path: root/doc/STORYLINE

The Osirion Project - STORYLINE

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

FACTIONS

	Borderworlds
	Colonial Militia

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

	Tsu-Khan Empire

PLACES

	INDEPENDENT COLONIES

	- Ghant system
		planet Ghant
		Alexandria outpost (Colonial Militia)
		Battleship custodian

		planet Seymour
		Regula mining operation

		asteroid field

	- Brogha system
		planet Brogha


	HOUSE LINDBLADE

	- Lindblade system
		planet Lindblade

	- Burtonian system
		planet Burton
		Trent outpost


	LANCE COUNCIL CAPITAL


	INDEPENDENT WORLDS
	
	- Lantanian system
		planet Lantania

	BORDERWORLDS

	- Carolian system
		planet Andros
		planet Corthio

		great 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


HISTORY

The Great War

	Over 300 years ago, the great war between the Colonies and the Tsu-Khan
	Empire almost wiped humanity out of existence. With respect to the cause,
	it was a war like any other: resources and territory. The Empire had depleted
	most of its natural resources and launched an ambitious project to find
	a suitable location for a new homeworld. Exploration and conquest led
	to the inevitable encounter with the Colonies.
	
	Most of the human population was ignorant of the presence of alien lifeforms
	in their galaxy. The scant pieces of evidence that did exist were well-kept 
	secrets by the political leaders of the time. The Colonies were controlled
	by several Major Houses, each with their own agenda's and changing aliances.
	None of the House Lords had the motivation to order a thorough investigation
	into a mad man's testimony of outer world creatures.
	
	The ware come without warning. On the edge of know space, in the Caroli system, 
	two new colonies had been founded outside the jurisidiction of the great houses.
	The settlers were finishing the construction of their hyperspace jump gate, to
	connect the system to alied borderworld systems. Unfortunatly, the Tsu-Khan 
	Empire had located a few suitable planets just a few parsec away.
	
	The Andros colony was the first to fall. It didn't take long for the Tsu-Khan 
	battle group to destroy the defenceless setlement. By the time they arrived at
	the Corthio colony, the local alliance had scrambled any battleship it could
	find to fend the invasion. The Colonial fleet was no match for the overwhelming
	superiority of the Tsu-Khan ships. In a few hours, the battle was over, and the
	Corthio colony was reduced to ashes.

	The story repeated itself across the Borderworlds. These independend world were
	usually inhabited by pacifist that had escaped the turmoil of the central worlds
	or had a mutual understading with one of more of the great houses. The Tsu-khan
	did not care, and the majority of the Bordworlds was utterly obliterated. What
	remained was a few primitive settlements scatered 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 didn't really 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. It was in this
	dark hour of history that a secret meeting took place that turned the fate of history.
	Five small ships, each carrying one of the remaining House Lords arrived at their
	rendez-vous point on a small neutral planet near the centre of the Colonies.

The Alliance

	The 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 scrimish followed by a royal monetary compensation.

	These times were over. For them, 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 possesed
	sufficient strength to fight the Empire on its own. A new alliance was formed and it
	was decided that it should not only include all the Major Houses, but also any
	independent system that was still capable of fighting.	The Lord of the house Lindblade, 
	who's territory had been on the front line since the beginning of the war, and considered
	as moderate amongst the Hosue 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 desperation, but most of all, out of hope. A news reporter from the era described
	it as ".. an overwhelming sight of Armegeddon, but unlike some ancient scriptures, with a
	sense of pride 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 sneding 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 eager to fight and prepared as always to were dispatched to dismiss 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, unpowered and only slightly larger then a life support pod, managed
	to elude the Tsu-Khan sensors through the high levels of radiant present in the nebula
	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 like fire through the Colonies, and the battle became legendary
	even before the Alliance fleet had returned. The heroic tales of the fleet plowing through 
	the Emperial forces like a knight with a spear, gave birth to the name 
	"Battle of The Lance".
	
Turning of the Tide


Project Osirion


The Karelian Incident


STORY


I. Chocolate milk

	A cup of steaming hot chocolate milk! There were times I would have
	laughed it the mere idea, but in these outskirts of the galaxy
	chocolate was a hard to find commodity. And fresh milk? You'd have to
	have almost criminal connections to find it. fortunatly I had, and I did.
	These were times for celebration. I had spend the loan I managed to get 
	from the local planetairy bank on a small transport ship and I had just 
	finished my first day of marmitium transport from the Regula mining
	operation to Alexandria outpost. Not the glorious life I had gotten used
	to on the central planets, but at least a decent one with its small pleasures
	once in a while, like the cup of chocolate milk. The hundred credits I payed
	for it made sure it rivaled the best Keldorian brandy, without the flavour
	of slightly fermented rodent droppings and the associated legendary hangover.
	
	I almost felt like home and the small room I rented above the local bar
	started to feel like one. 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 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 marmitium 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 marmitium 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 
	Independent Colonies, nobody had any real business here. Sure marmitium was
	a great industrial fertilizer, but my guess was that the military's interests
	would lie elsewhere. For now, I just decided to ignore the matter. I had just made
	a fresh start in live and I was determined not to let it get ruined by unfortunate
	circumstances.
	
	It was hard to ignore the massive battleship looming over the station, 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 immediatly. All fleet operations in the system will be under the 
	command of the battleship Custodian. They als 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 to 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, of it goes kabooom, they immediatly like it"