The History of the Sol Republic
Chapter 2: Hoping for the Best, But Preparing for the Worst
The Delacroix Reforms and the Race for the Stars: 2207-2211
Communications with the Pelx-Cradonian Compact continued for the next several months over subspace messaging. Republican diplomats and scientists sent details of human history and culture and asked for the same in return. The Pelx-Cradonians’ sent samples of their music, slow hymns glorifying the deeds of various warriors or priests, and art, bright vivid stylized paintings portraying important religious events and battles, as well as a detailed history of their species going back 75,000 years. Their society was extremely religious and militaristic, and focused on the worship of their war gods the “Dimazhan Sky Gods”. According to their texts, the Dimazhan came down from the heavens 75,000 years before contact with the Republic and taught the primitive Cradonians to become civilized. For some 2000 years, the Dimazhan ruled over their world, Cradon, before vanishing in what the Pelx-Cradonians called “The Fall of the Gods”. What exactly happened is unknown, but the Pelx-Cradonians believe that demonic forces waged war against the heavens and though defeated, wounded the gods so deeply that the gods returned to their sky-palace to sleep until the chosen Cradonian would lead their former worshipers to find them and return them to their former glory. After the Fall, the Cradonians slowly let go of their religion over time, and fell apart into warring clans with different beliefs, until 300 years before the first contact with Earth, when a Warrior Priest of Clan Pelx, named Talons of Violet, discovered an ancient holy relic in the labyrinth underneath the ancient Dimazhan Sky Temple. With the relic he found was able to rally the support of his clan, and lead a great crusade across Cradon, unifying the species and forcibly converting the decadent non-believers. From that point on, the Pelx-Cradonians as they were called then known as, began their quest to find their sky gods and awaken them, returning the heavens to the way they were before the Fall.
Though troubled by the fanaticism and warlike nature of the Pelx-Cradonians, the Sol government and military agreed that diplomacy was of the utmost importance, at least until more could be learned about the military capabilities of this new species. A diplomatic meeting in person was set up in the Brockan System between two research ships. Considering the cultural importance of militarism in Pelx-Cradonian society, a military attache of heroes from the Great Interplanetary War was sent with the senior diplomat to the meeting. On March 18th, 2208 the two ships docked with each other and the doors opened to reveal 8 Pelx-Cradonian Warrior Monks, each at least 2.5 meters tall, wearing ceremonial battle armor, who displayed their limb feathers in a martial ritual, and then bowed aside. The Pelx-Cradonian High Priest entered wearing a ceremonial religious gown that had a shiny rippling violet and pink feather pattern. He placed a translator device on the floor and began to speak stating:
It is an honor to meet with warriors from your nation, I am High Priest Feathers of Gold, High Priest of Clan Cratoki, I have greatly enjoyed hearing about this so-called Great Interplanetary War' from your past. I was particularly fascinated by the 5 year Siege and defense of Olympus City on your Colony World "Mars". What valor was won by the brave UDS defenders? The attacking INC force should have scourged their own flesh for failing to take the city for so long... I understand Mars is the name of an ancient god of war of your species?.
The Sol Ambassador Valentino Anselmo responded by introducing Colonel Hironori Nagai, winner of 3 medals for his actions during the defense of Olympus City during the war, allowing the Colonel to explain the origins of his homeworld’s name.
When the High Priest was satisfied with his introduction, Ambassador Anselmo began to discuss negotiating a treaty, but the High Priest interrupted him stating,
I must confess we found it extremely troubling that your species has abandoned its old faith and become so….. Materialistic, how can we trust a species that shows clear disregard to the gods of its ancestors, and no longer worships them. Perhaps your gods punished you with this war for turning your back on them. Why else would so many be allowed to die?
Colonel Nagai responded
Throughout our history we worshiped a myriad of gods, and we killed each other by the millions over them. War and killing are in our nature, gods or no, and I trust that you Pelx-Cradonians will think about that before threatening us.
A flustered Ambassador Anselmo quickly apologized to the High Priest for the Colonel’s response and asked what the Pelx-Cradonians designs were on local star systems. The High Priest stated very clearly that
The Heavens were promised to us by the Dimazhan. They are our birthright. Stay out of our way.
Before the meeting concluded, Ambassador Anselmo responded quickly that no agreement could be reached without compromise, and that he hoped though they clearly could not agree, that peace would be kept between their civilizations.
When news of the results of the meeting got back to Earth, the government was startled. The Admiralty of the Sol Republican Navy suggested tripling the size of the fleet and expanding the fledgling Sol Republican Marine Corps from one brigade to ten. Consul Delacroix decided the public needed to hear the news of this new civilization, and patriotic fervor instilled in them. “Humanity,” he said “needed to be fully prepared for a war for its existence.” He called on the Senate to vote on a massive social reform, turning the entire Republic into a war machine. 33% of factories needed to be producing war materials and every able-bodied citizen would have to serve for 2 years in the military, followed by 15 years in the Reserves.
The Sol Republican Navy (SRN) was expanded from 3 ships to 11. The small Sol Republican Marine Corps was split into 2 branches: the Sol Republican Naval Legion (SRNL), 100,000 strong at its birth, and made up mostly of citizens from the Asteroid Belt and Jovian Moons who were used to low gravity, in charge of defending naval installations and warships from boarding action, and responsible for boarding enemy warships as well, and the Sol Republican Marine Legions (SRML), 13 million strong and organized into 13 legions, 10 from Earth, 1 from Luna, and 2 from Mars, and responsible for planetary invasions. The various former militaries of Earth and colonial security forces on Alpha Centauri were reorganized into the Sol Republican Army (SRA), in charge of defending planets from orbital attack.
Two new Intelligence forces were created as well, The Sol Intelligence Network (SIN), a conglomerate of the former intelligence agencies of the UDS nations before the war involved in espionage, counter-espionage, and the monitoring of dissident groups inside the Republic, and the Naval Intelligence Division (NID), a branch of the navy that specialized in the gathering of intelligence about enemy naval threats and capabilities, as well as gathering intelligence about potential invasion targets for the SRML. To further boost public support for the cause in the event of a war, the Solar Broadcasting Network (SBN) was created to promote government interest to the civilian population.
By 2208 there were still Nationalist guerrilla movements active on 2 continents and on Mars, but the news of a potentially hostile alien empire united humanity like never before. The territory that had previously been Nationalist strongholds now had to turn down volunteers for the Sol Republican Navy because there were too many. The SBN and SIN worked wonders and by 2209, loyalty to the Republic was at a record high of 92%.
Since the Pelx-Cradonian Compact had made it clear that they were racing to colonize the stars, Consul Delacroix called on the Senate to pass a bill tripling funding for space exploration and colonization. There were numerous unclaimed systems in between the two civilizations, some with strategic hyperlane junctions that had to be claimed to ensure victory in war. The next few years saw more systems colonized, with the Sirius System and Romaccus systems colonized in 2209. The stellar borders of the Sol Republic expanded ever outward, with no signs of slowing, except for a slight recession in early 2210. On March 4th, 2210 Consul Guillaume Delacroix was reelected in a landslide, winning 40% of the vote over his nearest rival’s 25%. The political scene back in the Sol System was changing. A new party, the Patriotic Vanguard Party was formed on January 1st, 2211. It was a militaristic imperialist party headed by Consul Delacroix himself, whose platform included increased military expenditure and rapid border expansion.
Pictured: The Known Galaxy circa 2207
The Recession of 2210
On March 6th, 2211, the research ship SRS Archimedes encountered a capsule floating to the Galactic East of the Republic’s borders. Inside it contained a relatively freshly dead alien, not of Pelx-Cradonian origin. It was a strange birdlike species, dark with spiky appendages around its head, and wearing what appeared to be ceremonial robes. After a brief discussion with the crew, Captain Luciana Diaz decided it would be important for science to dissect the body to discover more about it.
On June 26th, several cargo ships went missing around the Sirius System, near Pelx-Cradonian Space. An emergency meeting was called with the heads of the military branches and security services to discuss what to do in the event of a war with the Pelx-Cradonians if they were responsible. Admiral Rhonda Bergman suggested launching a preemptive attack on Pelx-Cradonian space, but Roberto Vieira, head of SIN, recommended waiting until further evidence could be found for the cause of the disappearances. He believed that the Pelx-Cradonians, honorable warriors that they were, would not begin a war with small raids on civilian shipping routes. Within a week, NID recon teams reported back. Director Roberto Vieira had been vindicated, and inter-species warfare was avoided for the time being. The attacks had not come from the Pelx-Cradonians, but from fellow man. Humanity was back to its oldest past time; waging war on itself.
