1963

November 22nd (Dallas, Texas, United States of America, Earth) – US President John F Kennedy survives an assassination attempt in Dallas, Texas, USA.  CIA and FBI involvement is exposed and the organizations are disbanded and reformed as the American Intelligence Directorate.
“Over a year ago, at Rice, I challenged this country to do something.  As it turns out, some people didn’t like that and felt that their programs should be better funded.  I stand here today, to show you that while my policies may have been unpopular with certain…elements…of society, my resolve is just as strong as it was then.  We WILL go to the Moon, and we will not stop there.  Space exploration is for the good of all Mankind, in addition to being a valid form of non-military competition and actual cooperation with our Red friends in Russia.  Now, with that taken care of, I’ll take a few questions…” – JFK, Parkland Memorial Hospital Speech, Dallas, Texas, USA, 11/23/1963

1967

July 4th (Sea of Tranquility, Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – First manned moon landing by United States made at the Sea of Tranquility.  Gus Grissom is the first human on the moon.
October 14th (Oceanus Procellarum, Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – The Soviet Union makes their first manned moon landing, at Oceanus Procellarum.  Alexy Leonov is the first Soviet on the moon.

1968

May 23rd (Mare Cognitum, Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – The continued space exploration cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union, thanks in part to the unprecedented friendship between Nikita Khrushchev and John F Kennedy reaches its zenith with a joint Soviet/United States lunar landing.  Premier Khrushchev, President Robert Kennedy,  and now-Ambassador John F Kennedy (US Ambassador to the United Nations) congratulate the astronauts and cosmonauts in a communications session from the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

1969

The initial components and crew of what will become the United States’s first permanent manned moon base are set up at the Sea of Tranquility.

1970

The initial components and crew of what will become the Soviet Union’s first permanent manned moon base are set up inside the Tycho Crater.  Opening of the first permanent manned moon base by USSR, Tycho Crater

1970 through 1975

The United States’s space program focuses on the development of Near-Earth Space, while the Soviet Union’s space program looks to Mars.

1971

The United States launches its first heavy lifter rocket, a derivative of the Saturn V program.  This rocket is used throughout the 1970s to launch additional and supplies for the Tranquility Base, along with modules for Low Earth Orbit space stations.  It operates until the early 1980s, when it is replaced with the first wave of reusable vehicles capable of performing the same purposes.

1972

Kurdistan declares its independence from Turkey and Iraq.  Both the United States and Soviet Union intervene on their behalf, attempting to get the new nation to side with them.  In the end, Kurdistan affiliates with neither superpower but instead goes about forming its own regional bloc – the Union of Arab States.  The UAS never reaches the ‘superpower’ status that the Warsaw Pact or NATO reached, but it remains an influential regional power to this day.

1973

The United States completes the initial construction of its first Low Earth Orbit space station.  The initial crew size is 5, but upgrades throughout its career upgrade it to have the capacity to house 50 people before its decommissioning in the late 1980s.  It is primarily a research facility, but accusations that it is testing space-based weaponry run rampant throughout its career, especially during the Reagan Administration.

1975

March 18th (Baikonur Cosmodrome, Soviet Union) – The Soviet Union launches their first manned mission to Mars, with the goal of landing on the planet.  At the time, it is announced as only an orbital mission and a test for a manned landing to follow the following year.
September 17th (Valles Marineris, Mars) – The Soviet Union accomplishes the first manned Mars landing, with the cosmonauts spending a week near Valles Marineris before departing for Earth.

1978

August 12th (Utopia Planitia, Mars) – The United States, having scrambled to catch up with the Soviet Union since 1975, finally accomplishes its first manned landing on Utopia Planitia on Mars.  Seeking to ‘one-up’ the Soviet Union and not fall behind, they utilize a descent stage which is designed to form the first par of a planned permanent manned base on Mars.

1980

The Soviet Union announces the opening of its first permanent manned Mars base, having been constructing it in secret on the floor of the Tithonium Chasma section of Valles Marineris.  While it is an unmanned facility at the announcement, it receives its first crew several months later.  This base is a semi-underground structure, comprising of tunnels dug into the walls of the canyon along with exterior buildings connected to the tunnels.  The base is is initially reliant upon frequent resupply missions from Earth, but by 1985 the cosmonauts have constructed a large enough greenhouse and hydroponics system to gives themselves a degree of self-sufficiency that limits the amount consumables that need to be sent via supply missions, allowing for an increased amount of research to take place at the base.  The base would later form the lower level of the Valles Marineris colony.

1981

The first orbital colony is completed by the United States.  The housing capacity is 800 people, and its rotating living areas provide a constant .8 G in the areas not devoted to Zero-G manufacturing.  While a novel concept at the time, this concept is never used for uses other than manufacturing centers.  Both the United States’s and Soviet Unions’s space programs have come to the conclusion that building colonies where there is already a ground to work with is easier and refocus their efforts on the Moon and Mars.  The colony is operated until 2009, when it is decommissioned.

1982

USA opens first permanent manned base on Mars, at Utopia Planitia.  Thanks to a technology sharing program between the USA and the USSR, this base is built with the same greenhouse and hydroponics system that the Soviet base at Valles Marineris uses.

1983

General Secretary of the Soviet Union Yuri Andropov institutes the first of many reforms of the Soviet political system.

1984

Forces loyal to General Secretary Andropov suppress a military coup.  General Secretary Andropov accelerates the changes he began instituting the previous year.

1985

December 27th (Moscow, Soviet Union/Russia, Earth) – General Secretary Andropov announces the formal breakup of the Soviet Union.  Two days later, after suppressing another coup attempt, he is named the Premier of the Russian Republic.

1986

April 26th (Pripyat, Ukraine, Earth) – The experimental fusion reactor under joint Ukrainian/Russian control near Pripyat, Ukraine undergoes an emergency shutdown after experiencing magnetic field failures.  It was later determined that the magnetic field failures had caused a cascade reaction, damaging the cooling system of the neighboring fission reactors, which led to a catastrophic cooling system failure.  The fission reactors melted down explosively, breaching the containment dome and leading to the worst nuclear disaster in history.  The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone would remain the most radioactively contaminated area on the Earth’s surface until the creation of the Sydney Exclusion Zone in the wake of the Sydney Mystery in October 2015.
What is not know at the time is that this is merely a half-true cover story.  While the fusion reactor did indeed undergo shutdown on April 26th, the meltdown of the fission reactor was completely unrelated.  The cover story was fabricated to hide the fact that the scientists at the facility were actually studying the entities that would later become known as Destruction spirits – who didn’t take kindly to the fact that the scientists were attempting to harness them as power sources.  The entire CNPP Facility was actually an experimental lab used by the Soviets for the study of magic, and the primary experiments going on the facility were involving the mass-manufacture of magical devices.  The resulting destruction of the CNPP scattered thousands of half-finished devices throughout the area.  Enterprising adventurers known as would engage in the recovery of these devices for numerous factions over the decades that followed.  Many of the devices of modern origin discovered across the world since 1986 likely originate from this incident.  The adventurers who entered the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to retrieve these devices are also responsible for the spread of device creation techniques – the modern method of creating magic devices is based on the techniques that had been developed at the CNPP labs before the accident.

1989

The propulsion system later known as the Stover Fusion Drive is developed by a joint American, Chinese, and Russian team.  This fusion propulsion system decreases the amount of time it takes to travel to Mars by a fair margin, and is used by the Chinese to open their first Martian base in the early 1990s.  The Stover Drive, although heavily upgraded, still remains the primary sublight propulsion method for the Terran Alliance in 2030.

1990

The small nation of Kuwait, seeking to expand its borders and seize more oil-rich lands invades the neighboring nations of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.  Nobody is quite sure where the massive military forces come from, but it is certain that it was all purchased with oil profits.  American General H Norman Schwarzkopf is called upon to lead an alliance of global nations to drive back the invading forces and free the three countries.  This marks the first use of satellite kinetic bombardment systems in anger when they are used to destroy heavily fortified command bunkers in Kuwait.  Public outcry about the use of oil profits to buy military hardware leads to the beginning of a global switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources.  The effort to switch would eventually fail due to lobbying from energy companies and it becomes stalled in governments around the world, leading to the resource shortage crises that would mark the first decade and a half of the 21st century as a time period during which there was at least one ongoing war at any given time..

1992

The first manned exploration of the asteroid belt scouts out locations for possible mining colonies.

1994

March 17th through June 20th (Spratly Islands, Earth) – The Spratly Islands War – Although the status of this conflict as a ‘war’ is a subject of some debate, there was armed conflict.  Some historians prefer the terms ‘conflict,’ ‘boondoggle,’ and ‘clusterfuck.’  The Spratly Islands War was a conflict that arose over hydrocarbons.  It consisted of a three-month long series of armed conflicts and diplomatic posturing between Brunei, China (People’s Republic of China), Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan (Republic of China), and Vietnam, over the long-standing issue of ‘who controls the Spratly Islands.’  After losses on all sides of the conflict, the situation was resolved when a multinational oil company (the now-defunct PacOil, which went bankrupt in 2016 after their headquarters and leadership disappeared along with the island of Oahu) offered to buy the islands from all sides outright for a very large sum of cash, in exchange for offering the involved nations discounted oil prices – an agreement which did not go over well with nations not involved with the conflict.  This was the first instance of nations granting corporate extraterritoriality, and the repercussions of this not only laid the political groundwork for facilities such as the Yang Enterprise’s Astroconstruction facilities orbiting Neptune, but also sowed the seeds for the Belt Rebellion in 2022.

1996

Construction starts on what would become the Vesta Mining Colony in the asteroid belt.  The construction is a first for extraterrestrial settlements, as it is funded primarily by a consortium of natural resource development corporations, rather than by a nation or group of nations.  The Vesta Mining Colony reaches early operational status in 1998 and begins working on following rich olivine veins inwards to the asteroid’s core.  The olivine is broken down through chemical processes to extract the valuable manganese, which is then sent back to Earth along with other harvested resources.  As the population of Vesta increases, it is eventually mined out of the richest deposits and becomes a population hub in the asteroid belt as the miners move on to work on other asteroids.

1998

January 19th through November 30th (Turkmenistan) – The Caspian Crisis – Simply put, the Caspian Crisis was a proxy war between the United States and the Russian Federation fought over the petroleum reserves in the Caspian Sea region.  An armed revolution in Turkmenistan that received backing from the United States was countered by the Russian Federation backing the government that was in place.  The revolutionaries wanted to open trade with more countries for the oil reserves that they controlled, while the state wanted to continue their exclusive contracts with Russia.  Had the Caspian Crisis occurred several years earlier, it may have spelled the end of the Zeus I mission to Jupiter, which was slated to launch at the end of January of 1999.

1999

January 27th (Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – A joint USA/Russian manned mission to Jovian System, known as Zeus I, launches from Lunar orbit.  Initial plans to include China on the mission fell through due to a serious deterioration of Sino/Russian relations following a border skirmish in 1998.  The Zeus I spacecraft is powered by a new generation of Stover Drives and incorporates both heavy radiation shielding along with a first-generation magnetic shielding device to protect the crew from the intense radiation it would encounter in the Jovian system.  The Zeus I mission was almost cancelled due to the rise in United States/Russian tensions during the Caspian Crisis the previous year, but cooler heads prevailed and realized it would be a colossal waste of resources to cancel the mission that had been in planning for over five years.
November 5th (Jupiter, Sol system) – Zeus I arrives in Jovian orbit and soon navigates to Europa, entering orbit to begin preparations for a manned landing on the icy moon.
November 14th (Europa [Jupiter II], Sol system) – The Zeus I lander makes a successful landing on Europa.  The lander relies heavily on its magnetic shielding, being too small to use dense shielding materials, so the crew’s first priority is to begin drilling to reach the liquid water underneath the moon’s icy surface.  The drilling is needed both to perform the research that the crew is there to do, and to provide fuel for both the fuel cells and fusion reactor aboard the lander both of which were required to power the magnetic shielding and systems which would allow for an extended stay.
November 15th (Europa [Jupiter II], Sol system) – Thanks to the fusion-powered plasma drill used by the Zeus I lander, contact is made with the liquid water sea underneath Europa’s icy surface in a little over a day.  Now with the ability to engage in a longer-duration stay aboard Europa, the crew begins to engage in research with the deployment of remotely-operated and autonomous underwater vehicles down the drill shaft and into the salt water sea beneath them.  Microbial life is discovered almost immediately (in water brought up to power the fuel cells and reactor), but this announcement is not made public at the time.
November 16th (Europa [Jupiter II], Sol system) – The Zeus I ROVs and AUVs begin to descend lower in the water column, finding an ever-increasing array of life as they moved deeper and deeper into the 100 kilometer deep ocean.  Many of the creatures discovered appear to rely on senses other than sight, though some species with bioluminsence are discovered.
November 17th (Europa [Jupiter II], Sol system) – The Zeus I ground team begin to report strange happenings, primarily audio hallucinations and weird dreams.  These continue for the next several days, but have no major impact on the functionality of the ground team.
November 20th (Europa [Jupiter II], Sol system) – With both the Zeus I mission commander in orbit above Europa and the mission control team back on Earth thinking that the ground team was on the verge of going stir-crazy, a remarkable discovery was made down in the drilling room of the Zeus I lander.  A squid-like creature had swam up from the depths and dismantled the gate at the bottom of the drill shaft before rising through the water column to the pool contained in the drilling room.  This creature displayed remarkable intelligence, and one bold, some say foolhardy, scientist decided to touch the creature.  At that point, everything changed, as the squid-like creature began to speak through the scientist.  The creature clearly had no concept of verbal language, and was relying primarily on the scientist’s own speech capacity to communicate.  The rudimentary words, though clumsy, represented Humanity’s first known contact with a non-human biological intelligence: “Welcome to dry ones.  Expected you were.”  This entire incident was ordered covered up by the project leads back on Earth, reportedly at the order of two unidentified entities: “НУ” and “M12.”  The controllers were afraid of how humans would respond to the revelation there were ‘mind-reading squid’ on Europa, so press releases made after the discovery were limited to discussion about the other life that had been discovered.

2002

September 19th (Vatican City, Earth) – Pope Anistasius V opens the Third Vatican Council to discuss possible changes to the Catholic Church’s relations to the slow, inevitable tide of social change in the world.  The Council lasts until 2005, during which time there is much (non-violent) infighting inside the Church.  The Sedevecantist factions who were still bitter after the Second Vatican Council issued sweeping changes in 1965 thought they could use the Council as an opportunity to revert the Church back to pre-Vatican II policies, but their ideas were rejected every time they were brought up.  The most controversial change made during what became known as ‘Vatican III’ was the end to the idea that the Roman Catholic Church was the ‘one true religion’ of humanity.  While most of the faith reacted positively to the changes, it only reinforced the views of splinter groups such as the Sedevecantists.  Anistasius’s opening remarks set the tone for the Council: “It is time for the Catholic Church to become a modern and reasonable religion, which requires us to undergo evolutionary changes.” *a mild murmur of laughter rises from the assembled cardinals for a few moments* “The time has come to abandon all intolerance. We must recognize that religious truth evolves and changes. Truth is not absolute or set in stone. Even atheists acknowledge the divine. Through acts of love and charity the atheist acknowledges God as well, and redeems his own soul, becoming an active participant in the redemption of humanity.”

2003

June 28th through June 30th (Ireland, Earth, Sol system) – The Peat War – The Peat War is best described as ‘limited inter-corporate armed engagement.’   The conflict began when a peat harvesting company ‘accidentally’ overreached their designated area and began to harvest from a competitor’s territory.  Security forces for each company fired on each other, and the situation spiraled out of control from there.  When all was said and done, a few hundred people had been killed before the government intervened to put an end to the conflict.  There is debate about if it should be included as part of the ‘Resource Wars’ that took place between 1990 and 2015, since it was an internal conflict in Ireland and was an example of purely corporate-on-corporate conflict.

2004

August 4th (Tranquility City, Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – An integrity failure of one of the surface components of the Tranquility City colony on Luna leads to the decompression of several components, causing a sizable amount of casualties.

2005

May 1st (Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – A joint International mission to Venus’s atmosphere launches from Lunar orbit.  Unlike the Zeus I mission, the Aphrodite I mission included several European nations.  It also included China, thanks to a thaw in the Sino/Russian hostilities that had run rampant from 1998 through 2003.
May 27th (Venus, Sol system) – The Aphrodite I mission at Venus and spends a week floating through the Venusian atmosphere before returning to Earth.
June 2nd through December 1st (Pacific Ocean, Earth) – The Nodule Rush – The Nodule Rush was a limited military engagement fought throughout the Pacific Ocean as nations moved to attempt to seize the manganese-rich nodules found on the ocean floor.  The end result of the Rush was the rise of the Micronesian Federation, a conglomerate of island nations who banded together with corporate support to manage their own mineral wealth, instead of having it be controlled by superpowers.

2007

April 23rd through June 8th (Democratic Republic of Congo, Earth) – The Uranium Conflict –  This conflict originally appeared to be a civil war inside the DRC, but as the war went on it was discovered that the conflict had been orchestrated by an American corporation to secure access to cheap uranium.  The end result of this war left the United States with limited access to Uranium beyond the deposits within its own borders (since even Canada was wary of sending them any after this).  This lead to the development of the hafnium bomb, which had less destructive potential than previous generations of nuclear weapons.  This instead forced a change in US deterrence doctrine to rely more on orbital laser and kinetic bombardment technologies than strategic missile systems.

2009

June 1st (Vatican City, Earth) – Pope Anistasisus V dies in his sleep.  At his funeral, the Pope known as the “Great Reformer” had one last surprise for the world – a twenty page encyclical calling for allowing women in the priesthood and suggesting that the next Pope be female.  The encyclical is praised by some, and blasted by others, especially American evangelicals who deem it blasphemous and call for ‘divine retribution’ upon those who support the document.
June 22nd (Vatican City, Earth) – In a surprising move, the Papal conclave votes in the first round of voting to follow Anistasius’s wishes, and elects Nicolette Sauvageau – a French nun – as the new Pontiff.  Sauvageau, who had been one of Anistasius’s advisors, takes the name Joan II as her papal name.  Notable is the fact that almost all of the American cardinals voted against her – a fact that comes out days after the election, flying in the face of tradition that the votes are supposed to remain secret.  The new Pope is well-received, except by die-hard conservatives, especially in the United States.

2011

Mankind’s first attempt to journey beyond the solar system, Barnard One, departs from Luna for Barnard’s Star.  The automated probe uses an experimental quantum entanglement communications device for FTL communications (albeit at an extremely slow speed, around 5 kilobits per second, with increasing communication lag time as the spacecraft’s distance from Earth increased).  The journey is estimated to take 50 years.

2012

November 6th (United States of America, Earth) – A radical right political candidate, Governor Reginald Abraham of Alabama, wins the presidential elections in the United States, promising “…a return to traditional family values…” and “…a new era of American excellence…”  His party also wins control of the House and Senate, giving them de-facto control over the nation.  The party draws its support base primarily from evangelicals, but brings in a fair amount of support from the rest of the conservative base as well.  The opposing candidate, Representative Charlotte Coleman of Vermont produces evidence of possible ballot manipulation, but in late November the Supreme Court rules in favor of President-Elect Abraham.
December 20th (Earth) – Strange readings are detected along major fault lines throughout the world.  Small earthquakes also occur in previously stable areas.  Some seismologists express concern that this could be a sign of an impending disaster, but no preparations are made and they are dismissed as being ‘caught up in the 2012 doomsaying.’
December 21st (Earth) – “The Day of Fire”  Volcanic activity skyrockets worldwide as numerous volcanoes erupt.
A major eruption at Mount Rainier produces deadly lahars and pyroclastic flows, devastating the surrounding area including Tacoma, WA.  Due to weather conditions, Seattle is covered in several feet of ash.
An eruption at a previously-unknown hotpost north of New York City occurs, with slow running lava heading towards the city.  The lava flow diverted into sea, forming a land bridge connecting mainland and Long Island.
“We’re getting scattered reports out of New York City, something about a disruption in the subway system that turned out to be what’s now being called a “volcanic anomaly…”
“In what sounds like the plot of a low-budget disaster movie, New York City was saved from certain destruction via hot lava by the heroic efforts of tunnel-borers, sewer workers, road crews, and firefighters – who dug tunnels, diverted flow in sewers, set up barricades, and successfully diverted the lava flow into the water…”
A major volcanic event occurs beneath Lake Geneva in Switzerland, causing waves of superheated water to swamp Geneva, destroying the United Nations HQ.  The volcano continues to erupt forming an island in the middle of the lake.  The UN Headquarters is relocated to the UN facilities London, England.
“The world is in shock today as Geneva, Switzerland, seat of the United Nations, was overwhelmed by superheated steam in what has to be the Europe’s worst volcanic disaster since the year-long Icelandic Rift eruptions that disrupted air travel almost three years ago…”
Quick thinking and correspondence between military commanders in charge of prototype orbital laser installations belonging to the USA and Russia prevented several volcanic shorelines from collapsing into the seas and creating megatsunamis.  The vaporization of these volcanic landslides waiting to happen marked the first operational use of orbital lasers against ground-based targets. For a few weeks there was some finger-pointing at China’s unwillingness to provide tactical coordination for the stations (they lacked laser installations to participate themselves), but this vanished after their interactions with Taiwan the following month.
“Today will go down in history as the first operational use of an orbital laser installation against a ground target.  Several laser station commanders – all from different nations – are being hailed as heroes by coastal-dwelling people around the world.  Their quick thinking, collaboration, and communication with geological specialists averted catastrophic tsunamis from being caused by collapsing volcanic cliffs and shores. Proponents of the orbital laser stations are hailing this as a peaceful use for the orbital battle stations…”
A magnitude 9 earthquake devastates Taiwan, setting the stage for an unexpected political development in the next month.

2013

January 1st (Mars/UMC) – The colonies of Mars belonging to the USA, Russia, and the EU secede from their parent nations and merge together into the United Martian Colonies. There is no protest from their home nations due to the crisis still being resolved back on Earth.  This political situation had been simmering for the past few years, with the residents of the colonies being unhappy that they had to fund the disastrous endeavors of the Resource Wars with their tax dollars.
January 19th through 31st (Taiwan, Earth) – The first typhoon of the year developed into an abnormally strong storm (for early January) and dumped tons of rain on Taiwan, inflicting heavy damage upon the Taiwanese infrastructure.  Pleas for foreign assistance go out, and in an unusual turn of events the United States declined to offer aid, stating that they ‘could not afford the expenditure.’  It would be theorized later on that this was an attempt to smear the incoming administration by the outgoing administration.  Taiwan turns to China’s offer instead, desperate for support – an aid package which forced Taiwan to accept the long-standing “one nation, two states” reunification solution, in which Taiwan is allowed to govern itself but is officially part of the People’s Republic of China.  After over 60 years, there is once again ‘One China.’
Late January/Early February (United States of America, Earth) – After his inauguration on January 21st, the President Abraham and the Senate proceed to pass waves of new laws which tread the line of separation of church and state, seemingly with the goal of turning the United States into a borderline Christian theocracy.  The line ‘under God’ is restored to the pledge of allegiance (after having been removed in the late 1980s), the teaching of creationism is mandated at a federal level, and numerous other bills of suspect nature are passed in the space of a few weeks.  Attempts to get the Supreme Court to review the laws are stymied, as the court is down 3 justices and by the time the cases are brought before them Congress has approved 3 new justices from their own party, bringing their representation on the Court to 6 justices, giving them control over the Court.  This wave of legislation does not go unnoticed by the Vatican, who criticizes the draconian, seemingly backwards moves that the United States is making.
February 17th (New York, United States of America, Earth and Vladivostok, Russian Federation, Earth) – Two technology startups – one the maker of centralized control systems for vehicles, the other a digital intelligence development firm – begin a partnership, marking the first step on the road to tying Soft AI systems into command and control systems for vehicles.  This will later lead to the current incarnation of the ShipOS platform that runs most Terran Alliance vehicles.
March 3rd (Massachusetts, United States of America, Earth) – Terrorists attack the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and take President Abraham’s son hostage, issuing an extensive list of demands the relate to reparations for the United States’ actions during the Resource Wars, primarily focused on the Uranium Conflict of 2007.  As the event goes down in the books, the President refused to negotiate with the terrorists, who began to execute hostages when there was an incident involving some technology that was being developed at the time in one of the nearby labs that left the terrorists dead and the President’s son rescued.  The details of the incident have remained classified to this day, all that is known is that it involved the future CEC General Marko Suslovich and the early stages of what would become the Nanite Materialization System.  General Suslovich was studying at MIT at the time under a grant from the Russian Army, and has repeatedly declined to comment on this event.  Neither the United States or its successor states have seen fit to declassify the records of the event.
March 10th (Alborz Mountains, Iran, Earth) – In retaliation for the March 3rd terrorist attack, the President Abraham orders an attack on Iran, where the American Intelligence Directorate has determined the terrorists of being based and having government backing from.  The attack is made via the US Space Command’s Orbital Bombardment Platform New York on the suspected terrorist training camp in the Alborz Mountains in Northern Iran.  In an effort to ‘make a statement,’ the largest ammunition available – a 25′ solid tungsten rod, delivering an amount of destructive force equivalent to a small nuclear weapon.
March 11th (Earth) – The United Nations, European Union nations, Russia, and other powers decry the United States’ use of ‘unreasonable force.’  The Abraham administration shrugs it off with a statement that the United States “…has a right to protect itself, and those who question that should rethink their relationship with this great nation.”
March 12th (United States of America, Earth) – Protests against the United States’ use of ‘unreasonable force’ begin to pop up inside the USA, but they are few and far between for the moment.
April 19th (United States of America, Earth) – In an effort to stave off future terrorist attacks like the MIT attack, the United States begins to implement Project SILVER SMOKE, a secret initiative to tap and monitor all communication networks within and routed through the USA.
April 27th (United States of America, Earth) – New laws are passed inside the United States that mandate federal ID cards to enter all federal buildings, vote in presidential elections, and as a form of identification to be presented to law enforcement whenever asked for.  These laws are heavily criticized by privacy advocates, as the ID cards are embedded with passive tracking chips that can be used to monitor a citizen’s whereabouts whenever they pass near a scanner.  The fear caused by the March terrorist attack overwhelms the criticism, and the cards are accepted – if somewhat begrudgingly – by the masses.
May 3rd (Russian Federation and United States of America, Earth) – The diplomatic relations between Russia and the United States begin to degrade in a surprising turn of events when Russia begins to speak against the Abraham administration’s suppression of rights in the United States.
July 4th (United States of America, Earth) – The American Intelligence Directorate foils a supposed terrorist plot to attack Washington, DC during the Independence Day festivities.  The plot is pinned on ‘pro-Russian radicals’ in the words of President Abraham.  The method of attack is never announced, and records of this incident are lost during World War 3, leaving some later historians wondering about the plausibility of this incident.  Recently, historians have theorized that this incident was manufactured by President Abraham’s administration to pass policy targeting Russia.
July 7th (Russian Federation, Earth) – The Russian government refuses to cooperate with the investigation of the July 4th planned attack, and the Abraham administration retaliates by shutting down ongoing joint programs with Russia.  The Zeus VIII mission to Jupiter is abandoned, from an American point of view, and control of the mission and its crew is handed over to Roscosmos and Russia.  Upon their return to Earth, the American portion of the crew declines to return to the United States and elects to stay at Baikonur.
August 15th (United States of America, Earth) – Angered by Russia’s continued denial of information regarding the July 4th incident, the US government institutes new restrictions on trade with Russia.
September 20th (United States of America, Earth) – Due to ‘popular demand,’ President Abraham announces that the government will be deporting all Russian nationals from the United States starting on January 1st if they have not left on their own by then.
December 4th (Tehran, Iran, Earth) – A student uprising happens in Tehran, Iran, leading to a massive crackdown on civil liberties by the government.
December 8th (Iran, Earth) – The Iranian crackdown on civil liberties backfires, and Iran erupts into a civil war.  Three factions vie for control: those backing the student uprising (the Student’s Union), who seek greater civil liberties and closer ties to the rest of the world (who are backed by Russia); the government, who seeks to regain control of the situation (who are backed by the Union of Arab States, who fears that this could set off a wave of revolts in their own nations); and a group of corporations and businessmen who seek to transform Iran into a more plutocratic society, not unlike the United States or the more oil-rich nations in the Middle East (who are backed by the United States).

2014

January 1st (United States of America, Earth) – The United States begins to deport the remaining Russian nationals from its territory.
October 18th (Iran, Earth) – The Iranian Civil War ends in abruptly and decisively favor of the Student’s Union and their Russian backers following a sudden Russian intervention in the conflict.  The former government flees into exile in Turkmenistan, while the leaders of the corporate faction backed by the United States flee to Afghanistan.
November 1st (United States of America, Earth) – A late-season hurricane devastates the northeastern United States, days before election day.  Elections are cancelled throughout the northeast, which had been highly critical of the President recently and was expected to vote in numerous members of the opposing party.  President Abraham declares that the hurricane was ‘punishment from God’ against the Northeast for their vocal opposition to his policies and their own internal policies which ran counter to recently-instituted federal laws.
November 8th (United States of America, Earth) – With many representatives and senators from the Northeastern US back home surveying the damage, the US House and Senate suddenly decide to vote against providing federal aid money to the northeastern states.  This decision is met with outrage from the states affected by the hurricane, and criticism from the international community as a whole.  They also vote to delay the elections in the affected states until 2016, causing more outrage.
November 10th (United States of America, Earth) – Fed up with the way that they have been treated, governments from the states affected by the hurricane (led by now-Governor Charlotte Coleman) threaten secession if the federal government does not reverse its decision to deny federal disaster aid funding to the northeastern states.
November 12th (United States of America, Earth) – Under orders from the President, operatives from the American Intelligence Directorate covertly remove all evidence of Project SILVER SMOKE from the northeastern states.
November 14th (United States of America/Northern States of America, Earth) – In response to the recent decisions passed in Washington by President Abraham and the Legislative Branch, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine secede from the United States and reorganize as the Northeastern States of America (NSA).  President Abraham’s response to this was entered into the public record as:
“Good riddance, let the blasted liberals fornicate in their own filth.  They’ll get no money from us to repair their cesspools until they institute laws more in line with United States federal policy.”
Forces on military bases in the seceding states are told to relocate to other bases post-haste, but are given the option to join the newly-formed armed forces of the NSA by the governors of the seceding states.  Some troops leave, and some stay, but  the US Government makes no attempt to retrieve the weaponry and facilities that were left behind at the bases.
November 15th (United States of America/Northern States of America, Earth) – American military personnel from the states that now comprise the NSA are given a choice – be discharged with a General Discharge and immediately return home, or have their state of residence officially changed to “Deployed Military Personnel” and be forced to move by December 31st to a new state with minimal compensation for the forced move.
November 20th (United States of America/Northern States of America, Earth) – The United States formally issues the NSA a bill for the hardware abandoned on the former US military bases in the NSA.  While it was certainly not the intention of the Abraham administration, this act is later used as evidence against the Abraham administration when it attempts to make a claim that the NSA is still a part of the USA.  The NSA cannot afford to pay the bill, but the EU steps in and offers to pay off the USA’s bill provided that the NSA pay them back.  Modern historians theorize that the original intent of this move was to provide a twisted form of cassus belli for a war when the NSA would be unable to provide monetary compensation to the United States.
December (Earth) – Following their disastrous intervention in Iran, American forces are kicked out of most of their overseas bases, leading to a concentration of American military in the few nations where they are still welcome – Israel, Bahrain, Qatar, and Morocco (in exchange for recognizing Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara) – as well as the two nations that the United States still has forces deployed – Iraq and Afghanistan.

2015 (From here through 2017, date entries flagged with ^S indicate that an event was part of the Shadow Wars that happened behind the scenes of World War III.  For full details of these events, see the Shadow Wars page.)

March 20th (United States/Iran, Earth) – A whistleblower from the AID flees to Iran and leaks some of the details of Project SILVER SMOKE.  The United States demands Iran hand over the leaker, but Iran (with Russian backing) refuses to do so.  The United States threatens military action over the refusal, but does not do anything immediately.
April 10th (Iran, Earth) – The AID whistleblower releases more damning information about the United States’s actions involving SILVER SMOKE, and threatens to release the remaining details of Project SILVER SMOKE as well as additional information he has on US efforts to spy on the rest of the world.
April 11th <GENERALLY-ACCEPTED START OF WORLD WAR 3> (Iran, Earth) – The United States’s response to the leaker’s threat is to launch another orbital strike on Iran, this one demolishing the complex where the leaker was being housed along with the surrounding buildings.  Civilian casualties are well into the hundreds before the end of the day.
April 12th (Geneva, Switzerland, Earth) – An emergency session of the United Nations Security Council votes to eject the United States from the Security Council, even though the United States is predicted to use their veto power to block the measure.  Under orders from President Abraham, the United States representative does not veto the decision of the Council, and instead relays a statement from the President, which states that “the United States shall go alone in their endeavor to rid the world of evil.”  Germany is given the United States’ former Security Council seat as the United States’s Ambassador is escorted out under armed guard to be flown back to the United States.
April 13th (United States of America, Earth) – The United States’s diplomatic relations abroad begin to go further downhill as the Abraham administration and Congress roll out new media guidelines for that border on propaganda and information suppression.
April 14th (Haifa, Israel, Earth) – United States and Israeli forces based at the Haifa Base in Israel launch strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities in an effort to cripple Iran’s strategic offensive capabilities in preparation for a ground assault.
April 15th (Iran and Israel, Earth) – Iran launches a missile strike on the USA’s Haifa Base in Israel in retaliation for the previous day’s strikes.  The missile strike includes numerous conventional rockets, along with one nuclear-armed missile, which devastates the city of Haifa.  Syria and Jordan take the opportunity to declare war on Israel once again, and send their troops over their borders to reclaim lost territory.
April 16th (North America, Earth) – The NSA, Canada, Mexico cut off trade with the US and restrict border traffic to people fleeing oppression inside the US.  The NSA declares its neutrality and heavily criticizes the USA’s use of force on Iran.
April 17th (Israel, Earth) – Palestinians begin rioting in Israel, and rocket strikes from Gaza and the West Bank begin targeting Israeli population centers.
April 20th (Israel, Earth) – Syria completes their reclamation of the Golan Heights and stops at the old border from before the 1967 Six-Day war, hesitant to proceed further.
April 23rd (Israel, Earth) – After fierce fighting, Israel is forced to cede the West Bank to Jordan when their Jordanian government declares that they are willing to assault Jerusalem.
April 28th (Israel, Earth) – In an effort to prevent further damage to holy sites in Israel, the Vatican begins to broker a peace treaty between the PLO and Israel, with a goal of moving towards a one-state solution.
May 1st (United States of America, Earth) – The United States effectively declares all nations not officially allied them to be potential enemies, and that any attack against the US or it’s (few) allies will be treated as an act of war.  Nations found to harboring enemies of the United States (wittingly or unwittingly) or who refuse to hand over people wanted under US Law will also be seen as belligerent and subject to attack.
May 4th^S (United States of America) – A mysterious disease, later determined to be a strain of E bola, erupts in the United States, which is determined a week later to be a biological attack.  The government declares martial law and begins to quarantine infected cities.
May 20th^S (Earth) – Spain is blamed (by the United States) for releasing the disease in the United States after it is traced to a Spanish Research Lab.  Spain denies the allegations and insists that the disease release was intentionally released by the Abraham administration on its own people as part of a false flag operation to justify more ‘American aggression.’
May 21st (Strait of Gibraltar, Earth) – The US forces in Morocco are given orders to take Gibraltar.  1st Battle of Gibraltar ends in a defeat for the US.
May 23rd (Strait of Gibraltar, Earth) – US warplanes based out of Morocco proceed to lay siege to Gibraltar with the aim of cutting off its supply lines, beginning the 2nd Battle of Gibraltar.  A Spanish request for aid from France is dismissed by the French, causing a heightening in French/Spanish tensions for decades to come.
May 24th (Strait of Gibraltar, Earth) – US airstrikes kill Lucho Valencia, the commander of the defense forces of Gibraltar, dealing a crippling blow to the Spanish defense effort.
May 28th (Strait of Gibraltar, Earth) – The 2nd Battle of Gibraltar ends in a victory for the United States.  US forces begin their march into Spain, presumably to hunt down the culprits of the suspected bioterror attack.
May 30th (North Pacific Coast, North America, Earth) – Under pressure from the United Nations, Canada announces a blockade of the Inside Passage, forcing US water routes to Alaska out into the North Pacific.
June 12th (United States of America, Earth) – Secretly, the Teuthidoids give up on trying to talk the Abraham administration out of their actions.  They withdraw their representatives back to their South Pacific base.
June 25th (Vatican City, Earth) – The Vatican Treaty is signed, bringing about an end to the ongoing Palestinian/Israeli conflict inside Israel.  The solution settled on is one that promises to give equal representation to both groups, and is referred to as the “Combined Republics of Israel and Palestine.”
July 4th (District of Columbia, United States of America, Earth) – A plot to attack Washington, DC, with a small nuclear weapon is foiled by the AID.  The culprits are Iranian nationals, and the weapon they were going to use is of Chinese make.  The American government places the blame squarely on Iran, but – wary of aggravating a neutral superpower – goes no further than declaring that “…China ought to keep a closer eye on its nuclear arsenal…” in the way of blaming China.  Post-war analysis has turned up no definite leads as to if elements of the Chinese government were attempting to indirectly stir up trouble, and the general consensus of historians is that the weapon was acquired through illicit means on the black market.  No accusations of this being a false flag operation have been levelled to this day, presumably due to the amount of documentation there is on this incident.
July 5th (Iran, Earth) – US forces in Bahrain and Qatar begin a devastating air campaign against Iran after that nation denies an extradition request for the leader of the group that organized the July 4th Plot.
July 9th (Persian Gulf, Earth) – US Troops stationed in Bahrain and Qatar storm across the Persian Gulf and begin landing on Iran’s southern shore.  Severe casualties in the operation are inflicted by Iranian anti-ship missiles before special operations forces paradropped behind enemy lines several days before are able to disable the missile sites.  The losses have a demoralizing effect on the US populace, until President Abraham makes a speech declaring the losses to be “…acceptable in the name of the holy cause of protecting this great nation.”
July 10th-July 31st (Iran, Earth) – US forces cut a path across Iran towards Tehran, before Iran receives support from Russia.  Progress is slowed by the fact that the United States is unable to achieve air superiority due to Russian intervention, and there is a very limited time where space assets can be in position to provide support.
August 1st (Iran, Earth) – Russian forces arrive with four prototype All Terrain Vanguard Units and enough troops to theoretically drive back the invading American military.
August 17th (Iran, Earth) – American forces have been decimated by the advanced technology of the Russian military, and are driven back to the Zagros Mountains.  Bahrain and Qatar, fearful of the Russians, sever ties with the Americans and demand that their forces leave immediately.  The remaining American forces in the two nations flee via aircraft or across the Gulf into Iran to berth at captured ports and land at seized airfields.  American forces begin to entrench into the Zagros Mountains, digging in for a long battle in an area where the ATVUs have trouble reaching.
September 14th (Vatican City, Earth) – Pope Joan II censures the President Abraham for ‘misuse of faith to wage war on his fellow man.’
September 15th (District of Columbia, United States of America, Earth) – President Abraham responds to the Pope’s actions by declaring that he “…will be in Rome for her to apologize to him and give up her position to him for Lent.”  This speech was made publicly, and later goes down as one of the gaffes that sent President Abraham down the path to his eventual demise.  His remarks during this speech infuriated the Catholic population around the world, and cost him some of his support at home.  There also exists a ‘bootleg’ uncensored reel of President Abraham, who’s tirade against Pope Joan II continued after he was ushered off-stage by aides, his ramblings continuing on and growing more and more obscene.  The validity of this tape was questioned upon its release several days later and remained in question until it was confirmed that it was indeed an authentic recording of the President from that incident.
September 16th (French/Spanish Border, Earth) – Suspecting an impending invasion, France begins to reinforce its southern border with Spain.  French forces are also deployed to Corsica.  Italian forces are deployed to Sardinia.
October 1st (Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – Under threat of attack from the Russian lunar bases, the United States’s Lunar colonies secede from Union, dubbing itself ILCO – The Independent Lunar Colonial Organization and announcing itself as a neutral state in the conflict.  The Abraham administration’s reaction to this is one of indifference – President Abraham had never liked that the United States had facilities on Luna, he felt that it was a waste of money to constantly be sending supplies up there.  His only words on this development were his trademark, “Good riddance.”
October 2015 – January 2016 – Publicly, October 2015 through January 2016 represented a lull in the War, the causes of which are unknown until February 2016.  It is later determined that the United States was biding its time during this period to finish implementation of the ORBIT system.
During this time, the Allied Nations moved forces into Southern France and Italy, as well as the Mediterranean via the Black Sea/Caspian canal, expecting a land and naval assault of Italy.
Minor skirmishes continued to occur along the France/Spain border, along with continued insurgency by American forces based in the Zagros Mountains in Iran.
October 13th^S (Sydney, Australia, Earth) – ‘Something’ happens in Sydney, Australia.  Nobody is quite sure what exactly happened, and nobody has ever managed to gain definitive evidence to blame a specific faction for what happened – but the long and short of it is that after October 13th, 2015, Sydney is no longer habitable.  Gamma radiation counts began to rise steadily in the early morning of the 13th, but with no discernable cause.  Most of the citizens are evacuated, but many of them suffer ill effects of their exposure to the radiation.  An exclusion zone is set up in a 50-kilometer radius around Sydney, which still stands in 2030.
October 27th (Hesseng, Norway) – A major border skirmish happens between two uneasy allies of the Allied Forces – Russia and Norway.  Russia claims it was a case of mistaken identity and navigation problems in a snowstorm, but Norway maintains that the Russian Federation was attempting to gain a foothold inside their territory.  Post-war evidence points to Norway’s side of the story being the truth.

2016

February 1st (Rome, Italy, Earth) – Surprising the world (several hours after the landing actually happens), and catching Italy completely off-guard, the United States assaults Rome via a covert nighttime ORBIT drop, landing special operations forces inside the city to hamper defensive efforts.  The only sign that the forces had been inserted are a few entries in amateur astronomers’ logs about meteors being spotted over the Mediterranean Sea.
February 2nd (Rome, Italy, Earth) – The United States secures the airspace over Rome by seizing control of the air defense systems using the special operations forces landed via ORBIT the previous day.   Submarines which had escaped detection inside the Mediterranean Sea cripple Rome’s defensive operations.  The USS Iwo Jima makes its combat debut by descending into the atmosphere and dropping its payload of troops before returning to orbit for a resupply before landing in the city on February 6th.
February 3rd (Rome, Italy, Earth) – United States Special Operations forces seize an ATVU from the Russian detachment that was stationed outside of Rome and proceed to cut a path of destruction towards the Vatican with it, before the ATVU is intercepted and disabled by one of the troopers it was stolen from.
February 22nd^S (Rome, Italy, Earth) – American forces are finally driven out of Rome when an EU strike force arrives in the city and launches a devastating attack against American strongholds.  At the time it is unknown what the EU actually used to accomplish this, but post-war records confirm that the EU had a team of powerful elementalists teleported in to attack the American forces.  The entire attack was carried out in conjunction with airstrikes, to make it look as if the ground forces were merely spotters for precision-guided munitions.
February 23rd (Rome, Italy, Earth) – American forces fall back from Rome, some of them boarding the USS Iwo Jima and returning to orbit, the others boarding naval forces for a return to Gibraltar.  Several vessels are lost during the extraction, leading to heavy losses and a heavy drop in American troop morale in the Mediterranean theater.
March 2nd (Europe, Earth) – With Rome liberated, the Allied Forces forces refocus their efforts onto two main goals: the liberation of Spain from American occupation, and the removal of the dug-in US forces from the Zagros Mountains in Iran.  With the fighting in Iran looking to be difficult and drawn out, Russia calls for a more extensive land, sea, and air blockade of the United States.
April 1st (Alaska, United States of America, Earth) – Russia begins to blockade Alaska, but faces difficulty in implementing the blockade due to attacks from the US Navy.
April 18th (Hokkaido, Japan, Earth) – A Russian plane is granted refuge in the still-neutral Japan when it requests an emergency landing after being attacked by US Forces.
April 19th (Japan, Earth) – Fearing that the previous day’s events were a prelude to Japan joining the Allied Forces, the US unleashes a devastating assault against Japan, blasting most of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, and Sapporo into oblivion with a combination of orbital bombardment from the laser platforms San Francisco, Seattle, and San Jose, kinetic bombardment from the platforms New York, Philadelphia, and Miami, and a few of the last remaining thermonuclear weapons in the US Pacific arsenal.  Certain areas of the Tokyo and Sapporo are oddly untouched, proverbial islands of safety in a sea of devastation, as if some strange force stopped the destruction from entering those areas.  After the war’s end, it was discovered that the use of thermonuclear weaponry had not been authorized by command, and that General Mert Summers had acted without authorization in calling for their use.
Japan decries the attack and calls for foreign aid, but pledges to remain neutral for fear of further attacks.
April 20th^S (Hawaii, United States of America, Earth) – The entire island of Oahu in the USA state of Hawaii vanishes without a trace in the middle of the night.  Nothing is ever discovered about what happened to its inhabitants or the United States Pacific Fleet that was not at sea.  Post-war bathymetric surveys reveal a crater-like depression underneath where the island should have been.  General Summers, the officer in charge of the previous day’s attack against Japan, vanishes along with the island.  The General would later go down in history as the “Butcher of April” for his role in the April 19th attack.
April 30th (Alaska, United States of America, Earth) – With the US Pacific Fleet severely crippled by the loss of Oahu, Russia is able to compete their blockade of Alaska, cutting off the state from shipments from the mainland US.
June 20th (Alaska, United States of America, Earth) – With supplies running low, the state of Alaska secedes from the United States and ejects the remaining US troops who refused to stand down.  The newly-independent state offers to join Russia or Canada.
June 21st (Earth) – Russia declines Alaska’s offer, stating it had no interest in gaining territory on North America.  Canada accepts Alaska’s offer, pending a vote by Canadians in November 2016.
October 25th (United States of America, Earth) – One week before presidential elections, which were predicted to be close in the polls, the US Senate and House pass a bill which rules that due to the current state of martial law, the elections will be cancelled until such a time that they will be safe to hold.  The bill authorizes President Abraham to hold his office for ‘at least another 4 years, should the situation not allow for elections sooner.’
October 26th (United States of America, Earth) – Mass riots break out across the United States, primarily in the Northeast, Pacific Coast, and Midwest in protest to the actions of the legislative branch.
November 20th (Canada, Earth) – Canadians vote to accept Alaska as a new province.
December – Colombian forces rush northwards to seize the Panama Canal, claiming they were doing it to prevent the US Pacific Fleet from utilizing it to reinforce the United States’ Atlantic forces. This claim was dubious, and was soon proven to be false when the Colombian forces continued to march nortwards from the Canal, seizing almost all of Panama before they were driven back by the combined forces of the Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. A peace treaty was hastily brokered by Mexico, who didn’t want to have to deal with a military conflict to their south while they planned what was seen as an inevitable invasion of the United States.

2017

January 8th (United States of America/Eastern States of America, Earth) – Pennsylvania and New Jersey finally secede from the USA and join the NSA which redubs itself the Eastern States of America.
January 9th^S (Eastern Seaboard, United States of America, Earth) – Bypassing the military chain of command, President Abraham uses his authority as Commander in Chief and orders a nuclear strike on Boston (the ESA capital) to be launched from a SSBN who’s captain he knows is loyal to him.  Sources inside Washington, DC leak this information to the ESA, along with the location of the submarine.  The ESA publicizes this information to the Allied Nations and reiterates it’s stance of neutrality, issuing a plea for help.  A mutiny takes place onboard the submarine, but two missiles are launched before the sub’s command staff is incapacitated.  One missile is successfully intercepted by a French destroyer, while the other missile mysteriously fails to detonate and crashes into downtown Boston.
January 10th (United States of America, Earth) – California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Montana, and Idaho declare independence and reorganize as the Western States of America.
January 20th (United States of America, Earth) – The US midwest secedes and reorganizes as the Interior States of America, withdrawing their support of President Abraham and leaving him with just his base of support in the southern states.  The Colorado State Militia militias storms US Space Command in Cheyenne Mountain, intent on seizing control of the facility to shut down the USA’s orbital assets and hopefully bring an end to the war, only to find the facility abandoned and unusable, command was seemingly transferred somewhere else prior to that day, and the troops that had been stationed there were only putting on a show to deceive the locals.
January 21st (United States of America, Earth) – With support from Canada, ESA and ISA milita forces begin to push towards Washington, DC, with the goal of capturing President Abraham and putting an end to the war.
January 25th (District of Columbia, United States of America, Earth) – Seeing that the situation was unravelling, one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff decides to defect to the ESA and uses his authority to shut down the defenses around Washington, DC.  President Abraham barely manages to escape the city with his retinue before the combined ESA/ISA/Canadian forces roll in.  Returning to his home state of Alabama, he begins to order more personnel transfers to the actual location of US Space Command – Ross Island, Antarctica.
January 26th (United States of America, Earth) – The Allied Nations, with the support of the Caribbean Confederation and Mexico, announce a blockade of the remaining states of the United States of America, from Texas to Virginia.  No air or sea traffic would be allowed in or out of the area.
January 27th (United States of America, Earth) – Mexican troops storm over the Rio Grande and proceed to make a dash for Alabama.
January 28th^S (Alabama, United States of America, Earth) – Mexican troops arrive in Alabama and storm President Abraham’s compound, capturing his entire family – but not the President or his staff.  It is known that the President has fled, but nobody in the compound seems to know where.
January 29th (United States of America, Earth) – The Allied Nations begin a manhunt for President Abraham as troops begin to occupy the remaining vestige of the USA, with the goal of shutting down any remaining command structure in the area.
February 12th (Ross Island, Antarctica, Earth) – President Abraham makes a worldwide address by temporarily seizing control of satellite systems, boldly announcing his location to be in Antarctica and daring the Allied Nations to ‘come and get him,’ and declaring that he is “…untouchable thanks to the glorious hands of righteousness that orbit above.”  In a demonstration of his power, he orders a coordinated strike from all orbital assets, simultaneously laying waste to portions of Berlin, Chicago, London, Moscow, New York City, Paris, and Salt Lake City.  The attacks deliberately avoid government structures and instead decimate civilian populations of the cities.
February 13th (Ross Island, Antarctica, Earth) – President Abraham declares himself ruler of the southern hemisphere, and declares that he will destroy one major city every 4 days until the nations bow to his will.  To demonstrate his resolve, lays waste to Buenos Aires over the course of several hours, stunning the world as up to this point Argentina had remained a neutral nation.
February 14th (Earth Orbit) – The USS Iwo Jima – a prototype United States spacecraft designed as a mobile base for armed forces – goes rogue, declaring itself the SS Iwo Jima and severing ties with US Space Command, under the basis that the chain of command no longer serves a purpose if the sole purpose of their armaments is to hold nations hostage by threatening civilians.  The Iwo Jima, which had been berthed at the Kinetic Bombardment Platform Philadelphia disables the platform’s weapon systems before it flees and drops off of radar systems after activating its countermeasure suite.
February 16th (Earth Orbit) – The Iwo Jima reappears and assaults the US Space Command Laser Platform Seattle, managing disable the laser systems before they have to flee.
February 17th (Indonesia, Earth) – US Space Command assets demolish Jakarta.
February 21st (Earth Orbit) – Hastily-modified ICBMs are launched at the US orbital assets, disabling the San Francisco and Miami platforms.  Instead of targeting a major city, the San Jose and New York instead used to attack naval bases in the southern Atlantic ocean in an effort to secure the sea routes that could be used to assault the Antarctic base.
February 25th (Earth Orbit) – No attacks are made by the remaining US orbital assets.
March 1st (Earth Orbit) – The San Jose and New York target Cape Town, South Africa, but the damage is low compared to what the attacks resulted in prior to the disabling of the San Francisco and Miami.
March 5th (Earth Orbit) – The San Jose and New York strike the Falkland Islands.
March 9th (Earth Orbit) – The San Jose and New York strike the Christchurch, New Zealand.
March 12th (Earth Orbit) – More modified ICBMs are launched at the San Jose and the New York, disabling the United States’ last known offensive orbital assets.
April 14th (Ross Island, Antarctica, Earth) – Bloody Friday – The Allied Nations assault force reaches the US Space Command facility in Antarctica.  Splitting into two groups, it attacks the McMurdo Base as well as the US Space Command facility on the island where the President and his allies have entrenched themselves.  International forces converge on the facilities, but a combination of a geomagnetic storm and poor reception inside the Ross Island facility disrupts communications early on in the battle.  Friendly fire incidents are heavy amongst the allied forces as they attempt to navigate the tunnel network that was housing US Space Command, and casualties are heavy on all sides.  President Abraham is almost captured, but flees on a last-minute space launch using a previously-unknown launch rail that extended out onto the ice sheet.  The President’s spacecraft is seemingly destroyed after intersecting with an unknown object in space, an event which the Russians take responsibility for, declaring the object to be ‘a deactivated satellite which happened to be nearby.’  In reality, President Abraham is captured a Teuthidoid vessel which had been waiting in orbit.  The Teuthidoids had grown annoyed at humanity’s infighting and reached an agreement with the Russians to intervene in an attempt to end the war.
May 12th <OFFICIAL END OF WORLD WAR III> (Earth) – World War 3 (also known to historians as “Abraham’s War of Aggression” or just “Abraham’s War”) ends with a peace treaty signed on the UN Space Complex Unity.  The Unity Treaty absolves the United States (as a nation) of guilt (because the nation exists only as a shadow of its former self), instead pinning the blame on the still-missing President Abraham and his associates.  Many members of the Abraham administration along with several high-ranking military officers are accused of war crimes – the trials resolving this situation would go on for some time.  The nations that the United States invaded during the course of the war demand reparations, but these demands are dismissed by the United Nations as ‘non-functioning ideas,’ mainly due to the fact that punishing the successor states to the United States would only create “…a condition conducive to hatred of other nations, which could potentially lay the groundwork for a future war, not unlike the situation that lead to World War II in the wake of World War I.”
May 20th (Earth Orbit) – Representatives of the UMC  arrive to join in deliberations on the foundation of a new oversight body which would have the authority to step in to prevent a situation like Abraham’s War from happening again.
May 24th (Tycho Colony, Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – Having decided that the time is now right, Russian officials announce contact with the Teuthidoids.  The Teuthidoids stage a landing at the Tycho Colony.  American and Russian officials acknowledge that they have been in contact with the natives of Europa since 1999.  Chaos ensues, with panic in the streets about aliens that have been pulling the strings and numerous other conspiracy theories.
May 25th (The Hague, Netherlands, Earth) – The chaos about the Teuthidoids subsides somewhat when they hand over President Abraham to the International Criminal Court.
May 29th (Tycho Colony, Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – The initial draft of the document that would become the Terran Alliance Charter is signed by representatives of numerous nations of Earth, the United Nations, ILCO, and the UMC.  The Terran Alliance is founded with the goal of acting as a neutral forum for avoiding conflicts like Abraham’s War.  Over the next few months and years, it would grow into a more established forum for managing debates between nations, arms control treaties, peacekeeping operations, and the exploration of space.  The Russian Federation cedes a portion of the Tycho Colony to the new oversight body for use as its headquarters.
May 30th (Earth) – The crew of the Iwo Jima declare themselves to be under Terran Alliance jurisdiction.  After they make a landing near the command location of the forces occupying the remaining bits of the United States of America to stand down as requested, an attack is staged on the experimental ship by rogue elements of the Abraham administration that successfully remained hidden.  The attack is thwarted by the crew, but the ship departs soon after to berth at an undisclosed location.
June 4th (Georgia, United States of America, Earth) – The last states remaining in the United States of America officially vote to dissolve the Union and reform as the Southern States of America, in an effort to shift global public opinion of them to a more positive one.  Due to their delay in decrying the actions of the USA, they are still seen as the instigators of the war for years to come and face many difficulties on the road to recovery.
October and November (Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – Seeing the success of ILCO, the other lunar colonies one by one decide to make a bid for independence.  The debates on this subject go on for another few months, but eventually they are allowed to break from their home nations and join ILCO.

2018

April 9th (The Hague, Netherlands, Earth) – The trial of Former President Abraham concludes well ahead of schedule, with President Abraham being found guilty of misuse of power, numerous counts of corruption, election fraud, and several counts of crimes against humanity.  Abraham’s last remarks on record are a rambling tirade about how he was being repressed and something about violence being so inherent in the system (as he was being dragged out of the courtroom).
His Joint Chiefs of Staff (minus the one who defected to the ESA) are also found guilty of ordering actions which were against standing international law.  President Abraham is sentenced to a new punishment – the death of personality – to be carried out by the Teuthidoids (free of charge).  His personality is erased and overwritten with a new one, and he now serves the people in an undisclosed location.  The fate of the person formerly known as President Abraham is still classified to this day.  The Joint Chiefs are all sentenced to prison terms of varying length depending on their actions during the war.
June 29th (CERN, Switzerland, Earth) – The Impossible Project, a research project to develop a new power source, which had been ongoing throughout the war, finally reaches the conclusion that their goal is, like their name, impossible.  Abandoning the search for a true zero-point energy solution to Earth’s energy crisis, they instead announce plans to perfect a new form of supercapacitor – a Casimir battery which could be recharged with no power loss, and could hold a massive amount of energy compared to a chemical-based capacitor.  This efficient energy storage mechanism allows for rapid advances in other technology over the next several years.

2019

The first scientifically documented cases of telepathy, ESP, and its derivatives are reported.  Panic ensues as knowledge of the ‘mind-reading freaks’ becomes widespread, and there are several notable incidents of violence against people with these abilities.  It is later theorized that the genetic capability for it existed in a rare portion of the population, and that contact with the naturally-telepathic Teuthidoids brought it out.  In turn, the small community of mages among humanity comes out of hiding and secretly offers their services to the TA government in creating an oversight body for supernatural phenomena, based on their own history as a self-policing community.  Some of the mages felt it was simply time to stop hiding, while others – especially those who participated in clandestine operations during the War – felt somewhat obligated to do so out of guilt.
This…didn’t go over quite that well, at least at first.  The initial reaction to the outing of magic and mages to the world was split roughly between “cool!” and “suffer not the witch to live!”  Thankfully, the magic community was skilled at evading those who would seek to harm them, and there were no major conflicts.  Several prominent figures worldwide out themselves as mages – businessmen, politicians, celebrities, and even a few members of the remaining royal families of various nations.
The Supernatural Defense Agency is formed in short order, headquartered in Scotland, on land deeded to the agency by House Windsor (the British Royal Family – the most prominent group that went “yeah, we’ve got a bunch of mages in our ranks”).  Officially, the SDA is also placed in charge of Earth Cleanup Operations, since the idea of a purely “Supernatural Oversight Body” was deemed too ridiculous to be taken seriously by the general public.  This proves to be a boon, since humanity begins to come under attack by rogue spirits, angry at what humanity has done to the planet.
June 30th (Lunar Orbit) – After over a year of planning, Project Janus is officially initiated, with the first components of the Janus being laid down at a lunar shipyard on August 1st.  Project Janus R&D and production facilities across the globe open in quick succession.  Threats begin to roll in from groups who feel that messing with the fabric of spacetime is ‘bad,’ and soon thereafter attacks begin on the facilities.  These groups’ opinions range from “you’re going to destroy the Solar System!” to “messing with the fabric of reality is an affront to <insert deity here>.”  To deal with these matters, TAAF soldiers are assigned to guard all Project Janus facilities, but some scientists engineers who had combat abilities receive additional training and become the initial incarnation of what would eventually evolve into the Combat Engineer Corps.

2020

November 7th (Lunar Orbit) – Launch of the Janus in Lunar Orbit.  An assault on the shipyard just before the launch was to take place is driven off by TAAF personnel.
December 18th (Mars Orbit) – Construction begins on the Shealy Multinational Enterprises Valles Marineris Orbital Shipyard Facility in Mars orbit

2021

January 29th (Earth Orbit) – The first atmospheric city destined for Venus, V-EAST, finishes construction in Earth orbit.  Once it is crewed and populated, it is placed in a low-energy transfer orbit to Venus, arriving in 2022.  Once there, it is located inside the eye of one of the permanent polar hurricanes and moves with the storm.  In  case of unsafe conditions, the city is capable of launching out of the atmosphere and back into space until conditions improve.  Not intended as an actual colony, the city for the most part is is populated by scientists and their families.
March 14th (Lunar Orbit to Oort Cloud) – Project Janus undergoes the first operational test of the Higgs Drive, with the titular ship proceeding along a well-plotted clear course to rendezvous with a support vessel in the outer Oort Cloud.

June 12th (Hawaii, Western States of America, Earth) – General Mert Summers, AKA “The Butcher of April,” infamous for ordering the April 19th, 2016 attacks against Japanese targets during World War III, reappears.  He is found floating into Hilo Harbor on a raft made of coconut trees, with an incredible tale of how he saw the island of Oahu disappear in a blast of brilliant light, only to be swept away by a wave and stranded on a deserted island.  From there, his tale turned to the fanciful and obviously false and delusional, complete with blue-skinned natives and a stockpile of rum.  General Summers is committed to a mental institution by the Terran Alliance, with the Judicial Branch deciding he was not fit to stand trial for war crimes.
December 28th (Neptune Orbit) – Construction of Yang Enterprises Neptune Shipyard Facility completed.  This comes as a surprise to most people, as China had been keeping knowledge of the construction of this industrial colony a secret since they began to work on it immediately after World War III ended.

2022

March 12th (Lunar Orbit) – With the conclusion of the initial Project Janus tests, the Higgs drive is certified for initial production, and work begins on manufacturing these drives and integrating them into the first wave of explorer ships in production above Luna.  Some say this is too soon to declare the drive ready for operation, but the expectation from the public that the Alliance ‘produce results quickly’ leaves the team with little choice.  The Janus is placed into mothballs until it is purchased by the head of Project Janus, General Suslovich, in 2026.
May 1st through December 12th (Asteroid Belt, Sol System (additional conflict sites on Earth, Luna, and Mars) – The Belt Rebellion – The Terran Alliance’s first major military incident takes place when labor disputes in the Asteroid Belt reach the boiling point and a full-on insurrection erupts, with the miners fighting against private security forces in the employ of the corporations that control the belt.  The disruption to material supply chain for ship construction becomes severe enough that the Marines are sent in to quell both the rebelling miners and the trigger-happy security forces.  In the wake of the war the Terran Alliance government passes DACOM early in 2023.  This legislation (written with the Corporate Council’s support) banned paramilitary organizations such as private security forces.  Corporations wishing for security forces instead must contract out to the TAAF.
The Terran Defense Act is modified to allow for field commanders or transfer command of troops in other branches to their command in times of war.  This also allows for them to assume command over non-military SDA forces, provided the commander is O-3 rank or higher.
August 27th (Berlin, Germany, Earth) – The Kennedy Academy for Brain-Computer Interface Training, the first wirehead training academy in the Alliance, opens its doors in Berlin, Germany.

2023

April 3rd (Alpha Centauri) – The first exploration mission reaches Alpha Centauri after an 8 day voyage at .5 LY/Day.  They remain there for several weeks, mapping the planets orbiting Alpha Centauri a and performing preliminary surveys of them.  One of the planets orbiting Alpha Centauri, Alpha Centauri A c, is found to have an abundance of liquid water and an atmosphere breathable by humans.  Preliminary surveys also indicate that fossil hydrocarbons may exist on the planet, making it a candidate for both resource acquisition and colonization.  This planet is dubbed “Alpha Prime,” and is designated as the location for Humanity’s first extrasolar colony.
December 9th (Yang Enterprises Astroconstruction, Neptune) – The first Conqueror-class battlecruiser (the Conqueror) is launched in secret.

2024

January 21st (Yang Enterprises Astroconstruction, Neptune) – The second Conqueror-class battecruiser (the Zhengnan) is launched in secret.
March 15th (Alpha Centauri) – The second exploration mission reaches the Centauri System, this time exploring the planets orbiting Alpha Centauri b.  None of the planets orbiting Alpha Centauri b are as hospitable to humans as Alpha Centauri A c, but Alpha Centauri B c and Alpha Centauri B d are marked as candidates for further study for resource extraction.

2025

April 1st (Earth, Luna, and Mars) – Spirits invade the offices of every high-ranking Terran Alliance official (including the Grand Duchess’s residence) and rearrange all their furniture.  Why this happens is never explained, and the SDA denies all involvement.
May 12th (Yang Enterprises Astroconstruction, Neptune) – The second Phoenix-class colony vessel laid down, the Feng-Huang, becomes the first ship of the class to reach operational status after the Phoenix encounters difficulties with its engine systems.
May 14th-May 30th (Sol System) – The Feng-Huang undergoes a shakedown cruise throughout the Sol System, travelling as far in as Mercury and as far out as the outer Oort cloud  before settling into Lunar Orbit for cargo and passenger loading.
June 1st-August 1st (Lunar Orbit) – The Feng-Huang is loaded with all the supplies needed to establish the foundations of a colony on Alpha Centauri A c.  In addition to the Human crew, several Teuthidoids volunteer to go along to investigate the possibility of setting up a Teuthidoid enclave among Alpha Centauri A c’s extensive oceans.
August 1st-13th (Sol->Alpha Centauri Run) – With much fanfare, the Feng-Huang departs from Lunar Orbit with its crew of colonists and cargo of colonization supplies.  After spending three days leaving the Sol system, the vessel activates its Higgs Drive for the 8-day journey to Alpha Centauri and then a 2-day journey from the edge of the Alpha Centauri system to Alpha Centauri A c.
August 12th (Alpha Centauri A c) – The Feng-Huang settles into orbit around Alpha Centauri A c.
August 15th (Alpha Centauri A c) – Having settled on a location for the initial colony location, the Feng-Huang begins to offload its colonists and colonial supplies onto the planet.  Since nobody could agree on what to call the new colony, it is just called “Alpha Prime.”
September 17th (Yang Enterprises Astroconstruction, Neptune) – The Conqueror-class Battlecruiser Cerberus is launched in secret.
October 18th (Terran Alliance Headquarters, Tycho Colony, Luna [Earth I], Sol System) – To deal with the growing communication problem with the new Alpha Prime Colony, the Terran Alliance passes the The Terran Alliance Postal Service Act (TAPS Act), which creates a new branch of the Terran Alliance Armed Forces dedicated to high-speed courier services between Alpha Centauri and the Sol system.
October 31st (Alpha Centauri System) – On Halloween, a spaceship of unknown design suddenly appears on the outskirts of the Alpha Centauri system.  While everyone is trying to figure out what is going on, the ship begins to broadcast messages of peaceful intent in various human languages.  The ship begins to move towards the Alpha Prime colony, but a first contact team is hastily assembled from the colonial government who boarded a Janus-class runabout stationed at the colony to meet the ship before it reached the colony.  The ship is discovered to be representatives of the natives of the neighboring Proxima Centauri star system.  Exploration of Proxima Centauri had originally been slated for 2024, but power groups in the Terran Alliance government pushed it back to be done after there was a colony founded in Alpha Centauri – resources were growing scarce, and it was hard to justify another exploration mission when there were resources to be exploited in Alpha Centauri.  Initial negotiations with the Proximans were easily accomplished, the species had learned Human languages by studying television and radio broadcasts from Earth for decades.  This was the first notable instance where a local leader negotiated on behalf of the Terran Alliance without the Alliance’s knowledge at the time.  Soon after this, there were actual laws drawn up to provide guidelines for what authority colonial governors, ship captains, and battlegroup commanders had regarding this situation, should it arise again.  The Proximans informed humanity that they (the Proximans) have no claim on the Alpha Centauri system, but they request that the Terran Alliance “…use it in a way to preserve the system.  Resources exist to be used by the will of <untranslatable phrase>, but do not destroy the balance of the systems you take resources from.”  When questioned about this statement, Proximan representatives stated they were referring to the ecological damage that Earth had suffered at the hands of Humanity, in particular the manmade climate changes that continue to wreak havoc on Earth even in 2030.

2026

September 12th (Alpha Centauri System): The Feng-Huang, which had returned to Earth for system upgrades and resupply late in 2025, returns to the Alpha Centauri system with another load of colonial hardware and colonists.  Most of the colonists are delivered to the Alpha Prime colony, but a small amount of them instead go to Alpha Centauri B d, now designated the Beta Prime colony.  Beta Prime is not an actual colony in the population center sense of the word, but is instead settled with self-contained biosphere colonies so that scientists could study the unique life that has arisen on the methane and ammonia-rich world.  Another goal of the colony is to see if it would be possible to extract methane and ammonia from its environment in a manner that would meet the Proximans’ request to be ‘non-intrusive and non-damaging.’

July 10th (Yang Enterprises Astroconstruction, Neptune) – The Phoenix finally becomes operational after having its engine systems completely replaced.  The Higgs Drive manufacturing defect that crippled the Phoenix is eventually dubbed “the Phoenix Anomaly” and has never been able to be fully avoided.  Even to this day, the destabilization in the exotic matter storage tanks has never been fully solved, nor has it been able to be predicted.  After it is properly commissioned, the Phoenix undergoes a shakedown cruise which also serves as a goodwill tour, travelling to all the settled world sin the Alliance before taking a journey to the Proxima Centauri System, arriving on August 1st with the Grand Duchess among its crew.  A formal agreement of cooperation between the Terran Alliance and the Proximan Suzerainty is signed during the Grand Duchess’s visit to the Proximan homeworld.

2027

February 15th (Gagarin Station, Lunar Orbit) – A fresh wave of scouts is dispatched, continuing the exploration of local interstellar space as well as sending the first expedition to the next-closest stellar system – Barnard’s Star.
March 30th (Mars) – The terraforming of Mars ‘officially begins’ in the sense that this marks the day that the first experiment into creating algal colonies on the Martian soil is initiated.  The hope is that these algal colonies will slowly consume the carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, allowing Mars to slowly be brought to a more Earth-standard environment.  Nobody has quite worked out how to solve the lack of a magnetic field yet.  Soon after the terraforming project begins, ‘Martian ecoterrorists’ (for a lack of a better term) begin to launch strikes agains the facilities, demanding that Mars be left in its current state.

2028

November 8th (Barnard’s Star) – As a result of cooperation between the Terran Alliance and the Proximan Suzerainty, two colonies are officially founded in Barnard’s Star.  New Geneva, the Terran colony, is planned to be a settlement similar to Vesta – a mined-out body in the debris belt around Barnard’s Star.  Naicun’s Eye, the Proximan Colony, is planned to be a similar settlment on an icy body further out in the Barnard’s Star system, to better facilitate the Proximan’s need for a colder environment.

2029

November 15th (Barnard’s Star) – The colonies in Barnard’s Star, barely a year old, are wiped out in a surprise attack by an unknown alien aggressor.  The attacking force transmits a message to the ships that manage to evacuate some members of the colonies, but the message remains untranslated due to the lack of a large enough language sample.  During the attack, the Phoenix, which had been on-site delivering supplies, is destroyed.  The Conquerer, which had been on-site in secret to provide colonial defense, came to the defense of the colony but was destroyed while protecting the evacuation.  A civilian cargo ship was present as well, the Praetor, and it was destroyed while performing a heroic act to block incoming fire directed at civilian ships at the mapped FTL Entry/Exit point at the outskirts of the Barnard’s Star system.

2030

February 1st (Valles Marineris Orbital Shipyards) – Having been converted from a civilian cargo ship in an unthinkably short amount of time, the first Yuri Andropov-class Fleet Carrier is launched in Martian orbit.
March 14th-16th (Pluto and its moons, Sol system) – The Battle of Pluto – An enemy force later identified as of the same origin as the group that attacked New Geneva staged an attack on a transport heading to Pluto, and then assaulted Pluto itself.  Personnel stationed on Pluto and survivors from the transport managed to hold out until the Iwo Jima-class Mobile Marine Base TASS Leningrad arrived with its Marine detachment.  On the 15th, it was discovered that a sensor post on Charon had also been attacked.  This sensor posts, which was designed to monitor weapons tests on Pluto, was retaken by the Leningrad‘s marines and a group of irregulars formed from the survivors of the transport and members of the Pluto Outposts’s staff.  Once the outpost was repaired, it was used to determine the location of the attacking ship, which was using advanced stealth technology to hide itself on Pluto.   On the 16th, a combined operation under the command of Brigadier Markovic of the Leningrad assaulted and seized the enemy ship, taking prisoners and preventing the enemies from scuttling their vessel.  Some of the captives are cooperative, while others are not.  Those who are cooperative reveal that the ship is a scout from something which best translates to “the Dweller Empire.”
March 28th (Gagarin Station, Lunar Orbit) – A new wave of scouts is dispatched, with the goals of finding potential allies and finding out more information about the Dwellers.  The scouts consist of a mix of Anders and Byrd-class scouts, veterans of the previous scouting waves, along with the newly-launched Shackleton-class of deep-range scout ships.  One of the Anders-class ships, the Valentina Tershekova, experiences an incident of “the Phoenix anomaly” and is removed from the scouting wave.  Her crew is transferred to the next Shackleton-class due off the line, the Nobu Shirase, and has their departure pushed back to mid-May.
March 30th (Valles Marineris Orbital Shipyards, Mars) – The second Andropov-class Fleet Carrier is launched, the Akagi.  There is a fair amount of uproar about the naming of the vessel, but this is seen as an inevitable consequence of the way that TAAF staffing and naming protocol works – allowing the nation who is the primary crew of the vessel to name the vessel would inevitably have something like this happen.
April 14th (Deep Space, Sol->Tau Ceti Vector) – While waiting for a scheduled courier to arrive, the crew of the Shackleton-class Deep-Range Scout T.A.S.S. Roald Amundsen (NVY-604) [SDS02] is studying gravitational gradient sensor records for the immediate vicinity when they find an anomalous reading and divert to investigate.  Upon investigation, they find that the gravity anomaly is the lost island of Oahu, floating out in interstellar space 7 light-years from Earth in the vector of Tau Ceti.  All signs point to it having been there for at least 7 years.  The island is surrounded by the remains of the missing USA Pacific fleet, and many empty uniforms, as if the wearers of the clothing who had been outside of sealed areas had simply vanished due to whatever strange force brought the island there.  Most of those who were inside sealed areas are found…intact, but obviously long-dead and decayed.  But around 100 survivors of the missing personnel and civilians are found, primarily Pacific Fleet command bunker staff and researchers from institutions in the Pearl Harbor area – all of whom had been in sealed areas (bunkers or labs) when whatever disaster struck and somehow managed to make their way to the Pacific Fleet Command Bunker.  They all appear to have 7 missing years from their personal timelines, as if whatever force brought them there had put them into some form of temporal stasis.  On April 19th, the Amundsen departs, leaving behind it’s Contact Specialist (in exchange for one of the survivors who is a trained chef) to help bring the survivors up to speed with all the changes that have happened since 2016.  The courier hurries back to Earth with news of this discovery and to arrange for more ships and resources to be brought to the island-turned-planetoid.
April 15th (Earth, Sol system) – New evidence comes to light which lends credence to the theory that World War III was the result of a multinational conspiracy.  The evidence itself remains under wraps, but the existence of the evidence is unable to be covered up.  Also, on this day, a previously-unknown threat level 5 Spirit Beast rises up and attacks the still-radioactive city of Sydney, Australia.  The beast makes landfall and manages to make it partially into the city before it is driven off by several SDA agents (including at least one Beastslayer) and some TAAF personnel, including part of the still-grounded crew of the TASS Nobu Shirase.
May 1st (Sol->Tau Ceti Vector) – While investigating an unassuming and previously-undocumented brown dwarf system close to Tau Ceti, the Shackleton-class Deep-Range Scout T.A.S.S. Roald Amundsen (NVY-604) [SDS02] finds an artificial construct orbiting the lone planetary body in the system.  Before they can investigate further, the Amundsen encounters alien patrol force.  Conflict is averted and peaceful contact is made through the help of the Amundsen‘s psionic liaison and the fact that the a crewmember on the alien patrol can speak an archaic human language.  The alien patrol is learned to be from the Unity, the 3-race conglomerate that are the inhabitants of the Tau Ceti system, and the users of the construct that the Amundsen had located – which is a device similar to a Proximan Flux Space Gateway.  The Amundsen is escorted to the Tau Ceti system by the patrol force.
May 3rd (Tau Ceti system) – The Shackleton-class Deep-Range Scout T.A.S.S. Roald Amundsen (NVY-604) [SDS02] arrives at Tau Ceti and lands on the homeworld of the Hand of Action (Tau Ceti e) in Cavern Prime (the largest city).  While the majority of it’s command staff are out taking a tour of the city, the spaceport where they landed is overrun by members of the local criminal underworld.  The crew that stayed behind were captured by the criminals.  Upon return, the command staff sneaks back into spaceport via maintenance tunnels (while local security forces attempt to break the blockade that the criminals had put in place).  The Amundsen‘s Chief Engineer was killed in the ensuing battle, but the ship was reclaimed before any damage could be done to it or it’s systems could be compromised.  The next day, the command staff of the Amundsen inadvertently  assist a local security agent in the defeat of the criminal overlord that had overseen the operation to seize the spaceport.  The security agent is later assigned as the Amundsen‘s security liaison by Cavern Prime’s security forces.
May 8th (Tau Ceti e, Tau Ceti system) – In lieu of more proper diplomatic negotiations (the Diplomatic Team was still en-route to Tau Ceti), the crew of the Amundsen are asked – as a show of good faith – to head to a suspected base used by a known insurgent, Vapula, in the outer reaches of the Tau Ceti system.  Their goal is to investigate the base and capture Vapula, if possible.
May 9th (Lalande 21185 system) – Battle of Lalande – A Dweller fleet had been discovered in late April amassing in the Lalande 21185 system, 8.29 light years away from the Solar System.  Proximan and Terran forces launch a pre-emptive strike on the fleet, winning their first offensive victory against the Dwellers.  The allied fleet is built around the Phoenix-class Command Ship, Feng-Huang, had been repurposed into a military role after the attack on Barnard’s Star.  However, the refitting was not complete, and the Feng-Huang was relaunched early to provide tactical coordination.  Many of the ship’s weapon systems were inoperable for the duration of the battle, as they were still undergoing installation and fitting, which had not been completed due to the early launch.  The combined Proximan and Terran forces remain in the Lalande 21185 system both as a deterrent to Dweller forces and to provide staging facilities for a survey team set to examine the system.
May 10th (Tau Ceti j III, Tau Ceti system) – The Amundsen lands at the Vapula’s base in the outer reaches of the Tau Ceti system and infiltrates it, finding that Vapula is holding a rally for his supporters and is in possession of a vehicle that appears to be Dweller technology.  By chance, Vapula and his ‘benefactor’ are confronted, and he is discovered to have the aid of Dweller personnel.  A battle ensues, and the base self-destructs, with Vapula’s vessel and a Dweller ship similar to the one captured at Pluto fleeing the base before the base self-destructs.  The Dweller ship is chased down and destroyed right as a large Dweller fleet reaveals itself.  The Amundsen flees back to the Hand of Action homeworld as the Dweller Fleet heads towards Hand of Temperance homeworld and blockades it.
May 11th (Hydra [Pluto III], Sol system) – A group of previously-undetected Dwellers – presumably crew from the seized ship – stage an attack on a facility on Hydra.  This incident is covered up, and the TAAF considers clandestine options to retake the facility.
May 12th (Tau Ceti e, Tau Ceti system) – The Terran Alliance diplomatic team which had been making a visit to Oahu was diverted to Tau Ceti.  They arrive today, after having been alerted to the Dweller presence in the system.  Along with them are several Proximan and Teuthidoid envoys, along with group of survivors from Oahu who feel that their years of experience surviving in a microgravity environment could be useful in a combat situation.
May 12th (Lalande 21185 System) – While on-station in the Lalande system, the Feng-Huang fleet encounters a spatial anomaly, which briefly forms into a stable wormhole from which a single ship exits.  The wormhole attracts the attention of a group of Dweller stragglers in the system, a single cruiser with a wing of scout ships.  A battle erupts as the Dweller forces attempt to seize the ship that had exited the wormhole (which had been recovered by the Feng-Huang).
May 13th through May 15th (Tau Ceti and YZ Ceti systems) – The crew of the Amundsen, in conjunction with Hand of Action security personnel, engage in a mission to recover unspecified objects from the neighboring YZ Ceti system.  Further details of the mission are classified.
May 16th (Cavern Prime, Tau Ceti e, Tau Ceti system) – Dweller forces raid the allied forces command compound on the Action Homeworld after an insurgent plants a teleport beacon inside the facility.  The command compound is devastated, and the allied forces chain of command is impaired.  The crew of the Amundsen use a Dweller teleporter seized from the assault team to stage a daring raid on what is discovered to be the Dweller Command Cruiser in the system, where they steal enough teleporters to beam in a fully-armed assault squad.
May 17th (Tau Ceti e, Tau Ceti system) – While allied forces are finalizing preparations for the assault on the Dweller Command Cruiser, a Dweller Scout Ship is shot down outside of Cavern Prime while on a reconnaissance run.  Allied forces seize the wreck site before the Dwellers can self-destruct the vessel, providing an influx of prisoners and Dweller technology which would prove to be a boon to research and intelligence operations.  Later in the day the reinforcements promised by the Hand of Action leadership arrive in the form of five previously-unknown (by Humans, Teuthidoids, and Proximans) alien races: the Warriors, the Yoitsuni, the Risantha, Hive, and the Xylat (of the Xylat’ta’acr).  These forces were actually en-route before the Dweller invasion force arrived, as diplomatic envoys to introduce themselves to the Terran Alliance.  In the evening (local time) of the 17th, the allied forces in the Tau Ceti system stage a two-pronged attack against the Dweller fleet blockading Tau Ceti f.  Several ground teams use the seized teleporters to transport aboard the Dweller Command Cruiser in an attempt to commandeer the vessel and remove the command structure from the Dweller fleet.  Simultaneously, the space assets available in the system staged an assault on the Dweller fleet.  Fighting aboard the command cruiser was fierce, but the assault teams were able to seize control of its weapon systems to attack nearby enemy ships before the ship’s engines were overloaded.  The command cruiser lost control after losing its engines, and careened into Tau Ceti f III, exploding on impact – but the assault team was able to escape in time.  After the loss of the command cruiser, the Dweller feet was routed – either being destroyed by the allied forces or escaping the system for destinations unknown.
May 17th (Hydra [Pluto III], Sol system) – The TAAF, working in partnership with the civilian organization FXS, dispatch a covert team to retake the seized facility on Hydra.  Utilizing Amendment 11 of the Terran Defense Act, they utilized a group of convicts to storm the facility and take prisoners.  The convicts find an unusual situation when they reach the center of the facility, with the Dwellers having divided into two groups, seemingly arguing about something.  One of the groups had managed to break into the convicts’ communications and asked for help from them.  A battle erupted and the group that asked for help was saved – but nobody was quite sure what the disagreement between the two Dweller groups had been about.  The aggressor group’s leader is taken captive, and the two Dwellers that had asked for help surrender.  Also, this incident is covered up, so you probably don’t know about it.
May 17th (Tycho Colony, Luna) – The Council of Ten issues a preliminary statement on the events that took place in the Tau Ceti system, announcing contact with the Hive, Unity, Risantha, Warriors, Xylat, and the Yoitsuni.
May 18th – Following concerns about the Yoitsuni’s claim of already members of its species already on Earth, the Office of the Grand Duchess passes an edict confirming that any Yoitsuni who was born inside the Alliance is indeed an Alliance citizen, and entitled to all the rights that entails. Several cases are filed with the Court of Concept in protest of this action by groups who don’t agree with this.
May 20th (Valles Marineris Colony, Mars) – A crime ring known as the Red Dragons stages an assassination attempt on Governor Romanov, the leader of the Valles Marineris Colony in a bid to seize control of the colony.  In the weeks prior to this incident, the Red Dragons had engaged in a covert war against the other elements of the colony’s underworld, either killing them, driving them out, or assimilating them into their organization.  The Red Dragons announce that they have numerous hostages held in an undisclosed location, and will begin to execute them if the colony is not placed under their control within one week.
May 21st (Tycho Colony, Luna) – A group of envoys from the species encountered in the Tau Ceti system return aboard a Warrior, along with some of the crew of the T.A.S.S. Roald Amundsen. The Amundsen crew go into debriefing with Military Intelligence about the battle that had taken place in the Tau Ceti system, while the envoys go into a series of meetings with the Council of Ten. It is later known that these meetings are about how the species that had come to the aid of the Unity had actually been on there way to the Tau Ceti system to extend an invitation to the Proximan Suzerainty, Terran Alliance, and Teuthidoid Peoples to join the assembled galactic powers who trade at a space station in the Sirius system (which the Terran Alliance designates as Trade Hub 01).
May 22nd (Outskirt Enclaves, Valles Marineris Colony, Mars) – An unknown party frees the Red Dragons’ hostages, robbing the crime ring of their leverage over the colony.
May 22nd (Tycho Colony, Luna) – Later that day, an incident occurs on Luna during a parade for the crew of the T.A.S.S. Roald Amundsen, who had been transported back via the Warriors along with diplomatic teams from the Unity, Yoitsuni, Risantha, Hive, and Xylat. The unknown party who freed the Red Dragons’ hostages had made their way to Luna but were followed by the leader of the Red Dragons, Angela Yakovlev, who attacked them as they attempted to cross the parade route for unknown reasons. Yakovlev was revealed to be in the possession of a previously-unknown artifact, later designated Tezcatlipoca – Blood-Drinking Obsidian Blade. A battle ensued, but the combined forces of the unknown party and the crew of the Amundsen were able to defeat her and the minions created by Tezcatlipoca. What became of Tezcatlipoca is still unknown, as it appears to have vanished along with the unknown party.
May 26th (Gagarin Station, Luna) – [SDS07] T.A.S.S. Nobu Shirase (NVY-609) departs Luna on a diplomatic mission to the Trade Hub 01 in the Sirius system, along with a Teuthidoid envoy they are transporting. The Shirase‘s crew includes the crew of [ATS19] T.A.S.S. Valentina Tereshkova (NVY-197), which had originally been slated to depart with the scout ships in March before the ship had to be put in for an overhaul due to the Phoenix Anomaly. The Shirase was then slated to be dispatched on a Sirius exploration vector, until the May 17th announcement. Following the announcement of the 17th, additions and changes were made to its crew to make it more fit for its new mission as an envoy to Trade Hub 01.
May 30th – The crew of the Nobu Shirase arrive at Proxima Centauri to pick up the Proximan envoy to the Sirius system, and get dragged into a 3-day planetwide celebration before they are able to depart for Sirius on June 3rd.
May 31st (Valles Marineris Orbital Shipyards, Mars) – The Andropov-class Fleet Carrier Enterprise launches from the Valles Merineris Orbital Shipyards, its comissioning having been delayed slightly due to the events of the Red Dragons Incident the week prior. The Enterprise is the first capital-scale vessel in the Terran Alliance Armed Forces to have a crew which comprises mainly of staff from the Confederation of America, with the exception of the Iwo Jima in the early days of the Alliance. This signals a step long-awaited forward in the viewpoints of the world towards the former United States, and is a sign that the memories of the War are beginning to become more of history and less of an influence on bias. Launch of the Chairman Mao, the next Andropov-class Fleet Carrier projected to be launched is pushed back until early August to give the Shipyard crew time to repair damage inflicted to the shipyards during the Red Dragons Incident.
June 14th (Sirus Vector, grid square -2 by -5) – While performing routine maintenance on their Higgs Drive during a cooldown period, the crew of the Nobu Shirase detect a repeating signal of clear non-natural origin in the 93GHz range. Upon investigating, they find that they had stumbled across an explorer who had departed Trade Hub 01 when it had been announced that contact had been made with the Terran Alliance. The explorer, a member of the species who refers to themselves as the “Deep Ones,” had sought to fight the persistent gravity currents in Flux Space that traditionally had blocked travel from the Sirius system to Sol. However, he had burned out his standard Flux Space drives and was dropped to normal space due to a Flux Space Incursion. He had been in the process of attempting to build a single-use Flux Space portal generator when the Shirase found him, and was happy to accept an offer of transportation back to Sirius.
Early August [Projected] (Valles Marineris Orbital Shipyards, Mars) – Launch of the Andropov-class Fleet Carrier Chairman Mao
August [Projected] (Yang Enterprises Astroconstruction, Neptune) – Original estimation for the completion of the refitting of the Feng-Huang and the Praetor-Class Guided Missile Cruisers.  The Feng-Huang‘s refitting completion will most likely be pushed back since the vessel participated in the Battle of Lalande, but the Praetor-class vessels remain on-target for this month.
December [Projected] (Yang Enterprises Astroconstruction, Neptune) – The first Phoenix-class Command Ship to be built as a command ship (instead of being hastily refit as one), the Benu is projected to be launched in December.