The Fourth Jovian War

The **Fourth Jovian War**, better known as **The Jove-Venusian War** or **The Great Blunder**, was a system wide conflict that took place from M81.894 - M83.163, and involved the Jovian and Venusian Planetary governments, who later hired The Zaulk Triumvirate and the Shuro-V Techworks respectively to fight on their behalf.

## History

### Beginning

Much like the preceding Jovian Wars, the onset of the 4th Jovian War was rooted in the fierce competition between rival Planets, each wielding substantial financial resources and military might. The catalyst for this conflict emerged in the latter part of M81, when the Undersea Spires of Uranus, grappling with incessant Xenos Raids, descended into chaos and internal strife. This tumultuous situation birthed the Factions of Jupiter and Venus, both recently recovering from the scars left by the Third Jovian War and the Illovdis Secession. These resurgent powers found themselves entangled in a bitter struggle for control over Uranus, now marred by internal discord.

Initially, the conflict adhered to the familiar script of planetary territory disputes, marked by subtle political machinations and intense warfare. However, as tensions spiraled out of control, it became inevitable that the conflict would escalate into all-out warfare. Despite the military prowess of Jupiter and Venus, their forces were so evenly matched that a conventional takeover of Uranus seemed an insurmountable challenge. Recognizing the stalemate, the United Jovite Government (UJG) made a strategic move by dispatching a strike force to intercept Venusian resource harvesters, thwarting their participation in acquisition negotiations. In retaliation, Venusian mercenaries launched audacious assaults on Jovian satellite colonies, spreading terror across the gas giant. The situation reached a critical point as both worlds found themselves ensnared in a destructive cycle of attacks and reprisals.

Unbeknownst to Jupiter and Venus, machinations were at play behind the scenes orchestrated by Neptunian Extremists. Operating in the shadows, they manipulated the ongoing conflict, steering both worlds toward their mutual destruction. The extremists' grand design aimed to acquire the valuable assets of Uranus, Jupiter, and Venus, positioning Neptune as the preeminent power within the solar system. Initially fixated on crippling each other's capacities to force a withdrawal from the acquisition endeavors, the governments of Jupiter and Venus soon realized the gravity of the situation. The rest of the solar system became acutely aware of the looming crisis, as the economies and industries dependent on Jupiter and Venus for food, minerals, and energy production faced the specter of a system-wide catastrophe.

### Zaulk & Shuro-V Involvement

Centuries of fighting led to a stalemate, with neither World being able to take down the other. This led to both Worlds taking steps that escalated the conflict- hiring the forces of the much more heavily armed Tech-Guilds to provide themselves with the proper militaries and resources to conduct open warfare. Jupiter hired the Zaulk Triumvirate, an armaments manufacturer and security force based upon Callisto. In response to this, Venus hired the Zaulk Triumvirate based within Venera-Primus.

At first neither Shuro-V nor a majority of the Zaulk board were looking for a direct war with one another. While competitors on the system-wide market, their contracts with Venus and Jupiter respectively, were simply an avenue to generate massive profit and to promote the effectiveness of their services to the rest of the system. However, a Shuro-V advisor working with a Venus strike force was targeted and killed by Zaulk security within a Jupiter facility, as she wasn't wearing her corporate uniform identifying her as a non-combatant. A Zaulk-owned vessel was targeted by automated Shuro-V orbital defense systems due to it covertly carrying supplies to Mercury through Venus-controlled Orbital-Space.