Story Background
Part II
May 3, 2368:
Edward Keyes nominates Phillip Navaretti as Minister of Public Relations. During his first media appearance, Navaretti mocks a leading pro-Capellan intellectual. The event receives a wide news coverage.
July 8, 2368:
Within two months, the Keyes government has repealed the majority of McCleskey's legislation. Tensions rise.
August 1, 2368:
As a culmination of a mass recruitment effort, started in April, local police forces grow by 30% on average.
October 20, 2368:
Disguised as an ambitious investor but unremarkable figure, Major Kemmler of the SOC enters the system. His mission: infiltrate the Luytenian government's inner circles and report on their intents.
December 30, 2368:
One year after Chancellor McCleskey's "New Era Speech," a group of Capellan immigrants march to the parliament building on Luyten III, quoting passages from the ex-chancellor's speech. While en route to the demonstration's second destination, police forces ambush the protesters, killing 23.
December 31, 2368:
A few news agencies, under private ownership, report the December 30 incident. Navaretti's propaganda machine manages to discredit the protesters' leading figures. Evidence is forged to support the official police report on the incident, which proves that the shootout was far smaller in scope than reported. The official death toll is 3. Only the armed demonstrators that showed hostile intent were shot.
The public believes the official version.
January 7, 2369:
The Security Council finalizes the emergency incursion plan. The document is classified Level Chi, which is one level higher than the GTVA Colossus project. Only 43 GTVA officials know about its existence.
February 10, 2369:
Nearly 41,000 Capellans leave Luyten this day, the highest in history. The gradual influx into nearby systems start to show its effects through statistics.
February 12, 2369:
The General Assembly is under pressure to amend the Beta Aquilae Convention, giving it more power to influence a system's internal affairs. It goes without saying which system gave the incentive for such legislation.
News of this proposed amendment reach the Luyten government. Infuriated, the Chancellor announces that Luyten no longer acknowledges the GTVA's authority.
April 15, 2369:
Diplomatic talks begin to alleviate the tension between the Alliance and the Keyes government.
April 21, 2369:
Apart from some minor annoyances, talks go surprisingly well. Behind the scenes, however, both factions have different goals.
June 2, 2369:
An anti-Alliance group of extremists abduct three high-ranking GTVA diplomats, and stone them to death in public. The police arrive late, giving the extremists a chance to disappear.
June 6, 2369:
Intelligence reports that the stoning was well-received in extremist movements in Laramis and Barnard's Star, two of adjacent systems.
January 4, 2370:
Peter Lindres, an SOC agent, submits a report indicating that Chancellor Keyes knew about the abduction, but did nothing to prevent it. Lindres is ordered to abandon mission and get back to Vega. However, he never returns to GTVA space. He is listed as MIA.
April 25, 2370:
Four prominent members of an anti-Capellan movement are brutally killed by police in Laramis. The case caused public outrage throughout GTVA space. Navaretti's commentary, for the first time, was accessible even in the most distant sections of Allied space.
May 6, 2370:
After a four-day joint session, the General Assembly decrees that the Keyes government violates all values the Alliance stands for and gives an ultimatum to resign. No answer comes from the Keyes government.
May 10, 2370:
The GTVA declares war on the Luyten Conglomerate.
