Timeline of Canon Events
This timeline documents the events taking place on and surrounding the SEV Torch, beginning in the March of 2310. This timeline is actively being updated – continue to check back for recaps following each event.
Spring, 2310 – Attack of the Hale
| Date | Events |
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| Overall |
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March 19th, 2310
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After the SEV Torch and a ICCG exploration vessel, the GCNV Itinerant, arrive in the lush and mineral-rich E-14b sector simultaneously, Solar authorities announce that the Torch will host a delegation from the Itinerant to discuss mutual development of the system.
But not all of Sol wants diplomacy: shortly after receiving the delegation, the Torch receives an urgent fax from the SFV Nathan Hale demanding the immediate arrest of the Terrans. Fearing the start of a war, the Torch’s Commanding Officer delays the demand and attempts to contact Expeditionary Command, who — despite communication jamming — re-establish contact with the Torch after several tense hours and confirm that the Hale has gone rogue. The Torch alerts the Hale that they will not comply with the arrest order; the Hale promptly fires missiles upon the Torch in response, forcing the ship to evacuate the Terran delegates and begin evasive maneuvers. The Torch engages its emergency bluespace jump and evacuates the sector after taking several hits. The Nathan Hale cuts all communications with Fleet command and falls off all tracking software as Sol decries the Hale's actions. The Torch arrives far off the planned course with a damaged drive, and awaits repairs. |
April 9th, 2310
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For the last several weeks, the damages that the SFV Nathan Hale brought unto the SEV Torch and its crew have been largely repaired, but the largest of all remains at the forefront of everyone's minds: the Bluespace Drive remains only partially functional. Help arrives after weeks of waiting by way of a delegation from the SFV Amberjack, but it isn't the help the Torch was expecting.
A representative for the Committee of Diplomatic Affairs meets with the Command of the vessel, inspectors from the Special Affairs Committee hand out a flurry of demerits and fines, and investigators from the Sol Federal Police and Fleet Internal Investigations pull crew one by one into interrogation and send them away with the knowledge that their personal lives would soon be upturned with exhaustive investigatory searches. Through the combined efforts of a Skrellian Bluespace Engineer and the SEV Torch's own Engineering department, the Bluespace Drive is repaired, once more at full functionality. However, the ship's troubles are not over: the Torch receives orders to remain in space and await future communications from the Admiralty. And as the Amberjack shuttle leaves the SEV Torch, Torch supply crew report the departing political staff looking horribly smug. |
April 23rd, 2310
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As a result of the disastrous inter-organizational audits of the last month, the Torch is forced to contend with an elite team of Fleet investigators and strong-arms charged with shaking down the ship. The team sets to work tearing open lockers and turning out pockets, "finding" drugs, weaponry, and contraband of all description wherever they turn their gaze.
The obvious setup doesn’t escape the notice of the Torch's Captain, nor indeed most of the crew, and a non-violent protest is rallied. The crew of the Torch gathers near the airlock and surrounds the Fleet investigators who have arrested the Torch's Senior Engineer with the same sorts of planted evidence they’ve been finding all over the Torch. The Torch's riot armor-clad Security team attempts to prevent the gathered mob from escalating the situation. All the while, the Solar Assembly debates an emergency bill which would give the Sol Central Government Defense Forces oversight over the Expeditionary Corps, which would result in an unprecedented end to the organization’s non-military history. Officials from the ICCG announce they will only continue talks with Corps' vessels – and only unsupervised by SFV presence, in their own territory. The Independents' terms are agreed to by the Corps, the Torch, and Secretary General Amaya Barros despite the advancing assembly motions to gut Corps leadership. The Torch now sets out, without their Senior Engineer, towards the border and an uncertain future… |
May 14th, 2310
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The SEV Torch finally arrives in ICCG space to meet with the Terran Pioneer Corps, hoping to establish firmer ties and continue building towards a more peaceful future for humanity. Unbeknownst to both sides, a saboteur from within the Torch’s own crew threatens everything they’re working towards.
Lieutenant Kristen Rohtin – the Torch's Chief Engineer, an officer of the Fleet, and a sympathizer of the SFV Nathan Hale – sabotages nearly every major system on board the Torch with the aid of a subverted station-bound drone. The rest of the engineering team struggles to undo the damage as the broken Bluespace Drive causes previously unheard of anomalies. In the chaos, the meeting with the Pioneer Delegation is nearly burned alive by the subverted drone. The sabotage cuts the Torch off from communicating with Sol. The Solar Assembly, in a state of panic, begins to push for war. Every ounce of paranoia comes to the forefront as Sol believes that the ICCG has intentionally taken the Torch offline. In the brink of time, the engineering team manages to get communications back online, averting the start of an interstellar war. His sabotage failing and war all but thwarted, Lt. Rohtin arms up and attempts to eliminate the ICCG delegation directly so that no further collaboration may be possible. In a short and brutal shootout, Rohtin is apprehended by the Torch’s security team. The Torch holds a Field Court-Martial, fearing that carrying Lt. Rohtin back to Sol for trial would open them up to attack from the rogue Nathan Hale, or that sympathizers to Rohtin’s cause at home might allow him to escape justice. The verdict given is one of guilt: Rohtin is executed by firing squad. Shockingly, unprecedentedly, the Fifth Fleet reports that more members of Special Group Alpha have gone AWOL, with a number of other Fleet personnel also falling off of the radar. It is unclear how or why, but rumors of dissidence, dissatisfaction, and discontent touch every corner of the affair. |
Summer, 2310 – Icarus and Interlude
| Date | Events |
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| Overall |
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June 12th, 2310
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The Torch, having been shot at, sabotaged, repeatedly smeared by the press, and still having managed to successfully negotiate with the Terran Pioneer Corps in spite of it all, finally limps home to port in Mars' orbit.
Before the crew leaves for shore, they are greeted by Expeditionary Command's welcoming party: Admiral Henry Lau, one of the driving forces behind the Helios Project, personally visits the Torch to meet with its command staff, while a Chief “Party Officer” arrives to entertain the crew. In a rare moment of respite, the Torch celebrates its successful mission with partying, drinking, laser tag, and more – and while the political situation remains tense, the crew are able to leave their worries behind them as they head home. For now, at least. |
June 26th, 2310
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Degraded bluespace emissions matching the signature of the Bluespace Drive of the long lost SEV Icarus are detected on Ivanov-Theta, an exoplanet in the remote Luyten 545 system. The Torch jumps to the system, hoping to recover its sister ship.
On arriving to the planet, the wreckage of the SEV Icarus is found in shambles, with no survivors in sight – Torch crew salvage what they can from the irradiated ship, focusing on body retrieval and data recovery. Hard-drives, digital logs, and EXO documents are recovered from the vessel, and engineering discovers that the ship's Bluespace Drive is mostly intact. However, the Torch soon realizes they are not alone: a third party, claiming to be a local scrapper group, threatens the Torch's recovery crew with heavy weaponry. The Torch gathers what it can, but makes little headway. Ultimately, Expeditionary Command orders the Torch to continue on its standard route while they make a plan to fully recover the Icarus. The Torch establishes a small outpost on Ivanov-Theta for a future recovery attempt, but is forced to abandon the SEV Icarus for now. |
July 30th, 2310
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As the Sol economy dips in response to the upcoming independence vote by major shipyard and economic powerhouse Iolaus, the Torch was hit by devastating budget cuts and threatened with mission shutdown or privatization if losses were not recouped. Some crew wonder if the cuts were a shameless attempt by reactionary elements in the Senate to punish the EC after the Torch's rendezvous with the Terrans.
The Torch rallies in response, scalping exoplanets for materials, utilizing the R-UST to produce valuable minerals, mass-producing mechs, selling anything not bolted down for credits, and much much more, ultimately scraping up enough to continue operations. Despite a bit of penny-pinching – and more than a bit of bug-meat – the Torch mission continues on! Meanwhile, early voting on Iolaus begins – and while difficult to interpret meaningfully, tallies suggest that secession from the SCG is a real possibility. |
Fall, 2310 - Spring, 2311
| Date | Events |
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| Overall |
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September 10th, 2310
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The Torch is summoned to respond to the SOS of a crashed Fifth Fleet ship from Special Group Alpha, the SFV Jonah, that had previously fallen off tracking software – with much of Special Group Alpha having previously gone rogue alongside its battlecarrier, the infamous SFV Nathan Hale.
On arrival, the Torch recovers two terrified survivors who speak of their ship turning against them in the night – and of their newly-hostile Commander and AI who, with the help of an unknown boarding party, secured the ship and took it off the net. The engineering crew of the Jonah managed to un-subvert their AI, but faced with imminent capture by the crew, the hostile elements on the Jonah's bridge scuttled the ship. Both survivors mention to investigators that the boarders – and their own Commander – had accents from the Solar frontier colonies. A full inventory of retrieved items, papers, and console data retrieved from the SFV Jonah by the Torch's exploration team can be found here. |
September 24th, 2310
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In deep space, after the loss of two researchers under mysterious circumstances, members of the SEV Torch went to the surface of the planet Stocker-Chi to uncover the cause. This chance encounter led to the rediscovery of the population of the long lost COL-Earhart, which set sail under the flag of the Terran Commonwealth centuries ago. Having been entirely isolated since their cryogenic awakening over 100 years ago, they have gathered under the common name of "The Free Peoples of the Earhart", or FPE, and have sworn themselves sovereign of the SCG. Their current number, location, and plans are widely unknown, but the apprehension of two second-generation colonists by the Torch security force promises enlightenment on the history of these clearly troubled people. To any colonists or deep space travelers who come by members of the "FPE", it is recommended to exercise caution. The talks about identifying the FPE as a terrorist organization are currently deep underway.
With these potential terrorists showing up across backwater systems, will the Torch start to cave under their antagonistic ways? |
October 23rd, 2310
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The Torch responds to a drifting evacuation pod. The pod contains a senior Gateway Administration official who reports harrowing news; rogue ships from Special Group Alpha, including the infamous Nathan Hale, destroyed the D. Pavonis gate.
While dodging bluespace phenomena, the Torch successfully worked with the Administrator to receive, and decode the surviving logs from the attack, and was able to provide Sol with the scans and transponder codes of the attacking vessels, as well as the testimony of the Administrator. The recovered logs can be read here. In response to the news and mounting evidence that the rogue ships are coming from the Copernicus system, ships are seen mobilizing across Sol... |
November 5th, 2310
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The deep space exploration vessel the SEV Torch suffered minor damage in a collision with an escape shuttle today. No crewmembers were seriously hurt, but one of the two passengers aboard the shuttle died from their injuries from the crash. The survivor – as well as a second living survivor who was later recovered from space – is currently within custody aboard the Torch, awaiting transportation to the Sol System to receive more thorough medical care.
Rumors have come out that these two survivors are the descendants of survivors from the COL-Earhart disaster. This group is reported to be the cause of multiple colonies being destroyed, and their people killed. The government has refused to comment on the validity of these claims. The validity of the Free Peoples of Earhart is beginning to increase across space. As more sightings of people claiming to be from this group pop up, the number of members is beginning to cause concern for the safety of colonies and transport ships. Part of exploration duties now consists of noting potential settlements for the FPE, abandoned or populated, to better handle the threat. Currently, they are seen by the public as an organized group of pirates. SolGov has yet to interrogate one in their home system. |
| March 18th, 2311 | The SEV Komarov is attacked by Fifth Fleet defectors, who steal valuable bluespace technology and kidnap EC Lieutenant Sverker Larson, the Komarov's Chief Engineer. One of the defectors' shuttles is discovered adrift, engines disabled. The SEV Torch responds to the scene, capturing the shuttle in its gravity well and laying siege.
The Torch is able to disable the remaining defectors aboard, take the shuttle, and reclaim the captive lieutenant. He carries grim news: these defectors – hailing primarily from Iolaus and a smattering of fringe border colonies – have begun to unite under a single banner, calling themselves the "Frontier Alliance". At the present, the ships that attacked the Komarov are searching for a cache of information Larson preemptively jettisoned from the Komarov into sector SGECO 1313. The Torch has the opportunity to burn engine fuel and beat this alliance of mutineers to the cache. The Captain makes the call, and the bridge plots the course. |
| April 1st, 2311 | The Torch races to retrieve the Komarov cache, right as the new Frontier Alliance – made up of a contingent of Fifth Fleet mutineers, Iolans, and a collection of other dissident colonies – declares ownership of the Copernicus system and the swaths of space and remote colonies around it. Chaos overtakes the system as Solar ships are forced to flee Alliance territory or else be subject to the Alliance's mercy.
Shortly after sending a team of Explorers aboard the Charon to retrieve the cache, the Torch is confronted by the UFS Bulwark, who demands the Torch leave the sector immediately in the name of the Frontier Alliance. The Captain stalls for time by inviting a group of the Bulwark's so-called "diplomats" onto the Torch to share the Alliance's beliefs and purpose, hoping to distract them. The arrival goes disastrously, with Torch crew jeering, shoving, and eventually pepper-spraying the visitors. The Alliance crew prepare to return to their ship right as the Bulwark realizes the Torch has a shuttle on the planet... A shootout commences as the Alliance crew race back to their ship and the Torch attempts to detain them. The Torch reconvenes with the Charon and flees the sector, despite the Bulwark's best efforts to shoot them out of the sky. The Frontier Alliance – all the more hateful towards Sol for the Torch's actions – takes their place on the galactic stage. |