History of Titan

Origins

The Saturnian moon of Titan was originally colonized by refugees from the Triumvirate of Yut nations of Karmabaijan, Scolopendra, and Berserker in a massive exodus program backed by the governments of those nations due to the increasing geopolitical instability of Earth-That-Was. Immediately prior to The Break the Titanian Colonies successfully extracted Zero-One from an anti-mechanoid genocide campaign on the Arabian Peninsula and moved them to Rhea, another moon of Saturn. After The Break, the fledgling Saturnian colonies were on their own.

When it was originally colonized, Titan was a dead world with a rocky lithosphere and methane-based hydrosphere. The Triumvirate nations lived in massive Caves of Steel complexes under the surface, built and, at least initially, maintained via automated construction and digger robots. In the period immediately post-Break, Titan worked to become self-sufficient in terms of agricultural and industrial resources, leading to breakthroughs in various recycling technologies. During this Uninhabitable Period, Titan and Rhea suffered both various undesired squatters from various nations and a full-scale military invasion by Pilon. The squatters were individually integrated or expatriated while the invasions were militarily beaten back, forcing the creation of the Triumvirate of Yut Combined Services.

The Terraformation Period

Once life on Titan stabilized, the Triumvirate nations began a program to terraform Titan. Berserker scientists developed a 'flash conversion' process that took advantage of in situ materials, Titanian atmospheric chemistry, and Triumvirate excess energy production to rapidly convert the poisonous methane-based atmosphere to a more Terrestrial nitrox composition. Karmabaijani industry produced the necessary energy, chemicals, and conversion equipment while Scolopendran space experience built the artificial solettes and amplifying mirrors that would provide thermal energy to the terraforming process. In addition, Scolopendran ecological engineers (that would eventually become the TerraEngineering Corps and later the TerraEngineering Directorate) designed the future biomes of a terraformed Titan, working with Zero-One and Karmabaijan to genetically modify Terrestrial species to fit the planned Titanian climates. After years of preparation, Triumvirate engineers officially launched the terraformation process with Ignition Night.

At the latter end of the Terraformation Period, the Triumvirate nations ended their effective isolation and returned to explore the political currents of the new Post-Break Earth. The Triumvirate of Yut Combined Services participated in several multilateral humanitarian military interventions, which eventually grew into the TYCS' Extraction Campaigns. At the time, the political situation of the Fractal Earth was mostly informed by the conflict between Menelmacar and Melkor unchained; while attempting to stay officially neutral, Triumvirate interests and ideals naturally aligned Titan with the Menelmacari. Eventually the Menelmacari were permitted to create a colony on uninhabited land on Titan, and this colony was accepted into the (increasingly misnamed) Triumvirate. Due to an error in communications, this resulted in the entire Menelmacari empire being accepted, fully ending Titan's non-alignment in the struggles of Earth.

The Expansionist Period

In the Expansionist Period, the Titanian nations continued to expand the Triumvirate and increase its military power, economic strength, and prestige. With the terraformation of Titan complete construction began on a massive Ring habitat surrounding the entire Saturnian satellite system with the intent of providing the capacity for functionally unlimited living space. Other Triumvirate members, such as Sakkra, were permitted to land on Titan; all Triumvirate members were invited to and (especially Reploid Productions, Dread lady nathicana, and Cetaganda) eventually did build colonies on the Ring once it was complete. However, the Ardan Cold War that characterized the Expansionist Period highlighted the precarious position of the Saturnian System, which lead to a push for extrasolar colonization and shifting the mass of "Titanian" industrial infrastructure out of the reach of its enemies. This was especially true after the Second Ardan Incident led to the destruction of the Berserker city of Liberty by a long-range particle weapon.

The Decline and Rebirth

This, combined with the revolution in Melkor unchained that ended the Ardan Cold War, led to period of relative decline for Titan. Many moved away to new frontiers in the Periphery, but the core Triumvirate nations remained. The Decline eventually reached its nadir with the Semi-Break, which lead to the complete collapse of the governments of Berserker, Suunto, and Karmabaijan. Their territories, including those on Titan, were absorbed by Scolopendra in a series of peacekeeping and stabilization efforts--effectively invited annexations--that resulted in the eventual reformation of the Scolopendran government and established its majority of political control over Titan (and a plurality across Saturnian Space).

Going Forward

With the tremors of the Semi-Break now fully accounted for and overall political management inherited from their predecessors in Karmabaijan, the new Federated Segments seeks to open up Titan and the rest of Saturnian Space to new peoples willing to work together for international peace and prosperity.