The year, Old Earth reckoning, is 5125, or so. Its been around two or three millenia since the humans of that world first left their atmosphere to see what they could find. You see, they'd conquered just about everything they could find on their own world, and needed something else to control. Eventually, they pretty much moved across their small system, destroying every planet there with just as much ease as they had destroyed their homeworld. Alas, they soon felt constricted even by their nine worlds (and an asteriod belt, I'm told) and countless moons and sought ways to move to other systems, so they could conquer and rape them for all they're worth, too. It wasn't until about a millenia or two ago that they finally met another sentient race just as bent on domination and destruction as they were. From what I read, it took those Prepharmi's quite by surprise to be attacked from what they thought was "Secure Space." News of the new players on the rock spread fast. Suddenly, everyone was interested in what these previously undiscovered primitives had to offer. Most who sought out the Earthers were disappointed. The Terrans had evolved just the same as any other race...through conflict and war...and, in the end, their technology ended up being pretty much the same thing.

The Terran humans were quite upset at finding intelligent life. They'd pretty much destroyed all non-human sentient life on their homeworld (except for one species of marine life...called a dauphin or something like that...that they discovered years before was smart enough to be cybered into sentience and used as slave labor), and thought they were at the center of the universe. Having other species to deal with on a peer basis was difficult for them...still is, sometimes.

It wasn't until about 3500 Ad (that's what the Old Earthers called their time, for some reason no one can really figure out anymore) that anyone really paid attention to Earth and its subsidiary systems. It was about this time that a Daalquere scientist discovered a new plutonium-based FTP engine that was vastly more efficient and powerful than the former hydrogen-based system. It was also about this time that a Hekalmi archaeologist working on Earth, the only system with great amounts of plutonium, noticed some ruins that resembled some found on the Hekalmi homeworld. He published his findings in a scientific journal, and three months later, Hekalmi agents were crawling all over Earth looking for remains of its legendary "Lost Colony." They discovered exactly what they were looking for. Pyramids and statues of legendary heroes constructed on two continents on completely different sides of the world. The Hekalmi government established an embassy on Earth, despite the misgivings of certain nations, and began leering greedily at the small world.

Archaeologist from all over Known Space overran the planet, looking for hints that might give them similar claim over the Terran worlds. When some Devian warriors discovered the ruins of one of their colonies there, the argument began. It was well-known that the Devians and the Hekalmi didn't appreciate each other's existence, and each produced a map of their systems at the time of the colonies and both showed them as owning the Sol system. The small spark sent off by this discovery sent the two cultures into war. Within the next two-hundred years of battles and treaties, Earth was raped of all its life. Most of the colonies in the system were destroyed. Even Earth's only moon was thrust from its orbit by a huge Devian battleship careening out of control and was sent crashing through the planet's thin crust, destroying any possiblity of life existing. In 3754 Ad, the United Peoples of Old Terra returned to their system, to find it in shambles. Only one colony existed, though they wouldn't find out for another twenty years. In 3775 Ad, the a colony on the second planet that had been in existence for over a millenia and a half sent a message out. The message explained that the algae-reclaimation of Sol II had been successful. It was now prepared to support human life. The government of Neuva Terra administrated the peace talks between the Devians and the Hekalmi, which left the Terran government as a sovereign system. It has been termed a coincidence that the process for creating anti-matter, thus anti-matter/matter-based engine drives, occured four years previous to the signing of the Treaty. Regardless of the reason, the planets of Sol faded into obscurity. For the next few thousand years, wars raged and ended, empires came and crumbled.

In the year 4676, exactly a millenia and a half after sovereignty was granted to the government of Neuva Terra, a representative from the "Terran League" arrived on Gimali V, asking for admittance to the Interstellar Peace Organization. The IPO refused, claiming that the Sol system (and its nearby brothers) were too primitive and isolationist to be recognized as a contributing member. The Terran representative was offered "observatory" status, though, to watch how the IPO fuctioned and how other governments worked. The representative was angered and claimed that the IPO would pay for its arrogance. Five months later, huge battleships of unknown configuration appeared over Prepharm, the Prepharmi homeworld. The ships were greeted, but they didn't answer. For a whole month, they hovered above the world, observing. A couple of ships attacked it, but they seemed unable to do damage to the monstrosity. Eventually, the entire Prepharmi fleet was called to the homeworld to rid it of its visitor. As they aimed their weapons at the ship, preparing for battle, it turned toward the planet. Despite attempts to prevent it, the ship, known among Terrans as Armageddon, fell to Prepharm, exploding mere kilometers from the seat of the government. The ship sent out powerful clouds of radioactive gas from its plutonium engines and burned for months. It wasn't until five days after the Armageddon had crashed into Prepharm that theyrealized what had happened. While the Prepharmi fleet was protecting its homeworld, the Terran League unleashed its massive fleet and took ten of the fifteen Prepharmi systems. Within a decade, the Prepharmi surrendered to the Terran Fleet Admiral. The same Terran representative approached the IPO and offered for it to join the Terran League. The new Jerrrakliv presider scoffed at the Terran representative and had him executed. After a bloody, century-long war, the Terran League agreed to a Treaty. It became a full member of the IPO (which disbanded two decades later) and released claim to ten of the original fifteen of the Prepharmi worlds (it is notable that the Prepharmi's themselves had little say in the Treaty...they had lost their membership due to inability to prove soveriegnty).

Things pretty much haven't changed in the last half-millenia or so. The Terran League doesn't exist anymore, but the United Corporate Systems of Sol is pretty much the same sort of thing they've been doing for the last four millennia. Three or four incarnations of the IPO have arisen since, and all have fallen just as easily over some minor squabble. A few new civilizations were discovered (or, rather, they discovered us), a few old ones fell. We're still using the same old anti-matter/matter drives that our great-great-great grandfathers used and we're still using the same lasers that most people have known for millennia. The galaxy is still run by whoever's in power, and its usually the businesses men who do the ruling.

Like I said, not much has changed.