Introduction
Twenty years prior to the start of Razorwing, there existed a One 'Verse Government known as the AEC, that was the controlling power in the Milky Way. When the AEC fell at the end of the [insert war here], the 'Verse was fractured. The Milky Way was divided into three sectors, each with their own governing authority. The three 'governments' are outlined below. For information on the planets in each territory, please see the Worlds and Places page.
Orion–Cygnus Governing Authority
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The OCGA was the first of the governing bodies to appear out of the ashes of the collapsed AEC. The OCGA, named for the arm of the Milky Way that Earth-I is in, is based on the principals of democracy and is the least mangled of the budding galactic governments. That said, the first elections that were held in the OCGA are not without immense amounts of controversy. The first OCGA Prime Minister is being accused of rigging the election. The Prime Minister is also a suspected AEC war criminal who is in disguise. Despite the suspected corruption, the OCGA is the most peaceful governing body in the Milky Way.
Tertiary Sector Provisional Government
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By far the most stable of the three smaller governments in the Milky Way, the Tertiary Sector Provisional Government is made run a military body. This body is the remains of the Tertiary Lawbringer Battlefleet. Despite it being a strict military dictatorship, the TSPG seems to keep it's citizens happy. They are, however, exceptionally cruel to freelance vessels. Most freelancers know that TSPG operatives will confiscate and destroy freelance vessels. This sector is patrolled by a large number of still operational Lawbringer battleships, including two Venerable-class vessels; the SSV War and the SSV Peace, the two ships with the highest number of 'kills' in the Lawbringer navy.
Confederacy of Allied Star Systems
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The Confederacy of Allied Star Systems is a large, brand new political entity. It formed after the merger of two small, post-war provisional governments. It's larger than the other two political bodies, however is a complete mess. The CASS is run by the Council of Star Systems who spend most of their time arguing over mundane topics. There is wide-spread poverty, crime, and famine in this sector of space. It has gotten so bad, that humanitarian missions from both the OCGA and the TSPA are sent in the CASS on a regular basis. This sector of space was the hardest hit by the war, and is scarred with debris fields that stretch for millions of kilometres.
The Political Climate
The war is still fresh in everyone's mind. Millions upon millions upon millions were killed. Whole star systems were annihilated. Planets were left uninhabitable. They say that everyone over the age of 20 in the Milky Way personally knows at least a dozen people killed by the senseless violence after the fall of the AEC. All this death and all this suffering has made the Milky Way an exceptionally bitter place, resulting in very tense times politically.
The three largest governing bodies discussed above are regularly poised on the bring of war as a result of claims on resources and claims on territory across the galaxy. Every week, there are reports of rogue agents from all sectors of the galaxy taking matters into their own hands and attacking their enemies. As well, small political bodies are swallowed up by the OCGA, the TSPG, and the CASS on a regular basis, confusing the spacial territory borders even more.
Currently the Orion-Cygnus Governing Authority and the Tertiary Sector Provisional Government are in a state of uneasy alliance, the two politic giants brought together out of a mutual concern for the citizens of the CASS. That said, the OCGA and the TSPG are NOT friends. They refuse to share anything, save for the routes they're taking into the Confederacy's space.
The CASS is still scrambling to try and consolidate power inside its territory, and is the area most ripe with small skirmishes between all manners of people.
Neutral Space
No one political body controls the outer rim of the galaxy. Out here, in the cold black void, is where freelancers and criminals thrive. All the way around the galaxy, there are number of neutral planets or space stations owned by various criminal organizations. Out here, there are no laws and nothing is sacred or safe. Physical, named locations in neutral space are most commonly found in the Outer and New Outer arms of the Milky Way galaxy.
Fall of the AEC
The following is a brief outline of important events surrounding the fall of the AEC and the war that took place during the fall. Prior to the official beginning of the war, the AEC began a rather sudden scramble to build up a naval fleet stronger than anything that had existed previously. The fleet was officially completed in the early months of 2529 and numbered some 12,000 vessels. The flagship of the fleet was called the SSV Ramses (Venerable-class) and served as Pendell's personal battleship and home right until the end of the war.
2529: The War Beginnings
The event that actually started the AECs fall took place in late 2529. The AECs assembling of a massive naval force sent off alarm bells right across the galaxy. The citizens knew something was coming, and they knew that they had no chance of stopping it. One of the earliest people to stand up against the AECs iron-fisted rule was a human named Alan Triton. Triton lead a large, multispecies 'army' that spoke out against the AEC. They never used violence.
In the Osellan system, Corona Rapida Flight 78009 (flying from Earth-2 to Osellan) was beginning its final approach, with Alan Triton and 2500 other people on board. The following events occurred:
- 19:34 Osellan System Time: The First Fleet of the AEC Navy (which included the SSV Ramses) leaves slipsteam on the port side of CR78009 and announces their presence over SubNet frequencies.
- 19:36 OST: CR78009 is ordered to stand down and await communication. The interstellar flight complies.
- 20:30 OST: After nearly one hour of radio silence CR78009 breaks silence with the message: "SSV Ramses, this is CR78009. Request permission to land or further instructions."
- 20:35 OST: Two squadrons of AEC Sabrefin fighters are launched and advance on CR78009.
- 20:36 OST: Passengers and crew of CR78009 notice the advancing fighters. Captain of CR78009 repeats the message broadcast at 20:30 OST.
- 20:40 OST: Alpha and Beta Sabrefin squadrons preform one pass from stern to bow, weapons free.
- 20:43 OST: Flight Data Recorder on board CR78009 reports catastrophic hull failure and cabin depressurization.
- 20:45 OST: Witnesses on the Osellan spaceport report the total destruction of CR78009 in a ball of flame.
- 20:50 OST: The First Fleet of the AEC Navy disappear into slipstream.
As a result of the destruction of the unarmed interstellar flight in order to kill a political enemy, multiple systems seceded from the AEC and declared open war against Pendell. By the end of 2529 Yutari Prime, Thest, Osellan, Aries-IV, and Earths III-V had all declared inpendance and war against the AEC.
2530-2540: The War Rages
The next ten years were dominated by gruesome warfare. This section outlines major events that too place during this time.
- The Black Order Goes Public: After the divide amongst the Lawbringers, a large oppositionary force to the AEC called the Black Order went from a secret underground movement, to a totally public entity. The Black Order openly allied itself with any system that seceded from the AEC. The Razorwing was a Black Order allied vessel during the war.
- Divide in the Lawbringers: The first event of note during the war (aside from the catalyst) was a divide in the AEC's elite core of officers. A small group of Lawbringers had an issue with Pendell's sudden rise to supreme power and began to rally support for and internal movement against Pendell. Most of the Lawbringers remained loyal to the AEC, however the divide and the eventual departure of several key members did send shockwaves through the Lawbringers' numbers. Among those whole left was Alistair Hawke, Captain of the Razorwing.
- The Battle of Orion's Belt (2531): The first major conflict in the war took place in the space nearest the stars that make up Orion's Belt. Two AEC battlegroups faced off with a small detachment of Black Order vessels and a Martian Defense Fleet battlegroup. The losses to the Black Order and Mars were catastrophic. Mars, having only seceded from the AEC, declares open war on Pendell's regime.
- The Taking of the Horsehead Nebula (2533): One of the AEC's largest victories took place at the Horsehead Nebula, the location of a Black Order shipyard. The Second and Third fleets swept through the nebula over the course of a day leaving hundreds of Black Order vessels destroyed. The loss of lives and ships was catastrophic for the Black order.
- The Tables Turn Near Neptune (2534): Several months after the embarrassment in the Horsehead Nebula, the Black Order's luck began to change. The Fourth and Sixth fleets of the AEC navy were holding their position near Neptune in the Sol system. A large battlegroup of Black Order vessels ambushed the two fleets. The surprise attack resulted in the total loss of the Sixth Fleet and a partial (50%) loss of the Fourth Fleet.
- The Darkest Hour - Loss of Jarit-IV (2536): Perhaps the worst blemish in the history of the whole of the Milky Way is the loss of Jarit-IV, an inhabited planet near the galactic centre. Because of the chaotic nature of the events that occurred during this conflict, no blame has ever been placed. The Second Fleet of the AEC Navy and two Yutari Defense Force battlegroups encountered one another in the Jarit system, very near Jarit-IV. During the eighth hour of combat, two Venerable-class carriers (one on either side) collided after a very close pass. One of the two vessels lost singularity containment as result, causing the singularity drive to detonate. The shockwave destroyed a number of ships as well as Jarit-IV. A quarter billion people were killed. A galactic day of mourning is held every year for those lost on Jarit-IV.
- Further Victory at the Omega Cluster (2538): The Black Order and its allies continued the push against AEC. The remains of the AEC's Fourth Fleet were destroyed while on the run through the Omega Cluster in the Carina-Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way.
- AEC Naval Forces Regoup (2539): At the Lagoon Nebula, the First and Second fleet of the AEC Navy regrouped with the remains if the Third Fleet and the Fifth Fleet and launched an all out offensive. Military analysts say that Pendell was looking to carve an escape route out of the Milky Way. This ragtag remainder of the AEC Navy remained on the run, unscathed for a year.
- Confrontation at the Crab Nebula (2540): The penultimate battle near the war's end took place at the Crab Nebula. Using information fed to them from within the AEC fleet, the Black Order cut off Pendell's escape run at the Crab Nebula. The battle raged for approximately one week and resulted in the loss of the rest of the Third Fleet, 75% of the Fifth Fleet, and the flagship of the Second Fleet (SSV Argent Fist). The surviving AEC vessels once again fled into the slipstream. The war was almost over.
2541: The War Ends
The war was ended in the early months of 2541. The date of the war's end, called Victory Day, is celebrated across the galaxy.
Battle at Sagittarius B2 (2541): The final battle in the war took place in the vicinity of a massive gas cloud approximately 390 light years away from the galactic centre. The AEC's naval force, crippled by a series of crushing defeats elsewhere in the 'Verse, was made up of the entire First Fleet, the entire Second Fleet, and a fragment of battleships from the Fifth Fleet that had survived the Battle at the Crab Nebula. Among the AEC vessels were the SSV Ramses (under the command of Pemdell) and a battleship called the //SSV Hand of Midas// (under the command of Rear-Admiral Allondra Sky). The Black Order's naval force was double the size and was made up of every Black Order vessel that had survived up until this point (the Razorwing included in this), the Yutari Defense Fleet, the Martian Defensive Fleet, a number of freelance vessels, and the Taho-Prime Navy.
The conflict raged over two days, both sides suffering heavily. In the afternoon on the second day the following events occured:
- 13:04 Uninhabited Sector Time: A transmission was sent from the SSV Hand of Midas to the SSV Razorwing. A partial fragment of the conversation was discovered on the Flight Data Recorder of the Hand of Midas:
- Hand of Midas (Voice of Rear Admiral Sky): Alistair…trust me. You need to get her out of there. No matter who wins, they'll want what's in her. You know that.
- Razorwing (Voice of Captain Hawke): I know Allondra…but I can't let you do what you're thinking og.
- HoM: You don't have a choice Captain. I outranked you in the past, and technically I still out rank you…dirty turncoat (said playfully). Alistair…take her and hide her. Keep her safe. She's not meant to belong to anyone anymore.
- RW: Allondra-
- HoM: Go! Now! I'll buy time!
- 13:14 UST: The SSV Hand of Midas breaks away from its formation with Pendell's flagship.
- 13:16 UST: Rear Admiral Sky orders all hands to abandon ship. Her crew complies. The Razorwing turns and hightails it away from a Sabrefin squadron.
The following series of events is reconstructed from the recovered Flight Data Recorder of the SSV Hand of Midas.
- 13:18 UST: SSV Ramses hails the Hand of Midas. Recieves no answer.
- 13:23 UST: All escape pods are shown to have left the Hand of Midas. Rear Admiral Sky enters the master override command sequence and sets a collison course with the bridge tower of the SSV Ramses.
- 13:25 UST: Radiological sensors on board the Hand of Midas indicate that all ship-to-ship thermonuclear warheads are armed, but not fired.
- 13:30 UST: After a series of computer command overrides (presumably forcing the vessel to ignore collision warnings) the SSV Hand of Midas collides with the bridge tower of the AEC flagship. Just prior to the collision and subsquent explosion, a message was transmitted from the Hand of Midas:
Onward to victory my friends
Approximately one minute after the collision, the Flight Data Recorder on board the SSV Ramses reported catastrophic hull fractures in the bridge tower and A deck. Thirty seconds later the ships main power systems failed. During his trial, Pendell revealled that he had made it into the turbolift prior to the explosion, pointing out that the rest of the bridge crew were incinerated.
At 14:00 UST, the Black Order took the SSV Ramses and the remainder of the AEC issued an unconditional surrender. The Razorwing had vanished by this point.
