| abstract
| - More so than any other era in history, the 27th century was defined by warfare. In forty years of fighting the Kilrathi, more Terrans lost their lives than in all previous recorded wars combined… a terrifying record that was almost immediately shattered by the arrival of the Nephilim. In honor of our first issues of the 2700s, StarHSoldier is cataloging these conflicts by reprinting excerpts from Dr. Guthrig Andropolos’ seminal Official Terran Confederation Navy History. As we continue the fight to keep the universe free, it is imperative that we remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to our cause… 2615 The Terran Confederation begins the initial exploration of the Vega Sector. 2629.105 Iason encounters a spacecraft of unknown origin. Commander Jedora Andropolos on board Iason transmits a wide-band, non-verbal greeting and waits for a response. Less than twenty minutes later, the still-unidentified ship opens fire with full lasers, completely destroying Iason and its crew. Although the identity of the attacking ship is never definitively established, Confederation deep space tracking computers point to a possible point of origin from a previously unexplored planet, soon to be known by its native name, Kilrah. 2630-2634 The Terran Confederation receives numerous reports of unwarranted assault, space piracy, kidnapping and interplanetary plundering, all taking place at an increasingly expanding distance from the planet Kilrah. Frequent attempts to meet with Kilrathi High Command are rejected without explanation. In retaliation, the Terran Confederation Congress votes unanimously to enforce a strict non-aggression policy by the Kilrathi. The leaders of Kilrah are warned that their next transgression could lead to military reprisals. 2631-2635 The Confederation and the Pilgrim Alliance, a McDanielist splinter group, fight a civil war. Though the twelve-system conflict is minor in comparison to those fought later in the century, it is the bloodiest space war ever fought to this point. The conflict ends with a series of extended sieges leading to the complete dissolution of the Alliance. 2634.186 The Anna Magdelena, a refitted transport ship ferrying orphans to their new homes on Dieno, is openly attacked by a pair of Kilrathi fighters. No one survives. In retaliation for this and the five-year string of equally heinous abuses of all known laws of civility, the Terran Confederation officially declares war on the Empire of Kilrah. 2634.228 TCN cryptographer Ches M. Penney intercepts and decodes a stray Kilrathi cipher implying that a strike will soon be launched against the planet McAuliffe and its orbiting space station, Alexandria. Confederation High Command orders a counteroffensive twice the size of the anticipated fleet, hoping to reach McAuliffe first and ambush the attackers. 2634.235 After a tense rush to McAuliffe, the Confederation fleet establishes a formidable defensive position around the planet. When the Kilrathi fleet arrives, however, it is quadruple the expected size. Several days of bloody fighting all but obliterate the defensive forces. 2634.239 The McAuliffe Ambush ends. Though the Confederation fleet is completely annihilated it manages to destroy the enemy flagship, causing a disruption in the Kilrathi chain of command and forcing a retreat. 2639.033 Kilrathi occupation forces land on Enyo and McAuliffe and hold a quarter of a million Terrans hostage, reinforced by orbital guns. 2639.036 The Confederation regroups under the leadership of then-Captain Geoffrey Tolwyn and brings in an attack force of Raptor- class heavy fighters. 2639.038 Simultaneously, TCN fighters drop porcupine mines in regions of space near the colonies where principal jump points are located.’ Kilrathi ships stay clear of the mined region, allowing the inception of Phase Two of the operation in which a scrambled radio signal detonates certain specially modified mines. This clears the way for the arrival of a sizable Terran reinforcement fleet through the jump point. Terran forces make an immediate strike against the gunships, threatening the population centers. The mines split the gunships and the fleet units assigned to intercept the Raptors, allowing the two Confederation forces to form a final pincer around the enemy fleet. 2639.040 After a pounding match which lasts only two days, the Enyo Engagement ends with the Kilrathi in full retreat. Casualties are nearly identical. 2642.082 The two sides settle into a long and unending stalemate, creating tension along the frontier. Several Terran worlds declare independence from the Confederation as a prelude to declaring neutrality in the conflict. 2644 The newly-launched TCS Tiger’s Claw, on its shakedown cruise, carrying a minimal spacecrew and an under-experienced command, finds itself in the path of a surprise Kilrathi invasion force. The ship’s unexpected presence along the Kilrathi flight plan, clever tactics on the part of the command crew, and performance above and beyond the call of duty by the spacecrews rout the superior Kilrathi force. Shortly thereafter, Tiger’s Claw is given permanent assignment in Vega Sector. 2645-2653 Abandoning their effort to penetrate the Terran front lines in the central sectors of the border worlds, the Kilrathi switch the focus of their attack to the Pleiades Sector. After initial Kilrathi success, Terran defenses hold. This front, too, settles down to a stalemate. 2646.005 Beginning with Baird’s Star, seven systems declare independence from the Terran Confederation. Confed attempts to break the stalemate and prevent other worlds from seceding by changing their strategic aims from direct engagement to intelligence and particularly cryptography. 2648.305 The Confederation succeeds in breaking the Kilrathi encryption code. In order to prevent a repeat of the McAuliffe debacle, Confed takes pains to ensure their interpretation of the code is accurate. 2649.189 Terran Command, using information on Kilrathi fleets and deployments gained through their breaking of encryption methods, assembles a force consisting of 60% of the Vega Sector Fleet aimed at invading and occupying Kilrah itself. Given the overwhelming superiority in force and information as well as strategy, a victory seems well in hand. 2649.205 Terran ground forces launch an attack on a fortified Kilrathi colony, only to be routed by unexpected Kilrathi fighter support. The TCS Tiger’s Claw is detached from its previous station and assigned to intercept the pursuing fighters in a delaying action eventually known as Custer’s Carnival. Swarmed and badly damaged by Kilrathi fighters, the carrier distracts Kilrathi forces long enough for the Terran fleet to reach safety. Despite the fact that three-fourths of its engines are destroyed and half its pilots are listed as casualties, the heroic efforts of the Claw’s crew allow the carrier to make it back into Terran space. Two Gold Stars and numerous other medals - many of them posthumous - are awarded to the ship’s personnel. The carrier itself spends six months in spacedock for repairs and refitting. 2653 Because of recent heavy losses in battle against the Kilrathi, the 201st Plebe class of the Confederation’s Space Naval Academy replaces the regular flight crew aboard the refurbished Tiger’s Claw, Commodore Geoffrey Tolwyn commanding. The cadets are supposed to complete their course of instruction while performing routine patrols and flight training. But, in war, anything can happen... 2654.074 Aided by Pilgrim terrorists, a Kilrathi fleet destroys the Confederation’s Pegasus Station and secures a path straight to Earth. Human ships rush from the front line to defend the homeworld. The Tiger’s Claw, the only ship between the Kilrathi fleet and Sol, fights desperately to delay the enemy advance. Using intelligence gathered by the Tiger’s Claw, Commodore Tolwyn turns the tables on the Kilrathi, surprising them and eliminating the entire fleet as it arrives in the Sol System. 2654.079 Pilgrim traitors, frustrated by the failure of the recent invasion, mutiny and capture the Olympus, a Confederation cruiser carrying an experimental weapon. Human and Kilrathi forces both race against time to stop the Olympus and capture its technology for themselves. The weapon is ultimately disabled, but the Olympus and her crew escape. 2654.130 Pilgrim explorers thought lost for generations return to known space to collect their descendants. They briefly make war on both Terrans and Kilrathi before leaving from the galaxy and virtually eliminating the Pilgrim religion. 2654.131 Prince Thrakhath abandons his live-andlet- die policy towards border pirates by destroying Base Tortuga in a massive show of force. 2654.162 The Kilrathi begin a lend-lease program with non-spacefaring races along the frontier. The primitive natives of the Dioscuri system are armed with surplus Dralthi and ordered to make war against the Confederation. 2654.176 Admiral Rhea Bergstrom attempts to trap a Kilrathi fleet in the Seti Beta system using the Tiger’s Claw as bait. Prince Thrakhath turns the tables, catching the Trafalgar battlegroup in a pincer. Bergstrom’s carrier and her escorts are destroyed. 2654.184 The Empire its first stealth fighter, a specially modified Sartha with radar-reflective paint and a low-emission drive. It is code-named Strakha, meaning ‘hidden striker’. Confederation pilots working in pairs manage to trap and destroy the fighter. 2654.185 The KIS Naoukeric attacks Oasis, shattering a two-decade long neutrality agreement regarding the planet. The Kilrathi carrier is destroyed under mysterious circumstances. 2654.190 Dr. Bronwyn Sing, head researcher on Greenhouse, attempts to illegally infect a captured Kilrathi pilot with a bio-agent. The Kil is shot down before he can spread the disease to the rest of the army. 2654.287 Terran Intelligence reports that the Kilrathi High Command is directing war efforts from Venice System. Reconnaissance patrols identify Kilrathi ships and boldly give chase, uncovering an Imperial starbase. Terran patrols are lost, but not before relaying their coordinates back to HQ. A small Terran fleet of elite fighters is dispatched to the Imperial starbase. The Kilrathi launch a significant resistance, but are eventually overpowered. Badly beaten, the Kilrathi move their central military command back to their homeworld of Kilrah. Simultaneously, on the far side of the galaxy, the celebrated Battle of Repleetah unfolds. The small research planet of Repleetah has long been home to dedicated researchers from various corners of the universe. Once the declaration of war against the Kilrathi makes its way to this distant outpost, Terran scientists vote to pay a visit to a Kilrathi research facility. The goal of the Terran scientists is to reaffirm their dedication to the unfettered pursuit of knowledge and to offer a peaceful co-existence with their fellow scientists. Instead, the Terrans are exterminated in a surprise biological attack by the Kilrathi. Marines from both sides of the Terran-Kilrathi conflict rush to Repleetah and engage in the most sustained land-based fighting of the entire war. In trench warfare reminiscent of Earth’s ancient World War I, each side fights with dogged determination and in full bio-resistant suits. Meager gains are bought with hundreds of lives, only to be lost to the next counter- attack. Since Repleetah quickly loses any strategic significance it might have had, it comes to represent what each side can win with as little investment as possible. Neither side is willing to commit anything more than ground troops, even though a single, thorough space strike could end the battle victoriously. The bloodshed continues unabated. 2654.293 Seeing an opportunity to prove himself after his disasterous involvement in the Olympus affair, Commodore Tolwyn deploys Tiger’s Claw pilots infiltrate and disrupt the annual Sivar-Eshrad ceremony in the Dolos System. The plan is a success, delivering a heavy blow to Kilrathi morale and earning Tolwyn a promotion to Rear Admiral. 2654.326 Shortly after intelligence reports indicate that Kilrathi engineers have developed a new super weapon to use against inhabited planets, all radio contact is lost with the Goddard Colony. Fighter wings from the Tiger’s Claw rush to Goddard and forge a path for transports and corvettes, only to discover that a quarter-million human lives have already been sacrificed by the Kilrathi. Deeply angered by the tragedy, the crew of the Tiger’s Claw pursues the Kilrathi strike force into enemy territory, where they are ambushed by a captured Confederation Exeter-class ship. Reconnaissance ships eventually locate the dreadnought ship suspected of carrying the prototype weapon. The Claw follows, and in a stunning display of deep space logistics and fighting skill, eliminates this Sivar dreadnought. 2655 The Tiger’s Claw again travels behind enemy lines, this time as part of a battle group charged with destroying the laboratories and shipyards which produced the Sivar weapon. Using captured enemy fighters to sneak behind fortified enemy lines, the carrier’s pilots cripple the Kilrathi bases in the Jakarta System. 2653-2655 The Confederation pledges to protect a newly discovered bird-like race called the Firekkans, who plan to unite with the Terran alliance. In the interim, a huge Kilrathi battle fleet commanded by Prince Thrakhath and his Drakhai (Kilrathi Imperial Guard) moves into the Firekkan system. The fleet’s intent is unknown until the Kilrathi defector Ralgha nar Hhallas exposes a plan to use Firekka for a religious ritual in which warriors rededicate themselves to Sivar, the Kilrathi god of war. The Confederation decides to disrupt the religious ceremony in hopes of breaking enemy morale. Marine troopships jump into the system and stage an assault on the Kilrathi priestesses. The mission is successful, and the Claw retreats to Terran-controlled space under heavy Kilrathi pursuit. In short order, Firekkan natives revolt and force the remaining Kilrathi forces to withdraw. Another crisis has been averted. Meanwhile, the Battle of Repleetah grinds into its third year, with neither side gaining a significant advantage. Despite heavy losses on both sides and the tolls taken by the extraordinarily bitter weather of the research outpost, Kilrathi and Terran Marines refuse to yield. 2656-2667 Over the next eleven years, Confederation forces attempt to remove the Kilrathi from Enigma Sector, where strategic jump nodes lead directly to human homeworlds. An attack on the Kilrathi headquarters at K’Tithrak Mang falls short when the renowned Tiger’s Claw is ambushed and destroyed by Kilrathi stealth fighters. Still, Confederation forces are able to successfully defend Olympus Station - a Terran starbase established for the rebel Kilrathi world of Ghorah Khar - from Kilrathi assault. Finally, in 2667, Terran forces daringly jump behind enemy lines and destroy the Kilrathi sector headquarters of K’Tithrak Mang. During these years, the focus of the Intergalactic War drifts away from the decade-long Battle of Repleetah. Supply ships and reinforcements have long since ceased to visit the research planet. Finally, by late 2664, only a handful of troops remain on either side. The sole surviving Terran officer, Lieutenant Miles D’Arby, leads his men in a last ditch effort to overrun the Kilrathi position. No one lives through this last action on either side. The Battle of Repleetah has finally come to an end. 2667 Confederation forces dispel a Kilrathi attack on Pembroke Station, the gateway system between Enigma and Vega Sectors. These same forces then attend to a mutiny aboard Rigel Supply Depot, where mutineers split into two factions. The pirated ship is eventually gunned down. The Kilrathi unsuccessfully attempt to quell rebelling planets in Ghorah Khar System, and an Imperial leader tries to assassinate Prince Thrakhath. Thrakhath is captured and brought aboard the Bonnie Heather, but eludes his captors through a daringly engineered escape. Finally, a desperate attack against Olympus Station in Ghorah Khar is thwarted, saving the rebel Kilrathi planet. A massive Kilrathi invasion of the Deneb Sector eliminates the Confederation’s 6th Fleet in a matter of hours. The tattered remnants of the fleet escape to the Enigma Sector. The Concordia begins testing the new Morningstar heavy fighter, a powerful new ship which carries a nuclear missile. Society of Mandarin traitors, lead by Zachary Colson, interrupt the tests and steal a prototype Morningstar. Special Operations responds by locating the Society’s main base of operations. A team sneaks behind enemy lines in a captured freighter to destroy the base and the stolen fighter. Hoping to reverse recent setbacks in the Deneb Sector, the Confederation plots a trap for the Empire. Human escort carriers launch an amphibious invasion of Vukar Tag, a planet considered sacred by the Kilrathi. Their warrior culture forces the Kilrathi to respond in force, deploying their entire home fleet to retake the planet – where a large Confederation force is waiting to spring the trap. In order to divide the Kilrathi fleet, the Tarawa is sent through a newly discovered jump point to threaten Kilrah itself. What is planned as a suicide mission succeeds beyond anyone’s expectations – Tarawa pilots destroy carrier construction yards on Kilrah’s moon, significantly damaging the enemy war effort. 2668 Terran Fleets strike hard against Kilrathi Forces on the front lines, eliminating nine carriers under construction and crippling dozens of transports and four shipyards. Running low on combat ships, the Kilrathi military appears on the verge of retreating for supplies. As the pendulum of war swings toward the Terrans, a peace accord is unexpectedly offered by Kilrah. All fleets are withdrawn, even those in the midst of combat. In the following months, several frontier colonies refuse to abide by the armistice rulings, investing both forces and ships in an attempt to search out suspected active shipyards on the far side of the Kilrathi Empire. Using captured stealth equipment, private forces intercept a HoloVid of the rumored facility along with a message that Kilrathi forces are embarking to attack Earth. The armistice is renounced, and a hastily assembled force of still-intact Confederation ships prepare to defend against the attack, bolstered by private ships and carriers. The first hits result in total radiation-warhead warhead destruction of Warsaw, Gilead and Sirius Prime. Front line Marines land on the Imperial flagship carrier where a few brave volunteers place mines in suicide missions. The volunteers destroy three of the super carriers, but the remainder of the fleet reaches striking distance. The Kilrathi successfully launch anti-matter rockets on crucial defense cities - Chicago, Pittsburgh, Boston, Miami, Quebec, Berlin, Paris, Kiev and others - then retreat to friendlier space. 2669 Following the attack on Earth, the Terran Intelligence Agency deploys a top secret, tactical search party through a previously uncharted Kilrathi jump point. The TCS Lexington is equipped with self-sustaining recycling systems, mining apparatus, and a 62 person Special Operations team. This unit leaves Goddard Transfer Station on 2669.011 and passes through a newly discovered jump point. Its mission - to search out and destroy Kilrathi forces, sector by sector. Though the Special Operations team reached Kilrah, the Lexington was never recovered. A rogue Steltek Drone, an unmanned fighter belonging to a precursor civilization, begins terrorizing the Gemini Sector. Meanwhile, Dr. Lemuel Monkhouse discovers a mysterious map on Mars, leading to another cache of Steltek technology. Mercenaries, explorers and Kilrathi race to find this unexplored star system. Grayson Burrows, a Privateer, finds the treasure, a powerful new type of gun, and uses it to defeat the deadly drone fighter. 2669.221 Dr. Forbin, a prominent scientist aboard the solar shadow ring station La Belle Dame Sans Merci, reports gravitometric disturbances in the Tanhauser Nebula. This radiation is determined to be consistent with that emitted during jump point formation. In the midst of investigating what might have been the first ever observations of a jump point formation, the solar shadow ring station was viciously attack by a raiding party of Kilrathi light attack fighters that were apparently us ing the nebula as camouflage. Despite its total lack of military value, all aboard the defenseless station were slaughtered, many of them inexplicably tortured to death. This marks the eighteenth such occurrence that has been reported in the last two years. Forbin’s discovery later leads to a peacetime TCN task force designed solely for the purpose of observing and analyzing jump points. 2669.233 The Trafalgar Outerworlds report a devastating outbreak of disease that eradicates in excess of four percent of the system’s population. The disease vector is proven to be human blood, most commonly found in the world’s contaminated blood supply. Trafalgar Disease Control halts the mortality rate at 23 deaths per day and identifies biochemical weaponry as the guilty carrier. Simultaneously, the Kilrathi mount a constant series of similar bioweapons attacks in Locanda and Delius systems. The presence of the Victory spared all but one of the Locanda worlds, but several colonies in Delius were eliminated before Confed forces could respond to the attacks. The accountable death toll was last reported at 2,867. Linguistics specialists at the University of Hawaii on Earth make marked progress in deciphering the intricacies of the Kilrathi language and begin publishing their research in leading journals. Civilian research to these discoveries becomes sharply restricted after this news causes Kilrathi forces to adopt another encryption scheme. 2669.242 Confed forces liberate the enslaved population of Cabrea System. But the TCN Human Relations Agency clamps down on all vid-transmissions from the system, citing “the interests of Confed-security.” Reports emerge that horrific conditions exist within the system. A psychological assistance team en route to counsel survivors and deliver supplies is obliterated in a surprise attack as they pass through a normally peaceful asteroid belt. Transmissions Transmissions from the cargo ship indicate that the Kilrathi have developed a new fighter that is nearly indistinguishable from a small asteroid chunk. TCN headquarters orders a strategic withdrawal from outlying Confederation sectors as part of a larger operation to give up sectors of minor importance. It is hoped that the Kilrathi will spread themselves too thinly across the galaxy. Military strategists receive great criticism from those who claim that the withdrawals are only an improvised response to the advance of the enemy. The criticism lessens, however, with the advent of the new Excalibur fighter and with successful pushes into Ariel System. 2669.247 Confed Intel tests its new secret weapon, the Behemoth super gun, on a Kilrathi colonial planet. Humanists argue against its use to no avail, and the test run disintegrates an entire planet in just under five seconds. Approximately 1,500 Kilrathi settlers are eradicated, raising critical judgments from the Terran Diplomatic Association. An internal security leak reveals design information to Kilrathi forces, who intercept and eliminate the prize offensive weapon. Several weeks later, Victory squadrons support a Marine-led effort to liberate Dr. Philip Severin from a Kilrathi prison planet. A key player in TCN detonation technology, he immediately begins research on another weapon, the Temblor bomb. TCN military police fighters squelch a civilian attack on Rampart military station in Enyo System, where organized protesters attempted to damage communication facilities and 27 fighters parked for repairs. The leader of the protest, Alexander Romorin, was killed by one of his own followers during the hand-to-hand melee as he struggled with minimally armed personnel. Participants are questioned and sent to a minimum security holding moon. This event marks a swelling current of civilian unrest after forty years of the Terran-Kilrathi conflict. 2669.262 Confederation forces break through Kilrathi lines into Freya and Hyperion Sectors, where they meet heavy Kilrathi resistance. Facing an imminent homeworld invasion, the enemy boosts its forces here and eases up attacks on outlying colonial worlds. Construction begins on temporary bases, and Confed transmissions in and out of the area are encoded with the newly discovered UUENSX-17 encryption system. The conflict index reaches 10.2, the highest average posted in the war’s history. Galaxy Red Cross troops run medical supplies, food and fuel dangerously close to the front lines, losing approximately 1/3 of their transports to ambushes. The Civilian Pilot’s Association volunteers troop and supply transport runs as the war progresses closer and closer to the Kilrathi sector. The Temblor test project enters the completion stage and the prototype model is successfully detonated on a seismographic fault in Hyperion System. Dr. Severin is subsequently named an honorary captain in the Terran Navy and awarded a research bonus of 1.2 million credits. 2669.267 The President and the Scientific Warfare panel approve the use of the Temblor bomb in six instances, including that of attacking the aggressive Kilrathi home planet. Having expected this decision, the Victory pushes into the far region of Hyperion sector. Col. Christopher Blair, Maj. Todd Marshall, 2nd Lt. Winston Chang and 2nd Lt. Robin Peters launch from the carrier at 0545 hours. With the aid of covert fuel depots, they penetrate Kilrah’s atmosphere and launch the Temblor into the V’rakath fault. In a devastating tectonic blast, the bomb rips Kilrah along its three major faults, killing millions of inhabitants. Aboard the Hvar’kann, Kal Shintahr Melek nar Kilra’hra formally surrenders to TCN officials. After decades of loss, 4.2 quadrillion credits’ worth of war materials, and a total count of 9,500,012,432,187 deaths, the Terran-Kilrathi war is finally over... 2669.322 In the ensuing months, a P.O.W. exchange is implemented and sectorial diplomats begin negotiations with Kilrathi colonial settlers. Eighty-six new bills are introduced in the 1,234th Confederation Congress, all of which pertain to the rights of Kilrathi survivors. Riots driven by racism among Terran colonies peak, paralleling the integration of the early 20th century. M’ragrakath nar Hhallas is appointed as the main Kilrathi spokesperson and is assassinated during an international conference on Alliance Rights on Venus. Following his death, an overwhelming percentage of Kilrathi survivors commit Zu’kara, a popular form of ritual suicide. In an effort to ease tensions, the Terran Diplomatic Association sets up eighteen reservation worlds and fights to incorporate them into the Alliance. The Terran Navy concentrates peace efforts on outer worlds, where renegade forces stage brutal attacks on the Kilrathi colonial worlds. Many of the rebels are from Sol System, where unemployment has skyrocketed to 22.3 percent since three-quarters of the TCN enlistees were decommissioned. Analysts predict that recovering from half a century of warfare will be a long, consuming task that requires at least two decades of economic and social adjustment in every facet of life... The Terran Confederation assigns eighteen reserve marine units to civilian trade bases in Gemini Sector, where reports filter in concerning contraband activity. Gemini has long been a problem area for patrolling forces due to the large number of Kilrathi inhabitants and the localized Free Trade Agreement. The move sparks unrest among the Merchant’s Guild after over half the trading force relocates across enemy lines. Military officials step up patrols along the Kilrathi lines as attacks on civilian merchant ships reach an all time high. A team of sociologists and archeologists en route to Gemini Sector are captured 2669.322 In the ensuing months, a P.O.W. exchange is implemented and sectorial diplomats begin negotiations with Kilrathi colonial settlers. Eighty-six new bills are introduced in the 1,234th Confederation Congress, all of which pertain to the rights of Kilrathi survivors. Riots driven by racism among Terran colonies peak, paralleling the integration of the early 20th century. M’ragrakath nar Hhallas is appointed as the main Kilrathi spokesperson and is assassinated during an international conference on Alliance Rights on Venus. Following his death, an overwhelming percentage of Kilrathi survivors commit Zu’kara, a popular form of ritual suicide. In an effort to ease tensions, the Terran Diplomatic Association sets up eighteen reservation worlds and fights to incorporate them into the Alliance. The Terran Navy concentrates peace efforts on outer worlds, where renegade forces stage brutal attacks on the Kilrathi colonial worlds. Many of the rebels are from Sol System, where unemployment has skyrocketed to 22.3 percent since three-quarters of the TCN enlistees were decommissioned. Analysts predict that recovering from half a century of warfare will be a long, consuming task that requires at least two decades of economic and social adjustment in every facet of life... The Terran Confederation assigns eighteen reserve marine units to civilian trade bases in Gemini Sector, where reports filter in concerning contraband activity. Gemini has long been a problem area for patrolling forces due to the large number of Kilrathi inhabitants and the localized Free Trade Agreement. The move sparks unrest among the Merchant’s Guild after over half the trading force relocates across enemy lines. Military officials step up patrols along the Kilrathi lines as attacks on civilian merchant ships reach an all time high. A team of sociologists and archeologists en route to Gemini Sector are captured Jason Bondarevsky takes command of the Landreich’s escort carrier fleet, ultimately ending the conflict in a strategic draw with the help of Vance Richards, who comes out of hiding. President H. Maximilian Kruger’s hold over the government begins to slip as a result of the affair. 2672 A rare Steltek weapon is discovered on Challenger. As the conflict in the border worlds heats up, Joe Turner and Marc Lassiter race against time to stop Phillip Rickman’s crime syndicate from aquiring it. In the process the pair involve themselves in a Church of Man plot to destroy Perry Naval Base and an SRA scheme to reappropriate munitions from the Gemini Sector fleet for Admiral Tolwyn’s black ops division. 2673.219 The galaxy’s peace is interrupted once again as pirate raids against peacetime shipping become more and more common. Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn, having descended into madness in the years following the war, has recruited a secret team of pilots to instigate a new war between the Terran Confederation and the newly formed Union of Border Worlds. Believing that the human race needs to be genetically purified before it faces another threat like the Kilrathi, Tolwyn begins secretly eliminating massive populations using biological weapons. As civil war breaks out, pilots on both sides rush to prove to the Senate who is responsible for the attacks. The final battle takes place on the floor of the legislature, where Colonel Christopher Blair confronts Tolwyn into implicating himself. 2675 Murragh Cakg dai Nokhtak leads the FRLS Karga into Kilrathi space in a bid to take the Kiranka throne for himself. However, expected support from the Landreich Navy never materializes and Murragh’s coup falls apart short of the planned invasion of Pasqual. Murragh fights an epic retreat, pursued by Chancellor Melek’s police forces. He returns to the Landreich to live in exile. 2680 The Confederation in conjunction with Hurston Dynamics begins field-testing chain ion or “cloud burst” weapons technology at Krieger Starbase. Influence of Kilrathi culture on fashion and entertainment begins to spread outside of the Border Worlds. Some systems put a ban on the import of all imitation Kilrathi weaponry and human-styled armor/ clothing wear. This only increases the value of the items on the market. Border Worlds Kilrathi TPFs (temporary placement facilities) are reduced to only three planetary locations (as opposed to 50 a decade earlier) as another displaced clan is relocated to a system within Kilrathi space. These facilities, nothing more than reservations for the Kilrathi, were beginning to come under the scrutiny of several Sentient Rights groups. Charges of neglect and cruel treatment go unheard at the General Assembly. Governor Cavazos, then head of the General Assembly, publicly states that the remaining Kilrathi will be relocated in under five years. His statements are almost drowned out by representatives of the Border Worlds calling for faster action. Rein Ertrobs releases the fourth book in his wildly popular series of fantasy novels set within the Darkening universe. The book, entitled Lev’s Pact, forces the publisher to restructure its flat-scan transmit hub in order to accommodate the over one billion requests. 2681 The Nephilim, a race of insect-like creatures from outside our galaxy, terrorizes remote Confederation installations. Their motives are unknown, but Confed reacts in force, sending out the newly commissioned “Super Carrier” Midway to assist in quelling the threat. After intensive engagements over the course of several months the Nephilim are defeated in the Kilrah System. Leonard Styles, staff photojournalist for ISDN (Intersystem Daily News) takes the first shots of the Nephilim in action against a transport convoy fleeing the Kilrah Sector after the official evacuation order was given. His stark images of a Nephilim destroyer slicing through a civilian transport with a plasma beam put an image to the threat most remote sector citizens had dismissed. A joint Hurston/Bartok Industries and Confederation research program develops the “dust cannon”, a mass-driver variant using “dust-cull” technology to recycle power plant waste matter into a limitless ammunition supply. Robert Brindle’s novel, Clipped, about conditions at Kilrathi placement facilities is criticized by veterans and administrators as both inaccurate and inflammatory. The publicity generated causes thirty system representatives to call for a committee to be formed on placement conditions. The TCS Cerberus a new “quick strike” cruiser is unveiled by the Confederation.’ Constructed by Bartok Industries, the Cerberus is quickly put on a secret assignment by the TCIS to investigate reported straggler Nephilim within Sol Sector. As the galaxy mourns the loss of Christopher Blair and begins to repair its wounds, a larger Nephilim strike force emerges. At the same time, a deadly virus released by the alien ships begins causing even greater casualties. Intelligence believes that the Nephilim are searching for something — or someone. The Cerberus fights through the alien hoards to capture their new wormhole in the Proxima System. While the Confederation prepares to use its newly captured wormhole to strike back against the Nephilim, three more open — in the K’sktag System, the Hhallas System and the Valgard System... This feature concludes next month with a 2681-2700 timeline of the Nephilim War, starting with the first Confederation counter-attacks on Reef 68C-Delta.
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