The Staru War

(070-1117 to 350-ish-1117)

This covers only the period up to the involvement of the Anastasia. Further information is available but has not yet been incorporated.

070-1117

The advance Visitor fleet invades the system, establishing a base on S2 and commanding the Secondary system. The mainworld, Staru (P2-10), is secured by orbital bombardment and ground troop landings; several sections of the starport city are levelled and the human population enslaved for agricultural and industrial work. The colony on Korokal (P2-8) surrenders and is captured intact; the Visitors establish a research station to study humans. Bases are also established on P3-15.

UWP Changes
World	Was	Now
P2-10 (Staru)	C244536-6 Pdg 8	C24436J-6 Pdg 3
P2-8 (Korokal)	G525115-5	G52516L-5

083-1117

The Scorpionis coruska-fleet arrives and is lured into refuelling at P2 by the Vistors using captured humans. It is totally destroyed in surprise attack. There is a great deal of dangerous debris in orbit around P2.

UWP Changes
World	Was	Now	Notes
P2	n/c	n/c	Dangerous debris litters close orbits

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096-1117

The Staru War begins as the Battle of Staru.

The Scorpionis victory-fleet arrives from Dulu. It expects trouble and finds it. There are many naval battles and ground troop engagements. The sides are well-matched, and no side gains the advantage in the early stages of the battle.

106-1117

It is clear that the Battle of Staru is extending into a full war.

Ten days after the victory-fleet first entered the system, there is a major naval engagement at P4 which destroys all capital ships and most others on both sides. There are sorties towards Staru which cause further civilian casualties while trying to damage Visitor installations.

UWP Changes
World	Was	Now	Notes
P2-10 (Staru)	C24436J-6 Pdg 3	C24436J-6 Pdg 2
P4	n/c	n/c	Dangerous debris litters close orbits

108-1117

Both sides' capacity for space combat is now very limited, so the emphasis of war shifts towards planetary engagements.

As the Scorpionis Navy now has secured the Secondary, Marines are landed on S2, where they capture the small Visitor base using overwhelming force. Work begins on converting it into the main Scorpionis military base.

The Scorpionis forces assume they have been outflanked and bypassed, and rather than waste their few ships to request help (after all, they themselves were supposed to be the reinforcements!) they reserve all forces for what they expect to be a drawn-out war for the survival of Scorpionis -- they believe they are the only remaining fleet, as they have not been relieved by the major force they knew to be at Jusk.

The Visitors, meanwhile, assume (correctly) that the invasion force has been defeated at Dulu, as this would have been its next destination, and are settling in to hold this system until the next invasion is launched. They control the inner orbits of the Primary system.

110-1117

Despite Visitor Naval control of the inner Primary system, Scorpionis Marines, with supplies but no Naval supporting fire, are successfully landed on P3-15 to attempt to gain a foothold in orbit 3.

112-1117

It is rapidly clear that the invasion of P3-15 will not succeed, partially because the rough terrain favours the Visitor forces and because the Visitors have supporting orbital fire. The remaining Scorpionis Marines go to ground in vegetation and rough terrain, safe from further orbital bombardment, and continue to harass Visitor troops in ongoing warfare.

Although there is little hope of Scorpionis gaining control of the planet, they cause sufficient trouble to make it untenable as a useful Visitor base. Both sides are essentially left to their own devices, with both sides dropping supplies from orbit occasionally.

180-1117

The Staru War has now lasted three months, and has degenerated into low-scale actions essentially preserving a stalemate. Human slaves are still cultivating much of Staru, although some supplies are being diverted to the Scorpionis forces (via blockade runners) and others are lost through sabotage.

208-1117

The war has lasted four months.

236-1117

The war has lasted five months.

264-1117

The war has lasted six months. Both sides have managed to rebuild their fleet to a very limited extent, although they are still far from effective.

291-1117

On 291-1117, the Scorpionis forces risk their remaining ships in an attack on the station/base on Korokal. The attack is wholly successful: all remaining missiles are loaded on the barely servicable repaired Strike Carrier (Type CS-13), which bombards the planet from orbit using mainly nuclear weapons. Several Visitor ships and supply depots, as well as troops on rest leave, are destroyed on the ground. Permanent ecological damage is suffered on P2-8.

UWP Changes
World	Was	Now	Notes
P2-8 (Korokal)	G52516L-5	Y523000-0	Serious radiological hazards

292-1117

It is exactly seven months after the start of the Staru War.

The Scorpionis ships capitalize on their success at Korokal, and move on to engage the Visitors at P2-10. The main Naval battle occurs in close orbit; several ships are destroyed on both sides, and orbital debris rains down on the planet for several days.

The Scorpionis Strike Carrier unloads all its remaining missiles on the starport city, then in a suicide attack crashes into the starport itself destroying all facitlities.

The 7-month anniversary of the Staru War is thus marked by heavy civilian casualties -- the destruction of the starport capital has eliminated major industry, leaving subsistence agriculture under the yoke of Visitor military rule.

The Scorpionis ships are forced to retreat back to the base on S2, but they are not pursued. They have achieved their objective of reducing the Visitor forces to just one base at Staru, and making that substantially ineffective through extensive destruction.

From the original total of 800,010 inhabitants, the system civilian population is now a mere 900.

The battle on P3-15 has become a ruthless guerilla war, with neither side keeping a fixed base for more than a few days; the Scorpionis marines have now destroyed all permanent facilities. Both sides make extensive use of primitive weapons and traps, as repair facilities, spares, and indeed ammunition are no longer available. Resupply from orbiting ships petered out and stopped some time ago. The ground forces have in many cases split into independent factions.

UWP Changes
World	Was	Now	Notes
P2-10 (Staru)	C24436J-6 Pdg 2	X24426L-8 Pdg 9	radiological hazards in several locations

325-1117

Into the stalemate following the assault on Staru come the Sir Walter Raleigh and the Anastasia, who fight a short battle with seven BOXERs at Staru, then jump out.

It is clear that these ships were not with the original Scorpionis force. The Visitors rapidly prepare for a thrust to take the Secondary before reinforcements arrive for the enemy.

345-1117

Visitor forces arrive at the Secondary, and fight running battles with Scorpionis forces throughout the system, centred around the S3 gas giant and the Scorpionis base on S2. The Visitors use all their remaining missiles, many of them on the ground base which is nuked heavily.

All Scorpionis ships are destroyed, with the exception of one destroyer which runs to P3-15 as the only known remaining location of friendly forces.

All facilities on the Secondary are completely destroyed, and the remaining few ships return victorious to P2-10 for repairs. When repairs are complete, the Visitors intend to set up a secret base in the system and wait for Scorpionis forces to arrive. Getting information back becomes a priority, but no ships are as yet jump-capable.

UWP Changes
World	Was	Now	Notes
S2	n/c	n/c	Severe radiological hazards in area of base

349-1117

The Scorpionis destroyer crash-lands on P3-15, where the remaining Scorpionis Marines rally and re-arm from the ship's stores. The command chain is reconstructed, and they start a concerted methodical guerilla action against the Visitor forces. The ship self-destructs violently on radio command.

The explosion of the Scorpionis destroyer on P3-15 is detected by the Visitors. They deduce that the ship has crashed into the planet, and that there are now no effective Scorpionis troops in the system.