The First Frontier War

As much as the Commonwealth prided itself on its ability to unite humanity under a single banner, it was never, by design, able to fully control the path of its people. Whilst the Core sector and most nations of Old Earth, either happily or otherwise, maintained their place within the Commonwealth, the ever-growing Frontier systems gradually became disillusioned as the distance and lag-time to the centres of rule and justice grew ever greater. Many now say that conflict was inevitable, but when the first rebellions begun in Aackur and Zorrost's domains, the Commonwealth and its navies were caught unprepared - and nearly defeated.

The Conflict

Prelude

The Frontier sector had been an ever shifting border within the Commonwealth since the first gate was opened between Alpha Centauri and Geneva. It was not an established zone, like the Core or the Crossroads, but instead an ever growing and shrinking far edge, filled with systems, planets, and moons to chart and, more importantly, claim.
The cost of this every flucuating zone of control was laid bare for the people who settled first. Before any sparkly eyed colonist would even consider setting out from the Core for a brand new adventure on a barely explored world, the terraformers, the miners, the extractors, and the constructors would land first. Although automation has grown vastly since the days of Old-Earth factories, the man-power required to terraform and construct a new home for humanity out of a barren world is still immense. And, when the long terraforming process was finished, the workers who had put their souls - and potentially their lives - into this new garden were moved along. The Commonwealth was always expanding, of course, and the work had no finish line in site.
The issue is, of course, was that it wasn't only the workers who suffered. Often, entire families would move along with their breadwinner, leading to vast population spikes amongst the most preliminary of construction yards built into the asteroids of a star system. After enough generations of this, the people of the Frontier had been changed so much by their inconsistent gravity environments that their bodies grew long, their bones brittle, and their hearts and lungs weak. These so-called Spacers became more and more alienated from those who commanded them, with some beginning to seperate themselves from the notion of humanity - their beliefs, their languages, their minds, and their bodies all shifted away from the mindset of the Commonwealth. They prayed to stars, spoke in a melting pot of languages, and became so accustomed to space that their children learnt how to spacewalk before they learnt how to talk.
These differences lead to more and more discontent, especially between the Frontiersmen and the corporates that hired them. As corporate security forces from various companies, such as EdenCorp and the Able-Yamashita company, began to abuse the power givento them by their seperation from their headquarters, the people of the Frontier began to arm themselves. Skirmishes occurred on Chrysanthemum and Dahlia station in the Aackur system (then known as Asterales), whilst the massive forgeworks of Azor on Zorrost were shutdown by strikes and demonstrations, many of which turned violent.
However, if a single point needs to be placed as the true spark that lit the fuse of the rebellion, it would be the Massacre of Helenia, a working station within Aackur. The station declared open rebellion, disarming the security forces aboard, and sending a message to all other stations that orbited its parent gas giant, asking for them to reciprocate. Although its believed some return messages got through, a signal blockade was quickly established by the private navy hired by EdenCorp in the system, called Star Armoury. After a 3 day stand off, the Star Armoury fleet destroyed Helenia station with ballistic missiles, before screening the wreckage with PDC fire.
The spark quickly ignited demonstrations, then strikes, and finally open rebellion against the Star Armoury militia. Given that the miners and workers were outlawed from carrying personal arms, whenever the opportunity arose, groups of Militiamen would be ambushed and robbed on their weaponry. This cascaded further and further, until entire ports of docked SA vessels were overrun and captured. Eventually, there were no longer any safe ports for Star Armoury vessels, forcing all vessels into battle, or out of Aackur entirely.
At first, the Aacks appealed to the Commonwealth court of Justice. However, the Commonwealth had been convinced that a full rebellion was in play. As such, CNC fleets from across the nearby systems were mobilised. Quickly, the few hopes of peace were severed, and the Aacks, finding allies in a handful of local systems, prepared for war by forming the Frontier Combined Front (FCF).

Deployment

Quickly, fleets from nearby Esundir and Sundial were mobilised to counteract the hostile vessels controlled by the Frontier Combined Front. Through the Omen-Aackur and Esundir-Zoran Gates, around a dozen CNC fleets mobilised and deployed towards major shipping lanes to protect and fortified stations to beseige. In response, the FCF split their captured vessels and hastily contructed Scrap-caps into 3 major fleets, whilst remaining vessels were assigned to patrol or reconissance duties. The First and Second Battlefleets were assigned to major strongholds in Aackur and Zoran, with Battlefleet Iche placed in orbit around Zorrost, and Battlefleet Nen kept in reserve at Aackur. The final fleet, Battlefleet Sun, was assigned to protecting the Aackur-Zoran trade route, as it was quickly determined that both systems were reliant on each other for survival; Aackur produced food, water, and mostly raw materials, whilst Zoran, and specifically the forges of Zorrost, quickly began the construction of ammunition, parts, and even vessels for the coming conflict. The first FCF Vessel, the FCF Helenia, was completed only 2 months after the war had officially begun, with its sister ships quickly following suit.

Battlefield

Although direct combat only occurred in 6 star systems - Zoran, Aackur, Omen, Styrneheim, Esrun, and Talos - covert operations occurred across the Frontier and the Commonwealth. Pro-Frontier terrorists called the Liberty Army orchestrated several bombings across the Commonwealth, later called the Winter's Bombings due to them all occurring in Winter, standard time, 217 AT.

The Engagement

The first battle between the major belligerents of the rebellion occurred in the Omen system between the CNC's Talos-1 Battlefleet and the FCF's Battlefleet Iche, and resulted in a CNC victory when the Battlefleet's flagship, the Adrent Moor, was disabled and promptly scuttled. This forced Battlefleet Iche to limp back to Aackur, marking a trend for most of the war - the CNC had superior numbers and firepower to the Frontiersmen.
However, subversive elements of the FCF quickly began to sow conflict, and then outright rebellion, in other Frontier territories within the Commonwealth. Esundir and Sundial were overrun with surprising speed by rebellious elements, forcing the first expeditionary fleets to retreat from Frontier territory, and giving the FCF a much needed respite period, in which new Warships were created, and new militiamen were drafted.

Outcome

After the Battle of Aconcagua, the Alliance on which the Frontier Rebellion had been built upon began to break down. Zorrost - one of the first colonies to rebel - was overtaken by CNC forces only a month later, with all rebellious forces either captured or destroyed. This left Aackur - a mostly barren system - to fend for itself without the mighty forges repurposed by the Zorros workers to build ammunitions, supplies, and equipment for the Combined Front. Only a few weeks later, as the last Zorros supply ships came through the Omen-Aackur Gate, the Aackurian side of the rebellion sued for peace with the Commonwealth. An Armistice, called the Treaty of Acon, was drafted and quickly signed by Frontier Combined Front leadership; this treaty ensured that all facets of the FCF were re-absorbed into the Commonwealth, with the aim to return productivity to affected systems within a year.
This treaty was met with disdain by the more radical elements of the FCF, leading to a major split in the Alliance's holdings. Generally, the outermost holdings, such as Omen and Styrneheim, refused to agree to the Armistice, leading to guerilla warfare for several years after the Frontier Rebellion's official end, but as major systems such as Zorrost and Esundir were returned to the Commonwealth, the Treaty was initially seen as largely a success.

Aftermath

Although many elements of the Rebellion continued engaging Planetery Defence and Security forces for more than a decade after the armisitice, the general populous of the Frontier was successfully pacified for another 30 years.

Historical Significance

Technological Advancement

Although not the first use of the Wolfpack tactics that the Periphery Navy would eventually become famous for, the Frontier Combined Front was responsible for many developments of the tactic, including creating the famous calculations for optimal attack times.

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Space

Start Date

216 AT (2265 CE)

Ending Date

219 AT (2268 CE)

Conflict Result

Total Commonwealth Victory; rebellious systems reincorporated into the Commonwealth

Belligerents

Commonwealth Naval Command

• The Commonwealth

Frontier Combined Front (FCF)

Strength

10 Battlefleets over 3 years (56 warships)
5 Planetary Defence Corps (~220,000)
12 Astral Warfare Marine Platoons (~520) incl. "Argonauts" and "Kusanagi"
Other Subversive elements

~40 "scrap-caps" (civilian vessels retrofitted as warships)
Unknown number of guerilla vessels
~200,000 trained Militia personnel
Unknown number of untrained personnel

Casualties

Naval Casualties:
Total loss of 1 Battlefleet (Talos-1)
6 Warships
40-50 AW marines
Military Casualties:
~12,000 infantry
45 tanks

Naval Casualties:

33 confirmed "scrap-caps" destroyed
Military Casualties:
~160,000 Militia personnel
~16,000 civilians

Objectives

Defeat hostile resistance
Retake vital planets and stations
Put down Rebellion(s) that occur in retaken territory

Break away from the Commonwealth by force
Liberate other Frontier Systems
Protect all Frontier Systems
Legitimise the Frontier Alliance as an independent power