Second Galactic War

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The Second Galactic War (otherwise known as Galactic War II or GWII) was a conflict between Arkarnas and the combined forces of the Hunre Republic and the Heglarean Empire. It began with destruction of the Heglarean homeworld due to a nearby jumpgate suddenly detonating. While it appeared as a freak accident, the Heglareans were quick to blame Karnasian HIRIOT Elite Assassins who were spotted within one parsec of the event. Becoming known as the Heglarea Incident, this event quickly ignited an all-out war. The Hunres and Heglareans formed the Dragonslayer Alliance and declared war on the Karnasians and made large advances into Arkarnas territory. The war's turning point was the Battle for Karnas, when the Total Recall Order was issued, sending all Karnasian ships to convene on Karnas during the battle. After the battle, a massive counter-offensive was started by Arkarnas, pushing Dragonslayer fleets back, at times at a rate of a system a day. When they reached the homeworlds of both empires, they surrendered and signed the Treaty of Karnas.

Background

The Second Galactic War has its roots in 2A 4981 when Emperor Nrek established the Sauren Supremacy Assurance Team (SSAT), a group of Elite Assassins given HIRIOT status dedicated to performing high-risk black ops intended to subtly slow the technological advancement of the Heglarean Empire and Hunre Republic. Intent on securing the Karnasians' technological superiority, Nrek tasked the team with infiltrating a Hunre research station studying the possibility of ygsium synthesis - an ability that was previously only known to the Empire of Arckas and the Omni. As all known sources of ygsium came from abandoned particle accelerators and other ruins, creating new ygsium would shift the balance of galactic power tremendously.

The team would then upload a virus to the station's network. The virus' function was to systemically degrade the system without completely crippling it; the goal was to slow research down. Otherwise, the Hunre scientists would know for a fact it was done on purpose. The team infiltrated the station using cutting-edge stealth technology and used a wireless connection to upload the virus without notice. The team leader, whose name is lost to censorship, waited until one of the scientists logged onto the wireless network, and then following them in. This allowed full access to the system without having to spend time and risk discovery breaking through firewalls. The team made a full extraction with a successful mission, and the station's computers were reported as slowing down to a frustrating pace, to the point where they crashed a few months later. Though the computers were backed up, they did so frequently, and thus the virus infected even the backup systems. Years of research disappeared, and the Hunre Republic was deprived of potential game changing knowledge.

Similar operations were performed for the next decade; Heglarean and Hunre research budgets were frustrated and wasted, and eventually shrunk. Nrek's goal was approaching completion: The two other superpowers were giving up on attaining technological superiority.

Unfortunately, the Heglarea Incident changed the Crucible Galaxy forever. The Heglarean Empire had kept the project well under wraps for years and had a testable prototype of an FTL engine that used newly synthesized ygsium. It was set to use the newly constructed jumpgate in the Heglarea system. By the time the Arkarnas Espionage Division learned of it. However, the Heglarean government was giving the scientists a barely practical research budget, being so financially drained by such research. The scientists were actually being warned that if the prototype failed tests, the project be shutdown. Still not wanting to risk it, Nrek sent in SSAT to sabotage the jumpgate with EMP devices and blame it on the prototype malfunctioning. The team guaranteed success.

But something unexpected would happen. Unintentionally, the devices set off a chain reaction that caused the jumpgate to detonate releasing an explosion that destroyed the entire system - an act far more than Nrek had bargained for. Over seven billion Heglareans were killed. The Heglarean government, which was survived by its nearby colony worlds, replied with severe reprimands and demands for answers from Emperor Nrek. Despite a contingency to blame the discovered operations on Hashaeon terrorists, Nrek flat-out admitted to SSAT's existence and their operations over the past decade. Enraged, the two superpowers signed the Charter of Alliance that formed the Dragonslayer Alliance, and officially declared war on Arkarnas.

The Greatest Gambit of History

The Dragonslayers immediately began hitting the prepared Arkarnas. After sustaining losses on the front due to newly implemented antimatter weaponry, the Alliance retreated and prepared the greatest known fleet in history to strike at the heart of Arkarnas: Karnas itself.

Responding to the initial offensive, Emperor Nrek appointed Colonel Etah Owar to the wartime position of Supreme High General and Grand Admiral of the Sauren Armies and Fleets, effectively making him the most powerful Karnasian in history. Etah ordered the entirety of the Only Home Fleet to reposition outside of the Seolu system and await his order to return. Making an official order to the Emperor (the only time in history the Emperor has been ordered to do anything), Etah ordered Nrek to issue Royal Directive 12: The Total Recall Order. The plan was to allow the Dragonslayers think they've cornered Arkarnas, advance on Karnas, and then hope the Star Fleet would arrive in time to intercept and destroy the enemy fleet. The estimate chances of success were 0.01%, or 1 in 10,000. Estimated odds of victory should the gambit payoff: 100%.

Arriving in Seolu without resistance, the Dragonslayer Fleet began its preparations for the land invasion. Right before they reached orbit, the entirety of the Star Fleet arrived in orbit around Karnas. Billions of ships and hundreds of thousands of dreadnoughts engaged the Dragonslayer Fleet head on. Within 24 hours, the entire enemy fleet laid in ruins. It was reported that some wreckage from the fleet fell on Karnas for years afterwards. The rest either impacted other celestial objects, drifted into void space, or was taken by private salvage teams for scrap. The Star Fleet, nearly unscathed, awaited further orders after what historians now call the Greatest Gambit of History.

The Galactic Genocide

Unfortunately, Etah had to take orders from Nrek now that his emergency powers were relinquished. Nrek's order was one of cold finality: The extermination of the entirety of both superpowers, and the annihilation of both Hunre and Heglarea using the two experimental Anti-Planetary Rounds loaded onboard the dreadnaughts Kuun 77 and Faen 22. Obeying this order, the Star Fleet went from system to system, planet to planet, wiping out entire colonies and fleets, utterly obliterating them.

This led to a ceasefire for a period of ten years. Nrek had rescinded his attempt to wipe the Hunre and Heglarean out completely, but instead turned them into puppet states. However, the Hunre, however, had one last retaliation - a technology that they had kept hidden. They had hoped to not use it as it was guaranteed mutually assured destruction, but it was a modified version of the Racuna virus used by the Buyuk Empire. The virus was an incidental discovery when studying the Buyuk's techniques of ygsium synthesis, but rather than taking over a host body, it would kill them almost immediately. It affected both organic and synthetic systems. The weapon was launched as a last resort. While nowhere near as devastating as the Arkarnas offensive against the Dragonslayer Alliance, it was enough to leave the Second Galactic War as a bitter draw. Both sides were weakened enough that the Buyuk were willing to break the stalemate with the First Galactic Senate. Arkarnas and the surviving Hunre and Heglareans were forced to retreat and hide while the Buyuk Empire waged war once again - this time with ambitions to reconquer the whole galaxy. Thus, the Buyuk Wars officially began.