| The Iron Empires
The Tripartate Convention disallowed each of the three human factions from warring with each other. So as to remain neutral in abiding by this treaty, each government expanded their territories and influence by the use of smaller colonys which in time would claim autonomy from their homeworlds.
They would remain loyal to their homeworlds, and in time become puppet governments controlled, but still independant of the tripartate convention. The colonies would begin to stretch their own impirial boarders, engulfing many surrounding worlds, and occassionally, clash with a rival empire controlled by one of the other homeworlds.
One such conglomerate of star systems rested on the borders of explored space. This area was termed the Iron Empires. Each of the homeworlds controlled a roughly equal proportion of space in this area. The greater distance from the Viridian main system meant that commands and decrees from the homeworlds were slow in arriving and gave the Imperial governors more lattitude in making decisions and self autonomy.
Hilian Discovery
The Hilian System was first surveyed by the Viridian survey vessel Seeker operating under a VASA charter. In accordance with VASA procedures, the systems planets and the major continents of habitable worlds, were named by the survey ship captain, Ernst Rohlm. Rohlm had given both the sytem and main habitable planet the name of his eldest daughter - Hilia. The remaining planets he named after his other children and grand children.
The Seeker surveyed the system locating the main astronomical bodies and placing orbital survey satellites around the more interesting planets (Hilia, Paulis and Maximus). The scout also conducted remote fly-bys on remaining planets using its gravatic-drive survey drone while the ship itself remained in orbit above the garden world Hilia.
Recognising Hilia (an apparently 99% Viridia compatible world) as the priceless asset the Seeker remained in orbit for several weeks. During this time Rohlm mapped the planet and conducted both remote and manned surveys and sampling of the atmosphere, oceans and landmasses.
When the time came for the Seeker to depart a long duration observation platform and a constellation of remote sensing satellites were left behind to collect data until the follow on survey mission was despatched.
The Seekers discovery prompted great interest amongst the VASA nations privvy to its data and a full VASA follow up mission was planned to return three years later.
Pre-Colonisation Survey
The first elements of the VASA Hilian Survey Team finally entered orbit in early 2233, delayed by the diversion of resuorces to the Viridian settlement of Adelwark in 2231. While the planetary scientists began analysing the seven years of accumulated data from the long duration observation platform, left behind by the Seeker, engineers assembled the pre-fabricated orbital terminal that was to serve as the survey teams headquarters. The preliminary analysis of the stored data revealed no major geological (eg vulcanism or planet quakes) or atmospheric threats (eg hurricanes or other violent weather) to human habitation. Consequently the survey leader (Proffessor Manfried Dorfmann) selected one of the smaller islands between Hammondburg and Stuttanland (the two major continents) as the survey teams planetside base.
Madellaine Island (named for Captain Rolhms second daughter) was used to minimise the teams impact on Hilia as well as the risk to the team from as yet unknown natural dangers (eg poisonous flora or aggressive
fauna). Once the site had been selected a pathfinder group was flown down to the surface using the four VTOL Rodan landers. While the support staff cleared a compound and set up temporary quarters the xeno-biologists set about their work.
By the middle of 2233 the majority of the initial survey team had settled in to their new orbital home and completed their review of the collected orbital observations. The pathfinder xeno-biologists, from their temporary quarters below, had produced a very favourable report on the Hilian biosphere (or at least that portion present on Madellaine Island). As anticipated the Hilian life forms were highly compatible with their Viridian equivalents. The biochemistries were sufficiently similar that Viridian amimals could eat hilian plants (and visa versa) and gain nutrition. Similarly Viridian plants could be grown in Hilian conditions with little or no modification. In short Hilia represented a virtually ideal candidate for colonization. The only downside were the orbital survey results that indicated a lack of the heavier elements in the planetary crust although these were only preliminary as no field geology had been possible.
Armed with these preliminary reports Professor Dorfmann recommended that VASA upgrade the survey to Stage 3 (a full precolonisation survey) as planned and that VASA member states should consider Hilia for primarily agricultural colonisation. The Dorfmann report came as no surprise to his superiors and additional resuorces were quickly dispatched to begin laying the ground work for an extended colony. Wishing to claim Hilia for themselves the VASA nations also quickly filed claims under the VASA Accords to Hammondburg, the main Hilian continent. Viridia claimed Stuttanland, The Syntha selected the Northern reaches aptly named, Nordland, while the Junkers reserved the Southern Sudarctica.
As additional survey specialists and material arrived Dorfmann expanded both the orbital and planetary faciliies. In orbit the terminal was extended to accomodate the larger numbers of staff while the low orbits were seeded with GPS, communications and observation satellites. A small fusion reactor was dropped to Madellaine Island base to provide power for the expanding facilities. The temporary accomodations were dismantled and more permanent structures errected (using local materials where possible) for accomodation, laboratories, maintenance buildings, vehicle hangers etc. A full size runway for space planes was added to replace the Rodan landing pads.
In addition an LTA docking tower a small harbour were constructed to provide local atmospheric and ocean transport. A sealed hydroponic farm (using only sunlight and purified water from Hilia) was set up to supplement imported foods with fresh produce. A hydrogen cracking plant was also dropped from orbit to provide hydrogen and oxygen for both local consumption and visiting starships. Thus by the first quarter of 2234 Hilia had effectively become the field station of several Universities Xeno Biology and Geology Departments and an area office of a number of other research organisations.
Once the work on the Madellaine Island campus was completed a number of outposts were set up around the globe along similar lines to the orignal camp at Madellaine Island. The more distant outposts were set up and serviced directly from orbit using the VTOL Rodans while those more local used LTA transports. The outposts were situated to allow for a full survey of all the different continents and and various ecological types. The outposts typically consisted of some form of local generation suitable to the location (eg. wind, solar, hydroelectric, tidal etc), a hydrogen cracking plant, accomodation for staff, a small suite of laboratories for local work plus maintenance facilities for both manned and remotely operated LTAs and rovers.
With a whole world to survey and only limited time and resources the survey team could not possibly visit every location, categorise every species or analyse every amino acid. Instead the emphasis was on determining the basic biochemistry of Hilian life as a basis for future work, providing a broad survey of the most common plants and animals present and determinig the basic geology of the planet. Much of the data was collected and initially analysed automatically with human intervention only where anomolies or more interesting phenoma were observed.
Thus remotely operated or computer controlled LTAs and rovers would make visual observations of animal behaviour or obtain samples of plants or rocks. These would be uploaded to the computers in the orbital terminal which would analyse the results and combine them with other data collected by satellite or by researchers at the Madellaine laboratories. Analysts in orbit would then review the computers\\\\\\\' results and order or direct additional surveys or more sampling and so the survey progressed.
While a great deal of the effort on Hilia itself was dedicated to the collection of data using remotely operated or automated vehicles it was still necessary for humans to perform the more delicate or subtle tasks. Thus research scientists and explorers could be found all over the planet capturing the local fauna for more detailed study or investigating the habitat of potential food plants to determine what conditions were required to promote their growth. Their laboratory based colleagues meanwhile were busy engineering and test planting Viridian crops (such as rice and grains) to improve their performance under Hilian conditions or attempting to improve the yields of the Hilian flora discovered in the field.
By the end of 2237 the preliminary survey was completed and the original promise of the Hilian biosphere had been fully realised. Hilian plants and animals could easily support both humans and Viridian livestock (requiring only a few additional supplements for missing minerals and nutrients). Viridian crops could also easily be adapted to Hilian conditions and indeed appeared to thrive at the expense of the natives (being immune to all the local pests and diseases and generally more vigorous). Geologically the news was more mixed. It appeared that plate tectonics on Hilia had ground to a halt due to the formation of unusually (relative to their Viridian equivalents) stable continental and oceanic plates. This had obviously occurred recently (geologically speaking) as the planet still retained a gaseous oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere with sufficient CO2 to maintain habitable temperatures and liquid oceans. It appeared that Hilia had once been a much warmer world but that the atmospheric CO2 content, and resulting greenhouse effect, was being gradually reduced by the weathering process - as the CO2 formed carbonates (limestone) with the calcium in the crust. On Viridia this process was countered by the subduction of limestone below the crust and the out gassing of the CO2 released by the high temperatures via vents and volcanoes. Thus Hilia was doomed to an icy future, albeit one several million years away. On the positive side the lack of plate tectonics also meant a lack of devistating planet quakes and volcanic erruptions.
The unusual nature of Hilian geology had also resulted in an absence of many elements from the surface, or sufficently near the surface to make mining practical). Technologically vital metals such as nickel, cobalt and copper were either all but missing entirely or so evenly distributed that their extraction was impractical. Thus although Hilia was a biological paradise it had very little potential as an industrial powerhouse, indeed it was likely to have difficulty supporting sufficient industry even to meet domestic consumption.
Colonial Preparation
With the Pre-Colonisation survey complete the VASA facilities were gradually run down with all the out stations being mothballed. Meanwhile the national survey organisations with colonial claims began their own work to locate the sites for their colonies and examine the local conditions for threats and opportunities. One of the first actions was by the Comoran Worlds to send Imperial Archeologist, Nicolai Constantus, to the world to explore and report on several anomolies discovered within the equitorial jungle belt. Nicolai was at first thought to be lost, or worse yet, devoured by one of the indigenous predators living within the jungles. However, Nicolai was so enraptured with his work, that he failed to report back on a regular basis. He spent months exploring the jungles and the ancient temple ruins that he uncovered.
Scattered throughout the jungles of Hilia were monumental temples left behind by an ancient alien race. The exact purpose and function of the temples remained a mystery to most researchers. The largest ziggurat was a large squared off pyramid shaped temple which rose high above the jungle canopy, and even deeper into the ground in a warren of labyrinthain tunnels and chambers.
Nicolai Constantus, once returned to the main colony station, had resupplied and set off again secretly with a team of varied scientists to study and document the ruins. As in all jungle environs, extreme weather patterns befell the jungle rain forest areas. Monsoon like seasons seemed to last for months at a time. During these times, the scientists had occupied the great temple and erected temporary dormitorys and labs to continue their research. After returning to the colony station, many of the scientists in the Nicolai research group had claimed to have heard strange and aerie noises and footfalls within the darkened halls of the lower levels. Although their claims were considered legitamate, no evidence of other intelligent life was ever discovered amongst the ruins.
Fearing that the military would destroy much of the work he had performed; Nicolai committed most of his work to memory and only reported few findings regarding the ruins. His goal was to keep interest deflected from the ruins to allow him to formalize his findings and not waste what he saw as his life\\\\\\\'s work fall into the uncontrolled and uncaring hands of the Imperial government or worse even, the military. Colonization
What Nicolai did not figure, was the greater interest other Empires played on the Hilian system. The Comorian Worlds were not the only faction to have access to the survey data. When the other Empires managed to extrapolate the anomolies, they too sent research parties with their colony ships. True research and colonization by all five of the major Empires had begun in earnst along with that of Nicolai Constantus in the year 2238. First to establish themselves was Viridian backed Kudus Theocracy. The superior Kudus technological background and free enterprise approach to colonization made a mockery of all of the other empires. Soon they had the dominant space port as well as controlling a vast amount of trade and export amongst the free traders. Better service, cleaner fuel, and more skilled technical services made for an extremely pleasurable and profitable stop on Hilia.
Once Nicolai Constantus findings were published, the shock of the sudden emergance of the information stunned many in the scientific community. Almost immediately, the planet was teaming with scientists and archeologists trying to confirm or deny the Nicolai findings. Much to their dismay, many were forced to agree with him until they could be disproven.
It was a young boy, which history had not bothered to save record his name, who had found the first marvelous technology within a ruinious pyramid. The exact nature of the device was initially uncertain, but eventually it was determined to function as some sort of transdimensional portal. Fearing that the portal would expell any possible untold horrors onto Hilia, the Kudus military had quarantined all of the equitorial jungle ruins from everyone. Since the great temples and many of the smaller temples lie on the Stuttanland continent, the Kudus and Viridian jurisdiction took presidence. Unwilling to allow the already technologically superior Virdians to claim full rights and access to the strange alien technologies which were rumored to exist within the temples, the four major Empires demanded access to information regarding the artifacts. The Kudus and Viridians refused to honor or even recognize such statements and demands. Soon after, the lush green paradise that was a jewel to all of the Empires was soon the newest and most important location to fight over. Many temples lay outside of Viridian control, but none so far had contained anything like the gate of which the boy found within the Viridian controlled temple. The gate as it were called, had a swirling vortex at it\\\\\\\'s center.
The vortex, once penetrated, would almost instantly transport any object to destinations unknown. When a scouting party crossed the vortex, they had failed to return, even after several days.
The story of the missing scout party managed to leak to the other Imperial factions, and in so doing, full scale military operations were almost immediate. Attempts to capture several temples put a dire strain on the Kudus and Viridian volunteer contingents entrusted with the safety of the pyramids. Soon after the outbreak of war, each Empire sent more men and material to aid in the seziure and defense of the temple cities and their mysterious technologies. Soon, both Imperial troops and veteran volunteers from the homeworld would clash in the struggle to control the mysterious technologies which may still remain hidden within the crumbling temple cities...
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