Saturday 4 October 2008

Setting the Scene

After the US and Russia pulled out of Serdaristan, the small country was left with a massive debt in gold bullion to The Legionnaire's mercenary unit. With Serdar in self-imposed exile, his son, Serdar II, undertook to write off this debt and get his country back. Russia offered to bail them out, but naturally, their were strings attached, and Serdaristan soon became a Russian satellite state.

Thus, when the Eurasian Solar Union was formed, Serdaristani colonists were amongst the settlers who began staking the People's claim to the outer rim. New Sedaristan was a small backwater colony, until significant natural resources and diamond deposits were found. However, the ESU was uninterested in such capitalist prizes, and so the significant wealth was left untouched by the ESU, and found its way into the pocket of the planets ruler, Serdar XII. This piece capitalist imperialism went unnoticed by the small navy picket left in the area by the ESU, even as it funded Serdar's shiny new house, golf course, custom yacht and lavish lifestyle. The Serdaristan people were left in their People's Housing Bureau tower blocks, living on pittances. Business as usual for Serdarastani government.

Then the Third Solar War happened. New Serdarastan's position close to the NAC recently moved spatial border made it a suddenly vital strategic point. Realising a large ESU force would be on the way soon, who would undoubtedly not be too understanding about his 'expenses', Serdar panicked and defected his planet to the NAC. An ESU force was dispatched to 'protect the People from exposure to capitalistic rhetoric and imperialism' and bring Serdarastan back into the ESU fold, arriving almost simultaneously with the NAC force sent to secure this new strategic and economic asset, and after an inconclusive space battle both sides made planet fall and a long ground engagement followed.

The principle sides in the New Serdarastan conflict are the NAC and ESU ground forces, the Serdarastan Patriotic Army (TO&E to follow), a number of mercenary contingents and various militia and insurgency groups. The SPA is nominally allied with the NAC, though its main goal seems to be to secure Serdar's rule and control of the diamond mines. Apparently not learning his lesson from his namesake's mistakes, Serdar has hired several mercenary contingents to assist in the task of securing his rule in the face of the ESU onslaught. In the occupied areas, several Serdarastani insurgent movements have emerged, such as the People's Front of Serdarastan, the Serdarastan People's Front, The Popular Front of the Serdarastan People and The Serdarastan People's Front for Popular Freedom, all at odds against each other and the power blocs.

Whatever happens in Serdarastan, its no going to be pretty.

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