[Antares]

Welcome to Polaris, pilots.  The situation is hot, so we're going to get right to it.

As you know, GTVA forces have been on high alert since the emergence of Shivan forces in Epsilon Pegasi two months ago.  The Security Council isn't sure how the Shivans got there, but the prevailing theory is that they've somehow devised a way to traverse the Epsilon Pegasi-Capella jump node after its collapse 18 years ago.  Fortunately, most of the nodes branching off Epsilon Pegasi lead to dead-end systems, with two exceptions: the node to Polaris, and the Adhara node leading out of GTVA space.  That's why we're here, boys and girls.  So long as we can hold the blockade here, we'll be able to contain the Shivan presence until Command decides on how we should handle them.

So you're aware, we won't be alone on this one.  Command has sortied several Kraken and Torrasque-class destroyers to reinforce the blockade, and the Vasudans are sending Nefertiti-class corvettes as quickly as they can be constructed.  We'll have plenty of backup in case the Shivans try to punch through to GTVA systems.

At this point, however, we have more to worry about than just the Shivans.  The arrival of the species calling themselves "Antarans" has served to complicate matters.  We've received only one communication from the Antarans: an ultimatum informing us that we can neither surrender nor win against their forces, and that death is our only option.  Further attempts to establish diplomatic contacts with the Antarans have been unsuccessful.

We know relatively little about Antaran technology, save that it is extremely advanced.  Their weapons and defensive systems are leaps and bounds beyond anything in the GTVA, and perhaps the capabilities of the Shivans themselves.  When the Antarans first appeared in Epsilon Pegasi three weeks ago, the doomstar-class vessel Command has designated "Charon" completely wiped out the 78th GTVA battle group, two Sathanas-class warships, and at least half a dozen Demon-class destroyers.  Numerous other Antaran craft have emerged in the system, smaller than the Charon, but most of them still large enough to dwarf our biggest destroyers.  These ships employ devastating particle beam weapons and plasma-based torpedoes, generations more advanced than our own photon cannons.

GTVI personnel are currently in the process of gathering more intelligence on the Antarans, but at present, the Charon is the greatest threat in the entire Antaran fleet.  The ship herself is enormous, roughly the size of Earth's moon, and is estimated to possess more firepower than every battleship in the GTVA combined.  The Shivans launched a full-scale assault on her the moment she appeared, and we're not sure if they were even able to dent her hull.  Everything we know about subspace physics tells us that something the size of the Charon shouldn't be able to engage in subspace travel, suggesting that the Antarans utilize an alternate method of fleet transportation.

If there's any good news, it's that the Shivan and Antaran forces are currently deadlocked in battle.  Their respective fleets have been raging at each other for several straight weeks, with neither side showing any sign of relenting.  While the Charon has been able to subdue most Shivan ships with little difficulty, the Shivans themselves have proven more than able to destroy the Antarans' smaller Harbinger and Interdictor-class vessels.  Neither the Shivans nor the Antarans have been able to make any significant gains, and their craft have largely been avoiding GTVA and Kilrathi forces.

Speaking of the Kilrathi, we may yet see some relief as a result of the Shivan re-emergence.  Over the course of the last four years, the Kilrathi have always envisioned themselves as the victors in the war against the GTVA.  However, Intelligence reports that following the Shivan destruction of a key Kilrathi installation in the Venice system, the Kilrathi have been re-assessing their status in the war.  Negotiations for a peace treaty began earlier this week, and the Security Council expects to have the final details worked out with the Kilrathi Imperial envoy by tomorrow morning.  As proud as the Kilrathi are, they've been observing the Shivan-Antaran stalemate just as closely as we have; the GTSC Socrates and the GTSC Aristotle have been analyzing the tempest in Epsilon Pegasi from a safe distance for some time, and Kilrathi recon ships have been spotted in-system as well.  The Kilrathi know full well what happened to Vasuda during the Great War, and we have every reason to believe that they're not eager to see the same thing happen to their own homeworld; Venice itself is only a few jumps from Epsilon Pegasi, and from there, it's a short walk to Kilrah itself.

The Zerg have been unusually quiet for the duration of the recent conflict.  They didn't show much hesitation when attacking the Shivans in Procyon A, but after losing their hive in that system to the Shivan counterattack and the loss of a second cluster in Mirfak to the Antarans, the Zerg have been making a noticeable attempt to keep out of the storm's path.  The Antaran super-beams the tech boys have dubbed "Death Rays" seem to do particularly severe damage to organic matter, making the Zerg especially vulnerable to Antaran assault.  The Security Council has attempted to re-establish contact with Kerrigan, but it appears that the Queen of Blades is either unable to communicate with us, or uininterested in doing so.

Our Special Ops people assure us that they're working on a solution to the impending crisis, but for the moment, Command is hoping that the Shivans and Antarans will simply slaughter each other.  In the best-case scenario, the Shivans will force Epsilon Pegasi to supernova, destroying the Charon and destabilizing the system's jump nodes.  While this will isolate the Kilrathi from the GTVA, it will do the same to the Shivans themselves, at least temporarily.  Ideally, this would leave us to confront only the Zerg, a nemesis that would be far easier to battle on one front.

So that's the situation, boys and girls.  For now, we're just going to sit back, grab some popcorn, and wait to see how things in Epsilon Pegasi play out.  We'll still be scheduling regular patrols to keep an eye out for any unusual developments here in Polaris.  The first shift begins at 1600 hours.  You'll be informed if we hear anything from the Security Council or GTVI regarding a plan to kick the Shivans out, once and for all.  Get some rest and keep your fingers crossed, people.  With any luck, maybe most of us will actually survive this Armageddon.

Squad dismissed!

[Goober5000]

Originally posted by Antares
Welcome to Polaris, pilots.  The situation is hot, so we're going to get right to it.

*followed by long shpiel*

"Get right to it"?  You need to work on your pacing.

Other than that, interesting story.  Will this be a campaign, a fanfic, or truly "just for fun"?

[Antares]

This one really is "just for fun".  Quite a while ago, I thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if a few of the various military sci-fi baddies got together for a big rumble.  After giving the SNES port of Wing Commander a recent playthrough, I decided to chuck in the Kilrathi... and, I wanted to see if I'm the only living person who still remembers the Antarans as the reigning bad boys of the space sim universe.

I have no FRED skills, so this certainly isn't a campaign.  Nor do I have the time to write a full fanfic.  I will be later laying out plans for my complex (read: convoluted) story concept for Freespace: Armageddon, but I want to try and finish the edits to the Shivan Manifesto first.

[Genryu]

Well, I doubt that i could do it, but "just for fun", it would be cool to continue this story.
Otherwise, I'm afraid to say that I don't have the foggiest idea of what the Antarans are ? (Are they tasty ? )
I'm going on a google-based hunt of information on these critters right now.

[Carl]

Antarans=Masters of Orion

[Hippo]

Masters Of Orion=Metalicia

[Woolie Wool]

The GTVA is in deep **** now. Antarans, Zerg, Kilrathi, AND Shivans.

[Star Dragon]

We seem to have something along similair lines (though my fic involves EVERY sci-fi or anime race including the super robots of the 70's BattleTech,  StarBlazers, and evey mod done so far as well as every tv or movie NOT done yet, Including Cosmic Warrior Zero, Buck Rogers,  Last Starfighter, and Mirror uiverse evil Federation. ect...)  Gee should I try to fit the Micronaughts in too?

   Do you do any modling? I have a SLEW of ships that need to be worked on or done from scratch...


Oh there is one common thread that binds them all together but that cannot be revealed. You need to find that out yourselves!

[Hippo]

they're all in space?

[Toblerone]

But the Shivans are the great presevers so all should work out for the best right? look how the great war worked the terran-vasudan relations

[DeepSpace9er]

woah... too damn lazy to read all that. Be more concise and you've got my business.