Era Zero starts at the beginning of the universe, and continues into the near future.
Zanath
The first glimmer of life and civilization in the galaxy was fabled Zanath. Little is known about this ancient civilization beyond hazily recounted legend. Founded perhaps a million years ago, Zanath was said to be the home of the creators of the mysterious Zanathian Gates, ancient, long deactivated Star-gates found in several star-systems throughout the galaxy.
The Empire of 1,000,000 Suns
Around one hundred thousand years ago, the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns (E1MS) was founded by Cielioids in the region of space known as the Spozak. This empire spread throughout the Spozak, but stayed within its bounds, being led by a strict, conservative caste system culminating with the Emperor.
Large numbers of Ool-Tyr and Nalorgians formed pirate bands, and eventually became the basis of the dreaded "Nomad Armies".
Kroah Dashan was a prolific inventor who created many of the technologies the E1MS needed to survive and grow.
A group of Greys known as the Convergence left the Empire in search of a place without the radio interference of civilized space that interfered with their hive minds.
The E1MS relied heavily on robotic labor, and when the robots rose in rebellion, led by the mysterious Troniac, the 1,000 Years War shook the Empire to its foundations. In order to win this epic conflict, the Empire created General Zarlok. The war was ended when Zarlok banished Troniac to a distant part of the universe through an unstable wormhole, but a large fraction of the Cult of Troniac remained.
During and after the 1,000 Years War, many groups split off from the E1MS to form the Breakaway States.
After the war, General Zarlok turned on the Empire in a devastating attack on Artanis 4. As a result, Zarlok's AI was banished from the E1MS, into "uninhabited" space.
In the aftermath of the war, the Empire experienced a major cultural realignment, and became a constitutional monarchy, but continued to expand slowly.
Earth
Human history is the merest blink of an eye in the scale of cosmic time. In the near future, the Earth will undergo a period of turmoil and environmental degradation that will cause many to seek out new places to live.
Gazillion, inc. built several research stations that formed the beginnings of one of the largest of the corporate states. One of these stations intercepted the AI program of General Zarlok, setting in motion the Robot Wars, and the creation of the Engine of Negation.
Mars will be one of the important early colony worlds.
The Moon had a significant amount of settlement during Era-0.
The massive space station known as New Eden will be operated by the Edenites as a source of food and other agricultural products.
Venus also had a fair amount of colonization in the form of buoyant cities that floated on the planet's dense atmosphere.
Era-0 officially ended when the Earth, the Moon, Mars, and Venus founded the Planetary League with the signing of the Treaty of Kepler.
