Post by Flax on Dec 8, 2005 22:35:20 GMT -5
"I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability. "
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
Introduction
Subject : A fugitive named Hertes
Report: Piles of handwritten documents found in his spaceship. Documents relating to the past.
Orders: Documents are to be kept in a secured Zaon Imperium facility.
“The past can never be forgotten. The Zaon Imperium and the other corporations may try to hide it, but some will sacrifice themselves for it.
Everything seems lost. The Zaons have been stopped for now, but history repeats itself. I fear we are on the edge of disaster.
Thus, I wrote these few history documents, for others to understand our mistakes, the mistakes that must not come back to haunt us for eternity.”
Hertes
Chapter 1: A terrible start for the new millennia
The 20th century had been the most violent and bloody episode in human history. Over one hundred million men and women died in wars for greed and power. When the millennia changed, the humans thought there could be hope for global peace.
They were wrong.
Lacking common reasons to work together, the countries of Earth kept fighting for dominancy over the others. They did not understand that these wars would bring their downfall.
By the end of the century, the wars ended by the fall of superpowers like the United States of America, the European Union and the Chinese Empire.
The Global Revolt began.
Chapter 2: Global Revolt
At the end of the 21st century, more than twenty percent of men and women were starving. Wars had ravaged the Middle East, Africa and Russia. People began to lose fate in their governments.
By 2091, a few years after a terrible uprising in South America, the whole world erupted in chaos as massive revolts spread like plague. This event was known as “The Global Revolt”.
A strange activity which was forgotten since thousands of years became common: nomadism. Victims of the devastations united themselves and formed a cohesive group, the Nomads, surviving over the wastelands of Russia, Middle East and Africa. They lived miserably, and they refused to have anything to do with the civilized world. They lived in anarchy where only the fittest could lead.
The terrible civil war continued for a dozen years, but neither loyalists nor rebels could gain the upper hand.
While the war continued to claim millions of lives, resources and money started to take their toll. The only way a faction could continue to fight was to be financed by neutral corporations.
Chapter 3: The Rise of the Corporations
The first Corporations were energy companies supplying fuel for all factions. They amassed huge fortunes, and most of them refused to take any side in the war. Eventually, the loyalists and rebels were out of money.
They could not continue to fight…unless the Corporations financed them.
Without any military to protect them, the Corporations were soon forced to take sides and supply them.
Fortunately, not all Corporations were helpless. A dozen of them rose above the others and managed to hire highly trained mercenaries for protection. They were equipped with top of the line technology, weapons, vehicles and aircrafts. These were called the High Corporations.
These Corporations formed an alliance: they could not face alone the greed of the rebels and the loyalists. They were Telon, Galcorp, Delko, Holing, Jinsoucorp, Alinstar, Pandor, Kelbast, Lyfian, Siolin, RSS Corporation and Zaon.
Soon, these High Corporations realized the war was an endless source of power. They manipulated their funding so that one side would never gain the upper hand over the other.
Chapter 4: A New Era
Everything comes to an end, and so did the Global Revolt. Tired and unfruitful, both sides signed a peace treaty in 2165.
Everyone knew peace was but an illusion. Therefore, a few charismatic and wise men and women decided to form a new government, one that would decide the fate of the entire world: the United Nations Senate, presided by a man or woman trusted by most countries.
Each country would have senators in what would become the only hope for global peace. The first decision made by the UNS was to demilitarize all nations. Weapons of mass destruction were dismantled, all armed vehicles and aircrafts were destroyed, and weapons were made illegal for all but the police forces.
The High Corporations feared that the end of the war would mean a loss of profit for them, so they decided to use financial pressure to gain access to the UNS. Since rebuilding destroyed cities required the aid of the corporations, the UNS could not refuse. Soon, all the corporations had some seats in the Senate.
Chapter 5: A Need for Protection.
The end of the 22nd century was a prosperous time. The devastations of war were healed, except for the Nomads lands. Cities were rebuilt, production was higher than ever and money flowed.
Technology leaped forward: vehicles with repulsorlifts and fusion power became common. Space travel took its first steps: humans could now travel in nearby systems. The space exploration revealed new habitable worlds throughout a few dozens systems.
The Corporations became even more powerful. Soon, they had enough seats in the Senate to take important steps in their evolution.
As the economy grew, so did the crime rate. Organized crime reached threatening proportions. These thugs were armed with top of the line weapons, which are rumored to be crafted by the highly skilled Nomads. The Earth Police didn’t have the technology required to fight these bandits.
Soon, the lack of security plagued Earth’s citizens who cried out for protection. In 2237 the UNS accepted the Corporations’ request to create their own armed forces.
The UNS made a mistake they would soon regret.
The common folk massively joined the Corporations to seek their protection. The High Corporations suddenly had millions of humans to tend to. They protected, fed and sheltered them in exchange of their subordination.
Billions of men and women worked for the Corporations which now had extraordinary ambitions.
As the HCC shaped the world according to their interests, the Earth was now unofficially divided between the twelve High Corporations.
Chapter 6: The First Colonies
The Corporations’ armed forces took care of the crime problems. By the end of the 23rd century, most organized gangs were out of business.
With nothing else to hinder them, the High Corporations finally turned their eyes to space.
Space exploration had revealed that numerous planets were suitable for human colonization. Unfortunately, the UNS did not have the resources required for sending men and women to these remote planets.
The High Corporations saw an opportunity to leave the grasp of the UNS, and form their own societies. They began the financing of huge Colonization Starships. These took dozens of years to complete.
There was also another problem. Even with brand-new fusion power reactors, the journey to reach the nearest habitable planet would take ten years! Even if this would be an acceptable length for the first travels, it would have isolated the colonies.
The High Corporations did not want to be isolated.
Two of the most highly advanced Corporations, the Zaon and the RSS Corporation, united to create the first Spacegate prototype. It was widely known that wormholes could instantly transport an object through the complex curves of space, though the point of arrival could never be foreseen.
The Zaons and RSS managed to scientifically engineer an artificial and controllable wormhole. They also controlled its destination.
Therefore, the High Corporations also built Spacegates Builder Ships to accompany the Colonization Ships.
In the 24th century, the first ships departed, taking with them millions of humans to face a new life. By the start of the 25th century, all the Colonization Ships reached their destinations.
The first Colonies were quickly built, as were the Spacegates.
When space travel through Spacegates became safe, the High Corporations entirely left Earth, leaving only a few representatives. The other weaker Corporations either joined the High Corporations, or the UNS.
Chapter 7: The Space Travel War
In the 25th century, the High Corporations were solidly installed on their colonies. They all started mining operations which assured them a steady flow of money. They still were no match for Earth’s economy, for now.
The Zaon and RSS Corporation were now the most powerful Corporations. Their Spacegate Construction partnership had proven quite profitable. They taxed all ships going through their gates.
Soon, the inevitable happened. The RSS Corporation wanted the privilege of controlling all Spacegates. The Zaons had similar ambitions too.
They built dozens of primitive War Starships. The Space Travel War had begun.
The other High Corporations thought that the strongest Corporations would be weakened after the war. Therefore, they did not get involved. They were wrong.
After a year of constant skirmishes on their borders, the Zaons boldly attacked the RSS’s colony with most of their fleet. Through cunning and fantastic tactics, the Zaon fleet gained the upper hand.
The RSS Corporation surrendered to the Zaon Fleet. The War ended with the unconditional assimilation of the RSS Corporation into the Zaon. The latter was now known as a Mega Corporation.
The Zaon started building a massive fleet of advanced warships, to make sure no other colony would challenge them.
Chapter 8: Earth’s Fall
By the end of the 25th century, the eleven High Corporations matched Earth’s economy. Each Corporation specialized in an advanced domain like computers, starships and robotics. This specialization assured them to stay competitive on the global market, but it made each Corporation dependent on the other.
The Zaon Mega-Corporation also became self-sufficient. It only had minimal trade partnerships with other Corporations. The Zaons stayed competitive even without specializing in any domain.
Unfortunately, the UNS did not fare as well. With half Earth’s population gone with the Corporations, the UNS faced an economical breakdown. The only way to survive was to massively industrialize the planet.
Hundreds of factories were built, maintained by simple droids bought from the colonies. They were responsible for the creation of highly advanced technologies. They assured a steady flow of resources and money, but they were responsible for massive pollution.
Water was undrinkable, the air was barely breathable.
Soon, a fatal massive emigration started: with the colonies promising them a better life, humans left Earth and joined the High Corporations.
The UNS voted to create a new seat of power in the colonies. They didn’t understand the Corporations would not want them. Even with superior technology, the UNS knew they could not face the colonies with their small police forces. They did not have time to train any army to challenge the Corporations.
Earth fell.
Its citizens joined the Corporations, but the poorest did not have the resources to leave. They stayed on the rotten planet, and joined the Nomads.
In a last attempt to save Earth’s dying legacy, the UNS launched a colony ship carrying large amounts of government personnel. This ship would never be heard of again…
It is rumored that powerful technologies are still buried under Earth’s radiated ground.
Chapter 9: The Zaon Imperium
The following century marked the beginning of the Corporations’ expansion. Neighboring habitable planets were quickly colonized, and outposts were built in most systems.
It was a golden age for the High Corporations. Their workers lived comfortably, relations with others were at their best, space exploration revealed new worlds and technology was quickly evolving. Space routes were established between the High Corporations.
In the southern side of the colonized galaxy, the Zaon Mega-Corporation isolated themselves. They also colonized a dozen systems, which made Zaon the largest and strongest Corporation in human history.
Another phenomenon also changed the map of our galaxy. Millions of Rebellious workers and Earthlings joined up and formed the Fringe of Free Territories. These systems escaped the Corporations’ control; they quickly trained strong armies to dissuade invasion by their former masters.
This golden age could not go on forever…
Soon, the High Corporations’ expansion threatened peace, as skirmishes started for the control of remote planets on their borders. Each Corporation massed their fleets to assure their survival. This situation favored Space Pirates which were now capable of raiding unprotected convoys.
Even the Zaon Mega-Corporation was threatened, as a few of their outposts were claimed by neighboring Corporations.
War was inevitable.
As the High Corporations fought small land battles on outposts, the Zaons revealed their terrifying fleets: hundreds of massive ships patrolled its borders, repelling any attempt to conquer one of their planets.
Unfortunately for them, the High Corporations were not resourceless. Following the Telons’ proposal, they united under a fierce coalition to destroy the Zaons once and for all.
In 2561, the Corporate Alliance invaded Zaon territory. The Expansion War started.
Years of constant skirmishes between the Zaons and the Coalition had their toll on the latter’s capacity to wage war. If nothing was done, Zaon would fall.
During these dark times, Setus was the leader of the Zaon High Coucil. He gained absolute powers over the Mega-Corporation, and established revolutionary reforms. The political structure was completely changed: the decisions were now much faster, production was higher than ever, and war was now priority.
The Zaon Imperium was founded.
Chapter 10: An unreachable end
Setus’ reforms led the way to the halting of the Coalition’s advance in Zaon territory. He unfortunately died of age: his succession would be assured by his own son.
The Setus family would rule the Zaon Imperium throughout the war.
Critical battles between the Zaons and the Coaliton were rare; skirmishes were common, but they could not decide the issue of this terrible war.
Dozens of years passed. The Coalition had trouble maintaining the union between the Corporations, as power seduced some of them. The Zaons now had a brilliant ruler: Keilan Setus.
Breaking from previous traditions, Keilan led the imperium fleets himself. He knew the war was getting costly for the Zaons; therefore, he decided to challenge the whole coalition fleet in an immense battle that would decide the fate of the colonized galaxy.
In 2705. Keilan Setus led eight fleets of hundreds of advanced warships over Cilia, a Delko outpost. The Coalition was forced to respond with its own fleets.
The battle for Cilia erupted in balls of flames as ships lit the dark space with fiery lasers. Cilia was also a ground battlefield, where Keilan Setus sent his elite forces to break Cilia’s planetary defenses.
The battle raged for dozens of hours. Setus was a superb strategist and a brave warrior. His skills proved enough to vanquish the Coalition’s fleets. Regrettably, his warship was shot down by his enemies. His death would not be in vain: the Coalition scattered, their ships fleeing back to their homeworlds.
The battle was over, but the war was not.
The Zaons pushed their advantage and conquered a few outposts, but they were losing too much in every battle: the Corporations’ resistance proved to be fierce.
Ten years after the battle for Cilia, the Expansion War halted. An amnesty was signed, which assured peace until even now. The war had lasted over a hundred years.
Chapter 11: A fragile peace
2728.
The Zaons have been stopped. A line drawn in terrifying warships separates the Corporations from Zaon’s fleets. Occasional skirmishes still occur, but they are of no importance.
Only a blind fool could fall for this illusion. This is merely a pause for each side to strengthen and heal their wounds.
For thousands of years, men like me longed for tranquility: the UNS now lies shattered on a ghostly planet, and all hope for peace seems lost.
The knowledge of the past is a powerful weapon. The Corporations and the Zaons know it. I’m now hunted like the lowest renegades. My fate is sealed: the Imperium will not let me escape.
But are they truly the enemy?
In my travels, I have heard many rumors: plots to overthrow the leading powers, hidden technology waiting to be revealed, new armadas deploying….
Everything isn’t as it seems.
I heard the Nomads have left Earth, wandering space on huge clanships. We haven’t heard of them in hundreds of years! Could they still have a part to play in our Destiny?
What about the Fringe of Free Worlds? Are they next on the list of worlds to suffer? Do they have plans on their own?
This is our decisive age. Let it neither be illuminated by flames, nor darkened by blood.
HERTES
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
Introduction
Subject : A fugitive named Hertes
Report: Piles of handwritten documents found in his spaceship. Documents relating to the past.
Orders: Documents are to be kept in a secured Zaon Imperium facility.
“The past can never be forgotten. The Zaon Imperium and the other corporations may try to hide it, but some will sacrifice themselves for it.
Everything seems lost. The Zaons have been stopped for now, but history repeats itself. I fear we are on the edge of disaster.
Thus, I wrote these few history documents, for others to understand our mistakes, the mistakes that must not come back to haunt us for eternity.”
Hertes
Chapter 1: A terrible start for the new millennia
The 20th century had been the most violent and bloody episode in human history. Over one hundred million men and women died in wars for greed and power. When the millennia changed, the humans thought there could be hope for global peace.
They were wrong.
Lacking common reasons to work together, the countries of Earth kept fighting for dominancy over the others. They did not understand that these wars would bring their downfall.
By the end of the century, the wars ended by the fall of superpowers like the United States of America, the European Union and the Chinese Empire.
The Global Revolt began.
Chapter 2: Global Revolt
At the end of the 21st century, more than twenty percent of men and women were starving. Wars had ravaged the Middle East, Africa and Russia. People began to lose fate in their governments.
By 2091, a few years after a terrible uprising in South America, the whole world erupted in chaos as massive revolts spread like plague. This event was known as “The Global Revolt”.
A strange activity which was forgotten since thousands of years became common: nomadism. Victims of the devastations united themselves and formed a cohesive group, the Nomads, surviving over the wastelands of Russia, Middle East and Africa. They lived miserably, and they refused to have anything to do with the civilized world. They lived in anarchy where only the fittest could lead.
The terrible civil war continued for a dozen years, but neither loyalists nor rebels could gain the upper hand.
While the war continued to claim millions of lives, resources and money started to take their toll. The only way a faction could continue to fight was to be financed by neutral corporations.
Chapter 3: The Rise of the Corporations
The first Corporations were energy companies supplying fuel for all factions. They amassed huge fortunes, and most of them refused to take any side in the war. Eventually, the loyalists and rebels were out of money.
They could not continue to fight…unless the Corporations financed them.
Without any military to protect them, the Corporations were soon forced to take sides and supply them.
Fortunately, not all Corporations were helpless. A dozen of them rose above the others and managed to hire highly trained mercenaries for protection. They were equipped with top of the line technology, weapons, vehicles and aircrafts. These were called the High Corporations.
These Corporations formed an alliance: they could not face alone the greed of the rebels and the loyalists. They were Telon, Galcorp, Delko, Holing, Jinsoucorp, Alinstar, Pandor, Kelbast, Lyfian, Siolin, RSS Corporation and Zaon.
Soon, these High Corporations realized the war was an endless source of power. They manipulated their funding so that one side would never gain the upper hand over the other.
Chapter 4: A New Era
Everything comes to an end, and so did the Global Revolt. Tired and unfruitful, both sides signed a peace treaty in 2165.
Everyone knew peace was but an illusion. Therefore, a few charismatic and wise men and women decided to form a new government, one that would decide the fate of the entire world: the United Nations Senate, presided by a man or woman trusted by most countries.
Each country would have senators in what would become the only hope for global peace. The first decision made by the UNS was to demilitarize all nations. Weapons of mass destruction were dismantled, all armed vehicles and aircrafts were destroyed, and weapons were made illegal for all but the police forces.
The High Corporations feared that the end of the war would mean a loss of profit for them, so they decided to use financial pressure to gain access to the UNS. Since rebuilding destroyed cities required the aid of the corporations, the UNS could not refuse. Soon, all the corporations had some seats in the Senate.
Chapter 5: A Need for Protection.
The end of the 22nd century was a prosperous time. The devastations of war were healed, except for the Nomads lands. Cities were rebuilt, production was higher than ever and money flowed.
Technology leaped forward: vehicles with repulsorlifts and fusion power became common. Space travel took its first steps: humans could now travel in nearby systems. The space exploration revealed new habitable worlds throughout a few dozens systems.
The Corporations became even more powerful. Soon, they had enough seats in the Senate to take important steps in their evolution.
As the economy grew, so did the crime rate. Organized crime reached threatening proportions. These thugs were armed with top of the line weapons, which are rumored to be crafted by the highly skilled Nomads. The Earth Police didn’t have the technology required to fight these bandits.
Soon, the lack of security plagued Earth’s citizens who cried out for protection. In 2237 the UNS accepted the Corporations’ request to create their own armed forces.
The UNS made a mistake they would soon regret.
The common folk massively joined the Corporations to seek their protection. The High Corporations suddenly had millions of humans to tend to. They protected, fed and sheltered them in exchange of their subordination.
Billions of men and women worked for the Corporations which now had extraordinary ambitions.
As the HCC shaped the world according to their interests, the Earth was now unofficially divided between the twelve High Corporations.
Chapter 6: The First Colonies
The Corporations’ armed forces took care of the crime problems. By the end of the 23rd century, most organized gangs were out of business.
With nothing else to hinder them, the High Corporations finally turned their eyes to space.
Space exploration had revealed that numerous planets were suitable for human colonization. Unfortunately, the UNS did not have the resources required for sending men and women to these remote planets.
The High Corporations saw an opportunity to leave the grasp of the UNS, and form their own societies. They began the financing of huge Colonization Starships. These took dozens of years to complete.
There was also another problem. Even with brand-new fusion power reactors, the journey to reach the nearest habitable planet would take ten years! Even if this would be an acceptable length for the first travels, it would have isolated the colonies.
The High Corporations did not want to be isolated.
Two of the most highly advanced Corporations, the Zaon and the RSS Corporation, united to create the first Spacegate prototype. It was widely known that wormholes could instantly transport an object through the complex curves of space, though the point of arrival could never be foreseen.
The Zaons and RSS managed to scientifically engineer an artificial and controllable wormhole. They also controlled its destination.
Therefore, the High Corporations also built Spacegates Builder Ships to accompany the Colonization Ships.
In the 24th century, the first ships departed, taking with them millions of humans to face a new life. By the start of the 25th century, all the Colonization Ships reached their destinations.
The first Colonies were quickly built, as were the Spacegates.
When space travel through Spacegates became safe, the High Corporations entirely left Earth, leaving only a few representatives. The other weaker Corporations either joined the High Corporations, or the UNS.
Chapter 7: The Space Travel War
In the 25th century, the High Corporations were solidly installed on their colonies. They all started mining operations which assured them a steady flow of money. They still were no match for Earth’s economy, for now.
The Zaon and RSS Corporation were now the most powerful Corporations. Their Spacegate Construction partnership had proven quite profitable. They taxed all ships going through their gates.
Soon, the inevitable happened. The RSS Corporation wanted the privilege of controlling all Spacegates. The Zaons had similar ambitions too.
They built dozens of primitive War Starships. The Space Travel War had begun.
The other High Corporations thought that the strongest Corporations would be weakened after the war. Therefore, they did not get involved. They were wrong.
After a year of constant skirmishes on their borders, the Zaons boldly attacked the RSS’s colony with most of their fleet. Through cunning and fantastic tactics, the Zaon fleet gained the upper hand.
The RSS Corporation surrendered to the Zaon Fleet. The War ended with the unconditional assimilation of the RSS Corporation into the Zaon. The latter was now known as a Mega Corporation.
The Zaon started building a massive fleet of advanced warships, to make sure no other colony would challenge them.
Chapter 8: Earth’s Fall
By the end of the 25th century, the eleven High Corporations matched Earth’s economy. Each Corporation specialized in an advanced domain like computers, starships and robotics. This specialization assured them to stay competitive on the global market, but it made each Corporation dependent on the other.
The Zaon Mega-Corporation also became self-sufficient. It only had minimal trade partnerships with other Corporations. The Zaons stayed competitive even without specializing in any domain.
Unfortunately, the UNS did not fare as well. With half Earth’s population gone with the Corporations, the UNS faced an economical breakdown. The only way to survive was to massively industrialize the planet.
Hundreds of factories were built, maintained by simple droids bought from the colonies. They were responsible for the creation of highly advanced technologies. They assured a steady flow of resources and money, but they were responsible for massive pollution.
Water was undrinkable, the air was barely breathable.
Soon, a fatal massive emigration started: with the colonies promising them a better life, humans left Earth and joined the High Corporations.
The UNS voted to create a new seat of power in the colonies. They didn’t understand the Corporations would not want them. Even with superior technology, the UNS knew they could not face the colonies with their small police forces. They did not have time to train any army to challenge the Corporations.
Earth fell.
Its citizens joined the Corporations, but the poorest did not have the resources to leave. They stayed on the rotten planet, and joined the Nomads.
In a last attempt to save Earth’s dying legacy, the UNS launched a colony ship carrying large amounts of government personnel. This ship would never be heard of again…
It is rumored that powerful technologies are still buried under Earth’s radiated ground.
Chapter 9: The Zaon Imperium
The following century marked the beginning of the Corporations’ expansion. Neighboring habitable planets were quickly colonized, and outposts were built in most systems.
It was a golden age for the High Corporations. Their workers lived comfortably, relations with others were at their best, space exploration revealed new worlds and technology was quickly evolving. Space routes were established between the High Corporations.
In the southern side of the colonized galaxy, the Zaon Mega-Corporation isolated themselves. They also colonized a dozen systems, which made Zaon the largest and strongest Corporation in human history.
Another phenomenon also changed the map of our galaxy. Millions of Rebellious workers and Earthlings joined up and formed the Fringe of Free Territories. These systems escaped the Corporations’ control; they quickly trained strong armies to dissuade invasion by their former masters.
This golden age could not go on forever…
Soon, the High Corporations’ expansion threatened peace, as skirmishes started for the control of remote planets on their borders. Each Corporation massed their fleets to assure their survival. This situation favored Space Pirates which were now capable of raiding unprotected convoys.
Even the Zaon Mega-Corporation was threatened, as a few of their outposts were claimed by neighboring Corporations.
War was inevitable.
As the High Corporations fought small land battles on outposts, the Zaons revealed their terrifying fleets: hundreds of massive ships patrolled its borders, repelling any attempt to conquer one of their planets.
Unfortunately for them, the High Corporations were not resourceless. Following the Telons’ proposal, they united under a fierce coalition to destroy the Zaons once and for all.
In 2561, the Corporate Alliance invaded Zaon territory. The Expansion War started.
Years of constant skirmishes between the Zaons and the Coalition had their toll on the latter’s capacity to wage war. If nothing was done, Zaon would fall.
During these dark times, Setus was the leader of the Zaon High Coucil. He gained absolute powers over the Mega-Corporation, and established revolutionary reforms. The political structure was completely changed: the decisions were now much faster, production was higher than ever, and war was now priority.
The Zaon Imperium was founded.
Chapter 10: An unreachable end
Setus’ reforms led the way to the halting of the Coalition’s advance in Zaon territory. He unfortunately died of age: his succession would be assured by his own son.
The Setus family would rule the Zaon Imperium throughout the war.
Critical battles between the Zaons and the Coaliton were rare; skirmishes were common, but they could not decide the issue of this terrible war.
Dozens of years passed. The Coalition had trouble maintaining the union between the Corporations, as power seduced some of them. The Zaons now had a brilliant ruler: Keilan Setus.
Breaking from previous traditions, Keilan led the imperium fleets himself. He knew the war was getting costly for the Zaons; therefore, he decided to challenge the whole coalition fleet in an immense battle that would decide the fate of the colonized galaxy.
In 2705. Keilan Setus led eight fleets of hundreds of advanced warships over Cilia, a Delko outpost. The Coalition was forced to respond with its own fleets.
The battle for Cilia erupted in balls of flames as ships lit the dark space with fiery lasers. Cilia was also a ground battlefield, where Keilan Setus sent his elite forces to break Cilia’s planetary defenses.
The battle raged for dozens of hours. Setus was a superb strategist and a brave warrior. His skills proved enough to vanquish the Coalition’s fleets. Regrettably, his warship was shot down by his enemies. His death would not be in vain: the Coalition scattered, their ships fleeing back to their homeworlds.
The battle was over, but the war was not.
The Zaons pushed their advantage and conquered a few outposts, but they were losing too much in every battle: the Corporations’ resistance proved to be fierce.
Ten years after the battle for Cilia, the Expansion War halted. An amnesty was signed, which assured peace until even now. The war had lasted over a hundred years.
Chapter 11: A fragile peace
2728.
The Zaons have been stopped. A line drawn in terrifying warships separates the Corporations from Zaon’s fleets. Occasional skirmishes still occur, but they are of no importance.
Only a blind fool could fall for this illusion. This is merely a pause for each side to strengthen and heal their wounds.
For thousands of years, men like me longed for tranquility: the UNS now lies shattered on a ghostly planet, and all hope for peace seems lost.
The knowledge of the past is a powerful weapon. The Corporations and the Zaons know it. I’m now hunted like the lowest renegades. My fate is sealed: the Imperium will not let me escape.
But are they truly the enemy?
In my travels, I have heard many rumors: plots to overthrow the leading powers, hidden technology waiting to be revealed, new armadas deploying….
Everything isn’t as it seems.
I heard the Nomads have left Earth, wandering space on huge clanships. We haven’t heard of them in hundreds of years! Could they still have a part to play in our Destiny?
What about the Fringe of Free Worlds? Are they next on the list of worlds to suffer? Do they have plans on their own?
This is our decisive age. Let it neither be illuminated by flames, nor darkened by blood.
HERTES