Note: This story was heavily influenced by my then love for the Star
Wars: X-Wing books. This story ispretty dialogue-driven. It's been years since
I've read it, but heck, it can't be ALL bad!
Galaxy Fire, Prologue
When ships of Earth encountered the ships of the Ariash in 2051,
the Ariash only had 5 planets that made their empire. On Earth, the
Great Exodus to the stars occurred in a race against time: the time when
the Ariash discover Earth and obliterate the human race. In fact,
Earth itself was not discovered by the Ariash for another 200 years.
In their first encounter, the United Nations scoutship Constantinople was
intercepted by the Ariash patrolship Klaxoon near the planet known at the
time as Epsilon 115. Shooting occurred, and the Klaxoon, not shielded against
the projectile weapons the Constantinople was armed with, was destroyed.
Critically damaged, the Constantinople fled back to Earth and alerted the
UN of the existence of another space-faring, and possibly superior, race.
For 50 years, no more conflict occurred. Earth’s colonization efforts were disjointed,
and many planets broke away from the UN Space Administration. Thus, all that remained
under the power of UNSA were two colonies, Torel and Alpha Centauri, plus Earth
itself. The Ariash (to the humans, their name was unknown. In New Standard Galactic,
“ariash” meant “alien.”) had ceased to be a major issue, and their existence dissolved
into the realm of skepticism and myth.
In 2107, an Ariash fleet appeared and destroyed Alpha Centauri
Outpost, killing its 15 million inhabitants. No prisoners were taken,
and no human was spared from the destruction. The UNSA collapsed,
and from it a new alliance was formed. Torel and Earth became the
foundation for a galactic alliance that was resolved to have revenge against
the Ariash for the destruction of Alpha Centauri. Their name had
three parts: “danz,” that was “revenge” in NSG, “aria,” that was “aliens”,
and “n,” that was “infinity” or “forever.” The Danzarian Alliance
would fight against the Ariash Empire for almost 350 years, when it would
suffer a final defeat at the hands of one of its own.
The Alliance had much to do, through, before it could be destroyed. Earth, an
already established power, became administrative headquarters for the Alliance.
Its position was kept mostly secret, and only ships would travel to and from the
planet, instead of housing a new Electomagnetic-Transorbital Conveyor. Torel,
however, was the opposite of Earth. Since it was home to the Alliance’s first
Admiral, it became the military headquarters, and remained that way until its
defeat.
For the next 100 years, the Alliance expanded, gaining four new
full-members: the new Alpha Centauri, which became the training facility
for the military’s Special Forces, Betelgeuse, Midway, and Newton.
In E-2216, the Alliance scoutship London was approached by a diplomatic
envoy from another race of aliens that called themselves Comarians.
The Comarians had only one planet, Comar, which housed a feudal society,
the peasants being rodent-like semi-intelliegent beings that were easily
conditioned to work hard and enjoy it. After a series of meetings
known as the Comarian Convention, a pact was entered into that would bring
the Comarian into the Alliance as the 7th member, and the first (and only),
non-human member.
Over the next 15 years, a faction arose within the Alliance that
soon seized power, peaceably. The Founder and leader of the faction,
which had no name, declared himself President and Commander-in-Chief of
the military. He did not change the name of the Alliance, merely
its goal. He is famous for declaring on his inaugural night, “No
longer shall vengeance be our goal, but peace. Galactic peace for
all eternity.” Thus Aric Esteema lead the Danzarians from 2234 until
2281, when he died of natural causes.
After his death, the Danzarian way of life slowly reverted to
pre-Esteema standards. The President that followed Aric, his son
Thomas, declared that the best way to “galactic peace” was the neutralization
of the “Ariash threat.”
For 275 years, one Esteema after another became President, and
continued the battle against the Ariash. What they did not know,
was that although the Alliance had seven members, the Ariash by then had
700. As the years past, the battles became more lopsided, until Aric
Esteema IV’s invention of the Nova cruiser in 2350. The key to Danzarian
survival became its technologies: sonic torpedoes that fractured he hulls
of Ariash cruisers, fusion power, wave scramblers that would halt oncoming
laser shots, and radar cloaking.
In E-2470, 240 years after the birth of Aric Esteema, a boy was
born that, like his ancestor before him, would lead a revolution that would
forever change the galaxy. His name was Aaron Esteema.
