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| First Human-Tevarin War | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Interspecies War | |
| Dates | Nov or Dec 2541 - 2546 (4 years) | |
| Theaters | Idris, Elysium, Centauri, Ferron | |
| Participants | United Planets of Earth Tevarin Sovereignty |
|
| Leaders | Trevor Borland (UPE) Unnamed (Tevarin Sovereignty) |
|
| Losses | 70,000 KIA Many MIA |
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| Result | Human Victory
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The First Human-Tevarin War was an interstellar conflict between the United Planets of Earth and the Tevarin Sovereignty, which lasted between 2542 and 2546 (four years). It was a turning point in human history and the catalyst for major events, including the founding of the UEE.[1] It would also define the downtrodden character of modern Tevarin.[citation needed]
Prelude
First Contact (2541)
On the morning of November 15, 2541, Dr. Kellar Lench discovered the Elysium system and witnessed signs of the Tevarin civilization on the fourth planet, Kaleeth. Believing that it should be government dignitaries and diplomats that make first contact, his only further action was to deploy a research drone to the planet. However he lost contact with the drone. His scans showed several ships heading towards him, and so he returned to Centauri to avoid causing an incident.
"On Elysium IV, there were an indigenous species calling themselves the Tevarin. Though sentient and intelligent, they have not evolved to our level technologically. Recommend that we establish contact and bring them into the UPE. It is a wonderful opportunity to elevate the species into the modern era."
Dr. Kellar Lench's official assessment of the Tevarin, Nov. 15, 2541 19:19 EST[2][3]
War declaration (2541)
'Shortly' after the First contact, Tevarin forces declared war on Humanity.[2][4]
Motives
The Galactapedia notes that the overpopulation in the UPE and Tevarin territories were a factor for the war.[4] Another factor was the Tevarin culture at this time. It was based on a militaristic way of life and code, called Rijora.
Course of the war
Capture of Idris IV (2542)
Idris IV was soon captured by the Tevarin, the planet suffering a series of orbital bombardments. Though most of the population fled before the Tevarin finally took the planet, a few hundred stayed. Rachel Locke, a local with no military training, organized the survivors for increasingly daring strikes to disrupt the Tevarin occupiers. The group became known as the Greys.
At the central plaza of Tanys (Now called Lost Quad), the Greys were almost extinguished. A raid on what would become the Tevarin planetary defense system went drastically wrong. Rachel Locke's second-in-command, Alanna Shaw, and a large number of Greys were captured, executed and displayed in the plaza to try and demoralize the remaining Greys from further operations. It did not have the desired effect.[5]
First Invictus Launch Week
The first Invictus Launch Week happend on October 12 of 2542, bringing new recruits to Invictus Base on Mars. In 2581, Imperator Ivar Messer officially formalizes Invictus as a government-recognized yearly event.
Death of Ita Hurston
Ita Hurston, a Chief Warrant Officer for the Advanced Special Operations of the United Planets of Earth Navy, was killed in service in 2542.[6]
Operation Nemesis
Planning (2544-08)
The Tevarin War had raged into its second year. Although the United Planets of Earth had managed to claim some decisive victories, the Tevarin were unrelenting, gaining ground in Centauri system and pushing UPE forces as far back as Ferron system.
By late August 2544 SET, High General Trevor Borland had grown impatient. In a strategy meeting with his advisers, he expressed a fear that by letting the battle lines equalize, he could see both sides becoming complacent and settling into a war of attrition. He wanted "to unbalance the Tevarin; to challenge their expectations of how we had been engaging them in warfare." Over the next week, Borland, High Command and his advisers sketched out the skeletal framework of what would become Operation Nemesis.
Battle of Idris IV (2544-09-30[7])
UPE forces attempted to take back Idris IV. The Greys provided ground-side intelligence for the attack. This operation went down in history as the Battle of Idris IV.[5]
As the battle against the Tevarin stepped into high gear, all non-essential projects were canceled in order to focus on expanding the war effort and strengthening the Naval fleet; the terraformation of Tayac was one of the projects included in the cutbacks.[8]
Colonel Ivar Messer, a brilliant and ruthless strategist, distinguished himself in the battle. He quickly became the pride of the military and the face of the War.[1]
The victory at Idris IV galvanized the populace, drove recruitment rates up, and built on the momentum to push further into the Tevarin systems.[7]
The Bombing Run (2544-10-11)
After the beginning of the First Tevarin War, the United Times/Tribune decided to embed Renzo Oui with the 71st Carrier Wing to provide exclusive material on this historical conflict. For over two years, Renzo chronicled the successes and struggles, both personal and professional, of a Naval carrier and its pilots, bringing the realities of front line combat and military life to the public.
For his award-winning series, Renzo would accompany the pilots of the 391st Squadron on torpedo runs against Tevarin capital ships, but it was this image (infobox image) that would become one of his most remembered. Captured during Operation Nemesis, the Retaliators of the 391st were tasked with a daring run on one of the Tevarin's devastating planetary defense systems that were keeping the UPE Navy at bay. This shot, taken remotely via Renzo's camera, captures the moment where Alpha Flight opened fire. It has since been regarded as one of the iconic images of the war.
Frontlines
Human Front
The UPE Army managed to briefly seize the public consciousness during this period, when just as many battles took place across shattered landscapes than did in space. The Marines were at this time kept under the umbrella of the Army's command structure.[9]
Fueled by the never-ending stream of stories and Vids of daring pilots, recruits flocked to the Navy's stations to sign up. Even before the draft, the Navy's enlistment numbers had barely dipped.[9]
Squadron 42 was founded during the First Tevarin War.[10]
As the war began to swell, the military feared that the conflict in the 'West' might embolden a Xi'an attack in the 'East' and thus instituted a draft.[2]
Aegis grew to prominence as a manufacturer of military spacecraft during the First Tevarin War. Favored by Ivar Messer, their orbital bombers grew to public prominence after his famous victory on Idris IV.[11]
During the war, Persei-based UPARQ developed massive magnetic coils designed to weaponize solar electromagnetic radiation. However, the project was a failure.[12]
Tevarin Front
The Naulle, highly trained Tevarin infiltrators and saboteurs, were known to deploy troops stealthily onto the hull of the massive and seemingly secure capital ships. They would breach the ships and wreak havoc inside. There are several documented cases where a Tevarin dropship loaded with Naulle successfully took down an entire Naval capital ship.
The fear of Naulle loomed over every UPE ship throughout the war. Whispers of Naulle ferocity drove captains to double, even triple their guard even while flying through 'secure' space.
The Naulle made use of an infamous boarding craft known as the Prowler. Esperia now offer a reproduction model.[13][14]
Victory (2546)
The First Human-Tevarin War concluded with a human victory, with the Tevarin surrendering to the UPE in 2546. Humanity captured, colonized and renamed the planet of Kaleeth to Elysium IV (modern day Jalan).[15]
Ivar Messer, now promoted to commander, brought the captured Tevarin leader to the UPE floor. With this act, the war was unequivocally ended.[1]
Aftermath
Messer Era and the United Empire of Earth (2546)
Ivar Messer rode the popularity of his victory to become High-General. Claiming the Tribunal to be an outdated system, and cultivating a fear of the Xi'an, Messer proposed the creation of a new single office with the title of Prime Citizen. Upon election as the first (and last) Prime Citizen, it wasn't long before he restructured the government into the new United Empire of Earth (UEE) and anointed himself Imperator, ushering in an age of unprecedented expansion and colonization.[1]
Idris IV becomes Locke (2546)
Idris IV was officially recognized within the UEE. The Governors Council named the planet after famous freedom fighter Rachel Locke.[5]
Tevarin Assimilation into UEE
The displaced Tevarin populace were assimilated, willingly or not, into the culture of their conquerors. Initially forbidden from living on the planet they evolved on, many cite that frustration as being one of the main factors in Corath'Thal's call to arms that led to the Second Tevarin War.[15]
Meanwhile the Tevarin military was scattered to the far corners of the universe. Confident in our absolute victory, we considered the Tevarin threat completely neutralized. We were however, wrong.[10]
The Tevarin also left the Kabal system at this time, though it had not yet been discovered by the UEE.[16][17]
Prowler Technology
The study and use of the Prowler's Airshields unlocked vast technological advances in human development, many of which are still in daily usage today.[18]
Founding of UEE Marines (2558)
A noteworthy 2558 Quantum Obelisk Computer analysis of infantry actions during the First Tevarin War resulted in a flurry of changes to organization and tactics, chief among them the need to disassociate the ASO from the Army's command hierarchy. The ASO was reorganized into the core of a third spatial service. From this point on, the Marines would act fully independently of the Army. A number of smaller Navy organizations, including the Space Combat Team and the Naval Future Weapons Office, were rolled into the newly-christened UPE Marines.[19]
In Media
Requiem Past, shut out of award consideration due to a loophole regarding the release structure, is a controversial film about the First Human-Tevarin War and its aftermath that has been fiercely debated in the media for its bleak depiction of humanity's intentions and actions.[20]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
Writers Guide: Part Two. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2541: Awfully Crowded in My Sky. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ Discovered: The Letters of Kellar Lench. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Galactapedia: First Tevarin War, acc. 2020-05-20
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Observist: Tanys, Locke, Idris. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ Galactapedia: Ita Hurston. Galactapedia. Retrieved 2022-08-17
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 This Day in History: The Battle of Idris IV. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ Galactic Guide: Tayac System
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Writers Guide: Part One. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 This Day in History: Battle for Centauri. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ Writers Guide: Part Four. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ Galactic Guide: Banshee System. Transmission - Comm-Link
- ↑ Letter From the Chairman: $61m. Transmission - Comm-Link
- ↑ Esperia Prowler Manual v2
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Terra Gazette: A Call to Service. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ News Update: Advocacy Archive: User #354789JH_432. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ Letter From the Chairman: $40m. Transmission - Comm-Link
- ↑ Esperia Prowler Manual v2
- ↑ Jump Point: UEE Marines. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link
- ↑ Showdown: Tertius/Quickfire. Spectrum Dispatch - Comm-Link