Thoughts
Well, it is October, so I have a month to consider if I want to do the NaNoWriMo thing. If I do, then I want to have a chunk of the setting set out before I start. I'm planning on using my Earth's Empires setting, somewhere between the first wave of slower than light colonization and the collapse of the first Terran Empire. Here's a rough timeline of that era:
2226-2242 Spaceways Unlimited constructs forty automated Interstellar probes and 8 colony ships. The probes mass low enough to use gravetic propulsion. They use a bussard ramjet style fuel collection system. The Probes are launched in 2230, and each one is set to visit two star systems. The Colony ships are waiting for destinations. They are used as long term closed systems laboratories in the interim.
2227 the survey ship arrives at Alpha centauri
2232 The survey ship reports no habitable planets around Alpha Centauri. They are continuing on to Epsilon Indi, an estimated trip time of 21 years.
2251 the survey craft arrives at Espilon Indi
2250-2300 the probes begin reporting in. 80% report on their first star, 50% report on their second star.
2250-2300 Colony ships begin launching.
2263 The Survey Craft reports that Epsilon Indi has a habitable planet, and that they have decided to colonize. They claim the world in the name of Spaceways Unlimited.
Launch Dates (when a probe arrives at one of these systems, a colony ship is launched directly to it within a year):
2257 Epsilon Erandi Probe 7, 10.5 LY, .5C, 21 years
2260 Tau Ceti Probe 1, 11.9 LY, .5C, 23.8 Years
2264 Epsilon Indi (More colonists + Supplies) 11.83 LY, .5 C 23.66 years
2265 Procyon 2 Probe 21, 11.41 LY, .5C, 22.82 years
2277 Van Mann’s Star Probe 1, 14.37 LY, .6 C 23.69 years (While a probe did pass near this system, colonization was accidental, the result of a malfunctioning fusion plant. VM’s Star is a white
dwarf, a star past the end of the main sequence.)
2278 Sigma Draconis Probe 3, 18.81 LY, .68 C, 27.66 years
2278 Delta Pavonis Probe 28, 19.92 LY, .7 C, 28.46 years
2284 82 Eridani Probe 21 19.77 LY, .7C, 28.24 years
2320 First contact with Aldoni Trade Craft.
2325 Terra buys 45 Blacbox Hyperdrives, 33 of those are bought by Spaceways Unlimited. Limited to travel within a 20 LY sphere of Terra. Granted “Protected Culture” status as long as humanity remains within a 20 light year sphere.
2326 a Spaceways Unlimited Research facility is destroyed. They were trying to open one of the Aldoni Hyperdrives.
2345 Now all five Spacefaring races in the region are known to humanity.
2350 Humanity now possesses 200 planets within 20 lightyears of sol.
2355 All Spaceways Unlimited colonies are given independence on the condition that they use Spaceways craft for all of their transport. Spaceways is essentially the banking system of the human sphere. They are the major Exchange interface with the outsider races.
2400 Humans build proto-type Hyperdrive
2420 First long range hypercraft launched
2420 Aldoni warn humanity about coreward deadzone, a sphere with a radius of approximately 15000 LY where the Hyperdrive doesn’t work. It was created by one of the elder races before any of the current races were more than bacterial scums on CO2 worlds.
2440 Humanity now spans nearly 550 worlds.
2440 Sarthaki demonstrate the pleasures of protected society status by taking three human fringe worlds.
2440-2460 First Interstellar War. Humanity loses almost half of its worlds.
2460-2480 the weakened Terran League licks its wounds and begins rebuilding. Human Intelligence begins infiltrating the captured worlds in order to gain and edge on the Satharki.
2480-2620 Humanity fortifies its worlds, begins to spread again, several important Sarthaki tech are stolen, The Terran League becomes the Terran Empire
Year Zero of the Empire, The Terran Empire is recognized by all of the interstellar races but the Sarthaki. The Sarthaki respond to the declaration of the Empire’s borders by taking three new worlds. At the third world, the Imperial fleet shows up in time to stop the attack. With the blunting ot the Sarthaki Aggressive, they Aknowledge the new human government.
Year 0-15 Hostilities are mounting between the two races, and several disputed systems are patrolled by ships from both fleets.
Year 16 the Terran Warship ISS Justice comes upon a Sarthaki Heavy Taskforce preparing to bombard one of their captured colonies to suppress a local rebellion. The Justice’s captain opens fire upon the four superior ships, managing to destroy three before it is destroyed itself. The Sarthaki destroy all of its life pods and bomb the colony anyway. Both empires declare war on each other within 2 weeks.
Year 16-125 The Second Interstellar War
16-35 the various fleets Jockey for position
35-120 The war is fought mostly by fleets in planetary space. The worst fighting of the war occurs during these years. The Terrans manage to recapture nearly 200 of their stolen worlds, leaving only 20 in Sarthaki hands. The Sarthaki Fleets retreat back to their decreased borders.
120-125 The Terran fleets begin their assaults on the last Sarthaki held human colonies. To the horror of the fleet, as the Sarthaki retreat they use nova bombs on the planets they were defending. Only three of the 20 worlds are saved. 12 Sarthaki colonies are captured within the recaptured region.
125-600 The Terran Empire rebuilds and begins expanding into unclaimed space. Scientific missions are sent to the Deadzone. Humanity possesses 1200 worlds in a sphere roughly 100 LY in radius. Confrontations with the Sarthaki are usually bloody, but never quite break out into war.
605-610, the Third Interstellar War. This time the Sarthaki attack another empire and humanity sends its fleets to help ward them off. Their attack is stopped before they can capture even one planet.
600-800 The worlds colonized by humanity are maturing, and several gain independence. Several small governments form, all of which maintain close ties to the Empire. Several Alien worlds Join with the Empire.
800-1100 The Empire and the Sarthaki make peace, humanity continues expanding, the only race not to have worlds as members of the Empire are the Aldoni.
1106, The 4 races form a Confedration
1110, the Aldoni dissapear, scout ships bring back tales of smoking blasted cinders where their worlds used to be.
1112, the Horde begins its invasion of the Confederation.
1113 Things aren’t going so well. A few Aldoni refugee craft make it into Confederation space. They say that the Horde was one of their greatest enemies 20,000 years ago. They had thought them defeated and confined until they rose again to destroy them.
1118 The combined might of the four races along with the technologies of the Aldoni are managing to hold the Horde back, barely.
1119 there is a great massing of the Horde fleet, a push toward Terra. The confedrate fleet falls back before it.
1120 The Horde Fleet arrives within 4 light years of Terra and prepares for a final Jump. Humanity Sends its allies away, tells them to get outside of a 75-lightyear radius of Sol.
1120 Immediately after the Horde Fleet Jumps, Terra broadcasts a warning, saying that a new Dead Zone, 75 LY in radius is about to form. They estimate that it will be stable for no more than 300 years.
1120 The Deadzone Forms Most of humanity falls silent. The Horde Fleet is nearly Destroyed, but both races must rely on STL tactics.
1120-1420 The worlds on the rear side of the Deadzone lose contact with everyone
Tomorrow/Today I'll start working on things like descriptions of all five of the space fareing races (not the Horde) and other similar things as well as throwing out story ideas.
