Approximately two hours after the Arcadian Galactic Commonwealth declared war on the United Galactic Nations and its Omniconpro Corporate Sector allies/ puppet masters, the first Arcadian warships entered some of the outlying systems of the UGN. The first bit of resistance that they encountered were smaller, corvette-sized patrol boats from the individual System Government Policing Forces. These were less true naval vessels and more like an extremely watered-down version of the U.S. Coast Guard mixed with a state police department. A minor handful of the ships were actual military vessels, but they were not modern by any stretch of the imagination and were simply repurposed and refitted ships that would have normally been mothballed due to obsolescence.

Of course, given that the UGN had been and still was behind in terms of technology and firepower compared to the now-destroyed Angelus Holy Union, the Patrol Boats were less than what should have been desired and implemented. The UGN and OCS had indeed begun modernizing and improving their tech and ships due to the AHU’s invasion all those years ago, but they were still in the middle of refitting their dedicated naval vessels. Roughly half of their warships were now far more technologically advanced than before, but the rest were either in the middle of refits or were waiting for a chance to be upgraded.

They could have learned a thing or two from Arkhan’s way of handling ship upgrades and refits. Simply making everything standardized and easy to replace with other components was how Arcadia had churned out so many new ships and ship designs in such a short period of time. Each section of a ship could be swapped out in a controlled setting; its weapons, armor, shielding, power core(s) and internal/ external devices all subject to specific standards which allowed a great degree of flexibility. A particle beam cannon could be switched with a missile launcher or a point defense weapon with relative ease. All that would be needed was to replace a single turret and fix a bit of piping and Arkhan’s abilities took care of the rest. It was very convenient for the ship builders and crews that their God-King’s abilities automatically dealt with so many issues.

If the UGN or OCS ever got their heads out of their asses and looked at things from a true cost and time saving perspective, they would have seen just how useful and cost-effective that replaceable and interchangeable ship parts were. Even though they couldn’t rely on Arkhan’s cheatiness, they could still save a bit on repair, refit and upgrade times/ costs.

But ultimately, they had not truly gotten with the times, and so the refits that would have taken Arcadia a fraction of the time to complete had taken far, far longer. Then again, most of the Arcadian ships were just ones ripped from the Gundam Universal Century timeline and the ones spoken of above were the more powerful but non-summonable ones. And of course, Arcadia had a metric fuck ton of construction-savvy Worker Balls, among other things, at its disposal to help mass produce things.

Back to the initial topic, though.

The Patrol Boats were never going to be a match for the AGC’s military might, and the System Governments knew it. So, they did exactly what they had done when the AHU had invaded a couple of years prior. They ran, leaving their planets, systems and their populace behind as they fled from the ‘savage and brutal Arcadians’. They were not the only ones to run either. They were followed by wealthy and/ or influential refugees who, rather than risk being killed by the ‘Arcadian Barbarians’, took everything they could and ran for the Core Worlds of the UGN.

This left the planets and systems in a state of confusion, which quickly devolved into anarchy and rioting as the majority of the police forces were either moved to the Core Worlds of the UGN or were stationed in space to try and slow and/ or halt Arcadia’s advances. Without anyone to uphold law and order, the worst sides of sapient nature began to rear their ugly heads. What started as a rush on the markets for supplies to help wait out the oncoming storm turned into an even worse version of Black Friday sales mixed with last minute Christmas shopping for on-sale items. This then devolved into theft, then assault, then vandalism, then murder and then finally the dam broke and all semblance of order was erased in a heartbeat.

By the time the Arcadian fleets mopped up the pitiful resistance offered by the UGN patrol boats, the first planets they were supposed to secure had become home to wild pandemonium and rampant chaos. This left the Arcadian military with a dilemma; were they to land and secure the planets despite the chaos that engulfed them or were they to simply wait for the madness down there to burn out, then land? It was arguable which was a better option.

On the one hand, if they invaded now, they would have to face a near planet-wide riot with no allies of any kind to support, but they would be able to put down the anarchic chaos and stop many more people from dying pointlessly.

On the other hand, if they waited and let the chaos run its course, they would face less resistance in the short term, but they would find it hard to be trusted by the survivors due to them simply letting the innocent die meaningless deaths.

There was no clear ‘right’ answer, so they had to make a choice. Would they prefer short term gains with a potential long term cost, or would it be better to have a long term gain at a short term cost? This was a philosophical question that-.

“Stop being such whiny little babies and take the damn planets already!”

Drakz Blackmane did not have the time or patience to think about the morality and philosophy of such actions. He was a man who cared only for the thrill of battle and the high of victory, like a true Beastman would. In his eyes, waiting until his foes beat themselves half to death was dishonorable, but that did not mean he wasn’t willing to let it happen, just not during a war. Besides, these were not true warriors, but mere civilians who were being torn apart by their own foolishness. They needed to be stopped, before they became monsters.

So, at Supreme General Drakz Blackmane’s orders, the invasion of a handful of outlying systems began to the sound of dropships entering the atmosphere of a few planets. The heat that built up on the bottom of the shuttles turned them a brilliant yellowish-white as the air around the craft seeming lit up with flame due to the high temperatures. As soon as they reached their intended elevation, the dropships opened up in their rear and Mobile Suit Golems emerged from within. Dropping further through the skies, they used their thrusters to slow their descent and space out from each other and just before reaching a certain height they entered ‘Real Mode’ to the shock of the UGN citizens around them.

Manifesting their weapons and pointing their oversized guns at the populace that still stood in stunned silence, the MSGs spoke with one voice.

“Lay down your arms and surrender immediately. We do not seek conflict, and if you do not wish to die then yield at once. We will treat the injured, heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and house the homeless, but only if you let us do so. As your government has abandoned you to anarchy and lawlessness, we will take control and bring you back to civility and morality. Do not resist, for we do not want to harm you unnecessarily.”

As tens and then hundreds and then thousands more MSGs entered real mode and stood tall over the crowds, the mob quickly realized that they were in a very dangerous position and that improper actions could very well result in their destruction. As more MSGs rained from the sky, the mix of human-sized and ‘Real Mode’ Mobile Suit Golems dispersed the crowds and made room for the less mechanical members of the military to land and set up shop.

The forces of Arkhan would keep their word, and a few planets began to suspect that the tales told to them by their former government may very well have either been exaggerated or made up altogether.