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Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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Human Time Line 3001-3050 Fourth Age
Lords of Time & Space
Fourth Age Glossary (2950-3200)
3001 On the one thousandth anniversary of von Braun’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey series, President Galloway of the United Federation of Planets (UFP) held an impressive celebration in memory of the author. A domed museum had been built on Europa around the von Braun monolith memorial commissioned by Arthur C. Clarke 1 000 years ago to this day. Thousands of visitors passed through the museum every day. Apart from spectacular views of Jupiter, memorabilia from Earth’s Twentieth & Twenty First centuries filled the dome. The museum was rated in the top 10 of places to see when in Earth’s Solar System. The book series had become classics when they were written. Although history would prove von Braun’s vision wrong, even today they nonetheless held much promise for the future. Arguments, however, had broken out in the literature community whether von Braun was really their author. Just as controversy had constantly plagued many of Shakespeare’s plays, so too did debate begin over the 2001: A Space Odyssey series. Several leading academics claimed that it was Arthur C. Clarke that had penned the classic four book series. Although most evidence indicated the contrary, literary scholars continued to argue that the style of the writing matched many of Clarke’s works & not von Braun’s earlier writings. Von Braun’s supporters suggested that these Clarke supporters had a hidden agenda. It was well documented by historians that von Braun was linked with a hideous human government known as the Nazis. In fact it was for this very reason that von Braun lost out to Clarke when the International Space Agency was organised 1 000 odd years ago. Again, due to Clarke’s position & von Braun’s past, Clarke became the first General-Secretary of the Earth Commonwealth. These latest attacks, von Braun’s supporters claimed, was simply to write von Braun out of Human history & replace him with the "Father of the Second Age" Clarke. These arguments would continue unabated for centuries to follow. 3002 Next Generation Warships (NGW) continued with their testing of the Millennium Drive. George Mills theories continued to concern many. Needless to say, it was not his space warp drive work that was a problem: it was the time drive revelations that concerned one & all. NGW decided to develop two different engines. The first, which would become public, was deliberately re-engineered in order to ensure time travel was impossible. Although the space distance performance was reduced, it was still a significant improvement over the current Magnetic Warp Speed Drive (MWSD) technology currently available. Called Millennium Drive One (MDO), it was released for military & exploration service. Soon United Defence Force (UDF) & United Planetary Explorations (UPX) ships were benefiting from the new drive. The Multi-purpose Millennium Drive (MMD) remained hidden under the most secret conditions. No one really knew what to do with it. After President Galloway first learnt of the capabilities of the MMD, he had put a halt to all time travel experiments with the drive. More research would have to be conducted before anyone was permitted to start playing with time travel. The Joint Chiefs shared this concern & more. They considered it a logical consequence that other civilisations may have time travel already. There was no current defence against such technology. With this information they informed an alarmed President. Considering it was an election year, even though Galloway was not running, it was not hard to convince him that something was required. Actually it was more about convincing the Vice-President Marion Chen as she was running for President. NGW was approached to develop some form of detection technology in order to warn of any possible attack upon UFP’s past. Life just became more complicated. The Presidential elections were, once again, a rather messy affair. Allegations of "the Human’s Presidential Club" were raised again. The result this time, however, was not what the leading non-human candidate, Sewa Hish from Hippa, was wanting. The Humans had tolerated enough of these political games & voted as a block for Marion Chen. Even the Drey, who had never had a President of the UFP, voted for Chen. It seemed many had had enough of the bickering & dirty politics even though another Earth candidate became President. 3003 In the first year of Chen’s presidency, her Vice-President Marcus Wells died suddenly of a heart attack. He was 61. Sadly, even with all the medical technology enjoyed by the UFP, nothing can help you when camping in the South American jungles at great distance from the nearest hospital. Relatives, though, were not too upset. They declared that he had died enjoying what he loved best. In an act of reconciliation, President Chen offered the Vice-Presidency to Sewa Hish. He graciously accepted her offer. NGW was given permission to begin "simulated" testing into the time travel aspects of the MMD. Although no actual time travel was permitted, computer simulators could be employed to reproduce the probable conditions time travel would produce. George Mills & his team had a good idea of what would happen, yet no one really knew for certain. President Chen wanted guarantees that everything, and she meant everything, would be safe if time travel occurred. Like her predecessor, she impressed upon NGW the need for some time detection technology be completed before time travel would occur. 3004 It did not take long for NGW to come up with what the President wanted. Mills’ team, by incorporating what they already knew about the MMD with the latest version of Indorra, got some encouraging results. Simply called Tindorra (Time-version Intelligent Network Of Radioactive Re-Analysis), the system worked similarly to the space version. Just like with Indorra, the time version was able to track the magnetic signatures of ships using their MMD engines. Although the data so far discovered by Tindorra was encouraging, it still required much more work. It appeared, though, that it would work. 3005 The preliminary Tindorra reports were startling. NGW, keen to get on with MMD development, eagerly reported their findings to President Chen. Although they did not mention that a lot of speculation was involved with their initial report, what they could actually prove was very clear. Time travel was occurring. Although the amount of time journeys were unknown, there appeared to be numerous time faring civilisations. From the analysis of the signatures of the magnetic fields, UPF ships were clearly evident. The Tindorra technology, still in its infancy, could not however locate where & when these time journeys were taking place. Now informed of this information, Chen authorised further development of NGW’s MMD. All safety programs had to be adhered to & any "short-cuts" where banned. Heavy penalties would result if even the most basic safety regulation was violated. Furthermore, testing would only take place at NGW Millennium. Anywhere else, especially on NGW D1 or near Earth, would be met with a charge of Treason leading to the Death Penalty. 3006 UPX released the latest map of the UFP. Like previously, although the borders included established settled areas, numerous arbitrary lines connected these regions. President Chen, referring to President Roosevelt’s comment in 2152 of the first map of the UFP, again called it "The Bird of Freedom". When the Blurgiss right wing politician Bayus Resh saw the map for the first time, he sarcastically said it looked like an old Human bomber. NGW successfully conducted its first test of the MMD. Although the prototype only went back in time by a few hours, the data collected from the test confirmed the results from the simulators. Importantly, there were no changes in the time line. Aboard the prototype, a significant amount of data was included covering all events down to minute detail of the previous few days leading up to the test. This data was compared & everything was identical. More tests followed with the same results. Although UFP bases had been established outside of the Federation, these had been non-military in nature (except for NGW Millennium). These, apart from the occasional mining, economic or research base, were mostly archaeological projects operated by UPX. Essence, of cause, was the most successful of these, but exploration had continued on others. Minimum equipment, however, had been deployed elsewhere due to the extensive operations on Essence. One such operation, some 100 light years rimward of Avakous Sector, on a planet called Nazzer had just been established. Nazzer, like the bulk of the "Ancients" planets, revealed few of its secrets. Dating had indicated that it, like Essence, was at least 1 million years abandoned. Like with the other planets, no answers were found why Nazzer’s inhabitants had left. Unlike the other planets, however, UPX collected evidence that someone else had collected Nazzer’s artefacts a centuries ago. Actually it was all of the artefacts, but one. After months of searching, UPX finally come across what appeared to be a communication device. Needless to say, the UPX research people were keen to examine it. 3007 It was the UDF Indorra station on Avakous that first saw it. Ten ships were detected coming from an uncharted area out from the rim. Although the course of these ships indicated that Avakous, or UFP territory, was not their target, the UDF nonetheless went on alert. No civilisation, until now, had ever been identified out this way & now all of a sudden there was. Further analysis of the data gave conflicting conclusions, but it appeared that Nazzer was their target. UPX was warned accordingly. The UPX team were excited by the UDF information. It would mean that they would have the opportunity to conduct a First Contact operation; the first in well over 300 years. The UPX La Perouse, a Clarke class ship, began sending greeting signals while the ship’s powerful scanners began to search for the on coming ships. UDF was concerned, but it had no chance of sending anything to defend the UPX personnel if something went wrong. UPX, however, were not overly concerned. The ten ships emerged from warp & approached Nazzer. The La Perouse scanners got a good lock on them & began analysis. The initial results were amazing, but not overly alarming. The ship construction was unknown. Furthermore, it appeared that the hull material was organic. More analysis also indicated that the ship’s configuration was military. Their "snow flake" type design also hinted an evil appearance. La Perouse continued to signal greeting & friendship messages. There was no reply. Captain Gullwinni became concerned. He ordered that all sensor information be relayed to both the UPX ground station on the planet below & Avakous. Still the ten ships came on in silence. When five of the vessels broke off & descended for the surface, Gullwinni ordered the La Perouse weapons online. Although the La Perouse weapons were not as powerful as UDF ships, they nonetheless demanded respect. This, however, was his downfall. The five "snow flake" ships opened fire with extremely powerful weapons. The La Perouse was literally sliced apart before it could defend itself. True to form as an explorer, though, Gullwinni flash downloaded all ship’s data just a seconds before his death. The information, sent to Avakous, would ensure that not only this encounter would be saved, but all ship’s data would not be lost. UDF & UPX personnel on Avakous were horrified. The 12th Fleet, stationed in Avakous Sector, immediately sent a task force to Nazzer. Alas, due to the fact that the 12th Fleet had not been refitted with the new MDO engines, it would take about three weeks to travel the 100 light years. President Chen, when hearing of the Nazzer disaster, demanded answers. UDF would get on with it immediately. Nazzer soon became an election issue & President Chen made it clear that those murdered would be avenged. This became even more so a battle cry when the UDF task force arrived at Nazzer finding the UPX planetary base destroyed. There were no survivors. Although Chen was re-elected, the results were extremely close. The Lyonies candidate Bein Lisshor was her main rival & expressed caution. His argument was strong, citing the causes of the Zargah War. Many, likewise agreed with him. In fact if another popular peace candidate, Noel Wassiacam of Pheonix, had not run, Bein Lisshor would have won. 3008 True to her word, President Chen ordered the UDF to find out who had attacked the UPX expedition to Nazzer. The "Gallant" 2nd Fleet was dispatched the Nazzer to begin investigations. Although the "Gallant" 2nd was not the most powerful in the UDF, it did contain a Sparta class ship not to mention a fully refitted ship list. Then entire fleet, thanks to the MDO upgrade, could out run & out fight anything else known. The was, without question, required considering the conclusions learnt from the data supplied by the doomed La Perouse. NGW had been employed to analyse the data. Mills’ team had been included in the work. It was not long before it was identified that the unknown aliens also shared similar, if not more advanced, technology to the UFP. Certainly the MDO signature was identified. The "snow flake" ships were clear driven by this engine technology. The technology that really alarmed everyone, was the fact that the alien’s ships where biologic in their construction. This had never been encountered before. Although the idea had been raised several times within the closed circles of NGW, nothing had come close to a successful experiment. Mills’ team, even though distracted by the Nazzer investigations, continued with their development of the MMD. The latest tests again were successful. Although only involving a small ship this time, and without a live crew, the journeys of the test ship back in time were even more successful than pervious years. The latest test witnessed the test ship successfully go back 1 000 years & return with no effects. Again data was compared between that on the ship & that at the base. No changes had occurred in the time continuum. George Mills recommended that next year a living crew conduct the next test pending recommendation for certification for use. Needless to say, usage of the MMD would be extensively restricted. 3009 The 2nd Fleet continued to patrol the space around Nazzer. There was no contact with the aliens. UPX had returned to the planet, but unlike before, they were here to help out the UDF. It had been centuries since UPX had set up a BigEar station. Now they had good motivation. It was a pity that this motivation was not due to curiosity, like the old days, but for revenge. From Avakous, the UDF launched various spy probes in the general direction from where the aliens had come from. Over a distance of 150 light years they continued before contact was made. None of the probes lasted long, however, as they were intercepted & destroyed. Vital data, albeit limited, did return to the UDF at Nazzer. Amongst the data were communication signals. All of this was immediately pasted onto the UDF Athens. One of the numerous benefits that were incorporated into the Sparta class, apart from the weapons arrays & defensive systems, were the various defence technology developed over the centuries. Chief amongst this was Indorra, BigMouth, & Enigma2. This ensured that the "Gallant" 2nd did not have to rely upon planetary bases in order to gather direction & communication intelligence. The Athens immediately ran all of the spy probe information through everything. Although nothing much new was learnt, at least the aliens had a name: the Nazzernich. Whether they were the original inhabitants of Nazzer was unknown, but they certainly were prepared to defend the planet. President Chen was informed of the continuous events at Nazzer. Clearly the
Nazzernich were hostile. Memories, too, of the causes of the Zargah War were
quickly raised & the President was in a quandary. Do they try to make contact,
even physically, keep the current status quo, or withdraw to UFP territory? The
final decision was to wait & see what happens next. That did not stop, however,
reinforcements being sent to Nazzer. The original UDF Sparta was among
these reinforcements. The MMD completed all of its pre-production trials successfully. NGW told the UFP government that there had been no change in the time continuum & they could guarantee that the MMD was thus safe. They did, however, warn that interference could occur if a ship & its crew did go back to deliberately alter the past. UFP, as a result, prepared strict guide lines for time travel. Only a handful of trusted personnel would ever crew the time ships. And these ships & missions would be policed by the UDF. The UFP gave permission for a limited number of ships to be constructed by both the UDF & UPX. UPX would be charged with exploration & research of an important scientific nature, while the UDF would ensure that nothing would go wrong. Just as importantly, the UDF would ensure that none of the UPF’s enemies, whether past or present, could go back to interfere with the time continuum of the UFP. The situation at Nazzer remained stable. Stable, that is, until NGW turned up & started playing with the "communication" devise that UPX had stumbled across in 3006. After numerous tests, a number of things became clear. It appeared to be, not only a device capable of sending signals at high speeds somewhat akin to BigMouth, but it also appeared to have capabilities similar to Indorra. At approximately the same time as NGW was reporting its conclusions, Indorra on both the Sparta & Athens, identified a large number of signals coming from Nazzernich territory. When President Chen was informed of the situation at Nazzer, she immediately ordered the 2nd Fleet to withdraw to UFP territory & defend Avakous Sector. The 12th Fleet, likewise, was put on alert. Chen’s orders, though, demanded that all UDF ships not to engage. All avenues of peace must be employed. The UDF only had permission to fire if fired upon. No one wanted another disastrous Zargah War. 3011 The Nazzernich continued on. Indorra noticed that the Nazzernich fleet, numbering about 500 vessels, had stopped briefly at Nazzer, then followed to course of the 2nd Fleet. The 12th Fleet left Avakous to cover the other three inhabited planets in the Sector, while the 2nd Fleet patrolled the space around the main planet. The two Sparta class ships patrolled with their cloaks fully engaged, thus hidden from the Nazzernich. UPX sent constant signals of friendship to the Nazzernich. Everything, from apologies to terms of compensation of trespass or damage, was also included in the messages. Communication & language, unlike with the Zargah, were not a problem this time as UPX & UDF had learnt the Nazzernich language & communication channels thanks to Enigma2. Still the Nazzernich came on in silence. When the Nazzernich crossed the border, the entire UDF went on alert. The 5th Fleet at Lyonies & the 6th Fleet at Fin both readied themselves in their defensive positions. The 9th Fleet was dispatched from NGW D1 to Avakous sector. Reserves across the UPF were called up. It appeared that the UFP had a new, dangerous & powerful enemy. President Chen, & billions of others, held their breaths. The Nazzernich fleet jumped into Avakous space & immediately formed up. The "Gallant" 2nd held its fire as per the Presidential orders. The two Sparta class remained hidden. The Avakous approached without concern. Although they must have known of the huge ship’s existence, they certainly did not concern themselves with them. Then again they had 500 ships against 223 of the UDF 2nd Fleet. Friendship messages, now combined with warnings, continued to be sent to the oncoming Nazzernich. Again these were contemptuously ignored as they came well into weapon’s range. Then when the Nazzernich saw fit, they opened fire. The weapon’s destruction was horrific. The UDF frigate/destroyer screen was decimated, yet their sacrifice gave the battleships a few precious seconds warning. BlackStar Beams were let loose, as Slicer Beams replied. As Nazzernich ships were vaporised, UDF ships were cut apart. Ships on both sides were destroyed at an alarming rate. Fundamentally, however, the Nazzernich had many more. As the battle began to go against the 2nd Fleet, the Athens & Sparta appeared. As they did, their BlackStar Beam arrays opened fire with dreadful effect. The rest of the 2nd withdrew to reform nearer to Avakous. This would ensure support from the planet’s defence satellites. The Nazzernich, however, showed little shock at the sudden appearance of the two enormous ships. Slicer Beams soon started cutting into both ships. In fact it was the UDF who were shocked - not the Nazzernich. For the first time, a Sparta class ship was taking serious damage. The Athens was the first in trouble. Warning signals of a core breach indicated the dreadful damage the ship was taking. Although she had already taken out 78 of the enemy, the Athens was about to explode. In order to save the crew, the captain decided to vent the core. It would mean the end of the ship, but 3 500 crew members would hopefully survive. The Athens thus literally blew her top. The resulted venting allowed the mini-sun deep in the ship’s centre, to release its enormous amount of energy safely into space. The pressure caused by the venting pushed the Athens away & clear of the battlefield. She drifted off into space defenceless. The rest of the 2nd Fleet, seeing this, counter attacked to cover the Athens retreat. The crew was saved. The Sparta, like the Athens, suffered horrendous damage. Admiral Villenueve quickly summed up the situation. Noting that the Nazzernich fleet was still larger than his, & with both the Athens & Sparta soon to be out of the battle, he had little choice. When the warning alarms of a core breach could no longer be ignored, he gave his last order: "The Sparta will advance & meet the enemy line". Her crew knew exactly what he ordered. Some cried; many where scared. All, however, knew their duty. The rest of the fleet watched as the Sparta advanced. Parts of the ship exploded & flew off in chaotic directions. By the time the ship hit the Nazzernich line, even her BlackStar Beam arrays had ceased to function. Without warning the Sparta exploded. The powerful magnetic fields that held the mini-sun in place finally gave way. The gigantic nuclear explosion (it was literally a multi-trillion tonne hydrogen bomb) that followed atomised the UDF ship. But the Sparta was not the only ship destroyed. Those Nazzernich ships nearby were also atomised. Others were ripped to pieces by the force of the explosion. The radiation spike literally fried a hundred more, killing the organic ships. Other Nazzernich ships, although suffering radiation damage, began their unique ability to "heal" themselves. The crews inside, however, had no such luck & died a dreadful death. As the explosion dissipated, it became clear that the once grand Nazzernich fleet was now just a handful of ships. These did not hang around for long, especially when elements of the 12th Fleet began arriving. The "Old Gallant" 2nd, after being through a dreadful battle, were more than happy to see the Nazzernich survivors retreat. Rescue operations commenced, especially for the crew of the Athens. After her crew & important equipment was taken off, the Athens was destroyed to ensure that its technology would not fall into the wrong hands. She was impossible to salvage. 3012 All had become quiet with the Nazzernich. Although the UDF wanted to advance & find out as much about the Nazzernich as possible, President Chen said no. Her orders from the previous year remained. The Battle of Avakous, albeit a victory, was a costly one. The loss of the two Sparta class ships was very sobering. The UFP had seen nothing like the destruction of the battle for well over 700 years. The experience of the Sparta class had given the UFP a false sense of security & comfort. The Bloodless Wars, it seems, were over. The presidential elections were intense thanks to the Nazzernich. President Chen publicly stated that she was glad she was retiring. Her Vice-President, Sewa Hish, once again stood for the top job. Unlike Chen, however, he was all for attacking the Nazzernich. Similar sentiments was echoed across the UFP. The Blurgiss, Braggah & Renaissance populations, among others, wanted to teach the Nazzernich a lesson. When the Zargah Ambassador Duke Zettoo was asked by the BBC his views, he sarcastically commented "Why don’t you build some more Peacemaker missiles that you used long ago…". Although the comment was a deliberate slur, that did not stop Sewa Hish including it in his policy platform. But just as there were many in support of war, just as many were against it. Notably, most anti-war support came from those areas that suffered during the Zargah War. Although this occurred several centuries ago, it had never been forgotten. The Lyonies, Drey & Vargary were thoroughly against any war. Although some Humans, especially those on Renaissance & Nirvana, were pro war, most were against it. Not surprisingly, Avakous was against any war that would obviously put them in the front line. Earth, though, led the way. In a close election, Charles Eklund of Earth defeated Sewa Hish. Eklund’s first orders to the UDF was to keep the status quo on the Avakous front. 3013 The Nazzernich continued to remain quiet. Avakous Sector, all the same, was heavily defended. Not only did three UDF fleets continue to patrol the region, but 12 Sparta class ships were also involved with the defence. If the Nazzernich returned, there would be no half measures this time. The Chen Degrees, however, remained. The UDF could not engage until they were fired upon by the enemy. Needless to say, BigEar, Indorra & Enigma2 continued to seek out the Nazzernich. In amongst all of this, the UDF received its first time ships. They were a somewhat "traditional" design that incorporated everything that the UDF had in its arsenal. Except for the Sparta class, these new ships (the class leader was the UDF Deja Vu) were the most powerful & advanced around. And they were the first ships specifically designed for the MMD. After the Battle of Avakous, though, the UDF decided to order more than the original 50. 500 would now begin to fill UDF’s regular fleets. The time travel ability, however, would be kept a secret. Not even their crews would be informed of this ability. Only the captains would hold this secret. 3014 The first of twenty UPX time ships was launched. Based on the old UPX Clarke class, the UPX Odyssey joined the UPX fleet quietly. Although it was not kept in secret, aspects of its missions was certainly kept that way. Above all there was no mention of the MMD technology. It would not be long, though, before UPX began a new dimension of exploration. It also did not take long for the mission list became a long one. The small UPX MMD fleet would be kept extremely busy for years to come. 3015 Although the Nazzernich had disappeared, NGW had become extremely busy studying their technology. A handful of ships, after the Battle of Avakous had been captured in tact. The technology was unlike anything previously seen. No one, even Mills, had any idea how anything worked. It had taken three years just to open the air lock in order to permit the first boarding team in. What they witnessed, the effects of radiation on the Nazzernich crew, was sickening. Unlike the organic ships, the examination of the dead crew at least ensured that the UFP knew what their new enemy looked like. Although humanoid in appearance, they were truly unique in having six limbs instead of the usual four. Further examination indicated that some of the Nazzernich also possessed psychic powers. This was particularly evident with the officers. This could partly explain why few control panels could be found on the ship. Mills’ theory, as plausible as any other, suggested that the officers had a psychic link with the ship itself. It was as if the ship was an extension of their own bodies. The ranks ensured that maintenance & the usual mundane ship jobs kept the ship working. Whether the Nazzernich were divided into two distinct classes or two races based upon psychic ability was mere speculation. 3016 The BigEar station on Avakous finally began to identify signals that UPX concluded were of Nazzernich origin. The closest signals were located about 300 light years away. Further analysis also indicated that the "communication" device on Nazzer was fully functional. UPX was able to find that the device was constantly sending signals back to the Nazzernich. It could only be assumed that the Indorra ability of the device was also functioning & that the Nazzernich were being fully informed of UFP activity in the area. This was a major concern for the UDF. When President Eklund was informed of the latest from Avakous, he was concerned. Clearly the Nazzernich could spy on the UPF & thus plan their next move. Nothing, however, had been heard or seen of the Nazzernich. This only complicated the decisions that had to be made. The UDF put forward the plan to head back to Nazzer & destroy the "communication’ device. President Eklund disagreed. Although it was true that the Nazzernich could spy on the UPF, it also ensured that the UFP intended no offensive action. Clearly, since the Battle of Avakous, the UFP had remained within its borders. The result so far had been no sign of the Nazzernich. If the UFP were trespassing on Nazzernich territory, then President Eklund wanted to ensure that they would not again. 3017 The Presidential elections were a rather quiet affair. Although the Nazzernich was a major issue, due to the fact that they had not been seen since 3011, the "war" party had a tough time convincing the electorate that something had to be done. President Eklund was re-elected with few concerns. 3018 UPX conducts its first successful mission with the UPX Odyssey. Although the ship had been in operation for a few years now, several shake down missions were ordered before any mission involved time travel. UPX wanted to ensure nothing, ship wise, would go wrong. If the ship was stranded in another time zone or in the time stream itself, there was no chance of a rescue. The mission itself, was more or less a test. No one really knew what would await the crew. The time chosen was the mid 1960s on Earth. It was considered the most exciting period as Earth took its first child like steps into space. The UPX Odyssey successfully jumped to Earth Space arriving in 1967. While the ships cloaking device ensured that no one on Earth could discover the ship, the UPX personnel scanned the planet. Their timing was good as the UPX Odyssey was able to witness the successful manned moon mission of Aleksey Leonov. It was unbelievable that the origins of the current UFP had started with such a primitive space program. Various crew members, including the Humans, were amazed at what they witnessed on Earth. The Drey sociologist Teaka Hensor could not believe that total chaos that covered the planet. Nothing, it seemed, was organised. Everything appeared to have no logical reason. Humans, it appeared, wondered around in total anarchy. Arguments, however, soon started between Teaka & the Vargary archaeologist Sus Vik’Nol’Son over the society below them. Sus found it rather amusing that Humans had not changed much. Furthermore, the similarity of early Earth society seemed to mirror the experience of early Vargary society. And it was from this chaos that order was formed. Sus pointed out that after all, the UFP was the Human’s idea. The Human crew members wondered what all the fuss was about: everything appeared normal to them. In fact many of the Humans wanted to go down to the surface. Although familiar, Earth appeared as a lost living history enticing them down to explore. This, of cause, was thoroughly impossible. The ship’s chief of engineering, nonetheless, wondered if they could "collect" an automobile for "historical" study. One in particular, a Ford Mustang convertible V8, had gotten his attention. Even though such a transport machine would be instantly damned in 3018 due to environmental laws, the chief could not care less - there was just something about a Twentieth Century convertible that was missing in his time. Several other crew members agreed with him. In fear of having a mutiny, Odyssey’s captain constantly refused his engineer’s constant requests. 3019 The Von Braun conducted the second successful time travel mission. Although the mission was kept short, the ship’s observations of prehistoric Earth were exciting. For the first time, Humans & their fellow crew members were able to witness live dinosaurs roam Earth. The planet, although appeared familiar to all, was nonetheless foreign. Even the continents resembled those of another world. Other missions quickly followed the Von Braun. It soon became obvious, however, that the twenty ships of the Odyssey class could not cope with the work load. UPX decided, rather than build a new line of ship, to refit a number of their current one. The obvious choice was the UPX Clarke class. Included in the refit, apart from the MMD, was the addition of a cloaking device. 3020 Although Mars & Venus were helping in lowering the populations of Earth & Eden, discussion of future population trends continued to concern Earth Government. Short of introducing drastic legislation limiting birth control, other colonies had to be found. The main problem was that many Humans, too many in fact, liked hanging around Earth. Eden shared a similar pattern where most people did not want to leave. Furthermore, given a century or two, Mars & Venus would be reaching sustainable limits. After reading, for the tenth time, the classic 3001: The Final Odyssey, UPX chairman Walter Mangos formulated a plan that would ensure new habitable colonies for Earth’s Solar System. He suggested to Earth Government that, like in the book, the idea of converting Jupiter into a sun. This could open Europa & possibly the other Galilean moons for eventual habitation. This, though, would not be unique in the UFP. Such an astrological fact exists in Duel’s Solar System, where Duel orbits one sun while it, in turn, orbits the main sun. Earth, Mars, Venus, Eden & the UFP governments are excited by the idea & agreed to fund the necessary research. Any final decision, however, will have to wait until all environmental concerns are dealt with. And did the environmental groups have concerns. None of them gave any support to the Jupiter-Sun Project. All the groups agreed that it would be environmental vandalism on a cosmic scale. Yet, a large majority of the general public were captivated by the idea. 3021 On the protectorate planet of Argie, a dreadful Second World War began. For centuries, UPX & other research bodies had constantly monitored & studied the development of the planet. Many of the studies were fascinating, others disturbing. Although wars had occurred before on Argie, these had been individual affairs between single nations. But one hundred years ago, two main power blocks came to dominate the planet. These had already fought one world war, now they started another. Humans had always shown a hypocrtic attitude towards the younger non-space faring races & Argie was no different. President Eklund, after hearing the news of Argie’s latest war, ordered the UDF to keep an eye on events. Although the UDF were told to monitor events for the moment, they had special orders to intervene if nuclear weapons were used. The UDF Messenia, a Sparta class ship, was dispatched to Argie. 3022 The Second World War on Argie continued. Warfare took place on all its four continents. Ocean battles between the two adversary groups also took place. Likewise in the air, thousands of planes would battle it out everyday across the planet. So far, only conventional weapons were being used. The Messenia reported that no biological or chemical agents had been involved. More importantly, nor were nuclear weapons. The Messenia did report, however, that her scanners did pick up areas where clear evidence indicated that atomic programs were under way. Unlike previous years, the Presidential elections had become a rather quiet affair. The Jupiter sun issue was involved in the debates, but the issue had little influence on voters other than on Earth. Likewise, the rabbit & rat plagues, although bad again this year, had little barring upon the outcome of the election. Although the election was close, for once an Earth candidate did not get the Presidency. A retired movie actor Michael Reno from Nirvana became President. 3023 Since the Battle of Avakous, the Nazzernich had continued to remain inconspicuous by their absence. The UDF continued to patrol the Avakous Sector with three powerful fleets. Nonetheless, the UDF continued to have strict orders not to leave UFP territory. The Nazzernich, for their part, appeared content to monitor UFP activity from the "communications" device on Nazzer. The few captured organic ships of the Nazzernich continued to keep their secrets. George Mills at NGW had continued to work on the project, but was in despair. The few physics that did agree to work for NGW, got no where with the equipment. Either they were not compatible or not powerful enough. Furthermore there were only a handful of genuine ones throughout the UFP & fewer still could be trusted. In sheer desperation, Mills turned to the "Cap". The "Cap" had originated from the medical profession. Its main purpose was to diagnose patients with neurological disorders of one type or another. Basically it reads the brainwaves of the patient. Other uses, however, were quickly found. Early experiments by United Health Services (UHS) had developed the "Cap" into a remote control. A person wearing the "Cap", linked to a computer, could walk about & by merely thinking of what to do, the event would occur. A simple example would be to turn a light on or off; open a door; or drive a vehicle. Wherever a link computer was then connected equipment could be operated by the wearer of the "Cap". Although this got a lot of people’s attention, the fad wore off. Not only was it an added expense, but it was simply something people did not need. Most people were content to open doors themselves. Furthermore, current technology ensured that an individual did not need the expensive "Cap" & associated equipment to do things for them. A saving grace for the "Cap", or so it seemed, was reversing its function. Instead of importing from the brain, it could be adapted to import to the brain. The learning potential would be phenomenal. Alas for all the species, it was too much for the brain. It did not take long before "Cap" users, especially heavy users, started to become psychotic. Intensive brain damage soon followed. UHS quickly banned the "Cap" & it retreated back to its original medical employment. It appeared to Mills, however, that NGW had little alternative. Research would, of cause, be required into modifying the "Cap" so that the wearers would not become psychotic. The last thing anybody wanted was someone in control of an extremely powerful alien ship that was completely nuts. 3024 NGW development of the "Cap" appeared extremely promising. It was noted with the psychics that the power of the "Cap" could be significantly lowered. Filtering too, so that no overload of the brain would occur, ensured that the wearer would avoid the problems of the past. That was the easy part. The hard part was getting the link computer to be compatible with the Nazzernich ship. UFP computers were not organic; Nazzernich computers were. Everything, from what appeared to the CPU through to the wiring was biological. In fact calling it wiring would be wrong - the ship had a nervous system like an animal. The war on Argie continued. UDF reported that the equipment was becoming more advanced. It was noted that both sides had developed jet aircraft. Basic missiles too had been employed & more advanced ones were clearly evident. Although some of these had been tested & their range was well over 5 000km, none had been used in battle so far. More concerning for the UFP, however, was that each sides nuclear weapons programs had reached maturity. The Messenia stood ready. 3025 Within days of each other, two atomic weapons were detonated on Argie. It appeared that these were tests of each sides atomic bombs. The Messenia sent a flash message to Epsilon to inform President Reno of the situation. Unfortunately the President was asleep with orders not to be woken by his doctor. When he did wake some time later, due to medication taken for his Alzheimer’s disease combined with the illness, the President was in no condition to make any decision. Soon after the test explosions another two followed. On the main continent, both sides detonated an atomic bomb over the others main lines. Thousands of soldiers were killed. Again the Messenia awaited orders. Again the President was indisposed. What followed, however, could not wait for orders. The Messenia’s scanners identified hundreds of the advanced missiles being launch by the "red" side. A basic analysis indicated that the missiles had atomic warheads. Although still primitive, these atomic bombs could still kill millions if not the planet itself. Soon after the "red" side launched, the "blue" side retaliated. Close to 500 ICBMs, from both sides, were about to decide the war & the fate of the planet. The Messenia had no choice: she intervened. First the great ship had to de-cloak. Now virtually all of Argie can now see their new moon. The Messenia then extended its defensive shield across the paths of the missiles below. Then the BlackStar Beam arrays, having targeted the missiles, destroy all of them within a few minutes. The defence shielding of the enormous ship ensured that no debris or radiation harmed the planet below. The inhabitants of Argie just met the neighbours. Having learnt over the years the languages & frequencies of the Argie combatants, the Messenia ordered the two sides to cease fire. The locals were in no position to argue. Covered by the Messenia’s fighter wing, the 9th Space Marine Armoured Division descended to the planet. Soon the capitals of the two power blocks were occupied. Some of the "red" groups tried to resist. They had no luck. Captain Sharon Kemel took the initiative to stop the slaughter that she had witnessed for over 5 years. Millions had died below on the planet. After securing the two capitals, she called for reinforcements. Soon another two Space Marine divisions & nine Army divisions had arrived to take up peace keeping operations. Before anyone back on Epsilon knew what was happening, the UFP had invaded Argie in the name of peace. 3026 The peace was rigidly enforced on Argie. When President Reno had finally recovered, he was in no position to order the UDF off the planet. The indigenous Argie population, however, resented the peace keepers. Although the politicians negotiated, all of the Argie leaders regardless of the faction, wanted the UDF out. Although it had come as a rude shock to them, after a period of adjusting to the reality of aliens, realpolitik soon returned. Basically, the Argie wanted to keep their weapons, their various nations & above all they did not want the UDF, UFP or anyone else for that matter poking their noses in. The fact that the UDF had saved the Argie from atomic extinction was lost on the locals. Civilian protest soon started cross the planet. 2027 The protests on Argie soon became violent. Included was guerrilla action by covert Argie forces. Behind the scenes, both power blocks joined forces to drive out the invader. As events became worse, UDF planetary forces began to suffer casualties. Reinforcements were rushed in to help out the UDF peace keepers. News spread fast about the war on Argie. Particular heroism was displayed by the indigenous locals as they battled in the streets, countryside, ocean & air against the technologically superior UDF. Although the Argie suffered numerous defeats, they also had their victories. And they also had the numbers. A total population of 4 billion Argie were combating 250 000 peace keepers who, it must be pointed out, endeavoured to limit their actions of violence. All this ensured that the Presidential elections were heated to say the least. The UFP citizenship wanted to know how they had become embroiled in the Argie mess. Although the intervention started due to good intensions, it had clearly ended in disaster. When it leaked that President Reno was indisposed at the important time, this only made the election campaign worse. When his Alzheimer’s disease became public knowledge, his Presidential race was over. It seemed that the UFP had a president that did not know what day it was let alone where Argie was. The Earth candidate Benjamin Roosevelt won in a narrow victory the Presidency. President Roosevelt’s first order was the withdrawal of all UDF peace keepers from Argie. The locals celebrated with joy that the dreaded UDF had left. Hope, though, had been planted within the hearts of the Argie. For the first time, the planet had been united instead of divided. It appeared to many that maybe they were not too dissimilar after all. They had also learnt that they were not alone in the universe. Maybe the invaders had been a blessing in disguise. Most Argie were committed to ensure that the evils of the past would stay in the past. A new era awaited them. 3028 A new era also awaited several UFP citizens involved with the Argie fracas. Several, including Captain Kemel, were court martialled. Congress was livid. Thousands of UDF personnel had become casualties & people demanded answers. Centuries earlier, laws had been past that tried to ensure that the Argie debacle would not occur. Innocence had been the reason for the "protectorate" laws. It was reasoned that the UFP cannot interfere with the development of non-members. More importantly there were civilisations that had not developed advanced space travel & had to mature. If these civilisations blew themselves up in a nuclear war, that was their business, not the UFP’s. After almost a year of debates, the UFP Congress passed the Protectorate Restriction Act. It clearly forbid anyone, regardless of the service & mission, to be involved in any manner in the affairs of planets that have been declared a "protectorate" by the UFP. Only the Congress, by majority can authorise any action. Offenders can be charged with Treason & dealt accordingly. Thankfully, only a handful of planets fell under this legal jurisdiction. 3029 UPX at Avakous, after years of research into Nazzernich communication systems, managed to develop technology that can "piggy-back" signals on Nazzernich communications. Their aim was to send signals to the "communication" device on Nazzer which inturn will relay the signal back to the Nazzernich. President Roosevelt, when informed of UPX’s developments, was delighted. Although he urged caution, he nonetheless gave the go ahead. UPX sent the first basic messages via Nazzer. Surprisingly there was a response from the Nazzernich. Although it was not overly of a friendly nature, UFP diplomatic staff quickly began dialogue. Interestingly the tone of the replies likewise changed. It was assumed that the diplomatic staff’s Nazzernich counterparts had also become involved. Hopefully this was a positive sign. 3030 Disturbing reports came from the UPX research team studying Cousin. Like Argie, Cousin had a pre-space faring civilisation. It also had a much more war like society. Numerous conflicts had occurred over the centuries on a planet that was rather arid. Needless to say, these conflicts were usually over water. He planet’s inhabitants were also extremely industrious. Water production led the list, closely followed by war industries. For centuries, the patterns continued. And like Argie, two large empires covered the planet. Cousin, however, never had anything like the population of Argie. Not only was most of the land desert, but the constant warfare also kept the population constrained. UPX estimated that the entire planet only held 400 million. Yet this did not stop the two adversary empires beginning a true global war. 3031 NGW continued to experiment with the "Cap". New ideas & approaches were used, but little progress was made. When it was joked by Vic Nil’Lo’Lah "… that maybe we should put a Brain Cap on the ship’s CPU", it turned out to be the answer that they were looking for. Immediately, from the first tests, it became obvious that the ship’s organic CPU also put out "brain waves". Now all the Mills’ team had to do was figure out was how to convert these CPU "brain waves" in order to communicate with the ship. The answer to that came from UPX. Their development of "piggy-backing" messages onto Nazzernich ones opened the way for the brain wave conversion. Although the first attempts were still limited, through trail & error, communication with the ship began. Alas the communicators, the psychics, know little about ship’s equipment let alone basic physics. 3032 NGW continued experimenting with the "Cap". The psychics continued to communicate with the ship & basic functions came online. Progress was slow. Certainly none of the secrets of the ships were revealed. Even if the psychics could find them, it was doubtful whether they would understand them let alone relay the information to the waiting scientists. There was only one answer - have normals, albeit under careful supervision, wear the "Cap" & be guided around by the psychics. The dangers were well known, but the Mills’ team had made significant improvements to the Brain Cap since the early days. Personnel were screened & a number of sane volunteers were found. Ironically, even though Mills himself volunteered, he was one of the first rejected. Apparently, unbeknownst to everyone including himself, he was borderline certifiable. But this is often the way with a genius. After the excitement of the previous Presidential elections, these were a somewhat quiet affair. President Roosevelt had gotten the UFP out of the Argie mess & life had returned to normal throughout the Federation. Just as important was the news that successful contact had been made with the Nazzernich & that the dialogue appeared very promising. Roosevelt made certain that every voter was made aware of these events during his first term in office. He was re-elected, albeit with a smaller majority. 3033 The war on Cousin continued unabated. Although casualties were low, equipment was being used at a horrendous rate. If a characteristic can be made about Cousin warfare, it is that machines endured the burden of battle. Nonetheless over one million casualties had occurred on each side since the war began. Life on Argie had settled down. A loose coalition of governments now managed the planet. Technology that once made guns, missiles & atomic bombs was applied for peaceful pursuits. Although the UFP strictly enforced the Protectorate Restriction Act, UPX was permitted to have one ship to conduct research. UPX was happy to inform the President that Argie successfully launched their first satellite. Maybe the debacle of the intervention was the right, albeit messy, action after all. 3034 NGW personnel finally managed to get the Nazzernich test ship fully running. All ship’s equipment appeared normal & several test journeys were conducted. These ships were truly amazing. Controlled through a crew member’s thoughts, there were no control panels. Problems did occur for users of the Cap, but a steady rotation of crew positions ensured no health issues became important. The secrets of construction, however, remained a mystery. The methods were beyond anything the UFP, or NGW for that matter, had ever seen. It was one thing to adapt Zargah technology to serve the UPF, both shared similar construction technology & above all sciences. This, however, was something else. It could take centuries until NGW knew how to reproduce the same results as the Nazzernich. While going through UFP archives, presidential historian Bryce Garren, stumbled across some old UDF reports about the Zargah War. Garren was actually researching the history of the Roosevelt family. They had an amazing past. Many members of the family had been involved in politics. No less than five had been a president of either the old United States of America (two) or the UFP (three). Something though caught Garren’s eye in one particular ultra secret file simply called The War-Station. The report, it seems, had never been released. When Garren saw the first detailed photos & diagram of the War-Station there was no question. It was a Sparta class ship. Garren quickly hid the report & headed off. He was going to have an interview with the President tomorrow. It was one hell of an interview. President Roosevelt immediately called in the Joint Chiefs after being given the report by Garren. No one had any answers. No one was even aware that the ultra report even existed. After all, it had been written 800 odd year ago. What it did mean, however, was that some time in the near future a Sparta class ship would go back in time & interfere with the time continuum. This, of cause, was strictly forbidden, but the proof was right before them. If this intervention did not take place, there would be no UFP. The decision made was not to make a decision yet. The President asked for more answers. 3035 The planet Cousin erupted in fire as UPX continued to monitor the planet. The war simply got worse. Unlike previously, technology soon got the better of the inhabitants. In an act of madness, both sides unleashed their most deadly weapon - nuclear bombs. Hundreds of ICBMs were launched for days at each other. Hundreds of nuclear detonations were recorded on the planet. Whole cities & regions were atomised. Little life survived. Nuclear fallout was followed by nuclear winter. The life that did survive, did not for long. Within a few months the entire planet was dead. UPX had recorded all of the horror which was released to the media agencies. They played them continuously. The citizenship sombrely watched as a junior race, life itself, became extinct. Many questioned whether the UFP should have intervened. The same questions were asked in Congress. Debate was heated on the floor. President Roosevelt was also involved & demanded that the Protectorate Restriction Act be repealed among other laws that prevented such intervention on "humanitarian" grounds. The President got what he wanted. Few people noticed that the various laws governing time were also altered in included in the new "humanitarian" intervention policy. Now that which he was about to order was legal, Roosevelt ordered the Joint Chiefs to prepare a Sparta class to go back & save the UFP. "If saving over 100 billion UFP citizens was not a humanitarian issue", Roosevelt argued, "then they can impeach me & throw me to the wolves!" The UDF Thermopylae, then currently in dock for maintenance, was selected. Instead of the ship spending a few months, it would now get a full refit taking years. This included the addition of an MMD. Needless to say, everything about the UDF Thermopylae from here on was made "ultra secret". 3036 Dialogue with the Nazzernich continued successfully. Plans were put in place to establish a diplomatic station close to the Avakous Sector. Nazzer was off limits as was much of the space rimward of Avakous. As far as the Nazzernich were concerned, this was their territory. It was the UFP who were the trespassers. NGW continued to learn more about the organic Nazzernich ships. Although they had no idea how to copy the technology, the analysis of the ship’s data clearly indicated an extremely advanced technology. Intelligence supplied by the UDF & UPX on the Nazzernich, however, indicated a civilisation no further advanced than the UFP. No one it seemed could explain the disparity, other than the Nazzernich were not the creators of their ships. Speculation began whether the technology was either adapted, which appeared unlikely, or stolen. The planet Nazzer became the prime suspect. The Nazzernich did not live there, but they were extremely aggressive in defending the planet. 3037 Before President Roosevelt resigned, he signed one more executive order. Operation Pass could not be rescinded. Even if the incoming president wanted to stop the Thermopylae going back to intervene in the Zargah War, the amount of paper work, let alone appeals to Congress, would ensure that by the expected departure date arrived, the Thermopylae would have already departed for its inevitable mission. Thankfully the incoming President, Roosevelt’s Vice President Ayesha Bhengazi of Earth, was fully up to speed on Operation Pass. There would be no cancellation of Thermopylae’s mission to save the future. 3038 Within days of the completed refit, UDF Thermopylae
departed for its covert mission. As she departed her current time, President
Bhengazi & the UFP leadership hoped that their meddling with the time continuum
was what actually happened. Furthermore, all hoped & prayed that nothing will
change in the present. After all, the War-Station report that Garren had found
clearly documented that a Sparta class war-station arrived at Omega in 2211. It
was this action, this violation of the time continuum, that saved the "Gallant"
2nd Fleet, defeated the Zargah forces & inevitably ensured the UFP’s present 3039 Negotiations with the Nazzernich began about half way between Avakous & Nazzer. The UFP diplomatic corps soon discover that the intelligence level of their Nazzernich counter-parts do not appear to equal the technological level of the organic ships. Although this had been identified earlier, these face-to-face negotiations clearly confirmed suspicions. These concerns were brought before President Bhengazi. UDF put forward a plan to gather intelligence on the Nazzernich. This involved a Sparta class ship, fully cloaked, departing Lyonies Sector to out-flank the common border at Avakous. The President confirmed the mission. It was not long before the UDF Salamis was secretly leaving on its covert mission to spy on the Nazzernich. 3040 The Salamis spent a year cloaked as it completed it mission. The Nazzernich had a small "union" of five planets. It becomes clear that Nazzer, or anything else that they claim, is no where near established Nazzernich space. It also becomes obvious that the great bulk of the Nazzernich population appear to be of a lesser intelligence They appear to make up a general worker caste while an "intellectual" caste controls the society. The "intellectual" caste may, however, be responsible for the high technological level of the Nazzernich. Yet, some things still do not fit. The bodies of the dead Nazzernich crew members had been kept by NGW. While intensive analysis had taken place, again speculation was raised about the Nazzernich. NGW decided to examine the bodies again, aided with the research conducted by the Salamis. It was not long until DNA analysis finally gave some answers. The "intellectual" & the "worker" castes were indeed from the same race. But the "intellectual" caste had been artificially altered some time in the past. Who this was no one but the Nazzernich could answer. It clearly was not themselves. 3041 The Nazzernich negotiations continued & took an interesting turn. The UFP diplomats offered to return the dead of the Battle of Avakous as a gesture of good will. The Nazzernich were caught unawares. This was something they had not anticipated. They politely accepted. Thus when goodwill had been clearly established, the UFP personnel showed them all their files that they held, including the intelligence that the Salamis had gathered. The UFP knew all. It was, of cause, a total bluff. The Nazzernich were outraged, but had few options. This was even further realised when the diplomats showed the size & strength of the UFP. At a prearranged moment, throughout the Nazzernich Union, five UDF fleets de-cloaked. Included in this operation were twenty Spartans. Interestingly, the Nazzernich had not recovered their numbers since the Battle of Avakous, even though it had been a number of years since then. Their few ships, though, stared down at the UDF ships as everyone held their breath. Again it was a bluff, the UFP had no intension of fighting. When this news reached the negotiation base, the Nazzernich were thoroughly stunned. Confusion was added to the Nazzernich’s woes when the UFP delegation tabled a peace & friendship treaty. They had little other choice, but to sign. 3042 President Bhengazi welcomed to Epsilon the new Nazzernich Ambassador. Likewise, the UFP Ambassador arrived on Nich, the capital of their Union. Grand speeches were made & cultural missions swapped - although it was mostly UFP culture exported to the Nazzernich. UFP researchers soon followed. Although their access was limited, this did not stop curious UPX personnel trying to discover the secrets of the Nazzernich. On the success of the new relations with the Nazzernich, President Bhengazi was re-elected to a second term. The security concerns of the UFP Avakous & Lyonies Sectors had now lifted. Although trust was one thing, the true capacities of the Nazzernich were well known. It had also appeared that the Nazzernich had accepted the UFP as some sort of "guardian", even though no military treaties or other like arrangements had been agreed to. 3043 UDF Thermopylae left the 2216 time-zone when it appeared that all was safe. The NGW scientists of the period had successfully developed new weaponry from captured Zargah ships. The Invincible Upgrade was on the way & the Victory class was not far behind. The UFP had been saved as had occurred historically. Immediately prior to leaving, Admiral Chernyakovskiy, breaking all the rules, contacted Admiral Mullin. In trying to warn, in a round about way, Mullin of the events of the near future, Mullin was lead into believing that the Thermopylae would return if things once again got tough. History was to prove Mullin wrong. Alas even if Admiral Chernyakovskiy could return he could not. He sadly suffered a massive stroke that killed him during the return journey. The Thermopylae returned to its real time in secret. Much had changed as the tension of the past, that being the unknown intensions of the Nazzernich. But this change was not due to effects of the time continuum. Thermopylae’s epic journey had been a record mission in many respects. No other ship had saved the very existence of the Federation. Alas no one could ever find out about the ship’s mission. All the crew were sworn to the memory of Admiral Chernyakovskiy (and the Official Secrets Act) never to reveal their five year mission. 3044 As the Jupiter-sun project started to take up a lot of NGW’s time, other projects lapsed into the background. Notably among these were the organic Nazzernich ships. Although special NGW personnel could operate the organic ships, little if anything was revealed about their construction. The result was that secondary personnel took over the research, while primary staff applied themselves on the current main project. Virtually none of the secondary staff had passed the sanity test that was required to use the "Cap". Furthermore, the psychics that were central in monitoring the link system between the NGW personnel & the organic ships, had also moved on to other projects. These problems did not seem to stop, however, the latest generation to have joined NGW. The chance to find the next break through, especially on the Nazzernich ships, was too tempting. The "Wizz Kidz", as they called themselves were all secondary staff. None had used the "Cap" before although they had all worked on the ships for a number of years. All had become familiar with the reports generated by previous teams. As most personnel were busy, the "Wizz Kidz" borrowed an organic ship to take for a spin. This event did not go, however, unnoticed by NGW security who dispatched several ships to follow the unauthorised flight. The overload of the ship’s systems were too much for the "Wizz Kidz". Within an hour of being linked, the "Cap" began to effect the sanity of the wearers. Psychotic behaviour soon followed. NGW’s worst nightmare had come true: a Nazzernich ship controlled by a crew of nuts. The small NGW security force managed to catch up to the pariah ship, which turned on its pursuers. The weaponry which had not been removed (no one knew how to), was far superior to the NGW ships. UDF would have to be called in. The only problem was the insane ship had entered the Neutral Zone, leaving everything alone for the moment. Although the UDF considered contacting the Zargah military, President Bhengazi overruled them. The UFP would have to solve this problem themselves. 3045 The rouge ship continued to remain in the Neutral Zone, but started to make its presence known. Several transport ships, including passenger ones, were attacked mercilessly. Although Indorra could track the ship, little could be done at first due to Zargah reluctance to permit UDF entry into the Zone. Eventually, after several complaints from Zargah transport companies to their own government, both the Zargah & UDF would cooperate. The Zargah would try to intercept the ship on their side, while the UDF would attempt to do the same thing. The UDF never told the Zargah were the ship really came from. Some drug-terrorist gang was given as a cover. The Zargah were the first to try to intercept the insane ship. Their attempt was an utter failure. The Zargah had nothing like the weaponry of the rouge ship & its six ship task force was destroyed. This, of cause, made the Zargah inquire more into this business - this was no terrorist ship. The UDF finally cornered & destroyed the ship. It took six of the Sparta class & 68 other UDF vessels to eventually defeat the organic ship. Needless to say, the BlackStar Beam arrays assured that any evidence that the ship could be linked to the UFP was vaporised. NGW was annoyed to say the least. Not only had they lost a large number of good personnel, but they had lost an irreplaceable piece of technology. In comparison the personnel were replaceable. The Zargah considered the whole event with suspicion. 3046 Although good relations had been developed with the Nazzernich, they continued to remain very quiet over who they really were. Little had been found by UFP researchers in the Nazzernich Union. And the planet Nazzer itself was certainly off limits. Not that the previous UPX archaeological had found much anyway. 3047 UDF began to report unidentified traffic from Tindorra. The latest model had just come online being twice as sensitive as the previous one. It appeared that some other civilisation was clearly travelling through time. Although this had been previously reported, no definite conclusions had ever been made. Now they were & there appeared to be a correlation between the movements of UPX & UDF ships & this other group. The conclusions were that someone was watching the UFP missions. The elections were a quiet affair. The excitement of previous times were not evident. About the only major issue was the Jupiter-sun project due to occur in 3051. Although the environmentalists ran a strong campaign, most of Earth, Mars & Venus, a strong voting block, voted against the environmental candidate. Eden, likewise, voted with the Earth. These votes alone added up to almost 18 billion. The final result saw Kelly Ward of Earth narrowly defeat Dom Tregger of Innocence for the Presidency. 3048 Once again the UDF reported that Tindorra tracked another ship that appeared to follow the latest UPX time expedition. Analysis of the data clearly ruled out any UFP involvement from a future time zone. Further data also indicated that the origin of the alien ship’s location was outside of current UFP territory. Indorra stations along the entire border reported no unidentified movement. The only conclusion was some alien civilisation in the future was involved. All this was too much for President Ward in one sitting. The UDF, however, convinced her that the Federation faced a real danger of attack. Someone, somewhere, in some future time zone was taking a keen interest into UFP activity. Just as concerning was that no UPX or UDF ships had reported anything while travelling in the time stream or while conducting their research during their mission. Admiral Cunningham suggested a plan. While the aliens observed the next UPX mission, the UDF would observe the aliens. 3049 The UXP Cook began its mission in total ignorance of what its real mission was. As far as the crew knew, they would quietly, from orbit, monitor the prehistoric Homo sapiens & Neanderthal species of humans on Earth. All went as planned with no problems. Gigabytes of information had been collected. It was considered one of the most successful exploration missions of either space or time. Behind the Cook, a hidden alien vessel of unknown origin followed. It, although had no cloaking device, kept a respectful distance. It also employed advanced electronic jamming equipment that ensured that it would remain undetected by most scanners - most except for Tindorra. When Tindorra spotted the alien ship, the Sparta class ship UDF Tegea jumped into the time stream. Cloaked, so the alien ship could not detect her, the Tegea was able to track the alien vessel. A Tindorra station had been fitted to the ship prior to the mission. Sure enough, as had been speculated, the alien ship followed & observed the UPX Cook. All the while it kept a respectful distance even though it was much larger & powerful than the Cook. Compared to the Tegea though, it was still small at 12 kilometres in length. Its weaponry, however, appeared extremely powerful. This was one alien not to mess with - even for a Sparta class ship. 3050 The data collected by the Cook was extensively analysed. The conclusions, though, were shocking. UXP & UHS discovered, to their horror, that Humans (or more accurately Homo sapien sapiens - the current Humans) did not evolve from Neanderthal humans naturally. Although much of the DNA is shared between the two species, evidence clearly indicated that the Homo sapiens DNA of the prehistoric period had been scientifically modified. Further tests to confirm this was conducted upon the Human research personnel at the very labs that had just come to this conclusion. When this DNA was compared to the other samples collected in the "past", there was no doubt. Although Homo sapien sapiens had evolved naturally from Homo sapiens (the difference is almost meaningless), the same artificial gene manipulation could be identified from that of the DNA of Neanderthal humans. It appeared that the current Humans were "manufactured". If this was not enough of a shock for President Ward, the reports of the real mission was. UDF had clearly identified that an extremely powerful & advanced civilisation was spying on the UFP. For the moment it appeared to be mere observation of UPX missions. The only bright news from these depressing reports, especially if you were Human, was that the aliens appeared to be leaving the time continuum alone - for the moment.
Fourth Age Glossary (2950-3200)
© 1997-2009 This creative work is the property of David Mark
Atwell.
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