The Lord God angrily threw the switch shutting
off the broadcast. "They have betrayed me!" he screamed, "Both of my
chosen ones have betrayed me! Send out an order immediately. North and
Morn are declared Rebels, and any who follow them. They are to be
seized immediately and executed, along with all who follow them. Death
to the Rebels, to their wives, and to their children!
Exterminate every last one of them!"
54 It was unfortunate The Lord God had so acted. For North had ordered
his forces to hold back until The Lord God ordered his death. Then,
they were to attack. Before his time, Rebels had merely shut
themselves up in their Own systems and tried to fend off The Empire's
attack.
55 But North was not one to sit and wait. Immediately his Forces spread
out. As soon as they had their own systems under control, they sent
their Fleets against their Imperial neighbors. Within weeks Imperial
station after Imperial station was falling, many surrendering without a
fight, willingly joining The Rebels.
56 North knew he could not possibly hold all this territory. As soon as
some places were captured they were dismantled and shipped back into
the growing Republics. For North's people had decided to stay separate
from The Hashons to form their own Republic. But an alliance was
quickly declared, and the two Republics fought as one.
57 North had declared Morn overall political Leader, while Morn had
declared North Supreme Military Commander. This was an arrangement
agreeable to both The Hashons and The Havens. In the first couple of
months North accomplished all his goals and better.
58 He had captured far more warships than he had hoped, and many of The
Empire's freighters. But his lines of communication were becoming too
stretched. If he continued any further, it would lead to disaster. His