Rise of the Star

War! What is it good for? Intimidating other political actors into accepting demands with a military show of force that may or may not include heated conflicts. Many think of war as this straightforward conflict of some guy upsetting you and you going to kill everything over there with impunity, but real war is not like that. Of course, to HAVE a war, you need some other significant faction to go to war with. And the Astoria Empire had no civil wars. At least after James sorted them out.

It was the year 956 After Arrival when the AES Wayfarer would make another startling discovery in the void of space. A SHIP. Not one of their own, not blasted to bits or long ago depowered. An active, different space ship... that was not powered by an AI. To say that the scientific community went crazy over it would be putting it lightly. Sure, they had the Gull now so aliens were less of a novelty, but aliens that were a spacefaring civilization? Damn.

The ship had a dramatically different design from theirs... though that idea was only on the surface, as the ship seemed to be employing a similar gravity-warping technology to achieve FTL. Not many ways to cheat that limitation of physics. First contact was given in the guard of a woman called Anna, one that had a duty to investigate any signs of this alien civilization, intercepting communications and trying to decrypt these messages, from which they could move to the point of understanding their language, then understanding their civilization... and finally sitting down at a talk.

This was a task that would take months. Even as those aliens were trying to do the same to them back, trying to not give them an advantage and possibly come out of this first contact with more than they did. James's words would apply here, as competition was the name of the game, and their skill at spycraft was just as important as their skill at studying this species.

Bits and scraps would come back, the empire technicians trying to make sense of the alien code. Math was the same, even if one used different counting systems... base 13, base 56... so on. And so computing might be ever so similar once you figured out what some bits wanted to be, what was padding and what was information.

They would be graced with the first intact piece of data as they had a scrap of a video file, enough to distinguish a still image showing an anthropomorphic goat-like person, a uniform of some kind on them, and their form much more humanoid than animal. More bits would soon be uncovered, showing similar stills of other human-shaped animals... bulls, tigers, wolves... that would confuse them until they achieved a full understanding of this civilization.

One of their vessels avoided being seized by this species with only the narrowest retreat, executing a blind FTL jump that sent them twenty systems over while making that ship disappear from the universe for a month. This alien empire was not afraid of using violence, and they had almost managed to get that Corvette within boarding range. The empire was much more wary of them after that.

By the end of the six months of putting things together, a clear picture had formed, with their language deciphered, full video files showing these furries communicating and sharing information... a lot of it about the humans, or as they called them... "The furless ones". It painted a fascinating, if also troubling image. They were not just sentient... they were quite violent and eager to use that violence.

The Raff Junta, at the time they were discovered, had spread to five planets and had more in their sight. For those that don't know what a military junta is, that's when dictatorships are enforced through the use of the army, the leaders of the nation also being the leaders of the military and often there is no separation between military and law enforcement. The Raff civilization was highly militarized, with a good dose of authoritarianism. Now, James did not automatically think that authoritarian governments were bad, they just inevitably led to abuses of the people since those in power removed all means to keep them in check. And the Raff were equally bizarre in their biology, as they seemed to share no specific "species", rather just being a race of furries.

But, they were the first spacefaring civilization that the empire came in contact with, so they had to at least say hello in the diplomatic form, though this was a time when they were ready to abide by the outsider's words to just not interact with them.

Sadly, it's never so simple.

*

Anna Williams sat in the comfortable lounge of this purpose-built ship, one intended to serve as a meeting ground for the first official contact between their empires. Yes, there was the establishment of this meeting through electronic channels, but this would be the first time they TALKED. Beside her were three other humans, two being security guards in their dark blue uniforms and with holstered guns, and her personal assistant to make things smoother.

The woman was in her thirties and had excelled in school at all the social subjects, a college education in interpersonal communication led to this position. She was nervous, but let that go away. Best appear calm. She was not encouraged to do so by the reports on this civilization, where women seemed to be second class, might equalling superiority, and therefore the weaker gender considered less. But maybe she could use that against them since they did not expect a woman to meet them head-on.

As the message came in on her forearm-mounted console, she knew that the distant sounds of machines whirring were the delegation from the Raff coming onboard. They were to be led into this room where the woman would stand to receive them, the opposite couch reserved for them. She stood in preparation, steeling her will for this meeting.

With a hiss, the door to this room opened and the three large individuals would come in sight. The center one was notably taller than the other two, a tiger-morph in a uniform that saw plentiful decorations shaped from a black metal. His companions seemed to be just bodyguards, though they too sported an impressive amount of what she assumed to be medals. They carried themselves with an air of aggression, seemingly intensifying it once the woman did not flinch at their presence.

"The Astoria Empire greets you. My name is Anna and I have been assigned as the delegate for this meeting." A shoulder-mounted device of small size, one that could almost pass as a decoration, translated her words into the Raff language, the harsh and guttural tones coming out at a specific frequency to be audible over her voice. "I hope this can be the beginning of a pleasant coexistence."

She did not get an immediate response, her equivalent seeming to size her up as they approached a bit too close. Anna should not sit first, but let them do it. She was no stranger to power plays and these guys seemed to hold to it more than usual. But they stood.

"A woman." He spoke in their language, but there was no equivalent device to translate, thankfully, hers could do the reverse, giving it back to her earpiece to understand the tiger. "Showing no strength already. Or are you confused of your role and you are to be a gift? Hm, you could make a good slave to the General."

"I can assure you that any gifts you might receive will not be in the form of people. Slavery is not an accepted custom for our people."

"Pathetic. Can't even show your force over others. Well, I see how this will go. You should tell your leaders to get ready for our arrival. We'll get your 'civilized' worlds in order."

Talking as if they were supposed to bow down. Difficult to tell if the response should be an equal threat or mere refusal. Either way, she was not accepting that. Even if the overseer told her to. And he won't.

"No." Anna paused after her word. "You have no right to do that and we will continue to see to our own rulership. This meeting is only to determine how we will be interacting. Or not. So, is that your final request? No consideration of possibly linking communications, pursuing further agreements or trade deals?"

That word seemed to annoy the other envoy. They stepped forward with an intent to make her flinch. She didn't. Anna held eye contact with the tiger-man, showing no weakness.

"Oh, it will be fun to teach you what place you should have, woman. What's stopping me from doing what I want anyway?"

"As the Outsider says... you have the right to fuck around and find out."

Okay, maybe that was not a proper diplomatic tone, and she should have said something like "You may test that hypothesis at your convenience". She was not defenseless, the implants granting her at least enough ability to keep up with this thing until her guards could gun them down. The tension in the room was so high that any loud noise might prompt gunfire, the hands of both sets of guards hovering just centimeters above their weapons, also locked in a staring contest to not give any idea of an opening.

Sometimes diplomacy was like this. A lot of chest-puffing and staring contests. Anna still thought they might be at least amenable, possibly willing to recognize a strong foe and gain some respect. It was not. You could hear the cracking in that furred hand as if they were readying a strike, and the pop as their neck turned to the side.

"Prey learns sooner or later its place in the chain. We'll come back to teach you."

He turned suddenly to walk toward the door. This was not exactly cowardice as the envoy had noticed that her body was toned with the subtle signs of combat experience, even if it was mere training, it was not a target they could take out in an instant, which gave her helpers enough time to finish him off, or for her to stab a poisoned blade in him and finish it. The guards followed, eye contact with their analogs maintained until they were out the door.

Anna stood, tense as could be and ready for those three to return to do some surprise strike. She relaxed only on receiving the message that the ship had departed and the three Raff were observed leaving the vessel. That breath felt like it held the world.

"I already hate them."

She was still so tense that the unknown voice made the woman get in a full martial arts stance before the red-coated figure one meter away from her. James really needed to stop doing this.

"You need to get that energy out? Gods, those fuckers are just..."

NOW she relaxed, a deeper breath let out while still being annoyed by the man, though she thought that this was one she could use the help of. Anyone else, and it might look like she didn't do a good job. But she did. This could have ended with the ship being seized.

"They believe everything belongs to them. I thought they might recognize strength, but they just seemed more eager to fight us. Guess we found our enemies worth your words."

"Hm. Some people, if they are taught that they deserve things for some feature or another... will start to demand it even when they don't deserve it. But, he was right about something."

Anna would hate for that thing to be in any way right, but she saw the grin on the Outsider's face. She realized it only too late.

"What exactly?"

"Prey WOULD learn their place. But we're not the prey. Reminder that human is the apex predator. Also, I have specifically instructed you guys how to win such pursuits."

Now she smiled.

*

James had played that game enough to develop a strong strategy in development... and he was utterly surprised to see it would WORK in real life. Mostly because what the Outsider thought should be reality... was. This was why some things were possible in the empire and not elsewhere. Many things were there only by the grace of the god.

"Quality over quantity." He said to the overseer. "Hammer that somewhere in this office. See these star systems here? Now, these ones have some really weak connections, can we disrupt them somehow?"

"Yes, I believe the chief of research mentioned something about hyperlane manipulation. I'll have to get in contact with her to check."

"Alright, sever those." As his finger passed over the 3D render of the galaxy map they had explored so far, those connections winked out. "What do you see?"

"You have... AH."

This left only two systems in any contact with the rest of the galaxy, with thirty systems they have confirmed as not hosting any civilization, pre-FTL or otherwise, thirty systems they could claim, and those two... would be border systems. The overseer might not be a military strategist, but he knew about the idea of having choke points. Space Stations could be improved and focused into bastions... defensive structures employing kinetic batteries, missile launchers, and hangar bays to deploy fighters. Defending a border with ten systems was difficult, but if there were only two ways in and out... at opposite ends of this space sector... that let them focus their forces and dissuade any idea of hitting them somewhere lacking in defense.

Of course, James had bigger plans, but they haven't developed Mega-Engineering yet. But fortified space stations with fleets stationed there would make for a strong defense, add in a bunch of defense platforms... and they were golden. Also, this would not require ludicrous amounts of resources to build so many reinforcements... but it still took impressive amounts of plasteel and hardened components.

War is not so direct as to go from peace to total annihilation, the reason why nuclear orbital bombardment is not a universal solution. There is, in fact, a ladder of conflict escalation. And the Raff started to climb it. The first step was merely disagreement between the sides that could not be handled through diplomacy, as their enemies would accept no talks unless the astorians were on their knees and ready to give themselves over... maybe not giving their empire over, but at least offering a heavy tribute and a grand show of submission. James didn't tell them to stand up to everyone just so they folded before the first furry bastard.

Step two begins when the sides begin to show their military might through simple maneuvering inside their borders. The corvettes and the new destroyers partook in military exercises, mostly fleet maneuvers and mock battles with non-destructive lasers and projectiles. They did not doubt that the Raff were quietly checking them out from afar to see if they were such an easy target. Sometimes just a show of how many resources you can deploy in a war is enough to make another side fold, as they notice any discrepancy. The exercises were intended to show that this fleet was not made of paper and was fully active, rather than mothballed vessels.

This was the step when they noticed that the Raff had a deal higher number of vessels... not ludicrous, but almost 1.7 times more. The Astorians were keeping within their limit of how many they could effectively field without increasing their costs too much, limits set by their ability to supply these vessels with both materials and personnel. The Raff were pushing themselves beyond that limit, confident not only in their worker-slaves, but in these numbers equalling victory. They were wrong.

It is worthwhile to say how the astorians went to war. Even if they were defending themselves, this war would require a vote. The calculus was simple... if at least half of them agree, they go to war. However, voting against war was a vote in the favor of kneeling and sucking the dicks of some horse fuckers. 100% is far too optimistic a goal, even if many in the empire would be driven either by survival instinct or the dogma of defiance. But 87% was an impressive number. There was a second issue in this war vote. If you voted to go to war, you had to serve in it. No sitting on a couch and saying that your neighbor had to go kill someone so you're safe. No, that's for evil fuckers who want to be free of consequences. You vote to go to war and you GO to war. Astorians practiced a tour of military duty, at least training to get them capable of such a time. It was optional, but encouraged... good to teach people self-discipline. There were no drill sergeants to shout in your face until you were automatic, but there were encouraging sergeants who could pep you up like a good spotter.

Not everyone who "went to war" would fight on the front lines, as some would rather switch jobs to provide the utterly invaluable supply chain, working in factories and on farms. This was not seen as the coward's job since those people would change their lives during wartime to focus on this goal, to be the production complex that kept those few ships in prime form. This meant that the rest of society had to make do with what was left, as you could find stores deserted and suppliers unresponsive... and some might go to war just to have a livelihood. Not quite coercion, but it was an effective means to weed out those just riding the handouts of others in times when they had to focus their efforts on something else. If the rest could go on without any issue, then that was the end of it.

The fleets... which were only two... were mobilized, sent away from dry dock in the Outsider system to the two choke point systems, the stations inside them rushing to build the defense platforms to their limit of sustainability. They were ready for losses, and no doubt there would be significant ones in both manpower and assets. Though it is so dehumanizing to call those people "manpower". They were people, and every leader wished they could come back with a full crew. Obviously, it would not be so.

Astoria went to war.

*

"Those sci-fi writers got NOTHING right about this."

"Maybe you didn't read the right ones."

Kelly indeed did not check out proper authors on such a subject, going instead to those that focused on big and flashy battles. Those were the ones that sold. Not the waiting, the constant readiness, the slow fatigue from having to be constantly on edge for another raiding party.

The Xirak station was a bundle of nerves, with the practice of casual sex done now even more than before. Rather than erupt into shouting matches, the recruits would get into energetic couplings... and you could see two dudes butt-fucking almost as often as you had cups of coffee... and thus two burly dudes were getting it on, powerful thrusts going into a masculine butthole as their partner was bent over a table, the woman looking their way while sipping her second mug of coffee for today.

"I hate the waiting. Those guys have been sending pittances against us. We know it's not their whole force."

"Probing strikes. Just seeing our responses, how hard we hit, how fast we hit." Steven smirked. "That's why we've been intentionally slower and using lower-power defenses."

"Huh, so when am I gonna get some decent weapons on my ship?"

"As soon as we see their fleet moving our way. Though they might keep those up to get us tired. That's the other reason. Keep your enemy awake all night and invade when they finally collapse. They aren't idiots."

"All warfare is based on deception. More like all warfare is based on fucking your opponents up by any means." Beat. "Still, I guess I can respect them not being idiots."

"I don't hate them."

"Why not?! Didn't you see how they were like? Fuckers were practically throwing their dicks around. Time to cut those dicks off and see how proud they are."

Steven was the closest she had to a friend here. They went to school together before going their separate way, and here they came again by miracle. Better than making new friends, though it was not like the astorian people were unfriendly... it was just a difficult time and it was easier to show your tired side to someone you knew.

"Kel, think it through. They live in a society where the more force they project, the better they have it. Kinda like our Republic. That means that in order to BE where they are, they have to put forward their most dickish, aggressive, powerful persona they can summon, even if it's a master-crafted mask on top of their real face. Maybe that guy could enjoy knitting and just sitting in a countryside house if they didn't have to go into dick competitions with the entire planet. Or planets, since they have several."