Terran Pre-Emergence Era and the Cybernetic Dawn
Terran Expansion and Conflict
Ammanian Schism and the Drive to Colonize (2033 - 2180)
Humanity’s expansion into the stars was not driven by unity, but by division. From the moment the first colonies were founded, the old struggles of Earth followed, shaping the fate of interstellar civilization before it had even begun.
The greatest of these divisions was between the Earthers (Terrans) and the Ammanians, a conflict born from religious, cultural, and political strife that would persist for centuries.
The Ammanian religion, originally a theological movement in the European Union, quickly gained followers among the disillusioned. By 2054, an Ammanian extremist detonated a nuclear device along the South China Sea Mag-rail Tunnel, killing over 100,000 people. The global backlash was immediate and absolute. Hunted, persecuted, and scapegoated, the Ammanians fled en masse to Mars.
For a time, their exile was tolerated. But as the Ammanian Principate took shape, claiming sovereignty over Mars’ eastern provinces, tensions escalated into war. The First Sol System Jihad (2091-2102) saw Earth’s colonial authorities struggle to contain the 400-million-strong Ammanian movement. Outgunned but determined, the Ammanians forced Martian authorities to pay tribute, though Earth’s counterattack eventually halted their full conquest.
But the Ammanians had learned an important lesson. They could never truly be free while confined to one world. So they fled again—this time, beyond Sol itself.
The Saturn Colonies Revolt and the Tin Can Wars (Early 22nd Century)
Even before humanity left its home system, its colonies were fracturing.
The Saturn Colonies Revolt (2121-2125) marked the first major off-world rebellion against Terran control. The moons of Saturn had become crucial mining and industrial hubs, but the colonists—isolated and self-sufficient—rejected Earth’s rule. Attempts to suppress the uprising led to the 1st Tin Can War, so named for the reliance on small, lightly armed ships rather than the powerful fleets that would later define interstellar warfare.
By 2135, the revolt was crushed, but the damage had been done. The Saturnian colonies were permanently altered, their political landscape shifting toward greater autonomy. This pattern would be repeated again and again as humanity expanded beyond Sol.
The Ammanian Exodus and the Push for the Stars
The Ammanian Diaspora became a major driver of interstellar colonization. As the Society of System Nations (SSN) attempted to regulate expansion, the Ammanians scattered across the stars, settling entire sectors. Their influence grew strongest in the Distan Colonies and the Northern Alliance, where they established cultural and economic footholds. Even in non-Ammanian territories, such as the Union of Planets and the Outland Colonies, Ammanian minorities flourished.
As humanity spread, so too did its conflicts. The old Earther-Ammanian hatred never faded—it simply moved to new battlefields.
Ammanian Wars and the Fall of the Confederation (2180 - 2406)
The SSN collapsed in 2180, replaced by the Nation States Confederation (NSC), which sought to impose Earth’s will on its scattered colonies. But this consolidation only increased tensions between Terrans and Ammanians, setting the stage for the first true interstellar civil wars.
The Distan Colonies had become the heart of the Ammanian movement, while sympathetic factions in the Union of Planets and Outland Colonies provided political support. Terran authorities attempted to rein them in, but by the mid-25th century, it was clear that colonial loyalty to Earth was crumbling.
Then came the Great Economic Collapse (2406-2463).
Earth’s economy imploded, plunging billions into poverty and rendering many off-world colonies economically unsustainable. Trade routes collapsed. Terran corporations abandoned entire worlds. Desperation led to harsh measures, sparking the Martian Water Rebellion (2464-2466), where Mars resisted Terran water restrictions. Though peace was restored with the High Basin Accords, the incident proved that Earth’s grip on the colonies was slipping.
Secession movements surged. The Reittian Secession (2467) triggered the 2nd Tin Can War (2468-2471), a conflict that saw Saturn’s colonies defy Terran authority. The Distan Colonies fought two wars for independence (2471-2483, 2560-2630). The First Consular War (2648-2661) was an outright Ammanian-Terran conflict, as the Northern Alliance, backed by Ammanian leadership, declared independence.
But though the Northern Alliance survived, it had not won. The Second Consular War (2665-2673) would be different.
Rise of the Truppen (2648 - 2673)
First Consular War
The First Consular War saw extensive use of Truppen, the cybernetic soldiers developed by the heretical Aparatic "Maker" sect. These early Truppen were crude—enhanced warriors with mechanical augmentations—but they were brutally effective. The war ended in an armistice, but the Aparatic Makers were far from finished.
The Truppen Program evolved, with each generation becoming more mechanized. By the late stages of the Second Consular War, Truppen Mark 5 Series and later models were no longer merely cybernetic—they were uploaded consciousness. Human minds were fully digitized and housed within mechanical war frames. These purely synthetic warriors were relentless, unfeeling, and nearly impossible to defeat.
They were the scourge of the battlefield.
End of the Pre-Emergence Era (2673 - 2678)
The Fall of the Truppen
The Second Consular War reached its climax in 2673. The Terran Republic, along with its Reittian allies, launched an all-out counteroffensive. The battle to destroy the Truppen was not a war—it was a purge. The Terrans refused to let even a single unit survive. Truppen strongholds were eradicated. The Northern Alliance was crushed. The Ammanians, now leaderless, fled into the shadows.
By 2675, the Truppen were gone. But their legacy lived on. The Ammanians had not simply built better soldiers—they had created a blueprint for post-human warfare. The idea of a digital warrior was now a reality. And though the Truppen were wiped out, their technology endured.
The Truppen Remnant and the Emperor’s War (2678 and Beyond)
When the Naplians invaded the Baedecker star system, a Truppen remnant of several thousand emerged from hiding. They were led by Northern Alliance Consul Elden Selva, a brilliant but enigmatic commander. In a surprising twist, Selva and his Truppen sided with the Terrans against the Naplians, recognizing the greater threat. Together, this unlikely alliance fought in the Emperor’s War.
The Road to the Cybernetic Age
The Pre-Emergence Era ended with the Emperor’s War, but the war for the future had only just begun. The Terran Republic stood supreme, but it was a fragile victory. The Ammanians had been forced into hiding, but their influence remained.
The next war would not be fought with fleets and armies. It would be fought with machines. The Truppen were only the beginning. The true cybernetic uprising had yet to come. And when it did, humanity would not be fighting itself.
It would be fighting for its survival.
Terran Republic and Colonies
Terra & Colonies
Pre-emergence Timeline
2054Ammanian extremist detonates a nuclear device along the South China Sea Mag-rail Tunnel, killing over 100,000 people
2091-2102
First Sol System Jihad
2121-2125
Saturn Colonies Revolt
2125-2535
First Tin Can War
2180Society of System Nations (SSN) is replaced by the Nation States Confederation (NSC)
2406-2463
Great Economic Collapse
2464-2466Martian Water Rebellion
2467
Reittian Secession
2468-2471
Second Tin Can War
2471-2483Distan Colonies 1st War for Independence
2560-2630Distan Colonies 2nd War for Independence
2648-2661First Consular War
2665-2673
Second Consular War
2678Naplian Invasion of Terra
