The Great Galactic War of the 02260s

During the Qajari-Laythian War of the 02260s, Terra learned just how powerful some of the races that prowled the great depths of space had become over the eons.  Drawn into the conflict because of continuing attacks on UECON colonies, Terra ultimately sided with the Qajari and the VanGuard and the HomeGuard became involved in fighting a series of delaying actions to impede the progress of the Laythians.

The enigmatic Qajari Brix were a constant, but distant presence in the known worlds during much of the 02240s and 02250s.  When their eternal conflict with the Laythians escalated to all-out war in the early 02260s the Terrans were drawn into the conflict and gained experience fighting with and against two of the Galaxy's most ancient races.

The dreaded Laythian Destroyers would rear their ugly mandibles during the mid-02200s, leaving behind destruction and death on a scale unimagined by Terrans despite their experiences in the Krayrath and Felinoid conflicts.

The Cronans began to once again become a problem for the known worlds, working with and against each of the major combatants (the Qajari and Laythians) to advance their own cause.  They would also present something of a thorn in the side of the InterStellar Federacy during the 02260s before their empire was overthrown by the revolt of their Zarlack slaves.

Cronan warships seemingly everywhere throughout the 02250s and 02260s, not only attacking and occupying worlds of their neighboring races, but occasionally intruding on Terran territories as well.

Following the end of that conflict, the Terrans became aware of a greater galactic authority known as the Galactic Assembly, headed by the Qajari and controlling roughly 2/3rds of the territory in humanity's galaxy.  This was a bit of a startling wake up call, but eventually led to UECON being incorporated into the regional InterStellar Federacy answering to the far-off Assembly. 

UECON ships worked side-by-side with their Solar Navy brethren during the heady days of the Terran Alliance and into the era of the InterStellar Federacy.  Shown here is an Atlas class superdreadnought, two Aries class destroyers, and three Helios class strike corvettes.

The ships of the Galactic Assembly were very ancient and extremely powerful.  Few races, other than the established species such as the Promedians, Qajari and Laythians, stood much chance standing up to one of these ships in combat, which possessed X-drives for traversing great distances across the Galaxy in a fraction of the time it would take less advanced powers such as the Terrans.



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The Diplomacy Stations

With the reunification of the two powerful Promedian factions, the representatives of UECON determined to take a dual-path approach to securing Terra's interests.  First, they began a feverish plan of rebuilding the gravely-decimated UECON HomeGuard fleet, with the ships of the VanGuard filling the void until that could be accomplished.  Second, they authorized funds to build a series of Diplomacy Stations to serve as regional headquarters for the various races of the region in an effort to minimize the risk of future conflicts.

The C-Series of small exploration scouts were based out of the various Diplomatic Stations, as well as traveling to and from Terra herself.  They would prove to be an indispensable scientific asset to humanity as they made planetfall on various worlds and brought back vital information about the Sirius Subsector.

The Saladin Diplomatic Station was one of several O'Neill-style deep space habitats built by Terran commercial and governmental interests during the 02250s.  Each station was built by a different member nation of UECON, in the case of Saladin the Medina League.

War with the Second Branch of Promedia

When the Promedians first began their interactions with Terran cultures they seemed to be hiding some facts about their civilization.  One vital piece of information was specifically neglected, that of a hostile offshoot of the Promedian civilization inhabiting the region of space around Chi Draconis.  A state of war had existed between the Promedians of the First Branch (those encountered by humanity during the 02160s) and the subgroup calling themselves the Second Branch.  The Promedian advisors (obviously representing the First Branch) to UECON thought it sufficient to warn Terran ships to stay away from the Chi Draconis region.  Unfortunately, as often happens the curious nature of mankind compelled an exploration ship from the VanGuard to venture into the forbidden region.  What followed was a cataclysmic war upon humanity that nearly ended in their utter destruction.  It was only the timely intervention of the newly elected leader of the First Branch that led to a stalemate and eventual reunification of the Promedian peoples.

The Second Branch of the Promedians were a subrace not to be trifled with.  Following the mission of a single Terran ship into their territories, the Second Branch launched a full-scale invasion of the Terran worlds and colonies.  It is likely they would have reduced humanity's presence in the Galaxy to almost nothing had not the First Branch intervened, ultimately leading to their coming back together and reuniting the homeworlds of the Promedians. 

UECON HomeGuard during the 02230-02250s

Tasked with not only defeating the T'Garans, but also maintaining peace in the local region of the Galaxy (with the assistance of the Promedians and the Kentaurans, of course) the UECON hierarchy determined to construct a fleet capable to standing up to the more established galactic powers they had only heard rumors of.  The result was the upgraded HomeGuard force which focused on security issues and left the exploratory duties to the VanGuard.  This new fleet, while built upon elements of various Solar Ecliptic-era national fleets, carved out a new identity as "Defenders of Terra" and her many expanding interests.  It was only when humanity ran headlong into the Second Branch of the Promedians (as this other segment of their ancient civilization was called) that Terra's governments realized how ill-equipped they really were for conflicts in deep space.

The UECON HomeGuard fleet was composed of upgraded versions of older designs alongside powerful new vessels constructed with lessons learned from the First Felinoid Conflict.  As such, they were immensely capable ships, but were not advanced enough to take on the Second Branch of the Promedians.  

The Venture, Legend of the Starlanes

Few starships of Terra's early history came close to establishing the legendary reputation of the Venture, known for exploits of both exploratory and military heroism.  The Venture repeatedly found itself at the right place at the right time to assist in Terra's march to dominance amongst the stars and built a storied career that would later be built upon by later classes of starships sharing her proud name.

The Venture was a light exploratory cruiser in its original incarnation, but was rebuilt into a more powerful warship in the 02270s.

The Venture was a legend in her own time and her exploits were still being recounted thousands of years later.

Over the time period of 02245 until 02400 several VanGuard starships carried the name Venture, and their crews performed acts of heroism that were still spoken of millennia later during the Technocracy era and beyond. (click for a larger picture)

The Exploratory Mission of the VanGuard

The early 02230s brought a new mission to the VanGuard following the end of the First Felinoid Conflict.  With new classes of ships entering service almost yearly, the VanGuard decided to put them to work exploring the local region surrounding the Terran sphere of influence.

VanGuard vessels served as troop transports during the Xenoroach Campaigns, as well as combat warships during the T'Garan Conflict, but their most important roles were as ships of exploration.  The Audy Murphy super-cruiser seen here once hauled Alpha Marines between Terran bases in the Solar System and several Xenoroach-infested worlds before serving as a line combatant against the T'Garans.  It wound down its service career in the 02250s ferrying xenobiologists between Ganymede Station and other worlds of the Sirius Sector.

 The era from 02230 until 02270 was a time marked by deep space voyages that would set the stage for later exploratory efforts that would continue until roughly 02400 and would be an era of high adventure exploring the Wonders of the Galaxy which would be reflected on in future time periods of human history.

The starship crews of the VanGuard embraced their new role as explorers, setting aside the military duties of the prior decades and venturing out into the great unknown.  This picture shows an old Terran Cruiser completing its last scientific mission and transferring responsibilities to one of the newer Exploratory Cruisers circa 02270.

The First Felinoid Incursion (the T'Garans)

The first of the four major "Felinoid Incursions", as they were known, took place in the late 02220s, when a fleet of T'Garan warships swept through the nearby region of the Galaxy where the rising prospects of Terra were starting to take hold.  In a series of ferocious battles, Terran ships fighting alongside Promedian and Kentauran vessels were able to rebuff the onslaught and force the Felinoids back into the depths of galactic space.  At this point, little was known about these xenoaliens who had a basic felinoid form and temperament, but also possessed impressive technology.  Following a second confrontation with the T'Garan fleet, the newly-formed VanGuard followed them to their base of operations and completely wiped out the entire flotilla around 02230.

Major efforts were undertaken by Terran engineers in order to convert existing UECON and Solar Navy vessels for combat against the powerful T'Garans.  The willingness of Terra to come to the aid of other planets in this time of great need for the known worlds set the stage for the later InterStellar Federacy.

The T'Garans were ferocious fighters, perhaps even more so than the Krayrath that Terra had faced nearly 40 years before.  Over time, they would become allies with Terra, but only after much blood was spilt between the two races.

The Formation of the Terran Alliance

After learning of the existence of the predatory T'Garans and their increasing attacks on nearby worlds, the United Earth Commonwealth of Nations (UECON) and Solar Navy set aside their differences to create the VanGuard Fleet to deal with any issues that the T'Garans might present to the worlds of humanity.

The newly formed Vanguard Fleet made use of starships from both the old Solar Navy and the UECON HomeGuard fleets.

While the more heavily-armed and armored warships of the UECON served as the core line combatants for the Vanguard, the swifter and more maneuverable Solar Navy ships became escorts and patrol vessels throughout human space.

Warships from the newly-minted Vanguard fleet on procession near the Alpha Centauri staging grounds of Aval-Ator.

The Independent Solar Navy of the early 02200s

Prior to the war with the felinoid T'Garans, the Solar Navy and UECON HomeGuard operated in vastly different, and at times in antagonistic ways.  While the UECON fleet focused on projecting power into other nearby unclaimed star systems and "showing the flag" for Terra, the Solar Navy served in two major roles: 1) protecting the outer colonies of the Solar System from the influence of UECON and 2) exploring other star system by way of the HyperGate Portal Network.

Solar Navy vessels tended to be faster and more agile than their UECON HomeGuard analogs, while carrying much less armor and more specialized weaponry like homing missiles and close-in beam systems.

UECON HomeGuard Fleet in the late 02100s

The United Earth Commonwealth of Nations faced two daunting situations at the close of the 02100s.  First, they had to contend with the growing might of the outsystem powers (the Western Alliance, made up of the NorAms, Crown States, Free Aries Colonies, and Jovian Republic) and their fleet, the fledgling Solar Navy.  Second, the threat posed by increasing incursions from the Cronians and Krayrath generated calls for the construction of a more powerful Terra-based fleet that could project power into nearby star systems.
The result was the UECON HomeGuard Fleet, built around a number of starship classes optimized for combat operations beyond the Solar System.

UECON Oceanstar class Colonial Support Cruisers were an increasingly common sight in the outer Solar System in the 02180s and 02190s as UECON attempted to project a presence in the region.

Technical readouts of two UECON HomeGuard ships in service during the second half of the 02100s.

Ships of the UECON HomeGuard Fleet worked in close proximity with vessels of other Terran and allied xenoalien powers as depicted here in a joint operation between Homeguard and Northern Bloc warships.  

The Solar Navy in the late 02100s

As the 02100s came to a close, the various political groups of Terra began to forge stronger bonds with each other in an attempt to reach out to the stars and to build starships for defending humanity from xenoalien threats, including the Krayrath incursions of the 02190s.  One result of this consolidation was the binding together of the outer Solar System settlements into the Solar Colonies and the creation of the powerful Solar Navy dominated by the offworld powers of Free Aries Colony and the Jovian Republic as well as the UECON TerraFleet.  The two major fleets of humanity would eventually combine together into a single force by the 02220s to face the incursions of the felinoid T'Garans and the ground forces of the Alpha Marines would wage war against the various xeno threats throughout the known worlds.

The Alpha Marines were a group of soldiers whose efforts grew out of the need for dedicated anti-xeno forces.  Using dropships escorted by vertifighter gunships to land troops on various planetary surfaces, the Alpha Marines were key to protecting Terra's interests throughout the known worlds during the 02100s and 02200s.

NorAm and Western Alliance ships served as the first combat ships of the Solar Navy, eventually being phased out in favor of the Terran Solar Cruisers. 

A size comparison of a Solar Navy Mk. III Solar Cruiser and an upgraded Yamato-built Mk. IV Solar Cruiser, both in common use at the turn of the century and the coming of the 2200s.

Another mission of the Solar Navy during this time period was providing ships and ground forces for dealing with the plague of Xenoroaches encountered on several distant colony worlds.  Whether they were the larger brutal tank-like Scarabs or the smaller deadly Rippers, the Xenoroaches were a threat that required the creation of a new Terran force, the Alpha Marines to contain.  

The Alpha Marines were a specialized ground force tasked with fighting against the Xenoroach threat on various worlds throughout the expanding human sphere of influence.  The fact that they were so successful culminated in their becoming the "Protectors of Terra" for the next several thousand years.

Xenoaliens of the Solar Ecliptic era

Zetan


The Zetan (singular and plural; Zetan is the name of the collective race, roughly equivalent to "Human" and "Humanity", although these beings are quite different from our traditional understanding of species) are a race of Inter-Dimensional beings closely related to the Prometheans that look a lot like Saucer Men from 20th Century Earth folklore. Other than their strange green skin and large, glowing, almond-shaped eyes structures they look very much like humans with a general hominid body layout, yet are different enough to unsettle most humans.

The Zetan had apparently visited Terra for thousands of years, but began to be seen on a larger scale during the 02000s and 02100s.  A shy and inquisitive race by nature, the Zetan avoided most direct contact with Humanity during this era.

Promedians

The Prometheans are a trader race that plies the transit routes of deep space. Little is known about their actual homeworld or even which part of the galaxy they originate from. It is known that they share an ancestry with the Zetans, who appear to be based in the Sirius star system. What is known is that at some point during the mid-21st century they showed up on the scene as the first alien race to contact humanity and assisted in the efforts to locate the ancient Hypergate of the Solar System. It has been noted that they appear to 'adopt' other races, caring for them and guiding their development as they have done with humans and perhaps other races. Whether they do this purely for altruistic reasons, or as part of their efforts to further their trading empire is unknown.

Promedian ships became common sights throughout the latter part of the 02100s.  An ancient and powerful race, the Promedians were divided into two major factions, split between their respective homeworlds of Chi Draconis and 40 Eridani.  

Kentaurans

The Kentaurans are humanoids that appear to be virtually identical to Humans living among the worlds of Alpha Centauri, essentially right next door to the Solar System in cosmic terms. In fact, there are known stories of Kentaurans and Humans interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. So it seems that the Alphan Imperium is populated by common Homo Sapiens, such as those found on Earth.
The chances of this being a random coincidence are astronomical. What is more likely is that one of the ancient Precursor races (perhaps the Preservers or the Archivists) moved a colony of ancient humans from Terra to Alpha Centauri in an effort to preserve a dying culture. The more established races, such as the Prometheans and the Zetans refuse to comment on the matter or even offer their own opinions on the question.
There are a few differences, however, between humans and the dominant race of Imperial Kentaurans (also called Alphans). The most glaring are the variances in skin coloration. Whereas most Earth humans have peach, brown, or yellow tints to their dermal matter, the Imperial Kentaurans have skin that is tinted red. Their hair is typically black with a few examples of shades of blue (seeming almost certainly to be a genetic modification by the Precursors).
Kentauran psychology is in general similar to that of Terran Humans, although many if not most of their sub-cultures have a matriarchal leadership. Major differences include adaptions apparently related to life in the Alpha Centauri system as Kentaurus Alpha (the sole terrestrial planet in the system) is located roughly 1.25 AUs away from Alpha Centauri A which gives it a year of 15 Earth months. For that reason, it is assumed, Kentaurans take the long view of things, preferring to approach existence with a detached sense of eventuality.

Following the initial conflict between Terra and Kentaurus the two human-descended worlds became quick trading partners and allies resulting in evolving political connections that would culminate in the founding of the Trans-Stellar Federacy in the 02260s.

 
While the Kentaurans are indeed a warlike hominid race, this does not mean they are not rationalists. They do not seek conflict with other races or even amongst themselves, an attitude which is perhaps assisted by their dominant matriarchal hierarchies. However, their homeworld has apparently been invaded by a mysterious alien race in the past, which has given them a heightened sense of paranoia about offworld species. Some elements of their culture seem to have close similarities with ancient Greek cultures on Earth, and it is theorized by some xenoarcheologists who have visited Kentaurus Alpha that a culture much like ancient Troy was the source of the original Kentauran colony sometime in the ancient past. The Kentaurans laugh at the notion and say rather that the stories of Ancient Troy are based on campaigns of their ancient starfaring ancestors to Earth to kidnap human females for royal harems.

The Terrans fought a war against the Kentaurans in the 02160s following the exploitation of a moon in the Alpha Centauri system by a major Terran corporation.  In the end, the two sides made peace leading to the foundation of a later partnership between the UECON governments and Kentauran planetary federations.

Orbital Settlements in the 02100s

The constructs that orbit various planets and moons of the Solar System
are home to millions of people by the midpoint of the Solar Ecliptic era. Most
of the inhabitants of these colonies are refugees from Earth who left during the
various bouts of warfare experienced on the home world, and most have
forged a new identity aboard their new homes.

By the mid-02100s the population of the various orbital colonies had exploded to rival the colonies of several of the outsystem moons. 

The culture of these settlements tends to be a high-tech mix of artisan work
and scientific experimentation. The culture aboard these stations runs
towards the freewheeling with many of the strictures of Earth-side society
removed. Commerce is mostly one of service and small-scale manufacturing,
in support of the various military and commercial fleets operating in space.
Some of these stations have begun constructing their own vessel designs
and even to begin considering projection of their own power. This
development would appear to have a possible influence on human culture as
mankind gears up to leave the Solar System for the nearby stars.
Colonists from these settlements can come from several quite different backgrounds.
For example,  Lagrangia (the orbital established at L5 between Earth and Luna) is an idyllic environment where inhabitants live surrounded by every luxury available.
However, the medical station over Venus is something of a slum, despite offering
some of the best care in the Solar System.

The Venus station was operated by agencies from both the Medina League and Northern Bloc, but over time became something of a dumping ground for undesirables. 

Solar Clippers in the 02100s

The "Solar Clippers" were a familiar site throughout the 2100s, but became a niche ship type with the improvements of the antimatter drive during the latter part of the 2190s. 

For those needing to travel between planets of the inner Solar System or
those seeking inexpensive shipping methods but not in a hurry there is
one primary option available during the time period of Solar Ecliptic.
The Tsiolkovsky-Tsander Solar Sail is a proprietary construct of Luna, and has
come into common use by the first decade of the 02100s. These ships use
massive sails made of thin but immensely strong membranes able to
"ride" the sunlight currents of the gentle solar wind. In addition to the
gargantuan sails these ships also consist of a small spaceboat attached
to the larger sails by flex-rigging that look a lot like threads in a spiderweb.
The spaceboats typically contain a small temperature-constant cabin
where the spacer crew can adjust the rigging, enter course corrections, and
monitor the equipment. They do have a fairly high initial construction cost but
are much more economical to operate than traditional torch or fusion vessels.

Ships of Terra as well as the outer planets made use of the currents and flows of the Solar Wind projected from the star at the heart of the Solar System. 

The Solar System during the 02100s-Solar Ecliptic era

The Solar System of the 02100-02200 era was a setting fraught with danger and opportunity. The nation-state alliances of Earth had taken their conflicts with them into space. The discovery of the Tannhauser gate near the orbit of Jupiter opened the nearest stars for exploration, but exposed humanity to great danger as well. And the fledgling outer Solar System colonies were already calling for independence by the 02170s.

So what was a spacer to do during the Solar Ecliptic era? Well, with the transition to space and the first steps out into the unknown came a chance for a new beginning. People with a regrettable personal history could start over in the depths of the Solar System, where talent and ability mattered much more than a person's background or past failings. Getting passage on a fast spaceship might take some effort, but if a spacer was willing to take a slower passage aboard a transport or sailship the odds for getting to a new life improved greatly.

The major powers of the Solar System competed constantly for the best places to plant their colonies. During much of this period, Europa appeared as the dominant power, but other supernations achieved times of relative success as well. The Panasian Sphere, Crown States, NorAm/Western Alliance,Yamato Corporate and African Union all experienced spans (albeit brief in some cases) of superiority over the other powers and all were able to plant colonies throughout the inner and outer planets during this era.

The United Colonies dispatched a two-vessel flotilla to the Alpha Centauri system during the late 02150s to settle a score with a xenoalien settlement that had killed numerous Terrans during corporate activities on their world.  The UC Solar Navy forces bombarded the planet from orbit, which turned out to be of great importance to one of the a Kentauran religious sects thus leading to the Terran-Kentauran War of the 02160s.

  As travel times shortened from decade to decade, the cultures of the Solar System became more homogenized and this would ultimately provide the foundation for the eventual development of the United Earth Commonwealth of Nations on Terra and the Solar Colonies (also known as the United Colonies) in the outer Solar System. UECON and her chief rival the Solar Navy would be responsible for the exploration and settling of many local star systems, and the two of them would eventually combine to become the major human power of the 02200s and 02300s.

With the Declaration of the United Solar Colonies in 02176 the new Solar Navy (made up of vessels from the NorAm Alliance, Crown States, New Masada, and the African Union) began branching out from both Free Aries Colony on Mars and the Jovian moon system.  Shown here are two Solar Navy colonial cruisers getting underway.

Uncharted Regions


Much of the Solar System was still somewhat unknown during the 02100s. Areas within the Kuiper Belt, the Scattered Disc and beyond the Pluto-Charon region were the location of numerous scientific missions with the hope of greater discoveries being made. And with the potential for identifying additional alien artifacts from the race that built the Tannhauser Gate, the competition in those regions was furious.

The EV-2001 Class of exploration craft played a key role in the exploration of the outer planets during the late 2000s and much of the 2100s. 

Tannhäuser Transfer Station in the AD 02100: Solar Ecliptic era

Tannhäuser Transfer Station was the sole access to interstellar space from the Solar System during the early 02100s. An artifact of one of the ancient Precursor races, it was this structure which opened up the Terran corner of the galaxy for transport, communications and commerce.

NorAm vessels were a significant presence in the Jovian planetary system, prowling the various orbital paths of the region on watch for the merchant ships that quickly assumed the roles of pirates and privateers.

Merchant ships of the extrasolar powers (such as the Kentauran freighter pictured here) began to become familiar sites during the mid- to late- 02100s as the Tannhauser Gate made transit between the Solar System and other worlds much more common. 

Using advanced quantum engineering principles, the Tannhauser HyperGate maintained a singularity distortion in space-time that connected two distant points in the universe (also known as a wormhole or Einstein-Rosen Bridge) so that starships could travel in a fraction of the time that later OverLight Drives would allow. Since other spacial dimensions were basically featureless, an advanced beacon network was set up to provide a practical means of navigating the void.

Ganymede Station became an important location in the 02170s for travelers both coming into the Solar System and those heading out to the stars.  This base station's presence grew out of an initial cooperative terraforming effort between the New Masada Colony on Amalthea, the NorAm corporations mining Io, and the expansive Indo-African Union presence on Callisto.

Originally created in the "Golden Age of Invention", Stargate technology was unknown after the fall of the Old Empire and the 1,000 years of the Barbaric Dark Ages, and could no longer be reproduced, thus requiring that the access jump points must be maintained open at all times.

UECON Stellar Colonization Service in ASTRAL EMPIRES AD 2100-Solar Ecliptic

The Stellar Colonization Service of UECON was originally the deep-space exploratory arm of the Planetary Trade Authority (and later the United Earth Commonwealth of Nations). Maintained by the World Council as the natural outgrowth of the Planetary Trade Authority, the SCS was first tasked with exploration of the far reaches of the Solar System and eventually began to operate in nearby star systems setting up infrastructure for eventual colonization efforts.

UECON vessels served as peacekeeping ships throughout the Solar System, as well as in support of interstellar missions to nearby systems. 

The first ships operated by the SCS were inherited from the PTA, mostly small specialized scientific craft dedicated to exploring the expanding realm of Human space. However, when the need arose for interstellar exploration craft that also carried a decent armament it was the SCS that came to the forefront. Called the "Pathfinder Service" during the late 02100s, the UECON SCS would eventually evolve into a much more powerful force by the middle of the next century.

The Charger class scoutships ventured far and wide to explore nearby planetary systems by way of the Tannhauser Gate located in Jupiter orbit. 

In addition to the smaller scoutships, such as those of the Charger class, the SCS sent out a large combination generation/transit-capable vessel called the Polaris which was believed lost with all hands in the early 02110s.

Some evidence suggests that the missing Polaris explorer vessel became stranded on the edge of a black hole, but whether this truly is what happened or merely idle conjecture remains unknown.

ASTRAL EMPIRES: AD 02100-Wars of the Solar Ecliptic

 ASTRAL EMPIRES: AD 02100-Wars of the Solar Ecliptic is the era in which Terran Humanity takes its first cautious steps into the heavens, with super-nations such as Pax Europa, the Panasian Sphere, Yamato Corporate, Crown States, NorAm Confederation, the Free Aries Colonies, New Masada, Medina League, the African Federation, and others jockeying amongst themselves to conquer the Solar System. Along with the oversight of the Solar Navy and UECON (United Earth Commonwealth of Nations) directing the colonization efforts of the Solar System, the individual mega-states vie for dominance of Humanity's home system.

The United Earth World Council (sometimes referred to as the Reunited Nations) built UESC Unitas, the first true independently operating space-going warship in the 02050s.  She would be first in a Terran design lineage that would last for nearly 50,000 years.

The "Pax Europa" as it was called became the greatest of the mega-states during 02100s, dominating the politics of the United Earth Commonwealth of Nations and spreading its influence throughout the Solar System.

Ships of the Panasian Sphere became a common sight throughout the Solar System during the Wars of the Solar Ecliptic, further capitalizing on the breakthroughs experienced by the Eastern Powers during the 02000s.

As the 02100s began to unfold, the power of Yamato Corporate became apparent, and it was this massive economic state that contributed much to the settling of worlds outside of the Solar System.  

The Northern Bloc experienced massive devastation during the wars of the mid-02000s but through occasional opportunities of cooperation with Pax Europa it was able to regain some of the political and military presence it had once enjoyed.

Despite not having the population or economic bases enjoyed by the Pax Europa and Panasian Spheres, the Crown States grew into a legitimate power of their own with a philosophy hearkening back to the days of the old British Commonwealth.

Although having lost much of their prestige and power during the mid 02000s, the Confederation based in North America still played a major role in settling the Solar System, especially with the establishment of bases on Mars.

Surprisingly to those who have followed the history of its member nations, the African Union of the 02100s tended to be the most stable of the various powers during this era, playing a key part in both colonizing the Solar System as well as reaching to nearby stars.