The first real contact in modern times was made in a place call Roswell, New Mexico in the 1940's. Not to go too far into detail, the aliens ship had crashed and they were assisted by the humans, but the contact was hidden from the civilian population. However, most people were certain that it did happen and were convinced the government was covering it up.
What was learned from that encounter, was that there were other people in the galaxy. Some were humanoid like us, like the ones who crashed, but some had evolved from different species, feline, canine, reptile and avian to name a few, but they tended not to go exploring that much anymore. It was also explained that the people who crash landed here had also come here during the beginnings of our world along with some of the other alien races. They had come to help us progress to where we are now and had also visited many other times since then to see how we progressed as the human race grew and learned new and possibly dangerous things.
But then they were also informed of some of the other species, that didn't get along with the rest. They hadn't been here to earth yet, but would one day. That was the main reason for the interest in our planet, the extraterrestrials were trying to protect us until we could advance enough to join them against the others.
Earth was pretty much at peace now, but that wasn't always the case. From the time Space Force was established to about fifty years later, both good and bad had happened. A civil war was averted in the United States due to the philosophical views of liberal and conservative factions in the United States, as it was called at the time. This civil war was averted by finally splitting up the country into three parts, conservatives in the east, liberals in the west and independents in the center.
These three parts lived basically how they wanted and were governed by a triumvirate of three elected individuals known as triumvirs, this was taken from an ancient earth culture called Rome. You could still live were you wanted, but if you did, you needed to follow the rules as they were laid down for the area. However, the countries military was separate from this and was made up of all three, though it should be noted that the majority of the people came from the conservative or independent parts of the country. This is just the general information on the breakup and what led up to it, as it would take too long to write about it here. However, it worked with surprisingly very few problems and most people were happy now.
The rest of the world was basically at peace also, or at least all the superpowers and the majority of what was called, third-world countries. This was brought about by the first "public" landing of the extraterrestrials. They had finally decided to make this contact openly due to a war being staged in space. They had protected our world as much as possible, but the different species decided we were finally at a point for us to get involved also. They had not wanted to wait till the last minute, but came early enough to help us train and develop equipment to aid the rest of the friendly species.
So, all the superpowers and many of the minor powers met with them and a pact was established to accomplish this. All the different countries and powers may have their differences, but they could see the sense in it all once they were provided with all the information. And their noses rubbed into it for some of the stubborn ones.
Many things were also brought to light because of this. The American Space Force, that was once laughed about was revealed for what it really was, an actual branch designed and trained to fight this type of conflict. People stopped joking about it once it was revealed for what it really was, along with the information that Russian, Chinese, and some others that had their own type of space force. The people were also informed that the international space station was actually created to help support this.
This helped keep the panic down once the common man was told of all this. Of course, a lot of more things would have to happen before earth was ready, but the people understood that we were not being blindsided. So, for the next thirty years since the official landing of the extraterrestrial's, technology leapt ahead leaps and bounds with their help.
A lot of thought had been put into this by the extraterrestrials. The ones we had contact with, they were called the Vagan's, that were teaching and helping us, were almost human in appearance. The only real differences were their skin color, theirs was a dark gold color, both male and female were bald, they were all over six feet tall, and their eyes were... cat-like... in appearance. They were fluent in English, Russian, Chinese, plus many other common earth languages. Since they weren't some type pf really strange, alien looking people, they looked very human, the people of the earth accepted them, for the most part.
Many things were developed, not only to fight and protect the world, but new power sources were built, new ways to grow foods so no one went hungry, and of course, medical developments that helped heal or stop common diseases from occurring.
Huge strides were also made in cybernetics and robotics, and soon there were robots and eventually, cyborgs. The most important fact is that many cybernetics were designed and built to enhance...not replace humans and the cyborgs were designed to look, feel, move and act like normal humans. Actual robotics was unpopular and was normally only used for military applications and to aid with things that were to dangerous for humans. The cybernetics also enabled the citizens to be connected to a vast network of information, and aided people who needed replacement parts due to sickness and injuries.
To explain this in a little more detail;
1. Cyber-enhancement; Enhancements made to humans that let them connect to computer networks and communication systems, and/ or having individual prosthetic replacement parts due to damage or illness such as eyes, hands, feet, arms, legs, etc. Plus, enhancements to be able to accomplish things easier and better.
2. Cyborg; The cyborg is a human who has had full-body cyberization, having a prosthetic body which has parts that can be exchanged or replaced when damaged. They still possessed their own brain, and was used in the case of people who were beyond medical repair. This was considered a great leap forward when the process for melding a human brain to an enhanced prosthetic body was discovered. Unless you interacted personally with them, you'd never know they were cyborgs.
3. Robots- Complete mechanical being with no human parts. These have been around for years and years and everyone knew about them. They were improved and were mainly used in tasks that would be to hard or dangerous for humans.
As the war got closer, we also established a combined base on the moon. This would be used as a staging point for when the conflict started. It was staffed by peoples from all the nations and were also used as a repair and resupply station. This was also our main base for our space-based fighters and the alien peoples ships that were assigned to our world and sector.
This is where our story starts, on Moon-Base.
It was the year 2120, and the conflict in space had finally reached our solar system about two years ago. The installation on the moon was divided up into several sections, two command sections (One human and one Vagan), living sections for the different peoples (both human and extraterrestrial), several repair sections, craft hangers, and warehouses.
A space suited figure is making his way from one of the external warehouses to the main building. The suit is not one of the old bulky things worn in the early days of space travel, but with the help of the extraterrestrial allies, they had designed one that provided air and protection that was far less bulky. This made the wearers happy, as they actually could perform tasks outside the domes in comfort. He walked up to the main airlock and logged in, the airlock door opened and he walked in, the door closing behind him. Once the door closed, the pressure equalized and a light flashed, letting him know it was okay to open the inner door.
Once he was in and the door slid closed, he removed his gloves and disconnected the oxygen tube to his helmet and removed it. He took a deep breath and felt better, while the atmosphere was basically the same as what was in his suits tank, it always felt different and better for some reason. He put the gloves in the helmet, and walked towards the locker room so he could get out of his suit.
He entered the locker room greeting some of the others who were either getting dressed out or changing to their normal uniform. All the people, both male and female, in this locker room were from the American Space Force. Each country and species had their own locker room as per their needs. He walked up to his locker, his name emblazoned on it, Sergeant Lucas Torson. He smiled and greeted the girl who had her locker next to him, "Hi Ellie, what's going on?"
Ellie and Lucas worked together in the cyber-lab, he ran it and she was his assistant. She was very cute, with a very nice figure and had short dark blond hair. They had also gotten together a few times for a little fun now and then.
She smiled at him as she took her uniform off, "Hi Lucas, I've got to go over to the main hanger and check on a few things. Where are you coming from?"
Lucas smiled, he like her a lot, she was fun to get together with in their off hours. What they had was like many people did now, nobody really got married or became permanently attached anymore until much later in life usually. The both enjoyed each other's company and making love when they had time, but nothing permanent. He had heard an old earth phrase about it, "Friends with benefits" or something to that effect. "I had to go over and sign off on some replacement cyber-components that came in before they unloaded the transport."
He smiled once more, "Hey, do me a favor will you." He turned his side to her, "Could you please unzip this suit?"
She smiled and nodded, "No problem Luc, they are a bit of a pain to get down by yourself."
She pulled the Velcro cover open and pulled the zipper down, "There you go." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Now once I get mine on, you can zip mine up."
Lucas smiled back, "My pleasure, but its more fun unzipping it."
She laughed, "Yes, it is, aren't we due for some of that?"
