                 The Kazik Armed Forces. The Cyberian Armada.
                One will be victorious. One will be destroyed.



                            _____    _____    _____
                          /_____   /_____/  /___
                          _____/  /   \    /_____

                             ____    ____  ____
                            |    |  \    \/    /
                            |    |   \        /
                            |    |   /        \
                            |____|  /____/\____\

                S u r v i v a l   O f   T h e   F i t t e s t




-=< The SRE Text Series has reached the pinnacle of it's success. SRE8's
incredible non-stop action led to more new readers than ever before. I
must continue to thank people for reading. It is only because of you.
Enough of me! And now; On to our story! >=-


Prologue

The Kazik Regime had been in existence for millenia. Never had they
encountered anything to rival their power. And, in fact, they still
hadn't. But the creatures with which they now battled were fierce,
unrelenting, and determined. Unbelievably, the Kazik Regime Praetorial
Palace had been decimated. And now they were mad. Very mad.

The Cyberian Group had been in existence for fifty years. Never had they
encountered a force as powerful as the Kazik. But the creatures they
battled were fierce, unrelenting, and determined. The Cyberian Platform
had been destroyed. Unbelievably, Petros Station had been ravaged. And
now they were mad. Very mad.


-=) Chapter 1

Petros Station, cornerstone of the Petros Extrauniversal Exploration
Program for ten years, and headquarters of both the Cyberian Group and
the Cyberian Armada for the past month-and-a-half, was in shambles. The
Kazik had invaded, as expected, and had torn Petros apart. Unbeknownst
to the Kazik, Full Admiral Rytek had taken the Armada to disable the
Kazik Regime Praetorial Palace. Both had returned to their respective
homes to find them almost destroyed. Unlike Krael's Universe, which was
divided into empires that had people living on all sorts of planets, in
the Kazik Universe every living Kazik resided at the Palace. For some
reason, they needed to be together. They were so xenophobic, they had
filled an entire Universe with robots and holograms of real people in
order to fool intriders. It HAD fooled Krael, and Mecur, new Director of
the Petros Program, for a while. But after new discoveries and the vital
interrogation of several captured Kazik, Krael had a good understanding
of the Kazik Universe and their way of life. Unfortunately, there were
more pressing matters at hand. One such matter was the elimination of
the Kazik. The thought of destroying an entire species did not appeal to
Krael. But the Kazik had been decimating entire Universes and peoples
for millenia, and Krael knew if they weren't stopped, they would keep
right on. Thus, Krael's men were busy repairing Petros as best as
possible. Empires were donating their surplus fighters. The donations
helped. But Krael had already asked as much as he could. The empires
couldn't afford to support the Cyberian Group. And Krael had no right to
force them to give him money. So he would have to make do with what he
had. And if he couldn't.... Well, THAT thought didn't appeal to him at
all.

"The Kazik Armed Force is superior to the Armada. They outnumber us as
well. We have only one advantage; almost all civilian Kazik are dead.
But in the long run, this may not help us." Full Admiral Rytek,
Commander-In-Chief of the Cyberian Armada, was briefing the other
Admirals on the situation. "All Defense Outposts are operational, except
the Petros Outposts. We have approximately fifty thousand ships,
including fighters. Best intelligence reveals the Kazik have twice that
amount. All ships are equipped with polarcrystal grids, invisiblity
screens, and traditional defense grids. We have no battle plans yet. But
that will happen soon," Rytek said. Admiral Celmn looked at Rytek.
"Looks like the odds are against us," he said. "We're gonna have to
CHANGE the odds, then, eh?" replied Dwool. Everyone nodded their
approval.

-=) Chapter 2

"Lord Praetor, the Force is ready to depart," reported the Teller. "Tell
me something I DON'T know, Teller," he retorted harshly. "The Cyberian
Armada is not mobilized yet," the Teller said. A smile slowly spread
across the Praetor's face. "Good. Invade. Meda must Lead," he ordered.
The Teller nodded, and departed to Tell of the Praetor's orders.

Koor SubForce Seven, supreme koor fleet of the Armed Force, had been
dispatched against the Cyberian Armada. Blakta Force ProSix, the new
leading blakta force after the demise of Force Seven Elite, had been
dispatched to assist. The two Forces combined had a total of ten
thousand ships. One tenth of the Armed Force. Meda was the Lead Pilot,
commanding from the command powernode. The powernode opened up the vast
subspace doorway, and the blaktas and koors thrustjumped through it.

Invisibility was activated. Plazspheres were online. Gluon Beams were
functional. Meda checked off all the things needed to be done. Meda's
strategy was unlike that of her predecessors. She planned to go PAST the
Armada, and hit it from behind.

-=) Chapter 3

"Subspace activity, Vedet," reported the chief scanner. Vedet looked up.
He had created a brand new scanner which looked through subspace to find
activity. He knew the Armada wasn't going anywhere yet, so it had to be
the Kazik or small time pirates. All empirial vehicles were suspended
from this area of space. "Notify Rytek and Krael," he ordered. There was
little else to do. His scanner couldn't identify headings or speeds. It
could only detect activity from within subspace. Vedet was beginning
work on a subspace bomb, which would jump into subspace and destroy
incoming ships. But it still had a long way to go. Otherwise, Vedet and
his crews were busy working on other assorted military weapons and
defensive grids.

"This is Kharq Outpost three-oh-five. Kazik ships detected for brief
instant. Bearing down on the Armada stationed at Tau Galaxy, from Galaxy
Ti," droned the voice of a computer. Dwool looked up in alarm. "they're
coming at us from behind! All defensive measures! Sound battle imminence
alert, fleetwide," came the order. "Damn, caught with our pants down,"
he muttered. "Invisibility should be tied into proximity alarms. As soon
as they exit subspace, I want us to be invisible," he said.

The ten-thousand ship fleet exited subspace to find... Nothing. "They
must be invisible. All ships to ramming courses," ordered Meda. The
koors and blaktas darted through space, hoping to collide with their
invisible enemies. To the left and right, explosions lit up space. This
battle was made harder by the fact that neither she, nor her enemy,
could see each other. It was almost a waste of time. In fact, Meda was
beginning to disapprove of the whole idea of conquering this Universe.
The Regime had let them develop too far; it was obvious. They should
have been using their resources against other Universes, rather than
against the forces of this Universe. But it was not up to her. About
this time, a Cyberian fighter careened into her powernode. 'Damn the
Regime,' she silently thought. The explosion of the central command
powernode lit up all the surrounding space.

-=) Chapter 4

The Kazik fleet immediately withdrew. If the central command powernode
ever got destroyed, then they must evacuate. And so they did. Obviously,
the Regime would have new orders for them. This mission had not been a
failure like the others before. They didn't know the enemy casualty
count, but there had been extensive damage.

"They're gone," reported Vedet. "That was stupid! Why would they jump
into our Universe, fight for five minutes, and then leave?" demanded
Krael. Obviously, Vedet couldn't answer that. "Perhaps it was a ruse,
sir," speculated Vedet. "Maybe it was. Here, I need you to get us an
advantage. If we can't detect the enemy when invisible, we can't win,"
Krael said. He quickly shut off the VidCom. Krael looked around. The
room was bare and scorched, destroyed weeks ago by the Kazik. They would
pay for the destruction of Petros and the murder of Amoko. They would
pay dearly, indeed....

"Admiral Celmn, just think about it. Sixty billion credits. Sixty
BILLION. And power, too. If the Armada was controlled by the UEA, you
would be commander-in-chief. Rytek, obviously, would be disposed." The
voice of Wildcat came soothingly over the VidCom; on a secured channel,
of course. It was tempting, too. Sixty billion credits and command of
the Armada. All for ordering his fleet to destroy Rytek and seize
control. From what Celmn knew, Admiral Regala was already under
Wildcat's control. If Wildcat gave the order, Regala would invade.
Admiral Dwool, he knew, would never assist such an operation. He was a
stickler to honor and loyalty. He definately wouldn't betray the
Cyberian Group. His mind made up, Celmn replied. "Wildcat, you are very
smooth. I am at your disposal," he said. Wildcat grinned evilly.

-=) Chapter 5

"The empirial militaries do not have invisibility. Our superior numbers
can surely take some of them out. So here are your orders; Invade the
deCeti Galaxy. Destroy everything there. Don't just unleash a plasma
wave. Kill them gruesomely. Make them savor it. If I understand the
politics of this Universe, the United Empire Association will demand the
Cyberian Armada defend the individual empires. The Armada will stand no
chance if it is split apart like that," ordered the Praetor. The Teller
heard his orders and left to Tell the Leaders.

-=) Chapter 6

"Amina, come in," crackled the AudCom. Amina Outpost Two wasn't in any
shape to respond. The Kazik had blown it apart with a gluon beam. "Amina
Outpost Two, what is it? What happened?" asked Ratob. Still, the Com was
silent. "Scan the vicinity of Amina Outpost Two. Something is dead
wrong," said Ratob. The chief scanner peered into the VidTerm and
adjusted the frequencies. What he saw didn't look too good. "Amina
doesn't exist anymore, I'm afraid, Colonel Ratob," reported the scanner.
Ratob pounded his desk. "Get a heavy cruiser out there and investigate.
Ecstatic is going to want to know why one of his most expensive scanning
outposts has been destroyed," he said.

As the heavy cruiser was going out, the Kazik were coming in. The
defense station was their first target. Gluon beams flew from several
directions, ripping the station apart.

Sparks poured out from everything. He looked to the scanner, about to
make another order, when part of the flaming ceiling dropped onto
Ratob's friend. Whoever was doing this would be sorry. He activated the
AudCom and attempted to make contact. "Offenders, beware! The Ecstatic
Military doesn't take attacks lightly. Cease fire and return to your
home space," he said. He never knew if anyone got his message. In the
midst of the rain of sparks and fire, the station crumpled.

The Ecstatic Military pursued the invaders. The Kazik easily destroyed
them all. And one by one, they slowly and steadily wiped out empires
inside the deCeti Galaxy. They made sure they were visible, too. The UEA
would find out that the Kazik were responsible for destroying
thirty-seven of it's empires. After completing their carnage, the Kazik
thrustjumped back home.

-=) Chapter 7

"Look at this! They aren't just fighting the Armada anymore, Krael. They
have agressively destroyed a Galaxy. They came in and murdered
everything alive. Everything. What will protect the small empires from
such powerful invaders, Krael? WHAT?!" screamed Wildcat. "This isn't
just about freedom, Krael. This is about survival. Dissolve the Group
and give control of the Armada to the UEA. The Armada is supposed to
protect us anyway." Krael's anger boiled. "Are you presuming to tell ME
how to run MY military? You are a politician. You know nothing about how
to run an Armada, let alone run the UEA. You are a mere representative,
and have no authority. If I must dissolve the Empirial System and
combine all the militaries, I WILL. But that isn't one of my choices
right now. Dividing up the strongest military force we have among
hundresd of tiny empires will only make us weaker. I am not worried
about power. I am worried abut the safety and security of my home
Universe," he seethed. "Damn you, Krael. You will see... You will
see..." Wildcat said, cryptically. The VidCom shut off. Choices. Damn
life-threatening choices.

-=) Chapter 8

"Success, lord Praetor!" exclaimed the Teller. "What now?" he asked. The
Praetor inclined his head. "I know enough of these people. There will be
severe infighting. They lack unity, as we have. They are a diverse
people, and each of them lust for power. This UEA will try to seize
power, taking advantage of our attack. This move will play right into
our hands. If they even try, a civil war will break out, weakening the
Armada. If the UEA is successful in their endeavors, then we recieve
even more help in conquering them," the Praetor said. "Send Soka out. I
want to see another Galaxy destroyed. This time, target the Ti Galaxy,
which houses the Armada's technology development outposts," ordered the
Praetor.

Vedet opened his pocket and pulled out a little card. He looked at the
panel in front of him. On the panel was a slot, two little toggles, and
a switch. He flipped one of the toggles, revealing a button. He
depressed the button, and a voice said, "Insert keycard." Vedet pushed
his card into the slot, and listened to the whirring noise that began.
The voice then said, "State your name for voiceaux authorization." Vedet
said his name aloud, and then the panel changed color to green. Vedet
flicked the switch, and the other toggle opened itself. Vedet checked
all of his monitors to make sure everything was nominal. This experiment
was crucial; the tedious security process had saved his neck twice.
Everything looked in order. He pushed the button.

The steel-grey cylinder floated through space. Then, in the blink of an
eye, it vanished. It reappeared in subspace, but not for too long. It
immediately detonated, and a massive explosion ensued. A small drone
hovered nearby. It was torn apart.

Soka was seated in her seat when an alarm went off. She checked her
scanner and saw a massive destructive force being hurtled at them. "Drop
out of subspace!" she yelled into her communicator. Immediately all the
Kazik ships fled subspace into normal space. Soka had never seen
anything like that before. A subspace anamoly, perhaps? Not likely.
Subspace was distorted, like a paranormal space. Anamolies didn't just
happen there. Somehow her enemies had found a way to create a subspace
bomb.

-=) Chapter 9

"Kazik ships have been seen outside of the Ti Galaxy!" came the cry.
Rytek wasted no time. "Everyone take a subspace thrustjump to the Ti
Galaxy. Kazik ships have been reported. Sound a fleetwide Battle
Imminence Alert," he ordered. His massive command ship shuddered and
then swept through a subspace jump field into subspace. Within seconds,
the Armada should be confronting the Kazik.

"The enemy approaches!" said Soka's Teller. "Tell the Force that they
are not to become invisible. We need to see our enemies. If they become
invisible, THEN we shall follow suit. But not until that time," she
ordered. The Teller nodded, and walked over to a communicator. It was
time for battle..

The Armada came out of subspace. Rytek was about to order Celmn's fleet
to pursure the enemy when he noticed that Celmn's fleet wasn't there.
"Full Admiral Rytek! Scanners indicate that Admirals Celmn and Regala's
fleets are missing," reported the chief scanner. Damn! "Commence firing.
All ships must take zones and defend them," ordered Rytek.

-=) Chapter 10

"Krael, half of your Armada is missing. The Cyberian Armada is
confronting the Kazik at Galaxy Ti. And half of them are missing,"
taunted Wildcat. "Is there any point to this, Wildcat?" demanded Krael.
"Yes. The other half of the Armada is under my control. They will attack
you at Ti if I order them to. It's your move, Krael. I suggest you give
me complete control of the Armada," Wildcat replied. Krael stood his
ground. "No," he said. Krael cut off the VidCom. "Tell Full Admiral
Rytek to withdraw immediately and regroup at the Feqh Galaxy," Krael
ordered.

"Celmn, I am naming you Supreme Commander of the UEA Empirial Fleet.
Bring the Fleet to Galaxy Sei, and prepare to attack Rytek," ordered
Wildcat. The new Full Admiral nodded his head and cut off the VidCom. He
turned to look at the VidScreen displaying all the tactical informaton
about the Universe. Rytek had withdrawn, and was under orders to go to
Feqh. Celmn and Regala would meet him there...

The Praetor seemed happy. "The infighting has begun, as I suspected. If
all goes well, they will destroy themselves," he mused. The Teller
looked at him. "Do you have anything for me to Tell?" he asked. "Get
another Leader. I want the entire Kazik Armed Force to be ready, on my
command, to invade the enemy Universe," the Praetor replied.

-=) Chapter 11

Regala was mad. If his father hadn't been Wildcat, perhaps none of this
would be happening. Regala had a sense of honor and duty. What he was
doing was wrong; but he couldn't stop it. He had committed himself, and
now he had secured two futures. One was a future of death and dishonor.
The other was second-in-command of the new UEA Empirial Fleet; if it won
this battle. Regala realized that the Kazik would attack when the time
was right. Wildcat didn't understand that taking over the Armada would
expend too many ships. There had to be a way to stop his father..

"My fleet is coming to you with orders to capture you, Admiral Rytek,
and take command of the Armada. I don't want to do this, so prepare
yourself to destroy me," said Admiral Regala. The VidScreen went dark.
"Sound Battle Imminence Alert. Activate invisibility, and prepare a
subspace bomb," ordered Rytek.

"There is a subspace bomb ready to detonate. If you come any closer to
the Feqh Galaxy, we will destroy your Fleet," said Full Admiral Rytek.
"Is this technology real?" asked Wildcat. "Yes, it is Lord Wildcat,"
replied Celmn. "They can deploy the bomb at any time and detonate it. In
other words, we can't get any closer to them without risking the
destruction of the Fleet." he explained futher. Wildcat dismissed the
notion. "We're going in anyway," he said.

"NO!" yelled Regala. He turned to the weapons chief. "Target the command
ship and rake it with a repulsor," he ordered. The chief was visibly
confused, but she complied anyway. The green beams darted through
subspace, hitting Wildcat's command ship. Little damage was done; after
all, Regala wanted the command ship to remain intact.

Sparks flew. "Surrender your Fleet, Father. I will destroy you if you
don't," said Regala. Wildcat nodded his resignation. It was over. His
own son had defeated his cause. Now he had no chance to rule the
Universe. The blasted Kazik were going to destroy them without Wildcat's
leadership. But he couldn't have a chance to dissolve the Group anymore.
His anger mounted and mounted. His face turned red as he seethed. "Lord
Wildcat, are you alright?" asked Celmn. Wildcat kneeled over and then
pitched forward. Everyone would later find out that he had gone insane.

-=) Chapter 12

The Kazik, invisible, entered the Feqh Galaxy. The entire Armada was
exposed to them. Soka decided that they must be exchanging command.
Apparently the infighting hadn't gone as far as the Praetor had hoped.
But now there was an oppurtunity to destroy them.

Bouran was in charge of the Violet Star fighter division. Wildcat had
been defeated; it had come over the AudCom. Without warning, Bouran's
proximity alarm went off. Then, his ship was tossed around. Sparks and
fire lept at him from the VidTerms. He desperately tried to turn his
fighter, attempting to face his attacker. But it was to no avail. He had
lost control. Suddenly, his energy expenditure alarm went off. He had
ten seconds to exit the fighter before his power cell exploded. Damn. He
tried manual emergency release, but it wasn't working. Eight seconds
afterward, his fighter exploded.

"We're under attack! Activate invisibility," yelled Rytek. The command
ship pitched forward, under enemy fire. The Kazik must be here. The
command center would be the last thing to explode, if it came to that.
It was buried deep within the protected command ship. "Begin firing
heat-soliton beams," he ordered.

Soka smiled. The Kazik Armed Force was easily winning. They had taken
the Armada by surprise, and even if the battle didn't end in victory,
they were one giant step closer. Her powernode was bearing down on a
heavy cruiser that had been damaged in the initial fire. She aimed
carefully, and fired. The cruiser didn't stand a chance.

"Withdraw! Withdraw! All ships flee to subspace and go to Galaxy Sei!"
ordered Admiral Rytek. They had lost heavily.

-=) Chapter 13

The Armada had assembled at the Sei Galaxy. In a brief ceremony, Full
Commodore Jehai, and Commodore Alrus had been promoted to fill the
positions vacated by Celmn and Regala. Rytek had executed all three
criminals for their treachery. Celmn had told Rytek, just before he
died, something that remained in Rytek's mind forever. "Don't ever let a
career politician like me into a position as powerful as Admiral again.
It's a mistake." Celmn had started his career as a UEA representative.
Rytek knew Celmn was right..

"Full Admiral, I've got an idea!" said Admiral Dwool. "What if we used
holograms and fake ships as decoys," suggested Dwool. Rytek shook his
head. "The Kazik wouldn't fall for it," he said. "Ah, but they would. If
we put the decoys in a nebula, and there just happens to be one here at
Sei, they won't be able to scan accurately. If they go after the bait,
we can remain outside, invisibly. Once they are in, we'll attack, and
they'll lose. They won't be able to become invisible," explained Dwool.
Rytek liked the idea. "Excellent, Admiral. Put the plan into writing and
brief our new Admirals," he said.

Admiral Alrus was going to be the first one in. The Kazik had, indeed,
taken the bait. They were going inside the nebula now, and when they
were fully inside, Alrus would attack. Admiral Dwool's idea was
brilliant. Alrus had served under Dwool for a while; he always thought
of Dwool as an old coot. But it seemed that Admiral Dwool was smarter
than he gave him credit for.

"Commence attack," order Soka. Her Teller went to the communicator and
relayed the order. Beams of light, lances of energy all dispatched
against their pathetic enemy. The battle would be over soon.

The Armada moved in quickly. Within seconds, they had pulverized the
Kazik. The Kazik, once they figured out what was going on, returned
fire. The battle was getting hot, when the Kazik began to leave. "Keep
on firing! Don't let them get away!" screamed Rytek. He wanted this
battle to be fnished.

"Dwool, use the subspace bomb," said Vedet. "Excellent idea; for a
scientist," retorted Dwool. He turned to the weapons chief and gave the
command. Several grey cylinders hurtled out from the command ship. They
soon vanished, undoubtedly reappearing inside subspace. "Wait until all
the Kazik are fleeing. Then detonate the bombs," he ordered.

What was this? A grey cylinder came hurtling towards the thrustjumping
Kazik Force. Soka performed a detailed scan. The cylinder was
impenetrable. It was just about this time that it exploded. Green
particles hurtled in all directions. They were followed by debris of all
colors and shapes. As Soka was absorbed by fascination, her command
powernode was hit by the explosion. Fire erupted out of the thrustjump
engines. Her plasmatrail ignited, causing a plazfire. It wasn't long
before similar effects hit every Kazik ship in subspace. They were all
completely destroyed.

-=) Chapter 14

The Kazik Armed Force was pretty much destroyed. Few ships remained. The
Cyberian Armada wasn't too much better off. But they had still won. And
now they were off to the Kazik Regime Praetorial Palace, with Krael in
tow.

"Lord Praetor, I am Krael, leader of the Cyberian Group," said Krael.
"Your 'Kazik Armed Force' has been attacking my Universe for the past
several months. You have inflicted heavy damages, massive casualities,
and pain upon my people. The worse part is this; you've been doing this
for millenia to countless other Universes. This behavior is barbaric,
and I have a message for you; Stop, or be destroyed," he said. The
Praetor looked at him, resigned. He extended his only arm. "I surrender
the Regime," he said, pitifully. "Praetor, I have debated long and hard
over whether or not to eradicate the Kazik species. You certainly
deserve it. But I have decided that our two peoples can become friends;
if not, I'll MAKE us become friends," he said. Then Krael smiled warmly.
"The battle is over. You have surrendered. Now, let's help each other
grow back to the way we once were," he said. Thunderous applause arose
from Krael's men..


Epilogue

The Kazik, unconquerable conquerors, had been defeated. Krael returned
to Petros, and his crews continued to work on repairs. Soon enough,
Petros was operational. The Armada was in bad shape, but Krael knew that
within two years, it would be back up to speed. In the race for
survival, the survival of the fittest, Krael had survived. And he
intended to make sure his people CONTINUED to survive....



-=) Conclusion (=-

This concludes SRE 9 -- Survival Of The Fittest. The SRE Text Series
continues to be the most successful online text series ever. Interesting
things happened in SRE 9, and I am quite satisfied. Stay tuned for
SRE-X. The next level of SRE has arrived. It will blow you away...


Josh Renaud, Author.


The SRE Text Series is copyright (c)1995, GrossWorld Publishing Co. The
Series is distributed by GrossWorld, and public domain. Please
distribute freely, but do NOT alter the contents of the files. Violators
will be prosecuted.
