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THE SHIELD THAT WASN’T

COLUMBA AND THE NORTH CENTAURAN WAR

Near Old Ridges, Vast And Never, Given Our Light, Is The Path To Heaven

THE ROOK AND THE BATTLE CRY

Columban-Riaan relations were one of longstanding hostility. A century before the Territories were united, the Riaan Empire invaded and seized the territory now known as the Panhandle from Nohae and Quar, repopulating the region with devout Arborist settlers. The Rodinese Marches^1 were historically a warzone as well, repeatedly contested between the Kingdom of Phact and the Riaans. The need for stronger allies to help defend these vulnerable territories was a leading factor behind the western states ultimately accepting the Eurian Confederation’s offer of unification. Following the establishment of the United Columban Territories, the region was now too strong to be contested by any neighbors individually, and thus largely left alone.

(^1) Part of the territory that constitutes southwestern Riaa and some of the Columban Lowlands were referred to as the Rodinese Marches by older civilizations, including the Libran Empire. This name persisted.

The 19th century was a period of great change throughout the continent, and North Centaura was not exempt. In the middle of the century, the invention of the telegraph allowed for efficient communications throughout the country, including into the deep highland provinces that had operated largely autonomously from Mundare due to geography. As Mundare’s reach into these areas expanded, events such as the Landfall and Pistris Plains Wars showed the Columbans the failings of a decentralized military against a well-organized foe. With this in mind, Mundare began to fold more provincial militias and armies into the United Columban Armed Forces with the Armed Forces Reorganization Act in 1857. Regional governors reacted negatively to what they called an infringement on their authority. After months of political stalemate, several provinces along the Macer Range, whose regional forces were historically considered some of Columba’s hardiest and best-trained, declared open revolt in 1858. The city of Fren, from which the rebelling governors issued their declaration, lent its name to the Fren Rebellion. Although brief in duration, lasting only two years, the Fren Rebellion devastated the valley. Ultimately, the UCAF prevailed due to its usage of telegraphy for communications and by implementing a blockade along the southernmost Macers and from the east. The blockade resulted in localized famines in several cities, a disaster that locals found hard to forgive in the coming decades. With Mundare’s victory, the Provincial Authority Act of 1861 was enacted, holding all organized military forces under the central government’s control and heavily restricting civilian gun ownership. Although they were now the only organized military in the country, United Columban Armed Forces were strained as they integrated a mass of militias of varying quality and quantity, as well as being stretched to the limit with its various deployments throughout the former rebelling provinces. It was truly fortunate for them that the old threat, Riaa, was in no condition to fight them. The Sagittarius Strait War of 1864 provided Columba with a unique opportunity. When the war began, the Grusans negotiated for material support from Mundare by offering abolished customs on transit of goods through the strait, merchant docking rights in Grusan ports along the Libran Ocean should they emerge victorious against Centauri, and the designs for Grusa’s latest ironclad warships. This offer proved tempting, and although it was met with controversy in eastern Columba due to Grusa’s historically negative reputation in the region from their imperial era raids on the Noachi Guild’s territories, economic pragmatism outweighed the grudge. When

the Grusans were ultimately defeated in 1869, Columba found itself slapped with heavy transit fees through the strait by the victorious Centaurians, no docking rights from Grusa, and a handful of ironclad designs that were apparently inferior to those of their neighbors. Columba’s maritime ability was thus crippled henceforth. Meanwhile in Riaa, the House of Zvezda’s rule had steadily eroded over the past decades from a combination of unchecked corruption in the frontier and economic stagnation due to slow industrialization. In hopes of mitigating their poor trade situation, Columbans took advantage of the decay in Riaa, paying off the nobility of the Rodinese Marches for security and easy passage of trade through the Riaan Panhandle into the Corvus Confederation. Even after the Cetan Empire’s conquest of South Corvus crippled the Confederation’s economy, trade continued at a reduced volume, with Columban coal exports being vital for Corvus to sustain itself. Columba made no aggressive moves toward Riaa at this time, knowing that an outright military incursion simply would unite the Empire against a common enemy. These circumstances changed yet again with the outbreak of the Riaan Civil War in 1888. The Imperialists and newfound Nationalists battled for control of the state, with the Tucani Empire supporting the latter in hopes of deposing the Zvezdas, who had previously begun questioning the sovereignty of Riaa’s eastern neighbors. The Columbans largely stood neutral in the conflict, content to let the pagans fight among themselves. The Fort Garen Incident of 1890, in which over 2,000 deserting Riaan soldiers-turned-bandits under the command of a deposed warlord attempted to flee into Columba, was the only major spillover. The UCAF was able to fend off the Riaans admirably in this instance. With the ultimate victory of the Riaan Nationalists in 1895, Mundare settled into an uneasy peace with the nascent Republic. The new Riaan government showed it did not wish to start another war, but chose to station the bulk of its battle-hardened military forces along the Rodinese Marches in a clear display of intimidation. The republican credentials of the Riaan Nationalists did little to change their historical disputes with Columba. The presence of Riaan forces prompted Mundare to fund additional recruitment and reservist training. The new Riaan government was also unwilling to continue the favorable trade arrangements Columba had enjoyed before. Now, the Riaan Panhandle was governed by expensive customs and transit fees, while trade through the Oculum was subjected to search and seizure by the Cetan flotilla to prevent arms from flowing into Corvus. Efforts to build

infrastructure through the Macer Range proved prohibitively expensive and dangerous. Despite these limitations, Columba and Corvus worked to maintain some trade volume. In the years leading up to the South Corvus War, the Confederation’s development of armored vehicles benefited from trading with Columba. The core of Corvun armored design was based on imported blueprints prototypes from Columba, who designed tanks as “mobile bunkers” to assist as part of a defense-in-depth doctrine on the Riaan border.

PRELUDE TO WAR

In the years following the Civil War, the Riaan government, in an effort to fund more of its domestic improvements, decided it was worth considering a thaw in relations with their southern neighbor. In 1907, Riaan and Columban officials signed an agreement that mutually repudiated claims on each other's territory. Although the agreement did little in adjusting customs fees, it allowed Riaa to draw down a considerable portion of its forces in the south, while the Columbans reciprocated, albeit to a lesser degree. The South Corvus War that began the following year was met with mutual curiosity by the nations of North Centaura. Many Columbans were sympathetic towards the Corvun side on account of past trade relations. The Antarean intervention in 1912 and the rapid collapse of Cetus was a shock, though most Columbans felt no reason to fear on account of the Macer Range’s natural protection. While most Cetan refugees headed eastward into Aquila, a few braved the mountain passes into the north. Most were turned back, though some skilled workers were allowed to settle in Columba. These refugees were nonetheless met with derision, with most Columbans feeling that the Cetans had gotten what they deserved. The subsequent conquest of Aquila drew concern from the North Centauran countries. While the war itself was far from unexpected on account of past Antarean-Aquilan conflicts, the swiftness with which Aquila fell stunned the nations of North Centaura. The Riaans quietly began a rearmament campaign, but were unable to commit as many resources as they wished, while the Tucanese and Centaurians invested further attention into monitoring the conflict. However, none were affected as much as Columba, where the bulk of Aquilan refugees, unable or unwilling to flee into Vega, settled. Columbans were initially more receptive towards Aquilan refugees compared to their Cetan counterparts, especially upon hearing of the Scorch. However,

some Aquilans began coalescing into militant groups that attempted to launch raids into their occupied homeland while using Columba as a base, forcing the UCAF to initiate a crackdown. This phenomenon of rebels, nicknamed the Incorrigibles, became a recurring issue, especially as Antarean forces, claiming a defensive war after fending off a brief Vegan mobilization and incursion into Aquila, broke through the Murus Plateau and capitulated Vega. The Antareans would repeat this with Grusa, claiming the state had initiated hostilities by mobilizing its army and “permitting” volunteers to assist Vega in fighting against the Imperium. The conquest of both Aridan states initiated yet another wave of refugees, several of whom formed groups of Incorrigibles. Despite concerns over what the Antareans would do next, neither the Imperium nor its Corvun puppet state made any attempts to attack the Riaan Panhandle or Columba during this time.^2 The Imperium was well aware of how formidable of an obstacle the Macer Range was, and had no intention of attacking it, if at all, without thorough preparations and planning. Meanwhile, the North Centauran states showed due concern for the possibility of an Antarean invasion. Columba by far hosted the greatest number of refugees compared to Riaa, Tucana, and Centauri. Government resources in supporting refugees became strained, and operations from the Incorrigibles caused considerable fear among the populace that one zealous raider could escalate the situation beyond repair. Amidst these uncertainties, Oscar Massey , considered one of the Columban National Party’s arch-conservatives, was elected to the Chancellery in 1917. Under Massey’s chancellorship, Columba closed its borders and cracked down heavily on the Incorrigibles while transporting refugees deeper into its territory to prevent the formation of new units. Massey’s government enacted a new conscription program and mandatory defense training for border towns. The perceived overreach of government power and tensions from refugees being funneled into the country’s heartlands emboldened the opposition, leading many to fear that a repeat of the Fren Rebellion was not outside the realm of possibility. The Riaans, for their part, did not ignore the Imperium’s conquests. The wars had considerably disrupted trade and there was no clear line where the Antareans intended to stop. Although few truly believed Kalvin Tau’s speech was a declaration of intent to conquer the entire continent, the Republic felt compelled to prepare for the possibility. When Grusa’s capitulation

(^2) Read this part again. As many times as you need to.

was announced, Hadina took advantage of the shock to invite delegates from Tucana, Centauri, and Columba to a conference on how to handle a potential Antarean invasion. By the end of the conference on May 14th, 1919 , the North Centauran Treaty was signed between Tucana, Centauri, and Riaa. Columba had not agreed to join, wishing to avoid entanglements and still distrustful of the Riaan government. This decision seemed prudent, as the Antareans had still yet to make any moves on Columba.^3 In the meantime, the Imperium recovered its military strength while consolidating its conquests. Antarean authorities integrated Cetus and Aquila as constituent states of the Imperium similar to the existing four. Grusa and Vega were combined into a singular polity under the leadership of Xavier Navarro. Skorpii Grusa, as it was called, ostensibly had autonomy and existed to provide a veneer of legitimacy and plausible deniability for the Antarean conquests. The Imperium could claim to other countries that its invasion of the two were reflective of it waging a defensive war. The agreement that created Skorpii Grusa gave the Antareans the right to intervene should the state not uphold its tributary obligations, however. When news of Grusa’s capitulation reached Libra, the Federation, wary of recent developments on the Centauran continent, sent diplomatic envoys across the world, calling for a conference in the Libratum International Zone with hopes of preventing further escalation of the conflict and what they expected would be total disruption of trade across the Libran Ocean. After much planning, the First International Conference, so plainly styled, was held on April 4th, 1920. Delegates from North Centaura, Columba, Antares, and the Hydran nations pressed each other over the conflict and how it could or would not be resolved. The First International Conference proved fruitless in the end, with the North Centauran states accusing Antares of having territorial designs on them, citing the recent, unprovoked invasion of Lacerta. For their part, the Antarean delegation argued it was simply settling old scores. The Imperium’s diplomats remained elusive when questioned on where they intended to stop. Meanwhile, diplomats from the Hydran nations were disapproving of the Antarean conquests, while the Antareans angrily pointed out the Orionites had done the exact same thing to well over half of their own continent. In the end, the only notable outcome from the conference was a trade embargo levied upon Antares by Orion, Auriga, and Hydrus. Without a definitive answer from the Antareans on whether they were committed to ceasing further

(^3) Read this again as well. As many times as you need to.

expansion, the Columban government discreetly implemented a state of alert in the border regions. On February 19th, 1921, an Antarean bomber formation on an exercise along the former Aquilan-Columban border became lost over the Macers and flew into Columban territory. By the time the bomber crews spotted a city below them and realized they had flown dangerously far off course, it was too late. The Territorial Constabulary in Rubes, terrified, had already manned their guns, and the formation suffered two crews shot down before the rest managed to steer back on course and return to friendly territory. The Rubes Incursion, as it was called, sparked the strongest fears of conflict since 1919, and Columban diplomats scrambled to prevent an escalation when it became clear the lost squadron had not been the prelude to an actual invasion. The incident was resolved with the return of the wreckage of the downed planes and all surviving crew members to Antarean custody, alongside a formal apology from Mundare. While Columbans breathed a collective sigh of relief, the incident gave Riaa the political capital to issue Mundare with an ultimatum. If Columba did not sign the treaty, its current signatories could not be relied upon to assist it should the Antareans invade. Although Massey’s government questioned if the other three could afford to leave Columba to die when the Macer Range provided an invaluable natural obstacle, many in his government believed signing the treaty was now the best deterrence against Antarean aggression, as well as ensuring Columba would not bear the brunt of a prospective offensive alone. To sweeten the deal, the North Centaurans offered to renegotiate trade to be more equitable among its members and Columba. Centauri would remove the heavy transit fees imposed on Columban ships through the Sagittarius Strait, while Riaa and Tucana would open up sales of industrial equipment to Columba. They also agreed to finance and construct new fortification lines along the Macer Range and in the east. Columba thus signed the North Centauran Treaty on March 20th, 1921. Afterward, the signatories publicly revealed the North Centauran Alliance to the world, showing Antares that if it attacked one, it attacked all. The Antares Imperium had spent the years since 1919 planning on how it might bypass the Macer Range, which was seen as the single most formidable obstacle in the way of their conquest. Kalvin Tau, despite a moment of weakness following the capitulation of Grusa, was fully committed to finishing his work despite declining health. A debate between a gradual assault through the Macers supported by an aerial campaign or an encirclement strategy through

the east and the Riaan Panhandle emerged. General Sebastian Archer, a respected veteran from the Cetan and Aquilan Campaigns, was the main proponent of the Slingshot Plan. Archer’s supporters believed that an encirclement along the Annulus, as well as a bombardment campaign against the NCA’s fleet, was too risky of a strategy, in addition to relying on untested technologies and tactics. He posited that pushing through the western part of the Macer Range would provide the swiftest route to striking at Columba’s heartland. In contrast, the much younger Kolonel Darian Cervantes, respected for winning a series of victories in Grusa through daring tactical brilliance, believed his feats could be repeated through a two-pronged strike through the lower-lying regions in eastern Columba and the Panhandle. Although the plan showed much promise, General Archer was able to convince the Emperor with a simple statement that embodied the Pax Edict: “Going through the mountains would endanger fewer civilians than pushing through a populated series of valleys.” The years of 1922-1926 were a relatively quiet period. In contrast, 1927 was a year of incidents along the border. Skirmishes broke out along the Riaan Panhandle between Corvun border troops and Riaan soldiers, both sides claiming the other had unlawfully attempted to establish a military presence in the other’s territory. Two merchant ships were sunk in the Sagittarius Strait with no clear consensus on whether the shots had been fired from the Centaurian or Antarean side. Meanwhile, NCA troops continued to enter Columba and assist with building fortifications. The understanding of the Columban government was that troops from the alliance would help man these installations. However, in practice, NCA units left the task of manning and maintaining the fortifications to Columban personnel once construction was completed, returning home as they saw fit afterward. The death of Emperor Kalvin II on October 29th of that year made the continent hold its breath. Aside from a few additional incidents in the Panhandle, there did not seem to be any considerable moves by the Antareans. Some NCA intelligence officers and resistance groups operating in the south reported that Aran V seemed to be restructuring the high command of the military, but had difficulty determining what for. The newly appointed officers seemed to be a blend of young and old, without a clear discerning factor. Years later, the restructuring’s purpose would be revealed as a purge of the Imperial Army’s leadership of officers deemed too strict in their interpretation of the Pax Edict.

On November 3rd, a Riaan patrol along the Panhandle was ambushed in a brutal attack, killing over half their numbers. Survivors swore their assailants spoke Librae and produced a handful of “captured” pieces of Antarean equipment, leading to a flurry of accusations being levied about a potential offensive from the west. These claims were met with quiet doubt by some, but none could deny something had happened. The NCA declared a state of emergency and ordered a forward deployment of troops into Columba. This deployment was fraught with controversy. Astranist communities did not appreciate an influx of Arborists suddenly arriving in their country, and Riaan troops being quartered in Columban towns were considered of ill-repute and behavior. The status-of-forces agreement was immensely unpopular as well. When NCA soldiers were accused of crimes such as theft or worse, the treaty forming the alliance protected them from prosecution by Columban civil authorities. As their railways, inns, and mountain passes began to clog up with foreign troops, many Columbans began to consider themselves under occupation. All the while, there was no imminent military action detected from the Antareans. As a quiet winter settled over the Macers, many Columbans began to refer to their situation as a Phoney War. While the Antareans remained still, disputes between the UCAF and the other NCA military forces grew heated over concerns of jurisdiction and extraterritorial rights. Massey’s government fought, albeit fruitlessly, to assert more Columban sovereignty over military matters. Here, the Chancellor realized his miscalculation. There were hundreds of thousands of NCA troops in his country now, and countless more on the way. Tensions between Columbans and the NCA escalated in the lead-up to Constellation Day of 1928. Despite the pseudo-wartime situation, Columban Astranists were eager to celebrate the holiday as they had for generations. NCA troops stationed in the east, concerned that large gatherings might provide cover for Antarean infiltrators, imposed curfews and other limitations on Constellation Day celebrations. Controversially, local authorities, under the guidance of the NCA, also banned the usage of fireworks, a common part of the festivities. This ban would lead to a crisis in the city of Herns when a teenager named Martin Redatsi skirted the ban and set off fireworks at midnight on Constellation Day. After being arrested, Redatsi was brutally beaten during his interrogation by police, followed by local NCA forces taking him into custody to investigate if his fireworks had been launched with intention of covering for Antarean activities.

The heavy-handedness with which a teenager was dealt caused protests to break out in the east, which rapidly escalated throughout the region. News of the Constellation Day Protests quickly spread throughout Columba. Massey and his government were inclined to show sympathy towards their own people, saying Constellation Day was a vital part of Columba’s traditions and culture and thus should have been handled with greater care. With skyrocketing public discontent towards NCA forces, Massey announced he would try to renegotiate the status-of-forces agreement to ensure incidents like Redatsi’s were handled by civil authorities, as well as establish firm guidelines on how the NCA could influence local government actions. The NCA, concerned about Massey’s stance, discreetly spoke to the various factions of the Columban National Party. While the east was resentful of the situation, the lowlands, where the bulk of the population and industry were located, saw the NCA as a necessary deterrent to Antarean aggression. Through political maneuvering and some dirt, the National Party moved to remove Massey from office, replacing him with Milo Lutka , a member of the party’s pro-NCA, pro-business faction based in the lowlands. Lutka’s government paid lip service to making the NCA presence better managed, but in practice did little to abate ongoing issues. As the Constellation Day protests began to lose momentum due to a lack of support from Mundare, the combined military staff of the NCA finalized an extraordinary plan. The alliance prepared to launch a preemptive strike into Grusa and Corvus. By catching the Antareans off-guard and cutting off their forces in the region, the NCA hoped they could incite national revolts against Antarean occupation, which, after seven years of continuous fighting and another decade invested in the reconstruction of the conquered countries, was presumed to be in a precarious state. The alliance believed that once their conquests were rapidly reversed, the Imperium would sue for peace. The officials had even carved out territorial gains for after the war, with Riaa gaining control of Corvus while Tucana and Centauri seized parts of the Grusan coastline. Columba would be rewarded with some lowland territories in the sparsely populated interior of Cetus and Aquila, which would have little choice but to accept. When the spring thaw arrived, the NCA offensive, titled the Hammer of Peace , crossed through the east along two axes: one out of the Sojourn Valley northeastward into Grusa, and another southward towards occupied Reda. Along the Riaan Panhandle, NCA forces advanced

into Corvus, intending to capture the isthmus before pressing westward to isolate northern Corvus from the rest of the country. On the first day, March 28th, a battalion of Centaurian troops made contact with Antarean lines in Grusa. The Antareans had been no fools, and prepared for the possibility of the NCA beating them to the punch. Through aerial reconnaissance, intercepted communications, and old-fashioned espionage, the offensive had been expected. Their lines were defenses built off of a decade of hard-earned knowledge. In Corvus, troops in Carno advanced from their garrisons to meet the Riaan offensive head on. They had all grown up during or in the shadow of the economic crisis, and had no intention of seeing their country suffer again. NCA forces fought boldly, inflicting heavy casualties, but ultimately failed to break the Antarean lines. The expected revolts also did not materialize in Grusa and Aquila. By late-April, the NCA was forced to withdraw from the region, pulling back into Columba and the Panhandle to regroup and reorganize. Antarean defenses constructed over the past decade had been sorely underestimated, as had the capabilities of the offensive. The NCA recognized a pressing need to produce more military equipment and study the Antarean campaigns in Aquila and the Aridan states. Tucanese manufacturers found themselves inundated with production contracts, while the Nationalist Party in Riaa begrudgingly forced itself to expand military funding at the expense of social programs. While the NCA regained its footing, it fell upon Columba to be the shield. Lutka’s government imposed martial law across the Macers and eastern Columba, where the greatest fears of imminent invasion were being stoked. NCA troops seized control of radio and telegraph networks, railways, and other critical infrastructure, as well as enforcing a harsher curfew than mandated by Mundare and ordering a confiscation of firearms and explosives from the few civilians who still had them. Strict rationing was imposed as well, and agricultural products and farms were appropriated by NCA forces. Habeas corpus was suspended and mandatory identification rules were imposed. Although some hesitantly accepted the conditions, the NCA’s existing unpopularity and loss of credibility following the failure of the Hammer of Peace sparked yet another crisis in the coming weeks. Anton Gergity, a preeminent Astranist priest in Leucon, was arrested after giving a “defeatist” sermon describing the need for his fellows to defeat their enemies by showing them a superior way of life rather than conquest. Gregor Petrosian, host of one of Morenoi’s most popular radio stations, was arrested after broadcasting a reading of foreign newspapers and their

responses to the failed NCA offensive, which were resoundingly negative and considered an extreme escalation. Gergity and Petrosian were both subjected to military trials and internally deported to the lowlands. Public response to these actions were highly critical, and yet Mundare turned a blind eye to the situation, citing wartime measures. The match was struck on May 4th, 1928. Shortly before noon, the crack of a rifle sounded at an NCA camp near Herns. The alarm was sounded, troops were roused to their positions, and guards began searching the perimeter for what had happened. At 12:17, the body of a Tucanese private named Jan Avramov was found near his post on the northern side of the camp. There was a single bullet wound through his sternum. A clean shot. The troops realized, thankfully, that there was not a full-scale invasion starting. However, one of their own had been killed, and there would have to be answers. The camp’s northern side was situated in an elevated clearing. However, there were a few nearby peaks from which a skilled shooter could have fired a shot. The troops knew there was a village named Kingsford nearby, one whose relations with them were strained. An ad hoc formation was sent to investigate the village to see if anyone there knew anything about a prospective shooter. When the formation arrived in Kingsford, it was met with suspicion and derision by locals, who empathetically wanted nothing to do with them. The behavior of the locals roused suspicion among NCA troops, who ordered all of the villagers to submit to a search. After tearing through a dozen homes while keeping the villagers under guard, the troops found a hunting rifle, which should have been given up during the confiscation program. Attempts to question the villagers were met with silence or insults. Although the exact circumstances behind what caused the subsequent events are the source of controversy, the troops opened fire on the villagers, killing 17 of them and injuring over a dozen more. Amidst the chaos, several villagers slipped past the cordon and fled into the mountains towards nearby settlements. Within days, news of the Kingsford Massacre was widespread around eastern Columba. Although the NCA tried to downplay the incident and claim the villagers incited a fight, the lack of any verified NCA casualties made it hard for them to argue so. An unmailed letter was also discovered in the personal effects of Private Avramov during the investigation into his death, suggesting that his gunshot was self-inflicted. These combined factors led to an outbreak of protests across the east, ordering NCA troops to be replaced with Columban forces. One

protest in Morenoi grew out of control, leading to yet another incident of NCA forces firing upon civilians when they attempted to storm city hall. Eastern Columba was in chaos, and its people realized that their allies were worse to them than their supposed enemies. On May 8th, 1928, as protests still raged, a group of governors across eastern Columba ordered their Municipal Territorial Constabulary to arrest foreign troops, deputizing their citizenry to assist in the effort. These dissenting regions declared that the United Columban Territories had violated its charter of preserving their constitutional rights and mutual defense against enemies. They claimed the behavior of the NCA was equivalent to a foreign occupation, not that of an ally. In a statement retroactively named the Rubes Declaration, the dissenters denounced Lutka’s government in Mundare, the NCA, and their failures to protect the Columban people. The easterners organized themselves as the Emergency Government, whose leadership under Governor Anders Krikorian expressed the frustrations and fears of their people. The Emergency Government condemned the violation of their people’s rights, as well as the clear intentions of the NCA to use Columba as a shield while their own territories were spared the violence. In the immediate aftermath of the declaration, several NCA garrisons found themselves awakened at night in their barracks by angry mobs. As several other provinces declared for the Emergency Government, the NCA’s response was swift and brutal. In the east, recuperating troops turned their guns on the populace. Morenoi became a city under occupation, with nobody allowed in or out. In the city of Junon, the NCA publicly executed the mayor on charges of treason despite no trial. Lowland provinces that rebelled were quickly disarmed and placed under occupation. By the end of the first week, the Emergency Government’s strongholds were along the Macer Range, with pro-NCA forces holding the highlands between Chalcu and Mournstead. The western side of the Emergency Government fought for control of Provale and had Coren and Anaiva besieged by Riaan forces from the panhandle. Krikorian’s government, seeing the cruel response of their former “allies”, knew their movement could not survive on their own. Most of the UCAF was still loyal to Mundare despite its faults, and they would have to fight for legitimacy and supplies. The Emergency Government sought an ally, and despite some hesitation, soon noticed a powerful state with a record of benevolence in victory and shared Astranist faith.

On June 8th, 1928, after a brief series of skirmishes, Antarean troops entered the city of Rubes, where several of their comrades had been killed less than a decade ago. The populace greeted them as heroes.

THE KOLUMBAN THEATER

Antarean High Kommand initially entered the war with the Slingshot Plan in effect, as most resources and planning had been allocated thus far to it. Troops marched through the Macer Range, aided by friendly locals and allied forces who guided them through the precarious landscape. The overall objective was to establish control over the western highlands, from which Antarean forces would rapidly break out into the lowlands and seize cities such as Tunsead and Wellsi, effectively splitting Columba in half. AIA and Skorpii Korvun forces stationed in the east and along the Riaan Panhandle made a small push to relieve Coren and Anaiva. Because of the amount of men and materials being moved over the mountains, this phase of the war became known as the Superkolumba Campaign. Despite the best efforts of the AIA and its allies, the mountains proved difficult to traverse. The lack of rail infrastructure and poor road conditions resulted in more casualties from the terrain than enemy action. Antarean troops that arrived in the Fren Valley to fight were forced into losing battles of attrition against NCA forces that had supply lines through the lowlands. Antarean airpower was also partially limited, as on the request of the Emergency Government their strikes against Columban cities were small-scale and concentrated on the industrial sectors. By the end of 1928, Antarean forces controlled significant portions of the Macers with the help of their allies, but almost none of the populated lowlands as hoped. Slingshot’s clear failure resulted in General Archer falling out of favor with the Emperor, who decided to listen to Kolonel Cervantes’s Kataklysm Plan, and ordered a transfer of troops to the Riaan Panhandle and the east. After a build-up of several months, Operation Kataklysm launched with the spring thaw of 1929. The Aridan Front, under the newly promoted General Cervantes, pushed through along the valleys of the east. The Battle of Sojourn would be engraved into history as the first major deployment of paratroopers in support of a combined-armed operation. AIA paratroopers successfully captured vantage points around the city and disabled the defenses, while an armored offensive punched through the NCA defense line in a thrust from Grusa.

By the end of April, Morenoi had been liberated for the Emergency Government, who established it as their temporary capital. NCA forces were forced to retreat towards the Annulus. Throughout late-spring and early-summer, the Aridan Front experienced further military successes, culminating in the Siege of Junon. NCA and Antarean-Columban forces battled for control of the city as part of the Fort Haal Pocket for almost a year. The siege increased in brutality as the population rose up against their occupiers. The Junon Uprising and reprisal actions by NCA forces resulted in what was proportionately the single deadliest battle for a city in the entire history of the Centauran Wars.

Flag of the Emergency (Morenoi) Government

Along the Riaan Panhandle, General Reyes commanded the Okulum Front, which swiftly pushed along the coastline and valleys to capture the territory. Reyes’s forces also captured the city of Provale, a major transit hub, finally giving the AIA the gateway to the lowlands they had been seeking. NCA forces in the west struggled against an onslaught of Antarean, Columban, and Corvun troops as they pushed swiftly. Grasmaer fell by the end of 1929, and Antarean forces were in position to push through the Fren Valley and cut Columba in two by seizing Wellsi. Meanwhile in the east, Cervantes’s troops continued to encircle and break apart pockets of NCA troops. His efforts were aided greatly by a partisan movement named the Rooks, who despised the NCA for what they’d done to their country. The Rooks had been instrumental in

orchestrating the Junon Uprising, and had practically liberated Aryne by themselves when the combined Antarean-Columban forces finally arrived at the city by autumn. Throughout 1930, the Okulum Front pushed further, capturing key cities such as Ilvacaster, Elkurud, and Tunsead. When Wellsi fell on April 8th, finally cutting off eastern Columba from the NCA and encircling hundreds of thousands of troops, the UCAF in the region began defecting en masse as they saw the Antareans act with relative benevolence and respect towards their people. With their plan to split Columba complete, the Okulum Front left the rest of the region to their eastern counterpart and began pushing up the lowlands. Over the next year, it took control of Falholt, Falkirk, and won a stunning victory in the First Battle of Phact after pushing northward to prevent their flank from weakening. After the Aridan Front successfully secured the region, it joined Reyes’s forces in pushing towards Mundare. NCA forces, despite their best efforts, failed to defend the Columban capital with as much success as their compatriots in the Fort Haal Pocket. After a month-long battle, Mundare fell on September 17th, 1931. Milo Lutka, who pleaded for mercy and claimed he was simply acting in his country’s best interests, was shown none. He was dragged out into the streets and shot, his body dumped into the Annulus alongside those of slain NCA troops as tens of thousands cheered. After the victory in Mundare, the Emergency Government proclaimed itself as the restoration of the United Columban Territories. Before the first snow had fallen, organized NCA resistance in Columba, save for the furthest northern parts of the lowlands that Riaan forces now occupied, was quieted. NCA partisans would continue to harass Antarean and Columban forces for years to come, but were ultimately rooted out as they found no support among the populace. Through the rest of 1931 and all the way through 1934, Antarean and Columban forces fortified their holdings and consolidated the legitimacy of the restored Columban government. UCAF troops were eager to push forward and reclaim territory that remained under Riaan occupation, while Antareans remained cautious, as intelligence suggested the NCA’s manpower, despite suffering a grievous blow by losing millions of men to Kataklysm, remained strong and mobilizing on the frontiers. In the spring of 1934, the NCA launched a massive counteroffensive from the north. Although such an effort had been anticipated and defensive lines established, the AIA and UCAF were stunned to find that NCA armored formations were far more capable than anticipated. To

their dismay, they realized Tucanese engineers had spent the last several years analyzing and innovating upon tank designs. NCA vehicles, though far from impervious, were swift, well-armored, and most importantly, enjoyed good communications through the widespread employment of radios. Prince Ezra Tau was a notable casualty during the early days of the offensive, being gunned down by a Riaan pilot whilst parachuting from his stricken fighter. The death of the prince initially demoralized Antarean forces before the circumstances of his death were put to light, emboldening them with a desire to avenge his dishonorable murder. The NCA’s Hour of Reclamation culminated in several localized breakthroughs across the north as Antarean and Columban forces fought to contain them. At the apex of the counteroffensive, NCA forces reached as far south as Porthcal, spearheaded by the elite Riaan Republican Guard. On June 25th, Riaan troops reached the gates of Phact, which they had so humiliatingly lost five years ago. The Second Battle of Phact , by all accounts, was irrational in its conduct. The attacking Riaans battered and overwhelmed the defensive lines at the cost of heinous casualties before taking the city with wanton disregard for the safety of civilians. The treatment of Phact to them was justice for Columba’s “betrayal” and vengeance for their comrades lost to Kataklysm. Within days, over three-quarters of the city was destroyed. Further westward, the RRG seized Dareview and Ruphis, though it behaved in a more restrained manner compared to its regular counterparts. A heroic counterattack by Columban forces prevented further advances in the west, while Antarean reinforcements from the east began trickling in. The Imperium also saw fit to reduce its garrisoned forces in Cetus to assist on the Columban front. As the year came to a close, both armies were locked in a hurting stalemate. The spring thaw of 1935 saw renewed offensive actions by both sides, albeit with little operational success. The Antares sought a way to interdict Tucanese industrial production. Strategic bombing across the Annulus proved too costly, while the Annulus Fleet still remained under construction. In May, Columban forces launched an offensive to retake Phact, which succeeded after months of brutal street and urban warfare through the ruins of the city. To their horror, they found rows of crucified POWs and civilians. This discovery only emboldened Columban fury against the Riaans, resulting in a series of haphazard assaults that Antarean commanders had to intervene in to prevent their Columban counterparts from executing nigh-suicidal operations. Antarean officials made extensive use of the crucifixions as part of their domestic propaganda campaign against the NCA.

By the end of the year, frontlines remained stagnant. Sarne became the major frontline city of this period, with every block transformed into a battlefield. Columban efforts to recapture the cities of Dareview and Ruphis failed against entrenched RRG units, and both belligerents quietly settled into another long winter. 1936 opened with a stunning move by the NCA in the eastern lowlands, pushing towards Novurna and even cutting off its railroad connection to Falkirk. The spearhead along the coastline was backed by naval operations from ships in the Annulus, which neither Columban nor Antarean naval units could yet match. Landings along the coastline transformed into a series of breakouts. These NCA units moved swiftly, landing in too many regions in too great numbers along the coastline for a proper response to be made against all of them. As Antarean and Columban commanders struggled, the breakouts pushed southwest. On June 19th, 1936, Mundare came under attack. Once again, NCA forces fought with exceptional brutality, leaving only ruins in their wake. Columban forces swiftly moved to stabilize the frontlines and reinforce the city’s defense. Over the course of a month, the western half of Columba’s crown jewel was beaten down exponentially worse than it had suffered during Kataklysm. Aside from the already poor reputation of Riaan forces, Centaurian units became infamous for pillaging from the dead, as well as mistreating civilians under their occupation. Ultimately, the NCA’s coastal incursion proved unsustainable with the failure to capture Mundare and concurrent failures to push along south from Novurna. However, their efforts had left the Columban lowlands devastated, with nearly all cities that suffered occupation witnessing near-wholesale destruction of their manufacturing and residential capacity. Emperor Aran V was said to have raged at the conduct of his enemies, calling them nothing more than savage brutes who could only destroy things out of spite.

SOLSTICE

As the Antareans and Columbans reeled from the aftermath of Mundare, a discreet communique arrived from the Ursan Federation. The offer was enticing. Ursa would invade Tucana, effectively cutting off the NCA’s industrial heartland. In exchange, it wanted the territory. The Columbans were eager to accept the offer of help, while Antarean officials hesitated, questioning if it betrayed the late-Emperor’s cause to cede territory on the continent to a foreign state. However, they knew that the situation in Columba was dire and would become

economically and politically untenable soon enough. The Supreme Kouncil agonized over the details for days until at last the Emperor interceded. The communique was accepted, and with a clandestine meeting between diplomats in Novus Septia on November 5th 1936 , the Solstice was established between Ursa, Antares, Columba, and Skorpii Korvus. The Ursans immediately began mobilizing their forces, a process they warned their new allies could take months. June 28th, 1937 , a date remembered henceforth as the Day of the Storm , saw Ursan forces land across six different locations across Tucana and northern Riaa. The landing sites were chosen for their proximity to suitable harbors, as well as providing the swiftest route to cutting off ground lines of communication between Tucana and the Riaan frontline. All six landings, backed by air and naval support, successfully established beachheads from which Ursan troops were able to break out. In the Riaan sectors, the landing forces pushed through the tundra, already well-acclimated to the terrain, and cut off the railways across the countryside. The Tucanese sectors, though a more difficult campaign, successfully captured ports that allowed Ursan reinforcements to land. In response to the landings, Riaa committed to deploying its newly trained troops to defend its territory and Tucana’s. Unfortunately, these deployments prevented adequate reinforcement of NCA troops in Columba, who suffered from attrition as the southern Solstice forces launched Operation Labrys , a large-scale counteroffensive that drove out the last NCA forces from pre-war Columban territory. Operation Labrys saw rapid breakthroughs along the frontline, with Solstice forces capturing the cities of Sirlis, Monapa, and Normonte. As they advanced, Columban troops were thorough in ensuring encircled NCA troop pockets were utterly destroyed. On the naval front, the Antarean Annulus Fleet had finished a series of major expansion programs as well, finally allowing it to compete with the NCA. With Ursan and Antarean naval forces in the Libran Ocean blockading the continent’s east coast and squeezed by a two front war, the remains of the NCA suffered a series of catastrophic defeats. As the Ursan offensive and Operation Labrys made headway, Antares received another communique, this time from the Vulpan Empire. The House of Zvezda had not been ignorant of the happenings on the mainland. Although they were disturbed at the efficacy with which the Antareans were butchering their former subjects, they also held no love for the Nationalists and offered their support in fighting against them. In exchange, they expected post-war governance

over the territory. Clandestinely, they hoped that the Antareans would be in such a militarily weakened state after such a long war that they would be forced to grant heavy autonomy to the territory, a stepping stone to eventual “independence” and thus a return to sovereign rule by the Empire. The Antarean Supreme Kouncil debated over the usefulness of the offer before it was decided that additional distractions for the Riaans could only help the war effort. Emperor Aran reasoned that should the Vulpans step out of line after the war, they could simply be dealt with. On April 17th, 1938 , the House of Zvezda’s loyal soldiers, the Imperial Riaan Army, launched an invasion of northwestern Riaa. The troopships sailed across the straits in the hours before sunrise, the spring breeze flowing against the banner of the dynasty proudly displayed on their mast. It was homecoming at last for thousands of them, and a grand return to the mainland for a generation that had been born and raised on the islands, their heads and hearts filled with tales of a glorious empire usurped by traitors. Old officers clutched at the medals on their chest, ready to step onto Riaan soil just after their troops. They could picture it, a grand ceremony in a rebuilt palace in Hadina where decoration after decoration would be heaped upon them. A little past 0300, lights emerged from the mainland. Those onboard the ships watched with curiosity and a hint of concern. Then one by one, without rhythm or rhyme, the lights flickered. There was a faint rumble in the air. Then, one by one, their ships began to break apart beneath them. A few survived, a few caught aflame, some detonated with no survivors. In the end, less than a quarter of the troopships made it to shore, and of that number, several had to beach themselves. The fight on the beachhead was nothing short of a disaster for the Imperials. Row after row of machine guns and artillery mowed them down as they hit the sand. There was no fighting back. There was only surviving. Men dove for cover behind their doomed ships, rocks, and even each other’s corpses. By the time dawn broke, the last few hundred survivors were crying with joy as their mainland counterparts offered them a chance at surrender. The Nationalists were no fools, and the Vulpans had not been the brightest in matters of encryption nor subtlety. Their communique to Antares had been intercepted almost as soon as it was sent, as were their invasion plans. Winning the battle had taken only a small diversion of troops to man fortifications built years ago specifically to counter a possible assault from Vulpa. To Vulpa’s credit, the troops that were diverted to meet them did leave a few positions along the frontlines

undermanned. Although it was of little consequence in the end, it had the benefit of allowing the Zvezdas to claim they were one of the victors of the Centauran Wars. On October 5th, 1939 , the surviving members of the Tucanese government unconditionally surrendered to the Ursans. By 1941, organized Riaan military units were a rare sight, while Tucana’s largest cities were under Ursan occupation, crippling industrial production for the NCA as Solstice forces closed in on Hadina. In the end, Hadina was taken in a fifty-day battle, with a Columban unit being the first to raise the flag over the Assembly Building. With the fall of Hadina and the massacre of captured government officials in a series of reprisal killings, Riaa fell into anarchy. The first few regional warlords emerged during this time. Although the Columbans felt little tolerance for them, Antarean commanders adopted a policy of pragmatism for the sake of preventing a greater headache with an insurgency. As the Solstice closed in on Centauri, the people of the Kingdom knew nothing good awaited them. When the first few mayors declared their municipalities to be open cities, Columban forces replied they would have the same mercy as Mundare and Phact. Antarean forces laid the foundations of a long siege while Columban troops initially battered themselves bloody against the defenses of Centauri. The first active bombardment of the Kingdom with siege artillery began in 1943. Over the course of the next year, Solstice forces methodically advanced into Centauri, finding grave after grave of Centaurians who chose to take their own lives instead of accepting Antarean rule. Some believed that the dead had feared their fate should a Columban unit have found them. Others thought it was out of fear of being treated as the Riaans had been.

AFTERMATH

The North Centauran War, as Antarean historians would name it, was by far the deadliest phase of the Centauran Wars. All of the belligerents involved employed a grand strategy of total war, resulting in industrialized slaughter never before seen on the planet. The war killed so many in such a great number of incidents that the death of thousands could easily be lost as a rounding error. In the end, the North Centauran Alliance failed in its purpose utterly. It failed to utilize Columba as the shield it hoped it could serve as by alienating its populace to the point of no return. Its soldiers, however retroactively justified their cause may seem compared to that of the

Antares Imperium, engaged in such wanton brutality that they shuttered any chance of a negotiated end. As for the Columbans, the war was not kind to their country. Their great cities in the meadows were devastated. Phact was in ruins. Over half of Mundare had suffered the same fate as well. The swiftness with which Kataklysm had defeated the NCA in the country’s interior had done little to mitigate the damage the occupiers inflicted. Millions of young Columban men were dead as well, leaving behind an almost crippling labor shortage. Antarean officials, knowing they could not possibly annex such a large and geographically harsh territory outright, devised a plan for investing into Columba’s reconstruction in exchange for influence on certain matters of state. Ultimately, Columbans accepted a political arrangement similar to their Corvun neighbors, recognizing Antarean suzerainty in exchange for control of their domestic affairs. Skorpii Kolumba was established in 1945. Though some resisted, refusing to cede any of their precious sovereignty after the events of the last twenty years, most were simply exhausted. The most fanatical resistance groups formed out of what were once the Rooks who had happily guided Antarean forces through the mountains. These “second-generation” Rooks were devotees of Columban sovereignty, and struck at Antarean-made infrastructure, a move that saw mixed responses from the population. The boldest operation by the Rooks would be the bombing of the Solstice’s office in Mundare in 1946. For years thereafter, low-level resistance was a thorn in the side of Kolumban authorities. Territorial changes following the end of the war saw the Ursan Federation annex the Kingdom of Tucana, except for a section along the Annulus Sea that provided territorial contiguity between Skorpii Riaa and what was formerly Centauri, and parts of northern Riaa. Skorpii Kolumba, for their trouble, officially gained control of the Riaan Panhandle and large parts of the Rodinese Marches. As for the Vulpan Empire, it was given the gift of being left alone on its islands, just across its old holdings that were now fracturing day by day. At the very least, the horrendous military failure had taught the old dynasty that it needed to plan carefully if it wanted to reclaim the mainland. The Zvezdas spent the next several years weighing their options. Perhaps, however costly it would be, one of the warlords could be convinced to support them.

For Maksim and Oleh.