In 2263, the first Portal Ship was launched, colossal craft crewed by machines designed to overcome the distances between stars. They were launched from Sol and for years traveled the vast distances between stars, arriving years or decades later in their destinations and there disassembling themselves into massive artificial wormholes.
But in the years prior to the creation of Portal ships, other craft had been launched, cryogenic sleeper ships seeking liberation from the oppressive Earth government. And when the first Wormgates opened, the colonsts found themselves declared citizens of the United Terran Worlds.
Many colonies gladly rejoined, having forgotten the oppression of their ancestors. A few however refused the fiat declaration of reunification, and when Terran warships passed through the wormgates, determined to bring about reunification at any price, the colonists took up arms and fought tooth and nail for their freedom.
One by one, they fell.
By 2340, all but two colonies had been reunified - Sirius, and the oldest colony at Tau Ceti. As both the most distant and the most prosperous colony, Tau Ceti was narrowly able to repel the Terran invaders, while the Sirians had managed to leverage their own advantages into a non-aggression treaty with Earth.
In the last battles of the First Tau Ceti War, the Wormgate was deactivated by Cetian saboteurs, forcing the Terrans to send a second Wormship. But unknown to Earth, the Cetians were modifying the disabled wormgate and after three years of effort, managed to relink it into Earth's network.
Tau Ceti has little time left. The new Portal Ship will arrive in only six month's time, delivering the full strength of the Terran fleet. They need a miracle, their small fleet having little to no hope of defeating the massive Terran battleships. The only hope for Cetian independence lies in less blatant methods - tearing United Terra apart from the inside.
To that end, President Alan Currey, Chief of State of Tau Ceti, authorized the creation of special strike teams to be sent through the portal into Terran space, to sabotage them in any way possible. Assassination, terrorism, sabotage. Whatever it takes to perserve Cetian freedom.
The year is 2351. The year of freedom - or the year of liberty's death.
But in the years prior to the creation of Portal ships, other craft had been launched, cryogenic sleeper ships seeking liberation from the oppressive Earth government. And when the first Wormgates opened, the colonsts found themselves declared citizens of the United Terran Worlds.
Many colonies gladly rejoined, having forgotten the oppression of their ancestors. A few however refused the fiat declaration of reunification, and when Terran warships passed through the wormgates, determined to bring about reunification at any price, the colonists took up arms and fought tooth and nail for their freedom.
One by one, they fell.
By 2340, all but two colonies had been reunified - Sirius, and the oldest colony at Tau Ceti. As both the most distant and the most prosperous colony, Tau Ceti was narrowly able to repel the Terran invaders, while the Sirians had managed to leverage their own advantages into a non-aggression treaty with Earth.
In the last battles of the First Tau Ceti War, the Wormgate was deactivated by Cetian saboteurs, forcing the Terrans to send a second Wormship. But unknown to Earth, the Cetians were modifying the disabled wormgate and after three years of effort, managed to relink it into Earth's network.
Tau Ceti has little time left. The new Portal Ship will arrive in only six month's time, delivering the full strength of the Terran fleet. They need a miracle, their small fleet having little to no hope of defeating the massive Terran battleships. The only hope for Cetian independence lies in less blatant methods - tearing United Terra apart from the inside.
To that end, President Alan Currey, Chief of State of Tau Ceti, authorized the creation of special strike teams to be sent through the portal into Terran space, to sabotage them in any way possible. Assassination, terrorism, sabotage. Whatever it takes to perserve Cetian freedom.
The year is 2351. The year of freedom - or the year of liberty's death.
Even the near group of stars is heavily inhabited by other sentient species. However, as of yet no race has been discovered that exceeds Humanity technologically or industrially.
Humans: They need no further introduction.
Modified Humans: Numerous cases of genetic engineering have resulted in some offshoots of humanity. Some of these offshoots show traits similar to alien races from classic science fiction - altered personalities and physical abilities, mild cosmetic differences, and so on. While they are rarer than baseline humans, they are a significant minority and are often seen.
Sirians/Kaceos: Sirians vaguely resemble crabs. They're massive quadrupedal crustacean-like creatures that have a sprawling underwater civilization on Sirius III - ironically the same world that Humans first settled on upon their arrival. When the Sirian Humans first met the Kaceos, violence nearly broke out, but cool heads on both sides prevailed and the Humans began trading their technology to the at the time pre-atomic Kaceos in exchange for industrial assistance. The result is that Sirius is in a golden age, the Kaceos and Sirian Humans together both spreading across the system.
Luytenians/Malkhus: Little is known about the Malkhus. While contact has been made between them and Humanity, their worlds are so inhospitable that no Human has ever walked the surface. What is known as that the Malkhus are silicon-based lifeforms dwelling on worlds similar to Venus. Further, they are extremely advanced and are in control of the majority of Luytens with ambitions to spread beyond that system, and have terraformed worlds within the system by causing runaway greenhouse effect, turning the worlds into flaming, hellish rocks - the preferred environment for Malkhus. The Luytenian colonists are allowed to settle the outer reaches of the system, most living in habdomes to avoid the intense cold. The Malkhus have not been seen to enter combat, but are expected to be quite deadly.
Altairians: The Altairians vaguely resemble smaller pack dinosaurs like Utahraptor, but are covered in a thick layer of white fur. As of yet, little contact has been made with them, as their homeworld is extremely inhospitable, the Altairians appear to be extremely hostile, and they are only entering their industrial revolution. The potential cons of uplifting them far outweigh the likely pros.
Cetians/Alaei: The most advanced race that Humanity has come across, the Alaei had a significant presence in space before Humanity arrived in Tau Ceti, having constructed a number of stations in space and begun the process of terraforming their nearest world. Fortunately for Humanity, they had little interest in world's suitable for Human colonization. The Alaei dwell in the upper atmospheres of certain gas giants, in atmospheres too toxic for Humans to even consider using. The Alaei vaguely resemble hybrids of wasp and falcon, and have constructed environment suits to be able to interact with Humanity. They are an independent power in Ceti now, although they are allied with the Cetian Humans due to Terrans attacking them during the war.
Humans: They need no further introduction.
Modified Humans: Numerous cases of genetic engineering have resulted in some offshoots of humanity. Some of these offshoots show traits similar to alien races from classic science fiction - altered personalities and physical abilities, mild cosmetic differences, and so on. While they are rarer than baseline humans, they are a significant minority and are often seen.
Sirians/Kaceos: Sirians vaguely resemble crabs. They're massive quadrupedal crustacean-like creatures that have a sprawling underwater civilization on Sirius III - ironically the same world that Humans first settled on upon their arrival. When the Sirian Humans first met the Kaceos, violence nearly broke out, but cool heads on both sides prevailed and the Humans began trading their technology to the at the time pre-atomic Kaceos in exchange for industrial assistance. The result is that Sirius is in a golden age, the Kaceos and Sirian Humans together both spreading across the system.
Luytenians/Malkhus: Little is known about the Malkhus. While contact has been made between them and Humanity, their worlds are so inhospitable that no Human has ever walked the surface. What is known as that the Malkhus are silicon-based lifeforms dwelling on worlds similar to Venus. Further, they are extremely advanced and are in control of the majority of Luytens with ambitions to spread beyond that system, and have terraformed worlds within the system by causing runaway greenhouse effect, turning the worlds into flaming, hellish rocks - the preferred environment for Malkhus. The Luytenian colonists are allowed to settle the outer reaches of the system, most living in habdomes to avoid the intense cold. The Malkhus have not been seen to enter combat, but are expected to be quite deadly.
Altairians: The Altairians vaguely resemble smaller pack dinosaurs like Utahraptor, but are covered in a thick layer of white fur. As of yet, little contact has been made with them, as their homeworld is extremely inhospitable, the Altairians appear to be extremely hostile, and they are only entering their industrial revolution. The potential cons of uplifting them far outweigh the likely pros.
Cetians/Alaei: The most advanced race that Humanity has come across, the Alaei had a significant presence in space before Humanity arrived in Tau Ceti, having constructed a number of stations in space and begun the process of terraforming their nearest world. Fortunately for Humanity, they had little interest in world's suitable for Human colonization. The Alaei dwell in the upper atmospheres of certain gas giants, in atmospheres too toxic for Humans to even consider using. The Alaei vaguely resemble hybrids of wasp and falcon, and have constructed environment suits to be able to interact with Humanity. They are an independent power in Ceti now, although they are allied with the Cetian Humans due to Terrans attacking them during the war.
Mankind's technology has advanced greatly in the last 240 years. Coming into the Sol System from outside, the first thing one might notice is the hundreds of stations in a shell-like pattern around the sun, just inside Mars' orbit. These stations serve two purposes - one, they are each a city filled with millions of people, and two, they absorb the energy of the sun. More are constructed on a daily basis, and so many have been built already that from Mars there's a noticeably eclipsing of the sun.
Moving closer, you might begin to notice the millions of spacecraft moving between habitats, planets, moons, and stations - anything from tiny starfighters escorting cargo shipments to five mile long freighters hauling the latest shipment from Procyon.
But even those aren't the greatest achievement you'd see. No, that would be the Portals. Massive, sprawling disc-shaped stations a mile and a half across, in their center a half-sphere. When activate, the inside of the half-sphere becomes a connection to the destination. There are nine such gates in the Sol System - in orbit around Earth, Ceres, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Eris. Most other systems only have their original gate.
Gate travel is one way. On the incoming side of the gate, the half-sphere goes completely black. Attempting to enter results in a spray of subatomic particles out the other side of the gate. This is often used for disposal of hazardous wastes. Transmissions are capable of going either way.
For the most part, infantry combat is still the same as it has been for the past two hundred years. While most soldiers are equipped with particle pulse weapons that have significantly more firepower than most firearms, armor has not maintained pace. If you are shot, you are most likely crippled or dead. Shields exist, but they are far too large for a single person to easily carry. Powered armor exists, but is rarely deployed, as it's cost outweighs its effectiveness. As things scale up, however, the situation drastically changes.
Moving closer, you might begin to notice the millions of spacecraft moving between habitats, planets, moons, and stations - anything from tiny starfighters escorting cargo shipments to five mile long freighters hauling the latest shipment from Procyon.
But even those aren't the greatest achievement you'd see. No, that would be the Portals. Massive, sprawling disc-shaped stations a mile and a half across, in their center a half-sphere. When activate, the inside of the half-sphere becomes a connection to the destination. There are nine such gates in the Sol System - in orbit around Earth, Ceres, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Eris. Most other systems only have their original gate.
Gate travel is one way. On the incoming side of the gate, the half-sphere goes completely black. Attempting to enter results in a spray of subatomic particles out the other side of the gate. This is often used for disposal of hazardous wastes. Transmissions are capable of going either way.
For the most part, infantry combat is still the same as it has been for the past two hundred years. While most soldiers are equipped with particle pulse weapons that have significantly more firepower than most firearms, armor has not maintained pace. If you are shot, you are most likely crippled or dead. Shields exist, but they are far too large for a single person to easily carry. Powered armor exists, but is rarely deployed, as it's cost outweighs its effectiveness. As things scale up, however, the situation drastically changes.
The strike teams consist not only of Cetians but of other colonists and species, as since the re-establishment of Portal connection contact has been made with elements of other Anti-Terran forces.
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Species: (Altairians and Malkhus are banned for now, I would not recommend an Alaei either.)
Skills:
Equipment: (Just give generic names for your gear.)
Appearance:
History: (How he or she learned his or her skills and how he or she came to be part of the strike team. Anything else is optional, but appreciated.)
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Species: (Altairians and Malkhus are banned for now, I would not recommend an Alaei either.)
Skills:
Equipment: (Just give generic names for your gear.)
Appearance:
History: (How he or she learned his or her skills and how he or she came to be part of the strike team. Anything else is optional, but appreciated.)
