Compendium: History

Second Terran Empire

Fall of the Second Terran Empire

The fall of the Second Terran Empire was expected by many, but the method of its demise was predicted by none. The Silgean Expanse was a well known sector, albeit on the edge of Imperial space. Long known to humanity, this territory had been extensively surveyed, mined, and depleted. The region was governed by minor houses of no significant wealth or military strength. Even brigands and thieves avoided this zone, finding no economic purchase for their illicit activities.

Humanity had long ago given up its search for an equal, much less a superior, form of intelligence among the stars. Numerous intelligent species had been found, but their primitive technologies and limited cultures made their conquest trivial. It is not known when the first Dahak spore ship entered Terran space. The Ministry of Science concluded the ship was an automated stealth vessel traveling at sublight speed for millennia before it encountered humanity. Once this ship detected worlds with a suitable density of biomass, it signaled the Dahak homeworld. While waiting for its masters, the invader was not idle. Dropships were built, and an army of Dahak drones were grown.

When the Dahak command fleet arrived, it unleashed a coordinate attack against dozens of human planets. Calls for assistance were predictably ignored by the core worlds while the Dahak expanded their foothold. Over the centuries, the Imperium had become slothful and decadent, and the military response was lackluster at best. The Dahak devoured the Empire and humanity was on the verge of extinction. In an act of desperation, the Emperor rallied his remaining ships and prepared for a final engagement.

After an initial feint, the Imperial Navy retreated with the Dahak command fleet in quick pursuit. Lured to a prepared spot, the Emperor sprung his trap and detonated the network of navigation beacons and gates that held the Imperium together. The ether of hyperspace was ruptured and both the Imperial Navy and Dahak fleet were destroyed. Superluminal travel was no longer possible within Terran space. All that was left of a once glorious civilization were isolated islands of humanity entombed by a sea of mindless drones.

The location of the Dahak homeworld was never discovered, and many details of their invasion remain unknown since the Silgean Expanse remains impenetrable. Undoubtedly, the Dahak have remained vigilant, probing the maelstrom of hyperspace and eagerly awaiting the chance to retrieve their sentient children scattered across the ruins of the Imperium.

Third Terran Empire

Rise of the Third Terran Empire

As the Dahak ravaged the Imperium, the question was not would humanity fall but how far? Life in the cave or life in the stars hinged on preserving the knowledge painstakingly learned over the millennia. Even as the Emperor was in route to destroy the Dahak command fleet, the Ministry of Science scrambled to preserve what they could in the few hidden sanctuaries the remained.

It was always uncertain if the ether of hyperspace would mend. Even the best case extrapolations projected that large segments of imperial space would remain unusable. After uncounted years the turbulence in hyperspace is receding. Limited FTL travel is again possible, but only at the fringes of the rending. In the beginning, the Ministry of Science sent out survey ships and began to reconnect the remnants of humanity. While most worlds had fallen to a pre-industrial level, Valderia had not. No more than a minor outpost during the height of the Imperium, this colony was a technological marvel. Even more astonishing, the planet was ruled a direct descendent of the Emperor.

Armed with the remnant knowledge from the archives and emboldened by the restoration of the throne, humans dared to hope once again. For service to the empire, great houses are commissioned and the reach of humanity ascends. Even as the Third Terran Empire rises there are forces that seek to tear it apart. Until a route to Earth is found, the genetic authenticity of the new Emperor cannot be established. As hyperspace continues to mend, the Imperium expands, but this restoration brings the threat of the Dahak closer.