The timeline of FS up until the First Republic is the same as real life history, unchanged. Assume that it's all the same up until this point. In about the year 2100 the world's megacorporations eventually came together under a common banner and formed the First Republic. This Republic was led by an elite known as the "zaibatsu," which basically meant the Republic was a large corporation with all of Earths' population as workers. Humanity continued to expand further into the solar system, and in 2305 found a large structure orbiting at the edge of the solar system.
The Jumpgate
A donut-shaped object big enough for a small moon to pass through the center, the Jumpgate would become many things to humanity. Its mere existence caused many of the world's religions to re-evaluate their stance on humanity's place in the universe, since proof of alien races far more advanced than ours finally existed. The gate was decorated with strange glyphs and odd images, some of human heads, some of darker origins, but all were alien and undecipherable. Soon expert scientists triggered something within the gate, causing it to "open," and it was not long until the first unmanned probe went through and came back. Not long after that the first manned expedition took place, and humanity first set its foot on a world very far from home. During the "jump," as it came to be called, the pilot experienced a momentary sense of ultimate bliss and galactic unity (What did the Hindu say to the hot dog vendor? "Make me one with everything."), and came out on the other side with the word "Sathra" in his mind. This phenomena never was fully explained, but the experience, though not addictive, did make pilots want to experience "the Satha effect" again and again. The Republic eventually banned the religion of Sathraism, developing a buffer which eliminated the effect. Anyhow, beyond the jumpgate was another solar system with a planet similar to Earth, named Sathra's Boon because of the Sathra effect.
The Diaspora : The Arcadian or Pastoral State
The First Republic tried its best to control the technology needed to make jumps (special "jump-engines" or more commonly "jumpdrives"), but, as always, progress could not be stopped, and the technology reached the masses, who began expanding and exploring the universe through the jumpgates. Some systems had no inhabitable planets, while others had perfectly suitable worlds teeming with life. One thing was constant though : the race (dubbed the Ur, Annunaki, preadmites, etc...) which left the jumpgates in each system also left strange artifacts and structures on some of the planets in each system. More angelic and demonic images were found, some with strange abilities and properties. The Sathra effect eventually caused pilots to take humanity far from Earth, and the masses moved outward, colonizing Sathra's Boon, and several other worlds. Soon the First Republic collapsed because of many things. Small civil wars, inability to effectively rule outlying colonies, piracy, and privately-run star-nations all brought about the end of the First Republic.
By the Empyrean's Light
In 2723 ,on a distant world in a lonely place, a man known as Zebulon saw what he claimed to be "the Holy Flame." He returned with a message from a god he called "the Pancreator," and began teaching and travelling. At this point many humans were looking for a new religion to structure their reality with, and Zebulon became known as "the Prophet." He attracted disciples and soon most of humanity would come to follow his words of truth. Zebulon taught that the soul was a mirror to reflect light sent out from the Pancreator. The more sinful a soul, the more tarnished the mirror. The Prophet also warned humanity of "the Dark between the stars," all the unlit places where evil made its home. This would eventually come to form the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun, and is a major part in my epic.
Conquest and Subjugation
Humanity encountered many new alien races during its expansion, the first of which was the horse-like Shantor. Later came many others, notably the Ukar, Obun, and the Vau, though all of these races (except the Vau) were eventually subjugated in some form or another. A race known as the G'nesh was encountered in 2945 on what is now the world of Apshai, and when humans tried to set up a colony there, the G'nesh only said "it is not allowed, please leave." Of course, we were stupid and stayed anyway. Soon afterwards a single ship came through the Apshai gate, destroyed the Human fleet, and dispatched soldiers to the planet, killing every last human there. They left a message basically saying that this and other worlds were part of the Vau Hegemony, and are off-limits. Some interpreted this as an act of war, though the Vau's technology was FAR more advanced. Luckily for humanity, the Vau were non-expansionistic for some reason. The Prophet Zebulon died in a jumpgate accident on his way to make peace with the Vau, and a man named Palamedes took up his mantle, who becomes important later. Eventually an agreement was reached with the Vau (who never really invaded human space - it was always us making pathetic attacks), and they became the first unsubjugated alien race humanity encountered. Humans encountered the Obun, (who they called the Ur-Obun or "ancient Obun") who were a humaniod race of philosophers, artists, pacifists, and generally nice guys. They had legends about an ancient time of the gods when the builders of the jumpgates favored the Obun, but had to leave for unknown reasons. Soon afterwards (2955) humanity encountered the Ukar, ancient brethren of the Obun, but the complete opposite. The Ukar immediately attacked the human colony on Istakhr, and war began. The Ukar won battle after battle until Palamedes, who took the Prophet's place, officially formed the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun, declaring himself first Patriarch, and uniting humanity against a common enemy. The Ukar were eventually defeated because they began to fracture along their clan-lines, and were subjugated. The Ur-Ukar were found to be violent and hardened, unlike their Obun relatives. They too had legends about the Annunaki gods favoring them. Apparently both the Obun and the Ukar had legends about how the Ur supposedly fought a civil war of sorts, and eventually either left or all died out. These would explain the angelic and demonic images in Ur architecture and art, but there would never be any hard evidence.
The Second Republic : Consummation
During this new unity brought by the Church, mercantile leaders once again rose to unify the individual star-nations under the Second Republic in the year 3000 - yet another large conglomo-corporation bringing shopping malls to every corner (just kidding, I think). Research into new technologies made this age a much-remembered era of science. Making uninhabitable planets more suitable to colonization, or terraforming, became somewhat of a science, even an art form for some great terraformers. Certain technologies were stolen from the Vau, bringing repulsor plates (for hover-technology), energy fields (shields, etc..), and blasters (plasma-throwers). Much research into occult fields such as psychic phenomena was also done as well, and the Church took a backseat ride during the Republic, having little influence on much of the Republic's evolution. Freedom for all beings was also the theme, though aliens were still subject to much racial hatred and discrimination, they technically were as free as any human. The Republic was said to have consisted of anywhere from a hundred to a thousand worlds, with the capitol being Byzantium Secundus. Earth became the home of the Orthodox Church, as it was the cradle of civilization. Soon however, as with all great things the empire ran its course. Several factors converged to bring about the final death of the Second Republic. Firstly, it was nearly the year 4000, and people always go nuts around the end of the millenium (hm...). Stories of more floods, plagues, fires, famine, etc... grew in number. Secondly, the stars were found to be dying at a much more rapid rate than was previously expected. The Church was the only entity which could provide an answer, saying that humanity's reliance on technology was causing the holy lights to dim. Massive unemployment also was a factor, terrorist attacks increased in number, and barbarians from outlying worlds began raiding further into the Republic's boundaries. Eventually these barbarians pillaged the capital at Byzantium Secundus. The old star-nations led by noble houses which lasted through the Republic rose up and joined together to drive the barbarians from Byzantium Secundus, and when the smoke had cleared, ten noble houses planted their flags in the corpse of the Republic, and the ages grew darker yet...
The New Dark Ages
The Church became much more powerful, after the Fall of the Second Republic, sending flamethrower-toting Inquisitors out to burn and destroy whatever could be found. The fractured remnants of the Republic fractured even more into what is now known as the Guilds, the Merchant League, or simply the League. These Guilds held much of the technology and more importantly the ability to maintain technology, space travel, and monetary resources. They eventually persuaded the Church to stop destroying so much, but it was way too late - the Known Worlds had lost much of its records and technology, and reverted back to feudalism driven by serfs, led by noble houses. The ten noble houses were once again a major power over humanity, controlling the masses, their own military forces, and pillaged goods from the Republic. During the Fall, much technology was lost to barbarians and the Inquisition, and some worlds (it is not known how many) became lost, their jump coordinates destroyed or lost, while some others purposefully sealed themselves off by deactivating their jumpgates.
The Emperor Wars : Destruction
The barbarians from outlying worlds continued to raid the Known Worlds, and some noble houses barely held on during these sieges. Eventually a man named Vladimir Alecto (of House Alecto) united the ten houses under his banner, and they drove the barbarians back. Vladimir then declared himself to be the Emperor of all humanity, but this did not sit well with some of the other houses. Five sided with Alecto, five were against him. He set down rules as to how his successors would be chosen, giving 5 votes to each house which sided with him, 5 to the Church, and 5 to the League. Eventually Vladimir and his allies defeated the other houses and he was crowned Emperor. Well, for a few seconds at least. Vladimir's head burst into flames when he placed the crown upon his head, and the wars began again. This time it was only the remaining 5 houses which were victorious during the first war duking it out instead of 10 houses.
The Symbiots and the fist of God
During the Emperor Wars, a race known as the Symbiots appeared in the outlying colonies and began attacking humans, leaving destruction in their wake. It was found that late in the Second Republic a eco-terrorists on the world of Chernobog uncovered and awoke an alien race known as the Xolotl. These Xolotl attacked and fused with the humans, creating a new being, neiter human, nor Xolotl - these were the first Symbiots. The Symbiots attacked human populations on Chernobog, eventually taking the planet. During this time the Second Republic was collapsing, and everyone forgot about what happened on Chernobog. The Symbiots came in living ships, and their troops were very powerful, driving humanity completely off the worlds of Absolution and Daishan. Humanity's only hope lay in the Stigmata system, whose jumproute was the gateway to the rest of human space. On Stigmata the humans mounted a valiant and ferocious defense, using the newly-created Stigmata Garrison to combat the weird Symbiots. The Symbiots were found to use all-organic technology - even their bullets were living. Many had the ability to shapeshift as well, and it is not known how many Symbiots made it through into human space to spread their spores. It was soon predicted that humanity could not stand against the Symbiots - they were simply too numerous and too powerful. There seemed to be no hope, until it was discovered that Symbiots were highly susceptible to psychic and theurgic abilities. However psychics and theurgists were not sanctioned by the Church. A compromise had to be reached, and credit given to the Church. Soon the Garrison released legions of psychics and theurgists upon the Symbiots at Stigmata, and they won many victories. Though the Symbiots still hold several places on Stigmata and the outlying worlds, magic was here to stay.
The End of the Beginning
Eventually Alexius Hawkwood of House Hawkwood won the wars. Life is returning to some semblance of normality, and reconstruction begins. Since no one had ever really been Emperor long enough to use their power before him, the position is still subject to much interpretation. It is up to Alexius to determine what an Emperor can and cannot do. All the while, the other noble houses continue with their personal schemes, the Guilds continue to keep the economy moving (and are rumored to be plotting the rise of a Third Republic), and the Church keeps a watchful eye over the souls of humanity. The year is 4996, and the stars are still fading...
