A/N: I'm new to this, so concrit is very welcome. Needless to say, spoilers for Sudden Contact follow. This was much harder to write than I suspected it would be. It also ended up being much longer than I thought it would be. Enjoy!

UED Timeline: First Contact and Great War


November 5: The zerg begin to infest Chau Sara.

November 7: All contact with the Confederate world of Char is lost.

November 12: Cerberus and Alpha Squadrons are deployed to help contain the Chau Sara infestation, and successfully repel several zerg offensives.

November 27: Zerg begin targeting major Chau Sara population centers, including the capital of Los Andares, after a lengthy standstill. Heavy casualties mount on both sides. Zerg land on neighboring Mar Sara.

December 8: The colonial scavenger vessel Lady Lou is destroyed by the Protoss Expeditionary Fleet. In the process, Relay 118 and Relay 119 open and pull several protoss ships through. Due to a mutual misunderstanding, the Turian 37th Flotilla opens fire on the protoss vessels and is routed.

December 9: Protoss forces land on Chau Sara and quickly establish a forward base. Most zerg are quickly slain, and the Turian 48th Flotilla, as well as the remnants of Turian 37th Flotilla are attacked and destroyed by the wary Expeditionary Fleet. Zerg are sighted on Mar Sara.

December 10: Cerberus and Alpha Squadrons begin full retreat in wake of protoss advance. Evacuation is primarily successful due to protoss unwillingness to attack fleeing terran ships. A Mar Sara settlement comes under attack and local defense forces are almost overrun. Alpha Squadron successfully rescues the gathered militia – including one Marshal Jim Raynor. The Sons of Korhal make successful friendly contact with a surviving turian general. Turian Third Fleet is almost fully mobilized and prepares to push through Relay 118, doing so literally minutes before the day ends.

December 11: Zerg mobilize and invade Council space unbeknownst to all other factions. Protoss make a push for Mar Sara, but are firmly rebuffed by Alpha Squadron. Alpha Squadron is then relayed orders to abandon the planet, which they do. Sons of Korhal meet with the Turian Third Fleet and both sides receive distress calls from Mar Sara local militia forces, who are pushed to the breaking point. They are evacuated at the last minute by the Sons of Korhal and their new alien allies. Back on Earth, United Powers League Admiral Alexei Stukov globally leaks the existence of aliens to widespread panic.

December 12: Mar Sara is cleansed of life by the protoss. Contact between them and the Council goes poorly. The Sons of Korhal ally with the Citadel Council against the Confederacy, zerg, and protoss.

December 13-15: Asari First Fleet arrives in the Koprulu Sector. Development and production of translators is swift thanks to Sarah Kerrigan and Matriarch Benezia. Terran refugees are loaded on to ships bound for Eden Prime.

December 16: Marshal Jim Raynor officially joins the Sons of Korhal alongside the Illusive Magistrate (henceforth referred to as Man.) Recruitment among Mar Sara survivors go up. Plans are made to attack Halcyon. We suspect that, around this time, the protoss known as Tassadar somehow wound up on the zerg planet of Char.

December 17: Terran refugee ships sent to Terra 1 (later known as Eden Prime.) Asari diplomats begin setting a foundation. SoK and Council forces successfully assault the Halcyon Markov Research Center and uncover psi emitter schematics.

December 18-25: Unconfirmed sightings of zerg in Council space are dismissed as hysteria. Nevertheless, Council races tighten their borders.

December 26: Contact made by an unknown political entity and the Geth Consensus. The geth agree to try halting the tide of the zerg.

December 27: Widespread SoK broadcast results in massive upheaval. Several Confederate outer worlds are subject to brutal riot control measures and a curfew. KMC ships are sighted at the Confederate border.

December 28: UPL and SAC officials come to an agreement to take necessary action in the Koprulu Sector.

December 29: The vorcha world of Heshtok comes under attack by the zerg.

December 31: Surprisingly little headway is made in the zerg invasion, which suffers under the brutal Heshtok conditions and the jaded locals. The geth begin their counterattack and are successful in their efforts to stymie the zerg offensive on Heshtok. The Council/SoK joint fleets blockade Antiga Prime.


January 3: Antiga Prime is taken by surprise assault by combined Council and SoK forces. Alpha Squadron is dispatched, but General Edmund Duke's vessel is boarded and he himself defects under pain of death, at Mengsk's suggestion.

January 5: Additional Confederate forces arrive at Antiga Prime and both successfully land ground forces and hold the enemy fleets in a stalemate.

January 7: Zerg invade several major worlds, most notably Noveria. Heshtok is abandoned to the combined geth/vorcha resistance.

January 9: Irune is invaded, along with Yex'por and Daelon. From this point forward, the zerg begin invading worlds at a rate of about three per galactic standard day (though not all are inhabited.)

January 12: Salarian Second Fleet enters the Koprulu Sector and attempts to make contact with the protoss. An ill-advised remark results in their fleet being pushed back through the relay. The protoss began actively blockading space around Chau Sara. Furthermore, a massive unknown ship is sighted at Eden Prime, and a family of colonists as well as one visiting asari archaeologist go missing. Later evidence matches the profile of this massive ship with the one sighted at the Battle of the Citadel, which was known as a "Reaper."

January 13: The Southern American Coalition and United Powers League are dissolved. The United Earth Directorate is officially formed, and preparations are formally begun to reclaim the wayward colonies.

January 14: Tyrador IV, Halcyon, and even Tarsonis itself experience major unrest. KMC ships are sighted deep in Confederate space, and are only deterred by open aggression from Confederate Second Fleet.

January 15: The Confederacy abandons Mar Sara and begins fortifying the Core Worlds. The Council orders its fleets back to help defend against the zerg incursion. Mengsk suggests using the psi emitter technology uncovered from Markov to loose the zerg upon Tarsonis and end the war in a SoK/Council victory. After a vote, the local Council leaders agree.

January 16: Mengsk unleashes the zerg upon Tarsonis, securing the title of biggest race traitor in human history. He betrays his Council allies by making sure the asari are in the path of the arriving Swarm. Adrien Victus attempts to save his allies to no avail. Several major elements of the SoK (including the Illusive Man, Jim Raynor, and Sarah Kerrigan,) abandon the SoK. By the end of the day, an estimated 1.63 billion humans die at the hands of the zerg.

January 17: Raynor, Kerrigan, and the Illusive Man evacuate as much of New Gettysburg as possible before nuking it continuously to deny the zerg the remaining citizenry. They successfully escape Tarsonis before Mengsk can capture them. A further estimated 800 million colonials die at zerg hands and the continual nuclear detonations.

January 19: The zerg invasion has now reached multiple volus worlds. Geth reinforcements have integrated with Council forces and combined geth/turian defensives begin to slightly turn the tide. Galactic zerg expansion still continues unchecked, however.

January 20: The Quarian Migrant Fleet begins to threaten geth worlds. The situation quickly escalates, and an Admiralty Board vote pushes the quarians into outright war with the machines. The initial offensive is heavily in favor of the quarians.

January 22: Arcturus Mengsk crowns himself Emperor of Humanity and declares the formation of the Terran Dominion to widespread applause. The UED orders his deposal and execution, despite the chaotic nature of the galaxy leaving analysts to recommend against any intervention in the short term.

January 23: The Kel-Morian Combine learns of Tarsonis through the Illusive Man. Despite sharing an enemy, James Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan part ways with their ally, for the time being.

January 24: Successful friendly contact is made between Raynor's Rangers and the protoss on Char. Following their extraction, they land on Chau Sara. The quarians have pushed to Rannoch.

January 25: The Council is notified of the events of Tarsonis. Desperate for help against the still-spreading zerg, they comply with Mengsk's demands despite rightly wanting him dead. The Confederate treasury is turned over to mercenaries, and overtures are made to the Umojan Protectorate for support. Surviving members of the Old Families are wiped out as Mengsk calls the zerg on them. Mengsk announces the restructuring of the Ghost Program.

January 26: The KMC launch several raids into Dominion space, the most notable being a slave-taking assault on Tyrador IV. This dampens local Dominion efforts to recruit support for the Council. The promised 400 strong battlecruiser fleet ends up being only around 363 due to border concerns. The quarians and geth are at a standstill.

January 27: The protoss abandon Chau Sara. General Edmund Duke and Adrien Victus destroy the protoss structures in bitter retaliation for their previous action against the salarians.

January 28: Rogue geth forces and elements of the Zerg Swarm attack the Citadel, seemingly from nowhere. The Reaper appears and closes the Citadel arms, but surprise reinforcements from Duke and the protoss result in its destruction. The zerg access the Tower and temporarily disable the relays.

January 29: The zerg launch a massive offensive at the asari homeworld of Thessia. While asari defenders successfully inflict heavy zerg casualties, Armali is overrun. The Zerg Overmind manifests on Thessia.

January 30: The Council gathers its allies (including the Batarian Hegemony, Protoss Expeditionary Fleet, and Umojan/Dominion/Ranger forces) to strike at Thessia. The protoss transport the allied fleets to Thessia.

February 1: Two Cerebrates are slain, but the Overmind pulls Orbital Platform Siha on to the ground offensive with Its biotics. Council forces begin to abandon Thessia.

February 2: Tassadar destroys the Zerg Overmind through unclear means. All zerg in the Athena Nebula go berserk, leaving the asari planets effectively uninhabitable. The relays unlock, and the asari begin evacuation efforts.

February 4: The protoss arrive on Rannoch. What happens is unclear, but the fighting stops quickly. The Migrant Fleet abandons the system and proceeds directly to Relay 118.

February 5: Donnel Udina officially welcomed on as the Terran Councilor. Udina begins his tenure by citing active Council legislation that mandates that all races with a seat be able, not only to secure their own borders and provide for their own people, but also help other Council races in need. The asari, by definition, no longer met this requirement. Sparatus and Udina vote in favor of removing Tevos from the Council. While there is widespread outrage, the asari are unable to do much, lest the Council withdraw from active relief efforts.

February 7: Eden Prime declares its independence from the Dominion and establishes the Independent Terran Systems Alliance.

February 8: Sarah Kerrigan and Saren Arterius are made Spectres. Jim Raynor apparently refuses.

February 11: The quarian fleet launches through Relay 118. Their destination in the Koprulu Sector is unknown. The protoss have likewise vanished from known space.

February 14: A salarian expedition to Therum finds it mostly devoid of zerg. There is no sign of the Cerebrate that lived there.

March 16: Asari declare a cultural crisis. Many formerly rogue asari from the Terminus Systems now send support and military aid to their estranged cousins. Illium officially becomes part of the Republics, leveraging its might to become the new capital world.

March 20: Unofficially known as the beginning of the turian/salarian cold war. Relations between the two grow frosty as they begin to fight over rights to existing Element Zero deposits. Element Zero prices spike.

April 3: Blue Suns leader Zaeed Massani begins scouting out alternative alien markets at the behest of the Kel-Morian Combine. He discovers the Terminus Systems and sends back a brief, expletive riddled report.

May 4: KMC sanctioned privateers, known colloquially as "ripper fleets," are sent into the Terminus Systems. Zaeed Massani and Donovan Hock lead each fleet respectively. The Council eventually condemns the action, though there is no physical evidence to implicate the KMC.

July 7: The ripper fleets return to KMC space, laden with Element Zero and alien slaves. The KMC has also successfully caught the eye (and respect) of the notorious warlord Aria T'loak, as well as the Batarian Hegemony.

July 23: First official estimate of necessary UED fleet size is given. Due to the salarian/turian arms race, however, analysts advise against a push for the time being.

October 9: The Batarian Hegemony withdraws from the Council in protest at the lack of gratitude for their sacrifices on Thessia.

October 14: The KMC and Hegemony have begun diplomatic overtures, eventually coming to several trade agreements. Council threats of economic sanctions fall on deaf ears, as most of their business is done in the Terminus Systems. Threats of blockading Relay 118 result in several brutal terrorist attacks on Council planets and the Citadel. The KMC begins searching for alternatives.

November 9: The volus protest the lack of Hierarchy efforts to remove zerg infestation on Zada Ban and Daelon. The Hierarchy does not respond.

November 19: Widespread volus rioting causes martial law to be declared in their space. Turian police actions are widely condemned by the Council.

November 28: Volus ambassador Din Korlack writes the Irune Manifesto, declaring formal intent for volus independence. The Irune Ultranationalist movement is born.

December 25: All Dominion attempts to secure deposits of Element Zero have failed. General Warfield suggests adopting a new strategy to defend against "inevitable Council retribution."


January 6: The Ghost Program has been restructured. Over 55% of the surviving Confederate ghosts have been executed after their neural reprogramming was deemed too severe.

January 25: The Geth Consensus establishes an embassy on the Citadel. Every attempt they make at diplomacy has to do with warning the galaxy of the Reapers. Only the turians pay any attention.

February 14: The turians announce that they will no longer be obeying the Treaty of Farixen, citing the "Reaper threat" as the reason. A quick Council vote dissolves the Treaty, and tensions begin to climb.

March 1: The ITSA begins receiving Dominion political refugees as well as asari refugees. Plans are made to begin colonization of Horizon as the numbers swell.

March 19: Matriarch Aethyta begins a radical yet undeniably effective campaign to restructure what's left of the Asari Republics to be better militarized and more aggressive. Her slogan: "I'm sick of this democracy bullshit. Vote for me!"

April 5: The Terran Dominion finds its efforts at controlling or otherwise manipulating alien politicians through psionic techniques stymied by Sarah Kerrigan. All high ranking alien officials have been trained in deflective mental techniques.

April 19: Despite continual economic and military pressure, the asari finally officially refuse to sell the secrets of Silaris Armor to the turians.

May 3: KMC pirates encounter a protoss scouting vessel orbiting an isolated gas giant and unwisely arouse its ire. The results of this encounter are recorded and released on the extranet, reigniting fear and awe of the still mostly absent protoss. The scouting vessel is never found.

June 1: The Terran Dominion and Salarian Union formally declare support for the Irune Ultranationalist movement. Turians divert Seventh Fleet to patrol volus space, anticipating trouble.

June 17: Official development of the KMC-Hegemony artificial vespene assisted relays, the Waygates, begins.

June 29: The Council announces official warnings about not contacting protoss vessels.

July 17: A major attempt is made to begin retaking Thessia. The resulting slaughter dissuades anyone from the idea of feasibility. Bombing the planet is ruled out due to ruining the deposits of eezo that would make recapture worthwhile in the first place.

July 21: The UED suppresses civil unrest in South American regions. Admiral Alexei Stukov orders UED agents to begin tapping into colonial adjutant databanks for information on the aliens.

September 3: Protoss vessels are seen fighting each other close to the ice planet Braxis. Several of them bear unfamiliar designs and a coloration of purple and silver, rather than the signature gold.

September 17: The value of Element Zero has tripled over the course of a year. The Salarian Union has taken the Asari Republic's place as the galactic economic powerhouse, though many of their interests are threatened by the turians.

September 25: The KMC based mercenary company known as the Blue Suns begins establishing headquarters in Hegemony and Terminus space.

November 4: Krogan attempts to cure the Genophage with zerg tissue end horribly badly – Tuchanka experiences partial infestation. The infamous infested krogan strain, the Viscerators, make their first appearance. Warlord Okeer is exiled from Tuchanka.

December 18: The first Waygate prototype is created, but the KMC and Hegemony are still years from a fully complete version.


February 2: The UED experiences a brief scare when an intelligence analyst believes she has been detected by Umojan security systems. The scare proves false.

February 30: UED analysts still advise against colonial reclamation. The Expeditionary Fleet is rechristened the Expeditionary Armada.

March 3: The Turian Hierarchy begins formally listening to volus complaints. They still declare that secession will be met with swift retribution, and that they would show the same mercy to volus separatists that they would to turian separatists: none.

March 11: Quarians begin appearing in Dominion space, although they are tight-lipped about the location of the Migrant Fleet.

March 19: Jim Raynor formally settles down on Eden Prime to be a marshal there, for the time being.

March 27: The Terran Dominion begins production of Daedelus class dreadnoughts. They also begin the slow yet steady process of phasing out Behemoth battlecruisers in favor of Minotaurs.

April 17: Food riots in Argentina result in the first major police action the UED has had to take since its formation. The official casualty estimate is never given. New UED technologies find themselves tested on unarmed civilians.

May 9: The elcor formally ally themselves with the ITSA and begin joint settling of worlds together. Horizon and Freedom's Progress are a direct result of that collaboration.

May 20: Blood Pack mercenaries cause a stir when they begin hiring infested vorcha. Debates regarding the possible rehabilitation of infested individuals begin to arise, though they are for the most part not taken seriously.

June 31: Infested vorcha have become a common sight on Heshtok. Their extended lifespan and replenishing adaptation cells threaten to cause a vorcha cultural and evolutionary renaissance. Vorcha begin deliberately infecting themselves with the Zerg Hyper-Evolutionary Virus.

September 4: Elcor efforts to contact their infested brethren end in tragedy. Dekuunalisks appear to be incurably insane and universally violent.

September 22: Protoss are sighted around Halcyon, but nothing is recorded. It is widely believed to be a hoax, but even the Council acknowledges there is no way to be sure.

November 6: The Waygate system is still under development. The Council's economic sanctions have severely damaged the Hegemony's standard of life, and batarian pirates and refugees become extremely common. The Blue Suns begins aggressively recruiting batarians, and batarian refugees are welcomed into the KMC's space. They are not treated well.

December 1: Skeptics have emerged in the UED, claiming the Expeditionary Armada will never be finished, and is merely there to distract citizenry from "real problems." Unsurprisingly, these skeptics are found and quickly subject to familial purging. There are no more complaints.

December 17: The KMC/Dominion cold war begins. The borders of the Dominion are set, and both sides begin to posture aggressively. Despite barely having an official military force, the KMC does not back down.

December 29: At this point, the Umojan Protectorate begins distancing itself diplomatically from the Dominion. Sometime during the year, they apparently learned of Tarsonis.


January 4: Juliana Pasteur, mother of Mengsk's child, dies. Mengsk's lack of a reaction becomes infamous, and the Umojans are outraged.

January 31: Mengsk declares his son, Valerian Mengsk, to be the heir apparent.

February 1: No less than four separate assassination attempts are made on Mengsk in the same day. The Salarian Union, KMC, Asari Republics, and Umojan Protectorate are blamed respectively.

February 14: Councilor Valern retires, replaced by Dalatrass Hiron. She adopts a far harder stance against the turians than he, and Sparatus finds himself unable to bully the salarians any longer. Udina is still sidelined.

March 1: The first official Waygate test ends in the destruction of the vessel that was tested.

March 5: The first major KMC/Dominion skirmish. Dominion casualties are far higher than anticipated by both the Dominion itself and the UED.

March 17: Blue Suns has established itself as a major mercenary group in both Council space and the Terminus Systems. Rumors of slave trading and drug running are cheerfully denied by Zaeed Massani and Vido Santiago.

April 2: A frustrated UED intelligence analyst finally verifies elements of former Confederate military forces within the KMC. They are still unable to determine their identities or numbers, though the Illusive Man is suspected to be among them.

April 8: The Dominion completes the construction of their Fifth Fleet, and immediately begins work on the Sixth.

April 19: The second Waygate test results in the "mere" death of the dummy crew, with the vessel still mostly intact.

April 27: Heshtok has become universally populated by infested vorcha. Non-infested vorcha have become a rarity in the galaxy. Oddly, the infestation's increase in vorcha lifespan has resulted in increased interest in education and societal development. Asari philanthropists on Heshtok are puzzled and horrified by the development, and Heshtok is declared a no-fly zone.

May 7: UED officials conclude that there is no mass relay present in the Sol system. Furthermore, there are no signs of former alien habitation, making the human race an outlier among other known alien species. Armada development continues.

May 20: The Umojan Protectorate and ITSA begin to engage in discreet trade relations. The Protectorate finally gains access to a ready supply of Element Zero.

May 27: The third Waygate test ends the same way as the second, frustrating the KMC and batarian scientists.

June 2: The Irune Ultranationalist movement has had enough of turian politics. A vote is held to formally secede from the Hierarchy.

June 4: After much controversy, the motion fails. The volus will be unable to declare another vote like it for four years. Volus ambassador Din Korlack resigns in disgust.

June 5: A volus riot is ended with turian orbital bombardment. The brutality of the action is condemned by the Council, and the turians agree to begin disarming, to the protest of the geth.

June 26: The geth formally close their embassy and announce the closure of their borders. Salarian intelligence reports a massive buildup in geth weapons platforms and ship numbers, but their fleet movements are not aggressive. The STG begins taking the Reaper threat more seriously.

September 8: Alien temples have begun unearthing themselves on several worlds. The Dominion declares a ban on the trade of ancient alien artifacts and begins excavating the temples.

September 14: The protoss make a rare appearance, and even contact the Dominion. They try to warn the Dominion away from the temples and are ignored.

September 22: Three Dominion dig teams end up dead, no sign of resistance. The Dominion abandons the majority of their digs.

September 29: The Dominion engages protoss forces over Braxis. The battle is brief, but the presence of a Daedelus dreadnought allowed the Dominion to emerge victorious.

September 30: Mengsk announces the first outright military victory over the protoss. General Edmund Duke is showered with praise while the Council condemns the action but cannot be bothered to do more than that.

October 2: Jim Raynor leaves Eden Prime and becomes a common sight in the Terminus Systems. Despite having documented personal disagreements with Zaeed Massani, he is repeatedly hired by the Blue Suns as an independent contractor.

October 28: Arcturus Mengsk experiences a record-breaking nine assassination attempts in one day, all of them foiled by the ghost known as Nova Terra. His dry official reaction through the media cements him as the most popular terran extranet personality in the galaxy.

November 9: The Waygate program finally conducts a successful Waygate test: a KMC battlecruiser is transported from Moria to Khar'shan with little discomfort. The KMC credits former Old Family member Miranda Lawson for the breakthrough that made this possible. It is noted that the Waygates still consume enormous amounts of Vespene gas, and the process could be made more efficient.

November 13: The KMC begins Waygate production.

November 24: The Dominion/KMC border dispute heats up again. This time the KMC experiences the brunt of the casualties as Daedelus dreadnoughts rip through their own ships with ease.

November 26: The KMC begins aggressive recruitment of Terminus elements to defend their borders. The Blue Suns receive the largest defense contract in their history.

December 9: The UED notes a weakness to potential salarian cyberwarfare due to salarian familiarity with colonial computer systems (on which much of their own code is still based.) The Enhanced Defense Intelligence project begins on Lunar Base.


March 7: Seven Waygates have been constructed, and the Terminus hub known as Omega now has a direct connection with both Khar'shan and Moria. Both the KMC and Hegemony reap the economic benefits of the newly opened and tremendously convenient trade route.

March 12: The ITSA repels its first pirate raid at Elysium with its mostly undeveloped fleet. Local militia forces prove themselves capable in the process.

March 19: Raynor's Raiders accepts an elcor contract to join up with their fleet and retaliate for the attack on Elysium.

March 27: The ITSA and elcor launch an attack on Torfan. The resulting bloodshed is surprisingly extensive, as Terminus reinforcements from Khar'shan were prompt in their response.

March 30: After inflicting extensive casualties, the ITSA/elcor task force retreated. Jim Raynor, knowing who the guilty parties were, decides to launch phantom raids in the Terminus Systems.

May 9: Raynor's Raiders's campaign resulted in the rarest of occurrences: an official apology from Aria T'loak and reparations paid to the ITSA. The Raider attacks cease at ITSA request.

July 4: Mengsk announces the near complete restoration of New Augustgrad, the capital of Korhal. "Korhal will bloom again," he promises.

July 18: The EDI program goes berserk, and Lunar Base is severely compromised. Swift action by Captain Anderson and the forces under his command lead to the shutdown of the AI.

October 6: The EDI project resumes, this time with far more fail safes and with far lower expectations. The AI would be shackled.

October 20: Tensions flare as the turians elect to cease disarmament. Quarians have begun appearing in ITSA space.

October 30: The protoss assault Braxis again. This time, the Dominion is forced to retreat. When Third and Fourth return days later, there is no sign of the protoss.

November 9: Matriarch Aethyta declares that the asari will resume production of dreadnoughts and pursue reentry into the Council. She is widely mocked by the batarians.

November 21: The Dominion issues a stern warning to the Hegemony: presence of their ships on the KMC/Dominion border would result in severe reprisal. The Waygates slowly become common knowledge, and the salarians in particular are not amused. The KMC threatens to overtake the volus in economic might, and the Hegemony economy is now larger than the asari's.

December 5: UED analysts concur that the time to invade is almost nigh: the galaxy is poised for a massive war. Dominion findings indicate that, at current rates of economic and military development, the KMC would be a more powerful entity than them by 2508. Mengsk begins preparation for invasion with turian blessing.

December 28: Sarah Kerrigan participates in a daring raid alongside Jondum Bau and Saren Arterius to destroy an Omega Waygate. They are successful.


January 8: The EDI project successfully creates an advanced AI. It is installed on to Armada ship systems in lieu of adjutants. It is judged 675% more effective, but the expense in terms of both money and life lost is questionable. Admiral DuGalle in particular has reservations about the worth of the program.

January 16: UED intelligence analysts suffer a scare after examining a cluster chart of where deep space probes had mysteriously gone missing. They judge an 8% chance of the Salarian Union being aware of the UED's existence and intentions, a 15% chance of the protoss being aware, and a staggering 37% chance of the KMC at least having some knowledge.

February 9: The Umojan Protectorate tries to bring up the idea of exposing Tarsonis to the galaxy at large in a private Council session, and are rebuffed. Udina becomes increasingly bitter and disillusioned both with the Council and the nature of humanity.

February 10: Jim Raynor is seen fighting alongside KMC forces on the Dominion border. A hacked email exchange between Mengsk and Warfield reveals the disturbing obsession Mengsk has for Raynor.

February 17: A massive Dominion offensive is carried into KMC space, ostensibly to find and capture Jim Raynor. While they are unsuccessful, the Dominion makes significant gains into KMC space.

February 28: Another Spectre operation to destroy a Waygate is carried out, this time at Khar'shan. Jondum Bau and Nihlus Kryik are killed, but the Waygate is destroyed. The Hegemony swears vengeance, but are hushed by the KMC, who are still bleeding from the Dominion assault.

March 9: The UED finally announces an official launch date for the Armada: January 13, 2506 – the sixth anniversary of the Directorate.

May 1: Turian and salarian ships clash over Zada Ban. Volus forces make noises for both sides to stop fighting, but ultimately side with the turians. The Ultranationalist movement is disgusted.

May 7: Turian dreadnought official count at 46. Both the Dominion and Salarian Union harbor doubts about the Hierarchy's honesty.

May 19: Reports of strange alien vessels seen near ITSA colonies. The protoss are suspected, but no evidence is found.

May 26: A clash between KMC and Dominion forces leads to nuclear bombardment of Kalem-VI. While it was not a garden world, Council forces are still appalled at the brutality of the action – over eight million KMC citizens are estimated to have been killed.

June 8: The Turian Hierarchy has fully implemented eezo enhanced power armor to its infantry. New Dominion military simulations reveal their own marines are now at a distinct disadvantage. The UED runs its own simulations and adjusts their threat rating of the Hierarchy accordingly.

June 17: Evidence is found of past alien colonization of Mars, but the traces are very faint and nothing tangible remains. The UED is left with more questions than answers regarding the xel'naga and protheans.

June 29: The Umojan Protectorate has finally completed its own dreadnoughts, and begins long term plans to fully politically divorce themselves from the Dominion and expose Tarsonis.

August 9: The Asari Republics finally replace their First Fleet and are working on a Destiny Ascension replacement (tentatively named Ascension Resurgent.) The asari military as a whole has swelled to half again its size from before the Great War, though they still lack ships. Dominion military assessments place the asari as a potentially greater threat than the Hegemony and KMC, if their attention were to be turned their way. Aethyta's efforts paid off.

August 27: The UED has finished the Armada. Specialized training of the ship crews is almost completed. The Dominion is identified as the first target.

September 5: Reports of a still active zerg brood creep in from Dominion space. Like many protoss reports, however, there is no evidence to be found.

September 17: More protoss sightings over Braxis. The Dominion, however, still shifts forces away from that sector of space to shore up the KMC border.

September 28: The KMC and Hegemony are now discussing plans to permanently link their governments in some fashion. Waygates have been continually reinforced to prevent further Spectre incursions or attacks from Council fleets.

October 11: Volus Ultranationalists circulate footage of turian brutality. This time, the salarians threaten outright action; ITSA and the Asari Republics are quick to add their voices. The Hierarchy suddenly finds itself vulnerable.

October 19: Umojans claim a visit from the protoss. If they are to be believed, the protoss will be returning to the galactic scene soon – and will be paying a visit to the Citadel in particular.

October 24: The Dominion is approached by salarians about the validity of removing the Genophage to allow krogan to fight turians for them in the coming war. The irony is not lost on the salarians.

November 4: The KMC and Dominion border is now the most heavily fortified area of space in the galaxy. The Dominion's flank, so to speak, is exposed.

November 13: The UED debates whether to attempt to establish human superiority (in which humanity is the dominant race in the galaxy) or human supremacy (where humanity reigns over the alien species directly.) The latter is judged to be the end goal and worth pursuing, but not realistic at this time. The public is still assured of the Armada's victory.

November 21: Quarian vessels are sighted in Dominion space for the first time in years. They vanish before they can be approached. The UED suspects protoss involvement.

November 30: Protoss vessels sighted in geth space. The geth curtly confirm a protoss presence but the borders remain closed.

December 17: The UED considers postponing the launch of the Armada, but Hackett and Stukov rule against it.

December 20: More trouble with piracy in ITSA space. Contact is lost with Horizon.

December 25: Contact is lost with Freedom's Progress.

December 31: ITSA reports an attack on Elysium, but were unable to identify the attackers. Casualties were reportedly high.

January 11: UED analysts are baffled as Terra Nova is hit by an unknown force. Casualties are again high, and the Council moves to high alert.

January 13: The UED Expeditionary Armada launches. Our hopes and dreams go with them.