Stalemate

Jamiry Sun, one of the oldest and most influential planets in the Protectorate, experienced the full might of the Empire’s revenge. Using its secret weapon, the Star Sword, the Empire blew up the entire world in a single devastating attack. With the destruction came an ultimatum to the Protectorate, to either immediately acknowledge the Empire’s supreme power, or suffer the annihilation of all core worlds.

Seized by fear the Protectorate unleashed its own secret super weapon, the Cloud. The Cloud was a huge cluster of microscopic machines that could absorb energy and release it in one massive burst. With enough stored energy this burst could destroy an entire planet.

The Cloud released its burst of energy in the orbit of the Empire’s capital, Polaris Prime. The energy burst utterly destroyed the nearest moon, the debris from which slammed into Polaris Prime and caused massive destruction the likes of which the Empire had never suffered.

After the unveiling of these super-weapons it was clear to both sides that each had the power to destroy the other entirely if war continued. The Empire and the Protectorate agreed an unofficial ceasefire and neither side again used their super-weapons.

The Network

To improve the safety and efficiency of jumping through space the United Earth Government sent fleets of unmanned drone ships into the furthest reaches of the universe. Upon reaching their destinations, these drones deployed specially constructed beacons that constantly sent out tracking signals across space. A ship preparing to jump could then use the signals from several beacons to guarantee the accuracy of its own position and destination. With this development jumps were no longer dangerous affairs as jumping ships could always be assured to arrive on target.