Sahaad History

Note: Below is a recounting of important events in Sahaadi history.

• Discovery of the Ahken'sobak System and eventual landfall upon the new homeworld, Nepthyer.
• Large scale colonization occurs upon the main continent. Spaceflight goes into decline as a result.

• Several radical political groups break away from the main city-state and are subsequently pushed off planet after a six year war of independence. As a result many of the old starships are stolen. These groups later disperse amongst the void of space in their flight from the first home this group of the Saali people have known for centuries.

• Population goes from the original 2.5 million, to a staggering 19 million over the first fifty years.
• Nuha Industries is founded with the help of the then Warlord Rashid Al Khalidi, distaff cousin of Warlord Iuorel. A long-term project is set in motion to try rebuilding civilian and military infrastructure on a planet-wide scale due to the economic recession their latest conflict caused to the still underdeveloped nation.

• The emerging Sahaad Government, then called the Saali Autocratic Union commissions Nuha Industries to assemble a series of space exploration probes with the assistance of a fledgling space exploration oriented agency. The goal, to ascertain the viability of colonization and mineral wealth of the system.

• Five years later, with rough maps of stellar objects of the solar system at their disposal, the government and now significantly expanded Khimer Aerospace Exploration Agency launch the ten probes into space at targets of interest within the homesystem.

• Four of the ten probes return telemetry back to the homeworld. Out of the four two landed upon other planets within the system, being equipped with terrestrial rovers they return interesting data: Signs of possible civilization.

• The remaining six probes were considered lost as the ten year anniversary neared. The scientists on duty however were surprised to find that one of the missing six had also finally begun transmitting data back to them albeit indecipherable due to odd interference which was attributed to the radiological readings of the local Kupier Belt. Scientists begin trying to crack the data and search for any viable information still contained within what was sent while attempting to reestablish permanent contact with the probe. Efforts at this time prove futile.

• Certain planetary resources are expected to become depleted by FL 0345.

• The space program goes dark for more than one hundred and fifty years due to political change and shifting of funding to more terrestrial development to stave off the population boom. The Khimer Aerospace Exploration Agency (KAEA) goes into a decline.

• The current leader of the Autocratic Union is assassinated. A new Warlord comes to power once again focus is sent skyward. Funding for space exploration revitalizes the now defunct KAEA.

• Mounting prices of fissile materials results in the beginnings of an energy crisis. Nepthyer had lacked major deposits of the resources, however the Saali Autocratic Union had deemed it a secondary concern with industrial development being on the forefront for more than three hundred years.

• Nearly ten years later, KAEA lands exploration teams upon one of Nepthyer's moons. Plans for a industrial mining colony are put through office shortly there after to bolster failing material reserves. This is deemed as a short-term fix due to mounting population and consumption.

• KAEA manages to solve a one hundred and seventy year old mystery. Thanks to the advances in the field of computer, imaging and data retrieval technologies the retrieved data from the “Akkad Probe” as it has become called has been cracked. Findings prove staggering as scientists discover it had not been radiological interference that caused the data to become unreadable but possible compromises of the probe's systems by foreign sources in the final moments of data transmission. Images recovered from the cache reveal grainy images of failed planetoids. Other objects are deemed unknown as they do not conform to any known type within current records.

• The only other habitable moon in Nepthyer's orbit is colonized to ease stress on the planet. With the moon having vast tracks of unpolluted land, the Warlord declares the moon “an agricultural haven” banning heavy industry from taking root.

• All habitable worlds have been colonized as population reaches beyond the ten billion mark. KAEA invests heavily in developing Aerostat habitats followed by much larger cities held aloft by a combination of atmospheric gases and levitation technology upon the more volatile inner planets with sufficient protective measures in place.

• KAEA with the blessing of the government launches a standard four ship exploration squadron toward the outer reaches of the solar system. Their aim is to explore the local Kupier Belt and the unknown signatures. Science teams and military personnel are looking at a ten to twelve year journey with current generation nuclear engines and cryostasis.

• The squadron arrives within the Kupier Belt within a days travel of the nearest unknown object. Long range scans have the scientists baffled due to the size of the object. More indepth scans show that it is not a celestial body or the remnant of a failed body but a manufactured megastructure.

• Science Teams are given permission to land a small shuttlecraft onboard for further study after the discovery of atmospheric pressure in several outlying compartments. The main exploration squadron moves on shortly there after toward their next destination, leaving a vessel behind to support the science team.

• The first KAEA sanctioned floating city (Sekhem) is completed and ready to house more then fifty thousand residents. The current chairman of KAEA assures the masses “It is foolproof.” The residents move onto the levitating city.

• Long overdue, the Ptolmis Exploration Squadron eventually returns in shambles. The once lost Akkad Probe had been recovered aboard one of the science craft only to unleash a techno-organic mass upon the ship and crew after only moments of initial study. The military escort eventually destroys the vessel with a nuclear strike after subversion of the ship with the loss of all hands. Further troubles occurred upon the recovery of the fossilized remains of a spaceborne entity. The military frigate suffered damage from micro-meteorite barrages during the fossil's recovery from an orbiting pair of planetoids. Science teams aboard the megastructure are thankfully safe and managed to recover some valuable data.

• KAEA and the Union cover up the almost failed exploration venture as more than one hundred and thirty crew of the SCV Ptolmis are lost due to the recovery of the Akkad Probe. AUSF Nisbi suffered decompression across three decks due to hull damage resulting in twenty crewmen lost for a total of one hundred and fifty souls sacrificed for the mission. A quarantine zone is setup approximately four hundred thousand kilometers from the belt via automated defense platforms by the military.

• The discovery of a large deposit of an unknown mineral-type within the fossilized remains captured within the Kupier Belt causes intense scientific study. Other missions to the Kupier Belt are mounted soon after.

• Development of Variable Accelerated Plasma Drive

• Ten Years after the development of the VAPD system, vessels head toward the monolith structure orbiting the Kupier Belt once more without the need for length cryostasis. The first ships to breach the quarantine zone in more than one hundred and eighty years. Bringing state of the art equipment with them the science teams begin indepth study of the structure under the watchful gaze of a flotilla of the military's best warships.

• Two years into the study of the structure a science team excavate a cavernous room filled with what appeared to be data storage devices. Most had long since deactivated or been destroyed in whatever catastrophe had wrought the megastructure's destruction but several remained partially active.
• Four months later after extensive and exhaustive analysis the only information learned from the devices are from the same civilization as the ruins on several planets within the solar system. All attempts at interfacing let alone decoding any possible data have proven futile despite the usage of state of the art equipment.

• Information from scouting parties on the fringe of one of the local solar systems shows signs of habitation. Shortly there after the scouting group comes under attack by the local inhabitants but are repulsed. Prisoners captured are discovered to be of Saali decent. Interrogations of prisoners reveal them to be descendants of the radical groups that had been pushed off world close to nine hundred years ago as well as Saal stranded on the worlds after the Atuol Rift incident. They learn that other colonies had been founded in two other systems.

The now Sahaadi Union, no longer calling themselves Saal, begin plans to annex the rogue solar systems. However due to their lack of FTL technology the trek across the stars will take years to cross the stars.

• The Sahaad Union Military Forces enter the Quadesh Solar System, after nearly seventy five years of travel at STL speeds their plans begin to take shape as more than one hundred and sixty warships encroach on the outer system.

• The SUMF's attack comes as no surprise due to the Quadeshi people's encounter with Sahaadi scout forces nearly a century ago. Having a technological edge over their enemy, Quadesh manages to repulse the first series of sorties but not without casualties. Whereas they have a generation of innovation over the Sahaad, the Sahaad have the sheer numbers as the Quadesh have not fought a military conflict since colonizing the system. None the less single Quadeshi 'Mobile Assault Platforms' prove an even match for Sahaad fighter-interceptors in mass.