RAW SOURCE: Maf: Starfleet Battles; War of IFTR
URL: https://perryjones.medium.com/maf-starfleet-battles-war-of-iftr-a73495562d55 Published: Jul 4, 2022
⚠️ Known typo (creator-confirmed): the original article states the Empire of Man covers "90%" of the Milky Way — this should read 60%. Preserved below exactly as published; corrected figure lives on the Empire of Man canon page.
Content (close paraphrase, unfiltered)
5300 A.D. Earth, capital of the Interstellar Federation of the Terran Republic (IFTR), has captured 80% of the Milky Way. They discover the Confluence Region — where the Milky Way and Snickers galaxies intersect — and push a fleet of huge warships through it. They find that Maf, the largest planet in the Snickers galaxy, is home to a "lost" group of Terrans who fled Earth over 3,000 years earlier. The Terrans expect a joyful reunion; the Original Colonists of Maf refuse.
No one recalls who fired first. Hundreds of ships are destroyed on both sides; thousands die. IFTR has the biggest ships, the most powerful weapons, a much larger fleet, and several generations of technological advantage. IFTR's most powerful ships, the 3,000-mile-long Destiny-class battlecruisers, arrive a few hours into the battle — three of them.
Before the Destinies arrive, IFTR is surprisingly losing to the outgunned, undersized, technologically inferior Maf fleet — led by General Perold Jonas and Admiral Vasalo Sutoi, described as highly motivated and extraordinarily well-trained. Once the Destinies arrive, a single broadside from one vaporizes hundreds of Maf ships instantly. Jonas and Sutoi immediately call for a ceasefire. The Terrans believe they've won the galaxy.
Weeks later, the two sides negotiate peace in orbit around a neutral planet in the Confluence Region. The Terrans expect to claim all of Snickers, the Confluence Region, and Milky Way territory beyond it. Maf's Imperial Negotiators — trained over a decade in persuasion, described as almost hypnotic — are employed instead. Peace talks stretch several weeks.
The final deal: peace and non-interference between both parties. No Terran warships permitted into the Snickers galaxy; no Maf ships permitted into the Milky Way. The Confluence Region becomes permanent neutral territory. Only six ships from either side may be present in the Confluence Region at any time; neither side may impose rules on or interfere with the other's ships or the "minor civilizations" residing in the Confluence Region. Maf relinquishes several Confluence Region starbases to a new organization, the InterGalactic Authority (IGA), headquartered at Maf's former Starbase 17.
The Terrans initially believe they got the better deal — until they realize: (1) they permanently relinquished all territorial claims to Snickers; (2) their ships are permanently banned from the Snickers galaxy, which also blocks them from nearly 20% of the Milky Way beyond the Confluence Region, effectively surrendering that territory to Maf; (3) Maf gained claim to ~20% of the Milky Way without ever entering it or winning the battle; (4) only 6 IFTR ships may be in the Confluence Region at once, weapons powered down, with no interference in minor local civilizations' affairs.
Public and military outrage follows — "won the war, lost the peace," giving away everything fought for over 20 years. The Terran government implodes; civil war breaks out among warlords for a decade. Afterward, the Empire of Man forms: a loose warlord coalition covering ~90% of the Milky Way (excluding treaty-prohibited territory). Two more years consolidate power, quell rebellion, and eliminate holdout pirates/warlords. A third year is spent learning to cooperate internally ("most of the time"). The Empire of Man declares all former IFTR treaties null and void, spies gathering intelligence on Maf and its capital, Kila Vas, across both galaxies. Fleets are rebuilt after the internal decade of war. The story ends with the warlords once again eyeing the Confluence Region and the Snickers galaxy's wealth beyond.