The battle over Gallius happened sometime after the Quadra Wars. The tensions between the members of the Quadra Alliance had become tense. The Tarth had grown restless. They yearned to smash more aliens. The ChCh-t began to feel more and more unhappy with their part in the Alliance as well. Both groups felt that the Cyth had too strong an influence on their alliance.
The Cyth saw a bad situation developing. They decided that the best way to avoid disaster was a joint endevor with their allies. Cyth scientists had long been studying a piece of the Gallius runestone. They had just recently made the breakthrough that allowed them to read the encrypted map to the Gallius system. With so few inhabitable worlds in this section of the galaxy, the possibility of a world with unknown treasures was very important news. The Cyth scientists were eager to study it when they first found it, but politics deemed they wait until it could be used as a tool. When offered the chance to join the expedition, both the Tarth and ChCh-t were very enthusiastic, too enthusiastic.
This odd reaction, after the tense terms the alliance had been on, was soon explained. When the joint expedition finally reached Gallius IV, both the ChCh-t and the Tarth turned on their former ally. The might have successfully destroyed the Cyth fleet, but a traitor is a traitor through and through. The ChCh-t attacked the Tarth nearly as soon as they attacked the Cyth. The Tarth returned the favor in kind. The supposedly unprepared Cyth fleet rose like an angry lion. Their mighty mind blasts gooified the brains of many incoming fighters. The three fleets were soon in all out war.
At about this time, the Human and Re'lu expeditions were traveling to Gallius IV. Since the time some Human protesters had tried to make the Re'ites release their Lu'ites, the relations between the Humans and Re'lu had been on tense terms. Without the unity of war, they had drifted apart. One of the few remaining connections was a joint research project on part on the Gallius runestone. Their pact found a map similar to the Cyth one and soon both expeditions had left for Gallius IV.
The two incoming fleets were quite surprised to find the Quadra Alliance's remaining members were at each other's throats. Both races immediately joined the battle. In the beginning, the Re'lu and the Humans fought as one, but the Human fleet was in a very bad position. They tried to move closer to the planet to get a better strategic position. The Re'lu interpreted this as a treacherous act, and attacked the Humans. That move destroyed any pretense of alliance that remained between Humans and Re'lu. Soon, it was every race for itself.
Seeing that there was no way to win, all the fleets retreated to separate planets in the system. There they each set up a base of operations and called for reinforcements. After their bases were finished, each race attempted to send in scouts to the planet. No ships made it past Gallius IV's moon. Without warning, the Uva Mosksuddenly uncloaked. They had avoided almost all contact with other races for years, but somehow, they had found out about the planet. They were determined to make it part of the Uva Mosk Revolution. The Uva Mosk fleet was huge by any standards. No other fleet could compare to it, but together the other fleets were twice as large. The overconfident Uva Mosk were forced to retreat from the planet and also take up a base around another planet.
Then came the Maug. The Maug had been able to spy on the Quadra Alliance's expedition. They were looking for anyway they could to hurt the Cyth, and taking Galius IV from them would hurt them indeed. The huge Maug fleet arrived on the outer edges of the Gallius system, and waited to see the outcome. With their improved sensors, the Maug picked up some odd blips on their sensor screens. The alert Maug had discovered a cloaked Skirineen fleet. The Skirineen, who had supposedly unarmed themselves after the Skirineen Conflict ended, had arrived with a small, but powerful fleet. The Maug immediately attacked their hated enemy.
The other races all moved to attack the Skirineen, as well. Since the Skirineen Conflict, they have been the most hated beings in the universe. The Tarth and Humans attacked with the most fury, nearly destroying the Skirineen fleet. It might have been the end of the Skirineen threat, but a treacherous rear assault by the Uva Mosk soon drew the Humans away to battle them. The remaining Skirineen ships were able to escape the Tarth.
Meanwhile, the Maug had decided to attack their most hated enemies the Cyth. They continued to attack Cyth ships, until the Re'lu began to take over their ships. The Re'lu mind control allowed them to make the Maug ships fight for their side. While not attacking with the stolen ships, the Re'lu theft angered the Maug. Soon, the Cyth were forgotten as the Re'lu became the primary targets for the Maug fleet.
Then it all stopped. A damaged Tarth battle cruiser fell into the atmosphere of Gallius IV. Had it exploded, the entire planet could have been poisoned by radiation. It instead fell into the ocean and was rendered harmless by the crushing force of the deep water. As a result, the Gallius IV pact was drawn up. It was agreed that the battles over the planet would be fought on the planet. There was too much risk of destroying the planet if they continued their pointless battles. The Skirineen were the only race to veto the treaty. They refused to sign, and since they lacked anyway to force the point against seven other fleets, they left the system.