Great Imperium War

"The Great Imperium War, how I dread to talk about it. In many ways there were no winners, the Second Imperium fell and some of the greatest atrocities committed in Odestrian History occured."

- The Memoirs of Emperor Panokkus Genzzus the Saviour. The Great Imperium War also known as The First Fence War or The Odestrian Civil War to people outside the Imperium, was a conflict which took place in the Odestrian Imperium during 3973 BBY to 3,968 BBY. The war is often seen as one of the most destructive in Imperium history, with both sides taking heavy losses and massive devastation across the Imperium. It is marked by the virtual destruction of Odestria's surface and the complete annihilation of Barakua.

Prior to the conflict, the Second Imperium was in a sharp decline owing to a decade of economic and political stagnation. This was owed to the lack of trade the state could make with the Galactic Republic and surrounding powers, as well as various domestic and administrative mishaps. This ended up causing the Imperium to decentralize more with more degrees of power being held by its constituent federal entities. This decentralization came to a head when the systems of the Barakian Fence, largely inhabited by the Panasian offshoot "Barakians" seceded from the Imperium and formed the Confederacy of the Barakian Fence, also known as the "Fence Confederacy." As relations between the Imperium and the Confederacy continued to decline both side began to prepare for war.

The war had officially began in 3973 BBY or Year 100 of the Second Imperium, with the First Battle of Alnell, from there, the territory of the Imperium was divided and conflict quickly spread throughout Odestrian Space. The initial phase of the war saw the Fence invade the Imperium from three different fronts, Nitan, the Union of Rah'katov and within the Panasian subsector "Chievvak." The War started with a Barakian sweep across any planet they attacked, bringing down Odestrian morale and bringing the Imperium to the brink of collapse. Once the second year rolled around, the Odestrians started to gain ground and slow the Barakian advance until 3970 BBY or Year 103 of the Second Imperium, where the Fence laid waste to the surface of Odestria in the tragedy known as '''OdestraRak. '''

After the Battle of Tosep, the Confederacy began to loose ground, with what was left of the Imperium making gains in Nitan and the Union before managing to drive the Barakians back to their central systems, following this the OdestraNav launched Operation Deep Wound, a full scale invasion of the Barakian homeworld Barakua under the pretense of occupation. The real plan however was the annihilation of the world under the new Imperial Doctrine of "Kalypsithenos" which involved attempting to remove any possibility of the Barakians to make war again.

An Empire in Decline
"The prosperity of the Second Imperium was short lived to say the least, it only took a few decades before the cracks of the Blezzus reforms began to appear and slowly disintegrate the state."

- Loremaster K'Krell Tokotov

The issues with the Second Imperium had existed since the reformed and remilitarized Republic transitioned into the new age. What many Odestrians enjoyed for the first generation of the new Autocracy was a form of nostalgic “honey moon” fever which took hold tightly. Unlike the more theocratic "First Imperium,” the Second Imperium differed from its earlier incarnation by being a largely secular state, with most Force and Odessan worship being strictly reserved for the newly reformed “Church of Odessan.” Additionally, unlike the First Imperium, the new Blezzus Imperium was conceived as a Federation, with the central government on Odestria giving equal leadership roles to various smaller “Imperial constituencies.” These constituent states were: The Union of Rah’Katov, the Hudron Systems, the Barakian Confederacy and the Panasian Union. As previously stated, the central Imperial government on Odestra relied on the authority of the constituencies in order to stay “legitimate” This left the Second Imperium as a much more decentralized state than the Fourth or even Third incarnation. After Ardok Blezzus died during the 5th Year of the Second Imperium, his son Filipon Blezzus I took the Silver Throne and denoted more power to the Odestrian Senate and the ''Prima Consul. ''With the power of the Imperial government routed more in the democratic senate than in the Throne, the Consul began to run the Imperium instead of the Emperor. While this worked for a short while issued began to arise in the 40th Year of the Second Imperium, with the death of Filipon Blezzus I and the ascension of his son Filipon II.

A lot can be said about the inept nature of Filipon II’s initial reign. His souring of relations with the Republic and other Odestrian trade partners led to condemnation of his government by people within the Imperium and outside of the State. The manner in which he would handle dissent also led to mass condemnation from the outside, leading to the breaking of trade relations with the Imperium. By the 50th year of the Second Imperium, the state was very much in decline, with the inability to trade with the outside and the economy being increasingly difficult to retool, the Odestra Kpsul began to devalue more and more. The creation of jobs was centralized within systems belonging to the Panasian Union, with states outside of these systems being increasingly shafted on what little trade deals were being made with the Odestrian state. While this was happening, the state continued to decentralize, Odestria losing power with the constituencies more and more. This led to nationalist movements to arise within the constituencies, gliding to political prominence with the promise to stop unemployment and bring a “new dawn for the races of the Odestrian Imperium.”

A racial dispute
Since being invited to join the Imperium, the Barakians and the Panasians had a fair share of differences to deal with. Barakians often times felt like second-class citizens within the larger Imperial machine. Despite the fact that Barakians were in fact, an offshoot of Panasians, it seemed rather ridiculous for these issues to have occurred. Yet, the constantly deteriorating situation of the Second Imperium began to exemplify just how deep the divides were.

At the time of the Imperium’s decent into decline, the Barakian Fence was the most heavily industrialized area of the Imperium, with thee largely Barakian population being in control of the shipyards at Tezik as well as the vast minerals from Purgatorius and Tenograd. Even the Barakian homeworld of Barakua was surrounded by twin asteroid belts which made for an excellent source for mining. With the decay of the Imperium, many of the jobs and wealth was flowing from the Barakian Fence to Odestria, jobs working the mines and shipyards being given to Panasians and Humans who were from other parts of the state. As would be the case, the Barakian population of the Imperium became quite disgruntled by these actions. At the same time, the rise of the Barakian nationalist movement known as the "Barakian State" had arisen within the constituent government of the Barakian Fence. As would be the case, their calls for nationalism and autonomy would resonate with more nationalistic minded Barakian peoples. These issues were further accentuated when mass protests had started when a group of Barakian workers were laid off from their posts at Tezik shipyards in order to make room for new workers from Odestria and Rah’katov. As a response, Filipon II deployed the Odestrian Legion to the Barakian systems to quell the rapidly deteriorating situation. As would be the case, this would simply cause more of an outcry from the people of the Fence thereby leading to the election of the Barakian state to the Fence legislature during the 90th year of the Second Imperium.

Political tensions
With the election of the fervently nationalist Barakian State, the Odestrian government was caught off guard by the increasing demands of the Fence. With the representatives in the Odestrian Senate being comprised of these radicalized Barakians demands were soon being made for greater autonomy from the Odestrian state. Senate hearings began to fill up with these issues and more nationalist elements began to arise in the Union of Rah’Katov and even the Panasian Union as well. The ''NowusImperiumPartei was still the ruling party of the Senate around this time and their lack of a true party ideology made it difficult to muster up anything but reactionary responses to the Fence’s calls for sovereignty. Still, any calls which the newly nationalist Fence would bring up, Senate would reject them. The issue then arose that the Barakian seats in the senate constituted enough to effectively prevent any federal legislation from being passed and so that’s what ended up occurring.

Eventually, as the Senate continued to falter, Filipon II stepped in and made the choice to ultimately deal with the Barakian representatives, giving them a portion of their demands for autonomy. With this, the Barakian planets no longer had to pay certain taxes to the Imperial government and additionally, Barakian central worlds would be controlled by the Fence legislation directly as opposed to the Odestrian senate. This further decentralization allowed for the Fence to effectively function as a quasi-independent nation within the borders of the Imperium, creating its own militia and own starships. This stabilized tensions for a time until the 98th year of the Second Imperium or 3975 BBY. During this galactic year, a small Mandalorian raider band made their way through Odestria’s defenses and raided the Imperium’s capital. Furthermore, the raid, specifically centered on Ladvidago city, led to some abductions by the Mandalorians, most notably Koran Orsanov, the future Darth Dajivan and the son of Senator Dariev Orsanov. When the Mandalorians were brutally repelled from Odestria, most notably due to the exploits of the famed Gregori Lebnev, the central government had a hard time getting the trust of the people back. Not only was the center of the Imperium hit by an attack seemingly out of nowhere, but it was done by a group of, what the Odestrians saw as “Barbaric Outsiders.” Furthermore, the Senate took no action on the attack, the Mandalorians fled from Odestrian Space and the Odestrian Legion never made any attempt to pursue them.

The attack not only proved just how weak the Odestrian central government was at the time, but also proved that Odestria was not as strongly protected as the state made it seem. With these revelations, the Fence officially demanded secede from Odestria on the 99th Year of the First Imperium.

The Fence Confederacy secedes
The unilateral declaration of secession from the Fence was unprecedented and the weakened government on Odestria had little time to react to very rapid withdrawal of all Barakian centered businesses from the officially remaining constituencies of the Imperium. Furthermore, there was also a fear that other constituencies would attempt to withdraw from the Imperium following the Fence’s declaration. There was a growing fear on Odestria that, since the Imperium proper had no way of preventing this, there would be no way to stop other constituencies from leaving as well. Still, with no way to officially stop the creation of the Fence Confederacy, the Senate officially acknowledged the independence of the Fence 3 months following the UDI. With this, the new Confederacy began making demands from the weakened Imperium. Odyat, with its Barakian minority, was transferred to the Fence along with several other systems. As these systems lay on the border regions with the rest of the rump Imperium, the central government under Prima Consul Vusiev, had little choice in the matter.

Fortunately, the withdrawal of the Barakian Fence did not spell the end for the Imperium. Rather than withdraw, the Union of Rah’katov, now the second most powerful constituent outside of the Panasian core, furthered its relationship with Odestria by sticking by the central planet. The Hudron Systems soon followed and the Odestrian Imperium was saved from total collapse and disintegration. While this saved the Imperium proper, it only made the situation with the new Confederacy worse. Since the UDI was enacted, the Fence had made numerous claims throughout Odestrian space and their largest unanswered demand was for Alnell, the capital of the Hudron Systems. Since the ending of the Odestra-Nilof war one hundred years prior, Barakians tended to take pride in the amount of work put into making Alnell the encumenopolis it had become. It was for this reason that, even though the planet was on the other side of the Imperium in relation to the Fence, it was still rightfully a Barakian world. It was the demand for Alnell that finally led to the Odestrian government sanctioning the Barakian Fence and declaring the state as illegitimate. As these relations started to rapidly cool, even more so than they already had been, both sides prepared for conflict.

The War
"For all intense and purposes, the Great Imperium War was a race war. Once that made the brutality of the war against Nilof look like a simple squabble between children. Somewhere between the Fence’s secession and the start of the War, the Odestrian government seemed to forget the industrial capabilities of the Barakians."

- K'Krell Tokotov

The Battle of Alnell
The first battle of the Great Imperium War was irrefutably the first battle of Alnell. The battle had occurred 24 Odestrian hours after the Fence ultimatum for Alnell expired. Almost immediately, after the time had expired, the newly minted Fence battle fleet entered the Nell system and decimated the small home fleet that patrolled the system. This new 5th Scourge Fleet, under the command of Admiral Dressiv, quickly overwhelmed the planetary defenses and landed on the surface of the ecumenopolis.

The Fence 5th Fleet quickly destroyed the comm buoys within the Nell systems, cutting off communications with the Imperium. On the ground, the Defense Legions under the Hudron Commander Nichols Dessas, fought valiantly for three standard days against the overwhelming odds. However, with the lack of communications the Alnell Defense Legion was stuck fighting a battle that was already lost. Following another week of fighting, the Alnell Defense Legion surrendered and the planet quickly followed. The first battle of the Great Imperium War was over and the Fence was the winner.

On Odestria and throughout the Imperium news spread of the capture of Alnell. Surprise quickly turned into anger, not against the government but against the Fence. Nichols Dessas, who had managed to escape the battle, returned to Odestria and spoke to the Imperium via the Odestrian News Network. “The First Battle of Alnell was a defeat” He said, “But that’s just the first battle, the second battle is when we take Alnell back.” This speech was said to be the first piece of Great Imperium War propaganda and Dessas’ message was sent throughout the Imperium as a word of hope. The first battle may have ended with a Fence victory, but the war had just begun.

The first year
"It's us or them, and we can't lose. Doing so means the end of, not only the Imperium, but anything that isn't Barakian."

- Emperor Filipon Blezzus II Almost immediately after taking Alnell, the planet was completely annexed by the Fence with Supreme Marshall Friez Zamiliev claiming it to be a “cornerstone event in Barakian history.” The rest of the 5th Fleet met up with two more large Fence battle fleets: the 3rd Scourge Fleet and the 4thVindicator Fleet. In the systems bordering the Union of Rah’Katov and the Panasian Union, two other invasion fleets amassed at Odyat in order to make their way into the Imperium proper.

All major Odestrian worlds ensured to fortify and what ships the Odestrians could spare were formed into patrol fleets. The major concern was the holding of the Imperium Hyperway which the Fence had used in their unprovoked invasion of Alnell. Emperor Blezzus assigned OdestraLegatus, and discrete anti-Hudron bigot, Candorious Nanov as the man to lead the War effort. Given his own prejudice, Nanov directed the OdestraNav to fortify key systems in the Union of Rah’Katov and the Panasian Union in order to prevent further losses in the heartland. In doing this, he left all colonized systems within the Hudron Union with weakened fleets save for Castrum Nitan.

Nitan Campaign begins
With much of the Imperium’s major military holdings secure due to the Nanov Order, much of the Odestrian High Command turned its attention to the southern border with Barakian Space as the most likely front for attack. Since any major hyperlanes from the Nell systems were blocked by Castrum Nitan, a fortified and militarized star system, Nanov had two OdestraNav offensive fleets, the 5th Fleet and the 6th Fleet, also called “Odessan’s Fist” (Panasian: Kishto Odessan), deployed to the Chievvak subsector and the Union of Rah’katov. Defending Castrum Nitan and Vizegrad was the 8th OdesiNav under LegatusNav Harpov and the 9th CastrumNav under LegatusNav Dessik. With this, the hope was that the Fence incursion to Alnell would be sealed off and the bulk of the OdestraNav would be free to engage any major Starfleet the Fence would send into the Imperium proper.

In reality, much of the Nanov plan was doomed to fail from the start. The intel that had been given to Odestrian High Command was filled with numerous inaccuracies and false information. What High Command didn’t know was that the Fence’s planned offensive was a three-pronged attack to be deployed from three separate hyperlanes leading into Odestrian Space. This was known to the Fence as Cassus Blanc (lit. Case White) which was developed in large part by the Fence ''Generalis ''Kemik del-Fance.

At the same time as Fence fleet arrived in the Rah System and the rest of the Union, a massive battle fleet under the command of Admiral Desik del-Kart departed the Nell system and split off to attack both Vizegrad and Castrum Nitan in a simultaneous maneuver. While the fleet at Castrum Nitan held strong against this onslaught, the 8th OdesiNav was almost wiped out within moments, putting Vizegrad into Fence hands. Additionally, with the weakened defenses of many of the Hudron’s planets due to the Nanov order, the Fence fleet swept through the sector, isolating Castrum Nitan by blockading the Panasian Trail. While the blockade effectively left the Castrum without any backup, the Battle of Castrum Nitan progressed for three solid years due to material support from the nearby Nickian Union.