History Galactica

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December 6, 2118 CE - Guardian's first attempt to destroy Ragnarok fails

December 6, 2118 CE: The Guardian reaches her target at 02:16:31 GMT, and settles in for firing solution. Careful consideration is made as to the angle of attack. Unbeknownst to the Guardian’s crew, a flaw in the manufacturing process for the initial reaction catalyzer was not caught during manufacturing or installation. When she goes to fire her first torpedo, the reaction refuses to start. A second torpedo is readied, again to the effect of just venting gas. The third attempt successfully created the torpedo, but lingering hydrogen gas in the initial reaction chamber causes the forming torpedo to be just a few degrees over the thermal threshold of it’s field generator. Immediately upon exiting the Guardian, the torpedo prematurely detonates. It is a miracle this did not destroy the ship outright, as no time had been allowed to provide her with combat rated armour, not that combat rated armour had been invented yet. While her internal systems were undamaged, the launch tube exit port was mangled too badly for further torpedoes to be fired.

December 7, 2118 CE - Guardian collides and self destructs with Ragnarok

December 7, 2118 CE: Several attempts are made to push Ragnarock using the Guardian’s engines. They prove far too weak to make any kind of appreciable change in the asteroid’s vector. At 09:54:12 they send a simple message to Earth, “We give our lives for the lives of Humanity. May you all see better days.” Shortly there after, the Guardian explodes in a massive uncontrolled fusion reaction, consuming all of her torpedo and engine fuel in one cataclysmic blast.

January 4, 2119 CE - Ragnarok misses the Earth

January 4, 2119 CE: Ragnarock misses the Earth by 22,000 km. It’s vector sufficiently altered by the sacrifice of the Guardian and her crew, she angles past the Earth, and heads straight towards Venus. Upon reaching the shrouded planet, it skips right through the edge of Venus’s atmosphere. Its size, combined with its unusually high-density, drags a significant quantity of Venus’s atmosphere away from the planet, reducing the overall pressure to just five atmospheres. Ragnarock passes Venus, and dives straight into Sol. It is thereafter dubbed Prometheus.

2119 CE - Interplanetary commerce begins

2119 CE: Interplanetary trade begins in the Sol system. Moral is at a major high point due to the near miss by Prometheus. The celebrations on Earth last for more than a month straight. People find a renewed optimism in the future. The GCC, meanwhile, begins to turn its eye towards Venus. Bifrost Station beings to produce merchant ships, as well as creating two more Guardian class ships, just in case. Scientific efforts remain directed at space exploration and development.

2121 CE - Eden Project launched on Venus

2121 CE: The GCC decides to use Venus as a test bed for environmental engineering experiments. They reason that if they can make Venus habitable, then they can apply those same technologies and principles towards repair Earth’s biosphere. The Eden project is launched on July 12, 2121. One month later, the second generation of Fusion torpedo technology is created. These torpedoes and launchers have only a 0.0001% chance of failure, and include emergency venting technology to prevent a catastrophe in case of a major weapons failure.

2122 CE - Independent colonies established

2122 CE: The first independent mining colonies are established in the outer solar system. Additionally, independent asteroid mining bases begin to be constructed in the belt.

2134 CE - Signs of progress on the Eden Project

2134 CE: After years of expensive and exhaustive research, the Eden Project successfully makes a dent in Venus’s inhospitable environment. While it is a very small step, it is definite progress. Later this year, the merchant ship LaCroix goes missing. The SDO dispatches it’s two Guardian ships to investigate. No trace is of the missing ship is found.

2178 CE - Prerana Madujula born on Venus

2178 CE: On May 9, 2178 08:25:33 in the colonial medical center, Neo Delhi, Venus, Prerana Madujula is born. While not the first child born on Venus by this point, she will have a lasting mark on history.

2189 CE - Pirate base discovered

2189 CE: Several decades of vigorous interplanetary trade had passed by this time. Trade routes were well established, and major colonies had been constructed on most of the major worlds in the Sol system. To date, five merchant ships had now disappeared. The LaCroix, Hounds Tooth, Gabrielle, Murmensk, and Yoshiro. Amidst building pressure from the GCC, the SDO conducts a covert operation to determine what is going on. Agents are specially trained and distributed among almost all of the merchant ships of the time. They make a startling discovery when their agent on board the LaSalle reports back that his ship is being boarded and captured by unknown assailants. The homing beacon their agent smuggled on board leads the SDO to a hidden asteroid base being used as a pirate outpost. Here they find not only two of the other missing ships, but a thriving black market. The pirates had rigged up a sort of magnetic rail cannon for their ships, allowing them to fire on other vessels. While significantly less powerful than a torpedo, these weapons allowed them to hit much more maneuverable and smaller targets than a torpedo-equipped ship was capable of handling, as well as a significant reduction in power requirements and greatly increased tactical engagement range. Realizing that their Guardian ships would be woefully inadequate in a battle against such ships, the SDO petitions the GCC have a fleet of six new ships be built. These ships would be based off of the original Guardian hull, but would sport two Rail Cannons and combat rated armour (which was deemed an unnecessary expense up until this point) rather than a torpedo launcher. Approval is given for this, and ten months later the first of these new Guardian ships coasts out of Bifrost Station.

2190 CE - The first space battle

2190 CE: The first battle between space faring ships in Human space occurs. Leading their force of eight ships, the SDO overwhelms the pirate asteroid. Their new ships engage the pirate ships with much success, while their two original torpedo ships pound the asteroid base to pieces. Disturbingly, however, there is a completely different compliment of ships present. Additionally, two of the new ships seem to be specifically designed for ship to ship battle and are armored with the new combat armour just developed. Fragmental evidence recovered later indicates that there may be as many as one hundred such bases scattered around the system. Two months after the assault, the pirates attack the mining colony on Titan. Most of the miners are killed trying to resist, and all of the ore present is stolen.

2192 CE - New fighters prove a success

2192 CE: Amidst increasing pressure to secure its outer system bases, the GCC completes work on its aerospace fighter program. Cheap fighters are produced and delivered in large numbers to the outer colonies to aid in security. Pilots are trained from the available colony station employees. The pirates, ever resourceful, create their own fighters shortly there after. However, the GCC is able to produce both the fighters and the pilots much faster than the pirates. Order is established around the outer colonies.

2198 CE - Eden Project completed

2198 CE: After 77 years of continual work, Project Eden is declared a success. While Venus is nowhere near as pastoral as the project’s namesake, it is fully habitable by human life without environmental support domes. A massive effort to colonize Venus is begun. Large numbers of population leave Earth for the more habitable Venus in a mass exodus. The GCC relocates their headquarters to Venus, and beings an intensified effort to repair Earth.

2199 CE - Pirate activity on the increase

2199 CE: This year shows a marked increase in pirate activates. They grow so bold as to repeatedly raid in the inner Sol system, and do so successfully. Intelligence suggests that a single individual may have united the majority of the pirate forces during this time.

2201 CE

2201 CE: The SDO, under continual strain to police the rising tide of piracy, pushes the GCC for a major increase in it’s military budget. The GCC agrees, and levies additional taxes on its colonies to pay for its military increase.

2203 CE - GCC rule destabilizing

2203 CE: Three major increases of taxation later; there is only a marginal decrease in piracy in the inner solar system. Contact with the outer solar system is sporadic at best. Secure communications are hard to come by, and successful ship movements are even more rare. Every ship that the pirates take is converted into a vessel for their purposes. Compounding this problem, the continually increasing taxes drive more and more citizens to conduct illicit business in order to survive. On March 14, 2203, Luna and Mars both threaten to declare independence of the GCC. The GCC decides to negotiate, as the bulk of their military power is occupied with combating the pirate threat. A series of long and often loud meetings begin.

November 12, 2203 CE - Luna and Mars are granted full independance

November 12, 2203 CE: The combined governments of the GCC, Luna Colony, and Mars Colony are not able to come to a mutual agreement. Rather than spark a devastating war that would undoubtedly lead to some kind of damage to Venus, the most habitable planet in Sol, Luna and Mars are granted full independence. They are also granted one quarter of the outer system colonies each.

2204 CE - Earth reaps the benefits of Eden

2204 CE: The Eden project comes full circle, as Earth is deemed fully habitable again. While it will take several more decades for the biosphere to fully flesh itself out, Earth is overall more capable to support life than Venus due to its established history of life. Several individuals and families move back to Earth, including Prerana Madujula.

2204-2215 CE - Pirate activity continues to increase

2204-2215 CE: Pirate incursions and inter world tensions continue to escalate. While none of the inner worlds have any direct grievances with each other, many of their outer system colonies do not get along. To better combat the threat of pirate and interplanetary fighter threats, the first coherent light beam weapons are developed. Officially to help defend ships against micrometeorites, the true purpose of this project is obvious. These weapons have a rather poor rate of fire, however, and are prone to overheating very easily. Never the less, pirate activity is pushed out of the inner solar system due to a combined effort by Luna, Mars, and the GCC.

2216 CE

2216 CE: Working independently, Dr. Prerana Medujula and her team makes what is perhaps the most important technological breakthrough in the history of humanity. On August 20, 2216, at 05:34:54 SST (Sol Standard Time), Humanity’s first tachyon drive comes online. The prototype vessel breaches the speed of light at precisely 05:42:12 SST. Humanity would never be the same. When asked which corporation owned the development rights of the new tachyon drive, Dr. Medujula declared that no one corporation owned the rights to it. Instead, she claimed that it belonged to all of Humanity. To reinforce her statement, she and her team release the full plans and scientific theory behind the jump drive to the public web, and every media station that would accept it. This creates an immediate scandal. All inventions are the property of the corporation that owns the employee that invented it. To have an inventor declare that their invention is not the property of any one corporation is unheard of, let alone such a groundbreaking device. Immediately a formal inquiry and trial follow. It is determined that Dr. Medujula worked for most of the major corporate interests present to amass a combined wealth with which she and her team researched and built the tachyon drive. It was the therefore the judgment of the corporate courts that jump drive technology indeed does not belong to any one corporation. It is also decided that Dr. Prerana Medujula was guilty of high treason against her corporate owner or owners, and on December 22, 2216 at 12:00:00 SST she is executed.

Immediately a race to manufacture and market the new drive technology is launched.

2217 CE - Taroke Corporation develops inertial dampers

2217 CE: The Taroke Corporation introduces the first inertial dampers. These devices counteract the effects of sudden changes of velocity on the crew of a ship. As a side effect, the internal stability of a starship is reinforced by the reduction in inertial stresses. Inertial damper technology is properly registered and licensed to sub-manufacturers for inclusion in spacecraft design and construction. A side effect of this technology is the creation of a stable artificial gravity field inside of the ship it is mounted on. This technology becomes one of the cornerstones for future ship design. Later this year, the GCC, Luna, and Mars launch the first interstellar colony ships, bound for Alpha Centauri. They successfully establish colonies three months later.

2218 CE

2218 CE: In a daring raid, a large and very well equipped pirate fleet attacks assets around Earth. All orbital instillations are destroyed. Additionally, it is found that the GCC fighters were ineffective against the pirates due to a new coherent light beam system that the pirates were employing. Evidently, the pirates had discovered a new materials process that would allow them to build coherent light beam weapons that had a much faster and more reliable cool down cycle. It was later discovered that the pirate fleet was actually a coalition of at least six pirate clans. The inner system worlds are outraged. An all out military campaign against the pirate threat is called for by a unanimous vote by the GCC, Mars, and Luna. Each government had been suffering devastating losses to the pirate fleets in recent months. The willingness of the pirates to unify against a high threat target shifts the balance of power away from the inner worlds. Additionally, there is the new threat of possibly being cut off from their new interstellar colonies.

April 21, 2218 CE - Whitworth is elected as the first Grand Chancellor

April 21, 2218 CE: Through shrewd manipulation and maneuvering, Westley Whitworth is elected the first Grand Chancellor, to “deal with the pirate threat”.

April 10, 2218 CE - The United Galactic Trade Organization is officially formed

April 10, 2218 at 13:00:00 SST (Sol Standard Time), the United Galactic Trade Organization is officially formed. Its initial charter is to provide “a common defense for the interests of Humanity across the Galaxy”. The ruling council is made up of representatives of Mars, Luna, and the GCC. Provisions are made for the inclusion of other members in the future. This council would be called the Senate. All military assets of each member are unified and put under the direct command of the UGTO. Additionally, a provision is made that “in times of war there will be voted into being an individual who would hold the title of Grand Chancellor.” This individual is to coordinate and direct all military activities from a central voice, allowing for fast and decisive decisions to be made.

2218-2224 CE

2218-2224 CE: The UGTO prosecutes its war against the pirates with much success. While he is accused of being a bit…heavy handed, Chancellor Whitworth proves he is a man who can get things done. Venus, the Jupiter Alliance, and the Saturn Mining Interests each join the UGTO during this tumultuous time. The war is furious and violent. The pirates are well equipped, with battle-hardened troops. The UGTO has superior resources and technology. In the middle of the fracas are caught the normal people. Several corporations do a brisk business in selling jump capable ships to people who want to get away from the war and start anew in a different system. These ships are very cheaply available, primarily because the corporations that manufacture and sell them require their owners to sign a contract giving the selling corporation ownership of any colony they establish. The vast majority of the colonists never notice this clause. They just want to get as far from the UGTO, pirates, and the Sol system as possible.

October 13, 2224 CE - Shi Jie Sheng found on doorstep of orphanage

October 13, 2224, at 22:41:16 SST, a baby is found on the doorstep of the Red River Orphanage, Exathra. Attached to his bundle is a note identifying the child as Shi Jie Sheng.

January 15, 2228 CE - Last pirate base in Sol destroyed; First Stellar War ends

January 15, 2228 CE: The last pirate base is destroyed in the Sol system, and the First Stellar War comes to an end. The people of Sol celebrate, but only briefly. The UGTO senate declares the office of Grand Chancellor to be no longer necessary. Chancellor Whitworth disagrees, pointing out that the pirate threat still exists, it has merely moved beyond the Sol system. It is decided that a general election should be held for the continuation of the office of Grand Chancellor. Having been taxed and re-taxed to pay for the campaign, and having suffered under the oppressive police state that Chancellor Whitworth choose to make the UGTO, the people vote down the office almost unanimously. Chancellor Whitworth declares the vote illegal, and claims that no provision for it is made in the UGTO charter. Tensions continue to rise between the Senate and the Chancellor, and a divisive war looks inevitable.

March 18, 2228 CE - Grand Chancellor Whitworth dies. Death sparks investigation.

March 18, 2228 CE: In what is labeled a “freak accident”, Grand Chancellor Westly Whitworth dies by being flushed out an airlock. A cursory and hurried investigation declares that the Grand Chancellor “must have been sleepwalking, and accidentally triggered the airlock release.” The fact that the Grand Chancellor wasn’t known to sleepwalk, was on a rented transport ship without explanation or body guards, and appeared to have suffered some kind of projectile trauma before being flushed is barely noticed by the public, and promptly ignored.

2228 CE

2228 CE: The UGTO charter is revised, creating limitations in the powers and term for the Grand Chancellor.

June 7, 2228 CE - Miniya Keiji is elected as the second Grand Chancellor

June 7, 2228 a new Grand Chancellor is elected to help safeguard the UGTO interests outside Sol from pirate influence. Miniya Keiji becomes the second Chancellor of the UGTO. She proved to be a competent if not powerful ruler. She mostly stayed out of the business of the government so long as the Senate gave her lip service as ruler and passed the occasional measure put forth by her office. Of note is the fact that she was able to sneak in some important social and economic reforms, including the Worker Emancipation Act, which prevented corporations from being able to own employees that are full UGTO citizens, and the Tax Code Ceiling Reform, which put a limit on the maximum percentage of a citizen’s taxes based on each citizens personal income. It could also be said that the declaration of a colony as a full member was hamstrung by this last measure, because colonists are not citizens until their world is a full member in the UGTO Senate. Since they are not citizens, there is no law to stop the UGTO government from levying as severe of taxes on its colonies as the Senate deems fit.

2229 CE

2229 CE: Rather than dieing out, the majority of pirate interests had, in fact, moved outside the Sol system. Whitworth was successful in damaging them, and he did also show them that the military might of the Sol system was not something to trifle with. Even with the election of a weakened Grand Chancellor, the pirate fleets were not eager to work in Sol for a while. However out here in the colonies military patrols were rare if they existed at all. So, to keep their coffers full, the pirates began preying on worlds outside of Sol. Worlds that were outside of claimed UGTO space were particularly attractive, as the UGTO fleet would not come out that far.

August 15, 2229 CE - Outer Colonies form Farstars

August 15, 2229 CE: Sick of being preyed upon by the pirates and not receiving protection from the UGTO, the outer colonies call a meeting on the world Exathra. Exathra had long been considered a sort of de-facto ruling center for the outer colonies, due to it’s high habitability, and because it formed one end of the Colonial-Sol trade route. They decide to create a mutual defense pact, named the Farstars. Each world would come to the aid of its neighbors in a crisis, and would share with each other any important discoveries that are made. This alliance is very informal, with most of it created verbally. One of the most important practices instituted by the Farstars is the capturing and recommissioning of pirate vessels. This allows the Farstars fleet to grow rapidly, even if it’s not of the best quality.

2230 CE

2230 CE: Receiving stiffer and stiffer resistance from the Farstars, the pirates begin to raid in Farstars and UGTO space more or less equally.

2232 CE

2232 CE: Oringo Louis Zozia is elected the third UGTO Grand Chancellor on an anti-piracy platform. Overall, he was successful in his endeavors. However, this did involve an increase in taxation for colonial worlds, which caused several small protest outbreaks. These were quelled quietly and totally with the quickest means possible.

2232-2238 CE

2232-2238 CE: The Farstars continue to build their fleets. Their early successes behind them, they settle into a sort of parity with the pirate fleets. However, rivalries begin to appear between worlds. It isn’t clear exactly when it started, but at some point in this period worlds began a habit of not coming to the aid of other worlds that “didn’t deal fairly with them.” This caused a good deal of divisiveness to creep into the Farstars.

February 6, 2235 CE - Ocotat becomes first extra-solar habitable world to join the UGTO

February 6, 2235 CE: Ocotat becomes the first fully habitable world to join the UGTO from outside the Sol system.

2238 CE

2238 CE: Adrian Yukio becomes the fourth UGTO Grand Chancellor. Mr. Yukio was an imperialist. He believed that the UGTO should rule all human worlds absolutely and without question, and that as Grand Chancellor, it was his duty to rule that UGTO. The return of pirate activities allowed Chancellor Yukio to begin building up the UGTO fleet. In order to do this, new and oppressive taxes were levied on the colony worlds. Resentment for UGTO rule began to grow rapidly.

2240 CE

2240 CE: Because of this oppression and taxation, an underground organization called the Stellar Freedom Alliance was born. Organized in cells, the SFA was a revolutionary civilian group dedicated to bringing about change in the UGTO government. The SFA started its career with simple protests and minor acts of civil disobedience. The Grand Chancellor would brook no opposition to his absolute unquestioned rule. He had the leaders of the SFA hunted down and assassinated. Into this power void, a new and more violent group of individuals stepped. The SFA under this new leadership became a tool for terrorism and violence, dedicated to the utter collapse of the UGTO government. Bombings of government and loyalist businesses started to occur. Chancellor Yukio was delighted. Here was the excuse for the massive buildup of military personnel and material that he desired.

2241 CE

2241 CE: The new Bifrost Fleet Foundry is completed on the site of the original ship docks. This shipyard is build modularly, so that it can be easily expanded to accommodate larger and more powerful vessels in the future. This remains the primary ship construction facility for the UGTO to this day.

Suffering losses to the large and well-organized military of the UGTO, the pirate fleets find the divisive environment of the Farstars much more to their liking. The Farstars find themselves so bogged down by internal bickering that they cannot properly defend their population centers, let alone trade routes.

2242 CE - McCormic establishes pirate empire

2242 CE: Gagarin Naval Academy is completed in Earth orbit. This station is the largest inhabited station built to this point, and houses over twelve thousand personnel, crew, and passengers. All naval fleet training and zero-g training is conducted through this station.

Robin McCormic forges an alliance of pirate fleets. The Pirate Lord McCormic the proceeds to start seizing Farstars worlds and carving out an empire for himself. This greatly alarms the members of the Farstars alliance. They decide to temporarily combine their forces against this new threat. Their fleet jumps into pirate space, and proceeds to loose battle after battle due to it’s disorganized and fractious nature. Finally, a young Lieutenant Shi Jie Sheng aboard the destroyer CSS Vanguard seizes command after the rest of the command crew is killed in a near bridge hit, and orders all remaining ships to retreat to a point near Caranie Aa. While he is not nearly the most senior officer present, his cool and clear command cuts through the pandemonium and saves the Farstars fleet from complete annihilation. Lieutenant Sheng is given a promotion to Captain for his wise command, and given command of the CSS Vanguard.

2244 CE

2244 CE: The UGTO navy launches its one hundredth active ship. Near the end of his term, some of the shady double dealings conducted by Grand Chancellor Yukio leak to the public. This does not have much of an effect on the general populous, however. Vice Chancellor Renaldo Messinia becomes the sixth Grand Chancellor.

Captain Sheng keeps at bay and defeats a fleet of four pirate cruisers with the CSS Vanguard while defending Argrea alone. During the action, the Vanguard is damaged so badly that it is considered unsalvageable. For his valorous efforts, he is promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, and given command of the Cruiser CSS Paladin, along with the 3rd battle group. The CSS Paladin is a state of the art UGTO cruiser purchased from the black market through the Stellar Freedom Alliance. While she was stripped of weapons and engines by the SFA, her hull was a solid design, and she accepted Farstars weapons as well as any ship. Captain Sheng immediately set out with his new battle group against the pirate fleets.

2245 CE

2245 CE: The Stellar Freedom Alliance starts to get impatient. Ever since Grand Chancellor Messinia took office, their covert support from the UGTO had dried up. They begin to escalate their activities, to bring across the message to the new Grand Chancellor that they are not a group to be trifled with. For his part, Grand Chancellor Messinia had no real understanding of the dealings that his predecessor had engaged in.

One such initiative began by the former Grand Chancellor was the establishment of a covert biological weapons facility deep in the core of Charon. Using their knowledge of genetic manipulation gained over the years, the lab was tasked with finding an expedient method of dispatching with the pirate threat; the plan was to introduce a biological agent which would spead among the members of McCormick's empire and which could be triggered externally, by something like a burst of radiation of a certain type, wiping out the pirates. Given its sensitive nature, however, Messinia and most of the Senate was unaware of the program.

Meanwhile, Shi Jie Sheng rises quickly through the military ranks, attaining the rank of Admiral in one year of service. He is granted control of the entire Farstars fleet command. His tactics are solid, and his command of strategy is brilliant. By the end of the year, he has been able to force McCormic to surrender his pirate empire. The remaining pirate ships flee into uncharted space, to lick their wounds.

Immediately upon victory, the Farstars begin to return to their status quo of internal bickering. It would appear that Admiral Sheng had been expecting this. In his forces, he had fostered a fatherly relationship with his troops and crew. Not only would his people live for him, but they would also willingly go to their deaths for him. They all knew the stories of how he would personally risk himself for the lives of his crew or other ships. Most of them had lived some of these same stories with him. He ordered the entire Farstars fleet to Exathra. Once there, he blockaded the entire CD system, with all the Farstars diplomats present. He then calmly and coolly stated that there would be a new order. This was not a request, but more of an order. The politicians balked at this thought. He simply informed them that if they did not wish to see the creation of his order, he would be more than willing to end their existences right there. None doubted the sincerity of his words…

Admiral Shi Jie Sheng’s new order would be ruled on Exathra. All member worlds would send two Representatives to help govern in the council. Each representative was voted into power by popular vote of the people whose planet he or she would represent. The council would be lead by a High Councilor who was voted to rank from with the council by popular vote of the people from all the worlds in this new government. Each Representative was required to put forth at least four years of military service to their government before seeking a position in politics. Terms would be limited to six years per Representative, and ten years for the High Councilor. The High Councilor would have direct command of the military, and the military would no longer be the property of individual worlds. This new government would be known as the Interstellar Cultural Confederation.

Shi Jie Sheng is elected almost unanimously as the first High Councilor of the ICC. He maintains a disciplined and orderly military.

September 18, 2248 CE - SFA hijacks eighteen ships

September 18, 2248 CE: The SFA gets fed up, and hijacks ten freighters, six patrol frigates, and two passenger liners while they are in port at Redemption station orbiting Ocotat. They put forth several demands, including the release of several political prisoners and a very large sum of money. Grand Chancellor Messinia decides to confer with his security council and the senate before acting on this threat. The time this requires only serves to anger the SFA, who detonate two of the patrol frigates with all hands on board. This infuriates the Grand Chancellor, who sends the first, fourth, and sixth fleets all after the fleeing SFA. A massive campaign is launched by the UGTO against the SFA and any worlds that supported them.

June 29, 2249 CE - UGTO Biological Weapons deployed

June 29, 2249 CE: The UGTO has been successfully preventing advances of the SFA forces. In order to attempt to finish the war more quickly so as to reduce expenditures and loss of UGTO military lives and assets, on June 29, 2249 at 09:23:19, Grand Chancellor Messinia signs a classified approval for the use of biological weapons developed on Charon against an SFA-aligned planet.

Seeking to demonstrate their technological superiority, the specially tailored virus is relased on Price, in Delta Pavonis. The virus is designed to spread quickly and the scientists estimated the entire population would be infected within a month.

On July 9, 2249, at 12:17 precisely, the exact radiation to trigger the virus is directed at Price; the scientists involved said it should cause total nervous system failure and cause death within 30 seconds. And because of the early activation, estimates were that only some 20% of the population would be affected. This was seen as an effective way to demonstrate to the SFA that its cause was hopeless and the UGTO was resolved to take any steps necessary to win.

However, the virus apparently mutates soon after introduction. Rather than quick deaths, most suffer a flare-up of the nervous system, causing swelling, pain, and degradation. All nerve receptors are stimulated by the virus, causing massive mental overload and unbelievable pain; the swelling damags internal organs and causes brain hemorrhaging. Additionally, 30 seconds to death is a dream to those affected, many of them taking days to finally die.

And it spreads more widely than expected. Probably because of the links of modern trade and travel, the entire population of Price is wiped out in less than two weeks, and the virus soon shows up on Zayd, decimating its population, followed by the Bellema cluster. The disease strikes quickly, causing pain to build within an hour of infection, so that live interstellar network transmissions would often show people acting normally one moment and writhing in pain the next.

Due to the speed of its spread and the visciousness of its effects, a quarantine is placed on the Delta Pavonis system on the morning of July 20. Despite being at war, SFA and UGTO ships are diverted from active battles to patrol the jump lanes out of the system for ships desperate to flee the carnage. They are destroyed without mercy; the risk of the disease spreading out of the system is simply too great.

By the end of the year, the disease claims all the residents of Delta Pavonis.

May 2, 2250 CE - Last world supporting SFA falls; Second Stellar War ends

May 2, 2250 CE: The last world holding out in support for the SFA falls. The Second Stellar War has raged across 7 systems including Sol, and claimed all human lives in an entire system. However, the UGTO was able to maintain a crushing weight of military power behind their efforts. Grand Chancellor Messinia’s last act in office is to declare the war over.

2250 CE

2250 CE: Trahern Nahima is elected the Seventh Grand Chancellor in the closest vote to date. Grand Chancellor Nahima is different from his predecessors. Rather than conduct his office as a military post, he chooses to operate it more as a civics project. He begins to make it his business to deal with the colony worlds differently than his predecessors. Among his new policies is a plan to expend massive resources to rebuild lost colonial assets during the pirate conflicts, and to stimulate colonial growth with tax breaks.

In the course of Grand Chancellor Nahima's initial briefings on classified military matters, he is informed of the cause of the DP Plague. He immediately orders the shut down of the Charon Biological Research Station and orders the researchers involved "appropriately dealt with;" military authorities assure that they are never heard from again.

August 6, 2250 CE - Biological Weapon Ban announced

In a ceremony on August 6, 2250, he announces that the Plague was caused by human engineering, blaming it on a rogue group of military scientists who perverted the work of their lab. He claims they were tasked with designing methods of better resisting pain, but that they perverted their research into pain production. Their work was then accidentally released and mutated out of control. He then announces the Comprehensive Ban on Pernicious Biological Agents, which effectively prohibits the production or use of any biological material used in war, which could harm civilian populations, or reasonably mutate into a widespread harm. These types of weapons become known was biopernics in the military nomenclature.

While many do not entirely believe the explanation given for the Plague, the UGTO-controlled media focuses on the benefits of the Biopernic Ban and Nahima is publicly lauded for his stance. He appeals to all of humanity to respect the same terms.

The ICC declares that they will abide by the Ban as well, and the High Council passes a law identical in wording.

October 7, 2251 CE - FS-Technologies develops first shield systems

October 7, 2251 CE: Future Ship Technologies Inc, based on Demaret, develops the first practical reactive shield systems. The UGTO professes interest in this new technology for its next generation of warships. However, Grand Chancellor Nahima vetoes the additional expenditure that would be required in order to refit the fleet with shield capable systems. To recover the massive expenditure that was required for development, Future Ship Technologies offers their new device to merchant ship owners. The actual cost of maintaining a reactive shield system turns out to be less than maintaining an armour system, and it proves adequate for defense against space dust, micrometeorites, and pirates. As a further incentive, Future Ship Technologies offers to split the cost of refitting a ship with shields for the first one thousand shield systems. This proves to be a great financial success.

2253 CE

A discovery is made but never officially announced or recognized by the scientific community. Only a true Historian would know anything about it, however.

2255 CE

2255 CE: High Councilor Sheng’s term of office comes up for termination. The populous, and particularly the military, have been very prosperous under the High Councilor’s watchful eye. People have never been so prosperous or secure so far out from Sol. They felt that they were in fact more secure than the UGTO, due to their ability to avoid entanglements with the SFA. So pleased is the public and military that they pressure High Councilor Sheng to remain in office for another term. The military even proposes that he should be High Councilor for life. Shi Jie Sheng refuses, and steps down from office in an orderly fashion. When asked why, all he stated was “I did not form the ICC to become an Emperor. I formed the ICC to let the people be unified and safe under leaders of their own choosing.” Shi Jie Sheng reclaims his rank of Admiral. Mombola Fredrickson becomes the second High Councilor for the ICC. He begins his term by continuing the process of building a strong fleet to help insure safe interstellar trade. A key action he performs is to sign a purchasing contract with Future Ship Technologies for large quantities of shield systems. While not as strong as armour, reactive shields continue to be shown to require less maintenance than armour, and their higher recharge rate gives them a greater aggregate strength in combat.

2256 CE

2256 CE: Trahern Nahima’s stint as Grand Chancellor may have been peaceful, but it was not without its problems. The central worlds to the UGTO became resentful of what they saw as favoritism towards the colony worlds. They felt that worlds that had a long-standing membership in the UGTO should be given preferential treatment. Additionally, this period of relative peace had let the UGTO fleet fall seriously behind technologically.

Marik Falcia becomes the Eighth Grand Chancellor of the UGTO. He runs on a platform of renewed industrial expansion and increased space exploration. As one of his first acts in office, he creates the Colonial Restoration Tax. This tax was officially levied to recuperate the resources expended by the core worlds on rebuilding the colony systems. This infuriates the colonial governments, who begin to feel that tax breaks would only last long enough to pay off their debits, only to have new debits created immediately afterward by new tax increases. Several colonies decide to secede from the UGTO and form their own independent governments. This does not please the UGTO core worlds, who need the trade for resources that the colonies posses. To counter this maneuver, the UGTO dispatches its fleet to enforce order in colonial space.

2258 CE

2258 CE: Tired of having to deal with the UGTO occupation force, the Cygnus system applies for membership in the ICC. While the ICC sees this as a risky maneuver, they also see the large number of resources in the Cygnus system as a valuable asset. The ICC decides that it is worth the risk, and dispatches the 4th and 5th fleets to secure the system. The UGTO occupation forces refuse to withdraw at first, but after launching an attack on the ICC ships they realize that discretion is the better part of valor. Not only does the ICC have more ships in the Cygnus system, but their constant efforts to keep their fleet up to date has provided them with a technologically superior force than the UGTO, who has continued to let training and technology lag. Word of this event reaches the Sol system in short time.

July 23, 2258 CE - UGTO declares war on ICC - Third Stellar Conflict

July 23, 2258 CE: The UGTO Senate lead by Grand Chancellor Falica declares war on the ICC, citing piracy as its reasons. The ICC, under the leadership of High Councilor Fredrickson, had been preparing for an inevitable conflict with another stellar power. The Third Stellar War ensues.

January 4, 2259 CE - Ross 248 system captured by ICC

January 4, 2259 CE: The 1st ICC fleet under Admiral Sheng takes the Ross 248 system.

September 12, 2259 CE - Epsilon Ind captured by ICC

September 12, 2259 CE: The 2nd ICC fleet under Admiral Cosgrove takes the Epsilon Ind system.

February 16, 2260 CE - UGTO Navy decimated by ICC Fleet

February 16, 2260 CE: The 1st and 6th ICC fleets engage the 2nd, 4th, and 7th UGTO fleets in Luyten. While outnumbered by more than two to one, the ICC fleet triumphs over the UGTO fleet assets. The ICC loses the bulk of the 6th fleet, including Admiral Thompson. The remaining ships are folded into the 1st fleet under Admiral Sheng. The UGTO has only five ships survive, and loses all of its commanders over Captain rank. This is the most devastating loss the UGTO has suffered to date.

May 12, 2260 CE - UGTO successfully sues the ICC for peace

May 12, 2260 CE: The UGTO successfully sues the ICC for peace. Territory lost by the UGTO is seceded to the ICC. This more than doubles the amount of space under ICC rule. The UGTO senate, outraged at what they call administrative bungling, suspends Grand Chancellor Falicia and places Vice Chancellor Margret Cooper as interim Grand Chancellor. The Third Stellar War comes to an end.

Immediately, Grand Chancellor Cooper beings to overhaul the UGTO military. Two new training facilities are constructed for ship crews around Ocotat and Venus, as well as a large number of marine training facilities on any planet that can support them. Gagarin Naval Academy is rededicated with a new mission to be an elite officer training school. It is still the most prestigious officer training school in UGTO space.

The UGTO fleet is slated for mass mothballing, and replacement by ships that incorporate many of the new technological advances over the last several decades. Practically overnight, new technologies like Proton Torpedoes, Particle Cannons, and Charged Armour are incorporated into radically new ship designs. These new ships begin to roll out of every available shipyard as fast as they can be purchased.

2262 CE

2262 CE: Margret Cooper is elected the ninth UGTO Grand Chancellor amid allegations of a fixed election. This scandal does not seem to weaken her popularity with the core worlds, however, which see her progressive military stance as the proper route to take in regards to the ICC.

2262-2265 CE

2262-2265 CE: The ICC continues to shore up its worlds. Trade routes are established and secured. The ICC notices the buildup of UGTO military forces, and begins to research some advanced technologies of its own.

Grand Chancellor Cooper realizes that the UGTO requires more money than it current has available in order to complete its military buildup. Rather than levy yet another tax, the Chancellor begins an aggressive campaign to route out waste and corruption in the current UGTO government. This makes her no end of enemies, but any who too vigorously oppose her tend to come to some kind of premature end, either politically or entirely.

2265 CE: James Takari elected as ICC High Councilor.

2265 CE: James Takari becomes the third ICC High Councilor. His platform consisted of continual buildup of the ICC fleet. While he makes good on this promise, he also starts to run the ICC into bankruptcy. To counter this, new taxes on trade are levied. This angers many of the ICC worlds, particularly the worlds newly gained from the UGTO.

• The Dark Age - First steps to redemption
• Discovery of the Extra-terrestrials
• Evolution of the Machine - Creation of a new god