The New Earth
Details on the period between the landing of the fleet and the current conflict are currently scarce. The planet, eventually re-christened Auraxis, proved to be a hospitable new home for the wormhole refugees, with varied climates and ecosystems not unlike those of Earth. It would prove, however, to not be without its secrets: Alien ruins were uncovered on the planet, and sometime in the year 2650, Henry Briggs discovered an artifact identical to that which he and Tom Connery had found in the Moon Belt sixteen years earlier. When he did, he received another vision—this time hearing the voice of Vanu speaking directly to him. Though what Briggs heard remains a mystery, it nonetheless caused a full-scale movement to form behind him and his research. Incredible technologies would come from the dedication of his followers; Briggs himself, however, would not be around to see their achievements. For unknown reasons, Henry Briggs took his own life in 2660, on the tenth anniversary of the second artifact’s discovery. In the wake of his death, the Vanu movement would flourish, keeping its discoveries secret from eyes it deemed unworthy of Vanu’s gifts. Increasingly obsessive over their research, the movement’s members were ostracized by much of society.
Meanwhile, the autocratic Terran Republic—now resembling the transparent democracy of Earth in name only—failed to rescind the curfews they had claimed would be only temporary aboard the fleet. Though forced, the security and stability the Republic provided did help to bring peace and prosperity to the fledgling Auraxian colony. In the eyes of the New Conglomerate, however, this was not enough. The ideals of free enterprise and open markets espoused by the former executives of Earth and their hired guns and workers changed over generations into a general desire for freedom from the iron rule of the Terran Republic, which grew stronger and more possessive with each passing decade. Towards the end of humanity’s second century on Auraxis, the New Conglomerate’s unrest began to take the form of worldwide protests against the Republic.
Eventually, what began as protests evolved into riots, armed skirmishes, and finally all-out war. On June 21, 2845, peace talks between the Terran Republic and New Conglomerate fell apart amidst conflicting reports of attacks in the Kaorr desert region of Auraxis, and armed conflict broke out. The Vanu, having long watched the two factions bemusedly from the sidelines, suddenly found themselves in a dire position: Wedged between two warring empires and on good terms with neither. With their options few and their allies fewer, they declared their independence as the Vanu Sovereignty and took up arms against their long time persecutors.
Conflict has now consumed the surface of Auraxis, where each faction’s control of territory and resources is tantamount to the destruction of its enemies. With no clear advantage going to any one side, the future of the human race on Auraxis has become as unclear as the planet’s all-too secretive past.
