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Powerful corporations, despotic governments, rebel installations and neo-renaissance dissidents struggle for raw materials, survival, and ultimately, control of the Solar System in the largest secessionary war in history.
In the twenty second century the small moons and asteroids near the large gas giants became economically desirable due to their immense mineral wealth. Early pioneers were Earthborn, but later as the larger asteroids developed, they became home to many people who started families in space. As the early astronauts were selected for endurance, intelligence and reactions, they quickly came to the opinion that they were better than their Earth (and now moon) born cousins.
Great mining companies were formed, sending large robotic AI's to collect and gather the raw materials needed for space flight; gases and metals as well as carbon. They became more and more efficient at their operation, regularly sending vast transports filled with processed goods and raw materials back to the inner system.
Although the outer system was opulent in minerals and metals, it had poor food sources and had to rely on shipments from an Earth already swelled by the population explosion. A famine on Earth and a panic in the senate saw food exports dropping drastically.
When the asteroid belt's second largest biodome was hit by a meteorite causing extensive damage, their food and oxygen supplies started to dwindle, and disaster beckoned if the dome was not repaired. People started dying, and out of desperation a belt controlled ship hijacked a large food transport in transit between Earth and Venus. A vengeful Earth hit back, capturing a large shipment of hydrogen isotopes in transportation from Jupiter. The Government stated that it was a military target, but the belt claimed that it was civilian. The outer system seceded from Earth control, forming a hazy conglomerate of independent nations. These were kept stable by the continuing changing physical positions of the bodies in the solar system, their own economics, and mutual technological respect.
The Earth government along with the colonies on the Moon, Mars and Venus, amalgamated strategically to form the United Earth Alliance (UEA). They started expanding their military for the first time in centuries, and the belt plundered trade routes started being protected by powerful craft. Naturally, the belt responded by upgrading their hardware, and decreasing their number and increasing the intensity of vital raids. Also, working on improved biodomes, they had the prospect of complete self sufficiency - if they could survive long enough. The mutual dislike grew, and behind the scenes the belt started to build a large armada of ships capable of halting the deadly UEA military in its tracks.
Several families in the belt along with some of the larger terrestrial companies saw room for self improvement. They attempted to re-establish a feudal empire in the solar system, basing themselves not on planets or asteroids, but housing themselves in space craft or moving cities. They quickly became more than a minor annoyance to both the belt and the UEA, and when they started poaching leading scientists with better 'virtual' real estate, a real technological race started with the small royal families in the lead.
The UEA sent out several probes to the closer stars at near light speed. The results took decades to return, and were heavily encoded so only the UEA military could glean the much sought after information. They denied the existence of any discoveries.
Meanwhile, the belt governing powers deemed the outer system self sufficient, and pledged to remove the Government from Earth and the inner planets. They started to amass their fleets near Jupiter and Saturn where most of their population, mining and military centres were located. Quietly, and out of the public eye, the UEA increased it's production of craft and formed an armada of it's own.
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