Great Southeastern War

### Defenders:

Commonwealth, Galactic Entente, Udkavongo Sovereign Stars, Zenak Forge, Condign League

## Opposing Forces

### Noteworthy Battles:

Battle of Tyntregal, Battle of Minerva, Battle of Fal'Kaboss, Operation Fire Torch, Battle of Arvo, Liberation of Udkall, Invasion of Qeni-Ghirgaam

  The so-called ‘*Great Southeastern War*’ can be boiled down into a series of separate conflicts, ranging all throughout the Eastern cluster, from the Yaanari homeworld to Biluan territory, within the span of roughly 20 years. The series of confrontations marked a selection of victors, followed by a settled status-quo that would shape the prominent nations for the remainder of the century. Officially starting in 2258, with the Triple Alliance’s declaration of war against the Commonwealth, the war marked a turning point in the course of several nations, often resulting in the bloodbath of millions, all so decade-old rivalries could be finally settled in all-out warfare.

  The war saw several different sides with conflicting intentions following distinct goals. At one side was the **Triple Alliance**, a secret pact formed by the Yaanari League, Kingdom of Yadra & Zracon Union, fighting against the Commonwealth and several members of the Galactic Entente (Mainly Shalani & Alir elements) as the fighting progressed. Later, the Biluan Mind launched an offensive against the Udkavongo Sovereign Stars, dragging the Commonwealth - An ally of Udkas - into another eastern conflict. Finally, as confrontations neared an end, the Condign League launched a campaign of their own to assist in the defeat of the Zracon Union, having an already enormous conflict now encompassing all of the major alliances of the eastern portion of the galactic cluster.

  The last major conflict taking part in the Great Southeastern War, the Entente-Alliance War, came to an end in 2278. The series of wars were the main proponent of the accelerated rise of the Commonwealth in the latter half of the 2200s, and truly showed to the Galaxy how powerful the nation could become once united with a common goal. Amidst the warring nations, the greatest loser of the war could be considered the Yadrans, as they underwent several coups, civil unrest and a civil war following its exit from the conflict.

## Yaanari-Human Dispute

*For further information on the war, check the Yaanari-Human Dispute article.*

  It is not known when the first domino was pushed, but between the dates of 2256 to 2258, the Kingdom of Yadra's government became increasingly disavowed by the middle and lower classes; The Yadran aristocracy was beset by internal corruption and treachery, too paralysed to take action for fear of losing its own grip on power. Ironically the fear of taking action only further emboldened the growing number of dissidents until even some higher nobles started to vex the current Monarchy at the time. In early August, 2258, the house of cards collapsed; the ancient Law of Oversight was invoked and King Mezak removed from his seat of power, much to the protest of the still loyal Dukes who demanded a gathering.

> *- This is not possible! You cannot just walk into court and declare yourself an Empress! -*
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> **Duke Malaj, a powerless noble whose name would be forgotten if not for the occurrence of the war...**
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  The initial stages of the greater part of the conflicts began initially in 2258, following a series of secretive agreements that eventually resulted in the formation of the **Triple Alliance**.

  The Zracon, still bitter about their losses during the Aramathi Liberation War, had joined the war in the hopes of reconquering their lost worlds of New Sajar & Tyntregal, resuming their process of species 'enlightenment’ towards the Aramathi inhabitants there. The Kartheman nobility followed on a very similar goal, to reclaim the lost territories of Yadrani - Former Yadran homeworld - and the remainder of Mezaka System, whilst also scoring a legitimacy stunt, hoping to gain the overwhelming loyalty of the people, following the deposition and assasination of King Mezak, conducted during the Coup that placed the Scarlet Empress into power. The Yaanari, main proponents of the scheme, however, opted to strike at the heart of the Commonwealth, adding the homeworld of Ortus as their official wargoal for the campaign and seeking to claim further slaves to the workforce of the League. On the 6th. of August, 2258, the official declaration was broadcasted to Commonwealth officials; the beginning of the first great southern campaign was upon them.

  The human-led coalition counted also with a collection of smaller and distant allies. The Udkavongo, a confederation of pacifists found in the North-East, the Shalani, a species driven by democratic yet militaristic values in the Far-East, and the newly established Alliance of New Beginning, a Commonwealth protectorate squeezed between the fringes of its northern border and the territories nearing the Condign League. Although less coordinated, more geographically separated and certainly more preoccupied with internal matters than their attacking counterparts, the alliance was nevertheless a strong contender, and would be no easy foe to topple over.

  In the initial stages of the war, the Commonwealth saw its main fleet, Task Force Manticore, undergoing a reorganisation effort, along with retrofits and upgrades to better suit it to the war. The fleet counted with a new admiral, Satayesh Ibrahim, in addition with the less advanced but numerous elements of the integrated Queptillian navy, under the leadership of Commodore Ironbark. The fleets within the Triple Alliance’s allegiance were the Radiant Host, the Malevolent Star Hunters and the Hiri’Gasska Battlegroup, all falling under different commands of their respective nations and admirals.

  The following months saw Task Force Manticore mount up an effort to blockade a passage of enemy fleets trying to regroup and form a massive armada in Zracon territory, as the Shalani navy mounted their own series of offensives at the eastern Zracon frontier. The blockade, however, was broken during the Battle of Tyntregal, a massive naval engagement in former Aramathi territory, that although resulted in a victory for the Commonwealth, took enough attention away from their western border long enough for the Yaanari & Yadran forces to traverse through it and move towards Zracon lands. In late 2260, detaching from the more powerful Yaanari fleet, the **Hiri’Gasska Battlegroup** mounted a cordant around the Inti Habitat Station at the Bijh System, shelling several points of the structure, signalling to the Commonwealth where to strike. Task Force Manticore swooped like a hawk; unsupported and out-gunned, the Yadran Fleet, commanded by the Kartheman Admiral Hask’Kalass, was completely annihilated in the Battle of Bijh, a complete Commonwealth victory.

  After grouping with the battered Zracon fleet, the **Malevolent Star Hunters** mounted an unsuccessful pursuit against the Shalani Navy. In late 2261, the Combined Alliance fleets were on the offensive once more, attacking the planet of Minerva in search of cloning vats to fuel their own slave-driven economies, an action Manticore once more countered, culminating in the Battle of Minerva, which ended in another Commonwealth victory. With all of the major enemy fleets driven off or completely shattered, the dispute was now swung in the favour of humanity, and the fight would be taken to its enemies.

  Following an extensive recruitment drive that had been going throughout the duration of the war, along with much needed fleet repairs and some strategic coordination, the Commonwealth mounted an offensive against the weakest link within the Triple Alliance; The Kingdom of Yadra. In 2264, forces under the command of General Telaviin stormed the Kartheman holdouts in Fal’Kaboss, making use of clone infantry for the first time in history following the enactment of the Act of Genetic Warfare. Later that year, the mechanized force of General Branicki invaded and conquered the planet of Shi’Tanask, effectively removing the Kartheman Kingdom from the war effort and placing the Commonwealth in contact with dissident elements within Yadran society.

  Within a few weeks, Manticore was back in movement. In 2265, the infantry army under Telaviin conducted another invasion, this time, in the Yaanari frontier planet of Zichash with minimal losses. By 2266, the Commonwealth was in the Yaanari core system, invading the planet of Jisht, whilst practically unopposed by the retreating enemy forces. Later on the next year, despite the mysterious death of Telaviin, the combined Commonwealth armies invaded and captured Yaan, homeworld of the Yaanari. In the coming weeks, a Yaanari delegation communicated with Commonwealth authorities, establishing a cease-fire with the Commonwealth-led coalition as the defeated powers of the conflict; the war was finally over.

In March 14th, 2267, the Yanaari League, and their allies, admit defeat and surrender unconditionally to the Commonwealth, agreeing to the proposed **Treaty of Yaan**;

* Fal'Kaboss is ceded to the Commonwealth.
* Zracon 'Tomb World' Qeni-Ghirgaam is ceded to the Shalani Coalition.
* The Yanaari pay reparations to the Udkavongo Sovereign Stars.

## **Entente-Alliance War**

*For further information on the war, check the Entente-Alliance War article.*

   Despite constantly overlapping throughout the course of *Yaanari-Human Dispute*, the initially branded *Zracon-Shalani War* is separated due to the nature of its alliances and the differing times where what and each nation ends up signing a peace with the aggressors.

  The war is considered to have started in 2258, in a campaign initially involving only the Shalani nations (Shalani Coalition & Interstellar Shalani Commonality) at first, that would later encompass the major members of the Galactic Entente with the passing of the decade. The Coalition counted with its main acting fleet, Task Force Mirasma, to engage in several offensives against the Zracon Union to draw attention of the Alliance and buy time for Commonwealth forces, which was by then suffering several encroachments on its western borders. The operation was the brain-child of the novice Admiral (Often called Star Commander, in Shalani language) Barim den Tarrob, and it also counted with the assistance of the smaller yet still powerful fleet from the Commonality, Task Force Polgara, under a newly assigned Admiral Jotim Caleb, fresh from Shalani Border Patrol Forces.

  The first Shalani offensive dawned in late 2259, with the joint Task Forces combining in an effort to double their firepower and striking at Qeni-Ghirgaam, laying siege to the Zracon planet after a short battle over the orbit of the Tomb World. Having received several distress messages detailing the approaching Yaanari fleet to Zracon territory, Barim den Tarrob took notice of the upcoming issue, but instead chose to continue the siege, in hopes that it would be over long enough before the Malevolent Star Hunters would be upon them.

  In early October, 2260, suffering several delays in their invasion plans, mostly due to the extreme Zracon resilience and aggressiveness, the Shalani naval forces were forced to abandon the siege and leave *Bidtox System* altogether; The Yaanari fleet had finally arrived. Yet, despite abandoning their upcoming invasion, the Shalani leadership rejoiced upon noticing their bait had worked as intended. Now, Task Force Manticore had its hands free to operate without the shadowing fleet of the Yaanari to tail them for a short time, and the Shalani authorities remained unmolested, free to advance into enemy territory at a moment’s notice. After laying low for multiple months, Forces Mirasma & Polgara re-emerged from their wormholes and restarted their siege of Qeni-Ghirgaam, in 2262. Multiple months later, the planet was taken, despite heavy casualties reminiscent of the Battle of New Sajar. The campaign continued in the coming years, the Shalani forces occupying further worlds such as Croo’s Cocoon and Qeni-Elfguukh by late 2265.

  In that year, noticing the war swinging decisively in favour of the defenders, the Condign League, wishing for gains of their own, soon launched an offensive against the Zracon front, forcing the zealots to contend with what had essentially turned into a three-front war on their very own borders. With a Radiant Host that struggled to truly hold enemy forces back since its defeat at Tyntregal, the northern front continued to shrink under Jir & Shalani pressure; defeat became only a matter of time. In March of 2267, with the signing of the *Treaty of Yaan*, the two Shalani nations entered a state of peace with the Triple Alliance, with the Condign carrying on its campaign in a separate war.

  By 2268, however, the internal pressure made by the militaristic government forced the hand of the Coalition; they had wished for further gains on an already weakened Zracon Union, yet knew that the Commonwealth, a nation which already had its efforts now centered on defeating the Biluan Mind, would likely do little to nothing in an offensive against the zealots. They looked for alternatives… In January, the Shalani Coalition and its Commonality sub-state applied and received a membership status within the Galactic Entente, immediately lobbying for a campaign and ryling up Entente officials for an easy and short conflict. In a series of hot-headed discussions and debates amongst the higher echelons of the pacifist-led wings of the federation’s council, the final conclusion was a formal declaration of war against the Triple Alliance; It was the official beginning of the Entente-Alliance War.

  Leveraging from Condign distractions, the Shalani emerged once more, recapturing planets once evacuated with the ceasefire back to their reach. Meanwhile, the remaining members of the alliance began the assembly of their fleets, resolving into an Alir-led fleet aimed to strike against the weakened Yaanari League. The first few years of the war began smoothly for the Entente, but soon the Shalani economy began suffering dearly from the continuous military expenditures, which led to greater stagnation…

  In 2273, the Alir Commune launched Operation Fire Torch, an offensive striking deep into Yaanari territory that overall proved crippling to the Yaanari war effort for further participation in the conflict. In the span of almost a year, Entente forces made use of Blitzkrieg-like tactics that, paired against an almost pacified enemy, granted them almost complete superiority over the League, a move that deeply angered the Zracon, who hoped for a more committed ally to the war in their fight against the federation. Following limited Shalani advances, the Alliance was becoming more and more cornered over the years, but the war was far from over. Throughout 2277, Zracon resistance forces conducted several raids in the planet of Qeni-Elfguukh, followed by a lightning void-bound invasion that overwhelmed Shalani efforts to hold the world. The main Shalani fleets, which were aiding Alir elements in their occupations of Yaanari territory, were taken by surprise, and the economy suffered another great hit amidst the escalating military crisis up in the North.

  The entirety of the war, however, had taken a major turn once more. Following increasing hostilities in the far western Entente associate of Fenn’Halor, the Thadrakos Families engaged in a confrontation against the Galactic Entente, culminating in the War of Western Aggression. The Entente now looked for a quick end of the conflicts in their North, but struggled to find an agreeable resolution to sign peace with; the Yaanari, after all, had still kept their homeworld of Yaan, meanwhile the Zracon were back in the offensive against the Shalani. After months of stale negotiations, the Sondrithan fleet broke the ceasefire and shelled Yaan, forcing the hand of the Yaanari at the negotiating table, despite loud Zracon protests:

In August 29th, 2278, the Triple Alliance, Galactic Entente & Condign League settled on an Entente-favoured ‘White Peace’, agreeing to the proposed **Second Treaty of Yaan**;

* The Yaanari pay reparations to the Alir Commune & Sondrithan League.
* Another bill regarding the rights of slaves in the League is enforced, despite controversial claims to its effectiveness.
* Zracon Union makes minor concessions to the Jir Compact, ceding one border system & paying reparations to the Ahadi Conglomerate.
* A ‘Status Quo’ is enforced between the Zracon Union and the Shalani Nations, no gains are made.
* All federations settle a truce to last 10 years.

  After what had become 20 years of constant war, little gains had been made despite the high losses of life. The Shalani, although walking out from the first negotiations in Yaan with gains, failed to capitalize on the weakness of the Union during the Entente-Alliance War, suffering a series of defeats in its later stage that forced it to sign the second treaty and abandon much of its gained claims during those last ten years of fighting. The Alir partook in similar deals that lightly punished the Yaanari, but took no territories from the League. Overall, the Entente-Alliance War was the last major conflict to encompass itself into the Great Southeastern War, and ended the series of confrontations as a whole.

## **Biluan-Udkavongo Invasion**

*For further information on the war, check the Biluan-Udkavongo Invasion article.*

  An outliner during the greater conflicts during the South, the 'Resistance War' encompassed the Biluan participation in the disputes, dragging Commonwealth elements back to the confrontation and sealing the expansionist fate of the Mind. The war started in late January, 2264, amidst the final stages of the *Yaanari-Human Dispute*, and ended in mid January 2274, in a strategic victory for the defender nations against the Biluan Mind.

  Taking advantage of an already weakened Udkavongo State - Coupled with a Commonwealth bent on combating the Yaanari -, the Biluan Mind mounted an assault on the core-planets of the defenders. The Udkavongo Navy, having already suffered multiple withdrawals at the hands of Dyss incursions in Zenak territory, could do little but assist in the evacuation efforts of their own worlds. In 2265 the Mind invaded and occupied the homeworld of Udkall, committing numerous atrocities that forever scarred the planet and its inhabitants.

  In the year of 2267, the Biluans were on the move once more, and occupied Favib Vvada. By then, the Commonwealth had managed to sign a peace with the Triple Alliance in Yaan, but had been suffering delays on its return home due to suspected sabotage. After years of repairs, overhauls and constant fleet maneuvering, the Commonwealth launched a raid against the Sethelbak System, in Biluan frontier territory; The effort was enough to make the Biluan Combat Swarm redeploy and leave its plans of completely occupying Udkavongo lands unfinished, chasing Task Force Manticore to Obsholla System and fighting against it in what would later be known as the Battle of Arvo, in 2270. By the end of the battle, the conflict had switched hands; The Biluan Armada was shattered, and the Commonwealth would be taking the fight to its enemy.

  The following years saw Task Force Manticore raid several Biluan manufacturing systems, a move the Mind would never truly manage to recover from. In 2273, the Commonwealth army landed and liberated Udkall, relieving the population from a fate relating to systematic extermination, kick-starting the so-called ‘Udkavongo Diaspora”. During that same year, both sides clashed once again in the Battle of Gauzor, which cleared the way for the Commonwealth liberation of Favib Vvada, weeks later. With the Biluan presence removed from the Udkavongo territory, the human-led coalition drafted plans to commit an offensive against the mind.

  In early 2274, the exhausted Udkavongo government signed a ceasefire against the Biluan Mind, in what essentially resumed itself as a ‘**White Peace**’; No gains, no losses. The Commonwealth was forced to back down from its offensive stance, but the defense had worked and the Mind was weakened, the first nail in the coffin for the Hive that would cease to operate by the ending years of the century...

## **Aftermath & Consequences**

  The end of the major confrontations eventually led to over a decade’s moment of respite between the main contenders, polarizing the neutral nations surrounded by the alliances ever further, until upcoming wars destabilized the balance of power in the East once more. Bordering the Commonwealth, the Yadran Kingdom signed its own death sentence by involving itself in the war, suffering coups, revolutions and eventually a full blown Civil War. Down to its South, the Yaanari League learnt first-hand not to mess with the human-led nation in open conflict, all the while Zracon leadership started reformulating their strategies, aiming to disrupt the Commonwealth by non-conventional means of warfare and achieve enlightenment that way… somehow...

  As for the defender’s side, the conflict proved for the first time the war-winning capabilities of many defensive structures under the oversight of the Phalanx Protocol, and also began changing the perception of the Entente towards the Commonwealth; from bellicose opportunists to defenders of democratic values & trustworthy partners. It brought together the Commonwealth, Entente and Condign forces to a natural state of cooperation, despite the minor differences shared between themselves. They had emerged as the stronger ones in the East, leaving little chance for a takeover of the defeated groups in the Great Southeastern War from now onwards.

  Despite being the main target for a great portion of the aggressor's efforts from the Triple Alliance and Biluan Mind, the Commonwealth emerged on top over all major hardships it faced in the face of conflict. The war brought not only new technological incentives to the nation, but also united the peoples of the Commonwealth in a way not seen before; Where before billions were facing the slow dilemma of a peaceful human integration, now all the major races within the nation had contributed in some form for the war effort. Whilst the army once more licked its wounds from the grueling attacks of Fal’Kaboss, Shi’Tanask and Udkall, the navy had the chance to innovate under the command of now famed Admiral Ibrahim, and did so at an astonishing rate in the following decades. The war had essentially created the opposite effect on the Commonwealth; it was now booming economically, technologically and militarily at its conclusion, despite the high loss of life during the initial years of the war.