The Great Interplanetary War

**The Great Interplanetary War**, also known as the **Interplanetary Catastrophe** in Nordica, and sometimes known as **The Space War**, was a major conflict of the 2220s, notable as being the first war fought in space and other planetary bodies.

## Background and Origins

### The Space Race

A manifestation of the wider technological arms race ongoing between Neo-Europe and The Realm states, the space race served as a competitive environment, a succinct way of showing the technological capability of their respective sides. The Space Race led to a drastic increase in the capabilities of both Neo-Europe and The Realm, with landings on the Jovian and Saturnian moons, as well as significant improvements to existing space infrastructure. It would also see the launch of Cruisers Hayat and Tekin, as well as the rivalling Hagall IV, attempting to reach another star system. The Space Race allowed The Realm to rival the power of Tekin's Neo-Europe, with the developments both had undergone having the potential to change how wars were fought, with both sides forming their own Cosforce, the space faring branch of their respective militaries. The newly developed technologies would begin to level the imbalance of power Neo-Europe had enjoyed in the past decades.

### Challenging the Neo-European Hegemony

While initially beginning in the pursuit of technological endeavours, The Realm's attempts to challenge the Neo-European Hegemony would unexpectedly escalate in 2194, when the Paramilitary group Espejismo intervened in a clone rebellion on the Falklands, pulling The Realm into conflict with Neo-Europe. While neither side officially won, The Realm would see it as an unexpected victory, having extracted large numbers of the rebelling clones. This, in conjunction with the albeit brief belief that Tekin had died, opened up the possibility of The Realm openly challenging Neo-Europe in the future. The Realm would begin to openly criticise Tekin, something which seldomly occurred in the years prior. This, alongside the ongoing Space Race, would give The Realm an ability to engage Neo-Europe in open warfare, where it previously could not. They would begin cultivating resistance to Tekin where possible, although were only in the opening stages of doing so.

### Increasing autonomy of Neo-European colonies

The isolation afforded by the sheer distances involved in reaching Neo-Europe's space colonies, especially Buzlu and Tekinara, granted them a level of autonomy not seen anywhere else in Neo-Europe at the time, which allowed them to function somewhat separately from Tekin's control. This was not of much concern for Tekin, as many of those living in the colonies were state scientists, screened for their loyalty beforehand. However, opinions would shift as a result of an overall lack of funding, as well as having to supply Neo-Europe with resources that generally accounted for far more than they received in return. Having a level of autonomy allowed them to take action, demanding better compensation, and when that was denied, opened operations in secret to supply themselves. In 2223, the colonies used the powers afforded to them in organised elections for leadership roles, such as the position of Director. Neo-Europe would acquiesce to these demands somewhat, opening talks to better integrate the colonies into Neo-Europe. This brought up the topic of citizenship, and a unified position for all of the colonies.

## Impact

### Wider Impacts

The colonies that had rebelled were forcibly reintegrated into Neo-Europe, and although there were some issues in doing so, they would remain a part of Neo-Europe

The war showed the Realm that they could effectively oppose Tekin, with the Đỏmerah gambit in particular proving that their strength was sufficient to get Tekin to back down. This would lead to further opposition by the Realm in Tekin's affairs, although it would not manifest itself in something as destructive as the Interplanetary war until his return to power in 2274. Nordica in particular would view their inaction for the majority of the war as unacceptable, blaming themselves for the loss of life. To that end, the war is still referred to in Nordica as The Interplanetary Catastrophe. In particular, the crash of the Natsir in their own airspace would come to serve as a turning point in Nordica's foreign policy, with them having finally committed to opposing Tekin. The war would align The Realm on a singular policy, which would begin to outright challenge Neo-Europe for dominance, ending the Hegemony it had enjoyed since Tekin came to power.

Tsatsos, along with whatever support she could muster, fled into deep space, before being discovered by the Domolaki. They would strike an alliance, and begun plotting for their return to earth, which would come in 2285.