Backstory

1961

Taradenean’s begin to watch the evolution and population of Earth from their distant home planet Taradene.

2020’s

In the near future, two years after winning a landslide victory to secure a second term in office, the US president  attempted to change the constitution to enable herself to be elected for more terms. While receiving widespread support within her own country, many others objected, leading to political bickering that eventually led the world to move the focus of multi country collaboration to London.

2031

A few years later the world would be changed forever after the International Moon Base Project (also known as The Ear) discovered a signal emanating from deep space.

2036

It would be five years before the code would be deciphered by a group of Oxford University students, who discovered that the message had been sent from a distant planet (Taradene): a planet that had been watching Earth from afar since 1961. Without the technology to travel here to make contact, the Taradeneans had been attempting to communicate with Earth for decades.

The discovery of an alien species would ultimately galvanise society, bringing the various countries and races together in a way never seen before in Earth’s history. Global politics began to shift towards a single centralised government, with each nation’s citizens electing their country’s representatives within the One World Government’s senate-like structure. As the planets communicated it became clear that Taredene wished for a peaceful alliance with Earth, to create a mutually beneficial relationship where they could learn from one another.

2087

After decades of research and development the two planets’ greatest scientists and engineers developed ships capable of interplanetary travel, with a titanic space station called The Bridge constructed between the two planets as a hub for those travelling between Earth and Taradene.

2099

However, a smooth formation of an Earth/Taradene alliance would be jeopardised by the breakout of a world war in 2099 on Taradene known as the Dictator War, in which many millions of Taradeneans would die.

2105

The end of the war in 2105 marked a momentous moment: the opening of the first UN office on Taradene (Taradene City). At the same time, the Taradeneans sent representatives to live on Earth and work with the Organisation. As the two species collaborated, Taradene, which for centuries had been ravaged by war and territorial squabbling, would increasingly adopt Earth’s political systems: negotiation before conflict, and the movement towards a One World Government. But not everyone supported this, leading to the formation of terrorist factions intent on maintaining national sovereignty both on Earth and on Taradene, as well as splinter states.

Taradene entered a period of comparative peace while their more advanced technology helped Earth to finally break the shackles of fossil fuel dependence, leading to a green revolution that would begin to undo the effects of climate change.

2114

But when a new frontier is discovered, criminality is rarely far behind. With smuggling increasingly rife, large corporations saw an opportunity to expand their profits through nefarious practices, utilising the criminal underworld to do their dirty work. In response, the Interplanetary Investigation Organisation was formed, a joint Earth and Taradene taskforce specifically designed to investigate and thwart such interplanetary lawbreaking. Little did the organisation expect that what it would go on to uncover would be far more sinister and wider-reaching than anyone could ever have imagined…