Space. The Final Frontier. In the entirety of human history, it is fair to say that nothing has captivated or enthralled humanity as much as the Heavens themselves. To look up into the sky, and attempt to fathom the wonders that stretch infinitely beyond our own, minuscule understanding. From the time when we believed that all things revolved around our home, the planet Earth, we have sought the mysteries of the stars, and the infinite cosmos beyond. Man invented telescopes, and gazed out at things they could not even imagine. They built machines that could escape the shackles of our planet, and drift out into the void. We put a man on our neighbor, the moon. We began to explore things that were once beyond our now ever reaching grasp. For awhile, we were content with simply observing, exploring, and imagining. In the year 2020 AD, the first colony of humans was established upon the moon. A group of one hundred brave souls departed from Earth to start a new life among the stars. The colony slowly grew, and thrived, and was dubbed Armstrong, in honor of the man who's first steps upon this surface inspired this great achievement. The colony found success, at first, and back on Earth, there was talk of sending another group to found a second colony upon the moon, and some who advocated to journey even further. Then, tragedy struck the Armstrong Colony, as a small amount of space debris, dust and pebbles, laid waste to most of the colony, as the moon had no atmosphere to protect it. The survivors, now with scarce supplies, and no way to contact their home, would disappear into the annals of history for awhile.
The second group of colonists was dispatched with the latest innovations in technology, and were better prepared for the dangers of the lunar surface. They discovered the remnants of Armstrong, and rebuilt it, as New Armstrong, and in a decade, it expanded further than the original colony, with consistent shipments of supplies and other volunteer colonists from Earth. Things were well for the newly established colony and its citizens, but back home, the nations of the world were on the brink. Each argued for exclusive rights and such pertaining to the colony, and resources, and what began as a joint scientific venture was drowned in politics. The year 2040, two decades after the first colonization of the moon, and the nations of Earth finally came to an accord. Around 89% of countries upon Earth were a part of the United Nations at this time, the other 11% isolated, outcast, governed by terrorist groups and warlords. This new evolution of diplomacy, where more than just the nations of Earth were governed, needed a new name, and their policies would need to be expanded to cover the new territory. So it was that the Coalition of Terra was formed from the United Nations, becoming humanity's first stellar ruling body.
It was also in this time that many companies began to shift their industry, and truly thrive under the needs of the space program and its new, rigorous demands for supplies related to colonization, as well as the innovation of their technologies to foster the evolution of space travel. Faster ships, bigger engines, more efficient fuel, stronger shields, experimental terra-forming devices, everything was within someone's grasp, for the right amount of money. The relationships between corporations became more aggressive as the needs of better tech grew. Hostile takeovers and violent acquisitions became common, the smaller companies being rolled into the titans of industry. Only a handful of powerful, mega-corporations were left when the dust settled, each specializing in their own area of manufacturing and technology, with enough competition between them to be healthy. The Coalition maintained contracts with the mega-corporations, ensuring their continued longevity, and funding ambitious scientific endeavors.
The next breakthrough that changed the face of the human race was, without dispute, the birth of rudimentary interplanetary travel capability. Gone now were the shuttles of olden days, as were the impossible lengths between worlds. With this technology, another hurdle could be jumped, and one of the greatest prizes that humanity had sought for decades was at last only a flight away; colonization of the red planet. The moon was now more than just a large colony, several cities existing upon its surface, contained within enormous, shielded bio-domes that simulated proper atmospheric conditions and gravity. Mars was the next challenge that humans would rise to, after a long time of study. However, it would also present the Coalition with its first real challenge as the governing body of humanity, and upon the surface of Mars, its first adversary would come into existence. The colonists that were destined to travel to Mars never made it as far as New Armstrong's space station. A shadowy organization of pirates, terrorists, and mercenaries that had been slowly trickling in from Earth made their first move, and covertly killed and took the place of half the Mars colonists.
Much like New Armstrong, the Martian colony of Ares was another successful attempt, the mistakes of the past no longer an obstacle. In three years, it grew to almost the same size New Armstrong had in an entire decade, and a second city had formed as well, carved in the mighty mountain of Olympus Mons. The two groups were made up of the two initial groups of colonists that had arrived on the planet, and unknown to any at the time, was the birth of a vast criminal enterprise that called themselves the Children of Olympus. Beyond the mere implication of a city of thieves, criminals, terrorists, and others of the same mind, this would have further reaching societal implications on the development of the human race, going into the future. The Children of Olympus not only threw off the 'oppressive' governance and 'false justice' of the Coalition, but also many of the beliefs that had been fostered upon Earth for hundreds of years, including the worship of a single God. They sought a rebirth of freedom, and so they embraced the ancient times, and appropriate to the namesake of their new home and of their organization, the Children of Olympus would adopt the long gone polytheistic Pantheon of the Ancient Romans and Greeks.
The all powerful Coalition, and the mega-corporations...by the year 2200, it was not clear which ran which. By this time, humanity had established colonies on all the planets and moons of their solar system from Earth to Pluto, with experimental aerostat habitats supporting limited floating cities of Venus and Mercury. While the Coalition seemed to make and uphold the laws that governed man, it was the corporations who controlled supply lines to the still developing worlds. The colonies furthest from Earth were still not capable of supporting themselves, and if the Coalition did not pass laws that favored the corporations, it would only take a few words and a signature to destroy the lives of thousands of people. The corporate dominion was master of the people, and the freedom of the colonies was more illusion than reality, just as the Children of Olympus, had foreseen, now over a century in the shadows. Small pockets of revolution cropped up all across the planet, quickly quelled by the powerful military forces that served as the Coalition's, and therefore the corporations', peacekeeping force. But another hand guided the uprising. Among the disgruntled citizens of Earth, there were agents of the Children of Olympus, spreading their beliefs, and discontent for the Coalition. Their hand reached from Mars, which they mostly dominated by this time, using subterfuge and infiltration, and strengthened the revolution. Soon, the Coalition Military found that the resistance was gaining strength, and their weapons were becoming more advanced. All out war broke out on Earth a few years later, decimating cities, and destabilizing the entire solar system.
The war had far reaching consequences across the solar system. The colonies couldn't count on support from Earth, and yet some of them could barely take care of themselves. Relations between colonies had never been as important as it was now, with Earth plunged into Civil War. While on Earth, the group of mega-corporations had worked together, with a friendly rivalry, out in the colonies, now each corporation was vying for control of the economic situation, which was rapidly spiraling, out of control. Different corporations did what they could to take control of their respective colonies, and establish better trade routes to reduce their dependency on Earth. With the limited resources, however, the quality of life that the colonists enjoyed was greatly diminished. Except, however, for the colony on Mars, which seemed to prosper under this new independence. On Earth, the Coalition and Children of Olympus were officially at war, the latter finally revealing themselves. Many, smaller uprisings fired up on the other worlds, stretching the conflict across the solar system. These new rebel groups did not fight for the same freedom from the corporations as the Children of Olympus. They merely fought for themselves, and for the extravagant lifestyle that many colonists were used to in times of peace and prosperity. These groups of pirates formed makeshift fleets, and served to further disrupt the colonies by assaulting the newly established supply chains that the corporations had worked tirelessly to build. They also fought among each other, for cargo and territory, which lessened their overall effectiveness, making them more of an inconvenience to the corporations and colonial operations, but still a threat when they got bold.
The corporations, however, never mobilized troops against the pirates. Whether is was because of the war on Earth, and the entirety of their offensive power being comprised of the Coalition military, or because of shady backroom deals with pirates, the colonies had to fend for themselves when the pirates decided to push their luck and attack cities and colonial settlements. Colonial militias were organized to fight the pirates when it came to that, and eventually the corporations provided them with some ships and weapons, mostly to cover their tracks, but it brought an equilibrium to the conflicts. The war on Earth waged for a very long time, and soon, the colonies had forgotten about their home, and looked instead to further into the stars. In the year 2270, a prototype warp core was released for ships, along with superior FTL capability, the combination of the two for the first time bringing about the notion of travel between systems. As they always did, humanity pushed on, and made their first forays into Alpha Centauri. At the edge of our solar system, before departing for the unknown, one last waypoint was established, the point of no return, as it was called, for in the fifty years since the establishing of Kessel Station, none have come back from the frontier.
N O W . . .
The Coalition of Terra has been officially suspended until further notice, as the ruling body is not needed. The Terran Military Command, responsible for the Terran Coalition Navy, Coalition Army, and Terran Marine Corps now control the day-to-day operations of war-fighting, while the Dominion, the official name for the conglomerate of mega-corporations, led by the mysterious Executive Board, control every other aspect of humanity. Many among the colonies, who are faithful citizens, feel that the Coalition should make a return, and bring governance back to the human race, instead of each colony being controlled by a different corporation and their Executive. The Children of Olympus officially control Mars, and have many stations littered throughout the asteroid belt, with a number that is much higher than even the most accurate estimates. Gangs of pirates still placate the colonies, held off by the now sizable colonial militias for each world. Kessel Station is the only true bastion of freedom in the solar system. The Children of Olympus, Dominion, and representatives of the various pirate groups, known collectively as the Independent Alliance of Humanity, all have holdings upon the massive station. The war that is ravaging Earth also has found its way to span across the galaxy, in massive space battles, the two sides vying for control of enemy stations. Whether you are a colonist looking for goods, an explorer who seeks to plunge into the unknown of Alpha Centauri, a pirate seeking fortune, a corporate operative for the Dominion, or a soldier stationed on a nearby frontier station, on leave while awaiting mobilization orders, you have found yourself on Kessel Station, and things are about to change. Unknown things lie upon the horizon, and for better or for worse, they are coming.
