Destruction of Elaysia II

The **Destruction of Elaysia II** was part of the 2729 Cardassian-Terran War, and the first action seen in the Mirian Theatre.

The destruction of Elaysia II was responded to with Operation: Warlord, the eventual successful invasion of Mirian space and the destruction of Miri.

## Background

By 2729, relations between Terra and Miri had soured, with reconciliation efforts between the two nations unsuccessful. Distrust in the years following the 2722-23 Omega Crisis in addition to protectionist sentiments from neighbouring Terran jurisdictions had resulted in successive Terran governments never willing cooperate with Mirian officials. The Mirian public and government similarly resented having their trade and economic as well as foreign policies being unofficially dictated by Terran interests.

In 2725, Terra expanded its territory to where it surrounded all of Mirian territory, without permitting ships to enter or leave Mirian territory. The stopping of numerous Mirian ships resulted in anti-Terran protests. The Terran Republic proved unwilling to get involved, having grown closer to the Empire in the past decade. Republican Chancellor Kishun was quoted in 2726 as saying in a private meeting with Mirian President Kevin Roberts "Mirian interests aren't our interests right now. Our alliance is just a file where [the Empire] is concerned unless you can convince Starfleet not to build a starbase on the Mirian border". The Republic did honour its defence agreement in 2726 when Terran ships were deployed along the Mirian border, but no shots were exchanged.

In 2726, the Cardassian Union negotiated three narrow navigation corridors in Terran space, allowing for Mirian ships to enter and leave Miri's own territory through Cardassian space. This led to an immediate boost in trade with both Wabbo and Cardassia; followed by while not friendly relations, a period of near-cordial ties between the two emerged. Cardassia and Miri signed a mutual defence pact (without peacetime cooperation or alteration to their previous military understanding). In the following years, Terra did not make a significant commitment to improving its own relations, and on a personal level, President Roberts and then-Prime Minister Abisha Boli Kadån Laar came to despise each other during their respective terms in office until Kadån's dismissal in 2728.

## Invasion Plans

In 2728, in what would later be documented as the first of the worst series of Terran intelligence failures, Mirian intelligence uncovered plans by Imperial Starfleet to invade Miri, later discovering logistics networks, timetables, and several officer transfers for the planned invasion. According to the plans, codenamed "Operation: Onelies", the staging ground was Elaysia II, with as many as three of Starfleet's eighty battle groups stationed there with other cargo vessels also assigned. Miri also learned of a prototype weapon that was to be deployed, acquiring its schematics simultaneously.

The Mirian government decided to act first, having realised that the weapon was out of range for its orbital and surface defences. In the event of an attempted invasion that resulted in the weapon being used, the target planet would be destroyed. Knowing that defeat would be assured regardless of their actions, the Mirian government on 2728 August 10 in a closed meeting of the Cabinet and leading defence officials, chose to destroy the weapon and its development facility on Elaysia II before the 2729 June 1 planned attack, granting them potential reprieve if Cardassia and/or the Republic chose to join the imminent war on their side.

The Mirian government was unaware that the invasion was a planned real-world war game. Devised by Rear-Admiral J'pol of the House of Toq, a real Terran armada would be supplied with blank munitions for a secret invasion of Miri. The plan was to launch the fleet and near the border, Admiral J'pol and other fleet commanders stationed on each ship would authorise a cancellation of the invasion. Each formation would be assessed on their deployment times, communication abilities, and internal security from when the initial orders were sent until battle simulations ended two weeks after launch, with simulated landings on Elaysia II. The Empire had run these simulations before, including on Miri. In 2726 when Republican ships were deployed within Mirian space, it was in response to a similar drill by the Imperial Guard. In Terra, the drills were run regularly with the public used to monthly civil defence drills and random invasion and defence games. This drill however, was not plubicised ahead of time, and would be treated as if it were a real drill until the commanders released the fleet from the first phase of the drill. A total of fifty military personnel knew of the war games, with another three-hundred War Ministry staffers and the Tactical and Security Council aware.

## Battle of Elaysia II

The 2729 Cardassian-Terran War broke out just after Terra's Unification Day in March. Miri did not join the war, as the conflict was initiated by Cardassia and was thus not a trigger for their mutual defence pact. It also hoped that the surprise attack would occur while Terran ships were distracted elsewhere, lowering the expected number of Terran ships to be deployed against it.

In a surprise attack, a replica of the Terran Maine-class patrol frigate disguised as I.S.S. Rolara entered the Elaysia system on 2729 May 17, correctly responding to security challenges using information gathered that morning from Mirian intelligence. The actual I.S.S. Rolara was out on patrol, and the crew on the Mirian ship had falsified engine malfunctions. At 1430 Hours, the false Rolara fired its main weapon, destroying Elaysia II, its moons, the planet's orbital defence network, and nearly a third of the invasion fleet, including the majority of its land and force assets. The shockwave damaged or destroyed shipyards in orbit of Elaysia III and in the asteroid belt, effectively removing nearly two-hundred other ships. A further half-million civilians were killed on Elaysia II.

Simultaneously, the Mirian government informed the international community of the Terran plans to invade and its response, with Prime Minister Anders Bryce justifying the surprise attack as "doomed but existential". Miri then joined the war on Cardassia's side. Parliament sent the declaration to the desk of President Roberts mere hours after the attack.

The fake I.S.S. Rolara escaped the Elaysia system, but was forced to destroy other Terran ships that attempted to question the vessel as it headed away from the disaster. It would later be destroyed in the Battle of the Titan's Rift.

## International Reactions

### Terran Republic

Parliament Terra condemned the Terran invasion plans around the time its Mirian counterparts approved of the declaration of war. It later retracted its condemnation after international investigators absolved the Empire of any true attempt to attack. While the initial condemnation had passed each house of Parliament with a healthy majority, a declaration of war against the Empire stalled, and a following suspension of military activities narrowly passed, depriving the military of its ability to honour the agreement. Many legislators argued that Terra was a close ally, and that they would have been consulted if an attack were to occur. A plurality in both the House of Representatives and the general public (in polls from May 20-June 7) advised for war, generally feeling that a Terran invasion of Miri, even in the middle of a war with Cardassia, was not justified. However, enough members of the House were unsure as they had been preparing to join the Cardassian-Terran War on the Empire's side just before, and many were still unsure of fighting a country that for years had offered a near-seamless connection between the two.

On June 12, an international team with investigators from Talar'Qia, the Republic, the Breen, and several other states verified Terra's account of the supposed invasion. The Republic proceeded to join the war on Terra's side.

### Beta Quadrant

The Kinshaya, Tholians, and several Danteri groups immediately declared war on Terra in response to Mirian pleas.

## Aftermath

In the year following, Terra neglected to respond to the Mirian attack, instead ordering that Mirian officials evacuate the planet Miri, home to an estimated 80-90% of the Mirian population at the time. Terran military units had prevented the Mirian fleet from taking more than a handful of star systems, with most of those systems transferred over to Cardassian military rule due to Mirian manpower deficiencies.

In 2730 February, Terra launched the 2nd Fleet of the Imperial Guard, gathering it in the Titan's Rift. Miri knew of the invasion and moved to replicate its success at Elaysia II, launching its entire fleet deep into Terran space to obliterate the invasion force in a surprise attack. However, they were unable to coordinate as well as the larger and better-positioned 2nd Fleet, as the environment made ship-to-ship much less fleet-wide communication nearly impossible. The entire Mirian force and the Cardassian 63rd Order were destroyed during the course of the three-day battle.

Despite challenges to the 2nd Fleet by Cardassia, reinforcements and the deployment of Starfleet's 5th, and 76th fleets and the Imperial Guard's 5th allowed the Empire to completely blockade Miri, taking four Cardassian star systems in the process.

On 2730 December 31, Terra invaded Mirian space after defeating the Cardassian, Klingon, and partially rebuilt Mirian fleet, using I.S.S. Bat'leth (armed with the same weapon used to destroy Elaysia II) to destroy Miri, killing most of the population.

I.S.S. Bat'Leth's motto was changed to "Victory For Elaysia" after the destruction of Miri, and each successive ship bearing the name has continued to use the same motto.