...the Communists, was an IS on my south. So much for my peace loving Hobbits because it seemed that both neighbours were dead set on killing the Hobbits from the very beginning of the game.

In year 2421, the Communists pop-dropped and captured my planet, Salsa (a 75% world with good minerals). I scrambled ships to defend my southern border, but in 2423, the Weaklings pop-dropped and captured my planet in the north, Wilbury (a 74% world with good minerals). Although it was a very bad start for the Hobbits, it was a thrill to be on the receiving end of such a well planned surprise attack. The Weaklings were not weak at all, but controlled by a skilled player, and I think if it wasn't for their northern neighbor, The Jedi, who was SD and cramping Weakling's expansion, they would have been fine. Being in a two front war, I was at risk of losing my HW to the Weaklings.

I managed to retake Salsa in 2424 and...

...desperately defended it against the Communists for the next 20 years.

2437. In the meantime, I was barely hanging on in the south, with the Communists putting a lot of military pressure on Salsa. I was willing to sacrifice all my southern planets if necessary to capture the Weakling HW. What's interesting was that the Communists had opposite hab range compared with the Hobbits so virtually all their worlds, including their HW was negative. They would have made a great ally, but an unfruitful race to attack.