By the standards of first contact wars, the Human Rl'shan First Contact War was a long, brutal affair. By any other standards, it was a small conflict--nine months of human and rl'shan fleets staring menacingly at one another from across the Epsilon Eridani system, occasionally interrupted by a brief shootout, all while the linguists tried to figure out how to communicate. Of course, at the time both species feared they were at the beginning of a war for their very existence.
It was also likely one of the most important conflicts in galactic history. Once cooler heads prevailed, the two sides quickly made peace, and began to lay the groundwork for interspecies cooperation and politics. A year later, the Galactic Accords were signed, and the Galactic Assembly was founded.