De Hautevilles- Can Anyone Stop the Norman Space Invasion?

[hjarg]

Tuscany​

It was 18th May 2207 when Carrie Hauteville-Pearson jumped off the shuttle near where the Arno river flows to the Mediterranean Ocean. It was perfect spot- Mediterranean climate, enough fresh water, enough rainfall, but definitely not too much. Solid ground, fertile. Green. Well, green-ish, she corrected herself. It all had a bit disturbing blue hue from the star of the Sirius system. And in the sky, there it was- the local Sun, burning as a bright blue speck in the sky.

Tuscany from space

Carrie gazed above and saw the HVT Olympus descending through the atmosphere. It was majestic sight. A ship, over half a kilometer long, engaging special engines that were to be used only once to slow the descent of the huge ship, so it doesn’t burn to a crisp when entering the atmosphere. As was the burn shielding. An impressive feat of engineering, designed for one-time use, for there was no way in hell the ship of this size could fly again. Not that it was needed.

She thought back. The initial planning had started back in 2200. When it was obvious that humanity can get through the vast distances of space, there was also the question on how to settle another planet. What would be viable? Fleet of small ships, or one large ship? In the end, it was the mixture of both. One huge colony ship that serves as not just a passenger ship, but as a future base of operations. Power, early infrastructure, seeds, plants and cattle. Water supplies until you get the purification systems up. Hospital quarters. Defences. Storage spaces. Some manufacturing facilities. Grain silos. The list goes on- everything you need to get things done. Also, passengers, around 10 000 of them. Plus, a small fleet of ships, providing transport for new colonists, equipment, supplies and so on, after the colony had been established.

The plans were ready in August 2205. Construction started in January 2206. At the same time, recruitment drive for colonies begun. Come, Normans, Conquer the next Frontier of Humanity and so on. It worked. Of course it worked. We are talking about Normans after all. Over a million queued up initially, so there was lottery on who would be the first ones. And who would be transported later. The ship was ready, packed and loaded with colonists in 25th December 2206. They voyage took five month, but in the end, they were in Sirius.

HTV Olympus before departing Earth

HVT Olympus was on final approach. The landing site- big, flat, plateau, was just nearby and as the thrusters kicked to full power, the ship soon disappeared into dust cloud, so Carrie missed the actual landing part. She got ok over the radio, jumped to the shuttle and flew over. So did other shuttles. Nothing hostile in sight, no dangers, not even much wind. Just one very disturbed pack of goat-sized mammals and few packs of birds. Perfectly edible by humans, actually.

The loading doors of HVT Olympus opened and people rushed out. To be fair, the conditions were really crammed, so they were happy to get out, get a breath of fresh air and then, they gazed at their new home. The star of Sirius system, quickly dubbed either the Sun or the Blue Sun, was just setting over the horizon, turning the ocean bright blue. The evening wind was picking up, bringing the smell of the sea to their nostrils, blowing the stale air out of spaceship. And as the humans breathed the air of the foreign, they realized that this was their home now. There was much cheering and patting on each other’s backs and somewhere, the booze was found and fires were started and soon, the party begun. Though in the end, everyone had to go (or crawl or to be carried) back to ship to their bunks. The planet of Tuscany was settled. Tomorrow, the construction of New Firenze will begin.

The settlement of Tuscany

Carrie Hauteville-Pearson headed back to her quarters. Tomorrow, it would be her first day as a governor of Tuscany. Today, she wanted to go over the plans one more time. Shelter for colonists, planting of crops, finding suitable place for all the cows and pigs, setting up water supply and early manufacturing. The plan was to become self-sustainable, more or less, in a year. And that needed a lot of effort.

The Universe is a Scary Place...​

Humans were definitely not alone in the universe, Paseka Hauteville-Khumato discovered. During his expedition to Procyon system, situated very close to Earth, found a beacon. Upon closer inspection, the beacon turned out to be marking the deposit rich rare mineral deposit. Upon even closer inspection, the data suggested that the beacon was placed there in time when humans were discovering the secrets of fire.

No other traces. Who they were? Why they didn’t come to pick up the minerals? Did they stumble upon Earth as well? Are they still around? And so on and so on. None of them were answered. And this was concerning. But at least, the minerals were good.

Just another mystery of the universe

... and Gets even Scarier​

Alphecca system was just about in range of wormhole from Earth. Initial discoveries had found a planet suitable for colonization there and Paseka Hauteville-Khumato headed there next. There, on a small asteroid dubbed X-112, the expedition found something even bigger. Remnants of an ancient civilization. And enough remnants that enabled the expedition to identify them. They were 600 000 years old, and apparently, they remnants of an ancient machine race, bent on destruction of all organic life. Luckily, something stopped them, or there would be no Normans today.

Project was issued to find out more about the machines, but it depended more on luck then skill- stumbling up these artifacts is a rare occasion at best.

Sentinent machines trying to wipe out organics... We need to find out more

On plus side, the expedition also found habitable planet, or rather, a moon, orbiting the barren planet of Alpecca III. And also, a huge tropical world, though not enough to be colonizable. And a rich mineral deposit.

At least, the rest of the system is promising...

Science​

Besides discovering the colonial tech, 2206 saw two more important discoveries. First, the research AI. Giving a small boost to the the research. Always, useful.

Research AI gives quite nice boost to research

Second, it was better thrusters. Doesn’t seem much, but while the wormhole travel is pretty fast, subspace flight was still pretty slow. Now, it was a bit faster.

Engines get even better boost!

 

[hjarg]

And the first colonized planet. Plus, two more that are suitable for human life around. Not the biggest, but it will do for beginning...

Poul Anderson - The High Crusade. It's superb.

Right you are, thanks for remainding. And indeed, it was superb.

I like it. Really like it. It's stuff like this that makes you a great writAAR.

Awwww, thanks!

For covering just a single event, this is fantastic. A slaver running for election in a society against slavery is certainly surprising. He had less than no chance.

Well, it was still Stellaris giving me something to write about. It was kinda weird, but what the hell, desperate man, scared of pigs, will make strange decisions occasionally.

These "small interludes", as you call them, really give your story more life and help to immerse oneself into the happenings of the Hauteville Empire.

I'll try to keep 'em coming then!

Did you have to spend influence to sway the electorate? From a game-play perspective do you think he would have been re-elected had you done nothing?

I think the % shows the chance of character getting elected, so there was still 5% chance he would have become one. But no influence spent....

Following



..

My first game I started with warp I, 4 armed galaxy. Couldn't reach other arms. Bordering in the north, advanced start fanatical purifiers. Bordering in the south, evangelising zealots. Fun!

Welcome aboard! And ouch, at least wormhole gives a bit more reach. But yes, sounds like fun!

I find it quite disturbing that fully 5% of the vote fell to a slaver. Thank heavens our benevolent Empress is here to make sure such men never come to power!

Well, angry, technologically superior pigs... plus some people who are certain that if slavery is established, they will be slavers, not slaves. Usually, they are wrong. Plus, 5% of rotten apples in a population isn't that bad...

 

[iisbroke]

I am so subbed

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

Your first colonized world is named Tuscany. Seems appropriate, given the empire's history.

Also... Ah, yes, ‘Cybrex’. We have dismissed this claim.

 

[Nikolai]

I like the new planet name.

 

[KingJerkera]

First planet and first mega quest. Soon the end of alien oppression of all the other worlds in the galaxy.

 

[Deaghaidh]

It always bugs me when you get leaders with the slaver personality/agenda out of nowhere, even when it makes no sense with your ethos and government. I've had fanatic individualist regimes with nothing but slavers available as governors.

Thankfully the people remembered the Norman Mantra.

"The Empress is always right. I will listen to the Empress. I will not ignore the Empress's recommendations. The Empress is God. And if this ever happens again, the Empress will personally rip your lungs out.'

 

[hjarg]

The Betrayal, Part 1

The Characters​

Lyudmilla Hauteville-Turgenyev gazed at two of his fellow captains. All three were flying experimental Rollo-classes. Just test ships, to be determined if they are good enough for production. So far, the success has been astonishing. But... the captains. One was William Dregnot, brother of Odo Dregnot, current leader of Norman Task Force. An older brother, who had been surpassed by younger one. Old and bitter, a man who thought that he was well due to promotion, not realizing that his own bitterness and persecution complex were the main things standing between him and his desired post. As it happens too often, instead of looking at the mirror, he looked at others and blamed them. The other, Linda Liu, was young. Less then 30. She had excess ambition, compensated by lack of skill. And an ego that forces her to see it just the other way around.

“Perfect idiots,” Lyudmilla thought by herself. To others, she raised the glass of fine white wine: “Cheers on successful tests!”

The others raised their glass as well and took a sip, then placed the glasses back on the table and looked expectantly at Lyudmilla, who had become leader of their little group. Part title, part flattery, mostly the totally conscious understanding of their characters and well-planned manipulation.

Oh, Lyudmilla herself, you ask? Well, she is minor Hauteville from Principality of Novgorod. Is related to current Duke. Through a marriage arranged in 14th Century. By now, the only difference between Lyudmilla’s family and the “common man” was the name. Perhaps, it would have been better to Lyudmilla if she had been born without the “Hauteville” in her name. It created an artificial barrier with the rest of the kinds in the neighbourhood. Snobbery or her parents, though they were about the same as your average Norman citizen. White-collar jobs, small house, picket fences. Nothing special. Besides the “Hauteville” part. She was told that she was special and deserves more (as did her parents, apparently), not because her skills but because her family name.

She failed the exams to Space Academy. Despite the fact that only around 10% of the students there are Hautevilles, her parents told her (and perhaps themselves) that you have to be powerful Hauteville to be admitted there and Hauteville-Turgenyevs are not. It is easier then facing the cold truth. She still had that belief, despite the fact that neither William Dregnot and Linda Liu, sitting in her table and being graduates of Space Academy, had nothing to do with Hautevilles. But she got into commercial space flight school and graduated and became a captain of an inner system freighter transporting minerals from Mercury to Earth. There, she found her special skills. Intrigue and brownnosing. Bitch to her underlings, golden employee to her superiors. Though the crew turnover was way above average, she was promoted to captain of an intersystem transport, responsible for transportation of minerals from Sirius back to Earth.

There, she hit a lucky break. There was an accident happening- one freighter was powering up the subspace drive and another was arriving to about the same spot via wormhole. It was too late to do anything- but the pilot of Lyudmilla’s vessel thought otherwise. Ignoring Lyudmilla’s orders to keep distance, she just shouted “Shut up, bitch”, and rammed the freighter powering up the subspace drive. Rammed at just correct angle to avoid heads-on collision, but to send the freighter and her own ship spinning wildly away. Three seconds later, the other freighter arrived from wormhole. What could have been a terrible accident was now just two ships needing some repairs and a new coat of paint. And two crews with motion sickness.

Somehow, Lyudmilla managed to turn the incident in her favor, claiming it was her idea, getting her pilot fired and herself- well, the Hauteville Empire Navy made her an offer to become one of the captains in the experimental fleet, hoping her quick judgement and daring nature will prevent some losses for the military as well. She accepted. But the thing is- if you lack quick judgement and daring nature, there is no way you are fit to become captain of experimental ships and no brownnosing or intrigue will end that. There was serious talk about her getting demoted or discharged and all that. To her, it was yet another case of Hauteville nepotism. But... there she was. With two other captains out of total 8.

The Plan​

They were sitting in one table of a crowded restaurant in Palermo, opening to the seaside. Just three captains, relaxing and celebrating their successful run. It was well-picked location. No meetings in the dark alleys, where it could rise suspicion. No, everything was perfectly normal. The murmur from the other tables and soft music playing in the background muffled their half-toned conversation and no-one bothered to even give them a second glance.

“The space is vast,” said Lyudmilla to her “friends”. “The Empire cannot reach everywhere, cannot see everything.”

The two of them nodded, encouraging her to continue.

“I have a friend,” she continued, “Who works at Tokugawa Station as a wormhole operator. He knows the system and for a suitable bribe, he can open the wormhole for our next training in Sirius, but the wormhole will open up to a different place.”

William’s brows tightened: “But still within the reach of the wormhole station, right? And then, we’d be stranded! No way Tokugawa is going to transfer us to another system”

Lyudmilla smiled wickedly. “Yes, still within the reach of the wormhole station. But let us not forget- our task is to export the experimental construction ship to Sirius. Laden with minerals!”

The eyes of Linda Liu brightened up: “So, we board the ship, kill the crew and fly away with ship? Like true pirates?”

William shook his head: “There is no way i can get my crew to kill innocents.” He paused for a bit and added to that: “Or even join me into open rebellion against the Empire”

Linda added, somberly: “Mine too.”

Lyudmilla raised her hand. “No worries!” She smiled brightly, dismissing their worries. “I have my ship’s chief engineer under my thumb.” Cleverly omitting the fact that he was the only one she even risked to lure of her crew of 20.

“When we reach the Tokugawa station,” she continued, and now her smile turned into a grin, “There will be a problem with one of the new sub-light engines that takes a few days to repair. In the meantime, we give the crew some well-deserved shore leave, let them get drunk, drug ‘em and...”

She took a dramatic pause, watching with pleasure as both of them were glued to her mouth, “There, i have some old acquaintances from my civilian days, who will took over as a crew.” Bottom quality, she didn’t add. Disgruntled and fired pilots, engineers, navigators and some proper muscle as well. Most of them, fired for a good reason.

“Then, we jump, and not to Sirius,” she added.

“And then?” both breathed out the same time.

“Then, we will build our own wormhole station and a military station,” she was beaming. “And while waging war against the Empire, we will build our own.”

She pointed at William: “You will be the prime minister, a job for life and to be inherited to your children. And,” as she gazed at Linda “You will be the Grand Admiral. Also inheritable.”

“Both of you will be founding a noble family that suprasses every Hauteville,” she added. “And you will be the power behind my throne”

What she would become, she didn’t need to say. Others understood it well, and made a very slight bow to their future Empress. While sitting, of course.

“Swear your loyalty to me,” she concluded, “And together, we will be unstoppable,”

Both of them did that. Next, the three captains boarded their ships and headed towards Tokugawa for their next expedition.

The Execution​

It was in 6th March 2208 when panic overtook the Tokugawa station. The experimental fleet had obviously not arrived at the predicted location, but also, there was distress call from construction ship, just screaming “SOS! We are being boarded, help us, plea...” at then, the communication was cut off.

Then, the crew of three ships were found. Drugged, in one of the storage areas, where people rarely visit. But one engineer needed some equipment and found them sleeping. Quickly, the medical team undrugged them. Then came the realization that something was clearly very wrong. But the crew was as clueless as the rest of the station. By now, it was clear that somehow, three ships had jumped without a crew. Or at least, without a current crew.

It was the bribed wormhole operator though who showed what happened. The man didn’t count on things being found out so quickly, and hoped to get off the station before that happened. He had false ID and a false beard and had booked a trip to Earth, but he was intercepted way before he could disappear. He played stupid- but the thing is, he also was stupid, forgetting to delete communications between Lyudmilla and himself.

Just a hour after the jump, it was clear that Lyudmilla Hauteville-Turgenyev, William Dregnot and Linda Liu had hijacked three of Empire’s newest corvettes and jumped off somewhere, along with a new construction ship.

Well, the description is more or less accurate.

 

[hjarg]

Well, i somehow got carried away writing about Birth of the Space Piracy. And the story in the event is not quite what you will read, but for some reason, i prefer mine. Go betrayers! Or rather, die, betrayers!

I am so subbed

You are so welcome!

Your first colonized world is named Tuscany. Seems appropriate, given the empire's history.

Also... Ah, yes, ‘Cybrex’. We have dismissed this claim.

And the best part is, i didn't even have to rename it. Just random name getting it right.

And heh, yes Poor Shepard

I like the new planet name.

Yea, me too

First planet and first mega quest. Soon the end of alien oppression of all the other worlds in the galaxy.

I would be rather careful of using the word "Soon", but otherwise, you are right.

It always bugs me when you get leaders with the slaver personality/agenda out of nowhere, even when it makes no sense with your ethos and government. I've had fanatic individualist regimes with nothing but slavers available as governors.

Thankfully the people remembered the Norman Mantra.

"The Empress is always right. I will listen to the Empress. I will not ignore the Empress's recommendations. The Empress is God. And if this ever happens again, the Empress will personally rip your lungs out.'

Well, if there is chance that slavery can be allowed, there will be slavers. Though yes, it should be part of the election, not outright slavers as governors. That is a bit silly.

And i like the ripping lungs out part, but hey, Normans are materialistic people, so i'd rather use "There is no God. There is only Empress"

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

Space piracy begins thanks to three arrogant, including a Hauteville... that's kind of hilarious.

 

[iisbroke]

Just like on earth the oceans of space between the old world and new have become littered with the dregs of society who call themselves pirates.

 

[Deaghaidh]

I appreciate the effort to explain how those damn pirates can appear with the same level of military hardware as their parent nation.

 

[kon_11]

Great start, looking forward to this.

 

[hjarg]

The Betrayal, Part 2

The Wait​

All of the Hauteville Empire military matters are coordinated from secret underground bunker complex, about a kilometer under the surface of Earth. Entrance near Naples. Well, not so secret anymore, you even have the local villagers running pubs called “Secret Bunker” and all that- after all, it has been there for around 100 years.

Inside, the atmosphere was surprisingly chilly. High command was relaxing, feet on the table and cups of coffee in their hands. Their eyes were on the screens, displaying the status of Earth, Tuscany and other human holdings, but they were not anxious at all.

This was kind of a surprise to Empress Emma, storming in, the stopping High Command from getting up and saluting with a gesture. “Guys, I thought you’d be more worried,” she started.

“We are waiting,” replied High Admiral Tong, commander of all Empire’s forces.

“...waiting?” the Empress was definitely surprised. “Shouldn't you be hunting?”

Tong grinned, baring his teeth. And not bothering to remove his feet from the table. “Well, Your Highness,” he started after a sip of coffee. “It takes two totally different skillsets to highjack a fleet of newest corvettes and to use them effectively”

He took another sip and continued: “I personally would establish a base somewhere in the edge of known space. With just enough wormhole range that the Earth and Tuscany would be in our reach. Then, i’d do small-time raiding and building up supplies and getting the ship production on, so our fleet would be more sizeable, meanwhile building up the support in home systems. Daring space-pirate Tong, fighting to thee the oppressed masses from Hauteville tyranny!”

“We lack oppressed masses,” said the Empress dryly, not amused.

Despite that, Tong continued, obviously loving the thought exercise of him as Pirate King. “Then, when I already have fleet and some support, i’d use my contacts in the Navy to get some defectors to our side. And then i’d strike. Controlling the space, blockading the Earth, until you give up and then the glorious reign of Space Pirate King Tong will begin!”

Emma shrugged, but smiled slightly at the idea of Space Pirate King.

Other commanders chuckled as well. Tong turned to Emma now, and said with a calm voice: “The thing is, Your Highness, our Pirate Queen Lyudmilla wouldn't do any of that. She has run countless strategy and tactical evaluations as Navy captain and one thing is sure- the has about the same amount of finesse as a ton of bricks. The same amount of strategic thinking as well. She will come up with a plan that is brash and stupid and very direct.”

“Oh, so you guys are just waiting for her to strike?” Emma inquired.

“Yes- with all her force and to somewhere very direct,” Tong replied.

“What about the other captains,” Emma was still not satisfied.

“Does our dear little Lyudmilla look like a listening kind?” Tong put softly.

“In this case, make some room, guys,” said Emma, as she sat down on one of the chairs, put her feet on the table and beckoned for coffee. The wait was not long.

The Attack​

Barnard’s Star was an empty system. Few planets that had no significant resources and the only object of an interest was an energy mining base, orbiting the star itself. Halfway between Sirius and Sol, the system saw almost no traffic but the freighters coming to resupply the station and to take the stored power. The main thing you had to fight there was boredom.

So, when suddenly, the alarms sounded and three military ships appeared on radar, the station commander almost had a heart attack. But there they were, heading towards the station, gunports open.

“Sir, they are hailing us,” said the comms officer. As dumbfounded as the commander.

“Main screen turn on,” ordered the commander, so surprised that he mixed up words.

And then, there was the nasty mug of William Dregnot, one of the captains of the pirate fleet. The message was simple: “Surrender and give control of the facility to Steel Claws or be destroyed.”

William Dregnot issuing demands

Station commander whispered to comms officer: “Send emergency warning to Earth”, refused with a polite “Go plough yourself”, ordered the screen to be turned off and told his men to man the battle stations. More like a joke, for it was total five men, including himself. The only hope was that Earth would react in time.

The Battle​

Captain Odo Dregnot, commander of the Norman Task Force, entered his resignation as soon as he heard that he would have to fight his brother. It would almost have been accepted as well, but then the Empress intervened. Instead, Odo was promoted to an Admiral, for his services to the humanity were great. And then, he was retired, with a full pay.

Instead of him, Julia Hauteville-Krüger, commander of HTV Hope, was assigned as Admiral of the task force. The fleet was ready, already at the edge of the Sol System, ready to be wormed into any given destination. In 3rd June, the jump was made and the fleet was in Barnard’s Star.

The wise thing would have been to run, but Lyudmilla wasn’t wise. She was counting on her bit better ships, or her good fortune, or her superior tactics skills. At least she was fully aware she was fighting against everything Hauteville Empire has- so successful victory here would leave the Empire under her mercy. Unless they built new ships, but well, that was worry for tomorrow.

So, in 17th June 2208, two fleets met in combat. Five corvettes from the Empire against three Lyudmilla’s. As slugs from mass drivers pounded the hulls of the enemy ships, it was soon apparent that Empire has the upper hand. More firepower, better leadership. The Hauteville ships run in unison, picking targets one by one, soon blowing off Lyudmilla’s corvette. The others were soon to follow, but in the battle, William Dregnot managed to cripple one of the corvettes too. The crew got into escape pods, but the ship was damaged beyond repair. Costly battle- fifth of the Norman fleet perished in the pointless battle. But the battle was won, enemy also in their escape pods and soon, they were picked up and delivered to Earth in chains.

The Battle of Barnard's Star

The Aftermath​

Lyudmilla Hauteville-Turgenyev, William Dregnot and Linda Liu were all captured alive. They were brought before court martial and sentenced to death after half a year full off sessions. They all asked the Empress to pardon them, and she agreed- William Dregnot and Linda Liu were instead given life sentences in prison. Emma didn’t hear Lyudmilla’s plea though and in 17th June 2209, during the anniversary of Battle of Bernard’s Star, she was shot. Rest of the crew- 20 years, no right for an early release.

It was first space battle of the Normans. It was a shame that the battle was against their own, but that is life. In the end, Normans learned a lot more from the battle and even more from the hijacking, ensuring that this will never happen again.

The pirate base was still around somewhere, but without capacity to build new ships, they were doomed. It was decided that it is not a good idea to waste resources on hunting them down. As Admiral Tong said: “We removed the claws. Rest of the body, we will discover in time. Until then, they are no longer a threat.”

As for the pilot who really prevented the crash and whom Lyudmilla got fired- she was tracked down personally by the Empress, who offered her a job in the experimental fleet. It turned out to be a very good decision.

 

[hjarg]

And this is it, the end of Space Piracy.

Space piracy begins thanks to three arrogant, including a Hauteville... that's kind of hilarious.

Creates a much better story though

Just like on earth the oceans of space between the old world and new have become littered with the dregs of society who call themselves pirates.

Well, Hautevilles are united and intent on keeping the pirates off. No other nations to fund them and tolerate them. And as a bonus, getting a space ship is really expensive, so you'd have to be a pirate with good startup capital. So, i think this will not be much of an issue.

I appreciate the effort to explain how those damn pirates can appear with the same level of military hardware as their parent nation.

... and even that is kinda far-fetched. 3 experimental corvettes while the fleet has total 5? Nah! But it's the best i could come up with.

Great start, looking forward to this.

In this case, welcome!

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

Well, space piracy didn't last very long. Overall it's a good lesson for the Hauteville Empire. Hopefully the next time you fight, it'll be against a proper foe.

 

[iisbroke]

They were brought before court martial and sentenced to death after half a year full off sessions

I like how you put that it took so long. A lot of times people write a trial being super quick when it would take forever to set up a hearing and all that stuff.

It was decided that it is not a good idea to waste resources on hunting them down.

I hope that doesn't bite you in the bum later.

 

[Machiavellian]

The beginning and likely the end of Space Piracy.

 

[hjarg]

New Normandy

Expanding Borders and Other Tech​

In December 2208, the borders of Hauteville Empire magically expanded. Craxima system was claimed from Jusstkan Pig Coalition and Cuunbar system would soon join the borders of Hauteville Empire as well.

But, there was still serious lack of resources. Especially minerals. One mine in Sirus, one in the Beta Aquilae system, plus three on Sol. It was not good. The mines of Earth and hopefully soon, mines of Tuscany, would add to the effect, but overall, the nearby space has a catastrophic lack of minerals. This must be addressed with expansion soon, or the Normans will be stopped by simple lack of resources.

Gaining some systems and expanding the borders

In September 2209, the original mass drivers were improved. Coilguns, as they were called, using electromagnetic coils to accelerate projectiles towards target. More potent weaponry- just what the Normans need.

More powerful guns

In November, the new and improved power plant plans arrived. More of the power using the same workforce. At least, one could be quite sure that there will not be a significant lack of power in the Empire.

More power!

In November 2211, the Hauteville scientists came up with a plan on how to remove the toxic kelp that is poisoning most of the Tuscany’s surface with a minimal costs. Apparently, sending in drones with special biocides does the trick.

Killing the Kelp

Close Encounters of a Nasty Kind​

It was in February 2209 when the species encountered in Tyl, in the other arm of the Galactic Spiral, contacted the Hauteville Empire. Only to say the following: “Stay away from our space, you nasty humans” Indeed, the earlier predictions were true. Yet another alien species, and this one is hostile as well.

This is no way to greet your potential overlords...

Pelx-Cradonian Sovreign State, as they called themselves, were apparently evolved from winged predators of their homeworld, Cradon. They still moved around in flocks, and they still viewed everything alien with deep distrust. Ruled by an Emperor, the rights of an individual were suppressed and when they found out about the ruling system of the Hauteville Empire, they were shocked. And disgusted. More disgusted then shocked.

As for Hauteville Empire- glance at the map told everything. This is the perfect spot for expansion into other spiral arm. Wormhole station into Tyl and you have access to their territory, while the poor buggers, not using wormhole technology, just cannot reach Hauteville Space. But that is far into the future.

Hauteville Empire and two unfriendly aliens

New Normandy​

The name of a new planet was set. New Normandy, future third planet of the Empire. There was just a question of where. Choices were two- either to Alpha Centauri, or to Alpehecca system, near the limit of the wormhole station. The Parliament and Chancellor wanted to colonize Alpha Centauri, the Empress wanted Alpehecca to be next. The people were torn between two.

The comparison of Alphecca IIIa and Alpha Centauri I

It was May 2209 in Palermo. The wide windows and skylights let the early summer sun in, while the air conditioning was keeping the room nicely cool. More then 1000 members of the Parliament convened in yet another session. For a few times, new members from Tuscany had also attended. Freshly elected from the growing colony, they still had the outdoorsman aura alongside of them. And, they were all fiercely loyal to the Empress.

The Empress was sitting in a balcony, on a third floor, above the head of Speaker. It was symbolic. When the building was constructed around 200 years ago, the idea of an Emperor back then was to give himself a good view, while also reminding the Parliament that he is actually above them. Now, Emma could see every member of the Parliament and they could see her- if they looked up. Calculated effect. Though the old tradition of an Emperor sitting on his throne, observing the sessions had been abolished around 50 years ago, when Tancred VI ordered the throne to be removed and replaced it with comfortable armchair. “It belongs to the museum, where it can’t make anyone’s butt hurt,” he commented.

Emma was in her formal garment. Also, a subtle hint. With that, she pointed out that she considers it a matter of the utmost importance to the Empire. Would it have been her military uniform, then she would have hinted that the matter is important military. Just civvies would make her interested, but not particularly so. And a bit more formal look would have meant that she takes it seriously, but doesn’t want to interfere. And so on. Clothing can tell a lot about the Empress.

Now, a representative of Firenze, Tuscany, was speaking. Not the new one, the old one- still around in Italy. There was no podium in Hauteville Parliament. No, instead, the members spoke from their seats and their speech was transferred to large screen behind the Speaker. Also, a calculated thing- this way, in reality, the MP wasn’t addressing the Parliament, but instead, the Emperor. Or Empress, in current case. And then, speaker couldn’t turn his back on the balcony and avoid the cold stare of the Empress.

Guido di Medici was feeling the very same cold stare at the moment. He had been going on for good 15 minutes, and be was sweating bullets, despite the room being just the right temperature. He was going on over the good points of Alpha Centauri. You know, bigger planet, less threats, move favourable starting location and all that. It was all going well, until he was almost at the finish.

“From a military point of view, the Alpha Centauri is also a better choice,” he said, occasionally looking at his notes. With the real threat from Jusstkans or any other galactic nation, Alpha Centauri is much more easily defendable since it’s location. After all, it is much closer to Earth...”

“No it’s not,” the clear voice of Emma carried to the furthest corners of the room.

Surprised, Guido looked up. It’s rare to see the Empress using her right to speak freely in the Parliament.

“But... but, Your Highness it is! The Alpha Centauri.. emm.. Is one of the closest star systems to Sol... while the... emmm... Alpehecca... emmm... is about as far off as we can reach,” Guido tried to explain. “So, from... emmm... military standpoint, defending Alpha Centauri is much easier”.

There was murmur of agreement with the audience. Emma didn’t let her to be bothered from it: “Still not true,” she continued. “Both Alpha Centauri and Alpehecca are actually the same distance from Earth.”

Guido was taken aback. This was crazy statement after all. “Your highness, Alpha Centauri is few lightyears, while Alpehecca is...”

Empress intervened again, crudely cutting Guido off: “Both are actually one wormhole jump away from Earth. Unless you plan to equip our fleets with conventional drives, the lightyears don’t matter.”

She continued her speech: “Alpha Centauri will be colonized too, but I think personally Alpehecca is much better choice for several reasons. First, minerals. As you all are well aware, we lack minerals to keep expanding. Alpehecca system and the nearby Haduphis system have mineral deposits we could exploit. Second, Jusstkan League. With this, we block their advancement towards our systems. There is no way they could advance in our direction without outright declaration of war. Third, Alpehecca can act as a perfect base for our second wormhole station, expanding our jump range to yet another arm of the galaxy. The first two reasons should be more then enough though...”

Alphecca system

The Empress had finished her speech. Guido, not feeling really up to go against her Empress, sat as well. There was murmur of agreement and though the session kept going for hours still, the Empress just observed. In the end, Parliament drafted a proposal to start colonization of Alpehecca and sent it to general population to be confirmed. Normans, recognizing the sound logic of the Empress and also enjoying the good thrashing she gave Guido, (it went viral), agreed in general vote cast two days after. Alpehecca was the next Norman colony.

The ship set sail from Earth in 10th of May 2210 and arrived in Alphecca IIIa, soon to be known as New Normandy, in 16th September. Humanity is now spread over three planets.

Final approach to Alphecca IIIa

The Elections​

The elections of 2210 passed without any slaver scandals. The winner this time was Yi Hu, who promised to build more mining stations and whose expertise in both gathering the minerals and building new stations more cheaply meant another way to deal with the mineral problem in the Hauteville Empire.

All say hi to your new ruler

New Contact​

Rasalhague System is on the northernmost edge of Earth’s wormhole range. It was in June 2211 when Norman explores discovered something around the sun of the place. It was space station of some sort, sending out weird signals. Apparently, Normans had found yet another race nearby. Will the be friendly or just another angry xenophobic nation? Well, we’ll soon find out...

It is getting crowded

 

[hjarg]

Colonization of our third system is well on the way. Plus, some other advances. Plus, one very ugly looking angry alien... So, i'd call this eventful chapter. Though i kinda forgot myself to write about the Parliament as well...

Well, space piracy didn't last very long. Overall it's a good lesson for the Hauteville Empire. Hopefully the next time you fight, it'll be against a proper foe.

Wonder what will happen if i let the pirates run rampart? And i can promise you, the next time i fight, it will be against angry space monsters!

I like how you put that it took so long. A lot of times people write a trial being super quick when it would take forever to set up a hearing and all that stuff.

I hope that doesn't bite you in the bum later.

Well, Hauteville Empire is still democratic nation where people have their rights, even rebels. Not some Stalinist troika that judges you in five minutes and shoots you in the next five. Would it be civilian case, i think i would have stretched it for years before all the courts have been walked through, but in this case, military court should have a bit faster proceedings.

And no it doesn't. The pirate stations can't produce additional ships.

The beginning and likely the end of Space Piracy.

Unfortunately yes, for the end part. Would have given me something to kill in the slow times.