The Early Formative Period

2790-2963CE

Overview

During the period corresponding to the reigns of Emperor Rogar I and Empress Katrina, the Empire of Humanity expanded from its origins to encompass more territory and develop greater technology, surpassing the heights of the Terran Confederation. 

Early Imperial expansion had its challenges.  The Hachiman War of 2801-2804CE conquered the Empire's only rival, but resentment against the Imperial monopoly on interstellar military forces and its VAT tax on interstellar commerce promoted the Autonomist movement, with especially many of the Pact's more advanced worlds calling for greater sovereign beyond their home systems.  In 2812CE, the opening shot of the Autonomist Civil War killed Rogar I, but it did not weaken the Empire, as Katrina, backed by most of the fleet and most former Pact and Union worlds, rallied to defeat various White Emperor claimants.  By 2818CE the Empire had destroyed the last Autonomist forces and enforced martial law on twenty-six cowed worlds.  In the ensuing decades, civilian rule returned to Autonomist and Hachiman worlds under governments fully accepting the Imperial Charter.  Hachiman, renamed as Nova, restored civil rule in 2854CE.  In 2855CE, Imperial Marines finally withdrew from Atlantis, the last Autonomist world under martial law.

In 2823CE, the Empire recontacted Drakkon, uniting Humanity and ending the last vestiges of the Dark Age.  The Ministry of Science conducted careful studies of the lessons of colonial failures and set new guidelines for interstellar colonization that would enhance a settlement's chances of success.  Based on these recommendations, only Class A-D worlds were considered suitable colonization targets.  Survey procedures were expanded to allow for more immunological research before classifying a world.  Each world would receive at least ten thousand settlers in its first decade of occupation, and initially, the Ministry of Science Colonization Office oversaw all colonization projects and ensured a proper mix of skills and cultural diversity among the initial population.  After resettling failed colonies that met the new requirements, the Colonization Office expanded beyond Confederation's borders and authorized the settlement of the world of Rogar in 2875CE.  By the beginning of the Swarm War, the Colonization Office had settled an additional fifty new worlds. 

In the six centuries since a Confederation science mission ended in hostilities, the Swarm race had advanced from pre-industrial to early macrojump technological levels and had settled eight star systems within thirty light years of their homeworld, Megahive in Sector 46.  Contact between the macrojump scout Mackenzie an the Swarm colony on Danzig in 2913CE led to an attempted to establish relations, but translation difficulties doomed the negotiations.

A Swarm battle fleet attacked and destroyed the Imperial colony on Athena, initiating the Swarm War of 2915-2920CE.  After a rough start, the technological and industrial advantages of the Empire of Humanity eventually overran Swarm defenses, and the aliens clearly understood the demonstration attack by the Beelzebub Hellking that destroyed their outer moon.  Communications improved during the cease fire negotiation, and the Swarm surrendered, apologized, offered reparations, and joined the Empire as a Major race after a period of occupation and education.

Though the Swarm War began with the killing of 24,000 Human civilians it ended in a developing friendship between Humanity and the the misnamed Swarm race, a marked contrast to the ending of the M'kkiae War.  However, when an Imperial expedition to the ruined world of M'kkia uncovered and accidentally activated an underground M'kkiae hibernation facility in 2943CE, the Empire responded by ripping the crust from the planet, once again exterminating the M'kkiae race.

By Katrina's death in 2963CE, the Empire had grown to a sphere over three hundred light years across and had colonized over two hundred new worlds.  At Crown Prince Cleon's urging, Sir Tomas Rydell's Orion-Taurus Expedition of 2954-2958CE had traveled to the Pleiades and Betelgeuse, discovering Glorious and searching fruitlessly for the Salvation gravstar ship from the lost Kumar colony.

Political

Emperor Rogar I was determined to maintain order at the interstellar level by maintaining a unified Realm.  The first threat to this unity was the Hachiman Empire.  With the cooperation of King John of Libertas and use of the media, Rogar increased pressure on the relationship between the two Empires until war was all but inevitable, and then he pressed his military superiority until Emperor Hideki had no choice but unconditional surrender.  A student of history, Rogar's campaign against Hachiman mirrored the American campaign against Japan in World War II down to the use of Hellkings to force Hachiman capitulation.

The Autonomists proved a greater challenge for Rogar.  While the Kalmar Pact had allowed planetary fleets to supplement its ranks, the Imperial Charter limited a Member's sovereignty and responsibility to its home system.  To prevent the spread of fleets with mixed loyalities and to discourage piracy, Rogar refused to compromise on the Imperial Navy's monopoly on interstellar warships.  Additionally, the Imperial Census, which provided the statistics to support Imperial taxation, was widely interpreted as an intrusive affront to planetary sovereignty.  After Autonomist assassins killed Empress Hanna, Rogar only strengthened his resolve for unity.  His marriage to Katrina in 2800CE was meant to cement bonds between the Solar and Pact worlds, and the artificial conception and births of their children, Cleon and Melisa, were Rogar's attempts to ensure support for an eventual Imperial succession.  Most rich worlds like Venus, Kalmar, Libertas, Hercules and Prometheus saw the benefits of the Imperial system, and despite vocal minorities, these worlds stayed loyal to the Empire.  Worlds whose leaders did not see benefits or increased stature from Imperial integration, namely Mars, Atlantis, Apollo, Amaterasu and a score others, were drawn into the Autonomist camp

After Autonomists assassinated Emperor Rogar in orbit over Atlantis in 2812CE, war between the Loyalists and Autonomists was inevitable.  The series of Autonomist leaders named themselves the "White Emperor", a reference to Rogar's household Red Rose heraldry and the White Rose of the Death King who opposed him in the War of Destruction, and promised a "federal" Empire of Humanity.  Charles of Mars, long resentful of perceived and actual slights became the first White Emperor, and flung himself from a Pavonis Obelisk window as Mars fell to the Loyalists.  King Karl of Atlantis reluctantly took up the mantle, though more from enmity toward Katrina and from Atlantian patriotism than from strong Autonomist leanings, and despite her better judgment, Katrina spared Karl, exiling him to Isis for over a century.  She let Atlantis retain its monarchy under Kane, though punishing the world with a forty year occupation.  After Atlantis and Apollo fell the Loyalist forces, the Autonomist movement was broken, and within years, those who had hoped for greater autonomy faced years or decades of occupation, martial law and Imperialization.

Rogar had specially modified his son Cleon to become Emperor.  The Crown Prince had the bearing and strengthen of his parents coupled with enhanced intelligence and stamina.  Unfortunately Rogar's plans for his son's education were cut short by his death, and at age eight, Cleon was surely unprepared to take the throne of a faltering Empire racked by civil war.  As provided by the Imperial Charter, Cleon's mother, Queen Katrina, became Regent.  Katrina had already ruled the Pact and Kalmar itself for a century and with the support of Rogar's earlier children, including Prince Alexander as a major military commander and Prince Arnam as an eloquent spokesman for Imperial unity, she led the Loyalists to preserve the Empire, promoting her able nephew, Prince Olav Kamarov to Grand Admiral.  In 2817CE, with the Autonomist struggle still winding down, the Imperial Congress confirmed Katrina as Empress, in clear recognition that her firm hand would be necessary for decades to come while Cleon continued his education and gained experience.  Though the Charter allowed Cleon to take the throne at age twenty-one, the uncertainty in the aftermath of the Autonomist revolt did not allow for that luxury.

Swarm integration proved the greatest challenge of Empress Katrina's later years as Empress.  Though the name "Empire of Humanity" emphasized its principal participants, the Alimeen had been Major race members from the start and the Comans and Quadrons each had a seat in the Imperial Congress.  None of these races, in temperament or in numbers, posed any threat to the dominance of Humanity within the Empire, but the Swarm were a growing, expansionistic race with a population in the billions.  In the end, Katrina and her ministers determined that the Swarm would not be the last vigorous race Humanity would encounter as it expanded, and any race that was willing to abide by the Imperial Charter deserved to be offered membership in the Empire.  If the time came when Human ascendancy was in doubt, Katrina reasoned, then it was because the race was expanding too slowly, not too quickly.  By the time the first Swarm delegation entered the Imperial Congressional chambers, the Ministry of Colonization was settling four new worlds per year.

In 2941CE, a yearlong scandal rocked the upper reaches of Imperial society, after Lord Roban Mellon died revealing the suppression of Life Therapy technology.  Though Katrina never admitted involvement, Life Therapy had been suppressed for decades, mostly to monopolize the hold on power by established Nobilis families, but also to continue profits in NB treatments and regeneration therapies for wealthy Sapiens.  Within five years, the potential socio-political implications of new Life Therapy conversions was limited by the Eighth Amendment, which tied the treatment to ennoblement, preserving the status quo and giving the Empress full control over new Nobilis lines.

Katrina's reign also saw the adoption of the Imperial astrography standard, with the eight named sectors of the Confederation giving way to the million cubic light year numbered sectors of the Empire and the establishment of directional astrographical frontier zones.  In 2927CE, Katrina recognized the Central Region's eight sector capitals, permanently enhancing the standing of those worlds.

Technological

The technology of the Early Formative period reached and surpassed that of the old Confederation at its peak, with living metal technology and improved rapid fabrication (RFab) revolutionizing construction and manufacturing, allowing such wonders as the Centauri Ring around Atlantis.

By the end of the period, most established Imperial worlds had economies and infrastructures as advanced as that of Atlantis and the beginning of the period.  On more remote worlds, the Empire's Dependency Economic Program worked to help struggling low population worlds make the transition to Imperial Membership by improving their economic viability and by introducing more advanced technology.

With the reintroduction of microjump drives, interstellar travel became more affordable and palatable, aiding colonization efforts and encouraging the early development of a middleclass interstellar tourism industry.

Cultural

The reign of Empress Katrina became known as the Bejeweled Era, with her distinctive crystalline styles and an emphasis on Kalmaran formality and propriety permeating Imperial society.  Even fairly egalitarian worlds like Hercules, Prometheus and the Solar Belt came to mimic both the styles and behaviors of the Bejeweled elite.

By the 2960s wealth transformed Imperial society, with the wonders of RFab already bringing the elite of wealthy worlds to post-Materialist standards.  In the 2960CE census, only Excalibur fell below the Census Office's planetary poverty scale, and that world was almost as wealthy as Terra of 2780CE.

Full sensory mass media, reasonably affordable interstellar travel and a common sense of purpose helped form a true "Imperial culture", though each world retained distinctive dialects, customs and idiosyncrasies.  Some former Autonomist worlds, especially Atlantis, Apollo and Amaterasu retained distinctive styles and behaviors out of lingering resentment.  Hachiman, renamed as Nova, was superficially Imperialized, but with its large clone subclass, it remained an anomalous culture.  Some Religious oligarchies, specifically Macoraba and Islam, continued to be closed societies, but others, like Deseret, New Rome and Dayan gradually opened up to Imperial influences.

Chronology Table

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