---THE FOUNDING OF AN EMPIRE---

UNITED EARTH HIGH COMMAND
PLANETOID LUNA, SOL SYSTEM
1200 HOURS, JULY 16, 2550 A.D.

It was a day that would forever echo in the sands of time. The entire Universe was fixed to their holo-screens, watching the events that unfolded before them.

On this day, July 16, 2550 A.D., the Leaders of the Zidagar, Azdgari, and Igadzra races had come together to sign a peace treaty between the three races, ending the War of the Crescent forever. What led up to this event began nearly 3 years before.

For centuries, the three races had been fighting each other, but for what purpose? By this time, even they didn’t know. As such, Richard and his crew had come up with a plan: select members from the three Strands would be shown the various planets that the other races existed on. Because of their closed-mindedness, the Igadzra were the toughest to convince, but they eventually relented.

Upon reaching a certain world, the foursome would ask the group who hailed from the region to explain in depth the specs of the planet and what life was like for the “Average Joe.” More often than not, the explanations were quite shocking to the other two races.

After it was all said and done, each of the groups was instructed to return to their leaders and explain in depth what they had witnessed. Their leaders were so enthralled by each party’s description that the three leaders personally requested that Richard give them tours of their opposing factions’ regions. No sooner said than done, the crew of the Mauritius jumped at the chance.

After about two years of surveying their opposition, the three leaders thanked their entourage for giving them an opportunity to make peace with their former enemies. It wasn’t long before peace talks began taking place between the Strands, and now, they would finally all unite under one banner.

The three strands had long considered drawing in the United Earth Government to assist one of their sides. However, the UE’s stand was staunchly neutral in the Crescent War. They had enough trouble holding back the tide of the Voinian War Machine; it would be next to impossible to fight a two-front war. But now, the great-great-grandson of the Navy’s legendary Admiral Robert McPherson, Charles McPherson, was present and participated at the signing of the treaty.

The young McPherson was the first to witness the power of the new generation of psi-warriors. Richard and his cohorts demonstrated the power of the psychic individual to the Admiral's successor; needless to say, the Admiral was greatly impressed. Soon, the rest of humanity, and the other races, began tapping into their sixth sense, and they founded a new colony on Planet Xyber XVII at Richard’s request. The Admiral had a feeling that the UE would need a new name soon…

The Miranu had long been trading with the other three strands, so they made a point to be present at the signing as well. Most importantly, however, the Emalgha, having joined the UE in the fight against the Voinians in roughly 2152 A.D., sent their First Elder to Luna to meet with the other races; the same year, the Hinwar were freed from Voinian slavery by a UE Trader whose name has been lost forever in the sands of time, and as such, sent their present leader to witness the event.

Additionally, Richard managed to harvest cell cultures of Bacillus Eternus, the Eternal Bacteria, from Xyber XVII to introduce to the other races. Once the benign organism had made its way across the Universe, Death would have a fight on his hands to acquire new souls. There was still one question that remained: who would lead this brave new empire?

The Strand Leaders unanimously nominated Richard to be the new leader of the newly-formed empire. The United Earth, Miranu, Elmagha and Hinwar seconded the motion. Were it not for his efforts, this event would never have taken place at all.

When Richard heard of the news, it was met with a mixture of both honor and fear – on the one hand, the various races thought him worthy to lead them to a new age of prosperity. On the other hand, though, he was just a trader trying to make ends meet – not exactly someone whom you'd consider for the job. Additionally, he was afraid the position might go to his head, for as they say, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

He spoke his views at a press conference a few weeks later, at Council Station in the Gadzair System...

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Richard began, “it is with great honor that I have been chosen to lead the whole of creation to a new future. While I gladly accept the offer, I wish that the current governments will not cease to exist, but rather be members of this new alliance.”

Without hesitation, he continued…

“It is my intention to create an empire of peace; one founded on the principles of Unity, Justice, and Order. And so, without further delay, I declare the end of the Crescent War, and the founding of the Commandarian Empire!”

And so it was done. With Xyber XVII as the headquarters world for the new Imperial Navy, the Empire began its task with protecting its allies from harm. To ensure everyone's voice was heard, Richard founded the Inter-Galactic Races Council, or IGRC, which would deal with any issues that could be resolved peacefully between the members of the Council.

Centuries passed, and the Empire continued to grow and expand. The Empire eventually rediscovered the legendary Adamantius metal and created dazzling new technologies, including the device known as the Inter-Dimensional Time Gate Generator, capable of allowing travel from one side of the Universe to the other instantly through a pocket of null-space they would come to call “The Nexus.” It soon came to light that this method of travel spanned to other parallel universes, and even across time; in response, a new branch of the Empire was created: The Chronology Protection Institute, charged with the task of policing the flow of time in the infinite march of the Universe. Creation seemed ready to enter a new Golden Age.

The CPI caught a glimpse of the chaotic nature of the Parallel Dimension known to the Empire as the “Nova-Verse:” the war and enslavement of the Vell-Os, the destruction of the Sol Hypergate, the rise of the Bureau of Internal Investigation, and, most alarmingly, the formation of the Guild of Free Traders, led by Chade McGowan. However, the CPI, horrified by what they saw, felt that they had no business to intervene in this harrowing alternate reality, so they wisely stayed out of it.

The Voinians were unusually successful at holding back the Empire; they were gaining access to technology from an unknown source, and the Renegades, while few, still continued to cause havoc in the Universe.

Shortly before the dawn of the 31st Century A.D., Richard came across a man whom he would accept as his own son; he would eventually become the present Commander of the Imperial Navy. When the new Commander reached age 21, Richard, his father, handed his son the Staff of Chaos, and stepped down as Ruler of the Empire. But on the horizon, a new threat was looming…

In the year 3028 A.D., a man by the name of Nar Akasi, Leader of the Renegades, managed to forge an alliance with the Voinian Race. On that day, the new face of terror was born: the Joint Renegade/Voinian Alliance. They denounced the Commandarian Empire, and openly declared war on them, shattering their weaker borders and claiming new planets as their own by the thousands.

Six years passed, and the JR/VA and Empire had reached a stalemate, but not without terrible cost. The Empire lost more than 20% of its former territory, dropping from 70% of the universe under its control to just over 55%. The JR/VA, by contrast, had more than doubled in size, from just under 20% to 45%.

In order for the Imperials to save the future...they would need the help of a man from the past...

---END TRANSMISSION---

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We're almost done here, folks! Just one more post, then we get on with the good stuff. :)

The UE, Hinwar, Voinians, Emalgha, Azdgari, Igadzra, Zidagar, and Miranu © Ambrosia Software

The Empire, JR/VA, and all characters w/in ©  warlordmike Me