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UNIVERSE TIMELINE

 
   

1.4.1977: USA launches Voyager 2 into deep space

1.3.2000: Y2K revelations
Billions of people notice that the so called Y2K-problem doesn't affect their lives in any way. Several lawsuits have been filed against software giants who scared consumers into buying new operating systems for their computers by exaggerating the problems Y2K would bring.

11.9.2012: Russian revolution
Communist revolution sweeps across Russia. Dissatisfaction with the government's actions concerning economical issues lead to violent outburst and riots throughout the nation.

11.9.2013: Soviet States of Russia (SSR) formed
All former Soviet Union states agreed to join the Soviet States of Russia, a new union of communist countries.

11.9.2016: Construction of a fusion power plant started
The first commercial fusion power plant started in the US city of Medford.

1.11.2019: New propulsion system announced
A russian scientist, Dmitri Rybjev experiments a new fusion-based propulsion system; far more powerful than anything before.

23.3.2026: First man on Mars
Space exploration took a major leap forward on this day, when Juri Gagarjev, a russian cosmonaut successfully landed on Mars after only 1 month of travel.

14.7.2038: Cold war escalates
A nuclear arms crisis in Finland raises tension between SSR and NATO as Finland agrees accept NATO's military base with 12 nuclear missile silos.

9.2.2040: UN influence grows
In order to put a quiet end to cold war all United Nations members agree to surrender all their means of political decision making under direct supervision of the UN. SSR opposes and is left out of the new United Nations.

28.6.2044: Internet is shut down
As many continue to criticize grown UN influence, the UN council advises global internet shutdown in order to "secure governmental interests".

4.1.2071: A new basic element discovered
A Danish scientist finds a new basic element from Greenland meteorite crash site. 112th basic element was found to be extremely stable and possibly very, very useful. It was named Dilithium.

31.10.2078: Dilithium found to be of extreme importance
United Nation's Project Dilithium scientists found out, that dilithium could actually be the key to faster-than-light travel. This information was kept a secret.

9.6.2091: SSR Faster-than-light engine test craft launched
Surprisingly enough, Soviet States of Russia was the first nation to test a faster-than-light spacecraft. Test craft, Rybjev 3, was the first craft to exceed lightspeed, but the test was largely considered a failure since the craft was destroyed in a massive explosion when it's speed exceeded 1.2c (360000km/s).

2.4.2102: Inertia dampening field
UN science department announces an inertia-dampening field, which allows passengers to be onboard FTL flights without dying of massive 125000G acceleration required to reach 1C in four minutes.

9.2.2107: Project Alpha Centauri started
A group of colonists left the Earth on sublight speed fusion-propulsion drive craft U.S.S. Explorer. Their destination: Alpha Centauri star system.

3.1.2111: Project Alpha Centauri ends
Contact with colonist ship U.S.S. Explorer is lost after four years of travel.

19.1.2113: FTL research continues
No ship has been able to exceed the mystical speed limitation of 1.2 times the speed of light. Dilithium reserves on Earth are almost depleted.

18.9.2119: New space-time theory
A faster-than-light test flight by an SSR craft at exact zero gravity point between Earth and Moon accidentally sends the ship to a location over 22 lightyears from Earth, into another star system. New form of FTL travel is found to be extremely dilithium-efficient and fast, although it is tied between certain points in the time-space continuum.

24.2.2122: Dilithium found from several star systems
Commercial dilithium mining is started. Several companies rival over dilithium claims. Two interstellar corporations, Hex Optimum Inc. and Microspace Corp., rise above others. They become the two major players in quickly growing business of commercial dilithium mining and processing. A couple of armed conflicts erupt between the two, but these are erased from the official records as "unfortunate but unavoidable".

31.5.2128: United Nations Space Forces
UN forms it's own space navy in order to look after it's own interests in the dilithium business. Due to enormous amounts of resources at UN's disposal the United Nations Space Forces (UNSF) expands into most powerful space navy yet (UNSF's craft 125000 million tons vs. SSR's mere 89100) in one year.

30.6.2132: Mezen prime found
An SSR deep-space ship finds first Earth-like habitable planet from Mezen twinstar system. SSR starts immediate colonization stating the planet as "Our haven, a place away from UN tyranny"

17.4.2169: SSR assimilated
After several political clashes between UN and the SSR, United Nation's council advises UNSF to forcefully assimilate Soviet States of Russia into a part of United Nations "for common welfare".

20.4.2169: Soviet States of Mezen formed
Most of SSR's political leaders are captured, but remaining few manage to flee to Mezen Prime. Soviet States of Russia is renamed Soviet States of Mezen.

2.1.2182: UN Space Monopoly Edict
UN bureau of Earth declares all faster-than-light travel, with an exception of UNSF and UNSF supervised traffic, prohibited and punishable. UN grants two largest multistellar giant corporations, Microspace and Hex-Optimum, sole rights to mine dilithium.

   Covered in StarFight III - Within the Darkness:

1.4.2197: Voyager 2 returns
Press all over the world is amazed by sudden appearance of Voyager 2 on Earth's orbit. Scientist responsible of studying the probe, professor Albert von Braun is infected by an alien organism hidden inside it.

2.4.2197: Sudden attack by an unknown enemy
Using the Voyager 2 as their homing beacon an invading alien fleet attacks Earth's orbital defenses. Albert Von Braun hampers UNSF efforts by helping the aliens to destroy UN flagship, NCC Freedom.

10.4.2197: Victory
Alien mothership is sucked into another dimension by an experimental Black Hole Device. All alien forces retreat and this mysterious shape-shifting race vanishes. UNSF is victorious. War was very short and ended into a surprising victory. Vast majority of people falsely believe, that UNSF just beat the crap out of the invaders.
 

   Covered in StarFight IV - Legacy:

12.3.2198: NCC Exquisite is lost
NCC Exquisite, UNSF's newly-built flagship vanishes on it's maiden voyage. Ship's captain, a finnish long-term diplomat Pertti-Antero Sillanköykäys is blamed for the incident.

17.3.2198: Captain Sillanköykäys returns to Earth
Exquisite's captain, Pertti-Antero Sillanköykäys returns to Earth with an amazing story. He tells the press about an UNSF's attempts to cover-up project Alpha Centauri, that the real goal of the project was to investigate a wormhole. He also claims that all participants were prisoners and were never meant to return Earth. UNSF declines everything, and due to lack of evidence the whole thing blew over.

   Covered in StarFight V - Hell's Gate:

1.4.2199: Hell's Gate system is discovered
While attempting to study the Alpha Centauri wormhole UNSF science vessel DNS Watcher discovers a jump point near Earth, which leads into a previously unknown star system, over 200 million lightyears from Sol-system. The 3rd planet of this "Hell's Gate" system is found to be by far the best yet known source of dilithium ever.

6.4.2199: UNSF studies Hell's Gate III
UN announces Hell's Gate III's dilithium supply to exceed all expectations. The planet consists of 5% pure dilithium, it contains more than thousand times all the dilithium ever mined.

8.4.2199: SSM gains control of Hell's Gate III
A huge SSM fleet arrives at the jump point near Earth. They claim, that the greatest discovery of all mankind cannot be allowed to fall under UN tyranny. All UNSF ships heading for Hell's Gate III are forced to turn back.

9.4.2199: UNSF attacks SSM fleet
Without a warning a large UNSF force attacks the SSM fleet. A huge battle ensues, and both sides suffer enormous losses. More than a quarter of million lives are lost, but the SSM is victorious.

12.4.2199: UNSF attacks continue
UNSF puts more pressure to the SSM fleet. UNSF ships manage to flee into the Hell's Gate system and form a base there.

1.1.2210: Dilithium War continues
After fighting each other for 11 years no UNSF nor SSM show any signs of surrendering - war continues.

6.12.2219: Conclusion
Both sides have lost more than 200 million lives fighting each other, so it is no longer considered an option. Dilithium is divided, SSM gets all known dilithium sources except for Hell's Gate III. Earth is a ruin, all resources consumed by UNSF's war efforts.

   (events of StarFight V - Hell's Gate begin here)

4.1.2223: Beginning of the end
After three years of peace things begin to heat up. An unidentified ship attacks UNSF's orbital prison outpost in the Beta Orionis system. Nearby SSM ships rush to respond outpost's distress signal are mistaken as attackers, and UNSF declares a full-scale war against the SSM. UNSF seems to easily overcome all opposing SSM forces with their new mysterious Obliterator-class warships.

7.1.2223: Dread. Wyoming defects
The dilithium-war flagship of the UNSF fleet dreadnought Wyoming defects to SSM. Commanded by a respected UNSF veteran officer, captain Viktor Zyraki. Zyraki claims that the war has been deliberately started by the UNSF. With him is the best fighter pilot galaxy has ever known, 1st lieutenant James Egg.

12.1.2223: UNS Decapitator captured
SSM captures one Obliterator-class battleship from the UNSF. Chief of the science team studies it and gives her now-legendary report: Frankly this ship both fascinates and frightens me. I know this might sound crazy, but there's ninety-nine percent  possibility, that UNS Decapitator is of alien origin! On the very same day all Obliterator-class ships start to systematically eliminate all human life, SSM and UNSF alike. In just two days Earth and Mezen prime are both bombed to stone-age by the overwhelming alien force.

 14.1.2223: The truth
A UNSF spy onboard Dread. Wyoming gives himself in. He tells that the Obliterator ships are all controlled by a master AI on the Hell's Gate III. Apparently the AI went crazy after UNSF tried to control it using a computer virus. In the final battle James Egg destroys the AI-complex on surface of Hell's Gate III, and all Obliterator class ships come to a halt. Mankind prevails, but at what cost...

   Onto the StarFight VI - Gatekeepers...

31.12.2224: Excavation on new year's eve
After the radiation is gone James Egg and a group of scientists begin to excavate the ruins of the alien AI-complex. Slowly they manage to bring the gigantic computer on-line without re-activating UNSF's virus. Computer calls itself "the Center". It teaches Egg how to interface with itself.

12.9.2229: Location of Hell's Gate system is confirmed
James Egg manages to pinpoint the location of Hell's Gate star system, whose distance to Earth was earlier measured to be 200M lightyears or more - it's located in empty space between galaxies NGC5832 and NGC205. Exact distance to Earth is 237 Mly, which makes it by far the furthest star system known to man.

24.8.2230: New beginning
James Egg returns home. Earth is rebuilt from scratch with Egg's vast knowledge of advanced alien technology. A new alliance is formed to keep peace and order in the politically insecure situation. It is named the Alliance of New Beginning (ANB) and James Egg is elected as the president. Massive shipments of dilithium from Hell's Gate III are continued.

3.2.2241: Egg's sanity...
After 10 years James Egg retires from his post. Surprisingly he declares that the Alliance of New Beginning is doomed if the dilithium shipments from Hell's Gate star system aren't stopped immediately and a hyperspace blockade generator built to seal the jump point. Earth leaders immediately decline to Egg's demands.

4.7.2241: Protective hand
James Egg disappears from the public, and moves to Hell's Gate III. He begins construction of a massive fleet of warships on the last operational shipyard orbiting Hell's Gate III. Instead of adopting UNSF's Obliterator designs, he follows instructions given to him by The Center.

26.9.2241: Order of Light
James Egg demonstrates the awesome power of his new fleet by destroying the Hell's Gate III shipyard. With many of his loyal followers he forms a new organization, the Order of Light. Egg claims that it's purpose is to protect Earth from "those who move in the darkness". Order begins to build a hyperspace disruptor generator near the Hell's Gate jump point. Order of Light allows ANB traffic to Hell's Gate system, but issues a warning that any ship attempting to intervene with construction of hyperspace distruptor generator will be shot down without a warning.

12.1.2263: Those who move in the darkness
At 0200 hours, container transporter Microspace Iron Curtain comes trough the Hell's Gate jump point into Sol system and explodes in a brilliant flash of light. Incidentally, old man James Egg witnesses the dramatic destruction of Iron Curtain. Startled, believing his prophecies are finally turning into reality, Egg engages Order's massive hyperspace disruptor generator effectively preventing the usage of Hell's Gate jump point.

Just a few minutes earlier Alliance of New Beginning had lost contact with all facilities and spacecraft located in the Hell's Gate system. Situation seems clear: Order has attacked. After twenty years of bitter waiting, ANB finally has a valid reason to make a stand. On the very same day, Alliance senate votes for a Declaration of war against Order of Light.

Once again, world is at war.