Great War

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The Great War is an ongoing interstellar conflict between the Peacekeeper Alliance and the  Warlord Pact, as well as various  neutral powers that are fighting for their own causes or in favor of one side. It is the largest and bloodiest conflict in the history of the known galaxy, directly or indirectly involving over thirty sovereign nations, more than sixty sapient species, and being responsible for the deaths of untold billions of soldiers and civilians, the destruction of countless colonies, most famously Norsus, the former homeworld of the Rach, as well as the total collapse of several nations.

The Rach founded the Peacekeeper Alliance in response to the numerous expansionist military powers across the region, most notably the Margan, who sought to exterminate all life in the galaxy. After losing their initial engagements with the Alliance, the Margan came to the Zaretian Monarchy and Repzork Empire to propose an alliance against the Peacekeepers. To prevent this, the Rach infiltrated the meeting, which was held on the Zartar, and attempted to assassinate the leaders of the three powers. They failed, however, and the three nations founded what would become the Warlord Pact and declared war against the Alliance.

The Peacekeepers suffered several defeats at the onset of the war, particularly the Rach, whose military was woefully unprepared for large-scale warfare. The Alliance was soon joined by the Karahotdoum Empire and achieved its first major victory when the Aeverian navy defeated the Zaretians at the Battle of Zetta Secundus, an act which prompted the Magello Empire to join the Pact in fear of potential retribution for past crimes. The Acropolan declared its allegiance to the Alliance, but was locked in conflict with the Conkirite, who joined the Pact in retaliation. The Warlords regained the initiative as it was joined by the heavily mechanized Necraal, though a small few would either defect to the Peacekeepers or join the recently-founded Virisus. Following the narrowly repelled Zaretian invasion of their homeworld, Aserai, the Dragoneteran Monarchy joined the Peacekeepers. The Empire of Diablos also joined the Peacekeepers and launched several offensives against Pact members, but while they dealt a serious blow, they were unable to entirely halt their advance into Peacekeeper space. The Luminarians, after being assisted by the Aeverians, also joined and began sending aid. However, this sparked a violent schism in Luminarian society, hampering their ability to fight in the war for several years. Despite their extremely small numbers and the great risks involved, the Kastalians also intervened for the Peacekeepers. Later, during an attack on a Warbot Industries facility, the Skrey were contacted by the Repzork and subsequently inducted into the Pact. The Asanian Syndicate were encountered by the Margan during an assault on a Diabloian colony and also became members of the Pact. In an effort to produce a new slave state and claim their resources, the Zaretians invaded the Betel homeworld of Betel; however, they were repelled, and the previously neutral Betel became a member of the Peacekeepers, though some of them instead defected to the Pact, forming the Decomp rebels. The Repzork then launched their own invasion, though while they were initially repelled, they quickly gained ground, and formed an alliance with the Xeverra in the process. While the war was raging, the Peacekeepers founded the Anti-Biomatter Task Force (ABTF) to combat the Biomatter Swarms following the fall of Rotunin.

Five years into the war, with the Rach on the brink of collapse, the Warlords initiated Operation Sledgehammer, a massive coordinated offensive which had the goal of weakening the major Peacekeeper powers and prevent them from being able to adequately respond to the planned invasion of Norsus, code-named Operation Downfall. Over the next several months, while they did not achieve all of their objectives, the Warlords dealt a devastating blow to the Peacekeepers and left some of them crippled, albeit it came at a steep cost, leaving the Margan and Zaretians the only powers able to launch a large-scale invasion of the Rach homeworld. As the last stealth generator was deactivated and Norsus was revealed, the Warlords attacked, and quickly overran the defenders. In a desperate last-ditch effort to survive, the surviving Rach opened a portal into the Warp and fled into the alternate dimension, the Margan chasing after them in an attempt to finally put an end to them.

Still recuperating their losses from Sledgehammer and without the Margan to support them, the Warlords were left in a vulnerable position, allowing the Peacekeepers to strike back. This coincided with the intervention of the Empire of Galdera, who launched Operation Dark Angel a few weeks following the invasion of Norsus. For the next decade, Warlords forces would primarily be on the defensive, and would suffer a number of catastrophic defeats. Repzork forces were almost entirely repelled from Betel space, prompting the empire to initiate scorched earth tactics in the form of massed crystal bombardments. The Aeverians and Luminarians launched a combined offensive into Zaretian territory, and successfully captured Nu-Zartar. The Sauran reached a breakthrough and devised a way in which to slow down and gradually reverse the growth of Margan crystals, paving the way for the Solidarity to slowly reverse the severe environmental damage the dynasties had caused prior to their disappearance and curb the Repzork's continued use of crystal munitions.

Ten years after the invasion of Norsus, the Rach returned from the Warp and attempted to reclaim their homeworld, which was still under Zaretian control. They also warned the Peacekeepers that the Margan were still on their trail and would soon return. Several Peacekeepers and a few neutral powers sent troops to support the Rach. Peacekeepers forces were well on their way to recapturing Norsus until a few weeks later, when the Margan Empire returned from the Warp and immediately launched attacks against both the planet itself and the surrounding area. Peacekeeper and neutral forces were forced to retreat from the area, and Norsus was rendered nearly uninhabitable and was subsequently abandoned by most combatants.

With the Margan back on their side and many Warlords having long updated their technology and tactics to adapt to the changing battlefield, the Pact has experienced a resurgence in power, and has began reacquiring some of the territory it had lost in the interim period. Peacekeeper morale has hit an all-time low once more as hopes for an eventual victory have been dashed and the war continues to drag on with no clear victor.

Background
See also: History of the Milky Way Galaxy

Since the end of the Ancient Era, a myriad of new races have appeared throughout the galaxy. Some of these nations emphasize militarism, conquest, imperialism, fascism, and other violent ideologies.

Following a catastrophic mass-extinction event that wiped out most species and opened the vast underground cave networks on their homeworld, Marga, the Margan, who were now one of the only remaining prey animals, were constantly harassed by numerous predatory creatures that relied on terror, lures, and constant harassment to catch their prey. This caused the once-timid Margan to become increasingly paranoid and xenophobic. Though many Margan either tried to hide from the predators of their homeworld or simply accepted their fate in some form or another, one Margan, now known only as the 'Angel' or 'Savior', initiated a purge that eventually wiped out all life on their homeworld, driving their species to space in what would eventually become the vast nomadic fleets they live in today. They traveled from system-to-system, strip-mining the planets they came across to fuel their ever-expanding flotilla. This was until they discovered other life in the galaxy, causing the Margan to despair, fearing that the horrors of Marga would repeat themselves. It was during this time that the current High Priestess, Massachiah, came to power and mandated the 'Holy Goal': the purging of all life in the galaxy. Ever since, the Margan have blazed a trail of death and destruction across the stars, leaving a trail of dead worlds in their wake.

For much of their history, the Necraal had been ruled by the shaman caste, who revered, protected, and in many cases worshiped nature, promoted an anti-materialist lifestyle, and were staunch pacifists. They deliberately held back the Necraal's technology in some regards so as to not 'corrupt' nature or themselves. But as time progressed, this created resentment among some in the other castes, as they felt that the shamans were preventing the Necraal from being able to reach their true potential. Initially, these groups were not considered a threat by the shamans, who still reigned supreme via the support of the king, so they were largely ignored. This changed when the Necraal began encountering alien races, some of whom took advantage of the shaman's pacifism and pillaged the fledgling nation's colonies, the Necraal's small military being too weak to stop them. Frustrated, a faction of imperialist and industrialist Necraal rose up from the outer colonies and challenged the rule of the shamans. To these Necraal, nature was something to overcome, rather than to revere, and if their race was to survive and thrive, they would need to massively build up their military and begin conquering the stars. In the years that followed, the imperialist would gain more and more influence until they gained the support of the royal family, stripping the shamans of the control they once held over the nation. Since then, the Necraal have industrialized massively and have quickly developed new technology, including that which was once banned by the shamans. The shamans themselves have fallen into the background and are slowly dying out, though a small few have taken matters into their own hands and have abandoned their pacifist ideals in order to fight against what they see as a sinful and materialistic society.

During the Arkevan Wars of Unification, which would see the founding of the Empire of Galdera, the Kalrian Empire, a fierce rival of Galdera's founders, the Nolsarians, were on the brink of defeat after having fought for over twenty years. In a desperate gambit to ensure their nation and culture's survival, the Kalrians assembled a fleet of 'exodus ships' at the edge of their borders with the intent of fleeing and rebuilding elsewhere. Those who stayed behind would provide a diversion to prevent the Nolsarians from catching them. The Nolsarians received reports of the fleet's existence, but the general in charge ignored them, certain the Kalrians would make a final stand instead of running. The fleet, along with what remained of the Kalrian government and high command, escaped, the Nolsarians realizing their error only after having fallen into the Kalrian's trap. After several years of blindly flying through space, the Kalrian fleet moved into a wormhole and found themselves in an unexplored region of the galaxy. They eventually settled on their current homeworld, Alrukai, and began to rebuild their civilization. Believing that they had made themselves weak, the Kalrians gradually threw away many of their old ideals and adopted a fascist ideology that emphasized absolute loyalty, military prowess, and racial purity. These beliefs were solidified when the empire was invaded by the Delrusar Imperium, a destructive conflict that would ultimately see the complete annihilation of the Delrusar race. In the five millennia since, the Kalrians, now known as the Repzork, have established themselves as a vast interstellar power, one that has exterminated or subjugated its adversaries as it seeks to become among the most powerful empires in the galaxy.

During the final days of the Xeverran War for Dominance, scientist secretely used a combination of Xeverran and Astatanian technology to create Galden, a highly advanced, sapient A.I capable of evolving and learning. Galden was given the goal of preserving the Xeverran race, their culture, and as much life on Xer as possible. Unfortunately, the nations of Xer initiated a nuclear war far earlier than the scientist had anticipated, forcing them to launch Galden into space to ensure its survival. Xer was rendered uninhabitable in the aftermath, and the few Xeverra that had managed to survive the initial bombardment either died or committed suicide, essentially rendering the species extinct. Gathering what information it could, Galden began to create the first Xeverran world ship and began storing samples of DNA gathered from Xeverra and Xer wildlife. From here, Galden would assemble the first Xeverran fleet and would eventually cultivate a new generation of Xeverra from the DNA it had collected. Galden would continue to lead the Xeverra from the shadows as it worked to secure the continued survival of the Xeverran species.

The Zaretian Monarchy under King Moscassin had been peacefully expanding its borders for many years and maintained peaceful relations with many interstellar powers, including the Wingle Union. Though it still fought in numerous conflicts, most were in self-defense or to assist the monarchy's allies. This changed when Breys, with the support of most of the Zaretian military, overthrew Moscassin and crowned himself king. Moscassin fled, and those who supported him either died or were imprisoned in the ensuing purge or fled to join various rebel movements. Once Breys had consolidated his power, he transformed the monarchy into a totalitarian regime where he alone held complete control over the nation. The king also reestablished slavery, which had been abolished by previous monarchs, and built up the military with the intent of conquering all that he could reach. As a result, many of the monarchy's allies cut off any and all relations with the Zaretians, including the Wingle.

The Skrey of Barrakru Kaat have never properly unified. Though various powers throughout their history have attempted it, they have all failed, their nations collapsing into infighting after a short period of time. Instead, the Skrey have been divided into a large multitude of clans, with the largest and most powerful clan acting as the de facto 'ruler' of the Skrey people; as a result, any clan could become new ruler by overthrowing the reigning clan, though this generally resulted in a long series of wars that would ultimately determine the new ruling clan. While most Skrey ruled through fear and brute force, a small few, the most successful of the Skrey's rulers, understood that better and more efficient methods existed. These rulers would work to either push their own agendas or try to advance the Skrey nation as a whole, knowing that there were other, likely more dangerous nations out there in the galaxy. It was one of these rulers who united the Skrey against the neighboring Greera, a native of the Barrakru Kaat system that attempted to wipe out the Skrey before they could become an issue.

After having exterminated their progenitors, the Ge'Va, the Asanians spent many years warring among themselves. That was until the Mixed, powerful Asanians who had bonded their bodies to Ge'Va technology, rose up and brought the Asanians under their fold. An era of rapid technological progress took place, turning their homeworld of Tornash from a collection of ruined cities to a hyper-industrialized metropolis in only a few short years. Rapid industrialization ultimately destroyed the ecosystem of their homeworld, forcing the Asanians to colonize other planets. The Syndicate has since established a large interstellar empire in an extremely short time period, and have adapted to and exterminated anything in their way, salvaging what is useful and discarding what it worthless in the process, the Asanians believing themselves to be perfection incarnate.

As the number and influence of military powers expanded, other nations took up arms in efforts to repel and eliminate them.

Despite their frightening appearance and honor-bound warrior culture, the Diabloians of the Empire of Diablos were one of the less imperialist powers in the known galaxy. In fact, the Diabloians pitied smaller, weaker nations, believing that fighting them was dishonorable and not worth the resources. Instead, they traded with many of these nations, seeing it as mutually beneficial to both parties. The Empire instead fought those that would take advantage of smaller powers, seeing their powerful armies as a more worthwhile challenge and condemning them for their dishonorable acts such as slavery and the slaughter of civilians.

While the Repzork sought to dominate the stars, the Galderans instead worked towards uniting them. Faithful followers of the goddess, Syleris, the Galderans spent the five millennia since their founding inducting several races as either member states or enclaves, believing that if they manage to unite the galaxy under the goddess' banner, then it will be one of the first major steps towards mending what is seen as a broken and dying galaxy and ultimately ushering in a new golden age, returning the galaxy to its state prior to sin. Having absorbed the personnel, technology, and doctrines of those it has inducted, the Galderans have grown into a powerful and technologically sophisticated force. The Galderans spent many years searching for the Kalrian exodus ships that founded the Repzork Empire, but they never located them, and the effort was abandoned, with most concluding that the fleet was destroyed or that the reconstruction effort was in some way a failure.

The Minomit, founders of Warbot Industries, also constructed vast armies of robotic units, though this was largely due to the fact that the minomits themselves are unfit for fighting on their own. Additionally, Warbot constructs, despite the name, could also be built for various utilitarian roles, such as medicine, construction and agriculture. Warbots Industries provided these constructs to several neighboring nations, especially those who were besieged by hostile powers. WBI combat constructs are usually produced without any traceable serial codes or icons, allowing the industry to continue selling and deploying its robots without the fear of having them traced back to them. WBI refused to sell its products to aggressive empires, though small breakaway factions have done so for the sake of profit, forcing WBI to hunt down and exterminate these rogue factions.

The factions of the Sauran Solidarity, most notably the Forces of Freedom and Protectors of Nature, played a very active role in the region. The Forces of Freedom fought against various tyrants and slave states in their efforts to bring about democratic reform and liberation, while the Protectors of Nature aimed at safeguarding the natural order from those who would destroy it for the sake of industry and profit. The Observers of Science and the Ascended, were also active forces, but for different reasons, the Observers focusing chiefly on relics and technology while the Ascended fought in the name of their gods.

For countless years the Rach explored the stars doing what they do best: thievery. Stealing from nations with whom they either had no relations with or considered enemies, the Rach would take these goods and sell them in the Undermarket, encouraging a large number of Rach to explore the galaxy in the hopes of making a fortune. As a result, the Rach came in direct or indirect contact with a large number of civilizations, including those that posed a very real threat both to the Rach as well as their neighbors. More and more Rach sought to assist those who were besieged by imperialist and xenocidal powers; initially, the Rach acted with subtlety, working from the shadows to provide assistance and sabotage the enemy. This quickly proved to be insufficient, leading to some wanting to take more drastic measures. However, many Rach, General Gorach, knew that the Rach military did not have the ability to fight in an interstellar conflict; they had neither the weapons nor the mindset for it. Coradine, the emperor at the time, also understood this, and believed that if the Rach were to survive, they would have to start taking bigger risks.

Destruction of the Seraphim Dynasty
The Seraphim Dynasty was one of the oldest of the Margan Dynasties alongside the Holy and Golden Blade Dynasties. They were best known for their grandiose theatrics and incredible egos; they truly saw themselves as divine beings, and believed that the Margan people had a glorious future ahead of them. This mentality carried over to the battlefield, where commanders would give their troops bombastic speeches and every conflict was viewed as a grand spectacle for all to see. Though zealously loyal to the Holy Goal for centuries, they began to stray from it when they noticed that lesser races were seeing them as literal gods and had begun to worship the Margan. Jisa, the Matriarch of the Seraphim, decided to allow these races to live so long as they served the Margan and paid them tribute. The Matriarch planned to exterminate the servants when the Margan's campaign of genocide came to an end, but for the time being, relished in the possibilities they brought.

When the other Dynasties discovered what the Seraphim had done, they were outraged, denouncing the dynasty for straying from the Margan's teachings. The Seraphim argued that the slaves were little more than temporary allies and that they posed no threat. The debate was settled when Li-Hosan, Matriarch of the Golden Blade, suggested eliminating the Seraphim before they went rogue. The Dynasties then all simultaneously attacked the Seraphim fleet, overwhelming them and leaving no survivors. When the Matriarchs confronted Jisa face to face, they offered her a chance to repent. She refused, and instead impaled herself on Li-Hosan's blade. The remains of the Seraphim fleet were left to drift through space, some of it falling unto nearby planets as artificial meteors.

The betrayal and subsequent annihilation of the Seraphim Dynasty did little to stifle the Margan's intense paranoia; in fact, it worsened it, as the Margan now knew that they not only had threats on the outside, but also within. Margan now face intense scrutiny if they show any signs of straying from the path, and in modern times, such individuals will more often than not be quietly killed by groups such as Confessors and the Mask of Ferivus.

First appearance of the Biomatter
Years before the onset of the war, the Biomatter Swarms made their first recorded appearance in the region when a spore of Hive Fafnir landed on a planet rich in biomass. The planet's inhabitants, unaware of the Biomatter's true nature, recovered samples from the then-dormant spore for study. Less than an hour later, the Biomatter became active, and rapidly overran the lightly defended colony. In the years that followed, more hives, most notably Apophis, Piru, Cronen, and Tiamat, would emerge in other sectors and infest colonies such as Qualiot, which had to be evacuated and bombarded from orbit. News of the swarms spread quickly, and nations began efforts to curtail the swarm's spread. Such operations were oftentimes met with limited success as the Biomatter were and remain poorly understood. Scientists attempting to study the swarms frequently ran into dead-ends, or worse yet, triggered an infestation. In one of the most famous examples, a Salatran research team recovered samples from the hives on Qualiot for research. The Biomatter escaped containment, infesting everyone in the building, but not before they could initially a site-wide lockdown. Rather than outright destroying the installation, the Salatrans used the facility's cameras and remotely-operated drones to monitor the Biomatter from outside. The information acquired from the incident would be later be passed along to the Anti-Biomatter Task Force.

Galderan-Naelkvan War and the Valdar Crisis
Almost three centuries before the start of the Great War, the Naelkva, an ancient civilization working to bring about a second golden age for their race, formed an alliance with the isolationist Valdar Directorate. The Directorate, which was home to a trove of ancient technology, had spent the past several years fending off neighboring powers who were competing with both the Valdar and one another for dominance. These battles had caused considerable harm to the Valdar's outermost territories. The Naelkva promised to restore stability to the region in exchange for technology, military cooperation, and total control over any territories they captured. The Directorate, which had little interest in territorial expansion and saw potential in working with an ancient race, agreed to the terms despite protest from those who feared the Naelkva's intentions. A short but brutal war followed in which the Naelkva swept through and conquered all of the neighboring powers save for the Ogvyr, who had organized themselves into the Confederation of Derahs to defend themselves. The Ogvyr fought the combined Vasldar and Naelkvan army to a standstill before the two powers negotiated a non-aggression pact, as the Naelkva needed troops to act as an occupation force in in their conquered territories, which would be organized into so-called 'vassal states'. But while the Ogvyr were initially content to be left alone, more and more members of the Confederation developed ambitions to overthrow the Naelkva, developing into a cold-war between the two powers.

This status quo persisted until roughly seventy years before the Great War, when the Empire of Galdera expanded into the region. Believing the Galderans to be a threat to their sovereignty, the Naelkva rallied their Valdar allies and client states to invade both the Galderans and the Confederation of Derahs. Though the Naelkva had the element of surprise and superior technology, the Galderan Empire had a significantly larger population and industrial base, which gave them a significant numerical advantage. The Naelkvan advance was halted and within a few years completely collapsed, allowing the Galderans to launch a counterattack into Naelkvan space. The Ogvyr also repelled the invaders some time later. These events spurred open revolt among the vassals. Bloody fighting continued for over twenty years until the Naelkva were pushed to their innermost colonies, during which the Valdar sued for peace. Fearing extinction for their species, the Naelkva surrendered. They were then forced to sign the Nakala Treaty, which required them to pay reparations to the victors, relinquish control over the vassal states, and limit the size of their military, among other conditions.

The next two decades would see tensions escalate between the Galderans, Confederation of Derahs, and the Valdar. The Galderans would spread their influence throughout the region and were met with resistance by the Ogvyr, who feared the creation of another imperialist superpower. The Galderan's religious devotion was another point of concern among the strongly atheistic Ogvyr populace. To curtail the Galderan's influence while avoiding outright hostility, the Ogvyr established the Coalition of Independent Nations, or CIN, which gave a platform for all nations in the region to resolve crises diplomatically; at the same time, it also contained a military branch, organized by the Ogvyr state of Feltis, which only accepted former vassals and Ogvyr. The Valdar suffered instability without and within. Internally, much of the populace had turned against the Directorate for their support of the Naelkva, increasingly authoritarian laws, and a return to isolationism, which many viewed as hypocritical and unrealistic. Beyond their borders, most in the Frontier had come to detest the Directorate for their support of the Naelkva.

Events came to a head when the reigning Galderan monarch, Empress Kazadair III, requested an audience with the Directorate's leaders. The council agreed to talks and allowed the monarch to come directly to Yulaira. In a series of talks, the monarch spoke of the empire's mission and the plans they had for the sector and its inhabitants. She claimed that the empire had no intention to take the sector by force, and that the Ogvyr were the true threat, a statement that many found reasonable, as Ogvyr states such as Feltis held unabashedly militant ideologies. As a result, the Directorate decided to hold a vote on allying with the Galderans the next day. This vote was interrupted by Councillor Levani'Desatha. Desatha had long been plotting to seize control of the Directorate to rid it of what she believed to be 'alien influences', but was forced to put her plan into action early due to Kazadair's arrival. the Councillor and her followers successfully took over the Council, but had underestimated the consequences of doing so; the nation almost immediately descended into civil war as states declared independence. One such state was the Zhagavian Republic, which declared its allegiance to the Galderans. Another state declared support to the CIN. Both nations used this as justification to send troops into the region. Unwilling to fight on two fronts, Levani forged alliance with the CIN and attacked both rebel and Galderan targets, starting hostilities between the empire and CIN.

Though the Naelkvan war had been incredibly destructive, the Galderans came out of the war stronger than when it had started. The Galderan Armed Forces was rebuilt from the ground up with new equipment, weapons, and vehicles, including powerful superheavy units such as Dreadnought and Assault class starships and the Gaulderog Armored Assault Fortress. The empire had also captured almost the entire eastern half of the Naelkvan Empire and with it many of its former vassals, namely the Renesat and Yin'vair. Billions of Naelkva, most of whom were civilians, had also been taken into the Empire. Though given the chance to return to their people, many decided to stay in Galderan space, with some even joining the military or having fought against the Naelkvan during the war. Despite this, Naelkva continue to be viewed with suspicion or outright hostility by some Galderan communities, though they are still statistically safer in Galderan space than they would be elsewhere. There remains a notable age-gap in how the war is perceived by the general populace. Older generations that recall the initial stages of the war have become wary of conflict and seek to avoid it whenever possible while younger individuals, many of whom had fought in the war after the Naelkva advance had been defeated, have become patriotic, believing that the empire can now overcome any challenge thrown at them. Thus, while many politicians and officers sought to avoid a war with the Ogvyr, their subordinates were more than willing to fight when the time came.

Magellan First & Second Stellar Wars
Following the conclusion of the long-lasting Magellan Unification War under the leadership of the young Emperor Zinmar, the Magello Empire would encounter local rivals in their initial stellar expansion. Their society having been founded on a tradition of warfare, it was only a matter of time before this rivalry erupted into war. The Magello would eventually emerge victorious two years into the war, crushing their rivals in a vicious and bloody war, expelling them from their homelands and creating a massive refugee convoy as the Magello set up new colonies on the charred remains of theirs. These refugees would take up residence as a member race of Aeveria.

With their military position secured, but coffers drained after fighting the First Stellar War, Zinmar pursued mercantile efforts as well as attempted to rebuild civilian industry. These pursuits led to the creation of numerous trade alliances and brought the Magello into the galactic community. However, the Magello would once more find themselves going to war as part of these entangling alliances. The Second Stellar War dragged on for years and evaporated the gains made in the past few years and what loot had been claimed in the First. Victory was eventually earned, bought with Magello blood, but Zinmar’s people were resentful that this war put the interests of another first instead of their own, and further attempts to improve international trade in the Empire floundered, despite the expenditure of the Second Stellar War. Still though, the three wars would create a strong military tradition and fill the ranks of the Magellan armies with hardened veterans. It also saw the rise of numerous popular war heroes, especially Captain Omard, whose great victories would capture the minds of the people and inspire the next generation.

Repzork-Nepharian Cold War
The Holy Nepharian Empire had spent the past several years spreading its influence throughout a sector of space inhabited by various nations that the Nepharians had been slowly converting into dependencies. The Nepharians provided the natives with weapons and technology in exchange for ancient relics. They also established migration routes through the region for Nepharians citizens. These efforts were disrupted when the Repzork began expanding into the region. Seeking to claim relics and territory for themselves, the Repzork provided the aliens with offers of their own and exported their culture and religion to turn the inhabitants over to their cause. Some were more than willing to negotiate with the Repzork due to disagreements or distrust towards the Nepharians. The conflicting ideologies sparked tensions throughout the sector which soon gave way to fighting, beginning a proxy war between the Repzork and Nepharians. But while the two are officially enemies, they rarely fight one another directly, with only small skirmishes for particularly valuable relics. Both governments deny that any conflict is occurring due to mutual benefit. Despite the tension, the Repzork often sell worthless artifacts back the Nepharians, allowing the Nepharian government to keep the peace within their own borders while providing the Repzork with funds.

Nevertheless, the Repzork still considered conflict with the Nepharians to be a real possibility. Several armadas were mobilized in case the two nations went to war, including the 14th, 277th, 355th, and 77th. A military modernization initiative was underway to update portions of the military, such as the navy, whose ships were, for the most part, outranged by the high-powered lasers of Nepharian ships. This led to the development of the first 'hunter killer' ships that would form the basis for imperial alpha-strike doctrines several years later.

Xeverran-Betel Conflict
In order to accelerate the construction of the Star Song, a dyson sphere designed to boost its own processing power and accelerate the reunification of the Xeverran nomad fleets, Galden deployed Xeverran troops into Betel space in order to claim the bountiful resources from their colonies. The Xeverra launched a series of small-scale raids on fringe Betel colonies to gauge their defenses before committing troops. These skirmishes prompted the reigning Betel High Chancellor, Nol Byervid, to create the Sky Spears, which quickly became the most advanced aspect of the Betel military. Regardless, the Xeverra continued to grow bolder as time passed, though they still remained a regional threat.

Kran Rebellion
A few months before the outbreak of the war, Nepharian general Phyla'kran, leader of the Kran, initiated a plot to take over the Nepharian government. She instigated a conflict between the Holy Nepharian Empire and the Wingle Union, eventually even dragging the IAE into the engagement. In response, the Wingle awoke Captain White, a war hero from the invasion of Athenousis, and assembled an elite team with the goal of crippling the Nepharian war effort. In the midst of fighting, the Kran faction, bolstered by an army of Ech0 walkers, rose up and attacked Nepharian, Wingle, and IAE colonies. An attempt was also made to assassinate leading figures in the Nepharian government, but was met with failure. The Nepharians and Wingle put their differences aside to combat the Kran faction, culminating in the death of Phyla'kran and the suppression of her rebellion.

The consequences of the Kran rebellion had far-reaching affects, particularly on the Nepharians themselves. Kran remnants would continue to harass loyalist forces for months afterward as the government worked to purge any who still sympathized with Phyla. Relations with the Wingle have gradually improved, but remain somewhat tense, and the two have since ceased working together. The Repzork gained a substantial lead in the ongoing cold war as the Nepharians were forced to divert most of their resources, some of which was destroyed in the ensuing conflict, elsewhere.

Repzork begin raiding Khasii colonies
After learning of the Khasii' bountiful wealth, the Repzork began launching increasingly large raids into Khasii territory to acquire their resources and technology. Though the Khasii boasted superior weapons and troops on many fronts, their army was far too small to take on imperial forces, forcing the Khasii to rely on large numbers of auxiliary troops to fight for them. Fighting rapidly bogged down as a result, though Repzork forces slowly regained the initiative as they intensified their efforts, leading to a number of successful attacks on Khasii settlements and the acquisition of many of the assets stored within.

Sauran liberate Zaretian slave colony
Sauran of the Forces of Freedom raided a sizeable Zaretian slave colony in an effort to free the prisoners. After a brief skirmish, they forced the defenders to retreat. But as they reached the slave holding area, they encountered the prisoners, who had managed to overthrow the guards and escape on their own, though it is unlikely that they would have been able to progress any further without the Solidarity's aid. The monarchy retaliated by declaring war on the Sauran and launching several probing attacks into Sauran space.

Appearance of the Margan
The first known appearance of the Margan in the local galactic sector occurred when troops of the Golden Blade Dynasty invaded a minor power that, though it put up stiff resistance, was quickly overwhelmed and wiped out by the vastly larger force. Soon after, the other dynasties soon appeared elsewhere, strip-mining any planets and exterminating all life that they came across. The sheer, uncompromising brutality displayed by the Margan sent a ripple throughout the region as word spread through survivors and witnesses. Many nations formed contingency plans in the event of a Margan invasion or were actively preparing to attack them, including some that would become Warlord powers in the months or years that followed. Some historians argue that it was at this point that the Great War became inevitable.

Year 1
See also: Rach Theatre, Raid on Zartar, Raid on Station SRD72.

Shortly after the emergence of the Margan in the local galactic sector, the Rach began to covertly harass the Margan by targetting their logistics and command structure while supplying states that were fighting the Dynasties. These efforts proved disruptive to the Margam, but were unsuccessful in stalling their advance. These efforts continued with impunity for months until Rach operatives were captured while attempting to rescue civilians. The Margan declared war on the Rach, and while they had difficulties locating Rach colonies and were constantly harassed with hit-and-run attacks, began to advance through Rach territory at a slow but steady pace as Rach doctrine was not accustomed to a war of attrition.

Rach officials, namely General Gorach, called for drastic reforms to Rach doctrine, but his calls were ignored. Nevertheless, it was decided that a more direct approach would be needed to defeat the Dynasties. The Rach sent delegates to several neighboring states: the Aeveria Confederation, Karahotdoum Empire, Warbot Industries, Sauran Solidarity, and the Wingle Union, to propose the formation of a coalition with the goal of defeating the Margan and protecting those that could not defend themselves. All accepted with the exception of the Wingle, who declared themselves neutral. The Karahotdoum, due to tensions with the Yami Trade union, committed monetary aid, but not troops. The new alliance called itself the Peacekeeper Alliance.

The Peacekeepers launched a surprise attack against the Margan and quickly overwhelmed them. Emboldened, they launched further attacks with similar results, bringing more nations into the alliance. The Matriarchs of the Margan convened on the worldship of Holy Thereia to discuss their options, and despite their hatred of aliens, decided to establish an alliance of their own. They soon after requested an audience with King Breys of the Zaretian Monarchy. The Zaretians were wary, but due to their ongoing conflict with the Sauran Solidarity, agreed to talks on the Zaretian homeworld, Zartar.

Zaretian rebels under the leadership of the exiled king Moscassin learned of the meeting and relayed it back to the Peacekeepers. Though an opportunity to eliminate both Breys and High Priestess Massachiah, Rach command deemed the operation too risky. However, Emperor Coradine, without notifying his generals, deployed a small team of assassins to intercept the meeting. The assassins attacked as the meeting began, but the operation proved a colossal failure, with all of the assassins captured or killed. The operation had the opposite effect than intended, convincing Breys to put his reservations toward the Margan aside and establish a formal alliance. The new alliance, dubbed the Warlord Pact by Peacekeeper media, declared war on the Peacekeepers, marking the official beginning of the Great War. Shortly afterward, the Kelmir, militant Minomit who wanted to use their machines for conquest, joined the Pact and began launching terrorst attacks against WBI facilities. Now fighting both the Margan and the Zaretians, the Rach military suffered several disastrous defeats, their military almost entirely unable to put up any serious resistance to the invaders. The Peacekeepers attempted to support their ally, but were having to defend their own territory from the Pact.

These events coincided with disasters in the Yami Trade Union, prompting the Yami to sign a treaty with the Karahotdoum to ease tensions and free up troops in the Karahotdoum-Yami border zone. The Karahotdoum were planning to attack, but news of the Pact's rapid advance sparked calls for intervention among the general populace. The magistrate voted in favor of intervention, and mobilized its forces, with so many citizens volunteering within the first two months that logisticians began to lose track. These troops were deployed en masse against the Pact. The first waves suffered grievous losses, but bought the Peacekeepers valuable breathing room before their offensive was halted.

Towards the end of the year, the Saracin established Station SRD72, which studied Peacekeeper technology and performed experiments on captured soldiers as part of biological weapons tests. The Rach discovered the facility and General Gorach and Ops Lead Kertak moved in to infiltrate it. Though Gorach's forces were discovered, the Rach successfully breached the facility, rescued several prisoners, and stole valuable data before destroying the installation. The files revealed that someone had provided the Warlords with information the location of Norsus' stealth generators and of the planet itself. The Rach began an internal investigation, but would not find the perpetrator.

Year 2
See also: Battle of Zetta Secundus, Luminarian Schism

The Peacekeeper's first major victory took place during the second year of the war in the Battle of Zetta Secundus, where the Aeverian Navy dealt a devastating blow to the Zaretians, causing the Zaretian front to collapse and forcing the Pact to withdraw to close the gap. The battle served as the catalyst for both the Repzork Empire and Magello Empire joining the war later that year. The Repzork were concerned that the Holy Nepharian Empire would consider joining the Alliance and believed that defeating the Peacekeepers would pave the way to regional supremacy. Emperor Zinmar and Captain Omard of the Magello did not support intervention, but caved to public pressure, which feared that a Peacekeeper victory would see the empire punished for atrocities committed during the First and Second Stellar Wars. With their support, the Pact regained the initiative, and Zetta Secundus was captured.

News of Zetta Secundus also reached the Acropolan Empire and Conkirite Dictatorship, former allies who had been locked in a stalemate since a coup saw the Conkirite overtaken by a tyrant. Hoping to gain the upper hand, the Acropolan joined the Peacekeepers, pledging economic aid in exchange for help against the Conkirite. The Dictatorship retaliated by joining the Pact. Even with the support of the two coalitions, the war remained a stalemate.

Tensions between the Luminarian Empire and Luminarian frontier colonies came to a head six months after the ascension of Emperor Ulran when Empire forced razed the trading hub of Midale, dealing a devastating blow to the frontier navy in the process. The frontier worlds banded together in self defense, and received covert economic and technological support from the Aeveria confederation, setting the stage for the Luminarian Schism. The two forces fought a bitter war for the next three years, during which the first Battlestations were deployed. Following a failed rebel assault on Luminaria, the empire and frontier worlds signed an armistice, though they remain in a state of war. Frontier military forces were devastated in the conflict, and would spend the next two years rebuilding.

The first major engagement between a belligerent and the Biomatter took place when a Spore of Hive Fafnir landed on the Minomit colony of Ozelion. After nearby settlements were evacuated, a quarantine zone was established around the hive as WBI forces held the line long enough for reinforcements to arrive and bombard the hive, ending the infestation.

Year 3
See also: First Battle of Aserai, Dragoneteran-Tegotian War, Second Battle of Aserai.

The Zaretian Admiralty had spent the previous year since their defeat at Zetta Secundus updating their navy with new warships and tactical doctrines. Though eager for revenge against the Aeverians, the Monarchy opted to instead test these changes on the Dragoneterans, who had recently pledged their support to the Peacekeepers, as it was believed that an attack would elicit an Aeverian response without having to risk an assault on the Aeverian mainland. Three fleets were sent to the Dragoneteran homeworld of Aserai, where they swiftly outmaneuvered and overwhelmed the defenders and began bombing the planet. As anticipated, the Aeverians sent a relief fleet which was then intercepted and forced to withdraw. A combined force of Aeverian and Rach ships finally arrived hours later and repelled the Zaretians. Though economically and militarily devastated, the Dragoneterans retaliated by deploying troops against the Zaretians.

During the attack on Aserai, the Dragoneteran colony of Dralix ceased communications with the rest of the Monarchy. Believing the Monarchy to be responsible, a small force was sent to the planet following the Zaretian withdrawal. Instead, it was found that Biomatter of Hive Apophis had overtaken the planet. Teams were deployed to the surface to search for survivors, but within hours, all teams vanished. Several ships then attempted to leave the planet, but were shot down when they did not respond to communication requests. The fleet was then contacted by one of the search teams, who reported that they had been dragged to the ground by a tendril of the hive and required immediate evacuation. Special operations forces were sent to the surface and retrieved the team. Rather than bombing the planet, the Dragoneteran king decided to quarantine the planet and use it to study the Biomatter.

The Zaretians continued their aggressive expansionist policies as a means of acquiring resources for the war effort. In doing so they encountered the Necraal Sovereignty. The two nations quickly established diplomatic relations. The Monarchy soon convinced the Necraal King, Hor'or, to join the Warlords and fight against the Peacekeepers, whom the king viewed as a threat to his ambitions. The Necraal's heavily mechanized army was a significant boon to the Pact, but some Necraal troops were troubled by the actions of their new allies, leading some to desert or join the Peacekeepers. The Kelmir, fascinated by Necraal technology, soon began working with Necraal engineers to produce new and improved Warbots.

Months after the assault on Aserai, Dragoneteran Captain Delarus went missing while investigating an unidentified vessel. Days of inconclusive searches followed until the Monarchy received a distress signal from the homeworld of the Bulorians, a young interstellar empire. A team was sent to investigate and soon found Delarus, who explained that he had been attacked by the Tegotians, radical isolationists who claimed that Delarus had unlawfully entered their territory. Delarus crash landed on the planet, which was subsequently invaded by Tegotian troops who had enslaved the populace. Though still recovering from the Zaretian assault on Aserai, the Dragoneterans amassed its forces and attacked, driving the Tegotians from the planet and liberating the Bulorians. The Tegotians declared war and declared themselves members of the Warlord Pact.

The Dragoneterans lacked the troops to adequately defend their territory, instead focusing their troops at key locations while harassing the invaders with hit-and-run attacks. The Tegotians, though puzzled by the lack of resistance, pushed the initiative. Desperate, the Dragoneterans took Biomatter samples from Dralix and synthesized an airborne virus that was then deployed at a Tegotian outpost. The virus was more potent than intended, sparking a large-scale infestation that delayed the invaders but spread to several other nearby colonies. The Dragoneterans attempted to cover up the incident, but were soon found out by the Peacekeepers, who harshly condemned the attack and ordered the Monarchy to destroy remaining samples of the virus, to which they complied.

Days later, the Dragoneteran king died. The Monarchy moved the bulk of its troops to the area around Aserai as a new king was crowned. Tegotian scouts discovered the proceedings, and the empire responded by sending the entirety of its military to Aserai, culminating in the largest confrontation between minor powers in the war. The Tegotians initially held the upper hand, but lost several prominent officers, all of whom held prominent political positions, to assassins, and were later encircled and eliminated by the Dragoneterans. This caused the Tegotian Empire to collapse into civil war. Peacekeeper troops intervened and helped establish the Tegotian Republic, which then left the war in order to rebuild. By this point, the Dragoneterans were drained, and would be unable to provide any military or economic aid to the Peacekeepers for the next several years. In the aftermath of the war, the Peacekeepers declared the use of the Biomatter as weapons to be a war crime. The Dragoneterans narrowly avoided charges, but were forced to destroy all of their research regarding the virus.

Year 4
See also: Infestation of Rotunin, Operation Stormbreaker

The fourth year of the war began with the infestation of the neutral colony of Rotunin by Hive Fafnir. An infected carrier was detected approaching the colony, and while orbital defenses caused the ship to break apart, this only produced a shotgun-like effect that spread the Biomatter across the colony. Chaos and confusion erupted as civilians attempted to evacuate, which left them easy prey for the swarms. The defenders were forced to evacuate and bombard the planet into a lifeless husk. The infestation remains the worst recorded attack by the Biomatter in history, and is blamed for the infestation of dozens of nearby worlds through captured starships. Both the Peacekeepers and Warlords responded by establishing anti-Biomatter task units, with the Alliance pooling their resources into the Anti-Biomatter Task Force, or ABTF.

Though knowing little of the ongoing war, the Skrey of Clan Tazorag had taken notice of the weakened state of Warbot Industries and sought to claim Minomit technology for themselves. Tazorag War Chief Bhatuzorig was deployed and successfully captured an outlying Minomit colony. The Skrey then attacked and conquered the technology hub of Cawmuth. This in turn caught the attention of the Repzork, who began monitoring the Skrey to determine if an alliance was feasible. Shortly thereafter, Biomatter of Hive Cronen attacked a Skrey outpost, forcing the defenders to withdraw. The colony was lost, but due to the Skrey's unreliable starships, the hive made little headway. Using the hive as pretext, the Repzork stepped in to offer the Skrey support. They begrudgingly accepted, and the two drove Cronen away from Skrey territory. The Repzork then made a proposal to Tazorag: the Skrey would join the Warlords in their fight against the Peacekeepers while the Pact would ensure that Tazorag stayed in power and received a fair cut of spoils from the war. Tazorag accepted the offer. However, while Tazorag and a few other great clans possessed the resources necessary for large-scale interstellar conflicts, most did not. The troops of these clans were therefore organized into auxiliary units that would be attached to other Pact fleets.

With their military near the point of total collapse, the Rach expanded their search for new allies. Their explorers soon discovered the Empire of Diablos. Despite some protest within Peacekeeper leadership, the Rach sent emissaries to the Diabs to explain their situation. The Diabs, eager for a fight and concerned about aggressive expansion and hostile power blocs, joined the Alliance. After three months of planning, the Peacekeepers then launched Operation Stormbreaker, a massive offensive spearheaded by the Diabs intended to cripple the Pact and force them to surrender. Unprepared for aggressive Diab tactics, the Pact suffered more casualties within the first few weeks of the offensive than they did in the previous four years of fighting. The Pact initiated a retreat across all fronts as the Margan stayed behind to buy the Warlords time.

As the Sauran wing of the offensive advanced, the 17th Taiga fleet came across a planet being strip-mined by an unidentified race of aliens. The Sauran attacked, but despite initial success, were nearly pushed back until the arrival of Diab and Kastalian reinforcements. The aliens, identifying themselves as Asanians, swore vengeance on the intruders before retreating. Shortly thereafter, Asanian forces began to attack Diab colonies, and soon encountered the Margan. The Asanians arranged a meeting with Archon Knora, who convinced the Syndicate to join the Pact. The two forces continued to harass the Diabs for weeks afterward, drawing troops away from the main offensive.

Stormbreaker resumed in earnest following the Asanian and Margan withdrawal, but by then the Diabs were starting to lose momentum. Peacekeeper supply lines were dangerously overextended and attrition had taken its toll, with many replacements lacking battlefield experience. The Pact had also changed its tactics, shifting from fighting independently on different fronts to fighting as one cohesive force and combining their doctrines to work off of each other. After several more months of fighting, the Peacekeepers cancelled the offensive and ordered their troops to withdraw to more defensible positions; much of the territory lost during the offensive was subsequently reclaimed by the Pact.

Year 5
See also: Operation Downfall, Operation Sledgehammer, Operation Pierce the Veil, First Battle of Norsus

Four months after the end of Operation Stormbreaker, the Warlords, having gathered their strength, initiated Operation Downfall, which aimed to invade Norsus and knock the Rach out of the war. The operation began with Operation Sledgehammer, a series of simultaneous offensives against all major Peacekeeper powers aimed at preventing them from supporting the Rach by bleeding them of manpower and material. Just as the Peacekeepers had during Stormbreaker, the Pact made rapid gains, establishing footholds in Diab, Karahotdoum, and Sauran space while Warbot Industries, already near the breaking point, had the bulk of its remaining colonies and troops destroyed and its homeworld invaded by the Margan, effectively forcing them to withdraw from the war. The Aeverian offensive, tasked with attacking the border blockade, proved unable to breach the barrier and lost the entirety of the Margan Firewing fleet, which sacrificed itself to to free Pact allies in the final battle of the operation, but nonetheless dealt a serious blow to the Aeverian navy and frontier.

The offensive into Rach space, codenamed Operation Pierce the Veil, attacked the stealth generators concealing Norsus. General Gorach, using what resources he had available, established the Gorach-Cloudreaver Line, a final line of defense manned by veterans, Peacekeeper troops, and a small number of Warlord defectors. Many of the Rach were using whatever weapons were available, including Pact weapons captured during Stormbreaker. The defenses caught the Pact by surprise, forcing them to initially retreat, but the Warlords soon began to break through and systematically eliminate the generators. After the fall of the second generator, Gorach was contacted by Emperor Zinmar, who wished to build more stealth generators for the Rach in exchange for amnesty and entry into the Peacekeepers. The Rach accepted the deal, and Zinmar deployed a team of engineers to a remote Rach colony to begin construction.

Shortly after the loss of the third generator, during which a number of prisoners were taken, Gorach, Kertak, and a small squad moved to the planet to rescue the hostages, using a 'fear mist' to clear the path. During the operation, Gorach encountered and dueled Zaretian General Gancarda. Gorach attempted to persuade Gancarda that the war would destroy his nation, but Gancarda refused to listen, and landed a hit on Gorach's shoulder before a squad of Skyborn intervened, allowing the general to escape to Norsus on the battleship Karadin. Gancarda was relieved from the front due to injuries he received and replaced by Vipenite.

Gorach appealed to Emperor Coradine for permission to use the Rach's emergency arsenal, but was denied. Furious, he eforced his way into one of the capitol's secret vaults and awoke the Veteran Warsuits, Rach soldiers who had pledged to protect the empire by having their bodies entombed in powerful suits of armor. As Gorach was speaking to the suits, sirens began to roar throughout the city as communications began jammed with panicked Rach proclaiming that Norsus was visible. Gorach returned to Coradine's office, where he found that the emperor was gone and that the guards had been killed by Margan. The lone survivor, a sniper, explained that Coradine had killed one of the guards and fled. Gorach then sifted through the emperor desk, where he discovered that Coradine had been the Pact's informant and had ordered the deactivation of the final generator. Gorach declared himself emperor and ordered that all weapons be deployed to defend the planet.

With Norsus exposed, Operation Sledgehammer was halted as the final stage of Downfall began. A vast Margan fleet, alongside all five of the Margan dynasties, made way for the planet. The Aeverians, Kastalians, and Diabs attempted to send reinforcements to the planet, but the Aeverians were intercepted. The Diabs were detected by Captain Omard, but he allowed them to pass in the hope that they could still hold Norsus, claiming that he did not know of the Diab's mobilization. But with the whole of Margan civilization approaching, Gorach was forced to concede that Norsus would be impossible to defend, and began evacuating the populace into exodus ships hidden beneath the planet's surface. Within hours, the first Warlords ships arrived and began bombarding the planet. The Diab relief force then arrived and physically blocked the Pact, suffering grievous losses in the process. Desperate, Gorach entered the depths of Norsus' labs, where he was led to a device that generated a portal leading into a realm known to the Rach as the Void. With no other option, Gorach activated the device, tearing open a continent-sized hole in the planet's atmosphere. The Rach retreated into the portal while a small force stayed behind to protect the device. The Margan sent wave after wave of troops against the device before they were finally able to secure it. Rather than destroy it, the Margan kept the device running and chased the Rach into the portal. The portal finally closed as the last Margan ship entered. In that instant, both the Rach and Margan disappeared from the galaxy.

Year 6
The sixth year of the war saw relatively little action outside of scattered skirmishes as both sides were preoccupied with recovering from the previous two years of fighting. The Warlords, though victorious, had lost a major military power with the disappearance of the Margan, and were forced to discard plans to continue offensive operations in favor of consolidating their holdings. The Zaretians, Repzork, and Necraal sent reinforcements to various fronts. Emperor Zinmar attempted to cover up his involvement with the Rach, but his deal with Gorach had been leaked by Pact-leaning officers. In retaliation, Zinmar and Omard were both captured; Omard's true intentions in allowing the Diabs to pass through his forces unimpeded were made public, destroying his prestige among the populace and serving as the justification for his public execution days later. Zinmar's betrayal was kept secret, but he was confined to his palace and made a puppet of the Repzork High Council, which covertly took control of the nation and purged any officials belived to support the Peacekeepers. Zinmar's son was taken into Repzork custody to be groomed into a Pact-leaning monarch.

With the Rach having vanished and their forces badly mauled, the Peacekeeper convened to determine a new leader for the Alliance. Some suggested the Diabs for their strong military, but Admiral Korsair turned the offer down, declaring that he did not wish to be, "Tied down by bureaucratic lunacy". Korsair then suggested the Aeverians for their organization and willingness to work with aliens. The Aeverians won the majority of votes in the ensuing vote, and immediately set out shifting the Alliance's goals from protecting minor races to ensuring the survival of its members and defeating the Pact.

The Minomit, having been reduced to a few scattered colonies, used the lull in the fighting to begin the process of rebuilding. Before they could do so, they needed to liberate several colonies which had been occupied by Necraal and Kelmir troops. With aid from the Aeverians, they launched limited attacks and scored a few small victories. Four weeks later, many of WBI's remaining colonies went dark, with reports describing the attacks originating from an unidentified alien race later identified as the Rathakern, who were acquiring resources for Project Relevance, which aimed to complete the Omnishia Battleship. The Peacekeepers were unable to repel the invaders and were forced to retreat. Warbot Industries would not recover and effectively ceased to exist, most surviving Minomit opting to integrate into the Aeveria. The Rathakern then turned and attacked Warlord forces in the area, eliminating any possibility for negotiation between the two.

Year 7
See also: Diab Theatre, Battle of Lichen, Second Battle of Falkeos, Zaretian Theatre Operation Burning Lance.

Following Norsus, General Gancarda had been redeployed against the Diabs. While probing for vulnerable Diab colonies, General Gancarda discovered Lichen, a planet rich in crystals used in the production of Zaretian energy weapons. The general invaded the planet and soon established a base of operations on the surface. While attacking a nearby fort, Lord Atlas intervened and took command of the operation, declaring that Gancarda was not aggressive enough. Fighting continued under Atlas' leadership, and the Diabs were eventually cornered at their command center located in the planet's northern pole.Diab reinforcements had begun to turn the tide until Zaretian agents flanked the Diabs and eliminated their anti-air cannons. Nightshades were then sent to infiltrate the command center, but were captured. They broke free with the aid of one of the prisoners and destroyed the generator powering the base's anti-orbital cannon, allowing the Monarchy to push in and overwhelm the defenders.

As Lichen was underway, the Repzork and Magello launched an attack against the Diab military colony of Falkeos. Falkeos sat at the edge of the Pact's foothold in Diab space, and was seen as a potential obstacle to operations. The colony had been attacked by the Margan during Operation Sledgehammer and as a result suffered from a worsening Margan infestation. The battle would be the first in which the Repzork made use of Marganite-based weapons, which had been narrowly approved by the High Council for foreign operations a few months prior. Using orbital elevators to establish landing zones, the Pact steadily advanced across the planet, eliminating elevators that they could not capture. The final battle took place at the derelict fortress of Vigríar, where the defenders, after having withstood days of artillery and aerial bombardments, were attacked with chemical weapons before an infantry assault. The Diabs charged the Pact, causing momentary panic that resulted in a large number of Pact deaths before the fortress was secured.

Seeking to establish themselves amidst the instability of the war, Rathakern scientists began developing bio-chemical 'Overlord Bombs' within their foothold in former WBI territory. This program was discovered by a team of Diab Valkyries who were sweeping through to uncover the Rathakern's activities in the region. By the time they reported their discovery, the Rathakern had already attacked the colony of Larvos, with Overlord bombs being deployed against civilian colonies. After a pitched battle, the Rathakern captured the colony and began invading nearby colonies to establish a small foothold in Diab territory.

After amassing a vast fleet, the Aeverians initiated Operation Burning Lance, their invasion of Zaretian territory, aiming to capture the regional capitol of Nu-Zartar and ultimately open the path to Zartar. The Zaretian response is immediate, with Vipenite leading the defense with all available forces, including reinforcement from the 18th War Fleet. The sheer number of Zaretian ships causes the Aeverian offensive to bog down into a pitched stalemate for the next several months.

Rathakern forces under the command of General Wreav then began raiding Asanian military and corporate outposts. Troops would launch diversionary attacks while small squads infiltrated the facilities stole Asanian equipment. In one notable incident, Rathakern troops attacked 0797-2674-1132-PMCO for five straight hours. The Asanians held their ground, but discovered that the Rathakern had stolen their A.I equipment, specifically processors. The raids continued for months, hampering Syndicate efforts elsewhere.

Year Seven
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Judgment Day
After several victories against the Biomatter, the ABTF's mettle was tested when a spore from Fafnir landed on a colony deep within Diab territory. With most of the ABTF's forces elsewhere, it was up to a local Diab contingent to contain the infestation, which had already established a foothold on the planet. Within the contingent was a small group of Diab bio-troopers, including Specialist Heimdall, widely considered to be one of the best specialist the empire has to offer. After fighting through the infected colony, Heimdall successfully infiltrated the hive and planted a powerful explosive inside the hive. The explosive detonated just as Heimdall escaped, destroying the spore and ending the infection.

Keros Offensive
The conquest of Falkeos had left nearby Diab colonies open to Pact invasions; this was compounded by Zaretian and Rathakern attacks elsewhere, which pulled a number of Diab troops away from the foothold. This prompted the Diabs to evacuate nearby colonies and dig in with their available forces. Emboldened, Imperial Command began planning for its next move mere days after the Falkeos campaign had concluded. The offensive, codenamed Keros, would have Warlord forces engage the Diabs along three prongs. The central prong would be manned chiefly by Magello and Skrey, and intended to tie down Diab manpower. The right prong, known as south, would be led by the 14th and 277th armadas while the left, known as north, was spearheaded by the 355th and Commandant Tor. North and south were to push along the central prong's flanks and gradually sweep around and cut off the defenders. As well as pushing the foothold deeper into Diab space, this would make the foothold less dependent on outside assistance in terms of resources, as they would have more land to exploit.

While preparations were still underway, the Aeverians initiated Operation Burning Lance, the sheer size of which caught many in Imperial Command off guard. It was proposed that the Repzork halt their current plans in order to support the Monarchy, but this was rejected by the Marshal's Council, who aimed to prevent the Diabs or Karahotdoum from supporting the Aeveria by keeping them on the defensive. The 843rd, which was already stationed in Aeverian territory alongside the Necraal, would focus their efforts on diverting Aeverian resources away from the offensive with limited-scale attacks. Imperial Command would continue to monitor the Aeveria's progress, but the Zaretian's rapid response and the subsequent halt of Peacekeeper forces restored some confidence that the Zaretians could hold their ground, at least for the moment.

The Pact's buildup did not go entirely unnoticed by Diab Valkyries, who had been sent into the foothold to act as scouts. Though the Peacekeepers did not know where the Warlords would attack, they believed that an offensive would be sooner rather than later, and used what time they had to prepare. With the colonies having been evacuated, the Diabs focused their efforts on major colonies, such as major population and industrial centers, while leaving smaller units stationed at low-priority systems to slow down the Pact's advance. A large number of reserves were withheld for when the offensive began; they were to be deployed wherever they were needed.

The Keros Offensive officially began with all three prongs simultaneously attacking. The Diab's outermost defenses were shattered, but had fought to the last man, buying precious time. Pact forces made substantial gains in the following months, but had underestimated the number and tenacity of the defenders, which robbed the south and central prongs of some of the momentum that Imperial Command had expected, the central front gradually slowing to a crawl. The north front was the exception, the 14th and 277th advancing deep into enemy territory through a mixture of strategy and unrelenting force. The Diabs were quick to respond, sending the bulk of their reserves to engage the north prong, though they would be unable to halt the north's advance.

First and Second Battle of Tikka
Though General Wraithbane kept the bulk of his troops on the Diab front, the general soon began to expand his targets as he sent troops against the nearby Delani. Rathakern forces attacked the colony of Tikka and successfully captured its capitol, New Demosia. A Delani relief force arrived at the planet, and after hours of fierce fighting, drove the Rathakern from New Demosia, though they failed to repel them from the planet. Fierce back-and-forth fighting would continue for months, New Demosia and other settlements changing hands numerous times during the engagement, before the Delani forced the Rathakern off the colony. But the Rathakern returned a month later, beginning the battle anew. The Delani garrison, still recovering from the previous battle, proved no match for the reinvigorated Rathakern, who overwhelmed the defenders and recaptured the planet.

Battle of Embaelos
The Diab colony of Embaelos had been one of Falkeos' suppliers of manpower and equipment. Since Falkeos' fall, Embaelos had been repurposed as a forward command center for the Diab's fight against the Northern prong throughout the Keros offensive. Imperial Command has made the capture of Embaelos a priority objective for the Keros Offensive, and the North prong had been steadily advancing towards the colony since the offensive had begun. Knowing the planet would be attacked, the Diabs planned to turn Embaelos into a trap. Allied command diverted troops initially intended for the central and southern fronts to a system near Embaelos. They were to maintain position until after the Repzork had begun the attack, and were to isolate and cripple either the 14th's or 277th's command fleet, eliminating the fleet's commanding officers in the process. Unbeknownst to the Diabs, the Repzork, knowing that Embaelos would be heavily fortified but unaware of the Diab's plans, devised a ruse. The 277th would launch a feint against the Diabs and would then, after a brief engagement, withdraw, intending to draw out the defenders. Elements of the 14th would then sweep in and attack the Diab's exposed flanks. To make the trap more convincing, the 277th's command fleet was to be included in the attack.

The Repzork began the attack with standard tactics, giving the impression that a full invasion force had come, but the Diabs quickly took notice of the unusually small size of the force. Some concluded that it had to be a trap, but with the 277th's command fleet taking part in the attack, others believed that the Repzork were either unaware of the planet's strategic significance or had simply underestimated the defenses. After a brief period of intense fighting, the 277th began to pull back, but before it could do so, the Diabs sprung the trap, and their reserves appeared behind the invaders. Now severely outnumbered, the 277th alerted the 14th to their situation. The 14th then arrived and caught some of the Diabs by surprise.

As the 14th fought their way towards the 277th, the 277th's flagship was temporarily disabled and boarded by several waves of Diab shock troopers tasked with either capturing or killing Star Marshal Vilotr and Field Marshal Likana. An intense battle broke out throughout the ship, during which Marshal Likana donned her personal battlesuit and fought alongside her troops. She killed many of the attackers before her battlesuit was rendered inoperable after repeated shots to the legs. The field marshal continued to fight, but was incapacitated soon after, and had to be dragged away by her personal entourage before the Diabs could apprehend her.

Before the Diabs could eliminate the flagship, additional Repzork troops began to surge into the system in vast numbers; the attack had drawn the attention of all available elements of the 14th and 277th, who had been ordered to the system by Star Marshal Kiryusa Luok. The Diabs were repelled, and the 277th's command fleet subsequently fled the system, returning to the foothold for repairs. The battle nevertheless continued, the Repzork intent on seeking vengeance and claiming the planet. After a bitter engagement, Embaelos fell to Repzork forces.

Though the Diabs had failed in their objectives, the battle had nonetheless checked the rapid advance of the northern prong, especially in regards to the 277th. Marshal Likana would be hospitalized for several months, during which command of the 277th's ground forces fell upon her second-in-command, General Ezanfi Dugoro. Portions of the 277th, most notably the command fleet, were recalled to the mainland, with Marshal Vilotr and General Ezanfi temporarily taking direct command of one of the 277th's attack fleets. The Keros Offensive would continue, but the northern prong would never regain the initiative it had prior to Embaelos.

Flight of the Omnishia
After years of almost nonstop work, the construction of the Omnishia, the jewel of the Rathakern navy, was completed. Personally commanded by Warmaster Moratoryan, the vessel was the largest and most heavily armed and armored vessel in the Rathakern fleet. Construction of the vessel had long been plagued with resource shortages and technological limitations, but the previous raids against Peacekeeper and Warlord targets, though they had politically isolated the regime, had put the project back on track, with the ship commissioned years ahead of schedule. The ship immediately became a symbol of Rathakern pride once it was unveiled to the public, with many truly believing that the empire had become unstoppable. The situation was quite different behind the scenes, as engagements had shown weaknesses in Rathakern doctrine, which was not accustomed to alpha-strike tactics or the use of FTL weaponry. As impressive as the Omnishia was, the vessel presented a massive target, and it was assumed that the ship would become a high-priority target as soon as it entered the field. By the time these flaws were realized, the ship was already near completion, and the admiralty was unwilling to discard the resources and time that had been committed to the ship. As a result, engineers did the best they could to better prepare the ship for such attacks, though their efforts resulted in minimal improvement.

The Omnishia was attached a large amalgamation of fleets that was to act as the Rathakern's primary offensive army. The battlegroup was to link up with General Wraithbane's forces for a combined push into Diab and Delani space, but before the operation could begin, the fleet, excluding the Omnishia, which was kept in the mainland to avoid detection, moved to the Rathakern's holdings in former WBI territory. The region, which had been the sight of sporadic clashes with Peacekeeper forces, was to be fortified and turned into a proper logistics base that could supply the operation. This buildup inevitably caught the attention of the Peacekeepers, who deployed operatives into the region. Intercepted transmissions revealed the existence of the Omnishia and its importance to the empire, but not specifics of the vessel itself. They also showed that once the fleet's current position had been secured, the Omnishia would make its way over to the region alongside a relatively small escort fleet.

Though the specifics of the vessel remained unclear to the Peacekeepers, the threat posed by the Rathakern could not be ignored, and the elimination of the Omnishia was seen as a key component to diminishing or outright eliminating the threat posed by the Rathakern. The Alliance planned to ambush the Omnishia as soon as it arrived in the WBI foothold with the intent of crippling the vessel through overwhelming firepower. With their forces stretched across multiple fronts, the Peacekeeper plan relied on shock and awe alongside perfect timing for success.

Two Peacekeeper fleets moved into position and held position. After a few hours of waiting, the Omnishia arrived in the system as planned, and within moments Alliances forces move in to engage. The Omnishia's own size gave away its identity to the attackers, who promptly unloaded all of their weapons into the ship, but the salvo, though it did overload the shield, did not deal enough damage to cripple the ship outright. The rest of the Rathakern fleet moved in to assist their Warmaster. The Peacekeepers continued to engage, splitting a portion of their forces off to act as a diversion, but this only delayed the Rathakern for a short time. Before they could suffer any substantial losses, the Peacekeepers withdrew. But while the operation failed to eliminate the Omnishia, the damage it received forced the vessel to dock for repairs for the next few weeks.

Operation Iron Gauntlet
With the northern salient contained, the Diabs turned their attention towards the southern salient. Having been reinforced by troops from both the southern and central fronts, the Diabs initiated Operation Iron Gauntlet, which aimed to reclaim the salient, cripple the 14th and 355th armadas, and open a passage to Falkeos, and ultimately, to Baltreos. The Peacekeepers focused the bulk of their troops at the salient's base, intending to cut it off from the foothold. Though heavily fortified, the salient's defenses were shattered in the assault before the Pact could respond, and the salient was severed. As the Diabs advanced down the salient, smaller attacks were launched at other portions of the area, though these assaults made little progress. As the 14th armada moved to meet the main Diab force, reinforcements from the foothold arrived into the sector, though they were cut off by Peacekeeper fleets until a daring attack by the 57th Magellan fleet caused a break through, allowing the Warlords to stabilize the front. Repzork forces made heavy use of crystal munitions at this point in the battle, particularly during ground engagements, where crystal-infused artillery shells, bombs, and grenades made traditional Diab tactics risky or impossible. After several more weeks of fighting, the Diabs were finally repelled by the sudden arrival of the 277th, which had recently completed replenishment.

Though repelled from the salient, the Diabs continued to attack the sector in several locations, waging a battle of attrition costly to both sides. Systems changed hands often, sometimes several times in only the span of one or two months, but neither side made substantial gains against the the for next seven months.

Battle of Hethos
Main article: Battle of Hethos

Battle of Vedrthar
Once the Omnishia had been repaired, Warmaster Moratoryan's forces were back on the move. They linked up with General Wraithbane, who had been maintaining a defensive posture since the attack on the Omnishia, and renewed the Rathakern's offensive into Diab and Delani space with renewed vigor. Wraithbane concentrated on the Delani while Moratoryan and Commander Wreav pushed through Diab space. To blunt the assault, the Diabs were forced to divert troops from Iron Gauntlet. Even still, the Rathakern persevered, with the Omnishia pushing ahead into the Vedrthar Sector. Vedrthar sat right at the doorstep of the Pact's foothold, but with Iron Gauntlet underway elsewhere, was relatively quiet. The Rathakern were quick to take advantage of the situation, and began assaulting Peacekeeper positions as they inched towards the foothold.

But by this point in the offensive, the Rathakern had begun to encounter problems of their own. Their supply lines had been stretched thin and were vulnerable to harassment. Reinforcements came gradually, but were at times intercepted before they could link with the fleets. With the Warmaster and his commanders constantly on the move, there was little time to properly repair and maintain equipment. The Omnishia itself, though still a formidable vessel, was likewise beginning to sustain damage due to frequent engagements. Some of the engineers began to call for the ship to be returned to the Rathakern's WBI holdings for repairs, but Moratoryan refused, citing potential ambushes and the fact that the Rathakern needed to attack now while the enemy was preoccupied.

The Warmaster's advance soon caught the attention of the 17th Magellan Battle Fleet under the command of Captain Bulgara, which had been stationed in the area as a rapid response force. Fearing that an attack by the Rathakern could potentially shatter the foothold, Bulgara requested reinforcements and permission to engage the threat while it was still away from the foothold. Imperial Command, its attention focused on the battles in the salient, granted Bulgara a limited number of reinforcements but ordered her to maintain position until further notice. Bulgara, unwilling to wait for the Rathakern to make the first move, disobeyed Imperial Command's orders and breached protocol by contacting local Peacekeeper forces. She proposed a ceasefire so that the two could work together to repel the Rathakern. The Peacekeepers reluctantly agreed, and the two began planning how to best tackle the threat.

Commander Wreav and his men had been acting as a vanguard for Moratoryan's forces; the commander would launch preliminary attacks that softened the defenders before the main fleets arrived. Bulgara and the Peacekeepers planned to engage Wreav's command fleet and in doing so lure the Omnishia into a trap. Some protested the operation as being too risky, but officials on both sides understood that the Omnishia and its commander needed to be eliminated before the Rathakern could be broken.

While the bulk of Bulgara's forces maintained position and token forces contained ongoing Rathakern attacks, Magellan and Diab scouts scoured the region, searching for Commander Wreav. After a little over a week of observation, the movement of some of Wreav's forces were triangulated to a specific region of Vedrthar. A scout was sent ahead and confirmed the presence of a large concentration of Rathakern vessels. Believing it to be Wreav's command fleet, Bulgara moved in to engage. The allies had guessed correctly; Wreav, having not anticipated a large force nor having fought the Magello before, contacted the Warmaster for assistance. The Peacekeepers held back, waiting for the arrival of the Omnishia before revealing themselves. During the interlude, the Magello dealt a serious blow to Wreav, whose forces had been scattered across multiple planets, but the commander remained confident that the Omnishia would turn the tide.

When the Omnishia and its escort fleet finally arrived, the Magello shifted their attention towards the ship and pressed the attack, preventing the vessel from effectively maneuvering. The Rathakern had seemingly turned the battle back in their favor, but in truth, the Magello, though now being battered by the Warmaster's forces, were providing the Peacekeepers with targeting data. Soon, the Peacekeepers entered the fray and attacked the Omnishia with several alpha strikes, overloading the shield and piercing the ship's hull in several locations. This in turn led to a few of the Omnishia's ammunition stores exploding, causing further damage to the ship. But while the Omnishia had been seriously wounded and its crew shaken, the ship was still capable of fighting, and the Rathakern maintained numerical superiority. Moratoryan acted quickly, requesting for further reinforcements as he focused his attacks against the Magello in an effort to break out.

Though stationed in Delani space, General Wraithbane responded to the distress call by dispatching a portion of his forces to the engagement. They appeared behind one of the Peacekeeper fleets, forcing the ships to divert their attention away from the Omnishia. But before Moratoryan could exploit the distraction, Captain Bulgara's flagship, though having sustained heavy damage in doing so, carefully maneuvered itself behind the Omnishia and unloaded a salvo directly into the vessel's engines, causing a detonation that damaged the vessel's stern and rendering the ship completely immobile.

To the disbelief of both Bulgara and the Peacekeepers, the Omnishia continued to put up resistance, the crew making no attempt to scuttle the vessel. With their Warmaster in peril, all nearby Rathakern ships moved to form a perimeter around the Omnishia, though Wraithbane's forces were unable to advance due to the Peacekeepers. Bulgara and the rest of the Peacekeepers advanced towards the ship, fighting through the Rathakern fleet as strikecraft performed bombing runs on the Omnishia's remaining weapons systems, which soon began to fall silent under the onslaught. Commander Wreav was among the ships defending the Omnishia, but he was soon killed after his ship took multiple hits from the frontal cannons of a Diab cruiser, one of which had glanced the bridge, vaporizing Wreav and the crew. Once the Rathakern's defenses had thinned further and a path to the Omnishia had opened, Diab and Magellan soldiers were deployed into the vessel to secure the ship and eliminate Warmaster Moratoryan. The Warmaster, donning his Void Axe and a plasma hand cannon, fought the invaders alongside his men. Fighting in the ship would persist for almost two straight days due in part to the size of the ship and its vast crew even after much of it had been wounded or killed prior to the boarding operation. Outside, the allied force repelled the Rathakern from around the Omnishia, preventing any reinforcements from reaching the ship.

Near the end of the second day, Warmaster Moratoryan and what remained of his honor guard were surrounded by Diab and Magellan soldiers. The Rathakern dictator was ordered to surrender, but he instead charged headlong into the attackers, his guards following suit. Over the next five minutes, the guards were gunned down or killed in hand-to-hand combat, leaving the Warmaster on his own. He felled many of the attackers before a Diab Shock Trooper dodged a swipe of the Void Axe and plunged his bayonet into the Rathakern's arm before unleashing a point-blank burst of fire that severed Moratoryan's hand. The Warmaster raised his hand cannon, but the Diab was faster, and wrestled the gun out of his hand. The two grappled before a second soldier charged the Warmaster with his pauldron, knocking him to the ground. The Diab then grabbed Moratoryan's jaws and, after a momentary struggle, pulled them apart, shattering them and severing one of Moratoryan's carotid arteries, killing him almost instantly.

With both Warmaster Moratoryan and Commander Wreav dead, the Omnishia captured, and their forces having sustained irreplaceable losses, the remaining Rathakern routed, fleeing either towards their WBI foothold, General Wraithbane, or in any other direction away from Vedrthar. Thousands of Rathakern would be taken prisoner, including what remained of the Omnishia's crew, though a small few would continue to hold out before being eliminated in subsequent sweeps through the ship. An uneasy calm then fell between the Peacekeepers and Bulgara as troops on both sides began pondering their next move now that their objective had been completed. A few of Bulgara's officers pushed for an attack, but Bulgara refused; the commander had no intention of turning on an ally, even a temporary one, so quickly, and wanted to give both sides an opportunity to rest and recuperate. More importantly, the Magello had taken the brunt of the assault, and Peacekeeper troops outnumbered them by a substantial margin. Within the Omnishia, some of the Diabs and Magello had slowly begun to fraternize as they divided the spoils of the battle, tended to the wounded, and recovered bodies for burial. Rumors continue to circulate that a tiny handful of Magello soldiers used the opportunity to defect to the Peacekeepers, and that Bulgara may have been in some way complicit, but such reports remain in the realm of conspiracy. In a show of goodwill, and to prevent a possible confrontation, Bulgara allowed the Peacekeepers to claim the wreckage of the Omnishia and Warmaster Moratoryan's equipment, both of which would be brought back to Diab space for study and as trophies. Bulgara's forces, after having taken what they needed, returned to the foothold while the Peacekeepers moved to join their allies in engaging Wraithbane.

Wraithbane was notified of Moratoryan's death as Rathakern fores had begun to fall back. As well as a complete loss of the Rathakern's morale, the destruction of the Omnishia had left Wraithbane's flank completely exposed. The general ordered an immediate evacuation and for all Rathakern forces to fall back to the WBI foothold. But as Wraithbane's forces began to fall back, emboldened Delani surged across the front, scattering the Rathakern and inflicting terrible losses on the invaders. Worse yet, Peacekeeper ships from Vedrthar soon began streaming into the region. To avoid being surrounded, Wraithbane ordered his ships to depart, abandoning any troops that were still on the surface, all of whom would either die or be taken prisoner; this did little to help the general, however, as the Peacekeepers followed Wraithbane back to the WBI foothold. Both forces arrived in the area mere minutes apart, and a fight promptly broke out For several hours, Wraithbane attempted to hold his ground, but he was then contacted by General Parthen, who had been overseeing the Homeland Defense Fleet and had now been appointed as the new Warmaster in place of Moratoryan. Parthen ordered Wraithbane and his men to abandon the foothold and return to the mainland in the event of a Peacekeeper attack. The general complied, and his men made a fighting retreat away from the region.

Though the Rathakern had been repelled, it had come at a considerable price for the Peacekeepers. The short but intense campaign had been fought primarily with troops desperately needed on other fronts; this was most notable in the Diab foothold, where the withdrawal of troops from Iron Gauntlet contributed to the Repzork repelling the Diabs from the southern salient. Those who had not been killed or crippled were exhausted and needed time to rest and tend to their equipment, granting the Pact a temporary advantage in manpower in some regions. A few officials pushed for a front against the Rathakern, but this was unanimously rejected. Nevertheless, observers continue to monitor the outskirts of Rathakern space for signs of buildup, though they have yet to detect anything of note. Little is known of what transpired in the Rathakern mainland following their defeat, but most believe they have either given up or are building their forces back up and preparing for another opportunity to strike in the far future.

Imperial Command had learned of Bulgara's rogue actions as the Battle of Vedrthar was already underway, and decided to allow the conflict to run its course before taking action. What exactly they should do with the Captain became a matter of lenghty debate. Though she had disobeyed orders, she had eliminated what could have been a serious threat to the foothold; at the same time, a story of Warlord and Peacekeeper forces working together could potentially harm the public's perception of the war. There were also fears that some of the Magello could defect as Zinmar and Omard had. In the end, it was decided that Bulgara and her men would not be directly punished, but would be kept where the Pact could keep an eye on them. Bulgara and her men were commemorated in a public ceremony celebrating their heroic actions against the Rathakern while propaganda minimized the role of the Peacekeepers and exaggerated the threat posed by the Rathakern, implying that the two forces had no other option than to work together and that there was no fraternization. The 17th fleet was then subsequently moved from the foothold to a fortress world near Sculpterra, where they would slowly build themselves back up with diehard Warlord supporters.

Warlord-Recycler Intervention
See also: Bunker Incident

Following the ascension of High Chancellor Visas Jorental, the Betel were in a process of total mobilization driven on his jingoist Military Proliferation Act. These measures were justified as necessary to combat the aggression of Xeverran encroachments on Betel worlds. While nowhere near a significant power, they had previously established strong economic ties with a multitude of Peacekeeper nations thanks to the activities of previous High Chancellor Corim Decutuk. Betel had been trading with empires of either side, but Peacekeeper trade made up the bulk of their exports, especially after nearly a decade of war. Deposing the Recycler government which held a loose grip on the Betel people would allow them to install a puppet government that could be forced to cut off supply routes to the Peacekeepers. In any case, Warlord Leadership was of the belief that should the Betel choose to take a side in the Great War, it would be alongside the Peacekeepers they held stronger economic ties with, and the ramping up of militarization signaled their intent to get involved. The Pact resolved to intervene while the Recycler government had only just begun war efforts in a quick and decisive action that would be over before the Peacekeepers could deliberate on their involvement. Zaretian operatives were dispatched to sabotage Recycler sensors along a corridor leading to the home planet of Betel. This mission was a success, but some of the operatives were captured when they began work on disabling key installations on the homeworld. With the Recyclers becoming wise to the intentions of the Zaretians, the expeditionary fleet opted to strike before the window of opportunity closed and began storming towards their target with all haste. Arriving at Betel, the Zaretians caught the poorly-organized Recycler military unprepared and a land assault was launched on the planet. Drawing on the traditions of the previous invasion of Betel by the Doisu decades earlier, a fierce resistance was put up, and the need for speed had left Monarchy forces less cohesive than intended. After a handful of vicious skirmishes, the Zaretians were pushed back. Sky Spear forces had arrived and succeeded in keeping reserves at bay, and the Monarchy pulled out, escaping relatively unmolested thereafter.

Fearing reprisal, the Recycler government sought to negotiate with the enemies of the Pact, the Peacekeeper Alliance. A meeting was brokered by the Luminarian Rebels, but word on the meeting was leaked to Warlord intelligence by dissident Doisu engineers through the Wolnch Authority (who were threatened by the Recycler militarization after they had supported the Doisu against the Betel during the war). They feared that if they had the backing of the Peacekeeper juggernaut, the Recyclers would be more bold in their aggression. Syndicate assassins were contracted out to disrupt the meeting, and were able to wipe out the Luminarian delegation. The Betel delegation had not yet arrived and so escaped harm, casting suspicion on the trustworthiness of the Recyclers, but they were admitted into the Alliance to safeguard necessary resources. The Wolnch Authority would ultimately successfully seek membership with the Warlord Pact, disillusioned with the Peacekeepers hypocrisy and threatened by looming Betel aggression.

Corporate elements strongly linked with Warlord empires began resisting this change in policy, eventually forming the DeComp Rebels.

Battle of Helia & Third Battle of Falkeos
With the Rathakern threat abolished, Diab command prepared for another major push into the southern salient. Months of preparation would see the formation of the largest Diab fleet thus far in the Repzork theater. This buildup did not go entirely unnoticed by the Pact, but a successful deception campaign misled the Pact on the fleet's size, where it was attacking, and when. Though the bulk of the 355th and 14th armadas would remain in the salient, elements of the two fleets, as well as the 277th armada and many Magellan, Skrey, and Zaretian units, were relocated to the supposed target.

Diab forces attacked the salient a full week earlier than the Pact had anticipated. The unprepared defenders, though they put up heavy resistance, did not have the manpower to repel the Peacekeepers; the salient was breached on three different fronts, and Diab forces spilled into the region, dividing the salient into several distinct pockets and throwing the defenders into disarray. The foothold sent all available forces to the salient, though it would be several hours before the bulk of their forces arrived. A relief fleet spearheaded by the 277th charged into the thick of the fighting, bisecting Diab lines as they raced to rescue encircled troops. As elements of both armadas were retrieved, casualties were withdrawn while the rest stayed behind to continue fighting. As more troops entered the salient, the entire battle would be thrown into disarray as both sides were forced to fight on multiple unpredictable fronts.

As the battle in the salient raged, Diab forces attacked Falkeos to disrupt Pact logistics and repair stations. Though most of Falkeos' garrison had been sent to the salient, a sizeable force remained on the planet, though they were stationed around the orbital elevators, leaving portions of their defense vulnerable. The Diabs used these weak-points to breach Falkeos' orbital defenses and deploy shock troops to the surface. A landing zone was established, and Diab forces pushed swiftly across the planet, with Valkyries moving ahead of the main force to disrupt defenses and supply stations. Peacekeeper forces made substantial gains in the first months of the battle, having captured several fortresses, the old capitol, and destroying one of the planet's orbital elevators. But they were eventually driven off the world by Magello troops and elements of the 355th and 14th that had escaped the salient.

Vicious fighting would continue in and around the salient for a little over a year in some of the bloodiest battles since Operation Sledgehammer. The Pact ultimately failed to repel the invaders, and suffered severe losses during the battle. Combined with outside pressures such as the dissolution of the Saracin Empire, which necessitated that troops be sent to reinforce the Karahotdoum front; the invasion of Batel space, and the continued withdrawal of Zaretian forces from Diab space, the Pact was forced to cede the salient to the Peacekeepers and retreat. Though they had dealt a decisive blow to the Warlords, the Diabs' victory had cost them in almost equal measure.

Operation Isomer
Main Page: Rigni campaign‎

Repzork Invasion of Betel
Repzork Imperial Command had been closely monitoring the Zaretian's activities in Betel space. Had the Monarchy been successful, the empire intended to stake a claim on some of the Betel's resource-rich colonies to meet growing demands for military equipment. With the Zaretian's failure to occupy Betel and puppet their leadership, the Marshal's Council considered opening a front against the Recyclers. Support for war was almost unanimous; though Marshal Zurar feared that committing troops to a new front could pull resources away from the Karahotdoum and Diab theaters, the Council agreed that the Betel could not be allowed to build up their army nor could their resources be used by the Peacekeepers. The 489th 'Ghost Eaters' armada, which specialized in asymmetrical warfare and occupation, was assigned to the task. Though relatively small compared to other armadas, it was believed that the 489th's superior equipment and training would allow them to overwhelm Betel colonies with ease.

To test the Betel's defenses, the 489th dispatched a strike force to engage Betel on a remote outpost. Imperial forces made rapid gains in the opening assault, but Betel guerilla fighters sabotaged their supply lines, giving time for reinforcements - who had been preparing for a second, larger Zaretian attack for the past year - to rapidly redeploy to sweep in and flank the Repzork, successfully driving the invaders off the planet. Though embarrassed by the setback, the 489th launched new and larger assaults deeper into Betel territory. As Imperial Command had predicted, superior Repzork forces overwhelmed the Betel Helmwehr, capturing and occupying several colonies in a short span of time. However, while the 489th was suited for fighting the Betel in theory, in practice their training had not fully prepared them for the polluted and trash-ridden environment of Betel settlements, which the Recyclers were able to navigate with ease. Betel guerilla fighters would continue to resist Repzork occupation long after a colony had been captured, necessitating that more troops be sent to occupied colonies and slowing down the Pact's advance. Environmental factors also hindered the Warlords, such as the fact that artillery could not be used in most situations due to the risk of causing avalanches. Despite these difficulties, with the Betel military as a whole still inferior to the Repzork, the Pact continued to make steady progress against the Recyclers, with their ultimate goal being to occupy Betel itself.

After the first few weeks of chaotic fighting, High Chancellor Visas would create the position of Voivode - a military governor- and promote Brave Commander Ruusad Hassai of the the 2nd North Grip to bring the forces together in hopes of putting up a defense.

The Horror
Taldrin was a small Acropolan colony located on the fringes of their empire. Far from the Great War and the Conkirites, the planet was lightly-defended and was considered to be of little priority. This would ultimately prove to be its downfall when Apophis attacked the colony. Unable to repel the invaders, the colony was soon overran, leading to the deaths of most of the planet's population.

Second Battle of Baltreos
The Warlord's retreat from the salient had been disorganized, creating gaps from which the Diabs plunged headlong into the foothold and attacked Baltreos, believing that this could be their only opportunity to shatter the foothold in the foreseeable future. This surprised some Warlord officers who had believed that Falkeos would be their next target. Though battered and bloodied, Pact forces who had fought in the salient assisted in defending the planet, with Admiral Kiryusa Luok and the remains of the 14th armada notably leading Pact naval forces in and around the system. During the Battle of Helia, the garrison at Baltreos had been granted access to much of the Repzork's next-generation equipment, which included the first two Helia-class battlecruisers, the HLBC Hruthvar and Hruthvair, which were equipped with new Planet-Cracker Superheavy Railcannons; a third Planet Cracker that had been built on the surface of Baltreos as an anti-orbital gun, ships equipped with gravity wells, mobile shield generators both on the ground and in space, RS18 Firestorm missiles, and a slew of updated vehicles and weapons. Imperial command had initially aimed to deploy their new assets during the battle in the salient or at Falkeos, but the chaotic nature of the conflict and the fact that their new equipment was still few in number led to command retaining them at Baltreos for the exact circumstance they now found themselves in. The planet cracker on Baltreos was located in the planet's capital city, which had been converted into a vast, fortified complex that stretched deep underground.

As Diab forces entered the system, they were almost immediately attacked by the Hruthvar and Hruthvair, whose guns outranged most of the Diab fleet. The Diabs attempted to deploy hunter-killers, but their ships could not get accurate coordinates due to the Repzork's gravity generators, forcing the Diabs to close in and fight conventionally. The Pact fleet maintained position, firing potshots at the approaching Peacekeepers as they drew nearer to Baltreos' Planet Cracker. A Diab destroyer was among the first ships to step into range, and in moments had its entire front-half vaporized by the cannon. Realizing the trap, the Peacekeepers attempted to retreat, but it was then that the Pact fleet closed in and engaged, preventing the Diabs from escaping.

Left with no other option, the Peacekeepers focused their efforts on eliminating the Hruthvar and Hruthvair, which were protected with a mobile shield array and both Admiral Luok's and Falser's flagships. The shield eventually gave way to concentrated fire, giving the Diabs a small window of opportunity to attack the vessels directly. The two vessels proved resilient to the barrage, but the battle took a sudden turn when a badly-damaged Cruiser accelerated its engines and made a beeline towards the Hruthvar. Rather than moving, the Hruthvar's commanding officer turned his ship towards the cruiser and prepared to fire; however, the commander had underestimated the charge time for the cannon, and the gun fired just as the Diab cruiser impacted. The result was a catastrophic detonation that destroyed the cruiser but severely damaged the Hruthvar's bow, crippling its main gun, killing or wounding hundreds of crew members, and disabling many of its weapons systems. Repzork ships moved to defend the crippled ship, with the Hruthvair placing itself between the Hruthvar and the Diabs, preventing them from landing any more hits on it. The mobile shields reactivated several minutes later, giving the Hruthvar sufficient time to escape the battle and return to the homeland for repairs. For his blunder, the Hruthvar's commanding officer would be stripped of his command and replaced.

Diab forces used the opportunity to push through a thinned section of the Pact's defenses and relocate their forces to a region outside of the range of Baltreos' Planet Cracker. Knowing that they may only have a few hours until they were back in the cannon's range, the Peacekeepers deployed all of their available ground forces in a bid to overwhelm the cannon. As the battle resumed in orbit, Peacekeeper forces on the ground established a landing zone and attacked nearby Warlord positions. The defenders were swiftly overwhelmed, but constant aerial harassment and Warlord orbital drops disrupted the Alliance's advance. Alliance ground forces set their sights on the port city of Avgorod, whose capture could allow for an amphibious assault on the Pact's command center. Like most settlements on the planet, the city had been extensively fortified with bunkers, hidden machine-gun nests, and entrenched anti-tank guns, but it lacked a large shield generator, allowing for artillery and air strikes. A blitzkrieg led by Monolith and Ironhead tanks shattered the defenses as troops stormed the city. After hours of intense street-by-street fighting, during which Diab fleets narrowly managed to elude the Planet Cracker's effective range, Avgorod was captured. But before an attack could be mounted on the Planet Cracker, General Likana, upon hearing of Avgorod's capture, authorized the use of one of the Repzork's RS-18s on the city. General Gusavig Wazari of the 355th, still wary of crystal weapons, was initially reluctant to use the device, but when it became clear that the Planet Cracker could very well be destroyed, gave his authorization. Diab ships attempted to shoot the missile down as it reached its peak altitude, but it broke into several warheads before they could do so. The Firestorm warheads sparked instantaneous and explosive crystal growth throughout the city upon detonation, creating what is known today as "The Demon's Scar". Almost all of the Diabs in Avgorod were killed save for those who had been extracted or a small few who had hidden themselves in shelters that had not been breached by crystals.

With their ground forces in shambles and the navy unable to make any further progress, the Peacekeepers retreated from Baltreos and returned to Diab space, signalling the end of Operation Iron Gauntlet. Warlord forces did not pursue, staying within the Foothold to rebuild. Both the 14th and 355th armada returned to the mainland for replenishment, their positions taken over by the 980th and 537th armadas respectively. Both the 355th and 14th would require years to replenish their numbers, with the 14th being out of commission for the next four years. With both sides exhausted from the past four years of fighting, no offensive operations would be undertaken in Diab space for the next two years, with only sporadic skirmishes occurring at the border of the foothold.

Though Repzork propaganda emphasized the Pact's victory at Baltreos and on other theaters, it proved impossible to minimize their catastrophic losses, particularly during the Battle of Helia, which had dramatic ramifications for the empire's involvement in the war. The previous four years remain the bloodiest and most destructive in Repzork history, with well over a billion casualties, of which tens of millions had died and countless more were disabled. Millions of armored vehicles and thousands of starships had also been damaged or destroyed. Of note was the namesake of the Battle of Helia, the 14th armada, which had been reduced to less than half of its original size; likewise, the 355th had lost roughly 45% of its fighting force. Proportionally, the Magellan military suffered similar losses, with their effective fighting force unfit for an anything more than defensive operations. Worse yet in the eyes of many in Imperial Command was that these losses had been for nothing; with the failure of the Keros Offensive, all of the Pact's territorial acquisitions had been erased save for Falkeos.

News of these disasters sparked outrage within the homeland. The general public, which was normally in favor of war, held demonstrations across the empire demanding that those who were responsible be held accountable and that the empire do more to protect its men; amid these protestors were also groups that opposed the war altogether and demanded that the Repzork abandon the conflict. Military and government officials also joined in on the protest. Officials operating in the foothold were quick to pin the blame on various factors, such as the Margan's disappearance, the Zaretian's withdrawal, the Magello, and each other. Emperor Zervath, speaking on behalf of the Marshal's Council, spoke on the matter in a speech a week after the Second Battle of Baltreos. He admitted that the Peacekeepers had put up more resistance than Imperial Command had initially anticipated, but that there was no one figure to blame for the disaster. The emperor also announced that all available civilian and military assets would be dedicated to the war, and that instead of pointing fingers, the public should instead focus on avenging the fallen by uniting against the 'Peacekeeper hordes'.

The controversy subsided soon after as the military worked to rebuild and mobilize its assets. Propagandists made use of both Zervath's words and the Diab campaign as a whole to drum up support for the war with slogans such as 'Vengeance for the 14th!".

Sentience Incident & Necraal Schism
King Horr'or had a keen interest in using the Biomatter Swarms as a weapon since news of the Dragoneteran's use of the swarms during their war with the Tegotian Empire first surfaced. Due to the taboo surrounding the use of the swarms amid both Warlord and Peacekeeper forces as well as the Necraal populace, the King kept these ideas to himself, fearing potential retaliation from his allies. But with the Warlords on the retreat in many fronts and Necraal casualties climbing, Horr'or initiated a weaponization program in the underground vaults of Ivn. This program was to be conducted with utmost secrecy, with all nonessential personnel, including Crown Prince Bael'thir, left uninformed. Creatures were collected from several hives and were experimented on to determine if it was possible to sever their connection to the hivemind. Testing on the brain eventually proved successful, but the result did little to change the behavior of the specimens, who continued to attack any and all who came near. Attempts to control the creatures via cybernetic implants, chemicals, or training all proved futile.

Roughly a month after the program had begun, King Horr'or unexpectedly invited Shaman Glad'mere to Ivn's vaults to take part in the project as an advisor. Glad'mere and his followers were known best for their fascination with the swarms, which they looked upon with a sort of religious reverence, which had made him an outcast among the Shamans and greatly disliked by many Necraal in high command, including Prince Bael'thir. Why Horr'or contacted Glad'mere remains unknown, but it is presumed that he believed that Glad'mere could provide information or guidance to help achieve his goals. Horr'or's demeanor changed shortly after Glad'mere joined the project; the king became insular, and he spent more and more time around the shaman.

With control seemingly impossible, Horr'or drastically altered the project's course. Beginning with prisoners, Horr'or would splice Biomatter DNA into that of the prisoners. The first several dozen experiments ended in failure, with each procedure creating mindless monstrosities that were almost immediately terminated after their creation. A breakthrough finally occurred when an Aeverian prisoner was spliced, and despite being severely mutated, retained his sanity. The subject proved inconsolable and was terminated like those before him, but to Horr'or and Glad'mere, it showed that the procedure was in fact possible, which led to the two beginning experiments on willing Necraal volunteers who were promised that they would become 'supersoldiers' that could turn the tide of the war.

As they began experimenting on Necraal, both Horr'or and Glad'mere started openly speaking of a being they referred to as 'Legion'. Legion was said to be the driving force behind the Biomatter, and was directing the actions of Horr'or and Glad'mere so as to 'uplift' the Biomatter race. Unease grew among those involved in the program. Some believed that stress from the war had pushed Horr'or into madness, or that the two had been exposed to Biomatter samples. Others thought that Glad'mere was manipulating the king and attempted to have him ousted, but their efforts were halted by the king. Others, however, had been in frequent contact with Glad'mere's followers and had come to believe in their doctrines. They gladly followed Horr'or's commands, with many willingly giving themselves up to experimentation. Fearing reprisal, those who thought disagreed kept quiet.

After a few failed attempts, scientists successfully created the first Necraal-Biomatter hybrid with samples from Fafnir. The first few subjects were still undeniably insane, suffering from bouts of severe aggression, but remained loyal to the king. Successive procedures would gradually diminish mental flaws, creating hybrid soldiers that were more or less as sane as before they underwent the procedure. These soldiers often spoke of compulsive feelings to perform certain acts and images that would flash through their minds, which some interpreted to be messages from Legion. These hybrids are then sent into cells containing Biomatter to observe how the creatures respond. Just as Horr'or had hoped, the Biomatter did not attack the Hybrid, and instead appeared to regard the soldier as one of its own. Hybrids were then deployed to a known Biomatter colony to the same result.

Once Horr'or had amassed a sizeable force of hybrids, he decided to test them against the ABTF. An outdated Necraal vessel was seeded with a spore and sent to the Flytal colony of Yintil. The spore had unintentionally landed near the planet's northern pole, but it still managed to establish a sizeable colony and threatened to overwhelm a nearby settlement until an ABTF response unit arrived. Late into the fighting, the Necraal hybrids, who had established a base on the opposite end of the planet, joined the fighting and opened a second front against the ABTF. The combined Necraal and Biomatter force completely overwhelmed the response unit, killing all but a few stragglers that narrowly managed to escape back to the main fleet. The battle, known shortly after as the 'Sentience Incident' in both Peacekeeper and Warlord media, incited panic across the region, as it was feared that the swarms had truly become sapient and would overwhelm the war-wary nations. More cool-headed public officials thought otherwise, and looked at the Necraal with suspicion, though the Kingdom denied any involvement. With this success, Horr'or became a devout follower of Legion, and became convinced that all Necraal, and eventually, life in the galaxy, was to become one with the swarms. He expanded his splicing program to amass more recruits while Glad'mere became a priestly figurehead, teaching new recruits of the tenants of Legion.

But even as the cult of Legion spread, there remained those who did not believe in it, and who in fact believed that Horr'or and Glad'mere's ambitions were going to bring the kingdom to ruin. Unwilling to remain idle any longer, three researchers managed to sneak out of Ivn's vaults with video and photographic evidence of the king's activities. They presented their evidence before unwitting military officials, who gradually worked their way up the chain of command before Bael'thir himself was notified of what had transpired. Horrified by his father's actions, Bael'thir resolved to overthrow Horr'or and purge the monarchy of the swarms at once.

This quickly proved to be no easy task; much of the monarchy remained oblivious to the king's ambitions, and more importantly, Bael'thir and his forces were stationed on the Karahotdoum front. Many Commandants were also operating in fronts elsewhere, tying down much of the Necraal military. To take Ivn, he would need assistance. The Crown Prince came before the Warlords and presented his case, requesting any help they could spare before it was too late. Both the Repzork and the Zaretians declared immediate support, with the Repzork pledging the support of the largely-nomadic 500th armada and subsequent reinforcements when available.

With Warlord backing, Bael'thir announced Horr'or's crimes to the kingdom and declared his intentions to claim the throne for himself. Fighting erupted throughout the kingdom almost immediately. Many had sided with Bael'thir, but there were those who still declared their allegiance to Horr'or either out of respect for his position or a belief that Bael'thir was lying and that the Pact had betrayed them and was attempting to establish a puppet government. Shortly after fighting began, a third led by Sa'i, the leader of the Tsu caste, declared their support for the Peacekeepers. Sa'i, once a firm supporter of the Pact's cause, had grown disillusioned as the war continued to drag on and the various crimes of the Pact became more common. These events also led to him favoring a democratic style of governing rather than the monarchists that permeated the Pact. Though there were many Alliance officials who doubted Sa'i, the opportunity to strike the Necraal while they were vulnerable was something Alliance command could not ignore. With Necraal forces withdrawing on all fronts, the Alliance amassed a fleet comprised of Karahotdoum, Diab, and Aeveria ships and moved into Necraal space.

Infighting also broke out along the Necraal's various fronts. Commandants Var and Scy'the both pledged their support to the king, while Tor supported Bael'thir. Before any of them could return to the mainland, they had to eliminate dissident elements within their fleets. Var and Scy'the would also have to contend with their former allies. Repzork and Zaretian forces along the Karahotdoum front attempted to eliminate Var and his forces. Even with their enemy divided, the ensuing battle proved catastrophic for the Pact. Necraal armor proved more than a match even for next-generation Pact equipment while poor communication, a chaotic battlefield, and attacks from the Karahotdoum left the Warlords disorganized, sometimes resulting in friendly-fire incidents with allied Necraal. After a few weeks of fighting, Var's forces would make a fighting retreat back to the homeland.

But while the Commandants would provide Horr'or with a distinct tactical advantage, he still found himself in a two-front war with himself and Ivn as the primary target of both of his opponents. The loyalist were outnumbered and rapidly losing ground on all fronts. To slow down the enemy's advance, Horr'or launched Biomatter spores wherever he could. He also spliced as many soldiers as he and his scientists were able. The king had also spliced himself, believing that a closer connection to Legion and the Biomatter's own abilities could help. Glad'mere reassured the king, declaring that the conflict was nothing more than Legion's way of separating the worthy from the weak. But on the field, Horr'or's use of the Biomatter only proved Bael'thir's claims, which resulted in many Necraal who had been loyal to the king switching their loyalties.

For Bael'thir, it became a race to reach Ivn before the Peacekeepers. Though fighting a mutual enemy, the two forces would still engage one another when they came into contact. Both sides engaged in a propaganda campaign to win the hearts and minds of the populace, especially as Horr'or's madness became more apparent. The crown prince had a distinct advantage in his intimate knowledge of Necraal space; his forces were often the first at strategic strong points such as industrial centers and forts, allowing him to scavenge the weapons, vehicles, and troops there. Though Sa'i and his followers were very dedicated, years of fighting the Peacekeepers had embedded itself into the population, and most proved unwilling to follow his footsteps.

Bael'thir and his Warlord entourage were the first to arrive at Ivn, which had already seen heavy fighting between the three factions. As Bael'thir's forces made landfall, Horr'or, made what would be one final act of defiance and deployed dozens of Biomatter spores across Ivn. The result was a vast infestation the likes of which had last been seen since Rotunin. The loyalist, with the swarm's assistance, nearly repelled Bael'thir's fleet, but the arrival of the Peacekeepers saw their offensive blunted. Realizing the scale of the infestation, both the Pact and Peacekeepers abandoned any hope of capturing the planet and instead focused on evacuating civilians. Despite constant fighting, millions of Necraal would be rescued by both sides before Ivn was abandoned and bombarded.

Horr'or and his remaining followers disappeared shortly after the Battle of Ivn, their fleets having fled into unexplored space as they were unable to continue fighting. Instead of pursuing the king, Bael'thir relocated his fleet to Phaeris to secure what remained of the empire. Pact forces remained behind to slow down the advance of the Peacekeepers. Mere hours after Bael'thir's departure, the Pact fleet suddenly lost contact with the Crown Prince. Fearing that he may have been assassinated, a scout was sent ahead, and found that Bael'thir, Phaeris, and the rest of the Necraal's colonies had been enveloped in a vast ion storm. The storm had severed communication with the Crown Prince and also disrupted space travel, making accurate jumps impossible. With no way to reach Bael'thir, the Pact abandoned the area, followed shortly after by the Peacekeepers and Sa'i, who was taken to the Aeveria Confederation for questioning.

With Bael'thir absent, leadership of Pact-aligned Necraal fell upon Commandant Tor. With no home to return to, his armies crippled, and hundreds of millions of refugees to care for, Tor looked to the Pact for assistance. The Marshal's Council were the first to step forward, allocating colonies for the Necraal to establish a population within imperial space despite protest from Veto Korvack and other officials. These settlements were provided both protection and the necessary aid to care for the wounded and to rebuild, but they were also subject to mass surveillance, as both Tor and the Marshal's Council feared infiltration by Horr'or's forces. For having assisted them during and after the schism, Tor and those under him would become fiercely loyal to the Pact. In time, they would rejoin the effort against the Peacekeepers, but with the Kingdom in ruins, they could not wage war on the same scale, their forces being limited to relatively small but elite units.

The events of the schism had a profound affect on the leader of the 500th Armada, Admiral Elseron Nethali. Nethali, who had not directly engaged in the Great War due to her assignment on the front against Tiamat, had already been somewhat of an outcast, believing that Repzork society was far too militaristic and authoritarian, though she kept these beliefs to herself as she believed eliminating Tiamat to be a righteous cause. News of the war had made her increasingly frustrated with Imperial Command, particularly events on the Diab front, such as the Battle of Helia. While on the offensive in Necraal space, Elseron had spoken with both soldiers and civilians that her forces had rescued. Their stories fully turned Nethali against the Warlord effort, as she believed that their methods and beliefs were self-destructive. She wanted to overthrow the Marshal's Council, but lacking the means to do so and fearing the consequences were she to be captured, she bided her time, hoping that an opportunity for revolt would one day present itself.

Those Necraal who had been evacuated by the Peacekeepers would spend weeks in processing to insure that no Warlord sympathizers nor loyalist were in their ranks. Sa'i himself was cleared of any suspicion, and was allowed to attend an ongoing talk between Peacekeeper leaders to speak his case. There were still many who distrusted the Necraal's intentions, and Sa'i had difficulty making any headway. This changed when a squad of Zaretian Nightshades infiltrated the meeting and attempted to kill Alliance officials. Sa'i and his entourage successfully eliminated the Nightshades in a short skirmish, winning over those who doubted him. Sa'i's forces were then granted membership into the Alliance. Sa'i's Necraal would establish themselves in a pocket of uncolonized space. Confident that the ion storms would one day pass, Sa'i made it his objective to eliminate Commandant Tor and claim the Pact-aligned Necraal before Bael'thir's return. Once the Crown Prince did return, Sa'i would focus his efforts on killing the monarch and claiming the throne, from which he would reunify his people.

Horr'or, Glad'mere, and their remaining followers would disappear for several months, during which Horr'or would infuse all who had not yet been injected with Biomatter DNA. Lacking the equipment they had possessed on Ivn, these infusions had a greater chance for error, resulting in sometimes severe side-effects. One of the most notable examples was Commandant Var, who was driven to insanity and grew a large, toothy mouth and a 'digestion system' that converted organic matter into Biomass that Biomatter could use. Despite this, Horr'or pressed on until his work was complete. With no wholly-Necraal forces left among their fleets, Horr'or's forces would become known as the Virisus.

It was also during this period that Horr'or, seemingly because of the weight of the events that had transpired, regained some of his lucidity. Though still a changed individual, Horr'or would eventually cease worshiping Legion and distanced himself from Glad'mere, viewing the Biomatter as more of a sword to be used rather than as beings deserving of worship. For some of the loyalist, this was a comforting change, as they were more loyal to Horr'or than they were to the shaman. Glad'mere's followers, however, saw the king as a fool, and continued their religious practices, forming the Cult of Legion in the process. Though they would still follow the king's commands, they would also act of their own accord when they saw fit.

With the ion storms blocking access to Bael'thir and the remaining Necraal colonies, Horr'or set his sights on enacting vengeance against those who he believed had betrayed him and destroyed the kingdom. Lacking the numbers for large-scale assaults, the Virisus would instead begin raiding thinly-defended targets, stealing supplies and eliminating or capturing all witnesses. They especially focused on Tor's and Sa'i's forces. The Cult of Legion would propagate Biomatter infestations, seeking to spread the doctrine of Legion via assimilation. Peacekeeper and Warlord forces alike would attempt to hunt down and eliminate the Virisus, but the loyalist would prove elusive, and continued to harass both parties for the next several years.

Karahotdoum Breakthrough on the Pact Front
With the Margan, Saracin, and now the Necraal effectively out of the war, the Repzork, alongside a dwindling Zaretian garrison, were the only major powers manning the vast front that had contained the bulk of the Karahotdoum's forces. Fighting against Var had only worsened the situation, with countless soldiers having been wounded or killed and large sections of the Pact's fortifications having been damaged during the fighting. The Karahotdoum had already begun to push the initiative during the Necraal Schism and had breached positions along the front and were contained only by costly counterattacks. With seemingly endless waves of Karahotdoum reinforcements arriving at the front, Imperial Command predicted that the Magistrate would soon overwhelm the defenders, leaving Repzork and Zaretian colonies vulnerable to invasion. High Marshal Tarsovis Visaria personally ordered the 77th and 150th Armadas to hold their ground and delay the Karahotdoum for as long as possible so that the mainland could prepare; they were to withdraw only when the High Marshal gave the order.

Lacking the troops necessary to adequately cover the entire front, the Pact laid out a vast number of passive and automated defenses in the form of mines, turrets, traps, and robots. Bunkers and other structures were rigged to explode, often releasing crystals or chemical agents in the process. Troops on the front were also supplied with experimental FTL mines. Operating in a sensor network connected to a buoy, the buoy would ping targets that the mines would then accelerate towards at FTL velocities similarly to an FTL torpedo. Though many of the mines were laid out in front of the Pact's defensive positions, the majority were laid out behind them, so that even when the Karahotdoum broke through, they would be unable to effectively pursue retreating Pact fleets.

Nearly a month following the end of the Necraal Schism, the Karahotdoum began a massive offensive across the front. In the span of a few days, numerous locations across the front had been breached, and the Pact initiated a scorched-earth campaign as they withdrew. Though artillery barrages had nullified some of the traps the Pact had laid, many of them operated as intended, inflicting casualties to the Karahotdoum and slowing their advance. Magistrate forces would also find themselves bombarded with crystal munitions, but they continued fighting regardless. Following the intentional destruction of one of the Pact's primary command centers via a nuclear warhead by Repzork forces, Tarsovis gave the order to retreat, and the 77th 150th evacuated the sector and moved to defensive positions in the mainland. The FTL mines proved instrumental in preventing the Karahotdoum from giving chase, stalling their advance until they eliminated the sensor buoys.

Nevertheless, the 77th and 150th had suffered heavy losses, and with the front disintegrated, billions of Karahotdoum troops flooded into Repzork and Zaretian space. The Karahotdoum swept through several outlying Repzork colonies, but as they pushed deeper, they encountered the empire's subterranean cities. Here, with much of their air power and artillery effectively nullified, the Karahotdoum found themselves at a distinct disadvantage. Intentionally confusing and maze-like layouts that led into kill zones, traps and automated defenses, civilian resistance, and the Repzork's expertise in subterranean warfare bled the Karahotdoum severely, forcing them to retreat in most engagements; even when the Karahotdoum were successful, the victory would often prove Pyrrhic at best. However, while many cities were difficult to assail, they were also effectively cut off from the empire as the Karahotdoum had overtaken the surface. The areas surrounding these cities would see near-constant fighting as Repzork reinforcements from deeper within the mainland arrived, especially as the empire neared complete mobilization.

Repzork-Xeverra Alliance
As Repzork forces advanced further into Betel space, they unwittingly encountered the so-called "Wikrix Wall", a sector of Betel space under the command of Voivode Yodd Wikrix that was on the forefront of the Recycler's ongoing conflict with the Xeverra, who had continued their attacks against the Recyclers since before the start of the Great War. In doing so, intelligence operatives would come across the broken remains of Xeverran robotic proxies, and eventually, witnessed Xeverran forces engaging the Betel. The Repzork promptly reached out to the Xeverran to discuss the possibility of an alliance against a common foe. The Xeverra agreed to cooperation on the Betel front, but when the Repzork attempted to induct them into the Pact, the Xeverra refused; they were by then aware of the dire situation the Pact found itself in, and Galden decided at the time that involvement in the war would be detrimental to its efforts.

Incident at Fehgrov
Main page: Incident at Fehgrov

Near the end of the year: Luminarian and Betel altercation.

The Hunted
A spore of Piru landed on a sizeable Nepharian colony. Initially, the Nepharians appeared victorious; the spore was quickly contained and destroyed. In truth, some of the Biomatter had survived by burying themselves deep underground. As the hive festered, mutariors moved to the surface and infected several individuals, but did so in a way that showed no outward symptoms. This allowed the host to gather near strategic locations undetected. It was then that the hive launched a second attack, emerging directly into the colony's capital. With the aid of their infected hosts, the Biomatter were able to subdue the city's defenders, and eventually, the planet

First Battle of Fehgrov
The Xeverra, through a bloody siege, capture the gas giant fortresses of Fehgrov (Name is Xeverran). This was a major regional point of power. (More later)

Outer-Worlds Assaults & Second Battle of Sevethos
With news of the Monarchy's withdrawal, the Diabs, three years after the Second Battle of Baltreos, mustered troops for another major push into the Pact foothold. With large-scale frontal assaults having proven too costly, the Diabs planned to attack the Foothold's "northern" flank, which was comprised of what had been several outlying colonies prior to the invasion. Once these colonies were retaken, the Diabs would then strike at the Pact's fortified logistics facilities, which were principally located at Sevethos and other nearby colonies. If successful, the operation would cut the foothold off from much-needed supplies while also drawing forces away from the front line, at which time the Diabs could open a second front.

Diab forces first attacked the gas giant of Glasos, which the Pact had been using as a local source of fuel for their energy weapons, and its many moons. Alliance forces quickly overwhelmed the planet's orbital defenses and simultaneously landed on a number of the inhabited moons. Pact forces initially resisted, but after days of fighting, it became clear that they would not be able to hold their ground, and withdrew to Glasos itself. Another round of fighting would see the Diabs victorious, but much of the planet's infrastructure would be destroyed, as the Repzork had rigged many of the gas-harvesting stations to self-destruct and plummet into the gas giant.

From Glasos they advanced towards Alavinos, which had by then been reinforced from troops from within the foothold and Glasos' garrison; however, reinforcements were not as plentiful as they could have been, as Imperial Command correctly predicted that the Diabs would open a second front, but did not know when, and as a result withheld troops for an attack that would not yet materialize. Diab forces successfully achieved orbital and aerial superiority over the planet, trapping Pact forces in their underground fortifications just as the Pact had done to the Diabs during Operation Sledgehammer. Fighting erupted through the underground tunnels as Repzork ships attempted to break the siege. Stiff resistance would delay the Diabs longer than planned, but after five months of fighting, Alvainos was liberated.

The last obstacle to Sevethos was Urdos, a planet which had suffered a particularly severe crystal infestation that rendered large swathes of the planet almost completely uninhabitable. Travel between the Repzork's scattered fortresses was possible only through narrow passages through fields of crystal or an underground railway, as imperial forces had built the bulk of their facilities at least partially underground so as to both avoid the crystals and to harvest ore. The Peacekeepers attempted to subdue the planet through aerial bombardment, but were repelled by constant anti-air fire, forcing them to commit to a ground assault through the crystalline labyrinth. Concentrated artillery fire combined with constant harassment from Pact troops trained to navigate the terrain frustrated the Diabs' effort. As the battle stalled, the Peacekeepers opened their second, larger front near Falkeos, forcing the Pact to divert troops to contain the threat. This did little to shift the Urdos campaign, which would remain at a stalemate until Diab forces were able to eliminate enough of the Pact's anti-air defenses to allow for bombardment. Not risking a repeat of Alvainos, Pact forces retreated, but not before the Peacekeepers captured thousands of demoralized prisoners.

With the path now open, Diab forces moved towards Sevethos, which alongside a sizeable garrison, was also guarded by several depleted Repzork and Magellan formations that were in the process of replenishment. Fierce fighting broke out throughout the system, but it would prove short-lived. Though Operation Counterweight had started three weeks prior to the battle, Marshals Ilivaris Kindasi and Veto Korvack pressured the rest of the Marahal's Council, who were focused squarely on repelling the Karahotdoum threat, to relieve the foothold with what were seen as troops desperately needed for Counterweight. High Marshal Tarsovis Visaria believed that Pact forces could hold their ground, but upon hearing of conflict at Sevethos, authorized a task-force to accompany a fleet of Necraal and Magellan ships entering the region. This task force included the Helia-Class Battlecruiser, the HLBC Nygalara. The relief force caught the Diabs by surprise and successfully repelled them from the system after nine hours of fighting. With the attack at Sevethos a failure, the second front was called off. Urdos, Alvainos, and Glasos were all abandoned by the Peacekeepers and fell back into Warlord hands.

Operation Counterweight
The Karahotdoum invasion of Repzork space had proven to be pivotal in uniting the population against the Peacekeepers following the disasters of the previous years; though many still criticized the actions of certain military officials, none could deny the threat right on their doorstep, and many who had protested now found themselves doing everything in their power to support the war effort. Frequent but oftentimes costly counterattacks had stalled the Karahotdoum's advance and bought time for the mainland to complete full mobilization. This allowed the military to draw in countless recruits and boost weapons and equipment production to record levels. The timing was fortunate in that the Repzork's next-generation equipment, which had proved itself during recent engagements, was pressed into service and enjoyed rapid production. As this was taking place, the Marshal's Council drafted Operation Counterweight, a vast offensive that aimed to relieve the besieged underground cities and repel the Karahotdoum from imperial space. For this operation the 355th armada, which had by then completed replenishment, was sent to support the 77th and 150th. Commandant Tor, with the Necraal having settled, volunteered to take part in the operation as a show of good will to the Pact and to ensure the safety of his people's new home.

After weeks of harassment and sabotage operations by special operations units, Operation Counterweight began with a titanic frontal assault across the entire front. Karahotdoum positions were pounded with tens of millions of artillery shells and bombs as armored columns protected by mobile shield generators engaged the defenders in what culminated in some of the largest tank battles in imperial history. Necraal forces exploited breaches in the Karahotdoum's defenses to wreck further havoc. Though the Karahotdoum put up a determined fight throughout the entire operation, the Pact made staggering gains over the course of the next several months, pushing the Karahotdoum to a few heavily fortified positions near the edge of imperial space. But before they could engage, Operation Dark Angel, the Galderan invasion of the empire, began, forcing the Repzork to divert the majority of their troops to contain the threat as the rest contained the Karahotdoum.

Operation Dark Angel
Four years prior, while the Battle of Helia was in full swing, explorers from the Empire of Galdera unintentionally crossed into Repzork territory. The Repzork hailed the explorers' captain, a Nevelin, as ships were sent to apprehend the fleet. But instead of following their orders, the captain, coincidentally an expert on Galderan history, narrowly escaped and returned to the Galderan mainland, the Repzork having lost track of the explorers shortly after their escape. The captain reported his findings to the Colonization Board, who then reported it to Galderan high command. Recognizing that the Repzork were likely the ancient Kalrians who had escaped the Nolsarians during the Wars of Unification two millennia prior, high command placed a gag order on the explorers as they determined a course of action. Some were excited at the notion of meeting their long-lost brethren, and wanted to embrace them with open arms. But most officials, including both Empress Kazadair III and Xelva Ahkavas Teldiv, preferred a far more cautious approach, believing that even after all the time that had passed, the Repzork would still prove hostile. It was decided that spies and remote drones would be deployed into Repzork space to acquire more information.

The Galderans monitored the Repzork over the next four years, during which they learned much about their history, culture, and of their involvement in the Great War. The Galderans were appalled by what had become of the Repzork, but concern shifted to the Warlord Pact as a whole, as continued expansion would inevitably bring the two powers into conflict. The Galderans resolved to subdue the Repzork and bring a final end to the Wars of Unification while crippling the Warlords before they could became a major threat. To foster support, high command released their findings to the general public. The public was almost unanimously in favor of war, with the notable exception of certain Kalrian nationalists minorities, who were unwilling to fight their own brethren despite the circumstances. Their voice fell on deaf ears as Kazadair's call for war against the Warlord Pact was approved by the senate and the military began mobilizing its troops. Ahkavas Teldiv took command of the operation while the Valdar theater fell under the authority of Valxelva Kelevien Valrus.

The Galderans aimed to attack the Repzork on two fronts. The first front, designated "West", was to take place near where the explorers had made initial contact, as it was lightly guarded by the Repzork due to low activity. The second front, designated 'East', would open in the regions most affected by the Great War. The long-term goal of the operation was for the two offensives to meet near the Outcasts Sphere, bisecting Repzork space and inciting rebellions among dissidents and disgruntled client states. The two offensives would then push towards Alrukai and the core worlds. Once the Repzork were defeated, the Galderans would focus fully on the remaining Warlords. But before any such attack could be mounted, the Galderans needed to prepare their logistics. While the Western front could be supplied directly from the mainland, the Eastern front was at the opposite end of Repzork space, thousands of light years from Galderan territory. Traditional supply lines to the region would be both over-extended and threatened by constant harassment. The Galderans instead planned to use Valdar Warpgates to move troops and supplies into the region, though they first needed to be built. Over the course of a year, the Galderans would probe for a suitable location to set up a base of operations. Once it had been found, they covertly moved troops and resources into the area to begin construction. Five uninhabited planets were selected, with their headquarters becoming Zykorus.

Three months into the fourteenth year of the war, the Galderans launched their attack. Empress Kazadair broadcasted a message throughout the region declaring the Galdern's intentions as Ahkavas' forces simultaneously attacked the Eastern and Western fronts. Troops on the Western front poured into the lightly-defended sector, besieging several colonies before imperial troops could respond. At the Eastern front, Galderan fleets under the command of Viers Helgva Desenvi and Fortsa Lonvai attacked the rear guard of the 77th, 150th, and 355th, threatening to cut them off from the mainland. Though blindsided by the sudden invasion, Imperial High Command, determined to defeat the Old Enemy, responded swiftly, ordering a halt to all offensive operations to focus on the Galderans. With the 77th staying to contain the Karahotdoum, the 150th and 355th turned around to engage the Galderans. They were soon joined by the 14th armada, who had completed replenishment a mere five days before the attack.

Elsewhere, Xenuran Vier, Togale Noka Salura Xethram, moved her troops into Betel space to take on the 489th and Xeverra. Though the Galderans had made it clear that they had no intentions of joining the Peacekeepers, they sought to support them whenever possible, and assisting the Recyclers would deal a blow to the Repzork while earning good will with the Alliance and potentially securing future trade deals with the Betel government. The 489th, its forces stretched across numerous Betel colonies and unprepared for such a large-scale assault, suffered heavy losses and were forced to abandon several positions. But while the Recycler government was willing to work with the Galderans, poor or nonexistent communication between colonies resulted in many Betel not understanding what was happening. This led to many friendly fire incidents in which Betel troops fired upon the Galderans, believing them to be Repzork soldiers. These attacks were occasionally met with retaliation due to concerns over Decomp agents. A frustrated Togale, to avoid further incidents, ordered her forces to keep a certain distance away from Betel positions, and to instead focus solely upon repelling the Pact. This worked to the Repzork's advantage, and combined with Xeverran support, allowed the 489th to regroup and prepare a proper defense, though a number of key Betel holdings had already been lost.

Galderan forces made considerable gains throughout the year, but it came at a heavy cost. The Galderans, like the Naelkvan they had defeated three decades prior, had underestimated the scale of the Repzork's industry, military, and the morale of their troops. As the Galderans deployed more and more troops into the conflict, so to did the Repzork, whose forces engaged the invaders with a near-suicidal zeal, their ancient grudge having been kept alive through their belief in Oltavar. Galderan casualties climbed rapidly, especially on the Eastern front, where the Galderans predominantly fought veterans seasoned from over a decade of war. But with the Repzork simultaneously fighting the Karahotdoum and Diabs, both of whom took advantage of the situation, the Repzork were unable to halt the Galderan's advance, while on the Betel front, they were unable to push any further into Recycler space or reclaim lost ground.

Second Battle of Fehgrov
The Galdera, as part of a wider offensive, drive the garrisoned Xeverra from Fehgrov. (More on this later)

Battle of Zykorus
Shortly after the Second Battle of Norsus, the Golden Blade launches attack against the Galderan fortress world of Zykorus, temporarily plunging imperial forces into disarray. After fierce fighting, the Galderans repel the invaders and call for reinforcements from the mainland. [WIP]

Repzork Withdrawal from Betel Space
With the Galdera's arrival, and Repzork forces spread thin attempting to maintain a costly occupation of Recycler worlds, the executive decision is made to call off the slowing invasion and refocus efforts. The Repzork engage in a scorched earth policy involving heavy use of Margan crystals. Valuable equipment and prisoners are taken in final militia operations, but immense damage had been done.

Schism of the 500th
Repzork Admiral Elseron Nethali, commander of the 500th 'Purity of Flames' Armada, defects to the Empire of Galdera, sparking infighting within the military and disrupting the Repzork's anti-Biomatter operations. [WIP]

Blitz of Nizo III
The Asanian-occupied Rach world of Nizo III was retaken when a stealthed Empire city launched a blitzkrieg against the Syndicate. The new Gorgon tank and artillery combined with classic Rach tactics made the battle a significant victory