A societal quirk has developed due to the GFL, where Sklorno players (and some fans) put their team on a slightly higher level than their species. For many Sklorno, football isn’t like a religion, it is a religion. Sociologists say that the team-based nature of the GFL is a perfect, microcosmic replica of the warring culture, and it appeals to the Sklorno at a very instinctive level. With the success of the species always at the forefront of their thoughts, Sklorno tend to idolize those that define a team’s success — coaches and quarterbacks. There are actual churches spread throughout Sklorno space that are dedicated to coaches, like To Pirates coach Yuri Rockmananoff, and quarterbacks, like Hittoni Hullwalkers legend Sam London and two-time Tier One Championship MVP Donald Pine.
From “Creterak: The Unforeseen Dynasty,” by Hammond Gomez
It is almost inconceivable to anyone under the age of 40 that once, not so long ago, no one had even heard of a “Creterakian.” Considering that race’s almost total control over the galaxy, it is just as inconceivable to those people that the Creterakians were once looked at as an asset to be claimed, not a military power to be feared.
Creterak is a medium-sized planet, disadvantageously located in a political “hot zone” near the galactic core. The planet borders the Harrah Tribal Accord, The Quyth Concordia and the Rewall Association. It is also uncomfortably close to the last known position of the Prawatt Jihad fleet. This proximity proved to be a spark for military conflict.
The Creterakians were centuries behind other races in most technologies, but surprisingly advanced in some areas. Signal detection, for example, is an area in which that race completely outclasses all others. The Creterakians managed to “hide” their planet from detection for over 250 years, and were completely unknown until they achieved FTL capability in 2639.
The existence of a sentient race hidden within in a well-explored area stunned every scientist in the galaxy. Military officials of three separate systems saw a potential asset near the border of potential enemies. Within hours of the announcement, the Tribal Accord, the Association and the Concordia sent “diplomatic” fleets to Creterak. All three systems immediately claimed the rights to the new planet.
Even as the Galactic Council met to discuss claims to Creterak, skirmishes erupted between the Harrah and Quyth fleets just three days after the planet’s discovery. Within a week, the skirmishes evolved into minor naval battles claiming well over 50,000 lives. What had begun as an amazing discovery quickly grew into the potential for a Fifth Galactic War. Each government sent reinforcements, resulting in three armada-class fleets circling the planet.
In a claimed effort to stem the violence, the Creterakians sent delegates to every ship in all three fleets. Again, it is inconceivable to young people today that the fleets fell for such a simple ruse. But look at it from the historical standpoint: the Creterakians were small, seemingly harmless creatures, they had no inter-species battle experience, and they had no military craft. Humans have even described Creterakians as “cute.” Nothing was known of them other than the fact they had FTL capability and could speak every known language, which they had absorbed from centuries of signal monitoring.
One small delegate vessel traveled to each ship in all three fleets, but no one suspected just how many Creterakians could pack into such a confined space. In primitive shuttles that would seat four humans in relative comfort, the Creterakians packed over 300 shock troops. In addition, no one had ever faced soldiers that moved as fast as the Creterakians, who can fly up to 45 miles per hour. The results were almost instant — the Creterakians seized control of three entire fleets as their soldiers tore through the ships with unheard of speed, killing most of the crew even before alarms could be sounded.
With their borders secure, the Creterakians launched the largest invasion force the galaxy has ever seen. Like a cell bursting with a deadly virus, over 50,000 transport vessels departed from Creterak and spread throughout the galaxy. Each vessel contained at least one million Creterakian soldiers — a force 50 billion strong. Subsequent research shows the Creterakians had been planning their attack for 125 years, all the while going undetected by every race in the galaxy.
The Creterakians also shocked established navies with a new tactic — attack by attrition. The landing ships ignored navies and headed straight for the surface of every inhabited planet in the galaxy. Defending navies destroyed tens of thousands of ships, but it’s estimated at least five landing vessels touched down on each planet — giving the invading Creterakians a ground force of at least five million soldiers that could fly at 45 miles per hour and were armed with high-power entropic accelerator rifles. As astonishing as the figure sounds, the Creterakians conquered every planet within one week of landing.
By 2642, the Creterakians had the complete surrender of the Planetary Union, League of Planets, Ki Empire, Ki Rebel Alliance, Purist Nation, Tower Republic, Leekee Collective, Harrah Tribal Accord and the Sklorno Dynasty. The Quyth Concordia and the Rewall Association managed to fight off the invading forces, and remain independent to this day.
TIMELINE
Partial galactic history of major events leading up to the founding and operation of the GFL
PRE-HISTORY
TERTIARY EPOCH:
Other than the sprawling deep-space construct known as “The Reef,” very little evidence remains of the Tertiary Epoch. It is known, however, that the period was a clear example of the “batching” phenomenon. Batching is defined as several species on separate planets achieving sentience and FTL technology in a relatively limited time span. Considering the number of variables involved with a species achieving sentience, it is theorized that with certain types of planets that evolution of sentience is inevitable, and will happen in a certain time frame based upon a planet cooling enough to support self-replicating chemical compounds. As large areas of mass condensed to form stars and planets, these areas possibly provided similar “starting points” at which this inevitable path to sentience began. This theory is highly controversial, countered by most mathematicians, astronomers and, of course, those that theorize batching is caused by galactic panspermia efforts.
QUATERNARY EPOCH:
Little is known about this period that occurred some two million years ago. The batching phenomena occurred in this time, with several species attaining sentience and achieving faster-than-light and/or gate technology. The Quaternary Epoch lasted approximately 500,000 years. Most academicians agree that ancestors of the Givers and Collectors cultures began in this period.
Galactic Timeline: all times in Earth Time (ErT)
MODERN EPOCH:
1967 Collector gate built on Ki homeworld. Ki race subjugated (date estimated).
1988 Collector orbital arrives at Earth.
2008 Collectors fail in multiple attempts to invade Earth
2009 Ki uprising against Collector homeworld. All contact lost with Collector race. Ki destroy all technology, dark age begins.
2015 Prawatt race created and exterminated on Earth (date estimated).