Ultimatum
Duranium Lord
Alright while I think it over I will be putting out the next portions as best I can.
The Nissimus decided to put more of their resources into producing flight suits, as the larger ships would require more time and focused abilities to build in numbers required. Even without the larger real ships, which had not actually been tested against the Kaipo as yet, their suits were sufficient to hold back their enemies. However, not all their men could be given suits, they had to have other forms of weapons. Thus, they continued research into rifles and other ranged weapons. So far they were still trying to avoid getting close to the Kaipo, since the Kaipo’s tech still revolved around melee weaponry.
The Nissimus soon found that the peace that had been caused by the Imperial invasion was faltering. There was no united front for all Nissimus to work against, instead there was a return of the jarring differences between cities. They didn’t want or expect the offworlders to return, so they focused on their own planet. They began verbally attacking each other, working on battle platforms with new vigor in the hopes to destroy their remembered enemies. The smaller cities suddenly found that they were no longer at a disadvantage, they the only difference between themselves and the larger cities was population and that could be overcome.
Interim
At this time, the Kaipo once more found their way into history, though not from their own works. The Nissimus of the first city returned to their outposts to find that they were already occupied. They found that the Kaipo had moved in and had learned how to utilize the majority of the tech left behind. It was a strange realization that the Kaipo could be smarter than originally anticipated. The Nissimus attempted to relearn the language, while beginning to meet with the Kaipo again. The Kaipo had gone through a number of generations naturally while the Nissimus had been at war. They only had legends of what the Nissimus were and the Kaipo had stopped believing in their existence, having had to focus on their own survival in the winter. The Nissimus had been through a number of generations, but only due to the war.
The Kaipo found the rediscovery of the Nissimus to be a surprise. They weren’t certain what this meant, but they were willing to accept the people and to try and work with them. They cooperated, however they were not overly trusting. They decided to try and learn more of these strange people. It was at this point that the first Great Leader of the Kaipo arose. Largon was a Voln who had been the first sentient being on planet to kill a Maelstrom. By doing so he had proven himself to be the strongest Kaipo and was granted leadership.
Largon’s most well-known contribution to Kaipo society was the institution of the belief that the strongest would always lead the weaker, that the weaker would serve the stronger until such a time as the weaker became the stronger. He also began the belief that the Voln were the superior Kaipo and that the other subspecies were not as strong or good as the Voln. This did not radically change the Kaipo, as many would like to make it sound. This was how the Kaipo had been living for quite some time but it was only now that the ideologies were firmly planted by the ruler. This move put Largon into a very secure position as the majority of the Kaipo were Voln. He would rule for ten years before dyeing at the hands of the second Maelstrom he attempted to kill.
[SIZE=11pt]This left the Kaipo without leader and open to manipulation from the outside. Due to the fact that no Kaipo attempted to prove themselves superior, the Nissimus saw an opportunity to gain control and to learn more of this strange species. The Kaipo however wanted only peace and to take time to mourn their lost leader so they returned the outposts and most of the Kaipo moved back into the main camp and up into the mountain. The Nissimus only reacted to the withdrawn nature of the Kaipo by pressing for more information. They didn’t truly understand the Kaipo government style and did not comprehend that they were causing trouble. Their unwillingness to leave the Kaipo alone severely angered the winged men. They took it personally and the first things to suffer were the relations. They realized too late what they had accomplished. They had succeeded in igniting the first Interspecies War.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Interspecies War[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
This war took place on the plateau near the first city all the way into the forests and hills near the Kaipo living region. The second city of Nissimus never entered this conflict, too busy with their own affairs and didn’t want to deal with the first city at this time. The first aggressor in the war was the Kaipo who attacked an outpost. However, they were retaliating to a move that the outpost commander had made into the camp. The commander had taken a number of his troops and questioned the populace and took samples of Kaipo technology which was very primitive in Nissimus standards. The Kaipo responded with a full out attack on the outpost, capturing it easily. They executed the command and sent the men back to the Nissimus.
This action caused the leaders of the Nissimus to send a response force to recapture the outpost and to teach the Kaipo to not attack a Nissimus facility. The men sent were lightly armed, not expecting much trouble. They even sent a message ahead of them to warn the Kaipo of the impending attack, hoping to intimidate them to such a degree that the Kaipo would leave without a fight. This was a mistake as would be expected. The Kaipo were a greater force than the Nissimus had anticipated and proved themselves in battle. The Nissimus force was beaten soundly and the Kaipo proved their strength. The Kaipo had tactics that counterbalances the Nissimus’ advanced technology. On top of this the Kaipo still had a number of the old Nissimus rifles. It became something of a fearful tale among the Nissimus soldiers to never let a Kaipo within arm’s reach. The short story went that the Kaipo would grab their victim and fly them high before dropping them and feasting on the remains. The first part of this story was a true tactic, but the rest could be considered untrustworthy.
The Nissimus responded with more force and having their scientists work on flight based technology. That was the greatest advantage that the Kaipo had their ability to fly and their high maneuverability in the air. This made it difficult to shoot them and gave them the advantage of attacking from above unexpectedly. The Nissimus attempts at such were at this point less than satisfactory. Most of the suits either failed to lift off or were too slow that the Kaipo could knock them out of the air easily. The Nissimus quickly decided to focus on anti-aerial weaponry instead of figuring out how to fly. They never gave up on the possibility of flightsuits however and simply changed their focus.
The first part of the war was burning down, the Nissimus had reclaimed their outpost and had made the Kaipo that had held it die. This wasn’t enough though. The leaders of the city were very upset by this time, almost five standard years of war and they had little to show for it. Their inability to make the Kaipo pay for the damage done was infuriating. At last they decided to try and play a ditch battle. They hoped the utterly crush the Kaipo, maybe even drive them extinct.
When the Nissimus attacked the Kaipo camp it was a slaughter for both sides. The Kaipo lost many people before the civilians could be moved, however the deaths of women and children only drove their warriors further. The Kaipo fought with such viciousness that the Nissimus lost more than they killed. The Nissimus soldiers at that point didn’t have the will to kill innocents as they were thought of. For them there wasn’t dignity of honor in killing those that couldn’t defend themselves. Even so, the female Kaipo did their part to fight back the Nissimus, joining the men and showing themselves to be every bit as strong as their male counterparts.
At this point the war seemed to end, in actuality it only fell into a slumber. Neither side really gave up hostility, instead keeping forces as guards to watch against possible invasions. The Nissimus during this time continued, working on anti-air weaponry. They had recently made another technological advancement, the computer. Theirs was a very primitive and cumbersome computer, but it automated things that would otherwise require the Nissimus to do. They combined the two things and came up with an automated turret that would target flying enemies and shoot them down with larger projectiles than their rifles. They had begun to prepare for its first field test, they would have lifesize dummies launched into the air and see if the computer could identify them. The war could have ended at this point, had an accident not occurred.
The Kaipo in the meantime were still enjoying life as much they could and trying to survive. They tried to forget their very irritating neighbor and went about their lives. The Kaipo began to even more enjoy flying over the mountains and forests. The rush of wind and ground beneath them was exhilarating. This would however lead to the restart of the war. A few Kaipo were flying over a patch of forest further from the mountain than usual when they came across the anti-air testing ground. They didn’t know what it was and the Nissimus didn’t know they were there until they brought the computer online and by then it was too late. The turrets shredded through all but one of the Kaipo. The survivor, an Ukus, went back to the mountains telling of the aggression of their enemies the Nissimus.
When the Kaipo leader of the time went to the Nissimus to ask for a justification the Nissimus responded that it was a very unfortunate accident and that they wouldn’t allow it to happen again. The Nissimus were certain of the repercussions and were already preparing the anti-aerial cannons to be sent into the field. However, before they could move the prototype cannon, the Kaipo attacked. The facility was only lightly manned and was not prepared for the dozens of Kaipo that attacked. The facility was burned to the ground, but not before the Kaipo stole a number of the Nissimus’ new weaponry and destroying the anti-air gun.
This attack led to a drastic change in the war. The Nissimus saw the attack as an attempt to remove the weapon that would nullify their flight based advantage. The Kaipo had not foreseen this assumption; their attack had solely been revenge for their fallen and to show that their people would not die without being paid for. The Nissimus responded by attacking the mountain village with ground forces while they furthered their development on anti-aerial weapons.
The initial attack of ground forces found stragglers who had been making their way up the mountain. Because the Nissimus had separated into small groups in the hopes of catching their enemies unawares, the Kaipo were able to defeat some of the enemy while they retreated. It was during one of these skirmishes that the second great leader of the Kaipo arose. Karpoth had defeated an entire enemy group with only two men as allies. He returned to the mountain village and proclaimed himself leader. He was accepted with the proof and he brought the Kaipo into a proper military campaign.
The first of these attacks was the Nissimus attack on the Kaipo village. Their ground forces had had to march for two days up the steep mountain slopes, losing a number of people along the way. When at last they reached the caves they were exhausted. The Kaipo had the distinct advantage and used it to their advantage as best they could. The Nissimus were badly beaten and retreated within half an hour of the beginning of the battle. Karpoth led the Kaipo into an aggressive pursuit until they were almost half-way down the mountain. By this time the Nissimus troops were doubly fatigued and the Kaipo were forgiving enough to let them escape. Most of the survivors of that battle didn’t take part in future battles against the Kaipo.
With their village defended and the enemy troops sorely outnumbered, Karpoth led the Kaipo onto a retaliatory attack on their old village that had been taken by the Nissimus. It wasn’t well defended after sending most of the forces to the battle for the mountain. The Kaipo took it easily, with the Nissimus retreating soon after they lost their commander. The Kaipo set up the village as a military facility, cleaning the weapons as they saw the Nissimus did and generally keeping strict over watch of the surrounding area. They had the Nissimus’ outposts located and marked on basic maps. They also had food and water sent up from the facility to the caves so that the people up there could survive while the war continued.
The Nissimus at this time had built a number of prototypes of varying methods. They posted one of each in the outposts, they expected them to be attacked next after reports of the loss of the old Kaipo village. They also began trying to begin trading with the other city in the hopes that they would come to aid them. The second city was uncertain whether it wanted to join this war. They didn’t have a bad relationship with the Kaipo, in fact they didn’t have any sort of communication with them. The Nissimus of this city decided that they could share technology however.
This was quite a boon for the first city. The second city had been working on expanding the capabilities of their rockets and in so doing had figured a basic computer system. They made their rockets with stabilizers which helped it to keep a mostly straight forward path when launched. When they began making computers they made the stabilizers capable of moving to allow the missile to move in flight a small amount. They then put computers in the launchers themselves so that a target could be picked out and the rocket would try as best it could to reach the target. The launchers built for these were slightly bulkier, noticeably heavier, and considerably more fragile. However, they would prove useful against the Kaipo.
The new launchers did not reach the outposts before the Kaipo began their attack. The Nissimus defenders were able to test the anti-aerial guns, however they also lost them. Most of the designs worked well and helped hold off Kaipo attacks, until the Kaipo used shells taken from the Nissimus mortars in the village as bombs. Those shells devastated the Nissimus defenses and ended up destroying most of the guns as well. Few of the Nissimus in the outposts escaped alive, those that did would return to report the success of the guns as well as the desperate loss of men. Even with the mortars, the Nissimus fought hard to defend their outposts. Some of the locations simply had to be bombarded into dust before they could move in, and by then there was nothing worth salvaging.
The Nissimus attempted to take back the outposts for the next year, failing every time. They varied strategies: sending large groups, sending small groups, setting up teams of launchers and mortars nearby, moving aerial guns as close as possible. For all that, the Kaipo fought harder, always just managing to defeat the enemy, but at great cost. The Kaipo lost many, many men in these battles. The ones that survived the battles were often the most maneuverable in flight and most times even these came back with wounds. Many of them didn’t fly again. Even so, they were able to return to the village with pride and were welcomed. Many younger Kaipo joined the fighting to replace those lost, each secretly hoping to gain glory for deeds accomplished. At this time Karpoth’s son joined the war as well.
The final year of the war was little more than trading blows and losing men. The Nissimus would lose a position and the Kaipo would take what they could and leave. The Nissimus sent more men to replace those lost and would recapture the place. The Kaipo would have the same issue; however they retreated much quicker due to their less numbers. In the last three months though, a tremendous leap occurred within Nissimus technology. The second city and the first both had their scientists collaborate on designs for more advanced combat machines. This would give the last month of the war a most definite advantage as the results would show.
The combined efforts of both sets of scientists conceived an armored walker. It had missiles based on the laucher’s design, an anti-aerial gun, and a prototype rapid fire automatic rifle like assembly. This took a month to make into a workable design; however by the end of it they had a single prototype working in the field to fight the Kaipo in one of the last battles. It was armored against most of their rifles, making the weapons the Kaipo had stolen obsolete, thereby giving the Nissimus and advantage.
The walker’s first battle was for the village of the Kaipo, its first target was the enemy defenses that had been built up while the other battles had occurred. It proved to be very effective, capable of ripping through most of the metal and wood used as barriers, shooting down Kaipo in flight, and taking down those on the ground. It wasn’t brought down, however the pilot died when a Kaipo shot through the glass used for the cockpit. The machine was out of battle, and the remaining Kaipo were able to route the Nissimus forces. While this was a victory for the Kaipo, the Nissimus saw it as proof of concept and began to try and build more to continue the battle.
The scientists that had built it however were not cooperative, after seeing the effectiveness of the machine in battle, their consciences appeared to take a blow. They decided not to build any more walkers until the war was ended. Because the single walker they had was no in enemy hands, the Nissimus leaders had little choice but to agree. They began to try and open peace talks. However, as expected the Kaipo did less that trust the supposed treaties. They were afraid that it was all a façade and that they would be attacked when they let their guard down. They held their defenses and didn’t allow Nissimus into their areas.
[SIZE=11pt]It was a week before the talks began to make headway, after that the peace negotiations began in earnest. The results of the agreed upon treaty was that the Kaipo would return the walker and the Nissimus of the first city would leave the Kaipo to their own devices. Further the Nissimus were barred from producing more than a hundred of the walkers, though because the Kaipo had no way of monitoring the Nissimus the city leaders disregarded it. Thus the second great war and the first interspecies war came to a close.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Interim[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
After the treaties were accepted, the Nissimus pulled their forces back and left the entire higher regions of the mountains and plateaus to the Kaipo. They instead turned their interests to heading south and expanding into the open plains and thick jungles that tales told lay that way. The first Pec-situs was found and tamed at this point by an explorer. The creature proved very helpful in moving back and forth and carrying supplies. It would lead to the discovery of small family groups of these animals, many of which were tamed and used later as intercity trade. The relationship between the two cities improved considerably as time went on, the scientists having helped a great deal in this regard as they saw the advantages of combining efforts.
The Kaipo in the mean time soon lost their leader. Karpoth died of old age and according to his will he was buried in the plateau. To most Kaipo it was a strange request, after all their tradition as to burn the corpse and to drop the ashes from high points so that they may be carried on the wind. The plateau was marked off by the Kaipo as sacred ground to them; however the Nissimus wouldn’t be aware of this for another few local years.
Karpoth’s son, Haldorn claimed leadership by birthright, an even stranger custom that was not accepted by all Kaipo. Few however were willing to take the chance against Haldorn’s powerbase. He ruled for a week before the people began to listen to Porthom as leader. An Ukus, Porthom had slain a Maelstrom, much like the first great leader. Expectedly, Haldorn was not going to relinquish his power willingly. He stated that Porthom’s glory would have to be shared among the entire group that had killed the Maelstrom. Porthom was willing to do this, however he countered that Haldorn had never proven himself truly, having only fought in some of the later battles. Haldron had missed the final battle with the armorer walker.
These comments went back and forth for a few months, during which Haldorn lost more and more ground to Porthom. By the time that a duel was issued, Haldorn was left with only his closest friends. Porthom requested that Haldorn step down, however Haldorn was unwilling and demanded a duel to decide who would have command. Porthom wouldn’t agree until another month had passed. By this time, Haldorn had regained a small amount of followers. The duel was to be held as a basic duel with only daggers as the weapons. The end result of the duel was Haldorn died and Porthom was accused by some of killing Haldorn. However, the charges were paid no attention and Porthom became the next Great Leader.
Porthom was the first Ukus, and last, he had the Kaipo set outposts and small villages all over the continent, exploring and collecting safe locations in case their home was ever destroyed. It was during his reign that the Kaipo discovered the Nissimus city that would later become Grim Haunt. Some of the Kaipo wanted to take action against the Nissimus for the damages done in the war. Porthom however, fought against such things being done. He wanted to have peace with the neighbors, especially when the Nissimus were building weapons capable of mass destruction.
The Nissimus at the time were pooling resources to attempt building flying suits and ships for water and air. The water weapon platforms were fairly easy to work compared to the attempts at flight based weapons. They were hoping to avoid future conflicts with the Kaipo, especially with their own cities going through their own splits again. Grim Haunt had had a quarter of its population leave due to a disagreement again. The second city had had it even worse, losing a third of its people from a similar reason.
The Nissimus first working flight suits proved useful, if not quite as capable as the Kaipo were. The suits allowed their men to fly, but they tended to be too slow and not maneuverable enough to make them useful against the Kaipo. They also were able to produce the first flying vessel. It was little more than a bathtub sized platform with a machine gun built onto the front. The propulsion system had proven to be more effective than that on the flight suits, allowing the platform to move faster than the suits, but it was even less maneuverable than the suits.
The Kaipo however were unconcerned with the sight of a few people flying over the city Grim Haunt. They were becoming upset with their leader, who appeared to be overly obsessed with proving the Ukus power. Porthom forced inbreeding in order to keep blood lines and to show the Voln how the Ukus were superior, however this had a side effect. The Trus began to appear, they were upset with the events and wanted to have more freedom. They were considered the bottom of their species and they also wanted their chance. This ignited a revolution in their culture.
The Nissimus were never aware of the revolution that lasted a standard year. They were too focused on their own endeavors. They were able to make a slightly larger platform that could carry two people, one would operate a flight system and the other would care for the weapons. This platform though was more like an airplane, moving forward fast so as to defeat the force of gravity. They found this still to be too weak to face against the threat posed by the Kaipo. For some reason they still believed those people to be the worst danger, even though it was their own that were appearing to turn on them.
The Kaipo revolution was quite devastating for the Trus, the Voln and Ukus weren’t keen on the youngsters to take command and squashed the rebellion quickly. It was however not quick enough, the Trus accomplished one act that would place them in infamy and shame for most of history. They succeeded in killing Porthom. Once again the people were thrown into chaos and few of the leaders over the next years would be of any use to the culture. It would be fifty standard years before another great leader took control. During this time though, they realized that the Nissimus were not a united as a species. It was an interesting revelation to them, and one that would play an integral role in history.
The Nissimus continued faithfully working scientifically together, even when their cities split. That was the one factor that bound them together, their want for scientific advancement. They made leaps and bounds in that field for the next fifty years, during which they were overjoyed to create much more powerful weapons and more useful flight tech. They didn’t work on the suits as much as making ships capable of flying. The first large ship, being about five meters in length, was originally a sea faring vessel that was upgraded to fly. Their vessels for the ocean were surprisingly inefficient, though that was probably due to the fact that they never went far away from their continent. They believed it was the only piece of land on the whole world, they were assuming the planet was smaller than it actually was.
The vessel had massive steam engines installed to keep wing like structures moving to keep it floating in the air. It was the first mortar carrying structure to be put in flight. In actuality the mortars had been replaced with more powerful cannons. It was able to fly for two hours before requiring a refuel. It also had the first bombs that were being developed. It proved to be useful later on, though it wouldn’t be utilized in combat until the next war a few years later. It was at this point only tested over the ocean and used to deliver goods and people from one city to the next. This proved to be a quicker method of travel than the Pec-situs, which had become quite a favored form of transport.
Not much occurred aside from technological advancements for the next couple years. Eventually the next great leader arose among the Kaipo. Keshlan, a Voln, was the first female leader, who proved herself by defeating all other Kaipo duelists. She is considered the least of the Great Leaders, even though she was instrumental in keeping the Kaipo together and averting three separate revolutions. She was also incredibly successful at keeping the Kaipo’s grudge towards the Nissimus at bay and turning their efforts to constructive outlets. They expanded their village and the cave systems considerably during her reign.
The Nissimus continued advancing in this time, coming to a point that they had multiple flying platforms capable of staying in the air for a few hours at a time and each having enough weaponry to take out most ground forces. They also had another bout of revolution which resulted in cities splitting again, however Grim Haunt continued to grow even so. They had the most technologically advanced weaponry and city at the time and were popular to most of the scientific community due to this. Unfortunately it would be the first to take damage from the next confrontation.
[SIZE=11pt]Keshlan was 45 standard years old when she issued a command to locate all Nissimus cities. This was a cause for concern among the Kaipo as they were unprepared for war and were not certain as to why Keshlan wanted this. After only a month they had gotten all they knew of and Keshlan ordered the first mistake that led to the upcoming war. She had her soldiers attack the Nissimus facility housing their flying ships and anti-air weapons. She didn’t realize the gravity of her mistake.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Second Interspecies War[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
The Nissimus were not ready for the attack and were caught completely unawares. The Kaipo destroyed all the flight craft and weapons, saving only the bombs for their own use. They were quick and efficient, leaving nothing behind. They avoided killing people; however they did leave a few Nissimus injured. They retreated soon after, knowing that there would be a response in force. Their people moved from the village into another mountain cave that had been made in preparation.
They were not disappointed. While initially unsure how to respond, the Nissimus quickly pulled together and launched a counter attack. They sent forces up to the village, this effort took a couple days of marching, during which the soldiers all had time to prepare for the coming battle. They were steeled for combat when they arrived, only to find a few stragglers who hadn’t been able to get out in time. These Kaipo were taken captive and held safely out of the war, after being interrogated.
The Nissimus troops were out of position for Keshlan’s next move. She had anticipated the attack and had her own soldiers hide nearby. The order came and they took the bombs and attack Grim Haunt. The city wasn’t well defended and was devastated by the bombs followed by the Kaipo destroying as much as they could. The Nissimus were distraught by the horrendous attack, however they reacted quickly. They sent their best fliers up in suits. This proved the most effective point of their use, the Kaipo were unprepared for a flying enemy.
This first battle was chaotic; many on both sides were killed as neither had a good form of communication in this battlefield. The Kaipo were actually the more powerful and better working together, yet they were forced to retreat. While superior in most ways to the fighters in suits, they simply were unprepared and their performance suffered for it. The Nissimus fliers were proud to prove their abilities in the air. They had weapons and the ability to almost keep up the Kaipo. It was their day to shine. And so they did.
The Kaipo soldiers lost many men as they retreated far over the plateau. Within a day they came across the second Nissimus city. This city, to the Kaipo’s great pleasure, did not have the flight suits that the first did. This led to the Kaipo staying in the vicinity and laying siege the city. This was much more devastating, though it was over a longer period of time than the attack on the city.
It is understandable that the Kaipo were surprised when soon after the Nissimus of the first city arrived with the flight suits. Once more the Nissimus proved capable of handling themselves against the Kaipo. In fact, the only Kaipo that were able to hold their own consistently against the suits were the Ukus. They would become the main force of warfare during this war, as most of the battles were fought in the air.
The Nissimus decided to put more of their resources into producing flight suits, as the larger ships would require more time and focused abilities to build in numbers required. Even without the larger real ships, which had not actually been tested against the Kaipo as yet, their suits were sufficient to hold back their enemies. However, not all their men could be given suits, they had to have other forms of weapons. Thus, they continued research into rifles and other ranged weapons. So far they were still trying to avoid getting close to the Kaipo, since the Kaipo’s tech still revolved around melee weaponry.
This would play to their advantage during the winter years of Cordialis. The Kaipo’s people were starving from lack of food. Unlike the Nissimus, the Kaipo did not have farms or other reliable sources of food. This was a particularly harsh winter, most of the foraging areas were without food and most of the animals had gone south or into hibernation. This left scarce choices for sustenance. Actually, the only option they really had was to begin hunting a Maelstrom, or so Keshlan said as she left the Kaipo to head north. She believed that by bringing Maelstrom for food, she would finally cement her command and have the full approval of her people.
As fate would have, while flying North a horrible blizzard struck, driving her and her Voln off course. They didn’t realize how far west they had gone until they came across a search party of Nissimus soldiers. It was at this point that Keshlan should have realized the futility of her efforts, but this was not to be. She lost half of her group and those that escaped were too weak to continue the hunt. But Keshlan drove on, she knew that to return without the Maelstrom was to admit defeat. Therefore she drove on, onto her death.
It was months until the main force of the Kaipo realized their leader had died. By that time, they were suffering losses and defeats all over. They were beaten back and their population dropped until it was only a few thousand total. They knew they couldn’t win. Before they gave in though, they attempted another attack on Grim Haunt. This time, they attacked from the ground, coming at them from the far side, hoping to catch them off guard. This tactic did little to change the outcome. They were slaughtered and once more routed.
The Kaipo, leaderless and without hope, began trying to negotiate for peace. The Nissimus were slow to respond, knowing that they were winning and that they could defeat anything the Kaipo threw at them. They had survived the worst of the war and had come out on top every time. It wasn’t until the Kaipo proved to be willing to accept almost any restraint put on them that the Nissimus began to consider a peaceful end to hostilities.
[SIZE=11pt]The end result of the war was that the Kaipo were sentenced to be banished from the continent, the Nissimus were tired of their neighbors. The Kaipo grudgingly accepted, however they hoped that they might be able to return. They left, taking only their memories and what they could carry on their back. Now all the Kaipo were united so far in their anger towards the Nissimus, but they couldn’t do anything about it. They left the continent and found another far away from their home. This was the end of the third war to afflict the planet. This had only taken ten standard years.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Interim[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
The Nissimus were proud of themselves, having finally rid the continent of other sentient species they could now focus on their work. They had their construction people build back the ships and their scientists to continue working on products of warfare. It wasn’t a big surprise that they still were threatened by one another at this point. The leaders of Grim Haunt assumed that if they could have the largest most powerful weapons they could intimidate other cities into not attacking.
As would be expected by this strategy, the result was an arms race. It would prove to be a long one, but then there are rarely any other sorts. The different cities started competing with one another in a less than friendly manner, trying to always come up with a more powerful weapon than their rivals. This would last almost two local years. During this time, many different cities would have their own chance at glory, some would succeed and others would disappear into anonymity.
As the instigator of the whole affair, Grim Haunt was often at the center of occurrences and was also most often the leader in technological firepower. They started as the strongest, with their ships that could level small towns in minutes. They still lacked any greater weapons than exploding rounds, compared to the blasters that were common elsewhere in the galaxy. It was a definitive advantage that they coveted and attempted to hold onto.
As it would be, this was a very optimistic outlook. They found that their rivals were coming up with different technology that countered their advantage. At this time the second city was not a big player, they were working on an experimental weapon, based on the magnetics of metal. They tried to use magnetism to launch small projectiles. It appeared to be plausible; however they couldn’t create a weapon of it at this time. Another city was working on faster ships that didn’t rely on massive propulsion systems, but instead used high velocity and large wings to create lift. Another city was trying to get much larger systems to have entire cities floating above the ground.
One weapon that was particularly effective against the ships was a fairly simple device. By the use of a number of mirrors, light was reflected into a single spot and magnified by a large lens. The light at this point was directed to a target where it would burn through or melt the enemy. This proved useful anytime that the skies were clear. They found that even one cloud in the sky had the potential to disturb the ability of their device. This weapon was also confounded by its inability to move. It was built into the ground with specialized equipment to help counter the impact of footsteps or vehicles moving nearby.
Grim Haunt had to adapt technology to somehow defeat these sudden changes in rivals. They continued advancing their technology and found that their ships quickly became the most powerful of their type. The ships became larger and more effective in their use. At the same time, they continued working on ground troop weaponry. It would prove to be this that took a larger role in the next war.
They had been working on ground forces due to the fact that air based war machines were imperfect and not completely ideal for certain situations. They had found that even if the machines were perfected, they would have one weakness which would make ground forces completely necessary. That weakness was the air machines reliance on fuel derived from ground based sources. This would be the crux of the next war and would be a continued concern until a year later.
Because the Kaipo were now no longer part of the picture in the Nissimus’ mind, they were able to expand and more cities were founded. Some were under the control of their originator cities while others followed in the tradition of leaving their leaders and founding their own city for themselves. While this weakened single cities as there were fewer people to accomplish the same number of jobs, it made those cities that retained control to become more powerful as a whole. These cities had materials that weren’t in their areas imported and exported food and tech to help their lesser cities.
The Kaipo on the other hand were much less satisfied with their new home, as one would expect. They did enjoy the lack of danger posed by the Maelstroms, but it simply was not a replacement for their homeland. Some of the people were upset enough to turn back and head back to the other continent. The majority however stayed because they knew to return was to beg for devastation. This was the first real split of the people and the only true split to occur. A small portion of the Kaipo would leave to head to their home while the rest carved out an existence in this new land.
Those that left found themselves in a land of conflict. What they also found was that they were not welcome and those Nissimus they did meet at first were unwilling to help them. They learned that their homes were being used as Nissimus military storage. This angered them, but they knew that there was nothing they could do… Except one knew.
A Voln male known as Largeth had an idea. They had to retaliate. The Kaipo had to prove what they were capable of. They had to take back their lands. He created a plan, a plan to start a war between the Nissimus. He hoped to assure their destruction and thereby giving the Kaipo the ability to come back. He knew the land and he knew his home. That would give him and those with him an advantage over the Nissimus.
With this, he prepared those that were with him, making what weapons they could. Then he led them in an attack on the facility at their old caves. They attacked from above, a place where few of the Nissimus were ready. As fate would have it, their attack was timed perfectly. A young Maelstrom came out of the winter storm only a few moments after their initial attack and began ravaging the Nissimus. The Kaipo fled back further into the cave as the beast ran forward. The Nissimus similarly fled, believing that the Maelstrom was controlled by the Kaipo.
The Kaipo found what they were looking for, or the closest thing they could. They hadn’t truly realized how far the Nissimus had advanced in such a short time. They found launchers similar to the ones they had seen during the Interspecies Wars. They stole these and fled as the Maelstrom drove its way further into the caves. They escaped into the blizzard, leaving a bloody battle and an enraged Maelstrom behind them. The beast eventually retreated from the Nissimus’ weaponry, however not before it had killed a significant number of guards and personnel. By that time, the people that had seen the Kaipo were all slain and those that remained were left with only the assumption that the Maelstrom had been driven into the cave for some reason.
This first attack had been an integral part of Largeth’s plan, but he didn’t know just how important. Due to the loss of any proof of Kaipo being there the survivors began to believe that it had been a rival city that had discovered a way to control the mighty creatures. They sent a report back to the Grim Haunt requesting reinforcements and creating the first ripple that would eventually become a tidal wave.
However, this wasn’t enough to cause true war. This was only the beginning. It was enough to start Grim Haunt sending ships and preparing for war. Their vessels began to be armed properly and their routines became stricter. This sudden change caused other kingdoms to become suspicious and they each raised their own security in response. The situation became such that it would have taken little more than one size to sneeze on the other’s border to start a war.
As with most times, this was the perfect environment for the Kaipo’s attack. They separated, each taking a particular city, chosen by Largeth, and finding a secluded spot near it to wait for the appropriate time. It was midnight, when two rockets at each place were launched into the varying cities. Because these were not aimed at a particular target their blasts caused mostly civilian casualties. This enraged the governments and caused exactly what the Kaipo had been hoping for.
[SIZE=11pt]The rockets weren’t truly capable of being tracked back to who made them, most of the Nissimus made similar weaponry in that area. Thus each kingdom blamed one another for the attack, not caring that they had both been hit. War began.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Accidental War[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
While not truly an accidental war, this war was called such because of the misjudgment of the actual enemy. This was the first ‘civilized’ war in the history of the planet. It was called this because attacks were done at night as well as day and the theoretical reasons for the war were supposedly noble. This was a little further away from the truth than most would admit.
There was a mistake in a patrol platform’s computer, which mislead the crew as to what area was theirs to patrol. The ship was driven into the area of a rival city’s patrol. The two ships fought and their remains both fell from the sky, littering a forest with the burning metal.
This sparked the war, the ten local year war. What had originally been patrol ships suddenly were sent to attack those of the enemy. Only a week after the order, hundreds of encounters had occurred and thousands of men had died. This was only the beginning… When the leaders realized that the platforms would not decide the war, they decided to send out land forces to try and remove all of the platforms from the war.
Those first few battles would see the platforms intended advantages come to the forefront as the platforms leveled small armies. However, the rockets and mortars from the ground proved fairly effective against the larger ships. Then the platforms began dropping in number. Both sides had used them so quickly that there were few left by the end of the first standard year. Those that survived were used sparingly and were hidden when not in use.
The goal of the armies at this point was to destroy the platforms while they were on the ground or to destroy their fueling stations. If they could accomplish that then they could control the skies. That was the advantage that any side needed to truly win the war. It was also the goal of every single city, which made it very difficult and unlikely that any of them would actually accomplish it.
Lands in the battle were rarely fought over as different armies went to different areas, trying to find a hidden facilities or fuel depots. Most of the time only weapon caches were found. The surprising part was that most of the governments had a similar idea, to hide the ships close to home or on the ocean, both areas that were either isolated or easy to defend.
There were surprisingly few moments of actual heroism during this war, or events of considerable historic worth. The most well-known are all ground battles in which a platform was used. Normally the most remembered part was the capture of an enemy platform by inferior numbers.
The first occurred before the reduced usage of battle platforms. It was a surprising outcome to the battle, that the ground forces took control of three platforms, before destroying what remained of the enemy forces. The battle was between two ground armies, and seven platforms. Only one of the platforms started on the side of the victors and only three platforms made it out.
The battle started with one city’s armored troops and heavy fighters advancing towards another city. The second city had a sniper team in the area that was able to hold back the enemy long enough for the main army to arrive. If the army had not been held back by these snipers then it is believed that the larger force of the invaders would have won out. When the friendly army arrived they were able to stave off the enemy until a platform was sent. However the enemy called in its own platforms to deal with the ground forces.
The smaller city’s platform arrived first and began firing on the enemy. The army was devastated enough where it seemed that they had it in hand. It was the arrival of the six enemy platforms, which were smaller than the main enemy one. However, they were together much stronger than the single friendly platform. A fact all too quickly proven when the single platform was shot out of the sky.
The ground forces were doomed with no way of winning a fight against six enemy platforms that together could level the entire city. It was only the quick thinking of a young officer that had nothing to lose by disregarding his commanding officer. He took his men and led them to the crashed platform and used one of the escape ships to attack one of the other platforms.
Quickly after the first group left other officers took their squads to the platform and took whatever they could to fly against the enemy platforms. The commanding officer that had moved for a retreat followed the rest into battle, he didn’t know if they could win against the superior forces of the platforms. As it turned out each platform actually had less men that the total that were coming to attack.
The first platform was a learning experience; they boarded the vessel and attacked those that they met. The cramped spaces and darker interior were complications that they did not foresee. The men aboard however were not as well armed or prepared for boarding action. The enemies were quickly dispatched and a squad of men was left behind to command the vessel. They understood the risk of playing decoy while the others jumped to the next vessel.
The first platform taken fired on the second closest, giving the boarders the closest to attack. The change in sides was an unprepared for eventuality and the platform was destroyed by supposedly friendly fire. The controlled platform then began firing on other vessels, aiming at weapon systems, command vessels, and propulsion systems.
The boarders meanwhile used speed to move as quickly to next ship as possible. They attacked with rocket launchers when they began being fired upon. Through this strategy, they stormed another platform, this one they lost more men trying to take. The first platform caught took much fire while the second one was being captured. In fact it was destroyed the enemies took a large amount of damage even so.
They drove this second platform into another one, crashing an enemy with it even while the first fell to the ground. The men were able to take the platform they crashed into before firing into the remaining three enemy platforms. They were able to destroy two of the others before they retreated with their two new platforms. The one remaining enemy platform made its way back to the first city before it was put out of commission until it could be repaired. The two that were taken became the main source of information for the small city on larger platform.
[SIZE=11pt]Before the war could come to a conclusion however, people from off planet came to the world. The Empire.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Imperial Regime[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
The Empire arrived at this time. The Republic had been dissolved only a few years ago and the Empire was in a rush to expand and take over the galaxy. The arrival to this planet was partially an accident as the intended destination had been a system three stars away. They were an exploration group with the intent of taking control of inhabited planets they came across.
Their discovery of the Nissimus was quite an interesting boon to the Imperials. They found the floating platforms to be of possible use, though they imagined a more heavily armored and one with more firepower than the Nissimus had made. The Imperials would later use the idea in the creation of a mobile attack platform.
The first action that the newly arrived Empire would accomplish was a takeover. They had their soldiers halt what fighting there was between the different cities and began forcing them to work together on Imperial projects. The next thing they did was learn of the Kaipo and decide to take them as well. This was a decision that would eventually lead to the loss of the planet.
The Imperials were more than capable of taking the planet, the Nissimus put up no fight at all, but willingly surrendered to the greater power. The Kaipo meanwhile fought against these invaders, having already lost their home they were not willing to lose anymore. Even so, their spirit did not save them. The Empire’s advanced weaponry proved more than enough to defeat what resistance was given. The Kaipo were used as slaves to collect resources and serve the Imperials.
The Imperial ruler of the planet was a human who had been in disgrace on the Core Worlds, which was why he was with the expedition crews, was quick to establish the overall dominion of the planet. He wanted to be certain that there would be no revolts, he controlled the planet through fear, using stormtroopers to strike terror into those who appeared to be problems. Strangely the Kaipo tended to be quiet and submissive to the Imperials, while the Nissimus tended to be the ones to try and revolt.
[SIZE=11pt]They held the planet without too much resistance, the occasional rebellion which was summarily quelled, protests whose participants were dealt with harshly, and once in a while an assassination attempt. All of these were not done in a professional or efficient manner, making it easy for the troops to deal with. Because of the Imperial governor’s ability to hold the planet, the exploration vessel left, along with the majority of the space faring fighters. The planet was not well defended against possible attacks from spaceships, but then they did not expect any enemy to attack them with such.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Kaipo Revolution[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
It was only five standard years before the Kaipo began their own full revolt against the Empire. Unlike the Nissimus, the Kaipo had experience in guerrilla warfare. Because the majority of space vessels were gone, the Kaipo had to deal mostly with Imperial ground forces and a few of the Nissimus battle platforms.
At first the revolt seemed to be a minor issue to the Imperials. A few Kaipo disappeared from their work stations along with basic tools. These Kaipo were seen meeting before retreating away from the city that they were being forced to live in. Their number was so small that there was no fear of it being any sort of danger.
This thought was revised when the group broke into a small barrack’s armory and stole about a hundred weapons both blaster pistols and rifles. At this point, the governor began looking into crushing this small band of insurgents. Unexpectedly, more Kaipo rallied to the group, holding off Imperial shocktroopers long enough for the rebels and many new recruits to escape into the jungles. There the Kaipo set up many small encampments so that the Empire could never get them all no matter how hard they tried; at least that was the goal behind the strategy. This caused a bit of chaos within communication as each camp had to keep in touch with the others.
For the first week or so nothing of value was accomplished in the revolt, the Empire attempted to track down the various bases but the thick jungle was too dense for aerial reconnaissance and ground troops were slow making their way. This was a good thing for the Kaipo, as if it had not been so it would have been unlikely that their rebellion would have survived an attack.
The Jungle they had found was close enough to the ocean that the Imperials decided to send part of the Nissimus Naval fleet to try and bombard the forest and force the Kaipo out into the open. While they waited for the ships to arrive the Imperials sent recon troopers and other scouts into the forest, aiming towards where they guessed emplacements were. The men reported that there were three camps found, out of how many was unknown.
The Kaipo attacked the city, liberating those that were held captive as previous revolutionaries. In this action they lost a few Kaipo to Imperial gunners and shocktroopers. The gain though was psychological, the fact that they were able to break into the city escape with minimal casualties led many Kaipo to believe that the Empire was not all powerful.
Because of this, more and more Kaipo began joining the insurrection. The troops in the city began finding it more and more difficult to be safe within their own city. The governor was disturbed with these developments and sent more troops from the Nissimus cities, which could be handled. This still took time and until then the troopers had to do with being constantly assaulted and almost always in a combat zone.
The ships would have arrived first, had an accident occurred while they were out on the travel. One of the battleship’s reactors blew, sinking the vessel and its crew with it. The Empire took this as an opportunity to blame the Kaipo of sabotage, claiming that they had flown out in the night and caused the reactor to blow when it was pushed.
At this point the Kaipo decided against continuing and instead turned, some damaging their own vessels in order to have good reason to go back for repairs. While this angered the governor he didn’t have the ability to do much about it. He was trapped in a box, the people he controlled were held back only by the fact that he controlled the most dangerous weapons on-planet. Without the starships he had only the platforms and naval vessels. If he were to kill the crews on the navy ships he would be creating resentment and fear, which might cause people to be unwilling to work on those ships. This would then damage his strength and therefore allow more locals to see weakness.
[SIZE=11pt]To try and end this before it escalated further, the governor sent his riot and EVO troopers to deal with the encampments. This turned out to be a good idea, the troops worked quickly and effectively against the enemies. They worked as a large group, taking as many camps as they could all at the same time. They accomplished the capture of twenty Kaipo leaders and the death of three hundred insurgent soldiers. Those, who survived and escaped, dispersed and eventually worked their way slowly back into the Imperial society. The Revolt was at an end, but it was not the end of the Empire’s troubles on the planet.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Rebel Arrival[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
A few standard years after the revolt, another group arrived, the Rebel Alliance.
They had come to this region following older data files stating that the Imperial search ship was in the area. When they came upon the Imperial controlled planet they swiftly hid their presence and then began preparing for a revolt.
The Rebels were quick to work with the oppressed people of the Kaipo. They didn’t see the Nissimus as being controlled as harshly, it was just the difference between physical slavery and mental oppression that was overlooked.
The first thing the Rebels did was to set up a base of operations in the mountains near the old Kaipo homes on the second continent. They then hid their ships so that the Empire wouldn’t realize that they were there. The Rebels set up communications with the Kaipo leaders, the most rebellious of the lot were the ones to be called leaders.
The Rebels supplied weapons to the Kaipo and in return was given maps and information on the surrounding area. The Rebels began their own campaign a week later, setting traps for Imperial squads and blowing power lines between the main city and their smaller outposts. It was at this point that the Imperials began wondering if Rebels were on planet. They sent out reconnaissance craft to try and decide whether they were there or not.
The ships were destroyed by the Rebels, but their destruction only led the governor to believe that they were on the planet. He sent all the stormtroopers he could spare and many of the Nissimus militia, as well as a large portion of the Nissimus’ platforms. He hoped to overwhelm the Rebels, who he knew didn’t know about the platforms.
The stormtroopers arrived first and were capable of breaking most of the Rebel’s work in so far as sabotage and attempts at taking over the city. The Rebels prepared for a major strike against the city, hoping to take it and use its anti-air weapons against the incoming platforms that a traitor had warned them of. The same traitor also told them of incoming reinforcements of Nissimus militia and the fact that there were elements within the Nissimus society that wished to rebel against their Imperial overlords.
The Rebels set up snipers surrounding the Imperial city, had small assault vehicles near the main entrances, and had some Kaipo prepared within the city to open the gates and began causing havoc within while the Rebels entered. They didn’t realize that there was a traitor amongst the Rebels as well as among the Imperials. He was able to send a warning to the Imperial forces within the city as to the attack planned.
With the forewarning, the Imperials were able to discover the Kaipo groups within the city and executed them only a day before the intended start. The Rebels knew they couldn’t give up even with this set back. Their soldiers were prepared and they only made a minor adjustment to the plan. They would have Rebel commandos set explosive charges on the gates in order to open them. However this would prove to still be less than what was necessary.
The attack began with snipers taking out Imperial guards on the wall surrounding the city followed by the detonation of gates. The amount of explosives used was overestimated and the gates were blasted to pieces, sending metal shards into the city, slashing a large number of the houses in the near vicinity to pieces and killing everyone in range of the flung metal. The assault vehicles followed the detonation and moved quickly into the city, blasting what stormtroopers survived the initial explosion.
However, the small victory was short lived. The assault vehicles were destroyed only moments after entering, small and fast versions of the platforms cut through the thick armor plating. The Imperials forces that remained rallied and fought against the lesser Rebel number. The Rebels were able to push back the stormtroopers but only until the Nissimus militia arrived. That caught the Rebels off guard, the militia was supposed to be with the larger platforms and their sensors hadn’t warned them of any incoming flight ships. When they checked though, they found that their equipment was either damaged beyond repair or being jammed.
The Rebels were forced back outside of the city, they were on the edge of the forest when the first large platform arrived. The platform had dropped off its troops in order to get better speed as well as to relieve the air crew of the constant annoyance of the ground forces. They were in position to bombard the Rebels before they could run far enough to escape the blast. Or that was what they assumed.
A small number of the Rebels were able to return to their base, grab a few supplies, send a message to the rest of the Rebel Alliance, and escape right before the platforms arrived and destroyed the base, the location of which had also been revealed by the traitor.
[SIZE=11pt]The Rebels that survived retreated to the other continent, taking refuge on one of the many mountains.[/SIZE]
The Galactic Battle
It was fortunate for the Rebels that the Nissimus had been forced to work together by the Imperials. As the various cities were made to work as a group where otherwise they would have been enemies, the scientists from different states worked together to work on more advanced technology. Specifically the flight technology that had done amazingly well already had a massive leap; they were beginning to experiment with magnetically sensitive materials that were so powerful they could allow very large structures to float within a planet’s magnetic field. At this time it was little more than an experiment, but later on it would play a very important part.
At this time though there were also a large number of dissident Nissimus who were preparing their own plans for attack against the Imperials. When the few Kaipo who had survived the attacks on the Rebels spoke with the Nissimus insurgents, the Nissimus learned of the Rebels and began trying to find them as discreetly as possible.
The Rebels were trying to survive, only now learning of the true dangers of the North of the first continent. Their first encounter with a Maelstrom was truly terrifying and they ran as quickly as they could from it. They were fortunate to have been able to stay within the cave they had found, an ancient Maelstrom lair that had long ago been left empty by the massive beast. They were able to set up a base in the hills and keep their location secret while they prepared for the arrival of support.
They were also able to contact rebel elements of Nissimus within Grim Haunt. They set up communication and a small supply route. The Rebels were surprised to learn that the Nissimus could obtain and send almost anything smaller than an AT-ST without too much trouble. The Rebels soon found themselves with a set of small platforms, blasters, and other ranged weaponry of Nissimus make.
The Rebels in return taught the Nissimus that were willing how to fight effectively against the Imperials and suggested strategies on how to take down their government. It was an important trade, mutually beneficial against the Imperials. By setting up this diplomatic work they proved to be trustworthy and friendlier than the Imperials, making them better allies in the eyes of the Nissimus. They decided to take a leap of faith and supply infiltration points that the Rebels could use. These were hidden individuals who would smuggle the Rebel soldiers into the city in preparation for an attack.
The Rebels were very thankful for the help and were even gladdened to find that the Rebels elsewhere in the galaxy had responded and were bringing a small task force to help in the insurrection. They planned a series of events that would optimize the arrival of friendly forces. They worked for a week over the plan with the Nissimus. By the time the small Rebel fleet was on its way, the forces on the ground had a strategy that they hoped would annihilate the Imperials.
The fleet made up of Y-wings, a single Corellian Corvette, and a few X-wings arrived at the moment when Imperial scanners were sabotaged by Nissimus rebels. Without scanners the Imperials were not aware of the incoming fleet until the first fighters entered the atmosphere. There was little that could be done as the Rebel fighters tore through the inadequate anti-air defenses before directly attacking enemy facilities.
At the same time, the remaining Rebels joined by a Nissimus attack force invaded the Imperial governor headquarters. The security was lessened by the fleet attack and the Rebels were able to overpower the resistance that they came across. They were working their way through the building when battle platforms from various cities arrived. Some of the crews aboard the platforms at this point attempted to revolt, taking control of the platforms and targeting those that were still under Imperial rule. It was not a surprise that only a few Imperial controlled platforms were able to join the main battle. Even then, the platforms’ weaponry systems were not optimized for tracking fighters that were much faster than anything the Nissimus had ever seen. The Y-wings bombed most of the platforms out of the sky before they could even fire their first shots.
All in all it would have been a perfect invasion. If not for the return of the Imperial exploration group that is. The exploration team was by no means a large force compared to what an Imperial might think of as a fleet, but that didn’t make the team a ragtag bunch of vessels. The expedition had a healthy dose of defense vessels in case they came across hostiles, specifically Rebels. They were prepared for small attack wings and minute numbers of fighters. What they had to deal with was more than what they could theoretically handle.
Of course, theory does not always equal practice. Due in part to the unexpectedness of their arrival, the Rebel ships were not looking for enemies in space and were unaware of the Imperials coming up on them. By the time that they could see the ships incoming it was too late to fall back or set up a strategy. The fleet battle was conducted in the atmosphere, this was little more than a slugmatch to see who would come out on top. The maneuvering of the fighters made certain that there would be many misses, which would crash into the ground destroying anything in their path.
The governor’s building was one of the first to be struck, because of its size it was an easy target to hit. There was little in the way of defense on the building against proton torpedoes or linked fire from a starship. The building didn’t last a minute and everyone inside perished from the collapse that ensued. Only two Rebels made it out of the complex, along with their prisoner the governor. In a bout of anger they executed the Imperial before trying to escape the battleground, but to no avail. A stray turbolaser shot from the single Corellian Corvette turned the last of the Rebel ground forces into ash.
Even without Rebel allies, the Nissimus fought valiantly on the ground, taking down what Imperial stations remained. All the while, they tried to escape the rain of death that was the more dangerous enemy to them. The Imperials on the ground were able to retain some vestige of command structure long enough to call a retreat, claiming that the planet’s tactical value was not great enough to excuse the loss of assets on the ground. In their rush to escape, a few squads of Imperials were left on the ground, while the rest escaped on what ships they could to the transports and then all the Imperials left the planet.
[SIZE=11pt]Those few that had been forgotten were rounded up quickly enough and the Rebel fighters took them away before leaving themselves. Apparently the location of the planet was too far out of reach to be of tactical use, while it could be a good fallback position they decided that it was also a possible point of return for the Imperials as well. Thus they told the Nissimus that they would be leaving in good faith that the inhabitants of the planet would not allow themselves to be subjugated again. The Nissimus were all too happy to see the offworlders leave, they had caused too much death and destruction to be worth the efforts. So ended the Galactic Battle.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Folds of War[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
The Galactic powers leaving the planet were enough to cause a disturbance in what had been a delicate power balance. Almost every Nissimus city had access to scientific advancements by every other city. There had been little secrecy during the Imperial Regime, and now that all was over there was little in the way of outside influence to hold back any hostilities.
The Kaipo however were busily breaking down what remained of the Imperial cities and destroyed anything that appeared to be Imperial in origin. They made a monument to the Rebels in the form of a crystal carved out from a deep crevice that they had been a mine for the Empire. To them it was a final act of liberty that a tool of the Empire was used to create a sign of Rebellion. This crystal would later be put into the main city of the Kaipo, Angel Haven. After the creation of this beautiful gem they began working towards freedom of their people. Specifically from the Nissimus who kept them from returning home. They did not accomplish any actual movement against the Nissimus at this time, as they waited until the Nissimus weakened themselves.
The Nissimus soon found that the peace that had been caused by the Imperial invasion was faltering. There was no united front for all Nissimus to work against, instead there was a return of the jarring differences between cities. They didn’t want or expect the offworlders to return, so they focused on their own planet. They began verbally attacking each other, working on battle platforms with new vigor in the hopes to destroy their remembered enemies. The smaller cities suddenly found that they were no longer at a disadvantage, they the only difference between themselves and the larger cities was population and that could be overcome.
Almost immediately the war returned, the Nissimus were still weakened from the Empire, yet they fought as if they had been preparing for centuries. Their viciousness was unparalleled in the history of the planet. When a city had a platform above an enemy they bombarded it without care for innocents. Some of the larger cities would even attack smaller towns that had no platforms of their own. Their strength was brutish and their mentality was too far afield for any historian today to truly discern.
However, this wanton destruction would only last a few standard years. Grim Haunt had been able to hold out against its competitors only through the use of guile and a slight advantage. They pushed the advantage and found that their scientists finally discovered how to create floating fortresses. These cities would float through the air and were capable of housing enough soldiers to drain an entire army of its men. The platform was filled with enough weapons to hold off any other platform and the armoring insured that no harm would come to those safely within. They had created the perfect stronghold from which to control the planet.
They used this platform to wipe out three competitors before the lesser cities began to unite. They took lessons learned from their experience with the Imperials and how to attack platforms and attempted to adjust it enough to capture the fortress. For weeks the massive citadel continued on a rampage, annihilating all that was in its path. Then, at dawn of the first day of the new local year, the largest gathering of all Nissimus forces ever began. The entire armies of fifteen different cities amassed at a collection of platforms and were outfitted with anything that all the cities had. They pooled their resources in a last ditch effort to destroy the monstrosity that was causing so much devastation. One of the cities had even given all of its newest flight suits, faster than anything before but less maneuverable. They counted on an enemy being incapable of keeping up and were armored for those smaller shots that were easier to aim with.
Three hours after the initial gathering, the platforms were in the air and everyone headed towards the floating castle. It was another two hours before any sight of the massive platform was found. Then at last through the clouds they found their target. The fortress was not unprepared for its enemies, though the sheer number did surprise the commanders of the platform. For the longest of time it seemed that nothing moved while the two enemies moved towards one another, like duelists running at one another. Both sides knew that only one would come out of this. The difference was that the collection of forces knew that their failure would mean the victory of Grim Haunt over all other cities. That was a degree of disgrace that drove them forward. But more than that, they knew that death was there, if they failed they would all die, the only way to survive was to win. Thus they fought with little fear of the death that might come from the battle itself.
The very battle was incredibly short, only an hour in length. It felt to those who lived through it that it had been days. The small platforms that carried squads moved ahead of the larger combat platforms, with the flight suits leading them all. The fortress’ weapons fired quickly and were devastating on the less than maneuverable flight suits, however the arrival of the smaller platforms carrying soldiers divided the attention of the smaller guns, forcing them to pick their targets. The larger cannons couldn’t get a fix on the fast flight suits and contented themselves to try and attack the slower, yet more maneuverable craft.
Those platforms with the squads moved as quickly as they could to the top of the fortress where dropper their cargo off before attaching to the sealed ceiling. The soldiers there breeched the top and began working their way through the ship, more prepared for the confined space combat that took place than their fortress working enemies. Their entry into the fortress caused the commanders to recall the ship, hoping to get some of their own soldiers into the station so as to avoid losing it to the boarders.
It was a lost cause. The idea that a single city, or at least its government, could control the entire planet was nothing more than a wistful dream. Grim Haunt’s government realized this all too late, their fortress burned out of the sky as sabotage from within and enemy cannon fire from without tore the engines and armor to shreds. They watched as their dreams came down in flames. Their retribution would come in an unexpected way however. The enemy forces, as anticipated moved quickly to work their way towards Grim Haunt, intent on destroying the city.
[SIZE=11pt]As fate would have it, the citizens of the city revolted days ago, killing their leaders and putting down all of their defenses. Those soldiers that did not surrender to the civilians were ended and those that did helped pull what remained of the battle platforms apart. When the enemy military force arrived they found a city without any defense and willing to capitulate to the arrivers. This ended the war. Realizing that they were all more alike than they had been led to believe by their political leaders, the soldiers refused to fight. The words of the fighting people proved more powerful than that of the placeholders and the armies proved more difficult to recruit and soon the politicians were forced to contemplate a peaceful resolution to this war, rather than the massive end to all wars they had been hoping for.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]United Race[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
With the war over and peace reclaimed, the various cities of the Nissimus began trying to work together. Suddenly the various people realized that a single government was possible, if everyone worked towards it. In the end, it wasn’t the appeal of peace or prosperity that drove this home, but the hope of the scientists to further their progress with mutual effort instead of individual attempts.
With the all-encompassing wish for unison, the city leaders began making deals and preparing a treaty. Grim Haunt’s new leaders were especially helpful in the progress, giving as much as they could to help further make the treaty both strong and fair. Over the course of a standard year the treaty was written and prepared in every way possible. There was media coverage of the final meeting of each city’s leaders. Some were more willing to surrender leadership than others. In fact, a large number of the smaller cities allowed their leaders to step down and give the control of the cities over to larger cities. In this way, the larger cities became more powerful, yet the smaller cities also became stronger by becoming part of a larger force. Their supplies were added to that of the larger. It was this willingness that also made the possibility even more likely.
The treaty was signed by all that partook and the first true leadership over all Nissimus began. The first accomplishment was the centralization of all military forces, putting them in one location. This was followed by a standardization of those same military forces. This proved difficult as the scientists had to agree on a single best design for a number of ships where many cities had their own unique ones. It became something of a point of contention. It was decided a week after the problem arose that individual militaries of a much smaller degree would be authorized, only for the day to day protection of a city if it so desired. This alleviated the stress caused by the scientists’ decisions and allowed some of the smaller cities to take pride in what they had constructed, by building enough to outfit a large police force.
The standardization was truly the most painful and expensive process. In most cases the larger cities were generous enough to fund the building of more ships for their smaller compatriots. In this way the bonding of the treaty was made even more definite. While the ships produced were named under these smaller cities, in fact every ship that was part of the main military force was owned by the overall government. This made it less likely for a single city or group of cities to attempt a coup d’etat. The counterbalance was that if all the ships within every city’s military police force were to be added together, they would outnumber the main military force. This was supposed to keep the overall government from exerting too much control.
It was a fine balance, but one held well by the citizens. Of course, that was not all that allowed the treaty to succeed to such a degree as it had. In the peace that followed the war, certain Nissimus saw an opportunity to begin businesses that would circumvent all governments to accomplish goals that would be assigned to them by benefactors. In other words, the first true organized criminals began to appear. These first were by far the least effective. It wasn’t entirely their fault though. The market for services such as they offered was still young and most Nissimus leaders were naïve enough to believe that the altruistic behavior that was beginning to spread would last.
These first men and women were also the most important in the beginnings of what would be the most important business. They were willing to take risks that later people within the organizations wouldn’t dream of. They were also some of the most singularly well exercised individuals, they didn’t have the training that later people would, but they learned on their feet and those that failed were learned from and others became better for it.
Their work within the cities began in Grim Haunt. Their first jobs were simple, making certain people disappear, stealing money from minor banks, security at trades of equipment. That was only the beginning, soon they were dealing in the transactions themselves. They traded gear and weapons for other things. The heads of these organizations were some of the smartest individuals on the planet at the time, staying hidden, keeping their people separated. It was these people that decided that peace was a better circumstance to work under rather than war. They knew that the prices for certain things would drop, but then there would open up a need for many other services that would otherwise go unasked for.
Beyond that another event caused the treaty to be even more cemented. The discovery of another species, the Gratia. These species were very primitive in their works, but it was made up by the fact that they were capable of feats that astounded all those who saw it. One of the Gratia, the daughter of the ruler at the time: Rallai, decided to become an ambassador for the Gratia with the Nissimus. The government of the Nissimus decided that the Gratia would be left alone. They believed that it would be a better thing to allow the Gratia to advance at their own rate.
[SIZE=11pt]While the Nissimus of the world breathed a collective sigh of relief at the end of hostilities, the Kaipo were preparing themselves for something much bigger. Their leader had grown tired of not being allowed to return to their homeland. They wanted the freedom to move about as they pleased. They didn’t care that the Nissimus were going through tumultuous times, that there was a peace that may allow the Kaipo to negotiate their ability to return. They were enraged to such a degree that those who spoke of peaceful resolutions were not listened to. This anger would lead to an act that would at any other time be considered murderous.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The Sacking of the Nissimus[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
There was no warning for the Nissimus on that day that the Kaipo acted. The Kaipo bought weapons from the Nissimus before flying over Kaipo far north in the mountain ranges that had been close to their home. They sent them in groups so as to be less likely to be seen. While some of the Kaipo groups were seen, the Nissimus were not too concerned as they understood the want to return to the homelands. If not for the business of the government with setting up rules they might have started working on a deal with the Kaipo sooner. But their decision to wait was proven to be the wrong one.
After a month, all the Kaipo were gathered, at least all those who would take part in the act. The leader at the time, Orithan, a Voln, led his soldiers to attack a few of the traveling platforms. They highjacked these with little fear of retribution. They killed everyone aboard so that no other Nissimus would find out before the time was right. They then set about preparing for the ruse. There was only a little to accomplish before they set the platforms onto a straight path right across Grim Haunt.
They then moved towards the outer mountains. They sent duo scouts to search for the platform locations. They needed to know where their targets were and where the largest of their enemy number would be. This was a good decision, their scouts found the main force of the overall Nissimus government. With this information they were able to finish their plan and set up the last steps. They collected the services of some of the Nissimus criminals, who then set up some of their men in the military forces in the Nissimus platforms.
In the meantime, the finding of the platforms heading towards the Grim Haunt without any living men aboard caused a ruckus within the government. The weapons left behind by the Kaipo were those of a lesser city. There was a momentary fear that a number of the lesser cities were discontented with their place. The military force was set on high alert, but it was mostly aimed at possibility of a small city attack.
Then the Kaipo began their attack. They began attacking the platforms. Their attack was straightforward: the operatives would take down communications and remove the leadership while the Kaipo soldiers would move into and destroy everyone else. It was only a few hours before the Kaipo had control of the majority of the platforms. They turned the weapons against the remaining resistance and then destroyed a few of the lesser ships.
The Nissimus would learn of these events only hours later… when the Kaipo platforms arrived over Grim Haunt and began attacking. They also sent ground forces to the city to destroy those few anti-air defenses. The city was razed and the government was destroyed. The only survivor was Rallai, who was secured by a special operations group who then moved her to safety. They escaped on a smaller platform and made their way to another city.
The Nissimus forces in the city had no chance. Against both a ground force and the incredibly powerful platforms. They held their ground as best they could, but it was a losing battle. They were beaten and this was evident. The Nissimus were better armed, but the Kaipo had the advantage of superior firepower and were prepared for a battle. The city was blaster around the defenders as the platforms rained fire and death.
The Kaipo continued bombarding the city even after the last defender had fallen. They blasted the city through the night and into dawn of the next day. By this time most of the city was little more than a crater. The few buildings that survived were either fortunate or so far away from the center as to have been missed in the dark of night. Only a small portion of the population survived the attack, and those only because the Kaipo had not found them. What was left was a reminder of the destructiveness of anger and hatred. The Kaipo destroyed their platforms and let them fall into the craters while they flew back to the other continent. Their mission had been accomplished, now it was time to prepare for retaliation.
Interestingly, the retribution never arose. The Nissimus had new overall leaders almost immediately after the events and while most of the population were crying out for justice, Rallai suggested otherwise. Through an eloquent speech she was able to convince the masses to not begin a war with their planetary brothers, but to instead ask for forgiveness of their own wrongs and to try and build a better foundation for a new government.
The city was rebuilt over the course of a standard year, all the Nissimus cities pitched in. Meanwhile, the government began negotiating with the Kaipo, giving them leave to return to their homeland, given that they leave the Gratia alone. The Kaipo were quick to agree, surprised that there was no lashing out by the Nissimus at their actions. During this time it was also decided that a large military force would not be created, instead allowing each city to police itself and that there would be only an overall political leadership.
[SIZE=11pt]The Nissimus at this point also decided that they simply had to collect all the history of the planet as best they could. They began compiling massive collections of historical texts and just about anything else they could. They first transferred the information onto computer data files which were then placed into a massive computer core. The physical texts and remains were sealed away in vaults buried under the city in case of later destruction. The computer was filled ever larger as more and more history began to fall into place. Even so, they didn’t have everything on their planet’s history.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
Notable PCs: N/A
Intent: A place for Ultimatum to explore and to expand on a concept that I have had in mind
.
