Modern Day

Modern Day encompasses the time from the stabilization of the Republic Credit Economy to present day. This time period, to date, is heavy in freelance labor, piracy, crime, and a slow corruption of the Republic.

4678 | BSC Declares War

The Rhaegarian colony of Vall, widely regarded as the center of the Black Star Collective's military logistics on the planet, was the first site of warfare between the two governments. Republic intel had identified multiple munition storages in the colony, including high-yeild planetary missiles. Due to this, the Republic sent teams of Ultima Centurions to perform strikes against these stores. The Centurion ground forces were met with heavy Black Star Collective (BSC) resistance, leading to losses on both sides. The Centurions were successful in their strike at the end, detonating the BSC's storages and causing most of the colony to be severely damaged. This act of open aggression led to the BSC declaring formal war on the Republic in 4678.

4699 | Rise of Piracy

The planet of Rhaegar, and its surrounding space, became dangerous ground as units of BSC and Republic forces clashed in small-scale skirmishes near daily. During this time, the Republic pulled much of its trade route policing force from their stations to reinforce a growing blockade line separating Rhaegarian space from the rest of the system. Due to this, piracy slowly became more prevalent in the minor trade routes. While all core worlds of the Republic were affected by this, Venrar and Solstice saw the most plentiful impact. Venrar's seclusion from the rest of the system and industrial nature made it a prime target for piracy. Solstice, already host to a large criminal underworld, saw the uptick in crime both on and off-planet. The class system on the planet remained, where the rich made up for a small portion of the population but accounted for most the planet's wealth. This only exacerbated the issue of crime on the planet and in surrounding space.

4710 | Battle at Raun Station

Although the Black Star Collective had declared war in 4678, the first large scale battle did not occur until 4710. Up until this point, beside the battle at Vall, the conflict had largely been a collection of small-scale skirmish fighting. 4710 saw the first organized battle between the Republic and BSC. The Battle at Raun Station saw the 3rd Republic (Repub) Fleet field against the 1st BSC Fleet. The 3rd Repub Fleet consisted of 4 Cruisers, 2 Battleships and 1 Carrier with full 24 Fighter compliment. The 1st BSC Fleet was only able to engage with 2 Cruisers, 1 Battleship, 1 Carrier with a compliment of 22, and 2 Rescue Frigates as an opening attack disabled one of the BSC's Cruisers. The battle was relatively quick, only lasting around an hour, but was the first instance of organized battle between the two sides. The 3rd Repub Fleet had been dispatched in an attempt to break the 1st BSC's hold on Raun Station, a Republic-owned industrial space station. While the 1st BSC Fleet was eventually forced to surrender the station after losing another Cruiser and one of its Rescue Frigates, the BSC used the loss of its rescue craft to generate negative propaganda against the Republic and sway more to their cause.

4740 | Formation of the Premier Academy Program

Due to the increase in military and navy operations throughout Solanis, the Republic quickly began hastening its recruiting methods. Basic training times were cut in half, leading to troops becoming less effective and disciplined in combat. The regular army, referred to as "Regs", suffered as a result of this. Alongside the loss in quality of the Republic Army was the formation of the Premier Academy Program. Many of the Republic's wealthy elite saw the ranks of officers in the army as a status symbol, using their service time to justify political campaigns and senatorial elections. Seeking a way for their offspring to enter into the officer's corps easier, and for the Senate to gain a strong control of the armed forces, the senate passed the Premier Academy Program Bill in 4740. This formed a new academy which required a senator's sponsorship to enter. This Premier Academy did not train its officers as thoroughly as the regular officer's academy, leading to less effective and less competent leaders in the army who were loyal to the senators that sponsored them. The senate mandated this academy for both the army and navy and attempted to mandate it for the Ultima Centurions. The Centurions refused to acknowledge the Premier Academy, and the amount of political and public pushback forced the senate to repeal its mandate on the more elite force. The officers that graduated from this expedited academy quickly gained reputation as inferior to traditionally trained individuals, despite the Premier academy costing more money to train troops and providing them with more expensive and specialized equipment. These officers were henceforth referred to as "Prems" by their under-ranks and those who did not favor the practice.

4748 | Massacre at Frai

With the war between the Black Star Collective and the Republic fully underway, both sides began organized strikes and strategies against one another. In an attempt to gain a foothold on Solstice, the BSC fleet sent two landing vessels to the Free City of Frai. Frai, being one of the planets southernmost settlements, remained largely at the mercy of outlaws and criminals. The populace of the city had repeatedly requested aid from both the Republic and BSC and although the Republic had dispatched a small peacekeeping force consisting of a single Brigade Combat Unit (BCU), they seemed to find little success in dislodging the criminal organizations in the city. The BSC deployed the 8th Infantry Division and 9th Armored Division to the city, vastly outnumbering the Republic forces who quickly withdrew. With the generous number of troops now on-planet, the City of Frai declared themselves under the BSC. In response to this maneuver, the Republic deployed the 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions as well as the 14th Armored Division to the city in an attempt to claim it for the Republic. The Republic forces, led by a Premier graduate by the name of Lt General Declan LeClaire, launched a brutal siege of the city. In what is now referred to as the Massacre at Frai or the Frai Massacre, nearly half the civilian populace was killed in the offensive assault. BSC and Republic forces briefly skirmished before the BSC troops withdrew. While Frai was now under Republic occupation, it still remained outspoken in its support for the BSC. This was compounded by the BSC using the slaughter that occurred to further garner sympathy and support for its cause.

4754 | Freelancers

While the war remained a constant struggle throughout the system, the economy of both the Black Star Collective and Republic remained stable. The need for work trended upwards, with many young men joining the respective armies to fight. Freelance work became mainstream, with those taking up odd jobs coming to be known as Freelancers. By 4754, the first Freelancer Unions were coming to fruition. While not forcing Freelancers to commit to one organization, these Unions worked as a middleman between contractors and Freelancers. Under the new structure, jobs would be submitted to Freelancer Unions in the form of a contract, where a Freelancer in good standing with that union would accept the contract and do the job. The Unions would then take a fee, ranging from 6% to 20%, of the contract's rewards. Freelancers, in return for being in good standing with and working for the Freelancer Unions, received steady work and benefits of being a member of the Unions. These benefits were usually discounted prices at Union-affiliated shops or bases of operations where Freelancers could temporarily stay while working a contract. The work Freelancers partook in varied wildly, from simply moving cargo from one planet to another to providing protection details to outright murder for the less reputable Unions.

4759 | Total Rhaegar defection

In 4759, Republic intelligence learned of a shipyard under construction on Rhaegar. Fearing it would be used by the BSC to manufacture more ships and bolster its fleet; the Republic sent a division of the Ultima Centurions to infiltrate and destroy the facility. The mission itself was a resounding success, the Ultima Centurions proving their superiority as a fighting force. The shipyard that had been destroyed was not currently under BSC control, however, and its destruction caused massive uproar from the Republic sympathizers and neutral parties on the planet. The shipyard had been a civilian asset, and its loss was used as a rallying cry by the BSC. Because of this mistake in intelligence, the entirety of the planet of Rhaegar defected from the Republic. With the entire of the planet supporting the BSC, Republic forces were forced off-world within the year. The BSC had claimed its first planet, as well as developing a foothold on Solstice in the city of New Frai.

4762 | Centurion Premier Academy Program

While the destruction of the shipyard on Rhaegar had massive consequences for the Republic, it was used to further the interests of many senators. One of the major changes that was brought about was the insistence of the Ultima Centurions adopting the Premier Academy Program. Many pro-Premier senators formed the narrative that if the Centurions had operated under the Premiers, things would have turned out differently. Due to this, the Ultima Centurions were forced to accept the formation of the Centurion Premier Academy Program in 4762. While the general public supported this change, this was seen almost universally as a betrayal and a negative outcome by the members of the Centurions both active and inactive. In addition to this change, the Biohazard Containment Corps (BCC) was also forced to adopt the Premier Program, although that was not as popular or active as the work required by the BCC remained more dangerous than normal service.