by Trevor Wyatt
2041: The Terran Council launched the first joint space expedition towards Mars to set up a base colony that would act as a refueling point for ships headed for the asteroid belt. The ships would be crewed by workers who would mine asteroids for rare earth elements needed for the rebuilding effort. The Terran Council also began the long process of attempting to rebuild pacified areas. The destruction of existing power and infrastructure meant that in many instances the Council was funding projects that advanced growth in propulsion, solar energy capture, food growth, and the ability to fight disease.
2042: A formal signing of Accords between member nations of the Terran Council to work cooperatively to both colonize space as well as contribute resources from their endeavors towards rebuilding the planet was signed. A fund was created and officials appointed to oversee the men and material that would carry out this task. This force was known as the Terran Armada.
2047: The first Terran Council colony is set on the moon. Comprised of 35 scientists and technicians from 15 nations the colony is hailed as a steppingstone towards a greater unified humanity.
Severe environmental and ecological hardship continue for the majority of the world’s population. The view of space as an escape from the ravages of planet Earth are seen as but a glimmer of hope, one that is available only to the wealthy few.
The Astra Corporation announces the creation of several manned space stations and bases that are able to be supplied by a new form of power allowing colonies not just on Mars but as far away as orbiting Jupiter.
The Taylor Corporation announces the creation in five years’ time of a listening post and supply base on Pluto. The stage is set for humanity to leave the Sol system.
2048: the Terran Council announces a set of minimum guidelines and standards for each member nation in the areas of human rights, ecological preservation, rebuilding efforts, civil liberties, and rule of law. The participating countries include the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, India, China, Russia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan.
2049: the number of colonists on Mars now exceeds 10,000 people. Pan Solaris announces that by 2055 they intend to relocate over 50,000 people from Earth to Mars.
The Terran Armada is fully operational with a very small fleet that begins to patrol the area of space between Earth, the moon, Mars, and Jupiter. The first manned space flight to the edge of the solar system is conducted as results are reported back. Asteroid belt mining and energy collection is now conducted by over 50 corporations. Scientists reevaluate the length of time needed from 1000 years to 500 years for the complete rebuilding of the planet Earth to pre-World War III levels.
2050: The Taylor corporation begins the groundwork and the initial groundbreaking of the Pluto colony. In a novel public-private partnership the Taylor Corporation receives funding as well as assistance in construction from the Terran Council. The Terran Armada provide support to Taylor Corporation space ships that travel to Pluto and back.
The Terran Council membership grows to over 60 nations on planet Earth. Chief among the resolutions are covenants to lower trade barriers and eventually eliminate them by 2075 as well as greater political integration. Unlike prior attempts to do so in the past that have failed through other intergovernmental organizations the attempts this time are successful and not thwarted by ultranationalist groups who seek to preserve their own national sovereignty. Many current events observers speculate that the advent of the Third World War has raised the specter of human extinction in the eyes of the doubters of past experiments and global unification. What is key now is this war-ravaged planet’s survival. And the only way to survive at this point is for humanity to come together and work towards a common purpose.
2052: interstellar solar energy capture becomes a tried and true tactic for storing and supplying energy to planet Earth. The practice is pioneered and perfected and by 2052 in widespread distribution by the Minerva Enterprises organization. Granted exclusive contracts by the Terran Armada, Minerva Enterprises enters into a period of expansion where they provide solar-based power and fuel cells to Terran colonies on Luna, Mars, as well as orbiting space stations orbiting Earth, Mars, and Jupiter.
The Terran Armada begins active patrol of the solar system.
Terran Union
The Terran Union is the political union that represents the majority of humanity in the Pax Aeterna universe. The main political, cultural, administrative, defensive, and logistics hub of the Terran Union is located on the planet Earth.
The Terran Union is a constitutional republic as per its founding charter but has been described by many observers as a corporate republic. The Union is led by a president who is elected to a six-year term and must then vacate office after the end of that term. The president occupies the executive office and is the face of and representative of humanity to the galaxy. The president operates in a system of checks and balances with the Terran Council comprising the main legislative body of the Union. The Terran Council is comprised of representatives from colony worlds as well as representatives of member nations on the planet Earth.
Determine Union first achieved political consciousness as an outgrowth of the Terran Council as humanity began to expand into the stars and form colony worlds. The actual foundation of the political union occurred in 2063 as the final nation states on planet Earth joined into a unified humanity.
The Terran Union utilizes the Terran Armada for all military, diplomatic, exploratory, scientific, and cultural activities and outreach on behalf of the Union.
The Council of Corporations is an unofficial advisory Council to the office of the president of the Union. The Council of corporations is formed by representatives of the major corporations within the Union and number and 100 representatives.
The Union encompasses 45 billion people spread out over 198 colony worlds over 197 light years. The outer colonies form a political counterpoint to the Terran Union after having broken away in 2123 during a conflict known as The Schism.
One of the primary tasks of the Terran Union, indeed the task that was the primary cause of the Schism was the responsibility placed upon the Union and rebuilding the planet Earth after the Third World War. Rebuilding efforts to date have focused on extraction of minerals, ores, and other manufactured and natural resources from colony worlds for transport back to Earth. However, the Union also funds and develops scientific and technological breakthroughs that have greatly sped up the pace of the rebuilding on Terra.
The Union is also tasked with regulating the activities of the profit-making corporations that serve at times as proxies for the Terran Armada.
The Union operates a wide variety of social welfare and administrative tasks designed to raise the standard of living for humans within the political union.
Terran Armada
The Terran Armada is the exploratory, military, scientific, and engineering arm of the Terran Union. The Armada was first launched in 2050 by a declaration from the Terran Council. It has since evolved to grow into the method by which the Terran Union imposes law and order, patrol space, keeps the peace, and defends its citizens. The Armada consists of starships, star bases, planetary bases, deep space stations, listening posts, as well as administrative offices spread out throughout the Union. The two key administrative centers of the Terran Armada exist on the planet Earth as well as the colony world of New Washington.
The exact number of starships are not specified within the Pax Aeterna universe since over 150 years of shipbuilding, mothballing, and retrofit have occurred. However, the Armada has maintained a fighting force during that time that at first protected its citizens from pirates, as well as other stellar phenomenon that pose threats. During the time of the Schism between the outer colonies and Terra, the Armada was called upon to impose law and order in systems that were in open rebellion as well as to press the offensive and defend the core star systems. After the Schism the Armada was tasked with patroll
ing the border with the outer colonies. After first contact with the Sonali, the Armada was called to defend the Union as well as prosecute the five-year war that ensued.
The Armada is not just a military vehicle for the Union, but also an exploratory and scientific vehicle as well. It carries out a host of exploratory and scientific measures that include charting new star systems, studying cosmic phenomenon, as well as assisting colony worlds with either unprecedented or routine maintenance and upgrades. Chief among the notable accomplishments outside of the military sphere of the Armada include the mapping of space routes, the establishment of trading and shipping lanes through space, assistance in terraforming planets, protecting against piracy, and working with the various corporate fleets to ensure tranquility throughout the Union.
The Armada was weakened severely during the Earth-Sonali War. Approximately 25% of the fighting force was destroyed. It was the first nonhuman conflict that the Armada had endured, with prior engagements for over the last hundred years limited to border skirmishes with the outer colonies as well as preventing piracy.
The Armada maintains an Academy for officers on both the planet Earth as well as the colony world of New Washington. It maintains administrative offices that oversee several sectors on New Washington.
Those who wish to join the Armada can do so through two means. They can enlist to serve in a variety of capacities with the Armada. Those who seek to achieve specialized skills or servant leadership or positions of more responsibility must enter through the Armada Academy on either Tara or New Washington. The Academy is a five-year program with exacting entrance requirements of both a mental and physical nature. The Academy is widely respected for its teaching and its training of the next generation of leaders within the Armada.
The technological advancements of Armada starships were jumpstarted during two conflicts-the Schism with the outer colonies, and the Earth-Sonali War. The latter conflict saw significant technological breakthroughs in the areas of all offensive and defensive capabilities as well as other technological breakthroughs which have in turn been used for more peaceful endeavors including the rebuilding of Earth from the damage caused by the Third World War.
The Armada has in fact since its inception been credited with lowering the time required to rebuild the planet Earth from the ravages of the nuclear war in half. The scientific opportunities available through the exploration of space have been harnessed through coordinated efforts between the Terran Armada as well as other institutions within the Terran Union including the various corporations that have a seat on the Terran Corporate Council.
The Armada also has a diplomatic arm which works hand-in-hand with the Terran diplomatic corps.
The Terran Armada is generally at a significant advantage when compared to the decentralized fighting capabilities of the outer colonies. And while the first two years of the Earth-Sonali War saw the Terran Armada outmatched and outgunned by the Sonali, by the end of the conflict the fleet approached something close to parity with their opposing forces.
The Armada receives funding that is directly tied to the budget worked on by the president of the Terran Union as well as the Terran Council. As such the Armada has at times been subjected to the politics of the day running of the Terran Union. The Armada is one of the most respected institutions within the Terran Union with most citizens saying that it exists as a force for good in the galaxy.
While the Armada is comprised of a primarily military air the founding charter of the Armada as well as its core principles state that the chain of command reports directly to a civilian overseer who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Terran Armada, occupying the seat of President of the Terran Union.
The Armada maintains an intelligence department conducts intelligence operations both within the Terran Union as well as within foreign powers.
Encyclopedia Aeterna Volume 2
Political Map of the Orion Cluster of the Milky Way Galaxy
Timeline of the Earth-Sonali War
Timeline of Earth-Sonali War 2197-2201
2197:
July
Edoris Station stops receiving communications from TUS Mariner - a scientific vessel on a mission to explore the Anderson Nebula.
Captain Montgomery of TUS Seeker is assigned by Admiral Flynn of the Terran Armada to locate the whereabouts of the missing TUS Mariner.
August
TUS-Seeker finds wreckage of TUS Mariner near the Anderson Nebula. Unique energy signatures of the remaining debris suggests a weapon of destruction previously unknown to the Terran Armada. First Contact: While investigating the remains of TUS Mariner, Captain Montgomery makes first contact with the Sonali. The Sonali are a tall humanoid blue-skinned alien race. Captain Montgomery speaks with Command Legate Ghosal of the Sonali regarding the destruction of TUS Mariner. Legate Ghosal says the Sonali are not responsible for the destruction of TUS Mariner. However, Legate Ghosal orders Captain Montgomery to leave or be destroyed. Facing superior firing power from the Sonali ship, Captain Montgomery retreats.
Admiral Flynn presents Captain Montgomery's report to the Terran Union regarding the destruction of TUS Mariner and first contact with the Sonali.
Despite the confidentially surrounding Captain Montgomery's report, word leaks to the public that TUS Mariner has been destroyed and first contact has been made with the Sonali.
September
An official report is released to the public. Given the uncertainty surrounding the fate of TUS Mariner and the proximity of the Sonali to its destruction - public outcry reaches a fever pitch demanding answers and justice for the lost crew of TUS Mariner.
October
Terran Union dispatches a 100-ship fleet to investigate the debris of TUS Mariner. The fleet makes contact with Command Legate Laloli of the Sonali. History repeats as she states that the Sonali are not responsible for the destruction of the Mariner and tells the Terran Armada fleet to leave or face attack. The Terran fleet refuses to leave. Legate Laloli fires on the fleet destroying more than half of the Terran ships including: The Maverick, The Aurora, The Iris, The Magus, The Lysander, The Griffin, The Mercury, The H.R. Wells, The Santa Maria, The Hornet, The York, The Wesle,y and The Lexington. Surviving ships include: The Celestia.NovemberSonali war ships begin attack and invasion of Edoris sector settlements: Solange, Mavis, Zion, and Halcyon.Terran Armada begins to establish diplomatic relations with the other alien species.
December
A fleet of Terran war frigates surround two Sonali ships TUS Malai and TUS Gre'nai. Concentrated fire by the Terran fleet severely damages both Sonali ships. However, Terran losses negate this as a true "win."
2198:
January
Six months after first contact Terran Armada officially declares war on the Sonali.
Plans are proposed for weapons manufacture on Earth coupled with aggressive R&D to catch up to Sonali military prowess.
February
Sonali expand their invasion in Edoris sector. Colonies taken include: Calypso, Gamma and Logan.
March
Loss of TUS Terror to Sonali at Azukene colony. However, before the ship was swarmed by Sonali the crew murdered the captain in a mutinous move opposing the captain's plan to do a suicidal ram into the Sonali warship. The last moments of TUS Terror as well as the munity were recorded and delivered via automated slipstream log.
May
After the incident with TUS Terror - Terran Armada instigates security officers to be posted on all ships to protect Captains.
June
"Remember the Mariner!" becomes a unifying chant on Earth. Record numbers of Terrans enlist at the Academy in order to train and join the war effort.
July
For the first time in 1,000 years Terrans return to nomadic roots, traveling in small caravans between settlements to avoid attack by Sonali forces. However, it is soon apparent that daytime exodus equals heavy losses as Sonali ships cut down fleeing Terrans indiscriminately. To avoid this danger some sett
lements near the border empty overnight.
August
Sonali attacks on border colonies continues.
September
A candle-light vigil is held by civilians in remembrance of TUS Mariner on the anniversary of the official announcement of its loss.
October
"Sacred Vow" offensive is launched by Terran Armada in an attempt to halt Sonali encroachment in the Edoris Sector. Due to loss of half of the attacking Terran fleet to Sonali forces and overall failure the offensive is dubbed "Sacred Cow" in civilian circles denoting a loss of hope regarding the war effort.
November
The Sonali continue to conquer and invade settlements on different planets. Despite Terran resistance, the Sonali maintain dominance on overall destruction and causalities.
December
While on patrol TUS Shrike discovers a damaged, but intact Sonali ship. The recovery of this ship marks the first opportunity for research into Sonali technology.
2199:
January
The vessel is delivered to Terran Armada for research.
February
Sonali forces destroy the following colonies in Edoris sector: Nurtura, Cassis, and Bathory.
March
Settlements lost to Sonali: Esme, Carlise, and Laront.
April
Settlements lost to Sonali: Tamarin, Solaris, Calliope, and Ferris.
June
Settlements captured by Sonali: Langley, Benedict, and Mathis.
July-August
The Sonali begin a series of seemingly random attacks on a consistent basis. They become known as "death drops" because the Sonali would come out of FTL over a Terran colony and repeatedly drop firebombs until it was leveled. Then they would resume FTL back to Sonali space. The assaults were unpredictable and devastating.
