IceStar Alliance

The IceStar Alliance is a mercenary coalition in Planetary Strife. It is the most prominent of any mercenary organization in the known galaxy, based in the criminal system IceStar for which it was named.

The IceStar Alliance formed in 73 NE as the various systems in the known galaxy began to stabilize. It became harder for new mercenaries to find work as tensions cooled and the demand for mercenaries decreased. Tauras Efita, a legend in the mercenary field, decided to search out inexperienced mercenaries that showed promise and recruit them. Forming a base in the lawless IceStar System, he began sending out young mercenaries in his stead for various minor job offers.

Whilst the IceStar Alliance has worked for extended periods for various governments, it is loyal only to itself. Alliance services go to the highest bidder, and are terminated once the job is through. Whilst rare, it's not unheard of for the Alliance to complete a mission for someone, only to accept a mission that goes against their previous employer.

The Alliance is effectively the only form of Government within the IceStar system. Whilst IceStar is still a lawless system, very little goes on within its borders that the Alliance isn't aware of. They just tend to leave the various pirates and criminals to themselves, enjoying the inherent danger it presents to anyone entering the system unsanctioned.

Government

The IceStar Alliance is a hierarchy, with higher-ranking mercenaries calling the shots. Mercenaries within the Alliance are ranked on seven tiers, reflective of both their status and their position within the Alliance. Mercenaries of a higher rank tend to take the more difficult missions, whilst the easier missions go to mercenaries of lower rank, and higher-rank mercenaries can give orders to lower-rank ones. Mercenaries move up in rank within the alliance by demonstrating skill and combat prowess.

• Legend (Tier 1) - The five most powerful mercenaries within the alliance. These mercenaries call the shots, and make the critical decisions and plans regarding the Alliance's future. As the name suggests, they are legendary in their field, and are not to be trifled with.
• Overseer (Tier 2) - These mercenaries, assuming they take a bureaucratic position, tend to handle smaller issues regarding the Alliance's day-to-day operation. They also are the ones that hand out missions and manage more generic issues, assuming they aren't out on a mission themselves. Most autonomous.
• Admiral (Tier 3) - The highest rank of mercenary without authority within the Alliance itself. They have generally demonstrated the ability to pull off highly dangerous missions with ease, and often are trusted with the Alliance's most dangerous missions.
• Captain (Tier 4) - Mercenaries of a captain rank usually command full starships instead of fighters, and are given more important and complicated missions.
• Ace (Tier 5) - The highest tier at which a mercenary can enter an alliance. Aces are mercenaries that have proven themselves highly competent in combat and handle normal missions within the Alliance. The majority of mercenaries in the Alliance are Aces. At this tier, mercenaries are not allowed to have Alliance mercenaries as a crew of a larger ship.
• Pilot (Tier 6) - The standard entrance tier. Inexperienced and new mercenaries usually enter here on the ladder. They are not actually considered true mercenaries, and thus are sent out on easy missions where botching it has no consequences.
• Plebeian (Tier 7) - The bottom tier. Generally act out support roles, or are crew aboard a higher-ranking mercenary's ship.
• Civilian - Not technically a tier, but these are non-Alliance humans living within Alliance space. Tolerated because they can do jobs the other mercenaries can't (or won't).

The Alliance generally leaves non-Alliance humans alone, allowing pirates and thugs to flourish within the IceStar System. This is generally because it helps isolate the system and insulate it against outside threats. They even tolerate small scale fights between criminals within their system, preferring to let them settle their own differences. However, if the fighting intensifies beyond what the Alliance tolerates, they'll intervene, putting a quick and spectacularly bloody end to it. Attack on Alliance ships meets a similar end.

Important Members

• Tauras Efita - Founder. A true legend in the mercenary field. Renowned for his skills and his ship, the Timeless. Disappeared after forming the first generation of Legends.
• Legend Janus Tanovi - One of the first generation of Legends. Was the leader amongst the Legends. Killed at the Battle of the IceStar Ring.
• Legend Alexa Cornicov - Last surviving member of the first generation of Legends. Created and leads the second generation of Legends.
• Legend Martin Analar - One of the second generation of Legends. Prefers commanding from the field on board the IS-51-1 Epoch. Located in the Coruscate System, leading the forces there.
• Admiral Rolos Fithifor - Hero of both the Battle of the IceStar Ring and the Battle of Legacy, amongst several successful missions. Famous within mercenary circles.
• Captain Eyrina Haford - A celebrity and postergirl for the IceStar Alliance. In command of the Phalanx, and renowned for taking out a battlecruiser with a T-86 Starlancer.
• Overseer Kerri Maton - The most prominent overseer of the Alliance. Handles most mission assignments.

Influence and Relations

The IceStar Alliance is well-known amongst the systems. However, cordiality varies from government to government. Whilst some regard the Alliance as an invaluable resource for bolstering military prowess and welcome Alliance mercenaries with open arms, others consider them a vile criminal syndicate and destroy Alliance ships on sight. However, enemy governments of the Alliance have thusfar been unable to attack the Alliance directly. Enemies of the alliance find the IceStar system is extremely difficult to penetrate without getting quickly destroyed, either by the Alliance or by the various thugs within.

The Alliance has played a major role in several wars and engagements, and has been frequently hired to raid systems, attack important shipments, or even put embargoes on trade. They also tend to manipulate various systems to work in their favor. If an important government mission could interfere with Alliance plans, the Alliance will often see to it covertly that the mission fails. They also are not above intimidating key players and authority figures to ensure that Alliance trade and missions go uninterrupted.

With the success of the IceStar Alliance, several other mercenary coalitions and alliances have formed as well. Predictably, feelings between mercenary groups are usually hostile, and it's rather common to see firefights spontaneously break out when Alliance ships run into ships from other mercenary groups.

Currently, the Alliance has major stakes in the Coruscate System, assisting the inner Coruscate planets in their civil war with the outer planets.

Military Power

The IceStar Alliance is powerful enough to hold its own against enemy incursions within the IceStar system. However, their military is highly disorganized, composed entirely of mercenaries, criminals, and various warlords in border zones.

Navy

The Alliance, until recently, lacked any means of producing their own ships, and had to go strictly on whatever the mercenaries brought and whatever could be salvaged and resold.

However, with the completion of Tauras Shipyard, the IceStar has started producing its own distinct vessels. The dazzling variety of spacecraft possessed by the Alliance and its mercenaries is slowly getting phased out by IceStar designs, making the IceStar military more standardized. IceStar ships tend to favor heavy firepower and speed over heavy shielding and defense, preferring to finish the battle quickly rather than handle extended engagements. Their weapon selections reflect this, being almost entirely railguns and plasma weaponry.

Amongst the more notable designs is their IS-34 Quadfury Heavy Fighter that serves as the backbone of the Alliance fleet, the IS-15 StarFrost Destroyer, and the IS-51 which is the Alliance's main battleship.

History

The IceStar Alliance was formed in 73 NE by Tauras Efita, a lengendary mercenary renowned for his countless victories. With a decrease in demand for mercenaries, and thus most jobs going to the more experienced ones, Tauras saw an opportunity. He decided to form a coalition with a small group of fellow mercenaries, most of whom were inexperienced and looking for work. Basing it in the ruined IceStar System, he started giving some of the minor missions he received to the inexperienced mercenaries.

Early History and Growth (73 NE - 95 NE)

The then-unnamed Alliance quickly started gaining acclaim and wealth as clients started pouring in. Most jobs in the partially stablized systems were mundane, and thus did not attract much undue attention. However, it quickly became clear to Tauras that there was no way for his small group to keep up with the demand. Furthermore, his business was starting to attract the attention of other mercenaries based within the system, who were getting deprived of business thanks to the new alliance.

Soon, mercenaries were being hired out to attack the small group, and they started incurring losses. As attacks became more frequent, and as hostilities flared between the Alliance and the non-Alliance mercenaries in the IceStar system, Tauras made a decision. He opened the doors to the un-aligned mercenaries in the system, allowing them to join the Alliance. Then, soon after, he gave the IceStar Alliance its name and allowed all mercenaries to join the Alliance.

The Alliance soon grew prosperous, pulling in cash and men easily. The Alliance quickly dominated the mercenary trade, forming a monopoly that made independent mercenary work almost impossible. They soon formed their own hierarchy, and started organizing themselves more formally. Rival coalitions attempted to form, but were unable to stay together. The IceStar Alliance soon became the most powerful independent organization in the known galaxy, aside from the neutral Ringtenders.

In 92 NE, Tauras left the Alliance and disappeared, leaving a hand-picked group of five mercenaries to lead the Alliance. He was never seen again. One of the mercenaries, Janus Tanovi, quickly wound up heading the rest of the five, neatly filling in where Tauras left off.

Battle of the IceStar Ring (95 NE - 96 NE)

The turning point in the Alliance's history came late 85 NE. Impressed by the Alliance's work, the Aldari Government came to the Alliance with a proposition. Currently at war with the Derilict Republic, the Aldarians wanted to strike a blow against the Republic. The mission was simple; assassinate the Republic Head of State while aboard his personal frigate.

The Alliance was hesitant. Thus far, it had stayed out of political and government arenas, preferring to handle missions with far fewer consequences. Nevertheless, Aldari's offer was too good to pass up, and the Alliance agreed. Launching a surgical strike right above Derilict IV, Alliance ships completely destroyed the frigate, killing the Head of State.

The Republic was whipped into a frenzy. After the war with Aldari ended, the Republic decided to get even with the IceStar Alliance. Assembling a fleet, the Republic sent a sizable strike force at IceStar via the Ring system in 86 NE.

The Alliance had gotten a small bit of forewarning that the Republic was coming, and managed to rally their ships. However, they were caught completely unprepared. The first wave wiped out a vast majority of the Alliances ships before it was repulsed. However, slowly, the Alliance pushed the Republic back to the Ring. The battle quickly intensified as more Republic ships came through the ring. Slowly, the Alliance ships were being ground away, and the oncoming forces started gaining ground again.

History's fuzzy on the exact details of what happened next. Some historians say it was a complete accident caused by a wrecked and out-of-control ship. Others say it was a deliberate and desperate move on the part of the ship's captain, none other than Janus Tanovi. What is known is that an Alliance Battlecruiser rammed the ring at extremely high speed. Normally, this would have destroyed the cruiser and damaged the ring beyond functionality. However, the battlecruiser hit the exact moment the IceStar ring was receiving further reinforcements. It's theorized that it destablized the rip in space-time, and caused the in-transit matter to be broken down into pure energy on both ends. The result was both rings simultaneously exploding with enough force to immolate the surfaces of their respective neighboring planets. The shockwaves of the blast were felt system-wide on both ends. Both fleets and the Derilict reinforcements were annihilated in an instant, and the IceStar system was cut off from the rest of the galaxy.

Alliance in Hiding (96 NE - 102 NE)

The remnents of the Alliance regrouped around the third planet of the IceStar system. Derilict, beleiving the IceStar Alliance to be destroyed, fell back to recover from their heavy losses. With the removal of the IceStar Alliance, mercenary trade flourished. Several new mercenary coalitions formed in an attempt to fill the void left by the Alliance, and independent mercenary work became profitable again.

The Alliance, rather than revealing their survival, decided to stay quiet and rebuild without attracting attention from the other systems. The last remaining Legend mercenary, Alexa Cornicov, ignored the previously-instated hierarchy and ran the Alliance directly. Steadily, the Alliance regained strength, stealing the occasional ship and recruiting new mercenaries from amongst the criminals that fled to the system. They also started performing smaller missions for various less-than-legitimate clientelle.

In 99 NE, Alexa headed a daring covert attack against a massive Derilict transport carrying supplies for a new shipyard. They wound up disabling the transport so quickly that it was unable to get even a distress call out, and then promptly stole the transport with supplies onboard. The resultant cash from sales of the ship broken down into scrap allowed the Alliance to make an even faster recovery, and the materials the transport had been carrying allowed them to start working on their own shipyard and space station.

The Alliance Returns (102 NE - 121 NE)

In 102 NE, the IceStar Alliance re-entered the public eye. Their activities increased to the point where it was impossible to remain hidden anymore. The distance between the IceStar system and the Derilict system, and the Derilict Republic being occupied by the growing tensions with the Borean Kingdom, protected the Alliance from any offensive actions Derilict might have normally taken.

The Alliance, however, could not hit the same strength and glory that they originally held. The various other mercenary groups did an effective job of taking clients and missions that originally would have gone to the Alliance. To compensate, they started accepting missions from various governments, accepting pay in ships instead of gold.

In 113 NE, the Alliance had recovered enough to reinstate their hierarchy. Otherwise, this point in history for the Alliance was fairly quiet. Several small battles occurred between the Alliance and rival mercenary groups, but they otherwise successfully returned to normal operations.

New Horizons and the Battle of Legacy (121 NE - 124 NE)

In 121 NE, the Alliance completed its shipyard. They sent it into orbit around the planet Tauras, which was named in honor of the founder of the IceStar Alliance. With the shipyard in place, they started working on new designs for IceStar Alliance ships. Shortly after, a warlord named Cameron Efita came to the Alliance, claiming to be Tauras Efita's son. He then demanded that the Alliance act as his base, so as to form his own criminal empire within the IceStar system.

The Alliance quickly turned him away. However, one year later, Cameron returned with the same demands. When the Alliance turned him away again, he launched an attack with a small navy of frigates, destroyers and his own Battlecruiser. The resultant battle, later known as the Battle of Legacy, wound up claiming heavy casualties on the Alliance side before the attack was repulsed. The battle was won by the Alliance when then-Pilot mercenary Eyrina Haford took on Cameron's battlecruiser with a T-86 Starlancer and, in an unprecedented turn of events, destroyed it.

By 123 NE, things had calmed down again. They succesfully created two new designs of ship, the IS-34 Quadfury and the IS-15 StarFrost. But in 124 NE, they started aiding the inner planets of Coruscate in their civil war with the outer planets. On the brink of defeat, the inner planets had hired the IceStar Alliance with the promise of their own choice of outlying planet and various other prizes should the Alliance help the inner planets win the war.

The Alliance accepted the offer, and the tide of the civil war quickly changed. The inner planets, aided by the IceStar Alliance and their new ships, won battle after battle, quickly pushing the enemy forces back and reclaiming two lost planets. And to top things off, the Alliance developed the IS-51 Obliviator.

Present Day (125 NE)

The beginning of the new year was marked off with the launch of the first IS-51 Obliviator Battlecruiser. However, trouble quickly abounded when it was discovered that the Derilict Republic was launching a strike against the Borean Kingdom. Concerned that the Derilict Republic might soon turn its eye to Coruscate, the Alliance sent the Phalanx after the strike force to prevent the strike from being victorious.

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