Fun little idea I've had: A Push for Sovereignty:
So picture this then, fine men and women of the fork!
It's 2015 (or 2945 in UEE time). Putting the finishing touches into place, Sailor and PF Command give the general order for the armada to advance into Orion, and certain death and war with the Vanduul. Screams of thrusters (yes I know it's space but bear with me!), the sizzling of lasers, the streaks of light and explosions, scar the blackness of space, flashing across the stars, while those few humans down below on Armitage, see naught but flickering flashes and the shriek of plummeting wreckage. Such is the fate of what lies ahead.
Now let us fast forward a few days, weeks, perhaps even months (maybe a year) and the war is over. It's mark is still visible but somehow, against all the odds, Operation Pitchfork has risen above the Vanduul menace and triumphed! Orion is liberated at last, the brutes broken and pushed beyond the boundaries of known space. Music, dance, celebrations rise from the remaining forces and a triumph of ships fly through the air of Armitage, greeted with cheers and cries of happiness from those below.
Proudly bearing his many Scars and wounds, Sailor dictates a message to Earth and the seat of UEE power. They have done, what those politicians in suits and robes have not. They seized the initiative and broke the back of the Vanduul. They have put Squadron 42 to shame. Orion is back in the fold of humanity. The reply is swift and angry:
The Citizen Fleet has made a terrible mistake and doomed humanity! They have been arrogant in their beliefs of victory and are ordered to make a full withdrawal from Orion, due it's danger, return to Earth and be placed under arrested and charged with destabilizing the State! After all those months of work and sacrifice, OPPF are nothing more than anarchists, ignorant peasants, traitors and scum to the Imperator. They should be heroes of mankind, not branded as monsters! A general meeting of the Citizen initiative is gathered. PF command explain the situation. The looks their supporters give them, is much worse than the most bitter defeat. So now PF must consider the options, how to respond to such slander?
Pack it in and begin that long trek to Earth and willingly turn themselves in? They? The liberators of Orion, the heroes of the People?!
How about flee from Orion entirely with the fleet, find somewhere else to hide from the UEE's hounding persecution? No that won't do! Not at all! What about the fates of the humans below, those they had rescued from a life of oppression by barbaric aliens? What would the UEE do to them in their absence? Torture them? Perhaps just shoot them in the head without a second thought?
Or perhaps there is a third option...it's risky, it's downright dangerous and it could more than likely lead to further warfare. Yet PF command know that they and their brethren have already been to hell and back for the people of Armitage. What's one more trip to them? They were getting a bit restless anyway.
The third option? A push for Sovereignty!! If the UEE dare not come this way for their own kin, it was the turn of the Pitchforkers to assume responsibility, to protect the system they had fought for, for so long. From a simple initiative, to fully-formed System wide Nation! Yes that would be the Ultimate symbol of defiance, a message to the people of Armitage that they are no longer alone! To the UEE, it's a message. We're always ready for one more brawl...but we ain't going anywhere!
Operation Pitchfork has come to an end. Now in its place, The Pitchfork Republic of Orion arises to stake its claim in the galaxy...