Pax- History

**Time Line of Recent Human Events**

1945: Creation of nuclear weapons, end of the Second World War

1969: Moon landing

1989: End of the Cold War

2016: Turkey and India are given joint dominion over failed middle eastern states, creation of the Pan-American League

2021: Russia joins EU, China annexes North Korea

2053: International manned mission to Mars successful

2055: China, Pan-America, European Union, and Indoarabia forms the Confederation of Super-States.

2069: First Mars colony established by the Confederation.

2088: Astronauts on deep space explorer mission discover the Sol Gateway

2110:Chinese space troopers seizes Gateway, Confederation declares war on China, Nuclear conflict cripples Earth powers

2167: End of the Terran Revolution, Dissolution of the continental powers, Formation of the Terran Republic

2178: Terran scientists decipher the Gateway's codex, First psions developed

2185: Terran explorers make first contact with the Ayama in the Sirius system

2199: General Troy conquers Ayama homeworld

2202: Terran Republic overthrown, General Troy returns to Earth

2205: Revolutionaries ousted by General Troy, Terran Hegemony founded with Troy as Chief Consul

2207: Terran colonies oppose the new Hegemony and demand the re-establishment of the Republic.

2209: Consul Troy pacifies colonies with Hegemony forces and begins expanding into new systems.

2212: Troy proclaimed first Emperor of Mankind, New Earth founded by Terran separatists, Battle for Freespace

2215: Imperium ends with Emperor Troy's assassination, Hegemony expansion halted by armistice with Council

2221: New Earth becomes a member-world of the Galactic Council

2245: The coronation of Emperor Etrus signals the start of the Second Imperium

Long ago there were entities that explored the galaxy. These Ancients built the Gateways, an enormous network of space stations that allow instantaneous travel between them via wormhole. At some point the Ancients mysteriously vanished just as three young species were reaching for the stars themselves. The Eridani, Sidereans, and Vimana all record a loss of contact with the Ancients at about the same time, but no one knows what happened to them although many have speculated that they died out, traveled en mass to another space, or are simply in hiding. The only other evidence that they every existed are the Beacons they left behind. These Beacons are tremendous space stations on the fringes of Deadspace that have been broadcasting an indecipherable signal to far off galaxies. Shortly thereafter the Siderean homeworld became uninhabitable, and the species as a whole took to the stars rather than claim a new world as their own. The three species endured few relations with each other over the next thousand, but instead expanded their civilizations in peace.

Five other species began to populate the galaxy over the next millennium: the Qimara, the E'lauri, the Vaarg, the Loa, and the Udai. The E'lauri and the Vaarg even built their own Gateways, and shortly thereafter the first interstellar war erupted between the two powers with the Udai and the Loa eventually coming to the aid of the E'lauri. But the Qimara were torn in two by their strong allegiances with both species, and the ensuing civil war nearly caused their own extinction. The Vaarg conquered the E'lauri colony on the Nyxian homeworld, and enslaved the Nyxians for use as assassins and saboteurs against E'lauri colonies that still used Nyxian labor. The war slowed and ended in a stalemate favoring the E'lauri when they decimated the Vaarg fleet and regained the Nyxian homeworld, but the Vaarg remained fearsome and more or less operational as an interplanetary criminal syndicate. The E'lauri and the other allied commanders then created the Galactic Council to seal their victory, and selected prestigious individuals from the E'Lauri, Udai, Loa, and Nyxians to serve as the first Councilors. The newly formed Galactic Council was given control of the constabulary forces that guards the Gateways, and also acquired the role as interstellar peacekeeper when Council voted to aid the democratic Qimaran forces. The Council then extended membership to all species, and in turn the Qimara, Eridani, and Sidereans eagerly accepted, but the Vimana declined gracefully for mysterious reasons and the Vaarg outright refused.

Seven hundred years of prosperity followed the formation of the Galactic Council while the remaining Vaarg warlords waned in power with their access to the Gateways strictly controlled by the Galactic Council. The Vaarg became a culture of private companies and entrepreneurs dealing in illicit goods and services, most notable assassination and slave trafficking. But this age of peace came to an abrupt end with the rise of an ambitious young species called Terrans.

The Terrans were a peaceful yet ambitious democratic civilization who were on the verge of civil unrest. Terrans were still a virtually unknown player on the galactic stage when a popular Terran general conquered the Ayama homeworld. News of the General's bold action fanned the flames of his radical supporters, and set into motion a civil war that had been brewing for generations. The General then returned home and conquered his own people.

The Terran civil war was by far humanity's most brutal. Refugees from extermination camps were aided by a Siderean colony ship that transported hundreds of thousands of Terrans and Ayama survivors to sanctuary. Most of these refugees were sent to the E'lauri colony on the Nyxian homeworld were they flourished. The Terran Imperium learned of the human dissidents and led a offensive against the Nyxian homeworld. The ensuing battle took a great toll on all the planet's inhabitants, but the Imperium was eventually driven off by the Council forces. The survivors of this battle decided to form a new union. A nation that was completely open to all those willing to counter the tyranny of the Imperium. A republic open to all species and creeds. Thus the Freespace Republic was born.

The Terran War continued only partially setback by their loss at Battle for Freespace. Imperial Forces conquered many worlds unaccustomed to warfare, butt they were unable to overpower any galactic powers aside from their occasional skirmishes with Vaarg syndicate ships.

The war was effectively over by the end of Emperor Troy's life some ten years later. The Freespace Republic had rescued millions of Terran and Ayama refugees, and proved to be an invaluable resource in the many battles fought against the Imperium. Although hostilities had ended, the Terran Imperium had conquered many systems previously held by the Loa, Udai and E'lauri, and had destroyed a Siderean colony ship that had flown for over a thousand years. The Freespace Republic was excepted by the Galactic Council as a legitimate power and invited to join their ranks.

Nearly one hundred years have passed since the war's end, and the Terran Imperium is poised to bring war to the galaxy yet again.

In times long ago, there was a race of spacefaring beings known today as the Ancients that explored the galaxy, seeded it with the first Jumpgates and also built the Beacons, tremendous spacestations on the fringes of Deadspace. At some point they vanished mysteriously just as other young races with guidance from the Ancients were reaching for the stars themselves. No one knows if they went extinct, traveled as a race for other space, hid themselves deep within Dead Space, or were somehow destroyed. The first three species to reach space have records of them and the aid they gave in the species formative stages, but each records a loss of all contact around the same rough period of time, these species are the Eridani, the Sidereans, and the Vimana. Shortly after this time the Siderean homeworld became uninhabitable and the species as a whole took to the stars rather than claim a new world as their own.

A thousand years passed and other young species began to populate the stars, some even building their own jump gates. These species were the Qimara, Elauri, Vaarg, Loa and Udai. Shortly after their ascension a tremendous war began between the Elauri and the Vaarg with the Udai and Loa eventually coming to the aid of the Elauri and the Qimara being split in their allegiance. This split allegiance led to a civil war within Qimaran culture that nearly led to the species extinction.

The Nyxians were discovered by the Vaarg during this war and used as assassins and body guards but eventually many of them gained independence and sought their own fortunes. After the war was over, with the Elauri more or less victorious in solidifying a central territory, but the Vaarg still fearsome and more or less operating in an Underworld sense unhindered. To seal their victory, and celebrate the alliances forged in the war, the Elauri created the Galactic Council, a collection of prestigious individuals from the cultures of all members species selected for merit by the council itself. This body came to have jurisdiction over jump gates which came to be seen as too important to be controlled by territorial powers, and also became a peacekeeping and constabulary force in interstellar affairs. They invited the Eridani, Sidereans, Udai, Loa, Qimara, and Vimana to join, all of whom accepted save for the Vimana who declined gracefully for mysterious reasons and portents few could understand.

Several hundred years of prosperity followed, the Vaarg although extremely powerful in their own right saw their military might wane with most of their access to jumpgates strictly controlled by a united coalition of other species. As such, they refused to seek any membership or alliance with the council and continued more or less as before only instead of an Empire, the Vaarg became a culture of private companies and entrepeneurs dealing in Black Market goods and services, especially those related to assassination, bounty hunting, and slave traffic.

In time the Terran Empire came to prominence and destroyed the culture of the Ayama and most of the “impure” Terrans in their own culture. Refugees from their exterminations were aided by a Siderean colony ship to transport hundreds of thousands of Terrans and Ayama survivors to a new homeworld, which flourished and became the Freespace Republic. When the Terrans learned of this, they led a war of attrition on Freespace, who were eventually defended by the Galactic Council. Although the Terran Imperium was a young Galactic power, Terrans were numerous and their inferior Technology was bolstered by a fanatic devotion to their species and their being highly accustomed to warfare. They were helped by the fact that they were being resisted mostly by refugees and galactic powers who had little conflict aside from the occasional skirmish with Vaarg syndicate ships.

The war was bloody but at the end of it the Freespace Republic had rescued millions of Terran and Ayama refugees, and fully colonized a lush world granted them by the Council, and although defeated, the Terran Imperium had laid claim to systems previously held by the Loa, Udai and Elauri and had destroyed a Siderean colony ship that had flown for over a thousand years. The Terrans were unable to continue their conquest and their last attempts were roundly quashed, but they had exacted a bloody cost on the Galactic Councils forces and fought them to a standstill. After the wars end, the Freespace Republic was invited to join the Galactic Council and accepted receiving their first appointments to the council. Hundreds of years have passed since then and the Terran Imperium is poised to bring war to the galaxy once more.

FIRST CONTACT

The new Terran Republic was a mere decade old when the day arrived that humanity had dreamed of for millenia. The construction of the first jumpgate was completed and shortly after it saw use as a means of interstellar exploration, first contact was made with another intelligent species. When the two ships met in space, contact was opened between them, and although communication was difficult, the nature and homeworlds of the two species soon became clear. It was a moment of destiny, one that spelled doom for a people and marked the schism of the Terran republic.

The head of the Terran military, General Seymour Troy, a man of intense influence in the republic saw his forces dwindle and grow soft after the unification eliminated most conflict between Terrans. His ambitions were greater than to simply see to the security of Terran senators and quell petty uprisings. Shortly after first contact with the Ayama was established, he saw an open opportunity to renew his life's work and to impose his vision for humanity on the Terran republic. He commandeered several exploratory vessels in secret and reactivated many of the fighting vessels that were decommissioned after the unification. The resulting conflict was swift and one sided. With most of the Terran military under his command, Commandant Troy swiftly took control of the Jumpgate and imprisoned all active Terran Senators and their aides. Shortly after the dissolution of the Senate, Troy declared himself the Emperor of the new Terran Imperium, and mandated new laws upon all Terrans which outlawed transhuman behavior and granted breeding rights only to those Terrans which were considered pure. Purity in the eyes of the new Emperor of Terra meant healthy human beings without genetic or congenital defects and without any transhuman genetic modifications whatsoever. He also reconfigured the government into one that closely resembled imperial Rome, a subject he had closely studied.

The Ayama were initially puzzled by the sudden slowing of communications between their people and the new siblings they had discovered among the stars, but it was not long before the Jump Gate to Terran Space was once again opened; only this time it was not exploratory vessels but the full might of the new Terran Armada that passed through. The Ayama were peace loving, and lived for expression and beauty. Even in their darkest hours, they were nothing compared to the sheer ferocity of the Terran forces, and no Ayama vessels even had weapons with which to defend themselves. It was mere years before the homeworld of the Ayama had been ground beneath the heel of Emperor Troy. This time was known to the Ayama as the Dawn of Sorrows.

Emperor Troy solidified his reign and soon little was left of the young Terran Republic. Several inhabitable star systems were discovered over the coming years, and some occupied by Terran forces. In all this time, little threatened the power of the new Emperor until the day an uprising finally flared in the young Imperium. A cadre of Republican Loyalists planned in secret to end the new Emperors life and free the imprisoned Senators. The plan was followed through, and many of the Senators freed, but the threat on the Emperors life was met with nothing but brutality and was unable even to wound Troy. The conspirators escaped with thousands of prisoners on commandeered ships to a system undisturbed by Terran forces. Although the Emperor was unharmed by the attack on his life, the action emboldened his opponents and throught the Imperium, Transhumans, impure Terrans and those Terrans sympathetic to the second class citizenship both of the former endured rose up to strike down the Emperors. Most were crushed without mercy but in the coming years, millions of humans were killed, imprisoned or snuck through the jumpgate into frontier systems. The dissent in the Imperium led to even stricter laws regarding Trasnhumans, putting many of them to death, and meting harsh sentences on all aiding them. It also saw the birth of re-education camps which forged young Terran minds into unflinching servants of the Imperium.

In time the uprising became little more than a movement of human smuggling with sympathetic military personnel helping refugee Terrans find their way to a Siderean Colony Ship. This became known as the (subspace channel) Ark project, and with the help of the sympathetic Siderean ship, millions of refugee Terrans were secretly relocated to new settlements that would become known as Freespace. It took decades for the Terrans to learn concretely of Freespace and the settlement that came to be called New Earth. When the settlements were finally discovered it was near the end of Emperor Troy's life, and his last acts as Emperor were to appoint his successor, and to declare war on Freespace and all it's inhabitants. Fortunately for the citizens of Freespace and the remains of the Terran Senate, strange new allies soon showed themselves and ensured the continued survival of the Freespace Republic.

First Imperium War, Founding of the Freespace Republic, War between several Galactic powers, Terran conquest of several systems, formation of the Galactic Council, Second Imperium War, appearance of the psychophagaea, rumors of another Terran War.