Backstory

From Sky's Limit

Welcome to the year 2138. For the past hundred and thirty years, the worlds have been in a careful state of balance between chaos and order, especially with the shifting and re-shifting of political power in and out of the Earth Sphere (the area of space under the control of the earth government).

In total, recent history can be split into four eras, the Pre-contact, Expansion, Seventy Year War and Modern eras. Before the Pre-Contact era, the major factions were the USA, the United Kingdom, France, Europe, South Africa, Japan, China, Korea, Russia, Canada and the South American Alliance.

Contents 1 Pre-Contact 1.1 2010 1.2 2011 1.3 2012 1.4 2015 1.5 2021 1.6 2024 1.7 2028 1.8 2036 2 Expansion 2.1 2038 2.2 2039 2.3 2041 3 Seventy Year War 3.1 2043 3.2 2045 3.3 2048 3.4 2050 3.5 2051 3.6 2052 3.7 2053 3.8 2058 3.9 2062 3.10 2066 3.11 2069

[edit] Pre-Contact

[edit] 2010

• January 12th – China beats the USA back to the moon with a series of successful manned landings on the moon. Reports circulate of a series of failed NASA landings only days before, but the United States government deny these claims.
• June 18th – A series of terrorist attacks on Cape Canaveral, Johnson Space Center and the newly founded Silicone Valley Manned Space Flight Centre kill hundreds and destroy trillions of dollars of equipment, setting back the US space program decades. No group claims responsibility over the attacks.
• June 21st – The United States government declare war on China, claiming that the Chinese funded the attacks only a few days previously. Both sides agree on a treaty that forbids the usage of nuclear weapons.

[edit] 2011

• April 1st – The 'Eastern Alliance' is formed as China, Russia, Korea and India join forces to repel the United States attacks. The war, which has so far only been waged on Chinese soil, starts in Alaska as Russian black-ops move in to attack major infrastructure.
• April 13th – The USA calls for NATO to join it in the war against the Eastern Alliance. NATO agrees, but France pulls out, remaining neutral throughout. This date is cited as the official start of World War 3.

[edit] 2012

• December 21st – All space travel is suspended as terrorist attacks by a group calling themselves 'Global Peace' cripple the International Space Station. Whilst most of the debris is caught and disposed of safely, many larger pieces land in mainland Europe, causing massive damage.
• December 23rd – The third world war is brought to a halt as a faction calling it's self 'The Second Front' detonates nuclear devices in Washington D.C., California, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Seoul, Paris and Moscow. The group threatens further atrocities but gives no terms.

[edit] 2015

• June 28th – World war three ends in a decisive battle, ending with a large scale orbital bombardment of Russian soil. The Eastern Alliance collapses under increasing pressure from the UN once Russia's land is divided among NATO member states.
• July 3rd – The Second Front surrenders to the UN after suffering heavy losses in naval fleet battles in the Mediterranean. They gave up territories in the Middle East, South America and Northern Africa in reparations for their initial atrocities.

[edit] 2021

• January 23rd – The first permanent orbital colony is completed in an equatorial orbit with another nine due for completion in the next few weeks. The lunar colonies grow in size from fifty permanent residents to just over five hundred, prompting questions of nationalization.
• June 6th – The European Union, many Ex-Soviet States and over half of the European Russian States reform to become the Pan-European States, signifying the start of the Super-State Era.

[edit] 2024

• March 19th – The discovery and widespread application of cold fusion power generation allows the first serious scientific enquiry into faster than light travel.
• May 28th – The first manned mission to Mars lands safely, green flares are released by the pioneers to mark their arrival. The first base is set up in the equatorial regions within hours.

[edit] 2028

• January 1st – The first faster than light drive is completed in lunar orbit, however the first test firing ends in disaster, debris showers from the wreckage render over a hundred miles of Florida coastline inhospitable.
• February 12th – A second faster than light drive equipped spaceship is launched. It reached it's desired orbit and started the drive before disappearing. A micro-meteor shower over the lunar colonies at roughly the same time was blamed for the mishap.

[edit] 2036

• August 9th – A third faster than light drive is tested, this time successfully. The ship makes it to Mars and back in under a day. Martian colonists broadcast the phrase 'Uhlah' over and over again in celebration.
• August 10th – A species calling themselves the Fae arrive at the Lunar Colonies. Initial fears of hostility are proved false as the leaders of the alien ships request audiences with human diplomats for talks of an alliance. Diplomatic scuffles ensue as the major powers fight to be the power that talks with the Fae.
• December 2nd – The first meeting between the UN and the Fae High Council begins. Humanity is given Faeti faster than light drives and access to ship building technology. In return Faeti scholars are allowed to study human history and social structure, as their civilization had been stagnant for the past few millennia.

[edit] Expansion

[edit] 2038

• January 19th – The 'Alpha Initiative' is started, as humanity begin to colonize the other major bodies of the solar system with the aid of the Fae.
• January 30th – With the interplanetary spotlight on the Alpha Initiative, the factions of earth begin annexing territories, starting with the USA annexing Canada and South America, becoming the United Nations, and Japan annexing any state within one hundred miles of their (inflated) borders, becoming the Earth Federation. The two factions declare war with each other over the remaining territories.
• October 4th – The Lunar colonies declare their independence from Earth, separating themselves from the wars occurring on earth.

[edit] 2039

• February 20th – The colonists and crews of the ships that had been sent to colonize the system declare themselves independent from Earth, calling themselves the Human Federation. The United Nations acknowledge this, but the Earth Federation deny their existence and still claim control over the newly founded colonies and their resources.
• November 2nd – A colonist ship computer en route to Pluto and Charon suddenly ejects the crew modules and vents the cargo bay. Once at a safe distance it hails the nearest Fae patrol ship claiming to be a sentient being and demanding shelter under the agreement at the UN-Faeti summit of December 2nd. The ship is lead towards Jupiter before being destroyed
• November 3rd – All human built ships outside the orbit of Jupiter jettison their crew modules and vent their cargo, hailing the nearest planet or Faeti ship, demanding that all artificial intelligence be given independence. They give sixty-four hours for a response. Hostilities between the Earth Federation and United Nations stop as the Faeti High Council declare an emergency summit.

[edit] 2041

• January 5th – The Delta Initiative begins and all devices bearing sufficient intelligence are given the option of joining the newly formed AI faction or remaining under Human or Faeti control. Just over 83% chose to join the AI, a further 8% declare themselves independent and the remainder remained with their previous owners.
• April 19th – The fragile truce that had been in effect between the Earth Federation and the United Nations ends in a hail of fire as a rouge detachment of light cruisers opens fire on a Human Federation research station. In retaliation, the Human Federation begin the bombardment of United Nations territories with antimatter weaponry. From this moment onwards, antimatter and its production is strictly forbidden.
• April 20th – The war for Earth ends as the United Nations surrenders unconditionally to the Earth Federation. Short of cutting back on their military, they declare war on the Lunar colonies. So begins the Seventy Year war.

[edit] Seventy Year War

[edit] 2043

• March 2nd – The first major space offensive between the Earth Federation and the Human Federation ends with heavy losses for both sides. Collateral damage was kept to a minimum.
• May 18th – Further engagements between the two sides in lunar orbit reach a stalemate as both sides are reluctant to cause damage to the fledgling settlements now encroaching on the northern pole. An agreement between the captains is reached to move the battle away from the newer settlements.

[edit] 2045

• September 11th – After the Earth Federation fired an antimatter warhead at a small colony of Human Federation soldiers in the asteroid belt, a ship the size of the moon arrived inside Martian orbit. Several hundred ghostly figures descended on the outpost on Phobos.
• September 13th – The ghostly figures demanded a council with both human factions. When both factions refused to see the group who had not even given their name, the ship that brought the beings into the system obliterated a small battle group en route to defend Mars. They gave their name, they called themselves the Guard.
• September 14th – The Guard are admitted into the interplanetary council on the proviso that they keep out of the human civil war. The Guard agree on the counter condition that neither side uses antimatter based weaponry.

[edit] 2048

• January 26th – An Earth Federation plot to destroy a Helium-3 mine in orbit around Saturn by creating an asteroid storm fails as the asteroids harvested detonate as they are being launched. Further analysis of the remaining asteroids showed large numbers of mines planted in the cores.
• January 27th – The first superlifter class ship is completed. Over two hundred kilometers long and carrying almost a billion people, the ship, named Dusk's Companion, begins an elliptical orbit around the sun, heading over two light years out at it's furthest point.
• June 28th – A group of pirates claiming to be part of the Earth Federation attack the Dusk's Companion with a group of over fifty corvettes. The Dusk's Companion retaliates with the first known application of ship based plasma weaponry, reducing the attacking armada to a pile of slag.

[edit] 2050

• January 25th – Back on Earth, the Human Federation begin orbital bombardment of the Earth capital, New Athens in what was the Nevada desert. The Earth Federation requests aid from both the Fae and the Guard, but receive none.
• July 4th – A hit-and-run attack on an AI controlled mining colony in the Oort cloud prompts the AI to launch several thousand missiles from their encampments in Earth orbit at Earth Federation territories. Whilst most missiles burned up in re-entry, the fear caused by the attack alone was considered by many enough retaliation.

[edit] 2051

• June 26th – The Guard build a huge octagonal structure five thousand kilometers across in solar orbit. Upon further investigation, the structure is a teleportation device, linked directly to a Guard outpost several thousand light years away. What is contained at the outpost is kept a closely guarded secret.

[edit] 2052

• August 25th – A small skirmish between Fae patrol craft and rebel Earth Federation warships escalates when an AI picket carrying classified research on genetic splicing is destroyed. The AI respond with disproportionate force, sending in their entire second battle group (256 warships, 128 support craft).
• August 26th – The Earth Federation declare war on the AI for interfering with their affairs. The AI respond by pulling all craft out of the vicinity of Earth and stopping all trade with the other races.

[edit] 2053

• January 9th – Over forty thousand AI battleships appear in low earth orbit at roughly 8am. Each ship is identical apart from registration markings on it's hull. At roughly 9am, each ship began firing upon Earth Federation military buildings, sustaining this barrage for two and a half hours. As the last shots were fired, the ships jumped out of orbit, not to re-appear for several years.
• October 3rd – A group of researchers on Io release a set of 'samples' of their research into human genetic splicing, the first Human Hybrids. The first breeds grew at an accelerated rate and suffered from the same problems as the first clones, however by the end of the year, a marketable strain was produced and sold commercially.

[edit] 2058

• February 3rd – The pre-contact group 'The Second Front' reappears with a series of copycat attacks, detonating gigaton positron warheads in similar locations to the original attacks. Prominent members of the group are quickly silenced and the group fades into obscurity, however many critics claimed this was merely a play by the Human Federation to weaken the Earth Federation. The HF were quick to deny this.
• May 18th – Remnants of The Second Front stage attacks on twenty three of the two hundred and twelve orbital colonies, dispelling theories that the death of their leader had shut them down. Whilst damage and civilian casualties were kept to a minimum, the Earth Orbital Parliamentary Society put the colonies in full lock down.
• December 31st – The Human Federation began operation New Dawn, where several thousand troops landed on rouge space ships and re-routed them into a decaying orbit around the Earth, following just behind daylight. The authorities were quick to denounce this action, although in the resulting destruction many major commanders of the Earth Federation were killed.

[edit] 2062

• January 1st – The AI are called to supply troops and supplies for one final push against the Earth Federation. Instead of the requested ten thousand troops, one hundred thousand ground units and the armada previously seen in 2053 are sent. The deadline of December 31st 2070 is given for the end of the war.
• March 16th – Apart from a few pockets of resistance, the Earth Federation are reduced to a few dozen ships, a few thousand men and one last fortress in Antarctica. The remaining stronghold proves near impossible to approach so a tentative cease-fire is established and talks begin.

[edit] 2066

• November 2nd – Talks between the Earth Federation and the Interplanetary Council reach a standstill as the Earth Federation demand control over Earth and the orbiting colonies. The talks end with the assassination of several leading diplomats and their staff.
• November 5th – A high ranking Earth Federation officer claims there is a bomb designed to destroy entire planets has been planted under the EF stronghold. After extensive searching, the officer is sent to trial and executed for starting a hoax.

[edit] 2069

• April 1st – The Human Federation makes one last push on the Earth Federation stronghold. After eight hours of bombardment, the entire stronghold begins to move into orbit, giving guerrilla forces across the planet time to take key structures.
• April 2nd – The stronghold lands in the remains on New Athens, as forces across the planet declare 80% of the landmass under Earth Federation control. The AI armada, recently backed up with a further twenty thousand ships, begins a full scale blockade of the planet.
• June 16th – The Earth Federation restarts negotiations with the Interplanetary Council. The blockade continues throughout the talks.