Diplomacy Sometimes Works

The final two Pelitar transports left orbit and sat in the open solar system un-protected. I took advantage of the situation and sent a lone Cruiser up to finish them off. The Pelitar are no more. The Ferxen and Borbek may meet the same demise if they don’t stop their hostilities.

I have been in no-tolerance defense mode for a while now, trying to regain allies. It has slowly worked. I've regained several allies -- one of which is the Isdar. My full alliance with the Isdar is huge. Especially since my empire has now grown to the second largest. If I could just get the Vylon to ally with me, the three largest empires would be united. However, with the largest and second largest empires united, things should quiet down a little. I am back up to four allies (Kvik, Wexlun, Isdar and Tovloc).

The poor Wexlun have not been doing well as of late. My oldest of allies and the first alien race I encountered have been reduced to one planet (not even their home world). Worse yet, their sole planet is a slight strategic threat to my empire. I've been trying to figure out a diplomatic solution -- a trade of planets -- but have had difficulty finding the right fit.

The Kvik, on the other hand have come back from the brink of extinction. They once only occupied two or three planets and are now up to more than 10 and holding. Their resurgence is probably a result of alliances with my and the Isdar empires.

I’ve begun a new campaign to secure the central part of the universe through diplomacy. I traded planets with the Isdar, Tovloc and Kvik in order to gain full control of several solar systems. However, there is one planet the Kvik refuse to trade (even at 3 to 1) that may prove to be a thorn in my side. On a positive note, my home world is completely protected from all enemies because they can no longer reach it.

There are three to four more planets I will try to obtain through trade and an additional three to four I will have to destroy because of enemy occupation. Once I occupy those additional half-dozen or so worlds, I will control who can and can not move between the Northern and Southern regions of the universe. With that control I will turn my attention toward growing my borders until the Ferxen, Borbek and Rosidon cease fire. I hate having two fronts, but since I started in almost the dead center of the universe it would be impossible to dig into a corner and bunker down like some of the other races have done.

I have a very strong fleet once again, but it is costly to maintain a large, powerful fleet. I built a suicide fleet to take out one of the strategic planets the Ferxen held. It worked perfectly. I used 10-12 cruisers to rush the planet and destroy some of the defenses. Then I followed that up with a full fleet of mostly battleships and carriers to finish off the weakened planet. It was a great success and I colonized the planet immediately. The next time I’m going to try the same tactic using a combination of battleships and cruisers for the job – it should be even more successful.