Scouring of Altair

Summary
The Scouring of Altair was the result of the infamous Forty-Second Council of Capella decision to wipe out the Altair Rebellion from orbit. Using the ion-based weaponry that had been the staple of the old Imperial fleet, the Direcorate Aero-Space Command forces wiped out all life in Altair, following an ultimatum and brief exodus of Altair Loyalists. The results of the Scouring of Altair was the complete annihilation of the Altair Rebellion, the effective termination of Altair as an active system, the suicide of Director-Commander Sara Commenus, and the Altair Reforms.

The Ultimatium
Grand-Admiral Nanako Bellico was initially in charge of the blockade fleet in Altair herself, but Director-Commander Commenus took charge after the scouring was resolved upon. She issued an ultimatum to the rebel-held worlds informing them that if they did not surrender within 48 hours, the Aero-space Command fleet's battleships and battlecruisers to open fire with their ionic beam cannons with maximum power to scour the surface of every inhabited world, satellite, asteriod and installation in the Altair system. In the meantime, all remaining personnel who remained loyal to the Neo-Terran Directorate were to make themselves known and be rescued by the fleet.

The Exodus
About a third of the Altair system was still loyal to the Directorate, they merely happened to be cowed during the rebellion itself, and sent secret communications to the fleet. Hundreds of thousands of Altair Loyalists managed to escape in the ensuing chaos, while millions were savagely massacred by the Terrestrial Command forces, who had been told that the ultimatum was a bluff. Governor-Lord Toldaris and High-General Balsingham were confident that the Directorate would not dare to purge a fifth of itself. They were wrong.

The Scouring
Following the termination of the 48th hour, Director-Commander Commenus ordered the main ships to disperse across the system in a pre-agreed pattern. The ion beam cannons of the pride of the Directorate Aero-space Command disintigrated the surface of each world, while each remaining pro-rebel space facility was simply destroyed, while Loyalist ones were evacuated and detonated. Once the scouring began, Governor-Lord Toldaris and High-General Balsingham attempted to escape using FTL prototypes but were killed in the process. The operation took two days and is held as one of the most controversial actions in Directorate history.

The Aftermath
The scouring left the Altair system with uninhabitable worlds and little in the way of remaining resources, while it remained a nominal member of the Neo-Terran Directorate, that was largely due to the Altair Loyalists who established a number of space and asteriod facilities in the Proctor Belt of the Tau Ceti system. Even so, most Directorate patrol routes continue to include the Altair system, but that is believed to be principally a mix of tradition, habit, and the need to defend access to Sol.

No rebel forces were known to have escaped the blockade, and the early reports of non-Senate FTL fleets assisting them was revealed to be mistaken. As the actions at Altair were unknown to be rebel outside of the Neo-Terran Directorate, non-Senate forces are believed to, if anything, have greater support for the Directorate, believing the sharing of technology to have been authorised. Discussion of the Altair Rebellion outside of the Directorate is considered a treasonable offence. The Council has done its best to limit the damage caused to Senate relations, while enjoying the benefits of non-Senate popularity.

In the meantime the Council gained a new crisis after Director-Commander Commenus shot herself (aparently being unable to continue living with the shame of the entire business). Due to the divisions caused by the Altair Rebellion within the Council, an unassuming compromise candidate in the form of Lawbringer-General of Directorate Militia Gustavus Pakenham being elected as the new Director-Commander. Much to everyone's surprise, the former chief-of-police turned out to only be unassuming in external policy, having taken an active interest in reforming the Directorate's administration and military forces. Those reforms he instituted following his appointment are collectively known as the Altair Reforms. The most famous of those reforms were the termination of all governors being required to be Centauri citizens and the reformation of the Directorate Aero-space Command and the remnants of the Directorate Terrestrial Command as the new Directorate Star Forces under an Arch-Admiral. The first in that role being the heroine of the Battle of Altair Gate, Nanako Bellico of Capella. Those reforms were seen as the end of the aftermath of the Altair Rebellion and the Scouring of Altair, and appear to have galvanised the entire Neo-Terran Directorate as the Third Age begins.