A Short History of the Human-Rangolian War...

This is my first rebooted first attempt at creating a setting... Basically I need to stop procrastinating.


Introduction:

The Human-Rangolian war (also known as the Directory-Dual Alliance War or First Contact War) was a conflict between the Magus Directory and an alliance between the Union of Yuggraa and the Federation of Tilia. The conflict was mostly notable for being the first inter-species war as well as the first interstellar war (in which significant military actions took place over multiple star systems). Although casualties and damages were limited, the nature of the conflict poisoned relations between the two species even before a chance for that to form.

Historical background

Although both species were at the spacefaring stage for centuries as well as vaguely knowing that they are not alone in the universe, after all, radio signals and heat/radiation output are impossible to mask on a interstellar level, neither had attempt to make contact due to the distance involved as well as problems closer to home. It is interesting to note that there were many similarities between the two species in their early phrases of interstellar exploration.

Humans

The Directory of Magus was an authoritarian oligarchy located in the Argus system. Its territories mainly composed of the Kearny continent on Argus II as well as numerous natural asteroids of the Chacal asteroid belt. Highly militant as well as moderately industrious (no longer a frontier nation, but also not one of the developed nations), the Directory at the time was suffering from an economic downturn, and thus was seeking military solutions to their problems...

Rangolians

It was a time between eras, the decline of the Seven Empires were mostly concluded, and two new power blocs were rising on the horizon. The Union of Yuggraa and the Federation of Tilia both seek to process the entirety of the fabulously resource rich system of Duliea, with the grand price of Duliea II. Tensions were at their highest in decades, and despite a time of peace in known memory many fear that total war was imminent.

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I'll write more later...

 

First Contact

The first contact between the two species was first recorded by orbital satellites in orbit of Duliea VI when it was reported that a number of unidentified vessels have jumped into the system far away from known established transfer orbits. A number of mistakes in communications between the satellites and communications hubs of the various nations delayed response enough that the first ship to attempt contact was the Kurian training vessel Maximum Mistake, which at the time was on a goodwill cruise of the system. Although the Maximum Mistake attempted at communications there were no responses. The vessel was still in the process of attempting to establish contact when it detected what appeared to be the discharge of munition from a number of the unknowns. Contrary to most media portrayals later on, no one was actually killed, the crew and cadets having evacuated to the shuttles after setting the autopilot to a "chaos course" to serve as a distraction. The vessel was confirmed to be destroyed four hours later.

Despite the casual destruction of the Maximum Mistake and the continuous course of the unknown vessels towards Duliea VI, neither the Union or the Federation took significant actions in that regard. The general assumptions at the time was that it was either an attack by the Ascensionists, The Duliea Independence Movement, a false-flag operation from one of the two major blocs, or even the Theocracy. While in hindsight most of those assumptions were rather unlikely but in their defense an alien invasion without prior contact was something out of context. It took months for more in depth analysis to confirm that the unknown vessels did not match up to any known vessels in the inhabited worlds as well as other abnormalities, and the uncomfortable truth begins to be accepted by most governments.

However, during this delay the alien vessels were able to move in to an high orbit above Duliea VI, and commenced an assault on the orbital infrastructure present...

 

Apologies for not being around for ages. Various personal issues, but mostly writer's block, bouts of depression, and procrastination. But enough of that.
First Battle of Orbit of Duliea VI

The so called First Battle of Orbit of Duliea VI was a significant victory for the Directory due to the simple fact that the bulk of fleets from both the Federation and the Union were on their way to Duliea II due to the importance of that planet as well as the lack of of orbital bastions. The move, widely criticized post war, was in fact in accordance with most pre-war doctrines and assumptions. Due to the nature of orbital transfers the fleets were caught in the middle of their move and thus were unable to reverse course and thus could only watch (and listening to comms) as the various installations, mostly research stations and fuel depots, came under assault by the enemy forces. What resulted was an utter slaughter with civilian casualties in the tens of thousands, mainly those who failed to evacuate in time. Much of the carnage were filmed by both planet and orbital based telescopes from Duliea II and III and broadcast 'live' in system (the other systems, including Kuloes, received the broadcasts later, at least heavily censored versions of them).

The political fallout were immense as well as far reaching. Civilian rule of the various colonies were immediately revoked as local militaries took control of whatever assets available (including commandeering any shipping that haven't already left when the shooting started). Meanwhile for the fleets assembled over at Duliea II were faced with a conundrum. On the one had they are the most significant forces (in terms of tonnage, but not in numbers) assembled in the known worlds since the Wars of the Empires, on the other hand the bulk of their in-system logistics were little more than a debris field in Duliea IV's orbit. Time was limited, in more than one sense of the term. Meanwhile back in Kuloes there was an overall sense of shock, compounded by the realization that whatever that is occurring is not of their own making. The Theocracy's sudden data blackout further complicates matters, as well as fueling conspiracy theories of all types. Forces were being scrambled from all reaches by both the Federation, the Union, and every power of note, yet the assembling of fleets and armies are hampered by the continuous mistrust between the two powers.

 

The Battle of the Knife

In the immediate aftermath of the First Battle of Orbit of Duliea VI, it took some time for in system military forces to come to the realization that the enemy forces have not made any movements towards either the rest of the system or other known inhabited systems. With supplies running low, a decision was soon made. To take all available forces and meet the enemy head on. At least that was the decision made by the admiral of the now Union Grand Duliea Fleet. Ironically his counterpart of the Federation 1st Squadron of the Outer System oped for the opposite choice, instead choosing to remain in orbit of Duliea II. While in hindsight the correct decision, the move was heavily criticized at the time, since that was the last significant mobile asset of the Union, and any failure would jeopardize any evacuations that might be necessary.

What the Rangolians didn't know was that the Directory Expeditionary Fleet was in the process of making temporary repairs to damages sustained in the previous battle and assessing their then current situation, which was grim to say the least. None of the analysts had expected a find of this magnitude, and the revelation that they have in fact invaded a multi-system species (hyper space jump isn't something that could be easily hidden on the local scale) means that the original plan of extortion and exploitation is now impossible. Immediate retreat was also not possible due to the initial plan calling utilization of local resource and infrastructure to acquire the necessary fuel and propellant for the return trip.

What made the Second Battle of Orbit of Duliea VI unique in the annals of deep space warfare was that two fleets primarily designed for long range missile warfare instead mainly fought with secondaries. For the Directory Expeditionary Fleet they had expended the bulk of their missiles during the previous battle. For the Union fleet, their missile were little more than cosmic debris, for they were left in storage in the Sasa Naval Base during their initial move towards Duliea II (the same is also true for the Federation 1st SotOS, for the fleet maneuvers were mostly symbolic saber-rattling). Contrary to post-war popular media portrayals, there were no cases of ramming, intentional or accidental. Due to the lack of established doctrines and experience of non-missile combat the battle quickly devolved into utter chaos, with both forces reduced to mere individual units. During the battle the flagship of the Union fleet, Staff of Stone, was incapacitated due to heat sink failure. In the end though the greater numbers of the Union forces were able to win the engagement, though unable to .prevent a number of Directory vessels from leaving the orbit of Duliea IV.

What was most interesting about the battle was that the Union was able to capture a live specimen of the Directory, and thus were able to see the face of the enemy for the first time...

 

The Formation of the Forum of Nations

While the colonial forces were taking the initiative the politician back on Kuloes were busy on the political front. The peoples of both the Union and the Federation loudly demanded immediate response with the full might of the armed forces against the invaders. However the mere existence of alien invaders does not automatically suspend previous inter-species geo-politics frictions. Every politician of note at the time must have known the perils of heroics, and the general fates that befall to those who made the sacrifice. As such the prodding nature of fleet movements in the beginning of the war must be seen through the context of national, rather than species, self-preservation. Unsurprising, what finially galvanized the major powers into action were the prospects of an upset in the balance of power. The Theocracy were the first to act, floating the idea of a multi-national space force under their command. This had the effect of forcing the Union and Federation to respond with their own proposal of an alliance, lest the Theocracy were able to raise a third major power to challenge their dominance of known space. What ended up forming was far from an coalition, or even alliance, but merely an understanding (between 47 nations) that the usual geo-political scheming will be put on hold for the duration of the present crisis, though few at the time could have foreseen the growth for the FoN...

 

For Vengeance, for Blood, and for Budget: A Fleet is Assembled.

One of the first tasks facing the newly formed FoN's war effort was constructing the means to take the fight to the enemy. For although some of the member nations (not only the superpowers, but also some of lesser states such as the Seven Empires) process significant deep space assets there were few compatibility between the various nations' equipment as well as priorities, mainly of the political fear mongering kind. Every region, planet, and system demanded large garrison and system defense assets immediately. Various national budgets were heavily increased in the meantime in anticipation to the formation of a FoN Space military, furthering draining potential funding for the as of yet nonexistent fleet.

Following in what perhaps was the most expected plot twist of the war so far, the Theocracy reveled that they process a number of undeclared shipyeards, mining operations, and other industrial facilities, all conveniently in a position to create a new fleet needed. Both the Union and the Federation reacted sensibly, which was attempting to oust the Theocracy from the FoN and enacting a full embargo on industrial goods and fuel (little good that did, for the Theocracy was self sufficient for the most part). These political shenanigans costed months of time wasted, well not completely, for the sheer incompetency and deluded self interest displayed put the minds of most at ease concerning the intentions of the FoN. After all, such a dysfunctional organization is no threat to anyone's national sovereignty.

As the Fleet was finally being assembled (with units "donated" mainly from the Union and Federation), the next question was who was to lead such a multi-national force. The question was as much of a political as a operational one, as the symbolic value of the position was immense. In the end Union Admiral Qesvker was choose, mainly due to her experience as Admiral of the Union Home Defense Fleet, with Federation Admiral Hidker as vice commander of the fleet.

 

Vengeance Starts With a Bang

As the newly formed FoN Expeditionary Fleet (officially the FoN 3rd Fleet as the 1st and 2nd Fleet are defense fleets for Kuleos and Lance Orbital, though in the latter case it's just as likely to keep an eye on the Theocracy) leaves for the unknown, disaster strikes almost immediately. During the preparations for hyperspace transfer the flagship (former Union 2nd Fleet flagship) Machinery of Victory, was lost in a explosion with the loss of all hands on board. Later investigations (post war) yielded little results, though the general consensus concluded is that the vessel suffered an accidental warhead discharge in one of the missile launchers, which cooked off the rest of the warheads as well as the propellant stored nearby.

The loss of the flagship and admiral even before the mission began was to be a heavy blow, and permanent disarray was prevented by quick thinking and inspirational rhetoric on the part of admiral Hidker, though rumors persisted that her speech was actually written by her second in command...