Author: Dr Jone Brown

To: Department of History 

Subject: The Neopolian Civil War: A War for No Reason

"There are no perpetual allies or enemies, only perpetual interests.", Lord Palmer, CEO of Ramjet, 4434

Background:

In the early years following the Neopolian Renaissance, the asteroid-mining industry was extremely popular in Neopolis space, with semi-nomadic quasi-fiefdoms dubbed "Roidocracies" popping up wherever rocky bodies were found. These states would mine whatever resources they could and sell them to the Neopolian government, retaining an amount of materials to develop equipment and ships for further operations. As Thresher activity grew from the Divide and the Clementinan Wars intensified, these mining entities became progressively more sedentary and territorial, using their private navies to defend their interests and engaging in diplomacy with neighboring factions. The system benefitted the Neopolians for a time, as they now had regions that could raise their own defenses without need for federal intervention, all while maintaining control over these regions by imposing financial dependency upon them. However, there were many, many red flags, and internal conflicts between certain entities were not unheard of, such as the one presented here.

Prelude:

In 4431, the Szuglo System was divided between two roidocracies: the Neopolian Co Construction and Manufacturing (NCCM) and Large Rust Incorporated (LRI). The treaties in the system stated that the NCCM could freely operate within the asteroid belt between Szuglo I and Szlugo II, while LRI could mine everywhere else. The deals were made with great reluctance however, as LRI believed the division as part of a ploy by the NCCM to expand their influence over a concerningly large number of systems. In turn, the NCCM believed LRI was forming an "asteroid cartel" with fellow roidocracy Ramjet to put all other polities out of business by selling dirt cheap minerals to the federal government in increasingly large swaths. Tensions in the system would only grow higher when a previously undiscovered dwarf planet straddling the legal edge of the Szugloan Asteroid Belt was detected. Despite technically being a body in the asteroid belt, LRI quickly claimed the diminutive world, raising their corporate logo on both sides of the dwarf planet's poles as a show of dominance. 

Debates:

Seeing the body technically in NCCM territory being claimed by another power, executives from the NCCM filed a complaint to the Neopolian Federal Government, who arranged a meeting between the NCCM, LRI, and themselves to resolve the dispute. The Neopolian Government could've theoretically adhere to the legal terms of the treaty and cede the dwarf planet to the NCCM, but doing so would increase already circulating rumors of bias to the NCCM. Leaving the status quo, however, would technically be illegal and raise concerns that the federal government is empowering the asteroid cartel. Both parties had very strong claims to the body too, so several proposals for a compromise were given. These proposals included:

• Altering the legal boundary of the asteroid belt in one party's favor in exchange for other compensation. (Rejected due to a lack of clarity.)

• Deciding via a coinflip. (The coin landed on its side.)

• Artificially adjusting the planet's orbit into a semi-elliptical one so it may effectively be shared as it passes through the belt's boundaries on a routine basis. (Deemed a waste of resources.)

• Claiming the world as federal property. (Vigorously rejected by both parties.)

• Blowing the dwarf planet up and seeing which side of the boundary its cracked remnants fall to. (Also rejected by both parties.)

• Making up rumors of dangerous fauna on the planet and establishing a gift shop to sell merchandise there. (Who would run the gift shop?)

The Incident:

As the meeting was going on, LRI miners discovered disproportionately large quantities of Gryganium within the dwarf planet's mantle. Gryganium is an important strategic resource used in the development of superdurable shields and ship hulls. Natural deposits of the substance are extremely rare, occurring in sufficient amounts on a mere 0.0001% of surveyed rocky bodies at seemingly random patterns. Thus, the presence of such a large deposit of such a rare resource has great implications not just for whichever company manages to exploit it, but for the whole of Neopolis in general. The discoverers of the Gryganium attempted to keep their findings a secret to avoid escalation, but were subsequently exposed by an NCCM spy and an overly boastful entrepreneur. The NCCM were furious, and immediately began sending armed mining drones to disrupt mining infrastructure at the dwarf planet. LRI responded by bringing its private armada in to defend its operations, to which the NCCM brought their own in as well, all while the horrified Neopolian bureaucrats could only sit and watch the chaos unfold. This would become known as the Szuglo Incident by observers and historians alike.

Initial Conflict:

The NCCM's primary objective was to solidify its rule on the dwarf planet by capitulating local management and holding off against any reclamation efforts. They began by firing large quantities of high frequency laser rounds at enemy point defense systems so that the follow-up space missile swarms could hit their targets without issue. LRI spaceships anticipated such a move after bribing enemy intel and countered the lasers with the deployment of auxiliary shields and the firing of mass driver rounds to block incoming beams. The NCCM had to resort to launching drone strikes on LRI ships while at the mercy of enemy flak cannons and interception missiles. While the battle in space raged, disgruntled LRI miners who were already upset at being used to violate Neopolian law went on strike and unionized, demanding their safe withdrawal from the disputed planet lest they defect to the NCCM. The LRI reluctantly accepted and pressed for a 30 hour ceasefire to evacuate non-combatants. The ceasefire ended up lasting for only 9 hours after NCCM gun crews succumbed to the temptation of the rogue god Nyrobactus and opened fire on LRI repair drones, thus reiterating the conflict. Economic sanctions by the Neopolian government and peacekeeper incursions did little to stop the conflict in what has been retrospectively described as an example of the sunk cost fallacy by the corporations.

Escalation:

The conflict raged on as a stalemate for a decade as NCCM mercenary crews would slip in and attempt to rush key planetary points, only to be met with pillboxes, minefields, and enemy "air" superiority. Still, most of the fighting was done by drone strikes in space, with each side either intercepting enemy incursions or suffering heavy losses in strategic strikes or antimatter missile swarms. The Neopolian federal government, too preoccupied with the Threshers, could do little but send a skeleton crew of peacekeepers and hope the conflict does not escalate out of the system, which it did when Ramjet attacked. Seeking to seize now-vulnerable systems belonging to the NCCM and LRI, Ramjet abruptly terminated all its deals with LRI and launched an invasion of the two roidocracies. This in turn provoked other smaller roidocracies to cripple Ramjet before they could expand to them, resulting in a massive multi-party free for all civil war on the Neopolian front. The Neopolian federal government had enough of the chaos and ordered all parties to immediately stand down or be excommunicated and commercially isolated. In response, many roidocracies complied, but in a strange twist of events, Ramjet swore allegiance to the Threshers and declared all out war on Neopolis, opening a new front in the Thresher wars. To make matters worse, Ramjet took advantage of its outposts near major Neopolian population centers to launch deadly terror bombing campaigns on civilians, most notably the infamous Venterian Blitz that saw 110 million casualties.

Resolution

By 4448, the Threshers were able to make some gains as a result of the civil war, though Ramjet faced a great many losses after the assassination of its CEO Lord Palmer and mass strikes in many systems. As a result, the corporate state initiated a scorched earth policy, destroying infrastructure before it could be captured by the enemy. Meanwhile, the Szuglo conflict was drawn into a four way slugfest between the NCCM, LRI, Ramjet, and Neopolis-Kyrnomacek allied forces. The NCCM, having a relatively limited claim in the system, was the first to be routed into capitulation, followed by the exhausted LRI forces and the undersupplied Ramjet fighters. Ramjet would surrender in 4451 after being abandoned by the Threshers for mismanaging the conflict and out of fear the roidocracy would turn treasonous in the future as they had done in Neopolis. All in all, the conflict saw roughly 3 billion casualties (mostly from terror bombing and human wave assaults), and the remaining roidocracies were summarily disbanded and reorganized as federal territories. Leaders of loyal roidocracies were rewarded for their service and compensated, while the remaining leaders of Ramjet, LRI and the NCCM were imprisoned, executed, or exiled. Damage done in the war is still being repaired to this day and questions regarding the competence of the Neopolian government continue to plague their society. As for the small dwarf planet where it all started at, the world is now home to a gift shop where plushies and T-shirts of the supposed "Szuglo Stalkers" are distributed.

Parties involved:

• Neopolis

  • Kyrnomacek (expeditionary force)

• Neopolian Co Contruction and Manufacturing (†, initial instigator)

• Large Rust Incorporated (†, initial instigator)

• Ramjet (†)

• Threshers

• Other minor corporations (†)

(† indicates that the individual/faction ceased to exist due to the battle)