Grey War

The Grey War was an interstellar conflict fought in the Majestic Cluster and other nearby areas within the Orchid Galaxy. The War began when the Supreme Entity of Vondunke (VSE) sent a list of demands to the Eesceen Federation (EF). When the EF did not comply, the VSE attacked without warning. It remains to this day the largest and most far reaching outbreak of hostilities within the galaxy.


 * The Scelthen are a native species of the Escene Star System. Many traded their biology for hardrives and cloning is very common. Another species was uplifted to an extent and converted into computers who operate self-replicating drone like androids these are often called the "swarms" however most civilizations outside of the Eesceen refer to the civilization as a whole as the "Swarms of Eesceen"


 * The Vondunke are a native species to the Vorfare system, They are biologically similar to Squids with Vertebrae. The race is exceptionally warlike much to the chagrin of its few neighbors. It is the dominant force in the Orchid Galaxy. They operate by gathering the worlds of star systems in a process called the bloom then getting back together in what is called the bluff

= Storyline (Incomplete Rough Draft) =

Setting
In the year I.A- 2,200, The Vondunke were undergoing a massive interstellar expansion, a continuation of their nomadic heritage known as the "Fourth Bloom". The VSE saw the Majestic Cluster as theirs by right and the "Swarms of Escene" as intruders or as " Mlunla". The Eesceen Federation originating from the nearby Niolikth Star Stream and are simply continuing their expansion out into the galaxy. By the middle of the "Third Bluff" the EF had breached the Majestic Cluster Proper by visiting the star system of Elikth. The VSE quickly sent off a radio broadcast alerting the EF to their fault and demanding that they leave the Majestic Cluster, returning anything harvested from the system and to pay damage costs for any possible ecosystem violated by their actions.

At the time the VSE was divided amongst some twenty-four Gas Giants called Federates. They had set up shop in fifteen systems containing 19 stars, most notably the B type star of Varadeç.

The EF had two core systems Escene & Nyscenes and had smaller colonies in another thirty systems but of the more predominant were Elikth & Renecse. Elikth with the star in the Majestic Cluster.

When the demands arrived, The Eesceen were prompt to dismiss them, not only ignoring the demands but also covertly sparking the Fourth Drone Uprising in the nearby star system of Ganç. Which was being claimed by the Federate of Æveçkov. They also began seeding many nearby systems with swarms of self replicating robots. Then it just happened, Relativistic Antimatter weapons annihilated the EF colonies of Kugel and an all out Vondunke assault began.

Outbreak
The VSE fully had fully deployed all of its 201 Supreme Armadas as part of a planned and coordinated "Preemptive Strike". Eesceen had thousands of swarms in at least the Sextillions as well as small system fleets. The VSE began to hammer in on the smaller colonies evaporating the Eesceen Swarms, while the Escene Command began to coordinate its forces, the majority of which were already at the border.

In an early conflict a combined body of 100 sextillion drones destroyed the federate of Lançkt assimilating nearly a hundred billion Vondunke to form the "State of Rensketh" which joined the Nioklith Alliance.

Opposition to the sitting Iron League, the ruling body of the Vondunke also covertly throw their support behind the EF. 60 Vondunke Armadae led an attack on the Elikth system with unveiling operation Elokk, The system was knew the attack was coming twenty years off and was defended by 200 sextillion drones. The earliest dyson fire used during battle and was poured out from the EF Elikth ring. But despite this stout defense, The system fell in a tremendous VSE victory.

The EF theatre command was forced to draw back from the cluster and was subsequently destroyed by the most intense battle of the war, during the EF pyrrhic retreat.

Onslaught
The remainder of the conflicts were, up until the siege of the Escene system, a one sided massacre. Beginning with the uncovering of The Vondunke political opposition, which remains the largest VSE political massacre ever seen, even topping The trials following the Great Debate. The disparity continued to grow larger and larger as the Vondunke drove the Eesceen out of system after system. But these victories and losses mattered very little. The real battle was fought by the workforces of the EF Escene, the EF Nyscenes, and the VSE Varadeç systems as full fledged Dyson swarms continued to be constructed with one aim and one aim only. Aiming at the opposing Dyson swarms. In the Varadeç system, the lowest Federate claim to wager ratio in the history of the Vondunke took place. In English this means that the populous worked like it was all or nothing risking personal riches for little financial return. Likewise the people of the Escene system entered a state of total warfare as emergency power was called for up and down the government hierarchy, and corruption at a perceived all time low. Wartime EF swarm tankers, originating from the EF's backyard, passed through the Escene system, being boosted by the Escene sunlight as they passed. And EF buffer systems saw revolutionary breakthroughs for economy and military as they vamped up their drone numbers Each world adding many billions, soon trillions of drones and other military by the day. But this was a small trickle compared to the Escene/Nyscenes Industry. Mirrors capable of reflecting more than 90% of 10-TeV gamma rays, Femtometer precision weaponry, Yottobyte computation, and hive-mind AI. As the EF began to, in some standards, surpass Vodunke technology it was little and late, The Vondunke had six Armadae on Nyscenes's doorstep and nine on Escene.

Duel
Dyson fire was across space are not that threatening, between two near equal opponents. It is shot not exclusively through space but through time. Each volley would arrive not at the targeted swarm, but rather the targeted swarm twenty years in the future, with information from twenty years in the past, and opponent defenses with anywhere from days to a years warning. But Dyson Fire in system is a little more threatening, as it is hitting with next to no warning, next to perfect information, and is not firing at an equal opponent.

The VSE 23rd Supreme Armada of Glanorth, led the assault on the Escene system, an assault planned for a century. Beginning in interstellar space the Gl23rd made their way to the systems outer reaches the outer flanks received attacks by Drone Tankers while the Oysters and Dreadnoughts received fire from the star itself, in the form of RKMs, TeV Gamma, Relativistic Space Craft, and Relativistic Antimatter Grape Shot Cartridges. These were easier to dodge, but over the decade as they came from a light year to a light week is became increasingly more difficult until they came behind the shadow of Enen the systems brown dwarf. The Gl23rd were joined by the Şi5th and the Tr19th as they made their way to the Senkerth belt. The Şi5th took an unexpected spout of crossfire from both Escene & Nyscenes all while in the middle of combat with 10 Quintillion Drones, Not one drone hit by friendly fire (That is Yottobyte computation). Half the armada was destroyed including its commanding Oyster. Within a light week the star was capable of Pev gamma radiation and weak meson streams, but this was traded for Smart RKMs. The 23rd upon reaching the dwarf at 11 AU easily dispatched the weakened defense forces and system fleet. Being able to hide inside of the T-Star the armada set up its own dyson and began to return fire. The Tr19th was rerouted toward the systems ice giant Eiresce and the Şi5th to the systems gas giant to do the same.

The Eesceen anti RKM orbitals began to take fire, hours before news of an oncoming RKM volley from Varadeç of 100 Trillion moving at 99.2% light speed reached the system due to hit in under a month. 100 Quadrillion RKMKs were deployed in the week before they were due to strike, extraordinary pressure was placed on the in system VSE fleets to keep them from disabling the RKMKs and orbital defenses. RKM mines which were a cloud of large debris emitted from a habitat in the direction of an RKM to intercept around an AU from the habitat were deployed in the day before the strike, an intense barrage from the outer systems fleets landed tens of minutes to tens seconds before the RKM storm began arriving, this was itself attacked by orbital defenses. As an RKM approached the inner system the first wave striking the outer system, the next the inner systems defenses and each successive being larger and making its way closer. As one reached a hand full of minutes away from its target it would change direction and now be headed towards its target. RKMK Killers would be deployed in front of the RKM before the actual RKM would shotgun forming a dozen heavy chunks of relativistic grape shot some of these would themselves shot gun and dispense RKMK killers and preform counter measures. As the day of the attack passed 99.9% of the RKMs were destroyed. 100 million total targets were hit 13 million strategic targets and 88 million tactical targets. The vast majority of VSE fleets emerged from behind the cover and rushed the inner system. 10 Trillion more moving at 99.98% light speed giving 2 hours notice massacred the system.

Aftermath
The war saw the end of the  Ee sc ee n Federation which was replaced by the puppet state of the  E sc e ne Federation. Tens of quadrillions of distinct sapients perished during the war with countless duplicates and sub sapients. And an estimated decades worth of Solar watts were used in its funding.

According to the Vondunke code of war, no state war reparations were necessary. However involved EF individuals (Practically All) were forced to cede property to VSE citizens in varying degrees, as determined by the Claims and Wagers courts. The New EF was allowed rights to 4 of their previous 32 systems and their capital system would be occupied over the next bloom. The New EF was also forced to recognize the VSEs right to all Systems, worlds, orbits, and transit lanes within the Majestic Cluster as well as additional limitations upon future expansion.

Since the war and the discovery of a third major player within the Orchid Galaxy, The Organs of Arȳ, It has maintained a large force around Varadeç in the event of another conflict.