The Siege
In an effort to apprehend terrorist instigators and suppress a potential uprising on Planet Caelum in A28:535, masses of imperial keepers were deployed to the planet in a display of overwhelming force. Heavy troop brigades occupied both the upper and lower planetary strata as thousands of imperial inquisitionists descended on the populous. Historically perceived as an excessively harsh military siege, the cycles long occupation ultimately represented a significant miscalculation by the emperor. As reports of brutality and terror spread to other worlds within the system, the plight of the people of Caelum, overlooked for thousands of cycles, was finally brought to the forefront of Novian society. Aerion XXVIII became the dynasty's most reviled emperor, which only caused his actions to become more extreme and fanatical. For the first time in history, the Progen Ministry began gestating a new heir to the throne in secret. The reign of Aerion XXVIII ended in assassination just 29 cycles later.