First Interstellar War

The First Interstellar War (2205-2212) began with the first contact between the Khanate of Orion and the Terran Federation at the system of VX-134. For both races it was their first encounter with a starfaring civilisation other than themselves. The Orion starship Alkazr attacked and was destroyed by the survey frigate Discovery, convincing the Federation that the Orions were aggressive and entirely too close to core Terran worlds.

The war was fought in two phases, with a lull in major actions from mid-2208 to mid-2210. The initial phases saw the nascent Terran Federation Navy aggressively over-running systems from the point of contact at VX-134 while the Orions were limited in their ability to retaliate by the slow flow of information about the Terrans and by the dispersal of their forces. The battles of Delgor and Parzh demonstrated that the TFN lacked the strength to seize well-defended Orion worlds, but also that the KON - largely made of small escorts - was unprepared to deal with the larger Terran destroyers and cruisers.

By 2208 both sides were fielding heavy cruisers but saw the need to stand on the defensive as they built up a solid core of larger ships - battlecruisers, battleships and superdreadnoughts - for a decisive advantage.

Combat resumed in 2210 with a rapid escalation from heavy raids, to Fleet Admiral Howard Anderson's retaking of Gruzakor, to 18th Great Fang Varnik'sheerino's Trio Campaign where simultaneous attacks were launched on three Terran systems. In 2211, Admiral Horatio Spurance scored a major victory by destroying the Orion shipyards at Liawak, although he refrained from bombarding the civilian population - which he had been authorised to do.

The decisive clash of the battlelines took place at Aklumar, while a significant number of the Orion heavy ships were still incomplete at Razumond. Although still outnumbered three to two, the TFN's capital ships had the advantage of capital missiles and in the experience of their commanders. The result was a Terran victory that allowed Anderson to occupy Razumond and negotiate with the Orions from a position of strength.

The war was ended by the Treaty of Tycho. Although the Terran Federation received several strategic systems, the Khanate remained intact and the fundamental hostility between the two states remained unresolved.