Biluan-Udkavongo Invasion

> **“*When Millions came to succumb before a crime was brought to justice.”***
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> **-Udkavongo War Memorial, Udkall-**
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### Civilian Losses:

Over 7 Billion dead, half a Billion thought to have been captured. Countless Udkavongos wounded and maimed.

  The **Biluan-Udkavongo War**, cited oftentimes instead as an “*Invasion*” or “*Extermination*”, was a secondary conflict englobed as part of the Great Southeastern War, and a closing stage of the confrontations itself. The war involved the Biluan Mind as the aggressor, mainly against the Udkavongo, with Commonwealth and Zenak (Mainly financial & intelligence) aid during varying moments of the conflict. Incidentally, after the Commonwealth made peace with the Triple Alliance further South, it could focus its attention to assisting the Udkavongo, which by then had most of their forces crushed, their people being slaughtered by the tens of thousands weekly.

  Hostilities first sprung up in January 21st, 2264, as the Biluan attack swarms moved in to prey on an already weakened Udkavongo state. The war can be separated in two moments; The *Biluan Swarm* & The *Commonwealth Counter-attack*. In 2270, the Mind was defeated in the Battle of Arvo, decisively swinging the initiative into Commonwealth hands.

  After almost a decade of brutalities, the war came to an end on January 12th, 2274. Although the conflict itself had little military remarks apart from the confrontation at Arvo, it was the resulting Udka crisis that took the spotlight of public attention. To Commonwealth inhabitants, the Biluan-Udkavongo War is mostly remembered as the *Third Campaign of the Great Southeastern War*. To Udkavongo citizens, it is often recalled as the *Resistance War.* Having suffered billions of deaths at the hands of Biluan drones, the Udkavongo government, pressured by a starving population and a depleted military, signed a ‘White Peace’ with the Biluan Mind, ending any and all hostilities between the two powers and its respective allies. Without political gains, the Commonwealth had to return home and prepare, until one day the Mind would be weak enough to be exterminated once in for all...

## **Biluan Swarm**

  The initial years saw quick and ruthless gains under the Biluan initiative, moving in to neutralise the already crippled Udkavongo voidbound naval forces. The previous months were disastrous for the Udkas regarding their losses at their other war, against the Dyss, to the point where the fleet was shattered, and forced to return to national borders for repairs. With dwindling numbers and an enemy on two fronts, the matter quickly changed from seeking victory to simply surviving for long enough until help arrived…

  Already in the first months of the war, the **Biluan Armada** (Strategically labeled as the '4th, Combat Swarm') moved in and began a series of indiscriminate bombardments that crippled Udkavongo infrastructure, defenses and even basic shelter at certain cities. The heads of the pacifist-led wing of the government - Who had fled in a military convoy - quickly lost face within a public and legitimate view for the nation. To quell public concerns and reassure the commitment to the war, an emergency voting session was called upon, coming to elect High Marshall Vvafad uvi-Favva to the role of Commissary-General, with complete war-time emergency powers - A position that would remain in charge of the government for the next 70 years, despite the war's conclusion by 2274. However, in January 21st 2265, despite a tenacious and determined defense against hordes of Biluan drones, the homeworld of Udkall collapsed into an occupation by the Mind.

  The remainder of the year was marked by complete chaos at the hands of the Commissariat. Despite official conflicts with the Dyss ceasing in that timespan, the relief of the western front was already inconsequential for the nonexistent Udkavongo forces at the area. And as for the battered Zenak machines, who were forced to contend with several territorial concessions in that war, their nation was simply just as vulnerable and undefended as the Udkavongo were to provide any assistance if not financial. As it stood, the only true contender that could equally rival the Mind was the Commonwealth, still embroiled in a series of conflicts against the Triple Alliance in the South… The war was becoming bleak.

  Aid, however, finally arrived with the declaration of peace down south, in 2267. After months of repairs and re-organisation, Task Force Manticore - Led by the extremely prominent Admiral Satayesh Ibrahim -, made preparations to assist in the war, hoping to open another front at the Biluan East.

  Even so, human assistance was too late. The following weeks saw the conquering of another Udkavongo world, Favib Vvada, at Gauzor System, and although Manticore moved into the Sethelbak a mere month later to draw out Biluan forces from Udkavongo territory, the same atrocities were already occurring in mass throughout the newly invaded planet, similarly to the occurrences at Udkall. By then however, the priorities had changed. The main major elements of the Biluan Mind, after noticing how vulnerable their eastern border was, redirected their attentions to take down Task Force Manticore, in a series of chases that eventually culminated in the Battle of Arvo, dozens of systems away, leading to a decisive Commonwealth victory that shifted the tide of the war essentially overnight in favour of the defenders.

## **Commonwealth Counter-attack**

  With the swarms on the run, the Commonwealth could properly communicate an offensive against the Mind, as well as a liberation strategy for the occupied Udkavongo planets. Despite the rampant casualty numbers in the planets, Task Force Manticore chooses to first strike at Biluan installations, crippling their production capabilities and preventing an immediate rebuilding effort of the Armada. The Udka population, starving and being hunted down by Biluan drones, have to endure for further months until help can finally arrive.

  In the course of 2270 and early 2271, the fleet performed several raids against the Biluan Systems of *Walmoro*, *Yliant* and *Ecynth* mainly, wrecking the Biluan Mind’s military infrastructure in a move that forever stagnated their ship production efforts. In Yliant, Manticore also had the opportunity to scout the ‘Biluan Nexus Base’, shelling the installation shortly before setting course for the Udkavongo homeworld. Things began looking bright for the occupied nation, but in 2272, after a series of border skirmishes at the North of Zenak space, the Favsim declared war on the Forge, dragging the Udkavongo Sovereigns stars into the conflict as a defensive ally. Once again pressed on two fronts, the Udkas urged for a quick intervention of the Commonwealth against the Biluan Mind, and the conflict became not only about deaths, but also about time; The more time Manticore took to liberate Udkavongo planets, the less said authorities would have time to rebuild and replenish their fleets, in order to properly aid the Zenaks in their defense. The clock was ticking…

  During the early months of 2273, the Commonwealth Liberation of Udkall began at full force. The army, led by General Branicki, spearheaded into civilian points to protect what little had remained. After a few weeks of sporadic fighting, the reduced ‘garrison’ of Biluan worker drones was cleared with minimal military casualties, but overwhelming civilian ones over the course of the last few years. The official tally for the Udkavongo numbered **4 Billion** dead, along with countless wounded, and 830 Million missing due to abduction or fighting, their bodies never identified. With Billions more starving, houseless or maimed, the matter devolved into less of a military campaign to what could be better described as a sentient disaster on a planetary scale, followed directly by one of the greatest refugee crises in the Cluster’s history. The war, however, still carried on. After months of preparation, Manticore and the remainder of the army set out for their final liberation; Favib Vvada.

  In late 2273, Task Force Manticore engaged remnants of the Biluan Armada, hunkered above the planet and overseeing the evacuation of combat drones to the homeland. The fleet, then reorganised into the 2nd. Combat Swarm, fought against the Commonwealth in the Battle of Gauzor, suffering heavy losses and abandoning the planet to its fate.

  Within the following weeks, the Liberation of Favib Vvada was underway. Similarly to Udkall, the invasion itself was relatively bloodless, but the toll on the civilian population itself was the focal point of the relief forces. By the conclusion, **3 Billion** were killed and 280 Million abducted or missing, but almost the entire population suffered from a severe starvation strain that would take decades to properly heal completely. Having their worlds liberated, the Udkavongo then set their sights at providing military assistance to the Zenak Forge, allowing the Commonwealth to undertake any and all efforts against the Mind on its own. At last, the fight would truly be taken to the enemy turf.

  The remainder of that year saw Task Force Manticore and Branicki’s portion of the army replenishing, already leaving for Biluan core systems. Unfortunately, for them, the war met an abrupt and bloodless end when Udkavongo forces were approached by a singular Biluan shuttle, negotiating a cease-fire. Wishing for an end of public pressure towards a resolution for the eastern crisis, the Commissariat agreed to the negotiations and ended hostilities against the Mind. On the 12th. of January, 2274, all forces were ordered to stand down and return to their respective territories; For them, the war was over.

  To this day, the Biluan invasion can still be seen in the scars of society. In all Udkavongo planets, there have been countless memorials honoring the fallen and respecting those that resisted against the hive-minded invader. The war marked the end of the Great Southeastern War for humanity, and finally left the Commonwealth, a nation in a constant warring state since 2259, in peace at last. For the Biluans, it was the last offensive political action taken, as the raids conducted by Manticore shook the Mind’s infrastructure to its very core. It would take another bloody war, however, to finish off the Mind from its existence in the Cluster. For many, the war had never ended, and that same dreadful feeling would stay throughout the rest of their lives as the Galaxy further enveloped in chaos.