The Second Dark Age
This article covers the years 2318 to 2388 and is referred to some historians as the "Second Dark Age"
2318-2319- The Fifth Karkouri War
2318 - The 5th Karkouri War breaks out as a Karkouri Task Force breaks through the Confederate Border. President Sadelowe orders the Confederate Fleet into action to stop the Karkouri aggressors. Admiral Kyle takes personal command of the main effort. He places the 2nd Fleet under the command of Admiral Richard Beatty. The first skirmishes see the Karkouri drive back Confederate picket ships. However the first major engagement sees the 1st Fleet under Admiral Kyle, consisting of more than 70 fighting ships, engage the Karkouri near Stark. The battle ends up as one of the most one-sided in Terran history as the 1st Fleet is totally wiped out in less than two hours. More than 50,000 lives are lost. However the 2nd Fleet doesn't receive any word of the catastrophe and look to repeat it. The 2nd Fleet and its 55 ships go into action. Some elements refuse to make the move and Admiral Uwe van Lowe orders his elements to jump away and disperse. The 2nd fleet suffers the same fate as the 1st and is wiped out with the loss of 38,000 lives. The Karkouri fleets pause for a couple of days and then move towards the core-worlds. The shockwaves on Earth and Mars are huge. There are massed panics, riots and protests. President Sadelowe attempts to arrest the collapse but very quickly things unravel. The Governor of St Lawrence threatens to secede from the Union and make a separate peace with the Karkouri. The arrival of a Karkouri task force near Jupiter is the death blow to the Confederate Union which collapses. The Military move in to restore order. The Karkouri land troops on Mars and Earth but to stop a bloody orbital bombardment, the military forms a provisional government to negotiate with the Karkouri. The Karkouri regime takes possession of the worlds of the old Union but most of the colonies simply secede as they are no longer bound to the old Confederate Union agreement.2319-2322 - Occupation
2319 -President Sadelowe resigns her office. The Confederate Union is replaced by the new Provisional Government of Earth, headed up by a committee who will negotiate the terms of the Karkouri occupation. The Karkouri deploy a large fleet of about 40 ships to watch over their new conquest. The Provisional Government face widespread resistance from the Civil Service, the courts, the colonies and the military. Admiral Uwe van Lowe, leading what remains of the Terran fleets calls for an armed resistance. His small fleet begin hit and run actions against the Karkouri. Meanwhile OMDA chairman Thane Spiers calls for unity in the face of the Karkouri occupation. 2320 - The Provisional Government begin to set up a democratic election to choose the new President of the Provisional Government. The Karkouri are, largely, disinterested in the process. West-Corp and VENTRISS UDC use the lack of oversight from the Provisional Government to begin a widespread expansion. EDN and Allied Tech follow suite. On Mars there is a major deal brokered as Mars, the Jovian colonies and Earth all sign up to the new agreement and are formally recognized as part of the Provisional Government. Beyond that, the PEG has almost no authority. An uprising begins on the Stark colony, supported by members of OMDA. A Karkouri force lands and brutally suppresses the uprising in just six weeks. This prompts the Eden colony to go into uprising. However Karkouri forces follow and land there too. The Resistance goes into action with several effective raids. However, a Task Force under Rear Admiral Dacey Rayburn is badly defeated by the Karkouri, losing nearly 30% of the Resistance's remaining fleet and all but ending hopes of a military victory. 2321 - On Mars, VENTRISS UDC sign an agreement to buy out PINNACLE, a market leading bio-engineering company. The Mars Government become 60% shareholders and VENTRISS take the other 40%. The Karkouri finally pacify Eden after six months of bloody fighting and nearly 120,000 casualties. Any goodwill that the Karkouri and their PEG allies have is lost. OMDA begin organizing a major resistance effort, crippling Karkouri movements through their espionage work. Meanwhile the outbreak of a weaponized virus that kills only Karkouri cripples the Karkouri fleet. A massive counter attack, lead by OMDA but including Corporate and militia fleets, stuns the Karkouri and wipes out a major fleet group, losing 33 ships.2322-2332 -The League and the Hansa
2322- The Karkouri Governor-General orders the Occupation Fleet to withdraw from Occupied space. The Salborian ground forces isolated and left behind are ordered to carry out scorched earth tactics. The Occupation is ended. Provisional Government President Dustin Brecort announces that a full, Democratic election will take place. The election is not a smooth process as OMDA spokesman Cole Berenhault wins the election but then passes up on being President, calling the election a farce. St Lawrence politician Elle Shockley is elected as President. She helps to form The League; a military alliance between the colonies that will take on the old Confederate political structures. Most of the outlying colonies reject the League and gradually, the Hansa is formed by the Corporations. The human race now stands divided into two major factions 2323- The League struggles to organize itself and President Shockley gets a feel for the sheer scale of the problem. Supreme Court Justice Hugh Stansfield makes a ruling in Newburn v Cole that the League currently has no judicial standing. President Shockley rules (and is eventually backed by the Senate) that the old Confederate laws still apply until new laws are written. The Hansa proves to be effective at setting a common economic policy but not very effective at anything else. However the Hansa and the League are able to coexist as the major corporations continue to trade with the League and have facilities based in League space. There is a short and bloody coup on Fort Carpenter and the Black Dragon Yakuza take over control of the planet. PINNACLE end their association with VENTRISS and become a fully independent corporation again, making the big four into a big five. 2324- President Shockley announces that there will be Presidential elections in 2325 as she feels that her term was as a "caretaker" President. St Lawrence Governor Rust Collingwood emerges as the front-runner. Word comes from the so called "Lost Colonies" that they have lost contact with the most outlying colony. They implore the Tranoan Empire, the League and the Hansa to take action. Former Chancellor of Weller-Banks university Dr Valerie Oxford, known for railing against the Corporations, becomes a viable political candidate as OMDA and their political allies, the Progressive Union, back her to run for President in 2325 2325 -The League is gripped by election fever as Governor Collingwood, Governor Pierce Colby, Governor Kit Rykker of Mars and Dr Valerie Oxford seem the most viable to seek the Presidency. see The 2325 League Presidential Election The Council of Governors vet the list, as per the League's constitution and reduce it to young Governor Colby, who favors reunification, and Dr Oxford, the firebrand liberal who wants to "smash the corporations" and opposes reunification. The polls show a commanding lead for Dr Oxford. However a scandal destroys her candidacy as it is revealed that she has taken consulting money from VENTRISS for years. She denies this but the left-wing coalition beings to unravel. Progressive Senator Klan Hackett calls for her to withdrawn from the ballot but the Attorney General rules that this would not be legal. Governor Pierce Colby wins in a landslide, along with Jovian Belt Attorney General Altus Kinnick. President Colby appoints veteran Senator Braer McQaid as his Secretary of Defence and keeps the influential TH Sorrell on as Secretary of State. 2326 -The talk of reunification begins. The unofficial St Lawrence summit sees former President Shockley host a meeting between representatives of both factions. Secretary Sorrell conducts shuttle diplomacy between the two factions. The Mars summit is set for October of 2326 and President Colby's delegation initially make some headway with the Hansa delegation. However a lack of clarity between the two parties desired end state sees the talks stall. A further summit on New Berlin is set for April of 2327 2327 - President Colby takes part in the New Berlin summit which proves more effective. Secretary Braer McQaid's plan of a new "Federalized" state is introduced with both factions gradually ceding power to that new state until they are dissolved. The two factions agree to begin forming this state and a working group of Civil Servants is created, with open applications to fill the ranks. President Colby is frustrated by the slow going and turns to trying to make the Senate more effective. He has his allies in the Federalist Party try to introduce new laws but they do not have enough power to get them through committee. 2328 - A major trade initiative begins between the Tazzyn Empire and the Hansa. The Tazzyn begin trading in luxury goods, heavy metals and some mechanical parts. The deal brokered by the Hansa leadership makes them a lot of money. A limited Senate bill to increase its level of law making power manages to get out of committee in the Senate. The Federalist faction, under Senator Alden Haer, work with the AIS Party under Senator Hedges Sleeker to get the bill to the Senate where it fails to pass the 600 member chamber. President Colby announces a cabinet reshuffle and moves Braer McQaid from Secretary of Defence to Treasury Secretary. He recruits influential Hawkish Senator Kyra Novotny as the new Secretary of Defence. 2329 - The Karkouri Regime announce a series of trade restrictions and tariffs against Terran goods. This "trade war" begins to take effect by the end of the year. Earth-Guard Senator Thom Galberian leads the political charge against this, calling it unprovoked economic warfare. The League begins to gear up for the next Presidential election. President Colby, somewhat frustrated by the lack of action in reunification, announces that he will seek a 2nd term to finish the work of his first term. He is opposed instantly by former Governor Rust Collingwood and by retired Marine General Miles Behan. More candidates are expected to emerge. 2330 - President Pierce Colby is able to pass the first stage of the election campaign, vetted by the Council of Governors. Left wing candidate Cole Berenhault is able to surge onto the ballot against him and in a virtual repeat of the 2325 Presidential election, Berenhault initially polls ahead by 25%. However a mixture of lobbying money from the big corporations and a scandal about Berenhault's alleged abuse of prisoners sees the polling draw level. A last minute switch of support from the center left sees Colby secure the Presidency for a second term. He names Braer McQaid as the new Secretary of State. However TH Sorrell isn't so lucky and faces investigation from the Senate Oversight committee under Senator McGill Lowton for alleged abuses of her office. see 2330 League Presidential Election 2331- Talks on reunification began in earnest as new, progressive Chancellor of the Hansa Sotaru Ayada lead the talks from the Hansa side of things. The initial talks showed that the leadership of the Hansa, perhaps influenced in part by Governor's Mears, Maquessa and Tellar, had become more receptive to the idea of reunification. However an amendment to the "Future Governments Project" blue-print to reunify the two separate polities was an amendment offered by Senator Alden Haer which would limit the reach and influence of lobbyists. The corporations protested which caused the Hansa leadership to pause. In the end a counter-offer was made which would see the corporations assigned 75 deputies inside the Chamber of Deputies. Whilst this was protested from the League side as anti-democratic, it was agreed in the end. The agreement was signed and reunification would begin.2332 -2360 Reunification -The Federated States
2332- President Colby and Chancellor Ayada continued the negotiations to bring all the worlds of the Hansa under the banner of the new Federated State. News of famines inside Hansa space worried the leadership of the League but these were blamed in part on piracy within Hansa space. The investigation into former Secretary Sorrell failed to pin any proof to the influential politician. There were some revelations that didn't sound very good including accusations that were never proven that she had leaked information to the Hansa on several occasions. However nothing was proven and the committee moved on to new targets. see The Federated States 2333 -Reunification: the two states became one in July of 2333. The newly named Terran Federated States was formed and the Hansa members joined this new polity. President Pierce Colby was named President of the new state whilst Chancellor Sotaru Ayada was named Prime Minister. The Senate approved this, declining calls to have new elections of the new state. The Fleet was deployed into formerly Hansa space to deal with the pirates. The Senate began, however, to direct criticism at West-Corp for its handling of the food crisis on the frontier. A splinter faction from OMDA known as October 83 began to launch bombing attacks against corporate targets on the frontier. President Colby empowered the judiciary to create a special police task force to go after them. They were granted access to military assets. Having been exonerated by the Senate, TH Sorrell was named as the Ambassador to the Tazzyn Empire. 2334- The Senate judiciary committee appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the food crisis on the frontier. West-Corp began to protect itself against these accusations but the Senate made it clear that this wasn't directed at West-Corp, but was more aimed at whomever was actually responsible. West-Corp's veteran CEO Aden Storn resigned and Cornelius Hale was named as the CEO. The Tazzyn Empire made an offer for a very profitable trade deal which would limit Terran trade with other powers. The Senate and the State department agreed to accept the offer but the President vetoed it. However the Senate overturned the veto and the trade deal was signed. The special judicial task force under General Josie Estlund scored a series of major victories capturing dozens of members of October 84. There were skirmishes across the frontier in which there were dozens of casualties but by the end of 2334 it appeared that October 84. OMDA chairman Thane Spiers protested this attack and suppression but President Colby stated that the law of the Federated states had to be respected. President Colby was not bound by term limits but stated he would respect the spirit of the constitution and he announced he would not seek a 3rd term as President (which would be his 2nd term as President of the Federated States). Vice President Altus Kinnick announced that he would be in the running to succeed the President and polls showed him with a decent lead over his competitors. 2335 - The chaotic 2335 Presidential election, still conducted with the Executive committee functioning as a vetting process, saw independent Senator Etan Ben Urris nominated for the Presidency opposite the front-runner, Vice President Altus Kinnick. Kinnick then won the Presidency with an alliance with the Progressive Union. President Kinnick named Senator Valeri de Bruyne as the Treasury Secretary (to the horror of the corporate sector), Kya Valane as Secretary of Defence and TH Sorrell as Ambassador to the Tazzyn Empire (completing her political rehabilitation). The alliance with the Progressive Union (and the newly formed Universal Party under Senator de Bruyne) put Governor :Lucie Tellar from Eden in as the new Prime Minister. The first order of business saw President Kinnick plan to send Business Secretary Kit Rykker to talk to OMDA President Than Spiers to try and broker a peace agreement. The Senate voted to change the Presidential election system, opening it up to the "two round" system that had originally been proposed by the 2332 Convention. see 2335 Presidential Election 2336 - The peace talks take place on New Carthage. Prime Minister Tellar took over the leadership of the delegation from the government. Senator Klan Hackett (PU) General Rico Harmel (Wellfield) Rafe McQaid (VP for Esprit du Nacional) and Julius Zavitz (COO of West-Corp) attended along with delegates from all the major corporations and observers from all the major political parties. OMDA President Thane Spiers and former OMDA spokesman Cole Berenhault also attended. The talks ended in tragedy when a close focus nuclear weapon obliterated all in attendance, killing 3-5,000 people. Both sides accused the other of the attack and the Federated States when into a state of emergency. President Kinnick ordered a massive military reaction. Secretary of Defence Valane and chief of Staff Sati organized "Operation Midnight Tempest" which saw the Fleet launch attacks against known OMDA strong holds across the Frontier. The Senate voted in favor of the President's military reaction. A leak from the Cabinet showed that Treasury Secretary de Bruyne had not been in favor of the attack. President Kinnick called on her to back his actions or resign and so she chose to resign. With the death of Prime Minister Tellar, President Kinnick met with the Progressive Union leadership and asked them to nominate a replacement. They chose Senator Harminder Mosier and President Kinnick nominated her for Prime Minister. She was confirmed by a large majority of the Senate. Initial contact between the Fleet and OMDA saw fierce and bloody fighting but on a small scale. OMDA, under its new highly militant leader STILETTO began to fully militarize. 2337 - The conflict continued with slow, grinding attritional battles fought all over the frontier as Marine forces began to root OMDA militias out. OMDA pulled off a shocking commando raid on Earth, striking at the HQ's of the major corporations, wounding West-Corp CEO Cornelius Hale in the process. The attack on the Senate and Government quarter ended in failure. AIS Senator Hedges Sleeker called for a pause in the conflict to examine the cause of the attack and who had benefited. The President chose to ignore this, calling on fully support to continue the war and to expand the reach and power of the Federated States Intelligence (FSI). This was narrowly passed in the Senate. Prime Minister Mosier is able to halt potential roll backs in social programs but the budget begins to go into deficit. Governor Hubbard Green of Fort Verekker was a leading critic of this, calling it an act of tyranny. 2338 - The campaign to root out OMDA dragged on into its 2nd year with the Fleet continuing to tighten the cordon. OMDA finally faced up to the Fleet in an open battle with a spectacular ambush in the Struve 139 system. A squadron of cruisers were caught at anchor and the FSS Lucien was destroyed after multiple torpedo hits. However the other cruisers were able to get away. A following task force lead by Admiral Stargher in command of the battleship FSS "Republic" were able to inflict grievous losses on the OMDA fleet, all but ending them as a threat. The ground campaigns began to come to an end as well as thousands of marines fought on worlds like Eden, Japser, Al Ahily, Furnace, Stark and New Silesia. However one by one, OMDA's strongholds fell to the Marines. In December 2338 Admiral Sati reported that the combat operations were all but completed. 2339 - Intelligence affairs concluded that the terrorist attack was likely an internal OMDA attack, that is, the militant wing were responsible for it. Senator McGill Lowton (PU) called for an investigation into this report, calling the impartiality of the FSI into question. The political sphere had been badly polarized, with support drifting to the extreme wings of the political spectrum. Most polls pointed towards an AIS Presidential win in the 2340. President Altus Kinnick was initially pugnacious about this, stating that he was ready for a strongly contested election in 2340. 2340 - The election year saw things heat up as Senator Jayne Tigh (AIS) continued her fierce criticism of the Kinnick administration. Ahead of the convention season, President Kinnick announced he would not seek a second term. He gave a weak endorsement of Vice President McQaid. Vice President McQaid narrowly beat Governor Jon Ramirez (AIS) to win the Presidency. He made a deal with the left wing parties and the centrist Wellfield Alliance and formed a working agreement in the Senate. Former Prime Minister Harminder Mosier was invited to continue as P/M. see 2340 Presidential Election A wide ranging set of social reforms were announced with an expansion to the Federated States bill of rights, to schools, hospitals, law enforcement and union rights. 2341 - The McQaid administration rejected the offer of a new treaty with the Tazzyn Empire. President Kinnick,, Secretary of State Sorrell (FED) went to the Tranoan home-world to meet the Emperor and the Prime Minister. They signed a mutual defence pact. The 2341 budget saw a huge increase in the military budget. This was funded by an increase in corporations tax. This was initially resisted but passed with support from the AIS. Whilst President McQaid was away, Vice President Ocampo was the day to day head of the administration. He pushed through new social reforms and nominated a liberal to the Federated States Supreme Court. 2342 - Reports came back from the so-called "Lost Colonies" that one of them had been destroyed. The McQaid administration did not commit to a military operation. Senator Shen Axxelson called for a select committee hearing into this lack of action. Whilst touring the Frontier, Secretary de Bruyne was recorded stating that the corporations would "start a coup and take over" if the administration pushed them too hard on corporations tax. President McQaid was forced to fire the Universal Party's cabinet member. 2343 - A budget crisis began to develop as the TPE and budget hawks from the AIS and the Federalist Party began pushing for a cut in corporations tax. President McQaid made a deal to reduce the corporations tax and the military budget increases. A new "Agile Spending Program" was agreed to limit the budget overruns on military construction. Admiral Ravi Sati made a rare public statement, criticizing this decision. Controversy developed after it came out that a secret back channel envoy from the Federated States was offering a trade deal with the hated Karkouri Regime. Treasury Secretary Suzlie Maliwa resigned to protect the administration. 2344 - The McQaid administration is beset with stories that the President is in poor health. The administration struggles to get its agenda through an increasingly difficult and divided Senate. Secretary of Defense Taylor Rishi resigns, stating that he opposes the military budget cuts. His name is mentioned as possible contender for the Federalist nomination in 2345. Fund raising reports show that the money being donated to the Federalist Party and the AIS has decreased by more than 50% in the last two years. The TPE and a rejuvenated Earth-Guard are reporting huge increases in fund-raising. In November of 2344 President McQaid confirmed that he would not seek a second term as President. 2345 -Former Admiral, Secretary of Defense and the current Director of the FSI Kya Valane dies in office. Her death is greatly mourned in government and in the fleet. Former Secretary of State Roderick Strickland wins the Federalist nomination and businessman Dustin Attencort (Wellfield) challenge for the Presidency. But the New Berlin Governor Cameron Vessey (AIS) wins the Presidency in a landslide. The Vessey administration makes a broad center-right coalition. They quickly set up peace talks with the Karkouri Regime but these do not succeed. The Vessey administration pivots, signing a new military alliance with the Vatu Empire in return for a huge amount of aid. see 2345 Presidential Election 2346 - The Vessey administration pass a bill in the Senate to reduce social welfare spending in the core-worlds. Mars Governor Izzy Bel Mar (PU) decries this. The Vessey administration also pass a number of pro-business programs including the popular "Axxelson Initiative" lead by TPE staffer Marius Axxelson. 2347 - Word of the loss of another of the so-called Lost Colonies drifts back but no firm action is taken. Fleet spending is kept at its current levels despite the huge cost of the aid package going to the Vatu Empire. The Earth-Guard campaign successfully against this. The Frontier worlds expand their colonial militias thanks to some funding and organisation from the Vessey government. 2348 - A shock program sees the Federated States sign into law the "Farrel-Coburn" Act, to grant a license to corporations to trade in Dhaugosk Space. The Universal Party do not support this but it is voted through, narrowly, in the Senate. Prime Minister Moatt calls for the UP to support their coalition partners but the President is happy with Secretary Sanderson's (UP) involement. 2349 - The funding deficit has not been addressed, despite attempts by the Vessey administration. However the feared recession appears to have been avoided. West-Corp announce an increase in market share and profits. President Vessey announces his intention to seek the AIS nomination for President in 2350. The polls are close, with Vessey showing a slight lead over an unnamed Federalist nominee. Former Attorney General Maya Abbott (Federalist) was the front-runner. 2350 - The 2350 Presidential Election saw an unprecedented A$5B spent by the two major campaigns. In the end, President Vessey was narrowly able to secure a second term. see 2350 Presidential Election The Senate elections saw a shock result as the extremist party's of Earth-Guard (on the far right) and Universal Party (far left) surge to highest ever poll results. President Vessey promised to govern from a centrist, consensus based style of government. 2351 - The Vessey administration was able to pass its sweeping "Social Contract" which promised a basic infrastructure level of schools, healthcare and transport to all colony worlds. The Big Five had already agreed to pick up the cost of the improvements required. Major new media Corporation New-Star was set up on Mars. Testar Hindley, the son of Treasury Secretary Mathis Hindley, was named as CEO. 2352 - A new trade deal was signed with the Gannid Commonwealth. This ended the favored trade partner status of the Tranoan Empire. New high quality Gannid goods would be purchased or traded in return for raw materials from the Federated States. Several tax loopholes were closed and codified Chief Justice Myer passed away. Justice Joshua Ennick, appointed under President Shockley, was named as Chief Justice. Moderate Justice Landen Stone was appointed to fill the vacancy on the bench. 2353 - The Vessey administration agreed to send Task Force Lancelot into Tranoan Space to offer support to the Tranoan's who were under siege from an extra-galactic invader. The Task Force, under Admiral Rebekkah Valane, fought several major engagements and in its first year suffered nearly 70,000 casualties. Secretary of Defence Walt Vasser resigned over the huge loss of life. 2354 - The Hannover-Deerfield Act failed to get voted out of committee. This landmark piece of legislation would have recognized sentient AI (which do not currently exist) as living things. The Senate agreed to set up a study program into the concept Going into his last year, President Cameron Vessey announced that he would not seek a third term. The AIS was expected to rally around Vice President Ebbert Keever. However the AIS polls looked gloomy going into the 2355 Presidential election. Federalist Taylor Rishi looked to be the front-runner for their nomination in 2355. 2355 - The 2355 Election sees a seismic shift as the incumbent AIS Party suffers a disastrous performance as Vice President Keever is badly defeated during the first ballot. The Universal Party, riding a wave of popular support on the frontier, go to the second ballot opposite former Secretary of Defence Rishi. However a combination of support from the AIS and a better run campaign sees Rishi elected President. see 2355 Presidential Election President Rishi has been elected on a platform of dealing with the recession and he sets out his stall of how he intends to do it; by ending the corporate tax loop holes. President Rishi also reaches across the aisle and appoints AIS luminary Olan Maquessa as Secretary of State. The President signs a new military alliance with the Vatu, though on far more generous terms than the last one. Admiral Etrigar is appointed the new commander of Task Force Lancelot. He is now the most high profile Indirian in the FS armed forces. T/F Lancelot begins the defensive operation "Citadel". 2356 - Justice Breer retires from the supreme court which allows President Rishi to appoint moderate judge Haley Haart to the supreme court with near universal support. Later in the year justice Olmsberg also retires and she is replaced by fiery liberal Justice Devis Adair. The President signs a new trade deal with the Gahnnid Commonwealth. He also signs a 100 year lease of the uncolonized world of Arpad 103 in the Luyten system on the Gannid / FS border. Attorney General Reiko Tellar is directed to begin a major investigation and audit into the big five and their tax policy. Meanwhile Treasury Secretary Boyd Darrow meets with the CEO's of the big five. 2357 - Allied Tech and PINNACLE voluntarily pay the tax that they owe back to the Federated States. After a long period of negotiation, the other three of the big five agree, through paid lobbyist Dexter Holland, to pay their owed taxes, though this is structured in a highly complex fashion. President Rishi is hailed for closing the budget deficit. Economists predict the recession will end by 2360. Senator Marten Brightwell (F) begins an oversight hearing, setting up the Brightwell committee to investigate alleged corruption in arms procurement inside the Vessey administration. President Vessey and Vice President Keever both claim to know nothing about it. 2358 - The Brightwell committee begins calling witnesses, largely from the big five. Dozens of low level procurement agents are charged and convicted and many then turn in evidence. This gradually leads to a snowball effect which sees many members of the Vessey administration department of defence implicated, all the way up to the Deputy Secretary of Defence. There are protests on the frontier about the corruption and greed of VENTRISS UDC who see a major slowdown in profits. A series of stories slandering President Rishi begin appearing in the news 2359 - President Rishi's administration is battling back rumor after rumor but the President announces his intention to seek the Federalist nomination and then the Presidency. Support inside the Federalist Party appears to be strong for him. Most polls show the Federalist's as the front-runners, followed by the Universal Party, the TPE, Earth-Guard and the AIS. Fleet Chief of Staff Everett Stargher announces he will retire in 2365. There are swirling rumors that he may seek the Presidency. Admiral Willis Corrick is named as Acting Fleet Chief of Staff. Senator Eudora Clemmons (I) the chairwoman of the Senate Rules committee, calls for a serious look into how the Federated States is organized and governed.2360-2366 The Bleeding Frontier
2360 - The clamor for reform sees the Deerfield-Clemmons Voting Reform Act passed through the Senate. After much wrangling in the Senate judiciary committee, it passes the Senate with 51% support. President Rishi had felt that the issue should be put to the electorate in the 2360 Presidential election but in the end, signed the bill into law, despite it being bad news for his own chances of winning the Presidential election. President Rishi narrowly secured the Federalist nomination but was beaten in a shock result by Admiral Everett Stargher, running as an independent and with a broad right wing coalition behind him. Newly sworn in President Stargher named retired Admiral Rebekkah Valane as his Prime Minister, securing for Earth-Guard their most powerful role to date. see 2360 Presidential Election Mars threatens to secede unless the Voting Reform Act is appealed and the Senate goes into intense debate over the issue, again. Chief Justice Joshua Ennick passes away. President Stargher nominates superb but highly conservative appeals court judge Albion Culley to join the bench. Justice Perry Albrecht is named as the new Chief Justice. 2361 - After fierce negotiations with the Mars colonial government a landmark agreement is signed. The Harrow-Moya agreement sees Mars become an independent protectorate of the Federated States, essentially becoming an allied, trading but fully sovereign world no longer governor by the Federal States constitution. The President's chief of Staff Jost Kilward resigned and was replaced by former marine officer Veet Khanan In reaction to this, the colony of Al Ahily secedes from the Federated States and the worlds of Stark and New Corinth both also threaten to secede. The Stargher administration, already plagued by the issue, begins another round of complex negotiation. Justice Albion Culley wows the Senate judiciary committee and he is confirmed to the supreme court. Admiral Willis Corrick is named Chief of Staff until he reaches mandatory retirement in 2365. 2362 - A major military spending bill, seeing spending increase by 8.5%, is passed by the Senate and signed into law. The bill includes new bases on New Corinth and Stark as well as a major militia training and armament package. Governor Katerina de Bruyne of the Universal Party wins major plaudits for her role in the negotiations. To balance the budget, there is an attempt to defund several welfare programs. The Prime Minister is able to negotiate a compromise package and keep spending in place or make up the deficit in spending with charitable work or corporate work. 2363 - The Rephaim assault on the Dhau systems worsens and the Federated States debates, briefly, intervention. However in the end it is not a popular decision and the Federated States instead launches a major diplomatic campaign to try and persuade other races to aid the besieged Dhau. 2364 - As the Stargher administration lumps to a close, there are question marks over President Stargher's health. However he is bullish about his chances of winning a second term in 2365. New Corinth Governor Katerina de Bruyne is seen as a major threat to the Presidency. The wounded but not broken Federalist Party looks to go into another complex primary with no clear front-runner. The Wyvern Anchorage begins construction at New Corinth. This A$15B project is expected to take nearly five years to finish and will be one of the largest fleet bases in the Federated States. It is expected to bring nearly 100,000 jobs to New Corinth. 2365 - The 2365 Presidential election is one of the most chaotic in the history of the Federated States. Federalist Senator and Presidential nominee Moses Zinn is subject to an attempted shooting at a campaign rally on Fort Darwin. He is later nearly killed in a shuttle crash caused by a limpet mine. There are brutal campaign attack ads against the Federalist ticket which at one point look set to defeat the Federalist ticket. However a glut of outside money came in to stabilize the Federalist campaign. see 2365 Presidential Election There was widespread rioting and civil disobedience across the Frontier which lead to the unprecedented step of suspending the election. President Stargher ordered the fleet in to keep the peace and 75,000 marines under Lt-General "Bull" Hammond landed to restore order. After this, the votes were finally tallied and Senator Moses Zinn was narrowly elected President but he had to be sworn in from his hospital bed. The new Federalist coalition came together with support from their usual allies in the Progressive Union, running on a joint list for the first time, and the VANGUARD who split from President Stargher in an acrimonious way and attracted a lot of attack ads. Reiko Tellar of the Progressive Union was sworn in as Prime Minister There was much accusation and disharmony in the Senate. Conservative back benchers in the TPE, AIS and Earth-Guard suggested that emergency powers should be granted to the Prime Minister but this was rejected. Slanderous comments were made by VANGUARD senators towards Earth-Guard and Senator Clemmons (IND) the chairman of the Senate rules committee, called for the comments to be withdrawn. However a contentious spat between VANGUARD and the Universal Party saw Senator Mohamed Hajesh withdraw his Senate faction from the floor. Newly sworn in President Zinn sent Secretary of State Darrow to agree a new mutual defense pact with the Vatu Empire. The old rate of federal aid was agreed. 2366 - The trouble on the frontier escalated again and more troops were required to keep the peace. Another 75,000 marines were deployed to deal with the ongoing insurrection and states of emergency continued across a dozen colonies. An insurgent force attempted to seize the fleet dock on New Carthage but they were driven back with heavy casualties. As if things could not get worse, two Karkouri Task Forces attacked across the border into Ross 159. Task Force Blue under Admiral Carpenter attempted to hold them off but her force was badly defeated, losing more than 15 ships and 25,000 dead. The Karkouri landed troops on St Lawrence and the governor surrendered the colony. However the Karkouri unleashed the JS1E1 bio-weapon which proved to be lethal to humans. After Task Force Gold under the command of Admiral Paxton Greene arrived to drive them back, the Karkouri withdrew. The JS1E1 virus proved to communicable to 70% of the population with an excess mortality of 95%. Nearly 80,000,000 died on St Lawrence and around 5,000,000 elsewhere. The planet was partially evacuated and a huge relief effort was launched. Former President Everett Stargher died aged 71. He was eulogized by his colleague Admiral (ret) Rebekkah Valane. The Senate voted to amend the constitution to prevent further worlds from breaking away. They now required a certified referendum and then a 20 year negotiation period. There was a controversial clause which forbade worlds critical to security from breaking away, causing some concern that the coalition may see the Progressive Union peel away. However pressure from the Federalist leadership saw the vote pass and the constitution amended. Whilst visiting a frontier world, Jonas de Bruyne (UP) was killed when a militia soldier detonated a grenade next to him President Zinn agreed to lease two more worlds to the Gannid Commonwealth. Suggestions of political corruption dogged the Zinn administration. The President, whose health had still not recovered, cut a disconsolate figure.2367 -2369 The Third Terran Civil War
2367 -Ongoing bloodshed on the Frontier saw at least four worlds in an ongoing state of insurgency. More than 50,000 lives had been lost in the conflict so far. Lt-General Hammond called for more troops and a further 25,000 marines were deployed. Senator Marius Axxelson (TPE) formed the Axxelson-Hearst committee to begin investigating:- The lack of Preparedness and Warning from FSI regarding the Karkouri attack
- The Irregular Campaign Donations that went to the Zinn campaign
- The Allegations of Political Connections to the Frontier crisis
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