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There are no governments inStarfieldbigger than the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective. Unsurprisingly, there are no galactic rivalries anywhere near as large, either. There’s a great deal of history between them, including a long-ago war that lasted many years, and left lasting repercussions that are still being felt within the game’s timeline.
It’s the much more recent Colony War that is hot on the minds of so many Starfield characters, however - and for good reason. We’ll provide an overview of the Colony War that should keep you up-to-speed, as well as a location we suggest you visit in-game to help drive home the severity of it.
Please note that this article includes relatively light spoilers, but spoilers nonetheless.
Exodus
Before we get into the Colony War itself, there are past events in Starfield’s past that must be addressed. Consider thesethe extensive preamble to the Colony War, because without mentioning them, a reader simply cannot get a full grasp on why the Colony War ever took place. In fact,there is arguably more to be said about what happened beforehandthan the event itself.
Humanity was forced to leave Earth en massewhen our homeworld’s magnetosphere rapidly began to decay. Realization of this pending catastrophe occurred in 2150, with a ticking time bomb of roughly 50 years before the Earth would be rendered completely uninhabitable. With this terrible epiphany in mind, the human race set aside their differences reasonably well enough tosuccessfully evacuate our fading blue sphere, taking to the stars on a far greater scale than we’d already done so.
Independence
TheUnited Colonieswas founded in 2159. Its headquarters quickly becameNew Atlantis on the planet Jemison in the Alpha Centauri system- if you’ve played for more than half an hour or so, you’ll have already become acquainted with this massive city. The UC took charge of evacuation efforts,serving as the sole political entityin the short-term.
Even before the completion of humanity’s exodus,the Freestar Collectivecame into existence in 2189. Those who joined the Freestar Collective believed ina greater sense of liberty than the United Colonies ostensibly offered, and took to the fringes of known space, pushing boundaries to escape the bounds of UC jurisdiction.
Narion
But with Earth’s destruction behind us, our natural proclivity for conflict inevitably reared its head.
In 2196,the United Colonies built a medical and scientific space station called The Clinicin orbit of Deepala, a planet within theNarion system. This was… not their smartest move. While the intentmayhave been mostly benevolent - it depends on who you ask, really - the fact is,the people of Narion weren’t associated with the United Colonies, and saw this as a mere prelude to a full-scale invasion.
When Narion joined the Freestar Collective in defiance, the Collective demanded the UC remove its presence. The UC refused.The burgeoning rivalry exploded into war,and the war, in turn, exploded into a cacophony of violence, includingenough ethically dim actions on the UC’s part to turn many citizens against their own government.
The United Colonies won the war - a war that lastedtwo decadesand led to the deaths of millions - when theyeradicated the Freestar Collective’s fleet. With such perceived barbarism on their part, the UC, victorious though they were, knew they needed to agree to decent terms. The Freestar Collective thus continued to exist, anda tense peace continued all the way until 2308.
Violation
We should note, the intervening decades were far from lacking in Starfield lore, with the most wide-scale conflict occurring betweenthe United Colonies and Freestar Collective alliance against House Va’ruun. The most important outcome of this for the purposes of understanding the Colony War is the fact thatfollowing the alliance’s victory, both sides accelerated fleet developmentin preparation for future conflicts.
Thus, the stage was set for another devastating war should the UC and Freestar factions come to blows again. And so it did, as a result of a perceivedtreaty violationwhereinneither side was legally permitted to expand beyond a set number of colonized star systems.This treaty had been established at the conclusion of the Narion War, and the United Colonies' objection to a Freestar Collective settlement in the Lunara system was the powder keg.
Niira
The planetNiira, a strategically important world within Freestar Collective space, was conquered by United Colonies forces shortly after the onset of the christened Colony War.Niira’s occupation was countered on several occasions throughout the Colony War, but each Freestar effort was rebuffed. With every battle, Niira’s people suffered, its cities ravaged; indeed, the promisingly verdant planet was awastelandby war’s end.
Londinion
Londinion, acity within United Colonies space, was the scene of a tragedy so dreadful that despitenotbeing a battleground between the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective, it has nonetheless gone down in Starfield’s history as a major event within the Colony War.Terrormorphs, brutal monster-like creatures that humanity had just barely warded off in past encounters,struck Londinion as a horde, besieging the population.
It was here thatFleet Admiral François Sanonearned his infamy with one of the most Machiavellian moves our species had ever seen. To stop the Terrormorphs from potentially traveling offworld, thus putting further settlements at risk,Sanon ordered the obliteration of Londinion, sacrificing the lives of its citizenry and besieged UC Navy defenders. While this action didn’t pertaindirectlyto the Colony War, the brutality would factor into the Collective’s consciousness, invoking all the more bitter of a struggle.
Cheyenne
Cheyenne’s Akila City served as the capital of the Freestar Collective, and it was in this very system thatthe Colony War would soon come to an end. In 2311, the United Colonies dispatched their largest fleet to the system, likely in the hopes of bringing the heat upon the Freestar Collective to such an extent that their surrender should be imminent.
Instead,the Freestar Collective fought back with such voracity as to cripple the UC fleet. Their starships employed effectively the space combat equivalent of guerrilla tactics, whittling down their enemy. But it was the Freestar Collective’s decision touse civilian ships within its own forces, even sending these relatively unarmed craft to serve as ill-fated bait, that turned the tide to the greatest extent.
Armistice
The Freestar Collective won the Colony War. Though both sides endured many losses, the fact that the Freestar Collective ultimately succeeded in fending off would-be UC invaders. Coupled with a renewed civilian awareness of the United Colonies' willingness to go to terrible lengths to achieve their goals, the Collective was able to demandtheir enemies' military leaders (including Admiral Sanon) be put on trial forwar crimes.
Furthermore, given the horrors inflicted upon the peoples of both sides,further deployment and construction of mechs and xenoweapons was officially outlawed within both the United Colonies and Freestar Collective.
Ramifications
19 years have passed since the end of the Colony War when the events of Starfield begin. Your grand galactic adventure takes place at a time whena tense peace exists between the United Colonies and Freestar Collective. You’ll explore systems far beyond the formal reach of either government, but even then, you will often encounter the far-reaching ramifications of the Colony War - and, further back, the Narion War and its own origins.
It’s possible to become a citizen of both the United Coloniesandthe Freestar Collective during your playthrough. Expect many of the main characters on either side to harbor grim sentiments toward the other, however - which can sometimes lead tomore difficult moments during diplomatic conversations.
