ITS THE YEAR 2358 AND MAN DOMINATES A STRIFE TORN SOLAR SYSTEM.
POWERFUL COPRPERATIONS, DESPOTIC GOVERNMENTS, REBEL INSTALLATIONS AND
NEO-RENAISSENCE 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 AIS TO
COLLECT AND GATHER THE RAW MATERIALS NEEDED FOR SPACE FLIGHT; GASSES AND
METALS AS WELL AS CARBON (NEEDED TO COMBINE WITH THE GASSES TO FORM
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND PLASTICS.) THEY BECAME MORE AND MORE EFFICIENT AT
THEIR OPERATION, REGULARLY SENDING VAST TRANSPORTS BACK TO THE INNER
SYSTEM, FILLED WITH PROCESSED GOODS AND RAW MATERIALS.
    ALTHOUGH THE OUTER SYSTEM WAS OPULANT IN MINERALS AND METALS, IT HAD
POOR FOOD SOURCES AND HAD TO RELY ON SHIPMENTS FROM AN EARTH ALREADY
SWELLED BY LARGE POPULATIONS. 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 EXENSTENSIVE DAMAGE, THEIR FOOD AND OXYGEN SUPPLIES STARTED TO
DWINDLE, AND DISASTER BECONED 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 CIVILLIAN. THE OUTER SYSTEM SECEEDED FROM EARTH
CONTROL, FORMING A HAZY CONGLOMERATE OF INDEPENDANT 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 THEIR NOW HEAVILY BELT PLUNDERED TRADE ROUTES STARTED BEING PROTECTED
BY POWERFUL CRAFT. NATURALLY, THE BELT RESPONDED BY UPGRADING THEIR
HARDWARE, AND LESSENING THE 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 FIGHTING THE DEADLY UEA MILITARY TO A STANDSTILL.
    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 SIGNIFICANTLY 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
THAT ONLY THE UEA MILITARY COULD GLEAN THE MUCH SOUGHT AFTER INFORMATION
FROM THEM. THEY DENIED THE EXISTANCE OF ANY DISCOVERIES.
    MEANWHILE, THE BELT GOVERNING POWERS DEEMED THE OUTER SYSTEM SELF
SUFFICENT, 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 CENTERS 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.
    THE GAME OPENS WITH A MASSIVE TASK FORCE SUPRISING THE BELT SHIPS IN
POOR STRATEGICAL LOCATIONS AND FORCING THE BELT TO ABANDON THEIR POSTITION
AS CONTROLLERS OF SATURN SPACE.
