Interplanetary Secessionist Wars
The Interplanetary Secessionist War, often shortened to the Secessionist Wars, was a massive interstellar conflict that engulfed the Sol system and its bordering star systems between 2316 and 2356. It was waged between the United Terran Federation (UTF the radical Brotherhood of Nod, led by Vladimir Koslov; the fascist Templars, backed by powerful corporate interests such as Weyland-Yutani, Resources Development Administration (RDA), Tyrell Corporation, and CyberLife; and a number of emergent colonial powers seeking sovereignty, including the Freestar Collective and House Va'ruun. These wars were preceded by years of escalating tensions and violence in conflicts such as the Jovian Moons Campaign, the Rainforest Wars, the Narion Conflict, the Serpent's Crusade, and the Mars Campaign. Collectively, these interconnected conflicts are often grouped under the broader term "Interplanetary Wars."
Birth of the United Terran Federation
In the wake of the global nuclear cataclysm of 2077, humanity spent more than a century recovering from ruin. Amid the ashes, the Terran Starship Command (TSC) emerged as the dominant unifying force, taking charge of Earth’s fractured remnants. Through hardline military governance, the TSC led reconstruction and spearheaded mankind’s return to space. In 1961, the first modern astronaut reached Earth’s orbit, and in 1969, humans walked upon Luna’s surface for the first time in millennia. By 2309, coordinated efforts by the TSC and affiliated factions had succeeded in colonizing Luna, Mars, and a handful of extrasolar systems. These colonies, although technologically challenged at first, eventually thrived due to revolutionary scientific advancements. By 2310, the TSC had essentially completed its mission of rebuilding civilization. A pivotal referendum was held to determine its future: whether to retain the militarized structure, dissolve it entirely, or transform it into a civil governing body. In a landslide decision, humanity voted in favor of reformation. Thus, the United Terran Federation was born—a unified, civilian-led global government designed to oversee humanity’s interplanetary expansion.The Enduring Shadow of the Templars and the Brotherhood of Nod
Contrary to official narratives that painted them as modern political upstarts, both the Templars and the Brotherhood of Nod had roots that stretched back to Earth’s pre-apocalyptic era. Before the nuclear exchange of 2077, the Templars were a cabal of ultra-nationalist, corporatist powerbrokers—elites who foresaw global collapse and secured their survival in fortified bunkers, sea-based rigs, and deep-vaulted arcologies. As the old world burned, they preserved their ideology and assets, waiting patiently for an opportunity to reemerge. When the world began to rebuild, the Templars resurfaced as a well-connected, well-financed movement advocating for centralized power, rigid order, and absolute dominance. The Brotherhood of Nod also survived, though its path was more chaotic. Once a globe-spanning revolutionary movement that claimed to champion the downtrodden, Nod splintered during the post-nuclear dark age. Its members became warlords, raiders, and local insurgents—fractured and often at odds with one another. Yet their ideological DNA persisted. As humanity began rebuilding under the TSC, Nod reassembled itself from these scattered remnants, recasting its image as the voice of the oppressed masses living under TSC and later UTF control. Though they professed revolutionary ideals, many Nod cells operated as little more than criminal syndicates cloaked in propaganda.Jovian Moons Campaign and Narion Conflict
The ratification of the UTF brought simmering tensions to a boil. In 2310, the Templars bombed a UTF administrative complex in the Europan city of Thynia. The UTF responded by dispatching colonial advisors to Io, but the act marked the return of militant Templar aggression. In 2312, Templar forces ambushed UTF advisors on Io, initiating the Jovian Moons Campaign. Simultaneously, the Brotherhood of Nod, supported by Freestar Collective members, seized a medical station above Narion. UTF forces engaged both groups in what became the first interplanetary armed conflict. These confrontations underscored UTF vulnerabilities. The Jovian and Narion conflicts, while contained, galvanized widespread unrest. Colonists increasingly viewed the UTF as either weak or authoritarian, while the Templars and Nod spread their messages of destiny and resistance. UTF leadership authorized a sweeping militarization effort, fearing a larger war was imminent.Rainforest Wars
A decade later, in 2322, coordinated bombings in South America reignited violence across the Sol system. UTF forces, Templars, and Nod fighters clashed in a nineteen-month guerrilla war now known as the Rainforest Wars. Simultaneous uprisings in North Africa—the Saharan Insurgency—further strained UTF forces. On Luna, ideological fractures caused a brief civil war within the Templars as neo-Templars attempted a negotiated surrender. Though the UTF ultimately reasserted control, the Rainforest Wars left lasting damage. The brutality of the conflict created iconic cultural works such as A Soldier’s Tale: Rainforest Wars, and further hardened public opinion against extremist movements and UTF overreach alike.The Mars Campaign and the Freestar War
Following the assassination of Templar leader Nadja Mielke in late 2325, the Templars retaliated by annihilating the Brotherhood’s stronghold in Argyre Planitia on Mars. The UTF launched a prolonged ground and orbital campaign across the Martian territories to prevent either faction from reclaiming the ruins. It marked the first successful extraterrestrial deployment of UTF xenowarfare technologies. Meanwhile, the Freestar Collective’s expansion into UTF-claimed territory escalated into war. The UTF’s preemptive strike on Vesta broke the fragile ceasefire. Though the UTF Navy overwhelmed Freestar defenses, resistance persisted in the outer colonies. In 2328, Brotherhood leader Vladimir Koslov and his family were killed in a bombing near Lake Autolycus on Luna, fracturing Nod leadership. The UTF quickly seized the initiative, deploying Marines across Europa, Io, Callisto, and other strategic locations. The Templars, under Oscar Bauer, attempted a last stand, but were eventually overrun.Final Phase and Aftermath
The war formally ended in 2332 with the signing of the Callisto Armistice, which granted the UTF broad jurisdiction over colonial territories and offered limited concessions to the Freestar Collective. The UTF had crushed its ideological enemies but at great cost. The Templars’ corporate sponsors were dismantled, their assets absorbed into the newly-formed MegaCorp—an entity designed to operate under UTF oversight. The Brotherhood of Nod, fragmented once more, faded into insurgency, its remaining loyalists scattered. Though the UTF stood victorious, the Interplanetary Secessionist Wars left scars that would shape human space for generations. The fires lit by ancient factions like the Templars and Nod were never fully extinguished, only buried beneath a fragile peace.
Included Conflicts
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Space
Start Date
2316 FS
Ending Date
2356 FS
Conflict Result
UTF Phyric Victory, most human factions consolidated under UTF rule
Location
Comments