Trouble in our own Backyard GM Starting Notes

Campaign Background

The spiral galaxy of the Milky Way has 4 stellar arms. Between two of these arms, the Perseus and Carina-Sagittarius, there is a smaller arm called Orion-Cygnus. Near the middle of Orion is a system called Sol with a Planet called Earth. Many years before the current events, a Robotic Species called the Jove discovered humans and declared this sector of space the Jovian Advancing People's Exclusion Zone, or A.P.E.Z. This was between two growing empires. The Lepidonains and the Cryous. Unable to expand in that direction, these great nations eventually came head-to-head in a terrible conflict. Both empires had subjected different species, and two of those species rebelled together during a time of weakness and formed a Federation. The Peoples of Sayor and the Kurgian Republic declared themselves a Federation and independent. The Cryous relented and recognized this new nation. But the Lepidonains didn’t. However, in an embarrassing defeat, the Lepidonains and Federation met under a flag of truce and hammered out a new Treaty of Peace almost 100 years ago. A neutral party, the Graylings, who were interested in the region for economic reasons, helped arbitrate this peace.

However, not long after, humanity proved itself capable of Spaceflight. Not faster than light, but still able to reach speeds between 5% and 10% of the speed of light. The Jove declared that humanity's protections were reduced and that other Alien species were allowed to interact. The APEZ still existed, but it was now ‘gifted’ to Humanity by the Jove to do with as they pleased. Both the Cryous and Lepidonan empires looked eagerly at a sphere with a diameter of over 250 light-years, a resource-rich space sitting between their borders. But they couldn’t simply declare it theirs. The Jove still protected Humanity in this. Humanity would have to be ‘willing’ to give it to them. Who would Humanity side with? Lepidonan? Cryous? Or even the young Federation?

Before this could be answered, humanity blew itself up. Waged a great war, caused in part by the shock of alien species and their technology. Without a unified government to speak for humanity, the Jove would not recognize any treaty, and thus Cryous and Lepidonan could not acquire what they most desired. Was this on purpose? Did the ember of war get stoked into a fire by a foreign wind, or was it really just Humans being human, as the rest of the universe saw it?

Modern Events

It has been 70 years since Humanity's WW3/System War 1 (SW1) and nearly 100 years since the signing of the Lepidonian peace treaty, which recognized the Federation. Chaos, confusion, and accusations have spread across the Federation and Lepidonan! It seems that some mercenary group called ‘The Claw’ was possibly behind a lot of recent events. Who paid these people? In desperation, the Federation has sent its new state-of-the-art Tech 3 warship, the <insert player's desired name here>, on orders ahead of the scheduled shake-down cruise. Its mission is to bring order to the border. You are the best of the best the Federation has to offer on their new flagship.

From the Eyes of the Federation

The Lepidonians are up to no good. They claim the Federation is violating a nearly 100-year-old treaty. If true, the Graylings who had arbitrated the Treaty would nullify it and refuse aid if the Lepidonians decided to attack. The Lepidonians claim the Federation has skirted its commitment to terraforming Terienth, manipulated the Humans into possibly joining the Federation, and deliberately disrupted the neutral trade planet of Acbar. They have requested a Grayling Envoy to observe the situation as they gather evidence for their case. The situation on the Federation border is chaotic. If the Grayling Envoy sees this, they may be inclined to believe the Lepedonion lies.

Mission Summaries

• Missions: The general mission is to bring order to this sector of space and stop a war from happening. Your team will undertake 3 major missions:

1. Escort the Judge: (Must be done first) This mission involves traveling to Sawn Prime to pick up Judge Carthic and take him to the Federation Capital, which is temporarily on Kurgian Prime. There he will stand trial, and hopefully justice will help calm the citizens of Sawn.
2. Control of Tarienth: It is a race for time. A Grayling Envoy, escorted by a Jovian ship, is speeding toward Tarienth, both to determine the truth behind these claims and because a science team will divert to Acbar. This Envoy from the Graylings is new and unknown to the Federation. The Federation officially cares about restoring order and resolving conflict, but behind the scenes, government officials make it clear that the only priority is keeping the Graylings from nullifying the treaty. The Federation military is worried about reports of terrorists in the DMZ. And it seems that some politicians, listening to their constituents, want answers to the supposed worker abuse that is happening.
3. Acbar in the Dark: Determine the cause of the planet-wide quarantine and assist if necessary. The Federation's official statement is that it is sending a science vessel to assess the situation. The real reason is deeper. Many politicians want the Grayling Ambassador to the Federation freed so they can visit Tarienth. She should arbitrate this dispute, and many politicians at home would feel better if she did.

Campaign Current Events

• The planet of Sawn Prime, the capital of the Sayor peoples and one of the founding members of the young Federation, is in chaos. The ‘Honorable’ Judge Carthic has been accused of treason and collusion with the Lipedoneans. Human refugees on the planet, along with many of the native populace, have been rioting in the capital city, Swan.
• A paramilitary Lipedonean terror organization known as Dark Claw, which swears it acts to propel the Lipedonean Empire into the future, has been seen moving into the DMZ near the planet of Tarienth.
• Tarienth is in open revolt, and the Lipedoneans claim the Federation has failed to uphold its responsibilities in the joint terraforming project. A special Grayling Envoy was supposed to come from the neutral planet of Acbar to help determine the truth of these claims.
• The planet Acbar has gone dark. An official statement from the Grayling authorities has requested a full quarantine and the holding of any ship that left Acbar until further notice. Yet they have revealed no information and appear to have made no progress in understanding why the planet has suddenly stopped responding.