The Unity ChroniclesThe Unity ChroniclesPrior to U98, the Unity government was the undisputed source of power in the galaxy. Its Navy kept the peace throughout the sixty-two star systems, and any local rebellions were dealt with swiftly and decisively. Its rule meant peace, prosperity and relative freedom among the wealthy core worlds, but out in the fringe colonies it was a different story.
The outer worlds were less wealthy than those at the core, despite little difference in naturally-occurring rescources. The Unity government ran many of them as little more than slave colonies, importing the resources to the core. Keeping the outer worlds poor meant that any uprisings were generally weak and thus short-lived.
In U96, one such uprising took place in the New Jutland system. A small squadron of civilian fighters launched a surprise attack upon the Unity base there, and though they were unsuccessful, it gave the Unity government cause for concern. New Jutland was heavily fortified with one of the largest Navy bases outside of the core worlds.
Two years later, rebel forces overwhelmed the Unity bases on a number of worlds simultaneously. Two large rebel fleets converged on the New Jorvik system, meeting the Unity forces already stationed in that system and those from the New Jutland base in an enormous battle that would become known as the Battle of Giants, due to the large numbers of capital ships on either side.
The rebels won. For the first time since its inception at the height of the Alien War nearly one hundred years previously, Unity had been openly and successfully challenged. The worlds involved in that uprising called themselves the First Freedom Alliance, and their example (and aid) sparked off a series of similar rebellions throughout the outer worlds.
Soon, the First Freedom Alliance, a loose organisation based mainly around military co-operation, began to feel the necessity for greater formalisation of their freedom. Thus, in U100, twenty systems banded together and created the Varangian Alliance: an interstellar government to rival Unity itself.
Not every independent system chose to join this new faction, however; some saw it as no better than the core government, some wished to retain the ability to trade with either side. After a few years of attacks and counter-attacks along the borders, the civil war settled into something almost resembling routine. Until U159...
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