The Exxar Chronicles: Book 01 - The Erayan

by Neal Jones

  2215 – The Terran empire now refers to itself as EarthCorps. The IASA is officially dissolved and integrated into EarthCorps Naval Command. The DrayH'M Commonwealth admits two new species into its alliance.

  2247 – The Commonwealth makes first contact with the Ralorian Confederacy. This alien alliance has seven member worlds.

  2286 – The DrayH'M Commonwealth, the Murdohn Republic and the Ralorian Confederacy officially unite to form the Interstellar Federation of Peace. By 2678, there are fifty-six member worlds.

  2291 - The Draathma Parliament, the governing body of the Federation, is created.

  2527 – First contact is made with the Jha'Drok, and almost immediately they declare war against the Federation. The conflict lasts for sixteen years, and the Federation is the victor. A truce is declared in 2543, and although a treaty is signed, the Jha'Drok are not allies of the Federation. Instead, they withdraw into their territories, and a demilitarized zone is established between their space and the Federation's. The Jha'Drok will not be heard from again until their attempted invasion of the Federation in 2678.

  2551 - First contact is made with the Chrisarii when parliament sends a peace delegation to open treaty negotiations with the Alliance. The Federation has known of the existence of the Alliance for some time before this, but has always respected the Chrisarii's wish to be left alone. However, after making first contact with the Darbor, a species who is at war with the Chrisarii, parliament decides it's time to settle that conflict and, in the process, open a dialogue with the Alliance. For the next three years, the Federation attempts to negotiate a peace with the Chrisarii.

  2554 - Several minor border skirmishes eventually derail the talks, and the Chrisarii declare war.

  2558 – The war ends in a stalemate. The Tiralans - a neutral, non-aligned, and enigmatic species - act as mediators between the Chrisarii and the Federation. The stretch of space between their two borders is declared neutral territory by both sides – later termed the Tiralan Neutral Zone. For the next one hundred years, the Chrisarii and the Federation remain bitter, guarded enemies. Like the Jha'Drok, the Chrisarii withdraw into their space, and have little contact with the Federation until the outbreak of the Beta Erendii War a century later.

  2658 – Another series of border skirmishes results in the destruction of several military and civilian outposts on both sides of the Neutral Zone. After several failed attempts at reaching a peaceful solution, the Federation declares war on the Chrisarii.

  2668 - The Beta Erendii War ends in a treaty of non-conflict between the Federation and the Chrisarii. Again, the neutral Tiralans mediate the negotiations, but this time, an extra measure is taken to ensure the continuation of peace.

  2673 - Construction begins on a space station within the Tiralan Neutral Zone. The name of the station is Exxar-One. The project is a joint operation between the Federation and Chrisarii.

  2678 - Commodore Marcus Gabriel assumes command of the newly completed Exxar-One.

  2. Member Worlds of the Federation:

  This is by no means a complete listing and history of every alien race in the Federation but, rather, a highlight of some of the major races we will be dealing with on The Exxar Chronicles.

  The DrayH'M Commonwealth: As described earlier, they made first contact with the human race in 2059 and were instrumental in the founding of the Federation. Ambassador Taelon Zar is a DrayH’M and the one who first proposed peace with the Chrisarii in 2661. She represented the Federation in the peace talks seven years later.

  The DrayH’M culture is one steeped in art, philosophy, music, literature and religion. They prize knowledge and tolerance above all else, willing to embrace and assimilate all cultures and races - no matter the differences. The are a benign, peaceful empire but they have had to struggle to reach this age of enlightenment. No race or culture is without its history of bloodshed and war and the DrayH’M are no exception. The most infamous of these historical eras was the Scyest Wars. This time period in DrayH’M history is comparable to World Wars One & Two on ancient earth. It was a time of ignorance and prejudice for the DrayH’M and had it not been for the teachings of Jeramin Hezrah, they would most likely have wiped themselves out in civil war and genocide. Today, Hezrah is worshiped as a prophet and visionary and his teachings form the cornerstone the DrayH’M Commonwealth.

  The Ralorian Confederacy: A peaceful and technologically advanced culture, the Ralorians are a race of scientists and engineers. Their technological and scientific prowess is known throughout the Federation and they often oversee the construction of the various starships and space stations for the member worlds of the Federation. J’Soran Varis, the operations officer assigned to Exxar-One, is a Ralorian.

  The Orethian Star Consortium: A race of merchants and traders, the Orethians are, in many ways, similar to the DrayH’M as far as culture goes. The Orethians are artists, musicians, writers and thinkers. Grax, the owner and bartender in the Celestial Café on Exxar-One is an Orethian.

  The Murdohn Republic: The Murdohn, along with the DrayH’M and humans helped to found and build the IFP. Unlike the DrayH’M, however, the Murdohn are aggressive and have a culture steeped in war and violent conflict. Though they are much more advanced and peaceful now, they still tend to display their violent history in annual ceremonies and re-enactments of famous historical battles.

  3. Allied Worlds of the Federation:

  The Chrisarii Alliance: Once bitter enemies of the Federation, they are now wary and guarded allies. Like the Murdohn, the Chrisarii have a history filled with violence and war. The Chrisarii are an aggressive species and live to expand their empire by conquering all neighboring worlds and people. But their alliance with the Federation has ended much of that aggression. The Beta Erendii War cost the Chrisarii a great deal in natural resources, economy and lives. They are now working with the Federation in strengthening the new alliance and Exxar-One is a key element in that alliance. Major Saveck of the Chrisarii Militia is the liaison officer assigned as second-in-command of Exxar-One.

  4. Non-aligned Worlds:

  There are some worlds and alien cultures in the Alpha Quadrant that, for one reason or another, are neither allies nor enemies of the Federation. Three examples are provided below.

  The People's Union of Mykahr: Very little is known of this species. Due to cultural and religious taboos, they have completely isolated themselves and refuse to deal with any other races other than their own. No outsiders are allowed within the borders of their home system. Only once was this law broken and that was in 2648. The Mykahrians were stricken by an unknown virus for which they had no cure. In order to survive they were forced to turn to the Federation for help. A group of doctors was sent in to give aid and one of them was Amelia Garrett – a civilian doctor and virologist and the mother of Exxar-One’s chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Kiran Garrett. Kiran’s father was a Mykahrian civilian aiding the Federation doctors.

  The Tiralan Hegemony: Because of their skill at negotiating and mediating peace talks between rival empires the Tiralans have provided a stable element to the balance of power and peace in the Alpha Quadrant. Their neutrality and refusal to ally themselves with any side in any kind of conflict has garnered them a respect throughout the quadrant, and few races have dared to challenge that neutrality. Like the Mykahrians, the Tiralans value their privacy, and no outsiders are allowed inside their territory, or on their homeworld.

  ELZRAI: A humanoid species employed by the Tiralans.

  4. Enemies of the Federation:

  The Jha'Drok Emperium: The Jha’Drok have been enemies of the Federation since first contact was made with them in 2527. The Jha’Drok are a deeply religious people. They believe in the doctrine of Manifest Destiny - that they were born to rule all empires and worlds in their sight. They believe they are the master race and that all others are inferior. They, like the DrayH’M and Orethians, prize music, art and culture but only their own. Contrary to the beliefs of most outsiders, the Jha�
�Drok are philosophical, a race of thinkers and religious leaders. The cities on their homeworld contain some of the most beautiful and intricate architecture and monuments of any planet or culture in the Alpha Quadrant.

  However, the Jha’Drok also believe in the ultimate power of the state. Their government is not based on dictatorship but all Jha’Drok are raised to be loyal to the Imperial Senate and their Lord Emperor - the ruler of the Senate and the Jha’Drok Emperium. There is a covert organization known as the Talik’Jhor that ensures loyalty among the Jha’Drok and reports directly - and only - to the lord emperor.

  The Khazar Dominion: Like the Chrisarii, the Khazar are fiercely warlike and aggressive. But these people make the Chrisarii look like the DrayH’M in comparison. Also, like the Jha’Drok, the Khazar live to serve the power of the state. They can be compared to the Soviet Union and other communistic empires of ancient Earth. Like the old Russian KGB and the Jha‘Drok, the Khazar have an internal spy organization called the Shi’Tara that ensures the citizens' loyalty to the state.

  Appendix 4

  The Telepath Timeline

  2148: The first human telepath is diagnosed. Her name is Shayla Avalos, and she's sixteen years old. She is considered a prodigy and she and her family are relocated to Oxford University where a renowned scientist and his team have been studying the paranormal for many years. Over the next two decades, many more telepaths will be diagnosed, all of them children between the ages of ten and seventeen.

  2169: Because of the public's growing concern over the telepaths and their place in society, President Reeves is pressured by parliament and his supporters to sign Shayla's Law, an edict which forces all telepaths into protected compounds which are established with taxpayer dollars and research grants. By 2185, there will be a dozen compounds through the world.

  2173: Jacob Madison is born in Alberta, Canada. He is the first to be diagnosed as an L5. Both of his parents were L3, and when he's seven years old, Jacob is taken from the Scarman Compound and transported to a special facility in New Zealand.

  2195: First contact is made with the Sheriak, and the war begins almost immediately. It lasts for three years, and the Sheriak are defeated only because of the telepaths and their contribution to the war effort.

  2219: Jacob Madison leads his fellow telepaths in a revolution, demanding the abolition of Shayla's Law and the right to construct their own colony on Mars. There are brief, violent episodes, but because of their superior abilities, the telepaths' quickly gain the upper hand. Their demands, however, are not met. Instead, with the help of the Murdohn, Jacob's followers are allowed to join the Murdohn telepaths who have their own world in a distant solar system. The Murdohn Republic underwent a similar event in their recent history, and the human telepaths are welcomed by the settlers of Rikaard.

  2286: The IFP is officially created, and the Madison Foundation is also established. A new set of laws are created which allow the settlers of Rikaard to be admitted into the Federation. Shayla's Law is altered so as to require the registry of all telepaths with the Foundation, and that the Foundation is responsible for policing its own.

  By 2678, only a dozen species have produced telepaths, and the Rikaardan society has become wealthy through military research grants and contracts with hundreds of commercial and private corporations. Telepaths are used during business negotiations to ensure honesty from all parties. Rikaard has often been used as a neutral site for warring empires to negotiate peace. Yet there is still great suspicion and distrust from non-telepaths, and while many Rikaardans travel off world, they are always watchful and alert of their surroundings. They rarely socialize and keep to themselves.

  For the last century or so, there has been a growing movement among the telepath population to abolish Shayla's Law. So far, this movement has remained largely underground and there has been only a few acts of outright violence. It's hard to combat the wealth and prosperity which has been brought to Rikaard's citizens through their business deals and research grants. But, in time, the movement might gain more public ground and expand into something worse. One of the central forces driving this movement is that fact that no telepath may serve in any of the Federation's armed forces.

  Mariah Decev, chief science officer of Exxar-One and a commander in the EarthCorps Navy, is a telepath.

  Appendix 5

  A Brief History Of Cassandranism

  In the early days of the aftermath of World War 3, an old woman named Cassandra Meyer who was living in Huntsmire, not far from London, experienced a dream one night. She later told her granddaughter that a star would fall to Earth, and it would bear humanity's salvation. Cassandra repeated this prophecy to any who would listen, but most scoffed at her and blamed her delusions on old age and radiation poisoning.

  Cassandra died in 2029, just two years before the Federation of Nations was formed, and thirty years before a DrayH'M scout ship crash landed on Earth. The ship landed in the midst of the ruins which had once been London, exactly 120 miles from the village where Cassandra had lived and died. The alien survivors were rescued by the newly formed world government and nursed back to health. In the next few decades, Cassandra's prophecy was proved to be true, as it was the DrayH'M who helped humanity to build a new world from the ashes of the old.

  At the same time, most of the survivors of World War 3 had lost faith in the old religions. Catholicism, Christianity, Buddhism, and many others lost a great deal of their followers who believed that God – in whatever form He might take – had abandoned His creation. His long prophesied return had yet to take place, and in the wake of such a global devastation many believed that the predictions from the book of Revelation had come to pass, but with no sign at all of the Second Coming of Christ. This was the event which all Biblical scholars had said would precede the visions which John wrote down during his exile to the isle of Patmos.

  Therefore, when Cassandra's prediction did come to pass, many who had scoffed and scorned her now embraced her as a symbol of a new era for humanity. A renewed faith was placed in the Gods and Goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology. A new name was given to this religion, Cassandranism, and it has become the central religion of all mankind since their rebirth among the stars. While there are still followers of the old faiths, most now practice a worship of Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, and many others in the celestial pantheon. Believers in this religion refer to themselves as a son or daughter of Cassandra.

  Cassandra's granddaughter, Jessica, wrote what is considered to be the Bible of Cassandranism. In the wake of her grandmother's death, during the thirty years before the arrival of the DrayH'M, Jessica wrote about her own series of "visions" which she believed she received from her grandmother. She claimed that Cassandra visited her in her dreams, and as Jessica entered her twilight years, she was believed by the public to be as crazy and deluded as her grandmother. While Jessica lived long enough to see Cassandra's one and only prophecy come to pass, she died only a matter of months after the scout ship landed. Her book was stolen from her home and kept safe by one of the few people who actually believed both Jessica and her grandmother. No one knows exactly who this follower was, not even his or her name. But in the next several decades, as the DrayH'M lent their aid to mankind, and as more copies of Jessica's book became available, more and more people turned to this new faith. Altars to the Gods were erected in public squares, and a new order of clergy – known as the Sisterhood of the Delphi – were ordained.

  Jessica and Cassandra are considered sacred names by the followers of this faith.

  Appendix 6

  Starships of the EarthCorps Navy

  There are almost nine hundred starships in the EarthCorps fleet, not including supply carriers, medical frigates and cargo vessels. These are classified under support craft and usually manned by a civilian crew. The rest of the fleet are categorized under six classifications: Alpha, Beta, Delta, Epsilon, Gamma and Omega. Below is a list of some of the starships in each class as well as their Starship Regis
try Code. Included with each list is a brief description of the ship's primary function.

  ALPHA CLASS

  Alpha class starships are the smallest and designed for support and scouting missions. When large quantities of a certain supply are needed (medical specimens or antidotes, for example), and the destination is over a distance of light years, Alpha ships will be the ones called for and assigned the mission. They're built for speed and maneuverability. Maximum crew complement: 200. (Medical frigates, by contrast, are much smaller and designed primarily for use in close battle situations where immediate trauma centers are needed.)

  ECS Viking

  SRC-4363

  ECS Roosevelt

  SRC-4434-A

  ECS Tolkien

  SRC-4519

  ECS Lexington

  SRC-4615

  ECS Horatio

  SRC-4700

  ECS Truman

  SRC-4862

  ECS Berlin

  SRC-4927

  ECS Melville

  SRC-5088

  ECS Challenger

  SRC-5154

  ECS Victory

  SRC-5273

  ECS Eisenhower

  SRC-5394-B