The Terran-Colonial Frontier Civil War (02430s and 02440s)

With the major warfare of the late 02300s the TranStellar Federacy found itself fundamentally weakened.  Following the establishment of a rival confederation of species (the Pauk-Rex-Silicate Enclave-P'Tharan alliance called the Orionis Spur Multistellar Unity, or Orionis Unity for short) the core worlds of the Terran Alliance (which had replaced UECON as the major government for Terra by the mid-02300s) attempted to exercise greater control over all TransFed colonies.  While ostensibly done to greatest a stronger counterbalance to the Orionis Unity, the end result was frustration from the Colonies and the Core Worlds and would lead to a devastating internal conflict between the two major Terran factions.

The new Terran Alliance fleet showcased many of the technological developments of the late 02300s and early 02400s.  While a separate entity from the TranStellar Federacy Vanguard, many Terran Alliance (aka TerraFleet) ships were quite similar in form and function and were even occasionally the exact same designs.

Frontier Colony ships were designed and built by outer fringe shipyards and while lacking the elegance of the Terran Alliance, vessels built for the VanGuard fleet were quite capable in combat.  Shown here is a Frontier battlecruiser.

 The Frontier Colonies prized their independence above all else, with many of its citizens (both Terran human and xenoalien) having been transplants from Free Aries and other Solar Colonies bringing with them a long and storied history of personal freedom.  The new display of attempted centralized control by Terra Central caused great consternation in the Frontier Colonies and despite attempts by the Promedians, Kentaurans and other allied xenoaliens to mediate the disputes, war was inevitable by the late 02430s.

The Frontier Colonies had actually built up a significant fleet of their own by purchasing a large number of older and obsolescent warships from various galactic powers as well as constructing some of their own, but were also able to draw some of the Terran Alliance and VanGuard sub-fleets to fight on their side. 

Several classes of exploration craft were re-tasked for combat roles during the 02430s, both to deal with the situation out in the Frontier worlds and to keep the Orionis Unity from taking advantage of the situation.  This example is a Universe class deep-range exploration vessel modified for military applications. 

Older VanGuard vessels were pressed into use during this conflict, with former members of mothballed fleets turning up throughout the various battles.  The vessel shown here was originally built in the 02370s and was still in service over 60 years later.

The Frontier forces depended heavily on their carrier forces as they had no hope of matching up with the Terran Alliance ships toe-to-toe.  The Frontier starfighter pilots acquitted themselves well, setting the foundation for the proud fighter tradition in place centuries later during the wars with the L'Narans. 

The result of the carnage of the Terran Civil War combined with the intermittent invasions by the Pauk and others was that something of a diaspora occurred, with entire populations of Terran worlds being relocated to far off colonies beyond the known worlds.  Here is one of the "Colony Trains" as they were called headed out to seek for new worlds to settle.  This momentous scattering of Terrans beyond the explored regions of the Mosaic Galaxy would  ultimately have a major impact on future history as it would unfold.

Following the end of the Frontier Revolt the villainous Pauk and some of their allies tried to take advantage of the weakened Terran Alliance resulting in an on-again/off-again conflict that stretched into the 02460s.