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Chapter 4: Rebellion (2451-2458)

 

Note: This chapter of Human history is dedicated to the Civil War in the Sol System.  The events in this chapter warrant special attention, as it represents one of the most important turning points in Human history.

4.0: The Fuse Is Lit

On April 27, 2451, the NOPL ruling council, in their narcissist arrogance, passed legislation that, eventually, would cause the demise of not only their rule, but their homeworld - the Air Tax.

The legislation was simple: all Humans in the Sol System not living on God's World (Earth) were to pay for their right to breathe.  This legislation gave no exceptions.  It mattered not that there wasn't a colony that relied on atmosphere supplements from Earth for over 200 years; no colony was exempt.  The colonies with the highest tax rates were on Luna.  It didn't matter; no rate was acceptable by the citizens of the High Colonies.

On May 14, 2451, the citizens of the largest Lunar colony, New Kiev (population:74,000), rose against the NOPL authority.  The people of the colony, both free and indentured, joined together with smuggled weapons against the military forces.  The weapon caches had been assembled and kept hidden by the populations, in all of the High Colonies, over the past 30+ years.  The ever-repressing legislation doled out to them by their NOPL "masters" would, they knew, reach a boiling point. 

Over the next three days, the peoples' army clashed with the NOPL loyalists.  On May17, 2451, however, a NOPL Marine transport vessel hot-deployed into New Kiev.  Overpowered and outnumbered, most of the rebels surrendered.  Colonel Abheek Vraman, commander of the Marine Forces, ordered the execution of not only the captured rebels, but the extermination of all citizens of the colony.           

He hoped to set an example to the other colonies on Luna.  In two days, New Kiev was emptied.

This has been a point of controversy between historians.  Colonel Vraman's decision may not have been his alone.  There is evidence that this really was a "Final Solution" for all of the colonies.  Many argue, however, that the NOPL government did not condone his actions - at least not most of the Ruling Council.  There is evidence that points to a certain council member - Reverend Aland Hill.  Reverend Hill's grandson, Rupert Hill, was a former governor of New Kiev.  His grandson was replaced by another governor on the grounds that, under his leadership, the colony failed to meet its food quota to Terra.  The fact that the Reverend lobbied to have the current governor arrested and executed on the grounds of failing to prevent a revolt gives weight to this theory.

 

4.1: Bang!

News of the revolt - and massacre - spread, quickly, throughout Human Space.  The other Lunar colonies didn't back down from this example.  Every one of them started revolting against the NOPL regime.  The L-5 colonies went up next.  They rose against the militias, spaced the governors and their cabinets, and joined the Revolution.  The L-4 colonies, however, were not so lucky.  When the revolt news reached them, the militia reacted first.  The L-4 colonies had the most prolific shipyards in the system.  NOPL was determined to hold on to them.  The L-4 colony forces were quickly reinforced.  Mars joined the fight on July 6, 2451.  The industrial base on the planet was a major strategic point.  The Asteroid Belt lit up on July 9.  Jupiter's moons by July 14.  Saturn and beyond by July 29. 

The fighting lasted for 7 years.  For the first 5 years, NOPL had the upper hand. Even though traveling through space was loathing to the people of the Promised Land, they had the numbers, as well as the sacred duty to defend their way of life by the Word of God.  The inner planets and stations were completely occupied by 2453; the Rebel forces tenaciously held on to the outer worlds.  The Rebel command, led by a former Martian Business Manager - Admiral Katrina Mendoza, had their headquarters based on Yeaux D'Yvette - the capitol of one of Uranus' primary moons, Miranda.

4.2: The Hammer of God

General Mendoza applied her best efforts to hold on to the Outer Colonies.  NOPL forces, however, were continuing to gain the upper hand.  By 2455, the Asteroid Belt was occupied by NOPL forces.  Rebel forces retreated to the gas giants and Rebel headquarters was moved to the Kuiper Belt - which made it easier to defend.

Things were not looking good for the Rebel faction.  The Asteroid belt represented the last of the large-scale primary and secondary industrial (mining, smelting, and refining) might for them.  The factories (tertiary industry) of the Outer Colonies were running short on materials.  Even though the Kuiper Belt had resources, the belt wasn't as colonized and the prospecting and mining were strictly small-scale.  The Rebels were harboring their resources as best as they could while they tried to form some kind of counter-offensive....

Then, in 2456, assistance came.

4.3: Relief

When the civil war initially broke out in the Sol System, Earth's extra-solar colonies had mixed emotions.  Some wanted to support the Rebels, but were unable to do so - their colonies were too unsophisticated.  Others didn't want to care.  They left Earth and the Sol System behind; they didn't want to look back.  The Sirius colony - Henrik's Claim - decided differently.

During the first five years of the war, the citizens of Henrik's Claim decided that they were not going to let their brethren suffer under the oppression of NOPL any longer.  If the people of Earth wanted to follow that path of madness, let them, but leave the High Colonies alone.  Valter Enterprises, a company founded on the colony world, perfected improved FTL drives with aid by the Gha!kuuk'aa (.2LY/day standard.  .3 LY/day for military ships).  This technology was put to use upgrading bulk ore carriers, freighters, and military fleets.  By late 2455, several other worlds lent assistance.  On January 12, 2456, Extra-Solar citizens returned to their home system.

The new forces were accepted gratefully by the Rebels.  Not only did they get fresh battle fleets with new technologies, but they got badly-needed raw materials for their remaining factories.  Agreements were made that, if the Rebels win, the worlds in the Sol System - with the exception of Earth - would remain the sole property of the High Colony citizens.  The High Colonies promised continued contact and support of the Extra-Solar colonies in return.

4.4: The Counter-Offensive

February 1, 2456 saw the counter-offensive launched.  NOPL forces were repulsed from the Asteroid Belt by the 26^th.  Rebel Main Headquarters was moved to Henrik's Claim for the remainder of the conflict.

Mars was liberated, after a long grueling campaign, on November 17.  The vast factory complexes were destroyed, not by war, but by the incompetence of the NOPL administrators appointed by the military and the sabotage efforts of the Martian populace.  A memorial to the war and those who fought and died on the planet is still a very popular tourist attraction.          

The next phase was to attempt to liberate the L-4 and L-5 colonies.  This would prove to be the most challenging campaign.  The colonies are space stations, so direct assault by the fleet was not the most popular move - especially since the L-4 stations were shipyards and the L-5 ones were hospitals.  The L-4 shipyards were the decided first target.  The fighting was long and hard, mainly by commando raids that focused on neutralizing NOPL ships, but keeping the stations intact.  Long range precision striking by Rebel and Extra-Solar fleets supplemented the commandos.

4.4.1: The Battle of Trotsky

June 17, 2457 saw the start of the Battle of Trotsky.  Near the Trotsky Shipyards, the main bulks of the Rebel and Extra-Solar fleets met with the massive NOPL fleets in a battle that would rage on for three straight days.  The NOPL forces outnumbered the opposition by at least three to one.  The Rebels were better trained then their NOPL counterparts, however.

                During the battle, Admiral Mendoza was killed when her flagship, the Tannhäuser Gate, exploded with all hands.   Despite that, the Rebels emerged from the conflict victorious, leaving the NOPL fleet shattered beyond recovery.  There were no shipyards left on Earth after 2340.  Earth relied upon the L-4 stations for their fleets.

4.5: Mopping Up

Liberating the remaining colonies - L-5 hospitals, Luna, and Venus - involved rooting out NOPL forces on the colony.  Threat from the NOPL fleet no longer existed.  Rebel forces continued to broadcast messages of cease-fire to all surrendering forces.  NOPL forces, however would not surrender.

It is not sure exactly why defeated NOPL forces never asked for quarter.  Some say it was because of the brainwashing techniques NOPL used on their populace, with subliminal message and special mind-altering drugs.  Others claim it was directly out of fear of returning to their leaders as failures.  It was probably a combination of both.  Whatever the reason, there was no retreating nor surrendering of NOPL forces; they fought to the death, taking as many Rebel forces with them. 

The battle for Venus was the last campaign in the war.  The battle was bittersweet; the battle spelled defeat for all NOPL operations off-Earth, as well as a 100% casualty rate on the planet.

As Rebel forces were preparing their ground assault after shattering orbital defense positions, NOPL forces simultaneously detonated a series of 150 kiloton fusion devices in all 5 cities on the world.  The populations were vaporized and the world wasn't repopulated until 2570.

The war was over.  NOPL was exclusively on Earth.  The High Colonies were independent once again, and the Extra-Solar colonies had introduced technologies that would open humanity more to the stars.