Forgotten Heroes
Preface
2100-2140: EARLY CONFLICTS
By the 22nd century overpopulation was a serious issue in human society. Global warming had been controlled by scientists, but overpopulation was threatening the balance humans had achieved with nature.
The world powers of the era were clearly divided into two groups, which cleverly avoided another world war. Even though frantic negotiations were made, several brutal conflicts stand out in this period on human history. Conflicts of particular historical importance included the Jovian Moons War, The Rain Forest War, The Yellow Sea War, and slowly moving quarrels, all across Human settlements on the Solar System that followed.
As overpopulation and political unrest on Earth increased, a number of new political movements formed. The most noteworthy dissident movements of the period were the "Koslovics" and the "Frieden" movement. The Koslovics—supporters of neo-Communist hardliner Vladimir Koslov—sought a return to the glory days of Communism and the elimination of corporate and capitalist influence, particularly in orbital facilities and off world colonies. This movement was strongly supported by Russia, North Korea, Cuba, China and Vietnam.
The Frieden movement, backed by the USNA, Great Britain, Germany, Brazil and their allies was the other large political movement of the era. The name was given by the UGR (Unified German Republic) corporations who where frequent targets of Koslovic groups. The US and Great Britain supported the UGR and pulled over many strong allies to their side. Other countries that backed the movement were Japan, France and Spain. "Frieden" literally means "peace"—in this case, they believed that peace could be achieved only once the "oppressors on Terra Firma" and the issues of overpopulation were dealt with.
The rest of the world remained neutral for the time being or supported the UN in its decision to try and avoid war and instead focus on interstellar travel.
2105
Several attacks of Koslovic supporters on UGR supported mining companies on the Jovian moons catalyzed the Jovian Moons Conflict. Attacks on UN vessels by a Koslov friendly terrorist group pushed the political conflicts to new levels and the UN retaliated by unofficially supporting the Frieden movement. And thus, The Jovian Moons War began. Though this was not the first armed conflict in our Solar System, it was easily one of the bloodiest, and is generally considered to be the spark of increased friction and militarization that followed.
2107
All world powers and supporters of the Frieden and Koslovic movements sponsored colonies within the Jovian moons and thus fought to defend their territory. With human space vessels lacking a real ability to fight in space the battles were fought within the colonies. During this time UN forces finally joined, officially, the Frieden movement by using their troops to assault the last remaining Koslovic stronghold on the Jovian moons as the year ended. The Jovian Moons Campaign escalated tensions, which escalated tension on Earth that led to wars on the planet itself.
2108
Marked as one of the bloodiest years in human history, this year marked the definite end of the Jovian Moons War, and the beginning of the Rain Forest and the Yellow Sea Wars. The UNSC was officially formed by the union of a few Frieden supporters with the United Nation supporters. Great Britain, the United States of North America (Mexico, USA and Canada), Brazil and Japan joined the UN to form the UNSC and began amassing a huge army. While Brazil and Japan led their forces to fight the wars on Earth, the USNA and UK joined to construct the first battalions of space Battleships.
The Rain Forest Wars was fought by Brazil leading UNSC forces and Venezuela and Colombia leading Koslovic forces. China, North Korea and Vietnam fought against Japan in the Yellow Sea War, which in contrast to the Amazonian wars was fought over sea.
Other smaller conflicts were fought on the Middle East, who's countries hadn't decided on who to support, but were unfortunately torn by resulting wars from the huge political unrest of the planet.
2109-2113
The Amazon was the setting for the Rain Forest wars which were fought using strong ground troop assaults with air support. These wars lasted up to the year 2112 when UNSC troops marched into Bogotá, Colombia the last remaining Koslovic stronghold in Latin America.
The Yellow Sea War, not ironically was fought over the Yellow Sea and the Japan Sea. China and North Korea fought against the Japanese on the seas up to the year 2111 when China declared peace against UNSC forces and backed out of the war. Vietnam, who hadn't actively participated in the war, but received heavy losses backed out too. North Korea fought for two more years until Japan finally took over the country, with the support of the locals, by the mid-2113.
Russia, who anticipated the losses, also began creating their own interplanetary Battleships to match UNSC forces.
2114
Following the Rain Forest and Yellow Sea Wars, UNSC forces turned to negotiating a treaty with the remaining Koslovic nations. Russia abandoned the ideals it had defended so strongly and joined UNSC forces. Terrorist groups, who had been awarded state of the art Warships by Russia felt betrayed and rebelled against the UNSC.
2115
With most Russian funded colonies feeling betrayed by the motherland, a large rebel group supported by wealthy investors and Russian commanders who had been placed in charge of Russian Battleships declared war against UNSC forces. These rebel group took it's time to plan their operations and movements carefully. The first battle was fought in between asteroids of the asteroid belt. The rebels totally dominated an overconfident UNSC force.
2116
The UNSC blindly retaliated over the first half of the year 2116 and lost several other key battles that pushed the momentum in favor of the rebel groups.
2117
A series of lightning strikes against UNSC forces over Mars pushed the UNSC forces to attack the land based rebel groups on Martian land. Scientists had long modified the Martian atmosphere to allow Humans to freely breathe it, so the UNSC forces approved the first extra-terrestrial deployment of Marines near the Argyre Planitia. The campaign was an unqualified success. The UNSC ground forces overrun the rebel groups in a few weeks. As a result, future military doctrine favored large contingents of Marines for ground assaults and ship-boarding actions.
2118-2125
Rebel forces hid for five years after their massive losses they received from a unified, massive and very powerful UNSC military. After the successful Marine deployment on Mars and the following ship-boarding actions and the take of Io, a rebel stronghold, which were backed by a strong propaganda tactic and mottos recruitment drives became enormously successful.
During the peaceful first half of the 20s, the UNSC used the time to organize the extra governmental organizations that were under their command (CIA, HS, KGB, MI6, US Army, US Navy, etc). They where divided into organizations: UNSC Army (the army, the navy and the air force), the Office of Homeland Security (in charge of protecting planet Earth), the Office of Warfare Intelligence, (in charge of battle tactics and military technology), and the Office of Covert Intelligence and Ops, (which would be in charge of top secret governmental operations and investigations), and the Office of Naval Intelligence (a cover up for the OCIO to operate freely and unrestricted.)
2126-2141
The campaign against rebel forces would prove slow and wary. Rebels hid all across the solar system, making them hard to reach. Finding rebel bases and such never was a problem, but space travel was slow. It took UNSC vessels around three weeks to reach Mars and five more to reach Jupiter. Sometimes the rebels hid among the asteroid belt and it always proved a tricky task to eliminate them. During this decade, military activity was high. But Earth and its industrial colonies were at peace, most rebel activity took place around inactive regions.
By the end of the 30s, rebel forces were a rare sight. The massive UNSC Army was pursuing dust and shadows. The cost was massive, so by the 40s the United Nations Space Command dropped the costly campaign.
2135-2160: THE FIRST COLONIES
A unified Earth government was formed in the wake of the conflicts of 216. Now, the victors were forced to deal with a less obvious but equally serious: overpopulation and a massive military that had no enemy to fight. Overpopulation threatened to destabilize the fragile stability UNSC forces had achieved in the past decades. During the decade of the rebellion, Earth had time to reestablish itself and its economy once again sparked to life. But South America never quite recovered after the Rain Forest War. Huge causalities and bombardment of cities, towns and villages had left behind the ashes. The fragile ecosystem of the Amazons had collapsed, the delicate Latin economy was lost, and famine swept South America.
The UNSC acted quickly in aid of these troubling nations. The Amazon forest, with the intense collaboration of scientists from all over the world, was saved, but not without some big damages to it. By the mid 40s South America looked better and better and was clearly steered in the right direction. That allowed the UNSC to address other important matters such as overpopulation and their army which had been inactive for 5 years.
2145
For the first time in history human governments, the UNSC, decided to build civilian colonies. The first civilian colony had been promised to the public by the start of the century, on Mars. But between tensions and wars, there was no time for it. But in the year 2145, the construction of a city on Martian surface officially began.
2146-2149
With the first areas of the city built, around thirty million men from all over the world were transported with help of the UNSC military to Mars. The operation was flawless, and life in the new city, Fujikawa, named after the brilliant architect who planned the city, Haruko Fujikawa.
2150
Following the success of Fujikawa, New Pittsburgh, planned by Sam Wells and Sebastian Rockefeller began construction several hundred miles from Fujikawa on Martian soil. Several other men became interested in developing colonies on the Jovian moons, but the UNSC denied them permission to build there. Using its power, the UNSC forced upon other nations the take of the Jovian moons and made them military colonies. Each and every one of the Jovian moon colonies became a military base.
2151-2158
With the city finished, another even bigger wave of colonists moved into Fujikawa. And by the mid 50s, with New Pittsburgh finished, over half a million men were living on Martian soil. During this period, several other cities and civilian space stations were built on Mars. By the end of the decade over one billion men lived in Mars, compared to twenty-five billion on Earth.
2160-2200 FASTER THAN LIGHT
During this time period, the migration of men to colonial worlds began to calm as overpopulation was quickly and efficiently being dealt with.
With the added human cities, far away from Earth, new faster ways of travel were needed. A team of researchers, physicists, and mathematicians working in secret developed the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, a practical means of propelling spacecraft across vast interstellar distances. Under command Henry Julian Shaw and Haruko Fujikawa the team, funded by the ONI's deep pockets, invented a new reactor capable of propelling spaceships at higher speeds and giving them the ability to tunnel into 'Slipstream' or 'Slipspace'. In slipstream, the regular laws of physics are bent and twisted allowing faster-than-light travel with relative ease.
One of the particular qualities of Slipspace is its inaccuracy which is caused by an odd 'flexibility' of temporal flow while inside Slipstream. No human scientist is sure as to why travel in this state is not constant, but many theorize that 'eddies' or 'currents' within Slipspace vary and make travel inaccurate. This temporal inconsistency has given military tacticians and strategists fits—hampering many coordinated attacks.
Another important quality is that while to an outside observer travel may be instantaneous, for those inside Slipstream, it could take them a week or less to travel one light year. This fact, together with the inaccuracy of it has given military strategists troubles and unexpected effects early on. Several times soldiers, eager and ready for battle, would jump into Slipstream only to have to wait a couple of weeks before they engaged the enemy.
Before ever using Slipspace for travel, the UNSC tested it thoroughly to make sure it was ready for travel between stars. By the end of the decade, scientist hade made it to Proxima Centauri and back several times already. With the data collected, H. J. Shaw modified the reactor, in name of the defunct Haruko Fujikawa who died in 2189. Shaw's additions to the reactors allowed for even faster travel outside and inside Slipstream.
2200-2220 FIRST WAVE
The UNSC unveiled the first in a line of colony ships—and volunteers were in great supply. Conditions on Earth had deteriorated in the face of overpopulation only a decade ago and it threatened to do so again. By the 23rd century population levels had become alarming once again, Earth counted over 40 billion and Mars already went over ten billion mark.
Each colony ship was assigned military personnel and escort ships to help better utilize the massive and expensive standing fleets that, in the collapse of armed dissent, were soaking up a great deal of funding and resources.
Because Slipstream travel in this period was still fairly new and expensive, colonists and military personnel faced a strict regimen of physical and mental testing. In theory, only the best-qualified citizens and soldiers were allowed to colonize "nearby" worlds. This was the birth of the Inner Colonies. About two million settlers were sent to colonize.
2221
Human scientists finally construct history's first Artificial Intelligence under the veil of ONI. Many tests are made to measure their independence and the probability of them rebelling or challenging authorities. Once ONI was completely satisfied with their performance and emotional responses, AIs where put to work in ONI's massive databases.
2232: THE ODYSSEY
The Odyssey launched on January 1, 2262. The lead ship in a fleet of colony vessels, the Odyssey—laden with troops and terraforming gear—spearheaded the colonization of a new world. This sparked the first big wave of human expansion beyond the confines of the Solar System. Over two billion men and women were on the trip to fully colonize the cities built by the two million settlers who had established the colonies a couple of decades before them.
2257
After a couple of decades of colonization scientific studies uncovered new compounds which were lighter and stronger than any know compound. More importantly, on the year 2257 scientists uncovered a new highly radioactive element with an impressive stability. This new element, named Eurenum, replaced every other radioactive element used in nuclear reactors.
2283
After long studies of Eurenum, which besides revealing its destructive power, allowed scientists to witness artificially created nuclear fission. Fission yielded enormous energy levels but was highly unstable and still inappropriate for powering reactors. It was just a matter of time for fission to allow space travel at amazing speeds.
2287
ONI finally unveils AI technology. UNSC ships and offices are outfitted with AIs. Their use becomes widespread and facilitates many aspects of UNSC work. To the present date, no civilian AIs have been issued and AI building and constructing is still a secret ONI guards zealously.
2290: INNER COLONIES
By 2290, the colonization of the Inner Colonies was fully underway. There were 110 human-occupied worlds in various stages of terraforming, and the population burden across human-controlled space was largely stabilized. Over 25 billion colonists had migrated from Earth and Mars.
2300-2400 THE EXPANSION
Expansion kept on at a rapid pace during the first half of the 24th century. In the year 2352 the UNSC decided to slow down the pace of expansion to concentrate on perfecting the 322 human controlled worlds.
Outward expansion slowed down, and the Inner Colonies became a political and economic stronghold, though they relied heavily on raw materials supplied by the Outer Colonies.
2314
During the creation of the Outer Colonies several ships carrying several thousand men disappeared after entering Slipstream. The events were quickly addressed by the UNSC and most records of it were destroyed.
The ship appeared several light-years off target and sent a distress signal in all directions. It is speculated that ONI received and recorded the transmissions a couple of years after the events.
2334
During this period, the planet Reach (orbiting Epsilon Eridani, right on Earth's metaphorical doorstep) became the UNSC's primary Naval yard and training academy. Reach was a major producer of warships and colony vessels, as well as a training ground for covert operatives and Special Forces.
2341
It took long, but finally ONI presented a fission reactor to replace fusion reactors on board all military vessels. Private and public spaceships would have to wait a long time to receive their versions of the fission reactor, which was customized to reduce its efficiency. It is speculated that several ONI spaceships were outfitted with fission reactors long before it allowed the military to use them.
2347-2348
The rebel insurgence of the Eridanus system took place during these years. After over a century of peace there was finally a real need for a military. The UNSC Army sent their newly outfitted fission vessels and with the increase mobility crushed the opposition. The rebels where easily dealt with, and pushed into the Eridanus Asteroid Belt where they hid from UNSC forces.
2350
Delta Wolf was targeted by ONI to be the target for a series of experiments. For over two decades children born in the system where taken by ONI officials and given a mysterious treatment. The families who chose to do this were paid in full all their basic expenses (shelter, food, health and education) if they submitted their children to these programs and agreed not to leave the system.
2387
In an almost Roswell like event it is rumored that ONI met with aliens around the system Delta Wolf. Backed by reports of abducted children and sightings of alien aircraft, the rumors and speculation are rampant. In four centuries no other alien related event had ever compared to Roswell. The most highly believed theories deal with alien abductions, but most studies link the abductions to the offspring of children who were part of ONI studies and tests 30 years earlier.
During the year 2387 and 88 a reported one hundred and fourteen children mysteriously disappeared and none were ever seen again.