The Imperium Master Plan

[inigma]

The Imperium Master Plan is a posted history of the Imperium, lead by Emperor Kylan III, as I play my first ever game of SEIV. The plan is to learn everything about the game, and do everything the game allows, so as to have a first-hand experience as to what the stock version of the game can do, and the strategies behind planning certain technologies.

This game, once finished, will give me the background I desire before I start a simultaneous game against the AI. The simultaneous game may be posted later. The simultaneous AI game will give me the foundation I desire before I engage human players in Play By Web, as my goal is to win my first PBW game, though I will settle for the top 3 of a 20 player game.

2407.4
On the Imperium border:
Imperial Warp Ship Orion docked at Deep Space 5
Ephandra System
Ephandra-T116 wormhole

"They want us to do what?!" asked the astonished Commander Jael.

"Yes, you heard me right commander. The Vrenolan system." Captain Saulner, calm as ever, proceeded, "Imperial Command senses an opportunity to cut off the Praetorian threat for a very very long time. As you know, our recon satellite in Vrenolan has picked up a fleet of Praetorian dreadnoughts, armed with minesweepers, headed for Ephandra, and it's only a matter of time before they realize they should have brought 6 instead of 5 minesweepers. Command doesn't want them to give them that chance.

"Seeing as we have just finished refitting our baby with the new cloaking armor, we shouldn't have a problem pulling off our mission.

"We are to take the Orion undercover, and close that 400 lightyear-long warp point from the Vrenolan system to Praetorian space. Not even our own scientists have breached the 400ly barrier, and as you know, no other race we've discovered even seems to have resonation technology."

"Assuming of course the Praetorian haven't developed and built sensing technology," the commander retorted. "But beyond that, from a look at these orders, our destination seems to be just beyond our range of a full return trip, sir. How are we getting back?"

Captain Saulner responded with a sigh, "Imperial Command doesn't consider us expendable, commander, but they do consider us vital to the defense of the Imperium. As such, we are proceeding on this mission without much specifics as the comminque I received from the Admiral Pellaton himself is clear. I asked him the same qusetion, and the answer is, we can reach the warp point, we can close it, and we can even return to T116, and possibly close the T116-Vrenolan wormhole, effectively trapping any pursuers and the two Praetorian colonies in that system for a long time."

"But that will leave us a sitting duck in T116, sir. And the EEE have claimed that system!"

Saulner didn't even hesistate, "That's a... sitting, CLOAKED, duck, commander. And if I may remind you, the EEE are too busy on our M-5 front to bother with T116, and furthermore, they haven't developed sensing technology either."

Saulner waved his hand, as if brushing aside an unasked question from Commander Jael. "Don't worry about it, Commander. See that ship outside?"

Commander Jael looked. It was the IDS Brant, a captured EEE battleship. In truth it was the only captured EEE ship since the IDS Endeavor and her crew was lost last year to an EEE self destruct device while attempting to board a simple transport. It's old hulk was getting a facelift as workbees worked feverishly to install Imperium-designed armor plating.

Saulner continued, "That ship will be ready for us when we come running out of Vrenolan into the T116 system. Armed with these new fifth generation phased polaron beams, the EEE won't bother, and not even a Praetorian dreadnought can stand a chance against her."

"But what about the Praetorian fleet?" Jael asked.

"What about it?" responded Saulner.

"They're going to be here in 3 months, sir. Assuming by some miracle of production, the Brant is ready for them, even with those new weapons she won't stand a chance against five of them, sir."

Saulner responded with a rising intonation, "I believe I said they had five, and not six minesweepers, Commander Jael?"

All the questions Commander Jael had dwelt on a second ago, disappeared from his mind completely.

"Not to intrude on your thoughts, Commander, but seeing as our window of opportunity is small on this one, how soon can we get underway?"

"We're ready now, sir. Understood, sir," and with a nod from the captain, the commander saluted and walked out of the captain's room.



The IWS Orion cloaked, and dove into T116. A month into their journy, on the far side of the system, at the Vrenolan warp point, the enemy Praetorian fleet had finally emerged, as expected.

Soon the Orion and the Praetorian fleet shared breathing room, with the Praetorian Marshal completely unaware of the Orion that was passing stealthily by.

The Orion made it into the Vrenolan system, but what astounded at what they could confirm visually: a massive attack fleet of 11 more dreadnoughts was assembling at Vrenolan VII, and two Praetorian colonies were in full production of more. Praetorian fighters patrolled the system, and if it wasn't for their new cloaking armor, the undefended IWS Orion would have been eaten alive.

Ignoring the danger, and as a Captain who completes his mission, Captain Saulner flew the Orion all the way past Praetorian fighters, the assembling fleet, and the defended Praetorian colonies and finally reached the heavily defended Vrenolan-Praetorian space wormhole.

Decloaking only briefly and forcing alarms to go off all over the sector, the Orion gravitational condenser activated and closed the wormhole back to Praetorian space, to the silent gasps and suprise of millions of Praetorians colonists who watched as they saw the wormhole that brought them to this distant system, was no longer there.

Cut off from the rest of the Praetorian Empire, now over an untraversable distance of 450 light years away, the Vrenolan governor panicked and made a fateful decision. He ordered all Praetorians to evacuate the system before the cloaked warpship trapped them in the system for a very long time.

Recloaking, the Orion rushed as fast as it could, attempting to beat the Praetorian fleet that had just finished assembling. Cloaked, the Orion was safe, but the Praetorians must have sensed the urgency of the situation and launched every single ship it could find and made a mad dash for the Vrenolan-T116 wormhole to defend it, the only wormhole now remaining.

Praetorian colony ships picked up anyone they could find, to rush into T116, but the Orion was only slightly faster.

Making it back to T116, and with only enough fuel to do the job, Captain Saulner ordered the Orion to decloak, and close the T116-Vrenolan wormhole... just as a fleet of 11 praetorian ships passed through. Undetected, the Orion had finished its mission, and prevented two Praetorian colony ships from arriving into T116, but now 11 Praetorian dreadnoughts were madly scouting T116 for the Orion, themselves now cut off permanently from any Praetorian planet.

As the Praetorian search efforts became obviously fruitless, the crew of the Orion watched helplessly as the 11 ship Praetorian fleet stormed the Ephandra-T116 wormhole.

The Praetorian fleet, though torn apart by the minefield, inflicted enough damage that the IDS Brant was destroyed, and Deep Space 5 was seriously damaged. Only the fighter aces of the Imperial Border Patrol managed to save the day as Ephandra colonies had them pour out of their launch centers and completely picked off the Praetorian fleet remnants.

With the removal of the Praetorian presence from T116, the closure of the two Vrenolan wormholes, and with the development of gravitational shield technology, the Great Galactic Consolidation program of Emperor Kylan III had finally begun.

The EEE would be next.