Fiction:Jyoma Wars

The Jyoma Wars are an ongoing conflict between the Jyoma Confederation and the Technology Federation. Initially, the conflict was defined to include the Jyoma-Savi War, but the defeat of the Ice Saviaen Empire redefined the war as being between the Jyoma and the Federation, fighting for control of the Boroves Galaxy. At present, the remaining Jyoma fleet from the Nistan Galaxy is being deployed to the Boroves Galaxy, in an attempt to hasten the war to a conclusion.

Intro
The Jyoma Wars began shortly after the arrival of the Jyoma in the Boroves Galaxy. The other primary faction operating within the Boroves, the Technology Federation, controlled half of the galaxy at the time. Initial contact between the Jyoma and the Federation was hostile, as both sides viewed the other as an immediate threat to the expansionist policies each faction held at the time. War was declared in 2648, six months after the initial Jyoma fleet arrived on the outskirts of the galaxy.

Invading Force
Jyoma Confederation

Defending Force
Technology Federation The Unknown Army

The War
In 2648, the Technology Federation declared war on the Jyoma Confederation, a direct result of the recent attempts by Jyoma forces to establish colonies within the boundaries of Federation-controlled space. The war itself, still undecided after 125 years, remains a conflict between the two primary factions, though rumors persist of intervention by another race.

Prologue
Shortly after war was declared, the leading military officials of the Technology Federation arranged a meeting to determine the optimal course of action to pursue in order to quickly push the Confederation out of the Boroves Galaxy. The primary military species of the Federation, the Crinvas, advocated a quick assault on primary bases located within the few principalities in Arvin sector that the Jyoma controlled. The Laeta Sinalious, the secondary military power of the Federation, agreed with the Crinvas, but disagreed with the means by which the assault would be handled.

The Crinvas, as their plan stood initially, would involve a large influx of soldiers to the central area of Arvin, the Principality of Astero, so as to provide a centralized staging ground for each task force to be deployed from, thus allowing each Jyoma base to be attacked simultaneously. As the Jyoma forces would be spread across a wider area, this would allow a smaller force to eliminate each base with a reduced force at each site.

The Laeta Sinalious, by comparison, believed that special forces operations should be taken to provide as stealthy and bloodless a victory as possible. Their plan would see the deployment of special forces units (the secondary units the Sinalious offer) directly from the nearest base in Federation-controlled territory. Each squad would infiltrate a primary installation, destroy the facility, and exfiltrate without leaving a trace of their presence in the area. The resistance force at each site would be larger, but the skill of the Sinalious units at covert operations ensured that most units would be capable of performing the task with little difficulty.

The Vilbird, the founding species of the Federation, temporarily postponed the determination of a course of action until all members, including the minor species, could come to a collective decision on which course would be better suited for the situation.

The Crinvas and Laeta Sinalious both deemed the delay in response a major mistake in the war. The major military officials of both races met with the Vilbird Director, where the following conversation took place:

Norin Losive (Crinvas) - Director, what you are doing is prolonging this war by allowing our troops to sit idle! The enemy is probably preparing for an invasion! We need to attack now! I guarantee that if we fail to act now, the enemy will gather the strength to overcome our forces sitting on the border!

Director - I understand, Norin. But if we decide too quickly, we could very well hasten our defeat by choosing a flawed plan.

Norin - I assure you: my plan is NOT flawed!

Vincent Oris - What are you insinuating, Norin? Do you honestly believe that announcing your presence is not a flawed plan? Do you believe that covert operations are flawed by nature?

Norin - You can only win by proving your strength is far superior to the enemy, Vincent! Stealth simply displays-

Vincent - Displays that you have cunning abilities as a general? Norin, I don't see how we can push the Jyoma back by simply pushing them back with ships and soldiers. Even the largest ship has weaknesses. And if we just send our ships out, the Jyoma will surely find those weaknesses. And then what? Our soldiers will be slaughtered left and right!

Norin - Not if we can cripple their strength by destroying their bases!

Vincent - Then you believe that-

Director - Both of you! Cease and desist! This is not the time to discuss this matter! The meeting has been adjourned! I will have no debates as to this matter until a decision has been reached!

Vincent - Then decide. Now.

Director - Are you advocating that I turn this Federation into a Totalitarian state, Vincent?

Vincent - No. I am advocating that you make a decision. If you try to make every voice reach a collective decision, it will be too late to act. You have to make a decision. And it needs to be made soon. Or we will surely lose this war. Good day, Director.

Norin - Indeed. We all have places to be, Director.

Director - Agreed.

Within the week, the Federation deemed that a special forces operation would be too costly to pursue effectively, but a brute force policy would display a sense of panic about the situation.

Norin - So you're saying that neither plan will work. That's the worst possible decision to make, Director! You didn't make any decision but to cement our defeat!

Director - What I am saying, Norin, is that unless we can find a way to lessen the limitations of each plan, we cannot make a decision. If we choose either plan as they stand, it would prove disastrous for the collective.

Vincent - Then we have lost. You look for the weaknesses in every plan, and when you find one, you dismiss the plan immediately. There is no way to eliminate all flaws, Director! Which plan has the fewest flaws?

Director - Neither. They have equal flaws-

Vincent - Impossible. Two plans can't have equal flaws. One must have fewer risks. Actually. Nevermind.

Director - Vincent?

Vincent - I'm bringing Martial Law into effect, Director. You have no say in how the military will proceed from now on.

Director - You can't simply call for Martial-

Norin - Actually, sir. Yes he can. Article XI states that if the will of the people is detrimental to the safety of the collective, the military can correct this course of action. If you are the voice of the people, then we can bring Martial Law into effect as we see fit.

Director - I will not tolerate-

Vincent - You don't have to tolerate it. The Charter clearly outlines our course as legal. You have no say in how we proceed.

Operation: Firelance
After Martial law was declared in the Federation, the Crinvas and Sinalious determined that a two-prong assault would take place. The first stage would see the deployment of special forces units to military bases furthest from the controlled space. As soon as the rear installations were reported destroyed, the second stage of the operation would take effect.

Stage two of the operation would involve the deployment of standard infantry to the forward military bases. The brute force of the second stage, coupled with the covert action of the first stage, were predicted to providing the edge required to push the Jyoma out of the galaxy, and the war would have ended with few casualties on either side.

However, the implementation of Firelance was the primary reason it failed. The initial stage of the operation was performed as intended: each installation was destroyed, and no operatives were captured or killed in the process. The problem arose with the timing of the full-force assault. After the covert ops teams had evacuated from the area, the remainder of the army had failed to deploy to the forward bases. This delay in action allowed the Jyoma to redeploy all available military forces to the Arvin front.

When the Federation military force finally committed to the assault, the full force of the Jyoma military had relocated to several installations along the border of controlled space. In a six-week long battle, the Jyoma managed to repulse the Crinvas-focused military attack. Operation: Firelance was marked as a catastrophic failure of communication in military warfare, and is heralded as the reason the Jyoma Wars exist.

Arvin Offensive
Shortly after Operation: Firelance failed, the Jyoma military prepared for a massive offensive against critical Federation sites within the Arvin sector. The problem became one of how best to approach the attack. A direct attack like the second stage of Firelance could prove to be equally as disastrous, but the Jyoma special forces relative weakness in covert operations negated any possibility of performing a sabotage mission.

The answer came from Master General Iveslo's analysis of the Arvin sector. He determined that the strongest concentration of military forces existed along the farthest principality from the Galactic Core. Iveslo advocated a plan that would take advantage of this fact: a large-force assault deep within the principality on the opposite side of Arvin sector. Considering the failure of Norin to recognize the same trap during the failed Firelance, Iveslo believed he would transfer most of the forces present in the target region to relocate to assault the decoy detachment. In turn, Iveslo would deploy the rest of the military to the intended target, thereby providing an easier target to defeat.

As the Expedition Fleet sent to Boroves was an effective Military State already, the plan was immediately adopted. The bulk of the Jyoma military was dispatched to non-essential sites in the Vina principality of Jyoma, while the remaining fifth of the army waited for orders to proceed to the primary objective.

The Decoy Detachment arrived at the capital of Vina within the week, and began bombarding the surface of the planet. Norin quickly assembled his military force for the defense of Vina. The Battle of Vina began as the first Federation ships arrived within the principality.

When reports of Federation ships first started to arrive, Iveslo ordered the First Assault Fleet to enact Operation: Sever. The FAF arrived at the primary objective sites a week later, and quickly wrested control of the area from the Federation. As the initial phase of Sever ended, all six installations were conquered, and the fleet prepared for phase two.

Phase two of Sever constituted the creation of a barrier between the remaining areas of Arvin and Federation-controlled space. This would arise in the form of a series of movements and conquests along the Arvin border, effectively cutting off military support for the sector. The plan was to create the buffer in time to reinforce units fighting in Vina for complete control of the region.

The barrier was created quicker than even Iveslo predicted: Norin had relocated all military personnel for the defense effort in Vina, making conquest efforts a matter of leaving forces behind for defense of an area. Iveslo remarked that the "lack of resistance... only reinforces the fact that our distraction worked better than expected." The barrier phase was completed mid-2648, and phase three of Sever began.

Battle of Vina
The Arvin Offensive is often remembered simply because of the valiant efforts of the Decoy Detachment against the vastly superior numbers of the Federation Defense Force. The first official multi-branch battle of the war, the Battle of Vina saw the first encounter between the Combat Mechs of the Federation and Jyoma military personnel. One soldier commented that the "Mechs... aren't like the bots from training. They are faster, stronger, and all around better than our soldiers."

Initial contact between the ships in orbit was marked with typical long-range bombardment via mass-accelerator cannons. The Destroyer-class Hellbird vessels operated by the Federation were superior in impact to the Corvette-class Mori vessels the Jyoma used, but Mori vessels proved superior at range due to their higher rate of fire.

As the distance between the fleets closed, the differences in the two factions mid-range combat style emerged. Federation Fighter-class Strikers focused primarily on close-quarters combat, closing the distance between them and their target before opening fire. Jyoma Fighter-class Phoenixes, by comparison, keep the enemy at a distance, occasionally closing the distance with their incredible speed while firing, only to return to the original distance after each strike. This imitation-guerilla warfare tactic granted the Phoenixes the advantage in combat maneuverability, but the firepower of the Strikers proved to be more efficient in combat.

As the space arena continued, the land armies fought massive battles on the surface of the planet. The combat mechs of the Federation, superior to the Jyoma infantry in almost every way, eviscerated the Jyoma offensive with few casualties sustained. Hope on conquering the capital began to dwindle among Jyoma forces.

Halfway through the battle, as the Jyoma military force began to dwindle in numbers, the remainder of the military force arrived from the barrier operation. Phase three of Operation: Sever began, as the Corvette-class Grenadier vessels began opening fire on the Hellbird vessels in orbit. Within hours, all twelve Hellbird Destroyers, and half of the Mori vessels were destroyed.

Norin, realizing the vanity of the situation, ordered a retreat of all military forces back into Federation space.

Norin - All this effort. Wasted. Ensign!

Ensign - Yes sir?

Norin - We're retreating. But I want to leave the Jyoma a parting gift.

Ensign - Sir?

Norin - Ready the missile.

Ensign - You can't mean-

As FDF forces retreated from the region, the FSS Warmonger launched a Rift Missile near the planet. Half of the remaining Jyoma fleet was destroyed by the quasi-rift generated by the detonation. Among the casualties was Master General Iveslo, who was aboard the JMS Ghost.

Norin - If they think I'll just let them take our territory without a fight, they're sadly mistaken. I won't sit idly by while our enemy attempts to assimilate us. I won't just let them win. I will die before I surrender.

The Arvin Offensive was a marginal success, though the Jyoma consider it a half-hearted victory. The Arvin Sector is under Jyoma control, but the significant loss of life has carried the burden of understaffed military bases. Major Arva assumed the role of command in the Boroves Expedition after Iveslo's death.

Battle of Halista Major
In 2664, the Jyoma military established a forward base on the border with another Sector: Halista. The sector held strategic interest to the Jyoma military officials, due in part to the high concentration of laboratories capable of creating Plevis, a material the Jyoma use extensively in combat armour. Major Arva labeled the sector as a critical objective, in part because of its shared border with the sector containing the central hub of the Federation command structure.

In the same month, the Jyoma launched an assault on several bases scattered throughout Halista, each resulting in the repulsion of the attack. Despite the superior numbers of the Jyoma military force, the Federation Defense Force had managed to repel the assault through advanced tactics, and the use of their standard combat mechs.

Infuriated by the defeat, Arva ordered the First and Fourth Assault Fleets to attack the capitals of the two closest principalities to Arvin, which formed the area of Halista Major. As the two fleets approached their respective targets, they encountered resistance by enemy fleets. Collectively, the two independent battles form a larger operation known as the Battle of Halista Major.

Forisel
The First Assault Fleet was tasked with the assault of the capital of Forisel. When the fleet arrived at the capital planet, impulse drive signatures were located on the opposite side of the planet, followed shortly by bombardment by enemy forces. The Battle of Forisel began with a well-planned ambush by the Federation. Infantry units were deployed to the planet surface to commit to the land operations of the battle while the space arena was fought.

Infantry encountered resistance just outside the capital city, and became locked in cover at Vindicator's Bluff. For three days, land units fought to defend the bluff, but eventually the Federation infantry managed to flank the Jyoma position, eliminating the land threat to the capital.

In the space arena, the Jyoma space-warfare tactics managed to, once again, overcome the Federation vessels, but with news of the defeat of the infantry, the First Assault Fleet retreated back to the forward command post.

Avarisa
The Fourth Assault Fleet was tasked with the assault of Avarisa. Shortly after arriving at the capital planet, the fleet came under attack from an enemy fleet. This fleet, however, did not bear the standard appearance of Federation vessels. Instead, a black streak adorned the side of the ship, with a red halo with the letters "UA" inscribed in black replacing the Federation insignia. The Fleet fought to repel the enemy force, but was forced to retreat after only two hours of conflict. Half of the Corvette and Destroyer-class vessels were destroyed, and the remaining force suffered heavy crew casualties.

The official report of the defeat states that "Allied vessels suffered electrical anomalies while traveling to the objective. Fourth Fleet ships affected by the anomaly were destroyed. Several officers aboard other vessels suffered impulse-drive related deaths."

The Battle of Halista was declared a major military defeat for the Jyoma. The appearance of the unknown fleet has brought about the question of whether this unknown force is collaborating with the Federation, or if Avarisa was an isolated incident, and the unknown force was acting alone.

Present
Major Avra died in 2732 from complications that arose during a surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor. General Sive has since assumed control of the military force, but no progress has been made during his time as commanding officer.

The war has lasted 125 years. No progress has been made by either faction since the Arvin Offensive. Minor skirmishes have occurred, but no major battles have taken place. The Jyoma are awaiting the arrival of reinforcements from the Nistan Galaxy, which are projected to arrive in 2812. The reinforcements are a direct result of the Jyoma-Savi war recently coming to an end. Forces in the Nistan Galaxy are presently providing for the assimilation of the galaxy before being deployed to the Boroves.