Part 18: Polaris - Part 18 - February 28th, 1182NC: Deification
February 28th, 1182NC: DeificationHello and welcome to the finale of our adventure with the Polaris. We have chosen to obliterate the Aurorans.
quote:
As you centre yourself in the universe, almost absent-mindedly you set a course for the Neilha Memorial Station in the Neilha system to begin the destruction of the Auroran war-machine...
We jump in and are immediately met by an Auroran warfleet. Luckily, we've got some Polaron multi-torps and between them and our escorts they don't last long. However, immediately after a new fleet jumps in to replace them - I land before we run out of ammunition and allies.
Multitorps combine the devastating power of Polaris Torpedoes with the devastating power of four more Polaris Torpedoes. The only downside is that you can only hold 10, so you won't be taking on planetary defense fleets with them.
Our Dragon and Scarab escorts do well for themselves, though the Dragons are outclassed by even the Manta fighters. At least they can cloak. We land on Neilha Memorial.
Neilha Memorial Station posted:
Named after the former Obsidian Heart, Arbiter of Reckoning of the Tekel House, this system was the scene of a great victory by the Tekel over the Dani. Neilha lured the Dani battle fleet into the system before single-handedly engaging the entire fleet, thus holding them in place until the Tekel fleet was able to get into position. His action enabled the Tekel House warriors to help themselves to a near-complete annihilation of the Dani fleet. Unfortunately, Neilha was killed in the engagement. Those Tekel warriors who survived wear a small dark crystal tattoo to show that they were involved in the battle, and to honor the passing of their Obsidian Heart, and his superhuman deeds.
Neilha's Bar posted:
The only decoration in this stark bar is a projection of Neilha, the man for whom this station is named. Underneath this scrolling text tells of his life and of the deed for which he was remembered.
quote:
As soon as you land on the station the Nil'kemorya quicly put down the Auroran resistance. Within minutes they are finished, and you have them announce on the Auroran Holo-Net that you will next be coming to Aurora, so that they have time to send their entire Navy to meet you. In one fell swoop you will destroy their ability to make war...
It looks like the entire damn defence fleet is out for blood. We oblige.
This is actually a genuinely tough fight. The Aurorans clump up and blast their railguns constantly, so when you jump in you are kept away by a whole wall of blue. The only option is to charge in and break them up, or stand back and circle-strafe them to death. We don't have enough torpedoes left to perform the latter, so charge it is! It also makes for more interesting screenshots.
Of course, cloak-assassinating everyone works better than any other tactic. Polarans break the game.
Cleaning up the stragglers, we land on Aurora to get some serious dismantling done.
quote:
As soon as you land the warriors start almost delicately destroying the infrastructure used by the warriors loyal to the central Auroran seat. Within hours, while the Aurorans have retained their ability to build basic ships, all of the facilities used to build weapons and military grade outfits have been destroyed.
You realize that your almost cataclysmic campaign against the Aurorans is now over.
For the first time since you began this war you concentrate your perceptions towards the Federation operation, to find it faltering at the last hurdle. You quickly pass on to the remainder of your fleet your intention to meet up with the Federation half of the Polaris operation in the Sol system, and help them destroy the ships there. Those warriors that remain capable of joining you, do so, in the final act they will take as members of the Polaris government.
The Feds meet us with a dozen or so Destroyers. They are all outranged by the Scarab's lasers and their missiles are all jammed. They die a fast death, I don't even have to cloak. Earth lays bare before us.
quote:
As your mind sinks deeper into union with the universe, you struggle to maintain your defense of the Polaris ships. More than once, only Mu'Randa's mental cries are all that keep you from forever losing your sense of self.
However, you finally reach Earth, and they receive the same treatment the Aurorans got, leaving behind almost no central infrastructure left. You know that you only have one last stop left.
Satisfied, you power up your ship after painfully withdrawing one last time from the union. You want to visit the memorial to the man who inspired all this. Once more you go to Ar'Za Iusia, this time to leave behind your humanity.
quote:
After landing you take a few moments to enjoy your last minutes of mortality before you begin to slip into the seductive embrace of the universe, and you turn your attention to the unfolding events of the galaxy.
You watch as the remnants of the Nil'kemorya limp back to Kel'ar Iy, and watch as both their Federation and Auroran prisoners are released. You watch the sad drama unfold as Bis Andreya surrenders her nation to both of them jointly. You almost chuckle when you realize that only Techerakh understands the gesture.
"They have destroyed our ability to make war," he explains to others. "To make peace, and bring us together, they have surrendered to both governments. We will now have to work side-by-side to manage the dismantling of their government as they will not accept the ruling of one government alone."
With a sigh, you smile sadly and let yourself go. As your consciousness dissipates and you lose yourself in the enormous depths of the universe, in one final act you weave into existence a memorial to your acts as Ory'hara, to remind future generations that you will one day return when you are once again needed.
quote:
With Ory'hara gone, the Polaris were quickly and kindly assimilated into the cultures of the Auroran Empire and the Federation. Their act was never forgotten, and slightly less than two centuries later, humanity was once again united and the 'First Period of Disunity', which had started with the Polaris exploratory expedition and the Vell-os War, was finally bought to a close. Only the 'Second Period of Disunity', which, due to the two century long Shard War, resulted in many more deaths despite being much shorter, marred humanity's development from ape to god.
Oddly enough to all concerned, both periods were brought to a close through the actions of an individual named Ory'hara. In both cases the person in question seemed to arrive out of nowhere, and once the job was done, they both disappeared again. More than a few people believed that they were both manifestations of the spirit of the universe, but such talk was scoffed at by most people.
Scoffed at that is, until the day, 50000 years later, when humanity finally joined their Vell-os cousins beyond the veil and learned the truth. In a final act of thanks, they left the word Ory'hara attached to every construction they had ever made.
When, after millions of years, other youthful races finally developed interstellar technologies and stumbled onto the moldering remains of the ancient human civilization on a thousand worlds, they could not help but wonder at the single word telepathically embedded in every stone.
And so the legend of Ory'hara lived on...
And that is the end of the Polaris! For those who voted to kill the Federation instead, simply re-read this update, switching "Aurora" and "Auroran" with "Earth" and "Federation". The two paths are word-for-word identical. Illusion of choice is a strong feature of the EVN universe.
I hope you've enjoyed this run-through of one of the game's more ridiculously broken factions. Next time I'll be showing off the alternate route we could have taken and some post-game content.