Humanity’s ambition has always burned like a star, driving them from The Cradle of Terra into the infinite cosmos. The discovery of the Spike Drive, an engine capable of faster-than-light travel, ushered in an age of unimaginable expansion across the Milky Way. Empires thrived and civilizations blossomed as humanity etched its mark across the vast spiral arms.
On January 17, 2273, the Spike Drive technology was formally discovered. Invented by al Mualim, this miraculous engine allowed FTL travel by entering subspace, enabling travel between star systems and even unique combat phase-shifting abilities. With six tiers offering progressively faster travel and greater phasing, this technology revolutionized humanity's galactic reach.
Centuries later, on May 05, 2801, a horrific incident occurred involving Dr. Edward Nelson, who became known as Subject Zero N. Following a botched experiment on Gelime that transformed him into a vampiric entity, Dr. Nelson fled authorities. He killed a technician to feed before stowing away on a departing freighter, disappearing into the void.
However, on September 07, 3200, everything unraveled with The Sundering. A metadimensional energy wave, known as The Scream, erupted from the Veil Nebula, instantly annihilating all Spike Drive ships and burning out every psychic. Interstellar travel and communication collapsed, severing countless colonies and plunging the Terran Empire into chaos. Humanity entered The Silence, a nearly millennium-long dark age of technological regression, societal collapse, and widespread conflict.
For almost a thousand years, the Spiral was silent, a patchwork of isolated remnants clinging to survival. Some worlds retained fragments of advanced technology, others regressed, and many were lost entirely. Now, fragments of ancient Spike Drive blueprints have been rediscovered, and brave explorers once more chart the perilous currents between stars.
The heart of the galaxy remains a shadowy mystery, filled with ancient debris and whispered secrets of unimaginable power. Yet, the outer reaches of the Spiral teem with life, conflict, and opportunity. In Sector 36, three factions vie for control: the militant Red Sun Dominion, the mercantile Trade Constellation, and the rogue Mortal Veil.
On September 12, 4002, the Red Sun Dominion launched its Veil Nebula Expedition. They discovered Tenebris Post, recovering vital Spike Drive schematics that hinted at humanity's glorious past. Crucially, station logs revealed that Tenebris Post had accidentally caused the Sundering itself, a catastrophic truth the Dominion immediately suppressed. Leveraging the rediscovered FTL technology, the Dominion aimed to end their isolation, reforge the Terran Empire, and become the region's dominant military power.
This ambition materialized on December 20, 4005, in an event known as The Crimson Dawn. After a millennium of isolation, the Red Sun Dominion’s ship, the Unconquered Sun, successfully reactivated a pre-Sundering Spike Drive. This breakthrough ended system-bound confinement, initiating their aggressive Imperial Restoration Mandate. Launching an expansion to subjugate nearby systems, the Dominion quickly became Sector 36’s primary threat, sparking an arms race and a new era of galactic conquest.
As the Dominion expanded, their grip tightened, leading to The Red Sun's Harvest on September 21, 4049. This program systematically conscripted citizens for brutal labor in the Don System’s re-education camps. Grand Inquisitor Thorne expanded the penal colony into a crucible for ideological purity, escalating from punishing dissidents to a widespread dragnet. This seized anyone with anti-Dominion sentiments, making examples of them and fueling the empire's relentless expansion.
Years before the current turmoil, on June 24, 4110, the esteemed exploration ship Stellar Venture met a tragic end. Darting through the treacherous Sundered Spiral, the ship's voyage, once synonymous with discovery, veered into shadow following a fatal betrayal. A crewmember’s treachery handed the vessel to the ruthless Andromeda Aegis, a formidable enforcer of the Red Sun Dominion. As combat erupted, the ship faded into the abyss, lost but rumored to harbor invaluable star charts.
On May 15, 4151, The Mortal Veil was unveiled as the Red Sun Dominion increased its Harvest program. Several Dominion members, disgruntled by the oppressive stance, formed The Mortal Veil through clandestine meetings. Despite being severely outnumbered, the strategic brilliance of Heldra Vance allowed them to acquire a fleet of Red Sun ships and a massive cache of technology. The Mortal Veil established a headquarters in the Vini Nehana system, standing in opposition to the Red Sun’s mission to re-establish a central ruling authority.
In a personal tragedy, on May 20, 4158, Renlo Dannis, a mid-level bureaucrat for The Trade Constellation, was contacted by a Red Sun Agent. When he refused a bribe to work as a double agent, his daughter, Seren Dannis, was taken to the work camps on Meristine. The agent informed Renlo that his daughter would be safe and eventually returned if he cooperated, forcing him to become a secret agent for the Red Sun Dominion.
A small, unknown band of mercenaries became infamous as The Killers of Hele following events on October 31, 4159. Recently released Red Sun Dominion prisoner transports, disguised as wealthy collectors, infiltrated a Trade Constellation stronghold on Echo Station in the Hele system to retrieve the Star Seer’s Compass. After securing the artifact, they returned it to an android, GH-23, who had tasked them with its retrieval. With their dubiously acquired ship, the Misfortune's Gambit, they were forced into a rapid spike jump to escape an unexpected threat.
When they returned, the now war-torn Hele system revealed the devastation their intervention had wrought. The android, using the Compass, had unleashed a holy war against Hele's citizens. The party, initially siding with Trade Constellation forces, learned of Governor Scawthorpe's plan to unleash EMPs, causing catastrophic human cost. Ultimately, they detonated the EMP, causing immense civilian and infrastructure losses in Hele but nullifying GH-23 and its AI army. Instrumental in both starting and ending the devastating AI War, this group became known as "The Killers of Hele."
On November 20, 4159, the crew of the Misfortune's Gambit landed on Verohka to refuel and resupply, only for the planet to be put under lockdown. Amidst chaotic riots and rumors of Red Sun Dominion manipulation, they met several individuals offering help to escape. Among them was Renlo Dannis, the mole, who became instrumental in distracting a Red Sun Dominion Cruiser. In exchange for his help in escaping the Red Sun-instigated lockdown, the crew agreed to rescue his daughter Seren from the work camps on Meristine in the Don system.
Six days later, on November 26, 4159, the Red Sun Dominion acquired the last piece of the rumored Starkiller Relic. Once assembled, this device became a destructive force beyond any used before, capable of collapsing an entire star into a black hole. To test this devastating weapon, the Dominion targeted the Fat system, a colony of clones operated by The Mortal Veil. With their designation of cloning tech as "Maltech," they unleashed the weapon, wiping the system from the map and eradicating the last known clone colony.
On December 02, 4159, after the Hele system's near total destruction, the perpetrators fled to the Felo system. They used the Great Bazaar on Verohka to hide out, becoming allies with The Gears, a black market smuggling operation aiming to destabilize the Red Sun Dominion. Following the Misfortune's Gambit's escape from Verohka, the Red Sun retaliated by negotiating with The Trade Constellation to arrest anyone who aided them. The subsequent investigation revealed The Gears' involvement, leading to the rounding up and transportation of affiliates like Thorne Balesworth and Grel Toffa to the Red Sun work camps on Meristine in the Don system.
Later that month, on December 19, 4159, an incident known as A Black Market Decoy unfolded. Zorvan Skale, the lone human remaining on Echo Station after the Hele war, had convinced GH-23 he could act as a liaison. After the AI force’s destruction, Zorvan extracted GH-23’s core, repairing a small vessel to leave the system. Zorvan attempted to sell the core, framing The Gears by subcontracting The Misfortunates to transport a decoy to Blackpoint Station.
The Misfortunates successfully smuggled the decoy aboard without detection. Zorvan was caught by station security, forced to hide the real core. However, The Misfortunates, now gaining fame, found the hidden core and smuggled it off the station. During their first attempts to communicate with it, the core sent a signal to The Mortal Veil, identifying its new captors and sparking a brutal race between The Mortal Veil and Red Sun Dominion to acquire the powerful AI technology.
On January 09, 4160, an Incident at Research Facility T7 in the Don System threatened the Dominion's iron grip. In a bid to prolong their total obedience doctrine, they integrated advanced AI and cloning technologies to produce a superior breed of biological enforcer. Their ambition reached its zenith with the creation of a creature known only as The Behemoth, designed to evoke both fear and unwavering loyalty. The creature broke free from its confinement in the Integration Lab, unleashing chaos, but was ultimately killed by an unknown hero before it could escape the facility.
Two days later, on January 11, 4160, Grel Escapes the Red Sun Dominion. Insurgents Chaz Blarth and Yan infiltrated The Nexus Processing Hub via a tram hijack, aiming to free Grel Toffa. Betrayed by supervisor Calista, they battled Red Sun Guards in a chaotic struggle. They ultimately escaped in a stolen hauler across The Wastes, securing the eccentric tinkerer. Grel’s expertise is now vital for completing the Malek’s Call device, offering the resistance a fighting chance against the oppressive Red Sun Dominion.
The resistance's plans rapidly accelerated on January 14, 4160, with two coordinated actions. In Caustic Echoes, insurgents targeted a critical osmium cache at Meristine Spaceport. With their leader injured, new recruit Seren Dannis stepped up to lead this high-stakes gamble, which hinged on Finley, a janitor and double agent, offering easy access but risking betrayal. Simultaneously, The Cacophony of the Call saw insurgents trigger a sonic device at Work Camp A2, summoning a massive swarm of Maleks to overwhelm Red Sun defenses and incite a prison riot.
The following day, January 15, 4160, saw The Escape from the Overseer. Thorne Balesworth led a desperate rebellion, Thorne's Last Stand, aiming to shatter the Red Sun Dominion's invincibility. During a multi-pronged assault, Thorne was pinned while securing an escape vehicle. He bravely sacrificed himself to allow his allies to flee, a pivotal act that ignited a sector-wide Free Stars movement, proving the Dominion could bleed and inspiring enslaved worlds.
Finally, on January 16, 4160, The Meristine Ignition marked a critical turning point. Fugitives, allied with local resistance, launched a daring two-pronged assault against the tyrannical Red Sun Dominion. They unleashed a bio-engineered insectoid swarm and assassinated the Warden. With Seren Dannis’s help, they detonated the Meristine Ignition, destroying a vital spaceport and crippling Dominion logistics. This ignited wider rebellion but sparked anarchy and promises a brutal Dominion retaliation.
Currently, the Red Sun Dominion has acquired the devastating Starkiller weapon and plans to use it to expand its reach, eventually taking over the entire sector. The stage is set for an escalating conflict as the Dominion moves to re-establish its empire, facing resistance from The Trade Constellation, the rogue Mortal Veil, and a growing Free Stars movement fueled by recent successes and sacrifices.
