Only one month after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian Empire, the Empire has declared war on the kingdom of Serbia and its colonies.

    Early last month, the Archduke and his wife were visiting the colony of Epimetheus around Saturn, to enjoy its near passage to Janus, another moon. Many from offworld and alternate worlds were in attendance, and at first it appeared that the assassination attempt had been thwarted when the grenade thrown by one of the assassins went off too late.

    Unfortunately due to a wrong turn, another assassin was provided the opportunity to strike, killing the Archduke. Visitors from offworld were nearby and managed to safe his wife from the assassin's bullet, but the Archduke died en route to the hospital.

    At first this was seen as another sign of the recent strife between the occupied colony of Epimetheus, largely populated by Bosnian nationals, and the Austria-Hungarian Empire. Tensions escalated despite the Archduke's widow attempting to argue for peace, but the widow has long been seen as an outsider to the politics of the Empire, and was unable to sway those in power.

    The Empire is expected to swiftly deal with Serbian colonies around Saturn and absorb the moons into its own holdings, but this may cause considerable political stife, say experts. Russia has made official protests but is unlikely to get involved despite their alliance with Serbia, and with much of their fleet occupying the colonization and exploration of the Neptune and Uranus moons and structure, it is unclear if they have the military position to influence the result.