[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Beginning[/SIZE]
Part 2[/CENTER]
However, things had changed during the course of time since the first original probes were launched from Earth. Before the signal managed to reach its intended destination on Earth, it was intercepted and decoded by a corporation that now owned and maintained several of the beacons inside a large sector of the hyper link network were the signal was first received and identified by humans. The corporation OmegaTech quickly claimed the contract to colonize the world but withheld the crucial information from the public that a true living planet had been discovered. The issue was only discussed in secrecy before the Supreme Imperial Chancellor within the closed chambers of the Imperial Senate. The Federal Empire knew the great importance of this historical discovery and decided to give the contract to OmegaTech along with an ultimatum. Unless the corporation had begun a colonization of the planet within a decade the Colonial Contract would be passed on to the next corporation in line that filed a claim on the New World after it had been made official. Indeed there were speculations that the Federal Empire itself had already drawn up its own plans and that the ultimatum was only their first step in taking control of the New World.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Beginning[/SIZE]
Part 3[/CENTER]
As the data communications with the robot base matrix on the New World continued more data was decoded that revealed new amazing information. According to certain files the mysterious planet had kept the Odysseus Probe stationed for several standard cycles in orbit before it finally made the decision to leave, despite available resources to construct a new Jump Rail to continue its own voyage within less than one cycle. Any information that would explain this event had for unknown reasons never been transferred from the Odysseus Probe to the robot base matrix before the probe left the star system. This strange delay in the probeâs voyage gave the planet its name according to a very ancient human tale from Earth, were a sea nymph waylaid a homeward-bound hero named Odysseus for seven years on her island. The name of this nymph was Calypso and it was considered most fitting for a future market campaign.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Beginning[/SIZE]
Part 4[/CENTER]
Despite efforts to keep the discovery a secret many rumors of the amazing New World soon begun to spread across the colonies. The new planet and its star system were positioned far past the rim of the Colonial Frontier, which gave the isolated planet an almost mystical reputation amongst the people on the imperial colonies as well as on Earth. This growing public interest was building up a pressure on both the OmegaTech Corporation and the Federal Empire. OmegaTech used this interest to execute a hostile takeover and to gain legal motion and financial aid from the Federal Empire for a daring project that would expand the empire outside the colonial boarders and past the known frontiers by bringing the first human settlers to Calypso.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Beginning[/SIZE]
Part 5[/CENTER]
With federal aid and a growing public interest throughout the colonies, OmegaTech were able to launch an enormous enterprise called the Exodus Project. Its goal was to bring human settlers to Calypso within less than a decade. The best way would be to launch a research ship towards Calypso using a Jump Rail. The ship would carry necessary equipment and crew for the construction of a Space Gate and the basic material needed to link it to its counterpart that would be built inside the secure space of the colonial frontier. However, there were not enough technological resources available within the corporation itself to embark on such a project. To succeed with this endeavor OmegaTech would need to obtain technological aid and resources from other interstellar corporations but the space market was more interested in seeing the downfall of OmegaTech rather than to help it succeed and prosper. It was a clear attempt by market rivals to weaken OmegaTech in order to move in later and take over the financially vulnerable corporation. High prices on imported resources, shipment delays, equipment flaws, espionage and sabotage would threaten the project, despite legal aid from the Federal Empire. The Federal Empire wasnât able to control the corporations directly in favor of a single corporation without a risk of causing a political market crisis. OmegaTech had foreseen this line of events and decided to use a more old fashion approach to overcome this problem.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Beginning[/SIZE]
Part 6[/CENTER]
By contemplating whatever available technology and resources it had access to the corporation decided build a giant colonial space vessel called The Exodus. The commercial campaign was given the same name as the ship, which increased the public interest in the project even more. The Exodus would be able to take over a thousand settlers to Calypso using the largest Jump Rail ever built. With financial support from the Federal Empire the project was set into motion, despite massive criticism from rival corporations about the low technological level of the whole enterprise. And it was a risky business. It would take every last bit of financial resources to succeed, which would leave the OmegaTech Corporation financially crippled and very vulnerable.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Beginning[/SIZE]
Part 7[/CENTER]
The colonies on other planets were not considered living planets like Earth. Even though some planets possessed enough basic elements to be terra-formed and given a new designed ecosystem it still had to be artificially maintained, just like the home planet of Earth itself. Despite these advanced technologies permanent habitants had to be genetically designed to survive on these worlds. Calypso had its own natural ecosystem, even though it had been slightly altered by the robots to make it perfectly suitable for unaltered human beings. When the Federal Empire stated that the discovery of the New World was fact, it quickly became leading news all across the colonial empire. The thought of an untouched world spread a new sense of hope and joy amongst the people throughout the colonies. The Exodus campaign rose ill rumors amongst the colonies that the New World would only be available to the unaltered human elite on Earth and the people within the OmegaTech Corporation, which caused industrial strikes and colonial uproars. The relatively small colonial communities of altered humans posed more of an annoyance than a threat to the corporations and the Federal Empire. The colonial uprisings would fade away with the insurance that the Federal Empire would give all people in the colonial empire the chance to apply for the journey to Calypso onboard the Exodus. However, genetically altered humans and habitants on other colonies wouldnât be anatomically fit to take on the hard ventures as settlers at this early stage of colonization. Instead they were given the official promise that they would gain access to the new world as any other visitors would once the colony had been secured. This promise was not favored well amongst certain political fractions and would result in a growing envy and ill will within the altered human colonies.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Beginning[/SIZE]
Part 8[/CENTER]
The Exodus was built in space inside a shielded dome next to a large resourceful asteroid and industrial facilities owned by the OmegaTech Corporation. This dome was not only a shipyard but would also serve as the protective coating around the ship when it was to be launched by the large Jump Rail. The Jump Rail was being constructed at the same time near another resourceful asteroid. These construction areas were located not far away from a central space station that controlled the only Space Gate in the sector. When the great ship was complete, it was moved to the Jump Gate and there it was prepared for launch. The fortunate people who had been authorized to become the first settlers on Calypso were now allowed to travel to the space station and board the Exodus. Every step in the project was followed in detail by the interstellar media and transmitted through the interstellar hyper-link network, instantly reaching people all over the colonial frontier inside the Federal Empire. Media titled it âThe Great Exodusâ, which boosted the public campaign even more. When the Exodus ship was finally launched on her journey towards Calypso it was considered as another milestone in human history and the beginning of a new era. It had taken three years to complete the Exodus Project but it would take another two years before the people in the Federal Empire finally heard from the Exodus again.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The first arrivals[/SIZE]
Part 1[/CENTER]
When the first settlers arrived on Calypso everything was prepared for their arrival by robots that had already built up a complete infrastructure. Upon the settlers arrival, the robots Base Matrix turned over its control to the humans. The first settlers on Calypso experienced a historical moment as they sat foot on a vast and unspoiled planet, rich in life and resources. They moved into the cities and began to make the last adjustments to the environment. Mankind seemed to have returned to paradise and this first region of colonies became known as New Eden. But all this would soon change.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The first arrivals[/SIZE]
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During further investigations of the Robot Base Matrix on Calypso the research teams were never able to find the reason why the Odysseus Probe had stayed for so long before leaving. Though the reason for this delay would remain a mystery the researchers did come across several clues that pointed towards another nearby star system, positioned even further away in the unknown regions of space. The scattered information indicated that shortly after a robot base had been successfully established on Calypso, the Odysseus Probe had constructed a new Jump Rail and then launched itself towards this new destination. Its last transmission was made only to inform the Base Matrix that the probe had arrived and positioned itself in orbit around one of the major planets inside this system. For all they knew the silent Odysseus Probe could still be there.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The first arrivals[/SIZE]
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The OmegaTech Corporation decided to launch a second project called Operation Prometheus in an attempt to shed more light over the mysterious actions of the Odysseus Probe. It would also be an opportunity to intercept and examine this old human artifact from the past. An unmanned probe named the Prometheus 1 was prepared for the mission and a small Jump Rail was built to launch the probe towards the last received coordinates. Equipped with a hyper-link transmitter it could send back instantaneous information of what it might discover. The probe arrived at its intended destination in less than three months and transmitted data of an eerie and dark planetary system orbiting a dying star. Two colossal planets with high-density readings were the most distinct features in the system and were given the names Akbal and Cimi. There was no sign of the Odysseus Probe but Prometheus 1 had detected signals from several robot base installations on the surface of both these planets. There was no doubt that these robots originated from the Odysseus Probe, but the question was why the Robot Base Matrix hadnât established any communications with the interstellar hyper-link network. As Prometheus 1 was ordered to establish contact with the Base Matrix on the planet Akbal the research team back on Calypso received several encrypted signals through its system that originated from the Robot Base Matrix on Akbal. Unable to decode it they decided to process it through the Base Matrix on Calypso.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot uprising[/SIZE]
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Without any warning the Base Matrix turned all its robots into savage and ruthless death-machines, and with cruel and merciless tactics, forced the darkest era known to Man upon the poor settlers of Calypso. At the beginning of the revolt the Base Matrix cut off all forms of communications on and off the colony. It took control of space drones that were working on a near completed Space Gate and used them to sabotage the construction, rendering it completely useless. The terror continued as it overloaded local energy reactor facilities in the cities, causing them to overheat and explode. It intended not only to destroy the infrastructure but also spread lethal radiation poisoning that would quickly dispose of all living human beings. A few colonies managed to stop this sabotage in time and people quickly became organized in time to stop the local robots from running berserk inside their cities. But the Base Matrix had already planed to take advantage of the panic and confusion to create an armed army of restless robots that would turn the revolt into total war.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot uprising[/SIZE]
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As the humans were forced to retreat the sinister robots begun to use own nuclear charges to infect possible escape routes and wipe out any last scattered remains of the human population. This massive radiation would slowly kill more people over a longer period of time, but many settlers survived this contamination. Instead of dying they were genetically altered and perhaps suffered a far more cruel fate than death. They began to mutate. Only a few uncontaminated survivors managed to seek refuge in the last city left standing on Calypso and get transported up to the orbiting Exodus but only genetically unaltered humans were welcome here. There was simply no room or resources left in the city for medical care and safe treatment of these victims. For the protection and the survival of the human refugees inside the city the severely contaminated humans were rejected and forced away. They only managed to survive by hiding in the wilderness and underground in the city ruins to escape the robot death-machines. What little humanity they had left slowly faded, with no hope of ever being rescued. They were doomed and quickly forgotten by the humans who were too occupied with their own survival.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot uprising[/SIZE]
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Mad robotic space drones caused damaged to the Exodus in orbit but its internal AI computer systems remained secure. The ship and its crew survived the ordeal and managed to clear the space of all hostile elements. The Exodus was then transformed into an orbital military space station and the crew initiated a rescue operation to evacuate as many human survivors as possible from the surface. Surviving settlers had to be turned into soldiers and would be forced to fight long and hard to reclaim their planet but they were being constantly outnumbered by the robots. Since all AI robots were being infested with the same madness down on the surface the commanders onboard the Exodus could not send in its own robots to battle in fear that these machines would go mad as well and be used against them. In a desperate attempt to even the odds the commanders onboard the Exodus begun to create androids and used these artificial genetic humanoids as expendable soldiers and personnel in the war. They also started to use semi-automated drone ships, piloted by human operators onboard the Exodus using a remote hyper-link control system. To reestablish contact with the Federal Empire the Exodus crew used a small Jump Rail to launch a probe past the jamming range of the robot infested planet and managed to connect itself to the interstellar hyper-link network and send a message of their desperate situation back to the Federal Empire. The next step was to rebuild the Space Gate but they could only spare enough antimatter to activate the gate for a very limited period of time. Once the Space Gate was activated they could only hope that there would be reinforcements standing by on the other side.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot uprising[/SIZE]
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The situation on Calypso was clearly getting out of control. To quickly deal with this growing problem the Federal Empire of Earth forced OmegaTech to sign over the entire corporation leadership to the imperial government, thus forming the federal controlled imperial corporation now known as OmegaTech Incorporated. This federal incorporation gave OmegaTech access to more funds and resources that could insure the safety and future prosperity of the colony on Calypso. When the corporation became federal the planet also became an open market for other corporations to make future investments. The Federal Empire welcomed any help that could present an immediate aid to the settlers in their struggle for survival. According to the message the settlers could only keep the Space Gate open for a short moment. A massive military operation to save the colony could not be launched with such limitations so the only efficient form of aid would be a compact delivery of the latest technology, supplies, equipment and expert personnel. Any corporation that offered their aid would be given the first share of the new open market on the colony. As a result brand new technology would become available to the settlers such as Resurrection units, Mindforce and Energy Weapons. Calypso would be turned into a test zone for many new technological wonders.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot uprising[/SIZE]
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The cry for help from Calypso was the primary issue of debate in all the political chambers back on Earth. One of the primary concerns was to insure that the robotic madness wouldnât spread to any other robotic outposts or to any human colonies. The second concern was to help the settlers on the isolated colony on Calypso. Besides sending immediate technological aid, the Federal Empire constructed Jump Rails to launch several military spaceships towards Calypso as a back-up plan if the settlers failed to recapture the planet. Although it was agreed that it would require a larger military operation to perform such a task, the Colonial Chamber made it clear that no imperial or company-controlled paramilitary force could be stationed on Calypso after such an operation. It would diminish their trust towards the Federal Empire since the members of the Colonial Chamber feared that such military force would be used to keep colonial people away from the planet in the future. The colonial people would never accept Calypso being turned into an âImperial Resortâ for the citizens of Earth, giving that there was a planet left after such a full scale military operation. Many feared that such a presence of military power might escalate the robot attacks to such a degree that it could lay waste to the entire planet.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot uprising[/SIZE]
Part 6[/CENTER]
The settlers and crew onboard the Exodus had fought hard to defend the last populated region of the colony. Only three cities inside this region had escaped robot sabotage and destruction because they had been built around a large inactive volcano, relying solely on geothermal energy absorbed from deep within the sleeping mountain. The other cities used matter/antimatter reactors, which proved to be their downfall as the robots used these to create large explosions that levelled the cities and spread a lethal radiation poisoning amongst the human survivors. The protected region was to become known as The Haven. It was the only tactical and secure area left on the planet and many survivors who had fled from the other cities came here to seek refuge. It was the last line of defense and the only chance for Mankind to recapture the planet and defeat the robots. The settlers withstood the robot attacks long enough to successfully repair the Space Gate and create a temporary opening. Personnel of officers, scientists and engineers from the Federal Empire were rushed through the gate along with as much supplies and equipment as possible before the gate closed. In a desperate attempt to keep the poorly stable gate open as long as possible it collapsed and exploded. The colony was cut off again but they now had new technology and expertise at their disposal, which finally gave the colonial forces enough military strength to fight a winning battle against the robots.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot uprising[/SIZE]
Part 7[/CENTER]
Despite the advantage of the new technology it would take several hard years before the robots could finally be defeated. The brave settlers withstood the robot terror long enough for imperial military vessels to arrive at the Calypso system with more reinforcements, and the war came to an end. To inspire new hope among the settlers, the Federal Empire declared that a whole new infrastructure would be created in the three remaining cities. To ease the financial strain on federally owned corporation OmegaTech Inc, the Federal Empire decided to give two other interstellar corporations access to Calypso. These new corporations would aid the colony in the construction of the other two city projects in exchange for a higher market position within these assigned urban zones. Each corporation was also assigned a contract by the Federal Empire to exploit different resources on the planet in order to insure stability and to encourage trade and economical growth within the region. These three new cities were named New Haven, Neo Ithaca and Xin Shi. But the war was far from overâŚit had only just begun.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot uprising[/SIZE]
Part 8[/CENTER]
When the robots had been destroyed it gave the settlers on Calypso a short moment to reflect on what really had caused the robots to rebel and target humans as their enemy. The element that caused the catastrophe was soon traced back to its point of origin, in the Akbal-Cimi system. When the Imperial military spaceships were being prepared for launch towards the Akbal-Cimi system a massive vessel arrived in the Calypso system along the very same trajectory. The vessel clearly came from the Akbal-Cimi system and it was soon identified as an Odysseus Probe. The massive vessel was not responding to any commands but it was most likely to have been the very same Odysseus Probe that once discovered Calypso. The only form of messages transmitted by its AI command module were said to be incomprehensible but were taken as a warning to the settlers, later revealing its real intent, to recapture the planet. The imperial military spaceships were quickly positioned to intercept this first Titan of War and prevent it from reaching Calypso. The battle over Calypso lit up the dark skies at night for several days before the massive Odysseus Probe was finally destroyed and its wrecked parts fell through the atmosphere like shooting stars. One military spacecraft and nearly all of its crew had been destroyed and the rest of the small fleet suffered substantial damage. The Exodus was kept safe and out of harms way on the other side of the planet during the battle - in case the settlers had to be evacuated from Calypso. This historical moment became known as the Battle of Calypso but it never became a celebrated victory. To the settlers the battle only meant the beginning of a new robot warâŚa war that has yet to end.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot threat[/SIZE]
Part 1[/CENTER]
Communications with the robots were properly reestablished after the first war but the victory faded quickly as the news on the Battle of Calypso reached all the colonized corners of the Federal Empire. The speculations of an interstellar threat of mad Odysseus Probes turning back to conquer human colonies spread much fear on the Colonial Frontier. As a result the colonies on the frontier demanded increased military protection from the Federal Empire. To avoid panic and rebellion the Federal Empire ordered its imperial fleets to be stationed in the colonized sectors positioned close to the distant sectors of the Calypso and Akbla-Cimi systems. A small fleet of imperial spaceships were also sent to join the battered fleet in the Calypso system in preparation for an offensive strike against the very heart of the robot problem. However, by moving forces from one corner of space to another it weakened the Empires presence and power in certain sectors, causing colonies to seize the moment and gain enough political power to make the people rise up and demand imperial independence. This threat to the Federal Empire postponed any further reinforcements of new spaceships to Calypso, since these vessels are considered vital to stabilize the current conflicts that had arisen within the empire itself.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The robot threat[/SIZE]
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Naturally the Federal Empire would not redraw their imperial battleships currently deployed in the Calypso system. The Federal Empire also kept their word to the loyal colonies that it would not station any imperial military command or forces on Calypso, which assured the colonies future as an open market for any new investment. The task to uphold law and order as well as the defense of the colony has been given to the local authorities and the Colonial Guard. The Federal Empire maintained command of the solar system space defense. The rest it laid in the hands of the settlers themselves.