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I'm just here.
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On March 9th, 2026, the first manned space probe was sent to Mars with the explicit purpose of colonization and terraforming. The SHEPARD-1 crew, consisting of 32 men and women, along with 12 children, would be given just enough materials and tools to make history as the first-ever Martian citizens. Subsequent shuttles, ranging up to SHEPARD-7, would arrive within the next 20 years to boost the Martian colonies' numbers. The SHEPARD project would be lauded as a fantastic success for nearly 14 years after the arrival of the seventh crew. Shortly after its 33rd anniversary, the tensions between the United States, China, and Russia would explode into war, the primary factor being the U.S.'s complete domination over the red planet despite the agreement of neutrality. Following three years of bloody conflict, the U.S. had no choice but to concede and withdraw colonists from the Martian colony.
Several Megacorporations realized from these events that they alone would be able to hold the rights to interplanetary colonies, and in 2070, the red planet was once again colonized by U.S. corporations. Shortly after, Io would be colonized by a separate corporation stationed in Russia, and several Jupiter orbital stations appeared in a short timeframe. Humanity's ventures into space quickly accelerated as megacorporations from around the world each reached their hands towards the stars. By 2100, the red planet had more than a few living spaces reserved for the most elite vacation known to man. Io would be revered as the single most powerful paramilitary operation in recorded history. The number of low orbit stations around Earth would threaten to knock NASA instruments out of the sky. The united nations responded in outrage, each of the members of the first world declaring that they had been cheated out of space exploration and the spoils that come with it. Their cries were in vain, as the sheer power of space corporations made each of the member countries look like villages in comparison. To combat the rising call to action against these megacorps, the interstellar tech giants known as Sabre Tech, TerraSpace Enterprises, Rising Sun, and ArES formed the Intergalactic Union of Powers or the IUP for short. The IUP used their collective money and power to buy Earth land and militaries bit by bit, and by 2118, they had ownership of over 40% of Earth's landmass. A year later, the United Nations was abolished, and each of its member states was absorbed into the Union.
With the world's countries out of the way, the IUP was free to expand at a rapid pace. In ten years, they had each planet of the solar system within their grasp. In 20, the first of the Slip Gates was developed, allowing for quick and easy access to any already explored part of the universe. Within 40, Light Rails capable of firing any moderately sized spacecraft deep into space had explorers developing colonies and Slip Gates further and further into the galaxy. Back at the homeworlds, the Sol citizens had made great strides in bioengineering and cybernetics. New breeds of humans appeared with each passing year, and there was hardly a person alive on the homeworlds who didn't have an implant of some kind. These advancements were not made without a great cost. Earth, being a neutral Union territory, was exempt from any kind of supervision. With any and all crimes permitted, and nobody to oversee the social development of Earthlings, violence and crime rates skyrocketed across the blue marble, and the divide between the upper and lower classes became greater and greater each day. Attacks from various paramilitary groups and rebellions only worsened the civil unrest. With global climate change worsening, many sought hope in other worlds.
There was none to be found.
The homeworlds remained inaccessible to anyone but the richest of the rich, acting as primary homelands for the Union's founders and executives. Beyond that lay the expanses of the galactic horizon. Thriving colonies and cities referred to as Gold Worlds were too expensive to start any kind of life. The opposite end of the spectrum lay the WasteWorlds, worlds that had been abandoned due to the failure of the colonies, and were now completely overrun by bandits and marauders with no chance of escape. Seeing the desperation of the masses, Union executives jumped at the opportunity once again, and the Prospector program was born.
Developed in 2263, the Prospector program had one simple goal; cheap terraforming. The idea was simple, instead of taking the time to train and prepare dozens of men and women for interstellar travel and colonization, they would offer the chance to any person desperate enough to leave the hellhole of the Gold Worlds. A dozen people, sixteen and up, would be sent with minimal equipment to livable worlds, known as Prospects, with the goal of colonizing it. If the Prospectors could get a Slip Gate into orbit, they would be offered the chance to continue working on the colonized world, return to a Gold World for a moderate improvement to their living and working conditions, or be transferred to a new Prospect. For prisoners, it was a chance at freedom from indentured servitude and awful conditions. Many thought that only the insane would ever consider this program, but were surprised to find how many desperate Gold World folks were happy to offer their lives at the promise of comfort.
You found yourself among this crowd. Perhaps you had little to your name and hated the taste of bland, gray nutrient paste on your tongue. Perhaps you're a researcher, desperate to find a world with something new. Perhaps you're a romantic, and think the stars are your chance for glory and love. Perhaps you were a bureaucrat, stuck with endless desk work on the Homeworlds. Perhaps you're a nobleman, rich and entitled, but bored with the glamourous lifestyle that you've experienced all your life. Or maybe you're even a prisoner, a criminal in the eyes of the Union, evading your execution through the most dangerous route available. Whatever you are, you signed the waivers and rid yourself of your belongings for the sake of exploration. When the twin suns set on this shiny new world, you will be free, if only momentarily, from the shackles of everyday living. Your future is yours, so do what you will with it.
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