Increased fanatic nationalism in the late 1990s, accompanied by the chaotic events following September 2001, had led to the development of large economic and military confederations, similar to the European Common Market, to cover the expense of developing the necessary technology while maintaining a strong external defence. However, those confederations soon grew increasing antagonistic towards each other, usually along pre-existing grievances, as well as clashes over rival claims to mineral deposits. Pre-existing treaties were abandoned as the world�s geopolitical map changed every day. NATO was wound up in 2005, as it broke up into confederations. The EU suffered a similar fate a mere six months later.

The flashpoint, as had been long anticipated, was Kashmir. India and Pakistan, now members of opposing confederations, continued to attack one another throughout the first decade of the new century. When that erupted into all-out war, the other confederations rapidly took sides. First, the East Asian confederation, led by China, a long enemy of India, sided with the Pakistani government. Then, the NORPAC confederation, led by the United States, launched a pre-emptive strike on Chinese forces in the Indian Ocean as they approached NORPAC territory there.

Unable to prevent further bloodshed and bring the warring confederations to the conference table, the United Nations found itself in the same position its predecessor had over 70 years ago. In March 2006, Executive Order 29987 was drawn up, to dissolve the General Assembly, putting an end to the UN.

With the UN�s dissolution, the Law of the Sea Treaty was cast aside, water based international borders were ignored, and underwater anarchy reigned. State confederations emerged dominant in the new multi-polar global/political environment that dawned as the end of the war was in sight. Well-financed industrialists and megacorporations, independent of any nation or confederation, began their own unregulated exploitation of the sea.

With the war gradually deteriorating into panicked skirmishes, the NORPAC confederation began Project seaQuest, a plan to design the ultimate seagoing war vessel. It was supervised by one of NORPAC�s young hopes, Captain Nathan Hale Bridger. Finally, the warring confederations were brought to table in 2010, in Reykjavik, where a tentative peace treaty was signed. Tensions remained high, however, particularly when NORPAC unveiled the new seaQuest in 2013. Border disputes became an almost everyday occurrence, and there is a constant threat of war covering the planet.

The turning point in this early stage of global expansionism came in 2017. A small dispute between rival mining claims led to a standoff between forces from five confederations, including NORPAC and the seaQuest. The situation was safely resolved, and the confederations realised that all-out war was a distinct possibility without an international, independent body to keep the peace.

As a result, the United Oceans Treaty was signed in early 2018, which created the United Earth/Oceans Organisation (UEO), a new United Nations, dedicated to creating and maintaining a lasting peace. New undersea borders were drawn up, and the 200-mile territorial limit was reestablished, freeing up the oceans for exploration and scientific research. The UEO also established new guidelines for utilisation of the ocean�s resources, to allow the people of Earth to launch itself into the twenty-first century working with the world�s ecology in a more responsible way.

To solidify their links to the UEO, and to demonstrate their support for the new peace, NORPAC donates the seaQuest to the new organisation, as a peacekeeper, not a warship. After an extensive refit, the seaQuest re-launches in 2018 as a science vessel and deep ocean explorer, her defence technology and weapons bays now used in the exploration and discovery of deep-sea regions that remained a mystery.

The seaQuest era - Future History 2018 - 2032

seaQuest was a beacon of hope for a planet on the brink of war. Under Captain Nathan Bridger, the submarine was a major player in undersea politics and managed to pull the world back from war several times.

At the end of the submarine�s initial 13-month tour, in mid-2019, a global emergency was caused by a horrific ecological disaster at the new World Power station, which threatened to raise sea levels several meters. Captain Bridger sacrificed the seaQuest to seal a crack in the ocean floor, and plug a lava flow. Although the boat was completely destroyed, the crew were able to abandon ship and escape to safety onshore.

With seaQuest temporarily out of commission, tensions once again rose in the UEO member confederations. The decision was made to accelerate construction on the new seaQuest, and this much-improved design was launched on June 25th, 2021. After resolving an assault on UEO Headquarters at New Cape Quest by GELFs (Genetically Engineered Life Forms � super-soldiers created during the so-called �Dark Age of Genetics� in the early decades of the 21st century), the new seaQuest settled down to another tour.

However, the seaQuest�s second tour ended in mystery. On May 14th, 2022, UEO Command lost all contact with the submarine somewhere near the Tonga Trench. An intensive search by dozens of UEO ships revealed nothing, and the DSV was officially declared lost on February 14th, 2023.

While the UEO mourned the loss of the seaQuest and its crew, the everyday business of keeping the peace became much more complicated. With seaQuest gone, the UEO�s ability to maintain undersea borders was dramatically reduced, and corruption and member infighting began to take over.

In 2026, the UEO held an economic summit, in which it lifted the ban on colonial deregulation, putting thousands of square miles of undeveloped ocean floor �up for sale�. Several member confederations were unhappy at the way the UEO forced through this plan, and later that same year, a group of confederations withdrew from the United Oceans Treaty, and the UEO.

One of these confederations was the New Australia Confederation. In 2025, they held Presidential elections, which were won by Alexander Bourne, an extremely charismatic and forceful politician. He immediately began consolidating his power, putting his people in key positions. Shortly after he announced the confederation�s withdrawal from the UEO, Bourne staged a military coup and took complete control of New Australia, dismissing the elected government.

The newly renamed Alliance of Macronesia then allied itself with the multinational corporation Deon International, the largest supplier and builder of next-generation submersible vehicles, specifically the Lysander subfighter and Orion-class cruiser. This put the UEO under economic pressure, as it was forced to find alternate suppliers for the materials needed to improve and expand the UEO fleet.

As Bourne embarked on a policy of forceful expansion, swallowing up dozens of small, independent colonies in the western Pacific and eastern Indian oceans, the UEO found itself facing increasing threats from the Alliance. The UEO was outnumbered and outgunned, and finding it increasingly difficult to keep its most experienced captains and crews in the service. The UEO needed a symbol, something to restore confidence in the organisation.

Then, in 2032, the seaQuest returned, as mysteriously as it had disappeared. With a new captain, Oliver Hudson, and a more militaristic purview, the seaQuest returned to its peacekeeping mission, but found the world much changed. D�tente and compromise are the aims of the UEO now, as they go out of their way to maintain the peace. As a result, by early 2032, the Macronesians controlled a vast area of the Pacific and Indian oceans, and continued to expand.

The coming darkness - Future history 2032 - 2040

Even with seaQuest back and at twice strength, the UEO fleet was still vastly outnumbered by Macronesian forces, four to one in subfighters and two to one in DSVs.

As a result, the UEO began to investigate building a successor to the seaQuest class. Their first attempt, constructed in 2033, the seaHawk, lacked the necessary punch to make it a serious threat. Advanced Submersible Battleships were the next step. The Capricorn class was the prototype for this new design. The most powerful ships ever built in terms of weaponry, they were too unstable, and all six test craft were lost in 2036.

As Macronesian forces continued to encroach on UEO waters, the Alliance signed mutual defence treaties with the Chau-Di Hegemony and the East Asian confederation. However, these treaties were merely a ruse to allow the Alliance to eliminate their closest enemies. The Hegemony was completely subdued, while the East Asian confederation found itself partially absorbed into the Alliance, with only China managing to remain somewhat independent (although ruled by a Macronesian puppet leader).

The UEO turned once again to Nathan Bridger. Although retired, Bridger agreed to return in an advisory capacity. Along with Lucas Wolenczak, and a Lieutenant Commander from seaQuest, Michael Warren, Bridger had designed a new class of Deep Submergence Vehicles, designated �seaWolf�. Warren and Wolenczak also designed a series of advancements that would be made to half of the original twelve planned seaWolf-class ships.

The success of the seaWolf class became even more critical when, in 2037, Macronesian forces managed to avoid UEO patrols and strike at UEO Atlantic Command (formerly UEO Headquarters) at New Cape Quest, leaving thousands dead. Although Bourne condemned the attack as the work of a renegade faction within Macronesia, it is widely believed that he personally ordered the assault.

In 2038, the first of the seaWolf class ships rolled off the production line. Designated DSV 6800, the UEO seaWolf was universally praised as the best hope of stopping the Macronesian expansion. On her maiden voyage, the sub was sabotaged by Macronesian operatives among the crew, and destroyed. Construction accelerated on the remaining subs, of which six had already been scrapped because of budgetary concerns.

Another blow hit the UEO in 2038. While on patrol near the Macronesian border, seaQuest was attacked by Alliance forces, the sub disabled and captured. In escaping captivity, Captain Oliver Hudson was killed during a firefight with Macronesian cruisers.

Many UEO members were now calling upon Secretary General Thomas McGath to declare war against the Alliance, but even now McGath remains confident a peaceful solution can be found.

2039, and the first of the Advanced Submergence Vessels is launched. Under the command of one of its designers, Michael Warren, UEO Excalibur ASV 7100 is commissioned amidst a blaze of controversy. Warren becomes the youngest captain in naval history, at only 26. McGath counters the arguments by confirming his confidence in the young man, and giving him his full support.

As tensions grow between the UEO and Macronesia, it is now only a matter of time until one side or the other makes the decisive move�