Abort, Retry, Fail IV: An Uncertain War
Let us now then, cast our eyes as we dive
Our talons ready, our beaks hungry,
Following our Murder, hurry, hurry
Fly fast, fly free, fly far!
Fly now, fly now, fly!
Fly to war and to ruin and death, death death!
Hark, on the Horizon!
Cast your eyes on the hated enemy,
Coming to finish the ruin of our colony!
But here, just in time, Murder, Murder Murder!
The arrival of the Saiiban fleet in the Theatre of Operations came at the exact right moment, when the XT-489 were again seeking to advance after recuperating from the costs of their initial offensive.
Our proud ships fly forth,
Joined by our grown companion,
Exploding across the sky like her namesake, Nova
Lasers flash, mass drivers fly.
For the first time, our fleet joins in battle
Against a flock from a different nest
The entire Saiiban fleet was present for this battle, including the stray Space Amoeba the Saiiban had adopted and called Nova.
It is only appropriate that we should meet here
It is only right that this is the first test of our new talons
Defending our new nast, our humble colony
With the collected might of our people!
The initial victory in the first clash between these fleets bought the Saiiban more time to continue to expand their fleet and gain further advantage in military strength.
The taste of victory was sweet,
Our enemy’s ships destroyed or fled
And our fleet also returned, to repair its damage
And gather more reinforcements
So that we might gather sufficient force so that
We might fly forth to recapture our stolen territory
And perhaps even make gains against the implacable foe.
And it is here that the controversy of this war unfolds.
Three more years pass, as fleets build,
Repairs are made, even more upgrades
We are not concerned: we have now the advantage
But our bastion in Crador, defending its colony,
Is still newly made, not at full strength
And then the enemy makes his return.
When the XT-489 returned to Cador, they found it undefended and were easily able to capture the system. The Saiiban fleet would arrive and recapture the system about a month later.
The outpost falls,
And the deathly machines land
Upon our new nest, nearly defenseless
And brush the defenders aside.
The defenders of Foosh’ro were quickly overwhelmed.
It was a near thing. for but a month later,
our ships arrive, brightly gleaming
Now stronger than the enemy,
And send their ships flying, broken.
But our troops transports, slow, ungainly
Are nowhere close
And poor Foosh’ro remains subjected
To the murderous rage
Of our mechanical foe.
Even after the recapture of Cador, the Saiiban had no troop transports handy to clear the enemy troops from Foosh'ro
And so we help our flock flee
Abandoning the colony
Until a later date
The greatest shame of this, our first war.
Even after the Saiiban fleet cleared the XT-469 starships, military forces remained on the planet murdering civilians, and the Saiiban had no troops handy to clear their forces. The civilians would flee in jury rigged transports shortly after, abandoning the colony.
Our fleet flies forth, furious, hungry
Having decisively defeated the fleets
Of the murderous enemy
It recaptures our border stations
And advance into the territory of the foe.
The Saiiban were able to go on the offensive and recapture their captured systems and eventually advanced slightly into territory that belonged to toe XT-489.
And so, at long last, we reach the end of my tale
And the time of my judgement
Our flock decided, once gains had been made
That further conflict
And potential for loss
Was an unacceptable risk
Although we have committed
To the elimination of our murderous neighbors
It was decided the time would be in the future
For, having recaptured our losses,
And after many years of struggle
We longed for a respite from this war.
A white peace settlement was reached. Why the XT-489 agreed, we cannot be sure. Perhaps they hoped a break in hostilities would allow them the time to recover and attempt again in the future.
And so, my brethren,
Here stands the case
We advanced, but did not achieve true victory
And the road to our small and humble advance
Was littered with risk, crisis, and tragedy
We stand stronger now, but at a cost.
So, what do you sing, does my service merit>
Or shall I lead our flocks in space no more?
At the end of the war the Saiiban recaptured all lost territory and seized and kept the Uzayglore system, deepening their defensive lines against the XT-489 and putting them in easy striking distance of some of their own colonies.