In 2119, the Earth was no longer
able to support human life. War, global warming, pollution, and the
stripping of the planet for resources rendered it unlivable. In
desperation, the survivors of the human race took to the stars,
leaving behind their dying world.
It took five space bound generations
before the ships came to a binary star system with multiple
inhabitable planets. The first world that they found became their new
home. But some things never change.
Like before, humans began stripping
it of resources. Animals were hunted both for food and for sport.
Stands of great tree-like things were cut away to make room for
people, killing plants whose use they didn't even try to ascertain.
Those who studied the histories protested and in the end they won.
The world was allowed to recover as the humans moved on, forced by
their own vanity to live a simpler life.
Over time, technology advanced and
things changed once more. Sprawling cities spread across the new
planet and the wild areas were kept as nature preserves as human
society grew around them. People returned to the first world and did
the same. Then came a third world. Then a fourth.
As the population grew and more
planets were settled, an assembly was created to help govern the
worlds. Laws were made. Trade routes were established. Technological
advances were shared and soon there was little of the natural world
left on these worlds. That which was left was exploited as places
only the elite could go.
Eight hundred years after the humans
first came to the system, a small group of people grew discontent
with their lives so dependent on technology and the inability to be a
part of the natural world. They were sick of the constant drain and
wanted a simpler way of living. So they left the technology behind
and moved well outside the borders of the central worlds. Others
joined them and the first of the colonies were formed.
The central worlds were determined
to force them to rejoin, to gain access to the rich worlds now in the
hands of the colonists. They sent representatives out to negotiate
the incorporation of these worlds into the assembly. Though they were
phrased as requests, the command in them was very obvious. The
colonists refused and drove the representatives off their planets.
This did not sit well with those in
the core and they began harassing the colonies. The assembly thought
the constant pressure on those populating the Duyelia sector would
force them to give in. They searched every ship coming in thoroughly,
often detaining pilots and crew for long periods of time. They seized
cargoes claiming they were the spoils of war. The colonists followed
their example. The assembly was forced to step back and trade resumed
between the two sides. Things remained tense and pockets of violence
still existed.
Two hundred years after the colonies
were settled, the central worlds assembly declared their autonomy to
be against the law and formed a fleet to take control. The colonists
were ready for them and a vicious battle ensued in the sky and on the
ground of a planet called Icrtara.
In the end, the central world fleet
was sent back to lick their wounds. Their losses were great and they
limped home with only half of what they arrived with. The colonies
weren't unaffected by the battles either. More than half of the
planetary populations were dead.
New trade agreements were reached
with some of the planets in the technological heart of space and
fresh food, handmade fabric, and custom made parts for ships and
skimmers were sent into the core. Both sides flourished. But the
peace was illusory and both sides watched the other carefully,
waiting for a new declaration of war.
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