Combat occurs whenever two factions have troops at the same location (other than Tarsonis City), then a battle will inevitably emerge. Combats are resolved by comparing the power of both sides, essentially comprised of the attributes associated with the actions that brought the conflict about (when in doubt, use doubled Military) and the combat value of the accumulated troops for either side.

A location can never be occupied by more than five units at any time, not including colonial militia battalions. If at any time troops are forced to abandon a location, or have no available location to go to on the planet, they will be found at a ‘wasteland’ location. Units located in the wastelands are disorganised and undersupplied, and cannot undertake hostile military actions without first returning to an allied location.

If multiple actions affect each other, the order of resolution is as follows: interceptions occur first in descending order of attribute value, then likewise raids, deployments, then seizures in ascending attribute value, and finally bombardments also in ascending attribute value.

Attacks can be strengthened by flanking manoeuvres: if the same location is attacked on the same round from multiple separate locations, flanking attacks have their units’ combat value increased by 50%. The main attack is the earliest if multiple players attack the same location, or the one with the highest unit combat value if a single player attacks from multiple locations. All other attacks are flanking. Note that if a single player attacks a location from multiple locations, only one battle occurs, flanking armies simply provide more combat value.

Military units

Marine battalion: The core of any Terran force, they have a combat value of 1. They cost 1 000 M credits to recruit, and have an upkeep of 200 M credits.

Colonial militia battalion: These are identical to marine battalions, but they do not count toward the number of troops defending a location, cannot be recruited or moved and have no upkeep cost. They are automatically provided by certain locations on the Fringe Worlds or Outer Colonies.

Vulture wing: Vultures are lightly armoured hoverbikes. They usually have a combat value of 1, but this increases to 3 when intercepting or raiding. These cost 2 000 M credits to recruit and have an upkeep of 400 M credits, and cannot be produced without military factories.

Siege tank regiment: Heavily armoured vehicles which deploy powerful stationary cannons. They usually have a combat value of 1, but this increases to 3 when defending or bombarding. They cost 2 500 M credits to recruit and have an upkeep of 500 M credits.

Battlecruiser: The massive bulwarks of the Confederate fleet. They have a combat value of 3 and orbit planets rather than being stationed at a specific location. They can participate in all combats occurring on the planet and require no additional fee for interstellar movement. They also provide a bonus 3 victory points for their owner. Battlecruisers are not generally available for civilians’ personal property, even for the Old Families. However, opportunities may occasionally arise to acquire a retired Battlecruiser. Upkeep for these warships costs 1 500 M credits.