2060

June --Dr. Mariko Takamoto named Chief of Technical Operations of GigaCorp.

July --Interim CEO Donald Claypool steps down. Takamoto named Interim CEO, in addition to her technical duties.

2062

Reacting to the discovery of near-Earth sources of He3, corporations begin searching for other such sources. Luna, one of the closest effective He3 "collectors" is suddenly of immense value, and many competing firms begin large-scale strip-mining and He3 harvesting operations.

June --FML attacks increase in frequency on Mars. Several civilians are killed in the latest rash of bombings.

July --Corporate security forces impose "martial law" (illegally) and begin rounding up and executing members of the FML.

2063

January --The Bios activate a manufacturing facility and-having infiltrated corporate data conduits-begin gathering He3 resources from the asteroid belt. Late in January, the UN Global Supreme Court condemns GigaCorp actions on Mars and issues veiled threats of military action against Earth-bound GigaCorp installations if the human-rights violations on Mars are not immediately rectified.

March --Emmet Longstreet dies at age 95; age is not the cause of death, however. Prolonged exposure to radiation and zero-g ultimately caused Longstreet's demise.

April --The Council (the leadership of the Bios) forms.

October --United Nations peacekeeping troops seize GigaCorp headquarters, only to discover that the bulk of GigaCorp operations have been moved off-planet.

November --Military leaders (notably the leadership of the U.S. Marine Corps) offer contingency plans to the United Nations, involving the deployment of space-based military forces.

2064

October --The FML kidnaps and executes the highest-ranking GigaCorp security officer in a media broadcast.

November --United Nations peacekeeping troops are deployed on Mars, and a tense period of negotiations follow. By month's end, a nominal cease fire is declared.

December --The United Nations releases Earth-based corporate assets, to further negotiations.

2067

March --After negotiations on Mars come to a standstill, the general labor pool riots, due to lack of food, air, and radiation shielding. Hundreds are killed, including a large contingent of UN peacekeepers.

August --Bowing to public pressure, the United States removes its military contingent from the Mars peacekeeping force.

September --The remaining UN forces on Mars are overwhelmed in the fighting that follows the U.S. pull-out. The FML makes a formal declaration of independence, and immediately declares war on the corporations. Fierce fighting ensues.

2068

July --The FML captures corporate facilities on Mars.

December --The United Nations recognizes Martian independence.

2069

March --GigaCorp protests the United Nations recognition of Mars and takes the matter to the Global Court.

August --The court upholds the recognition of Martian independence; GigaCorp lawyers decry the verdict as a "sham" and claim that the laws and courts were developed strictly to restrict free enterprise. GigaCorp execs publicly vow to fight to reclaim corporate assets on Mars and will refuse to acknowledge United Nations edicts in the future.

December --Several key executives are dismissed in the aftermath of the Mars fiasco. By 2069, the moon is heavily populated (an estimated 150,000-200,000 people now live on the moon, all in the employ of the various corporations that have set up He3 refineries on Luna). Roughly one-third of all lunar installations are controlled by GigaCorp. Mars is heavily populated as well, by a mix of government, military, and corporate personnel. Roughly 30 small colonies and four major installations are present, with a population numbering roughly 75,000 people.