The Feast of Bones
Codexian expansion would continue well into the 260s, spreading human influence further and further into the galactic 'hub'. This time, Codexia directed its main efforts at colonizing the Phyr Dead Zone - a program that proved highly unpopular with the Phyr refugee population living on Codexian colonies. Besides the dearth of popular support for - what amounted to - 'grave robbing', the whole endeavour was, initially at least, an expensive waste of time. Dozens of worlds scarred by the war with the Turanei littered the Zone. Some were merely 'damaged' by selective orbital bombardment. But others had been completely sterilized. The Turanei had proven themselves highly thorough exterminators of Phyr life. Eventually, however, finds were made that mitigated the expense involved in exploring the former warzone. They included minor triumphs, such as the discovery of a largely intact stealth carrier (the famous Ur'esh; a carrier that had participated in at least four wars and survived them all), as well as a major one of singular importance.
The databanks of the Ur'esh included full recordings of a lengthy and very nearly fatal engagement with a Turanei vessel. A Codexian analysis thereof revealed some startling facts. Firstly, the Turanei ship that had nearly claimed the Ur'esh's scalp was almost twice as large - a truly monstrous machine of war. Secondly, the battle had been a terrible mismatch from start to finish. The Phyr had combated the Turanei ship heroically and knowingly, evading its extremely powerful beam weapons through the clever use of their stealth cloak and constant maneuver. In the end, however, the continuous suicide runs of the Phyr fighter pilots proved insufficient. The Dreadnought (as the craft was labeled in the Phyr database) shrugged off both their weapons and their final, desperate collision runs. The battle had ended only when the monumental Turanei vessel had run down the fleeing Phyr carrier, having ultimately closed off every route of egress. It had been a 'beautiful' and tragic ballet of death, throughout.
In any case, the tactical data the 'black-box' afforded the Codexian military was absolutely invaluable. It gave a proper insight into Turanei weapons and tactics (the former of which, at least, were confirmed to be very dangerous, indeed). Though the Dead Zone otherwise proved to be largely, well, dead, it nevertheless was a smorgasbord of resources that were now no longer being utilized. Despite the vehement protests of the Phyr, these resources were soon being mined and harvested by Codexian prospectors and corporate agency. Aside from the aforementioned, however, the exploration of the Dead Zone had otherwise proved somewhat uneventful; perhaps even dull.
When the relative stability of the previous several decades did come to an end, it did so rather unexpectedly, and the occurrence had very little to do with the Great Dying or the Phyr. In 266AU, the Raumen Confederacy convulsed under a serious rift between five great clans. A disagreement over territorial boundaries and strategic resources soon escalated into open conflict, and pitched battles shook the Raumeni domain. Codexian trade with the Raumeni was catastrophically affected.
How do you wish to approach this problematic conflict, which is still in its infancy?
Do you... remain neutral and hands off, allowing the Raumeni to resolve their own problems?
OR
Do you... give political support to the side that seems to promise the greatest concessions to Codexia in the event of its victory? In this scenario, the support would consist of money, supplies and political validation, not military might.
OR
Do you... intervene directly on behalf of a faction? This scenario plays out much like Option B, however it also includes military support.