New Frontier - NHS: Side Story Gamma: History of the Tirolians. [Episode 117190]

Fantoma itself is fourth from Valivarre, a gas giant with a modest ring system, and orbits once every 2066 Terran days at a distance of roughly 3.95 Astronomical Units. Its axis of rotation is inclined some 26 degrees to the orbital plane and it possesses a formidable magnetic field. Fantoma's main claim to fame, seems to be the high concentration of monopole ore within its ring system. Current theory holds that an object, composed largely of monopolar elements, passed too close to the planet and was torn apart and subsequently incorporated into the ring system by Fantoma's tidal gravity.

Of the eight moons orbiting Fantoma, only one is inhabited - the third moon, Tirol. Nearly the size of Earth, this moon has been the home of the Tirolians and their civilisation for thousands of years. Almost a third of Tirol's surface is land, mostly congregated into one large continent called Pae'rana. Much of the land on Tirol is somewhat more arid than Earth, but all climes and ecological zones found upon the continent's surface.

Civilisation did not begin to appear on Tirol until 6,500 B.C., when the Dev'er and Relav regions rose to meet the challenges of History. Various other civilisations appeared, flourished and, sometimes, died; the Tonvella, Tettelians, Forasi and Ein'liba to name but a few. By 360 B.C., however, the Tiresian culture had emerged as one of the more powerful nations, and had started to expand their influence away from the Su'tone region from which it had started.

The fifth through seventh century A.D. (By Earth dating methods) saw an almost explosive advance in technology. Already, the Tiresian nation had colonised much of Pae'rana and was continuing to grow under the technological impetus. In a drive to conquer their respective corner of the continent, several other nations entered into conflict, sparking a number of world wars - at least one of which ushered in the use of nuclear weaponry. Luckily, the Tirolians eventually turned their drive to space and by the early 800s, several colonies had been established throughout the Valivarre Star System.

The discovery of a workable, if primitive, FTL-system of propulsion led to a mass exodus from Tirol. Deteriorating social and economic conditions were no doubt contributing factors. From this exodus rose several colonies on planets in other solar systems. Of them, the most famous was to be Ci'va, settled mostly by Rilacians, an opposing ethnic group of the ruling Tiresians.

By 1166 A.D., events on Tirol had calmed until there remained a more-or-less homogenous republic. Soon the colonies, which until then had been supplied by Tirol, were shipping produce and manufactured goods back to Tirol. It is during this time that Tirolians first encountered the Karbarran Hegemony and arrived at an amicable trade agreement between the two races. The Tirolians would provide FTL technology and various produce in exchange for the Karbarrans provision of industrial expertise. For centuries, relations were favourable.

But while space provided Tirol with its first ally, it also provided numerous enemies. The discovery in 1274 A.D. of the V'loxia, a race of dragon-like people whose area of influenced encompassed over a hundred inhabited worlds, saw both the Tirolians and the Karbarrans raise their weapons in unison against a common enemy. The war lasted over thirty years and ended, against the wishes of the Karbarrans, with the genocide of the V'loxia. The Karbarrans' horror at this slaughter caused them to sever their ties with the Tiresian Republic and instead align themselves with the Ci'Va colonists who, by that time, controlled a several planets and was more than receptive to the Karbarrans' viewpoint on racial equality. With the loss of the Deuterium-rich Karbarran Sekitan, Tirol was forced to return to older, more inefficient nuclear fuels and conversion methods.

In 1349 A.D., a deep-space exploration mission reached a planet called Optera and landed. A young Tiresian scientist named Zor Derelda discovered a new power source on that planet. The fact that this power source was also capable of providing a catalyst for cloning and extreme Hyperspace manipulation produced an uproar in the scientific circles. This new power source was Protoculture. Tirol's loss of Sekitan became a blessing as this new power source required large amounts of heavy water - a technology Tirol had been forced to revive after they had lost the Karbarran ore.

But the biggest change in Tirol's society did not come from protoculture's ability to produce energy, but rather from the ability it had to accelerate, and in fact facilitate, the cloning of living tissue as well as repairing cellular damage. Soon, life-extension treatments were made available to those who could afford them, mostly the ruling contingent of the Republic, and later, the general populace. Custom genes were designed, and new grains and animal life were created to suit the harsh environments of previously uncolonizable planets. But, ultimately, the Tirolians' effort into cloning is best remember for their crowning achievement, the creation of ten-meter tall mining slaves - the Zentraedi.

Created in 1355 A.D. by a group of bio-manipulators calling themselves the Robotech Masters (Zorrlev'dra Gisterae in Tiresian). The Zentraedi were seen by the Masters as the start of a perfect society, centred around the ideal of clonal triplets, where individuality and emotions would be ruthlessly suppressed.

When the Tiresian Senate learned about the scientist's eugenic dreams, they immediately ordered them to cease their experiments. In response, the Masters called in the Zentraedi and in, 1361 A.D., seized control of the Tiresian Republic. The Senate was forcefully disbanded, and the Tirolian Mercantile Empire was established.

In 1378 A.D., the Karbarrans developed and tested a new starship-mounted weapon, the Reflex Cannon, prompting the Empire's first crisis. Realising the threat this new weapon would pose to them, the Robotech Masters despatched their Zentraedi to conquer Karbarra. This was done with minimal damage on both sides and Karbarra's industrial arsenal was turned to the benefit of the Masters' Empire. The Reflex cannon itself was to be included into the design of the Zentraedi Flagship and Monitor designs.

Ci'va, not happy with the loss of its trade partner and what it saw as an attack on its sovereignty, threatened war. Tirol responded by renewing their vows of autonomy and trade with Ci'Va.

Nonetheless, this potential disaster had awakened the Robotech Masters to the fragility of their hold upon their Empire. Since their power over the outlying regions was directly through the production of Protoculture, they resolved to have an absolute monopoly upon it. To the horror of the Karbarrans and Ci'Vonians, Optera was defoliated, the at the time peaceful, Invid were scattered, and the seeds of the Flower of Life were taken to Tirol.

1450 A.D. saw the perfection of the cloning and life-extension treatments, prompting the Robotech Masters to emigrate to gigantic motherships in Tirolian orbit to show their 'superiority' over the general populace. Once there, the Masters began to annex all of their old colonies, save Ci'Va, whose treaties they continued to honor- so long as Ci'Va gave deference to the new order.

However, less glorifying news began to surface. The Invid had begun to appear over some of the Empire's furthest colony worlds and to fold out of reach before the Zentraedi could arrive. This began to unsettle the outlying colonies' inhabitants and led to the establishment of a vast Zentraedi fleet in an attempt to counter this new threat.

Although the Masters' Empire gave the impression of strength, the Masters new of their one weakness: though they had a monopoly on Protoculture, they could not produce more Flowers to replenish their stock - for reasons they could not fathom, the Flowers of Life produced from the seeds stolen from the Invid would produce plants whose seeds, while capable of producing power, would not germinate into more plants. The only person who so far seemed capable to produce new seeds was Zor, the scientist whose discoveries had made the science of Robotech possible. By keeping these secrets locked in his mind, Zor managed to hold a tenuous hold on the Robotech Masters and make several demands pertaining to the lives and liberties of the colonists. The Elders granted Zor his demands, so long as no subversive moves were made by him or those in his scientific group.

In 1481 A.D., Zor requested to relocate to Ci'Va to pursue further experiments and collaborate with some of his Ci'Vonian colleagues. Permission was given and Zor left Tirol. During this time, Zor made several breakthrough discoveries, though only a few were forwarded to the Robotech Masters. Zor wrote several tracts speaking against the Empire under a pseudonym. In them, he advocated a return to the Republic and its philosophies. Eventually, the Masters discovered the person behind the pseudonym and recalled Zor to the capitol city, Tiresia, in 1502 A.D., placing severe restriction upon his future movements. By this stage, a chord had been struck in the Ci'Vonian psyche by Zor's tracts. Ci'Vonian nationalism enjoyed a resurgence and anti-Imperial thoughts resounded across the Empire, forcing the Masters to act. In 1519 A.D., Ci'va was ordered to surrender itself to the Empire and bow to the rule of an Imperial Governor Triumvirate. Ci'Va's answer to these demands was to destroy the Governors' shuttle before it reached the ground.

Unable to face the possible disaster of a frontal attack against Ci'Va's planetary defenses, the Masters ordered a fleet of Zentraedi ships to encircle the planet. They hoped a credible threat would prompt the Ci'Vonians to surrender. Instead, the Ci'Vonian government offered to parlay with the Zentraedi commanders. Unaccustomed to anything but straight-out battles, the Zentraedi accepted and descended upon Ci'Va to attend the talks. By the time the negotiations had started, the Zentraedi commanders and their retinue had been `corrupted' by the hospitality of the Ci'Vonian people. In almost no time, the entire fleet was given amnesty and adopted by the Ci'vonian people. To restore discipline amongst the rank, the Elders sent a larger fleet of 200 thousand ships, but these soldiers refused to fire upon fellow Zentraedi. In a few months, the entire relief fleet had also been granted amnesty and accepted into Ci'Vonian society.

With the alarming loss of so many forces, the Masters were forced into action. Dispatching the Grand Fleet - which, at that time, comprised of 2,900,000 warships - the Masters ordered the annihilation of Ci'Va. Hopelessly outnumbered, the Ci'Vonian Zentraedi landed their ship upon Ci'Va and proceeded to evacuate as many of the citizens as possible. By the time the Fleet folded into orbit, a quarter of the population, almost two billion people, had already been evacuated and all of their Zentraedi allies had disappeared into space. The remaining population succeeded in delaying the Grand Fleet long enough for the evacuees to escape, but eventually the Fleet disabled Ci'va's defences and melted the planet's surface to slag as an example to other colonies. The Zentraedi Domillans, or advisers, were cautioned against allowing the Zentraedi to ever again come in close contact with a micronian race lest the Ci'Va disaster repeat itself. Later, during the war between Earth and the Zentraedi, Dolza would play a recording of Ci'Va's destruction to inspire fear into his prisoners.

The Masters, however, were not yet out of the proverbial wood. Using the fold-guerrilla tactics the Invid had pioneered, the Ci'Vonians, various sympathisers, and their Zentraedi fleet launched repeated attacks against the Empire. Desperately increasing their Zentraedi forces, the Elders were forced to fight a defensive war. With the Imperial forces spread out thinly amongst the colonies, the "Disciples of Zor" - a derisive term for the Ci'Vonians and their allies used by the Masters - won every engagement, being able to pick and choose their targets. In two centuries the Empire fell in tatters, caught between the ferocious attacks by the Ci'vonians and the constant plunder by the Invid, who took full advantage of the situation and confusion to exact their own revenge on the destroyers of their homeworld. In 1792 A.D. the Rebel forces folded to Tirol in an attempt to end the war in one swift stroke. Unfortunately, the Masters and their Dolza's Armada were lying in wait. The Ci'Vonians were completely massacred, and no known survivors escaped.

By 1950 A.D., the dwindling supplies of Protoculture had reached an alarmingly low level. Zor was once again released from his house arrest and dispatched to seed yet more worlds. To this end, the Masters provided Zor with an experimental battlefortress. By now, the Masters had resigned themselves to the fact Zor would not give them the secrets of the Flower of Life, but since his opposition and demands had become merely token gestures, they felt his release was no great risk.

To their dismay, the Masters discovered that Zor had been seeding a mutant strain of the Flower, one which would not produce fertile seeds. Worse than that, the plants still kept the Invid powered and fed and made them that much stronger with every world that fell beneath them. However, the Masters were able to deal the Invid a major set-back when they discovered the Invid new base of operations in the Large Magellanic Cloud and sent a contingent of Zentraedi to destroy it. Six years later, the Zentraedi arrived at the new Invid homeworld and forced them, once again, to flee. Still, it was becoming painfully clear that the balance of power was tipping away from the Masters, and to the Invid.

In February 1999 A.D.,the Tirolian Mercantile Empire was dealt a blow which ultimately would lead to its downfall and destruction. During one of his seeding mission in deep space, Zor was killed during an Invid ambush, and the secrets of the production of fertile seeds died with him. To make matters worse, the last remaining Protoculture Matrix had been transferred onto Zor's ship before the commencement of the mission - and the ship had launched on autopilot and folded into parts unknown. Desperate for the recapture of the last active Matrix, the Robotech Masters authorised Dolza to use any means deemed necessary for the retrieval of the Macross. The rest, as they say, is history.