Terran Alliance

The Terran Alliance is a major civilization in Galactic Civilizations III.

Description

Terrans are the inventors of hyperdrive and the youngest race on the galactic stage. Although committed diplomats, Terrans have a militaristic streak that has taken many by surprise.

Despite being the youngest race in the galaxy, the Terrans are perhaps the most dangerous. Notably, it was their invention of the hyperdrive, and decision to spread it to their neighbors, which led to the current arms race the galaxy finds itself in. Although Terrans present themselves as a peaceful and diplomatic people, when they are drawn into warfare, they possess an intuitive flair for violence, and extreme willingness to exercise it. Although Terrans find nothing strange about this dichotomy, many of their galactic peers regard it as alarming, and even duplicitous.

Traits

Terrans are naturally adventurous, with fast, long ranging ships. Their production capacity and diplomatic abilities are well regarded. Their ability to field large fleets is regarded with a bit more wariness.

History

Earth achieved a political breakthrough in the early 22nd century. Humanity was united in its larger goals while individual nation states continued to thrive and celebrate their own idiosyncrasies.

When Earth was visited by an Arcean probe in 2117, the event was celebrated around the world. Its arrival transformed humanity’s outlook on the universe and sent mankind’s technology leaping forward. Instantaneous communication through subspace transmissions was only one of dozens of advances that came in waves in the wake of first contact.

The Arceans also provided plans to build a stargate that would allow Earth and Arcea to trade with one another. The expense of the project created considerable consternation between the various member states of United Earth. The Russian Federation suspected that the Arceans merely wanted to invade Earth. They pointed out that once activated, the stargate would be virtually impossible to disable without causing catastrophic damage to the solar system.

However, the stargate plans gave scientists a better understanding of how folding space worked. This new knowledge, combined with Earth’s native fusion-power expertise, led to the development of hyperdrive. This radical new propulsion technology, which even the advanced Arceans lacked, allowed individual ships to travel anywhere in the galaxy in relatively short amounts of time.

In gratitude to the Arceans for providing the plans to the stargate, the humans shared the new hyperdrive technology with them. This token of goodwill eventually resulted in the death of billions as the technology quickly spread to the other major galactic civilizations, which led to the Dread Lord war and the triumph of the evil Drengin Empire.

The average male human height in 2200 was measured to be 1.9 meters tall (roughly 6 feet, 3 inches) and the average female over 1.7 meters (approximately 5’7”). The average human lifespan is unknown – the integration of nanotechnology into human biology in the late 21st century increased the human lifespan to an unknown level.

Humans are considered the diplomats of the galaxy. Their first efforts after establishing contact with the major galactic civilizations was the formation of the United Planets, an organization designed to adjudicate disputes and oversee a set of rules for the colonization of new worlds.

Current Status

The Terran Alliance led the coalition that defeated the Dread Lords. However, the Drengin Empire and the Yor – who had stayed out of the war – used that time to build up their military might and attacked the weakened coalition members. The Terran Alliance saw its colonies taken by the Yor and Drengin. They are now left with just Earth, protected behind an impenetrable shield but surrounded by a Drengin armada.