Tranquil War

The Tranquil War was a lunar military conflict between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China from 2050-2052, fought over Helium-3 reserves on the Moon.
==Background==
In the late 2040s it became painfully clear to the world's superpowers that resources were irreparably drying up. Military action was taken by some countries to ensure a supply of fuel for their people, and in 2051 the United States would invade Mexico to ensure that oil resumed flowing northwards despite instability in America’s southern neighbor.
In that same year China launched an operation to mine Helium-3 in the Sea of Tranquility. The United States stated that this was their rightful lunar territory, citing the Valiant 11 Moon landing as their claim to the area. China began mining regardless, which escalated into a lunar military exchange between the Chinese Liberation Army and a joint military-USSA mission.
==Ares program==
Launched soon after China began mining operations in the Sea of Tranquility, the Ares program sent dozens of astronauts and military personnel, alongside trillions of dollars worth of equipment to the Moon. Tranquility Base, the site of the Valiant 11 lunar landing, was chosen as the lunar headquarters for the American side of the conflict. It eventually grew into the first off-planet U.S. military base, from which the USSA and U.S. military directed their lunar operations.
==War in Heaven==
Several skirmishes between Chinese and American forces were fought between 2051 to 2052. America’s goal was to force the Chinese taikonauts out of the Sea of Tranquility completely, attacking their scattered mining operations while China launched retaliatory attacks on Tranquility Base and other U.S. sites. The final conflict of the war was the Battle of Columbia Starport, a battle at Tranquility Base’s lunar starport. The nexus of the American forces, the Columbia Starport was the hub for all American flights to and from the Moon. Intending to take the facility and force an American surrender, a Chinese surprise attack caught the base off-guard. While the American forces succeeded in repelling the attackers, heavy casualties were faced by both sides.
During this time the world was slowly falling into chaos. The European Commonwealth had invaded several countries in the Middle East, sparking the Resource Wars. Both the U.S. and China were now much more focused on defending their resources and allies closer to home on Earth and not in the stars. With no clear victor and casualties on both sides, the two countries came to a surprising but uneasy peace treaty. China agreed to mine a certain distance from major US operations in the Sea of Tranquility and both nations agreed to cancel all further manned moon missions to avoid future conflicts.
==Legacy==
The Tranquil War ultimately led to the end of manned Moon missions from the 2050s-2060s. The final manned USSA mission to the moon of that era, the Zeus 17, visited the site of the Valiant 12 and recovered its flag to bring back to Earth. Manned missions only resumed in 2077 under the short-lived Minerva program and its fallout, leaving astronauts and taikonauts stranded on the lunar surface by the Great War.
Category:Wars