History of Terra

Chapter 2 - Hey Jude

"Marines, listen up."

Two dozen heads lifted immediately at the sound of their senior officer. They had been milling about and talking excitedly up until that point.

"As you know, after stripping the nearest information buoy we decoded a Stellar Core S.O.S message from the Phoenix system. This is why we are currently in FTL (Faster Than Light (Travel)) on route. What we don't know is the current state of affairs in that system. If they sent out a distress signal about two hours ago, this can only mean that they were attacked by someone or their ship has gone down for some reason. We will be jumping in assuming the former."

A voice spoke up in the back.

"Who's sorry butt are we helping out of the crapper this time Cap'n?"

The officer looked down to a small hand held device in his hands.

"A ship by the name of Vanguard, cruiser class."

The same man shook his head at the news.

"Xenon, what are we supposed to do against an enemy that can take out our cruisers. I wouldn't call sending in the 'Shade', much backup."

"Call it what you will Johanson, but the folks on the Vanguard will appreciate any help we can give them, and we owe it to them. Every person within the Stellar Core shares a bond that is stronger then anonymity. We were not drafted, and we are not mercenaries, we all joined because we want to see Sol, Andromeda, Centauri, Sirius, all the core systems restored to their former glory. Is that not so Johanson?"

The man mumbled something. The captain turned, an angry glint in his eye.

"What's that private?"

"I said, yes sir."

Another voice came forth from the small throng.

"Captain, but what about planets that don't fall within the inner core or those that don't want to be apart of the Stellar Core."

The captain smiled.

"Well that's why we have guns, son."

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' Sixty one years before the Stellar Core was founded the Council of Planets had been in place for nearly two centuries. With the decline of natural resources of the Terran home world in Sol the pre-council world was filled with wars over water, oil, and fertile land. Millions died of disease, hunger, poverty, and cruelty. It was only the coming of Halley's Comet in 2213 A.D. which prompted an end to the violence.

Astrologists watched through the centuries as Halley's comet came and went and as it's trajectory slowly angled towards our planet. Physicists theorized that the gravitational pull of the comet passing so close to our own home would cause unnatural rises in the tides of our oceans usually controlled by our moon.

The theory claimed that this instability within our oceanic expanse could cause mass floods or tsunami's that would sweep across the continents. Though the actual effects of the comet were never proven as the imminent disaster acted as the catalyst for world wide cooperation.

With only two years notice the people of Terra Sol banded together and formed the Council of Planets. Within the first six months they turned their heads towards the heavens and had built ships to take men into orbit to construct the first world wide space station. Within the next year and a half the Council of Planets constructed five two hundred megaton warheads to fire at the incoming meteor.

The resulting explosion was enough to propel the comet off its original trajectory and fracture it in the process. Within the remains of Halley's Comet Terra Sol found frozen hydrogen, iron ore, and nickel. The leaders of the Council of Planets understood the significance of the comet to Terra Sol and before the various factions could break out into another interplanetary war the Council of Planets focused on a new goal, colonization of the stars.'