Operation Stormbreaker

Background
With more and more of their colonies falling under Warlord control, the Rach became desperate in their efforts to turn the tide. Though officials such as General Gorach continued to call for a complete overhaul of Rach military doctrine, the Empire instead focused on finding more nations that would rally behind the Peacekeeper cause. A number of minor powers had been found and recruited, but they lacked the manpower or resources to push back the Pact's advance. With the Zaretians having gained considerable ground following their success at Aserai, the Rach expanded their search and considered nations that they would have otherwise left alone. It was during this time that explorers discovered the Empire of Diablos. The Diabloian's impressive military and honor-bound culture appealed to many within the Alliance, but others were skeptical, finding their thirst for battle and general demeanor off-putting. They also feared about the possibility of betrayal and the impact the Diabloians could have on the Peacekeeper's Public image. Ultimately, it was Gorach, with the full support of Aeverian High Command, who broke the tie, convincing the Alliance that the Diabloians could be instrumental in turning the war around. Those who still disagreed begrudgingly fell in line shortly thereafter.

A diplomatic envoy was sent to Diabloian space to open negotiations. The empire provided the diplomats a warm reception and, to the surprise of a few of the diplomats, were more than willing to talk. In the ensuing meeting, the diplomats explained the Great War and the precarious position the Alliance, especially the Rach, found themselves in. They also provided information on the Warlords and the various atrocities that they had committed prior to and during the war. The Diabloians were moved by the Peackeeper's plight, but were more eager for a fight with what they now saw as both worthy and dishonorable opponents. They readily joined the Alliance and dedicated the Outer Fleet, under the command of Admiral Korsair, to the war effort.

Stormbreaker
After three months of planning, the Peacekeepers initiated Operation Stormbreaker, an ambitious offensive with the goal of repelling Pact forces across all fronts and force the Warlords to surrender. Acting as the vanguard, the Outer Fleet struck first, their shock tactics and unprecedented combination of armor and firepower overwhelming the Warlords and punching several holes in their front lines, allowing Peacekeeper forces to move in and attack exposed positions and logistics infrastructure. Pact forces were devastated by the combined assault, suffering more casualties in the first few weeks of the offensive than at any previous point in the war. Thousands more troops and vehicles were also captured, most having been encircled and cut off from help in the chaos of the opening battles. Now faced with the real possibility of Peacekeeper troops spilling into their territories, Pact leaders ordered their troops to withdraw to more defensible positions, with the exception of the Margan, who instead launched a suicidal counterattack to cover their allies' retreat. Using what time they were given, Warlord troops dug in, preparing to hold their positions as they awaited reinforcements and supplies.

Asanian Syndicate
As the Sauran wing of Stormbreaker was advancing, one of their fleets came across a world that was in the process of being strip-mined by an unknown alien race. The Sauran admiral, a devout member of the Sustainers of Nature, ordered his men to deploy to the planet, of which 20% of the surface had been rendered uninhabitable, to put a stop to the alien's operations. A small strike team was deployed to disable an anti-air battery so that the main force could land. The guns were destroyed, but the aliens retaliated almost immediately and in vast numbers, pushing the Sauran back to their landing zone. Unable to advance and at risk of being overwhelmed, the Sauran activated a distress signal which caught the attention of a nearby Diabloian task force, which moved to support the Sauran. The Kastalians, who had been silently monitoring the situation, also intervened. After another round of fighting, the combined Peacekeeper assault successfully repelled the aliens from the planet. The aliens, calling themselves Asanians, vowed vengeance against the intruders, warning the Peacekeepers that their mistake had cost them their future. Less than a week later, Margan troops of the Orion Dynasty attacked a distant Diabloian colony to draw Diab troops away from the front. Margan forces under the command of Archon Chora landed outside of one of the colony's settlements but ran into abnormally stiff resistance. Undaunted, the Margan continued their advance until they reached the settlement, only to learn that it had been destroyed by the Asanians, who were also invading the planet, and unbeknownst to the Margan, had been monitoring their progress since their arrival. A brief skirmish took place as the Margan indiscriminately attacked the few Asanians still in the colony. After the Margan had eliminated what remained of the Diab's defenses, the Asanians approached the Margan, inviting Archon Chora to an undisclosed location within the colony's capital discuss a potential partnership, as while the Asanians themselves were wary of the idea of an alliance, they saw many similarities between themselves and the Margan, and believed that an alliance could benefit the Syndicate. Chora, despite the suspicions of some of those under her command, agreed to speak, and took a small force with her while the rest of her troops stayed behind to engage targets elsewhere. Talks progressed rapidly, with Chora and the Asanian representative agreeing to formalize an alliance and induct the Syndicate into the Warlord Pact and join their fight against the Peacekeepers, the Asanians viewing Alliance ideologies as a threat to their own. Their discussion was interrupted when Diabloian troops arrived in force and stormed the city. Chora and the representative escaped, though Warlord forces were soon driven off of the planet.

Margan and Asanian forces continued to engage the Diabloians both in their own territory and in contested space for weeks before they were finally repelled. Once more able to commit all of their forces, fighting resumed in earnest as the Diabs made another push. Warlord commanders did everything they could to slow down the Allies; vehicles had been fitted with more powerful guns and extra layers of armor while soldiers were provided more heavy weapons. These efforts saw limited success, and once more, the Diabloians broke through, though they were beginning to quickly lose their momentum. Fighting on multiple fronts, harassment from the Margan and Asanians, and the speed at which they had advanced within the first few months of fighting had put mounting strain on what was now a fragile logistics network. Likewise, though they had dealt heavy blows to Pact forces, they had taken considerable losses of their own, and most troops had been replaced by less experienced recruits, resulting in a loss of tactical capability.

Stormbreaker Collapses
Taking a page from the Margan and Asanian's efforts, Pact commanders significantly altered their strategy. For much of the war, the Pact, though sharing resources and technology, had been fighting independently, with little direct support from the rest of the Pact unless the need called for it. This allowed the Pact to cover more ground in the opening stages of the war, but with the Diabloians, it became clear that this strategy was now holding them back. They instead combined their forces and modified their doctrines to work off of each other. This first became obvious in the naval war. Margan forces would engage the Diabloians first, acting as a shield for the Necraal and Repzork. Zaretian ships, helpless on their own against Diab starships, remained in the back line, using their long-range rail cannons until a Diab ship became vulnerable, where they would then move in, deal the death blow, and fall back. On the ground, Citadel Walkers, ST-47 Oltavars, Titans, and recently introduced Zaretian Brutes worked in unison, halting the advance of the once unstoppable Diabloian army. The Pact also adopted some of the tactics of the Rach, deploying small, specialized units, such as the Repzork's newly-developed Vatanis-class frigate, to hinder and disrupt the Diab's already-strained supply lines.

With their logistics at the breaking point and casualties mounting at a quickening pace, the Peacekeepers ordered a halt to Stormbreaker, their troops retreating to more defensible positions until the strategic situation improved. The failure of the operation saw a sharp drop in Peacekeeper morale, with some Rach going as far as to say that the war was utterly hopeless. The Warlords used the opportunity to build their troops back up and prepare their next move.

While the Asanians had played what many viewed as a vital role in causing Operation Stormbreaker to fail, their inclusion into the Warlord Pact was not without controversy. To some, namely the Repzork, Necraal, and Magello, the Asanians could not be trusted due to their extreme aggression and xenophobia. Like the Margan, they were seen as temporary allies, and thus, would almost certainly become a problem after the war. Some took solace in the Asanian's hyperactivity, believing that their system was unsustainable and that it would collapse upon itself before the Syndicate could become an issue.