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T h e C o n f r o n t a t i o n

SRE is one of the most popular games in WWIV BBSes today. The idea was
taken from SEE (Space Empire Elite) for Atari BBSes (FoReM ST), and
slighty improved. SRE is a fascinating game, and I've written a series
of files based on one of thebest SRE game ever played. Welp, at the
request of several people, I endeavor towrite my first SRE work of
fiction. Please note SRE, SEE, FoReM ST, and WWIV arethe copyrights and
trademarks, which are now being credited to their owners .This story is
entirely fiction, with the premise being you know who Ultra and Mace
are, them being the center of the story. Well, enough about SRE and
about me,on to the story!!

--=== SRE IV ===--

The Galaxy was at peace. The ultimate battle between good and evil was
finallyover, with good emerging as the victor. The Geneva Alliance had
defeated the Dark Alliance in one of the longest fought wars in Galaxy
history. Dune Realms was the wealthiest empire that existed now. It's
ruler, SandMan was kind and generous. The aftermath of the Battle was
subsided and now Dune was helping other smaller empires get on their
feet.

The Galactic Coordinator was pleased to see the Battle's end, and to see
that the Geneva Alliance had beaten the Dark Alliance. Perhaps, he
thought, the empires had waken up to the fact that the Darkies wanted
only to destroy the Geneva Alliance in hopes of wealth. Perhaps his job
here was over, and he should overseethe creation of a new Galaxy for
seeding. Or maybe he should stay here in case any new trouble arose.

The news shook the Underground. Geneva was shutting down to allow
empires to devolop without any obligations. It also allowed the big
empires to drop their financial commitments to other empires. Perhaps
the Survivors whould begin to formulate a plan. MaceMan, leader of the
once-feared MaceLand, was very pleased at the news. It meant an
oppurtunity to regain lost fame. Lots of little empires were easy to
fight than a big alliance. Mace began gathering thoughts on how to
organize the few Survivors of the Battle and on how to begin a new
Alliance to overtake the Galaxy.

--=== Chapter 2

UltraEmpire was not sure all Dark acitivity was over. The ruler of
UltraEmpire, Kirk, was totally against the dissolving of the Geneva
Alliance. 'They'll be back!' he said. He had been right before, when he
told the Alliance leaders that the Darkies were back during the Peace
Era. It was possible he could be right again. There were two solutions.
Attempt to infiltrate the Dark network, or send BountyHunter in to do
the job. Kirk decided he'd do it himself. So, he offically withdrew his
empire from Geneva and shut it down.

It was a joyous moment for Lil Red Empire and Jed's Solar Empire.
FInally freeof their oath to protect other members, and to pay money to
them, they could become larger. They had both conspired together to
bring about the dissolution of Geneva, with aspirations of Dictatorship
dancing in their heads. Their greed had severly hindered Geneva's
chances at survival during the Battle. Now it was back to rear it's ugly
head.

Meanwhile, the Underground was preparing to join the Galaxy as empires.

The Survivors were Mace, Dominion, and Mad Dog. They took over fellow
Underground members, and had prepared a strategy. One new member, a
certain Zakal, and someone who claimed to be a Geneva-convert named
Khoteth had joined their ranks as well. With the Galactic Cooridnator
gone away helping in the creation of another Galaxy, the oppurtunity was
open.

--=== Chapter 3

Elite was built up. Ultra had warned him before he went Underground. In
all ofspace, Ultra only trusted two empires. The Elite Empire, and
BountyHunter. Elitehad boned up, preparing for what was sure to be an
onslaught from the Darkies. He would've gone with Ultra, but too many
new converts would've been suspicious. So Elite was left with the task
of preparing the Galaxial end of space for war. With a hefty 2000
planets, and a semi-large army, Elite began the task of warning other
empires. Namely Dune Realms, but anyone who would help him was welcome.

What was suspicious was that there were so many new empires. Dune
Realms, Solar Master, always took over the job of validating 'New Empire
Requests' whenever the Galactic Cooridnator was away, which was very
rare. Many, many new empires were joining his Galaxy, and it seemed odd.
Perhaps there was truth to the rumor that the Underground had been
conquered by MaceMan and forced to sign up for empires. What Dune found
odder was UltraEmpire's abdication of his empire. Dune hadnever met so
dedicated a ruler as Kirk, so it just seemed strange he'd do something
like that. Dune went back to validating all the new empires and setting
off their Galaxial boundaries...

So, -this- is what having an empire was like. New empire Khoteth was
experiencing Empirial duties for the first time in his life. But, it
wouldn't last. MaceMan, a brutal once-dictator, had taken control of the
Underground, of which Khoteth was a member. Now forced to obey MaceMan,
and his empire, or die. Khoteth, ofcourse, did what any right-minded
individual would do; obey and stay alive.
The control! MaceMan was now leader of his new empire, 'Steel Talon,'
and how appropriate was that name! He would rip all the once-leaders of
the dissolved Geneva Alliance limb from limb. He'd start with The Elite
Empire, smallest of themall. He'd slowly work his way up, and eventually
crush Dune Realms, his only remaining mortal enemy. Mace would've liked
to have killed UltraEmpire, but he abdicated his empire, for some stupid
reason. But Mace had power again. All the Underground empires he owned,
and then his companion, ever-loyal sidekick, Mad Dog.Dominance,
Valiance, HyperDomain, Zakal, and Khoteth, all under his control. So-
Mace had an 'Alliance', and the Galaxy had no unity at all. This would
be interesting..

--=== Chapter 4

Lil Red had finished his plans. After carefully wraught spy raids, he
knew thestrengths of all the empires,and which ones to attack. First on
his list would be The Elite Empire, who possessed the only large
military, outside of the Big Three (Dune Realms, Lil Red Empire, Jed's
Solar Empire). Soon enough, Lil Red hoped he'd be in charge of the
Galaxy. Although the Galactic Coordinator posed a little problem, but
nothing that wasn't insurmountable.

The word was in. Lil Red would attack Elite tomorrow. Jed knew this
couldn't happen. If Lil Red got Elite's wealth, Jed wouldn't have a
chance at defeating hi. So, Jed decided to attack Lil Red before he had
a chance. He gathered his military, and strengthened his defenses,
preparing for a backlash that would be stronger than anything the
Darkies could've dished out.

War again! As UltraEmpire had feared, war was breaking out. Jed's Solar
Empireattacked The Lil Red Empire, without provocation. Or so it seemed.
Jed had sentDune a letter explaining why he would attack Lil Red, and
asking DUne not to interfere, as the war would not affect anyone else.
Dune wanted to trust Jed, after serving with him, and learning to trust
him during the Battle. But the two of the three only remaining
trustowrthy leaders were fighting each other, over the third trustworthy
leader. Dune was torn, and decided he would lightly attack both empires
as a warning.

Ultra had made it. He got into the Underground, and had gotten alot more
than he'd hoped for: Fourth in Command, and a direct servant to Mace.
His empire, Zaklian Forces United, he'd named it, and himself posing as
Zakal, was built up quickly enough to gain Mace's favor. But a fight
between Lil Red and Jed's Solar Empire had occured, and that was
trouble. Something internal was going on, and if not resolved, left the
perfect oppurtunity for Mace's new operatives to start their slow take
over of the Galaxy.

--=== Chapter 5

Everything was perfect. His old enemies Lil Red and Jed were fighting,
and theUnderground said it was a power struggle. They both wanted Elite
Empire's planets. If things went the way he thought they would, Lil Red
and Jed would either self-destruct themselves fighting, or kill Dune
Realms when he attempts to bring justice to the matter. Mace could not
have been happier. No matter what happened, one of the Triad would be
dead. Dominance and Valiance were not up to speed yet, their empires
slightly slow in growth. They didn't get their Military-Income Planet
ratio right when they started, and as a result, they didn't have enough
money to stabilize their empires. Now that the empires -were-
stabilized, they could focus on building militaries. The ZFU Empire was
coming along unexpectedly well, for someone new to the Underground.
Zakal had gotten almost as good a startas Mace himself, which slightly
scared him. The moment for a Dark Alliance attack was drawing closer.

Lil Red fought for control. His empire was weakening, from having to
support an army twice as large as what he could sustain without
reserves. Once his reserve cash flow was gone, Lil Red would be
famished. Fortunately Dune Realms hadn't attacked them hard enough to
sway the scales in either direction. Lil Red suspected Dune Realms
wouldn't get involved, knowing full well that Lil Red and Jed could
probably overthrow him. Elite Empire showed no signs of getting involved
either, perhaps a sign that he didn't yet know why Lil Red and Jed were
fighting. That was good..

Elite was ready. His empire poised for attacking whoever lost today.
Elite could feel the loss in his bones. Neither empire would be stable
much longer. It was just a matter of who buckled under first. Elite
planned to take them out now. In a sweeping motion, Elite took 200
planets from Lil Red. Easy enough he thought. Unfortunately, now Lil Red
would try to get those planets back. Elite knew that if Lil Red were not
equal with Jed, Jed would take all Lil Red's planets, andbecome strong
enough to defeat Elite. So Elite decided to balance the scales, by
attacking Jed. The attack brought 207 planets in, and Jed was about to
crumble. Elite now had 2,384 planets. Lil Red had 1,050 and Jed had
1,062.

Elite was playing his cards perfectly. Ultra knew that Elite was going
to come out winning this one. By attacking both Jed and Lil Red, he
assured himself complete success, while deepening the notch in Lil Red
and Jed's empires. Ultra wasgoing to wire Steel Talon for permission to
attack Lil Red and Jed. He knew he'd get it, and it would help Ultra
become stronger, and give him a shot at destroying Mace/Steel Talon, as
well as his comrades Valiance and DOminance. Ultra knew that this Battle
would probably be the last, and that he, Elite, and Bounty could come
out on top.

--=== Chapter 6

When was the Galactic Coordinator going to come back?! Dune Realms did
not want to get in this fight, and with Elite in it now too, it was at
boiling point. Dune had recieved an anonymous tip that the Dark Alliance
was back in town, whichwould explain all the new empires. But, most
likely that rumor was false, becuase Dune had seen to it himself that
MaceMan was killed, and itr couldn't be possible. Dune had to make up
his mind. He decided to attack both Lil Red and Jed very severely. He
planned to contact the Underground and have them ship him some Nuclear
Weapons. Although the Galactic Coordinator severly punished empires who
got illegal Nuclear Weapons from the Underground, Dune wanted to make it
crystal clear that the war was going to have to end.

Dominance was slightly disgruntled. Valiance had wired a Galactic

Telegram, and to his amazement, it seemed that two things would be
happening. Dune Realms, acting Galactic Coordinator, would use Nuclear
Weapons to stop the war between Lil Red Empire and Jed's Solar Empire.
But more directly personal to Dominance wasthe fact that Steel Talon was
considering making Zakal of ZFU his new third-in-command. That would
mean ousting Valiance. Dominance decided two courses of action could be
taken. The first would be to attack Zakal, and whip his butt. But that
would probably make Steel Talon extremely angry. The second was to ship
Valiance as much cash as he could, to help him make his empire stronger.
Dominance decided that the second course of action was the best.

Lil Red was in total disbelief. The cost of his greed was his empire's
life. Dune Realms attacked full-strength with Nuclear Weapons, the
second most outlawedweaponry available. He was down to 400 planets, and
that was worse then quite afew empires. Lil Red's military standpoint
wasn't helping either. He could no longer make enough money to pay for
his armada. It was time to contact Jed's Solar Empire and call off the
attack. Maybe a new Battle would not start after all..

The time was now. Steel Talon had 900 planets, many more than Lil Red or
Jed. Not quite enough to overtake Elite, and not near enough to have a
shot at takingDune Realms over. But there was still a way to keep war
going. He sent a covertagent out to make Dune believe he'd been
counter-attacked by both Jed and Lil Red, and make Lil Red and Jed think
Dune had taken some planets in an attack. Hopefully, they would believe
the reports and spark off a new war, maybe leaving the oppurtunity of a
dissolving Dune Realms open..

--=== Chapter 7

This was not just. The code of ethics, the laws of morality, all being
defiled. Was it worth the risk of being discovered and losing the
position of Galactic Coordinator? The deal he'd made with one of the
empires went farther than the Justice System allowed for. What if that
ruler was wrong? Or what if that ruler ceased to exist anymore? The
Galactic Coordinator's mind was filled with the images of a past
Universe. It had been half-full, when the Wars began. Corruption began
to spread when the Ghetto and the Syndicate took over the galaxies. The
all-powerful Universal Coordinator, and his understudies, the Galactic
Coordinators, had not been able to stop them. Or at least, the Universal
Coordinator hadn't. The Galactic Coordinators all made deals with either
the Ghetto or the Syndicate,and abandoned all Justice in order to have a
shot at taking over the Universe. So, the Universal Coordinator fled and
started work on another Universe. And he hand-picked the only once-ruler
he felt to be just, and able to keep from coruption. That man was now
the only force in the Multiverse with unlimited power. Andwas he, too,
going to be corrupted like the now-destroyed Universe?

--=== Chapter 8

The fight between Lil Red and Jed had almost been over. Then they had
both started fighting again, and taking shots at Elite and Dune Realms
occasionally. Hydroxinia had taken it upon himself to side up with
Norland and The Forever Empire. He had to protect himself, and allies
were the key. There were alot of empiresnow, but it didn't seem like
four empires fighting was enough to spark interest n a Geneva-like
alliance. Perhaps Hydroxinia and his allies could take out Lil Rd! It
was an enthralling thought, becuase Lil Red had shown himself to be a
man with -VERY- greedy intentions..

What the heck were these fools trying to pull? The Lil Red Empire and
Jed's Solar Empire were going full force against Dune Realm with
occasional pot shots at Elite! Elite was very mad about this. If Nuclear
Weapons didn't stop this, ovbiously Lil Red and Jed thought they could
win. Which ment they might have Biological Weapons! If they had BW
bombs, the Galaxy was in great danger. One bomb wiped out 200 million
people! Not that BW bombs were cheap... They were expensive, and hard to
get. However nearly-impossible they were to get when the Galactic
Cooridnator was around, they would be slightly easier to find now that
he was away on some sort of business, and Dune Realms was
acting-Coordinator. Elite was gojng to attack Lil Red full-force, and
eliminate him if possible. He believe Jed could still be brought back
tot he light. The Lil Red Empire was to far off in greed to ever come
back...

Jed was winning. He had gained the advantage over Lil Red, and at least
if they both died, Lil Red would go first. Why Dune Realms had prolonged
the attack, he had no idea. Dune was a man of peace and this was not his
way doing things. In fact it was his peacefullness that Jed had counted
on before attacking Lil Red. No bother. He'd stop attacking Lil Red, and
let everyone else finish him off. Jed could begin from scatch like he'd
done in the past. Viper Pit was a small empire waiting to be conquered..
Perhaps it'd be Jed's first victim.

--=== Chapter 9

The Organizer, they called him. HitMan, Head of Distrubution for the
Underground, was busy. Dune Realms had ordered Nuclear Weapons, which
could get him punished. Acting-Galactic Cooridinators were not allowed
to have ANY illegal weapon. And normal empires got punished enough. Lil
Red Empire had ordered Nuclear Weapons and Biological Weapons. Those
babies were bad boys. Only someone realy desperate took the risk of
ordering BioWeapons. Then he'd heard a rumor that the Zaklian Force
United empire was considering a shipment of both Nuclear Weapons and
Chemical Weapons. ChemWeapons were basically Biological Weapons on a
lower scale. But they were illegal anyway. The Underground, and it's
ruler, would be making atidy profit...

HitMan gave the report. Lil Red had indeed ordered Biological Weapons,
and probably intended to use them on Dune Realms. This was his chance.
If Steel Talon got as many BioWeapons as he could hold, he would
eliminate Lil Red and Dune Realms when Lil Red attacked. Lil Red was the
only real threat, as BioWeapons could severely hurt =ANY= empire.
However, once Dune was weakened, Steel Talon would move in and wipe him
out. Another concern to Steel Talon was the fact that Dominance and
Valiance were still not up to speed. Dominance had gotten his empire
back to self-sustainable levels, but Valiance was doing horrifically.
Tal had decided he would temporarily replace Valiance with Zakal as
third-in-command and se what type of skills this Zakal really had.
Dominance would have to start growing soon, or else someone would get
HIS job too..

--=== Chapter 10

His empire was severely injured. Dune Realms had been attacked by Lil
Red Empire with Biological Weapons. He was down to 4,728 planets from
5,611 planets. Hisinsurgency was at Under Coup, and his military
effectiveness was low. Lil Red had somehow afforded these weapons, or
been given them, and might have more. DuneRealms could no longer stop
any further attacks. Only the real Galactic Coordinator could, and Dune
had lost contact with him a week ago. If only Dune had attacked them
both very hard the first time, maybe this wouldn't have happened. A
distant memory of the old Ultra from the Second War Era flooded back to
him. it was a memory where Ultra kept prodding Dune, telling him he had
to take action andattack the Darkies now while he still could. And
Ultra'd been right. Dune held off the attacks, and the Darkies wedged
their way into a War. Fortunately Dune, Lil Red, Jed, Elite, and Ultra
had fought them off. But now a similiar situationerupts and Dune refuses
to accept the reality of it. If Dune was destroyed, that would be his
punishment for his stubborn nature. How Dune wished Ultra was here to
give him advice, or that Bounty was here to give him a spy report. And
he wished the Galactic Coordinator would get his butt back over here and
restore justice.

BioWeapons. The new Battle was unfolding slightly differently from what
Zakal had expected. He'd anticipated Dune's reluctance to fight, and
expected SOMEone to use a BioWeapon, but not the whole Galaxy. Steel
Talon had them, Lil Red had them, Hydroxinia had them, and Zakal himself
was ordering some to be safe. Tomorrow Steel Talon would be taking Dune
Realms out. Zakal would get in on a real attack, and get some planets.
Maybe he'd close the gap between himself and Tal. Ormaybe not...

Ha Ha!! Lil Red was about to dance with joy. His attack was successful,
and with a little luck, his empire would take enough planets to
establish itself. DuneRealms was hurt bady, Lil Red knew, but would be
back on his feet shortly. Lil Red needed to make an alliance with
someone strong while he still could. The best person it seemed would be
the Steel Talon, who Lil Red did not know. But the ZFU Empire and
Hydroxinia were also out there, and might be willing to pact. He had to
try something.

This was going way out of hand. BioWeapons were illegal, and now it
seemed everyone had them. In the past two days, 1 billion civilians had
been killed in Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Weapon attacks. Elite
had to stop this. His only options were to send in a Covert Team and
steal Lil Red's BioWeapons and then destroy them. If Dune Realms
couldn't keep the peace, then someone had to step up and do it for him.
Elite wondered where Ultra had gone after he abdicated. Ultra would be
the perfect ruler in a time like this.

--=== Chapter 11

Norland was getting nervous. Attacks were spreading. No longer was it a

Quad-Empire War, but a Penta-Empire War. Steel Talon used BioWeapons to
permanently detroy Lil Red Empire, and Hydroxinia was joining the
attacks on Dune Realms in anattempt to plunder him. The Forever Empire
had not mentioned what it was considering, but Norland guessed it was
going to join the war as well. As some had feared, the war went out of
whack the minute Lil Red and Jed began attacking Dune Relms, and now the
Galaxy was paying the price. Norland needed new allies. Strongones.
Norland didn't want to get in this fight, but his comrades did.

Once a Bounty Hunter, always a bounty hunter. Khoteth had put a price on
The Forever Empire's ruler, Nirvana. And it seemed one empire, an ally
of FE's, Norland was going to send Covert Agents to assassinate Nirvana.
Khoteth had successfully sent one covert agent into Valiance's empire,
and destroyed his banks. Now Valiance was penniless, and Zakal was
assured a Third-In-Command rank. Tal was gearing up for another strike
on Dune Realms. Steel Talon had an endless supply ofBioWeapons, being
the leader of the Underground. Khoteth planned to change THAT too..
There was a bounty going up for HitMan's head..

He felt the empire buckling. The entire Galaxy joined the 'Dune Raids,'
as they called them. They were all attempting to destroy the Dune
Realms, and kill Sandman. With Dune out of the way, war would be
imminent. Where the heck was the Galactic Coordinator. Noone in other
Galaxies had seen him. Dune still had the largest empire, but he wasn't
sure his empire could hold up much longer against the strength of the
attackers. He almost made Elite Empire the acting-Galactic Cooridnator,
but that would've been even more foolish, becuase Elite was not even
asbig as DUne Realms. Elite however was off attacking someone else, for
who knowswhy. Dune Realms planned to focus all his attacks, and
BioWeapons, on this Steel Talon, who seemed to be the leader of them
all. he was the biggest empire, followed by ZFU, Hydroxinia, and then
Dominance. ZFU wasn't attack Dune, however. Maybe DUne should contact
Zakal or Norland, the seemingly only ones not attcking. --=== Chapter 12

Elite sided with Norland. Dune Realms was almost destroyed, Lil Red
=was= destroyed, and Jed seemed to be headed the same way. Dune Realms
could come back, but he seemed to overwhelmed with his own problem to
fix it. Norland was really the only empire Elite thought he could trust.
Elite had received word from an anonymous tip that MaceMan was back, and
he brought the Underground with him. That was big trouble. If Dune was
exterminated, Mace would probably take over the Galaxy. Elite was still
trying to contact the Galactic Coordinator, but to no avail. WHy he
would leave and not come back was beyond all reasoning.

Steel Talon was enraged. He couldn't get anymore BioWeapons due to an

explosion at the Biological Plant. HitMan assured him it would be fixed
shortly, but unmtil then he'd have to settle for Chemical Weapons or
Nuclear Weapons. ChemWeapons were not enough to destroy Dune. Tal's
third in command was not helping either. Zakal refused to attack Dune,
stating he wanted a clean ercord when the Galactic Cooridinator got
back. Tal was about to remover 3rd-In-Command status from another
empire! The Galaxy was in shambles, for sure, and the Underground was
the only stable thing. Tal had no doubts he would take over the Galaxy.
But there wouldn't be much left to rule over...

The diseases had spread. An epidemic was now flooding throughout the
Underground, due to the release of disease and virii when the Biological
Weaponry Plant blew up. HitMan was going to tell Mace, but he decided
against it, knowing Mace'dhave his head. It would be impossible to put
the BWP back into operation for atleast half a year, and Mace planned to
take over in less than a month. ChemicalWeapons were quite effective,
however, and HitMan thought Mace might be satisfied with just those.
However now was Mace's oppurtunity to make a fortune. If theUnderground
sold BioWeapons to the empires, he couldn't give them anything. But Mace
could keep the money for himself, and further his Steel Talon empire.

--=== Chapter 13

The Galactic Coordinator should be reciecing another set of instructions

soon. He now knew of the death and destruction rampant in his Galaxy. He
wanted to go back and stop it, but he knew it was too late for that. He
had to rely on the empire to do it's part of the job. He knew Dune
Realms had done a terrible thing:use Nuclear Weapons in an attempt to
stop Lil Red and Jed from fighting. How he wished he could be there to
stop it. He was a disgrace to all Galactic Coordinators who ever lived.
Letting his Galaxy go that far. He was the 'Chosen One,' theonly one
left after the horrible war with the Universal Coordinator who could be
trusted never to let an incident like that occur again. ANd here it was-
happening again, on the brink of an interstellar bloodbath.
--=== Chapter 14

Dune couldn't hold up much longer. His attacks were directed at Steel
Talon, the seeming leader of the group. Tal, as they called him, was
stronger than any empire, even Dune himself now. Dune Realms had lost
over 600 million people in the past few days, and the total loss of life
was over 1,650,000,000. The GalacticCoordinator had written a GalaxyGram
to him, telling him he knew of the NuclearWeapons, and how the Galaxy
was collapsing. He said to hang on, for he would beback within two
weeks. Dune wanted to, but he wasn't sure he could.

Valiance was enraged. Zakal was refusing to fight Dune Realms, and yet
Mace allowed him to keep his post at third-in-command!!! Valiance wanted
to kill Zakal,but he knew that ZFU could easily overtake his empire.
Valiance was arranging for that to be taken care of, though. Dominance
and HyperDomain had agreed to destroy ZFU when the time was right.
Valiance would personally execute Zakal when the time came.

The Forever Empire was doing excellently. The raids on Dune Realms were
providing it with strength. Hydroxinia had been right; attacking Dune
was better than standing with him. Norland, however, was a strange
story. He was the smartest ofthe HyNorEvr Alliance, but he refused to
attack Dune. He also had a new ally, the strong Elite Empire. Forever
and Hydroxinia were considering dropping Norland from the alliance.
Hydroxinia was sending applications for the HyNorEvr Allianceto Steel
Talon, Dominance, Elite, and ZFU. He hoped one of them would join,
becuause they would make the HyNorEvr Alliance very strong.

--=== Chapter 14

Steel Talon laughed with malice, joy, and vengeance. Dune Realms had
finally been completely destroyed. Zakal actually had the final attack,
which surprised Tal. But the final hurdle in his conquering of the
Galaxy was cleared. His vengeance would finally have a chance to begin.
He would destroy The Elite Empire first, as he was the only strong
empire left in the Galaxy. Then BroncoBuster would die, and then Tal
would declare himself Galactic Ruler of the Galaxy. He knew Elite would
be no problem, and Bronco could be killed now. In fact, Tal decided,
I'll attack BroncoBuster first.

It happened. As he'd expected from the beginning, as he knew, Dune had

been destroyed, and Zakal had been the destroyer. There was now no
acting-Galactic Coordinator, which meant Universal Law did not apply
here anymore. There's was the first Galaxy to -ever- rid itself of this
burden. Steel Talon thought for sure his plan was going to work, but now
that Dune Realms and Universal Law was gone, Zakal had a plan working
out in his mind.

HitMan was happy. Tal had been successful in his defeat of Dune Realms.
Almost surely now, all empires would obey him, and law would be
abolished. Thisof course mean free sales of ChemWeapons and Nuclear
Weapons.. HitMan decided to establish his -own- empire, and try out the
Galaxy Game called 'ruling an empire', a game at which many had failed.

Elite knew it was coming, and it had come. Now he had to figure out how
to escape Tal. NorLand seemed eager to help, with this new alliance they
had. Noren had official resigned from the HyNorEvr alliance, and
Hydroxinia had said 'Good riddance.' Hydrox reminded Elite of Lil Red:
Greedy. Well, the new HyEvr alliance was supposedly doing well, and
looking for a big empire to join it. Elite made up is mind to make the
Forver Empire and Hydroxinia join NorLand and Elite's alliance, the
'Genesis Alliance.'

--=== Chapter 15

The Galactic Coordinator heard the news. Steel Talon had overthrown Dune
Realms. The Galactic Coordinator had now lost all hope. Lawlessness was
sure to abound, and the Galactic Coordinator knew it was becuase of the
deal he'd made. If the Plan did not work, the Galactic Coordinator would
have to destroy the Galaxy, if that was possible anymore. He knew with
Steel Talon's strength it might nowt be. The Galactic Coordinator was
also considering creating a new Galaxy, and have it populated by several
empires, and give them all the goods they could have. He would send them
in to defeat Steel Talon if such actions became necessary. The Galactic
Coordinator didn't want to do that.

--=== Chapter 16

Dominance had joined with Valiance in a merger. Valiance was not strong
enough to survive in this Galaxy which had become overrun with wars.
Dominion was mighty, but needed more planets and more supplies. Merging
had not been done in centuries, and it shocked some rulers. The new
empire was named The Superior Realm. Dominion and Mad Dog were content
that they could face anyone that came at them.They were also convinced
they could destory Zakal, with some effort.

A merger? That was something Zakal had forgotten about. Usually they
failed, becuase the rulers struggled for complete power over the new
empire. But this struggling could prove useful. Zakal had an idea. It
was a dandy too.

NorLand recieved the blow. HyperRealm attacked, but NorLand absorbed it.
NorLand wanted to retaliate, but that would bring the Alliance into it,
and give Hyper an excuse to attack Elite. NorLand had one choice only.
He had to leave the Genesis Alliance, and attack HyperRealm himself. It
was the only way...

Hyper attacked NorLand, huh? Elite pondered the dilemma. According to

his sources, retaliating against Hyper would bring Steel Talon down on
him. Elite knew beyond the shadow of a doubt he could destroy HyperRealm
in one day, but if he tried it, Elite wouldn't survive the onslaught of
attacks. How could he keep HyperRealm off of Noren's back?

--=== Chapter 17

Tal watched in amusement. HyperRealm tookan easy way of getting planets.

Hyperovbiously knew that any retaliation would result in immediate
destruction. And the Dominance/Valiance merger was a smart move too.
The Galaxy was coming to a more peaceful state. Jed's Solar Empire
hadn't done anything, as of late though.Tal knew Jed very well.. He
wasn't done fighting. Zakal of ZFU continued to be amystery. He had
refused to attack Dune, and then finally decided to finish Dune in the
final battle. Now he was asking Steel Talon to be excused from Talon
Enforcer Duty. Tal was pondering just obliterating Zakal to avoid his
rebel minded moves, but Tal also recognized a veyr strategic, very
clever mind inside of him. Steel Talon waited in anxiety to see what
would happen next.
Hydroxinia knew this was coming. Noren left the Hyever Alliance, and was
immediately attacked. Steel Talon was sending out 'Talon Enforcers,' a
fleet designedto keep the Galaxy under his command. Hydrox had fought
against Dune to rid himself of rule, and now he was under a power again.
The Forever Empire, however, was performing quite well. He was growing
steadily, and trade with Hydroxinia was improving as well. Things were
mixed...

--=== Chapter 18

The Time was coming. He was contacted for the first time, and told the
Plan had been made. Soon the Galactic Coordinator could return to the
Galaxy and perform the duty he'd been dealt. The Galaxy was in more
order now, not as much fighting, and no more BioWeapons. The Galactic
Coordinator was glad for that. Soon he could return, return to the place
he called 'home,' the place he had made full of Justice.

--=== Chapter 19

Intruiging. Zakal wanted Steel Talon to force Dominance and Valiance to

allow him to merge with their 'Superior Realm.' Zakal's reasons were
beyond Tal, for Zakal's ZFU Empire was vastly larger than theirs, and a
merger required the rulers to share the new empire equally. But a merger
between ZFU and Superior Realm gave Tal a new tactical advantage over
the Galaxial subjects he ruled. He decided he would make the merger
official.

Why, why, why?? Steel Talon was imposing a merger upon them. It might
not havebeen so bad, but it was Zakal of ZFU! Superior Realm, of course,
would become larger, but that was beside the point. Oh well, they would
have to enjoy ZFU's newadded size to their empire.

Perfect. Tal said yes, and the plan was unfolding perfectly. The ZFU
Empire would soon join Superior Realm, and Zakal had a new oppurtunity
to do what he'd planned all along. Perhaps all was not lost. Soon the
Galaxy would be shaken by another Battle. This one would be short, but
it would be decisive.

--=== Chapter 20

Zakal merged with Superior Realm. What -WAS- Zakal doing? He was full of
mystery, Elite knew. Zakal, the supposed 'Third In Command' of the new
Talon GalaxialEmpire. How could three rulers share an empire? Especially
the large size it was. One would be greedy, Elite knew.

The covert agent was in. His mission- Kill Dominance. Sent by someone
with a grudge, or someone who wanted to take over. The agent didn't
know, but he did know he was being paid alot of money. Fifty Million
credits was not chump change, that was for sure. But his mission was
accomplished, and Dominance was dead. NowSuperior Realm was left in
control of Valiance and Zakal.

Valiance was deeply afraid. He knew -HE- hadn't sent the agent. SO it
had to be Zakal. Or it could have been Tal. TAL had been the one who'd
demoted Valiance,and promoted Zakal. THEN he forced a merger on them.
Was he now going to make Zakal the lone head of a gigantic empire? He
feared for his own life. But fear couldn't save him. But Valiance knew
someone who could. He decided to go Underground again.
The Superior Realm was his. The plan worked, and Dominance was dead,
Valiance 'hiding.' Zakal would rename Superior Realm, of course. But
this was another notch in his scaling of the Galaxial Ladder.

--=== Chapter 21

Clever? He was down right brilliant. He'd taken Dominance and Valiance's
empries and made himself twice as big with a little loss of life, army,
or money. Talhad every right to be afraid of this Zakal, Head Of ZFU, a
seemingly new brilliant emperor. This of course meant Zakal was Tal's
new Second In Command.

HitMan almost had the ChemPlant ready for operation again. Steel Talon
would glad to hear that. There had been some heavy empirial activity in
the Galaxy after Tal's takeover. It seemed Dominance and Valiance had
been tricked by Zakal, Head of ZFU. Valiance was requesting asylum from
the Underground, claiming it was Tal's plan to kill him. HitMan
couldn't deny it to him, and so he gave him a place to go..

--=== Chapter 22

The Galactic Coordinator was pleased. He had just heard news that
thrilled himto the very core. He also knew the Galaxy was about ready to
take him back. Soonhe been assured. He had found out that order was
being restored by Steel Talon who was setting up new Galaxial
Commandments. That was good.. A Galaxy without rules is like a ladder
without rungs, he'd always said. Soon, he would be back in control, at
home, in HIS Galaxy.

--=== Chapter 23

He couldn't believe it. Zakal had just written him a note. Zakal, Head
of ZFU,was actually UltraEmpire! Elite had had no idea Ultra had
survived the entrance to the Underground. Now it seemed Ultra and
somebody named Khoteth were beginning a plot to retake the Galaxy. Zakal
would need the Genesis Alliance help, though.

When Noren heard of it, he felt a rush of joy. Zakal was UltraEmpire!!
Of all the unexpected things, this was atop the list. Ultra was much
smarter than Norenhad ever imagined, especially the latest merger plan
of his. But Zakal's plan wasn't finished, he'd learned. The Genesis
Alliance had a new purpose, and it was a biggy.

Khoteth was ready. He'd merged with the ZFU Empire, and two more empires
were following suit. The only remaining heads of the old Geneva Alliance
were gathering together into one mighty empire headed by none other than
UltraEmpire. Could they overtake Steel Talon with an empire larger than
any other ever seen? Only time would tell...

--=== Chapter 24

This was beginning to worry Tal. The ZFU Empire had increased by a
factor of 4with the new additions of NorLand, The Elite Empire, and
Khoteth. The fact that Zakal would even allow someone outside of Tal's
forces into his empire showed Steel Talon that something was up. Noren
and Elite would have to be executed, but Tal wasn't sure about Khoteth
and Zakal. ZFU was quite large, and almost comprable to Steel Talon
himself. Zakal was a major threat, and Tal decided to dissolveit.
HyperRealm knew he was dead. NorLand had joined ZFU, and that meant
vengeance for sure. Hyper would abdicate his empire rather than lose to
another. Hyper hadbegun an empire with aspirations of ruling the Galaxy,
but it was all crumbling even though Steel Talon had a vise grip over
it.

The so-called 'Common Empires' were fed up. DustWorld, Finway, Briton,
and Gojuon were speaking up to Steel Talon, although they had no chance
in the world ofdefeating him. Hydroxinia assured them he would find a
way to oust Steel Talon and his associates. If only all the empires
would band together, instead of just the four..

--=== Chapter 25

Noren and Elite stood before Tal, tyrannical leader of the Galaxy.
"Elite," hesneered,"I've been wanting to kill you since I was defeated
by your petty GenevaAlliance." Tal turned to Noren. "You. I never knew
you. But you have joined Zakal in attempt to overthrow me," he said.
Noren tried hard to keep from turning white. How'd Tal know they'd been
planning an overthrow? Tal looked to the guards."They will die in a
Galaxial honored way. There is no more honorable way to die than by the
firing squad," he stated he sharply.

--=== Chapter 26

Zakal knew what Tal was doing. His only hope for winning this war wasn't
here yet, so Zakal had to attack now. He gahtered as large an army as
possible, and struck mightily. He didn't get any planets, but anything
Zakal could do to knockhis amry size down, Zakal would do.

--=== Chapter 27

"Tal, The ZFU Empire has attacked," said the messenger. Tal turned to
his captives. "Zakal shall die. As will you," he said. Elite looked
up. "Before we go, I wanted to tell you something. Zakal is
UltraEmpire, your sworn enemy." Talturned blood red. He'd been fooled!
ALl this time he thought he'd found the perfect protege, and it was
Ultra! The ultimate vengeance was within his grasp. "Kill them," he said
simply. He turned on his heel and left, while shots rang out.

--=== Chapter 28

Tal recoiled against ZFU, causing tremendous damage to it. But Tal knew
that bneither he, nor Ultra could keep up the fight long. Tal had the
advantage, but even if he won, he probably wouldn't have enough power
to control the Galaxy. It didn't matter. Bloodthrist was on Tal's
mind, and Zakal was the blood he wanted.

Zakal had his heart wrenched. Elite and Noren had died. They didn't even
put up a fight. But Tal had learned Zakal's true identity, and Zakal
knew that was fatal. This would turn into a fight to the death. Neither
Tal, nor Zakal, could win. Or at least that's what Zakal thought.

Tal was widening the gap. Though severly injured, Steel Talon would
survive and The ZFU Empire would perish. That made him very happy. All
of his enemies would be dead, and there would be noone to stop him. His
conquests would continue..
--=== Chapter 29

He returned. The Galactic Coordinator saw the destruction. Zakal had

been right. This was the only way. From the beginning, Ultra had
convinced the Galactic Coordinator that Mace was still alive, and this
was the only way to finally see him demolished. But the Galactic
Coordinator decided to add another factor to the battle. Himself.

Steel Talon was frightened. The Galactic Coordinator had returned from
seemingly nowhere, and now perhaps it would be Zakal who won. Tal and
Zakal were virtually the same in strength. Once the Galactic Coordinator
struck, Tal and Ultra would be even. Totally, unconvincingly even. They
would be the same for the first time in history. ANd that scared even
Tal.

The Galactic Coordinator's army could wipe Tal out quickly. But Ultra
wanted to wipe Tal away himself. Ultra would destroy Steel Talon, and
give himself as amartyr to the Galaxy.

The Galactic Coordinator was shocked. Ultra wanted it that way, and the
Galacitic Coordinator complied. It was terrible. The only one who, in
the Coordinatorsjudgement, could take the reins of the Galaxy and use
them Justly. But it wasn'tto be. The Galactic Coordinator would find
someone else...

--=== Chapter 30

In a swirling cloud, a cloud of interstellar dust, the mighty empires of

Steel Talon and Zakal, Head of ZFU, were swept away, along with their
rulers. An age-old power struggle had come to an end, with noone
prevailing. Ultra gave his life to finally, and completely, destroy the
ultimate evil in the Galaxy. The Genesis Alliance, The Hyevr Alliance,
the Talon Galaxial Empire, the Dark Alliance: They all ceased to exist.
The Galactic Coordinator established Justice once againand began the
search for someone to succeed him. All the while being more careful to
keep evil out.

--=== Chapter 31

Hydroxinia, Forver, and Khoteth were going Underground. The Galactic

Coordinator was back, and that meant Justice. Hydrox had convinced
Khoteth that the Coordiantor was ruthless, and they must escape.
Together, they banded and headed the way pf Valiance: To the
Underground.

//// As it would seem, this story is not over. While our two main characters
//// are dead, the next SRE story is coming around. Get ready for a jolt
//// of andrenaline when SRE: V- The Underground hits. Look for it soon