Second Age of the GHD

Below is information on the Second Age of the GHD.
== Grand Admiral Athus ==
Icon: 2 Gold Swords, Crossed, Sheathed in Silver Flame
(Elected at age 54, died 274) After the destruction of the Instruments' Homeworld, the attacks temporarily subsided. At first, the rumors spread around the empire that the Instruments had been defeated. The next elected Grand Admiral was Jalaiko Athus, the former second in command of Grand Admiral Tyra Jestico. For the empire, it was an age of exploration, and colonization; and although many smaller wars were fought against small empires throughout the Galaxy, this was considered a time of widespread peace.
During his reign, a relatively small Instruments offensive was fought in the defense of the planet Athus. It was the only major battle during his time, and Grand Admiral Athus dies shortly afterwards, at the old age of 274. The next Grand Admiral would be widely forgotten and ignored by history. Grand Admiral Darfurio, who was elected at age 49, died at the old age 259; he had fought no major wars, and expanded the empire only slightly.
== Grand Admiral Salva ==
(elected at age 62, died at age 182) Grand Admiral Julius Salva was a truly ruthless and merciless warrior. He started a war with an empire that was hated in a cluster of stars right outside of the planet Jestico. And after the conquest of two of their planets, Salva had chosen to send a message to all empires in the region that the Great Horned Dragon Empire was truly a Galactic super-power, not to be trifled with. He destroyed their homeworld, becoming the second Grand Admiral to fire an electron fragmentation weapon on a planet, and even another homeworld.
The controversial usage of the super weapon caused great disturbance among local interstellar empires, and soon thereafter, several small empires banded together to fight against him. After a short period of warfare, Grand Admiral Salva began to restore the empire's relations in the region, and peace was made quickly; though the neighboring empires in the region never felt that Salva's actions were justified, the people of the Great Horned Dragon Empire have never believed Salva's actions unnecessary. After most of the tension had begun to fall, an empire there refused to let the grudge go, and in their desperate attempts to remove the Great Horned Dragon Empire from the region, began seeking allies to wage war. Salva declared war against the enemies that threatened him, and the chaos of military power waged on until the empires found a common enemy. An attack by the Instruments forced these local empires into allying one another against the Instruments. After a swift counter-attack on the Instruments, Salva destroyed the Instruments presence in a frontal star system, and re-colonized one of the planets, left unnamed at the time, as a military colony.
The new colony put a halt to Instruments invasion temporarily. Acting as a major military armament, and barrier, the Instruments would not be fully capable of initiating until much later. In the mean time, Salva encountered a race of aliens that were as far technologically advanced as The Great Horned Dragons themselves. The Leroy Empire was quickly allied, and they constructed the largest ship ever as a gift to Salva. The Behemoth Super-Dreadnought was adopted as the new flagship of the Empire and with it, was supplied Goliath-I Class Dreadnoughts. The Instruments moved out and initiated their counter-attack on the empire. The Instruments had assembled a massive fleet of 150 flagships, and over 800 large warships. The fleet was assembled for a single purpose, to intimidate the Great Horned Dragon Empire by proving their strength. The severely underpowered fleet under Grand Admiral Salva fought valiantly against all odds, and managed to destroy just over half of the Instruments fleet. The Behemoth was hammered constantly until it finally gave way and crashed into a city on the planet's surface, taking the Grand Admiral with it in what is still considered the greatest last stand ever made.
For the remaining survivors, it had seemed that all hope was lost; that the Instruments would destroy everything without any fight. Just when it seemed darkest, extra support ships from the empire arrived to sweep out the remaining Instruments forces. Salva's last stand saved two military cities and countless lives by delaying the Instruments's extermination long enough for reinforcements to arrive, and so he is honored as the greatest war hero in the empire's history. The wreckage of the Behemoth was salvaged and reconstructed as a landmark and museum, as well as a grave marker for Salva's body. In honor of his actions, the planet was named Salva.
== Grand Admiral John ==
Icon: Blue Shield, Gold Outlined, Green Flame Inscribed
(elected at age 37, executed at age 47)Grand Admiral Arterius John was the next elected leader. He led a long war against the Instruments, mainly a defensive war. In his time, the colony on Salva was completely destroyed, and even the ruins of the Behemoth Crash site were lost. A new colony replaced it. Once the Instruments offensives seemed to wear off, John moved towards more space exploration, and imperial expansion. After the great battle at Salva, many high-ranking officers were lost. John was not nearly as experienced, nor were his crew, as any of the preceding leaders. While he was expanding the empire, he had no idea what was happening on the home fronts, until it was too late.
A coup had occurred in the home cluster. Highly advanced technology plus a nearly unlimited supply of recourses led to the development of the Overlord Heavy Battleship. A huge fleet had taken over the empire, and martial law was declared. The person behind the take-over declared himself the new Grand Admiral. When John returned home, he was received by a firing squad, becoming the only Grand Admiral to be executed. This is considered to be the end of the Second Age.
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Category:History