The planet of Ashino was a strange place indeed. A single star system power, Ashino had been established over three centuries earlier as a place of learning and philosophy. The first fifty thousand settlers were all sworn Stoics, devoted to the Logos and following the rational order of the Cosmos. They had left the Kingdom of Ryth not because of persecution (in fact, more than a third of Ryth’s citizens followed the Stoic faith) but because of their desire to take part in a grand experiment. This grand experiment was the establishment of an entire world devoted to and run by Stoic philosophy.

Ashino is located in the area of space known as the “Divided Kingdoms”, a region home to over one hundred worlds that are not part of the nine larger powers. These Kingdoms range in size from single system powers like Ashino to mini-Kingdoms comprised of two to three stars. Long known for chaotic feudal wars and complex politics, the region has seen peace in the last century as the great powers focused on posturing and saber rattling against each other.

The planet of Ashino orbited a middle aged star and was joined by three other planets: two gas giants and a small rocky world. Two large asteroid belts divided the system and Ashino’s space miners had found plentiful riches within these rocks.
A large planet by terrestrial standards, Ashino was home to some nineteen million people living primarily in three cities and a multitude of smaller rural communities. The capital, New Stoa, was home to some three million people and was the Galaxy’s greatest center of Stoic learning and debate.

Kingdom of Ryth
System: Balings

Casper Anderson was finishing packing his luggage when his father came into the room.
“Almost ready?” He asked.
“Just finishing now.” Casper replied.
“How long is the trip again?”
“Four days from here to New Haven, five days from New Haven to Ashino.”
“Not bad, I was reading the brochure, the ship seems nice.” His father stated.
“Yes, it is brand new from what I understand.”

Within the hour Casper and his father were speeding along at over 160 km/h in an autocar along the motorway towards the orbital port.

“Write me when you get there.” His father said as he lifted the luggage from the autocar’s trunk.
“I will, I’ll send you pictures also.” Casper replied.
“Sounds good.”
“Take care, father, I love you.”
“I love you too, keep safe and try to learn as much as you can. I’ll be thinking about you.”
The two embraced before Casper picked up his luggage and entered the loading terminal. The terminal was a large building constructed of glass and steel. Massive windows gave a commanding view of the vast acres of landing tarmac surrounding the terminal. Casper found his departure point and checked his luggage in.

The ride to orbit was Casper’s first and he was both excited and worried as he found his seat in the landing boat. It was a large 200 person craft, powered by four aerospike engines and two large booster rockets that would give it the power to attain orbit.

“Please find your seat, we will be departing shortly.” An attendant said as she walked down the aisle.
With a steady whine the engines started. Casper’s heart began to race as the landing boat taxied to a takeoff runway. Soon the whining became a powerful rumble as the engines throttled up to power.
“We are now taking off, please remain seated and put away any materials you may be holding.” The voice announcement said.
The landing boat accelerated down the runway and was soon airborne. Casper felt his stomach turn as the landing gear retracted.
“My favorite part begins in a few minutes.” The man seated next to Casper said.
“Really?” Casper replied.
“First time going into orbit I assume?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. Well in a few minutes when we are flying high, the booster rockets will fire and we will be thrown into space like a bullet.”
“Sounds… exciting…” Casper said with doubt in his voice.
“Where are you heading to?” The man asked.
“New Haven, then Ashino.”
“Ashino, wow, are you a student?”
“Yes, I’m going there to study for a year.”
“That should be exciting; I hear it is a beautiful place. Too far from our borders for my taste though, I’m going to New Haven for business. Nothing exciting I must say.”
“What business are you in?” Casper asked.
“I’m a seller of vehicles for the agricultural industry.”
“Interesting.” Casper replied.

Soon the landing boat was at the required altitude and the booster rockets fired. A massive jolt pushed Casper into his seat and it sounded like the back of the landing boat was exploding.
“We will be in orbit shortly.” The voice announcement proclaimed, almost drowned out by the firing rockets.
“You’ll notice the gravity drop for a minute once we reach orbit, that is the landing boat’s gravity panels adjusting to the new environment.” The man next to Casper stated.

Roughly an hour later the landing boat was maneuvering to dock with an orbiting space liner. The liner was some 600 meters long and was powered by three large fusion engines. From his window, Casper caught a glimpse of its underside, painted dark red like all of Ryth’s spacecraft both civil and military.
“She’s a beauty.” Casper said.
“They all look the same to me.” The man next to him said with a laugh.
“I’m a bit of a spacecraft enthusiast; it is a new ship in fact.”
“Ah, really?”
“Yes, first of the new Majestic class liners being operated by R.N.L.C.”
“What is R.N.L.C?” The man asked.
“Ryth New Liner Company, the company that is taking us to New Haven.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I just take the tickets my company gives me, I don’t care much for who I’m flying with or what not. You can tell this is just business for me.” The man replied, laughing at the end.

The landing boat docked in the port side of the ship and settled into the landing boat dock. The outer doors shut and the atmosphere was equalized in the dock before the inner doors were opened. Once open, the landing boat taxied slowly inside the hangar. From his window Casper saw much activity as the hangar crew scurried about and another landing boat was being unloaded.

Once onboard, Casper claimed his baggage and found his room. It was larger than he expected and was furnished nicely. A bathroom and shower was located at the rear and a large video projector was in front of the bed. He put his luggage away and turned on the video projector. The first channel was a 3D model of the liner, explaining the liner’s layout and features. The second channel featured a map-like view of the ship’s current position in orbit around Balings. As the trip progressed the view would update to indicate the progress. The other channels were the basic ones Casper had in his family home.

Within a few hours the ship was preparing to start the voyage to Balings’ star. The ship carried its own wormhole generator but this incredibly intricate system only worked when the ship was in close orbit around a massive object like a star, a planet was simply too small for it to work.

The voyage to Baling’s star lasted four days. During the time Casper spent his time wandering the ship, reading in his cabin and fulfilling his appetite mightily in the ship’s large buffet style eating area.

Casper grew excited as he counted down the minutes to the wormhole jump. When it came he was greatly disappointed. Nothing happened that was apparent to him. The only difference was that the video projector’s map channel updated to show that he was now in orbit around New Haven’s star. He packed his luggage and made his way to the loading dock level where he would board a small landing boat that would take him to a second, smaller liner for the trip to Ashino.

The second liner was of an older type that Casper recognized as the Deacon class. 400 meters long, this ship was one of the few that made the New Haven-Ashino jump.

Onboard this ship, Casper found his cabin smaller and less well furnished but still comfortable. Soon the ship was making the great wormhole jump and was then in orbit around Ashino’s star. It soon began the five day voyage to the fabled planet. Casper grew excited as he watched Ashino grow from a tiny speck of light into a real, living and breathing planet as the ship neared it.

Before he knew it Casper was on a landing boat making the surface landing on Ashino. The ride was not as jarring as he expected but was still quite unnerving to him. Nearing the orbital port, the landing boat banked to the left and gave Casper a full view of New Stoa. The city expanded out in all directions surrounding a central district of tall buildings. The surrounding terrain was made up of rolling hills and a seemingly endless ocean of trees.
With a few bumps the landing boat touched down and slowed to taxi to a terminal.

Casper collected his luggage and made his way to a queue marked “Taxis”. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and read the address to the driver who was soon speeding along the motorway. The address was for the house of a sponsoring family whom Casper would be living with for the year.

“Hello, hello, come in!” The older woman answering the door exclaimed.
“Hello. I’m Casper Anderson.”
“Yes, we’ve been waiting for you, I’m Emma.” The woman replied. Soon an older man with gray hair appeared.
“Hello, I’m Ezekiel.” He said, grinning with a wide smile.
“Nice to meet you, I’m happy to finally be here.”
“How was your journey?” Emma asked.
“Good, it went by faster than I expected.”
“Yes, I hear the liners are fancy nowadays.” She replied.
“Yes, quite nice.”
“I haven’t flown in decades but I want to take a trip one day soon.” Ezekiel added.

The older couple showed Casper his room and he unpacked his luggage.


---
More coming soon!

“Man has conquered space, but has he conquered himself?” The old professor asked the class. Casper Anderson was busily writing in his notebook as he listened.
“Or, we can ask, should man conquer himself? We must ask these questions as Stoics.” The old man continued.
“Man exists only for a finite time, but the Cosmos exists for an infinite time. In this way, can we ask that we have even conquered space? Or have we merely begun to tame it?”
“Perhaps man has tricked himself into thinking he has conquered space.” One of the students said.
“Yes, this is worth pondering. We have learned to control the fundamental forces of the Cosmos but we still have no idea how the Cosmos was started or how it will, if ever, end.”

Divided Kingdoms
Kingdom of Maygar
System: Maygar

“The Royal King will see you now.” The assistant said. Admiral Andre Lazar nodded his head and entered the Royal Chamber. It was a massive room, adorned in a classical style with ancient motifs hanging from the walls and massive wooden chairs and tables.
“It is a great honor to see you once more, my King.” Andre said as he bowed.
“Yes, Admiral Lazar, come in, please sit down.” The young King Joseph Massar replied, motioning the Navy Admiral to sit down in one of the large wooden chairs. Lazar noticed General Tomasz and several Royal Councilors already sitting. The assembled man turned to greet the Admiral.
“As you may have predicted, I have called you here for a matter of great importance.” The King said, sitting down in his ornately decorated throne chair. “Our war with the Yong Confederation has ended successfully and we are now extracting yearly tribute from them, in addition to our demands that they disband their fleet.” He continued.
The assembled subordinates nodded their heads in agreement. Admiral Lazar pondered why the King would have called them here again. To discuss the war with the Yong? It had ended months ago.
“But now I believe we must once more assert our power and extend our influence. We have the potential to become one of the greatest powers in the Divided Kingdoms.” The King said, standing up from his throne. He walked over to a massive wall-mounted video projector. The screen was blank but soon transformed into a map of the neighboring systems.
“By defeating the Yong we have secured our outer boundaries.” He said, pointing to the Yong system.
“Yes my King, our victory was absolute and the Yong will never again threaten us.” Councilor Yaszer said.
“Yes it was a great victory but now I look further.” He said, motioning his hand towards the Ashino system. The assembled men looked at each other.
“Ashino is undefended and is a resource rich world. In addition to this, its role as the holy capital of Stoicism gives it powerful influence over other powers. Especially the mighty Ryth. We know they have the ability to construct fusion reactors, in addition to gravity panels. This alone makes them one of the most advanced worlds in the Divided Kingdoms. While we possess the same technology, our conquest of Ashino would double our production ability.”
“My King, if I might say, Ashino has a centuries old treaty with the mighty Ryth. Surely the Ryth would protect their temple world if it was threatened?” General Tomasz added.
“Yes, but I have recently learned a great piece of intelligence. Something that changes everything as it relates to Ashino. Our contacts in the Viti Empire have informed us that the Kingdom of Ryth is facing a new threat.” The King replied.
“My King, what could this threat possibly be? Ryth possesses one of the largest fleets of all the major powers.” Lazar asked.
“The old enemies of Ryth are mobilizing against it in secret.” The King said, motioning his hand towards the Kingdom of Ryth’s location on the map.
“You speak of the Kingdoms of Rassan and Creo?” One of the Councilors asked.
“Yes, I have learned that they are mobilizing against Ryth.” The King replied.
“For what reason, they haven’t fought a war in over seventy years?” The Councilor added.
“Yes but now they sense great weakness in Ryth. They are facing economic and social problems. The new King of Ryth has ordered the fleet be downsized and he has cancelled production of the newest warships. In addition he has decreed that the Kingdom seek peace, not military parity, with the old rivals.”
“How sure are your sources?” Lazar asked.
“They are convinced the threat is real and will be acted upon soon. Rassan have sent more ships to the border region and Creo has sent ships into Rassan to combine fleets.”
“When would this attack come?’ Lazar added.
“I am not completely sure but it will come after a Letter of Demands is sent to Ryth. This letter will call for the opening of Ryth’s trade borders and an ending of their unfair trade policies.”

For its recorded history Ryth had jealously protected their massive trade market with heavy tariffs on imported goods. The Kingdoms of Rassan and Creo, along with their allies the Torin Confederation and the Kingdom of Barre, had all practiced free trade with each other for centuries. The four member alliance was known as the “Central Council”. This fundamental economic disagreement had fueled endless wars and diplomatic disputes between Ryth and the Central Council. Ryth had only managed to survive due to its large and well trained Navy.

“Ryth will never accept free trade. Protected trade is the very soul of the Kingdom.” General Tomasz spoke, straightening up in his chair.
“Yes but now this threat will be backed up will the full military power of the Central Council. If Ryth does not accept they will face full invasion.” The King replied, walking back to this chair and sitting down.”
“Ryth is surrounded by enemies but they survive because their Navy is the best.” Lazar stated.
“Yes but this fleet is now facing economic pressures at home and is being downsized.” The King replied.
“Yes but I still believe their fleet can defeat those of the Central Council. The Council’s ships have always suffered from inferior technology and poor leadership compared to the Ryth.”
“Admiral Lazar you are very wise but I know this new threat is something Ryth has never faced. They have never downsized their fleet; these new actions speak of great unrest within the kingdom.” The King replied.
“My King, when do you wish to act against Ashino?” General Tomasz asked.
“We will act when we know the Letter of Demands has been received by the Ryth.”
“When can we expect that.”
“Within the year from what I understand. In the meantime we must expand our military power. I am ordering the construction of three more Frigates and the calling up of fifty thousand more soldiers.” The king replied. The assembled subordinates nodded their heads in agreement.
“Our only obstacle would be the Ryth, but if they are busy fighting a war for their survival. They would surely never send aid to Ashino.” General Tomasz stated.
“Yes, Ashino has no Navy and their Army is pitifully small. It would be an easy conquest and a fine addition to our Kingdom. The world possesses great mineral wealth and has become profitable from asteroid mining. In addition to this, as I have stated before, we could use their production ability quite effectively.” The King said.
“My King, if I might interject, I am deeply worried about this new course of action. We must never underestimate the Ryth, even if they face enemies. They are one of the mightiest of the great powers and their Navy, even a small expeditionary force, would defeat us in no time at all.” Lazar said with worry in his voice.
“Admiral Lazar, I appreciate your concern but I assure you my intelligence is correct. The Viti have always helped us and they can be trusted. Our cultural connections to them are centuries old and they have always assisted us.”
“Then why won’t they help us invade Ashino?” Lazar replied.
“They are a large Empire with their own concerns. They have no issue with believing that we can conquer Ashino. We do not need their help.” The King added, looking intensely at Lazar.
“Yes my King, but what if the Ryth reject the Letter of Demands and defeat the Central Council in war?”
“That won’t happen. They have never faced a threat like this before in their entire history. They have never fought the entire Central Council in war and they are economically vulnerable right now. They will not win this coming conflict.” The King said with authority in his voice. Lazar felt his heart racing.
“I understand my King. I dissagere with this course of action but I will serve you faithfully whatever the course you may choose.” Lazar replied. The other men looked at him.
“I understand your concerns Admiral Lazar and I will note them, but I assure you this course of action will be victorious for us. You are our greatest Navy commander and I will always appreciate your advice. Your war with the Yong was fought with great skill and I know you will command our fleet to Ashino with success.” The King added.

Divided Kingdoms
System: Ashino

“What are some good ways to explain the Stoic view on life and fate to a lay person?” Professor Andrea Dupont asked her students.
“I have always liked the river analogy.” Casper Anderson replied.
“Tell us about it.” The professor said, sitting down behind her desk.
“Well, think of life like a river that we are floating down, perhaps in a canoe or something. All rivers must empty to the sea, we can think of the sea as the end of life, the afterlife or the great scattering into the Cosmos. If we accept our fate and move with the current we will be happy, but if we reject our fate and try to swim against the current we will be miserable.”
“Very interesting, similar to the dog and cart analogy. Imagine a dog tied to a cart being pulled by a horse. If the dog accepts his fate and walks with the cart he will be happy, but if he denies his fate and tries to pull against the cart he will be miserable and lost.” The professor said. The students wrote in their notebooks as she continued. “The acceptance of fate is a central tenet of Stoicism, we must always remember this. By accepting fate we accept our place in the Cosmos and we accept that we are part of the Logos.”

Kingdom of Ryth
System: Hastings

The Ministry of Intelligence was located on the outskirts of New Rochelle, the capital of Hastings and the capital of the Kingdom of Ryth. Home to some nine million persons, New Rochelle was a city of gleaming high rises and impressive monumental architecture.
The Ministry of Intelligence occupied a thirty acre complex of buildings and high rises surrounded by residential developments. As the home of Ryth’s intelligence gathering efforts it was heavily guarded and all who entered it had to carry special identification cards and were scanned numerous times when entering.

“Anything new?” Analyst Robert Long asked his partner.
“Nothing yet, we have some new information coming in the next hour, concerning Creo fleet movements into Rassan.”
“How big of a movement?”
“Large, battleships and cruisers.” Analyst David Crow replied.
“Military exercise?”
“Possibly. They did the same thing two years ago when they had those big fleet maneuvers.”
“Well let’s make sure we add it to the Intelligence Briefing for tomorrow.”

King Alexander the Third sat down with a cup of strong coffee. He was at his desk in the Royal Palace and was preparing for the bi-weekly Intelligence Briefing.
“Good day, my Lord.” Minister of Intelligence Allen Orely said as he entered the room.
“Good day to you Allen.”
Within a few minutes the two men were joined by the Chairman of the Parliament Intelligence Council, the Honorable Walter Young and the Vice-Chairman of the Council, the Honorable Michael Rawlings.
“Well, let us begin gentlemen.” The King said, sipping his morning coffee.
“Yes my Lord. I have three topics of discussion for today. The first is the internal situation in the Viti Empire. It appears conflict may be coming. Our intelligence operatives there have reported there was a massive demonstration outside the Emperor’s palace on Moscen. Security forces fired tear gas into the crowd who responded by throwing projectiles. Shots were fired and we believe a dozen or so protestors are dead.”
“Has the Emperor made a statement yet?” The King asked.
“Yes, after the protest he issued a statement were he called the protestors “terrorists” and urged all citizens to reject them. It also appears he has called up more Army forces in the capital. Our operatives report that conscription numbers have been increased.”
“Viti is in crisis right now, shall we issue our own statement?” The Honorable Walter Young asked.
“Let us wait and see what happens. The Viti have been peaceful towards us for the past decades and I see no reason to threaten that relationship. Hopefully the Emperor will accept reform and end this crisis peacefully.”
“Unlikely my Lord, he crushed the miner’s rebellion on Abkan quite bloodily.” Orely replied.
“Well he is a tyrant by our standards but we must hope for peace and stability in the Viti Empire.” The King added.
“My next topic of discussion is the situation in the Divided Kingdoms. Our department tasked with reporting on that region has reported that the Kingdom of Maygar has begun a new naval construction program. Their recent victory over the Yong Confederation has increased their morale and King Massar seeks to become one of the preeminent military powers in the region.”
“How big is this construction program?” Young asked.
“It appears they are building three or four Frigate size warships.”
“Who are the potential enemies they seek to use these ships against? The Yong are defeated.”
“Well they are also rivals of the Vodze Republic.”
“Interesting.” Walter Young replied, writing something down in his notebook.
“My third topic of discussion is the one of greatest concern to us. It appears the Kingdom of Creo has dispatched a large fleet to Rassan. We believe they will be conducting large scale fleet maneuvers somewhere along the border region.”
“Well they have done this in the past; it could just be a show of force directed at us.” The King added.
“Yes but they have never done it in this size before. We believe the fleet includes four battleships and four heavy cruisers in addition to a dozen light cruisers and frigates.”
“How do you suggest we respond? A diplomatic protest?” Vice-Chairman Rawlings asked.
“Well, I suggest we increase our fleet strength in the border region. I don’t think a diplomatic protest would suffice in this occasion. Let us move some ships and observe the maneuvers from afar.” Orely replied.
“Yes, contact Grand Admiral Smith and instruct him to mobilize ships in the Kant system. Perhaps we can conduct our own fleet maneuvers to show them we will respond in kind to their actions” The King stated.
“Yes my Lord I believe that is a good course of action.” Orely added.

Divided Kingdoms
System: Ashino

For part of his studies Casper would take part in a two week camping trip in a remote area of Ashino. He was accompanied by three professors and thirty fellow students.

The students gathered around a large campfire as they discussed their project.
“Make sure to note the stars and in your notebooks record how the Logos works to create magnificent vistas at night.” Professor Wilfred Garcia told them.
The students spent the next hour discussing and writing about the stars. Casper focused on one particular constellation visible from the northern sky.
“How is your writing going?” A female voice asked from behind. Casper turned and faced the speaker.
“Good, I’m writing about the Bear constellation, what about you?” He replied. The girl asking him was a petite brunette with dark eyes that reflected the flames of the fire.
“Just about how the stars have a life cycle like our own. How they die to give new life.”
“Interesting perspective. I’m Casper.”
“I’m Jesse. Where are you from?”
“Balings, in Ryth. What about you?”
“I’m from Ryth also, Humboldt.”
“Interesting, I’ve never been there. I hear it is famous for its wineries.”
“Yes, we are famous for that. It is a pretty boring place to be honest, many farms and more cattle than people.” She replied, the both of them laughed.
“Can I see what you wrote?” Casper asked.
“Sure.” She replied, handing him her notebook. He spent the next minute reading it.
“Fascinating, the stars are really like living creatures when you think about it. They are born, they live and they die. Just like a human being.”
“Yes, and in death they create the elements that bring new life to the Cosmos.”
“Yes, very true. The astronomers speak of “stellar nurseries” where stars are born, like children. It is really an interesting way to view the Cosmos.”
“How long have you been a Stoic?” She asked.
“For my entire life, my father was one. My mother followed the Ancient Rite of Gods but the two are more similar than many think.”
“Yeah, I became a Stoic only a few years ago. My parents were devout followers of the Ancient Gods.”
“So I take it you went to the ceremonies and all that?” He asked.
“Yes, the Ceremony of the Grand Creators was my parent’s favorite. We went every year. I can probably recite all of the speeches.” She replied, laughing.
The two spent the next two hours talking and writing in their notebooks.

Six Months Later

Kingdom of Ryth
System: Hastings

Ambassador Jorge Uriel of the Kingdom of Rassan sat in the waiting room of the Ryth Royal Palace. He was on the most important assignment of his life and he was terrified. He would be informing the King of the mighty Ryth that his own Kingdom was now declaring war unless they opened their borders to full and open free trade. Deep inside his mind he knew the King would reject this demand but he desperately hoped he would accept.
“The King may see you now.”
Uriel walked slowly into the chamber, the King was seated at his desk. The President of the Ryth Parliament Michael Brownson stood to his left.
“Please take a seat Ambassador.” The King said.
“Yes mighty Lord, I am here to bring you a message of vital importance.”
“And what is this message of “vital importance”.” King Alexander the Third replied, seemingly annoyed.
“I bring a Letter of Demands from the Central Council.”
“And what do you demand.” The King replied, staring directly into the Ambassador’s eyes. Uriel felt his stomach sink.
“We demand that the most righteous Kingdom of Ryth open its borders to total free trade with the Central Council.”
The King leaned back in his chair.
“And what if we reject these terms.” The Parliament President said.
“Then I am afraid to say it will come to war. We are already prepared for this eventuality.”
“You come here with a threat of war!” The Parliament President thundered.
“Please.” The King said, waving his hand to calm his fellow Ryth decision maker. “Why do you threaten us now, we have had friendly relations for a generation?”
“The status quo cannot be maintained any longer. The Central Council demands you end your unfair and barbarian protected trade practices. We ask for peaceful trade, that is all.”
“And yet you threaten us with war if we disagree?” The King replied.
“If it comes to that eventuality.”
“The Kingdom of Ryth will never agree to open trade with your Kingdoms, we believe our trade practices are fair and they are of vital importance to our people and our Kingdom. We reject you terms. Do you agree Most Honorable Parliament President?”
“Yes my Lord, I strongly reject these terms.” Brownson said in a sturdy voice, he stared directly at the Ambassador.
“In that case allow me to contact my superiors with your decision. I am sorry it has come to this.”
“Yes, tell your superiors we will not be threatened. You may leave now.” The King replied. The Ambassador stood and left the room. Brownson walked to the front of the King’s desk.
“We must immediately inform the Parliament of this, we must summon the War Council.” He said.
“Yes, call the Council and inform your fellow Parliament members.” The King replied as he rubbed his forehead with his right hand.
“We are outnumbered Michael…” He added.
“I know my Lord but our Navy is the best in the Galaxy, we will defeat them.” Brownson replied.
“I will inform the War Ministry to prepare for combat.” The King said, standing up from his desk to see the Parliament President out.

Within hours the Ryth Royal Navy was preparing for war. All over the Kingdom crews were called back from planet leave to return to their posts and supplies were being loaded into mighty warships.
The systems Kant and Regal were the two nearest to the Central Council’s borders. Regal was only defended by two cruisers and four frigates but Kant was defended by four battleships, three heavy cruisers, four missile cruisers and six frigates. Ships from a main fleet base at the Afred system were sent to reinforce Regal.
The King and War Council also called up 100,000 more troops to be raised and trained at Regal and Kant.

Divided Kingdoms
Kingdom of Maygar
System: Maygar

“The assault will begin in four days.” King Massar said to the gathered military leaders.
“Has the Letter of Demands been delivered?” General Tomasz asked.
“Yes, I was informed that it was delivered yesterday. As you can imagine, King Alexander rejected it immediately.”
“Have they engaged in combat yet?” Admiral Lazar asked.
“From what I understand there has been no combat yet but Ryth is fully mobilizing. They are likely shifting warships to the border with the Central Council, leaving the border with us even less defended.” The King replied.
“My King, I have mobilized five frigates and ten regiment transports for the assault. They will be supported by two supply ships.” Admiral Lazar stated.
“Excellent. General Tomasz, how do our ground forces look?”
“Fully prepared my King. Veterans from the Yong War will lead the assault. Hopefully Ashino will surrender before we even have to fire a single shot.”
“If they do resist, what kind of forces can we expect to face?”
“My intelligence officers tell me they have roughly one hundred thousand ground troops. In terms of equipment, training and experience we greatly overshadow them.”

Divided Kingdoms
System: Ashino

“What do you want to do today?’ Jesse asked. Casper smiled and leaned in to kiss her.
“I don’t know, maybe we can go see the University Gardens?”
“I’ve been there before, but sure.” She replied, smiling.
“Well let’s go!”
The two lovers walked the magnificent University Gardens hand in hand. The gardens covered some twenty acres and were the showpiece of the Stoic University of New Stoa. It was late in the day and the sun was starting to set, casting shadows over the tree-lined paths.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Casper asked.
“Yeah, I love it here. It is so peaceful.” Jesse replied.
“So what do you plan on doing after your studies?” Casper asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe go home and become a teacher.”
“I was thinking the same thing, it’s the only real profession you can do after studying here. Or astronomy, but I don’t have the mathematical mind for that.” Casper said laughing.
“Yeah, it is a limiting field of study when you really ponder it. But it is so inspiring.”
“Oh definitely.”
“Maybe we can stay on Ashino.” Jesse added.
“I don’t know, we are so far from our families. This really is a beautiful place but I don’t know. We’ll have to talk about it.”
“Of course.” She replied, offering him a kiss.

Ashino’s fleet was comprised of two missile gunboats and two rescue cutters. The missile gunboats were intended to protect the planet from rogue asteroids and had only limited combat ability, the rescue cutters were designed to assist and rescue damaged ships. Ashino had long depended on its treaty with Ryth for protection, believing the Kingdoms mighty fleet would come to its assistance whatever the problem.
Ashino was ruled by a unique political system built on Stoic principles. There was a democratically elected Senate but the main power rested in the hands of an elected ruler known as the “Consul.” The Consul was a person who had undergone nearly twenty years of special training to become eligible for office. This training included many years of philosophy, civics, history, math, astronomy, poetry and writing. The candidates also spent a year living in small rural communities, learning the skills required to manage a farm or ranch. They also spent a year in the Ashino Defense Forces serving as Privates in the infantry. Only once these decades of training were complete were the candidates eligible to serve as Consul. Those not elected to the highest officer served as Ambassadors, Governors and in other political roles.
Any family, regardless of wealth or social status, could offer their child for the initial intelligence testing at the age of ten to enter the program but only a select few were accepted.
This system of government had served the people of Ashino well for the past three centuries, only in two past cases had the Senate been forced to impeach a Consul and those had been extraordinary circumstances involving corruption and lying under oath.

The Maygar ships appeared suddenly on the fourth day. Ashino had no intelligence capability in the Maygar system and the fleet’s movements went undetected. When the Maygar ships appeared around Ashino’s star they did so with complete surprise.

“How many ships?” Ashino Consul Anthony Wallace asked his military council.
“It appears to be four frigates, ten transports and two other vessels.”
“Incredible, they plan an invasion.”
“Yes it would appear so.” General Williams of the Ashino Defense Forces replied.
“And we cannot defeat them?”
“No sir, we lack the naval capability, our ships would be lost in a meaningless battle.” Admiral Jeffers answered.
“General Williams how long do we have? Four days?”
“Given the speed of their frigates, likely five days.”
“We must dispatch a message to Ryth immediately before we lose all of our communications ability.”
“We have done so already.” The General quickly added.
“Most excellent. We can depend on Ryth’s assistance to end this crisis before any lives are lost.” The Consul replied.

Kingdom of Ryth
System: Kant

“Prepare for fleet combat. Prepare for fleet combat.” The message alarm called out to all listening.
“Let us ready for battle.” Admiral Davids said to the assembled officers and ratings on his bridge.
“Aye aye Admiral.” His Executive Officer replied.
The Admiral’s command ship, an 800 meter long battleship named Interdictor, was leading a fleet of three other battleships. The Council invasion fleet had been detected three days prior, arriving in orbit around Kant’s star. It was a large fleet: five battleships, six heavy cruisers, six missile cruisers and eight frigates.
Admiral Davids had under his command four battleships (including his own flagship), three heavy cruisers, four missile cruisers and six frigates. He had dispatched his frigates at high speed to setup a sensor picket around the star, relaying vital information back to the flagship.
“We are outnumbered in terms of capital ships but our crews are trained better.” The Admiral said to all those listening.
“Yes Admiral, and our ships are of a newer design also it seems.”
The two fleets had been traveling at half speed for several days to reach other and they were now nearing weapons range.
“Instruct the missile ships to fire full barrages when they are in range.”
“Aye aye Admiral.”

Onboard the missile cruiser Forceful Captain Daniel Singer listened to his new orders.
“Ok, we have orders to fire a full barrage when in range. Prepare firing tubes one through six with full fusion loads. Fire on my orders.”
“Aye aye Captain.” The weapons officer called out.
Onboard the large missile cruiser automated machinery assembled the ordered missiles, quickly attaching warhead payloads and physics packages to the propulsion units. Ratings and officers supervised the machinery and the weapons were soon loaded into their firing launchers. Each of the cruiser’s six missile tubes had a six missile rotary launcher. The ship could fire thirty-six missiles in less than five minutes. Each missile carried a ten megaton fusion warhead; one of each six missiles in the rotary launchers would carry a jamming payload to help penetrate the enemies point defenses.
“Captain tubes are loaded.”
“Good, tell me when we are in range.”
“Captain we are at 582 miles.” The weapons officer replied
“I want all tubes fired at exactly 500 miles.”
“Aye aye Captain.”

The two fleets hurdled towards each other are half thrust. They had slowed to prepare for the engagement. Once the battle began the battleships and heavy cruisers would speed up for closer combat while the missile cruisers and other lighter ships would slow down to stay out of the range of close-in weapons.

“Captain we are at 500 miles, launching all tubes now.”
“Excellent.” The Captain replied.

“Admiral the missile cruisers have fired.”
The four missile cruisers fired a full barrage of 144 missiles. Admiral Davids watched the missile icons speed towards the enemy on his sensor monitor.
“Let us hope that most make it through the defenses.” Davids added.
“Admiral, enemy missile launch!” A technician manning a console called out.
“How many?” Davids replied.
“Logic engine estimates 108 missiles heading towards us Sir.”
“Bring the laser turrets to full power.”

Onboard each warship were a number of laser turrets designed to shoot down incoming missiles. They also could be used as short-range attack weapons during capital ship combat. Onboard the flagship Interdictor a central logic engine coordinated the lasers of the entire fleet into one centralized force. The engine assigned each laser turret a certain number of missiles to target.

“Missiles at 350 miles Admiral.”
“The logic engine estimates that seventy nine percent of the missiles will be disabled Admiral.” Another voice called out.
“That is still more than twenty missiles making it through. This could get bloody fast.” The Admiral said to all those listening. A few men turned to look towards him.

“Missiles at 250 miles Admiral.”
“200 miles.”
“150 miles.”
“Admiral, laser turrets preparing to engage.” Another weapons officer called out.

Once the missiles were within 100 miles of the ships they would begin to be fired upon by the laser turrets. The missile cruisers could also launch small and fast kinetic kill missiles to help shoot them down.

“Launch the kinetic missile tubes.” The Captain of the Forceful ordered.
Two dozen smaller but incredibly fast kinetic kill missiles blasted out of the Forceful’s rotary launchers.

On the forward sensor screen all eyes watched as the icons neared closer, some began to disappear.
“Lasers firing at full power Sir.” The weapons officer stated.
“Six disabled Sir.” A technician added.

The laser turrets worked in silence, turning on momentarily like gigantic flash lights to blast the missiles with intense heat energy. The missiles were armored against this kind of attack and would take two or three “shots” to be fully destroyed.

“Missiles nearing impact range Admiral!” A voice called out
“Sound the damage alarms.” Davids replied. A warning klaxon was heard by all on the ship.

The twenty meter long missile moved at incredible speed towards the Ryth Royal Navy battleship Vengeance. The accompanying missiles had been hit by lasers but this one penetrated the defensive curtain. It veered towards the ship’s engines and slammed into the mighty vessel. The onboard fusion warhead went off like a massive flashbulb bursting in space. For a moment a gigantic white sphere appeared to engulf the ship before disappearing.

More missiles made impacts, hitting other battleships and heavy cruisers. Onboard the bridge of the Interdictor Admiral Davids watched in silent resignation as he monitored the battle. Luckily none of the missiles intended for the Interdictor had reached the ship but the others were not so fortunate.
“Admiral, the heavy cruiser Benediction is reporting heavy damage, so is the battleship Vengeance.”
“How are our missiles doing?” The Admiral asked.
“Admiral our missiles have penetrated the enemy’s defensive cordon. Ninety-nine were shot down but roughly thirty-four made impact.”
“Any damage reports on the enemy?”
“It appears two of their battleships were damaged.”
“Ship explosion Sir!” A voice called out. The monitor switched to an enhanced visual feed that showed one of the enemy heavy cruisers splitting in half and exploding in a vibrant display of colors.”
“Good hit!”

Now that the initial missile barrage had been exchanged the two fleets’ capital ships would speed up for close-range combat. More missiles would be fired but now they would have too short of a distance to attain high speed and would be easy prey for laser turrets.
“What is the status of our coilgun and particle turrets?” Davids asked.
“Sir they are all operational.”
“Range now?” He asked.
“The enemy capital ships are 80 miles out Sir.” A voice replied.
“Order all close-in weapons readied, fire at my command at the nearest target.”
“Aye aye Admiral.”
“Range 60 miles.”
“Prepare for firing.”

The ship’s coilguns and particle beam turrets turned to face the enemy. Due to the ship’s design only three turrets of each weapon type could face the incoming enemy battleship.

“Within firing range Sir.”
“Fire at will.” The Admiral said.

The coilguns accelerated their sabot rounds to incredible speeds using electric-magnetism before shooting them out of the barrels. The particle beam turrets worked like the lasers but would do more damage due to the fact that the particle beam used the physical impacting force of particles to cause damage as opposed to pure energy.

The two groups of capital ships closed in to thirty miles before beginning to slow, during this time they peppered each other with lasers, particle beams, missiles and coilgun-fired kinetic sabot rounds. It was fast and fearsome combat.
And it only lasted fourteen minutes.

Kingdom of Ryth
System: Hastings

King Alexander the Third paced the war room as he impatiently awaited news of the battle at Kant.
“My King, one of the frigates has traveled to Afred, another is coming to Hastings. We will have news shortly.”
“Good, good...”
Another ten minutes passed by.
“My King I have received the following report from Kant: Heavy losses, two battleships and three heavy cruisers lost. Heavy damage to enemy but we are retreating to planetary orbit. Please send reinforcements. Frigates will maintain message picket around the star but please do not wait to send more ships. Signed Admiral Davids”
“By the Gods…” The King said to himself as he sat down in his chair.