The inexplainable and unexpected collapse (in Earth Date 1908) of a mysterious energy sphere 50 parsecs across that had existed for millennia, had at its epicentre Terra and had caused misjumps of any ship that tried to enter, meant Terra was now open to visits from its nearest interstellar neighbour, the Ziru Sirka Empire controlled by humans from the planet of Vland.
The first major interstellar civilization, politically and culturally dominated by humans from Vland after discovering the interstellar jump drive. The Vilani discovered a number of interfertile and technologically primitive human races on worlds within 60 parsecs of their homeworld as well as other sentient species. These were gradually brought to a high-technology state with Vilani help and assimilated into a loose interstellar community bound by trade and common culture.
Eventually, the client races themselves explored beyond the local sphere, contacting and trading with still more races. These new races gained their technology without being assimilated into Vilani culture; the resulting increased friction eventually resulted in a series of wars.
In response to the threat, Vland began tightening its control of its trade sphere, and finally organising it into a centralized state. This marked the beginnings of the Ziru Sirka, although there was as yet no emperor. During the thousand year period of the Consolidation Wars, Vland conquered and absorbed its enemies until there were no longer any civilised states on its borders the Vilani declared the establishment of an interstellar empire to govern all Vilani territory. Known as the Grand Empire of Stars or Ziru Sirka. With no exterior threats, the Ziru Sirka has lasted for nearly 1800 years, contained 27 sectors of space and over 15,000 worlds.
This species has had a long history and is widely known for its vast multicultural range and extensive colonisation across Charted Space. One of most unusual aspects of Humaniti is the fact that humans are present on many different worlds and stand at various levels of development on those worlds. Many other sophont species have far more uniform cultures and share throughout their societies the achievements of the their science and technology. Humans, in contrast, often deny resources to other members of their species.
After contact was made with Terra and the vast evidence of evolution was revealed a hypothesis was formed that all Humans evolved on Terra and were scattered to many different worlds by an as yet unknown ancient species for reasons currently unknown. The result is that many different, parallel human races exist, and coexist throughout Charted Space.
The First Imperium (Ziru Sirka) and much of the interstellar background are taken whole cloth from the Traveller RPG Official Universe.
The Ziru Sirka made contact with the experimental jump-3 starship designed by Daedalus and the Challenger-Wildeman family, in the Muan Gwi system – given the possibility that this was by interstellar definition a major race (they had apparently discovered jump drive capacity unassisted) they eventually traced and subsequently sent an Embassy to Earth only to discover that this potential major race was also possibly the lost homeworld of the human races.
News of a newly discovered potentially major race being discovered just beyond the borders of the Empire is only just filtering back to the Empire. An ambassador was dispatched to negotiate with the Terrans and to decide whether the system should be quarantined or offered membership in the Empire.
The Rise of the Star-Khan
The human inhabitants of the planet Zultas adapted to suit the harsh environment of their home: dark blue skin pigmentation, pointed ears for better hearing in a thinner atmosphere, more efficient lungs and blood oxygenation. The Zultasians embraced a harsh philosophy of survival of the fittest and rule by the strongest (and most able to hold on to the power they claimed, by whatever means necessary). The gods, they believed, placed them in a crucible, and only the strongest would emerge to receive their blessings.
By the time the Ziru Sirka discovered them they were in the process of carving out a small empire amongst the nearby systems.
The Vilani underestimated a war-leader named Khana, the ambitious queen of a small alliance of worlds ruled from Zultas. More importantly, it led them to underestimate her son and successor, Kinan, who has become known as “The Star-Khan.” A military genius, the Star-Khan turned a ramshackle collection of worlds on the fringe of the Ziru Sirka into a military force without peer.
When attacks by the shapeshifting race known as the Unity occurred on the Imperial borders, the Star Khan saw an opportunity and rebelled, resulting in a civil war that has the Star Khan in control of hundreds of worlds and numerous other humanoids and alien species that are now—willingly or not— under the Star-Khan’s “protection.”
This also resulted in isolating the systems around Terra and cutting them off from any further contact with the Ziru Sirka. The presence of a possibly superior, unaffiliated race of meta-humans located within what was the infamous Sphere makes Terra a potential target to both sides of the ongoing Civil war..
Growing up Meta, UK-Style! 