First Extrasolar War

The First Extrasolar War, also known as the First Helghan War was a conflict between the UCA and the Alpha Centauri ISA on one side, and the Helghan Corporation on the other. The war lasted from 2199-2204, lasting five years. As the corporation more or less held a highly lucrative monopoly over the vital worlds of industrial Helghan and luxurious Vekta in the Alpha Centauri system because of UCN colonial grants, it was almost inevitable that they would be prepared to secede from the UCN once Earth began to impose taxes and tithes on the corporation's profits.

The Helghan corporate forces then seized control of all ISA bases in the Alpha Centauri system, but the better trained and equipped ISA forces managed to retreat intact and in good order to wage a guerrilla campaign that sapped the strength of the Helghan forces. Meanwhile, the UCA Navy fleet smashed into the system, obliterating the entire Helghan corporate navy in an hours-long pitched engagement over the planet Helghan without the loss of a single vessel. In the heat of the battle, the massive orbiting space station that served as a navigation hub for directing ships in and out of the system was destroyed; while it is unknown who was responsible, both sides blamed the other. After gaining control of Helghan, the UCA Navy then linked up with scattered ISA elements and pushed onward to Vekta, leaving a small picket fleet to blockade Helghan and patrol its surrounding space.

The corporate soldiers on Vekta declared their intentions to fight to the death, but a devastating UCA orbital bombardment convinced them to yield to the inevitable; they all quickly surrendered, without a single UCA ground soldier ever firing a shot. This final defeat led to the arrests of the Helghan CEO and all members of the Executive Board, the seizing of the dual planets, and the corporation's profits being handed to the UCN. Afterwards, no other world ever questioned the UCN's mandates -in essence Earth's will- and its right to rule ever again.

The Helghan Corporation's epic defeat during this war, coupled with the eventual mass exile of all of its personnel to the hostile planet of Helghan, lead to the rise of a powerful, tyrannical, and charismatic leader Scolar Visari.