By the end of the Drug Wars, Dixie and her people had become famous enough that military producers asked her to advertise their products. They hired her to provide the voices of their onboard computers, and even licensed the use of limited versions of her core programming. Her voice became the standard voice of almost all military hardware built in Texas. Dixie performs that service to this day, providing Texas a link to their pre-space past.
The Great War was not limited to a conflict between European powers alone. Japan and China vied for power in the East in a prelude to future conflicts for instance. Japan attacked first, capturing many German bases and demanding steep concessions from China. Heavily divided and still recovering from the fall of the Manchu Dynasty, China had no alternative but to agree with the onerous demands. They would not soon forget.
The cheap little toys we brought home from Betelgeuse showed us that the Thunderbirds had the same tech base as the Peloran. That brought up all kinds of interesting questions. “How did they get it?” was one of the big ones. We had to study the Thunderbirds themselves before we got a clue to that. You see, the things they don’t teach in “Alien Lifeforms 101” is that they are gengineered, just like the Peloran. The Albion were real busy little beavers.
Dixie and her Texas Tech students and faculty truly were integral to the defense of Texas during the height of the Drug Wars that waged during the Second Great Depression. And once the Texas Guard finished mobilizing and marched south to deal with the cartels on Mexican soil, Dixie’s drones rolled out with them. And while holographic technology was still young at the time, she still had a lot of fun cheerleading the military advances against the bad guys.
Third Fleet was our last best hope for victory in the early years of The War. It failed. Epsilon Reticuli became a lesson every naval officer studied before graduation, a battle no one wished to repeat. Serenity became a mixed lesson. In some circles it was an example of what all Alliance personnel were expected to do if required. For others it was a lesson that political battles were just as deadly. For me it was an opportunity that I did not ignore.
The Martian Affair on Amazon
Forge of War on Amazon
The Audacious Affair on Amazon
Angel Flight on Amazon
Angel Strike on Amazon
Angel War on Amazon
The Family Affair on Amazon
The Thunderbird Affair on Amazon
Wolfenheim Rising on Amazon
Wolfenheim Emergent on Amazon
The Gemini Affair on Amazon