Stories of the Exodus:

Originally posted at the Vanguard Federation of Freelancers.
Inspired by the Lancer games and the SAAB tv series.
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Sol System: Pre Exodus

It is the year 2160. Mankind has colonized the solar system and two political entities have emerged: an “Alliance” consisting of American, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, British and German forces, and a “Coalition” of Russian, Chinese and Middle-Eastern interests. The war begins with a surprise attack on Fort Kennedy, where a peace treaty turns into a bloodbath: all of the inner four planets are overrun, including Terra herself, and the Italian and French fleets are utterly lost. The Alliance fleet regroups at Triton, Neptune’s moon, and attempts to regain lost territory. It is in this last ditch effort that the 45th Volunteers squadron, under the command of Captain Robert Foster and Wing Commander Maria Enriquez, aboard the re-commissioned British carrier ANS Reliant become immortalized in Alliance history. Through the valiant efforts of our soldiers and the scientific advances in “In-Vitro” technology, we were able to hold our own for a time.

Sadly, in the end the limitless resources of the Coalition, along with their production of Cybernetic soldiers, pushed us back territory by territory. We eventually retreated to the Jupiter system where our greatest minds came together and formulated the Exodus Initiative.

The Exodus:

A war between two major factions, the Coalition and the Alliance, has been waged in the Earth’s solar system for decades. Eventually, the Coalition gains the upper hand and the Alliance, sensing defeat, builds a group of five colony ships in secret. Each ship represents one of the major members in The Alliance: the Kusari (Japan), the Rheinland (Germany), the Liberty (America), the Bretonia (Britain), and the Hispania (Spain). Fortunately, all five escape the Coalition blockade and head toward the Sirius sector carrying thousands of colonists.

The sleeper ships arrive at different times, in different locations. The Sirius Sector is a region of space with many star systems surrounded by four distinct landmarks. In the ‘north’ is the gas, oxygen, and hydrogen rich Crow Nebula. In the ‘south’ is the volatile, yet mineral rich Walker Nebula. To the ‘west’ is the rocky Barrier, a massive and long asteroid-filled region rich in useful metals. And finally, to the ‘east’ is the mysterious Edge Nebula.

Five great ships. One was lost en route. The names of the other four now are legend: Kusari, Rheinland, Bretonia, and Liberty….

Of the five sleeper ships, the Liberty arrives first. This allowed the colonists to choose a centralized location with a mix of resources and habitable worlds.

Arriving after the Liberty, the Rheinland selected the region adjacent to the Walker Nebula for its resources, specifically diamonds.

The Kusari arrived next, and selected the region near the Crow Nebula.

Bretonia arrived a full 20 years after the Liberty, due to the fact that the starboard engine was disabled during the Exodus and chose a region in the Barrier.

The remains of the lost sleeper ship Hispania have yet to be located. But there are
rumors…

When we Arrived in the Sirius Sector, we swore never to forget…But we have forgotten that which once bound us together.
The Alliance is almost a forgotten concept and the four houses of Liberty, Rheinland, Bretonia, and Kusari bicker while piracy runs rampant. And while they bicker and fight amongst themselves, the remnants of an old foe approach.

Sol System: Post Exodus

Humans call them “Nomads.” No human truly knows what they call themselves, but it served the war effort well to demonize the aliens. When they first appear in the Sol System after the Exodus, the Nomads are humanoid in form and encased entirely in polymorphic armor, a faceless, evil presence we can neither see nor understand. Our reaction to them is simple: they are evil and must be destroyed.
The first encounter with them was catastrophic. They attacked the Fringe colonies in the night, without provocation, without warning. The colonists had no chance. The attack sparked the Nomad Wars, and before humankind was fully prepared, the Nomads were bearing down on the Solar System. They had routed Earth’s finest combat squadron and were preparing to attack humanity’s home world.
The enemy seems to know much about humans. It appears that the Nomads have been watching humankind for a long time, perhaps from the television and radio signals beamed into space for over the years. Scientists suggests that the Nomads may already know an early Native American language that is being used as code, perhaps because they gave the Navajo the language. They also know something about English.
Their technology is superior to human technology in some ways, comparable or even less advanced in others. They are disciplined and even predictable in their combat tactics. It is from the C.A.F. that we hear that the Nomads have been watching Earth for an incredibly long time. These rebel C.A.F.s who have been in league with the Nomads, helping to educate them about Earth cultures and beliefs. All that the humans know is that Nomads fear we may discover something …… something they want hidden.