timeline leading up to 1973

[AN: Since many people don't know the background for the story's universe.]

[1867]

Formation of the Motosuu Government in Japan. The daimyos of the anti-shogunate-overthrowing faction and the families positioned to accede to the shogunate merge, establishing the restoration of imperial rule. Afterwards, the Motosuu Government, organized by the Five Regent Houses, the major samurai families of Koubuin, Ikaruga, Saionji, Kujou, and Takatsukasa, is installed. The head of the Motosuu Government - the Seii Daishogun - is nominated by the emperor from amongst one of the family heads of the Five Regent Houses. The capital city is switched from Edo to Kyoto, and a centralization of power is pressed forward.

[1944]

World War II ends. The end of the war between the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Germany temporarily occupied most of Europe, but following the European counterattack, the United States dropped a pair of atomic bombs on German territory, securing victory for the Allies.

As the war ended earlier for the Empire of Japan than anticipated, Operation Shō-Go 1 (the Battle of Leyte Gulf), Operation Ten-Go 1 (the Yamato's suicide mission at the Battle of Okinawa), and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings did not take place. As the Soviets did not invade, the Sakhalin Northern Territories of the Kuril Islands remain in Imperial possession. Western culture such as the celebration of Christmas did not seep into Imperial Japanese postwar culture as deeply as it did in real life.

The world becomes focused around the ideological conflict manifested by the war between the two major powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, and the Cold War begins between the East and West. A global framework consisting of the United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the Warsaw Pact nations is established.

The Empire of Japan, which the Allies had re-conciliated with, avoided unconditional surrender but were placed under substantial US control, with several policies effectively turning the former Axis nation into a vassal state of the United States. The Empire of Japan is then incorporated into the world order of the Cold War immediately after the cessation of hostilities, and are promoted by the United States as their most important ally in the Far East during the post-war reconstruction. As part of the postwar restructuring in Japan, power is taken from the Shogunate and granted to the elected Diet and the cabinet.

[1946]

The US Armed Forces form a Space Corps, which becomes the sixth branch alongside the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

[1950-1954]

The ESA (European Space Agency) of the European nations and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) of the United States, in great secrecy, begin work on the Daedalus Project, a plan to develop and launch an extra-solar planetary probe. The project plan was later made available for participation by all Western bloc nations, and was made public in development stages named Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, which would successively develop and put to practical use large multistage rockets, orbital return vehicles, space stations, MMUs, and other related technologies.

Under the Daedalus Project, orbital satellites and manned flights to the Moon were promoted, the construction of large-scale orbital facilities and permanent lunar bases with an aim towards infrastructure development of the lunar surface, were promoted and achieved in stages. As part of efforts to construct a permanent lunar surface base, large-scale orbital facilities were constructed, and large space-going craft were developed and deployed to establish a supply line in-between the Earth and the Moon. All these were achieved in project stages.

With the US leading the western nations, the international moonbase, Plato-1, is completed, and the geological surveys and exploitation of raw materials on the Moon begins.

The final extrasolar planetary exploration stage would eventually be announced to have failed due to loss of communication with the Icarus I probe.

While the Soviet Union and her Warsaw Pact allies initially developed similar plans and held the lead in the development race, they eventually lost the Moon race. Afterwards, most of their technology shifted to heavily emphasize on unmanned probes and low orbit deployment technology.

The United States-Japan Security Treaty is signed. Under this treaty, the American occupation forces officially become the USFJ (United States Forces Japan), strengthening US influence in the Far East. The Empire of Japan, resigned to its situation, pushes forward in the recovery of its economy.

[1955]

In the US, approval is given for the development of a larger version of the MMU (Manned Mobile Unit) for greater efficiency, due to the delays in construction of the Icarus I unmanned deep space exploration craft. The enlarged MMU is essentially a powered exoskeleton.

Japan enters the Prometheus Project, a subsidiary under the umbrella of the Daedalus Project, and is mainly responsible for the allotment of Icarus I orbital construction duties, material development, and debris processing.

[1956]

The US space station Hope II is used to facilitate the development of Super Carbon as a structural material for probes.

[1957]

The larger-scale MMUs developed as part of the Daedalus Project are put to practical use, and are able to use their manipulators to utilize a multi-purpose knife tool made of Super Carbon, presumably to facilitate large-scale material cutting during construction.

[1958]

The Viking 1 probe reaches Mars and deploys its landing module, which transmits data images of creatures assumed to be of Martian origin. Satellite date from Viking-1 in orbit aids in confirmation of the creatures inhabiting all across the surface of Mars. Communication with the landing module was lost shortly after. Subsequent probe projects by the United States and the Soviet Union all failed, and information of the creatures remains rare for some time after the initial discovery. This would later be recorded as the first BETA encounter.

[1959]

Due to Viking-1's orbital trajectory, large structures were discovered across the Martian surface. The discovery sends waves across the scientific community. Because of the implication that the large structures suggested the possibility of intelligent Martian life, the special duty research organization, Dignified 12, comprised of 12 people ranging from mathematicians and linguists to other important personnel, was created for the purpose of establishing a method of cross-species communication.

[1961]

The large unmanned space probe "Icarus I", equipped with a nuclear pulse propulsion/ram scoop drive, is launched from Earth orbit. Besides collecting scientific data on deep space, its purpose is to find a planet suitable for human habitation. Communication with Icarus I would later be lost.

Control of Project Prometheus is transferred from the Empire of Japan's NASDA (National Space Development Agency) to its newly-established Imperial Japanese Aerospace Force.

[1965]

The Imperial Japanese Aerospace Force decides to adopt the multi-purpose knife tool made from Super Carbon as auxiliary equipment for their large MMUs. The tool would later be renamed as the Type-65 PB Knife, to be used as an auxiliary weapon around the time of the TSF F-4 Phantom's introduction.

[1966]

Dignified 12 makes their transition to the Alternative Plans, becoming a global large-scale project. (At this point, the BETA have not yet been named as such, since they have not yet proven to be hostile adversaries to the human race).

[1967]

The Sacrobosco Incident.

While surveying the interior of the Sacrobosco Crater, a geological exploration team from the international permanent lunar base Plato-1 encounters beings identical to the lifeforms discovered on Mars, making this the first time humanity has encountered an extraterrestrial species. Thereafter, contact with the team is lost, and they are never heard from again.

Immediately following the Sacrobosco Incident, the extraterrestrial species, in great numbers, attack numerous locations on the lunar surface. Due to that, these lifeforms are christened as the BETA: Beings of Extraterrestrial origin which are Adversaries of the human race, or "Extraterrestrially-Originating Life, Hostile to Mankind". The subsequent battles on the lunar surface, lasting until 1973, would later be called the First Lunar War, the first contact with extraterrestrials, and also the first war against extraterrestrials, in human history.

Upon examining the data from the Sacrobosco Incident and the results of subsequent combat, the United States Department of Defense questions the combat effectiveness of pre-existing conventional arms. Government-sponsored fundamental research into anti-BETA space weaponry by the military-industrial complex results in many development projects in all fields, from advanced materials to electronic engineering. The four United States Armed Forces branches (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Corps) begin the joint development project, the NCAF-X Project, as one of these developments.

[1968]

Once it was apparent that a state of war had emerged against the extra-terrestrials, the Alternative Plan shifts to the second stage, in order to directly study the full ecology of the BETA. Thereafter, the previous stage is referred to as Alternative I, and the current stage would thereafter be referred to as Alternative II.

The main objective of Alternative II was to find a means of communication with the BETA by studying their biology and interactions with the environment. However, completely alien forms of the BETA's organic structures and functions shocked the researchers; due to concerns for deviating from bio-ethical guidelines, Alternative II would eventually be shelved to make space for Alternative III.

While the results gained from the enormous financial expenditure and sacrifices made to capture and study BETA were mocked as "confirming the BETA to have been carbon-based life forms, and nothing more", the discovery of an enzyme affecting the metabolism decline was considered a significant contribution to humanity's cause. Nevertheless, the plan would later be widely considered a failure because of its abysmal main result.

As a solution to the stagnation of Alternative I in finding a method of communication with the BETA, the Soviets proposed a plan to probe the thoughts of the BETA directly with ESPers. As a precaution against setbacks in Alternative II, the plan was ratified, and the Soviet Academy of Sciences begins UN-sponsored research. Research on man-made ESPers speeds up.

[1970]

The first mechanized infantry units, making use of the Hardiman Feedback Protector, are deployed on the Moon to fight the BETA. The FeedbackProjecter would later be further developed into exoskeleton equipment, and deployed amongst armies around the world as mechanized infantry equipment.

[1971]

Based on combat results in the First Lunar War, the Empire of Japan decides to begin basic research on the inclusion of the Feedback Protector as a possible domestically-produced effective anti-BETA weapon.

[1972]

The member nations of the European Community, which was previously formed along economic lines as a federation, further develop their regional organization framework into that of the European Union, which establishes a cooperative framework in-between the governments and armed forces of the European region, so as to improve their capability to wage war against the BETA. At the same time, NATO forces undergo reorganization.

The United States of America officially discloses the existence of the prototype Tactical Surface Fighter; upon the US government's disclosure, McDonnell Douglas, its developer, begins marketing the prototype to allied nations.

Japan immediately decides to adopt the new F-4 Phantom, and Japanese-required performance specifications for the manufacturer are examined. Orders are also placed for a Melee Halberd type for the exclusive use of Japanese machines.

[1973]

April 19th: The BETA invasion of Earth begins. A BETA landing unit launched from the Moon lands on Earth, in the Kashgar Autonomous Area, western China. Construction of H01 (the Original Hive) begins in the Kashgar region of Western China

With the arrival of BETA on Earth, the United Nations Space Command treats the situation as an emergency, and declares the abandonment of the permanent lunar base Plato-1 and the complete withdrawal from all personnel from the Moon, bringing to an end 6 years of fighting on the lunar surface. With the Moon left under the complete control of the BETA, the famous phrase of "The Moon was hell", spoken by UN General Campbell during his command of the lunar surface forces, would be remembered in history as the defining words of the First Lunar War.