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The Ketling Menace
“I guess I signed on for this, better or bad situations be damned.”
Executor Gapra Taras sighed.
“We had it all under control. Everything. Damned be the Ketling!”
She breathed in heavily.
“I will collect myself. Let’s take it from the beginning.”
She gestured.
“We declared war on the Bodranites. Their allies the Urzoia joined in. A two-front war, but the plan was to invade the Bodranites in full and keep the borders secure with the Urzoria. And we got an ally in the south to help us with that.”
She smiled weakly.
“And it worked. We were close to subjugate the entirety of the Bodranites. So. Close.
Taras closed her eyes for a moment.
“So incredibly close.”
Opening her eyes, she stared right into the eyes of the interviewer.
“Then, the Ketling. In the midst of our territory, their home system laid. It was seemingly empty, save for the sorry remains of a long-lost civilization. We didn’t claim the system though, it was as some outside force prevented us. All ships that entered quickly left. It was an eerie system. Some thought it haunted. Some, holy.”
She waved her fist.
“Then, as we were close to winning our war with the Bodranites, with out fleets far away, they struck. The Ketling revealed themselves. Their fleets equal or bigger than ours.”
Her eyes darkened.
“And they had allied the treacherous Reyenne Assembly, all in secret. A foe with almost the same fleet capacity as ours, it would turn out. Darn xenos!”
She grinned.
“One day, they will be Triech, I assure you. One day…”
She nodded to herself.
“So, we had to peace out with the Bodranites. A nice vassal was carved out from them. And our fleets were sent towards home.”
A pained flash across her face.
“And we almost lost it all. Our core worlds, including the capital planet, fallen to the enemy. Most of our production, lost over night. Our only shipyards, fallen. No way to repair or reinforce properly. A losing battle, as the ketling and the Reyenne ravaged our core territory.”
A proud glint in her eyes.
“But we prevailed. The Triech always prevail. We beat the Reyenne back, took the Ketling home system under painful losses, pressed onwards and just in time reclaimed the shipyard in the Kiram system. From there, we rebuilt. We beat the Ketling back step by step!”
A triumphant gleeful smile.
“We. Are. Triech!”
She nodded.
“And we won. Costly, very costly. One third of our systems and our four core planets was lost at one point. Even our glorious capital. And we won. The Ketling are miserable subjects of us now. As it should be.”
She frowned.
“There was much to rebuild. But the economy now is booming, bigger than ever before. It is, again, good to be Triech. And now you must excuse me, I have a conference call. There is still much to be done.”
Executor Gapra Taras sighed.
“We had it all under control. Everything. Damned be the Ketling!”
She breathed in heavily.
“I will collect myself. Let’s take it from the beginning.”
She gestured.
“We declared war on the Bodranites. Their allies the Urzoia joined in. A two-front war, but the plan was to invade the Bodranites in full and keep the borders secure with the Urzoria. And we got an ally in the south to help us with that.”
She smiled weakly.
“And it worked. We were close to subjugate the entirety of the Bodranites. So. Close.
Taras closed her eyes for a moment.
“So incredibly close.”
Opening her eyes, she stared right into the eyes of the interviewer.
“Then, the Ketling. In the midst of our territory, their home system laid. It was seemingly empty, save for the sorry remains of a long-lost civilization. We didn’t claim the system though, it was as some outside force prevented us. All ships that entered quickly left. It was an eerie system. Some thought it haunted. Some, holy.”
She waved her fist.
“Then, as we were close to winning our war with the Bodranites, with out fleets far away, they struck. The Ketling revealed themselves. Their fleets equal or bigger than ours.”
Her eyes darkened.
“And they had allied the treacherous Reyenne Assembly, all in secret. A foe with almost the same fleet capacity as ours, it would turn out. Darn xenos!”
She grinned.
“One day, they will be Triech, I assure you. One day…”
She nodded to herself.
“So, we had to peace out with the Bodranites. A nice vassal was carved out from them. And our fleets were sent towards home.”
A pained flash across her face.
“And we almost lost it all. Our core worlds, including the capital planet, fallen to the enemy. Most of our production, lost over night. Our only shipyards, fallen. No way to repair or reinforce properly. A losing battle, as the ketling and the Reyenne ravaged our core territory.”
A proud glint in her eyes.
“But we prevailed. The Triech always prevail. We beat the Reyenne back, took the Ketling home system under painful losses, pressed onwards and just in time reclaimed the shipyard in the Kiram system. From there, we rebuilt. We beat the Ketling back step by step!”
A triumphant gleeful smile.
“We. Are. Triech!”
She nodded.
“And we won. Costly, very costly. One third of our systems and our four core planets was lost at one point. Even our glorious capital. And we won. The Ketling are miserable subjects of us now. As it should be.”
She frowned.
“There was much to rebuild. But the economy now is booming, bigger than ever before. It is, again, good to be Triech. And now you must excuse me, I have a conference call. There is still much to be done.”
What a disaster! I've seen the Contingency pull that stunt on my own empire once, and it's never fun. How long did it take to recover from that gut punch?
Well, the war itself lasted for nine years, before the Ketling finally was beaten. Was close to a total loss at one point. The economy suddenly boomed after the war, I suspect the addition of the Ketling home system with three filled planets (of arguably extremely angry Ketlings, but still) helped with that. I started a new war only a few years later, after rebuilding and repairing my fleet and some necessary enlargement of the navy and army.
Triech Absorbers 2273-2289
“Welcome back. Please, sit down.”
Executor Gapra Taras smiled widely.
“Yes, there has been some good progress the last few years, after we faced the Ketling.”
A wider smile.
“Already the same year, we expanded to a new planet. Imagine that, in the aftermath of this test, we still had it in us to expand quickly! We are truly Triech!”
A laugh.
“Yes, and we did not stop there. The secrets of the Old Galactic Order, far away in time, was given to us.”
She nodded.
“The secrets of the First League. Or rather, the first of what I am sure will be many secrets to uncover.”
The Executor pointed to the holomap behind her.
“Imagine that, the home system of this long gone galactic entity, in the middle of our territory, ready to be claimed for the benefit of all Triech!”
She frowned.
“Xenos they may have been, but they came far. Almost as far as I hope to see our glorious Empire reach one day.”
A grin.
“Of course, we colonized their sorry remains at once, for the glory of the Triech!”
A laugh.
“And then we continued to subjugate the weak Bodranites. We even visited their allies the Empire of Ulzoria more thoroughly this time.”
A flash in her eyes.
“We took much from them. Our vassals from the previous war got three planets and eight systems, while we directly annexed two planets and seven systems. And them, of course, we gained another vassal from the Bodranites. Weaklings.”
Another laugh.
“Yes. There is not much left of the Bodranites now. A sorry excuse of an “Empire”, the lot of them. One day, they will all bow to us. I will make sure of that.”
A scoff.
“But for now, I will let them be. It is time we look north. There are species to absorb into our glorious Triech Empire over there. So you will have to excuse me, I have matters of state to attend to.”
Executor Gapra Taras smiled widely.
“Yes, there has been some good progress the last few years, after we faced the Ketling.”
A wider smile.
“Already the same year, we expanded to a new planet. Imagine that, in the aftermath of this test, we still had it in us to expand quickly! We are truly Triech!”
A laugh.
“Yes, and we did not stop there. The secrets of the Old Galactic Order, far away in time, was given to us.”
She nodded.
“The secrets of the First League. Or rather, the first of what I am sure will be many secrets to uncover.”
The Executor pointed to the holomap behind her.
“Imagine that, the home system of this long gone galactic entity, in the middle of our territory, ready to be claimed for the benefit of all Triech!”
She frowned.
“Xenos they may have been, but they came far. Almost as far as I hope to see our glorious Empire reach one day.”
A grin.
“Of course, we colonized their sorry remains at once, for the glory of the Triech!”
A laugh.
“And then we continued to subjugate the weak Bodranites. We even visited their allies the Empire of Ulzoria more thoroughly this time.”
A flash in her eyes.
“We took much from them. Our vassals from the previous war got three planets and eight systems, while we directly annexed two planets and seven systems. And them, of course, we gained another vassal from the Bodranites. Weaklings.”
Another laugh.
“Yes. There is not much left of the Bodranites now. A sorry excuse of an “Empire”, the lot of them. One day, they will all bow to us. I will make sure of that.”
A scoff.
“But for now, I will let them be. It is time we look north. There are species to absorb into our glorious Triech Empire over there. So you will have to excuse me, I have matters of state to attend to.”
With everything going so well, the First League capitol world being in such a good position is basically just icing on the cake now.
Yeah. But all is not well. I have been unable to get a grasp of happiness management in conquered planets... Some are seeding with malcontent.
Triech Absorbers 2289-2308
“Almost two decades. Two decades if change, not all for the better.”
Executor Gapra Taras sighed.
“I mean, new vassals and an expanded economy is all good and dandy, but the audacity of the Galactic Community to forbid good, old purging…”
She waved her hand.
“Preposterous. Totally, definitely unacceptable.”
A weak smile.
“But we complied. For now. We might be strong, we might be Triech, but we are surrounded by enemies and together they would be too much even for us.”
A frown.
“Someday, we will reverse it though. It cannot stand forever. Triech honor forbids it.”
She nodded.
“Not all has been bad though. We did subjugate parts of the Insatiable Sibulan Provisioners. Much of their lands are now ours, through our new vassals.”
She held up a finger.
“It was costly, but it was worth it.”
She pointed to the holomap.
“We quickly secured the Muphrid and Halax systems, we even got farther. But when they combined their fleets in the Battle of Higma, we had to regroup afterwards to repair. It took precious time.”
Taras shook her head.
“The hit and run tactics were pretty tiresome. Two steps forward, one step back, all the time. When they discovered wormhole travel and invaded our core systems from behind, so to speak…”
She hissed.
“Cowards! In the end they could not stand against us, though. They gave up much of their Empire. As is proper. We are Triech.”
Tapping the chair, she sighed again.
“But as we were fighting in the galactic north, one of our conquered planets in the south rebelled. A most unfortunate thing. They seceded and joined the Cradons. Our friends the Cradons.”
A laugh.
“We are Triech. We don’t really do xeno friends. But these guys somehow like us and have been loyal in our common wars. As the situation is, I decided we should let it pass. Time will come to reclaim what is ours. In the meantime, I signed a non-aggression pact with them and told them to take good care of our wayward citizens.”
Waving her fist, she fell back and let out another laugh.
“You win some, you lose some. In the end, we are Triech and we will end up on top. I plan to continue to befriend the Cradons and now is the time to build up our fleets. A lot. There are xenos to conquer.”
Executor Gapra Taras sighed.
“I mean, new vassals and an expanded economy is all good and dandy, but the audacity of the Galactic Community to forbid good, old purging…”
She waved her hand.
“Preposterous. Totally, definitely unacceptable.”
A weak smile.
“But we complied. For now. We might be strong, we might be Triech, but we are surrounded by enemies and together they would be too much even for us.”
A frown.
“Someday, we will reverse it though. It cannot stand forever. Triech honor forbids it.”
She nodded.
“Not all has been bad though. We did subjugate parts of the Insatiable Sibulan Provisioners. Much of their lands are now ours, through our new vassals.”
She held up a finger.
“It was costly, but it was worth it.”
She pointed to the holomap.
“We quickly secured the Muphrid and Halax systems, we even got farther. But when they combined their fleets in the Battle of Higma, we had to regroup afterwards to repair. It took precious time.”
Taras shook her head.
“The hit and run tactics were pretty tiresome. Two steps forward, one step back, all the time. When they discovered wormhole travel and invaded our core systems from behind, so to speak…”
She hissed.
“Cowards! In the end they could not stand against us, though. They gave up much of their Empire. As is proper. We are Triech.”
Tapping the chair, she sighed again.
“But as we were fighting in the galactic north, one of our conquered planets in the south rebelled. A most unfortunate thing. They seceded and joined the Cradons. Our friends the Cradons.”
A laugh.
“We are Triech. We don’t really do xeno friends. But these guys somehow like us and have been loyal in our common wars. As the situation is, I decided we should let it pass. Time will come to reclaim what is ours. In the meantime, I signed a non-aggression pact with them and told them to take good care of our wayward citizens.”
Waving her fist, she fell back and let out another laugh.
“You win some, you lose some. In the end, we are Triech and we will end up on top. I plan to continue to befriend the Cradons and now is the time to build up our fleets. A lot. There are xenos to conquer.”
No, no. They're not Xeno-friends, they're just enemies who don't want to fight us right now. 
- 1
Goshdarnit folks, he's broken the newspeak code.No, no. They're not Xeno-friends, they're just enemies who don't want to fight us right now.
Very nice to see this going well! It seems that the great Triech Empire shall be forever strong, and stand up to the xeno scum. We must ensure the purity of our empire, and defend our way of life against the vile outsider.
ReadAARs!
I am sorry ai haven’t updated this in a while, it was quite disheartening to post an update and then get no comments for days, while my CK3 AAR gets several within the hour… I have played the game to where I want to end the story and it WILL be written eventually.
Just wanted to drop in and let you know I like this AAR. You do a really good job conveying a lot of information in compact form, so I can catch up on your good work!
Thank you so much!
I promise, it will be back eventually.- 1
Last chapter incoming! I am sorry it took so long time, but finally the last chapter is written! I did consider continuing after the death of the Executor, but the end practically wrote itself, as you will see.
Triech Absorbers 2308-2330
“A sad day, but necessary.”
Executor Gapra Taras puffed.
“We should be self-sufficient, not needing to buy rare crystals and exotic gasses from the xenos.”
She raised a finger.
“And we won’t for long, I assure you.”
She nodded.
“Yes. An unfortunate necessity. For now.”
A crooked smile.
“All the new ships made us so much stronger. All the resources from our xeno vassals.”
She laughed.
“We even got to be cozy with the fools in the Republic of Cradon.”
She snorted.
“They consider us friends. Xenos, friends of Triech? Well, it suits us to have someone, even as weak as them, as a buffer.”
The Executor shook her head.
“The slave revolt on Opriiuq II was…unfortunate.”
She sighed.
“Our troops fought long. Hard. For months. Over a year. But in the end, the xeno scum, with foreign xeno help, I am sure, managed to get their freedom.
She growled.
“For now. We will return. We are Triech.”
She winked.
“The First League continues to give us their secrets, one at a time. It’s quite an interesting adventure, to learn them, I assure you.”
She winked.
“As for the xeno scum on our borders, the Reyenne Assembly just fell hours ago. A 12 year long war to subjugate them for their transgressions against us, finally over.”
She nodded.
“Yes. The war started in 2318 and now, in 2330, it’s finally over. It has been a mop up for years now. Travel, even with the hyperlanes, takes time.”
She smirked.
“And as our enemies fall, luck befalls us. Not long ago, as you know, the Galactic Market moved to us.”
She snickered.
“Weak xeno scum who couldn’t withstand their enemies. Such will not befall us. We are Triech.”
A wink.
“And now the Reyenne Assembly is our vassals. Life is good when you are Triech.”
She clicked on her display.
“Just look at this. We dominate the western part of the galaxy. And believe me, it is only the beginning.”
She coughed.
“But you have to excuse me. I haven’t felt well recently. I need to rest before the next meeting with my council.”
She coughed again. Was that blood?
“We’ll meet again, my good man.”
Addendum:
The Executor died later that evening. It seems she has been severely ill for a long time, but this has not been disclosed to the public to avoid our enemies to exploit it.
It seems this was still exploited though, although not by foreign forces. Perek Vagras, the new Executor is a firm believer in xeno rights and a well-known opponent to Gapra Taras’ policies. Policies that have made our Empire strong. Only time will tell what will happen to the Triech with such a weak man at the helm of the Triech Absorbers.
I will not be able to chronicle it though. I am old, and tainted in the eyes of the new regime, with my close ties to the former Executor. My time will soon be at an end, being only slightly younger than the deceased Executor. I can feel it in my bones.
All I know, we are Triech. We will prevail. We will conquer. The current Executor will not be in power forever. Someday, a worthy successor to Gapra Taras will show themselves. Taras became 168 years old, the new Executor is merely 43. It might take some time. But in the end, the Triech will rise again.
Executor Gapra Taras puffed.
“We should be self-sufficient, not needing to buy rare crystals and exotic gasses from the xenos.”
She raised a finger.
“And we won’t for long, I assure you.”
She nodded.
“Yes. An unfortunate necessity. For now.”
A crooked smile.
“All the new ships made us so much stronger. All the resources from our xeno vassals.”
She laughed.
“We even got to be cozy with the fools in the Republic of Cradon.”
She snorted.
“They consider us friends. Xenos, friends of Triech? Well, it suits us to have someone, even as weak as them, as a buffer.”
The Executor shook her head.
“The slave revolt on Opriiuq II was…unfortunate.”
She sighed.
“Our troops fought long. Hard. For months. Over a year. But in the end, the xeno scum, with foreign xeno help, I am sure, managed to get their freedom.
She growled.
“For now. We will return. We are Triech.”
She winked.
“The First League continues to give us their secrets, one at a time. It’s quite an interesting adventure, to learn them, I assure you.”
She winked.
“As for the xeno scum on our borders, the Reyenne Assembly just fell hours ago. A 12 year long war to subjugate them for their transgressions against us, finally over.”
She nodded.
“Yes. The war started in 2318 and now, in 2330, it’s finally over. It has been a mop up for years now. Travel, even with the hyperlanes, takes time.”
She smirked.
“And as our enemies fall, luck befalls us. Not long ago, as you know, the Galactic Market moved to us.”
She snickered.
“Weak xeno scum who couldn’t withstand their enemies. Such will not befall us. We are Triech.”
A wink.
“And now the Reyenne Assembly is our vassals. Life is good when you are Triech.”
She clicked on her display.
“Just look at this. We dominate the western part of the galaxy. And believe me, it is only the beginning.”
She coughed.
“But you have to excuse me. I haven’t felt well recently. I need to rest before the next meeting with my council.”
She coughed again. Was that blood?
“We’ll meet again, my good man.”
Addendum:
The Executor died later that evening. It seems she has been severely ill for a long time, but this has not been disclosed to the public to avoid our enemies to exploit it.
It seems this was still exploited though, although not by foreign forces. Perek Vagras, the new Executor is a firm believer in xeno rights and a well-known opponent to Gapra Taras’ policies. Policies that have made our Empire strong. Only time will tell what will happen to the Triech with such a weak man at the helm of the Triech Absorbers.
I will not be able to chronicle it though. I am old, and tainted in the eyes of the new regime, with my close ties to the former Executor. My time will soon be at an end, being only slightly younger than the deceased Executor. I can feel it in my bones.
All I know, we are Triech. We will prevail. We will conquer. The current Executor will not be in power forever. Someday, a worthy successor to Gapra Taras will show themselves. Taras became 168 years old, the new Executor is merely 43. It might take some time. But in the end, the Triech will rise again.
- 4
"No matter what kind of ruler you are... as your grave approaches, your key supporters will plan for your replacement.... because a dead ruler surprise will lead to a scramble for power at best and a bloodbath at worst. This is why, if you happen to be sick, keep it secret! If they even think you might die on them, your supporters might start planning for the next ruler anyway. If you recover, these individuals might still be on your side in their actions, but in their minds, you're already dead. You will lose control and then your throne in quick succession."
- Paraphrased from The Dictator's Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith
Thanks for sharing another Stellaris AAR with us! As always, this was a great ride!
A lot of fun, and the end was good too! I think it's fitting to leave off here, and I'm sure the Triech will rise again.