2012: Over the past years, tensions have escalated between the Arabic nations and various members of the UN (particularly the United States). Numerous terrorist attacks against UN members are unofficially sponsored by various members of government in the Persian Gulf. The UN, in return, launches a series of counterattacks (again, led by the US) against the terrorist organizations.
In other parts of the world, Russia and the former Solviet Union countries have crumbled into ruin. The price of the Ruble drops off the international market. Various crime syndicates run many parts of this once great region. Although still a member of the UN, the Russian government is barely in control of it's own country anymore, as riots continuously plague the cities.
2016: Due to increasing conflict within their borders from outside sources, several of the Arabic nations combine their resources in a similar fashion to the UN. The Arabic Combine is born of Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait (which is forced to join upon threat of war), and Libya (which although not an official member, supports the group's actions). The UN fears this union because of the virtual stranglehold these countries have over the world's oil supply. The UN begins to bully several of the members by imposing trade embargoes. This only increases tensions.
2019: US becomes increasingly worried about the middle east situation. Several other nations become fearful that the Arabic Combine is acquiring weapons of mass destruction, however no proof is found. NASA is severely under funded as military and domestic affairs get top billing in the US.
2023: Arabic Combine lessens the flow of oil to other countries. Developed nations suffer as now only the rich can afford to drive cars. Gas prices soar to $5.00 per litre. UN demands that the Combine return oil shipments to their previous quantities. The AC defies the UN. Several more terrorist attacks occur against various UN embassies and officials. UN funds research for alternate fuel sources (i.e. fusion and/or solar).
2024: Gas prices soar to $6.00 per litre.
2026: As the UN procrastinates, any thought of a war with the AC becomes less and less likely as fuel becomes more and more expensive. Most people cannot travel more than a few miles from where they live. Taxes in many UN nations have flown through the roof, nearly doubling in the past 10 years.
2028: An independent German scientist, Mark Zimerman, discovers the secret to cold fusion. From this, a generator the size of a backpack could power the world trade centre for 3 days. He tries to patent his invention, however the UN confiscates the knowledge, as a matter of global security. Mark is paid handsomely and retires to a private Caribbean island. He is presented with the Nobel prize for science.
2029: Fusion power is made public knowledge as the first fusion power plants go online. The majority of the UN military undergoes a huge overhaul to equip everything with fusion generators.
2030: The AC sees that many nations' militaries are weakened as machines are being upgraded to fusion power and declares war on the UN in September. However, on the eve of war, something unexpected happens. A meteor appears out of nowhere in the skies above South Africa, and slams into the country, creating devastation far and wide. Whole forests are burnt to ash upon impact, and millions die in the fires. The fires rage for 4 months before rain and an international effort brings them under control. War is temporarily postponed as the world is in shock. Many religions declare it to be a sign from God, although what the sign means is hotly debated.
2031: As the ash and dust finally settle in February of this year, geologists studying the meteor make a startling discovery. At the centre of the crater formed at impact, there is a mound more than 100 feet high. As the various teams moved to investigate, mankind encountered it's first extra-terrestial. They were bugs - beetles to be exact. And they weren't friendly. Roughly 5 feet tall and 10 feet long, they had a horrible temper and killed any native earth life that approached within several miles of their lair. They came in huge numbers from the mound, and much like our own terran insects, seemed to mass produce themselves and have no sense of individuality.
Many geologists and their guides were killed by the bugs' razor sharp claws and mandibles before the area could be evacuated. The bugs showed a pattern of extremely rapid and aggressive expansion. The bordering nations' inhabitants quickly fled the oncoming horde. Meanwhile, the UN worked along with the AC and the Chinese military to minimilize civilian casualties, and to mount a counteroffensive.
By May troops were in place around the bug border areas to keep them contained within. At first, air strikes were used to destroy the mounds the bugs used as their bases. Unfortunately, much like our terran ants, the mounds extended far underground, so air strikes had to be backed up with "clean-up" crews to enter the tunnels and kill the egg-layers.
By October the bug threat was wiped from the face of the Earth, at the cost of nearly 100 million lives.
2032: The New World Order is established. Now that we knew we were not alone, that life had evolved somewhere other than Earth, things changed. Mostly out of fear. The UN was flooded with requests from countries that before didn't want anything to do with them, now wanting to join. The AC, which lost most of its troops in the bug wars, was also assimilated into the UN, which changed its name to the NWO (New World Order). China retained its' independence.
2033-2051: The sciences, particularly the space program, received huge government grants in all countries. Several orbital space stations were constructed, as well as a small permanent colony on the moon. Chemical rockets were replaced by the fusion drive, a much faster, smaller, cheaper, and more efficient means of travel. Mars was finally within reach.
2052: The first humans land on Mars.
2053-2098: A permanent colony is established on the moon, as well as one on Mars. Very early terraforming of Mars begins. In addition, research progresses on orbital defence weaponry. Such things as satellites armed with crude lasers, and dumb space mines are invented but not overly used. Theories on the possible terraforming of Venus are toyed with. Also, the asteroid belt begins being mined for resources. Late in this period, Europa and Ganymede, two moons of Jupiter, are deemed ripe for colonization. The first large scale orbital shipyards are built by 2080 in orbit around Earth. Several of the asteroids in the asteroid belt are equipped with defensive systems, although again, not extensively. Also, artificial gravity is finally perfected in one of the orbiting science stations around Earth in 2085. Soon, all ships are equipped with them. In 2098, however, one of the most important discoveries in human history is made: the first FTL (faster-than-light) drive is created.
2100: The last year of the 21st century marks the year when man left the solar system for the first time. An expedition left to chart the system of Alpha Centauri.
2101-2197: The First Age of Expansion. Every human alive is now under the NWO as China and the other dissident factions on Earth finally joined. Over this time, Mars has been terraformed into an Earth-like planet, holding a population of roughly 400 million citizens. By 2120, FTL travel is commonplace. There is a mass exodus from Earth as people begin colonizing other worlds in other systems. The NWO opens FTL transport to the private sector in 2145, allowing interstellar travel agencies, mining corporations, and many other space-borne businesses to join. The interstellar economy booms as unemployment is the lowest in recorded history. By 2197, humans have a total of 19 colonies on various planets over four systems. It was the first age of peace where in all the human nations, not a single war was fought. Weapons and defence research was put on low priority, as war seemed to be a thing of the past as both resources and employment are plentiful. But all good things must come to an end.
2198: On a routine surveying mission of System 86, an NWO scout ship found an Earth-like planet. Upon closer inspection, blast marks, like those left by standard orbital bombardment weapons, marred the planet's surface. After a brief expedition to the surface, it was clear that a primitive form of sentient life, still in its own Stone Age, had developed on this world, only to be destroyed by something. The planet was named Thanatos (Greek for Death).
Seeing that there was a possible threat of hostile alien life nearby, the NWO stepped up production of what they called "passive warships". These were ships that normally could be used as standard cargo and transport ships by NWO personnel but had built in features to allow quick modifications in times of trouble (i.e. detachable cargo bays, dormant weapon ports, etc.).
2207: First Contact. Humankind's first encounter with another sentient species came with the race called the Zaishan. A large supply convoy was making it's way past Hermes IV, a large gas giant, on route to the newly established mining colony of Hermes II when it was attacked by an unknown force. Both the convoy and, soon after, the colony were totally destroyed.
This shocked the NWO. As their scientists and xeno-theorists reasoned, any sentient species capable of the advanced knowledge of space travel should be enlightened enough to use diplomacy over fighting. However, the evidence was right in front of them. Close to 5,000 people lost their lives in the attack.
Over the next two months, the NWO rallied it's forces, modifying it's passive warships to be anything but passive. In addition, several specialized warships began being built at various NWO shipyards. Meanwhile, two other colonies were attacked and destroyed by orbital bombardment. At one, an almost fully automated mining facility, only 20 lives were lost. The second colony however, was an agricultural world, where over 3 million died. With all hails ignored, it looked as though diplomacy was wasted on these creatures. After two attempts to communicate, the NWO ordered a fire-first-ask-questions-later policy for all ships and orbitals encountering these aliens. For the rest of the year, no more colonies were destroyed, and the war seemed to be at a stalemate. Negotiations were still non-existent however.
2208-2209: The war continued with the unknown invaders. Their ships were weaker than the humans, especially after the NWO equipped many with the new weapons that were created during the war (the most common being the X-ray laser). Sadly, the aliens had many more ships than the humans did, and it seemed that for every fleet the NWO fleets destroyed, two more would warp in somewhere else. It became quite clear that the aliens were trying to divide human forces up, then pick them off.
Several nonessential developing border colonies were evacuated so that large fleets would not need to protect them. Their inhabitants were moved to nearby, more heavily defended worlds. Near the end of 2209, the aliens won a major victory over the humans, destroying three of the largest human orbital shipyards in the entire NWO, as well as decimating the colonies below them. The losses the invaders took were staggering, but like always they just kept coming.
2210: First Peaceful Contact. In early 2210, the NWO fleets were in shambles due to increasing victories by the alien invaders. With ships scattered all over human space, most badly in need of repairs, the invaders were free to clear a path of destruction right to Earth. The mining colonies of Alpha Centauri were evacuated, with all refugees being taken to Earth, Mars, Europa, and Luna. The alien fleets destroyed the abandoned colonies in Alpha Centauri, and pressed onwards, into the terran system. The plutonian military outpost's orbital weapons system put up a good fight, but was eventually outgunned and destroyed, along with all colony structures on the planet. As the fleet moved towards Earth, and with nothing but the occasional defence matrix in the asteroid belt (Jupiter and it's defences were currently on the far side of the solar system), it looked bleak for the human race. The order was then given by the NWO president to mine the asteroid belt. However, these would not be the normal mines that the NWO had been using in orbital defence. They were composed of modified Apocalypse-Class nuclear bombs, set to go off at the push of a button. All ships remaining in the terran system (only a few armed freighters and a couple of damaged warships) took up orbit around Mars. As the mammoth fleet entered the asteroid belt, the bombs were detonated, destroying about eighty percent of the fleet of invaders in a heartbeat. As the remaining ships reorganized themselves, the ships in orbit around Mars broke orbit and attempted to clean up the rest of the aliens. The fight began well for the humans, who destroyed many already injured ships. There simply weren't enough ships in the NWO fleet however, to stop a few of the invaders ships from breaking through the line and heading straight for Earth. As the few ships approached Earth, the planet's massive orbitals prepared to fire. The battle to save Earth itself was about to begin. It was a quick battle.
A fleet of heretofore unknown saucer shaped ships arrived at Earth as the invader's ships moved to attack the orbitals. The new vessels were far more manoeuvrable than NWO ships of the same size class. They cut through the invaders' ships, backed up by the firepower of the NWO orbitals. Within 10 minutes of their joining the battle, the new aliens destroyed all remaining invading vessels. A call came that the battle near the asteroid belt had received similar aid. NWO headquarters immediately broadcast a message to the new alien craft, thanking them for their help in the battle. Talks opened between this new race and the NWO. It turned out that these new aliens had actually been the ones studying humans. Their appearance matched those descriptions of alien that had abducted countless humans. They too had been attacked by the invading race that they identified as the zaishan. Although humanity watched these new aliens with suspicion, we finally had allies in our galaxy: the Fraal.
The Fraal explained that they had helped humanity because they too had just recently come under attack from the zaishan. There were many questions that the NWO had for them, specifically why they had made frequent visits to our world in the past to abduct people and study them. The fraal explained that at that time, several rogue fraal scientists had been found to have been studying Earth and humans. The fraal public did not know of these experiments, as they violated many fraal ethical values.
2211-2213: The fraal, although not an aggressive race by nature, fought valiantly against the zaishan. They helped the NWO get back on its feet and begin producing ships and rebuilding. Naturally, the NWO was thrilled to finally have an alien species on their side, and accomodated the fraal in whatever ways they could.
Many battles were fought during this 2 year period, however it became clear that this was fast becoming a war of attrition. There were no stunning victories on either side until the following year.
2214: The T'sa. While traveling through deepspace, along the border of human space, a small mixed group of human and fraal scoutships came under attack by some wandering zaishan raiding ships. Although the zaishan were defeated, only one of the scout ships was still functional, and barely at that. It's warp drive had been severely damaged, as had navigations (although they didn't know this at the time). After gathering up the survivors from the battle, the human scout set course for what it thought was for human space and while traveling at sublight speeds, began to broadcast a distress call. Two weeks passed before their call was answered. A lone ship of unknown make approached theirs and hailed them. On the viewscreen popped up a picture of a small reptilian creature. It was humanoid and spoke a verbal language (although the crew both human and fraal had no clue what it was saying). After it talked on and on for a while, the translation computer finally gathered enough information from pattern analysis to begin translation.
The creature introduced itself and called it's race the T'sa. After plesantries were exchanged, the ship was towed back by the t'sa ship to a nearby human colony. This sent shockwaves through the NWO once they heard about it. Another friendly species with borders close to their own. It was the NWO's intent to warn the t'sa of the zaishan, and if possible, to bring them into the war on the human's side. The humans, fraal, and t'sa exchanged ambassadors for negotiations, but the t'sa initially didn't want to have anything to do with the raging conflict. They were a peaceful race, full of inventors, mechanics, and scientists, but not warriors. The ambassador made it clear that the t'sa would remain neutral in the war, but would like to open trade between themselves and the human-fraal alliance. This was accepted by a somewhat dissapointed NWO.
T'sa neutrality didn't last long. Three months into the trade treaty, the zaishan followed a supply convoy of t'sa vessels back to a t'sa border colony. They destroyed both the convoy and the colony (over 300,000 died). Just as with human and fraal encounters, the zaishan didn't respond to communications of any kind. The t'sa high council got a majority vote and entered the war on December 13, 2214. Although they were not a warrior race, they had help.
The t'sa, unknown to humans, had in the past century, made contact with a primitive species of savage, but enlightened warriors: the weren. The t'sa provided the technology, of which they had a considerable amount, while the hulking weren provided battle tactics and muscle. This turned the tide.
2215: The zaishan had not expected the t'sa to react so violently and now found themselves fighting a war on three fronts. By April, the human-fraal-t'sa alliance undertook a major offensive into zaishan territory. The zaishan masses began to wear thin. Now, the alliance had the advantage in both numbers and technology. As the alliance pressed forward, the zaishan would evacuate their colonies, continually falling back. Victory after victory was won by the alliance. Finally, on October 6, the last remaining zaishan colony, their homeworld, was found. A mammoth fleet of alliance vessels destroyed all orbital facilities and ships in orbit. The war was won, and many of the ships left then to patrol for any rogue zaishan. What came next shocked everyone. The zaishan were hailing the allied ships.
The war was over, and the zaishan surrendered. Diplomats from the four allied races met on the t'sa ship Fsserga to discuss what to do with this genocidal race. It was learned that the predominant religion of the zaishan people emphasized purity of form above all else. The zaishan interpreted this as the need to destroy all other sentient life. The decision was made to deploy hundreds of defensive satalites, as well as a few ships to guard this planet, making sure the zaishan never rise to the stars again. That would be their punishment. As unsettling as this was, other people had other plans.
A human, Prestin Dellan, captain of the battleship Sherwood that had accompanied the fleet and guarded the ambassadors, had lost everything in the war: his wife, his children, and his home. He had come too far to see the zaishan get off so easily. Upon hearing the decision to imprison the zaishan, he retired to his quarters. There, he used his captain's clearance to gain access to the weapons systems. He commanded the ship to auto fire all weapons onto the surface of the planet and drop all remaining missiles and bombs (many of which were nuclear). Before anyone knew what was going on, the civilization on the planet below, corrupt as it was, was nothing more than ash. Before authorities could arrest Captain Dellan, he took his own life.
The other races were shocked by this act, appalled that one lone sentient would take the lives of millions upon millions of others. They realized however that the Captain must've been quite unstable after the loss of his family. Although no one was truly sorry the zaishan menace was ended, many wished it had ended in a more civilized manner.
2216-2217: The Founding of the United League of Races. After the war ended, the humans, fraal, and t'sa diplomats met. They realized that to protect against the horrors of war, and against the unknown, they would be stronger as a whole. Also, trade and research treaties would benefit all involved. Over these two years, details were hammered out into the framework of a permanent alliance of species. On July 22, 2217 the humans, fraal, and t'sa signed the League Treatise. Under this, the three races would have equal rights and opportunities in common space. There would be no borders or set territories between them. The League government would settle all internal affairs in a diplomatic process. Each race would have three elected officials on the League High Council as representation.
Of course, the leaders of each of the races didn't expect their people to instantly become one unified nation, but hoped that over time, and while working in close proximity of each other, the different races would learn to function as a whole, acting in a common interest.
The weren leaders had refused formal membership in the League (although they are considered formal allies). This was due to the fact that the majority of weren were still on their homeworld of Kurg and knew relatively little of the galaxy beyond (they currently possess technology roughly equivalent to 15th century humans). The only reason they were involved in the zaishan war was because the t'sa had uplifted a number of them into space.
Meanwhile, the effort to rebuild and reclaim that which was lost in the war began to seriously get underway. The humans, especially hard hit, had to rebuild the fastest, as much of their infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed. Poverty and piracy began to rear their ugly heads, as well as several planets declaring their independence from Earth's government. Not wanting and not being able to afford another war, the human government allowed these planets their autonomy provided they took no hostile actions against the League.
2218-2265: Re-Expansion: All of the races continue putting the pieces of their societies back together. Although the t'sa are relatively untouched, losing only a couple of colonies, the humans and fraal spend the majority of this period re-establishing themselves among their stars.
The humans rebuild their stellar navy, but this time the idea of "passive warships" is scrapped in favor of specialized craft. The humans also spread back out into space, re-colonizing old worlds which had belonged to them before, plus establishing even more new colonies. Also, the humans developed the plasma cannon, an energy weapon commonly used even today.
The fraal also reclaimed old worlds, and began to expand, although not as aggressively as humans. They also perfected a faster warp drive. With this marvelous device (a great improvement over the human fusion drive, the fraals' old model of warp drive and the t'sa ion drive), times to travel between the stars were cut in half. Also, the model was made to be compatable with all three races' technologies.
2266: The Sesheyans. A human scout ship found a world ripe for colonization in the Sheya system. A scan indicated a barren world with a thin chlorine atmosphere and many valuable minerals. Deep canyons criss-crossed the planet's surface, and were assumed to be simple cracks in the planet's crust. A colony was established on a plateau and mining stations were immediately set up.
Geologists were hired to find were the mineral strains were most likely to be. One of them, Chauntel Harasym, proposed an expedition down into one of the nearby canyons so the strata of rock could be seen more easily. Being an avid rock climber herself, this was right up her alley. She and her team descended into one of the nearby canyons.
After a day of carefully scaling downwards, Chauntel made a shocking discovery. Her e-suit began registering the atmosphere as breathable oxygen. Descending deeper, an even more amazing discovery was made. Plant life, all different kinds, were growing off of the canyon walls. It was not very much farther to go before they reached the canyons floor and entered a varitable jungle. Pitch black, as virtually no sunlight reached this far down, and eerily still, she had never heard of a world developing anything like this ecosystem she saw. The team soon found traces of animal life as well.
After wandering around for a few more hours, she and her team found themselves surrounded by bat-like creatures about one meter tall with three meter long wingspans. Each had a row of eight glowing yellow eyes and a mouth filled with sharp, small teeth. They even carried crude tools made of stone. The group of climbers, not expecting any type of life to be found on Sheya, let alone sentient life, were ill-prepared for this encounter. The situation could have turned bloody, but it didn't. The creatures, now referred to as seshayans, believed the team to be "plengos" (in seshayan myth, plengos are a type of spirit-guide). The group spent a couple of days with the seshayans before returning to the surface colony.
The League was amazed at the ecosystem reported, and immediately sent several diplomats, along with translation computers, to make first formal contact with the seshayans. Although too primitive to be offered racial membership in the League, the planet Sheya and its inhabitants came under its protection.
2267-2409: The sentient races of the League, along with the weren and seshayans, continue to socialize with each other. Various inter-racial science projects are undertaken, and the League establishes a formal headquarters in the Cestus system. The various colonies develop, growing ever larger. Due to already spreading themselves too thin, the races slow their expansions temporarily and work on building up their already existing colonies.
During this time, dozens of colonies turn into huge, bustling metropolises. The population growth rate of all three League races is staggering. Even so, there is more than enough room and resources to go around. Numerous planets are terraformed to suit the needs of the species upon it.
By this time, the races of the League had developed a way of doing things. Each race's separate government had areas of specialty. The t'sa government dealt mostly in the sciences, generating new wonders to help the League. The fraal dealt in psionics, planetology, ethical standards and diplomacy. The humans dealt in the sciences, exploration and the military. In this way, the races worked in areas that suited their natural drives.
Genetic engineering reaches new heights, and the average human lifespan is now roughly 250 years. In addition, the humans, working closely with the fraal, begin the first Mind Schools, places designed to test people for latent psionic strength, and then to help them focus it. The already highly psionic fraal made excellent teachers and basically run the Schools. The t'sa and certain human agencies were involved in developing various gadgets for the League and succeeded in bringing about such marvels as the nanocomputer, a computer inplanted within a creature's brain (which allowed for complex cybernetic equipment to be installed in the host's body), complex AIs (which allowed the creation of semi-sentient androids), improvements on reclaimation units (which virtually eliminated all but the worst pollution), and a huge array of other inventions.
2410: The Mechalus. League scout ships found signs of sentient life throughout the Aleer system. A society of human-like beings, using crude fusion powered ships, had colonized most of their system's planets. What was so remarkable about these being was that they were both organic and mechanical, totally integrating cybernetics into their bodily systems, right down to their DNA. They were born with cybernetics.
The League members agreed to make contact with this new race. The aleerins were all too happy to meet other sentient species, and quickly welcomed the League's presence. League diplomats were surprised by the vigor at which the aleerins welcomed them.
It was later learned that the aleerin race was in a period of disarray. For as long as anyone could remember, the aleerins had been a violent race. This violence was not out of any racial drives or instincts, but produced by the religion that they followed. Only ninty-three years ago, the aleerins had made contact with another sentient race that had evolved on a world within their system. This race was a primitive species, barely crawling out of the stone age. When the aleerins landed on the planet, the religious caste immediately set about to convert these creatures to the aleerin way of life. The creatures, barely able to comprehend what was transpiring, attacked the aleerins out of fear. The religious caste on the planet were slaughtered. When news of this reached the home world, the high ministers decided to avenge their murdered bretheren the only way they knew how: violence. In a matter of weeks, several ships bombarded the world of these creatures with biological weapons, killing all life on the planet.
When the masses found out what had happened, revolution stirred. No only was the use of biological weapons frowned on by most aleerins, but to commit total genocide for the murder of only a few priests was beyond even their brutal religion. The people rose up and slew the corrupt religious caste. After that, the people abandoned their religion, as most couldn't stand the thought of living by it any longer. The long process of re-establishing government and order began, as the aleerins had to fill the power gap left by the deceased religious caste.
Now the League knew why the aleerins were so friendly: they seemed to be in a period of racial atonement. After lengthy debate among the member races, the aleerins were offered membership in the League, which they quickly accepted. Most were eager to prove themselves as good and noble beings, as well as to put the past behind them and embrace a new way of life.
A human nickname of the aleerins was mechalus. The nickname is now commonly used by all species.
2411-2424: The mechalus integrate themselves into the League. With the eventual introduction of the warp drive into their society, they establish several colonies outside of their home star. They also advance League knowledge of nano-technology by leaps and bounds. The mechalus begin to specialize in computers and other mechanical things, not so much in the area of invention, as in operating these devices. Mechalus computer technicians and pilots are some of the finest in the League.
2425: The Kar'Soran. The League colony in the Nibelheim system is approached a small fleet of trading vessels, owned by the kar'soran. The colony is surprised by this unexpected first contact and quickly sends word to the League regional headquarters. The kar'soran introduce themselves to the colony, and almost immediately set up shop in orbit and begin offer trades of goods and services. When League diplomats and xenologists arrive, they try to begin formal talks with this new race. Unfortunately, they find that the kar'soran are more interested in selling them things than talking as diplomats. The talks, what little of them there were, end in the kar'soran asking to be declared neutral towards the League.
2426: The present day.