Terran Taxation War - Introduction

So, I finally got around to take a couple of pictures of my freshly painted squads for the two armies that I'm currently working on for Fireteam Andromeda.

Imperial Expedition Force, "Desert Hounds" Shock Troops (Protolene, Critical Mass Games)

Sol System Colonial Militia; 3rd Martian Regiment (Colonial Militia, Ground Zero Games)

I was musing about what sort of conflict I wanted to portray with Fireteam Andromeda, at the very least as a get go. The initial idea is that the game-setting is set during the Employment War in the Terminus Nebula; a drawn-out bushwar where various despots, dictators and self-proclaimed freedom fighters engage in an ongoing balkanized war for the absolute control of the Terminus Nebula. 

The gist of it, is that all sides employ many Mercenaries from across the known universe, which in turn has given the "war" its name. The Employment War is considered to be the final conflict following the last Galactic War which had all the major powers of the known universe - mostly the Republic and the Imperium - at each others throats after a series of failed diplomatic negotiations. 

The end of this great war has left the rest of the universe in a state of cold war, as the major powers are still consolidating their forces following the war; a war which has left many systems unprotected and isolated throughout the known universe; there are even some whispers of a Long Night about to draw across the Imperium and Republican spheres, as more and more systems are lost to the Employment War.

All in all - Fireteam Andromeda is aimed at small unit engagements across a vast area of the known universe, known as the Terminus Nebula, wherein Republican, Imperial and a whole host of Mercenary units continue to fight on, even though the universe, at large, is at "peace". 

However, I've also had plans for Mecha Doom, the 6mm science fiction game, wherein the game setting is focused on first the Civil War (wherein the Republic was created, as they broke off from the Imperium) and following on to the Galactic War (wherein the Republic and the Imperium got at each others throats over the absolute dominance of the known universe). 

This "historical context" has then become the focus for my initial 15mm forces as I wanted to recreate the Terra Taxation War, which was the starting point of what would become the Imperial Civil War. In this Taxation War, the Sol system have long suffered under the yoke of the Imperial Court; paying increasingly heavier taxes, without any increasing gain in either security nor representation.

As the Imperial Court was waging yet another border war against the Saari Dominion, the Sol systems declared its independence by shooting down the Taxation ship Pax Mammonia as it entered the system to gather resources and troops for the war.

Initially the Imperium could not spare any of its Mecha Cohorts to deal with the troublesome Solsystem, so the Taxation War started with a small Expeditionary Force; frontline soldiers of high quality, who were bound to rotate back for resupply and rest. It was a hardened, but battered, expeditionary force that were the first to engage the Terrans on their homesoil - a war that would escalate into cataclysimc proportions within a few years.

Thus - my initial forces will be the advance party for my Mecha Doom armies, set during the time of the Imperial Civil War. In an upcoming post, there will be more details on the two sides of the war, as well as premade armylists and a detailed overview of their ensignia and other tid-bits.