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Early Space Exploration
(2100-2252)
In the year 2178, humanity finally succeeded to travel long distances in
space due to the invention of Fulcrum Jump technology. Fulcrum Jump
devices could fold space across two points, allowing spacecraft to travel
rapidly across vast distances. This quickly resulted in the colonization
of much of the Sol sector, including the gas giant Jupiter, which was
colonized by building stations just above its atmosphere. Most larger
countries on Earth formed an alliance that united for the pursuit of space
exploration in an effort to avoid war in space. The new faction was named
the Terran Alliance.
Over several decades, the Terran Alliance expanded their exploration
efforts many light years away from Earth. They reached the Orion sector in
2205. In 2207, the first drones were sent to the Orion sector to begin
building Fulcrum Gates there.
The Orion sector was quickly colonized and the Alliance declared it part
of its territory. However, unrest about the Alliance control started to
rise with one of the colonies of the Orion sector. The colony separated
from the Alliance over what they viewed were their rights of exploration
and ownership of systems they settled. They wanted exclusive colonial
control over planets and systems they lived in, inluding the abundant
resources they provided. This led to political disagreements and
increasing hostilities. Several other neighboring colonies decided to
unite for the same reasons and formed the Colonial Federation around 2229.
But it wasn't until about a dozen different colony groups formed together
in the mid 30's that the Federation truly became a united faction.
Some colonies refused to unite with either the Alliance or the Federation.
This lead to a number of 'Rogue' clans and the conflicts that followed
began an arms race with the development of the first true space-optimized
weapons. Rogue clans wanted the resourses in the Orion sector and often
attacked indiscriminately in their efforts. Attacks from Rogue clans
became weekly news and colonies often spent much of their time defending
their interests. The threat from Rogue clans eventually started to spread
back to territory firmly in Alliance control. Over the next several
decades, several conflicts occured in the Orion sector and Sol sector. But
a greater threat was growing involving the Alliance and Federation.
Initially, the Alliance did little to keep colonial territories in their
control, since the disputed areas of space were too remote to risk
devoting so many resources to confronting the distant rebellion... it left
the majority of Alliance space in the region vulnerable to attack. The
Federation took advantage of the situation and quickly expanded its empire
to neighboring solar systems. As territorial and political disputes
continued to increase as each side claimed ownership of newly discovered
regions, threats eventually lead to conflicts which eventually lead to war.
By the mid-50's, the Alliance-Federation war had begun and continued until
the early 70's. Although no formal declaration of war or peace was ever
made, both sides eventually haulted aggressive military actions and agreed
to keep their distance from each other.
Rise of the
Mercenaries (2220-2300)
The increasing
threat from Rogue clans against the Federation and Alliance resulted in
new opportunities for lone spacecraft pilots. Some were retired fighter
pilots, others adventurous explorers. They privately owned their own
spacecraft and made their living on providing services to anyone willing
to pay. As conflicts increased, so did the need for outside help and this
group of independent pilots willing to provide assistance eventually
became known as 'Mercenaries'. Initially, they numbered in the hundreds,
but as word spread of high pay for risky work, their numbers quickly grew
into the thousands. Mercenaries became known for the effectiveness, often
taking chances military forces refused while commanding customized ships
that were better suited to certain challenges.
With the independence of Mercenaries also came risks of unreliability
and loyalty. So to improve their reputation, the Mercenaries voluntarily
formed the 'Mercenaries Guild'. The Guild was a network of leadership
spanning numerous systems where Mercenaries operated. They established
operational guidelines and technological standards, one of which included
the incorporation of tracking devices in every spacecraft, station, city,
and carrier where Mercenaries operated. When a Mercenary failed to follow
a rule or complete an objective, it would be recorded on their permanent
record. With no escape from the reputations Mercenaries earned for
themselves, a code of honor and standards quickly formed. Mercenaries soon
became a dependable option for civilian and military factions in need of
their services.
The Lexington
(2254-2284)
In 2245, the Alliance built the first super carrier in secret at the
Enigma Asteroid base. The ship was kept classified for nearly a decade
while tests were conducted on its new mobile long range Fulcrum Drive and
advanced weapon systems. Few knew of the Lexington project until the year
2254.
At the same time, the Alliance also started building other large combat
carriers named Bismarck, Zenith and Victory, which would be completed by
2259. The Lexington and its crew was credited as being one of the primary
reasons the Alliance-Federation war eventually ceased by the 70's. Its
overwhelming firepower and squadron carrying capacity made it a virtually
unstoppable force in the later years of the war. After a massive battle in
2272 involving roughly 10 squadrons of fighters and nearly a dozen capital
ships, the Lexington proved it could defeat whatever the Federation had in
its fleet. Recognizing the futility of engaging the Lexington, the
Federation began to back down from its aggressive actions following this
battle. By 2277, the war had effectively ended in favor of the Alliance.
These struggles of the war lead to new research into spacecraft fighter
technology. A new all-purpose fighter/bomber craft was introduced in 2278,
the F-144A StarWraith. Several advancements were made on this new fighter,
ranging from the original A type up through the last E version introduced
in 2285. During the same time, they also developed the Raven, Shadow,
Quasar and Lamprey.
The Federation also advanced their spacecraft technology with the
development of the Vengeance and the Richton class battle carriers along
with the UFA-80 fighter.
Enigma (2285-2287)
In 2285, the Federation's flagship, the Richton, was mysteriously attacked
and destroyed while on route to a peaceful colony establishment meeting.
The ship was carrying many elite political and military leaders of the
Federation. Because the ship was so heavily armed making it nearly
impossible to destroy and was so close to Alliance space, the Federation
blamed Alliance forces for the ship's destruction. The Alliance denied the
accusations and pleaded for an immediate investigation. War was
immediately declared by the Federation and the forces of the Alliance were
dispatched to secure the borders from attack. Mostly minor engagements
took place over the next two years with little or no casualties, neither
side seemed willing to fully engage in battle as what had been so
destructive in the previous war. As forces from both sides spread into the
Orion system, the Alliance battle carrier Becker approached from the
nearby Rucker Asteroid field.
The Becker was attacked on April 14, 2287. It was apparently destroyed in
a matter of a few seconds, something Alliance intelligence believed would
be impossible for any Federation force to accomplish. Rumors began to
spread about a 'super weapon' being used by one of the rogue clans, but no
evidence could support the theory. 48 hours after the attack, several
Wraith pilots from the Becker who were on patrol and survived the attack
arrived at the nearby AH-104 starbase. They reported seeing a massive dark
gray vessel that attacked the Becker from the side.
They also reported that the vessel fired a series of energy blasts before
the Becker was destroyed. The weapon used was apparently powerful enough
to penetrate both the shields of the carrier and the heavy armor plating.
The end result was the Becker blew apart with no chance to respond.
The mystery of the Becker's destruction and continuing reports of
Federation casualties had raised suspicions of a new faction with advanced
technology. The Lexington, flagship of the Alliance and veteran of the
Alliance-Federation war, had been dispatched to the Orion system to
investigate and hold back any advancing Federation forces.
It turned out the Federation was sustaining significant casualties from
attacks by an unidentified force. Over the following weeks, information
about an highly-developed, alien race started to reach Alliance
Intelligence and after joining forces with clans from the Alpha Centauri
system, they decided to counter the attack.
The Alien race was dubbed the Vonari and they seemed capable of destroying
entire carriers in a single salvo. Their main-fighter, dubbed the A-50,
could overpower the Star Wraith and the UFA-80. The Vonari made a push for
Earth itself on July 1st, 2287. Earth's Naval forces intercepted the
Vonari attack force, which consisted of numerous large ships matching the
description of the spacecraft that attacked the Becker.
In a massive battle, two Lamprey pilots escorted by a wing of StarWraiths
succeeded in reaching a Vonari vessel and planted several hull charges.
The hull charges proved effective and four explosions rocked the dark
vessel and tore it apart. The explosion was large enough to also destroy
the surrounding vessels flying in close formation.
Reviction (2288)
After sustaining losses against the Vonari in Orion, Rucker, Deneb, and
Sierra, the success of Earth's defense finally gave the Navy much needed
time to regroup and redesign many technologies to confront the new alien
threat. Humanity knew it was just a matter of time before the Vonari would
strike again, and next time, they would have the advantage of knowing our
capabilities. So Alliance Command decided to maximize whatever time
remained to transform the military to a technology level capable of
resisting any future attacks. At the top of the priority list was the Star
Wraith space superiority fighter, which would receive several improvements
to its weapon systems and shielding.
On 12 October of the year 2288, during a routine patrol, the Lexington was
attacked by a Vonari capital ship. The Lexington had no time to launch
fighters to defend itself and a nearby patrolling squadron of F-144E's
(80th Squadron) was too far away to come to the ship's defense. The
Lexington was quickly torn apart by the destructive energy blast of the
Vonari ship. The 80th Wraith Squadron returned to find only debris
remaining.
Shortly after the attack on the Lexington, Alliance and Federation forces
agreed to a cease-fire. The Vonari had advanced very rapidly, and the
civil war between the Alliance and Federation had left both sides
unprepared for the new threat. They joined together to fight against the
Vonari.
Riftspace
(2274-2288)
An ancient Vonari artifact was discovered in December 2287, telling a
story of an outsider who would find a paradise world hidden in a realm
called 'RiftSpace'. The outsider would come from a distant place and
posses great wealth and powerful machines to find the planet which would
bring safety to a dying race.
Groups from several systems hunted for the paradise planet in RiftSpace.
In their search, another artifact was found near the planet Sierra B. This
became universe-wide news and the hunt for RiftSpace started to grow. A
series of artifacts were eventually discovered and one ambitious searcher
was able to locate a final artifact and decode its message. The message
lead him to the planet of Thuban, where he found what looked like a
sparkling point of light in open space. It activated as he approached and
transported him to the planet in RiftSpace referred to in the original
message. However, Vonari ‘guardians’ referred to in the story were also
there and attacked the mercenary as soon as he arrived. The mercenary was
successful at defeating the Vonari ships.
Evochron
(2288-present)
In November of 2288, the Alliance discovered a new system that included an
Earth-like planet. Although lifeless, the world had an abundant supply of
water along with the right gravity and atmospheric conditions for
terraforming. The planet was named 'Sapphire' after its brillant coloring
and nearby solar system were linked together through a network of jump
gates. The entire quadrant of space was then named after the exploration
satellite that discovered the central solar system, Evochron.
The Beacon Trail (
2408 - 2415 )
After nearly ten years, a shocking discovery was made on Sapphire. An
object emitting an encrypted message was located partially buried in the
terrain. The object was declared harmless by the guilds, and was confirmed
to be created by the Renegades after their downfall in late 2363. Several
mercenaries believed the beacon to be the first in a trail and embarked on
a quest to find others, none of them returned. Interest in the beacon
quickly fell as no explorers seemed willing to risk the same fate for a
hypothetical treasure.
In 2407, a lone mercenary embarked on a journey to uncover the secret of
the beacon and succeeded in finding a Fulcrum Gate that lead to the
Riftspace system. Surprisingly, he found it filled with Renegade forces.
In a beacon communication, Michael Garrett explained that Riftspace was
attacked and any resistance soon crumbled against the might and numbers of
Renegade forces. Bitterly, he added that requested Alliance backup never
showed up, although they had promised reinforcements, namely the battle
carrier Phantom. His communication ended with Michael hoping that they
would make it back to the Fulcrum Gate. Whether he made it is unknown. The
mentioning of the Phantom implies that the recording was made directly
prior to the Arvoch conflict - most likely in December 2407.
The Arvoch
Conflict ( 2402-2408 )
The Arvoch Conflict started on January 7, 2402, when Federation forces
threw up blockades in the Evochron sector, leading to renewed tensions
between Alliance and Federation. The Alliance dispatched the experimental
Phantom carrier and large numbers of the new Wraith and Evoch fighters to
control the situation. They uncovered a Vonari influence in the battle
after the first two weeks of the conflict. The Vonari invaded the Evochron
sector once more and this time, they succeeded in progressing rapidly even
with the resistance of the Alliance. The Phantom, however, proved
effective. Acquiring victory after victory, it turned out to be the key
factor in winning the war.
In late February 2408, a fighter squadron of the Phantom succeeded in
locating and obtaining a powerful Vonari weapon, an upgraded version of
the weapon the Vonari tried to use against Earth. Using the wormhole in
Pisces, humanity attempted to retake the Arvoch system from Vonari control.
Final messages from the carrier's transmitted activity log indicate the
crew attempted to activate the Vonari weapon. The fate of the carrier was
unknown.
Significant Events
By 2288, humanity controlled 3 primary regions: Sol , Orion, and Evochron.
The Aros Assault was and is described in any modern History book, both
Alliance and Federation. The Alliance built a monument at the former
location of the Aros base on Jupiter in 2260.
In memory of the Lexington and it's crew, a monument was built in
Washington, where it firmly stands since it was presented on October 12th,
2289.
The Enigma squadron returned to their starbase near the Orion Nebula. They
would remain there until it was turned into an research station.
The Federation Flagship Richton is remembered yearly in Federation space
and also has a memorial monument. 2 minutes of silence is held every 21st
of May at 2:41PM UST.
The chain of natural wormholes in the Evochron sector was named the 'highway'.
The solar systems nearby were named the "Quay's".
Many Rogue clans now live mostly in exile at secret locations. Rumors
indicate that larger clans have hidden bases throughout Evochron.
The Orion Sector has remained an unstable location in human space.
RiftSpace remained a neutral, hidden paradise until early in the 24th
century, when suddenly, it would become the central point of numerous wars
and conflicts.
In early February 2292, Dr. Adam Shefeld developed a new warp device that
could open a temporary fulcrum field pathway capable of transporting an
entire ship from one region of space to another without the need for a
receiving gate. This was revolutionary and his technology was built into
one specific gate, the so-called Shefeld Gate near the Rucker asteroid
field.
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