Colonial Timeline

(Version 1.00 - Last Modified: 06/25/2003)

The history of Alpha Centauri could go on forever, but after only a century and a half, Humans have spread across Chiron and although much of the planet remains unexplored and uninhabited, there are many large Human cities the provide ample opportunities for adventure. The current year is 163 AL, which stands for After Landing or the first year that the Humans arrived on Chiron. Tensions are once again on the rise across the planet as old rivalries flare and the two alien races ramp up their own war against each other, with several Human factions caught in the crossfire.

0 AL

• Destruction of the SS Unity.
• The colonists are dispersed across the planet, with a large majority clustering around the seven former members of the Unity's high command: Deirdre Skye, Sheng-ji Yang, Sister Miriam Godwinson, Nwabudike Morgan, Corazon Santiago, Pravin Lal, and Dr. Prokhor Zakharov.

1 AL

• The seven former members of the Unity's high command declare the existence of the various factions: Deirdre Skye controls Gaia's Stepdaughters, Sister Miriam Godwinson controls the Lord's Believers, Sheng-ji Yang controls the Human Hive, CEO Nwabudike Morgan controls Morgan Industries, Dr. Prokhor Zakharov controls the University of Planet, Colonel Corazon Santiago controls the Spartan Federation, and Commissioner Pravin Lal controls the United Nations Peacekeepers.
• Refugees begin streaming into the new cities and outposts being constructed by the seven factions.
• Humans across the planet encounter the native life forms that become known as Mind Worms with disastrous results. Several outposts are overwhelmed and destroyed.

2 to 15 AL

• The seven factions begin expanding outwards across the surface of the planet, encountering solitary colonies, more refugees, and more Mind Worms and the new Mind Worm Boils and Spore Launchers.

16 AL

• War breaks out between the Gaians and the Hive over a contested section of Chiron known as the Monsoon Jungle, where they both wish to expand. The war is short and the Gaians' use of Mind Worms and Mind Worm Boils as troops turns the tide in their favor, even against the numerical superiority of the Hive's military.
• The discovery of a young boy named Cha Dawn leads a number of colonists in the Gaian faction to break away to form the Cult of Planet, a group dedicated to worshiping the planet and living with the Mind Worms. The Cult of Planet takes with them a large number of Mind Worm Boils, drastically reducing the Gaian's military strength. Fortunately, the Gaians are able to conceal the massive defection in their military from the other factions.

26 AL

• The University of Planet faction, with resources from Morgan Industries, establishes a primitive global communication system, connecting all of the factions and a number of independent colonies together for the first time since landing on Chiron.
• Contact is established with the Nautilus Pirates, a previously unknown faction under the control of Ulrik Svensgaard. The Nautilus Pirates have established a series of floating colonies on one of the shallow oceans of Chiron.

32 AL

• Pravin Lal, the leader of the Peacekeepers, is the first leader to be elected to the position of Planetary Governor. This position is theoretically in charge of a planetary government, but few of the major factions follow the directives of the Planetary Governor.

34 AL

• The planetary sentience responds to the increasing strength of the Human colonies by creating the Mature Mind Worm Boils and the Mature Spore Launchers. Several factions are beginning to theorize that the Mind Worms and the Xenofungus is under indirect control of a large, guiding intelligence.

45 AL

• A massive uprising among the drone workers of the Human Hive leads to the formation of a new faction calling itself the Free Drones under the leadership of Foreman Alex Domai.
• Taking advantage of the Hive's position of weakness, the Cult of Planet expands into their territory, using Mind Worm Boils as shock troops.

62 AL

• The special espionage division of the Morgan Industries faction defects and joins a group of independent colonies. Soon after, the colonies declare the existence of the Data Angels faction.
• An experiment in artificial intelligence in the University faction leads to the creation of a hybrid Human and AI sharing the same body, the hybrid is given the code name Aki Zeta-5.

63 to 80 AL

• The Cult of Planet, the Gaians, the Hive, and the Free Drones descend into a massive war, with most of the independent colonies on their continent swallowed up as they struggle to join one side before the another side conquers them. Aside from consuming all of the remaining independent colonies surrounding them, none of the factions are able to make much ground during the war.
• Aki Zeta-5 becomes a strange messiah figure to many within the University faction as many colonists see her as the ultimate achievement in Human evolution.

81 AL

• A group of followers rescues Aki Zeta-5 from the research center where she was being held. Aki Zeta-5 leads her followers to an uninhabited section of the planet with the help of the Nautilus Pirates where she forms the Cybernetic Consciousness faction.

86 to 92 AL

• A viscous war breaks out between the Spartans and the Believers, resulting in the capture of most of the Believers territory. It is only the intervention of the Peacekeepers and Morgan Industries that prevent the Spartans from completely destroying the Believers.

103 AL

• The two Progenitor factions arrive on the planet. The Human factions do not know of the war between the Progenitor factions and believe that the Progenitors are all working together.

104 AL

• The first encounters with the Progenitor aliens result in violence.
• Dr. Prokhor Zakharov, the current Planetary Governor, declares the Progenitors to be enemies of humanity, but does nothing to rally the factions against them.

108 AL

• Desperate for protection from the powerful and aggressive Progenitors, many of the remaining independent colonies join one of the twelve existing Human factions.

110 AL

• The Spartan Federation secures the Nexus, which they believe is used to control the semi-sentient planet. With assistance from the University of Planet faction, the Spartans begin researching the capabilities of the Nexus.
• The most powerful of the native life forms, the Locusts of Chiron, begin to appear near the most destructive of Human colonies, especially those in the Morgan Industries, Human Hive, Cybernetic Consciousness, and Free Drone factions.

125 AL

• The Cult of Planet faction determines that the planet is entering a period of increased activity. Xenofungus growth is rapidly increasing along with the aggressiveness of all native life forms on the planet.
• The Data Angels learn of this development from an agent in the Cult of Planet and sells the information to all other Human factions.

133 AL

• Continuous exposure to the Xenofungus and repeated attempts by all factions to develop psionic or technological defenses against the native life forms leads to increased mutation among the colonists.
• Those infected with one such mutation, especially common among the Gaians, the Cult of Planet, the Spartans, and the Peacekeepers, become known as Transcends. These four factions are considered to be the closest to the semi-sentient planet and suffer the least from random attacks by the planet's native lifeforms.

138 to 140 AL

• A short war is fought between the University and the Cybernetic Consciousness. The war comes to an abrupt end when the Nautilus Pirate faction intervenes and sinks the University's entire navy.

145 AL

• The University of Planet faction launches the first satellite into orbit. Unfortunately, a severe budget crisis causes the faction to virtually shut down its space program.

148 to 158 AL

• The First Progenitor War: A ten year war is waged between one of the Progenitor factions and a small alliance of Human factions consisting of the Peacekeepers, the Cybernetic Consciousness, and the Data Angels. Although the Humans won several early battles, they were continually forced to retreat from the aliens' superior technology. By the end of the war, the three Human factions were militarily exhausted, and the colonies of the Peacekeeper faction were severely damaged by the aliens' attacks.

163 AL

• Present day.