S Dees wrote in message ...
Post by S DeesHello,
I was wondering if someone can help me with the timeline for the Starfire
universe. I'm just starting to read this series. (I'm halfway through
Crusade).
I have the 2 omnibuses: Stars at War 1 & 2, so I know that those book go in
Crusade
In Death Ground
Shiva Option
Insurrection
What books or short stories go before that? I know that there were 2
intersteller wars with the Khanate before that were headed by Howard
Anderson. I'm sure I've read some of them, but I can't figure out which ones
they are, or where they were compiled
Thanks in advance for any help.
Sean
ISW-1: Terran Federation v. Khanate of Orion
The TFN eventually defeats the much larger KoO due to the very nature of the
differing ways that the TFN engages
in warfare, versus the highly honorable, duelistic way that Orions view
warfare at this time. Refered to as the First
War of Shame by the Orions. Fang Varnik'Sheerino becomes the head of the
KON's (Khanate of Orion Navy) Strategy
Board, effectively similar to the CNO of the TFN, during the middle of ISW-1
and tries to adopt new strategies to
counter the Terran's chofaki methods. But these new ways of thinking go
very much against the grain for most of
the Khan's senior Fangs and eventually, the Khan has Varnik fired from his
post and places a more traditional Fang
in charge, who then proceeds to lose the war when the TFN learns that within
a few months the KON will have a vast
superiority in a new class of warship, the Superdreadnought (a
Varnik'sheerino innovation). Howard Anderson
challenges the Orions to a battleline duel at Aklumar, hoping to defeat the
Orions before Varnik's SD fleet can be
completed, and the honorable Orion CNO accepts. The TFN defeats the KON
battleline at Aklumar, effectively
ending IWS-1. ISW-1 ends with the signing of the Treaty of Tycho on Earth's
moon.
ISW-2: TF v. KoO (with the Ophiuchi Association starting as a 3rd party and
then allying themselves with the TF)
The TFN, now lead by CNO Howard Anderson, once again defeat the KoO, with
the eventual help of a new ally,
the Ophiuchi Association. Fang Varnik'Sheerino sits out this war, due to
the Khan's insistence on traditional
views of honorable, duelist warfare. In spite of not being fully ready for
the grudge match, the TFN's considerably
superior tactics and strategies defeat the still-honor-bound older Fangs.
Howard Anderson's fleet defeats the KON and the TFN offers the Khan a very
honorable treaty ending the war.
The Khan, still furious at being defeated once again by the chofaki Terrans,
intends to accept the treaty in bad faith
and then attack a few months later. However, other senior Orion leaders
recognize the folly of this and the
surprisingly respectful and honorable treaty offer made by the Terrans.
When the Khan's intentions become known,
the Caste of Assassins carries out its one appointed task ... to remove the
Khan in a duel with the Caste's champion.
The dead Khan is replaced by Liharnow'hritalkin, who is later to be known in
galactic history as ... Liharnow the Great.
The Gorm-Khanate War: A previously unknown race, the Gorm, a supremely
logical race, attacks the Khanate
because they feel that the warlike Khanate are a serious theat to the Empire
of Gormus. After some initial Gorm
successes, Liharnow recalls Varnik'sheerino to be the First Fang of the KON,
the absolutely senior admiral in
the KON, answerable only to the Khan. Fang Varnik, it turns out, has a
growing number of supporters in the lower
officer ranks of the KON who have learned the hard lessons of warfare, that
the first job of the navy is victory, not
engaging in honorable duels for nothing more than honor and glory.
Eventually, Fang Varnik's superior strategies,
combined with the vastly superior resources of the Khanate defeats the Gorm.
However, in a exceptional show
of respect for an honorable foe, the Khan offers the defeated Gorm the
option of amalgamating with the Khanate.
The Gorm accept. (A big reason that this arrangement works so well is that
the Gorm are much better suited to
living on heavy grav planets that simply do not suit Orions. This allows
the Gorm to colonize and develop many worlds
that the Orions would not otherwise be able to make use of.)
ISW-3: The Rigelian Protectorate against the TF, KoO, and OA. The RP first
attacks the TF (cuz they know of the TF first),
then attacks the KoO. The OA, being a strong ally of the TF, comes to the
TF's aid. The RP is a star nation that is bent on
the genocide of all non-Rigelian life for religious reasons, and genocides a
a small number of TF and KoO planets early in
the war. Unfortunately for the RP, their fleet's (the RPSA w/ SA = Space
Arm) order of battle is entirely skewed towards
carriers (the RPSA is the first star nation to introduce starfighters), with
no heavy battleline. Eventually, the TF is able to hold
the line against the RPSA when they're able to bring their battleline to
bear in a warp point defense, instead of getting caught
in open space.
The TF/OA and the KoO are forced by the genocidal nature of the RP to ally
themselves during this war. Howard Anderson
is the president of the Federation during ISW-3. And the greatest Fang in
Orion history, Varnik'Sheerino, is still the First Fang
of the KON. Eventually, the KON and TFN develop their own starfighters and
carriers. And the TFN develops fighter and carrier
doctorine far faster than the RPSA ever did, due to the experience of
ocean-going carriers in the human past. And the KON
takes to fighters quickly as well, since starfighter combat is so well
suited to the Orions' inbred desire to engage in individual
combat. As the allied fleets begin to get substantial carrier support,
their heavy battlelines end up being the decisive element,
since allied and Rigelian fighters roughly counter each other but the
Rigelians have no heavy battleline.
Once every Rigelian planet has been nuked, in accordance with Directive 18,
ISW-3 ends.
The First Crucian-Arachnid War: As described in The Shiva Option, the
Crucians and Arachnids met and fought once before.
This is what happened. (Keep in mind that I am THE true source of Star
Union of Crucis history, since I am their creator.)
A fairly potent Crucian survey flotilla entered Franos and was soon
intercepted by an small Arachnid patrol force which opened
fire on sight. The Arachnid force was defeated rather quickly. The
Arachnids weren't nearly as prepared for war as they were
for ISW-4. The Crucians went on the offensive and drove the Arachnids back
to Home Hime 1 (IIRC), down the same series of
warp lines and systems that Raymond Prescott used to meet up with his blood
brother in ISW-4. Whether the Arachnids were
really being defeated or merely allowed this to happen to bait a trap is
uncertain. What is certain is that when Second Battle Wing
entered HH1, it was crushed by the assembled Arachnid forces there, with
only a very few Crucian ships escaping. The USN
fought a couple of holding actions in these systems, while the evacuation of
the Telik system began and defenses for the
Telik-Franos warp point were strengthened.
The first Arachnid assault on Telik was repulsed by Warmaster Nokajii Rikka,
although in retrospect it was later believed that the
first attack was merely a reconnaisance in force. When the second assault
came, Warmaster Rikka and all of his defenders
fought and died to the last person to buy time for the final evacuation ship
to exit the system before the Demons could escape the
immediate area around the warp point.
Since that day, no ship was allowed to reenter the Telik system and a
massive naval base was constructed in Reymiirnagar
to support the construction of the massive Hell's Gate defenses and to
support the fleet that would be forever stationed in that
system. At the same time, the Star Union committed to building up a a
powerful reserve fleet, to the point that even the weakest,
most obsolete ships and hulls would be mothballed and updated every decade
or so. Many of the ships in the Reserve date back
to the 1st CAW itself.
(Historical Note: The Crucians were in the process of developing their own
starfighters at the time that SF19 arrived in Star
Union space and Admiral Sommers handed over the TFN technical database,
immensely helping the Star Union leap forward
technologically. Would this have allowed the Star Union to have survived
had SF19 not shown up and the USN encountered
the Bugs in a few more years? Probably not. As strong as the Star Union's
economy was and as large as its Reserve Fleet
was, it would have been eventually overwhelmed by the Bugs had not the Grand
Alliance so utterly worn down the Bugs' own
reserve fleet.)
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At this point, the four books you've listed in the proper order take place.