First Contact WarIn (Insert correct galactic date 'cause we don't really have a unified time telling system maybeweshouldgetone here) a Gradient colony ship was attacked by two military ships of unknown origin. No species claimed responsibility for the assault, so it was concluded that this must have been an unknown power in the galaxy. The alien raiders where held back by a valiant GPA wing that had managed to hold off a swarm of fighter craft and buy time for the colony ship to get out of range and allow reinforcements from a nearby sector to engage the rogue ships.
The reinforcements arrived swiftly and managed to fight the unknown vessels to a standstill. In one final act of defiance the ships unleashed a final salvo and damaged the GPA vessels, preventing pursuit.
Word arrived quickly to the Allied Traverse about the unknown craft, after which a full investigation was launched into discovering the origin of these craft and punish the species that owned them for attacking a pre-contact species without a hint of provocation.
What they found was far beyond what they expected...
Rather than some new rogue species that was a bit trigger happy, this new force that apparently called itself the "Core Combine" had been consolidating its power and biding its time for quite a while. Further distressing news reached the ears of high command that the Core was actually in the middle of launching a full scale invasion of the (Insert name of sector that borders the Allied Traverse but isn't actually the Allied Traverse) sector. It was distressing news, as further reports soon made clear the Combine's intentions: Complete Genocide. Subsequent accounts from species that where fleeing the (INOSTBTATBIATAT) sector revealed the scale the invasion and the absolutely monstrous means the Combine used to achieve their goals.
Needless to say, the GPA and its sponsor races rallied quickly, each one sending support to the (INOSTBTATBIATAT) sector to hold the line against these barbarians.
The war was dragging and bloody. Each cycle the battlines of systems and planets where shifted by metaphorical inches. Tails of valiant defenders holding off fleets many
many times larger than them where a dime a dozen. Unfortunately the GPA and their sponsor races knew that this simply wasn't going to work. They knew that if they tried to rely on a war of attrition the Combine actually had a good chance of wearing them down. Attempting to simply "hold the line" would cause the war to drag on further, increasing the body count.
A chance to shift the battle suddenly appeared however! Late in the war the GPA experienced a brief respite from the Combine attacks
(1.), a fine luxury as the waves of invasion fleets flooding into the sector was forcing most species to keep their fleets on high alert 24/7. Enna Miq of the Perrachi empire suggested a daring tactic: Near the borders of the (INOSTBTATBIATAT) system, a pair of heavily guarded fortress worlds where detected. Reports indicated the Combine was using these two planets as forward bases for their raids on the Allied Traverse. Controlling these two worlds, as well as the rest of the sector would complete the equation to create a new devastating war-machine to continue the Core's campaign of genocide.
Miq proposed a daring attack on these two worlds, knowing that taking them from the Core would have this invasion come to a grinding halt. With few other options other than continue to hold their ground as they had been doing, the GPA races agreed.
The closing years of the war came after two incredibly bloody battles. The GPA followed Miq's strategy, going on the offensive against the Combine, to which words cannot describe how bloody and gruesome the battle was. It was hard to find a species willing to fight so damn hard for two patches of space land. The Combine stubbornly clung to the two fortress worlds like leeches. In the end however, the allied races determination won out. The fortress worlds where taken and placed under strict quarantine. A short mop-up operation soon followed, and the Core Combine was in a fighting retreat.
The closing years of the war followed with several little known short "wars". The GPA and their sponsor worked to mop up any Combine swarms still plaguing the sector. Even in retreat the Combine was merciless, they raided other civilization for slaves and supplies while they ran, probably to see if they could make up for their losses. Occasionally these "retreats" made a u-turn, attempting to start a new offensive. None ever got off the ground though, as a few skirmishes later theses raiding fleets where on the run again.
Eventually, fighting ceased in the (INOSTBTATBIATAT) sector, and the Traverse was once again secure. The Perrachi in particular wanted to continue push a new offensive to penetrate deeper into Combine territory, but most other races, especially those inhabiting the (INOSTBTATBIATAT) sector simply tired of war. On the Core Combines end, they weren’t eager to continue a war for such uncertain gain, and simply pulled out of the sector, and put on hold any further incursions into the Traverse. Instead, they opted to focus their efforts on the Outer Verge and the Inner Rim.
The Core Combine has been in something akin to exile from the galaxy proper. However, disturbing rumors are beginning to arise, the most disturbing of which are emerging species
making deals with the Combine. Service in return for advanced weaponry and genetic enhancement, while keeping a sizable portion of their autonomy…
1. It’s said that Core was possibly spending this downtime resupplying its forces. This short delay would cost them dearly.
So yeah, going to start downplaying the hive-mind.
Also: Sentient and autonomous servant races....scary.
On that note, to any new players on this forum: I
invite to show that your emerging species is badass by say... holding off a Combine invasion. Thing is, these guys are designed to be stock villains.
Goddamn Ork. Small skirmishes, mini-wars, and invasions, involving the Core Combine are a dime a dozen.
Of course the Combine is badass in a sense that they can take all these hits and casualties and respond with "That the best you got?! Send in the next wave!"
It's when they fully commit that they go from goddamn Orks to "Scourge of the Galaxy" mode.
