The Abridged History of the Fiveways War
I had fun playing a massive board game last night.
Today, I nerded out and wrote a match report of the game. I hope you enjoy it...
Dear Members of the Galactic Historical Society,
Let me share with you events which occurred one Earth year ago in our galaxy which was once controlled by the civilisation known as the Lazax. The power vacuum created when the Lazax left filled our five civilisations with the desire to expand towards the hub of Lazax culture - the planet known as Mecatol Rex.
My friends, a peaceful race of scientists based on the planets of Jol and Nar, found themselves - due to massive blunders by The Creator - surrounded on one side by the diplomatic 'Space Turtles' of the Xxcha and on the other side, a race of opportunistic 'Golems' known as the Yssaril.
Sitting the other side of the galaxy were the Naalu collective, those speedy serpents, hard to get a grip on. Next to them, a band of pirates known as the Mentak coalition.
The first couple of rounds of escalation followed a typical path to war. Research from the Universities of Jol-Nar continued, fleets grew (particularly the pirates of the Mentak coalition and the Naalu) and uneasy truces were formed.
The Universities of Jol-Nar formed a demilitarised zone and set up trade deals with the Yssaril tribes. The Yssaril tribes continued their agreement with Naalu. Both the Naalu and the Xxcha formed a protective front around the massive, Mentak pirate fleet.
An early incident between the Mentak and the Naalu almost turned into war, but was resolved through drug-assisted diplomacy, some of which was captured on an ancient video recording device.
The Professors on Jol-Nar leapt forward with technological advancements while the other races built up fleets and threatened each other. They also crept towards their dream of controlling the galaxy before their plan was uncovered by the Yssaril tribes and the Naalu, both of whom hatched a planned to launch and offensive on the other side of the galaxy.
Shortly after forming a plan with the Naalu, the Yssaril, using cleverly executed tactical actions, garrisonned Mecatol Rex, the capital of the fallen empire of the Lazar. With this planet, they increased their influence and caught up with the Universities of Jol-Nar.
In an effort to maintain their lead, the Jol-Nar spent time studying a supernova near to their home system, managing to harness this energy to produce a new and terrifying technology, known as a War Sun. These massive, spherical stations bristled with communications relays, weapons and docking points and dealt out massive damage. The primary weapon sits at the top of sphere and according to some human races gives the station the appearance of a mammary gland - thus the nickname Space Boob, or War Boob.
Spies within the Universities of Jol-Nar fed back their findings to their Mentak employees, giving the Coalition the technology as well.
War broke out suddenly, and at a time when most civilisations were becoming stretched and fatigued. Following an agreement with the Yssaril, the Naalu moved through a channel to attack the fringes of Jol-Nar society. The Jol-Nar lost a Dreadnaught at the cost of almost 2,000 lives and were forced to concede control of the system to the Naalu.
Simultaneously, the Mentak coalition pushed into the territory of their political neighbours, the Xxcha. The Xxcha fought bravely against the Mentak Coalition's Dreadnoughts and a newly-minted War Sun, but ultimately were pushed back closer their home system - a system that they would lose shortly afterwards in a brutal, continued attack by the pirates of the Mentak Coalition.
Both Jol and Nar (the home system of the Jol-Nar) were also held under siege, this time by the Naalu, whose experienced Admirals drove a small fleet through the primary defences of the Jol-Nar.
The largest battle was fought during the final acts of the war. In a desperate attempt to stop the tribes of Yssaril taking the galaxy the Naalu swung their main fleet towards Mecatol Rex, heavily fortified by the Yssaril. A brutal exchange of laser, missile and antimatter rounds exchanged. In a few short hours, the husks and wreckage of cruisers, destroyers and dreadnoughts, floated in orbit around Mecatol Rex. At a cost of almost 10,000 casualties, but with a massive numerical advantage the Naalu moved in to secure Mecatol Rex under siege.
The Yssaril defences of Mecatol Rex, shortly before invasion by the Naalu.
But ultimately, it was a futile assault. By the time the war was ended by the Yssaril, almost 1,000,000 lives had been lost throughout the galaxy. Homes were destroyed and brothers fought brothers.
The wounded fleet of the Universities of Jol-Nar after taking their home system back.
I bid you all, dear Members of the Galactic Historical Society, to remember the lessons of the past and ensure we don't repeat the mistakes of past generations.
Sincerely,
Andy, former Arch-Chancellor of the Universities of Jol-Nar
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