Nachytsm
New Commander
2062: Founding of MarSol
Several governing bodies of Earth form the MarSol group, which is dedicated to fronting the various governments' interests on the foundation of several Mars colonies. The goal is to make colonies for each of the governing bodies, with territories and priority equal to the contribution of the country itself- and ultimately, make each colony self-sufficient. Predominant players include many European and Asian countries, as well as Canada. Several other countries fund their own programs apart from MarSol, if they cannot contribute enough, or join as a minor faction under MarSol.
Over the next several decades, MarSol grows in power, leading the industry in terraforming technologies, void transit, and providing jobs for millions. Mars becomes a new frontier that sparks the spirit of many formerly disenfranchised people, and MarSol's hiring policies allow for entire families- regardless of background- to be shipped to Mars to aid in the colonization efforts.
2107: Self Sufficient Mars
In 2207 MarSol officially declares Mars as a self-sufficient world, and the various funding nations begin to plant their colony goverments on the planet. MarSol continues to build infrastructure to increase the Martian productivity and exploit the untold untapped resources of the planet, to use Mars as a base from which to launch the colonization of other Solar bodies, as per their original mission statement. When these plans are brought to the public light however, they are met with stern opposition.
The colonization of Mars was not cheap, and extending these efforts to less suitable planets, such as beyond the asteroid belt or closer to the sun, would be even more expensive. The people of Earth- who still held MarSol's leash- voted down MarSol's expansion plans. A plethora of problems on Earth still remained, and so the organizations of Earth were forced to focus inward once again. This left MarSol in the unique position of having no funding, outside of its still fledgling Martian operations. A small asteroid mining operation is established, and MarSol is forced to sit on their haunches and wait.
2115: SolCorp
The MarSol group disbands, immediately reforming as a Corporate entity- SolCorp- replacing government officials for the CEOs and directors of existing large corporations. While the move was unanticipated by Earth, this allowed SolCorp to have a vast reserve of funding on top of their own assets, and their considerable knowledge and technologies dedicated towards their goals. The governing bodies of Earth did not mind this, as it would once again provide an immense amount of work without coming out of their pocket, allowing them to remain focused on Earth matters.
And it worked better than anyone could have projected. The corporations linked to SolCorp grew exponentially, especially in industries with any link to the colonization efforts. More and more people, per the original vision of MarSol, could relocate themselves and their families to new frontiers, first in the rest of Sol- from Mercury to the Kuiper belt- and then beyond. Decades turn to centuries as Sleeper Ships, laden with families and materials, are sent to distant stars. Technologies are refined, and the act of terraforming a Mars-like planet can be accomplished in as few as five to ten years.
Even for Earth, this became a time of unparalleled prosperity, the likes of which had never been seen in history. For the first time, nearly every country on Earth was self-sufficient and rich. The thought of a unified world government, in the face of the increasingly rapid colonizations, seemed plausible.
Unfortunately, this prosperity and unity would not last.
2593: The Death of Democracy
After nearly five centuries of growth, SolCorp had colonized over eighty worlds, across more than sixty solar systems, with hundreds of lesser operations scattered between. This expansion had gone unchecked under SolCorp's administrations, and with the exception of Mars and some other planets near to Earth, the Earthbound governments had little to no power over the colonies- and more importantly, over SolCorp.
This reality was not lost on the CEOs, Chairmen, and Directors that made up the core of SolCorp's central body. While still having their hands in political affairs where necessary, SolCorp had long since stopped associating itself as a political entity. As a Corporation, their goals were simple; continue expanding, and continue bringing in resources and cash flow. Over the centuries it had been argued that the only reason SolCorp had not expanded even more was because of regulations imposed by their parent nations back on Earth- and so it was unanimously decided to bring an end to that.
SolCorp had near complete control of all Spaceborne assets by this point, and the few minor players who had anything were unable to stop them. A swift and brutal severing of ties with Earth resulted in the former prosperity turning to havoc, as the immense populations now realized how dependent they were on the Colonies, for food and resources. In a matter of months, the governments of Earth were forced to disband, or were torn apart from within by those desperate to survive.
And just like that, SolCorp's dominion over Mankind was complete. They had no competition, and now, no barriers or borders, and could work with impunity.
It is Human nature to always want more, however. SolCorp was itself built on the back of dozens of mega corporations, with hundreds more subsidiaries and even more sub-contractors. It had become a living entity, with each component part having its own goals and desires. With Earth out of the way, there was no reason to continue working as a unified whole.
2599: The First Corporate War
Disputes over resource and planetary rights leads to an immense splintering inside SolCorp. At the time called the SolCorp Civil War, the First Corporate War was largely an arms race and a land grab. From a Corporate standpoint, the Civil War involved a great deal of mergers, capitulations, and further splintering. From a Human standpoint, it became a truly immense loss of life. The widespread use of nuclear weaponry, for area denial and scorched earth, destroyed countless lives and mangled the infrastructure of many once bountiful worlds. The new focus on military equipment also left many worlds without their usual shipments of food or other necessary resources, causing starvation and anarchy.
By the end of it, a few dozen corporations controlled the vast majority of Human space.
2643: Institution of the Corporate Law Council
The war winds down into minor skirmishes and raids. Having established formal borders over the past fifty years, the CLC - Corporate Law Council- is established, given the name of Solcon, and designed with keeping transactions between corporations balanced. The laws imposed by Solcon were simple in principle. Destruction of technology was an abhorrent crime that would lead to immense fines, and destruction of infrastructure would face similar repercussions. Most of the laws were of similar extent, with little to no care for human rights or liberties.
2664: The Second Corporate War
After a brief period of peace and reconstruction, the Second War begins. Built around the utilization of the Laws of Engagement, most battlefields are selected ahead of time and bid over. Valuable planets would have much higher bidding costs, meaning that an attacking force would have to bid higher than the other attackers, which might often mean sending a smaller or, more commonly, less equipped force.
Contracts dictating how much an attack would cost became the norm, with defenders usually simply picking up and leaving after being paid the bid. The larger corporations continued to grow larger, while the smaller ones either disappeared or capitulated, becoming subsidiaries.
Despite all of the rules and stipulations regarding conflicts, the price of a human life had reached an all time low. Civilian or Soldier, the tactics and dictations had resulted in no less loss of life; entire regiments of a corporation's soldiers might be sent into an engagement with a gun for every four men. With the value of a Starship, most corporations would not arm their ships with anti-capital weaponry, instead opting to send boarding craft to take it.
During the war it became clear that the Elite among corporations, those calling the shots and bidding over land rites, seldom had any real animosity towards one another; it was all business. Hatreds in the lower class were strong however, with those from one corporation despising those of another with great regularity.
2700: Temporary Unity Treaty
Over thirty-five years of exhaustive fighting had rendered even the larger corporations low on both manpower and resources. With the turn of the century, it was decided that the Temporary Unity Treaty would be signed. The T.U.T was designated to last 128 years, with pro-rated penalties towards breaking the treaty early- meaning as the deadline drew closer, the penalties would be less severe.
The stipulation was that only corporate bodies of a certain size would be penalized- meaning that the smaller corporations could still make small wars on one another, and mercenary activity was still extremely active. Mercenaries of the time were only allowed to field certain types of equipment, limited to sub-capital starships and having a focus on capture rather than destroy.
2782: The Edo-Raja Gambit
Several decades into the T.U.T, Edo-Raja Technologies has a breakthrough on the potential for an FTL drive system. While it was kept secret for many years, eventually Kaali & Ornsteig Inc.- who currently had a by-rights monopoly on Standard Astral Travel systems- discovered this and demanded a cut. A plot by Edo-Raja's parent company, General Diamond Arms & Munitions, resulted in not only the destruction of the original FTL system, but a larger conflict between GDA&M and K&A Inc.
This conflict started a cascade of others within Corporate space, and eventually reached a boiling point that culminated in the beginning of the 3rd Corporate war. During this, several Civilian powers, including independent traders, formed a rebellion against the Corporate powers.
The plot thread I have at this time would be setting the players on a research station for one of the many corporations, somewhere on the verges of colonized space. With brewing conflict all around, both military and otherwise, it would be a time of tension and espionage, but people would be trying to maintain their day-to-day lives on their station and whatever nearby astral bodies they might be researching, living on, etc.
Aside from that at this time, while I do have an overarching plot, the main thread would be determined by what the players are interested in doing.
The basic rules are as follows.
- Characters at this time are all Human. Robots and other synthetics exist, and can be requested, but they are (generally) fairly simple.
- Multiple characters are allowed. I may or may not actually have a 'Main' character myself, as I generally prefer to RP as a GM, more or less.
- Technology is somewhat anachronistic, with massive mechs, cybernetics, AI, and all manner of 3D printers for food or other goods, but things like weaponized lasers and rapid space travel are still lagging behind.
- Your characters may have pretty much whatever you want aside from that. Vessels large enough to travel between worlds (which still takes quite a long time) are fine, and I can play your crew if you don't want to. Mechs and other vehicles are also fine, though again technological restraints will need to be clarified.
- There are three primary factions; Corporations, Civilians, and Traders. There are subfactions of each (predominantly the various Corporations that exist), as well as Mercenaries. Nobody necessarily gets along with anyone else within their faction, and each primary faction is not immediately predisposed against the others.
