Battle of Harmony

The **Battle of Harmony** was the FDF's final assault on the ANS *Monroe* in an attempt to prevent the escape of the Titans from their interdimensional prison. The final and most significant battle of the First Whirlpool War, it took place in the orbit of the FDF's capital planet Harmony and led to the creation of the independent Protectorate of Asgard.

## History

### Prelude

The Battle of Harmony had been building up for several years, thanks to the rapid growth of the Frontier Defence Force, their subsequent propaganda and the resulting colonial uprisings. Tensions against the Colonial Management Division of the Federal Bureaucratic Office were steadily rising and were only strengthened following the return of the ANS *Monroe*, which emitted a signal that took over any nearby New Eden-built starships. For two years, many colonies fell to the *Monroe*'s harvester. It was only thanks to the crew of the CS *Olympus* that the FDF discovered that the *Monroe*'s actions threatened to release the Titans: entities of chaos who could subjugate the entire universe. The *Monroe*'s expedition discovered the M51b Gateway in Messier 51b, where the Titans began to influence the exhausted crew, granting them extended lifespans and telekinetic abilities. The *Monroe* proceeded to harvester numerous planets to gather enough energy to open a Breach to the Prison Dimension.

### The Battle Commences

#### Fall of the *Monroe*

"*I proved a Titan wrong. I don't get to kill you, Leviathan...but the thing is...you don't get to kill **me** either,*"
—Erron taunts Leviathan before destroying the ANS *Monroe*[src]

   Erron, having finally realized that the entity possessing Paul Monroe was Leviathan itself, decided that the noble Monroe had been dead for years and Leviathan was the true enemy responsible for the destruction of Olympia. Erron mocked Leviathan before retreating back to the airlock of the *Olympus*. As his ship was detached, Erron ordered HIE to eject the *Olympus'* lightfold engine before telling the fleet to retreat. Erron smiled to Leviathan as the *Olympus* fired away. As Leviathan looked on in horror, hopeless, the engine detonated.

What followed was a cataclysmic explosion more powerful than any other caused by an organic organism. In less than a second, enough energy was released to outshine Beacon and a massive shockwave erupted throughout the star system, utterly evaporating anything caught within it, including the *Monroe*. The ark merged with light before reforming, ripped apart by the extraordinary force, and a nearby asteroid field was completely vaporized. Thousands of corrupted New Eden ships were immediately destroyed, nowhere near large enough to reform after the initial explosion.

What little remained of the *Monroe* was split into two; one half floated away into the empty blackness of space, while the other half eventually crashed into the sea on Harmony.

### Aftermath

    The Battle of Harmony completely crippled the Alliance's influence in the Whirlpool Galaxy. The *Olympus*' show of strength in bringing down the *Monroe*, one of the largest ships ever built, inspired hundreds of colonies to rebel against the FGA command, leaving only a few isolated FGA-controlled colonies governed by the Colonial Management Division. This gave rise to many oppressive authoritarian micro-states.

The most important result of the Battle of Harmony was the organisation of the Frontier Defence Force into a form of democratic government, who organized the newly-independent colonies into a network of planets and space-stations. As the FDF gave power to new civilian governments, it resulted in the creation of the FDF High Council, who officially declared secession from the FGA to create the Protectorate of Asgard.

The Protectorate of Asgard slowly built itself up over four years to encompass several hundred star systems.