Great Galactic War

The Great Galactic War, otherwise known as the Imperial Conquest of Bactria by the Terran Imperium, was a galaxy-wide conflict involving the two major galactic powers of the Terran Imperium and the Galactic Republic. The war was initially launched by Steward Karl Franz as a way to gain popular support from the populace. Hundreds of millions of lives were lost and Hiigara itself would be captured by the Steward — an action that led to the end of the war as an Imperial victory. As a result, the Galactic Republic was forced to abandon the Bactrian sector to the Imperium. A demilitarised zone was soon established and the Lorien Confederate managed to gain greater political influence by supporting both factions through munitions, supply, and expeditionary forces.

## Overview

### Context

Since the end of the Great Galactic War, peace reigned supreme, but it was tenuous one. Minor skirmishes continued to break out in the badlands, which led to the rise of countless criminal syndicates in the region. No side dared to resolve the issue, as doing so would violate the treaty that was signed at the end of the first galactic war. However, all of that was to change when a young man by the name of Karl Franz was appointed the role of Steward of the Imperium. His liberal outlook on politics made him an attractive figure to manipulate, but as time passed, it became apparent to the Republic that war was looming on the horizon. Overnight, a million worlds cried joyously in unison as the Steward proclaimed the start of a grand crusade against the New Republic.

Unfortunately for the Republic, their military had yet to recover from a disastrous civil war that almost saw the dissolution of the New Republic into an authoritarian, communist regime. They begged for peace, but it was already too late. Much of the Imperium had already mobilised their fleets, and the first Spartan battle-barges had pierced through the Republican fortress worlds situated in the outskirts of the Bactrian sector. On May 1st, 987.M40, Steward Karl Franz officially declared war on the New Republic.

### Conquest of Bactria

With the weakened state of the Republic, the Imperium flooded the Bactrian sector with relative ease. In order to minimise damage, the Steward had ordered the invasion force to engage in ground combat unless the situation was deemed hopeless. Great battles emerged from the chaos that engulfed the Bactrian sector, but the Imperium was eventually victorious in their objective to conquer the Bactrian sector. Despite the Imperium's success, they were unable to prevent major losses of life, especially during the Maurian offensive where over ten billion lives were lost simply to reclaim a small patch of systems within the Bactrian sector.

### The Great Silence

A number of battles would be fought throughout the first year of the war, but most of these battles were deemed inconsequential in the grand scheme of things as both sides were busy recouping their forces. These battles include:

* The Battle at Twilight Gap - Imperial victory
* The Battle of Solace Prime - Imperial victory
* The Battle of New New Alysia - Republic victory
* The Battle of Nova Spartae - Republic victory

### Stalemate and the Sacking of Hiigara

Desperate to break the stalemate, the Imperium intervened with the politics of the Lorien Confederate, allegedly supporting the Lorien coup that led to the dissolution of the Lorien senate and the rise of House Atreides as the ruling dynasty of the nation. Mandalore, founder of House Atreides and father to Ptolomey and Manda Atreides, rallied a large band of ships and marched forth to secure key Republican trade routes. With this sudden and swift move, the core worlds of the Republic were cut off from the outer rim, preventing them from supplying their massive populations. Any attempt to stop the Lorien blockade was met with a swift and cold death to the vacuum of space.

In their darkest hour, an unlikely hero emerged. A draken by the name of Kravitz Solo rose to defy the Loriens, rallying hundreds of corvettes to destroy the blockade. Fitted with the latest propeller technology, the Republicans were able to outmanuever the Loriens, ending the blockade whilst simultaneously killing Mandalore in the process. With the loss of their newfound ally, the Imperium and the Republic return once again into a stalemate, but that is not to last when the Republic received a communique from the Imperium that could see an end to the war. Hoping to end the war as soon as possible, the Republic accepted their offer and agreed to meet up on the Republican world of Byss; but what the Republic did not know was that the peace conference was actually a ploy to distract Republican forces. On April 23rd, 3789, a massive Imperial fleet emerged out of hyperspace near the Republican capital of Hiigara. Within two days, the Imperium managed to destroy most of the Republic's forces stationed in the Hiigaran cluster. On the third day, Karl Franz ordered for the sacking of the planet, leading to the deaths of billions of lives.

When the Republic's envoy caught wind of the sacking of their capital world, they were utterly powerless against the Imperium's envoys, who demanded them to hand over the Bactrian sector to the Imperium.

### Aftermath

On May 4th, 3789, the Galactic Republic and the Terran Imperium officially signed a peace treaty that would see the end of hostilities between the two nations. The Treaty of Hiigara, as it was called, heavily favoured the Imperium, stating that the Republic's claims over the Bactrian sector were to be handed over to the Terran Imperium. In exchange, they will lift the siege on their capital world. Furthermore, the treaty also saw the creation of a demilitarised zone -- a massive line of defences that stretches from one end of the galaxy to the other.