Micah Gurley: Invasion Day: An Oral History of the Veech War

The war between those two lasted a decade. Despite the advantages the Drak had, the Tz were brutal and determined to win, often sacrificing themselves in a fanatical disregard for their own lives. You see, the Tz have a caste system, with those in power using the lower tiers as if they were animals. Eventually, the Tz destroyed all life on the planets of the Drak and took over ownership. However, their victory was symbolic at best, for they took ownership of worlds destroyed by war.

The Tz learned a lesson that day. They desired power, but a species can not grow unless they have a base of power to grow from. They needed more low-tier species to provide the necessary amenities, food, and ground troops to fuel their war effort. The Tz are brutal, yes, but they are not simple, nor stupid.

Their next conquest ended with an occupation of a system where they killed almost 90% of the indigenous population but managed to keep the planets healthy. They enslaved the populace, planted colonies, and moved on. This continued for decades, with the Tz growing stronger and stronger. However, they came to another conclusion about managing an empire; it took work and administration, and that was something that even the lower caste of the Tz, who had now been elevated, sneered at.

So, when the Tz ran across a species that thought similar to them, they offered them standing in their empire—under them, of course, and directed them to expand. Soon, the Tz confederation had a dozen species fighting for a place under the Tz. A war broke out among the contenders, which the Tz encouraged, and eventually, three species emerged as the victors.

These three races, which we call the Trine, rule over their vassal states, which in turn rule over their vassal states and so forth.

The interests of the Trine often overlap, so they tentatively work together but do not mistake that for any type of comradeship. They each seek the favor of the Tz. They have often fought each other, the Tz only stepping in when it appeared to go too far.

The Veech are considered a lower caste than the Trine, only inhabiting four systems. They are, however, a brutal and ambitious race seeking to move higher and gain greater recognition.

From what our sources indicate, the Veech didn’t let the other members, nor their masters, know what they were planning. The Tz still may not know. It reminds me of your 2 ndWorld War. I have read that the Japanese didn’t let Germany know they were planning Pearl Harbor’s attack. In fact, it surprised the Germans as much as it did the Americans. There are many similarities here.

It came down to the Veech wanting your resources and access to a livable planet, which was not something they would be interested in sharing with other members, especially since sole occupation would help them advance their standing among their peers.

However, even if the Veech went against their character and asked for help, Earth is too far away for conquest to be profitable for any other races in the confederation. The distance creates a weakness in their supply lines that they would not be willing to expose. In addition, they simply wouldn’t be interested in helping the Veech. Again, not the best of friends.

What is Earth’s place now?

A good question and the answer is that Earth stands alone. Though the Jhi are on friendly terms with you, no military or other agreement exists or is desired by the Shin Alliance.

What is the Shil Alliance?

We are a loose alliance created to fight the expanding Tz and their minions. We have existed for decades and fought the Tz to a standstill. You could say we are the Allied power to their Axis, though I don’t know if you would call us the good guys. We share the same beliefs, for the most part, mainly free space to conduct trade.

Will the Earth be allowed to join the Shin Alliance?

No. This may seem harsh, but the Earth has little value to our alliance as a member. Primarily, we don’t want Earth in the Veech’s hands, which led to our getting involved, as I’ve said before. This might change in the future, but only time will answer that.

Although the Shin Alliance isn’t interested in you, the Jhi and a few other races have started trading on a larger scale.

Earth has a high number of trade items that the Jhi are interested in. Earth’s tobacco has especially been popular on many worlds. It might be assumed that because many races seem similar, many food products and such might be comparable to each other, but this is not true. So our merchants are rather excited about the find and have argued a case for you. Trade may not seem like much when your world is burning, but trade brings credits, and credits bring wealth, and there are not many things wealth can’t buy.

Phoenix Station

Zulu deck, a massive, multi-level space dock, is the home of Viper Squadron, comprised of some fifty 2nd-generation Galaxy Interceptors and a dozen shuttles.

The cavernous deck is a symphony of controlled chaos. Flashing lights illuminate the well-practiced launching and retrieval of spacecraft, which are then turned over to the ground crew. Like a watchful guardian, a control tower stands dominantly in the middle of the deck, overseeing and controlling the squadron’s hive-like movements. Painted on the back wall of the space, a coiled viper looms threateningly, seeming to represent the pride they take in belonging here. Pilots, ground crew, mechanics, and officers, all donning the dark purple and black of the squadron, move back and forth through space as if all are on a mission of urgency.

Oliver Lee exudes energy. Dressed in his squadron uniform, he seems poised to jump up at a moment’s notice to save the world. With a buzzed haircut and tightly-shaven face, he could be the poster boy for the young TSC.

I couldn’t wait to get here. We were given a choice after we finished high school whether to enlist in the TSC, but for me, this was the only choice. My parents died in the attack. They were in Berlin at the time working on a film. I was young, but I still remember them, and they didn’t deserve to die like that.

They were both set designers. Pretty cool actually; I can watch the movies they worked on… it’s nice. I was with my grandparents at the time of the attack, but they both died a few months later because of the bombs’ damage. I have more family than that, but nobody had time to look for them in the wake of the attack. I was placed in an orphanage with a a lot of other kids. I was there for four years. Then the TSC showed up and asked if any of us wanted to enter their program. I couldn’t sign up fast enough. I wanted out of that place, and I wanted payback.

I was in the first batch to enter the program, and I loved everything about it. Yeah, the high-school part wasn’t that great, not too far from real high school, I imagine, except that it prepared us for the next step, the Terran Space Command. To get into TSC Military Institute, you have to commit for eight years after high school, but again, that was a no-brainer for me.

Univerity flew by for me. It was fun. Challenging, but fun. There is a hefty emphasis placed on teamwork, relying on your brothers and sisters to accomplish the mission, so I grew very close to my classmates. They became my family, really the only family I have left. We all grew close.

After graduation, I was made 2 ndlieutenant in Viper 3, or 3 rdinterceptor squadron, but I won’t get to solo an interceptor until I’ve completed two years as a trainee. One year left. Do you know about the squadrons?

I answered that I did not.

There are eight squadrons in TSC. Let me see… Viper, mine of course, then Wolfpack, the Black Knights, the Blue Barons, the Red Tails, the Red Devils, the Cobras, and the Golden Eagles. Yeah, that’s all of them. Of course, they are all excellent squadrons, but, in my humble opinion, Viper squadron might have the edge this year. (He smiles.)