From “Out of the Ashes,” widely regarded as the most complete documentation of the rise of the Alliance; compiled, edited and presented over a development period of 20+ years.

By 2175, the human race had started to regain a certain sense of normality. More than 30 years of global cooperation out of necessity had done what centuries of international communication could not. The Spinal network made travel from Mumbai to Moscow take less than two hours. People looked to their sides rather than across from each other to speak, massive roving packs of refugees fleeing from one place to another had scrambled populations. Whatever one thought of their neighbor, they were more than certainly were going to need their help. As the first new generation grew up in the world united by the mega-city of Euphoria, before old wounds could fester and prejudice could take firm ground, we experienced our second miracle: First Contact.

Though their language was strange, the laws of physics and mathematics were the same on Bastion Primaris as they were on Earth. Of the information contained in The Charriot, the Bastian exploratory probe, the first thing deciphered was its point of origin. Eyes turned to the stars, fear was chased out by wonder. For the first time, we knew we were not alone in the universe.

The subsequent renewed interest in interstellar travel spearheaded the creation of the United Nations Space Exploration Initiative; a supranational program that saw a remarkable level of participation by most if not all countries recognized by the United Nations. Due in part to the radical restructuring of the world and in part to the global sense of wonder, to sponsor and aid in the Initiative even in a small way was a mark of pride and a political boon.

With the greatest minds in the world set to the task, the development of the Gravity Drive was more an inevitability than a miracle. On the 1^st of August, 2178 (SEC), doctors Samesh Takamaki, Peter Nabokov and Narinya Cicé successfully tested the first Gravity Drive. Their prototype was able to render an object apparently weightless and double its apparent mass, as well as transport said object across a room almost instantaneously.

The next step was obvious. After successful unmanned trials were completed, plans were made for the first human spacecraft capable of faster-than-light travel to visit the coordinates of the at the time unnamed and unknown homeworld of Bastion Primaris.