Early draft map 2.0

Here's the second draft. This is taking me WAY longer than expected. The map will go through changes, but likely won't deviate too far from what's shown here. Notation will be included, as well.

Technology in the year 2813

The following are a list of truth-bending conventions involved in the technology portrayed in the Epic of Quarace:

1) Faster-than-light travel. FTL travel is possible, but requires enormous amounts of energy. Very large vessels (i.e. military capital ships) are able to carry enough fuel (charged batteries, power plants, etc.) for one FTL round trip. Large shipping/exploration vessels, such as the explorer ship Magellan, can carry enough fuel for only one jump. Due to this large expenditure of energy, impracticality of building such large power plants on every spacefaring vessel, and the large demand for interplanetary transport, jump gates are constructed. The principle behind a jump gate is simple: Gates are constructed on either side of a desired route. When one wishes to travel between them, one gate powers up and begins to open a wormhole on the other side. This, however, creates a vortex which pulls mass backwards through the jump gate- not helpful. Therefore, the other side responds by creating the opposite effect, a gravitational field which pulls in the opposite direction. When both gates are functioning at full power, a special situation is created where a ship is neither being pushed or pulled, but the wormhole is still active. At this point, any matter may move freely between the two points.
Jump gates are often strategically contested during war, since they allow for ships smaller than capital ships to make FTL jumps. During the Great War for Peace, the jump gates around Quarace were destroyed quickly, so Terran Federation forces quickly erected a series of gates in deep space, beyond sensor range of Quarace.

2) Anti-gravity. Anti-grav technology evolved after the Great War for Peace, and can be found everywhere on Quarace. Antigrav generators work on a similar principle to jump gates, though much smaller. Jump gates work by projecting focused gravitic energy to warp the fabric of space-time. Antigrav also projects gravitic waves, out of phase with the surface of the planet, lessening the planet's pull on the object. Total phase cancellation is not to be desired- an object would be flung from the planet's atmosphere very quickly if total phase cancellation were achieved, marginalizing the amount of power needed for simple levitation.
This technology obviously has almost limitless applications, but cannot be used for non-vertical propulsion. Therefore, craft utilizing Antigrav generators are also fit with conventional systems functioning both as propulsion drives and a redundancy system in the event of Antigrav drive failure.

3) Laser guns. Every space opera needs laser guns. In the year 2813, there's still a problem with particle beams powerful enough to do significant damage over long distances: cooling. Except for onboard powerful spacefaring vessels or onboard a terrestrial defense installation, cooling these weapons becomes a problem.
In the Epic of Quarace, technology has evolved allowing for metallic projectiles to carry a static charge so powerful that the heat and shockwaves caused by static discharge upon impact can cause significant damage. A pistol weapon here has two components: one which propels a projectile conventionally (i.e. a bullet propelled by gunpowder) and one which charges the projectile upon launch, powered by a high-capacity battery. The weapon has two "clips," so to speak- the ammunition magazine and the replaceable battery.
Though weapons of this sort are commonly used in this universe, the familiar rockets and explosives are also used to full effect. Rail guns can also be found on Quarace.

Note: Power consumption. As is often the case with space opera, the technology described is vaguely plausible, yet not feasable by today's standards due to the enormous amount of energy required. In the future described here, fusion power has been brought to perfection and proliferated. Personal-use fusion reactors are available (only from the AQR, of course) and can even be found in sizes just smaller than a two-liter bottle. Fusion is a power source with enormous yield, and no further explanation is needed in this ficitonal universe. If you're wondering where the vast amounts of energy are coming from, there you have it.

Some environmental info

The surface of the planet Quarace gives its inhabitants an entirely new experience from Earth itself- as soon as the first explorers set foot on the planet, it was known that any events which would take place on this planet would be extraordinary.
The first-noticed feature of the planet's surface are the sheer shapes never found on earth. In large swaths across the planet lie great fields of sinkholes and cliffs. These "mountain ranges" resemble something carved from a very porous block of swiss cheese. The "holes" in the rock create vast, complex cliffs, valleys, shelves and caves reaching for hundreds of kilometers wide and, sometimes, many kilometers tall. The size of these features is varied- some are no larger than a man's thumb, while the Niskali Basin spans three hundred kilometers wide.
What causes these features in the landscape is unknown. There are definite patterns among the different "swiss chese" formations when compared to other mountain ranges on Quarace, notably that each of these formations has a narrow and a wide end, and are always fairly narrow, running roughly west by northwest or east by southeast, and most are located on the western side of the great continent and its archipelago to the north- actually, the islands in the archipelago are the tips of an underwater formation. At the narrow end, feature size is relatively low and very frequent- at the wider end, features increase in size, progressively swallowing the largest feature before them. While scientists speculate on the factors leading to the creation of these formations, almost all agree that they formed very quickly, by a sudden and catastrophic event. While this is not uncommon for any planet- records show many catastrophic phenomena changing Earth's landscape such as the Giant Impact which formed the moon and K-T Extinction event- the enigmatic nature of this question leads many to believe that it will happen again, and that humans may not even have advance warning.
Despite the dangers associated with them, the Giant Porous Formations (GPFs) have been of great interest to human beings. Throughout their expanse, GPFs show an extraordinary incidence of "Tensorite," a type of natural steel of unprecedented purity and strength. Outside of the GPFs, Cobalt ore is found in abundance. The supply of high-quality metals on Quarace was not only one of the reasons the planet became so attractive to prospectors, but also critical to the AQR's war machine during the Great War for Peace.
The presence of Tensorite is primary evidence for the argument that GPFs were formed catastrophically- since steel does not usually occur naturally and a great deal of energy is required to mix iron and carbon, the two must have been brought together, scientists say, by a sudden event generating a great deal of heat. However, no further evidence has been found regarding the formation of the GPFs.
Tensorite also contributes greatly to the bewildering experiences of life on Quarace. Supported by natural steel, rock formations of seemingly impossible shape appear. Rock ledges and shelves several kilometers long, even several kilometers high, stud the mountain landscape. Some ledges are even strong and wide enough that cities are built on them without any fear of collapse, although some rock shelves HAVE collapsed, taking some earlier settlements and even medium-sized towns with them. Mountains can be found on Quarace too tall for atmospheric craft to overcome. Since the landscape is so three-dimensional in places, life has evolved as such. Quarace is home to mile-high trees which grow from the deepest GPF sinkholes to reach sunlight, their death returning the entirety of their mass to the almost sunless bottom and nourishing life there. In the most dense forests, all life exists three-dimensionally, forming almost separate ecosystems between the ground, canopy, and middle. Due to the abundance of these tall forests and three-dimensional landscape, avian species have proliferated among Quarace's animal kingdom, with Jastins as the most dominant species of all.
The heavy concentration of metals on Quarace has also contributed to the forms of life on the surface. Evolving in the constant presence of metal, life has developed abilities to incorporate Tensorite into its own structure. The presence of Tensorite in plants' cell walls allows them to grow as tall as they are. The great roaming beasts of Quarace maintain skeletal integrity through a lattice of Tensorite in their bones, the same process allowing for the evolution of larger-scale invertibrates. Most carnivorous species have incorporated a higher Tensorite density in exposed bones- i.e. teeth and claws, for hunting purposes. This includes carnivorous avians, but to a lesser degree, as Tensorite increases bone and body weight.
Tensorite poses a problem for human beings. Since humans have evolved in a far less metallic environment, their bodies do not react well to the high amounts of Tensorite, iron, and cobalt commonly found in fresh water on Quarace. While able to endure for short periods of time, humans do not survive for long when left in the open. Filtration of metals from water, most easily accomplished using powerful electromagnets, is paramount to human survival. The concentration of iron in vegetables or other foods native to Quarace is of little concern to human beings, since smaller plants have little use for metals in their cellular structure as larger plants do. However, the importance of water filtration to human survival makes it of great interest to the AQR. Electromagnetic filters fall under the AQR's list of monopolized industries, therefore closely affiliating any public water systems with AQR bureaucracy. Use of homemade filtration, such as a powerful electromagnet held near a container of water for an extended period of time, is strictly forbidden. Due to the inefficiency of these devices, and the risk of discovery by the authorities, most Quaran citizens buy small filters from AQR distribution when traveling where public water is unavailable.

Map, draft 1

First draft of a basic land map of Quarace... too late in the game, I realized that the big central continent is actually a smushed version of Great Britain... Freud would have a lot to say about why that may have happened though I'm pretty stumped. Stay tuned for a preliminary map, version 2.

I've been doing numerous drawings relating to Jastins, those will also probably go up soon.

Information about Jastins

When Quarace was first discovered, it was seen to be home to all manner of plant and animal life unlike anything seen on Earth, with the most notable being a family of animal-oid species referred to as Quaroids, since they came to be the species most associated with the planet. Quaroids come in all shapes and sizes, indeed they probably have little in common physically, save for a few features: first, all have a lightweight yet amazingly strong bone structure. Second, all Quaroids possess tough, leathery skin with very similar luster and texture. Third, all Quaroids seem to be able to communicate by means which cannot be measured by any human instrument. Some believe that they utilize a form of extrasensory perception, while others dismiss the mystery to oversight and await the discovery of the method by which Quaroids can communicate, believing that this could also someday be utilized by humanity. When speaking of Quaroids, most often the subject of debate is the nature of the Jastin race, whose activities have plagued humanity for centuries upon centuries. Their nature continues to mystify humanity, primarily since only a handful of intact specimens have ever been captured.
Jastins are the perfect predators. They are lightweight, airborn, and possess three natural weapons. Their reflexes are lightning-quick, even for a creature of Quarace. They possess quite thin, humanoid bodies with tri-segmenteddigitigrade legs, leathery wings, and a long tail. Blades, which they habitually sharpen on the rocks where they dwell, can be found on the tip of the tail, the tips of the wings, and three large claws adorn each foot, with two pointing forward and one backward. Each performs a different function- the talons are perfect for ripping and for gripping prey. A common Jastin attack revolves around swooping from above and thrashing with their talons. The Jastins' wing blades are a thrusting weapon, used by collapsing the wing to bring the tips together, and thrusting the apparatus forward, far beyond arms' reach. The tail blade performs two functions- it is useful as a slashing weapon and provides limited rear coverage, and also aids stability during flight.
Despite their amazing ability to attack, this species does have weaknesses. For all their natural weaponry, Jastins lack very much physical strength, and their fragile organ structure is easily pulverized. Jastin attacks normally are centered around the idea of quickly incapacitating prey before they get too close for comfort- Jastins are loathe to engage in prolonged combat, preferring to strike quickly and lethally. Since flight is their default mode of transport, they are very cautious of their wings, which are the most sensitive part of their body. They prefer to dwell in high ground, where none can attack from above.
Jastins gained dominance over their surroundings in much the same manner that humans did, albeit in a more carnivorous manner. Their main predator besides disease consisted of the larger Quaran species, who could easily disrupt Jastins during flight. However, once Jastin speech evolved, they were able to overcome these predators by communicating in language more complex than the raw, oblique emotions communicated by ESP. Over time they became sentient, and their culture is quite simple, yet peculiar.
Jastins are the perfect hunters, and their natural hunting ability, they recognize, is what made them the dominant species on Quarace. Their culture is centered around the hunt, which for them is a sacred ritual carried out daily, with the utmost care. Jastins also recognize that hunting is a violent act, and that all life would perish if all Jastins hunted constantly. Killing, to them, is different to Jastins than for humans. Whereas humans regard killing as a vile act sometimes performed out of necessity, Jastins believe that their skills with killing were bestowed upon them by the divine, and the frivolous use of the emotions which fuel it is a violation of this divine gift- in a sense, killing without purpose or honor is an ungrateful act.
Jastin culture is centered around the honorable slaughter of worthy opponents. Jastins spar constantly in an effort to hone their skills. Hunting a more adept creature, for them, is a sign of great sophistication- a Jastin who preys on small, helpless animals is seen as lacking in honor. Like human Buddhists aspire to eventually achieve enlightenment, Jastins are constantly preoccupied with finding the ideal way to hunt and kill prey. Their psyche is constantly engaged in analytical thought, in a constant cycle of searching, stalking, slaughter, and feast, a cycle which they see constantly reflected in their own lives. Never, under any circumstance, is it considered honorable for a Jastin to use their skills to kill another of their own species- this is ungrateful.
Jastin society is loosely structured. By day, they scatter in search of prey, if they are hungry. If a Jastin is not hungry at the beginning of the day, then they will chose to sleep until the next day, when their hunger will better drive their hunt. Jastins never store extra food, since feasting is considered a necessary part of the hunting cycle (Search, Stalk, Slaughter, Feast) which cannot occur but after slaughter.
Additionally, Jastins associate their ESP abilities with divinity, and have noted that animals with more developed intellect, although none are more developed than their own, give off greater extrasensory signals during combat. More developed feelings are projected from larger, more developed animals, especially other predators. These signals are considered a sort of divine revelation, and in these moments the Jastin feels called to be completely focused on the matter at hand, and therefore these signals are associated with a closer connection to the divine, the ideal.
When human beings first came to Quarace, they were relatively unconcerned with the Jastins, considering them to be simple, primitive animals. However, when human expansion progressed into common Jastin hunting grounds, the creatures responded, and began to hunt the human beings, fascinated by these new animals and their many machines- however, the humans did not react pleasantly to their kind falling under attack by savage local creatures.
Herein lies the problem between Jastins and humans: when the Jastins kill a human being, they mean no ill will by this. After all, there are animals which prey on Jastins as well. Hunting is a natural part of the world, right? However, the humans were outraged by the apparently calculated killing of human beings, the creatures which would stalk a man for days before making a sudden strike. Loose efforts, in the manner of bodyguards and neighborhood militia, were organized to defend the human settlements from the Jastins. However, this proved ineffective as, since they are masters of the hunt, the Jastins responded by simply finding new ways to get at the humans. As the conflicts continued to escalate, the Jastins responded by coordinating team efforts to contend with the organizing humans.
The human-Jastin conflict continued until finally local armies were determined to drive out the Jastins by any means necessary. But the problem was not that the Jastins were killing too many humans- actually, there were far more murders taking place by humans daily- but that the Jastins were, in most cases, simply too wily to be killed. Their ESP sense was very sensitive to the minds of the Jastins, and the sentient rage produced by humans during fighting fueled the focus and drive of the Jastins- no other animal on the planet produced a broader mental signal than human beings, and the Jastins could indeed use these signals to anticipate a human's next move, a quality they could only recognize in each other, not any other animal.
The fight continued savagely since to both races, the conflict was entirely different in nature. To the humans, Jastins were a threat to their safety, indeed their own lives. Jastins were mere animals to human eyes, primitive in nature yet fierce. Not having explored the entire planet directly, humans had not yet observed the organized aspects of Jastin civilization, and did not understand that these creatures were civilized, just like humans were. Jastins were wild, untamable animals to be subdued by any means possible. On the other hand, the Jastins reveled in the continually escalating challenge posed them by the humans. They considered humans to be a race of hunters like themselves, and they interpreted the conflicts as being a contest of sorts, and the conflict escalated only to provide them with new challenges, and increased hatred and mental projections on behalf of the humans led them to greater understanding of the cycle of hunting, and the divine meaning of slaughter. They had no idea that the mental projections of humans were actually the manifestations of hatred toward their kind. The Jastins were also unaware that humans would wipe them off the planet if they had the means. Jastins, as a sentient race, respected every living thing on the planet- why wouldn't humans do the same?
This ignorance to the greater human plan was not thwarted by the humans' performance against them- almost all human tactics employed against them were utterly useless, and humans themselves are slow-moving, heavy creatures compared to most life on Quarace. They were generally easy prey, but humans' emotional intensity during fighting and their ingenious use of weapons and technology, something the Jastins were unfamiliar with, was of great intrigue to them, something which could be studied greatly by hunting the human beings- and so the conflict went on.
Meanwhile, the humans, led by great money-grubbing corporate executives- had a planet to colonize, and later, a civil war to fight. After the early efforts to fend of f the Jastins had proved utterly ineffective, the humans chose to simply avoid Jastins by dwelling where the species avoided- on low ground. In coastal regions of Quarace there lay a different set of land-roaming predators, but these animals lacked the cunning and intellect of the Jastins. And so for many hundreds of years there was a relatively peaceful co-existance between the two species. Jastins only rarely ventured down to the coastal human cities, and humans dared not wander into the highlands.
But the peace didn't last. Ruled by corporations who settled Quarace to take advantage of its natural resources, the humans again began to wonder what lay in the highlands, and about the true nature of the native creatures which at this point had risen to almost mythic status. Early expeditions into the highlands and mountainous regions revealed shocking information: the Jastins had adopted human technology and weapons, and had apparently become mastered with their use. Even stranger, these weapons were slightly different than conventional human technology, and made for use by Jastins specifically. Not only had these creatures embraced human technology, they had adapted human industrial and manufacturing techniques to their advantage as well, although none could find the location of their production facilities- weren't these creatures nomadic?
The animals which were once thought only to possess a primitive set of instincts were, in reality, intellectually advanced, even civilized. It came as a shock, and a horror, to the entire human population of Quarace.
Thus, a second war between the two species began, with the human race this time motivated by their horror at the adoption of their own technology, somehow, by these malicious animals. The humans now attempted to use all of their power to find a way to successfully fight them, but it was of ho use- even against armored airships, the Jastins had become adept with ranged energy weapons and missiles. Although their belief in the supremacy of the individual as the ideal hunting force prevented them from developing armored vehicles on their own, they adopted the human technology as a means of dealing with larger-scale, more destructive human war machines. Through careful study, the Jastins determined where the massive human airships and tanks were weakest, again defeating them through the classic quick-strike method which had served them for millennia.
Humans, for the first time in their species' history, were dominated by another species. Cities were built in the highlands, either buried inside the mountains or covered in automated defenses designed to disintegrate anything crossing their path. Mining and manufacturing operations were carried out and massive arcologies became part of the mountain landscape, but no efforts could be made offensively against the Jastins- all efforts, it seemed, were futile. After a decade of fighting, humans ceased to even imagine new ways to fight the Jastins offensively.
Meanwhile, a popular sentiment united the Jastins- the observation of the nature of human beings. Within a single millennium, these creatures had populated the planet and were actively stripping it of its beauty, turning the planet's beauty into terrible destruction. "Is this race really that similar to ours?" The began to wonder. Some even argued that it may be the duty of their race to subdue this nefarious species.
Two hundred and thirty-three years after the end of the second Human-Jastin conflict is where the stage is set.

History of Human settlement of Quarace, part 2

The end of the war with Earth brought a multitude of sentiments on Quarace. For the executives of the major corporations, it was seen as a great victory. Earth had abandoned the struggle, horrified of the moral vacuum displayed by the AQR, though the AQR themselves perceived this as a retreat caused by intimidation and sheepishness on the behalf of the people of Earth. The AQR saw their victory as the manifestation of the supremacy of their un-governed freedom.
The people of Quarace, however, were affected differently by the ending of the war. Much of the prosperity of the planet had relied on the immense demand for raw materials on Earth and her colonies, a demand which had been filled by the appetite of the AQR war machine during the Great War for Peace. With the war over, suddenly the immense industrial capacity created on Quarace had little to do. The living conditions on Quarace were bad enough with the oppression and general corruption of the AQR, but with so little demand for output anymore, the planet was plunged into mass-poverty. Many quickly starved or froze to death, while others put their entire families to work for the massive AQR operations, just to make ends meet.
These conditions weren't very good for the ruling AQR, either. While their lifestyle was largely unaffected- they could still enjoy all the luxuries they had before- the people of Quarace, especially in cities, were becoming less and less controllable as poverty skyrocketed. Within a few months, it was apparent that the people would revolt if not quickly oppressed and put to work. Desperate to maintain the unrestricted freedom they had fought so hard for, the generals who had recently won the war for the AQR were deployed to regions around the planet in order to make sure that any revolt was quelled before word could spread very quickly. These generals were given direct control over these territories, and mostly left to their own devices. These generals had mostly had one job- to keep the people in line.
Meanwhile, the AQR re-assessed their situation. Given the lower demand for output, they had to scale back their operation, something they were quite reluctant to do. Many mining and refining operations were shut down, and businesses were consolidated for maximum efficiency. Any areas rich in untapped resources were monitored closely in order to maintain the AQR'S monopoly on Quarace's wealth. In addition, any power plants operated by anyone other than the AQR were destroyed, dismantled, or taken over directly by the company. At this point, the AQR held control over all of the planet's natural resources and energy.
To ease the poverty and create somewhat better urban and economic conditions on Quarace, the AQR implemented great public works projects and initiated the construction of new cities and towns where the poor could live and work for the AQR. Citizens were encouraged to build new, huge structures and develop the new settlements as fast as they could. Procreation was encouraged among the citizens. The population grew and expanded, and for a time there was relative peace and, for the first time in a long time, a lingering hope that perhaps the same greed which had driven the AQR to commit the atrocities in the war could also bring new life to the impoverished planet- maybe these companies were right all along.
And in a way, they were, since the AQR knew how to stimulate a struggling economy on a planet such as Quarace. Expansion continued, and leveled off after about sixty or seventy years, with the AQR bearing profits all around- they held a total monopoly on all of the planet's resources and energy production. Any building materials used in the expansion of Quaran colonies and cities came at direct profit to the AQR. Anything that was built, be one's house or the chairs in their living room, gave a measure of profit to the AQR. Turning on the lights meant that the AQR would make money- who else was allowed to produce energy on this planet? Even gathering rainwater was a crime. Over time, the AQR grew to care less and less for the troubles of the people themselves, sinking further and further into isolation from the rest of the planet. Their income was constant, and without competition their jobs had become increasingly simple- there was no need to increase efficiency, really, since the companies were reaping all profits from the markets they dominated. If their pricing and marketing were flawed- who cared? The consumers were trapped, and there was nothing the AQR could do to lose business. They descended into isolation, caring less and less for the troubles of the outside world, with those on top doing very little work and spending their days in blissful debauchery, bored and basking in the opulence won by their forebears and delegating more and more work to the men under them. The generals they had put in place to keep the peace were now the rulers of the land, perfectly content to be the subjects of the Executives since their power over the regions was almost absolute- they were relatively unrestricted as long as order was maintained and the great monopolies went unchallenged, which was hardly a difficult task. The Generals were perfectly content to defend this system since its benefits to them were so plentiful.
And so it was that the planet descended into feudalism- the citizens defaulted to the Generals, the generals defaulted to AQR delegates, and the Delegates, who did the bidding of the Executives, who were really kings, but still referred to themselves by the antiquated title.
The AQR cared very little for the well-being of the people, or even the Generals for that matter. As long as Generals existed to do the Generals' job, the AQR were happy. When the Generals fought amongst themselves over territory, all the better! Wars consumed resources and massive amounts of energy. No matter who won or lost a war, the AQR profited. Their situation was perfect. Where we set our stage, the rule of the AQR has lasted for four hundred years.

History of Human settlement of Quarace, part 1

The exact date at which humans first landed on the planet Quarace is uncertain. Some scholars have placed this event as having happened many thousands of years before the inception of the AQR, while some say that it was a mere few hundred, and theories exist positing this event anywhere between these two extremes. What is important to know is that the farther before the year Zero one researches, the harder specific details become to discern. The important events, however, cannot be erased, and there are certain things which are known as fact.
Quarace was a miracle... no, it was more than that. Quarace was a planet of dreams, seemingly given to the human race by God himself. A planet three times the size of the Earth, but with half the gravitational pull. This planet was habitable by human beings, and supported native life similar to Earth's. Were humans alone in the universe? No. There were other planets we could live on. In fact, humans would feel right at home on Quarace. Early expeditions to the planet revealed that life on other planets could be surprisingly similar to Earth's. There were watery oceans, green forests, animal life of all shapes and sizes! The entire human race was united in revelry, and rightly so- Quarace was rich in all of the natural resources quickly being exhausted on Earth- iron ore, silver, even gold was found in abundance. The planet had vast oceans of unpolluted water and untouched forests of natural wood, filled with new forms of life to study and cultivate.
Hard records have never been found of early expeditions, but at a certain point humans began to build ships themselves to travel to this new colony. En masse, a new class of human beings fled the crowded, exhausted Earth to begin a new life in a new world. First civilians, then entrepreneurs, and suddenly major corporations took an interest in the planet's untouched resources. The first of these companies was the Kensington iron and steel company, which, after mapping the iron deposits on the planet's largest continent, pioneered the first efficient method and route for the transportation of goods from Quarace back to Earth via the construction of massive jump-gates, apparatuses large enough for entire fleets to enter hyperspace with ease and complete the twelve-year journey to Earth in only three weeks. The investment was a phenomenal success- though it plunged the company into considerable debt for decades, the investments stood firm due to the apparent lucrativeness of their business- thus, many companies followed suit. Soon, operations sprung up all around the planet, with different companies not wishing to compete in similar markets, but to find new goods to bring back to Earth and sell at considerable price.
With all of this activity, more and more Earth citizens began to move off-world to Quarace, and where once there were small settlements there now stood groups of towns which were quickly on their way to quickly becoming cities. This created a dangerous economic situation for the citizens of Quarace, since the primary economic power, in fact the most influential power on the planet, was the group of the seven largest companies which had secured monopolies on the planet's market for natural resources. There was a difference between the giant corporations and the regular citizens of the planet- the citizens had largely moved to the planet due to their spirit of adventure and intrigue with the unknown. The corporations, however, were only interested only in the money to be made from the planet. The chairmen of these companies almost always remained on Earth- maybe visiting the new planet once.
The new territory was not the property of anyone, and was not governed by any law. Each town established had drawn up a series of laws governing themselves, but there was nothing any of them could do against the will of the giant corporations, since they were, in effect, in total control of the planet. The companies had more power than all of the local governments combined. Worse, the majority of citizens worked for the corporations, and were by default powerless against them. Worse still, many had come to accept the hegemony of these companies as a kind of order, and were willing to defend it.
This was a dangerous situation, and the danger was soon realized. The rich became richer and fewer, and the poor became poorer and numerous. The majority of the citizens were employed as low-level workers, with positions of management remaining on Earth or behind closed doors. The economic conditions on the planet became so stressful that the workers were on the verge of open revolt- when the news of a few riots finally was leaked to Earth governments, the planet was declared an annex of a consortium of Earth governments.
This wasn't good for the Corporations. With the rule of government came the promise of regulations and the watchful eye of politicians. Even though their lobbying power was already strong, these companies had tasted the fruit of total commercial freedom and were now unwilling to give it up to any government, especially a government from the old planet. Whereas they had previously operated independently albeit in a similar fashion, the Corporations now united under the banner of Amalgamated Quaran Resources, or AQR. This consortium began to lobby the government offices to ease their pressure on the AQR's business dealings, but in the end found that their meddling was not enough to hide the obvious unethical business practices inside the company and human rights abuses in field operations. In fact with the amount of manpower required to support their operation, paying their workers a living wage would have shut down their operation, as there were not enough citizens of Quarace to consume their total output.
Faced with the dissolution of the business model which had made them the most financially successful business institutions in human history, the AQR continued to lobby while making preparations for their independence, an event known as Day Zero. On this day, a massive arsenal of troops and arms, manufactured under the noses of Earth peacekeeping forces, was unleashed on all major cities on the behalf of the AQR. Striking swiftly and in great numbers, these forces quickly drove all Earth forces from the planet, and followed by launching relentless rocket attacks on the orbiting Earth fleet bases. Forced to retreat, Earth would not give up control of this planet easily.
What followed was called on Earth the Great War for Peace, which implied a war to set things right on Quarace, finally ending human rights abuses and the obvious injustices perpetrated by the AQR. The battle raged for one hundred years- while Earth clearly had the upper hand for a long time, the vast resources and money controlled by the AQR were simply too far beyond the capacity of Earth to endure- eventually, as the AQR's infrastructure developed faster and faster along with the war, they were able to match the Earth forces militarily.
However, military strength was not the key to the victory of the AQR. Led by ruthless business executives, these companies acted without the moral compass or ethical canon of Earth's democratic nations. AQR forces were not just invested in a war for the sake of fighting or sovereignty. They were led by men with something to prove- that their independent operations were more powerful- even above- the dominion of any government. The AQR were out to rub in the face of Earth's civilized governments that they were under the control of no man and of no higher code. They were out to prove that they were more free than any Earthling, and that they could fight this war any way they pleased. Conflict with AQR forces became increasingly savage and brutal, with soldiers witnessing their fellow humans abandoning all human morality for the sake of victory. No prisoners were taken. AQR troops would riddle a corpse with bullets even after it was dead. Mutialtion of bodies took place even on the battlefield; some AQR soldiers even took to practicing cannibalism on the front lines, in the heat of battle. Sometimes, even the wounded were offered up in a wild display of savagery.
The tactic worked. Fear was widespread among Earth's troops, with those being deployed to the front lines terrified of the horrors reported daily from the battlefields. Many lost their minds minutes before deployment, some even committed suicide once assigned a mission in certain sectors. Officers with rank defected, fleeing with their troops to remote off-world colonies through the jump-gates. Realizing that they were fighting a war of attrition, the Earth governments often wondered what they attempted to conquer by defeating the AQR- the popular sentiment on Earth was no longer a desire to subdue and regulate the population of Quarace, but to separate themselves from Quarace altogether. Many on Earth felt even ashamed to be of the same species as the savage AQR shock troops.
Meanwhile, in the hundreds of years since the first settlements on Quarace, the human race had found other interesting worlds far less problematic and precious as Quarace, worlds on which human beings existed peacefully. Unbeknownst to the inhabitants of Quarace, the behavior on this planet was held up to the rest of humanity as an example of how a human being should not behave, of how a civilization should not conduct itself. Over the course of the war, the people of Earth and her off-world colonies grew weary of the idea of conquering Quarace and adopting the planet's cities and people into their fold. Why attempt to associate with such barbaric people, whose leaders' only concern was for wealth and power? If Earth ever came under attack by another civilization - and there were surely other civilized forms of life in the universe, humans were sure at this point- could Quaran forces be relied upon to aid Earth in their struggle? In the end, was a coexistance with Quarace even a desirable objective?
Earth abandoned Quarace. The fleets issued terms of surrender, which were never signed. Immediately after retreat, a group of drones remained near Quarace, out of the AQR's sensor range, and ceremoniously destroyed the sacred jump gates which the Kensington corporation had built so many Earth-years ago to expedite travel between Earth and Quarace. Whereas Earth could be reached in three weeks' time, now the journey would twelve years in space to complete. The empire forged by Earth's leaders was now clean of the horrors of the Great War for Peace with Quarace.