The Never War was a short series of near-military and political tensions between the Intersystem Alliance and revolutionaries - the would-be Threshold population, resulting in a cold war. Many historians date the start and end of the conflict at the point of the declaration of independence on the part of the Thresholders and the final acceptance of independence by the Alliance, though for centuries after many Thresholders argued their struggle began much earlier.
No large-scale fighting occurred, though there were numerous riots involving tens of thousands of injuries on both sides and many small naval conflicts which ultimately saw Alliance forces forcibly boarding and commandeering revolutionary vessels or revolutionary vessels fleeing.
Table of Contents
Prelude
Tensions rose over time as the Pharthan and Himeji systems were left to their own devices when dealing with piracy, which often meant requiring average merchantmen to take up arms. Even the forward-deployed naval forces, many of whom were Thresholders by birth, felt alienated by their parent Intersystem Alliance due to trickling resources as the Coalition of Independent Systems began gaining strength, effectively cutting off ease of travel between the sections of the Alliance through tariffs and levies, so even military supplies were scarce. Eventually successful and growing to be regional powers Himeji and Pharthan, – the first through determination, efficiency, and economic strength characteristic of its Japanese heritage, the second through its economic powerhouse of a mining sector and like-minded work-ethic citizenry – the two systems formed close ties in trade with the Belvoir system under their mutual protection by necessity, with the decision to protect the remote Selene and New Haifa systems in remembrance of their own alienation by a higher military power’s negligence.
The Pharthan and Himeji systems began to be seen as the main benefactors of the region and garnered far more respect than the relatively distant Alliance, and in the few years prior to the declaration of independence, the would-be revolutionaries were practically economically isolated from the Alliance.
Events
Independence Declared
Noting that they were self-sufficient, the seven total regions eventually renounced their ties to the Intersystem Alliance peacefully in 2891 but were unable to convince the Kingdom of Sunderland, with which they until recently had a close trading partnership, to join their cause. Both Intersystem Alliance and Threshold peoples and political hawks cried out for military action to resolve the conflict, including the formation of full militias and small privateer and corsair fleets. Both sides pestered each other to no end, but no engagements occurred with the exception of a few violent riots, which mostly left only Thresholders dead. Bordering Alliance sectors did note an increase in pirate activity, but no Thresholder group claimed responsibility for these actions.
Few of these riots occurred on Pharthan or Himeji, as mercenary forces and militias had managed to fortify much of the city and outnumbered loyalist Alliance military in the region; several forward-deployed frigates nearly suffered mutiny, but swift action by Alliance Admiral Noboru Behrend on December 11th, 2893, allowed for those born within the Threshold to be free of their contracts and safe-passage to the planet of their choosing. Some historians attribute this decision as a critical point in preventing the war from going "hot," as most of the frigates in question would likely have suffered successful mutiny; this would have inevitably resulted in large-scale naval conflict. This action also set the precedent for other personnel to be released of their contracts, which the Alliance utilized as a matter of tension-relief when necessary
Kingsway Naval Yard
On May 3rd, 2895, Threshold Revolutionaries, largely comprised of veterans, seized control of the Alliance Starship Graveyard in orbit of the planet of Kingsway, intending to refurbish and activate any vessels they could. The Alliance Navy, for the first time in the conflict, intervened directly and dispatched two destroyer squadrons to ensure no vessels were stolen. No shots were fired, but revolutionary forces weathered a two-month-long siege inside their captured ships, none of which they managed to make ready within that time period, nor were any weapons left on board those vessels. Instead, nine aging frigates operated by mercenaries, stood guard to prevent boarding action by the Alliance.
It was during this standoff at Kingsway Naval Yard that the Alliance formally recognized the independence of the region, and onboard the Alliance's mothballed cruiser ANS Galaxy Incarnate, since rebranded as the TNV Independence, that Alliance Admiral Behrend, Alliance Governor Forbes Maki, and Threshold General Moira Adam and Commodore Lorenz negotiated peace terms, to include leaving a number of aging Alliance military equipment behind.
Though reluctant to give up valuable space, resources, and manpower with new foes popping up all around them, the larger group conceded. Eventually, the Alliance Government realized there was no point in continuing the tense cold war, and in 2895 the Alliance recognized the sovereignty of the Threshold. This left a discrepancy in the history books as to when the nation was formed; Threshold books state 2891, while Alliance official records declare 2895.
Conclusion
The peaceable separation was quite beneficial for Threshold because shortly after Alliance military forces vacated the system, Coalition-backed pirates and privateers began raiding, with the intent of weakening the nation for a Coalition takeover. These raids were quickly rebuffed by the new Threshold military, as well as several border disputes incited by Coalition claims that Threshold was "overstepping their bounds," in what worlds they claimed sovereignty over. Coalition leadership had not anticipated a well-trained fighting force from such a new starnation; indeed, many of the Threshold Navy sailors and Admirals had originally been in service to the Alliance Navy during the split, and so were well prepared. In spite of the Coalition pining to Alliance government to "rein in their dog," to force Thresholders to give up newly conquered systems, the Alliance made no such deal, wishing to wash their hands of the entire arch of space.
Following these incursions, Thresholders turned to their former almost-enemies, the Alliance, and began purchasing outdated, yet still intimidating equipment to bolster their military. In trade, they promised to allow peaceable patrols of Threshold space by Alliance forces and opened trade, beginning a new friendship.
The Threshold military gained space, planets, and stations in the coming years from groups loyal to the Coalition, until it directly came to the officially declared Coalition border itself and found itself face-to-face with the Coalition military, halting the Threshold advance before war was officially declared with the Coalition.
A century later, Alliance Forces were allowed to refurbish, refit, and occupy a Naval-Station in orbit over New Haifa that had gone abandoned since the secession, marking the beginning of a prolonged and welcome Alliance-military presence in Threshold space, though a shadow of what it once used to be. By the time all those who had nearly fought in the Never War had passed on, the tensions had been long forgotten between the two nations, soon more a joke than a point of debate or fisticuffs.