Intergalactic Conflict I

Overview
Intergalactic Conflict I, often referred to as "The First Battle of Saturn", officially began in 2212 when Alex Jones launched his first campaign to destroy the Empire of Manchukuo. The conflict pitted the combined forces of Earth against the Manchurian Armed Forces. New Tokyo, the capital of the Manchukuo Empire located on Saturn's great moon Titan, saw most of the fighting, yet hostilities began at Venus. Ultimately, the Empire of Manchukuo was defeated and Alex Jones exercised complete hegemony over the entirety of the Sol System. IGC: I also began the Manchu colonization of Joseon, which ended over a century later.

Background
Initially, the Empire of Manchukuo was a prosperous state on Earth which enjoyed a booming economy coupled with worldwide recognition. The Empire was a haven for scientists and intellectuals and were pioneers of early space technology. Much of what is known about ancient Manchukuo has been lost to time due to the purging of information by the Federation, so much of what is known consists mostly of oral histories & artifacts, such as weapons, sarcophagi, etc.

On the other side of the world, the United Federation, which had been gathering its strength over the course of nearly a century, held dreams of conquest and prosperity to, according to their own philosophy, transcend the heavens. The machinations of its charismatic, brilliant, and hitherto only leader in nearly nine centuries, Father Jones, were seemingly endless. Harland Sanders, a now biblical-like character in Federal histories, was defeated in the American Civil War in 1862. Following this, his regime had reorganized in South America in what was then the country Chile, wherein they resided for nearly four decades.

At the turn of the 20th century, Harland Sanders died, aged 112, and in his place, a stout, sharp man, Augustus Pinochet, took his place. Pinochet oversaw massive military reforms in the nation and lead several incredibly successful military expeditions in South America. In 1922, however, Pinochet was assassinated and his right-hand man, Alex Jones, was named both president and chancellor of Grand Chile. A popular rumor which today is all-but confirmed, is that Jones himself had Pinochet killed to assume power.

Immediately, Jones, just like his predecessor, overhauled and modernized the military, especially the Grand Fleet of Chile. Jones pursued a political doctrine consisting of assertiveness and brandishing his might, abandoning the South American-oriented policies of his predecessor and focusing on expanding his influence overseas.

In 1940, his might would be tested when the Second World War began in Old Europa. A conglomerate of allied powers fought the First Triumvirate consisting of the Kingdom of Italy, the Empire of Japan, and the Empire of Manchukuo. In the first months, the Kingdom of Italy capitulated, yet the eastern powers fought on for two more years. Despite Manchukuo being the major power in the region, they were overwhelmed.

Shortly after a massively successful American-Chilean invasion of Japan, the allies focused their efforts on Manchukuo, eventually leading to the Great Exodus - the beginning of Manchu galactic exploration - where hundreds of thousands of people boarded several ships in the ancient Manchu capital of Mukden and left for the colony on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Much of what is known about how the empire reached such an advanced state is lost, however it was reported by the allies after the war that by using a newly discovered "super-chemical", known as VMF-89, or more commonly as "Vitamin Mineral Fusion", they were able to create and fuel their massive craft. It is thought that experiments for this had been ongoing for decades in secret.

After this, Chile, which Alex Jones christened as the United American Federation, expanded its borders to encompass all American territory and, using captured Manchu plans and experiments, too entered into the space age. The United American Federation, or UAF, became the foremost power in the world, crushing its former allies in a conflict launched to check Alex Jones's power in 1950 (War for Humanity, 1950-55). This worked only to further engender Jones's people to his cause. A clever combination of rigged democracy, propaganda, policing & ultra-nationalism over several years created an army of fanatics dedicated to preserving the UAF. In 1956, Jones declared himself dictator for life, and abandoned the democratic process except for his own council.

Harvesting Vitamin Mineral Fusion and capturing the rugged Manchu spacecraft schematics only added to the era of pure prosperity that the UAF enjoyed.

Though Jones and his loyal followers were dedicated to expansion, the next sixty years following the War for Humanity were relatively peaceful. Initially, the Manchurian peoples struggled with life on Titan, despite creating many terradomes to house life, along with attempts to terraform much of the world. Nevertheless, two major cities were founded; New Manchukuo & New Tokyo, the latter being the chosen capital due to its position within the primary terradome, J-2.

Territory Disputes
The sixty-year peace between the Empire of Manchukuo and the United American Federation came to an end in 2112.

By this time, Jones's regime was not the only left on Earth. Many European powers persisted, and some formed their own anti-Jonesian factions. Struggling with this, aswell as riots in his own empire, to restore the prestige of his regime Jones sought to colonize the solar system. Not only would this be a great achievement, but it could unite his people for a common cause.

It had been two centuries since the end of the Second World War, yet the UAF had fallen behind in spacefaring technology compared to their European and Manchu counterparts, due in part to discontent at home. The Manchus, specifically, were beginning to prosper. Initially, many were skeptical of leaving the planet, but were swayed by their charismatic and devout leader, the Esteemed Emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi I. After their defeat, many Manchus protested having left Earth, but one event, deemed the Necessary and Proper Acts, saw millions slaughtered or put into forced-labor camps in Asia; this, in turn, bolstered support for colonization.

With the Manchurians based on Titan, Jones sought Venus as the "next great step for humanity." Venus hadn't been colonized due to its inhospitable nature, which could kill someone in less than a second. However, Jones pictured Venus as a great beast to conquer in the name of Earth and the regime, and so funded several expeditions. Unbeknownst to him or anyone in his council, Puyi I was already establishing subterranean facilities on Venus, which Earthen satellites saw months after the Venusian Initiative had begun. The Manchu constructions had begun only a few years before, but Manchu scientists had already made great progress.

Puyi I was furious upon learning of Jones's initative, and publicly criticized him for encroaching upon what he called, "sovereign territory of the Celestial Empire..." It had taken Puyi I over a century to establish a prosperous and firm colony on Titan, and using these learned techniques, intended to do the same with the green planet. Jones, on the other hand, did not cease his actions, nor did he address the Emperor personally, leading the ladder to dispatch fast-action warships, along with a dreadnought, to Venus in order to assert dominance over Jones. Jones, still not publicly replying to these, secretly sent ships of his own to the planet, which would eventually erupt in open fighting.

Ships
Though it has been established that the UAF had fallen behind in the so-called "second space race", this is not indicative of their actual strength; in actuality, having the upper hand in terms of resources compared to the rest of the planet, and having harvested VMF-89, meant that Jones had built a formidable fleet of warships capable of spacefaring over a century. Many were smaller ships, capable of fast attacking or scouting, but he possessed a few larger ships, cruisers and battleships, which were massive and impressive, both in looks and combat potential. When the first warship was christened, dubbed AJS Alex Jones, Jones himself declared a new era of prosperity for the people of his regime.

On the other hand, Puyi I and his empire had struggled with ship construction. Titan had yielded a plethora of natural resources, but actual shipyards and shipbuilding occurred off-world, in large satellite bases orbiting Saturn; this lead to longer construction times and often unreliable designs. Nevertheless, several vessels were completed, including a few imposing vessels which were estimated to trump the largest federal vessel. The emperor himself was pleased with the progress, and estimated that by 2150, their fleet would fully match the UAF.

By and large, the UAF had the edge in manpower and strength, and key victories early in the conflict displayed this superiority.

Venus
As mentioned, the Manchurian government had well-established research bases on Venus. The harsh green planet yielded a motherlode of natural resources which contributed to further societal and military advancements in the years leading up to 2112. Alex Jones sought control of Venus as part of an initiative to subvert Manchu influence of the inner solar system and force them back past the Asteroid Belt.

Using the feigned notion of ignorance, Jones demanded Puyi I abandon his empire's endeavors on Venus. This, however, was rightly interpreted as a mere bullying tactic to prevent the Manchus from necessary natural resources; thus, the emperor stood his ground on the matter. Such postulating immensely angered Jones, who pressed a non-existent claim over the planet, and threatened action. Puyi I nevertheless refused to budge, and threatened to dispatch an armed expedition to protect the Venutian scientists. Both, eventually, made good of their promises and their ships departed for the planet, both intent on control.

On Earth, Jones held an enormous rally in the capitol city of Austin, Texas, wherein hundreds of millions either attended or watched coverage of. Though the content of the rally has numerous interpretations depending on the source, the main takeaway was that the people of Earth needed to ready themselves for a war against their "greatest foe".

War Begins
After more than a week of tensions being at a breaking point, the pot boiled over when a gunnery officer on a Manchu warship activated its weapons systems, sending a wave of alerts over the Federal fleet, whereupon they returned fire. The federal vessel AJS Franklin Pierce fired the first shots, at 11:30 Local Earth Time, January 22, 2212, focusing its ion phaser cannons on the largest opposing ship, the Manchu dreadnought Tokugawa Ieyasu. Immediately, both forces retaliated with incredible force. The Tokugawa Ieyasu was hit astern, disabling one of her engine compartment and deactivating the ship's life support. Its captain, Po Jiang, who tried to broker a truce between the two forces, was killed in this first barrage after a fire broke out in the helm and engulfed the captain and many of his pilots.

With the Manchu flagship crippled so early, the Federation quickly assumed control of the regions surrounding Venus. With fires spreading on board the Tokugawa Ieyasu, it was forced to retreat. Activating her warp drive, the ship, now commanded by its highest surviving officer, 2nd Officer Lu, headed back to Titan. In total, several hundred sailors were killed, and the Manchu military cabinet was stunned. No one had truly expected fighting to break out at Venus of all places.

Puyi I was not notified of the skirmish until after the Tokugawa Ieyasu had retreated, and he was furious. The Emperor lashed out at those aside him, decrying their "weakling" attempts to deescalate the situation. By and large, most of the Emperor's cabinet had supported him, including his top generals, Zhanshan & Xiqia, respectively. However, besides them, bureaucrats had distrusted the Emperor and had secretly talked down on His Grace, labeling his attempts at peace as being weak and pointless. After the Emperor's short meltdown, he put military power in the hands of General Ma Zhanshan, a career officer in his mid-40s who was incredibly knowledgeable in both history and tactics.

General Zhanshan contacted 2nd Officer Lu on the Tokugawa Ieyasu and demanded a personal status report. Usually, these were automated and logged into the ship's computer, but the general wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. 2nd Officer Lu, a shaky man who hadn't dully processed the events which had just transpired, was not on the bridge when it was hit, but instead in the gunnery control offices, located several units below where Captain Jiang had died. He informed General Zhanshan that the captain had tried to communicate with the federal ships, but they had ignored their pleas, and the ship was attacked with its shields at low power while awaiting a reply.

Zhanshan was embarrassed of the Navy's performance in the skirmish. Even though it had hardly lasted twenty minutes, the nation's flagship was effectively out of commission and, perhaps even worse, the nation was caught by surprise. He ended his transmission with the officer and immediately directed his staff to prepare general mobilization of the fleets and armies. By this point, an informal war had begun, and the Empire of Manchukuo readied itself for combat.

Venus
Throughout this short engagement, radio transmissions between Venus and Titan were continuous, but were severed when the Federation took control. Manchu scientists and soldiers on the ground had tightly secured their outposts, most of which were underground due to the intense pressure and temperatures of the surface. After the fleets had retreated, those on Venus were left stranded, their nation unable to help. Roughly two thousand personnel were stationed on Venus at the time of the invasion.

The Federation was no stranger to high pressure environments. Actually, their troops had conducted some limited exercises on Venus in the years before the Manchurians established bases there. Other than the green planet, several moons in the solar system had been utilized for both research and live drills. As such, the armor worn by most Federal troops had incredible adaptability in such intense environments. Only a few hours after the battle had ended, federal troops were on the ground, and assaulting the research outposts and small military establishments planetside. By the end of the day, all had been captured, and most were subsequently executed, save some who were sent back to Earth as prisoners.

General Zhanshan declared Venus lost at noon on January 24, 2212.