A Glimpse of the Upcoming Strategy Title

4/24/00

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The Universe History:

If the space age started with Sputnik, the interstellar age started with Pathfinder II. By the early 23rd century Humans had settled every vaguely habitable lump of rock in the Solar System. A developed colony existed on Mars, with smaller ones on Titan, Ganymede and a number of the larger asteroids. The energy crisis was over, with limitless solar power and almost limitless hydrogen scooped from the Jovian atmosphere and accelerated earthward. Humanity was in a golden age, Earth was in the midst of the most sustained period of prosperity and peace in history, and enough of a frontier existed to keep most of the more adventurous souls out of trouble.

Still the stars beckoned.

Oh, we had reached the stars before Pathfinder. The first probe, Stellar 7, entered the Alpha Centauri system in the year 2056, after only 28 years flight time. The perfection of cryogenics allowed a manned vessel, the U.N.S. Neil Armstrong to reach the system in 2109, flight time 37 years. While the voyage of the Armstrong was hailed as a triumph, it was clear that the problem of accelerating any substantial mass to relativistic speeds was so great that interstellar flight was simply not worth the trouble.

The equations said it was possible, in theory at least. The mission of the Pathfinder Project was to see whether the equations could become reality, whether the fabric of space-time could really be curved on demand, whether two distant points could really be brought closer together by the massive application of energy. Einstein it seemed could not be cheated, but he could be manipulated. If we could not travel faster than light it seemed that we could at least bring our destination closer.

It began with Pathfinder I. In June 2198 the unmanned vessel slipped into what inevitably became known as hyperspace and completed a journey of six light days in less than two hours. After the initial jubilation, it was realized that this was only the beginning, that the technology required to fold space-time had almost limitless potential. Pathfinder II ironed out the bugs and included the first portable hyperspace field generator, just powerful enough so that when the unmanned probe entered the Alpha Centauri system on September 21st, 2207 it could send a message that reached Earth in considerably less than the four years it would normally have taken.

The news that the stars were within reach caused both jubilation and trepidation on Earth. Mankind would go to the stars, but if we could do it, so could others. We were no longer safe behind our Einsteinian barrier. No one with any vision could seriously believe that we were alone in the Galaxy. Sooner or later we were bound to meet another species. Would they be behind us technologically, or so far ahead that they would brush us aside just as European powers had brushed aside less developed peoples in their push to dominate the globe? Some commentators postulated that any developed species must be peaceful but the biologists quickly pointed out the flaws in this argument. Any species with enough drive and intelligence to develop interstellar flight must have displayed enough aggressiveness to dominate their home-planet in the first place. Opinion remained split on whether our first contact was likely to be with a cuddly teddy-bear or with a slavering killing machine.

Whoever we were likely to meet it was considered only prudent that we be as strong as possible. For the first time space weapons were seriously considered. When the mission to Barnard's Star was launched in 2216 it was accompanied by one of the first star destroyers in the newly formed United Nations Navy.

The wisdom of a "be prepared" policy became evident in 2235 when a scouting force entered the Deneb system and was immediately attacked by forces of the Saurischi, an aggressive reptilian species. Although Humanity lost that first battle we learned enough from it to be able to win the war. Just as we were congratulating ourselves we discovered that the Saurischi were the least of our worries. When our former enemies approached us for a treaty so that we could jointly fight a new species known only as The Hive, we knew that our problems were only just beginning. Little did we know that the Hive Wars would last for over two hundred years and bring Mankind to the brink of destruction. What had begun as a reach for the stars had become a bitter struggle for survival.

The Species:

1. Combine

The Combine is a totalitarian state, utterly ruthless and militaristic. They are far more geared for war than mainstream Humanity but lack flexibility and ingenuity. The Combine are master diplomats but don't place much emphasis on honouring their treaties.

2. Saurischi

The Saurischi were the first species encountered by Humanity in its Reach For the Stars. They have an aggressive and highly structured society but are warriors rather than soldiers. The Saurischi are honourable, according to their own code. They value speed and finesse far more than raw power. Saurischian ships are sleek and have effective weapons but lack strong shields.

3. Klaa-Keen

In many ways the Klaa-Keen are the most fearsome race in the Galaxy. They are utterly alien, enormously intelligent and technologically far ahead of most other species. The Klaa-Keen are difficult to deal with diplomatically as their motivations are so unlike those of Humans. Their actions display an alien logic and their decisions are almost always correct based on that logic. Klaa-Keen ships are small and fast but have deceptively powerful shields and devastating long-range weapons. Their battle-tactics are based on the precise application of overwhelming firepower. It is rumoured that the Klaa-Keen use tiny suicide ships rather than defensive missiles because they are more resource efficient.