| 460 BD - 0012 AD |
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| The Siege of Indelible, 402 BD. |
The Great War (date - date), also known as the War, was a system-wide conflict between three primary factions: the Calderians, the Tavaarans, and the Rhaegarians. Fighting mainly took place on Tavaari and Solstice, as well as on the moon Indelible and open space surrounding Calderia, Tavaari, Venrar, and Rhaegar. Combat during the early stages of the war were characterized by starship skirmishes, capital ship battles, planet-side ground strikes, and trench warfare. Towards the end of the war the tactics had shifted drastically to guerilla warfare, ambush tactics, scorched earth policies, and the system's first chemical weapons deployments. The Great War remains the deadliest conflict in Solanis history, with an estimate 24 trillion dead, 22 trillion wounded, and 7 million missing.
Background
Arms Race
Economic and industrial strength continued to rapidly expand post 470 BD. The Calderian moon Indelible became the site for Calderia's first military shipyard, Ultima 2. The shipyard began production on a fleet of battle-ready ships while Calderia cited a need to ensure the safety of its populace. In response to this, both Tavaari and Rhaegar formed their own planet-side shipyards and began production of ships. Venrar, having previously been the largest manufacturer of starships, began to see the negative economic results of the three other poweres begining local manufacuring.
Venrar union unrest
The years prior to 460 BD were marked by a series of crises in the mines and factories of Venrar. Unsafe living and working conditions, extreme work hours, and unfair payment practices caused the formation of worker's unions throughout Venrar. These unions were met with pushback from the corporations. This strife led to strikes and protests, with some turning to violence between protestors and corporation-hired mercenaries. Eventually, as the production began to slow and the other planets began to nice the negative economic reprocussions, the corporations and unions fell into an uneasy workflow and production resumed.