History

## The Rise of the Overlords (21301-21318)

Before the War, most planets were independent, and chose to do what they pleased. Except for the old Stroga Empire, and the rich Horus Conglomerate, planets self-governed, traded, looted, and fought battles on their own.

It was among this backdrop of independence that the Overlords emerged. On the planet Baldur, a vicious religious movement started a fierce uprising against a corrupt dictator, calling for the downfall of the political and economic elite. Their leader, simply calling himself Overlord, gained control over this manufacturing planet. He told the Galaxy that he and his Matron, the formerly disgraced Man'arcy (now simply going by Preacher), had seen a vision that foretold the end of the Galaxy and all of its inhabitants. He called other independent planets to unite behind him and form a single force to protect the galaxy from this coming evil.

Maat, Dur, and Anubis joined the Overlords peacefully, even joyfully, but after it became clear that many of the other planets' ruling classes were resistant to seeding power over to a religious fanatic, Overlord and his armies began to take matters into their own hands.

The first planet to fall was the mighty Tenzin, crippling the army of the Stroga Empire. The military strength of the Overlords, the first centralized, modern military in the Galaxy, could quickly overpower any resistant planets. Rich planets paid the increasingly powerful Extran Syndicate to hire mercenary armies for their protection, but that kind of protection was not cheap, and many planets could not afford to defend themselves against such a threat. And so, many more planets ceded to the religious zealots, in fear that they too would fall to ruin, like Tenzin.

## The Galactic Civil War (21319-21356)

The rule of the Overlords were calculated and cruel. Fearing the threat seen in his vision more and more every day, the Overlord suspended personal rights and freedoms, and instituted a serf-like system throughout his rule so that more ore could be extracted and more warships could be made without having to worry about humane treatment of his workers.

It was when the Overlords came to take the planet Osiris that the Civil War truly began. The thriving, peaceful planet seemed to be quickly subdued by the Overlord's massive fleet. Until, a mysterious, even larger fleet dropped out of hyperspace near Osiris's moon. The Collective, a race of sentient machines, thought to have left the galaxy several hundred years ago, had actually been hiding on a uninhabitable planet (to biological lifeforms) called Origin out on the Peninsula, beyond the Outer Strand. Aggression this close to their homeworld could not be tolerated, and so The Collective declared war against the Overlords.

This lit the spark of hope in other planets, notably Bennu, where groups of workers went on a hunger strike to protest the rein of the Overlords. Not a single man, woman, or child worked, and many millions died, but the rag-tag fighters Monodian Resistance (named after is founder) soon took back Bennu, and surrounding planets Isis, Hermes, and Frig followed suit and joined the newly formed Monodian Union.

The war was bloody, and despite fighting on many fronts, the Overlords' tight grasp on control in the galaxy was not going to slip. Reluctantly, the Extran formed a peace agreement with the Overlords, as did the Collective, and soon, the Overlords safely controlled nearly 90% of known planets in the Galaxy.

That was until the Mondonian Guild Leader called the leaders of the other rebel factions to a secret meeting in Bastet, in the temple of the High Matron, who secretly helped smuggle ambassadors from across the galaxy right under the noses of the Overlords. Here it was agreed that whatever differences the alliances may have, they would put them aside to fight against the Overlords, starting by freeing Bastet.

The Monodians, Stroga, Extran, Horus Conglomerate, Aesirs, and Collective attacked Bastet together and the Overlords, though overwhelmed, managed to kill half the allies fleet before retreating. The war was hard fought, but slowly yet consistently the united planets wrestled back planets from the Overlord's control.

The defeated Overlords were pushed back until their final stand on the planet Baldur. The attack from the United Planets was swift and ruthless, wiping out most of the Overlord's force until they came upon his palace. They came upon his palace to find, the leaders of the movement, and the Overlord himself had mysteriously escaped.

## The Rule of the Federation (21356-Now)

The United Planets formed Federation of United Planets, a diplomatic and military operation to track down the last footholds of the Overlords, protect the galaxy, and resolve conflicts diplomatically so that Galactic War would never strike again, with each planet getting a vote.

All was fine and peaceful until a few months ago when the Extran began to settle a planet called Hathor just outside Stroga space. The Stroga were livid but the Extran refused to stop building their settlements, so the Stroga blew up the planet, killing tens of thousands of Extran settlers.

Now the Federation of United Planets is tasked with settling the conflict between the Extran and the Stroga, uprooting the last support for the Overlords, and determining whether the Preacher's foreseen threat to the galaxy is real, and if so what should be done about it.