Lost Systems War
The Conflict
Prelude
In June of 2598, a large civilian fleet headed by a Nuragian philanthropist named Ifeatu Odion entered the Lost Systems with the intent of establishing a self-sufficient agricultural facility and hospital in the Iviak System. Odion had the support of the Apostolic Patriarch of New Cagliari, who had arranged for the fleet to be escorted by a recently-Christianised flotilla of Stellar Nomads led by one Admiral Shappa. However, before the two fleets were able to link up, Odion's expedition was ambushed by vessels under the command of the pirate lord Francis Crevier. Several of Odion's ships were destroyed, including the one he was aboard, while the remainder were seized by the pirates. Shappa's flotilla arrived in Iviak several days later, and relayed the news of Odion's death and the destruction of his expedition to Nuragia. The Nuragian public were outraged, and the Judicate's government, lacking a deep space navy, requested assistance from the Outer Systems Alliance. The OSA refused to deploy military assets in what they deemed an offensive action, and so the Sovereign Judge turned to the Federal Republic of Zeta Tucanae. The FRZT, wishing to gain increase its influence over neutral states in its ongoing cold war with the Congressional Republic of Orizont, accepted.
The Engagement
Aftermath
Belligerents
Crevier's Armada
FRZT Expedition
Strength
8 Corvettes
1 Tender (The Blind Squid)
9 Frigates
6 Corvettes
2 Tenders
4 Nomad Frigates
Casualties
2 Corvettes
The Blind Squid
Estimated 200-250 dead
3 Frigates
1 Corvette
2 Tenders
308 dead or missing
A Cold War conflict in space, an interesting concept, and one I like very much. You provide a great overview here, and really explain the overarching situation rather well, especially for the sort of distances and such involved in what seems to be a Sci-fi setting. Often times Sci-fi can struggle to make things feel reasonable or logical in a military conflict sort of scenario, in my experience, even with some grace for suspension of disbelief. But that is not true of this piece. I can, barring perhaps understanding exact distances or having universe star maps, picture the conflict and its beats and tempo quite well from what you have described, and you have utilized great terminology, establishing types of ships with strict names for the classes, and made easily clear both in name choice and brief noted facts, what the roles of the various classes of ships were. One thing I would offer as a constructive element, more of a curiosity, is though this is sci-fi so naturally the technological assets are perhaps the most important and more important than the people, it would be a nice touch to help further understand the scale of the conflict and the scaling of the spacecraft involved if we had rough numbers of people whom died, so the non tech casualties, even just a grand total for each side. What this would allow is some reference of scale for the manpower involved in your sci-fi setting for spaceships and fleets, as sci-fi in general can have such a wide and variable range for that information depending on the sub-genre, setting, tech level, and more. Other than that, a well thought out piece, one that was an enjoyable and intriguing read, well done.
Thanks for the comment and suggestion. I added casualties to the sidebar to give some idea of the scale. Ships in this setting tend to have somewhat smaller crew complements compared to their real-world equivalents due to improved automation.