Terra - The Rise of Humanity

  As an exchange student from Altaria, I do not know how Earth World War three started. Was it because of religious reasons in the Middle East or the Fall of communism in a place called "North Korea. Also how did Alien Contact with us or others affect you, are galatic brothers', religion, political parties, Hollywood, and other social/Economical conditions?  

One more thing, who is the leaders or the Terrans: Brad or someone else.

Well, I'm not going to get into the whole reasons as to why WW3 started, but let's just say the roots are economic, and tied into issues of state sovereignty. Alan Bradley is the current Prime Minister, and has the distinction of being the first Terran PM of an interstellar Federation. As far as any effect alien contact's had...well, we'll get to that in due time.

***

"There really is something to be said when you find out that there isn't a precedent or past example to rely on in something. It's something entirely different when you realize that YOU become the precedent."
- Alan Bradley, Prime Minister of the Terran Federation

Such is the truth. The scientific minds of Earth were well aware of the handicap humanity faced at the moment. While the other major powers were well aware of the stars and galactic travel, even without the benefit of Hyperdrive, the humans barely had any real notion of them aside from the fact that A) That they were there, and There were quite a lot of them. They didn't know what stars had any planets that could support an environment that could sustain human life, if they did at all.

Thankfully, stellar geographers were well versed in the planetary scale, a useful tool that was granted to them by the Arceans at first contact. What was considered ideal was a "10", which was what Earth classified as, and the higher the planet was on the scale the better suited for life it would be. That still didn't solve the obvious question: while they knew WHAT would be suitable, the question was, WHERE were they?

The answer would become readily apparent soon, as Prime Minister Alan Bradley would sign Executive Order 386, which gave direct authorization for construction of Earth's first three Hyperdrive capable ships to be constructed. Among them, which would embody more importance to the Federation's efforts than anyone realized (though they had a pretty good idea) was the TFS Da Gama, a ship with a vast amount of sensors capable enough to seek and search out "anomalies" as the scientists termed and analyze them for the benefit of mankind.



The TFS Da Gama, named in honor of one of Earth's early explorers and pioneers.

A commercial ship contracted to extract mineral resources in Earth's asteroid belt
and beyond was the second ship constructed. Earth's resources were great, and hopefully so would the future colonies, but every little bit counted, and Bradley was not about to take any chances. The extra resources found and sent back by the TNS Adam Smith would fuel humanity's expansion into the stars.

Last, but not least, was the Mayflower 2, Earth's first interstellar colony ship. 500 million souls clamored to be the first pioneers across the stars, and the line for promised future voyages only grew longer. At last, thought many, a new start, a new home!

At last, on December 31st, AD 2225, all was ready. The following is an excerpt from the personal log of Captain Sam Mitchell, the captain of the Mayflower 2.

***

"It took us practically half a year, just to even get this far, but dangit, we're here! We're really about to start! I remember hearing the naysayers, how few there were at least. 'It'll never work!' or 'Hyperdrive hasn't been proven yet!' Well, we were there to prove them wrong.

New Year's Eve, all three of us (Ed: the three ships) were there, gathered in the rechristened Kennedy Interstellar Star Port over in New York City. I remember passing through some of the corridors (Heaven forbid I go through each and every one of them, it's the population of some of the third-sector districts* on Terra!), and talking to some of the colonists. They were nervous, some giving some tearful goodbyes to relatives on the Image Phones. But above all, they were excited, you could feel it in your bones.

When I returned to the bridge, even *I* was feeling it, though not because I was nervous of the journey, I had faith in the ground crews. No, the man waiting for me on the bridge was no one other than ole' Al Bradley himself! If that's not enough to press onto you just how literally the eyes of the world was on this ship, nothing will. He shook my hand (pretty tight grip too, the man was only thirty-some years and in good health), wished me well, then turned to the camera crew that somehow managed to set up, God only knows how they got around the crew without getting in their way. There he gave this grand speech that broadcasted to all of the world, 'Just about a few hundred years ago, Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the surface of the moon. He took the first step.' He then turned the camera to myself, the crew, and (I could see on the other screens) the passengers, and, I'll never forget those words, 'These brave men and women will take the next step! THIS is the future!'

As soon as all the hooplah was finished, everyone not supposed to be on the ship cleared out and a safe distance away from the Mayflower. The captains of the Da Gama and the Adam Smith gave us some last good-byes, and then right there, right on the dot at 0:00 AM New Year's Day, I gave the order to launch. It was beautiful; the fireworks were dentonating all around us in one massive goodbye from Earth, almost feeling like glittering confetti. The world just kept shrinking from there..."

***

The Da Gama and the Mayflower 2 would continue alongside each other for about a month , while the Smith veered off and entered the asteroid belt, discharging its crews to begin setting up extraction centers.

While their destined voyage continued, Bradley wasted no time in ordering the construction of another colony ship, and spared no expense in ordering research by the great minds of Terra to proceed, starting with the overhauling of current research methods to match the changing times. It would be a wise decision, as within only three weeks, the scientists were claiming they were on the verge of several breakthroughs, such as properly mapping the star systems of the galaxy; approval to proceed was swift from Bradley.

Meanwhile, upon further surveying, Western Europe was found to possess a previously undiscovered source of mineral resources. Bradley immediately ordered that all of western Europe be converted into a n industrial zone, with Dresden, Germany the headquarters of manufacturing. More construction projects would continue afterwards.

Finally, on Febrary 15, fruits of Earth's labor was already being seen. The first mining station in the asteroid belt, Asteroid Base "S-Alpha,"* was complete, and volunteer laborers were immediately shipped to S-Alpha to begin work immediately, and within the week, shuttles full of malleable minerals were arriving in Dresden. However, that was not the cause (though it contributed) to such excitement. Once again, an excerpt from the journals of Captain Mitchell will suffice.

***

February 15th
"I remember having kept asking the Da Gama's captain for verification about fifteen times. Whether I annoyed him or not I'm not sure, since we were both literally jumping out of our seats practically. Our first exploration site, and we already found something. A Class 10 world in the Hyadea system! He gave me the coordinates, then broke off, as he had more to discover. I wished him well and gave the order to proceed ahead full; the Da Gama's captain and I kept in touch through e-mails, but we wouldn't see each other again until he retired three decades or so down the road."

March 1st
"Not much to say other than having to fend off the various 'Are we there yet?' questions from the passengers."

March 8th
"Monty (My helmsman) tells me we're only about four days away from Hydea IV now. It's no use trying to keep the passengers away from the observation decks; it's been almost three months, and they deserve to see what their future's going to look like from orbit. I don't blame them either. It reminds me a lot like Terra; lots of green, sandwiched by some oceans, and from here, Hydea's sun reflects it brightly enough to remind me of a glittering diamond. If the stellargeographers have their act together, it'll be just like home too. I can't wait."

***

March 15th will then be forever known as the day humanity expanded to its first colony, Hydea IV. Since landing, the colony was then stripped down by the crew and its passengers and immediately made the foundation of the initial settlement; the Mayflower 2 was no longer a colony ship, but now Hydea IV's capitol. Ever since, the planet had been rechristened "Mitchell" in honor of the captain who ensured the safety of the passengers and crew.

While ecstatic over the news, over the previous weeks, the Sol sector had not been idle. On March 8th, Dresden reported that the factory district was complete, and immediately began to process S-Alpha's bounty into a new colony ship. Meanwhile, both Wall Street and a joint Seoul-Tokyo conference proposed new districts to be dedicated to commerce and trade, which Bradley acceded to; expansion would require credits in the billions.**

Things were looking up for the Terran Federation; three months, and results were already being seen.


*S-Alpha stands for "Sol Alpha." This is the conventional naming scheme for mining colonies.

**Hence it's no coincidence that, despite whatever currencies any galactic power would use, its governments would ALWAYS, in bureaucratic matters as well as foreign affairs, would make the necessary adjustments to BC, or "Billion Credits," credits being legal tender anywhere.

currencies for galactic governments would be the same as they are now for the united states government

all of it is on computers as it is for large companies

for citizens and small companies it all depends on how much the government is in their lives

Very well-written AAR. Well done.

One minor nitpick: "Prime Minister" is a title usually given to a head of government, not a head of state. Is there a "President" or "Emperor" somewhere the Bradley has to theoretically answer to, or has the meaning of the title changed somewhat?

To Arilias: Thanks for the compliments and your interest! But also, several reasons for the title "Prime Minister."

1: I thought the title just sounds cool. ^^

2: Before I answer the PM thing, just a note. I'm still going by Stardock's canon that the individual nation-states still exist, and therefore so do the actual original heads of states. More of an attempt to salve the wounded pride of some original heads of states (*cough President cough*), they still maintain some importance as far as Terra goes, in that they are more like regional governors, and that each original state maintains their original forms of government, just as long as they pay taxes to the Federal government and maintain order in their respective areas of responsibility.

On that note as well, I'm going to take the easy way out as to why the head of the Federation's a Prime Minister. It was a typo in the original drafting of the Federal constitution, and as the article originally used the British system as an example, no one remembered to rename the executive's title, even while they reworked his actual powers and functions. It was really a minor annoyance, and when pointed out, no one really felt like going through a minor editing of the constitution, so Prime Minister stuck.

More to come later today!

Thanks for the explanation. Looking forward to more.

As soon as the colonization of Mitchell was able to expand past the initial colony, there was a debate as to what exactly Mitchell's initial purpose should be. Aside from lush rolling hills and what can only be equated as a national park of sorts the size of Ireland, the planet boasted all the qualities of Earth, but nothing outright spectacular; a "clean slate" if you will. For the time being, a local television network began to set up shop in the area, while Bradley liased with Mitchell's colonial governors to decide how Mitchell would serve the Federation.

Human progress could only proceed at a faster rate, however, as on May 1st, humanity perfected the Ion Drive, an engine that output more speed out of an interstellar ship than Hypderdrive could, and immediately new designs were laid forth, such as the new Plymouth class colony ship and the Extractor class asteroid miner. Meanwhile, both Wall Street and Samsung-Fukushima Enterprises, a joint Korean-Japanese company, announced that their respective sectors were now dedicated to commerce. Following their examples, companies based in California and New Zealand began submitting proposals to the federal government similar to New York's and Seoul's. These only took six weeks to complete, and Earth was increasingly becoming the financial capital of the Federation, though this could be subject to change easily.

In the end, the fate of Mitchell was decided in a conference of the newly formed Federation Star Command, or the FSC. The universe might not be so kind as it has been currently to humanity, even with the addition of two new colonial representatives to Terra during the conference, and with more expected within the year, but the military minds of the time were adamant. As it stood, all the FSC were in command of were planetary milita that were more on par with World War 3 era tech; admirable, but not up to rapidly changing galactic standards. With Bradley's blessing, the FSC rebased their headquarters to Mitchell. It was the world that formed the border to the rest of the Galactic Main, as cartographers began calling it, and it was, for the moment, literally the gate to Terra. Mitchell's purpose was now clear; it was to be a Fortress World, and plans for factories along with a Star Port were drafted.

The fates of other worlds would also be decided. To meet the needs of increased research, Bond IV, a Class 7 planet, was reformed into a University World, not only for the purpose of research, but also as a planet-sized university for any bright mind in the Federation able to pay tuition fees (at an estimated 8,000 credits a year). The planet shortly afterwards was simply renamed to "New Harvard."

Another discovery was made, however, on Florin V. The ground was incredibly fertile, with enough estimated farmland to support a population much larger than anticipated, along with a natural beauty that nearly rivaled Terra. The real discovery, however, was the remains of an ancient alien city.* A scientific team from the newly formed New Harvard was dispatched, and the results were hard to believe initially. Alien artifacts, not only well preserved, but intact and in working conditions. It simply remained to see what function they performed; many archeological digs began to emerge as a result began to emerge on the planet. Kryo II would also yield similar artifiacts, though not quite on the same scale of Florin, but nevertheless, independent researchers also flocked to Kryo II to gain a chance of studying the artifacts. Its twin inhabitable planet, Kryo III, was immediately establishing itself as an economic powerhouse, with companies vying for the chance to market their goods to the fledling settlement. The total effect can only be described adequately as a "snowball" effect, as Kryo III would eventually grow into a center of trade.

As more developments were underway, April 8th, 2227 woudl mark the first contact with the Thalan Empire...


On April 28, 2227, the Terran Federation encountered a Thalan scout ship, the first contact with the alien empire.

***


To be continued, gotta rush to class! More screenshots and such to follow!

The captain of the Da Gama, Captain Jon Season, glanced nervously at the alien ship that was off the portside. "Is it armed?"

"Negative, captain, it's a survey ship, just like us...least as far as the Da Gama's sensors can tell..." The ship's First Mate, Gustav, was hovering over the ECM Specialist's chair, trying to discern something of the ship alongside the man.

The captain sat in his seat, both hands cladsped together against his face, deep in thought for a moment before uttering, "...very well then. Helm, bring the ship up to the port side of the ship." Now Season stood from his seat, and began issuing orders. "Marcus, as soon as we're close enough to the ship, I want them hailed and to open communications. We may as well put that 'Universal Translator' the eggheads back on New Harvard came up with to use."

"Aye, sir," Marcus, the Communications specialist, nodded, "Whenever the helmsman's ready and not drunk."

"Aye, and whenever the Communications specialist stops playing Tetris on the job," the helmsman snorted in reply, but the bickering did not last, as the crew worked in unison like clockwork. Everyone could feel the weight of the Da Gama shift as the engines pushed the survey ship along gently, coming to a stop as soon as they were off of the alien ship's port.

"Well, here goes nothing..." Marcus flipped a few switches, then slipped on a separate set of earphones, raising his hand to let everyone know the Moment of Truth was here and to stay quiet. "Attention, alien vessel, this is the Terran Federal Ship Da Gama. You are in Terran Federation space. Identify yourself and your intentions. I repeat..."

Marcus continued to hail the ship for a few more minutes before the ship even responded. At first it came out as nothing but gibberish, but true to its form, the Universal Translator began to do its work. "Affirmative...*bzzt*...Da Gama...we are a survey ship of the great Hithesius, of the Thalan Empire...we are mapping this part of space..."

Due to the slow pace, especially when Marcus paused every few lines since the translator projected his voice actually pronouncing his words in the Thalan tongue, odd as it was, it was certain that the translator was an undeniable success. He would issue orders to immediately return back to Albireo II to get onto a proper communications network. Washington was going to blow a gasket over this...

***

Only a month after encountering the Thalan Empire, a ship from the Dominion of Korx arrived in Earth's orbit on May 8th, 2227. The meeting, despite rumors of the Korx from the Thalans, was quite amicable, though how long such a relationship would last was, at the time, anyone's guess. Technologies were swapped with the Korx; Bradley authorized granting them the technology behind the humans' universal translator, and in return, the Korx showed them the rudimentary secrets to colonize normally uninhabitable worlds.

From discussions with the other two powers' representatives, however, humanity suddenly realized just how lucky they were to be in the position they were geographically. From what the Thalans and the Korx had told them, the Federation was literally at the "southwest" corner of the galaxy, and isolated from the Galactic Main by a vast expanse of space on all sides; a Terran historian noted that this was very much similar to the situation the United States found themselves in after securing its independence from the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the fact the Korx and Thalan ships made it here was proof that this great space would not protect them indefinitely, and orders were immediately put forth to begin fortifying the edges. Mitchell may have formed part of the gateway to Earth, but it was a gate without accompanying walls; Bradley was determined to fix this problem, and the following years would give more attention to the long neglected FSC.

And once again, humanity succeeds its own invention of Hyperdrive, and subsequently Ion Drive, with the new innovation of Impulse Drive on February 1st, 2226. A month later, they already design the next generation of Impulse Drive. While pleased, the FSC declines utilizing the actual engines onto ships until at least the third generation of Impulse Drive was researched, which would come not so long after; planets such as New Harvard, Kryo II, and Florin V, now rechristened New Cairo, were beginning to bear fruit, as the surfaces of these planets were now covered with Xeno Research Institutes dedicated to the education of Terra's future alongside research; there was still a ways to go, but everything just seemed to go that much faster.

Another event of note is that on August 8th, 2228, Thalan colonists on Mars peacefully wrested control away from their mother empire and submitted a petition to the seat of power of the Terran Federation, Washington DC, to be admitted into the Terran Federation with the full rights of colonial citizens. Originally going unnoticed by the Federation, it came as something of a surprise to realize that the Thalans HAD colonized Mars; why they would do so was beyond anyone, but this again would impress upon anyone the need to bring a respectable military to the eyes of the galaxy. Amazed beyond words, as well as a little bit confused, Bradley accepted them into the fold.

if i have the story correct so far then washington dc is now the city of two different governments

the usa and the terra federation

i don't think i would want to visit that city way to meany people there and all of them trying to put their fingers in your pockets lol

Yes. DC is truly a city of bureaucracy and red tape. FEAR.

Though in all honesty, the US government based there really is just more or less a regional sector. As it is, humans don't see themselves as "American," "Russian," "Korean," or the such. They affiliate themselves as "Terran."

Anyways, thanks for keeping up with this. Again, give me some feedback along the way! More to come tomorrow or the weekend or so.

We'll still play Tetris in the future?

Glad to see you got Mars back, too. Always a nuisance when the aliens manage to sneak their way into the Solar System like that.

A buffer zone is very good for humans. I wouldn't take the United States route, though. They didn't have to directly compete with so many factions the way you'll have to. Play it more like the British Empire.

Of course we'll keep playing Tetris. We've been playing it since the eighties, and it's not very likely to die off anytime soon, no matter how hard we try. Plus, even if the game dies off, the original theme never will. *now has it stuck in his head again*

As it turns out, Mars was pretty useless. Aside from the initial colony, all it had were two usable spaces, along with two others I'll need basic terraforming for. But the new Thalan-Federal citizens are taxable, and admittedly, it's hard to say no to any planet that was just gift wrapped and handed to you, so I simply added two advanced market districts and left it at that. Mars'll be useful in its own way (though old Terran Science Fiction buffs will never allow the new citizens' nicknames of "Martians" to ever die off, unfortunately).

Also, geographically, I'm a few weeks in terms of travel time away from the Korx and the Thalans (the Thalans have a scary number of votes on the United Planets assembly compared to Terran and Korx votes combined!), I have no idea of the others so far, though, just that they're out there. And I do agree with you, Arilias. Just as the UK was the balancer of the Old World, it'll probably fall upon the Terran Federation to play as the odd man out in trying to balance out the powers. As it is, the Korx, despite their alignment, are likely candidates as allies (being friends with your next door neighbor is a good thing!).

More updates to follow later this week. Stay tuned, and thanks again for the feedback!

i don't know taking on the world super power twice
winning once and forceing a tie once

sounds like some serious compatition to me

Really like this AAR. I never end up putting all of this detail into my writings.

Maybe you'll activate one of those Precursor things on Mars... and get a better planet out of it, too. I've seen that happen a lot.

Thanks a bunch! For me, putting this much detail into the AAR is just a way to breath more life into my game, which is normally just the old "I'm the overlord who will conquer the world, and am represented by a mouse icon. Worship me." With more detail, I'm growing more attached to this runthrough, which by now I might've just restarted out of boredom. And who knows? Maybe a machine cult praising the Omnissiah will rise up on Mars and...whoops. Wrong space opera setting.

Updates coming up tonight, stay tuned!

"Honestly, as far as I was concerned, I was treading a fine line between ruling by humanity's consent as their Prime Minister and threatening to become a tyrant with my tenure in office. Thank God I was able to step down peacefully without having any long-term regrets."
-Alan Bradley, excerpt of his thoughts from "Atop the Mountain of Terra," his memoirs.

Up to this point, humanity was only aware of at least three alien species and powers for sure: the Arceans, who up to this point had been absent in communications, the Dominion of Korx, a somewhat morally dubious race who so far was friendly to the Federation, and the Thalan Empire, whose attitude towards the humans were of friendship tempered by wariness of an as of yet unknown factor within them. It was important to at least know where the others were, so the TNS Da Gama, by now the oldest spacefaring vessel in the Federal Navy, was ordered to cross the gap between Terran Space and into the Galactic Main, which the cartographers were now coming up with various names for. The navies' crews were content enough to simply call it "The Gap," terminology which occassionally makes its way into official planning charts.

Unfortunately, if anyone was lamenting at this time about unable to make contact with more races, any commentary of the sorts would have surely held its tongue when the Terrans came into contact with the Drengin Empire, an exchange that was held close to the Thalan-Korx borders between the TFS Da Gama and a Drengin MO-13 class scout fighter. The exchange, held in March 8 of 2229, was curt, mercifully brief, and the two ships went away without exchanging shots, on the basis that neither ship COULD fire shots at one another.

Unfortunately, further contact was further strained when the Drengin demanded 25 billion credits and the workings of the Federal government. Bradley, fortunately, did not fall for the bluff, and rejected Lord Kona; his mind at the time was already on focusing on the Terran military, which would in a few years see results, and did not have the patience for tyrants an entire galaxy away. He was sure that would change at one point or another, but that was neither here or now.

Unfortunately, the same demands (albeit different secrets) came from the Thalans, something much closer to home. Again, Bradley denied them their demands, though now he was much more concerned. He would have to make overtures to a friend close by in order to keep the Thalans occupied, or at least something to act as an appropriate stopgap.

One such method was the resurrection of an ancient agency of importance in years past, hailing from the United Kingdom's sector on Earth. Without fanfare or much attention drawn towards it, Bradley authorized the redeployment of the Sixth Division of Military Intelligence, or otherwise known as MI6, as the premiere intelligence agency of the Terran Federation. Once activated, the agency spread its offices across the Federation, and began recruiting operatives. With an annual budget of 11 billion credits, sooner or later it would have to prove results to show its worth to Bradley and the FSC.

To further maintain a buffer zone between the Terrans and a growing suspicion of a Thalan-Drengin coalition (which may or may not have been justified or out of paranoia, but that is for another discussion), Bradley made several trips to the Dominion of Korx to meet with Kralax of Korx, and while the exchanges were somewhat awkward due to there being no precedent with the seat of Prime Ministers ever making a foreign visit to another planet (or species for that matter), the Korx responded well to the visits, with several deals taking place. Noting that the Korx had not much in terms of actual weaponry, the Terrans, in exchange for some six hundred billion credits, supplied the Korx with some rudimentary military technologies, such as basic armor and weapons, which were being tested in Mitchell Space Yards.

Finally, a new prototype rolled out of the Mitchell Space Yards on 8 June 2229. The prototype chassis of a Trojan class fighter was developed at last, and the FSC immediately ordered weapons testing to begin, which took place for the good part of a year and a half. The results, with further miniaturization techniques, allowed for a fighter craft armed with twinlinked Spartan-class mass drivers with electronic countermeasure equipment, with the Drengins specifically in mind; this was the Trojan class fighter with the "Warrior" configuration to be specific. The FSC now had something akin to a self-respecting military, and a chain of fortresses, such as Fort Junction and Stalwart now lined the borders of the Federation, ready to aid in the defense of Terran space should it come to it.

((And now, I come to an impasse of whether or not to continue the AAR, maybe restarting it as the Terrans PROPERLY or as a custom race. The problem is, I just realized that while I customized the Terran Alliance, renaming it and the such for my own purposes, the races that would be chosen was set at random, and they chose the DEFAULT TERRAN ALLIANCE. And I just found this out; silly me. I'm no longer sure if continuing is a good idea, since trying to incorporate the other Terrans into the game would be problematic at best, and just plain CONFUSING in the other; both will have the same home planet! I'm not sure what to do here, so I'm willing to take any suggestions; should I restart, or try to come up with some odd-ball reason as to why there are two Terras?))

you could just call your group the true terrians and or call the other group shape shifters

and there could be another earth/sol system out there somewheres

i am sure that one of the billion other races have called their planet earth and call themselves terrian

of course they may not even look like us as well

...Okay, that's just weird. I think you might want to make a bug report about that one.

I'd be sad to see you abandon this AAR, but fortunately, this is science-fiction, so we can always come up with alternative explanations. The obvious solution, of course, is that the "Terran Alliance" is in fact a civilization from an alternate universe that was dropped into this one, possibly by messing around with some Precursor tech.

They should be similar enough to the Terran Federation that the point of divergence would have to be relatively recent, certainly sometime after the present day. The decision to call it the "Alliance" rather than the "Federation" could be taken any number of ways. "Terran Alliance" might not even be their official name, just a general term for identifying them, the same we call the Republic of Korea "South Korea."

If you do decide to keep going with this one, good luck against the Drengin.

Well, thinking hard about it, I've decided to continue; as my roommate has reminded me, along with you all on the posting, the SF genre tends to allow for all these interesting cases to be casually explained away! However, this is also ensuring that I'll try another AAR after this, THIS TIME done properly (namely, make sure that only one power claims to rule Terra, among other things). Besides, I can always come up with more made-up fluff in terms of differences between the two powers, and I don't have to actually worry about it until I make contact, which'll be awhile, since they're a good deal away from the Feds. Once again, keep any feedback, predictions, and suggestions coming along. Many thanks for your encouragements! I'll shoot out one last update before I hit the sack for tonight.

On the 22nd of April, 2230, contact was finally established with the Krynn Consulate. None of the Federation's Xenologists really knew what to make of them; most reports indicated the Krynns to be fanatics of their cause, whatever it might be. However, while not entirely friendly, neither did they show hostility; as per the standard procedure, diplomatic ties were established, and business went on as usual, though apparently there was some confusion on part of the Consulate as to why the humans were apparently "repeating this even though we've already met." This would be explained a month or so later on May 8th, when the most bizarre of encounters occurred...

***

Washington D.C., Earth
Office of the Prime Minister Alan Bradley, Campell Tower*
May 8th, 2230. 5:00 PM (American Eastern Time)


Alan stared at the visage of Captain Season staring back at him with an equal expression of shock and uncertainty. The discovery made was just too much to take in at first.

"...are you absolutely sure...Captain Season...?" Bradley asked in a carefully controlled tone as to not betray his shock, though both individuals knew that the other could not keep up any sort of facade for long.

The response was delayed, as can be expected from a signal being sent from across many, many parasecs across the Pacificus Ocean, as the cartographers now called the greater gap between Terran space and galactic east. "Yes, mister Prime Minister, I am certain. Would you like a recap just to be sure?"

"Just one more time, if you would please..."

The captain took a deep breath. "We have just arrived at the Antares star system across the Pacificus and had just begun scanning the system for any potential suitable areas for colonization. We just realized two things at first; by the fact there were radio signals being emanated from both Antares Prime and IV, someone beat us to the punch." The captain took a deep breath. "The second was that when we were hailed, we saw...humans. Us. Er, them." Now the captain looked flustered. "We were told we were in Terran Alliance space, and to give them our-"

"Skip the procedures, captain, and tell me what's important here, please."

"Yes, sir." The captain took a moment to compose himself, the crew around him less composed than Season was, even with the presence of the Prime Minister projected to their bridge. "A diplomatic shuttle, with the Terran emblem-OUR EMBLEM-docked with the Da Gama, and as per the Federal Constitution, I officially represented the Terran Federation. The diplomat who I met in the crew quarters was representing the Terran Alliance...and this is what disturbs me the most, sir." He paused again, gulping. "They were...also...creators of Hyperdrive...there's another...Terra...and they started at the same time we did...the only thing that's different about us are the names and how their government formed...and...hell, sir, you're also leading them apparently!"

The last comment hit Bradley like a golden brick wrapped around a lemon, and he didn't care if his addled mind made the popular book reference correctly or not. "What?"

***

May 8th was, without a doubt, the most awkward moment in all of galactic history, not barring even the apparently twin Terran governments. No precedent for this was ever obviously set. Apparently the encounter of two Terran governments were not ever recorded by any actual alien power. The only explanation any side of the Pacificus could come up with was that since communications between ALL powers were cut after the creation of Hyperdrive, if a power came across one or the other initially, then they assumed that was where the Terrans came from, and left the matter be, naturally moving on to the next step of diplomatic relations. However, when it was unveiled to the galaxy that there were TWO Terran governments, there was something of an uproar, especially for the confused Krynn consulate, who having had to contend with a large human rival, suddenly found out in a scouting mission that there were TWO of them!

Nevertheless, awkward diplomatic ties were established between the two Terran governments, and both the Terran Federation and the Terran Alliance were recognized members of the United Planets Assembly. It was, as both Bradleys noted, "The most memorable time of my career to know there's another me out there."

Differences between the two would later be uncovered, as historians of Terran history suddenly found themselves offering contracts to make trips to the other and attempting to figure out just what was the reason for all this WAS. The answer would not come for at least a year, though the Director of MI6, which for security reasons only went by the name "C" and wrote only in green ink**, immediately jumped at this opportunity after coming over the shock, and made unofficial assignments for the growing ranks of MI6 operatives to accompany the historians across the Pacificus, where blending into the populace would be much simpler to do than in alien worlds outside of trade hubs. On an entirely different note, he also ordered that the operatives, aside from their assignments, to make at least one pilgrimage to the Alliance's Britain, Bletchley Park in particular, as much as it baffled most of the recruits that weren't Terran-British or World War 2 versed***.

It was also of note that the Korx, who were apparently already tied with the Alliance, did not inform the Federation of this. However, upon hindsight, it can be forgiven, since the recordkeeping must have gotten both Terras confused, and assumed that both Terrans' planets were under one banner with conflicting names. Nevertheless, relations between the Korx and the Federation were cooling, and the FSC began ordering the mass production of clean-slate Trojan fighters, to be outfitted with whatever the situation demanded when war broke out, which they were confident would happen at one point; it was naiive to think otherwise.

July 15th would also see contact made with another race of the galaxy, the Drath Legion. Aside from diplomatic ties, they warned the Federation not to interfere with them, which for the time being, Bradley was all too willing to do.

With all this new contact came the news of a new, growing, powerful threat, that of the Korath Clan. While the Federation was unaware of who they were, the other races, including their Alliance counterparts, the Krynn Consulate, and the Thalan Empire, sounded quite scared of them. At the moment, the Federation could do nothing but wait to see what manifested.

More time passed, with the Terran Federation continuing to prosper, with an unprecedented income of at least 400 billion credits in tax while still continuing to keep a high approval rate. It was at that moment, September 30th, 2231, that Prime Minister Alan Bradley gave a speech that would end a chapter in the growing history book of Federal History...

*Campell Tower is the official building set aside as the residence of the Prime Minister as well as the center of governing the Federation, much like the White House functions as Campell Tower does for the United States sector of Earth, built at the turn of the 23rd century.

**"C" has always been the codename of the Head of MI6, and he's always written in green ink. It is a tradition that the agency has always upheld, and even several hundred years later, they're not about to quit anytime soon.

***Bletchley Park is the site of the codebreakers famed for breaking the "Enigma" encoding machine employed by the Wermacht (German military) in World War 2. While deactivated after some time, once MI6 was reactivated in employ of the Federal government, it has since been resurrected in the 23rd century as the new Codes and Cipher School, with all the quaint aspects of nineteenth to twentieth century Britain, nevermind the fact the architect couldn't decide what kind of style he wanted the house to be.

(And I apologize for the lack of screenshots, but apparently FRAPS stopped working on me for some strange reason; it no longer is taking screenshots for me whenever I want, which is starting to get annoying. I'll post some screens next time I get it to work.)

Howard City, Mitchell
September 30th, 2231

Alan Bradley, in his sharpest suit, gazed up at the gigantic telescope that pointed towards the Gap between Mitchell and the Thalans and Korx. Truly, it was a telescope to make Galileo proud that even after his time, humanity's interests in the stars, along with colonizing them, had lived on.



He then turned towards the crowd gathered to comemorate this new "Galactic Wonder," as many news agencies had dubbed it, and not all of them were Terran, Federal or Alliance. Kralax of Korx, though now hostile towards the Federation, called Bradley and even asked how much he would be willing to sell Mitchell! Of course the offer was rebuked; Mitchell served a purpose more than just being the site of a massive telescope, wondrous as it were...

No, what impressed him even more than the Eyes of the Universe, as its eccentric creator had dubbed it, was the crowd. Even after all these years, he could still remember a few of the colonists he had personally met in that crowd, though now they were years older. Now, they were not alone; the five hundred million colonial efforts expanded even further than Bradley had thought of at the time, and now they were accompanied by wives, husbands, and now sons and daughters, clinging to their parents and families, and gazing up at the telescope with eager interest. "Has it really been this long?" he muttered under his breath. "...and has it already ended?"

"You tell me, Mister Prime Minister," the man next to him said with a grin. Turning, Bradley smiled back as he shook Governor Mitchell's hand once more. Both were grinning with an odd expression to their faces; it only seemed like yesterday that both had given their farewells to each other in '26 board the Mayflower 2! Since the colony ship touched down, Mitchell became a natural leader of his new home, earning the respect of his fellow colonists as he helped to ensure that the colony not only survived, but thrived. Now held in respect and love as a leader, the planet was not only named after him, but its populace voted for him as their governor, which he gratefully accepted. Aside from managing the day-to-day business of running the colony, now more of a homeworld, he led a prosperous life, which was represented in the reason they all were gathered here. "And it's time, sir."

Bradley nodded, and stepped up to the podium. The crowd almost immediately silenced (except for the children, but that was expected), and all of the holo camera crews pointed towards his direction; Bradley was silently thankful that camera flashes were a thing of the past now, considering the multitude of media men and women in attendance. Clearing his throat, he said, "We are gathered here today, men and women of Terra, to celebrate. You brave men and women who were courageous enough to set sail away from the comforts of Earth, to come here, to Mitchell. Well, ladies and gentlemen, look where you are now!"

He paused long enough for the popular cries of approval to die down, though he took this time to dramatically wave an arm towards the Eyes of the Universe. "This is further proof of your fruits of labor! You who built a great Fortress World out of nothing! Now, more than ever, we are more prepared as a power in the galaxy!" Again, after the applause, he continued, "That, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am here. I'm here to thank you."

He paused for a moment to compose himself, "It is because of men and women like you that I am proud to lead the Terran Federation. You are indeniable proof that we are great. And you are further proof-" He gave a salute towards the Honor Guard of the Federation Marines, encased in the newly emerging Dauntless class powered armor, who returned the gesture sharply, "-that WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE GREAT!" The crowd now was loud enough to rival the Interplanetary Super Bowl, which was significant. "And it is with disappointment that I will not be able to lead you further." The crowd immediately hushed, now wondering what he was getting at. "I have led the Federation since the elections of '24, if some of you remember. And I've continued to lead you since we made Hyperdrive, and for awhile, we've gone on without elections to make sure that there was a consistent leadership to establish Terra's mark on the galaxy. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that mark is most definitely there. I've done my part to spread humanity throughout this part of space, and we have prospered. I did what I could to prepare the military to defend us in times of war, though God willing it will never come to that. The economy is now at a strong footing, and even now we're receiving immigrants of other powers seeking a new life, and I am happy to say that not only have they succeeded, they are happy, and productive members of Terran society, and may God bless their lives with continued fortune."

Amidst the mumblings of approval, including many Thalans of the Martian colony who had spread beyond their Market World, Bradley said, "The Federation is now at a point where it can further develop and change to meet the challenges the galaxy will throw at it. Therefore, I have finally fulfilled the conditions the emergency powers enacted for me. Ladies and gentlemen, elections will once again take place across the entire Federation next month, but I will not be a candidate for the Federalists." The crowd was now quiet, and many of them disappointed. "I wouldn't be able to run again, even if I wanted to, and the constitution that our forefathers signed after the Third World War keenly remembered wartime President of the United Stated Franklin D. Roosevelt, and as charismatic and capable a man he was, it is not a length of term of office a nation-state would find healthy. My terms in office are now over, and as of the end of the elections, I will step down from the office of Prime Minister to the next to take my place. I have no regrets, and I am proud to have been a part of this growing effort. And helping this, the Eyes of the Universe, to make the transition from the drawing board to a reality, is my last contribution to mankind as Prime Minister." He took a deep breath, and finished, "I am proud to have led you all. God bless you all."

As he turned away from the podium and away from the assembly, the crowd was silent for a moment before a single clap grew into a chorus of cheering as Bradley left. The Dauntless-clad Marines fired off a classic twenty-one gun salute, and a flight of Trojans flew in formation overhead, their wings dipped in salute. And for the first time, in years, since the Terrans met the Arceans, Alan Bradley felt a sensation he hadn't felt in years.

Peace.

***

As it turned out, over the next month, parties that emerged from the plurality afforded by the Federation campaigned heavily across all the worlds for the seat of Prime Minister along with their staff; given that this was an interstellar vote, it certainly was a new experience. Perhaps moved by Bradley's farewell speech, Governor Mitchell decided to run for the Federalist Party candidacy for Prime Minister. Unsurprisingly, he had his namesake's world's support fully behind him, as well as New Harvard and the Trinity Worlds (The Alibereo system, which by now was an entire star system dedicated to commerce).

His major opposition was Kal Harding, a retired colonel of the Octavian 5th Regiment and candidate for the War Party. His major campaign platform was the proclaimed deficiencies in the military, though his position was undermined with a report released by the Federation Star Command stating that given a few months, Octavia and Mitchell alone could account for enough Trojan class vessels to defend Terran space. Humbled, but not out, the War Party and Harding nevertheless continued to campaign, and by the end of October, the results had arrived.

Federalist Party: 70 seats, and led by Prime Minister Mitchell.
War Party: Thirty seats, and led by Minority Leader Kal Harding.

However, the new Prime Minister woudl now have a colossal task on his hands. Having only recently met the Torian Federation, they, in 22 April of 2232, declared war on the Federation, for "economical purposes." The FSC at this point was now sick of the universe thinking the Federation was defenseless, and from their regional headquarters all over the borders, stemming from the Pentagon in DC, the order was given to mobilize. After several months of seeing no Torian vessels, the Torian Confederation being at the other corner of the galaxy, the Torians evidentally were cowed into suing for peace. The FSC knew that their manufacturing output could eventually overpower the Torians with enough Trojans, but the Trojan alone was no longer going to suffice. The fleets would need a new ship, and soon.

However, on December 1 of 2232, an interesting event occurred. An archeological dig on Mitchell revealed what appeared to be a Precursor way station. The results are the subject of numerous texts, so it is suffice to say that what occurred was a miracle; all Terran Federation ships could now travel anywhere in the galaxy without the need of life support equipment. To the FSC particularly, this was truly a boon.

Hmm. You could change the name of the Terran Alliance homeworld if you want.

So Governor Mitchell is now Prime Minister. How many planets do you have?

Ooh, shiny Precursor stuff...

Sad to see Bradley go, but I guess the guard has to change sometime. Keep it up.