Sarna Supremacy

Sarna Supremacy
State Profile
Founding Year 2176[1]
3057
Dissolution year: 2367
3066
Capital world: Sarna[1]
Controlled system(s): approx. 15[2]
Government
Head of State Premier
Military

History[edit]

First Sarna Supremacy[edit]

The original Sarna Supremacy was a powerful nation founded in 2176 on the planet Sarna.[1] It was among the first to form when mankind colonized the stars in the late twenty-second century. Described in some sources as a dictatorship that prized itself on efficiency and productivity at the expense of individual freedoms, its centralized government was seated on the capital world, Sarna. They quickly expanded and colonized many systems until they reached the borders of the Tikonov Grand Union, St. Ives Association, and the Capellan Holdfast.[3]

In 2225, the third Premier of Sarna, Emmanuel Denevieve Brunn, launched an ill-fated military expedition against Capella who had risen to be a serious economic and political rival. They were defeated by the Capellan Co-Prosperity Sphere, a mutual defense alliance that the Capellans had created with their trade partners. The Supremacy remained at odds with what would later turn into the Capellan Hegemony for over a decade,[1] while annexing at least one world (Old Kentucky in 2248).[4]

Another full scale war was fought from 2305 to 2309 following the secession of the worlds Palos and Wei from the Supremacy. The Supremacy managed to fight off the initial Capellan thrust at Sarna, reoccupied Palos against stiff resistance and later managed to hamper the Capellan war efforts through Kluanian pirates (sponsored by the Federated Suns). In 2306 the Capellans negotiated military aid from the Free Worlds League, resulting in the successful defense of Wei and the occupation of seventeen former Sarn worlds, including Old Kentucky.[4] This offensive ground to a halt when the Capellan Hegemony began to crumble from within and a peace settlement was signed in December 2309. This led to the creation of the Capellan Commonality.

After the new Prime Minister of the Capellan Hegemony, Seluk Tucas had spent years building a coalition with the Tikonov Grand Union against the Federated Suns, in 2363 he arranged for the Grand Union to renounce the treaties signed after the war of 2340. Tucas openly supported the Grand Union's declaration and went a step further, demanding the return of the Chesterton worlds ceded by the Sarna Supremacy and the world of Lee as well.[5][6]

When the Capellan Hegemony ambassador to New Avalon - who was also Seluk Tucas' brother - vanished mysteriously en route back to Capellan space,[5][6] Seluk called on the various member states of the Federated Suns to depose Reynard Davion and join the Capellan states, but not one state took Seluk up on his offer, and Reynard's subsequent proclamation of a state of war between the two nations received a unanimous vote of confidence. This began several years of border conflicts, with every Capellan attack on Lee rebuffed by the Federated Peacekeeping Forces.[5] Seluk Tucas had gambled by mobilizing the best of his forces and those of his allies to strike at Lee, only to have those forces crushed,[6] with the list of units effectively destroyed including such noted commands as the First and Third Tikonov Lancers, the Capellan Reserve Cavalry, Moorcock's Rangers, the Seluk's Principia and Seneca's Fusiliers.[7]

The repercussions of the disaster on Lee - a disaster prompted by Reynard having received advance warning of the attack, most probably from Premiere Alexi Nimzovich of the Sarna Supremacy, and transporting eight crack Federated Peacekeeping Forces regiments to the world in secret in advance of the attack[7] - led to considerable internal turmoil within the Capellan Zone, toppling Seluk from power along with his government while the FPF made steady advances against the Capellan forces.[5]

Following bickering with the Free Worlds League, the Sarna Supremacy attacked the neighboring Tikonov Grand Union in a savage two-year war from 2351 to 2352. Then in 2357 a Federated Suns attack occupied the Sarnese world of Bell, uniting the warring factions against those loyal to House Davion. A combined Sarna-Tikonov-Capellan relief force arrived the following year but found no trace of the Federated Suns garrison or the civilian colonists. To this day the fate of 15,000 inhabitants of Bell remains a mystery.

Part of the Capellan Confederation[edit]

In July 2367, the Sarna Supremacy together with four other states formed the Capellan Confederation to defend against a growing menace from Federated Suns controlled space. Within the Confederation it became the Sarna Commonality, abandoning its independence. For almost seven centuries, the Sarna Supremacy ceased to exist.

The worlds of the Sarna Commonality were conquered by the Federated Suns or otherwise lost by the Capellan Confederation over the course of the Fourth Succession War from 3028 to 3030. The Confederation recaptured some of them, including Sarmaxa, in 3057 through Operation GUERRERO, a joint offensive by the Capellan Confederation and the Free Worlds League. Furthermore, Operation GUERRERO became the catalyst for the sundering of the Federated Commonwealth which in turn resulted in a power vacuum among the remaining former Capellan worlds that the FedCom had previously occupied. The region around these worlds became known as the Chaos March.

Second Sarna Supremacy[edit]

During Operation GUERRERO Sarna was attacked by the CCAF's Stapleton's Grenadiers, who were supported by the Tooth of Ymir mercenary unit. These forces were driven off Sarna by the Kaifeng SMM, Grim Determination, and the first battalion of the Sarna Martial Academy Cadre.[2] After this engagement, the Sarna Supremacy was officially revived and recognized by the Free Worlds League, Federated Commonwealth, and ComStar. Besides Sarna, it included Sakhalin which contributed vital mineral resources, and Kaifeng which provided food for the other worlds. Kaifeng was liberated by the re-equipped Kaifeng SMM from the Liao forces that attacked it during Operation GUERRERO.[2]

The revived Sarna Supremacy maintained the FedCom militia structure for their armed forces (Sarna March Militia, SMM) even though the FedCom "Sarna March" had ceased to exist. The Kaifeng SMM was commanded by Leftenant General Cynthia Fallon who had already been in command of the unit in 3054 when it was still a FedCom unit. This may be the reason why the Kaifeng SMM retained their name even when they changed their allegiance from the Federated Commonwealth to the Sarna Supremacy.

By the end of 3057 the new Sarna Supremacy was hiring mercenaries, obviously bent on expanding their influence in the Chaos March. Among these mercenaries were Jacob's Juggernauts, Ace Darwin's WhipIts and Carlton's Brigade, all stationed on Kaifeng.

Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao set a plan in motion to retake the Sarna Supremacy in 3058. While blockading Sarna with three of the Confederation's new WarShips (two frigates and a destroyer), thus preventing any relief from being sent, Warrior House Hiritsu occupied Kaifeng for the Capellan Confederation. The Sarna Supremacy's dependence on food imports from Kaifeng gave the Confederation the fulcrum to eventually absorb the re-formed Sarna Supremacy back into the Capellan Confederation.

The Second Sarna Supremacy was led by Sarna's planetary governor, Lorete Montog-Chandler, for the two years it was independent.[8]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Handbook: House Liao, p. 12: "Timeline: Capellan Zone"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chaos March, p. 13
  3. Handbook: House Liao, p. 14: "Sarna Supremacy"
  4. 4.0 4.1 Touring the Stars: Old Kentucky, p. 5
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 House Davion (The Federated Suns), pp. 26–27: "The War Leader"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Handbook: House Davion, pp. 22–23: "Pushing Towards Confederation"
  7. 7.0 7.1 House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 25: "The Aris Crisis"
  8. Handbook: House Liao, p. 76: "Sarna world profile"

Bibliography[edit]