| “ | Laconia is Mars. The Martian ideal taken to the next level | „ |
| — Winston Duarte Persepolis Rising | ||
The Laconian Empire is a sovereign authoritarian colonial empire that encompasses the totality of human-controlled star systems, spreading across 1,000 light-years.
It was was formed as a despotic state, and developed into a massive colonial empire.
History
 “Catching fire” — Spoilers for Nemesis Games follow.
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Breakaway Martian fleet
Knowing that the colonization of the worlds beyond the Ring gates would lead to economic disaster for Mars, MCRN Admiral Winston Duarte secretly organized a secession from the Martian Congressional Republic by a significant portion of the MCRN Navy.
After a Ring Builder shipyard was discovered in the Laconia system by an MCRN probe, Duarte and his most loyal secessionist conspirators used their ranks and positions within the MCRN to keep of the existence of Laconia station from leaking to the rest of the MCRN or MCR government. Sole access and control by the secessionists to the advanced builder technology and materials on Laconia station would allow them to upgrade their existing fleet and create new ships which would incorporate advanced builder technology at every level, following the MCRN preference for overcoming disparities in total fleet size by maintaining a technological edge in ship design.
Breaking away from the Martian Congressional Republic could not succeed if the rest of the MCRN and U.N. fleets were able to intervene. To prevent this, Duarte contacted many of the more radical factions of the Outer Planets Alliance, including the Marco Inaros faction, and secretly supplied them with intelligence, materials, and numerous smaller MCRN ships. With the radical OPA factions united under Marco Inaros, the Free Navy would launch a Belter war against their traditional oppressors in the Sol system. This war would occupy the MCRN and U.N. fleets in Sol system, and allow the Laconian secessionist ships loyal to Duarte to move towards the Slow Zone and the Laconia system uncontested.
Up to a third of the entire MCRN fleet including the Donnager-class battleship Barkeith joined this First fleet. The Barkeith did not make it into the Laconia system as it was destroyed in a Ring gate anomaly.
| “Fires in the dark” — Spoilers for Babylon's Ashes follow.
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Full article: Free Navy Conflict
With the establishment of the Free Navy and the defected MCRN forces now in the Laconia system. Winston Duarte proceeded to establish a new government on the planet Laconia with himself as High Consul. Within months the shipyard at Laconia station was functioning and had launched its' first ship, the Proteus. This ship was used to transport railguns to the Slow zone where they were installed onto Ring Station to ensure the Free Navy could hold onto the Slow Zone for as long as possible before the Sol powers would inevitably retake it.
When the Free Navy forces were defeated the newly Formed Empire of Laconia had a repeating broadcast sent through the Laconia gate warning all ships not to enter or be destroyed. All probes sent through in the following years were disabled or destroyed.
| “An old enemy returns” — Spoilers for Persepolis Rising follow.
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Isolation Period
For three decades, the Lacanion Empire continued to developed as a police state consisting of the Laconia system and its residents. The police state itself usurped control from a research settlement present before the arrival of Duarte's breakaway Martian fleet. For thirty years, travel through the Laconia ring gate was prohibited and a veil of secrecy was enforced.
Laconia-Sol Conflict
Full article: Laconia-Sol Conflict
This Empire was fully realized when the Heart of the Tempest, under the command of High Admiral Anton Trejo, defeated the forces of the Earth-Mars Coalition and the Transport Union at the Battle of Point Leuctra.
Human empire realized
The Congress of Planets was into the Laconian Empire under the orders of High Consul Winston Duarte as the Laconian Congress. The Laconian Empire effectively consisted of the entirety of human civilization but its primary authority remaining in the Laconian system.
| “The enemy is here” — Spoilers for Tiamat's Wrath follow.
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Having conquered all of human controlled space, the Laconian Empire set itself up as the primary power in control of all humanity. Laconia was made the capital of the human empire with the newly created Association of Worlds and the old Transport Union having their headquarters moved to Laconia Capital City[1].
Decline
High Consul Duarte had Dr Elvi Okoye recruited and assigned to the research ship Falcon to explore relics in uninhabited systems. Whilst a diamond structure was found in a system that was believed to contain knowledge of the Ring Builders The Admiral of the ship revealed his actual mission to send a bomb ship through a ring into a dead system to be absorbed by the ring gate anomaly and detonate on the other side to harm what existed there. This plan was based on bad science which Elvi greatly argued against. The plan backfired as a blast sourged from the dead system into the slow zone destroying all human made structures in the slow zone including Medina Station and the Magnetar-class battlecruiser Eye of the Typhoon. The Falcon had withdrawn through the Laconia gate and survived despite heavy damage in which 20% of the ships mass vanished. Afterwards it was discovered that the gate directly opposite the system in which the blast originated had vanished separating an entire human colony from the rest of the Interstellar human community.
Back on Laconia High Consul Duarte was affected by this burst having been injecting himself with Protomolecule for several years by this time. He was left comatose and unable to communicate with anyone seemingly reacting to non existing things around him. Admiral Trejo returned to the system as acted as leader whilst Duartes ilment was kept secret from the general public.
The slow zone had become too dangerous for anyone to permantly stay in and the Laconian Empire lacked the ships to guard all of the gates from the other side. Destroyers where sent to the more important systems, but their navigation beacons in the slow zone were continually destroyed by the underground.
In the Sol system the stolen destroyer Gathering Storm engaged the Heart of the Tempest drawing it into a trap that destroyed the battlecruiser greatly deminishing Laconian power in Sol. This was witnessed by the entire system and encouraged dissent against Laconia.
The underground then used this morale boost and weakness in the Laconian Empire to launch a major offensive with a fleet of over two hundred ships. They entered the Laconia system and managed to draw off the last remaining Magnetar-class battlecruiser from Laconia allowing a four ship wave to destroy Laconia Station and with it the Laconian Empire's ability to produce new vastly superior ships to that of the rest of humanity.
Media
See also
References
- ↑ The Expanse Novel: Tiamat's Wrath, prologue - Holden