The Pulurtan Monarchy

Tech Level 18 Late Refits and New Construction
Tech Level 19 Refits and New Construction

Crown Governor Kysuk of the Bios Sector, ensconced on the administrative level of the space station orbiting Bios Prime, had the most unique governorship in the Pulurtan High Kingdom. In addition to the crown subjects scattered throughout the sector, Kysuk also had direct rule over the inhabitants of Bios Prime, home to the artificial intelligence race known as the Bians. With their empire gone and reduced to a mere billion after a war with the Pulurtans decades earlier, the Bians were made to labor in the orbital shipyard complex above their planet. Strict security and subservient Bian agents made sure the race stayed servile.
     Just a few days into the war's eighth year Kysuk was shocked to learn that an allied force was in the system, heading straight for the planet. He assumed the worst, knowing that the allies favored planetary invasions instead of bombardments. Consequently, the task group the patrolling cloaked destroyer picked up was just the tip of the iceberg. Under strict crown-sealed orders from King Lugan, Kysuk immediately ordered a neutron bombardment of Bios. Within minutes the entire AI population was dead with minimal environmental damage. All Bians on the station were killed as well, their shipyard work areas doused with lethal levels of neutron radiation.
     Having what forces available to him engage the known approaching task group, Kysuk sent word of what was happen via the ICN chain back to Fendala and ordered reinforcements to gather at Blockhouse, the next and most likely target for the allies. All remaining personnel on the station were ordered to evacuate in pinnaces and head for Blockhouse. It was then that Kysuk discovered that the station's primary self destruct mechanism was deactivated. A Bian computer virus, long dormant after the station's construction, had activated in response to the firing order given by Kysuk. Software firewalls held back the virus long enough for the launchers to fire their neutron-tipped missiles. Having failed to prevent the bombardment, the virus went about to complete its other instructions. All the station's antimatter generators went offline, and the missile magazines emptied their contents into space. Life support remained online due to the extensive use of manual systems that weren't dependent on computer networks.
     Kysuk ordered the activation of the back-up station destruct system. Also personally tasked to oversee the evacuation of captured Gyst Prince Pyanyt, Kysuk received another shock. Through the help of a sympathetic nurse, Pyanyt and other allied officers held at the station staged an escape. While the officers were rescued by the allied task group Kysuk's pinnace was allowed to leave, trailed by a cloaked scout so that Kysuk's exit warp point could be located.
     The fall of Bios was just one of a handful of action reports that landed on King Lugan's desk within days of each other. The Hokum and Elotoshani launched a fresh offensive in the half-conquered Brookhollow sector. Chantilly, Alabaster, and Asor were assaulted and successfully recaptured by the CSF. Other offensives in Commonwealth territory, as well as in Jazta and Gyst space, had thrown the High Navy off-balance, pushing them on the defensive. It was only due to the fact that the HN had years to develop in-depth defenses that prevented the allied onslaught from becoming an outright tsunami. Lugan was upset over the loss of Bios and its production capability. Coupled with the losses at all points of contact it became clear that it would take a major stumble on the allies' part for the High Kingdom to survive, let alone win, the war.
      Lugan was wasting his breath, for it was his commanders that were stumbling. The 1st and 3rd HN Fleets, working in Xhali and Union space respectively, were hounded relentlessly. Both fleets regrouped in Sauna, absorbing the remnants of the 9th HN Fleet, and entered the Gyst system of Wilderness, helping the 2nd HN Fleet in halting the RN. It was here that the command structure experienced a major fracture. Arch Duke Geddys, the successor to the 3rd HN Fleet following the death of Princess Uracu, argued that the combined fleets should fall back to Sauna. With three fleets to defend the system, Geddys added, the HN would be able to recover enough strength to mount a fresh offensive back into Union territory. He pointed out that with the Union rushing to engage them that very little in the way of defenses would be encountered, making for an easy re-conquest. Even reaching into the core sector of the Union was a strong possibility.
     Princess Qavas, commanding the 1st HN Fleet (replacing Polstu four years earlier due to health reasons), disagreed. She pushed the idea of returning to Glacis and finish what the 9th HN Fleet had failed to do - take out the Ulithi system. Once that major Terpla'n base was destroyed and Ulithi secured all allied operations into High Kingdom space, staged from Ulithi, would have to end. A fresh invasion of former Xhali space would then be possible, eventually leading to the total conquest of the Union.
     Then there was Princess Coryn, commander of the 2nd HN Fleet. Her goal was to head back down the Gyst warp chain and destroy Royal Ascendant. She argued, as Geddys had done, that the RN's fast paced offensive would leave little in the way of substantial defenses behind them. Once the 7th KB, commanded by Gyst King Kysjyt, had been decisively defeated the reoccupation of Gyst territory could be done with minimal cost. Finishing the rest of the Kingdom could then be accomplished. With the casualties she inflicted on the Gyst previously, earning her the nickname Blood Princess, Coryn was possessed to win the war for her father.
     A final supply convoy from the High Kingdom would allow for a new campaign. Success could be expected, but if only all three fleets cooperated. The Pulurtan royals, however, were not in agreement. Geddys was the brother of Lugan, and he expected his nieces to obey his orders. Coryn, as the designated successor to her father, would have none of Geddys' talk and expected obedience. Qavas poured gas on the fire, first telling Geddys that the only reason he was an Arch Duke was due to pity. Unable to sire children, Geddys was ineligible to become an heir to the throne. Lugan made his brother an Arch Duke so as to salve his ego. Turning on Coryn next, Qavas called her sister a hopeless hero worshiper. Driven to prove herself, Coryn would burn the whole of the Gyst Kingdom, like what Lugan had done decades earlier in the civil war. Becoming the viceroy of the defeated Gyst Kingdom would be a great reward for the next monarch of the High Kingdom. Qavas cynically observed that if one's realm was filled with mostly dead people then it would be an easy matter to rule the survivors.
     The Royal Conniption, as the argument came to be known, lasted fifteen minutes but sealed the fate for over 700,000 HN personnel. Coryn and the 2nd HN Fleet made just two transits out from Wilderness before it was broken by Kysjyt's fleet. In a set of running battles that ended back in Wilderness, Coryn elected for a mad dash to Sauna and then into Table Rock. Only four gunboats made it to Table Rock, the rest of the fleet having been destroyed to the last ship in Wilderness. Coryn survived and was captured. After a brief stay on Kysjyt's flagship the 'Blood Princess' was sent to Royal Ascendant and imprisoned.
     Qavas and Geddys were scarcely on speaking terms when their fleets approached the Sauna warp point. Saying something to the effect of "I'll help you to a point" Qavas didn't follow Geddys immediately, but waited a full two days. Those days proved crucial as elements of the 10th FF and 1st Union Fleets massacred the 3rd HN Fleet in Glacis. Blissfully ignorant of her uncle's demise (thanks in no small part to the combat space patrol covering the Sauna-Glacis warp point, shooting down drones), Qavas sailed into Sauna and then to Glacis. For a third time in as many weeks a High Navy fleet was destroyed to the last ship. Qavas was captured, badly injured and in a comatose state.
     Lugan suffered a ruptured blood vessel when the First Space Lord personally presented the report on the fate of the three fleets. He had expected Qavas and Geddys to obey Coryn; their failure to do so lead Lugan to order his three remaining elder children to return home immediately. No royal with a rank greater than duke was allowed to command anything larger than a task group for the rest of the war. That hardly made a difference in the greater scheme of things, but now the admirals no longer had to contend with persnickety prince and princesses.
     In the meantime the allies kept to their own schedule. The Gyst Vendian sector was liberated, sending the now-isolated 4th HN Fleet towards the Gateway system. Waiting for them there was the Union, having pushed HN Task Force 42 out of Furnace and up the chain toward Gateway. Arch Duke Doph, cousin of Lugan, became a prisoner of the Union along with the 14,000 survivors of the 4th HN Fleet. The loss of the Vendian front allowed for yet another entry into Pulurtan space. In short order the sectors of Brookhollow and Bios fell completely to allied forces. Like a crumbling sand castle the High Kingdom had no realistic hope of staving off two massive forces within its territory. Out of the group of nobles in the royal court one found the courage (some later said foolhardiness) to broach the subject of a cease-fire with the king.
     Lugan thanked Baron Felgas for his opinion. In a grand histrionic display Lugan announced that Felgas would personally deliver a message to the allies. Said delivery would take the form of an assault shuttle attaching itself to a Gyst capital ship during a warp point assault. With the rest of the court looking on in deadly silence Lugan wrote up a cease-fire offer on the spot on royal parchment. Felgas was sent immediately to the front to a system that was in the allies' path. It was at the battle of Turret that the condemned baron met his end, though it must be said his assault shuttle came within 5,000 kilometers of a Gyst monitor before it was destroyed by a fighter.
     There were still those who believed in a negotiated peace, saving something of the High Kingdom and lives in the process. A cabal composing of the senior royal families, formed after the civil war decades earlier, implemented a contingency plan. The utter ruthlessness of Lugan when he seized power left the senior royals wondering if he would go off the deep end at some future date. Prince Kunsk, eldest of the remaining Lugan offspring, was privately disgusted with his father and lent his support to the cabal. It was at the Summer Palace on Fendala, during a special session of the royal council, that Kunsk made his move. In accordance to Fendalen monarchical tradition, the prince denounced his father for mishandling the conduct of the war and demanded that he abdicate the throne. With the other royals in attendance backing up the claim Lugan had no other choice but to challenge his son to a sword duel.
      An old Fendalen at 100, afflicted with advanced arthritis, Lugan wasn't expected to win. He was also ill due to food poisoning four days earlier, thanks to a cabal member's gift of tainted fruit. Kunsk, both an expert sword duelist and in the prime of health, believed the duel would last only twenty seconds... Lugan did it in fifteen. Every day for the last 92 years the king has practiced his swordsmanship for at least fifteen minutes a day. Indeed, he had taught his son the sword skills. Becoming a cold, emotionless warrior Lugan quickly got into Kunsk's zone and cleaved his head clean off. It took Kunsk's head only a minute to die while the rest of the body took thirty minutes, but it soon had company. Deciding then and there to settle old scores, Lugan killed two barons, a duke, and an arch duke, all of whom had wronged him over the decades. The guards prevented the others from leaving, and forced them to kneel before the king. With utmost effort to stay standing, Lugan had them all renew their oaths of fealty, kissing his ring and hilt of his blood-stained sword. It was only hours later in the privacy of his chambers that Lugan cried for killing his favorite son.
     In the war's tenth year the two separated allied forces finally reached each other like twin tsunamis in the Drawbridge system. Only five transits separated Drawbridge from Fendala, but guarding Fendala were First Realm and Pinnacle. The defenses of all three systems were formidable and were backed by the latest refitted units and new construction. Assaults leading up to First Realm and Pinnacle blunted each allied fleet that entered, but with the enormous pool of reinforcements behind them the allies moved so fast that the 'twin guardians of the castle' had very little time to further reinforce their defenses. In a risky move both systems had all of their other bases towed to their contested warp points with the clear understanding that if the defenses failed here then all the other bases would've become target practice.
     In both cases the allies sent in an unstoppable RD2 probe followed by two missile pod bombardments. Expecting assault waves of carriers, the HN commanders faced simultaneous transits of whole allied fleets. Little comfort was felt by those commanders, despite that some of the transit casualties were juggernauts and supercarriers. Outnumbered three to one and facing twice the tonnage the defenders put up as good a fight they could. Backed up with supporting waves of mine-clearance pods, the allies moved from their warp points and headed directly for the defenders. In the end what few HN ships and gunboats that could run for Fendala did, leaving the allies in total control of the two systems and utterly isolating Fendala in the process.
     Lugan knew that both of Fendala's warp points would be assault within a month's time. Before assuming command of the home fleet the king officially designated Prince Jyzyk as his successor in a ceremony held in the throne room at the Crowne Complex. From the flag deck of the Lineage Authority class juggernaut Royal Register Lugan waited for the allies to come. It was here that he finished his memoirs, by hand despite his crippling arthritis. The shuttle carrying the royal tome had barely left the bay when word came of the allied assault.
     It was the last month of the war's tenth year that saw the last, and greatest, battle. Both of Fendala's warp points were smothered in the largest missile pod bombardments ever mounted, wiping away decoy buoys, minefields, and the lesser type 6 bases. In an attempt to reduce casualties, the allies just sent their carriers and smaller warships in simultaneous transits, saving their larger ships to enter in normally. While the laser buoys' fire was severely diluted by the number of ships it was the incredibly tough type 8, 9, 10 and asteroids bases that inflicted the worst hurt. 20% of the carriers were wiped out before they could launch, and until the swarms of gunboats and follow-up waves of pods could intervene effectively the allies suffered 24% casualties. Asteroid base Uruk and its consorts, before succumbing to allied fire, took out eight monitors due in no small part to its ungodly volleys of missiles.
     The assault from First Realm was composed of CSF units and those of its allies. Lugan had no interest in that fleet. It was the assault from Pinnacle, composed mostly of Gyst and Jazta ships, that won his attention. The Home Fleet was situated directly between the two warp points; once the Gyst entry point was confirmed Lugan had his fleet advance toward them. He launched all of his fighters and gunboats toward the Gyst fleet so as to engage their opposites and cut them down. The CSF fleet launched its gunboats to engage Lugan's smaller ships, saving its fighters to tangle with the approaching wave of fighters and gunboats from Fendala. Backed up with immense batteries of anti-fighter missiles all sides suffered calamitous losses to their small strike craft. They would play only a small part in the upcoming fleet clash. However, the CSF gunboats did manage to cripple many of Lugan's lighter combatants, especially those that carried the dreaded spinal plasma guns.
     From reports the Pulurtan King knew that his opposite number, King Kysjyt, was in command of the 7th Knights Brigade. By some means of unspoken consent both sides closed in for a point blank attack instead of the usual long-range missile bombardment. This didn't mean fire wasn't exchange during the run in; warships of all sizes were obliterated or utterly wrecked in the four minutes it took to reach the range of three light seconds. Both the Royal Register and the Ryzula (Kysjyt's flagship) remained untouched, again due to some unspoken but acknowledged agreement. Plasma, primaries, lasers and antimatter scoured a clear path between the two ships. It was here that Lugan received his biggest and last surprize.
     The Ryzula swerved out of the way, exposing a trio of trailing squadrons in its wake. About to curse his foe for cowardice, Lugan's command was battered by every grazer and het laser armed Gyst ship. The Royal Register lost all of its armor and suffered very light internal damage. It was then that the three squadrons deactivated their deception mode ECM, showing that they were Xhali ships. Prince Hercul, aboard the command monitor Duke Cussel and last surviving member of the Xhali family, sent the following message to the Pulurtan King: "Don't move and it won't hurt as much." With that said the concentrated firepower of seven monitors and eleven battlecruisers vaporized the Royal Register and all of its 9,000 man crew. The loss of the Pulurtan King didn't break the morale of the remaining HN personnel, resulting in considerable carnage amongst Gyst and Jazta forces. With the final HN ship, a Footman CL, was destroyed the allies proceeded to Fendala and took out the orbitals and lanced the ground bases with primary beams.
     When Prince Jyzyk refused to surrender the planet down came Gyst army and marine troops. With Pyanyt leading a marine company the combat on Fendala raged for eight months before it was deemed safe enough for Kysjyt to land. Battles for the Summer Palace and Crowne Complex were among the most intense of the ground campaign. Jyzyk was found to have been killed in a KBS strike just north of the capital, leaving Arch Duke Sassyn as the senior royal left. He surrendered the planet to Kysjyt in a ceremony in the Crowne Complex throne room.
While the troops were fighting on Fendala there were still other systems to capture. Allied offensives slowed but didn't stop. Dwindling resources meant that no realistic defenses and sufficient new construction could stave off the allies. Suicide gunboat and fighter attacks, launched from asteroid bases that were little more than giant hangers, took their toll on allied ships. Ground combat still occurred, especially on those planets that remained loyal to the Pulurtan family. The ruling dukes were more afraid of their fanatical subordinates taking over if surrenders where offered instead of some remote chance of punishment by the royal family. Combat under those conditions lasted no more than two weeks as the fanatics made themselves quite obvious to counterattack and KBS strikes.
     Finally, as the war approached completion of its twelfth year more and more High Kingdom systems surrendered outright. The last significant combats occurred in the Scepter Chain. Arch Duchess Lappus, younger sister of Lugan, lead a spirited yet ultimately futile defense that ended in the Round Top system. It was during the combat on Round Top that Prince Pyanyt lost his leg from a mine explosion. Pyanyt was one of the last casualties of the war, for Lappus had the authority to deliver the surrender of all remaining High Kingdom systems.
     The figurative ink had barely dried when the royal trials began. First and foremost was Coryn. For authorizing the deliberate bombardment of population centers after surrenders were made, theft of crown property and other crimes the Blood Princess was sentenced to death. A firing squad of Vendians made sure that her funeral was closed casket. Qavas, for destroying and maltreatment of Xhali populations, was slated to receive a death sentence. However, due to her persistent comatose state her sentence was reduced to parole contingent on her regaining consciousness. Despite attempts to awaken Qavas, she remained comatose for sixty years before passing on. Some have said that justice was not served since the princess slept dreamless while the scarred survivors had to deal with heartache and nightmares caused by her cruelty. Arch Duke Doph, convicted for ordering Gyst and Union lifepods destroyed under his 'no prisoner' edict, was given life imprisonment. A prison on Jazta was built just for him, and Doph spent the last fifty years of his life mastering gardening and knitting under the mindful gaze of 100 guards.
     Depending on their involvement the remaining royals either had their titles removed or were imprisoned. The worst of the lot was Duke Oywa. As Crown Minister of Production, Oywa penned the infamous forced (slave) labor edict. Large groups of Gyst, Xhali, and Dalthu were transported into the High Kingdom to operate factories in the consumer goods and military support industries. Many of the asteroid mining outposts founded during the war were manned by slave laborers; the replacement rate barely kept pace with the death rate on these claustrophobic hell holes. Oywa was given life imprisonment in a converted mining asteroid along with other Pulurtan governmental officials that made use of slave labor in their programs.
     King Kysjyt paid just one visit to the asteroid prison five years after the war trials. After delivering a pardon to a wrongly convicted minor official the king toured the prison. Kysjyt was surprized to see that Oywa still had his ducal ring. Learning that Oywa was allowed to keep the ring because it would've required surgery to remove it, Kysjyt became incensed. Former Pulurtan royals were not allowed to keep rings from before the war. If they wanted to become part of the New Kingdom, maintaining their titles and getting new rings in the process, they had to swear allegiance to the king and to the constitution. It didn't help matters that Oywa, as a very young lancer in the employ of Lugan during the civil war, killed one of Kysjyt's uncles. On the spot, Kysjyt had Oywa restrained with his ring finger laid flat on a table. Using a butter knife to prolong Oywa's agony, Kysjyt proceeded to cut off the finger so as to remove the ring. Afterwards he had the sobbing duke sent to the prison's hospital so as to have the finger reattached. For his action the king go some bad press, but it made some fence sitters decide that new rings were better than cut fingers.
     In the post-war period the various sectors of the former High Kingdom were administered by Gyst-appointed governors. The Brookhollow sector, however, was made autonomous and answered to a Hokum/Elotoshani oversight committee. For the most part the Pulurtan Fendalens accepted the fact that their kingdom no longer existed, having joined their fellows in a new government, a constitutional monarchy. Those in the Brookhollow sector, however, spurn all efforts by the Gyst Fendalens for decades to join the New Kingdom.
     It must be remembered that the vast majority of the population, both Gyst and Pulurtan, were born after the civil war. More so than with the Gyst royals, a strong sense of loyalty and devotion to the Pulurtan family was instilled into the people. When Brookhollow (BH) fell the citizens felt betrayed that the High Navy in general and Lugan in particular had abandoned them to their fate. With all the ships, munitions, and troops they raised during the war the BH populace expected their loyalty to be rewarded. Conquered and disillusioned, the people saw no need to form ties with the New Kingdom that would lead to eventual reintegration. Instead they formed their own democracy under the careful tutelage of the Elotoshani. Formally called the State of Brookhollow, all other Fendalens and several other nations informally referred to it as the State of Intransigence due to its disdain in formalizing relations with the New Kingdom.
     Harmonizing of the New Kingdom had to overcome some resistance. The Gyst lost far more population while the Pulurtans were resentful for losing the war. Kysjyt spent his remaining years bringing the people together. Barons and dukes on both sides that tried to impede the democratic movement were stripped of their titles and hefty amounts of their property. Eventually the tradition of democracy took root in the New Kingdom, leading to a era of prosperity known as the Long Peace.

The High Navy (HN)
Maintaining its technological edge, the HN continued to introduce new hardware to maintain its offensive momentum. Improved HBM launchers freed up space for additional weapons and defenses. The gravitic capital missile launcher and its associated missile allowed for more efficient missile loadouts. Third generation antimatter made for more devastating warheads. Due to cost such warheads were few and only used when fire control solutions were optimum
      The HN's enemies had copied the previous technical developments used in the field. Moreover it appeared they were gaining the edge in absolute numbers, especially reserve forces. New colonization and industrial development in the High Kingdom was given an initial lower priority. In the war's sixth year the policy changed, but the benefits came too late to have a major impact on the war. The high admirals were banking on new attacks in Gyst and Jazta territory to further weaken their enemies. Especially the Gyst, since once that nation was out of the war and its resources seized the fleets would be robust enough for prolong offensives against the other enemies. It was with some irony that the HN was also counting on finding a new warp link leading into allied space. Any new route would be used to burn a path of destruction without any consideration of planetary invasion and occupation. Thankfully the HN would never realize this goal.
     On the fifth day of the war's eight year the CSF and its allies attacked along all known points of contact with the High Kingdom. Of these the most spectacular was the seizure of the Bios system. The loss of the shipyard complex and the industrious Bians was substantial. With their building speed the Bians could constructed leviathan and juggernauts two months faster than their Pulurtan masters. Now the HN had to increase capacity in other yards to make up for the loss the Bians.
     With all other resources being taxed the HN wasn't able to completely exploit the last warp point that lead into CPS space. For the better part of eighteen months six raider groups, composed of 24-36 Footman CLs instead of 18 General BBAs, were sent into the Hinterlands sector. Second-tier CSF convoys, composed of out-of-production elderly freighters that couldn't cloak, were escorted by large numbers of light warships in long routes from the Hamthen and Quagaar sectors to the Ulithi Fleet Base. Depending on the audacity of the raider commander, the convoy attacks would either just be gunboats, gunboats and fighters (if the raider group had Razor Beak CVSs), or a direct assault if the convoy was small enough. Once the war's eight year was well underway the raiders received less and less support. Attacks continued, but with dedicated task groups hunting them down the raiders only succeeded in tying down ships that could've gone to the front.
     It became painfully clear by the end of the eighth year that the CSF had some new sensor technology. Not only was it evident that the CSF could track ships and small craft at a far greater range than normal; it could also see through cloaks much better as well. Even deception mode ECM effectiveness was degraded as disguised datalink command ships were found out at longer ranges and destroyed. Finally, in middle of the ninth year a HN ship secured close-range scans of a CSF ship utilizing its tachyon-assisted multiplex tracking system.
     The first thing the HN did was to include survey ships in the fleets. With science systems tuned to detect tachyons, it became possible to know if an enemy ship equipped with an active tachyon scanner was within said scanner's range. Unfortunately the range and general direction could not be determined. So cloaked CSF ships could be as close as 15 light seconds or as far as 3.6 light hours. Worse, only one tachyon scanner had to be active at any one time. CSF commanders took to having multiple, expendable light scouts surround HN fleets, 'pinging' enemy ships with tachyon beams. Finally, thanks to the greatly increased communication range, CSF task forces could utilize the sensor data of its scouts and not use its own tachyon long-range sensors at all, preserving their anonymity. This greatly complicated the typical high admiral's job, not knowing which contact was a piddling corvette or a full-blown fleet. It was a deadly game of keep away for the HN until it located the biggest threats.
     Some high admirals became fatalistic, convinced that the CSF knew their precise locations at all times. Others tried localized counterattacks, going after objectives that the CSF had to protect and negating some of their scanner advantage. Then it became clear that warp point defenses were still the best way to minimize the tachyon advantage. Still, massive RD2y probes gave pretty clear data on what awaited the assault forces. Coupled with improved fire control, which allowed for more missiles to acquire distant targets, and tachyon beam weapons the life of the average HN ship got even worse.
   By the war's ninth year an unofficial policy of suicide attacks was adopted by the HN. A program to construct new asteroid forts along the expectant path of the allies was authorized. The large gunboat and much smaller fighter asteroid forts were officially built to provide a 'system reserve' for any fleet that required it. In action the gunboats, loaded down with anti-matter ordnance, would be escorted by fighters towards their primary targets - carriers. Stockpiles of mothballed GB2 and GB3s were initially used, as were first generation JSFs. When possible, these suicide attacks were to be in conjunction with fleet actions. The gunboats were expect to ram once their ordnance was gone. For the fighters they were to return to their forts to rearm for a final attack or land on HN carriers to replenish losses. In regards to ships, the HN already had a policy since the civil war. Any badly damaged ship that had no reasonable expectation to escape and was within range of an enemy ship was to ram. Many HN captains did attempt to ram once their ships were crippled, especially in warp point defense situations where the enemy was still confined by minefields. Unlike the gunboats the crews of the ships had the opportunity to abandon ship first.
     At war's end the High Navy performed one last act of defiance. As part of the armistice all ships were to offload their munitions, disable their energy weapons, and proceed to the Tidewater system. With minimum crews and Gyst marines on board the chance of revolt was almost nil. Knowing that their ships would either be scrapped, used as targets, given as war prizes or worse, displayed as museum pieces in foreign nations, the HN crews did what they had to do. In the computer core of all HN units was a virus that overrode the safety protocols of fusion reactors. This was done so that ships could be scuttled and not fall into enemy hands. The allies knew this and had the ships effectively lobotomized, keeping the minimal crews busy running the ships on manual controls.
There was, of course, a backdoor way to initiate the virus. By using the redundancy of the Bian-designed control system, the crews managed to upload the virus into the reactors' control systems during routine maintenance cycles. All of this was done to a schedule so that the reactors on all the ships would fail on the same day. Only enough time was allocated to evacuate the crews via lifepods. Of the 240 ships heading to Tidewater only 17 made it, and only then because the marines on those ships ejected the reactors before they exploded. For the crews it was fitting that the day chosen was the anniversary of Lugan's coronation as king some 80 years previous. Since the ships were not officially ordained the property of Kysjyt the crews felt that they still belonged to Lugan. They acted in accordance to the standing orders of the ships' owner and stated as such in the inquests that followed.
     Thus was the end of the High Navy. From a fleet of thousands only a motley collection of seventeen warships and auxiliaries were left. Over 15 million military personnel became casualties. It was a war that was, in retrospect, a family feud writ large that never needed to happen. The citizens of this particular corner of the galaxy would've agreed wholeheartedly.

Refits
What was commonly referred to as the late TL 18 refits (starting four months prior to achieving TL 19) were not refits as such. Realizing that their ships were still not optimal in regards to combat durability, HN BuShips redesigned the arrangement and connections of internal systems. All new construction and well as those ships damaged in combat were refitted. Rear-area ships at the TL 17 standard were also refitted to the late TL 18 standard.
     In the late war period the refits, in addition to equipping with new weapons like the Fvc3, included increased protection. With the allies now equipped with jam-proofed gunboats and fighters the old TL 9 jammer gave way to shield regenerators. Additional and rearrangement of armor was done not so much for protect against fourth-generation laser torpedoes but against fighter hetlasers and tachyon beam weapons. Overload dampeners and advanced tractor beams gave way to additional advanced freighter tractor beams, increasing the number of missile pods HN ships could tow into battle.

Bios - Hangman for the High Navy
While the media and various initial histories pinned the definitive start of the downfall of the HN during the Sauna/Glacis/Wilderness battles one has to acknowledge the role played by the Bios sector in contributing to that downfall. As the only sector in the High Kingdom with open warp points, Bios would see an ever-growing influx of naval strength with each new warp point leading to its enemies.
     The first Bios sector warp point survey during the war lead into the Gyst system of Everest, located in the Vendian sector. From here the 4th High Fleet invaded and destroyed the Vendian homeworld. Unable to move further into Gyst space at that point, the 4th moved down the chain, conquering the Gateway system. This placed the 4th in a position to advance both into the Commonwealth Kiosho sector and the Jazta sector of Memorial.
   Next in the warp point discoveries was the Commonwealth Crajen sector. Task Force 61 of the 6th High Fleet, still enjoying a measure of technical superiority over an unprepared 3rd Field Fleet, went on to score considerable success. Eventually pushed back to its entry system of Keyhole, the 6th ravaged five systems, destroying every hostile environment outpost and colony and killing over 5 billion civilians on three long-established Crajen settled worlds. Fighting would continue for years in this sector and would see additional civilian losses.
    A fresh connection to the Kiosho sector from Bios allowed the 8th High Fleet to obliterated the Bulan-colonized systems of Ox Loop and Swift. The 5th FF, intended to reinforce the 2nd FF at Alabaster, was diverted to stop the 8th from advancing further. The final point was one that lead to the Hamthen sector. At this point in the war the HN couldn't truly exploit this discovery, but sent in raider groups to harass CSF convoys, tying down ships that could've gone to the front lines.
     With three major fleets to support a new network of supply routes had to be forged in the Bios sector. Defenses were erected at the various points of contact and radiated back into the sector. For the sector interior itself the defenses were very light or non-existent. There were nodal reaction task groups and a elaborate sensor/comm network that linked the various Bios fronts to the sector and imperial capitals. With the fleets on the offensive all new defenses were sent to the front, reinforcing their hold in enemy territory. Victory disease even affected those who job was to watch after rear-area systems. Of course they acknowledged the possibility of a closed warp point popping up anywhere, as it happened at Chantilly and Alabaster. Both of those systems were recovered by a responsive HN. It was felt that when the next closed point appeared it would be handled just as quickly.
     This was Bios, however, and things didn't work out that way. With previously established bases pulled up and moved to the front the center of the sector, like the Bian system itself, was lightly protected in comparison. When TF 11 and Hokum/Eloto TF Delta occupied the system and worked their way out they found practically no resistance. Those space stations and bases over populated worlds had no hope of holding off allied attacks. Task groups were intercepted, outmaneuvered and outfought into extinction. Worst of all, utilizing captured data, the allies found the critical chokepoints for the convoys. Combined with fresh assaults from the allies the 4th, 6th, and 8th High Fleets were losing strength far faster than the limited resources available to them could replace.
     With vicious convoy battles behind them and advancing allies before them it was just a matter of time. The three HN fleet commanders kept falling back until they reached the Cornerstone system, gateway to the Blue River sector. Unlike the disaster known as the Royal Conniption, the commanders worked together and pooled their resources. With enough ships to make up almost two fleets guarding just one warp point it was believed the system could hold. Wishful thinking on the HN's part, for the allies had conquered the rest of the Bios sector. Concentration of the fleets allowed for a truly massive warp assault. A simultaneous transit, composed of Gyst, Jazta, Bulan, and Terpla'n light units and carriers was successful in opening the door for the rest of the fleet.
   The end finally came two weeks later. HN survivors, under cloak and skulking about, were waiting for promised reinforcements from the Blue River sector. The allies hadn't determined where the Blue River warp point was and had sent task forces about to find it as well as the remaining HN ships. It was like hunting blindfolded for snipe in a cave, but the honor of finding the 1st Composite Fleet went to the 10th Knights Brigade. This fleet, composed of Uhlani crews and under the command of Vice Admiral Kukrek, placed itself directly in the path of the creeping Pulurtans thanks to the tachyon scanners of an accompanying CSF cruiser squadron. At a range of 16 light seconds the 10th KB, still undetected, raised their drive fields and activated fire control systems. Kukrek ordered all of his non-carrier ships to charge and launched fighters and gunboats. The resulting clash was brief and cataclysmic as the HN ships only truly reached battle stations when the 10th KB came within four light seconds range. Bereft of fighters, the HN carriers ran only to be overtaken by engine tuner-equipped warships and picked apart by grazers.
     With the Bios sector occupied the allies, with the help of the Gyst Fendalens, were able to plot the most direct route from the Blue River to the Homeworld sector of the High Kingdom. While the advance from Sauna had to go down a defended set of warp lines, the fleets from Bios faced very light internal defenses in comparison, though much of it was in the form of kamikaze attacks. In the end the 'Bios Frontier' and the Sauna system were very much alike - from what started as gateways into enemy space turned into charnel houses for the High Navy.

Occupation Policy of the High Kingdom
Ranking amongst the mistakes and missed opportunities made by the Pulurtans during the war was their policy and attitudes towards occupied populations. There was an official policy on how such populations were to be used for the High Kingdom's benefit. Differing only in regards on the particular races involved, one gets the feeling after reading the policy that ego was more important than economics.
     The High Kingdom believed in only occupying planets and productive hostile environmental worlds. Asteroid colonies were either destroyed outright or had the populations evacuated, simplifying security needs. Taking the cost of the occupation armies into account, the typical Gyst and Xhali world would've provided a nice flow of resources for the High Kingdom in general and the High Navy in particular. A logical enemy would take steps to keep the flow of golden economic eggs going, but the Pulurtan royals weren't entirely logical.
     The typical High Kingdom citizen was born and raised in an environment that praised royalty in general and the royal family in particular. With the vast majority of the population born after the civil war the Pulurtan royals found it easy to instill in them loyalty and a hatred of the exiled Gyst and Xhali families. There was no doubt that one day those families and their followers would be discovered. When that happened they would be treated and punished harshly. Duke Oywa, Crown Minister of Production, held an almost pathological hatred of the exiled royals. Most of his family was killed on the colony world of Turret by Xhali loyalists during the civil war. Now in a position to exact revenge on a massive scale, Oywa enacted policies that would salve that desire at the expense of productivity.
     Oywa and the other royals, including King Lugan himself, were looking forward to the post-war period where the Gyst and Xhali were totally conquered. Planets would be given to barons and dukes that had proved themselves in the war. To that end steps were made to prepare occupied worlds for the new masters. The first was the forced labor edict penned by Oywa. Segments of the labor force on occupied worlds were transported to the High Kingdom and made to work in the consumer goods and military support sectors. This freed up Pulurtan labor for the manufacturing, shipbuilding and munition industries. Worked hard and living in spartan conditions, the Gyst and Xhali workers were to be returned to their respective planets once the war ended. It was a far preferable fate than those on the asteroids.
     While there was asteroid colonization and exploitation in the High Kingdom during the war recruitment drives were not meeting their goals. The shortcomings were made up by using former asteroid miners from Gyst and Xhali space. More so than their ground-based brethren, these slave laborers were treated as expendable assets. With pre-war safety procedures discarded to boost productivity and cut costs, the miners suffered a much higher attrition rate. The typical slave-operated asteroid mine went through a 100% turnover in the workforce at least once during the war. In the closing stages of the war mine operators typically destroyed the asteroids to prevent the rescue of the slaves. This lead to particularly bold rescue ops by Hazen and Jazta marines, saving miners that would otherwise have been killed.
     Back on the occupied worlds several other edicts, made by Oywa and others, went into effect. The anti-partisan operations conducted by the High Army were used as cover to eliminate 'undesirable elements' from the population. These elements usually consisted of loyalists to the Gyst and Xhali families, the politically unreliable, and elders of the community (those most likely to encourage the younger generations to keep faith in their respective royals to come back to liberate them). An otherwise benign occupation policy would've resulted in a lower cost to the High Army. But these actions only served to infuriate the people, leading to a great many incidents of public shootings. Off duty High Army troops also learned not to go about the cities alone, usually going in groups of at least five and armed with holdout weapons. Destruction of partisan hideouts in cities often made use of high explosives, causing death tolls in the hundreds. Work intensive projects, made without the benefit of sophisticated tools, also took their toll on the people. The 20-kilometer long, four meter tall stone wall that surrounded the vacation mansion for Princess Coryn on Bowarm, for example, killed 80 people in the 14 months it took to built it. Finally came the deliberate slaughter of people. Based on civil war records, the High Army hunted down descendants of those Gysts that had actively served in the civil war and killed them. It was petty revenge writ large, leading to equally ugly revenge after the war to those High Army officers unlucky enough to be left alive and not in the hands of the liberation force.
     Those workers taken for forced labor in the High Kingdom were not replaced on their respective worlds. Entire factory complexes actually closed on occupied worlds, and that was just the start. Baroness Saslyn, Crown Minister of Agriculture, got Oywa's ear and persuasively sold her plan for the occupied worlds. The focus of the worlds would no longer be primarily on heavy industry, but that of agriculture, followed by light industry such as textiles, consumer goods and luxury items. Indigenous foods, once processed and packaged, would be grown in such numbers as to make them worthwhile for distribution in the High Kingdom. What followed was a policy of forced farming, turning a significant number of the population into farm workers. More people were made to work in the resulting support industries, such as farm machinery and fertilizer production. It was clear from post-war records that the expectant Pulurtan royals wanted lest hectic, 'pastoral' worlds to rule over. A romanticism over ancient Fendalen kingdoms was held by many royals; they wanted something of that past brought back into the present even if it was inefficient. Both during and after the war the Gyst referred to any second helping to fruits and vegetables as 'the royal portion.'
     Combined together the edicts made for a rather wasteful use of resources. Even an occupation by complete aliens wouldn't come close to the waste that resulted. Had a rational approach to occupation and governance been made then the costs would've averaged around 10% GPV even for the most populated Gyst or Xhali world. With deliberate removal of labor, slaughter of population, ever-mounting occupation costs, and refocusing of industries the economic golden eggs turned rotten. Take Bowarm for example. It was capable of sending off 91% of its pre-war GPV every month to the Pulurtans to use in whatever manner they saw fit. Two years later, after the edicts were enforced, Bowarm was able to provide only 40% of its GPV. Smaller worlds were closer to 33%. The industrial expansion back in the High Kingdom, even with forced labor to pick up some of slack, didn't even come close to make good on the shortfall.
     The one notable exception to the policies was the conduct on Xhali Prime. Lugan demanded that the guerrilla action conducted by Xhali Duke Cussel be eliminated at whatever cost. Selective orbital strikes, mass reprisals, imprisonment of entire cities, and mass deportations changed the most productive world of the former Duchy into a basket case. Counting just the costs needed to keep the remaining population alive and the needs of the High Army garrison, Xhali Prime could only export 1000mc worth of goods each month back to the High Kingdom. The plan after the war was to eliminate the rest of the Xhali population, rehabilitate the planetary environment, and resettle the planet with fresh colonists. Lugan's plan came within a hair's breath of success had it not been for a malfunctioning detonator on the 500 megaton suicide bomb in the center of the last populated city on Xhali.
     As for the other races, the Pulurtan polices were written well before the war. Aside from conquering and eventually integrating Gyst and Xhali populations all other races where to be eliminated. This genocidal policy resulted from the revolt of subject races during the civil war. That action left a psychic scar on the Pulurtan mind. It was one that didn't allow for such an act to happen again. Except for the Bians (which were regarded as animated machines and in no-way alive), the Pulurtans had no other races in its borders. Indeed, two pre-industrial races discovered between the two wars were exterminated, lest the temptation to use them as subject races flared up again.
     It was the Jazta Union the suffered the least, though they still lost over 50 million civilians. This happened on Furnace, the only populated Union planet conquered by the High Army. Conquered, but not exterminated immediately. Recognizing its need for logistical support, the HN decided to utilize the resources of Furnace to support the 4th HN Fleet until such time it was no longer needed. In this case it would've meant the capture of Parade, the next Jazta world in the Memorial sector. Populated at 110 million, Furnace lost 40 million from orbital strikes of 'unnecessary population centers'. Later in the war the Union was able to liberate Furnace but not after a genocide-bent HA colonel had a further 5 million killed. Those HA officers and NCOs captured on Furnace with orders to exterminate civilians were themselves executed after the war for their crimes. As for the remaining five million, they were all colonists on asteroids and hostile-environment worlds. What few invasions conducted by the HA on these worlds were done solely for information. HN carrier pilots carried out the destruction of asteroid habitats and destroyed any civilian shipping that attempted to escape. Hostile-environment settlements were bombarded with nukes by ships and shuttles. The handful of remaining pilots that conducted such strikes were convicted of war crimes and spent decades-long sentences in Jazta maximum security prisons.
     The Commonwealth of Planetary States had far more civilian deaths. More so than the Union, the bombardment of CPS planets was done due to expediency. With over 80% of the High Army committed to invade and garrison Gyst and Xhali worlds there wasn't near enough troops to occupy one CPS world. In the initial advance in the Crajen Sector the 6th High Fleet destroyed every asteroid and hostile-environment population in five systems. On the three Crajen settled worlds of Coopersmith, Apprentice and Guildhall massive bombardments were conducted, each one having no less than 80% of the population wiped out. It would've been a complete genocide by the 6th's commander, Arch Duke Eylert, had it not been the need to preserve munitions to fight a resurgent 3rd FF. Only two out of hundreds of asteroid outposts were captured in this initial campaign and only then for their data. Much later the 6th High Fleet would rampage down eight more Crajen sector systems, killing an additional 220 million.
     In the Kiosho Sector of the CPS, both the 4th and 8th High Fleets followed the same deadly policy. The system of Assembly, bordering the conquered Gyst system of Gateway, lost its settlement of 10 million in the see-saw battles that raged between it and the Bulan system of Meadow, three transits away. A fresh warp point allowed the 8th High Fleet to sterilize the Bulan worlds in Ox Loop and Swift, adding 690 million to the death toll. Further battles would claim 20 million more in systems bordering Swift. Those would be the last civilian deaths, totaling over 5.94 billion.
     It took decades for the post-occupation Gyst and Xhali worlds to recover, even more so for the Xhali since they had the smaller population base. The Dalthu, which formed the majority of the Xhali's population to begin with, was reduced to a mere 81 million out of a pre-war population of 5 billion. Only 150 million out of 800 million Xhali Fendalens lived to see the war's end. Gyst Fendalen deaths were 300 million. On the far end of the spectrum the High Kingdom only had 20 million civilians die as a result of the war, and the majority of them was due to the actions of the High Army. Oywa and Saslyn, along with other senior ministry officials, were tried and sentenced post-war for their policies of forced labor and indirect intentional genocide. While Oywa received a life sentence on an asteroid prison, Saslyn got a 40-year sentence of environmental remediation on Xhali Prime. She would be found dead fifteen years later, having gorged herself to death on the very fruits she made millions of others plant and farm during the war.

The High Army (HA)
If one wants to find the epitome of bitter, disillusioned war veterans then look no farther than former HA soldiers. What was promoted as a glorified police action against the 'pretender kingdoms' turned into a soul-darkening experience of casual death and self denial. Soldiers expecting rest between planetary campaigns were made into garrison troops. Operations were carried out that caused more harm than good, and enemies weren't necessarily the ones firing guns at you.
     The lucky ones were troops assigned to High Navy ships as marines. What action they participated in was honest in comparison. All they had to do was defend the ship from enemy boarders, conduct their own boarding operations, operate shipboard weapons, and participate in the rare asteroid raid. For the regular groundpounders the fireworks could last up to seven months, depending on the population and commitment of the stationed Royal Army and Marine contingents.
     Like the armies of other races the HA made use of KBS satellites to break up particularly resilient defended positions. What made the HA different was the casual use of sub-kiloton nuclear and neutron warheads to 'sterilize' an area by making it impassible for the defenders to use. Where it was impractical to use nukes, due to proximity of friendly forces, the next best thing was Kaboomite. This ultra-tech chemical based explosive is not as compact or light as a micro-nuke but makes up for it by having no residual radiation hazard.
     Morale was high as the first set of planetary invasions was conducted. The HA went into high gear in recruiting and training when word first came of the warp point stabilization in the Sauna system. It was anticipated by the HA General Staff that King Lugan would go to war against the Gyst and Xhali. It didn't take much prompting to fill the ranks with adventurous youth. Supplies of fresh divisions just kept ahead of demand as the HN moved into enemy space, leaving worlds to be conquered in its wake.
     After the initial flush of success the HA divisions went down to the business of occupation. Captured RA and RM personnel were held in camps, living in prefab buildings and growing vegetables to supplement their daily rations. HA troops lived in prefab camps that would get more permanent structures, such as hospitals and gymnasiums and multi-story barracks. Cities and the countryside were patrolled for partisans. Aside from the arrogant smugness one expects from Pulurtans, especially from officials and officers of all ranks, the occupations were going well.
     Then came Oywa and his edicts. The HA was changed from enforcing the peace to enforcing the law, which were two separate things. Understandably the higher ups in the HA had expected to pick up their troops and move on to the next invasion. Left behind would be security forces and locally trained battalions to handle any remaining partisans. All new invasions would be handled by freshly minted troops now, leaving the currently garrisoned troops in position. When the edicts became public knowledge the troops were used to break up demonstrations and arrest agitators and uncooperative officials. In short things became ugly quickly.
      An upswing in partisan activities was expected. So to was the use of force by HA troops. Partisan hideouts in urban areas increased, leading to attacks on HA troops in areas where they congregated during leaves. Retaliation often made use of Kaboomite explosives to take out these hideouts, regardless of collateral damage. Standard issue for patrolling troops was one-kilo charges of Kaboomite, which was enough to gut a four-story building and utterly destroy anything smaller. 'Bringing down the house' was an all-too literal expression for the troops.
     Worse was in store. Along with the edicts came orders to round up and 'process undesirable elements of the population.' This translated in massacres of whole groups in retaliation against partisan activity, use of slave labor to do projects without the benefit of sophisticated tools, and imprisonment of those that would rally support against the Pulurtans. As the shift in the industrial policy on occupied worlds became painfully clear the populace began to openly disrespect Pulurtan authority. HA troops were being made to feel unwelcomed in the cities, leading to a siege mentality as they stayed in their bases and forward camps. Only the reckless, fatalistic, and those with lovers still went to the cities on a regular basis.
   It became a common occurrence for partisans and the Greens (nickname for HA troops due to their green service caps) to engage in shootouts in broad daylight in the city streets. The Greens soon learned to look only after their own wounded and dead, ignoring any civilians that were caught up in the exchanges. All the usual escapes for reality, from sports, food, liquor and sex became less and less helpful as the intensity of 'the routine' increased. Even more Greens came to know the mind and soul numbing experiences of the routine as occupation forces on all Xhali and Gyst worlds increased to control the civilians. To a Green every window and every corner could lurk a partisan lookout. Each sewer cover may hid a shooter ready to pop up and fire. A bomb under each bench and cafe chair. Life was plainly not good anymore.
     When the HN suffered its reverses later in the war the HA brass made a painful and unpopular decision. Armies on planets in the path of the Royal Navy were to stay. Much faith was placed in the HN to pushed back the RN. It was felt that any pullout and subsequent reconquest would be unnecessarily costly and damaging to morale. What the brass made themselves blind to was that morale was already damaged. As it was the HN was unable to return to any system they previously held, truly stranding the Greens to their fate.
     Now on the receiving end of bombardments, opposing troops, and actively hostile civilians the Greens became angry and resentful. Angry that their superiors kept telling them to hold on until the fleet returned. Resentful that they had truly been abandoned. They all thought that if the HN did return they would find the armies dead, bringing about a new cycle of invasion, occupation, and death. Whole regiments of Greens snapped, conducting suicide attacks on RA troops, using micro-nukes in job lots. Civilian refugee camps and defense bunkers were gassed with toxins, causing horrendous casualties. Civilians retaliated by using captured Kaboomite charges, massacring any knot of Greens they could find.
     Those Greens that survived were held prisoner on the very planets they had garrisoned for years. Given the number of offenses committed by the Greens (from theft to murder) on the civilians they were all given automatic ten-year sentences. Those that committed numerous or the most heinous crimes had their rear legs crippled, leaving them unable to run or jump. Those that ordered and participated in deliberate murders and destruction of cities the sentence was death or sixty-year prison terms.
     For the vast bulk of Greens the ten years they spent in prison camps that they had to build for themselves couldn't have gone fast enough. After their release the Greens had a hard time adjusting to life back at home. Some never adjusted and ending up living in clinics that had the same safe environments of the prison camps. Having grown to hate their service during the war for what it turned them into, the Greens distrusted authority in general and kept to themselves, only considering their squadmates as true friends. The only salve to their pain were memorials constructed in their honor. Not expressions of glory or victory, these plainly-constructed blocks of stone listed the names of Greens that died far from home in adventures transformed into hellholes.

Warships	Bases	Transports
Carriers	Tugs	Minelayers and Sweepers
Auxiliaries	Mobile Shipyards and Repair Ships	Survey Ships