Secession War

The Secession War was an internal, albeit short conflict fought between the Gigerdi Federation and the Gigerdi Confederation during the Peace Station era.

The events leading to the separation

The higher political echelons of the Gigerdi Federation had been strongly divided on the continuation of the monarchy after the imminent death of emperor Ogaitinsha. Many felt that the monarchy spanning several hundreds of years was to be continued, especially since an indirect heir to the throne was found. Ambassador Mad Gigerdi was a distantly related to emperor Ogaitinsha, and thus many pro-monarchists in the government felt that he was to be nominated as the next emperor. There were opposition to this planned change of power, however: a small but vigilant group of senators and politicians felt that the monarchy represented an old way of governance. This group felt that despite the federation having a senate, and thus parlamentary democracy, the emperor was still too greatly in command of the state's every move. One of the strongest arguments against the continuation of the monarchy was in the age-old constitution of the Gigerdi Federation, which stated that in case a direct heir to the throne was not found, a new way of governancy following traditional, democratic means would have to be found. The pro-monarchists attempted to disregard this notion by stating that there was a heir to the throne present. The faction against the continuation did not regard Mad Gigerdi as a viable enough of a heir, however, which caused the two factions to interpret the specific part of the constitution quite differently.

The arguments over the matter started to heat up towards the end of the Peace Station's first year of operation. Ambassador Mad Gigerdi had visited the dying emperor only a few times under direct orders from his superiors. He was not aware of his relation to the emperor, although he was briefed of great responsibilities to come.

Unforeseen Consequences

As Emperor Ogaitinsha suddenly died towards the end of the Peace Station's first year of operation, it threw the Gigerdi Federation into a small chaos. The pro-monarchists and the disagreeing faction openly disagreed on the continuation of government in the senate. Most of the colonies of the federation did not erupt into too big of an upheaval, but small internal conflicts did follow. Ambbasador Mad Gigerdi was ordered to return to Gigerdi Prime immediately, and suddenly ambassador Kyle Gigerdi was placed under arrest by pro-monarchist forces on the Peace Station. Kyle was deemed to uncertain of an individual by several pro-monarchists on the station - who had been monitoring his actions for months before the crisis erupted. Mad Gigerdi himself was a supporter of the monarchy, which caused a bit of a falling out between him and Kyle Gigerdi, who had been life-long friends up until then.

As some of the Gigerdian crewmembers aboard the Peace Station heard of Kyle's incarceration, they immediately attempted to free him, which in turn caused the Gigerdians to start fighting among themselves aboard the station. Kyle managed to escape, and even stole a shuttle, which he and a few others piloted back to Gigerdi Prime. Several political figures against the monarchists contacted Kyle, and briefed him of their ideas of separation. Kyle decided to assume command of a small portion of their forces in conjuction with admiral Glen Runciter, a known anti-monarchist. As Kyle raced back to Gigerdi Prime, Mad Gigerdi begun his inauguration as the new emperor of the Gigerdi Federation. Kyle stormed the inauguration address, and then declared the formation of the Gigerdi Confederation official. As he escaped, he took a handful of ships with him, that he later on used as the backbone for the creation of the nucleus of the Gigerdi Confederation's fleets and bases. Among these vessels was i.e. the GCS Intrepid, GCS Lexinton and the GCS Hope.

The First and Only Battle

Kyle was also nominated as the informal leader of the Confederation forces, but he was also informed of the fate of the Ferrel system. The system wished to join Kyle's side, but couldn't because of a GF fleet blockade. Thus Kyle took his fleets there, and the Battle of Ferrel ensued. Kyle's forces emerged victorious, also partly due to a lack of reinforcements for the opposing side. Ferrel was allowed to stay in the hands of the Gigerdi Confederation, and the Gigerdi Federation decided to call the little internal strife even by ending all hostalities with the Confederation. Kyle and his forces, however, remained largely in hiding for the following months since they knew that elements in the government were interested of tracking and destroying them.