Manktas Defence Network
The Manktas Defence Network is a relic from Manktas' early history. Its first colonisations revealed a wealth of natural resources, and it was not long before external forces developed a taste for the system's assets. These were more than sufficient for the system to be self sustaining, and were thought to be in ample abundance to supply countless systems; even with populations orders of magnitude higher now than at the time, Manktas remains able to preserve more than a dozen systems in times of crisis. The Lord of Manktas of the time was a fearful individual, ruling from the shadows, their identity unknown; the only surviving accounts are those from the outside, which refer to the figure as the "Glutton King". Several wars were fought to protect the system's sovereignty, with the Glutton King refusing any offers of assistance in fear of demands for debts to be paid. Conflicts escalated as denied partners turned to join the attackers at the promise of a share of Manktas' wealth.The Glutton King demanded the construction of a complex defensive web, a set of over a hundred sensor beacons, which were carefully placed around Manktas. These provided a complete scan of any ship in the system, and were suspected by outside researchers to be capable of predicting incoming hyperspace vectors. The workings of the network were unknown, clouded in mystery. Once the network was activated, not a single ship, military or civilian, survived a flight to Manktas. Entire invasion fleets were lost, ambushed long before they could reach their destination. The scraps of radio comms detected suggest that swarms of drone ships, no larger than a human, would descend on the convoys from all directions, arriving undetected in overwhelming numbers. However, as the invasion fleets grew larger and bolder, the swarms began to falter; always able to defeat the attackers, though growing ever closer to failure.
A military base was formed on the surface of Manktas' first planet, Lee Gateway. Larger warships were housed here, with barracks and communications facilities to relay information from the network to on-duty pilots. With the combination of human and drone defence fleets, the Manktas Defence Network reached its full potential. Invasions were flawlessly prevented, with the drones eliminating escort fighters in order to leave flagships exposed to strike wings.
However, on the Glutton King's death, the network failed. While some of its capabilities remained intact, most notably its sensors, the computational aspects could not be activated. Ships could be detected, but it was no longer possible to predict hyperspace trajectories, and even if the drone squadrons could be launched they would have been far too slow to intercept invaders before completing their objectives. Manktas' new Lord was forced to establish relations with neighbouring systems, sharing its wealth and gaining supporters who would later be subjugated to form the Vestige.
To this day it remains unknown why the Manktas Defence Network fell silent. Theorists have suggested that an essential element of the network's computer bank was removed, however nobody has been able to access the sealed vault in order to investigate this. Known as the "Nexus", this key would reactivate the network, and revive the dormant drone fleets floating in the black. However, there is little evidence available to support this, likely due to the Glutton King's secrecy around the matter.
In the past centuries, developments have rekindled some of the Manktas Defence Network's concepts. Still connected to the sensor array, Lee Gateway was able to receive scan data. Supercomputers were installed to make estimates of hyperspace vectors, though the invention of the Frame Shift Drive had limited the usefulness of this. Hyperspace jumps into Manktas can still be detected the moment a wake is created, however with travel times now seconds rather than hours or days, the signal is only sufficient to act as an early warning for ready pilots to get to their ships, as opposed to allowing them to reach positions for an ambush. With the use of Supercruise, defenders can now dispatch a vanguard to slow the enemy. The usefulness of this was not overlooked, and two more Gateways were created. Griffith Gateway, located in orbit above Manktas 1, provided faster response times than Lee Gateway, with ships launched further from the planet able to avoid the physical and gravitational obstruction. Rucker Gateway, constructed above Manktas 2 in Johnathan Rucker's race against Hans Capek, began construction earlier than Griffith but was completed nearly a decade later due to funding being redirected to Capek Enterprise. Rucker's royalist views led him to take on more work than could be afforded, building in the Gateway capabilities in addition to the other difficulties of creating a starport. However, the Third Gateway provided a blockade able to defend Jiushao Depot, the capital of Manktas and seat of the High Lord of the Vestige. The act gained him the favour of the High Lord, and he was granted command of the restored Manktas Defence Network.
The three Gateways, in addition to the partly functional sensors, now provide sufficient defence to eliminate any fleet entering Manktas. However, after the fall of Xeria's Vestige control of Lee Gateway fell to the fanatic Manktas Brothers, a pirate organisation believing themselves to be doing God's Work. Years of their control have in fact appeared beneficial in the turbulent system, as their complete objection to use of their Gateway denied any party from closing the system to outsiders. The two orbital Gateways have traded hands several times over recent years, with no faction holding control of them for long enough to understand how to operate them. Manktas Partners grew the closest, with their installation General Immigration Commission constructed to enhance their two Gateways to compensate for the lack of Lee Gateway, however their failed coup against Spearhead Charter caused them to lose Griffith, rendering the installation useless. However, the war proved that the Gateways remain powerful enough to control entry to the system, allowing Federal war fleets access (including multiple Farragut Battle Cruisers) while limiting incoming support from Spearhead's allies to single ships. Any faction that controls all three Gateways will control the Manktas Defence Network.
One question remains; if it even exists, where is the Nexus? With all three Gateways, and the Nexus, it is suspected that the controlling faction would be capable of not only closing Manktas' borders, but also tracking every ship within the system, eliminating any demographic of their choosing.