In the centuries following mankind’s first ascent into space, a series of planetary governments
attempted to unify mankind under a single authority.
Economic stagnation and ecological catastrophes plagued these efforts, threatening to sever
Earth’s tenuous connection with the outer colonies of the Solar System.
The collapse of the World Economic Consortium was the final breaking point.
On August 23rd, 2416, the powers of Earth signed the Articles of Confederation, uniting
the planet under a new nation dedicated to succeeding where all past attempts had failed.
Two centuries later, the very survival of humanity would be dependant upon the Terran
Confederation.
In its earliest days, the Confederation was purely a means to recover from half a millennium
of environmental abuse.
As Earth’s biosphere was repaired however and the infrastructure of the solar colonies
was reinforced, the attention of the Confederation turned to interstellar colonization.
The advent of the Akwende Drive brought distant worlds within reach, manipulating stable jump
points between stars to achieve faster than light travel.
The Akwende Drive was far more stable and powerful than previous attempts but brought
the Confederation into conflict with a religious movement known as the Pilgrims.
The descendants of mankind’s earliest interstellar pioneers, a series of genetic mutations had
given the Pilgrims the hereditary ability to navigate jump points almost on instinct.
For decades they had held a near total monopoly on space exploration, and they came to view
Earth as a hell which only they had the divine right to escape.
The Pilgrims embarked on a protracted guerilla campaign, raiding nascent Confederate colonies
and disrupting interstellar shipping lanes.
Eventually however, the full economic and industrial power of the Confederation was
brought to bear against the Pilgrims, who were forced into a desperate, direct attack
they couldn’t hope to win.
Peace accords dissolved the Pilgrim Alliance and the Terran Confederation quickly absorbed
its worlds.
By the first third of the 27th century, the Terran Confederation had colonized hundreds
of star systems spread across thousands of light years.
Amid an aggressive campaign to expand into the Vega Sector, the Confederation encountered
the ships of an alien race that would come to be known as the Kilrathi.
When the exploration vessel “Iason” was fired upon and destroyed, civilian activity
beyond the Vega Sector was restricted.
Automated probes and heavily armed envoys all failed to open any sort of diplomatic
channel and tensions eventually escalated into skirmishes and raids.
These prompted demands within the Confederation government for an armed response, especially
by the terrified distant border colonies situated throughout the Vega Sector.
Confederation Intelligence Services had estimated the Kilrathi Empire to be under significant
pressure both internally and externally, and unlikely to be a significant threat.
Faced with a seemingly unprepared enemy, on the 5th of July, 2634, the Terran Confederation
declared war upon the Kilrathi Empire.
The initial months of the conflict largely favored the Confederation, which destroyed
numerous Kilrathi border outposts with only minimal loss of life and equipment.
Yet the Confederation’s political leaders were unwilling to escalate the war needlessly
and operations against the Kilrathi were limited in scope.
Further intelligence reports suggesting the Kilrathi were preparing an enormous counteroffensive
were buried and the majority of the Confederate fleet remained inactive.
A surprise attack on Alexandria Fleet Base destroyed much of the Confederation’s power
in the Vega Sector and set the stage for total war.
Within 30 days of this disastrous defeat, the Confederation had lost 153 star systems
and a sizeable percentage of its industrial capability and strategic resources.
After this initial strike, the conflict devolved into a war of attrition with no end in sight.
In 2653 the Confederation made contact with the avian Firekkans civilization and offered
them protection from the Kilrathi.
In a humiliating blow to Confederate morale, the Firekkans homeworld was conquered by the
Kilrathi shortly after they accepted, with the planet only liberated following a brutal
insurgency by Confederation and Firekkan forces.
By 2668, the situation had begun to turn and the Confederation’s armed forces had driven
the Kilrathi from the Vega Sector and even conducted a daring raid on their homeworld
of Kilrah.
While they maintained numerical superiority, Kilrathi equipment and technology had been
outpaced by Confederate wartime developments.
With victory now uncertain, the Kilrathi adopted a new strategy.
Under the cover of a proposed armistice, the Kilrathi secretly navigated a powerful armada
into the heart of the Confederation, aiming to score a critical strike on Earth itself.
While this force was intercepted and destroyed before it could deliver a decisive blow, the
Confederation had suffered tremendous losses.
With the tenuous advantage the Confederation had achieved over the Kilrathi largely erased,
the conflict had seemingly reached a stalemate.
Yet a secret mission undertaken on the surface of Kilrah itself had revealed the Kilrathi’s
homeworld to be dangerously unstable.
With this information, the Confederation managed to deliver a single Temblor Bomb deep within
the planet, destroying it, and the orbiting Kilrathi grand fleet.
The destruction of their homeworld and the death of their Emperor left no other option
but surrender.
The various clans that constituted their Empire quickly turned against one another, ending
their status as a great power in the galaxy.
In the aftermath of the conflict, internal pressure grew within the victorious Confederation.
Dozens of independent worlds, forced to accept Confederate governance by the demands of the
war, now declared independence.
While viewed as a barely legitimate refuge for pirates and renegades, a brief conflict
in 2673 ultimately ended with the Union of Border Worlds recognized as an independent
nation by the Terran Confederation.
Between 2681 and 2701, the Confederation again found itself at war with a hostile alien race
known as the Nephilim.
Through the construction of wormhole gates, this insectoid race attempted to conquer both
Confederate and remaining Kilrathi territories, before being driven back and their gates destroyed.
Tempered by decades of war against the Kilrathi, the Confederation had emerged as the dominant
superpower in their region of the galaxy.
While originally a loose association of planetary governments, power within the Confederation
had been centralized over the course of the Kilrathi war and to an extent far surpassing
the original agreements signed within the Articles of Confederation.
This has led to greater internal unrest in some systems, but also unified the state in
a way never before dreamed.
The nation now exists as a true democratic republic, its worlds and territories divided
between eight sectors.
Representatives from every self-governing planet form the Terran Confederation Congress,
which in turn elects a smaller Confederation Council from among its members.
The head of the executive branch is the Confederation President, who meets with both the Council
and Congress aboard Terra Station.
Terra Station serves as the official capital of the Confederation, located in orbit of Earth.
The Confederation Army, Marines, Navy, and Space Force constitute the nation’s armed
forces, each represented within the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Confederation Naval and Space Forces have emerged as the nation’s principal unifying
force, having borne the brunt of the fighting against the Kilrathi and Nephilim.
While reduced in size since the end of the Kilrathi War, the Confederation Fleet has
become more cost effective.
It continues to field numerous carrier groups each equipped with hundreds of fighter spacecraft,
that time and time again have served as the most critical factor in the survival of the
human race.
It is no exaggeration that the most enduring symbol of the Terran Confederation is not
the starburst emblem that graces its flag, but the starfighters that patrol its borders.
A reminder to the rest of the galaxy that humanity is ready, and waiting.
In Audio Log, the Templin Institute describes the nations, factions and organizations of
alternate worlds the lack the visuals for a traditional investigation.
Audio Log is the first of four new pilots we’re introducing day by day this week.
If you’d like to see the Templin Institute investigate the North American Commonwealth,
Terran Republic, The Culture, or others, a pledge of just one dollar a month to our Patreon
will get you a vote when the polls open this Friday.