As our history of the Alliance begins with the entry of the Earthlings, so our history of the Hierarchy must begin when the Ur-Quans' combined fleet conquered the Androsynth.  The Androsynth fought desperately; they had no desire to be enslaved again.  Nevertheless, they made no overtures to Earth or to the Alliance for aid.  They could not hold against the Ur-Quan Dreadnoughts, bolstered by the Umgah, Ilwrath and Spathi fleets, and were subjugated after several fierce battles. 

  The first production run of Guardian ships made after the Androsynth joined the Hierarchy was composed of Guardians version 3.1.  These small, phallic ships were composed of curved panels of blue glass, with platinum-colored structural members.  They blew the usual acid bubbles, and were equipped with an experimental new weapon: The Blazer.  The Guardian could collapse its structure into a compact ball, which was surrounded by a corona of high-energy plasma.  The Blazer also took advantage of intertial-nullifying techniques, though not nearly as advanced as those used by the Ariloulaleelay.  This early version of the Blazer was not all that the designers hoped that it could be.  The intertial-nullifier imparted the ship's intrinsic velocity to the target ship, leaving the Guardian at a dead standstill.  This made multiple attacks impossible, seriously reducing the Blazer's effectiveness. 

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