2020: Due to insane political and economic fallout, the current US government is systematically retrofitted. Over the course of 6 months, the entire Congress, House of Representative, and Supreme Court are all overhauled and members retired. New emergency elections take place.
2023: The United States of America finally stabilizes with the election of President Michael Shepard, a progressive and sympathetic figure. Under the his administration, the governmental reorganization is completed. The 28th Amendment of the constitution is ratified by the new Congress. This amendment outlaws corporate interference in the inner workings of the government, the punishment is decided as immediate dismissal and a 1 million dollar fine. NRA is formally dissolved due to confirmed evidence of bribery and a bid to incite terrorist activity.
2027: President Shepard institutes what is later named the Flock Protocol: a policy that requires that the USA focus on improving lives rather that improving combat abilities. Shepard is elected again for his second and last term.
2030: Numerous political upheavals take place.
The Russian politician Vyacheslav Petrov is elected president after the death of Vladimir Putin. A highly progressive advocate for change, Petrov fosters close relations with the United States: this is encouraged by President Shepard.
North Korea, after a long suppression by the Kim Dynasty, is unified with South Korea is a democratic state after President Petrov discontinues covert Russian support of the dictatorial regime.
The newly christened Korean Union allies itself with both Russia and the United States in an effort to foster the advancement of the human race.
The first stable, powerful, and economical fusion reactor is made by a joint effort of Japanese and American physicists. Both their governments implement plans to replace their major fossil fuel plants with fusion ones.
2031: President Michael Shepard retires at the age of 60 to live as a political advisor. He is replaced by President David Alexand, a retired astronaut and renowned scientist. This joyous occasion is quickly nullified by rumblings of trouble in the Middle East.
2032: The Oil War begins.
The development of fusion power destabilized the Middle East. Due to their economic overreliance on the oil trade, the replacement of fossil fuels as the primary power source of many major countries such as the USA, Russia, UK, France, and Germany seriously threatened the economy of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait among others. This, coupled with continued unrest caused by terrorist organizations and religious extremist groups caused the region to further deteriorate. To attempt to halt the chaos, those countries who would be most affected, reformed themselves into a super state known as the Conglomerate. This proved to be their downfall when, due to various intrigues, radical and overzealous warmongers were elected for key roles. One such individual is a figure simply known as the Black Zealot. The Black Zealot's real name and identity is classified due to the controversial nature of the individual. This enigmatic figure kickstarted a military campaign to kick out all foreign elements. This began a series of conflicts that would become known as the Oil War.
2035: The Oil War Ends
After a 3 year conflict, the Conglomerate surrendered unconditionally after a systematic invasion from the East, West, and North. This invasion was prompted in 2034 when the Conglomerate was revealed to have obtained 12 nuclear warheads with a individual yield of 10 megatons each. The Black Zealot and his remaining forces were captured after the Siege of Tehran. During the conflict, the new United Earth Powers, or UEP, made up of the majority of Europe, Canada, the US, Japan, the Korean Union, Russia, Argentina, and Peru all collaborated to pioneer several new technologies.
Codex: Oil War Tech
The Olympus Land Fortress(OLM): A mobile base powered by the newest version of Fusetech's Miniaturized Fusion core. This Fortress was plated with 2 meter thick titanium-ceramic armor with a graphene metaweave underlayer to stop any projectiles that pierce the armor layer. These land dreadnoughts, before being refitted into the Type II Hades Mobile Assault Fortress, and Type III Prometheus Mobile Defense Fortress, were fitted with the newly developed Razor Gauss Cannons, in pairs in intervals around and down the construct's 90,000 meter circumference and 10 story height. The tops of these behemoths were crowned with the nicknamed "Thanatos' Joy" Missile and Artillery array, utilizing the Trident anti-air missile system, the Shroud Point Defense Cannons, and the Hellmaw 550mm Long Range Area Denial and Fire Support Artillery Battery (or just Hellmaw for short). These unstoppable juggernauts plowed through every defense the Conglomerate ever threw at them. The most famous of these was the UEPA's (United Earth Powers Army) Atlas, famous for not only breaking the siege at Tehran, but also shrugging off a direct strike by a 50 megaton warhead, the only consequence being the temporary shutdown of unshielded systems and the Armor plating being scorched black by the nuclear fire.
Razor Gauss Cannon: The first fully operational land based gauss weapon, the Razor fired 250mm Edge slugs (Razor's Edge if you will). Due to being hooked directly into the the Olympus's fusion core, the weapon could power up and fire these 1000 kilogram projectiles at 150,000 meters a second at a rate of 3 rounds a minute safely and 6 rounds a minute at the risk of overheating. These cannons were shown to be capable of piercing through 20 meters of solid rock and the 10 meters of steel and concrete bunker fortification with ease. The Razor was eventually superseded by the invention of the Sun Fire Magnetic Plasma Cannon, and relegated to frontier defence on new colonies.
Hellmaw Artillery: The Hellmaw utilizes gauss technology, but is not designed for extreme projectile speed, instead it uses the magnetic acceleration to have extreme range and accuracy. These immense guns fire the Fang anti-everything shell. These shells are designed to be the most versatile fire support ordinance, so ever shell has anti-armor, anti-infantry, and anti-fortification properties, one of which is selected by the gunner based upon the situation. The Hellmaw was never replaced only improved into becoming the Hellmaw II, Black Claw.
Trident Anti-Air Missiles: These missiles were designed with a single goal in mind, no enemy air elements will come within striking distance. As such a single trident missile has a range of up to 500 kilometers, via the usage of the Condor power cell. Upon reaching the optimal position, usually directly in the path of enemy assets, the missile will seemingly detonate, each shard of said detonation is actually a micro explosive. When the enemy air passes through the debris field, these explosives act like magnetic mines, attaching to the enemy craft and detonating with a inward-oriented, shaped charge. These were used with brutal efficiency to essure there was no air support for Conglomerate forces.
Shroud Point Defense Cannons: These guns were specifically designed to shoot down enemy missiles and other projectiles. Utilizing a micro IFF chip in all munitions and allied equipment, Shrouds prevent friendly fire. The Shroud relies on a insanely accurate and fast motion sensor system for within 1000 meters of the Fortress, and a electromagnetic radar system for longer range detection. These 2 systems, coupled with the fact that all UEP and later Systems Alliance vehicles share detection data, made these cannons have a astounding 80% hit rate on every projectile. The Shroud would later be replaced with the Shadow Star Laser Point Defense Cannon.
Fenrir Infantry Hard Suits: These armors were developed to not only stop small arms fire, but also to include the experimental nanite armor systems. These suits were such a resounding success that the design has changed very little. There are 5 basic variants. The Canis Infantry Suit, designed for basic infantry, was created with medium armor plating, and later hard shields. The Raptor Scout Armor, with light armor plating and the first basic stealth systems, was later employed with advance reactive shielding and full stealth, both visual and sensory. The Ursa Assault Suit was originally designed to be a stopgap until more mechanized armors could be developed, but it proved its worth in the fires of war. It featured the first experimental shielding and manpack fusion core, was and currently is still used for breach clearing and assaulting heavily fortified positions. The heavy armor and experimental nanotech skinsuit meant that Ursa operators had the maximum protections at a minimum cost. The Draco Airborne Armor, originally a variant of the Raptor suit, quickly became very specialized for HALO insertion and extreme mobility in urban environments. The Raptor's original stealth system was replaced with a jetpack-like module and specialized kinetic dampeners in the legs of the suit. Finally, the Beowulf Suit, a variant of the Canis, was geared specifically to Special Forces. Combining the greatest strengths of the Canis and Ursa, the Beowulf would eventually become the first Nano Armor. With upgraded plating and shielding, a neural interface,and the Nano Sim Muscles upgrade (later replaced when it became fully nano) Beowulf afforded insane risks and rewards. All the various suits employed biometric scanners to prevent theft and espionage. In these scenarios would self destruct.
Infantry Rail Weaponry: Infantry utilized a variety of gauss and rail weapons until they were gradually replaced by particle and plasma. All infantry rail weapons operated under a similar principle to Citadel races' armaments, with one major difference. While a citadel weapon chips a tiny piece off of an ammo block and uses mass accelerators to make it deadly, human gauss weapons used much larger projectiles and ammo blocks were designed to be swapped out.
Air and Ground Vehicles: The UEP developed 1 main battle tank, The Rhino, and 2 air assets, the Hornet fighter and the Dragon Assault Bomber. The Rhino was very similar to the M1 Abrams appearance wise, except as the war progressed the main rail cannon was replaced by a heavy Gauss cannon. The Hornet fighter was similar in to the SR-71 Blackbird. The Dragon resembled the B22 Bomber with a longer body and additional stabilizers.
2040: Global Unity is Achieved
After the recovery from the Oil War was completed, the UEP proposed unification of all countries into the Terra Unitum (TU). After some initial pushback, the proposal was universally accepted. The Earth is turned into a Representative Democracy based around the concept that those elected to power serve the people. The Exploration and Colonization Office (ECO) was founded and the first director was David Harper. The Terran Navy is reorganized in preparation for being utilized in outer space.
2042: ECO established the first lunar colony and orbital shipyards, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. The production of large scale voidcraft was put on hold until a reliable Faster Than Light travel (FTL) method could be found. Project Shooting Star is created to do just that. Meanwhile, mining ships began taking resources from asteroids in order to fuel the creation of more ships. The first staffed research outpost was created on Mars; due to the sensitive nature of the site, the name would not be released until 2045. Terran Scientists begin to experiment with creating Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help with finding an FTL method.
2045: The first Smart AI is accidently created by the scientists Veronica Chandler and Kisho Tanaka. Upon, discovering their creation they lock themselves in the lab for 2 weeks and spent that time raising the AI like a child. The AI, named Adam after the first human, is revealed to the TU government. Chandler and Tanaka with Adam founded SynthoSapian, a company dedicated to the study and development AI. The Mars research outpost, Athena, begins to study the surrounding area. Projects Mutare and Ascension are launched.
2050: FTL Achieved
With the help of AIs developed by SynthoSapian, Project Shooting Star is a Success, and the first space folding, or Warp, engine is successfully tested. Based upon the need for a greater energy source earlier in the project, the research team accidentally stumbled upon Antimatter. By combining antimatter with their immense understanding of Fusion power, they created the first hybrid core is created. At this point the AI population numbers in the 100,000s. AIs are established as citizens under law; the first AIs to join the military are BD-119 or Jiro and BD-120 or Alan, technical sibling AIs.
2055: Human Fleet Production is Begun
First human capital ships are developed.
Harpy Class Frigates: Length 230m. Weight 100,000 tons.
Fury Class Heavy Frigates: Length 260 meters. Weight 120,000 tons.
Vampire Class Cruiser: Length 400 meters. Weight 200,000 tons.
Nosferatu Class Heavy Cruiser: Length 450 meters. Weight 230,000 tons.
Drake Class Destroyer: Length 650 meters. Weight 310,000 tons.
Dragon Class Battlecruiser: Length 800 meters. Weight 400,000 tons.
Hydra Class Battleships: Length 1,000 meters. Weight 600,000 tons.
Gaia Class Colony Ship: Length 1,200 meters.Weight 1,000,000 tons.
Typhon Class Dreadnoughts: Length 1.5 kilometers. Weight 1,000,000 tons.
Tartarus Class Super Dreadnought: Length 3.5 kilometers. Weight 2,500,000 tons.
Void Class Station: Height 800 meters, length 1.7 kilometers, width 2 kilometers. Weight 10,000,000 tons.
Europa is colonized.
2060: Extrasolar Colonization is Put on Hold
Due to demand for resources and room for excess population, the Colonization Fleets were formed. The first made up of 10 colony ships, 50 cruisers, 5 battleships, 3 dreadnoughts, the TUN Confido, the TUN Kraken, and the TUN Intrepid, 1 super dreadnought TUN Valhalla. As they moved past Pluto, this fleet detected strange energy spikes from the moon Charon. Exploration was put on hold until it can be investigated. Research outpost Athena discovered ancient ruins on Mars.
2062: Prothean Archive Uncovered
Mars is quickly colonized and a permanent military presence is introduced. Archaeologists uncover an ancient alien research post. Intact technology reveals that the aliens were studying humanity, and with the help of translation AI, discover they were called Protheans. Alien spacecraft on site were broken down and systems studied. Researchers discover a unknown element, initially dubbed Element Omega, until translation revealed that its real name is Element Zero or Eezo. Element Zero based transportation technology researched, but was found to be vastly inferior to their own FTL. Titan is colonized.
2065: First Human Psion is Awoken, Stable Genetic Alterations are Pioneered
While the majority of humanity was focused on the stars, Project Ascension delved into the possible power of the human mind. The Project was a resounding success, producing 20 individuals dubbed Psions, which are individuals who can use their mind in a variety of ways to affect the world around them and other beings therein. Project Mutare produces gene therapy treatments that can permanently wipe out genetic diseases such as Cystic fibrosis, Huntington's Disease, and Hemophilia. Baseline strength, endurance, speed, and lifespan enhancements are developed.
Codex: Enhanced Humanity
Psionics: A direct result of Project Ascension investigation with the "Mind Over Matter" phenomenon in humans. Every Psion has the same basic abilities, but there are 4 notable classes, as well as 3 power classifications.
Basic Abilities: All psions can utilized a form of telepathy, or thought communication, in order the "speak" to others with their minds and to "read" or extract information. All Psions are prohibited from "reading minds" unless sanctioned, or in an emergency. The punishment for disobeying this directive is immediate imprisonment, and in the case of multiple infractions, permanent removal of Psionic abilities, or Psi-Lobotomy. All Psions also have the ability to utilize telekinetics, the weakest Psion on record could reliable lift 1000 kilograms of steel and throw it with startling velocity. All offensive abilities can be resisted through the usage of Psi-Shields and extreme willpower.
Classes: There are 4 Classes of Psion, and a recently discovered super class.
Witch: The Witch is a class that is primarily comprised of females, with very few males showing the specialization. Witches possess 3 main unique abilities, Wither, Drain, and Phase Rush. Wither damages the nervous and muscular systems of a target, slowing them down. If left untreated, Wither can cause death via seizure as nerves misfire more and more. Drain is a less than fully understood ability, that according to the Witches themselves drains the "Life Force" of the target, revitalizing and healing the Witch. Phase Rush is a mobility-enhancing ability. The Witch becomes intangible, due to their molecular makeup vibrating at high frequencies. When the Witch launches themself at an extreme speed in any direction, they pass through any materials in the way. When they reach their destination and become tangible again they release a so called Drain Blast, draining all targets around them.
Revenant: The Revenant is a class dominated by massive individuals, usually over 2 meters in height. They utilize the abilities, Smite, Vampirism, Phase Blade, and Juggernaut. Smite is a relatively straightforward ability. The user will build up a extreme concussive blast in or around their hand and release it as a "Shotgun Blast" of pure force. Primarily utilized in melee, this force can tear through tank armor with ease. Vampirism is a more passive ability akin to Drain. The Revenant exudes an imperceptible field. A small portion of the "Life Force" of any injured opponent within the field is drained to heal and empower the Revenant. Phase Blade is a psionic field that extends from any part of the Revenant's body, and is able to cut through any material that is not psi-shielded. Finally, Juggernaut is an ability that makes revenants supreme front line combatants. When a Revenant starts to gain momentum, a shaped shield of psionic energy forms in front of them. Upon contact with a solid object, the shield will turn into a massive Phase Blade.
Mind Flayer: The most feared other than the final Psion class, Mind Flayers fight from afar, turning enemies against each other and themselves. They utilize Fear, Mind Control, and Insanity. Fear is the most straightforward of these abilities, utilizing telepathy to hyperstimulate the fear centers of the brain, while suppressing higher thought. This causes enemy combatants to be consumed by raw terror and either run or commit suicide. Mind Control is a actually a misnomer. Instead of directly controlling the target, the Mind Flayer uses their abilities to change the opponent's perception of their allies and enemies, while also making them automatically accept mental orders. This effect can be temporary in battle. If applied with care, however, the effect can be permanent, but this has been outlawed. Insanity is the most terrifying of this particular Psion's arsenal. Insanity forcibly degrades the target's sanity and makes them hallucinate while damaging the brain, causing any number of symptoms. Some die from heart attacks, and hemorrhaging of the brain, while others will go berserk or become catatonic. The effects are unpredictable at best.
Necromancer: The Necromancer is the second rarest Psion, due to the fact that most commit suicide early after their abilities manifest. Necromancers utilize two abilities, Rift and Conversion. Rift creates a area of extreme piercing force, a "needle storm" if you will, that is almost impossible to survive without psionic aid. Conversion works in concert with Rift. It forcibly restarts the nervous system and lower brain functions of a corpse if used rapidly, or can be used to fully resurrect a relatively intact body if used carefully.
Classification: Black Knight Psions. Classified by order of Alliance Intelligence.
2070: Colonization Resumes
Charon was excavated and reveals a dormant mass effect Relay. TU government decided to study and try to replicate the materials involved. First Colonization Fleet made for Alpha Centauri and established military production colony Shadenhold, where they successfully began colonization and mining operations. Second Colonization Fleet heads to Epsilon Eridani to establish civilian colony Infinity.
2075: First Contact is Made