2201: Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

To prevent strategic nuclear weapons being used by colonial powers against colony worlds, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 2201 prohibits armed nuclear warheads larger than 100 kilotons from being carried by starships.

2214: The Auton Project

During the initial Alpha Prototype Distribution stage of its 5th Generation Androids, Artificial Life runs into problems. Some of the Fifth Gens are found to be too emotional and uncontrollable. The Auton Project is cancelled shortly thereafter, and all existing Fifth Gen models are recalled.

2243: Capture of Kim Chung Song

Space pirate Kim Chung Song is captured after a dramatic 36-hour battle around and on several of the moons of Irsas, a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri system. The final confrontation takes place beneath the surface of the moon Irsas X, in the warren of lava tubes that honeycomb the moon, and involves more than 500 UEF soldiers.

Colonial Marines, fighting for the most part in vacuum conditions, suffer heavy casualties before cornering Kim Chung Song and 34 of his surviving cohorts. They are taken to Centauri Prime to await trial.

2246: The EnerTek Scandal

EnerTek Corp declares bankruptcy, subsequently collapsing in a scandal involving billions of E$ in losses, corporate power abuse and attempted blackmail of ITC officials. EnerTek Corp is the primary colonial investor in the Herculis Cluster, a sector of space with a high concentration of habitable and resource rich star systems in close proximity to one another. During the next decade, the Herculis Cluster colonies are allowed a degree of regional autonomy unprecedented by the UEF.

2250: Outbreak of the Ngano Plague

Outbreak of the Ngano Plague. Caused by airborne microbes in the atmosphere of 58 Eridani II (‘Ngano’, a jungle world in the 58 Eridani star system, in the Chinese Consortium colonised arm), the Ngano Plague is a highly contagious viral disease that causes vivid hallucinations and acute paranoid delusions in those exposed. Infected victims are dubbed ‘Crazies’ due to the insane psychopathic state induced during the plague’s later stages.

The plague quickly cripples the colony (it has an incubation period of over 4 weeks) and carriers soon infect the colonies in neighbouring systems. Ships with infected personnel arriving at star systems further afield are intercepted and quarantined. Approximately half a million colonists fall victim to the Ngano Plague before it’s spread is checked by the ICA and ITC.

In the wake of the plague, new laws are brought into effect, making it illegal for any interstellar vessel to enter the Core Systems without first passing through ITC quarantine. It also becomes standard policy for any ITC licensed starship to have an Android Exo on board.

2255:

Eli Navarro, a colonial administrator from the fledgling Nuevo Santiago colony in the 18 Scorpii star system leads a delegation of representatives from colonies in the Herculis Cluster to petition the UEF General Assembly for continued regional autonomy. The controlling political party in the General Assembly – the Centralist/Neo-Federalist Alliance - is staunchly anti-separatist and rejects the petition.

2258: The Rimworlds Rebellion

NatSoc, a political movement in the Outer Rim Territories stages a series of swift and bloody coups against local ICA installations. On Pei Pei colony in the Alpha Mensae star system, rebel fighters raid the ICA complex, capturing many hostages. Armed NatSoc-loyal militias, joined by defecting ColSec forces, quickly overpower the local garrisons. The colonies declare themselves the Eurasian Rimworlds Combine (ERC). The leaders of the ERC demand recognition and total independence. At the age of 85, Josef Suslov is named first President of the Eurasian Rimworlds Combine.

A raid by the ICM, on Pei Pei colony, succeeds in rescuing the majority of the ICA hostages held by the rebels. At the same time, a state of emergency in the Outer Rim Territories is declared by the UEF. The ICM, backed by the newly formed United Earth Federation Expeditionary Force (UEFEF) is ordered to stop the insurrection. Martial law is imposed in the Outer Rim Territories and Herculis Cluster.

2260: The Ceasefire

Casualties continue to mount, as public support for the war continues to fall. Anti-war protests on Mars turn violent, and the Mars garrison has to be mobilised to quell the riots.

When an ERC suicide mission succeeds in penetrating defences at Omicron² Eridani and cripples a UEAF taskforce orbiting Eridanus with great loss of life, voices inside the General Assembly begin to call for a negotiated ceasefire with both groups of rebels. On 1st May 2260, thanks in part to the negotiating skills of the Chrislamic Church, an uneasy ceasefire is established with both of the remaining pockets of rebellion. No peace treaty is signed with either group.

Blockaded by the UEF, the separatist colonies in the Herculis Cluster declare themselves the Free Worlds Alliance. As promised, Eli Navarro devolves government to individual colony worlds, with all colonies agreeing to help maintain an FWA militia.

A 1 parsec DMZ is established between ERC and UEF space.

2264: The Capellan Mandate

Documents are leaked to the press revealing that during the Colonial Wars the UEF government covertly hired Capellan pirates to harass ERC shipping. The scandal reverberates through the UEF corridors of power. A commission is set up to investigate the matter and bring those responsible to justice.