Beta Sector: Timeline - Jolly Rogers Productions

History of the Future

2016 – The Juno probe, launched in 2011, reaches Jupiter. Data gathered from this mission is instrumental in the construction of a manned outpost in the Jovian system.
2028 – The first Lunar colony is founded. It will declare its independence from Terra in late 2040.
2042 – Mars is colonized. It will declare its independence from Terra in 2060.
2050 – Venus is colonized. It will declare its independence from Terra in 2060.
2056 – A permanent space station is placed in orbit of Jupiter.
2089 – Using special communications equipment enhanced by Jupiter’s immense gravity, Jupiter Station establishes the first contact with beings outside the Sol system. The mathematical signal that is received repeats for exactly twelve hours and then ceases. It will be four more years until another signal is received.
2094 – The first two-way communication is established with extraterrestrials. Over a period of eighteen months, human scientists learn they are one of dozens of habitable worlds easily visited using technology the aliens (now known as Polysaurians) are willing to provide. Plans are drawn up for a long-range data transmitter to be assembled at Jupiter Station.
2110 – VERA (Variable Extended Radio Array) comes online. It immediately begins receiving data from outside the solar system.
2125 – Using data gathered, human scientists construct the first “jump gates” in orbit of Jupiter. The first two are colossal failures, the use of each resulting in the loss of both test vehicles and twenty-seven combined lives.
2130 – The third jump gate comes online. A test sled is sent to Polys, a distance of several hundred light-years, in a matter of hours. Deciding that the gate is now safe, a diplomatic envoy of Polysaurians returns through the gate and makes formal contact with humans.
2131 to 2140 – Twenty more jump gates are built and sent out from the Sol system. Unmanned, they can travel at much greater velocities than conventional ships. Humanity begins to leapfrog out of Sol Sector and starts to colonize and interact with their galactic neighbors. The universal language of the time is mathematics.
2143 – The first galactic translators are constructed. Crude, they nonetheless get “the message” across from one planet to the next. That message is peace.
2150 – Over the next forty years, the Sol system becomes a major galactic trading hub.
2152 – The first Trans-Galactic Transit convention takes place. The first major jump routes are established between Nemea, Sol, and Etor Quadrants.
2190 – The founding of the Unified Collaboration is proposed. It takes the diplomats of two dozen worlds a further twenty years to formally establish the galactic body.
2210 – Sector Command is established.
2211 – The second Trans-Galactic Transit convention takes place, with formal jump routes to Sigma and Elysian Quadrants added. From this point on, the convention will meet once per solar year to update navigational charts.
2211 (through 2368) – Beta Sector short stories take place.
2212 – The Great Unified Expansion begins.
2230 – First contact with the Rugorians.
2235 – First contact with the Temkorians.
2238 – A brief conflict with the Temkorians is quelled. One Sector Command strike group is lost, and the Temkorians lose half of their fleet. The SF-6 Cutlass begins fleet operations.
2247 – The Unified Collaboration of Systems admits its thirtieth member. Peace reigns in Beta Sector as the Unified sphere of influence grows. It will continue to do so for another 100 years.
2290 – Vega Quadrant is mapped. Jump points are added, though most planets are either not members of the UCS or they hold only associate status.
2347 – Ship losses near the frontier are increasing at an alarming rate. The SF-8 Sinclair becomes operational.
2350 – Formal contact made with the Kafaran Empire near the coreward edge of the Unified Collaboration Outer Sphere (Trinity Quadrant, Cruna Sector).
2351 – Unable to agree to a peaceful coexistence, the Kafarans declare war on the Unified Collaboration of Systems. The Battle of Inferno, The Battle of Imarex, and the Encounter at Kre’Larofe take place this year. Many deal major blows to Sector Command.
2352 – The novel Master of the Void takes place during this time. The “Great Explosion” in the Epsilon Tiranan nebula takes place this year. FLEETEX ‘52, The Battle of Nimwald, the Vega Quadrant Campaign, and the Battle of the Twin Stars are some of the many major engagements that take place this year. Sector Command is neither gaining nor losing ground against the Kafaran Empire.
2353 – Shawn Kestrel graduates from starfighter flight school and is assigned as a junior lieutenant to the fleet space carrier USCS Fahrenwald. His squadron’s commanding officer is Lieutenant Commander William “Wild Bill” Graves.
2356 – The novel Traitor Winds takes place during this time. Several Sector Command victories rout the Kafarans from the Trinity Quadrant.
2357 – The VFS-10 Seminole-class fighter becomes operational, replacing both the SF-6 Cutlass and the SF-8 Sinclair.
2358 – The Galactic War ends in a near draw as the Kafarans suddenly retreat into their own space. No explanation is given.
2358 – Second Earth is placed under indefinite quarantine. Journey to the planet is forbidden, and carries an immediate death sentence. Shawn Kestrel, famed starfighter pilot, leaves Sector Command and travels to Minos to begin a new life.
2359 – Automated monitoring stations are placed near the established edge of Kafaran space. No manned or automated probes passing beyond this point into Kafaran space are ever heard from again.
2359 to 2362 – The Unified Collaboration of Systems is nearly bankrupt. Many worlds separate from the Unified government to fend for themselves, as they no longer believe the UCS capable of protecting them.
2363 – Due to budgetary constraints, Sector Command’s strength is nearly halved, with many older warships being scrapped or sold to civilian operators. However, the Advanced Space Fighter project continues without interruption.
2364 – A dramatic increase in merchant shipping begins. Due to Sector Command’s dwindling resources stretched thin throughout Beta Sector, space piracy also rises proportionally.
2366 – Rear Admiral William Graves is dispatched from the planet Thress on a top secret mission to Second Earth. He quickly disappears, as does an entire Sector Command strike squadron sent to find him. The Advanced Space Fighter project nears final testing. The craft now carries the designation VSF-22 and is named Maelstrom.
2367 (early-mid) – At the behest of Melissa Graves, Shawn Kestrel is recommissioned into Sector Command. His mission: to locate Admiral Graves, his friend and former commanding officer during the Galactic War. The novels The Army of Light, Icarus, and Second Earth take place during this time.
2367 (late) – The novel In the Presence of My Enemies takes place during this time.
2368 (early)- The VFS-10 Seminole-class starfighter is retired from active service. It will continue to see use as a training craft for several more years. All space interception squadrons will now fly the VSF-22 Maelstrom exclusively. The novel Dark Space takes place during this time.
2368 (mid) – The final novel in the Kestrel Saga takes place during this time.
2368 (mid) – Resurgence, the first novel in the Cobalt Rose series, takes place during this time.