It's been nearly 70 years since Thomas Edison made his epic voyage to Mars. It's been 25 years since Kaiser Wilhelm II capitulated to the British in the brew-up sarcastically referred to as "The Great War." Now, the Kaiser is little more than a figure head and Adolph Hitler and his Nazi party pull the strings in an increasingly militant Germany. Dark clouds are once more gathering over Europe and the Solar System.
Nearly 40 years ago, Nikola Tesla revolutionized ęther travel with the introduction of the Tesla Ęther Propeller [1], which was capable of operating deep within an atmosphere and maintaining constant acceleration throughout an ętheric voyage. Further experimentation produced an electro-mechanical substitute for liftwood, artificial gravity and inertial compensation devices [2]. Tesla made these devices available to mankind in hopes that, with its newfound ability to expand beyond the inner worlds of the Solar System, it would cease squabbling with itself.
Alas, it was a pipe dream.
Other researchers, reverse-engineering ancient Martian and Vulcanian technology, introduced new, powerful weapons [3] and power sources [4]. A new arms race began. In 1914, the tensions broke and the European powers rushed into war. After several weeks of ineffectual sparring across four worlds, the British fleet forced its way through German lines and laid siege to Berlin. The Kaiser immediately sued for peace.
Disillusioned, Tesla lobbied for an international body to keep the peace. Using the royalties his many inventions generated, he founded the Patrol, dedicated to accomplishing this mission. The international community paid lip service to the new organization, contributing both vessels and men; however the contributions were meager and second-rate, and the Patrol was constantly plagued by shortages.
[1] Use the Thruster Plate design sequences for these ęther propellers.
[2] Artificial Gravity is TL 10. Use the TL 10 G Compensators.
[3] Use TL 9 Lasers for heat rays and TL 10 CPAWs for Lightning Cannon.
[4] Use TL 6 Fission power plants.