BRIEF TIMELINE

2117 CE

• An Arcean probe is intercepted by the Imperial States Ship Strider. The Arceans communicate with the Imperial States from half way across the galaxy, opening the disunited Earth to a broad new galaxy. Seeking allies, the Arceans transmit plans on how to build a Star Gate – except without an off switch. Despite the obvious trap the ISA and the EA spearhead construction of the Star Gate.

2150 CE

• The five most powerful empires in the world sign the Terran Accords, signaling the foundation of the modern day Terran Empire. Combining their military and scientific might, the newly established empire begins subduing the unaligned parts of the world that includes the Eastern Alliance, Gran Colombia, the Great Khanate, the League of Non-Aligned States, Australia and rouge colonies.

2154 CE

• Australia, the last holdout against the Empire, surrenders after extensive bombardment from orbital KKW. Construction resumes on the Star Gate which had languished near Pluto due to a lack of funds and interest following first contact. The Star Gate is declared half-finished by the end of the year.

2163 CE

• While studying the physics behind the Star Gate (something which made several dozen scientists go insane), Zefram Cochrane accidentally invents the HyperDrive. The miniaturized Star Gate astounds the scientific community. The Star Gate is abandoned and communication with the Arcean home world is cut. Plans are made to build a fleet of HyperDrive-equipped ships to conquer the galaxy.

2178 CE

• Rebels from the lunar colonies and rouge elements from the long conquered empires of Earth attack the space docks. The bulk of the Conquest Fleet is destroyed in the attacks and the schematics for the HyperDrive are stolen in the confusion. It isn’t until months later that Imperial Intelligence realizes that the plans have gone missing. The masterminds behind the attack are captured and reveal that they had transmitted the HyperDrive schematics to the Arceans to give them ‘a fighting chance’. The attack had set back the empire’s efforts by more than a hundred years.

2227 CE

• The NX-01 Enterprise is launched, laden with the most advanced technology ever devised by humanity. The ISS Magellan, designed to explore space closer to home, is also launched. Both ships are weaponless but are both HyperDrive and sensor equipped.

The Terran Empire as of January 1, 2227. Note that Mars isn't there That's because no on wants to die on Mars like the First Hundred back in 2026, the 2103 colonization expedition or the mining fleet in 2148. The planet's been stricken from the records to the point where if someone asks the Empress Hoshi I about Mars, she would say, "Mars? There isn't a planet called Mars."

…

So by January 22nd the Enterprise under Captain Forrest (rumored to have been one of the Empresses former lovers) has arrived at Proxima Centauri. Contrary to what most people thought, the star didn’t have any planets. There wasn’t even anything interesting in the asteroid belt – no Dilithium or Monotanium. The Magellan on the other hand not only found 2 asteroid belts around Vega that are literal gold mines, but also an M-class planet in orbit around the green star. Captain Robinson names it Paridias. Using the Stardock Planet Class system, ‘Paridias’ would be a Class 14. Earth would be Class 10 on it.

Reportedly, upon hearing the news the Empress is said to have shouted: “If I don’t have a colony on the planet by the end of the month I’m going to murder someone!” She then, supposedly of course, proceeded to have the court jester beaten up for no apparent reason or than to sate her frustration. The Apollo Shipyards, rivals to the Earth space docks (fully recovered after the 2178 terrorist attack) are contacted to build a colony ship that could not only go faster than light, but be ready in less than a month.

“We can have it ready by the start of next week,” they boast.

Sure, the people in charge the Earth space dock's snorted. It wasn't possible. You'd have to work day and night without any sleep, breaks or sex to do it. It was just wasn't possible to build a ship the size of a colony ship in a week.

Clearly they never used robots.

…

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” the spokesman for the Apollo Shipyards shouted, dazzling the crowded room of reporters and cameramen, “my name is Jim Slim. Today I am proud to be the one to unveil the first step in galactic colonization, the vanguard of the Terran Empire and first in long line of ships - I give you, the ISS Conestoga!”

The lights in the darkened interior of the space dock flicker on and unveiling the mammoth of a ship lurking within the three-segmented space dock. A little over 930 meters long, the Conestoga-class colony ship was based off the hulls of three DY-200 cargo ships. At the sections where the cargo ships connected were two spinning wheels that imitated the effect of gravity for the colonists and sandwiched between the two spinning wheels was the colonization module itself, a self-sustaining hub for 250 million colonists.

It had to be cramped in there.

(It also stunk.)

The Conestoga, the spokesman explained over a rising clamor of questions, was only the first of twelve proposed colony ships. Rumors that the Riverside shipyards and the Earth space dock had been contracted to start building colony ships too were completely ridiculous. The Empress had given the right to them, after all.

~This is Captain Mitchell we are ready to depart. ~

“You can now take pictures!”

The room came to life with a flurry of flashing lights that blinded the poor spokesman and as a consequence he would have to wear glasses for the rest of his life. Reporters shouted over each other as they reported their government-regulated news show about what was happening at the Apollo space dock. Behind the large Plexiglas window of the observation deck, the media people were able to watch as the spindly ship slowly crawled out of the confines of the space dock. The two wheels slowly began to spin as they were turned on.

~Wish us luck people. We’re off to Rigel! ~

The trip was short. Equipped with a Westinghouse “Event Horizon” HyperDrive-A that was powered by a 10 gigawatts fusion core; it only took a month for the colony ship to arrive at Paridias. Always one for theatrics (and to attract the ladies,) the Captain sent a special transmission back to Earth from the colony of Terra Nova. "This is Captain Mitchell of Terra Nova saying hello to the Empress and the people of the Empire! The light of the Terran Empire now has a new home from which to shine. With the technology given to us by Zefram Cochrane, we can now expand our Order throughout the stars. For Earth, For Expansion, for the Empire!”

However by the time the message arrived, Earth was embroiled in a crisis for out of nowhere, an ugly olive green and light purple-colored ship arrived over Ma-er, Red Rock. The alien ship belonged to a race of ugly vaguely humanoid aliens called the Akilians, and according to the empire's finest linguists, they had a plan.

Smetz Keala et kula drinena est tu estharwa!
(All your bases belong to us.) 

...

“Can we speak with them?” Hoshi demanded, sparing a nervous glance at the damned ugly ship hovering over the Red Rock that supposedly used to be called Mars (not that it ever, ever existed of course.)

“We’re trying your highness, but it doesn’t seem possible.”

“Then find a way Soong before I break your neck!”

The elderly scientists paled and bowed, his long nose scrapping the floor. He had a son to look after, and he didn’t want to get on the Empresses bad side. Rumor had it that the basement of the Japanese palace was filled with the rotting corpses of dissidents and people who had managed to get under the Empress Hoshi’s skin. Compared to Emperor Nathan II, Hoshi was actually a calm and collect person most of the time.

“I’ll need… money.”

“I already gave the Singh Institute a substantial grant a week ago. Use that.”

He hesitated.

“What is it? Spit it out Soong!”

“The money was lent to the Cochrane Institute at the behest of Archer. Most of our funding is helping advanced our understanding of the-”

“How much will you need?”

He told her.

“You’ll have it by the end of the day. I would suggest,” she narrowed her eyes, “you get to work.”

“At once, your highness!”

‘Priority: Invent a Universal Translator.’