The Fall of Earth

hey btw we changed a thing or two but it’s mostly similar

This is a catalogue of all events pertaining to the summary invasion of humanity by the Demonic Hoard and the subsequent collapse of most-if not almost all-of human society.

Indeterminate date, late June 2022 - After seemingly a (canonical) month or so of planning, a cell of terrorists inhabiting an unnamed island 400 kilometers off the coast of Australia finish the construction of a massive sphere surrounding an island. An unknown force begins to power the massive sphere, causing it to lift into the sky.

Indeterminate date, very late June 2022 - The Brotherhood of Steel picks up massive spikes of gravitational energy from a previously-uninhabited island some 400 kilometers south of Australia itself. They send a scout seaplane to identify the source of the gravitational disturbance, and discover the dome. Scans of the dome confirm it is made out of Darkness alloy and is considerably armed. The seaplane reports these things to the Brotherhood, but before it can return to Australia it is shot down by a laser beam from a ring orbiting the orb, which completely evaporates the seaplane.

Indeterminate date, early July 2022 - The Brotherhood of Steel decide that the presence of a highly-powerful Darkness artifact nearby is a massive threat to security, and mobilize their fleet of 9 Venator-class Star Destroyers within Earth's atmosphere for the first time in roughly a year. The star fleet, armed to the teeth, makes its' way to the site of the orb.

Indeterminate date, early July 2022 - The fleet comes into contact with the Darkness vessel and fire off a massive volley, including several dozen heavy cruise missiles, laser cannons, and even energy railguns attached to the ventral part of the Venators. After several minutes of heavy bombardment the vessels cease, only to find the orb completely unharmed. During the Brotherhood's confusion the vessel warms up its' defenses, and begins peltering the Venators with combined fire. Despite considerable defense, the shields of a first Venator go down, which is then followed by a critical blow to the vessel's bridge. The other vessels continue firing, but are eventually picked off and either exploded in-air or sunk one by one. Eventually only three vessels remain, who turn tail and retreat. Two are picked off during their retreat by the orb, but one makes it back to Australia and reports this. This skirmish, from the bombardment to the fleet's destruction, takes roughly nine minutes' time. Eight thousand lives are lost during the assault.

Indeterminate date, early July 2022 - Moondust, distraught by this news, convenes an international meeting on how best to deal with this threat. Present in this meeting are representatives from the nations of _TBA_. Some time into the meeting, however, the orb quite literally flies overhead where the meeting is being held, that being New Sydney. All assault forces on-site are deployed to attack the orb, but once again nothing detonates it. A few minutes later a massive shockwave rocks the city and, after a few more minutes, it is revealed that the Orb has fired off a massive explosive device at the center of Australia. Reports indicate the area effected by the blast is roughly the size of Virginia, and the area effected by the shockwave is roughly one-and-a-half times the size of Texas. The area is designated the Australian Exclusion Zone, and directly within the center of the blast zone a portal starts to open. The portal is soon discovered to be a Hell Superportal, and demons begin to spill through in considerable number. The Brotherhood of Steel mobilizes their entire fighting force to combat the assault, as well as commissioning their fleet and a fleet from the UFRF's Indian garrison to evacuate civilians.

Indeterminate Date, July 2022 - With the Brotherhood in chaos, the orb is tracked to Bejing, China, where it displays the weapon's next terror: The Song of Absolution. Without firing a single shot, the Song begins to confuse Newgrounds's soldiers, who grow confused and even insane. Beijing goes up in flames and the Orb slowly moves up through China north to Russia, with Newgrounds's forces in hot pursuit, using every weapon in their arsenal in an attempt to shoot the orb down. These attempts fail, and whenever any Newgrounds air or ground units get too close to the Orb it responds with overwhelming response, forcing a retreat.

Indeterminate date, July 2022 - The world leaders re-convene somewhere in Warsaw, Poland, and make another plan: If they can't destroy it, maybe they can take it over. Using a 3-dimensional holographic blueprint using a scan taken by a remaining Brotherhood team in Australia, they determine that they may be able to successfully deactivate one of the six anti-gravity repulsor engines constructed at the bottom of the vessel. Using assets and supplies from most major nations at the convention, an army of almost one-hundred million soldiers individually make their way on thousands upon thousands of air and ground transports towards Siberia, marking what they hope the Orb will interpret as an easy target. It diverts from its' trajectory and encounters the force in Siberia some four days after Australia's initial invasion.

Indeterminate date, July 2022 - The human side begins bombardment from the ground using tanks, artillery pieces, and missiles, practically covering the entire front part of the orb in a blanket of fire. While this is happening, a force of over five-thousand fighter craft and one-thousand helicopters and other dropship craft swarm the bottom of the orb, attacking the leftmost frontal antigravity engine. In response the bottom of the orb opens, revealing a massive swarm of metal drone-like machines that swarm the craft. While this is happening allied craft also attempt to destroy artillery cannons, missile launch systems, and laser weaponry which has been attached to the Orb, which is mostly not protected by Darkness alloy and can therefore be perforated.

Indeterminate date, July 2022 - The attack is successful, resulting in the temporary deactivation of the engine. Roughly two-hundred troop transport craft remain, which attempt to swarm into the engine system. However, before they can land the engine reactivates, resulting in only 8 transport craft entering the engine successfully before its' reactivation. The elite team continues through a maintenance shaft after landing, leaving their aircraft behind as demons arrive to contain the attack. They manage to slip by unseen.

Indeterminate date, July 2022 - Realizing that a force of roughly 64 soldiers is woefully inadequate to storm the vessel alone, the forces decide that the next best bet is to kill whoever is in charge of the ship, and then to destroy whatever kind of reactor the vessel contains. The force covertly makes its' way up through maintenance tunnels and artillery storage areas, silently executing a number of metal-plated golems operating artillery and patrolling. Eventually they find an elevator that takes them the rest of the way to a vantage point where they can view the interior of the orb, and are shocked to find the island the orb seemingly replaced, floating in the center and emitting the Song of Absolution. (It should be worth noting that they managed to come up with cancellation systems that combatted the Song by now.) They locate one of multiple metal bridges to the center of the island, taking note that what seems to be a smaller floating platform with a bridge leading to it above is a now-abandoned command deck. They silently make their way onto the gravity-distorted island, wondering why the local area seemed abandoned.

Indeterminate date, July 2022 - The soldiers wait outside, hiding in foliage, and a small team of OCs enter. They witness three beings of considerable power addressing a gathered crowd of roughly a few hundred in a meeting hall within the mountain of the island. The eldritch beings realize they are being watched, and one of them-whom a few OCs might recognize as Chidori, orders the terrorists to kill them. Though almost all are armed, a few terrorists begin to snap out of the effects of the Song and state that the Eldritch beings promised them peace, but that the cost of that peace is becoming too high. Disappointed with the terrorists Chidori orders Ruin to call in demons to kill them, and Ruin obliges. A few stronger demons guarding the podium where the Eldritches are speaking begin mercilessly cutting down the crowd, who turn to the OCs for help. However, it is too late, and the terrorists are executed. The chamber is sealed, and the Eldritches face down the OCs. After a few moments of exposition, a battle ensues.

Indeterminate date, July 2022 - The battle continues, with the OCs seemingly gaining the upper hand until they are dealt crushing blow after crushing blow. The battle seems to conclude when the collective OCs are thrown from the chamber to the outside of the island via a massive energy blast. After regaining their footing, the OCs witness their forces on the island being slaughtered by hundreds of demons who are crossing the bridge. The Eldritches arrive outside the facility and surround them. Before the OCs can respond, Quis causes the portion of the island's edge they're standing on to break off, and the OCs fall as the last of their soldiers are executed. At this point possibly Frost could have not fallen, but is executed by one of the Eldritches in a climactic moment and kicked off the island.

Indeterminate date, July 2022 - The group awakens after a nearly kilometer-long fall. They seem to have been saved by a large gravity well at the bottom of the orb, where extra matter from the Engines is transferred. Wading out of the gravitational field similar to swimming through an ocean, they reach a nearby safe haven and tend to their wounds. Beaten, a few nearly on the brink of death, and with no further plans about them, the group attempts to evacuate the Orb. With radio contact to the outside still down-which had been the case due to quantum distortions since they had entered the Orb-they sneak through shafts and twisting hallways, arriving at a dropship bay at the bottom of the ship, near the engines. They successfully sneak past the demons guarding the bio-mechanical ships and board one, but are shot down a kilometer or so out. Emerging from the wreckage of the ship, they find the area around them seared, with the land surrounding them thick with millions of corpses, tanks, and jets. The Orb still fires pinpoint beams at groups of survivors, killing them instantly, and due to it being now nighttime the Dropships in the area use welded-on searchlights to scan for survivors. The group also notice a massive black scar in the countryside going on for almost a mile, evidence of a superpowered laser used by the Orb sometimes whilst inside. They also notice one of the Rings was somehow destroyed by the allied forces and that many of the missiles and weapons on the Orb have been expended, but that was effectively the amount of damage suffered on the demons' side besides a roughly ten-million ground casualties-ultimately meaningless in the wake of a hundred-million human air and ground personnel dead.

Indeterminate date, July 2022 - The group, now with two hundred or so survivors in tow, tread a path through the snow, staying out of sight of the demons. They walk for a few kilometers, a few dying of hypothermia or wounds along the way, before they come to an abandoned mine. With little else in the form of cover around, they enter the mine, and seal it from the outside for now. Within the confines of the mine they mend their wounds and plan their next course of action. However, they would remain here for roughly a week.

IT IS AROUND HERE THAT THE INVASIONS AND COLLAPSES OF RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES BEGIN. THESE-AT LEAST THE ONES I CONTROL-WILL HAVE RESPECTIVE PAGES DETAILING THE APPROXIMATE EVENTS AND WHAT HAPPENS. THE REST WILL BE LEFT UP TO THE DECISION OF THE USERS WHICH CONTROL THEM, ALBEIT WITH GUIDELINES ON WHAT THE OUTCOMES OF THE INVASIONS WILL BE. HOWEVER, HERE IS A PRELUDE AND APPROXIMATE TIMELINE OF EVENTS.

Indeterminate date, IRL probably August 2022 - Demon forces begin invasions of respective nations. After their massive success, the Triune convene from within the orb, and decide on new targets. Quis states that he has business to attend to in Antarctica, and Ruin decides to deal with Asia-currently where the largest resistance lies. After it is rearmed and restocked, Ruin gives Chidori the Song of Absolution and allows her to begin an invasion of the West Coast. Before they split up, six Superportals are opened: one in South America, one in China, one in Oregon, one in Africa and one in Canada. After Chidori arrives at the West Coast she razes most of it, specifically Oregon and California, and opens a final Superportal in Oregon. The UFRF and Magnolia Republic rush to defend against this threat as the NCM and USWC defend against Demons in Canada. Both suffer heavy losses.

Meanwhile, most likely Newgrounds would've evacuated their holdings in the east after some time, but many millions of their soldiers are killed as China and the East is overrun. Demon forces remaining in Siberia attempt to establish a foothold for a later European invasion by raising chaos and terror and burning most of Moscow to the ground. Millions of refugees flee west.

The Superportal in South America fails, but there are enough demons present to wipe out most of Alameda. The survivors would probably evacuate in spacecraft, but I'll leave that up to the big man himself.

Australia at this point is in a complex situation. Most of the civilians in the west are evacuated via UFRF fleet to India while the war in Siberia happens, and the ones in the east seek shelter in militarized zones while the Brotherhood attempts to contain the Exclusion Zone. Around this time Ruin uses a superpowerful Darkness beacon located in Hell to hijack Darkness Pyramids and form a cloak around Sol. Another cloak is formed around the planet from the Moon, prohibiting space travel from behind a certain zone. The first Starless Midnight occurs. Survivors in East Australia defend against millions of demons pouring from the now-constructed Gore Nest, and with Moondust's absence Lord Felwinter assumes command, as all but a few of the Iron Council have been executed. Survivors are told that a fleet would rally at New Sydney to evacuate survivors. However, before the fleet can arrive Demons attack the city. During the long battle in the city the Dark Energy Reactor underneath the city is damaged, causing a massive anomaly to detonate that insta-kills all life within the city and severely irradiates those who enter after the blast. The Australian Royal Navy instead moves to the fortress city of Brisbane, where some 3 million soldiers are evacuated. The Royal Fleet disappears soon after, and Australia is believed lost. Only a few thousand scattered soldiers remain, who attempt to evacuate remaining civilians via underground tunnels and non demon-inhabited corridors to the coast, where fishing vessels and other boats are repaired. This network becomes known as the Underground.

The UFRF and Magnolia attempt a defense against Chidori known as Operation: Monsoon, followed after by Operation: Pacific Tidal Wave. The demons are pushed back, but the attack costs the UFRF and Magnolian Republic millions upon millions of soldiers and civilians. Chidori, enraged by this failure, orders that the Canadian force of Demons retreat from Canada and attack D.C in an attempt to chop off the head of the two governments in one fell swoop. The Canadian Demons move down through Quebec to New York, and finally down through Pennsylvania and Maryland. However, they suffer so many losses along the way that the demon force is successfully defeated, and the Canadian Superportal is closed. However, the Pacific Superportal remains open, and the UFRF continue to defend against the Demons.

Meanwhile, the East is a bloodbath. Successfully obliterating Newgrounds lines throughout China and reclaiming most of east Russia, the demon forces move down, taking out Laos, Thailand, and Burma, before finally beginning an assault against India. The attack begins when the UFRF's fleet, mostly carrying Australian citizens, was ambushed by massive Demon aquatic vessels when in sight of the Indian harbor. The entire fleet is obliterated, and the Demon vessels are revealed to be huge submarine-like transports. Demon forces begin to crawl south, many being cut down by the many millions of UFRF soldiers there, However, their transports begin to raze the coasts, leaving no hope of an aquatic evacuation.

Meanwhile, Demon forces charge south from China, assaulting New Delhi. President Morgrim's cabinet scatters and the president himself moves south. Over roughly a week the UFRF's defenses are whittled down by war machines as the rest of the world continues to burn. By the end all billion or so UFRF Furries are dead in the continent with the exception of roughly ten-thousand survivors who managed to flee to the Middle East at the beginning of the invasion. President Morgrim's whereabouts after the assault is unknown. It is the single bloodiest battle of the war.

The PGU is completely destroyed in Antarctica by a Demon force arriving from Australia, temporarily led by Quis, and their Greenland forces had already been mostly reduced to a skeleton crew due to previous events.

The German Empire rushes to attack the Demon Superportal in Africa early in the war and, despite many losses, manages to execute the Hell Priest keeping the portal open. It is the first recorded instance of a Superportal's collapse since the start of the war. This happens roughly at the end of the two or so weeks of war, and this information is broadcasted to the rest of the world, allowing Europe and America to close their Superportals. Africa and Greenland become safehavens for survivors after the war, and the German forces in africa declare independence due to feeling as though they had been abandoned by the European forces due to lack of direct supplies, even though Europe was in no real danger until the war's closing days.

Europe itself largely fell to anarchy, no Demon invasion necessary, but when a Superportal did open at the end of the war in Western Europe the European leaders united under the banner of a former German scientist and his promise of nearly-invincible soldiers, the Transhumans. The combined European armies push East and kill the Hell Priest, closing the portal.

CONCLUSION:

-North America: Sustained heavy Western losses, most of the West Coast razed. Managed to strike back in several operations in nevada, new mexico, arizona, and idaho, before closing the demon portal in oregon. however, demons remain in california and oregon for some time, a few moving east over time. chidori, enraged by the slow state and tactical failings of the western invasion, orders the canadian demons to move south and attack New York, then D.C, in an attempt to cut off the nation's leadership. With Canada having sustained heavy losses and in no state to assist, the demons successfully cross through Quebec into New York and down the states to D.C, but by the time they reach D.C they are all mostly dead. The invasion ends with failure on Chidori's part, and she returns west in the Orb, which has expended most of its' weapons, to Asia.

-South America: The demon invasion is strong for the first few days, causing massive sustained losses for Alameda. However, the Superportal malfunctions, leaving a large portion of South America in tact despite the massive loss of human life. Alameda falls to anarchy.

-Europe: Falls to panic, anarchy, riots, and looting within the first few days of the invasion. By the end days of the invasion a Superportal opens in Western Europe with a large army of demons moving west, but a German scientist delivers a counter-attack at a secondary European-specific summit in Warsaw: Transhuman soldiers. Using these supersoldiers Europe units under the European Restabilization Force and collapses the Superportal, finishing off the demons. most demons in the area retreat to the demon-infested East. Eventually the Quarantine Wall would be built past Western Russia to keep the Demons out, despite this wall falling to disrepair over time.

-Asia: Asia got the worst of the war, behind Australia. With the Siberian War (working title) a failure on humanity's part Ruin's forces turned their gaze back to China, forcing Newgrounds's retreat to Alaska and Mexico. With China under their control they launch campaigns into Mongolia, Japan, Kazakhstan, and the southern Asian territories of Burma, Thailand, Laos, and the rest. The worst battle of the war by far is the Invasion of India, which results in the death of all but ten-thousand of the near billion furries and humans in the population, as well as the fleet of Brotherhood units who traveled there from Australia.

-Africa: Hit hard I’m the early days of the war until the German Empire’s push south and the closing of the African Superportal.The survivors became the African Resistance Front.

-Australia: The center parts of Australia were critically damaged by the Worldsplitter, and the survivors only barely managed to defend the East from the demonic invasion. The survivors who moved west after the Worldsplitter blast were evacuated to India by a UFRF recovery fleet, and those in the west either died defending New Sydney, holding off demons outside the Exclusion Zone, or survived and escaped via the Royal Fleet.

-Antarctica: The site of a Demon attack using spare demons from the Australian campaign, spearheaded by Quis. Not much happens, and the PGU collapses.

Operation: Last Hand

With the world on the brink of destruction, the fate of mankind seemed grim. Despite success in east Europe and Africa, demons still swarmed the globe en masse.

We now return to the OC survivors and their hundred-and-a-half men, still hiding beneath the mines of west Siberia. A few successful ventures to the surface resulted in the OCs constructing a makeshift radio tower, and restoring audio contact to the outside world in hopes of signaling for evacuation. Before they can get into contact with their allies, however, they receive a strange encrypted communication from the Antarctic. With little more choice they answer it, they find the communication is from a large team of various scientist who inform them that they had fled to the arctic a week before to lay low while the world burned. They were surprised then when the Song of Absolution and a demon army of roughly 500,000 arrived in the Arctic and began to set up shop nearby. They spied on the demon forces for two weeks as they erected fortifications by using a secret project they recovered from Aperture Laboratories known as Project Borealis, which used teleportation tech. However, the project fell into enemy hands soon after, but not before the scientists found something: an old facility developed by the USGR and UNSC, which supposedly harbored a weapon almost as powerful as the Worldsplitter. If they used it against the enemy, they might stand a chance. The scientists end by informing them the vessel made an emergency teleport as it was being boarded, but got itself stuck in an ice shelf and fortifications were built around it by demons. The scientists give them the location of their base and the Project’s last known coordinates, and signs out. The group deliberated for some time, but decides on a plan of attack: they take 7 recovered Mil Mi-8 helicopters and make their way to the Antarctic, informing their respective nations to send reinforcements as soon as possible.

the aircraft make the long journey to the Antarctic, but arrive at the science facility to find it razed. All the supplies within the facility were stolen, and the scientists slaughtered by demons, except one. This scientist is Henry Colling, the original co-designer of the Worldsplitter who gave it to the Eldritch to destroy Australia, killing the other co-creator and ensuring ironically that the weapon could never be created again. He was going to kill himself after, but upon realizing that he had just doomed not just Australia but the planet, joined the scientists to try and save it. The OCs debate whether it was a trap or not, but decide to believe him. The group then makes their way to the Borealis’s coordinates, but one of their helicopters are shot down. The group lands their craft nearby, and sneak across the barren wastes for a while before arriving at the Borealis’s coordinates, finding it surrounded by high walls and stolen GR Co. artillery. The group sneaks under the installation via ice caves, sneaking past a hoard of wolf-like demon watch dogs and arriving at the end of the ice cave, right above the Demon fort. A well-placed explosive blows open the roof of the cave, and they rush up on a pile of rubble and catch the demons by surprise. A few moments of fighting later they board the Borealis-much to their surprise a simple icebreaker cargo ship and not a starship like assumed-and the scientist bring its’ teleportation tech online. They teleport out of the facility before the demons can counter-attack, and wind up a few kilometers outside the facility the scientists spoke of: Apollyon Station. The bad news is, the demons found out about it from the scientists and got there first. They emerge from the Borealis, once again run aground, and discover make a plan of attack. The scientist informs them that they can infiltrate them facility using a satellite facility a kilometer behind them, which houses an underground tram which leads straight to the station. They walk to the nearby observatory, dispatch it of demons, and ride the tram system to the station. The tram de-rails, but they arrive in one piece. The 80 or so remaining troops open fire on the demons, methodically clearing the facility. With the station cleared, they discover the jewel of Apollyon Station: the Apollyon Rocket, a weapon utilizing a highly-augmented hydrogen bomb mixed with contained Light-the natural weakness of Darkness and the only thing that can perforate the shell of the Song. With news that the demons caught up with them and are on the march having reached them, they hastily prepare turrets and fortifications for their arrival. Finally the demons do arrive, breaking down the facility’s main blast door entrance and swarming the 80 men. They are soon overwhelmed, but push forward and hold the line. The demons’ first wave breaches the facility, but is repelled, and the demons retreat for a moment to regain strength. The 30 survivors take this opportunity to bring the rocket online, opening the underground rocket silo’s aperture and starting the rocket’s countdown. The timer reaches zero…

And the rocket doesn’t fire. The demons damaged the engines. Panicked, the soldiers scramble to think of a plan. The scientist informs them that they might be able to hook up the Borealis’s teleportation matrix to the rocket and teleport it inside the Song. The soldiers make one last push outside back to the Borealis, where they unplug the teleporter drag it inside. They’re almost there, but at the last minute the demons storm inside once more before they can finish. The soldiers lose hope, and the last men are killed. The OCs, however, are captured, and knocked out.

They awaken within the Triune’s large throne room, floating above the island at the center of the orb. The Triune gloats over their victory, and debate on whether to have the OCs fight to the death or just be executed. They decide to simply execute them. At the last minute, however, the scientist radios them from the station, revealing he had survived but taken several mortal wounds. He informs them he had dragged himself to the rocket and activated the teleporter, and to “brace for one hell of a fireworks display” before dying. The Triune scramble to react as a deafening crack explodes overhead.

The OCs wake up in the wreckage of the Song. Gathering themselves, they survey the damage and come across the beaten and bruised Triune, including a weakened Ruin. Quis reactivates the surviving few thousand Golems, and the OCs prepare for one final fight. Nonetheless,

Fallout of the war and concluding events:

Earth, mostly, is in ruins. Roughly 2.3 billion humans remain, a fraction of the previous population, and many parts of the world have been scorched by the invasion. The demons still roam the planet, with roughly 400,000,000 having survived-a fraction of the invasion force.

many fear that it is too late to save the planet. The nights are still starless. Rumors spread amongst what remains of civilization of wild tales from the south: gargantuan beasts inhabit our waters, and far worse things lurk in the dark unseen, brought to our world by the quantum detonation of the Song’s engines.

Nevertheless, mankind persists. Many find solace from the demons and other monsters within cities and towns, protected by soldiers bearing the salvaged remnants of pre-war weapons. Europe has become a world power to be reckoned with, and America has rebuilt itself to challenge them, fearing colonization or-worse-invasion. As the world struggles back to the light, man’s future remains unclear.

Post-war factions

(NOTE: users can have a max of two factions at first, one with land and one without. Population/troop numbers for the first faction are scaled as a third of the real-world population of that territory, and troop numbers for the landless faction cannot exceed 15,000.

-New America: in the aftermath of the war,

many survivors of the Demon invasion of the Pacific fled east, leaving the remaining few thousand demons to squabble over territory. America became mostly lawless in the far west up to Utah, and beyond that the UFRF and some Magnolian Republic survivors reformed themselves into New America. Their early days were mostly spent salvaging weapons, repairing artillery, and making deals with the Magnolian Loyalists occupying Texas and Oklahoma, who saw the Magnolian personnel who joined America as traitors. The N.A also stepped into a war with the Brotherhood of Steel First Expeditionary Force, a division of 3 million who took over most of New England while it was still unstable after Chidori’s failed reassignment of the Canadian demons to take over D.C. The war ended with the Brotherhood giving the N.A their old T-45 and T-51 Power Armor and becoming neutral to America, and in return the N.A seceded them New England, the New York Nuclear Zone, and Washington D.C.

The European Federation: After restoring order to Europe, the German Empire, Poland, Russian refugees and Spain pooled their resources to become the European Federation. With Europe mostly in-tact they quickly become a dominant force of the post-war world, and we’re largely saw as a just and noble nation. America, however, feared possible invasion, and hostilities between the two escalated. War broke out three weeks after Last Hand’s conclusion, with the Federation sending a fleet to try and colonize South America, and the N.E