Imperial Collage of Heralds, Information Division
Document TAK-0139/4
001-2370T

Terran Humans first reached the Greater Magellanic Cloud in 501T, when Amon Diska discovered the first stable wormhole at Gateway {Nixon 2332}. The wormhole lead to Breakout {Newlands 0720}, the first system to have been seen by the Terrans in the Cloud. However Diska and subsequent explorers were faced by a mystery; there were already Humans in the Cloud. Just 8 parsecs from Breakout they found Ewolsf {Yumacuza 3121} and its native Human inhabitants. Further exploration found more and more Human inhabited worlds. The mystery deepened with the discovery of the Ulkoyo world (a race believed to be native to the Milky Way) of Ayoulka {Newlands 1436}. The current theory is that the Sidhe either discovered or manufactured the wormhole and transported Humans and Ulkoyo to the Cloud. One of these Human races (the Efrip) had discovered jump drive around -1200T and established an empire which lasted for about 800 years before it collapsed for reasons as yet not fully explained.

Early exploration of the Cloud was fraught with danger due to the Dkaral effect on ships when attempting to transit the wormhole. It was 10 years before the construction of the Yumazaca gates at both ends of the wormhole neutralised the Dkaral effect; and the first major colonisation effort was launched in 511T, with colonies being established at Breakout, Lazarus, Nemesis and Waverley. With the perfection of the second generation Yumazaca gates in 527T transiting the wormhole became virtually risk free and colonisation increased rapidly. By the year 700T it was estimated that there were some 190 billion Terrans living in the Cloud.

Colonisation and exploration of the Cloud continued until about 1100T and the last organised group of colonists (refugees from the civil wars) from the Milky Way arrived in 1264T. In 546 Empress Paula III allowed a group of refugee Jneril to settle in the clouds. These were followed by more Jneril and in 559T the first of a relatively large number of Dk’arek colonists also crossed over into the Cloud. This was to spark a restive period of tensions and minor conflicts (collectively termed "the Alien Campaigns") within the Cloud. This unrest lead Empress Cloe II to issue the Gateway edict in 624T; this banned further non-Human colonisation of the Cloud and severely restricted the non-humans already in the Cloud. The edict was backed up with major military campaign to crush any opposition; and this resulted in the first real imposition of Imperial authority in the Cloud. These suppressions lasted until 647T and while the Gateway edict was rescinded by her successor, Emperor Arthur V in 689T; Non-human migration was never again to play the same role in the colonisation of the Cloud and Imperial control (while never strong) was not to be disputed until the civil wars.

In 632T the first contact was made with the Second Akhrini Commonality, an Efrip successor state encompassing about two sectors. Tensions between the Terrans and the Commonality over continued Terran expansion lead to a series of wars which lasted from 647T (the start of the First Akhrini War) until 1141T (the end of the Sixth Akhrini War). While relations between the two states was always to remain strained, further conflict was to be averted until the collapse of the Terran Empire. After the Empires collapse, the fragmented nature of their society prevented them from taking large scale advantage of the Terrans misfortune. They absorbed several border worlds, but in 1168T the Commonality disintegrated in a civil war which last 200 years and their civilisation was devastated as thoroughly as that of the Terrans.

The Empires collapse began in 1032T with Empress Cloe VI’s disputed succession. This directly caused the long series of civil wars which would eventually rip the Empire apart. Initially the civil strife had little effect on the cloud, but in 1128T Admiral Zharkov withdrew the bulk of the Imperial forces from the cloud to support his claim to the throne. Almost immediately order began to breakdown. Without Imperial ships patrolling the spacelanes, piracy started to increase and planets started to look to their own resources to survive. The Sixth Akhrini War (1135T to 1141T) forced the Empire to return some forces to the Cloud, but this could only hope to slow the collapse. In 1161T the Dk’arek worlds around Khaask revolted, starting the Khaask War (1161T to 1164T). The Empires defeat in this war lead directly to a series of revolts and rebellions, which the Empire was unable to put down. By 1269T the Empires control had been reduced to eleven worlds within six parsecs of Breakout. In 1272T the Yumazaca gate at Gateway collapsed and all communications between the Cloud and the Milky Way ceased. The few remaining Imperial forces in the Cloud gathered around Breakout and attempted to survive as best they could.

The early years after the collapse were a time of crisis. Raiders struck at the rump of the Imperial holdings and one by one the surviving Imperial worlds were lost until by 1314T only Breakout remained. Breakout struggled to survive; the Viceroys played the Raiders and petty successors off against one another and managed to retain a starfaring technological base. The first turning point is generally agreed to have occurred in 1331T when Viceroy Robert III established the Phoenix Project. Several very simple and rugged types of starships were designed; and the Imperial Magellanic Scout Corp (IMSC) (formal name "Imperial Terran Scout Service, Magellanic Corp") was organised from the surviving Imperial Terran Scout Service personnel who had remained in the Cloud after the collapse of the wormhole.

Initially the Phoenix Project had little or no effect and the former Imperial territories slipped into a Dark Age of barbarism. By 1432T interstellar communications had all but ceased; only 3 former Imperial worlds still retained the capacity to construct starships. It is estimated that there were less than 100 working Terran starships in the Cloud at this time. It is then that the Phoenix Project started to make a real impact. Initially its impact was limited to the region around Breakout. By 1587T Imperial control had been reestablished over all of the Breakout cluster (the core worlds of what would latter be the Principality of Breakout). At this point Viceroy Colin III changed the aim of the Phoenix Project from reestablishing Imperial control to reestablishing some form of Interstellar civilisation. Phoenix design ships were produced in quantity and made available to private individuals; and the IMSC started with the task of ensuring that an adequate number of worlds had the technology to maintain and construct starships.

Phoenix ships ranged far and wide and the IMSC disseminated technology as best it could. Gradually interstellar communication and commerce started to increase; and in 1839T the first of the Diadochi states (the Faorin Confederation) was formed, encompassing five worlds centred on Faorin [The Principality of Breakout is not usually considered to be a Diadochi state, as there was no break in the functioning of Imperial bureaucracy on Breakout]. The next 300 years saw more Diadochi states come into existence and in 2127T Viceroy Henry IV proposed the Babylon Accords. Most of the Diadochi states and independent worlds in the Newlands and Yumazaca sectors acceded to these over the next 180 years. The Babylon Accords formed a very loose interstellar government. The signatories acknowledged theoretical fealty to the Terran Emperor or Empress (the Empire still being regarded with great awe and respect) and agreed for the Viceroy to act for the Emperor or Empress until contact with the Milky Way could be reestablished. In 2132T the Imperial Magellanic Assembly on Babylon {Yumazaca 2517} was established. Consisting of representatives from all states acknowledging fealty to the Empire. It was to act as an advisory body to the Viceroy concerning Imperial matters. In practice the Viceroy can not act without approval from the majority of the Magellanic Assembly and the Imperial Diadochi states retain much effective independence. The system can best be described as a very loose feudal state, akin to 12th and 13th century France.

The first threat to the Magellanic Empire came in 2197T. During the preceding 25 years the IMSC had re-established the J-2 route across the Diska Rift and started recontact with the worlds beyond. It was here that they encountered the Mwoah. The Mwoah are a major race descended from herbivore/intermittent stock native to the Cloud. The Mwoah had discovered jump drive in 1678T and had formed an interstellar state (the Mwoah Unity) encompassing about half a sector and were starting to expand into the former Terran colonies beyond the Diska Rift. In 2197T the Mwoah launched a campaign to eject the Magellanic Empire from beyond the Diska Rift starting the First Mwoah War.

The war went badly for the Terrans. Despite possessing a clear technological advantage and theoretical numerical advantage, the Imperial Diadochi refused to commit significant forces to the prosecution of the war. This forced Viceroy Alethea III to conduct the war with inadequate forces. These were restricted to: the IMSC, such forces as she could spare from the Principality of Breakout and cajole from the Imperial Diadochi, whatever mercenary forces could be afforded, and the few local forces which could be raised from beyond the Diska Rift. Naturally these were insufficient for the task required. By mid 2204T the Mwoah had ejected the Terrans from beyond the rift and continued the campaign across the J-2 route. The Rift campaign was the hardest fought of the war. The Terrans fought desperately for each world, but by late 2205T the Mwoah had forced their way to Gibraltar {Newlands 3235} at the Imperial end of the J-2 route and were threatening Imperial territory. Finally the Imperial Diadochi took some notice and significant forces were made available. The siege of Gibraltar lasted until 2207T and exhausted the Mwoah ability to continue the war. A peace treaty was arranged; and the war ended with the Terrans still in possession of Gibraltar, though all the worlds beyond that were placed in the Mwoah sphere of influence.

In 2209T the Mwoah started to colonise Gibraltar’s distant companion, naming it Orabow. Though this was a clear violation of the Treaty of Lorien which ended the war and a definite threat, the Terrans could respond with nothing stronger than terse diplomatic protests. It was quite clear that the Magellanic Empire lacked the military strength to do anything more than this.

In response to the defeat in the First Mwoah War and the humiliation of the Orabow incident, the Magellanic Assembly finally agreed to the formation of a structure to coordinate the defence of Imperial territory. In 2214T the Imperial Magellanic Navy and Marines (formal names: "The Magellanic Division, Imperial Terran Navy" and "The Magellanic Division, Imperial Terran Marines") were formed. Initially these were simply administrative organisations to provide a higher command structure and coordinate cooperation and standardisation between the various Imperial Diadochi states. However in 2228T a system was established whereby a small number of Diadochi units were seconded to the Navy and Marines on a rotating basis, to provide a ready reaction force on the border. This system was further expanded in 2231T when the two surviving Imperial units still in the Cloud (the King Charles III Squadron and the Albion Marine Legion) were transferred from the Principality of Breakout to Imperial command. This state of affairs remained unaltered until the Second Mwoah War.

The Mwoah spent the period after the war slowly conquering and absorbing many of the worlds now within their sphere of control. However in 2293T they launched a campaign to conquer the Jneril world of Hrali {Newlands 3231}. Despite this being within the Mwoah sphere according to the Treaty of Lorien, the Imperial forces attempted to intervene; on the basis that the treaty had been invalidated by the Mwoah colonisation of Orabow. This sparked the Second Mwoah War. Initially the war went badly for the Empire. With major elements committed to Hrali, the ready reaction forces on the border proved inadequate as the Mwoah used their base at Orabow to bypass Gibraltar and drive into Imperial territory. However, in 2297T, Admiral Sir Sommerfield-Johns smashed a major Mwoah task force at Hastar {Newlands 2533} and the tide began to turn. Although the Empire had lost its technological advantage, gradually the Imperial forces gained the upper hand. In 2300T the Imperial forces had forced the Mwoah back and launched an invasion of Orabow. By 2301T Mwoah resistance on Orabow had ended and the Mwoah prisoners and civilians were interned in confinement camps. The Empire then launched a campaign to carry the war back across the Rift. The Rift campaign was as hard fought as the first war. The Mwoah fought for every world and by 2303T the war had bogged down and was rapidly losing support amongst many Diadochi states within the Empire. An armistice was arranged and in 2304T the Treaty of Karin ended the war.

The treaty established the Diska Rift as a demilitarised zone between the Terrans and the Mwoah. The Mwoah colonists of the former Jneril world of Hrali (renamed Utarr) and their other worlds in the Rift were allowed to remain, but they were to be independent of the Mwoah Unity. This proved to be less of a success than was hoped for, for though the worlds were granted theoretical independence, the nature of Mwoah society means the are effectively still part of the Mwoah Unity. In 2305T the few remaining Mwoah survivors from the Orabow confinement camps were repatriated. Their unfortunate treatment caused immense outrage amongst the Mwoah; but no action was taken over it. The Magellanic Assembly granted Jneril survivors of Hrali the former Mwoah world Orabow as a new home; now renamed St’iyha. Despite continuing tensions, the border has remained stable since.

However recent times have seen an increase in tensions. In 2362T a human Diadochi state (the Civtra Confederation) formed within the Mwoah sphere of influence. It is widely suspected within the Mwoah Unity that the Empire was instrumental in the formation of this state. Though there are no formal links or official aid, Imperial support for the Confederation is a major point of tensions between the Empire and the Mwoah. Though the Mwoah have yet to take any action against the Confederation, most analysts agree that it is only a matter of time before they do.

The performance of the Imperial forces during the war was much improved; and the Imperial Navy and Marines had been enlarged throughout its course. With the end of the war many of the Imperial Diadochi states argued for their reduction to pre-war levels. However the clear evidence of the inadequacy of their levels during the early war lead to widespread calls for the retention of at least some of the new units raised. Finally in 2307T the Magellanic Assembly authorised the Navy to retain eight Squadrons and the Marines six Legions (each consisting of two infantry and one cavalry regiments). In addition to these, the Jneril Eiahya Legion (a unit of non-Imperial Jneril serving out of honour for Hrali) was also retained. The units in excess of this were disbanded and their equipment placed into reserve against future emergencies. The system of secondment of Diadochi units was retained; and most Imperial units generally have one or two Diadochi units attached to them. These enlarged Imperial forces are funded by a small levy on Imperial worlds (termed Scutage) authorised by the Magellanic Assembly on a year to year basis.

Around 2311T another threat emerged with the formation of the Third Akhrini Commonality. Whilst it is located at least a sector from the Imperial borders, conflicts over influence in the various Non-Imperial Diadochi states located between the two states lead to increasing tensions. In response, in 2331T the Magellanic Assembly authorised a further small increase (two Navy Squadrons and one Marine Legion) in Imperial forces due to the increasing tensions. Despite numerous small scale clashes and skirmishes, these tensions did not lead to direct large scale conflict until the Seventh Akhrini War in 2364T.

A disputed succession in the Querad Union (a Non-Imperial Diadochi state) in 2362T lead to a civil war within the Querad Union between pro-Imperial and pro-Akhrini factions. In 2364T the Akhrini committed mainforce units to support the pro-Akhrini faction. Viceroy Martin VI authorised the commitment of Imperial Naval and Marine units to counter this. Since neither the Commonality nor the Empire was willing to move to an all out confrontation, the war progressed fitfully until a compromise settlement was reached in 2367T. Under the Treaty of Hakkon, control of the Querad Union was given over to a joint council consisting equally of both factions. Both the Commonality and Empire are allowed to station forces within the Union to maintain peace. During the war the Imperial Navy and Marines raised a small number of new units. Of these one Navy Squadron and three Marine Legions were retained after the peace. The war, however, did little to resolve the ongoing tensions between the Commonality and the Empire; and as at 2370T tensions remain high.