Licori War

The Licori War was a years long conflict between the Arcadian Empire and a number of other states, eventually including the United Federation of Planets, over Licori production of Full Conversion Mentats, individuals treated to become essentially living computers. These full mentats had a lifespan of only around ten years, resulting in highly unpredictable scientific experiments as they attempted to leave their mark on the world. The war began several years prior to the Federation making contact with both of the parties at the time, the Arcadian Empire and the Ked Paddah. The Federation was introduced to the Licori by the Gaeni, who would eventually also join the war on the side of the Ked Paddah. The war would end with the banning of complete conversion mentats, along with the elimination of House Kortennon and the ascension of House Tartresis to the throne.

The War Begins
The Licori war began in 2310, with a massive Ked Paddah offensive all along the Ked Paddah-Licori border. The war was the result of a series of Licori experiments, with the potential to cause a core collapse in a main-sequence star. The Ked Paddah then issued an ultimatum, demanding that mentat production be reduced to 50% of its previous rate, and that Ked Paddah inspectors would be allowed into labs.

A similar experiment would eventually bring in the Federation. The initial offensive was fairly successful, capturing a number of outer Licori colonies.

After the initial offensive, and a major Licori counter-offensive, the war began to settle down. Both sides were unwilling to risk their few capital units, and so little progress was made for a time.

Federation Contact
The Federation was introduced to the Licori at a Gaeni ceremony in September 2311. There they also learned of, and made initial contacts with, the Ked Paddah. The Ked Paddah had already been at war with the Licori for some time. The Federation was initially friendlier with the Licori, as the degree of mentat instability was unclear.

New Offensives
By 2312, both sides had rebuilt their mobile forces, and the Ked Paddah were once again launching an offensive.

Battle of 7 Aesir
In January 2312, the USS Dryad arrived at an ongoing battle in the 7 Aesir system. The Ked Paddah were at the time engaged in a major offensive against a Licori colony world in the system. Dryad rescued the crew and passengers of a civilian ship that was trapped in the battle zone, winning respect from both sides.

Council Sessions
In early 2313, the Federation Council established a special subcommittee to investigate the Licori War and examine prospects for creating a settled peace. It emerged that the Arcadian Noble Houses had restrained their mentats since the beginning of the war.

By August of 2313, there was a serious movement within the FDS to intervene on the side of the Licori.

Sappho Incident
In September of 2313, the USS Sappho intercepted a mentat vessel attempting to perform experiments on a quantum filament. The experiment backfired, destroying the mentat vessel and forcing Sappho to eject her warp core. The incident caused the FDS to reevaluate their push for an intervention in the war, and instead encourage a summit.

The Road to Federation Involvement
In early 2314, following the Sappho incident, Ambassador to Morshadd Elisa Bairn confirmed that, for internal political reasons, the Licori were very unwilling to restrain mentats. The war itself had again stalled out, with neither side launching major offensives.

The Second Courageous Incident
On Stardate 25452.4, in April 2314, all contact was lost with the USS Courageous. By May, contact had still not been resumed with Courageous. Search and rescue procedures were initiated, with both Starfleet, member fleets, and affiliate fleets in attendance. Indications then emerged that the star Courageous was near had undergone a limited core collapse event.

Courageous was located after 3 months adrift, having lost main power and communications. Starfleet Operations Command sent out a flash alert ordering all mentats in Federation space with scientific equipment to be seized and detained.

Imminent War
On Stardate 25511.3, the Office of the President advised Starfleet that a state of war was likely to be recognized between the Arcadian Empire and the Federation. At the same time, the Illuminated Technocracy of Gaen issued an ultimatum to the Arcadian Empire.

The Agamedes Conference
In August of 2314, the Gaeni, Licori, and Federation met for a diplomatic conference on Agamedes. The conference failed, the Licori refusing the Gaeni ultimatum. The Gaeni and Licori then returned to their ships, the Gaeni disabling a Licori frigate and driving off a cruiser.

Following the conference, Admiral Valentina Sousa was informed by Pres. Arsharra N’Gir that the Federation was prepared to declare war on the Arcadian Empire. The Federation aimed to secure the mentat threat, and to remove the entities that were sheltering the mentats, that is, the Arcadian Empire and Noble Houses. Starfleet asked for the full commitment of the Betazoid, Vulcan, Rigellian, and Human member fleets, in order to engage the Licori with the ongoing Gabriel Campaign.

The Federation Enters
In 2314.Q3, the Federation voted to issue an ultimatum to the Licori, to be followed by a Declaration of War if the ultimatum was not agreed to. A State of Emergency was to be declared the moment the ultimatum was issued, in October of 2314. Support for the war was especially low in Pacifist-leaning Vulcan and Betazoid space. With the ultimatum sent, the Federation began to prepare for war. A fleet consisting of 7 capital ships, 8 cruisers, and 20 frigates was assembled, including several Explorer Corps vessels, along with ships from the Rigellian Defence Service, United Earth Space Probe Agency, and the Betazoid Defense Forces. Vulcan High Command, meanwhile, refused to indicate which forces it would be sending to support the operation, as Vulcan was heavily opposed to the war.

At the same time, a major reorganization of Starfleet Operations Command was taking place, and VAdm. Viraan zh'Dohlen was placed in command of the new Tailward Theatre. In command of the Licori Border Zone and the overall fleet was RAdm. Victoria Eaton.

In command of Task Force 1 was Comm. Michel Thuir, with Comm. Nash ka’Sharren in command of Task Force 2. Task Force 3 was the largest group, under the command of RAdm. T’Lorel. Task Force 4 was a smaller, reserve grouping, under the command of Comm. Iorin Grann.

Meanwhile, the USS Atuin, under Capt. Vol Chad, encountered a Ked Paddah explorer with escorts, who were tracking a mentat ship. The Ked Paddah deemed it imprudent, however, to cooperate with a group not yet in the war. The USS S'Harien contacted the IRW Stormwind, so as to explain Federation intentions to the Romulans.

Politically, the Federation was divided over the war. The Pacifist Faction, notably Vulcan and Betazed, was strongly opposed to the conflict, despite their proximity to the mentat threat. This resulted in heavy pressure on Starfleet to avoid a long campaign.

The T’Mir Wargame
In order to test Federation defenses, USS T’Mir was assigned to act as a mentat vessel, and attempt to reach the star in the Beta Zeta system. T’Mir successfully made the approach, theoretically obliterating the Beta Zeta system.

The Political Fight Continues
The Pacifist Faction then elected to go after the lack of participation from the Tellarites, who were the core of the Development Faction that pushed for war. Starfleet Command ultimately elected to bow to this pressure, and relegate Vulcan High Command to patrol duty, while calling on the Tellar State Force.

Meanwhile, even the FDS was abandoning hopes for a diplomatic solution, as it became clear that the Imperial House was merely first among equals, with little power to impose the restrictions in the ultimatum. With only an hour left on the ultimatum, however, a delegation was dispatched from Licori space to the Federation. Starfleet called up 2 cruisers and 3 frigates from the Tellarites, along with the lone Vulcan Oberth-class ship. Starfleet also federalized another Rigellian Defense Service Oda-Gach-class cutter.

The negotiations did not go well. The FDS exposed the toothlessness of a number of Licori promises, and came to the conclusion that only full political reform was an acceptable solution. However, it did provide intelligence on the Licori Houses Major. At the same time, mobilization progressed rapidly in the Federation, with the retired Adm. Vitalia Kaharungi, the Iron Lady of the Fleet, conducting lobbying work for Starfleet.

While no agreement was reached, it became clear to the Federation that, in the aftermath of a war, House Tartresis and House Bene could be worked with as imperial houses. At the end of negotiations in December of 2314, a second ultimatum was issued, to expire in 1 month.

The Ultimatum Expires
Ten minutes after midnight, on Friday, January 1st, 2315, President Arsharra N’Gir announced that the United Federation of Planets and the Arcadian Empire were at war. RAdm. Eaton immediately began operations against the Licori, attempting to draw out Arcadian forces. Gammon was to be the first target, home of House Kortennon.

In the Federation, shock was widespread. Few had expected that such a war was possible. People in San Fransisco were seen walking into poles. Protests had already begun against the war.

The First Days
Shortly after the Federation entered the war, the USS Suvek was lost to a Cosmozoan, specifically a massive crystalline creature, which bit the ship in half. The creature itself was likely the result of mentat activity. At the same time, the USS Atuin was dispatched to the Ked Paddah for coordination purposes. The Licori attempted to use a mind-controlled operative with a memory device to kill the Ked Paddah ambassador and convince Capt. Vol Chad that he was responsible, but a Starfleet ensign foiled the plot.

The first shots fired in anger were by a Betazoid frigate, the BDS Harmony, which engaged and drove off the Tartresis AHS Bold.

In the first two weeks of February, the Federation’s campaign was not going well. The USS Hood was crippled by an Imperial Sandworm-class battleship, while the USS Blizzard disappeared. House Kortennon, meanwhile, was preventing the Federation from massing forces for an assault against them.

The Battle of Ynnead
The Federation seized the Licori colony world of Ynnead, in order to establish a clear line of attack to Gammon. While the colony was taken successfully, several Federation ships took damage from mines. At the same time, the Ked Paddah began preparations for an assault on Ixaria, which the Federation elected to support. A team of SFI specialists was given orders to infiltrate the Gammon system, and disable the super-weapon built into Gammon’s moon of Naravonn.

Ground forces were landed on the colony under the command of Gen. Fischer, of the UE MACO. At the same time, Blizzard reappeared from a temporal anomaly.

The Ixaria Campaign
The Ixaria Campaign, or Ninth Battle of Ixaria, for the Ked Paddah, was a major Federation-Ked Paddah offensive designed to force the surrender of House Ixaria and the Ixaria System. Commodore Michael Thuir was given command of the Federation forces, while Admiral Tenokh commanded the Ked Paddah fleet.

Ixaria was a critical target of the allied war effort, as it was the House most favorable to the production of mentats, and highly encouraged “superscience”. Mentat prepared system defenses were so powerful, in fact, that the Ked Paddah had launched 8 previous offensives against the system, all ending in failure. These systems included the “Iron Dome’’, designed to increase Aracdian shield strength, a “Subspace Wavefront System’’, which disrupted formation travel, a research station producing special beam weapons for Ixarian forces, ‘’Iron Hail’’, a long-range torpedo system, the ‘’Silent Repose’’ sensor system, masking all Arcadian Travel, “Ixaria’s Scalpel”, another set of beam weapons increasing shield penetration, and finally, a research station of unknown purpose. These defenses were scattered throughout the system, and were accompanied by numerous minefields.

Initial Assault
The initial assault into the system revealed the purpose of the previously unknown research station. It was capable of inducing a warp core breach in a hostile ship, if the ship failed to adjust for its effects. Fortunately for the allied fleet, the station targeted a highly capable Excelsior, which successfully dealt with the attempted breach. In the initial wave of assaults, however, the Ked Paddah force took heavy damage, losing a number of frigates.

Ixaria Orbit
The initial allied assault was immediately followed by an assault on Ixaria Orbit, which successfully took control of the planetary orbitals. Losses were heavy for both sides, with both the allied and Ixarian fleets losing two frigates. The Ixarians also lost their outpost, along with the Waveform B research station. A number of other allied forces also sustained serious damage, rendering them inoperative for the campaign.

With the orbitals secured, the allied fleet was faced with a dilemma. They could either attempt to escort the auxiliaries needed to fight a surface action to Ixaria, or they could attempt to destroy the Iron Hail research station, which threatened any auxiliary activity. The second option, however, would leave the system open to the possibility of Arcadian reinforcements.

Of the various defenses of the war, the minefield proved to be one of the most dangerous. However, the doctrines of the various powers engaged in the war evolved fairly quickly to compensate.

Iron Hail
The allied force then launched an assault against the Iron Hail system, destroying it, with no losses.

Battle of Ixaria Approach
Throughout the Ixaria campaign, the risk of Imperial reinforcements to the system posed a serious threat to allied forces. However, Comm. Nash ka’Sharren’s Task Force 2 was operating in a position allowing them to intercept Imperial reinforcements.

This they would do successfully. Upon detection of the main imperial fleet, ka’Sharren ordered that Task Force 2 intercept and engage, despite the possibility of serious damage to the Federation force. The Battle of Ixaria Approach, as it would come to be known, was the last gasp of the Licori offensive effort. The Licori force would be crippled in the action. In addition, in a matter of critical importance, the Licori emperor himself was killed. The Licori lost 2 Sandworm-class battleships, along with 2 cruisers and 2 frigates, crippling their fleet. The Licori also lost some 1500 personnel, with a similar number captured. The Federation, meanwhile, lost only a single ship, the UES Shanghai, along with two Tellarite State Force frigates disabled.

The victory at Ixaria Approach allowed for ground operations to commence on Ixaria, finally ending the threat the system posed to allied operations. However, it is generally acknowledged, that even if the Arcadian forces had won a decisive victory, the battle would have proven to be a Federation strategic victory. A weakened Arcadian force is highly unlikely to have been able to compete with even the seriously damaged Task Force 1. Ixaria Approach also featured the usage of highly experimental Quantum Torpedoes by the Tartresis flagship, the AHS Pride.

The Battle of Gammon
The next phase of the Federation offensive was the Battle of Gammon, designed to remove House Kortennon from consideration as a new imperial house. The Federation considered the ascension of House Gammon unacceptable on moral grounds. Additionally, Gammon relied heavily on mentat produced weapons, specifically the Anoxa Superlaser, a massive energy weapon built into the moon of Gammon. Therefore, a team of SFI agents was dispatched to take the superlaser system out of operation, before the coming offensive. Starfleet Command decided to launch the space force offensive alongside the special operations forces, so as to maximize the chances of asset recovery, as well as the destruction of the laser system.

Raid on Anoxa
An SFI team was assembled for the operation, consisting of assets from both the Special Projects Security Department and the Irregular Operations Department. Two stations were in position to protect the superweapon, and it was surrounded by a city. The presence of the city made it easier for Federation forces to infiltrate the base complex. The Office 24 units were tasked with the landing itself, while Office 10 was tasked with disabling the orbital platforms.

Landing operations were successful, despite an attempt at betrayal by local forces. The superweapon was successfully destroyed, which was followed by the Federation fleet entering the system.

The Fleet Engagement
The Anoxa Raid was followed quickly by a Federation fleet assault on the Gammon system. The Federation won yet another massive victory, with only a single ship destroyed, though several more disabled. The Kortennon forces, however, lost 6 ships, along with the system.

The Succession Crisis
With the Gammon system in allied hands, and only a few Gammon frigates escaping, the major combat operations of the Licori War began to come to a close. Now, instead, the Arcadian Crisis took a different turn, that of a major succession crisis between Houses Tartresis and Bene. At the same time, allied forces began landing operations against Gammon. Ceasefire agreements were signed between allied forces and the Houses Major and Minor, with the exception of House Kortennon. Starfleet was given control of prisoners-of-war, and was also responsible for limiting Romulan influence among the Licori. Starfleet conducted prisoner exchanges, exchanging Licori for Ked Paddah POWs, improving Federation relations with both nations. In addition, they began a massive media campaign to show the Licori people the effects of mentat superscience on the galaxy at large.

The Following Information Is Classed as a 1-AAA Secret

Enterprise (1701-B) Detects the Cruiser
On Stardate 25834.2, the USS Enterprise (1701-B was returning from conducting a prisoner exchange when it detected a sensor ghost. The sensor ghost was determined to be a Licori research cruiser, of a type believed to be limited to Warp 9.5. Instead, the Licori craft was cruising at Warp 13, with the Enterprise herself barely able to keep up. In addition, the craft was producing a continuous stream of chroniton particles.

Entry to Aga Carmide
On Stardate 25837.6, the Enterprise-B vanished in the Aga Carmide system, along with the mentat research cruiser, and the entire research colony in the system. At the same time, Admiral Valentina Sousa was read into Generations, a highly classified series of reports. Decades prior to 2315, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) had entered the Aga Carmide system, where it encountered a severe temporal anomaly, and was thrown back some 10-20 million years into the past.

The Other Enterprises
Enterprise (NCC-1701) then proceeded into the system, moving towards the 4th planet, from which a Starfleet signal had been detected. This signal turned out to be the USS Enterprise (NCC-134), under the command of Captain T’Vin, a ''Daedalus’’-class starship. After Enterpise (NCC-1701) had rendered aid to the Enterprise (NCC-134), the two ships moved off together, towards the anomaly. Shortly after they began to move towards the anomaly, the Licori research cruiser emerged.

Zeroth Battle of Aga Carmide
Captain Kirk hailed the research cruiser, under the command of Mentat Betarre of the Imperial House, commanding the AIS Blank Slate. Blank Slate proceeded to engage the Starfleet vessels, rapidly destroying the NCC-134. At the same time, the Enterprise-B came through the temporal anomaly, and engaged the Blank Slate. The Enterprise-B was heavily damaged, however, as it had only managed to enter the temporal anomaly at its edge. The Blank Slate was heavily damaged, but the Enterprise-B was left unable to pursue.

Following the battle, long-range scans from the NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-B detected two other starships in the system. These were the Ranger-class Enterprise, and the Enterprise (NX-01), the ship and crew responsible for the creation of the Federation.

Pursuit
With both the Enterprise (NCC-1701) and Enterprise-B unable to make warp, Commodore ka’Sharren led the pursuit of the Blank Slate from Jonathan Archer’s ship, accompanied by the Ranger-class vessel.

Zeroth Battle of Alpha Centauri
The Blank Slate attempted an ambush in the Alpha Centauri system. The ships in the system were outmatched, leading Comm. ka’Sharren to order the NCC-1002 to exit the system, and the NX-01 into a gas giant. A plan was then devised to drop the power aboard the Blank Slate, leaving it without weapons or shields for a short time.

The Ranger and Constitution class ships engaged the Blank Slate joined by the NX-01, which was responsible for dropping the shields of the Licori vessel. However, the Blank Slate successfully eliminated the first barrage of Federation phaser and torpedo fire, and began to do severe damage to the Federation force. Suddenly, the USS Lion, believed lost, entered the system, and engaged the Blank Slate. The Lion forced the surrender of the Blank Slate, which exploded shortly after the crew was taken off. The Federation force then proceeded rapidly to Aga Carmide, where the research colony, stuck in a time loop for 20 years, was recovered. Unfortunately, after the passage of the NCC-1701, the temporal anomaly was left in a very low energy state, forcing the sacrifice of the Enterprise-B, using her antimatter stores to allow the passage of the Lion, along with the entire crew of the Enterprise-B, and the research station. With this, the Licori War drew to a close.