Major Events

These are important events or facts about the Galaxy that your character is likely aware of and that may have influenced their personal beliefs or background.

The New Gold Rush

We live in the 29th Century; a century where the people of the Galaxy are capable of faster than light travel, biomechanical enhancement, advanced cloning and limited teleportation. 

Space exploration revealed strange planets on the very edge of the galaxy referred to as Near Edge Planets (NEPs) that develop rare and highly reactive versions of elements that cannot be replicated elsewhere, even in lab conditions. While these elements are referred to by their common name, such as Carbon, Zinc, Cobalt, et al, these are actually rare forms of these elements, not the same carbon one would find in a graphite pencil. Our most advanced technology relies on these rare elemental forms to function, which is what makes them highly sought after.

The problem is these elements are difficult to properly harvest, requiring live workers to collect; and these planets are so far away that it takes at least 50 years to get there even with the fastest current drives. 

Only teleportation has made it possible to effectively harvest these valuable resources, and even that is limited in that it is very expensive and difficult to transport living matter, so for most people making the trip it is only one way.

Because of the expense involved in transporting people, and special designs required for most tech to function in the harsh environments of NEPs, most of the modern tech and amenities have not made it to the Frontier planets yet.

Rise of the Corporations

The Galaxy is moved by the wheel of commerce, and the spokes of this wheel are the 3 major corporations: SpaceTech, Millennium Global (MG) and the Earth Space-Science Association (ESSA). They are referred to collectively as “The Big 3”.

The very first Human colonies were funded and managed by these corporations directly. It was the Chief Officers of these corporations that formed the first Intergalactic Council of Planets in the 23rd century, and to this day, the ICP is considered by many to be simply a puppet of the Big 3.

Each of these have reigned over the economy of the galaxy for centuries and have their own niche.

SpaceTech specializes in amenities and health, such as anti-grav beds, recreational electronics, medical equipment, and virtual entertainment. Except for medical equipment and mixes, not much of SpaceTech’s products are seen in the frontier.

Millenium Global is primarily an industrial conglomerate, focusing on industrial equipment, weapons, and tools.

ESSA was once a research organization that centuries ago entered the consumer electronics market to fund their research. The main shareholders being Highborne of The Remaining, they continue pushing the boundaries of advanced science. Most personal electronics, the Recom, the Teleporter, and the Shield Generator are all ESSA products.

The Fate of Earth

In the 23rd century, approximately 600 years ago, facing an unknown potential threat, the Big 3 rallied the colonies of Humanity to create the ICP; a new government to organize, unite and defend the budding galactic civilization. The headquarters of this new government would be on Mars. 

While the colonies were eager to join, the leaders of Earth were jealous of the rise of the Big 3, and balked at the idea that they would no longer be the seat of Human government.

Negotiations soured and Earth refused to join the ICP. In retaliation, the ICP, urged by representatives of the Big 3, cut off all trade and contact with Earth, establishing an embargo and leaving Earth to its own fate. The terms were that Earth could rejoin humanity once it gave up its hubris and agreed to join the ICP.

The stubborn Earthers refused to cooperate for nearly 500 years, until a plague wiped out 80% of Earth’s population. Desperate for help they reached out and agreed to join the ICP in 2725. 

Once the call was made a contingent of volunteers from various colony worlds banded together to save Earth. These volunteers eventually founded the Beacon religion. With the advanced medical technology available to the colonies they were able to make quick work of the disease. What they found on Earth was something out of a classic movie. Combustion vehicles on asphalt roads, primitive "cell phones", and an entire population out of touch with the advances that had been made outside. Earthers were found to be an odd population of ancient throwbacks to a lost age.

Galactic Travel and the Birth of the Highborne and Augmented

While colonization of other worlds began as early as the late 21st century with the first Mars colony in 2074, real galactic exploration didn’t begin until about a hundred years later with the first faster than light drives. At that level of technology it took humans nearly 500 years to reach an NEP, and several multi-generational colony ships were launched with the intention of establishing the first Frontier colonies.

Only one of the ships, the research vessel “Long Haul”, is known to have successfully landed. It landed on a planet that they eventually named Alexandria and was home to the people who eventually became the Highborne and Augmented. 

The ship mysteriously lost contact with Earth, and during the centuries-long trip, isolated from human culture, they evolved a culture and religion of their own, centered around their mission to explore and advance scientific discovery. 

In an effort to most effectively accomplish their mission while maintaining a sustainable population, the leaders of the Long Haul enacted a selective breeding program based on Darwinian principles, breeding for intelligence and physical prowess. Those who were not deemed fit to breed were relegated to working class status, and were biomechanically altered to make them better able to perform physical labor around the ship. These eventually became known as the Augmented. This caste system remained until the Galactic War of 2655, when the Augmented rebelled against the Highborne and threw off their chains, turning the tide of the war.

The Galactic War

In 2655, approximately 160 years ago, ambassadors of a group calling themselves the Highborne suddenly appeared at the edge of Mars’ solar system. They identified themselves as descendants of the original crew of the Long Haul, and stated their intention to establish diplomatic relations with Humanity.

At that time The Highborne operated a caste based society on Alexandria where the Highborne were the scientists and leaders, and a lower caste of Augmented performed all of the manual labor and acted as their military force.

Humans were appalled at the selective breeding and biomechanical alterations of the Highborne and Augmented, and massive upheaval spread through the colonies demanding the Highborne stop their practices.

This upheaval could not be ignored and the ICP began putting pressure on the Highborne to change.

The Highborne who had lived this way for centuries refused, and a stalemate was reached.

At that time the Highborne fanatically followed a religion called The Scholars of Divinity whose tenets included eradicating what they call the Wilfully Ignorant. The High Scholars of Alexandria discussed the matter and decided Humanity was Willfully Ignorant and would only hinder their mission.

Thus the Galactic War began.

Armed with cybernetically enhanced soldiers (the Augmented) and closely guarded advanced technologies that only the High Scholars knew how to replicate, the Highborne had a clear advantage. Even today, generations later, we are unable to replicate some of the technologies they wielded, such as unlimited teleportation, allowing them to make entire armies appear anywhere in the galaxy at a moment’s notice. However, what they had in tech, they lacked in numbers. 

That’s where their ace in the hole came in: The Muk’taa. The Muk’taa were a warlike species the Highborne had contacted much earlier and had kept isolated for just this situation. With the promise of a true challenge (and pay) the Muk’taa jumped at the chance to prove themselves against a new enemy.

Even with help from the Pisceans, who had just as much to lose as the Humans if the Humans were wiped out, it looked quite bleak. Raids on key facilities happening in the span of minutes. Infrastructure crippled overnight. Enemy ships appearing out of nowhere, without warning. Humanity was losing, and they knew it.

A lucky turn of fate is all that saved them, although some say there is much more to the story. The Augmented had grown unhappy with their lot as workers and soldiers, dying for the cause of overlords who saw them as lesser beings, and rebelled against the Highborne amid the war.

Suddenly the Highborne found themselves fighting a war on two fronts, with key support facilities inoperable because of worker strikes.

It wasn’t long before the Muk’taa followed suit, seeing the Alexandrian Highborne for what they were. They knew if the Alexandrians won they would be wiped out or subjugated just like the Humans and Augmented. This brought Muk’taa forces on the Human side as well.

The major turns in the tide completely reversed the progress of the war, and the Highborne found themselves retreating. Just as the High Scholars on Alexandria attempted to surrender, a fleet of Muk’Taa ships, ignoring the pleas of the ICP to let them surrender, destroyed the planet; destroying with it all of the Highborne’s advanced technology and the minds who understood it.

While many of the Highborne were proficient in the use of their advanced technology, only the High Scholars knew how to build and replicate it. But the war was over.

Generations have passed since then, and the various species have come together in peace, even if a tense peace in some cases.

During this time the Augmented embraced their biomechanical alterations as an alternative form of evolution from that of the Highborne.

Humanity negotiated terms of surrender with the Highborne, which included the Highborne working with Human scientists to redevelop the lost technologies of Alexandria.

The Highborne began insinuating themselves into the High Society of the Core planets, leveraging some of their advanced technology to gain massive wealth in a short span of time.

The Muk’taa returned to the protectorate, but continued to see the budding colony worlds as apt proving grounds to test themselves.

The Pisceans went back to business as usual, now with even more opportunities, with new species that had not dealt with them before. Like fish in a Whirlpool, as the old saying goes.

The Appearance of Hybrids

Hybrids did not appear until around 2740, approximately 80 years ago; they are relatively new to the Galaxy. No definite explanation has been given for them, though there are numerous theories.

Rumors and supposed sightings were rampant at first, but the first documented sighting of a Hybrid was on a colony planet named Gelban in 2741, when a fox-like humanoid calling herself Pointer was discovered.

Shortly after the sighting a surprisingly well-funded propaganda campaign, the Humanity First movement, began and positioned Hybrids as dangerous animals that should be detained. Many planets initially did not consider them sapient beings and refused to allow them citizenship or protection under the laws.

Hybrid Rights organizations fought against these injustices and in 2819 the ICP fully recognized Hybrid civil rights. Many Hybrids now look to settle the Frontier, where most folks are sympathetic to the Hybrid cause.