Part 80: Turn 351

TURN 351


The successful defeat of the Ferengi military is proclaimed after the great Battle of Galdonterre. Chancellor Gowron congratulates Klingon troops next to a banner that reads, "Blood Mission Accomplished" (rough translation). There are two Klingon empires now: The systems filled with pleased Klingons, and the systems filled with disgruntled Ferengi slaves.


Even so, there are a smattering of Ferengi ships still puttering about because not all Ferengi were present at the Galdonterre massacre.


Meanwhile, over in Romulan space, the system of Mintaka is still not colonized. We cannot colonize it because it has been part of Romulan territory (since it is adjacent to a Romulan system and not one of ours). The Romulans are free to colonize it, but have always respected Klingon sensitivities. Now a Colony Ship is overhead, and perhaps the Romulans will finally make an addition to their small empire.


TURN 352. Harrakis is being used as a staging ground for our Troop Transports. The Birds of Prey are away, so a remaining Ferengi force attacks.


It's a fairly strong squad containing a Marauder and 2 War Cruisers.


But with only one Marauder they stand no chance of taking down the Starbase. Our Scout and Troop Transports open fire, and all of the Ferengi ships shrug off the damage before escaping.


Curiously, the Romulan Colony Ship heads back instead of colonizing Mintaka. Perhaps the AI is unable to recognize a former Minor Race system as suitable for colonization?


Everyone hates us except the Romulans. They've been in an affiliation treaty with us for as long as we can remember, but only now do they actually behave like they're happy about it. The Romulans are neutral with the Federation--as are we--but they offer a war pact. We will accept. The Federation would have to fight through Romulan territory first, and we'd prefer the Romulans to get all their cloaky ships exploded.


A Ferengi Scout ship is detected on Polaris, north of Ferenginar. This discovery is surprising, since our analysts do not recall a Ferengi Scout operating out of that area lately.


TURN 353. The Ferengi trio attacks another Starbase. This time there are no support ships of any kind.


Even here, the Ferengi know they are outmatched, and simply run away.


We declare war against the Federation. To us, this is a phony war intended for boosting morale.


The Romulans declare war against the Federation too, in a rare example of a war pact that actually requires two empires to declare new wars. President Kirk receives both declarations in the mail. He quips, "Reminds me of the old maxim... 'Never trust a non-human.'"


The Ferengi are crippled. They despise us more than they can bear, but they know their continued survival depends on ending this war before we conquer everything they have left. They offer us an intriguing peace offer for 50 turns, with a payment of 444 credits per turn. This is the first time a treaty has been structured this way. After a few hours, a Klingon who owns a calculator is found, and is shocked to see that if the peace treaty lasted the full term, the Ferengi would pay us over 22,000 credits, an astonishing sum. However, Klingons love war so we refuse the offer.


Our analysts are dumbstruck when we detect a Ferengi Troop Transport on Polaris in the far north. We are absolutely certain that this ship is new. The Ferengi have no dilithium sources, so they cannot build ships. Yet here it is. The conclusion is inescapable: The Ferengi are cheating. They have no honor.


There are many conquered Ferengi systems in the north that were left completely exposed because the Ferengi had suicided all of their Transports at the Ferenginar Turkey Shoot. Now we must build bunker networks and orbital batteries in case the new Troop Transport is used in a liberation attempt.


Two Ferengi strongholds remain in the deep south. One of them, Galdonterre, is full of enslaved Cardassians. We decide not to liberate our Cardassian affiliates.


TURN 354. Vice Chancellor Martok has attempted to smooth things over with the Cardies by talking about how much better Damar is than Dukat as a Cardassian leader. He goes on at length about Dukat's faults and how much better off the Cardassian empire is without him. The Cardassian Central Command appears to agree entirely. But the next day, they unexpectedly reinstate Dukat as leader of the empire.


Galdonterre is taken from the Ferengi without incident. 69 million die.


Deneb is the last big system in the Ferengi empire. It is nearly at the southern border of the galaxy, and brings to mind the once great extent of Ferengi space. Deneb is home to the Bandi, a Minor Race that joined the Ferengi willingly. A single War Cruiser appears ready to make his last stand guarding them.


The Romulan Colony Ship evidently cannot colonize Mintaka, so it sets about the task of terraforming. Surprisingly, the Romulans left several planets un-terraformed this whole time. Considering they only have 4 systems, this is quite a sign of neglect.


TURN 355. The Ferengi War Cruiser stands his ground as the invasion force arrives.


He dies.


Gul Dukat gets right back to work. He is unable to convince the Central Command to break with us. But he is able to negotiate a treaty with the Ferengi, who are now at peace with everyone except us--the opposite of how it used to be.


The Ferengi continue their dishonorable practice of buying new ships. They have 6 ships plus a brand new Colony Ship on Polaris. The Ferengi are going back into expansion mode. Klingons are furious.