The People's Republic of Terra was born from the ashes of World War III and has spent the centuries since pursuing a single goal: the unification of all humanity under Terran rule.
The People's Republic of Terra emerged from the tail end of World War III and the US Economic Collapse of 2090. The People's Republic of China and their allies had won one of the most costly wars in human history, leaving the United States devastated with tens of millions dead and several major cities bombed into oblivion.
The first act of the Chinese/Russian coalition that invaded the United States was to declare NATO and the United Nations dissolved. In their place, a single world government was established, modeled heavily on the People's Republic of China but with a western facelift and the benefit of hindsight.
The first several decades were rocky. Many holdout nations refused to join, and the early Terran Government (primarily composed of former Chinese officials) resorted to extreme measures to bring these countries in line. However, by the time of Second Contact, the Terran government had settled into a rhythm, and it was hard to imagine ever going back to the fractured ways of the past.
It wasn't long before the People's Republic of Terra looked to the stars. For many, it was a hopeful thing—technology had advanced to the point where humanity could move beyond the homeworld and expand. For others, it was about finishing a job that had been left undone.
The US Government had evacuated to its Mars Colony at the end of World War III and declared Mars independent from Earth. A state of cold war had existed between the two planets ever since. Two more Martian colonies were founded while the Terrans began designing and building intrastellar warships to finally bring their enemies to heel.
Things did not go as planned. The Martians had taken notice of the warships being built in Earth orbit and put their own plan into place. When the Terran First Fleet arrived at Mars in 2113, they found the colonies abandoned with no sign of their former residents. The three massive ships the Martians had constructed were also gone.
What they found was a trap, forever after referred to as "The Coward's Trap" in Terran history books. The entire First Fleet was utterly destroyed by nuclear mines left in orbit by the fleeing Martians.
Recovering from the devastating loss of their entire space-born navy, the Terrans focused on colonization instead. Despite massive depopulation efforts during the war, Earth was still experiencing runaway growth, and the Martians had left three perfectly functional colonies on Mars just waiting for new inhabitants. Mars was swiftly brought into the Terran fold, and soon colonies were being founded on the Jovian and Saturnian moons while mining stations were built in the asteroid belt. If the Martian cowards could make for the stars, then so could the Terrans.
It wasn't until Second Contact that the People's Republic learned the Martians had not only survived but were thriving and had established a new government: The League of Allied Worlds. Worse still, their old enemy had access to technology far beyond the Republic. This news was carried by NorAellian ambassadors, who brought with them the knowledge to level the playing field.
To the NorAellians, this was the perfect way to settle things amongst humanity. To the Republic, this was a chance to finish their forefathers' work. The Republic was grateful to the NorAellians for balancing the scales technologically, though less thrilled that the price was their forced acknowledgment that the League was its own independent entity. Many metaphorical fingers were crossed during that announcement.
Despite this, the Republic understood that the NorAellians had quite literally saved them from an unbeatable League attack and had given them a second chance at becoming the unified human government. Soon enough, the Terrans were an interstellar power in their own right.
Despite NorAellian advisors suggesting they focus on locations closer to the Sol System, the Terrans decided to make a statement. Anything the League could do, they could do bigger and better. Domovoi and Surya were the first two colonies established, each nearly 20,000 light years from Sol, clearly chosen as new hubs for further expansion.
Officially, the Terran Government still labels the League's departure from Mars as an act of treason against the unified world government, despite acknowledging the League as a government in its own right. Unofficially, most people in power see the League as a net positive—its original flight removed the single greatest unified threat to the Republic's success, and now it provides an inherent rival nation, a handy scapegoat, and a pressure release valve for dissatisfied citizens (a role the League now shares with the Confederacy).
Those same Terran leaders would also be quick to point out that unifying humanity is still their aim, and for that to occur, the League, and more recently the Confederacy, must bow to the might of Terra.
The war with the League has been a constant across the history of the Terrans. For most of Terran history it's been considered an unalterable fact of life. So much of the Terran Government and Military is geared towards fighting this war that it's almost inconceivable that it could ever end.
The Terran Republic believes, to their very cores, that they are destined to become the singular expression of humanity in the galaxy. While plenty of people at all levels of society are willing to abuse that belief for their own goals, or accept that such a destiny is unlikely to be seen in their lifetimes, many are devoted to that goal.
Unfortunately, true believers rarely find their way into the upper echelons of power. No one wants a zealot in command. Those at the top view the war with the League almost as a goal unto itself. Yes, they would leap at a chance to land a killing blow or claim more systems, but the war and its execution are what keeps them in power. Winning the war would almost certainly mean the creation of a new government, with no guarantee they would be at the top.
The same year Second Contact was made, the First Interstellar War was declared, to the surprise of no one except the NorAellians, who had believed they had stabilized human relations by giving the Republic what they had given the League.
The Terrans based their war declaration on two things:
First, the absolute destruction of the First Fleet over Mars through nuclear weapons. Republic officials referred to it as a trap for a mission meant to re-establish diplomatic ties, which historians would later point out is technically true but falls far short of truly describing that fleet's intent.
Second, the Republic claimed, correctly, that the League intended to use their higher technology level to crush the Republic and conquer Earth, and that only the gracious intervention of the NorAellians prevented this. League representatives have never refuted the claim, and though they have protested the word "conquer," they have never provided a viable explanation of how removing the Republic government could have been anything but conquest.
This first war waged amongst the stars lasted 27 years and consisted of little more than small border skirmishes. Neither government had the full fleets that would later characterize the wars between humanity, and as a result, the First Interstellar War did not see massive casualties until its end. This was also aided by neither side truly knowing how interstellar war was waged—though humans are nothing if not quick learners.
In 2288, a Terran Strike Team penetrated League space all the way to the Calysto System and, as revenge for the loss of the Terran First Fleet, detonated a nuclear device inside the League's primary shipyard. An entire League fleet under construction—consisting of the newest and most advanced ships humanity had built to date—was destroyed or irradiated, setting League defensive development back a decade.
This strike had three major effects: it placed the League and the Republic on roughly equal military footing, it brought the League to the negotiating table in early 2289, and it saw both sides agree that nuclear strikes should be restricted to ship-to-ship combat for all future conflicts.
Historians have largely decided that the Republic "won" this first war, as they declared it and their actions ended it. However, neither side landed a truly devastating blow outside of the Calysto Yards strike, and neither conquered any systems of true importance—they just swapped border worlds back and forth. The trading of border colonies would become such a hallmark of these wars that by the time the Confederacy War concluded, capturing a border colony barely registered as a casus belli.
This first cease-fire lasted an impressive 61 years, the longest single span of peace between the Terrans and the League since both became interstellar powers.
That peace ended in 2350.
The Second Interstellar War saw both sides deploy fleets that dwarfed anything from the First War. Three decades of buildup had produced armadas capable of sustained campaigns across multiple systems. The war was characterized by grinding attrition along the Front, with neither side able to gain a decisive advantage.
Both governments had learned from the first conflict and developed more sophisticated tactics for interstellar warfare. The Republic in particular invested heavily in logistics infrastructure, establishing the supply chains that would support their military for centuries to come.
The war concluded in 2380 with another cease-fire, this time brokered without NorAellian intervention. Both sides had exhausted themselves without achieving their objectives.
The Third Interstellar War proved to be a turning point in human military technology.
During this conflict, the League introduced a new generation of warships featuring solid, armored hulls rather than the open-frame scaffold designs both sides had used previously. These ships proved devastatingly effective against the Republic's existing fleet, and the Terran Navy suffered a series of crushing defeats.
The war concluded in 2429 with what most historians consider a League victory, though as with all the Interstellar Wars, the actual territorial changes were minimal—the same border worlds simply changed hands once again.
The lessons of the Third War would reshape Terran military doctrine for generations. Republic shipyards immediately began designing solid-hull vessels of their own, a transition that would be largely complete by the Fourth Interstellar War.
In the century leading up to the Confederacy War (the Fourth Interstellar War), the Republic had "allowed" many citizens to strike out and found colonies in the freelance worlds that were, at least culturally, Terran. With active war looming, it was time to collect these rogue colonies and bring them back into the Republic fold.
In 2448, however, in what has been near-universally regarded as one of the most inspired and underhanded moves ever attempted on the galactic stage, the League prompted a coalition of these freelance worlds to unite into a third interstellar human government: the Confederacy of Freelance States.
The Republic disagreed with this Declaration, strenuously. To their eyes, the freelance worlds were rebellious citizens needing to be brought back in line. This new government, clearly the League's doing, was a nuisance the Republic felt comfortable ignoring.
When it became clear that the League and their pet Confederacy were not going to stand down, an example needed to be made. The Premiere and the Magistrates, along with High Command, issued the Renlei Zhimindi Xuanyan (Declaration of Human Colonies), proclaiming all freelance worlds to be Terran colonies in revolt. This declaration kicked off the Fourth Interstellar War.
In 2493, the Confederacy had cobbled together a fleet, and with NorAellian backing, they made their claim of true independence—both from the Republic and from the direct manipulation of the League. This marked the end of the Confederacy War.
The Fifth Interstellar War was the longest of the conflicts, lasting 32 years. Both sides had now fully transitioned to modern solid-hull warship designs, and the technological gap that had plagued the Republic in the Third War had closed.
The war was marked by several major fleet engagements and the loss of the Entranza Agios with all hands in 2561—a disaster that temporarily shifted momentum toward the Republic.
The cease-fire of 2569 left both sides battered but unbowed, with the border worlds once again shuffled between the two powers.
The Sixth Interstellar War would prove to be the most consequential conflict in human history.
The war began in 2612 with the Republic on a military upswing. Many believed this conflict might finally see the Republic absorb significant League territory. Instead of pushing back the frontlines, however, Terran High Command launched three deep thrusts into enemy space—feints toward Gaelia and Trajan, with the true objective being the Carolingian System and its paradise world of Charlemagne.
On August 8th, 2651, the Republic's 438th Fleet arrived at Charlemagne. What followed was the Charlemagne Disaster—a subspace detonation so catastrophic it rendered the entire system inaccessible and killed over one billion people.
The disaster brought both the Terrans and the League to the negotiating table. The Charlemagne Accords were signed in 2652, establishing a cease-fire and banning all subspace weapons research.
With the signing of the Charlemagne Accords, the galaxy found itself at relative peace. Unlike previous cease-fires, there was no real stand-down of military readiness on either side. Both the League and the Republic pulled back to their 2652 borders, but neither felt secure enough to warrant force reductions. Instead, both sides slightly slowed their breakneck production of war material and opted for a lower-burn buildup.
It was clear to all observers that this peace was doomed from the start. What no one expected was The Fall.
The war and the Republic's stance on it has made the Republic a fairly easy government for dedicated minds to infiltrate and direct. Unfortunately, this infiltration and co-option has gone almost completely unnoticed. The Sooni and their Zealot operatives have been careful to make only small changes that go mostly unremarked on their own, but equate to pushing the Republic onto an entirely different path in the long term—a path that leads to ruin for all of humanity.