Dog Fighting

After a coalition of planets in a distant frontier declared independence, The Terran Federation of Planets deemed this improperly conducted, illegal and an act of terrorism. When a force sent to the hub of the revolution meant to quell it was destroyed in a catastrophic battle, The Sovereign Empire was formed. Initially, the "Empire" moniker was simply an ironic joke; a play at Federal propaganda. With time, the "Emperor" became a legitimate figure of authority, with a legitimate line of succession.

Centuries later, in the midst of never-ending war between the Federation and the Empire, some people manage to find peace in a region of space thought to be completely empty. A massive, Earth-like habitable planet, colonized peacefully by the people of both the Empire and the Federation, leaving their allegiances behind. Slowly but surely, word of mouth and breadcrumbs of shrewd merchants lead more colonists to settle in what seemed to be the only inhabited place in the galaxy devoid of war and strife.

Until now. The no man's land becomes a contested battlefield, and the worst of the worst are sent there, to deny the other side supremacy and a base of operations. This is not a story of simple people struggling to survive, or war heroism.
It's a tale of hungry dogs of war devouring their prey.