Second Martian-Terran War

"'Human history was irreversibly changed following this war. The need for a human mutuality, not a human separation, was emphasized by the conflict's brutality.' — History of the Coalition and Mankind secondary school textbook, 74th ed."

The Second Martian-Terran War was a large-scale naval and terrestrial conflict that raged across much of the Solar System from early 2074 to mid-2077. Waged between the Terran United Nations (UN), Alliance of Independent States of Mars (AISM), and the Sol Outer Colonies Association (SOCA), it resulted in several millions of military and civilian casualties alike - with many belonging to the latter due to the numerous naval blockades set up between the three involved powers, crippling the economic market of the system and bringing mass starvation to several colonies (and Earth itself). The sheer implications of the war and the possibility of the destruction of human civilization lead to numerous technological advancements and scientific achievements - including the construction of the prototype for the Tepiltzin-Csanád Drive known as the Force-Tunneling Drive and the finalization of space warfare tactics that would be used for centuries to come.

To this day, the Second Martian-Terran War has been the most destructive war in human history, only slightly edging over that of the more recent Belial War, the earlier Astrallander Rebellion, and the pre-nuclear age World War II. In total, the war lead to the death of 371.89 million military personnel and civilians, ranging from the effects of radiation from nuclear detonations to hunger and starvation caused by blockades, in addition to conventional military operations. Historians consider the war to have its roots in the aftershocks of the First Martian-Terran War, with the achieved independence of all Martian nations from their Terran suzerains cleaving the political climate of the Solar System in two. The colonial initiatives in the outer worlds of the Solar System became heavily stunted by this political fallout, and as a result, almost all major outer world colonies declared their self-autonomy under the Sol Outer Colonies Association.

The war proper has been discerned to have started on New Year's Day, 2074, when the Martian battleship MAN Polyphemus opened fire on the Terran cruisers UNSN Distinction and UNSN Vindication after the latter two vessels unknowingly crossed into Martian-controlled space near the trade asteroid of Deimos and failed to respond to interrogatory hails from the Martian vessel. The battle resulted in the destruction of the Distinction and Vindication, and on January 2nd, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously declared war on all Martian polities under the umbrella of the Alliance of Independent States. From 2074 until late 2075, the UN and AISM engaged in protracted naval conflicts across much of the Inner Solar System, resulting in numerous battles such as the Battle of Luna and Battle of the Martian L1 Point, both of which being the apex of Martian and Terran naval operations respectively. However, in late 2075 and early 2076, both powers attempted to flank the other in the outer orbits of the Solar System, destroying SOCA assets in the process and forcing the then-neutral organization to enter the war as a third belligerent. The most devastating of battles soon followed, including Operation Hera carried out by the UN against Mars, Operation Gaia carried out by the AISM against Earth, and SOCA's bilateral Stellar Dawn Offensives that attempted to push the UN and AISM out of the gas giants of Jupiter and Saturn. The largest terrestrial battle of human history (until the era of the Coalition) was waged with the invasion of Mars. The eponymous Battle of Timoreus raged until the end of the war in March of 2077, where the Solar Peace Accords were hosted on the independent asteroid of Eros and was coupled with the assassination of Chairman Tymoteusz Wilkowski of the Alliance of Independent States of Mars by SOCA supporters.

The Second Martian -Terran War shook the collective psyche of mankind in the Solar System for centuries to come, especially with its direct ties to the formation of the Coalition of Congressional Republics as a result of the war and the "recognization of political equality" for most colonies absorbed into the CCR. The creation of the Force-Tunneling Drive also lead directly to the invention of the first interstellar drive - the Tepiltzin-Csanád Drive - in 2083, thereby starting the Interstellar Age of mankind.

First Martian-Terran War
It is without a doubt that the main reasons for the outbreak of the Second Martian-Terran War hinged upon the aftershocks of the First Martian-Terran War. This war, which was waged by Martian colonists against Terran garrisons and corporations that managed Mars's terraformation and exploitation, lead to the independence of multiple polities of varying demographics and cultures on the red world. Despite these variances, however, the threat of their continued existence posed by the United Nations lead to the establishment of the Alliance of Independent States of Mars, a supranational defense organization dedicated to the maintenance of the sovereignty of all newfound Martian nations.

The establishment of AISM lead to the snowballing of Mars from a frontier of fragile colonial nation-states to a planetary powerhouse - partly in thanks to the "brain drains" that Earth suffered as a result of its increasing overpopulation and ecological catastrophes. The consolidation of the agricultural sectors on Mars ensured its survivability in the decades to come - and, with the institution of strict rationing and logistics policies for both military and civilian sectors, the many states of the AISM gradually metamorphosed into miniature stratocracies emphasizing tradition and stability through mutual identity and order. This increased authoritarianism and stratocratization clashed with the tenets of the United Nations, which placed emphasis on the values of democracy and pluralism. Such polarization only cemented a future confrontation between the disaster-straddled UN and the optimistic, yet nascent AISM.

State of the Outer Colonies
With the rise of the AISM following the First Martian-Terran War, a wave of unrest spread throughout the UN and corporate-controlled outer colonies on the moons of worlds such as Kasson and Vediovus, in addition to dwarf planets such as Insitor. Many of these movements of rebellion rejected their "generational exploitation" being brought on by Terran corporations, yet also sought to distance themselves from the Martian style of colonial dissidence due to the nature of their exploitation and the dire circumstances that they would face from outright war with the UN. The Sol Outer Colonies Association was formed as an insurrectionist front upon these settlements, and would grow in power until the signing of the Gray-Atkinson Treaty of 2056, recognizing the outer colonies as a semi-autonomous sector of the Solar System with only loose affiliation to the UN bureaucracy. This treaty would fall apart with the onset of the Second Martian-Terran War and SOCA's declaration of outright independence.

Posturing of the UN 3rd Fleet
In an effort to consolidate power projection capacities by the UN against SOCA between Earth and Jupiter, the Department of Security Operations mobilized its 3rd Fleet for anti-piracy and transportation protection postures. This coincidentally lead the 3rd Fleet on a trajectory that bisected various Martian territorial claims, including the Cyclopes asteroid trading outpost, and would inevitably spawn the Skirmish of Cyclopes.

Martian encroachment on Insitor
In addition to UN naval movements, the Martian navy also committed to its own posturings against SOCA by instigating a blockading maneuver on the trade world of Insitor following purported terrorist attacks on Mars and Timoreus having been perpetrated by cells from the dwarf planet. This military buildup coincided with the trajectory of the UN 3rd Fleet's movements and would become the second integral piece for the Cyclopes confrontation.

The Skirmish of Cyclopes
On the 31st of December, 2073, two cruisers from the UN's 3rd Fleet - the UNSN Distinction and UNSN Vindication - attempted to do rapid catch-up maneuvers to rendezvous with the rest of their parent fleet following the need for field repairs several hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from the Martian territory of Cyclopes. Due to being informed of the 3rd Fleet's intentions prior, the Martian navy only needed to spectate their rival's naval movements, and had informed the UNDSO that it would take measures to enforce its sovereignty if Terran vessels were found breaching Martian spatial territory.

The Distinction and the Vindication both proceeded to commence direct burns through Cyclopes's declared territorial cordons in an attempt to rendezvous with the 3rd Fleet, and upon transgressing the cordons, the sole Martian vessel present near the asteroid - the HAN Polyphemus - sortied to respond from its anchorage upon the trade outpost. Determining the two UN vessels' linear burn-paths as aggressive posturing against Cyclopes, the Polyphemus moved to confront the vessels and sent signals of warning immediately after starting its interception. The Distinction and Vindication, alongside all non-flagship vessels under command of Admiral Sun Si-U of the 3rd Fleet, had been instructed prior to avoid communications with Martian vessels as per minimizing Martian ELINT capacities and the possibility of deliberate jammings through broadcast signals and vessel hails. This meant that the Martian battleship's warnings were falling on deaf ears, and five minutes after no response, the Polyphemus under the command of Captain Doroteo Passalacqua opened fire on the transgressors first through a missile volley.

The Distinction and the Vindication responded by disgorging their corvette escorts and assuming a formation against the Polyphemus which maximized PDC anti-missile coverage. This allowed them to cover much ground between them and the Polyphemus warship - however, due to their initial high velocities, the cruisers and their corvettes were unable to slow themselves down in time to avoid entering the Polyphemus's range of kinetic weapons. The Martian battleship's four mass drivers fired upon and destroyed the UN cruisers and their corvettes following a knife-edge interception path, and the battleship itself sustained damage to its fuel and power systems. The battle was captured live from the rear-end vessels of the 3rd Fleet's formation, and as a result of the battle, Admiral Si-U immediately ordered his forces to divert their course to assume combat positions around Cyclopes in expectation of Martian confrontation. The footage was sent to the United Nations Security Council at 11:02 p.m. Western Estrian Time, and the Security Council immediately convened at 11:10 p.m. to vote for a response against the battle.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 9616 and the Declaration of the Olympian Accord
On the morning of the 1st of January, 2074, following the Deimos Skirmish the Security Council of the United Nations - composed of the permanent members of the United Statesa of America, Union State of Russia and Belarus, European Union, People's Republic of China, and Republic of Brazil, in addition to the non-permanent members of the United Kingdom, Republic of Australia, State of Israel, Republic of Nigeria, State of Japan, Republic of Turkey, Republic of India, Republic of Korea, Republic of Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam - unanimously voted to pass the United Nations Security Council Resolution 9616 in a 15-0 motion.

Resolution 9616, in essence, stated the following with the speech given by the then-serving General Secretary Kim Soo-Kyung:


 * "In gross violation of the Clemens Brokerage of 2052, the umbrella political organization of the Alliance of Independent States of Mars have unlawfully engaged and outright destroyed peacekeeping elements of the UN Department of Security Operations near the Deimos asteroid."
 * "The UN Security Council has unanimously voted for the passage of a resolution, effective immediately, allowing for the retaliation of the member-states of the United Nations against any and all threats posed by the Martian polities and the AISM forthwith."

The Alliance of Independent States of Mars responded to this effective declaration of war with their own, known as the Declaration of the Olympian Accord - making known their intent to bend the UN to Mars's will and subvert Earth unto their control in a new Olympian Accord organization. This lead to the Battle of Deimos between the UN 3rd Fleet and the AISM 10th and 12th Task Forces and the beginning of the Second Martian-Terran War.