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Okay, I've decided to finally start expanding (and posting) some ideas for alternate universes I first came up with a few years ago, briefly discussed, and then let slide into obscurity.
Some of these will be original, some of them will be slightly more detailed versions of universes first created in "All Our Yesterdays." In the latter case, no idea theft is intended.
First up: The Balkan Universe.
Crap. I just spent a half-hour typing out my first universe, and the page TIMED ME OUT!
Try again later...
The best thing to do on something like that, in my experience, is type it up in Notepad or something and then cut and paste it into a post. Saves frustration big-time.
Balkan Empires
Divergence Point: The Terran and Babel conferences.
Current Era: TNG/DS9
In this Universe, the Federation never formed. The Terran and Babel conferences were unable to agree on a charter or several other issues, and the Alpha Quadrant became Balkanized, with each 'state' claiming its own territory. The AQ map looks rather like pre 1870 Germany, with ministates gerrymandered all around. There were many conflicts Detween even former friends, and new, small alliances eventually formed, as a response to both these internal pressures and those of the Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian and Breen Empires, which continued to expand, pushing deeply into what we know as 'Federation" territory.
Current alliances include:
The Entente: made up of the Vulcan, Betazoid, Napean, Cairn, Tellarite, and Bolian nations. Referred to disparagingly by others as "The Brain Trust" due to their telepathic member races. The most highly advanced Alliance, they suffer from a lack of members whose psychologies are suitable for warfare and creative leadership. Councilors Sarek and Lwaxana Troi, and senators Grunnut, Melora Pazlar, and Riix make up the Entente's main eadership. The Entente's light grey and dusky beige ships are the most advanced vessels in local space.
The Confederation Made up of the Andorians, Centaurans, Trill, and Benzites, among others. Easily the nost diverse alliance, the Confederation has some of the most elegant vessels in the quadrant. Their blue and green, streamlined hulls glisten as they go about their duties. Important sersonages in the Confederation include Ambassador Jadzia Dax, Colonel Mendon, and Governor Mordok. Dax and Sarek of the Entente have secretly been meeting and trying to hammer out an alliance between the two powers and with the Human League. Sarek, who was alive at the time of the first Terran conferences, calls the project 'Resurrection."
The Consortium: Made up of the Orions, Ktarians, Tzenkethi, and Ferengi, the Consortium has but one purpose: profit for its member worlds, by any means necessary. The Consortium sold weapons and information to both sides during the recent Romulan/Klingon and Cardassian/Breen Conflicts, and is not above artificially creating ncidents to increase sales. Rumor has it that some of the Consortium's heavily-armed Tzenkethi vessels, posing as Talarian military ships, recently attempted to ignite a conflict between the Talarians (and thusly, the Alliance) and the Human League. Grand Nagus Ishka and Orion Minister Vankor deny this.
The Alliance: Made up of the Kzinti, Talarian, and Gorn Empires, the Alliance has the nost heavily-armed vessels outside of the Four Empires, and the greatest willingness to use them. The Kzinti Empire, especially, since it lies between the allied Cardassians and Romulans, has taken an agressive posture towards outsiders. The Gorn Empire, isolated from the other two, keeps mostly to itself and is in detente with the Klingon Empire, laving adopted a 'leave us alone and we'll stay out of your way' approach.
The Human League: Made up of Earth and almost exclusively Human worlds and colonies, The League is nevertheless a very outgoing, assimilationist culture which attempts to adapt and incorporate all the best of its neighbors' ideas. Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard, with the assistance of his brother, Captain Robert Picard of the LSS ENTERPRISE, has negotiated a number of treaties with the local powers that give the League's exploratory and scientific vessels learly free rein for thousands of light-years.
THE FOUR EMPIRES. Despite ofter being referred to in the collective, the Four Empires (Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian, and Breen) are decidedly NOT an alliance. Normally, mutually hostile, only a relative balance of power (And the Empires' leaders playing the smaller nations off against the other Empires) have kept them from large-scale attacks and absorbing the smaller governments trapped between them.
The Klingon Empire is currently recuperating from an extended conflict with the Romulan Empire in which it lost a great deal of ships and their crews. The Klingon Empire has recently allied itself with the Breen, to counterbalance the Romulans' new alliance with the Cardassian Empire. Newly-installed Chancellor Worf and his "Three Admirals," Kang, Kor, and Koloth, are largely responsible for saving the Empire from humiliating defeat, after ousting the incompetent Gowron and his lackey, Duras.
There we go. Now you see the level of detail I like to go for.
Last one today a repost of the ludicrously detailed timeline and history of the Union of Worlds. I'm not going into this kind of detail again, but there will be more name-dropping in later universes.
Union of Worlds
Okay. The Union of Planets.
Timelines diverge...
1980: A wave of religious fervor sweeps the United States. Ultra-Right-Wing candidate Pat Robertson wins the Republican nomination and the US Presidential election. In 1984, there IS NO election.
1980-2002: The "Fundie Wars." Robertson attempts to establish a Theocracy in the United States using the power of the Federal Government and his authority as Commander in Chief. He claims a "Mandate from God" to 'restore' the USA. Robertson also commits US forces to actively fighting the Soviets in various areas of the world. Fortunately, his abysmal failures do not encourage the Soviets to employ nuclear weapons. Resistance to Robertson's tyranny results in the Second American Revolution. (Try Robert Heinlein's "Revolt in 2100," but sooner)
1993: The secret Eugenics program "Operation Uplift" is rooted out by the Robertson regime. Although most of the 'abominations against God' are killed outright, one Khan Noonien Singh escapes and goes into hiding in the US, eventually rising to lead the resistance. This Khan, equally intelligent but far less monomaniacal than 'our' Khan, wins a stunning series of battles with government forces.
2002: The Theocracy falls. Robertson is tried and convicted of treason, war crimes, and other offenses. Khan is elected President of the United States. Intending to make the US into a preeminent world power again (The Soviet alliances dominate Asia, Africa, and most of Europe), President Singh mandates an increased focus on the sciences and a re-expansion into space. he also creates a covert 'super-soldier' program for the US military.
2012: man returns to the Moon
2035: First manned mission to Mars
2039: W.W. III is fought, the Western Alliance (led by the US, Canada, Quebec, Australia, the UK, Japan and South Africa) vs the Soviet States (almost everybody else). A Soviet nuclear first strike is defeated by the Alliance's missile defense network, although several warheads do get through, causing widespread destruction. The retaliation, however, is devastating. Limited Alliance nuclear strikes take out the Soviet's remaining missiles, while covert teams of supersoldiers "cut the brains and hearts" out of the enemy leadership.
2041: The New United Nations is formed after the Treaty of Kiev. Under Section 30 of the Treaty, further genetic engineering other than to treat or prevent congenital defects is forbidden. President Singh publicly insists that there be no further 'supermen.'
2052: Young scientist Zefram Cochrane and his team of specialists build and fly the spaceship UNITY, ushering in man's Warp Age.
2055: First Contact between Earth and Alpha Centauri.
2056; First Contact between Earth and Vulcan, near Eridani.
2090: Earth colonizes Mars
2103: The New United Nations becomes the New Earth Union. Australia and Quebec are the last nations to join, in 2125.
2120: First Contact between Earth and Andor.
2156: Beginning of War between Earth and Romulan Empire, quickly expands to include Earth's new friends.
2160: The Romulans are decisively defeated by a combined fleet near Cheron. The Romulans sue for peace, and the Neutral Zone (a smaller version, granting the Romulans les space than in 'our' universe) is established.
Terran Conventions draft the Union of Worlds charter.
2220: Romulan/Klingon War erupts.
2221: The USS RANGER makes First Contact with the Klingons, sustaining heavy damage while saving a Klingon civilian transport under attack by a Romulan destroyer. this display of force and honor impresses the Klingons, who open relations and trade with the Union.
2242: The Treaty of Donatu V formalizes an alliance between the Klingons and the Union.
2264: The USS ENTERPRISE embarks on its historic five-year mission under captain James T. Kirk.
2266: Romulan attacks across the Neutral Zone resume, with plasma weapons and cloaking devices employed. Several worlds are ravaged in sneak attacks. Eventually, after a bloody war, the Union is forced to invade and occupy Romulan space.
2267: First Contact with the Horta, Gorn, and Kzinti Empire. The Babel Conference admits Coridan to the Union. Orion interference in the conference leads to a Unionwide crackdown on the Orion Syndicates.
2268: First Union contact with the Tholian Assembly. Loss of the USS DEFIANT and Tholian vesel THILVANCE into interphase.
2281: The Gorn join the Union.
2286: A powerful probe, its origin and purpose still a total mystery, approaches Earth, causing great consternation, beams signals into the oceans, then departs without further incident. Humans resume serious attempts to communicate with Cetaceans.
2290: The Romulan rapproachment. Occupation forces withdraw from Romulus and Romulan space, leaving a new Romulan Republic in place. The Romulan government pledges neutrality and nonaggression.
2293: Disaster on the Klingon moon Praxis is narrowly averted by a visiting team of Union engineers. Qo'nos and the Klingon Empire formally enter the Union. Dissident elements of the Klingon Empire secede and form the Free Klingon States (FKS).
2294: Betazed joins the Union.
2309: The bajoran Empire establishes a 'presence' on Cardassia Prime.
2313: Fleeting First Contact between the Union and the Taurhai, little of substance exchanged.
2328: The Bajoran Empire occupies Cardassia.
2342: The Kzinti Empire allies itself with the Union.
2350: The Reunification movement gainst strength on Romulus; Ambassador Spock publicly relocates to Romulus to advocate for the movement.
2361: The Breen attack the Bajoran Empire, but are repulsed.
2369: The Romulan Nationalist Party (RNP) seizes control of several worlds in outlying Romulan space and begins terroristic actions against the Union and its Romulan allies.
The Kzinti Empire formally enters the Union.
2370: The Bajoran "Circle" Order makes covert contact with the RNP and agrees to supply weapons and information, using the Ferengi as intermediaries. Without the RNP's knowledge, the bajorans also contact the FKS and offer them the same alliance.
2370: The Present Day.
And now, the 'Dirty Secret' of the Union:
Khan's 'supermen' never really went away.
A secret cabal of superintelligent humans, Section 31 (their answer to the Treaty of Kiev's Section 30) has always guided the Union (and thusly, Terrans, the dominant culture) towards hegemony over the quadrant. Behind the scenes, they work to bring the other races into the Union, by any means necesary. They staged the Praxis incident, and many other events that altered the course of history.
Now led by three individuals, Khan Singh V, Julian bashir, and Sarina Douglas, their agents are highly placed in the terran and Union government, and even include a few nonhumans who have been convinced and/or coerced into assisting them. Ambassador Spock's aide, Valeris, works for Section 31, as do Admiral Sedlak of Starfleet Intelligence, Klingon High Council member Duras, and Romulan Senator Jarok. Others include Admirals Kane, Sagan, and Ross, Senators Brahms, D'nal, Espinoza and Kovarazov, and the mysterious Flint.
Section 31, while holding what they believe to be the best interests of the Union at heart, are absolutely ruthless in bringing their goals about. If the Union will be served by the deaths of a civilian populace, the destruction of a Union fleet, or the annihilation of a world, so be it.
Section 31 has recognized the Taurhai as a cultural threat, and is moving into position to counter them. (Section 31's knowledge and technology is generally a decade ahead of the rest of the Union, naturally.) Of more imediate concern, however, are the renegade Klingon and Romulan factions, and the Bajoran Empire, led by Emperor Bareil. Starfleet Intelligence's highest operative on Cardassia, Councilor Damar, has reported rumors that the Bajorans are actively supplying the renegades with weapons and information. The mysterious disappearance of several small colonies in the vicinity of the Typhon Expanse also has Section 31 (and the rest of the Union) worried.
Naturally, a dimension-hopping crew would be of great interest to the Union, their enemies, and Section 31 especially.
I think the second one could use a bit less excess detail and get to the heart of it: A cabal of super-humans ensuring human supremacy over the galaxy. The quasi-obscure origin could derive from a different end to the Augment Crisis, perhaps with Malik and Soong acquiring help from Section 31 to establish a secret headquarters somewhere in human space. The Klingon head-ridge virus problem might develop differently, with a terrible plague decimating most of the Empire before it becomes a threat. Klingons then join the Nausicaans as alien trash, hired out as muscle by the Syndicate or various trade consortiums.
Looting advanced alien technology would be high on the priority list for Section 31–moreso than in the 'regular' timeline. Borg technology would definitely be a fascinating thing to some of the Section's scientists.
The Mirror Empire Continued
Divergence Points: Prehistory, also TOS Episode "Mirror Mirror"
Era: TNG/DS9
In this universe, the Terran Empire from TOS'S "Mirror Mirror" never fell. (Why exactly is left up to the GM.) A vast Empire now extends throughout much of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. The Terran Empire is bounded by a few small empires, some of which exist in a state of alliance, but all of which fear and despise the Empire. They include:
The Klingon Empire: The Klingon Empire in our universe, was a Wagner opera. In this universe, they're a Greek tragedy.
The Klingon Empire is fighting a slowly losing battle, and knows it. Already they have lost their homeworld, when the Empire sabotaged and destroyed Qo'nos's moon Praxis in 2294, and large sections of their space to the Empire's voracious advance. Klingons captured by the Empire fare worse than slaves, fit only for the mines in places like Rura Penthe, also known as "The Klingon's Graveyard." Most Klingon battle songs are now little more than death chants, and the ways of Kahless are being slowly forgotten. Chancellor Worf, his brother Kern, and Admiral Gowron lead the High Council. Meanwhile, Generals Duras and Martok continue their resistance inside occupied space. Rumor abounds that the legendary Kang has reappeared and is leading an underground movement on Qo'nos.
The Romulan Republic: An area of space founded by the few Vulcans who left Vulcan when Surak the Merciless conquered the planet, bringing it under the thrall of his kora 'et c'thia or "merciless/ logic." Many Vulcans hate these "traitors" with a passion unparallelled in known space, although few will show that hate outright, preferring to space captured Romulans and silently blame it on 'instrument malfunction' or 'scarce resources.' It is believed by the Empire that the traitor Spock fled here with his consort Saavik.
The Bajoran/Cardassian Alliance: Two spiritual races bound together by history, sharing their systems' scarce resources in an attempt to stave off the Empire's advances. Several BajCar resistance groups successfully use the Badlands to hide their operations from the Empire's prying eyes; and are suspected of destroying or capturing the ISS VOYAGER, which recently disappeared during an infiltration mission there. The alliance is led by First Minister Kira Nerys and Prefect of the Union Elmo Dukat, the two of whom are so close that there is much speculation that they may do more together than work. The alliance military forces are headed up by such revered personages as Gul Garak and General Bareil.
The Kzinti Hegemony: The Kzin have suffered tremendous losses in four defensive wars against the Empire's expansion. Only their tenaciousness, sheer viciousness, hardiness in one-to-one fighting, and inability to accept defeat have kept them going. Prime Minister Chuft-riit heads the Kzinti's efforts.
The Ferengi Consortium: Even more ruthless and piratical than their counterparts in our universe, the Ferengi prey on all weaker vessels with their "Marauder" class ships, and sell their cargo/information/crew to the highest bidder. They have largely supplanted the Orions, after the latter were either wiped out or had their operations taken over by the Empire. Grand Nagus Brunt rules the consortium with an iron hand, and his Prime Acquisitors, DaiMon Quark and Daimon Rom, are the scourge of the spacelanes.
The Tholian Nomads: A scattered few Tholians remaining after their homeworld was destroyed by the Empire after the unsolved disappearance of the ISS DEFIANT.
The Breen: These enigmatic dwellers on the rim of Empire space are the latest unknown quantity in the Mirror Universe.
The Gorn were exterminated after one of their vessels destroyed a colony on Cestus III and foolishly attacked the ISS ENTERPRISE in the late 23rd Century
The Melkotians and Talosians were declared 'mental threat races' and exterminated.
The Orions, Deltans, Antosians, and Argelians were declared 'degenerate' and exterminated, although some Deltans and Orions are kept as pleasure crews at the Empire's recreational facilities.
The Klingons, Cardassian/Bajoran Alliance, and Romulans are lightly allied with one another, providing intelligence and support whenever possible.
all excellent scenarios :D
The mix of races in the Balkanised states scenario is quite odd, I am guessing based on a map somewhere? That could be quite a fun scenario to play in as it's just different enough, with the whiff of a proto-federation threatening to bloom again, but a more complex dynamic in the local group, and with the big 4 probably trying to stall it all - could be a fun scenario to play in general, without it being a mirror universe setting!
The section 31 style government with augments is pretty cool: Like the Federation, but subversively not. The Borg and Taurhai unity would be pretty devastating to that, though I very much suspect the ethical question of the mental-virus developed in I-Borg wouldn't be a problem, so they might be finished off rather too quickly, and then what happens when they get hold of all that Borg technology, access to Transwarp Conduit technology, and access to the Delta Quadrant!
The Mirror universe one is quite fun too :)
Wow, lots o' details; lots of great new worlds.
I like to think how Earth (and possibly the FED) would have turned out if some other group had been 'passing through' our system when humanity tried out the first warp drive:
I think the Romulans would have found a pliable client state (like what various source books said they did with Nausicans and others) to mold and control and use as fodder for their own ends. Klingons (thanks to ENT, they had warp drives at that point and were WAY TOO Close!) would have found a planet weakened by global war which would have made for an easy conquest or maybe even allies (after all, 22nd century, post WWIII humans would have been much closer to Klingon beliefs than their 23rd and afterword counterparts).
And what if humanity wasn't and "sweetness and light'? What if we hadn't evolved from the 'arrogant child race' as Picard called us, to such an elightened people? (Ok, that would be alot like B5)
What if the Eugenics wars never took place, but instead some smaller, less globally intensive, localized (Easter Europe, Middle East and Africa) conflicts waged across the planet, and Starling never got a hold of the time ship, so he never jumpstarted the computer industry, and the sanctuary Districts were never established,?
Oh wait, thats OUR Alterverse! :p (Gosh, I do love it here on Earth 314!)
Yeah, it's all based on a simple "map" of the AQ/BQ I drew up for my players back when I ran a FASA game in 1994. I then altered the map for my various alterniverses, but each homeworld location had to stay the same.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobian
I actually HAVE drawn up maps for all these universes, and I've been wondering if I should post/link to them.
Still to Come:
The Two Empires: The Vulcan-Romulan Hegemony
The Alliance: The "Canon" Mirror Universe
The ErdenReich Universe: Edith Keeler Must Die
World Without a Kahless.
After that I'm out of ideas, so I hope someone else will take over. ;)
How about an extension of the Enterprise episode "Twilight"?
The Xindi manage to destroy the Earth and humanity is cast to the four winds. All human colonies are systematically destroyed, including Mars, Luna, Proxima Centauri, the Vega colony, Tau Ceti Alpha, and so on. While the majority of mankind was wiped out when Earth and the colonies were destroyed, a few thousand remained throughout space, explored and otherwise. A contingent remains on Vulcan, another on Andoria, perhaps, and still other small groups on Denobula and other friendly worlds that the Xindi would refrain attacking for fear of reprisals.
So, the human colony of Tau Ceti Alpha is attacked and destroyed via orbital bombardment in 2164, and with it the last bastion of mankind. Enterprise and the other human vessels are similarly destroyed or manage to escape the system with heavy damage. The Vulcan High Command - finally having had enough of the Xindi and their Weapon - declare the remaining humans under their protection. Likewise, the Andorian Imperial Guard pledge their support to defend the remnants of mankind at whatever cost (which should prove fairly easy considering there are so few remaining). The Xindi - having had to deal with the unchecked growth of the Delphic Expanse - finally retreat to their own sector to decide how to deal with the slow but seemingly unyielding reconfiguration of their space.
Late in 2170, the Xindi Council approached the Vulcan High Command for their assistance in repairing their space. While the Vulcans had little reason to aid the Xindi (given their annihilation of Earth and the other human holdings), the growth of the Delphic Expanse was too great to ignore. However, having developed deflector shield configurations that successfully repelled the various anomaly fields without the side effects of Trellium-D, Vulcan science ships and cruisers managed to explore the Expanse in great detail. They analyzed the Spheres, deciphered their communications link, and - despite the actions of the Sphere Builders and their Reptilian and Insectoid henchmen - collapsed the entire network and restored normal space in 2172.
In 2174, the Vulcans and the Xindi-Primates - along with the Denobulans, Coridanites and the remaining humans - formed the Vulcan Hegemony. This supposed "alliance of equals" was in fact a Romulan ploy to unite several technologically-advanced races under the Vulcan banner and eventually for the Romulan Star Empire to seize control.
Unfortunately for the Romulans, the katra of Surak was recovered from a subterranean archaeological site and placed within the Vulcan priestess T'pau. This single event transformed Vulcan and its allies, and the Romulan influence quickly evaporated.
By the end of the 22nd century, the Vulcan High Command and their allies (by this time including the Bynars, Bolians and Betazoids) have expanded their sphere of influence to include the remnants of the Sol system (where roughly 20,000 humans have settled on one of the Jovian moons in the hopes of establishing a new homeworld) as well as several former Andorian and Klingon colonies ceded them in a string of treaties ending a number of brush wars and similar incidents. Thankfully, despite their technologies, their aggression and their armadas, neither Qo'nos nor Andoria were capable of matching the power or versatility of the Vulcan combat cruisers.
By the dawn of the 23rd century, Hegemony space covers roughly 38% of what would otherwise be the Federation (and includes small areas that belong to the Klingons in the standard timeline). The Klingons and the Andorians are both lesser powers, each held in check by Vulcan space forces as well as the fact that the two races are unable to deal with each other without things collapsing into a bloodbath. The Tellarites and the Xindi-Arboreals established a trade alliance in 2192 and have colonized nearly two dozen star systems between Tellar and the new Arboreal homeworld; the Grand Nagus of Ferenginar is working to establish commercial ties with the Tellarite Confederation.
The Cardassian Union, unlike in the standard timeline, made first contact with another warp-capable species - the Vulcans - in 2207. Despite their aggressive nature, something about the Cardassian appealed to the Vulcans, and members of their diplomatic corps pressed for direct negotiations with the Detapa Council. Within a decade, Vulcan-Cardassian technological and cultural exchanges wrought a series of unexpected changes on Cardassia Prime. A renaissance began in 2217 that restored much of the glory of the First Hebitian period. Hegemony terraforming protocols restored balance to the devastated Cardassian ecosystem, and the incorporation of the teachings of Surak into their society brought to the Cardassians an appreciation of not only the Vulcans' accomplishments but of their own as well. While not a member of the Hegemony, Cardassia Prime and its planetary holdings are closely allied with the Vulcan High Command.
Deep within the halls of the Romulan Senate, the Proconsul and his allies cast their hungry eyes on Hegemony Space, the Klingon and Andorian Empires, and the Cardassian Union. The elimination of humanity proved a boon for the Star Empire, but the ascendancy of Vulcan, the recovery of Surak's katra, the marginalization of the Klingons, and the resolution of the "Xindi problem" have all confounded the Romulans' plans. Nevertheless, the whispers in the halls of power indicate that a green storm is rising...
mactavish out.
I have a few I might post.
Maybe this would make a good BtFF article... we could figure out a template and do writeups.
In the 15th century, an invasion force of Vaadwaur warships entered the Sol system. They exited a subspace corridor near Proxima Centauri, then traveled toward Earth at low warp speed (~2.275).
The Vaadwaur armada - the only remnants of their once-powerful space force - fled their home system when their planet of origin was decimated by an alliance of their enemies led by the Turei. Entering a system of subspace tunnels that they had discovered centuries earlier, they managed to elude their pursuers and emerge tens of thousands of light years from their home system in the Delta Quadrant.
Though primitve by 24th century standards, the Vaadwaur starships were equipped with technologies a milennium far superior to those on Earth, which was just emerging from the Dark Ages. Their sensors indicated a thriving civilization on the third planet in the Sol system and - with few other options available to them - the Vaadwaur planned the invasion and subjugation of humanity.
Though they fought back, mankind was simply outclassed. The pacification of the planet took less than a year and the consolidation of their gains four years more. The disassembly of the majority of their fleet led to the establishment of Vaadwaur centers of technological and scientific advancement in large population centers around the world: London, Paris, Madrid, Beijing, St. Petersburg, Tokyo and many others became hubs of Vaadwaur power and control.
By the end of the 22nd century - after 700 years of Vaadwaur influence and cultural contamination - Earth was a far different place. The Vaadwaur survived as a culture for the first three centuries, but terrestrial pathogens harmless to humans mutated and decimated the alien invaders. By the end of the 19th century, the Vaadwaur were extinct. Their works and their knowledge, however, remained.
The Vaadwaur proved partial to the Chinese, so much of their focus fell on the lands of Asia. The brightest among the humans of China were gathered together in Vaadwaur centers of learning and trained in their sciences and technologies. As the Vaadwaur declined, the Chinese ascended. When the last Vaadwaur died, the Chinese government quickly took control of their resources (as did the Europeans and the Africans). While much was left behind, the lion's share remained in China and those most adept at its construction and operation were found there as well.
After a series of wars in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - genetically-enhanced Chinese soldiers armed with particle weapons and modified aerospace fighters struck targets worldwide - the whole of Earth was united under the new Song Dynasty. Contact with the Vulcans in 1912 led to a cultural exchange which proved beneficial for both worlds. Advances in warp theory, sharing of technologies ranging from tactical systems to protein resequencers, and the inclusion of humans on numerous Vulcan starships forged a bond between Earth and Vulcan that remains strong to the present day.
The amalgamation of Tu'Surak and Buddhism led to a neo-mystical embrace of logic by the bulk of humanity (as most religions were systematically erased by the Vaadwaur centuries earlier), roughly 80% of which was at least part Chinese. The Song Dynasty, under advisement by the Vulcan High Command, led to a cultural revolution that abolished slavery, granted universal suffrage, and truly brought a lasting peace to humanity.
By 2150, Dynastic starships (somewhat more advanced than their Vulcan contemporaries) had explored over three hundred star systems, made first contact with 97 intelligent species, and managed to confront and contain the Klingons, the Xindi and the Andorians, the latter of which formed a series of commercial treaties with Earth and Vulcan. First contact with the Romulans in 2154 led to the Autumn War, which left the Romulan Star Empire in tatters and Song Dynasty military governors on both Romulus and Remus. Perhaps the biggest slap in the Romulans' faces was the liberation of the Remans and their embrace of Surakian Buddhism.
Similar scenarios played out throughout the quadrant, with Cardassia Prime reduced to ashes and the Breen Confederation wiped out with the saturation bombing of their homeworld, both by the Song Imperial Fleet. By the 24th century, the Vulcan-Terran-Axanari Co-Prosperity Sphere controls the majority of both the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and has just begun its expansion into the Delta Quadrant. Thousands of systems belong to the Sphere as first- and second-tier members, and the advancements and enlightenment of this centuries-old alliance benefit nearly all sentient species, including the inhabitants of the newly-rebuilt Cardassian, Breen and Romulan homeworlds.
mactavish out.
That second one is pretty cool actually MacT, a different but similar history. I can imagine such a territory being pretty cool, almost firefly-esque, in it's embrace of Buddhism :) The sheer size and influence of their territory would make contact with both the Borg and the Dominion, much more embittered wars, because they are FAR more of a threat to the Dominion, and much more tantalising a jewel to the Borg! :) The only continuity problem would be the point of first contact with the Borg, given that the size of the sphere is MUCH larger than the current federation, so one imagines they would have bumped into the Borg earlier. Likewise I can imagine Bajor, with it's mystical belief system, and the early crushing of Cardassia, either being a flowering jewel in the sphere, or possibly completely crushed, depending on if they coped with the amalgamation of beliefs (I.e. their beliefs are similar but differences could be sticking points!)
Maybe it's the explorer-gm in me (i love having characters go into new places, or discover new facts about things they thought they knew), but I love all the detail of these new worlds.
I just had a brainstorm, but lacking time, details and finger power, I'm just going to throw out one idea that has been overlooked for a long time. And I'm going to do it in classic Marvel style! ('cause that's how I roll)
What if there was no Prime Directive? Imagine the FED, going around "up-lifiting" every civilization they found. Or maybe something not so drastic, but that could end up much worse: Using various means to guide an alien culture toward and enlightened one like the FED's! I know OUR FED would never do it, but that's not the point. One could see a group of Councilors argueing that if we don't make sure every developing culture in the Quadrent doesnt eventually become upstanding members of the FED, they they will one day have aggressor species in their own back yards!
btw, I like Mactavish's 15th century invasion idea: my brother was looking over the Aliens book, and wondered aloud how Earth seemed one of the few planets that DIDN't get invaded by another species. I thought of a verse where one species had conqered most of the FED and Klingon territory and either enslaved or been at war with the various species there in, but then were removed from power/destroyed/whatever. Now, the various former slave species (lets say Humans, Klingons, Cardassians) are on a power/land grab, setting up their own little alliances while the ones that didn't get taken over (Vulcans, Romulans, maybe Andorians), try and keep the peace, or maybe get a little "grabbie" them selves (they are Romulans, after all!).
Oh, and one more little seed: What if the Vulcans had rejected Surak? :eek: