I've been replaying FS1 and 2 quite a bit since I've reinstalled FSO last week and made my "grand" comeback on this forum. When exposed to the lore once again, I began noticing things I hadn't seen back in the day and I think I've uncovered a potential plot thread for what FS3 might have led do - or at least something which
had in mind when creating the games.
I believe that Vasudan Emperor Khonsu II planned to incorporate the Terrans into the Vasudan Imperium as a vassal species. How did I come to this conclusion; you might ask? Of course, several elements throughout FS2 seem to hint towards that being the case.
Of course, you may say the Vasudans genuinely wanted to ally with the Terrans…and the everyday Vasudan citizen might agree with the publicly stated goals of the Vasudan government towards the Terrans…but I believe it’s all a political game designed to slowly erode Terran political clout in the galaxy. Here’s why I believe this is the case:
1: The structure of the GTVA’s government.
As we know, the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance is made up of three branches: The GTVA Security Council, which seems to be the governmental branch of the military/judiciary, the General Assembly, what seems to be an elected body of representatives representing the civilian governments of both races…and the Vasudan Imperium, basically meaning Khonsu II and his aides having control of an entire branch of government.
Now if the General Assembly was only made up of Terran representatives and did not represent Vasudans at all, we could say that we have equal representation. One Terran Branch, one Vasudan branch and one united military/judicial branch.
However, the lore omits to mention the makeup of the General Assembly and what information we have never mentions it’s a human-only body. Now if I’m right and the GA is made up of representatives of both races, this gives Vasudans far more power than the Terrans in how government is run because not only to they have some level of control of the civilian government, Khonsu himself has his own branch. While this is speculation, it’s likely that he has Veto power over the GA’s policy proposals.
2: The GTA after the Great War/Hades Rebellion
Canon states that the GTA was collapsing into a bunch of regional blocs following the events of FS1/Silent Threat. While some may argue that this was a golden opportunity for Vasudans to finish off the Terrans who were increasingly disorganized, they simply had no ability to do so. The Vasudans had lost their homeworld and likely the lion’s share of their industrial production. Even if Khonsu wanted to crush the Terrans, it was impossible. However using their governmental crisis under the guise of a long-term alliance and taking the opportunity to form a unified government for both species (favouring the Vasudans who did the leg work uniting the Terran factions), over time it would become possible to undermine Terran authority and allow Khonsu II to effectively rule over them.
3: The Civil War.
While Vasudans were the initial victims of the NTF’s insurgency as Bosch secured Ancient archeological sites, the brunt of the fighting was done by Terrans themselves – at least from what we could see during the end of the civil war. The Vasudans were apparently content to (mostly)sit on the sidelines while two human factions pummeled each other. Regardless of how you see it, this can only be good for Khonsu’s plans to subjugate Terrans. While Terrans lose ships and manpower, Vasudans can keep their numbers strong, maybe even surpassing the Terrans in overall number of warships.
4: The Second Shivan Incursion
This was purely a matter of “luck”, but FS2’s story does end, once again, with the Vasudans in a position of power. The Shivans are held back, Terrans lost one of (if not the most) populated colony they had along with dozens of warships, hundreds of fighter craft and hundreds of thousands of people. Vasudans? Oh, they maybe lost a Mentu or Sobek here and there, but where they might have gotten away from the Shivans with a bloody nose, the Terrans were left in Intensive Care…
All in all, I have a feeling that a Vasudan takeover was in the cards for a FS2 sequel/expansion.
Any thoughts? Counter-arguments? I’d love to hear what you have to say 😊