Champions of the Empire

Subject

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False War (6551-6553) - The short, fourth war in the series of Frontier Wars between the Third Imperium and the Zhodani Consulate.

See Fourth Frontier War

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Faster-Than-Light Communications - The Xboat system was the primary means of imperial communications from the time it went online in 6093 until the advent of FTL communications in the year 6482. FTL communications allow radio-like communications at speeds faster than light. When the technology was first implemented, the transmitting and receiving stations had to be well outside the gravity well of any celestial bodies, including the primary. Thus, the first system consisted of ships that would spends months in space well beyond the orbit of the furthest planets in the system.

The technology has improved tremendously since then to the point that FTL communicators can function within a system as long as they are not affected by a gravity well other than the primary. This, of couse, led to a plethora of communications satellites in solar orbits, These satellites relay data traffic (generally digital data packets) between the inhabited world(s) and the satellites for further transmission to other worlds.

Note that such means of communications are not instanteous. Such communications travel at about 1 parsec per hour which, though much faster than Xboat communications, still means that it takes 8 hours to send a message from Jewell to Regina, and another 8 hours to get an answer back (assuming they answer right away).

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Federation - Group of states, worlds, or systems, each internally independent, joined into a union to which has been surrendered certain rights and responsibilities, most generally to do with foreign affairs.

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First Frontier War (6058 to 6073) - The first of the modern border clashes between the Imperium and the Zhodani, which sparked the beginning of a continuing antipathy between the two major lines of humanity.

With the conclusion of the war, Olav hault-Plankwell returned to the Imperial core with his war fleet and took the reins of government, dispatching Empress Jacqueline and thus beginning the Civil War and the reign of its Barracks Emperors.

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First Imperium (1424 to 3265) - The first major interstellar civilization, politically and culturally dominated by humans originating on Vland. The jump drive was discovered on Vland in -3766. Immediately the Vilani discovered a number of interfertile and technologically primitive human races on worlds within 60 parsecs. These were gradually brought to a high-technology state with Vilani help and assimilated into a loose interstellar community bound by trade and common culture.

Eventually, the client races themselves explored beyond the local sphere, contacting and trading with still more races. These new races gained their technology without being assimilated into Vilani culture; the resulting increased friction eventually resulted in a series of wars beginning in about 69.

In response to the threat, Vland began tightening its control of its trade sphere, and finally organizing it into a centralized state in 196. This marked the beginnings of the First Imperium, although there was as yet no emperor. During the thousand year period of the Consolidation Wars, Vland conquered and absorbed its enemies until there were no longer any civilized states on its borders (except for a portion of the Vargr Extents, isolated from the Imperium by the Great Rift).

The last war ended in 1424, and the Vilani declared the establishment of an interstellar empire to govern all Vilani territory. Known as the Grand Empire of Stars or Ziru Sirka, Vilani dating begins at this point. With no exterior threats, the Ziru Sirka lasted for nearly 1200 years; at its height, which was attained soon after the end of the wars, the First Imperium contained 27 sectors and over 15.000 worlds.

However, the cost of maintaining centralized control over this vast expanse was cultural rigidity; exploration had ceased with the beginning of the wars; now scientific research slowed to a halt, and the beginnings of a hereditary caste system began to emerge. Civilization was in decline.As long as there was no exterior threat, the Grand Empire was safe; but gradually, despite all efforts, technology leaked across the borders. New interstellar states arose, and the Imperium could no longer afford to absorb them. Gradually, the Imperium lost territory along its coreward and trailing marches. Then, in 3047, the Imperium was contacted along its rimward border by the Terrans, who had recently emerged into space. Terran expansionism led to a series of interstellar wars, which ultimately resulted in Terran conquest of the Imperium in 3265 and the founding of the Rule of Man.

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Fourth Frontier War (6551-6553) - Also know as the False War. Short, inconclusive war fought primarily in Jewell Subsector between the Imperium and the Zhodani Consulate. The war was in the Spinward Marches with initial assaults by the Zhodani against Jewell and Regina Subsectors stalled at the borders. Its final battle, the Battle of Two Suns, 6553, was waged in the vicinity of Yres and Manorb and resulted in Imperial victory. The armistice was signed before instructions for the conduct of the war were received from the capital.

Zhodani textbooks on the subject make it clear that the war started when Imperial warships entered Zhodani space and refused to leave. At that point the commanding officer considered them hostiles and defended Zhodani interests against imminent attack. After holding back a much larger invasion force with a border picket, the Zhodani commander executed a brilliant defense in the Yres/Manorb region and forced the Imperium to settle for a few worthless systems, while strengthening the Zhodani frontier. It's all there in the textbooks.

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