
[2882-2892  War of the Admirals]

Nakurev was finally assassinated in 2882, mid-way through her
third term of office and during a public rally where she repeated
her vow to restore democracy after the war's conclusion. Miguel
Blanco, High Admiral of the Terran Navy, immediately stepped into
her shoes, declaring himself Interim Secretary General over the
impassioned protests of several of Nakurev's underlings who were
soon imprisoned for their trouble. Among Blanco's first actions
was to issue an edict absolving military personnel of all
criminal responsibility for any "unsavory incidents" resulting
from their conduct of the war. The storm of public protest over
this act was soon quelled by shock troops as over a hundred high-
level government officials and tens of thousands of ordinary
people were put to death in the name of restoring national order.
Blanco then undertook a systematic reorganization of the
government along military lines.

   Two years into his reign, however, he was himself assassinated
by Admiral Clarence Duffy who during his year as High Admiral
began freeing all of Nakurev's underlings from jail and started
organizing a criminal tribunal to try underlings of Blanco for
various war-crimes and other anti-democratic activities. The next
ruler was Admiral Mary Sen (nicknamed "Bloody Mary" during the
war for her uncompromising attitude toward conquered worlds).
Realizing that she was on Duffy's list of war-criminals, she
returned to Earth with her fleet, completely abandoning the
worlds she had been ordered to tend, and destroyed the government
complex in a surprise nuclear strike. Whether Mary Sen can truly
be called one of Earth's leaders is debatable, for in seizing the
world, she also managed to eliminate much of the bureaucracy
which was necessary for its governance.

   Needless to say, the bombardment of Earth by one of its own
admirals opened the doorway for all out war as one admiral after
another returned to Earth to try to seize power. During the next
eight years (2885-2892) the resulting carnage was unprecedented,
entire worlds being laid to waste as fleet upon fleet clashed for
power. Finally, in 2892, three of the strongest remaining
admirals joined forces in order to stop the insanity, and with
their alliance was planted the seeds of the Empire.

