Intergalactic Conflict V

Background
In the years since the dissolution of the Empire of Manchukuo, Puyi XIV's meager holdings were vulnerable to attack from the now-powerful United Federation. The seat of the Empire was, in the wake of the Second Battle of Saturn, reduced from the grandiose temples at New Hsinking-3 to the war-torn Klendathu System, home of the fifth and final Bug War. For ten years (3011-3021) there was relative peace in Joseon's Manchu holdings, with Alex Jones focusing on consolidating his rule instead of pursuing conquest. However, with discontent ravaging the innumerous former Manchu systems and talks of rebellion, Jones pursued war.

Since the Fall of New Hsinking-3, the imperial capital as well as the most populous planet, Mukden-2, was located in the Klendathu System. The capital city, home to a dozen unique districts and billions of people, was Puyi City.

For the Aisin Gioro Dynasty, there was further turmoil with the death of Puyi XIV in 3020. The emperor died of unknown causes in the New Mukden Temple in Puyi City, the capital of the Manchu Empire. His son, Kang Aisin Gioro, was crowned Puyi, Fifteenth of His Name, by the Order of Ancients and ascended the Celestial Throne the next day, July 17, 3020. Reeling from the sudden death of his father, the new emperor promised prosperity for the oppressed throughout the galaxy, citing Alex Jones "and his cabal of warmongerers" as the primary cause of their suffering in what was known as the Mukor Crisis.

In late 3020, upon hearing word of the emperor's death, Jones broadcast messages throughout Joseon, detailing plans for expansion and general improvements of life for the people. Jones, however, held great disdain for most citizens of Joseon, claiming them to be undesirables. Believing the frail & now-deceased emperor to be the lynchpin holding together the crippled empire, Jones urged his people on Earth to prepare for war.

The 3021 New Year celebrations in Puyi City were somber, at best. The death of Puyi XIV and renewed worry about Jones brought about a general feeling of discomfort across the sprawling planet. The new emperor, Puyi XV, on the other hand, was seeking opportunity at this time. He had still not gained the trust of much of his father's cabinet, chief of whom being General Aisin Gioro Xiqia, the young emperor's uncle, who actively discredited him in private. The great betrayal of Grand Admiral Nagare Tarou from ten years past was still alive and well in everyone's minds, and it would not be so easily forgotten. Many did not trust the military after the disaster at Saturn. Nevertheless, General Xiqia relented and pledged undying loyalty to the emperor at the threat of being discharged and enslaved. Puyi XV thought that to control the military was to prevent a junta from usurping him; he was determined to consolidate his power.

Trade Decree Alpha-17 was a directive by Puyi XV to increase Manchu presence in the galaxy. Many trade networks were either severed or assimilated by the Federation per the terms of the Truth & Justice Condordat, signed by Puyi XIV and Alex Jones in 3011. The Truth & Justice Concordat guaranteed Federation ownership of multiple major trading lines and hubs throughout the Manchu Militarized & Aetherius Quadrants. Trade Decree Alpha-17 was in direct violation of this, giving Manchu traders complete control of trade nodes between Aetherius & Mukden-2. On top of this, gunships were required to guard trading vessels, causing several skirmishes in deep space, most prominent of which was the Sector 2 Skirmish, which saw a Federation patrol frigate destroyed, leaving over a hundred Federal servicemen dead.

Alex Jones was furious at what he saw as a blatant declaration of war. His advisors urged him to be calm, yet he prevailed over them and went to the Federal Council where a vote for war was cast, citing the trade skirmishes as justification for conquering the Manchu capital. Voting 201-49, the Council went ahead with its declaration of war. On February 1, 3021, Alex Jones declared war on the Empire of Manchukuo for the fifth time in his long lifetime.

War is Declared
News of war shocked those in the imperial capital. Public blame was cast immediately on Puyi XV, who was called a tyrant and openly slandered - a practice vehemently suppressed in the past - being called "belligerent" and "the last emperor of the Manchus." Yet, after issuing the Speech of A Thousand on February 3, many people joined his cause. The emperor managed to convince a sizable amount of people on Mukden-2 that Jones, not himself, was to blame. Still, many millions were loyal to the cause, including many public officials, military commanders, and civilians alike. Puyi hailed this forthcoming conflict as the War for Unity, and resources for the Manchu military was brought from all corners of the empire.

At the beginning of the war, the Manchukuo Navy was weak compared to the Federation. This was heavily bolstered by the Makosian Order, a free state in the upper quadrants of Joseon, who, along with many other states, declared independence from the Manchu Empire in 3011. The new Makosian Leader, Atmad Trakid, was more friendly than his predecessor, a proclaimed tyrant named Fathid Poilt, and as such saw Alex Jones's war as a means to occupy all of Joseon. Their navies brought the numbers of both sides to roughly even.

Alex Jones, on the other hand, was aided by Emperor Swift of the Galactic Hegemony, a historical ally of the Federation and a faction known to play both sides. The emperor swore allegiance to Father Jones in 3002, and promised to send contingents of experienced fighters to Mukden-2 at the onset of this new war. Another ally, the nefarious, opium-peddling Green Gang, which was decisive in the Second Battle of Saturn, refused to participate. Their leader, Du Yuesheng, bided his time to see which side would prove victorious and therefore the more strategical ally.

Jones set out for Joseon in April, entering Warpspace and arriving at New Hsinking-3 with an army of millions by the end of the month. Most in the former imperial capital were hostile to Jones, yet he still impressed thousands from the city to become front-rank troops; essentially, cannon fodder. Along with the Federation troops, Emperor Swift did good on his promise and thousands of stormtroopers arrived to the city, along with hundreds of top-tier fighting vehicles. Swift was not present, so Alex Jones delivered a powerful speech by himself that did little but to further influence his followers to die "for the cause". He concluded his speech with the famous words, "Admiral [Howard], set course for the emperor's palace!"

The Battle of Puyi City Begins
Puyi City, the "City of Ten-Thousand Years", stood tall on a great peninsula jutting into the massive Sea of Souls, the largest body of water on Mukden-2. It was surrounded by miles of lush, thick forests which offered excellent natural protection from land invaders. Most entered and left the city by way of ship, so travel on land was limited. There were, however, several outposts outside of the great city walls which surrounded the city. The "city" itself stretched on for over a hundred kilometers spread through a dozen major districts, and was home to billions.

Outpost Tang, a few kilometers from the city itself, was perhaps the least defended outpost surrounding the city and was therefore the target of the Galactic Hegemony. The Federation, on the other hand, pursued dominance of the planet itself and positioned its navy to attack ships and cut off reinforcements & escapees.

Manchu defenses in space were formidable. With the Makosian Order's massive capital ships, they created a perimeter which protected much of the inner-system. The largest ships in the Manchu fleet, dreadnoughts Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Seonjo, were initially held back from battle, being the most expensive ships in the fleet. On the largest of Mukden-2's moons, Chang-e, were large interorbital anti-ship cannons, more effective in space than in a thicker atmosphere due to better targeting telemetry.

On June 2, four months after Alex Jones's declaration of war, the Empire of Manchukuo found itself in open conflict for a fifth time when ships from the Galactic Hegemony landed troops and armor just outside Puyi City. At the same time, Alex Jones's fleet exited Warpspace and began to engage the few, dispersed research stations in the far reaches of the system; very few military personnel were stationed here, and most were executed by small squads of DTAJ troopers dropped to kill or capture them. Puyi City itself was largely protected from orbital strikes due to the massive array of cannons and efficient shielding technology around some key structures, such as the Aisin Gioro Temple, where the emperor himself resided.

The Fall of Outpost Tang
Outpost Tang was a major military base located outside the city's southernmost entrance, two kilometers from the Sea of Souls. Though prominent and formidable, it was perhaps the least powerful outpost in the great forests. A retinue of around 21,000 soldiers and guardsmen, as well as hundreds of civilian workers, were stationed here. The Galactic Hegemony attacked in the morning hours of June 2, before first light. Immediately, advance troopers felled trees to clear a path, while the armor was deployed to the front. Sentries at Outpost Tang were jarred by the sound of blasters and explosions as the outpost was assaulted. The alarm was raised, letting the rest of the outposts and the city itself of the attack.

The first wave of attackers, who were given the signal by flares, rushed to the outpost's guarded entrance, felling the guards there and planting explosives to blow open the outpost's steel gates. This failed, yet the second wave succeeded and galactic troopers began to enter the premises and slaughter all soldiers at their stations. Civilians were given no quarter and shot down, too. Galactic troopers took heavy casualties and did not secure Outpost Tang until the morning, several hours after it was planned. Over 30,000 died in this first engagement, including nearly every defender. Several top-of-the-line T-77 armored units, the staple of the Hegemony's infantry, were destroyed.

One of the engagement's few Manchu survivors, Lieutenant Tadaki Saito, wrote after the battle:

"We were ambushed before the sun had risen. My commanding officer roused us from out light rest, and we readied out weapons. I had time to adorn my armor before an explosion sent by the bastards struck our bunker. I barely had time to escape our outpost before it was completely overrun. [Many] of my brethren died."

Manchu reinforcements, sent posthaste at the first word of attack, had run into logistical problems and arrived late, fighting a desperate battle in the forest itself to prevent the enemy from expanding their breach along the line. Though this slowed the Galactic Hegemony down and saw many more of their soldiers die, their advance was still stalwart. Some Manchu units fled into the forest, while others fought to the death or were captured; those captured were almost always executed on sight.

Space Battle of Mukden-2: Beginning

While troops from the Galactic Hegemony were establishing a firm foothold planetside, above the planet the Federation's naval forces launched an assault on Mukden-2. What followed was a battle which would persist for the duration of the long and hard battle. Initially, the Federation gained the foothold. The orbital cannons stationed on Mukden-2's moon fired the first shots of the battle, destroying several barges and a light cruiser. Soon, however, these were destroyed after a detachment of DTAJ "Wiking" troopers landed and destroyed them. The Manchu Navy was, at the start of the battle, in hiding on the opposite end of the system, leaving the Makosians as the sole combatant at the front in space.

Atmad Trakid, Archon of the Makosian Order, was leading from the bridge of his flagship, the massive battleship Ponchid Waymark. His formation consisted of several Makosian cruisers, aided by destroyers and other ships.

The Federal line was headed by Admiral Jebadiah Brennon from flagship AJS Alex Jones. A ship of the same Austin-class, AJS Abraham Lincoln, was alongside it. Federal Navy vessels were often touted as the most powerful in the galaxy, yet, to the surprise of the Federal Admiralty, they were quite evenly matched against their foe, a fact which would prolong the battle.

After initial barrages of cannon fire, two Federal cruisers, AJS Pennsylvania & AJS Pluto, were in flames, their crews abandoning ship soon after. Makosian losses were negligible in this opening skirmish. Following this, roughly fourteen hours after Federal Alliance troops landed on Mukden-2, the Manchu Navy finally entered into combat. Flagship Toyotomi Hideyoshi was immediately struck with a heavy barrage of Federal cannon fire, while squadrons of hostile fighter craft penetrated the fleet's shields and peppered the vessels with phaser fire. Anti-aircraft fire on these larger Manchu ships were notoriously unreliable, so counter-craft were launched from the dreadnought Tokugawa Ieyasu.

General Ma Zhanshan was on the Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and ordered the ship to fall out of line for emergency repairs. The two remaining capital ships, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Seonjo, gave the wounded ship shield cover while smaller Manchu vessels advanced to launch ion-torpedo attacks on the Federal line. Most of these torpedoes missed, but one struck the AJS Kyoto, a destroyer carrying much of the munitions destined for use in the forthcoming Federal landing. The torpedo, fired from an unspecified Manchu ship, struck amidships, near the core reactor, causing a flash rapidly spreading throughout the ship, ending in a massive explosion. The Kyoto's blast was so great that the ship next to it, the heavy cruiser AJS Washington, was severely crippled, several of her airlocks failing with hundreds of casualties. It is estimated only four servicemen out of over two thousand survived the AJS Kyoto explosion.

For the opening of the Space Battle of Puyi City, thousands had already died and several experience ships were destroyed. The Manchu Navy's flagship was crippled, yet the Federation perhaps suffered worse as the loss of a valuable munitions ship caused their invasion to be delayed by several hours, affording the Manchus invaluable time to prepare.

However, later on, the Federation received reinforcements from elements of the Royal Navy of the Galactic Hegemony, resulting in the retreat of Allied forces and allowing the Federation's invasion to proceed.

The Advance into Puyi City
General Aisin Gioro Xiqia, the man who had chastised the emperor in the years past, was tasked with commanding the defense of Puyi City. Though his loyalties were often questioned, one doubtless fact was his impressive record commanding soldiers. At 62 years old, the brother of Puyi XIV had been in service with Manchu Ground Forces Command for over two decades.

On the other side, the Galactic Hegemony's planetside forces were headed by Grand Proctor Erich Hosidius, a man whose undying loyalty to Emperor Swift had earned him a place on the Grand Council, as well as command of an army named after him - Army Group Hosidius. After securing Outpost Tang and executing any and all captured enemies, the gates into the city were laid out before the Grand Proctor.