Lima Golf Background

ISA SECURE DATABASE

PROJECT LOOKING GLASS - GENERAL TIMELINE

The following document is intended as a general introduction to the background events leading to the establishment and continued operations of Project Looking Glass. Due to the inclusion of events in parallel universes occurring simultaneously, an attempt has been made to clarify when these events occur by the tagging of dates in this alternate timeline (Wonderland) alone in red, and events taking place in both tagged in green. Additionally, as there are two separate individuals bearing the name of ISA Director Rubin listed below, they have been labelled as such, with the Director identified in blue or otherwise using the default text color and his counterpart tagged in red. Notes may be appended with the approval of the Director or lead project manager.

A brief note should be made of both the inhabitants of the parallel universe and the general location of the Otonichi in this universe. Information on the parallel Earth located on the opposite side of the Lima Golf Anomaly can be found in more detail here, but a brief description is provided here. The parallel Earth, which for clarification shall be labeled in red, is almost identical to our own, minus key differences detailed in the above link. The most striking detail, however, is that the inhabitants of the planet are entirely composed of humans (homo sapiens). While there are humans in our own world, there are obviously not 7 billion of them. Apart from this, major world events prior to the events listed below are identical, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Apollo program, the September 11th attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the Saints winning Super Bowl XLIV. Approximately 15 light-years from the Earth is the planet Sora, on which the kyree and kenseng (visually similar to wolves and tigers, respectively) live. The planet is relatively similar to Earth, save for the fact that Sora has 2 natural satellites. It should be noted that an attempt to find the planet in our universe discovered that the planet's location in space relative to the Earth reveals a barren world approximately the size of the dwarf planet Ceres orbiting the star HD 117765, a G5V star identical to the Sun. Finally, the Otonichi home planet, Ishonko, orbits the star Tau Ceti approximately 12 light-years from the Earth. It is approximately the same size as Earth, and is the fifth planet in the system. The Otonichi bear a resemblance to snow leopards on nearly all accounts, save for several key genetic differences.

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Early history

0 to 1200 AD?

• While the exact date cannot be determined through documents made available at this time, what is known is that at some time during the 1st and 13th Centuries, the Otonichi and hoomiku were living in relative peace on Ishonko. While occasional conflicts between the two species had arisen in the past, these differences had generally been settled and the two lived in relative peace on the planet.

1900s

September 1-2, 1859

• During one of the most intense geomagnetic storm events on record, a [REDACTED] the nature of which is still under investigation. The intensity of the storm was sufficient to deliver shocks to telegraph operators in North America and Europe, and caused aurorae as far south as Hawaii and Cuba.
  • [REDACTED] potential for extreme consequences. All information on this subject is considered classified to the highest degree and is subject to release only by authorization of the Director, Project Director and HRH Jeskalt.

April 1912

• [REDACTED]
  • [REDACTED ON ORDER OF HRH JESKALT]

July 1947

• Several remaining hoomiku ships enter Earth orbit and land. One ship, which suffered critical damage during transit, crash lands in Roswell, New Mexico on July 7. The United States Army Air Force institutes a cover-up by claiming the the debris is the remains of a weather balloon (and maintains currently that the wreckage was the result of debris from Project Mogul). Limited actionable intelligence is recovered from the debris and the Army recovers several bodies and several dozen injured hoomiku, who are transferred to secure hospitals for treatment and subsequent debriefing.

April 13, 1953

• CIA director Allen Dulles initiates Project MKUltra as an attempt to develop and research methods of mind control, remote viewing of foreign agents and to study the use and nature of telepathy. All captured hoomiku are transferred to secure CIA facilities for research and experimentation, as they represent the perceived end goal of the project. It is widely believed by officials within the CIA that the Soviet Union, China and possibly North Korea are involved in similar projects. Pressure is placed on researchers by high ranking officials to develop memetic and telepathic techniques as quickly as possible without regard to cost.

October 4, 1954

• Sputnik 1 is launched by the Soviet Union, becoming the first man-made Terran object to orbit the Earth. Covert reconnaissance by the Otonichi of Earth military and space related programs begins. Shortly afterwards, it is revealed that the United States and Soviet Union appear to be working towards research into military applications of telepathy for both remote viewing, espionage and active subversion of governments in those nations. An urgent message is sent to King Zalkyo Jeskalt, who authorizes the development of means to intervene should wide-scale application of this be used on Earth, and the development of a means of hacking Terran communications.

October 1962

• Long range observation by Otonichi researchers of the Earth reveals increasing political tension resulting from the placement of Soviet missiles on the island of Cuba. 15 Otonchi researchers from the Royal College of Alkonost submit a proposal for peaceful intervention on Earth in an attempt to ease Terran relations. Their proposal is rejected. Long range probes reveal that a Soviet submarine, B-59, carries nuclear-tipped torpedoes and is surrounded by American destroyers. A second proposal to intervene is rejected shortly after the revelation that one of the submarine's commanding officers, Vasili Arkhipov, voted against a launch of the torpedoes and potentially avoided nuclear war. Long distance observation of the planet is universally agreed as a necessity, as American, Soviet and Chinese military programs to weaponize or otherwise exploit telepathy via captured Hoomiku are revealed to be continuing.

November 18, 1964

• 8 hoomiku attempt to escape from a secure research facility located near Area 51. Prior to doing so, an attempt is made to sabotage a number of ship components recovered by the Air Force from a series of crashes across the Mojave Desert. They successfully destroy the components and research facility, but are killed during the escape when they refuse to surrender. The destruction of the research lab is covered up as a classified underground nuclear test. Following this incident, no further research into methods of reverse engineering hoomiku ships is carried out by the United States, due to the risk of either an accident or sabotage causing an above-ground detonation which could be seen as a violation of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

July 20, 1969

• Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle lands on Earth's Moon, and Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first to walk on its surface. Documents circulated by high ranking Otonichi officials suggest that two schools of thought within the royal court exist. One group advocates military intervention, fearing the possible expansion of Earth's space related ambitions and the eventual discovery of their place in the galaxy. Another group advocates peaceful revelation of the existence of the Otonichi to the people of Earth. Both are rejected, and it is universally agreed following this decision that active attempts to prevent knowledge of Otonichi existence by Earth should be implemented.

November 15, 1972

• A classified memo is sent from the White House to the CIA authorizing any and all means to research ways to counter telepathic communication and to devise a means to "neutralize any potential threat of combative telepathy used by an enemy force." President Richard Nixon is heard on tape authorizing further research into captured hoomiku to determine their origin and any other potential threats in space. The tape is removed and hidden in a secure location until investigation by Looking Glass researchers led to its discovery.

February 23, 1977

• Ian Rubin is born.

February 23, 1980

• Ian Rubin is born.

March 14, 1980

• Fractal Sinclair is born.

January 27-30, 1986

• [REDACTED]
  • [REDACTED ON ORDER OF PROJECT DIRECTOR ROBICHEAUX]
  • NOTE: No. Just no. Absolutely no one on Earth... either Earth... needs to know about this. I do, and it makes me sick to my stomach each time I think of it. - Proj. Dir. Robicheaux

2000s

December 2003

• Lafayette Incorporated President and CEO Howard Rubin dies. His son, Ian Rubin, inherits control of the company and a majority of the available stock.

September 18, 2006

• Soyuz TMA-9 launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying Ian Rubin as the fourth ever self funded space tourist. He is selected as the Director of the International Space Agency later that year in a 4-2 vote by the ISA International Council.

April 2007

• United States Navy Captain Ian Rubin assumes command of USS Maryland (SSBN-738), due to exemplary skills in naval combat and unconventional tactics.

November 4, 2008

• Edward Marshall is elected President of the United States, defeating Senator John McCain of Arizona.

November 4, 2008

• Harold Schrader is elected President of the United States, defeating Senator John McCain of Arizona.

2010

March 15, 2010

• STS-10W launches from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying Ian Rubin to the International Space Station on a mission to resupply it in anticipation of the retirement of the NASA space shuttle fleet. Rubin becomes the first private citizen to perform a spacewalk.

June 9, 2010

• The Louisiana IceGators win Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals in overtime, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • NOTE: This isn't really that relevant with the rest of this, but my counterpart in the land of humans wanted me to mention it. It's weird, too. According to him, Chicago beat the Flyers in overtime that year and the IceGators are in some minor league called the "SPHL" or something. -IR

December 3, 2010

• Elements of al-Qaeda tap into the control systems of a classified satellite and force it to collide with the International Space Station, crippling it. The crew of Expedition 26 is rescued by an alien ship in orbit around the Earth (Arastos) in violation of the Soran Prime Directive. The crew contacts their commanding officer, Commander Chali, who agrees with the crew's actions and authorizes them to proceed with returning the crew of the ISS and serve as ambassadors to Earth. Astronaut Keith Ramirez is chosen to act as an intermediary between the crew and the people of Earth. Mission control in Houston is contacted to inform them of the crew's situation and Arastos lands at the Kennedy Space Center.
  • NOTE: You're shitting me about this, right? -IR

December 4, 2010

• President Harold Schrader is briefed on the situation concerning Arastos. Staff at the Kennedy Space Center begin securing the facility, and the Visitor's Center is closed. The United States military is already on alert following the destruction of the ISS, and flights over the Kennedy Space Center are authorized. At 8:15 AM EST, major American news networks begins broadcasting images of the ship on the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Several hours later, the crew of Expedition 26 are lowered to the runway and taken to a secure facility for examination and debriefing while Ambassador Ramirez spoke with several high ranking government officials from around the world to inform them of the situation.
• Trading on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and other major American stock exchanges halts following a massive sell-off of stocks. Other global stock exchanges follow suit following severe fluctuations in stock prices. The Dow Jones, S&P 500, FTSE 100 and Nikkei 225 all crash or reach trading curbs.
• A number of protests and riots occur in cities around the world in response to the arrival of an alien ship and to the attack by al-Qaeda on the ISS, despite calls for calm by governmental and religious leaders. In an attempt to calm growing unrest, Pope Benedict XVI calls for peace around the globe, but offers no further insight into the church's stance on the matter of alien life.

December 6, 2010

• Ambassador Ramirez holds a press conference to relay a message from Captain Riyla of Arastos and returns to the ship. Shortly afterwards, Arastos helmsman Kanalos meets with President Schrader and reveals the location of the station used to hack into the satellite and the presence of an enemy agent within the National Security Agency. An image of the two men shaking hands is relayed around the world and serves as humanity's first glimpse of an extraterrestrial.
• Several hours later, the crew of Arastos subdue the terrorist cell responsible for the attack on the ISS and destroy the station used by them in Syria. The terrorists are sedated and are dropped off at the White House by the crew.
  • NOTE: They left off the part about how they put big Christmas bows on their heads. Got a good kick hearing that the first time. -IR

December 7, 2010

• Arastos is recalled to Sora. It docks with the Federation High Command station, and due to a delay in meeting with Commander Chali, the crew is given two days of leave on the station. Plans are put into motion to extend an invitation to invite Earth into the Federation.
• Chali and several of his staff leave for the planet Helmos, home of the Drala civilization. The commander meets with a number of Drala politicians, who subsequently execute the Federation personnel.

December 8, 2010

• Federation High Command is attacked by 19 cargo ships which detonate on impact with specific targets around the station. The attack appears to be intended as a diversion, as a large number of Drala ships converge on Earth. The crew of the Arastos, having survived the initial attack on the Federation High Command station, realize this is their intention and jump back to Earth and hide the ship in the Atlantic Ocean to avoid detection.
• Drala ships descend on the capitals of the major nations of the Earth and attempt to capture the leaders of those nations. During an assault on the White House, President Schrader is evacuated by Secret Service agents, who escape into downtown Washington, DC. Several Arastos crew help the President escape and commandeer a van before fleeing to a marina in Woodbridge, Virginia. Here, they commandeer a yacht and sail to Arastos.
  • It should be noted that at the time of the assault, the Drala civilization appeared to be suffering from massive shortages of food, labor and resources and was suffering from an inability to expand outwards without infringing on neighboring territory. Their situation is comparable to the current (as of 2013) situation within North Korea in the sense that while suffering from a lack of resources, they field a vast, if slightly underequipped, military. It appears that their attempt to annex Earth as part of their territory was intended purely for resources.

December 9, 2010

• In a coordinated assault, Drala forces attack all major Earth military elements and within hours succeed in decimating the vast majority of opposing forces. Scattered elements of various military units spread out and begin to plan and implement insurgency operations intended to pester or otherwise slow the Drala invasion.
• During the initial assault, a contingent of Drala soldiers attack the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia. During the assault, the soldiers are exposed to an aerosolized version of the Zaire ebolavirus, apparently developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The soldiers then leave. From documents made available to ISA researchers, it is understood that during the invasion, the Drala may have also come into contact with samples of smallpox and other diseases.
  • [REDACTED ON ORDER OF HRH JESKALT] -IR
• USS Maryland, which is resupplying at Norfolk following a joint NATO exercise in the Atlantic, is forced to flee the base during the initial assault, which sees the destruction of USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and escorts USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Normandy (CG-60) along with Norfolk Naval Base itself. Captain Rubin, in an attempt to evade the destruction of the submarine, fakes the sinking of the ship during a Drala attack which cripples the ship's propulsion system. Several hours later, the crew of Arastos make contact with the vessel, which lies on the bottom of Chesapeake Bay. Captain Rubin meets with the crew of the vessel and, along with President Schrader, helps to formulate a plan to convert the 24 UGM-133 Trident II missiles aboard Maryland by removing the four W88 warheads from the missiles and replacing them with a Federation weapon. In addition, the crew of Arastos offers to replace the damaged propeller and steering planes of the Maryland.
  • [REDACTED ON ORDER OF HRH JESKALT] -IR
• Commander Ja'laski assumes command of the Federation task force assigned to lead the counterattack against the Drala on Earth.

December 11-12, 2010

• Several Drala soldiers return to Helmos and upon realizing that they are infected with an unknown virus, they are subsequently euthanized to contain the spread of the disease.

December 13, 2010

• Repair work on Maryland and modifications to her SLBMs are completed. The crews exchange the 'go', 'abort' and authentication codes and exchange gifts before departing. Several hours later, Arastos initiates the opening attack and destroys several Drala ships before jumping to a holding point outside of the range of Drala fire.
• Satellites placed in orbit around the Earth by Arastos broadcast a message in all major languages via television and radio from President Schrader asking all citizens to evacuate major cities in anticipation of a planned assault by the Federation and in an attempt to deprive the Drala of the opportunity to use cities as human shields.

December 14, 2010

• At 4:10 AM UTC, the initial assault begins with the hacking of Drala ships to remove total control from their crews and to disable artificial gravity. At the same time, Maryland launches all of its missiles before diving and turning towards the United States. In orbit, the Conical Slipstream Fragmentation Munitions deploy and temporarily distort space, destroying and disabling a large number of Drala ships. Arastos begins to snipe a number of Drala ships around Earth while long range missiles are simultaneously deployed by the Federation. Commander Ja'laski's task force enters Earth orbit and begins firing on all Drala ships with the exception of the flagship, Rodaunm, which is disabled by Arastos. The Rodaunm's crew evacuates the ship and the damaged components crash in rural Pennsylvania. Arastos dodges fire and tracks the escape pod containing Drala commanding officer Admiral Taeskea to northern Canada. The crew forge a truce after revealing that Taeskea's private communications and logs have been hacked by the artificial intelligence aboard Arastos and remind him that throughout the conflict, he has harbored private doubts about the effectiveness of the assault and its motivation. Realizing that the Drala government is corrupt, Taeskea resolves to initiate a rebellion and agrees to remove his troops from Earth and to lead them to Helmos to overthrow the Drala Domain Council.
• Throughout the meeting between the crew of Arastos and Admiral Taeskea, the main Federation assault force withdraws to a holding point several light-years from the Solar System. On confirmation that the conflict is over, they move in to assist in cleanup operations and to assist in the isolation and treatment of the various diseases introduced to the Drala during the assault.

2011

October

October 12, 2011

• Arastos encounters an anomaly while attempting to perform a faster than light jump and suffers damage to both the slipstream drive and several sections of deck plating. Upon reactivation of systems, the crew discover that they are no longer in their own reality, and that Sora is no longer present. Unable to perform a jump back through the anomaly in space and unable to call for help, they turn their attention to Earth and scan the planet for people or agencies able to assist them.
• Researchers at the Royal College of Alkonost relay information to the palace revealing that a spatial anomaly of unknown origin has been detected in the vicinity of the Solar System, within the Oort Cloud of the system. The Otonichi military is placed on alert as a vessel of unknown origin is detected in orbit around the object. The Earth Observation Program, which had been coming under increasing military control, is completely militarized, with limited civilian cooperation approved. Monitoring of the Earth using long ranger scans continues and close observation suspended for fear of alerting anyone on Terra.
• Researchers at McGregor Space Center in Magnolia Bend, Louisiana detect a potential gamma ray burst or other similar incident of unknown origin in the vicinity of the Oort Cloud. The incident is investigated, but initial results are inconclusive and telescopic observation reveals little to no additional information.

October 22, 2011

• A crew member from Arastos makes contact with Director Rubin. Their situation was revealed at a meeting between the two and an agreement to help was struck. A meeting of high ranking officials from several organizations including the ISA, Rubin Design Aerospace and several ISA technicians at a classified location within Lafayette Intercontinental Airport's RDA assembly hangar eventually made the decision to help them formal, and the leaders of ISA member nations were briefed on the situation before proceeding. A plan to give the ISA access to the blueprints of Arastos is put forth by the crew as payment for repairs.
  • NOTE: Hell of a day this was. I don't think I got any sleep. -IR

October 24, 2011

• RDA's Space Vehicle Assembly hangar at LFX is converted to facilitate the repairs of Arastos, which is cloaked for transport into the hangar. The damaged slipstream engine is removed prior to entering the building and is taken to a secure facility next to the hangar for repairs. The entire facility is placed under armed guard under the cover story that a prototype nuclear propulsion system for a future manned spaceflight mission is being developed and tested. Hundreds of technicians and engineers from RDA's Blackjack stealth projects division and a number of ISA contractors are sworn to secrecy and begin the task of repairing the ship. At the same time, work begins on a series of prototype faster than light probes developed from reverse engineered Soran technology.
• Project Peregrine is started to oversee the repair work on Arastos and handle the task of concealing the details of the project and the existence of the ship from the public. The project is eventually renamed Project Looking Glass in reference to the anomaly through which Arastos crossed, and subsequently most of the related programs overseen by Looking Glass bear names referencing the works of Lewis Carol.
  • NOTE: The current name of the anomaly was derived from a meeting of the ISA International Council in which Director Rubin revealed the details of the project to the representatives of the member nations of the ISA. During the meeting, the Director described the "spooky shit" surrounding the meeting and the "rabbit hole these people fell out of from Wonderland." The names are eventually chosen by a vote of the Council, with Wonderland designating the other side of the anomaly, Looking Glass (Lima Golf in the NATO phonetic alphabet) for the anomaly itself, and Spooky as the call sign for the future mission control center for manned faster-than-light flights by the ISA.
  • NOTE: "Spooky" wasn't my first choice, but I got a good kick out of it. -IR

December

December 9, 2011

• A prototype ISA faster than light probe (nicknamed "Speedy Gonzales") launches successfully on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The probe successfully makes the jump from Earth orbit to Saturn. Reactor tests and navigation system verification drills are carried out, and final commands are uploaded to the probe in anticipation of a planned jump through the spatial anomaly. The probe is moved into position around Pluto to avoid detection and final checks proceed.
• Researchers at the Earth Observation Program at the Otonichi military headquarters in Alkonost report detecting the signatures of a hyperluminal jump using similar technology to their own in the vicinity of the planet Saturn around Sol. Additional scans reveal that the origin of the signals is from a Terran probe. This sparks a series of highly classified meetings by top level military officials, who feel that intervention of some sort may be necessary to maintain regional stability, though the exact methods of doing so remain in question. The opinion of all involved is that it is now only a matter of time before their existence will be discovered in full by Terra. Fleet Admiral Halni Jeskalt is appointed to review the options available to the Otonichi and to develop in full a plan for intervention.

December 10, 2011

• ISA faster than light probe Sierra Golf 1 ("Speedy Gonzales") successfully jumps through the rift in space and enters into the parallel universe. It begins to broadcast a message to a rescue fleet of Federation ships in orbit around the last known location of Arastos, revealing their present status to the crew's commanding officer, Commander Ja'laski, about their whereabouts and status. The probe also transmits a collected history of general Earth events for comparison to their own and details relating to its mission to aid in helping to determine the cause of the accident and to aid in recovering the ship.

December 17, 2011

• Federation Axis recovery forces led by Commander Ja'laski proceed through the Lima Golf Anomaly and maintain position around it, cloaking themselves to avoid detection. At the same time, the damaged nacelle of Arastos is loaded aboard a heavily modified Space Shuttle External Tank delivery barge and floated down the Atchafalaya River into the Gulf of Mexico. A series of antigravity lifting systems are attached to the nacelle in anticipation of lifting it into orbit for rendezvous with the rescue fleet.

December 19, 2011

• Phoenix 4 launches from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. That evening, the crew of Arastos along with Director Rubin and Ixy Comeaux exit the RDA facility and rendezvous with the Federation Axis recovery fleet, led by the carrier Ta'yala. After moving Arastos inside, the fleet jumps to a holding point several light-years away and maintains position. The damaged nacelle suffers a failure of the antigravity lifting system and is unable to be lifted into orbit in time to rendezvous with the fleet and is returned to the secured hangar for further repairs. From notes obtained from the Director regarding the meeting aboard Ta'yala's bridge, it has been understood that the meeting can best be described as "tense" and "heated", but the meeting ends with Commander Ja'laski contemplating the details of the arrangement made between the Director and the crew of Arastos.
  • NOTE: Tense? That's about the mildest way possible to describe that meeting... -IR

December 23, 2011

• Director Rubin and Ixy Comeaux return from Ta'yala on a Federation shuttle. Phoenix 4, carrying two Americans, a Russian and a Finn lands on the Moon at Schroter's Valley, becoming the first manned mission to do so since Apollo 17 in 1972. That evening, Commander Ja'laski and Director Rubin reach an agreement on the use of Federation technology. Three conditions are spelled out: the use of the technology must be for non-military purposes only, the Federation will leave several probes in orbit around Earth to monitor the use of the technology and that no attempts whatsoever may be made on behalf of the ISA to cross the Lima Golf Anomaly. All Federation ships withdraw from local space shortly following the meeting. Just prior to departing, Ja'laski revealed to the Director the Earth was "not so alone as you might think" and that the ISA should "be ready for some trying times ahead."
• Shortly after arriving on the other side of the Lima Golf Anomaly, the crew of Arastos are indicted on charges of violating the Federation Prime Directive and Commander Ja'laski is removed from command pending a trial. The Federation Council authorizes a plan to have a special forces unit retrieve any and all Federation technology remaining on Earth and to attempt to seal the Lima Golf Anomaly by any means possible.

December 25, 2011

• As news begins to spread across the Federation about the incident involving Arastos, the general populace begins to demand that they be brought to justice for once again violating the Soran Prime Directive.

December 29, 2011

• At 11:41 PM, a special forces team from the Federation exits the Lima Golf Anomaly and cloaks before landing at the Rubin Design Aerospace facility. During the raid, a backup plan authorized by the Director and the Department of Defense is implemented under which 10 kiloton nuclear weapon is armed in an attempt to end the raid and force negotiations. When this fails, the abort command is given and Federation forces take all remaining Federation technology on Earth including a datapad containing the blueprints of Arastos, the damaged nacelle of the ship, a series of force field generators and antigravity tools designed to move large items. No deaths are reported, however several injuries result from a failure of an impromptu vacuum chamber created from a number of force field generators.

December 30, 2011

• Captain Ian Rubin, now acting as Earth military liaison to the Federation, attempts to contact the crew of Arastos and Commander Ja'laski and is informed of their arrest, but nothing else. Rubin eventually manages to contact Lumina, a member of Arastos's crew and is informed about the majority of the incident.

December 31, 2011

2012

March 2, 2012

March 5, 2012

• The Neptune-Triton Orbiter spacecraft begins final approach into Neptune's orbit. An atmospheric probe deployed 2 months prior enters the atmosphere of the planet first, but no data is received. It is generally assumed that the probe suffered a structural failure due to higher than expected entry angle. Adjustments are made to alter the entry angle of the Neptune-Triton Orbiter spacecraft prior to aerobraking. Due to flawed trajectory data and the enormous velocity of the spacecraft at atmospheric entry (estimated to be in excess of 525,000 mph (844,900 km/h)) the spacecraft is completely destroyed. The loss of the mission, valued at approximately $2.2 billion and considered one of the ISA's flagship missions, is generally regarded as a sharp PR blow to the agency. The loss of the mission serves to deflect some attention away from Looking Glass operations and allows for a cover story to be enacted in the event of an accidental release of images of the planet captured by faster-than-light probes.

March 26-31, 2012

• STS-170, flown by Space Shuttle Patriot, is launched to retrieve probe Sierra Golf 5 (Mach 5). To maintain a semi-plausible cover story, the mission is publicly stated to be retrieving a malfunctioning communications satellite which failed to correctly deploy. To reduce the possibility of compromising Looking Glass operations, the mission is flown by an all Air Force crew, with two ISA trained payload specialists and ends its mission at Lafayette Intercontinental Airport. This marks the first non-emergency end of mission landing by a Space Shuttle at a civilian airport.

June 20, 2012

• Two tests are carried out of a system intended as a defense strategy designed to end any attack on Terra by the Otonichi. Faster than light probe Sierra Golf 10 ("Greased Lightning") is intentionally crashed at over 80% light-speed into 28589 Lededjey'breq, a mile wide object in the Oort Cloud and completely destroys it. A second test on a similar, unnamed object was carried out by probe Sierra Golf 11 ("Speed Racer II"). The probe performs a faster-than-light jump from medium-Earth orbit and exits the jump within the targeted object. Both the probe and the target are instantly destroyed, with the primary cause determined to be an instantaneous failure of the reactor and the inability of the target material to move away from the probe as it exited the jump. Following the second test, navigation systems were refined to eliminate the chances of this occurring with a manned vehicle.
  • NOTE: According to Cora, more than a few people in galactic history have died this way, and they use antimatter. The probe used a miniature fusion reactor and it still managed to take the thing out. -IR

July 11, 2012

• ISV Enterprise becomes the first manned Terran vessel to go faster than the speed of light. It successfully reaches a velocity of 5000 times the speed of light, enabling it to reach Neptune from Earth in 3 seconds, and Proxima Centauri from Neptune in approximately 7.5 hours. This is established as the standard speed for ships built by the ISA.

August 21, 2012

• A C-17 Globemaster carrying a classified cargo for the International Space Agency under the guise of cargo for the Department of Defense bound for Hawaii suffers an engine failure and diverts to Lawrence International Airport in Lawrence, California. In response to the sensitive nature of the cargo and due to an earlier incident involving the theft of classified material from an aircraft there, the Air Force scrambles an SR-91 Aurora for overhead surveillance and sends an F/A-18F to escort a C-5 Galaxy assigned to ferry the cargo to Hawaii. As an additional measure, ISV Enterprise is flown from Area 51 to assist, cloaked as a Learjet 45. The cargo is transferred without issue, however shortly after takeoff, the C-5 is fired on by a surface-to-air missile launched from the coast. Permission is granted to engage and both the Super Hornet and Enterprise neutralize 27 people and 4 vehicles with missile launchers. President Marshall is informed of the incident and authorizes a cover-up by the ISA in the interests of national security and authorizes the Agency to take any appropriate measures to deal with the threat to the nation and to Project Looking Glass.
• Shortly after the incident, Vargi and Cora Jeskalt discover that the act was carried out by elements of Excor Defense Systems, headed by Robert Daniel McGough. It is also revealed to high-ranking ISA and military officials that the launch was a test of a prototype SAM battery (code-named 'Rapture'), which had been intended to be tested on a civilian aircraft, but was instead targeted on the C-5. A series of meetings are held to discuss possible actions to be taken over the attempt to both down an aircraft and the attempted murder of HRH Jeskalt.

September 10, 2012

• In response to budget cuts from the United States and European Union, China is accepted as an ISA member nation following a 6-1 vote. Chinese officials plan to contribute $15 billion per year to support ISA operations. The move also appears to be designed to ensure the inclusion of a Chinese astronaut on a future manned mission to Mars.

October 24, 2012

• The Terrestrial Planet Finder mission launches aboard a Delta IV Heavy from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The mission is designed to study nearby stars for signs of terrestrial planets similar to Earth. The telescope begins operation following its arrival at L2 and begins conducting observations of both Alpha Centauri and Tau Ceti.

November 14, 2012

• Phoenix 8 launches from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying Harold Hamilton and David Sanders to their second lunar landing, and Ian and Fractal Rubin. The mission is intended to finalize the construction of the majority of the Neil A. Armstrong Lunar Outpost at the lunar south pole.

December 18, 2012

• An international team of astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz announce the discovery of five planets in orbit around Tau Ceti, including one within the habitable zone of the star. The announcement sparks a series of emergency meetings by both the ISA International Council and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. The consensus of all involved is that it is now a matter of when, not if, the existence of the Otonichi will be revealed to the general public on Earth.

2013

March 25, 2013

• At a press conference at McGregor Space Center, the initial telescopic survey results from the Terrestrial Planet Finder are revealed publicly for the first time. It is announced that the TPF-C team has discovered a planet with an atmosphere containing nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor in orbit around Tau Ceti. The planet (Tau Ceti f) is estimated to be around the size of Earth and in orbit within the star's habitable zone, leading the ISA to announce the discovery of the first Earth analog ever discovered. No further details are announced to maintain planetary stability and to monitor news of the reaction.
• Political and religious leaders around the world issue reactions to the news. Presidents Edward Marshall, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and François Hollande express congratulations towards the ISA for the discovery and issue general statements of pride over the achievement. Pope Francis states that the discovery does not conflict with the teachings of the Bible, stating that God created not only the Earth, but all of the heavens and the objects within and calls on people of all faiths to pause and reflect on the significance of the event. Other religious leaders offer similar views and call on people of all faiths to ponder the fact that humanity is no longer alone. While some protests and demonstrations occur, the general global response is a positive one.

September 9, 2013

• Due to proposed plans for a rotating space station built from spent Space Shuttle external fuel tanks and in order to guarantee funds for further Mars flights under the Ares Program, the United Arab Emirates is accepted as an ISA member nation following a 5-3 vote and plans to contribute an initial sum of $15.5 billion per year. In response to plans by the United States for possible strikes in Syria, Russia and China oppose the vote, along with Canada.

2014

May 13, 2014

• The ongoing conflict in Crimea and eastern Ukraine places increasing political pressure on ISA operations, affecting Mars, lunar and Earth orbit missions. Russian delegates walk out of a meeting of the ISA's International Council in Geneva and announce the cancellation of planned fuel launches for the Ares Program. Emergency meetings are held in Geneva and at McGregor Space Center to discuss changes to the Mars missions and pursue contingency launch capability. Despite fierce opposition in Congress, President Marshall announces the resumption of United States budget contributions to the space agency, authorizing $5 billion per year. Behind closed doors, meetings are held to discuss possible impact to Project Looking Glass and the possibility of classified details leaking to the press.