User:MJ/sandbox/Coalition of Planets
The Coalition of Planets is a mutual defence and trade pact treaty signed by a few galactic states of the Alpha & Beta Quadrants in 2155.
History
Formation & impact
Talks for the Coalition of Planets took place shortly after the Babel Crisis in 2154, where the Romulan Star Empire attempted to destabilise the region of space inhabited mainly by Humans, Vulcans, Andorian and Tellarites. Other species like the Rigellians, Denobulans and Coridanites were also affected by the aggressive policies being taken by the Romulans. Originally each state of these agreed to be involved in the discussions to form a loose alliance and strengthen trade ties among them. This idea was spearheaded by Earth's Prime Minister, Nathan Samuels and his Foreign Secretary, Madilyn Campbell. At the time when the summit took place on Earth, it was plagued by the Terra Prime incident which did not show Earth at its finest, however with intervention by the crew of the Enterprise, the exploration talks soon resumed among the leaders. The idea of the alliance was developed and it was agreed that talks would continue among the potential founding members. Where officials from Earth, Vulcan, Andoria and Tellar (all of whom had participated in the recent military exercise to remove the Romulan drone threat) were certain they wanted to go ahead with the coalition, others like the Rigellians, Denobulans and Coridanites needed more assurances. As such it was agreed by the former worlds that this needed to be taken seriously, so as Earth as one of the most neutral parties would lead the diplomatic missions to all three home worlds of the latter states. Once again the need for the alliance was reinforced as the task forces that were sent to each world were attacked by mercenaries who were hired by an unknown benefactor at the time (later discovered to be the Romulans). That said the diplomatic efforts of these crews were ruined when Coridan was attacked by a singular ship after it rammed into the world at high warp igniting the mass amount of dilithium crystals that the planet had. This assault left half a billion Coridanites dead and the planet in ecological ruin. Diplomatic overtures and relief efforts were made to the Coridan government, as were similar offers made to the Denobulan and Rigel governments but all three states felt that joining the alliance at that time would be fateful for them. Instead, the treaty was signed by the United Earth Commonwealth, the Confederacy of Vulcan, the Andorian Empire and the United Planets of Tellar. This treaty solidified peace in the region and was one of the crowning achievements for Earth to bring the Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites to the table to agree to ever-lasting peace especially as there had always been constant tension, friction and conflict among these nation-states.
Rise of a military alliance
The military alliance brought stability into the region not seen in generations. The signing of the Coalition Compact ensured that these worlds would begin to develop their mutual cooperation with one another further. All signatories agreed that if one of them was attacked then the others would all come to their defence and join their forces in against external aggressors. It became a recurring theme throughout the region for ships to assist one another when a distress call was received and for mutual help and support to be provided. The alliance was strengthened further in its early days when joint missions were undertaken, especially those of a scientific nature. Military exercises were set up too so all members were able to fully operate together. One of the most noted joint missions during its inception was when coalition forces worked together to liberate the Andorian colony of Docana. Initially, the attack appeared to be a joint force from Nausicaan and Malur, but when both governments denied any formal alliance between them and that neither of their militaries was involved in such acts, it was discovered that once again mercenaries were hired. Their benefactor later revealed their face to be the Romulans, however, this information was not shared publicly at the behest of President Littlejohn. This caused some unnecessary between her and the newly elected Andorian leader, Chancellor Margerit who wanted to declare war against the Romulans. It was agreed that due to the fact a large proportion of the Andorian fleet had been lost and the fact the Romulan Drone ships were powerful enough to overwhelm Earth's ship, the announcement of who attacked the Andorians would be kept between leaders and discussed at a second summit at Babel. It was agreed though that the coalition needed to prepare for an upcoming conflict with the faceless enemy (the Romulans had not revealed to any of them what they looked like at this point in time).
The path to war
Attacks and raids from the Romulans began to increase over the next few months. After it appeared they had lost their credibility and support from mercenaries from the Orion Syndicate, the Malurian Raldul alignment as well as Nausicaan bounty hunters, the Romulans stepped up their campaign to create tension among the coalition members. This included them using an advanced computer virus that uses telepresence technology (similar to the technology used to control their drone ships) to capture and take control of ships. These captured ships were then turned against other friendly ships. When the Romulans attempted to use Klingon ships against coalition ships, it was feared that war with the Klingon Empire may erupt. Thanks to the efforts of some Starfleet ships this was avoided. The Romulans even attempted to stop the Coalition from gaining new supporters and members. This included using their telepresence capturing technology to start a conflict between Deltan Union and their nearby neighbours the Imperial Realms of Carrea, this war prevented negotiations from opening up between the Coalition and the Deltans. It wasn't long until the Romulans took another bold action and attacked a number of Earth ships and stations. This provocation was enough for the Coalition of Planets to declare war.
Declaration of war
The Coalition declared war on July 24th 2155 and fierce fighting took place. The Vulcan, Andorian and Tellarite fleets were brutally destroyed by the Romulans through the use of their telepresence-capturing technology. Coalition scientists and engineers determined that the more advanced designs, compared to Earth ships, were more susceptible to the computer virus that allowed the Romulans to take control. All three governments withdraw a majority of their forces from the frontlines and it was down to Earth and its Starfleet to defend the Coalition.
See: Earth-Romulan War
Office Exchange Programme
The military alliance also saw the development of an officer exchange programme. Initially, the programme started on a few ships where crew members who joined another ship or base held either junior roles or less significant senior staff roles. The greatest prelude to this was the success of Sub Commander T'Pol on board Enterprise. Her successful relationship with Captain Archer and his crew, prompted others to consider joining the programme. However there was one caveat as part of the programme, military leaders were concerned that some of their members may wish to join the organisation they are assigned to (similar to what happened to T'Pol when she joined the United Earth Starfleet in 2154). As a result, this stipulation forbids those who joined the programme to join other militaries in the Coalition while they were in active service of their own nation's branch.
Noted Placements
Coalition Members on Earth Postings
- Sub Commander T'Pol (Vulcan), Chief Armoury Officer & Third Officer, Challenger NX-03 (2155)
- Commander Izari th'Zorati (Andorian), Chief Communication Officer, Starbase 1 (2155-2156)
- Commander Izari th'Zorati (Andorian), First Officer & Chief Communication Officer, Endeavour NX-06 (2156)
Coalition Members on Vulcan Postings
- Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Erik Larsen (Human), Chief Communications Officer, D.F.C. Jarok (2155-2156)
- Lieutenant Thomsher ch'Flene (Andorian), First Officer, D.F.C. Jarok (2155-2156)
Members
Founding Members (2155)
- Andorian Empire
- United Earth Commonwealth
- United Planets of Tellar
- Vulcan Confederacy
Trading Partners
- Denobulan Fellowship Republic
- United Worlds and Colonies of Rigel
- The People's Republic of Coridan (allies with Vulcan)
- Democratic Union of Kreetassa (allies with Earth)
The Coalition of Planets In Play
- Although allies, there is some mistrust and unmentioned tension among the Vulcans and Andorians as well as the Andorians and Tellarites. Tellarities find Vulcans to be frustrating due to their decision not to argue/insult back as it is illogical behaviour. Humanity is the only neutral party.
- Due to the fact the Vulcans encouraged both the Andorians and Tellarities to remove their forces from the frontlines, it created unnecessary tension with the United Earth Commonwealth. However, there have been some members of the former races who do not believe in their government's policy of withdrawal and advocate supporting the war effort. Some have left their own militaries to join Starfleet, but this is extremely rare.