Aromas of Secession

In November 228 UC, a new wave of increased tariffs to compensate for the projected next year’s budgetary expenditure had caused intense debates in both Sydney’s legislative bodies and her colonial conventions. Colonial representatives would be sent to meet at the Manzanillo Convention in Vardini. There it saw the ratification of several new entities:

First, the unanimous decision would be made to form a new body of government — the Provisional Government of Ruthenia.

Secondly, a new legislative document was drafted called the Articles of the Confederation. This constitution had clauses ranging to guaranteeing the rights of local governments as well as basic universal suffrage.

Lastly, a political coalition to form the Congressional Assembly which exercised legislative and executive powers in nature.

The rest of Central Ruthenia followed suit that month. By mid December, Greater and Southern Ruthenia had joined the Vardini-led provisional government. In the same weeks as the others, Ruthenia’s neighboring regions of Merica and Rouen were also admitted as new states.

Brining the year 228 to a closure saw the second Manzanillo Convention confirm the admittance of the new states and reformed the provisional government officially as the Confederation of Interstellar Systems, also known formally as the Ruthenian-Merican Confederacy and commonly referred to as the Confederation of Sol in contemporary and future sources.

The Second Manzanillo Convention also decreed the formation of a proper executive branch, lead by a chancellor who was elected by the Congressional Assembly. The first chancellor was Sakurai Fern, who was elected by his peers for chancellorship on the 31st of December 228 and inaugurated the following January.

The Zonal and Lombardian regions held their own unique secessionist conventions. But both felt the act of seceding was traitorous, ultimately the notions were rejected by their respectful legislature. Instead, both governments declared total neutrality in any forthcoming conflict between the Confederacy and the Federation.

Across the Kongriega Corridor, there were similar sentiments of secession in the Frankish Domains. Similar to their counterparts in the Galactic West, the Frankish delegates held their own conventions modeled after the Ruthenia principle. Despite a few rounds of public referendums, the Franks’ as a whole rejected the idea of a separatist movement.

As Garofano would observe,

“The Franks had a dull sensitivity to politics—or possibly smart enough to realize that seceding would result in a pointless conflict. The average Frankish man drank cheap wine, partakes in entertainment befitting of lowly commoners, and took unparalleled pride in their remarkable craftsmanship (of ships provided to the Federation) that made up for their dormant lifestyle. When in uniform, they were lazy, slept like logs, and squandered taxpayer money on irresponsible rations. But in times of combat duties were resilient as a guard dog.”

In the immediate months, the new Confederacy administration pursued a policy of national integrity. This effort was in the form of seizing Federate assets that were both political, economical, and most importantly military possessions. Two of it’s strategic objectives was the Hatillo fortress at Dissenland which boasted a considerable naval garrison. This force was something that military planners feared could give the Federation a strategic advantage in the event of war. The second was Schiebfonda in the Youdon starzone, which was a “stone’s throw away from Vardini on a interstellar scale.”

Prime minister Fern called for the enlistment of 4 million volunteers to crew over 5,000 ships as a means to defend the infant republic. Patriotic pride was particularly phenomenal. As such, recruitment quota far exceeded expectations prompting the construction of additional naval squadrons to be serviced by legions of eager recruits. The projected military strength for the new year of 229 was 6 and a half million personnel for service of 7,500 ships.

In January 229, the Federation response to secession was a thin tread of composure. The newly elected prime minister at the time, Bern Halil, remarked in his inaugural address to parliament that, under his administration; “there will be peace in our time!” Given that both his cabinet and parliament were warhawks, it was a rather daunting task to maintain harmony between the two Sols’.

On the contrary however was conflicting hypocrisy. Perhaps because of pressure by his cabinet, Bern refused declinations of entering a peace treaty with the infant republic through official diplomatic channels. In private, he told close friends and certain senators his feelings of the current affairs;

“By negotiating with the disillusioned folk in Vardini would be a compromise… one tantamount to surrender… in recognizing the Confederation as a sovereign state. Thereby encouraging other like minded folk to break off from the Federation with the intent of dissolving the Union. I do not want to go down in history as the prime minister who failed to preserve the Union.”

Halil declared that the Federation would not give up it’s arsenals within the Confederacy. He stated that that he would authorize a invasion or “reclaiming revolting colonies” as was officially described, in an act of self-preservation if those installations were threatened.

Centuries later, declassified documents revealed that Federation military staff engaged in an covert operation called Manhunt, where the objective was analyze and execute possible falseflag operations that ranged from a attack on government property to terrorist attacks on it’s own populace(in the form of attacks on Clusters) in order to justify a war with the Confederacy.

However. In the aftermath of the April incident of that year, Operation Manhunt would be shelved. The reasons for it’s suddenl termination was it’s purpose was indirectly achieved by none other than the Confederacy themselves.