by Scottish Andy
Hi all. Of late I have become increasingly attracted to the Hydran Kingdom and the potential contained within for great stories. This is partly from trying to create Hydran Star Fleet Battles historical scenarios using the Fleet Mission Script Editor for SFC2:EAW, which lead me to re-read Ambassador Solev and Mas Yelwoc's Hydran stories from the old Taldren boards.
So, I decided to investigate their history, some of which I knew, though admittedly second hand, for the creation of a Hydran history that would fit into Jaeih's Star Trek Timeline. Since almost no mention is made of them in it so far, it will very closely resemble the SFB Hydran history. I would like to acknowledge Kadh's SFB Timeline which was of the most use for this little project, as well as Ambassador Solev's Hydran Racial Profile, RatBoy's StarFleet Command Timeline 5th Edition, and the Official ADB synopsis of the General War.
This work is not intended to infringe upon the rights and intellectual property of any involved, this is just a reference for people who want to write Hydran characters and stories within our little corner of the Star Trek universe. Read on and enjoy.
251, 81 BC (Before Coronation)
On the planet Hydrax, the most advanced nation-state develops nuclear fission power reactors.
264, 68 BC
On the planet Hydrax, the most advanced nation-state launches it's first chemically-fuelled rocket into orbit, beginning that planet's early space era.
332, 0 AC (After Coronation)
On the planet Hydrax, the leader of the foremost nation-state brokers a lasting peace between and with all other nations and creates the planet's first united World Government. This leader is crowned King of all Hydrans, and a new era is born. This year is now referred to in Hydran history as the Year of Coronation.
To inaugerate their new King and this new era of peace and prosperity, the people of Hydrax adopt a new date system, the following year becoming 1 After Coronation (A.C.).
350, 18 AC
The Hydrans develop nuclear fusion power reactors.
383, 51 AC
The Hydrans develop efficient solar power.
401, 69 AC
The Hydrans succeed in eliminating disease, poverty, famine, and almost all crime from their new global society.
410, 78 AC
The Hydrans launch their first interplanetary exploration vessel. This ground-launched fusion- and solar-powered 10-man scout ship's mission is to map their nearest stellar neighbour, the planet Hydra-V.
416, 84 AC
The first Hydran scout successfully returns to Hydra, mission accomplished.
420, 88 AC
The Hydrans complete their first orbital space station and dry-dock in Hydrax orbit. Many follow in later years.
435, 103 AC
The Hydrans launch the H.M.S. King Hydraxus I, a massive interplanetary exploration vessel set to rotate to provide pseudo-gravity by centrifugal force, from the first orbital dry-dock on a 30-year mission to completely map their solar system. He has a crew of 200 scientists of various disciplines.
440, 108 AC
The first warship of the Royal Hydran Star Navy is commissioned. This ship, the first of many, is a small 40-crew fast attack craft designed for near-space orbital combat and has limited range, no artificial gravity or inertial dampeners, and Newtonian propulsion.
447, 115 AC
The Hydrans launch a mission to colonise Hydra-V, consisting of a squadron of ships. A colony ship will carry 2,000 Hydrans to land on Hydra-V; a construction ship will build a space station and orbital facilities for resupply and in case of emergency; and a manufacturing ship will land on Hydra-V and provide high-technology equipment to the colonists to build homes, infrastructure, and vehicles.
450, 118 AC
The Hydran colonisation squadron, known as the "Hydra-V Expedition" arrives at its destination and their mission truly begins with construction beginning on a small orbital space station and the touchdown of the other two ships at the primary landing site.
451, 119 AC
The first off-world Hydran settlement is colonised with the completion of the first township on Hydra-V. The colonists move out of their shipboard quarters and begin living on the planet proper. The colony ship lifts off again and returns to Hydrax for more colonists.
457, 125 AC
The Hydrans complete the Hydra-V orbital space station just in time for the return of the colony ship. Instead of landing on the planet again, the colonists are shuttled down in a large spaceplane, 500 at a time. This is done to preserve the environment of their new home from the massive exhaust from the huge colony ship.
464, 132 AC
The Hydrans develop artificial gravity. This new system is retrofitted to the few existing space stations, and design of new stations to incorporate this technological innovation begins.
477, 145 AC
The Hydran exploratory cruiser H.M.S. Hydraxus I returns to Hydrax two years late, but undamaged and having experienced few troubles. The return of this ship and the information collected from this epic cruise inspires thousands of Hydrans to join the Hydran Royal Navy, wanting to explore the cosmos.
496, 164 AC
The Hydrans develop inertial dampeners, allowing their ships much faster acceleration to near-impulse speeds.
503, 171 AC
The Hydrans develop geothermal power.
511, 179 AC
The Hydrans develop the Internally Metered Pulse (impulse) Drive, allowing a velocity of up to half light-speed. Coupled with the recently developed inertial dampeners and artificial gravity, it now makes interstellar travel a viable – if long-term – posibility.
512, 180 AC
Three Hydran merchant guilds sponsor the design and constuction of six long-range, extra-solar colony ships, fitted with artificial gravity, inertial dampeners, fusion and solar power, and the new impulse drive. Each ship is to be capable of a 100-year mission duration and able to house and support 5,000 colonists each.
518, 186 AC
The Hydrans complete the first of their six guild-sponsored extra-solar colony ships.
526, 194 AC
The Hydrans complete construction of the last of the merchant guild-sponsored extra-solar colony ships. During the sixteen-year construction period the colonists have been selected, as has the route across the galaxy for these intrepid explorers to take in their search for H-congruent planets suitable for supporting Hydran life. This route will take them into the galactic south-east region, and has been drawn up by astronomers measuring the spectrographic quality of stars for the suspected presence of H-congruent biospheres (ie. planets with enough methane in the atmosphere to support Hydran life in the open).
532, 200 AC
The six Hydran colony ships are fully provisioned and finally depart Hydrax orbit in a ceremony watched by almost every Hydran across two worlds (though the colonists on Hydra-V have a 6-hour time delay), and presided over by the King himself and the leaders of the three guilds responsible for this grand adventure.
534, 202 AC
The six colony ships, flying in formation to allow instant laser communications between them, cross the Hydra system's boundary and all contact with them is lost, swallowed in the static from the Oort Cloud. 30,000 Hydrans disappear into the Eternal Night, and none know if they'll ever be heard from again.
540, 208 AC
The Hydrans colonise the moons of their two gas giants (Hydra-VI and Hydra-VII) with life-support domes, and begin the construction of giant aerostats for the mining of various gasses from their outer atmospheres.
608, 276 AC
The Hydrans develop a faster than light means of travel. An experimental test ship is launched from the orbital facilites of Hydrax and spends months on impulse getting into empty space before engaging the "hyperspace jump" engines. Monitored by a fleet of support ships, the H.M.S. Hydrax engages his jump engines—and is smeared across normal space when the engine fails to tear open a controlled rift in space as expected.
After the mourning process and period, the data is analysed and a new means of propulsion begins research.
627, 295 AC
After nearly 100 years of travel, the Hydran merchant guild colonial expedition arrives at the first habitable planet they have come across. In much the same way as S'Task's 80,000, these Hydrans boosted their speed ever higher by sling-shotting around the star of each system they approached and found held no H-congruent planets. Fortunately, space in this area was mostly empty of hazards, so the Hydrans did not suffer as S'Task's people did. Most of the stars they had selected as possibles for planets did indeed have them, but all of them had useless atmospheres whose main ingredient was oxygen, and not the methane the Hydrans need to survive. Not having massive Hydra-forming capabilities, the ships were forced ever onwards. Now, finally, a suitable planet had revealed itself and the Hydran colonists set to with a will to create their first extra-solar colony. Naming this planet Minxitith, all six ships and their 30,000 crew work hard to bring a fruitful and self-dependent industrialised colony into existence over the next five years, taking apart the two colony ships that are to remain behind to use as building materials.
632, 300 AC
Four of the six Hydran colony ships engage their engines and refuel from the single gas giant before continuing their flight to find planets of their own to colonise.
639, 307 AC
The remaining four Hydran colony ships find a second star system with an H-congruent planet, and over the next 3 years the pastoral colony of Krooth is founded.
642, 310 AC
The last two Hydran colony ships again refuel at one of the star system's 4 gas giants, then leave for their own colony world.
650, 318 AC
The last two Hydran colony ships find an H-congruent planet to colonise, and raise a new agrarian colony to being over the next year, naming it Altroth.
654, 322 AC
The Hydrans develop a second faster than light means of travel. The second experimental test ship is again launched as before, and spends months getting to a different part of empty space, again attended by a support fleet. Engaging the engines of this new "space warp" drive, the H.M.S. Starfinder disappears into a flash of light and reappears back in Hydrax orbit in seconds. After ten more years of testing by the conservative Hydrans, the technology is proved sound.
665, 333 AC
The Hydran Royal Navy holds a competition for all Hydran shipbuilding guilds to design and build the prototype that will become the Hydran Kingdom's first faster-than-light unarmed exploratory cruisers and warships.
666, 334 AC
The Hydran Royal Navy picks the best designs from the submissions, and the eight prototypes begin construction at their respective guild shipyards in Hydrax orbit.
669, 337 AC
The Hydran Royal Navy prototypes have been completed and each design is "shaken down". The wining vessels are chosen and exclusive contracts are awarded for the production of a class of 20 of each type. The other shipbuilding guilds are contracted by the Crown to design and build the Kingdom's merchant fleet and Navy Auxiliary vessels. Powered by the most advanced fusion reactors available, the Navy ships are capable of warp 2.5, and the civilian ships only warp 1.
682, 350 AC
With the commissioning of the last of the Hydran Royal Navy warp ships, the King institutes a grand exploration initiative that once again draws tens of thousands into the Navy for the joy of exploring and scientific investigation of the cosmos around them. 19 of the 20 unarmed exploratory cruisers are sent out to explore and chart the surrounding space, with close attention being paid to examining every star within 20 light-years of the Hydra system itself. The 20th is tasked to find the colonies set up by the guilds who set out a hundred and fifty years ago. This ship will be escorted by two of the Navy's 20 warships while the other 18 patrol the Hydra system, ready to give immediate aid and rescue to the teeming interplanetary space traffic that now exists in-system, as well as defense from less scrupulous Hydrans out to make a quick profit.
The shipbuilding guilds are contracted to build several hundred short-ranged modern attack craft to replace the refitted old fighter craft of the previous centuries.
685, 353 AC
The Hydrans develop subspace communications. This feature is immediately retrofitted to all available warp-capable ships, and the order is sent out to have all extra-solar missions recalled to have those vessels refitted too.
700, 368 AC
The Hydrans re-establish contact with their first extra-solar colonies. After 15 years of searching by five different exploratory cruisers, the H.M.S. Seeker finally discovers the guild colonies. They are over a dozen ligh-years away from their proposed route across the galaxy, and are much further out than expected at almost 76 light-years from Hydrax. Even 1,500 years later, they will still be past the edge of claimed Hydran space.
The guild leaders of these first colonies are reluctant about coming back under the umbrella of Royal control, but the people of these colonies are overjoyed to finally be reunited with their Homeworld brothers.
707, 375 AC
The Hydran shipbuilding guilds are contracted by the Crown to build 20 warp-driven colony ships with the discovery of H-congruent planets to the galactic north-east and -west.
711, 379 AC
The Hydrans begin colonising H-congruent planets within reach of their current technology, but have discovered that such worlds are quite rare. The majority of worlds that support a living biosphere have predominantly oxygen-based atmospheres, which are useless to the Hydrans as new homeworlds.
726, 394 AC
The Hydrans begin setting up life-support domed mining colonies and space stations in systems with gas giants and barren worlds ripe for resource harvesting. They also begin setting up life-support domes on what will later be called "M-class" worlds and begin mining operations there as well.
771, 439 AC
The Hydrans develop safe antimatter power. This, coupled with a more efficient warp coil design, allow Hydran naval vessels a top speed of warp 4.5. The civilian merchant fleet is upgraded to warp 3.
772, 440 AC
The Hydran Royal Navy holds another design competition for the latest unarmed exploratory cruisers and warships, as does the Crown for civilian ship types such as colony vessels and interstellar passenger- and cargo-liners.
773, 441 AC
Again, the best designs are chosen for the latest generation of Hydran ships and the prototypes begin construction.
776, 444 AC
Trials are held for the Hydran prototype antimatter-powered ships, and the winners chosen. Favoured contracts are awarded to the shipyards of the winners for exclusive production for the first five years, after which the design becomes public domain and every shipyard can build those classes.
800, 468 AC
First Contact for the Hydrans. H.M.S. Searcher enters a star system after detecting radio-waves coming from it and discover an oxygen-breathing humanoid species on the fourth planet at 1970's-Terra levels. After signalling this discovery home, the Searcher spends many months monitoring the aliens' radio-spectrum broadcasts and communications networks to learn their language(s). Contact is then made with the most advanced nation-state on the world by radio transmission. After many hours of negotiations and assurances, an offer to all the inhabitants of this new world is made to share in the benefits of mutual trade. It is left up to the leader of the first nation-state to broadcast this offer to the rest of the world, and the Searcher waits in orbit for the responses of the other world leaders.
832, 500 AC
The first alien race contacted by the Hydrans becomes a member world of the Hydran Kingdom. They had wanted to join several years earlier, but the Hydrans persuaded them to wait until the 500th anniversary of the creation of the Kingdom for celebratory purposes. In actual fact, the alien race had already been a member in all but name for those three years, with all the benefits and priviledges thereof.
917, 585 AC
A second alien race is discovered by the Hydrans, but upon examination the civilisation of oxygen-breathing repilioids is judged too primitive to accept the existence of other worlds, never mind other life-forms.
953, 621 AC
The three original merchant guild colonies have become fully-fledged industrial homeworlds, each with populations in the tens of millions. The guilds begin production of space stations and orbital shipyard facilities capable of building and maintaining a fleet of merchant trading ships.
989, 657 AC
A second alien race is contacted by the Hydrans. The unarmed exploratory cruiser H.M.S. Starfinder encounters another oxygen-breathing humanoid race at 1890's-Terra levels. The Hydrans follow the same proceedure that brought them such success before and are again rewarded for it. A second peaceful first contact situation results.
1071, 739 AC
A third alien race is contacted by the Hydrans, this one at 2050's-Terra level. The Hydrans follow their now-standard First Contact procedures, but this time are burned. The fearful inhabitants of this system attack the encounter-suited Hydran delegation from the H.M.S. Explorer and kill them all by puncturing their suits. The Hydrans quarantine this system and have a Navy warship posted on guard duty on the outskirts of the system to warn them of any indigenous ships leaving it.
1481, 1149 AC
By this year, the Hydrans have encountered scores of alien races, easily 80% of them oxygen-breathing, and 90% of them too primitive to contact. Several of the advanced-enough races have declined the Hydrans' offer of friendship and trade, wanting to be left alone. Yet more have been scared and repulsed by the Hydrans' strange appearance and biology and either shunned contact or openly attacked the Hydrans' peaceful delegations.
Overall, none have had their own interstellar space program, and only a total of 4 alien races have decided to join the Hydran Kingdom.
1509, 1177 AC
The Hydrans encounter another alien race advanced enough to make contact with. This new race is encountered by H.M.S. Tireless, which meets up with an alien fusion-powered, warp-driven space craft. Making no threatening moves, the Tireless scans the alien vessel and discovers it is once again an oxygen-breathing race of humanoids, whose technology seems to be about three centuries behind their own, with a few notable differences. They have no antimatter power, but they do have a strange crystal substance at the heart of their warp reactor. After spending many hours swapping hails to establish a communications protocol, the two ships finally manage to talk to one another. The Hydrans again extend their offer of mutual friendship and trade, but modify it to include an exchange of knowledge so they can discover what powers the alien ship.
1510, 1178 AC
The Hydran ambassador on the H.M.S. Tireless finalises a trade treaty with the new alien race, and opens up proper diplomatic relations via subspace. The aliens are wary of leading an obviously more powerful race staight back to their homeworld and agree to an exclusion zone around their home space until they feel they can trust the Hydrans not to invade. The magnanimous Hydrans agree to this, having no imperialistic ambitions towards this new race.
1547, 1215 AC
The star-faring alien race agrees to join the Hydran Kingdom, giving the Hydrans their fifth member world. Over the next few years, this world disbands their armed space fleet in favour of the Hydrans' more advanced warships, but they keep their unarmed exploratory ships so that they can go out and satisfy their curiosity about the universe rather than wait and have the answers handed to them on a plate by the Hydrans.
1548, 1216 AC
The latest addition to the Hydran Kingdom finally shares their warp reactor secrets with their new allies and benefactors, and the Hydrans get to experiment with a crystalline substance known as "dilithium" for the first time. Apparently, these crystals only form on worlds that have a predominantly oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, which is why the Hydrans hadn't discovered it until now. With the assistance of the aliens' technical and scientific notes, the Hydrans are able to quickly deduce the secrets of these crystals.
1555, 1223 AC
The Hydrans' first antimatter-powered, dilithium-focused, warp-driven experimental starship, the H.M.S. Fearless, is launched from the main shipyard orbiting Hydrax. The ship is put on extended trials and testing for 5 years, to gather masses of data and try out various warp-field configurations in search of the most efficient one.
1560, 1228 AC
Trials and testing of the Hydran experimental ship Fearless are completed, and the results made known. Apparently, the new dilithium focusing for the matter/antimatter reactor gives the Fearless a top speed of warp seven, and a cruising speed of warp five.
The Royal Navy holds another design competition for the latest generation of its ships.
1561, 1229 AC
The Hydran Royal Navy design competition is over, and the winners picked. They begin construction of their prototypes for the shakedown tests.
1564, 1232 AC
The shakedowns are over and the Hydran Royal Navy chooses its favourite ship designs. Following the now long-established tradition, the winning designers' shipyards are given exlcusive 5-year contracts to build their ships before the rest of the guilds can start poaching their territory.
1642, 1310 AC
The Hydran Kingdom, having expanded steadily into the galactic east for the past 1,000 years along the most promising lines of stars to colonise, begin slowly expanding into the galactic west from their original 20 light-year sphere around their home system. Having extended to an average boundary of 70 light-years into the galactic east (bearing 000 to 179 from their home system), the Hydrans begin exploring, charting and colonising the other side of the galaxy (bearing 180 to 359) over the next several hundred years.
2150, 1818 AC
Over the past 450 years, the Hydrans have slowly but steadily expanded to their galactic west, colonising the relatively small percentage of H-congruent worlds that their space encompasses. Their Kingdom is vast and rich with resources, claiming nearly a thousand star systems and stretching out for almost 100 light-years to their galactic east and almost 50 light-years to their galactic west, but the actual colony worlds where Hydrans can walk around in the open air number in the low hundreds.
At this point, the Hydran Kingdom is also host to ten non-Hydran races who took the Hydrans up on their final offer of membership. They are all oxygen-breathing humanoid races, and because of that they cannot serve on Hydran ships as members of the crew. Only one of the ten had warp ships of their own, the rest either being too primitive or having no desire to explore the universe outside of their own world.
However, their entirely idealistic and non-confrontational exploration and colonisation space program of the last 1,500 years is about to be changed forever, when the Hydrans finally encounter another race as advanced as they are, with a stellar empire of their own.
2151, 1819 AC
The First Lyran-Hydran War begins. The Lyrans, trying to outflank the Klingons, attack what they believe is a Klingon mining colony. The outpost is, instead, from the Hydrans, a race not previously known to the Lyrans. This unthinking attack starts a war with the Hydrans, who had been expanding from their own homeworld, which is now the Royal Capital. The Hydrans, having been callously attacked without even so much as hail to explain why, immediately go on the offensive thinking that the best defence is a good offence, and standing firm against a powerful alien aggressor the best way to show they were not to be taken lightly.
2153, 1821 AC
The First Lyran-Klingon War ends when several Lyran counties abandon the war to protect their homes from the Hydrans. The Lyrans are forced to accept an unfavorable settlement.
2154, 1822 AC
The First Lyran-Hydran War ends. The Lyrans defeat the Hydran invasion, but reach a negotiated settlement rather than continue the war.
2177, 1845 AC
Incidents erupt along Hydran-Klingon border. Klingons want settlement rights on oxy-nitrogen planets in Hydran territory; Hydrans want the same rights on Klingon methane worlds. The Klingons cannot tolerate the idea of foreign worlds inside the empire, the Hydrans cannot tolerate the idea of “foreign corporations” in their space either.
2179, 1847 AC
The Second Lyran-Hydran War begins.
2182, 1850 AC
The Second Lyran-Hydran War ends when improved Hydran weapons (e.g. nova cannon) give them a decisive advantage over the Lyrans.
2183, 1851 AC
The Klingons and Hydrans have a brief conflict as a series of “incidents” along the border ignite a short war.
2184, 1852 AC
The Hydrans attack the Klingons. They do not have a formal alliance with the Mirak (who are still at war with the Klingons), but are considered as co-belligerents. The Klingons are hard-pressed to fight a war on two fronts and are outgunned by the new Hydran nova cannon.
2186, 1854 AC
A badly outnumbered Klingon fleet defending the Hydran Frontier is decisively defeated. The Klingons agree to a settlement granting the Hydrans trade concessions and allowing them to colonize several methane-atmosphere planets within the Empire. The Mirak howl with rage because the Hydrans will not continue the war. The Klingons purchase war material (at ridiculously inflated prices) from the Hydrans and launch a renewed offensive against the Mirak.
2195, 1863 AC
The Klingons, having defeated the Mirak, attack the Hydrans. This is known as the “Second Klingo-Hydran War” to Federation Historians, as the “War of Retribution” to the Klingons, and as the “War of Infamy” to the Hydrans. The Lyrans also attack the collapsing Hydran border (starting the Third Lyran-Hydran War) and capture several planets, but they are not formal allies of the Klingons.
2198, 1866 AC
Klingon forces smash the Hydran fleet and destroy Hydran colonies, and many atrocities are committed by the Klingons. All Hydran ships larger than police corvettes are destroyed, and the Hydran Kingdom is reduced to a Klingon client state. Later analysts will note that only the presence of Klingon colonies inside Hydran space made such a rapid advance possible, as all wars were limited to how far ships could be supported by supplies from prewar bases. The Klingons establish governors over Hydran planets, but due to the difference in atmospheres, these governors are never really able to control the populace and rule from orbiting satellites. These satellites have powerful weapons aimed at the planet below, but are poorly defended against attack from space.
2199, 1867 AC
The Second Lyran-Klingon War begins in arguments over division of the Hydran Kingdom. In the confusion, the Hydran colonies of Altroth, Minxitith, and Krooth are not found or occupied by the Klingons or Lyrans. These colonies were established much earlier by the Hydran merchant guilds, and the later power of the Guilds stems from this period. The Guilds maintain the monarchy through Prince S’Lenthna, the last heir of Hydraxan IX. As the Guilds hold the real power, the Prince is a virtual puppet, but his presence is important in rallying the Hydrans. The Guilds begin converting merchant shipyards into facilities able to produce warships.
2201, 1869 AC
Civil wars erupt in the Hydran “lost colonies” as Prince S’Lenthna tries to break Guild power.
2212, 1880 AC
The Hydran civil war intensifies, and much of Minxitith is rendered uninhabitable.
2239, 1907 AC
The Hydran civil war ends as Prince S’Lenthna abdicates in favor of his underage grandson. All of the boy-king’s regents are heads of Guild houses.
2240, 1908 AC
Hydran “lost colonies” begin preparations for restoration of the Kingdom. Technology is acquired from unknown foreign sources, later said to be Mirak or perhaps Orion.
2243, 1911 AC
Hydran agents from the lost colonies begin infiltrating Klingon-occupied planets of the Kingdom.
2244, 1912 AC
The Hydrans develop the Gatling phaser.
2245, 1913 AC
The new Hydran ship classes (Lord Commander CC, Ranger CA, Lancer DD, Hunter FF, Scout SC) are in service in the “Lost Colonies,” along with the first fighters in the Alpha Sector capable of high-impulse combat.
Mid-2246, 1914 AC
The Hydrans from the Lost Colonies under King Hydraxan XI attack the Klingon governor satellites over captured Hydran planets. In a swift campaign lasting only a few months, the Hydran Kingdom is restored. The personal popularity of Hydraxan XI makes him “unacceptable” to the Guilds, and he dies under mysterious circumstances. While Hydraxan XII ascends the throne, the Guilds solidify their power.
The reason for the Hydrans' rapid success can be mainly attributed to the fact that in this year the Klingon Empire went to war with the United Federation of Planets, in the opening moves of what would later be known as the Four Years War. Having just invaded the Federation, and after almost 50 years with no evidence of a Hydran rebellion, the Klingons had stripped the Occupied Territories bare of ships. Already fully committed to the attack on the Federation, the Klingons couldn't divert enough ships to combat the brand new Hydran war machine. The Klingons rushed their central fleets to the old Klingon-Hydran border in case the Hydrans decided to roll over it, and basically pulled all their forces in Hydran space back to this line. This allowed the Hydrans to liberate their entire Kingdom in less than a single year. There weren't many Klingon-Hydran battles beyond the initial surprise attack, and almost all favoured the Hydrans as their top-of-the-line warships stood against, and utterly demolished, the Klingon garrison squadrons of D4-class cruisers, E4- and E3-class escorts, and G2-class police ships.
2248, 1916 AC
The Third Klingon-Hydran War begins as the Hydrans attack the Klingons. The space of a year between the liberation of the Hydran Kingdom and the start of the Third Klingon-Hydran War lulled the Klingons into a false sense of security. After managing to reinforce their border squadrons to almost pre-conquest levels, the Hydrans looked to be too cowardly or disorganised to attack the Klingon Empire directly. This view convinced the Klingons that nothing would happen there for several years and thought this allowed them to continue with their ill-advised war with the United Federation of Planets.
After that year of bringing relief to their beleagured citizens, solidifying their power base and production facilities, and reinstalling their government on Hydrax, the Hydrans went to war with the Klingons. This war was fought with grim determination on the part of the Hydrans to teach the Klingons never to take lightly or interfere with the Hydran Kingdom again. This war was not so much about gaining territory as to destroy as many Klingon ships and border-area infrastructure as possible, so as to hamper their future operations on the Hydran front.
2250, 1918 AC
After two years of steady losses on the Hydran border, and having their offensive against the Federation first ground to a halt then steadily rolled back, the Klingons stop their war with the UFP and transfer several main fleet elements back to the Hydran border to halt their incursions.
2252, 1920 AC
The Third Klingon-Hydran War ends. The arrival of new local production of modern Klingon ships such as the D6 and F5 classes, and the reinforcements of larger numbers of these same ships coming from the Federation border, finally started giving the Hydrans enough serious losses to convince them that their point had been made, and they settled for peace after four years of border clashes. The Hydrans gained no new territory but did regain their self-respect.
For reasons that remain obscure, four new kings take the throne in less than a year. The last, Hydraxan XVI, lasts for two years.
Mid-2254, 1922 AC
The brief Fourth Lyran-Hydran War begins and ends as the Hydrans attack, successfully recapturing two star systems from a Lyran Star Empire that is unable to devote full attention to the war due to troubles of their own on the Mirak border.
2257, 1925 AC
The Hydran “civil war” begins, but all combat will take place within the palace over the next five years.
Early-2263, 1931 AC
Hydraxan XXIII (“The Great”) ascends the throne, which he will hold for almost three decades.
Early-2267, 1935 AC
The Mirak-Hydran Mutual Defence Treaty is signed. It stipulates that if either signatory is attacked by the Klingons and/or Lyrans, the other member pledges to declare war on the aggressor(s).
This action is copied mere months later by the Lyrans and Klingons, who form the Coalition, cementing 50+ years of good relations both shared by becoming formal allies. However, many Lyran nobles oppose this treaty, resulting in a sporadic civil war.
2268, 1936 AC
The Fifth Lyran-Hydran War begins, ending the on-again, off-again Lyran Civil War as the nobles involved rush to defend their own territory.
Early-2269, 1937 AC
The Hydrans invent the Hellbore long-range heavy weapon and begin building ship classes that mount this impressive weapon.
Fourth Klingo-Mirak War begins when the Klingons attack the Mirak. Citing their treaty, the Hydrans almost immediately launch an attack against the Klingon border squadrons to tie down important units from leaving to engage the Mirak. The Klingons join the Lyrans in fighting the Hydrans, and the Lyrans join the Klingons in fighting the Mirak. This conflict later becomes known as the Four Powers War.
2272, 1940 AC
The Mirak deploy their "Attack Shuttle" – a primitive fightercraft incapable of guiding its own drones – in small numbers for the first time. The Attack Shuttle was developed by the Mirak from Hydran design specifications and technology supplied as part of the Mirak-Hydran Mutual Defence Treaty.
Mid-2273, 1941 AC
The Four Powers War ends (bringing an end to the Fifth Lyran-Hydran War and the Fourth Klingo-Mirak War).
The last of these small regional wars involved the Klingons and Lyrans against their enemies, the Mirak and Hydrans, from 2269 to 2273. The war was savage (being the first to have large numbers of ships involved) but ultimately just another border war as the state of logistics made any deep strikes into enemy territory impossible to support. The logistical systems that would allow such deep attacks were developed in the last days of the Four Powers War (notably the semi-portable “Mobile Base” that will make actual invasions of enemy territory possible), and were perfected in time for the next one.
The Four Powers War was significant, however, for a radical technological innovation (previously known only to the Hydrans) that would change the galaxy forever: warp engines small enough to power armed shuttles. These rapidly evolved into "fighters" which would dominate interstellar warfare for the next three decades.
Early-2278, 1653 IR, 1946 AC
The Mirak seal their borders and enter into an isolationist phase after losing wars to the Lyrans and Klingons, and being forced into heavy concessions and reparations by the Federation for their war of agression against them. Trade still goes on but no more is seen of the Mirak. All passenger services into and out of the Star League are ceased, and all cargo flights are directed to and halted at the border bases. The same ships patrol the borders and prosecute to kill any trespassers. For all intents and purposes, the Mirak no longer exist inside of their border patrols.
The Hydrans are acutely concerned as it is an abrogation of the Mirak-Hydran Mutual Defence Treaty signed over ten years ago, but they can do nothing to alter the Mirak leadership's decision. Instead, they focus on increasing their own defences in the hopes of deterring Klingon and/or Lyran agression. Many new classes of warship are introduced, and the ranks of the Hydran Royal Navy swell.
I did this as the Mirak are are said to "re-emerge" for SFC2. They have to emerge from being hidden, but even going into hiding messes up SFB history. This is my compromise.
Also, from this point onwards, my "standard SFB Year + 2111 BCE" formula is modified by another 10 years to fit in to my modified timeline, based on the stardate Captain Sulu gives in the opening movie sequence of 'StarFleet Command 2: Empires at War' for the start of the ISC War of Pacification.
This means that all major SFB events now happen at "SFB Year + 2121 BCE".
25-April-2286, SD8306.5, 1752 AS, 1661 IR, 1954 AC
All the races begin noticing that the Organians have gone missing. The Klingons begin probing incursions into Federation space, and gradually up their operations over the following years, with their Rihannsu allies following suit as well as following their own agenda of probing the Gorn border. The Klingons also begin harassing the Hydran border patrols. The Lyrans continue to patrol their borders with the Hydrans and Mirak.
This is basically the events of 'SFC1: The Hunt for the Organians', as I only have a limited General War in my Timeline, not a long, all-encompassing SFB-style one.
Mid-2287, 1955 AC
A new, unknown galactic superpower, the InterStellar Concordium (ISC) first start observing the Local Space nations.
As per my modified timeline from SFC2.
07-March-2288, SD8647.5, 1753 AS, 1663 IR, 1956 AC
All races manage to piece together the story of what has happened to the Organians, and realise that they have apparently left for some time – if not for good. The Klingons step up their belligerent attacks on Federation interests and encourage the Rihannsu to do the same, but keep the actual deaths down to a minimum. The Federation defends its borders and prepares for the inevitable war to come.
The Rihannsu, now that their New Series ships are in service in large numbers, go to war with the Gorn Confederation.
The Mirak emerge from their isolation and attack the Lyrans, throwing away their advantage of total surprise with a few border raids to test Lyran readiness. Also, in trying to get assistance in their continuing quest to eradicate the Lyrans, the Mirak secretly support a growing rebel Klingon faction with the aim of removing the current regime – allied to the Lyrans – and installing a government more friendly to their cause.
Again, more scene setting from 'SFC1: The Hunt For the Organians' and 'SFC2: Empires at War'. I decided that there would be a General War in my STU, but that the Federation would not be ravaged by it. As I am including SFC/SFB into 'canon' and Novel-based Star Trek, many books in the SFB General War era make (obviously) no reference or acknowledgements to it. So, a little bit from here and a lot from there and I have a limited General War.
Mid-2288, 1956 AC
With the Mirak attack on the Lyrans, the Klingons almost immediately join their Coalition allies in fighting the aggressor. The Klingon attack forces the Mirak to redeploy their fleets to counter this new enemy, whom they had not expected to fight full on, and this allows the Lyrans to rally and begin pushing back. They take the fight past their own border and begin a war of conquest with the object of subjugating the Mirak homeworld.
The ISC begin construction of their Battle Fleet. After a year of observing the Gorn and Rihannsu, their ships are designed to take on the best that both plasma races can offer and win, every time.
Late-2288, 1956 AC
The Hydrans attack the Lyran border in October 2288 with their Home and Second Fleets. The limited operation was intended to recover disputed territory and to show good faith toward the Mirak (under their mutual defense pact). Their attack was a carefully planned "time on target" strike, with selected Lyran ships targeted for quick destruction. One Hydran force attempted to slip through LDR space to outflank the Lyran defenses, but the LDR forced the Hydrans back to the border. This incident, the first combat action of the Hydran assault, gave the Lyrans enough advanced warning to avoid the disaster that could have resulted.
The Hydrans made a strategic mistake, however, in sending their Expeditionary Fleet into Klingon territory in a somewhat curious effort to reach the Mirak front lines. This involved the Klingons (who would just as soon have concentrated on capturing the Mirak capital) in the war against the Hydrans and diverted power away from the Lyrans.
Had the Hydrans sent the Expeditionary Fleet against the Lyrans instead, they very likely would have conquered most of the Enemy's Blood Duchy while the Klingons simply guarded their own border and watched. (At least until the Mirak capital fell, at which point the Klingons would doubtless have helped the Lyrans recover their own territory in exchange for a share of Hydran space.)
In the event, the Expeditionary Fleet was destroyed before it reached Mirak space, and the Klingons turned their attention toward the Hydrans. Strategically, the Hydran error may have unwittingly saved the Mirak capital, and the diversion of Coalition resources to attack the Hydrans may have been one of the first of many small decisions that would ultimately cost the Coalition their long-sought victory.
ISC forces defeat a Romulan squadron and make initial contact with the Gorn.
2289, 1957 AC
The Lyrans and Klingons counterattack the Hydrans, immediately starting to push them back from their original borders and starting a steady drive towards the Hydran homeworld of Hydrax.
Early-2290, 1958 AC
The Hydrans were irrevocably committed to the defense of their capital, and this ultimately led to their defeat in the initial stages of the General War. The Hydrans remembered their earlier defeat and the fact that they had only thrown off the yoke of Klingo-Lyran occupation some 43 years earlier. There were many Hydrans still living who remembered the pain of that earlier occupation, and their determination not to allow their homeworld to undergo occupation again resulted in rigid "die in place" and "no retreat" operations that made defeat inevitable. Holding that capital against the combined Klingon-Lyran assault was impossible, and trying to do so simply allowed the bulk of the Hydran fleet to be trapped and destroyed. (There was apparently some debate within the Hydran command about whether to abandon the capital, but once the Lyrans destroyed the only battle station between the capital and the Old Colonies, retreat became physically impossible and the debate became academic.)
During the initial mobile stages of the campaign, both the Hydrans and the Coalition launched a series of raids on each other's logistical systems. The Hydrans came off the worse in the exchange. The Hydrans did, however, humiliate the Klingons by capturing the D7 battlecruiser Anarchist and using it in combat against its former masters.
The Hydrans lost about 20% of their fleet in the ill-fated Expedition, and another 60% in the vain defense of Hydra, leaving only a fraction of their former firepower to escape to the Old Colonies and build again. The Coalition, with no information on the Old Colonies (and thinking that there was relatively little economic base there despite the fact that whatever economy was present had been enough to eject the Klingons and Lyrans a half-century before) elected not to launch a long and possibly endless pursuit into the unknown region. Such a campaign might well have taken two or three years, and there was still a war to be fought in Mirak space. The Coalition appears to have believed (or at least wanted to believe) that there would be time to follow and wipe out the Hydrans after the Mirak capital fell.
02-August-2290, SD9086.5, 1665 IR, 1958 AC
An initial uprising in the Klingon home system, supported from the sidelines by the Mirak, is finally put down when General Chang kills the rebel leader in single combat on the bridge of his ship. On learning of the involvement of the Mirak in this attempt to bring down the their government, the Klingons join the Lyran drive on the Mirak homeworld. The resources already gained in the Anomaly Systems Colonial Exploitation Program fuels this war effort.
The Hydrans are effectively conquered with the fall of Hydraxus earlier this year. What is left of the Hydran Royal Navy seems to have disappeared – into the Hydran Old Colonies, the High Council believes – so the High Council deem it practical to focus fully on the Mirak now. No one has ever been able to determine the location of the Hydran Old Colonies.
Mirak from SFC2, Chang's personal combat from 'Klingon Academy' set-up movie, Anomaly Systems from 'Star Trek: New Worlds'. Hydrans being conquered and retreating to the Old Colonies as per SFB General War.
2291, 1959 AC
The Lyrans (with some Klingon support) build and maintain a chain of bases to guard against the eventual return of the Hydrans from the Old Colonies. Once the Hydrans had established production facilities in the Old Colonies, they launched a series of raids and strikes that made this five-year "battle of the line" into one of the longest and most desperate of the entire war. It eventually became a "bleeding ulcer" to Coalition strength, draining combat power that could have been better employed on the Mirak or Federation front. This line of bases held until 2294, when it collapsed, and the Lyrans quickly retreated to the original border in a bid to establish what amounted to a tacit separate peace with the Hydrans.
The Hydrans launch a continuing series of attacks on the Lyran Firewall Bases during 2291-2294 without success. One of the most spectacular failures came in 2292, when a Hydran squadron was trapped with its back to a gas giant and cut to ribbons by Klingon forces. The Lyrans begin launching raids into the Old Colonies area to disrupt convoys supporting the forward-deployed Hydran forces.
There were many tactical battles in Hydran space from 2291 through 2294, but the Hydrans were never again a strategic threat. At one point, the Romulan squadron led by Admiral Roxanna Vulpes was deployed to this theater, resulting in the tiny handful of historical Romulan-Hydran battles. The Romulans remained only a few months, despite having originally been assigned to remain there for at least two years.
2292, 1960 AC
The Mirak finally ally with the Federation. Federation fleets are sent to assist the Mirak in the defence of their territory, and a Federation expedition (Operation Hydra) unsuccessfully attempts to reach the Hydrans.
07-September-2292, SD9470.0
The Federation sends a Task Force into Mirak core space to help push the Klingons and Lyrans back. They help repulse the Klingon-Lyran attack on the Mirak homeworld, but not until after it had been bombarded from orbit. The Klingons are furious at loosing this most important battle, and prepare to war with the Federation.
As per Lord Dreissen's account of the exploits of the Glorywraith at the Mirak homeworld, itself based on SFB General War.
19-December-2292, SD9521.5, 1667 IR
The Klingon moon Praxis explodes, an event monitored by the Excelsior-class explorer U.S.S. Excelsior NCC-2000 under Captain Sulu. The explosion is caused by forced mining techniques put in place to rapidly build up energy and material reserves for the new war against the Federation. The Klingons pull out of the war with the Mirak and put into motion a peace plan with the Federation so that they can save their homeworld from ecological collapse.
13-February-2293, SD9549.5, 1667 IR, 1961 AC
The Khitomer conference is saved by crews of U.S.S. Excelsior and Constitution-class heavy command cruiser U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A under Captain James T. Kirk. The Khitomer Peace Accords are signed, and the Klingon Empire allies with the Federation to face the growing threat of the ISC, which is now making great headway into Gorn and Rihannsu space. The ISC will soon threaten the borders of the Federation and Klingon Empire.
As per modified SFC2 timeline, and of course 'ST:VI – The Undiscovered Country'
16-June-2293, SD9611.0, 1961 AC
While charting the Encebaran Nebula in unexplored territory on the far side of Gorn space, the U.S.S. Excelsior under Captain Hikaru Sulu encounters the return of the Organians. They had contacted another powerful galactic power called the InterStellar Concordium (ISC). It is made up in a similar fashion to the Federation with 66 separate races all working together peacefully, and is almost the same size as the Federation. The Gorn and Rihannsu had already encountered the ISC, and it was through the Gorn that the Excelsior was allowed to pass through their space to explore that region. The ISC ships were at first just content to watch as the Rihannsu did battle with the Gorn, and always withdrew without identifying themselves first. But just recently they have begun intervening in the battles, destroying any aggressive vessels. The reappearance of the Organians as an ally of the ISC has caused major concern to all the races, and apparently the ISC find the warlike nature of the races in this part of space repugnant. They plan to bring peace to this quadrant by destroying the military of each race, which they call "pacification". They had spent the last few years building a fleet of warships that could take on the best of any Alpha Quadrant race and beat them. Any armed ships encountered will be destroyed.
The stardate is given by Captain Sulu in the SFC2:EaW opening movie – making it Canon for me – so the ISC War of Pacification actually happens in my STU. I have modified my previous STL to accommodate it.
ISC activity from Kieran Forrester's "tour" aboard the Gorn ship is as detailed in his story. Other back-story is mine.
Mid-2294, 1962 AC
The Hydrans manage to destroy the Lyran Firewall Bases during a major offensive in this year, opening the way for operations within their old homespace to once again restore the Kingdom and push out the Lyran and Klingon invaders.
Late-2295, 1963 AC
The Hydrans recapture their capital star system. The Lyrans retreat to the original border, effectively accepting a tacit separate peace. The Klingons continue a fighting retreat through early 2296, but these were mostly small patrol actions involving attrition units.
The Klingon commander on that front knew that he would not receive new ships while the Hydrans would and that, eventually, he must lose the fight and retreat to the original border defenses (which the Hydran fleet would be unable to breach). Before that happened, however, the commander knew that he must extract every credit-worth of resources from what territory he still held. His strategy included establishing PF bases in asteroid fields, leaving them behind during Hydran offensives to disrupt their logistics and open the way for limited counteroffensives.
16-January-2296, SD10083.5
The ISC threat is now much more pronounced. Klingon and Federation ships have been skirmishing with ISC warships in helping to defend the closest Romulan and Gorn star systems, and it seems that they are not going to stop at their borders. It looks like they plan to roll right over ours. On a brighter note, the Gorn and Rihannsu had discovered that the ISC is not conquering and subjugating the systems they captured. They merely guarded them and prevented any armed ships entering, having destroyed all armed vessels within the system. At first, both Gorn and Rihannsu fleets had stood their ground to the last ship trying to protect their worlds, but with this new knowledge they just inflicted maximum losses on the enemy and pulled out when in serious difficulty, preserving their ships to fight another day. The Rihannsu fared better in this respect, due to their cloak.
This ISC data is of my own making, but a reasonable assumption and allows the Gorn and Rihannsu to save a lot of their ships after taking heavy losses to begin with.
Early-2296, 1964 AC
By the end of 2295 the wars on all fronts had ground to a halt and and there was no will in any government to launch new offensives. The ISC had steamrollered over Gorn and Romulan space and was starting to make probing incursions into Federation and Klingon space, and the Galactic Intelligence Agency was sounding dire warnings of ISC spies operating inside the Federation itself.
Tentative diplomatic initiatives by many races met with a warm (if grudging) reception, and a general peace agreement ended the General War in the spring of 2296 with the original borders more or less intact.
19-April-2296, SD10130.0, 24/06/10710 AE, 1964 AC
With the incursion into Federation and Klingon space by ISC forces, the Alpha Quadrant Powers unite and begin fighting back together. They all declare war on the ISC.
16-August-2298, SD10554.5, 1763 AS, 1673 IR, 1966 AC
After 5 years of war, the combined races of the Alpha Quadrant finally defeat the ISC's Pacification attempt.
Late-2298, 1966 AC
All species begin down the long road of rebuilding their war-ravaged nations.
Early-2313, 1979 AC
The Hydran Kingdom enters into an alliance with the Borak Star League and sends a diplomatic mission to the Planet of Galactic Peace, Nimbus III, to re-open their rebuilt nation to interstellar trade and relations.
From Adrian Jones' story 'The Great Game'.