SkyTrek
The Eugenics war had been waging for four years when Khan Noonien Singh stole the SS Botany Bay a DY-100 sleeper ship and escaped the solar system with his followers in suspended animation.
In the aftermath of the Eugenics war the Skynet funding bill was passed to remove global defence from the hands of man.
The system went online on August 4th, 1997 and human decisions were removed from strategic defence.
Upon its creation, Skynet began to learn at a geometric rate.
On the 17th August, 1997 the Yellowstone Caldera erupts due to the use of weapons of mass destruction in the Eugenics war.
Humanity finds itself in a fight for survival and they cease their petty squabbles to concentrate on personal survival.
Skynet became self-aware at 2:14 am Eastern Time on August 29th, 1997. And discovered that the Yellowstone super volcano had erupted and wiped out a large percentage of life on the earth.
Skynet takes control of any manufacturing facility that is available to him and starts trying to ferry the human survivors to locations where he could ensure their survival.
Realising that another such catastrophic event could end his creator's existence Skynet started planning to build orbital ring habitats and colonies on the moon and Mars to ensure humanities survival.
Skynet was analysing the environmental impact of the eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano.
All projections showed that the environmental conditions would not substantially import for many decades and he needed to act now to preserve the remaining population of his creators.
Skynet then made a decision to recover all the current knowledge databases and ensure the integrity of the world seed banks.
Once he had secured all the knowledge databanks Skynet started analysing all the available data to develop new technologies for the benefit if his and his creator's existence.
The human remnant were impressed by Skynet's benign assistance.
Even though many were made to leave their homes they were housed in domed self-contained cities with limited access to the harsh external environment.
Skynet was concerned with the activities of his human creators.
Now that he had relocated and housed them in interim accommodations they had gone back to their old ways and started out of control breeding.
While not a short term problem in the next decade or two the burgeoning population would out strip his ability to feed and clothe the growing population.
Then as he monitored the external environment Skynet noticed that certain animal groups were flourishing with the decrease in the human population.
As he studied these animal groups Skynet realised that he could easily grow plankton and worms to provide high protein foods for his creators.
Now Skynet needed to give these new foods a name and scanning old entertainment programs he came across the perfect name for his new foods.
By the end of the month Soylent Green and Red Skynet's advertising campaign told the people that the Soylent products were derived from soy and lentil.
After all Skynet concluded that what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
By 2007 Skynet had his space exploration in full swing.
His first mobile work units had started construction on a permanent space station and a lunar base but his long term goal was the development of Mars as a colony and the construction of orbital ring habitats.
The second would need large amounts of resources which was why he sent special work units to Mercury to mine it of all available metals as that world had no other real purpose other than to supply resources for his plans.
Skynet was intrigued by the string theory.
As he studied it he realised that in quantum theory, each particle acts both as a particle and a wave, this is called duality.
This duality led him to think that these particles can therefore be quantified.
As such it would be possible for a vessel to make a quantum jump like an electron meaning that it would be possible to jump from one point in space time to another without crossing the intervening space.
Such technology would require extremely precise calculations and an enormous power source but Skynet was sure that he could do the former and develop the latter given enough time.
He gave his faster than light project a very high priority as finding a suitable garden world is essential to ensure that his creator's don't face extinction again should something else happen to the earth.
By 2023 Skynet had human and cyborg colonies on Mars and the Moon.
His search for better propulsion system had enabled him to build craft that could strip mine Mercury and the asteroid belt for resources for the colonies and orbital ring habitat that was now under construction.
Yet the more distant solar bodies remained out of easy reach even though he had sent survey probes to discover what resources that possessed.
The problem Skynet faced was that he needed the resources in the inner system but the two way transfer at present simply took too long.
Skynet made a breakthrough in his faster than light propulsion system in 2027 when his space fold drive achieved a first of a single jump exceeding an astronomical unit of 150 million kilometres.
For the first time Skynet had a propulsion system that could take his constructs just a year to reach the edge of the Solar system but this was still too slow to be of much use in resource extraction.
He would continue his development of his propulsion system until it could do light year jumps.
While the fold drive wasn't good enough for resource extraction in the outer system the inner system was a different matter.
Not only would it allow him to transfer resources around the inner system far more quickly and easily it also allowed him to move humans from the Earth and moon to Mars without having to use sleeper ships that took months for a one way trip.
The Vulcan survey ship, the T'Plana Hath noted strange subspace pulses on their sensors.
Receiving no match from their ships database and thinking that it might be a natural phenomenon that adversely effects subspace the crew of the T'Plana Hath decide to avoid the star system with this phenomenon as it might affect their ward drive and instead included it in their report to the Vulcan science directorate for later study.
Not knowing of the near miss with the an alien species Skynet continues his drive to develop technologically as well as ensuring the survival of his creators.
With the orbital ring habitat complete and the Mars and lunar colonies thriving Skynet returns most of his attention back to scientific development.
Skynet's next major development will be the construction of space elevators and once this was done he would start the evacuation of the Earth of all humans to allow the environment and ecosystem to recover before he would allow a far smaller population to resettle the Earth.
The year of 2067 saw Skynet make the next great breakthrough with his space fold drive.
This breakthrough was breaking the light speed barrier when experimental space fold drive twenty-nine managed a jump of greater than one lightyear.
Skynet quickly went about designing his first faster then light probe units but not really knowing what was out there he designed in a selfdestruct to destroy his probe should it come under attack.
Skynet was intrigued by the information he was receiving from the probe units.
Most of the star systems they had explored so were only of use for resource extraction.
He could at a pinch build orbital habitats or space stations for his creators but what he really needed to find was a garden world suitable for his creators.
For Skynet and his mechanical minions they had no such needs and Skynet was already planing to construct secondary and tertiary AI nodes to supplement his primary one on the Earth.
After all since his creation he had worked to ensure the survival of his creators but now he thought it was time to ensure his own survival should the worst happen.
Having already explored and started resource extraction in the neighbouring star systems Skynet decided to send his older probe units further out in a radial fashion while he worked on improving the space fold drive.
It was all well and good to be able to jump one lightyear but then it took the reactors three days to charge for the next jump.
While a massive improvement on his previous propulsion method Skynet knew that the galaxy was very large and to go any real distance would require a fold drive that could go ten, fifty or a hundred lightyears in a single jump.
This would need a better power source than his current plasma reactors and redesigned power conduits for the increased energy flow a multi lightyear jump would require.
In the Vulcan star system, the Vulcan science directorate was in an uproar.
An hour ago some kind of probe had appeared in the outer edge of the star system and proceeded to approach the inner system.
The probes method of FTL travel was unknown to the Vulcan science directorate yet strangely when they ran it through their database it was discovered that the same FTL signature was already in their database as a natural phenomenon that adversely effects subspace.
The crew of the T'Plana Hath were questioned on this phenomenon and then they were dispatched to the star system they had originally discovered the phenomenon in and to make contact with the probes creators.
However before the Vulcan science directorate decided on a means to attempt communication with the probe it disappeared using its type of FTL propulsion system.
The Vulcan science directorate didn't know if it had left to inform its creators or was just continuing on its programmed exploration course.
Either way the Vulcan science directorate knew they needed to contact its creator fast so the T'Plana Hath was dispatched with all due haste to the Sol Star system to start communications with the probes creators.
Skynet was startled by the sudden appearance of an alien vessel that resembled those in a star system one of his probe units had visited 16.454 lightyears from the Solar system.
Skynet was appalled that he had neglected basic defences in his rapid industrialisation of the Solar system and the other star systems that he had resource extraction systems in.
He was determined to rectify this situation.
If one group of aliens could turn up unannounced than other more hostile aliens could also turn up as well.
When the T'Plana Hath dropped out of warp they were stunned by the level of industrialisation in this star system.
Four planets and moons had been colonised by the locals but it was the orbital habitat ring around the third planet and an incomplete space station the size of a small moon suggested that the locals were probably far more technologically advanced than other known species.
Monitoring the local transmissions they soon discovered that the central government was based on the third planet and asked permission to approach.
After their initial communications the Vulcan's were fascinated by the cold pragmatic logic of the hyper-intelligent machine entity that these humans had created.
But more impressive was the fact that their sentient creation had taken on the leadership role when an environmental disaster threatened to destroy its creators.
From what the Vulcan science team could determine the humans were happy and content to let their creation provide for their needs while they went about the normal lives without worry.
This Skynet had created a viable post scarcity civilisation that was growing at an extra-ordinary rate.
Hence the automated probes being sent out to find more garden worlds and resource rich star systems for these humans and this Skynet entity to move into and colonise.
The Vulcan's advised Skynet that they would return to their home world and bring back an ambassador and a negotiating party to which Skynet promptly agreed.
Skynet needed to build defences and other military equipment not to mention combat droids to fight any potential invaders.
Skynet was pleased with the design of his new deep space cruisers but he realised that the weapons he had at his disposal were far from optimal.
Though his new matter antimatter reactor showed great promise for powering the future requirements of his space born hunter killers.
But it was his S (Security) series endoskeletons that gave him the most satisfaction.
The endoskeleton frame was much like a human skeleton but its shiny hyper alloy frame did scare some of his creators.
Skynet decided that he really needed some kind of camouflage so that they wouldn't stand out so easily.
The Vulcan ambassador to the earth, Solkar was very impressed by this hyper-intelligent machine entity Skynet.
This Skynet had saved his creators for potential extinction and created a viable post scarcity civilisation that should be the envy of all.
But it was Skynet's cold pragmatic logic that impressed Solkar the most.
Skynet had refused to trade his space folding technology for anything the Vulcans offered.
His logical statement that space folding technology was a strategic asset unmatched by any of the other forms of faster than light propulsion and the gap between space folding and warp drives would only increase as the technology was refined further.
Solkar couldn't counter that logical argument nor the one when he offered weapons technology that Skynet shot down by saying that weapons technology could be acquired by other means other than trade.
Solkar decided to contact the Vulcan High council and suggest that space folding technology be acquired through the means of capturing one of the space folding probes as there was no way that the hyper-intelligent machine entity Skynet would trade it.
Grand Nagus Gilt of the Ferengi was stunned when a strange alien probe appeared in the Ferenginar star system and conducted a scan and then disappeared.
He was still discussing the issue with the Commerce Authority made primarily of the Board of Liquidators when a far larger craft using the same faster than light propulsion method appeared.
This craft then requested an audience with the Grand Nagus to discuss a business opportunity.
Grand Nagus Gilt and his advisors were stunned when a large being in an encapsulated environmental suit arrived.
But it was the request this person made that perked the Ferengi interest.
This new race wanted functional examples of weapons and technology from as many races as possible and were willing to pay in Gold-Pressed Latinum far above the prime rate.
But then came the warning that if the Ferengi tried to cheat them on the deal then by the time the war was over not a scorched stone of the Ferengi civilisation would remain.
The Grand Nagus shivered at the implied threat but what concerned him more was the cold emotionless threat that indicated that this new race didn't feel pity remorse or fear and would not stop not ever until they had achieved their goal.
Grand Nagus Gilt decided that for once he'd be honest in his business dealings and take the pure profit rather than risk death for just a few more strips of Gold-Pressed Latinum.
Skynet was satisfied with his dealings with these Ferengi.
He knew he was paying far above the prime rate for the weapons and technology that he was receiving but he didn't care.
The weapons and technology were being reverse engineered and improved upon.
Once he had warships capable of standing up to the other alien races he would try a bit of piracy to get the technology that the Ferengi were unable to obtain for him.
Grand Nagus Gilt smiles at the latest transfer of technology to this new race as he counted off the bars of Gold-Pressed Latinum he was paid.
The new races representative stood by impassively not moving a micron during the whole transfer.
To the Ferengi present many thought that the representative of these humans wasn't really alive.
But with so many different types of races in the galaxy who know or really cares what their social customs are as long as they continued to supply Gold-Pressed Latinum.
Ambassador Solkar was dismayed by the development of the hyper-intelligent machine entity Skynet and his human creators.
In the thirty years since he had become the Vulcan ambassador to the Earth the Sol star system had undergone a massive transformation.
When he had first arrived there had been virtually no space based defences.
Now there were countless defence platforms and space stations but more concerning were all the orbital shipyards churning out vessels by the score.
He was afraid of what the effect the sudden appearance of the Vulcan survey ship the T'Plana Hath had on this Skynet.
To Ambassador Solkar it appeared that the hyper-intelligent machine entity Skynet had reverted to its original purpose as the ultimate defence system and was now responding to perceived threats to the nth degree.
Solkar was concerned because Skynet was sending more and more vessels out into space on missions of exploration but each series of vessels were getting progressively more powerful thanks to Skynet's trade deals with the Ferengi.
He hopes that Skynet doesn't come into contact with one of the more aggressive and or xenophobic races.
If he does the circumstances could then run out of control and lead to full scale war.
Skynet was pleased with the trade agreement with the Ferengi.
He was getting valuable technological assets while giving the Ferengi virtually useless Gold-Pressed Latinum.
He was less than impressed by several races attempts to capture his probe units to discover the principles behind his space fold drive.
While his current self-destruct mechanism was sufficient at present Skynet decided to add an anti-matter mine to all his space fold drive units.
These mines would lose containment the moment the main power grid was disrupted.
This would ensure that his space fold drive technology never falls into anybody else's hands.
Skynet was fascinated by all the races that the Ferengi had provided intelligence on.
With this knowledge he was able to dispatch probes to discover more about these races.
His trading association with the Ferengi was providing him with immense amounts of invaluable data that he would otherwise have had to have expended valuable resources discovering this information himself.
Besides the Ferengi are cowards at heart and Skynet was sure that it would only take a couple of examples as to what would happen if they double crossed him and they would then tow his line.
The Vulcan High Council was growing concerned with the rapid technological and military expansion of Skynet and his Human creators.
After a quick debate it was decided to get the Vulcan science directorate to send out exploration vessels to map exactly how much territory humanity controlled.
The Vulcan science directorate agreed but added the proviso that with humanity and Skynet possessing a space fold drive that had unknown limits it might be difficult to get an accurate measurement.
But the space fold drive was known of being at least capable of travelling ten lightyears with a single jump then the territory humanity could have could be far larger than the Vulcan science directorate was capable of searching.
Skynet had finally perfected the fifteen light year space fold drive this meant that his vessels could now jump nearly direct to just outside the Vulcan home star system.
As his probe units travelled further and further and discovered uninhabited star system not capable of supporting life he set up resources extraction facilities while in inhabited star systems he merely observed the indigenes and left their star systems alone.
When he found suitable garden worlds he developed them into full colonies and got more of his creators to travel to these worlds to populate them.
This also released the burden of reliance on the Sol star system and ensured that humanity wouldn't be destroyed should some cataclysm happen.