V'As'Ta'R-Opiro Conflict

The V'As'Ta'R-Opiro Conflict was one of the turning points that eventually lead to the foundation of the United Commonwealth of Planets. While it was technically a full-sale war it is regarded merely as a conflict due to the short duration it lasted. Even to this date it is unknown who was actually behind the attacks that caused the conflict. However, the founding members view the conflict, despite the lives that were lost, as something of a beneficial event as it strengthened the relations between the races to eventually allow them to unite. One of the public holidays in the UCP is to commemorate those who gave their lives in the conflict.

The Cause of the Conflict

Tensions first rose when the Opiros mysteriously lost a patrol ship on the V'As'Ta'R-Opiro border. At first the Opiros were merely suspicious and the other races suspected it was probably just an accident. The debris indicated it was destroyed by some kind of weapons fire, but not enough information was available to do a definite conclusion. This did cause Opiros never to send ships alone, but always accompanied by at least one other ship.

For a while it seemed like things had quieted down, but then a few weeks after the first attack another patrol was lost and this time both ships. This caused a major stir in the Opiros and the V'As'Ta'R were believed to be responsible. The V'As'Ta'R claimed to be innocent and said that they would not do stealth attacks. The V'As'Ta'R claimed that this was simply an elaborate plot by the Opiros to turn everyone against the V'As'Ta'R. The relations between these two races went to the brink of war and the other races in the region feared that war was inevitable, but Lihters and 1110110110101111 believed that there was something strange about these attacks and suspected that a third party might be involved. However, due to lack of information very little could be done.

After V'As'Ta'R also lost a few ships the war finally broke out. The V'As'Ta'R were convinced that the Opiros were now attacking them and all attempts by the other races to soothe the two races failed. In year XXXX the conflict began.

Conflict

The conflict began with a large V'As'Ta'R invasion on Opiro controlled space. Opiros were relatively unprepared for the invasion despite the hostilities and lost several outposts on the border. Opiros quickly organized their fleets, but lost one colony in the mean time. Meanwhile Lihters, 1110110110101111, B² and Q<RE-Ô were concerned and began to investigate the attacks that had lead to the war. The debris obtained from the destroyed ships showed that they were destroyed with weapons that neither Opiros nor V'As'Ta'Rs used. This wasn't enough to convince them to stop the war though as they simply could've developed some new technology.

With just the debris the other races were unable to proof that some third party was involved, but they decided to start patrolling the areas with the consent from both waring races. At the same time the Opiros and V'As'Ta'R were fighting fiercely. This time the V'As'Ta'Rs were advancing and the Opiros were more on the defensive, having lost already two colony worlds to the V'As'Ta'Rs. The V'As'Ta'R didn't treat their prisoners very well and many were even eaten. Due to both races' fighting capabilities the battles on the ground were very even and usually very few Opiro prisoners were captured. The Opiros had also managed to evacuate most of the civilian population off the worlds so actual losses were much smaller than what they could've been.

Finally the Opiros decided the launch a decisive battle to stop the V'As'Ta'R advancement, that might also cost them the majority of their fleet. This proved to be a good move as the V'As'Ta'R advancement was stopped and most of their invasion fleet was destroyed. This caused major losses to the Opiro fleets and they knew that they wouldn't be able to hold against another invasion. This battle though proved to be the extra time the other races needed.

Shortly before the aforementioned battle the Lihters lost one of their patrolling ships on the Opiro-V'As'Ta'R border. Same kind of weaponry had been used as before. This puzzled the other races and they became even more convinced that someone else had to be behind the attacks. Shortly after the major battle between Opiros and V'As'Ta'R a Lihter ship was attacked again, but this time, unknown to the attackers, a special recording device had been installed on all the patrolling ships, developed by the B². The information obtained clearly showed that a cloak capable ship was behind the attacks, a ship that was clearly an alien design. With this information the other races managed to convince the Opiros and V'As'Ta'R to form a momentary cease-fire while all the races in the region were brought together to form a search grid.

A massive fleet mobilization was made by all the founding members of the UCP. All the ships were paired by a ship from another race and especially Opiros and V'As'Ta'R had much trouble working together. However, the search was successful and the cloaked ship was detected. It attempted to outrun its pursuers, but was eventually disabled in Seneg system by the combined forces of all the fleets involved. The ship self-destructed before it could be boarded. This, however, was enough proof for the Opiros and V'As'Ta'R that someone else had been behind the attacks.

Aftermath

Main Article: History of the United Commonwealth of Planets

The V'As'Ta'Rs and Opiros were impressed how the other races had handled the situation and decided to end all hostilities. A peace treaty was signed and not soon after that a non-aggression pact. While there was clearly bad blood between these two races they realized that it was a tragic mistake and that additional conflict would not help the situation and the best course of action would be to move on. It is believed that without this conflict the United Commonwealth of Planets might not have ever been formed. The total duration of the conflict was merely a little over three months, but the losses suffered by both sides were still significant.

This conflict is still remembered in the UCP and a public holiday was established for it when the Commonwealth was founded. Those who gave their lives in the conflict are now honored as their sacrifice united the races together and gave the future generations a better future.