THE 2nd SPACE RACE
2026 – China establishes the first base on the moon. Cramped and with nothing but the most basic life support systems, Hui Jia (Grey Home) nevertheless sets off a 2nd Space Race as the US, Russia, Brazil and India race to catch up and establish their own bases on the moon.
2029 – The Americans establish their own base, Freedom, at the site of the Apollo 11 landing. Nicknamed “Plymouth Rock” by the crew it becomes an important stepping stone for further plans to beat the Chinese by establishing a US base on Mars. Having lost the moon once again, the Russians abandon pans for a lunar base and refocus all their energy into being the first nation on Mars.
2031 – In order to overcome the massive amount of technological and economical wealth possessed by the three major world powers, Brazil and India team up to build the last of the major moon bases, Vishvakarman, (Hindu God of engineering) with major funding from the Middle Eastern nations. With the use of small probes, asteroid mining becomes commonplace, competitive and lucrative. The new industry fuels the slumping global economy with a massive influx of exotic rare earth elements that leads to a massive amount of economic growth. However, tensions rise among the world powers as space becomes crowded and increasingly divided. All sides believe Mars is within their reach.
2033 – Mars truly becomes the Red Planet as the Russians are the first to land and create a permanent base followed by the Chinese only fourteen days later. The Russian base of Laika and the Chinese Hong Jia (Red Home) are built relatively close to each other in the most habitable areas of Mars near the polar ice caps. Last but not least, the US establishes its own base, Endeavor, before the end of the year in the shadow of Olympus Mons.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPACE TRAVEL
2034 – Thanks to the technological leaps made during the race to Mars, the development of powerful new engines and spacecraft make space travel quick and relatively efficient. A trip from Earth to the Moon takes hours. A few days is all it takes to get from Earth to Mars.
Large privately owned manufacturing ships stationed outside the asteroid belt and operating in zero gravity produce miracle materials like foam steel and nanotube composite aluminum in abundance. Hundreds of times stronger than carbon fiber they revolutionize the construction of everything from buildings, bridges, cars, powerplants, drones, and spacecraft. Though much of the resources are brought in by others, it can be argued that India, Brazil and the Middle Eastern nations benefit the most as the influx of cheap materials fuels their technological research and development programs. All the benefits without few of the costs.
More and more families leave for Mars at a second chance towards a new life and as a way to escape the Earth’s growing overpopulation problems. Space tourism increases. Powerful space based telescopes discover thousands of potentially habitable yet distant planets throughout the galaxy as humanity’s understanding of space increases exponentially.
2043 – Mars increasingly becomes an industrial powerhouse, especially for the Russians and Chinese who have invested heavily in it. Thanks to it’s location near the asteroid belt, it becomes a hub for the mining and space based companies who operate nearby. Early terraforming begins as Mars sees an increase in it’s population and the cities to support it’s growing numbers.
Unfortunately, the competition among the mining companies turns deadly during the Vesta Tragedy, when angry miners from the SpaceDust Mining Group sent a derelict ore hauler on a collision course with the Giuseppi Piazzi, an incoming space liner, mistaken for “rock jumpers”. 129 passengers are killed in the crash, in what becomes the greatest space accident in history. Soon after, all the major space powers and corporations begin to arm amid the increasing tension, officially nullifying the Outer Space Treaty of 1967’s ban on weapons in space.
2045 – Small isolated “rock wars” involving asteroid and space based manufacturing companies become common and threaten to drag the major space powers into war to protect their interests. The frequent wars disrupt the solar economy and any thought of expansion beyond Mars.
2046 – Plausible deniability leads to the widespread use of many private mercenary companies (PMCs) by the US, Russians and Chinese to influence the outcomes of the escalating rock wars. The United Nations turns a blind eye to the the conflicts as they are outside Earth and as many argue, beyond the organization’s reach. To cement their growing ties, the newly formed Indian, Brazilian and Middle Eastern Alliance (BRIMEA) largely stays out of the conflict to focus it’s energy and resources into developing advanced technologies.
2047 – Cold fusion is successfully developed by the BRIMEA. A more efficient and stable form of nuclear fusion, small cold fusion reactors produce safe power many magnitudes greater than even the biggest nuclear power plants of the day. Kept a closely guarded secret at first, the plans are soon obtained by hackers and proliferated through the internet.
THE SOLAR WAR
2048 – A large supply of ore headed to the American refineries on Mars is ambushed and destroyed en route by unmarked ships. Unmarked, except for one with Chinese characters caught on camera by a nearby deep observation satellite. The US responds by sending a large flight of automated drones supported by marines to capture a lightly defended Chinese military base on Mars’s Phobos moon, that they believe the attack originated from. But Chinese cyber warriors are able to reprogram the American drones to turn on the troops landing on Phobos, killing nearly 600 in social media dubs “Neo Valentines Day Massacre.” The next day, the US declares war on China who in return declares war on the US. Before the week is over the Russians will have joined on the side of the Chinese. Outnumbered and isolated, the forces stationed at Endeavour ask for terms in what is the biggest American military surrender since the Philippines nearly 100 years before.
The Solar War begins.
2049 – In an attempt to retake Endeavour, the US once again launches an invasion of Phobos. Heavily reliant on drones for their military, it’s hoped an array of security upgrades rushed into service will protect them from further cyber attacks. Once again, Chinese and Russian cyber warriors are able to hijack American drones and turn the invasion into a disaster bigger than the First Battle of Phobos.
2050 – A phony war settles in on Earth as all sides work to keep the conflict in space while fighting small engagements on the moons of each planet.
2051 – Afraid the tides of war are turning against them, the Americans launch a desperate assault on the Moon at the Battle of Tycho Crater. Identifying that Russian and Chinese military strength was concentrated on Mars, full control of the Moon could create an orbiting shield to keep any attacks at bay and a wall to keep people on Earth from leaving. It’s during this battle that the US deploys a secret weapon for the first time. Efreets.
Bipedal war machines, the efreets were developed largely by BRIMEA scientists who exchanged their closely guarded plans to the Americans for their research on faster than light propulsion. Practically immune to hacking since they have pilots and have advanced datalink encryption AI, the small force of efreets were able to clear the Moon within 24 hours.
The Battle of Tycho Crater is a pivotal battle in the Solar War. With complete control of the Moon now in American hands, it becomes nearly impossible for Russian and Chinese forces on Mars to protect their populations or assets on Earth. Forced to withdraw and consolidate on Mars, the Chinese and Russians merge to form an alliance called the Crimson Pact, though its signing is a mere formality at the time of the Laika Conference. Soon, they are able to reverse engineer and design their own efreets through data theft.
2052 – A red line has been drawn in space between the Earth and Mars as The Solar War settles into a stalemate. Both sides are preoccupied in creating stabilization after the upheavals of the previous year. The Crimson Pact of Mars begins a crash course 20 year plan to accelerate the terraforming of Mars and rebuild the assets lost on Earth. This is counterbalanced with the United States and their allies in the newly formed United Nations of Earth fighting to maintain control of the large populations left behind after the Chinese and Russian governments fell.
2059 – With the war taking a toll on it’s economy, the US heavily pressures BRIMEA, now the dominant technological power, to join the UNE. When the BRIMEA refuses, the UNE responds with major invasions against their cities and strongholds. Their independence nearly lost, the remaining BRIMEA forces evacuate on huge Samsara (Hindu cycle of life and rebirth) Ark ships built in secret. Capable of faster than light travel thanks to perfecting of the Bead Drive technology gained from the Americans, the Samsara ships escape into orbit and simply disappear in a flash of brilliant light.
2060 – With the majority of the BRIMEA gone, the UNE is pushed to the breaking point as it finds itself policing a planet full of discontent and the abandoned while trying to find and secure the hidden BRIMEA laboratories hidden across the Earth before Crimson Pact incursions can do the same.
REDLINE BEGINS!