/ooc Here's my New Years Suprise, b*tches.
A late Christmas surprise, too. :xmas: ooc/
In the year 2029, the world would change forever . . .
The early months of 2029 were a grim witness to the rebirth of terrorism. Although terrorists in general met with great success during the early years of the 21st century, increased security and widespread use of identification technology soon enabled governments to protect their civilians again.
Naturally, this improved security came at the cost of privacy, and several other freedoms that most nations, and the West in particular, valued highly. Most people seemed to pay the price of modern safety gladly nonetheless, and as always, there were shortcuts for the rich and powerful.
As a result of the increasing security and aggressive attempts by the United States to stamp out all hotbeds of terrorism, the world gradually regained some of its former stability, as terrorist cells were destroyed or went into hiding. Having “won” the war on terror, many U.S. presidents turned their attention back to improving the economy, and by 2016 Wall Street was once again booming, with the Dow climbing as many as 100 points a day.
In Europe, many of the various nation-states continued to slowly merge together in the European Union. Almost every country in Europe was participating actively in the Union by 2015, and it seemed that several of the roadblocks that had been cited as preventing some nation states from cooperating with the Union were solved. Even the United Kingdom, which had often refused to go along with Union initiatives, eventually relented. By 2017, the Euro had replaced the pound as the primary type of currency in the United Kingdom.
As a result of this cooperation and unity, the European Union as a whole began to gain increasing amounts of power in global affairs. Although individual nation-states had always had some amount of economic and political power, government leaders quickly began to realize that by cooperating within the European Union, and showing a united European front, a new superpower might be formed. Together, the European nations made up a not-insignificant part of the global economy, and by voting together in the United Nations, they could influence any political initiative that appeared.
The European Union was not the only organization that was quickly gaining influence in world affairs, however. In Asia, China continued to grow into an economic giant, being fed by its uncountable numbers of cheap laborers, and the numerous trade deals offered to it by both the United States and Europe. China’s leaders continued to relax the formerly-Communist economic directives, but they retained firm control of the government. As a result, many analysts ceased calling China a communist nation at all, but instead referred to it as a “controlled economic republic”.
Russia also seemed to be determined to regain some of its former glory, as it gradually slipped further and further into a totalitarian regime. The President continued to gain more power within the government, and while he was still an elected official, the same public figures were up for election, year after year. Nonetheless, the consistent actions of the government gradually began to improve the Russian economy. However, in some circles rumors began to circulate that the current Russian president had cut a deal with the Russian Mafia, and that the current economic upswing for the country was really due to “mob money”. The current Russian president also ordered the withdrawal of troops from Chechnya, at least temporarily ceasing the sporadic fighting continuing to consume the rebellious province. This only weeks before yet another UN memorandum condemning Russia for its conduct in Chechnya was about to be passed.
The United Nations had other concerns, however, these primarily being the recent peacekeeping and humanitarian aid missions to Africa. In an unusual state of concern, the UN Security Council ratified a number of new peacekeeping initiatives in Africa, devoting a substantial percentage of UN forces to many of the hot spots across the continent. Although not entirely successful, several of the initiatives were able to bring about a temporary cease to the fighting, allowing relief aid to be finally brought in safely, in the form of food and medical supplies.
The peacekeeping missions in Africa were about the only thing the UN managed to accomplish, however. With the European Union and China continuing to grow into two new superpowers, the UN was rapidly dissolving into a battleground for control between the United States, the European Union, and China. The prize was undoubtedly control of the world for the next several decades, and none of the three sides were willing to lose.
In the halls of the United Nations, the European Union clearly had the advantage, with its very large body of representatives and two permanent seats on the Security Council. Of course, both the United States and China also had seats on the Security Council, so either nation could veto any resolution that seemed to favor Europe too much. Both China and the United States also held a slight lead in economic and military power, making a direct conflict undesirable. Neither seemed to favor a direct conflict either, and so the struggle between the superpowers remained within the halls of the United Nations, which was an exercise in frustration for all: China and US because of the EU’s overwhelming advantage in votes and veto power, and the EU because of both the Chinese and American ability to veto any resolution put forth.
This struggle between the superpowers within the United Nations began to strain it, however, and soon its reputation as a neutral body designed to benefit all mankind was tarnished. It was quickly becoming obvious to all of the third-party countries that the UN was simply serving the interests of the three superpowers, and the EU in particular. The peacekeeping missions to Africa were an attempt to show the UN’s continued concern for the rest of the world, but it was clearly a public relations ploy that nonetheless worked, and bought the superpowers some more time before the UN collapsed. In the meantime, the three superpowers could engage their rivals on another political battleground: the Middle East.
Despite heavy usage over the past decades, the resources of the Middle East were still quite vast, and even more important as major oil deposits in other parts of the world began to dry up. As a result of this, all three superpowers attempted to curry favor with the nations of the Middle East, many of which were still under fundamentalist Islamic control. Here, America’s past actions both helped and hurt it. It had somehow managed to maintain Saudi Arabia as an ally, and it still effectively controlled Iraq through its puppet government. However, almost all of the people of the Middle East now despised the United States for its conduct during the early 21st century, and many of the Middle Eastern nations were openly hostile to the US. However, none of the Middle Eastern nations openly supported terrorists or other anti-American groups, out of fear of America’s “preemptive strike” doctrine. As a result, the Middle East quietly seethed in anger, far worse than it had two decades prior. However, the Middle East treated the other two superpowers with little more than cold respect as well, due to the fact that the European Union was also part of the West, and the Chinese were little more than “godless heathens in the eyes of Allah”. Still, many of the Middle Eastern nations such as Iran and Syria eventually cut deals with EU and Chinese businessmen, although their loyalty was far from certain.
The coming events would not be decided just by the action of the three superpowers, however. To very little fanfare, a new corporation was formed in America during the economic boom of 2016. Known as the Majestic Corporation, the fledgling company specialized in the development of new technology for all walks of life, from improved computer chips to military hardware. With the announcement that none of its stock would be publicly traded on Wall Street, the corporation was largely ignored by the business sector after its launching event. However, the small corporation quickly grew, and no less than two years later, announced that it was planning on expanding into the international realm, with several branches in various South American countries, and one in the United Kingdom. This sudden expansion *did* cause several analysts to take notice, and after doing the calculations, rated its stock, if it were to be traded, as one of the most rapidly growing stocks in the world. Despite this impressive success for a corporation that had appeared out of nowhere a few years prior, the true moment of Majestic was to come later, and in a way that no one at the time could ever imagine.
This was largely the state of the world as of 2029. The superpowers continued their struggle within the UN, attempting to convince third-parties of their generosity by promising aid and favorable resolutions. The UN continued to stretch and break under the strain of the various superpowers’ machinations, although the continued aid to Africa, and a few other hotspots managed to keep the UN together for now. Majestic continued to expand, having considerable resources now tied-up in South America, and branch offices in many European nations.
Despite this seemingly negative outlook on the global situation, however, life for the average Western worker, at least, appeared to be going along smoothly. Although far from the utopia that the future was always portrayed as, life for the middle-class worker was still comfortable, and relatively care-free if one did not worry about politics. The power struggles between the various superpowers were all in the political arena, which were quite distant from the day-to-day life of the average worker. Indeed, the competition between the superpowers stimulated the economy, providing an upswing of new jobs for the great number of people that had been left unemployed after the recessions of the 2010s.
Like the great political struggles being fought “elsewhere”, the fact that the Middle East as a whole was still full of repressed hatred and resentment towards the United States was far back in the average American citizen’s mind once again. However, out-of-sight, out-of-mind did not mean that these problems did not exist. And circumstances would soon bring these issues once more to the forefront of American minds, and lead them down an all too familiar path: war.
The first warning that America was about to once again be drawn into conflict in the Middle East, and that indeed terrorism was alive and well, came in the Spring of 2029. First starting in mid-March, a series of devastating terrorist attacks hit the European Union over the next several months. The terrorists swept through Europe, destroying a number of important government and business buildings with brutal precision. The seeming ease with which the terrorists were able to carry out these attacks, while at the same time remaining undiscovered and undetected, naturally reflected poorly on the security measures enacted by the EU.
Government officials were horrified at the obvious skill these terrorists had in slipping through the current security checkpoints set up between the member nations of the EU. In reaction to this, many of the member nations increased their border security, and advised citizens to restrict travel plans to only necessary trips. These efforts proved insufficient, however, as the terrorist attacks continued unabated.
It was not only European businesses that suffered, however. After the initial wave of attacks had subsided, which had nearly crippled the governments and major businesses of France, Italy, and Germany, the terrorists seemed to spread out and pick targets more for the sake of chaos than effect. A post office in Prague was mail-bombed. The Majestic offices in London were almost totally destroyed by a car bomb. What was apparently a team of snipers ambushed and killed several investment bankers meeting for a conference in Zurich. These attacks and more seemed completely random and unconnected, were it not for the fact that they all shared the common thread that the terrorists always managed to get away, and left little or no trace behind that could identify them.
Faced with a seemingly unpredictable and unstoppable enemy, EU officials are forced to conclude that the terrorists had access to a very large resource base, allowing them to strike virtually at will, and remain undetected by EU security forces at the same time. Many analysts concluded that the only reasonable explanation for this was that a major country was funding these terrorist attacks, providing the terrorists with equipment and transportation. Naturally, the unspoken thought was that either China or America was somehow behind the attacks, or at least some radical subsection of those superpowers. However, the only proof the EU had of this was the sheer resources at the disposal of the terrorists, and it would be easy for both China and the US to claim that it was only the incompetence of the EU security forces that made the terrorists seem well-funded. Because of this, the EU remained silent . . . for now.
Although the terrorist attacks started in Europe, it would come to pass that the European Union was not the only one hit. As Spring passed into Summer, newspaper headlines in America and Russia began to report terrorist attacks in their own countries. These attacks were more sporadic, however, and seemed far less focused on targets in major urban centers. Indeed, the attacks in America and Russia were rarely against civilian instillations, but rather were mainly directed against military holdings. These attacks quickly proved far less successful, however, and in one instance the terrorists were stopped and apprehended before they could cause any damage.
This one instance occurred in the state of Arizona, just outside of a small military base deep within the desert. A van carrying a team of lightly-armed terrorists and a large bomb pulled up to the base’s gate and demanded immediate entry. A standard security sweep revealed nothing, and all of the terrorists had proper ID and access cards. The gate guard was about to wave them through when he noticed a discrepancy on one of the ID cards. When he confronted the terrorists with it, they shot him and crashed through the gate. The delay, however, gave other soldiers time to arm themselves and intercept the van, killing all of the terrorists before they could arm the bomb. Three more American soldiers were killed in the shoot-out, and all but one of the terrorists perished before they could receive medical treatment.
This one captive proved to be of little use in shedding light on the terrorist attacks, however, as he died just hours after being admitted to the base’s medical facility. An autopsy revealed that he had ingested a slow-acting poison several hours before arriving at the base, no doubt to prevent himself from being taken alive and interrogated. Although the dead terrorists could not be interrogated, several facts were gleamed from their bodies and surviving equipment. Most important among these facts were that all of the terrorists were of Arabic descent, and that their weapons and equipment was standard issue for European Union special operation squads.
Although military officials tried to keep the attack, and the terrorists’ identities a secret, the media soon caught wind of it, and began to dig up information. Although first limited to tabloids, the details of the attack soon leaked to the mainstream media, and the military was soon forced to hold a press conference to state the facts. When the results of the terrorists’ identities were confirmed, there was an immediate backlash against the Middle East, and to a lesser extent, the European Union.
The European Union, however, was able to avoid the worst of the public outcry by pinning all of the blame on a few of its more radical military officers. Shortly thereafter, the EU launched into a full-fledged investigation of how military-grade hardware from Europe ended up in the hands of Arabic terrorists. Within weeks, numerous documents had been uncovered, all of which implicated several corrupt officials in the Italian military, who the documents revealed as recently selling a small cache of equipment and arms to Iran.
Furious at the allegations of the EU government, Iranian officials were quick to respond with caustic speeches, condemning EU officials as liars, thieves, and devils. The Iranian officials were also quick to claim that Iran harbored no terrorist organizations, although they did applaud the efforts of the brave Arabs who gave their lives striking a blow against the “Western Devils”.
Despite Iran’s claims, however, the media coverage painted a very different story. Although the image of the Middle East had been steadily improving over the last decade, the backlash once again painted all Arabs as budding terrorists in the American public’s mind. Several cooler-headed analysts were quick to point out that only the terrorists taking part in a single attack had been positively identified, and that all of the recent terrorist attacks might not solely be the work of Islamic fundamentalists. Many other analysts, however, sought to gain notoriety by hate-mongering, increasing the public’s fear and insecurity by giving dire warnings of “the rebirth of Islamic terror”.
Gradually, the terrorist attacks tapered off, and finally stopped all together as Summer passed into Fall. Although still concerned about the danger of another terrorist attack, the possibility of such attack began to fade into the back of the public’s mind once more. New, even more stringent security protocols were developed, and implemented in airports and government buildings around the world. The European Union, although the hardest hit, began to recover as new officials were elected into the previously vacant positions, and reconstruction of the various office buildings began.
Elsewhere in the world, however, the rumble of war could be heard in the distance. The Russia President, in a series of press conferences and speeches, attempted to pin the blame for the string of terrorist attacks on Chechnya, and hinted that military action might once again be taken against the war-torn state. America and Iran continued to exchange what amounted to little more than insults and thinly veiled threats, as some of the more die-hard warmongers in Congress continued to press for retribution against Iran for what seemed to be a clearly state-supported terrorist group. Despite these two growing conflicts, the world as a whole continued on in peace, and slowly began to recover from the ravages inflicted by the well-over one hundred separate terrorist attacks that had occurred over the past six months. The terrorists, however, were not quite finished, and as it turned out, the worst was yet to come.
On October 21, 2029, a nuclear explosion in the thirty megaton range was recorded just outside the city limits of Washington D.C. The blast completely destroyed most of the city, and rendered what parts were left as uninhabitable. The civilian government of the United States of America was devastated, as the President, Vice-President, and most of Congress were killed in the blast.
There were, of course, contingency plans for this sort of thing, especially in light of the growing terrorist threat. However, despite successors to the presidency and other empty government positions being quickly filled in the days following the blast, the new temporary government was weak. It had been formed according to a set of rules, which caused new leaders to be selected out of necessity, rather than ability.
At first in shock, the American public was slow to respond, and meekly accepted the fallout from the attack. However, as the days after the blast ticked by, the American public began to grow more and more angry, and pushed the interim government both for answers, and for revenge. Its ranks filled with a mixture of military officers and low-rung politicians, the interim American government was not prepared to survive such pressure from its own support base. Desperate to avoid a collapse into complete anarchy, the civilian officials came to rely more and more heavily on their military counterparts.
Not quite as heavily gutted as the civilian government, the military still had a defined chain-of-command, which gave them a significant organizational advantage when compared to the remaining civilian officials. Several politicians cautioned against relying on the military, but their pleas will generally ignored, and the military faction within the interim government steadily gained power. Always distrustful of civilian authority, the military was quick to seize advantage of its sudden boost in influence, and continued to press the remaining civilian officials to give the military full operational latitude for the duration of this crisis. Eventually, the remaining civilian officials agreed, and a de-facto junta was set up. The junta was quick to declare martial law, and soon order was restored within the United States. Although this solved many problems within the United States itself, it would soon prove to be a disaster internationally, as with the domestic problems solved, the junta was free to turn its attention to international concerns.
This shift from domestic to international concerns would prove to be a disaster because although restoring order within America was the first order of business for the junta, it was not their primary objective. Instead, the primary objective of the junta was to find whoever had done this to their beloved country, and make them pay, politics be d*mned.
Unfortunately for the junta, sifting through the ruins of Washington D.C. gave few clues as to who was responsible for the nuclear explosion, and no terrorist groups stepped forward to claim responsibility, most likely out of fear of the United States’s response. Their search of the Washington D.C. ruins was not entirely in vain, however.
One thing that was learned through analysis of the ruins was that the nuclear explosive was highly sophisticated. Even more surprising, the radiation and fallout created by the blast was extremely low; far, far less than could be expected for a bomb with the power of the one that destroyed Washington D.C.
The experts were baffled by the low level of residual radiation, the power of the blast, and the fact that someone had managed to smuggle such a large nuclear bomb into the United States. Almost all of them agreed, however, that a terrorist-delivered nuclear weapon could have come from only one of three places: Russia, North Korea, or China.
Russia had always maintained a large stockpile of nuclear weapons, many of which had been left to rust in ancient bunkers once the country moved away from communism. Since that time, however, it had dismantled many of those weapons due to the numerous nuclear arms reduction acts that had been signed over recent years. Still, it was entirely possible that they still had a few of the old thirty-megaton bombs left, due to their lack of tactical use in the modern world, and that some terrorist group had either bought or stole one of those. However, such a bomb from Russia would almost certainly have been produced decades ago, and would not be anywhere near the level of sophistication required to generate such a low-level of radiation.
Of the three, North Korea seemed to be the least likely supplier, although it was not for lack of trying. The CIA had been aware that North Korea had control of nuclear weapons as early as 2008, although at the time they were not very sophisticated. That was over twenty years ago, however, plenty of time for North Korea to develop improved delivery methods and improved nuclear munitions in general. Nonetheless, the general consensus was that despite the rapid clandestine development of nuclear arms by North Korea, they were still nowhere near the required level of technology to construct as sophisticated a nuclear bomb as the one that vaporized most of D.C.
This left China as the prime suspect for the supplier of the nuclear bomb to the terrorists. Although China had agreed to nuclear stockpile reductions as well, primarily thanks to promises of increased trade benefits with the United States, it was believed that they had continued with their nuclear weapon research. As a result of this, the analysts were forced to conclude that China looked to be the most likely suspect as to the originator of the bomb. Without any further information, or even any potential leads, American officials could do little to follow up the analysis, except risk sending intelligence agents into China. Reluctantly, the junta approved the missions, and agents began attempting to infiltrate China and contact what few informants remained in the former communist state.
Meanwhile, trouble continued to brew throughout the rest of the world. On November 11th, the Russian government announced that one of its remote nuclear storage facilities in Siberia had been attacked sometime during the night of October 16th. This attack was presumably the work of terrorists, although there were no survivors left to confirm or deny this, and almost the entire base was leveled.
After taking the time to investigate the wreckage of the base, Russian investigators concluded that the attack was the work of a significant group of Czech rebels. In response to this, Russian officials announced the beginning of a new initiative to crack down on the “renegade element” evidently still present in Chechnya. The next day, Russian troops marched down the streets of Chechnya, determined to once again “restore order in the rogue province”. The Russian government ignored the public outcries from the international community, just as they ignored the claims that this was merely a cover story for a crackdown on Chechnya once more. The Czech people were quick to respond to this thinly veiled excuse to invade their country, and by nightfall fighting had broken out in the city streets.
Although now little more than lip-service, the United States condemned the Russian government for its hasty reaction to the destruction of its base. It also, and much more strongly, condemned Russia for allowing the possibility that terrorists could now have possession of several nuclear weapons from the base’s stockpiled arsenal. The Russians were quick to respond, and retorted that if they did not move quickly, the Czechs would have time to rearm and ready the bombs for a devastating attack that would surpass the destruction of Washington D.C. as the worst terrorist attack in history.
Although the United States government would normally have pressed the matter further, these were certainly not normal times, and doubtless some members of the junta felt that the Russian government’s actions were justified. In support of the junta’s lack of protesting Russia’s actions, public opinion polls revealed that while the populace was divided on the issue of the Czech “rebels”, a surprisingly high percentage of Americans agreed with the actions of the Russian government. In any case, the junta had more important issues to focus on. First among these issues was the once-again growing pressure on the government by the populace to find the ones responsible for the Washington D.C. attack and bring them to justice.
The next event that would send America, and the rest of the world, one step closer towards the abyss, was the discovery of connections between the Iranian government and terrorist groups. Although a majority of America’s Intelligence networks were focused on discovering whether or not China had built the bomb that destroyed Washington D.C, a good number of agents were also researching who delivered the bomb. At the top of that short list was some sort of terrorist cell from Iran. Although Iran had always been suspected as still harboring terrorist groups, Iranian leaders had been very careful to not be caught directly associating with any known terrorist cells. Still, they could not hide everything, and under the full scrutiny of the CIA, secret documents were uncovered linking Iran to the Crimson Jihad, one of the few remaining Islamic fundamentalist terror groups.
This evidence was enough to spur the United States to prepare for war. Iran officials steadfastly denied their connections to terrorist groups, even after being shown the evidence that had been collected to the contrary. Their arguments went unheeded as American ambassadors demanded UN support for an occupation of Iran, until all terrorist groups within the country were found.
Still reeling from the recent terrorist attacks, European leaders were concerned that they had been greatly weakened in the international community. And now, America was pushing for yet another invasion into the Middle East. If they were able to gain control of anymore oil rich countries, the United States would have a clear advantage in the superpower race. As a result, many of the European nations voted against a United States-led coalition invading Iran to remove any terrorist cells now hiding in that country. Surprisingly enough, however, several nations with strong ties to America in the past voted for the initiative. Several political analysts were quick to comment on this, classifying it as simply a breakdown in communications between the members of the EU, as a result of the chaos sweeping through Europe in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
Ultimately, however, the proposal to form a coalition against Iran was struck down, and the United States was forbidden to invade at this time. As it had done at the turn of the century, the United States refused to accept the United Nations decision, and continued plans to invade. Unlike at the turn of the century, however, there was a strong faction within the United Nations that was competing against the United States, and they were not about to allow the United States free reign.
For the rest of 2029, the various factions made plans and built alliances, gearing up for the invasion of Iran, or stopping it, depending on which side you were on. The European Union warned the United States several times not to shatter the brittle peace of the Middle East, but their warnings were unheeded by the junta. Iranian officials continued to deny any responsibility for the attack, but dared the United States to attack them, claiming that if they did, the United States would be struck down by the outrage of millions of Muslims in Iran and beyond.
The United States dared to attack Iran. In the early morning of February 2nd, 2030, bombs began to fall on the capital city of Tehran. Although the initial wave of bombers was launched from an air base in Turkey, no less than two American carrier groups were entering the Persian Gulf that same day. As was typical of US military strategy, a major air strike opened the war, with bomber wings pounding Iranian positions for no less than two weeks before the first American soldier set foot on Iranian soil.
Although there was little the Iranians could do to combat the American forces’ numerical and technological superiority, they did not even seem to try. Instead, Iranian resistance crumbled before the American forces, only to reform after the American troops swept past, in the form of guerilla fighters. While at first the American forces rode a wave of victory all the way to Tehran, many generals knew their easy success would not last long.
Indeed, the real war began with the destruction of an American convoy by a large group of Iranian freedom fighters. Using the cities as cover, untold numbers of Iranian soldiers hid away from the American occupation force, launching punishing attacks against American supply lines and patrols. These hit-and-run raids proved greatly effective against the Americans, although not quite as effective as they had years ago in Iraq. However, in Iraq the American forces did not have the entire civilian populace turned against them. Wherever they went, American soldiers were met with barely-suppressed fury, and more than one incident occurred where innocent civilians were killed by accident. Still, the occupation continued, and by the end of April, 2030, the country of Iran was “firmly” in US control. With the surface now under their control, the US military turned its attention to the network of underground bunkers and tunnels that had been discovered under Tehran, where it was believed that the Iranian leaders had retreated to, and were now directing the continuing attacks on US convoys.
A lucky American Special Operations team sent down into the tunnel network came upon a group of Iranian officials destroying documents, but were able to arrive and stop them before all the documents were destroyed. When the documents were examined, it was discovered that they were proof that China had been dealing in arms with Iran, right up to the bombing of Washington D.C. It also become apparent that there had been more documents, detailing most of the exchanges, but those had already been destroyed by the Iranian officials. Still, there was more than enough evidence to prove China had dealings with Iran, and more then enough evidence to condemn China in the minds of the junta. Furious American officials confronted the Chinese, only to be met with yet more stonewalling and excuses. In respond, US officials cut off all trade with China, and urged the UN assign sanctions against China.
The UN, however, assigned sanctions against the United States, citing its refusal to accept the UN’s decision not to invade Iran. With its seat on the Security Council, the United States easily vetoed each of the resolutions in turn, angering many of the representatives present and causing many of the European representatives to demand that the United States be removed from the Security Council, at least for this one instance. Although the arguments continued for several days, it became more and more apparent that the UN had been shattered irrevocably. The United States continued to bicker with the EU, and to a lesser extent, the Chinese delegation, and those third-party nations that were not allied to either of the three superpowers simply withdrew from the proceedings, determined to no longer be puppets of any of the three.
One of the last UN resolutions that was actually passed was the recall of troops from Africa and the various other hotspots, so that the troops could return to their own countries in order to serve in their countries’ own militaries. This was the death knell of peaceful cooperation between the nations of the world, and of the United Nations. The wars of 2030 were about to begin.
With China’s refusal to accept responsibility for any part in the attack on Washington D.C., and their continued denial of dealings with Iran, the relationship between America and China continued to worse until finally they were poised on the brink of war. All trade between the two nations had been cut, their ambassadors recalled. All that was required now was an excuse to go to war. While a skilled politician might still have been able to avert the coming conflict, the junta running the United States were not so skilled, nor were they interested in averting war. The world tittered on the brink of Ruin, and all that was needed was one small push. That push came on July 14th, 2030.
On July 14th, 2030, a patrol of Chinese fighter jets came upon an American carrier battlegroup in the Sea of Japan. The fighter screen escorting the battlegroup moved to intercept the Chinese jets, ordering them to go back. The Chinese jets refused to turn around, and pilot egos being what they were, the situation continued to escalate, until finally the American fighter screen engaged the Chinese patrol, destroying all of them with minimal casualties. On the morning of January 13th, 2030, China and America exchanged declarations of war, and thus began what would later be called the Wars of 2030.
Although a complete record of what followed has never been found, it is obvious that it was sheer madness. Both sides hammered at each other with reckless abandon, on some days approaching causality levels that mirrored WWI, when men would swarm out of their trenches into a hail of machine gun fire. Although China fired its ICBMs first, America was not far behind. Between the nuclear armament reductions and the developed missile defense systems that both nations had, the devastation was not quite as total and world-spanning as analysts had depicted it decades ago. Still, some missiles did reach their targets, and to this day many of the places remain radioactive wastelands.
It is believed that the war between America and China dragged on for three years, as each side’s conventional forces attempted to fight on with a devastated homefront and a crippled command structure. It is known that China won the war, or at least was going to. After throwing off the US expedition force that had landed and attempted to fight its way into Beijing, the Chinese began to prepare their own invasion force. Matters were taken out of their hands, however, when the European Union entered the war.
Seeing a chance to finish off both of their rivals at once, many EU leaders urged for immediate military action against both China and America. A fair number of delegates resisted, fearful that the EU could not win a two-front war, even against two badly weakened opponents. Nonetheless, the motion narrowly passed, and at some point in 2034, the EU military began to push into China from the West.
Although the three superpowers were fighting to the death, their nations were not the only ones that burned with the fires of war. It is known that with the withdrawal of UN support and troops, the relief efforts in Africa collapsed, and once again war waged throughout the continent. In the Middle East, millions of angered Muslims rose up against the remaining American troops occupying their countries. With a majority of their soldiers redirected to the war-front with China, American administrators could do little except die as thousands of Muslims broke into American compounds and slaughtered everyone that they found. Next, the war-mad Muslims turned their attention to Israel, a long-time enemy. The Israelis were not going to go easily, however, and once more fought against nearly the entire Middle East, alone. The Israelis had not, however, fought against unending waves of riotous citizens before, and their defensive positions were ultimately overrun through sheer numbers. Eventually, Israeli leaders fell back on the one trump card that they had always had: nuclear weapons. On one terrible night, the skies above the Middle East were lit up by nuclear fire as Israel expended its entire nuclear arsenal against its enemies.
Although terrible, the death toll from the Israeli attack was but a drop in the bucket of blood that was shed as the three superpowers continued to struggle. After the EU’s arrival into the war, events continue to grow hazier as the world continued to slip into anarchy. It is known that while the initial strike into China was successful, the EU efforts were ultimately disrupted by internal struggle amongst the EU’s member nations. Really little more than a coalition, the EU governed by the consent of all member nations, and decisions were made by consensus. Some nations withdrew that consent to be governed after the attack into China, and their objections against such a move were stifled. In the midst of a war, and doubtless affected by the madness that seemed to be sweeping through the entire world, civil war soon broke out within the EU, as the objecting nations attempted to secede from the European Union.
The series of wars that racked the world would continue until 2039, when it simply came to the point where the warring nations did not have the resources to fight anymore. Finally realizing the madness of their actions, many of the still-existing nations sent delegates for a peace conference in Trondheim, Norway. After several days of negotiation, a multi-lateral cease-fire and peace treaty was signed, finally ending the Wars of 2030. After signing the peace treaty, the attending nations turned to the prospect of rebuilding. Many nations had few resources left, and stockpiles of valuable resources, such as oil and food, were running critically low. In an attempt to do the most good and rebuild as quickly as possible, all of the attending nations agreed to share resources freely, devoting what resources they had left to a group collective, where the resources could then be directed to those most countries most in need. In addition, the attending nations vowed to never again allow the Wars of 2030 to happen again, and signed an alliance that created a new world government: the United Earth Commonwealth.
Essentially a new version of the United Nations, the United Earth Commonwealth was designed to manage the reconstruction effort. Perhaps out of fear that the United Earth Commonwealth would crumble as the United Nations ultimately had, all of the attending nations went a step further by surrendering total control of their governments to the United Earth Commonwealth. This action created a true world government, and with relatively little political struggles between nations to bog it down, the Commonwealth-directed reconstruction efforts went quickly.
Not every nation in the world was present at the conference, however. Many pocket dictatorships had been set up in the remains of the Middle East and Southern Asia, and none of these agreed to surrender control over to a new world government. Afraid that these rebellious areas would endanger the harmony that the United Earth Commonwealth was trying to create, many officials agreed that they would have to be coerced into joining the Commonwealth . . . one way, or the other.
Unfortunately, the United Earth Commonwealth had little in the way of military power, and the ragtag army that it had been thus far able to piece together from the various member nations’ remaining armies did not have the resources to combat the organized and concentrated forces of the dictators.
And now, it was the time for the Majestic Corporation to make its way to the stage. Soon after the conference in Trondheim, Commonwealth officials were contacted by representatives from South America. Evidently with its significant resources in South America, Majestic was able to ride out the storm that swept through the rest of the world, and had actually managed to convince a number of South American nations not to get involved in the fighting. All of these nations agreed to join the United Earth Commonwealth freely, providing a large upswing to the resources available to the Commonwealth. In addition, Majestic offered its services as a hardware supplier to the new Commonwealth’s security forces. With little alternative to Majestic’s generous offer, the Commonwealth accepted, and Majestic quickly fitted into its new role as military contractor for the United Earth Commonwealth. Within weeks the Commonwealth security forces were well-armed and equipped, and ready to begin the invasion of the various dictatorships scattered throughout the world.
During the fighting to reclaim the land held by the dictatorships, Majestic also unveiled a new weapon for the Commonwealth security forces to use: the Walking Attack Vehicle, or WAV. Essentially a tank with legs, the WAVs provided the Commonwealth security forces with a flexible, adaptable, and rugged vehicle to spearhead their assaults with. The WAVs proved so successful in their role that the Commonwealth Senate procured a great number of them for future use, and cementing Majestic in its role as primary arms contractor for the Commonwealth.
The War of Unification, as it came to be called, was waged in 2042, and was over by the middle of 2043, with the entire world now firmly under the control of the Commonwealth. With mankind now united under the banner of the United Earth Commonwealth, reconstruction could continue at break-neck speeds. It was soon discovered that while enough resources were on-hand to complete the reconstruction, not much was left for future use. An analysis of the situation revealed that within another five years, the resource needs of the Commonwealth would far outstrip its ability to produce them. Much of the Middle East and other resource-rich areas of the world were now radioactive wastelands, and many large national stockpiles of resources had been used up or destroyed during the Wars of 2030.
In short, there was nowhere for the Commonwealth to obtain the resources it needed. Nowhere, that is, except outer space. An ambitious plan, once more put forth by Majestic, called for the establishment of a space program by the United Earth Commonwealth, with lunar colonies being set up within the next four years. From there, the Moon could be used as a base to expand out into the rest of the Solar System, especially the resource-rich Mars and Asteroid Belt.
Many Commonwealth officials blanched at the ambitious plan, particularly as implementing it would consume the Commonwealth’s remaining resources much more quickly than careful allocation and slowing the reconstruction process would. Nevertheless, the Commonwealth was forced to acknowledge that ultimately, the Earth would simply no longer be enough to meet humanity’s needs, and that expansion into the rest of the solar system was inevitable. Therefore, on April 18th, 2046, the Commonwealth Senate signed the bill that granted Majestic the necessary funds for its proposal, and began a new era for humanity.
By 2050, the first human colony on Mars was established, and with several colonies already established on the Moon, enormous amounts of resources began to pour into orbit around Earth, ready to fuel future expansion as well as meet the needs of billions of Commonwealth citizens.
On September 1st, 2050, in light of mankind’s growth beyond its home planet, the United Earth Commonwealth changed its name to the Sol Commonwealth. And for the past fifteen years it has served as the unquestioned ruling body for the entire solar system.
This is about to change. The peace that the Sol Commonwealth has passively provided for the past fifteen years is about to be shattered, and The Sol War is about to begin . . .
Oldies probably know the drill by now. Newbies can use the following simple template for their character. More will follow.
Name:
Location: (Two possible locations: NYPD, or Commonwealth Defense Force. NYPD is, of course, the New York Police Department, and is where most of the action will be taking place, as the main character of the story, Nick Andrews, is part of. Commonwealth Defense Force is part of the military, and as such will have a slightly less important role until later in the thread. They will, however, on the whole have better starting equipment.)
Class: (there are three choices: WAVE, Gunship, Powered Armor. WAVEs are giant walking mechs, Gunships are a cross between fighter jets and helicopters, and Powered Armor is infantry).
Background: where does your character come from? Important pivotal moments in his life, etc . . . whatever you want to include.
Other: Any other information you want to include on your character, such as hair/eye color, etc.
/ooc More information will be forthcoming, once I finish typing it up and such. Wanted to get the intro done so that I could post it today.
ooc/
) in Surrey, I worked at a small bakery, providing your queen with bread, I could have posined her at any moment!
Linear Mode
