Category:Border Worlds Conflict

The Border Worlds Conflict was a major conflict that occurred between the Terran Confederation and the Union of Border Worlds during the 2670s. It was instigated by a third, previously unknown faction known as the Black Lance. It was the first major conflict since the end of the Terran-Kilrathi War in 2669, and threatened to shatter the fragile peace that resulted from the outcome of the Kilrathi War.

Prelude

The Border Worlds Conflict's origins lie in the final months of the Terran-Kilrathi War, which had been raging between the Terran Confederation and the Empire of Kilrah for thirty-five years. After the disastrous outcome of the Battle of Terra in 2668, humanity faced imminent defeat at the hands of the Kilrathi, initiating a series of actions by various individuals and factions that threatened the stability of the Confederation. With the war continuing to progress poorly, several powerful figures of the military, incensed by the civilian government's handling of the False Armistice of 2668, initiated a coup d'etat against the government in hopes of acquiring power and taking their own course of action against the Kilrathi. This conspiracy, known as the Belisarius Group, alarmed those who remained loyal to the government, and prompted several to take action to shut down the conspiracy.

Among those most opposed to the Belisarius Group was Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn, who was eager to end the war quickly before the conspirators gained sympathy for their cause. At the time, Tolwyn was making final preparations on the Behemoth Project, which was initiated with the ultimate goal of destroying Kilrah by means of the TCS Behemoth, a dreadnought that served primarily as a planet-killer. With the war reaching its climax, Tolwyn rushed the poorly-armored vessel into service prematurely in an attempt to end the war quickly. In addition to this, Tolwyn revived a number of Black Projects, covert operations designed with the intent of destroying the Kilrathi. However, Tolwyn had other plans for these projects, and used the fight against the Belisarius Group as a cover for his own activities, enabling him to consolidate resources and build upon his own private army.

The TCS Behemoth ultimately failed to destroy Kilrah, destroyed by the Kilrathi while en route to Kilrah. Despite this loss and the humiliation Tolwyn received from the failure, the war ultimately ended in a Confederation victory when Colonel Christopher Blair destroyed Kilrah with the Temblor Bomb. Most of the Black Projects were thereafter canceled, and the Belisarius Group lost its momentum. Undaunted, Tolwyn proceeded with his previous activities under the guise that the Belisarius Group remained a threat, allowing him to continue his war activities during peacetime. Tolwyn was convinced early on that in the near future, humanity would be threatened by an enemy far more powerful than the Kilrathi, and that if it was to survive, it had to remain at its full military strength. However, most of humanity, exhausted by decades of warfare, moved quickly to scale back the military, forcing Tolwyn to continue his plans in secrecy. Seeing that his new army could be humanity's ultimate defenders, he activated the powerful Black Lance, and intended to use his new faction to force humanity back on the alert.

Tolwyn's Intent

Admiral Tolwyn's ultimate goal was to use the Black Lance to instigate a number of conflicts within Terran territories in the hopes of forcing the Confederation to reactivate its military, so that it may be better prepared for future threats to humanity's existence. The Black Lance would then be installed as humanity's "first line of defense" due to its superior technological advantages over those of conventional Terran forces. In addition to this, he reactivated the Genetic Enhancement Program, which would enable him to create a race of super-soldiers whose genetic superiority would allow them to be more formidable in combat with each new generation. Finally, Tolwyn intended to eradicate the Terran populace he deemed as genetically inferior and thus unfit to defend humanity, in an attempt to "purify" the human race so that it would be at its strongest in future conflicts. Such a radical plan would require Tolwyn to resort to genocidal means by which to purify humanity.

Declaration of Independence

After having served loyally with the Terran Confederation during the Terran-Kilrathi War, dozens of star systems on the Confederation frontier, discontent with Confederation rule, declared their independence and united to form a loose alliance now known as the Union of Border Worlds. Their rationale for this move was that in spite of their loyal service to humanity, the Border Worlds suffered terribly for its role in the war against the Kilrathi, often neglected by the Confederation government in the fight for survival. In addition to this, the Border Worlds never signed the Articles of Confederation, the founding document of the Confederation and thus, from a strictly legal perspective, were never under the Confederation's jurisdiction. Many Confederation citizens opposed this move, stating that as they were territories settled by Confederation citizens, they were to be considered colonies of the Confederation. The resulting political fallout resulted in both sides arguing over the legitimacy of the Union's formation.

Taking advantage of this political upheaval, Tolwyn initiated a state of war between the Terran Confederation and the Union of Border Worlds, forcing humanity to reactivate its military forces and in doing so, thrust its technological advancement and allow Tolwyn to pursue his personal agenda.

War on the Frontier

Tolwyn instigated the already heightened tensions along the Confederation frontier through a campaign of terror against civilian shipping and military forces from both Terran factions. As early as 2671, Admiral Tolwyn deployed his Black Lance forces all along the frontier, launching raids against vessels and installations from the Confederation and the Border Worlds. Using fighters from the Confederation, the Union, and unmarked fighters of their own designs, pilots from the Black Lance attacked these factions while posing as the opposite faction, provoking each side to believe the other was the aggressor. From 2671 to 2673, the Black Lance committed numerous acts of piracy against Border Worlds and Confederation forces, killing thousands of innocent lives.