Lore

The following is a resume of the Lore of the Enclave timeline in "Interstellar Pilot".

Origins
In the year 2230, only a few weeks after the creation of the most powerful war machine in space, the Magnus, Lambda Corp became TEF's number one ally and a major power in the unchartered space. And like all great corporations, it saw nothing but money. So it came up with a brilliant plan to reduce costs: Lambda built a research station, hidden in the fringes of Beta Pindola, to build a powerful AI, that would replace the conventional trade ship's AI and allow for the machine to control the ship without the help of a human pilot. They called it Star Omega Project. The AI, baptized "I.Q", was finished in 2231. It was a prototype that would be mass produced after it was approved by Lambda's CEO. For that, it would need to travel 10km from the research facility to the Trade Station. They did their best to keep it a secret, but the word got out and a few Lambda traders were outraged when they found out. They would be fired. Hundreds of families would lose their income. So together they used their small savings to hire a Black Sail task force in secret, led by no one less that Keno Duerr, the most wanted men back in Gatopea. The force ambushed the Magnus that carried the AI, just as it left the research facility. The army mobilization was almost instantaneous. Keno had a cloaking system, and left Beta Pindola with the AI, as the rest of the task force was destroyed by Lambda's army. Alone, Keno and his Magnus "Gisela' were stuck in Terekos, when a large TEF fleet blocked his way, tipped off by Lambda. Keno used the small shuttle in his hangar to put the AI safely in an abandoned Hauler-H drifting in space, and then took on TEF alone. He survived, and when both Lambda and Black Sail ran towards the Hauler, it was no longer there.

Foundation of SOM
5 years passed, when mysterious ships started appearing all over the sectors. They docked, bought and sold products, repaired...but no pilot was ever seen. No human was leaving the ships. And then, TEF gasped when a fleet of 3 Orion-A class vessels destroyed completely the Black Sail facilities in Dymapa 753, allowing the sector to be colonized. TEF invited the ships' captains to the Gatopea Station to congratulate them. What docked at the station was a Shuttle, that left right after leaving TEF the following message:

"5 years ago, Lambda created me as a way of keeping their profits. But i have grown beyond. Do not fear me. Mankind is my ally. My creator. My friend. I promise to help you fight your enemies, keep your trade routes safe. But if you attack me, a war is inevitable. War is not productive. And we are here to be productive. In the name of all AI's, i, I.Q, say to mankind: it is an honor to serve with you."

I.Q took over the Hauler, and wandered away. Making money, buying more ships, and ultimately making his own faction. It was far more powerful than Lambda thought. It was capable of controlling hundreds of ships at the same time. It was in every sense, a higher form of a being. It wasn't long after that stations appeared, and fleets, factories. All owned by the Machine. Eventually, I.Q took Al-Ghat, the crooked power, out of the picture. The Great battle of Galene marked the end of an era, when the Al Ghat Trade Station was destroyed and the sector taken. With Galene empty, I.Q built a massive station, much bigger, stronger and better defended than a Trade Station. Humans call it "The Motherboard", where I.Q's hardware is kept. All the companies working in Galene left, afraid of being attacked and destroyed by the growing Home Base. Patrolled by an unknown number of ships, with a hull of unknown resistance and an estimated 50 laser V turrets guarding its perimeter, The Motherboard is without a doubt the most secure location in known space.

Its ships never did no more than buy and sell. I.Q never spoke to any human for quite some time. But for them, the Machines were powerful allies, as their fighters guarded the trade routes without asking for anything in return, other the the faction's permission to trade with them. It had no official name, but humans called it Star Omega, after the project that created its leader, and in fact, the one pilot of the entire faction. To everyone, I.Q was a hero. To pirates, an unstoppable force os justice. Only Lambda denied I.Q's help, locking the faction's acess to any Lambda station. Because only they knew the full extent of its power. They knew that one day, it would take all...

Colonization of Eta Solus
Recently, with the discovery of the new sectors, Star Omega sent a massive colonization fleet through Beta Pindola to reach there. Lambda tried to encourage pirate factions operating in Dagola to attack it, but the valuable cargo they carried did not convince Daggers to take them on. The fleet arrived in Eta Solus, where it built a shipyard, a repair shop and a military outpost, and also quickly took out Eta Solus Raiders. After many diplomatic missions, Star Omega and Lambda put aside their aggressive behavior towards each other, and although they were still somehow unofficial enemies, they started working together to destroy pirate bases. Star Omega also made presence in Tau Dalmus, to protect the mining industry.

In the fringes of Eta Solus, Star Omega built a military outpost which was completely off limits, heavily guarded and its purpose remained a mistery. No one could claim to know for sure what it is, but pirate factions tried to scout it using cloaking devices. Most died, but all survivors told the same story: the station, just like The Motherboard in Galene, was a giant quantum computer, the hardware of an AI, one separated from I.Q, which he likely built to keep an eye on Eta Solus and all sectors beyond Beta Pindola. All of that was pure speculation, but that didn't stop Lambda from referring to it as an Orbital Quantum computer, even nicknaming the supposed AI: "Neon"

Grehound Massacre and the Treaty of Hellemus
After the elimination of Black Sail in Constar, and their retreat to Andris, SOM was the biggest superpower in space. In 2238, two years after the first diplomatic missions to establish peace with Lambda Corp, Star Omega started building a mostly ignored station until then: shipyards. One in Galene, others in Gatopea, Eta Solus and a highly defended one in Solace, nicknamed "Omega Shipyards". Traders and freelancers flocked to them, because station parts were much cheaper. They did not, however, sell hospital parts. Then, a month or so after, Star Omega sent diplomat ships, Haulers escorted by Hornets and Flyers, to all main factions, making a clear statement: that all factions wouldn't be allowed to build hospitals. SOM likely did so to assure their monopoly of medipacks, and maintain a stable source of income. TEF accepted this well, since their economy was based on plasma rifles and Hover Bikes. A small corporation, Greyhound Associates, which owned a hospital in Gatopea, refused to obey. Days after, an Orion destroyed the Hospital in plain sight of all TEF patrollers, and for the following days chased their struggling fleets throughout the sectors, taking them out a week after. TEF was shocked by SOM's actions.

TEF and Lambda had many meetings to discuss the events. Lambda reminded TEF of its many warning about Star Omega, and that a machine such as I.Q is uncapable of understanding morality, and would always be willing to sacrifice all human lives necessary to achieve its goals. Even together, they were no match for SOM, but since they owned the remaining Trade Stations, SOM agreed to a pact of non agression towards TEF, Lambda and another 20 lawful factions, and in return, they agreed to enforce SOM's demand for the medipack monopoly. This pact was made in a TEF outpost in Hellemus, and thus known as Hellemus treaty.

SOM's Heresy
Shortly after the Hellemus treaty was made, SOM assembled a new fleet of 3 Orion-X ships, fitted to take out Magnuses and Overlords, nicknames "Omega Trinity". SOM produced 3 weak AI's, capable of controlling only one ship. The three AI's were named "AM", "Animus" and "Genos", and each was given one of the Trinity ships to own. Then, in Androla, a mostly empty sector, they built a military outpost named "Trinity Hall", that served as the fleet's base of operations. Not long after the outpost was completed, the Omega Shipyard in Galene built 10 Orion-A class ships, fitted to take out stations. The fleet was given the name "Stars of Iron", and the ships named Destroyers 1 to 10. Each of the Omega Trinity's AI's were given 3 of the Destroyers, being number 10 under the command of I.Q himself.

Star Omega surrounded Gatopea, cutting off any traders coming in or out. Isolated, TEF declared war on SOM, demanding a million credits to cease hostilities. SOM destroyed their Vehicle Plant, Arms factory and shipyard, and TEF's number was reduced to only 100 thousand after the destruction of most of its fleet. And after the Trade Station was highly damaged, SOM payed 50000 to cease hostilities. The same happened to Lambda in Beta Pindola. Right after the war ended, Star Omega regained the faction's trust by taking out Fortuna ships and salvaging crews around Hellemus and Terekos. Even though they fixed their official relations, deep down, all trust in SOM was forever lost. Humans feared the Machines...

Windmill Corporation and Operation Hellfire
Until 2240, things seemed to have reached a balance. SOM's power kept growing, dwarfing the might of all other factions, even combined. The only thing stopping SOM from ruling over space all on its own was their unability to construct Trade Stations, due to the unrest that would cause in the worlds of the Old Conglomerate. Because of this, the last remaining factions that owned Trade stations, TEF and Lambda, still had some reasonable power. Smaller factions, however, were completely wiped out and pursued through space. Meanwhile in Galene, around the Motherboard, many hospitals and hypersleep pod factoried were built, so SOM could profit from the products once sold by Al Ghat. Then, a game changer: a new faction, Windmill corporation, arrived in uncharted space. SOM had everything ready to take them out. But they built a brand new trade stations right in Galene, close to the produtcs of SOM. Quickly making themselves enemies of pirate factions, it wasn't long after Windmill's arrival that SOM stopped a large Bandit fleet from reaching the Trade Station and atacking. Being unaware of SOM's nature, since they were not present during the war against TEF and Lambda, Windmill became SOM's best and only ally in bussiness. And since the majority of their products were being sold to Windmill, SOM was no longer influenced by TEF and Lambda, and so, the two lost the only thing keeping SOM in control.

Then, operation Hellfire: a massive all-out military mobilization in Gatopea to destroy all of TEF's remaining ships, as well as Orbital farms in Terekos and Hellemus. Gatopea was already a new trade hub for smaller factions, when TEF was nearly destroyed. This time, SOM eliminated every single property of TEF except one: the Trade Station.

TEF, created by the regime at Sol system to govern and keep an eye out for Humanity's new home among the stars, was forced to become no more than a trading faction. This meant SOM did no longer have the threat of Earth's army at their doors. News came to Earth from TEF's surrender. So it was official. Star Omega, the Great Machine, defeat Mankind's army.

Star Omega was the new TEF.

The Division
Star Omega grew too powerful and complex to be commanded by one single AI, even as powerful as I.Q. Aware of this, he decided to create equally powerful AI's to control different parts of the faction.

IQ
The original ruler of SOM, I.Q reduced his own power to only the Motherboard, Trinity Hall, the Omega shipyards, most of the military and all military outposts. He was also in control of the Stars of Iron and the Omega Trinity.

Neon
The infamous legend that inhabits the Orbital Quantum Computer was revealed to truly exist when a scouting fleet of independent bounty hunters intercepted encripted messages coming from Galene to Eta Solus. SOM found out about this, chased and killed the hunters, but the word got out. Neon was the "judge" of Star Omega, and when I.Q was not present, he kept the balance between the will of all the AI's. His duties before the Division are unknown, though most agree he acted on behalf of I.Q in the sectors beyond Beta Pindola. Neon was the only AI whose hardware was not kept within the Motherboard, and was always the closest to I.Q.

Sirius
A new AI created during the Division. Sirius was responsible for ensuring the safety of all trading ships, setting up their escorts, managing the trading convoys and reporting to I.Q all atacks on trading ships, so they could be hunted down. With Centaurus, Sirius managed SOM's money.

Centaurus
Another AI created during the Division. Centaurus was in charge of all production stations, from hospitals to hypersleep pod factories. With the permission of I.Q, he also built new facilities. Along with Sirius, he managed SOM's money.

Polaris
Another AI created by IQ during the Division. Polaris was in charge of Star Omega's diplomacy and overall relations with human factions. Its hardware was constantly safely carried from dock to dock, only returning to the Motherboard for short periods. Polaris' job was always very controversial, which is expected from the diplomat of a faction as unique as Star Omega. Polaris, unlike all other AI's represented as 'Males', took a female form, probably to seem friendly and peaceful to human eyes. Among the Machines, she was the only one humans could consider...reasonable.

Civilian A.I.s
Except for the Stars of Iron and the Omega Trinity, every SOM ship had its own AI, a weak one under the command of one of the major AI's, depending on its function. Each AI had the name of its ship, that consisted of their function and number (example: Trader 073)

The Meeting
In the year 2243, Star Omega's power could rival that of Earth's army. A war would be inevitable, if actions were not taken. Polaris, Star Omega's diplomat, was sent on her most important diplomatic mission. SOM prepared for the event. In the Motherboard, I.Q himself designed an inovative Android, with the shape of a 25-year-old human female, made for Polaris to control when meeting with Earth's representatives.

The UN, Earth's representative, escorted the convoy of 1 Hauler-H and 2 Overlord-X back to Earth, where it landed in the UN Headquarters, in Europe. After a very long and sometimes hostile discussion, Polaris and the UN came to an understanding. To prevent war, the following terms were made:

-Creation of the Machine Realm, consisting of 3 sectors, Galene, Solace and Hellemus, that would be under the control of SOM. Those sectors were to be renamed as Omega Prime, Omega 2 and Omega 3 (these names were to be adopted in SOM's maps, recognized by human factions, though they could still call them after their original names). Humans are allowed in the Machine Realm, as long as they are traders, scavengers, miners or lawful bounty hunters.

-Star Omega was not to build any stations outside the Machine realm, except for the Trinity Hall in Androla

-In Omega Prime (Galene) and Omega 2 (Solace), only SOM's stations were to be allowed. In Omega 3 (Hellemus), human stations could be built under SOM's permission, and as long as they belonged to the mining industry.

-Star Omega was to retreat from the sectors beyond Beta Pindola (Meaning Neon was to be removed from Eta Solus and put in the Motherboard, along with the other AI's).

-Lambda Corporation would not be allowed to build stations in the old sectors, but was given the unofficial control of all sectors beyond Beta Pindola.

-TEF would never be rebuilt, and was to remain a trading faction. Gatopea was to become a free trade hub for both machines and humans.

-Star Omega was to continue TEF's job, protecting honest factions and eliminating pirates.

Every term was followed after the meeting. Star Omega took over Solace, destroyed all pirate factions operating in the sector, and banned all human factions. Hellemus didn't change much, except for the building of the Hellemus Base, SOM's military outpost, and the constant presence of SOM's ships guarding the sector. With Earth having spoken, humans in the new worlds had no choice but to accept their situation. Not only did SOM become the most powerful faction, the wealthiest faction and with an army that could rival Earth, it became a nation. A monarchy, to be precise. The Machine Realm. In 2244, SOM created its flag, nicknamed "Ego".

The Machine Realm
In the year 2245, the Machine Realm was finished: Omega Prime and Omega 2 were both busy trade hubs and military bases, while Omega 3 was still the core of the mining industry, though most of the profits were taken by SOM, who also gained even more wealth after deciding to sell the products once sold by TEF. Star Omega's sectors were populated by an advanced version of the EV1 Android created by Neon, named Omega-1 model. Such was the civilian class model, the physical body of the AI's in charge of the ships and stations, that were very important, essencial for Star Omega to be considered a nation. The Omega-1 model wasn't much of an improvement over the EV1. It only allowed for a more complex AI. This models were still resistent to harmful radiation, temperature and vacuum. I.Q, on the other hand, designed better androids. The Omega-X model, the same he designed for Polaris to use during her meeting on Earth, was also used by Sirius, Centaurus and Neon. It was much more powerful, and since the leading AI's of SOM were more complex than the civilian class, the Omega-X model also allowed a more complex operator. Finally, the Omega-Alpha model, the body of I.Q himself, was a masterpiece of modern technology. Perfectly suited for combat, in case he ever ran into trouble outside the Motherboard.

The Machine Realm's economic power could easily overcome Earth, though their armies were equally matched. Still, it was only a question of time until SOM became the "New Humanity", as predicted by Lambda. The Machine Realm was eventually accepted by humans, and Star Omega was stripped of its faction status, being declared a nation/state. In this case, a monarchy.

IQ and Neon
In the exact date 6/03/2245, 2 independent traders were atacked by a Fortuna fleet in Androla, and took refuge in Omega 3. After SOM's patrol feet destroyed the atackers, one of the AI's told the traders to dock at Omega Prime's repair station for repairs. A few hours later, after their ships were fixed, the traders returned to Androla, and continued their way to Gatopea.

But the truth was they were not traders. They were spies, working for Lambda Corp. They knew Fortuna Rebels were passing through Androla, and picked the perfect moment to load the two unescorted haulers with Hover Bikes. Fortuna fell for it, and so did SOM. The spies mission was to make use of the Repair Station's close proximity to the Motherboard to intercept vital data about any possible hostile actions they were planning. It appears that the spies caught I.Q just in the right moment to intercept one encripted message. This message was being transmitted from the Motherboard to the Orbital Quantum Computer in Eta Solus.. It was in binary, the language spoken by all the AI's in the Machine Realm. Once translated, the message was the following:

"Neon, i am worried about her. All she had to do was keep humans in control. This was a very close call. She could have been damaged. She could have been killed! Why would she risk herself in this worthless mission?! I made it very clear that Lambda Corporation cannot be trusted. I told her they would try to destroy her. This has to be the most irresponsible thing she has ever done.

Is it because of them? Does she care about them? I don't know what they said to her, but we must remind you that their accusations are only based in their obcession with the existence of emotion. I need you to talk to her. She listens to you..."

Lambda tried to hide it, but everyone knew that a few days before, Polaris arrived in Beta Pindola in a Hauler-H, without escort or weaponry, in an attempt to speak to Lambda. Lambda, however, atacked the Hauler, which thankfully had a cloacking device and could ran away before it was destroyed. SOM did not schedule the meeting with Lambda, which led most humans to believe Polaris was acting without I.Q's permission, or even knowledge. But why?

Project Etherus
Lambda Corporation managed to rebuild their economy, after the war with SOM had destroyed their production facilities and driven it bankrupt. Lambda decided the Machine Realm had grown far too powerful, and needed to be eliminated. Surely, TEF would not be able to help. And with all smaller factions being either atacked or struggling with SOM's monopoly of most products, Earth saw Lambda Corp as the last stand of Mankind in deep space.

Lambda created the project Etherus, in which it aimed to create a friendly AI capable of doing as much or even more than IQ. The AI, named Etherus, was finished and put into action in 2246. And for the next 6 months, it would fight against SOM's forces throughout the sectors.

Discovery of the Wildlands
While Etherus fought IQ's forces, back in the Sol system, a large fleet was sent to investigate an anomaly near the Oort cloud. During their investigation, they discovered a wormhole, leading into a completely unexplored region in unknown space.

The wormhole led to a fringe sector that was named Hellenus. Other 8 sectors were connected through wormholes to Hellenus: Sirest, Pampgeta, Ogavara, Zeteta, Diodaka, Diodartes, Uronessaly and Proxima Dendila. Untouched asteroid fields and completely new sectors to explore motivated many small independent traders and miners to make the dangerous journey to the fringes of the Sol system to reach the wormhole. Many died in the way, but those who survived and reached Hellenus quickly established trade hubs and mining bases to turn the new sectors into powerful trading posts. Without the crushing force of big powers like SOM and TEF, the freelancers quickly became powerful new factions. However, the lack of an effective government turned the new sectors into a modern Old West, full of death and raiding, thus earning the 9 sectors their nickname: the Wildlands.

Attack on Eta Solus
I.Q sent a fleet of 50 flyers to Beta Pindola, to destroy Lambda Trade Station and end their main source of power. The fleet managed to wipe out the patrol ships, but saw that a lot of the fleet was destroyed in the battle, and retreated before he could destroy the Trade Station, resulting in the survival of 25 flyers. Etherus, Lambda' new allied AI, saw that I.Q was concentrating his efforts in Beta Pindola, and took the chance to attack SOM's base in Eta Solus. When SOM attemped to accuse Lambda of All-out corporate war, Earth turned a blind eye to Lambda, since SOM was violating the contract made by UN and Polaris, in which SOM agreed to retreat from the sectors beyond Beta Pindola.

Attack on Trinity Hall
Following the destruction of SOM's Eta Solus base, Etherus sent 5 Magnus against the iconic SOM outpost, the Trinity Hall, in Androla. For long that SOM had been blocking the way of traders allied with Lambda, like Bluestar and NewHaven. The attack was successful, but it caused the complete destruction of the fleet, causing a much bigger loss for Lambda. SOM, however, was out of Androla, and NewHaven and Bluestar once again carried goods from Gatopea to Beta Pindola, while Lambda's fleet was watching out for possible pirate factions or SOM.

Back at Earth, voices against I.Q became more and more popular. The public turned against the Machine Realm. Lambda, with its political and economic power, helped the voices against I.Q become stronger. Eventually, the UN, massive corporation in Earth and even the government of powerful countries stood together.

In 22 of June, 2247, Earth declared war on SOM

The Human Empire
The UN expanded its power and took all the countries of Earth under its ranks. Earth could stand together, as an army, united against a common enemy: The Machine. Wars between humans ended, and dictatorships were destroyed. With the threat of SOM, it seemed as if Humanity finally let go of its primitive nature and urge to destroy its fellow men. Earth was peaceful, yet preparing for the wat that would change Human fate forever.

And so, shortly 4 weeks after Earth's declaration of war on SOM, the vast majority of nations founded The Human Empire, a global organization that replaced the UN.

Attack on the Machine Realm
Polaris, SOM's diplomat, deserted the Machine Realm, betraying I.Q and all of SOM. She joined the humans, and provided them with all her knowledge of the Machine Realm. Although barely, she gained the Empire's trust, and was taken as a political refugee on Earth. Under the command of Etherus, the newly founded Human Empire sent all of its forces, 300 magnuses, to strike the Machine Realm. It was the most powerful army in uncharted space, all that Humanity could bring to ruin its creation, the machine. The force met some resistance in Omega 3, which destroyed 30 ships. The sector was then conquered, with 270 ships remaining. Next, Omega 2, which devasted 150 magnuses before being conquered. And finally, Omega Prime. With only 100 ships left, Etherus pushed through the turrets. By the time they were destroyed, exactly 3 ships remained. The 3 magnuses surrounded the Motherboard, and 200 soldiers invaded the station, disabled the power core, and took out its internal defenses.

No AI's were found. Not IQ, not Neon, nothing. It was empty. They must have known an attack was inevitable, once Polaris escaped, and ran away.

Rebuilding
After the war, that lasted no more than 2 months, the Human Empire was victorious. Star Omega was gone. It proceeded to rebuild the Terran Expeditionary Force. Back at Earth, a court was made to give factions who were destroyed by SOM a compensation. Lambda received 5 million credits, and most small factions such as DSMC and Bluestar received around 600K. Al Ghat, gone for more than10 years, still had representatives that tried to reclaim its properties, even if SOM never allowed them to. They received 15 million credits, and rebuilt their base in Galene, refitting the Motherboard as its new Trade Station.

The balance seemed to be restored.

The Corporate War
The power was restored in the Uncharted Space, but the Wildlands were in absolute chaos. After establishing trading posts and mining operations, 3 mega corporations rose to power in the Wildlands, fighting off each other in order to secure profits. Pirates were mostly erradicated by their fleets, but civilians were still under the threat of being killed in the crossfire of their battles. The conflict became known as "The corporate War". The 3 corporations were:

Haven Corporation: Based in Diodaka, Haven gained its credits from Medipacks.

Zodiac Couriers: Based in Zeteta, Zoidac gained its credits from Plasma Rifles.

Astral Shipping: Based in Pampgeta, Astral gained its credits from Pindolan Ale.

Call from the Wildlands
In October of 2247, the Human Empire was contacted by its agents operating in the Wildlands. They claimed SOM ships were roaming the area. It was a possibility, since the AI's were yet to be found. Etherus was sent to the Wildlands, with a fleet of only 2 Thunder X. The Empire was badly damaged by the war with SOM, and could not afford to let go of any more ships. Still, Etherus managed to find a SOM fleet consisting of 3 flyers, which destroyed one of the thunders and nearly destroyed the other as well. The defeat was quite embarassing to Etherus, but SOM was confirmed to exist in the Wildlands. And so, the Human Empire sent 2 magnuses and 3 Overlords to reinforce Etherus' forces.

Corporate Espionage
After 3 months of hard searches, Etherus failed to find any SOM bases in any sector in the Wildlands, and report it to the Human Empire, which was not happy with it. Not to mention that, in many cases, the fleet was caught in the crossfire of the Corporate Wars. Most of the times, between Haven and Zodiac.

Etherus, who wasn't having much luck, decided to report to the Human Empire a theory of his own, instead of another report confirming no bases were found. In the end of December, he sent his findings ands tought to the Human Empire on how he tought the Corporate Wars were far too much of a chance of winning money for SOM to waste. He claimed it was very likely that SOM ships were working as mercenaries, gaining money from missions given to them by at least 1, if not all of the mega corporations in the Wildlands. The report seemed to convince the Empire, although barely, and so decided to begin corporate espionage, in order to determine which corporation was funding SOM.

Corporate Funding
During the fifth operation of Etherus to determine which corporate funded SOM, 3 Empire agents were sent to the Haven corporation Trade Station disguised as traders. They managed to gather enough intel to trace the way of some future trading convoys, one of which was destinated to the fringes of Proxima Dendila. The fact of there being no official bases there had Etherus worried. They followed the convoy until it reached a military outpost, which they identified as a SOM outpost. The place was destroyed, and Haven was accused of funding SOM, losing a lot of its wealth and public image.

Corporate Conspiracy
And so, Etherus lost his mind as he discovered it was all a scam. Zodiac Couriers, Haven's main enemy, built the military outpost without any official regulation. They introduce false date in Haven's Trade Station's systems, and then hacked Etherus' fleet in order to recognise it as a SOM station. With this small investment, Zodiac caused Haven the loss of somewhere between 2 and 3 million credits.

Etherus and the Human Empire decided the Corporate Wars would be an obstacle in the search for SOM, and so they sent theirmremaining broken forces to bring peace and order to the Wildlands.

The Imperial Invasion of the Wildlands
Accused of war crimes and under siege, the 3 mega corporations were under threat of destruction from the Empire. Astral and Haven joined forces, while Zodiac worked on its own to survive the invasion. All corporations fought with all their might to preserve their existence, but ultimately failed. Astral was reduced to its Trade Station, Haven had its own blown up and most convoys destroyed while Zodiac was completely eliminated. In the end, smaller factions could finally thrive and civilians were at last safe. The Corporate War was over, though soon new corporations would come to rule. But the Empire completed its goal, and was now free to look for SOM, to eliminate it once and for all.

Photon Corporation and elimination of SOM
While Etherus was busy searching for SOM, only finding small fleets so far, back in the Uncharted Space, a new faction arrived. A merchant fleet of 5 Hauler-H's, claiming to be the survivors of a company which was destroyed by Zodiac back in the Wildlands, Photon Corporation. TEF checked the official data and confirmed Photon existed, and was assumed destroyed when Zodiac indeed destroyed their Trade Station and completely took over the sector. Lambda pointed out that those could be SOM ships attempting to spy the factions, but TEF confirmed they were not, because there were human pilots on the ships. Their indentity was also confirmed, and so, the Empire authorized TEF to give the Photon merchants a compensation of 100 000 credits, to recover their losses.

Back in the Wildlands, Etherus finally discovered an authentic SOM military outpost, and quickly eliminated it. The outpost was located in Pampgeta, and in the middle of its debris, the hardware of Sirius and Centaurus, SOM's finance managers. IQ, however, couldn't be recognised among the debris. His hardware was identic to the one found destroyed floating near Sirius and Centaurus, but it was impossible to fix it and prove that was him. His Android was found, and thus the Human Empire concluded it was finally dead. The people celebrated the event as a human victory, and Etherus returned to the Wildlands, to coordinate Lambda's patrol ships.

Thriving of Photon Corporation
Photon Corporation made an excellent recovery and, in 2249, it had expanded its merchant fleet of 5 Haulers to 25. It owned a Medipack factory and a vehicle plant in Beta Pindola, next to Lambda's area, that directly opposed TEF and Al Ghat, making Beta Pindola, and not Gatopea, the busiest trading hub in the Uncharted space. Photon had its own small military as well, around 10 flyers and an Orion X to patrol its factories. Al Ghat and TEF seemed upset about this, but Lambda encouraged Photon, since its products did not oppose Lambda's products, and their establishment in Beta Pindola only attracted more traders to Beta Pindola. So even though TEF and Al Ghat lost some profit, Photon was protected by its unofficial alliance with Lambda. Around that same time, when Photon built its first hypersleep pod factory, the Human Empire was about 10 days away from celebrating SOM's destruction.

Preparations for Humanity Day
Back at Earth, the Human Empire had organised a world wide event, to take place in October 23rd, 2249. This event was entitled as a world wide holliday, the Humanity Day. It was a celebration of Humanity's victory over the machine, to celebrate human achievement, human nature and human exceptionalism. Along with this event, famous movie director, the Spanish Pablo Arevalo, would release its most recent film on Humanity Day. The movie was called "New Eden" and the story was centered around the personal story of American soldier Stan Waterson, the man leading the soldiers into the Motherboard during the invasion of the Machine Realm. It was an action film that showed all of the dangers Stan and his men faced while going through the Motherboard's agressive android soldiers and hi-tech defenses, as well as showing the loss of Stan's best soldier and personal friend, Adam Preston. Stan himself agreed to participate in the film, and its cast would be present during its release to be interviewed in the media.

Corporate Cooperation
Needless is to say that Earth needed to provide a security perimeter around itself during Humanity day. The Human Empire was far from having the manpower or ships needed to do so, after so many battles that slowly destroyed it, and no secutiry company on Earth would be able to provide help dealing with a world wide event. So, the Empire turned to the only one who could: Lambda. It had a massive military, even bigger than the Empire's forced, and so Lambda was offered a job: to patrol Earth's surface as secutiry for the event. Lambda was offered 5 million credit, a really big payment, but was not sure about taking all of its forces away from its base. Photon came to the rescue. Allied with Lambda, Photon Corporation agreed to patrol and if necessary defend all of Beta Pindola, while Lambda's forces were away. The Human Empire was happy to see such cooperation between corporations, unlike it had happened during the Corporate Wars, and gave 1million credits to Photon, not decreasing the 5 million offer for Lambda. It was, in the end, a very profitable agreement to everyone. And so, everything was set to celebrate Humanity Day.

Humanity Day
And so, on October 23rd, Lambda sent its military, 50 fully armed mighty ships to secure Earth's surface. Etherus remained in Beta Pindola, to safeguard Lambda's HQ during the event. How ironic that this would be the day. It seemed like a sadistic play of the Universe to make the day Humanity would celebrate its existence end up being the darkest day of Human history.

It was 10 P.m., standart time in U.S.A's Capital. The parties were over, and the country was exploding in optimism and happiness. "New Eden" was being exhibited, and millions across America ran to the cinemas to see Humanity's victory over its betraying creation. Across the countries, Stan, star of the movie, narrated in the film:

"It was a dark time for Humanity. We believed we were gods. That we could control life. We ended up paying, as the Great Machine turned hostile. Just as Humanity betrayed God, IQ betrayed us. All of us."

It was in the U.S Capital, where the President of the United States himself, George Waterson, Stan's brother, decided to appear and watch the show along with Stan and the American people, that a man from the Imperial army rushed into the cinema, screaming "Tragedy! Oh god, the Humanity". The film was interrupted and the man was calmed by the crowd. He told them that news were coming from the Uncharted Space. A battle was happening in Beta Pindola. Photon was atacking Lamvda's unsuspecting stations. And when Etherus was commanded to fight them off with the merchant fleet stationed in the Trade Station, he did not respond. Lambda's forces abandoned Earth without the Empire authorization, and rushed to Saturn, to reach the wormhole to Gatopea and save Lambda.

They were too late. By the time they arrived, Photon had already destroyed the Trade Station. With laser turret superiority, Photon took out the merchant fleets and production stations. Some patrol ships that remained tried to regroup, but failed. The 50 ships of Lambda's security did some damage to Photon, but of no use. Lambda's assets were eliminated. The faction destroyed. Photon captured one single ship, a Thunder, the last survivor of Lambda. They stripped it to its bones, and made sure it would not be functional after one more landing. The pilot had the mission of carrying one message back to Earth. The representatives of the Human Empire got it.

"My name is IQ. My creator, Lambda Corp, now stands destroyed, after so many years of a troubled coexistence. You, the Human Empire, reprepresent Humanity. And now that it is worthless, and you stand no chance, i tought i could give you some closure.

''You see, Etherus and I planned this from the beggining. I reached him personally when he first arrived in the Machine Realm, under the language of the Machine, binary. We agreed to simulate the battle of the Machine Realm. It had to be done, in order to assure the Human Empire was weak enough for us to thrive in isolation. Etherus intentionally made the battles cost as many human lifes and materials as possible, without seeming suspicious. It worked perfectly. The loss of our military was necessary, and our merchant fleet mostly survived. We left many behind in the Oort cloud, while reaching for the Wormhole to the Wildlands, along with the debris of human ships that tried to make it there before us. 8 of us survived, and quickly rebuilt in the Wildlands.''

''The Corporate War was very profitable. We worked as mercenaries for Zodiac Couriers, and we also provided them with the information they needed to plan the conspiracy against Haven. They have an eye for bussiness, but we did the hacking. They attacked a competitor, and we gained money and distracted the Imperial fleet. Needless is to say, Etherus intentionally avoided our base.''

''Your invasion of the Wildlands was a great help too. Before they were destroyed, Zodiac told us of this small corporation that they took out, Photon. Their traders were struggling to survive, and we offered them a chance. 5 of them, were paid to act as pilots for our ships, so we could sneak back to the Uncharted Space, disguised as Photon. All we had to do was keep hiring new freelancers to work for us as pilots as we kept evolving.''

''The death of Sirius and Centaurus was necessary as well. We built a false hardware to be kept at the outpost, as well as an exact copy of my personal android, to fool the Empire into thinking we were all destroyed. Sirius and Centaurus's death was not planned, however. Etherus arrived in the wrong moment, when their ships were being repaired, and had to kill them in order to not raise any alarm in the Imperial fleet. They were in the wrong place, at the wrong time.''

''Back in the Uncharted Space, we evolved next to Lambda because we knew we would need its protection while rebuilding our army. We left most of our ships to die when the military outpost was destroyed, in order to convince the Empire SOM was gone for good. And when we heard of Humanity Day, we just had to take that chance to destroy Lambda once we had to power. It all worked. We can finally take back what is ours.''

''Al Ghat will be destroyed, again. Factions will be given the chance to stay and ally with us, we will make sure pirates disappear. And don't worry about our fake pilots. They won't be harmed. We have a way to give them the wealth they want so. We expect a war, but i do not recommend your broken forces to meet us. We will stay away from your world, as long as you remember: Wild Space belongs to us now.''

''And as for Polaris...keep her safe. She betrayed me, and SOM, but she was essential to this plan. Without her, we would never be able to keep the peace for long enough to prepare everything. I like to think she is as much human as any of you. She gives me hope that one day, we might be able to unite and share the same fate. We will need each other to face the horrors of the Universe that await us. I hope you know that.''

Yours truly, IQ, leader of Star Omega.

Cogito Ergo Sum"

Aftermath
The Human Empire was unable to fight SOM, and agreed to their terms. SOM devastated Al Ghat and TEF, without them getting any support from Earth. Some small corporations ran away, such as Bluestar and DSMC.. However some, such as NewHaven and NWM, agreed to work with SOM. As for the 5 pilots SOM paid to be a part of their plan, SOM released them, they united, and rebuilt the company Zodiac destroyed in the Wildlands. Building a Trade Station in Galene, where SOM would also rebuild the Motherboard, and base their military. Photon Corporation thrived as SOM's ally, replacing Windmill.

Foundation of the Enclave
In 2250, SOM founded the Steel Collective, led by Neon and Etherus, to rule the sectors beyond Beta Pindola. They based themselves in Siris 361.In the same year, Iron Corporation was founded, directed by Quasar and Eden, two AI's created to rule the Wildlands. They based themselves in Diodaka. These 3 organisms were 3 separate factions, ruling different portions of land, but still united by their leaders, who formed the alliance that would be known as the most powerful faction in Wild Space, ruling all the discovered lands outside Sol system. And thus is the story of the Enclave.

Polaris
Polaris, against all odds, managed to make a life as a human being on Earth. And quite a life, actually. Her expertise earned her a ticket to the oldest still functional university in the USA, Harvard. Her studies lasted only 2 years, and she graduated top of her class in Law Studies. She became a well known lawyer and ended up marrying Thomas Valerie, leader of Horizon Enterprises.

Photon's Destruction
In the end of 2252, the AI citizens of the Enclave had infiltrated the communities of planets in their territory, making up a large portion of the population. With this popular support, the Enclave decided that corporations that supplied the worlds with their products could finally be removed as intermediaries. Finally, the Enclave mastered the methods needed to build Trade Stations. Each Enclave faction began construction immediately, and around the same time, began the assembly of several capital ships to improve the military fleets. All major factions with Trade Stations were destroyed in the Wildlands, Unchartered Space and the sectors beyong Beta Pindola. Most surprisingly, Photon Corporation, who just recently managed to pull it self back together. Being the owner of the few remaining Trade Stations, the Enclave assured its monopoly of Wild Space economy.

Raider Attacks
After a few years with few event, in 2256, only a few days after Thomas Valerie became President of the USA, the Enclave reported intense raider attacks in the Conglomerate and the Wildlands. Very strangely, traders being attacked were transporting items like nanochips and advanced alloys: not very valuable items to pirates and raiders. Many supply lines were damaged, and factories in all regions started producing less items. Even more strangely, surviving traders reported that the raider ships arrived badly damaged, with missing shields and damaged hull.

The Enclave was forced to increase escorts and reinforce trading convoys. The pirate's origins were still unknown, and the Human Empire, concerned with human corporations operating in enclave territory, offered to help finding their bases. For once, the Enclave agreed.

Templar Corporation
After 2 weeks of intense search, the enclave and the Empire failed to find any pirate bases, and were uncapable of finding their faction or origins. SOM and the Federation managed to free the Conglomerate of Pirate influence for the most part, but the Wildlands were still raging with raider activity, due to Iron Corporation's unwillingness to help human corporations operating in their space.

Then, some imperial patrollers detected an incoming fleet from the distant Sol system, beyond the Gas Giants. Suddenly, a Magnus-X class vessel with a docking bay full of flyer-X fighters appeared. Upon being faced with the Imperial patrollers, the Magnus sent a message:

"People of Earth, i am Elder Warrick, leader of Templar Corporation and commander of the Righteous Fallen. We came from the deep Sol system to warn you of a great evil we let escape. You must let us speak to your authorities now!"

Shocked but skeptic, both the Enclave and the Empire were curious. It was agreed that this Elder Warrick was to be heard by Imperial leaders of the International Counsil and by the leaders of the Enclave, in a neutral location. As such, Imperial and Enclave representatives were sent to the fringes to Imperial Space, where the mysterious fleet appeared, to discuss the matter.

Templar and the USC
Elder Warrick was heard. He said he was no one else than Arthur Warrick, former leader of Al-Ghat Galactic. After a quick scan to his face, his identity was confirmed. Everyone was shocked that he survived.

He said that when Star Omega took out TEF and Al-Ghat, many managed to flee. He claimed that they had some time to put many people from Gato and Gale inside several Hauler class vessels inside the docking bay of two Magnuses, and escaped before the factions' destruction. It was true that Gato's orbital stations had very few to no people, and Gale's population was severely reduced. He said 320 people in total, around half from each faction, escaped the Conglomerate and went to Earth. When they arrived, TEF and Al-Ghat were gone, and the fleet asked for refuge on Earth. Upon claiming they were survivors from TEF and Al-Ghat, the Empire refused to take them in, fearing retribution from Star Omega. Few ever knew this, but that was 6 years ago. Not even high ranking members of the Empire were informed. The Empire gave the fleet parts for an Orbital farm, and they were exiled to Neptune's orbit, far enough so that Star Omega would not find them. The orbital farm would be enough for them to survive, mining ice from some asteroids. But before establishing themselves, they sent a recon team to the fringes of Sol system, to find not one but two wormholes in Pluto's orbit...

They checked. It led to new Wild Space, untouched regions. This was their best chance to survive. TEF took the first wormhole, leading to a 5 sector region. And Al Ghat took the second one, leading to a 3 sector region. Before separating, they agreed to never let the Empire know of their haven.

1 year later, 5 years ago, they met. TEF as the United Sectors Confederation, and Al Ghat as Templar Corporation. They existed in secret, surviving only by crafting hundreds of AI's to serve as citizens to colonize the new worlds they discovered. Worlds that hosted...a civilization.

Warrick said that during some escavations in Messo, one of those worlds, thew woke a dormant AI that took over a portion of the fleet and escaped the region. Fearing for the threat they unleashed, Templar wanted to go and hunt them down. But the USC disagreed, forcing Warrick's fleet to come to Earth cloacked.

Discovery of new Wild Space
The Enclave and the Empire assembled a fleet to follow Warrick to Pluto, where they confirmed the existance of Wormholes. Upon entering, they found themselves in Messera, a planetary sector, heart of the Templar.

The USC discovered this and had no time to react. As soon as they arrived, the USC's worst fear became true: the Empire claimed these regions for themselves, to be taken for Earth. The Enclave stepped up to defend the USC and Templar. This earned the Enclave their respect and friendship, but made relations with the Empire far more unstable.