The First Contact War

"All fleets, reporting in, ready to bring the might of Humanity to bear on the Galakorians."

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- Joseph Kozlov, Lord Militant, his words as the Commonwealth fleets arrived in Kor.

  The First Contact War is a war fought between the Commonwealth of Man and the The Galakorian League. This war started in the Ferra Prime system, over the planet Genesis on board the HSV Michigan. Conflicting reports detail what happened on board, and while what truly happened on the HSV Michigan remains a mystery, there is no doubt that on June 24th, 2106 the HSV Michigan was destroyed and the planet of Genesis was invaded by Galakorians.    

Genesis

The HSV Michigan was a diplomatic vessel used by Magistrate Ian Olla. Reports state that the HSV Michigan received alien communications in the early morning of June 24th, however the Magistrate ordered his men to not report the communications to any higher officials. It is speculated that the Magistrate may have done this to seek political gain in the killing or befriending of an alien force. The Magistrate invited the Galakorians onto his personal vessel. Despite an unclear story of what happened on the HSV Michigan, it would be completely destroyed by the Galakorian ship roughly an hour after the Galakorians boarded the vessel. After the destruction, a larger fleet of Galakorian ships entered the system, and immediately began occupying the planet of Genesis by force. The small garrison was quickly overrun, and with panic and confusion spreading about the colony, it quickly fell to Galakorian warriors.   With communications cut off and the planet surrounded, it seemed all hope was lost for the small, cold colony. However, a single ship was able to eventually slip past the Galakorian blockade, the HSV Buster, commanded by Captain Johnathan T. Ganzer, and quickly brought word of the invasion to the Commonwealth. Three days later, the First and Second Fleet of the Commonwealth arrived, liberating the planet.    

Conflicts Throughout the War

Conflicts were relatively spaced out throughout the war. Battles between Human and Galakorian fleets occurred every few months, with lands battles being even less frequent. This was due to the early state of Gateway travel, meaning many of the Gateways required to be traveled by the other parties were unknown and thus travelling through them required an exploration team rather than a military force. It was common for Galakorians to win land battles, as their superior strength and size gave them a great advantage, however Humans would typically best their alien foes in space, due to their superior fighting doctrine and their use of Dreadnoughts.    

Timeline

2106

• The HSV Michigan is boarded by Galakorian forces, destroyed shortly after.
• The Invasion of Genesis begins. Colonial communication is scrambled by Galakorian forces, leaving the colony hopeless.
• Genesis falls to Galakorian forces, who begin a brutal occupation for the next week.
• The HSV Buster escapes the Galakorian blockade, bringing word of the invasion to the Commonwealth.
• The Commonwealth officially declares war. The First and Second Fleets are deployed along with a large marine contingency on board.
• The Liberation of Genesis begins. The Galakorian ships are destroyed, leaving the aliens on the planet stranded. Ground forces would eventually kill all alien warriors on the surface.
• The HEV (Human Exploration Vessel) Nicholas enters the unstable Gateway and discovers Galakorian colonies on the other side. Construction of the Hymen Gateway begins and finishes several months later. No further contact with the Galakorians had been made.
• The 2nd and 3rd Commonwealth Fleet enter the Hymen Gateway, and begin to destroy Galakorian assets and begin the invasion of the Galakorian colony of Ja'raal (In the system of Tuostone) and are repelled by Galakorian ground forces. The fleets begin orbital bombardment of the planet and relaunch their invasion to success. (It should be noted that Galakorian forces seemed rather unprepared, leading some to speculate that the Galakorians responsible for the HSV Michigan may have been operating on their own accord.)
• Ja'raal is turned into a military stronghold for the Commonwealth.
• The first major space battle occurs between the 2nd and 3rd Commonwealth Fleet and Fleet of Retribution, commanded by Warlord Xai'staal. The battle resulted in a Pyrrhic Commonwealth victory, and the 2nd and 3rd fleet were forced to retreat to Sol for repairs.

2107

• The 4th Fleet is stationed in Tuostone while the 2nd and 3rd continue to repair.
• A Galakorian Warlord by the name of Ubb Samaa leads a huge fleet to liberate Ja'raal. The fleets destroy the 4th Fleets and begins the liberation of Ja'raal. Thanks to guerrilla fighters, this is dragged out for over a year.
• Commonwealth Special Forces are discreetly landed on Ja'raal to assist in the guerrilla efforts. Key Galakorian figures are killed and military operations are obstructed. In a major blow, Commonwealth SF infiltrate Samaa's personal flagship and plant several nuclear bombs onto it, destroying it.

2108

• The 2nd and 3rd Fleet finish their repairs, and move to Tuostone.
• The Commonwealth begin construction of the 4th, 5th, and 6th fleets.
• The First Battle of Tuostone begins between Ubb Samaa's fleet and the Commonwealth's 2nd and 3rd fleet. As a result of guerrilla efforts, Samaa's fleet was disorganized and suffered from the loss of its main flagship. The Commonwealth destroy the Galakorian fleet. Xeno forces on Ja'raal begin a mass evacuation.

2109

• The construction of the 4th, 5th, and 6th fleets complete.
• The 1st Fleet is expanded, adding two additional Dreadnoughts, numbering its total to five.

2110

• Galakorian forces arrive in the system of Riyaki with a large fleet. Instead of invading a colony planet, they bombard it from orbit, causing heavy casualties on the colony of Rotein.
• The 4th, 5th, and 6th fleet (now organized into Taskforce Warhound) deploys to Riyaki to repel the Galakorian fleet. The Galakorian fleet vanishes before combat can be initiated. Most colonist on Riyaki are dead.

2111

• A retaliation strike for Riyaki is formed. Taskforce Warhound utilizes the same coordinates that the Galakorians used to enter the system. Confident in their numbers, the fleet forms in Riyaki.
• The construction of the 7th, 8th, and 9th fleets begin.
• Anti-war protests begin in Atlas.
• Heavy propaganda begins in the Commonwealth.
• Taskforce Warhound follows the Galakorian raiding party to an ambush. Warhound is utterly destroyed. The loss is felt across the Commonwealth.

2112

• With Taskforce Warhound destroyed, Galakorian forces form in mass and begin a mass push into Commonwealth space. Large fleets with invasion forces arrive in New Titan, Ferra Prime, Riyaki, Aneko, and Earnhart.
• The construction of the 7th, 8th, and 9th fleet complete, forming Taskforce Retribution. Retribution, along with the 2nd and 3rd Fleet (now known as Taskforce Origin) move to engage the smaller of the Galakorian fleets.
• Outnumbered by the Galakorians, panic begins to spread across the Commonwealth. Colonies within the system of Riyaki Aneko are simply bombarded from orbit, while Galakorian troops land with millions of warriors on planets within New Titan, Ferra Prime, and Earnhart.
• The construction of the 10th, 11th, and 12th fleet begin. Additional dreadnoughts are built for the 1st Fleet, bringing the total number to eight.
• The Walker Program is initiated.

2113

• Across the Commonwealth, guerrilla efforts continue to hold Galakorian forces off for as long as possible. Human casualties skyrocket in 2113. Several army and marine divisions are formed and prepare for liberation efforts.

2114

• The construction of the 10th, 11th, and 12th fleet is completed, forming Taskforce Antioch. Taskforces Antioch, Retribution, and Origin deploy to break off bombarding Galakorian fleets with success. They then move to occupied systems, beginning liberation efforts.
• All but one liberation effort fail. Only Earnhart is liberated successfully.

2115

• Taskforce Antioch is destroyed in combat with the Warlord Taarmaatii Xuual.
• Construction of the 13th, 14th, and 15th fleet begin.
• New marine divisions are recruited.

2116

• Marshal Kellen Matthews takes command of Commonwealth forces and begin to implement massive reforms to the Commonwealth Interstellar Fighting Doctrine (CIFD)
• First tests of the Walker program begin.
• Hard Light Tools are created, and are immediately used by military forces.
• The construction of the 13th, 14th, and 15th fleet completes, forming Taskforce New Dawn
• The construction of the 16th, 17th, and 18th fleet begin.
• Plans for the first Super Dreadnought are drafted.

2117

• The construction of the 19th, 20th, and 21st fleet begin.
• Liberation efforts commence. Taskforce New Dawn and Retribution deploy to New Titan and Ferra Prime.
• Intense fighting occurs on the planets of Atlas and Genesis. The fighting comes to a standstill.

2118

• The construction of the Super Dreadnought "HSV Parthenon" begins. The massive Dreadnought is 4.5x larger than any other. It holds a crew of over 5,000 and can hold up to 10,000 marines.
• The Walker Program initiates. Walker Mechs are deployed onto Atlas and Genesis to assist ground forces. An immediate shift in the battlefield is seen. By the end of 2118, the colonies are liberated once again.
• The construction of the 19th, 20th, and 21st fleet completes, forming Taskforce Thorn
• The construction of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th fleet begins.
• A massive memorial known begins construction at Earth to honor the fallen.
• Huge anti-war protests begin. They are put down by force.
• Propaganda efforts are increased.

2119

• Galakorians begin small strikes on research facilities across Commonwealth Space.
• A Galakorian scout arrives in Sol. Massive panic spreads across all of the Commonwealth. The scout flees before it is caught.
• Taskforce Thorn, New Dawn, and Retribution is pulled to Sol. The First Fleet is charged with leading defensive efforts.

2120

 

• The HSV Parthenon completes and joins the 1st Fleet.

 

2121

• The Battle of Earth begins. 10 Galakorian fleets arrive in Sol, initiating combat with the defensive fleets. The HSV Parthenon proves critical in Earth's defense. Galakorians deploy hundreds of thousands of small dropships that slip past the defensive fleets and begin a full scale invasion of Earth.
• All landmasses of Earth are hit by millions of Galakorian warriors. The battle in space rages on as humans fight to defend their homes. The fighting is intense and brutal.
• Taskforce Origin arrives, giving the human fleets a much needed edge in the battle over Earth. Galakorian ships are eventually defeated, however Taskforce Retribution and Origin are completely destroyed. Thorn and New Dawn suffered heavily, and the HSV Parthenon was nearly destroyed.
• Galakorian forces continue to fight on Earth for several months but are eventually defeated.
• The Battle of Earth, lasting ten months in total, comes to an end with a human victory.
• The Vanguard program begins.
• New electronic countermeasures are developed by the Commonwealth.
• Construction of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th fleet completes, forming Taskforce Morgan

2122

• A lone Galakorian cruiser is spotted in neutral space. Vanguards deploy, initiating Operation Wayward. The operation is a success, and the Commonwealth gained vital navagtional data that revealed the system of Kor, the home-system of the Galakorians.

2123

• The Vanguard program, due to its huge success, is expanded.
• The Commonwealth undergoes massive recruiting and construction efforts.
• Plans for the invasion of Galakor are drawn up by Commonwealth High Command.
• Taskforces Origin and New Dawn are reconstructed and the HSV Parthenon is fully repaired.
• Construction of the 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th fleet begin.

2124

• Wargames of a mock invasion are created, and soldiers begin training for the invasion of Galakor.
• Taskforces Morgan, New Dawn, and Origin are deployed to patrol outer regions. A few small skirmishes occur.

2125

• Construction of the new fleets are completed, forming Taskforce Judgement. Commonwealth forces begin to stage for invasion.

2126

• The invasion of Galakor begins. The HSV Parthenon leads Taskforce Origin as all other taskforces jump into the system of Kor. With a total of 20 fleets, the Commonwealth face the remaining Galakorian fleets who were attempting to rebuild ships from the failed invasion of Sol. The fighting is intense, but eventually, the Commonwealth defeats the Galakorian navy.
• A six month bombarding campaign begins. The results are devastating. The HSV Parthenon drops massive, tungsten rods onto the surface of Galakor.
• Unknown to the human public, the Galakorians attempt to sue for peace several times, but these attempts are ignored by the Consul.
• In June, troops deploy onto the surface and begin to exterminate all remaining Galakorian military resistance. Many reports suggest that millions of Galakorian civilians are killed during this time.
• Eventually, the Consul drafts up his own terms of surrender and presents it to the Galakorians. They are forced to sign the Treaty of Genesis, ending the First Contact War.