The Core Worlds of the UGN fell one by one. The United Galactic Nations and Omniconpro Corporate Sector combined were not enough to deal with the numerical and oftentimes technological advantages held by the Arcadian Galactic Commonwealth. The fighting was, at least for the Arcadians, far easier than dealing with the now long dead Angelus Holy Union. The UGN had ships, atmospheric and ground vehicles, infantry weapons and armor, artillery and more, but compared to the vastly superior technology the AHU had once possessed, it was like a modern military (Arcadia) fighting one from the early days of World War 1 (UGN and OCS).

It seemed to Arkhan that due to the lack of competition and threats (save for the more recent invasion by the AHU) neither the UGN or OCS had bothered to innovate or invent new things. Only recently had advancements been made, but they were too little and too late. The UGN and OCS had a great deal of catching up to do, and with the rate things were going for them it seemed that they would be dealt a massive setback in terms of technological might.

Nevertheless, despite the tide having almost certainly become irreversibly in Arcadia’s favor, the UGN and its puppet master kept holding out for a single victory and a single miracle. They needed something, anything to hold back the oncoming rush of Arcadian military power, but it eventually became clear that all they could do was to gather everything together for one final defensive stand. For the first time in a very long period of time, the UGN’s current leadership realized just how deep the hole that they had dug themselves into truly was.

…

The final Core System awaited. It was the last bastion of the floundering alliance between the UGN and OCS. Every other planet in the entire galaxy was either occupied, destroyed or otherwise dealt with. Arkhan himself was coming to help deal the final blow to the UGN and send the whole rotten structure collapsing to the ground. The newly refitted flagship of the AGC, the “Adeptus Deorum’, exited hyperspace behind the mass of summoned and non-summoned warships, transports, Mobile Suit Golems and Mobile Armor Golems.

All were waiting for the order to attack, be they Arcadians, citizens of the UGN or OCS or the various journalists and reporters who watched from afar. The might of Arcadia was facing off against the last defenders of the crumbling UGN, with the numbers of warships being roughly Fifteen to One in Arcadia’s advantage. However, if you were to add in the strike craft, Mobile Suit Golems and Mobile Armor Golems the numerical advantage held by Arcadia would be in the magnitude of roughly Sixty-Eight to One.

Arkhan was not taking any chances. He wanted this war to be over with and he already had determined the terms he would offer in exchange for peace. As he read over the quite generous terms once again, he felt a smile creep onto his face. The terms were indeed quite in the UGN’s favor, but odds were that they would either not believe that these were in fact the terms offered or would assume that there was some fine print that they missed.

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He intended to give back everything Arcadia had seized during the war. This was not a war of conquest, but rather one of humiliation. It was technically a White Peace, but that was on paper. The fact of the matter was that the AGC could have easily demanded that the entire galaxy become a part of it and the UGN would be unable to refuse. The problem with that was that Arcadia was already big enough to house its entire populace and then some. In fact, there was too much space and not enough people to live in it!

Annexing the UGN would have dealt with that problem, but then there would have to be a lengthy occupation and reeducation period, complete with rebellions, terrorists and the like. Arkhan had no intention of turning the galaxy into a massive police state, but that would likely be the only viable way to annex the UGN at all. There had been too much propaganda drilled into the heads of the UGN populace, and Arkhan was not willing to have his nation expend the time, resources and lives needed to deprogram everyone and keep the occupied territories from rising up.

It was hard enough keeping the currently occupied lands under control, and he had no illusions in his head that destroying the UGN’s government would solve any of those problems. No, a humiliating White Peace was the only viable option in his mind that would keep as many civilians alive as possible but also give the UGN a hard and harsh lesson. Besides, Arkhan did not want his nation to have to clean up the mess that the UGN and OCS had made, a thought shared by a surprisingly large majority of the AGC’s populace.

Arkhan looked up from the dataslate in his hands and gazed out over the black sea of space that lay before him. Countless ‘eyes’ spread his vision further and countless sensor systems expanded his perception as well. He could see, hear and perceive the world around him through his creations as though they were organs in his body, and the sensation of innumerable minds and innumerable bodies all connected to him and each other made him shudder. He could see so much, hear so much and through his connection he was able to experience it all without his mind breaking under the immense amount of stimulation it was receiving.

The UGN and OCS fleet was in front of him; one thousand ships of various makes and models accompanied by three thousand improvised warships made from pleasure yachts and the like. Compared to his fleet it was like a battle between David and Goliath, but this time Goliath was sure to be the victor. Arkhan’s gaze fell upon the improvised warships through the sight of countless unblinking eyes; those were the first targets, take out the weakest link first and deal with the true warships later. He would not risk one or more of the weaponized pleasure yachts being filled with explosives.

“Enough waiting for them to make the first move.” Arkhan said with his words traveling through every one of his creations and from ship to ship via the fleet communications devices. He put down the dataslate and took a deep breath before issuing the next command.

He opened his outstretched hand and turned it palm up. The UGN and OCS ships seemed to be in his palm, and Arkhan slowly closed his hand to a fist as if to crush the fleet in front of him. There was only one word that needed to be spoken, yet no one needed to hear it. They all knew what that gesture had meant before Arkhan even spoke the command. As the Arcadian armada advanced, Arkhan spoke one word as if to further drive his forces forward.

“Attack.”