The Gor Wars

Military action

After the Torro Massacre, the Systems Alliance is prompted to action, moving against the Gor in its first large scale conflict.

The Gor Wars came as a result of the infamous Torro Massacre. Since the Gor Dominion first started, it had hardly met any real resistance, their powerful fleets and well-trained militaries dispatching any military they met. Yet, the Gor found it difficult to actually control the planets they had invaded after having destroyed the formal defenses. On the planet Torro this became particularly problematic as an underground resistance made coordinated attacks on local Gor outposts even after the planet governments had all succumbed. Despite the best efforts of the local Bondsman, the rebellions could not be put down. Taking stock of the value of the planet, Dominator Grakkor Blightblade decided that it simply wasn’t worth the effort and, wanting to make an example for all the other occupied planets that was having rebellions of their own, took drastic measures. Pulling his troops from the surface (With the notable exception of the local Bondsman), he maneuvered his flagship and its escorts into position above the planet and unleashed a bombardment of unprecedented scope. For a full rotation of the planet, the fleet fired upon the surface, practically turning the entire surface of the planet into glass. Cities were reduced to dust, mountains to pebbles, oceans boiled away and every trace of life on the planet was eliminated.

Intending it to be a show of strength, Dominator Blightblade broadcast the events live, showing every corner of the galaxy the lengths the Gor Dominion was willing to go to.
Unfortunately for the Gor Dominion, the broadcast had the opposite effect on the Systems Alliance. The Systems Alliance had up until that point had a policy of strict self-defense; Only member states under threat was reason to dispatch the fleets and if someone wanted their protection, they could apply for membership. The Torro Massacre changed this policy almost immediately. An emergency meeting of the Systems Alliance Parliament was called and it was almost uniformly agreed that their accords did indeed allow for what they dubbed a “Ethical Intervention”.

Summoning their fleets, the Systems Alliance deployed their ships around the Gor Dominion borders, declaring it a “demilitarized zone” and forbidding Gor Dominion ships entrance. It was the thinking of the Systems Alliance leadership that the Gor Dominion would see that the Systems Alliance was ready to stop them and that their fleets was of sufficient size that a war would be a waste for both sides. Deployment of the fleets would be a deterrent.

It was not.

The Ultimate Breaker did not think the Systems Alliance had the horns to back up their threats and moved into the DMZ. Records are unclear on who first opened fire, but seven hours after The Ultimate Breaker had lead his flagship The Craven into the DMZ, the Systems Alliance and the Gor Dominion was in an all-out war.

The war would last for 19 years and was one of the bloodiest conflicts in recorded history. Due to the lack of Drift Beacons in Gor space, Systems Alliance ships could scarcely make any attempts on the Gor Dominion proper, but in areas where the Drift Beacons were placed, the Systems Alliance could deploy with a speed that far outstripped that of the Gor Dominion, making for a bloody tug of war where neither side could truly gain the advantage. New weapons were invented, atrocities were committed on both sides (Persistent rumors abound that the Systems Alliance hired The Green Tide to attack the Gor Dominion, despite numerous assurances to the contrary from Systems Alliance officials) and entire generations were lost in battle.

In the end, it was at Torro the deciding moment came to pass; Holding a meeting above the destroyed planet, Systems Alliance officers and techpriest clergy struck an agreement with resistance leaders from across the newly invaded Gor Dominion for them to smuggle in Drift Beacons. The following year, seventeen Drift Beacons were smuggled into Gor Dominion territory, allowing the Systems Alliance to make a slew of surprise attacks on Gor Dominion outposts and repair stations. In the Arboretor System, a successful boarding of The Craven allowed Qouro Tainikma, a Vesk noble and officer, to kill the Ultimate Breaker. Here, the Systems Alliance set up an ambush and as Gor Dominion reinforcements arrived, attracted by the bloodshed, Systems Alliance ships picked them off one by one.

Realizing that they had lost half of their fleet in just one year as well as a third of their leadership, the Gor Dominion found itself forced to accept a peace agreement from the Systems Alliance. Unable to life with his shame, Grakkor Blightblade steered his flagship into the heart of the Gor System sun.