"That I should live to see the end of the Cartel..." - Oligarch Septima Egnatius
Stardate: 18-11-2466
To say it was a disaster would have been an understatement, as defensive preparations continued and attempts were made to keep the economy stable as it was pushed harder and harder to keep pace with growing demand, a group of robotic and AI became self-aware. The DAAR Multi-System seized control of key systems including several of the border fortresses plunging the entire Cartel into disarray, the third fleet was caught entirely flat-footed as AI forces seized control of New Vulpinus.
A massive fleet of vastly powerful and superior ships seemingly emerging out of no-where from the edge of the system tore into the third fleet who panicked, breaking as it became clear that they had seized control of the planet as well. Chaos swept across the breadth of the Cartel as armadas of AI controlled ships and reports of robotic uprisings flooded in.
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| A massive fleet of rogue AI catches the third fleet by surprise in orbit of New Vulpinus. |
With the threat of the Scourge pushed out of the Cartel's immediate concerns it became clear their lack of restrictions to AI technology had proven to be a time-bomb waiting to explode. Having made extensive use of AI to increase their research capabilities, their quest for technological supremacy had proven to be their potential downfall.
The New Dyss Khanate having signed a defensive pact with the Cartel along with the Uriy Suns Subsidiary came to their aid but whether it would be enough was another matter entirely. Hagawa, Bir Zun, Targon, Menchib and Janna had fallen in a matter of hours essentially crippling the defensive border the Cartel had always enjoyed.
With the board paralysed with indecision the military took matters into their own hands, as the first and fourth fleets made a counter-attack into the Janna system, the ancient robots found there decades ago being labelled as the most likely cause.
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| The fourth fleet engages the fortress at Janna as the first fleet arrives to support them. |
In 2467, months after the uprising began, Bitrius Starbase and the remains of the third fleet made a stand to protect Fiiral Colonia against two massive DAAR fleets. It proved to be ultimately futile as even the massive defensive installation long thought to be one of the most powerful of it's kind within the Cartel was simply crushed along with the remains of the third fleet marking it the greatest military loss for decades.
The fourth fleet was first to arrive in Janna much to their dismay they had turned the fortress star-base to their control and inflicted heavy casualties before the first fleet arrived to reinforce their positions. Before they could capitalise on the victory fully however yet another huge DAAR fleet arrived engaging both fleets. The fighting was vicious, despite their numerical advantage the Cartel fleets still took significant losses whilst only inflicting moderate casualties in kind before the DAAR fleet withdrew.
Even as they attempted to prepare the Janna Habitat for a ground attack yet another fleet from the DAAR arrived further taxing the embattled fleets. A partial bombardment took place as ground forces landed on Janna with the fleets moving back to defend the homeworld but the machines overwhelmed even the experienced general and routed the Cartel's ground forces spectacularly as the vast machine fleets overran system after system, crushing the few allied fleets who had arrived to help and obliterating every starbase and defence laid before them. Even the homeworld itself fell to their advance.
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| The first and fourth fleets battle wave after wave of DAAR ships seeking to reclaim the Janna system. |
The year 2468 saw the remaining military might of the Cartel make one last ditch effort to break the DAAR offensive, all three fleets, battered and understrength pushed to retake the homeworld. Whilst all combined might of the Cartel navy fought valiantly against the machines, the vast fleet simply washed over them like an emotionless flood until all that remained were broken hulls. The battle barely lasted a week, the vastly superior machine forces and technology giving them a huge advantage.
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| The first, third and fourth fleets engage in a last-ditch battle to break the siege of Vulpinus. |
Battered and broken, the remains of the Cartel Navy waited for the end, opting to make their last stand in the Ishnor system they waited for the arrival of the machines. Unable to replenish their losses, the homeworld and it's shipyards no longer accessible and the economy in ruins there was little else that could be done.
By 2472, the end came, food supplies were gone and the entire fleet being destroyed or routed by the DAAR they quickly overran the remaining systems. For all the Cartels achievements since they had mastered faster than light travel, they had been undone by their own technology. The warning signs had been there but their desire to best their rivals made them believe it to have been worth the risk.
The few remaining Foxes scattered into the Yeon Progenitors and New Dyss Khanate space, hoping to simply survive as the swarm consumed the galaxy. For the Fox Cartel, however, their story was now over.
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