Negotiations between the Alliance of Five Powers and United Alliance were swift and intense. Each side could see the importance of the other to their survival. Ultimately, the Galaxy Alliance was first formed as something of a framework to be filled in later: the Drules were an immediate concern, trade and settlement agreements much less so. AFP forces flooded into human space, reinforcing the main manufacturing worlds. A science council was formed to begin transitioning some shipyards to integrate new technology, but as a first step, simply being able to replenish their numbers was seen as the priority.
Like the Alliance of Five Powers, the name Galaxy Alliance had more than one layer: the original proposal had used the Glis word galik-sah, translating roughly to 'good fortune'. Human negotiators immediately noted the linguistic coincidence.
Most Earthlings, especially those on colonies hit hard by the collapse of supply lines, celebrated the GA's formation. A vocal few on worlds far from the front lines questioned why humanity should give up its hard-earned resources to strange aliens who hadn't even been able to save their own civilizations. Human authorities moved quickly to stifle these complaints, but only a successful campaign would truly silence the criticism. Eager for a true victory and recognizing the tactical benefits, the other races agreed when the Earthlings proposed an ambitious new goal: to push all Drule forces out of the Atlantis Sector entirely.
The GA was formed in the year 2151, by the human calendar. For the next two years they would maintain a stalemate with the Fourth Kingdom. Many of the recently designed Earthling cruisers, dubbed the Atlantis-class, began to make their way into defensive fleets. But the real key to the war effort was being quietly constructed in Earth's own shipyards. In the early days of 2154, the GA's first cooperative battleship was launched: the AWS Avatar of Alliance. Dubbed the Avenger-class, the descendents of this vessel remain one of the Alliance's most iconic warships to this day.
With the launch of the new ship came the official beginning of Operation Entente. All involved knew it would be a tall order. Though the resource and production gap had lessened, the Drules still had long-established infrastructure and supply lines that the Alliance was scrambling to build. High Command determined they had only two strategic advantages: firstly, the Fourth Kingdom did not know how far Earthling space extended, and might believe the resource gap to be even more closed than it really was. Secondly, and most crucially, the Alliance did not need to win. They only had to convince the enemy they weren't worth the losses to conquer.
Like the Drules had over a decade before, the GA first decided to attempt a decapitating strike. The Shiriki Convoy, accompanied by the Avatar of Alliance and every Atlantis-class vessel in fighting condition, launched an assault on Atlantis itself. The space battle proved anticlimactic; considering the planet an unlikely target, the Fourth had reallocated its ships to the border. The ground battle was something else entirely.
In the entire history of the AFP, there had never been an attempt to liberate a world. As such, though boarding actions were common, infantry actions on the surface were a new experience. The Shiriki remained in the system to fight off the waves of reinforcements; Alliance infantry, composed primarily of Earthlings and Quasnot, battled the Drules viciously for every inch of ground. It took over a year of bloody fighting to officially reclaim the planet.
After more than a century of enduring hit and run attacks from the AFP, and a decade of similar harassment by the UA, the Fourth Kingdom had been wholly unprepared for their enemies to stand and fight—never mind actually reclaiming territory. Even worse, they had been in the process of upgrading the Atlantis shipyards to their own standards. In the hands of the Hydrans, the upgraded shipyards were soon producing Avengers nearly twice as quickly as any unmodified Earthling facility.
Though the Alliance was emboldened by its victory, the true costs would soon become apparent. All that had spared Earth from invasion long before was the convoluted nature of Drule honor. Now that the Alliance was launching deep invasion strikes, the Fourth could do the same. GA forces became wary as the expected counterstrike on Atlantis failed to materialize. The Alitra Convoy was placed on standby in the Sol system, ready to immediately reinforce wherever the Drules launched their next attack; they had been there less than a month when a massive invasion fleet appeared right on top of them.
Earth had long since been prepared to make a final stand. Drone satellites with nuclear missiles had been in place for years, ready to make the invaders pay one last dear price. These satellites were activated when the invasion fleet arrived, targeting several Drule dreadnoughts and successfully destroying four, including their flagship. This was answered with a planetary bombardment that left four major cities in ruins—one for each dreadnought lost. The message was clear enough. Shaken, the defenders made contact and agreed to limit the rest of the battle to conventional tactics.
The Battle of Earth soon became the Siege of Earth. Each side had overwhelming force present; neither was fully willing to commit such numbers to mutual destruction. Any attempts to shift the balance of power were almost immediately countered with reinforcements, until the entire Ka-glira Convoy was present in the system as well. Skirmishes were constant along the lines.
Three daring ploys would break the siege, and solidify the Alliance as a cunning and dangerous foe. The first ploy was strategic. With fully half their forces locked down on Earth, High Command determined they had to prove themselves capable of fighting a multi-front war—even if they weren't confident themselves that they could. The Varesi Convoy was split into several small strike teams, hitting every Drule-occupied planet in the Atlantis Sector at once. These attacks were repulsed more often than not. But they dealt significant damage and took little in return, reminding the Fourth that the AFP's century of hit and run experience was still in play. And perhaps more importantly it proved the Alliance was hardly cowering in fear.
The second ploy was tactical. The siege was affecting Earth's moon far worse than Earth itself; the lunar colonies had never been designed for self-sufficiency. An attempt to run the blockade was intercepted by the Drule cruiser Bloodsworn. To prevent the cruiser from destroying the cargo ships, the convoy's escort issued a sol adroce challenge. As the convoy continued on to Luna, the Bloodsworn and the Atlantis-class Unfinished Journey engaged in a duel that would see the Drule ship fall into the Alliance's possession.
Interrogating the crew of the Bloodsworn brought an interesting revelation: Drule morale was near rock bottom. They had expected glorious battle and honorable victories, not wasting time and resources on grinding stalemates. But after the effort already spent on attempting to conquer human space, withdrawing would have gravely shamed the Fourth among the Supremacy; they were essentially locked into a prideful version of the sunk cost fallacy. The third ploy, thus, was psychological. Using the information gained from the Bloodsworn's crew, as well as Hydran knowledge of Drule culture, the GA contacted the enemy fleet and offered a conditional surrender.
The terms of the Treaty of Sol were no less than a full withdrawal by the Fourth Kingdom. All conquered worlds in the Atlantis Sector would be returned immediately, and a twelve year ceasefire would take effect. What the Alliance offered in exchange was what the Fourth wanted most: a way to disengage without losing face. The Drules would be granted safe passage to salvage their ships in Alliance territory, in acknowledgment of their 'victory'. The Bloodsworn would be returned. A solemn ceremony was held aboard the invasion fleet's new flagship, to sign a surrender everyone present knew was something of a joke. But it served each side's purposes, and the Fourth had departed Earth's claimed territory by the beginning of 2157.
Though Operation Entente was successful, five Earthling colonies had been lost to the long war: Avalon and Kodali had been completely razed by the invaders, while Skyport, Dathreil, and New Valdez declared independence over varying war-related matters. (Skyport would later rejoin, once the xenophobic governorship of the planet was overthrown.)
With the temporary peace, the new allies turned some focus to domestic matters. Millions of Glis civilians had been living aboard ships in the Grand Convoys for over a century; they were offered new homes among the Earthling colonies. Only the Shiriki accepted the offer. The Ka-glira and Alitra civilians had become accustomed to life aboard their vessels, and the Varesi believed it was their duty to reclaim former Glis territory before they could inhabit the ground again. Shiriki settlers chose a planet they named Chika-rih for their capital, and spread out to several human colonies in the Atlantis and Pacifica Sectors, where their descendants remain to this day. Though the other races of the AFP had their own homeworlds, or in the case of the Biboh did not need one, an open invitation was extended to their civilians as well. Ultimately small enclaves of all the AFP's member races would take root in the Atlantis Sector.
Information sharing also increased dramatically during this period. Perhaps the most notable civilian exchange of knowledge was the Glis providing their ancient star charts as the basis for new Alliance maps. Earth lay slightly outside the territory the ancient Glis had explored, in what would become known as the Outer Reaches. The explored areas were designated the Interior Expanse. Even the modern Alliance puts little emphasis on exploring the Outer Reaches; rediscovering the Interior Expanse as more than points on a star map is considered a greater priority.
Even while adjusting to peace, it was evident to the Alliance that they could not afford to be complacent. As soon as the ceasefire expired the Drules might decide to try again; allowing them to spread unchecked in the meantime would only make them that much more dangerous. Small scout fleets began working their way back along the border of the incursion zone, searching for any civilizations that would be threatened if the Fourth opted to double back. Though they initially found nothing between Earth and what had once been Glis territory, they would encounter another race just beyond.
The Daesulos were a race of demonic extraplanar entities who had long ago foreseen their own destruction by the Drules. While they doubted the Alliance could prevent that fate, they had not foreseen having allies; they opted to join and see what might happen. They brought with them a unique brand of cybernetic technology. Daesulos ships were in many ways living beings, able to interface with their pilots and heal quickly from most damage. Many among the GA found them unsettling. But the Alliance was forged under fire, and considered standing against the Fourth Kingdom threat far more important than a bit of discomfort.
Elsewhere, exploring their former empire for the first time in millennia, the Glis were shocked to come across an inhabited planet. New sapient life had evolved in the ruins of Likirsi; now calling the planet Airnia, the gazelle-like Airans were a primitive race who worshipped their world's unknown precursors. The Glis were somewhat appalled to be worshipped, but only too happy to invite the Airans to join them as allies. They proved to be industrious workers and quick learners, taking especially well to the controlled environments of spacedocks and shipyards.
As the GA gathered strength, the Fourth Kingdom was becoming uneasy. A few upstart pests unworthy of conquering were becoming a force that might truly threaten their empire. The moment the ceasefire expired, they chose to test the will of the growing Alliance by sending a massive fleet to sack the Daesulos homeworld of Machae. Just as the Daesulos had foreseen, the defenders could not stop Machae from being razed. But the Alliance was able to evacuate a sizeable percentage of the planet's population while under bombardment; the Daesulos would not go extinct. Nor would they go unavenged.
Operation Gandregora, the Daesul word for reckoning, took shape quickly. After twelve years the Alliance had an impressive fleet of Avengers, as well as a new model of Atlantis incorporating technologies from all of the founding powers. Refurbishing the ancient Glis Shira-si-class gunboats had been a point of nearly religious pride for the Airans, and the Daesulos themselves had managed to escape Machae with half a dozen of their powerful Morn-class carriers intact. For the first time, the GA would launch an assault with a modern and purpose-built force.
In a stunning string of victories, the Gandregora task force successfully burned a path directly to the Fourth Kingdom capital of Kandaloth. There they issued an ultimatum, demanding the Drules either cease their aggression or be repaid in full for the razing of Machae. The result was the Treaty of Kandaloth, which declared a formal state of non-aggression between the Fourth Kingdom and the Alliance. The treaty required both sides to relinquish their forward outposts in the other's territory, and created a roughly fifteen light year buffer between the Fourth Kingdom Incursion Zone and Alliance space. The few civilian-inhabited planets within the buffer zone were allowed to remain, most notably Hydros and Kolair, but any further operation in this No Man's Land by either side was forbidden.
Only decades later would the Alliance learn their victory hadn't come without help. Having borne a grudge against the Fourth Kingdom for centuries from wars that predated the Supremacy, the Sixth Kingdom had taken advantage of the Alliance counterstrike to launch dozens of sol langure challenges all along the border of their neighboring colonization zone. These challenges forced the Fourth to either surrender worlds or military equipment, or engage in combat trials. The addition of the Sixth's opportunism had left the Fourth essentially attacked from all sides; a treaty ridding them of any concerns about the Alliance was vastly preferable to capitulating to Drule rivals.
This information, and indeed most of the Alliance's information about the modern Supremacy, was provided by the Seventh Kingdom after the Shendras Incident in 2204, where Seventh Kingdom trading vessels operating in No Man's Land nearly triggered a new war. Prior to this, the Hydrans were the only concrete proof that any kingdoms but the Fourth had successfully crossed the Maw of Indurkra—and they would hardly characterize themselves as a Tenth Kingdom success.
Relations with the Seventh Kingdom were chilly at first, owing largely to the Fourth's tendency to use diplomacy as a precursor to invasion. The Seventh, however, was a kingdom that favored power brokering over military conquest. They were very interested in a cordial relationship with a faction that could give them more leverage against their warlike neighbors. Plying the GA with trade and information, they would eventually earn an embassy on Hydros, with the Alliance granted an embassy on the Seventh's capital of Raltara.
The Seventh achieved precisely what they wanted from this diplomacy: a formal Fourth Kingdom protest to the Supremacy Council, insisting the Seventh was dishonorably interfering with their operations and trying to use their sworn enemies against them. The Fourth demanded the Council take over negotiations on behalf of all kingdoms. After extracting several significant concessions, the Seventh happily seconded the motion.
In 2211, a delegation of Drule ambassadors representing all ten kingdoms met with Alliance negotiators in the Galunde system, deep within No Man's Land. It took five months for the Treaty of Galunde to fully take shape. The Treaty of Kandaloth would remain binding; the new treaty locked the Alliance and the other nine kingdoms into a state of nonaggression. No ambassadors would be exchanged, nor would trade agreements be forged. Diplomatic channels were established in case of crisis, but otherwise, Alliance and Supremacy agreed to simply leave each other alone.
(It is an open secret that the embassies on Hydros and Raltara remain active; the letter of the treaty stated that no future exchanges of ambassadors would occur, not that previous exchanges must be withdrawn. Trade agreements were cancelled, but information and favors are still occasionally exchanged.)
Despite or perhaps because of this achievement, the Alliance did not cease its expansion. The treaty gave them a much stronger claim to be able to protect others from Drule aggression, and there were those who considered it a moral imperative to offer that protection. Others did not fully trust the Drules to keep their word, and believed building forces for an inevitable new war was equally imperative. Continuing to recruit along the edge of the Fourth Kingdom buffer zone, in 2218 Alliance ships suddenly found themselves jumping right into the teeth of the Ninth Kingdom.
Though the Treaty of Galunde ensured the encounter remained peaceful, the Ninth was less than pleased to find the Alliance encroaching on territory it meant to conquer. This would lead to the Deros Convention, an agreement that the Alliance would not invite planets already under Drule attack to join them. This would be seen as a breach of honor and an act of war. In exchange, the Ninth agreed to grant the Alliance unchallenged passage through the outskirts of its territory. The primary purpose of this was to ensure Alliance worlds could not be cut off by Drule expansion, though that condition was not formalized. In practice, neither faction was particularly interested in acquiring territory behind the other's lines. Recognizing this, and displeased by being forced into even tacit approval of Drule conquest, the Alliance stepped up its recruiting efforts along the Ninth's border.
The most significant race to join from this effort were the Verun-Ka, amphibious humanoids whose homeworld of Verundi lay just a few light years into the Outer Reaches. With their addition, the Alliance's area of influence spread from one end of the Interior Expanse to the other, effectively providing a bulwark against Drule aggression for any worlds on the other side. This fact did not go unnoticed by its members.
For several years, an intense debate raged within the Alliance Council. Some believed that it was their right to seek out the civilizations under their de facto protection for membership. Others felt this would be horribly unethical. Still others pointed out the Drules could hardly be the only threat in the galaxy—and among those, there was division on whether that was reason to seek members beyond the border or to leave them alone.
Ultimately, it was decided that failing to explore that region of space was untenable. Any spacefaring civilizations the Alliance encountered would be extended an invitation, but the threat of the Drules would not be used as encouragement. Over time, several new races would join, welcoming the idea of a mutual defense pact even without the immediate threat of conquest hanging over them. Friendly relationships and trade agreements with many other civilizations were established as well, hastening the GA's development into more than just a military power.
The most prominent of these 'backline contacts' was the Vex-Cha Confederacy: an interstellar trade empire located almost directly across the Interior Expanse from Earth. First contact was made in 2236. Immediately suspicious of a large military power making contact, the proud Vex-Cha wanted nothing to do with the Alliance. But with careful diplomacy they would eventually acknowledge that they were aware of the Drules, having lost several deep scouting missions in the Ninth Kingdom's region of space. Officially, the two powers signed only a few trade agreements and a limited defense pact against piracy. Unofficially, the Vex-Cha often provide GA members sharp discounts for military equipment, a tacit acknowledgement of their situation.
As time passed and the Drules did not break their treaties, the Alliance gave more and more focus to economics and culture. Voluntary cultural exchanges were established. So also was the Alliance Merchant Marine, a centralized cargo network which streamlined much of the trade between members. Military research and preparation continued as intently as ever, but gradually became less visible as domestic pursuits came to the fore.
In 2306, the Varesi Convoy would finally succeed in its assumed destiny. The planet Gliskor, fully overgrown and unrecognizable from the manufacturing hub it had once been, was reclaimed with the agreement of the other Grand Convoys as the new official Glis homeworld. A few Shiriki would make pilgrimages there, though most were content in human space. The civilians of the Alitra and Ka-glira Convoys were in no rush to settle, but the lure of a proper new homeworld was too much for the tradition-bound Glis to resist for long. Over the next few decades nearly all remaining Glis civilians in the Convoys would relocate.
It was, indirectly, the settlement of Gliskor that led to the next near-war. Several farming and mining outposts had been set up around the new Glis capital, and in 2318 one of them was wiped out by raiders. With Gliskor close to the edge of No Man's Land, the Fourth Kingdom was immediately assumed to be responsible. Reinforcements arrived to the area, ready to flood across the buffer zone at the next sign of hostility. But the next sign of hostility was not what anyone expected.
Elements of the Solar Vanguard encountered a single raider vessel over an abandoned mining post. The ship was like nothing any Drule kingdom had been seen fielding, and its weaponry cut through Alliance refractive armor as if it weren't there. Deeply concerned, High Command traded a few favors with the Seventh Kingdom and discovered the Drules were well familiar with the raiders. Identifying them as the Galra, the Seventh cautioned that they would offer neither quarter nor negotiation. Expecting an invasion, the Alliance deployed most of the Perseus Vanguard to Gliskor, but an invasion never arrived. Galra raids would become a rare but regular nuisance to Alliance territory from them on.
Word of the Alliance was spreading past its territory, or even its own scouting units. In 2341, emissaries of a fey-like race calling themselves the Rixex made contact. Their homeworld of Exrix lay in the Fourth Kingdom's remaining path of conquest: while No Man's Land prevented the Drules from expanding further anti-spinward, the space rimward of their incursion zone remained vulnerable.
The Rixex petition for membership touched off another spirited debate in the Council. Most among the Alliance agreed that they could hardly refuse. The question was how to deal with the consequences. Some were concerned they may be violating the spirit of the Deros Convention, while others saw this as a benefit. It was also noted that the Fourth Kingdom was technically not bound by the Treaty of Galunde—Deros Convention or not, they would be within their rights to attack if the Alliance stood in their way. The Founding Powers in particular considered this all the more reason to stand there.
The Rixex were unanimously accepted into the Alliance, and mobilization for an inevitable new war began immediately afterwards. The Fourth was not yet particularly close to Exrix at the time, but High Command felt that having made their decision, the GA must commit fully to that region of space. Expeditions were sent out between the Fourth Kingdom Incursion Zone and the Outer Reaches, establishing forward scouting posts and inviting other planets to join.
As these expeditions continued up the edge of the Interior Expanse, they made an unexpected discovery: the Sixth Kingdom Colonization Zone. The Sixth was equally surprised to encounter the Alliance, having assumed Fourth Kingdom space to be an effective buffer. Shortly after this encounter, the Fourth became aware of the Alliance's presence on their free border. Stunned and infuriated, they reacted to the insult without properly scouting the area. In 2349 their forces sacked several forward outposts, then moved on to Exrix and its neighboring worlds.
The ensuing battles would come to be known as the Rimward Skirmishes, and were nothing short of disastrous for the Drules. While they had been expanding their territory, the Alliance had been advancing its technology, with its primary focus on countering Drule ships—and despite the Galra scare, actual Drule weaponry had changed little in two centuries. The newly-formed Andromeda and Orion Vanguards met the invaders head-on. Fighting was fierce, with each side claiming several Pyrrhic victories and leaving ruined fleets in their wake. But much like the original war, every stalemate was a de facto victory for the Alliance. The exasperated Supremacy Council soon stepped in, reminding the Fourth that they had been the ones to insist on the oversight.
It was the Supremacy that demanded the extension of No Man's Land. Rather than simply buffering their anti-spinward border, it would surround nearly the entirety of the Fourth Kingdom Incursion Zone, with the exception of their Sixth Kingdom border and a small portion of the zone that lay within the Outer Reaches. Though the official Drule negotiators had little to say about their reasoning, Seventh Kingdom contacts reported that the Sixth had suggested the move, observing that clearly the Fourth must be 'protected' from the Alliance. The Exrix Amendments to the Treaty of Kandaloth took effect in 2350.
Analysts immediately detected a major force buildup within the Fourth's territory. Three Vanguard units were deployed along the border, expecting this to finally be the moment the treaties would be broken… and there they have remained since. This state of cold war has existed for over sixty years. Though the modern Alliance is again visibly focused on domestic and trade pursuits, recruitment and research will continue for as long as the Drule threat lurks.
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