First Tevarin War

These four years were Humanity's first interspecies war. It was a turning point in Human history and the catalyst for major events including the founding of the UEE. It would also define the downtrodden character of modern Tevarin.

First Contact (2541-11-15)
On the morning of 2541-11-15, Dr Kellar Lench discovers the Elysium System and witnesses signs of the Tevarin civilization on Kaleeth. Believing that it should be government dignitaries and diplomats that make first contact, his only further action is to deploy a research drone to the planet. However he loses contact with the drone. His scans show several ships heading towards him, so he returns to Centauri to avoid causing an incident.

"On Elysium IV there is an indigenous species calling themselves the Tevarin. Though sentient and intelligent, they have not evolved to our level technologically. Recommend that we establish contact and bring them into the UPE. It is a wonderful opportunity to elevate the species into the modern era."

- Dr Kellar Lench's Official Assessment of the Tevarin, 2541-11-15_19:19

The UPE reached out to the Tevarin. They weren’t interested in establishing diplomatic relations or even our technology. They were interested in our systems. So the first interspecies war began as most wars begin, over territory.

Capture of Idris IV (2542)
Idris IV is captured by the Tevarin. The planet suffers a series of orbital bombardments. This marks the start of the First Tevarin War. Though most of the population flee before the Tevarin finally take the planet, a few hundred stay. Rachel Locke, a local with no military training, organizes the survivors for increasingly daring strikes to disrupt the Tevarin occupiers. The group become known as the Greys.

At the central plaza of Tanys (Now called Lost Quad), the Greys were almost extinguished. A raid on what would become the Tevarin planetary defense system went drastically wrong. Rachel Locke’s second-in-command, Alanna Shaw, and a large number of Greys were captured, executed and displayed in the plaza to try and demoralize the remaining Greys from further operations. It did not have the desired effect.

Planning (2544-08)
The Tevarin War had raged into its second year. Although the United Planets of Earth had managed to claim some decisive victories, the Tevarin were unrelenting, gaining ground in Centauri System and pushing UPE forces as far back as Ferron System.

By late August 2544 SET, High General Trevor Borland had grown impatient. In a strategy meeting with his advisers, he expressed a fear that by letting the battle lines equalize, he could see both sides becoming complacent and settling into a war of attrition. He wanted “to unbalance the Tevarin; to challenge their expectations of how we had been engaging them in warfare.” Over the next week, Borland, High Command and his advisers sketched out the skeletal framework of what would become Operation Nemesis.

The Battle of Idris IV (2544-09-30)
UPE forces attempt to take back Idris IV. The Greys provide ground-side intelligence for the attack. This operation goes down in history as the Battle of Idris IV.

As the battle against the Tevarin stepped into high gear, all non-essential projects were canceled in order to focus on expanding the war effort and strengthening the Naval fleet; the terraformation of Tayac was one of the projects included in the cutbacks.

Colonel Ivar Messer, a brilliant and ruthless strategist, distinguishes himself in the battle. He quickly becomes the pride of the military and the face of the War.

The victory at Idris IV galvanized the populace in the UPE, drove recruitment rates up, and built on the momentum to push further into the Tevarin systems.

The Bombing Run (2544-10-11)
After the beginning of the First Tevarin War, the United Times/Tribune decided to embed Renzo Oui with the 71st Carrier Wing to provide exclusive material on this historical conflict. For over two years, Renzo chronicled the successes and struggles, both personal and professional, of a Naval carrier and its pilots, bringing the realities of front line combat and military life to public.

For his award-winning series, Renzo would accompany the pilots of the 391st Squadron on torpedo runs against Tevarin capital ships, but it was this image (infobox image) that would become one of his most remembered. Captured during Operation Nemesis, the Retaliators of the 391st were tasked with a daring run on one of the Tevarin’s devastating planetary defense systems that were keeping the UPE Navy at bay. This shot, taken remotely via Renzo’s camera, captures the moment where the Alpha Flight opened fire and has since been regarded as one of the iconic images of the war.

Human Front
During the war, Persei-based UPARQ developed massive magnetic coils designed to weaponize solar electromagnetic radiation. However, the project failed.

Squadron 42 was founded during the First Tevarin War.

The UEE Army managed to briefly seize the public consciousness during the first Tevarin War where just as many battles took place across shattered landscapes than did in space. The Marines were at this time kept under the umbrella of the Army’s command structure.

Fueled by the never-ending stream of stories and Vids of daring pilots, recruits flocked to the Navy’s stations to sign up. Even before the Draft of the First Tevarin War, the Navy’s enlistment numbers had barely dipped.

As the Tevarin War began to swell, the military feared that the conflict in the West might embolden a Xi’An attack in the East and instituted a Draft.

Aegis grew to prominence as a manufacturer of military spacecraft during the First Tevarin War. Favored by Ivar Messer, their orbital bombers grew to public prominence after his infamous victory on Idris IV.

Tevarin Front
The Tevarin made use of an infamous boarding craft known as the Prowler. Esperia now offer a reproduction model.

Victory (2546)
The First Tevarin War ended with Humanity capturing, colonizing and renaming the planet of Kaleeth to Elysium IV (now Jalan).

Ivar Messer, now promoted to commander, brings the captured Tevarin leader to the UPE floor. The First Tevarin War ends.

Messer Era and the United Empire of Earth (2546)
Ivar Messer rides the popularity of his victory to become High-General. Claiming the Tribunal is an outdated system and cultivating a fear of the Xi’An, Messer proposes the creation of a new single office with the title of Prime Citizen. Upon election as the first (and last) Prime Citizen, it isn’t long before he restructures the government into the new United Empire of Earth (UEE) and anoints himself Imperator, ushering in an age of unprecedented expansion and colonization.

Idris IV becomes Locke (2546)
Idris IV is officially recognized within the UEE. The Governors Council name the planet after famous freedom fighter Rachel Locke.

Tevarin Assimilation into UEE
The displaced Tevarin populace were assimilated, willingly or not, into the culture of their conquerors. Initially forbidden from living on the planet they evolved on, many cite that frustration as being one of the main factors in Corath’Thal’s call to arms that led to the Second Tevarin War.

Meanwhile the Tevarin military was scattered to the far corners of the universe. Humanity, confident in their absolute victory, considered the Tevarin threat completely neutralized. They were wrong.

The Tevarin also left the Kabal system, though this system had not yet been discovered by the UEE.

Founding of UEE Marines (2558)
A noteworthy 2558 Quantum Obelisk Computer analysis of infantry actions during the First Tevarin War resulted in a flurry of changes to organization and tactics, chief among them the need to disassociate the ASO from the Army’s command hierarchy. The ASO was reorganized into the core of a third spatial service. From this point on, the Marines would act fully independently of the Army. A number of smaller Navy organizations, including the Space Combat Team and the Naval Future Weapons Office, were rolled into the newly-christened UPE Marines.

In Media
Requiem Past, shut out of award consideration due to a loophole regarding the release structure, is a controversial film about the First Tevarin War and its aftermath that has been fiercely debated in the media for its bleak depiction of Humanity’s intentions and actions.