Federation One Thousandth Anniversary Massacre

The Federation One Thousandth Anniversary Massacre is the event that kickstarted the Virtual Wars.

Background

The year 1997 AB marked the 1000th anniversary of when the Federation of Stellar Systems was founded. To celebrate this event, the plan was to use the vrNet to hold a simultaneous, galaxy wide festival across every major Federation system. The capital cities would be host to the most extravagant displays with holographic light shows and parade floats.

However, it was also around this time that the Federation saw multiple challenges. As more vrNet servers were reactivated and the scope of the Federation grew larger, the more difficult it became to manage. Particularly, the noble families of Merin had divisive political opinions regarding King Mithran whose claim to the throne was heavily contested due to his background as an off worlder.

During the festivities, while King Mithran was aboard the airship Icarus for a joyride, the ship had suddenly exploded, killing him and the 36 other people on board. It was never discovered whether or not it was an act of sabotage. However, what happened next was immediate violence as the various noble families of Merin attempted to seize control of the throne.

Aftermath

The conflict between the noble families led to a ripple effect where different local governments across the galaxy took different stances in supporting different families. Some worlds such as Carbonia chose to secede from the Federation less than a few weeks later. They viewed the violent outbreak on Merin to be a sign that the Federation had failed its duty to keep order in the galaxy. These factions eventually became a coalition of their own known as the Insurgency.

The Federation did not want to involve the rest of the galaxy in what they believed was civil conflict that should only be contained on Merin. The planet Yeddo abstained from getting involved in the conflict outside of providing relief efforts to civilians who were caught in the crossfire. It wasn't until the Destruction of the Star Lift that the Virtual Wars would truly escalate into a galactic-scale conflict.

---