Crane's War - Prologue

The United Terran Empire has stood for several centuries. It spans hundreds of worlds, with billions of inhabitants. All are governed by the Grand Chancellor whose seat of government is on Terra itself, homeworld of the human race.
However, not all systems have high thoughts about the rule of Terra. Over the course of the last decades, several censorship laws and bans have been passed, illegalizing technologies and materials deemed as "Harmful to the physical and ethical health of the human race".  
The extent of what "harmful" means, is defined by the Grand Chancellor and his politically appointed Ethicarians; but includes subjects ranging from narcotics and illegal writings to medical procedures deemed "unnatural".
Most prominent of all the bans is the Resolution on Human Enhancement.
It prohibits attempts at surgically improving the physical and mental capabilities of the human body through cybernetic and biological enhancement, as this was considered "Dehumanizing".
The ban did not sit well with many of the outlying colonies.

For years, many colonists had submitted themselves to minor enhancements in order to cope with the stress of assisting the terra-forming of a new planet. Increased oxygen intake, artificial eyes to see in dark environments or even the replacing of entire limbs with mechanic replacements suited for hard labour or combat.
Though several attempts were made at enforcing the ban on the quasi-autonomous colonies, it only bred more tension, hate, fear and more arrests of "undesirables".

Then followed one of the greatest humanitarian disasters in the history of the empire. An unknown virus strain, dubbed The Red Sickness, spread with ferocious haste across Mars. Millions perished in the first weeks, and the disease showed no signs of letting up. Quarantine zones were established and soldiers sent by the thousands to keep the infected in and the healthy out, all the while accusations went rampant about who was to blame for the disaster.
When the UTE scientists that had been dispatched to come up with methods of treating The Red Sickness reported that the virus exhibited tell-tale signs of having been artificially created on one of the more lawless worlds, there was a massive public outcry.
The control and incarceration of illegally enhanced individuals was demanded, and the Grand Chancellor, Thane Berstromm, was quick to respond. Several laws were passed to grant the intelligence service increased authority and tighten the regulations on unacceptable behaviour.
When the Terran Council of Government demanded that all systems were to register and detain every citizen with illegal augmentation that did not turn themselves in, a large number of worlds refused.
The lack of cooperation resulted in the accusation of treason and a declaration of war on the disobedient systems, who in return forged the Coalition of Free Systems, also known as the CSF.

The war raged across the stars for almost two decades with heavy losses on both sides, and eventually reached a standstill, the front practically becoming immobile a short way into what used to be CSF territory.
The United Terran Empire is preparing for the largest offensive in the history of the human race, a strike of such ferocity that it may break the deadlock.

The future of humanity hangs in the balance, as either side prepares for war.