Alliance Colonial expansion

by Mass Effect Archive

A detailed, lore accurate breakdown of human colonial expansion and development, comprising everything known about the development of the human colonies in Mass Effect structured in a timeline format from 2069, up until 2186.

Alliance Expansion

2069 CE

- Armstrong Outpost is formally established in Shackleton creator on Luna as humanity's first extraterrestrial settlement. The moon becomes an early source of helium-3.

2075 CE

- The Manswell Expedition sends 300 colonists in cryogenic stasis to establish a permanent settlements in Alpha Centauri.

2103 CE

- Lowell city in Eos Chasma, established by the European Space Agency becomes the first human settlement on Mars.

2103-2113 CE

- The United States and China establish their own permanent settlements on Mars. Satellites near Promethei Planum pick up strange magnetic field distortions.

2142 CE

- Gagarin Station is built on the outer edge of the Sol System as a platform for faster-than-light travel research. It's also used for deep space telemetry, exploration, and for conducting experiments too dangerous to do near more expensive assets.

2148 CE

- An underground Prothian bunker is discovered on the Martian south pole. The study of the archives and technology in the bunker allow for the research and development of Mass Effect fields.

- Through the Prothian achives, humanity learn about mass relays and discover that Pluto's moon, Charon, is an inactive relay encased in kilometers of ice. Work begins on thawing the relay.

- The Systems Alliance was formed by Earth's 18 largest nations as an engine to expand and defend human territory following the development of FTL travel.

2149

- The Charon relay is thawed and activated. Initial tests involved sending unmanned probes through the relay corridor. All of which expectedly lost contact as soon as they passed through.

- The Grissom Expedition sends a manned research ship throughout the Charon relay. The ship is instantaneously transported to the Arcturus system, 37 lightyears away. A system containing three more mass relays.

- The Alliance establishes a policy to expand human territory by activating any mass relays they come across.

2151 CE

- Construction of Arcturus station begins at the L5 Lagrange point of the gas giant, Themis in the Arcturus system. The station will serve as a central hub and base of operations for the Alliance's colonisation efforts. Due to the lack of natural metals in the system, the construction effort required metal-rich asteroids to be towed in from other systems.

- Satan and Uranus become humanity's largest source of helium-3 fuel for fusion plants. With a number of He-3 processing facilities established on their moons and on orbiting stations.

2152 CE

- Humanity expands into the Exodus cluster. Scott outpost on Terra Nova (New Earth) is established in the Asgard system and becomes humanity's first extrasolar settlement.

- Constant outpost on Eden Prime in Asgard's neighbouring Utopia system is established.

- An outpost settlement is established on the planet, Shanxi.

- The Manswell Expedition arrives in Alpha Centauri and establishes the colony of Demeter.

2153 CE

- The agricultural base of Joughin is established on the planet Benning in the Euler system of the Arcturus Stream as a source of food supply to Arcturus station once operational and a staging base for the maintenance and repair of Alliance ships.

2154 CE

- An outpost settlement has already been established on the planet Mindoir.

2155 CE

- An outpost settlement has already been established on the planet Tiptree

- The Alliance occupies completed portions of Arcturus station.

2156 CE

- Arcturus station is inaugurated.

2157 CE

- Eden Prime, Terra Nova and Shanxi have become fully established colonies.

- An Alliance patrol clashes with alien forces near the Shanxi Theta mass relay. The First Contact War and the turian occupation of Shanxi lasts three months before a peace is brokered and humanity are introduced to the larger galactic community.

2158 CE

- Vercingetorix Outpost has been established on Sirona in the 61 Ursae Majoris system of the Local Cluster

- Milgrom outpost is established as an industrial base on the planet Bekenstein in the Boltzmann system in close proximity to the Citadel space station, the heart of galactic society.

2160 CE

- Systems Alliance Parliament is formed.

- Gagarin Station is purchased by Conatix Industries to perform studies to better understand the effects and capabilities of biotics.

- The Systems Alliance establishes the Illyria outpost on the planet Elysium in the Vetus system of the Petra Nebula. In a region of space called the Skyllian Verge. A region of space unofficially claimed by the Baterian Hegemony. Hostilities between human and baterian forces begin.

2162 CE

- Construction of Arcturus station completes. The station becomes the political and military capital of the Systems Alliance.

2165 CE

- Despite vocal opposition from alien races such as the baterians and volus, humanity gains an embassy on the Citadel, the political and cultural heart of the galaxy.

2167 CE

- Nova Yekaterinburg is established as an industrial base on the planet Therum in the Knossos System of the Artemis Tau cluster.

2168 CE

- Discovery outpost established on the planet Horizon in the Lera system of the Shadow Sea.

2169 CE

- Conatix Industries biotic studies at Gagarin Station were shut down for classified reasons.

2170 CE

- The colony of Mindoir is attacked and Almost destroyed by baterian slavers in retaliation for their settlement of the Skyllian Verge.

2171 CE

- After the Citadel Council refused to intervene in humanity's "Illegal" colonisation of the Verge and their declaration that unclaimed territory was open to human colonisation, the Baterian Hegemony closed their Citadel embassy in protest, becoming a rogue state.

2176 CE

- A fleet of Baterian-funded pirates and slavers attacked the colony of Elysium in a failed attempt to destroy it. An event known as the Skyllian Blitz.

- The Jon Grissom Academy is commissioned in orbit of Elysium. In addition to hosting some of the smartest human students in the known galaxy, their Ascension Project seeks to train young human biotics and integrate them into society.

2177 CE

- The Alliance launched a crushing assault on the baterian moon of Torfan in retaliation for the Skillian Blitz

2178 CE

- Horizon becomes a fully established colony.

2181 CE

- The colony of Amaterasu has already been established and is still relatively new.

- Czarnobóg Fleet Depot has already been constructed in a neighbouring system to Amaterasu.

2183 CE

The colony of Fehl Prime has already been established as a major pharmaceutical supplier to the Alliance. They were attacked by an army Blood Pack mercenaries. The colony was saved by Alliance special forces squads who died in it's defense. The only surviving squad, Delta Squad, remained on the planet to garrison the colony against further attacks.

- The colony of Cuervo has been established.

- The colony of Cyrene has been established. Following the end of the Eden Prime War, the colonists were all abducted without a trace.

- Luna has seen limited terraforming in a number of large domed creators. The moon's current population is 4.1 million.

- The discovery of FTL travel has turned Mars into a quiet backwater. It's current population is 3.4 million.

- At 4.4 million, Terra Nova has the highest population of any Alliance colony. The colony was attacked by baterian terrorists who attempted to destroy it with an asteroid collision.

- Eden Prime has a current population of 3.7 million and was the sight of the first of several skirmishes against the synthetic geth across the Attican Traverse, referred to as the Eden Prime War.

- Therum has a population of 34,000.

- An outpost settlement has been established in a number of abandoned skyscrapers on the former Prothian occupied world of Fero. The settlement was attacked by geth during the Eden Prime War. The settlements fate is unknown.

An outpost settlement was being established on the planet Chasca in the Matano system of the Maroon Sea, but failed following what was believed to be a geth attack during the Eden Prime War.

- 6 more unnamed colonies have been established within the Terminus Systems. Some time after the Eden Prime War, the colonists from all these colonies vanished without a trace.

- Gagarin Station has a permanent population of approximately 9,000. Plans have been proposed to move the station to the gravitationally stable barycenter point betweenPlutoand theCharon Relay, allowing it to serve as a gateway facility between theSolandArcturussystems.

- Arcturus Station has a permanent population of 45,000 and is home to the Alliance Parliament and Alliance Command.

- For their efforts of saving the Citadel in the Battle of the Citadel, humanity earned a seat on the Citadel Council.

2185 CE

- Contact with the lost colony of Demeter is reestablished and reintegrated into galactic society.

- Bekenstein has become a fully established colony. Large-scale trade with the nearby Citadel has allowed the colony to prosper.

- The colony of Sathur has already been established.

- The colony of Drasta is fully established.

- The colony of Freedom's Progress has already been established. All the colonists vanished without a trace.

- The colony of Ferris Fields has already been established. All the colonists vanished without a trace.

- Horizon had a population of 654,390. Despite the best efforts of the Alliance's defense outreach and Commander Shepherd's intervention, about a third of the colonists were abducted by the Collectors.

- Despite the Alliance's defense outreach and the direct intervention of Delta Squad, all the Colonists of Fehl Prime are abducted.

Gagarin Station has been moved to the other side of the Charon Relay to serve as a jump-off point between Sol and the wider galaxy.

2186

- Arcturus Station is destroyed at the start of the Reaper War.

- Eden Prime's population has grown to 4.2 million prior to the Reaper War. Though largely ignored by the Reapers, the effects of the war are felt across the planet.

- The threat of Baterian attack has reduced Terra Nova's population to 4,150,000 prior to the Reaper War. After a brief battle with the Alliance Sixth Fleet, Reapers landed on the planet.

- Benning is already a fully established colony. When the Reapers attacked Earth and Arcturus, they sent a small fleet to Benning to destroy their comm bouys, space stations and starships, then turned their attention to the bigger prize. Returning later to occupy the colony.

- Tiptree has already become a fully established colony. They were occupied by Reapers.

- Elysium has a population of 8.3 million and was the largest Alliance colony prior to the Reaper War.

- Through most schools were closed during the Reaper war, a few teachers and students remained at Grissom academy to train biotics and prototype technology for the Alliance to use in the war effort. It was secretly attacked by Cerberus.

- Horizon's population is in flux. The Collector attack a year ago caused a massive population drop both during and after, but the population has began to swell as refugees stream onto the planet during the Reaper War. Estimates put the population at between 800,000 and 1.5 million.