Terran Expanse Fictional Setting

Inspired by authors like Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven, I wrote many short stories in my college years all focused around something called the Terran Expanse (TE). The TE is a loosely connected conglomerate of Terran (Earth) colonies and their allies in a futuristic setting. Depending on which story you read, the Expanse is loosely ruled by the Terran Expanse Authority, Terran Empire, and sometimes the Terran Imperial Authority. I modelled it after Niven “Known Space”, and have even integrated it into the history of my Advanced Star Frontiers 4th Edition. Several of my stories still reference the TE in some way or another.

Since it seem to be slowly developing an entity into itself, I decided to try and put together a site dedicated to something I can call my own – the Terran Expanse. In time, I hope to post a time line, races, and technology. All this will be literary in nature and not driven by any particular RPG I happen to run.

This is just a place to share my ideas…

Terran Imperial Expanse Time Line

Early 21st Century

Human progress is slowed due to economic failures of the major powers, unending wars to suppress radical terrorism, and general apathy among the populations of the super powers. Not until the elements of radical terrorism unite under one flag, does the people of civilized world wake up from its slumber. However, they only discover it’s too late, as the New Holy war take a major toll on civilization. Several major cities are annihilated by nuclear strikes from previously unknown weapons sites in the middle east. The war wages on for decades until the Arrival in 2063.

2063 AD – The Arrival

The Thesurye, a vaguely reptilian alien race, invade Earth and in in short order become it’s Overlords. Picking the most opportune time to invade, when all the planet’s nations were at their weakest points due tot he Last Holy War, the Thesurye Overlords quickly subjugate the remaining human race.

2065 AD – 2184 AD – The Occupation

For generations, the Thesurye occupation attempts to break the human spirit. Thinking themselves more saviors than conquerors, the Thesurye felt they had saved humanity from itself. They had doomed themselves to destruction because of the conflicting belief systems. These religions were seen as the threat. The Thesurye engaged in a long campaign to try and erase all signs of human religion from the planet, through re-education camps, mind control techniques and even psychic powers (which their race had somewhat mastered better than humans). What they did not know was they were slowly awakening the true spirit of humanity, and would learn to regret it eventually.

The irony is that the Thesurye have their own religions, but they see humans as unworthy of the privilege to worship their gods.

During this time, humans are used as slaves in the Thesurye’s war machine industry, building weapons, ships and supplies for a way against an alien they only reference to as the Others. There is little else the Thesurye fear more than the Others.

Ironically, humanity sees a resurgence of their national economies and livelihoods. The Thesurye learned to harness humanity’s best traits while suppressing some of its worst, allowing them to freely compete to help them develop and build for their war machine. Many fell into line very well when given certain freedoms, like sheep to the shepherd, while other bided their time and waited for the right moment.

2185 AD – Ganymede Incident

A resistance attack on a Thesurye transport to Ganymede, carrying several major leaders of both human and Thesurye delegation. What they did not know was it was a delegation team to discuss an alliance with another alien race that had just arrived to the Sol system. This race, fearful of the Others as much as the Thesurye, was spooked enough by the attack that they called off the alliance and left the Thesurye to their own means. This enraged the Thesurye Overlords and lead to a severe crack down on their human slaves. Freedoms were restricted or revoked. This only fueled the discontent among the humans and led to a massive revolt the Thesurye were not prepared for.

Little did they know, elements of the resistance were getting help from the Others, secretly. Armed with superior weapons, and equipment, the war for humanity’s freedom began. Few actually had contact with the Others and when it was all over, those that did were lost or dead.

2191 AD – 2212 AD – Liberation

Humanity wages a massive war against the Thesurye, capturing technology and re-tooling it for human use, destroying key communication installations, and isolating the alien forces through out the system. Unprepared for the ferocity and tenaciousness of the Humans, the Thesurye are all but wiped out. The last survivors surrendered on Titan. The Human delegation accepted the surrender of the last commanding officer of the Thesurye, who revealed he and his troops were the last of his race. The invading force was the last of the Thesurye race to escape their world. Earth was their only hope of survival and it was their arrogance that drove them to think they could subjugate the humans. He extended his sincerest apologies to the humans and warned that now the Others will see Humanity as a threat.

2215 AD – 2246 AD – First Terran Expansion

During these years following Liberation using converted technology from the Thesurye, the Terran humans colonize their solar system, and establishes numerous space stations. A small population of Thesurye are given refuge on Mars, which had been partially terraformed. Eventually, despite all efforts of human medicine, the Thesurye die out. The species simply lost the will to live. A monument was built on the site of the last reserve of the Thesurye.

2210 AD – 2216 AD – Colonial War

A bitter three way war breaks out between the United Terran Federation (under the control of the mega-corporations), the Martian Alliance and the High Colony Alliance (alliance of space stations in the Sol system). The end result is the formation of something similar to the United Nations, called the Terran Home System Authority, established by the Olympus Mons Agreement. It is a joint ruling body with a little more authority than the old UN. Allowed a fighting force and control of the Earth’s Moon, the THSA enforces the laws agreed upon by the major entities. Eventually The Jupiter Colonies, Saturn Colonies and the Venusian Colonies all join.

2220 AD – 2309 AD – Sleeper Ships

Unable to reproduce key elements of the Thesurye FTL Drives, Humanity begins a extensive sleeper colony ship project, sending out colony ships full of human colonist prepared for the colonization of other worlds. Ships are sent to Alpha Centauri, Wolf 359, Barnard’s Star and many others, using advanced technologies learned from the Thesurye. According to data obtained from the Thesurye, many of the systems humans suspected of having planets actually did and there was a good chance they were habitable. It was feared that the Thesurye had already either colonized or stripped these worlds or even worse, the Others were occupying them but no indications of either were found in the Thesurye data. Something else drove the Thesurye directly to Earth. Many feel it had something to do with their mysterious religion.

2315 AD – FTL Flight Attained!

A Thesurye FTL drive is finally reproduced – also known as Gravitic Wave Fold Drives or simply G-drives. Humans reach out to the stars, hoping to find the fruits of their sleep ship efforts. Colonies were found in Alpha Centauri, Wolf 359 and Barnard’s Star but that was the extent of their success. Declaring themselves independent from the THSA (since renamed the Terran System Authority), these colonies were thriving on worlds found in each system – not perfect worlds but worlds that could sustain human life with a little help from bio-engineering of the human colonist stock.

2315 AD – 2775 AD – First Era of Terran Imperialism

The Terran Imperial Expanse, with no regard to what societies or cultures they disrupt, aggressively colonize nearby worlds. Starting the first extra solar worlds, the new Terran Authority takes control of those worlds and many others. Terran Authority force many “undesirables” to relocate to remote worlds, forming reserves and penal colonies on these worlds that were less compatible to human life.

During this time, many less-advanced alien races are found. These are subjugated and oppressed by the Terran Imperial Authority. Signs show that they were much more advanced at one time, but something caused them to regress back. Perhaps the wars between the Thesurye and the Others were much grander in scale than the humans knew. No one knew.

2320 AD – 2341 AD – Terran-Karian War

First Contact with the Karian Orb takes place in 2320. This leads into the Terran-Karian War. The Karians, a species of extremely aggressive simian creatures, engage in a long and brutal war, which spreads to other Terran Colonies. It ends with Terrans pulling out of the Karian system. A treaty is signed on the outer Karian world of Gondal. The Gondal Treaty declares the Karian system off-limits to colonization and allots a number of nearby worlds to the Karian Orb.

2364 AD – 2376 AD – Terran-Glemmie Wars

A seemingly unintelligent reptilian of large lizards (not all that dissimilar to the Thesurye) known as the Glemlidarians are enslaved and the Terran Imperial Authority . They are genetically and cybernetic modified with the intent on using them as heavy weapons units. They suddenly start showing signs of intelligence, and rebel against their masters. The war ends with what is assumed as the last unit of Glemmies destroying itself on a remote world. Many of the units were assumed lost or self-destructed. No sign of the Glemmies were seen again. Some theorize that the Glemmies were a intelligent race at one time, and the entire species was some how regressed back to a animal state. Some say it was done by the Others, while others believe it was natural.

2397 AD – 2403 AD – The Karidian Incident

First contact with the Karidians – an extremely alien race – leads to border skirmishes between them and Terran Expanse. Border skirmishes grew to large scale battles and almost to all out war. However, despite their prowess in battle, the Karidians never seemed centralized or unified enough to form a joint front against humanity. An agreement was reached between a majority Karidian factions that established as trade agreement and neutral zone. Humanity realized that if they could not defeat the Karidian warlords when they were fractured, the last thing they wanted was a unified front with these creatures.

2410-2499 – Second Era of Terran Imperialism

Further advancements in FTL allow the Terran Imperial Expanse to reach out to further reaches of deep space. Although the Terran Expanse was already made up of multiple factions, the further it grew the more the factions grew.

2500-2554 – Sarginian War

First contact with the Sarginians. The Terran Imperial Authority “trespassed” in their territory in the region known as Otharian Star Cluster. The war boils over into other neighboring sectors and begins the First Decline.

2555-2576 – First Decline

The effects of multiple wars, while maintaining an massive region of space causes the Terran Empire to contract. Large sections of the Expanse are left on their own.