path: root/doc/STORYLINE

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	The Osirion Project - STORYLINE

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	This file contains ideas for the universe background, the factions and 
	the storyline. It _will_ contain spoilers.


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	FACTIONS

	Outer Colonies
	- Colonial Militia
	- Drifters

	Great Houses
	- House Lindblade
	- House Illia
	- Lance Council Capital

	Tsu-Khan Empire

	Pirates

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	PLACES

	OUTER COLONIES (Colonial Militia)

	A loose alliance of systems independent from the central planets.
	

	- Ghant system
		planet Ghant
		Alexandria outpost
		Battleship custodian

		planet Seymour
		Regula station

	- Brogha system 
		planet Brogha
		Cantor observatory

	- Antwerp system


	HOUSE LINDBLADE

	- Lindblade system
		planet Lindblade

	- Burtonian system
		planet Burton
		Trent outpost

	- Dover system

	LANCE COUNCIL CAPITAL


	INDEPENDENT WORLDS
	
	- East End
		Ensor station

	- Anara
		Galileo research station

	BORDERWORLDS

	- Kor Glaven system
		planet Andros
		planet Corthio

		war battle field remains

	- Karelian system
		no Planets
		Karelian nebula
		Colonial border station

	- Anarian system
		Anarian nebula
		Anara research station

	TSU-KHAN EMPIRE

	- Kiana system
		Kiana Prime

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	TIMELINE

	Exodus			-5300 years
	The Year of War		 -300 years
	The Karelian Incident	  -50 years

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	HISTORY OF THE YEAR OF WAR

	from the House Lindblade historical records

Reach for the Stars

	Since the beginning of time history of mankind had been written
	in blood and fire. While many modern historians state the Exodus 
	as the the turning point in human civilization it certainly did
	not precipitate an era of peace. Wars for resources and territory 
	would be commonplace for millenia to come.

The Year of War
	
	For the Tsu-Khan, this war was no different. Around 300 years ago, 
	The Empire had depleted most of its natural resources and had launched 
	an ambitious project to find a suitable new homeworld.
	
	At the time, most of the human population was ignorant about the presence
	of alien lifeforms in their galaxy. The scant pieces of evidence that did 
	exist were kept secret by the political leaders. The Colonies were controlled
	by several Major Houses, each with their own agenda's and changing alliances.
	None of the House Lords had the motivation to order a thorough investigation
	into a mad man's testimony of outer world creatures.
	
	The war came without warning. In the Kor Glaven system, on the edge of known space 
	and outside the jurisidiction of the great houses, two new colonies 
	had been founded. The settlers were finishing the construction of their 
	hyperspace jump gate, to connect the system to allied borderworld systems. 
	Unfortunatly, the Tsu-Khan Empire had located a suitable planet just 
	a few parsec away.
	
	The Andros colony was the first to fall. It didn't take the Tsu-Khan 
	battle group very long to destroy the defenceless setlement. 
	By the time they arrived at the Corthio colony, the colony had scrambled 
	any battleship it could find to fend the invasion. The Colonial fleet was 
	no match for the superior Tsu-Khan ships. In a few hours, the battle was over, 
	and the Corthio colony had been reduced to ashes.

	The story repeated itself across the Borderworlds. These independent worlds were
	usually inhabited by pacifist who had escaped the turmoil of the central planets
	or had a mutual understanding with one or more of the great houses. The Tsu-khan
	did not care, and the majority of the Bordesworlds was utterly obliterated. What
	remained was a few primitive settlements scattered across the smoldering remains
	of the Borderworld planets.

	The relations between the Borderworlds and the Major Houses were strained with
	conflicts of interest. The central planets usually didn't care unless some economical
	or strategical advantage was involved. Slowly the Houses got drawn into the the war,
	and after almost a year of hostilities most of the House Lords found their armies
	involved in a full-scale war. A war, they realised, they couldn't win.

	With the Borderworlds out of the way, and the Tsu-Khan fleet at the border of every
	Major House, there wasn't much they could do to oppose the Empire. In this darkest
	of hours a secret meeting took place that turned the fate of history. On a small,
	neutral planet, near the centre of the Colonies, five small ships met in secret,
	each ship carrying one of the remaining House Lords.

The Alliance

	This small planet used to be the stage for the House Council, by then a long forgotten
	tradition, where the Lords of the Major Houses used to work out their differences
	with dialog, or discuss current events. In the years before the Great War, this
	tradition had been neglected and oposing views were usually solved with a friendly
	border skirmish followed by royal monetary compensation.

	These times were over. This war wasn't about money, power or territory.
	It was about survival and it was clear by now that none of the Major Houses possessed
	sufficient strength to fight the Empire on its own. A new alliance was formed and it
	was decided that it should not only include the Major Houses, but also any independent
	system that was still capable of fighting. The Lord of House Lindblade, who's
	territory had been on the front line since the beginning of the war, and considered
	as moderate amongst the House Lords, proposed to assemble a fleet in the Lindblade 
	system to prevent the Empire from gaining a foothold in the Central Systems.

	Within days, the largest fleet in human history had united under one banner. Out of fear,
	out of hope, but most of all, out of desperation. A news reporter from the era described
	it as ".. an overwhelming sight of the End of Times, but unlike the descriptions of
	Armegeddon in the Ancient Scripture, a sight with a sense of honour and dignity ..." 
	and ended his report with the question if they really had any chance against such
	a formidable enemy.

	It didn't take the Empire very long to be noted of the fact that humanity was about to 
	make its last stand. It reacted promptly by sending in the First Fleet, a group of elite
	Tsu-Khan Warriors that hadn't been allowed to take part in the operations so far. They
	were prepared as always and eager to fight. Once dispatched they would take care of the 
	alliance fleet and end the human opposition once and for all. The Supreme Commander of
	the Tsu-Khan fleet would see to it himself.

	It is said, even the smallest person can change the course of the future, and in this 
	case it was a lonely scientists in the Anara system. His work involved the meaning of life,
	the universe and related subjects, and ignoring the dangers of the war was his way of
	dealing with the situation. His latest experiment required him to pilot a small, 
	almost unpowered vessel into the Anarian nebula, where he could conduct measurements
	of the small variations in the local hyperspace field.

	He was performing another scan of the sector when suddenly his instruments went off
	the scale. To his amazement he suddenly found himself on the edge on area where the
	First Fleet had decided to regroup and refuel before they sneaked into Alliance Territory.
	The small vessel, barely powered and only slightly larger than an emergency life
	support pod, used the high levels of radiation in the nebula to elude the Tsu-Khan
	sensors and send a warning message the Alliance Fleet.

	With the help of the detailed scientific information about the nebula, the Alliance
	managed to jump right on top of the unsuspecting Tsu-Khan fleet. Within minutes, 
	the Emperial Flagship, primary target of the assault, had taken massive damage and was
	burning in the flames of explosive decompression. It was at the heart of the fleet
	when it exploded, and most of the heavy fighters and cruisers were hit by the shockwave
	and the massive rain of high-speed metallic debris following it. Some managed to retreat
	to Tsu-Khan space, most fell victim to the united firepower of the Alliance fleet.

	News of the victory spread through the Colonies like fire, and the battle became legendary
	even before the Alliance fleet had returned home. The heroic tales of the fleet plowing
	through the Emperial forces like a knight with his spear, gave birth to the name 
	"Battle of The Lance".
	

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	PROJECT OSIRION

	Allied Intelligence Network classified documents
	


Project Osirion

	 

The Karelian Incident


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	STORY

I. Business

	Alexandria outpost, jewel of the south, or queen of the wasteland,
	as some higher placed officials like to call it off-the-record.
	They were probably right too. The wasteland probably referred to
	planet Ghant, a lifeless chunk of rock holding the outpost in 
	a stationary orbit. Unless you had some pressing matters to handle,
	this was a part of space you would rather avoid. The only kind of
	people you could find here were people doing business and people 
	who needed to dissapear from public appearance. Or both.

	The local custom was to mind your own business, and that was exactly
	what I was looking for: minding my own business. My life on the central
	planets had become far more complicated than I had planned for and it
	was time for a change: I managed to get a loan from the local
	planetary bank and spend it on the aquisition of a small transport
	vessel.

	The first day of my new life as a spaceship captain. Not the glorious 
	life I had gotten used to, but at least a decent one with its small pleasures
	once in a while. The small room I rented above the local bar almost felt like
	home. After I left the central planets, I ended up on Alexandria outpost where
	the local bartender was kind enough to offer me a job in his modest establishment.
	He probably did it more out of sympathy then anything else, but as it turned
	out, I'm great at doing the dishes and I always enjoyed	our conversations. 
	That is, until last week, when I met Mister Brent.
	
	I never really got to know him very well but he must have remembered me from high
	school. I was sitting at the bar when he suddenly tapped my shoulder. My memories
	of him were vague. As he sat down, I ordered him a drink. We had some chit-chat,
	shared a few memories of distant times, but it didn't take hime very long to come
	to the point.
	
	Brent was the business type. "The rising star of the Regula mining operations,
	overseeing all shipments of karpax ore in the Ghant system", to quote his words.
	His phrases like "A smart man could make a fortune" sounded rather hollow to me,
	but he did have a point. 500 runs to Regula to pay the loan for the ship.
	Another 1500 more to get myself a ship big enough to hold a small cabin with all the
	luxuries a simple life would need.
	
	Repetetive? Boring? Perfect! Add an autopilot and this life could be more relaxing
	then a luxury vacantion on Lantania. With this simple business but rock-solid plan
	laid out in front of me I managed to convince the manager of the local planetairy
	bank to provide me with the necessary funds for my operation which were quickly 
	exchanged for Micron Corporation's latest Vector model. It's a small ship: 
	the cockpit, a living compartment with a sleeping corner and a cargo hold 
	just big enough to hold a few metric tons of whatever the owner had in mind.
	All it misses is a pair of blasters to shoot the mosquitos from the windshield.
	
	That would have added another 50 runs to the price.
	
	The first two runs went smooth. Nothing unexpected. Pick up supplies at Alexandria,
	fly all the way to the Regula mining operation station, exchange the supplies
	for a shipment of karpax ore and head back. I had just hit the impulse drive with 
	the third load in my cargo hold when I noticed something out of place.
	
	A blip. And a big one too. No civilian vessel had an EM radar signature that powerful.
	I peered through the windows and as planet Ghant grew bigger on me I could clearly
	distinguish a second bright spot next to the familiar one Alexandria had become to me.
	I quickly requested the computer for an identification and it didn't take it very long
	to come up with an answer. Battleship Custodian. Colonial Militia registration number 
	CM-2542. It must have jumped in when I was docked at Regula.
	
	Curious. While the Ghant system was officialy under the jurisdiction of the 
	Outer Colonies, nobody had any real business here. Karpax was without doubt
	a valuable commodity. With proper processing it can be used to produce alloys harder
	then plasteel and lighter then aluminox. Since there was no real shortage of the ore
	my guess was that the military's interests would lie elsewhere. For now, I decided
	to ignore the matter. I wasn't about to meddle into military affairs and let unfortunate
	circumstances ruin my life again.
	
	Nevertheless it was hard to ignore the massive battleship looming over the outpost,
	but I docked and went straight to the bar. The bartender looked at me as I walked in
	and pointed me to my regular place at the bar. "I'll be right back", he said,
	and disappeared into the kitchen compartment. As on most quiet evenings, the 
	regular customers were kind enough to leave my seat unocupied and it didn't 
	take the familar surroundings long to ease my exited mind into a more relaxes state. 
	"Here you are, one cup of steaming hot chocolate milk. I'm not sure how or where 
	you got it, but I am sure it is the real deal. No one would get it into	his mind
	to synthesize anything without having an actual market for it."
	
	As usual, my bartender was right, and that was exactly why I liked this stuff, even if it
	costed a small fortune. "But then again", he continued and turned has eyes towards the large
	space window at the other end of the bar, "life can be full of surprises."

II. Surprises

	It was hard for him to hide his unsettledness. "I just had a talk with the station supervisor
	and the commander of that battleship floating out there". "The Custodian", I replied. "I had
	the ship computer run an ID on it". "You'd better take care of that fancy new ship of yours",
	he said. "They were here to inform me that the Colonial Militia has decided to assign a detachment
	to the Ghant system, effective immediately. All fleet operations in the system will be under the 
	command of the battleship Custodian. They also dropped some kind of communication sattelite 
	in the center of the system. God knows what these guys are up to."

	The military is always involved in business the common man would rather not know about, but I had
	to admit, it just didn't sound right.  A battleship in the Ghant system was curious, but a 
	more permanent presence didn't make any sense at all. I picked up the small metal spoon lying
	next to my cup and stirred my hot milk. "I wouldn't worry too much. They've probably discovered
	some interesting radiation in the neighbourhood and now they want to turn it into a weapon. You
	know these kind of people, if it goes kabooom, they immediately like it." "Besides", I continued, 
	"the system has been quiet for months. I haven't seen a pirate in ages".
	
	The tone in my voice couldn't hide my longing for more dangerous and exiting times,
	but those days were over. I had chosen a new path, and I was not about to ruin my plans
	because of a few curious events. I emptied my cup and wished the bartender good night.

	I couldn't sleep that evening. I didn't know what troubled me more: the prospect
	of my new life, the memories of the old one, or the strange events of today. When a man
	is troubled, he has to start walking and with the silence of the night as a blanket,
	I got out of bed and went out on a stroll.

	2 am standard colonial time. Nights in space are something to get used to: without
	the sun to rise and set, dusk and dawn become rather hollow definitions and 
	only the clock dictates when it is time to go to sleep. Nevertheless, the atmosphere
	of the night still permiated the station: most of the establishments were closed and
	the sound of busy peoples voices was replaced by the quiet hum of the electrical
	installations.

	I wandered aimless through the empty corridors until I reached one of the large
	space windows on the upper level. It was almost like the vast, empty space
	behind it was reaching out, trying to stir something in the back of my mind.
	I wasn't sure why but I could not shed the feeling that some event was about
	to unfold. I turned around to head back to bed when suddenly felt a faint 
	tremor going through the station. It was hardly noticable and most people 
	would probably ignore it, but I knew exactly what it was.

	When a ship drops from hyperspace into normal space, it will send a small shockwave
	into the surrounding area. This is not a shockwave of something traveling through space,
	but rather a disturbance of the fabric of space itself, with a distinct rythmn
	an experienced pilot can easily recognize. I could have ignored it too and
	go back to sleep, but the intoxicating effect of the mystery dragged me back to the window.
	
	A ship had arrived, and it had to be close. Hyperspace-tremors do not travel very far
	and it would take one hell of a pilot to make a jump this close to a gravitational well.
	The slightest miscalulation would have spread out his atoms over the face of planet Ghant.
	The bright moving spot between the stars had proven he was either very good, or very lucky.

	The design of the ship was unfamiliar. It looked like some kind of a patrol craft,
	armed to the teeth and ready to defend itself if it were necessary. Fortunatly,
	it looked like the pilot had a more quiet evening in mind. In a gracious arc, 
	he approached the station and soaring like a an eagle he started the final approached
	to the docking bay.

III. The suit

	A wise man once said: "Curiosity is mankind's greatest gift. But it is
	also mankind's greatest curse."	I didn't have to take him for his word: 
	I've been in situations before were I wasn't supposed to belong,
	and me intuition told me that ship was probably something I didn't want to know about.

	By now it was almost 3 am and I was almost certain I was going to regret this nightwandering
	episode when my alarm clock would obnoxiously announce the next morning. Almost, because
	by now I had learned that no regrets and focus on the task at hand was usually the wiser
	course of action. Obivously, that action was sleep.

	I turned around, walked to the elevator at the end of the corridor and pressed the button.
	After a few seconds the doors opened with a joyfull chime and I stepped inside. "Level 6".
	The elevator seemed to consider my request when finally the doors closed and it started
	moving upward.