, the Oct missiles lost lock and self-destructed after the corvette jumped out, indicating that they were almost certainly depending on their firing ship for sensor lock.  This happened several more times over the next several hours, and finally Admiral Paglinawan lost patience and ordered the 1st Assault Group to close on the jump point and engage the Oct corvette the next time it appeared. 

The Oct corvette reappeared four hours later, and five seconds later the 1st Assault Group opened fire.  The massed laser fire from the heavy carrier, dreadnought, two battlecruisers, and a destroyer swatted it from space effortlessly. 

At 2357 hours the marines are finally offloaded from the captured corvette and a prize crew takes control and then sets out for the forward base in the Upsilon Puppis system.   

May 29, 2165, 0253 hours, HIP 84051 system
Fighters from the Malaysia run down and destroy the last damaged Oct corvette known to be in the system. 

May 30, 2165
The Bob fleet arrives back on station at the jump point to the Oct home system. 

May 31, 2165
An Oct corvette jumps into the HIP 84051 system and is met by a large salvo of size two Bob missiles.  The Oct ship runs from the jump point, almost directly towards the Terran fleet.  Admiral Paglinawan dispatches the 2nd Assault Group to intercept it, if it survives the Bob missile salvo.  The Oct ship runs towards the 2nd for a time, but then turns back towards the jump point, where the 1st Assault Group is waiting. 

The two assault groups squeezed the Oct warship between them, ultimately destroying it with heavy and sustained laser fire. 

Just over twenty-four hours later a 17,019 ton Oct ship jumped into the system.  The 1st Assault Group, positioned on the jump point, moved to attack, but Admiral Paglinawan ordered them to stand down when it became clear it was a commercial ship.  Instead, he ordered the boarding group to launch its pods.  Unfortunately, the Bob fleet destroyed the commercial ship before the pods could reach it. 

June 2, 2156, 2212 hours, HIP 84051 system
Another Oct corvette appears on the jump point, and the 1st AG pursues and destroys it in short order

June 8, 2165, HIP 84051 system
The support fleet joins the 1st Expeditionary Force and begins refueling, resupplying, and transferring missiles to the waiting ships.  In the last week two Oct corvettes have jumped in and been destroyed within seconds of arrival.  In addition, the Bob fleet left its position and was last seen jumping back to the 86 Cygni system, leaving the Expeditionary Force as the sole defenders of the system. 

June 11, 2165, 2152 hours, HIP 84051 system
The support ships are well on their way back to the jump point to Bob controlled space when four Oct ships jump into the system.  The two light destroyers and two corvettes immediately head for the Expeditionary Force, or the jump point to the 86 Cygni system, both of which lie in the same direction.  The ships of the 2nd Assault Group, guarding the jump point, open fire on the intruders immediately after they appeared.  The Terran lasers stabbed out at short range, penetrating the Oct ship’s armor, crippling one and damaging the other three.   The Oct ships ran for open space, with the Terrans falling behind but firing as they came.  Two more Oct ships were crippled before they could escape, but one corvette managed to escape laser range without losing its engines.  The assault group commander ordered his heavy carrier to launch its fighters to run the corvette down while his ships finished off the two remaining crippled Oct ships. 

Incredibly, the fleeing corvette, after surviving the group’s laser fire until it got out of range, survived sixteen Sparrow III ASM’s from the fighters as well.  The fighters fired a second salvo of twenty-four Sparrows, and this time it was too much for the small ship, which was overwhelmed and destroyed by the missile salvo. 

Admiral Paglinawan was heartened by the success his ships and fighters had had in the HIP 84051 system.  They had destroyed quite a few Oct ships and captured one, and they had succeeded in their mission of securing the system and sweeping it of Oct ships.  While the Oct’s displayed superior technology, both in the areas of propulsion and electronic warfare, the Terran fleet’s fighter force had proved capable of dealing with the threat, even if it was necessary to use overwhelming force at times.  Give the disjointed nature of the Oct response to the appearance of the Terran fleet, Paglinawan was beginning to believe in the intelligence assessment that the Oct fleet had been depleted by their long war with the Bobruisk.  The Terran fleet’s aggressive move to secure the jump point to the Oct home system had proved successful.  And now, with his ship’s fuel tanks and magazines replenished, it was time to move on to the final phase of the campaign, the conquest of the Oct home system. 

Ah the tension rackets! Looking forward to what awaits the poor nerve-wracked admiral and his fleet!

You should put in more differences of tone and language when the representatives speak. They now 'sound' like the same person.

I'll put some thoughts into it, perhaps ask good ol gpt to give me examples.

The Final Campaign of Astaroth

As Aura Valance’s presidency was coming to an end, on paper, the numbers spoke of strength: forty-two passed motions, seventeen rejected, a success rating holding at a solid seventy-one percent. Most crucial of all, her administration had shattered the barriers of pre-Fall science with the rediscovery of Trans-Newtonian technology. It was the kind of legacy most leaders would be content to rest on. But the Federation was no longer governed by legacy alone.

Valance declared her intent to run for re-election just after the winter solstice of 0005. Despite the rumours over her already crafting a successor, it was not unexpected. Her staff had been signalling as much for months. Yet the announcement still rippled across the House with unease. The once-commanding majority she had wielded was gone, replaced by sharp divisions and improvised compromises. While she had shepherded the Federation through crisis after crisis, the wear showed, not just in her own demeanour, but in the eyes of those who once followed her without hesitation.

Two challengers emerged. One was known: Claudius Astaroth, the bruising Naval veteran who had failed to secure the presidency six years earlier and swore publicly this would be his final attempt. The other was new: Konrad Wilder, an Army general turned academic administrator whose tenure at the Earth Academy had earned him unlikely admiration from both civilians and officers. Where Astaroth wore his ambition like battle medals, Wilder presented himself as a unifier, disciplined, serious, and unburdened by old vendettas.

As the Federation moved toward its first true post-Trans-Newtonian election, the political field fractured. No party had achieved a controlling stake in the House of Representatives. The final seat tally reflected a complex and splintered electorate: 116 Federalists, 89 Pacifists, 86 Trade, 140 Nationalists, and 116 Militarists, no path to a traditional majority. Spoiled ballots hovered just under seven percent, a sharp reminder of voter frustration. In response, a coalition was stitched together from the Federalists, Trade, and Militarist blocs, uneasy allies, united more by necessity than trust.

With the House thus reshaped, attention turned to its leadership. All three presidential candidates remained active and eligible: Valance, seeking continuity; Astaroth, chasing a final redemption; and Wilder, standing at the edge of possibility. What followed was less a debate than a campaign of attrition.

Astaroth launched a series of aggressive smear campaigns, targeting Wilder’s military record and administrative decisions. But the strategy misfired. Wilder’s cross-party appeal, particularly among both Conservative and Liberal House members, had grown stronger than Astaroth realized. Valance, recognizing the threat Wilder posed to her own base, joined Astaroth in targeting him. But unlike previous years, Valance’s strikes landed with diminishing effect. She was no longer the disruptor; she had become the establishment.

Wilder, meanwhile, did not attack. He invested. His campaign leaned heavily on a carefully crafted image, not just as a warrior-scholar, but as someone above the squabbles of the Old House. He spoke of national cohesion, of “second foundations,” and of leading not through charisma or ideology, but through operational clarity. Behind closed doors, he met with Military hawks, Trade optimists, and even disaffected Pacifists, promising an inclusive, technocratic cabinet.

Right after casting their vote, as per custom, a representative from each voter category is randomly selected to share their views with the Exodus Council and the remote viewers connected across Earth.

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Federalist Representative
Name: Alaric Tigh
Gender: Male
Occupation: Urban Infrastructure Planner
Residence: Solace District, New Santiago, Earth

When I think of this Federation, our Federation, I think of memory. Our laws, our civic codes, our precedents... they're the backbone of civilization. President Valance honored that. She fought entropy with every motion passed. Forty-two pieces of order, that’s no small feat. I didn’t agree with every delay she sanctioned, but I knew why she did it. Wilder? He’s a hammer looking for nails. And Astaroth? A legacy candidate clinging to glory that never was. I voted for continuity, for coherence. I voted for her.

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Pacifist Representative
Name: Verena Cassiel
Gender: Female
Occupation: Biochemist, Civic Outreach Volunteer
Residence: Dome of Renewal, Nairobi Continental Arc, Earth

This planet has seen enough burnt skies. Our children don’t dream of ruins anymore, they dream of gardens. Valance, for all her flaws, never reached for the trigger. Her policies restrained the worst of us and reminded the rest of us to rebuild softly. Astaroth’s rhetoric made my skin crawl. Wilder? I couldn’t read him. He wore the uniform but spoke like a teacher. That frightened me more. I cast my vote as a prayer, one more whisper for peace.

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Trade Party Representative
Name: Lucan Baltar
Gender: Male
Occupation: Colonial Freight Broker
Residence: Vesper Landing, Low-Orbit Transit Hub, Earth

If I’m being honest, I didn’t give a damn about the ideology. I care about bottlenecks, freight velocity, and oxygen credits. Valance kept things calm, yeah, but she mothballed my contracts with those so-called ‘research slowdowns.’ Astaroth? Too volatile. Too much brass, not enough spreadsheets. But Wilder, he talked about orbital lanes like they were arteries, about reactors like investors talk about fuel margins. He spoke my language. He didn’t promise miracles. Just movement.

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Nationalist Representative
Name: Hadrian Marduk
Gender: Male
Occupation: Security Consultant, Former Orbital Guard
Residence: Pyre Hill Sector, Greater Alexandria, Earth

Don’t need a briefing to know where we stand, we’re weak. Soft. Hiding behind scientific committees while the ruins rot and our sovereignty slips through the cracks. Valance? She’d rather catalog relics than reclaim them. I backed Astaroth. Man had spine. Said what others whispered. He would’ve restored Federation pride. Wilder? Pretty uniform, big speeches, no war record that matters. He smells like compromise.

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Militarist Representative
Name: Thalia Cain
Gender: Female
Occupation: Ship Weapons Integration Engineer
Residence: Forge Enclave, Detroit Metropole, Earth

Everyone wants to talk about peace like it’s the default. It’s not. Peace is maintained by pressure, by posture, by preparation. Valance slowed us down when we needed momentum. Astaroth? Too obsessed with legacy. But Wilder... Wilder was different. Ran Earth Academy like a forge. Didn’t just talk tactics, he taught them. Understood logistics. Understood loyalty. I voted for the one who could command, not compromise.

---

After the speeches, results were released and Wilder took the presidency with 55.95% of the vote, defeating Valance at 28.18% and relegating Astaroth to a distant 15.74%, a result that marked the end of his political life. Because Wilder crossed the victory threshold without needing a two-round process, no majority bonus would be granted. He entered office with legitimacy, but not power, a symbolic mandate with very real legislative fragility.

As per procedure, after the results were announced, the representatives had the opportunity to share their views with the Exodus Council and the connected voters.

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Federalist Representative
Name: Alaric Tigh
Gender: Male
Occupation: Urban Infrastructure Planner
Residence: Solace District, New Santiago, Earth

I expected disappointment. But I didn’t expect... dissonance. Wilder speaks like a unifier, but governs with a soldier’s brevity. He won’t court the past, and that worries me. The Trade Party got their slice, the Militarists have their icon, and we, the constitutionalists, are again the glue in the coalition, expected to hold the fragile thing together. I’ll serve the new order. But I won’t forget who steadied the ship in its darkest tides.

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Pacifist Representative
Name: Verena Cassiel
Gender: Female
Occupation: Biochemist, Civic Outreach Volunteer
Residence: Dome of Renewal, Nairobi Continental Arc, Earth

I watched the numbers come in over a rain-slick terminal screen. Wilder, clear winner. Astaroth, finally quiet. Valance, bowed but not broken. I hoped, still hope, that he governs like an academic, not a general. But peace doesn’t bloom from uniform seams. It takes intention. And so far, I’ve seen too much propulsion talk, too many survey systems. No treaties. No mercy bills. Not yet. But maybe... maybe soon.

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Trade Party Representative
Name: Lucan Baltar
Gender: Male
Occupation: Colonial Freight Broker
Residence: Vesper Landing, Low-Orbit Transit Hub, Earth

Wilder wins, and just like that, Vesper gets chatter about survey beacons and improved lifters. I can work with that. He’s not going to coddle us with subsidies, but he’ll clear the path for the right industries to breathe. That custom coalition? We’re in it. That means leverage. That means trade routes open, and broker licenses unfreeze. For once, maybe I’ll make my quarterly without bribes or prayer.

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Nationalist Representative
Name: Hadrian Marduk
Gender: Male
Occupation: Security Consultant, Former Orbital Guard
Residence: Pyre Hill Sector, Greater Alexandria, Earth

Didn’t expect him to win outright. Thought it’d be a runoff, maybe give Astaroth one last play. But nah, Wilder walked through it clean. Guess the civvies liked his Academy charm. I’ll say this: if he delivers, if he rebuilds the fleet, reclaims our reach, I won’t stand in his way. But if he waffles? If he listens to Trade too much or lets Pacifists gut our readiness? I’ll be the first on the floor calling for his replacement.

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Militarist Representative
Name: Thalia Cain
Gender: Female
Occupation: Ship Weapons Integration Engineer
Residence: Forge Enclave, Detroit Metropole, Earth

Victory’s a funny thing. I wanted Astaroth to pull it off, really did. But now that he’s gone, maybe Wilder can do more than carry the torch. He’ll have to. The custom coalition won’t let him run this like a war council. Still, I’ve heard whispers: energy research restarting, better reactors, powered armour even. If he delivers on that without folding to the pacifists, I’ll stay on his side. But if he dithers, if he hesitates, we’ll be right back to waiting while the stars close in around us.

---

The post-election landscape was one of contradictions. The Federation had passed into the Trans-Newtonian age, but the political system that would steer it was more fragmented than ever. Wilder would be forced to navigate a House balanced on thin coalitions and conflicting agendas. Astaroth, true to his word, retired from public life, though not without leaving behind bitter allies and weaponized rumours. Valance, now out of office, did not speak for weeks. Her legacy was secure, but unfinished.

In the shadows of restored ruins and under the hum of new engines, a new leader stepped forward, not as a savior, but as a steward. Konrad Wilder had won the presidency not by promising salvation, but by promising management. Whether that would be enough to carry the Federation forward, no one yet knew.

But the countdown had reset. Year 0006 awaited.

Foundations of the Trans-Newtonian Era

The first years of the Trans-Newtonian Age unfolded not with celebration but with friction, fatigue, and quiet defiance. As 0004 began, the Federation faced a moment that would later be seen as decisive, though at the time it felt anything but. In the days after the confirmation of Trans-Newtonian technology, a proposal was raised to redirect the nation’s limited research laboratories to construction and archaeological modules aimed at start salvaging ancient ruins across Earth and possibly the Sol System. The vote failed 395 to 110, a resounding rejection of what was seen as premature acceleration. The majority, within twenty-four hours, pushed the same motion slightly narrowed and tactically reframed. This time, it passed by a slim margin.

By mid-January, with expanded shipyard complexes finally operational, motions of conversion orders swept across the industrial sector and hit the House of Representatives floor. The hundred conventional factories were ordered to be retooled into Trans-Newtonian production facilities, mining operations, and fuel refineries. The transition was brutal in its demand for resources and labour, but there was no going back. Supply lines were redrawn. Logistic models collapsed and were rebuilt again. Whole colonies paused civilian development to meet the industrial quotas required for what Valance called “reconstitution at velocity.”. This process only worsened the already precarious economic landscape of the colonies on Earth.

Meanwhile, behind the legislative activity, a slower, quieter transformation was underway. Research facilities turned their focus to the surface of Sol’s ancient worlds. With ground-based construction modules and automated platforms research completed, the Federation began drafting its first blueprints for non-combat engineering vehicles, machines that could operate in toxic atmospheres, across irradiated ruins, beneath storms or lunar crust. The initiative expanded further with specialised archaeological machines, capable of both excavation and preservation. Zoren Industries, long a peripheral actor in Earth’s private sector, stepped into prominence by unveiling the first deployable vehicle units in December of that year. Medium-sized, self-contained, and transportable across planetary environments, they were designed for endurance, not speed. The initial approved construction and deployment was modest, just over a hundred units assembled into a test company, but the shift they represented was unmistakable: soon humanity could begin to dig up the bones of its own collapse.

Even as the Trans-Newtonian era gained momentum, the spectre of another economic collapse loomed. Inflated material costs, labour imbalances, and spiralling logistics forced the Federation into a second austerity pivot. A motion to redistribute research efforts away from broad development and focus solely on transport, power, and propulsion passed in the summer of 0005. It was entered into the registry as HSCR000036. The effect was immediate and chilling: dozens of research paths halted and many civilian programs frozen in stasis. It was a sharp reversal for an administration once defined by rapid innovation. Within the House, whispers of fatigue began to circulate, not just among opposition blocs, but even within the President’s own coalition. Valance herself became noticeably more absent from public engagements, instead operating through ministers, technical advisors, and senior military liaisons.

It was in this atmosphere of caution and gridlock that one of the most dramatic legislative confrontations of the term occurred. A series of proposals to initiate research into orbital geological sensors, technologies that would allow the Federation to finally detect Trans-Newtonian minerals from orbit, met successive defeats. The first vote, on HSCR000037, failed 234 to 271. A second attempt, HSCR000037-B, was repackaged to win over the Trade Party with promises of a wider interplanetary network. It failed even harder, 100 to 405, a political embarrassment for the administration. Then, without warning, Valance invoked Presidential Sway, the constitutional override reserved for moments of national strategic interest, and forced the measure into law. That third and final vote, HSCR000037-C, never reached the floor. It did not need to. The sensors were green lit, and her intentions unmistakably declared. The backlash was immediate. Federalist moderates called it reckless. Nationalists accused her of undermining the separation of powers. But as previously done during her term, the message delivered was clear: there were limits to how long she would allow legislative paralysis to stall the machinery of recovery.

Not all struggles were so dramatic. A quietly introduced sensor package for active target tracking passed without much debate, a reminder that military investment, though quieter than in earlier years, remained a permanent undercurrent. Propulsion systems continued to receive funding. Engineers built upon breakthroughs in radioisotope thermal energy to draft new propulsion engines with dual-use capability, civilian for now, but easily convertible to military needs if required. And by the end of 0005, a final piece of groundwork fell into place: a motion to research powered infantry armour passed by overwhelming margin.

As the sixth year of Valance’s presidency drew to a close, the air in the Federation had shifted. Gone was the fervour of rebirth, the grand declarations of unity. What remained was a slower, more deliberate strength, one measured not in glory but in resilience. Everyone knew what the calendar meant. Elections were coming. Under the Federal Theocracy’s constitutional order, both the House and the presidency would face re-election at the start of 0006.

Within the chambers of power, alliances were shifting, old coalition loyalties splintering. Some whispered that Valance would not run again. Others said she had already begun crafting a successor. But no matter what followed, one truth had become inescapable: she had dragged a fractured people back to the edge of the stars. Whether they would step forward, or shatter once more, remained unanswered.