Galactic War

The Galactic War is a historical event in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. A massive armed conflict that ended twelve years ago, many of the characters have played a part in it. The major factions involved were the Chitauri Empire, backed by Thanos and his personal army, in opposition to the Kree Empire, which joined forces with Richard Rider's Resistance.

Story

It is unknown when the Chitauri and Thanos forged their alliance. However, their pursuits aligned: The warlike race believed in expanding their empire through the destruction or subjugation of all life in the universe, while Thanos' goal was to wipe out vast swaths of life to "restore balance"; secretly, he did so to court Death. He was the mastermind, focusing the Chitauri attacks on their enemy's key seats of power. Be it as it may, in 7782 as a prelude to war, the Chitauri eliminated the Spartoi Empire as a threat by kidnapping the Earth-born prince Peter Quill, son to Emperor J'Son. Keeping the prince imprisoned in Chitauri Prime rendered the Empire inert long enough for a Chitauri fleet to destroy their communication and military capabilities.

The beginning of the war would be circa 7785, with the Chitauri launching an unprovoked, surprise attack on Xandar, home to the peacekeeping militia known as Nova Corps. Prime Commandant Rhomann Dey ordered the Xandarian StarCorps fleet to create a blockade; this was instrumental to the planet's evacuation, but the Corps were decimated and Xandar was destroyed. Dey wanted the Worldmind to reach out to the remote worlds to bolster their chances against the enemy, but they rejected his request. Dey thus deserted and headed to Seknarf Nine—right in the projected path of the Chitauri advance—to seek an alliance with Lady Hellbender; he was unsuccessful. Worldmind recalled the single, small squadron of Centurions who survived the blockade, led by Richard Rider. Rider was made to safeguard the Worldmind, and host the entire Nova Force, but defied orders and founded the Resistance to fight back. Harassing Chitauri warships, the group toured bombed worlds and promised justice; with every stop, the forces of the ragtag fleet grew. Members included Wendell Vaughn, the Centaurian Shadows and the Rigellian Thinker Fleet.

Initial Chitauri attacks included the destruction of Planet X and the Branch Worlds, as well as skirmishes with the Kree; one such caused a frigate captained by Ko-Rel to crash-land on Drez-Lar. Another casualty was the Starborus, trying to protect Beeldar. At the time, the Ravagers were a neutral party, hitting both Resistance and Chitauri ships alike, until a Chitauri cruiser captured their leader Yondu Udonta and imprisoned him on Chitauri Prime. Yondu, along with Peter Quill, would escape sometime in 7786, with the youth joining the pirate fleet.

The next major target of the Chitauri was none other than Kree-Lar, capital world of the Kree Empire, which fell in 7787. Focused on destroying the cities (Hala, amongst them), the Chitauri decimated most of the planet's spaceports and gathered the remaining leaders, with public executions to follow. Shi'ar mercy ships aided a number of escapees. After that, experimental subjects from Halfworld were deployed in the war.

After the collapse of the Kree Empire, Rider answered the Kree distress call on Drez-Lar, where Ko-Rel's forces were holding out against Chitauri aggressors. They brought news of Kree-Lar's fall. Ko-Rel would then join the Resistance, serving as liaison between the group and Kree High Command, whose army regrouped. For a time, a tenuous alliance with the Shi'ar Empire was formed thanks to Centurion Malik Tarcel; however, an assassination attempt by an unidentified agent of Thanos (during which Tarcel lost his life) caused Majestrix Lilandra to reject the alliance. The Resistance fleet also engaged the Chitauri in the Seknarf system, with Lady Hellbender holding out against the Chitauri unaided on Seknarf Nine. At some point, the Resistance established an covert intelligence outpost on Mercury.

Thanos not only directed his daughters—Gamora and Nebula—to assassinate political targets, but he also directly participated in the massacres. On Katath, having tricked its defense force into chasing a Chitauri decoy, he led his personal squadron and razed entire settlements. Upon the defense force's return, a man named Drax found his wife and daughter dead and rallied a small army to attack Thanos. However, Thanos prevailed and humiliated them, sparing their lives. He abandoned the planet afterwards, but while Thanos had broken Drax's squad, Drax himself remained undeterred. Most of the Katathian defense force became part of the Resistance.

At some point, Thanos became obsessed with the Resistance and ordered Gamora and Nebula to find them, making them comb the galaxy for their location for cycles. It was Gamora who found them and rushed back to tell Thanos; however, she found him talking to an empty room, addressing a "Lady Death". Having learned that he would kill all, including her and Nebula, just to prove his love, Gamora fled and joined the Resistance, becoming a valuable asset.

In 7789, after about three years of hostilities, everyone knew the Resistance was losing the war; nevertheless, they fought on. Secretly, Drax encountered two sorcerers who gave him the ability to locate Thanos, who was hiding on a moon in the Black Quadrant at the time. While the Resistance main force was working to free Krylor, they learned of Chitauri interest in the Sol system. Rider entrusted the mission to discourage a full-scale attack to Ko-Rel, but upon arrival, her small taskforce found Mercury Base compromised; they survived only thanks to a timely Ravager intervention brought about by Peter Quill. Despite the difficulties, Ko-Rel led her soldiers to victory. Not long after, word came that Thanos had been killed by Drax. Thought to be was a false report at first, it soon became clear that it might be true, and Ko-Rel pitched an "all or nothing" stealth mission—with Gamora tagging along—to win the war: assassinate the infant Chitauri queen. It was to be a three-pronged attack on Chitauri Prime, with the Kree and Resistance fleets simultaneously attacking on different fronts. While Gamora refused to kill the Queen, her capture resulted in the Chitauri's expeditious surrender.

With the end of the war, the Chitauri were forbidden spacefaring vessels and any technology that could be considered weaponry, and Chitauri Prime has become a prison world under close watch by a council of united planets. Most worlds have focused their efforts on rebuilding. Most notably, Rider and Worldmind focused on the construction of New Xandar and the restoration of Nova Corps, with Resistance fighters joining in the rebuild. They also started collecting dangerous war debris into a massive graveyard known as the Quarantine Zone. It is estimated that the war claimed the lives of trillions of sentient beings.

In the present day, 7801, twelve years after, Nova Corps is still tracking, trying, and sentencing the remainder of Thanos' army, placing some in the Kyln. For her contributions, Gamora was granted amnesty by the Worldmind. Thanos, believed to still be alive by Drax, has yet to resurface.

Gameplay

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Records

THE GALACTIC WAR

The Galactic War was an armed conflict that claimed the lives of trillions of sentient beings. The aggressors were the Chitauri, a warlike race bent on conquest to expand their territory. Thanos the Mad Titan allied with them, focusing their attacks on their enemy's key seats of power. Together, they destroyed Xandar, host world of Nova Corps. The Chitauri sliced the planet into pieces. Kree-Lar, capital city-state of the Kree, was the next to fall.

But the Chitauri underestimated the resiliency and determination of their opponents. The Kree army regrouped, bolstering their forces with "The Resistance," a ragtag fleet of fighters who'd been harassing Chitauri warships since Xandar's destruction. Eventually, the Kree and Resistance fleets launched a three-pronged attack on Chitauri Prime. Each attacked on a different front while a stealth group of skilled operatives landed and captured the Chitauri infant queen. The Chitauri quickly surrendered. Thanos himself was ultimately slain by a vengeful Katathian named Drax the Destroyer.

Cycles later, the impact of the war can still be felt across the galaxy as people try to pick up the pieces and rebuild.

Trivia

• The Galactic War is heavily inspired by the Annihilation War, its debut being Annihilation: Prologue #1 (2006); however, the Annihilation Wave is replaced by the Chitauri as instruments of Thanos, echoing their role in the films Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.