Talon

Long hampered by cost and beset by international problems, real space exploration did not seem possible for humanity. Amazing technological breakthroughs would change all of that in the year 2112. The invention of the Near Faster Than Light (NFTL) drive would make it possible for large ships to move easily in and out of a planet's gravity well, and to travel quickly within the confines of a solar system. Ten years later, the perfecting of Faster Than Light (FTL) drive would turn the galaxy into an open canvas. United by a common purpose, the newly formed Terran Confederation began to paint their picture. Expansion led to colonies, research stations, and even more technological discoveries, but it also led to the realization that they were not alone. Although no sentient alien species had been encountered, long range scanners had picked up the distinctive signatures of FTL drives. Sentient races must exist... and they must be space faring. Terran expansion stopped. Not knowing what to expect, a period of consolidation followed which emphasized defensive technologies and fleet building. First contact was made by the people of Earth with this unknown race in 2227. Over time, they would eventually call these other-worlders the Talon. It was a shortening of the alien sounds that made up their name but it was also oddly prophetic-the Talon Empire swooped in very much like a raptor upon the fledgling Terran Confederation.